A/N: This is my baby, and was stopped after Breaking Dawn was written and after he imprinted. I loved this story with all my heart, and was the only one I wrote without encouragement from others. I still think about it, and hope that you find the same enjoyment out of this that I did. Please give me your thoughts on it, I do believe it would have been my best work.
Disclaimer: I own those characters you do not recognize, and the others, I must say, belong to the talented Stephenie.
Category: Books: Twilight
Genre: Romance/Drama/Action/Adventure/Suspense
Summary: The war is raging, the blood being spilled. Lines must be drawn. Which side are you on?
Midnight
by: Dark Huntress
Chapter Five: The Cullens
I didn't move, unsure, perhaps it was just a guess and he didn't really know that I was there. I had n't made a noise, I know I hadn't, I had been so careful. Biting my lip, I took a silent step back, not ready to run, but nearly there. If anyone made a move I would flee, I was not being held captive a moment longer.
Jumping as the door opened, I held back a scream as the caramel haired woman ushered me in, basically, grabbing my arm and forcing me in the room. Everyone looked at me, some with anger, others with pity. I didn't like either one.
Taking a seat on the only empty chair, I sat back as far away from their penetrating eyes as possible. I had never wished someone's death as much as I did their's.
"Calm down, dear, its alright," the caramel haired woman said, a gentle hand resting on my shoulder, I quickly flinched and she removed it.
"We have decided, after much deliberation, that it would be in best interests to justify ourselves to you," the leader like blonde man said.
"Just the night before last, you saw some sights I'm sure you find...unusual. Its understandable, your fear, but please let me assure you we met no harm. We wished to protect our family, nothing more," he continued. "I hope you do not hold it against us, Lyn."
"Evelyn," I snapped, glaring at him, the fear and anger racing through me causing my head to pound, why did they do this to me?
"Very well, Evelyn. You see, Evelyn, I was born many, many years ago, in London. My father was a pastor, a very...opinionated person, and for awhile, so was I. He led hunts, ones that I'm sure you will find ridiculous, but none the less, for lack of better words, he hunted vampires. As I grew older, I started leading raids, not as bloodthirsty as my father, but not detesting the thought of protecting my mother and sisters.
"As time grew, no more than five years I suppose, its so very vague, I came to my final hunt. Its was a moonless night, I remember that more than anything, for the streets that night seemed so much more sinister than usual. It was a small group, less than seven. Unlike my father, I did not jump to conclusions, I made sure that they truly were the undead before going after them. And after many fruitless attempts, I finally found a coven.
"They too were small, and one in particular was weak. I set a trap for them, just above their exit from the sewers, hoping to gain at least one. My plan however failed, for the others, the less thirsty, were smarter and diverted from the area. I learned later that they came back for the rest of my group.
"However, the weaker one, he took the usual way, and I took after him. Being unable to go long distances, I quickly got him, and without warning, was attacked. Realizing what was coming, I hid in a cellar and hid myself with rotting potatoes. It was very...difficult to remain silent and hidden for those three days of my change, but I was able.
"From the very beginning I detested myself, I abhorred the thought of taking human life. I tried everything, drowning, starvation, jumping of cliffs," at which point he looked over at the brunette, "and through all of it, I was able to resist the temptation of taking life. I do not know what stopped me, I only feel that the will of God wished me to find a better way.
"As I grew weak and my hunger consumed me, a herd of deer passed me, and I attacked. After the kill, I was revitalized, and though it was still not what I wanted, I could live knowing that humans were safe. After two centuries of the diet, I became immune to the scent of human blood.
"I soon traveled to Italy, and met a coven of vampires known as the Volturi that ran on intelligence and etiquette rather than pure animalistic instinct. The leaders, Aro, Marcus, and Caius constantly pushed me to drink off what they considered the natural diet, I refused. Eventually, it led to my leave of their company.
"At the start of the 20th Century, 1911 to be exact, I was in Columbus, Ohio working as a medical doctor. It was the first time I laid eyes on Esme, at the time Esme Platt. She had a broken leg, and seemed happy. Soon, I moved on to Chicago.
