Thank you, rayt3bow, Udumuhv, and kittylover30 for the Alerts, Favs, and reviews! Sorry I didn't update earlier – my focus drifts from story to story...

I know I'm writing Edward a bit OOC, but this is my take on a young, inexperienced version of him. As always, excuse my careless mistakes and enjoy this new chapter.

-Scarlet

Chapter 19: The Washington Wilderness

December 13th 1927, 8:13am

Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, Washington

We did not arrive in Washington for a full week. I traveled mostly on my own, as Edward could not bear my "sickeningly slow" pace. In retaliation to his comment, I insisted that vampires could not take ill, and that it was impolite to harass me about my stunted agility.

One afternoon, Edward met me as I neared the Montana border. He had been gone for a full day; I had thought that he'd abandoned me after all. I had felt very relieved to see him... until I saw the bright, red color of his eyes.

"What have you done?" I'd demanded, gaping at his oblivious expression.

"What?" he'd said, shocked.

I needn't have said any more at that point, as my thoughts were already screaming my alarm. "You've killed a human! How could you?"

He seemed confident as he replayed, as though he'd rehearsed the speech beforehand. "He was no human – he was a murderer. He had eluded the police the evening before, and had crossed the South Dakota/Nebraska border to escape his fate. I sealed it for him."

I'd stared at him. "The reasons are pointless. I doesn't matter if he was a murderer or a Catholic monk. You. Don't. Kill. Humans." I had stomped my foot with each exaggerated word.

His reaction had been arrogant. He had rambled on about "nature" and "instincts" for the next hour and a half. I didn't accept his stretched rationalizations, and repeatedly endeavored to show him the virtue in drinking from animals. He would only scowl and ignore me. We continued on in our perpetual dispute, neither backing an inch from the argument.

Nevertheless, we reached the most southeastern portion of Washington State on the eve of December 12. A horrible blizzard accosted us at the border, and we (I, to be more specific) were forced to find refuge in the cliffsides of the rough terrain. What we had veritably stumbled across was the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness – the most rugged landscape in the Blue Mountains.

Shivering and cold, I'd attempted to start a fire with the twigs and leafs I found in the cave entrance. Edward had laughed at me and left, returning ten minutes later with two uprooted pine trees. I thawed by the fire for a full hour before my body began to relax. I had fallen asleep on the cold ground, with the loud blizzard howling in my ears.

When I awoke, I was tired and sore. I had gleaned little repose from my slumber, and my head throbbed painfully. I sat up stiffly, and gave a little start when I found the statue sitting beyond the burnt remnants of the fire.

"How long have you been there?" I asked, rolling my rigid shoulders.

He blinked, and I suspected that it was the first time he had in a while. "Since the snow stopped."

It was a vague answer, but it made me turn my eyes to the sunny entrance of the cave. Fragments of clouds still rolled across the morning sky, but it appeared as though the brunt of it had passed. It had left fallen branches and feet of snow in its wake.

"Where did you go last night? After..." I trailed off, my gaze falling to the ashes of the fire. He left for hours... what could he have been doing?

"I didn't hunt, if that's what you're thinking..." He smirked. "And you are."

I swallowed nervously. I still wasn't used to his rather insightful gift. It was as unsettling as it was inconvenient. "Well, then... what were you doing?"

He stood in one fluid motion, and turned his back to me. His gaze was cast over the silvery, thrashed forest. "I was exploring," he said after a moment. "The nearest town is Walla Walla, and that's over a hundred miles away."

I must be exhausted; I'm hearing things. "La-la La-la?"

He chuckled, glancing back at me. "No – Walla Walla. There's about 15,000 humans living there."

"Oh." Something occurred to me. "How do you know that?"

He didn't respond right away. Instead, he stepped over to me and offered a hand. When I took it, he helped me to my feet. I straightened my coat and pulled a dead leaf out of my tousled hair. I began running my fingers through it to disentangle the long locks, and stooped to pick up my leather bag. I wonder why he pauses for so long... he must be reading my mind, but why?

"The mayor is very concerned with demographics," he answered finally.

I nodded awkwardly. He must have passed by town hall... or –

"I'm no savage murderer, Cornelia. As you make me out to be." His crimson eyes were scornful as he looked at me, and I was startled by his intensity.

"I believe we already agreed that we reached an impasse on that particular subject, Edward. I condemn your actions, no matter how sincere they may be," I said with cold formality.

His jaw set, and his lips formed a line. He thought a moment, and then said, "I want to show you something I found this morning."

His sudden statement surprised me. Can he ever stay on one subject for very long? I had noticed, in my conversations with Edward, that his way of speaking was much like thought. He spoke of many different things all at once, and changed his focus often. In his human life, he must have been very perceptive of the human mind. Perhaps his unpredictable way of conversing was a reflection of his mortal self?

As I followed Edward through the snow-covered trees, I wrapped my arms about myself to trap some body heat. The frigid breeze made me very uncomfortable. Snow drifts shored up the trunks of trees, and white dust was wedged in their dry barks. The dense forest allowed little sunlight through the canopy, sealing the cold air inside. What sunbeams Edward passed under bounced off his skin in flickering rays.

I stumbled after him in the knee-deep snow. "Where are we going, Edward?"

