Dropping the book in front of Charlie on his desk, he glanced up at me before taking a good look at the book. By the way he tensed, he knew what was in the book.
"Can you explain this to me? Because I can't even begin to understand what all of this means," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.
On the drive over here, I couldn't even begin to believe what was going on. Was whatever was written in this book real? Were my ancestors some kind of witches? Was there actually a curse? Was this conversion stuff real? Did any of what was in the book still apply to the present?
"Where'd you find this?" Charlie asked. From his reaction, he'd ben trying to hide something.
What did it matter? "The library."
Charlie sighed, muttering something about having thought it had gone missing.
"Is any of this true?" I asked, pointing to the book in front of him.
"It's all true," Charlie answered, like that answered all of my questions.
"Can you elaborate?" I pressed.
"Have a seat, Bella," he motioned to the two chairs sitting in front of his desk.
I didn't want to sit, but I did to appease him and hopefully get the ball rolling on his explaining. Sitting on the edge of one of the seats, I sat forward, anxiously waiting for him to begin.
He took a long minute, staring at the book in front of him, before looking up at me.
"I wanted to ease you into this."
"Why not tell me when I was little? Why did you wait for me to find out?"
"Your mother, mainly," he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "She never liked this town, never liked the magic, never wanted to be tied to it. She took you with her because she didn't want to subject you to it all either. That was one of the only things we agreed on - to protect you from this."
"Protect me from what exactly? Can you start from the beginning? I'm not comprehending anything."
Before I was even finishing my last question, there was some sort of commotion out in the front lobby and not two seconds later, a woman with caramel colored hair was rushing into the room, the deputy two steps behind her, arguing with her to wait. The woman was beautiful, despite looking worried, and something again tugged at me, telling me she was someone important.
"Esme," Charlie greeted, his mustache twitching. His face was expressionless, so I couldn't tell if this unannounced meeting was good or bad for him. "Randy, it's okay, I've got it."
Randy, the deputy, gave one last look to this woman, Esme, before backing up and leaving back towards the lobby. Esme stepped into the room, fingers twisting the strap on her purse. She saw me, and stopped short.
"Bella," she whispered, eyes widening. Her worried demeanor quickly turned to surprise to …hope? She turned to Charlie once more, eyes questioning.
"You have impeccable timing Esme," Charlie noted. "Please, have a seat."
She took the seat next to me, dropping her purse by her feet. She turned so that she was facing me, but her eyes were still on Charlie, eyes still questioning.
"When did she arrive?" Esme asked. Was 'she' me?
"Two days ago," Charlie answered. "And yes, to stay. And no, she still is unaware. Which is why your timing is impeccable. She found this today," he grabbed and held up the book that I had dropped down in front o him.
"He's getting worse Charlie. It's only a matter of time before she's affected too. They've been separated too long. She needs to know."
"I know," Charlie rubbed his mustache. "Go ahead. You'll be better at explaining than I will."
Esme finally turned her eyes to me, her gaze once again worried, but there was also a tenderness there. She looked like she wanted to hug me. Which I oddly wanted in that moment. Everything was suddenly turning and while I wasn't ever shown much affection, the idea of being wrapped in a motherly hug sounded quite comforting.
"My name is Esme Cullen. I believe you're aware of my last name?"
I simply nodded.
"What do you know sweetheart?"
"Just that the Swans, Cullens, Blacks, Webers, and Newtons were the founders, there was some black magic being practiced, a curse, and something called the conversion," I supplied quickly, hoping I was about to get the answers I was searching for.
Esme nodded, giving me an encouraging smile. "That's all right. But let me start at the beginning, so you have a better understanding, okay?"
I nodded eagerly, grateful someone was seemingly understanding that I needed answers.
"The five families as you said, did indeed found the town. The Newtons and Webers starting dabbling in black magic, which didn't sit well with the Swans or Cullens. The Newtons and Webers started off small, hexing the neighbors that annoyed them, all unknowingly to the other families. But they continued, eventually creating the conversion. I'll need to explain that, but this was the first that all families were aware of the Newtons and Webers dabbling in black magic. This creation of the conversion caused William Black to snap. He was in love with Ella Swan, but Ella was in love with Edward Cullen and vice versa, due to the conversion. William, jealous with rage after being rejected by Ella, decided to participate in the black magic. William was so angry and upset that the conversion took away his chance with Ella, he put a curse on the town. Now, let me explain the conversion. Are you aware of what it is?" She asked me.
