x-x-x-x-x
Fi and I must have spent hours possibly an entire day in the library swapping book titles back and forth, I was honestly surprised no one came looking for us, but that was actually the least of my concerns, I was trying to keep a mental list of all the titles Fi was recommending me as well as not appearing to be uninterested in the conversation, believe me I was fascinated with the conversation, but it was hard to concentrate because i couldn't stop staring at her.
"You know what's another one of my favorite, it's actually a more modern favorite?" I asked trying ti maintain focus Fi looked at me expectantly "What?"
"Well, first I've got to ask, what's your feeling on horror? I mean I saw you reading my haunted America book, so I guess that's kind of a stupid question,"
Fi ducked her head a little like she was embarrassed "I like ghost stories," she admitted "I'm not a fan of other horror things, I never really liked vampire stories, I don't like zombies, and… and don't think less of me, but I hated Frankenstein."
"Really?" I said "why, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I felt bad for him," she admitted laughing a little "even when he killed the little girl, I felt bad for him and I didn't like the story after that."
"I wouldn't think less of you, especially for that, there's been books I've hated because of how certain characters were treated." I paused "but that book you were reading about haunted houses? It's actually a whole series of them."
Fi's eyes lit up
"Seriously?" she asked and I nodded
"I wouldn't lie," I started to say when the door to the library flew open reveling Emmett who burst out laughing the moment he saw the pair of us.
"So this is where you two have been hiding out?" he asked "I should've guessed. Figured it was too obvious so I didn't check here first."
"Can I help you with something Emmett?" I asked pointedly and my brother's grin got wider as he winked at Fi "I just thought I'd let you know that there's been talks of arranging a search party for you two as well as the fact that Bella's testing out her shield and it's hilarious,"
I glanced at Fi who shrugged
"Her what?" I repeated, the image of Bella holding a real knight's shield flashing through my mind for a moment.
"Oh yes that's right you've been acting anti-social for nearly a day and weren't aware of what's been going. Bella's been able to block the Amazon's picture show, but she's practicing stretching her shield to protect from Kate's shock waves. Again, it's pretty funny."
It suddenly made so much sense, (not us being here for nearly a day,) I glanced at my watch and winced as I saw Emmett was right on that, but what really hit me was the shield, it explained so much…Edward not being able to read her mind, Aro and Jane unable to reach Bella, but the fact that my ability as well as Jasper and Alice's could affect her.
Our abilities are physical not mental; Jasper doesn't make you think you're calm and relaxed he literally puts you into that state, my ability isn't reading someone's mind it's all physical reading of their body language and their environment. Bella's ability is to shield her mind…fascinating.
"Is it working?" I asked
"What protecting from Kate?" Emmett asked and I nodded "it's hard to tell, Kate doesn't think Bella's got enough motivation."
I winced a little, I have experienced one of Kate's electrical shocks, just so she could explain her ability to me a little better, and I never want to experience that again, but Emmett was right, if we would use Bella's shield to defend against attacks from Jane or even Alec, she needed to have it tested at the highest level.
"What kind of motivation is she thinking of?" Fi asked timidly and Emmett glanced over at her in shock.
"She speaks!" he exclaimed and Fi looked at me and I shrugged "anyways she's trying to convince-" he started to say and my eyes went wide "Bloody hell they're not thinking of using Nessie are they!?"
Emmett shook his head
"They weren't before I came in here looking for you two…but they've got a pretty good crowd out there watching,"
I looked at Fi and gave her an apologetic smile "Sorry Fi, but I've got to go out and watch this," Fi nodded and gently put the book on the chair "you can stay here and read if you want, you don't have to come," I added and she gave me a shy smile "I want to," she replied and followed me to the door, Emmett burst out laughing again and we headed out of the library.
Emmett hadn't been kidding when he said they'd gathered quite an audience; Elzeazar, Carmen, Tanya, Garrett, Benjamin, Tia, Siobhan, and Maggie were all gathered around watching.
When we walked out of the house I felt a shadow move above me and glanced up to see Alistair was watching from our third floor window.
"Hey," Edward was saying, cleary trying to hide the discomfort he was feeling, keeping it from his voice. I don't know who he was trying to fool on that one, it was clear he was hurting a bit. "That one barely stung. Good job, Bella."
