I don't have all that much to say with this chapter. Its the beginning of the little vacation in Hong Kong for Edward and Nathan - I think they both needed to get away from everything.
Aside from that, I'd like to ask for anyone who has some sort of constructive criticism please let me know! I'd be eternally grateful. I'm a nonfiction writer and always have been, so at this point in the fic I feel like my style of writing is getting rather repetitious and drawn out...I'm not sure if this is just insecurities or if other people are picking up on a similar vibe! So if you have any thoughts feel free to review or just send me a message and I'll try my best to fix it :)
Hope you enjoy! Its a pretty juicy chapter.
Nathan
"No, we're going to our hotel" I demanded vehemently.
"I'm sorry sir – Your mother's orders were very clear." The driver insisted.
"I'm either taking a cab right now. Or you can drop us off at the hotel. After we unpack we'll go to the studio." I said in as even of a voice as I could muster.
"Its fine Nathan… Lets not further –" Edward tried to play the peacekeeper but I put my finger to his lips. I watched him fight a smile at my very obvious frustration.
Edward, please. There are a lot of things I need to talk to you about before we meet with her.
He sighed and nodded – looking back to our potential driver.
I glared at him with the full intensity that these human-looking eyes would allow. He started to fidget uncomfortable under my gaze and I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd have my way. My Sidhe heritage clung to me like a sleeve, no matter where I went I wouldn't be able to escape it, not entirely. Even with these illusions that I continued to perpetually cover myself with couldn't completely ebb what I truly was. People were naturally attracted to me even if their preference wasn't for men. And when people are attracted to someone, or even feel the need to gravitate toward them, usually they are willing to do whatever to please you…and because if this I nearly always got something once I set my mind to it. I'm sure my mother did something similar to the driver once she'd sent him on the task – but she wasn't here – I was. So I would win.
"Yes sir." He nodded and kept his head down as he went to open the door for us but Edward beat him do it, Edward stood there grinning, probably at whatever the driver was thinking. Of course neither of us actually saw him move, but I hopped in the car momentarily relieved while the driver went back to the wheel with a confused expression.
Edward slid onto the leather interior with feline grace and took his place next to me. I was seated, gazing into the necklace that Edward had given me. There was a mysterious weight to the jewelry – something very unnatural. But once he'd put it on me it felt like home. Of course I couldn't explain it…but it was perfect. I'd taken in every detail of the dog-tag, leaving my mind free to escape the car and focus on much bigger worries.
Edward's arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him so my back was resting on his chest. I instantly felt better once our bodies were touching. Whenever I was anxious physical contact always calmed me down, it didn't need to be sexual, it was almost like a reminder that I wasn't alone. I let out a sigh and rubbed my eyes – so tired…
"You should sleep." He whispered in my ear, his fingers playing idly with my hand as the car began to drive off.
"Too stressed to sleep." I muttered
"You slept on the plane."
Of course I slept, albeit briefly, during the 17 hour flight. But I knew a large part of that was Jasper's doing. I'd become well acquainted with the sensation. Your entire body began to ease and relax more than any man-made drug could accomplish. Sure, I mind was free to worry, and knew exactly what he was doing but I couldn't bring myself to tell him to stop.
Yea, I didn't put up much of a fight. Edward had probably put him up to it – once Jasper started I was out in minutes.
"You know that was because of Jasper." I scolded.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said smugly, but then continued in a much more serious tone. "Please just rest…I don't like you hurting yourself just for this. Everything will be fine."
I sighed and melted even further into his arms and took in the familiar scent. The coolness of his body combined with how safe and invincible I felt when I was this close to him. Sleep wasn't too far away – had to fight it…
"How long until we get to your flat?" Edward asked with irresistibly soft voice. He was determined to get me some rest, and knowing Edward, would probably win.
"20 to 30 minutes, depending on traffic."
"Just rest then…I'll wake you up."
He definitely won.
"Promise?" I asked, even though I knew he would.
"Of course…." He insisted, pulling me even closer to him and started to hum an unknown melody into my ear.
