Thanks once again to Pienuniek for your help and pre-reading, you're the best and to Chandra for her beta work. I'd be lost without you two.
Disclaimer: You know who owns it, we just like to play with them.
I give you:
Chapter 4 – Learning about us
The upside down kiss was good.
What was even better was when Bella managed to get up and straddle my lap somehow without breaking the kiss. We knew this kiss would go no further than this; we both had ideas on how we wanted things to go with us. It was a surprise that they were very similar. I'm glad that my girl had the same beliefs that I held; being what she is, maybe that shouldn't have come as a big surprise.
We both had questions and wanted to get to know each other more before taking things further, and of course there were other things that had to happen before any of my plans could be put into place.
We came up for air, just smiling at each other. It was a beautiful feeling to know that you had the one who made you complete. Finding everything out about the other was just icing on the cake.
Bella managed to ask the first question, but not by much. "Tell me all about Edward please? I know some things but not all of it."
"Okay, love, let's get comfortable." I lifted her up and laid her back down in front of me with her head in my lap.
"I was born on June 20th, 1894 to Edward Masen Senior and Elizabeth Masen, prominent people in our society. They were both loving parents and doted on me as their only child; they couldn't have any more after I was born. A complication during childbirth in which we almost lost my mother. My father was a lawyer and my mother was a homemaker, and a brilliant one at that. She attended all meetings with the school, and even my baseball games. Although that was a little frowned upon seeing as she was a woman.
"Being that my father owned his own Law Office, he was around just as much. He was an instant success in the community; even if the upper crust of society didn't understand his wanting to help the little guys too. He was even big on pro bono work for those that couldn't afford it. It was one of the reasons I wanted to be just like him: he didn't fit just one mold of society or want to help just one, he wanted to help them all."
I told Bella all that I could remember about my mother and father and she listened with rapt attention. It was fantastic to be able to tell someone about them, remember them, and to tell the whole truth.
"By 1914, the war had begun and I was twenty years old. I just started the last year of Law School, because I had finished high school early and had the added bonus of doing any extracurricular at my father's office. The war was something that I had wanted to participate in. I announced one night at dinner that I was going to forego school and enlist in the army. My mother gasped and almost immediately started crying, 'No, no, no, no,' she said, 'not my little boy, I can't have him go off to war.' My father, however, took a different approach, 'Now, Edward, my boy,' he said, 'While I commend you on wanting to join the army and help protect us all, I think you should finish your degree and get yourself settled into a career first. You're going to need something to fall back on when you get home and want to have a family. You'll need a job to support them.'" I paused as I heard a sniffle.
I looked down, as I hadn't realized I'd raised my head and closed my eyes. I saw that Bella's lip was trembling and she had tears running down her temples and into her hair.
"Hey, baby, what's this for?"
"I'm s-sorry. Just the th-thought of you going off to war, not b-being here to meet me…" She broke into sobs. I shushed her, picked her up, and placed her in my lap. I cooed nonsensical words to her and kissed her temple until she started to calm down. "I'm sorry, Edward. I interrupted your story." Her lip started to wobble again; I didn't like seeing her cry.
"No, no, baby, it's okay. I'm here, I'm fine, and I love you. I wouldn't go off to war now."
Bella had gasped in the middle of my assurances, not sure what I had said to garner that response until she threw her arms around my neck peppering my face with kisses.
"Oh, Edward, I love you too! I have for so long now, ever since I saw you in the Looking Pool. I love you, I love you, I love you!"
Oh, that's what I had said. "I love you, Bella, you never have to doubt that. It's so much a part of me that I could never separate myself from the truth of it, or you. We're one."
That earned me another fabulous make out session.
"Okay, enough, I want to hear more about you before your change." Bella was quick to end the kissing.
"Okay, you bossy little thing." To which she blew a raspberry at me. "Where was I? Oh yes, my father had gotten through to me, because the one thing I could picture for myself was a family. I had never fancied a girl, none had ever appealed to me, much to my mother's chagrin. Now I know why, I was waiting for you." That earned me a hard kiss on the lips, "Stop interrupting me or I'll never get to the end," I teased.
