On that not, chapter ten! Enjoy! )
Chapter 10 : Resolution
"Thank you."
"For what?"
I frowned at the underlying hostility in his voice.
"For so coincidentally coming along at the perfect moment."
Edward glared ahead, saying nothing. I wasn't surprised by his speed of driving, so different from Jessica's.
"Am I at least allowed to ask where you are taking me?"
"I can hear peoples' thoughts, you know."
I blinked in surprise.
"I wasn't that far away. I could hear you coming closer. I could hear her mind...every bit of it."
"I see."
Anger was all but rolling off of him now.
"You violated our treaty."
"No. I am not one of the ones who agreed to your treaty. I know very little about it."
"And that knowledge might be what saves you."
As true as my words were, I did not like the idea of placing the Cullen's in a bad place with anyone. I knew they were a good family and did little to disrupt the balance around Forks. All they wanted was to live, happily.
"You told her."
I looked over at him. The
fact that he'd heard her mind was proven a bit by the way the words
came out in more of a statement than a question.
"Yes."
"Stupid." He shook his head.
"How do you figure?"
He started his way up a road that was almost overgrown with foliage. I recognized this.
"Because she could easily go off and tell anyone. You're putting all of us in danger."
I
frowned at that. It wasn't as though I had been given much of a choice.
I hadn't asked Jessica to take me to LaPush. I hadn't asked the pack to
attack me for the second time. I hadn't asked them to reveal themselves
to Jessica. Sure, I could have killed her right then and there. Well,
no. Actually I would not have been able to bring myself to. Beside,
doing so would have meant another death wish for myself by the dogs.
"I was a touch caught between a rock and a hard place. There was no other option that would not involve something fatal."
His face relaxed a little, listening to my mental explanation, I assumed.
"You're one to talk, yourself."
His eyes shut for a half a second, then he nodded.
"I know I endangered my family."
"Yet you have no regrets."
"No."
I looked at him dead on, just so he knew how serious I was.
"And neither do I."
He must have picked it up, because he looked back at me, silently. No words were needed for him to figure out whether my statement was truth.
We turned into a small break off the street, over a large span of grass. The Cullen's house laid at the end of it, along the tree line. I had seen this house twice before. Neither time was a good memory.
The first time had been when we first met the Cullen's. James had gone off on his hunt with Victoria tailing him. I had been the only one to return with them our hosts. It was upsetting, really. I felt apologetic for my convenmates' behavior, but there was nothing I could do. I was thankful that Carlisle had been able to understand that.
The second time was when I had first arrived back in the area from Alaska. Victoria had asked me to get the lay of the land for her. I hadn't truly wanted to take part in her whole chase, but since she hadn't been asking me to physically interfere, I had agreed. The Cullen home had been empty. It had smelled desolate, which is how I knew Bella had been lying when I found her later.
Edward growled quietly. I cleared my mind of the memories, while we pulled along side the other vehicles.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Because we have things we need to discuss," he stated as we made out way toward the house.
As we stepped inside, nostalgia rushed me. The room was filled with the wary eyes of the Cullen family, watching me.
"Laurent," Carlisle said in his usual kind voice.
"Carlisle." I gave him a friendly nod.
"It's good to see you return, and on a less hostile note this time."
"Yes." I'd always been appreciative of Carlisle's kindness. Regardless of what James had done, he had never been angered at me specifically. "It most certainly is. Thank you for having me, though I have to say I'm quite curious as to why Edward brought me here."
"Hmm, as am I." He looked to Edward.
The younger vampire stepped forward and cleared his throat quietly, before he began. "It seems as if Laurent has little intention of leaving for quite a while. I figured that it would be in the best interest of all of us if we made him aware of the rules of our treaty."
"Edward," I muttered. "Why would you get the impression that I don't intend to go my own way soon?"
"You think you can just walk away from her so easily?"
Silence filled the room and I felt all eyes on me, most with surprised expressions. I opened my mouth to say something, then gave up and sighed softly. That was enough of an answer. Right now I couldn't see myself leaving Jessica behind. Not right now, at least. I was enjoying her company...even if it was dangerous.
"I see there are things we are not aware of," Carlisle said, soothingly. "Shall we all have a seat?"
This brought us to the large table in the dining room of the home. It must have been placed there for meetings such as this.
"Laurent seems to be in an interesting situation," Edward began, arms crossed over his chest.
"Ironic is the better word. And if you do not mind, Edward, I would like to explain my 'situation' myself."
He nodded at this and glanced at the girl I knew as Alice Cullen. She was smiling, as though she knew something I didn't. I wondered if she had the same ability Edward did, or similar.