"Again, Kate," Bella growled through clenched teeth, Fi and I pushed gently through the onlookers and settled in next to Siobhan, she glanced over at us and smiled knowingly "Where have you been Fiona?" she asked "The Cullen's library," Fi admitted "Of course," Siobhan replied with a chuckle, Fi looked at me and shrugged as she smiled.
Meanwhile, Kate, Edward, and Bella were at it again, Edward cringed, preparing for the shock as Kate pressed her palm to Edward's shoulder.
"Nothing that time." Edward breathed with relief Kate seemed disappointed and Emmett nudged my shoulder laughing, Kate raised an eyebrow.
"That wasn't low, either." Kate explained "Good," Bella growled, and Kate grinned wide "Get ready," she said, reaching for Edward a second time, this time there was no mistaking the fact that he felt the shock.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Bella repeated over and over "Fifty bucks says Kate puts Edward down on his ass," Emmett whispered to me. If Siobhan heard him she ignored it, but Fi looked between me and Emmett quickly "A bet?" she asked "It's kind of a Cullen boys tradition," I explained "Come on kid, fifty bucks," Emmett prodded, he looked at Fi mischievously "you want in Fi Fi?"
Fi looked at me again, as if she was unsure how to respond to that and I rolled my eyes, I elbowed Emmett "Knock it off," I hissed "It's okay," Fi said "really, I'm used to nicknames like that, my older sister used to call me Ri Ri,"
I raised an eyebrow in confusion
"Ri Ri?" I asked "I don't get it,"
"It's my middle name, sort of," Fi explained "my middle name is Larissa and my sister didn't want to call me Fi or Fiona since everyone was calling me that, so she created her own nickname.
"Ri Ri?" I repeated and Fi shrugged
"I never bothered to ask," she replied laughing a little "it was just one of those things that kind of stuck,"
"Kind of like Dr. Doolittle!" Emmett exclaimed, he paused "Anyways, now that's sorted out, back to my question," there was a definite gleam in his eyes that actually frightened me a little "fifty bucks says Bella's shield slips a little and on his how do you say it Chris…Arse our brother goes."
I sighed and ran my finger's through my hair trying to buy myself time before answering him. I could see how determined Bella was, how confident Edward was and how equally determined Kate was to test Bella's ability to the highest degree. But I could also see the frustration building up around Bella and the problem with being frustrated is sometimes you lose your focus.
"You're doing an amazing job, Bella," Edward said, trying to reassure her "You've really only been working at this for a few days and you're already projecting sporadically. Kate, tell her how well she's doing."
Kate however didn't look as convinced as Edward, she glanced over at us quickly before looking back at the couple, pursing her lips as she went "I don't know. She's obviously got tremendous ability, and we're only beginning to touch it. She can do better, I'm sure. She's just lacking incentive."
Bella seemed stunned by that and even snarled soundlessly a little it. But all around me the audience that had gathered seemed to agree with Edward, that Bella was doing really well considering the limited time she'd been at it.
Jacob's scent hit my nose followed quickly by Nessie and the Amazons. Nessie had apparently been spending most of her time with Zafrina and Senna, fully enjoying the pretty pictures Zafrina showed her. But looking at Kate's face I instantly knew what she was thinking and felt my stomach drop.
"Kate," Edward warned, confirming what I had profiled. I knew it would be the ultimate incentive for Bella, but I wasn't about to let my niece experience that.
I however didn't get the chance to react, as Kate shot along the river towards the trio and the tailing Jacob "Nessie," Kate said "would you like to come help your mother?"
"No," Bella snarled, shaking off Edward's attempt to hug her, Nessie ran right towards her mother "Absolutely not, Kate,"
I wasn't surprised however to hear Nessie disagree with Bella's decision, as she gave a gentle pout.
"But Momma," Nessie said firmly "I want to help,"
I started to move towards them, but Emmett put a hand on my shoulder stopping me.
"Bad idea kid," he reminded me "come on your profile's gotta tell you that."
"Believe me I know, but it's hard to not get involved."
"Stay away from us, Kate," Bella warned Kate who was walking towards them, it's hard to see Kate being intimating to anyone, but this time she was focused and was pretty scary.
"No." she argued, moving closer
I could see the rage building up on Bella, it was pouring off of her, she had shifted Nessie so she was on her back, leaving her hands free to defend, but at the same time I could also see her focus, this was exactly what had been the goal of these exercises with Kate in the first place, to strengthen Bella' shield and even though I couldn't see it in a physical form, Bella was doing exactly that, she was tapping into this shield thing and using it to blanket herself and Nessie.
