Chapter 14: Shield games
A clear bright dawn found Edward and I sat on the swing seat by the back door. The morning rays gently breaking though the trees sending the speckled light to reflect off our skin.
I sat twisting my hand this way and that, mini rainbows casting from my skin. I could feel Edward's amusement at my simple pleasure. I had a surge of annoyance at his laughter at me, for some reason. So I retaliated by using my shield to direct the rebounded light into his eyes.
He had a pinprick of annoyance before laughing out loud at me. He was in such a good mood at the thought of skipping school due to the sun nothing could get him down. I huffed and stopped all the refractions, blocking some of the wavelengths from reaching my skin.
I turned at stuck my tongue out at him, I really was in that sort of mood this morning.
His wonderment stopped me in my tracks. "What?" I asked him.
"Don't you see, you are in the sun but you aren't sparkling. Do you know what that could mean to us, to all of us, if your shield can stop the sun from causing us to sparkle? We can go out, we won't be tied to the shadows or areas with almost constant cloud cover. Can you shield me?" hope and astonishment came from him in equal measure.
I mimicked my shield, covering him in the same. It was his turn to sit just gazing stunned at his hand.
"You better keep this from Carlisle at least until after school time or you are out of an excuse!" I teased him.
A look of worry flashed across his face before he remembered Carlisle had an early shift today, he was at the hospital already. "You really do have a cruel streak, don't tease me like that," he tickled me in retaliation. The sullen, uptight Edward that each of the Cullen's see on a regular basis had disappeared without a trace.
I returned his tickles. He grabbed my hands to try and stop me, he didn't take in to account that I'm getting good at this shape-changing lark. I produced a third arm and continued tickling. I ignored his accusations of cheating but stopped tickling when he screamed uncle through his laughs.
Of course we had an audience by this stage. Emmett when into full tease Edward mode. Rose's exasperation at Emmett gave me an idea, I opened a link to Rose and asked, "Where are Emmett's ticklish spots? I want to get him and stop him from giving Edward so much stick, I like this Edward."
She grinned, agreeing with my reasoning. She listed different places. She told me behind his knees and his earlobes were particularly sensitive.
All Emmett's attention was on Edward so he never noticed a shield gently restrain him and my arms lengthen. I started with his ribs but soon added more hands saving the more sensitive spots for later. His guffaws changed to giggles, his screams deteriorated into high pitch squeals.
The rest of us were doubled over laughing at his humiliation.
My sides were splitting in laughter until I could tickle him no more. As I released the shield he collapsed in a heap still shaking.
Rose still shaking with amusement bent down to check on her husband.
Esme still chuckling asked, "What did we hear about not sparkling in the sun?"
"Step into the sun and I'll show you," I said with a flourish.
She stepped forward, the sun catching her dazzling us. I waited just an instant then covered her with a shield. Gasps of surprise preceded everyone talking at once.
"Do me, do me!" Emmett had bounced back from the tickling and wanted a shield on him.
I soon had eight vampires running around in the sun like giddy infants, all giggling and laughing, all because they weren't glittering. Mmm, maybe I should have introduced them to sun block when I first met them! I had tested sun blocks but they don't absorb so get rubbed off to easily.
Peter and Jasper wanted to do a distance test to find out my range to keep them protected. Alice and Jasper went headed towards Alaska, Charlotte and Peter headed south and east. Rose wouldn't accompany Emmett as he wanted to swim to Hawaii.
I sent a message to the Denali's and to Carlisle to let them all know I had covered them with a shield that should prevent them from sparkling in the sun. I tacked onto the end of the message I would fill them in when they arrived. I have dealt with Eleazar and Carlisle before, if I don't keep a lid on them they use the connection to rapid-fire questions.
I sent out shields so all fifteen vampires were covered. Once a shield is placed it remains until I take it off. The shields appear to tie themselves to their recipient not draining me beyond creating and situating them. The greater the level of protection the shield provides, the more power it uses; physical protection shields are a much bigger drain to create and maintain on all concerned. I briefly wondered if I could use that to weaken an attacker by trying the drain to them, then realised it's a bit pointless if I can just throw a total blackout shield on them like the one I used to restrain Emmett the other day.
It was early evening by the time the runners returned, distance from me had made no difference to the shields as we expected. I had fully briefed everyone of the latest discovery.
As Carlisle and I sat going over this development I though of another possible use for the shield. I didn't say anything about my idea but started working on Carlisle's shield to see if I could get my idea to work.
