part three
Edward left school early that day, and Bella came with him, determined to avoid any more interrogations from Integral until they had a more concrete lie thought up.
They drove home as fast as possible, and the rest of the family was waiting for them. They were sitting in the dining room, all looking surprisingly cheery considering the worries that had hung over them that morning. Alice was furiously working on a laptop, typing so fast that she was in danger of damaging the keyboard.
"What happened at school?" Emmett asked.
"She refuses to let it go. She even threatened me when I walked away. Certainly not your average high school student. What have you found out?"
"The information doesn't add up." Alice replied. "She's been knighted, but she's listed as having some obscure government position. She has to have some hidden income, because her salary and her investments don't add up to her bank balance. Every time I try to get any information on her government job, I get redirected somewhere else."
"You can't get the information illegally?" Bella asked in surprise.
"Fake papers are one thing." Jasper said. "Information from the government of a foreign country is another. There's no way for us to get this information."
"She's not surprised or afraid of what I am. She may have encountered one of us before." Edward said.
"Then why start a fight?" Rosalie asked. "There's no reason. Besides, a nomad would have just killed her."
"Unless she won that fight." Jasper said. "But if she knows, why ask? She would have just given us up or tried to kill us."
"If she has a government job, she'll have contacts. She can tell someone who'll believe her." Alice said. "We're not safe if she opens her mouth to anyone."
"Then we get rid of her." Rosalie hissed ."As we should have already done!"
"No." Esme said. "We can't consign her to death for our mistake."
"We can't stand aside and let her destroy us, either." Jasper pointed out. "She's seen too much. If we don't take her out, the Volturi will."
"Unless she wins." Bella said. "Unless whatever saved her from Edward decides to kill us all. Maybe we should run, while we can."
"She hasn't done anything wrong." Edward said. All eyes went to him. "She was threatened and she's fighting back. We're at fault here. We can't kill her because she refuses to keep quiet about what to her was attempted murder."
"We? You were the one who couldn't keep his teeth to himself." Rosalie hissed. "You want to die for her, go right ahead. But you can't take us all down with you."
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He wrote the title neatly across the top of the page. He added his name, the date and the class. It all looked like it had been typed; perfect handwriting was one of the benefits of being a vampire. He wrote the first sentence.
"Bella Cullen is the person I love most in the world." It was a generic start to an essay, and he wouldn't get any points for it, but his mind was in turmoil. Esme had forced them to break up the argument and had declared an hour's rest so that they could all calm down. No one was claming down, of course: Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper were already planning the murder, as if it was decided. Carlisle and Esme were downstairs, looking up possible new homes for the family. Bella was above him, presumably working.
He tried again to focus on the essay. He needed reasons, reasons why he loved Bella so very, very much.
He couldn't think of anything. It was shocking-Edward thought of himself as intelligent, and it was very rare for him to have no ideas at all. And this was only an assignment for school. He stared at the paper, telling himself to focus. There were plenty of reasons.
Yet not one came to mind. He flicked back through memories, all the way back to that horrifying first day when she'd come into Biology. He had said lots of things to her on the subject of love. Yet now, his mind was empty? Impossible. Ridiculous.
True.
It hit him, hard. He didn't love Bella anymore. The all consuming passion that had driven him to stay with her when she was intoxicating, the feelings that had persuaded him to make her immortal, were gone, or at least much tamer and no longer romantic.
Had he loved her? Vampires were frozen at the mental development that they had reached when they were turned. And he'd never met a seventeen year old who was mature enough to reach a level of affection higher than infatuation. That could turn to love. It did often turn to love. But it took time.
It really hit Edward for the first time in years that he was seventeen, and had bee seventeen for a long time. He had never really felt like a child, and yet it occurred to him he might, in some way, still be one. In his time, seventeen had been a man. Was he a man?
Bella had been warm. She'd been attractive. She'd been mysterious, with her shielded mind, and perhaps because he'd been no good at reading faces without the accompanying thoughts, he thought her original and unique and special.
But now he realized he could predict her and read her as easily as an ordinary human. He knew her. The fascination that had fed his first obsession was gone, and it had taken with it the all-encompassing affection.