"I had spent several years there, almost to the point when I would have to leave once more, I can only stay in one place til I turn '35'. It was during this time that the influenza epidemic hit the city, and I found myself treating a very ill Edward. He had lost both his parents to it, and would soon be joining them. I was lonely, terribly so, and wished for some form of companionship. Before his mother died, she begged me to save her son, in anyway that I could. She was the only one that seemed to know that something about me was different. So, with that, I snuck him out of the hospital, and changed him.
"In 1921, we moved to Wisconsin, where once more, I tended to Esme. Unlike the first time, the injuries were more severe, a failed suicide. The happy child I had remembered, had disappeared as she grew. I was saddened at what had happened, and so changed her. After which, we fell in love, and wed.
"I soon found Rosalie, hoping that she would be a match to Edward, it was not meant to be however. After, Rosalie returned at one point with a man nearly killed by a bear attack, I changed him. Emmett and she soon married. Alice and Jasper showed up later, and they were welcomed with open arms.
"In 1936, we moved to Forks, where we met with the Quileute Tribe, and do to their ancestral beliefs, knew of what we were. We signed a treaty, it merely said we were to refrain from biting humans here and must stay off their land. We soon moved because of the age problems. Which we returned after a stay in Alaska with some friends of our's," the man finished, and I had concluded that he was certifiably insane.
"She doesn't believe you," the bronze haired man said, his eyes searching mine before turning back to the previously speaking blonde.
"Smart child, besides Bella, who would readily believe our tale?" he returned, turning to the bronze man with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Carlisle, you're being rude," the caramel woman scolded, a delicate scowl forming on her normally smiling face. "The child doesn't even know our names!"
"Oh," the man said, a smile gracing his model's face as he chuckled low in his throat. "I do apologize, my name is Carlisle Cullen, I'm a doctor at the Forks hospital."
"And I'm Esme, dear," the caramel woman said, she held out her hand for me to shake, I didn't move, I refused contact with them. She frowned slightly, but sat back down, never saying a word.
"I'm Alice Cullen!" the miniature one cheered, bouncing in her seat. "And this is Jasper Hale, my husband." She pointed to the other blonde man at this.
"I'm Emmett Cullen," the big, jumbo sized man said, "and this is Rosalie Hale, my wife." At the last part, the man pointed to the tallest of the women psychos, the gorgeous blonde.
"And I'm Bella Cullen," the brunette said, the one that I blamed this all on, "and my husband Edward Cullen." At this the bronze haired man nodded his head.
"How to you wish to prove to her, Carlisle?" Esme asked, her honey eyes turning to her husband before turning back to me.
"Show her the less dangerous, obviously, I do not wish to frighten her more than necessary," he replied, Bella stood then, smiling shyly at me.
"Watch closely now Lyn, I plan to show you some of the things we can do," she instructed, and despite myself, I found myself staring at her intently.
Seeing this, she smiled, taking a deep breathing before her form shook and she disappeared. Gasping, I scooted back in my seat further, gripping the armrest as tight as I could. It was just a trick, a magic trick, an illusion, I chanted in my head, trying to level my heart rate back to normal.
"Behind you," a whisper said, and turning slowly, I nearly screamed right there. There, clear across the huge library, Bella stood leaning casually against the opposite wall in which she had originally stood. A trick, an illusion, not real.
"Emmett," Edward said, his eyes moving swiftly to the bigger man. Emmett laughed before standing and lifting the couch where Rosalie and Esme still resided.
His form never wavered as he held the couch way above his head in one hand, hell, the muscles in his arm didn't even bulge. Again, another illusion, it wasn't real, I had to keep believing this, lest I become as insane as they.
Biting my lip, I once again felt like screaming as I felt my body relaxing, the fear was there, still very prominent, but my body wasn't behaving! Soon my mind did the same, calming from the images and the lunatics before me.
"Stop it! Stop it! Please, just stop it," I sobbed, the hold releasing me as I curled into a ball, tears leaking from my eyes and crying out my frustration.
"Shhh, its okay, Lyn," a breath breathed, it was delicious, almost sickening at the sweetness of it. "I know you're scared, and I know its hard to believe, but open your mind to it."
"No more, no more," I cried, turning away from her.
"Very well, I'll take you back to you room," she said, and she picked me up, carrying me effortlessly to my room where she lay me down.
She left me there, and I cried, til the darkness once more took me.
