Isabella Swan
[Basically the reason why some chapters are long and some are short is because I'm going back and forth between Bella and Rosalie's point of views. Sometimes one will have more to say than the other so I just go with the flow of how long some seem to wanna be lol. But thanks to anyone reading this! It's still slowly burning but it's on its way to roooomaaaannnceeee…]
Three days and three nights went by before anything else happened. Bella fell asleep on her balcony every single evening with her rifle laying across her legs. When sunlight crept through the skylights and wall-to-wall windows to wake her, she rose with disappointment upon realizing the beautiful stalker from her dreams had not returned. She went to the clearing in the forest everyday. But only the decomposing deer carcass remained. There was nothing other than that to convince her she hadn't completely hallucinated the whole ordeal.
She was beginning to fade back into habit as the week drug on, and on the evening of third day, Bella was able to sit in a bath and actually read on her novel. The basin tub in her cabin was filled with rainwater and heated with cooked stones, but filled with biodegradable soaps and oils, it was still very relaxing. She read until the water was cold, and then she released it down the pipe below, put her book away and dressed for bed. She'd begun sleeping in pants and so she sat on her bed, a little warmer than usual, and stared up at the glass panel above her. Her mind began to drift, again, to images of the beautiful blonde's face, and her eyes began to slowly close. So when a sudden tapping caught her attention, she assumed initially that it was the gentle pitter-patter of rain above her. Only when she opened her eyes and saw that the sky was clear did she realize the sound was coming from her door.
When she turned and saw a silhouette at her door, her heart leapt continuously in her chest. She got up. Her rifle was hanging on a hook in the corner and her knife was placed once again on her desk for easy access. She ignored both weapons, crossed the room to the door and pulled it open. And then, her eyes falling on once again, finally, on the woman of her dreams, she huffed and said, "Hello."
The blonde, clothed in black jeans, a white turtleneck and a tan trench coat smiled, met her gaze and replied, cooly, "Good evening. Mind if I come in?"
Bella stepped aside, let the stranger enter Watchtower 515, and then closed the door behind her. She walked to her bed and back, her heart beating in her throat while the woman stood absolutely still by her desk. Then, she stopped herself, turned back to face her and said, exasperated, "Where have you been?"
"Been?" The angelic creature laughed very lightly. "Were you expecting me?"
"Yes," Bella hissed. "I was."
"I had a lot to think about," was her reply. "I wanted to come back but I had to consider whether or not I could do it without-" she paused.
"Without?"
"Killing you."
Bella exhaled raggedly. "Oh."
"I wanted to apologize," the blonde said then. "For scaring you before. I'm not usually so reckless. You just caught me off guard, is all."
"In the forest?" Bella asked.
The blonde nodded. "Yes. I haven't had a human surprise me in the entirety of my eternal life."
"Then," Bella nodded to herself, "You're a.. Vampire?"
"Correct."
The brunette's heart skipped a beat. "You're fast and strong and you smell like-" she shook her head and then thought of the deer. "But you fed on-"
"I don't hunt humans," the blonde told her. "I'm a good vampire, whatever that means."
"Oh."
The blonde softened then, at least in posture, and she moved across the room and sat down on Bella's bed, pulling one leg up to wrap her arm around it. "You can relax," she said, "I'm not going to hurt you."
Bella wanted to, but her mild was absolutely reeling with the realization that she was in the same room as a supernatural being. She considered a great number of things- going outside for air, grabbing her walkie and screaming for help, and, the most pressing of all, crossing the room and sitting down on bed beside her. But ultimately, she simply went to the counter, got a cup and filled it with water from the refillable filtration pitcher. She drank it very slowly and then, when the cup was empty she put it in the sink, turned towards the woman on her bed, and leaned back awkwardly against the counter.
"I'm sorry," she offered, her voice quiet, air still rushing in her ears, "I don't know what to say."
"Why?" the vampire said, "Never been around a demon before?"
Bella whimpered.
The blonde laughed. "It's okay. Really. I've been meditating on this for days. I'm beyond the thoughts of murder. Mostly I just want to know how you do it."
"Do it?" the park ranger repeated, "Do what?"
