What's this? An update? I'll bypass the excuses and move straight to the apology. I'm sorry – I left this chapter much longer than I intended too.
Since it's been awhile, the last chapter ended with Amelia discovering her talent and Harry deciding to tell her the truth about his past.
As I entered my bedroom, I found Cecilia laying on the bed, resting. Her eyes flickered open at the sound of the door opening and closing, though I'd tried my best to be quiet.
"I didn't mean to disturb you, dear," I whispered. She smiled softly at me.
"It's fine." She paused uncomfortably for a moment, her gaze flickered down to our bed coverings which she was playing with absentmindedly. "Any news on Sophia?" she finally asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper – I could see how much it pained her to ask. No doubt because she knew how much it pained me to answer.
I shook my head. "No," I whispered back. My mouth only just managed to form the words. Despite my best efforts at disguising it, my grief was still clear to be heard.
There had been no news on my twin sister since the day she had disappeared over two weeks ago. She had been on her way back from the local Lord's house, for she had recently started to court his son. Not a bad match for an industrialist's daughter, as people were constantly reminding her. I should have known Sophia would have her sights set on the best, not from ambition, but from sheer optimism. She would already have been imagining herself as a happily married Lady, her imagination glossing over anything that wasn't picture perfect, such as the very common rumour that the Lord's family were fast running out of money. An industrialist's money in exchange for a titled daughter, it was becoming a more and more common exchange nowadays. But I just knew that in my sister's mind that Lord John loved her. Maybe she was right and I was just a cynic, yet I doubted that. I had always considered myself a good judge of character, and, aside from my own wife, I knew no one quite as well as my loveable, optimistic, but naïve and slightly dippy twin sister.
I sat down on the bed beside my wife, kissing her gently on the cheek. She stroked my arm in an attempt to offer comfort.
If my sister had been heading towards a marriage of convenience (at least from the groom's point of view), then I knew without a doubt that I married for love. I had been just fifteen when I first met Cecilia. Both our families had been down in London during the Season (though my family had actually been there for my older sister, not me.) I had found my attention captured by this sweet, gentle girl when I had first met her. Going over to speak to her had been the most terrifying thing I had ever done, but somehow I had found the nerve. Practically stammering, I had introduced myself, and she had smiled shyly, and somehow I had found my nerves slowly disappearing as we talked comfortably. With a lot of interfering from Mama (who had noticed us), her family was invited over for dinner at ours the week after next. Where, much to my surprise, her father had given me permission to court her (again, I suspected Mama was behind that as well.) The next year, at sixteen, we had married, with our parents' permission. I had thought that I would never again be as happy as I was that day, but this had been disproved first a year later, and then the year after that, when she had bore me first a daughter, and then a son.
"I should go check on Victoria and Albert," Cecilia said softly. She smiled slightly at their names as always.
"I still blame my father for the names," I joked. There was no denying my monarchist father had been the main influence behind naming our children after the Queen and her Prince Consort.
"I do, too," Cecilia joked back with a soft laugh. After she had left, I allowed myself to once more think about my twin's disappearance. I had accompanied my father to the morgue where they had taken the bodies that had been found near the crashed carriage. Thankfully, none of them had been Sophia's, but I could still clearly remember John's corpse. His neck had the most disgusting wound I had ever seen, it looked as if he had been attacked by an animal. It was an horrific image I would never forget for as long as I lived. I couldn't help but wonder if Sophia's mangled body was out there somewhere, as morbid as the thought was. For what other explanation was there for her disappearance, given the circumstances?
"Sophia?" I heard my wife shout my sister's name. I was out of my seat like a shot, but my joy only lasted a few seconds. I hadn't even made it to door when I heard a bloodcurdling scream.
