Hello, I'm back. My friend who lives in Germany had returned home, and I have the house to myself again. Woohoo. I just got this all wrapped up, and I'm posting it now. It's reallly late, bu quite long to make up for it. 15 pages on word, though I'm not sure how long that really is with all the annoying gaps word adds. Anyway, thanks to my wonderful beta Dr. Numanuma, and enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: Three guesses.
Edward POV
I was going to have to change Bella. My sweet, innocent love of a lifetime. She was going to become a monster. I didn't want this for her, and yet, it was the only thing she had ever truly asked for. And then Nia came in and said it had to happen soon. As soon as can be. So that she could piss off some wolves. I felt my temper boiling, and then dissipate into nothing. Jasper. I read his mind, knowing that he would be talking to me. Sorry Edward, but I was afraid you were going to break something. He was right, I was about to break something. Bella's upset, you might want to come down here.
I went down the stairs at vampire speed, making sure to slow down before I reached the bottom. When I walked up to Bella, it was as slow as any human. "Hey Bella. Let's go for a hike."
She looked up, her brown eyes curious. I didn't doubt she knew what Nia had been talking to me about. She wanted to know the outcome. Walking over to where I stood she asked, "The meadow?"
"No, I thought we could sit by the river out behind the house." Not a real hike, but somewhere to go that was out of sight, and if everyone didn't try to eavesdrop, then it wasn't so close they couldn't help to hear. She took my hand, warming it unconsciously with her touch.
The walk to the stream didn't take too long, even considering how often I had to keep Bella from falling on her face in her endearing way. Another thing I would miss when she gained the perfect balance of a vampire. We were sitting on the banks of the water, letting it wash over our feet.
"I guess you realized what Nia wanted to discuss with me."I barely smiled; it was so small that I didn't know if Bella could even see it.
"The same thing that she took me to talk about. She didn't want to get in trouble with you only to find out that I had changed my mind. What do you think?" I could hear her nerves in that sentence. She probably thought that I was angry with her. I couldn't be, but I was furious with myself. I was the one that introduced her to this world of monsters. My feelings must have shown on my face, because she drew away. I flinched, hating that she could think that I was angry with her.
My emotions must have been really easy to read, as Bella automatically came closer to me. It served to remind me that Bella was more afraid of me being angry with her then what I was. She wanted to be what I was, so that she could be with me forever. I carefully smiled at her, reassuring her that I would never be mad at her.
"It's your choice, love. You already know my opinion, but if you decide you want it, then I will give it to you." I couldn't help but add the last sentence, but immediately felt bad for it when I saw the faint lines of a frown appearing on her forehead.
"You will make me a vampire?" Feeling guilty didn't stop her from making sure that I wasn't trying to trick her out of it.
"Yes, my dear Bella. I will make you a vampire." She smiled, and then she kissed me. I could feel how happy she was, and despite my unhappiness with the decision, I smiled into the kiss.
"When?"
My smile fell into a light frown. One that I made sure Bella thought was only me thinking. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in between my thumb and forefinger. "Probably the day after tomorrow."
For the first time I saw that Bella looked frightened of what she decided. "You don't have to do this, you know."
"I want to; I want to spend the rest of eternity with you."
"I love you, Isabella Marie Cullen."
"I love you, too," she murmured, leaning into my body.
We just sat there for about ten minutes, letting ourselves enjoy the sunny day. Then Bella suddenly sat up. "Let's go tell everyone what we decided. I'm sure that Alice has refused to tell anyone but Jasper, and Nia has tried to fight one of them over it by now."
I smiled, sure that my wife was telling the truth. Nia would be at Alice's throat if Alice didn't inform her, and Alice's love of surprise, mystery, and privacy for others meant that she wouldn't tell.
