Hehe, sorry it took so long to update this chapter. I was half way through when I realized I didn't like it and ended up writing this. Okay, no more waiting. Here's chapter 24. :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. . .what I do own is a Twilight Calender.
Edward POV
"Bella? Bella?" A voice I didn't recognize called.
Where was I? I remember the pain in my head and those cloaked things and Bella fighting them and saving us. Bella! I looked around trying to find a glimpse of her or my family but all I could see was a living room arranged in a fashion I hadn't seen in a while. Although, I know for a fact that I had never lived in this place. There was movement in another room and I froze unsure of what to do.
"Bella, darling, supper will be ready in a few minutes," the same voice sounded from the other room.
I walked silently to where the voice was and took a peek inside. A tall, slim woman with dark blond hair had her back to me, she held a knife and had an apron on most likely making dinner. She had on a pretty peach dress and her hair was up in a loose elegant bun.
"Excuse me?" I tried to keep my voice soft and gentle so I wouldn't scare the woman but she didn't even turn. "Ma'am?"
"That girl is at it again," I heard her murmur shaking her head and wiping her hands on the apron. She opened a cupboard and took out three China plates and walked right past me.
What is going on here? Why couldn't she see me?
I was lost in thought watching the woman setting the table for three when I heard soft strokes of guitar strings. It was coming from upstairs. With one last look at the woman I walked down a hall and climbed the stairs. The music got louder and with it a soft, familiar voice accompanying it. I walked through another hall and stopped at the last door where I could clearly hear now. I opened it a bit and gasped loudly.
A young woman, no older than sixteen, was sitting on the window seat with her eyes closed and strumming the guitar. Her mahaghony colored hair fell around her pale face in curls and rested a little below her waist. She had on a silk pink dress that brought out an innocent glow on her pale skin. When she turned her head to the side I saw the all too familiar deep brown eyes I loved. Bella.
"I must get this right," she muttered grabbing a piece of parchment from her lap and a quill pen. I certainly haven't seen that in a while either. "Alright, from the top."
She placed both things down in front of her and grabbed the guitar by her feet. She began and then she was singing softly. "Don't know where you are. Wish I just could be near you. I would sail oceans. To get a glimpse of how you feel. You're all the things I'm looking for. Everything and so much more."
Bella stopped and a breathtaking smile grazed her lips lighting up her whole face, "There that's done, now on to the next segment."
I was in awe of her voice and the sight before me but I was getting more confused by the second. This was not the Bella that was an Angel, this Bella was much too young and the woman downstairs must be her mother. So then this must be. . .a memory of some sort. Not mine of course and that leaves Bella herself.
Now that I have that solved, how do I get out of here?
"Isabella, if I would have known you'd be playing that thing nonstop I would have thought twice when you asked me all those years ago," the woman's voice broke through my thoughts and Bella's singing, "Wouldn't it be more appropriate if you were that interested in the suitors lining up for even a speck of your attention?"
Suitors! Jealousy and anger ran through me like electricity at the sound of that word.
"Mother, I'm simply not interested in that right now or if I will ever be for that matter," Bella sighed, "I don't want the suitors you and Phil chose for as high as they are, they're not for me."
"Pray tell, then, who is?" Bella's mother asked exasperated.
"I don't know," replied Bella lifting the paper she had had in her lap and pressing it to her chest, "but I feel like he is out there searching for me and I him."
"You and your romantic notions child," Bella's mother sighed, "That does sound wonderful, doesn't it?"
"Didn't you ever feel like that before you met father?" asked Bella curiously.
Bella's mother froze in her spot at the doorway and closed her eyes. Her body trembled a little and it looked like she was trying hard not to start crying.
"Isabella," she breathed out softly, "Please understand now, things like that simply don't exist and if they do they aren't real."
"Oh mother, I'm so sorry," Bella rose from her spot and ran to her mother with a concerned look in her eyes, "I didn't mean to bring this up."
"No need to apologize my angel, I must talk about Charlie if I am ever going to get over that," the woman said, "I have Phil now and he's been ever so wonderful to me."
"Father was your Angel," Bella whispered.
"Yes, your father was my Angel and I was his."
