Bella McLeod
Healer
This is my first Twilight fic, and it is a femlash, featuring Bella and Rosalie as a couple. So, if you don't like, please head somewhere else.
As an introduction, you may want to read "Snape McLeod" since the Bella that trained Tobias there is the same one here, only a decade later. It's not a requirement for you to read it, especially since I will try and untangle things as the story progresses. I altered the timeline to fit my needs, so… she met Snape in 1997, they parted ways in 2000 and it is now 2011, when she moves to Forks with Charlie.
Bare in mind that I do not own Twilight, nor its characters, so if you recognize any of them, THEY'RE NOT MINE. I only own the idea of making Bella Swan part of Clan McLeod.
I also not own the Highlander series, characters and concepts.
Remember to leave your reviews…
Bella McLeod
Chapter 20
Healer
As I drove back home I wondered what the mutts might have been up to. I knew that at least for now they didn't know about Bella being Immortal, and I really dread to think about what they would do to her if they ever knew, though I confess a small part of me couldn't help but wonder how they would call her… She obviously was not a threat to the tribe or to humans in general, she was not a shapeshifter like the mutts, and she was not as strong as them or us, but she could live as long as we could roam the earth, provided the fact that she could keep her head on her shoulders.
The thought of Bella being beheaded and the danger she had faced this evening made my venom boil. That Game was stupid and I certainly wanted to take her away and make sure she never faced another Immortal ever again, however I knew deep down she would not withdraw; if she wanted to do so, or if she even entertained the idea to avoid it, she would be living with nuns or staying with the Quileuttes like her friend Tobias. The thought that my mate was recklessly putting her life at risk, made a growl leave my lips. When I saw Alice by my side, is when I realized I was already home.
"Did you fight again?" she asked incredously
"No, WE didn't" I snarled out
"Rosalie, calm down. Why are you so angry?" asked Jasper looking between Edward and myself
"You should tell them" Said Edward accusingly
"What's this about sweetie?" asked Esme concerned about whatever was going on.
I tried to calm down, being thankful once again for Jasper's gift, which he was obviously using on the family and particularly on me. I took a few unnecessary breaths in trying to control myself while thinking out to Edward that I couldn't betray her, she was my mate and I would stand by her no matter what, even if the price for that was my own life.
"So what now? You rather put our family in danger…" he started with such hatred that I had to cut him out
"Than her?! YES Edward! I would rather all of us die in the most painful of ways at the hands of the Volturi than she having a single scratch on her body!" I snapped at him, growling in rage again
"What happened?" asked Esme "Is Bella's wound not healing properly?" she added concerned
"She is fine" I growled at her turning to leave, feeling guilty the moment I lashed at Esme, who was only worried about me
"They were attacked again" Said Edward to my family the moment I was walking away
"You have no right to do this" I snarled and launched at him managing to toss him into the woods. I reached him and grabbed him by his throat "Stay out of this Eddie!" I threatened him in between growls.
"Rosalie, please let go of my mate" Asked me Jasper through greeted teeth growling himself, clearly fighting all of his instincts at the moment, along with my feelings and his own.
"Then make sure your nosy mate keeps my thoughts to himself, instead of what he is doing" I snarled out while tossing Edward to the ground, turning around and hopping into my car again. Grateful that Jasper had not reacted in pure instinct, because I knew I would not leave unscathed if he attacked me.
I kept driving all through the night. Pondering everything that had happened. I cursed Edward. I cursed Clara. I cursed Immortals. I cursed that dreadful Game. I even cursed stupid teenage Tyler. And yet I couldn't bring myself to curse Bella. After several hours I remembered she was not at fault. She didn't control the Game, she did not control other Immortals, she did not control her Immortality. And truth was she also didn't understand how dreadful it was for me to watch her being at risk, how difficult it was to fight my instincts to protect her, and my instincts to just complete the bond, to mark her as mine.
Grudgingly I admitted Edward was right about the fact that I should tell my family, that was the responsible thing to do, but I needed to speak with Bella about this first because I refused to betray the trust she had showed me. And with all the questions she had had for me, I had not broached that subject yet. So I accepted it was in part my fault what had happened with Edward at home, mind you he still was responsible too, but not all of it was on him. I drove back and arrived a little before dawn.
"I'll ask her on our date tomorrow Edward, just keep everything to yourself for now, please" I thought while crossing the door. I could hear my family gathered on the living room.
As soon as I reached them I noticed Edward clenching his jaw before he discreetly nodded at me, for which I was relieved.
"Care to tell me your side of the story Rosalie?" Asked Carlisle in a stern voice.
