Blood Moon [a Twilight Saga FanFiction]

Friendly Terror

WE HAD TO MOVE AROUND SOONER THAN I HAD HOPED, only because humans started asking why they never saw us during the day. Even the night students were seen walking around the college cities during the day for shopping. People started asking questions, even if Verity was out during the day, so we left.
     Looking for something different we made our way to Ireland, but couldn't stay there for more than a holiday as we met the local vampires of the country. Igor and Carlisle knew Siobhan and Liam from the other timeline and quickly became friends with the couple. Of course, they were curious about our eyes and our diet, but they were more interested in Verity.
     They had originally thought her human until they properly met her and realised she was just as strong and as quick as the rest of us.
     They became fascinated with her gifts as well as mine when they learnt of them.
     And when they asked of her birth, I ended the conversation rather abruptly by answering with, "it killed me, let us leave it at that". It made Verity laugh and hug me tightly.
     "Sorry, but..."
     "I know," I interrupted Verity. She had to get out when she did for my survival.
     After Ireland, we made a short visit over to Scotland, where we were rather abruptly met by, one would only describe him as a Viking.
      Carlisle, Verity, and I had been alone upon our first meeting. His thick, mangy, orange hair filled with mud and blood was near barbaric, his hollow eyes casting long shadows, and I could have sworn that was blood dripping out of his mouth.
     I had lived in the streets of London and faced death... but I had never been more terrified. Too afraid to move, too afraid to breathe.
     I took Carlisle's hand and moved Verity behind me with my other.
     "Svend!" Igor yelled behind me. The dark, shadowy eyes shot behind me. "Do you mind?"
     "Igor!" the Viking cheered and his whole appearance changed. The mud and blood in his beard, gone, his mangy dirty hair, still chaotic, but... fine. Red eyes, the same usual sunken-ness of the vampire. He looked like one of us.
      Then I knew who he was, knew him from Igor's past.
     Svend, had been a real Viking before a vampire got him. The only survivor of his tribe, family, he had long forgotten what to call it and he lost the ability to care. Svend was the first vampire Igor met once he separated himself from his friends, Marius and Rachelle. The vampires he escaped the army with. Svend had been his first friend completely and utterly unrelated to the Cavians.
     "I had known he'd be terrifying," Verity whispered and looked back over our shoulders as Svend embraced Igor in welcome. "But not like that."
     "It's his gift," I explained. "He can make even the move bravest soul, feel utter, paralysing fear."
     He turned and looked at me over his shoulder, Igor still smiling though now looking at me.
     "And 'ow do you know that?" he asked.
     "And the only one to ever see through the facade was Igor." I took another breath, now that he was upwind properly. "Still is the only one to see through the facade."
     "How-"
     "My apologies, Svend. My wife, Miss Elizabeth-"
     "You're wife! Ha ha! Igor, my boy! I knew you wouldn't be alone forever!"
     "You know as well as I that I am older than you, don't call me that." Svend laughed loudly at Igor's words, it was a belly-filled laugh, one of those laughs that made everyone around the laugher either smile or laugh themselves. It was near impossible to think that this man, at the flip of a switch, could paralyse us in fear. Hinder our fight or flight. "Svend, Miss Elizabeth has a gift of her own. She sees people's whole pasts with just a scent."
     "Well isn't that interesting. Tell me something about myself, lass. Sorry about the language, I've picked up a fair bit from the modern people," Svend said and grinned at me, holding his arms wide to his side. Near knocking Igor in the jaw while doing so. Igor just rolled his eyes and ducked under the arm.
     "You were married, before you changed," I stated, Svend's smile faded quickly. His arms slowly lowered. "She shared my name, Elizabeth. She wasn't born a Viking but became one for you. You watched them from the oceans, once you could control yourselves. Watched in pride, as your wife never once took them back to how she used to live, ensuring they lived the way you wanted them, too." His arms were flat at his sides. "You've never loved a woman since."
     "Aye," Svend sighed. "And I never will... You're good."
     "So I'm told."
     Svend cleared his throat and turned back to Igor.
     "So, Igor, what brings you to my part of the island?"
     "Travel, people at our old home were getting curious so we left," Igor explained.
     "You and your family?" Svend asked.
     "My bride, her brother, Carlisle," Igor introduced and Carlisle bowed respectively. "And... my daughter Verity."
     Verity waved.
     "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Svend," Carlisle said confidently.
     "Don't lie, I scared you to death. Sorry 'bout that. Sorry, Igor, did you say daughter?" Svend gasped.
     "I did," Igor smirked. Carlisle looked at me worried but I knew there was nothing to be worried about. Despite his gifts, Svend really was a good man.
     "Well, I'll be. I guessed if I'm honest, she's got your hair. Well... your colour," Svend was waving a hand to Verity. "But it's your brides quality."
     "Hey!"
     Verity, Carlisle and I laughed with Svend at that.
     "I've got great hair," Igor muttered.
     "Girls got your smile, too," Svend said, abruptly stopping our laughter.
     "Does she? I never noticed."
     "I did," I stated and looked at Verity, still smiling.
     "Well o' course you did!" Svend laughed again. "That doesn't count. Can I steal him for a wee bit?"
     "Just bring him back in once piece," I stated.
     "You have my word. Now, you two, help yourself to whatever, you..." he looked at Verity. "I don't know your diet but help yourself either way."
     Verity laughed and nodded.
     Igor ran up to kiss me quickly.
     "I'll be back," he whispered.
     "Have fun."
     Igor smirked than took off with Svend.
     I watched them until they disappeared, then turned back to my daughter and brother.
     "Well, that was interesting," Carlisle muttered. "Should we be worried?"
     "Absolutely not," I answered.
