Hello my lovelies! This intro will be short since I don't have a lot to explain here without ruining the next chapter. The only thing you really should know is that Hailey and Aron make their first spoken (as vampires) appearance. Ernest is also a vampire because he's much too loyal to them to leave them in death. And Hailey can change her identity at will. I know it implies that she can only do it when she has her gloves on but that's just what she uses as a trigger. I do hope you're all reading as much as possible and spreading the word. I'm truly hoping for 1000 views before the month ends (since the story will probably end as well...). So please keep reading and reviewing, you all mean just about everything to me! I probably won't update tomorrow but I may just so, until then, cheers!
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The sound of kitten heels against hard wooden floors announced Hailey's arrival before she walked in through the front door of their newly acquired Olympia home. Although it did not hold a candle to the lush grandeur of the Anderson estate, it had a subtle, yet elegant class.
"No trace of her in Seattle." Hailey said matter-of-factly. She took a red thumb tack from a depreciating box and pushed the point through the second 'T' of the searched city.
"Okay, we'll go closer to the beaches," Aron said looking over the map with sadness. The United States before him was covered in tiny red daggers of disappointment. With each city, Aron grew closer to giving up, but the memories of his long-lost love kept him going. He knew she had sent for them to be changed. He knew that she was like them and she wanted to be found, "I'll go towards Sequim and you go towards Port Angeles."
"I'll take Ernest with me," Hailey said standing straighter, smoothing out her light purple summer dress and walked towards the door, Ernest held it open.
"Remember, Hailey." He said with a smile, holding her traveling gloves in his palm.
"Ernest, what could we possibly do without you?" Hailey said, slipping the delicate fabric through her fingers. As she did, her hair grew long and a brilliant shade of red, curling at the roots softly. Her skin tanned to olive and her eyes changed to a dark chocolate-brown. Her nose shrunk slightly as her ears became pierced.
"Let's not find out, shall we?" Ernest said playfully. Hailey smiled as seventeen freckles sprinkled her cheeks. She would be unrecognizable to anyone who knew her, but more importantly, her transformed skin would not give her secret away.
They drove along route 101 for a long while, stopping every so often to try to pick up a scent. After a few hours of endless dead ends, they parked in the middle of an outdoor shopping mall parking lot and drank blood poured into wine glasses.
"What are we to do if we do not find her, Ernest?" Hailey said, staring down into her half empty glass.
"I suppose if such a time comes, we will be ready to comfort him and maybe help him to move forward." He took a sip and looked around at the people, "after all, what more can we do?"
"Maybe so." They sat in silence for a time and close to noon, Hailey walked out of the car and into the mall. She was about to walk into a dress shop, meaning to indulge herself in material delights when a name caught her attention.
"Oh my God, Angela, how did you not get shoes for Edward's wedding?" This was truly more of an exclaimed statement than a question, "It's in like four hours!"
"Five. And I had shoes, but you dubbed them too man-ish when you asked for a picture this morning… and how are you still calling it Edward's wedding, doesn't the wedding get called the bride's wedding?" The girl called Angela responded. They walked into a bargain bin shoe store, a place Hailey wouldn't usually be caught dead in, but there were not many Edwards in Port Angeles, they checked the phone books already. Hailey hid behind a rack of sandals and took a few. She took a seat on the bench behind the two girls and looked at the floor as she tried shoes three sizes too big in order to listen to their mindless chatter for a lead.
"Ooh, how about these?" Angela said as she modeled a plain black pair of flats, "they're on sale, two for one." Hailey wanted to vomit.
"Ew, Ang, are you being serious right now?" The girl pulled out a white card from her purse.
"Jess, don't tell me you carry around an invitation with you?" Angela asked her desperately.
"Whhaaatt? I like the handwriting. Plus, the wording is so fancy!" The one called Jess scrunched up her face as she read it, putting on a low and horrible British accent, "Isabella Marie Swan and Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," Hailey let out a small gasp as she unlaced a mortifying pair of high-top sneakers and kept listening, "together with their families, request the honour of your presence at the celebration of their marriage: Saturday, thee thirteenth of August twoo thousand-and eleven, five o'clock in the evening," she took a deep breath and continued, "four-twenty Woodcroft Avenue in Forks, Washington, my good Madame!" she curtsied as Angela laughed.
