This Time Of Year
Written by: wizardtho
Story dedicated to: Bella MacLeod
Chapter 12:
I let out a deep breath as Aro guided me up to the thrones. He motioned for me to take his, but I shook my head, whispering, “Sir, I appreciate the gesture, but I could never sit on your throne… please, I’d be more comfortable sitting on the steps below you.”
Aro chuckled as he patted my hand, “Fear not, Little One. You are doing exceptionally well for only being hours into your vampire life. You did a very good thing just now, helping Finley and Molly.”
I nodded, smiled up at Molly -who was peeking at me from her place in her mate’s arms- and stated softly, “I don’t know how I knew he was innocent, Sir. I just did… and they were a beacon calling out to me. Well, more accurately, Molly’s fear called out to me. Begged me for help. I’m just glad I could calm them enough for you to know the truth.”
I looked down, noting my hands were trembling slightly, then closed my eyes. All that kept going through my mind was that Demetri wasn’t here. I felt lost.
Aro said as he took my hands in his, “Isabella, listen to my voice. Your instinct is telling you that it is too soon to be without your sire. Find him, Little One. Feel Demetri in the depths of your being, and find him in your mind.”
Demetri’s light wasn’t hard to find. It called to me like a brightly shining star. I let out a breath in relief when I noticed it was coming closer to me with each passing second, “He’s close, Sir… almost here.”
Aro smiled at me just as the doors to the throne room opened. Demetri came walking in with Felix right behind him, and though Aro started speaking to Felix, my focus was only on my sire.
Demetri stopped only inches from me, then gently lifted my face to his. With all seriousness, he asked while cupping my cheek, “Are you alright?”
I let myself register the fact that he was really here in front of me, noting in the back of my mind that my hands slowly stopped trembling, then I nodded, “Aro helped me find you a minute ago. My hands were shaking, and even though I was holding a conversation with him, all my mind could process was that you weren’t here. I felt lost. Aro said my instinct was telling me it was too soon to be away from you.”
Demetri nodded, “And he was right. You aren’t meant to be out of reaching distance for at least 2-3 months, sometimes more. Your eyes are darkening. I think it’s time for some quiet.”
At my nod, he turned to Aro, who was just returning to sit on his throne. Finley, Molly, and Felix were already gone. Demetri stated, “Isabella needs to return to the quiet of our rooms. If there’s nothing else you need of me for now, we’ll be taking our leave, Sir.”
Aro nodded, “Isabella, Dear, keep making note of anyone with a color that sets your nerves on edge. As soon as we find out a possible explanation for your unease, I will let you know.”
Demetri and I both bowed our heads to Aro and the brothers, then Demetri pulled me up into his arms before running us both from the room.
The moment he closed the main door to our rooms, I let out an unconscious breath into my sire’s neck. He hummed into my shoulder in response, “I know, Sweetheart. Let’s get another bag or two of blood in you, then we can try to sort some of this out together. Alright?”
I whispered my agreement, noticing I started swallowing more as soon as blood was mentioned, so I whispered, “I seem to swallow more when I’m thirsty. I did it when you showed me the bag while we were still in the bathroom, and I noticed it just now when you mentioned blood.”
Demetri placed me on the couch, then smiled at me, “That’s good. That helps us. Keep telling me anything you notice.”
He turned, then made his way to a section of the wall that had a bar setup. He opened the mini-fridge under the counter, pulled 2 bags of blood from it, then placed them in the microwave on the counter. After pressing the buttons, the microwave came to life, and my sire turned to lean against the counter.
He watched me silently for a moment, then said softly, “Isabella, do you remember that Aro sentenced Jasper and Alice to time here in Italy? That they will be here monthly, in the castle, for 72 hrs?”
I nodded, noting, “I felt them. They’re here now. They feel familiar to my mind, and neither is a bad color, but I have no desire to see them.”
He chuckled, “I didn’t figure you would. I was trying to prepare you that they are here and want to see you. You don’t have to see them, and I can demand that they not invade your space. All you have to do is say the word.”