Kate took another step forward and Bella let out another growl "Be careful, Kate," Edward cautioned. Kate took another step towards Bella, but stopped, she seemed to realize the same thing I had just profiled. She looked back towards Edward, but my focus was on Bella who looked ready to pounce if need be.
"Can you hear anything from Nessie?" Kate asked Edward, who moved in between Kate and Bella.
"No, nothing at all," he answered. "Now give Bella some space to calm down, Kate. You shouldn't goad her like that. I know she doesn't seem her age, but she's only a few months old."
"We don't have time to do this gently, Edward." Kate reminded him "We're going to have to push her. We only have a few weeks, and she's got the potential to- "
"Back off for a minute, Kate."
Kate frowned at that, but did as he asked, a minute ticked by and Bella took a deep breath before facing our cousin again.
"Kate," she growled. "Again, Edward only."
Kate rolled her eyes at Bella's request, but accepted that, putting her palm against Edward's shoulder, I watched my brother carefully and sighed with relief when his face remaind the same, no sign of pain or anything.
"Nothing," Edward said
"And now?" Kate asked.
"Still nothing."
"And now?" I could hear the stress in Kate's voice, she was at her max for her ability.
"Nothing at all." Edward replied with a smile Kate grunted a little, she turned and scanned the crowd and spotted Emmett and I, I felt a twist in my stomach because I knew what was coming. Fi looked at me carefully "You okay?" she asked "We'll see,"
"Chris, Emmett come here for a second," Kate growled Taking a deep breath I moved towards Edward, Bella, and Nessie. Bella looked at Kate suspiciously.
"You're touching Edward," Kate explained 'I want to try something,"
I looked over at Bella and gave her a reassuring smile, she looked panicky at this perspective, Edward had volunteered to be the practice dummy for this training session, Emmett and I had not. But I also didn't want her to lose that edge, her adrenalin seemed to be fueling the shield more, if she lost that adrenalin or that confidence she'd lose that shield.
"We trust you Bella, you've got this," I told her, Emmett looked down at me like I was nuts, he trusts Bella, but he knows how much Kate's ability hurts.
"Go for it," he grumbled to Kate who stepped in between us and put a hand on our shoulders. I tensed, expecting to feel the pain from her ability, but I didn't feel any pain, if anything I felt a sense of calmness a sense of safety, almost like being wrapped up in a warm blanket on a cold wintery day.
This lasted only a few seconds, I felt Kate's hand leave my shoulder and I looked back at Bella, it had worked, she was pushing her shield far enough that she was able to protect both Emmett and I from Kate's direct touch.
Kate grumbled, accepting defeat as she walked over towards her sister and Garrett. Ruffling my hair, Emmett headed back to his spot as well and I followed him, Fi gave me a reassuring smile when I stepped next to her.
Now Zafrina stepped in she smiled at Edward "Can you see this?" she asked "I don't see anything I shouldn't," Edward replied "And you, Renesmee?" Zafrina asked. Nessie shook her head. I looked at Bella, she was losing her concentration, not from willpower of course, but from exhaustion, this shield while having a lot of strength against attacks, is not friendly to it's wielder.
"No one panic," Zafrina warned the group. "I want to see how far she can extend the shield." Within seconds of her saying this, my sight left me, I could hear what was going on around me, but I couldn't see anything, despite what Zafrina said I did nearly panic. My ability is based on my senses, so when one sense is taken away from me, my other senses go into overload to try and protect me and this was what was happening, I was looking for a way out. "Raise your hand when you get your sight back," Zafrina instructed, my ability combated Zafrina's ability. Zafrina's gift is all illusion, a very good illusion, but an illusion all the same.
I just had to use my ability to focus on what I knew to be real and what was not, so it only took me a few seconds at most to fight through it and get not only my bearings, but my sight back as well.
Slowly I raised my hand, wincing as Zafrina nodded, she seemed to understand how my ability worked and how it could fend off her illusion, it wasn't an easy thing to do, her illusion was very strong and it took a lot of concentration on my part to fight it, concentration I usually did not possess.
I was at least able to fight it, but the others, Elzeazar, Carmen, Tanya, Garrett, Fi, Benjamin, Tia, Siobhan, and Maggie stood there with the blank stares, their bodies clearly prepared to panic.
