Author's Note: Back to Liz and taking a side note into something that may or may not be very important...
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Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own creations, everything else is Twilight and Stephanie Meyer
Chapter Ten
Memory Box
Liz
I woke up to a blinding white light, my eye lids fluttering from its harsh glare. My senses flooded back into me all at one. My hearing went from a ring back to its usual potency of people's voices and the beeping of machines. Antiseptic hung in the air, accompanied by the scent of my own blood. Now however, I could tell the differences between the people in the room by their scents. I could smell Carlisle, Rosalie, Edward, William, Sam, Jake and Mason. I was against a metal table, except my left hand was being held by someone warm. My vision was the last to come back; it took me a moment to identify the face that was kind enough to eclipse the blinding light.
"Hey stranger." He said. It was Mason, of course. He was the one by my side, holding my hand; I wasn't surprised.
"I always keep my promises." I recalled Mason's words, surprised my voice could still sound so weak. We met each other's gaze for a moment. I swear I saw Mason's eyes tear up
"You're kidding me." Jake's voice broke our gaze
"What?" Mase asked before I could
"She's healing." Jake said "Look you can see it happening."
My periwinkle shirt was gone and I was left in my jeans and a sports bra. I remembered what had happened, where I was scratched, so thinking ahead, I didn't dare sit up. Instead I just looked at my shoulder. The cuts had been stitched, but I could visually see my skin repairing itself as cicatrices formed. It was amazing, and yet gross at the same time. I couldn't feel it; then again I couldn't really feel anything. I felt the hard surface of the table I was on, Mason's hand intertwined with mine, but otherwise I only felt a general aching in my whole body.
"Well better late than never. How are you feeling Liz?" Carlisle asked after examining my side again
"Tired and sore." I told him
"I'm not surprised, Alec did some damage." He said
"How much damage exactly?" I inquired
"He managed to puncture internal organs, including you right lung, which took the longest to repair. Other than that the actual reconnecting of you side was quite difficult. He grazed a major artery towards the back of your shoulder which attributed to more blood lose than anticipated, luckily Edward was here to help because William was keeping you breathing. You had us scared Liz, I'm very glad you are awake." Carlisle told me relieved
"Thank you, really, thank you guys. I'm sorry I broke from the plan, I just- I just had to make her stop." I said getting riled up at the thought of Jane
"Hey easy, you don't have enough energy for that yet." William told me giving me the oxygen mask again, why was he shirtless?
"No one can blame you for what you did. You took charge and everyone followed your lead. The real problem we need to find out is why you didn't heal." Jacob told me
"Sam, I would like to take a blood sample once she's recovered to see if I can find anything abnormal. Until we can figure out her healing issues, I must advise you not to let her become physical anymore, as a wolf or a human. I would also like to keep her here for at least twenty four hours so I can keep an eye on her." Carlisle said to Sam
"Yes of course." Sam told him back. Sam looked like he had aged twenty year since the last time I saw him. The bags under his eyes were almost as dark as the Volturi cloaks had been.
"Can I get up now?" I asked getting sick of lying flat on my back
"Slowly and carefully." Carlisle told me
Mason, William and Rosalie were all helping me, but I knew as soon as I started to move it was not going to feel good. I hid a groan most of the way but couldn't help but inhale quickly when my back was completely vertical. Getting off the table was the really painful part. A small yelp escaped my lips which put everyone in a panic
"I'm okay, I'm okay, I can handle this don't worry." I rambled at them as I stood on my own. Everyone let me stand by myself, except Mason who refused to let go of my arm.
"Mason I'm okay, you can let go now." I told him in a hushed voice
"But I can't. I can't let go." He told me with my favorite half smile. I knew he was talking about more than just our hands. Something had happened to him, he was different, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"We can have a car take you home and any other pack members who are here." Carlisle offered to Sam as I gimped toward the door
"No I'd prefer to stay." Sam insisted
"Sam, I'll be fine and you need to sleep. Trust me I'll still be here tomorrow. You have the pack to worry about, plus someone has to tell my parents." I reminded him remembering what Mason told me. Sam looked at me for a moment and knew I was right. It had been another scary night and he would never sleep well in this house.
"Mason, you can help her to William's room. It's all the way back down the hall, passed the stairs, on the right." Edward told Mason.
