A/N
I'm sorry I haven't posted in ages. I've been very wrapped up in my new Twilight fanfiction, 'Saviour'. Needless to say, I couldn't leave this story for long, so here's the next chapter. I've just recapped the last paragraph to remind you of what just happened. Though I doubt one forgets the Volturi in a hurry. *smirks* I hope you haven't given up on me yet!
Lucy xX
***
"They're coming for us," Alice whispered, her face terrified. Everyone froze, and I felt Edward draw me even tighter against him. I looked up and saw the fear in his eyes, fear for me. I had a feeling my face reflected his perfectly. Everyone else's did. The glass was forgotten, laying perfectly still on the floor as the six vampires looked at each other, and thought about everything they could lose.
Those were the words that would change my life.
***
It felt like an hour later that a snarl from outside ripped through the air, spinning us out of our thoughts immediately. Fear spread through my body as I wondered what Katrina and the wolves had to do with the Volturi, but I was more worried about what was making that sound from outside. I looked up at Edward. Before I could focus to ask my question silently, Jacob burst through the door.
"What the fuck is going on?" he growled.
Everyone but Edward looked at Alice. She'd had the vision, and we had no idea what it was that had her so upset. Well, we knew that the Volturi were coming, but we didn't know why, not yet. Jacob raised his eyebrows at her, face tight, but it was Edward that answered.
"The Volturi are coming. For us," was his concise, unhelpful answer.
"Look bloodsucker," I flinched at the word Jacob used, "I'm not in the mood for your games. Give me a straight answer or I won't help."
There was silence. Edward looked to Alice, and nodded once, imploring her to speak. Unfortunately, she seemed to have gone into shock, and was unable to speak. I hadn't known if vampires could go into shock, but the way Alice stood, unmoving but trembling in Jasper's arms gave me answer enough. It was, as was the case with so many things, the vampire equivalent.
Alice rose her frightened eyes to meet Jacob's furious, determined ones. She answered in a riddle.
"We aren't allowed to share our secret. But Katrina..." she across to me, "She knows. Nobody told her, but she's worked it out."
A gasp rang through the room. I was about to ask questions, but Alice held up her hand, signalling for silence. Carlisle was muttering almost silently on the phone, but his gaze was fixated on Alice as she spoke. I merely heard the name 'Eleazer'.
"And with the wolves as well... It's the perfect opportunity," she said.
It seemed like she'd finished, but it left us none the wiser. I nearly growled in frustration, but I refrained, knowing that she was shaken by what she'd seen. Perhaps Edward or Carlisle could shed some light on the subject... Or maybe even Eleazer. Why else would Carlisle call him now? It hardly seemed the appropriate time for a friendly chat.
My suspicions were confirmed when Carlisle put the phone down on the table, hitting 'speaker' for Jacob's benefit. We'd have all heard it perfectly without the speaker.
"You've just extended your coven further. The Volturi obviously see you as a threat to their power, with so many gifted vampires amongst you. The Volturi collect powerful vampires. With Bella, Edward, Alice and Jasper, they'll be drooling at the chance to snatch your coven up for their own gain. They knew they could beat you in a fight, with the entire guard at their disposal, but they needed the right moment to challenge you. If this human has figured out what you are, then that creates the perfect opportunity. And then there's the treaty with the werewolves-" came the voice of Eleazer, but he was cut off by Jasper.
"Shape-shifters."
Jacob shot him an incredulous glance, but Edward shook his head, and mouthed something that I didn't catch. I'd ask him later, I decided.
"They obviously don't know that," Eleazer continued calmly, "From my years working wight he Volturi, I know that they'll end up pardoning some or all of your gifted family. Aro will claim that your thoughts are repentant for your actions. The rest of you will be slaughtered."
Esme let out a sob, and I glared at the phone. How could he say something like that? Even if it were true, surely we should hope, at least? There was no point in giving up before it had begun. And we did have a chance, didn't we? We hadn't actually committed a crime, and Carlisle had so many people in his debt, from the stories I'd heard both as a vampire and as a human, that surely we could gather enough people to defeat the Volturi?
