A/N: Hey people. Thank you so much for adding me to ya'lls update lists. Here's another chapter, much love to all of you. Please read and review ;).
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. :sigh:
atthisvelocity: Thank you so much :happy dance: It's great to get constructive criticism. Yes, I agree, I'm tired of romance fictions not giving enough oomph to the character before going straight to smut. That's why I'm waiting a while to get into the romance bit. They're gonna hate each others guts first!! Haha. And yes, about the classes, I will be including some of those soon ;) it should be a cracking good time.
-The Brewing Storm-
That Saturday, the sky cracked and crunched, oddly sounding like an eggshell being squashed and boulders being thrown down a hill at the same time. Bruised blue clouds gathered quickly on the horizon, spreading from their point of invasion until heavens adapted that weird dark-indigo color that is almost night, but not quite so. The vampire sitting on the weathervane, of all places, regarded the sky with relish. She loved a good storm.
Sasha smirked sadistically at the occasional fingers of lightening that lanced down to the earth far in the distance, like hands of raging storm-beasts. Come and get me. It won't be the first time I've been struck by the beast.
Looking down at the deserted roof some twenty feet below her precarious perch, Sasha frowned. Of course, the one day a good summer thunderstorm was to start, she had other… obligations to attend to. She leaped down lightly, landing catlike on the tips of her delicate toes, setting down her sharp heels gently afterward, not one hair out of place.
There was another massive boom from the beasts in the sky, angry their prey had left her vulnerable position. The prey smiled up at the grumbling sky as she exited the roof to quickly descend the stairs to the ground floor and parking lot, knowing she was no such thing by any stretch of the imagination.
--
The truck started up with a satisfying purr, jumping forward at the touch of Sasha's boot on the gas towards the main highway. After a few miles, reading the directions on the small white piece of paper her mysterious brethren had left her, she came to a secluded dirt road, onto which she turned. Suddenly she remembered that unsettling experience in the taxi on her way into town- when she'd seen the golden eyed creature in the woods. She shivered, then chided herself for doing so. Of course they patrolled the woods; this was their territory.
Steeling herself for what was to come was her only option. Sasha had dealt with plenty of surprise situations before, though it could be argued most of them were nowhere near as dangerous as this. Wincing, she remembered a particular moment from her past.
--
"Hold steady, ranks! We're not done by a long shot! Straighten up and march!" Sasha roared in what she thought was her best 'male commanding officer' voice. She thought it was pretty good; she'd been practicing. However convincing her command was, though, what she saw when she turned halfway around in her saddle was not the most inspiring sight.
Her column sagged in the middle, the blue-uniformed infantry dead on their feet. They stumbled and swayed drunkenly, catatonic from lack of sleep and food, and the oppressive heat of Virginia in the summer. She sighed, sagging a little herself. The fort wasn't too far. If only she could push them a little farther…
Suddenly her lieutenant, riding slightly ahead of her, crumpled forward in his saddle as the sharp report of a rifle rang out in the hazy air. There was a moment of silence. Then, literally, all hell broke loose.
The column, suddenly jumping into action as if they'd been stabbed with a hot poker, grabbed their own rifles or muskets and opened fire into the bushes on either side of the dusty dirt road. Blood spurted and flew from all directions, men shrieked as they were hit. The air went hot and began to taste of iron and gunpowder.
Sasha watched men falling out of bushes with the looks of surprised death on their faces that people get when they have been shot. She ripped around the battleground, ducking and weaving among the roaring soldiers and their screaming horses, adjusting a private here, moving a sergeant there, taking them out of various bullets' precise pathways without them knowing her feather-light touch had manipulated their fates.
She took damn good care of her men, and let no one forget it.
--
That scrape had been a trifle compared to what she was dealing with now. That had been a war of humans, of metal and powder and fire. This was a troop of her own kind- equally dangerous, equally fast, equally precognitive.
Sasha firmly put the doubtful thoughts out of her mind as she pulled up to a well designed, large house in the clearing that the paper had designated. This was the place. She smoothly turned the car off, pulled the key out, and slid out of the vehicle, closing the door behind her.
"So you made it. I wasn't expecting that."
Sasha let out a surprised snarl as she whipped around, looking for the source of the impudent comment. She found it squatting on the roof of her car, looking at her with a self-satisfied and yet solemn look on its face.
The boy with the copper hair she had seen the other day gave her a crinkly smile that she supposed would have been quite attractive in some other situation, but right now she was in no mood for frivolity. He jumped down with the inhuman grace of the undead and offered a marble-white hand.
"I am Edward Cullen. At the moment I'm pleased to meet you," he chuckled softly as her eyes hardened like twin rubies, "though I see you might not return the sentiment. I understand- I wouldn't trust me either."
