Summary: She never had the intention of being reborn nor had she ever intended to be born in a world of sparkling vampires. Of course, as fate would have it, she would never be able to avoid them either, she supposed if the universe wanted her here, might as well have fun.
Drabbles/encounters with twilight characters, + other supernatural beings. Pairings undecided
Disclaimer: I do not own twilight
A/n: So uh THIS WAS GOING TO BE FINISHED AND UPDATED ON VALENTINES DAY BUT GUESS WHO LITERALLY FELL ASLEEP WRITING IT! Instead, you get it now, oops! Also, it's not really Valentine's day related as there really isn't romance? But thought that counts I think? (This is over 9.8k words! and not really edited? sorry?)
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Death was a really sh*tty thing. Yet at the same time, Lillian felt so calm when it came to the dead. It was almost a joke, morbid, however, but a joke that the Brandon family was cursed and those they cared about would all die. Yep, it was morbid but in her seventeen years of living in as a Brandon, it seemed to be true.
Lillian had been pulled out of school, herself doing early graduation, allowing both her and her parents to rush down to Gatlinburg. It seemed everyone was numb during the time, herself going through the motions of grief, yet barely registering the world around her. Royal wasn't much better.
The moment her family pulled up to the old farm before she had even stepped out of the car, Royal had engulfed Lillian in a death grip hug. His eyes red and puffy, shoulders shaking and voice trembling as he dragged the smaller girl upstairs to his room. Shutting the door behind the two, he began to sob for what seemed like hours. The bright happy go lucky boy she knew was gone, drowned out by pain and anguish.
When she tried to shift the two towards the bed, his grip tightened around her waist, as if scared she'd leave him there. Tracing his shoulder blades gently with her fingertips she asked softly if they would be able to move to the bed that was only a few feet away. Only feeling the movement of his head nod between the crook of her neck, he slowly got up pulling her closer towards his chest as he fell onto the bed, Lillian in tow. Rearranging himself, Royal had ended up pinning her underneath him as he continued to whimper and cry in her arms.
By the time he stopped, it had already passed dinner time, late into the night as Lillian uncurled herself from Royal who had fallen asleep. Toothless, who she had, of course, brought along with her poked his eyes open when she got up, glaring at her for disturbing his sleep. A small smile graced her lips before she quietly left Royal's bedroom and headed down to the kitchen. Passing the dining she noticed the lights were still on. Peeking her head in slightly, Lillian saw her parents were gathered around the table with Lucy and bounds of files.
Catching her mother's eyes she nodded to her before leaving the three alone as they went over the piles of paperwork. Entering the kitchen, Lillian grabbed cups of water and several pieces of toast and silently went back up to Royal's room.
Unfortnallty for her, when she re-entered the room, Royal had already awoken and looked beyond worried, looking around for, what she could only assume was for herself. "Hey, hey, don't worry, I'm right here." She told him, placing down the glasses and toast on his nightstand and sitting back down beside him. Instinctively, he came up to her and wrapped his arms around her again, placing his head on top of hers as he regulated his breathing.
"I'm sorry." He told her after a few minutes of quiet, "I didn't mean to pull you away from your life for my stupid problems, and I shouldn't be relying on you, I-I-" his shoulders began trembling again as he continued, choking out, "God, I'm acting like a child aren't I? I'm so f*cking stupid and I-"
"Woah, Woah, Royal shh. It's okay, you're not stupid don't say those things. No one could have guessed what was going to happen, it's no one's fault. You're so amazing and funny, you bring the joy to life and that's what I love about you," she placed her hands on his face bringing them to eye level, "relying on people is what we do, I rely on you and you me, that's what friends are for, right?"
His deep colored eyes searched hers as if trying to find lies in her words only to come up blank. A faint smile, though not as big as he usually did graced his face the first one she'd seen in a while, "Friends huh?" he looked down before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek, "Yeah, that's what friends for, thank you." Lillian reflexively reached for her face where he had kissed her, cheeks flushing pink as she smiled back, "Yeah of course."
...
The next few weeks consisted of clearing up and packing the McCarthy farm. Tim McCarthy's funeral occurred a few days after the Brandon's had arrived. Royal's Aunt, Elaine, had come down with her family to help with the arrangements. Most of the town and surrounding residents had attended the wake, the full service lasting well into the afternoon as everyone shared stories and memories.
Once the funeral was over, Lillian's parents had begun the process to sell off the farm. However, Elaine had stepped in, claiming it as her birthright and Lucy had signed off the property to her daughter. When that small fiasco had finished, the rest of February and part of March was used to send moving boxes to Forks. Her father had returned to the small town a few weeks prior, buying up and fixing the abandoned house on the corner of their street for Royal and Lucy to move in.
Lillian, in between cheering the blond boy up and helping with the donations and packing, she had been able to not only sign up for online high school but managed to complete the rest of her senior semester in the span of a few weeks. It had been several long nights, shotty internet and slow loading time, and while she didn't pass with all A's (a B minus in Calculus was still fairly good), Lillian was officially done with high school, opting for the early graduation and had already ordered a copy of her diploma.
A part of her was sad about her decision, the speeding through her final and last (hopefully) year of school. She still hated high school and was bored by it, but she also wouldn't be able to walk with her fellow classmates. And though most of them she was not close with, Lillian still felt the pull on her heart when she had texted the volleyball team and the group she sat with at lunch that she had not, in fact, dropped out nor was kicked out but had opted for early graduation instead.
