Title: Forward
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.
It's down to this
I've got to make this life make sense
Can anyone tell what I've done
I miss the life
I miss the colours of the world
Can anyone tell where I am
'Cause now again I've found myself
So far down, away from the sun
That shines into the darkest place
I'm so far down, away from the sun again
Away from the sun again
My vision was perfect as a vampire, but I still doubted how clearly I was seeing as I stared at Laurent. My memories from my human life were still intact. Edward had explained that things would begin to get groggy as I lived longer, but I could remember things from my human life now that I couldn't before, so I think that's just another oddity of being Bella. One of the things I remembered was the piercing red eyes that belonged to a certain glossy haired vampire. The eyes that bore into mine were a soft golden color, just like any vegetarian vampire. Could my eyes deceive me like this?
"Bella…" Laurent said, his French accent hinting just the slightest in his tone. Instinctively I was thrown into defensive mode, crouching down and letting a feral snarl escape my lips. I had no idea where any of that came from, but I am definitely going to roll with it.
"Laurent." I seethed, watching his every move with hawk eyes. Laurent smiled coyly, raising his hands in defense. His eyes looked me over as his expression turned even more perplexed.
"I mean you no harm, Bella." He murmured in a sincere tone. It was hard to control the new attitude that rolled over me and the eye roll that wanted to go along with it.
"Last I remember, you were on the side of those trying to harm me." My voice was continually more threatening, surprising me further. Laurent let out a soft laugh, the bells resounding through the area.
"That was ages ago, no?" He questioned while taking a small step forward. My rumbling growl stopped him in his place.
"If you count four years as ages ago." I muttered, still crouched defensively.
"Newborns and their love for time." Laurent sighed with a smile while shaking his head.
"I'm no longer a newborn. Victoria ended my life three years ago to the day, actually." Laurent's eyebrows raised in shock. I wasn't going to let him play me for being stupid like so many others had. "Don't pretend like you didn't know." I snarled.
"I truly had no idea that Victoria had been around. The last I had heard from her was three years ago. She wanted me to help her end your life. I tried to talk her out of it, but my efforts proved useless." I could detect the slightest bit of remorse in his voice before he covered it smoothly.
"Do you honestly think I am that stupid?" I questioned angrily at his assumption of my knowledge. Once again he raised his brows in shock at my statement.
"Bella, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I am not lying to you. I had no idea Victoria was successful in her plans. I am sorry for causing you fear so many years ago, but I have changed my ways. It may have taken a few centuries to get my act together, but I am on the right path now. I know you are not stupid and there would be no point in lying to you." Laurent pleaded for me to believe him. I scanned his eyes in attempt to detect any dishonesty. It might have been useless since he was older than Carlisle and had more time to perfect his display, but something told me to believe him. The tense moment dragged on for what felt like forever with stares being exchanged until I willed my body to un-crouch.
"Okay, I believe you, but don't think that I won't hesitate to kill you either." I threatened as I began to close the distance between us. Laurent met me in the middle and extended his hand.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Laurent." He smiled. It was one of those easy going and carefree smiles that I would see on Jake so frequently. I shook his hand and returned my own small smile.
"What brings you to Forks?" I asked as we sat down in the squishy grass, facing each other. He made a long gesture to the scenery around us.
"Besides its natural beauty, I am actually here on a favor from my wife." It was my turn to raise my eyebrows in shock. I never pictured him as having a wife since he was just an evil person in my mind, but it was a nice surprise knowing somebody out there loved him.
"I take it your wife is the cause of your diet?" I asked to which he responded with a nod.
"That would be my lovely Irina." His smile gave away how much he truly loved his wife. The name threw me for a moment, but nothing came to mind.
"Where did you meet her?" I prodded, wanting to find the answer to the familiarity of the name.
"It was all thanks to Carlisle Cullen. He told me about their sister coven in Denali and I went there immediately after departing from James' manhunt." Laurent explained with another smile. It felt like my stomach leapt into my throat. It would figure that Laurent would be with a coven so closely bonded to the Cullen's. "That's actually why I'm here."
"For the Cullen's?" I asked, trying my best to control the ache in my voice.
