4. Discoveries

A/N: Under threat of having Felix set on me if I don't update quickly, here is the next chapter. Lucky for you kids, I've mastered typing with the brace on my wrist that the doctor put on for my tendinitis. I had to do it for note-taking in class, but it paid off for you guys too!

Disclaimer: I wish I came up with this first…

The very first few things I learned about my new life- if one could call it that- was that I was now fast. And graceful. And strong.

I had allowed Edward to lead me out of the room that I had awakened in, then down the stairs. We walked in complete silence, and the air nearly crackled with tension. I almost asked where we were going several times, but I was too intimidated.

And not because of how amazingly perfect he was. Though that was thoroughly distracting. However, the dark cloud enveloping his very being was much more intimidating. It just didn't seem appropriate for me to speak first, even if it was superiorly strange to be following the vampire who had tried to kill you days before, entirely without qualms.

So, I walked in silence. Usually I would have done that anyway, since every ounce of my concentration would have been spent on trying to not slip and tumble down the stairs. Out of everything, it seemed that I did remember being clumsy. I guess when something is such an integral part of your being, its hard to forget.

Therefore, I tried to focus as usual, but I quickly found that it was impossible to dial in on any one thing for very long. One second I could be thinking about where to place my foot next, but then I would notice the detailed pattern in the grain of the oak wood of the stair, then the creaking noise of a floorboard upstairs, then the burning in my throat…

Fortunately, I didn't need to focus on not falling. I didn't trip once going down the stairs- a miracle.

At the bottom of the stairs, Edward turned toward the front door. I remembered then that I had no idea where Edward was taking me, and I froze.

Literally- every bit of me shut down, almost involuntarily. No muscle twitched, I didn't even blink. Edward noticed that I wasn't following him anymore, and turned back towards me.

"Bella…" he ventured, sidling closer to me, working to catch my eyes with his own. "What's the matter?"

The way he said my name- it was like it pushed a dagger into him to utter it. Now that I thought about it, his every action and word around me so far had been full of caution.

Trying to let him know that I wasn't having a breakdown, I made myself relax a little, willed my muscles to move, and answered him. "Its just- where exactly are we going?" The sound of my own voice was freaking me out again- I wondered how long it would take me to get used to the music it made.

Edward looked uncomfortable at my question, pausing before answering me, right before I saw a flash of determination cross his features.

"Well," he began, "you're throat is burning, right?" I could tell he already knew the answer to that question, but I decided to reply anyway. Now that he was mentioning it, the dry stinging in my throat was a thousand times worse with my concentration on it.

"Yes- like I swallowed a thousand jalapeno peppers and they got stuck in my throat." I croaked out.

He grimaced, not even a hint of humor coming through, despite my ridiculous simile. "That means you're thirsty- which, of course, you should be." What did any of that mean? Thirsty? For what? I shuddered a little at the thought of the only thing a vampire would be thirsty for- what I must be thirsty for. Scratch that- I didn't need to ask that question.

"And that's what we're going to take care of?" I asked, my voice tinged with trepidation and uncertainty. He must have seen the worry written all over my face.

"Yes." He answered straightforwardly. Determination still hardened his features, and the simplicity of his answer struck me. There really was nothing else to say- we both understood what he was talking about here. Rather, I understood the what. The mechanics were still entirely blurry- and scaring the crap out of me.

"What…I mean…How do we do that?"

He sighed, looking saddened and guilty. "We hunt."

Hunt? How- with what? Did vampires need weapons? I was pretty sure I didn't have fangs. I ran my tongue across my teeth, just to double check. Despite seeming extra sharp, there were no enlarged canines. What was I supposed to hunt? I already knew the Cullens didn't drink human blood, but I was freaked out about drinking any kind of blood. And that still left me wondering where we were going.

I was frustrated- I didn't have any real answers. "Could you please give me some details?" I almost screamed, overwhelmed with the level of confusion I was feeling.

The moment I let myself go, I started to feel myself losing control. Whoah- that was scary. I struggled to calm down, fighting every muscle in my body and sucking down a growl before it could escape. Where had that come from? I never used to react that way to things. In fact, I used to just cry when I was angry. I looked up apologetically at Edward, feeling a little repentant for nearly snapping at him. What I saw in him was shocking.

At my words, Edward looked more broken than he had let on so far. For the first time, I could see how much hurt he was trying to deal with. I was sort of surprised, but on the other hand, I could understand.