"Not really" I said dismissively and turned to leave to my room
"Freeze" said Carlisle in a tone which was impossible to disobey him. "That was not a suggestion daughter" he said sternly
I turned to face him again and look him in the eye. I don't know how long we stared at each other but I finally relented with a resigned sigh.
"I came home in a foul mood because the mutts interrupted my time with Bella yesterday." I told him "We were doing fine" I said to Edward "Billy Black and a kid from the reservation, most likely his son, arrived to Bella's home"
"Edward said you were attacked" was Esme's concerned response
"Edward just saw a mess in my head. I couldn't tell heads from tails in the mood I was, much less Eddie, right?" I said looking directly to Edward again
He nodded and I turned to face Carlisle again
"Still, that was no way to treat your brother" continued Esme
"Your mother is right" started Carlisle "Therefore you are grounded"
Emmet chuckled earning a glare from Carlisle and myself and a smack on the head by Alice.
"You have got to be kidding me" I said after a second
"I'm serious. Until further notice you can't drive any car unless it's an emergency. Also, I want you on voluntary service at the shelter for a week during the evenings. Every time you hang out with her, including tomorrow, I expect Bella to be at her home before dinner time and…"
"What!?" Exclaimed both Esme and Alice, which surprised me to no end.
"My decision is final" said Carlisle firmly
"But we've been planning this for them" pouted Alice
"At least he's not making her cancel their date altogether" said Emmett
"Which I should, considering apparently she has not complete control of her emotions regarding Bella yet" said Carlisle, turning back to face me again "You should go hunting after school" he said and left the room. Esme following close behind him.
'Well, this could have gone better' I thought to myself. Hearing Edward chuckling while starting to play a tune on the piano.
"Guess I'll be walking for a while then" I told Alice. Who smirked at me.
"Or… you could use Bella's truck."
"What happened to 'picture yourself and Bella arriving to school in that'?"
"Let's pick out your outfit for the next few days" She simply said.
By the time we 'had to get ready for school', I was ready to run and head to Bella's house, but Carlisle caught up to me as he was leaving too.
"Hop in. I'll give you a ride to Chief Swan's house" he said opening the passenger seat door of his car for me. I smiled at him accepting his offer. After a few minutes into the road he continued. "We are just worried" he said looking at me "Bella was severely injured and we all understand what it's like the need to protect your mate Rosalie, but you have got to be careful"
"I know" I said
"Even when she knows about us, it does not mean she is safe around us, okay?" he said then
"Is this about her or about your coven?" I asked him not bothering to call our unit a family at the moment, realizing only a moment later that I did not acknowledge the coven as ours, but his.
He flinched at my question "Both" he finally said
"She won't expose us, and even if she did, you have to understand I will not let anything happen to her. I just can't, no matter who I have to face." I said as we reached Bella's home.
I smiled when I climbed down the car because I could instantly hear Bella whistling around the kitchen.
"As I said Rosalie, we understand the mating bond, this instinct that drives you right now." Said Carlisle softly "I am just saying that you can't let your instinct direct all your actions, that is when accidents happen"
"You all have had years with each other, you can't possibly be telling me you had this conversation with all the family asking them to reign in their instincts when it came to your mates" I said growling at him
"We are all vampires, your mate is not" he said sternly
I took a deep breath and walked to the porch focusing on Bella's and Charlie's conversation.
"You're cheerful this morning," he commented.
"It's Friday, what's not to be cheerful about?" She replied hurriedly.
I rang the bell then and I could hear footsteps approaching. The door opened to reveal Bella in front of me then.
"Hi" I said smiling, immediately soothed by her presence
She smiled at me. "You're earlier today"
I tilted my head towards Carlisle who was still parked at the other side of the road. "Got grounded. Can't drive indefinitely" I confessed sheepishly.
"Oh" she said. A glimmer of disappointment on her face, then worry invaded her. "Are you alright? Were you in an accident?"
I shook my head. I was about to open my mouth when Charlie came out ready to leave for the station.
"Morning Rosalie" he said cheerfully "What? No fancy car today?" he asked glancing around and spotting Carlisle parked a few meters ahead. "Something wrong?" he asked concerned then.
I shook my head. "No chief. Dad just thought it would be appropriate if Bella got to use her truck once in a while" I said smiling sweetly to him.
"Oh. How nice of him" muttered Charlie waving to Carlisle who waved back.
"Go hunt after school and then back home right after" Said Carlisle in a low tone, that was only meant for me to be heard, as he started the engine and headed off. Charlie following suite on his cruiser.
"Well?" Bella asked turning to me
"What?" I asked confused at her scowl
"Do you really expect me to give you a ride to school without a proper hello?" she asked still scowling but with a tinge of humor on her voice, which made me smile.
"Sorry" I said leaning down and brushing my lips to hers. "Morning love" I said when she opened her eyes.
