A/N: SM wrote Twilight; I wrote this for some weird reason.
Thanks all for the lovely comments and I am so glad you are prepared to take this little journey with me.
Time to meet Edward. Enjoy.
The Will o'Wisps led Bella through the dark corridors until finally leaving her in front of a large wooden door with an old-fashioned door knocker. She thought this was very odd considering all the high-tech security she'd been through earlier in the day.
She decided not to worry about it. She had ruled out the possibility that this was a very strange dream and had instead decided to take Director Dwyer's advice to 'leave her preconceptions behind.'
So, with a deep breath and summoning of her courage Bella stepped forward towards the door, mumbling to herself: "Time to jump down the rabbit hole, Alice."
She grabbed the door knocker, tapped it firmly three times and waited. Some scuffling noises could be heard from behind the door and Bella stepped back wondering just what it was that was behind it. She had no idea what Edward would be like, other than gorgeous that is. Would he be kind? Would he be dangerous? He was a vampire after all.
The door swung open and on the other side was a very pretty and quite petite woman… well, a pixie actually. She was only a little smaller than Bella's size, with beautiful gossamer wings flapping wildly behind her and a deep frown on her face.
"What do you want?" the pixie said scowling at Bella.
After a few moments of stunned silence Bella regrouped: "I'm here to see Edward Masen." Her voice sounded calm, belying her true reaction to the very beautiful but seemingly angry pixie flapping her wings at her.
A smooth velvet voice then called from inside the apartment: "Desist from your pixie nonsense Tanya and let the poor woman inside."
The pixie grunted and literally flew back through the door, before disappearing inside the apartment.
The Will o'Wisps also disappeared and Bella found herself once again in the dark.
"Hello?" she called as she stepped toward the light deeper inside the apartment. But just as she stepped inside, she collided with a very firm body and would have fallen backwards except for the strong arms that reached out to prevent her fall.
"Miss Swan, I presume," the velvet voice spoke again.
Bella righted herself and struggled to see the face belonging to the body she had collided with.
The arms around her disappeared once she was set upright again: "Apologies for my presumption, Miss Swan. I should never have touched you in that familiar manner, but I was fearful you would fall and hurt yourself."
Bella took a step back and as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she looked up into the most beautiful face she'd ever seen. This was Edward; the photo she had seen did not do him justice; he was divine.
She realised she had been staring for a little too long, so she cleared her throat and went to introduce herself, holding out her hand to him: "Hello, my name is Agent Bella Swan."
He looked at her outstretched hand with curiosity but then reached out his own to shake her hand tentatively: "I am delighted to meet you, Miss Swan. My name is Edward Anthony Masen, the second."
This time it was Edward's turn to look just a little longer than necessary before he remembered himself: "Oh, excuse my poor manners, please do come in and take a seat in the parlor. I will gather your fallen papers and bring them along for you. You must think me a terrible oaf."
Oaf? Bella thought. What an odd expression; besides 'oaf' would be the farthest thing from her mind in relation to Edward Masen, the second.
He bent down and picked up the papers from the file before guiding her into the parlor which looked to Bella like the set from a film set in the 1900s. When they stepped fully into the warmly-lit room, she noticed tapestry rugs on the floor, quaint wallpaper, round edged vintage furniture and art deco lighting.
"This is a lovely room, Edward," she said as she took a seat.
He smiled warmly at her compliment: "Thank you, Miss Swan."
Once she was seated, he handed her the file which was now completely restored to its orderly state, and then took a seat in a high-back chair opposite her. He sat back and crossed his long legs and Bella was transfixed by his elegance.
Now in the soft light of the parlor she could really take in his appearance. His hair was slicked down and parted in the middle, he was clean shaven, and he was wearing button shoes as well as dress pants with a coat which was made of a deep red velvet. He was mesmerising to look at and she found it very difficult not to stare.
Seeing her looking at his clothes Edward panicked: "Oh, please excuse my casual attire, Miss Swan. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. Director Dwyer called on the telephone just a few minutes ago to tell me of your imminent arrival and I had no time to dress in more appropriate clothing to greet you. I sit before you in my smoking jacket which is no way to greet a single young lady paying a call in my home. Please accept my apologies."
Bella burst out in giggles; this day had descended into total craziness. She needed to eat, and she needed coffee.
