A/N: OKay, here you go; sorry this one took so long to get out. It's a bit long, and a cliffie, but the next should be out sometime this week.
Musical Inspiration: Your Song - Elton John
Chapter 8 – Wild Horses
BPOV
~ The meadow near my old house in Forks was in the full blush of spring. It was gorgeous; I stood in the center of it and closed my eyes feeling the gentle breeze on my face, inhaling the glorious aromas of the flowers, the new leaves and the pure green life force that seemed so bountiful this time of year.
Today was a sunny one, not a cloud in the sky to be seen. I opened my eyes and looked up at the sun, its bright warm rays soaking into my skin.
As I looked back around me, not wanting to miss a moment of the season that always seemed far too short, a tiny flash of light caught my attention. It seemed to be coming from just inside the tree line, as if someone had a small mirror and was signaling to me.
As I squinted my eyes to see who was intruding on my most secluded, private place, I heard a voice on the wind. It was familiar, but yet I could not place it.
"I'm right here Bella. Where should I be?" It said
I frowned, my body tensed as if danger were near. I turned and looked behind me… in the distance was Edward Masen, dressed just as he had been in the photograph.
I smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're not dead, Edward." I said and we stood there just looking at each other. There was so much I wanted to say to him, to ask him. But all I could do was stare; he too seemed speechless.
The glinting kept distracting me from the corner of my eye; I looked to where the glimmer had come from and could now see a figure standing at the edge of the forest. His stance was defensive, but relaxed. I strained to see who this new intruder was… and finally I realized it must be Edward Cullen.
I looked back to Edward Masen; he smiled at me and began to walk away. The light was now fully in my eyes and I could no longer see anything. I turned around several times, but it seemed the intense light was coming at me from all angles. ~
I opened my eyes and sighed heavily. It had been a dream, a beautiful dream, but still only a dream. I slid out of bed and made it back up as best I could. Dressed quickly and went down to breakfast. I pulled from my bag a banana and a warm juice box. I would have to do a bit of shopping before staying for a longer period of time.
I thought about my dream again.
How odd that both Edwards would intrude on my meadow, both of them so very handsome, but so very distant.
EPOV
At four in the morning I heard Alice and Jasper pull into the driveway. I went downstairs quietly to meet them, though I was loath to leave the angel sleeping in my bed.
Alice jumped out of the car and ran into my arms, I picked her up into as much of a bear hug as I could manage. As I released her I felt Jasper come up and pat me on the back reassuringly.
"We should have been here for you, Edward. I'm sorry that we weren't." Alice said as she looked from me to Jasper.
"No, Alice, I managed just fine… had you been here I may not have met Bella." I said sheepishly.
"Bella?" Alice exclaimed, "What a perfect name!" she said as she jumped up and down.
"Yes, it is,' I said, 'but speaking of… you shouldn't park here; she's in the house… she thinks I've gone home. I don't want her alerted to my presence… or yours." I said, motioning for them to park down the street.
"What? Why not? You patched everything up right?" Alice asked.
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
"Well, I don't always tell you everything I see." Alice replied.
"Alice, I don't want her to think I'm some sort of stalker… how do you think that would go over?" I said incredulously.
"Which, by the way, you are." Jasper said with a laugh in his voice.
I rolled my eyes at his comment. "Jasper, I just don't want her getting into too much trouble… she seems to find plenty on her own, without finding out what really happened to me."
"She's looking?" Alice asked.
"I thought you saw all!" I joked.
Alice punched me in the arm… for such a tiny thing, she could certainly hit hard.
"I want to see her." Alice said walking up the front steps before I could stop her.
She tossed the keys back to Jasper and directed him to park down the street.
"Alice, you'll see her soon enough… now's not a good time." I said trying to stop her.
"Oh, no you don't… you're not going to keep her all to yourself, I'm going to meet… okay, look at my future sister." Alice said pushing past me and running at vampire speed up the stairs to my old room.
When I reached my room Alice was already hovering over her like some freakishly misguided succubus.
"Alice, please… get away from her, you'll wake her up." I whispered in a tone inaudible to human ears.
Alice just looked over at me and smiled. After a bit more persuasion I was able to guide Alice down to the kitchen.
Jasper had stayed down here to stay away from the euphoria from Alice, my apprehension and Bella's confusion during her dreams… he said it made him feel like a school boy with his first crush.
We didn't have long to wait before we had to hide… thankfully in a house this large and old, there were endless options. I did feel bad for it, because, like Jasper had pointed out earlier, what I was doing was quite a bit like stalking… but didn't it negate the creepiness of it if I were doing it to protect her?
The three of us decided on the attic… it was unlikely that she would think of looking up here for information today.
We listened intently throughout the day for her to approach, though, as I had guessed, dhe had noth thought to look for information in the attic.
