Halcyon
PART III
Chapter 11
The first thing that I notice is the light streaming into the room. It's almost too bright, illuminating everything. My vision is clear, absolutely clear. I can see every single detail in the room. The windows are open, as well as the door bringing the fresh breeze in, and a bunch of smells from outside. Trees, wood, dirt. Looking down, I see that I'm in a quarter length, purple, tunic henley that reaches the middle of my thigh and long black leggings. I sit up and get off the bed, my feet touching the cold floor. I immediately freeze. I just heard the small bed squeak. I heard it. I knock on the bed and gasp when I realize that I heard it.
"I can hear." I whisper, my eyes widening. I thought that the dream with Lacrimosa was the only time I'd be able to hear. But, I can hear.
I let out a smile as I feel...incredible. Better than I've ever felt in my entire life. I can feel my heart beating, faster than it should which confuses me. It's not a pounding, it's like a fluttering, but I thought that my heart would stop beating like everyone else's. I lift up my hands, startling myself when I see that my skin has changed. Trailing down my arms, I see that it's not as chalky as the other Cullens, but it's definitely paler than it was and it also has this sheen to it, luminous as a pearl. I realize warm, too. This is...not what I expected. I see movement out of the corner of my eye and turn, my eyes widening when I see an extremely beautiful creature in the room. She's wearing the same thing as me, and moving when I move. I'm staring in a mirror. She's me. I walk closer to see my appearance, letting out a gasp.
I start from top to bottom on my new appearance. My hair is now a richer brown color, almost auburn. It has a silky shine to it, reaching my ribs in light curls. My face seems more sculpted - my cheekbones higher, my lips fuller and redder, my skin flawless. I also notice that I'm not as marble like as the other Cullens, my cheeks have a rosy tint to them. The last thing that I notice are my eyes. They're not the newborn red I was expecting.
My eyes are basically the same color they were, a mixture of blue and green from my mother, but they are now framed by longer and darker lashes. They're brighter, bigger, more radiant, and highly unusual. The one thing that scares me a bit, is the ring around the pupil is a vivid crimson. It's almost alien like, abnormal. I have to stare at them for a couple of moments so I can get used to them.
I've always considered myself a normal looking person, never feeling that comfortable taking compliments on my appearance, even from Jasper, but I can't deny the creature in the mirror is beautiful. That creature is me. I find myself a little unsure about my appearance, trying to convince my brain that it's me, it's still Lily Swan.
I take a step back, taking in my whole appearance change. I'm not a human anymore, I'm a...Seer, but I'm also a vampire so, why is my heart still beating and why am I still warm?
Movement appears in the mirror and I see Jasper entering the room, his face going from shock at seeing me awake to brightening, a smile curving his lips. I turn around and look at him, so happy to see that my blood didn't harm him, my sanguinem coeunt. I study him with my new sight. I knew that he was perfect before, but now that I see him, really see him, perfect is not a strong enough word. It's like my view of him was shaded all this time. His hair, while I described it as honey blonde, is more golden, matching his bright eyes. His skin has a beautiful luminance to it that I couldn't see before. I'm torn between where I am right now, greedily staring at the God standing ten feet away from me, or running and jumping into his arms, kissing him.
"Jasper." I choke out as I choose the latter as I run over to him, startling myself with my new speed, and crash right into his arms. I catch him off guard and make him stumble back a couple of steps, but he doesn't seem to care. He catches me and lips meet lips in a fiery kiss, filled with deep adoration. This kiss, while fervent, the southern gentlemen in Jasper always lingering, is still passionate and enthralling. I thought that when he bit me, my blood would have killed him, like Malum. I put everything I am into this kiss, millions of emotions flooding through me like a wave - relief, happiness, joy, excitement...
When we break apart, we rest our foreheads against each other, just staring. He brings a hand up to my cheek and I lean my head into it, closing my eyes. I'm so happy to see him. When I open them, I find his beautiful face taking in every aspect of me. "You're so beautiful, Lily." he says and I gasp, hearing his voice for the first time. It's deep and...utterly incredible. He pulls back to look at me, confusion on his face.
"I can hear." I tell him and his eyes widen.