"Edward?"
"Yes, Miss Swan?" He was a little confused by her giggles unsure if this was a human behaviour or a peculiarly female behaviour.
She leaned forward in her chair as if she was looking for an exit: "Is there a cafeteria or somewhere I can go to get some food and coffee. I haven't eaten since breakfast and I am feeling a little lightheaded?"
Edward stood with a horrified look on his face: "Good heavens, Miss Swan, that won't do at all. I don't pretend to know much about human eating patterns, but I am sure you are advised to eat more regularly than just one a day. Please excuse me for just a moment."
He left the room and Bella wondered if she'd offended him but after a few minutes he returned wearing a dark and very formal suit coat to replace his 'casual' smoking jacket and he resumed his seat opposite her.
Edward smiled and spoke warmly to her: "I have called for dinner and coffee for you, Miss Swan. It should be here very soon."
"Thank you," she said sincerely, wondering just who it was he had called for her dinner.
"You are most welcome, Miss Swan," he said with a broad smile, pleased to have taken care of her in some small way.
"Edward?"
"Yes, Miss Swan?"
"Please call me Bella."
He looked at her with an almost shocked expression: "Oh, well, thank you Miss Swan but we have only just met and ... well, are you sure you are comfortable with me addressing you in such an informal manner."
She smiled: "Yes Edward, I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't feel comfortable with it."
He nodded: "Of course, my apologies. I didn't mean to insinuate anything, I just… well, all right then... Bella."
It was at that moment that Bella thought about the task she had been assigned; how on earth was she going to prepare this gentleman of the past to be a teenager in high school?
"Edward?"
"Yes, Miss... Bella?"
She placed the hefty file she had been holding on to a small side table: "I have information in this file which I will need to read later but perhaps you could tell me a little about yourself while we wait for my dinner to arrive?"
Edward sat straight in his chair: "Why certainly, Miss Swan I would be happy to if that would please you.
"I believe you are already aware that I am a vampire, born to this life in 1918. Before that event, I was raised in Chicago in a rather well-regarded household. My father was head of a quite successful business enterprise, while my mother cared for me and ran the household, of course. I was quite studious and did rather well in school but fully intended to join the troops fighting the war in Europe as soon as I graduated, much to my father's chagrin.
"It was not meant to be, however, as a dreadful flu epidemic took over the whole city killing hundreds and hundreds of people, including first my poor mother and then my father. I too became quite ill and thought that I would surely die from the flu. However, I did not.
"Instead I woke as a vampire in the dark streets of Chicago. I have no memory of getting there, nor do I have a memory of being changed. I managed to make my way back to my family home where I kept to myself and stayed until a terrible thirst for blood overtook me."
He paused for a moment: "I hope this is not too upsetting for you, Miss... I mean Bella. I would not want to upset you in any way."
Bella gave him a reassuring smile: "No Edward, I'm fine; this isn't the least bit upsetting."
He nodded and then continued: "I am pleased, I would hate to upset you so early in our acquaintance.
"To continue, I went out into the community in search of something to quench my thirst, but this is when I discovered that in this new vampiric life, I could read the minds of others. It was overwhelming at first with all the thoughts around me suddenly in my own head; it was quite distracting."
Bella became a little uncomfortable at the idea of Edward listening to her thoughts since she had arrived, especially when she had been admiring his good looks.
Edward noticed her change in demeanour: "Oh, Miss Swan. Please do not upset yourself, I cannot hear your thoughts at all. You are the only person, human or supernatural, whose thoughts are blocked from me."
Bella then remembered what Demetri and Director Dwyer had told her about being a 'mental shield', and she now both understood what they meant as well as being very glad of it. She sat back in her chair: "I am not upset Edward, please continue."
He nodded and continued with his story: "In addition to being distracting, my new mind-reading abilities also prevented me from pursuing my initial urge to drink human blood. When I was drawn to the scent of a person's blood, I became aware of their thoughts and was unable to take the blood from them which I needed to survive.
"Once again, I thought I would surely die; I wandered as far from humans as possible to avoid hearing their thoughts. This led to my stumbling through the forest lands behind my family's estate where I came across a herd of deer. They had no bothersome thoughts for me to hear and so I fed from them."
