Bella sat in Edward's silver Volvo as he drove her to his house. She was thankful that, because of her fainting spell, she was able to skip gym. Edward too was able to miss his next class, so they both left school unnoticed. As they sat in the car, Edward played around with his expensive stereo, until he finally got to a song he liked. Bella sat staring out the window until she realized that she recognized the song.
"Clair du Lune?" Bella questioned?
"Oh, yeah. You like it?"
"Yes, it is one of my favorites." Bella smiled.
"Mine too." Edward smiled with her. He wanted to reach out and hold Bella's hand. It was just lying there, tempting him. But he knew what would happen when he touched her again.
He pulled the car up a hidden driveway and a house came into view. It was a big, white house on a light, open meadow. Bella gasped at the sight of the beautiful house and whispered, "It's wonderful, Edward! Do you really live here?"
Edward chuckled and replied, "No, Bella. I just took you to a random house to impress you. Esme, my mother, designed this house herself. She will be delighted by your reaction. She rarely gets to show off her work to people besides some of Carlisle's, my father, clients."
Edward smiled again and rushed to open Bella's door. She blushed and carefully stepped out of the car, making sure not to trip in front of Edward again. They walked to the door in silence and into the house.
The exterior was nothing like the interior of the house. Light flowed into the house, even on a rainy day like today. The white walls made the house seem even bigger, if possible. Bella gasped again when she saw a grand piano in the living room. She rushed over to it and sat down.
"You play?" Edward questioned.
"I used to." She admitted. "But I eventually complained to my mother long enough to get out of it, like any child would do." While she talked, Edward sat down cautiously and started playing a song slowly. "You play piano beautifully, Edward." She breathed.
Edward smiled and picked up the speed. The notes hung in the air and danced around them before they were replaced by another beautiful chord. His hands moved quickly and smoothly, as if he had played piano expertly for years. "This is Esme's favorite." He added once the song finished.
"It was beautiful. I did not know that anyone could play so elegantly. Speaking of your mother, where is she?" Bella added.
Edward straightened up a bit and stood up quickly, as if he had forgotten the reason he brought her here. "Right. Well, actually we need to see Carlisle first. I still owe you that explanation and he could help us figure out what is going on. I do not wish for you to keep fainting every time we touch."
Bella blushed. "Do you plan on touching me often, Edward?" She teased.
Edward smiled embarrassed and walked up the stairs, deliberately avoiding her question. He knocked on the door once they reached the top and a voice called from inside, "Come in!"
Edward opened the door for Bella and she walked in to Carlisle's office. She saw a blonde-haired man sitting at a desk. She assumed this was Dr. Cullen, but he seemed so young and beautiful to be in his early thirties. "Ah, Bella, it is so nice to finally meet you again!"
Bella smiled warily back and shook the doctor's hand. "'Finally meet me again'?" Bella questioned. "I don't think I have met you before Dr. Cullen."
"Please, call me Carlisle. Yes, you do not remember meeting me I presume. You just look so much like-ˮ
"Carlisle!" Edward growled roughly. "Perhaps we should explain the situation instead of confusing her more."
Carlisle looked shocked at his son's harshness, but carried on anyway. "Right. Well, why don't the three of us sit down?" The Cullen's sat next to each other and left Bella in a one-seat chair.
"Bella, you have put us in a very delicate situation. In case you haven't noticed, us Cullen's are, well, very different from most families here. We have a secret that we must trust with you. You must never speak of this with anyone. No one outside our family knows about this secret, and I intended to keep it that way, until you came, Bella. Are we able to trust you?"
Bella nodded seriously and said, "With my life, Dr. Cul...I mean…Carlisle."
Carlisle smiled slightly and replied in a deep voice, "Interesting choice of words." He sighed heavily and continued with his story. "Bella, I was born before time was ever recorded. Historians now know that I was born around the Mesopotamian era. My father was the leader of the small city. He was an inexperienced male and ruled the city through fear. He told them about monsters of the night, coming to kill their young and suck away all of their life from their bodies. He told them to go hunt this kind, and they did.
"Being his son, I was expected to find the most monsters and save the city, for I was to rule the city too one day. However, I was by far smarter than those half-brained humans and I did find this monster. A vampire. In my attempt to kill him, he bit me, turning me into one of them. I was disgusted by myself and tried to kill myself repeatedly. I soon discovered, there were not many things a vampire could die from.
"So I lived by myself, feeding from humans when I desperately needed to. One time, I starved myself so far that a pack of deer were running by miles away and I attacked them and drank deeply from them. It was then I discovered that I could survive off animals instead of humans.
