A/N: Sorry its so late you guys ! Here's a long chappie to keep you happy ! LOOL THAT RHYMED !
R&R and Enjoy !
Chapter 6: Gold Coins
I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world!Life in plastic, it's fantastic!You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere!Imagination, life is your creation!Come on Barbie, let's go party!
"What the hell? Ughhh, Emmett!" Edward muttered angrily; mentally attacking Emmett because he knew that he hated that song and all things Barbie. He hit the 'off' button on his alarm. Bright light tried to penetrate his eyes as they fluttered open. I don't remember leaving the blinds open, he thought groggily; his mind still plagued with sleep. He woke to find his feet hanging off the edge of his bed, his pillows on the floor and his duvet bunched up under his head. "Ugh." He groaned as his eyes tried to adjust to the almost blinding light.
"Rise and shine, Edsterr! We've got school in like half an hour!" He could hear the huge bellow of his brother so loud and clear, he could've been sitting in his ear if it were at all possible. Edward reluctantly got out of bed and headed into his ensuite bathroom to get freshened up before school. After he'd had a shower, brushed his teeth and got dressed, he ran his fingers through his untamable hair and let it air dry. Looking down at his watch he saw that it was 8.30am already.
"Shit, I was supposed to leave 15 minutes ago!" He exclaimed to himself. Edward grabbed his backpack off the floor then sped into the living room where he'd heard Emmett's huge guffaw followed by a high-pitched giggle that belonged to someone he'd never forget. He looked around the room to find Rosalie; a regal-looking girl with flawless blond hair and red-painted lips which were turned up in a smirk as she clutched onto his brother.
Before he had a chance to say hello, a small and bouncy girl wearing stone-washed jeans and a white graphic tee bounded over to him and jumped into his arms.
"Hey Alice!" Edward said, grinning widely.
He was about to ruffle her hair like he used to do as a child when she grabbed his wrist and said, "Nah-ah, Eddie, I spent 2 hours making it look perfect for my first day of school, so you'd better not mess it up!" She glared at him, looking as deadly as a pixie that'd had their fairy dust stolen or something. He tried his best not to laugh at her evil expression and she noticed what he was doing so she let go and stormed off. He followed her with his eyes and noticed that she was now cuddled up with a guy with relatively long blond hair. Jasper Whitlock. He looked up at Edward and greeted him with a smile, one that Edward returned.
"Wait, what? First day of school?" Edward asked.
"I took orders and did what you asked, but then they decided they wanted to come and help, so, here they are." Emmett started making goo-goo eyes at Rosalie, so Edward rolled his own and said, "Come on then guys, you're gonna be late for your first day."
Rosalie stood up, straightened her short denim skirt then said, "Alright guys, first one to the garage gets to drive my baby," She twirled the keys to her Bugatti around her perfectly manicured index finger. Everyone smiled at the challenge, and within 2 seconds, they were all out of the door. They all ran down the staircases with lightening speed – one of the perks of their racial background – with Rosalie and Jasper in the lead, and Edward, Emmett and Alice right behind them. Edward smiled to himself devilishly as he used aire to blow his friends out of the way and put himself in lead.
The next thing he knew he was sitting in the expertly sculpted seats of the Bugatti Veyron. He rolled down the window to find Rosalie, Alice and Emmett all giving him evil eyes.
"Edward Anthony Cullen! You're a cheater!" Alice screeched. "We all know you used your powers and it wasn't fair!" She moaned.
"What?" Edward laughed, "No one said it was a no-powers-allowed game."
"If you so much as get a scratch on my car I'll…" He revved the engine to cut Rosalie off and smiled smugly before taking off without another word.
Driving down the highway Edward turned on the radio and switched stations until he stopped on one of his favourites; Muse's Uprising. He joined in with the chorus; which was, in his opinion, the best part. "They will not force us, they will stop degrading us. They will not control us, we will be victorious!" His powerful voice caught as much attention from the people he drove past as Rosalie's car did. And every time someone looked at him weirdly he just smiled coolly then drove faster.
Eventually, he got to school and parked the car in the only space he could find then ran into the building. Hoping to be let off for being late, he grinned at the receptionist, knowing it was what made women melt.
Edward waltzed into his homeroom and gave Bella a half-smile before taking a seat next to a guy with dull brown hair and an ACDC t-shirt. "Hey," he said, trying to be friendly. The guy looked shocked, scared and thrilled all at once. Woah, his brain must hurt. Edward chuckled at the thought. Just as the guy was about to say something, the blonde he'd seen the day before perched on his desk.