His face suddenly lost all semblance of mirth and turned to a grim white mask set with amber stones for eyes. Sasha, perturbed by this odd boy's rainbow of expressions, raised her eyebrow.
"Anastasia Baryon," she said coolly. "I was invited here for a meeting of sorts?"
Edward, as he had designated himself, nodded his head toward the manor. Sasha gave him a look of confirmation, and he lead the way.
She noticed just how expensive and well decorated the manor was as she was lead through various rooms, noting the careful attention to detail that had apparently been paid to interior design and furniture arrangement. Of course as she ogled all the horrendously pricey accouterments, she was on nerves' ends listening and tensing for any sort of attack or threat. They finally stopped in the entrance to large room tastefully painted a dusty rose color with off-white couches and chairs, a glass coffee table, and a beautiful piano. Edward motioned for Sasha to sit down on one of the couches, which she did with much trepidation.
"Enough with the games, Cullen," she growled softly. "What is the meaning of all this?"
Edward jerked his head over to the door on the other side of the room. Suddenly, a tall blonde man and a dark-haired woman, both with pleasant faces, walked into the room. They were as beautiful as Edward, with the same golden eyes. The dark haired woman smiled at Sasha, reminding her of her mother.
"We are sorry to have confused you, child. You must be dumbfounded by our little… ah… note," the woman said gently. "My name is Esme."
"And I am Carlisle," put in the blonde man gravely. "We've been anxious to meet you."
"I am not a child."
"As it would seem," said Carlisle darkly, seeming to be studying her eyes carefully. "I apologize for digressing. You see, Anastasia, we brought you here not because of a territory dispute or a blood feud, but for what we feel is best for Forks and for you."
Sasha smiled to herself. She would love to hear what this self-important man thought was best for her.
"Do go on," she said graciously, though with a bit of a mocking tone. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the corner of Edward's mouth pinch. Good.
"I might as well delve right in, as there is obviously no need for small talk. We Cullens have been living in Forks for around 50 years, finding it ideal for our family for mostly the same reasons you found it ideal for yourself. You see I say mostly- well, that is the part we urgently need to address here."
"You may have noticed our odd eye color."
Sasha nodded.
"That comes strictly from our diet, which is not the conventional… vampire diet, one would suppose. It is indeed blood, however…" Carlisle paused, watching Sasha's face as if for a reaction. Edward appeared to tense slightly.
"Yes?"
"It is not human blood that we drink. Preferring not to murder innocent people, be they humans or not, we choose to feed off of something a bit less palatable, but more acceptable to our morals… animals."
Sasha stiffened. She was shocked. She hadn't even known that was possible.
"But the thirst…" she probed cautiously, not knowing whether to be disgusted or not. "It does not haunt you?"
Esme chuckled gently. "As it haunts even those who seek the blood of humans, child. But it does grow to be tolerable after a time. This is the reason why we needed you to come, you see- we could smell that you fed normally, and we wanted to see if you would try an alternative lifestyle."
"You might call it the vampire version of vegetarianism," said Edward behind her, having moved silently to the other side of the room.
Sasha glared at him.
"I have always fed on humans, albeit on the underground of the city, on those who have no chance of living through the next day. I can fast for up to a month and a half, and can overcome the thirst in crowds if necessary. I will not hurt your precious little town," she spat. "And if you think you can force me to drink animal blood, you know me even less than you think you do."
She rose from her seat so quickly Edward dropped into a crouch, ready to pounce. Snarling from the back of her throat, Sasha gave him a damning look.
"I will play by your rules. But do me a favor and don't bother me about your 'vegetarianism'. I would rather eat human food- and we all know how that tastes." She bent her head towards the Cullens as a mocking gesture of thanks. "Good afternoon, Carlisle, Esme. I will see you at school, Edward."
And with a ruffle of wind, she was in her car seat, hitting the gas in the direction of her apartment. She fumed silently in the dark, turning the windshield wipers onto their highest setting in the sudden downpour that had started. How dare they order her to feed off of animals?
"You know, you should calm down a bit. Being so angry constitutes as road rage… you can get arrested for that."
For the second time that day, Sasha practically jumped through the roof. Instead, managing to maintain her dignity, she slowly turned her head to the passenger seat. There, lounging on the gray material, looking like the most relaxed predator in the world, was the young man with the scars like hers. His messy blonde curls hung down below his jaw line, his beautiful angel's face wearing a slightly amused expression.
And then he said in a pronounced southern drawl, "You're not from around these parts, now are you?"
--
A/N: Heehee. :D REVIEW PLEASE. I NEEDS REVIEWS. Luv you all. Will respond to your reviews in the next chapter. Peace out.