He paused and gave Bella an apologetic look: "Oh dear, my apologies again, Miss Swan. I understand that you are a vegetarian and my clumsy talk of feeding from animals may be upsetting your fine sensibilities. Please understand that the animals I kill do not suffer and I never kill more than I need."
Bella smiled. Clearly, he had been given some information about her as well.
Edward continued: "Once I realised that I could feed from animals for my sustenance, and that I could read the minds of the humans around me, I managed to continue to live in my parents' home for quite some time. After a few years however, people were beginning to notice that I was not ageing. So, I sold the estate and invested the funds; I put the furniture and other precious things into storage and then began to travel from place to place. But only for a short while.
"In 1928, I was living the great city of New York when unbeknownst to me, Eleazar with his gift for identifying supernatural talents, spent some time observing me from a distance and realised I was a mind reading vampire with an avoidance for harming humans.
"Eleazar then introduced himself to me and we spent some months together, which I found very enjoyable as I had never spent time with another supernatural before and I had been quite lonely at times since the death of my parents.
"Eleazar then introduced me to Renee… I mean, Director Dwyer and her husband Demetri. I liked them very much and when they invited me to join them here, I was pleased to come and do some good in the world. I have worked here ever since, assisting with criminal investigations and the like. Being able to read minds is helpful with interrogations, as you may well imagine."
"When Aro joined the team here a few years ago, I felt that I could at last leave with the knowledge that he could take my place and that I was not turning my back on my duty."
Edward sat forward and spoke with excitement in his voice: "Miss Swan, I long for some new society and new friendships. Demetri believes that I will enjoy life with the Cullen family. I have spoken with Dr Cullen several times on the telephone; he seems to be a very respectable and learned gentleman so I am sure I will enjoy his acquaintance and mentorship."
All through his story Bella was transfixed. Edward was dazzling, eloquent, beautiful and gentle in his manner. A gentle man, she'd never really thought about those words in that way before.
Just then her stomach growled stirring her from her daze, and she blushed with embarrassment: "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Edward."
"Nonsense, Miss Swan. I am more than a little surprised that Renee and Demetri didn't see to your needs better than this. Excuse me a moment while I see if your food is ready."
He stood and left the room again only to return just moments later. He offered her his arm: "Your dinner is here, please may I escort you to the dining room? Or perhaps you'd like to dress for dinner?"
She looked at her crumpled uniform remembering suddenly her terrible morning; it seemed life a week ago. She was a little embarrassed at her state but decided that food was far more important at this stage, than fashion.
"I apologise for my appearance, Edward. I am usually much neater than I am today but, in all honesty, I would prefer to eat rather than change my clothes. Do you mind?" She was strangely concerned that he might be disappointed or offended with her appearance.
"Miss Swan... Bella... you have no idea how long I have waited for you. I wouldn't care if you came to me with nothing but rags on your back. I am delighted to finally meet with you. Please, let me take care of you. Come."
She was confused by his words but as everything that day had confused her, she decided not to question but to just go with it.
She linked her arm with his and Edward led her to a beautiful dining room, with a large antique oak table with seating for eight. The table was set with candle sticks, fine china and crystal glasses. He walked her to a seat which he pulled out for her and then pushed in for her as she sat. She'd seen men do that in movies but had never experienced it before in real life.
"What a stunning dining room," Bella said in awe of the finery.
"Thank you, Miss Swan. Most of these things you see here came from my family's estate," Edward said as he took a seat to her right at the head of the table.
He picked up a small bell and rang it gently before placing it back on the table. Two men entered wearing formal suits and white gloves; one man carried a decanter of red wine and a coffee pot while the other man carried a dinner plate with a lid covering it as well as a bowl of salad.
The covered plate and salad were placed before Bella and her cup was filled with freshly brewed coffee. A decanter was placed in front of Edward and a glass of what Bella then realised was not wine at all, but rich red blood, was poured for him.
The lid was removed from her plate to reveal a delicious plate of mushroom ravioli with a fresh tomato and basil sauce. The two men then disappeared from the room without having said a word.
Bella's stomach growled at the sight of the food before her. She gave a small smile to Edward: "Sorry, I am really hungry, and this certainly looks delicious. Thank you."
"You are most welcome. I suspect you do not take good enough care of yourself, Miss Swan," he said.
