Temporal Tide
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor any of its characters or franchises, I am not making money for this, so please don't sue me.
A/N: Readers interested in knowing the status of any of my stories can check my profile.
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Chapter 10
Bella
A knock at the door lulled me from my dream like trance.
"Come in." Tanya called as I languidly opened my eyes.
Irina poked her head in and smirked when she saw our position. I could only imagine how it looked, but I'm sure it wasn't flattering for me, considering I was practically play dough right now. I might have been embarrassed at my utter lack of dignity, but the way Tatyana's fingers lightly scratched my scalp erased any scrap of self-consciousness I still possessed.
"I have something for you Bella." Irina crowed, obviously amused at my predicament. I hummed curiously, as of yet incapable of speech. A rumbling purr from the woman behind me only exuberated my condition. Pulling something out from behind her back, I held out my hand and obligingly took the objects in question. "Carmen has already booked our flight; we should arrive in Port Angeles at around four."
In a small stack I now held a new driver's license, passport, birth certificate and various other legal documents. Suddenly more alert, I sat up as I flipped through the forged papers. Each one had my new 'name', Isabella Schwan, printed across the front.
Standing from the bed, I immediately pulled Irina into a grateful hug.
"Thanks, it means a lot to me that you've gone to all this trouble." I whispered into her short blonde locks.
"Aww," she cooed, gently rubbing my back in response. "No need to thank me Bella, you're one of us now." If it had still been possible I probably would have cried, I was so touched.
"Do you have everything ready?" Tanya asked as she zipped up her suitcase.
"It's all still in my backpack. Everything else I left in my tent at Wenatchee." I said, giving Irina one more squeeze for good measure. Pulling away from Irina, I looked at Tanya from over my shoulder. "Tanya, would you mind texting Jake on your phone and letting him know when our plane lands? I don't want to surprise them with our visit."
"Consider it done." She grinned, typing the message in at vampire speed.
"Show off." I grumbled good-naturedly. Laughing, Tatyana sent off the message before slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"Come along Mari." Tanya said, slinging her arms around Irina and I. "We have a plane to catch."
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The ride down to the airport was short and uneventful.
The airstrip in question was small but luxurious, nestled on the outskirts of town. It was just large enough for small charter jets and plane owners. It was plain to see that they catered specifically to the wealthy based on the small number of people and the over the top decor.
Thankfully, due to the exclusive nature of the place, it wasn't required for us to go through a full body scan. According to Kate, while we could pass through metal detectors and pat downs without any problems, full body x-rays were a big problem.
"Why?" I asked, curious about the reason.
"As you know, as vampires our bodies become rock hard, an x-ray, which should be capable of easily penetrating a human simply bounces off us. In other words, we are too dense molecularly. If someone was concealing a gun or other detectable item, it would show up as a white outline against a human body. When we get scanned, every part of us would turn up 'white'. It would be very obvious we weren't normal." Kate explained, waving her hand in a nonchalant manner.
"Unfortunately, being immortal only gets harder the more technology advances." Tanya added, directing me to sit in a waiting chair as she sat beside me. "I really do curse the day humans invented the camera. It was so fascinating in the early days, until people started putting them everywhere. Now it's impossible to walk down the street without seeing one, and don't even get me started on camera phones."
Both Kate and Irina nodded knowingly.
"As much as I love the internet, it makes concealing what we are difficult, especially when people can record video on their phones and have it uploaded to the net within minutes. Many vampires have met their end at the hands of the Volturi, no thanks to Youtube." Tanya continued with a sigh.
As I listened, I noticed a man at the bar watching us. He was relatively young, fairly attractive in a slick businessman sort of way, but the way his eyes lingered inappropriately got my hackles up. He seemed especially interested in Tanya, his gaze heavy and covetous.
Those eyes reminded me of another time, and another man.
Something dark bubbled inside me and I nearly bared my teeth in loathing.
