A/N: Well, I didn't expect to have this up so soon, but whatever. Hope you enjoy it, the big reveal. To be honest, I didn't even intend to make what Bella was a mystery, it just happened.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
APOV
"Alice? Alice, please answer me."
I could hear Bella's voice, could hear the fear and uncertainty lacing each syllable, but I found myself unable to respond, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a full sentence. My eyes were no doubt wide, my mouth agape and I knew that in any other situation, Bella would laugh at my expression. But there was no laughter in her eyes now, eyes that were so familiar and yet, so different.
I had seen many things in my long life, some horrible, some wonderful. I had seen death, disaster and sorrow, but I had also seen birth, renewal and joy. I had seen things before any of it happened, sometimes months in advance, sometimes seconds, and as a result, I was seldom surprised by current events. It was only in the last few months that I had come to know true anticipation, true uncertainty, true surprise and I knew that it was all thanks to a girl named Isabella Van Allen.
It was also thanks to that same girl that I was standing in a moonlit clearing, unable to speak.
The expertly wrought silver ring that I had never seen Bella without, the one depicting vines and leaves holding a dark blue stone, which looked so realistic that it was almost eerie, was the key to it all. The moment that it had left her finger, a distortion of the air, almost a glow, had swept over her, and when it dissipated, I was left looking at the most exquisitely beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on.
The person that stood before me was Bella, and at the same time, wasn't. She had always been beautiful, almost vampire beautiful, but now she surpassed my kind completely, so much so that I could hardly fathom how that little band of silver could have hidden it.
Her features were more delicate and refined, astounding in their perfection. Her skin was flawless, almost paler than a vampire, but also luminescent, as though it were lit from within. Hair that was once chestnut brown fell in snow white waves down her back, glittering like diamonds in the moonlight and looking so soft and silky that it was almost unreal. The effect of the pale skin, white hair and black clothing was startling, combining to give her the appearance of a specter, as well as drew the gaze to her lips, which were the colour of fresh roses. Her slightly tilted, exotic looking eyes, surrounded by thick white lashes, were the colour of molten silver, her pupils reflecting the light like a cat's.
When she took a hesitant step forward, I noticed that her body had changed as well. She had always looked fit and athletic, but now she put marble statues carved by Michelangelo to shame. Moving with an unearthly grace that her former self had only hinted at, she took another tiny step forward, until she was about five feet away. The ring must have also muted her scent, because now it was absolutely indescribable, wafting around me like perfume.
"Alice? Please say something," she pleaded, her new voice making the finest piece of music sound like a five-year old with a saucepan and a wooden spoon.
It was only when a pair of perfect white teeth bit into that lower lip, such a Bella thing to do, that I found my voice. "Bella? What..?" I gestured at her, trying to get my question across.
Her silver eyes looked down at her shoes, elegant fingers once again twisting the ring around and around, as though she were debating whether or not to put it back on.
Clearing her throat nervously, she made a vague sweeping motion towards herself. "Well, um, this is what I really look like." She held up the ring. "This ring casts a sort of glamour, an illusion that allows me to look…well, to look human."
I could see the necessity. Vampires naturally drew attention to themselves, but we could play it off as being very attractive humans. Bella, on the other hand, could never pass for human without that ring, not when she made Rosalie look plain in comparison.
"You're beautiful," I whispered, any thoughts of embarrassing myself gone completely out the window.
A blush coloured Bella's cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck, obviously embarrassed by my statement. How anyone could look like that and still be humble was beyond me. "Um, thanks, I guess."
I tried to think of a more polite way of asking it, I really did, but all that I could come up with was, "What are you?" Automatically, my hands came up to cover my mouth. "Oh, God, that was rude. I'm sorry I-"
"Alice, it's okay," Bella cut me off, almost amused by my ramblings, but still too nervous to really show it. "I'm afraid that I have one more surprise for you and it should be pretty obvious then."
She sighed, seemingly resigned to the fact that I was about to find out everything. "It's not exactly a tail, but…" Bella shrugged off her jacket, letting it fall from her fingers to land on the forest floor.
Her silver eyes were locked onto my own gold ones, waiting to see my reaction to whatever came next. I was so focused on her expression that I almost didn't notice the blue light floating around Bella's back.
