This chapter was edited
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Edward POV
My family and I tore through the forest, headed west, tracking Bella's faint scent. I didn't like the direction we were heading at all, if we went too far we'd reach the treaty boundary line. Light on our feet, we dashed as fast as we could - and faster - through the dead of night.
Alice yelled out, "I can't see anything at all, but that might be Bella."
It was scary going so fast, but exhilarating as well, more so than normal running speed. I could feel what Bella felt when she ran at this speed, and she could run quicker. The easily conjured thought of Bella made my heart stumble.
My pace hesitated for an instant before I pushed on, faster than before. My arms pumped at my sides, the wind blowing my hair back like a helmet on my head. I caught a faint whiff of a repulsive odour, and knew that the boundary line was near.
I flew like a bullet, dodging trees, skipping over holes, leaping over anything else in my way. The filthy smell of the werewolves grew; I felt my spine quiver automatically in the instinctive anticipation of a fight.
I knew that my family were pushing themselves to their limits, struggling to run faster. But even Carlisle, three times older than me, couldn't keep up. The vampire version of adrenaline - a feeling akin to bloodlust - surged through me. But the boundary line was coming up. I heard a sad, resigned sigh, but I didn't think on it. I knew what I had to do, consequences be damned!
I'm so sorry, Edward.
Ignoring Carlisle, I shot past the line, running towards my only love. Instantly I was assailed by the complex minds of the werewolves. They spun, wild, uncontrollable, unpredictable, buffeting around in my head. Werewolves' minds were unlike any other, reflecting their true bestial nature. I hated reading werewolves minds, but they were my surest hope of finding Bella. No doubt the smell of more than one vampire would draw them like flies.
Bloody parasites, fighting on our land.
Eek! They really smell!
We'll catch them, don't worry.
Ah, the phenomenon unique to werewolves. The packs minds were both separate and one. I caught flashes and glimpses of thoughts, smells and images.
The swish of mahogany hair, not quite the same shade as Bella's. A flash of hate-filled, glowing, crimson eyes.
A small, white hand, throwing out thousands of dancing rainbows, lying limply on vivid green grass, partway into the faint starlight, long fingers spayed wide before arching painfully.
A figure running, a large, black shape intercepting it.
The bounce of a roughly oval object, the hissing of flames as they burn something.
The smell of singed hair, mingling with a sickly sweet odour.
A guttural snarl and the hiss of a silver, blood-stained dagger as it whirled through the air, clutched loosely with bone-white fingers.
No. Not Bella. Not my Bella.
I forced my feet to do the impossible, to move faster. But an angel falling in love with the damned was also impossible, and yet it had happened, as did the increase of the speed of my running. But then again, if the unlucky soulless couldn't save his love, than he was dammed thrice over - for his love, for loving and for being loved. For how could anyone go through such hell, knowing that his redeeming star was there, but her light was quenched forevermore? What if I was still too slow?
Pulling my mind from such thoughts, I detected the lovely scent of freesias. The smell tingled in my nose - Bella. I followed it, and as it grew stronger, so did the stench of the dogs. I heard noises ahead, and stopped running, instead advancing stealthily. A howl echoed from the scene that lay unveiled before me, casting a nightmarish quality over it.
The temperature in the little clearing was sweltering, despite the fact that it was night-time. The tension seemed tangible, the smell of werewolf sweat hung in the air like a blanket. Thick, greasy smoke billowed up into the sky, Bella's form wavering on the other side of the fire.
Several large forms slinked towards her, forming a wide semi-circle. Bella was moving around in a half-crouch, teeth bared in a frightening grimace, terrifying, guttural snarls constantly erupting from her heaving chest.
Lightning quick moves were distorted by the swirling ebb and flow of smoke, little eddies forming incomprehensible patterns. With satisfaction, I saw several injuries on the dogs; one was limping on a half-crushed paw. She moved among the wolves like a scythe, torn skirt spinning as she danced with increasingly complicated moves, skipping unharmed among the frenzied mass.
