Sorry - Another long update! Bright news though, I'm working on NaNoWriMo this year - so my hopes is to both finish up this Fic and begin with the sequel. The goal is to have this fic finished by December - We'll see how it goes!
This chapter is a bit short, but I'm pretty attached to it. Seeing some things associated with the Sidhe that haven't really shown up yet. Enjoy!
Edward
Nathan had been sleeping for twenty-four hours before Carlisle finished all of the tests and procedures required. He had taken the opportunity of Nathan's comatose state and sought to find answers not only about Nathans condition, but whatever changes he had gone through. Carlisle had to individually stitch up dozens of incisions that were covering Nathan's body. He was seconds away from admitting defeat before the coagulants made the bleeding subside. With Nathan's blood leaving an exuberant trail – all of the vampires in the room were breathing as sparsely as they could.
Only after Nathan fell asleep did I really understand how much he had been hiding from me. What was before a meek itch in the back of my throat immediately burst into flames with a voracity that I had never before experienced. Thousands of times I had fantasized over the taste of his blood; and now that I was facing it first hand, the scent was more powerful than I ever imagined. However, nothing, even the most inviting aroma, couldn't make me inflict more pain on him than I already had.
Because I refused to leave Nathan's side despite everyone's pressures – every one of us was packed into the infirmary; the Denali clan included.
Everyone stood in silence with their backs planted firmly against the wall. They were all concerned about potentially triggering my wrath, subtle or not they had chosen to stand a fair distance away from me. The only one who felt little concern of my anger was Esme, who stood next to me and looked toward Nathan with worried eyes.
Oh Nate…what have we done? Esme thought, her hand stroking his hair. The difference of color between now and when she had first met Nathan didn't escape her attention, but she deliberately chose to focus on other things.
"How is he?" Esme asked with the same motherly concern that she showed for me and my siblings.
"He's been sleeping for twenty-five hours now." I noted – both of my hands enveloped in one of his.
"Comatose?" Jasper asked carefully.
Feeling the first workings of rage begin to surface, Jasper's ability washed over me and began to ease it just as soon as it arrived. That didn't stop him from apologizing though, Sorry. Shouldn't have asked.
"No, He's stable." Carlisle answered as if it was his cue.
Due to the indescribable sensitivity of the situation, everyone had been sworn to secrecy regarding what had happened between us. The last thing I needed was their speculations pestering me through all of this.
"What is he…?" Eleazar asked in a very safe voice. His thoughts were lingering on Nathan's skin, which used to only glow when he was elated. While the shining luminescence of his skin wasn't as intense now….it was subtly glowing, I'm uncertain if human eyes could discern the difference, but to our kind Nathan could never hide amongst the humans without his illusions. And unlike when he had met the rest of my family with illusions firmly in place – the Denali clan was staring at a creature they had never seen before in their extended time on earth.
They were right to be fearful of Nathan.
He was more powerful than any of us had imagined…
Edward…Should I explain? Carlisle asked mentally.
I nodded – unable to take my eyes off of Nathan.
"Nathan isn't human nor vampire. In fact – he is from a different world all together, one that none of us know or understand."
Rather than interrupt Carlisle, the group of them listened with infinite patience at his rhetoric.
"Some changes have taken place since we last saw him three years ago, so much so that…we cannot explain much... Before, Nathan contained irregularities in just about every aspect of anatomy at the cellular level. The changes, albeit small, were different compared to our kind where there may not be as many differences – but they are certainly more substantial.
After doing some blood work, the number of irregularities are about the same – but all have grown to be even more significant. I don't know what this means, except that he is even less human than we are."
Eleazar's thoughts were running through the possibilities; he was encountering a species for the first time, and it was becoming clear his powers weren't sure how to react it. He didn't perceive Nathan the same as the others. While physically everyone noticed he was different from anything they had ever seen…Eleazar's ability to recognize vampire abilities poked at him annoyingly in Nathan's presence. He was trying to make sense of it all when he asked,
"But what is he?"
Carlisle heaved a sigh, "He's a part of the Aois Sidhe."
"So, he's a faerie?" Kate asked with obvious cynicism.
"You could say that." Carlisle replied.