We walked up to the house, me listening into the thoughts of my family. Edward, I know you're listening. You'd better stay clear of Nia's thoughts. She's thinking about the Pack. Also, Bella said she wants to be changed, and tomorrow would be a good day. I stopped before I even really got started. Tomorrow. Bella wouldn't be the weak human anymore. Except that I had never thought of her as weak. She was one of the strongest women that I had ever met.
There were only two people in the living room when we entered. Bella gave Nia a small smile, and she leaned back against Adrian's chest lazily. I felt cold, the knowledge of what was going to happen making me want to leave, keep Bella from ever going through those three days of torture. Nia raised an eyebrow at me.
"Tomorrow."
"I'll go to the wolves tomorrow afternoon then. They really need to know as soon as possible." Adrian whispered into Nia's ear, and with my hearing it wasn't hard to understand.
"You need to tell them about Artemis as well." Nia looked upset, and for once I understood. The last blood relative she trusted betrayed her, even after she risked so much to save her.
"I will. I'm going to have to think of a way to tell them that without giving them a reason to come after us. They don't like me as it is."
Adrian didn't say a word, didn't even change his expression. I think we're going to have to fight our way out of there. They don't like us, and Nia's about to make them madder. I'd forgotten how often that Adrian and Fang suppressed whatever they were thinking. Adrian less often then Fang, but then again he only did it because if Nia saw that he was nervous about anything she wouldn't bring him. She was fiercely independent. Maybe we should arrange to be out of town for Bella's change, to make sure that the mutts didn't bring the fight here.
I wanted the last day of Bella's mortal life to be perfect. Perfect for her, and a perfect ending of seeing her safe from herself for me. Tomorrow would be the last day that she didn't have to worry about being a danger to someone by just being near them. She trusted me to keep her from hurting anyone, but how could I be sure? Sure that I wouldn't slip, wouldn't forget to check in on her at some point? If she ever hurt anyone, it would kill her. And it would be on my conscience.
Nia had restarted her whispering to Adrian, but I ignored them, distracted by my planning. Bella would have to spend time with her father, of course. It would be nice for her to get to spend time with Renee as well. Since we couldn't make it down to Jacksonville though, we would have to settle with a phone call. After Bella finished that, she would be very stressed. Which led me quite neatly to what we could do next. I would take her to the meadow. That would also give us a place to meet up with Nia. She could go from there to the wolves, and we could go to the house. That was when I would change her. If we had to go somewhere else, we wouldn't do it until she couldn't notice. She would be more comfortable in our house.
Nia took Adrian and slipped out of the room. I looked over at Bella, carful to make sure that I was smiling.
"Bella love, do you want to go tell the rest of the family?" She nodded, looking ridiculously nervous.
"You know they love you and want you to be a part of our family, right? They will be thrilled."
"All but one." It was true. Rosalie had been behaving nicely, but she wouldn't be thrilled with Bella's choice. Just not for the reasons Bella believed.
"It's not that she dislikes you Bella. She still doesn't really deal well with this life. She thinks that you're throwing away too much just to be with me." I wished that Rosalie's disapproval would keep Bella from wanting herself to be changed; I knew that it wouldn't work. Bella was one of the most determined people in the world, I didn't doubt.
"Maybe if I explained things to her..."
"I doubt it love. As I've told you before, Rosalie can be very pigheaded."
"I don't want her to hate me."
"She doesn't."
"Well, you can't tell me she thinks that I'm her sister, like she does Alice." Bella looked at me, worried, with an unsurprising amount of determination.
"It takes Rosalie a while to warm up to people. Just give her time."
"As long as she thinks that I'm wasting my life on what she no doubt thinks is a teenage shadow of true love, she won't come to think of me as worth her time and friendship. I need to explain to her, to tell her that I love you as much as you love me."
"I don't think that's possible." I smiled, showing her that I wasn't doubted her love. Just that anyone's love for any other person could match the way I felt about her. She smiled back at me, leaning over to give me a soft kiss. Venom pooled in my mouth, forcing me to pull back. I lead her over to the door, keeping her in my arms as we walked. Proving to myself that I could be controlled while I was near her. Even if it wouldn't be necessary for much longer, it was still a comforting idea. I wouldn't hurt her. Not by accident, anyways.
