Chapter 2
Isabella stayed there on the wooden floor, frozen in shock and terror, as the men took the stranger away. She knew she couldn't react the way she wanted to. She wanted to shout at her father and the other men to let him go. She wanted to look into the stranger's eyes again and solve the mysteries they promised. She needed to ask him about the world he came from and how he had travelled to her land. If there was a way in, then there was surely a way out. And above the strong connection she felt when his gaze found hers, she knew this handsome stranger would be her savior. He had the means to take her away from the fate her parents had decided to bestow upon her, if she helped him escape from the claws of her harsh world.
"Isabella, are you hurt?"
She shook herself out of her stupor and looked at her brother, Jared, who stood over her. He was looking down at her with an empty stare, showing no real interest for her well-being but just a tiny bit of duty towards his family.
"No, I'm fine," she answered, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Then, you should be going. You still have chores to do."
Jared turned to the boat to fetch the basket with the fish. Just then, Isabella noticed a leather cuff lying close to her feet. Somehow knowing by instinct to whom it belonged, she grabbed and hid it in her dresses before her brother could notice it. She could hear Jared's returning footsteps and she hurried to get up before she could betray her inner turmoil.
"Here," he said and gave her the heavy bag.
Isabella turned to leave immediately, but Jared caught her arm. She looked up at him, a bewildered look that couldn't be helped on her face. But from the looks of it, Jared wasn't entirely composed either, his carefully structured expression of blankness cracking at the edges. He was holding her arms tightly and the basket full of fish was squeezed between them.
"What did you see, Isabella?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play coy, girl. You were staring at the sea as if there was something there and just seconds later this man appeared out of nowhere."
Isabella looked away from Jared's piercing eyes. She wasn't used to him showing such intense feelings about anything, but then, he could just be worried about the safety of the town. Self-preservation was acceptable, after all.
"Nothing," she whispered, wanting to keep the image of the crying woman to herself. "It was… it was just a flickering light that caught my eye."
"Look at me," Jared demanded. Isabella gathered all her strength to look straight at him and lie and seem normal.
"It was just a light?"
Isabella nodded with much more conviction this time while not breaking away from Jared's eyes.
"Just a light. And then the light got stronger and that stranger appeared."
"Hmm." Jared let go of her arms and stepped back, still looking rather unconvinced but something else had sparked in his eyes. Something Isabella couldn't understand but would stay in her mind for the days to come.
"Do you think he is dangerous?"
Her question seemed to startle Jared but he didn't lose that curious spark, it only seemed to grow stronger.
"Don't get involved in matters that don't concern you, Isabella. Go about your work and stay out of trouble. Whatever is to come will come, whether we want it or not."
Isabella frowned at that, but when Jared just waved her away she left him behind and held onto the leather cuff that was hidden by her heart like a talisman of protection.
Edward was sitting on the floor of the small cell, his hands buried in his hair and his knees drown up. He wanted to shut out the last hour like a bad dream. The strangers shouting for the people of the town to clear the road for them to pass, the hands that held him in a vice grip, the blank and sometimes scared glances of the onlookers.
The moment he fell onto the hard floor, bringing a young girl down with him, he was so disoriented that he could hardly understand what had happened. Then, he was pulled into the eyes of the angel he had landed on and he found himself caught between wanting to apologize and just staying there for hours, lost in the sea of brown that was her eyes.
However, someone else was quick to make the decision for him. He was so rudely interrupted by hands that dragged him away that he lost the calm the girl's presence brought him and he was once again drowning in confusion. From the very brief glance around him before the strangers took him away, he gathered that he must have been on the other side of the Shadow, the land that was so close yet so distant from his island. A land that could only be reached by the memories of the elders, who still talked about the forbidden part of their past. As they passed through the city, Edward tried to collect as many details as he could of this new world. He wanted to think that, despite of the rude welcome, he would actually be treated kindly.
But those hopes were unfounded when he was thrown into a humid cell.
Now that the whirlwind of unexpected events seemed to calm down, Edward tried to put everything that had happened in perspective. He had no idea how he'd been teleported to the 'forbidden' mainland, bypassing the rule of the shadow and appearing on a dock that had clearly seen better days and falling onto the unsuspecting girl. He just knew that it had to do with the ghost reaching helplessly to the Shadow and the anniversary of the great Division.
"Hey, boy," Edward heard the whisper from a dark corner deeper into the cell. He turned towards the voice only to encounter a hunched-over form hiding in the shadows. Edward frowned, wondering how he hadn't noticed anyone else in there before, and slowly crept closer. The pale and weak light that came from the lamp outside the cell illuminated the face of an old haggard man. His skin was dark and dirty, hidden behind fuzzy white hair and a beard that reached his chest. The only thing he wore was a thin, brown cloth. He was skinny and frail, his limps tight around his frame, as if to protect himself from an imminent danger.