A large black shape hurdled at her from behind on silent paws, but Bella pranced out of the way of the deadly plunge, sweeping her right hand around, the dog just avoiding a deep cut from her razor-like nails.
A silver dagger was clutched in her left hand, topped with a blood-red ruby. She crouched down further and swung it quickly - the blade appearing to cut the air itself - with the deathly grace of a master, slashing at a grey that lunged at her at the same time as the black, albeit a little slower. The grey was too slow to dodge, earning a nasty cut across its hindquarters.
The heat turned freezing as she followed the move up by reversing the blade, leaping, faster than a cobra at another, a shaggy rusty-coloured one, giving it a stinging bite with her teeth and stabbing the dagger deeply in its side, cutting through muscle. She dived back out of the way of its gaping maw, lithely landing on her dancing feet. The fire went out with the sudden frost, and yet another chocolate one that started to attack fell down in mid-leap, writhing on the ground amongst the ashes. All this happened in an instant, the barely visible, half seen fight of supernatural creatures.
But she was tiring. I could see the weariness in her stance, her bearing haunted. Still, her huge, brilliant, obsidian eyes glinted in the small amount of light given off by the dark red flames. I saw a smear of blood slashing across her cheek, running down from her eye to her lips. The angles of her face were slightly wolven, cruel. I could see what inspired nightmares, what made humans fear the dark, the unknown. Her skin glowed, and with every move she made I became more in awe of this fallen angel.
But the awe that I felt was tainted with the icy fear that pieced my heart in agonized jabs. I had never seen her lose her careful façade before, and it was frightening to watch her. Every blow that she landed against her enemies hurt me, and I wasn't sure why.
She scored a shallow cut across one of the huge black's front legs, bloodied dagger running with watery red. (A/N: Pic of dagger on profile) It was frightening to see her tiny form spiralling amongst the huge, snapping beasts. She agilely rolled through another's legs, leaping upwards into a tree near me as the ground became super-heated for a half-second, scorching underneath her feet.
The blackened grass shrivelled and the mongrels flinched with pain. Bella used the tree trunk as a springboard, flying back across to the other side of the clearing. I saw a burnt object resting in the put-out fire, a trailing out strand of mahogany hair flaring for an instant before crumbling as I watched. Red eyes stared out, unseeing, like icy rubies, unmelted by the heat. Half burning chunks of stone lay twitching, still trying to drag themselves together without conscious instruction.
All this action happened in a moment, and I involuntarily let out a small gasp of shock, pain and horror for Bella. The one with the rusty hide and intelligent black eyes heard, giving a growl and turning in my direction. Two others also wheeled around, but the rusty one snarled at the other two, and they once again joined the attack on Bella.
Bella herself was moving with fresh intensity, her movements having added purpose, each blow striking hard and true. Rusty stalked forward, preparing to fight me. As his hindquarters tensed to jump, the rest of my family ran up beside me, as I knew they would. Jasper was shaking slightly, the emotions of the werewolves strong.
Rusty hesitated for an instant, but still prepared to go through with his suicidal action. The biggest, the one I instinctively knew was the leader, flicked his eyes towards us and whined at Rusty, the muscles twitching under his black fur. I felt a faint disturbance around his thoughts, and sensed something wasn't quite right.
No, Jacob. Help us finish this one off. Then we'll talk with the others about their breaking the treaty.
Talk? To leeches? Sam, there's no point. Look, she's with them!
But Jacob had no choice; he whirled around to join the main attack. My family and I slid in the fray, joining Bella before the dogs could stop us. Carlisle looked at Jasper, and a wave of calm spread through the clearing, the unwilling wolves having no choice but to loosen their muscles. At times like this, I really, really loved Jasper. I supported Bella, who sagged on my arm like it was her anchor to life.
