The other child
In the next two weeks, they had successfully moved to Finland. The move had relieved some of the tension they had felt with Maria breathing down their necks, but Bella was not happy. She was silent, thoughtful and she rarely laughed. It worried Edward beyond limit. They had all asked her many times what was wrong, but she didn't speak to any of them. It hurt Edward, but he figured he had to wait until she was ready to talk about it. He was sitting in their new garden alone when she came to sit next to him. She was silent for a few minutes, until he turned to watch her.
'I miss him.' She whispered.
'I know.' He answered. 'I am sorry.'
She shook her head.
'I dreamt about how he felt when I told him goodbye. He was so sad.' Her voice was filled with emotion. 'It was worse to feel it from his experience than from my own.'
He placed his arm around her. He knew there was not much he could say that could make her feel better. He hoped time would heal her wounds.
'You did the right thing.' He whispered to her.
'If I did the right thing, then why does it feel so wrong?'
Edward sighed.
'He is safe now.'
'I never gave him a choice, Edward. I can't help but wonder if he would have chosen this if I would have given him one.'
'Maybe not, but he is just a human child. He can't grasp the full extent of the danger he would have been in.'
'You are right, I know you are.' She looked up at him. 'I can't even write him a letter to see if he is okay. It is just so hard.'
It was hard and it was the first time in Bella's life, that she saw someone get hurt by her own actions. It was the first time she had to make a difficult choice and he regretted it. She was too young to have to make these choices. She deserved to play and live freely without the constant danger or dreams that made her life miserable. He hoped this new start would make her happy again.
His hopes came true for the most part. They had settled in Finland quickly and Bella loved going to her international school, although she didn't make close friends anymore. Her thirst for knowledge kept her going. They had picked the perfect place to live. It was very private, but still close enough to Helsinki. Hunting was not a problem, there was plenty of wildlife. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and Edward went to the University of Helsinki to do various studies, so they wouldn't be bored during the day when Bella was at school.
Two years passed quickly and she didn't have any dreams. Edward didn't know why he was blessed with Bella eluding his past for so long. He would have thought he was special, if it weren't for Emmett who also stayed spared of reliving his past through Bella. She did practice her newest gift almost every day. She could freeze someone easily now for several minutes, although it always tired her out like a physical workout.
It was the weekend after Bella's tenth birthday when their peace was broken again. Edward walked in the living room where he found Bella sitting on the couch behind Rosalie, who was sitting on the ground before her. Alice was teaching Bella complicated hair patterns with Rose as a 'living' practice doll. This proved how much Rosalie loved Bella, because she never let anyone touch her hair besides Emmett.
Her fingers bended around Rosalie's blond curls and she bit her lip in concentration.
'Like this?' She asked Alice.
'Yes, you are doing great, sweetie.'
She worked on Rosalie's hair for some time and Edward had to admit it looked pretty good. Alice watched very proudly and Edward smiled. If he let them spent any more time together she was going to be way too much like Alice. She was done before he could steal her away. She placed her arms around Rosalie's neck and pressed her lips against her cheek.
'Thanks a lot, Rose.' She said.
Edward grinned because of Rosalie's extreme happy face in reaction. He had to admire the girl for bringing such a smile on Rose's face. She thanked Alice as well. Emmett and Jasper rushed in.
'Bella!' Emmett shouted. 'Where is my girl?'
'I am right here, Emmett.' Bella answered, coming from behind Rosalie's back.
'Come! Come! I have to show you something Jazz and I discovered during hunting.'
He threw Bella on his back, less careful in his enthusiasm than Edward wanted him to be. He gave Emmett a disapproving look, but smiled when he saw the place Emmett was taking Bella in his thoughts. It was a large rock formation with a beautiful waterfall. His smile went immediately back to disapproval when he saw the next picture in Emmett's mind of him jumping off the waterfall with Bella on his back.
'Don't even think about it.' He growled to Emmett.
Okay! Okay! It was just a thought.
Rosalie was looking at Emmett suspiciously, ready to scold him for not being careful with Bella, when Bella interrupted her.
'Emmett, can you put me down, please?'
Her face had turned pale and Edward quickly pulled her from Emmett's back to check her out.
She is very tired again. Jasper thought.