I closed my eyes and thought of nothing but the feeling of being in his arms. I didn't worry about my mother, or the potential doom I'd subjected the rest of the Cullens to by taking them to Hong Kong, no…Edward and I. I sighed as sleep began to rush over me – the familiar pulsing at my brow warned me that sleep was just seconds away.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty." I heard faintly in my sleep. Only when the sensation of Edward's lips kissing my forehead did I come back to reality. It felt like we made it back to my flat in literally the blink of an eye. I smiled when he pulled me up – forcing me to become more alert. Waking up to his perfection always made the process much easier, something to look forward to.
"We'll be back down in an hour" I grumbled crabbily and made my way to the building; ignoring the chilling weather that would have normally made me cling to my coat. We walked through the small, minimalist lobby hand in hand. I gave a curt nod to the person at the desk, whose stare seemed to linger on us for longer than he should have. We both ignored him and went up in the elevator.
My foot tapped of its own accord on the shiny ground while I stood their, impatiently eyeing the numbers going down.
"Nathan, please relax." Edward sighed.
Relaxing was not on the agenda. At least not until he met my mom. This wasn't exactly your standard visit – there were so many preliminaries that I had never even considered, Edward meeting my mother had always been in the very distant future. We had to seriously consider whether or not we should tell her the full truth. If my mom was human it would be a no brainer – but because she was just as immortal as the rest of the Cullens…I couldn't help but feel mildly obliged to tell her the truth. Plus… Eliziah, similar to Alice, knew something was coming, just how much she knew was the problem.
Apparently she was aware of our visit without me bothering to mention it to her otherwise she would have never bothered sending the car. The most troublesome question of all of this was did she know if Edward was human or not?
The elevator opened straight to the loft – no door included. I took a revitalized step forward and lobbed my things on the counter sloppily and breathed a sigh of relief as I took in my surroundings. I'd decorated the place… somewhat. But in reality it probably looked more like a chic college dorm than a legitimate apartment.. Three of the four walls were brick and gave it a very rustic feel that contrasted with the contemporary furniture spread throughout the flat.
My bed sat in a corner away from everything else – only my television hanging from the opposite wall and my desk keeping it company. The place seemed kind of barren since I moved to Forks. In a desperate attempt to make life more bearable in my new home I took most of my sentimental possessions or things that reminded me of home. I'd need to replace them or something, it wasn't quite the same. I guess I wouldn't really be coming back here all that often – hopefully I would be welcome back depending how things went today.
Edward walked around my place casually, taking in all the details, and eventually descended onto on a black leather sofa in the middle of the room He smiled at me when I grabbed a glass of water and went to go sit with him.
"So what do you think?" I asked, fighting to pull off a genuine smile
"Its nice. I would have expected something a bit more…." He hesitated at his word choice.
"Glamorous?" I grinned.
"Something like that." Edward slipped his shoes off before crossing his legs on the sofa so he could turn and look at me. Either he heard my thoughts or was innately polite. I didn't care, as long as the shoes didn't touch the Italian leather.
"So are these horrific details you've been so hesitant to enlighten me with?" He teased. I knew he didn't find anything intimidating about my mother, here's to hoping he was right.
"Well. First things first. Are we going to be honest with her about your…little condition?" I grinned, trying to be playful. I'd started calling vampirism a 'little condition.' At first I think it bothered him, dismissing the whole life-threatening aspect of it all so easily... But he either had grown used to it or was humoring me.
Edward paused for a moment and sat perfectly still while all I could do was take in his absolute perfection. He dressed down for the flight but still looked impeccable even in jeans and a sweater. He wore a padded vest to give the illusion that the cold actually bothered him. I could ignore the cold – make every day feel as though it was as warm as a sunny day. But like so many things that I could do it took a certain amount of concentration, while for Edward…it just seemed to happen naturally.
"Will she already know?" He asked. He'd probably gathered most of the details already from my thoughts.
"No idea. I'm sure she'll bring it up if she does though."
"Then we'll wait for her to bring it up. If not…we will have an enjoyable evening" he finished serenely.
Yea. Enjoyable I repeated cognitively with fierce sarcasm.
"I wonder if I'll be able to hear her thoughts too."
"Doubtful – but if you do, she'll probably be thinking in Cantonese."
"Hopefully I can keep up." He remarked in Cantonese.
I did a double take – replaying the memory a couple of times before I was absolutely certain he just spoke Cantonese , and I hadn't completely lost my mind. Edward mentioned several times that he couldn't speak Cantonese; and never showed any inclination of pursuing it either. If he understood Cantonese…he would have understood not only conversations with Eric, but when I intentionally thought in a language that he wouldn't understand.
