The Stars and the Sun
Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and Midnight Sun all belong to Stephenie Meyer. And I am not her.
Summary: What is someone from our universe entered the Twilight universe? What would she think? Do? Feel? And what if our universe was the fictional one?
Author's Note: This is so going to get fun! Elizabeth is extremely protective of her Gabriel and we know Gabriel is protective of his "consorte". Given that Bella is constantly trying to play Switzerland and Elizabeth just….doesn't, I don't think the wolves will know what to do with her. At all. It should be really fun!
Shooting Stars
Chapter 11
Fear. Trepidation. It didn't get bad until I was actually in Carlisle's office. I'm not quite sure what the final trigger was but I remembered an old wood and metal desk, an ancient computer, and a green leather chair with my Dad in it, looking displeased.
Carlisle was already standing next to his window, looking out, hands clasped, when Gabriel lead me in. Despite my beloved fiancé's reassurances, the ball in the pit of my stomach grew. This was too eerily familiar and I didn't know why really. I kept picturing my Dad but my big brother in law of a vampire wasn't anything like that. He was always so calm, understanding. I didn't get why I was worried despite Edward telling me that Carlisle was more curious than anything and Gabriel saying that it was his fault for the confrontation.
When we got into the room, Carlisle turned and waved at the two chairs in front of his desk. "Please, sit down," he said gently enough as he took his own seat. Seeing Carlisle behind the desk was yet another trigger. My Dad, his face turning red, as he screamed at me. I wasn't even sure what I did wrong but I never was. I grasped Gabriel's arm a bit tighter before taking my seat. The chairs, unfortunately, were too far apart for me to hold Gabriel's hand any longer. My rock in my wave of emotions was gone. I'm guessing Jasper wasn't even in the house because my emotional state was going all over the place and I knew it.
"Although I am displeased about the confrontation with the werewolves, I am also curious to know why we were not informed about the child of the moon," Carlisle started. My fingers gently hugged the edge of the armrest, touching the small metal upholstery studs that created a decorative border around the seam lines of the chair. I could picture someone else here, maybe Jasper, while Carlisle told him he was disappointed but understood.
"It was not something I believed to be relevant given the circumstances," Gabriel answered for me. I could picture someone else standing near Gabriel's chair –Rosalie- commenting on how she didn't get why she had to be nice to the girl.
"What happened?" Carlisle asked, curious but firm. His golden eyes looked at me for a second. I felt one of my headaches starting to come on but I figured I could take some tylonel or take a nap once this was over.
"Aro was uncertain of the veracity of Elizabeth and my statements regarding her involvement in both Jane and Alec's destruction," Gabriel started. I could picture Edward again, this time Carlisle looked to be smiling although Edward was less than pleased. I could just picture him saying "I want very much to kill him". I recognized what I was thinking of this time. It was just after Port Angeles.
"He decided a…test was necessary," Gabriel almost spat. Carlisle's face became a thin line before me as he sat back in his chair.
"Aro found a way to force you to deal with a child of the moon?" Carlisle asked, a bunch of emotions playing across his face. He was in disbelief, curious, but also slightly angry.
"Two," Gabriel stated, forcing Carlisle's eyes to go wide for a moment. Carlisle placed his head in his hands while Gabriel continued the story, stealing a glance at me. My headache was getting worse. The pain wasn't bad but everything I could see was starting to take on a yellow tint. I knew this type of headache. I'd go through a variety of colors and rarely, very rarely, would I go completely blind.
"They were both half starved creatures. The moon was but a quarter so they were as wolves under their own volition I assume," Gabriel continued. The room was red now.
"The Guard stood downwind from me and watched," Gabriel said bitterly. "They did not intercede until Elizabeth had taken one wolf's life and I, the other," he continued before looking over at me sadly. I wanted so badly to take his hand but I couldn't. He was too far away. The room was turning a deep forest green. Although pretty, I was getting worried that this was one of those "five year" headaches that would make me go blind. I had only had them a handful of times before.
Carlisle shook his head. "I cannot believe that Aro would conduct such a test, risk so much. Where did this take place?" he asked us.
"New York," I said quickly. Purple. The world was purple and I could only make the outlines of objects. It was almost like looking through the world with tinted sunglasses indoors on a dark day; except, I didn't have glasses I could take off.