Bella remembered again her disastrous morning, her unwashed hair and her unclean uniform. She was embarrassed but this was not typical for her at all, and she wanted to make that clear: "I assure you Edward, I am perfectly capable of caring for myself. I just had a bad morning."
"Hmm," was all he said as he took a long draw from his glass.
"That's not human blood is it?" she had to ask.
"Certainly not," he replied. He was quite indignant at the suggestion but then his tone softened: "This is the blood of bear; Eleazar and I hunted only yesterday. Have you met Eleazar yet? Anyway, I try to collect enough blood for my stores as well as drinking while on the hunt. Normally I would not need to feed so soon after hunting, but... "
"But?" she asked before having her second piece of the delicious ravioli.
He sighed: "But … you, Miss Swan. You have a deliciously tempting scent which when I first tasted on my tongue, I found ... difficult to resist. Since then I have been building up my immunity and developing strategies, such as overfeeding, to ensure you are in no danger from me."
She realised from what he had been saying that he had known her longer than she had known him: "I don't understand what you mean Edward, we have only just met, haven't we?"
"Actually, I've known of you for several years, Miss Swan." He took another drink from his glass and then pressed his napkin to his mouth which left a feint blood smear. When Bella noticed this she distractedly wondered if all his washing required soaking for blood stains.
Edward's voice again drew her attention: "I suppose it is time to do the right thing and be completely honest with you. But please eat while I talk, you've barely touched your food."
She picked up her fork and ate another piece of the ravioli, never taking her eyes from Edward, making it quite clear that she expected him to keep talking.
He then noticed her shiver from cold and he internally recriminated himself for not warming the room to better suit a human guest. It would take too long for the heating to make her more comfortable, so he simply removed his jacket and placed it around Bella's shoulders.
She appreciated his thoughtfulness but couldn't help but notice there was no warmth in the cloth as you might expect when someone had been wearing it. She stored this observation away not wanting to distract Edward with her questions.
Edward resumed his seat and continued: "Something you will learn in your tenure at SPAM, is that there are many supernatural creatures in the world. Some of these supernaturals have gifts or talents. By way of example, I can read minds, well everyone's except yours."
He smiled affectionately at her and then continued: "Aro can also read minds but he does so through the exchange of touch. Eleazar can locate individuals, even humans like yourself, who are gifted. Alice is a very talented seer. Marcus can see relationships and health. Demetri and James are trackers. Honestly, there are too many to mention in this conversation."
He looked to her plate to encourage her to eat, so she again popped another piece of ravioli in her mouth and smirked at him.
He liked her playfulness and the fact that she seemed quite comfortable with all this talk of supernaturals and gifts, so he continued: "Some time ago, the Vampire Alice contacted SPAM to share a vision she had of you and I. Her vision was of us … together … well, as… good friends. James tracked you down for me and Eleazar investigated. After observing you he shared with us that you had a gift which would enable you to block my mind-reading ability among other things. I knew then I had to meet you as this ability would be perfect for my ma ... good friend… and so, here we are."
She ate another piece of ravioli, but she was not satisfied with 'here we are' as an answer: "Please explain further."
"Of course, my dear. James' report revealed that you lived here in Washington DC, and I became very curious. I could not resist the opportunity to get closer to you, so I tried to get close enough to observe you myself before introducing myself but we soon realised that your blood had a very strong and tempting allure for me. This meant that I needed to develop an immunity to your scent if I was ever going to be capable of being, um, ... close to you."
Bella's mind was working overtime at what he meant by 'observing' and what he had been doing since. Her tone was sharp: "And how exactly did you develop this immunity, Edward?"
"Nothing harmful, Miss Swan, please calm yourself. Although you may not be pleased with my tactics, please understand I would never disrespect you."
"So, what were your tactics?" she asked, growing increasingly concerned.
He held his hands up in front of him in surrender: "Miss Swan, I must admit to you that I sent my dear pixie friend Tanya, whom you met earlier, to gather the occasional clothing item, rich with your scent, from your clothes hamper. Then I would carry it with me to desensitise myself to your scent."
"What kind of things did she take, Edward?" She was planning all the ways she could hurt him if the words 'underwear' came out of his mouth.