Hastily, I raced along the corridor as fast as I could. My heart was beating frantically in my chest, my breaths were short and shallow. I willed myself to run faster though I was already going at my full speed. Something was wrong; terribly wrong. All I could hear was my wife's scream in my head, fearful and frantic. Or the way she had called Sophia's name. I had not comprehended it in my excitement, but Cecilia's voice hadn't been relieved and joyful, as I would expect. It had been confused yet scared, as if she hadn't been certain who it was.
It was eerily silent as I came to a stop outside the nursery. There was a few distant noises; a few shouts and a sobbing sound that almost reminded me of Sophia when she cried, but no noise emitted from the inside of the room. No cry from Albert. No uncomfortable shuffling from Victoria, as she did when she couldn't sleep. Cecilia's quiet voice wasn't comforting them.
A ripple of adrenaline passed through me. My skin tingled uncomfortably and I was well aware of my still thumping heart. I was on edge. Something strange was happening. Something not right.
Hesitantly I turned the handle of the nursery door and opened it with caution.
I felt my knees collapse from underneath me and heard the strangled cry that left my lips, but I wasn't heeding them any attention. My entire focus was on the sight in front of me. To horrific to even look at, yet so tragic I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away.
Cecelia's dark brown eyes stared back at me, but they were cold and lifeless. Her head lay limply to the side. I tried not to look at her neck, but there was no avoiding it. It looked like it had been ripped out by an animal. Lord John's corpse suddenly flashed into my mind. His neck had been shred in much the same way, but, in comparison, his injury had been neater. Tidier. The wound on Cecilia's neck looked savage.
"Cecilia?" I managed to whisper frantically, clambering closer on shaky knees. "Cecilia?" I repeated desperately. There was no reply. Her body didn't move. She didn't stand up and laugh her merry little giggle.
"Cecilia?" I didn't know what I had expected to happen, but I had to try, because I couldn't accept this. I purely couldn't. She couldn't be…
"Cecilia!" Now by her side, I gently pushed her hair out of her face. Her usually gentle features were contorted in pain. I didn't want to think about why that was, yet I couldn't stop myself from staring at her neck in disgusted, horrified fascination. Somewhere in the back of my mind, connections were being made. Cecilia's neck. Lord John's neck. My twin sister's disappearance. Cecilia shouting Sophia's name. I knew they were connected, but I couldn't figure out why. Not in my current state of mind.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that it was still too silent in the nursery. With trepidation, I walked over to Victoria's bedside. Blotches of red stained the white bedding. I could see her outline under the sheet, but it was pulled up over her head, to cover her entire body. She didn't move.
I didn't want to move the sheet, but I had no choice. I had to know for certain. With shaking hands I slowly peeled the sheet backwards. Her eyes were closed. Her chocolate curls tumbled onto the pillows. She looked like she did every night when she was asleep, and I tried to tell myself that was all it was. That she was just asleep. But instinct told me she wasn't, as much as I would have liked to believe her to be. I stopped as soon as I saw the red at the top of her neck, letting the sheet fall back over her delicate, sleeping features.
I didn't stop to think about the implications. Of what had happened to her or her mother. I couldn't cope with it. Instead, I moved numbly to Albert's crib, almost certain what I would find there but still hoping against hope for a different outcome. His face had been covered up just like Victoria's, as if their murderer had wanted to cover up their crime. I moved the blanket quickly this time, I just needed to know – one way or another. The wound was on not just his neck, but covering his left shoulder as well. As I stared incomprehensibly at it -trying to work out who would do such a thing and how, and yet still not even beginning to comprehend what it truly meant for me and my family- another shrill scream sounded through the house. It stopped suddenly, as if someone had cut her off. But I was still able to recognize it – Mama. Suddenly, I became aware of the sounds in the rest of the house, which I had been tuning out in my shock as I made gruesome discovery after gruesome discovery. There was shouts and screams, and I thought I heard someone laughing. It was a cruel, sadistic laugh that made the hair's on the back of my neck stick up.