"In that public of a place!" Carlisle's voice rose a bit. "They would risk exposure?" Carlisle said more calmly, his head in his hands again. It was too much. It was all too much.
"They claim they know now," Gabriel seethed. I could picture someone else there –was it Rosalie again- worried about exposure? Had Alice seen something?
Carlisle sighed and then looked back at Gabriel. The world was getting darker still to me. Navy Blue. I knew I should say something but what good would it do? These things tended to pass as quickly as they started. That was the one good thing about these headaches. I swore, from the corner of my eye, I saw Rosalie outside looking in. Why was she out there and why didn't she just come in? She looked to be out a bit, like near the rocks along the side of the river. Since when did Rosalie climb trees? I must be seeing things along with getting the stupid blindness.
"I warned you of the treaty line, Gabriel. You were close to it today and it nearly caused a fight that could have had disastrous consequences," Carlisle began. Gabriel raised one eyebrow at him.
"I am well aware of that Carlisle. I believe the bigger issue to be that of the wolves' reaction to Elizabetta and her reaction to them," he informed my fatherly big brother of a vampire. There was something shiny outside. I could just see it for a second and then it was gone again. I thought that my vision might be going back to normal –in which case the colors would lighten- but I could barely make out anything anymore.
Although I could feel two no…wait…three sets of eyes on me, I couldn't see them anymore. Damn migraine. "Elizabeth?" Carlisle asked, concern and curiosity in his voice. I could hear someone else's voice as well but it sounded too far away for me to understand. Curious, since it wasn't one of the family by the inflections, I strained to hear it.
"Elizabetta?" Gabriel asked now, I could feel his cool hands on top of mine. I knew he was kneeling next to me although I couldn't see him. I squeezed his hand in response.
"Is there someone outside?" I asked, quietly.
"No, why would you…" Carlisle began. The window to the backyard suddenly opened and I could hear Alice scream but her words were too fast for me to catch. I could also feel Gabriel jump up and start to yell back. That was the last trigger. I was in the office because I was in trouble. I was too scared at some level to speak up and tell Carlisle that my head was bothering me. Although now, I felt that fear evaporate, I guess Jasper was nearby, there was still something wrong with the situation and it was more than just not being able to see.
I knew where everything was in the office. I had been in here enough times over the past week to know where the desk was. I stood up and reached out, feeling the edge of it. It was then I saw something but it wasn't here. It was hard to describe what I saw really. It was like looking at a 3d movie screen. I could see the smaller room the desk was in and saw Carlisle hunched over right where I was standing. He was wearing grey wool pants and …suspenders? Maybe my thinking about antique clothing too much was forcing my brain to try and picture what my vampires would have worn ages ago.
"I failed him, Esme," was all Carlisle said in this strange little hallucination I was having. I really hated my migraines sometimes. When I came out of the hallucination, I could feel Gabriel picking me up.
"What are you doing?" I asked angrily. I could just barely see a pin point of light as I felt Gabriel lower me on to a …bed? Great, they realized that I couldn't see. Fun. I felt Gabriel hold my hand, a bit to tightly. "Try to stay calm, tesorina," Gabriel whispered, brushing back my hair.
"Can you see anything?" Carlisle asked. I could just make out outlines again. Carlisle was flashing the pin light in my eyes. There were three other people in the room and…someone outside? That didn't make sense.
"I'm fine, Carlisle. It will go away in another couple of minutes," I told him. Everything was purple again. I could see outlines. Jasper, Alice, and Edward. Why did they all look worried?
Edward turned to me and then to Carlisle. "She honestly believes nothing is wrong," he informed his father. I crossed my arms. Of course not! I've had this happen before. It will go away and won't happen again for a few years.
"Elizabeth," Carlisle started, putting his pin light away, "I need you to tell me if you can see us again," he stated. My eyes narrowed as the world turned a rather lovely shade of blue.
"I only lost my sight for maybe ten seconds, Carlisle. It's just my stupid migraines," I told him. Carlisle shot a look at Edward. He shrugged.
"I know what I saw in her head. It was like she was there," Edward said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Carlisle grasped his son's shoulder in a fatherly comforting gesture. I was completely confused.