For the second time that night, my jaw dropped as I stared at them. They were stunning, like a whole pile of fairy lights but without the glass or wiring. They lit up the trees behind Bella for a few moments before joining together to form a shape. No, two shapes, each the same size as the other. They looked almost like…
It was at this point that I actually felt my knees go weak, something that had never happened to me for as long as I could remember. From that mass of blue lights, two great, snow-white wings appeared, fanning out from Bella's back and curving slightly, like an eagle about to launch itself from its perch. When she had taken her ring off, she had been scared, now she looked terrified, her heart beating at a pace that was faster than a human, which meant that, for her, it was racing. Her breaths were coming much too quickly and her fists were clenching and unclenching.
"I know that it's a huge surprise, but I figured that you should know. I probably should have told you sooner, but I was afraid of how you'd react, hell, I'm still afraid of how you'll react, but, like I said, you deserved to know, so I told you but you still haven't said anything, probably because I won't shut up, but it's something that happens when I'm nervous and I'm really nervous right now and I'm going to stop speaking now please say something."
It all came out in a huge rush and in a single breath, yet the words were still beautifully spoken in that musical tone. And I still couldn't take my eyes off of those wings.
Of all of the things that I had imagined Bella to be, I had only considered this one jokingly, in response to her kind personality and human beauty. When she had saved that girl last week, I had thought of her as the girl's guardian angel, I just had no idea how right I would be.
"So I guess that you know by now," Bella said, still not meeting my eyes.
"You're an…angel," I said, unable to make my voice go above an awed whisper.
"Yes," she stated simply.
"This is…unexpected." Huge understatement.
A gust of wind blew through the clearing, whipping Bella's hair around her head. In a movement that seemed so natural to her, she tucked in her wings, pulling them in against her back to prevent them from catching the breeze.
"Are you…okay with this?" Bella asked, gesturing to herself again.
I suddenly realized how my silence would seem from her point of view, why she seemed to be getting more panicked by the second.
"Hey, I'm not going to freak out or anything, it's just a pretty big surprise is all," I said quickly, trying to reassure her. Taking a deep breath to try and dispel some of the shock I was still feeling, I walked towards Bella. "Come on, I need to try and walk some of this off."
I began to walk towards the surrounding woods, but paused momentarily to take Bella's hand in my own, not missing the relieved smile on her face. She scooped up her jacket on the way. Her skin was even softer than it looked and the warmth that Bella always exuded and been kicked into overdrive, almost burning in its intensity and at the same time, extremely pleasant.
Neither of us spoke for a while and the only reason that I didn't spend the entire time staring at her was because I didn't want her to be uncomfortable. Her scent was mouthwatering at this close distance, yet any trace of my thirst that I would have usually felt was gone. In fact, I didn't feel very much like a blood sucking vampire at all right now. I felt…peaceful.
The moonlight could only break through certain parts of the canopy, so long moonlit spaces were interspersed with shadowy patches. The only sounds were the nightlife of the forest, our light footfalls and Bella's gently thrumming heart.
"I know that you probably have a lot of questions now that you know and I agreed to tell you, so feel free to ask." Bella's melodious voice broke the silence, yet it seemed so at home here, in this moonlit forest, that it was almost like another forest sound itself.
I glanced beside me, watching the way Bella's hair fell in a wave to shield her face from me. Giving in to the impulse I was feeling, I brushed it back behind her ear, allowing the light to hit her face. She looked at me, raising an eyebrow and I couldn't help but smile. "At the risk of sounding sappy, you shouldn't hide such a beautiful face." The blush that I had come to love over the past few weeks came back full force, a gentle wave of pink on her cheeks, making me laugh. Her appearance may be different than what I'm used to, but my Bella was still in there. "Before you took off your ring, you said that your family found you after you had…fallen from the sky?" It sounded insane, but for some reason, I knew without a doubt that she was telling me the truth.
"That's what they tell me. Apparently, they had been out hunting when they saw what they thought was a comet. Jesse made them go check it out, and they found me in, um, the middle of a crater."
My eyes widened. "Wow. So are you sure you're not an alien?" I asked jokingly, trying to calm whatever nerves Bella was still dealing with.
