Garrett was back in my room after I'd had time to have a nap. He was helping me unpack what little I brought while we waited for Dr. Cullen. The sun was just starting to set and I was about to put away one of my 1960's nightgowns when there was a firm knock on the door. One of the doors opened before Garrett or I had a chance to say anything. In popped the head of this older, friendly-looking male vampire and the grumpy receptionist from earlier. He glowered while the doctor, dressed smartly in a white lab coat, greeted us with a smile.
"Miss Swan, I take it?" "Uh, yes. Hello." "Hello to you. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen, at your service," Dr. Cullen stepped in, leaving the receptionist outside. "I'll wait out in the hall," he gruffly said before slamming the door shut. I blinked startled while Dr. Cullen flashed me a sympathetic look. "Don't mind him; he's always that way." "Why'd you bring him along? You think he's absolutely necessary to have here?" Garrett crossed his arms unamused. Dr. Cullen's eyes wandered over to my new guardian intently. "It's just a precaution; nothing to be concerned about. Now! Let's have a look at you," Dr. Cullen then chimed to me. Still standing, he spun me around in place for a good examination. I noticed that Garrett was closely watching the doctor's every move, likely ready to intervene should need be. But Dr. Cullen ignored his watchful eye, focusing entirely on me instead. He grinned as I twirled for him slowly.
"Your body's seventeen years old?" "That's right. I turned right after my seventeenth birthday." He nodded and led me over to the bed. After sitting me down, he opened the small doctor's kit he was carrying around and pulled out a clipboard. Scribbling something down quick, he examined my face next.
"Let's see. Pale skin, slender figure, no obvious signs of any nutrient deficiencies….. You're here to do the fasting cure, yes?" "Yes," my head nodded. More scribbling from his pen. "How long have you been fasting for?" "Two days now. My last meal was in London." Even more writing. "And you're taking supplements?" "Yes. The usual: iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, omega three, vitamin B12, and so on." "Any sodium?" Dr. Cullen inquired. "Yes, it's in the electrolyte tablets I take," I nodded again. "Fantastic," gazing back down to his clipboard, he wrote some more stuff down and set it aside.
That was the end of the first part of the examination. The next part was the physical. He put on some surgical gloves and checked my pulse. He listened to my heartbeat and shined a light in my eyes and down my throat. He asked me to cough and do all that stuff. The last part of that exam was his taking my temperature with one of those forehead thermometers. Dr. Cullen checked the screen and shook his head in mild disbelief. I was curious what puzzled him but decided to keep my mouth, as did Garrett. When Dr. Cullen peered back up at my face, his eyes were wide and lit up with wonder.
"Wow. Your body is just like a regular human's. It's extraordinary; I've never seen anything like it…" Garrett's upper half leaned in slightly when Dr. Cullen stated this. "So, is she healthy enough to do the fast?" "Don't know; it's too early to say. My guess would be that she is, but she'll need close medical supervision. Luckily, I'm a resident doctor here," the doctor cracked a small grin at this. Garrett seemed only mildly satisfied with this; I think he was looking for something more concrete. I wasn't too bothered by Dr. Cullen's ambiguity though. I felt healthy enough to do the fast, and in my mind that mattered for at least something.
Garrett and I observed Dr. Cullen reach back into his medical bag and pull out a little needle and some empty blood tubes. His head then spun up toward Garrett as he held the needle in his hand. "Alright, time for you to leave. I'll let you know when we're done." Garrett's expression immediately hardened as his arms shot out at his sides. "What makes you think I'm leaving? The deal was you could exam her so long as I stayed in the room." "I get your concern, but I need a blood sample from Miss Swan and it's too risky to have more vampires than absolutely necessary around. It will only take two minutes. Wait out in the hall with Argus." Garrett's eyebrows rose with fury. "So that's why you brought him? To keep me in check, huh?" "We're not dealing with ordinary human blood here, Garrett. This is ambrosia, so we can't be too careful. You and Argus can stand guard just in case anyone else comes sniffing about. Please, Garrett; it's just too risky to have you in the room. Not until you and Miss Swan get better acquainted anyway…" Ambrosia? My eyebrow also lifted. I'd heard that term before but only in reference to Greek mythology. I don't know what Dr. Cullen was referring to just there…
Garrett frowned but eventually relented. He turned to exit the room but not before giving me one last look. "Holler if you need me," were his parting words to me. Then he went to join the grumpy receptionist, who I guess was named Argus, outside my bedroom door. I could sense the two men standing out in the hall in silence, probably listening for any sounds of distress from me.
Dr. Cullen waited until the door was firmly closed before gazing back to me. He twisted the needle in his glove and acted like he was almost hesitant to begin. But soon enough he reached for a cotton ball with his free hand. He cleared his throat, unable to look me in the eye for a second. "Um, p-please roll up your sleeve."
I did as I was instructed, eying the doctor the whole time; he appeared to be more nervous than me right now. As he cleaned a spot on my arm, I thought it was a good time to ask him my question. "Uh, Dr. Cullen?" "Hmmmmm?" "What's….. ambrosia?"