Slowly, Carlisle walked over and picked up what looked to be nothing more than a simple pocketwatch. He looked to Jasper and nodded once before handing it to me. I felt the eerie calmness lift and all my emotions, the fear, the trepidation, nervousness flood me again. I squeezed Gabriel's hand hard.
"Is this necessary?" Gabriel asked Carlisle.
"If our theory is correct," Carlisle said with a nod before turning back to me. "Elizabeth?" he asked softly but firmly. "I want you to tell me what you think of the pocketwatch," he stated. I looked at him like he was crazy. It was easy now that I could see. All the colors had pretty much lifted.
"Where do you think it has come from?" Carlisle asked lightly. I shrugged.
"I don't know. Why is it important?" I asked. I just had a stupid migraine that was going away and a minor hallucination. It wasn't that big of a deal. What did a pocketwatch have to do with anything? I heard another voice again, the one from earlier that didn't belong to the family, and looked outside. I swear I saw a flash of blond hair.
Edward turned his head to where I had been looking. "There is something outside that is distracting her," he told his father.
"Duh," I breathed which got a half hearted giggle out of Alice.
"Outside?" Carlisle asked before looking at Gabriel. Gabriel nodded at him and stood up to stand in front of me.
"Amore? Would you like to go outside and see what ever it is that is out there?" he asked. I narrowed my eyes at the group of five vampires. What were they up too?
"Ugh! It's so hard to see!" Alice stated in frustration. She turned to her father. "I'm not sure what is out there but it's something," she said, her lips a thin line like she was concentrating.
"Then, outside," Carlisle said, almost cheerfully. I sighed. Great, they wanted the human to run after her random hallucination this time just to have fun. Oh well, at least I amused them.
I handed back the pocket watch to Carlisle. Gabriel moved to pick me up again but I shooed him. "I can walk," I muttered, the migraine pain was still threatening but the whole colors thing was gone. Of course, now I got deal with auras. Oh the joy.
Gabriel kept a hold of my hand and guided me down the stairs. We all went outside and I felt completely ridiculous for this for about a second before Jasper interfered with my emotional state again. Calm. I was starting to hate calm.
Ginsie, who had been locked out of Carlisle's office, came trotting up next to me. I stopped to pet my precious puppy dog and looked at the white furball. "Wanna come outside too, girl?" I asked. The tail wagging and slight jump with a single bark for yes was my confirmation. I smiled and patted that side of my leg to indicate to her to follow us. If she tried to run, one of the vampires could easily catch her and Emmett, where ever he was, would probably think it was a fun game.
"Probably," Edward said, but without much humor. He didn't even smirk. What was really going on?
"Carlisle and Gabriel do not think you are having hallucinations and I'm inclined to agree," he told me finally. Okay, if they aren't hallucinations then I just have a really overactive imagination. Nothing too off the norm there.
When we got outside and down by the rocks, I could feel that sixth pair of eyes on me. I could hear the tone of the voice better but I still didn't understand it. Where was it coming from? I looked around and gently let go of Gabriel's hand. Ginsie, being the pup she is, began to growl at nothing a few feet away from me. Edward looked at her and then to me.
Alright, so Gabriel and Carlisle don't think I'm having hallucinations. Maybe this time they are right. I've seen ghosts before and heard them. This one was hiding and I didn't know why. I could hear her every so often and started in the direction of the voice but it would change. It was like she was playing with me. I grimaced.
"What is it, Elizabetta? What do you see?" Gabriel asked me, gently wrapping his arm around my waist again.
"Nothing," I said, straining to hear. "But are you sure there isn't someone else out here? Just us?" I asked the assembled group.
"Yes, why?" Carlisle asked curiously. I shook my head.
"I can hear something but I don't know what it is," I said. I swear I sounded crazy. You are just jealous because the voices talk to me nonsense.
Edward smirked. "Where?" Gabriel whispered. I furrowed my brow and was about to say that I didn't have a clue when the wind changed direction. I could see her or at least part of her.
Her hair was long and golden. The pale skin and black eyes looked like a hungry vampire but it was odd because her body itself was out of focus. She looked like maybe she was wearing a Viking dress but I couldn't tell. All I could tell was that I could see her face and she was trying to talk to me. The language was definitely Germanic in origin but I didn't speak a word of it…and she was angry.
