Chapter 6

"Do you want me to unwrap it?"

Shaking my head I started to unfold it myself.

Even with the fabric still covering my present, I knew what it was.
My fingers folding around it, recognizing the small shape and allowing myself to be flooded by my memories.

As soon as it was uncovered I balanced it on my hand.

"It's a flute." Esme sounded surprised. Her reaction made me chuckle and smile. Caressing the soft wood, seeing and feeling now what my eyes couldn't then. Small scratches and dents, where the wood had been carved to deep when making the flute. Contrasted by the patches where my frequent touch had worn down the grain and the wood felt smooth and soft. It reminded me how much I had used it.

"Edward made it for me when I was a little girl. We would play in the orchard together, we both had one of these. He made them for us, we would use it while playing hide and seek. It was a game we played, our game. After he left for the first time, my world revolved around this flute. I carried it around all day, even slept with it. Clutching it into my hand or hiding it under my pillow.

I was so sure my mother didn't know, but she did. After a while she took it from me, giving me some handwork back. Saying I should get over my childish crush and start acting like a young lady. It felt like losing him all over again and for days I refused to pick up the handwork she had left for me to finish. My father finally persuaded me to listen to my mother, in exchange he promised me to tell me any news he heard about Edward.

Perhaps I should have fought harder back then and could have prevented ending up in the situation I am now."

Clutching the small flute to my chest, I try to control the hurt I feel. Afraid I'll snap the fragile wooden item in my hands. Gently I lay it down in front of me. After all these years of thinking my mother hated me I find out she has kept my fondest childhood memory of the man I love safe. It changes my perspective and small details of our dialogues shift, making me understand perhaps my mother tried to help me instead of hurt me.

"I'd like to see my father now." Talking out loud, I don't wait for Esme's confirmation and just get up. The flute is still lying on the ground in front of me. Bending over I pick it up and wrap it up again in the soft fabric that has protected it all these years. Like the ring, it's a memory of my humanity I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Esme ends up persuading me to wait for Carlisle and her to join me. It's late and most likely there will be no one with him at this hour. So I agree, knowing they are only trying to help me.

When we reach my house, my former house. The place I spend the first 16 years of my life, we walk through the orchard, across the small field and pass the stables. It seems like nothing has changed on the outside but the atmosphere is different. My father, the lord of the house is dying and with the anticipation of that loss even the property surrounding the house seems more quiet.

Reaching the backdoor that will bring me in the kitchen and give direct access to the long hallway leading to my parents old bedroom. I pause and look at Esme and Carlisle. They nod, letting me go first.

Quietly I walk through the kitchen, the small fire in the corner shows that at least one person is probably rummaging around somewhere in the house. Taking a deep breath I'm assaulted with the smell of wood burning, some dried meats that are hanging in the chimney.. it's revolting and I scrunch my nose. Somehow I had expected the sweet smell of fresh baked bread or at least the familiar smell of the wood burning in the fireplace to welcome me. It doesn't, all the things I used to love in this kitchen are now.. not so loveable.

Carlisle chuckles as he realizes what I am trying to do and in response I glare at him. He just puts his hands up, letting me know he is sorry. Together we walk down the hallway. At the end, it will lead into the largest of bedrooms. It has been my parents for as long as I remember.

Standing in front of the door, suddenly I feel like a little girl again. Esme puts her hand on my shoulder and softly squeezes it. "Are you sure about saying good bye, we can still turn back?"

"No, I need to do this." Pushing the door open, I stand in the doorway and look into the room. It has hardly changed, the large bed in the center still takes up most of the space. In front of the window is a small table and a chair, to the right a large fireplace with in it a small fire and above the fireplace is the only change. There in the center of the wall is a large painting. Walking over to it I gasp, thankful for my inability to cry.

Looking down on me from the painting is a warm and smiling girl, her brown hair cascading in curls around her shoulders and her eyes are a sparkling light brown. It's me, the human me. The way my parents remembered me. Gasping I cover my mouth with my hand and sit down on the floor in front of the fireplace, staring up at the painting..

"You were beautiful Bella." Stroking my hair, Esme comes to help me. Picking me up from the floor and hugging me tight to her body. Carlisle just stands and waits for us to finish bonding until a movement in the bed makes me tense up.

