No copyright infringement intended! I only do this to make the characters in my head shut up! It's already crowded enough in there as it is.
Also, if this isn't one of my better chapters, I apologize. I lost my job this week and I've been a bit down, so my writing has suffered a bit. Hopefully I can pick it up soon for next weeks installments.
We're caught up with our other characters for the moment, so back to Amanda's storyline! Woo-hoo!
Amanda POV
CHAPTER 16
Several weeks have passed since Peter and Charlotte have joined us. I will admit that those two are not what I would have expected from experienced killers. They keep to themselves a lot and don't really seem interested in anyone else. Charlotte seems to be the quiet one out of the two and I'm drawn to her more than I am her obnoxious companion. He seems to be the one that knows what's going to happen before it does and rubs it in. Usually he rubs the wrong person, Victoria, the wrong way. It's not that I don't like Peter, I do, but there's just something about him that I can't quite figure out. Almost like he's holding something back. It doesn't help matters that I see Peter leave the safety of our camp once a day for a half an hour. Every time he comes back he seems a little bit happier. I know he's not hunting. We don't need to hunt that much. I can't get a good read on him and it makes me wary.
Victoria seems to be besotted by these two even more so than she was when she learned of my gift. Although she gets annoyed with Peter, she doesn't seem to show it. It's nice not having to be the center of attention anymore. I don't have to pretend that I belong when no one takes notice of me. Better still, I don't have to use my gift quite so much either and that makes me more than happy. It takes a lot of energy out of me and I have to hunt far more frequently than I would like to.
Victoria has completely given up on teaching any of us to fight at all. She was growing impatient and it showed. We basically just run rampant through the streets of this little Podunk town and do whatever we want. It's nice not being on a feeding and fighting 24/7 schedule anymore. It gives me the opportunity to do other things. I'm not exactly sure what those "other things" might be yet, but maybe I can ask Charlotte what she does to pass the time. I haven't really gotten the chance to know her yet, but I would like to. She seems like she has a level head. I start walking around our camp, trying to find her, and I hear both of them talking about something. I know it's not right to eavesdrop, but I can't help it. My curiosity gets the better of me every time.
"Pete, I don't care what he says. I ain't leavin' him to just meet up with her all on his own. Not without backup." I hear Charlotte say.
Peter follows with a "Well, I swear to ya that when it all boils down we don't have nothin' to worry about. Trust me."
"How can ya be so sure, Pete? We hardly know her and you of all people should hate her with a fiery passion."
"You're right, we hardly know her. So why don't ya decide to get all buddy-buddy with her while I think of our next move? We have to find neutral ground for them to meet and make sure that he doesn't rip her to shreds. And what do ya mean I should hate her?"
"She was made to kill him, Peter." says Charlotte exasperatedly.
"So what if she was? She isn't gonna." says Peter.
"How do ya know that? All she has to do is sing one note, Pete and he's a gonner." replies Charlotte.
"She won't do that. Not once she sees him." growls Peter assuredly.
Obviously they had been arguing over me, so instead of keeping to the shadows pretending like I didn't hear anything, I turn the corner and stare at the both of them with my arms folded.
"Y'all wouldn't be talkin' about me, would ya?" I ask angrily.
My Southern twang tends to get worse if I let my attitude get the better of me. This is no exception. They both have guilty expressions on their faces, but I would like an explanation of why I became this, and if they know, then I want to hear it.
"You're angry," Charlotte begins, "I can understand that, but you don't have to be hostile. If ya take a few moments to sit with us, we'll explain."
It seems like a reasonable request, so I agree, but they proceed to take me into the surrounding wooded area before they begin to tell me why they agreed to join us. I'm not concerned with going with them, they won't hurt me and even if they did, I would be able to stop them before they could. What I am concerned with is being a pawn in someone else's game. It doesn't sit well with me to be used without my knowledge.
Granted I can't be too picky about how I'm being used, considering my present predicament with being involved with a vampire army dead set on revenge against others that I've never met, all without my previous knowledge or acceptance before my recruitment, but I digress. Better the devil you know.
We don't travel too far into the surrounding trees before they both stop and look at me. I can see that they are having a bit of a difficult time knowing where to begin, but I don't say anything to get the ball rolling. I've learned patience the hard way by being a mother and I'll be damned if I'm the first one to break now.
"I guess I'll start from the beginning." Peter says.
"That would be great." I reply.
