AN: New chapter! I'm glad people are liking the new characters. I know it's a lot of things to take in at once but introducing all three at once made sense to me, because I could compare them and showed how each one of them affected Bella. Atticus, Tyr(Tyrael) and Deidre are completely original, character wise and appearance, but for Blaise I've always imagined an older looking Seifer(Final Fantasy 8) so if anyone wants to get an idea of what he looks like, look it up.
Also to the reviewer who said Edward isn't manipulative: Personally I disagree. What does the word "manipulate" mean? "To manage or influence skillfully". Edward does exactly that. He knows about the power he has over Bella, and sure as hell uses it to his advantage. Yes, he has good intentions behind his actions. Yes, he's trying to protect Bella. Yes, he does love her. But he's still manipulating her: making her feel/do things by exploiting his power over her. But of course I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinion. Anyways, enjoy!
I wasn't tired. I caught myself at the thought. Of course I wasn't tired, I was a vampire. Vampires didn't sleep. They also didn't eat. Instead they drank blood, something that I was slowly starting to crave again. I'd have to talk to Deidre about that.
There wasn't much to do besides sneak around the room, and that was precisely what I did.
It was quite nice actually. Heavy drapes hung over the windows probably blocking all the sunlight during the day. I didn't know what time it was, but I guessed it was already evening.
Surprisingly there was a bed in the room, but it was quite small and didn't take up a lot of space. It was placed against the side wall, parallel to a window. A dresser stood across the room, and walked up to it. A huge mirror was hanging above it, and I didn't expect what I saw in it.
I guess I forgot about my appearance changing, but now I was definitely well aware of the fact. I looked mature and graceful. I was still the same Bella but it seemed that all of my features were enhanced. I leaned closer to the mirror examining my face from every angle, and a soft smile appeared. Sure, I wasn't the next Rosalie, but all of my plainness was gone. I wouldn't ever seem like an ugly duckling beside him.
Stop it. You'd never be beside him again.
Yet a part of me grasped the thought. One day I'd want to see him again. Not because I missed him, or loved him. Because I'd want him to see how wrong he was for leaving me. One day, when I would gain my powers, when I would become a Queen, I'd make sure we would meet.
The thought was strangely satisfying and I closed my eyes, letting my imagination wander.
I didn't know how much time has passed before I heard a knock on the door. I didn't rise to open it, and called out instead.
"Come in."
The door creaked open and I looked up. It was Deidre. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. She looked worn out but I didn't ask. Soon she raised her head in question.
"Are you hungry, Bella?"
I didn't need to answer, as my stomach rumbled at the thought.
She led me out of the castle and into the forest. We ran for a minute or two before she stopped. This part of the forest didn't seem like anything special. Deidre crouched down and motioned me to follow. We waited for something in silence, and suddenly she sprang. Her movement was a blur, and next thing I knew she was back with a big rabbit. I knew she did this to show me what to do, but her instruction was not necessary. The skill of hunting was innate, and somehow I knew that I wouldn't have a problem catching the prey.
I saw a flash of gray, and sprang towards it. My senses were heightened by the smell of blood. The rabbit was in front of me, and I swiftly grabbed it off the ground and bit in. Blood tickled down my chin, and when I was done I wiped it off. I didn't feel bad for taking the life of the animal. I think I would if I still thought like a human, but I was a vampire. Living this life took sacrifices, and somehow I felt colder. Almost indifferent to the pain of others. I guess that's why new born vampires were the most dangerous ones.
We kept going for half an hour more, before we decided to head back. Deidre didn't run this time, and I had a feeling she wanted to talk to me. I was right.
"Tyrael told me you took the news quite well, Bella," I could tell she still wasn't pleased at the thought of him revealing my fate to me. I nodded in response.
Deidre took a deep breath, "To tell you the truth, I thought you'd panic. I would. But I guess you're stronger then what I expected."
Our pace was slow but comfortable.
"There are things you're going to have to do for the next couple of months. Your abilities won't just show them selves. You're going to have to train and hunt, for them to make an appearance. And when they do, you'll have to work on controlling them," Deidre gave me a meaningful look. I listened carefully.
"Because your case is quite unique, as you already know, Atticus is doing some research to help us out. The powers might not depend on gender at all, but we don't want to take any chances."
My curiosity didn't allow me to remain quiet, "Power, abilities, skills…What do you mean? I already know I don't have a smell, but what else?"
Deidre replied instantly, "They change from person to person. Kane had the ability to control people for a short period of time. It took a lot out of him but the power was quite useful. He was faster and stronger. When he was outside the sun didn't make him glitter. All of these are his personal strengths, but there is always one ability that stays the same."
She paused and I could help but think that she was trying to make this dramatic.
"What is it?" I urged her on.
"It is the fundamental power. The power to destroy. You probably know how hard it is to kill a vampire. You literally have to cut him into little pieces and burn the remains. The power lets you skip the first part," Deidre's eyebrows furrowed and I could see the thought didn't please her.