I took her dagger off her, appraising the Egyptian design for a second, and handing it to Jasper, who carefully put it into a pocket. Bella's alabaster skin was a pure glowing white, and more frigid than normal. I wrapped my arms around her small waist, pulling her to my chest. Her head lolled on my shoulder, blood-splattered hair staining my shirt, entirely reliant on me to hold her up. I murmured low reassurances to her, babbling in my relief.
But the ordeal wasn't over. Carlisle held up his hands in a gesture of peace, thinking he could talk our way out of the situation. Most of the dogs wanted a fight, adrenaline pumping through their bodies. The leader, Sam, was more willing to listen, hoping that a fight wasn't inevitable. We outnumbered them, and even werewolves weren't suicidal in their bloodlust. Sam, padded out of the clearing for a second, his black fur blending with the dark before quickly walking back in human form, dressed only in shorts.
Bella pushed her head away from me, locking eyes with Sam. He glared at her, but his eyes quickly softened. I tried to mentally hear what passed between them, but Bella blocked me out. Sam looked away thoughtfully, and Bella's head slumped back down to my chest.
Sam radiated serenity, much like Jasper did, but without the overall effect of my brother. His dark, cropped hair lay like a silken cover on his russet skin, his expression was calm, only the tightness of the muscles around his eyes showing his natural distaste. He walked right to Carlisle, his eyes tightening slightly more as he shook hands, the vampiric cold repelling the burning heat of his skin. Carlisle still remained the same - calm and in control - but I knew if any of the dogs attacked, his bearing would change in less than a second, becoming the beast that children had nightmares about.
"Hello, my name is Doctor Carlisle Cullen," he told them politely. They knew who we were, of course. The whole tribe did, but I doubt they knew who we were, not on a first name basis. More like, Leader bloodsucker, Muscled bloodsucker, and so on.
"Sam Uley, the Alpha of the pack," Sam replied, deep voice carefully controlled. "Are you here to attack us?"
"No," Carlisle replied. "One of us was taken captive by another of our kind, and we came here to liberate her. She joined our family only a few days ago. She comes from another family, but doesn't feed on humans."
Sam looked thoughtful. "So, the red-eyed one was your enemy? And the black-eyed one is one of you?"
Carlisle nodded in answer. "We aren't looking for a fight. We wish the treaty to remain intact; we didn't come here to harm you, only to help our own. We didn't break the treaty lightly."
Sam wisely nodded in acceptance and resignation. Jacob let out a growl and stalked out of the clearing angrily. Moments later, he returned, long hair swinging around the harsh planes of his face. He glared at us poisonously, and in return Emmett gave him an excited, literally venomous grin, daring him to try something. Jacob's muscles twitched, but Emmett's made them seem puny in comparison. The dog settled with an uttering low oath. He stood beside Sam and he whispered into his ear, a wasted effort with eight vampires with super hearing only metres away.
"Sam, they're bloodsuckers. We can't trust them at all, as soon as we turn our backs they'll be on us! Anyway, they broke the treaty; you can't let them go after that."
"Forget the treaty, Jacob. Do you think we have a choice? The female was outnumbered six-to-one, and still we were losing. You don't get into a fight you can't win," Sam muttered back to him.
Louder, Sam spoke once again to us. "We'll return the human to her house, if you will tell us the address." They didn't trust us, still.
Carlisle shook his head, but knew that the wolves wouldn't change their minds. "It'll be much quicker for us to take her back home. You'd have to walk the whole way, and I'm sure that Bella should make sure that she won't remember any of tonight."
"She can do that here, can she not?" Jacob argued. "The girl will be safe with us. Much safer than with you leeches."
Sam ignored Jacob, looking at us calmly. "We'll take her home. I think you have other things to do."
Bella slipped out of the protection of my arms, heading towards Carlisle. She asked him for a Syrette of morphine, and he rummaged around in his suitcase which he brought in case anyone needed medicine. It escaped me why he brought it, because we were only expecting vampires. Bella took the Syrette with a smile, and walked towards Sam slowly. He shied away, but he quickly berated him, assuring him that she wasn't going to stab him, unfortunately.