There was a moment of silence between them where I felt awkward listening to their conversation.
"I'll get cleaned up for supper," Bella said breaking the silence, "Phil is almost home."
Bella's mother nodded and placed a kiss on Bella's forehead then headed out. Bella shut the door and fell on her bed. She shut her eyes and remained still.
"Edward." I jumped in surprise at the sound of my name. "Edward."
Strangely enough, that sounded just like Alice. "Edward!"
"Open your eyes, please," Esme's worried voice shook me because of the amount of sadness in it. She said to open my eyes but they were already open unless I closed them and then opened them again. I did just that hoping this would get me out of this memory.
"Edward!" My eyes shot open and I was met with the familiar faces of my family all staring down at me. I sat up quickly and instantly regretted it as pain ran through me. I knew being a vampire I couldn't possibly feel tired of weary but at this precise moment that was all I was feeling.
"Son, are you okay?" Carlisle asked, worry clear in his voice.
It took me a moment to answer him because I was still a little caught up in the memory I had just witnessed. I got a glimpse of how I looked through the eyes of my family and I looked like death, no pun intended.
"I'm fine," I replied, "What happened?"
"We're not entirely sure," Carlisle answered slowly, "I asked Bella the same thing but she wouldn't answer, she was rather frazzled."
"Where is she?" I asked suddenly aware that she wasn't with us. Then I noticed we weren't at the clearing anymore but at home, in my room to be exact.
"She said something about searching the perimeter and threatened us to stay here or else," Jasper answered this time, "and she seriously meant it by the way her emotions were going all over the place."
"And you still let her go by herself anyway?" I nearly shouted in anger, "Something could happen to Bella."
"Dude, Bella's an Angel, our Angel," Emmett said without any hint of teasing, "She did something back there and saved our asses. Let her do her job."
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Unknown POV
I dropped the broken pencil on the table and watched as it clattered to the floor completely worthless now and closed the worn out notebook satisfied with the results I had achieved. The house I had occupied for the time being was silent for the first time in a while and I embraced the silence with a welcome. No dying humans. No hunger-driven newborns. No arrogant vampires. No visits from other earthly beings.
Not that I minded the chaos, it reminded me of my purpose and kept me grounded. Why I was doing this and why I was doing it to her and her charges. I hissed at the thought of that girl, blocking out the memories that she triggered. My human life. The human life I was supposed to have! I took a few deep breaths and stood from the dusty table wanting to change my clothes. They were muddy and damp from all the mysterious fog of a few hours ago.
Oh how I love my gift.
Once I was in more appropriate clothing I went to the small bar the humans had installed and poured myself a special drink. A Bloody Colada. Mmm, my favorite. The drink was merely warm human blood since I wasn't actually in the mood to go killing humans. I'd much rather sit here and think of how I could have once considered Bella a friend, instead I wanted to plan her downfall.
Which would be easy seeing as her fatal weakness were the Cullens. Strange creatures they were really, something even the Volturi couldn't understand. Not killing humans to survive but animals.
This is where Audra Braiden came into the picture. She was key in my plan.
Like I said, I really love my power.
Aren't I just evil?
_______________________________________________________________________
Bella POV
There was nothing in the wide perimeter I searched, simply nothing to indicate what had just happened. Defeated but sure I hadn't found anything I made my way back to the Cullen's home. As soon as I landed in front of their door I was attacked by a blur of black and light brown.
"Bella!" Alice all but shouted next to my ear squeezing the life out of me and my wings.
"Bella, I was worried," Esme's caring voice whispered into my other ear and her hug was much more gentle.
"I checked everywhere and I didn't find anything," I let her know but she just shook her head at me, "No, I meant you."
"Oh, I'm fine," I smiled at her. "How's Edward?"
"Annoying the crap out of all of us," Rosalie answered. I retreated my wings into my back before anyone else had a chance to hug me to death. She stood at the doorway grinning at me before grabbing my hand and ushering me into the house. Before I could sit on the couch I was attacked with yet another let's-squeeze-Bella-really-hard hug only this time it was Edward.
"Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.
"I should be asking you the same question," I answered him seriously, "You were just attacked by those Shadow things and you're asking me how I'm doing?"