"Then don't say things that make me want to kiss you." Bella laughed.
"Pfft… as if that'll happen. Having a family was still something I wanted. So I put my plans on the back-burner and finished my law degree. I started working for my father at the bottom; I wanted to earn the position that I was given. Over the next few years, any time I'd get a promotion, I'd talk about joining the army, but my father would always come up with a counter, using having a family to get me to forget about it. No wonder he made such a damn good lawyer.
"By 1918, and my 24th birthday, my father started talking about how I was far enough up the corporate ladder that I could join in the war. At that stage there were talks about it ending soon. Although it had been something I thought I should do, there was no point if it was going to end. As it was, it wouldn't be long until my change. We'd met Carlisle on and off over the first half of the year, at fundraisers for the church, hospital, and things like that.
"There had been frequent reports through the year about the Spanish Influenza Pandemic, but only from places far away. By July, word had spread that it was spreading throughout the United States and coming toward Chicago. My father pleaded with my mother to leave and head to her sisters just to get out of the path of it, but she wouldn't leave without him or me, as I had refused to go as well. In September we'd been finishing a family dinner when my dad started to cough. He was admitted to the hospital that night, my mother the next morning, and by that night me, too. Carlisle changed me after my mother pleaded with him to save me; by the next morning my parents were gone and I was in the grips of my transformation," I finished in a solemn tone.
Bella held me while I let go of my grief; I'm not sure I had ever grieved properly for my parents. It was now her turn to console me with words, touches, and kisses as I let it all go. After a while I started to feel better; I looked up at her with a sheepish expression. I opened my mouth to apologize for my breakdown but she put her finger over my mouth and shook her head.
"No, my love, there's no need to apologize for grieving for your parents. You loved them and they you. I'm sure you've never really done that since becoming a vampire, have you?"
"No, not at all. I never really had the time when I was a newborn, or had the inclination. It's also something I would have done alone and there wasn't really much of that once we started collecting family members. So thank you, Bella, for helping me with that," I implored.
"You're very welcome, Edward. What do you say we get off this topic and you can tell me about your family?" she asked.
"Of course." I smirked at her for helping me.
Over the course of the next couple of hours I told her all about the members in our family: Rose's vanity, Emmett's jokes, Jasper's mouth, and Alice's visions. I also told her all about Carlisle's compassion and how he would put us in our place as needed. And last I told her about Esme: her love, her open arms, and how she would be over the moon happy that I had found my mate. So happy that it wouldn't bother her at all that we didn't tell her what Bella was.
After I finished telling her about Esme, I heard Bella's stomach growl fiercely. She grabbed it, flushed, and then started giggling like mad. I chuckled at her as I sat her in front of me. She crossed her legs, looking at me as I pulled a couple of granola bars out of my pocket.
"Here you go, Angel. Have something to eat." I unwrapped a bar for her and then one for myself. She was looking at me curiously as she started to eat hers. Then when she was about to take another bite, I lifted the bar to my mouth took a bite, chewed, and swallowed.
"Edward," she whispered, "What are you doing? Vampires don't eat… food."
"Bella," I whispered back, "I know that most vampires don't eat, but this one does."
She looked at me in shock as I continued to eat my granola bar.
"Go on, Bella, eat yours. When you finish I'll tell you all about why I eat, I promise." Promising her was easy. The Volturi had said I could tell my mate; Didyme also promised that my mate would find me and find me she did.
Bella almost swallowed her bar in a few gulps, then sat there starting at me with the most adorable look on her face. She was curious, scared, happy, and worried all at once.
