I know, I know, it took so long for this chapter to be completed, but I had work, school, and family issues to deal with and I haven't had any time to think up a good idea to add to this story. Chapters are going to be really slow on release due to holiday season and more hours of work so that means less time to write.
Please wait for me my faithful readers!
Chapter 7: The Soul Inquisition
By the time Friday night rolled around, my stomach was in knots. I almost wanted to call up Edward and ask if we could forget this whole ordeal, but then I had to remind myself that I needed to be honest with his family and myself. I still had a small part of my being that refused to believe that I could see the soul of a living being.
When I was little I always thought that it was just my imagination, like an imaginary friend, but as I got older and went into elementary I knew that I wasn't imagining anything and those were really the souls of people.
I don't know how I got to sleep that night, but I did. The next morning I woke up gasping for breath drenched in a cold sweat. Tears pooled in my eyes as I just lay in bed, shivering from the awfully true nightmare. I sat up slowly; bringing my hand up to wipe away the crystalline tears that traced down my cheek.
I quickly got out of bed and headed straight to the shower where I stayed under the hot spray of water for a good half hour. It took me an hour to dry my hair, don a royal blue blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans, and applied a bit of make up on.
I stood in front of the mirror and took a deep breath, willing the nervous flutters of the butterflies in my stomach. It was going to be okay, everything will be okay, I kept chanting in my mind. The one thing I was most worried about in this visit was them not liking me. That worry was what was making me so nervous.
The ring of the doorbell broke me out of my mini mantra of reassuring myself. I headed downstairs, gripping the railing for dear life so I wouldn't trip over thin air or a piece of dust. No need to embarrass myself when a perfectly coordinated hot male was standing behind the door and with his super hearing he could probably tell everything I was doing now.
I opened the door with a wide smile to see his exuberant smile in place. "Ready to go?" he asked holding out his hand for me to take. I laced our fingers together and headed straight for his Volvo. Edward opened the car door for me so I could slide in and then he got into the driver's seat.
The nerves came back and I gripped his hand where his held mine over the council. A gentle squeeze to my hand broke me out of my nervous thoughts. "What's wrong Bella?" Edward asked with concern in his voice. I took a calming breath so I could answer him, "Are they going to like me?" My voice trembled a bit with the fear of impending rejection.
Edward barked a laugh then as we neared a hidden driveway in the woods. I looked at him incredulous for laughing at me.
"Bella, you are going to be around seven vampires and you are worried that they won't like you? Bella you are definitely something else," He parked the car and had my door opened before I could blink. I smiled hesitantly at him as I took his hand.
He kissed my forehead sweetly. "Don't worry, they will love you," he said before dragging me towards the house. I finally got past my nerves to take a good look at the house and when I did, I stopped in my tracks.
This was not a house, it was a mansion. The house was a beautiful white, three stories tall and with a wraparound porch that was also painted white. Around the house were carefully tilled plots of land that had multitudes of vibrant, colorful flowers that were springing from the moist brown earth. The house was surrounded by forest that gave it enough breathing room for a large yard completed with a shed and no doubt more tilled fields of various plants. Someone in this house had a green thumb.
A small pressure on my lower back encouraged me to move forward to the grand oak doors that led to the inside. I glanced up at Edward, my previous forgotten nerves coming back in fluttering waves as each step we took got me closer to his family.
He glanced down at me, smiling at me in assurance, before he opened one of the oak doors for me to walk through. I kept hold of his hand as I walk through, the door closing behind Edward with a slight bang, almost making me jump in the near silent house. I felt something nudging me deep inside myself in a comforting manner that had me relaxing marginally and I briefly wondered what was happening. I heard a purr from Edward's soul that made me look up at it in wonder as I saw it completely faded, almost barely visible. I couldn't help, but stare in shock at this new sight that I was witnessing until I felt another soothing brush inside myself. My jaw almost dropped as I realized what was happening. Edward's soul was comforting mine with light brushes and purring that most souls do when they found their other half. I had only seen and briefly watched a handful of souls do this and I always wondered what it would feel like, but I also wondered if the person themselves felt their soft, careful brushes, the soothing kisses, or the full body hugs that soul mates would sometimes do.