"You were attacked too if you don't remember," he retorted back, "I was just worried about you."
I almost melted at the sight of his sad eyes looking at me. He seriously had no idea how much he affected me, or my heart.
"I'm just a little shaken up at the sudden appearance," I told him, "I need to talk with all of you."
A few seconds later the rest of the family was sitting on the couches and waiting for me to speak. I had pulled Edward down next to me, afraid if he sat away from me he would start to clutch his head in pain from the attack. The thought was irrational but I had pretty much thrown rational out the window as soon as the Cullens had entered my life.
"Okay, I'm going to need you guys to tell me what happened minutes before the attack?" I asked needing every piece of information available.
Carlisle cleared his throat and began, "There wasn't much, we were playing and then it started to get foggy. I did not pay attention to it until I couldn't see the trees surrounding us and it began to get eerily quiet."
"I was up to bat and then next thing I know I can't see the ball until it actually hit me right in the face," Emmett added in, "That hurt like hell and right in the eye too."
"So you didn't notice anything out of the ordinary then?"
"Nothing." All of them said.
"Damn it," I muttered running a hand through my hair in frustration.
"What were those things Bella?" Jasper asked.
"I'm not exactly sure but they looked like Shadows," I replied, "Not the type that you see everyday but actual beings that are alive living off of one's evil."
"What do you mean 'evil'?" asked Alice curiously.
"Like evil," I repeated, "Evil thoughts, evil intentions, just evil in you."
"So they attacked us because we're evil?" Edward asked, pain passing through his golden eyes.
"No, oh God no," I responded taking both his hands in mine in a comforting gesture, "None of you are evil, don't even say that, they just feed off evil and I think they attacked you because they couldn't stand the good in you."
There were a few audible gasps but I had my eyes locked on Edward's. He had to understand he wasn't evil.
"They wanted to attack Esme first and you took the blow instead," I spoke to him, "When they touched your head, what did you feel?"
"I felt pain, despair above it, but a lot of pain," answered Edward shaking slightly, "Flashes of their memories too, all the bad they had done."
"It was like a poison in your body, picking at your soul," I explained, "I couldn't stand to see your suffer like that so I did the only thing I could, I took the poison from your body and took it into mine, in the process giving you some of my energy."
"You shouldn't have done that," Edward whispered retreated his hands and burying them in his face.
"But I did and it saved you," I said.
"Thank you," he said and I knew he meant it, "After you passed out, something strange happened to me."
I perked up at the information and so did the rest. "What?"
"I think I saw one of your memories, like I was in it," he responded frowning, "It was unlike anything I had ever experience or read about."
A memory. Oh great. I wonder what embarrassing moment he had to relieve, even worse, what if he had seen something pertaining to William. I'd be seriously screwed.
"What did you see?" I asked a little panicked.
"Your mother and you," he answered, "I think it was when you were human and you were playing the guitar then you were discussing your suitors."
The way he said suitors had me laughing, it was like he was saying a cursed word or something. Alice and Rose had caught it and giggled while Jasper and Emmett shot him teasing looks. Carlisle and Esme had the decency to hide their reactions, at least from Edward. Although I remembered that day, it was when I had barely turned sixteen and my mother had been pushing me to find a good husband. For some reason she had really nagged me about it and pushed it on me with force and I still didn't understand why.
"I guess when I gave you some of my energy I passed you a memory," I guessed, "Sorry about that."
He shook his head and a small smile made its way to his lips. Now that I took a good look at him he looked awful. His pale skin was impossibly paler and he looked tired, his movements tense and weary. This was all my fault. I should have been more alert, it was my job. If I hadn't been quick to think of a few things and gotten to them in time the Shadows would have seriously hurt the Cullens.
I could not let this happen again. I had to keep a better eye out for them. They would not die because of me.
"This wasn't your fault Bella," Jasper's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"That's the thing, it was," I disagreed with him, "I should have been more alert and paying attention."
"You didn't know this was going to happen," Esme said.
"I should have," I whispered, "I got distracted and Edward got hurt, this is my fault. Don't try to take the blame away from me."
There was silence following my outburst and my emotions got the best of me as well as my thoughts. All traced back to Edward and what could have happened. I forced myself away from there and looked at each of the Cullens who were waiting for me to say something.