"You can hear me?" he asks, shocked and I nod. He suddenly picks me up and placing his lips against mine again. I can hear and I heard his voice. It's how I always imagined - a deep, drawl and I just want him to keep talking. His voice is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Jasper sets me down on my feet and pulls back, frown on his face while he brings his hands to mine. "You're warm." he tells me, looking puzzled.
"How long have I been out?" I ask.
"Five days." he tells me and my eyes widen. "The transformation took longer than we expected. I'll admit, I was getting worried, darlin." he says and I smile, bringing my hand to his cold cheek.
"I love you." I say and he smiles, dipping his head down so his lips meet mine.
"I love you." he says and I smile. Please, just keep talking. I just want to hear your voice.
"I know what I am...or what I was." I tell him and he looks at me curiously. "A Seer."
"A Seer?" he asks and I nod. I see movement over Jasper's shoulder, Rosalie standing there. Shock registers across her face, before a small smile appears. "You're awake." I hear her say and I smile. "Carlisle, she's awake." she calls. Suddenly, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Alice, and to my surprise, Riley Biers appear in the room. I watch him curiously, wondering why he's here. He hangs back, standing next to Alice, the little pixie smiling at me.
"Woah, your eyes are freaky." Emmett says, looking at me like I'm an alien. Rosalie smacks him on the back of the head and he turns to her, shrugging. I roll my eyes and shake my head at Emmett, for pointing out the obvious.
"Carlisle, her heart is still beating." Esme says, looking astounded.
"This is...interesting." he comments walking closer to me. He takes his stethoscope off his neck and places it in his ears, bringing to my chest. He listens for a little bit, his eyebrows raising in surprised, before taking it off. "Your heart is beating faster than normal and your blood is flowing."
"Carlisle, she can hear now." Jasper announces and Carlisle widens his eyes a bit.
"Lily, you can hear now?" Carlisle asks and I nod in response, smile on my face.
"Yeah." I say and he smiles.
"That's great." he says. "The venom must have repaired what caused you to be deaf."
"Carlisle, have you ever heard of Seers?" I ask, feeling relief when his eyes flash with recognition.
"Of course. When Edward said your blood helped weaken Victoria, I should have known." he says, while the rest of the Cullens are left in the dark.
"Carlisle, what is a Seer?" Alice asks.
"Seers were deaf women that can see the future. I should have known that's what you were. Aro had them exterminated because of their blood." Carlisle says.
"Their blood is poisonous to us?" Rosalie asks and Carlisle nods.
"Yes, that's what helped weaken Victoria. If a vampire consumes too much, it's deadly." Carlisle tells everyone. "Lily, I believe that since your heart is still pumping blood, you're still, at least part Seer. Vampire and Seer combined. The venom from Jasper fused together with your Seer blood, that's why the transformation took longer. I'm actually glad that it fused together so well, your blood could have rejected it. You're a..." he trails off thinking, before looking up "You're a Vampire/Seer hybrid. This first of your kind."
A hybrid. A Seer/vampire hybrid. The last Seer, according to Lacrimosa. I look around, frowning when I realize we're missing some people.
"Where's my sister? Where's Bella?" I ask, wanting to see her and Carlisle approaches me.
"Lily, I think that we should get your thirst under control before we bring you to her. It's just for her safety." Carlisle says and I nod, understanding.
"I'll take her." Jasper pipes up and Carlisle nods. We start towards the door, me shooting Riley a look as he tries to fade into the background. I feel a strong hand on my shoulder and turn to see Emmett, smirking.
"When you get back, I wanna see how strong the newborn is." he teases and I roll my eyes at him, following Jasper outside. I still feel kind of human, but stronger...better. We reach the tree line and pause. I close my eyes and just...listen. I can hear birds chirping. Actual birds chirping! The wind sweeping through the trees, the crunching of leaves. All the things that I've never heard before, I can now. I inhale deeply and I can smell everything. Sap, dirt, wood, flowers. Everything is so vivid out here, the colors are brighter. My sight has definitely strengthened as I can see pretty far into the forest. I stand there, taking everything in with my new senses, especially my hearing.