Edward felt the guilt as keenly as he had once felt love. Bella was a vampire. She was no longer human. She had traded everything she had loved to follow him into the night, and now he wasn't in love with her? He would be a monster if he broke her heart that way.
"You, too?" Bella's voice cut into his thoughts, and he turned and saw she was at the door. She was holding a piece of paper much like his own, the same essay, the same blank page waiting for reasons that weren't there anymore. Relief washed over him, and it mad him even guiltier.
"Edward...Edward, I..." They were silent. There were no words to say: to admit that the love was gone seemed like a sin, like the pointless breaking of something fine and delicate. They had played a charade for years. Such a short time, and yet it seemed as if it had gone on forever.
But someone had to speak up. Edward said, "Bella." It was just a name, but she understood what he meant.
For the first time, they really saw each other: saw two people who were not angels, not perfect, but as capable of fault as themselves. The idols were smashed.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"It's okay." Bella lied. It was not okay. She was leaving her husband, the father of her child, and she needed to cry to someone. Who could she go to? The rest of the Cullens? Would they even understand, when they were all perfectly matched to their other halves? And the humans in her life were all gone, her mother and her friends. She was trapped.
"I'll move out." He offered, and Bella nodded. She turned and walked out of the room, feeling lost and sad. She wished she could cry.
Edward closed the door, and ripped the desk in half, watching it splinter into pieces.
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Integra sat up in bed, panting. She groped around for her glasses, and put them on, staring at the covers knotted around her legs. She was sweating.
It was an old nightmare, but it had yet to lose its potency. The sight of Richard, gun in hand, his smile promising death for her still haunted her dreams, even though the man was long dead. She'd had him cremated out of paranoia.
"Nightmare?" Alucard asked. He was sitting on his coffin, slurping blood. At the rate he was going through the stuff she was going to have to order more. She nodded, and got out of bed. Integra went into the bathroom and washed her face, then came back out and sat on the floor with her laptop. She knew better than to bother with trying to sleep when she'd had a nightmare.
"Can you cut down on the blood? It's expensive."
"But I'm thirsty." Alucard protested, as though this was an actual argument. Integra ignored it.
"You'll live." She said. "Or at least, you won't suffer for it." She put the computer aside-the email she was waiting for wasn't in yet-and she flicked on a lamp and picked up her script. She had been painfully learning the more romantic lines.
There was a crash outside her window, and Alucard grabbed her and dragged her away just as the glass broke. There was the sound of snarling and a blur of white as not one but two figures wrestled on her bedroom floor. One was Edward, and one was a blonde that Integra didn't recognize.
"Restrain them before they break something else." Integra said tersely. She picked up her bathrobe and put it on. The sound of the snarling increased, and then it fell silent; Integra turned around and saw Alucard had both of them pinned.
"Rosalie, you idiot." Edward said. He was glaring at the blonde. She glared right back.
"If you hadn't gotten in the way, she'd be dead." Rosalie shot back.
"Unlikely." Integra said. "So you came to kill me."
"We're willing to negotiate. Rosalie was just a bit hasty." Edward lied. Carlisle and Esme were willing to negotiate. Bella was out of town. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were not at all willing to try and compromise; they were just waiting for the right time. Well, Emmett would have come with Rosalie if she hadn't requested he stay behind.
"Negotiate what? You tried to kill me. Either you cooperate or I'll act." Integra said.
Rosalie and Edward looked at each other again. They were trapped, as it was. Edward silently cursed Rosalie for being rash; if she'd waited, or listened to him for a second, they wouldn't be her. They were now in danger of being killed and the odds of Integra keeping their secrets was much lower.
"What do you want?" Rosalie asked.
"Information." Integra replied. "What are you?"
Edward and Rosalie traded a third look. He could hear his sister's thoughts: she was against saying anything, but she couldn't see another way out of their predicament. She had the same thoughts as he did, then. He opened his mouth and confessed.
"We're vampires."
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After Alucard had finished laughing his head off, Integra asked another question.
"You're undead corpses that sleep in coffins and are burned by silver?" She said dubiously.
"Those are myths." Rosalie said scornfully.
"Elaborate."
Edward took over. "Vampires have hardened skin. Heightened senses. Our eye color varies depending on our diet. We're venomous-the venom causes intense pain and changes normal humans into vampires if it spreads."
