Chapter Eleven
Zondrea was in shock, well, for the most part. She felt invaded somehow, by the bronze-haired one, at least. She had never met anyone before with an ability similar to her's and it wasn't pleasant.
The thing was, she had felt his presence in her own mind and it didn't exactly hurt, it was just uncomfortable and invasive, making her feel completely vulnerable.
Not to mention, she had been caught in her own lies, and surprised herself by feeling guilty for lying to the bulky one, Emmett. She was Zondrea Daae, and she did not ever feel guilty or regret anything.
Except, she had and still was trying to push it from her mind as she walked in step with Carlisle, Bella trailing a few feet behind them. She could feel Bella's presence like a beacon of light, it guarded Carlisle's mind from an invading that they thought she would do. Even though Zondrea had no intentions of picking apart the man's mind, she could see why they thought a shield would be necessary.
"Zondrea, is it?" Carlisle asked suddenly, interrupting Zondrea's train of thoughts.
She turned to the man next her, smiling slightly, "Yes, Zondrea Daae of Brighton." She properly announced herself, an old habit she had developed back when she was still human and actually lived in Brighton.
"You're very old, aren't you?" She could see the plain and flat out curiosity laying on his facial features and she answered lightly.
"Don't you think it's rude to ask a girl her age?" She smirked, and got one in return. "Sorry, sarcasm isn't very appropriate right now. I'm two-hundred and thirty years, give or take, and I was turned at the age of sixteen." She answered properly, absently running a hand across a pairing of green ferns.
"That's a very young age to turned at." Carlisle commented, looking down at her with the concern a father might portray.
She shrugged, a human gesture she had learned to use again. "Yes, well, back in the 1800's that was the age where you should be married and a mother." She smiled lightly, recalling memories of her friends having little children and hardworking husbands.
"You were never married then?" He continued to question, and usually this would have bothered Zondrea, but she found herself taking a quick liking to Carlisle.
She scoffed lightly, "Oh heavens, no. Apparently I was always a bit too crude, or sarcastic, and back then being smart and informed was looked down upon for a woman. My parents were always furious with me because I would scare off any suitor they'd bring for me, but I was okay with that. In fact, I vividly recall doing so on purpose. I was a free spirit, I didn't want a man or children to tie me down to anything. I always wanted to travel and explore." She explained in detail, very much wanting to gain Carlisle's trust.
He nodded, thinking for a moment. "How did you come across the Volturi of all people, well, vampires I suppose I should say?" He asked, swiftly ducking out of the way of a tree branch.
She chuckled lightly at the next memory, remembering her travel to Italy. "As I said, I had always wanted to travel and after years and years of learning how to control myself enough to be in the presence of humans without wanting to rip all of their throats out, I did just that. I went to Italy because I had heard about an important holiday that seemed very interesting. So, I ventured the city, after sunset, of course, and I hadn't fed in weeks. So, being the mental case I was back then, I helped myself, alluring a couple into an alley with me and fed off of both of them. I won't go into too much detail with that, though. And not even a moment after I was done, I was surrounded by three hooded figures. Of course, I could've just outrun them or manipulate their minds, but I was curious. So, I followed them, showed my abilities to their three leaders, and became one of them. And, that was not too long ago, actually." She could easily recall all of these events.
"You seem to have had quite a gruesome past." Carlisle commented, again getting that look of concern.
"Yes, well, haven't we all?" She spoke, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.
"Some of us have been more fortunate than you, I'm afraid." He again spoke, but placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
Zondrea tried to smile, but her lips just wouldn't allow it, so she looked ahead and took in the scenery. It was beautiful, she had to admit. Everything was so full of life, the trees, grass, and plants screamed with health and the woodland creatures were obviously just as well off, chittering around and creating their own little havoc. It was breathtaking, in a way.
"Why didn't you send me off?" She was suddenly asking him, turning to take in his expression and trying to ignore the brown-haired girl that was staring at them intensely with those tawny eyes they all seemed to acquire.
