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In all these years of running for my life, I've never felt so useless as at the moment. They got me pretty bad looking at how destroyed my body looked in the back of my grandma’s car, she looks hurt and in a very bad shape for an old woman, and I can't do anything to heal her. She is driving crazily, I can't focus on the outside of the car, but all the windows look green, it must be trees.
Grandma laughs like she can't believe that this is happening, and as suddenly the laughs start she says “Of course you are here.” as she looks directly at me in the passenger seat.
If I was inside my body it’s certain that my heart would be beating so loud that I wouldn't be able to hear her voice saying "Do not worry, you will be fine, I had to put a spell for you to hibernate, or the gems would have destroyed your soul, and we can't risk that.” she breathes with difficulty but keeps going “I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't have time right now, all you need to know at the moment is that you are safe, there are people here to help you, and you must keep the gems save, it doesn't matter what you have to do, but no one can take them from you.” She looks at me, and for a moment I think that we are on the way to training with my cousins, but this memory is interrupted when she says, “I need you to nod your head if you understand me.” As a good granddaughter, I do as she says, without knowing what it will cost me.
The car stops, I leave my eyes off the woman who raised me after my mom's death and look at the front window of the car, a white house is in front of me, but the energies of the people inside are wrong, and I realize what are they, I know about vampires, they usually don’t care about anything outside their race and I know that messing up with vampires is a stupid idea. Apparently, the mind-reading abilities of grandma still works when you are in an incorporeal form, because she says “I know, but it’s our only hope at the moment, and the head of the clan owes me a favor. You can trust them.” I rely on this old woman with all my being and power, but I still want to shake her head and scream a huge what the fuck as the front door opens, and a blond guy stops at the door, I would say he looks confused, however his face is as cold as I imagine his skin is.
The door of the driving side of the car is open and at this moment I am sure that this woman lost her mind. I follow her of course, my body still in the back seat of the car, and not quite understanding what I am at the moment, I stand behind her. Saying that she was in bad shape was a mistake, I don't even know how she kept herself awake, she has so many blood stains that I'm not sure if it’s all her blood.
The vampire on the porch keeps his distance, and my grandma doesn't get too close either, yet she says, “I need that favor back, Carlisle.”
There is movement inside the house after my Grandma’s words, I can feel their cold souls ready to fight at any signal of problem, the guy on the porch, Carlisle, I believe, does what I least expect from a vampire. He smiles, affectionately even, and this action makes me wonder if I am the crazy one, because this moment makes everything I learned about them wrong.
As he smiles unnaturally beautifully in our direction, he says, “Of course, took you long enough, Vivian.”
My grandmother looked into his eyes and said with warm eyes, “I was waiting for the right moment, my friend, however, I believe I’ve waited too long.”
“The girl in the car will need medical help, I assume.” He affirms, going down the steps of the porch.
“Yes, my granddaughter, she was hurt in a fight.”
“And you?” asked the guy now in front of us, I know he can’t see me, yet I step back a couple of inches from the vampire.
“I’m not staying” The woman who taught everything I know said, I tried to say something for the first time, no sound got out of my mouth. “She’ll need your guidance, when the time comes, she will understand what needs to be done” She finished, leaving the impression that what she said was more for me than for the vampire in front of us.
“I see, before you go I should look at your wounds” said Carlisle.
Without saying much more, the back door is open and Carlisle takes my numb body out of the car, lacking any sign of trouble by the blood that covers me or grandma, who at the moment just observes my body with her black and wise eyes. She stopped very close to Carlisle holding me in his arms, and gave me what must have looked like a kiss on the forehead, however, she whispered very lightly on my skin, and I felt a push and the pain started.
I couldn’t see anything or hear, I only knew the familiar pain in my back.
I am a holder, I wasn't supposed to be one, but these are weird times, and it runs in the family, my dad’s family. Furthermore, I was the obvious choice in an emergency, the head of my coven assured everyone that I was a natural, and after holding three gems and being able to not explode everything around me, I believed him too. However, deep down, I know that I’m not doing anything, there is something else holding me back.
