A/N: And I'm back! With the most exciting chapter yet, with Regina experiencing her life as a newborn vampire. :) Breaking Dawn is definitely my most favorite film/book in the entire series, so I hope I brought this scene to life just as well for all of you twilight fans. Happy reading!
Review if you'd like more updates quick. And please no one ask if you can translate my stories into any language or especially for other fandoms.
Everything was clear. The ceiling, the entire room was whiter than Regina remembered it to be. She looked up, her new eyes focused on the light bulb above her. She could see the thin strands inside the bulb. Beyond the light, she could distinguish the individual grains in the dark wood ceiling above. And beyond that, along the white family room, she could see the particles of dust in the air dancing along, spinning together in sync.
It was the most beautiful thing Regina dared to say she had ever seen. As she inhaled, she realized that there was no feeling of it. Because her lungs no longer needed the air they once begged for to breathe.
Regina's lungs might not need the air to breathe, but she wanted it. When she breathed, she could actually taste the room around her. She could taste the motes in the air around her, the paint from the walls, even if it was an old coat of pain, yet still as bright as the day the room had been painted. She could taste the rich and sweet aroma scent of the lilacs that just happened to be around her.
As she sat up, Regina could pick up the sound of feet shifting just outside, followed by loud music and someone's off-beat singing to it that quickly grew distant as the car drove by the house. Her ears could pick up on distant honking and shouting of other drivers, engraved in a battle of road rage. She could hear all the way to the freeway.
Regina didn't realize someone had been holding her hand until that hand gave hers a soft squeeze. Her body locked the feeling down. Something was not right about this hand. The hand was smooth and not the right temperature of cold. In fact, it wasn't cold at all. Suddenly, Regina inhaled sharply through her teeth, baring them in a hiss as her body jumped off the examining bed on instinct. Her back was arched at the ready, while her body cornered along a wall in the room. Her red eyes danced along the room, searching for the danger.
Suddenly they focused right to her vampire family, everyone standing along the doorway, August and Jefferson up front, their backs arched. And then, there was Emma. She held out a single hand to her family- her brothers- preventing them from attempting to attack. Her eyes were wide, her expression anxious as she focused on Regina.
It didn't occur to Regina until that moment that she was the danger in the room. Of course! Emma. They were the same temperature now.
Suddenly, Regina's sharp eyes caught sight of Lily's grinning face, peeking out from behind Jefferson. But the most important object of Regina's focus was her wife's beautiful face. Emma was the most important source of her focus, yet her peripheral vision worked overtime to still capture everything around her.
How many times did Regina stare at Emma and marvel over her beauty? How many hours, days, weeks of her life had she spent dreaming about it and its perfection?
She wasn't prepared for how crystal clear Emma's beauty shined now. It was as if Regina had been walking around all of her life blinded by it all- by her human life- that she didn't really see the beauty that was before her until now.
It was in that moment, that Regina's body fully relaxed, undoing itself from its crouching position once she realized that there was no danger within the room but herself. Of course, standing was another action that surprised Regina once she had performed it in her newborn body. Before her legs were even performing the action that would get her back on her feet, Regina's back was already straight. Moving was a really effortless action for vampires.
Her eyes watched every little movement Emma made. How she walked around the table, her hand outstretched. Her steps took a second to stride carefully across the room. Regina watched the grace of Emma's movements, absorbing it with her new eyes.
"Gina?" Emma's sweet voice uttered Regina's name calmly, but there was still a trimmer of worry there that Regina's ears could visibly pick up on.
Regina tried to speak, but the perfect symphony that was Emma's voice took that ability away from her in the moment. At that moment, Regina tried to remember her last human hour, but it was all a blur; as if she had been really blinded by it.
Something smooth and warm brushed Regina's cheek, willing her to lean into the touch as soon as she realized it was Emma's hand.
"I'm sorry everything seems disoriented. But you'll be alright." Emma said softly. The promise thick behind her golden eyes.