"Now, Bella." Zafrina continued "See how many you can shield."
I watched as Bella's face contorted, her teeth clenched as she focused on spreading this shield over the group. Kate was the closest, so her hand went up fairly quickly.
Edward was muttering something to himself, but I don't think Bella was paying attention to him, because she moved her attention towards Garrett, whose hand went up slowly not long after Kate's had.
Edward couldn't see it and I doubted Bella realized it either, but something was wrong, she was over extending herself, I could see the pain that was about to come, but there was nothing I could do to warn anyone, it was just going to have to happen. Even if Edward had managed to take his concentration away from Bella to read my mind, I doubt it would make a difference.
"Very good," Zafrina complimented "Now-"
I don't know exactly what happened, but Bella's face twisted in pain and what was just as troubling, the fear that washed over Nessie as she trebled against her mother's back. The shield had been stretched to it's breaking point, like an rubber band and it had snapped back at its wielder and it went from protecting at least Edward and Nessie to protecting no one, hence the look of fear and panic on Nessie's face.
"Can I have a minute?" Bella asked, clearly out of breath.
"Of course," Zafrina said, releasing her hold on everyone. I think everyone was feeling the same sense of relief as sighs went around the entire group, so I was not surprised when Fi grabbed hold of my arm, as if she needed reassurance that things were back to normal "Are you okay?" I asked She whimpered a little and nodded "I…I, I've never felt like that before. I couldn't see anything, just black."
I nodded
"Yeah, it's pretty freaky," I hesitated for just a second before patting her on the shoulder, instead of shying away from me, Fi actually leaned closer to me as if she was hiding from another wave of Zafrina's ability.
"I…I think I'm going to go back to the library," she said softly and I nodded, I was about to follow her when I spotted something that I knew I had to stick around to watch what was occurring between Garrett and Kate. "Are you coming?" Fi asked shyly and I nodded again "I'll be there shortly, but I've been waiting to see what's about to happen for a long, long time." Fi looked between me and then towards Garrett and Kate, she was definitely confused and who could blame her. "It's a long story," I explained "but that yank needs a good dose of his own medicine."
Fi chuckled a little, she still didn't understand what was going on, but decided it best to just leave it along for the time being, clearly hoping I would explain later on. Siobhan who it seemed recovered from her blindness pretty quick raised an eyebrow at the pair of us, but she was smiling.
Fi looked shyly at her adoptive mother and quickly flitted into the house. Siobhan's smile grew when she looked down at me "Interesting," was all she said, "very, very interesting." And with that she walked away, down the path towards the tree that Liam was leaning against.
Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Garrett and his pursuit of Kate. I looked up at Emmett who was only slowly recovering from his blindness, it's rare I see my brother unnerved by something, but this had done the trick.
"You okay?" I asked
"That was some freaky ass stuff," Emmett replied taking a deep breath "Yeah, I know," I didn't mention that I had managed to shake it off "anyways, looks like Yankee Doodle over there is putting the moves on Kate,"
Emmett insantly recovered as he grinned wide "So it would seem,"
"He's going to ask her to zap him,"
"Why the hell would anyone ask for that?" Emmett exclaimed, again he's been zapped by Kate at least once as have I, it's not a pleasant experience that either of us are anxious to repeat and that had been on Kate's lowest setting. I know we were both thankful that Bella's shield had worked when Kate had been using full power.
"Because he fancies her," I explained
"Poor fool,"
"I have no sympathy for him," I replied "it bloody well serves him right for all the bloody Red Coat comments,"
"Wager?" Emmett asked
"Wager," I replied "fifty bucks says he gets put on his bloody arse, with one finger touch to Kate and her using hardly any energy, two seconds."
Emmett rubbed his chin thoughtfully
"I think it might take more than that, fifty bucks says he'll make it ten seconds before she drops him."
"I wouldn't, Garrett," Edward cautioned as Garrett made his way towards Kate who looked at him expectantly, she clearly knew his feelings for her and was not going to admit it that easily. I was proud of my cousin.
"They say you can put a vampire flat on his back." Garrett said carefully "Yes," Kate agreed, then she wiggled her fingers at him "Curious?"
Garrett shrugged.