The only saving grace she did have was the lack of Cullens that would be appearing any time soon. She didn't mind them perse, but she knew the drama they would bring, and her added to the equation would only cause more stress. Lillian did know by now her meeting with them was inevitable, Bella already signed up to change schools and moving to Forks for starting her sophomore year rather than her books counterpart of the junior year. Even still, she would at least try to cheat fate a little longer just to give enough time to prepare mentally to meet Alice.
Since Royal's gap year was ending soon, he had already enrolled at Portland State, the same university she had decided upon. Though she felt bad for him, Royal had been signed up for travel group for college students that would've visited almost every European country for a full semester. Although with the funeral and moving, Royal had not only missed the final submission deadline, that trip was the last one until the next school year.
And so, while crazy and utterly stupid, Lillian had come up have a half-baked idea to take Roayl on a European escapade. It took a few days to convince her mom, and a week to (trick) convince her father that, no, Royal and she were not going to elope. His grandmother took a moment of three minutes to get her approval, one for telling Lucy her plan, the next for her to register her words, and the last to rapidly agree.
Royal was beyond ecstatic by the news, his face, which she hadn't seen light up in weeks, smiling brightly by her words. However, the realization hit his face, his face dropping into a more somber appearance before telling her off, saying that it was dangerous with the airports and the amount it would cost and how it was a stupid dream to go travel the world. After a few slaps and coming up with a, slightly, more cohesive plan on how they'd do it, where the money would come from, and how it would be good.
By the time he had finally agreed to go, it had already become early spring. The two planned to leave for Canada after they move the McCarty's into their new house and settle Lucy in with the rest of Forks. Within the day, Lillian had booked their flights and hotel rooms with the money she had saved up. Of course, in order for Royal to have agreed he did convince her to allow him to pay for all other expenses that didn't fall under hotel and travel, and well Lillian saw it defeated the purpose of her gift to allow him to pay she succumbed to his demands.
They returned to Forks, the four Lucy, Royal, Lillian, and her mother which had conveniently overlapped with the time of spring break for Forks High school and as fate would have it, the infamous Cullens had gone to visit their cousins the Denali's. It didn't take long to unpack and set up their new house, and Lucy was able to reintegrate with the town folk as easily as it was when they visited a few years back.
Jacob and Jared had stopped by in between their school days (as the Res's spring break was the following week), and helped with the cleaning and volunteered to look after Lucy when Royal was gone. Although Jacob was less than happy about Lillian's decision to go off with the older boy, he didn't say much other than telling her to 'not come back pregnant and die' (a joke her father didn't take too well). She didn't see much of anyone else from La Push, apparently, Sam was having 'problems' and he and Leah had broken up.
It didn't take a lot for her to remember what had happened and why it did, knowing full well the 'problem' Sam was having and the pain Leah was going through. While she was not at all close with the girl, it didn't mean she couldn't sympathize with the Clearwater. If she was entirely honest, Lillian saw the whole imprinting wolf secret silly, especially concerning the issues it could bring, much like the horror stories Garrett and Mary had recalled to her with vampiric mates and true loves. Though she couldn't judge too much, seeing how witches still kept their oath of secrecy, they did have more loopholes that could be worked around.
That had also left Lillian in a tough predicament. She would be spending nearly 6 months with Royal transversing Europe alone and as fate always seemed to like to mess with her, there would be no way she would not run into a vampire or two or five.
It was on the eve before they were going to leave that she broke her secret to him. Jacob had stopped by earlier in the evening with his dad (who she had a small distance for with his growing rhetoric) and Charlie all wishing them a safe trip and Charlie even trying to threaten Royal with his gun. The sheriff and her dad ganging up on the blond that if he dared hurt her and a single hair out of place, that they knew how to hide the body. Needless to say, Royal swore on his heart and soul nothing would happen to her. It was only when he promised that if something did happen Royal gave them permission to kill him, an act both Lillian and her mother had been frustrated over, the two smacking the guys upside the head for their ridiculousness.
After a large dinner, Royal and Lillian sat outside on the porch stargazing a for a bit. The view, to Royal, wasn't as beautiful as it was in Tennessee, still happy to recognize the same constellations from his old home and the pair fell into a meaningless talk about this and that. When the conversations began to dwindle, she knew it was now or later (or when a vampire decides to pop out and try to kill them). Turning to face Royal straight in the face and placing her hand on his voice trailed off looking back at her with curiosity.
"Is something wrong Lilly?" he questioned leaning in slightly closer to her as he locked his other hand over hers.
She took a deep breath, knowing full well the consequences of what she was about to say. Lillian had an excuse the first with Bella due to the whole vampire attack, but this? This was of her own volition. Clearing her throat and as calmly as she could she asked, "So Royal what do you know about witchcraft?"
...
They left Forks early in the morning, their first stop being Canada of course. The pair spending a week and a half bouncing between Toronto and Montreal before heading over to Ireland and Scotland for another few weeks.
While in Ireland, Royal had begun delving into the concept of magic and all the history behind it. At first, he had been confused and thought it was a joke, laughing it off until she begun levitation the water in his glass and forming a small ball of magic in the palm of her hands. After which, he had eagerly eaten up everything she could tell him about magic and witches.