"Yeah, boy, you're here at last," the man said and sighed as if all his problems had been solved. "Come closer, please, I have something for you, young Prince."
Edward stopped a few feet away from the old man and looked him over, curiously. The man's eyes were twinkling with euphoria.
"Ah, that's much better. I can really see you, now that you're closer. Don't make an old man try too hard, Prince Edward. That wouldn't be polite and I know your mother raised you better than that. You do have her eyes…" the man said with a kind smirk.
Edward reacted immediately at the mention of his name and his mother and cut the man's sentence. He sprang forward, grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him against the wall.
"How do you know me and my mother?" he hissed lowly so as to not alert the guards.
"Ah, and your ancestors' temper, indeed."
"You know who I am. How?"
The man looked at Edward as if trying to find a sign in the prince's eyes that he would believe him.
He's here, the man thought to himself. It doesn't matter whether he's ready or not. He has to face his destiny.
The man sighed and said he would tell him everything if he first released him.
Edward noticed the serious tone that took over the man's previous mischievousness. He had no one to trust in this unknown land. He didn't even know if he could trust this old man. But he had to start somewhere. He stepped back and leaned against the wall behind him, still sitting down.
"What's your name?" Edward asked.
"I am Eleazar the Fifth. The 'lunatic' of Forks," the man, Eleazar, said with a smile and wide eyes. Edward had no reason not to believe the nickname.
"Why lunatic?" he asked anyway.
"Well, considering I've been alive since Nathan decided to fall in love with the wrong girl is reason enough."
"Excuse me?" Edward almost yelled surprised.
"It would be in your better interest not to raise your voice in here, Prince Edward. Your station means nothing in Forks."
"But…"
"Yes, I'm over 200 years old but that shouldn't be so surprising with everything that happened with the Shadow. Inexplicable and wondrous things have been happening on this land ever since before the Shadow."
Edward remembered the stories Gregory had told him while growing up. Stories about mythical creatures that used to wander in the sea and the wizards that often times walked through the city and helped the King when danger threatened the city. Maybe it was time to believe in those stories again because his transportation to Forks was the best proof he could find.
"How is it back there?" Eleazar asked, once again loosing that twinkle from his eyes.
"It's good," he started. "Better than here, I guess. From what I've seen of this town, you're not fairing very well."
"Yes, we never recovered from the disaster. The Shadow keeps us trapped in here. The people do their best to survive with the limited resources they produce from the sea and the land. But it might not be enough for the next fifty years."
Edward didn't know how to respond to that. There was no way that he knew of for Phoenix to help the people of Forks. And if there was, he doubted that they would be willing to risk the unknown.
"I have something for you." Eleazar moved from his spot and got closer to Edward with strained movements. He stopped right in front of him and reached into a small pocket at the front of his cloth.
Eleazar was holding a silver compass. In the dim light, it looked old and there was no glass to cover the needle inside. Edward took it from Eleazar's hand and looked at it more carefully. There was something written on the plaque beneath the needle but he couldn't understand the language.
"Turn me once, I'll show you North. Turn me twice, I'll get you home," Eleazar said. Edward looked at him, wondering if he was supposed to do it now so that he would escape.
"You can't leave Forks, yet," Eleazar answered his thoughts and Edward showed no surprise this time. "You need to find the girl first and take her with you."
"You mean the girl from the docks? Was she transported here like me?"
"No, she was born and raised in Forks, but she needs to leave immediately. There are people here who plan to hurt her."
"Hold on a second," Edward stopped him from explaining anymore. Finally, everything he had said was sinking in and he couldn't help but wonder. "You are imprisoned in here just like me. You look like you haven't seen the light of day in ages. How do you know so much about me or about this girl?"
"You need to have a little faith, Edward. There's no one else in this town that you can trust, apart from the girl. Not even me."
Edward looked at Eleazar straight into his eyes. Despite the years that aged him and his weakened condition, his stare emanated a strength one could rarely find even inside the youngest and strongest of men. It was a strength that could move mountains and separate seas. It was that strength that made Edward believe in the strange man that had come out of nowhere to help him.
Eleazar must have recognized the understanding in Edward's expression because he nodded and leaned closer to the younger man and whispered.
"Now, head my advices, Prince Edward, because believe it or not you are safer in here than out in the streets.
"First, once they come for you, shut down. Show no emotion, none at all. This is the way the people of Forks have operated for 200 years and no panic or anger will be welcome. They will execute you faster than you can spell your own name."
"No emotions?" Edward said confused.
"Yes. I don't have the time to explain it to you, right now. When you find the girl, ask her about it."
The girl again.
"Second, do me and yourself a favor and pretend that you don't remember who you are. It would make matters simpler for you than blurting out that you're royalty from the lost land. Just tell them that the only thing you remember is appearing on the docks and being dragged here. They will accept a mystery better than a Cullen Prince."
