Chapter 7: Locket
I didn't answer immediately; I couldn't. I didn't want to turn their worlds even more upside down than I already had. But I couldn't; they needed to know, at least this part, at least for a little while. I sighed and raised my eyes to them, seeing their anxious expressions, before looking out the window into nothingness. I resituated myself, sitting crosslegged, before them as I spoke.
"The descendant is a vampire, one whose human life was taken from them abruptly, at the fault of the vampire world which she didn't consciously know existed," I murmured. My eyes met theirs, flickering from slowly from one to the other. Edward, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, Esme, Rosalie, Alice. When my eyes landed on Alice, they stayed there for a moment and I felt her begin to panic. I smiled slightly before moving my eyes back, my eyes connecting to hers.
Rosalie stared at me incredulously. I didn't break our gazes as I watched her take it in.
"No way, no way in hell," she said, in denial.
"How would you know? You don't remember much about your human life," I replied.
"Bull. I remember everything," she retorted.
"Only the things you wanted to or were able to remember," I countered. She was about to respond when I cut her off.
"You really think Royce and his friends raped you for no reason other than desire?" I asked. She opened her mouth to give an enraged remark but closed it as her mind processed what I asked, reading between the lines.
"What do you mean?" She asked, her eyes still angry but also wary. I smiled without amusement.
"You were never meant to survive that night, Rosalie. The rape was a marginal benefit for the men who attacked you, additional pleasure alongside what they were being to paid to rob you of your life." I told her and, even though she wore an impassive mask on the outside, I felt her quake internally. But she fought it back and returned to the conversation with more ardency
"I have no reason to believe your nonsense. You weren't even alive," she snapped, arms across her chest, defensive against what she feared.
"I wasn't alive for World War II, either. But I know it happened," I countered.
"That's because there's evidence, documents, people who lived through it. Including all the people in this room," Rosalie's reply was haughty.
"Exactly," I agreed. She paused, her eyes roaming mine, trying to find something to object to. My response had thrown her off though, and she thought before answering.
"So what you're saying is that there is evidence to these fairytales you're talking about," she said, still on the defensive. I looked at her for a second before sighing. I reached down, picking up my school bag that lay on the floor besides the bed. It had been put there earlier today when I was brought here after I passed out, and now I searched for the item I had put inside it this morning before leaving, a gut feeling that now proved legitimate. I opened it, putting one arm in all the way to the bottom, searching until my fingers brushed against soft velvet. I pulled it out and held it in my hands. The box was rectangular, about the size of my palm. I exhaled heavily, before holding it out to Rosalie. She arched one eyebrow, unsure, as she took it from me. I looked away from her as I spoke, at the box itself.
"I've had this for a little while. I was told to give it to you when the time was right. I guess now is as good a time as any," I said. She pulled up on the lid and the hinge opened, revealing what was inside. She gasped, as I expected she would.
The necklace was gold, an antique, a simple circular shape. The front showed an embellished pink rose, with two sets of pale green leaves sticking out its sides. Rosalie stared at it, but I could tell her mind was far away. She could feel it, and she knew I knew it. She could feel the void that had never been noticeable before, small, almost insignificant gaps in her human memory.
"This…" she began, "how did you get this?" I smiled, not answering. I shrugged after a moment.
"It's your choice on whether to believe me, Rosalie. But that should be enough to at least have you reconsider. The person who gave it to you meant a lot to you."
Rosalie looked up, and I saw a hint of tearful eyes in her expression.
"Who?" she implored, but I felt a wave of exhaustion flood me. The conversation, tense and emotional as it was, had tired me out. I leaned back into the headboard, my eyes slipping shut.
"Think about it, Rosalie. Your human life was never normal. That is because of your heritage, where your family came from. You're the last person of your human family. You and all your ancestors were protected from the vampire world, for generations upon generations. And there's only one reason for that."
"Because the Sanralae…" she murmured, her lips barely moving, her mind fuzzy with shock and disbelief.
"Yes. You are the last living descendant, the only descendant, of the female Sanralae's human family." I stated and, though she was staring at me with a new level of understanding, I knew there was still a part of her that did not, would not, believe me. I couldn't do anything about that now; I was too weak. I slumped in my position, my vision blurring. Small rustling outside brought my vision forward for a moment and I looked out the window to the balcony where a black eagle sat perched on the railing. I sighed, slightly annoyed, as the eagle's eyes and mine met for a moment. My eyes finally fell shut from exhaustion as the bird's wings unfolded and he launched himself into the black sky.
Hey everyone! Sorry this is short but I was busy today and didn't get to finish as big a chapter as I wanted but I didn't want to leave you hanging long. I also had trouble with how I wanted this to go. But I have parts of the next chapter done so it should be up soon, perhaps tomorrow.
BTW, sorry for not outlining this in advance:
Vercrian — pronounced "Ver (as in 'very')-kri-in"
Sanralae — pronounce "San (as in 'San Diego')-rail (as in 'railroad')-a (as in 'aye')
Sorry for it being so late.
Also, there's a picture of the front of the necklace on my profile (except it's in the shape of a heart rather than a circle, as in the story) and there's a picture of the eagle.
Anyway, Love you guys! Please review!
~Melinda :)