Edward knew what that meant. Alice watched the future and he saw his suspicions being confirmed. Their peace was over.
He was standing still for hours. He had lived thousands of years, so a few hours meant little to nothing to him. He was alone. He preferred it that way most of the time. In those hours he could think of the child. He was so close. All those years of searching for her were not going to be in vain. She was going to give him everything, all the power he needed. He could already see her, standing at his side. The door opened and he looked up.
'Demetri?'
He was a bit irritated. Didn't he tell his servants he was not to be interrupted when he was pondering?
'I am sorry to disturb you, Aro, but I have found her.'
He straightened up eagerly.
'The child?'
'No, the other one.'
He felt a flash of extreme disappointment, but recovered quickly.
'Are you sure?'
'I have no doubt.'
'You have not hurt her, have you?'
He had ordered this specifically. It was essential that he did it himself.
'I have kept my distance as you ordered me to do.'
A smile played on his lips. It might not be the child herself, but this was the first step in the right direction. He needed to act fast.
'Where?' He asked. 'Show me.'
He extended his hand and his servant took it immediately. He watched the memory and nodded. In the eastern part of Europe Demetri had followed the tales of a witch child and he had eventually tracked it down to a secluded place of darkness.
'I will go at once. You and Felix will travel with me.'
'As you wish.'
The journey wasn't that long but his impatience almost got the better of him. He was so eager for what was next, so eager to fulfill the first part of the prophecy. After this there was nothing to stop him from reaching his goal. His careful planning and years of studying were finally going to pay off. His excitement doubled when they reached the location. He saw the little dark cave, he had already seen in the mind of his servant.
'Wait for me outside.' He ordered.
Slowly and carefully he walked inside the cave. His vampire eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and he could see his complete surroundings. The cave was small, claustrophobic to everything besides animals and it smelled badly. He looked around and saw bones of several animals scattered around the floor. He looked at the back of the cave to a small corner as far away from the outside world as possible. In that corner he saw the child. Her long entangled black hair was hanging in front of her face. Her eyes gleamed through the filthy strands. She hissed at him.
'Leave!'
He didn't answer, but walked closer. She was nothing, just a heap of filthy clothes and severely disturbed, a savage. He didn't like what he had to do now, but it was essential. She began to scream.
'Your fears!! I can feel them! Don't come near me!'
Her screams and sobs made him hold his advance. He watched her for a moment. She shied away from him and balled up, her arms around her legs.
'You are very afraid.' Her voice trembled. 'Please leave.'
If he was capable of feeling pity, he was sure this was a moment he could have felt it. The child in front of him was incapable of living a normal human life. Her powers prevented her from such a life. Her gift was not so much a gift as it was a curse. He wondered if the other child was also like this. Her gifts could not be easy as well. Yes, it was very possible he would find the other child as well in a cave far away from the human world. The girl in front of him was doomed to live helpless and alone for the rest of her existence. What she didn't know was that he was going to change that. He took another step forward and she began to scream again. She grabbed her head.
'No! No! I don't want to feel. I don't want to see!'
She pushed her head in her knees and began to move back-and-forth repeatedly. He took the chance to move closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She trembled and gave a small shriek of pain.
'Shh, shh, sweet girl. I am not here to hurt you.' He kept his voice calm and gentle. 'All will be better, I promise you.'
He sounded fatherly and truthful. The pitiful child in front of him relaxed a little bit. She looked up at him and he saw her big bright eyes. The child might be a rare beauty if he cleaned her up, just like the other child. Well, first things first. He almost laughed when he realized he was going to do the same thing he punished so many for doing.
'Are you going to make the pain go away?' She whispered.
'Yes, close your eyes and stay very still.'
She did what she was told and slowly he came forward. He brushed away her hard and disgusting hair and found the vein in her neck. He hadn't done this for a very long time and rather wouldn't. He normally only drank to fulfill his hunger and the troubled child didn't incite his hunger, but his eagerness for power filled him with desire. Without another second of hesitation, he pressed his teeth in that vein. She gave a scream again, but went quiet when he sucked the blood out of her. He had done it, the first step towards his greatness, the first step towards ultimate power. He let go of her when he had sucked out most of her blood and looked down on her writhing body.
'Welcome in my world, daughter.'