Chapter 24: Between Hope and Fear
Happy Easter Y'all! Special chapter posting since I'm going out of town for spring break and won't have time to use internet while out of the country! Flying tomorrow to go to ironically, FREAKING ITALY! I'll be in Volterra next Wednesday to do their official Twilight tour and I'm soooo excited. Thank you all for your continued support and comments, it means the world to me. This chapter is a little lighter than previous ones, figured I'd give you all a break. ONLY TWO MORE LEFT!
To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful - Agnes De Mille
Helen was slightly wobbly when Ruby had transported them to what she assumed was the latter's downtown apartment. High ceilings, exposed brick and modern furniture. It all looked like something out of a catalog, almost perfect, if it weren't for the empty bottles of hard liquor the were spread around Ruby's granite countertops. Ruby took off her leather brown jacket and tossed it on her grey couch. There was a pregnant pause as Ruby caught her eyeing the glass containers that littered the place.
"Your place is cute." Helen said smally while eyes the bottles of alcohol.
"Functioning drunks like nice decor, too, hon." Ruby joked darkly, but examined her soaking wet clothes. "I have some things that might fit you, get you out of those soggy things. You want me to hold on to anything for you?"
"Hoodie yes, you can burn this dress for all I care." Helen huffed in annoyance and shedded her damp jacket, handing it to Ruby. Her skin wasn't getting clammy or wrinkly like it would when she was a human, but it was definitely grungy and gross and she wanted to rinse off. "Gotcha." She said, "you can change in my bedroom. Just rummage through my stuff and see if you can find something. My jeans might be too long for you, though."
"It's cool I'll find something." Helen shrugged and walked into Ruby's bedroom, finding a king sized bed with grey sheets and a beige plush headboard. All modern furniture again, like an Urban Outfitters catalog. Helen stripped herself down and found her wet clothes attempting to cling to her skin, grabbing one of Ruby's towels to dry herself off and pat her hair. Ruby had a very large walk-in closet and tons of clothes and shoes. Helen found an already oversized dark green flannel that went to her lower thighs and black leggings that weren't too long for her short legs.
It felt amazing to wear something so modern and unfeminine in the Volturi's eyes. She had the autonomy to pick out her own clothes, something she had never considered a luxury. Now that she had minute to calm down from her stupor, the weight of her actions finally hit her. How long would it be until she was discovered missing? What would this do to Aro's already prominent bloodlust? Would he be able to use the sire bond from a distance? She had barely even considered his ability to control her using his ancient knowledge of ancient vampire workings.
She rolled her damp curls into a messy bun and enclosed it with a big claw clip. Taking, several deep breaths that weren't even needed for her newborn body but still greatly comforting. The heat of the moment was over and she needed a practical plan if they were all going to make this out alive. Walking back into the living room, Helen saw Ruby fix a gooey grilled cheese sandwich and place it on a plate.
"I don't eat anymore." Helen said idly while cuffing her sleeves so her baggy shirt only barely covered her hands. Ruby snorted and took a bite of what would have once greatly appealed to her.
"This is for me you self-centered brat." Ruby replied with a soft but knowing grin, it made Helen give her a thin lipped smile. She took a seat on one of the barstools and sat rather straightly, her thoughts going a mile a minute.
"Ruby, what do we do? I mean what's our plan?" Helen asked nervously. "Even if Aro sends only a few guard members we don't have the strength to fight them off."
"I know." The witch replied nonchalantly. "I wouldn't have told you to get your ass back here if I didn't have a plan. Well, it isn't really my plan, but he'll explain it to you. I'm just waiting on a call from a friend of ours." Helen furrowed her brows at that statement. Was bringing other people into the equation really a good idea?
"Oh." Ruby said dryly as her phone started to ring, sliding on the screen to answer. "Rounds over, Carlisle?"
That single word set a bolt of electricity up Helen's spine. She wanted to scream, but her mouth wouldn't move. The Cullen's were the absolute worst people Ruby could involve in this, the Volturi were already looking for any excuse to kill them and were about to let the situation in Seattle do that for them. She couldn't move, she needed to have some kind of reaction but her body wasn't moving.
"Yes I just left for the night, Ruby." Carlisle's voice was softer, friendlier than she had remembered. It was so rich and warm, like melted butter. She didn't even know they knew each other. "Did you have a good day off? I know you mentioned you put your papers in at Shriners after you got the email."
"Yea, listen we're kind of on a time crunch now." Ruby took another cheesy bite. "The kid's here and she watched him give the order so things need to speed up now."
"Oh, my apologies Helen I didn't know you were there so soon. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Carlisle Cullen, we met several months ago on Halloween." Any other single-celled organism would have given some kind of response, but Helen was too busy currently frozen in place. Ruby raised an eyebrow at her stiffness as he continued. "Is she alright? I didn't hear her."