"I still say you're obsessed with Edward, more than any other girl."
"Whatever, we need to focus!" Jess said with determination and walked over to another rack of shoes while Angela sat quietly, checking her phone. Hailey replaced the shoes on the rack and left the shop quickly, moving to the car as quickly as she could without others becoming suspicious of ultra-human speed.
"We need to go, now." Hailey said, getting into the car. They took off before the door was even fully closed.
They stopped occasionally to look around the forests. No scent of Cara, but there were many vampires around. If Cara was here, it would make sense she would be with them. But unlike normal vampires, there were not many dead humans around, only animals. They both heard of a new age vampire, refusing to kill humans but neither knew they existed around here. It would make sense for a small town, too suspicious.
"Do you think Cara is marrying Edward, tonight?" Ernest said as they got back into the car.
"That's what I'm afraid of…" she looked around for a moment at the tall trees. They were magical. She took off her traveling gloves, immediately returning to her natural appearance, placing them in her lap, "But the invitation did not say Cara, it said Isabella, something."
"There is always opportunity to change your name."
"True…" more silence as they drove.
"If the time comes, Hailey, we will know what to do." Ernest said calmly. Hailey smiled but they were both nervous. Nearly nine and a half decades of waiting and searching for Cara and dealing with Aron's pendulum of hope seemed to come down to this night. This lead seemed much more concrete than any other they've gotten, and therefore; much more worrisome. By the time they got to the Cullen house, the reception was in full swing. Music could be heard from a mile away (at least to them). Ernest kept watch of the car as Hailey put on her traveling gloves and proceeded into the party, seeming to look dressed for the occasion.
All around her was the smell of humans. Although mixed in were also a decent amount of vampires. She had to move quickly. Vampires, in her own experience, were always extremely territorial. She moved through the crowd, noting a few golden-eyed beautiful people, although they were not the vampires she wanted to see. Many young humans danced and drank spirits around her, the music overwhelmed her senses until everything slowed. The music dropped tempo and everyone danced closer and more romantically or sat down to avoid the whole phenomenon.
Hailey found sanctuary behind a large willow tree draped with small twinkling Christmas lights. She pulled away the great big branches and looked upon the dance floor. She saw the two girls from the mall talking at a nearby table, a blonde vampire dancing with a short black-haired vampire. The blonde one looked over hopefully at another couple slightly away from the crowd of people, dancing too slow for the already slow music. Her head rested on his shoulder as he whispered into her ear. Her hair was pulled up and whisked over her shoulder, secured by dozens of small pins with a small pearl at the end of each one. As they turned, she caught a glimpse of her lightly made up face. Her chocolate-brown eyes were illuminated by her smile. Hailey smiled a little and turned away, towards the exit, leaving Edward and his beloved alone.
Hailey and Ernest walked through the doors once more of their home in Olympia. Hailey took off her traveling gloves and put them on the hall table. She watched in the mirror as her hair shortened and lightened, as her freckles disappear and her skin pale in color. She walked with confidence to the main dining room and looked at the pictures on the mantle near the table. They'd refused to change the staff and so many of them died, although they were replaced by their children, who gained knowledge of their employers at an early age. The picture she looked at was a true treasure. Every single one of the staff, their children, some grandchildren, Ernest, her and Aron stood happily together. They were a family. A beautiful, immortalized family. Hailey walked confidently up to Aron, who'd slumped into a dining room chair and not yet felt the inspiration to move.
"Did you find her?" The question was almost a chore at this point, Aron looked at his sister heavy-heartedly. She knew that she had to honour her brother and there was just one way to do so at the given moment—
"No." Hailey lied, "But you know what?" She knelt down, meeting his eye level like a child in need of consoling after a fall, "we will find her. She is waiting for you somewhere and when you find her, you will be together. I just know you will. We just have to keep looking." Hailey gave him a smile that Aron returned, the flickering flame of hope rekindled to rage into a roaring fire.