Comments:
1637: Thank you, thank you! Haha, yeah, he was a wee bit stressed though, so I let it slide for him.
Kuro Furasshu: Lol, if Lauren hadn't been the one to turn him, the Cullens would need a pretty good lawyer.
Authors note/Announcement:
Hiya gang! Hope you're having a great day so far - couple of quick announcements,
Firstly, I am really getting excited about Edythe's return to the series. I haven't gotten to write her as anything more than Beau's hallucinations, and I have been trying to figure out for the past... forever, how she was gonna react to Beau being what he is... and how he'll react to her.
And I only just figured it out. And I love it so much! It's coming up! Literally the next chapter, or the one after it!
And secondly, I'm going to be starting a new series pretty darn soon. I'll go more in-depth on what it actually is when I post the first chapter. But, essentially, it's going to be the first what-if series for My Angel.
What if Archie never saw Beau dying (either by going into the fire or just turning into a vampire)? After everything is said and done with the wolves, and with Victor, what would Beau do if Archie never came for him?
Well, he'd go and live his life the best he can, traveling the world and just trying to survive every day with his (and this is the title of the series)... Distractions.
"Okay man," Archie said as the car tore down the street and towards the airport. "You've been fine so far around humans… I hope… but we're about to go to a place flooded with them, and then we're gonna be trapped in a small metal tube full of them, thousands of feet in the air." He said fast, not taking his eyes off the road as he expertly veered around three cars, ignoring the honking that followed.
"Can you handle it?" He asked me sternly, finally looking over at me.
"Yes," I answered with a tone that left no room for argument.
"If you can't, then we'll have to deal with whatever situation you create… if that happens, we aren't gonna make it." He argued.
"Archie. I'll be fine - drive faster." I snapped, with that same hard voice. He did with a huff, pushing the speedometer's little meter up to a hundred and ten. "I haven't lost control before, and I won't now." Especially not when it could mean my angel dying. The idea was sickening, and it made me want to scream - but like I said, I wouldn't lose control, not my emotions, and not my blood lust. No incidents.
He didn't bother saying anything else after that, and I was glad, because neither one of us wanted to focus on anything other than getting to our flight. We only had 20 minutes before they started boarding.
So, picking up the pace even more, Archie pushed the car to its limit, getting us parked expertly, and running into the airport. I had to restrain myself from running outright. Archie had to actually grab me a couple of times to make sure I wouldn't blat past security.
It was torture trying to follow his lead as we ran to our gate, barely getting there with a minute to spare.
My foot was bouncing on the plane's floor, my hands clenching on my lap as we waited for the agonizingly slow flight attendants and pilots to get their jobs done. They were just chatting, barely doing what they were meant to, and keeping us stuck on the tarmac. I let out the most minute growl, barely getting to glare at them before Archie nudged me.
"It's faster than running," he reminded me in a low voice. I gave him one tense nod as I flexed my hands. I knew flying was faster - really, I did, but every single instinct in me was screaming to jump off the plane and sprint to Italy.
Even when the darn thing started lifting off, my impatience didn't stop. I still wanted to jump out and run. It wasn't rational, but it felt like I should be doing something, rather than just sitting here.
"Keep calm Beau," My angel whispered, standing in the aisle and leaning down to look at me, her arm wrapped around my shoulder. It only helped a little to hear her voice, but I forced myself to relax in my seat. Her fingers ran through my hair as she hummed my song… the lullaby she used to sing me to sleep too.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax.
Archie was on the phone before we'd even stopped climbing, turning his back to the stewardess who was eyeing him with disapproval. Something in my expression must have tipped her off that bothering us wouldn't be a good idea though, because she suddenly got pale and quickly walked away. Archie nudged me again.
I tried to tune him out because I didn't wanna go over everything we already knew. It would just stress me out more to hear it all again, but with my hearing, it was basically impossible. He was talking to Jessamine - giving her an update on what Edythe was doing.
"I don't know, she keeps changing her mind - making new plans to provoke them… A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square… mostly things that would expose them - she knows Sculpia will have to end her."
I let out a hiss. I could hear people around us tensing, a few even jumping in their seats. Archie hit me in the arm and glared. I gave him a tiny restrained look of apology but didn't say anything.