Jacob tensed, giving Bella a ferocious look. I casually stepped forward, ready to protect Bella, as if she needed my help. She looked back, rolling her eyes, before touching Sam on the arm. Sam let out a poorly concealed gasp, but nodded as he jerked his arm away, stung by the cold.
Bella continued forward, picking up the two ruby eyes out of the ashes of the fire. She weighed them in her hands for a second, before crushing them, the slight breeze floating the dust away.
She then walked over to Angela, touching her brow tenderly. I saw her glance at Angela's various injuries, cataloguing them, shaking her head in pity. She closed her eyes for a minute, and whispered what sounded like an apology and a prayer under her breath. Jasper stepped back a few paces, aware of what was about to happen. He had the most difficulty with this lifestyle, and had to take cautions around humans.
Taking out the Syrette, Bella then expertly injected the morphine into Angela's arm. When she tore a strip of her shirt away and some light fell on her, I saw that, contrary to my earlier thoughts, she hadn't escaped unharmed. Faint scars twinkled on her belly, disappearing as they ran up her shirt. I kept my poker face, but I resolved to speak to her later.
She returned to me, and Carlisle slowly backed away, making no sudden moves lest the wolves take them as aggressive. We walked with him, all of us pausing at the edge of the clearing. Sam nodded a farewell, Carlisle returning it. Jacob's form blurred, and Sam followed the red-brown wolf back into the woods, Angela cradled in his arms. The pack slunk back into the trees, the majority giving us low, hostile growls as they vanished into the forest.
My attention returned to Bella. I looked down at her, her weary face rising to meet mine. My family left quietly, merging with the dark of the trees. Gently, our lips met. I pulled back slightly, afraid that Bella would react like she had earlier. Her lips craned up, and I surrendered, leaning closer. I moved back, putting one finger on Bella's lips to silence any protests. Her eyes shined sweetly up at me. I picked her up, bridal style, and with another smaller kiss, I jogged through the forest, glad that my love was safe in my arms. Our invisible guard of three dogs followed, loping silently, making sure we left the reservation. Bella ignored them and closed her eyes, relaxing peacefully.
Her rose petal lips parted, exhaling a sigh. "I love you, my Edward."
I loved the way my name sounded, coming from her. I replied softly, "I love you too, my Bella."
When we crossed the boundary, Bella tapped my arm, and I slowly put her down, careful to support her. She staggered - somehow gracefully - a bit when she touched the ground, but my arms held her up. She leant up on her tiptoes and gave me a soft peck on the cheek in thanks. Black eyelashes brushing my cheek, cold breath tickling, Bella whispered, "I need a snack."
With that she was gone, the unnatural breeze the only sign of her ever being here. After a few minutes, I started to panic, thinking that the dogs might have gone back on their word. Of course, I was wrong, and she emerged from the gloom only moments after, with a smile playing upon her blood-rouged lips. I remembered the last time I had seen her lips that shade of red and dashed forward, playfully sweeping her off her feet. She gave a slight chuckle, snuggling into my chest, letting herself go limp. She inhaled deeply, pressing her face against my shirt, staining it further. Then I was off, carrying her and dashing at breakneck speeds through the close trees.
Part of the way home, we met up with everyone else. Bella shyly slid out of my arms; her feed had returned her to almost full strength. She literally glided, eyes shining, thanking everyone for helping her. Even Rosalie, who had acted so hostile towards Bella, received a grateful hug. Emmett would have blushed if he could when Bella kissed him on both cheeks. She gifted us all with an earnest smile, her teeth shining in the dark.
"I couldn't have survived without your help. Mere words can't portray my gratefulness, so the simplest language must suffice." Bella told us, words heartfelt. "Thank you."
Esme smiled back at Bella, just as sincere. "We must thank you, Bella. You're the light in Edward's life. If you were extinguished, I dare not think of what Edward would be like, what he would do."