I thought for a long moment, then ran my fingers through my hair as I sighed, “I don’t generally want to see any of them. They left me without a second thought. Alice didn’t even care enough about me to check up on me after Michael started beating the shit out of me… and she couldn’t stand him while they were in Forks. I can’t really expect to never run into them while they’re here, but I can ignore them when we’re out. I don’t want them seeking me out, though. I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
Demetri promised, “Then, as your sire, I will demand they not seek you out to speak with you for the term of your newborn phase. If you want to speak to them at some point, you will find them and let them know. If they violate my order, you need to tell me, and they will be brought in front of the brothers.”
I let out a breath, happy that I wasn’t going to be forced into making nice, “Okay. I can do that.”
The microwave dinged, so Demetri turned to retrieve my blood. A soft glimmer from my hand caught my attention, so I looked down. It’s my bitten wrist, which shimmered a little differently than the rest of my body. I knew that I used to panic when I looked at this wrist before my turning, but now I just felt safe… cared for.
I gasped in shock as realization hit, which made Demetri turn around. Before I could register my own movements, I was throwing myself into his arms, a relieved sob pouring from my chest, “It’s gone! He’s finally gone!”
Then I felt something warm and wet as Demetri groaned, “Bella, newborn… lighten your grip, please, just a little.”
When I jumped back, horrified, I realized that the warm wetness was me popping the blood bags, and both of us were now soaked in blood. Demetri didn’t even seem to care that I just ruined my dinner as he cupped my face in his hands. “Slowly now. Tell me who’s gone… what’s gone.”
I brought my hands up between us and pointed to my bitten wrist. “I remember panicking when looking at my wrist before. I still remember James and all the torture of his game, Demetri, but this…”
I rubbed my thumb over my wrist and looked deep into my sire’s eyes, “There’s no panic… no fear of James. It’s only you here now.”
He smiled, kissed my forehead, then nodded while releasing my face, “It’s what we were hoping for by placing my turning bite there. This is a good thing.”
I nodded sheepishly, “It is. It just caught me by surprise is all. I’m… I’m sorry about the blood.”
He chuckled, “It’s alright, truly. There is plenty more blood that can be heated. You’re doing remarkably well right now, Bella.”
I inhaled through my nose, then shook my head, “It’s not appealing. Something has tainted it. It smells off… bitter almost.”
He nodded, then looked at the label on the blood before explaining, “We get rejected batches from hospitals sometimes, since none of the reasons it was rejected will affect us. This happened to come from a local hospital only a few days ago, rejected because the donor had an infection that would have spread through the blood to the new host.”
I shook my head, “I don’t… it’s not… ugh, I need a shower.”
He laughed out loud as he retrieved his phone, then said after pressing a button, “Send housekeeping to my sitting room, please. Cleanup is needed, but also have them remove any hospital-donated blood from my rooms. My newborn, as it turns out, takes after her sire.”
I could clearly hear a female answering, “Already finding out her preferences? No hospitals.”
He hummed, then confirmed, “Yes, and double-check that my rooms are listed as vampire-only service.”
The female offered after a second, “Housekeeping has been paged, and your suite of rooms was officially listed in the system for vampire-only service as of yesterday, Sir.”
Demetri nodded to himself, then said before hanging up the phone, “Have a good evening, Gianna.”
When the phone was placed on the coffee table, Demetri whipped his shirt over his head, then dropped his pants.
My eyes widened, so he chuckled as he walked toward me, “Housekeeping will launder them if they can be saved, and you are already aware that we need a shower.”
I nodded, then looked down at myself. My top was a button-up. I reached for the first button. Before I grasped it, my sire offered, “Barely let your fingers touch. Anything more than the smallest amount of pressure will break the buttons.”
I nodded, biting my lip as my fingers neared the button. Unfortunately, even though I was trying to be extremely careful, the button shattered the instant my fingers came in contact with it. I sighed sadly, “Guess not.”
Demetri stopped in front of me, then caught my gaze as he fluidly released the buttons, “You are less than 24 hours into your vampire life, Isabella. I would have been astounded if you had enough control to work buttons at this stage. Let yourself learn this new world of yours one step at a time. Things will get broken, clothes will be torn, and blood bags will pop. It happens. We learn from our mistakes and move on. Practice makes perfect. All those corny sayings you hate, but make sense.”