I had never stopped to look at Edward. He was tall, about my brother's height but with a medium build. His hair was dark and tussled in every which way, but had a natural wave, making it sleek. His jaw was not exceedingly strong like Emmett's or William's. His eyes were topaz and they hid under his strong brow. His eyes were the defining feature of his face.
"Thanks." Mason said escorting me out the door.
"So how are you really?" He asked almost immediately
"It's dulled and officially not the worst pain I've ever felt." I told him knowing he knew exactly what I meant.
"Liz, I'm sorry. I got you into this because I made you all tell me about the pack. It's my fault you had to come to my rescue."
"I knew you blamed yourself. Mason listen to me, this was not your fault. They wanted to get to me, and anyone could figure out the quickest way to do that is through you. You knowing about us was just a coincidence that they took advantage of. You can't blame yourself for being special to me. Blame them for taking advantage of our relationship. Blame them for what they did to me, because they did it, not you. Okay?" I told him sternly
"I'll try" He told me honestly, he helped me walk a few more steps before I spoke again
"Did a bird really help you here?" I asked lightening the conversation
"A hawk and yeah it did." He corrected matching my light tone. We laughed as usual but I struggled because every time I inhaled a sharp pain echoed through my rib cage, my struggling only made us laugh harder because of how dumb I sounded laughing and owing interchangeably.
Mason opened the door to William's room and my mouth dropped open. Three of the four walls that made William's room were covered from floor to ceiling with books. The only wall not covered in books was floor to ceiling windows looking out to the backyard. There was a recliner in one of the corners where books met books and a couch against the window wall. A giant king sized bed was made up with gold and black comforter and pillows. The design of the bed was ornate, but the black color made it feel less grand, even as gold Parisian side tables flanked either side. I still couldn't grasp how many books were in this room and at first glance they looked to be old. Mason, knowing me too well, knew my first instinct would be to run to the books and start reading.
"No. Get in the bed." He commanded flatly, guiding me toward the ornate piece of furniture.
"But they look like first additions!" I said fighting him slightly
"You will have time to look later! Right now you need to heal." He told me
"I can heal and read at the same time!" I argued
"You need to sleep. Last time you healed when you were asleep." He reasoned
"Ugh, fine. I hate when you're right." I admitted in defeat
"Well don't worry, it doesn't happen very often." he joked back
"Wait before you get in bed! Here are some pajamas for you to sleep in." Alice appeared in the doorway out of nowhere, handed them to me then bounced back out the door.
"Where did she come from?" Mason asked still looking at the door
"Better question, who sleeps in this?" I asked holding up a silky tank top shirt with lace on the hem and pair of matching silk shorts.
"Here, at least take my t-shirt." Mason offered unzipping his hoodie and taking off the plain navy t shirt he was wearing then zipped the hoodie back up before I could protest.
"Thank you, this will be a lot comfier." I told him. Knowing taking off my sports bra would be agonizing at best, I decided to just put Mason's shirt on over it to save the trouble. His shirt smelled just like him which was comforting. I don't know how long he had been there, but Jacob knocked at the door as soon as I pulled on Mason's shirt all the way.
"Hey Alice told me what she gave you to sleep in, and I figured it wasn't your style. Here is a pair of my flannel pajama bottoms and a shirt, but it looks like you have the t-shirt covered." Jake said handing the bottoms to me and looking at Mason in the corner of his eye.
"Thank you! They're perfect!" I told him excitedly. They were big but they were what I wore at home, they even smelled like home from being around Jacob.
"No problem, kid." Jacob said with a smile before turning to leave, his eyes lingering negatively on Mason
"Mase," Sam said appearing in the doorway, and awkwardly letting Jacob pass before talking again. "We're about to head out. Grab your helmet and let's go." He continued
"Can't I stay? Rosalie said I was welcome anytime." Mason begged
"I just got off the phone with your mom and she is worried sick. She needs to see you in person. Besides both of you need sleep and neither of you will get it as long as you're in the same room." Sam said matter of factly
"You know he's right." I told Mason under my breath when he looked at me for backup. I could tell Mase hadn't slept all night either; it just wasn't plastered under his eyes like his father.
"We'll be back tomorrow I promise." Sam told him
"Fine." Mason told his dad then turned around to embrace me. His hug was timid, afraid he would hurt me and so I hugged him back harder to let him know all was well. "I promise, I'll be back soon." He whispered then stole a kiss on my cheek so his dad wouldn't see.
"I know, don't worry I'll be fine. Get some sleep, and lock your window this time." I told him with a smile as he closed the door behind him.
