I apologize for nothing. And if you haven't noticed, I did start another story (on the other site *wink wink*), but only because I'm ending WDD soon. Some of you probably will recognize the other story since it may or may not be close to Impurity.
Moving on...there is a brief hint of a mention about self-harm in this chapter, and you all finally get to "see" the tattoos.
Also, why do seagulls fly over the sea?
Because if they flew over the bay, they'd be bagels.
Bella twitches while she sleeps. Rosalie glances over at her, and she sees Bella's arm glow in soft purple light. Rosalie watches curiously as images appear on her skin, and it's almost like her old tattoo, except it takes up the entire left side of her body down to her hip. Rosalie sits up straight and takes off her shirt. She looks down at her chest and sees her skin sink into itself. It's almost like a sculptor working with marble, and Rosalie is entranced by the way the image forms. She then looks at Bella. Even with the lights off, Rosalie can see the changes.
The original tattoo - sharpened and bloody snowflakes and crowns that descended down her arm from her neck - has nothing on the new version. Rosalie leans over and inspects it as closely as possible without waking Bella. The vines start at the tip of Bella's ear and spread out down her neck, over her shoulder, down her arm, over her ribs and hip, and to her fingertips. Rosalie gently turns Bella over. The ink goes across her back as well, the tips of the vines ending just before it reaches her spine. Rosalie sees nothing different until she does. Rosalie lightly traces the lion's tail mixed in with the new snowflakes and crowns. The flowers are neon orange, and they glow in the moonlight. The snowflakes are still bloody, still sharp, but the crowns are now drenched in blood. Rosalie wonders if that has something to do with Regina's change in attitude after the Emmerson thing. She sighs and gets out of bed.
Rosalie walks into the bathroom and closes the door. She turns on the light and stares at her own tattoo. Though now it looks more like a really cool scar, which in hindsight is the same thing. Rosalie twists around and examines it from all angles. Her snake is still red, still curled around an orange marigold, and the tattoo still ends at her belly button, but she clicks her teeth when she sees what's behind it in the center of her chest. There's now a lion's paw silhouetted behind the snake's head, and it's blatantly obvious what's happened when she sees the center of the lion's paw is shaped like a crown.
"I hope she doesn't expect me to call her Mom," she grumbles.
Rosalie opens the door and finds a half-sleep Bella waiting outside. Bella looks down and blinks. Rosalie can't tell if it's the tattoo or the fact she's not wearing a shirt that has Bella's attention. She gets her answer when Bella looks at her left arm. Bella puffs out her cheeks and turns on her heel. Rosalie says nothing as Bella stomps out of the room and heads to the master bedroom. Rosalie decides to put on a tank top and follow after her.
Regina hears Isabella before she sees her. She raises up in the bed and sighs, sitting back against the headboard. She turns on the lamp when her child just…walks in.
"You could have knocked," she says tiredly.
"Let me see, please."
Regina unbuttons her pajama top. "This is why I used to lock my door when we were in the castle," she says.
"And yet you let me in each time."
"Because you would be screaming your lungs out!"
"And I will do it again. No locked doors in this house."
Rosalie enters at that exact moment and gives her a look. Isabella blushes and clears her throat.
"Never mind," she says.
"You sure?" Regina teases.
Isabella nods quickly and crosses the room. Regina gets out of the bed and turns to the side. Her daughter comes over and bends down. That's when Regina sees her tattoo. She pokes at the flowers on Isabella's neck and asks, "What is that?"
"Lion's tail," she mutters.
Regina hides her smile and nods.
"Shut up."
"I did not say a single word."
"No, but I can feel your smug amusement. It's not becoming of a Queen."
"Mind your tongue, young lady."
"Aye, your Majesty."
Regina flicks her ear, and Isabella swats at her hand.
"You have ice in your tattoo," she says.
"I know."
"You have ice… Rosalie, she has ice on hers. That means you!"
Rosalie rolls her eyes and says, "Yes, Isabella. And as you saw two seconds ago, I now have a crown."
"Good evening, Rosalie," Regina greets.
"Evening. I'm not calling you Mom."
"Thank you as I would not ask nor want you to."
Isabella scratches at her cheek and stands up straight. She puts her hands on her hips and says, "Could be worse."
Regina grabs her pajama top and slides it over her arms. The lion is still on her ribs, still with orange eyes. Instead of the normal teeth, icicles replace the lion's massive canines, and the tips of the icicles drip blood. Not exactly something Regina would ever put on her skin, but there's no point in arguing it. When she first saw the new addition, she and Emmerson made a bet on how long it would take before Isabella and Rosalie got theirs back. As usual, Regina wins.