"Ready?" I asked, and she nodded. "Do you know who The Volturi are?" She shook her head. "The Volturi are like the vampire royalty here on earth. They are the ones that are tasked with keeping our existence a secret. Self-appointed secret keepers, but the secret keepers all the same. As I told you earlier, Carlisle spent some time over in Italy in his early days. He got to know them, learned from them and despite the fact that Carlisle wasn't sold on them and their ideas, I wanted to meet them.
"When I left Carlisle and Esme, to let them have some time, I travelled around the world. I visited some of the most wonderful things in the first year. After that, though, I wanted to meet them, I wanted to know those in charge. They seemed to be more than what Carlisle had seen and that's what I wanted to know. After leaving Paris, I headed into Italy. When I arrived at Volterra, I was stunned. It's a beautiful city, one I hope to take you to later." She smiled at that.
"I want to travel all over with you, Edward. See everything, do everything, live everywhere. As long as I have a beautiful forest nearby, we can be anywhere. All I need is you. I love you." I kissed her for that, because it was what I was feeling.
"Me too, love," I agreed. "Anyway, I walked into the city while trying to stay out of the sun…"
"Oh, I wondered about that. I saw you through the Looking Pool walking around in the sun at UDub. Don't you go poof, and turn into dust?" Bella asked surprised.
I laughed. Not just a little laugh, but a full on gut busting laugh. "No, Bella, we don't go poof into dust," I replied, chuckling still. "What do you have up there? Buffy the vampire slayer? We don't turn into a disco ball either. Or any other myth you've heard of." Chuckling again, while Bella smiled indulgently, I explained, "We become tired; the sun can tire us out. We don't actually sleep, but we do need to feed and rest for a while if we're in it too long. Okay? Can I continue now?"
She nodded again, scooting closer to me. "I really want to hear how you're eating, Edward."
"Okay. So I walked into Volterra under the archway. I was looking around, just enjoying the structures, architecture, and the people when I was approached by two vampires. 'What are you doing here?' the first one asked. 'Are you here to see the brothers?' the second followed without giving me time to answer. 'I am,' I answered. 'I would love to have an audience with them.'
"After telling me to follow them, we went into the building next to the clock. It was the perfect façade for what they had going on in there. The two of them led me in through the corridors to the throne room in which the three brothers sat on their thrones. After introducing myself and who I was associated with – although they had guessed because of my eyes – we got to chatting. It took a while, but eventually they relaxed around me enough that their thoughts flowed.
"I found out pretty quickly that a lot of their thoughts centered on their mates, rather than the goings on behind the scenes. After reading Aro, I read no further. They were as clear as glass, open, funny and loving toward who they considered family. I stayed with them for years, many of the ten years I was away. During those ten years I started to consider them friends, if not family, and found they felt the same way.
"While there, I realized that they weren't feeding the way Carlisle had thought about. Nor were they feeding by going out into the forest for animals. I had noticed that they had different eye colors too, not just red or gold, but normal colors: blue, green, brown, hazel, and many others. I was curious, and not long after being there for six years I asked Aro about it." I stopped for a minute but Bella was impatient, blurting out her question.
"What was it? What did he say?"
Laughing a little again, I replied, "Well, he was ready for my question. After I asked it, he called all the 'elders' in. Caius came in, followed by his mate Anthenodora, or Dora; she was followed by Aro's Sulpicia. Marcus was next, and he came in with his mate Didyme…"
"Wait. I had a great-grandmother by that name. I never met her, which is surprising considering we're angels, you know…" she interrupted.
"What do you mean, Bella? How could you meet your great-grandmother?" I asked.
"Well, angels live longer than humans, far longer if not forever. Anyway, I'll explain after your story I promise."
"Don't think I'll forget about that!" I teased. "Anyway, they all filed into the library we were sitting in. The next thing I know, there's what you'd consider a chef coming into the room with some waitresses and actual food. Much like you, I sat there with my mouth open while they filled their plates and glasses, then sat back and ate and drank merrily in front of me.
"When they finished eating, they told this fantastic story about time travelers coming with a letter from the gods, telling them that they had to change their ways or they were going to bring about the end of the world. Vampires, humans and all creatures alike… Wait the letter was from the gods—you say gods too—what does that mean?" I asked abruptly.