"Unless baby blankets are capable of interstellar travel, then I'm fairly certain that I'm from earth." I raised an eyebrow questioningly and she elaborated. "All they found on me was that blanket and this ring." She held it out to me and I took it gently.
It was warm, not just from being in contact from Bella's skin, but it gave off its own heat. The detail was amazing, the only difference between it and real plants was the colour, a bright silver that none of the jewelry I had ever seen could compare to, the exact shade of Bella's eyes. The stone in the centre was a deep, pure blue, almost a sapphire, almost a lapis lazuli, yet neither. Even to my vampire sight, it had no cracks or faults and appeared smoother than a diamond. I couldn't understand how, but there were no tool marks on the ring, no sign of its production, almost as though real vines and leaves had wrapped around the stone and turned to silver exactly where they lay.
"What stone is this?" I asked as I passed the ring back, nervous that I would damage it.
"I have no idea, we can't match it up to anything."
"So, in other words, it's like nothing on this earth?" I quipped.
"Alice, I am not an alien." She huffed, but I could see the edge of a smile on her face.
"What about your abilities, can you tell me about them?"
Bella grinned. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
I laughed, glad that we were back to our usual, speech-capable selves. "Well, you know all about vampires, so I only have one ability, really. I can see the future. Well, usually I can, but I've been having some trouble lately."
Bella instantly looked sheepish. "Ah, that's my fault. I can negate psychic vampire abilities, but I do it subconsciously."
"You can extend it to others though, can't you? None of my family's abilities work on you or your family."
"Yeah, if I care about someone and trust them, my 'shield' extends to protect them and if they have a psychic ability, it can work on me." I'm sure that the grin that lit up my face must have scared her slightly with its intensity. "What are you smiling about?"
"My ability has started working on you again and Edward is starting to have difficulty reading my mind. Does that mean you care about me and trust me?"
"Yeah, I guess I do." She smiled back at me before having a thought. "Wait, Edward can read minds?"
"Yup. And his mate Jasper can feel and manipulate emotions."
"Wow, you must have zero privacy in your house. I'll have to try working on blocking someone's ability even if I like them. I really don't like the idea of someone snooping around in my head."
"Can't you already pick and choose who to block? I mean, it is your ability."
"I didn't exactly come with an instruction manual, Alice," Bella stated dryly, "I've had to figure out my abilities all on my own."
Stepping over a fallen log, I turned my face to her. "Do you mind telling me about your…capabilities?" There had been three more deaths in Seattle, definitely vampire killings, and if I knew that Bella was able to defend herself, I would be able to stop worrying so much.
"I guess." She took a deep breath and seemed to ponder something for a moment. "Well, I'm fast, faster than most vampires and as strong as an average vampire, maybe a little less, though nothing too noticeable. My senses are about the same, except sight, which is far better than yours. I have a love-love relationship with animals; they'll even go so far as to protect me in a fight." I raised an eyebrow at this, wondering how she felt about her families and my own, eating habits and waited for her to continue. "Um, as you saw with your brother, I can suppress a vampire's thirst through touch, but only if they want it to be stopped, it doesn't work on human drinkers."
"Wait, you said that you can only stop a vampire's thirst through touch?" She nodded. "But, when we were up on that roof last week and that girl was bleeding, my thirst vanished when you came near me, but we weren't touching, it was just your scent."
She frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
She shrugged. "That's never happened before, maybe it was just a fluke."
I didn't think so and I could tell that she didn't either, but I nodded anyways, eager to hear more about her. "So is that it, or can you do anything else?"
"Well, there are two more abilities which I consider my main ones. Here, watch." She raised the hand that wasn't holding mine and concentrated on it for a moment before a small blue flame sprang to life on her palm.
I started, staring at it. Where a normal flame was orange with a pale blue bottom, this was dark blue, with an almost silver bottom. It flickered and waved in the wind, but didn't go out. "That's amazing," I said in awe, an emotion that I was feeling a lot tonight. "With that kind of ability, you wouldn't have to worry about any vampire hurting you."