He was in trouble.
"What did you say?" I asked him – this time in Cantonese. Even if he couldn't understand what I was saying my venomous tone would certainly implied my question.
"Nothing." (In Cantonese)
I sat there, jaw-dropped for long enough that any human would have shifted awkwardly under my bewildered expression. He didn't seem phased by my incredulous stare. Quite the contrary – he had a bemused expression plastered all over his face.
"You're unbelievable!" I hissed – getting up from the sofa, not quite sure what I was going to do just yet, but something that would busy my hands.
He got up to follow me, remaining several paces behind me even though we both knew he had no trouble keeping up with my pace.
"Nathan" he complained but I ignored him.
I wasn't mad at him. Not really. Aghast, irritated, and frustrated, sure. It was more than difficult to get mad at Edward.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were learning Chinese?" I fumed, filling up another glass and taking an irritated sip – glaring at him the entire time.
"You didn't ask." His expression remained unmoving, but I saw his mouth jerk just slightly to suppress a grin. He always acted like this when I was angry. I hated it when people found my irritation amusing, it made me want to stomp my feet and throw a tantrum like an angry child.
"Not all of us have the luxury of reading minds, maybe you should take that into consideration." I snapped – but the burning anger was fading, and suddenly I felt guilty for overreacting about something so juvenile.
Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me apologetically. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed back – all was forgiven. No matter what Edward did, in his presence every part of me found its rightful place in his arms as if there were no other option.
"Forgive me?" He asked – shooting me an irresistible pout.
I sighed and kissed him again. "I'm sorry for freaking out. I'm just really stressed with all of this…"
"Next time I'll tell you." He amended.
I nodded with a smile, taking note of his eyes. They weren't the normal topaz color, but were slowly fading into a darker color…amber was the closest thing I could relate to, and that wouldn't do its justice.
"You need to hunt."
"It can wait."
"Are you sure? We can meet with my mother tomorrow." I said – trying to remain hopeful he might fall for the bait.
Of course he didn't.
"You're not getting off that easy." He grinned "Go take a shower, I know you want to and it will help you relax. I'll get us settled here while you shower then we can go."
I liked how he said "us." A shower did seem like a good idea, and the fact that it was my shower made the thought even more temptuous. Even though the Cullen's shower (even if space-ship was a more accurate description) would probably have been most people's dream-shower, I found it to be a little clunky and over the top. I was looking forward to my big, but very simple shower. The thought crossed my mind to try to get Edward to join me – but he didn't even give me the opportunity to fantasize.
"Don't even think about it" he said, starting to unpack some of the clothes that we'd both brought into a cabinet near my bed. I watched as he efficiently and effortlessly refolded the clothes and placed them in their allotted place in some sort of organized manner that I would undoubtedly ruin. I watched, enraptured by the innocent activity. I loved everything he did. I loved him. Every part of him. And suddenly – I was excited to show him what life was like here in Hong Kong. In fact, I was so proud of that fact that he was mine a very, very small part of me wanted my mother to meet him.
Yea. It was good to be home.
I'm not sure what a heart attack feels, but this is how I always imagined it. There was a sinking pain in my chest. My heart was beating so fast that I forgot to breathe occasionally – Edward was always quick to remind me.
Edward sat coolly in the corner of the elevator, his hands were wrapped around the bar while he watched me pace back and forth. His eyes were slowly growing to a darker shade – I was betting they would be black after this caucus. I really wished that he would have gone hunting….No one could guess how Eliziah would react to this, and we should have been as prepared as possible.
"I'll be fine." He reminded me for the thousandth time.
For very obvious reasons, I never brought any sort of romantic interest home, granted there had never really been a romantic interest before. But even if there was I wouldn't even consider bringing them to meet her. She tended to have a very dismissive attitude whenever I should introduce her to anything new. I guess dismissive was preferable to raging anger.
The doors opened and a new level of panic grew in me. Could it really be floor 64 already?
The little counter said 37 – And then there was a beautiful young woman in front of me. She was probably a model, half of the offices in this building were somehow fashion-oriented. Unfortunately for her, I didn't care about anything right now except for being alone. I glared at her, making no attempt to hide any of my features and watched her quickly look away and choose another elevator once we made eye contact.
