Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, concepts and settings from "Twilight". Those are from the creation of Stephenie Meyer. The original idea itself belongs to the person who created the BBC miniseries, "Lost in Austen".
I hit the ground in front of me with a thud, my tied together wrists causing my arms to impact at an odd and painful angle. Looking up, from what I could tell, I was on a quiet street in front of an unfamiliar house. My eyes then caught sight of the funky looking mail box on the other side of the road and I remembered. This was one of the streets the school bus use to drive along on its way to school. Therefore, although I had never actually walked along it, I had seen it before.
Rolling over onto my other side, I could see Victoria standing almost directly under the door frame separating us. She looked at it with an odd mix of confusion, apprehension and eagerness all rolled into one. As though she appeared to notice my raised eyebrow at her actions, she casually walked through the barrier. I cracked a smile as she hit the ground but the gracefulness of the movement stopped me from laughing outright. If only I could ever looked like that when I fell. Well, I was willing to bet that Victoria didn't usually fall at all. Like Bella, clumsy appeared to be my middle name. The other day, I knocked a small bottle of blue food colouring off the pantry shelf, freezing in horror as it shattered across the tiles around my feet and covered everything in dark splatters. Let's just say that my mother was not happy and that my feet are still a patchy blue in some places – food colouring is a pain in the ass to get out of your skin even with a scrubbing brush.
In a swift motion Victoria got to her feet, fixing her now darkened eyes on me. For a moment I was afraid she was going to kill me then and there out of thirst. Vitoria had never been a vampire big in the way of self control.
Something that did annoy me was how easy her change from human to vampire had been between worlds. The opposite change had been absolutely horrible for Edward, Alice and James when I'd seen them cross the barrier, Edward almost dying of both starvation and dehydration at the same time. Yet, to make the change back, all you had to do was fall down, get up again and everything was Whoopi do.
Happy to find her old strength again, Victoria reached out and grabbed me, lifting me into the air. She snarled, her brilliant red hair flying out behind her as the wind caught it.
"Now," she said, "It's time to make a house call." Her face lit up at the idea of whatever it was she was planning. What had she'd said? Revenge? But why would Victoria want….oh crap. The reasoning hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course Victoria wanted revenge. Isn't that what she'd spent all of New Moon and Eclipse trying to get? (Well, before Edward had ripped her head off of course). Now she was speaking about a house call. If Victoria was out for revenge, then they only place we could possibly be going was the Cullens. But no, she wasn't stupid enough to walk into a house with seven other vampires who could easily kill her. Was she?
"Okay, look Victoria. I know you're really big on this whole revenge thing, but why don't we just sit and talk about this for a moment? I mean you and I both know that James was a real…" I didn't get to finish my ramble. The moment I mentioned James's name, her hand reached out and scratched it's nails down the side of my cheek. I cried out, feeling the stinging pain and the blood beginning to build underneath the wound.
"That wasn't very smart," I snapped. Her gaze focused in on my wounds, watching them intently with a longing that scared me. Great, now she was definitely going to kill me.
Forcing herself to snap out of it – she clearly had remembered that her original task was more important that just draining me here and now – she picked me up roughly and took off at top speed towards the nearest set of trees.
I winced over every bump and at the sight of every on coming tree. The terror I felt here and now was horrible compared to the moments I spent running with Edward. That had been a happy time. Here, I wanted to scream.
She continued to run, the determined look set into her features but she refused to again look at my face. Avoiding temptation until the time was right I guessed. I just hoped that Jasper wasn't planning to be around once we got there. I didn't think I could take two blood thirsty vampires at once, let alone one.
Victoria sniffed the air, a wide smile breaking out on her face. Obviously we were almost there. Fabulous, just fabulous.
We pressed on through the trees until I could finally hear the sounds of the river that normally ran past the Cullen house. Secretly I was hoping that Alice had had a vision and the family had formed a plan to get me away from Victoria. As the house finally came into view, I held my breath. Edward was inside there. Alice too. And I was so close to them. My heart thudded in my chest rapidly in a mix of anticipation and fear.
Victoria slowed her pace and walked out into the open driveway. It was there that she froze. Spinning around with me in toe, we came face to face with Emmett and Alice Cullen. My face lit up at the sight of them but the feeling was lost as Victoria held me closer to her threateningly.
"Victoria, to what do we owe the pleasure?" A familiar voice, ringing with authority spoke out in the silence.
Victoria turned around again to face the speaker. Carlisle. He seemed pleasant enough but the tension from the others was coming off in waves so large even I, the human, could feel them.
A loud growl emanated from Victoria's throat showing just how much of a pleasure it wasn't. I glanced around taking in Esme and Jasper who had approached from opposite sides. Whether she liked it or not, Victoria was surrounded. And she knew it.
Almost at exactly the same moment I did, Victoria realised who was missing. "Where's Edward?" She asked viciously through her teeth.