I changed into the pajamas Jacob had given me and left the silky ones from Alice folded in a chair close to the door. Once I was changed I slowly crossed the room to the window wall. From there, I could see the sun in the east. It was still early in the morning but I couldn't tell what time exactly. I honestly didn't know what day it was or how long I was passed out. I was assuming it was only a few hours, but it felt like days.
After William's voice stopped I only heard the stream and the wind in the trees. The scary part was I did not want to leave. I had been content with the peace and tranquility in that space enough to keep me there for years. It wasn't until I heard Mason's voice did I realize something was missing like it had been when I was at that spot in real life. When I went to the stream the first time, I had come back wishing Mason had been there with me, and the same thing happened in my head. I heard his voice and it was like an alarm going off telling me it wasn't as perfect as I thought it was because Mason wasn't there, so I woke up. It frightens me to think about what may have happened if he wasn't there to talk to me. How much longer would I have stayed there? Unexpectedly, there was a knock at the door.
"Hey," William was there "I though you could use some water and maybe some help actually getting into bed." He said, awkwardly waiting in the door way
"Both would be great actually." I confessed starting to walk/gimp back to the bed from across the room
"Here let me." He said placing the water on the closest end table walking over to me at his speed "Put your arm around my neck." He told me, Because of the height difference, he had to bend his knees slightly so the crook of my elbow could reach around his neck.
"Um, okay…" I said hesitantly
Before I knew what was happening, he had whisked me up under my legs and around my back and was carrying me threshold style to the side of the bed. "O-kay." I said awkwardly as he lifted me. He set me down gently on the sheets and reached over for the comforter so I didn't have to. "Thank you." I said after he had set me down. That truly was faster and less painful than I was anticipating.
"Of course." He replied with his handsome half smile. He started to walk out the door but turn back to face me before exiting "Liz, do you remember what you asked me before you passed out?" he asked
I was caught off guard, and honestly, besides hearing his voice, everything was kind of a blur
"Honestly, no, not really." I confessed, leaving William with a look of disappointment
"Well you asked why I was lying, about having a gift." He reminded me
"Oh! Yeah, I remember from the bonfire. You said you didn't have one then at the last second looked out of the corner of your eye, classic tell." I remembered
"Well you were right. I did lie." He said then went to leave the room
"Hey! You can't just admit you lied then leave! Especially when I can't follow you!" I hollered after him. His face reappeared in the doorway second later.
"You need to sleep." He told me flatly
"Should have thought about that before telling me you lied." I sassed him back
"Fine." He sighed, then came back into the room and shut the door behind him. "Just so you know I'm a private person. Only Carlisle knows my story, everyone else only has pieces, but even Carlisle doesn't know everything." He asked walking over to sit on the far corner of the bed.
"Oh, I'm sorry I don't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I retracted truthfully. I had no idea the Cullens didn't even know William's story, my apology only made William half smirk.
"No, I want to tell you. Liz, I don't know what it is, but I feel like I can tell you anything, and that hasn't happened to me in centuries." He acknowledged sheepishly.
I did not want to admit it myself, but I had the same feeling about him. It was strange, Mason was the only other person I have felt that way with and that was because we built our bond as children who had no need to lie. I just met William, and yet I had a hunch I would feel terrible lying to him, just as I do with Mason. I couldn't bring myself to answer the same back, I only smiled and changed the subject.
"So that means I'll be the only one to know the whole thing?" I clarified, guilt beginning to pang in my chest, knowing I would not be able to hide his secrets from the pack mind but being too curious to tell him to stop.
"The whole unfiltered thing, if you want to hear it." His smile made me want to jump to say yes, only to be reminded of the inability to keep his secret
"I do, but, the pack mind-"
"Don't worry about that. I can help you keep it a secret." He informed me
"Wh-what?" I asked unsure of what he meant
"It will make sense after the story, I promise, and just like you, I keep my promises." He told me with a twinkle in his eye.
