Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns twilight, not me.
A/N: I'm really sorry for the late update and if I say this in nearly all the chapters. There's been a family emergency (brain tumour, stage 4, aggressive, left side of the body completely paralysed- left eye and ear don't even work any more, anything could happen at any time) so I've been feeling quite depressed, as well as my family. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed in this chapter.
My eyes darted across the room. I continuously did this as I had been for a while as I cautiously adjusted my position in the bed.
The truth was that I was scared, no terrified. I was in an unknown location with Vampires who may or may not feast on me anytime soon. But that wasn't what got my pulse racing, though I wished it was. Having no answer, no clue on why Jacob was a Familiar and the reason for his death had a massive impact on me. I was his best friend and sister, not biologically but still, I had a right to know! I would have listened, I would have cared and damn it, I would have whipped up his all time favourite Macaroni cheese with cottage cheese on the side, just how he loved it. But no, he didn't come to me and left me hanging in the dark- that was what got me terrified and hurting because there was once a time where I could have told Jacob anything and the same for him. Now it felt as if we had grown apart, I thought as I wiped away a treacherous tear.
Although now, I wasn't going to be the senseless being everyone felt 'sympathy' for because said person didn't know the most vitally important thing to her whereas everybody else did.
I got out of bed and stood up 180° straight. "I hope your dying wish was for me to find out," I whispered, "because that will give me determination and the fuel to complete your wish." As a mental note I added, then I'll escape and run away, somewhere where Vampires can't touch me and then eventually, I'll forget them. I hoped. Because being Edward Cullen's Singer was not good at all for me if I stayed and I knew he was never going to release me back into my own world.
I walked towards the door calmly and grasped the door handle. I pushed it as hard as I could have but it didn't budge. Just as I had predicted; it was locked. I was definitely a prisoner here, no questions raised.
I dejectedly walked back to the elegant looking two poster bed that had black satin sheets and blood red pillows. I sat down, my chin resting in my palm and sighed. For the meanwhile I was stuck here and instantly thought about the incident with my chin and Edward Cullen's claws. Scars, albeit not very large, should have been left to show the damage of the skin but hardly anything was there. The blonde Vampire proved it by tracing his finger along my chin. Speaking of that Vampire, he said he knew me and I had not thought of it back then but he did seem familiar to me. Although I felt as if something in his appearance had changed, but I couldn't place what.
A knock brought me out of my thoughts. I hastily stood up and I admit I was quite shocked to see the strawberry blonde Vampire enter with a tray in her hand. The more she glided towards me, the stronger the aroma became and my stomach grumbled a very much audible sound which made me hide my face in embarrassment.
She was only a few inches away from me when she roughly slammed the tray down onto the bed. My mouth watered when I saw the items on the tray- a can of cherry coke, garlic bread and four evenly cut slices of pizza with toppings of cheese, mushroom, sliced tomatoes and pepper. Yum, my favourite.
"Take a bite," the strawberry blonde ordered as she inspected her nails. She seemed rather vain and I recalled she was the one glaring daggers at me.
I began eating and savouring the taste of a well cooked meal in my mouth. By the speed I was devouring my meal it was quite obvious to me that it had been a while since I last ate.
Whilst I was opening my can an idea popped into my head; why don't I just ask her about Jacob? There was no harm in trying. Although I decided to 'befriend' her first, just so the outcome would be more successful.
"Hi I'm Bella, and you must be?" I asked politely.
I was taken aback when she rolled her eyes and then smirked. Oh yeah, I thought, she really was vain.
"They all want to know," she answered arrogantly. "I'm Tanya."
Hmm Tanya. That name suited her perfectly and I voiced that out. Her smirk just grew in response and I figured out that she hadn't fully comprehended what I actually meant.
"So," I drawled. "This food is delicious, did you make it?" I was hoping that flattery would make it easier for me.
"Eww, no." Her nose was scrunched up in disgust. Oops, I had said the wrong thing. "It's bad enough falsely living in a world among humans as their equals but cooking their food?! Gross."
"I was just saying…" The glare she sent me immediately shut me up. I decided to change the topic, "How long have you been a Vampire for?"
She snorted and flipped her hair back. "A good Vampire never reveals her golden secret."
What the hell did that mean and how was her age a 'golden secret'?
"I don't understand what you mean by that."
She pressed her lips tightly together and shrugged her shoulders. To me that was her way of saying 'no, I'm not going to tell'.
"Oh come on," I begged. "Surely you can tell me, Edward Cullen's Singer." I knew it was low of me to play the Singer card, especially when I knew something was up with Tanya after she sent me dirty looks but it would tell me if it worked or not, when I decided to just blurt out the whole Jacob mess.
