I remember, a long long time ago, writting at the top of a previous chapter that someone would soon...Nah! never mind, I don't want to spoil it. It was just me realizing just how not "soon" it actually is, considering all the chapters that follow the comment. hehe, stupid me .
The next chapter will take some time. Oh! How I like studying for exams! sarcasm rocks!
Enjoy! I don't own anything, blablabla.
Love ya all, my sweet readers!
XOX
The red eyed man seemed to find the situation quite hilarious. He kept chuckling and giving me occasional grotesque glances. His eyes were sharp and his features, although extremely appealing, reminded me those of a snake. His short silver hair resembled a field of thin needles. What disturbed me the most was the venomous smile he kept wearing. It whispered to me "I know something you'd beg to know". But I didn't open my mouth to interrogate him. My lips were shut and my jaw was tense, trying to bite away the clattering of my teeth. I felt more frightened than when I'd met Victoria in the forest. Ignorance was truly terrifying. If the concept of Karma existed, I must have done something absolutely horrible in my previous lives to have been condemned to this torture. Unlike Bella's adventure, mine didn't have the happy ending window. I was cursed and better off returning home where things had always gone smoothly; a boring routine, but a safe one where I could hide behind the masks of acting.
I was expecting the driver to stop the car once we'd reached the first lining of trees but instead, he pressed the gas pedal further and jumped over the ditch that separated the boarder of the forest from the highway. We went flying between two pines and I screamed in fright, my eyes wide opened, fixated on the maple that would collide with us. "Shut it, Hag!" I heard the man say, pure annoyance in his voice. I knew that without a good reason for kidnapping me, whatever the reason was, he'd gone on and killed me right then just for hurting his ears a little. But something kept him from crushing my organs with a good easy punch.
The maple was inches away and as expected, no miracle removed it from our way. I squeezed my eyes shut, hid my face under protecting arms and waited for the hard collision to come and it did. My head hit the back of the seat again, only ten times harder. A cushioning air bag came flying my way and invaded my face, making it hard to breathe. I heard the metal of the car crush against the trees and snapping sounds of wood. My legs became trapped between my seat and the compressed front. A twisted ankle or a ripped ligament sent me a stabbing pain. The windows had smashed into pieces and if I'd kept my eyes opened, I would've received them like burning blades. The car fell to the ground and the impact was perhaps just as brutal.
"Zenus, we said alive, not smashed to death." A distanced voice said. It was angry, but there was room for amusement. "She could've blown up too"
The air bag was ripped away from my face. I tried to move my limbs but it was painful.
"Well…she looks alive to me" The man beside me said.
"Can she talk? She better" A different voice, a threatening one, said. I recognised it at once: Victoria.
"Hey!" The man beside me called. I didn't understand that he was talking to me until he grabbed my chin and turned my head towards him. Something in my neck cracked and I bit down a shriek. I gasped at the dangerous irritation I saw in his crimson eyes.
"I said 'Hey' you idiot! Look at me when I speak!" He shouted angrily. I diligently stared back into his eyes, not willing to test his patience.
"Can you talk?" He asked irritably.
"Ah…"
"I said…CAN YOU FUCKING TALK?" I cringed away, but my chin remained between his thumb and index. His grasp was painful and I felt my eyes water.
"Wow there, you'll make her faint" the other distant voice said, only it was getting closer. It was definitely amused. "And we still have some questions for her"
"Let's start running" Victoria said.
My chin was released and I immediately cringed away. I painfully turned my head to look at the woman just in time to see her rip away the passenger door. Without warning, she took my arm and deliberately twisted it.
"Ah!"
"Get out, Girl" She said in a cold voice. "Or would you rather I pull you apart from your legs?"
My eyes grew wider at her words. I definitely didn't want that. I hurriedly wiggled out of my prison, trying to go as fast as one could with just and arm and pain at every movement. I was glad that the vampire at my side kicked his way out of the car instead of 'helping' me out.
"James, you take her" She said once I'd managed to get my feet on the forest ground. I felt sluggish, driven of my energy. Standing was painful. I was thrust into the arms of a man with tied down blond hair and immediately the wind started blowing in my face.