"It is two o'clock, Isabella. I have to be up in four hours."
"Oh. Right. One second though."
Her daughter yawns and walks over to the closed bathroom door. Regina pinches the bridge of her nose while Rosalie snickers. Isabella knocks on the door and waits. The door slowly opens, and Emmerson sighs.
"How did you know?"
"The massive hickey on my Mom's neck, first of all, and the fact that we have to pass your room to get here. Dumbass."
Regina puts a hand on her neck subconsciously. Emmerson rubs his eyes and steps out into the room. Isabella tugs on his shirt and lifts it up to see his hip. Regina decides to lay down for the rest of the event and gets under the covers. She turns on her side and rests her head on her hands while Rosalie comes over and leans down in front of Emmerson. On Emmerson's hip is an orange apple frozen solid with a crown around it.
"Well, well, well," Rosalie teases. "Guess someone likes me more than he's willing to admit."
"She has a lion's paw on her chest," Isabella says.
"And you have lion's tail all over the left side of your body," Rosalie shoots back.
Isabella stands up straight. Emmerson snorts and scratches at his leg, and Isabella catches sight of another tattoo.
"Wait, how many tattoos do you have?"
"Four."
"I wanna see!"
Emmerson grabs Isabella's shirt and tugs her into the bathroom. He closes the door.
"I'm sorry," Bella apologizes.
"We're good. She already knows I'm not there yet. It's one thing to see my hip, but…."
"No, I got it. And aw, adult communication."
"Can you not?"
"Sorry, sorry. Okay. Let's see these tattoos. Had I known you had them, I would've made you show me when we were getting you new clothes."
"That's why I never said anything."
"Fair enough."
Emmerson takes off his shirt and turns around. Bella's breath catches in her throat. Even though the phoenix is beautiful, she can still see the scar that runs down Emmerson's back.
"I never told you the story about how I met Alia, did I?"
"No."
Emmerson laughs and says, "We met at a cornfield in Connecticut. She gave me a bracelet and said I smelled like a honeycomb, which is why she calls me that. So, um, the next time I saw her wasn't exactly a happy moment. Two weeks after I met her, I was back home, and my foster Dad picked me up super late from a recital. Looking back on it, I should've known something was wrong. He kept swerving and talking to himself. We had to take this really long dirt road to get to our house. A deer ran out into the road, and my foster Dad swerved too far to avoid it. My car seat hadn't been hooked in properly, and I got thrown to the side. The car flipped a few times. When we finally stopped, I was lying on the windshield, still in the chair. I had glass and broken plastic in my back, and I'd hit my head on the dashboard."
Emmerson puts back on his shirt and shakes his head.
"I remember seeing these red eyes and blonde hair. It's also the first time I met Rosalie. Emmett wasn't there, I don't think. I didn't see him. Either way, Alia crawled into the car and carried me out in the chair. Rosalie pulled the car out of the ditch. Alia kept apologizing to me over and over again. When the ambulance finally came, I passed out. I woke up in the hospital and was on my way to another family. My foster Dad had gotten fired and went to get drunk, hence why he was late. It wasn't until years later did I learn why Alia was apologizing so much. She's the reason the deer jumped out into the road. It was trying to get away from her and Rose while they were hunting. I told her that even still, I'm glad she was there."
"I'm glad too."
"My other tattoo is a little less tragic depending on how you look at it," Emmerson jokes.
He rolls up his basketball shorts and points to the notebook paper.
"Stronger than my demons," Bella reads.
"Don't worry. I stopped a long time ago."
"I believe you."
Emmerson nods and lets down his shorts.
"That's only three," Bella points out.
"What?"
"You said you had four."
Emmerson rolls his eyes and says, "I have a fourth one on my ass, which I am not showing you."
"Why do you have a tattoo on your ass?"
"I lost a bet!" he exclaims. "And I had to get a pink ribbon tied in a bow on my right cheek."
Bella snorts and opens the bathroom door. Regina lies in bed reading a book. Rosalie looks up from where she'd been looking over Regina's jewelry.
"You shouldn't have bet with me on historical facts," Rosalie says.
"Clearly."
"Wait, you're the one that made him get it?" Bella asks.
"Yes, though had I known, I would've made him get a little tiny princess doll or something."
"The ribbon is embarrassing enough, thank you."
"Can you all get out of my bedroom, now?" Regina sighs.
"Mom, can we have a sleepover?"
Regina puts down her book and looks at Bella. She narrows her eyes, and Bella pouts.
"That was mean," she whines.
Regina cocks an eyebrow, and Bella rolls her eyes.
"Fine! Jeez. I'll just go sleep with my super hot girlfriend."