"I don't know." Ruby rolled her eyes and examined her with confusion. "She was functioning before but has some kind of stupid, goofy derp face right now. Just continue and I'll see if I can resuscitate a vampire."
"Oh, okay." Carlisle said jovially. "Listen, Helen. I'm sure you must be scared, confused and restless but I'm going to do my best to help you. Ruby and I have been in touch for a while and we're gonna make sure you and your family are okay. I know this is a lot to take in, I'm sure the Volturi have not been very kind about my family but I need you to say something."
Using what remained of her sanity, Helen took a deep breath and spoke with a shaky and weak tone. "O-Okay, I'm listening. Carlisle you need to understand he's gonna kill them and he can do this thing where he controls me."
"Yes, the sire bond." Carlisle was probably nodding. "We'll deal with that, too. I'm going to explain the plan and I want you to tell me if you have any questions or concerns after I finish. Does that seem alright?"
"Mmmhmm." Helen was fidgeting now.
"Wonderful, so the plan is very simple but we've been left with only one option due to the Volturi marking your family and friends for execution. Essentially, we're going to have to prevent any vampires from finding them and tracking them, especially Demetri. In order to do that, Ruby has concocted a special potion that will nullify any vampire's gifts and confuse their ability to sense them. It's crassly called Leechless by people who are magic sensitive. We will give this to all of those who are targeted and then move them to a location that the Volturi will never find them, like a protection program of sorts. Any questions?"
"Why?" Helen cleared her throat, all of her frustrations slowly building. "Why didn't we do this several months ago when Aro found me? I feel like this could have been prevented."
"Part of that is my fault." Ruby explained, her eyes hard. "I didn't swoop in fast enough because I was worried he might alert Lucius. Not to mention that he would get very suspicious if you suddenly disappeared. The potion itself also takes ninety days to brew and I didn't realize he came for you until he was here."
Helen wanted to get mad and scream, rage continuing to build. As a vampire, she physically couldn't get tired but emotionally and mentally she felt unbelievably exhausted. The weight of everything was finally catching up to her and she just wanted it to end, to rest. She glared at Ruby for a solid minute before Carlisle's voice checked in.
"She also has a portion of the enchantment ready to be made into a stone to keep on your person. As a vampire, you can't absorb any ingestions other than blood. She'll just need some of your DNA so it doesn't interfere with your vampire senses and leave you disorientated. It will protect you from the Volturi as well. The plan isn't full proof, Helen, but it's our best chance." He said with his calming voice, unintentionally annoying the crap out of Helen.
"You also can't go with your family or friends." Ruby said warily, her ring glowing as if ready for her to pounce.
"What?!" Helen said with a feral snarl, her anger almost coming full circle and overloading her sense of reason. She was ready to murder, maim, hurt or do anything as long as she could cause something pain. Something deserved to experience the kind of pain she was feeling. "That is such bullshit!"
"Helen, please take a few deep breaths and let us explain." Carlisle said in a soothing manner, the phone somewhat staticky.
"Just shut up!" Helen sneered loudly, her fist forming cracks in the granite. She wanted to cry but no tears would come, she could only feel venom start pulsating in her eyes to keep her vision from being impaired. Stupid, vampire body. "I risked everything to get here and you're gonna fucking tell me I can't even see them anymore! They're my family! He took them away from me and now you're doing the same thing!"
"Hey!" Ruby shouted, her ring glowing brighter. "No one is taking anything away from you! This is the only thing we can do, if they stay with you then there's a greater risk. You are a fresh newborn who can no longer be watched twenty-four-seven. If you slip up, it could seriously hurt one of them and the aftermath of that will cause great attention and pain to them and you. I know this sucks, but you seriously need to calm your tits!"
Carlisle cleared his throat on the line, trying to ease the burning tension.
"Obscenities aside." he said in a cool voice. "Ruby is right. I know how hard it can be to control your emotions as a newborn, but Helen I promise you that getting upset will not be good for anyone. I am sure you are frustrated and just want this to be over, but you have to trust us or this won't work."
Helen huffed for a minute and curled her fingernails into her sculptured palms. She breathed for a minute until she felt stable enough to not start screaming again, but she was still furious.
"Fine." she hissed out icily.
"Thank you." Carlisle said with a polite kindness. "Ruby, when do you think the potion should be administered?"
She covered her mouth while chewing her sandwich, a bit more relaxed. "I'll go over to Richard Hendricks' house tonight and have him call the two girls over and make sure they drink it and then I'll send them all on their way with appropriate papers and enough funds. I'm going to have to break their memory spells so they don't do anything suspicious. This way you can also see them one last time, kid."