"Now then…" the woman's voice carried across the short distance she kept between her mate and her. I noticed the other vampire was following as well, a little more distanced and without a tenth of the interest Victoria seemed to have for me.
"We're going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer them" She said with a vicious smile. My vision was beginning to blur and I tried to squint my eyes as much as possible to keep the wind from slashing at them.
"It's in your interest to do so. See, we don't care much to know about you, but we care enough to let you live a couple more minutes. The longer you speak, the longer you'll live. And who knows, maybe your little vampire guards will have the time to rescue you if you keep us interested"
Clearly from her tone, she didn't think the Cullens would ever come and I was slowly beginning to believed that myself. Wasn't Edward supposed to be the fastest runner? Surely he couldn't be held up forever by the sun. He was smart enough to find a solution.
"So, how do you know about James and I? Do you know our old pal Zenus?" She asked before jumping over a high branch. My carrier did the same and I felt sick with the movement.
"A book" I said vary vaguely. I didn't have the energy to come up with some laborious plan and telling them they were the enemy of and heroine was out of the question if I wanted to live. They would think I was screwing around. I thought about telling them I'd heard it from the Cullens, but the Cullens had never met my kidnappers.
"A book?" She asked with reserved interest.
"Of profiles" I spoke weakly. My balance was completely off. I felt so sick.
"And where is that book now?" Victoria questioned.
"The Cullens burnt it." Why couldn't I keep my voice from shaking?
"Why?"
"Their profiles were inside as well" I invented. I gritted my teeth, trying to will the pain away.
"Why didn't they kill you afterwards?"
"They drink animal blood" I spurted out. I realized it didn't justify anything.
"Like the Alaskan coven, huh?" Zenus mocked. Maybe I should've been glad he knew of them. It made things more credible. The churning in my stomach wasn't from happiness though. Closing my eyes was making the ride worse. I either faced the demons or worsened my nausea in darkness.
"So? The number one rule is to keep humans ignorant. They don't have to drink your blood, they just have to kill you." Victoria said with disgust for the vegetarian ways. I didn't have the energy to focus on her features, but I could imagine them well and I had a vivid urge to punch her face into the ground. They were the freaks, not Edward, not the Cullens. Where were they?
Zenus laughed. "The one in the city looked a little too concerned. I think puppy love is in the way"
I felt a pang urge my stomach to empty.
Why?
"Are you lovers?"
Why were they so fast and intelligent?
"Forget it. What did that book say?"
"Names, descriptions…Ah!" I screamed after my wondering left foot collided with a trunk. 'Watch what you're doing!' I wanted to scream with a thousand curses. My ankle was throbbing furiously. With the speed of my kidnapers and the hardness of the wood, it was without a doubt broken. It was a miracle it hadn't been ripped apart from my leg.
"Oups! I forgot you aren't so tough" James chuckled. "Wouldn't want that to happen again, we still need you" He continued. I could picture their vicious smirks. He hadn't done it on purpose, breaking my bone; he just hadn't cared enough to be vigilant. Still, I hated them, despised them, even when my carrier cradled me closer to him to avoid additional collisions. They were just evil. Feeding on humans was one thing; a lion needs to hunt. But he certainly doesn't need to play with his food.
I tried remembering the discussion. I needed to keep it up to live. Maybe Edward would reach Bella in time if I delayed them, if I kept them interested as they'd suggested. "Names, descriptions and powers." I invented, panting from the pain.
"I'm impressed you're still keeping up so well." Victoria mocked. "…And our names were inside?"
"Not his" I said, weakly pointing at Zenus. I was afraid to outstretch my arm and have it suddenly chopped off by a tree or a log of cruel cold marble. "His picture wasn't in the book, I don't think so…"
"Well of course not. If you haven't touched him, he doesn't exist." She mused. "He's here upon the assumption you really can read the future" She explained briefly with smugness coating her words. I wasn't sure I understood them, but then I remembered I'd pretended to possess Alice's gift and if by 'doesn't exist', she meant no powers worked on him, then I felt less ache in my heart and another useless grain of hope that the Cullens cared about both the shell and the inside. Maybe Zenus was the reason they weren't saving me. They couldn't find me.