"There is hope friends," Eleazer said quietly, "The Romanians. They ruled before the Volturi, but they didn't notice that their legacy was failing until it was too late. They've been itching to regain power for centuries. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you."
"As are we," came the unmistakable voice of Kate. I smiled slightly, just from hearing her upbeat, hopeful voice. People like Kate gave us hope. Well, she certainly gave me hope. We'd get through this.
"That we are," Eleazer agreed, his voice level with suppressed emotion, "We'll be down there soon."
With those last words, the line went dead.
I looked up at Edward, who had a thoughtful, determined look on his face. He didn't seem to notice me watching him, so I turned my attention to Jacob, who'd be silent throughout Eleazer's explanation. Unusual for him. More often than not, it was impossible to shut him up. It was infuriating. Both he and Edward wore a similar expression, and it was exceedingly unnerving.
A few seconds later, Edward looked at Jacob, wearing the face of someone who'd just worked out a ridiculously difficult calculus question. Edward paused for a moment, presumably leafing through Jacob's mind, and then turned to Carlisle. He looked mildly disgusted.
"Carlisle, the Volturi aren't stupid. I'm pretty sure they know that the Quileutes aren't really werewolves. If they really believed they were our natural enemies, they'd have used it as an excuse as soon as we re-located in Forks," Edward said.
"What are you getting at Edward?" Carlisle asked, a frown marring his features.
"There must be another werewolf. A real werewolf here," Jacob said in a grim voice.
"The question is," Edward continued, "Who?"
***
Over the next few days, everyone was on edge. We didn't go to school, pretending the family had a virus, but instead sat around and discussed everything. Friday was creeping up on us fast, and I had yet to receive a straight answer as to what I should tell Katrina when she asked me about what we really were.
Alice had said that there was no point trying to deny it, as she had already figured it out. Esme had said to be gentle about it, and not to scare her. That comment had taken me back to when I'd first realised what the Cullens were, and how angry Edward had seemed. Jasper had said that her emotions would be in turmoil, and Carlisle had said that I should avoiding telling her too much too quickly. Rose had been no help whatsoever, and Edward had more or less repeated what everyone else had said.
It was driving me crazy.
All I wanted was a helpful answer. I had no idea what to do, or how much I could tell her.
As Eleazer ran over the members of the Volturi guard yet again, explaining each vampire's gift and weakness, I snapped. After asking Alice for a little more help one last time, I lost it. How could I not? I needed to know, and I needed to know soon. The Volturi guard could wait.
"Please will someone give me a straight answer?" I asked in exasperation. All heads turned to me.
"What do you mean Bella?" Carmen asked softly.
"Seven o'clock I'm meeting Katrina, and I've yet to be told what I should and shouldn't say. What does she know? What's she guessing at?"
Realisation dawned on their faces, and I sighed. I felt slightly bad about interrupting Eleazer, but really? Could you blame me? Edward rubbed gentle circles into the back of my hand, sensing my tension. I relaxed considerably, and squeezed his hand in silent thanks. Alice looked at me and opened her mouth to speak, then paused, before beginning.
"She doesn't know much. She knows what we are, and she's worked out that there's something strange about our gifted family members. She knows that we're much older than we say we are."
Edward continued.
"She's guessing about our mates, but she's spot on. She hasn't yet thought about our diet, and that's something you should tell her about. She's worked out that we don't go camping when it's sunny, but she doesn't know why. Again, you should explain."
"Now heat she's worked out who we are, the more she knows, the safer she is," Eleazer said firmly.
"Thank you," I said, leaning back against Edward again. Now that I knew more about what the hell I had to do, I was far more relaxed. Jasper seemed to notice this too, as he shot me a small smile.
Tonight would be interesting.
***
I walked into the Italian restaurant we'd agreed on meeting at, at seven o'clock precisely. As a vampire, I was nothing of not punctual. I told the waiter I was meeting my friend, and that we'd reserved a table under the name of Swan. He lead me to a table, and I saw Katrina sitting there, fiddling nervously with her fingers.