"Okay." I confirmed sheepishly. How on earth was I able to openly trust this boy? I didn't know him a week ago and already I trusted him with my life. Granted he did just help save my life… again, but still! I would say he had some kind of manipulation power, but I was the only one falling for it. More than anything, I wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Okay," He awkwardly began "I'm going to start in the beginning. I was born in England in the middle ages. My parents were Adam Chamberlain and Joanna Oliver. My father clawed his way to nobility from his life of poverty. He was very ambitious, always doing what was needed to elevate his status, including marrying my mother, the daughter of some high ranking nobleman. My father worked for the Lord of the land directly, serving as his personal treasurer. When my sister Lucy was born, my father started drinking and sleeping around with the peasants because my mother was always busy with the baby. Two years later, my father came home drunk and raped my mother and she became pregnant. She thought about having me aborted, not wanting to bring me into such a terrible family and the terrible world she lived in. She didn't think it was fair to me, to force me into this world right when it was falling to pieces. However, she was too scared, the procedure during that time was dangerous and she was terrified to leave Lucy alone in this world, so I was born in 1331, as William Oliver Chamberlain."
"Sounds like a knight's name." I commented
"I wished, but I never had the chance." he admitted more to himself than me before he continued. "My sister and I were very close to our mother, and feared our father. We were fortunate enough to be educated with the Lord's children, but our father hated the fact we were becoming smarter than him. He was self-educated, mainly in math, and especially hated when I learned to speak properly and he couldn't.
"You see, even as a child, I was very good at word manipulation and it only became more forceful when I gained a large vocabulary. I would have intellectual conversations with the other noblemen, I was a gifted story teller, but one of my favorite past times was haggling the traveling merchants. The Lord took a liking to me when he saw how good I was at bringing down prices and confusing the merchants altogether. The weaker minded ones would forget where they were completely after looking me in the eyes. My father hated the fact the Lord took a better liking to me than him. He thought I would get in his way. He would try to beat the education out of me, but obviously that never worked. Eventually he gave up and joined the army when I was ten, called it his 'heroic duty' or something like that. We were all relieved when he didn't come back." A pang of guilt crossed his face when he thought of his father's outcome.
"We were lucky the Lord liked me. He offered me a job as a tradesman when my father left, to keep the family going. Word of my position swept the countryside. Merchants tried their best to thwart my arguments and all the peasants knew my name, but other than the celebrity, everything fell into place. For once my mother, sister and I were all happy.
"Everything changed when the Black Death reached England eight years later. The manor was decimated quickly. The peasants became ill first, and in a matter of days, the Lord and all his children had died. My mother was the first to catch ill, she barely survived a day. Lucy and I were heartbroken, but even worse we didn't know where to go. We had read reports of out breaks everywhere we could think to travel, and because we hesitated, Lucy became sick. I sat by her side for three days as she tried to fight it. On the fourth day Aro found us. He offered both of us a chance at a new life, and a real family, but Lucy was content. She had accepted she was going to die, but wanted me to go with him. I thought she was getting better, but she told me to leave her anyway. She didn't want me to take the chance of getting sick myself. Because Lucy told me to, I went with Aro.
"A nomad had posed as a merchant and reported me to Aro and he was curious enough to change me. That's how I knew he would change you simply out of curiosity, because that why he changed me."
He looked at me again expecting me to say something but all I could do was nod as he continued.
"Once I was turned; I found that if I looked into people's eyes, I could see all their memories, and I could alter or terminate whatever I wanted inside someone else's mind. I wasn't as powerful as Aro had hoped, but I was useful. I wiped the memories of newborns; I helped keep the wives content by riding them of bad thoughts or altering pleasant ones into their place. If a guard member saw something they shouldn't have, instead of killing them, Aro used me. The lesser members were scared of me, not like Jane or Alec, but they didn't want me in their heads rearranging things. If I had been as cruel as Jane or Alec, I imagine I would go into others' minds simply to toy with them, but I was not cruel. Instead, I became close with Felix and Demetri. They trained me to fight and I did, on multiple occasions. When mind games didn't work, I was one of the few that could defend the coven physically as well.
"What I hated most was when humans came. For his own enjoyment, Aro would have me wipe their minds so they would be confused and scared when they were killed. It was sickening. I eventually refused to feed off humans all together and turned to animals sometime in the early sixteen hundreds. Aro thought I was absolutely crazy and Marcus thought I had a death wish. Carlisle was the first person I met who shared my lifestyle and had eyes like mine. It automatically gave us a bond and that bond was my way out. Carlisle and I became friends quickly, he became like an older brother to me in the end. For the first time in some three hundred years, I was given the family I was promised. When he decided to leave, Aro knew I wouldn't be far behind. He ordered me to be around Corin for multiple days so I could become addicted to her." William explained more as he saw my brow lift in confusion, "Her gift is giving the people she's around the feeling of contentment, but it has drug like side effects; when you're away from her you go through withdrawals, addicting you to her presence. Chelsea also took advantage of my friendships inside the guard and tried to turn me against Carlisle in my own head. What she didn't know and still doesn't know is Chelsea has no effect on me, but it took me years to find contentment again after being by Corin for so long.