Despite the hope, I still felt horrible. Mostly, I felt foolish. I was a fool who'd basked in the comfort of predictability. You forget to prepare for the unpredictable when a viscous enemy fills your mind. The others do not exist. Villains come one a time. In movies, they are never introduced all at once. One gets killed or imprisoned, only then does another come.
"So who's been watching us? You got a name?" Victoria continued with her interrogation.
"No" I said weakly.
"Makes sense…" Victoria pondered. "We don't lose things so we don't need identification. In fact, we don't lose anything. Our memories are perfect for that." She continued. I sensed danger. "Now, why would a vampire feel the need to write down things that can be remembered? And why would the vampire let go of such written information?" She mused. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're telling another fib…Under the Vultori's special care? My ass!"
"Don't mock that idea yet" James said, his voice carrying to my ears. It could have been the voice of Death. "Maybe the Vultori were the ones who owned the book and gave it to her, you know, so she could warn them of any vampire she'd see in visions. It would make sense that the Vultori would be well informed, enough to have a list of the vampires running around."
"I once met a man who could identify the powers of vampires he met" Zenus commented.
"Is that the case?" Victoria asked me. "Did they give you the book?"
"Yes" I pretended to give away the information reluctantly.
"So you're answer to my previous question should have been the Vultori, not a pitiful 'no'" She said with a cold warning voice. Who exactly gave it to you?"
"The leaders"
"And why aren't you with them?" Victoria asked. "I remember you telling me you had unfinished business and were protected by the Cullens until then?" She continued, cornering me like a mouse with my unrevised strategy. "What is that business and what did you mean by 'Didn't James tell you anything'?"
I frowned. I wasn't understanding her anymore.
"In the forest, when I asked you who you were, you answered me with 'didn't James tell you?' and never clarified anything" She reminded me. I was shaking harder. "You spoke as if the Cullens had met and warned him, only you see, they didn't. You know, when I stick the pieces together, it doesn't really fit" She growled.
In most movies, enemies were stupid or blinded by their evil goals. My enemies seemed anything but those. I was shook pretty roughly.
"You still with us?" James asked, amused by the situation. "Better answer soon. My lady's not patient."
I searched for something desperately. The water was up to my chin and soon, I'd drown with no hope of escaping. There were three solid boulders chained to my legs and I'd forgotten how to swim.
"I was scared, the meeting was a lie… And as for not being with the Volturi…I really needed to finish my business…which I was doing in secret from the Cullens. They were only asked to protect me…not dig up my research." I invented. My pitiful state allowed me to stop between sentences and think a bit. They'd blame it on my current physical disposition. I was breathing hard after all.
"She's good when it comes to prolonging an interrogation, huh?" Victoria snickered. "WHAT research?" she asked angrily. "And is that book really burnt? Why would the Cullens burn it; the Volturi would be pissed?" She hissed furiously.
I couldn't keep up, the water was now passed my lips, just under my nose. Where was Edward? I needed him to unchain me. And now, I needed Bella. She knew how to work her brains better; I was just the part-timer, she was the master of this body. If she were in my place, she would have had a better chance at surviving. But I couldn't switch now. I didn't know how and she wouldn't understand why her body was wrecked and being carried to her death. I couldn't help but long for the peaceful days anyways…Maybe death would be peaceful. I shook my head; this body wasn't mine to give up on. I had to keep Death away.
"Someone's coming fast" Zenus said, catching my attention.
"I don't hear anything" James said.
"Neither do I" Zenus continued. "But I feel a growing pressure on my shell of existence. Kill her now. I'm not doing this for free."
I watched the jumping vampires with terror. Whoever was catching up needed to be quick.
"I thought you had us covered" Victoria said unhappily to Zenus.
"It's probably her smell. That's why we're running in the first place." James commented.
I was confused. The run stopped. I felt nauseated. I was dropped to the ground and slammed to a tree by a grasp at my neck.
"I don't like to be toyed with. That's my role." She snarled at me and then smiled at my shaking figure.