Edward's presence was suddenly behind me. He let his arms hang around my neck and placed his cheek against mine, the coolness of it made me realize how warm I was getting… probably the pacing. I immediately relaxed at Edward's touch and wrapped his arms more securely around my neck, leaning into his stiff frame.
He whispered into my ear "That wasn't very nice" his words would have been reprimanding if he didn't sound so amused.
"Guess not. But I'm like one crisis away from losing complete control."
"And what horrors would befall of us if that were to happen?"
"Hm…" And I tried to think the last time I felt this nervous – so nervous that even maintaining an illusion felt like a nearly impossible task.
It was about a year ago, I was still living in Hong Kong then. Life was the same boring blunder day after day. Everything seemed so much more…insignificant now that Edward was a part of my life.
I was careful to spare Edward some of the more gruesome details. The last thing I needed right now was to make him upset too. That was the day when the topic of my moving was decided, and it was not in my favor. There was no reason for me to leave Hong Kong, the man who had personally made my life hell for the passed 5 had grown tired of me. For the first time in my adult life - I was free.
I didn't even have time to celebrate because there he was in the middle of my mother's studio. There must have been forty people flitting around wildly hoping to appease her – but he was the only one I saw. He was older, forty five going on fifty, in an expensive suit that was common amongst businessmen in Hong Kong. He'd started to gray in his old age even though no one would have dared to point that out. His eyes were only for me…I didn't really escape. The realization that nothing had changed – that nothing would ever change hit me harder than any information I'd encountered up to that point.
I swam in worry and anxiety for those brief seconds and knew that my true features were showing. I didn't need to worry about that…because something worse happened. Much worse.
Something inside me faltered. It wasn't like there was an explosion or if something broke, quite the contrary. It felt as though….I'd had my hand balled up in a fist for a prolonged period of time and then just released it. It felt like I was letting go – like I could breathe to my full capability for the first time in my life.
At the time it just felt like a surge of relief, I didn't even the consequences of such a glorious sense of alleviation. There was a thick scent of Jasmine in the air that I could have sworn was exuding from me. I was still lost in my own little world so it took me longer than it should have to realize what I'd done.
I watched helplessly from my seat, everyone around me piled on top of each other aggressively. They were all pulling, no…ripping clothes off of one another in a desperate attempt for physical contact. Initially it seemed like they were going for the kill. That probably one have been welcome – a comfort knowing that I hadn't been the catalyst for such behavior.
This crazed lust seemed contagious, passing from one person to another with just the slightest graze of the flesh like some mutated STD. They thirsted on one another desperate to appease the mind numbing desire that would make them ache down to their very core. All of these upstanding professionals succumbed to their desires and quickly formed nothing less than a massive orgy.
The room no longer smelled of jasmine but of sex. I'd ruined everyone's career in this room just by taking a breath. I probably should have stayed and watched – after all – it was the honorable thing to do, considering I had single handedly destroyed all of their careers, the least I could do was watch the act so guilt could consume me.
I finished playing through the story in my head after I was sure that Edward had seen all of the very graphic images. He stood unnatural still against me so that I felt he wasn't actually breathing.
"What are you thinking?"
"We're alone in an elevator." Edward commented – lust thick in his tone
"Very alone." I wondered if he would notice the rise in my voice.
"Interesting…." He mused, making a trail of icy kisses across my jaw line. Each one making my body react in a new, thrilling way.
"Are you still worried?" He whispered
"Yes." My voice was breathy.
His hand moved to my waist and lifted my shirt up just enough so his finger could play along my hip bone; dancing across the waistline of my jeans. His hand moved artfully across my midsection – both tickling and massaging at the same time. He continued kissing me until he turned my head just enough so we could stare in each other's eyes when the kisses stopped just shy of my mouth…inciting small sounds of desire from my lips.
"And now?" He grinned playfully.
"Maybe."
Then he kissed me. Our mouths connected in a rush and I immediately began to kiss back. His tongue danced around my lips and I took a deep breath through my nose; grabbing at his hair in my thoughtlessness. I was completely lost in the kiss – not thinking of any of my impending worries – especially my mother. I forgot about everything…in that moment there was nothing but Edward and I. Of course, I began to push further, pressing my mouth against his aggressively unable to hold back my intense craving for him. Any second now he would pull me back with the same playful smile. Maybe even roll his eyes.