Regina leaned in a little more. Her wife's touch was soft, warm and pure perfection. It made her feel a jolt of electricity, traveling down to the pit of her stomach and a little further down south where a most delicious sensation just sat there. Was this part of the vampire experience? Weren't her desires supposed to remain a thing of the past? Of her once human life?
She expected to feel these urges later into her vampire life, but not this early. She was a newborn. And Regina knew perfectly well what that entitled. Thirst would be her only focus, but it wasn't. Her newborn eyes focused on Emma's again, her skin focused their new discovered senses on Emma's silk touch and the waves of pleasure it sent up her spine.
"You're so beautiful," Emma softly muttered. The corner of her lip tilted into a tiny smirk. "We're the same temperature now."
Regina's instinct was to throw her arms around Emma. Her action reflects still to her eyes from how quick she moved now. One minute, Regina was as still as a statue; and the next, Emma was in her arms, grunting slightly. A reaction she never thought she'd see her wife perform.
Having Emma in her arms filled Regina with a warmth she never thought she'd feel again. Not anywhere near her new life. Emma was so warm to her now. There was a scent that in all of her human years, since she met Emma, Regina's nostrils had been blinded to. A scent that was so Emma. Regina buried her nostrils along Emma's shoulder and golden hair, marveling in the ecstasy that was her wife.
"Gina…" Emma called out softly, a struggle quivering in her voice. "You know, you're much stronger than I am for the moment."
Regina understood her newborn strength. It made her smile as she pulled away, but her arms continued to hold Emma close.
"It's your turn not to break me." Emma grinned, releasing a chuckle through her perfect teeth as she felt Regina's arms tug her a little closer.
Emma's smile could stop Regina's heart if it were still beating. She knew what she was, and yet everything felt so surreal. So new. Regina was stronger than Emma. She couldn't believe it, and yet she could. Every action Regina performed as a newborn was so surreal. She was so focused on Emma, yet she could pick up on every single little- and big- sound happening around her.
Regina brought her hand up, attempting to focus only on Emma as she brought her hand up to cup her face. And for the first time, Regina heard the clear symphonic sound of her own voice. "I love you," she replied in a soft tone that was music to her own ears.
Emma's own dazzling smile really dazzled Regina, far more than it had when she had been human.
"As I love you," Emma replied. She drew her wife's face closer to hers until their lips met in a passionate kiss that felt that they were both sharing for the first time in their supernatural lives.
Regina followed the slow motion of Emma's lips against her own, reminding herself to be careful with her. But as their kiss progressed, it turned fiercer, stronger. The feeling was exhilarating, as if Emma had never kissed her before. Because Emma had in fact never kissed her like this before. Regina was certain of it. She knew every curve of Emma's lips.
As they pulled away, a beautiful grin spread along Emma's lips like butter to heat. She was positively glowing! And even though Regina no longer technically needed to breathe, she drew in a sharp intake of breath to steady herself to her new world. Their world. She smiled along, feeling Emma's arm wrap along her waist and pull her close as they walked toward their family. That's when Regina's newborn eyes took in Mal for the first time. She was more beautiful than her human eyes had ever allowed her to see. They all were. Even Jefferson, who walked closely behind Mal.
"How do you feel, Regina?" Mal asked.
"Overwhelmed." Regina answered in the span of a second, taken in by the sound of her own harmonic voice.
"Yes, it can be quite confusing." Said Mal.
Regina nods. "But I feel like me. Sort of. That's unexpected."
Emma grins that smile again that proved to be brighter than the sun, her arm pulling her in closer along the waist. She was obviously smug about the entire situation. Regina could sense it off of her.
"You are quite controlled," Mal smiled. "More so than I expected, even with the time you had to prepare yourself mentally for this. Tell me, what do you remember about the transformation process?"
Regina thought for just a second before she said, "Everything was very dim. I remember the baby couldn't breathe…" her head whips toward Emma, her red eyes wide. "Emmaline?"
That Godsend smile colors itself along Emma's lips again. "She's incredible, Gina. She's healthy and well." She promised. There was a sparkle in her eye that Regina had never seen before when talking about their daughter. Their daughter. They were now parents of a beautiful baby girl.