"Now that's more like it" she said turning around and grabbing her raincoat and the keys to her truck. "Want to drive my baby?" she asked handing me the keys which I had to refuse.
"Told you. Grounded"
"Really? Rose, you do realize that it's stupid for a vampire to be grounded right?" she said climbing to the truck and opening the passenger seat for me.
"Well, in a roundabout way, Carlisle is my father. He created me and he has taken care of my well being since then" I said truthfully while closing the passenger door once I climbed inside.
"And how is he going to know you drove?"
"My siblings at school, mainly Edward, he's been even more annoying and obnoxious than usual"
She shook her head and smiled at me. "Curious this happened now"
"Why?"
"Buckle up" she said before starting the engine. I complied with a smile on my face. "Last night Billy Black asked me if there was something wrong with the truck because he heard I had not used it" she said smirking "Does your punishment has anything to do with that?"
I growled at the mention of the Quileutte. She looked at me confused by my reaction, which I couldn't blame her for. "No. Not directly anyway" I finally said calming down
"Directly…hmm, so indirectly it does" She said smiling but keeping her eyes on the road. "Why are you grounded then? And what are the terms and conditions of your punishment?"
I sighed. "I was in a really bad mood when I arrived home because of everything. You were in danger yesterday and you made me promise not to interfere, which let me tell you I don't think I will ever, ever promise again, it was dreadful" I said shaking with emotion
"I know it was" she said softly placing her right hand on my thigh. "But you have to understand that you can't interfere. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to interfere for Duncan, and Clara… but it's the rules, we abide by the rules of the Game" she said removing her hand to continue driving us to school.
"Not all of you do" I said somberly remembering Raoul and what Bella said about him. He did not abide by the rules "Why do you have to if not all your kind does?" I asked her pleadingly
"Because our honor is what has defined us and at the end all we McLeod's have. We are people of honor" she said and we fell in silence for a couple of minutes before she decided to speak again. "However I still don't understand how being in a bad mood got you grounded Rose"
I smiled at her, even when she wasn't looking at me but straight ahead. "I got into a fight with Edward because of that and his stupid mind reading"
"Uh?" she asked confused, then something clicked on her mind "Oh! Things got ugly then?" she asked parking at school.
"Yeah, pretty much"
"But you're alright?" she asked concerned. I nodded in confirmation and hopped out of the truck. She walked to me after closing the truck and took my hand in hers. "but this punishment of yours, prevents us from seeing each other tomorrow?"
"No, though it does limit our time together for the next coming days. At least a week" She looked curiously at me waiting for me to elaborate. I explained her then in what exactly consisted my sentence.
"It's not that bad" she finally said "I could always volunteer too and keep you company" she said cheekily. "Plus your eyes are darker today anyway, so you'll get to feed to your heart's content while I spend the evening with Tobias" I growled at that. "Hey!" she said sternly looking at me "no more growling at Tobias. He's a good man and JUST a friend. Remember?" I sighed
"I know. Can't really help it though" I told her in front of her classroom. "Seat with me at lunch?" hoping that she wouldn't get too upset about my instincts. Maybe Carlisle was right and I ought to reign them in.
"As if you really needed to ask" she said pecking my lips, thus ending my then low growling.
I headed to my classes but barely paid attention to the lessons, not that I actually needed too considering that was not the first time I sat through said lessons. But I was really anxious when I was not around Bella, I know from what the others had told me, that it was because of the mating bond that had formed and was strengthening, this however, not only the several yards that separated us at school, but the ache that I felt when she was at her home and I was at mine, or hunting, felt way too much pain for less than few miles away; so when the bell rang signaling it was lunch time I headed straight to the cafeteria and waited for her there.
"So, I told you about my night" I started once she was seated "How was yours?"
"Interesting, though not to worry, Charlie took care of our visitors just fine" she said smirking, letting me know she was not only talking about the Blacks but also about Tarcone.
"So, do I get to ask the questions now?" I asked hopefully, wanting to learn everything that made her.
She shook her head "Nope, yesterday we were rudely interrupted. Today´s still mine. Maybe tomorrow will be your turn, if you're lucky" she said smirking
"Fine, shoot" I said feigning defeat
She wanted to know about people then; more about my family and their hobbies, what we'd done in our free time together. And then if we interacted with others like us.
"Well, we are a large coven, and we like to settle down every few years somewhere around the world. Most of our kind though, are nomads and their covens are usually of 4 at most"
"Oh… how many others that you know of, follow your same diet?" she asked in between bites of her food
"Not many" I told her truthfully "There is a small coven in Denalli, we call them our cousins. But as far as I am aware of, that's it"
"Ok, so what about dating?" she asked then "I know it gets lonely in the long run, so how many humans have you dated?"
