A/N: Another place name for my Facebook group xx 'Can I Really Freeze Time? No, But You Yes!' reached 90,000 hits and also 'Evil Inside Me' cleared 50,000 hits, while 'The Death Of Love' made it to 10,000 xx Alexis
I'm havin' way too much fun with helpin' Little Bird, Char just shakes her head, but doesn't stop me. The school records were a clever touch and the idiot bit! Now for another little red herrin', her truck, her old truck that is. I've called her daddy and got his help to send it off to Colorado Springs and I'll get it fixed and put in storage for her. Let's see if the fool takes the bait, the more I keep him moving the longer her scent will have had to dissipate. As a result, if he does end up somewhere she's been there will be no trail. Her old man sure hates Eddie and he did a serious number on Carlisle. The man's a grade-A star, in my book he was on board right away. Our conversation went like this,
"Chief Swan speaking" he answered his cell sayin',
"Chief, you don't know me, but hear me out before you hang up!" I say and he bites,
"Okay, speak your piece son," he says a little tersely,
"My name is Peter Whitlock and we have a common thorn in our side, one called Edward Cullen! I have been helpin' your daughter send that fool on some wild goose chases" I say and he breaks in,
"You have? She's okay yes, safe? Do you know where she is?" he asks in rapid succession,
"Yes, yes, and yes! But until the Cullens leave I'm sayin' nothin', that boy can pick up information like you wouldn't believe!" I explain and he grunts,
"That's why I'm hiding out in the one place he can't go, son. He has an uncanny knack of knowing what you're thinking!" he replies gruffly as if he's gnashin' his teeth,
"True! Well, so far he's been to her mother's place in Jacksonville and then to Canada to question Rose and Emmett since they helped her get away. Then to Atlanta on a hint that Rose dropped and then to New Jersey where I sent her school records, but she's got a copy and started school last Monday elsewhere, under a false name.
Now I want you to send her old truck to Colorado Springs, where I'll put it in storage. The longer we keep him occupied the safer she'll be. He'll catch on eventually, but Eddie's real slow on the uptake! What do you say Chief?" I now ask and he is laughin' hard on the other end of the line,
"Damn, I like your style son! Thank you for what you're doing for Bells and please thank Rose and Emmett too. I'll get the boys from the Rez to do that and make sure they mention where it's headed. They have no more love for that pompous ass than I do!" he says now and it's my turn to laugh,
"Nobody but Carlisle and Alice like that boy, not even Esme anymore," I tell him and he huffs,
"I thought Alice had more sense, but obviously not!" he mutters in disgust, looks like she slipped in the Charlie estimation,
"Once they've gone from Forks for good, I'll tell you what I know or tell her to call you! A bit of advice, get their house wire up to the station, he'll try to hang around, refusin' to accept you've bested him, the great Edward Cullen!" I explain and he snorts,
"In his head maybe! The boy's a spoilt brat nothing more. Speak to you soon Peter and thanks again" he says endin' our call,
I'd have gotten the Major to help me, but he's got his hands full with finally trainin' that little b..., witch of a mate. I will never forgive her for what she did to him or them for how they treated me and Char. I'm usually an easygoin' kind of guy, but if you cross me and mine, I will find a way to pay you back and then some! Much as I care for my brother, Alice will never be welcome in my home and he knows it. Not that a lot of this ain't his fault too if he'd have manned up fifty years ago we wouldn't be in this situation.
IOOH
She gave me an ultimatum, an impossible ultimatum! I can't believe she would ask me to choose, between my mate and my firstborn! My emotions are running the gambit from shock and total disbelief to comprehension and clear understanding. I sit in my empty study as I wait for Edward to return from wherever he went this time. I did as Esme bid me and used my time to think and remembered our whole time together. I realise what a strong woman my mate is, that she held her piece for this long. Never once in all these lengthy years have I ever put her first! It's always been him, he needed saving, he needed helping, he, he, he!