Now, the fourth gem is adapting to my body and the other gems, it burns deep in my bone, with every new gem it gets harder, painful, and uncontrollable. I don’t know if I’m stronger enough to keep in control for much more.
I woke up because of the smell. It's clean, almost like in a hospital, the last time I’ve been in one was when my mother died, she wasn’t a witch but even if she was, it isn’t much you can do for someone with terminal cancer, human or not. So, I believe saying that I woke up scared as a deer in front of a running car would be a misunderstanding.
As I sit in the bed, it’s noticeable that this isn't a hospital. It’s a room with wood walls that had been clearly adapted to fit medical equipment, none of them was connected to me. The door opened slowly, as if not to scare me, and the man that my grandmother called Carlisle enters the room with a nice smile on his face, he walks towards me and stops a good six feet away, and says with warm and calm eyes.
“Hello, I’m Carlisle,” he said very slowly, as if he wasn't sure how to approach me. “I believe that your grandma spoke about me and my family” he affirmed with a big amount of question in his voice, he was a strange vampire, yellowish eyes, almost human if you look without paining attention.
“She didn’t give too much detail about you.” I said with a very rough voice like I've been screaming for days, my back felt like it was numb, that's what happens after the pain, the gems align with each other and protect me from the rest of it, which means that my body adjusted with the fourth gem, but not my mind, I can already feel the power of this gem pushing through my barriers.
“Well, I believe I should tell you about me first, and then you can talk a little bit about you” he was very calm and educated, reminding me of the last time I was in a counseling office at my school, before mom’s death. “That way, I can ease my family downstairs, they are…” He made a pause in his speech.
"Defensive?" I helped with the word choice, it’s the first time that I see a vampire being nice, it's disconcerting.
“Precisely,” He said with a perfect smile. “If you don’t mind.” he spoke, pointing at the chair beside the bed I'm in. The room was well decorated, wooden walls, a bed in the middle of the room with several unplugged medical machines beside, a chair next to the bed, but the weirdest thing was the fact that this is an office, there are bookcases on the wall further to the bed.
“It’s your house, but be my guest” I said, weirdly comfortable with this guy who is supposed to be an atrocious monster. He finds me amusing enough to put a smile bigger than the nice one he had before me saying anything, and sits on the nice chair, it makes him look shorter than me sitting on the bed. He looks me in the eye and I can sense my legs balancing from anxiety.
“As you can tell already, I believe, I am a vampire just as my family”
“But you’re not like the usual ones.” I affirmed.
“Yes, have you ever encountered a vampire before?”
“ Once or twice” I said, reminiscent of the weird education I had about the non-human world.
“Well me and my family has a different diet that the most, we don’t get our aliment from human but from animals” Well at least I wouldn't have to use my power to fight them if they are not going to make me a meal.
“That’s nice” And it was, I can only imagine how hard it must be.
He looked at me expectedly, and I looked at him waiting for more, but he didn't say anything, and it suddenly hit me. “Oh, it’s my time to say something, is it?”
He opens the same amusing smile from before and says “Yes, you can start with your name, your grandmother hasn't said much that makes sense for us...”
“That sounds like her”
“Were you close?” He tilts his head a little to the left, and my eyes can look, if not to the very clean floor that my feet can't reach.
“That’s relative, I guess.” My relationship with her was more of an apprentice and his master than anything else, but I don't want to discuss the several problems in the relationship with my dad’s side of the family, so I just brush off. “Anastasia, but people call me Ana.”
“And you’re a Witch.” He said, as if he wasn't aware of what we really were.
“Yes, that’s what people say I am”
“Can you elaborate, please?” His voice was getting a little inpatient, but when I looked at his face, I could only find an understanding set of eyes.