As I approached the table, she looked up, and panic flitted across her face for a moment, before she composed herself. The waiter asked me if we wanted anything to drink. I shook my head, and Katrina ordered a coke. As he handed it to her, I wrinkled my nose slightly. The smell was truest revolting.
"Katrina," I said softly, "What did you want to talk about?"
Sure, I knew exactly what she wanted to discuss, but for the moment I needed to keep up pretences. I made a mental note to thank Carlisle, who had booked the table. We were in a slightly secluded corner of the restaurant, and we could talk without being overheard.
"I know what you are," she said quietly, her eyes surprisingly calm. I just nodded.
"What are we?"
"Vampires," she said, her voice cracking slightly.
"How much do you know about us?" I asked.
"You're old, you try to act human, you're," she hesitated, as though looking for the right word, "Mated."
Edward was right. She had her facts spot on.
"That's all right so far," I smiled, trying not to seem like a big, bad, frightening vampire.
"You don't actually go camping when it's sunny."
"No. It would attract too much notice if we went out in the sun in public," I said softly.
"What happens? You don't actually burn do you?" she asked, her tone skeptical.
"Oh no. We sparkle," I said with a grin. Katrina snorted and raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously? Sparkly vampires? Do you sleep in coffins?"
"We don't sleep."
"Never?"
"Never," I confirmed.
"Ok," she said slowly, "What else?" Suddenly, she paled, and choked slightly. I reached out a cold white hand to her and laid my hand over hers. I had a feeling she'd just thought about our diet, and it had occurred to her that she was friends with people that could drink the blood of humans.
"Calm down, please. Are you thinking about our feeding habits?" I asked.
"Yes," she whispered, watching me warily with large, frightened eyes.
"We don't drink human blood." She relaxed considerably. "We stick to animal blood, but we vary our feeding areas. There are vampires that drink human blood though. We call ourselves vegetarian vampires," I said with a rueful smile, "It's easy to tell. Vegetarians have golden eyes, and human drinkers have red or black eyes. They become dark with age. All vampires have red eyes when they're first bitten, but they become black or gold depending on their feeding preferences."
Katrina absorbed the information in silence for a while. I watched her carefully, making sure she wasn't going to faint or scream or go into shock. I really couldn't deal with that.
"What else happens when you're first bitten?" she asked, surprising me. I wouldn't have guessed that would be her next question, but I wasn't about to refuse to answer.
"You go through a burning sensation for about three days, when the venom takes over your body. When you wake up, you're incredibly strong, because of the blood still in your body. You're subject to mood swings. It's also harder to control yourselves around humans when you're a newborn. That's the term we use for new vampires," I added.
"So your body, what? Freezes?"
"Exactly."
"So you don't get sick? You can't have children?"
I shook my head.
"Are humans supposed to know about you?"
Smart girl.
"No," I said, "The Volturi, which are like the vampire royalty, eliminate anyone and anything that threatens our secret existence. You only pick a fight with the Volturi if you want to die."
"So they're going to kill you?" she asked, horrified.
"We're the Cullen's. We'd sooner destroy them. But yes, they are after us. There were several contributing factors though," I said, before explaining in as little detail as possible what Alice had explained to me not long before.
"So there's a werewolf out there? What d'you mean by a 'real' werewolf?" she asked, her brow creasing.
Katrina was far too observant, I thought, as I explained about the shape-shifters in La Push.
"Hold up. Jacob? Black?"
With a sigh, I nodded. Katrina was silent again for a moment, and asked me to explain something else. I decided to talk about the gifts of our family. She seemed a little shocked when I told her that Edward could read minds.
"How old are you?"
"I was born in 1987. I'm the youngest of our family. Edward was born in 1901, and it notices," I said, referring to his Victorian tendencies, "Esme was born in 1895, Rosalie and Emmett in 1915, Alice in 1891, and Jasper in 1844. Carlisle," I paused, "Was born sometime around 1640. They didn't keep such good track of time back then."
"So Carlisle-" she asked, paling considerably.
"Is about six hundred years old. Yes," I said, smiling. I had to admit, I felt very old when I remembered that we were well into the twenty-third century now. Then again, I was old.