Like Bella, Royal had tried to practice magic or at least learn how to do it. And just like what she had done for the girl, Lillian had stored a (large) slight amount of her magic into a set of rings for him. Though she did ask him to use them only when necessary, Royal had almost giddily begun trying to try to cast spells (a level of mastery she had just gotten to do). After giving him a lesson and setting parameters, that as long as she was watching him he could try anything in her family's book.
Due to the rings having her magic in them and since Royal was wearing them, he was able to read the pages. As well to that, he had been able to 'cast' mostly everything he tried to do seeing how it was still Lillian's magic that was active. It was actually fascinating though, to see what could and couldn't be done when her magic was physically attached to her at the time of use, Royal with the rings could cast enchantments, manifest the magic into small visible air orbs (though he lacked any control), and was able to somehow infused the magic around his aura into what she could only describe as a shield. It was weak, and just by punching it (and she didn't have the strongest hit even with the exercise she had done) the whole thing would shatter, but left Royal completely unharmed. She had promised to test it out more when they returned back to Forks.
They spent over three weeks in Ireland and parts of Scotland. Originally, they had planned to only stay in those countries a week each yet, as usual, Lillian and subsequently Royal just had to run in with some local vampires.
It was a rainy day in Galway, Ireland when they came across a small bookstore that delved in mythology and works on faes and old gods. Lillian, had, of course, jumped at the chance to enter the place and soon scampered inside while Royal, a little less than enthusiastic about a bunch of old books had still followed. However, when she turned around, Lillian didn't see the man anywhere around her, instead of across the street talking to a small dark-haired girl across the street.
While it wasn't an odd thing for him to do, being the more social and extroverted of the pair, she noticed what the girl looked like. The girl, perhaps no older then a high school student wore dark clothing that was certainly nowhere near suitable for the weather and a large necklace hung around her pale neck. Her hair was in large bouncy dark red curls and as she left the shop, Lillian could see the paleness of her skin, as if like snow. The one stand out thing she noticed was the pair of sunglasses she wore yet there was not a speck of sun in the sky and conveniently shielded her eyes. She didn't need her magic to tell her exactly what this girl was. And when she saw the small girl reach up to brush her fingertips against Royal, that was when she bolted across the street
Before the two realized her approach, Lillian had protectively pushed him behind herself, and holding her arm up as her magic already connected with the car next to them just in case she had to flip it on the vampire. "I'm sorry, I have to ask you to leave, vampire."
She felt Royal tense behind her registering what she had just said. She had told him the bare minimums about vampires, what they looked like, certain weaknesses and to always check their eyes.
The vampire in question only stared at her, "How did you know? What gave it away?"
That was the first time Lillian ever received an answer such as that, most vampires would flee or go straight in for the kill, but this one continued on heer pleasantries as if it was as normal as can be. "Your clothes are far too lightweight for the current temperature. Your skin is awfully pale and you haven't taken a single breath for the past two minutes, not to mention you're wearing sunglasses, it's raining and grey no sun," she answered honestly, from her experiences with Garrett and the others, although they could pass as humans at times there were many issues with what they wore and acted that just made them stand out.
"I see. Thank you for that," the vampiric female stated slowly removing her sunglasses to reveal a pair of bright red eyes, "Now then I think we should talk about this, Liam may kill me if I do not settle this all, shall we all go get tea?"
...
That was how Lillian and Royal ended up staying in Ireland for an additional three weeks rather than the one that was planned. The vampire, Maggie, had introduced herself at the secluded yet bustling tea shop she had taken the pair too. Seeing how neither were going to kill each other (the vampire seemingly more intrigued and fascinated rather than angry at the loss of a meal much how Randall had been), Lillian delved a bit about herself and witches.
There was an unspoken rule about telling vampires or any other supernatural creature about their existence, it wasn't forbidden, only with normal humans (not to mention she had already revealed herself to a handful of vampires already) there wasn't much harm in it. Although she was still a tad nervous, Lillian knew it was better to answer honestly considering she was fairly certain this vampire was gifted if her fuzzy memories of Breaking Dawn told her.
"You're awfully calm for having your identity revealed," Royal commented biting into the steak he had ordered, his eyes lighting up from the taste of it, "Shouldn't be trying to kill us or something?"
Maggie was picking at the salad she ordered while trying not to stare at the two eating, "Would you like me to kill ya?" She asked looking up at Royal holding the fork in an almost offensive way, "Aye I suppose I am but it's been a long while since I've been able to talk to humans and since you both seem to know what I am well, I admit I'm a bit excited. Besides," she looked over to Lillian, "A witch and warlock right? Siobhan had said they were hunted almost to extinction much like werewolves and mermaids were. We are all the same right? Hidden away in a world behind humans, for that we should stay together."
"Oh uh, I'm not a warlock, I just use Lilly's magic it's not my own," Royal responded a bit embarrassed looking away, "That makes no difference, you are still part of our world no matter what you say, if Lillian here trusts you and so do I."
"Thank you I-"
Maggie's eyes widened, "Oh no."
Just then Lillian felt a spike from her magic as two more vampires came into range, the rest of the Irish coven, Siobhan and Liam.
"Maggie, here you are," the coven leader woman stated, "I see you've made a few friends," her eyes were dark and smile mesmerizing, her presence seemingly lightening up the room.