They continued to discuss Nathan's origins while I fought to ignore their conversation. It wasn't a difficult task with Nathan just inches away from me. My hand stroked the skin of his porcelain cheek. Even in his slumber I noticed the way his body reacted to my touch.
Carlisle had been right. I wasn't sure how human Nathan was – but there had been some significant changes that none of us could understand.
Nathan's psyche began to twirl and change as a new dream began to manifest itself.
Nathan was standing in the center of a lively meadow. So filled with life it seemed like something out of a prolific painting than reality. He wore nothing and yet it seemed as if it was only natural.
He wasn't alone.
A figure clothed from head to toe in a cloak that appeared to be made out of actual shadows than any tangible fabric, stood in front of him. No flesh was visible other than a wrinkled hand that clutched a wooden walking stick older than any tree. While I had no idea who the person was, Nathan knew immediately.
It was the Goddess.
"Edward? What is it?" Jasper asked alarmingly, he could feel the intense emotions running through me because of the sight of a divine figure.
"Nathan is dreaming." I whispered.
"Hello Nate." Said the voice, which was clearly female, however the age was indiscernible – there were aspects that were both old and young. Meanwhile Nathan didn't give any of these a moments a second's thought and merely smiled toward the hooded figure; his mind and body filled with a clarity that had not been there in the airport.
"You wonder why I allowed you to be put through such a struggle."
Nathan began to deny her accusation but she quickly, albeit gently, interrupted him. "There is no reason to deny this – especially to yourself."
"I don't care about what happened…I just want it all to be over." Nathan admitted – and he meant every word of it.
"Why is it you want to die?"
"I can't live forever with this pain. I can't live with Edward… knowing the pain I cause in his presence, and he refuses to change me."
The hooded figure nodded sympathetically, "Your fate is different from those of your kind."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked; a slight impatience showing in his tone
"You are more powerful than most Nathan. There are things you can do that your Mother, cousins, aunt, and even grandfather cannot."
"I…I don't understand." Nathan's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You already grew into your power Nate – now you are truly Sidhe. But you are not immortal."
All I could do was watch as thousands of thoughts ran through Nathan's head in a desperate attempt to make logic out of what the goddess was saying. This couldn't be true – There was no way a human, or any mortal could have survived the prolonged torture he had endured. This was just a dream. As expected; there was no goddess, this was simply a mental image he had created.
"That's impossible." Nathan tried to reason, but the emotion covered his voice.
"Everything has happened for a reason Nate. I have made some mistakes, but from the beginning everything has been decided. You have always had choices in the matter…but you have always chosen the path toward Edward."
"So I'm mortal because of Edward?"
"No no…Edward will be the reason you become immortal. He can offer you something no one else can…"
"But he won't—"
The woman began to draw back her hood in a motion that was graceful beyond imagination, there was only a glimpse of an eye. In that singular eye the eye of not just a Sidhe, but of a human. Somehow it was my mother's eyes; a brilliant chocolate brown. It was Esme's vampire eyes, it was every woman I've ever met. It was their eyes.
And then it was dark. Just as quickly as the dream had manifested itself, everything was gone. I quickly went to check his vitals to check if he was awake but everything seemed to point that he was still asleep.
"Relax. Everything is fine Edward." Alice reminded me knowingly.
Everything wasn't fine. For the first time since I first saw Nathan's inhuman eyes, everything felt as though it was a mystery. My entire belief in another power – in heaven and hell – was abolished in seconds. If what I had seen was true…what I had just experienced vicariously…was being in contact with the divine?
And worst of all – this figure implied that it was my responsibility to turn Nathan into an immortal. Just the thought of it made my skin crawl and my inners ache with a repulsion to the idea of ending Nathan's life. Not only his life…but his soul.
But would that really be the case?
"What was it Ed?" Again from Jasper – his hand was placed carefully on my shoulder while he fought to keep me calm. The struggle thrashing within me brought him on edge. The rest of the room sat there wordlessly, anxiously awaiting an answer to some something. I couldn't muster an appropriate response to what I had just experienced. Even if I could articulate the experience – surely everyone Nathan wasn't the only one who was mad.