I walked closer to her, could vampires really become ghosts? Was it possible? I was with Bella on the whole soul issue. It was hard not to see the souls around me, to feel their very presences even though I couldn't see all of them at once. I knew Alice and Jasper were to my left, Gabriel next to me, and Carlisle and Edward were to my right. How could I not think they had souls? Soulless creatures aren't capable of rational thought.
Ginsie started to growl in the direction of the bodiless ghost. I went even closer. She began to yell in my ear and I winced. For whatever reason, I was drawn to a set of three rocks at the base of a tree. The rocks looked harmless enough. I pulled them apart, the ghost vanishing the second I touched them.
"That isn't possible," Edward stated. It was the second time he did so but I was concentrating more on the ghost at the time than I was on him. He sounded like he didn't believe his own statement.
"It's gone, isn't it?" Alice asked, curious.
"What did it look like?" Carlisle asked. I wasn't sure if he was asking me or Edward. Edward must have seen her in my head, right?
"Yes, I saw her," Edward stated with a hint of doubt in his voice. "But it simply isn't possible that she could have been what you believe her to be," he continued.
Turning to his father, Edward began to describe my ghost. I didn't hear much of it because, beneath the three rocks, was a tiny well in the earth. It was almost like a treasure trove, really. A few old seed beads, some sort of claw or tooth, and, miraculously preserved in this wet environment, a small dark leather bag.
Ginsie came over to investigate with me. I was scared to touch the precious artifacts since they were clearly old. Maybe a few hundred years? Maybe even older? The archeologist side of me wanted to take pictures, document everything, and then carefully place everything in Ziploc bags before sending it off to be researched. However, the curious side of me was winning. That, and Miss Ginsie was sticking her head into the hole so I had to brush her to the side gently. I kissed the top of the puppy dog's head before reaching in to get the small leather bag.
Something happened the second my fingers touched it. I wasn't sure what but I heard screams. I thought, at first, it was Alice again, but it didn't sound like her and it wasn't words. There was also more than one person screaming. My mind took me to the story from Eclipse when Bella goes to the bonfire. Billy Black tells the story of the vampire who looked like the goddess of the dawn and wanted revenge for her mate. I could understand that. I wanted to kill Sam earlier for daring to even think of harming Gabriel.
The screaming sounded almost like how I would imagine the sounds of the villagers dying must have sounded. All of them running, scattered, as the vampire looked for revenge. They didn't understand her or her them. Two different worlds, two different languages, and all the vampire wanted was her mate back.
I felt someone pull me back a bit roughly and found myself in Gabriel's arms. I didn't understand until I saw Carlisle's worried expression and Edward's grim one. I looked around and even Alice looked worried. Jasper just looked pained but that was pretty normal for Jasper some days.
"Elizabetta?" Gabriel whispered, worried. I furrowed my brow again. Had I been day dreaming and missed something? Ginsie came over and nugged my hand for me to pet her which I easily obliged.
"What?" I asked before pointing to the little stone well. "There's some neat stuff in there, that's all," I told them. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and Carlisle took out his pin light again. Flustered at the lack of answers I was getting, I swatted the light away.
"Why is everyone so worried? I was just looking at the artifacts in there," I muttered. Note to self, no more day dreaming around the vampires. It scares them.
"That wasn't a day dream, Elizabeth," Edward stated.
Carlisle looked down to the tiny treasure trove and gingerly picked up the small leather bag as well as the beads that use to make up a necklace. It was then I recognized a couple of the beads. They weren't all native American. One was definitely glass…
"We should take these to the meeting tomorrow night," Carlisle mused. "I'm sure they will be able to enlighten us," he continued.
"Its part of one of their stories," Edward continued. "Elizabeth thinks she was just day dreaming on it but it is the ashes of one of the first vampires that the wolves killed. She massacred half the tribe," he informed his father.
"Hmm, interesting," Carlisle mused further, standing up. I started to get up too but Gabriel picked me up instead. I glared at my fiancé and crossed my arms.
"Put me down," I said firmly.
Gabriel looked from me to Carlisle. "Do you wish to take her to the hospital?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.
"There is nothing wrong! It's a stupid migraine. I get them all the time," I argued, frustrated.