"Hey, Edward," She slurred forcefully; trying and failing to sound seductive, "Why are you speaking to Newton, when you can talk to me," She then lowered her mouth to his ear while pushing her boobs in his face, "And I can do a LOT more with these lips then just talk." She then pulled away from him and bit her lip as she returned to her seat at the back of the class.
That innuendo was so damn obvious to Edward that he tried to hold in his laughter, but once he saw Emmett at the door trying to do the same, they both doubled over and just broke down. Even Ms Hall was cracking up! He looked over at Emmett and saw that he was laughing so much tears were running down his cheeks. After Emmett could manage to stand up straight, he walked over to Edward and clapped him on the back, "Damn, Eddie! Why don't you go and talk to her? She certainly wants to talk to you!"
Edward turned to look at Isabella and found that she'd been laughing also. She raised one eyebrow at him then winked.
As the bell signaling 3rd period sounded, Edward headed over to his next lesson; Biology with Mr Banner. When he entered the room, his attention was immediately grabbed by a brown haired beauty, sitting in the seat next to his. It was as if she'd read his mind because Bella looked up and saw him just as he saw her. She's so beautiful, Edward thought to himself, but I can't think of her that way, she's just someone I have to protect. With those thoughts running through his mind and the smile now wiped off his face, he went to his seat beside Bella.
"Settle down, kids! Or I'll make you eat raw onions instead of inspecting the skin of one!" Sir said jokingly. Most of the class laughed at that before he spoke again, "Good. Now, in today's lesson, we will be using microscopes to …"
Edward tried to focus on what Mr Banner was saying but it was impossible because of Bella. He could feel her looking at him whilst he looked straight at the teacher's board and he lasted at least 10 minutes without looking at her but after that he couldn't bear not to hold her gaze.
"Bella?" He whispered.
She turned her head to look at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she said, "Hmm?"
"Do you wanna say something? Cause you've been staring at me for quite a while now." Edward said.
Bella's cheeks flushed a rosy pink; embarrassed that she'd been caught out. "Well, yeah, I do." Edward smirked at her answer, happy that she wanted to speak to him after what happened between them the day before.
"Go on." He encouraged, whilst placing a strip of onion skin under the microscope.
"You never finished telling me about the war. So I want you to finish telling me now." Bella demanded in a hushed voice.
"Oh." Edward said; a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Well, where did I stop?" He asked, just wanting to see her full lips move.
"Something about how it was the worst war in Almorean history." Bella replied, eager to find out more.
"Okay, so, there are people called Sytrix, who live in a corner of Almorea that no one dares to go. I know you're gonna ask who they are so I'll tell you anyway." Edward added with a smile. "With good comes evil. You know, ying and yang and all that. So, in that sense, as every Almorean is blessed with power and light, we also all have darkness in us. And when we become Marked, we either lean towards the good side or the bad one. The majority of people stay good because they're brought up that way but there are a few from each generation who become Sytric."
He paused to adjust the slide then said, "And what's so bad about them, Edward?" Edward spoke, mimicking Bella, "Well, instead of harnessing their powers and using them to live happily, they pray on Almoreans and humans; draining their energy to build up their own, so much so that it becomes an addiction for them. Although humans don't have powers, their souls live on a small amount of energy in their bodies and so, Sytrix who are too afraid to take on Almoreans cross into this realm and prey on humans. And that's what we're here for; we protect humans from them." When he'd finished he looked up at Bella to see a look of confusion on her face.
She was quiet for a while then blurted loudly, "But what has that got to do with the war?"
Her question caused a few students around their table to look at them, but it also caught the attention of Mr Banner.
"Do the experiment quietly Swan." He warned. Bella nodded and gave him a small smile before turning back to Edward.
"Answer me then." She whispered, pulling the microscope to herself.
"Well, about 20 years ago, an Almorean who was blessed with an extra power of foresight prophecised that there would be someone who would be born with the powers of every caste. When news of this prophecy spread, every nation in all the realms surrounding ours and all those within our own prepared their armies to fight for this child when they were found." Edward covered his hand over Bella's on the microscope. With hers still in his hand, he pulled it over to himself and looked inside the lens to make it look like they were working.
"And then?" Bella whispered impatiently.