It was hard to find words, and I didn't need to, as someone was knocking on the door that was half open, and I saw the most lovable face ever, she had a round face and her chocolate hair was perfectly set around her shoulders, if she wasn't a vampire I bet that her checks would be red and her smell would be like cookies, just like my mother’s before she got sick.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I imagine that you would be hungry.” And she imagined it very correctly. I was ravenous, but I didn’t say anything without her former presentation, which Carlisle followed almost after her saying.
“This is Esme, my wife” he said looking at me, as comfortable as the chair he was sitting looked like. “ And this is Ana.” He said as if she wasn't listening to our conversation.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Esme, or should I call you by your last name?”
“My first name is just fine, Ana, and the pleasure is all mine.” It was an awkward conversation, but she came with the promise of food, and not that a vampire cooking sounds delicious, albeit I’m never picky after another gem in my body. “The food it’s downstairs, do you want to eat here? I can bring it up.” She said very sweetly, but I know that it’s better to meet the whole family of vampires and tell my story once while I eat something and is always more smooth looking at unknown vampires faces with food down my throat.
“I can go downstairs.” I said putting my feet on the ground and feeling the new weight on my back and I noticed that my clothes are different, I’m now with loose black pants and a white long sleeve shirt, they must have taken off the bloody clothes, and for some reason I felt they burned it down. That's ok, I guess.
“Are you sure?” Carlisle asks
“Yeah, don't worry, one of the gems gives me the ability to heal way faster than a normal Witch.” I said casually while walking to the door.
I follow Esme downstairs with Carlisle right behind me, I know they don't trust me, and I'll let them think that they can stop me if I decide to attack, which won't happen because I have nowhere to go and no idea where I am, and grandma said to trust them, so I do.
I can smell the food. If the food tastes as good as it smells, I’m totally wrong about the vampire’s cooking.
The first floor of the house was bright with a wooden floor, spotless, and full of vampires. How could they live in this small town unnoticed?
There were four vampires in the kitchen's huge door frame, two female and two male. I felt trapped, but I remembered my grandma's words that I could trust them. It’s going to be a hard thing to do.
“This is my family,” Carlisle said on my left. “Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice.” as he said their name each one was nodding their heads, Emmett was the tall and large one, Rosalie was simple the most beautiful vampire I’ve ever seen, Jasper seamed in pain, but he had a real shine blond hair and Alice was small, but there was something in her eyes that stood out.
“Edward, Bella and Renesmee are out of town” said Esme as she went inside the kitchen and I followed her passing through the vampires. I could feel Jasper stiffing while I passed him, I bet everyone felt that.
As I sat on the chair next to the very clean balcony, I could feel the surrounding vampires were anxious. Esme brought sandwiches and put them in front of me, I took one and was going to eat them, but a very fast hand snatched them from me and said.
“Tell us who you are first, and then you eat” said the beautiful blond vampire Rosalie.
“Why can’t I do both?” I said without a hint of fear in my voice, the gems were full of power, and I was sure that I could stop them at any sign of danger.
“It looks like she can bite back.” Said the large one with dark curly hair.
“Let her eat, Rose, she will tell us everything she knows” the small one next to the guy who looks like he is in pain said.
Rosalie gave me the sandwich back, and I bit him without ceremonies, I was starving, and the vampires waited more patiently now that Alice said that I would tell them everything. After eating one and a half, I look at them with my mouth full.
“The sandwiches are amazing, Esme” I said, and it was, at the moment, she was my favorite between them and I barely spoke a word with her.
“Can you tell what you are doing here, witch?” Said Rosalie, I think she doesn’t like me very much.
“Yes, of course, vampire.” I said, putting the half-eaten sandwich on the plate and preparing myself to tell them all I knew about the war I was fighting without wanting to.