"That's something I've never seen. Seems like it might be a bit of an exaggeration... " he admitted "So he thinks now," I muttered to Emmett who burst out laughing "Maybe," Kate said, her face going suddenly serious. "Maybe it only works on the weak or the young. I'm not sure. You look strong, though. Perhaps you could withstand my gift." She stretched her hand out to him, palm up, a clear invitation. Her lips twitched, she was literally hustling Garrett, bloody hell do I love our cousins.
Garrett despite all his wisdom and worldly experience, fell for it, believing her innocent smile. Very confidently, he touched her palm with his index finger and that was all it took, because with a loud gasp, his knees buckled, and he hit the ground.
No I don't take pleasure in another being's pain, but seriously it was nice to see Garrett's over confidence in his charm be thrown back at him. Bella however looked horrified at the scene unfolded in front of her.
"I told you so," Edward muttered
Garrett didn't seem phased as he pulled his wits together, staring up at Kate "Wow," he said.
"Did you enjoy that?" Kate asked sarcastically "I'm not crazy," he laughed, slowly and clearly weakly getting to his feet "but that was sure something!"
"That's what I hear." Kate replied,
I was about to comment and remind Emmett that he owed me money now, when I felt a shiver go down my spine. Something was happening up front, I could hear Carlisle's voice, it wasn't the same tenor in his voice that had greeted most of our guests, Carlisle was unsure and even a little intimidated, something I wasn't used to.
"Did Alice send you?" he asked,
Edward and I exchanged a look and I bolted inside, him and Emmett right behind me, with the others including Bella still carrying Nessie on her back, following us.
I stopped short when I entered the house and saw our guests, even without introductions I knew who these two vampires were, these were the Romanian vampires Stefan and Vladimir, two of the oldest vampires in our history and longtime rivals of the Volturi, given the fact that they were overthrown by Aro and the Volturi for control of the vampire world. I remember hearing stories of them from Carlisle, he was acquainted with the Romanian vampires and had met them a handful of times. I knew them only from Carlisle's description of them, I knew their names were Stefan and Vladimir and I only had to guess who was who.
They were slight and short, one dark-haired, this was Stefan and the other with hair so ashy blond that it looked pale gray was Vladimir, their skin was paler than any of us, almost powdery white, the only other beings I'd ever seen with skin like that was Aro, Marcus, and Caius. Their sharp, narrow eyes were dark burgundy, with no milky film.
My instinct to stand with my father became overwhelming and I slowly moved towards him. Esme was standing off to the side with Rose, not far from them stood nearly all of our other guests, all watching the Romanian pair with intensity and even fear.
"No one sent us," Stefan replied, monotone Carlisle's voice was shaking, I wasn't used to this and it only solidified my decision to stand with my father. He glanced down at me as I slid in next to him, our new guests stared down at me as if they were studying me, but Carlisle looked relieved a little, he gave me a small smile, before looking back at the Romanians.
"Then what brings you here now?" he asked "Word travels," Vladimir replied "We heard hints that Volturi were moving against you. There were whispers that you would not stand alone. Obviously, the whispers were true. This is an impressive gathering."
In a different situation I think I would've laughed at the Romanian's accent, when Stefan had spoken the accent was barely noticeable, after all he only said three words, but now hearing the other one speak it was like hearing Dracula standing right in front of me. I kept waiting for one of them to blurt out the line 'I vant to suck your blood' any minute.
I had been raised as a vampire knowing that the myths and legends humans believed about our kind were spread by the Volturi, but seeing basically Dracula and his brother standing here, I was starting to wonder if the legends and myths were based on the Volturi's encounter with the Romanian vampires, therefore the two standing here in front of me were the muses for some of my favorite stories…mainly Bram Stoker's Dracula.
"We are not challenging the Volturi," Carlisle explained "There has been a misunderstanding that is all. A very serious misunderstanding, to be sure, but one we're hoping to clear up. What you see are witnesses. We just need the Volturi to listen. We didn't-"
"We don't care what they say you did," Stefan interrupted. "And we don't care if you broke the law."
"No matter how egregiously," Vladimir added, looking directly at me "though clearly it is not the first time,"
I resisted the urge to growl.
"We've been waiting a millennium and a half for the Italian scum to be challenged," said Stefan "If there is any chance they will fall, we will be here to see it."
In the past I would've loved to hear someone else speak down on the Volturi, Garrett's take on them, calling them dictators had been okay, I'll use the word, cool.