The man, who must've been Liam stared at the two of them, "It was nice meeting you both, but I'm afraid we must be gathering our daughter up and be on our way-"
"They know," Maggie piped up as both vampires tensed before exchanging looks of shock and horror, "I trust them, Lillian," she looked over at her, "is a witch and her campaign," her red eyes flittering over to Royal as a bright smile enveloped her face, "Royal is her confidant."
Siobhan look intrigued now, false niceties dropping into a genuine look before saying something in a language Lillian could only assume was Gaelic, as Liam and Maggie fell into a hush and faced pace discussion. The voices of the three meddling and mixing at such speeds she would have mistaken it as music. After a few moments, Siobhan had returned to her attention to the pair, "It has been decades since a witch has been in Ireland, we welcome you, in fact we would like to offer if you two would care to stay with us for the duration of your stay, certainly would be more cost efficient." She told them as it was now their turn to exchange looks of confusion.
Maggie laughed, "We are not going to have you for dinner if you are concerned." Siobhan laughing too a bit from their reactions, "I have many books of interest that no I can never use but you may find a use for Lillian." She told her almost bribing Lillian into agreeing. It had taken a minute longer to convince Royal, who was still very new to the supernatural world but agreed nonetheless, though she could feel him constantly pulsing the magic in his rings just in case he needed to use it.
For the rest of their stay, Lilliana and Royal stayed with the Irish coven. Lillian spending most of her time with its leader who had not only shared old books she had on magic but also willing to share a bit more about their world. Liam had been more standoffish on the idea, but in the end, agreed that there was no harm done as witches were protected and the law of secrecy didn't extend to them. Royal and Maggie seemed to get along very well, the younger vampire had whisked him away most of the afternoons and by the time they came back well into the evening laughing and joking like old friends.
Siobhan and Liam had both shared looks when it came to the pair while Lillian found the whole thing adorable. But like most good things, the two had planes to catch as they were still in the early parts of their vacation. The pair exchanged contact information with the coven, Maggie giving Royal her own and personal number.
Their time is Sweden was short and sweet. Norway was faster paced but fun all the same and both Finland and Iceland were good but for a few only visiting a few days they were more than happy to leave. Denmark, the last of the Nordic Five was an amazing place. The history, much like the other nations was filled with mythology and Lillian couldn't help but buy up several new books especially on the Vikings.
Unfortunately, they were only there less then a week but she had come across a certain hermit nomad Well, she more of spotted the vampire walking by on one of the sunless days. She had recognized his appearance from the movies, taking a lot after his counterpart.
His hair was a carmel brown, with blond streaks that glistened under the city lights. He was tall and lean with light stubble on his chiseled jawline. He wore a dark fur coat and black clothing underneath. His eyes, though she couldn't see them clearly, were piercing, the dark bags and hollows that surrounded them made them stand out even more. He must've felt her eyes on him as he had quickly turned to stare at her.
She had braced herself, waiting for what to come, however, the vampire didn't come forward, instead he had...begun to run? Her magic trying to pull and pinpoint on his location only to find it running in the opposite direction. It was a bit humorous, she did know he was the well known and depressed nomad that all her vampiric friends would drag out once a century to party before he hid away in seclusion.
A part of her had wanted to talk to the vampire, befriend him maybe, but with his anti-social and high anxiety personality, she knew it would've been. Considering the fact that she was also human, well the high chance she would see him again would be if Bella somehow had a hybrid child (which was it's own crazy Lillian rather stay far far away from) or if he decided to go hunt. She only shook her head before returning back to the hotel, perhaps the next time Garrett or Mary could convince the nomad to meet her the next time they went out.
...
They didn't stay long in the Netherlands primarily passing through on their way to Hungary. Though they had been in the country for less than 48 hours, Royal had yet again come across another nomad whom of which Lillian had never met nor heard of before.
However, unlike the previous vampires they had stumbled across on their journey, this one was different and she, in fact, could sense something off with the vampire. The moment Royal had introduced her to the man, she had quickly grabbed the blond to high tail it out of there. When asked what the vampire's name was, he could only furrow his brow in confusion mumbling out the name ''Astaroth'.
Romania was different, yet a good kind of different. The country was quite forested and had many preserved medieval towns. For Lillian, it was almost as if stepping back in time when they had visited some of the places. And of course, to her elated mood and Royals excitement, they were able to visit the famed, Dracula's castle, otherwise known as Bran Castle.
The castle was absolutely beautiful, with the old fashioned look, high in the air and overlooking the borders of Transylvania and Wallachia. The tour was amazing, and even though the English version of the audio hadn't been as in depth, it was still amazing for Lillian.
It, as usual, came to no surprise when a certain duo of vampires appeared a few days later while they were still in Brasov. They had just left the Black Church when Lillian felt the humming of her magic alerting her of the presence of a certain ashy blond vampire.
Her eyes had spotted him watching the tour group left the church, eyeing each one before she felt another new spike who she could only presume was the vampire's partner. It had been a long time since she had, of course, seen the movies or read the books, but she did remember who they were, the last members of the Romanian coven.
Their coven was well known throughout the supernatural world, even Gran Masen had mentioned them on numerous accounts. While they were free, honest about who and what they were millennia ago wreaking havoc on the world, they caused a lot of pain to the remaining witches. There were many from ghouls, to mermaids, to faeries who still yearned for the times to be free and not hide in secret, but for the witches and werewolves (a case of worms she rather not open) among a few feared the takeover of the Romanians.
