Bella sped through the night, her destination far from the grand castles and ancient ruins she was accustomed to. Instead, she was headed to Forks, Washington—a small, unremarkable town nestled in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest. It was a far cry from the places where her past missions had taken her, but the mission was no less important. If anything, this was the most important thing she'd been sent to do in decades.
To exterminate a coven of young vampires, breaking rules. It sent a tingle of excitement up her ancient spine and she could hardly wait for her arrival.
As she entered Forks, the town was exactly as she imagined: gloomy, with a perpetual mist that clung to everything. Hugging the concrete streets like a blanket. The streetlights cast weak halos in the fog, and the town seemed almost deserted at this late hour. Bella's sharp senses picked up the distant sound of rain pattering against the pavement as she drove through the narrow streets. Passing houses and gas stations towards her sleeping quarters.
She pulled up to a rundown motel on the outskirts of town, its flickering neon sign barely readable through the drizzle. "Vacancy," it read. Bella scoffed, she had no doubt that wasn't much of an achievement.
A frowned pulled at her features as she parked her car.
This was far from the opulent hideouts she was used to. The mission required her to blend in with the locals, and this shabby motel was the best she could do without drawing attention. Oh how she wanted to draw attention, she was lavish and luxurious, she could take on an entire hoard of vampires on her own without breaking a sweat… So to speak. She had a little flair for the dramatic, but sighed, admitted defeat as she switched off the engine. If this was what Aro wanted for her, it's what she'd have to put up with. For now atleast.
With a huff, she stepped out, her boots splashing in the puddles that had formed in the cracked asphalt. She grabbed her bag from the backseat, her movements fluid and precise despite her growing irritation. The motel door creaked as she pushed it open, and the interior was as uninviting as she had expected—dim lighting, stained carpet, and the faint smell of mildew in the air. It wrinkled her sensitive nose and she held back a grimace as she approached the pitiful excuse of a reception.
The clerk, a tired-looking man with a half-hearted smile and greying hair, slid her bronze key across the desk in front of him. "Enjoy your stay," he said, though his tone suggested he doubted she would. Bella nodded towards him and snatched the key from the faded wooden counter.
"Thanks." She said briskly and walked in the direction he pointed. Room thirteen will be hers for the foreseeable future.
She made her way down the narrow hallway. Her room was at the very end, and as she unlocked the door and stepped inside, her displeasure deepened. The room was small, with a lumpy bed covered in a faded floral bedspread. A single one of course. The yellow wallpaper was peeling at the corners, and the single window offered a view of the dense forest that surrounded the town. She dropped her bag down, her expression hardening as she blurred to the window.
They were out there, she could sense them. A strange, tangible pull was tugging her towards the dense forest. Bella huffed and spun on her heels towards her bag, Aro had given her a briefing package. Weird, but he had a tad perverse interest in the things humans do. And lord, writing every little detail and instruction in a bright red folder was one of them.
He was an ancient man, his power far exceeding anyone she has ever come across, but even so, he was a little ridiculous at times. She had a photographic memory, having it in writing seemed odd. But as if his eerie red eyes were watching she perched on the edge of the bed, slipped off her shoes and flicked through the pages.
In the hollow of her room, her phone buzzed. The only sound beside the light flickering in the hallway and the reception clerk blowing his nose. She slipped it from her pocket and held it to her ear whilst flicking to the next page.
"Nice flight?" The voice asks cheerily. Bella scoffs at the giggle.
"Yes sister, marvellous." There's a chuckle on the end of the line and Bella flicks to the next page, absorbing the words with such ease.
"Lord Aro wanted to know you had arrived." They enquired curiously. Bella can almost picture them perched on her bed, twirling her hair around her cold dead fingers as if it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Well I've arrived. Be sure to thank him for my… Accommodation." The redhead chuckles and Bella hears her shift position, laying now to look at the beamed ceiling.
"Yes yes. But now, give me the details sister, have you seen them yet?" Bella rolls her eyes and drops the paper to stand. Already bored, she'd rather see them for herself.
"Not yet. I'm planning the next stage. They're students, ridiculously enough, so I'll have to enrol. Get Felix on that immediately, would you."
"Oh that's brilliant, sister. You're going to go back to high school, wait did you ever attend?" Bella remains silent and starts shifting through her bags, finding the right outfit for Monday morning. Deciding on jeans and a black top. Very typical teenager, she thinks to herself.
"I'll call you in a few days. Make sure Felix deals with it." Was the only response Bella gave before hanging up and resigning herself to the bed, ignoring the lumps she shut her eyes and decided to rest until she would be going to see them.
Bella lay on the lumpy bed, staring up at the cracked ceiling of the motel room. The dim light from the single, flickering bulb barely illuminated the liminal space, casting long shadows that danced along the disgusting walls. The rain outside had settled into a steady rhythm, a constant drumming against the window that only deepened her sense of isolation. She was used to opulence, to surroundings that reflected her status and power, but not tonight.
Her crimson eyes, barely visible in the dark, shifted towards the window. She could see the forest just beyond, dense and alive with the sounds of the night. Her thoughts lingered on them, hidden out there, not knowing what was about to happen.
The Cullens.
It thought brought a smirk to her lips.
This was about to get fun.
Bella always did enjoy playing with her shiny new toys.
Thank you to those who reviewed!
These will be shorter chapters for now, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.
To answer one of your queries, yes Bella will still be feeding from humans. That isn't not going to change, ever.
Until next time.