Eventually he appeared to notice I'd caught him looking, but instead of taking a hint and averting his gaze; my attention only made him bolder. Abandoning his drink on the counter, he started to swagger over. The closer he came I began to notice a scent that hung around him like a cloud; pungent and sharp. The smell was revolting, and just breathing it in made my hackles rise.
I became more and more edgy the nearer he came until it caused something in me to snap, and I let out a low growl. It was too low for him to consciously hear, but his face paled, I got the feeling it had registered somewhere in the primitive part of his brain.
Without uttering a word, he turned around and left.
Once he'd gone an acceptable distance, I began to relax, only to realize that all of the Denali's were staring directly at me. Each of them was poised as if to tackle me.
"What?" I grumbled, "I didn't like the way he smelled…" I said as I slumped in my chair.
Kate burst into laughter, and the other Denali's seemed to chuckle a bit as well. Kate slung her arm around my shoulder with a sly grin as she nodded in the direction of Mr. Sleaze.
"You do know what it was you were smelling, right?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.
"Kate…" Tanya murmured half-heartedly, but I could tell she found her sisters antics amusing.
"A bad case of B.O.?" I hesitantly ventured. I really didn't trust that smile. Kate's smile widened even further and she leaned toward me as if to impart a secret.
"That aroma was the scent of his arousal Bella. Welcome to the world of vampirism, not only do you have to put up with being visually assaulted, you get to breathe it too."
"Oh God," I moaned, slapping my hand over my nose and mouth. "I think you just scarred me for life!"
"I do what I can." Kate chuckled, giving my arm a squeeze. "You might as well get used to it now, people get aroused around us often, and unfortunately you can't growl at all of them. If you tried, you'd never stop. Still, it was cute how you were defending Tanya's honor like that." She cooed, and made a move to playfully pinch my cheek. Slapping away her hand, I huffed and gave Tatyana my best puppy dog eyes.
"Can you please do something about your sister?"
Tanya laughed and shook her head.
"I doubt there's anything in this world that could fix what's wrong with her."
"Damn straight." Kate interjected, grinning proudly.
"I'm surrounded by children…" I heard Irina mutter behind me, and I couldn't resist tugging on a lock of her hair as punishment for her sass.
Before the good natured teasing could go any further, the announcer called our flight over the PA and we gathered our things and headed into the hanger. The plane was small compared to a commercial jet, but the inside was lavishly decorated with tables, lounge chairs, a few couches and even a mini bar. Why we needed a bar when we couldn't even drink alcohol anymore was beyond me.
Kate must have caught my questioning look because she laughed and pulled open the mini fridge for my inspection. Inside, in neatly stacked piles, were rows of blood bags.
"We keep a supply in the plane for when we travel. Sometimes we like to visit places that don't have a convenient food supply nearby, so we often use these to make sure we aren't tempted to dine on the local populace." Kate explained, before gently latching the fridge.
"Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense." I remarked as I settled into a window seat. Kate just smirked and took the chair across from me.
Movement outside caught my eye and I turned my head to watch Irina do an inspection through the window of the plane.
Once everyone was onboard, I shifted my attention to Tatyana, who was lounging with a certain kind of graceful laziness on one of the couches.
"So…" I started, fidgeting a bit in my chair. "I feel a little stupid having to ask this, having been a vampire for nearly a year and all, but would you be willing to answer some of my questions? When I was human, Edward never really explained the specifics of being a vampire, and I've been a little unsure about certain things."
"Like what?" Tanya asked, leaning forward a little in her seat.
"Well…" I begin, "like fire. Exactly how flammable are we? I know fire can kill us, which is why I've been very careful around open flames, but are there certain conditions? If I stick my hand in a fire right now will I immediately burst into flame or will it take a bit longer than that?"
Kate chuckled and shook her head.
"It doesn't quite work that way Bella," she interjected. "The Gods had a sense of humor when they created vampires, because we are both fireproof and extremely flammable. If you were to stick your hand in a fire right now, you would be completely fine. The heat, nor the flame, would bother you a bit.