Since they were still mortal, it took very little for a horde of vampires to slaughter or forcibly turn them a vampire, which when done would force the newly turned vampires into soldiers. When witches had started disappearing along with psychics and shapeshifters, the witches had found a way to lock their magic and abilities so they could never be used after death making their transformations null and useless.
Once the Romanians fell, it had forced everyone to return into hiding, no longer with a strong powerful force to keep them alive, the supernatural that once walked alongside humans became nothing more than myths and legends. For what they did to Lillian's ancestors and to humans were atrocious, but she couldn't blame them entirely especially for the time it was. And seeing the last remaining Romanians hiding from them in the shadows left a bittersweet feeling coursing through her.
They had lost everything, starting from the top of the world and crashing down in fire from the Volturi and their own greedy ambitions. She remembered from the books, that they had lost both their mates and now, millennia later were still somehow around being pushed by their own means for revenge while Marcus was but a husk from his own loss. And from what Randall told her, the Volturi saw the last two as nothing more than pesky flies, annoying but not worth the effort to kill.
"Something out there Lily?" Royal whispered in her ear, already guessing just what was out there, his voice loud enough to carry through the air to the tree line.
She smiled shaking her head knowing they were listening, "Thought I saw something out there, but I guess it was just the wind," she told him facing him with a devious smile, away from the prying eyes, "perhaps the vengeful spirits of some strigoi's," she stated feeling the spike once more before the vampires vanished away (though when they returned to their hotel room a mysterious gift of flowers was left for her on her bed).
They had been in Spain when she received a frantic email from Bella. Apparently, her influence on the younger girl really was showing as she had already put two and two together in terms of what the Cullens were. Lillian, having read it over told her friend that everything would be okay and tried to reason with her, telling her that if anything, avoid them but not be suspicious. After a long back an forth that lasted almost an hour, Bella had agreed not to jump head first into her worries and promised to stay safe while Lillian swore to return soon.
"Was that Blue Bell?" Royal asked rolling over in the bed and checking the time on the clock.
"Yea, having school problems with uh, a vampire coven that decided to stay permanently." She responded honestly, already bracing herself for his reaction.
"Hold up, what? Permanent residence? Didn't you say most vampires stay away from the public? I understand Maggie's coven, they keep them self secluded off and don't officially settle down especially in a high school? Isn't that stupid?" He sputtered out shocked and confused quickly getting out of bed and putting on a shirt, "Does that mean we've got to return to Forks? Just in case, grandma's there and what if they-"
Shaking her head Lillian only laughed, "They're yellow-eyed vampires, the vegetarian kind the ones who feast on animals, not humans. Though perhaps you are right. We may need to return a bit sooner than expected, perhaps next month. There's really no need to leave now, Bella's smart and she's also been practicing with the bracelet I gave her much like your rings," she told him grabbing the boys wrist and pulling him back to the bed, "So c'mon Bear it's not even morning yet lets go back to bed alright?" She teased using his nickname she gave him a few years back.
Royal grinned, "Oh really if you insistent Lilly flower, want me to keep the bed for ya?"
She nodded, "Your funny, no actually I'm going out someplace for a bit, don't worry about, I'm meeting an old friend I'll be back before sunrise, sweet dreams!" she told the man as he tried to shoot back up to accompany her only to find he couldn't her magic keeping him trapped in the bed as he groaned in annoyance.
...
Lillian found herself sipping tea and eating an early (or late dinner) breakfast of pincho de tortilla with churros while she sat across from a certain young man. Dressed in a casual suit and slicked back hair, the man smiled at her in a charismatic way.
"So tell me, Dale, what's it like? Being the new owner of King banks, one of the biggest and most successful in the world?" She asked taking another bite of food.
He chuckled smiling, "Oh you know, it's something that's for sure. I never thought my brother would die, remember him? Royce King IV, thank God I hadn't been first born, what a terrible name I'm going to gladly end that tradition," he told her shaking his head disgusted, "Busy generally, always on the go here and there, I was quite surprised by your message that you are here in Spain, keeping tabs on me?"
Lillian laughed this time, "Oh no, certainly not, I'm very much not like those crazed sycophants. I saw an article about you visiting here and I thought why not see if we could catch up, it's been what a decade or more since we saw each other in New York?" She half truthfully answered, as in actuality she felt his presence in the hotel the moment they entered and not from one article (though she didn't doubt one was written).
He nodded, "It sure has, time really does pass by rather fast doesn't it?" Leaning back in his chair and pulling out a cigarette he continued, "You were like a baby back then! Still can't believe what a beauty you've become, but I always knew you would be one. Well, not much else had happened since I've we've last talked, though my parents are hoping to marry me off soon. I'm nearing my twenty-ninth birthday, and with no heir, the King dynasty may end with me," he paused pulling out his lighter, "How old were you again? 18? 19? Wanna go elope and get married to a billionaire tonight?"
Lillian Felt her cheeks flush, "You know, you aren't the first man to ask me to run away and elope with them, Dale. You've got a line of men to get rid of first." The dark haired man faked rejection placing a hand over his heart playful, "Oh woe is me and my love life. I shall never find one to marry, my family must be cursed!"
