This is LOOOOONG, but meh.
No, Royce's death isn't detailed; I'll probably write something uber gory for him and stick it on the end as an Outtake. :P
REVIEWW. D;
--
"The pain finally ended and they explained to me again what I was. This time I believed. I felt the thirst, my hard skin; I saw my brilliant red eyes."
"We fully understand if you don't want to accept our way of life, dear.." Esme began softly. They were giving me a choice. Animals, or humans.
"So, if I eat animals, do my eyes go gold?" I asked, staring at my reflection - topaz would match my flowing blonde hair far better.
Eventually, I had fully comphrended what this meant. I wasn't human; I was an entirely different species. I couldn't have children, or grow old with someone I loved, like Vera. I knew that deep down, I had always wanted what she had. Someone who loved me for who I was; adorable children that would squeal when I picked them up. Was that too much?
I turned slightly to Bella, smiling. "You know, my record is almost as clean as Carlisle's. Better than Esme. A thousand times better than Edward. I've never tasted human blood," I said proudly. Her thin nose wrinkled as her warm eyes filled with confusion. "I did murder five humans," I tried to keep my tone as calm as possible, as not to scare her. "If you can really call them human. But I was very careful not to spill their blood - I knew I wouldn't be able to resist that, and I didn't want any part of them in me, you see."
I had saved Royce for last. I had already murdered John, and the other men - their faces had been imprinted in my mind, it wasn't that hard to find them.
"I hoped that he would hear of his friend's deaths and understand, know what was coming for him. I hoped the fear would make the end worse for him. I think it worked. He was hiding inside a windowless room behind a door as thick as a bank vault's, guarded outside by armed men, when I caught up with him. Oops - seven murders. I forgot about his guards. They only took a second."
My white dress swirled around me in the night wind, as I stood outside the door to the King's estate. The other Kings would be asleep, and I had traced his scent from the street - all five of them had been doing their business around the place while they took turns. My perfect teeth gritted at the memory. My eyes were bloodred, still - Carlisle had told me they wouldn't fade for the first year, due to the large amount of human blood still in my tissue. I narrowed my eyes, setting my jaw. The others had almost screamed themselves to death at my expression, and I wanted to make it even worse for Royce.
I took the door apart, not neglecting to smash a vase which rested on a table in the front room and pick a delicate shard. His disgusting odour was all through the room, slowly fading away at the entry. I needed to find it when it was at its freshest, that's where he would be. I heard whispers, and realised he must have assigned some guards to protect him. This would be irritating. I turned the corner, swiftly leaping forward and snapping their necks with two loud 'cracks'. I hoped they hadn't felt anything - chances were they didn't know what they were protecting. Leaning forward, I knocked on the steel door. Royce's father had kept his gold here, and Royce explained that he would hide in here in case of earthquake.
"Oh, Rooyce." I said musically, pressing my hand onto the steel. It practically turned to putty in my hands as I pushed it away with ease. I saw him easily - he was crouched in the corner, pale and shivering with fear. He looked up at me, his fair hair thinning from stress, and deep circles under his pale blue eyes. "Have you learnt patience yet?" I pressed the shard to my arm, dragging downwards so he could see the cut. No blood flowed from the gash. His mouth fell open, and I reached for him, a high pitched scream waking the entire house in an instant.
I glanced down at Bella, suddenly ashamed of myself. "I'm sorry," I said. "I'm frightening you, aren't I?"
"I'm fine," she said quickly, and I smiled slightly. Edward was right; she was a horrible liar.
"I got carried away."
"Don't worry about it."
"I'm surprised Edward didn't tell you more about it."
"He doesn't like to tell other people's stories - he feels like he's betraying confidences, because he hears so much more than just the parts they mean for him to hear."
I smiled again, fully this time, and shook my head. "I probably ought to give him more credit. He's really quite decent, isn't he?"
"I think so."
"I can tell." I sighed. Of course she thought he was decent - he probably acted like a saint around her. She had cheered him considerably, though. Bella brought out a better side to him, a more boyish Edward. He deserved it. Better than the bastard being overly serious all the time. My mouth twitched at the sides, glad he wasn't hear to read my mind. "I haven't been fair to you, either, Bella. Did he tell you why? Or was that too confidential?"
"He said it was because I was human. He said it was harder for you to have someone on the outside who knew."
I laughed warmly at the word 'outside', cutting her off slightly. "Now I really feel guilty. He's been much, much kinder to me than I deserve." I smiled at her. "What a liar that boy is."
"He was lying?"
"Well, that's probably putting it too strongly," I admitted. "He just didn't tell you the whole story. What he told you was true, even truer now than it was before. However, at the time.." I laughed nervously. "It's embarrassing. You see, at first, I was mostly jealous because he wanted you and not me."
I watched her deep browns trace over me in shock, and wondered what she was thinking. Comparing herself to me, most likely.
"But you love Emmett.." she mumbled. Amused, I shook my head.