"This was not just a migraine, Elizabeth," Carlisle told me gently. "The scene Edward described you as seeing upstairs was one from right after he left," he said sadly. Edward hung his head down a bit but Carlisle squeezed his son's shoulder again.
"And you saw a ghost and found an archeologist's dream right here in our backyard!" Alice said in her typical chipper voice. "You see them a lot, don't you? The ghosts, I mean," Alice asked curiously.
I sighed. I hated to admit it but yes, I saw them sometimes. Sometimes I'd go months without seeing anything and then it would be a new "ghost" every day. The only real ghost I could identify was Mr. Frank who lived at my parents house. He was nice enough except that he liked to come up and say hello in the middle of the night. He'd also like to smile and rearrange the bookshelves. Harmless but freaky when you are trying to sleep and you hear someone say "Hello!" with that much enthusiasm and there isn't a soul awake.
"Yes," I grumbled. Great, now would I get to go back to being labeled the crazy human.
"No," Edward whispered to me. We had started towards the house and Gabriel refused to put me down. Jasper, thank goodness, was rounding up the furry white puff ball and getting her to come back inside with the rest of us.
Once inside the house, I looked to the vampires for explanation. Gabriel placed me on the sofa and handed me a blanket. Granted, it had been cold outside so I wrapped up in it quickly after popping off my shoes. Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie came in too from where ever they had been. Esme took her spot by her husband's side.
"These…daydreams," Carlisle began. "You get them often?" he asked.
"Umm, I suppose," I said curiously. I thought everyone day dreamed. Wasn't everyone at least somewhat curious as to how things got to where they were? Who owned them previously? I just knew a lot of history so maybe my day dreams about objects were more accurate than some.
"It's more than that, Elizabeth," Edward began. "You have actually recreated exact scenes in your head. Yesterday, you did as much when we discussed the books," he told me. I remembered. Edward thought it was funny that I could picture him debating about running after me or not when I gave him Midnight Sun and he read the first page. He nodded at that.
"The ghosts," Carlisle started this time. "Have you seen any others in Forks?" he asked. I shook my head.
"A ghost?" Esme gasped, placing a hand over her heart. She looked at her husband and then to me. I shrugged.
"It's not possible," Edward muttered. Carlisle looked to his son as if this was an old argument. I suppose it was. If I saw a ghost of a vampire then that had to mean the all vampires had souls, right? That would shatter Edward's perceptions pretty quickly. He shot me a look but I just smiled a bit, rather smug. I, at least, could see them and he could see them in my mind's eye.
"Then what other explanation would you give?" Carlisle asked his son, curious.
"Another vision of the past. She simply wasn't close enough to the objects to get a full vision of them so she mistook it for a ghost," Edward answered. I rolled my eyes at him. Was it really that hard to believe that vampires just might still have their souls? Of course, what concerned me more was that they called what I had visions. No. It was just a mixture of an over-active imagination and knowing too much. Nothing more.
"Possible," Carlisle acquiesced. "However, given the circumstances, how was she then able to see such a vision from that far away?" he countered. Edward grumbled.
"Vision?" I interjected. "It was a ghost and I have an over-active imagination. Nothing more," I told them.
"Given what I have seen, cara mia, it is not your imagination but possibly far grander than that," Gabriel stated. I looked at him, curious as to what he was getting at. I could hear whispering to my right and looked over to Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie holding their own conversation. Rosalie crossed her arms and scoffed at whatever Jasper told her.
"Elizabeth, we believe you may have the ability to actually see the past," Carlisle told me. See the past? Well, I was, technically speaking, living in the past. I had already been through one 2006. But to see it in my minds eye? Really?
I wasn't sure what to think about it. I loved history and found it fascinating but was it because I could see it replay before my very eyes? Was that what my migraines were really about? It was just my "ability" getting out of hand? I did tend to see more ghosts around when I got headaches…
Great. An ability. Seeing the past in everything I touch might be a Midas like curse. I would never be able to simply hold an object, would I? Or would I only see things that had been imprinted up on the object? Of course, this was all assuming my vampires were right. An ability. A touch-see. Great.
Author's Note: So, now you know the theory the vampires' have about our Elizabeth. It explains a lot of things about her and will come into play again. Like it? Hate it? Please tell me. Reviews help me not strangle the idiot at work that can't speak without cursing every other word. I have a theory on those types of people...