"Everyone, we're back. We need to speak to you soon, if not now." Obviously now would do well, because all of them appeared at the door. Even Rosalie was there. Let's meet in the dining room, there is more space there. Carlisle is right; it is also one of the few places where no one will have a ready made excuse to sit in their lover's laps. Rosalie was not happy, and if we were in the living room, Emmett might decide that the best way to calm her would be to kiss her. Multiple times.
Are you going to tell everyone that you are changing Bella? Nia is ready to kill for the information. I nodded slowly, and saw Alice's eyes widen. Then she grinned--widely. This was the same room where Bella had gotten my family to side with her against me in damning her. It seemed ironically fitting that this be the room where we told everyone when Bella would be come one of us.
"Bella has asked again to be changed, and again I agreed. The difference this time is that Nia warned us that this had to be done soon. Bella is willing to speed things up, though she has heard my thoughts on the matter. We will do it the day after tomorrow."
"Good." It didn't surprise me that Nia was the first to speak. She stood from her seat and, far more surprisingly, gave Bella a firm hug. "You did well for yourself, Bella. I always thought that you would have amazing luck." She stepped back, but she wasn't near finished speaking. You did well for yourself as well, Edward. You deserve each other, and are a ridiculously good match. Yes, I think you will enjoy the rest of eternity, brother of mine. She smiled deviously at my surprised look. No, dear sibling, it was no slip of the tongue or joke when I called you that. You didn't think you were like my brother by now? You're married to the closet person I have to a sister nowadays.
Nia thought all this through quickly, knowing that my family wanted to speak as well. But before she finished, she made herself the center of attention. "I'll be back in...Crap, I've never been good at this kind of planning." Adrian looks at her questioningly. He obviously hadn't been told that they were leaving. Though Nia spoke as though only she were leaving, everyone knew that Adrian followed her wherever she went. That's just how he was, even though to my knowledge they had never really talked about it. They both knew, and that was good enough.
Even without being told they were leaving, Adrian obviously knew how long Nia wanted to be gone. "We will be gone for the next day from Forks, but we probably won't see you for another four days." Nia looked at him, and nodded. To my knowledge, Nia very rarely made plans without some input Adrian, or Adrian without her, and I didn't know if this is how the plans always form. Also, I vaguely wondered how many of their plans were Adrian's. From what I had seen, Nia lead the two of them, and Adrian didn't mind. But I didn't doubt Adrian had more power then either of them cared to show. She smiled especially at Bella.
"I wish I could be here, but I haven't checked up on the Flock in days. And with everything going on lately, I have a feeling we should all see each other until one of us wants to take Adrian's pistol and shoot someone in the head.
I smiled lightly, not doubting that she was right. Adrian walked up to Bella and me, smiling quietly. "I wish you a good eternity." He walked off, thinking to himself. I wish one for them, but I seriously doubt Nia and I will get them. I also don't think she only wants to check in on the Flock, though we will probably drop by--I said farewell to Nia, but my focus stayed on Adrian's thoughts. He must have noticed, because he smirked over at me. How much you bet we end up dropping in to scare Artemis? Nia is none to happy with her darling sister at the moment. I gave him a smile of my own. I wouldn't mind seeing Nia have a discussion with the sister who betrayed her; no doubt she really would scare the girl. I didn't think she would hurt the girl, unless she decided it would be dangerous not to.
The two teens slipped to the back of the room, though they didn't look to be leaving. They let the rest of the family come over to congratulate us, and I knew that the next time Bella looked in their direction, they would be gone. Only inhuman beings could ever hear those two it they decided to go silently.
Alice was first of my family to come over. "Oh I am so happy for you. I knew he would say yes, but it was a bit sooner then Emmett thought it would be. He was the only other one who would venture an opinion."
