Chapter 24
I wasn't over at the Cullens often anymore. They seemed to move on with their happily ever after, and I knew I wasn't included in that.
Lounging around the house was fun and all, but I was getting bored. Maybe I should go visit the Cullens. I realized there was nothing there for me and pushed the thought aside.
Flipping through channels, I groaned. It was too early for anything good to be on. I looked through the collection of movies again, nothing. The vampire house was looking like a better option by the boring minute.
I shook my head clear of that thought. I shouldn't ruin anything they were doing. Beside's I hated the Cullens. But I'm so bored. Jake would be there. He's comedy was entertaining enough.
I headed over, ready to receive strange looks. Alice and Emmet grinned at me, Rosalie ignored me, and Jake acted as if I hadn't even walked in. He was too focused on the precious monster.
"Cassie, where have you been?" Bella exclaimed, pulling me into a tight hug. The coldness of her hug made me pull away. She didn't seem to notice, after all, I had human strength, and she was a newborn.
"Renesmee, this is your Aunt Cassie." Aunt? I was an aunt. I… I had a family. The thought was bewildering. A family, wow.
"Hello, Aunt Cassie." The girl smiled at me.
"Hey." I muttered, not really wanting to feel fondness for her.
"Do you have a favorite color, Aunt Cassie? Mine is red, like Mommy's eyes." She told me. I smiled. This time, my smile wasn't something to fear, it was… nice.
"Red." I told her.
"Daddy said you were very special. He said that you have powers. Can I see?" She asked me. I glanced at Jake, who had been watching me intently, as if I were going to attack her. I looked at Edward to get the okay. He nodded.
"What do you want to see?" I asked her.
"I want to see… I want to see you bend water." She told me. A cup of water was given to me quickly. I took a small bit of it, a streak about a few inches long. I bent it to swirl around her, and she giggled. I caught myself smiling back.
"Can you bend fire?" She asked me.
"Fire was my first element." I told her, thinking she wouldn't understand. She did nod, so maybe she knew what I was talking about.
Making sure she wasn't in the way for this, I made a small flame on the palm of my hand. I sent it in the air, the flame forming a dragon that flew around the room.
"I used to have a dragon." I told her. "He was huge. I named him Iris, because I had only ever seen the color of his scales in the eyes of vampires. I used to ride him a lot when I was six years old." I hadn't thought of Iris in years.
I watched the flame die. I wonder where Iris was now. My mother always told me that a bender had a special connection to their dragon. The creature would not fly for anyone else but its rider. They lived about as long as us, so they were life companions for the rich in my homeland.
The young girl saw something change on my face. She reached out to brush her fingers across my cheek. I saw a picture of a red dragon. I gasped, wondering where the picture had come from.
Renesmee began to wail. Edward snatched her up, Bella hissed, and Jacob was shaking. What happened?
I looked at Renesmee, to see her cradling her hand. I couldn't believe my eyes. Her left hand was badly burned. Had I done that? Had I hurt the child?
I had made it to the door when Jake's huge paws slashed at my back. He had crashed us both through the door. I could hear Nessie wailing from behind him.
"I can heal her!" I yelled at him. He had me pinned to the ground. I couldn't bring myself to burn him off of me. If it were anyone else I wouldn't have had that problem. Instead, I settled for using air bending to escape. Grabbing my glider, I took off into the sky, knowing I wasn't wanted there anymore.
I sat at the local park. The families kept me in check, forcing me to behave myself by not setting anyone else on fire. I bit my lip, wishing I could take it back.
Bella and Edward found me. I was pretty sure they had come over to chew me out.
"You… you evil bitch!" Bella shouted. Some of the mom's looked over at us. I looked up at her, ready for a lashing. "What happened in your life to make you such a bitter person, please, let me know because I'm tired of having to forgive you!" Bella hissed. The mothers were packing up by now and heading home, away from us.
"You really want to know?" I asked her, staring at the swing set.
"Yes, I would really like to know!" I didn't think she knew I was actually going to answer her. I wondered how well she could hear me from her high horse.
"Bella, I ask myself the same question every morning when I wake up. 'If I died today, would I regret it?' My answer is always yes." I said.
"What?" Bella asked, taken back that I actually answered her. I looked her directly into her red eyes.
"My father is the reason." I said.
"Oh please! My parents went through a divorce too. It's not all about you, Cassie!"
"I never said it was!" I said. "Just leave me alone."
"No! I will not leave you alone!"
"Then what the hell do you want, an apology? I can honestly say I'm sorry." I told her.
"Shut the hell up! You're not sorry, you're… you're just… evil." That was it.
"I'm not evil." I whispered. "I'm running away from my people. There is a rather large price over my head."
"Yes, yes you are evil!" Bella shouted, ignoring my confession. "You burnt my daughter, Cassie!" She shouted. I guess I understood her anger. I mean, I hurt her daughter. Who wouldn't be pissed?
"Now we have matching scars." I muttered to myself.
"What?" Edward asked. "Cassie, how did you get that scar?" He asked, pointing to my left hand. I rubbed the rubber like skin, absentminded.
"The same was Nessie did." I told him.
"No. There is absolutely nothing in common about you two. Don't you dare ever say anything like that again." They left me there to remember the day I received the constant reminder of where I came from.
I told my mother. I told her everything. From the honeymoon, to the pregnancy, to the imprint, to the scar. I wanted her to reach out and hug me. I wanted her comforting, but I didn't get it, I never did.
"Well, now you can leave the Cullens out of your life. Honestly, Cassie, that was such an unhealthy relationship. You shouldn't be running around with vampires, especially ones with something that could be mistaken as an immortal child." She scolded. I nodded.
"Yes, mother."
"Cassie, are you out of practice? We should work on that." She said.
"You want to practice? Like, spar with me?" I asked. She nodded and left the room. Sparring, that's what I needed. Finally, I could get my frustration out on something!
I wondered why my mother had chosen now to get me back into shape. But why question her ways? She had saved me countless times, and I owed her my life.
That night, my mother and I snuck out. We began to spar in a clearing. We shot everything we had at one another. She shot lightning at me and I took it in. The electricity ran up my arm, through my stomach, and out the other arm. The sheer power of having lighting in my body was scary and exhilarating at the same time. I felt invincible. I aimed the lightning at the sky.
When my eyes follow it, I see two strange shaped birds. My mother stopped fighting and cocked her head to the side.
"Do you feel that?" She asked me, her eyes scanning the sky.
"Feel what?" I asked, digging my toes into the dirt, trying to see what she was talking about.
"Someone is air bending." She shot lightning up at the sky again. In the split second the sky was lit, I saw two gliders.
My mother and I pointed two fingers at the sky, ready to shoot them down when possible. They were benders, which meant they were a threat. I wasn't lying when I told Bella that I had a price over my head. It was about time some gladiators showed up to try to take us out.
I feel like I made Bella really unreasonable, but the fact that Cassie hurt her kid really badly kind of balances it out.
Alright, so, insert some benders!
Don't worry, the Cullens will return, but for now, we're going to focus on the bending world for a chapter or two.
Do you think the benders are friends or foes? THINK!
I'll update soon, promise!