"I told Carlisle that I left shortly after he did to find him, and I did, but that wasn't the whole truth. In reality, around the turn of the nineteenth century, Aro summoned me to the throne room to wipe a newborn's mind. The man must have been in his mid-twenties and was muscular; I could tell they wanted him as a fighter. It took four guard members to keep him in place for me to do my part. I looked into his eyes and saw flashes of his past life. This man had hung on to so many memories, more than I thought possible for the Volturi's system. Because I was to obliterate so many memories, I had to stay connected to him longer than anyone I ever had. He was a husband and father, he had two small girls. They had picked him out of the feeding crowd and made him watch as they fed on his wife and children. A sole memory kept coming around, it was his wife and daughters on a gondola ride. His daughters were smiling from ear to ear and his arm was around his wife. That was the happiest moment of his past life and I was supposed to take it away from him. I felt like a monster. I thought that if he had attacked me at that moment, I wouldn't have time to take it away. That if he took his right arm and choked me to the ground, he could keep his memory. In my mind, I wanted him to, I dared him to. His face went blank, his pupils dilated and just as I had thought it in my own mind, he did it. His right hand broke free and he choked me to the ground. He didn't make a single noise and his face was blank the entire time. As soon as I was on the ground his face returned to normal, but he had no memory of what he had just done. I realized that I compelled his mind into the actions he had taken. Not only that, but seeing memories became stronger as well. I didn't have to look people in the eye to erase or alter things anymore. If I wanted to dig in their minds I still needed look them in the eye, but it was a far cry from where I had been.
"I was terrified. If Aro had found out, he would have weaponized me and I couldn't let him do that. The next day, I erased the memory of my scent from the guards' minds and took what I could away from Aro, Marcus and Caius. I left Volterra and started my search for Carlisle. I wondered around Europe, Asia and Africa for nearly a century, before I sailed to America in 1905. I got caught up and ended up graduating from a few high schools and colleges over the next hundred years, until finally I heard about the standoff in Forks involving the Volturi and Carlisle Cullen. I managed to track them to South Africa about a year after they got there and here I am today, with my family." William concluded waiting for my reaction
"Your gift is mind control?" I asked in disbelief. I didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted that this was his gift. I immediately began to question our every interaction to try to remember if he had made me do anything.
"In a way yes, and before you say anything, I can't control you." He guaranteed
"How do I know that? You have a habit of looking in my eyes." I snapped back, disgust overtaking my emotions
"Because mental powers do not work on you."
"Because I'm a shield right?" Sarcasm dripped from my every word
"I don't think you're a shield. I think your gift is control." He admitted
A gift being control? I wasn't an expert on vampire knowledge, but I had a hunch that wasn't something a person could be gifted.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked
"It's pretty evident you like to control things Liz. You are a natural leader, but more importantly you are in tune with every muscle and bone in your body along with the elements of nature. You want to know everything and anything you can and it scares you when you don't or things are out of your control. I think as a person, mental gifts don't work simply because you don't want them to. In the pack mind you are more vulnerable because it's not just your mind anymore, but even then Edward couldn't hear you and I couldn't see anything. Your guard fell down as a wolf, which was why Jane could attack. When you were cut, you didn't heal because you were in the pack mind and then it was too late. As soon as you woke up, and your guard was back, you began to heal." William defended his argument, admittedly, it was good. "I look in your eyes because I can't see anything. You make me feel human again, like I still have a soul. It's selfish, but I find it hard to look away because what is looking back at me is so special. I don't see your memories, I see you." He admitted the last part into his hands
"So, you can't alter, delete, or control me in anyway?" I clarified
"Not even if I wished it." He replied, still into his hands.
"Thank you," His eyes flew to mine as I spoke "for telling me the truth."
"I could never lie to you Liz. You are the first person in my life that makes me feel whole; it would hurt too much to lie to you." He admitted
I was so hesitant to look into his eyes again, still unsure if I could trust him, but I couldn't stop myself. His topaz eyes locked on mine and I could tell he was telling the truth, but there was still a tiny voice telling me that even as a human, he was a manipulator. I am smart, but I am also quick to trust. No matter what, I didn't want anyone knowing about this conversation, which meant keeping it out of the pack mind.
