Chapter Eleven: Bella Awakens

I felt my heart beat gradually slowing, becoming a dull pounding in my ears as the irregular bass drum beat eventually came to a deadening halt … it reminded me of that time I was driving my truck and then it … died. Or so I thought. Turns out it was just out of fuel.

Only then did I notice that the pain was gone. Then I realised that I was in a car crash. Then I realised that Edward had bitten me. Then I realised that I was a vampire.

A sudden excitement coursed through my veins, which I noticed were no longer pumping with blood.

I opened my eyes and found another pair of eyes staring back at me. Edward's.

I sat up with such speed that my forehead smashed into Edward's head and sent him flying into the wall, where he left a large Edward-shaped dent.

"Edward!" I squealed, jumping into his arms with joy. He caught me with shock, looking rather worried.

"Edward, what's the matter? You vamped me! You sired me! You turned me! I'm a vampire, just like you! Now we can be together forever! And I'll be really beautiful, for once!" I grinned like a lunatic at the thought, and immediately jumped out of Edward's arms to find a mirror.

"Bella! No! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Edward called after me anxiously, following me as I sprinted into the bathroom.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and reflected in it I saw …

Me.

Myself.

Isabella Swan.

The exact same as I had always been.

I felt myself turn red with anger and disappointment. I felt myself swelling with rage. I punched the mirror in resentment and it smashed into a million pieces. Slowly, I turned to face Edward, my teeth bared as I pulled my lips back in a snarl. I could feel that my passive aggressive nature had caused the great anger building inside me for years to burst forth.

"WHAT! THE! PUCK!" I screamed, so loudly I thought my throat might tear, if it weren't for the fact that I now had a super-strong vampire throat. I grabbed Edward by his shirt and shook him violently, so violently that he looked genuinely frightened and a tear almost leaked out of his gorgeous golden eye.

I didn't have gorgeous golden eyes. Mine were brown. BROWN!

All the anger inside me seemed to dull down, until it left me feeling nothing but depressed and suicidal. I slid down the wall and curled my legs up, wrapping my arms around my knees and burying my face.

"Cheer up, emo," said Edward comfortingly, putting an arm around me and pulling my chin up to look at him pathetically.

"You're still beautiful to me," he smiled, ruffling my hair like a child. "Bug up, there!"

"Isn't it 'buck' up?" I asked.

"I don't know," he replied, confused.

"Oh, Edward!" I sobbed without any real tears. "Why, why, WHY aren't I beautiful?" I broke down on the floor, shaking with grief.

"I believe the only one with all the answers is myself," came an unfamiliar voice, echoing all around me …

I looked up, and saw that a cat had situated itself on Edward's lap.

"Sweet fucking Perelandro …" I muttered, not taking my eyes off the possibly hostile creature. "Edward, my love … there's a fricking cat sitting on your lap and it's talking."

"Yeah," said Edward conversationally. "This cat's been hanging around for a couple of days now. It's kind of my mentor, you know, my 'Yoda'. It's magical. It made me fall asleep and dream about … all kinds of horrors. And it taught me a game called 'Special Luck'. I think you'll really like the cat, actually, it's been a great friend to me while you were asleep, I was thinking we should adopt it … or something … Bella!" Edward had stopped his talking and was looking at me in horror.

I let out a large burp as I finished drinking the last of the cat's blood. "What?" I asked Edward, as I coughed up some fur. The magical cat's blood had been really nice. I think it was my singer.

Edward looked as though he was about to cry. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair and looked quite deranged as he pulled on it in agony. I tossed the carcass of the cat aside and took Edward's hands in mine.

"Edward, honey, what did I do wrong?" I asked gently, looking into his beautiful eyes.

"That cat was my friend," he whispered sadly. "And you killed it!"

"I am not dead," came an impressive voice from behind me. I looked around to discover that the magical cat was still alive. I swiftly grabbed its tail, and again, drained it of its blood.

Edward screamed in disgust. But the cat just kept coming back to life!

So I kept drinking its blood until I felt satisfied.

"Are you quite finished?" the cat asked, as I took one last great slurp. It was pissed off, I could tell.

"Yes," I said guiltily, as the cat brushed itself off.

"Well," said the cat. "Good then."

Edward was cowering in the corner, muttering about Jesus and resurrection and reciting the Hail Mary.

"As I was saying," continued the cat. "If you want to know why you are not changed, Bella, I have all the answers."

"Shoot!" I said. I didn't actually believe this idiot of a feline had any answers, to anything. I was just humouring it.

"Ah, I see," the cat murmured. "You don't believe I have any of the answers … you're just humouring me."

Shit.

"Well, I shall prove you wrong … if I have not already," the cat smirked. It clasped its paws together and began speaking.

"Bella," it said. "Most vampires bring a trait from their human lives into their vampire lives. You know this already. Edward was an observant human, who had a knack for understanding and reading people … he can now read their thoughts. Carlisle was a highly compassionate human … he was able to abstain from drinking any human blood without any help."

The cat looked into my eyes.

"But you, Bella," it whispered. "You were something else. No one could penetrate your mind, because you were so truly human. Your blood sang for Edward more than anyone else's … because it was pure human. Your trait, Bella, is your humanity."

I slowly inhaled, my hands shaking.

"This is not a bad thing," the cat told me, comfortingly. "You have something vampires everywhere dream of. You still have your life … but with all the benefits."

I raised an eyebrow quizzically, and looked over to Edward, whose mouth was hanging open.

"You are strong, Bella. You will sparkle in the sunlight. You no longer require that nuisance of sleep. You have enhanced senses. You have remarkable endurance and agility. You can run faster than the speed of light. You don't require sustenance, other than blood. You are immortal. And … you are beautiful."

The cat finished talking and smiled at me.

The inspirational speech had almost made me cry. I had so many powers now! But the cat wasn't right about everything.

"You're lying," I told it quietly. It raised its eyebrows. "You're lying. I'm not beautiful. I look exactly the same as I always have."

Edward closed his mouth and turned to me, his face breaking out into a loving grin. "Oh, Bella," he smiled. "Silly Bella … that is because you have always been beautiful."

My heart broke in joy. I let out a delighted giggle. I felt loved.

The cat smiled down at Edward and me fraternally as we embraced.

"Now, now, children," it said. "I haven't quite finished explaining myself. Bella, you have all these vampire qualities. But you are a rarity. Because you still own all of your human cognitive abilities, feelings etcetera. And the only blood you will ever thirst for … is mine."

I gasped.

"Why is that?" I asked.

Edward shrugged with his hands in his pockets, which I personally found quite hot. He raised one eyebrow. He then pulled one of his pale, piano-playing hands out of his pockets, and was now holding a lollipop. He unwrapped it and started licking it. After all this, I was feeling very turned on. I decided to listen to the cat.

"I do not know," the cat replied. "Possibly because I was involved in the car accident that caused your vampirism. That is irrelevant. The point is, you are technically a vampire, but you have kept your humanity. Your skin was already pale, so no difference there. Bella, you were so vampiric when you were a human that no one can tell the difference now that you are a vampire. Therefore, you can feel free to visit your family and friends without any suspicion."

Oh Gods. I was hoping I'd never see Charlie again, not after that incident at the shopping mall with Edward's bathrobe … no sir. Nevertheless, this would make things easier.

I sighed, relieved at how all of this had turned out, and smiled at my Edward. He was still beaming at me, his magnificent face radiating pure joy.

Today had been a good day, in total. I got successfully vamped, drank the most delicious beverage I had ever tasted, and learnt that I was beautiful.

However, tonight …

The moths attack.