"And then, when everyone found out who it was, all hell broke loose." Edward pursed his lips together just as the lunch bell rang. Not wanting to say anything else right now, he got up, grabbed his bag and mumbled, "See you later," leaving Bella with a concerned look on her face.
The rest of the school day passed in a blur as Edwards mind was filled with memories from his past. When classes ended, he was walking over to where he parked his car with his eyes to the ground when he bumped into something. "Oh, I'm sorry…" There, with her arms crossed over her chest was Isabella with a sour look on her face.
"Dude!" She exclaimed, "You never finished your story about the war and you've been avoiding me since!"
"Have I?" Edward asked sarcastically.
Bella scoffed then glared at him. She looks so cute when she's angry. Edward thought as he kept his eyes on her flushed cheeks and pouting lips.
Laughing, he said, "Alright, Isabella, I'll give you what you want. Your place or mine?" Bella caught on to the innuendo and so much blood rushed to her cheeks that he was worried her heart wouldn't have enough of it to work.
She shook it off, reached up to his ear with her mouth and whispered, "Yours," in a voice that was so sultry and husky that a flash of passion passed through him as she walked over to his car; hips swaying and hair billowing in the wind.
After a few seconds of staring at her, Edward jogged over to his silver Volvo that Alice and Jasper had driven here this morning. He pressed the unlock button on his keys then opened the passenger door for Bella. She mumbled a "thanks" just as he closed the door. Smiling, he went to the driver's side and got in quickly, relishing the feeling of having his beloved Volvo back again. Regardless of the fact that Rose's Bugatti was the fastest thing he'd ever driven, it had nothing on the class and sheer beauty of his Volvo. He sighed in contentment then turned to find Bella with a smile on her face. Edward coughed in embarrassment; he'd forgotten Bella was sitting beside him.
She giggled then said, "Do you want me to leave you two alone or something?"
"Haha, Bella, very funny." He said as he put the key in ignition and drove off.
The ride home was filled with awkward conversations and both of them stealing glances at each other. 10 minutes later, they arrived at Edward's building. He led her to his apartment and when they got in they were greeted with a cushion that was flying in their direction. Edward caught it with expert flair and flung it back at Emmett who was obviously the one who'd thrown it. All conversations stopped when Bella walked through the door. Jasper shielded Alice with his body and took on his warrior stance whilst Rosalie glared and Emmett looked wary. I guess they felt her navitas, then.
"Guys, it's alright. She's one of us." Edward reassured them.
They all looked at each other in confusion and became a little calmer but were still on edge. Bella smiled at them shyly and said, "Hi," in a quiet voice. That seemed to make Emmett feel better about having her here because he grinned widely at her.
"Everyone, this is Isabella Swan," they all sucked in a breath and Edward glared at them so they never commented on who she was, "Isabella, this is Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen, Jasper Whitlock and.." Edward's brows furrowed, "Where's Alice?" They all turned to look at Jasper and Edward moved closer to him.
There, curled up next to the fridge looking as cute as a kitten, was Alice. But something was off. He noticed that her head was burrowed into her knees and her hands were at her temples. The room became completely silent.
"Why is she so quiet?" Emmett whispered stupidly.
Quiet? It wasn't quiet to Edward. He could hear her whimpering and as they all came closer, the whimpering turned into screaming; blood-curling screaming. Edward's face was panic stricken. He sat next to her and held her small form to him.
No one else seemed to be fazed by Alice's screams, they all just looked concerned, and that's when Edward realized he was hearing her thoughts. She was screaming on the inside and it wasn't coming out.
But why?
Edward hugged her tightly. She was practically his sister and it was paining him to hear her hurting this way. He looked up at Jasper and saw the hurt in his eyes too; he loved her so much that to him, her pain was his pain.
Maybe the problem is one of us.Edward thought. He looked around at everyone until his eyes landed on Bella. He could see that she was also concerned for Alice; someone she didn't even know. But maybe she was what was causing this. Yes, he mentally said to himself, it must be Bella. That's it!
Alice's power is to see, feel and locate navitas; whether it's good or bad. And Bella'snavitas is the most potentEdward had ever come across, so obviously Alice would be affected by it! Her mind is probably going through hell right now!
"Alright, everyone back up!" Edward barked. They all complied quickly; Bella moving all the way to the door.
Alice's screams eased down and were now just small cries. He stroked her hair as she rocked back and forth; whispering things to her in her mind to her to ease her pain.
Finally she managed to speak, "I'm okay now." It came out as more of a squeak, but Edward understood what she meant.