"You're the first since I was turned" I said smiling to her.
"Really?" I nodded, and she smiled to me too. "But you've dated others like you" she said more than asked
"Yes. But nothing serious… Just a few months" I said truthfully "Emmett was my longest relationship"
"Really? What happened?"
"Alice" I said simply
"Alice?" Asked Bella confused, so I elaborated
"Alice and Jasper came to our lives and Emmett and Alice became an item. Both of us knew that we were not really meant for each other, but we were lonely when we got together, so when Alice came to our lives, Emmett was happy with her and I got dumped"
"Well, not to be cruel here, but I'm glad"
"Yeah, me too" I confessed
"Ok. How about this. Have you ever encountered a human who you were willing to turn?" I shook my head no.
"No. I have never tasted human blood, and I wouldn't want to test my self control if I tried to turn someone. But for some reason I felt drawn to Emmett, so when I found him dying I begged Carlisle to turn him" I told her tracing small patterns up and down her arm
"I'm glad you had him." said Bella sincerely "Let's see, how about someone with whom you wanted to spend the rest of your Immortal life with?" she asked then taking the last bite of her food
"I'm looking at her right now" She looked up and smiled at me
"Will I drive you home? Or will you ride with your siblings?" she asked obviously changing subjects.
"I'm leaving with Alice after biology."
"Mmmh, I might be tempted to ditch gym then"
"No, you won't. We're leaving for me to eat, remember? And you are not allowed to watch me feed" I said indignantly
"Fine" she simply said. "What will you hunt?"
"Whatever comes first" I said, not wanting to stay on this line of conversation for long I stood up and took her tray to the counter.
"What time will I see you tomorrow?" she asked.
"That depends… it's a Saturday, don't you want to sleep in?" I offered.
"No," She answered too fast.
"Are you sure?" I asked restraining a smile.
"Absolutely"
"The same time as usual, then," I decided. "Will Charlie be there?"
"No, at least I don't think so, he's going fishing tomorrow, so he is leaving way too early." She said scrunching her face "Can you believe he asked me to join him? Uhgh, last time I went fishing I nearly froze to death, quite literally mind you, in the river. Now that I think about it, since he knows this, he was probably teasing me when he invited me to join him"
"You'll have to tell me more about that fishing adventure of yours. But for now, what would Charlie think if you don't come home tomorrow? Will he rally behind Duncan and drag you back?" I asked her amused by the faces she was making at the thought
"I have no idea, and I honestly don´t want to" she answered smirking. "But your father will surely not be pleased, and I would rather have my girlfriend sentence free you know." She said cheekily.
"Almost forgot about my punishment" I confessed
"What if I speak with him and tell him how unfair it is that part of your punishment, since he is punishing me too?"
"As amusing as that idea is, I don't think it will help our case" I said smiling while we headed for Biology.
"So, why are you going with Alice?" she wondered.
"Alice and Esme are the most… supportive."
"And the others?" she asked timidly. "What are they?"
"Incredulous, for the most part."
"They don't like me," she sighed.
"That's not it," I disagreed, "Maybe it's just a girl thing, and them being boys, does not help. Except for Emmet, he is just having way too much fun at my expense"
"Maybe" she sighed again "Oh. Duncan said he is planning to visit us. He says he wants to know the girl who has got me thinking about actually settling down" she said smirking
"Duncan?" I asked a little scared by her parental figure. What would happen if he didn't approve of us?
"Yeah. Don't worry though. He's a burned marshmallow" she said smiling
"A what?" I asked now confused
"You know, tough and dark and gloomy in the exterior but quite sweet and soft on the inside"
"You my love, are a weird being"
"So says the pot to the kettle" she said chuckling when we were at our seats
"Anyway, I think my family is just worried. At least I think Carlisle is worried. Edward on the other hand is just being stubborn" I said tying to make her understand again "You see… it's dangerous for more than just me if, after spending so much time with you so publicly…"
"If?" she asked
"If this ends… badly."
"It won't end badly" she said firmly.
As soon as she said that Mr. Banner came in and started the mini lecture before starting the last part of the movie we have had to endure so far in classes.
"I didn't think I could take any more." She said taking my hand in hers once the class was over.
Alice was suddenly standing in front of us, slightly startling my mate.
"Alice." I greeted
"Rosalie,"
"Alice, Bella — Bella, Alice," I introduced them, gesturing casually with my free hand.
"We've met" said Bella smiling "Hi, Alice"
"Hello, Bella. It's nice to see you again. And it's good to see you are doing fine after what happened in Port Angeles." I flashed a dark look at her.
"Are you ready?" I asked her.
"Yes. I'll meet you outside." She left without another word and stopped outside the classroom.
