Review Replies:
Elizabeth le Fey- you said-: INCREDIBLY AMAZING. Yes, all your fans are eagerly awaiting your NEXT chapter (regardless of the fact that we have already managed to devourer your newest chapter). Congratulations, I am confident enough in your writing to freely call you the Stephanie Meyer of FanFiction. With a title like that, you have many obligations. For example, writing your newest chapter quickly as possible so us Inseparable addicts don't die from withdraw because we're tired of rereading the first 13 chapters (now 14 chapters) repeatedly. I know this sounds like a horribly bias yet mixed review, but we've been waiting for your chapter for quite some time now. I have helped write and review around 10 "The Host" FanFics at this point, and your's is one of the most orthogonal and best written ones I've seen. My only critique is to believe in your own writing abilities. You have great talent and potential, and you need to depend on your abilities instead of what you think your abilities could be. If you have writer's block, write a couple of paragraphs to get warmed up or throw in a crazy twist to freak everyone out a bit. We do read your author's notes, and we appreciate the honesty and we enjoy reading the other fan's critiques and praise to maybe view the story from a different perspective. Your writing is marvelous and we're rooting for you! Keep up the good work, and keep those chapters coming (and quickly, too!)
Good luck!
I'm not even sure how to begin. I couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face for like 3 hours after I read your review. I know I might sound like I have no confidence in my writing..But I do. It's just sometimes I'm nervous that my fans won't see some parts of my story the way I see it…hence why I crave reviews. After your advice though, I don't think I'll ever doubt my writing… SO THANK YOU! Lol I find it funny how you think giving me advice is a critique..Believe me it is nowhere close to the criticism I've seen some people dish out to other stories on this site. I try to write as quickly as possible..But I also want to take my time because I think you guys would rather have a well thought out chapter than a quick insufficient chapter. Obviously I'm going to keep replying and writing author's notes. I hope this satisfies your craving. Lol… you want to know a little secret…I read the story over every time I sit down to write a chapter because then it helps me write the chapter faster. That being said I've probably read my story at least 4 times for just writing one chapter..Because I don't write the chapter in one sitting and to get my mojo back I have to re read the story.
Enjoy the chapter!
Twilightfanswanted- you said: ohh i love it. it's awesome and i'm super exited that wanda wants to marry ian! woot woot! i am totally and most dependantly in love with this story. keep it up. :)
Yay!! I'm excited that youre as excited as I am about Wanda wanting to get married to Ian. I seriously didn't think she'd be ready to last chapter.. but I guess.. she proved me wrong. I am totally and dependently addicted to your guys reviews !
Thank you and enjoy!
Ocard- you said: wow. i never knew a review could inspire so much love :] just know you deserve every word. never doubt yourself or your writing.
...great new chapter, and thank jesus wanda understands she wants to get married to ian! seriously, how can you NOT want to get married to that man?! who do you see as ian if the host was made into a movie?
i cannot WAIT for the next chapter! write on!!
*hugs*
ocard
You'd be surprised how the tinest amount of love and encouragement in a review can inspire a writer. Thank you so much for your compliments. Hmm.. I forgot the name of the actor who I see as ian..but I'll try to find out by next chapter and I'll post his pic on my profile if I find it.
Enjoy the chapter!
Edward obcesor- you said: OMG i love this story i am so hooked i can not wait till ian's proposal to wanda please please update soon
xoxoxox,
Nati
OMG… thank you. I love your review and the fact that you're hooked. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long..but ian's proposal is definetly in a chapter or two! PROMISE ;)
Alyse :P- you said: i love this story. it is simply wonderful. i know you have a life outside of fanfiction and i understand that but i desperatly want to know what is going to happen so please for me and all of your other fans give us more. PRETTY PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP!
love,
alyse
So you reviewed for other chapters too and I'd like to thank for it. Thank you for the condolences about my teacher in your other review. Lol I do have a life outside of fanfiction and sadly all it currently consists of is school. I'm practically drowning in homework. But this weekend I took a break…worked a little on this chapter but also celebrated my birthday. I hope this appeases some of your craving. I'll try to update soon…no promises though. I hope you enjoy the chapter ;)
If I missed replying to your review…. I AM DEEPLY SORRY. I read every single one and try to reply to them. But I really didn't have time to reply to all the anonymous ones on this chapter. It was either finish the chapter or finish replying…and I know that you guys would rather have me update sooner than later. So next chapter if I get time I'll reply to all the reviews I got. I love you guys!