I turn my head to Jasper who's watching me, amused as I test out my strengthened sight and smell. I smile at him and decide to test out my speed, taking off in a run. It startles me a bit, I'm running so fast, but everything is clear to me. The wind is whipping through my hair and I've never felt so alive. I just feel so enthralled, speeding through the forest. The leaves and sticks are crunching under my feet. I see different animals and the sounds they make. A squirrel scurries up a tree while a rabbit hops out-of-the-way. Amazing. I easily dodge the trees and low branches as I see a figure next to me, Jasper running at my side. I smile at him, feeling exhilarated and pick up my speed, but Jasper still runs as fast as me. I can hear something up ahead and look, seeing as we are about to reach a waterfall. I see Jasper leap, me taking his lead and jumping right behind him. I feel like I'm flying, jumping right over the waterfall and landing on the other side. The wind then carries a scent to my nose that causes my throat to burn. Jasper has stopped ahead, catching me around my waist and I smile.
"You smell it?" he asks and I nod, looking around. Jasper turns me around and places his hands on my hips.
"Close your eyes, Lily." I follow and listen, letting my instincts take over. I don't recognize many of the sounds until, suddenly, a picture is struggling to appear in my brain. I frown, but follow my instincts and close my eyes, letting it flow to me. The picture flashes in my brain, extremely clear.I focus on it, seeing every single detail.
An elk, dipping its mouth into a brook to drink some water.
I snap my eyes open, knowing where it is, my throat already burning with thirst. I take off towards it, knowing exactly where it is. I run towards it, slowing down when I catch that scent again. I slow into a stalk, catching sight of the elk. I feel Jasper next to me, watching what I do, but my eyes are on the elk, my prey. I used to hate when I would see dad's friends showing off their prizes. Proud, and a bit smug while describing their kills to Charlie. I used to be disgusted by it, and a little sad thinking about the poor, defenseless creature matched against a human.
Now, I'm just really thirsty and this elk looks delicious. I feel Jasper next to me, watching my actions. I feel like a predator. I feel in control. I feel confident. The elk dips its mouth into the brook, exactly like my vision. I focus only on the elk, letting my preadatorial instincts take over. Now is the time. I take off towards the elk as it tilts its head up towards me at the last second, catching sight of its predator. It makes a futile effort to get away, but I'm too fast, tackling it to the ground. It tries to buck off me, putting up a fight and I admit, he catches me of guard a couple of times causing me to lose my grip. I wince a bit when I hear his cry until I finally get a strong grip on his head and I tilt it up, exposing his delicious neck as my throat burns. At first, I feel a little awkward, not really knowing where I go from here, until my instincts take over and I sink my sharp teeth into its neck, cutting through it like butter while its blood fills my mouth. I'm not grossed out like I thought I would be, and I drink greedily, not exactly finding the satisfaction I was looking for, though I do feel better as my throat is not burning so much.
The elk's life drains away and I finish drinking, sitting up. I take deep breaths as I hear my heart fluttering fast and lick its blood off my lips. I turn around to Jasper, who has an impressed expression on his face. I smile at him, until I realize there's animal blood on my nose, mouth, and jaw. It's dripping down my neck to my chest, running on my shirt and I'm a little embarrassed, wiping it off the best I can as Jasper walks over to me.
"How did I do?" I ask, a little nervous to what he'll say, but to my surprise and delight, he smiles.
"You did wonderful, darlin. Very well for a first timer." he tells me and I nod, feeling relief. "Are you still thirsty?" he asks and I shake my head, not feeling my throat burn with thirst.
"No, I'm fine. I kind of want to get cleaned up, though." I tell him, looking down at my bloody shirt.
"Come on." he says, nodding his head and I smile. We both start running, side by side to each other. Running next to him, not being a weak human anymore, I feel amazing. I turn towards him and smile as he smiles back.
This is the start of my life.
We reach the waterfall and pause, looking at the 200 ft drop to the water below. The water looks powerful and I feel a little unsure, that human part lingering in me with my fear of heights, until a cool hand slips into mine. I turn towards Jasper as he gives me a reassuring smile and nod. I squeeze his hand back and look at the drop, both of us getting a running start and leaping off the top. I let go of his hand and actually enjoy the drop, feeling exhilarated. We finally hit the water as the pressure from the waterfall pushes me down. I swim away, staying under water for a while. I break surface as Jasper does a couple of moments after me. I smile and swim over to him as he takes me in his arms.