"I want to see her, Emma!" Regina attempted for a step in the direction where she knew her daughter would be, but felt Emma's warm touch, her wife's own strength pulling her back in a gentle manner.
"Wait," Emma said softly. Her golden eyes locked onto Regina's newborn ones. "We should get your thirst under control."
Thirst. Of course! She knew her newborn life came with the price of never ending thirst, but she really hadn't felt the urge of it until now that Emma had brought it up to the center of her mind. A burn settled just behind her throat that made Regina reach for it, closing her own hand around it.
"Let's hunt, Gina." Said Emma, reaching for her wife's hand.
Regina didn't know the first thing there was to know about hunting. How would she hunt? Emma had never allowed her to watch her hunt before, either, to give her a general idea of it. But hunting with Emma sounded just about as thrilling as the rest of their lives together.
But she really needed to know about her daughter first and foremost. "Who's with her? Kathryn?" She asked, her eyes noticing Kathryn's absence within the family.
Emma nodded. "And Ruby's with her, too."
"Ruby?" Regina's eyes flicker along the stairs before they turn to Emma in a matter of a second. "She's still here?" Her eyes look alarmed. "Will Emmaline be okay? I mean, Ruby doesn't like her."
Emma's lip thin into a tight line. "She'll be perfectly safe. Trust me. I can read Ruby's thoughts."
"Right," Regina murmured, deciding to trust Emma as she nodded. "Okay. Let's hunt."
"Wait!" Lily crossed the room, reaching for Regina's hand with such confidence, but careful movements. "Before you leave, you have to see how you look. Take it all in."
"Lily-"
"It'll only take a second, Emma." Lily gave a pointed look in her sister's direction. Her smile never left her lips as she looked back at Regina. "Come," she guided Regina carefully along a full view mirror, standing just behind her.
Regina gasped with the little human emotion she suspected she had left in her body, taking in her own reflection. As much as she still disliked herself in a dress, even Regina had to admit that she looked fantastic in it. Her skin was like marble, and she wondered if she would have her own personal set of diamonds once her skin touched a single ray of sunlight. Regina looked different, but she was still her. Except her eyes, which were red.
She was her, but she wasn't. There was no trail of that fragile girl staring back at her. Her hair had grown a little past her shoulders and was bright and smooth like black silk. Her cheekbones were pale yet brightened slightly by the foundation that had been applied to her. Her lips were pale, she suspected, but the lipstick that had also been applied made them pop. They looked fuller and marbled just like her skin.
"How long?" Regina asked out loud, staring back at her own red orbs that looked so unfamiliar to her as they stared right back.
Emma's golden eyes followed Regina's line of sight through the mirror as she stood behind her now. "They'll darken up in a few months," her voice was soft and comforting. "Animal blood dilutes the color more quickly than a diet of human blood. They'll turn amber first, then gold."
Months? Regina stared back at the young woman in the mirror, calm, collected with herself. Her eyes would match Emma's, and they would be beautiful. Just like she was beautiful. Like Emma was beautiful. She smiled a little at the thought of getting to see her bright golden eyes for the first time once the time came. Time that she wasn't deprived of anymore.
Emma grinned through the mirror, directing Regina's eyes to it.
"What?" Regina whirled around to face her wife. "What did I miss?"
"Jefferson is wondering how you're doing it." Said Emma.
"Doing what?" Regina's eyes flicker over to Jefferson's furrowed eyebrows.
"Controlling your emotions, Gina," Jefferson answered. "I've never seen a newborn stop an emotion in its tracks that way. You were obviously overwhelmed but regained power over yourself. I was ready to step in in case you became upset like newborns tend to get once they catch sight of themselves, but you didn't need it."
Regina felt as confused as they looked at her. But she suspected it wasn't a bad thing. It couldn't be.
"So, what do you think, Gina?" Lily asked, appearing beside her with her encouraging smile.
Regina turned to face herself in the mirror once again, taking it all in. "I'm not sure," she whispered, her eyes attempting to find one flaw that was no longer there. She was perfect.