A/N: I don't really have a good excuse other than the fact that I've been really busy. Also today is my 18th birthday so this weekend i was treated to a surprise party… it was amazing!! I don't really have much to say. This chapter is kind of a filler…it's just really hard to transition from the shopping to life back at the cave and the wedding. So I guess this chapter accomplishes that. I hope you guys like it and it wasn't a disappointment after all the waiting you did. AS A BIRTHDAY gift, I WOULD LOVE if everyone and anyone who reads this reviews ;)
Enjoy…
Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this story and Maudy. The rest is Stephenie Meyer's creation.
Last Chapter:
"Ian, Jared meet Maudy. Maudy meet my fiancé Jared and the handsome humble Ian." Melanie introduced.
"Like I said, there wasn't a soul amongst us when you called." Melanie reinforced.
Jared still looked unsure. " No offense, Maudy. But Mel how do you know for sure she isn't a soul?"
Before Mel could answer, Ian did.
"Jared, it's obvious she isn't. Have you ever seen a soul with wrinkles? A soul willing to let his or her host get old?"
" Ian, that doesn't justify it completely." Jared argued.
"Jared." Melanie scolded. "Do you trust me? Because if you did then you would trust my judgment that Maudy is human."
"I trust you Mel's. I don't trust her." Jared replied and then added quickly. "No offense. "
"None taken." Maudy said. "But can I explain my story before you set your judgment in stone?"
Jared nodded and Melanie scowled disapprovingly at her fiancé. Ian took a seat on the same bench that Maudy, Melanie and I had sat on when Maudy told us her story. He pulled me onto his lap, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder.
Melanie pulled her hand out of Jared's grasp and sat next to Ian and me on the bench. Jared stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his jeans and stared at Maudy expectantly.
Maudy took a deep breath and recapped the same story she told us.
Chapter Thirteen
-IPOV-
"Calm down guys. Just give us 30 minutes to find our stuff. Then you can come on over and we'll explain everything."
Mel's words kept repeating over and over again in my head. Thirty minutes. That wouldn't be too long. They should be fine because they sounded pretty calm on the phone. What if they were being held hostage by the souls and forced to act calm on the phone and forced to tell us to come inside to get them? No, they would've told us to come over right away if that was the case.
I groaned as I glanced at the glowing numbers of the car's clock. These thirty minutes were going to be the longest thirty minutes of my life.
I was snapped out of my internal bickering when I heard the engine roar to life.
"Where are we going?" I said requesting an explanation from Jared.
"To the boutique. I don't care what Mel said, she can be too trusting sometimes." He explained as he fiercely stomped on the gas.
A part of me, a pretty big part, wanted him to speed up and reach the boutique in record time. But I knew that Mel would be devastated that Jared didn't trust her enough and then Jared would never forgive himself for hurting her like that.
Without thinking twice, I grasped the parking brake and pulled it up. The tires screeched and the car jolted to a stop.
Jared's head snapped around to face me, his expression was murderous.
"What the hell, Ian?" he spat acidly.
"Jared, did you listen to a word Mel said? I know you trust her so give her the benefit of the doubt." I stated.
I watched warily as Jared's furious features smoothened out.
He took a deep breath and let it out.
"Thanks Ian. I would've regretted it. I trust her, I just don't trust them." He spat out.