"Her body temperature is colder than the artic," Emmerson says.
"We should have left you in the car," Rosalie mutters, dragging Bella out of the room.
"Love you too!"
"Fuck off, Swan!"
Rosalie closes the bedroom door and turns around. She pushes Bella down on the bed and crawls on top of her.
"Not that I'm complaining…."
"Go on a date with me?"
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Isabella."
"Just checking. But yes, I would love for you to take me on a date and buy me dinner and wine so we can come back to the house and fuck all night."
"You realize Alia and Emmett can hear you, right?"
"They'll hear us that night too."
"Not us. You."
"Oh?"
"Do you have any idea how much and how often I want to have sex with you?"
"No. Should I?"
"Think of it this way. Each time you smile, each time you laugh, each time you get angry, and especially when you wear that uniform, all I want to do is drag you to a corner and have my way with you. To touch every inch of skin I can and feel you melt on my fingers and my tongue."
Bella shifts and rubs her thighs together. Rosalie smirks and kisses Bella's nose.
"That was payback for telling Emmerson about my tattoo," she whispers.
Rosalie slides off Bella and goes to her side of the bed. Bella sighs heavily and nods. She turns over and wraps an arm around Rosalie. She tucks her face into her neck and closes her eyes.
"But for the record, the idea of you having your way with me turns me on more than you think. If you get the urge to fuck me anytime soon, I'll be a willing participant," Bella mutters.
Rosalie grabs Bella's thigh and pulls it over her stomach because it'll end up there anyway. She noticed the first night they slept in the same bed that Bella is part koala. Rosalie rubs Bella's thigh out of habit and kisses her forehead.
"Go to sleep. We can plan our date in the morning."
"Kay. Tell Alia and Emmett if they repeat one word of this conversation to Emmerson, I will burn their hair off."
Rosalie snorts and says, "They said duly noted."
Alia jumps up on the roof of the house and walks around in the shadows. She glances out into the woods and kneels down. The men from the factory are just out of sight, watching the house, and Alia clicks her teeth. She hears Emmett come up behind her.
"They can't get in while Regina's here," he says.
"But what happens when she isn't?"
"Let's go see how Ruby is doing with the one we captured."
Ruby stares in disappointment at the man in front of her. Or what's left. She turns when she hears the door open, and Alia and Emmett pause.
"What happened?" Alia asks.
"I have no idea. One moment, I'm watching this dude staring at the wall. The next, he just…does this."
The man, now nothing but ashes, still has a blue sludge inside of it. Alia frowns.
"He's still alive," she says.
"What do you mean?"
"Long as that sludge is attached to him. He's still alive."
"They're hoping we throw him out, and he'll probably shift back and return to the factory," Emmett guesses.
"Have we tried fire yet?" Alia asks.
"I thought you two would want to avoid that since, you know."
"You should try it. We'll wait out in the hall."
Ruby nods and pulls a matchbook out of her pocket. She'd been hoping they'd tell her it was okay. Alia and Emmett go outside to the hall. Ruby strikes a match and tosses it. As soon as it touches the ash, Ruby yelps at the sudden burst of fire and throws up her hands. Alia tugs her out of the room, and Emmett kicks the door shut. The vampires speed away from the abandoned house with Ruby just as it explodes. They land on the dirt, and Ruby winces at her arms. They're burned bad enough for her to be worried.
"Damn. This is going to take at least a week to heal," Ruby murmurs.
"Uh, guys?"
Emmett points at the house. Instead of normal flames, the house is enveloped with blue fire. There's a sickening screech that comes from inside before another explosion happens. That time, Emmett, Alia, and Ruby are thrown back into the woods. Emmett grabs both Alia and Ruby and twists in the air. He crashes into a tree and shields them as they hit the ground. The trio glances up and sees nothing left of the house. And by nothing, not even the foundation remains. Nothing but scorched Earth. Alia gets to her feet.
"Glad Regina suggested this place," Ruby coughs. "Too far away from town to cause damage."
"But close enough to get attention," Emmett sighs. "We should leave."
"I hate magic," Alia groans. "My life was better without it."
"Welcome to my world," Ruby says.
The trio glances again at the house and runs back to town.
Blue holds her stomach as she vomits up ash and sludge. She grunts and flushes it down the toilet.
"Damnit," she hisses.
Blue rinses out her mouth and wipes her face on a towel. She wraps her robe around herself and enters her room. She smacks the body in her bed until it moves.
"I need another guard."
The sheets fall as Maurice turns over in the bed. He blinks at Blue and says, "Now?"
"Now, Captain," she says.
Maurice yawns and gets out of bed. He kisses Blue on the cheek before he throws on a hoodie and leaves.