Bella sighed, looking put out. "To be honest Alice, I would have to worry a lot about a vampire attacking me. It may seem like a long list of abilities, but other than my physical skill, the fire is my only offensive weapon."
"It seems like a pretty good weapon to me," I said.
"Not when I don't have full control over it." She looked out into the surrounding forest as we walked, not even looking at the ground in front of her but never hitting anything. "Generating the heat isn't the problem, in fact, sometimes it's all too eager to get out, but directing it is difficult. It takes a lot of concentration, something that I can't focus on if someone is attacking me, which means that it's unreliable in a fight. That leaves my strength and speed.
"Now, I can use my speed to my advantage, adding velocity to my hits and I've been trained in fighting opponents stronger than I am, but I'm still only seventeen and most vampires out there are decades older than me and way more experienced. I also don't have the diamond hard skin of a vampire, close, but not close enough and while I heal at a rate that makes it almost unnecessary, in an up close and personal brawl with a vampire they could do some real damage."
I found myself frowning again, my worry coming back.
She saw my expression and smiled. "Now don't look so worried, Alice, I'm not completely defenseless. I could take on a vampire and win if it came down to it, maybe even two if I was careful. It's only if they had a strong physical ability that I couldn't block or were veterans in the vampire wars that I'd have to really try." She shrugged. "And besides, I'm getting stronger with age, by the time I'm decades older than I am now, I'll be a force to be reckoned with."
I laughed at her phrasing, more at ease now that I knew her limitations. I moved in closer to her side, smiling hugely as she put an arm around my shoulder, the heat she generated very pleasant on my own frozen skin. With that ring on, she seemed to run at a temperature of about 110°F, but now it was easily 120°F. Were she human, she would have been long dead by now.
We had been trekking uphill for about ten minutes by now, into territory I had never bothered to explore. Our silence only lasted for a few seconds when the scent of blood made its way to my nose, my non-existent thirst not bothering me. It wasn't human, but a rabbit and it seemed to be moving this way.
"You didn't ask what my last power was, but I guess I could show you now."
I turned to Bella questioningly, only then remembering that she had two main abilities. She extracted herself from around me and stopped walking, crouching down soundlessly and gesturing for me to do the same. "What are you doing?" I asked, but she gestured for me to be quiet.
The scent of rabbit was stronger now and I could hear the little pitter-patter of its tiny feet. It took about two minutes for the rabbit to reach us, its little ears the first thing I could see of it. Taking several steps out of the underbrush and towards Bella, the little black rabbit froze when it saw me, holding its leg above the ground. I could see a long gash just above its ankle, the scent of its blood thick in the air.
"Hey there sweetie, it's alright, she won't hurt you," Bella crooned in a soft, infinitely kind voice that actually almost made me tear up. She stretched out a hand and after one more cautious look at me; the rabbit limped over to her, nuzzling into her fingers. I watched in rapt attention as Bella picked the tiny thing up carefully.
"The rabbit followed us," I said, suddenly understanding Bella's reasons for stopping. It was hurt and couldn't keep up so she waited for it as soon as she realized.
"Yeah, they do that sometimes when they're injured," she told me, inspecting the rabbit's leg.
"They follow you? But why?"
Bella smiled, sitting down Indian style and placing the rabbit on her lap. It was so compliant, so trusting of her that it wasn't afraid of the vampire sitting next to it. "I told you I had a love-love relationship with animals. They follow me because they know that I can help them."
"How?"
"My final and by far my favourite ability." She held out the rabbit's leg, her motions gentle and placed her hand over the wound. A blue glow encompassed her hand and the animal's leg. It looked…heavenly, swirling around them like a blue aurora borealis. She held it there for a second, before removing it to show the rabbit's leg, fully healed.
"Oh my God," I gasped. There were hundreds of myths of angels and in many of them, they possessed a healing touch, but actually seeing it was something else entirely. Carlisle would be ecstatic when he found out. "You can heal?"
Bella nodded and the rabbit sat up fully, testing out its leg before putting its weight onto it. I expected it to run off now that it was healed, but instead, it curled up and nuzzled further into Bella's warmth, eliciting a laugh from her. I watched her interacting with the small creature, wondering how I had ever become lucky enough to land such a perfect person like her. She was like something out of a Disney movie, the ones where people spontaneously burst into song and animals wore clothes.