I wanted to go home. Forget everything.
"Bye bye" She said and I closed my eyes.
Yes, bye bye angel.
I waited for the blast of pain. And waited. The pain disappeared, or rather, it gathered into my stomach. I suddenly felt like I was stomaching some horrible news.
"…I can't help but think you're toying with me. I'm sorry Maya, I know it's a big day for you but your days will be even busier and I needed to get it out. "
The unfamiliar voice had my eyes shooting open. I wasn't sitting down and I was definitely not in a forest and I didn't know the handsome man staring back. What was he talking about?
"What are you talking about?" I asked him fearfully, checking my wrist and my ankle, and every other part of my body I thought had been injured.
"Please, it's over" He pleaded me. I stopped my check-up. I seemed intact in every way and the ache in my stomach had dissolved.
"What is over? Who are you?" I asked the young man. I met his eyes and was surprise to find aqua jewels. They reminded me of His eyes. They weren't butterscotch or blazing onyx, but they were crystal clear and their color was intense. They were intelligent eyes with a dazzling power. My words seemed to surprise the man. He stared at me in disbelief and I was then granted a glare.
"Now that's just childish of you" He said. There wasn't only anger in his blue eyes. I noticed hurt as well…and disappointment. The pang in my stomach was briefly brought back to life and I had no idea why.
"Jay, you're needed on set B" a lady called from behind a panel on wheels. I realised just then that I was in some kind of studio. It wasn't familiar to me. It seemed better equipped than the ones I'd visited for my minor acting roles. The man gave me one last meaningful glance and then stormed off.
I stared at his retrieving back, feeling puzzled. Really, who was he? Jay. Who was Jay? 'Who's Jay?' I remembered asking that same question to Edward. Edward…
My stomach twisted in a knot. I got into a defensive position, searching frantically all around me for glaring marbles and sharp teeth but there were no vampires obviously. Of course there wouldn't be, I was back…probably. I searched for a mirror but there wasn't one in sight. I tugged at my hair to see if it was still incredibly long but it came off.
"May…Charm! What are doing with your wig? You're on in two minutes!" I heard a familiar voice cry from afar.
"Mom?" I couldn't believe I was seeing her. I was so happy and bitter at the same time, the conflict of emotions kept me frozen to where I stood. I was back; I could see my parents again and live a peaceful life. I was back and I couldn't see Him anymore. I couldn't visit my second family again and I'd just sent Bella to her death. I was such a coward…
"Hey, hey! Save the tears for the scene. Your makeup will leak." My mother said hovering over my frozen frame. I snapped back to reality when her warm hands fell onto my shoulders. It was odd, I'd gotten used to cold.
"You can do this, Maya. Put your wig back on and when the scene is over, we'll discuss whatever this is about, okay?"
"Mrs. Kingston, Set D is ready" A woman yelled, her head popping out from behind a black curtain.
"Okay, let's go, Robert is waiting." My mother said with a nervous demeanour. She put the wig on for me and pushed me in the back towards the black curtain.
"What?" I asked panicked. I was barely back and emotionally unstable and now I was being pushed into a trap, that's what it felt like. I didn't know the circumstances that had brought me to the studio and that would destroy the career I suddenly seemed to have. Right now, I didn't want to act, I wanted to go home and let a piece of my soul die in a corner.
"It's okay, don't worry." She rushed. "Remember; Jennifer just had a fight with Andrew, you just confessed and he rejected you. You only need to cry. Just make it convincing."
I was pushed onto a set with cameras surrounding it. I heard two girls whispering beside me, just off set.
"It won't be too hard, she just got dump for real" One of them said a little too loud and probably intentionally. I knew one of them. She was part of the light crew and ever since I'd caught her with her tongue down an ex director's throat, she's hated me.
I searched for more familiar faces like an addict craving his drug. I needed to know my settings, to make sure I wasn't in some other universe. I had been about to die not minutes ago and now I was on a stage in my world. I hadn't been dreaming my time in Forks, that was clear now. And Bella was probably dead because I had decided to walk a dog to get money to escape the Cullens to survive…
Someone got up on stage with me and distracted me from my morbid thoughts. I watched him smile at me with kindness. I felt surprise and then an emotion that would have me taking a bat and beat the crap out of life…if I'd found a bat.