I let out a deep breath as Aro guided me up to the thrones. He motioned for me to take his, but I shook my head, whispering, “Sir, I appreciate the gesture, but I could never sit on your throne… please, I’d be more comfortable sitting on the steps below you.”
Aro chuckled as he patted my hand, “Fear not, Little One. You are doing exceptionally well for only being hours into your vampire life. You did a very good thing just now, helping Finley and Molly.”
I nodded, smiled up at Molly -who was peeking at me from her place in her mate’s arms- and stated softly, “I don’t know how I knew he was innocent, Sir. I just did… and they were a beacon calling out to me. Well, more accurately, Molly’s fear called out to me. Begged me for help. I’m just glad I could calm them enough for you to know the truth.”
I looked down, noting my hands were trembling slightly, then closed my eyes. All that kept going through my mind was that Demetri wasn’t here. I felt lost.
Aro said as he took my hands in his, “Isabella, listen to my voice. Your instinct is telling you that it is too soon to be without your sire. Find him, Little One. Feel Demetri in the depths of your being, and find him in your mind.”
Demetri’s light wasn’t hard to find. It called to me like a brightly shining star. I let out a breath in relief when I noticed it was coming closer to me with each passing second, “He’s close, Sir… almost here.”
Aro smiled at me just as the doors to the throne room opened. Demetri came walking in with Felix right behind him, and though Aro started speaking to Felix, my focus was only on my sire.
Demetri stopped only inches from me, then gently lifted my face to his. With all seriousness, he asked while cupping my cheek, “Are you alright?”
I let myself register the fact that he was really here in front of me, noting in the back of my mind that my hands slowly stopped trembling, then I nodded, “Aro helped me find you a minute ago. My hands were shaking, and even though I was holding a conversation with him, all my mind could process was that you weren’t here. I felt lost. Aro said my instinct was telling me it was too soon to be away from you.”
Demetri nodded, “And he was right. You aren’t meant to be out of reaching distance for at least 2-3 months, sometimes more. Your eyes are darkening. I think it’s time for some quiet.”
At my nod, he turned to Aro, who was just returning to sit on his throne. Finley, Molly, and Felix were already gone. Demetri stated, “Isabella needs to return to the quiet of our rooms. If there’s nothing else you need of me for now, we’ll be taking our leave, Sir.”
Aro nodded, “Isabella, Dear, keep making note of anyone with a color that sets your nerves on edge. As soon as we find out a possible explanation for your unease, I will let you know.”
Demetri and I both bowed our heads to Aro and the brothers, then Demetri pulled me up into his arms before running us both from the room.
The moment he closed the main door to our rooms, I let out an unconscious breath into my sire’s neck. He hummed into my shoulder in response, “I know, Sweetheart. Let’s get another bag or two of blood in you, then we can try to sort some of this out together. Alright?”
I whispered my agreement, noticing I started swallowing more as soon as blood was mentioned, so I whispered, “I seem to swallow more when I’m thirsty. I did it when you showed me the bag while we were still in the bathroom, and I noticed it just now when you mentioned blood.”
Demetri placed me on the couch, then smiled at me, “That’s good. That helps us. Keep telling me anything you notice.”
He turned, then made his way to a section of the wall that had a bar setup. He opened the mini-fridge under the counter, pulled 2 bags of blood from it, then placed them in the microwave on the counter. After pressing the buttons, the microwave came to life, and my sire turned to lean against the counter.
He watched me silently for a moment, then said softly, “Isabella, do you remember that Aro sentenced Jasper and Alice to time here in Italy? That they will be here monthly, in the castle, for 72 hrs?”
I nodded, noting, “I felt them. They’re here now. They feel familiar to my mind, and neither is a bad color, but I have no desire to see them.”
He chuckled, “I didn’t figure you would. I was trying to prepare you that they are here and want to see you. You don’t have to see them, and I can demand that they not invade your space. All you have to do is say the word.”