"Here, come say hi," she said as she scooted closer. The rabbit perked its head up and stared hard at me, still wary. Following Bella's motions, I hesitantly reached out my hand, fully expecting the creature to bolt. It watched me cautiously, but with careful reassurances from Bella, it remained still as my fingers met its silky fur. Other than that strange cat Sanderson, I had never petted an animal in my entire life, at least not that I could remember. It was surreal, to say the least.
I glanced up to see Bella watching me, smile on her face.
"What?"
Her smile grew wider. "Nothing. We should let this little guy get back home."
As she gently picked it up, I found myself irrationally worried that it would get hurt again. I had never been able to eat rabbits, or any small animals, but I had never exactly worried about one, either. "What if it gets attacked again?"
She stroked its head gently and set it down on its feet. "Don't worry, my scent will keep any predators away from it for a while until it dissipates, she'll be fine."
"It's a girl?" I asked, unduly fascinated by the rabbit. I just knew that it had let me pet it and I didn't want anything bad to happen to it.
"Yup. Along with her three boys and two girls." I looked from Bella to the rabbit and back again.
"She's pregnant? How on earth can you tell that?"
She chuckled, watching the rabbit retreat into the forest again. "Sorry Alice, trade secret." She started walking again, taking my hand in hers once more, which I gladly accepted.
I couldn't get the image of Bella with the rabbit out of my head. She had been so kind, so caring and in tune with the creatures pain. It had followed her for God knows how long for her help, and her ability to heal others with a simple touch was how she accomplished that. I hadn't noticed it the first time we entered the woods because I wasn't looking for it, but I now I realized that the sounds of forest animals, the bugs in the earth, the birds in the trees, the animals on the ground, were loud. Before, whenever I had entered this place, the creatures present had known that I was dangerous, a killer, something that they should fear and as a result, they hid, remained quiet when I passed by, hoping to be spared. Now, they chattered amongst themselves freely, having no need to fear the predator in their midst, all because of Bella. They didn't just tolerate her presence, they welcomed it and I just knew that if they were awake, the birds would be singing their joy. Amazing.
Our hike upward was interrupted by a cliff, dropping down a long way, the tree tops stretching out before us. Sighing, Bella flopped down on the very edge of the cliff, dangling her legs out underneath her. Her wings raised and stretched out behind her so that she wouldn't sit on them. They were truly magnificent and would probably be around fifteen feet fully extended, if not bigger.
I sat down beside her, watching the way the moonlight danced on the trees. "Why is it that every time we talk about something important, it's always at night when the moon is bright?" I queried, happy just to sit here beside her.
She shrugged, picking up my lazy mood. "I've always preferred the night, I feel more comfortable."
I smiled, thinking of how well Bella fit in with the moonlight. I looked over at her and jerked slightly, surprised.
She blinked at me. "What?"
"Your eyes, they're…"
"Oh, they're blue, right?" I nodded dumbly; thinking that blue was hardly descriptive enough. Like everything about Bella's true form, her eyes were beautiful in the extreme. They were a deep blue that somehow managed to be extremely bright, the same shade as the stone in her ring, but more intense, deeper shades moving in their depths, swirling like waves. They were even more gorgeous that her silver eyes. "This is actually their normal colour, but they turn silver when I'm experiencing strong emotions and I was pretty nervous today."
I laughed. "Just when I'm getting used to one thing, something else pops up to surprise me again."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I scared the crap out of my parents on more than one occasion growing up."
"How did your family take all of this? You know, a baby with wings falling from the sky?"
She shifted on the ground, getting more comfortable. "Well, they were surprised at first, obviously and they didn't know what to do with me. I mean, they were vampires and they didn't consider themselves fit guardians for a baby."
"So why did they choose to keep you?" I tucked one leg under me and let the other fall off of the edge, ignoring the long drop down. The grass was dry and cool, a faint breeze ruffling the leaves of the trees near us.
"Well, they figured that I wouldn't exactly fit in with humans, what with being different and all. Also, by that point they had become really attached and didn't want to give me up." She laughed, thinking back. "I swear it makes me feel like the stray dog they brought home sometimes."