"Should I say 'have fun,' or is that the wrong sentiment?" Bella asked me stepping even closer to me.
"No, 'have fun' works as well as anything." I grinned.
"Have fun, then." She said politely
"I'll try." I grinned but then I frowned. "And you try to be safe, please." I begged her lifting our linked hands to my lips and kissing her knuckles
"Safe in Forks… what a challenge."
"For you it is a challenge." My jaw hardened. "Promise." I demanded staring into her eyes
"I promise to try to be safe," she recited. "I'll do my best, okay?" I finally smiled and we both let go in order to gather our things.
"I'll see you tomorrow," I promised, reaching down to peck her lips. Then I turned and walked away.
However I stood by the door when I noticed Tyler walking in and heading straight for Bella who was now alone in the classroom. I was about to barge in again when Alice put a hand on my arm to stop me, I looked down at her and she simply smirked tapping her ear with one hand while dragging me away with the other one. However, at the pace we were going I was able to hear Bella's full conversation with Tyler.
"Are you going to the dance with Hale?" he asked, suddenly sulky.
"No, I'm not going to the dance at all."
"What are you doing, then?" he asked, too interested.
"I'm going out. When I come back I might do laundry, and then I have to study for the Trig test or I'm going to fail. I've never really liked math." Said Bella
"Is Hale helping you study?"
"Rosalie," she emphasized, "is not going to help me study. Though maybe I should ask her. I don't think we have covered favorite school subjects yet, however I think she may be good at math, I mean mechanics and engineering are based in math, right?" she was rambling and I was not sure if I should laugh at how adorable that sounded, or facepalm myself at the absurdity of Bella talking about me liking or not math with Tyler of all people.
"Oh. Yeah. I think. Or I could help you with trig if you want, I am good at it" He perked up.
"No thanks" She said tiredly "Is that all?"
"About the dance…" started Tyler again
"What about it?"
"You know, you could come to the dance with our group anyway — that would be cool. We'd all dance with you," he promised. The mental image of Bella dancing with anyone but me made me growl and try to head back but Alice didn't let go and kept smirking.
"I already told you, I'm not going to the dance, Tyler, okay?" snapped Bella
"Fine." He sulked again. "I was just offering."
"Well, stop offering." Said Bella firmly "And please stop saying I'm going to prom with you. I am definitely not going to prom with you Tyler"
"But you said on the parking lot…"
"Tyler, please just stop. Let me make this clear. I DO NOT like boys. And I AM dating Rosalie"
I couldn't help the purr that escaped my lips then. Alice kept her hold on my arms and stopped me from going back to Bella. As soon as we reached Alice´s Porsche I received a text message from Bella.
**Tyler tried asking me out again, I tried to go easy on him, but it was impossible. He should lay off now. Anyway, once again. Have fun. Love You.**
I smiled down at my phone and composed a quick response.
**Love you too. BE SAFE**
**I will be. Oh, BTW, are you good in math? Do you even like math? And am I correct in assuming that math is the base for mechanics that you seem to love?** came the next text from her
I chuckled while reading and with one glance at my sister I burst out laughing. **I'll help you with math sometime. I do like it. Now, I am not pushing you away, just leaving my phone at home while we hunt. See you tomorrow**
We got changed as soon as we arrived home. Alice wouldn't let me ruin her precious clothes if we could help it, so we both changed into something more comfortable for hunting and hiking, even though those still were designer clothes that Alice insisted on us to buy.
Late that night, after we had hunted, Alice made sure that Esme had ready the small basket for my date with Bella tomorrow. It was already in the fridge and everything was bought at Seattle. It was endearing to see both of them helping so fervently with this.
"I'll make sure it is there by the time you arrive Rosalie" said Esme. I knew she was sad that Alice had not let her cook for Bella yet.
"Ok. Thanks"
"Are you sure you don't want music there?" Asked Alice pouting "it would be more romantic"
"I'm sure Alice. Thanks for the offer" I said for the hundredth time
"Fine, but you'll dress as I tell you" she stated
"Nothing too flashy or provocative please" I pleaded once I realized I really had no choice.
Early in the morning Carlisle once again decided to drive me to Bella's home.
"Just be careful" he said once we reached our destination. This time he did not wait for me to reach the front door before speeding out.
I could hear Bella on the second floor by the time I rang the bell. Bella had a little trouble with the doorknob but she finally yanked the door open, smiling up at me.
Remembering yesterday's morning I directly leaned down and kissed her softly for a few seconds, smiling when she moaned into the kiss.
When I broke the kiss she kept smiling, then she looked me over and laughed.
"Good morning," she chuckled.
"Morning. What is it?" I glanced down to make sure Alice had not embarrassed myself with her choice at my clothes.
"We match." She laughed again.