Helen nodded reluctantly, grateful she would at least be allowed one last moment before they were all shuffled around to God knows where. She could tell Ruby was torn up about what she was doing, because she seemed really upset and also took a big drink from an open bottle of Jack Daniels.
"Will that be enough time for them to clear out before the guard is sent?" Carlisle asked. "They have the resources to leave as soon as they discover her missing."
"They probably won't get done with the council meeting for another few hours, Aro made it seem like it was going to take up reading time." Helen snorted bitterly, remembering how up until about an hour ago she was concerned about what books he was going to bring her. "He started to go into other issues that weren't a priority but needed to be discussed anyway. It's all gonna depend on if he gets bored quicker than I'm thinking."
"Not to mention that once they discover you missing, Demetri will try and track you first." Ruby pointed on. "The effects of the potion simply screw up his sense of location on your mind. He could start off thinking that you're in Germany or Argentina and then sense your mind in Toronto or Bosnia. It will mess with his tracking senses especially but it will work for other vampires just as well. That being said, they may just decide to get the ball rolling and come here first. Like she said though, they have to find her missing and then go through customs even with their private plane. I'd say we have a solid time period before we need to get really concerned."
"I believe so as well." He said warmly, "but I'll ask Alice if she sees Aro decide what to do. We're having a bit of a...situation in Seattle that we hope to take care of soon." That made a lightbulb ping in Helen's head. She remembered what she had heard earlier during the council meeting that so ghoulishly decided the fate of all this.
"Carlisle there's something you should know." Helen said quickly, "The Volturi know that there's a newborn army in Seattle. That was the reason for their emergency discussion. They're planning on sending the hunting party that kills my family to you afterwards to take care of it, but Aro is intentionally not making a decision in order for Alice not to see when they come. They also don't care if the army wipes out a few of your members, I heard them say it myself."
There was a dark pause in the room. Ruby was shaking slightly and Carlisle waited almost a minute before responding.
"Helen, I appreciate the warning, I do. We suspected something like that, but, you do realize that if Aro finds you he'll know you just committed high treason against the Volturi? You revealed privy council information and attempted to impede their enforcement of the law." Carlisle explained grimly.
Helen felt like she should be incredibly worried but for some reason, she shrugged it off. "I don't care what he does to me anymore. He doesn't get to shower me with kisses and love and act like I can trust him, when in reality he directly causes most of my pain or hurt the people I care about."
"Alright then." Carlisle said softly, "before I hang up does anyone have any questions?"
"Actually, yes." Helen's quick statement made Ruby halt from finishing the last piece of her sandwich. "Why are you helping me, Carlisle? You've met me once and now you want to go against a man you've known literally forever? I'm sorry but I don't know you well enough to believe that you're doing this sincerely. If there's one thing living with them has taught me it's that no one ever does something for nothing."
He cleared his throat and responded calmly. "Because Ruby asked me to and she's helping you. Yes, it's true that Aro and I are on cordial terms but I don't agree with what he has done to you and plans to do now. Helen, I know that we barely know each other but I promise I'm going to help you and I hope that's enough to begin earning some trust."
Helen, although still wary, knew that she was going to have to take that as an answer for now. "Alright."
"Wonderful, I'll have my phone on in the event either of you need anything. We'll be in touch soon." The line went dead and Ruby put her dirty plate in the sink. The witch stared at her for a brief minute before taking another swig of whiskey. She opened up a drawer and took out a flimsy yellow tape measure and a plastic bag.
"Okay, will you hand me a few pieces of your hair? I also need to measure your ring finger to form it into a band and then we can get going." Her eyes were beginning to lightly glaze over, buzzed effects occurring
"Fine." She said coldly while quickly plucking a few copper strands and putting them in the bag while Ruby took her left finger measurement.
"Alright, I'll head into my study and finish up and then we'll go over to your old house and get everyone settled." Ruby began walking to the adjoining room, pausing and turning her head back slightly. "Listen, I know you're mad but this is just what needs to happen. This is what's best for everyone."
"Yeah." Helen replied dryly, curling her fingernails in. "Well guess what? I'm tired of being told to do what's best for everyone. I'm tired of being told where to go, what to say, how to act and who's going to be affected if I don't. So while you're doing whatever the Hell it is you need to do, you just remember that. You remember that I didn't decide to trade one prison for another, regardless of how big it is."
Ruby nodded moved a piece of hair out of her face, closing the door behind her.
The band was a dark metallic gray. It was textured and stone like, shiny under the lights. Helen didn't feel any different, any part of her heightened senses start to feel messed with. She took it as a sign it was working.
Ruby had several cars registered under different names, the one she chose to throw her duffel bags in was a silver Toyota Rav4 with an Oregon license plate. Helen briefly wondered if that is where they were going but she didn't want to think about what would happen after she said her final goodbyes, not yet.
