Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

An Imperfect Life

By Midnight Dreamer

Chapter 26: Teaming up with the Enemy

(Bella POV)

It has been one week since Riley brought me to this cabin in Russia. He isn’t as bad as he seems at first, he hasn’t done anything to hurt me. However my skin crawls and I feel like I’m going to hurl every time he comes to close or tells me he loves me. *gag* I’ve begun to wonder if the others are looking for me yet? I know they may take awhile to get here, Riley is really good at covering his tracks.

I thought maybe I should ask him if I could at least call them and let them know I’m okay.

Oh yeah let’s ask the psychopath if we can call our family and let them know we are okay! Are you serious? We are so not okay!

Oh shit! I thought you were gone, I haven’t heard from you this past week.

Are you really that naïve to think I would leave you with Mr. Crazy over there constantly professing his undying love for us every other day! Or is this just a case of temporary insanity cause you are really losing it here.

Oh how nice of you. I thought you were on my side here.

I am

Yep you are; and calling me crazy is a good way to convince me of that!

Snarky sarcasm is not going to get us anywhere.

No it’s not, but it makes me feel better.

Well I hope this makes you feel better…Mr. Crazy is on his way over here again!

Oh great.

“Bella darling! It’s good to see you awake. What would you like for lunch?”

“It’s lunch time already. Where has the day gone?”

“No need to be sarcastic Isabella, it’s very unbecoming of a lady.”

“Who said I was a lady?”

Riley rolled his eyes at this comment. His sense of humor has definitely increased in the last week. Then the idea struck me again.

“Riley do you think it would be possible if I could call my family and let them know I’m okay so they stop worrying?”

“Isabella you wouldn’t be trying to leave me now would you?”

“No! I was just thinking that maybe I could help ease their burden if they knew I was okay.”

Are you crazy? Where are you going with this.

Trust me we can make this work. I’m going to use Riley to help us get free.

You really have lost it.

“Well Isabella I guess if it would help you to feel comfortable and relax more then I guess it would be okay to just call them.”

“Oh thank you Riley.”

Riley left to go get a disposable cell so they wouldn’t be able to trace it or track us in anyway. Now to refine my plan. If I can get the information from Carlisle on the questionable where abouts of Dracula maybe Riley will help me locate him. If he loves me like he says he does I should be able to get him to do anything. Suddenly I could hear someone coming up the drive. That’s strange I never noticed that before! It’s almost as if my hearing is improving. Huh I wonder what Carlisle would think of this. Riley walked through the door, holding out a new cell phone for me to call with. I asked for some privacy so I could talk with my father. He left the house and I listened for him to leave the driveway. Wow this better hearing is awesome. I waited till he was out of hearing range and dialed the all to familiar number.

“Hello, Carlisle Cullen speaking.”

“Carlisle it’s Bella”

“Oh Bella! we have been so worried about you. Where are you? Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you? Can you tell me who it is that took you?”

I had to interrupt him or I would never get a word in.

“Carlisle please. I can’t tell you where I am. I am just fine. No I’m not hurt. And you already know who took me.”

“Oh!”

“Now I have some questions for you.”

“Go ahead Bella”

“Well I was wondering if you made any headway with what we spoke of before I left?”

“Yes. Would you like to hear what I’ve found out so far?”

“Yes please”

“Well I have found that he is possibly in Northern Russia, and he may be staying in the old Romanov palace.”

“Wow Carlisle that is great news. Are you guys traveling there to see if you can find him for sure?”

“Yes we are. We were hoping you would be with us when we did, but seeing as you are not, we could possibly do this without you. If you could keep in touch I would certainly keep you informed on what is happening and what I learn.”

“That would be appreciated. I will see what I can work out about the contact thing. I have one other piece of information for you.”

“What is it?”

“My hearing has improved exponentially. I can hear further away then normal. What could cause this?”

“I’m unsure Bella. I will add this to our list of things and if we find him; I will be sure to inquire all of these things we have talked about.”

“Thank you Carlisle. For everything. Give everyone my love and I will talk to you again as soon as I can. Good-bye.”

“We love you too Bella. Good-bye.”