"Who's there?"

The voice is raspy and the words sound excited rather then scared. Letting go of Esme I walk over to the side of the bed. My father's eyes probably can't see me in the dark, or at least not very clearly. But I can see him with clarity.

He looks old and weak. Almost unrecognizable to me. His hair is thin and almost white and his face is wrinkled and covered with a white beard. The only thing that stands out are his eyes, like I remember them. Grey and sharp as they seek for my form in the dark of his room.

Sitting down next to him, I lay my hand over his. Touching him as careful as I can, even with my light touch, the heath from his skin is burning into my skin. Finally his eyes seem to know where to look and he turns his face to look at me. When he does, his eyes go wide.

"My angel daughter, have you come to take me?" His words are calm and pleasant. Again I'm glad for not being able to cry. So instead I smile a soft smile and brush the hair out of his face. Leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. From the corner of my eye I see Carlisle hold Esme back, stopping her from stepping closer and blocking me. It hurts for a moment that she thinks I could hurt my father and I'm grateful to Carlisle for understanding that I never could.

"I've not come to take you father, but I have come to say farewell." My voice sounds light and sweet, the opposite of how I feel but I don't care because my father just looks up and smiles a large toothless smile at me.

"You look so pretty, just like I remember you." His hand reaches up with a lot of effort and touches my skin. Just like he used to when I was a little girl. "My angel." His breathing is unstable and I can hear his heart stutter in an uneven breath as he struggles for air. Panicked I look at Carlisle and Esme and am relieved to see they rush forward.

Esme holds my other hand and Carlisle gently take Charlie's hand and checks his pulse. Counting the beats, like I am but at the same time measuring the blood flow. Something he has found he can do with his heightened skills over the past years and proving to be a real help in treating humans. When he looks at me, his eyes say enough. I give him a quick nod and bite my lip as a distraction as I hear the faint beat of Charlie's heart grow slower and slower.

"I love you father." This time my voice isn't the sweet and calm voice that comes to a vampire so easy. It's thick with emotions and I can barely finish what I want to say. Charlie just sighs and opens his eyes, looking at the ceiling this time.

"I love you too." His words are followed by a wheezing sound and lots of coughing. And I have to let go, afraid i'll grip his hand too tight in mine as I can see him slip away in front of me. "Just promise me one thing..." Searching for my hand, Charlie clutches onto my arm instead. " Let Edward take care of you..."

His words make me freeze and inside the monster rages at it's shielded confinement. As I struggle with myself, Charlie takes a long last breath. And my last chance to say anything is gone. " Charlie." Without thinking I reach for his shoulders and forget my strength. Gripping tight and deep into his flesh as I lift him to my chest, burying my nose in his hair and rocking.

"Bella, you have to let go." Both Esme and Carlisle have their hands on my shoulders and back, touching me. Keeping me in place. I can feel their love and concern for me but it is so easily pushed away by the pain of finally losing the last family I had in my human life.

"I can't let go." Rocking from side to side with my father still tight against my body I close my eyes. Allowing all my happy memories to flood my mind, grateful for having kept them when entering my immortal life.

"You have to sweety, at least physically." Esme, as usual sounds like a sweet loving mother and her words are a gentle reminder. I do have to let go off him now, physically but I can keep him in my heart forever.

Gently I release him from my hold and lay him back down against his pillows. Closing his eyes and placing one last kiss on his forehead. As I do, my eyes comes to rest on the silver chain that is around his neck. It's the one he has worn for as long as I can remember. When I pull it up from under his shirt I see it now holds two thin rings, my parents wedding rings. Carlisle gently places his hands over mine and takes the chain with the rings from Charlies neck. Careful not to disturb him anymore then I have already done. "I think he would have wanted you to have them."

Slipping the long silver chain around my neck, it still feels slightly warm from being on a human body. I smile, feeling the warmth and look up at Carlisle. "Thank you."

We get up and they walk ahead, allowing me one last look at my father before leaving the room.
He looks so peaceful and I know it is time.
Time for me to move on with my life.

My own resolution resonates in my head. It is time for me to move on with my life. But the only thing that has moved in my life, is myself. Literally, from the northern small town where Esme had her pretty little house. From the secluded forests, away from watching eyes, where Carlisle, Esme and myself could form a family. We had left and relocated to the big city of London.

