Your Sister, The Beginning (#Wattys2015)

September 1921

We had moved several times by now and Edward still hadn't talked to me, but I was finding new ways to pass the time, like reading, walking the streets and talking to people. My gift had become so easy to handle that sometimes my eyes would change colours with my moods and so I was learning to control it again. We were in Ashland, Wisconsin, we have been here for almost a year and a half and Carlisle was taking me to work with him before we left.

“Good Morning Carlisle,” I sung enthusiastically.

“Good Morning Elizabeth, you seem excited?” he chuckled.

“Yes! I get to go help you, meet new people and I won’t be bored...”

“Calm down Elizabeth, right now remember you can’t show off. Act as if you are human” he reminded me.

“Yes!”

“Now did you hunt in the night?”

“Until I was full.”

“Good now remember the story, you’re my niece and your parents died when you were younger, you can’t remember how. Okay?”

“Yes 'Uncle'” He chuckled some more.

“Come on then wouldn’t want to be late on my last week now would I.” we climbed into the car and I checked to see if I had everything I might need if I do get bored. I had my sketch book and my pencils so I could draw if the blood became too hard to stand.

We made it to the hospital and Carlisle showed me to his office before we went to check on some of his patients. There was no blood injuries so I stayed with Carlisle all day until the evening when a severe case came in and was in need of surgery and I had to stay in Carlisle's office. Whilst waiting for Carlisle to return I got bored of drawing and decided to walk around the hospital. I found myself in an almost empty room, the only inhabitant was a young woman I her mid-twenties. Her heart beat was low almost inaudible, she was going to die and she had no one here to say goodbye to her. I made my way to her bedside and took her hand. I read her chart to find her name.

“Esme Evenson.”

“I know her,” I jumped at Carlisle's voice “I treated her almost a decade ago for a broken leg. What happened to her?”

I read her chart “She jumped off a cliff, suicide attempt.”

“No she used to be so happy and vivacious how did she come to such a tragic end?”

“I don’t know Carlisle but she's going to die any minute unless we change her.” I told him. I watched as he made his way towards her.

“I'm going to need you to go and sign me out Elizabeth, and then meet me at the car in 5 minutes,”

“Okay.” I patted Esme's hand before leaving the room and making my way toward the reception. There was an old women sitting there.

“Hello my Uncle, Doctor Cullen has suddenly taken sick and has requested me to sign him out so that we can return home.” the woman looked at me wearily.

“What's wrong with him?”

“It looks like flu.”

“Oh I do hope he gets well soon.”

“Thank you ma'am.” I gave her a dazzling smile and walked out of the hospital. I got to the car and climbed in the back and put the roof up quickly, I saw Carlisle carrying Esme and I opened the back door and he slid her in towards me.

“What did you tell them?”

“You had flu, have you done it?” he nodded and climbed into the driver’s seat. I looked down at Esme's neck and saw crescent marks bitten into her skin.

Carlisle drove home faster than he normally would have and we got home before Esme could start to scream. We placed her on Carlisle's 'bed' and Edward came in demanding answers which Carlisle happily gave while I sat there watching Esme who was still unconscious and remembering the burning I went through. I shivered and then I realised the Esme's eyes had opened.

“Carlisle she's awake!” I called and Carlisle came running.

“Esme do you remember me?” he asked her.

“Doctor Cullen I didn’t think I would see you again.”

“Well the odds were in our favour I guess. Now you’re going to be in a lot of pain for a while,”

“It will end though, I promise,” her head snapped towards me.

“Who are you?”

“I'm Elizabeth, you can trust me, but just remember it does no good to scream.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. She almost looked like she was sleeping until her face contorted in pain. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it in comfort.

I sat there for 3 days while Esme changed. She let a few screams go and I sung to her when she did and I drew most of the time while talking to her. I just didn’t want her to feel alone like I did when I burnt.

On the final day when I heard her heart rate speed up I turned to Carlisle who had also stayed a lot in the room.

“Edward!” Carlisle called. Edward was in the room in a second and I watched as with one last scream Esme was still. I had put my eyes back to their natural gold while I was drawing so that Esme would know our eyes didn’t stay red forever, at least on an animal diet. Carlisle and Edward stood in front of me because, as I learnt from Carlisle, newborns can be temperamental. Esme sat up and looked around.

“Doctor Cullen?”

“Please call me Carlisle,” Carlisle offered.

“Carlisle what's happened?” Carlisle went into his 'you are now a vampire' speech. I half listened while remembering the speech I got:

“I'm not human, I used to be but I was changed centuries ago into an immortal,”

“What's an 'immortal'”

“A vampire.” I sat there shocked.

“How does Edward and I come into this?” I whispered but he heard me just fine.

“He was close to death, your mother begged me to save him in anyway possible so I changed him too. And he found you close to death and...”

“I was changed too, that’s what the burning was,”

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Carlisle introducing us.

“This is Edward and his sister Elizabeth. I changed both of them three years ago,” me and Edward nodded and I smiled. Esme smiled back but she looked uncomfortable.

“Carlisle, she needs to hunt.” I told him and he nodded. He reached his hand out towards her and she took it and they jumped out of the window and into the woods. 

~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~

Comment, Vote