I hung up the phone and yelled for Riley to let him know I was done with my call. He came back quickly and asked if everything was okay. I told him that everything was fine and that I wondered if he could help me with something. I went into my lack of family background I told him that it was possible that some of my ancestry led to here in Russia. I asked if he could help me locate the old Romanov palace to see if we could find any old records of my ancestors. He was more then happy to help me research my family. He said it was a good way for him to find out more about me. Whatever helps him sleep at night. My motives are more along the lines of that is where the Cullen’s and my brother were headed and they might be able to rescue me from Mr. Crazy. Not to mention the fact that my ancestor may very well be the strongest, oldest and most vicious vampire known to either worlds.

I hope he won’t be to upset with me tricking him like this.

Like you really care if he is upset or not!

No I don’t but hey it sounded good in my head. Truthfully I hope he gets ripped to shreds and I can light the match that burns his palely white ass into ashes.

Now there’s the girl I know and love.

Two days later we set off for Saint Petersburg. With Riley’s speed it didn’t take us long to get there. The palace was falling apart but it was still magnificent to see. Standing next to this incredible piece of architecture that was the scene of a the most well know mystery in history caused me to look in awe. I can’t believe I’m actually going to enter the Romanov Palace. Oh well got to find this stuff out eventually.

I looked around for anyone looking in our direction and didn’t see anyone. Riley was finding us a way in. He found a broken widow that had been boarded up but was missing a few of the boards so we could easily climb through without disturbing the structure. Didn’t want anyone to get suspicious about what we were doing. I listened to see if anyone else was here but I didn’t hear anyone. Apparently neither did Riley or he would have been on the offensive. Maybe Dracula isn’t here, but if he is like me, I can hide my scent from other vampires. Perhaps it’s something he can do naturally instead of chemically engineered in some make shift lab like I did.

I told Riley that we should look in the catacombs. He agreed that that would be where they keep the records. That the survivors would have hidden them down there to keep them safe during and after the siege of the Palace. So we went down the stairs to the lower levels of the Palace. We entered a long hallway, there were several large wooden doors in this corridor. We split up and opened them. About my third door down I found a room filled with boxes and crates filled with papers. I called Riley to help me search through them. He asked what names to watch for, I told him to look for Swan, McCarty or Dwyer. Hours must have pasted because my legs were stiff and had fallen asleep. I got up and almost fell back down, I had a serious case of pins and needles in my lower extremities. After stretching, I told Riley I was going to find a bathroom. He said there was a bathroom type room two doors down on the left hand side; he could smell the water from here. I thanked him and left. After I finished my human type things I started looking in some of the other doors we hadn’t got to yet.

I peaked into a room that was four doors down from the one I left Riley in, and it was like a large storage room. In the far corner there was a bed. From where I was standing I couldn’t tell what was on it so I moved closer. I was almost upon the bed when I found the form of a body that was sunken into the mattress, almost as if it was cradling it. I leaned in for a better look and was stunned to see the handsome creature that was resting here in this makeshift tomb. The stories did nothing close to justice in describing the man in front of me. He looked to stand around 6 feet 7 inches in height. His body was muscular, close to that of Emmett. He was thin but not overly, his jaw was strong and dominate, his cheekbones high and distinguished like mine. This man was perfectly symmetrical. Dark chestnut hair in curls hung down into his eyes as he slept. There was no way I could be related to this man. I was plain and he was a god among gods.

Before I could stop myself my hand reached out to touch his perfectly pale skin. I ran my fingertips gently down his face from his hair line to his strong jaw. He stirred slightly and I quickly removed my hand. His face turned slowly to look in my direction and what I saw in his eyes surprised me. The eyes looking back at me was not the gold or crimson that I was expecting to see; but they were a dark and deep chocolate. Like mine. A smile crept across his face as he started to sit up. I took a step back so as not to be to close to him. My heart was racing and my breathing was erratic as he sat there staring at me. To say I was dazzled would be an understatement. More like I was in a trance I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Just as I was about to try to run he spoke.

“What year is it?”

The sound of his voice was like a chorus of bells.

“What…oh um it’s 2010”

“I have been asleep for 300 years”

Before I could stop myself I let the sarcasm escape.

“Wow I guess being the most feared undead guy really makes you tired.”

I looked down suddenly embarrassed by my stupidity. But then I heard him laughing.

“My dear young one, there is no reason for your embarrassment. Your body and mind work of there own accord when in times of stress or fear.”