It had been so long since she had ridden in a car, it felt so foreign to her now. She felt out of place and restless, her vampire stamina making her long to be out and roaming fields and open woods after being confined for so long. Ruby noticed her discomfort as she started the car, pulling out of her parking garage.
"You okay, Hendricks?" She asked, her brown eyes holding the tiniest bit of concern.
"Yea." She said with a shrug, "I just haven't been in a vehicle for a while, or even like this at all." She could still see everything perfectly outside the dark windows. If anything she felt like it was moving too slow, like it would be so much easier to rip the passenger door open and start running as fast as she wanted to.
"Just try and breathe." Ruby said while eyeing her with caution. "We'll be there in about fifteen minutes."
Helen nodded and allowed herself to take in the surroundings of her old city. The arch was far off in the distance, the sun having almost set around it like a halo of some sorts. The air smelled different than in Volterra, mediterranean sea water replaced with fresh pine and industrial fumes. She would miss it all, the traffic lights, the concrete roads and matchbox houses. She would miss the smell of street corner pretzels and morning runs on the trail near her house.
She had hoped it one point that she would come back here, but she always assumed it would be forever. The thing that kept her going, kept herself alive in addition to her family not being killed was that her living situation was temporary. That naive, foolish childlike part of her thought that today would have been the day that Aro and Sulpicia realized that what they were doing was wrong and send her on her way back to St. Louis.
A pipe dream, nothing more, still it had given her the ability to get out of bed in the morning.
"Ruby." Helen said with growing frustration. "You need to give me your phone so I can call my friends." The witch perked up at that and immediately sighed.
"Kid, you've been missing for six months, they will call the police and we will be dealing with more shit than we need to." She explained as calmly as she could, not trying to poke the beast.
"They won't, I know them." She explained with a heavy heart, remembering Sydney's innocent kindness and Aggie's assuring and knowing care. "They won't call the police and they'll come to the house. If my Dad calls them it would raise all kinds of suspicion about why he needs them to come over so late. We've snuck out of our houses to meet each other and run around town before, we have a system in place. It'll make more sense when their parents discover them missing, as they will each think that the other went to a different house. They trust me and I trust them, that has to be good enough for you."
She remained silent for almost two minutes before reaching into her back pocket and taking out a black smartphone. "You had better be right about this, Helen, or on your own head be it."
Helen nodded and started typing in Aggie's phone number. Aggie would be the best person to talk to first, she could keep calm in the event her parents were home and make a better excuse to go over to Sydney's. The phone rang four times, her friend probably wary about the number calling before answering with wariness.
"Hello?" She had forgotten what her voice sounded like for a second, the honey-like texture of Aggie's voice. The only one in their friend group to have a somewhat southern twang courtesy of her parents.
"Aggie." Helen tried to make her voice sound rough and flat like before, but it still had the clarity of her vampire features. "It's Helen, please don't hang up."
"This isn't funny whoever you are." The brunette snapped back icily.
"Aggs, wait." Helen said quickly before she could cut the line. "This isn't a prank call. For your seventh birthday you had a purple elephant pinata and accidentally knocked Leslie Kopelman's tooth out when you tried swinging the bat. You were wearing a plaid dress with pink heart buttons."
She heard a definitive gasp on the line followed by a solid moment of silence. That memory, one of a thousand she had shared with both of her best friends, did the trick. She could vaguely remember the party, the feeling of joy at being there, the human part of her that she would never want to forget.
"Helen! Where have you been?! Why are you-"
"Aggs, listen you must have a million questions and I don't blame you. I will explain everything but I need you to get Sydney and come to my house in no later than a half hour." Helen cut off with renewed vigor and worry. "I know that I have no right to ask you of anything after putting you through Hell but you need to trust me, it's not safe here anymore."
"What do you mean?" Aggie's inquisitive nature peaked through. "Not safe how?"
"I can't explain it all over the phone but I promise you I will be at my old house in a bit and I need you both to get over there ASAP." She said pleadingly. "You also need to be covert and not tell your parents. Lie to Syd if you have to, but you need to believe me that you are in danger."
There was a pregnant pause before she heard Aggie sigh. "Okay I understand, I'll be there as soon as I can. You had better have answers."
The drive to her old house was longer than she remembered. Helen suspected that perhaps Ruby was prolonging her departure even slightly, knowing that this night would be hard. She was going to have to relive the pain she felt six months ago, except this time she would feel it even more intensely and it could quite possibly be forever.
Carlisle and Ruby didn't flat out say she couldn't ever see them again, but she knew that would be foolish to get her hopes up. There wasn't any trace of Sydney or Aggie when they got there, which made her slightly relieved that she wouldn't have to straight up jump into this.