To my surprise he began to kiss with a mirrored intensity. He pulled me so close to him that every part of our bodies were rubbing together. I only had a moment to realize he was as excited as I was. And then he took his hands on either side of my face, gentle as if not to break me, and slowly pulled my face off of his.
I sighed, my lips still tingling; hungry for more. Before he could even speak.
"That was all you." I warned.
"Do you feel better?"
"I do, maybe a little light headed." I joked – even though I was light headed. These rare moments where he chose to indulge me usually left a lingering amazement.
"Am I that good?" He teased.
"You have no idea." And pecked him on the lips just once before trying to fix myself so my clothes and hair didn't imply just how close I'd come to having sex in the elevator.
"Lets go face the dragon."
Edward
Even though I'd been spending an enormous amount of effort to ease Nathan's worries, once we entered his mother's studio I feared he may have been right. Eliziah's 'assistant' guided us from the entrance to a room that was unfamiliar even to Nathan.
To call this room extravagant wouldn't quite explain it. Everything was impeccably designed. Our shoes clinked rhythmically on the coral-colored marble floor. This appeared to be some sort of banquet hall for weddings, decorated with tables throughout the room as well as a fountain that was far too large for the room. The fountain was dressed in gold and shined different colors depending where you were. It was easily fifteen feet tall – and seemed oversized even with the massive ceilings of this room.
All of this superfluous decor seemed utterly insignificant in comparison to the person in the center of the room. There was a woman that I assumed to be Nathan's mother sitting curtly in a leather armchair drinking tea in silence. Her thoughts were just as muffled as Nathan's thoughts had been when I first met him.. She was even more beautiful than I had expected.
Eliziah had long blonde hair so vibrant that it seemed unnatural. Yet if you were to compare her with many of the modern day 'bottled blondes' this bizarre and seemingly manmade hue would put them to shame. I knew from Nathan's unique hair color that this wasn't something that could be achieved in a salon – this was her natural hair.
It was clear she had no intention of addressing us, so Nathan ushered me to a seat and took his own, quickly dismissing her assistant. I watched speculatively and let Nathan handle the situation – his mind was racing with potential ways to handle her. I was left confused as I examined her more closely. Her skin seemed to be the most pronounced difference when comparing Nathan to his mother.
When Nathan said'She's more Sidhe than me' I didn't fully grasp what he meant, but mostly disregarded it. Nathan had a habit of not seeing himself clearly and so I took this as just another example of that. Now it made perfect sense…many features of Nathan's were exaggerated but never so out of the ordinary – with the exception of his eyes.
Nathan was just beautiful…but his mother didn't appear as human. Her skin was flecked with sprinkles of gold that I couldn't exactly explain. Whenever she moved just slightly there would be a small glisten of golden sparkles dancing across her porcelain skin as if she was covered in glitter. This glitter however…looked more like jewels than some sort of cheap imitation.
"Hello Mother." Nathan finally greeted – grabbing my hand under the table for support.
Now Eliziah looked up at her son for the first time since we'd entered this massive space, so large it was hard to even call it a room. Just like her son, Eliziah's eyes carried intense strains of gold, a very deep forest green, and finishing with the palest jade…as if someone had melted a stone in a glass of milk.
This is bad. She knows you aren't human or there is no way she would have dropped her shine.
Shine? Did he mean the illusion?
"Mother…where's your…shine?"
"No sense in hiding the truth from Edward. He already knows." She smiled exuberantly at me and extended a petite hand in my direction.
I took her hand and shook it delicately. The touch of her skin was softer than anything I'd ever felt, it was as if the most gentle of flower petals had literally coated her skin. For the moment I couldn't concentrate on anything but the tactile sensation that trailed down my hand.
She's rolling you Nathan growled. But it seemed very insignificant at t he time…I ignored his comment and just stared at her for a moment.
"If you want to play games, we're leaving right now." Nathan clearly agitated. He squeezed my hand and suddenly I was aware of both him and my surroundings. I politely returned my hand to my lap, admittedly, a bit shaken.
"I'm sorry, sometimes I don't know my own strength." She said in a very polite tone. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Edward."