His hand froze here, but only for a moment. I doubt he was anticipating me to ask that, but he maintained his composure as he continued preparing me for the blood test. "Ambrosia is the medical vampire term for "human" vampire blood. Ambrosia is what we call human blood without an expiration date. You see, unlike regular humans, who age and eventually die, your blood will never change or spoil. In essence, your blood is as close to perfection as it can get- hence why it's called "ambrosia"." My cheeks instinctively blushed, my eyes widening a little. "You think my blood is perfect?" "Haha, well as near to perfect as blood comes- yes."
Only then did his face grow serious once more. His deep crimson eyes cemented onto mine, refusing to let them go. "You may be flattered to hear that, Miss Swan, but you've got to be careful. Ambrosia is ten times more potent than human blood to vampires, and a vampire bite can and will still kill you. Nothing sings to us so strongly as a human vampire's blood, which is why it is so dangerous for you, especially now that you're fasting…." He paused here before going on, as if to catch himself. "The longer you fast, the more delicious your blood's going to smell. If you're serious about fasting for more than a couple of months, you better prepare for any um, unwanted attention it may bring."
My fingers curled slightly on their own accord; my lips hung open a sliver. "I….. understand, Dr. Cullen." "I hope you do. What you're undertaking can be deadly, in more ways than one. Speaking of which, if you don't mind me asking….. Why are you fasting?" "Why? Because I want to ween myself off human blood. I'm tired of constantly being thirsty all of the time and…. and I don't like drinking blood. It would be fine if I could be a vegetarian but since I can only drink human blood…" My lips halted here for a second. Dr. Cullen waited patiently for me to continue, keeping his gloved hand on me the whole time. My eyes drifted aimlessly, finally resting on his other hand holding the needle. Heh, isn't that ironic? I never did get a blood test back when I was human….
"I always thought it was immoral to drink human blood, even if the blood was donated. I never would practice cannibalism when I was a human; I'd rather die than eat a fellow human… It doesn't feel any different now that I'm a vampire. I-I did drink blood since I turned…. But since Charlie died….. I don't want to; I never wanted to. I'm not trying to starve myself, and I realize that I can't fast forever, but at least it's a period where I won't be drinking blood. And maybe I can reduce my thirst permanently, or even temporarily. That'd be good enough for me…"
I finished speaking and Dr. Cullen just stared at me in awe for a sheer minute. His expression soon morphed from one of surprise to content. I flinched when he took my hand in his, giving it a tender squeeze. My head shot up, only to find him smiling back my way. "Don't worry, Miss Swan; you're not alone with this. I'll help you. If you want to fast, then I'll do everything in my power to make it so you medically can. In return, I need you to do as I prescribe. Deal?" Watching him also in a bit of astonishment, my blushing head nodded slowly, finally mirroring his grin after a minute. "Deal," my fingers curled around his. He then retracted his hand and brought the needle towards my arm. Again, he froze, hesitating. His lips parted a sliver as he couldn't meet my eye again. "This'll be quick," was all he said.
The needle went in, and for the first since I met him, I saw the world's quickest flush of desire, of thirst in his eyes. He watched the blood flow from my veins almost a little too closely, and it suddenly became apparent to me that this man had ample self-control. I doubt that any other vampire could have simply sat back and watched as he had just now. Even for him I could tell this was a struggle. And I suddenly understood why he had Garrett wait outside for this. Huh, I never knew how….. alluring my blood could smell, could be. I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was THAT bad.
"You ok?" I heard myself blurt out, instantly regret it. Dr. Cullen's shoulders flinched, and he blinked up to my face wide-eyed. "Huh?! Oh…. Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine….. It's just I haven't been this close to ambrosia in….. in a long time. I'd forgotten how… strong the scent was." "Really? It smells like normal human blood to me." He chuckled, finishing up with the needle. He rushed to get my blood out of his sight. "You wouldn't be able to tell the difference. To us, your blood smells like our favourite food, and we haven't eaten in weeks. It's more than that though. It's like being locked in a room with nothing but your favourite food and being bombarded with sensory overload. The smell, the texture, the colour, even the temperature… They all sing- nay scream- to us, and it's almost impossible to resist." I tentatively considered what he said for a minute, chuckling nervously to myself. My fingers gripped the edge of the bed now. "So I take it you won't drink the blood once you're done with it?" "If I did that, Miss Swan, then you wouldn't wake up tomorrow morning," he put his tools back in his bag and shut it.
Pretty soon my bedroom door flung open again, with Garrett rushing in and checking me over. He was so anxious that he was speaking a mile a minute, repeatedly asking me if I was alright and if Dr. Cullen tried anything- i.e. did he try and bite me. Even Argus wore the faintest expression of worry. It made me wonder….. If I have ambrosia blood and it sings to all vampires, did these guys want to keep me alive because….. Well because… Because I was temptation to them? The forbidden fruit always just within their grasp? If I died, there would be one less human vampire in the world. Would that make any difference? Should it make any difference? Was it "me" these vampires cared about?
Or the precious, rare elixir I carried around in my body?