"Because I would never turn my back on another who was trying to better themselves. Your past may be ugly, but that doesn't mean you can't change yourself." He clarified, taking his hand off her shoulder and then gesturing at the forest around him. "I'm sure you're starving, though, and you're more than welcome to hunt on the forest creatures." He invited, and Zondrea couldn't help, but almost curl her lip up, remembering the sour way the deer had tasted.
Carlisle chuckled, "I know, it's a different sort of taste, but I can assure you, it gets much better after time."
"Yes, I was hoping you'd say something like that. I traveled on foot to here from Italy and I couldn't help, but attempt to stop that damned burning in my throat, so I tried your ways. The blood is just...sour." She finally explained, not able to find a better word to explain it.
"It'll just take some time." Carlisle reassured her again and then tilted his head to his left, "I believe I hear a herd of elk a mile or so north of here." And Zondrea could hear the animals too, if she focused on the direction.
Then they were off, actually running and Zondrea finally let herself relax for once, despite the fact that she knew Bella was still there and guarding Carlisle all the while.
The herd didn't even notice their approach and Zondrea didn't even wait for any sort of approval, but pounced upon one like a starved animal. She leapt on its back, feet firmly planted on the wiry hair and bent down to bite into the neck, razor sharp teeth digging their way into a vein and sucking the animal dry.
The blood was still sour and tasted wild, but it wasn't as bad as the dying deer she had come across.
The animal sunk to the ground and she gracefully went down with it, keeping her footing and letting the animal drop dead on the forest floor. She brushed her hand across her lips, wiping away an excess blood.
The herd was definitely aware of their presence now, but Zondrea didn't care, quickly catching up to another big male and doing the same exact thing, draining the creatures body completely dry.
Zondrea turned to see Carlisle standing towards the edge of the meadow, watching her with calculating eyes, as if concerned she might do something uncalled for, like take down the entire herd just for the fun of it.
But, she was much more civilized than that and straightened her back as she reminded herself so. She ran across the meadow, stopping a few feet in front of her two companions. "I apologize, I get carried away with dramatics and thrill of the hunt sometimes." She apologized, glancing quickly at Bella to see a surprised look across the girls face.
"What is it?" She asked the girl without much thought, wiping at her mouth again to make sure she didn't appear as a gory mess.
"Your eyes." She commented and Zondrea just gave her a confused look.
Carlisle seemed to notice them too, staring directly into them. "Yes, that's quite odd." He noted and then finally seemed to realize Zondrea was still confused. "Zondrea, they don't seem to be changing any sort of other color. If anything, they're even more so red than before." Carlisle finally explained and Zondrea just shrugged.
"Yes, they've always been so." She answered, still confused.
"It's just this would be different if you were a newborn, but you're not. I was older when I changed my diet, but my eyes did not get red, they started dulling right away. Of course, it took awhile for the whole color to change, though. I guess we'll just have to see in time." He finally concluded.
Zondrea nodded, feeling even more out of place than before. "Now what?" She questioned, changing subjects after feeling uncomfortable with the both of them practically examining her.
Carlisle now turned to Bella, "Now I believe we take you home to meet the rest of our family, especially if you plan to take permanent residence here, I think it would be important to make sure everyone is on agreement with this."
Bella didn't seem to happy about this and gave Carlisle an almost pleading look and Zondrea pieced together that this was more about her daughter than anything.
"Bella," Zondrea started, speaking directly to the girl now, who reluctantly turned to Zondrea with a plain, but somewhat hostile stare. "I would never harm your daughter. I've been in a room where many humans were being slaughtered at once and didn't even feel the need to fed upon them. I'm sure I can handle being in the same room as your daughter. I would never bring any harm upon her, you have my word." She tried to reason, sounding as sincere as she felt.
Bella finally sighed, also a human gesture. "I guess it'd be fine. Renesmee's old enough to be around this type of thing." She said, giving Zondrea an approving nod.
Without another moment of waiting around, the three started back towards the house, although Zondrea could still feel Bella's guard staying up the whole time.
(A/N : Two chapters in one day, that's pretty impressive for me. Review and give me some feedback if you want.)