It's the venom inside our bodies that is so volatile, which is why you have to rip apart a vampire before you burn them, otherwise the flames will leave them unharmed. Our diamond skin protects us near perfectly, which is why only other super-naturals ever manage to kill us."
"Kate is mostly right." Tatyana added, slanting her sister a sideways look. "With the exception of our hair, we are practically invulnerable. Our scalps seem to secrete a small amount of venom which coats our hair and keeps it strong and looking like we just stepped out of a Revlon commercial. The downside is that it makes a vampire's hair very flammable."
I cringed at the imagery, and made a mental note to wear more hair ties.
"Okay," I start, trying to dispel the image of vampires running around with their heads on fire. "How about feeding? What happens to us if we don't or are prevented from feeding?"
"Well…" Tanya spoke, resting her chin on her knuckles. "It's very hard for a vampire to get to the point where he or she is starving, simply because there really are very few things that can overpower a vampire. Not to mention no prison could hold us. However, I do know that the Volturi conducted experiments sometime around the 8th century." She trailed off, wincing slightly at her memories.
"Basically, we go feral, and act much like rabid dogs. We attack anything and everything. Our skin gets weaker too, we're still practically invulnerable. It would be similar to the difference between diamond and silicon carbide."
"Do I want to know what these 'experiments' were?" I ask, looking hesitantly around the room.
"They restrained a vampire sentenced to death, tore off his arms and legs, and left him in a hole in the ground for a few years." Kate mentioned tactlessly.
No beating around the bush with that one.
"Oh." I murmured, feeling a little queasy.
Tanya shot me a concerned look, before reaching out to comfortingly clasp my hand.
"The Volturi are ruthless Mari, but as long as you stay on their good side and don't break the law they're usually content to leave you alone."
Tatyana's eyes echoed a deep pain, and it took a concentrated effort to swallow my questions. I had no doubt the Denali sisters were thinking of their mother in this moment.
Rising from my seat, I crossed the cabin to curl up on the seat beside her. I leaned my shoulder against hers in a show of support.
"Was it really bad, what happened to your mother?" I softly questioned.
"Very." Kate interjected, static rolled across her fingers in agitation.
"However that is not something we can discuss." Tanya cut in, her thoughts and expression once more shuttered from me.
"Why not?" I asked, frowning at the sudden rebuff.
"For the same reasons you never told me your real name; or that you could travel through time. I don't know if saying anything will change what has happened, or will happen."
I couldn't fault her logic, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
The rest of the flight to Port Angeles was uneventful, although I really enjoyed looking out the window with my new eyes. It gave new meaning to the phrase 'birds eye view'.
Aside from the usual staring we managed to exit the terminal without any fanfare. As we exited into the lobby, I spotted Jake lounging in one of the waiting chairs. Waving my arm to grab his attention, he stood as I approached; a wide smile adorned his features.
"Welcome back Bella." He murmured, wrapping me in a warm hug. At first I tensed. My instincts didn't want me anywhere near Jacob; let alone hugging him, but eventually my common sense won out and I relaxed into the embrace.
I wish I could say the Denalis reacted the same.
Several sharp hisses were heard behind me, and as I turned my head I could see Irina fighting the urge to gag.
"Dear God, what is that smell?" Eleazar moaned, covering his face with his hand.
Pulling away from Jake, I put a little room between us before motioning to the Denalis.
"I'm sorry I forgot to warn you. Jake is one of the wolves I told you about. Unfortunately, he is what you smell. Jake, this is Kate, Tanya, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar." I said, introducing them each in turn. "Everyone, this is Jacob Black. He stood up for me when I went to get help for Charlie and I consider him a friend."
Tatyana was the first to react, stepping forward regally she extended her hand to Jacob. I was impressed that she was outwardly showing no signs of discomfort with the proximity.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Jacob. Bella has only said good things about you and your tribe. As mentioned before, my name is Tanya Denali and I am the leader of this coven." Her words were soft but clear, with a hint of command.