"Edward…" I said, my fingers starting to shake again.
The actors' smile became strained. Chuckles were heard from the working crew.
"Wrong movie, Charm" My mother laughed nervously. I was making a fool of myself. I noticed the man Jay had slipped among the crowd. He was watching me in suspicion. I decided he wasn't important for now. I stared back at the actor. Life was mocking me, putting the fake Edward in front of me at this time. He wasn't handsome anymore. Not to my eyes. He was just a painful reminder, like all the posters and the books would be.
"Alright action in three. Three...two…"
"You look nothing like Edward" I muttered without thinking much. The actor probably heard. That was when Mr. Pattinson began to question my sanity.
"One, action!"
A promising year in the acting domain! The uprising star Jay Jee will appear as the Butler of Newshire in the adaptation of the Golden Almond Castle. We also get to see The Jealous Swans, a heart ranching romance with the famous Jenny March as lead actress co-starring with our favourite hunk, Robert Pattinson. And hear this, supporting actress will be Jay Jee's girlfriend, Charm! Crying the tears of the poor Julie, the jealous sister with a heart turning into coal.
Yes, Jay's girlfriend, or should we say soon to be ex-girlfriend? That right! News has it that Miss Charm and the handsome Jay were caught fighting in News-A studio three weeks ago and cannot be found together since then. The exchange was pretty serious and many tears were shed. Is it a question of cheating? Is the passion over? Only time will tell. For now, we let you enjoy this exclusive preview of The Jealous Swans.
I was in the living room. Mr. Chef's untouched food was cooling on the table set at my feet. I was sitting straight on the couch where my mother had forcefully brought me, staring at the television people with dead eyes.
"Look Maya. See how your acting is marvellous? You should be smiling!" she said trying to cheer me up.
"That wasn't acting" I said, my eyes leaving the screen and setting on the food I was supposed to eat. It didn't look appetizing. I didn't feel like eating it, in fact there was nothing I felt like eating these days.
My mother looked down at me with a look of pity. "You know, I don't mean just that scene." She said referring to the time I bawled my eyes out in front of Robert. "Every part where you appear, the air becomes heavy and dark, just like it should"
I didn't say anything. For once, my mother was sparing a couple of hours from work to check-up on me and I wasn't even able to interact. I felt worse.
She sighed heavily "Maya, eat something" she said, sitting beside me.
"I'm not hungry" I said, my voice lacking life. It's not that I didn't care for her concern. I appreciated it. But the facts remained. I couldn't eat, I couldn't swallow. It was a good day if I could eat a forth of what I usually had and that upset my mother.
"Look" She began, losing the sweetness in her tone "I can understand you're hurt, but it's been three weeks! You've lost weight, to the point your pyjamas fall when you walk. It's not like you vomit out what you take. Just eat little spoons at a time, even if you don't feel like it. You need your energy." She stressed.
"Mom…are you sure there wasn't a period when you thought I was asking odd questions or acting weird?" I asked her again, ignoring the feeding issue. My mother thought I was depressed because of Jay. Everyone thought that and if I ever spoke of Them, they'd think the supposed brake-up had taken a toll on my mental health as well. A part of me wished She had spoken of the switch with my family, but it didn't seem like she had. I had to carry the burden alone and I shouldn't have minded. I deserved it.
"Like I said, nothing really. You were just more quiet than usual for a few weeks. Besides, I wasn't home very often… I only got to see you on stage and though your acting was somehow different, it wasn't bad. You know, I really wish you would tell me why you keep asking me that." She replied.
"It's nothing…" I muttered. I bent down and took the shining fork. My mother watched me chew on a cube of lamb and swallow. She sighed when I placed the fork back beside the plate.
"I've got to get back. When your dad comes back from China, we'll talk about this more. Think about it, okay? They can help you better than we can"
"Kay." I didn't want to go see psychologists. They were my worst enemy now. A crew of prying people that had the ability to cage you if they deemed you believed in something impossible like a switch between worlds. Hopefully, my dad would stay in China a couple months more. I had asked him the same question, whether or not I'd been strange and he'd said just about the same thing as mother.