I shook my head. "I didn't really understand it. Just some sort of love at first sight kind of thing, but more."
"That's a good way of thinking about it. The reason they created it, was to keep the town together in a way. It was to keep the ancestors here, to protect the land. To protect the magic that the Newtons and Webers had created. On the land within the town, is where you are able to experience the conversion. Not everyone has the lineage, therefore not everyone here is able to experience it."
"So anyone in the town at the time of when they created the curse, their lineage would only be able to experience the conversion?" I questioned.
"Correct. They mainly created it so that their ancestors would stay tied to the land, once they found their love. It allows anyone from the lineage of those at the time to, as you said, fall in love at first sight, but more. It happens at different times in one's life, and it happens differently with each couple. For example, my ancestors are not from here. My lineage never crosses paths with Forks. I came to this town by complete accident one day when I was driving through, trying to find a store in Port Angeles. I wasn't paying attention, trying to look at my directions, and I got into a car accident. That's how I met Carlisle Cullen, my husband. He was a doctor at Forks Hospital that looked me over. I fell in love with him at first sight. It was like some unexplainable force that drew me to him. I knew after I left him that day that I would marry him. From what Carlisle tells me, his reaction was a little different," a secret smile lit up her face. "He once told me that he nearly kidnapped me that day. But he knew that wouldn't go well with me, especially if I somehow didn't feel the same way. I had no idea of the history of this town, but once I did, my feelings made a lot more sense to me."
"So, both sides of the couple don't need to be from the lineage?"
"No, just one person. It's very rare for both individuals to be from the lineage," she answered, her gaze moving to Charlie. Charlie's mouth twisted.
"In most cases when both are from the lineage, they don't last long," Charlie said, unable to look at me.
"Was mom…?" I found myself questioning.
"No," Charlie shook his head. "She wasn't. But those that are, when one dies, the other follows quickly after. Some have committed suicide, unable to cope with the…emotions."
"Did you experience it with mom?" I asked.
"No, I thought I did. But I was young, dumb, thinking I could fight all of this."
"So you haven't with anyone?" I asked him.
Charlie's mustache twisted again. "I have. But it's complicated."
I arched a brow, ready to question him about it, but I felt a hand on my wrist. Esme's. Her hand was warm and held a sense of comfort.
"Another topic for another time," she told me gently when I looked up to her. She removed her hand and I held myself from pulling it back. Weird. "This conversion, like I said, it's different with each couple, for each person. Conversion has happened from as young as a year old. Others have happened in old age. Not all of them happen and the couple immediately falls in love. It may happen and they have that draw, but some may need friendship first, or a support system; it all depends on the couple and what each person may need. Most though, they happen and there's a…need between the two, a type of lust, where the souls need to meld, body and soul."
"Sex," I stated, my face turning red, not even daring to look towards Charlie. I hadn't planned on saying it so bluntly, but I needed to be on the same page as her.
"Right," Esme nodded with a smirk. " In most cases, each couple craves sex for conversion. But not with every couple. My daughter, Alice, met her mate, Jasper, when they were just kids. They craved friendship first. Jasper was her shoulder to cry on, her playmate, her protector. Until they grew up and it grew into a deeper love, a more sensual love."
"Right, okay, different for every couple. Depends on the age and where the person is at in life. But most end with sex," I summarized what she was trying to get across.
"Right, you got it. Here's where it gets more complicated. The initial meeting with someone from the lineage, is considered the conversion, but when they come together physically, that is called soul conversion. With soul conversion, comes the birth of powers. Not everyone's powers are known and not all of them are considered good. For some it takes time and practice to harness the power, some take to it like fish out of water."
"But just the one from the lineage gets the power, right?"
"Yes," she answered. "Carlisle, ironically, received the powers of healing. Alice, received the powers of sight. She's able to see the future, but it's a little more complicated than that. My son, Emmett, got super strength."
"What did you get?" I asked, turning to Charlie.
"I attract bullets," Charlie gave a wry smile.
My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to start giving him a lecture about safety, especially considering the line of work he was in, but Esme's hand on my wrist again stopped me.