"It's not like arranged marriages have ever worked out in my family! My grandfather was murdered by his wife, my great aunt was pushed out of a window by her sister in law, and my great great uncle, Royce King the II was murdered mysteriously allegedly by his missing bride, God what was her name? Rosa? Rosaline? Something pretty like that," He shook his head trailing off, his eyes a deep brown that richoeted the light off beautifully, "Now then what was the real cause of our meeting? Especially in at this hour, in what I would say is both in an inconspicuous place yet public enough that anyone would recall us being here if questioned. So tell me, Lillian, what do you want."
Leaning in closer a playful and devious smile plastered on her face as she whispered, "I always knew you were intelligent, now prove it to me," sliding an envelope to him from under the table she waited for him to open it. His eyes widened as he bolted forward-looking between her and the letter, "Where-? How even- you?!"
"Now then, I believe we have lots to talk about, I hope you have plenty of cigarettes."
Volterra was beautiful. Italy was beautiful, but Volterra well it had the most amazing yet oddly alluring aura around it. The moment the tour bus entered the city, Lillian had become overcome with a pulling feeling, drawing her closer to the center of the place to the looming and famed castle that stood there.
She knew the issues of being there, knew why she shouldn't be there and the danger that she and Royal would be in if recognized. Then again they would only be there for two days, before moving onto France and then back to the States.
Royal was hopeful though. In fact, just seeing him happy, laughing like old times filled her up with joy. He promised to protect her, saying that even if any vampires dared to come after them, he'd kill them for her. While Lillian was amused and flattered by his resolve, she couldn't help but know exactly how any fight between her and a vampire would end up, especially with Royal there. She may have allowed him access to her magic and had, like she done with Bella began teaching him bits and pieces of the supernatural world (which was still highly illegal for her to do and may or may not result in her getting her magic sealed, or worse erased), he was still no match against another witch or vampire.
She reassured herself that as long as she or Royal didn't do anything stupid, they'd be fine. As long as fate didn't throw a few vampires in her path, her being in Volterra wouldn't and shouldn't become a fiasco, hopefully.
...
In hindsight what she did was rather stupid. She realized the problems it was going to cause at the moment, but well, Lillian had to admit, it was rather fun. Not to mention the look on Heidi (she believed that was the vampire's name), the face was almost worth it. Keyword though, almost.
After her little exchange with the vampire, she had quickly unleashed an illusion enchantment on herself, giving her more than enough time to get the hell out of there. She had ended up dashing through the streets of Volterra, with the sun setting, her magic running rampant unconsciously sealing away her scent to the point it couldn't be tracked, her magic pinpointing every living creature within 50 ft of her and her heart pounding away from the adrenaline.
By the time she arrived back at the hotel room, sweaty and out of breath, Royal had rushed out of the room, meeting her in the hallway asking if everything was okay. Slightly ashamed, Lillian retold the experience she had, skipping over a few details, and ultimately admitting her stupid decision to talk back to a vampire. Much to her surprise, Royal burst out in laughter, telling her while dangerous, sounded like an amazing time and hoped she'd bring him next time.
From the moment they left Italy to the moment they landed in Paris, Lillian remained a tad frazzled, consistently checking over her shoulder and letting her magic streamline the full 2 hours in the air even if there was no way a vampire had somehow stowed away on it to come kill her. While the travel time was shorter than when she flew from England back to Portland several years ago, she still was overcome with bouts of fatigue for the rest of the day.
Royal hadn't minded too much, as usual, setting up a movie or two in the hotel room while reading her family's coven book. Every now and again he asked questions and would even, with the easier enchantments and incantations (that didn't cause an explosion if messed up) using the magic saved up in the rings she had given him.
They stayed in France for almost three weeks. Visiting and sightseeing mostly, and trying all sorts of French cuisine (and of course wine and beer tasting as the legal drinking age was 18).
While the pair were supposed to go to England for a while before returning to Forks in November, both Royal and Lillian decided to go straight back inside. Not that she was going to admit it, but she did miss the rainy dreary place she called home, hell she even missed her snarky little black cat, Toothless (not like the creature missed her). On the night before they were supposed to leave France, the two had braced the long wait and had finally made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
It was breathtaking. Sure there were dozens of other tourists there, but it was an absolutely amazing view. Lillian had never been able to travel much, especially not how she was now, her previous life only having visited Hawaii and Canada never even leaving America's. So this, the entire trip was beyond believable and perfect to her.
By her side Royal stood there, holding her hand and smiling as widely as he had the first day they met. "It's so beautiful isn't it?" She asked him spreading her hand out over the railing as if to fly.
Royal chuckled watching her, "Sure is," he said agreeing, coming up behind her and placing his head on top of hers as he had started doing, "I'm glad I was able to see it, especially with someone I care about. I wouldn't want to experience this, all of ut the traveling, the magic, even the running away with anyone else but you."
Lillian nodded her head, "Yeah, this is the best summer I've ever had," she told him still in awe at the being on the Eiffel Tower, "Ah your future wife would be jealous she heard you spent your best days with me," she joked not realizing the stares Royal was giving to her.
"Yea, future wife, she'd be mad, probably," he paused, "I'm sure your future husband or whatever you witches have would probably want to kill me too." Lillian nodded, not even realizing that she was, in fact, old enough, at least physically to get married, "Huh. That's definitely a crazy thought, imagine me, married? That's funny! Better yet me falling I love? That's the funny bit"
Royal only shook his head, "Really funny."