Edward shot me a concerned look, his soul briefly looking down at me with hooded eyes, clearly enjoying comforting my edgy soul before it went back to whatever it was doing with my soul. I blushed a bit as I looked back at Edward, seeing his bewildered expression. I opened my mouth to explain only to close it again with a shake of my hand. For me, it was just too embarrassing to say that our souls were comforting each other in some way that I couldn't fully see and it was even more embarrassing to actually see it happen.
Edward stared at me a bit more before soft jazzy music reached my ears along with the murmurings of a man that was giving instructions about something. I was confused on why someone would need instructions of some kind in a house full of vampires.
Edward looked slightly embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head, "I told them not to do this." I was even more confused by his statement, but he just led me to the room where the noise was coming from.
As we got closer I could hear the jazz music get louder slightly and the man's voice was becoming clearer, letting me know that the chicken should be tender after 15 minutes of being boiled in a pot of water on high on the stove. I could also hear the sound of chopping and scrapping along with the soft pops of bubbles that the gurgling water produced as it was being boiled. The scene in the kitchen was definitely interesting when Edward and I walked in.
Carlisle was by the stove, watching as the pot boiled and spit, a woman with caramel hair was staring intently at a man on the screen that was obviously on a cooking channel while she chopped away at Green Bell peppers making sure they were almost too tiny to see. Rosalie stood off to the side, glaring at the old glass salad bowl's leafy green treasure. Emmett was leaning behind her, clearly amused at what his family was doing and also keeping Rosalie in check.
They all looked up as we entered the kitchen. The caramel haired woman smiled kindly at me as Carlisle left his boiling pot to wrap an arm around her. "You must be Bella. I'm Esme. It is so wonderful to meet you after everything I have heard about you from Edward. Dinner will almost be ready," Esme chirped cheerfully as she went back to dicing tomatoes. I smiled, slightly thankful that they weren't glaring at me and screaming for me to leave. My stomach started to slowly untie itself.
Edward slightly coughed behind me, "Mom, she already ate." A loud shattering noise reached my ears right after his sentence left my mouth. Rosalie looked pissed as her hands still held a nonexistent bowl that was now in shards at her high-heeled feet along with its leafy companion that the bowl had held. Edward slightly put his hands on my shoulders to move me behind him as Rosalie moved forward. "Just perfect," she huffed as she leaned against the door jam, glaring at Edward and me.
I elbowed Edward in his side, hard enough to make a point, but not hard enough for me to get hurt. "I only ate a little and that was early this morning. I don't mind eating something," I defended myself. I didn't like people wasting food and it already smelled wonderful, making my appetite known. Edward sighed, pulling me closer to his body and keeping his eyes trained on Rosalie. "Just ignore her, I usually do," Edward said, squeezing my shoulder lightly in comfort.
"Yeah, let's just stay in this make-believe fantasy where nothing can go wrong and can't endanger us," Rosalie's voice rose as she got more angered. I finally understood why she didn't like me. She didn't like the fact that I was the new secret keeper for her family and it could possible get them killed at the worst and leave town at the least. My heart squeezed at the thought of Edward leaving before I quickly brushed that aside.
"I'm in the same position as you right now Rosalie. Don't think for a minute that I'm walking into this whole thing without a care to everyone's wellbeing," I stood up straight in Edward's arms, squaring my shoulders and slightly frowning to show I was just as scared as her. Emmett came over to her to lay a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and Edward wrapped his arms tighter about my waist, tensing behind me.
Rosalie and I glowered at each other for a few heated moments before the TV chimed in about the dish being done. Esme was the first one to snap out of it and rushed over to complete the dinner, her soul chatting away about wasted time and hoping the food wasn't burned. Carlisle sighed, "How about we go to the living room and talk about everything in there?"
Before any of us could move, Alice jumped in through the window with Jasper right behind her. I glanced at their souls out of habit, almost acknowledging another set of people that walked in with them. My eyes lingered on Jasper's soul for a moment longer, swearing up and down that I have seen that type of soul along with Rosalie's soul somewhere.