I wasn't exactly happy about what had happened, so I could imagine his feelings. For all I knew, he didn't want me around. It must be awful having a reminder of your biggest failure following you around. Obviously, he wasn't supposed to and didn't want to drink human blood. He had tried to kill me, and ended up turning me into a vampire. Not only had he failed, he had sort of failed at failing.

Yet, for whatever reason, what he had done wasn't bothering me so much. No matter what my sudden flying off the handle made it look like. Sure, I was upset that my life was suddenly gone- I could still vaguely remember Renee and Charlie, and even the muddled memories made me sad. But it had happened, and now I had no other options but to keep moving, at least in this exact instant. Somehow I knew the burning in my throat needed to be taken care of before anything else. Unfortunately, I had no clue how to do that, and Edward wasn't being very helpful.

Certainly, I deserved answers. He had done this to me, and he should explain it instead of moping about- that's all I had been trying to say, even if I had overreacted.

I looked up at him then, ready to demand details, but realized he had been staring at me while I had been silently lost in thought and trying to reign myself in.

He stepped closer when I looked at him, and gazed deep into my eyes, doing that thing he had done just before he had bitten me. His eyes bored into mine, and he searched me. Even now, it made me feel dazed and incapable of coherency. I was amazed at the light dizziness that hit me- before, my heart and breathing would have been racing. He stayed in his position for what seemed like a long time before pulling back. Apparently, he hadn't found what he was looking for, and exuded frustration.

"Could you please tell me what you're thinking?" he suddenly burst out.

What an odd question. Of course, at the time, I had no problem giving him a piece of my mind- except what I had been ruminating on as he had stared me down.

"I was just thinking about how I deserve some answers from you, and you're too caught up in your own problems to actually give me any."

I stared him down after that, trying to look as angry as possible. Which wasn't so hard. Suddenly my mood had spiked again, and I was enraged. I was surprised I didn't growl out the words or attack.

"I know- and I'm sorry Bella." He said sincerely. "I promise to answer them soon- just follow me."

I looked at him, a little shocked at the earnestness in his answer, but also itching to ask him where I was following him to. And he had already said that. Yet, the way he looked at me, with this determination to fulfill his promise- I felt safe and trusted him. My anger faded as quickly as it had come. So I reached out to open the door that he had been approaching before I had decided to imitate a statue. Gosh that was creepy…

I gripped the curved golden hand, and began to press down and pull it inward…. right off its hinges.

My eyes widened, as I stared at my own hand, holding the huge oak door in the air. Splinters littered the floor and a couple of brass screws glinted in the light.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" I babbled in shock. How had I done that? There was no way I could lift something so heavy, much less pull it off the hinges.

For the first time, I saw a glint of humor in Edward's eyes. At the same time, I heard Emmet guffaw up stairs, blending in with a few snickers. How was I able to hear that?

I wasn't left long to consider my apparent brand-new super hearing before Mrs. Cullen appeared beside me. How had she moved so fast?

"She didn't mean to Esme." said Edward before I had even managed to completely process her presence.

"Oh dear, I know that Edward- I was just caught off guard."

She turned to look at me, and I realized I should apologize for my accident.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Cullen…I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry about it Bella. It will just take you some time to get used to the strength." She said, cutting me off. She sounded entirely genuine, so I relaxed a bit. Her hand on my shoulder was pretty calming too. "And please, call me Esme dear."

She was so sweet…such a mother. But strength- I had super-strength too now? I suddenly felt like I had been turned into some kind of wonder woman instead of a vampire- enhanced hearing and strength- what was next? Were bullets going to bounce off me too?

"Uhmmm…Esme, what should I do with the door?" I had just realized I was still holding it in my hand, and I felt a little awkward, though it's weight wasn't particularly bothersome.

Edward answered for her. "Why don't you just hand it to me- I'd tell you to put it down, but I'm not sure you've got enough control of yourself for that."

I whipped around to look at him- almost insulted at his remarks. What was it with my emotions?

However, when I thought about it, he was probably right. I might bust up the perfect light khaki hardwood floors next. And it was nice to hear a little lightness in his voice instead of straight self-loathing.

I handed it over to Edward after some hesitation, and he gently set the door down just outside before darting back inside, in under a second. Of course- speed would explain Esme's sudden presence. That would be my next superhuman power, I suppose.