Bella laughed. "Was it a bet or did he just come out and say something?"
"I just said something of course. I wouldn't bet against my dear sister here, that would just be stupid. Congrats sis, I knew Edward would break eventually."
"Thanks Emmett."
The family continued telling us of their pleasure, even Rosalie came over to add something.
"I hope you know what you're doing. Good luck." That was all she would give. But I could tell that even a little was enough to please Bella. She wanted so much to be liked by everyone. And no matter how many times I told her that Rosalie just wasn't sure that Bella was making the right choices, she would never believe me. She had a distorted view of her self worth. I nodded my thanks to my blonde sister.
After everyone had finished, I took Bella up to our room. "What do you want tomorrow?"
Bella looked at me, worried about something. Again I wished that I could read her mind, was she worried about the change. No, she hadn't looked upset until I mentioned tomorrow. "I would like to go see Charlie. Just one last time." She mumbled both sentences, and looked up at me through her lashes when she was done. She was worried that I would be upset? I had to know.
"What's wrong? We'll go see Charlie after he gets off from work. Or before, if you would prefer that."
"You're going to feel bad about all this, and when you remember my family it's going to make you feel worse. I don't want that."
"I'll be fine, Bella. There's nothing wrong on my end of all of this, I swear."
"You're lying." She looked miserable, but me telling the truth wouldn't help that. And I would lie for the next hundred years if I thought that it would be any more successful the truthfulness. Changing the subject was immature and silly, but that might just work.
"Adrian thought that they would end up doing more then just talking to the Pack and seeing the Flock."
"What was he thinking they would do?"
"Go see Artemis. He said Nia's not to happy with her, and they might need to talk a little."
"Are they going into Volturi Castle?" She was still worried of course, but now that she wasn't talking about me being hurt she looked better. Not good, but better would have to do for now.
"I doubt it. I don't think Nia gets to do that kind of thing as often when Adrian's around. Boyfriends and husbands both tend to put a stop to that kind of thing." I was careful to smile at little at that, after all the point was to relax Bella a little.
"I believe Fang does that kind of thing too. But don't mention that to Max."
"Not if you value the ability to remain peaceful." She laughed, and I smiled for real this time. Relief tended to make you do that sort of thing. But her worry soon returned.
"What's Nia going to do then?"
"I believe she was just going to poke around in the city and wait for Artemis to come out. I wouldn't be surprised if the Volturi sent her out for things they needed when the sun was out, and Nia's smart enough to see that. She also might be wanting to find out a little more about the terms of the alliance we recently met up with."
Bella nodded quietly, it did sound like her friend. I remembered Nia's congratulations thoughts. In the bird-girl's mind at least, we were her family and friends, along with the Flock. She had decided years ago that her parents belonged in the scrap heap, which I agreed with, and until a few months ago, it was too dangerous for her to speak with her sister. Now her sister had betrayed her. I could see how this group of people was all that she could call family.
We lay down on the bed that was now in our room, which is what used to be my room. Bella curled up against my body, and I carefully put a blanket in between us, trying to keep her warm. She drops off to sleep quickly; I only hummed a few notes before her breathing slowed. She smiled in her sleep, and I wished her good dreams.
Alice came in and smiled, "Nia's coming back once Bella is changed."
"What? She's human, or close enough. She can't come; Bella will have trouble not getting to see anyone. If she sees someone and attacks her, it would kill her." Our words were almost silent, but vampires didn't need volume to be understood.
"Nia smells almost as bad as a dog. I think that she wouldn't tempt even a newborn."
"Have you had a vision?" I saw in her face that she had, I didn't even need my powers.
Yes. Here:
Nia walked over to the house, except that once Adrian was in the lead. His face was turned, like he was talking back to her. She looked miserable, like someone who had seen or done something terrible.