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Sitting up, I grimaced at the state of dress I was in. The clothes I had been loaned were mussed, and my hair, now oily, clung to my face which was sticky with dried tears. My lips were cracked, and burned when I licked them to moisten their dried state. Standing, I tried to erase the thoughts of earlier from my mind. I didn't want to believe it, really I didn't, but I knew, when she had picked me up, that there had been no strings. She had been able to pick me up effortlessly, by her own might, and her muscles had not originally been made to lift that.
What else was there? Could there be any other explanation? Steroids caused huge muscles, to the point of deformity, and there was no way that was the case. I didn't know enough about medical drugs for their to be an answer, nor was she under adrenaline, so it was quickly ruled out. What could be the explanation? Were they really what they claimed?
But honestly, vampires?
Shaking my head, I walked to the window, looking out at the setting sun. I was hungry again, but didn't feel like trying to find anything, that is, if they left the door unlocked this time.
Turning around, I stopped when I saw a yellow note. Reaching for it, I looked at the clothes and towel beneath it before reading its words.
The bathroom is the last room down the hall, I'm sure you want a shower.
-Bella
Smiling, I grabbed the towel and clothes and walked down the hall, that fact answering my earlier notion.
At first I was fearful of becoming lost, but luckily, it was right there. Turning the knob, I entered, dumbstruck at the beauty. It was grand in a simplistic way. The whole home so far seemed to scream of old world influence. Most of it was marble, the twisting ivy decorations on the lights were decked in a gold coloring that shone like its own light in the gleam of the ceiling set lights. The sink had a faucet that was silver, large, and curved. The shower had a frosted glass, and the shower head was huge, larger than my head.
Quickly shedding the clothes, I stepped in, sighing as the hot water hit my aching muscles. Still favoring my ankle, I leaned against the wall and let the refreshing spray wash away my worries momentarily. Lathering my hair with vanilla shampoo, I felt the weight of my hair change from dirty to wonderfully clean.
After my shower, I stepped out of the shower, and was surprised to find a brush sitting on the sink where it hadn't been before. I hadn't heard anyone enter, but if they could move as quickly as they claimed, then it was of no surprise.
Brushing through my dark hair, working through the tangles, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were slightly sunken in, not much, but more pronounced than before. My gray eyes were wider than normal, as if the acceptance I was starting to feel hadn't reached my body yet, and it was still in frantic mode. My mouth was cracked, a slight trace of blood on my lower lip, which I quickly got rid of, if these guys were vamps, then I wasn't taking any risks.
Pulling on the black dress pants, I grumbled about a the length, hating the fact that almost everything was too short on me. The shirt fit however, the one thing I didn't usually have trouble with.
Walking out of the bathroom, I debated on where to go. On one hand, I still wasn't sure that they weren't insane, so therefore, it would be smart to escape, or go back to my room and try to avoid them. But, I was hungry, and I knew that the kitchen would most likely be downstairs, though whether that would help me or not in this house, I wasn't sure.
Taking the steps two at a time, consciously watching my feet, I made it to the first floor without any horrible accidents. Which, might I add, made me very happy.
Looking about, I gasped in surprise, the entire area was like one huge room, not blocked by any walls, except for the few necessary to support it. The place was huge, light, yet too spacious to feel like a home. Maybe it was the fact that I was biased at this point, but a few walls to enclose me would have made me feel much better. More like Emily's house, warm, cozy, welcoming.
Shaking my head, I meandered around, searching for any sign of a refrigerator or stove. Finally, to the very back of the house, was a galley kitchen, too clean to have every been used. Grimacing at that thought, I quickly shrugged it off and went hunting for my food. Again, I quickly discarded that thought.
Opening the refrigerator, I smiled at the large selection that I found there. My stomach rumbled loudly in approval as I removed a soda followed by a strawberry yogurt cup.
"We weren't sure what you liked, so we bought a bit of everything," a voice said, causing me to let out a very unladylike screech before promptly losing my beloved yogurt all over the kitchen floor.
"Um..." I started lamely, I looked down at the pink mess, and at my sticky feet, not sure of what to say, or what to do. Hell, I wasn't even sure of what to believe at this point.
"Can I fix you anything, you know, not just ready to serve?" she asked, pointing to the way too clean of stove still shining in the crisp morning light.