I realized she had light tan sweater on, with a white collar showing underneath, and blue jeans. While I had long tan sweater on, and I knew that my white blouse was visible too. I had dark blue jeans on and a pair of sneakers.
I laughed with her. "Alice's fault" I said still chuckling. She looked curiously at me. "She sees the future, remember?"
"Yeah, and so?"
"She chose my clothes today"
"Oh" she said, then she smirk and kissed me again "Well, remind me to thank her, you look great" she finally said
"Thanks" I muttered. "Not looking bad yourself"
She locked the door to her house and then walked to the truck. I walked to the passenger seat waiting for her to let me in.
"Grounded" She remembered smugly climbing into the driver's seat, and reaching over to unlock my door. "Where to?" she asked. "And put your seat belt on" I gave her a dirty look as I complied. "Where to?" she repeated with a sigh.
"Take the one-o-one north," I told her. "Am I lucky today?" I asked her once we were on the road.
"Do you feel lucky?" she asked mockingly
"Everyday since I met you" I told her without thinking. She smiled and pulled over, once we were completely halted and her flashlights were on, she looked intently at me.
"Do you really mean that?"
"Of course I do" I answered "Sure, we did not start on the right foot, but since we locked eyes on the cafeteria on your first day at school, I knew you were the one for me Bella"
She smiled widely at me again and latched herself onto me in a tight hug. I don't know how long we stayed like that, just holding each other but when she pulled apart I felt it was not enough time.
"I love you too" she said starting the engine again. "so I guess you are lucky. Shoot away your questions" she finally stated
"Were you planning to make it out of Forks before nightfall?" was the first thing that popped to my mind, noticing that she was going considerably slower that when we left her home.
"This truck is old enough to be your car's grandfather… have some respect," She retorted.
"But it could go faster, and I'm not talking about after a few arrangements. Which I will be happy to do for you" I said defending myself
"Fine" she said speeding up.
"Ok. So you said you've been in the Game for a while. So that means you've traveled around the world?"
"Yes, I've been around"
"Where have you never been and you wish to get to visit?"
"Lots of places" she said "I've never been to Egypt. Or to the Mayan Territories. New Zealand… oh... and the Greek Islands. I've never been to those places and I'd like to go there in the future"
"mmmh, good to know"
And with that I started off with questions much similar to what she had asked me the past few days. Music, books, movies, flowers.
We were soon out of the town limits, thick underbrush and green-swathed trunks replaced the lawns and houses.
"Turn right on the one-ten," I instructed before continuing my assault of questions. "Now we drive until the pavement ends."
"And what's there, at the pavement's end?" she wondered.
"You're not allowed questions today remember?" I told her, but upon seeing her frown I quickly amended my mistake "There's a trail."
"We're hiking?"
"Only five miles or so. What about others like you. Friends? Are only McLeods your friends?" I asked her
"No, not exactly." She said frowning slightly "Clan McLeod is my family. And we are not that many, not alive anyway. Only 4 of us. Tobias being the youngest and Duncan being the oldest" She said "Actually, Duncan is the only McLeod by blood"
"By blood?"
She nodded. "He was borned in Scotland in Clan McLeod. The others, we were just sort of adopted by him into the clan."
"So Tobias, Duncan, Clara and yourself are the only McLeods?"
"No, Richie is the other McLeod" she said sighing. "Clara is not part of our clan. She is what you would call, a nomad"
"I'm confused now." I stated "If Clara is not part of your family, why aren't you trying to behead each other"
"Immortals can befriend each other you know?" she said simply "the circumstances change from time to time. Duncan for example knows an Immortal named Amanda who died for the first time in 850. They even dated for awhile"
"1850?" I asked clarifying
"Nope. 850"
"So how you met Clara then?"
"We were friends before my first dead. I used to hang out with her and a few others. Duncan never liked her, I didn't know why. I knew Duncan was an Immortal, I've known all my life, I just didn't know she was one too or that they both knew I had the seed of Immortality… so when I died and awoke again, I knew that was the reason he didn't like her. He thought she was waiting for me to... well, die, in order to behead me."
"Why?"
"There are some Immortals who do that. Find people with the seed of Immortality, they stay around for a little while in order to study them and then make sure they die. Once they awake again, some explain them the rules and in the pretense of teaching them they do behead the new Immortal, and others just go straight to the point"
"That's awful!" She muttered something that made me believe she agreed. "Do you have any other friends?"
"Kind of.. yeah... Rebecca Horne, who also knows Duncan and actually was Amanda's First Teacher. I am not sure if Duncan knows that yet. And there's Adam too. Both of them are the oldest known Immortals. It is by sheer luck that I even bumped into them and that we ended up becoming sort of friends."
"What about Renee? Isn't she your friend too?"