"Its nice to meet your acquaintance, Ms. Ayre." Keeping my tone utmost polite.
"Or maybe I should be Ms. Alden? That is what they're calling you in Forks right?" She looked to Nathan – clearly impressed with her little joke.
"That won't be necessary" I grinned.
Nathan rolled his eyes but kept quiet. He was under the impression this visit was so Eliziah could talk to me – she would catch up with him later.
"Well, since Nathan took it upon himself to share our secret with you" She scolded Nathan, but looked at me while she said it. "What are your thoughts?"
Nathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Such a bad idea…This is miserable. I can't wait to go back he repeated to himself. I looked over to him for just a fraction of a second – you would have never guessed he was anything but pleasant. I guess wearing emotions on your sleeve wasn't an option for his kind either.
"I wouldn't change a thing about him." I said with a smile, trying to keep the intensity of my words to an appropriate level.
"Granted – my mind drifted to Aliens first. So I was pleased to find out I was wrong."
She smiled politely "I'm surprised at your self control. I've had my eye on your family since that one night, with your brother. I haven't had any encounters with your kind personally…although my sister was acquainted…in a way."
I drifted to that night…The image of Nathan's lifeless body and Jasper just second's from killing him still haunted me. Every day I waited for a change of heart, or even on a whim for one of my family members to kill Nathan. It felt like a ticking time bomb – eventually Nathan's luck would run out…
My mood took a turn for the moroes, it was best if I could avoid sharing too much at this point, in case she could detect my mood. I was so blind right now. This was such a completely different entitiy. Sure I'd been confused by Nathan. However Nathan didn't have as much…experience as his mother. With time and observations eventually body language is just as easy to read as thoughts themselves. So the question was, could she read me like a book? Perhaps I was overreacting…
"Oh really? How did that happen?" I asked – genuinely curious.
Eliziah's eyes flickered for the briefest of seconds, if I didn't know better I would have already dismissed what she was about to say as a lie. But then she sat pensively for atleast a minute – her bejeweled eyes wavered with emotion.
She took a deep breath and began to speak.
I haven't heard this story…
"Like our mother, my sister fell in love with a human. I suppose it is something nearly inevitable, for those of us who allow ourselves the luxury of love. Of course I met a human as well. But my encounter was one more of lust – Erika had gone as far as marrying her husband. I still don't understand why she got so attached, he would inevitably grow old and die – while she would live forever."
I felt the raging sense of loss echo through Nathan. I watched his thoughts while he pictured an old and decrepit man slowly fading away…and then there I was…
Nathan closed off the image and all I heard was the muffled sound of his thoughts when I went to pry.
I'd considered this fact. I would be there for Nathan as long as he wanted me. Watch him grow old and die…growing old did not bother me. No matter what changed about Nathan, he would always be the most beautiful and perfect being in my life. And when the time came for him to die…I would not be far behind him.
It hadn't occurred to me that he would have already considered this. And he didn't approach it as fondly as I had, the emotions that were running through his head were darker than I'd ever seen from him. I was so lost in thought I realized I was missing the story…I dismissed the thought for now – But I would have to discuss this with Nathan…
" –They went to the Americas's – since that was the free new world so to speak. Everything seemed to be working out for them. America was this paradise compared to France. They had a pair of twins, just like Erika and I. Of course it was a shock to us all at the time. Reproduction in our kind is exceptionally rare. All we really have to go by are dated stories passed down generation from generation, but the fact that both my sister and I were blessed with children is most likely attributed to Fertility deities in our ancestry.
"A long story short – Erika's husband was killed by a Vampire. We were so ignorant then. Of course just our folklore happened to be true but of course werewolves, vampires, were just popularized by stories to scare children. We didn't consider even one those faerie tales, excuse the pun, were a possibility. But Erika had the sight just as I do – just a different version so to speak… She could see things of the past. And once she saw her husband's body she saw his death from beginning to end. It truly haunted her…
"Erika's gifts were always suited for battle. I have no idea what predetermines our fate but it seemed so out of place, she was always the most compassionate of us all. She detested violence in all its forms. And then it was suddenly clear once Gerald was killed. She took on a new identity entirely…she sent her two daughters to France with me and went off by herself to commit some sort of spiritual mission.. We always communicated through dreams, with no phones and letters being far too inconvenient. I'm sure you understand what that was like."