Loath though I was to leave my wife and children, I realized I had to go and try to save the rest of my family. I had only moved a few steps when I heard footsteps running towards me, much faster than I had ever heard anyone run before. I began to move quicker, powered by rage and grief, determined to catch the bastard. I had no plan, no idea what I would do when I confronted him, I just wanted to hunt him down.
The door flung open just as I reached it, sending me flying backwards across the room. I opened my eyes in time to get a glimpse of her as she attacked me. Sophia. So changed and yet still recognizable. Her eyes were a demonic red and her face was twisted into a gruesome snarl. She looked possessed, inhuman. By the time I had processed all this she was already upon me. I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my neck as she ravaged it, and I realized this monster who looked like my sister was the one who had killed my wife and my children.
"Sophia, it's me. It's Harry." I managed to stutter my pleas out in a desperate attempt to save my own life. But I knew it wouldn't work, I could feel my life drifting away, my eyes were closing despite my best attempts to keep them open, and I numbly recognized my beloved twin sister was murdering me. I couldn't even figure out how. All I knew was that she was and that it hurt. It hurt unlike anything else I'd ever experienced.
"Cecilia?" I whispered. I felt around clumsily for my wife's hand, even though I had no idea if I was beside her or not. I felt almost peaceful, as my consciousness began to fade and the pain began to lessen with it. I realized that at least we had all died together. At least we would be together in Heaven. In a way, I was actually relived – I wouldn't have to live my life without her. We could be together with our children once more.
A dimly recognized the removal of the pressure on my bleeding neck and the sound of a growl above me. I was sure I would be unconscious soon, and then all the pain would go away and I would be back with Cecilia and our children.
"Harry?" a voice whispered, shocked and disgusted. It was vaguely recognizable as Sophia's. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her, why she had done this. She sounded as though she was choking, though she could have been sobbing.
"Aren't you going to finish your meal, or can I?" a different voice sneered. There was no reply and then I thought I heard a hiss. Footsteps were re-treating. Slowly, as if ever step was a struggle.
"You sure about this?" the voice asked.
"Will he survive?" Sophia asked desperately. Whoever else was there laughed at her.
"That's not how it works," it said to her harshly. "You really are naïve, aren't you?" It scoffed. "Well, you already proved that by coming here tonight."
Pain was returning. All through their conversation it had been building again. But now it was unbearable, worse even than before, when I had been getting murdered. It felt like I had been set on fire, and my first thought was that Sophia had done just that. I even thought I could smell smoke.
I let out a agonized scream as I lost all control of my body, surrendering to the scorching hot pain all over me.
Finally, after what had felt like forever, the pain receded. I was hit by an onslaught of sounds and smell, much louder and stronger than I ever remembered them being.
"Harry?" I recognized Sophia's voice. My eyes flickered open and I looking once more upon the monster that looked and sounded like my sister. I stood up quickly, much quicker than I had expected.
"You killed them." It came out as a snarl and before I knew what I was doing I launched myself at her. She dived out of the way in a blur and I stopped and refocused. An inhuman-like growl sounded from my mouth. I was about to attack her again when I felt two pairs of hands of my arms, holding me back.
"Easy, tiger," someone mocked me.
"Get off me!" I growled.
"Not as long as you keep going after your sister."
I looked at the monster in front of me and shook my head. "Whoever, or whatever that is, it's not my sister. It just looks like it."
"Harry!" the monster proclaimed, upset. I didn't care.
"Come on, you, you need to feed," a different voice said from behind me. Still holding onto me tightly, they begin to push me through what I realized was a forest.
"How the hell did we get stuck with two newborns to look after?" his companion grumbled.
"David liked the look of the lass but it turns out she's a right idiot."
The monster hissed at them.
"Oh calm down, love."
I was struggling against my captors' grip. I could feel it was a struggle from them, and I got the feeling if it had only been one of them I could of fought them off easily.
"Stop struggling," one of them said. "We can make that burning in your throat go away." Resignedly, I stopped. I had no idea who they were or what we were doing, but my throat was on fire and if they could make it stop I wouldn't complain.