"Not exactly. We barely know each other. She is not Immortal by the way. And don't even start on Charlie. He is my Watcher. We could become friends but…" she trailed off and a sad look crossed her face
"What?"
"Well, last time I became friends and got close with my watcher… it didn't end up well"
"Is that why you are here at Forks?"
"Part of the reason. Yeah"
Since I did not want to see her sad or frowning, at least not today, I decided to leave that line of questioning for another moment. "I'm all ears when you are ready, okay?"
"Thanks" she muttered smiling to me
"What about sports? You said I had to figure it out but you're not giving me clues"
"So you don't think that sword fighting is a clue?" she asked amused
"Is it?" I asked confused "That's not a sport. That's survival for you"
"Well, it is now. But Duncan trained me since I was able to walk. He trained me into sword combat and martial arts. So those are the sports I'm good at"
We drove in silence for a while as I contemplated what else to ask her that was not related to her age or accidents or anything that might be hurtful for her.
"What are you thinking?" she asked impatiently after a few moments.
"There's so much I want to know about you, but everything I can come up with right now seems to be hurting you" I said saddened by that. "I don't know how you managed to ask so many questions about my life without dwelling in my past" I added softly
"It might hurt. But if you want to know anything, just ask, okay? I won't get mad, promise" She said briefly glancing my way but keeping her eyes on the road.
I nodded and gathered up the courage to ask what was bothering me the most. "How many times have you died?"
"More than I care to count" she said somberly "This year it has already been four times" I gasped. "Where we're going anyway?" she asked me trying to divert my attention I'm sure.
"It's a place I like to go to clear my mind." I told her and glanced out the windows at the thinning clouds, Alice had been right, as always with her visions.
"Charlie said it would be warm today." She said correctly interpreting where my thoughts were at the moment.
"Did you end up telling Charlie what you were up to?" I asked.
"Nope. I do not really know what we are up to" She said honestly, for which I scowled
"But Jessica thinks we're going to Seattle together?"
"No, when she asked I told her you canceled Seattle on me… which is true. We are not going to Seattle"
"No one knows you're with me?" I asked confused
"Not exactly. Your family knows" she said sheepishly
"That's very helpful, Bella," I said defeated.
"You said it might cause trouble for you… us being together publicly," she said sheepishly
"No. I said for my family. Not just for me" I assured her. "And I don't understand the logic behind that, aren't you worried about the trouble it might cause to me, and my family if you don't come home?"
She smirked at me "Not in the slightest. You're grounded, remember?"
To that I couldn't help but chuckle. "Didn't you say it was stupid for a vampire to be grounded?"
"It is" she said mockingly "So are you planning on kidnapping me? Keep me all to yourself? Because if that's the case, you must know that I would develop Stockholm Syndrome within the first minute. Heck I already do." She said brightly
"I do want to keep you all to myself Bella" I confessed
"Then keep me" she retorted
We were silent for the rest of the drive. I could see her smirking at her victory and I couldn't bring myself to care about being bested in our banter because it was her, and I did plan to keep her.
Then the road ended, constricting to a thin foot trail with a small wooden marker. She parked on the narrow shoulder as I pointed to it and stepped out of the truck right after I did.
It was warm now, probably warmer than it had been in Forks for awhile now. I watched her pull off her sweater and knotted it around her waist, noticing she had worn a light, sleeveless shirt. I removed my sweater too and left it inside the truck. A soon I slammed the door shut she looked at me.
"This way," I started while I trailed off into the dark forest.
"The trail?" She asked me confused noticing I had not taken that path.
"I said there was a trail at the end of the road, not that we were taking it."
"Not taking the trail? That's odd. I thought you wanted to keep me, now you are trying to lose me in the woods?" she asked.
"I won't let you get lost." I turned then, with a mocking smile, and I heard her stifle a gasp. I smirked at her reaction to my appearance, she was eying me quite hungrily, and I would have to actually thank Alice for that. "Do you want to go home?" I asked quietly.
"No." she said without doubt and walking forward till she was close beside me.
"What's wrong?" I asked smirking.
"I'm not a good hiker when there are distractions all the way," she answered dully. "You'll have to be very patient."
"I can be patient… if I make a great effort." I smiled, holding her glance. I scrutinized her face. "I'll take you home," I promised.
"I am home" She smiled hugging me tightly again. "You are my home"
I hugged her back while softly stroking her back "You are my world, you know?" I said looking down at her. "But seeing as I am a grounded vampire and you are an Immortal living with her Watcher, maybe we should abide by their rules, at least for now"
"Or we could elope. Just leave and get a house of our own" she said softly
"I'd love that" I said in a whisper smiling at her
"Let's do it then. Soon. High school first, again" She said sighing and tightening her hold on me "I kinda want you to tutor me in math. Would you be open to wearing glasses?" She asked smiling dreamily apparently lost on a fantasy. She cleared her throat and shook her head when I chuckled, however she didn't let go right away, she just hugged me impossibly closer to her. "You are an amazing distraction. Why don't I go front and you just tell me if I should keep walking straight ahead or turn?" she said when she let go.