In the next picture/vision, Bella was sitting with me on the couch. Nia was telling something, and this time she looked close to tears. She was gesturing with her hands about something as she spoke. Most importantly, Nia and Adrian didn't appear to be in any danger vampires.
I nodded to Alice, and, having shared her information, she walked out the door. A short conversation, but she knew that I wanted to just relax for a few hours, and pretend to sleep beside Bella.
The night passed quickly, and I wasn't ready when Bella woke up. I never got bored in the nights, though I had talked to Nia and Adrian when they had stayed in Bella's room before the wedding. They stayed up half the night each, used to taking watch, and we would sometimes have a conversation. But tonight I had just laid down, and thought of nothing except how Bella looked, or just thought of nothing at all.
I smiled at Bella as she looked drowsily at me. "Morning, love. What do you want to do until Charlie gets off?"
"Breakfast and coffee," she looked far more tired then she should be after a night of peaceful sleep. And she very rarely asked for caffeine, it tended to have a strong effect on her. But she looked like she was about to go to sleep once again, so I decided that the coffee would have to come with breakfast.
"Let's go downstairs and find something for my beautiful wife to eat, hmm?"
I stopped my mind where it was. If I got the rest of the way down this staircase thinking like this, Bella would see it on my face. And if she saw it, then she would think I was mad at her and feel terrible. I distracted myself with what we had that she could eat for breakfast. It wasn't near enough to distract my mind, but I forced myself to think on that alone. It lasted me until I reached the bottom of the stairs, and then I had Bella herself for a distraction.
"What do you want?"
"Hmm..." Bella looked thoughtful, and I didn't doubt she really was thinking about it. "Do we have the stuff to make pancakes?"
"I'm sure Esme will have picked up everything we need to make whatever you would like." Sure enough, there was milk in the refrigerator, and flour in the pantry. Other ingredients were scattered around the kitchen. Bella started gathering it all up into one spot on the counter, and I let her. I didn't want to argue with her today, especially not over something like who would make breakfast.
Bella made her breakfast, walking into the table as she sat down to eat. I watched her as her jaw moved, as the crossed and re-crossed her legs.
We went into the living room, to watch some of Bella's favorite movies. One of her requests was that, other then seeing Charlie, today be low key. And, until my family got home from school, work, and wherever Esme had arranged to be, then that was what we were going to do. Truth be told, I wasn't going to mind a peaceful day with Bella in the least.
We watched movie after movie, letting the day just pass by at the pace of Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice. I made Bella a sandwich as she changed movies for lunch, and she ate as she watched the TV, leaning up against me. I spent as much time watching her as I did the movies, but I was enjoying myself.
Leaving the house at around three made getting out before everyone got home easy. We went straight over to Charlie's, even though usually I still thought of it as Bella's. Everything remotely related to Bella was hers to me. Everything was connected to her somehow, and everything was hers. Bella let us in, and went straight to the kitchen.
"I'm making us dinner. I'll bet he's been eating pizza and frozen dinners since I left. He deserves a good meal." She looked sad, and I wrapped my arms around her carefully.
"You can back out, you know. No one would be upset." I repeated the lie that I had told before, Alice and Nia would both be disappointed, even if they weren't angry.
"I want this. I just need to remember what I'm getting out of it." She smiled at me, though I could tell that it was only partially a true expression, "It's worth it. All of it." Bella thought that was the truth of it too, even if she was wrong. She thought that I was worth it, and I wasn't worth a quarter of the pain she would be going through.
I left the matter where it stood, Bella would never change her mind and it would only make it worse if she had to fight with me about it at this point. She got out all the ingredients for steak and potatoes, which granted weren't many. She fixed dinner, and I sat by the table just like we had done when Bella still lived here. I smiled as I watched here wander silently, to human ears at least, around the kitchen, moving things around and placing food in the oven.
We followed that small, simple pattern until Charlie came home. When he did, Bella had dinner ready and had moved to sit on the table beside where I stood.