Beyond the door she could hear three perfectly healthy heartbeats, strong and powerful. She wanted to remember their sound for the rest of her life, to know that they would never become silent by the hands of the Volturi. Glancing around, she was happy that there wasn't any presence of the guard, even though it had only been not even two hours since she had escaped.
"I wonder if he knows." Helen thought out loud as they pulled into the driveway. "Aro, I mean. I can't help but wonder if he's figured out I'm gone." Ruby only looked at her, not sure if she needed to respond.
"God, what I would give to see him look so powerless." Helen laughed dryly, toying with the ring she had been given. "You sure this is gonna work? I mean I know you were careful making the potion but I can't help but feel that there's some way this could fuck up."
Ruby snickered back. "Hon, there's a million ways this could fuck up, but it's the only viable option. You ready to go in or do you need a minute?"
Helen gulped and nodded back before adding. "Ruby, listen, I will control myself best I can but if I..." the witch gave her a knowing smile and comforting touch on her elbow.
"I'll knock you to the ground in a nanosecond, you won't hurt any of them under my watch." Helen gave her a small smile before they both exited the vehicle. Ruby's boots were a half size too big on her feet but they were the best they could do in short notice. Helen felt her senses start to sharpen as her body felt her emotional stress. She was grateful not to have a heartbeat anymore as it would have probably exploded from nervousness at this point. Before they reached the door, Ruby fished a pair of black aviators out of her bag and handed them to Helen.
"Just so the first thing they aren't greeted with is red eyes."
She laughed at that and put them on, the filmy dark grey lense not even remotely impairing her crystal clear vision. Helen adjusted her sleeves and brushed off her pants, finding it silly that at a time like this she still wanted to look neat for her father. Before Ruby even knocked someone had rushed to the door, the smell of AXE body spray and diet soda visible as they got closer to the threshold. Wesley, dear God it was her brother.
He answered the door, holding a red solo cup that Helen smelled as Dr. Pepper. His hair was longer, shaggier and in desperate need of a haircut. She was becoming aware of his arteries pumping blood under his warm skin, and swallowed deeply. He eyed her slightly, confused by the small girl wearing such baggy clothes, dark sunglasses and wet hair clipped up in a bun.
He didn't recognize her.
"Hey Ruby." Wesley said in acknowledgement to the brunette. "What brings you by?" Helen could only assume that they had interacted since she had been taken away from her home, and it made her grateful to know Ruby had in fact been keeping a close eye on them.
"Wesley, sorry to drop by when it's getting late but we need to come in." She said with nervous flickering eyes, clearly preparing for what was about to happen. Her brother looked at her, actually more like through her, before nodding. It was heartbreaking to say the least, that she was unrecognizable by someone in her family. She wanted to scream and hug him and make him see, but she curled her fists and walked inside with Ruby behind her.
Everything in the house felt so alien, so strange despite it looking no different than it did six months ago. Same scratch on the antique dining table, same charcoal stain from the fireplace five years ago. She smelled Lysol and morning breeze air freshener downstairs and remembered it was Tuesday night and that was when they did a hard cleaning downstairs. She could almost picture herself doing dishes in the kitchen, remembering how annoyed she used to be at the dishwasher never drying anything on the top shelf.
She never thought she would miss anything as mundane as chores.
"Dad." Wesley spoke after taking a sip of his drink, "Ruby's here with someone." With someone. An afterthought. Something her brother included so as not to offend what he saw as a stranger enter his home. Why did he not see? How different could she really be? She sensed another heartbeat coming from her Dad's study, getting closer as it took slow and stompy steps. She could smell his Old Spice deodorant and coffee coming off his breath, he probably had an important meeting he was prepping for tomorrow. His blood smelled delightful, almost rich and decadent, and Helen remembered to swallow the venom flooding her mouth.
When he came into view Helen almost broke down. He looked so tired and worn down, like he had aged about five years. His brown hair was starting to grey slightly at the roots and recede. Not to mention his eyebrows were speckled as well. She could see crows feet beginning to form and lines on his forehead and around his mouth. He had lost a little weight too, like he hadn't had an appetite in a while.
Richard Hendricks would be forty-one on June fifteenth and probably didn't look as bad to someone with human vision, but noticing all of his age and wear made Helen so worried for him. She had never seen him look old in her eyes, look fragile even like an aging man.
"Hello Ruby." He said with mild kindness, adjusting his reading glasses. "Everything alright? Who's this?"
Before anyone could say anything else, Helen took a few steps closer to her brother and father and stared at them with pleading eyes covered by her black lenses. "Dad, Wes it's me! It's Helen!" She saw their faces grow shocked as they began studying her more, registering her clear voice and freckle free face. They were working something out in their minds, and in the corner of her vision she saw Ruby's ring start to glow brightly and send two sparks of light towards the two of them. Their faces grew slack for a second before refocusing and looking at her with more fervor.