"I can't let something else like this happen, it's my job," I started, "I won't change back to human form unless it's necessary and tomorrow after school I want us to get together for something important."
No one said anything for a while and then Alice spoke up.
"Won't your Angel form attract attention?" she asked.
"It might but from humans," I answered, "I doubt there's something else in this town but knowing my luck it'll be better if I just stay like this."
"What are you going to show us?" Emmett asked excitedly.
"That's a secret and it will be for your protection," I smiled at him, "It would make me feel so much better if we did it now but I don't think I could handle it tonight."
"You're here and we are also protecting you," Esme reached over and patted my hand.
"She's right," Edward whispered in my ear sending shivers down my spine.
"Rose, is my Jeep finished?" Emmett's sudden question ended our meeting and every one spread out around the house.
Edward locked our hands together and guided us to his room. He shut the door behind him and led us to his couch. I'm not sure what caused me to do it but as soon as he sat down I attacked him with a hug. His body was tense with surprise for a second before it easily slipped away. I took in a breath of his scent to calm my nerves and found this embrace to feel so natural.
"Not that I'm complaining but what's this for?" asked Edward breaking the silence.
I pulled away and stared into his eyes wondering what he was thinking. Would now be a good time to tell him now I fell? Does he even feel the same way? How was I supposed to find out without damaging the friendship we already had if he didn't? These questions really sucked.
"I'm really glad you're okay Edward," I responded, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been."
"Well I wouldn't have been able to look into those amazing brown eyes for one," he said putting up his million dollar smile. The one that made all other thoughts disappear and had my breathing speed up unconsciously.
I coughed and tore my eyes away from Edward's or else I would never get anything done. I looked at him again and winced at the color his eyes had turned.
"You need to hunt," I whispered running my thumb over the purple of his eye, "Carlisle?"
"Yes," he said appearing at the doorway.
"Do you have blood here at the house?" I asked, "I don't want Edward to go by himself to hunt or anyone of you by yourselves without protection but he really needs blood."
"Of course, I'll be right back," Carlisle agreed and went to get some blood.
"I'm fine," he repeated again.
"No you're not," I said, "Please, just give me this I need to know for sure that you're okay."
"Here," Carlisle came back handing Edward a fat bag of blood. I stepped out for a few minutes while Edward drank up so I wouldn't distract him. Carlisle walked out with the empty bag and nodded at me.
"Thanks," I smiled at him.
I came back in and was a little more pleased with the color of Edward's eyes, they weren't the topaz I knew but they would have to suffice. I took a seat next to Edward on the couch again and for the remainder of the night we just relaxed, well he relaxed. I was too tense.
It was almost midnight when I stood up from the couch and stretched prepared to leave when a gentle cold hand wrapped around my wrist. I jumped in surprise but didn't take my hand back. The expression in Edward's eyes was enough to hold me in place.
"Stay," he whispered, "please."
My words died in my throat and I simply nodded. As much as I wanted to just stay here and be with Edward I had to gain some of my energy back since I had lost so much over the past week.
"I need to gain my energy back," I whispered back, unsure of why we were since I'm pretty sure everyone in the house could hear us, "Meditation."
"Of course, but wouldn't it be better if you got some sleep?" asked Edward curiously.
"The meditation I do is like sleeping but for my kind and it allows me to be more alert," I answered, "Although, if you could keep anyone from touching me or disrupting me unless it's absolutely necessary, because it is rather painful for me to be broken away from it, that would be really helpful."
"No one will touch you," he assured me.
I trusted him to look out for me, after all I loved him.
I plopped down in the middle of his room with my knees crossed Indian style and my palms resting on my knees face down. After a couple easy exercise breaths I began to fall into a deep state of unconsciousness. All other sounds began to vanish and a serene blanket fell over me, which I'm sure would fall over Jasper too whether he wanted it or not. Before I lost complete sense over my body I heard a soft loving whisper near my ear.
"I love you Bella."
So, how was that chapter? I thought it was okay. Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
AND THANKS A LOT YOU GUYS FOR YOUR REVIEWS!! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!
Until next time,
~*~Mimi-Love-4Ever