"Hey Dad, I made you some dinner." She smiled at him, and I felt my guilt at taking this away from her surge.
He smiled back, reminding me of something else to feel sorry for. I was taking her away from her father, a man who had come to need her in the last months. He looked at the two empty plates on the counter, ready for Bella to put the hot food on them. Then he looked over to me. That boy never eats anything. I wonder if he's even planning on staying. I took that as my cue.
"I'm only here for a moment. Carlisle wanted me to look into a college's programs, but I wanted to say hello."
"Oh. Hello, then."
I gave my mildly surprised wife a kiss, murmuring, "He deserves to have his daughter to himself for a few hours. After all, I get you forever." She nodded to me with an extra-large smile, and gave me a kiss in return.
"I'll see you after dinner." This time my voice was loud enough for Charlie to hear.
"I love you."
"More then the world."
With that, I left. I had lied to Charlie about the colleges of course, but I was planning to look and see if Nia and the Flock could come into the house with Bella being a newborn. I knew they didn't smell good, and that might be enough to make it safe enough for them. And if I didn't do it now, I would have to do it sometime in the next three days while Bella was changing. I wasn't going to leave her side then, so that left now to get things done.
I sat across from Carlisle as I explained to him what I was worried about. Nia planned on coming as soon as Bella was changed, without even thinking about his oldest friend's new needs and insatiable thirst.
"I would think it would be fine. The Flock smells no better then birds or, in Nia's case, reptiles, neither of which are frequently ravaged by vampires, no matter how thirsty they are. I wouldn't add that worry to what you are already facing, Edward. You have plenty to think about."
Everything is going to be fine, Edward. It's understandable to be upset, but you need to relax a little. I know it sounds foolish, but your worry is going to start worrying Bella soon, if it hasn't already.
I gave one deep nod. He was exactly right about Bella, but I didn't see anything I could do to stop the worry. I left the house and went on a walk though the woods, taking small game as I went. Small game was disgusting and I wasn't really thirsty, but I wouldn't be hunting for the next three days, and that entire time I would smell Bella's enticing blood. I would even go hunting again tonight after Bella went to sleep.
After hunting a little, I went to pick Bella up from Charlie's.
"So Edward, what did the college programs look like?" asked Charlie easily.
"They looked informative, but it was chiefly medical classes, and I know that Bella isn't at all interested in any of that. But Esme said that there is another school in the same city that offers more in English, so they want me to go and look at them both with Bella after she sees the course list." Another lie of course. Not very well told at that, but I was distracted. Early tomorrow morning, I would have to kill my wife. I would do it, and even if the Devil didn't have my soul already, he would have it after this.
Bella, sensing my worry and impatience to leave this house and the requirements of acting human it involved, politely and almost unnoticeably hurried our departure. In less then ten minutes we were in the car, and in less then fifteen we were at my house, thanks to my driving.
Our house was quiet, the family settling down out of new made habit to allow Bella to sleep. It was only then that I noticed that we had stayed out until ten or eleven in the evening. We didn't need to worry about what everyone would do when they got home to make us relax, because for the most part we had avoided them.
Bella slept through the night, although her dreams bothered her. She tossed around on our bed, begging someone, "not to touch him. Please don't hurt him." Only Bella's nightmares would focus on someone else's safety on the eve of her death. "Shhh... I'm right here, love. No one is getting hurt. I swear to you, no one will be hurt." What I liar I was. In less then 12 hours, she would be in agony. I touched her face, played with her hair. She hummed lightly, and leaned her head into my hand. Her dreams soon quieted.
It was early in the morning when Bella woke up. She smiled at me quietly, "Judging from last night's dreams, sleeping won't be something I miss." I kissed her, inhaling her scent deeply. She stopped breathing for a moment and I smiled as I backed away.
"I'm going to miss comforting you in your sleep love." My smile because something sadder, I could feel it. But I couldn't stop it form happening.