"As some of you may be aware, the pack of LaPush was under the firm impression that they had killed me."
All of them nodded. I was not surprised.
"I find myself wondering how I survived it as it is. There were a series of...faults...in their actions. The procedure was done in a very inexperienced manner."
"How did you get away?" Carlisle asked me, genuinely curious.
"Well,
they could not hover forever. As soon as they vanished, thinking me
done for, I dragged myself away with...what limbs I was able to." I
tried not to cringe, but I knew the effort was unsuccessful. The
memories must not have been pleasant, for I saw Edward wince.
"I
pulled myself to the beach. It was raining, so I had no fears that my
trail would be followed. So, I laid there, at the bottom of the shore.
Eventually my body recovered itself well enough for me to swim further
north. The salt water was none too pleasant, so I resurfaced and took
up shelter in a forest near Lake Ozette."
Alice tilted her head, slightly.
"How did you feed before that? In the bottom of the ocean?"
I wrinkled my nose a bit, disliking remembering this.
"Fish. Many of them."
My expression was mirrored by several of them.
"I found a stray hunter at one point and finally gave my body all the energy it craved that sea life was unable to replenish me with. After I was certain I was well-healed enough to return to travel, I did so. Curiousity brought me back here. I was simply crossing through Forks when I...I ran into a girl."
The room tensed.
"A girl, who still remains human." My voice lowered to a near whisper, probably inaudible to anyone but us. "Even after my visits with her."
"Well," Carlisle murmured. "How unexpected."
"And don't leave out the details of today," Edward spoke up.
"Ah." I hesitated.
"Today?" That was Emmett speaking, if I remembered correctly.
I
nodded, slowly.
"I know little of the treaty your family has with
LaPush, so I seldom thought about it. Today Jessica took me there. I
was not paying attention to where she was driving. We
were...approached."
"Oh dear." Esme covered her mouth with one hand, looking concerned.
"We escaped them...unharmed, save some fabric." I glanced at my sleeve. "After that, I explained everything to her. I felt she had the right to know. I couldn't...I couldn't...well...bring myself to rid of her, regardless of what she may know."
"Oh, most certainly not." Carlisle stood. "We are not the types that would encourage such a thing, obviously."
I sighed in relief. I had heard before of vampires who would kill humans who knew too much, without hesitation. The Volturi were one example of those.
The next hour was spent in an in-depth explanation of the treaty. Carlisle told me about how he first arrived to Forks and met with the Quileute orders. He explained their concern, but the agreement that had been made. They would allow Carlisle and his family to stay here without exposing them, as long as they did not bite or feed off of humans.
Later that evening I found myself outside the Cullen home, staring out at the forests. The sound of the river in the distance eased my tensions. It really was a beautiful place for a house.
So here I was. It was similar to Alaska, though I had gone there by my own choice. I could leave at any moment without feeling like I was walking away from anything. Here it was different. Though, I was going to have to succumb to the same rules if I wanted to remain in the area with peace.
'Perhaps this time I will not cheat,' I told myself. The Cullen's had not brought up the encounter I had with Bella in the meadow. I was more thankful for that than I could explain. Not once, however, did I suspect they had forgotten about it.
I'd been given the offer to side with the Cullen family before. I had denied it then, so what was to make me not deny it now? I'd fled to Alaska to find the Denali coven. Maybe it was because I did not want to find myself on a weaker side. It sounded selfish to think of it that way, but it was probably the truth. I'd found many things there to keep my mind occupied for a while, at least.
'Irina.' Yes, Irina. She was beautiful, intelligent, and had the ability to love most any man. I'd been told it was because of her and her sisters that the legend of the succubus existed. Somehow I was not surprised.
I could go back. I could hole myself back up with those beautiful women.
"But would you be happy with that decision?"
I whirled around at the voice suddenly behind me.
Edward stood at the door of his home. The look on his face told me he'd
been overhearing a few thoughts of mine. I wasn't sure if it was
intentional or not.
"Irina, hmm?"
I frowned.
"She is an intriguing woman."
He just nodded and stepped closer to me, looking out at the forest.
"Nothing compared to what you're feeling now, though?"
"Do not assume you have any grasp of my emotions." My eyes narrowed a little as I glared at him.
"Oh, of course not." He smiled a little, but it was a forced smile.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
He stilted his head a bit, in the same manner that a curious pup would, then whispered, softly.
"La tua cantante, perhaps?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing." He chuckled, then looked at me. "In a much milder source, it seems."
"I don't understand a thing that you're saying."
Instead of answering my words, he turned and made his way back into the house.