"So what happened? How did you all become vampires?" she asked, seeming to be hungry for information. I smiled at her, but shook my head slightly. I told her that it wasn't my place to tell my family's tales.
"Why don't you come back to the house for an hour or two? You must be lonely at home with your mom in the hospital," I suggested.
"Really? That'd be great."
As we were walking out of the restaurant, heading to the house, I realised what Jacob had meant that day when he climbed into my bedroom. I understood how both he and Edward must have felt when I found out about them. Though for Jacob, it was over two hundred years on that we met again, both knowing the other's secret.
It's so much easier when they know.
***
Katrina dropped her car off at her house, and then walked over to me, frowning again.
"How are we getting to your house?" she asked, noticing the distinct lack of anything like a car.
"Would you like to experience how we move?" I asked. Katrina nodded shyly, and I motioned for her to get onto my back. She complied, and I took off, keeping to the forest. It wouldn't do if some human saw me running faster than your average car.
About two minutes later, we reached the Cullen house. Katrina gasped when she saw it, and I reached out to steady her.
"I should warn you, we have some of our 'cousins' over. They're vegetarian too. I'll introduce you," I whispered.
"Ok," she nodded, looking nervous.
"It's ok. I'm here. Oh, and there are some things in there that should belong in a museum. When you're as old as us, you tend to collect old things," I said in warning.
"Like Edward's Volvo?" she giggled.
"Hey, don't insult that. His car is his baby."
Still laughing, we walked into the Cullen house. I was sure Edward and Alice had told them we were coming, so I hadn't bothered phoning them up. It'd just be a waste of time. The moment I was over the threshold, I was swept into a hug by Edward. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he kissed the top of my head. Not wanting to alarm Katrina, I pulled away from him.
I saw both the Cullen's and the Denali's gathered in Esme's spacious living room, so I pulled Katrina in gently, and introduced everyone. I was mildly concerned about how Rose would react to the second human brought into her home, but she seemed pleasant enough. Jasper, by now, had his blood thirst well under control, but he held his breath as he kissed her hand gallantly.
"Welcome to our home Katrina," Esme said, smiling as she released her from the motherly embrace.
"I'll have to take you shopping," Alice said with her pixie grin. Katrina shot me a plea for help, and I calmed Alice down with a warning look and some help form Jasper.
"What brings you here?" Eleazer asked.
"Eleazer!" Carmen scolded, "Behave!"
"Katrina wanted to know about our stories. I thought you'd rather tell them yourselves," I said, saving her from Eleazer's awkward questioning.
"Very thoughtful Bella," Carlisle said, "Who wants to start?"
"Why don't you start?" Esme suggested, "As you're the oldest?" she nudged him playfully. Carlisle smiled at his wife, and began his story.
Carlisle told Katrina is story, of how he was hunting vampires, and was attacked by some in a sewer. He then told her of how he didn't want to be a monster, so tried to kill himself. When that didn't work, he decided to live with what he was, and dedicated his life to helping people.
Edward took over at that moment, and explained how Carlisle had found him and his family dying if the Spanish influenza in 1918, and how his mother's dying wish had been for Carlisle to save her son. He went on to briefly describe the frenzy that vampires go into when they taste human blood.
"Not many people have the restraint to do what Carlisle did," he said, directing a smile at his father-figure.
Esme took up the story next, and explained how she'd attempted suicide after she lost her son to lung fever. That was unsuccessful, and Carlisle had recognised her as the girl he'd treated ten years previously. He'd changed her while she was on her death bed.
It was Rose that continued the story. She told Katrina how she'd fallen in love with the idea of love as a young woman, and met Royce. She explained how coming home from a friend's house, Royce had been drunk, and raped her. She'd been left on the streets, wishing for death when Carlisle had found her.
"He wanted a mate for Edward," she added bitterly.
"Rosalie!" Esme scolded her, "You know that's not true!"
Rose shrugged.
"One by one I got my revenge on the group that stole my human life from me. I'd do anything to have a chance at humanity again, to be a mother," she said sadly. Katrina watched Rose sympathetically, and I could tell she wanted to offer words of comfort, but was too scared too.