"What was that?" I could hear Jessamine ask from the other end of the phone.
"Nothing love," Archie said with a sigh, eyeing me with a tired look. I knew he still hadn't told the rest of the Cullens what I was. I found it hard to care right now what any of them thought, or how Archie was gonna break the news.
It wouldn't really matter if my angel didn't make it out of Voltura. I wouldn't be alive much longer after.
"Me, Royal, and Eleanor are heading out now. Our planes leaving in an hour, we'll talk some sense into her" Jessamine continued, deciding that whatever was happening on our end wasn't as important.
"No, you can't," Archie's voice dropped till it was nearly inaudible, a human would have struggled hearing anything sitting this close. "Tell Eleanor no…"
"They're already heading to the airport," Jessamine cut in.
"Well go grab them, and bring them back… think about it, Jess. If she sees any of us, what do you think she'll do?"
"She'll jump the gun," Jessamine muttered.
"Exactly. The only shot we have is if she sees Beau first - if we have a shot at all. I'll do everything I can, but just… prepare Carine; the odds aren't good."
"Are you prepared? You've got an exit in case things go wrong?" She asked softly, worry swimming in her voice.
"Yeah, I got a handle on it… don't worry, I'll find a way out; no matter what. I love you."
"Love you."
He hung up, and leaned back into his chair, mimicking me with his eyes closed. "I hate lying to her."
"What do you mean? Why couldn't they go and get her?" I asked with a whisper.
Archie sighed, rubbing his eyes. "It wouldn't work. She'll see them coming; we can't sneak up on her, and even if we could, it'd be almost impossible to get our hands on her long enough to convince her that you're not dead. If she saw us, she'd just toss a Buick through a wall, and the Volturi would end her."
Ignoring my restrained grunting hiss, he continued, "And secondly… the reason I couldn't tell Jess, was because if they're there and the Volturi kill Edythe, they'll try and save her - they'll fight. Beau." He opened his eyes, looking depressed and sorry at me. "If there was any chance we could win… if there was a way that the four of us could save my sister by fighting… then maybe we'd try. But we can't Beau, we'll lose… and I can't lose Jess like that man."
He was saying sorry. It was painfully obvious. But there was nothing to be sorry for because, in his place, I would have done the exact same thing. There wasn't a chance in hell that I would ever put my angel in such a dangerous scenario. I understood, and I didn't blame him.
I mean, Edythe put herself in this situation, and it was driving me up the wall. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I had to be the one to put her in danger in the first place. So, yeah, I really didn't blame Archie for wanting to keep his mate alive.
But it did make me wonder. How could she do this?
My angel running off to kill herself over something as insignificant as me?
Her sense of justice and goodness was extreme - as this was evident, but I never thought it would drive her to do something so insane. It was stupid, plainly, and absolutely moronic.
I guess I should have made her promise not to do anything dumb when she left me. She probably would've kept it better than I did.
It made me ache in a brand new way, and I honestly thought I'd run out of different types of pain to experience. That stupid amount of good in her ran so deep, that it was causing her to abandon all sense.
She shouldn't be doing this at all, but especially not for someone you didn't love.
Once we get her out of this, I'd have to talk to her about it and I'd tell Archie to keep a permanent eye on her, that way, my angel wouldn't ever have the chance to do something like this again. Because obviously, I wasn't gonna be around to do it.
If I don't end up dead by the end of this, I'd be going home. Alone.
And that thought made me hurt in an entirely different way. After this, I'd have to say goodbye to her again… I don't know how I'd be able to. After she sees me as a vampire, after she sees how horribly boring I am, that the person she was killing herself over was the exact thing she…
She'd leave, and I'd… I'm going to see that look in her eye again. The look that was completely devoid of affection, care, or love. It made it hard to breathe thinking about it, so I knew it would be torture beyond imagining seeing it in reality again.
I don't think I should stick around. That… that would be the only way I think I could come out of this alive. The only way I could come out of this sane. To a degree at least.
Once we left the city… or maybe when we got back to the airport? I don't know, I'll have to figure it out after we escape - if we can. I'll say goodbye to Archie, split off, and head home. Back to my little world without color.
I shook my head. I couldn't keep thinking about this - not right now.