"And here I am still wondering what could possibly be going through your mind right now." Said Emma, her eyes intensely watching her through the mirror.
Regina faced her wife with a relieved smile to know that her thoughts still remained her own. "I'm thinking… that at least I'm pretty."
Emma chuckled, exhaling sharply through her nose. She took a careful step forward, her hand cradling along her wife's soft cheek. "Gina, you have never been merely pretty." She whispered.
Jumping out the second floor window wasn't as exhilarating as running. The world around Regina had never seemed to be more in focus as it was when she was running. She was moving so fast with the wind in her hair, but the world around her, within the forest, was moving in slow motion. As her newborn eyes explored every curve and crack of the forest around her, Regina smiled at every bug she caught sight of, every squirrel or bird. The world moved differently now, and she was here for it.
Emma's smile came into view as they ran together side by side. Regina remembers always wondering what it would be like to be a hundred percent let into Emma's world as a vampire herself. And now, here she was. Of course, Emma was still the fastest, leaving Regina a few feet behind, but that didn't put a dent in her running either. Regina expected for her lungs to beg for a much needed breath, but they never did. Running was an effortless action.
Emma's arms caught Regina in her embrace, her fingers kneading along her waist as she rotated her body. "Close your eyes," she whispered.
"What are we hunting?" Regina asked, her voice filled with intrigue.
"Deer. I thought something easy for your first time…" Emma's voice trailed off, watching as Regina's eyes narrowed in her direction.
Regina wasn't going to argue, though. She was too thirsty.
"Hold still for a minute," said Emma, placing her hands along Regina's shoulders. The urgency in Regina's thirst quenched momentarily due to Emma's silk touch. "Now close your eyes," she murmured.
Regina smiled a little, obeying such a human action, feeling Emma's hands travel off of her shoulders and along the cold skin of her arms. Cold to humans.
"Listen," Emma instructed. "What do you hear?"
Regina could hear everything. She could hear distant chirping, ringing in her ears as if the birds behind those chips were sitting along her shoulders. She could hear their feathers strutting in the air as they flew. Their tiny feet landing effortlessly along the branch of a tree with a clear crisp. Leaves along the trees scraping together along with the whistle in the wind that brushed along her hair. She could hear ants along the trees. Concentrating more on her new hearing ability, Regina focused on the one specific sound Emma wanted her to pick up on. She listened. She could hear strands of grass dancing along the wind, followed by a calm stream of water from a river at least five miles away from them. And by the river, she could pick up on the lapping of tongues of a thirsty group of deer, their beating hearts followed by the scent of their blood.
The scent alone made the walls along Regina's throat shut close.
Regina's eyes fly open and she allows herself to drift with the scent, barely aware of her own movement, allowing her new vampire instinct to do all the movements for her. Her body crouched automatically as she hesitated at the fern-fringed edge of the trees. She could see the group of deer, one deer heading specifically into the forest and away from the edge of the water at a leisurely pace.
Inhaling through her nostrils, Regina followed the scent of that female deer, spotting the pulsating point along its neck where the warmth of its blood was the strongest. Thirty yards- two or three leaps- between her and the deer. Regina's body tensed as she prepared to take her first leap. But as her muscles tensed in preparation, the wind shifted, blowing stronger now, and from the south. A different scent hit her nostrils, a stronger more alluring scent. The burn in the back of her throat became worse now, burning intensely as she inhaled sharply through her nose again. Human blood.
The sense that she was being followed kicked in before listening to that perfect harmonic voice, "Gina, don't." Emma's voice said softly.
Regina's teeth bared in a snarl that was directed at her wife. The sound unsettled her, and it helped her clear her head, gain composure. "I have to get away from here!" Her voice spoke roughly through the burning sensation behind her throat.
Emma blinked, "You're okay, Regina. I can help you."
Regina burst into a run again, leaping expertly into the air, feeling her feet landing like feathers along the ground.
"Or not," Emma grinned, marveling in her newborn wife.