"Come on, I want some breakfast." How much do you bet she throws it all up later? I heard Emmett think. But Esme's mind obviously worked differently, and there were pancakes on the table when we walked in.
"Here you go, Bella dear."
"Thank you Esme. You didn't have to do this, you know."
"I wanted to." Bella ate in small, clean bites, and talked easily to each member of the family that walked in. I saw her nerves, and Jasper would be able to feel them, but I doubted that anyone who didn't know her would notice. She had gotten better at hiding what she felt.
After she finished the meal, I slipped my arms back in their comfortable position around her waist. "Are you certain?" She flashed me a smile and kissed the hollow of my throat.
"Positive."
Moving so that I was holding her hand, I lead the way to my bedroom. She laid on the bed as I got out a syringe of morphine. I wasn't sure how much it would do, but it had to be worth a shot. The needle slipped easily into her vein, and I suppressed a shudder. Even with the morphine (if it helped at all) this was still going to hurt him. Her eyes drooped a little, and she smiled at me. The smile grew on her sweet lips as she grabbed my hand to kiss it. That was all she could reach until I lowered my head to kiss her myself. Then, as quickly as my supernatural abilities would allow, I moved down to bite her neck. Then each wrist.
"Thank you, Edward."
I savagely bit my lip as I mentally praised the inventor of morphine. I didn't know yet if it would help with the pain, but it made Bella's blood taste off, making it easier to back off. Not easy, but easier.
"I don't deserve your thanks, love." It was quiet, too quiet for her to hear, and it didn't make me feel nay better. But I said it anyways. I was telling the truth, the miserable, deadly truth.
"Edward, it burns Edward." She didn't calm until I grabbed her hand.
"Shh... it will all be better soon. Just a few days. I love you, more then anything." She stopped screaming, letting the sound fade into whimpers. Edward, I'm sorry, I can't stay. I've got to leave. Jasper's thoughts came at me with a wash of guilt. I soon realized that that it was my own feelings as Jasper released his hold on my emotions. My guilt of twenty seconds before was nothing compared to now, and I couldn't blame Jasper for leaving. This is what he was dealing with?
Every time Bella let out a whimper, a new part of my body started to burn. I thought for a moment that I was being changed again, that I was being damned again. But then Bella whimpered, and I remembered. I wasn't damning myself that had been done years ago. I was damning Bella. Bella. Beauty. The Italians had it wrong. She was far more then beautiful, even as her face was twisted in pain and her hands grabbed at my shirt desperately. And I was killing her.
For three days, Bella was in agony. I felt all o fit as if it happened to me, and I wandered between guilt and simple physical pain. I preferred the pain, but guilt was what I deserved. That and more. I couldn't tell how time passed, or who of my family came to check on us. I couldn't even say when Nia and Adrian arrived, or the Flock.
Them it ended. As suddenly as if Jasper had returned out of pity, my pain stopped. I still felt guilty, but I could do more then just stare at Bella's perfect face. I listened for the thump of her heart, or the sounds of her pain. They were gone, and she languidly showed herself out before opening her eyes. Blood red, and more beautiful then I've seen the color.
"Hello, Edward."
"You're beautiful. Are you okay?"Alright, it was a random time to mention her beauty, but she was gorgeous. Over all the changes were limited. She was still a head shorter then me, with the same perfect waves of brown hair. Her curves were more pronounced, and her fingernails were no longer the bitten ruins that I found so cute.
"No, I'm thirsty." I cold see her eyes becoming darker, turning into the dark red of drying blood.
"Let's go hunting." I'm in need of something myself."
With a broad grin, I opened a window. "Why don't we avoid the family until we've had something to drink?"
"Sounds good to me."
I went out first, catching her as she jumped out the window. For the first time ever, she didn't feel warm as she touched my skin. She felt normal, as if I had touched the flesh of anyone else in my family. But one thing didn't change. She still felt perfect in my arms, as if I was made to hold her. Despite that, I set her down to walk to the car. She wouldn't like being carried. I drove us far into the mountains, making sure we will miles from the nearest humans. I took the keys out of the ignition and put them in the glove box. There was no one around to steal them, and they would likely get lost on the hunt.