It grew into a mixture of sorrow, shock and comfort.
"I mean, I know I look and sound different." She said while pushing her aviators up her nose. "But guys it's me." The two of them crouched around her so quick, trying so hard to comprehend what was going on. She watched Richard raise his hand to her eye level, flinching and recoiling as he attempted to take her glasses.
"No, no." Helen cried out softly as they were removed, quickly shutting and scrunching her crimson eyes. "They look different than what you remember."
She felt Richard's hand touch her cheek, tensing up at the now ice cold temperature. "Flapjack, look at me please." Another hand now cupped her other cheek, it was so soft and warm. She could feel her father's pulse perfectly, smell his sweet blood even more. He was so desperate to see, begging for some indication that his daughter was somewhere inside the marble immortal before him. Slowly, she opened her eyes, lashes fluttering.
The two of them gasped as her bright red eyes appeared, expecting to see the familiar blue. Nothing was said for over a solid minute before Wesley choked out. "Y-your eyes they're like..."
'Like his.' She bitterly thought to herself, self-loathing drenching her core as she nodded at Wesley's comment. 'My eyes look exactly like the monster who took me away from you. I'm a vampire and I have his eyes, I have something in common with Aro.'
"They're just fine." Her Dad said assuringly, smiling so brightly at seeing his daughter in front of him finally. He looked so gentle, so relieved. It was as if he had taken a breath for the first time in months, like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. "Your eyes are just fine, baby girl."
He embraced her so tightly, like he had never hugged her before. She carefully wrapped his arms around him, praying that she wasn't about to accidentally break a rib. It was like handling glass or tissue paper, so delicate and breakable. Wesley came at her side and hugged her too, the three of them collapsing to the floor trying to get a grip on what they had seen.
Their Helen, different as she was, had finally come home. She heard the pitter patter of tiny footsteps coming down the stairs as she looked up and saw Henry standing on the bottom step wearing Mickey Mouse pajamas. He looked at the scene with confusion and shock before Ruby sent a flash of green his way, and tears started welling up in his little blue eyes, the one thing he had shared with her. He ran as fast as his short little legs would and embraced the rest of them.
"Helen you're back!" He cried out happily. "You found us!"
Indeed, she had found them. If only that moment could have lasted forever.
It didn't take long for Sydney and Aggie to arrive as well, another successful sneak out attempt to the horror of her Dad. Aggie had actually just finished all of her driving hours on her learner's permit and was scheduled to take her test next week and because her parents thought she was going to Sydney's, they let her take her red Volkswagen Beetle she got for her birthday earlier this month. They all squealed and laughed and for a moment before each of them started crying. They were all so relieved and grateful, but they had so many questions and after their memories had been adjusted Helen took the time to fill them all in.
Helen told them everything, glossing over nothing. She explained where she had been and what the Volturi were like, what they did and were going to do to all of them. She showed them all her gift and what she could do as a vampire, like she was a trained animal showing off her tricks. Helen told them about Aro, and how he had manipulated her into being his daughter and forcing her to love him. She told them about Sulpicia, and the motherly love that was the reason she was there in the first place.
Caius, Marcus, Athenodora and Alec. She truly left nothing out, bearing her soul and filling in every detail of the last six months. She told them about the guard, about how she had essentially been brainwashed and abused and changed into a vampire.
Understandably, they were all livid. They all were furious at Aro and the Volturi for what they had done to Helen, what they were continuing to do even now and their plans for them. Richard nearly went to call the police, before Ruby stopped him and then proceeded to relay the plan.
The plan that involved uprooting Helen's family, making her friends run away without a trace and essentially put everyone in some fucked up form of witness protection.
"I realize that I've hurt so many of you by leaving and not even allowing you to know why for half a year." Helen said while nervously playing with the hem of her shirt. "I also realize that I am the reason you are all in danger, but this is the only thing we can do to keep you all alive."
She was pacing vigorously, her vampire stamina needing stimulation in order to keep her from biting into the room full of delicious smelling plasma.
"That isn't true, honey." Richard said assuringly, but still looking very worried at his children. "You didn't ask for any of this and had no idea that a predator was in your circle."
"Yea it's not your fault." Aggie said but still pursed her lips together trying to hold back an angry look. She was wearing her hair in its natural curls and waves, something Helen liked more than her straightening it. She briefly wondered when she stopped getting her hair set every week. "But you do understand though that Sydney and I now have to put our parents through Hell right? They now get to wonder where we have gone and all of things that you put your own family through."