"Always works on troublesome newborns," the same man muttered smugly. No longer struggling, I concentrated on the new sights, sounds and smells. Everything was brighter and more refined, while noise was clearer and it felt like I could hear everything for miles around. But it was the scents that were most interesting of all. The two things behind me smelled bad, and, for some reason, I felt as if I shouldn't trust them. It was several bad smells combined to make a odour that was truly potent. The monster, on the other hand, smelled much nicer, and I felt myself softening towards it. Her. Sophia. Then I reminded myself of what she had done. The full horror of that night went through my mind, one appalling memory after another. No, I could never forgive that monster, no matter how much it looked or acted like my sister.
"Here we are," one of the voices announced. All other smells were forgotten as the sweetest one of all drifted up on the wind. Sometimes it was sweeter than others, but it didn't make much different right now, as my throat burned raw, telling me it was this that I craved so badly. I strained against my captors' hands, and I noticed the monster had frozen in anticipation.
Suddenly, I felt the hands realise me and I rushed forward. I knew the monster had done the same. I growled at it and it growled back, and I heard laughter behind me. I thought I heard a scream but I didn't care as I pounced, and a delicious, cooling liquid filled my throat. It was only once the ecstasy was over that I cam back to my senses. I looked at my feet and saw the corpse of a woman lying there. Her neck was torn apart just like Cecilia's had been. I stumbled backwards, horrified by what I had done. I looked over at the monster, who was crouched by a different body with its mouth at their neck, and I realized I was a monster too.
"What have you done to me?" I snarled. I turned around at the sound of laughter and found two men stood there, except they had the same red eyes and pale skin as Sophia now had.
"I'm sorry, Harry," I heard Sophia whisper. She was done with the body now.
One of the men sighed. "There's time for explanations later. Right now, we need to burn the evidence."
"Unlike when we got that one," the other one muttered, looking at Sophia.
"Then we'll go back to David," the first man continued.
"Who's David?" I asked aggressively. "And why should I go back to him?"
"Harry, don't run off," Sophia whispered. "I did and look what happened."
"And you don't really have a choice in the matter," one of the men said. "Newborn or not, I like the odds of two against one. And since your sister here wants you to come with us as well, it'd be three." I quickly realized I had no choice in the matter.
"Will you let me explain?" Sophia said softly. We were somewhere in the middle of the forest. I had been brought back here and had things explained to me by the man named David, who apparently was the leader of our… coven. Even inside my head the words sounded foreign, like something out of a horror novel. Vampire. Blood-sucking. Coven. It hadn't sunk in yet.
When I didn't answer, Sophia continued anywhere. "I just wanted to go home," she whispered. She sounded so pitiful, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, despite everything. In that one sentence, she truly sounded like my sister again.
"I didn't like it. I didn't want to be here. So I ran away. We're faster than them. And I … I was stupid. I didn't think it through. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to be home. It was completely stupid. I thought I could go home, and that there was no way on Earth I would try and kill my own family."
"Obviously," I murmured sarcastically. "And what, you thought we weren't going to notice the blazing red eyes."
"You were my family. I thought you wouldn't care." I laughed bitterly. My naively optimistic sister had really taken things up a notch.
"Well, you've certainly fucked things up this time, Sophia," I muttered angrily, not even caring that I had just swore in front of a woman.
She gasped. "You swore! You never swear!"
"Yeah, well, it seemed like the right fucking occasion to!" I roared at her. I was breathing heavily as anger overtook my body. How could she sit there so calmly and discuss our family's deaths. Where was the remorse? She had killed Cecilia. And Victoria. And Albert. And Mama. And Papa. And Louisa. And Maria. And everyone. Our entire family. Dead at her hands.
Unknowingly, I growled. The noise was inhumane, animal-like. The next thing I knew several pairs of strong arms were holding me back as I tried to attack my sister again. I fought against them furiously, all I wanted was to hurt her like she'd hurt them.