"It's not far – just ten miles or so. I have a feeling you'll like it." He stopped, and let me catch up. "Won't you run?" he asked politely.

My legs hurt. I don't want to run. I rubbed my cold hands together. "Of course. We'll never get there if I don't."

"But... you're tired," he said, perplexed.

He's too considerate for his own good. "It doesn't matter, Edward. Sometimes I have to do things I don't want to."

He appeared uncertain. "If you say so..."

My feet barely sunk in the snow as I ran at top speed. Edward courteously kept pace with me, and I was staggered by his consideration. We ran and ran – there was nothing but forest and snow for as far as the eye could see… and my eye could see fairly far. I was watching my snow-covered boots when I bumped into Edward's back. I looked around him to see what had made him stop so abruptly.

"Isn't it great?"

A cabin?

It appeared to be completely made of logs, but it was hard to say with snow thrown haphazardly over it. It had a low roof and wide eaves, and a very small porch coming off the front. There were two tiny windows in the front, flanking the wooden door, and a third on the eastern side. It was the kind of scene that would make anyone warm and fuzzy by simply looking at it.

"Whose is it?" I asked immediately, planting my feet. I didn't want to take another step forward - a faint human scent hung in the air.

Strangely enough, Edward answered right away, "It was empty when I found it this morning."

I shot him a suspicious look. Is he lying to me?

"No," he denied, instantly indignant at the suggestion. "Why would I lie to you?"

I stared at him for a long moment. I wished I could turn his power on him – see his thoughts. His face was so hard to read; I didn't know him well enough to decide what his solemn expression portrayed. Finally, I chose to believe him... for now.

"Won't you at least take a look? We can leave it just as it is," he said persuasively, gesturing to the cabin.

I said nothing, giving him a dose of his own medicine. He laughed at my intended silence, and followed me as I waded through the deep snow. I lifted my foot out of the mire, and stepped onto the snow-free porch. The eave jutted out far enough to shelter the space from snow, but the surface was slick with ice. As I put my hand on the doorknob, I detected the same human scent, but heavier. Edward's scent lingered more recently, true to his tale. I couldn't be sure how old the human's presence was.

When I entered, I viewed a quaint, dim living room. It appeared to be in the center of the cabin, as the peak of the root met in the middle of the ceiling. An open, brick hearth was on the southern wall, with a high-backed sofa facing it. To the left was an out-of-place kitchen door, painted with whitewash. I pushed through the swinging door, and saw a tiny, dark kitchen. There was a wood-burning stove for cooking, and many cabinets for food. The smell of smoked venison hung in the small space. Back in the main room, I entered the half-door on the right. It was a bedroom, even smaller than the kitchen, with a minute mattress on a wooden bedframe. The small window above the bed illuminated the room.

It all appeared to be in very good order... as though it hadn't been used in a very long time. However, I remained unconvinced. I stood in the center of the living room as Edward ducked through the door. "What do you think?" he asked, smiling complacently.

I sighed. He knows what I think. The human scent saturated the air and radiated from the floorboards. I glared at Edward for a moment, testing the limits of his deception. He glared right back until I was forced to blink.

I sighed and rubbed my dry eyes. "Fine. We can flop here for the time being."

He smiled at my shattered willpower. "Excellent."

I cleaned the dirty ash from the grate, and we brought in some snowy logs from the pile outside. They were months-old cuts, so they caught fire quite well. Before long, the whole cabin was thoroughly warmed. Edward scanned the novels he found in the chest in the corner as I sunk down to the couch. I leaned my back against the armrest and closed my eyes. My lack of sleep and the morning jog had caught up with me.

"Edward?"

"Hmmm?" He pulled out a tome that had caught his attention, and flipped through the weathered, yellow leaves.

"I need to sleep again. Wake me in five hours, please?"

"Sure."

I pulled my leather bag from the floor, and laid my head on it. I curled up against my make-shift pillow and closed my eyes slowly.

Sleep found me quickly.

*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

I opened my eyes out of a dreamless sleep to see Carlisle's golden ones looking back. He stroked my forearm with one cool finger and kissed my lips lightly. "Good morning, my dear..."

I smiled against him, stretching my arms around his neck. "And to you, Carlisle."

Though we had only been engaged for two and a half months, it felt like two and a half lifetimes. My life had never been as blissful; I loved him more than life itself.

As I sat before the elegant breakfast he'd prepared for me, I heard the sweet notes of "Appasionata in F Minor" from the sitting room. I finished my tea quickly, eager to see my love once again. I loved watching him play the instrument; it was as though each note held the strongest of emotions that can only be expressed by the world of music...

I patiently waited for the song to reach a close, holding my hands carefully behind my back. When he finished, he turned to me with a smile. "My dear, I believe you've set the new quickest record for breakfast eating." The humor of his words glinted in his golden eyes.

"I daresay," I quipped, playing along. "I commit my success to the inspiration behind the feat." I slowly sat next to him on the piano bench, with my legs on the opposite side. I gazed up at his soft eyes.

"I digress... you flatter me." He took my chin between his fingers and tilted my face to his. Our lips met in a sweet kiss, which caused my heart to sing with rapture.

Carlisle... how I love him...

Oh no! Edward knows everything now...

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Next time: "Visitor."

-Scarlet