THE DAY THE SKY WENT DARK

I arrived too late to catch Laurent – he had left briefly before I appeared at their door. Politely, I exchanged greetings with everyone before I explained what the reason of my visit was. Naturally, I had to answer their questions concerning my family’s departure from Forks; I simply pointed out we had started to be ostentatious, not ageing a single year, especially Carlisle who declared to be 33, though he looked barely 25. Of course, I saved details for myself. They did ask about her, after all.

“Why are you travelling on your own? Is the rest of the Cullens keeping an eye on Bella back home?” Irina wondered innocently.

Her words, the mere idea of her being still a part of my family caught me off guard, even though I had tried to prepare myself for questions of that kind. I gulped in an effort to shake off the invisible strangling hand on my throat and tried to compose my face as much as I could.

“Bella… um… she stayed behind in Forks,” I started, concentrating as much as I only could to sound casual. “She decided to finish her school in there since it’s her final year, while I’m going to settle the Victoria matter. Which brings me back to the purpose of my visit here,” I finally managed to change the subject. I think I wouldn’t have lasted much longer, the void had been devouring me from the inside all the time I was forced to think about her, to talk about her, to lie to my family’s friends… And their minds told me they bought it.

Eleazar rose. “Well, I assume we shouldn’t hold our young friend off,” he announced. “Please, do pay us a visit as soon as you have spoken to Laurent, and stay,” he added kindly.

“Thank you. Of course, I will,” I answered with a polite smile.
I darted out into the woods. Laurent’s scent was quite fresh, so I had no difficulty to catch him with my enhanced speed; after all, I was the quickest of our family. He recognized me immediately.

“Edward.” He nodded to greet me. I responded the same way.

“Have you been looking for me?” he asked. Had he expected some of our family would turn up sooner or later to discuss Victoria with him?

“So… where are you actually heading?” I started the conversation nonchalantly.
Laurent didn’t raise his head to look into my eyes. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

“I’m going to take a break from Denali. You know, before I came here, I had been roaming all over the world for some 300 years. I kind of miss it,” he pointed out with a half-smile. He looked up to meet my penetrating gaze and showed me his eyes for the first time. They were utterly black with thirst and I was wondering what their colour was when he was full.

“Oh, I see,” I said indifferently. “Um, tell me, how do you put up with vegetarianism, you know what I mean?” I decided to ask openly.
He raised one corner of his mouth amusedly. “You mean how successful I am not eating people?” It was a pointless question since we both knew what we were talking about, but I gave in to his game.

“Yes, that,” I replied simply.

“Let’s say it’s an interesting experience,” he spoke cool-headedly, looking straight into my eyes. “However, animals are a poor substitute for human blood. Naturally, I keep the house rules as long as I’m here… Mostly, I hunt wolves.” his teeth flashed in a casual smile.
“Naturally,” I smiled back. But once you get out of here, you’re going to eat the first person to step in your way, I thought for myself. He clearly had no idea about my little talent.

The small talk was over. I didn’t mean to lose any more time. As long as Victoria was on the loose, Bella was in grave danger. “Now… Victoria. Tell me, do you ever get to see her?” I got straight to the point.

“Well,” Laurent inhaled deeply. “I ran into her a couple of weeks ago. She didn’t stay, she knows she’s not welcome in Denali, not only due to her feeding habits, but also because of what happened back then, you know. Eleazar’s coven consider Carlisle as their own family.”

“Did she tell you what her plan was? I mean with Bella…” Go ahead, show me what you know! I thought.

“Bella…” he pronounced her name silently. I was listening to his mind while I was pretending to be eagerly waiting for his vocal response. He considered how much he should tell me – if anything at all. He didn’t want to prolong the silence, so he got back to me way too early for me to see their conversation in his mind.

“Your human pet… Indeed, Victoria has her plans with the little one. She’s been waiting to be forgotten and then – strike. Eye for an eye, that’s what she wants. But it won’t be an easy death… As well as I know Victoria, I can say she’s… how shall I put it?” Laurent was trying to find the most suitable words, but I could see what he meant.

“…a twisted sadist,” I breathed.

“Exactly,” he nodded.

That was enough. I didn’t want to see or know what she was preparing for Bella, it would drive me crazy right away.

“I have to go back to Eleazar now. Thank you for your help and enjoy your trip.” I could see that Bella didn’t concern him, so I could just let him take off in peace.
“You are welcome. Goodbye,” he replied and set off for his journey.

I wanted to be alone for a while to think it over and decide what to do next. I sat down onto a stub, my head felt heavy with sorrow, it sank into my hands and I closed my eyes. Laurent’s mind told me that Victoria was headed for South America, which was good. Bella was safe for now. I needed to track Victoria and hunt her down as soon as possible. Should I have some of my family go back to Forks undercover and keep an eye on Bella?