"Sure," I replied, watching as she bent down and retrieved a cooking pot, before heading to one of the cabinets, completely in her own world.
She tossed a roll of paper towels in my direction before closing the cabinet and walking over to a freezer I hadn't seen in the beginning. Getting the hint, I wetted down the towels and cleaned up the mess quickly. Wiggling my toes, I checked for any sticky feeling, happy when I found none.
Sitting down on a stool, I kept silent, still skittish of that fact of what she was. How could my world turn upside down so suddenly? What could I believe? Was any of this real? Was I dreaming, a horrible fantastical nightmare? Oh how I hoped it was that, for if it were reality, I would be totally lost.
"We're going to take you back home tonight, let you calm down," she said, her gaze never leaving the now delicious smelling chili to waft to my nose. "We'll be checking in on you soon though."
"'Kay," I responded, twisting my fingers in my lap, I tried to work up the nerve to get out what I wanted to ask, to get everything out in the open.
"Its almost done," she said offhandedly, once again I bit my lip, looking anywhere but at her, why was this so hard for me?
"Um...Bella?" I started, wishing then that I had just let things go and kept my mouth shut, why did I have to be such a coward!
"Yeah?" she asked, turning from her cooking to glance at me.
"Um, do you think, after we're done, we could go somewhere and...talk?" I ventured, it was stupid, I know, but I was too nervous to be around all of them, and despite her starting this all, I felt better with her.
"Sure," she answered, smiling before turning around again, and in that instant, besides the physical differences, she reminded me of Emily.
After a few more moments, she sat a steaming bowl of chili in front of me, something I devoured almost instantaneously. It was delicious, just like the food I had been served earlier in the room I was being held captive in.
"That's one of the things I miss most, you know?" she said randomly, staring at my food.
"Huh? What is?" I asked, clueless.
"Eating, tasting such a wide range of variety in food," she answered honestly before turning and looking out the large window.
"Can't you eat it, even if it doesn't, you know, help you survive?" I asked, if she liked it, why could she at it then?
"I wish it was like that, but it tastes, well, like dirt I suppose. Disgusting, even if it does smell appetizing," she said, grimacing after awhile.
"Oh," I said, falling back into silence, another piece of information, and another anonymity that I could add to my steadily growing list.
"Yeah, but, I got Edward, and that's what counts," she said, a dreamy gaze taking over her eyes, and for some unknown reason, I felt a pang hit me in the stomach.
"Was it easy?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, regretting it instantly, I didn't want to know, I didn't want to think about this, they were crazy, insane, nuts even.
"Was what easy?" Bella questioned, looking at me intently, her golden gaze searching my face.
"Everything," I whispered, pushing the chili away hastily, my stomach suddenly not so hungry anymore.
"No, not at all," she answered, a gravity entering her voice, one that hadn't been there just a few moments ago.
Nodding my head, I stood and went to the sink, busying myself with washing the dishes I had used, methodically, wishing for something more mind consuming. After the simple task was done however, I was at a loss, I wanted answers, I wanted proof, I wanted something reliable to lean upon. But unfortunately, none of that was being handed to me.
"I want you to take me somewhere now," I said quietly, looking out the window into their backyard. "Somewhere of my choosing, where I can talk to you."
"Alright," she said, and with that we left the house, after I grabbed a coat of course, another one of Rosalie's.
The ride to our destination was quiet, the music playing in the background doing nothing to alleviate the tense atmosphere. My stomach kept doing funny flips, like I knew something was about to happen, yet couldn't, wouldn't stop it. Something big was going to happen, possibly change my life, change everyone's life, just by this simple conversation. I was entering into a world I wasn't sure I wanted to learn about, but found myself drawn to learn more even with my reason side screaming at me to stop.
We reached it soon, her crazy driving not scaring me as I assume she thought it would. Her constant glances over towards me at led me to think that, perhaps, I wasn't normal. It wasn't like I needed that, I was already very much aware of it.
As we got out, I noticed how nervous she acted, jumpy, as if something was about to jump out and attack her at any moment. This was what I wanted however, I wanted her as close to this border they talked about as I could, if only for a safety for myself.
"I can't go any further," she called, and my feet stopped, looking at the point that her feet seemed to be glued to.