"She could hear all of you though? Wouldn't she just know that I was alive once she heard your thoughts? That there wasn't any point to… whatever?" I said killing two birds with one stone, getting out of my head, and asking why they couldn't end this in moments.
Archie shook his head. "You can lie with your thoughts man. Edythe would know we'd be chanting, 'He's alive! He's alive!' in our heads as soon as she saw us."
I paused. Okay. That makes sense. "You said that we'd lose if it came to a fight - that they'd all die. I'm fighting if it comes to it," I said without question, watching as he winced. "But you? Are you in danger Archie, if it comes to that?"
He shook his head, and rubbed his eyes again, thinking hard as he always does. After a moment, he dropped his hand into his lap and looked at me.
"I promised Jess I'd get out, but it's not a guarantee. Sculpia believes in the law above all else, even beyond coven bonds, so if we help her, then we'll be accomplices, and we'll be executed right along with her. So yeah, we're all gonna die if we're not fast enough. Doesn't really matter if we fight or not." He looked more tired than I'd ever seen him after admitting that.
I shook my head with frustration. "Who are these guys anyway? The Volturi. What makes them so much more dangerous than us? Like I get that there royalty or whatever, but how come they're in charge?" It was such a foreign idea that anyone was scarier than the Cullens.
"It's kind of a long story," He sighed, turning to me, and leaning in closer, letting his voice dip into a whisper. "I was surprised you recognized the name… I'm guessing Edy told you about them?"
My angel's grip on me got tighter. "Yeah, but she didn't say a lot. Just that they were old and powerful - that you didn't mess with them unless you were looking to… die." I said, finding it hard to say that last word.
He nodded a bit. "Right, well, I guess the first thing is that our families a little weird man. Most covens aren't as big as ours, or like Tanvir's in the north. The majority of our kind aren't civilized like us; they drift from place to place. There nomads - and they go it alone the majority of the time, or at most, in pairs. Joss's coven was unusually big, and you saw how quick Lauren ditched them." I flinched hard at the mention of my creator. Archie gave me a tiny look of apology.
"Carine's is the biggest in existence I think, but there is one exception. The Volturi. There are three core members, all of which are ancient. They are thousands of years old. Originally, there were six of them, three pairs of bonded mates, Sculpia and Aro, Athendora, and Caius, and then Marcus, and his mate,'
"I have no clue how they are all able to stay together peacefully. It could be their age… could be their gifts. Carine's guess is that Sculpia was able to convince them to stay together. Stronger numbers and all that to keep power. Which, thinking about it, could be another reason there all roomies." He said, finishing with a laugh and running a hand through his hair.
"Sums up royalty pretty well, doesn't it?" He asked, looking over at me, but quickly shook his head. "Right, you weren't around when royalty was more of a thing."
I didn't really know how to respond to that, so I just shrugged. I didn't care anyway. I still haven't figured out why this coven was so ridiculously frightening. "But if there's only five of them, then - "
"Five that make up the family," he corrected. "That doesn't include the dozens of guard members they've got."
"And there what's so dangerous?"
"Oh yeah." He nodded. "There were nine of them that were permanent, the last we heard. Others come and go. It changes. But many of them are gifted, like me and Edy. And they've got gifts that make what I can do look like a parlor trick. They were chosen specifically for their gifts."
I opened my mouth and then closed it. I didn't want to know how bad the odds were then - it wouldn't matter. I'd face them if there wasn't even a chance to begin with.
"They don't usually go picking any fights or getting into trouble. They're kind of boring, but no one is dumb enough to mess with them. They stay in their city, and they only leave when duty calls."
"Duty?" I asked simply.
"Edy didn't tell you what they do?"
"No."
Archie leaned in a little closer, and lowered his voice, "There's a reason she called them royalty man… the ruling class. For the past millennia, they put themselves in charge, enforcing our kind's rules - which actually translates to just killing anyone who breaks them. They're pretty good at it too."
I looked at him with a little confusion. "There are rules?" I asked quietly.
I lightly scoffed, allowing myself only that as I shook my head. "It would've been nice to know the rules before all… this." I looked down at myself. It would have been really nice to know - to have someone explain everything. Especially now when I'm heading into what amounts to my people's government, after most likely, accidentally breaking all of our laws.