To say I blushed would have been seriously wrong. I turned a deep red from head to toe. Suddenly I remembered that I was here with Riley and he could possibly hear me.

“Don’t worry my child your friend can not hear you here. It is apart of my many gifts that I have.”

“He is not my friend! Wait did you just hear what I was thinking?”

“Yes child. I have many gifts and mind reading is one of them also.”

“Wow that is just weird. My friend Edward can’t even read my mind.”

“You know a mind reader?”

“Yes I know several gifted Vampires. They are like family to me. After my mother passed we moved to Forks, Washington. That is were I meet the Cullen’s. We first became friends but then after a year passed and my father was killed in the line of duty they became more like family.”

I’m not sure why I was telling him all this. I felt compelled in a way I guess you could say.

“That again would be part of my charms.” He smiled at me then.

“So who else is in your vampire family young one?”

“Well there is Carlisle, he is like our father figure, and his mate Esme is our mother. Then there is Edward and Rosalie. They were turned by Carlisle so they are like his true children. Then they kind of adopted Alice and Jasper who found their way to the Cullen’s. I almost forgot my brother Emmett. He isn’t a vampire but he is in love with Rosalie and I figure he might want to become one eventually so he can stay with her forever.”

“Is this Carlisle Cullen you speak of child?”

“Yes actually, it is! Do you know him?”

“I have heard of him. Does he still drink from animals?”

“Well yes that is how I met him. His “kids” went to school with me.”

“I see, tell me more about these gifted ones you speak of.”

“Well like I said Edward can read minds, Alice can see the Future, but it’s subjective, and Jasper can manipulate emotions. However Edward can’t read my mind, Alice can only see my future if I allow her too, and I can also control the emotions I allow Jasper to feel.” again with the word vomit.

“That is very interesting. What is your name child?”

“Isabella Marie Swan, but I prefer to be called Bella”

“Well Bella, it is a pleasure to meet you. Am I correct in assuming you already know who I am? Or at least can guess at it?”

“Yes. You are known in both worlds. However I think in the human world you are more of a myth or story used to scare, whereas in the vampire world you are feared and revered, even though most believe you to be dead.”

“Is that so. Well I fear I have been asleep for too long my dearest Bella. If the vampire world believes me to be deceased.”

“Not all believe you to be dead. My father Carlisle believed you to be sleeping or in hiding until you deemed it necessary for your return to the world you created.”

“I think I like this Carlisle. How old is he?”

“He is nearing his 400th birthday so to speak. He was turned in England. He did spend some time with the Vulturi. He is unlike most vampires. Carlisle uses his skills as a doctor of medicine in the human world. They are very good at keeping their identity a secret.”

“A secret. Why would they do that? Do we not still walk among the humans as equals?”

“No. Vampires are kept in secret. If a vampire was to reveal himself or herself to a human they would be killed and the human would be either turned or killed.”

“Who would do such a horrid thing? Have my teachings become extinct?”

“I am not sure how to answer that. The Vulturi are now the ruling class. They make the rules and enforce them. They have a large army of gifted vampires who serve them and do their bidding. They are the supposed justice keepers.”

“I believe it is time my dear Bella for me to return to the world once again. I must set things straight. First I must feed.”

I started to back away once again when he said this. The fear bubbling to the surface once again. Was I his first meal now that he is awake? Would I ever see my family again? Wait they were on their way here. Would they find my body here in this makeshift bed chamber?

“Bella…Bella! I will not feast off of you. Yes I do feast off of humans but I can sustain off of many things, humans are just the most prominent. I can also survive off of human food just like you.”

With this I looked up with shock on my face.

“You also said your family was on their way. What about this Riley you are with?”

“Crap! I forgot about Riley. He will be looking for me soon, if he is not already, and yes my family will be here soon.”

“Your fear spiked when I mentioned Riley why is that?”

“Oh hell I forgot, Riley kidnapped me from my home over two weeks ago. My family have been looking for me. I just recently convinced him to allow me to call them and let them know I was okay. That is when Carlisle told me he heard rumors that you were ‘sleeping’ here. The good thing was that Riley had taken me to a cabin north of here so it was a short journey. I told him I was tracing by ancestry back and this is where I could find information on it. He is delusional. He believes he is in love with me. That I am to be his mate. What a joke. But in all reality I was coming here to find you. Carlisle and I have some questions we hope you could answer. So they are coming here to get answers. I tricked Riley so I could meet up with them so they could save me from him. This is the first time I have been away from him for more then two minutes.”