"Alright," I answered, and taking a few more steps towards her, til I was only about a couple feet away, I abruptly sat on the ground. She followed suit.
"No offense, but I want to keep as much safety between us as possible, my rational side still screams that your nuts," I said, glancing around the dark forest.
"Understandable," she answered, and with that, she sat down in front of me, her nervousness from earlier seeming to have vanished.
"Bella, I want you to tell me about yourself, everything," I clarified, watching as she grimaced before slowly nodding her head.
"Okay," she responded, fisting her hands together before releasing them with a loud breath. "It started four years ago, I suppose, when I first moved to Forks."
"I was originally from here, but didn't spend much of my childhood here because my parents separated before I had my first birthday. I spent most of my life in California, before moving to Phoenix, where I lived a very unsocial life. At the time it didn't bother me, it was just how things were. Looking back, it was absolutely horrible.
"I suppose it occurred because of my clumsiness, I was never involved in anything, so naturally, I was ostracized from society.
"My mother remarried, a small league baseball player named Phil, she loved him very much and wanted to follow him as he traveled. I couldn't ruin her happiness, but couldn't travel like that as I was in the upper level portion of highschool. Her name's Renee, and she wouldn't leave me naturally, so I offered to come live with my father, Charlie.
"I dreaded it. I didn't want to live in a world that was always so depressing, I didn't see the beauty at first, no one would. Charlie was very nice, buying me my first vehicle, an old Chevy truck that he purchased off his friend, Billy Black.
"It was like stepping into another world, really. At my old school I was awkward and unwelcomed, but here, here I was greeted with open arms. I still remember the first time I saw them, all so unbelievably beautiful, so different from my own normalness. I sat by Edward that same day in my Biology class, and he reacted very negatively. I would learn later that he was very attracted to my blood. I thought he hated me, to such a degree that he left the school for two whole weeks. I couldn't figure out how anyone could dislike me so quickly.
"When he came back, things got a little better, but he never offered to truly become friends with me. I suppose it bothered me to some extent, but not like me thinking he hated me had. It was soon after that, there came a cold day, and ice had made the roads extremely slick. I was just getting out my truck, when I realized that a van was about to hit me. Edward had been on the opposite side of the parking lot, but he saved me.
"After some time, I learned of his secret, and in an odd way, was able to accept it without any trouble at all. I didn't react normally, hell, you're not even acting completely normal about the situation. Better than I did however, so don't beat yourself up about it.
"We soon came to love each other, despite the odds. To this day I don't see what he saw in a normal, out of place, girl. There was so many times he saved me. Like the time that a vampire became interested in my blood, his name was James, and he did not follow the same diet as we do. It became a game for him, and the Cullens, they took me away to try and save me. But I was tricked, and soon left their side thinking my mother was in danger. He attacked me, and I very nearly was turned then. However, Edward saved me, he drained the venom from me, enough self-discipline to stop from killing me.
"The next year, my eighteenth birthday, the one I dreaded so because it made me a year older than when Edward had been turned, I had a small party at the Cullens'. Alice had went all out, which is normal for her, and I was enjoying myself despite my reserve on them spending any money on me. But, as I was opening a present, I had sliced my finger, and Jasper, the newest to their ways and the one who had been having such trouble lost it. It affected Edward deeply to have to protect me from his own brother, and he realized, in his own mind, just how much danger I could be in.
"Edward decided to leave, and in my haze after it, I lost myself in the woods surrounding the house. Sam Uley found me, and after that, I went catatonic. I went to school, I worked, I cooked, I did homework, I showered, and I slept; that was it. I awoke later on, due to a harsh wake up call by Charlie. I soon found myself alienated from my friends, some refusing to forgive me. I went crazy, really, I did dangerous stunts just so I could hear an illusion of his voice once more.
"I befriended Jacob Black," I could tell that I had an reaction to that name, for her speech faltered momentarily before she continued, "and together we rebuilt a couple of old motorcycles that I had come upon. We became best friends, and then, something happened. He became friends with what he considered a cult, but really it wasn't, it was just..."
She stopped her mouth clamping shut before she looked away. I didn't understand, something about Jacob, and some 'cult', was off limits to my ears, and I didn't like it.