It was a little unnerving, but I felt like I was seeing a side of Tanya I'd never witnessed before, something strange and amazing. More and more I was beginning to realize that I didn't really know much about the woman she'd grown to become.
All I knew was that I really wanted to.
"Jacob Black." He said gruffly, obviously a little impressed despite himself. "The elders are waiting to meet with you in Forks. Unfortunately they won't be able to greet you until later this evening, but they sent me to escort you into town."
"Of course." Tanya replied, smiling politely. "We appreciate their consideration. Please, lead on." She motioned Jake toward the exit while stepping forward to drape one of her arms across my shoulder. The grip was loose; but possessive in the way she tugged me closer.
When Jake left to pull his truck around; Tatyana leaned toward me and sniffed slightly before grimacing and turning her head away.
"Mari, you are definitely going to need to take a bath when we reach the Cullen residence. Your friend seems nice enough, but he got his scent all over you. Still, you'll be happy to know that he's not a werewolf. Werewolves don't smell anything like this…" Tanya grumbled in Magyar.
My head immediately snapped over to her, and I stared intently.
"How do you know?" I replied, "What is so different?"
"Werewolves smell like musk, death, and sickness. It's very distinctive. While your Quileute's are unpleasant to the nose, they mostly smell like wet dog and trash." Kate interjected, swaggering over with one heavy looking suitcase in each hand.
"Plus, he distinctly lacks the slightly sharpened incisors and hairy palms." Irina added her two cents, dragging her rolling case behind her.
"I read about that but, well, a lot of the legends about us are wrong. I figured I wouldn't be able to place the same trust in the one's about werewolves." I trailed off, switching back to English since I spotted Jake's approaching truck.
"Well, these features made them easier to hunt down. They definitely looked less human then we did, and for that reason following rumors were fairly reliable. If a human saw us, generally they just mistook us for angels or extremely beautiful people. The same could not be said for werewolves." Tatyana finished, swinging her suitcase into the back of Jake's truck as he pulled up.
"Hey!" Jake cried indignantly, poking his head out the car window. "Werewolves can be beautiful too!" It was obvious he had only overheard part of the conversation so I reached over and casually flicked his nose. His small yelp of pain made me grin in relief.
"Be quiet. You should be grateful you aren't technically a werewolf. Congats, your horrible B.O. just saved your life."
"You're so mean to me Bella." Jake pouted, still rubbing his nose slightly. "So are you guys getting in or not?" he asked, gesturing to the bed of his truck. While the truck bed wasn't bad by most standards, it was definitely dirty, with grease and scuff marks all over.
Irina's expression of horror spoke volumes, but it was Kate incredulous smile that made me cover my face with my hand.
Thankfully, Tanya intervened before Jake could mortify me any further.
"As much as we appreciate your offer, our coven mate Eleazar is renting us a vehicle. If you are willing to wait, I'm sure he will be along shortly."
Sure enough, moments later Eleazar came rolling up in a large, black, luxury van. After loading everything into the trunk, we piled in and entertained ourselves with a couple games of cards on the way into Forks.
It was only when we turned down a very familiar street and the Cullen mansion eventually came into view that I felt an unexpected wave of unease. After everything I'd been through, I thought that I'd gotten over this anxiety, but apparently my heart could not so easily forget the pain the memories of this house held for me.
It was a mere twinge, a feeling of discomfort and sadness, but it was enough to keep me on edge.
Strangely the house that used to feel so much like home, like a promise for the future, now only seemed like an empty building. A symbol for broken dreams.
It was a bittersweet understanding to come to.
As the cars rolled to a stop, I watched as a joyful Alice bounded out of the vehicle and darted into the empty home. At light speed she began throwing open curtains and doors, upsetting fine clouds of dust as she aired out the place.
