0. . .oO•.o. A Promise Unknowingly Kept .o.•Oo. . .0
Warning: This story will contain mild content, themes, and language which some may find offensive. If you have questions let me know.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owner, Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of the me - the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Longest chapter yet compared to the previous ones. I've skipped just over one hundred years of her vampire life, here's Chapter Four.
Beta Read by TheGirlWhoReadFiction - thank you so much!
0. . .oO•.o. A Promise Unknowingly Kept .o.•Oo. . .0
CHAPTER 4 - Arla and Niklas Freawine
•~Annabelle Cullen~•
- 113 years later (Mandel, Norway, 1788) –
Over a hundred years had passed since I'd become a vampire. In this time, I had been travelling around Europe, never staying in one area for too long – 10 years being the most before questions were asked – to avoid detection because I don't age.
Throughout the years, I had become absorbed in my studies, learning as much as I could, and more. I've become fluent in many other native languages besides English, the most useful being Latin, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, and French. During the day, I found other topics that fascinated me enough to learn and master, these being Mythology, Psychology and Medicine. With my photographic memory, I found the classes easy to take in. At night, as I'm unable to sleep, I took extra classes such as World Law, History, English Literature, and Music studies – where I've learnt how to play the piano, harp, violin, and lute.
My travels have led me to Mandel, Norway, where I was under the identity of a fully experienced medical nurse at the age of 20 years old and was making good use of speaking Norwegian. This is where I first met Arla and Niklas Freawine.
I'd been one of the first people to take care of them after their birth. They were the most beautiful twin babies I had set my eyes upon, both with blonde and slightly wavy hair and jade green eyes to match their mother's. Katerina – the twins' mother – and I became close friends during my first few months of knowing the small family, which I had not planned on doing in the beginning.
Almost three months after the birth of little Arla and Niklas, Katerina asked me if I would do the honour of fulfilling the role of being their godmother. There was no way I could have possibly refused. I was already so protective of them, even though they were human. The saddening thought was that one day I would have to leave them behind to keep my existence a secret. I tried not to think of that day.
- 8 years later (Mandel, Norway, 1796) –
Arla and Niklas have recently celebrated their eighth birthday. They have both grown to become beautiful young children; anyone would be extremely lucky to have them in their lives, for I certainly was. But, the time had come for me to move on to a new place. I knew this day would eventually come, I just wished that is was not this soon.
Stepping up to Katerina's front porch, I knocked on her front door and immediately I could hear the tiny pitter-patter of two sets of feet running towards the door. The door swung open and I was greeted with two pairs of shining green eyes. To imagine not seeing those eyes again was painful. "Aunty Izzy!" Arla and Niklas nearly screamed at me. They knew me by this name.
"Hello little ones, how are you both? Is mommy around?" I asked happily, going down to their level to give them hugs.
They both grinned at me, but Arla was the one to answer. "We are good, Aunty Izzy; we have been planting pretty flowers with mommy in the garden. Mommy's still outside." Niklas nodded, agreeing with his sister.
It was that I heard Katerina calling, "Arla? Niklas? Who was at the door?" she asked as she entered the house from the back entrance.
The twins spun around and skipped over to where their mother's voice came from, "Aunty Izzy is here!" Niklas announced with glee.
I heard Katerina gasp just before she emerged from her kitchen with the twins in tow. "Izzy! You're here." She came and hugged me while welcoming me in. "I haven't seen you in weeks. How have you been?"
We retired to the huge fur rug in front of the stone fireplace. The twins settled at our feet. "I've been well. I'd have called 'round sooner but... I've had to sort some things out and think them through." It had taken me a while to come and inform them all that I was leaving, and I was still finding it near impossible to do.
Katerina looked at me with slight worry flashing in her eyes. "That doesn't sound so good. Everything alright, Izzy?"
I sighed, looking down at the floor where Arla and Niklas were playing with the wooden figure carvings that I'd gotten them for Christmas the year before. I shook my head, answering Katerina's question. "I...I have to leave," I almost whispered.
We sat in silence for a few minutes while I waited for her to process what I'd just told her. I risked a look at my closest friend and regretted it almost immediately. She was crying soundlessly; she looked heartbroken, like I'd killed her puppy. I winced at what I saw. Slowly moving forward, I pulled her gently into my embrace. "I'm so sorry, Katerina. I wouldn't leave if I had another choice," I said, trying to explain.
From over Katerina's shoulder, I could see Arla and Niklas had stopped playing and were watching us as I comforted their mother. Katerina pulled back, "I understand, Izzy." It didn't sound convincing. "Honestly, I do," She assured me with a sad smile. I hugged her again.
A while later I stepped out of the room so Katerina could explain to Arla and Niklas of my leaving in the most delicate way she could. When I re-entered the room, the twin's eyes met with mine and it was the most heartbreaking sight I have seen. They were red, puffy and filled with tears. If my dead heart could beat, it would've broken into a million pieces with what I was witnessing. This made is so hard for me to do this to them.
They both got up and ran over to me and held on to me tightly. "Please don't go..." They pleaded with me in unison. If only I could cry, just to show them how difficult it was to leave and how much I wished I could stay.
Leaning back to look at them, and their tear-stained faces, I said, "Hey, this is not really goodbye." I gave a weak smile. "Just say...say 'See you later'." They took a second to think about what I'd said before nodding reluctantly.
I stood up and walked towards Katerina near the front door. I pulled her close and hugged her for probably the last time. "You are probably leaving knowing that you're not coming back, aren't you?" she whispered. I shook my head, "You're leaving not for the normal reasons, are you?" I hesitated, wondering what she meant by that before nodding my head. Katerina loosened her hold on me slightly at my silent answer, but then tightened again. "We'll miss you, Izzy," she paused. "But we will see you again in the far future, even if you don't believe it yourself yet." I pulled back, giving her a questioning look. All she did was smile back at me.
After we said our long goodbyes, I hugged them all for the final time and blew them each a kiss. It was dark, so I waited until Katerina closed their front door, making sure that I wasn't being watched, and sprinted off into the woods surrounding the back of their home.
Moving on again, I didn't look back. I just couldn't...I had to move forward now.
A/N:
What did you like about this chapter? Too rushed or not?
Do you want to here about Annabelle's past in more depth later on in the story?
Like Arla and Niklas? Let me know.
Comments to Reviews from Chapter 3:
- psychovampirefreak - Thank you, it's great to know.
- Rose - I will be writing quite a bit more, and thank you.
- Catherine gest Lauros - The reunion of Annabelle and Carlisle will occur quite a bit in to the story as I'm trying not to rush through it so it would lack the quality details along the way.
- DGarofalo84 - I didn't want her to be shunned upon for the bloodlust weakness, so I made it able to withstand it and be a strong woman...also she must have gotten the trait from her father.