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Extended Ending
Volterra Castle-
When Heidi finished up the nightly tour for the castle she returned down the elevator to hand off the paper to their secretary Yui?...Katherine?…Moka?...Elena was it? It didn't really matter in the end as there had really only been twice when the secretaries were turned, the one that had been gifted and the one to have the gift be used on.
Running her hand through her long tresses she smelled of a more than a dozen humans that had all gone on their night tours. The intoxicating smell of dozens of tourists molded together to make a smelly and distasteful scent that made her sick. She had forgotten the picture in her other hand until now, the one the strange girl had accidentally left on the bench. While Heidi had no use for such a piece, seeing it as nothing more than human waste, it was vaguely familiar to her though couldn't quite remember where she had seen the work from before.
Brushing it off, Heidi made her way to dispose of the paper while holding her breathe at the smells that clung to her. In fairness, it was rather a good thing, seeing how it would be bad if she attacked the tourists, yet. Of course, none of them were feasted on as only their day tours were meals while their night tours were actual tours that many paid for.
The idea had come to the Volturi about 2 decades prior when some 'ghost hunters' had broke in one night filming about the alleged supernatural activity. Thankfully it was not a feasting time, but that didn't stop Demetri, Felix, and a few other guards to scare the humans who broke in. Which in turn prompted the creation of the night tour, which had quickly become a source of entertainment and revenue (though small) for the Volturi. A depressing fact when based on the fact the most feared and powerful family coven spent their nights scaring humans and pretending to be tormented ghosts (presumably of those they killed).
The night and ghost tours was also a way to divert the suspicions of others who believed (though the truth) that people who went in never left. So instead the Volturi would feed twice a week from two of the five-day tours that occur (proving that people, some, left alive) and the night tours had been a way to blow off steam and a more economically safer way to scare humans. Of course, the actually tours never strayed to the basement corridors of the castle, as those areas were where the Volturi lived and held council, and the only time's humans were brought down by the elevator was during the feeding cycles. Any other time, the elevator that would be able to take people down or up would be turned off and 'out of order' indefinitely.
Before Heidi could take off to her chambers, a small beeping was heard, throughout the castle as all the vampires within vicinity knew what it was. Shutting off the irritating noise from the pager (a device Aro had seen on one of those medical shows, after which insisted on getting everyone their own even if though it was faster to just yell for them all), she had quickly rushed back towards the throne room.
One by one, dozens of vampires burst through the grand black doors that opened into the dome-like throne room. The light from above shone down though not enough to cause them to sparkle filled up the room as it bounced off the white marble walls. Once everyone had arrived at the throne room, Aro began the announcements that he had called them in for.
While many of the guards would not voice their complaints, many found the weekly updates by their king, quite tiresome after a few centuries. Aro had wanted to upgrade the technology around the castle to fit in more with the human world, yet still kept up the tedious tradition of calling everyone in to spout out various news and design, even though all the residents had an email which could do the same thing.
When their king had finished, Caius had been the first one out the door, irritated throughout the whole meeting for some reason or another (most of the guard and staff kept away when his moods picked up) and was most likely on his way to his wife, Athenadora. Aro began dismissing the rest of them until an oddity occurred.
The third king of Volterra never took part nor interest in their politics anymore. His mind always on his mate who had long since vanished from the world. It was common knowledge in the vampire world what happened, the beautiful Didyme, had died leaving him a poor comparison to his former self.
Many theories of who did it were whispered among the vampiric race, some blaming the Romanians (though they never took the credit for it and there were only two surviving members), warring covens perhaps back when the Volturi's rule was uncertain, maybe it was an inside job, a spy. No one knew for certain how or why exactly Didyme died, but most of the guards and several of the smarter vampires of their kind had inklings of who committed such a crime. However, no one would dare whisper it aloud, hiding the information in the back of their minds feigning ignorance.
But whoever caused the queen's death must've not known how the distant king would become. Didyme and Marcus were what many would call as soul mates. They were one of the few true mates that were part of the Volturi coven, the others being Afton and Chelsea as well as Aro and Sulpica (though they were often disputed due to Aro's late-night liaisons with certain vampires). Though there was hope for the vampiric king, he may find his 'true love' or another mate however the chances of fixing a broken heart and soul from the death of a soul mate even with true love was rarer than having one. But one could never lose hope, Caius and Athenadora had found one another, not soul mates but true loves at the least.
"Heidi," The raspy yet still soothing voice of Marcus stated, it carrying through the hushed throne room, "May I see what is in your hands?"
The vampiress had completely forgotten the drawing in her hand, having been on her way to discard the thing only to have been summoned in the process, "This is nothing my king, a mere drawing I human had left outside this evening, nothing more." She responded stepping towards his throne to show it to him.
However, instead of the reactions Heidi and the rest of the guard thought would occur, where the drawing would be dismissed and them all leaving to finish their duties, instead, Marcus had gotten up and swiped the paper from her hands surprising them all. It had been years since anyone seen him move so fast, it caught them all off guard, shocking and reflexively Heidi had crouched in a defensive pose only to snap back out of it with a deep apology.
