Deep in the Chinese province of Sichuan, the earth opened it's mouth in the form of mountains.
Sharp rocks pierced the sky as trees rooted deep in the rich soil. Leaves littered the ground beneath soft, freshly fallen snow. Two silhouettes prowled under the canopy of snow-dusted branches, their steps soundless until the sunlight pierced through and one appeared as though they were covered with crushed diamonds when hit with light. Arlen wore a full archery hanfu in pristine white and crimson red, and the light fabric clung to her tensed form. Red ribbons bound her sleeves to her wrists as she held a white-stained wooden bow in her hands and a black leather quiver slung over her back. Vince wasn't quite as dramatic with his all-black outfit of trousers, skin-tight shirt, and parka. He followed Arlen's footsteps to the tee and observed her with a prudent eye.
"Was that grandma really right about the fact you have good form?"
"Why don't you watch and see?"
Arlen ducked her head beneath a branch and peered into a clearing, spotting the black hair of a boar nestled among the fallen leaves, twigs, and snow. She drew an arrow from her quiver and crouched low, one leg extended.
"How do you even know about this place?"
She notched her bow and drew it back. The arrow flew, cutting wind, and when the boar turned it's head, the arrowhead struck it's eye.
"I grew up in Guangxi." She stood up and glanced at him. "In the mountains first and the city second."
"How'd you convince them to let you rent out a house to stay in the mountains?"
"I talked to them and gave them money. I've been told that I can be very convincing."
Vince sighed but Arlen didn't know why he still tried when she wasn't answering earlier and she dodged every question. He had followed her with similar trains of thought and while she had played along by answering some, it was a lot more fun to simply frustrate him with vague answers. One would think he'd learn how sealed her lips were.
"Aren't you tired of people never really knowing you?"
"You know me, you just don't know how I got here. Anyway, how can I be tired? It's so fun seeing you trying to wrap your head around it all. You can take guesses though and I'll tell you if you're right." She walked over towards the pig and pulled out her arrow. "Anyway, your dinner."
"You want me to drain it?" he asked flatly.
Arlen shrugged. "It's already dead and has to be drained anyway so I can butcher it. This way we can both eat."
He picked up the boar with ease despite it's size and sunk his teeth into the jugular, drinking with a delicacy despite the fierce glint in his eyes. Vince pulled away and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "Anyway, how do you even know how to shoot a bow and arrow?"
"I volunteer every Chinese New Year at the temple to demonstrate the tea ceremony, archery, and playing the guzheng. So, yeah, I had to learn how to shoot. Anyway, it's not like it's actually useful in modern day society. Is there ever a situation where you need a bow and arrow in the city? No. Not when guns exist."
He took the tissue she handed him and touched up his face. "Now that I think about it, you know a lot of absolutely useless things. Besides basic adult survival skills in a city, martial arts, and shooting things, what can you do?"
"I have no useful talents," she said brightly.
"How did you manage to ever survive on your own?"
"Sheer dumb luck. Now, let's head back to the place so I can chop this up and give some to the grandma we're renting from."
Marcus lingered deep in Didyme's snow-coated gardens and wandered into the greenhouse.
He tended to each of the flowers in the tropical section; hibiscus, orchids, calla lillies, and passionflowers. He pinched the orchid's stem and cupped the bulb. The sunlight pierced through the glass and hollowed the petals, every vein within the thin corolla unfurled before his eyes. What flowers did their mate prefer? Did she even like flowers at all? Would she want her own gardens or greenhouse? Everyday, he lived with questions about her plaguing his mind, and he did not have doubts his brothers were the same, especially since Aro voiced his thought outloud.
A knock drew him out of his thoughts and he turned his crimson-red eyes to the guard in the greenhouse entrance. Felix barely scraped through the small door unscathed but managed to hold himself with his vampiric grace.
"Master Marcus." Felix bowed. "Master Aro wishes for your presence in the library."
"There is no need to escort me," Marcus said. "I will return."
Felix bowed again and disappeared from sight.
Marcus sighed and let go of the orchid. He ghosted his way through the gardens and back into the castle through the stone corridors, their tomb-like grey further quieted his already melancholy thoughts. The library doors opened beneath his hand and he joined his brothers coiled around the fireplace, taut as rope. Aro nodded while Caius burrowed further into his book.
"Why have you summoned me?"
"Heidi requested our presence for a critical matter that has come to her attention."
"And where is Heidi now?"
"I apologize for the wait, Masters," the familiar lilting voice sang as the library doors opened once more. Heidi strode in, her long legs peeking through her silken dress. "I had to retrieve some information before I arrived."
"Heidi, what news do you bring us today?" Aro smiled, strained.