"How do I do this?" I moved to stand behind Bella in the trees, putting my hands on her waist.
"Breathe in, deeply. Do you smell something particularly good?" I smelled the air carefully, making sure before I gave her the last instruction. No humans, she could hunt safely. "Go after it. Go after what you want."I let go of her waist as she ran off. I pulled in more air, wanting to see what she had chosen. Elk, I didn't find it particularly appetizing, but she must have seen something in it. I wandered the woods myself, taking a couple of animals. Not much, but I had hunted well before I changed Bella, and I wasn't really thirsty. I had just wanted to teach Bella to hunt.
And hunt she did, for hours. I watched her after my two quick takes. She was beautiful, dangerous. Every movement would terrify and captivate, every sound was fearful music. When she was finished, there was blood on her formerly blue shirt, as well as sweat and tears from the change. Her face was clean, but the extra mess on her sleeve showed where she had wiped it off. Her smile was predatory but satisfied, showing that she was finished hunting for the day. Far fiercer then anything the human Bella would have shown, but still showed the compassion that was such a big part of her. More then anything that compassion reminded me that she hadn't really changed.
"I want to see everyone." I reached over to give her a hug, and she cringed away.
"I'm ruining your shirt, stop."
"I don't care. Don't worry. I haven't really hugged or kissed you for three days." Of course she worried about me. If not myself, then my belongings. Like I cared.
But the objections ended, and I debated whether I wanted to anger her be carrying her to the car. Then she started running. And I lost all thought about stopping her. She was so graceful, running past me like an angelic spirit. I chased after her, watching her hair whip around her face and her leg muscles stretch and contract. The Volvo came up in front of me, but I didn't know that I wanted us to stop. We did, so I opened the door up for Bella before hopping over the silver roof to open my own door.
"I told you hunting wasn't hard."
"It really isn't. Who all is at the house?"
"You really need to learn everyone's scent." I listened carefully around, I could hear their thoughts, and I could smell them, though it was just the trail they all left around here by walking out so often for privacy.
"That doesn't answer my question." Her tone was chastising, but I could see her grin.
"Sorry love. All our family, and all the Flock."
"Do either of these groups include Nia and Adrian?"
"They are part of out family, even if they are a little distant." The smile Bella gave me would be worth anything, and I was for once telling the truth. The Flock were close friends, but Nia was family. Nia hadn't told the whole story of every time she did it, but we all know she went by every so often to clear up things with the wolves.
In the driveway, everyone's thoughts went into overdrive. Hurry up, I want to see her. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. The wolves are pissed, but not worth too much worry. Emmett, Jasper, and Nia were the loudest, it kind of made sense. Emmett would be excited and loud, Jasper was feeling bad, and Nia wanted to share the new information on the wolves.
We walked in the room, and I nodded at Nia. I also made myself feel accepting and forgiving to show Jasper that I understood, though it wasn't hard to do. It wasn't his fault; it was mine. He looked at me gratefully. Then, to my shock, he got up to give Bella a hug.
"I'm glad that Edward found you, the emotions around here are so much better now."
"Thank you Jasper." I saw her look of pure joy, she had always worried about the distance Jasper was forced to keep, although she didn't blame him. Everyone came for hugs, even the Flock. Adrian and Fang even gave her a smile, although neither were big on hugs.
"Hey Bells, you look amazing."
"How long do you get to stay this time?"
"Umm... until something or someone throws me out."
"Good, you're going to be here a while." Of course, a sort of human that Bella could be around safely. They sounded like good people to have around to me, they would notice things she did that weren't average for humans even quicker then we would, and Bella loved hanging out with me. I didn't doubt that Nia and Adrian at least would be here for a while, even if the Flock left sooner.