"Do you ever wonder about your birth parents?" I asked quietly, hoping that it wasn't a sore subject with her.
She looked up at the moonlit sky, watching the stars through the break in the clouds. "Of course I wonder. I wonder who they are, what they're like, why they sent me away. My abilities didn't all come at once, but in phases and I had always wanted someone who could teach me about them, about what to expect next." She looked back down at me. "But I was never the type to brood over things that I couldn't change. I love my family and I have had a wonderful life so far, not without its difficulties, but still a great life."
"I would have loved to see you as a little baby."
Bella groaned. "Don't say that anywhere near Clare, she doesn't get many chances to take out the home videos and she'll jump at the opportunity."
I grinned, clapping my hands together once. "That's fantastic! Does she have baby photos too?"
She narrowed her eyes at me in mock threat. "I swear to God Alice, I will forcibly restrain you if you try it."
I cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly amused. "I thought that you said that you weren't as strong as a vampire?"
Before she could react I tackled her, pinning her hands above her head and holding her still with my legs. Her breath left her with a 'whoosh' and she let out a strangled sound. She struggled briefly, showing that her strength was close enough to a vampire, but she slowly stopped, her breathing deepening.
"Wow, that was easier than I thought," I mumbled, staring deeply into her eyes.
"I let it happen," she whispered back. This close her scent was so strong, so appealing that it almost clouded my mind. I could feel the vibrations of her heart beating, the deep thrumming sound soothing me.
I looked from her eyes, eyes that were silvering once again, down to her slightly parted lips, her sweet breath fanning across my neck. "Yeah right," I said quietly, lowering my lips to hers.
I knew that it would be different in this new form, I just had no idea how much. Her lips were scorching, softer than silk and she tasted like she smelled, her scent condensed and my God it was absolutely amazing. Her kiss took control and dissolved me into a glowing ball of sparkles and rippling tingles, heat washing through me in a cresting wave. I could feel the electric power in her body, the inferno that she held back and I couldn't get enough. It took a full minute for our position to finally brake through the haze of my mind and I almost moaned into her mouth.
I pulled away, gasping for unneeded air and rolled off of her, lying on my back beside her, our heavy breathing the only sound. Her fingers were skimming over my wrist, drawing lines of heat like tattoos.
"That was…nice," she panted, making me feel the intense need to blush. Her tone of voice told me that she thought that it was a lot more than just nice. I looked over at her and she smiled, which at such close range was a deadly weapon.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away," I mumbled.
"No need to apologize. I quite enjoyed it," she laughed.
I felt something soft brush against my arm and realized that I was almost lying on a wing. I bolted into a sitting position. "Oh God, sorry," I said quickly, wondering if it was similar to a human getting their toes stood on.
"Alice, relax," she chuckled, sitting up and pulling her wings into a more comfortable position. They looked so soft and smooth, almost glowing. I wondered what they'd look like fully extended, up in the air where…
"Holy crap!" I yelled, causing Bella to jump.
"What?" She was up in a crouch in an instant, looking around for any sign of danger. "What is it?"
"You can fly!"
She stared at me for a moment, obviously confused. "Well they're not exactly for decoration."
"No, I mean, you can actually fly! What's it like? Do you do it often? Is it fun? What's it like to touch a cloud?" My mouth was going a mile a minute but I couldn't stop. She could fly!
"Slow down Alice, your words are running together. Yes I can fly and yes its amazing, one of the best tings to do on this earth." She looked upwards and seemed to debate something, biting her lip nervously. Her eyes were still silver from our little session earlier and they reflected the light like mirrors.
"What are you thinking?" I asked.
She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at me from under her lashes, almost causing my breath to catch in my throat. "Do you…want to try it? Flying I mean."
Now it was my turn to stare, looking from her to the sky and back again. "You'd do that? Take me flying?"
"Of course, that is if you want to."
It felt like my stomach was floating, the excitement I was feeling was that intense. "I definitely want to."
Bella grinned from ear to ear. "I was actually wondering a while ago about taking you, but I never thought that it'd be this soon." She stood up and extended her hand for mine. "It is a great night for it."