"Don't worry Carlisle, Esme doesn't mind!" he told me so many times,
How many times had Esme asked to move somewhere she wanted to go, only for Edward to have a tantrum and we ended going where he wanted? How many times has she asked me for alone time, just us two and I allowed Edward to change my mind? Oh dear God! What have I done and am still doing?
"Don't bother asking her, you know she's happy when you're happy Carlisle," he reassured and I capitulated every time,
Way too many times to count even for a vampire and I never once asked her if it was true. Why? Because I knew, of course, I knew! How could I not and I just buried my head in the sand! He pushed his way in-between us at every opportunity and I allowed it to happen. But not just with my mate, but Rose and Emmett too. The only person he didn't stop me from getting close to was Alice because that benefitted him too. I'm a weak pathetic mate, father, leader and man, no a vampire, I'm not a man! Because humans learn and grow, I stagnated at the point Edward wanted me to. Have I done anything for myself, my family in years, no! But that stops now; I pull out my cell and call him, relieved for once it's his voicemail,
"Edward, the house in Forks is up for sale. The family is torn asunder and it's all because of you! Don't come back to Forks, no one will be here and the contents are gone.
The wolves will probably kill you on sight anyway, after your behaviour here in Forks. I'm letting you go, Edward! My mate is more important to me and should always have been! If you had really cared for me as your sire you would never have come between us.
I suggest you throw yourself on Aro's mercy, he wants your gift, just pray he wants it more than he wanted Bella. Although I kind of doubt it, in hindsight! Your things will be in Chicago, goodbye Edward"
I know he'll be livid so I crush my phone and head out the door to rearrange everyone's stuff before the trucks arrive. I dig out another cell for myself and call Esme.
IOOH
I got an unexpected text this morning, from Peter Whitlock of all people. I know next to Jasper, I'm the only one in this fucked up family he likes. Probably because I've never once looked down on him and Charlotte, hell I'm a backwoodsman from Tennessee myself. So have no room to judge anyone else, unlike Edward, Alice, Carlisle and yes my Rose! Esme never did anything to upset them; she like me doesn't judge a book by its cover. But she also never said anything to defend them like Jasper and I. Anyhoo; he was passing on a message of thanks from Chief Swan for helping Bella in her hour of need. There's another down to earth plain-speaking man, who I like and admire.
All of this chaos with Bella, that Edward has caused, Well, it has made Rose take a good look at our family dynamic and she is considerably disgusted with herself and her elitist behaviour. She can now see how they treated me too but to a much lesser degree. I'm not and never have been dumb like Edward thinks and says I am. I just don't feel the need to prove my intellect to them constantly like him and to a degree Alice and Carlisle. It's like if they say it often enough, then everyone will believe them! But their nastiness and vitriol towards Jasper's family was unwarranted! Mostly it's the fear of them as fighters and their diet of course. But it's just spitefulness from Edward because they see him as a petulant child and they're right!
"Emmett! Em honey, Esme just called. She's on her way here alone, she gave Carlisle an ultimatum! She told him, it's her or Edward and if he comes here, he comes alone or not at all!
I didn't think she would ever say anything, but this seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back!" Rose says breathlessly as she flops down beside me,
"Well, if he does then things will have to change! I've little or no respect for him as a leader or father!" I huff out; I was enjoying our freedom to be our own bosses,
"Yes, you're right honey, things can't be like before and I don't want them to be!" Rose says firmly,
I know she's set her mind on change with or without this coven! I lighten the heavy atmosphere by showing her Peter's text,
"That's nice of him, the Chief I mean. As for the Whitlocks, that's a bridge I'm determined to mend, sooner rather than later. There is so much Peter could teach you and I will not be the reason he won't help you!" she muses and I nod, as my cell vibrates once again,
'Olive branch accepted Rosalie' PW
Rose smiles and I thank God Peter likes me because I have so much I need to learn about being a vampire, a real vampire!
IOOH
New Orleans hasn't changed much since the last time we were all here, still crawling in vampires, witches and the odd werewolf sniffing around. No, it's a lot more commercialised, tourism is a big deal nowadays. Very few of the original families have survived; those that have seem weakened somewhat. I have a feeling I've missed more than a few battles between the three factions over the past few decades. If anything I think the witches have the upper hand even though they are contained in the French Quarter! Marcel must have made deals with them, rather than waging all-out war. But that just makes them cocky and blatantly defiant, therefore dangerous. Too many are straying to the darker side and that should have been curtailed.