"Oh, nothing intimate. Please … Bella, you may not believe me, but I am a gentleman and would never do something so inappropriate. Tanya collected pillow covers from your bed linen mostly. We always replaced them when your scent had faded and then took another. They were all deliciously rich with your beautiful scent."
Bella reflected on his words as she tasted her coffee before placing it down and stirring in a teaspoon of sugar. She took her time drinking the coffee as Edward did this same with his 'wine'.
She came to the realisation that three things were certain. One, Edward was a vampire. Two, she was linked with him in some way more than just him being an assignment. And three, she was really, really tired.
She drank the last of her coffee, knowing she still had work to do before she could sleep.
"Edward," she said softly. "This has been the strangest and longest day in my life, and I haven't even read this file yet. Do you think you could show me where I am to sleep tonight and give me some clean clothes to sleep in?"
He stood more quickly than she was prepared for and it made her a little woozy.
"Sorry," he said. "I forgot for a moment to monitor my movements. I will move at a more human pace from now on. May I take your arm, Miss Sw… Bella?"
She shrugged: "Sure."
He smiled a beaming smile and linked her arm in his again before leading her from the room: "This way my dear."
She shook her head at his old-fashioned manners, then picked up the file from the table and let him lead her out of the room and down some dark hallways.
"Edward, why is it so dark in here," she asked.
Once again, Edward internally admonished himself for not thinking of his guest's human needs: "I see in the dark as clearly as I do in the light, so I am not in the habit of wasting resources to light my rooms unnecessarily. I apologise for not thinking of your needs though." He stopped at a switch and then the hallway was illuminated by a series of stylish art deco wall lamps.
"Better?" he asked.
"Much nicer, thank you," she replied. "And Edward, if you want to assimilate into society you are going to have to start doing things humans do, even if they are not necessary."
"Fair point, Miss Swan. I will try to consider this in future. Ah, here we are."
He stopped at a solid, wooden-carved door and opened it for Bella to enter. There was a large four-poster bed covered with a handmade quilt. The room was filled with a warm light from both the glowing fire in the fireplace as well as the lamps around the room. Laid out on the bed was a long white linen nightgown and a white woolen shawl, with a pair of slippers placed on the floor near the bed.
Bella walked into the beautiful room and felt immediately comfortable. She wondered just how much Edward knew about her that he could put together a setting like this, which was straight out of her deepest dreams, but she wouldn't ask now as she really was tired, and desperate for a hot shower.
She was about to ask where the bathroom was, when Edward pointed to a door on the far side of the room: "Your bathroom is through there, Tanya stocked it with things that you use at home, so hopefully they will be to your liking."
He stepped closer to her, took her hand in his and raised it to his lips: "It is so wonderful to finally meet you Miss Swan. Lovely too, that I haven't thought of killing you even once since you arrived. The desensitisation has worked very well."
He started to walk out of the room, but she called out to him: "Edward! Thank you for the gorgeous room and lovely things. One other piece of advice before you leave? "
"Yes, Miss Swan?"
"Best not to talk about wanting to kill people if you want to make friends with them, okay."
He gave her a serious nod as though he was committing this information to memory and then left with a mumbled good night.
Bella made her way into the bathroom and indulged in a long hot shower, and after drying herself with a fluffy towel, she slipped into the soft bed clothes Edward had left for her. With the shawl wrapped around her shoulders she settled into the lounge chair to dry her hair while sitting by the fire, and finally opened the file she'd been carrying around all afternoon and evening.
She spent the next few hours making her way through the information – some of it she read through twice to let it sink in. Her head was swimming with thoughts of Will o'Wisps, pixies, sparkly vegetarian vampires, shapeshifters, seers, mates, and angels with beautiful sensuous wings.
She finally gave in to her tiredness and climbed into the huge four-poster bed, snuggling down into the soft and warm bed. Despite all she had experienced that day and read in that folder, she fell asleep almost immediately.
Edward couldn't help himself from checking in on her in the middle of the night.
She seemed a little restless, so he tucked the quilt around her lovingly and she sighed softly falling back into a deep sleep.
He placed a gentle, chaste kiss on her forehead: "Sweet dreams, my love… my mate." He then took one last look at her before leaving the room with a happy smile on his face.
So: I love this Edward and his apartment, how about you?