Chapter Five
I was only confined to bed for another day, and by that time I had my school bag, and Iris, back. Carlisle said that I could stay in the spare room, whilst apologizing about how small it was. "I'm afraid it's the only room we have," He said, standing aside to let me in.
"Oh no...this is...fine," I stuttered. This is small!
The room was, admittedly, smaller than any hotel bedroom I'd stayed in, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in substance. A double bed, decorated in a plush, purple duvet, with satin and silk lilac cushions, and a snow white mattress, took up the most room. A wardrobe, desk, mirror and bookcase made of cherry wood stood around the room, amongst plants and suspiciously ancient looking portraits.
"I hope you'll be comfortable here," Carlisle said quietly, smiling as he made to leave.
"Carlisle!" I said suddenly, as he pulled the door shut. He looked back in, a worried expression on his face, "Yes, Morgana?"
"Thank you," The emotion in my voice was only mostly false.
He smiled warmly, before closing the door softly. I bit my lip, why was I getting so worked up about vampires? I needed to go and clear my head, but I couldn't exactly sneak off to my lake. Instead, I crossed the room to one of the glass doors on either side of my bed, and slid it open quietly. I padded across the wooden balcony, my bare feet leaving impressions on the wood that faded as soon as they came. I leant on the low wooden barrier, allowing the cool wind to caress my face and lift my hair from my back. I closed my eyes, my eyelids pulsating painfully. It had been a long few days.
I seriously needed to go things over in my head, but I was sure that Edward was around somewhere. At least I had Iris with me now. I stayed outside for a while, watching the forest move and whisper around me, until tiredness began to gnaw at my body. I wasn't ravishing the thought of sleeping in the same building as a coven of vampires. Although, it didn't seem likely that they'd treat me like this to kill me in my sleep. It wouldn't make sense. I slid the black silk dressing gown - that stank of vampire - onto the floor as I slid the door shut. I considered locking it, but it didn't seem likely that they'd try to get in from outside when they had a perfectly good entrance inside. Besides, if I needed a quick escape...
Before I got into bed, I retrieved Iris from my bag and slid it under my pillow. The golden light of the bedside lights pooled onto the blade, reflecting off of the deceptively liquid amethyst surface. I settled under the covers, the soft fabric making it difficult for me to stay awake. Something about the warmth, of the building and the vampires, had left me feeling open. Like my emotions were slowly being laid out in front of me, and there was no way that I could lock them up. If father saw me now...
I drifted into an uneasy sleep, filled with yellow eyes, and teeth, stakes and blood and torture, and the dying scream of my mother.
...
I woke up early in the morning, the sky only just turning light, with the Sun battling to break through the endless cloud. I dressed quickly, and slid Iris into the inside of my jeans, the slender blade invisible to even a vampire's eyes. Straightening the white blouse carefully, I shook my hair out indifferently, and without even looking in the mirror, stepped into the vampire's territory. There was a quiet buzz of the television downstairs, and a sudden deep, "Whoop!"
I didn't even know they showed games at this time in the morning. As soon as I reached the bottom of the staircase, I glanced across at Emmett and Jasper, lounging on the sofas. "Morning," I greeted them, throwing myself into the space beside Jasper. It didn't occur to me until a few moments after that that probably caused him discomfort. "Who's winning?"
They both turned to look at me, as if they were shocked that I had an interest in it. In my defence, there was very little showing in most hotels I stayed in other than sports, and my natural interest in more 'boyish' pursuits probably fuelled it too.
Emmett rattled off the name of the team, scores, and individual performances of each player on the field. I caught Jasper's eye half way through it, and he rolled them good-naturedly. I laughed, and Emmett frowned, before glancing at my wrist.
"Heard you stabbed yourself,"
"Apparently so,"
"Not as good as a vampire then are you?" He grinned mischievously,
"Depends what you're talking about. Speed? Strength? Intelligence..." I smirked,
"Hey!" He looked offended,
"What's going on?" All three of our heads snapped to look at the staircase. Rosalie, as much the snow queen as ever, was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a cold, sardonic expression on her face.
"Game," Emmett said, looking back to the screen. I gave her a wry smile. I'd seen her walking around whilst I was bedbound, but I'd never spoken to her, and she didn't look like she wanted to be spoken to. She stood still in the same spot, barely paying me any attention, until Esme walked in from the kitchen. "Good morning, Morgana. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you. Your house is beautiful," I added. Esme had visited me more than anyone else – apart from Carlisle – and brought me food and pillows and blankets, and essentially spoilt me rotten.