I took her hand and allowed her to pull me up. She moved me to the edge of the cliff we were sitting on, glancing down before looking back at me. "So how do we do this?" I asked, slightly nervous now that it was about to happen. I briefly though about Lee's comment about heights and smiled slightly.
"Well, we couldn't be better placed." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. "Do you trust me, Alice?" She asked quietly.
"Yes," I whispered.
Her lips curved into a smile and she leant down to whisper in my ear. "Then hold on tight." With that, she leapt off the edge of the high cliff. I had never jumped off of something so high, so my stomach dropped and I pressed my face into Bella neck, feeling the air whoosh past us at an alarmingly fast pace.
Suddenly, I heard the flutter of wings and we stopped falling. I could feel the edge of the downdraft as Bella's wings caught the wind and propelled us up into the sky. Her arms wrapped tighter around me and I had a death grip around her torso, barely resisting the urge to shriek. We were moving faster than a vampire could run and I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. The wind made a screeching sound as we passed, drowning out all other noise.
Our pace slowed gradually, the air currents smoothing out and the noise toning down until I could hear Bella laughing. "Alice, you have to open your eyes at some point."
"I'm fine with them closed," I said into her neck. I never realized how terrifying flying would be.
"Alice, I know that it's scary the first time, but I promise that if you open your eyes, you won't regret it."
I grudgingly realized that she was right, that I was the one who had asked for this. I shifted my head slightly so that I could see and ever so slowly, I opened my eyes, my breath leaving my body as I did.
The view was astounding, the whole of Forks and beyond spread out before me. We were so high up that the forest below looked like a huge hairy blanket, the houses like Lego and only my vampire sight allowed me to distinguish people, the few that there were. I could easily understand why she preferred the night. Less chance of being seen and she had the joy of seeing the moonlight flow like waves across the land.
Bella banked slightly, changing our course so that we hit an updraft and rose slightly higher. We were just under the cloud cover, almost within touching distance.
Bella spoke into my ear, her breath hot. "So, what do you think?"
"For the fifth time today, I'm going to have to describe something using the words 'absolutely amazing'." I looked at her, seeing the joy and freedom in her gaze. The wind whipped her hair around her head like a halo, her wings moving smoothly to keep us aloft. Carrying me didn't seem to faze her at all.
She smiled suddenly. "You did ask me what a cloud feels like. Want to find out?"
I nodded, holding on tighter.
"I gotta warn you, you will get wet."
"I'm not complaining. T he idea of you in a wet shirt is very appealing."
She laughed. "Can't say I didn't warn you." She raised her wings and pushed down in a powerful stroke, both of us shooting higher into the clouds.
From below, they looked soft and fluffy and while I knew realistically that they were wet and cold, I still wasn't fully prepared. It was like diving into a pool, my clothes becoming instantly soaked, my hair plastered to my face.
Another downward stroke and we were above the clouds, the water droplets reflecting the light and turning it into a sea of silver. "Okay, wet clothes and wind is not a pleasant combination," I stated, shaking some water from my head.
"You get used to it," Bella smirked. She banked again, turning us in a wide circular pattern
I don't know how long we were up there, soaring through the air, but it had to be over an hour. Bella kept me warm as we flew and it was so peaceful that I was disappointed when it eventually ended.
"It's getting pretty late, we should probably head back," Bella said, obviously reluctant.
I sighed. "I guess you're right."
Bella smiled and kissed the back of my neck gently. "Don't worry, we can do this again if you want. I'll even take you when it's sunny out."
I smiled back at her, shielding my face as we descended through the clouds once again. She took us over the forest, back past where we had met the rabbit, past where she had told me her secret, all the way back to my car and her truck, still nestled in that little clearing.
We touched down gently, Bella keeping her wings out in order to let them relax after a long flight.
I kept holding onto her even after we were on solid ground, reluctant to let go of her.
She sighed and kissed the top of my head before stepping away. After so long having her warmth near me, I felt cold without her. I guess I'd always feel cold without her. As soon as she took a step backwards, her wings began glowing that same dark blue. In only a moment, they dissolved into little fairy lights again and then they were gone. Another reminder of what she was, as if her appearance wasn't enough.
"How did this happen?" I wondered aloud.