She doesn't know who she is, or how powerful she is. He explained through their mental link.
She tried to smile at him then looked up at Jasper, wanting some comfort. Edward took this as his cue to move and he went to join Bella by the door.
"What happened?" Bella asked softly.
"She's, she's just going through some things." There were a few minutes of silence. "Do you mind talking outside instead of up here?" He proposed.
"No. I mean, you don't have to explain anything. I'll just go…" She mumbled, turning to open the door.
"No," He protested, putting his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and looked up at him with those gorgeous chocolate brown eyes that reminded him of the beautiful deep brown colours that autumn had brought to Almorea last year. "I want to."
She smiled a little then nodded at him. She stood back and let him open the door and lead her away from his apartment. They strolled down to the front door side by side in comfortable silence. He then took her outside and motioned for her to join him on the steps outside his building.
Edward looked at his surroundings properly and realized that it was the first time he'd done this. The building opposite him was identical to his own in terms of structure, but other than that it was completely different. The windows were boarded up and the once-red bricks around the boards were singed black; as if there had been a fire. There were empty flower beds on each window sill and green ivy that climbed up the left side of the building; remnants of something beautiful which had been destroyed. The front door was boarded up also but had been covered in its entirety with the sign of one of NY's many gangs. Even though the meaning behind it was one of danger and death, the myriad of colours and shapes made it beautiful; reminding him of the mark that was situated on his chest and those of his caste.
An elderly homeless woman who was clothed in rags was sitting outside that building with a piece of cardboard that said KEEP WALKING, YOU WONT HELP ANYWAY. Edward smiled at her bluntness then muttered an "I'll be right back," to Bella, before going across the road and heading towards the lady.
Closer up, he realized that she wasn't old at all, maybe in her late 40s. It was the grey in her hair and the stress wrinkles around her deep-set large blue eyes that made her look old. Her eyes conveyed a sense of wisdom and knowledge. A wisdom and knowledge that she had learnt over many years of struggle, Edward had guessed.
"What do you want?" She spat in a blatant NY accent.
Edward crouched down so that he was at her eye level, then put his hand behind her ear, pulling back to reveal a gold coin. The woman's eyes widened in shock. "Th-th-that aint no normal coin, is it?" She asked, stuttering as her eyes beheld the thick, perfectly rounded gold coin between his fingers.
"No. It's a 27-carat gold coin." Edward informed her smiling. "And it's yours." He added.
"Lord Almighty," She said in disbelief, "Child, this aint mine." She looked up at his eyes.
"Yes, it is. I found it behind your ear, so obviously, it's yours." He grinned.
"You cheeky little man," She teased, "But why are you being so kind?" She asked.
"I'm not being kind. I'm just being human. I believe everyone should be helpful and caring. Where're your children? Shouldn't they be caring for you?" Edward inquired softly.
"Love, my children stopped caring for me years ago. But it doesn't matter. I believe God has something better in store for me." She said, her eyes creasing as she smiled.
"Well, until God gives you that, I'll give you something good." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of shiny gold coins. "Now look, if you cash these in, you'll have enough to rent an apartment, buy food, and buy some beautiful clothes for the beautiful woman that you are." He tipped them all into her open hands then said, "I know you'll make the most of this because I can tell you're a good person. But if I come around here and see you sitting where you are right now, we're gonna have some words." He warned playfully.
She smiled up at him and said, "I won't disappoint you darling. Thank you. Thank you so much." She pulled him down and kissed his cheek with her chapped lips tenderly.
He smiled back then stood up and walked back across the road, happy that he'd helped change a life for the better. He looked over at Bella, who was sitting with a wide smile on her face. She looks even more gorgeous when she smiles, he thought as he headed her way.
But then he thought of the conversation they were going to have and grimaced.
"All hell is gonna break loose all over again." He whispered to himself before he sat down.
"What was that?" She asked.
"Nothing." He lied.
It was definitely something alright. Something so horrible, evil and painful it killed hundreds.
That statement was so true, it sounded like it was made to describe the war.
All hell broke loose back then, and Edward was about to relive that hell right now.
A/N: Hey guysss ! Sorry it was so late, I just never had time to finish writing this chapter this week ! I'll try and update this weekend but I havent been keeping to my promises lately, so just put me on story alert instead LOL !
So, anyways, I'll stop waffling on and just say I hope you enjoyed it cause I really liked this chapter.
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW ! Scroll down and click that bloody button please LOOL !
Nae xxxxx