I watched through the car window as the others began carrying their things inside, but I hesitated to do the same. Entering the mansion was beginning to feel like returning to the way things used to be, and abandoning the woman I'd grown to become. It was silly, it was stupid, but it was a notion that I couldn't quite shake.
A pale hand settled on my thigh, and I glanced away from the house to focus on Tanya's warm honey eyes.
"It's ok if you don't want to go inside." She murmured, conveying her concern with a slight squeeze. "No one would think any less of you."
Reluctantly, I returned my gaze to the building, struggling with myself internally.
"I would." I muttered, shoring up my courage.
"Come on." Tanya said, tugging me from the van. "Let's go for a run, it'll help you relax. The place will still be here when we get back."
Uncertain that Tatyana wasn't just giving me an excuse to run away, I dashed after her as she flitted into the trees.
My mind was so completely in the moment, in the wind, the speed and the freedom that it took me several minutes to realize where we were going. Somehow it didn't surprise me that Tanya had led us to my old home.
Charlie's house looked no worse for wear considering it had been abandoned for the past few weeks, but the mail was piling up on the porch and the normally well-kept lawn was overgrown and littered with leaves.
"Sooo" I drawled, stepping up beside Tanya as we both stared at the house. "You wanna tell me how you knew where I lived?"
Tanya huffed with amusement as she shot me a sideways look.
"Please; all I had to do was text your full name, age, and state of residence to my P.I.s and I had your life history within the hour. Considering how much I've been paying them for the last few decades, actually producing results was the least they could do."
Frowning slightly, I raised my eyebrow incredulously.
"I guess that's fair, considering how much I know about your adolescence."
"Exactly." Tatyana purred, her eyes leisurely devouring every inch of my childhood home. "In the spirit of fairness, I think you should invite me in."
My mouth twitched into a shy smile as I retrieved the spare key from under a pot on the side of the house. For some strange reason I felt bashful about having Tanya in my childhood home. Still, I slid the key into the lock and gently swung the door open.
With liquid grace, Tatyana strode past me into the living room. Her eyes flit this way and that, taking everything in with unnerving intensity as she moved around the house. Often she would stop to examine an item she found particularly interesting until she froze on a picture of Charlie and I on the living room mantel.
It was a simple picture, back when I had just arrived in Forks, of the two of us out on the lake. In an attempt to reconnect with my estranged father, I'd volunteered to go with him on one of his fishing trips.
I remembered that it was a miserable day, rainy and overcast, and every time I tried to bait my line I ended up stabbing myself; but… Charlie had been happy. His whole face was suffused with delight as he patiently taught me the do's and don'ts of fishing.
At the end of the day, he's pulled me into a hug and taken a picture of us to commemorate the event. Looking at it now, his face steeped in pride, his arm around my shoulder as I self-consciously smiled at the camera; I didn't regret it for a minute.
I was broken from my memories when Tanya gently caressed the picture with her index finger, her eyes lingered softly on my face.
"I always wondered what you looked like as a human Mari." Tatyana gently whispered. "I don't think the venom had much to improve, you were just as beautiful then as you are now."
If I could have I would have blushed four shades of red, as it was I just scratched my cheek and tried not to duck my head in embarrassment.
"Thanks, I guess." I mumbled, trying not to show how much her words had affected me. Taking in my expression, Tanya grinned playfully before turning her attention back to the picture.
"I'm assuming that the man beside you is your father, Charles?"
"Everyone calls him Charlie, but yeah that's him. He's a bit awkward, but a good man." I smiled and affectionately touched the edge of the picture frame. My face dropped as I recalled that he was still currently in the hospital. I wanted to visit him, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea now that I was a vampire. Tanya, sensing my suddenly melancholy, reached up to gently cup my cheek.
"We will visit him as soon as we know it's safe. Victoria will not get away with what she's done. However until she's been dealt with, I think it would be best to keep him off her radar."
"You're right." Sighing quietly, I took Tanya's hand from my cheek and held it in my own. "Come on, let me show you the rest of the house."