"Yes. Irina and her sisters have not heard from Carlisle in a long while, so they sent me to deliver a message in person. It's incredibly funny that I would run into you! What a shock it will be for your mate to see us walk through the door as acquaintances." Laurent said in a delighted tone.
"I hate to burst your bubble, but the Cullen's aren't here." Laurent once again looked shocked at my statement. The struggle was increasingly difficult to control my emotions from escaping me.
"You must know where they went then?" He inquired with a burning curiosity. I could tell that he didn't want to take disappointing news back home to his wife. I shook my head as my chest tightened.
"They all left three years ago. Edward didn't want me so they all left. What good was a human to him?" My emotions started to pour out and I felt like a fool for showing them to Laurent. His hand slowly moved to rest on my knee, giving me a reassuring squeeze.
"Bella, I do not know much about you, but I do know one thing. You should not let Edward make you doubt your value. He is a daft idiot if he left you behind." Laurent's voice was comforting and I appreciated his kind words. It was an odd feeling since I had been threatening to kill him not that long ago.
"Victoria's revenge was pointless." I laughed sadly. What a stupid mess this was. Laurent grinned a humorless smile.
"If I ever see her again, I'll be sure to tell her that." Laurent laughed lightly at her foolishness.
"I don't think you'll be seeing her again." I sneered. Laurent was once again taken aback, but said nothing more on the subject.
"I think you should come meet the Denali coven, even if just for a few hours." Laurent suggested, hope burning in his golden eyes. I sighed and shook my head. I doubt I could handle seeing people that would remind me so much of those that I lost.
"Laurent, I don't think that's a possibility." He heard the sadness in my voice and moved to his knees in front of me.
"Bella, just give it a chance. They would love to meet you." He encouraged with his toothy smile. I wonder if he had a power like Jasper's. I was beginning to feel very optimistic towards it.
"You should go if you want to Bells." Jake's husky voice surprised me. I hadn't even heard him approach us. Once again, another vampire Bella defect. He appeared from the tree line with a smile. Laurent was taken back by him and his casual tone with me.
"A wolf?" He asked incredulously while looking between the two of us.
"Laurent, this is my best friend Jacob. He's a wolf. If you try anything, I'll still kill you." I tried to laugh at the end while still being serious. I doubt Laurent would try anything, but I had to make the warning just in case.
"I've never…" He murmured to himself while looking at Jake once again. "I promise no harm to you." He spoke sincerely towards Jake and I believed him too.
"Are you sure I should go? It'd be for a few hours and then I would come home." I looked at Jake for advice, nervously biting my lip. He smiled and nodded.
"It wouldn't hurt for you to get more acquainted with your own stink." Jake's gruff laugh echoed in the small clearing. I stuck my tongue out at him playfully before motioning for Laurent to lead the way. In a flash, we were running towards Alaska.
It took about 6 or 7 hours to finally reach the Denali Coven household. I never realized quite how far away they truly lived. Their home was breathtaking and my mind instantly transported to Esme and her love of décor. It was a three story home with beautiful mahogany wood finish on the outside. The windows were a beautiful clear that revealed the exquisite designs on the inside of the home. I let out a breath to release my nerves as I followed Laurent into the home.
"I've brought a guest." Laurent said once we entered the living room. The beauty of the home took my breath away. There were large paintings hung on every wall. Some even looked like originals, which I would not question how they could end up with the Starry Night in their living room. In the matter of a few short seconds, 5 more vampires joined us in the room. I could remember hearing short stories about the Denali's, but meeting them was an entire different experience.
"Hello!" A woman with beautiful long dark brown hair and an olive skin tone said welcomingly. Her voice was tinted with a Spanish accent. This must be Carmen.
"You must be Bella." Another woman spoke. She had long, straight blonde hair that was the color of corn silk. Her golden eyes were a piercing almond shape as she smiled towards me. "I'm Kate." She extended her hand and I shook it. A growl came from the tall man standing next to Carmen.
"Seriously, Kate?" He asked with a disapproving tone in his voice. He also had an olive skin tone and a Spanish accent; Eleazar.