I let out a soft half-groan at Esme's words, but they were true. Everything I wanted had come true with Bella. My life before her, as complete as it seemed then, was empty. I could now relate to the adoration that I saw in Jasper's eyes when he looked at Alice.
"Well, I guess it's time to be getting home," Alice said with a twinkle in her eyes. I wondered what she had seen, and went to check, but my perspective shifted dramatically as I was lifted off the ground by a small set of arms. I let out an exclamation of shock and a silvery laugh sounded. As my vision stabilised, I saw that all the other males were resting in their partners arms. I looked up at Bella, who was looking down at me, ochre eyes slightly scrunched in laughter.
I huffed in mock annoyance, glaring at her. She rolled her eyes at me, dazzling.
"Temperature controlling?" I asked as we moved off. Bella shrugged.
"Actually, heat transfer. I can't change nature, but I can draw heat, or cold, off creatures and relocate it. Werewolves are quite toasty, so the ground was super-heated. I never had a chance to tell you or your family the rest of my abilities," she pointed out.
"Our family," I corrected her, watching as her eyes thrilled to the word. Our family. I rolled the words around in my mouth before turning my attention back to Bella. My expression changed, set in lines of apology. "Can you forgive me for that, my Bella?"
Bella smiled down at me. "Nothing to forgive, my Edward."
Alice oh-so-subtly moved next to us, giving Bella a slight nudge. Jasper looked amused, lying in her arms, honey hair flying everywhere.
"So, when's the wedding? It'll be good to see that Edward's finally lost his virtue, I think that a 110-year-old virgin is a record." Jasper said seriously. He felt the embarrassment and mortification rolling off me and grinned. Alice sped up as I went to jump out of Bella's arms and strangle her husband. Seconds later, as we reached the drive to our house, Jasper leapt away from Alice, dashing along the three mile stretch.
I went to do the same, but Bella hushed me. Suddenly, my eyeballs were straining back in my skull, and it felt like my flesh was being stripped from my bones. In less than an instant we had caught up to Jasper, Bella standing in front of him. Slightly disorientated, I nevertheless jumped and grabbed Jasper, his face frozen in an expression of terror.
He let out a mumble of help for Alice, but by then I had snagged one of his arms and a leg and was running away, Bella giggling as she easily kept pace with me. She grabbed my legs and heaved me into her arms, cuddling me like a huge baby to her chest. I curled up in a ball, sticking my tongue out and making faces at the desperately hopping Jasper, who was howling at us like a madman.
Everyone else ganged up on the two of us, but Bella was at full strength again, and they didn't stand a chance. She somersaulted over their grasping hands with me in her arms, waving at everyone. She climbed the primordial cedars, danced across their great branches, and leapt down from their humongous heights.
Bella darted, rolled, slid, cart wheeled without using her hands - still clutching me - and danced out of reach. She tricked the others eyes by placing illusions of us in other places while we laughed at their antics. Emmett and Jasper shouted out various insults at the insubstantial copies, cussing shamelessly. Jasper kept trying to throw lethargy at us, but Bella spread her protective ability defence shield around the mirages, and added a new element to it.
Our pursuers kept stumbling as the waves of tiredness hit them, until Emmett smacked the back of Jasper's head, the blow and subsequent fall effectively stopping his crazed attempts to slow what they thought was us. Alice didn't stop to help her husband, who couldn't get back on his foot, instead leaping over his struggling form. Even Carlisle was caught up in the thrill of the chase, his usually immaculate clothes ruffled from running, breaths coming in unnecessary, ragged sobs as his eyes glinted with rash excitement. It was like hunting, and all because of the little ball of sunshine that dazzled us with her love. I wouldn't be surprised if she spouted wings and flew away.
The sky outside was slowly streaked with ever-increasing red, fast becoming obscured by dense, pearly clouds. Eventually Bella threw the arm and leg back to Jasper, Alice putting them back onto him. Bella's eyes shone with uncontained happiness, looking even more otherworldly and beautiful than vampires were meant to look.