"Can you die?"
"No." Rosalie said smugly. "We're immortal."
"Then it shouldn't matter if I tell people what you are, should it? How do I destroy you?"
"You'd have to tear us to pieces, and then burn us." Edward admitted. "Will you let us go?"
"Why should I?"
"I'm sure we can reach an arrangement. We don't want to hurt anyone if it can be avoided." He jerked his head towards Rosalie. "We're trying to protect ourselves."
"I'd be more inclined to believe that pretty speech if your teeth hadn't tried to rip open my jugular."
"Some people have more potent blood than others. It was a mistake, and I am sorry."
Potent? What does that even mean? It sounds like an excuse to me.
It means you're delicious, Master. I agree.
"So I smelled so good that you couldn't help but eat me, even though you encounter hundreds of other students and they seem to have survived the experience?"
"It's not a common thing. It's rare that someone's blood is so irresistible."
Integra considered what she knew so far. They presumably weren't feeding off the inhabitants of the town-she couldn't find any evidence of them doing so, anyways. They were a totally different species, with none of the usual weaknesses of the undead. She might be able to destroy this group, but she needed more information on their capabilities, as well as how many there were. Not only did she need it to conduct her own investigations, but it was her responsibility to forward all this to the American vampire hunting organization.
So they would live until she could confirm what they'd said as fact.
"How are you feeding?" She asked. "Just drinking in small amounts?"
"We feed off the local wildlife. We can't drink in small amounts. Vampires have feeding frenzies, like sharks-it's almost impossible to stop one you've tasted blood."
"How many of you are there?"
"I don't have an exact number. We travel in pairs, usually. Only those who abstain can stay in one place for long. We're in most countries-we prefer sunless places."
"Sunlight is dangerous to you, then?"
"No, but it reveals us for what we are. We sparkle."
"You sparkle?" Alucard asked incredulously. He looked like he was going to laugh some more. Integra wasn't sure if the Cullens had figured out that Alucard was a vampire yet, but if he kept laughing at them, they would suspect something.
Alucard. Be quiet.
They sparkle, Master.
"So you're a bunch of strong, fast, bulletproof bloodsuckers. You can't control bats or wolves?" What Integra really wanted to know was if they could do some of the things Alucard could do, like, hypnotism and messing with her dreams, but she thought that if she presented one possible power they'd talk about others. Edward was certainly forthcoming now, although that could be because he and his companion were pinned against the wall.
"We're predators. Animals dislike us. Those powers are myths as well-when you become a vampire, your dominant trait as a human is intensified. Some people can read thoughts. Some people can see the future, some can even manipulate elements. Some have much more subtle gifts."
"What do you do?"
"I can read minds." Edward decided not to mention that he couldn't read Integra's mind; it was a disadvantage that he didn't want her exploiting. She already had the upper hand.
"But you can't read mine, can you?" Integra asked. She had noticed a certain resistance to vampiric hypnotism soon after awakening Alucard. She had long suspected that the connection between them would have other benefits, and she was also certain that if Edward had been able to read her mind, he wouldn't have tried out for the play as to avoid temptation.
"No." Edward admitted, wondering how she knew. "Bella has a mental shield. My siblings can see the future, or influence people's emotions." He didn't mention Alice's limitations, either, although he suspected she would figure that out herself, soon enough. If Alice had been able to see the result of attacking Integra, they wouldn't have come. Her intelligence would have been admirable if she hadn't been using it against them.
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The rehearsals were further complicated when the set was finished and the props were brought in. Now they had to remember where the props were and when they were needed, and it took even longer to get set up and cleaned up everyday.
Linda was enjoying the bustle, however; she was excitedly keeping everything organized and carried around a clipboard everywhere. Integra was less happy; the tenuous grip the play had on order clashed with her sensibilities. Integra hated mess.
"Try on your dress, Integra; I wanna see how it looks." Linda said. Because they had been able to find anything in the school's costume supplies, Integra had ended up using the only formal gown she'd brought with her. It was an unadorned white dress that relied on the figure of the wearer for its beauty, and it was strapless, which meant Integra almost never wore it.
She went into the dressing room, and pulled the dress out of its garment bag. After some fumbling, she managed to get the zipper all he way up. She went back out onto the stage, taking care not to step on the hem of the dress, which dragged along the ground.