The king had paid her no mind though, instead of his dark red eyes solely on the drawing as if in a trance and far away from the rest. Aro, who had been watching the exchange in intrigue quickly flashed to his brother's side and his eyes too wandered to the drawing in realization. The black haired vampire had seen it or at least a similar style of art before, only a few years prior from a certain bright-eyed girl.
"Why brother, it seems the little flower had taken up my offer to visit Volterra. Isn't that lovely?"
Marcus only continued to stare at the work, his pale fingers slowly tracing the lines on the sheet, as his memories from years ago sped through his mind. Opening his mouth slowly he nodded, speaking the young girl's name, the one who made him feel almost happy to be alive, "Lillian."
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Notes:
France's drinking age is a 16 for wines and 18 for harder liquor, I believe? That's what the internet says soooo
*unnamed Nomad in Denmark is Alistair, who is btw English even though he does look like a Viking. I took after his movies counterpart as his book one is too similar to like every other vampire male (blonde, pale, red-eyed, tall etc-legit every vampire is clean cut like why though?)
Astaroth- Otherwise known as George, Alistair's creator and actually pretty damn evil (basically masqueraded as the devil and had humans sell themselves to him to see how far into desire and despair they could become *cough* Junko anyone?*cough*) It is actually unknown if he's alive or not by canon standards
Strigoi- is the term used for living dead in Romania
Brasov- a city in Romania
Black Church- German gothic monument in Romania that is one of the most sacred places for Lutherans
Pincho de Tortillas/ Churros con Chocolate- Spanish breakfast foods
Dale King- Last name is King aka the same b*ast*rd who was Rosalie's ex-fiance (oh look more connections)
Effiel Tower- obviously in France and tried to be realistic with the tourist attraction, it is a wait and always crowded
Volturi/Volterra Tours- Firstly, the way the tours were shown is 100% unrealistic and also highly suspicious! So I decided to make it a bit more realistic, gods know it wasn't flushed out in canon.
Moka, Yui, Katherine, Elena- Herione's from Rosario+Vampire, Diabolik Lovers, and Vampire Diaries
Elevators/Volturi Castle- In the book, Bella had to 'drop down' a shaft/hole to get to the elevator. Now I don't clearly remember why they had to (was the other elevator broken? Or out of the way of humans but then how did tour groups get down? Not as though they all jumped down) so I tried to incorporate/reason with it.
Soulmates/mates/true loves- La Tua Cantantes (blood singers) are not mates, not in this story and I'm pretty sure wasn't considered to be in canon either. Mates/soulmates same thing, basically they can't live without the other/complete one another, and true loves? Stole that from OUAT I think? Cause it makes sense sorta of.
A/N: Honestly this entire chapter reminded me of Hetalia tbh, and I really want to make a fanfic for it ahhh (but that fandoms like dead? And OC Hetalia fics only work on Quotev, riip)
Also, the Romanian Coven (I read the whole damn wiki just for those boys) is actually kind of sad? Like Vladimir's mate freaking died for her mate and Stefan to escape. And sure the Romanians were horrid but hey they did what they thought best, even the Egyptian/African tribes apparently freely revealed themselves during times before the Volturi. I am a bit biased to the bad guys (obviously) so I may be including Vladimir and Stefana a bit more! That being said I like the ''bad guys' aka I always rooted for the Volturi (and team Rosalie/Emmett/Jasper, though not as a three-way) that said, will this be a Volturi based story? No certainly not! But it is probably, at this point obvious I do enjoy the vampires a lot, however, the shapeshifters of La push will get more time soon promise!
So Dale King and that encounter, so I have plans for him and stuff, don't worry we will find out what Lillian's plan is and how they met. I mean I killed people off, I gotta add new people am I right? It's not like people can come back from the dead or anything.
There are still eight more nomads I plan to be adding! As well as several more human descendants too!
In Regards to Romance/canon relationships: Regarding a review about if Bella/Lillian with Edward may happen or Jacob? Honestly, Edward is problematic, like it's not even funny how messed up his character and treatment of Bella was. Bella so far, in this fic is already different from her canon self and with prior vampire knowledge should change her relations with all the Cullens so, unless Edward can redeem himself, we will see relationships. I also have plans for Jacob that doesn't involve either girl too because his thing for Bella was kind of bad too (there was a lot of manipulations all around)? Again I'm not looking for major romance until the characters have been fleshed out more and their relationships actually making sense, so canonically book 2-3 (even though it will probably be AUish by then) Now that don't mean Bella wouldn't not not get with either boy, but also mean she may not end up with someone else entirely, same with the both of them too. Lillian, being older, mentally also means a vampire would probably be a healthier fit for her, though who knows what may happen honestly (And I did play with the idea of Bella/Lillian but honestly that's weird on its own too since they grew up together?). I am trying to keep all history etc canon from before Lillian's birth/meddling, therefore all canon relationships prior to the start of Twilight happened/are still accurate, ie. Carlisle and Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, Siobhan and Liam (I have mixed feelings of Jasper and Alice's relationship). But with my added curveball of "soulmates' and ''true loves,' some things may or may not change. Hope that somewhat answers questions?
Anyways next chapter will be long, and I mean long, so it will probably be a little longer till it's posted, I'm aiming for March however, several parts have already been written! (And I may or may not have already written the following chapter after the next)
All I will say is that the Cullens make their long-awaited appearance!