Carlisle's mouth opened but it was Alice that answered. "He's not here," Her voice was cold and hard, like steel. A tone I wasn't use to hearing from bubbly Alice.
"Then where can I find him?" she replied, equally coolly.
Esme glanced at Carlisle in concern. She could see where this was going and did not like it one bit. Her and me both.
"I don't think that that's such a good idea." Carlisle told her.
Victoria shook her head, "I'm sorry," she wrapped her fingers tightly around my throat, "What I should have said was, tell me where he is or I'll snap her neck." She corrected, as the others froze. Great, now what the hell are they going to do.
Pressing the question again, "Edward, where is he?" she snapped.
Alice stepped in this time looking concerned. "He's in South America. Where, we don't know."
"Then you are going to ring him and find out." Victoria sneered.
Alice gave a questioning look to Carlisle as if checking that this was the best course of action. Carlisle gave a brief nod. She pulled out her mobile and pressed buttons in a blur of movement. This sure wasn't how I imagined speaking to Edward again – via a phone call to South America because I was being held hostage by a crazed vampire who wanted to kill me. Besides, what in the world was it with Edward and South America? As far as I could recall, that's where he was during New Moon.
Alice held the receiver up to her ear, waiting for him to pick up. Having read an excerpt from Edward's perspective that Stephenie Meyer wrote describing how Edward felt when Rosalie called to tell him Bella had been killed, I wondered whether he would even pick up the phone. He'd definitely been unwilling to do it then. It also made me wonder what Victoria would do if this happened.
My worry was pointless; a second later Alice was speaking. "Edward," she said calmly. I couldn't hear his voice from the other end but I knew he'd be in one of those brush off moods. The 'I-don't-want-to-talk-to-anyone-right-now' act.
"You have to head back here," she told him. Now I could hear his voice. And why would I want to do that? The words were rude but the tone was more lifeless than that.
"Because Victoria will have something to say about it if you don't." she replied.
Victoria? Now that had him going. The red haired female?
"Yes,"
Getting annoyed with this lack of informative conversation, I spoke out. "For crying out loud Alice, just tell him to get his butt back here unless he wants Victoria to slash my throat amongst a group of possibly hungry vampires." I knew I sounded like a pain in the ass but patience was never one of my finer qualities.
I could hear Edward trying to make out my muffled voice in what would be the background of his call. Alice, what's going on? His voice was harder now, anxious.
Victoria held out her hand for the phone, Alice giving her an odd look. She sighed and dropped the mobile into her hand. I felt Victoria's fingers loosen around me as she caught it and then it began.
Alice, taking advantage of Victoria's moment of weakness, rushed forward and grabbed her arm. Before I knew it, both hands were wrenched from around me and I went sprawling into the drive. I sat up gingerly, turning back to watch what was going on. The mobile sat unattended near by, I could see the call disconnected screen up.
Looking up at the others, I could see that both Alice and Jasper had launched themselves at Victoria who had just dodged them. Standing at the edge of the forest she eyed me.
"Don't even think about it." Emmett said, standing beside me.
She seemed to think for a moment whether I was worth the risk. Should she try to retrieve me now and possibly get pummelled by giant sized Emmett or – from the glint in her eyes – come back for me later. Without another thought she took off through the trees.
"Jasper, Emmett," Carlisle said as the pair hurtled after her.
Now that the drama had stopped, I realised that my chest and neck were stinging. Reaching up to touch it with, I pulled back my hand, crimson blood splashed across my fingertips. I cringed as the pain set in. When Alice had pulled back Victoria's hand, Victoria's nails had slashed across my body. And to think that I'd been worried about the skin deep scratches on my cheek.
Seeing my distress, Carlisle knelt at my side. He looked at my gashes, his eyes examining the wounds. Esme, Rosalie and Alice both stood back in order to keep a good distance between them and my blood.
"Ashley," Carlisle said kindly, "I need you to calm down. Your reaction is making it harder for the blood to stop." I realised that I was almost hyperventilating. Air seemed to be going in but it was as though it wasn't going anywhere. I nodded before finally slowly my breathing.
"Here," he helped me to my feet. "Let's get you inside and I'll clean them up." Catching sight of my expression he shot me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems." Slowly, I followed him towards the house in silence.
My eyes flickered over every aspect of the house, connecting each part to my previous memories of it. The house was still as beautiful as I remembered and just as isolated. The sounds of the river as well as the surrounding bird life were the only things I could hear. It had been a while since I'd heard such peace.
Carlisle led me into the kitchen and gestured to a stool. I sat down as he went to retrieve his medical bag. A few seconds later he returned and began leaning over the tears in my skin. Antiseptic, wipes, a gluey substance and then finally bandages.
"While I'm here," Carlisle said as he pulled out the antiseptic again and began dabbing at the thin scratches on my cheek. I cringed away slightly as it stung. "There," he said at last, putting away his equipment and stepping back to give me some room. Well, at least until he caught sight of the lump on my forehead.