I remembered the fireball I saw before I awoke in the cage.
"Kane could burn vampires to death?"
"Yes, the fire was in his blood. In every chosen one's blood. Eternal fire, the fire that never dies. It takes skill and time to master it, but when you do you can literally kill any one. All you have to do is wish for it. The fire is impossible to escape," Deidre's voice was no more then a whisper.
I sank to the ground and closed my eyes. Everything just seemed to hit me all at once. What was I? A killing machine? I was alone, no one else shared this burden. I was scared of myself. What if one day I just exploded and killed one of these people who were helping me? How could I live with myself after that? I wanted to fall asleep and forget about all of this, if just for a couple of hours, but I couldn't. I was close to panicking when suddenly my despair was replaced with something else.
I think this was the new vampire side of me kicking in, because in a second the hopelessness was gone. It was replaced with joy. I was one of a kind. I could be a ruler, a queen. I was scared but lusting for this power at the same time. The word weak would never associate with me anymore. If anyone defied me I would make them suffer. And I would make the others watch. What would Edward say then?
No, what was I thinking!
I didn't know what to do so I screamed. I was being shaken by someone, and my eyes snapped open.
A pair of hard gray eyes were staring directly at me. I realised that I was panting, gasping for breath. I felt two strong arms on my shoulders and noticed that I was back at the castle, lying on a couch. Tyr was sitting beside me. He seemed to exhale when he saw I awoke from my trance. He quickly moved his arms away, but I wished he didn't. His presence was so calming. He didn't speak, and neither did I. I didn't know what to say.
I looked down in shame. First day here and I already managed to pass out. I was confused and scared at the same time. What really happened? It felt like my mind was being ripped in two.
The door banged open and Deidre and Atticus appeared. They looked frantic.
"Bella! You're awake!" Tyr was showed off the bed by Deidre and she took his place instead.
"We didn't know what to do! You just fell in the middle of the forest and started mumbling to yourself. You wouldn't snap out! I carried you to the castle but what happened?" She breathed it out in one take and her voice sounded close to hysterics.
I didn't want to tell her about my episode, "It was just so overwhelming. I guess I couldn't process so much information in one day."
Deidre calmed down and nodded in understanding. Suddenly her face morphed into an angry scowl and she started hitting Tyr everywhere her hand would land.
"I told you we shouldn't have told her that much!!! The poor girl is scared! You never listen to me Tyrael!"
To my surprise he remained calm and lazily caught her hands in mid air. Deidre didn't seem to leave a scratch on him. I found this mildly amusing.
I caught Atticus's eye and automatically wished I didn't. I could tell he didn't believe me. He looked so fragile and small. He couldn't have been older then 16. Yet behind his blue eyes there was ageless wisdom. He looked away and addressed Deidre.
"I think we've all had enough excitement tonight. It's almost morning. You guys can go and relax. I'll take Bella up to her room."
I smelt a conversation coming and I definitely didn't like it.
"Are you able to walk?" Tyr's deep voice sounded, and I looked at him in surprise. He must have mistaken my previous expression.
"Yes, I'm fine," and it was the truth. I felt strangely energetic. Then I remembered I just ate, which was probably the reason for my current well being.
I walked with Atticus, and realized this would be our first conversation. He had his usual soft smile gracing his features and looked every bit like an angel. As we walked down the hallway, I heard music coming from behind one of the doors. It sounded like a heavy guitar riff.
"That's Blaise. He figured we'd be able to take care of you without his help. I'm sorry about him, but he was really close to Kane, and his death probably affected him the most out of all of us. I guess we expected it to happen eventually. He was unhappy during his last months. It hurt to see him like that," Atticus's voice radiated sadness.
"I'm sorry," I didn't know what else to say.
Atticus looked at me and smiled, "Oh it's not your fault. If anything you brought him out of his misery. I think he welcomed death. He thought of it as another adventure. Kane was one of a kind."
We reached my room, and I opened the door. I hoped I was wrong about the conversation, but as soon as I saw Atticus's face I could tell it was coming.
"Wait, Bella. Are you sure you're alright? Did something else happen in the forest?"
His eyes were so big and round. It took all of my strength not to tell him.
"I'm fine, really! Sorry for making you guys worry. It's just too many things at once you know? And I can't even sleep on it," I gave him a confident smile and tried to change the topic.
"What to you do with all this time anyway?"
Atticus didn't seem satisfied but gave it a rest, "Well, we have a big library. I can spend days in there. Also I'll tell Deidre to buy you a computer next time she goes out to the city. That'll give you something to do. But you should enjoy the free time while you can. I'm preparing a training program for you right now, and you'll start practicing with Tyr and Blaise soon enough."
Just imagining being with Blaise alone gave me shivers. And if we were fighting? I hope I survived the first session.
"The library sounds great, want to show me where it is?"
Atticus's smile turned even brighter as he started walking back, and I followed him.
Somehow I had a feeling I would not enjoy the next couple of weeks.