She beamed appreciatively, "Thank you so much. Are you hungry, dear?"
As soon as she said it, my stomach growled in response. The vampires all chuckled, apart from Rosalie, who looked positively disgusted. I'd eaten more in these past couple of days than I had in months, and my body was growing used to it. It was going to take some serious work when this was done and over with to get back to a normal lifestyle. The thought made my heart cool, and I strengthened the disguise, "A little,"
Jasper turned to me, "Are you alright?"
I blinked, "Yeah, why?"
"You felt sad there for a moment."
My eyes narrowed in confusion, and I cocked my head to the side, "How did you know that?"
"I can feel people's emotions," He said. Emmett turned around,
"Oh here we go..."
"What?" Jasper asked, confused,
Emmett just grumbled something I couldn't hear, but obviously Jasper did. He kicked his shin, hard enough to break a human's bones. Emmett just guffawed, before turning back to his game. Jasper shook his head, his blonde hair brushing his shoulders.
"I can feel people's emotions," He repeated, "And I can manipulate them...If I want to,"
Great, so now I had to watch my thoughts and my feelings.
"That's impressive," Was all I said, propping my elbow up on the back of the sofa, and resting my head on my fist.
"So what about you, Morgana? What can you do?"
I can trick you, lure you in and kill you. I can make things from a single plant that would destroy you in a moment. I can lie to immortals, mind readers and empaths. And I'm about to destroy your entire family.
"Nothing."
He laughed, "I'm sure that isn't true."
"Sadly, I'm kind of useless."
"Now you are lying," He accused, a crooked smile playing on his lips.
Esme walked in from the kitchen, a plate full of steaming food in her hands. "Oh, wow," I gasped, taking the food from her. She'd made omelettes, but they smelled divine and just looking at them made my mouth water. I knew that he was trying to be polite and look away as I ate, but I kept catching Jasper watching me. When I'd done, I looked at him, "You want some?"
He pursed his lips, "I didn't mean to stare,"
"Don't worry about it," I waved him away and taking my plate, stood up and walked into the kitchen. As soon as I passed her, Rosalie moved over to the boys, not even looking at me. I raised my eyebrows. Apart from Esme, the women in this family weren't as open as the men, but I guessed that made sense when I was a female Bait. The small amount of male Baits we had, often Hunters who were too injured to work any more, were constantly busy with female vampires, and when one died, they were much more difficult to replace than female Baits. I took the plate to the sink and began to wash up. Esme must have gone back upstairs, as I was alone. Or at least I was. I didn't hear him come in, but suddenly he was behind me.
"Do you need any help?" He twanged, the mischief in his voice evident.
I jumped, shocked, and rounded on him, "That's not fair. I am injured. I can't function properly..."
He laughed as I tried to cover myself. I pushed him away as I moved around the kitchen, cleaning up after Esme. "You don't have to do that," He began, leaning against the table,
"It's the least I can do," I said, which was partly true. I reached for the towel on the oven, "Besides, maybe I like cleaning."
"You don't look like the kind of person who cleans up after herself,"
Offended, I turned to him, "What is that supposed to mea-ah!"
I yelped, pulling away from the hob which must have still been hot from the omelettes. "Damn," I hissed, holding my burnt hand gingerly. Suddenly, Jasper was there. His cold hands took my burnt one, pressing our skin together. I winced as it began to sting.
"You need to pay attention to what you're doing," Jasper scolded, his breathing a little ragged.
"Ow...I swear I'm not usually this clumsy," I said softly, mostly to myself.
His initial touch made me uncomfortable. I didn't like anyone, especially vampires, touching me. But as he rubbed his thumb against the burn, the discomfort was replaced by a pleasantly numb feeling, and slowly, I looked up at him. As if his numbing touch had spread to my mind, I found myself just staring at him. His gaze switched from my hand to my face, and I saw his expression soften slowly. Our eyes locked, and my mind just went...blank. I wondered for a moment if he was using his powers, but something inside me protested. This was me...
And I looked like I was about to make out with a vampire.
...
Please review! I don't know if I'm writing a decent story otherwise :)
I hope you like it :D
P.S Much more action laaaaattttteeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr. OH THE EXCITEMENT.