I put a few hints of white in his hair at his temples, I added a few creases in the shield round his eyes and across his forehead. I added a gentle crease from each side of his nose down the sides of his mouth. I added some texture to the shield to make the skin appear to have some imperfections. I gently shaded the shield over skin regions to give the impression of a tan, colouring each crease and indent slightly lighter. I even made his eyes appear a grey-blue. I inspected my work then asked if everyone would join us down stairs.
Carlisle looked at me quizzically, so I asked him, "Just play along, please."
We walked down the stairs, all eyes on me, waiting to find the reason for the latest gathering. As we reached the bottom of the stairs they did a double take at Carlisle.
"So do you think it will work so we can stay in an area longer?" I asked with a huge grin. I was very pleased with my work. Carlisle looked more like a man in his fifties.
I sent to Rose, "Can you grab a mirror? Carlisle still has no idea what I did to his shield."
She grinned and grabbed a hand mirror from her handbag.
Carlisle was getting very confused and frustrated. Rose handed him the mirror, "Just have a look."
He gulped, "It's my father!"
We all broke out laughing at him.
"How long did it take you to do this? Can you change it or replicate it easily?" he asked in breaking from his stupor.
"Watch," I lifted the mask facet of the shield, leaving it long enough so he could take in his normal features. I added in the appearance of a tan and the eye colour. I let him take in his new look then threw in the aged look he came down stairs with.
"It takes me a short while to build in the different features but when I have done it once I can replicate it in an instant. So do you think it will work so we can stay in an area longer?" I asked again.
What have I let myself in for? They were pushing it to stay in an area for ten years, this gave the potential to stay in an area for thirty years or more.
Make-overs all round. Alice directed, I just coloured and re-coloured until Alice was happy with the results.
I started to get bored so decided on some Emmett-style amusement. As Alice directed my work on Rose, I did some work on her. I made her hair look long, bleach blonde with noticeable dark roots and greasy, her skin I made the orange of too much fake tan and bad acne. I made her look overweight and changed the appearance of her clothes to look like a cheap scruffy tracksuit.
She didn't notice until Rose and Charlotte's giggles broke through. Their faces had been contorting for a while but the appearance of those clothes on Alice, just finished them off.
She was beyond furious with us. I don't think I have ever seen her as angry. She did see the funny side after I used the shield on all of us. Four twins, just heights and face shape distinguished us. I changed the colour of the tracksuits for fun. The boys heard us laughing but I had sealed the room so they had their turn to come.
We went out of the room with Alice approved appearance shields. The boys were very appreciative of our human appearances. While they were busy looking at us I threw the blonde, greasy, female look onto them. Alice had a camera at the ready.
They didn't know why she was taking photos of them until too late. They could do nothing about it. Some of the best photos are the ones of them pulling at the blonde locks to try and get rid of them and the action shots of them scrabbling to grab the camera.
I have never laughed so much as I have today. I came up with another use for the shield in my attempts at hiding the camera from them. I can use it as a camouflage. I tried invisible but that didn't work. I remembered watching a documentary of how they used cameras and screens to mimic the scene behind and make it appear on the other side of a vehicle to keep it unseen. By inverting a mirrored scene to the other side of the shield I can throw a chameleon shield.
The capacity of this is just staggering. I'm sure, once he has calmed down at me, Emmett will be an excellent accomplice to use it to it's full prank potential.
Carlisle and Eleazar saved me from the backlash of the boys horror. We went into Carlisle's study, the door now gets left open so the others can listen in if they wish. The potential of the shield, the topic of discussion.
We tested the effects of the shield with technology and photographic mediums, there are becoming far to many cameras in everyday life to afford missing that! I agree with them that altering the thermal conductivity of the shield so we don't feel as cold to the touch is a reasonable suggestion. Giving the illusion of softness and allowing a small amount of movement may give the impression of a less granite like skin hardness.
Now I love learning about most subjects and you would think when the subject is me it would be more interesting but when these two get started, well! To anyone that has learnt the fictitious Klingon language just because of a television show I take back any thought I ever had that you may be slightly obsessed. Carlisle and Eleazar took their interest in my shield to a whole new level beyond even that. Even with a vampire mind that works faster and can concentrate on many different lines of thought at the same time, they put me into that sleep like state, this trick has been perfected by a select number of speakers (teachers and professors seem to excel) worldwide as they drone on, hypnotising you into a stupor.
I don't need to hunt anywhere near as often as I claim I need to. I use the hunt excuse to escape the room without causing offence. I had barely had the thought to send Edward a quick message when I sensed him. He met me outside the study door with his gorgeous crooked grin, he knows me too well. Words unnecessary, we linked hands and leapt through the nearest window to our freedom.