"Sorry," Archie said softly, "But, honestly, it's not that complicated Beau. There's just the one rule we all have to follow, and if you think about it, you can probably figure it out yourself."
It didn't take a single ounce of effort to guess. It's what I'd been doing the entire time, I'd turned. "No one can know about us, right? Keep our existence secret?"
"Got it in one man. Told you it wasn't that hard." Archie said with a tired smile, one that didn't reach his stressed eyes.
"It makes sense, and most of us don't need to be watched that closely. Most of us are smart enough not to piss them off. But after a couple of centuries, one of us gets bored. Or go insane. I don't know. And then the Volturi steps in before it can go wrong."
"And Edythe is…"
"Is planning on doing exactly that in their own city - the palace they've held for over three thousand years, since the time of the Etruscans. They are so protective of it, that they don't allow hunting within its walls. Volterra is probably the safest city in the world - from our kind anyways."
"How do they eat if they never leave then?"
"They don't leave. They just bring their food in from the outside, from really far away sometimes. It gives their guard something to do when they're not out decimating mavericks. Or protecting Volterra from exposure…"
"From things like this…. From Edythe." I finished for him, feeling my hackles rise at the idea once again…. However, I do notice that saying her name didn't hurt as much as it once did. I felt my angel squeeze my shoulder again, whispering a gentle "I love you," in my ear.
Which made me think again with this incredible mind of mine. Why was my hallucination not trying to stop me? Why wasn't she telling me to turn around? Run?
"Because you're going to go no matter what I say. I can feel it, Beau. You… Nothing can convince you otherwise. Not even me." She whispered sadly. Her despair is thick as she admits to another failure.
"I'm sorry I can't… I know I should… but I know it'll be futile." She finishes, kissing my temple with a shuddering breath.
I wanted nothing more than to hold her like I did in the woods. To comfort her. Saying her name may not hurt… but to see that pain on her face, to hear the utter despair in her words…
It was one more agony I'd have to endure. Because she was right. There was nothing I wouldn't do for my angel, no mountain I wouldn't climb, no distance too far.
I was a slave to my insanity. Completely and utterly insane. And I was fine with that.
I'd let that mentality take me for an eternity if it meant I could make it to Italy on time. Because it hurts to see my fantasy's agony… but it'd be so much worse if I had to see the lifeless corpse of the real thing.
"Hey," Archie said suddenly, snapping his fingers lightly in front of my eyes, taking me out of my thoughts. I tore my eyes away from my angel, and her encouraging, agonized smile, and looked at Archie.
"Yeah?" I asked softly.
He didn't say anything for half a minute. It looked as though he was trying to figure me out again, as he had back in the house, trying to understand how the hell he could've missed me dying for real.
It almost made me smile because he looked a little like Edythe did when she'd tried and figure out what had been going on in my head. And… that hurt to remember. Everything was a bittersweet thing to remember.
"You ok?" He asked.
"Yeah. Just… worried, I guess."
He nodded. "It's not over yet. We can make it."
"Not yet," I agreed, though I knew how poor he thought our chances were. "'Sides, not like I won't be following her anyways if we don't"
He instantly stiffened up, his eyes hard. "What?" He asked blankly.
I just shrugged.
"Knock it off Beau, or we're turning around in New York."
I snorted, grinning at him. "You're welcome to try and stop me."
He ignored the barb, "If we're too late for Edythe, then I'm going to do my absolute damndest to get you home, and I do not want any trouble from you. Got it?"
"Sure," I say, not really caring either way.
He gave me a hard glare. "I'm serious man - you're a part of the family. Think about what it would do to Carine and Earnest if they lost both of you. To me. Or Charlie."
I gave a sigh and a slight smile. I looked him in the eye, and I said after a moment. "Archie… you know what it was like for me… when she left. Do you really, honestly believe that I'd survive it if she died?"
I gave a bitter laugh, almost hysterical, even as quiet as it was. "I've survived losing heaven, I refuse to experience hell. So no. I'm sorry - seriously, I am, but as much as I'd love to hang out with you for an eternity… without her, it's meaningless."
He looked like he was gonna be sick. I felt only a smidge of sympathy. I couldn't really muster anything more right now with the amount of worry I had for Edythe.