Without waiting to be asked, I answered the unspoken question in his eyes. "She knocked me out in the girls' bathroom." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Is it still painful?" he asked. I shook my head as he lightly touched it. "How about now?" he put pressure on it as I jumped at the sudden burst of it.
"Ouch, yes!" I exclaimed. He frowned and then reached into the bag and pulled out a couple of pills. Taking a glass from the cabinet nearby, he filled it up at the tap and handed it to me. I downed the tablets in two short gulps. "Thanks," I said gratefully.
Looking up, I noticed that Esme, Alice and Rosalie had joined us. Each looked grim except for Rosalie who looked as apathetic as ever.
Esme came closer, placing a friendly hand on my shoulder. "How are you?" she asked in concern.
I shrugged. "I'm fine. A little tired and battered but you know, I'll survive." I shot her a put on smile.
"I'm sorry we didn't get to you earlier Ashley," Alice apologized. "You know how that door between the worlds plays with my visions. By the time I knew where you were, the only way to get to you was to let you come to us."
"No problem, don't apologize. I should be thanking you for getting me out of that." I said. A strange joy filled me at the sight of them. I'd missed the Cullens so much, with the exception of Rose of course.
"They're back," Alice commented, turning to face the door. A moment later Jasper and Emmett trudged in looking frustrated.
"We lost her," Jasper said. "I don't know how but one minute she was there and the next she was gone."
I shook my head. "Escaping is kind of her SVT." I said, my eyes widening at the confused looks now facing me. "Special vampire thing," I clarified.
"That explains it," Emmett said, shaking his hair free of leaves and forest. Esme shot him a look in warning, the one that said 'you better clean that up the next chance you get'.
"And don't worry about it, she'll be back. Trust me." I said confidently, slipping off the stool and into a standing position.
"Back?" Esme asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, she's got this whole revenge vendetta against Edward. You killed my mate now I'm going to kill yours, yadda, yadda, yadda."
Carlisle gave Alice a look, "You should probably call Edward and let him know what's going on. He's probably thinking the worst after how the phone call before ended."
"Knowing Edward, he's probably already on a plane." Emmett snorted.
Alice smiled knowingly, "He'll board in ten minutes." She confirmed. "But I'll try him anyway."
I yawned widely, covering my mouth with my fingers still covered in dry blood. Esme gave me a warm smile. "You must be exhausted, Ashley." I was about to deny this when she cut me off, "There's a bathroom down the hall from Edward's room. You can wash up a little there and I'll go and fetch some blankets for you. You'll find them on the couch in Edward's room." She gave me a friendly guiding hand, directing me towards the staircase.
Normally I would have fought with her and denied being tired as I often did with my dad but after everything Victoria had put me through today, I wasn't going to decline some rest. Before left the room, I spun around to face the family, my expression anxious. "Alright, just promise that you'll wake me if anything major happens?" I asked desperately.
"Of course," Carlisle agreed, his eyes honest. At this I gave in to Esme's ushering and headed upstairs.
The bathroom was a spotless white on every surface and fluffy cream towels with a floral edging hung on a nearby rack. I looked at myself in the mirror and shuddered. I had a large purple lump on my forehead – at least it was better than the black eye I'd had last time I was here – and my hair was a complete mess. White, padded bandages covered my chest, parts covered by my uniform, and some of my neck. The scratches on my cheek had closed but were still red and raw looking. To top it off, I had panda eyes from yesterday's mascara and lack of sleep.
I washed my hands under the cool water and watched as the water ran red for a short period. I then began running my fingers through my hair. It flattened it ever so slightly but it still was far from presentable. I splashed my face with water and then dried it off with the towel. Luckily nothing too bad seemed to come off on Esme's spotless towels.
Seeing nothing else to do, I headed out and padded on down the hall.
Edward's room was just as I remembered it, the dark leather couch, the wall of glass windows and the shelves upon shelves of organised CDs. Just as she'd said, Esme had left a folded blanket and sheet on the edge of the couch along with a pair of pyjamas. Silky feeling and expensive looking pyjamas. I just hoped that I wouldn't mess them up. With a look outside, I could see that the sky had darkened quite a bit in the short time I'd been here. We'd clearly arrived here in the late afternoon and it had not taken look for the day to come to a close. I had no idea what the time was here, my watch being set for home time, and I didn't care.
I stripped off and pulled on the pyjamas before laying out the linen and crawling under it on Edward's couch. The leather was cool underneath my body but I soon forgot it as I fell, for the first time in a long while, into a deep sleep.
A/N: Don't forget to review. Hope you're enjoying it so far. :)
Next Time on Return to Meyer: With the Cullens protecting her, Ashley is safe for now. But with Edward's return to Forks and Victoria's next step a mystery, relaxation doesn't seem to be in Ash's sights just yet. Next Time.