"How do I keep the guys from seeing all this? You said you would show me." I reminded him
"To do that, you need my help."
"I thought that was established?" I half mocked
"No, from the inside. You need to let your guard down for me." He explained
"Excuse me?" My eyes widened in surprise
"I've seen you do it before."
"Yeah, as a wolf, that kind of defeats the purpose of keeping it safe." I said
"No, I'm talking about with Mason." He explained sheepishly again
I was taken aback; I never realized I changed around Mason in anyway. We always seemed to be on the same brain frequency, but I never thought that meant my guard was down. Thinking about it though, I guess it was true. Even as kids I always felt safest around Mase, I was never embarrassed or intimidated, we always knew what to say and we even felt content not saying anything at all. I literally cannot remember a time when we were not that close. He has been there since I was born, my first and sometimes, only friend. I have never known life without him, so it made sense I let my guard down. After learning William use to have manipulative qualities, it makes it difficult for me to trust anything he says, let alone let him into my head when I would be my most vulnerable. I felt bad about the pack learning his story when he had entrusted me, but it almost seems worth it compared to his idea of keeping it a secret.
"I understand you and Mason have something special and I can never compete with what you two have, but I am asking you to trust me. If I am right, and your gift is control, you should be able to do this without any effort from me. I'll just be there to guild you."
"and if you're wrong?" I spoke so quickly I saw William wince slightly
"Then you really are a shield and I won't be allowed in anyway."
"I just hate the idea of my thoughts and ideas not being private…" I admitted quietly, heat filling my cheeks as I refused to meet his eye. There were some things I wanted to keep to myself, precious memories and thoughts that were just for me.
"Like I said, I don't want to see your memories. I want to get to know you like a normal person, I don't want to cheat." He said softly, moving closer closing the space between us.
"What exactly do you plan to do?" I asked
"I can only describe it as building a box. I use it on Edward when I want to keep thoughts private. Basically it's thinking of all the information you want to hide, then putting it into a box, by building one wall at a time. Once the box is created, it's only for you, well you and whoever you share the memory with." he explained
"How did you come up with this?"
"I used it against Aro. That's how I managed to keep all my memories from my past life. I put them in a box and even with his gift, he couldn't see them. I promise I won't look, just let me help. The first time is the hardest." He nearly begged. The idea of him in my head still made me apprehensive, on the other hand if it meant keeping some secrets from the pack mind, it may be worth it to know how to make memory boxes.
"Alright." I said with a sigh.
"Alright." He echoed back, trying to hide a huge grin. When he moved this time he left no personal space. After finding himself comfortable he said "When I think you're ready, I'll ask you to close your eyes, okay?"
"I guess."
He wrapped his right hand around and set it on the nap of my neck. His fingers were icicles against my fevered skin, but instead of frigid chills, I felt a cool sense of relief wash over me. My muscles relaxed under his touch. He drew me in close to his face, almost close enough to rest his forehead against my own, his topaz eyes staring directly into my chocolate ones. This is the closest I have been to a vampire since Alec bit me, but instead of feeling tense or even awkward, I remained completely relaxed. I knew I should want to pull away, if anyone else had done this my first instinct would be to retreat then retaliate. However, here I was, starring into William's liquid topaz eyes and I did not feel the need to move. There must be a reason I felt this was okay.
After a few moments, our breathing synchronized and I felt my eye lids become heavy as I fought to keep them open.
"Close your eyes." He whispered and I was more than willing to oblige.
Everything was dark at first. It felt like I was in a established space, but it was large, like an auditorium. As each second passed, moving images began to fill the space, one by one. I saw my parents, the pack, Mason, the Cullens. A closer look showed me they were memories. All these millions of moving images were memories. Some from a week ago, others dating back years.
"You have quite a collection." I turned to see William walking towards me out of the shadows, a warm smile across his face.
"Thanks, I have to admit; there are a lot of these I've forgotten about." I told him, looking at glimpses of memory of when I was younger. I turned back to William expecting to see him looking as well, but instead his gaze was locked on me. "What?" I asked
"I told you. I didn't want to cheat." He half smiled at me.
"Good. Now tell me how to make this box thingy." I turned back to the point
"First step: recall the memory."
"How do I do that exactly?"