I've not exactly been hiding my presence and so far I haven't been summoned by Marcel, which grates a little I must admit. As I said, so many mistakes or missteps made by us have brought us to this point. Well, I have an appointment at Elizabeth's, with both Gareth and Isabelle. I have been doing a little digging and I fear she is not who she says she is! I don't sense her being a danger to me. More she is in danger and it actually has nothing to do with me for once! She's not a witch or a werewolf, so that's a plus. Why, oh why, is there nothing straightforward in my long life? But what can an immortal expect but trouble dogging their steps!
IOOH
Alice can't believe I've reduced her to this, this bein' abject poverty in her extremely petty mind! Why didn't she see this comin'? I'm afraid she was far too off-hand and bullish, where Jazz and well me too, were concerned and she's payin' for it now! We never did fit into that mould, that cage she built for us and Alice was too distracted by the future she wanted, rather than the one she would have seen had she looked. When I, the Major, started shaking off Jazz's complacency, she should have been forewarned, but luckily for me, she was not. I can't believe she forgot we had different sides of our personality. I was always there; just never felt that need to take control. Until now!
She treated us like all the others as if we were one-dimensional, but Jazz and I were forged in blood and venom and are not like the Cullens. We never could be that weak, not even on our worst days. Stupidly Alice knew this and yet ignored it; my mate forgot I'm not a tame vegetarian. No, we are a reformed human drinker and God knows we miss it badly! If she'd spent the last fifty-odd years tryin' to fix us, make us whole, which would have been a good thing, she could have had the life she deserved. That would have been the right thing for a mate to do, but Alice wanted her cake and to eat it too. If we had become Jasper Whitlock, all those years ago. Well, her life of lavishness and waste would never have seen the light of day.
Because even I know you don't need things and money to be happy. But after I deal with her, I fully intend to make us whole once again. I would have asked Peter to help me, but he will never forgive Alice or the Cullens, well most of them for their treatment of us, the Whitlocks or me for lettin' it happen and I understand why! Ah, here she comes again with another demand or want. God, she's not as smart as she pretends to be! I roar loudly, drownin' out her rant and fill her with fear and the need to submit and then I destroy somethin' else she brought with her.
I wonder how long it will take her to work it out, her demands will be punished. So far I've just concentrated on accessories, like those ridiculous bags and skyscraper shoes. She will lose more stuff she holds dear, even if it is just materialistic tat. Can't she see she doesn't need any of those trappings? As I said, not as clever as she thinks. So without her visions, which I'm still blockin', she's just another vampire and not that special to anyone but me. I don't want to have to bite her other than as her mate, but if she refuses to yield, I will! What she doesn't appreciate is we no longer belong to a large coven. Therefore she needs to know vampire etiquette as soon as possible.
Out here in the real world, the leader is judged by the control he has over his mate and others in his coven. If it is weak, like Carlisle's for instance they will be attacked and stripped of anythin' that can be sold or bartered. My name is all that saved them before and even I might be challenged as there is just the two of us now. It would be a mistake, but they don't know it until they try me. But Alice has to know her position and when to keep her mouth shut, somethin' she's never had to do before. I should have pushed for this years ago, that they all learn the real rules but Edward swayed Carlisle every time. In each instance, he said it wasn't needed, because he and Alice would see and hear any trouble before it got to them!
IOOH
Thank goodness I haven't much longer to go at school because the witches are getting brazen. I felt an attack today in one of my classes and that meant it was one of the students or a teacher. Why me? What reason could they have to suddenly attack me? What's changed here in New Orleans in just under the month I've been here? Not the first couple of weeks but since then! OMG! Elijah Mikaelson! It has to be because of him, but why exactly, is it because he's what my aunt and uncles called an Original? I tried to think of anything that I could do for him, that the witches would see as a threat to them and then it hit me! If I can protect myself with my barrier, then can I protect him too?