Tanya hissed at me. "Let's get first things straight. You're a Singer, in our world that means rare, a-few-hours-from-extinction food. It's only surprising that he's keeping you alive, Isabella Swan," she sneered my birth name like it was the plague. Could Vampires contract diseases? I felt compelled to ask that but it seemed Tanya wasn't finished.
"You're just a Singer, not House of Foame's Vampire nor Familiar. If you want to know the secrets of Vampirism, I suggest you go to Edward Cullen."
Like I would ever go to him by choice.
"He warned us you would do this." She smirked at the baffled expression on my face.
"Do what?" I really had no idea what she was talking about.
"Try to coax us into telling you about that ex-Familiar."
Awww shoot! It seemed like Edward Cullen had me all figured out. Not to mention that Tanya was not only vain, but cunning as well; she made me think that she was dopey. I had to be careful of her.
"So why don't you? Why don't you tell me about that 'ex-Familiar'?" I asked, crossing my fingers for good luck.
"You're not worth it." I gaped at her and crossed my arms as a defence, the crossed fingers were instantly loosened. She continued, "You're not worth the sacrifice. An order is an order from my Master and it can not be broken by any means."
I noticed that she referred Edward Cullen as her 'Master'. Why did she suddenly change?
"I thought you said he warned you," I pointed out.
"I know my Master better than you and I know what he means," Tanya retorted.
Before my mind even processed what I did, I blurted out, "It sounds like you have a crush on him!"
Her eyes flashed dangerously and she huffed, "I do not!"
"Oh yes you do!" I was being irrational and immature, so sue me. "I see it in your eyes," a complete and utter lie, "You have the hots for your Master."
"I do not!"
I knocked the tray off the bed which shocked me. But that thought was forgotten as I jumped up on the bed and began bouncing up and down. "Tanya likes Edward, Tanya likes Edward," I chanted.
Even with me bouncing on the bed at a rapid speed and without getting an ounce of dizziness – that part confused me the most – I could still see perfectly. So perfectly that I could see Tanya's fangs and her in a predatory stance directed at me.
She hissed and looked liked she was about to spring on me. I didn't stop– I couldn't, it literally felt as if my body had taken control of me. Also, my heart wasn't rapidly beating as it should have, after all I was doing a pulse raiser and a Vampire was about to attack me.
What was going on?
To make things even more perplexing, I saw Tanya's movements in slow motion. I was sure Vampires had heightened speed; I had experienced it firsthand and it was one of their special abilities. So why could I monitor every single movement she made? It's not like she would do all her actions in slow motion to just spite me. Right?
I saw her slowly rise and honestly, she appeared to be flying. But before she could even reach me, I saw two heavy built Vampires enter the room and they both were in slow motion. I saw them disturb the gap in between Tanya and me and was almost giddy when one of them grabbed me and then we were in the corridors. I admired the golden glow the lights gave out and the rich mahogany doors that contrasted the golden doorknobs.
I jerked in his arms as everything suddenly whizzed past us- it was like sitting in a fast moving vehicle. I then was surprised to find myself sitting behind an L-shaped desk. As I studied my surroundings I came to the conclusion that I was in Edward Cullen's office.
And said person was sitting behind the must-have-been expensive L-shaped desk in front of a black Mac Laptop- I saw the Apple logo.
I remained sitting on the chair, hesitant to do so and slightly unnerved. I waited for him to speak. He didn't, instead he snickered at something in the laptop.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
He turned the laptop in my direction and I stared at the screen. There was a video playing of me jumping on a bed – my bed – and then the two Vampires coming in to stop the 'fight'. I watched again and was shocked to see the video repeating itself.
"That's what's funny," Edward Cullen replied smoothly. "Isn't jumping on beds a tiny bit immature?"
I was struggling to come up with a decent answer. "I don't usually do that…" I began.
He put his hand up to silence me, which I did. "I know that. People just do inexplicable actions when they are drugged."
I blinked. "Drugged?"
Edward Cullen smirked- it didn't escape me he did that a lot. "Did you not taste anything different in the mushrooms?"
"You drugged the mushrooms?" I gasped. "Why the mushrooms? Why not the garlic bread?"
It looked like he was expecting that answer. "Told you; drugged."
"But why? And what drug? Drugs are illegal!"
"I cannot say much but it is a drug created by the House of Foame. Therefore it is not made public although our Familiars working in the Government do know about it. I would not worry about it too much if I was you."
All I did was stare and he stared right back at me.
"Excuse me, Mr. Cullen," a clear voice broke the silence. I somewhat turned around to see a head – a pretty head with silky auburn locks – at the door. "Mr. Marshall is here to see you."
"Bring him in," even though he responded to his secretary (I was only assuming), his gaze was fixated on me.