"Just think about it, it will show itself." He told me. I chuckled and I thought back the memory. Sure enough it manifested in front of my face.
"Good now, you see that dark corner over there," he pointed to the left behind me. I turned around to face the other side of darkness; sure enough I saw where two walls met. "Make the memory follow you there."
It wasn't a hard thing to do. As I walked into the shadows, the memory followed with ease, illuminating my path.
"Now imagine four walls, coming out of the ground and stop them when they're at your waist." Once again I complied with ease. The first wall came out of the ground as if it was steel pushing past dirt. The next three followed meeting the corner of the one previous.
"This is the most difficult part. You need to physically take hold of the memory and put it in the square. It won't want to go in, but you need to make it."
The glowing square of an image retracted as my fingers tried to reach it. I reached a second time and it retreated even further.
"Come back here." I told it. It hesitated a second but was quick to comply with my demand. I was able to grab it on my third try, knowing I wouldn't let it go, the memory allowed itself to be put in the box. I heard William mumble a 'wow' behind me before saying the next step.
"Imagine a top on the box, lock it."
The image of a metal lid appeared on top of the four walls I had created. I felt something heavy and cold in my hands. I looked down to find a lock and key. They were old fashioned, the lock having a swirled design carved into the black metal, the skeleton key sharing the same design with an intricately looped end. I slid the lock into place and tugged once it was sealed to make sure it would stay secure.
"What do I do with the key?" I asked holding it up.
"That is up to you. You can let it run free with the other memories, you can hide it in the shadows-"
"Wouldn't it be easy to find like that?" I cut him off
"It's harder than you think to find something so small in someone else's mind." He reassured me
"Could you take it?" I asked
"Excuse me?" He asked, his eyebrow raised
"It would be impossible to find if it wasn't here at all. This memory is about you, it's only right that you take it." I put the key into his hand. William's gaze went from me to the key and back again multiple times. "Is there something wrong?"
"I can't take this. I don't know what will happen if I leave here with it. You may never get it back." He admitted, holding the key back to me
"These boxes are to keep other people out right?" I asked, he nodded in response "I will be able to see the memory whenever I want to. No one else needs to see it. Take it." I told him. He looked at the key once more, his eyes were still wide in disbelief. He closed his hand and put it in the inside pocket of his jacket, only to take out a different key in its place. He took a long glance at it before holding it out to me.
"Take this one in return." he told me
"What is it to?" I asked, too hesitant to take it
"This belongs to the box which holds all the best memories of my past life."
"William I can't take that. My memory was of you, this has nothing to do with me." I took a step back
"That's just it. I've been carrying this thing around for over six hundred years, afraid it will fall into the wrong hands. I cannot think of a safer place than with you Liz. Please, take it." He held the key out to me once again. I took it delicately from his hand.
It was a skeleton key, like mine had been, but it was worn. If there had been a design carved into it's flesh, it had been long worn away. However the head was adjourned with intricate knot work which reminded me of a detailed Celtic knot and showcases a brilliant radiant cut ruby so rich in color it respelled blood. William shut my hand around it as he closed the distance between us, placing his right hand at the base of my neck again and like time resting his forehead on mine. Without needing to be told, I shut my eyes once more to escape the images in my mind.
With my eye still closed, I could feel the sheets of the bed under me and William's cold fingers against my neck, his forehead was also resting on my own as it had been in my mind and his left hand was curled around mine, as if he had just given me the key. We did not move as our eyes opened. My eyes were originally turned down, knowing he was looking at me, I raised my focus to meet his gaze. The moment I met his topaz stare, it felt like a sudden gust of wind hit me and took my breath away. Images began to flash through my field of vision as I struggled to inhale oxygen. Unfamiliar emotions filled my senses.
Scenes of people flashed. They were dressed in clothes from hundreds of years ago. Some images had women carrying baskets, men wheeling crops in carts, and children laughing. More than half have two women, one significantly older than the other. Both wear long dresses which just barely touch the ground. Their sleeves are tight and go down to their fingers. The older woman, who truthfully was not very old, wears a deep emerald and has some kind of white head wrapping covering her hair. Her features are delicate but still beautiful. The younger girl, who must be in her mid-teens, wears a deep blue gown with crème trimmings and a long pale blonde braid hangs down her back. She shares the older woman's bone structure and is by all means absolutely gorgeous. They are laughing and I have the overwhelming emotion of joy and contentment. Even more memories have just the younger girl, more laughter and happiness surrounds the times when she is the only one in view. I feel like she is a mentor, someone I look up to and have everlasting love for. Then the two women are together again and it's as if I couldn't be happier.