She looked like she had just stepped out of a modelling magazine from heaven, despite her ragged clothes. As if reading my mind, Alice grabbed her hand, and together they ran into the house to change. As I ran into the house to escape from Jasper's inevitable wrath, I saw an angel descending from the curving staircase, dressed in simple long, black jeans and a white, sleeveless shirt. Bella threw herself into my arms, singing my name in a silken voice.
Thankfully, Jasper saw the funny side of what had just happened and he had a smile on his face as he walked inside. Even Rosalie was smiling, her long, blonde hair swaying as she chuckled.
"Beaten by a girl," Emmett sighed dramatically as he walked in, shaking his dark curls, littered with blades of grass and damp with dew. The water flew in little droplets, landing on the white carpet. Esme sighed and leant down, picking up a few grass pieces and shaking her head. She shot Emmett a fond smile.
Carlisle sat on the lounge, pulling Esme onto his lap. Everyone followed his example, the males putting their female counterparts onto their lap, crowding onto the lounge together.
"You'll have to go back to school again today," Carlisle said, voice controlled. If vampires needed to breathe, then as young as we were - or rather as young as we were physically - we would have each had multiple heart attacks. Alice spoke up, voicing her thoughts.
"It won't be long before we have to move again. I don't know if we can last here even until graduation. The wolves are becoming twitchy, they want us gone. The breaking of the treaty tonight has made them defensive, I don't think that they'll regard it as still intact for very long. That Jacob won't give up until we're dead or gone. Our future keeps flickering; they're debating about what to do." Her words put a damper on the previously light atmosphere. She was right, but it didn't make the thought any easier. We had all grown fond of this beautiful little town.
"We can come back in a few decades," Esme commented. "The house is quite lovely, there's no need to sell it. Though the people here now are very polite and non-judgemental of the way we live."
Bella had an occupied look on her face, and Esme patted her head, smoothing down her hair. I leant forward and put my head on her shoulder, wispy strands of her hair tickling my nose, wishing I could hear her thoughts.
"Don't worry, Bella. We would have had to go soon anyway," I murmured in her ear.
"But where will you go?" Bella asked.
"We'll go, Bella. You're one of us now, don't forget that. We might go to Alaska, live with the Denali's for a while. There are plenty of other towns we can live in, you must know that," Esme comforted her.
I remembered something Bella had told me. "Bella, this might seem a bit odd considering what we were just saying, but how did dinosaur taste?"
She looked at me, amusement dancing in her breathtaking eyes. "You'd have to taste it to find out. Each species tasted really different, but all really nice, much better than animals now, and - judging from other vampires' memories - humans. The flavour just exploded in your mouth. It's a pity that they died out. I suppose that having a vampire-dinosaur army was bound to make them extinct after a while." She ignored our expressions, which ranged from confusion to amazement, and continued.
"One of the slight drawbacks was that they always went literally albino after they were changed. I remember that mind-control was very handy when they were changing; being kicked, or bitten by a large carnivore, was annoying. It was also useful to be able to control the urge to kill each other.
"I can still recall the final battle; it was rather like a good game of chess, an entertaining way to pass the time. I was soaring on the back of my personal female vampire-pterodactyl at night, watching as my brothers' all male vampire-dinosaur army prepare to fight below me. My army was all female, and actually my sisters', before she... left us. Anyway, the ground was lit up by the millions of sparkles thrown off by the vampiric animals below me, the sunset dying them red.
I gasped as a picture materialised in my mind. I was watching - from a birds-eye view - a long, barren plain, with huge beasts moving, partly obscured by rays of light thrown around. Clarity came, my eyes strong. I could see every little detail, miles below me, huge, ponderous animals lumbering around and little critters darting beside them. As I concentrated, it looked like the part that I was focusing on magnified. I pulled my mind from the moving photo, and stared at Bella in awe.
The rest of my family did the same, and from what they were thinking, I presumed that they too had seen what I had. Again, Bella ignored our reactions, mesmerised in her past. I realised that her letting us see the plain was purely accidental.