After several days of keeping a low profile and grieving in the convent for my father, Carlisle had come to talk with me. He had sat me down, supported by Esme, and announced that we were moving to London. He had obtained the house from a family that had to move to France. Leaving it available for a longer period of time and it was fully furnished.

Within 2 days, everything was arranged and we could move. Esme was ecstatic and spend the first week rearranging all the furniture so we had more living space and less human clutter as she decided to call it. Through the years both Esme and Carlisle had acquired rather a lot of possessions. Each one of them old and valuable found a new place in our home.

The move had at first caused me to be excited but soon I found out, living in a larger city made it impossible to act normal. Normal for a vampire. We had gone from having a free and outdoor life in the countryside. To a life in the spotlight where everything we did forced us to hide our true nature. When people came to our house, they always expected us to run a full household. Including servants to work for us. We didn't and that fact alone made us frowned upon in the social circles.

I had very quickly grown accustomed to hunting at late hours in the dark. But during the day keeping up pretenses of being human combined with the constant assault on my senses was slowly wearing me down. Each day I hated the humans that were around me more and more. Wishing we could go back to living that secluded life up north and at least feel free. Still it was worth it all because within days of my fathers death, Carlisle had learned that many of the valuables from my first home had been brought to London. To Edward.

Since moving to the city, I had sat down each day to read some of the more academic books and a few rare poems I had managed to retrieve through Carlisle. He found great joy in my need for knowledge. Carlisle didn't understand, that during the day when he and Esme retreated to share some couples time and it was sunny outside, music and reading really was all I could do.

One grey afternoon I decided to take my reading outside. Finding a quiet and secluded spot in a field not far from our house. It's tranquil surrounding was perfect for reading a poem. Due to the grey weather, it was clouded enough for me to be outside and because I had been hunting the evening before I did not bother hiding my eyes. They were a rich golden brown, warm enough to pass for human eyes without being frowned upon. With my feet in the grass, I sat and read. The words were so rich they called for my full attention and because of that, I didn't pay attention to my surroundings.

It wasn't until I had finished reading the paragraph I was concentrating on, that I noticed people were in the area.
The wheels on the carriage squeaked loud enough for even a human to notice. Glancing up I could see the simple yet comfortable carriage being pulled by one horse. It had already passed it, was a man on foot holding the horse that pulled the carriage. I smelled the earthy sweet scent of the horse. Indicating they had traveled far already. A slight burn presented itself at the back of my throat and frowning I stopped breathing. Only to notice the carriage was accompanied by a man on horse.

The man on the horse caught my eye, somehow not blending in with the simple clothes of the man on foot and the carriage he seemed to be escorting. When I allowed my stare to rest on him, they had already passed me and somehow the denied chance to see what the front of this man looked like made me growl in defeat. It was impossible to stop staring at the broad shoulders and strong straight back that went down to a pair of agile legs, wrapped around the horse. Making me wish for a moment he wasn't straddling the saddle but me instead. Would he smile, as he looked down on me?

Sticking the thin book I was reading into the large pocket at the front of my gown, I got up. I needed to know what he looked like, it didn't even feel like having a choice. Without looking back or checking if anyone had seen me, I started to follow them on foot. Keeping my distance and pulling my cloak tight around me, covering my face with the hood. Excited at finding something to do on this day, even if I did not know what it was. The feelings I felt were new, unknown and a mystery to me.

After following them for about half an hour, we got closer to the city. They had traveled the lesser used road, avoiding any obstacles and were now heading back towards the direction of the city. Reaching a large estate with woods shielding the main house from the rest of the houses in the area. It was secluded yet close to the city, like the house Carlisle had acquired for our stay here. Hiding in the shadow of the trees I watched from far how two maids came from the house. Rushing to help a women and a child from the carriage.

As they did, the man on the horse turned to face them. The moment he did, I felt like my insides exploded. Finally I could see how magnificent he was.. only to know already. I had seen that face before. Gripping the tree, my fingers dug straight through the bark and into the life wood. Making it yield for my touch, ignoring how it would leave proof of my existence.

In front of me, aged and yet breathtakingly beautiful,was Edward.

A/N There is no 'like' button, so please leave a review if you feel like it ;-)