Bella sighed. "In the beginning, when the universes were created, there was more than one god. There was a group of them called 'the gods' that cover every religion, and not just the religions on earth. They managed the planets with inhabitants on them by themselves before it became too much and they created their 'angels' to help them. Every planet has a delegation of helpers who then have their own helpers. Kind of like a company that runs with a board of directors and then they have all their underlings."
I was shocked. Here each religion thought they had the right one, with the only God, and Bella is now telling me that there is a god for each religion. Not just here on earth either but for every planet there is with life in all the universes. There was life on other planets too…
"Wow, just wow. I don't know what to say…"
"You can't say anything, Edward. No one can know about this. The whole point in having different religions is because people are allowed to have choices. It's all free will. Humans, in fact all living things here on earth, have free will. They have the right to choose what they believe, so it was only fair that for every religion there would be a god. If a new religion would be born then we'd have a new god, or at least one would be appointed. There haven't been any new religions in a long time though." Bella implored, "I trust you to keep my secret because you are my mate, but those outside of us need to be carefully monitored before I can trust them. Something this big rocks foundations, and with people knowing it could unravel everything."
She was right; this kind of information could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Just like if our existence was found out. I would keep this to myself because it would put her in danger and I cannot have that, especially if it was me that put her there.
I absorbed that for a minute before I continued on with my story.
"Okay, so when I didn't immediately believe them, they pulled out a folder that had been stored in a locked air tight container, behind one of the bookshelves. In it was the letter, and one filled with instructions on how to go about creating a tattoo gun and ink that would ink our skin and aid them with eating like a human. They went ahead and created it, inking themselves with The Volturi symbol. Everything they ate was absorbed so there was no waste. This also allowed them to change their eye color.
"They all showed me their symbols. Aro, Marcus, and Caius had theirs placed on their upper arm, and as they wear robes it covers them. The ladies had theirs on their shoulder blades. Aro then explained that I had become very trustworthy in their eyes, which was why they were answering my questions. The brothers had decided that I had become another brother to them. They wouldn't announce it to the rest of the vampire world until I was at full strength with my mate by my side, though. They graciously offered the tattoo to me; I, of course, said yes and please." I could see Bella's eyes light up at the thought of a tattoo. "Like that idea, do you?"
"Yes, I remember seeing people in the Looking Pool with tattoos; some of them were very interesting. Others not so much. What does yours look like and where is it?"
"The Volturi have a symbol that they've used since they came into power millennia ago. It used to be on necklaces and the like before. It's has a golden V with their crest imposed over the top, it has a red ruby at the top in an oval and one at the bottom of the V in a diamond shape. It also has filigree on it as well; the girl's version has vine work around the back of it." As I was talking, I stood up and started unbuttoning my shirt, and I wasn't sure which she was paying more attention to: what my fingers were doing or what my mouth was saying.
As I finished unbuttoning my shirt, I ran my hands up the lapels, popping the collar just to see what she would do. Her eyes followed; when they reached my eyes I was smirking at her. She flushed a bright pink but poked her tongue out at me. I'm glad that, while she could blush, she wasn't shy about looking at me.
"What are you doing, Edward? Why are you getting undressed?" she asked, a little nervous.
"It's all right, Bella. We're not going to do any more than we have yet. I have plans." At that she laughed. "You wanted to see my tattoo. I had mine placed on my shoulder blade, like Dora, Didy, and Scully. For me it was easiest to hide because I wear wife beaters under my clothes and when we go swimming. I wasn't allowed to show anyone. Until you."
I pulled off my shirt and reached back to lift my wife beater over my head. I turned around, looking at her over my shoulder to see her response. Bella got up and ran her hands up my back starting at the base of my spine. I shivered, feeling desire flare up for her; I could feel my eyes turn black with it. She looked up and saw my eyes, which made hers darken as well. Bella looked back to the tattoo and traced over it.