That has to be it and I need to talk to him and tell him what's going on. I refuse to have secrets and lies in my life ever again! So I'm just going to grab the bull by the horns, telling him everything. Who I really am, why I ran away and how now, I'm making my stand! I feel stronger here in New Orleans, maybe it's my barrier, maybe it's just me, who knows. I actually feel as if I'm growing up, just being out of the atmosphere of an over-controlling boyfriend and his family. It has made such a difference because I'm more of my own person again like I was in Phoenix. I wasn't even my old self around my dad, because we didn't have that lifelong bond Renee and I do.
I love him, of course, I do! But I never got the time to settle into a father-daughter routine with him before the Cullens swallowed me up. But I will remedy that because we are so alike really and thank god for it. If I'd been more like Renee, I'd be dead by now! I need to know more about these kinds of vampires, do they have powers, like I suppose I should call them Cold-Ones now? I'm assuming speed, strength and that kind of thing are standard. But why doesn't the sun affect them? How come they don't seem to need to kill to feed? Why do witches hate them, but ignore Cold-Ones? So many questions and I bet a pound to a penny* they don't go to school and act like children!
Not unless there is another angst-ridden vampire like Edward out there! I have so many thoughts running around my head I don't realise he's here until I feel a shift in the air around me. It's almost like anticipation, but with a frisson of tension interwoven into it. I look up immediately and he's there watching me from the doorway. A small slow smirk crosses his features, not a smile. It's like his face has forgotten how too and it's an approximation, a crafted thing that he knows people expect. But whereas it doesn't reach his eyes for my uncle or any of the customers, it flickers briefly in them for me. What kind of life has he led that would make him lose his ability to smile naturally?
But then would anyone who'd lived that long still be able to smile freely? He must have seen so much, not just the good, the new, the exciting. But also the bad, the horrific and the predictable too and of course, death! That must be something an immortal can't avoid seeing time and time again.
IOOH
"What? I don't understand this!" I shout out loud as I run towards Forks,
Jasper isn't allowing Alice to speak to me; they've left the coven, I knew that already. But he said they have parted ways with the coven, that's much more serious. That takes away any leverage I had before; I always got Carlisle to talk him around to my way of thinking. Or Alice herself would distract him by playing on his baser needs! How she could bring herself to touch the scarred freak defies logic. But now Carlisle has thrown me out of the coven, the family we started together before those other fools got in-between us! I should never have let him, change Esme. She signified the beginning of change and I had to work much harder to control him.
I should have been enough for him, an intelligent companion, who didn't want to drag him down into mindless mundane pursuits. Now he has forsaken me, me who willingly allowed him to share his time between me and a mere female! This must be her fault, why? I've been nothing but civil and nice to her. True I would never lower myself to discuss important matters with her, but I allowed her to act as my mother! What more could she want than that? Was this because Carlisle preferred to spend time with me in intellectual endeavours? He should have been putting her in her place, not throwing me out! As for going to Volterra is he insane, without containing Isabella first I would be made a laughing stock.
No, I'll just have to do it all by myself, as usual. I will find her and I will get her under my control once again! I don't believe what I'm seeing, the house is actually empty and a for sale sign is up at the gate and on the grounds. Nothing is here; everything has in fact been shipped from what I can make out. I thought this was just another of his ineffectual idle threats, to get my attention! Two men are here wiring the house up to the police station, on Chief Swan's orders! I am homeless and have nothing, no clothes, no car! How dare Carlisle treat me this way! Well, those fools will be nothing without me and my gift! I hope they suffer and become destitute without me to guide them!
What's that? Isabella's truck has been transported to Colorado Springs! Well, that was a mistake to wait this long! Did they think I wouldn't still be here to find out? I have never lifted my hand to a woman, but Isabella is making it more and more likely with her obstinate behaviour! She belongs to me, how dare she leave without my permission!
