The Seventeenth Day

I sat up on my white leather couch and cringed to the red pillow against my chest as the retrieved memories that I have been recalling for the past two hours slowly pulled out their sabers, and started to slash against my insides. It was so painful to think about those ancient and blurry human memories, and the only thing that's worse, is to remember what happened after the seventeenth day.

Return to Flashback

"Ahhhhhhhhh …please…someone….put it out……PUT OUT THE FIRE."

My screams echoed through the white walls of the house, straining the windows. I don't know how long I laid there when I thought about something beside the pain. Hours? Days? Months? It was worse, so much worse when even James bit me. It felt like I had hot molten lava running through my veins with temperatures running over the charts leaving any hot volcano behind in its shadow. It felt like someone took a hot pan of grease and tossed it all over my body. It was even worse than that. This pain, this venom was unimaginably indescribable. I opened my eyes as the venom breached through my insides like sharks hunting, and feeding, trying to silence their hunger, and saw Laurent with a shocked and confused expression sitting next to me.

"How can this be? It's already been 9 days. Her heart still beats and the venom….I can still hear it scorching around her brain. What is happening to her?"

IT'S BEEN NINE DAYS? I also remembered thinking that this was impossible. Had he lied to me again? Had even the good doctor lied to me also? I was told by the pixie that it only took three days for the transformation to occur and to damn your soul to hell. I remembered that I screamed even louder, the venom was still making its way through the maze that was my human anatomy. But that was not the worst. The part of my body which had the greatest pain to deal with was my head. I could feel it flowing, dripping, and oozing its way through my brain. It was like it wanted to get into my memories to burn and destroy them.

"PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE." I screamed toward the orange sun rising in the east.

"I'm sorry dear Bella, I truly do not know what I have done wrong" uttered Laurent.

It was strange. Laurent was across the house in the dining room now sitting on one of the with sheet covered chairs as he uttered the words to me. I could hear him. How could I hear him I thought? Had the venom already improved my hearing? I had to do something to distract myself from these flaring flames. I extended my hearing through my screams and could hear the nearby river just down the field, flowing peacefully. I could hear small fish splashing in the water. I could smell them; I could smell a watery yet delicious aroma coming from them. I could smell Laurent across the house! He smelt like…oranges, combined with a hint of rosemary? It smelt wonderful but not as wonderful as sunbathed lilacs.

"Ahaha….please…" I whispered when I could feel this cancer creeping around my brain. I started to think about him. How I always wanted him by my side when this would happen, and now he was gone. Couldn't SHE see me? Couldn't she have foreseen what was happening to me? Could they possible despise me so much to leave me to such agonizing pain; I thought?!

I started to count. I focused all my attention to Laurent. He was now pacing around me. Each step he took was so light and so careful, and it looked like he was studying me. I could tell by the ancient sadness that had plastered itself all over his remarkable face that he did feel extremely badly for doing this to me. Yet, I just couldn't be mad at him. He only wanted to help me and now I was receiving that which I had always wanted. Five hundred and eighty nine thousand four hundred and thirty three was the last number of steps I counted when I could finally feel my body cooling down. I could hear my heart beat as it slowly sped up and started to beat its last beats. It was even worse than before now. It felt like somebody was squeezing my heart in their hands and pouring hot liquid all over it. My head wasn't any better; it was still pounding with a headache that not even the best aspirin could cure. It started in my fingertips and in my toes when the flames finally started to be quenched and realized that there was nothing left to feed upon in my empty body. Laurent had noticed when he sat down next to me and must have listened to my heart beat accelerate and my screams quieting down. The cooling sensation ran across my ankles and made their way to my legs and my torso. My hands had also finally been released from these murdering chains and I could feel the calming and cooling spreading over my arm and elbow and slowly reaching my shoulders. They both spread across my torso and my chest and found each other in my heart.

"I believe it is almost over" whispered Laurent so very quiet that only another immortal could hear.

There it was! I remember it so very clearly. The last beat of my heart, as it slowly died and I knew that I would never hear it again. But it was still not over yet. The venom traveled across my neck and made its way to my face bringing with it the taming of the flames, and finally; the venom had gathered itself in my brain and started to slowly but surely settle itself within my reborn body. It was over.

I led out a very loud, restrained and relieved sigh as I turned my head to the right and could see the dark images between the trees. The small birds within the darkness of the tree snuggled into their nest and warmed their eggs, while the predator, the snake, quickly slithered across the tree bark and made its way up to its prey. I turned my head to the left and saw Laurent's face with my new perfect vision. He was even more beautiful than I had thought. I had never given them enough credit before, only through the beauty of an immortals eyes could someone fully appreciate the true beauty of their, I guess now, our kind. Laurent's features quickly turned from relief to a complete marble of stun. After a second of realizing and taking in all this information and processing it I quickly sat up, and looked at my perfected hands. They were so smooth and remarkable. My eyes traveled down the path of my body and took in its new acquired glory, and with a little shock I had realized that now I had true cleavage, and the rest of my body was just as perfect. A perfect being but also the perfect monster, all at the same time, I thought to myself back then.

After my examinations over my new body resumed my gaze quickly returned to that of Laurent whose pitch black eyes were now staring at me. I felt a little devious and excited because I believed then that maybe now he would love me, and we could spend eternity with each other as equals. Just like a newborn baby, I was so very naïve.

"Be...Bella?" Laurent asked very carefully not trying to startle me. His eyes appraised my new form so quickly that only my new perfected eyes could have seen it. He smiled a polite and friendly smile at me not showing his teeth and whispered, "I must admit, you are very beautiful."