Regina ran until the scent of human blood disappeared into as much distance as she could put between them. She stopped along a path as she felt Emma following her again.
As Emma appeared before her, her golden eyes stared at Regina in shock. "How did you do that?" She asked. "You stopped hunting."
"Emma, when you came up behind me… I'm sorry about that." Said Regina. If she could blush, she would be now.
"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm the one who was horribly careless. I assumed no one would be so far from the trails, but I should have checked first. I'm sorry. You have nothing to apologize for."
"Emma, I growled at you!" The thought still horrifying Regina. She never wanted to hurt Emma. Ever.
"Of course you did. It's only natural. But I can't understand how you ran away." Emma said more calmly than before. "You shouldn't be this in control. You jumped out of that second floor window so perfectly, in a way no newborn should have been able to achieve. No newborn should be able to ignore the scent of human blood and drive themselves away from it like you did. Gina, you're behaving like you're decades rather than days old."
"Oh." Regina frowned as if what Emma just told her was such a bad thing for a newborn to accomplish on their first day exploring their new lives. "Is that a bad thing?" She had to ask.
Emma grinned, "It's surprising. Nothing we've ever seen before." Her hand came up to cradle Regina's cheek. "What I wouldn't give to be able to see into your mind for just this one moment."
Regina's red eyes locked into Emma's golden ones, and the emotion that overpowered her next was so much more powerful than the thirst she instantly forgot she felt as she leaned into her wife's touch. That soft touch that surprised Regina all the more. She reached up, allowing her thumb to trace the curve of Emma's bottom lip. "I thought I wouldn't feel this way for a long time," she whispered. "But I still want you."
Emma blinked in shock, "How can you even concentrate on that? Aren't you unbearably thirsty?"
Of course she was thirsty! Even more now that Emma brought it up. Regina's nostrils breathed in, picking up on the familiar scent of the deer. With Emma by her side, she followed the trail until she stood behind a large tree like the predator she now was. Her head followed the sound of heavy paws joining in. She waited, focusing on the sound of the paws until the source behind them brought a mountain lion into her focus. Its eyes were hunting the deer. The other predator was big, bigger than Regina's own size.
As the lion's tail twitched, its paws ready to take that one pounce against the deer, and at the same time, Regina's head tilted to the side. Her eyes observing. Waiting.
A roar filled the air belonging to the lion that leaped. Regina's body sailed through the air and landed on the lion, her arms trapping the shrieking, angry breast in strong grip. Her arms never gave up on their strength around the lion even as their bodies rolled along the ground. Pinning it down, the lion's teeth bared inches away from Regina's face, threatening her to bite, its claws sharply exposed and swinging angrily. A roar filled the air that Regina realized came from the back of her throat before her teeth bared back, snapping and biting down along the lion's furry neck.
Regina's teeth were like razors. They had cut through the animal's fur, meat and some bone with so little effort, like a knife through butter.
The blood tasted nothing like human blood. Regina didn't need to taste it to know the difference. But it was enough to quench the thirst that soothed behind her throat. As she continued to drink from the red, drenched spot along the lion's neck, the animal's growls were replaced with cries that quieted in a matter of seconds.
Emma watched, leaning casually against a tree as Regina stood once the beast stopped moving. Her dress was intact of any blood splatter, the only one coating around her mouth, trickling down her chin, which Regina wiped away with the back of her arm before straightening her dress.
"Did I do something wrong?" Regina asked, picking up on the shock that masked Emma's face.
"No," Emma shook her head. "You did perfectly well." She grinned. "I'm truly impressed, Gina."
Once again, if Regina could blush- she would. She settled for a smile. "I'm still thirsty." She revealed.
"Your young," Emma stated. "It's normal."
"How do you handle it? You do better than me."
"Centuries of practice." Emma grinned, using her foot to push herself away from the tree. She walked up to Regina, wiping away tiny smear of blood along the corner of her mouth. "I know animal blood doesn't compare to human blood, but give it time. There's more deer to hunt if you're still thirsty. Elk, too. I highly recommend it."
Regina grinned. "Later. I'd like to see our daughter now."