Bella… Bella… Bella… her name started ringing and echoing in my head potently, and I could almost smell her scent in my mouth which began to fill with venom…
I’m hell-bent on saving her this time! As she turns her pained face away from me, heading for the sinister greenwood darkness, I concentrate the hardest possible to gather my willpower; I must seize my speed and strength and rip Bella out of the Reaper’s embrace. I don’t care who the monster is, how grim or strong, it doesn’t concern me if I die fighting it… but she has to live! I’m slowly getting closer, I’m within reach now and I can hear the echo of her hyperventilating, choking back her weep. It hurts so much, but at the same time it gives me new strength to keep on trying, to claw my way through the stubborn thorny shrubs. Only seconds are left before I’ll look in the eyes of a murderous –

“It will be as if I’d never existed.”

ME.

“Edward! What happened? Edward!”
A distant voice. Somehow familiar. I slowly opened my eyes to a different reality. Denali. A wood. The familiar voice belonged to Tanya. I was still sitting on the stub, while she was kneeling in front of me, her face wry with concern, her hands clasping my shoulders. She must have been shaking me. Her eyes were roaming about my face, waiting for some kind of an explanation.

“Tanya,” I breathed. “What are you doing here?” I said the first thing that flashed into my head.

She looked away. “I… wanted to make you go back to our place… and talk,” she confessed eventually. “I thought I would ask you to come and stay with us… for a while,” she smiled at me.

I inhaled deeply. “Tanya, I’m afraid I’ve got to go now. Victoria is lethal and erratic; I need to take her out as soon as possible. Now that I know where to search – “I tried to explain, but she didn’t let me finish.

“– I know what you told Eleazar wasn’t quite the truth, Edward.” She was winding a lock of her fair hair, her eyes glued on my face.

“I know you, Edward. I could see how much effort it took you to talk about her. The anguish in your eyes… You’re not together anymore, are you?” Tanya eyed me thoroughly, considering how effective her words had been. They sank in with the weight of the whole universe. I could take the mask off now, it made no sense to lie anymore.

Tanya sighed to see my sullen face and asked silently: “Why?” She knew that one word would be torturing enough.

It took me several moments to find my voice.
“I… had to. It was a never-ending menace to her life when she was staying among vampires.” Tanya decided it was time I stopped whining.

“What you did was a headless and stupid thing. You’ve left her totally unprotected in our world, a world she should never have learnt about. That is a menace to her life! It’s much worse than leaving her a vulnerable human! Get a grip, Edward!”

Her words were like a knife stabbing my heart again and again. I never craved for anything in the world as much as I was sick for being with her. I felt halved, absolutely indecisive what to do next. Part of me wanted to set off for Forks immediately, the burning desire to bury her in my arms, to hide her away from the wicked world. The other part told me I should keep the promise I had given to her – it will be as if I never existed… I began to regret having started such a conversation at all.

Do you want me to leave you alone? Tanya thought. I just looked up and nodded once. She patted my back in sympathy and tactfully disappeared in the greenwood, not giving any more words or thoughts. At the same time, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I recognized the melody I had set for Rosalie.

“What is it, Rose?” I asked without greeting her properly. She wouldn’t call me out of the blue just for fun. Something had to be going on.

“Hello, Edward. I think… there is something you should know…” she started talking hesitantly.

“What happened, Rosalie?” The gloomiest foresight embraced my entire existence. I couldn’t stand the desolate tension.

Rosalie took a deep breath and carried on: “You’re right, Edward. Something has happened. It’s really bad news. The others weren’t sure whether to tell you or not, but I believe you need to know.”

I was listening breathlessly, waiting for the death-blow to come. Now I was certain it would.

“She… she committed suicide, Edward. I’m talking about … Bella, you know? You must be strong, though. We are still your family, ready to support you…”

Her last words dissolved in a pain attack. I was deaf and blind with anguish; my heart split into thousands of black little pieces, as there was no other purpose for this useless dead thing to exist. My sun faded away, the stars collapsed; the moon diverged from its track and vanished in the outer space. My sky got utterly black. She was the light of my life, even if we were not together. I knew she was somewhere in this world, alive, though not mine… It was so unbelievable she ceased to exist! How could I exist now that I lost all my hope, faith, desire…? Suddenly, a memory flashed into my tormented mind; the literature class when we’d been watching Romeo and Juliet, and Bella and I’d discussed suicide, the choice I’d envied Romeo so much. “If I wanted to die, I’d provoke the Volturi,” I told her then. Yes. There was an option.