"Don't you ever eat, Integra?" Linda teased. "You're skinny."
"I exercise." Integra explained. She noticed Edward had arrived and he was looking at her. Probably trying to read her mind, she thought, and dismissed it. He wasn't the only one-several people had looked up and were watching her with interest. "Are we going to rehearse or not?"
"Places, everyone! We're starting from Mina and Dracula's love scene! Edward, get up here!"
Integra and Edward took their places onstage; the numerous crew members, all in black, hurried backstage; the rest of the cast hid in the wings, and Linda rushed down the steps and sat down, pen poised over her clipboard.
"My beloved, you cannot go." Edward began.
"But I must." Integra sighed. She began to walk away, and Edward grabbed her hand, pulling her back.
"Why should you suffer? We are safe here. Together."
"But we are not. My husband comes, with that mad man, Van Hellsing, and all his friends; they will kill you. I must leave."
"If you go, the sun shall set on my meager existence. Your pure, selfless love has rescued me from the moonless night of my life. I am blind to all beauty but yours; deaf to all voices but yours; I cannot go on without you. I beg of you, stay."
"But I must go, for even though we are flowers on a common bush, growing from the same stem, a storm brews high above. I will draw only terror and pain to this place. Let me go!" Integra raised a hand to her forehead and swooned backwards into Edward dramatically; she fell limply over her his arm and waited.
"My love, I cannot allow this!" Edward carried her offstage while she continued to swoon, and the actors playing Jonathan Harker and his friends rushed out, discussing the location of the castle and the coming storm.
"You can put me down now." Integra snapped as soon as they were out of sight. Edward let her slide to the ground, and she hurried out of the room to change. As she stripped off the dress, hung it back up, and changed into the nightgown she was wearing in the next scene, she wondered why no one in the play commented on the fact that Dracula had changed her clothes while she was sleeping. It seemed to go against the romantic theme of the play. Shrugging, she hurried back out to wait in the wings.
"You two have such great chemistry." Linda hissed as she came up behind them.
"Do we?" Edward asked. He looked almost pleased. Someone waved frantically at him from further backstage; apparently something was wrong with his microphone. "Excuse me."
"He likes you." Linda muttered as soon as Edward was out of earshot. "You know Bella's not at school? Apparently she's in another state now."
"I hardly even know him." Integra replied. "What does Bella have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, nothing. Except that he likes you, and his girlfriend's not here. Paints an interesting picture, doesn't it?"
"Not at all. Honestly, Linda." Integra sighed. She was fairly certain that Edward's interest in her wasn't 'like', it was extreme dislike because she was a threat to his convert existence. Linda had an overactive imagination indeed. She listened for her cue; the next scene was the one where she killed Jonathan.
She hurried out onstage as soon as the other actors were off and the scenery had been moved; she lay down on the bed ad closed her eyes, as if she was sleeping. Edward came in and leaned over her.
"My love, when will you awaken? I await you with every passing moment..."
"Uh," Integra pretended to struggle to sit up. She rubbed her neck. "My love?"
"You are awake. My heart swells with gladness for you."
"You should have let me go; they advance upon you with each passing moment! I beg of you, let me leave while there is still time."
Edward jerked Integra off the bed, and she fell forward onto him. "I cannot. Besides ,ti iis tool ate. They are here. Will you wait for me?"
"No! No! I cannot leave you!" Integra cried, and Edward shoved her on the bed. He strode off stage, and she began wailing. For a few seconds she continued, the stopped as the actor playing Jonathan Harker came in. His name was Eric, Integra recalled, and she waited for her cue.
"There you, Mina. Hiding here? What a silly girl you are." He shook his head. "Come along. Everyone is waiting for you."
"I won't come back with you, Jonathan. You've done so much to me."
"What else can you do?" He asked, laughing. "Where else can you go? That vampire is soon to die. For I have this..." He pulled a silver cross out of his coat. "Forged in holy water. It will destroy him."
"No..." Integra charged Jonathan. They moved, fighting, offstage, and there was a loud scream. A bloodied cross went flying out and landed in the center of the stage, and the curtains closed.
The ending was Integra's favorite part.
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