"Alright, no names or memories. Anything else?"
"Yes, and this is very important. So, please, no more freak outs, because in just a minute the guards will be here to collect you.
"The girl's name is Isabella Swan."
Edward froze in his place.
"As in General Swan and Jillian Swan?" he asked, not really expecting another answer.
"Exactly. The only Swan girl born ever since Jillian."
Was this why he was here? Eleazar said he had to save Isabella. But she was a Swan, a descendant of Jillian, like he was a descendant of Nathan Cullen. It wasn't just him, like his parents and Gregory thought. It was the both of them that triggered the transportation through the Shadow. It couldn't be coincidence that he was brought here on the day after his birthday nor the fact that he practically fell on top of her before he even stepped foot on Forks.
Eleazar moved back to his place in the shadows just before Edward heard the guards coming closer. He turned towards the door when it opened and one of the two men that stood outside motioned for him to follow them. With a last glance back to the now empty space where before sat Eleazar, Edward stood up, dismissing any thoughts that he might have had hallucinations caused by tiredness, and exited the cell.
Charles and Garrett Swan were in front of the Council. The Council of Forks was a team of the five eldest men, who were responsible for solving the matters of the town. Aro, Marcus, Caius, Felix and Banner were members of the council for two years now. They were sitting in chairs behind a long table. It was Banner that had brought the matter of human sacrifice to Charles. He and Garrett had stayed behind after the other fishermen had explained how the stranger appeared on the dock. Charles wanted to discuss Isabella's sacrifice with the Council and possibly make preparations for the morning after.
"So, Charles. Did you discuss the matter with your family?" the skinny man with the long grey hair in the middle started.
"Yes, Aro," Charles answered. "We were hoping that we could make preparations for tomorrow morning, if possible."
"Why such a hurry, Charles?" the man sitting further on the right asked.
"It is just out of precaution, Marcus. Our fish is less and less every day. We can't make it much longer."
The five men looked at each other with meaningful stares before Aro turned back to the Swans.
"Very well, then. However, we do have a stipulation."
"If it's in my ability to help you and the community in any way, you know I am at your service."
"Of course, of course," Aro said and stood from his chair.
He was a very thin man, but tall and his presence demanded respect even from the most apathetic people of Forks. The long cloaks that were tradition for the elders to wear made him look imposing and powerful, despite his pale complexion. He walked toward Charles and Garrett with a frown of deep thought on his face.
"The thing is, Charles, we think that allowing this stranger to remain here isn't in our best favor. We haven't met him yet but merely the fact that someone from outside Forks has managed to get through the Shadow is a bad sign."
"He could be a spy from the Cullens' descendants," Caius continued. "He might be planning to gain our trust and collect information that would be dangerous in the wrong hands."
"I'm assuming you want me to have the stranger join Isabella tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, that would be best."
After discussing the details of the sacrifice and how the stranger would be brought to the place of his death, the Swans went back to the docks, giving no more thought to the fact that they had just ordered Isabella's death.
Isabella did her best to keep the handsome stranger out of her mind as she did her chores at home. It was quite easy with her mother giving her all kinds of things to do around the house and at the small stable they had. Having something to busy herself with did wonders to her over thinking.
Renee didn't ask her anything about the stranger when she arrived home. She had seen him being brought to the council's house like everybody else but she didn't question things that didn't concern her. Isabella for once was happy about her mother's apathy. Had Renee asked her questions, she wouldn't have been able to answer them with a straight face and even voice. At least, she was prepared to face her father. She would say the same lie she had told Jared and hopefully they would believe her. Maybe if she showed the right mounts of apathy about this matter, they wouldn't go through with the sacrifice.
That night at dinner, Charles looked less tense than he had been the same morning. He asked no questions about the stranger and he didn't even mention him while he ate. No one acted out of the ordinary; not even Jared who had showed signs of change that morning.
When he finished eating, he straightened his back and cleared his throat to get everyone attention. Like clockwork, everyone put down their utensils and looked at Charles at the head of the table.
"Things are not going very good, as you well know. Our money is getting less and less every day and the fish are not enough to feed us anymore."
Isabella heard what her father was saying and had a feeling that she knew what he was about to say.
"Tomorrow morning, we are going to the temple. I have asked for the council to let us have a special day of praying to the gods. We will take the last pieces of gold that belongs to the family and we've kept for desperate times and hope that they will like our offer.
"So, everybody to bed, immediately. We have to rise earlier than usually, tomorrow. Isabella, help your mother with the table before you retire."
That was all he said before he stood up from his seat and headed for his and Renee's bedroom. But Isabella knew that no gold would be enough for the gods. They would want blood.
A/N: Proof-read by KCKING.