Leading her by the hand, I gave Tatyana a tour, starting on the bottom floor and ending at my room on the top.
The room was a disaster.
In the weeks since I'd last been here it looked like a tornado had come through. The window lock was busted and all my clothes were strewn across the floor. Some of my trinkets were broken and the floor board I'd kept my pictures of the Cullens under was ripped up. Snapshots of my former family were littered here and there as if someone had thrown them away in anger or frustration.
Frozen with shock, I could only stare numbly as Tanya carefully stepped into the room. She delicately scented the air before carefully kneeling to pick up one of the pictures.
"Whoever did this to your room has been gone long enough for their scent to dissipate. They were obviously searching for something… maybe a clue as to your whereabouts? Still, from the look of things, they were probably either in a rush or got frustrated when they couldn't find anything."
Tanya's analysis snapped me out of my stupor and I gingerly entered my former bedroom.
"My bet would be on the latter. I didn't exactly leave a note telling anyone who came along that I was leaving for Alaska."
Tatyana frowned.
"This just reinforces the fact that it would be unwise to split our coven, especially if they're already sending scouts this far from Seattle."
Humming, I gazed around at the mess before deliberately closing my broken window. No need to let the elements in, even if it wouldn't keep a vampire out.
When I turned around, I caught Tanya scrupulously studying my scattered pictures. When she realized I'd caught her, she gave me her most somber look.
"You looked happy." She remarked, face pensive as she gestured to a picture of Edward and I embracing. Edward was wearing a somewhat smug smile as he gazed at the camera, but I was focused entirely on him. My face radiated the kind of rapturous contentment you only see in movies.
I felt my heart twinge slightly just looking at it, but it was a pain comprised mostly of innocence lost.
"I used to be," I uttered, resting my chin on Tanya's shoulder. "But now that I think about it, I know that I romanticized Edward too much. In my mind we were this epic romance and he was the Mr. Darcy who swept me off my feet and gave me a family.
I couldn't see that he was just as flawed as the rest of us. It was that way of thinking that completely devastated me when he left; because if he was this perfect godlike being, then I must have been the reason he left."
Tatyana's face twisted with sympathetic pain and I didn't protest when she wrapped me in a firm embrace.
"There is nothing wrong with you Mari." Tanya fervently growled. "You're one of the kindest, most amazing people I know. If anything, Edward is the one who doesn't deserve you."
"It's ok Tanya, its alright." I cooed in Magyar, gently stroking her back. "It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm not the same girl he abandoned in the woods last year. I'm stronger, and no small part of that is thanks to you."
After a long moment, Tanya pulled back. Her eyes, fathomless depths of gold, ensnared my own as her fingers lightly trailed down from my shoulder to caress my forearm.
I wasn't quite sure what was happening, but I felt caught. Like the whole world hinged on this moment and I was just about to tip into oblivion.
The phone rang.
The moment was gone.
Just like that I came back to reality as sharp Latin music blared from Tatyana's pocket. Swallowing sharply, I took a step back and tried to get ahold of myself as Tanya somewhat reluctantly answered the phone.
"Yes? Tanya speaking."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought you should be informed that the elders called. They're ready to meet." Carmen's sweet Spanish accent lilted over the phone.
"Alright, we'll be there shortly." Tanya's voice came out smoothly commanding. "make sure everyone is ready to go when we arrive." Having delivered her orders, she promptly ended the call.
"Seems like the day never ends." I winced, smiling weakly.
"One of the downsides of being a vampire." Tanya sighed, a rueful smile gracing her lips.
"Well… at least I have you." I breathed, slipping my hand into hers.
"Yes; at least we have each other." Tanya replied, eyes twinkling with happiness.
And just like that, we were gone.
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A/N: Sooooo it's been a long time, but here is chapter 10. Hope you guys enjoy it. Anyone who is interested in some good fanfiction should read SixPerfections Victoria/Bella story 'A Witch and her Vampire', which got me back in the mood for writing fanfiction.