How many abilities did vampires have? I was already beginning to feel like I should be hyperventilating. On the other hand, it was exciting for a girl who had always felt weak and helpless. Of course, I had taken care of Renee all of those years, but I remembered being powerless to protect myself from Edward. And I was pretty sure I had been a nobody before all of this happened too- though I couldn't be entirely sure with the memory loss and all.

My attempts at recovering my memories were interrupted by Esme. "Now, you two should get going. You do have quite a few things to explain to Bella, Edward." She said it all with a smile, but, just like with Carlisle, I heard the authority in her voice.

"Yes, lets go Bella." Edward said, walking out the front door. I gave Esme one last backwards glance, then followed Edward. He walked at a normal pace around the house, but it wasn't very long before we had trekked across the lawn to the line of trees that surrounded the Cullen's house. Looking at it from the outside, I could see that it was a beautiful three story Victorian. I loved it.

We had arrived at a stream, and the bubbling noise of the water caught my attention, before the waving of the grass in the light breeze did. It wasn't raining, but the sky was overcast, and it was nearing darkness. Everything was just so amazing now that I could really see it. It would have been more amazing if I wasn't still wondering where we were going. The thought made me remember why we were out here, and I turned to face Edward. His eyes, which no longer looked like the terrifying black I remembered, caught me off guard. They were mostly topaz like the rest of the families, but they were slightly darker, and just slightly tinged orange. They were beautiful to me.

I took a moment to stop gawking and gather myself. "Where are we going?"

"Over there." He replied, nodding his head to the woods across the stream. I was surprised he actually gave me a real answer this time.

"And how exactly are we supposed to get across?" I asked. I couldn't see any bridge.

"We jump." He said. Jump? How?

Edward must have seen my disbelief. "Just watch me, then do what I do, ok?" I nodded, eyes widening as he backed up a couple of strides. I didn't have much of a choice at this point- Edward was my only option for knowledge at the moment.

Before I could think anything else, he took off quickly, and pushed off to leap across the water. The grace in the arc of his legs was amazing as he disappeared into the trees- there was no way I could actually do that.

Then again, I had just pulled a door from its hinges. Why not? I backed up a few strides more than he had- no need to be overconfident. I stood frozen for a moment, mentally preparing myself.

Edward broke though my reverie of doubts by calling out my name. People seemed to be interrupting my though processes a lot lately- was I that distracted?

"Bella?" he called out gently. "Do you want me to show you again?"

I closed my eyes, deciding to just do it- for some odd reason, I felt a defensive need to prove myself. I stood perfectly still, arms by my sides, legs shoulder-width apart. I exhaled for the calming effect alone, and forced my muscles to release every bit of tension.

I pushed off hard, running as fast as I could make my muscles move. I was enraptured by exactly how much speed I was actually capable of that I almost ran right into the water. Thankfully, I leaped up at the last possible moment and soared through the air. I knew I must be cutting through the air with incredible speed, but I was able to figure out how to place my feet on the branch that came up beneath me perfectly. It was like I hadn't been moving at anything but a normal pace.

As I landed, I heard footsteps, presumably Edward's, coming quickly. I jumped down from the branch, grinning from ear to ear. I was graceful- no one would have ever called me that before. Being a vampire apparently had some perks.

Edward came up, and looked at me curiously.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, for the second time in only about twenty minutes. He seemed to be awful nosy. Oh well- I didn't mind telling him my thoughts at the moment.

"Just that I kind of like being able to do all that- and not even fall down."

I saw him smile for the first time since that day at school. This time there was nothing sinister about it, and I loved the way it looked. Unfortunately, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Yes- well, you can do a lot of things now."

His words made me both excited a little scared- I was excited because I liked the changes I had experienced so far, except the burning that was still scorching my throat. But I also knew why I had all of these changes- and a lot of things were still unknown.

"Do you think you could tell me what those are now? Explain to me exactly what I am now. It seems my definitions of vampire aren't really helping me out a lot anymore."

Again, a smile touched his lips for a split second. It was gone by the time he answered me, replaced with grimness.

"Run with me." He said.

"Run where?" I asked, confused by his apparent evasion of my question.

"Just run with me- I'll explain everything- all of it, when we get there."

Curiosity burned me inside and out at his words. I wanted to know where we were going. But I was also nervous with anticipation of finally getting answers.

"Ok, if this is the last time you make that promise."

He nodded, just before taking off.

A/N: Let me know what you think! I worked crazy hard on this one, editing and re-editing, then doing it again. Hope it was worth it!