"We aren't really with your little band of fighters to get revenge on the Cullen's. Although I would like to, the Pixie that they have with them is not only dangerous, but she's also devious and quite the vindictive bitch in order to get what she wants. That being said, we never lied about being in the Southern Wars or about fighting alongside The Major. We did for many decades before he allowed us to leave. We managed to go back for him and get him to leave with us, but he wasn't happy. He left us to go with the Pixie who he thought was his mate. They live with the Cullen's and live another way of life that he seems happy with, but we can't be entirely sure. We still keep in touch although it's rare now, but we still care very deeply for him. He is our maker, sire, or whatever you want to call it. We just want to make sure he realizes the same thing we have and he doesn't kill you for it." Peter states.
"Ok, let me get this straight." I begin. "This Pixie is currently living with the Cullen's and has manipulated The Major into a relationship with her?"
"Yes" says Charlotte.
"Ok. You think that he may try to kill me?" I ask.
"Yes," replies Peter.
"Why? What am I to him for him to target me?" I ask.
"This is where we may lose you." Charlotte says.
"Try me." I reply.
"Ok, we are actually here on The Major's orders." States Peter
"And the Pixie's, too." adds Charlotte.
I let that sink in for a minute and said, "Explain."
It doesn't take them long to tell me the real reason they're both here. Apparently this human girl Bella started all of this with Victoria. James, Victoria's mate was killed when he kidnapped the girl and blames the entire Cullen clan for his murder. Victoria knew of the Major and also knew that he could possibly be rusty from lack of fighting, but she also knew that the only way to win against the Cullen's was to start changing newborns and teach them how to fight. Kind of like in the Southern Wars, but to a lesser degree. The Major and I are supposed to meet in battle soon and due to my wonderful gift, the unbeatable Major will fall along with the rest of the Cullen's just for revenge over a lost mate. I have to admit that from a battle standpoint, I could see a hell of a lot wrong with this plan. I would essentially be the Ace in the Hole. Without me, the plan wouldn't succeed.
"What is a mate?" I ask Charlotte.
"Your mate is the one person that ya are to spend eternity with. The one that makes ya feel complete, happy, whole, and at peace. You can breathe easier, talk about anythin', argue with each other and yet, at the end of the day they will be there for ya." She replies.
"So every vampire has one?" I ask.
"It's possible. It could be a hundred, a thousand, or even five thousand years before your mate appears, but they will be there." Says Peter.
Five thousand! That's a hell of a long time to wait. "How do I know when I've met mine?" I ask.
"A very good question." Charlotte says. "You'll know as soon as ya see 'em. It's almost like your soul has found its other half. You cannot even think of being parted from 'em. If you die, so do they. If they die, you will soon follow willingly. You would do anythin' and everythin' in your power to protect 'em and keep 'em happy. Just as Peter does to me."
"Peter, do ya already know who mine is?" I ask hopefully.
"I do." he replies. "But I ain't tellin' ya. You'll have to figure that one out on your own."
"Fine." I say. "So now that you've told me what's going on, how do we fix this?"
"Fix this?" Asks Charlotte.
"Yeah, fix all of this messed up shit that we're in right now. How do we get out of here with some semblance of our lives left? I have other places I'd rather be than here. How do we make that happen?"
"You would be willing to leave here?" Asks Peter.
"Hell yes." I say. "I can't wait to get out of here, find my mate if I have one, and go somewhere other than here."
"Well, we would start by killing the Pixie." Says Charlotte.
Peter and I both look at her quizzically, but she proceeds to explain. "Alice can see the future. Any decisions that we make, she can counter. She is the first one that needs to go because she is a liability. We cannot trust her, nor can we change her mind about you, Amanda. She wants you dead. So you have to get to her first."
"I would like to know more about why she wants me dead. I don't want to kill her if I don't need to. Is there another way?" I ask.
"We could try kidnapping her, she isn't much of a fighter, but she will see if we do try to take her." Replies Peter.
"Ok, so how do we get around that?" Charlotte asks.
"It's simple." I say. "You get her through me. Like you said, she wants me dead. If she wants me dead, she will come to me to kill me herself when I tell her I have you two captive. If she has been watching me, she'll know it's possible to even put experienced fighters on their backs with my voice."
"Or, we could call her and say that we kidnapped you and if she wants you dead, she can do it herself that way." states Peter.
We spend the next few hours hatching a plan, not quite sure if it will work, but hoping that she will be too busy to see unless we want her to. After finding a deserted cabin between Port Angeles and Forks, we play our parts to perfection. I am inside the cabin, chained to the wall with duct tape over my mouth and I hear Charlotte say to Peter, "Make the call."
So, what do you think this plan will be? Will Alice get what's coming to her? Will Jasper and Amanda finally meet? Stay Tuned!
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