"Calm it, newborn," a voice ordered. Still I struggled.
"Harry?" Sophia's voice was quiet, worried. She was looking at me with hurt-filled eyes. She could have been ten years old again and reproaching me for abandoning her to get caught when we tried to steal the cookie jar from the kitchen.
The old memory calmed me. This was Sophia, my twin sister, my best friend, what was I doing?
"Sorry," I murmured, ashamed. The hands released me.
"It's OK," Sophia replied quietly.
"It was an endless cycle," Harry said out loud, his voice quiet. His mind was still open to me though, memories of Sophia whirring through it, but with my expanded mind I was able to watch and listen to his words at the same time. We were still sat up the tree where the rest of our family had left us. I had watched his memories of his human life in stunned silence. The few happier human memories that he had of his wife and children that he clung to desperately. And his worst memory, the night he was changed and his family were murdered by his twin sister. This was what he hadn't told me, this was what he had hidden. I found I couldn't be angry at him, only remorseful that he felt he couldn't share with me, only pity that someone so kind had suffered so much.
"I'd grow angry at her for what she did, then I'd remember she was my sister. The girl I'd promised to protect no matter once," he laughed bitterly.
"Why did you finally leave?" I asked.
The memory began to play through his mind.
"We argued. She told me she didn't need me, so I took her words to heart and left for Europe. Stayed there for awhile, did various things."
Several memories flashed through his mind. The two World Wars. Sneaking into a Beatles concert in the 1960s. Watching England's World Cup win in 1966 on the TV. Working in a mental asylum to learn more about his talent and how people with personality disorders effected it. As he thought about that a more modern memory flashed to mind, discussing this with Alice, who wanted to know what reason a vampire had to work in such a place.
"Finally, I ended up in Volterra, stayed there a few years until…" I watched the memory play out as he killed a young girl who had been too nice to live, smelled too nice.
"Ended up in a cave for a decade. You don't want to see that." He shook his head despairingly, but I still saw a flash of memory. Of him in a frozen state of sorrow.
"Finally, Siobhan find me, she still owed me from when Sophia and me helped her with her little coven problem in Ireland. She brought Carlisle and here I am."
I watched the last few memories, as he fought against being part of a family, as he tried to leave but ended up calling Esme 'Mom' instead and how he finally accepted them as family.
"And then I came along," I whispered. He smiled.
"The nicest person I've ever met," he said fervently. Suddenly, as I saw me through his mind, I understood what he meant. And I felt his desperation – that another good person couldn't die.
"You should have told me earlier," I challenged him.
"I know," he agreed sadly. "I was worried." I saw in his mind why. Worried I would think I was a replacement.
I thought very carefully about my next words. "I might have thought that," I admitted reluctantly. "If I hadn't been able to see into your mind like this. But, you were never searching for a replacement. You never looked elsewhere until I fell down a flight of stairs and into your life. And I know that you love me, for me."
"For being the most loveable, but unpredictable, person I ever met," he teased with a soft smile. I saw in his mind then, how my scents always teased him, swapping quickly from one to the other, and laughed at his predicament.
"I love you, too, by the way," I added as an afterthought. He chuckled then, before pulling me close, and sealing his lips to mine.
"What about Sophia?" I asked as he pulled away, as always. (Stupid Victorian morals!)
"I don't know," he shrugged. "I went to Britain to find her, instead I found you. That's a deal I will happily take."
"Didn't Siobhan say Sophia told her you were in the cave?" I asked. He shrugged. "Isn't that proof she still cares?"
"I never said she didn't," he sighed. "Nor do I not care about her. But with so much past between us, how can I ever forgive her?"
"If it wasn't for Sophia neither of us would be here having this conversation," I challenged.
He sighed again. "Indeed. If I was to ever end up face to face with her again I'd want to thank her and attack her at the same time. Because no matter how positive the outcome was in the end, there's still no forgiving what she did."
I had no comeback for that. It seemed Harry and Sophia's argument would last all of eternity.