"Masters." Heidi bowed her head and held out a metal rectangle. "I found something about the Queen while I searched for tourists."
"Why would a modern, human contraption aid us in our search for our Queen?" Caius set down his book.
"She's rather popular." Heidi smiled secretly. Her mahogany curls were bound in a loose, elegant bun. The metal rectangle, a smartphone if he remembered correctly from Aro's rambles about the delights of human inventions, lit up under her fingers before she handed it to Aro. "Over a million followers on a social media platform."
Aro revealed the screen to them and Marcus' eyes refused to shift from the glowing screen, his mouth dried of venom. His fingers reached out and caressed the cold metal of the cellular device.
"Wonderful," Aro breathed. He cradled the phone as if it were a precious gem of his antique collection hidden deep within the secret crypts of Volterra. "Heidi, have these photographs pulled and made real."
"Of course, Masters, you may keep the phone," she said with a gentle smile. "We will find our Queen."
She turned away and disappeared once more, leaving them to their yearning.
Aro placed the phone on the table and Marcus flicked through the page. Several photos of her lined them; most featured the profile of her softly sloped nose, hooded eyes with smoky lashes, and pouted lips. She never allowed the capture of her full face as some focused on the background with her as an afterthought, and some never touched her face as she walked ahead, overshadowed by cities or landscapes.
He drew in every portrait of her like heady ambrosia.
The latest one showed her standing over snowy mountains with a bow and arrow in hand, primed and aimed over the muted landscape of winter extending for miles. Her traditional Chinese clothing fitted her snugly at the waist, tied with a crimson belt, stark against the white of her clothes and the black quiver slung over shoulder hugged her back. Marcus' eyes persisted and peeled back the layers of the photo, taking in every detail. Perhaps he needed to further delve into history and arts outside of Europe if their mate immersed herself in such culture and history.
"Where is she?" Caius growled.
Marcus shook his head. "I have said, brother, we must stop our pursuit of her trail."
Aro clapped his hands together. "Perhaps, brothers, it is time we meld with the modern world to further understand our mate. We will learn of the modern contraptions." He paused. "I suppose I shall amend my statements. You, my brothers, need education in the ways of the modern world."
"Why do you suggest that?" Caius tapped the table, irritated.
"Aro is correct," Marcus said, "I believe we will find ourselves thankful once we find her. We have much to learn."
"And I." Aro stood and gestured towards himself benevolently. "Will aid you in such an endeavor."
Marcus turned back towards the phone, his gaze beyond the pictures.
He longed to see her and speak to her.
A stream carved through the mountains into a heated pond beside their temporary home.
The pines and birches surrounded the stone fixtures, all lightly dusted with snow, while winter vegetables languished in the fields connected to the housing. A fire hid beneath a stone hut and smoke curled outwards while a metal box sat amongst the flames. Vince stood at the side of the pond, on the dusted concrete ground, and watched over Arlen imperiously. She clutched a corked glass jug to her chest as she hopped over the slicked rocks set into the ponds and propped the jug against a rock, submerged in the warm waters before she danced over the rocks once more. She leapt back onto land where Vince waited and she grinned as he caught her mid-air and set her on the ground.
"You could've split your skull," he reproached.
"But I didn't."
"Where the fuck did you even learn any of this?"
Arlen hopped over the stone ledge towards the fire. "I'll tell you a secret."
"Fucking finally."
"It's how I learned about vampires."
"What?" he asked blankly.
She smiled. "I didn't say I'd explain it."
"I hate you and your non-answers."
Arlen laughed, head thrown back and picked the box out of the fire with tongs and set it on the ground. She cracked it open from the seam to reveal tender pork marinated in a red chili sauce with napa cabbage. She scooped it out into a bowl she had set aside with cooled rice and sat on the ground across from Vince. He smiled slightly and stretched out his leg.
"I'll interrogate you when you're done eating."
"Think we should head back to Hong Kong in a week?" she wondered aloud.
The Volturi would never reach them in time if they stayed deep in the Chinese mountains when Vince could teleport them across the world with ease or simply into a populated area where they couldn't reveal themselves. She didn't know what they would do when they returned to their normal lives in Vancouver but she had time to plan and she had to create contingency plans for when she wouldn't have Vince around. They couldn't keep running, not when their friends were asking so many questions.
"Hong Kong next week it is."
I'm going to ask that if you're a regular reviewer and really invested in this story, that you have a way to contact me personally as I'll be creating a private tumblr specifically dedicated towards this story where you get to preview the chapters/excerpts firsthand. It'll be password protected with a specific link so that's why I'll need a way to contact you.
Also, the Cullens will be featured in this story. Bella won't be happening so sorry if people wanted to see her but there's someone else that's taking Bella's place. Someone who will most definitely whip Edward into shape.