"My brother rode on a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex. He tried to get my pterodactyl to fall out of the air using his gifts, but I extended my protective ability to shield her from him. His screams of rage echoed up to the stars, it was like a clarion call to his forces, and they started the long charge down the plain..." Bella trailed off from her musing. We were all leaning forward, entranced by her story.
I could see the outline of a small figure on a humongous beast, standing out in relief against the blood-red sunset. I saw his finger point up at me, heard his cry of anger as nothing happened. The large animals were surprisingly fast; the two armies came together and clashed, fighting with tooth and claw. White skin became stained with splashes of blood, and I was suddenly descending steeply. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I leapt away from the beast on which I had been riding, the air rushing past me, or was I rushing past it?
Carlisle leant back, clearing his throat, pulling the rest of us away from Bella's memory. "That's a story I'd like to hear some other time. I suppose that there weren't any humans back then to change. I don't think that many theorists have guessed that to be the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs. Now, I think it's time you were getting ready for school."
I think that there were a great many mysteries that Bella would be able to clear up for Carlisle, though I doubted that many of the answers would be accepted in the wider human community.
I could imagine Carlisle going to a conference and explaining the cause of the dinosaur's gory deaths in detail to humans. The story did sound quite intriguing; I'd have to ask Bella to tell me the rest later. I suspected that after the battle was the time of one of her sibling's deaths.
I tramped up the stair, watching as Alice steered Bella away. I threw her an amused look as she was led into a previously empty room. I had seen what was in Alice's mind as we returned to the house, but a quick look had convinced me to shut up. Bella obviously had better control over her ability, and didn't read anyone's mind unless she wanted to. I heard a squeal as Bella examined her new room, her reverent thanks to Alice. It was Alice who should have been thanking her; she never missed an opportunity to shop.
After throwing on some fresh clothes, I went down and knocked on the door to Bella's new room. She called me in, her and Alice bouncing excitedly on a black leather chaise. Alice ran out of the room, pushing past me and giggling. The room still smelled of paint. It was decorated in black and white, contrasting against each other.
I checked her mind to see what she had seen, but I was too late to stop my forward motion into the room. I heard the lock turn, and knew that I wouldn't break down the door. Esme would have a fit, and Alice would be ecstatic that I had let her do more shopping. I wasn't about to let her have that satisfaction.
Bella patted the place where Alice has just been sitting, and I hoped I'd be able to avert Alice's vision.
"So, Bella, do you like your new room?"
"It's great. Remind me to thank Alice."
As if I needed reminding of Alice. I shuddered at the thought of her prediction.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you today."
"Why, Edward? You couldn't have done anything."
"I should've been able to help you, Bella. But I failed."
She forced my chin up, frowning. An electric current went through me at her touch. "Edward, listen to me. There was nothing you could have done. Nothing. You're the one who saved me in the end, remember that? If you hadn't have gotten the rest of your family, I would've just been another conquest of the werewolves."
"You were handling them fine by yourself," I muttered.
Bella sighed angrily. "I don't know what I can say to make you believe me, Edward. Respect your elders, and trust that they're right. Okay?"
"Well, it was my fault that you were all weak."
Bella's eyes were intense. "Actually, Edward, that's not your fault either."
"Don't lie, Bella."
"I'm not. My niece - or Crazy as I like to call her - touched on my presence when I went to read your mind, and forced me back into myself. When I... had that little emotional breakdown, she found a chink in my mental armour, and affected my mind slightly. She was afraid that I would discover her presence, and so she threw me back into my body. The reason my energy was down was because, subconsciously, I was fighting her hold on my mind."
"But it was my fault that you had that breakdown," I pointed out.
"No it wasn't. What else were you to think of my intrusion into your life?"
I let that slide. "So, you can read my mind after all?"
"I don't know, but I'm not about to try. It's dangerous, and I'm not about to risk your life that way."
"You were before."