"I love you, Jasper." I murmur and Jasper smiles, pushing some of my wet hair from my face.
"I love you, Lily." I hear him say, not having to read his lips anymore. I can just stare into his golden eyes and hear his perfect voice. I lean forward, placing my lips to his. I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling Jasper pull me to him with his arms around my waist. I can notice a slight change in the way Jasper kisses. He used to be very gentle, almost hesitant, but now, he's a little more fierce. I run my hands through his wet hair as I deepen the kiss, Jasper letting me take control.
I've never felt more alive than I do, right now. I feel like this is what I was born to become. This is my destiny.
I pull away from Jasper and rest my forehead against his. "I'm glad your eyes didn't change that much. They're even more beautiful than they were." he tells me and I grimace.
"Emmett's right, they are kind of freaky." I say and he shakes his head, tilting my chin up.
"They're beautiful, just like you." he tells me and smile, leaning forward and placing my lips to his. What did I ever do to deserves someone so perfect? I smile when we pull away. "Come on, let's go home." he says and I nod, both of us swimming to the rocks.
He leaps up and starts scaling the rocks, using just his hands. I take a deep breath and look at the climb, unsure if I can do it. Here we go...
I leap out of the water and catch myself on the rocks with my bare hands, surprising my self. Woah. I start quickly climbing up, shocking myself with my speed and strength. I don't know when I'm going to get used to this. I reach the top where Jasper is waiting for me and he reaches a hand down to pull me up. I glance one last time at the climb, proud that I did it. Jasper and I start running, him leading the way back to the Cullens house.
While running, I think about Charlie. What did they tell him? What am I going to tell him? How am I going to live back at home? What happens if I attack him? My own dad. That thought scares me a bit as flashes of Jasper trying to attack Bella fill my mind.
Bella.
What am I going to do when we get back. I want to see her, but I'm also scared. I don't want to hurt my sister. I guess I should just hold my breath. I find that I don't need to breathe, but I like the air. I like the feeling of it in my lungs. It's a habit, I guess. Now, I know why Jasper got that extremely uncomfortable look on his face, because it is really uncomfortable. It is bearable, though, and I will do it for her and for Charlie.
I also think of the wolves while we're running. I want to thank Seth for pulling Victoria off of me, and I also want to thank Sam for allowing Jasper to bite me. That was...really nice of him to throw the treaty out the window, allowing me to live. I really need to thank them.
Jasper and I continue to run through the woods, the wind as we're running acts as a blow dryer, my hair and clothes drying quickly. We finally reach a part of the forest I recognize and the house comes into view. My clothes are only a little damp and thankfully, my hair is completely dry. It's parted to the left, falling to my ribs in loose curls. Well, that's awesome that I don't need to really style it anymore. The color turns to an auburn as the light hits it.
The sun. I look at my skin, waiting for it to shine like a million diamonds, just like Jasper's is doing now, but it does something else. It faintly glows, not sparkles. I hold both of my hands up and examine my glowing skin. It's not as noticeable as the other Cullens, I could probably go out in public like this. It is interesting, though. I look over and see Jasper watching me, his face looking at my skin.
"Weird." I say and he smiles, shaking his head. Jasper takes my hand and we both walk into the house. We enter the living room, finding most of the Cullens already in there. The all turn towards us as we enter, Emmett smiling.
"How did she do?" he asks and Jasper looks at me, smiling.
"Very well. Took down a pretty big elk." he tells them and I can see everyone smiling, a little impressed. I see someone timidly approach me and I look up, seeing that it's Riley. My first instinct is to growl, get ready for an attack and I also see Jasper step ahead, trying to separate him from me but Alice appears next to Riley.
"It's okay. Riley wants to say something to Lily." she says, looking up at him with an encouraging smile.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry, Liliana. I was...blinded, and thankfully, Edward got through to me...just in time. I'm very sorry for everything that we did and that I helped orchestrate." he tells me and I look at him for a couple of moments, reading his expression, before realizing that he's genuine. I'm going to forgive him, but we're not exactly going to be best friends. I nod in response, accepting his apology. Alice links her arm through his which I raise an eyebrow at.