"Like I said, not all of them are good. But Charlie has taken the precautions for his power."
I nodded to let her know I heard her, but I wasn't going to just drop it; Charlie and I would talk about it later. I, like Charlie, wasn't much for talking about my feelings, but I didn't want to lose a parent. I would have to know what exact precautions he was taking to help ease my worries.
"Okay," I refocused, trying to get back on topic. "So why gain powers? What was the reason behind that?"
"Mainly to keep the magic flowing through the town."
I nodded, becoming overwhelmed with the amount of information and questions that were bouncing back and forth in my brain. I quickly flipped through the information I had been told, Esme giving me the moment.
"So, this conversion keeps the town together, or at least that was the goal."
"Yes, that was the goal. Since those with the lineage are only able to experience it in town, it only happens in town. Once soul conversion happens, the powers are only feasible in town. Also, once conversion happens and you so happen to leave town, the couple starts to get sick. They lose the connection of the conversion. Since most couples enjoy finding the loves of their life, they don't leave, in fear of losing that."
"So, say you were to leave Forks with Carlisle, go to Seattle for the week. You'd lose your connection? The love you have for him?"
"In a way, yes. As soon as we'd leave Forks, we would lose the connection of the conversion. We wouldn't feel the need for each other anymore. We tried it once and the only way I can explain it is that once we stepped out of Forks, I no longer loved him. It wasn't that I hated him, but I just felt like I no longer knew him. It's incredibly hard to explain. But if we had stayed out of town for say, a week, we would start to get sick. The degeneration happens at different rates for different couples. We didn't want to test it, but most couples that have left have taken about a week before they got sick and came back. It starts off as flu like symptoms until it grows and the couple dies. It's only happened once from what we're aware of," she glanced at Charlie again.
"Is everyone in town aware of all of this?" I asked. Their shared looks seemed somewhat secretive and I wondered if they were only aware of these ongoings of town history or if it was the whole town that was aware.
"We don't get a lot of newcomers, ones that stay at least. But I would say a good 90% of the town is aware of the history and the ongoings of everything. We don't want the history to leave, and become some big story, so we try to keep the history to those who can be discrete," Charlie was the one to answer.
"Bella," Esme gained my attention. She gave me a comforting smile, one that told me she was here for me, but she had something big to tell me that might make me freak out. "Now that you know what conversion all entails, you should know how you fit into it."
That made me realize in that moment that I was from the lineage, I was a Swan ancestor, which meant I would experience conversion with someone. But who? The idea of being tied to someone, from magic no less, was a foreign concept to me. Sure, I had grew up watching love stories, reading many romance novels, hoping I would find my one true love. But my parents weren't exactly a good model of love working out, especially watching my mother jump from one guy to another. I wasn't sure how I felt about myself experiencing the conversion at the moment.
"I haven't…," I glanced to Charlie, back to Esme. "I mean I guess I will."
"You will," Esme moved her hand from my wrist that she hadn't moved, to grab my hand in her own. The contact was a comforting one. Like she understood and was there to help me through whatever I faced. "Your father, Carlisle, and I all believe it will be with my son, Edward."
Going from realizing I would experience conversion to being told it would most likely happen with someone specific, especially someone I didn't even know was a weird experience.
"Why?" was all I could come up with.
"Alice has seen it. You are the first girl born to the Swan line. It was only a matter of time before the Swans and Cullens once again came together. But mainly the curse is what we're going off," Esme gave my hand a squeeze. She once again glanced at Charlie and they shared some sort of secret conversation.
"Bella, I've been selfish in keeping you away from Forks. Trying to prevent the inevitable," Charlie sighed.
"We all wanted to keep the inevitable from happening," Esme corrected. "But now, Edward is getting sick. We believe you guys were meant to meet a long time ago and somehow preventing your meeting is causing damage. It might be a short time before you start feeling effects too, just arriving to Forks."
"So what? I go meet Edward, we'll experience our conversion, and everything will be okay?" Saying it sounded easy. But I couldn't even imagine how that would play out in reality.
"In theory, yes," Esme answered, giving me a sympathetic smile.
My eyes glanced down to her hand holding mine, trying to come to terms with my…fate?
"Conversion with Edward is just the beginning for you, Bella," Charlie warned.
"Now it's time to tell you about the curse."