I nodded in agreement. I slowly loosened my grip on the parking brake and slumped back into the cushion of the car seat.
Jared pushed down the break, turned the key in the ignition, and began to drive to a secluded area where we could wait inconspicuously.
*****
I glanced at the clock for the billionth time in the past 24 minutes, make that the 25.
"Let's go." I declared. It would take approximately five minutes for us to reach the boutique from our confinement in the shadows of the trees.
Without a word, Jared instantly started the idle car and slammed on the gas pedal.
"Slow down, man. If you don't we'll be there before the 30 minutes and Mel would be pissed." I said.
Slowly and steadily the odometer needle quivered downwards, until it hit the 35 mph mark. At exactly 1:30 pm we pulled into the boutique's parking lot. I pushed my door open as soon as he drove into one of the parking spaces and practically jumped out of the car, before Jared had taken the key out of the ignition. I looked around the empty parking lot cautiously, trying to find anything out of place. Anything that would signify that the love of my life was in danger.
I still felt wary and discomforted, despite the fact that there obviously wasn't a crew of souls waiting to capture us inside.
I heard the car beep twice as it automatically locked. Then together, Jared and I, walked toward the glass doors of the boutique.
*****
As soon as I had walked in the boutique and saw Wanda sitting on a bench near a shoe rack trying on a pair, all the fear that had previously overwhelmed disappeared. My Wanda was safe. I didn't care anymore why they were talking on the speaker because it obviously didn't cause any damage.
But of course Jared didn't feel the same way.
"Mel you promised." Jared exclaimed
Melanie sighed and raised her hands up in defeat. "Okay. Okay. The reason we were on speakerphone is because there was-is no soul present."
I was confused by Melanie's explanation, but at the moment I would take any excuse thrown at me. All that mattered was that I the reason for my existence was enveloped inside my arms.
Wanda's mouth slowly opened as if she was about to argue with Mel, but her beautiful voice never graced our presence because Mel cut her off.
"Wanda, you're not a soul." Melanie scolded.
But before she could finish her spiel, I whispered my thought to Wanda. "You're more human than anyone of us."
Wanda's head tilted up slightly so that I could see a smile grow on her face.
"I love you." She whispered back. I could see the intensity of those words burning in her eyes. But there was something different, a dominant sureness I had never seen in her eyes. I couldn't quite place what I saw in her eyes, but I crossed my fingers and hoped that it was something good.
"What do you mean there is no soul?" Jared interrogated, breaking me from my trance.
Melanie rolled her eyes at her fiancé, "Maudy, could you please come out here and meet our delusional hunks?"
My eyebrows furrowed. Delusional hunks? Maudy?
Suddenly I heard a bell like giggle escape from Wanda's lips. For a second I thought she could read my thoughts and was laughing at me, but then I saw that her attention was directed towards Jared.
I heard a rustle of shopping bags, before I saw the stout elderly woman emerge from the shadows of the room in the back. She seemed as though she would tip over any second. I let go of Wanda's hand, and by human instinct walked over to the woman and relieved her of the weight of the bags. I turned around with out a word or hesitation and walked back to Wanda.
Her face was illuminated by her wide smile, and I swear I saw pride shining through her eyes.
"Wanda, you've got yourself a good one. Handsome and humble." Maudy said from behind me.
I chuckled silently to myself. When I reached Wanda's side, I placed the bags on the floor and pulled Wanda back into my embrace.
She turned slightly in my arms and planted a loving kiss on my cheek. "You were wrong. I might be more human than a lot of people, but I could never be more than you."
I just shook my head no and placed a gently kiss on her soft lips.
"Ian, Jared meets Maudy. Maudy meet my fiancé Jared and the handsome humble Ian." Melanie introduced.
"Like I said, there wasn't a soul amongst us when you called." Melanie reinforced.
Jared still looked unsure. "No offense, Maudy. But Mel how do you know for sure she isn't a soul?"