"How did what happen?"
I gestured between the two of us. "This? Us? How did I get lucky enough to end up with you? Why did you choose me? I mean, you're an angel and I'm a vampire. That has to be the weirdest couple in the history of the world."
"Alice, I hope that you're not one of those vampires that believe that you have no soul and don't deserve happiness, because if I have to spend every day for the rest of eternity telling you how fantastic you are, I will do just that." She completed her little rant with a decisive nod, her hair falling in front of her eyes. Even after being up in the air for so long, it was still perfect and smooth.
"Oh, don't worry, brooding is more Edward's department. I'm just in shock that my girlfriend's an angel."
Bella grinned. "Girlfriend, huh?"
I kicked at a pebble with my shoe. "Well, if you'll have me."
Her lips were on mine before I could see her reaction. It was a gentle kiss, feather light and she was gone again before I even knew it. Damn, she was fast.
"I am most certainly okay with that."
We stood outside my car, knowing that this was the end of the night. I suddenly remembered something that I was supposed to ask her.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Um, my family was wondering when they'd get to meet you. I don't want to spring it on you or anything, but are you free tomorrow?"
"I guess so." Bella frowned slightly. "Is it okay with you if you don't tell them what I am just yet, I don't want them to have any ideas about how I should act before I meet them."
I nodded. "That's fair, but I'll have a hell of a time getting them to stop pestering me."
"Something tells me that you always get your way."
"That's true."
She opened the car door for me, waiting until I was inside before closing it gently. Leaning down, she looked in my window. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"I guess."
She leant in the window and kissed me once more before walking back to her own truck, packing up the Laurel and Hardy movies. As I pulled out of the clearing, she watched me, giving me a slight wave before she was lost from view.
The entire trip home, I had a huge grin on my face and kept touching my lips, still warm from hers. It was only as I was pulling into my driveway that I saw the sticky note on the dash in front of Bella's seat, showing just how distracted I was.
'Check the backseat,' was written on it in a flowing script, with a smiling face underneath. Being the sap that I am, I folded it up and tucked it into my pocket, not wanting to throw out anything from this night.
I quickly flitted out of the door and opened the backseat, eager to see what was there. I had been so distracted, I had forgotten that Bella had promised me a present.
Inside was the leather tube she had been carrying in her home, propped up against the seat.
I shut the door, locked it and flitted into the house with the tube held close to my chest.
"Alice, how come whenever you go out with Bella, you come back wet? Is there something we should know?" Emmett and the rest of the family were sitting in the living room, one of the few occasions where they acted normal. It was only then that I realized that I was still wet from the clouds.
I smiled at him, not bothered by his teasing.
"So I take it the date went well?" Esme asked, still wearing that huge grin that she had on when I left.
"It was…absolutely amazing," I breathed. Better make that six times.
"Did she tell you what she was?" Rosalie asked next.
I nodded, but held up a finger to stop their questions. "But I'm not going to tell you yet. She has agreed to meet you guys tomorrow and she doesn't want what she is to cloud your judgments of her."
"Why, is it bad?" Edward this time.
I sighed dreamily. "No. It's very, very good." I looked to my father figure, thinking about Bella's healing ability. "Carlisle, some of the thing she can do, they're amazing, you won't believe it."
"But you can't not tell us," Emmett whined.
I happily ignored him and made my way to the stairs. "I can and I will. Good night all. I'm going to my room for a while."
I left the room, thankful that they respected my privacy enough not to pry. I also knew that Rosalie and Esme would be up later for details and I was actually looking forward to it. Not as much as I was looking forward to Bella meeting my family, but still.
As soon as I was in my room, I opened the tube and pulled out its contents carefully. The inside of the tube was foam, used to hold fragile items and I understood its necessity when I saw what was in the glass tube that I pulled out.
It was a glass rose, but this was different, I could see no tool marks, the entire rose made of a single piece of clearest glass. Like her ring, it looked as if a rose had just turned into glass while it was in full bloom. The stem was a vivid green and the petals were a bright yellow.
A yellow rose, my favourite flower.
How did I get so lucky?
A/N: There, I hope that you enjoyed it. Don't say I never gave you anything.
R&R.