Ahem, thank you for the Fav, LadyChandlerNorrington. Glad to have you!

Sorry this is shorter, but it's kinda important. Forgive me?

-Scarlet


Chapter 27: Lethal Encounter

December 26th 1931, 12:37pm

Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, Washington

I scowled at Edward over the rim of my teacup. I still hadn't forgiven him for "interrupting" Jasper and I last evening. He later said that we'd thank him, but I didn't see it as a likely possibility in the near future. I was never one to hold a grudge, but I glared at his stupid red eyes every chance I got.

Jasper was mortified. He'd never been too fond of Edward, and the "event" last evening sealed that dislike. He'd left early that morning to hunt; I could tell he needed some time to think on his own.

So did I.

Even though nothing "happened" last evening, it was still a step forward in our relationship. The modern practice of "dating" was not something that I favored, but as Edward explained an hour before, technically Jasper and my relationship was outside the realm of courtship. Last evening only proved this point explicitly.

I left Edward, falsely excusing myself to hunt. He didn't seem to mind my deception, or simply didn't care, and I stole from the cabin quietly. Jasper's trail ran deep into the forest, in a northern direction – a path he didn't usually take. I disregarded it, knowing he wouldn't want me to follow. A mix of emotions swirled within me; something had awakened last night that hadn't been there before...

Doubt.

I loved Jasper... maybe not as much as he loved me, but the feeling was certainly returned. I was confident that he hadn't used his gift over me in quite some time, for which I was thankful. Being around me had helped him control his gift, whereas before he was allowed to use it in whatever way he wished. If nothing, I was grateful for the experience that we shared alone.

Experience? But... I want to be with him... right? Do I not consider our relationship to be permanent? Have my standards slipped? Or have I been tricked?

These thoughts of doubt and uncertainty tormented me for a full hour of aimless walking. I'd walked three five-mile circles around the cabin by the time I realized it. I sighed, gathering my petticoat tighter around my body, and perched myself on a snow-covered boulder. I lifted my feet out of the reasonably-high snow and set them upon a branch, my makeshift footstool. I frowned, and waited for everything to make sense.

About half an hour later, I heard something odd. A footstep in the snow, about a half-mile east, which was non-animal. The step was heavier than a grey wolf, but not quite a deer. I stood up, and sniffed the wind for a scent. Due to the cold, my sense of smell was upset. I sighed heavily, and began marching in the direction of the disturbance.

The scent became clearer as I approached, but I couldn't tell the identity of the vampire from one to another. It's most defiantly Jasper. Who else could it be? However, my posture stiffened when the steps became more hurried, urgent. They didn't hold the powerful consistency that Jasper's would. They were light, almost frantic in their pace.

I caught sight of her around the trunk of a tree, for only half a second. She was of medium height, light brown hair, deathly pale skin, and glistening red eyes. Her stature was unusually stout for a vampire, but her movements were quick and aggressive. We passed each other in our haste, but she quickly righted her mistake. Overtaking me from behind in a heartbeat, she knocked me to the ground. The breath left my lungs in one motion, and I struggled to regain it under her weight.

"Stop, please stop," she pleaded. Taking my collar roughly, she flipped me over like a ragdoll and grasped my throat with hands like ice. "It'll be so much easier this way!" Her tone was anxious, and her eyes held nothing but bloodlust. She hesitated twice as she leaned down to my arm... teeth exposed.

Raising my knee, I jutted it into her abdomen. She slid across the snow several feet, and was dazed long enough for me to ready myself. I held out my hands, willing a shield to appear between us.

I was too late. She hissed in frustration as she sprang at me, her pretty face contorted into a scowl. I heard my wrist crack as it was smashed between us, and this time she didn't hesitate as she lowered her head. Lifting my already-healed hand, I managed to thrust my fist into her jaw before her teeth sank into my throat. However, her teeth nicked my chin as her head snapped up from my blow, and I felt an unpleasant tingle of the venom as it healed my wound. I whined in pain as I staggered to my feet.

She stumbled back from me, and moaned as she held her lopsided jaw. Her eyes locked upon mine, holding me in a trance, as her crooked bones fused back together with a sickening crack.

This time, I managed to raise a shield around her. Like a round cage, she was trapped inside. I wiggled the fingers of the hand that had been damaged, and clenched it twice, holding the shield up with the other. Other than a few bruises, the knuckles seemed fine.

I lifted my head to glare at her. Diplomacy time. "Why did you attack me?"

She rubbed the inside of the shield with her fingers, and then scratched it with her nails. She wailed in torment as my barricade held, seeming to either not hear me or ignore me. She must be very young... or perhaps inexperienced. Suddenly, her blood-curdling scream made my hair stand on end. It echoed back to me through the forest, and I was sure if Edward hadn't heard before, he'd heard that.

I swallowed dryly as I watched the woman scratch her face and pull her hair. She moaned something over and over again, but I could only pick out the word "don't." I didn't wait five minutes before I heard Edward approaching. I bit my lip as he joined my side; I couldn't hold the shield much longer and my concentration was dwindling.

"Edward!" the woman shouted, staring right at him. "Edward, please!"

My eyes widened. How does she –? I turned swiftly to Edward; his eyes were pinned on the white dome that confined the female. I couldn't read his expression, but it changed slightly to remorse as I showed him the scene in my head. He seemed to sigh for a moment, and then rested a hand on my forearm. "Let her go," he whispered.

I stared at him as though he were crazy. "She attacked me! She's dangerous, Edward, can't you see?" I thought as hard as I could, but his eyes didn't waver. Are you mad?

When he grabbed my hands by the wrists and pulled them away, the shield faded. I cringed back as the woman began running for us, but gasped when she wrapped her arms around Edward. I watched his conflict over her shoulder as he returned her embrace, sparing me a confused look. I felt my jaw unhinge. What is this?

It was in the very next moment that I sensed another presence. It was approaching quickly, and it distracted me from the scene before my eyes. As it came closer, I felt an unprecedented familiarity rise up. I inhaled the winter air deeply; the scent was smooth like honey and strong like pine... So familiar...

Then, to the east, I saw him between the trees. Time seemed to slow as my mind reeled with reality. In my shock, I stumbled back and tripped into the snow. I didn't register the cold ground that my hands caught before I fell, or the dull thud of my heart speeding up.

He stared in my direction, but not at me. He whispered a foreign name, and my peripheral caught sight of the woman darting for him. His eyes then traveled to me, and our golden gazes locked. In that moment, I felt as though the world stood still, as though nothing else existed. My stomach clenched when my own name fell from his lips, and a strange pang tickled my chest.

My hearing faded as the moments dragged on. The woman reached him and sprang into his arms, surprising him out of his daze. My vision narrowed with darkness, and a sensationless tingle began at the base of my skull.

One distant, unforgotten, haunting, bitter name broke on my voice...

"Car...lisle?"


Oh... dear... calamity... This could be trouble. Please review; it would make me so, so, so happy.

Next time: "A Demon with Gold Eyes."

-Scarlet