This time I rolled my eyes. How could he not see the pain and suffering, so familiar in our kind, so blatantly obvious in the fragile women before us? She had obviously been through so much, and if you looked into her eyes you knew that no soul could possibly be nested inside her. Her eyes expressed too much emotion for her to be contaminated with an insensitive soul.
"Jared, it's obvious she isn't. Have you ever seen a soul with wrinkles? A soul willing to let his or her host get old?" I pointed out the most obvious reason, but not being able to express the deeper ones.
"Ian, that doesn't justify it completely." Jared argued.
I opened my mouth to argue back, but Melanie cut me off.
"Jared." Melanie scolded. "Do you trust me? Because if you did then you would trust my judgment that Maudy is human."
"I trust you Mel's. I don't trust her." Jared replied and then added quickly. "No offense. "
"None taken." Maudy said. "But can I explain my story before you set your judgment in stone?"
I shook my head in disgust. Jared could be so stubborn, arrogant, and blind sometimes, just like he was with Wanda not too long back. I hate souls just as much as him, but I tended to give them some more slack than Jared because if they had never come to earth I would have never met the woman of my dreams.
I took a seat that Wanda was sitting on when I had first arrived, and then I tugged on Wanda's arm and seated her on my lap. Absently I wrapped my arms around her slim petite waist and rested my chin on her shoulder. Melanie pulled her hand out of Jared's grasp and sat next to me on the bench. Jared stuffed his hands in the front pocket of his jeans and stared at Maudy expectantly.
Maudy took a deep breath and iterated the most remorseful tale I had ever heard in my life time.
*****
I didn't cry when my parents disappeared. I didn't cry when I watched "The Notebook" or "A Walk to Remember". But I couldn't help but shed a few tears through Maudy's story.
We were in the car now, after saying are goodbyes to Maudy and thanking her for keeping the girls safe. Wanda went the extra mile, like always, and invited Maudy to Melanie's wedding. But Maudy refused and explained that though she might pass as a soul, the seekers that shopped at her boutique would suddenly suspicious if she disappeared into the woods searching for a cave.
She said that she had heard all about the seeker who claimed for months that she had discovered a "pack of humans" living in the caves. Then when the seeker disappeared, many seekers became suddenly suspicious too. After a couple months all was forgotten, and she said she would hate to be the one to reignite those suspicions.
We accepted her excuse and she wished Melanie and Jared a lifetime of happiness and joy. Then she winked at me, motioned me to lean over with her index finger, and whispered in my ear "She loves you, don't ever doubt it. Just follow your heart and everything will fall in place wonderfully."
As we drove out of the parking lot and down the highway into the sunset, Maudy's words kept repeating in my head. Wanda swarmed inside my arms and snuggled deeper into my side. I rested my head on her head and realized Maudy's words couldn't be any truer. Wanda loved me. I was going to propose to her as soon as Melanie and Jared declared themselves husband and wife. If the time is right and she is ready, nothing in this world would stop me from marrying my Wanda.
A/N: okay I know it's extra fluffy. But now they're shopping trip is officially over. Next chapter the four love birds will be back in the cave….and then the inevitable will happen. The wedding and Ian's proposal. But you should know me well by now…nothing that simple ever follows through without a twist.
AND this time I know the twist…it isn't a spontaneous unexpected twist…it is clearly thought and well planned.
SO I am officially 18 and I have been celebrating all weekend with family and friends. I have absolutely the best friends any girl could have. So I'm biased… sue me! But seriously they threw me a surprise party, got me amazing gifts, decorated my locker at school, brought me breakfast this morning, and baked me cupcakes. WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL ASK FOR? Right now… I could ask for my teachers to give me some slack and decrease the crapload of homework…but other than that I'm a pretty satisfied birthday girl.
I WOULD love my birthday even more if everyone who reads this chapter reviewed.
Thanks so much for putting up with my late updates.
Xoxo
rmla