"Hundreds of years pass by while I try to discover others like me. I move from empire to empire until I come to Egypt during Ptolemy's dynasty. I grew attached to a woman there, whose husband died from a disease. Her and her children soon fell ill from the same disease. The woman told me to save them, with all of my power. She died shortly after making this request and I saw her children were to die soon after. I bit them, turning them into vampires as well. Their names were changed later to Edward and Alice.
So, the three of us lived happily for 100 years until Alice met a boy named Jasper and turned him into a vampire. I met Esme fifty years after and turned her as well. The five of us lived happily, until I grew worried about Edward. I wanted him to have someone to love, just like Alice and I did.
"During 101 B.C., Cleopatra III was Queen of Egypt. However, due to many mistakes the royal family made, Alexander, her son, tried to kill her. She was a beautiful woman and lay dying. I saved her by turning her into a vampire, hoping she might fall in love with Edward. The two of them became friends, and nothing else. Cleopatra III later changed her name to Rosalie.
"I became even more concerned about Edward when Rosalie found a mate, Emmet. He seemed like the odd one out. That was, until he met Isabella Marie. They fell in love during the last reign of the Ptolemy's. Edward changed her into a vampire and our clan was complete at last.
"That was until, Isabella was murdered, by a vampire hunter. Edward was devastated. He was so upset that his soul mate died, he sought out someone who could erase her from his memory completely. Isabella Marie would never have existed to him.
"And then, a week ago, Edward met a young, beautiful woman on Martha's Vineyard, where he went to go get away from all the couples at home. He never felt, or remembered, feeling drawn to someone like this before. When he touched her, however, one of the memories that he erased came flooding back to him."
Carlisle stopped talking as he brought his story to a conclusion. Edward and he stared at Bella, waiting for her reaction. She knew they were vampires, they were more than two thousand years old, and they knew her when she lived in Egypt during 50 B.C. So why wasn't she screaming or running away from them?
Edward interrupted the silence and said irritated, "Bella, will you please tell me what you are thinking? It is killing me!"
Bella smiled weakly and said softly, "I always knew I was a freak. But a reincarnation of a vampire sort of sounds a tad farfetched. How can I really know that you are vampires?" Bella asked.
Edward grinned wildly and suddenly vanished from thin air. He appeared back in seconds, holding Bella's rain jacket she stupidly left at her house. Bella gasped as Edward whispered, "That's not all we can do."
Edward vanished again and came back holding a steel bar. He easily bent it like a toothpick and broke it just as easily. He grinned again and said, "There is even more we can do, but I think I have proved my point."
Bella smiled again, this time with more enthusiasm. Her smile faded slowly, however, when she asked, "Edward, where does this put me? This is a very delicate situation, I know. What are we going to do to make the memories stop from flooding back every time we touch?"
Edward grew serious and sat down. "This is where Carlisle comes in." Edward turned to him and asked, "Why are these memories coming back to us? What can we do to stop them?"
Carlisle looked to Bella, and back to Edward. He whispered, "In all my existence, I have never seen such a phenomenon before. I would like to figure out what is going on and help you two. But first, I need to know if you are alright, Bella. You have taken in a lot of information that more people would never even consider, all in less than two hours. Are you alright, or would you like to go home right now and never discuss this again?"
Edward grew tense and his hands curled up into tight fists. His eyes grew hard as he waited for Bella's answer. He did not want to forget about Bella. He knew, deep down, that he could spend his existence with her. She was the one, and he knew.
Bella turned and glanced at Edward's position. She did not want to stop talking to Edward. She didn't care if he was a vampire or a werewolf. She could fall in love easily with him, and she knew he was the one. "Carlisle, your family is very unique and different. I understand what position I have put you in. I would really like to get to know each and every member of your family. I will not run away or scream or tell anyone you're secret. I told you that you can trust me. And trust me when I say this, I am not going anywhere unless you want me to."
"Never." Edward whispered, staring into Bella's eyes.
"Well then, Bella, I would just like to make a few observations. Edward has told me that you faint after he touches you, but no need to fear since there is a doctor in the house. I just need you and Edward to touch so I can understand the connection between you two." Carlisle smiled.
Bella stood up and stepped closer to Edward. He smiled and whispered just for her, "Bella, I won't let anything hurt you. You can trust me. I need you to understand that."
"I do understand, Edward." Bella blushed and smiled and brought her hand up. Edward touched her fingertips softly with his.
Electricity burst into their hands and throughout their bodies. Warmth spread throughout them and a shocking connection flowed through them. Bella looked up at Edward and smiled. Edward met her gaze and wrapped his hand around Bella's. "I am never letting go," He whispered to her as their vision grew black.
And the most appalling memory crashed over them.