Rose's Swan

Chapter 15

"I know what the Cold Ones are. What you are." Bella said.
         
"Say it. Out loud. Say it." Edward said a bit harshly.
         
All sounds suddenly dropout. We hear only her whisper...
         
" ... Vampire." She said.
         
They seem to hover in momentary stasis, him utterly exposed, her reality utterly rocked.
         
"Are you afraid?" He asked. Feeling the need to know.

"No." She answers honestly. Shocked by the automatic answer that leaves her lips.
    
"Then ask me the most basic question: what do we eat?" Edward asked angrily. Shocked by her admission.
     
"You won't hurt me. You're different." Bella said. (A/N:Honestly I don't know how she came to this conclusion in her two months at the school, half the time he seemed to be angry and ignoring her and the other times he was all up in her business but you know... Sure.)
       
"You think you know me?" Edward asked with a scoff.
         
He glares at her. She holds her ground. Suddenly, he takes her by the hand. Starts walking.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked.

" Up the mountain. Out of the cloud bank. You need to see what I really am. What I look like in the harsh light of the sun." Edward answers. (AN: Am I the only one who thought this was really freaking dramatic?)
         
"No! The sunlight will kill you." Bella said. Worried for the boy she has come to care for so quickly. Now slightly thinking he was a bit suicidal.
       
"Myth. You need to see the truth." Edward said. Bella sighed in relief. But wondered if it truly was a myth, than why didn't they come to school when the sun was out? And what was the deal with her sister hanging out with them on her second day at the school?
         
He pulls her but she stumbles.
    
"Slow down." Bella mumbled.
        
Suddenly, he's right next to her.
         
"Are you afraid?" Edward asked.
         
"No." Bella answers again.
         
Then come with me. Someplace where no one can protect you. Where I could do what I've wanted to do from the first moment I met you." Edward said.
         
Their proximity is intense, riveting both of them.

"I'm not afraid." Bella said on d again.
         
*You should be." Edward said honestly.
       
He abruptly and effortlessly scoops her up into his arms.
         
"Hold on." Edward said.
         
Then he flings her onto his back... and starts running.
    
As in the opening sequence, Edward races through the forest, dark trunks speeding past as he picks up speed, faster and faster.
Bella clings to his back as it seems he'll collide with the trees, but he avoids them with supernatural grace. It's frightening, nauseating, intoxicating.
 
"Are you afraid?" Edward yells over his shoulder still running.

"No!" Bella yells over the fast winds that they had created.
         
But she clings tighter. Terrified. They climb in altitude. Higher and higher, above the fog layer. Finally, up ahead the forest's edge fast approaches, a clearing is beyond. The sunlight glows white hot beyond the trees... they're about to emerge from the shadowy darkness... but suddenly Bella finds herself sitting on the ground, against a tree. All is silent. She's dizzy, trying to regain her equilibrium. Then she realizes she's alone.

"Edward? Where are you?" Bella inquired.
         
She rises, then steps just beyond the fringe of the ferns into a perfect circle of swaying grass, wildflowers and buttery sunlight. Hearing a stream nearby. Bella looks around and finally sees Edward, his shirt open, standing nearby in the shade of some trees. He watches her cautiously. She takes a step toward him, but he holds up a hand. She waits. Finally, he takes a deep breath, and steps out of the shade.
         
"This is why we don't show ourselves in sunlight." Edward said, as if telling her to be prepared for the seemingly horrifying sight that he will show her.
         
As the sun hits him... Edward's skin literally sparkles as if embedded with thousands of tiny diamonds. He is magnificent, shimmering, like a statue carved from glittering crystal. He moves toward her.
     
"This is what I am." Edward said. Seemingly afraid of her reaction but preparing for the worst already.
         
He nears, clearly expecting her to recoil, but...
        
"You're... beautiful..." Bella whispered shocked at the sight before her.
         
He realizes that she's in awe. She reaches to touch him, but he immediately backs into the shadows, his skin normal again.
         
"Beautiful? I'm a killer, Bella. This is the skin of a killer." Edward said appalled.
         
His arm juts into a shaft of light, sparkling again.
      
"I don't believe that." Bella said, shaking her head as if to rid herself of that thought. It wasn't true.
         
"Because you believe the lie. The camouflage. I'm the world's most dangerous predator. Everything about me invites you in - my voice, my face, even my smell. As if
I need any of that..." Edward said. Trying to explain his line of thinking. Why wasn't she getting it? Why wasn't she afraid of him?