Finally the flashes stop and I am back in the room again, blinking and still trying to take in oxygen. To my surprise, William is doing the same thing across from me. Even though my struggle I managed to see the resemblance in the high cheek bones and brow shape in William's face. I just saw his mother and sister. I could still hear the echoes of their laughter and chatter when I began to talk
"When we switched keys, we must have-"
"-granted the other to see the memory themselves." William finished for me
"Did you know that would happen?"
"I've never given someone a key before, so no." He said still trying to catch his breath
"Will," His eyes shot to me at the abbreviation of his name "She was pretty, Lucy. I can tell you loved her and your mom a lot. I can tell you miss them."
His shock turned into a warm, full smile.
"I think I got ripped off in that trade." He joked lightly "You know a hell of a lot more about me than I do about you."
"Yeah, but I cheated." I teased him back, matching his full smile. We both laughed out loud
"You need to sleep." He told me making his way to the door
"But I'm not tired." I told him, realizing I was lying to myself as my eye lids became heavy once more.
"I'll be here when you wake up, I promise." He told me, leaving and closing the door behind himself.
Exhaustion was beginning to seep into me, but there was still one thing I had to do before I forgot how to go back to the memory place. I shut my eyes once again, opening them to the dark space. The memories flooding back as they had before. I walked closer to the millions of memories and recalled the one of Mason and I on the beach, where we made our promise to each other. I also summoned the memory of our first kiss. These belonged to us. No one else had the right to see them. Both memories came to me easily. I took them even farther into the darkness then before, their exceptional glow illuminating my path. Instead of a cold hard container I had imagined with Will's memory, I tried to imagine a box that deserved to have these memories in them. What appeared before me was a metal box, but this time it has softer, rounded edges and an intricate pattern scrawled across the entire thing. The inside was not just dirt like the last, but lined with a deep purple fabric with a gold trim. It was perfect and exactly what these memories deserved. I reached for the memory of the kiss first, it moved only slightly before it allowed me to set it into the exquisite box. The memory of the promise did not flinch, it moved into my grasp. It seemed like it knew what I was doing and agreed with me. I set the second memory next to the first against the purple lining. Like most things, the lid for this second box was different from the first. Instead of a simple hinge lid, this box had double metal doors. They gave the appearance of elegance with the whimsical design cascading across the frame. Because the lock was built into the door, I only felt the weight of a key in my right hand. The key to this box was a bright gold. The top of the key was made into detailed butterfly wings, at the center, joining the wings together sat a small yet brilliant light. I made sure the door was locked and I let the glow of the key lead me back to the other memories. My only decision left was what to do with the key. I could keep it in my pocket along with Will's; the light was too bright to hide in the shadows. Suddenly the wings of the key began to flutter. I gasped as it began to fly around my head, but allowed it to land in the palm of my hand.
"Do you want to stay here?" I asked it. It fluttered around my head, landing on the outside of the jacket I was wearing. For the first time I bothered to look at what I was wearing. I was not in my borrowed pajamas, but jeans and leather jacket over Mason's blue shirt. I had put Will's key in the front pocket of my jeans but it never registered what I was wearing until now. I reached inside the leather jacket and found there was a pocket on the inside, which when closed went over my heart. The key fluttered off my shoulder and landed on the outside of the pocket.
"You want to go there huh? You sound like Mason." I told the key as I propped open the pocket and let it fly in. With the key safely in place, I let myself drift once again back to reality.
I opened my eyes, I was back in the room surrounded by books and the sun which shown bright in the morning. I didn't have time to over think things, exhaustion swept through my body like a tidal wave. Sleep came as soon as my head hit the pillow, and for the first time in months, I spelt with no interruptions.
AN: I actually did quite a bit of research to give William his background and I tried very hard to give his a gift that no one has had before but I'm afraid it may come off confusing, does it? Not a whole lot happened in this chapter, but it was very important to talk about the mental space if not for the this story then for the next. And yes, there will be a sequel! I do not know the whole premise yet nor do I have any idea when it will be finished/ posted just know it is in the works.
For now, let me know what you think about Liz and Will's relationship because it will determine what happens in their futures.
That's all for now, keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter!