Alice came bouncing right up to me to give me a hug. "It's so nice to see you again," she said, giving me a light peck on the cheek. I hugged her back, smiling as I remembered all our waving in the parking lot. Edward's arms tugged at my waist to pull me back into his chest, his gaze never wavering from Rosalie and her hostile nature.
Jasper did the same to Alice, tugging her back into his body, but he kept his eyes on me. I tuned into his soul and its chatter of wariness concerning everything about me. I could tell deep down though, that Jasper was a good man and he wouldn't hurt me unless he absolutely had to.
Carlisle cleared his throat and nodded his head to the living room. We all silently filed into the living room, taking seats with our mates by our sides. Rosalie never moved her eyes off of me and Edward never moved his own eyes off of her. I could hear her stating her jealousy on how I got Edward so easily when he never showed any interest in her, even though she was made for him. Her soul would skip to the other main topic of her bitterness and that was me being a danger to her family.
She didn't know anything about soul seeing or if someone else already knew about it and sent her here to use my talents. I had to give her credit for being smart.
I tuned her out along with the rest of the souls of this family as I sat there on the comfy couch, twiddling my thumbs. I wasn't sure where to start on souls since I didn't know the history and I also didn't know what they wanted to know. Thankfully, Carlisle saved me.
"Bella, why don't you start by telling us how you can see souls and when it started?" he asked. I relaxed slightly as I started to think about what he asked.
"I don't know how I can see souls, but I believe it is part of the sixth sense, like how some people can see the future. I've been able to see souls since I was born I guess, but I never knew that I was seeing someone's soul till I was six. I realized that no one else was hearing, seeing, or talking to the being that floated above their back," I smiled slightly as I remembered how silly I was on thinking I had an imaginary friend or something.
Carlisle looked more intrigued as a sparkled lit up his golden eyes, "Tell me everything you know about souls please."
I chuckled at his child-like enthusiasm. This was going a lot better than I had thought. "Well, a soul is generally a spirit that stays inside a body of its choice, like how a slug chooses a shell to make its home in. A soul never changes in appearance unless the mind of the body makes certain choices. There are three looks to your soul. The first is the normal 18-year old look, 21 years old for the older souls, and 16 for the younger souls," I took a look around at the souls floating above the Cullen's head to see if there were any specific looks. I smiled as I found all three souls that I had just listed.
"Carlisle's soul looks 21, Edward's soul looks 18, while Emmett's soul looks to be 16," I smiled at their astonished looks. I started to tug at my hair as I got more nervous at their wondrous stares.
"Any questions so far?" I couldn't help but squeak. Emmett's hand immediately shot up. I pointed to him to let him know he could speak.
"How come my soul looks to be 16?!" he cried. I laughed at his pout. "It's because you have an extremely childish soul. I'm surprised that your soul doesn't look like it is 8 instead. I believe the only reason it looks to be 16 is because you can be mature when the situation requires it." That had all of the Cullens laughing with me.
Carlisle was the next one to ask me a question, "What are the choices that causes a soul to change appearance?"
I calmed down, but still held a smile on my face as I looked at him. "It's a good or bad type of choice. For example, if Emmett decided to cheat on his wife with six other girls, while also killing every man who looks at his wife, then his childish soul will have a black aura around it, the skin of the soul will become paler until it gets so bad it almost looks like it is decaying. The soul will look just as bad as his actions. However, if Edward decides to cherish his wife by putting her needs before his, had children and raised them to be proper people with manners, along with doing charity and other various works, then his soul will have a golden aura around him. His soul will have a nice healthy tan with rosy cheeks and wide, bright eyes with a constant smile that will make him look like he is about to burst. Currently Esme and Carlisle have the full golden glow, Alice and Emmett have a slightly golden glow, and the rest have a neutral look where you have no golden, but no black aura," I finished speaking, leaning back into the couch as I started to remember other aspects about souls.
Carlisle beamed at what he heard while Edward, Jasper, and Rosalie shifted a bit in unease. "Having a neutral look to your souls doesn't mean anything bad. All that means is that you have done nothing to help others, but you have also done nothing wrong. Most people are neutral and only very few achieve a complete golden glow like Carlisle has," I tried to assure them. They seemed mollified at my admission.