"I don't want Edward that way, Bella. I never did - I love him as a brother, but he's irritated me from the first moment I heard him speak. You have to understand, though.. I was so used to people wanting me. And Edward wasn't the least bit interested. It frustrated me, even offended me in the beginning. But he never wanted anyone, so it didn't bother me long. Even when we first met Tanya's clan in Denali — all those females! — Edward never showed the slightest preference. And then he met you." I stared at her, confused. We were both so different. Her reddish-brown, wispy hair fell over her shoulders eagerly, a light train of freckles going from the bridge of her thin nose to her pale cheeks, and her lips set in a hard, pink line.
Not that you aren't pretty, Bella." I said quickly, not wanting to offend her. "But it just meant that he found you more attractive than me. I'm vain enough that I minded."
"But you said 'at first'. That doesn't still.. bother you, does it? I mean, we both know you're the most beautiful person on the planet."
I laughed with her. She was right, admittedly. But I didn't deserve my beauty. I had been shallow and silly in my last life, only a vampire because I had trusted someone I barely knew far too quickly.
"Thanks, Bella. And no, it doesn't really bother me anymore." My lips automatically puckered. "Edward has always been a little strange."
"But you still don't like me." The pucker turned into a guilty frown.
"I'm sorry about that."
It was hard not to like her. She was a very cute, approachable girl, who I was sure had good morals and a sharp mind. But she was just throwing her life away, which made me wonder.
"Would you tell me why? Did I do something..?" My mouth moved before I commanded it.
"No, you haven't done anything. Not yet." She stared at me, confused.
"Don't you see, Bella?" Vera's face stared at me beside her. "You already have everything. You have a whole life ahead of you - everything I want. And you're going to just throw it away. Can't you see that I'd trade everything I have to be you? You have the choice that I didn't have, and you're choosing wrong!" Either my words or my frustrated face scared her, as Vera flinched back. She snapped her mouth shut, and I remembered who I was really talking to.
"And I was so sure that I could do this calmly," I shook my head, wondering if I was doing more damage than good. "It's just that it's harder now than it was then, when it was no more than vanity."
I stared up at the moon, thinking of Edward and what his influence had done to Bella. The both of them are endlessly in love with each other, I thought. She wants to be with him forever. He wants to stay with her as long as she lives. Are they the same thing..? My fingers twisted together.
"Would you like me better if I chose to stay human?" I turned back to her, my lips twitching. I would have higher respect for her, I knew that much.
"Maybe."
"You did get some of your happy ending, though," she piped. "You got Emmett."
"I got half." I grinned at her. "You know that I saved Emmett from a bear that was mauling him, and carried him home to Carlisle. But can you guess why I stopped the bear from eating him?"
She shook her head.
"With the dark curls.. the dimples that showed even while he was grimacing in pain.. the strange innocence that seemed so out of place on a grown man's face.. he reminded me of Vera's little Henry."
I didn't want him to die. So instead, I scooped him up, racing around a hundred miles to get him to Carlisle. His blood had stained my hands slightly, but it was easier to resist after my years of feeding on animals. Emmett was everything I needed, in the end. Cheery, encouraging - into cars.. I still missed the image of my gray-haired self, sitting next to him, surrounded by eager children.
"That sounds quite bizarre to you, doesn't it? In some ways, you are much more mature than I was at eighteen. But in other ways.. there are many things you've probably never thought about seriously. You're too young to know what you'll want in ten years, fifteen years - and too young to give it all up without thinking it through. You don't want to be rash about permanent things, Bella." I reached over nervously and patted her head. She simply sighed under my touch. I told her to think about it a little, and she thanked me.
"I apologize for being such a monster." I grinned again. "I'll try to behave myself from now on." She smiled back.
"I'll let you sleep now. I know you're frustrated that he's keeping you locked up like this, but don't give him too bad a time when he gets back. He loves you more than you know. It terrifies him to be away from you." I flitted to the door. "Goodnight, Bella." I whispered, shutting the door very gently behind me.
"Goodnight, Rosalie," she murmured, just as I stepped out into the hall.
"You did the right thing," Alice whispered, her voice too quick for human ears. "She needed to know."
"Did I?" I replied, knowing the last part was right either way.
"Edward protects her from too much."
"Overprotective fool." I muttered, and something told me Alice had stored those words away for later.
But it didn't matter that he was overprotective. They were in love. I couldn't fight that - if someone tried to take Emmett away from me, I know I would fight stubbornly. I bit my lip, worried.
"Have a nice night, Rosalie," Jasper said encouragingly, and a wave of calm swept through me.
"Cheater."
--
A/N: I'm pretty sure that you don't bleed as a newborn, not sure. ;\ I know she would bleed if she had fed recently.. oh well. whatever. XD
Yes, that's it. I just wanted to finish it xD I still have Outtakes/Extras left, so it's not Complete ;) REVIEWW.