"You're not telling me something," I said, watching as her cheek twitched, I wanted to know, I needed to know, and once more, I felt the guilt take me.
"It's not my secret to tell," she answered, and shifted, avoiding my gaze altogether.
"Fine," I huffed, it was different with her, not being meek, because I could care less whether she liked me or not, she had kidnapped me, and I had a right to know things.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking back at me. "Really I am, but I can't tell you something that's not my secret, its wrong."
"Fine," I repeated, trying to think of someway to get her tell me what she knew.
"Do you have any questions?" she asked, scooting around to face me instead of staring blankly into the trees.
"One, is that all you guys can do? Like, just run super fast, nothing else special?" I asked, thinking back to the way that one had seemed to read my mind.
"Some of us have gifts, something that not all vampires possess. Edward can read minds, but not my own, I'm the only exception. Alice can predict the future, to an extent, but the visions are always apt to change. Jasper, he can, change your emotions I guess, calming you, or enraging you, what he wishes. But he can also feel the emotions too, so it can get slightly uncomfortable for him. Neither Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, nor Carlisle have any power that's completely out of the ordinary. Esme seems to have a greater ability to love, Rosalie her snobbish behavior, Emmett his strength, and Carlisle has a centuries perfected aversion to human blood," she responded.
"But what about you?" I went on, pressing her for whatever information I could draw passed her lips.
"Me? I was born with something I'm sure they all wish they could have had. I do not desire human blood at all. When I was human, I was nauseous if there was blood around, the smell sickened me. Now, its gotten better, its like there's not a scent at all. Like that part of my nose just died away the day that my life did as well. For that, I am grateful," she said, her eyes were glazed over, and only cleared themselves after her short speech.
"Anything else?" she questioned, sitting perfectly still and staring at me in encouragement.
"Not for you," I responded, wishing that I could forget about everything that was happening around me, if only for just a moment.
"Ask it anyways, maybe, I can help some," she ventured, biting her lower lip as she dared to gaze upon me once more.
"Its sort of about the Quileutes," I mumbled, and told her my story thus far, explaining my situation with Mike and Sam.
"Wow, I didn't realize..." she trailed off, her brow was scrunched as she looked back to where the highway would be.
"I can't say much Lyn, I would be breaking too many promises. But heed me now, Forks may seem like the town where time passes by, touching nothing here. But everything is a facade, there are secrets hid here that are much more than they will ever seem. Do not take any suggestion, anything at all, without an open mind. Anything is possible in the rainy town of Forks."
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That night, as I lay awake in my bed at my uncle's house, I let her last few lines run across my mind. Could Mike be right? Despite my rationality telling me that the Cullens were fakes, that they were psychotic, the majority of my mind believed them. Maybe I just wanted to, wanted to believe that some things out there were a little more interesting that ordinary life that I saw passing me by. Perhaps I wanted to believe that something out there was beyond normal human knowledge, something that was laying there, begging me to find it's secrets. And oddly, I found it comforting.
Strange to think that something that I should fear, would be a comfort to me. Perhaps its was the fact that there was someone out there stranger than me. People who didn't quite fit in with society either, no matter how much they pretended to. But for them, they were physically limited, what was my excuse? I was very much human, but the distance between me and the others of my own kind couldn't have been greater.
Rolling over on my side, I sighed, realizing that there was no hope in goodness know's where of sleeping tonight. But learning my lesson, I promised myself that I wouldn't be having anymore midnight strolls anytime soon.
Walking over to the desk, I opened the middle drawer and dug beneath all the useless crap to find the large photos Mike had sent me. Bella had told me to keep and open mind, so I was going to. So by these pictures, that meant the Quileutes, or some of them, were werewolves. I could live with that, I mean, would that just make me...speciest if I didn't. Speciest?
"Yeah, speciest, something I'm not going to be," I whispered, flipping through the pictures with interest, biting the inside of my cheek as I went.
"But, I'm not going to believe a thing, not until I talk to Emily and the others, but especially Emily, she's one of the few I feel I can trust," I concluded, slipping the evidence away and shutting the drawer firmly.
Standing, I walked downstairs to sit and watch television. Hopefully, my favorite anime would be on, and I could loose myself in the rich colors, colorful language, romance, and awesome fighting styles of the Japanese.