Helen looked at her intensely with sad eyes.
"We're not mad at you, Helen." Sydney said while fidgeting with her sweatshirt. Her once long blonde hair had been chopped off to her collar bone, courtesy of donating it to Pantene. Her mom had apparently had a benign mass a few months ago in one of her breasts and it had given her enough thought to want to do something charitable for others. Sydney seemed more grown up, more mature than her usual bubbly and naive self. Hell, they all did. "But I agree with Aggie. My mom doesn't even have anyone else with my sister doing her residency in Raleigh and her marriage being over. I am literally all she has left right now and I get to leave her, too. I just don't understand why we have to abandon our families in the process of saving ourselves."
"Listen," Ruby said while helping herself to a glass of Richard's scotch. "Damn, Dick you know your way around a single malt. Anyway, it's not plausible for us to bring more people in. The more humans we involve the less discrete we're gonna be able to be, not to mention a higher casualty rate in the event this plan doesn't work."
"Why don't we fight?" Richard said while standing up and clenching a fist. "I'm not scared of Aro or whatever he thinks he can do. I have a right to protect my family."
Ruby scoffed while Helen rolled her eyes. "Gallantry aside, Dick." The witch answered, "what happened six months ago should be any indication that a group of humans wouldn't be able to take on vampires. A single regular vampire could take out an entire army, a gifted group of Volturi mooks could tear you apart in seconds."
"Please stop calling me, Dick." Richard grumbled, earning a playful head shake from Ruby.
"Not to mention that the guard is completely obedient and loyal to Aro and the Volturi." Helen added on. "If he wants them to kill everyone he isn't going to ask twice."
There was a cold feeling in the room as everyone looked nervous and upset. Helen felt so guilty, so shameful. This truly felt like it was all of her fault, regardless on whatever someone else told her. She wasn't blameless in this, she couldn't be. What did she do to set him off? What things could she have said or done differently? Should she have tried harder to love them? Should she have behaved better?
Before Helen could stew any further, Ruby quickly interjected with a solemn look. "Also, while I have your papers and documents, all the things you need to be set. There is one thing we need to make clear, Helen, well she can't go with you."
Helen couldn't even look at any of them now, staring at her shoes as she heard everyone cry a collective "What?!" A knife could be used to cut the tension in this room, and she started pacing faster before she got too overexcited in her own anger.
"What do you mean my daughter can't come with me?" Richard asked with absolute anger and upset. "I'm her father, her family, of course she's coming with me!"
"Dad." Helen said as calmly as she could, pacing even faster. "It's not that simple, I'm not the same anymore, literally."
"We don't care." Wesley stood up and replied, earning a nod and look of solidarity from Henry and Richard. "So you're a vampire now? It's just something we'll deal with. We all have our own issues and flaws, sis, it doesn't mean that we don't look out for each other."
"Wes." Helen said with exasperation. "What I am now, it can't be a flaw is what I'm trying to say. It's not a habit I can kick or something you can take me to get medical treatment for. I'd never forgive myself if I accidentally hurt any one of you, but it's more than that. When I found out from Ruby that I couldn't go with any of you, I was furious, still am too. The thing is, it makes sense. I can't be in a place right now where I'm dangerous to anyone but I also can't be judged by anyone right now, either, especially people I love that I've already hurt so much."
"Oh cut the shit, Helen." Her Dad scowled at her, incredulous. "No one is judging you at all."
"Really?" She asked, finally stopping dead in her tracks. "You're not wondering how many people I've killed? Who I'm going to hurt next or coming up with some sort of plan in the event I lose my cool? I'm a three month old newborn vampire with the human memories and feelings of a fifteen year old entitled brat. I love each and every one of you and I know you love me but I can already see how you're looking at me!"
They all looked nervous, concerned even but mostly scared.
"You're afraid of me." Helen bit her lower lip in upset. "But you know what? That's okay because I'm afraid of me, too. I'm afraid I'll lose control and I can't let my personal feelings cloud that no matter how much it pisses me off. I need to be somewhere I can learn to control myself, but most importantly it has to be a place where I won't be judged."
"Where was that, Helen?" Henry said coldly. "Volterra with your new vampire family?"
For a moment once more, Helen briefly saw red cloud her vision. She was so damn mad at that comment, she wanted to hurt something, wanted to make something feel pain. She breathed so hardly and felt Ruby place consoling hands around her elbows as she tried to calm down. How dare her brother say that after she came back? How dare he treat her argument as something as ridiculous as wanting to go back to her prison in Italy.
"Henry Francois." Richard grabbed him by the collar of his pajama shirt, eyes hard and cold. "You apologize to your sister right now."