"I was just seeing if she was immune or not." Kate rolled her eyes towards Eleazar and smiled back towards me. "I'm electrifying. I have a shock ability and I was just testing it on you."
"Really? I didn't feel anything." I said in surprise. She sighed with a nod of her head.
"I had the impression that you were a shield, so I wanted to test the theory." Kate spoke like it was an everyday thing.
"A shield?" I questioned again, confusion lacing into my voice.
"This is Bella's first real interaction with her own kind. She's not accustomed to much of the terms. The Cullen's seemed to leave her in the dark about most of what happens after the transformation." Laurent explained before moving towards the woman I assumed to be Irina. She was fairly short with short hair to match, but her eyes were also very large and welcoming.
"Sorry if we've overwhelmed you." The last woman spoke; Tanya. She was extremely beautiful and made me think of Rosalie's beauty. Her strawberry blonde hair was long and pull back to reveal the defining features of her face.
"No, it's okay. I actually appreciate learning this stuff." I murmured with a small smile of my own. I was still pretty nervous and out of my element. I seemed to respond better around a bunch of wolves than my own kind.
"Anyways, a shield is exactly that. You have a protective layer around your mind that keeps you from being affected by any of gifts, physical or mental." Eleazar explained, talking with his hands as he did so.
"Edward was so pissed that he couldn't read your mind." Irina laughed and shook her head at whatever memory must have come to her. I felt my stomach clench at the thought of having to explain, but thankfully Laurent stepped in for me.
"The Cullen's left Bella behind, when she was still human. Edward decided he wasn't mated with her and the entire family left, most likely at his request. My old friend Victoria who was out for revenge against Edward found and changed Bella." Laurent said, frustration at the situation coming in clearly through his voice. The rest of the coven shared shock and sadness at the situation.
"I'm so sorry, Bella. That must have been so difficult for you to deal with." Kate apologized, with a sad sigh. I could hear the concern in her voice.
"It was." I murmured quietly while looking at the ground. "It still is." It was an extremely weird feeling to be this vulnerable with them, but my heart immediately trusted them.
"Don't worry about them too much, sweetie. They are wonderful people, but not everyone, even vampires, makes the best decisions." Carmen remarked before coming to give me a hug which I gladly returned. It was nice to feel so comfortable with a large group of people again.
"Let's sit and visit." Tanya suggested with a smile as we moved towards the plush couches they had in their living room.
It felt like I had known the Denali's forever as we spent the next couple of hours talking. I learned so much about vampirism and even about the laws to follow. I assumed some of the laws, but it was nice actually knowing the real ones. My mind felt so incredibly full with all the new knowledge I gained. My heart also felt full with the friendships and bonds I formed with the Denali's. It was nice knowing that I had somewhere else I could go if I wanted to. I sighed with content from the comfort of my bed. It finally felt like I was moving forward.
Another chapter down! Yay!
This was a pretty fun chapter to write. I enjoyed the banter between Laurent and Bella. Things may not be full of action right now, but there is still some to come, so don't give up on it yet please!
What did you think of this chapter? Did you like it? I like the fact of Bella and the Denali Coven being friends, even without the Cullen's currently around. A lot of fanfictions I've read and even wrote always have Bella at odds with them, especially Tanya. I wanted to do something different.
I had a question for you guys! Breaking Dawn Part 2 was on TV tonight and I was wondering if anyone else STILL cries at the imaginary battle that takes place at the end? It gets me every time! Lol! I cry like a baby!
A note about the 6-7 hours it took for Bella and Laurent to get to Alaska; it's accurate. I'm trying to keep things pretty realistic and accurate. In The Official Guide to the Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer says that vampires usually travel at speeds over 100 miles, and to get the time, you divide distance from speed. Just so you know I'm not making up random numbers! But honestly, I could since it's my story, lol!
What's ahead: Bella wants to finish high school, but needs to get some money first!
I hope you guys are liking the story so far! Please review with any suggestions, comments, or ideas you have and I'll see what I can do! Sorry for the completely random Author's Note! Please indulge me!
Song: Away From The Sun by 3 Doors Down
Love,
GVE