A plump man, probably in his early sixties set foot in the room. I felt the burning gaze disappear; Edward Cullen looked away from me. That I was glad of- I slowly cracked each time he stared at me with those moss green eyes of his.
I checked the man out, not sexually, and came to the conclusion he was human. Like me. Which meant either he was a Familiar or was taken hostage, again like me. I favoured the possibility he was a Familiar the most as he seemed to be well acquainted with Edward Cullen; he said his greetings, dropped his briefcase and sat on the floor. Crossed legged. What the-
I blinked to see if there was nothing wrong with my eyesight. Maybe what ever I was drugged with gave me hallucinations as an after effect.
"Is he…?" I motioned to the man. Edward Cullen nodded his head. O.K, so I wasn't hallucinating.
Although the strange thing was Edward Cullen didn't order him to sit on the floor. Maybe the man made regular visits.
"Did you complete the task, Tom?"
He didn't reply, instead Tom looked over to me. That was my cue to leave. I got up but Edward Cullen halted my actions.
"Isabella will stay here." I gritted my teeth; he knew I hated being called Isabella, yet he called me that and that infuriated me.
"It's Bella." He ignored me.
"Well did you?" He once again asked Tom.
Tom motioned to his briefcase. "It's all in here, Sir."
"Would you mind getting the briefcase for me, Isabella?" Edward Cullen turned to look at me.
I stayed on the chair. "No, I'm not your slave. And it's Bella."
In a flash Edward Cullen was in my face. "Having your way is a treat and so far, you have not earned it." I flinched as his cool breath nuzzled my nose.
"I'm not your pet and I am especially not your guinea pig that you can do experiments with," I retorted bitterly.
He pondered on what I said and slowly walked over to Tom, whose eyes had widened significantly in fear. Edward Cullen crouched down to him and stared at his neck.
He wasn't going to bite him, was he?
Tom whimpered then relaxed as Edward Cullen looked towards me. He smirked and in less then a second, I heard a snap. I gasped as Tom's body laid on the floor, motionless and pale. Paler than me even.
"You killed him!" I shrieked as I stood up and stuck myself on his desk, not wanting to go near Tom or Edward Cullen.
"He was going to die one way or another," he stated as he rummaged through Tom's pockets. "Ah, finally!" He claimed as he found a leather brown wallet.
"You're a Vampire AND a thief?" I found myself asking as he flipped open the wallet and looked into its contents.
He ignored my suspicions, "You wouldn't believe this…" He removed a card from the wallet and I presumed it was Tom's ID card.
"What?" I was suddenly curious- what had gotten Edward Cullen stumped?
"His name is actually Christopher Marshall."
"Didn't you know that?"
"Of course," he flashed a smile, nearly blinding me with his ultra white teeth. "I know every single Familiar and Halfblood of this House. I just choose to overlook the less important ones." He shrugged.
"So why did you call Tom Tom? I actually meant Christopher Tom?"
"He looks like a Tom." I snorted at his pathetic excuse. "Never forget this but you are what you eat."
"I think you've been watching too many Green Giant commercials." I knew I bewildered him as he mouthed Green Giant to himself. I changed the topic, "You Vampires eat humans, so are you all humans now?"
He chuckled, "You have not quite grasped what I meant but you will, sooner or later." He looked up at me and thoroughly scanned my body. I squirmed under his gaze – I always did – and wondered what was he looking for? "I see the drug is wearing off."
"Good," I remarked. "Although I do have a question: was it intended to play with my emotions?"
Edward Cullen cocked his head to the side. "Why do you say that?"
"I've seen a man killed right in front of my eyes and all I did was just blame you for killing him. I felt no sympathy for T-Christopher and I certainly felt no hatred towards you for that action. What's happening to me?" I fell on the chair.
He slowly approached me and rested his hand against my shoulder. "You're not a guinea pig." I gazed up towards him, questioning if I wasn't the only one drugged. "My Familiars choose to be the guinea pigs for the extra credit. This drug has been tested before and it has different effects on different people. All I can proudly say is that the results coming back from you are positive. I can assure you the drug is not going to kill you nor is it going to damage you in anyway."
"Why are you being nice to me?" He pressed his lips into a tight line; maybe I shouldn't have asked that question.
"We need to understand each other and cooperate in order to have a healthy relationship," he replied gently as he caressed my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch- what was this drug doing to me? "I personally think you have been dosed too much. At least it will help you when my family come to visit in a few hours."
Wait- what?
A/N: To clarify things, yes she has been drugged and she reacts differently at different levels because of this drug. Also, the drug was gradually wearing off so if her moodswings or her outlook on things changed, it was because of that. I do answer questions so feeling confused? Ask me but get straight to the point so I don't go off about other things.
Until next time...