"No, Dad, it's fine." Helen finally felt her vision settle and saw the increasing look of worry on everyone in the room. "It was a low blow, but I'll give him that because he's hurt and upset. Henry, you have every right to be mad at me, but you can't talk to me like that again. I'm not trying to be pain, but I don't have enough control on my emotions yet to not have a potentially bad reaction. Got it?"
"No, Helen I'm sorry." He rubbed his neck where his Dad had grabbed him. "I'm just...it sucks is all. I just don't want to lose you again."
"Listen, everyone." Ruby said as calmly as she could. "I'm not saying you can't ever see Helen again or even talk to her, but we need to keep everyone separate for the time being so nothing happens and we don't draw attention to ourselves. I think we can all agree that we don't want that to happen, right?"
They all reluctantly nodded and agreed. Her family look so torn and upset, making her almost wish that she hadn't revealed herself in the first place. She wanted to say that this would all be temporary, that they didn't have to spend their lives in some awkward cross between hope and fear. Helen knew she couldn't promise such a thing, she couldn't promise anything anymore.
They all took the potion and barring what they admitted as a horrible taste, Helen could tell it was working. It was nearly impossible for her to detect them without knowing where they were. She could still smell the sweet perfume that their blood exuded, just not to the point that it made it unbearable to not take a taste. Ruby gave them all new IDs, cash, cards and phones. Sydney and Aggie, with Helen raided her closet to get clothes to pack before they settled to their new location, the rest of her family also quickly loading up their own bags. The witch even changed the license plates on Aggie and Richard's cars. Colorado plates with mountain outlines.
"Colorado?" Sydney asked with an eye roll. "I hate the cold and snow."
"Denver actually gets three hundred days of sunshine a year, Blondie." Ruby said with a snarky grin. "Perfect for avoiding vampires."
"I also heard they might legalize pot there next year." Wesley said with a cheeky grin, making him and Helen start laughing uncontrollably while their Dad grew quite pale.
"Liberal hippies." Richard said while covertly packing his 9mm handgun into a travel bag, clearly taking comfort in his own method of protection. "I've lived in the great state of Missouri all my life and now I'm about to trade it for Democrat-land. You're lucky I love you, Helen."
"Well that." Helen said warmly, "and if you don't you'll be killed."
"I'm not scared of anything." Richard said while kissing his daughter's now cold forehead. "I am Richard Hendricks, attorney at law, member of the NRA and I'm always packing."
"Oh my God!" Ruby shouted annoyed, "what is it with Americans and guns? Seriously, cool it with the guns! I mean, we get it! You have guns and guess what it'll probably do you no good!"
"It is the second amendment to the Constitution." Richard raised a smug eyebrow at Ruby and Helen quickly stepped in before a fist fight broke out.
"Alright you two, politics are off the table here." Helen said with an annoyed shrug. The witch sighed and began making her way towards the front door. Helen decided to venture up to her old room one last time, passing Sydney and Aggie on the stairs. She could tell they were mad, still, and she didn't expect them to ever truly forgive her for this. Still, it comforted her to know that they would be safe.
Her Dad had kept her room made for her while she was gone. Not a single thing was out of place, clothes the only thing missing from her room. This room felt so strange now, so weird. She couldn't believe there had ever been a point in her life when things had been so stereotypically normal, when she only had to worry about getting good grades and making her bed.
'I was asleep before, but I am awake to the world now.'
Her one final act of vengeance, something she saved for after she had gotten her family out, was to write a little note for the Volturi to find. A parting message to pass on to their Master, who would soon discover that his sweet little obedient Lady Helen wasn't as sweet and obedient as he thought. She pinned the folded up piece of paper onto her cork messenger board. She had taken out her glitter glue pens and doodled the word Aro, in bright sparkly pink surrounded by rainbows and swirly yellow suns.
It made the word look so harmless, mocking even. Exactly what she had wanted, the exact type of clarity she needed to convey that she would not be scared of him and what he could do to her anymore. She had won and beaten him at his own game and she wanted to let him know that. That she would gladly attempt to humiliate him in front of his own guard, his subjects and even the fucked family he held so dear.
What she wouldn't give to see his face when he read what was inside. What she wouldn't give.
She gave the room, the familiar green room one last look. When she had done this six months ago, she was sure that she would never see it again yet here she was. The world was full of surprises and curve balls that even she hadn't thought about. She would never look at the world with the optimism she had before, but escaping had taught her that it wasn't foolish to hope. No, it wasn't a silly thing at all, because had the Volturi managed to destroy her hope she wouldn't be standing here at all.
She grabbed some photos from her picture wall and even managed to find her polaroid. She would use it to make new memories now, memories that weren't in Volterra. She would have a life with her family again, even if it meant being from a distance. She started to close the door and for the first in a while, felt that things might actually work themselves out.
Read and Review my loves!