When my mother left, I zombied my way to the stairs that led to my room. I went back to bed and forced myself to sleep. It was the only way I could escape the pain. I'd find another way soon, maybe. As my eyes closed, I caught a glance of red and black. I didn't know what it was, but something, a gut feeling, convinced me not to investigate any further. I let the darkness take over.
"Maya" A voice with an odd accent whispered, disturbing me from my sleep. "Arr' you awake?"
My eyes searched for the door and found Mr. Chef's head and one of his arms glowing from light of the corridor. He was holding a cup of fuming something.
"I brought tea?" He said, trying to tempt me.
"Sure. Thanks" I said, sitting up. He tiptoed in and handed me the warm cup before taking a seat.
"I put sugar and honey and milk and sugar, and more sugar" He said, scratching the back of his head.
"Are you trying to fatten me up?" I tried to joke. I had to keep myself from tearing up. I was pathetic; I couldn't even smile properly anymore.
"If I may, Segnorita…" The man said after a while "I've heard Segnorita and Segnora talk…Is it really only thee boy?" He asked, trying hard to find words that wouldn't upset me.
"I don't understand" I told him warily. His gaze fell to the floor and he pondered over something as I took several other sips.
"You ate mushrooms." The cook said with a serious expression. His eyes were still glued to the floor. He seemed unsure about what he was going to say, but then his gaze met mine and he spoke.
"You went to kitchen, took out mushrooms, prepared them an ate them!" He said sounding mystified. "And when you realized I was in kitchen, you hid rest of mushrooms as if committed a crime!"
I stared at the man with furrowed brows. I didn't eat mushrooms.
"When you helped bake cake, you didn't use calculator to go from milliliters to ounces. You used head!" He continued, shaking his head. I probably should've felt a bit insulted.
"I watched you play foot. You completely forget how to use offside! Team lose because of you!" He said, waving his arms to express his disbelief.
My eyes widened in realization. "So I have been weird!" I said. I couldn't believe I hadn't questioned the one person who actually spent time at home.
He nodded. "You weirder. Also, you become Twilight freak" He said and got up to get something I'd spotted before falling asleep. The black cover and the red apple.
"I was already a Twilight freak" I said, trying hard not to remember the story, but just the title had images flowing in my head.
"No, you were fan. Freak is when you read over and over and swish head like guard dog when someone say Bella, Edwardo or Jaky..Jake-ob, whaterver it is they'arr called. "
I swallowed harshly…their names…Them…
"Here." He said, handing over the book. "See how pages are used? You read too many time! You even color words" He showed me to prove his point.
I flipped through pages and I spotted several lines of yellow and pink highlighter. She had read her life all right. She knew…Just ink on paper, all invented.
"Weirdest of all, before you became freak, you saw preview of movie and then ran to room like pants on fire. Didn't eat for two days, remember? You," He pointed at me, "arr a really weird child!"
"Sorry."
"No Sorry! If something else than boy is bothering, come talk to me before you become stranger" He said, pumping his chest. "If only boy bothering, come talk anyway!"
I gave him the best smile I could muster. It probably looked like a grimace. "Thanks" I told him, touched. That's why I liked my chef. He looked innocent, but he was perspicacious. And he cared.
"No problema."
The man got up. I expected him to head for the door and leave but he stood in front of me awkwardly.
"Err…Before I go" He said while searching the pocket of his cooking uniform. "I brought chocolate and caramel and chocolate caramel and…whatever this izz" he finished, handing me a handful of sweets. The message was clear: please put some fat under that skin.
I took them, even if eating them wouldn't happen. The chef left and I was left to ponder over what he'd said about my odd behaviours. It wasn't hard to figure out. She knew the basics of my life, but not all the details, so some of 'my' actions had seemed uncharacteristic of me. And She had discovered that her life was invented which explained her two days fast.
I breathed a heavy sigh and abandoned the sweets on my night table. My eyes drew close and I mentally repeated: 'forget, forget, forget it all'.