Jasper, Alice and I had a lot of catching up to do, both of them tried to comfort me as we spoke about Willow; they hadn't known her, but in the Cullen clan, someone who meant something to one was practically family.
During times of silence I found my thoughts drifting to Bella… how had such an insignificant, snoopy, rude, brazen human caught my attention so well that I had given her one of my most treasured possessions?
True, her life would be incredibly short in comparison to mine, but still. I had given her full run of my home, not just one of the homes I had acquired in my vampire life, but the one and only tangible thing I possessed from my human life.
This girl baffled me, if only I could forget her; surely she would cause me more torment than she was worth. What was wrong with me? When I looked into those chocolate brown pools I'd give her near anything… and I barely knew her.
After a while I could feel Jasper staring at me. "What, Jasper? You've been staring at me like that for over an hour now."
He just smiled… "You've been conflicted for over an hour now. Why won't you just let yourself admit it?"
"Admit what?" I asked, puzzled at his odd demeanor.
"That you're in love with her; I've been feeling it since we arrived… just come out with it and give me some peace, won't you?" he teased.
"Jasper, that preposterous, how could I be in love with a human?" I sneered; sometimes his jokes really could get my ire up.
"Well you loved Willow for all these years." Alice interjected.
"Alice, I loved Willow from my childhood… I loved her when I was human so obviously I would love her now… same as my parents; I still love them." I said matter-of-factly.
"You know, I think sometimes you forget that whether it's beating or not, you still have a human heart. You think of yourself as such a monster all of the time you forget that parts of you still function the same as humans do." She said, clearly chastising me.
I hung my head dejectedly… Alice was not one to be argued with, this I had learned over the years living with her, so even if I thought different, which, I did, I knew better than to voice it.
BPOV
As I woke up I remembered faintly the dream I had had about Mr. Cullen and Edward Junior. I shook my head trying to clear it. I headed back to the library and began searching again for more information on the Masen family … but now as much as I wanted to find out why Edward Jr. had no burial and death certificates, I also wanted to find out how the Cullens were connected in the Masen family tree.
I decided after lunch that the library would be my best bet as a starting plce for both problems. I pulled my hair back and threw on some jeans and headed out the door.
The whole trip I felt like I was being followed, but every time I looked around I could see no evidence of such a thing.
"Okay, Bells, you're just stressed. Keep it together." I mumbled as I turned and continued on my way.
Once I reached the library I asked the head librarian about how to go about searching for the things I wanted.
"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard, dear;' the older woman said, 'Drs Cullen and Masen were good friends and both quite famous in their day. But I wouldn't start here, hon, try Mr. Burton, the local historian, he might be much more help to you." She said and promptly wrote down his office address. I took it and practically ran out the door.
A historian! I couldn't believe my luck, what a perfect person to get to speak to! I knew better then to think he could help me with the connection between the Masens and the Cullens, but perhaps with history on both of them, I could make the connection.
As I walked into his office, a quiet, secluded little thing, the smell of peppermint and old papers hit me. It was a wonderful aroma.
Hearing the little bell on the door tinkle, Mr. Burton, a heavy set, older gentleman with a short white beard and very little hair poked his round, rosy face around the door way from his inner office. He reminded me of what Santa Claus might look like in the off season.
"Help you?" he inquired, in a quick, but not unfriendly way.
"I hope so, I'm not sure if you would know about the people I'm trying to find out about, but I was sent here by the librarian, Ms. Oakes; she said you might know about the Masens and the Cullens." I said , hoping he was not busy.
"Masens and Cullens, huh? Yes, Ms. Oakes phoned me a moment ago telling me you'd likely show up here. What about them do you want to know?"
"Well, sir, I don't want to trouble you if you're busy. I've done what research I can on my own and I've hit somewhat of a dead end." I said.
"My dear, I'm a historian… I'm not generally busy unless I've been called for a job. You've caught me at what has been a two year lull… I'm grateful for the chance at some activity." He said and motioned for me to come into his office.
"Please sit down and I will tell you everything I can think of on Doc Cullen and the Masen family."
He sat heavily in his reclining office chair as I sat gingerly on the little couch opposite him.
"Now ma'am, may I call you Bella? The librarian said you've become quite a fixture around there lately, otherwise I'd not know your name." he said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Yes, of course." I said.
"Alright then, Bella, here we go… Doc Cullen was one of the most invaluable physicians around here during the period from 1917 to 1918, those, as I'm sure your research has discovered, were the periods that the Spanish Flu was most trouble for the surrounding area. Now, he and Doc Masen, which I'm sure you know a bit about him too, they were colleagues, I guess you might call them friends, but not like bosom buddies or anything. Doc Cullen… uh, Carlisle was his name, was not here for very long. He attended the Masens when they fell ill of the flu, and left very shortly after their deaths. And no one really knew why, but seeing as he was quite attached to the family, one might guess, perhaps, grief, or maybe you know, another doctor dying gives him a sense of mortality, he trying to separate himself from it all… who knows."