She grinned in my direction. I wondered how much she knew about us…I glanced over to Nathan and who had an unreadable expression, I turned back to look at her while she continued with this epic tale.
"She completely succumbed to vengeance. And then it all became obvious, you see…We don't always grow into ourselves until much later in life. There always has to be some catalyst for you to become fully Sidhe, to come into your power if you will. The catalyst was obviously the death of her one and true loved one, and ever since that day she lived and breathed nothing but vengeance for ten years. She killed many of your kind, countless numbers. Of course Vampires are fearsome but they just couldn't defend themselves against her…abilities. Sidhe are rare enough that in battle we almost always have the element of surprise.
"Who would have guessed that your brother had crossed her path? I was so worried once I realized what happened…" She looked to Nathan with concern thick in her eyes.
Jasper popped into my head – and I couldn't help but stiffen to realize he had been right all this time…
"Nate hasn't come into his power yet…I was prepared for the worst." She looked down ashamed. Nathan was a pale shade of green. He gulped while his heart-beat fluttered, his hands were starting to grow clammy in mine as he fidgeted uncomfortably. What was he thinking? I fumed to myself. He always hid himself from me at the most inopportune times.
I couldn't shake off the fear that had been in Jasper's eyes once he thought Nathan was a creature. Of course I just assumed he was mistaken – but now…sitting next to Nathan…How badly had I underestimated him? Was he truly as fragile as I had imagined?
"I really didn't expect it. The odds of someone surviving Erika's wrath was rare enough…and for them to be in some homogenous cesspool like Forks Washington? Regardless…You have my eternal gratitude Edward. Anything I can freely give is yours, you have kept Nate safe and have sacrificed so much to protect him..." Emotion cut her apology short, she smiled sheepishly – fresh tears coating her eyes.
"Your approval of our relationship would be more than I could ever ask for." My words were for Eliziah but I kept my eyes on Nathan – he looked nearly as emotional as his mother.
She smiled "You deserve much more than that."
"Nate…Maybe you should visit Jessica, she should be in the studio. She'd love to see you."
"I'll visit when we're done here." He said stiffly.
"Please…There is something I need to discuss with Edward. A vision about his family, I think its best in private…"
Nathan looked at me – the uncertainty in his eyes was abundantly clear.
Nod if you're okay with this. I don't think it's a very good idea…
I nodded once with an encouraging smile on my lips, Alice's warning clear in my memory.
'His mother if going to want to talk to you in private…I don't know if its something that you want to know or not, but it has to do with Nathan."
Yes. I had to know.
"I'll be with you in a couple of minutes." I smiled while he got up and lingered for a second too long, debating whether kissing me would be appropriate in front of his mother. In the end he just walked away, lightly brushing my cheek with his finge tips. Then all that was left of him was the clicking sound of his shoes on the hard marble.
He took several more steps before the door slammed shut. I really didn't want to deal with this right now with Nathan obviously upset. I reassured myself that this would only take a few minutes and I would be back with Nathan.
"Sorry for the ominous request for privacy…But there are some things Nate isn't prepared to hear." She warned, taking a sip of her tea while she analyzed my every movement.
"It isn't a problem…What is it exactly? You mentioned my family?"
I quickly considered all of the possibilities that would be important enough for her to request privacy. But then again, if she was even half as skilled as Nathan at bending the truth (which I had no doubt she was) it was probably a stretch.
"Well, It wasn't exactly about your family. Its actually about Nate." She said in the most serious tone. She'd gone from completely polite to the dead-pan that immortals are quite capable of in seconds.
"We are truly immortal. Unlike Vampires, of course you don't age…but my kind truly do not die. And because of that reason Sidhe are capable of ridding of themselves…And that is why my sister in no longer with us….after she completed what she felt to be right she left us" She sighed and looked like she debated on telling me the truth – but continued.
"After a certain point being immortal can be more of a punishment than a blessing…I know you understand what I mean. But once a Sidhe has absolutely no desire to live – they feel as though they served their purpose and want nothing more to depart this world… they do. It was as if they never existed…We go back into the earth and wait to be reborn. It's a painless and sudden process once it has been genuinely decided."
"If I may be so bold – Why does this story pertain to me?"
"It may not pertain to you now….but it will in time"