It was nice to see that even though Garrett and I disagree on a good number of items, we both have that shared feeling on the Volturi. But hearing a similar tone about them coming from the Romanians was not as refreshing, it literally sent chills down my spine.
"Or even to help defeat them," Vladimir added, it was as if they spoke as one individual, with no pause to finish each other's sentences. "If we think you have a chance of success."
Edward looked at our new "guests," then looked at me, I could read his body language, he could see their claims in their minds, but wasn't entirely sure they were as sincere as they were claiming to be.
They were easier to read than I really thought, they may be ancient but they have the same need for revenge that they've been carrying with them for centuries. Would they help us? I couldn't be sure on that one, part of me said they would, but the other part said their personal agenda would overshadow the right thing to do. This wasn't like Alistair, these two had no personal interest in the Cullen family. We were just means to an end, the end being the fall of the Volturi.
So when Edward silently asked me if I thought it was safe to bring Nessie out, I allowed him to see my profile and let him make the decision, there was no harm in it, not that the Dracula twins would have a chance to do anything, everyone in the room, even Amun and Kebi would protect Nessie. No one in that room was welcoming to the Romanian vampires and all were motionless, glaring at them.
Taking that assessment and whatever he read in Vladimir and Stefan's minds, Edward sighed, he looked towards the doorway.
"Bella?" he called. "Bring Renesmee here, please. Maybe we should test our Romanian visitors' claims."
Slowly Bella entered the room, Nessie still clinging to her back. I was impressed, but not entirely surprised as a shift occurred, nearly half of all standing in the room (aside from our immediate family who were already in position) moved to protect Nessie, building a wall around her.
"Well, well, Carlisle. You have been naughty, haven't you?" Stefan chided, he looked from me to Nessie as if he knew exactly what Carlisle had done, he assumed that both Nessie and I were immortal children.
"She's not what you think, Stefan." Carlisle spoke up "nor is Christian."
"And we don't care either way," the Vladimir responded. "As we said before."
"Then you're welcome to observe, Vladimir, but it is definitely not our plan to challenge the Volturi, as we said before." Carlisle reminded "Then we'll just cross our fingers," Stefan replied "And hope we get lucky," finished Vladimir.
The pair refused to touch Nessie, which I was pretty thankful for, I know Bella and Edward probably felt the same way, instead they found their own corner of our house to occupy and it didn't take long before their discussion which they were holding within earshot of everyone, turned to how they would overthrow the Volturi and restore their own power.
Deciding that things were calm enough for me to make a break for it I headed for the garage. It's always been one of my calming areas and this was no different, besides unlike the loft this was completely free of lone vampires excluding myself of course.
I pulled off the tarp to Bella's truck and went to work on it. Despite not having a lot of time to do much, it was coming along pretty nicely and I actually had high hopes of it being finished for Christmas, which was only a few weeks away.
The engine had been a pain in the arse to replace, but it had been my biggest obstacle, with Jacob's help (though since Nessie came along he's been tough to call in for a consult) the body was in great shape, I'd even managed to fix the indent from the accident which not only nearly killed Bella to begin with, but had also exposed Edward to her.
I was just rewiring the battery when I heard the door to the garage open, I froze, worrying I had been caught by Bella, but when I sniffed the air I quickly realized that it wasn't Bella coming to the garage…it was Fi.
She smiled shyly as she walked in
"Sorry Chris, I…I know you're working but I'm trying to avoid the newcomers, they wandered into the library while I was in there."
"Tweedle Dracula and Tweedle Orlok?" I guessed and she chuckled, nodding "that's the reason I'm out here as well. I may like vampire movies, but seeing those two reminded me why most people hate them."
Fi looked at Bella's truck in awe
"Is this yours?" she asked and I shook my head "Nope, it's Bella's," I grinned and wiped my hands on a cloth "can you keep a secret?" I asked and she nodded "this was Bella's truck when she was human, her dad gave it to her as a homecoming gift when she moved up here from Arizona. Edward hates it and has been praying for it's demise since he and Bella started dating, but I've been keeping up on the maintenance and keeping it running, until this summer when it finally kicked the bucket." I paused "so Edward thinks it is sitting in a junkyard about to be turned into scrap, but Jacob and I have been rebuilding it and we're going to give it to Bella as a Christmas gift,"
Fi stared at it
"That's amazing," she said softly
I shrugged
"That's the plan anyways, it's almost done…just a few more quick fixes."