"Then she found me," Emmett said, before explaining how he'd been mauled by a bear. Rose had taken him back to Carlisle and demanded he bite Emmett, after feeling the call of a mate.
"I was slightly reluctant at first," Carlisle said, "When I saw how much Rosalie disliked this life, I made a vow never to bite another human. I bit Emmett only because he was Rosalie's mate."
Emmett wrapped his large arm around Rose and grinned. For what reason I had no idea. He really was an over-grown child.
Alice continued the Cullen story by explaining that she remembered nothing of her life as a human, and that by research she found out that James had been tracking her, and that a vampire in the asylum she was in gave his life to save her by biting her.
"I'm sure when you hear Bella's story you'll understand more about James," she said a little sadly.
Jasper continued the story, and told his own story about how Maria changed him, and they led the newborn army in the South. He told Katrina about how he'd had to 'dispose' of the newborns, once they became too old to be of any use. Katrina seemed to understand that the newborns had been created for their strength, as I'd explained that earlier.
"And then I found this one," he said, smiling down at Alice.
"Took you long enough," Alice joked.
"My apologies ma'am," he said, kissing her once.
I realised that it was I who needed to speak next. Edward put his arm around my shoulders and tucked me into his side.
"I moved to Forks when my mother remarried, and I went to live with my father," I began, "I first met Edward in my biology class. I noticed something was strange about him. After a while, with some help from some old stories told by Jacob, I worked out what he and his family were. I confronted him about it, and he admitted it. Towards the end of my junior year in high school, when I was watching the Cullen's play baseball, a small coven met us. James, who was the one tracking Alice, was the leader, and he decided that he wanted to kill me. It was like an irresistible game for him. Laurent gave us a few warning about James, and we split up in an effort to keep me out of harms way. As it so often does, the plan back-fired. James ended up coaxing me to a ballet studio using a recording of my mom's voice, making me think he held her captive. After injuring me," Edward tensed next to me, "Edward saved my life and killed James. His mate, Victoria, escaped, and wanted to make Edward pay for killing her mate, by killing his mate.
"Edward took me to prom, and I decided that I wanted to spend forever with him. He wasnt too fond of that idea, but id get what i wanted eventually. Even if things had gone to plan. Moving on a few months to my eighteenth birthday. I was celebrating with the Cullen's, when I cut my finger on the wrapping paper. Jasper lost control a bit, and I cut my arm on some glass when Edward pushed me behind him to protect me. Edward decided it wasn't safe for him to stay with me, so the Cullen's left a few days later. That was the last I saw of them for over two centuries.
"Jacob was the one that brought me out of the depression I'd fallen in to. I also found that if I did something dangerous, I saw heard Edward's voice in my head. I was hoping that if I found the meadow that was exclusive to us - I may show you one day - I might have another 'vision' of Edward. I stumbled across it one day on my own, and Laurent was there. He turned up with Victoria, and she bit me. She'd tried to kill me, but the wolves in La Push threw her off. Laurent died, but Victoria escaped again. I became a vampire.
"Fast forward a couple of centuries, Jasper saved me from Victoria when she attempted to kill me. After meeting up with him and Alice, we went back to the Cullen's residence. We got something suggesting Edward was dead, so needless to say, I went to look for him. After clearing up why he left, we came back here."
Katrina looked mildly surprised at everything I'd said. She seemed to be calculating something in her mind. Her brown furrowed, and she thought hard again. Edward's chest vibrated with silent laughter next to me, and I looked up at him questioningly. He just shook his head.
"Are you the daughter of Charlie Swan?" she asked slowly.
"Yes," I replied with a confused frown, "Why? How did you know?"
"He's something of a legend," she said with a smile.
"How so?"
***
A/N
Ok! So there several things that will be cleared up in the next few chapters. That little explanation from Bella may have reminded you about the death certificate that was sent? Well we'll be finding out who sent it soon. Also, we'll find out about Jessica's sudden interest in Edward, and why she stopped in her quest pretty quickly. And, of course, we'll find out why Charlie became something of a legend.
Lucy xX