"It's beautiful, Edward. Do you know how it was made and what the ink is made of?" Bella asked.
"No, baby, I'm not sure as they weren't willing to part with that information and I wasn't going to force it. I'm just happy that they were willing to let me know what they did," I answered her.
She nodded, knowing that was fair. Bella was tracing the lines on the tattoo, running her fingers all over it.
"It's beautiful, Edward. Whatever is in it I'm grateful for the fact that it can help you. I can see that you are happy with it. You said that you could change your eye color. What colors can you change it to?" she wanted to know.
"Obviously you have seen my eyes gold, and now black. Black is normal for when I feel desire for my mate, or if I was in need of hunting, but that doesn't happen anymore. Eating food doesn't allow for that. Eating food also helps with being out in the sun; it helps to fight off the tired feelings. Gold eyes are normal for those who hunt animals; those that hunt humans have red ones. Because my family don't know about me eating, I keep my eyes gold to keep suspicion to a minimum. For you, though, when we're alone, I will keep my eyes my human color. Green." I could feel my eyes shift as I was talking and turning around to face her.
She gasped at the change and ran her fingers underneath my eyes. "They're so beautiful, Edward. I'd love it if you could keep them like that around me; we've just got to remember to have you change them back so that the others don't find out."
Bella and I stared at each other for a while before I pulled her in and kissed her again. It was slow, sweet, and just loving. We kissed for a while before I remembered I wanted to ask her some questions. I pulled back and rested my forehead on hers, then kissed it and helped her sit back down.
"Bella, I wanted to ask you again about meeting your great-grandmother. How would that have been possible?"
"We age differently than humans. While we have a faster gestation rate, we actually age slower. Angels are immortal, in the same way that vampires are. We can be killed, but in only one way. Once we reach adulthood we stop aging but we can change our appearance. If we mate with someone that looks older we can reflect that, same with someone that is younger. Because you were destined for me I didn't age any more than you.
"In our realm of existence, we age one year for every ten earth years. I aged to twenty angel years, which makes me two hundred earth years."
I was a little shocked. "Who would have thought I wouldn't be the one robbing the cradle? That's a little shocking to me."
"Does it bother you that I'm older than you?" Bella asked in a worried tone.
I thought about it for a minute. "No, Bella. It doesn't bother me, I love you. Would you love me any less if I was the one older than you?"
She shook her head so hard I thought she was going to hurt herself. "No, it wouldn't, I love you for who you are not how old you are. It's the person on the inside that matters to me."
"Exactly, Bella. It's the same for me," I reassured her. "How long were you on earth before you found me?"
"I came down just as you were graduating from UDub a couple of years ago. It's why the connection wasn't as strong between us yet. It had to have time to develop, so while I was waiting for it to grow, I lived in the forests slowly heading in your direction as the pull became stronger. I practiced my Earth Angel powers between Seattle and here," she replied. "I suppose you'd like to see them; I'm sure you saw the reaction the flowers and grass had when I sat down earlier?"
I nodded and watched as she stood back up and moved away from me. She placed her hands out in front of her, palms down, closed her eyes, and concentrated. I looked at the ground around her and saw the grass grow longer, the flowers bloom, and the leaves on the trees grow healthier. She moved over to a group of flowers that were dying with the change of the season and she made them come alive again.
"That is what an Earth Angel is for: looking after the earth. When it became too much for Mother Nature to handle, our line of angels were designed by the gods to help her. The angels are only able to have two children per couple, our way of population control I suppose. Angels only fall pregnant when there will be a need for a new one. In our line, only a first born girl to any couple is destined to be an Earth Angel and to live here on earth to help it. If there isn't a need for one, then they are either born second or not at all," Bella explained. "We are supposed to have a mate of supernatural origin so that we can live down here forever helping out. Although, as you saw earlier, I'm only the second one ever created and nobody knows what happened to the first. My great-grandmother, Didyme, was supposed to be her, but she was married off for some reason and then disappeared."