     "His gift is terrifying but he's really a soft teddy bear," Verity stated. "He's going to be a really good friend to us all in the future."
      "Is he now?" I asked.
     "Unless something changes."
     Of course. "The thing about Svend, Carlisle," I stated and leant back against a tree. "Is that he is very accepting of what is. He won't ask questions about our eyes, about Igor's change of diet. He won't even ask any more on Verity. Igor says she's his daughter and that's all he needs to hear. Igor could probably tell Svend he's lived until the 21st Century, died, and woke up in England 1658 and he'd believe it. He's a really good man... if you ignore the savagery of his killing."
     "He's a bit of a savage is he?" Carlisle asked.
     "He's careful, but he plays with his food. Mockery, teasing. And he's messy. The only vampire in all of Scotland thanks to his gift, and he likes it that way. He simply scares everybody else, off."
     "So what do you think he and Igor will get up to?" Carlisle asked.
     I smiled. "I think they're going to be children," I chuckled. "I think they're going to do silly competitions like who can hold their breath underwater the longest."
     "But you don't need to breathe," Verity stated.
     "I know," I laughed. "They'll run around, see who can run the fastest, see who can lift the heaviest boulder, who can break it to rubble quickest, who can throw a deer the furthest."
     "He's sounding like Emmett," Carlisle stated.
     "He is a bit," I agreed. "Let us not put the two together, shall we? They may just destroy the planet."
     "Sounds like a good idea."
     After a moment of standing, Verity sat down and it reminded me of another aspect of Svend.
     "Svend has recently... vacated, a cottage in the woods. It's clean, he's got a habit of staying at the places of people who he's killed in case people come around looking," I stated.
     "He doesn't kill the humans who come looking, does he?" Carlisle gasped.
     "No one's ever come looking, so he's never had to," I stated. "He doesn't think he will though if someone ever does. He's been rehearsing, thinking that he'll tell them that he's a homeless merchant traveller, and they let him stay in their home while they left to gather food, or hunt, or fish... and they never came back. He rehearses it but he tells himself that he'll probably just leave when he hears anyone approaches the house. Shall we?"
     "Go to a home of the recently departed?" Verity gasped.
     "It won't be for long, just to get out of the rain," I looked up as the clouds clapped.
     "I'm not going to like this."
     "I know, neither will I."
     "Than why?"
     "Because it's better than being outside in the rain."
     I lead them to the cottage. For the most part, it was a nice cottage, purely wooden, very clearly made out of the trees that had been cut down to make room for it. It was quaint, very cute with floral arrangements growing with the house.
     Like a fairy tale.
     Carlisle walked up to their bookshelf as I hunted down parchment and pencils.
     "They must have been planning on travelling to England," Carlisle stated and pulled a book from the shelf. "They've got travel guides and translator help from Celtic. They were Celts?" Carlisle asked.
     "Must have been," I stated.
     "That's rare for this era."
     "Doesn't matter anymore, does it? They're dead," Verity muttered.
     I looked up to my daughter, still standing in the doorway.
     I held my arm out to her and she quickly came over, snuggling herself under my arm. I kissed her head and went back to my art.
     "You've got a beautiful heart, Verity," I muttered.
     She sighed as I drew. I felt eyes on me after a moment and looked up into Carlisle's eyes. His eyes looked conflicted, but I knew Carlisle... well, I hoped I did.
     "Still thinking you'll be strong enough to resist how much Esme will want this?"
     He very quickly turned back to the books.
     Verity chuckled as I returned to the art.
     "I am not like Edward, nor am I like Igor," Carlisle muttered after a while. "What if I am not quick enough? Or strong enough-"
     "Carlisle," I sighed. "You bite, we get the baby out, easy. We're a family."
     "I..." He shook his head, took a book and walked outside.
     "He'll like it, Mum," Verity whispered as she looked at what I was drawing. "He really will."
     By the time I finished the work, it was sunrise and Svend and Igor returned, laughing. Svend's eyes were a shade brighter.
     "Thought we'd find you here," Svend cheered, a huge grin spreading on his face. He turned, with the same expression, to Carlisle. "Carlisle, Igor was about to show me how true men hunt, care to join us?"
     "True men?" I asked.
     "Oh, I'd like to see the difference. Can we come?" Verity asked.
     "I said men, ladies," Svend grinned at her.
     "Oh please, Mum and I could hunt circles more than you."
     "Is that a challenge?"
     "I don't know. Is it?"
     "Before you both break something, Svend. I made you something," I interrupted and held out the art.
     "I told you she was a bit of a magician with more than just her talent," Igor chuckled as Svend took the parchment.
     Immediately Svend changed once more. His eyes went big, his shoulders slouched.
     "Lass... this is... This..." he near whimpered.
     "I know," I muttered. "I thought you deserved to keep her last look of happiness."
     I had drawn his bride and their children, children playing in the sand as they had after he had said goodbye to them. His wife, happy, and sad both at once as he had been going off to fight a nearby village who was threatening the peace of their home. He had given her a handmade necklace as I departing gift and she had cried tears of joy.
     Svend never came home, at least to their knowledge. And his bride never had happiness in her eyes ever again.
     "Your a very talented woman," Svend sobbed. "Is this truly fer me?"
     "It is."
     He then started speaking in what I could only guess was his native tongue, because I couldn't understand a word of it. Not really, but his face and body language told me that he was nothing but grateful.
     Then he hugged me, tightly.
     "Thank you," he sobbed into my shoulder. "Thank you. I'll keep hold of this. I will look after it."
     He looked at it one last time, sniffed, and folded the parchment up the softest and most delicate way I had ever witnessed anyone folding paper, and put it in his pocket.
     "Now, about this hunt?" Svend said, trying to smile.