I told them everything. It all started after mom’s death, and I was sent to live with my grandmother since my father was living in India. I didn’t know that I had a family outside my mom, but apparently she didn’t want me to have contact with my dad’s side. Totally understandable since my dad was from a long line of holders, we guard the gems that help to maintain equilibrium in the non-human world. But there is this clan of witches in Europe leaderated by this guy called Rulos, they were gathering all the gems to spread the magic they hold to the world and make every living being able to manipulate magic like every witch could and ruining the equilibrium of magic and in consequence of nature. After we, one of the largest clans of South America, was aware of what was happening we got in touch with the clans of North America, between all the clans there were no more than tree holders, and they were the first to die by the hand of followers of this clan in Europe. My father was still in India, but we are not sure if he is still alive, and until he came back I was the temporary holder of my clan, and now I’m the holder of at least three different clans outside my own. Before my arrival here, I was recovering the gem from this clan in Canada, the Icenoir, they were strong and lived very isolated from others clans but when they send a help signal spell all the witches available was there to defend the gem, we were torn, the only thing me and grandmother could do was get the gems from the gone holder and run to a place where they couldn't find us. No witch would ever run to a house full of vampires, they are, in our beliefs, savages and almost impossible to kill with the magic of a normal witch.
“And that's why I am here, I don’t know what was the relationship that Carlisle had with my grandma, but she told me I could trust you.” I finished the story, and they were all looking at me with their yellow eyes, all eyebrows were closed, almost together, making a weird contrast with their cold faces.
“We just got out of a conflict with the Vulturi, we can’t afford to fight another, we are already drawing too much attention” Said the always pained faced, Jasper.
“You guys fought with Volturi? When?” I knew who they were, my grandmother said they were the only clan of vampires that knew about us, they even helped us to hide from humans in the middle age. They ignore me.
“But whatever is happening with the witches will affect us too” said Carlisle.
“He is right, I think…” said the little vampire, Alice. “I can’t see much but the ones I can, it's not pretty, if we help them, we will need the help of the pack.”
The broad guy was next to me and whispered, I don’t know why since they all had great hearing.
“Before you ask, Alice can see the future.” I looked at him, confused.
“What do you mean?” I don’t know why, but I whispered back.
“Alice can see the possibilities of the future” answered Carlisle.
“Wait, you all have powers?” I knew about the legends of vampires with powers, but I thought that was it, legends.
“Not, all of us, or all of us in a certain way.” Said Jasper, not saying anything at all, but he continued. “When we transform our abilities get enhanced, which means that some of us, like Alice who probably was a seer when human, it’s much stronger now.”
“What is your enhanced ability?” I asked, that guy was intriguing, very controlled. He reminds me of my cousin Vitor, he was empathic, he had almost always this same face of pain.
“I can’t sense and control others' emotions.” I knew it. He gave me a weird look and I wondered what he was feeling from me.
“We should call Edward and Bella.” said Esme.
“Yes, we are going to need them, '' Alice said, pulling her phone from her back pocket. “I’ll call them.”
“So it’s settled.” Said Carlisle. “We’ll wait for Edward and Bella, and as soon as they get here, we’ll talk to the pack.”
“But what is the pack?” I questioned, It is all happening too fast.
“They are the Quileute tribe, they are shape-shifters.”
“What do you mean?” The closest thing to a shape-shifter that I’ve heard of was werewolves.
“They can transform into wolves, huge ones!” Said Emmett, he looked excited about the whole thing.
“But shape-shifters don’t exist anymore…” I was very confused by the whole conversation.
They were too, their cold faces were looking at me waiting for an explanation, but I didn’t have one, all I was told was:
“The shape-shifters got erased in the eighteenth century after a war between the fairies.” I said really confused, did my grandmother teach the wrong thing? Did she know that it was wrong? If yes, why did she lie to me?
After the talk with the vampires - which I discovered that they call themselves as Cullens, later explained that it’s the last name of the head of the clan, Carlisle, it kinda fits - we all talked in detail about the war and what it’ll happen if the gems get in the wrong hands. As expected, Rosalie and Jasper weren't entirely sure what to make of it, but later they both admittedly that they would be involved for a reason or another. Alice and Esme were waiting for Edward and Bella - whomever they are - to make any type of decision, Carlisle agreed and listened to all. Emmett was just having fun, saying he never fought with witches before, hence he even didn’t know about their existence until 12 hours ago.