Me? Beautiful? The only person to ever call me that was him. He would have to take me back now I plotted back then. Laurent's next question took me off guard.

"Bella, can you see clearly?" His question surprised me and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would he ask about my vision? I was just like him now. I could see the needle in the haystack from have a football field away if I wanted to. Laurent noticed my confusion and touched my elbows and started to lift me. His touch was not cool but warm. I registered the fact that I was a vampire now and our body temperatures must have matched, and I could no longer feel the chilly touch of the immortal. I stood up with ease just like I was swept of my feet. He led me into the dining room which had a small mirror positioned on the opposite wall of the windows and stood me straight up right in front of it. Shock!!

The woman before me looked like a goddess. She was so beautiful. Her pale and creamy skin looked so delicate between her perfect nose and full lips. Her hair was now a lighter shade of mahogany and was layered and sat so soft and delicately on her shoulders. She had beautiful curves all over her body just in the right places. I lifted my hand and the goddess did the same. I realized with shock that this woman was me. I touched my face and she followed as I stroked my new countenance. It was so soft and smooth. I started to draw a small circle underneath my eyes when through the long lashes I finally realized what Laurent had meant when he asked me about my vision.

"Violet…?" I asked in complete confusion. My eyes were violet, a shade of lilac. Around the very irises I noticed small hints of a lighter amethyst color. What had happened to me I thought sporadically, and again, and over again.

Laurent who was still standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders finally decided to speak up when he noticed my growing tension.

"I truly do not understand Bella. I have never come across a transforming vampire or other vampires that have eyes like yours. Never Bella, and I swear to you, in my three hundred years have I ever seen vampire venom act in the human body like it did yours. For the amount of time it took to change you dear Bella, I' am simply awestruck. It consumed your body as swiftly as it would have any other human but never had I imagined that it would take seventeen days. Even my own transformation lasted only a little over two."

At the sound of that I spun around quickly to face Laurent who in turn let go of my shoulders and took a few steps back holding up his hand as if surrendering to an enemy. I remembered him whispering something about nine days which just turned my pain even worse then but seventeen? Where had all the time gone? I opened my mouth to speak.

"Seventeen days? They told me that the transformation only lasted three. How in the world could somebody be transforming for seventeen days?" I asked almost angry now.

Laurent took another step back and held glimmers of plead in his eyes.

"Bella, please try to collect yourself. Please do not lose control over yourself. I'm already amazed how well composed you are but I do not know how much longer that is going to last. As to your question, I truly do not know. It seemed that the venom spent an awful lot of time within your brain Bella. Can you think properly, can you remember everything?" he asked. Everything was just fine I thought.

"Why yes… Actually my thinking is better than ever. I can think of so many different things at the same time now, it's actually pretty darn amazing. Why are you backing away from me Laurent? Is there something wrong?"

"They have never told you anything about newborn vampires?" he asked.

Confused I told him no with the usage of my new siren like voice.

Laurent sighed and started to give me my first lesson as a vampire.

"You must understand Bella that the reason I was retrieving from you was because newborns such as yourself have a difficult time contemplating their emotions. They can race from happy one second to completely mad the next. In addition, newborns are extremely strong for their first year for which the human blood would be responsible for. They could tear a fully mature vampire apart with relativ ease. You however, seem very collected and steady. Maybe it was because your knowledge of vampires beforehand and your understanding and description of the thirst."

The moment Laurent had led the world "thirst" roll over his lips was when I first noticed the very thing I would have to be a slave to for the rest of my existence. My throat felt terrible as if I hadn't had a drink in months. I felt like I had been somewhere out in the Sahara for days underneath the blazing sun and was completely dehydrated. I lifted my hand and encircled my throat as the discomfort grew. Laurent noticed this.

"Bella you will need to hunt dear and I will help you stay out of the path of humans. Please believe me when I say that as soon as we get to Alaska we will contact the Cullen's and at which point you will be able to return to your family, and Edward."

The thirst faded at the sound of his words as the anger overtook me. The pleasant smile he held while giving me this revelation faded into confusion and fear. Then I had to tell him what I couldn't before because he would not allow it.

"You stupid, dimwitted moron" I yelled at him. His eyes grew so wide that if I knew they weren't attached to his body they would have popped out.

"What's the matter Bella, and please try to remember to stay calm." Now he was starting to move towards a defensive stance in front of me.

"If you would have led me explain over HALF a month ago when I found you I could have told you that they left me behind. He told me himself that he was sick of pretending, that he was sick of the act, that he didn't want me to come with him, he didn't want me anymore Laurent. EDWARD DIDN'T WANT ME ANYMORE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The bellowing of my singing voice tore through the walls of the house and I could no longer hold myself together and collapsed to the ground. Dry tearless sobs started to emit from my body for the first time. I covered myself with my hands as all the painful blurry human memories of his departure suddenly consumed my mind. At that exact moment of my and Laurent's small debacle the door to the house opened and the whiff of sweet Jasmine hit me.

"What indeed have you done?" said someone with a baby like soprano voice.

Laurent's gaze fell upon our visitor and his eyes narrowed in anger and disgust. As I somewhat finally started too reassemble myself and managed to turn my body towards the entrance I immediately recognized our guest.

The shock and pure fear on my face was evident. Long flowing red hair, an evil smirk mixed with much distaste and annoyance in her red ruby eyes was now facing me and my new father. The avenger had arrived to please her misery with the violent and brutal actions that would result in my miserable death.

"Victoria!"