"I think I could just forgive her, you know, if she showed some sort of remorse. If she stopped trying to make it sound like a mistake anyone could make and admit she fu- messed up."
Unable to say anything to that, I decided to joke instead. "You know, this is the 21st century, no one cares if you say fuck."
He chuckled softly. "You're taking this surprisingly well," he commented. "All things considered."
"You mean considering earlier today I learnt I was a mind manipulator and ran so far away from the house I unknowingly crossed the Canadian border?"
He smiled at me brashness. "Exactly."
"It's hard to explain. A part of me is relieved to finally know what's been bothering you. And I can still see into your mind, and I can see how much you love me. And how I'm not a replacement. And I'm glad to be able to help you. You're a good person, and after all you've been through, you deserve happiness, and I'm pleased to be able to give you it."
We both lapsed into silence then, I leaned my head against his shoulder and we sat comfortably. Harry had yet to close his mind and I could hear his relief, his joy, and his love.
I should… Something had made Harry incredibly excited, but he stopped the thought cold. Suddenly, his mind shut off.
"Hey!" I protested, sitting up to glare at him.
"It's a surprise," Harry remarked happily, grinning. I tried to see if there was a way past his mental shield, but failed.
"I assure you I'm not being evil or malicious, so you can stop trying to get past my shields," he said cheerfully, still grinning. "Let's head home," he suggested. Quickly, he scooped my body up into his arms and jumped out the tree, landing lightly on his feet.
"I can run myself, you know," I remarked sarcastically. Still grinning unashamedly, he put me down on my feet, and together we ran back to the Denali coven's home.
Alice came rushing out the door to greet us, a grin to match Harry's on her face. She was carrying a large bag, filled to the brink with God knows what.
"Alice, what-" I began to ask, but she had already grabbed Harry's wrist with her spare hand and the two of them had disappeared into the forest.
Annoying, know-it-all psychics, I grumbled as I entered the house. And mind-readers, I added, seeing Edward had a grin just like Harry and Alice's plastered on his face. All my family were there except Nessie and Jake. Everyone was watching me warily, except Edward, who was seemed to be grinning even more just to annoy me, and Jasper, who looked confused and was no doubt trying to figure out the meaning behind my mixed emotions.
"You two sure took your time, what were you up to?" Emmett asked with a smirk.
"Shut it, Emmett," I snapped, still annoyed by whatever Harry's unknown plan was.
Rosalie and Esme shared a loaded look at my anger, before watching me with concern.
"I made some chocolate milkshake for you in the kitchen," Esme told me sweetly, standing up. I followed her into the kitchen.
"There's no need, Rose," I heard Edward tell his sister. "She's not upset because of that."
"You all knew, didn't you?" I asked Esme softly. She looked at the floor, ashamed.
"Harry told us bits, yes," she admitted. I ran my fingers through my hair distractedly, not sure whether I was angry with them or not.
"We thought it was best to let him tell you in his own time," Carlisle told me, joining his wife in the kitchen. "It was his story to tell, and we know how much he hates telling it," he said sadly.
"It's OK, I understand," I told them comfortingly.
"How are you?" Esme asked, still watching me carefully.
"I'm fine," I told her reassuringly. "Edward was telling the truth, I'm not upset. Harry's past isn't his fault."
"That's incredibly mature of you," Carlisle said with a smile.
"You sound surprised," I said challengingly, but I was joking. Carlisle and Esme just smiled.
We fell silent as Nessie and Jake came through the door. I imagined Nessie did not know the truth. It was hardly a child-friendly story. Even a child as mature as Nessie.
"Anyone know why Alice is covering trees in ribbons out there?" Jake asked. I looked at Carlisle and Esme, who seemed just as confused as me.
"No good can come of this," I muttered.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Edward shouted in from the living room.
Reviews are greatly appreciated :) What did you think about Harry's past? Amelia's reaction? And what is Harry planning?