"But, I'm sorry to interrupt, what was their family relation?" I asked.
"Relation? None to my knowledge." He said.
"Well, I only wondered because I found in the records that the property was passed to a Cullen, who was reported to be nearest kin… and I met Mr. Cullen who now owns the house, and he said the relationship was distant, but he didn't really go into how, I was hoping you knew."
"I don't know anything of that; Dr. Cullen had no family when he came, just before he left he had acquired a nephew… his sister's kid… older, sixteen, seventeen, maybe, came to live with him because she had fallen ill herself. Edward was his name. The Masens had no family living, here or elsewhere… I know; I've checked. Dr. Masen was quite something; he's a big historical figure in Chicago. Both Masens were only children and they only had the one son who died. That the Cullens now own the property is no surprise, though… must have left it to the good doctor as a dying wish."
"That brings me to a second point, Mr. Burton, why does Edward junior have no death certificate or burial record?" I asked.
"Well, the death certificate could easily be that so many were dying per day here, that his was neglected by accident or oversight… burial record, I don't know; I've seen his casket so obviously he's there. Maybe the person who neglected the death certificate didn't want to be reprimanded so they didn't print the burial record either, or, maybe another oversight… no way to know now."
"Mr. Burton… I have a confession… I know this is wrong, but, as I said, I've really researched this family and, when I could find no burial record I decided to see the grave myself." I said; my voice and hands trembling.
"I see, nice mausoleum, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yes, sir, but I went a step farther… I opened the caskets… the doctor and his wife is there… Edward isn't." I said… now shaking like a leaf all over.
"Oh… I see." He said thoughtfully.
"Please, Mr. Burton… I wasn't intending any vandalism or anything; I just needed to know..." I began, but he cut me off.
"Now, now, Miss Bella… I'm not the police… I'm not condemning you. Nor will I contact them; even we anthropologists do things here and there on the shady side sometimes. We're not proud of it, but I do understand your curiosity. Promise you won't do it again, and the fact will remain in this room alone." He said comfortingly.
"I promise." I said.
"Alright now. You say he isn't there?" he asked.
"No, sir. The inside of the casket is like new, it's never held a body… not even dust inside, nothing." I said sincerely.
"Hmm. Interesting. Wonder if he was cremated?" he muttered. "Just a moment, please." He said and picked up his phone.
"Yes, dear, this is Matt Burton, would you fax over to me the 1918 crematory files. Yes, dear, all of them, for every funeral home in operation at that time. Well, I'm bored and I thought it would be nice to have a copy. Thank you, dear. Goodbye."
He put the phone back on its cradle. "Here in a minute we will know if he was cremated; that's one thing you don't mess with – you can 'forget' to file a burial record; if the body is there, that's proof enough – but you don't burn a body… legally anyway, without some record of it's being there." He said tapping his head.
While we were waiting I asked him what Dr. Cullen's nephew's name was again… I was sure he'd said it, but I wanted to be sure I had heard it right.
"Of course, dear Bella, his name was Edward." He said politely.
"That's an awful lot of Edwards." I mumbled, Mr. Burton chuckled.
"Why do you say that?" he asked.
"Because the man I met was Edward Cullen… the 'distant' relative who looks an awful lot like the Masen boy… they really favor so much you'd think they were more closely related." I said.
Mr. Burton inquired on how I knew what Edward Masen looked like and I showed him the picture. Thankfully he did not inquire as to how I came to be in possession of an original photograph of a Masen. After a bit more chatting the faxes were in. He scanned each one for a Masen in the year 1918 and came up with nothing.
"Well, my dear, we certainly have a mystery on our hands don't we?" he asked as I was leaving.
He assured me that he would continue the search and that he would also look into public records to find out what had become of Dr. Cullen and his nephew, Edward. That made me anxious… I was not sure why, but it did just the same.
I returned to the Masen house to drop off my things, ran across the street to make Charlie's dinner, leave him a new note, and go back to my sanctuary.
That night as I was crawling into bed, I stretched out my arms as wide as they would go and I heard a loud thump.
I looked over the side of the bed and discovered what had caused the noise… a book.
I picked it up and opened it… it was a journal, property of Edward Masen… this I had to read.
A/N: Getting interesting, huh? Let me know if you like it, let me know if you hate it... just let me know!
Also, my musical inspiration influences my writing so, if you have any song suggestions, let me know that too; I'm constantly downloading new ones and am always looking for new feelings and emotions conveyed by music!