"Beau… I'm not gonna walk you to your death." He said quietly.
"Then we better go fast," I said with a smile. "Either way I'm gonna get to see heaven today. If only for a little while."
He groaned, shaking his head. "What does that even mean?"
"You don't wanna know," I muttered, closing my eyes and leaning back into my angel's hold, trying to relax and think up a couple of different plans on how we were gonna get out if we managed to grab her. And a couple of ways I could get around Archie if we ended up failing.
"Beu, please don't do anything stupid," He begged, looking more anxious with each passing second.
"I won't. Scouts honor," I muttered.
He didn't believe me, which was obvious with the glare he was sending, but he closed his eyes, and let his head fall back against the seat after a second. He put a hand up to his head, pressing two fingers into his temple as his face lightly scrunched up to concentrate. "I'm gonna try and see what she's planning… hold off on any more cryptic messages that'll stress me out for a bit, okay?"
I just nodded, leaving him to his task.
I watched him with a measure of fascination… what I would give to have his ability. To be able to see every problem that could come at you. To see every single bit of pain you could experience and avoid it.
After a little while, he became motionless and would have looked like a statue to a human. I could barely see him move at all. I wanted to ask him for updates so badly, but I wasn't going to risk messing up whatever process he was going through.
Which was probably a blessing in itself. I didn't want to think about the many, many ways this could go wrong or the horrors that I might have to go through to get to Edythe.
Maybe if I was incredibly lucky, I would somehow be able to save her - maybe by pure dumb luck, I could reach her. But a part of… a part of me felt stupid for doing this. I knew I was fighting for no reward, or that's how literally everyone (bar Archie), would think of it. After this was over, I still couldn't be with her. I was boring… nothing.
Seeing her again, and losing her all over…
Holy crow did that hurt, just thinking about it.
My angel whimpered sitting on my lap and burying her head in my neck. I let her comfort me… I think I'd need her more now than ever once the real thing…
It at the very least was gonna leave me in that state I was when she first left. Except this time… this time I was a vampire being dumped. Meaning that I get to see every little detail, every excruciating nuance on her face of how much she didn't love me. And I would remember it for the rest of eternity.
I could feel myself tensing up at the thought… it would be the closest I would ever come to hell on earth. And yeah, I felt dumb… but more than anything, I felt like it was a fair price. I would pay anything to keep Edythe safe.
So, if it ended up where I'm the only one in hell, then that's fine by me.
Though it certainly felt like hell right now waiting for this infuriatingly slow plane to land… and we only just got into the air. They turned a movie or something on for everyone to watch on all the little screens implanted in the back of the scenes, but I couldn't tell if it was a horror movie or a love story.
Not while my angel was kissing my neck, whispering, begging me to be safe. I kept my eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of her touch, and trying not to let her sadness affect me too badly. I couldn't let it. Not when I had to focus on what was to come.
Finally, after an eternity, the plane started to land in New York. Archie was still stuck in whatever vision he was in, and again, I really didn't want to distract him more than I had to. So, I waited until the plane touched down, before gently putting a hand on his shoulder, giving him the tiniest shake.
"Archie," I whispered. "Time to go man."
His eyes flew open, but it seemed like he was still somewhere else, staring into nothing. After a second, he shook his head slowly, taking a deep breath.
"Anything new?" I asked with surprising calmness.
He tilted his head to the side in a kind of 'sorta' way. "She's getting closer. She's trying to figure out how to ask."
We had to run to our next connection, and once again - Archie had to keep reminding me to slow down. Which was good, gave me something to think about, other than my impending doom. I had to focus on being human until we got onto our flight.
Once we were on, Archie immediately went back into his trance, going back into the same statue-esque look. And once again, I had to be patient. I opened the window shade when it was dark again, and I let my eyes wander the beauty of the night sky. The endless stars, and flying comets that no one could see from below. It was almost enough to distract me from the fact that true beauty was waiting for me in Italy and was there waiting to end herself.
I decided that if the view wasn't good enough, then I should focus on something other than the terrifying possibilities that lay in our destination. Because it didn't matter how much Archie hoped otherwise, I had no intention of surviving this.