IOOH
Yes! It worked, I just emptied my mind of surface thoughts and that stupid leech didn't know I was here. Well, Charlie's plan worked and he's heading after Bella's truck. But, he was shocked everything was gone, so I have a feeling even that coven of leeches has had enough of him! I better report to Sam before my patrol is over. Maybe Jake and Quill will want to go cliff diving with me!
"Sam, the copper-haired leech was here at their old house, seemed shocked they'd all really gone. He heard the maintenance guys talking about Bella's truck; he headed off in that direction right away!"
"Great Embry, Charlie will be happy it worked. Head home now, Paul's about to phase in, you've got five minutes!"
Damn, I better run fast or I'll get a bird's eye view of what Paul and Rachael were up to last night, this morning, anytime really, they're like rabbits, not wolves! I hate the pack mind at times like this. It's one thing learning tips about girls when they are strangers, but I have to look Rachael in the eye. I shudder at the thought; Paul never even tries to rein his thoughts in ever.
IOOH
My meeting with Gareth went well, the only time he was nervous was when talking about Isabelle! So she does have a secret and they know what it is, which leads me to surmise it's not as grave as it could be. I'm not saying it's not serious to her, obviously, it is, but in the grand scheme of the supernatural it's not the end of the world type serious. I sound like a pretentious prat!* No matter how small her problem is to me, it's still a severe problem for Isabelle.
"Can we get you anything, Elijah? Food or a drink? Sabé will bring you anything you'd like" Gareth asked me and I nod,
"Has Isabelle eaten yet?" I enquire and he shakes his head, "Could you ask her to join me and I'll have whatever she does"
I don't have to wait long before she arrives pushing a trolley laden with food. Either she's got an extremely healthy appetite or she's giving me choices,
"I hope you don't mind me picking your brains with this lot. I've never tried any of these dishes and would benefit from a more educated palate's opinion?" she questions me and I smile slightly,
She's either testing me or really wants my input. I'm not a food snob, but I definitely like the finer things in life. The selection of dishes is wide and varied, she's not afraid to try new things apparently. I really like that there is not a single faddy thing on the trolley. She respects her food and it's not a means to an end, it's here to be enjoyed. We try a couple and I tell her the history and ingredients of each selection, I'm actually enjoying myself. I feel her eyes on me several times, I sense she wants to talk to me and doesn't know how to broach the subject. Well, I can make this easier for her,
"So, is Isabelle your real name or an alias?" I ask before popping a forkful of crawfish etouffee into my mouth,
"Wow! Well, that makes this easier. It's Isabella actually, Isabella Swan, my friends called me Bella. But my grandmother did call me Sabé, that was true" She rushed out before trying another dish, so it wasn't affecting her appetite,
"It's a pleasure to really meet you, Isabella," I say and see her shiver delicately, so she's as drawn to me as I am her, good!
"I have so much I need to tell you Elijah, but first of all and the strangest is that I've been attacked by witches twice in the last week. Once before I met you and once since!" she says quite nonchalantly and I'm surprised,
"You don't seem worried or hurt and definitely not hexed?" I quiz her and she laughs in embarrassment,
"Oh they tried, no doubt! But I have a something, a barrier I call it! It's around my mind at all times and since coming here my body too! Urgh! I'm not explaining this right" she says and then proceeds to tell me all about her past and present,
Cold Ones, dear God! Not the best introduction to vampires, they are so unstable and vegetarian ones, what a recipe for disaster! They took a human to Volterra and she survived, I can't believe they are actually that stupid. This boy sounds deranged; obviously, her blood is too strong for his feeble mind! I think I might need to call in a marker, a long-standing marker. I smile and place my finger to my lips, pull out my cell and dial a number I've had for many years. It rings four times before it is answered,
"Ciao! Caius Volturi parla. Chi è questo? (Hello! Caius Volturi speaking. Who is this?)
"Ah Caius, Elijah Mikaelson here! Please put us on speakerphone I dislike repeating myself!" I say and hear his breathing catch and him shushing those around him,
*I bet a pound to a penny (British) - be convinced that something is very probable or likely be the case (or to happen)
*Prat (British slang) - a stupid or foolish person