"He's my mate, Lily." she tells me and both of my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. "When he made the decision to help Edward defeat Victoria, I saw it." She smiles up at him and he smiles back at her, a spark appearing in his crimson eyes.
I hear someone enter the room turn my head, seeing Edward, but there's someone behind him. He's watching me like I'm going to suddenly attack and I realize that it's Bella, causing me to immediately hold my breath. I see Carlisle nod to Edward and he steps aside, Bella coming into view. My beautiful big sister. She sees me and shock registers across her face for a couple of moments, before her lips twitch into a smile. I smile and start walking, as slow as I can, towards her as she does the same. We both meet in the middle and I hug her, so happy to see my sister.
"Too tight." she squeaks out and I loosen up, feeling myself blush from embarrassment.
"Sorry." I say, trying to not breath and she pulls back shocked.
"How did you...did you just..." she starts and I smile at my sister's voice. I heard my sister's voice! I smile from excitement and nod.
"I heard you." I tell her and her eyes widen before she pulls me in for another hug while I close my eyes. All the times I've ever hugged my big sister flash through my mind. Whenever I was scared, hurt, crying, nervous, happy, excited, or trying to reassure her. All while I was a human and all while I was deaf.
I open my eyes and pull back from my sister, smiling. "Are you okay? Like, is it weird?" Bella asks me and I nod.
"Never better." I tell her, focusing on not breathing in and she smiles. Edward comes up next to Bella and puts an arm around her shoulders, still watching me and expecting me to suddenly jump in attack. I back up and walk back over to Jasper, putting some distance between us. I finally breathe normally, but still trying to be careful.
"What are we going to tell my dad? And how am I going to explain I can miraculously hear?" I ask Carlisle who sighs.
"I've been thinking about that. Your hearing...things happen like that every day, deaf people suddenly waking up and able to hear. That'll be fine and we have you covered for the next week or so. Charlie thinks that both of you are in Seattle with Alice, a graduation present from Esme and I." he tells me and I nod.
"We're going to give him an aneurysm or a heart attack. First telling him that your engaged and then me hearing." I tell Bella and she looks a little uncomfortable with the idea of telling him about the engagement.
"Lily, we'll have to see your control and decide if you can go back to living at your house with Bella and Charlie. We don't want to put both of them at risk. Until then, we're going to have to re-teach you how to be human." Carlisle says.
I frown, confused by what he means. "I think I remember how to be a human, Carlisle. It wasn't that long ago." I say and he chuckles a bit as I feel an arm wrap around my waist, turning towards a smiling, amused Jasper.
"Yes, but your body went through a change. You remember, but it doesn't." Jasper tells me and I nod, finally getting it.
"Okay, but first. I was wondering if I could visit Sam and Seth. I wanna thank both of them." I say and I notice that my sister looks a little uncomfortable. "What?"
"Jacob was injured in the fight. Broke most of the bones in his body." Carlisle tells me and I widen my eyes.
"Is he okay?" I ask and Carlisle nods.
"Now, he is. His accelerated healing helped him." he says and I see Rosalie walk up to me.
"Lily, because you're now...well, part-vampire, I don't know if they wolves will still be welcoming." she tells me.
"Oh, okay." I say and look at everyone. "Well, uh...why don't we start the human lessons?" I ask and Carlisle nods. Esme steps forward to me as Edward and Bella hang back, the former trying to form a protective barrier between my sister and I.
"Okay, why don't you walk over to the couch and take a seat." she says and I look over, trying to focus on human speed. I take a step, but it looks awkward and I walk too quickly over to the couch, surprising myself. I hear the couch crack a little as I bring it back a little .
I wince and look up at the surprised Cullens and Bella. "Too fast?" I ask.
"Just a little bit." Jasper says and I sigh.
"Sorry." I say.
"We'll work on that." Esme says and I nod, a little embarrassed.
"When you hold your breath, make sure to move your shoulders up and down to make it seem like you're breathing." Rosalie tells me, demonstrating and I try it out, feeling extremely awkward as I raise my shoulders up and down, mimicking her.