It didn't matter. Nothing would. The only things that would even come close would be the few people I leave behind.
Though I supposed that it would be fun to imagine what it would be like to actually go home after this. Like, what was I going to say to Charlie? That was a thorny enough problem to think of for the rest of the flight. But that coupled with everything else…. What would I say to Jules?
Could either one of them forgive me? Again? After I went and abandoned them again… chose my angel over them? If I did survive, would I just be going home to be alone? Truly alone? Maybe I didn't want to survive, no matter what happened.
It felt like seconds later when Archie shook my shoulder.
"Beau," he hissed quietly, his smile wide and excited.
"Good news?" I asked quickly, not letting myself give into hope to whatever it was that was making him happy.
"Oh yes," he said, nodding. "They're deliberating still, but they decided to tell her no."
"Thank god!" I whispered loudly, letting out a sigh of relief. Okay - I still wasn't letting myself hope, but at least we'd gotten past the first hurdle.
An attendant tiptoed over to us, "Can I get you boys a pillow?" Her hushed whisper a little nudge telling us to shut up.
"No thank you," I whispered before Archie could say anything, giving her what I thought was a tight smile. But it looked like she froze because she was just staring at me, her mouth open slightly. She shook her head after a second and walked away dazed.
Archie was grinning at me but quickly got back to the news.
"I can see exactly what they're gonna say. They're interested in her - they think her talent could be useful. They're gonna offer her a place in their guard."
"What's she gonna say?" I asked quickly.
"No idea, I can't see that far ahead yet, but I'm betting it'll be colorful." He laughed. "This is the first good news - the break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy her - 'wasteful,' that's the word Sulpicia will use - and that's probably gonna force her to get creative. The longer she spends on her plans, the better for us."
This was good. This was amazing. But there were still so many ways that we could be too late.
"I'm gonna keep watching. I'll let you know if something new happens." I nodded, and he crossed his leg over his knee, putting his hand back up to his head, and once again, closing his eyes.
Another two hours pass by. Two more torturous hours.
I crossed my arms, watching the stars again as they began to fade… the sun would be up soon. It was astounding to watch. The cascading light is just beginning to fly up to the eastern shore of stars. I'd have to close the shade soon, but before I could, Archie's hand was already there, closing it with a snap.
"What's going on?" I asked, looking back at him.
"They told her no," He said quietly. I noticed at once that his enthusiasm from before was gone.
It was hard to keep my voice steady. "What's he going to do?"
"It was chaotic at first. I was only getting flickers, she was changing plans so quickly."
"What kinda plans?" I pressed.
"There was a bad hour," he whispered. "She decided to go hunting."
I could feel my jaw clenching, and my hands tightening. He ran a hand through his hair."It got close. She changed her mind at the last minute."
"She wouldn't want to disappoint Carine," I mumbled, nodding. She wouldn't do that to her, not at the end.
"Probably," He agreed.
"Will there be enough time?" As I spoke, there was a shift in the cabin pressure. I could feel the plane angling downward.
"I'm hoping so - if she sticks to her latest decision, maybe."
"And what is that?"
"She's gonna keep it simple. She's just going to walk out into the sun."
Just walking out into the sun. That was all.
It would be enough. The image of my angel glowing in the meadow - shimmering like beauty incarnate was burned into my memory. Even after the change. No human was ever going to forget it if they saw it, and so the Volturi would never allow it. Not if they wanted to keep their secrets.
My eyes flickered over to the other passengers, and there open windows. The sun streaming in. "We're going to be too late," I said, desperately trying to keep the hiss out of my words. My angel quickly kissed my head, her hand running up and down my arm, trying to keep me calm.
He shook his head. "Right now, she's leaning towards the dramatic. She wants the biggest audience possible, so she'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. The walls are high there, so she's gonna wait till the sun is overhead."
"So we've got till noon?"
"If we're lucky. If she sticks with this choice."
The pilot came on over the intercom, announcing, first in French and then in English, our imminent landing. The seat belt sign lit up.
"How far is it from Florence to Volterra? Can we run?"
"That depends on how fast you drive, and no, not where we could avoid the sun and get there on time… Beau?" He said, looking at me seriously.
"Yeah?"
His look turned inquisitive. "How opposed are you to grand theft auto?"
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