I thought for a long moment, then ran my fingers through my hair as I sighed, “I don’t generally want to see any of them. They left me without a second thought. Alice didn’t even care enough about me to check up on me after Michael started beating the shit out of me… and she couldn’t stand him while they were in Forks. I can’t really expect to never run into them while they’re here, but I can ignore them when we’re out. I don’t want them seeking me out, though. I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
Demetri promised, “Then, as your sire, I will demand they not seek you out to speak with you for the term of your newborn phase. If you want to speak to them at some point, you will find them and let them know. If they violate my order, you need to tell me, and they will be brought in front of the brothers.”
I let out a breath, happy that I wasn’t going to be forced into making nice, “Okay. I can do that.”
The microwave dinged, so Demetri turned to retrieve my blood. A soft glimmer from my hand caught my attention, so I looked down. It’s my bitten wrist, which shimmered a little differently than the rest of my body. I knew that I used to panic when I looked at this wrist before my turning, but now I just felt safe… cared for.
I gasped in shock as realization hit, which made Demetri turn around. Before I could register my own movements, I was throwing myself into his arms, a relieved sob pouring from my chest, “It’s gone! He’s finally gone!”
Then I felt something warm and wet as Demetri groaned, “Bella, newborn… lighten your grip, please, just a little.”
When I jumped back, horrified, I realized that the warm wetness was me popping the blood bags, and both of us were now soaked in blood. Demetri didn’t even seem to care that I just ruined my dinner as he cupped my face in his hands. “Slowly now. Tell me who’s gone… what’s gone.”
I brought my hands up between us and pointed to my bitten wrist. “I remember panicking when looking at my wrist before. I still remember James and all the torture of his game, Demetri, but this…”
I rubbed my thumb over my wrist and looked deep into my sire’s eyes, “There’s no panic… no fear of James. It’s only you here now.”
He smiled, kissed my forehead, then nodded while releasing my face, “It’s what we were hoping for by placing my turning bite there. This is a good thing.”
I nodded sheepishly, “It is. It just caught me by surprise is all. I’m… I’m sorry about the blood.”
He chuckled, “It’s alright, truly. There is plenty more blood that can be heated. You’re doing remarkably well right now, Bella.”
I inhaled through my nose, then shook my head, “It’s not appealing. Something has tainted it. It smells off… bitter almost.”
He nodded, then looked at the label on the blood before explaining, “We get rejected batches from hospitals sometimes, since none of the reasons it was rejected will affect us. This happened to come from a local hospital only a few days ago, rejected because the donor had an infection that would have spread through the blood to the new host.”
I shook my head, “I don’t… it’s not… ugh, I need a shower.”
He laughed out loud as he retrieved his phone, then said after pressing a button, “Send housekeeping to my sitting room, please. Cleanup is needed, but also have them remove any hospital-donated blood from my rooms. My newborn, as it turns out, takes after her sire.”
I could clearly hear a female answering, “Already finding out her preferences? No hospitals.”
He hummed, then confirmed, “Yes, and double-check that my rooms are listed as vampire-only service.”
The female offered after a second, “Housekeeping has been paged, and your suite of rooms was officially listed in the system for vampire-only service as of yesterday, Sir.”
Demetri nodded to himself, then said before hanging up the phone, “Have a good evening, Gianna.”
When the phone was placed on the coffee table, Demetri whipped his shirt over his head, then dropped his pants.
My eyes widened, so he chuckled as he walked toward me, “Housekeeping will launder them if they can be saved, and you are already aware that we need a shower.”
I nodded, then looked down at myself. My top was a button-up. I reached for the first button. Before I grasped it, my sire offered, “Barely let your fingers touch. Anything more than the smallest amount of pressure will break the buttons.”
I nodded, biting my lip as my fingers neared the button. Unfortunately, even though I was trying to be extremely careful, the button shattered the instant my fingers came in contact with it. I sighed sadly, “Guess not.”
Demetri stopped in front of me, then caught my gaze as he fluidly released the buttons, “You are less than 24 hours into your vampire life, Isabella. I would have been astounded if you had enough control to work buttons at this stage. Let yourself learn this new world of yours one step at a time. Things will get broken, clothes will be torn, and blood bags will pop. It happens. We learn from our mistakes and move on. Practice makes perfect. All those corny sayings you hate, but make sense.”