I could see the subject was upsetting my angel and I didn't want her to cry, so I thought it best to ask another question. As she sat down I blurted it out.
"Now for a change of subject; do you have a halo?"
It was her turn to burst out laughing. She laughed so long and hard that she started to cry; it was fantastic. She started nodding as she calmed down.
"Like everything about me, it's hidden when I'm around others. Only you, for now, will ever see these things about me. Except for what the others saw earlier. I will keep my wings, halo, and heartbeat hidden, so that I appear to be a vampire. The only problem I see is that I can only hide my heartbeat for so long; it's tiring, like you being in the sun." As she was talking, she walked back over to me and sat down. I was watching her hands as they delicately rested in her lap, and when I looked back up her halo was floating over her head.
My god she was beautiful; there was nothing else like her that I had ever seen. Then her words sunk into my head. It was going to be problematic if she couldn't hide it for very long. I couldn't have her uncomfortable in our home, so I was going to have to solve that one right away.
"How long are you able to hide your heartbeat, Bella?" I asked.
"At most, about eight hours. It's harder to do when I'm sleeping because I'm not concentrating on it, but it can be done. Obviously I'll have to hide it around your family. Do you live with them?" she enquired back.
"I do, but I'm planning on fixing that right away. I won't have you uncomfortable in your own space, Bella. You are my priority, my responsibility, and if you're unhappy then I am too. It may take a bit, but I'll find us somewhere to live. Will you be okay until then?" She was nodding before I'd even finished and I was thankful that she didn't argue with me; she could see it was important that I provided these things for her.
I pulled my phone out and texted Esme. Although she worked at a veterinary office, she'd know what we could do.
Esme, I'm not sure if the others have informed you, but I have found my mate! I was wondering if you could help us find a little place of our own to just be for a while. ~ Edward.
Jasper texted me earlier and said that there would be a family meeting when everyone was at home later. This is most excellent news Edward and I'm so happy for you! I've been home for a little while, we're just waiting on you and Carlisle. I'll go and have a look and have a list ready for you when you get here. I can't wait to meet her! ~ Esme.
I'm glad you're excited Esme. We were ambushed at school by the others earlier and they were not happy about her. I think after the meeting we'll head to a hotel until we can sort a place of our own. I'm sorry about this, I know you don't like us separated. ~ Edward.
I understand Edward. They aren't any happier about it now. I'm not sure I understand, because as long as you're happy that's all that matters to me. Come home soon. ~ Esme.
"Esme is excited to meet you, love. I've asked her for help in acquiring a place of our own. I don't want you going without sleep, so we're going to stay in a hotel until we can find our special place. I'll have to organize your credit card and things, too, so that you can go shopping to decorate. Do you have any other clothes? Things like that?"
Bella shook her head. "I have a few changes of clothes that I reused after washing them. As you saw from my memories, I was taught how to use earth machines, money, and credit cards. I'm hoping that you'll come shopping with me though?"
"Of course, baby, we'll go this weekend while I'm not at school. What are you going to do while I'm teaching?" I was hoping that she'd want to come with me.
"Can I keep pretending to be your student teacher? I don't want to be away from you yet. We've been without each other for so long already," she pleaded.
"Of course, Bella, I'll get our guy to get the paperwork ready for you and overnight it to us so that you can start straight away." I took a photo of Bella with my phone and sent it via email to Jenks with the details that I wanted and told him I wanted it by the morning.
"I think we've discussed enough information today. Let's take a few days to process and we can come back with any questions later, sound fair?" She nodded again. "Now it's dinner time. Let's say I take my beautiful girl out for dinner before heading home to face the inquisition, shall we?"
Bella giggled and stood when I helped her, then climbed on my back. We ran back to the car. When I got there I pushed her up against it and kissed her silly before getting in and heading out to dinner: our first date as a mated pair.
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Thank you for reading.