Fi nodded and looked around the garage, I had forgotten she hadn't seen this part of the Cullen house, in fact I'm pretty sure none of our guests had. "What about this, is this is yours?" Fi asked looking at my bike in surprise "Birthday present last year," I explained shyly. "The mustang I share custody of with Rose, but the two ATV's and the dirt bike over there are mine." I hoped I didn't sound like I was bragging, but Fi didn't seem to mind. She leaned closer to me timidly "You're an amazing character Chris," she whispered "You're pretty amazing yourself Fi," we both leaned closer and closer I held my breath was this it was I really about to have my first kiss? We were so close nearly touching when I quickly pulled back, suddenly afraid to go any further than I already had.
"I'm... I'm sorry, I shouldn't ha-" Fi stuttered.
"No, Fi no it's not your fault it's mine. I don't want to offend Liam."
Fi looked confused
"Offend Liam?" She repeated "how could you offend Liam?"
"Did Carlisle and Esme explain my ability?"
"A wee bit," Fi admitted
"Basically I can profile people. I know how they feel about some things by how they carry themselves the look in their eyes and on their faces" I paused "I think think works similar to how Maggie's ability works. Only instead of lies I can see the basics. But I'm really good with facial expressions."
Fi laughed
"Oh that gruff look of his is normal, don't read anything into it."
I sighed but didn't argue with her. I knew Liam's feelings on me and I knew I was easily his least favorite person of the Cullen clan. I glanced at my bike then back at Fi "You wouldn't want to go for a ride would you?" I asked Fi looked surprised for a moment but slowly nodded. I pulled down my helmet and my spare and handed mine to Fi who giggles a little "Necessary?" she asked "Bella's father is the chief of police and he has a real issue with motorcycles. I don't want him to pull me over for not wearing a helmet." I explained now Fi laughed loudly as if she didn't believe me "No way," she breathed "you're making that up!"
"I swear on my family's honour whether that be Cullen clan or the clan Callaghan." I grinned mounting my bike "that's why I never ride through town," I held out my hand and helped Fi slide onto the back of my Kawasaki, once she was on I slid my helmet on and she did the same. "Ready?" I asked and Fi nodded "let's rock and roll,"
I kick started the bike and it roared to life, I know it's an inanimate object but I swear it felt like my bike was saying 'it's about bloody time mate, I've been stuck in this box for too long rubbing tyres with that stupid Volvo.'
Fi wrapped her arms around my waist and held on tight leaning as close to me as she could.
All my nerves faded away as I felt content with her hold on me. I coasted the bike out of the garage and once we were clear from the building I reved the engine again as we headed down the drive.
When we reached the end of the winding drive I gently came to a stop Fi leaned around me, confused.
"Chris?" She asked and I grinned lifting the visor of my helmet up. Now if looked suspicious. "What are you up to boyo?" She asked I grinned "So you Irish really do say boyo? I thought my father made that up."
"Well, I guess it's the same lines as you, that you scots really have trouble with your 'h's and you say aye a lot"
"Aye we do, so I guess we'll never be far from our countries tics huh?"
"Guess not,"
"Anyways, do you trust me?"
"Trust you, why wouldn't I?"
I winked and pulled my visor down and reved the engine a few times before releasing the break and skidding off down the road heading for the highway. I could feel Fi's grip around my waist tighten as we picked up speed moving 50, 60, 70 miles an hour.
This was a long windy stretch of road but my bike and I were used to it, it was I admit a little awkward to have the extra weight on the bike though, not that Fi adds much weight anyways but I'm used to leaning and maneuvering with my bike, she isn't.
But I give her a lot of credit she didn't panic and as I had hoped, trusted me, so when she felt me leaning she followed in suit and by the time my bike hit 85, she was riding like a pro. To the point where I almost forgot she was behind me and the only reason I didn't was because I could feel her arms wrapped tightly around me and her squeezing me every once in a while when a particularly sharp turn came about.
Once we were clear of the curvy road and on the long stretch of highway that goes along the sea I eased up on the accelerator just to give Fi the chance to look at the ocean as the sun was just beginning to set.
"It's gorgeous," she breathed "oh Chris I've never seen something so beautiful."
"Wait," I replied "you haven't seen anything yet," I paused "ready to go faster?"
"Faster?" Fi gulped "how fast were we going before?"