I kept chuckling but nodded my agreement. I ended up giving her directions and asking about the places she had visited through her life.
"Birthday. Which you celebrate. When you were actually borned or when you woke up after your first dead?" I asked her suddenly
"Both, actually. I have my birthday and my re-birthday. You?"
I sighed "We don't get to celebrate either. It's complicated. Most of us don't remember our actual birthdays, and we hardly want to celebrate the day we died"
"I guess it makes sense, but isn't it sad?"
"Not anymore" I said smiling at her concern "What about pets?"
"ooh, that's interesting. I had a cobra once. Tobias almost decided to behead me then" she said giggling "I had forgotten he had died because a huge snake had attacked him" she said somberly then. After a second she composed herself and continued on listing the pets she had had. I must tell she surprised me. A tank of piragnas, a red tailed hawk, a ferret, two tarantulas, a parrot that apparently the only word he learned to repeat was QUICKY, an iguana that grew as long as tall she herself was, and a raccoon.
"As I said, you are a weird being. What about normal pets?" I asked amused
"Define normal, considering both of us are weird beings."
"Cats, canaries, hamsters… dogs?"
"Nope, though I almost brought a panther back to Duncan's once."
"How do you feel about wolves?" I asked her
"If you are planning on getting me a puppy or something, please don't. Specially of the canine type, unless it's a fox, they are awesome."
"You don't like dogs?" I asked slightly surprised, most people did like dogs and wolves, even if they didn't plan on interacting with them in general. She shook her head in response "So no wolves either." She shook her head again "Any particular reason for that my love?
She shrugged before answering "Duncan said wolves killed my mother. So I never liked them or dogs or coyotes or anything similar. And then Tobias told me, that once when he was a kid, he was attacked by a big, semi sentient wolf. So no, no doggies for me, thanks" I couldn't help but smirk at that, though it worried me that her mother had been killed by wolves, it could just be a strange coincidence, but that seemed highly unlikely. "Are we there yet?" she asked.
"Nearly. Do you see the brightness ahead?" I watched her peer into the thick forest.
"Um, should I?" she asked
"Maybe it's a bit soon for your eyes."
"Too bad a visit to the optometrist would solve nothing now," she muttered. And at that my smirk grew more pronounced. "Or would you also like to see me wearing glasses?" she asked me turning around to face me
"Who else wants to see you wearing glasses?" I asked confused by that question
"No one that I know of" she said taking my hand when I reached her "But I'd really like to see you with glasses. I bet you'd look ravishing" She added kissing me in the corner of my mouth before stepping away and starting to walk ahead again.
"I love you" I told her loud enough to be heard by her when I recovered from her comment "We will explore that at some point though"
"I love you too" she said chuckling "And eagerly waiting that then"
But then she slightly picked up the pace with me following noiselessly behind her. She reached the edge of the pool of light and stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the meadow Edward once found while looking for me.
The meadow was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers; violet, yellow, and soft white. There was a stream nearby, to where we would head for her lunch. The very same stream where I was when Edward discovered this place. The sun was directly overhead, filling the circle with a haze of buttery sunshine. She walked slowly, awestruck, through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm, gilded air.
Watching her being so carefree was amazing. She spun around searching for me with sudden alarm when she didn't see me right behind her. Finally she seemed to spot m
Revised A/N (August 2022): So, how is it going? What do you think so far? And what you reckon will happen during this lovely date they have? Hint: they keep getting interrupted when they are getting closer, and I do not plan to break that trend just yet.
Also, it was mentioned in a comment that they felt this cat and mouse game our ladies had at the beginning felt a lot of a case of secret identity conceal like superman… I offhandedly suggested Rosalie wearing glasses then and the thought kept nagging at me since then… Bella just gave voice to some of my Rosalie fantasies right now…. Heck… might eventually write a "Rosalie tutoring Bella on Math while wearing glasses" fic.
Original A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait, hope it was worth it… still borrowing things from cannon in order to keep the big picture in mind. Only two or three more chapters before we go AU from books, I think.
Still no promises to when the next update might be, so I certainly pray for you to be patient.
Thank you all for adding this fic your alerts and favorites, and thank you so much for adding ME to your alerts and favorites. I am honored.
Remember to leave your reviews… they nourish my imagination.
And if you have a twitter account and are interested, you can follow me at OriginalHealer