"Slump a little, humans don't sit straight." Alice says and I slump my shoulders in my seat. "Also, don't sit so still, fidget a bit." I cross my legs and move my foot, stopping when I realize I was moving it way too fast, causing it to be a blur. I widen my eyes and stop, feeling myself blush. Oh, this is going well.
"Good." Rosalie says, sarcastically.
"Alice will get you some contact lenses, so we can cover up your eye color for the time being." Carlisle says.
"Because they are freaky!" Emmett puts his two cents in while I narrow my eyes at him.
"Emmett." Jasper warns and the brawny Cullen shrugs, feigning innocence.
"Can we end the human lessons. I'm bored and I wanna see how strong the little newborn is...since she's only part vampire." Emmett teases and Rosalie smacks him on the arm. I can feel my anger growing and I really want to show Emmett what I've got. Jasper feels my agitation growing and wraps an arm around my shoulders, a wave of calm washing over me.
"Emmett." Esme says but he doesn't listen.
"Emmett, we don't know the extent of her abilities." Carlisle tells him.
"Well, how about we test it out." Emmett says and I, having enough, smirk.
"Alright. Let's go." I say and Emmett smirks, running outside. I can see a collectable sigh from everyone as they follow Emmett outside while Jasper turns towards me.
"You did great with Bella. You're control is strong. But, are sure you wanna play into Emmett's little games?" he asks and I smile, nodding.
"Oh, I've been waiting for months to put him in his place." I tell him and he smiles, placing a kiss on my temple. We both walk outside where I see Emmett carrying over a giant log, hearing him slam it down on the ground. I let go of Jasper and walk up to him, while he's standing there looking cocky.
"Let's go, newborn." he teases and I roll my eyes, both of us standing on either side. He lays his elbow on the log. I raise my eyebrows and look over to Jasper who gives me an encouraging nod. I walk over to the log and take Emmett's hand, squeezing it. Jasper walks over to the log and smirks at Emmett.
"Don't hurt yourself, Em." Rosalie says, smiling at me. I return her smile and turn to the brawny Cullen in front of me. I notice is bare arms are twice the size of mine. Well, here we go...
"Not a chance." he says, smirking at me.
"Alright, 1...2...3...go..." Jasper says and to my surprise, Emmett doesn't crush my hand down right away like he should. I keep my hand steady as he tries to push down, but my arm only budges a little bit. Emmett looks like he's struggling and I smile, starting to push back, Emmett's strength is incredible impressive, and I'm only part vampire, but since I'm technically a "newborn," I guess I'm still stronger than him. The vampire part is stronger, for right now. I'm pushing back with all of my strength, bringing his hand down towards the log. Emmett is pushing back even harder and I'm gritting my teeth, mustering up all of my strength. Suddenly, his strength gives and his arm slams into the log, cracking it. I feel a sense of pride run through me as I just defeated my pesky, older brother. I hear some let out cheers for me and I smile, feeling victorious.
I turn around and see Bella by my sister with a smile on her face as does Edward. Rosalie is "consoling" a defeated Emmett, sending me a smile. I can hear Alice laughing and Riley standing next to her, cracking a small smile. Jasper wraps an arm around my face, beaming at me. "Well, Emmett, I'd say the newborn just beat you." Jasper says and Emmett just rolls his eyes.
"Alright, the games are done. Lily, I was wondering if we could do some tests. Just to see the extent of your dexterity." Carlisle says and I nod.
"Yeah, sure." I reply, interested to what that means.
Hey guys!
What did you think? I debated and debated and went back and forth writing today, and I decided to let Lily hear, because she deserves it. She's not going to have such strong hearing as the other vampires because she's still part Seer, but it will be the same as a normal human.
Thank you for all your kind words in your reviews and thank you for your opinions on the hearing thing.
I updated my wiki pages and created a new one for Lily as a hybrid. Link is on my profile.
To everyone who reviewed, added Halcyon to your favorites, and added Halcyon to your story alerts, thank you so much. I really appreciate it and I'm happy that you are liking my story.
Pictures, playlist, and wiki link is on my profile.
Thank You!
-Jalen-