"Not too fast, 85,"
Fi seemed to pause for a second and I worried she night be getting nervous about the speed. I had always assumed the speeding thing was our kind, that we all have this deep pull to go as fast as possible. But maybe it wasn't internal maybe it was just a personal preference. Like how flying doesn't bother some people but I'm terrified of it.
I felt Fi sigh and she tightened her grip around my waist "Okay," she said "do your worst"
"If I'm going too fast and you don't like it please Fi tell me, I want you to have fun with this, not be scared."
"Okay Chris I...I will."
"You trust me right?" I asked and I felt her nod, she squeezed my waist again, but this time wasn't from fear, it was from trust, even faith. She not only trusted me but was prepared to have fun.
I reeve the engine a few times and picked up speed, going faster and faster "You okay?" I called "This is great!" Fi exclaimed her voice still shaking a little but I could tell she was having fun.
We shot past 100 and it didn't take long for before up ahead I could see the lights of Neah Bay, I drove up to the parking lot of the lookout spot and parked the bike. When I shut it down, Fi slid off and took her helmet off, looking very perplexed.
I pulled the keys from the ignition and slid my own helmet off.
"Was that okay?" I asked and Fi nodded
"That was actually a lot of fun," she replied a grin making its way slowly across her face "how fast can it go?"
"I'm not sure, never fully opened it up. I know it can go at least 200." I paused "having my ability or driving with my brother Edward or my sister Alice makes it a lot easier to go as fast as the vehicle will allow, but when it's just me I have to be careful. Speed limits are enforced around here, unfortunately." I paused with a grin, "someday I'd like to take my bike to Germany,"
"Germany?" Fi repeated "why Germany?"
"One word Fräulein," I paused "autobahn!"
"Isn't that just a motorway, what American's call a highway?"
"It's more than that, it has no speed limit and for the most part it's a straight flat shot. I would love to drive it someday." I shrugged "it would be fun anyways."
I nodded for Fi to follow me and headed for the trail, it's not a steep hike, even for humans but it all dense woods until you hit the clearing, where I was taking Fi. I found this spot purely by accident back in the 1940s and the overlook further up the trail is a spot no human could climb without proper climbing equipment. We stepped onto the clearing and I heard Fi gasp in surprise.
"This...this...this is gorgeous," she breathed, "it's so beautiful." she was awestruck and I don't blame her. "I never thought anywhere could be beautiful, I mean I always thought Ireland was, before I was old enough to understand the troubles…but this, this goes beyond that beauty."
I felt the same way when I first found this spot, it looks over Neah Bay harbor and if you time it right you can watch the fishing boats coming and going from the harbour. It was my calming spot after I was done with house arrest. Anytime things got overly stressful at school or I started getting homesick I had three ways to calm down; movies, going underwater, or climbing up on the highest cliff and looking out over the ocean.
"I know, I always thought the same thing about Scotland," I said softly, sitting down on the edge of the cliff, slowly she sat down next to me, gazing out at the harbour, the sun was just about to set and the lights from Neah Bay, lights that hadn't been there when I first discovered this spot, began to turn on, some illuminating the harbour, with the boats returning. Since it was close to Christmas at this point, I could see Christmas lights twinkling throughout the town. "I used to come to this spot a lot when I first joined the Cullen family, it's my calming spot," I explained "sitting here, all is right with the world, there's nothing bad going on." I paused "there was no war when I sat here…it was just a distant memory…a nightmare really. I'll always say that Scotland has a beauty that's unmatched, but this doesn't come in far behind it…at least in my opinion."
I felt Fi's hand take my own slowly and timidly and when I turned to look at her she smiled at me gently. My previous worries in the garage shifted quickly to the back of my mind, then exited just as quickly as I leaned closer to Fi and she leaned closer to me…we were both so new to this, unsure about what was about to happen, but for a brief moment that didn't matter nothing as we kissed our first kiss… It was brief, but it felt like it could last forever and when we pulled apart, Fi looked at me, smiling a very shy smile and I returned that smile.
We didn't say a word, just sat there looking out at the water and the lights, it started to snow and she leaned closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder and I timidly wrapped my arm around her. I felt like I had been transported back in time, back to when I first discovered this spot. There was no war, no bombs being dropped on innocent civilians, there was no Volturi coming to pass judgment, there was only this moment, something I never really expected to feel...I was at peace...
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