I sat there, letting what I just said sink in a bit more before I delved further into Soul 101. After a few minutes I began again.
"The body never truly looks like the soul, however. One main difference between vampires and their souls are their eyes, skin color, and some functions I have noticed with Edward. The eyes are your human eyes and the skin has a peachier look to it. Your souls can also cry and blush." They seemed even furthered shocked by what I said.
"Other small factors about a soul is that they store everything that happens in their body, almost like a history book for them, they speak their surface thoughts, they never shut up, and they have the red string of fate tied to their left pinky," I sighed in relief to finally get that off my chest. It felt bloody wonderful to get my secret off my chest and to tell other people. I glanced at the Cullens to see that they were frozen were they sat. I started to feel unsure then and I started to doubt the trust that I put in them to tell my secret.
Rosalie was the first to break the tense silence. "What do you mean you can see everything that happens in a person's life?" Rosalie growled. I was surprised that was what she interpreted from what I just said, but then again she was there when I was analyzing David's life along with bits and pieces of Edward's human life.
I shifted in my seat uncomfortable with the question. "Um, it's just like you said, I can see a person's history by means of their soul. A soul can't keep their mouth shut no matter what and the only thing they can talk about really is the body's history and what happened to it. When I was little it would take me a few hours to get through the history of the person or to just dig up specific information that I needed. Now, though, it will take me an hour of starring to get the full history while it will only take me a few minutes to look up something specific. All I can really say is that a soul is extremely complicated and hard to explain," I rubbed my arm and lowered my eye, feeling very insecure with her eyes boring holes into my body. I could tell that she was very offended at the news that I could find out anything I wanted by means of looking into her soul and finding it. I knew that she had something in her past that she never wanted people to know about her because she felt humiliated.
After years of being around souls and slowly learning how to use this power, I knew how to stay out of a soul and I also knew how to avoid personal issues that the body didn't want to address while the soul didn't care.
A cold arm wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me close into a solid side. I glanced up to see Edward's strained smile. I looked back down, feeling even more unease about revealing my secret. I vaguely wondered if they would kill me because I could find out anything about them without them even knowing.
"I haven't looked at anyone's histories, if you're curious. I refused to do that unless you want me to. I can control my gift that much," I whispered quietly. My body was tensing as if it was ready to spring out of the house at the slightest movement and honestly I wouldn't mind. Edward kept a firm grip on me, most likely sensing something wrong about me and I couldn't help, but to tense even more.
"Bella, I must say that you have a most fascinating gift," Carlisle breathed, excitement was pouring out of his voice in waves, crashing against the ground, but it just barely reached my toes as it flowed across the floor.
"Vampires also have gifts and I believe that they get their gifts by bringing their strongest human trait with them. Edward can read minds, Jasper can feel and influence emotions, and Alice can see the future based on decisions made. I have never seen a gift so advanced in a human before," Carlisle looked like he would be bouncing in his seat if he were still a kid on a sugar high. I smiled slightly, wondering if I should take what he said as a complement or just another way of saying I was abnormal.
"I also can't read her mind Carlisle, so she might be a shield also," Edward chose that moment to speak up and making me blush. Everyone continued to stare at me as if I was a science experiment waiting to be dissected for more information.
Esme, bless her little dead heart, chose that moment to walk in with my prepared food. I thanked her as I took the food and I missed the pointed looks she shot everyone, but I could tell by her soul that she was silently telling everyone to leave me alone.
Esme was definitely a mama bear.
I stuffed my face with her delicious chicken dinner as Edward rubbed soothing circles into my back, unconsciously or not I wasn't sure.
I was too absorbed into eating my food that I didn't notice when everyone left the living room, leaving Edward, myself, and my empty plate.
I know that this was relatively short, but this was all I could crank out, out of the limited time that I had.
Well, the Cullens now know about Bella's secret and I think they took the news pretty well. Don't start hating on Rosalie, she has many reasons on why she hates Bella and all will be revealed later. Please leave a comment, advice, hopes for the future of this story, or a simple nice job. All reviews are treasured.