"Resist me," was the answer. "You see, my people, have certain gifts. Speed, strength, beauty. That's all part of it, but.. We have other gifts too. Mine is charm. The ability to make anyone do anything I want. It's particularly useful on humans. Their minds and self control are weaker, you see."
"Oh."
"For example, if I wanted, I could walk unhindered into the White House, convincing every person I pass in the process to let me go. Then, when I reached the president of the United states, I could convince him to, say, streak across DC."
"The president is an old man," Bella quipped quietly, "Why would you make him get naked?"
The blonde smirked and then said, "I wouldn't. I just want you to know I could. My gift is faultless against humans. Or it always has been. I've never met a human I couldn't charm. Until three nights ago."
Bella pointed at herself in shock, "Me?"
"Yes. And it isn't just me that your gift doesn't work on. My family is powerless against you as well."
"Your.. Your family?"
"All good vampires," the woman stated. And then, almost as an after thought she said to the petite brunette cowering against her kitchenette, "No one is going to hurt you."
"Well what is it about me?" Bella wanted to know, her walls still up around her, but curiosity slowly bringing them down.
"I was hoping you could tell me," the vampire replied, semi-amused. "Are you some type of superhero, perhaps?"
"No," Bella shook her head. "I'm just girl."
"Not just a girl," the vampire countered, her honey-tone soothing. "You're An Olympic National Park fire lookout field operative. A Virgo, an Earth Sign and an INFP." She leaned back on her arms and went on, "You're an only child, a natural brunette and a college graduate with a degree in literature. You did your graduation thesis on the objectification of women in early American literature, which is your absolute favorite after Shakespear. And you own a lot of books."
Bella balked, her mouth slightly open. In the small room, the vampire's scent was once again overtaking her, and that paired with the revelation that the woman had memorized everything she'd said to her during their last encounter, had left her speechless. Suddenly, she was no longer alone, as the vampire had flitted across the room to stand directly in front of her, her hands casually in her pockets as they had been the time before.
"Anything else?" she wanted to know, her soft breath pressing against Bella's face in an intoxicating puff.
Desperately, the brunette searched her mind for information to share. She settled on a very simple fact and said it in a small quivering voice- "My name. It's Bella."
"Bella," the beautiful angelic creature before her repeated, her voice presenting the name as the most alluring word ever spoken.
"Bella Swan."
"Are you a white swan or a black swan?" the vampire asked her, her voice soft, sultry.
"I.. I don't know," Bella replied, understanding the reference to Swan Lake but never having considered the question before. Was she the regal, gorgeous Odette, or the dark, elusive Odile?
"Maybe you're both. Powerful like the white swan, but tempting like that black one." A smile played on her perfect, rosey lips. "Though I don't think you're a swan at all, Bella." The vampire's voice was a pur when she added, "But you are beautiful."
"Beautiful?" The brunette echoed. "You think-"
"Yes. And so your name is very fitting. Bella." She said it again, this time even more seductive than she had before. "I think of you as a bell."
"A bell?"
"Mm. Small, bright, cheerful.. Musical."
"Musical?" Bella's hands were clasped around the edge of the countertop, her big brown eyes trapped in the vampire's golden ones. "You think I'm musical?"
"Yes." The blonde breathed out again and smiled when the smaller woman shuddered in response. "Do you want to know my name Little Bell?"
All Bella could do was nod, pathetically.
"Rosalie."
"Rosalie," the brunette tried it with her tongue. "That's.. Really pretty. Does it mean..?"
"A flower," the vampire replied. "Yes." She backed up then and went back to the bed, perching on it elegantly. "A flower and a bell. Very classical, don't you think?"
"Very." The park ranger found herself moving across the room then, an invisible string pulling her closer to the beautiful woman before her. "Why did you come back Rosalie?"
"To see you," she gave as an answer. "To get to know you."
"What do you want to know?" Bella felt entirely foolish as she added, "I'll tell you anything you want to know." But she felt invigorated too, and entirely eager to please.
"Very good," Rosalie cooed, peering easily at the woman now seated beside her, mere inches between their thighs. "Please start with why a girl like you is doing a job like this."
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