Bella sighed again. "Crazy's influence. She overrode my commonsense."
Something struck me, hard. "So, if Crazy," I snorted at the childish name, "can change your thoughts, she can also-"
Bella cut me off. "No, Edward. What I feel for you is purely my emotions. She didn't have that large an influence." Changing the topic, she said "I enjoyed the running and chasing, it was fun."
I exhaled, taking a moment to let the relief that she really was in love with me wash over me. Then, the second part of what she said hit me, and I recalled Alice's vision.
"Yeah, it was really fun," I said edgily.
Bella frowned. "Yeah, Edward. Something Jasper told you earlier..."
"Yes," I muttered, terrified at the turn of conversation. I heard a ghostly chuckle from Alice's room; Jasper had obviously felt my change of emotions. Remind me to made Jasper's life hell for eternity, never mind the vampire wars of the south, Forks would soon become a war zone of unseen catastrophe.
"Well, I'm sorry to say that your record is...well, kind of non-existent."
I looked at her. "Huh?" She must be joking.
Bella nodded. I gasped at her, mute in my shock and utter disbelief.
"I don't liaison much with humans, or vampires. Actually, I generally kill other vampires. I'm solitary by nature. But don't worry, I don't kill vegetarian vampires." She shot me a disarming grin.
My returning smile was somewhat shaky. "Wait. You've never had a-"
"Nope. My closest relationship was with my siblings, and I have no idea who my maker is. And I killed my siblings."
"Was?" I couldn't think of any real reply.
"Well," Bella began shyly, "I was hoping that I could have something more than a passing acquaintance with you." She looked down, delicate features hopelessly glum. I put my forefinger under her chin, and slowly lifted her face.
I stroked her marvellous, silky hair and caressed her bone-white cheek. Her hands sat in her lap, palms facing up, limp fingers curled helplessly. Her eyes were closed, gloriously intense pools of molten gold shut off. The light violet of her eyelids matched the shadows under her eyes, long lashes brushing her skin. I slowly leant forward, towards her.
"As was I."
Our lips met, moving together, slow and gentle. Her scent was intoxicating, testing my self-control. Before I could be tempted too much, I moved my lips away from hers, down to her neck. I wrapped my arms around her slim waist, pulling onto my lap. Ruining the moment, Jasper barged into the room, snickering. He smirked at me.
"Time to get ready for school, Mr Virtuous Record-holder."
Bella spoke up. "Actually, Jasper, I'm a female."
The door slammed in Jasper's surprised face.
"If he isn't too scared to comment now, then he will be soon," Bella assured me.
"Uhhh..." was all I could manage. This time it was Alice who banged the door open, careful to make sure she didn't chip the paint.
"Jasper wasn't lying. It's time for school." She pointed at a clock. I raised an eyebrow when I saw the time.
Ignoring Alice's eye roll, I gave Bella a quick kiss before Alice pushed me out of the door. I heard Alice whisper excitedly to Bella, but couldn't quite catch the words. I shrugged and went out to start the Volvo. The purr of the engine was comforting, and I waited for Bella to join me.
She ran into the garage and jumped into the car, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
"Let's go."
A crappy chapter, I know. Still, I've always wondered what happened to the dinosaurs - well, now we know. Clearing something up - when Bella touched Sam, she was mentally telling him of Angela's address. The reason he'd have to walk is because he obviously can't phase and carry Angela in his mouth. Anyway, I'll post a picture of Bella's dagger on my profile. I have no idea where she was hiding it, but in such a long existence, you get a bit paranoid. Hey, school is dangerous, and a dagger doubles as a handy tool for neutering rid of annoying pests, cough Mike cough I'm kind of better, but I've been too ill to get on my laptop. I swear I'll try to post again soon.
I know this A/N is probably as long as the actual story, so suffer! No, don't, I love you guys too much! I really am sorry, please don't spork me for lack of updates!
Ninja Spork - AKA The Stalker-Sporker... (I love ellipsis'...if you haven't figured that out yet...)