“You have been through so much in the short time you have been alive. I will try and answer any questions you may have; but first I must feed and we should take care of Mr. Riley before your family arrives.”

“We?”

“Yes I can here your thoughts remember. Your exact thought was “I want to light the match that burns his palely white ass into ashes.” if I am not correct.”

I started giggling uncontrollably at this point.

Don’t lose it now. You got Dreamy vamp on your side and he is going to help you ice or ash that sadistic vamp who kidnapped you and get us back to our family along with answering our questions.

Okay I won’t, and don’t call him that I may be related to him.”

“Bella who are you speaking with”

“oh that is my inner voice Belle. She is my conscience. She helps to keep me in line or think through things when she is not being as sarcastic as all hell. Is that crazy or what?”

“Not really I have something very similar to that also.”

“Wow that’s so cool. That is something else we have in common”

“What do you mean in common? What else can you do child?”

“Well besides what I already told you, I can slow my heart to almost a hibernate state, I can disguise my sent from vampires, I can play my emotions into music and put vampires in an almost hypnotic state or is it a trance…I’m not sure Carlisle could tell you better then I can. But if we are going to talk to him we had better take care of business here first before they arrive.”

“Your right. No more getting side tracked. Let me go feast first and I will meet you back in the records room where your captor Riley is awaiting your return. He is getting rather irritated at the moment, he thinks you are trying to escape. You better return to him now so I can surprise him when I return. I will be sure to bring matches back with me.”

He smiled and winked, then left at the speed of light. I think he is even faster then Edward! I started back toward Riley. As I entered the room he released an unneeded breath he had been holding.

“I thought you had tried to leave me”

“I was just checking for more files in some of the other rooms that is all”

“Find any?”

“No just rooms filled with dust and cobwebs. Have you found anything yet?”

“Yes actually I have. It seems as if some of your family worked here in the palace hundreds of years ago before it was the Romanov Palace. It was only a small castle back then. They were servants to the royals who lived here.”

“Wow so I actually may still have family here in St. Petersburg?”

“It is a possibility, they will be distantly related but it is possible.”

“Oh thank you Riley for allowing me to come here. This means so much to me.”

I almost hugged him but then stopped that would almost be too creepy.

No duh…where have you been all this time? I thought he was creepy from the get go. When is dreamy vamp coming back?

He should be back shortly. Stop calling him dreamy.

No sooner had I said this in my head did I hear his approach. Riley didn’t seem to hear him at all. That’s just weird maybe it’s another talent he has?

Yes Bella it is. As is this. I can project my thoughts into your mind so we can communicate without anyone knowing.

That is so cool!

Hey do I get to be included into this conversation.

Oh sure.

Bella are you seriously arguing with yourself?

Hey why are you ganging up on me. What did I do?

Focus Bella. Where is Riley at in the room? How close to him are you? And can you move far enough away from him?

Okay I’m focused. He is near the back wall and yes I am far away from him, I am near the door. Why?

Does it matter why! he is here to save us.

Your inner voice is more sarcastic then mine is.

Thank you captain obvious.

Hey I resemble that.

Okay enough. Bella I’m going to send in a wave of sleep do you think you can block it?

I have never tried it but I will give it a shot. Go a head.

Here it goes.

He sent the waves in and I saw Riley nod off in the corner. I quickly ran to the door and opened it.

“Not as if I’m not thrilled to see you, but how the hell did you do that? I thought vampires couldn’t sleep?”

“My powers are exponentially stronger then those of the vampires that you know.”

“OH”

That’s all you can say is oh?

Yeah so shut it.

Enough internal bickering let’s get this over with and you out of here. I can hear your stomach growling already. How long has it been since you ate last?

“I’m not sure. We have been here for a long time. So I would say early morning.”

“Well then I suggest we get you something to eat, it’s well after dark.”

“Okay lets go”

So he dismantled Riley while he was a sleep. Yeah I know freaky huh. Sleeping vampires. As promised I got to throw the match. Oh yeah. The only thing was is he smelled horrible. We quickly left the catacombs and went in search of food for me. We came across a small diner type place. We went and sat at one of the tables. I sat looking over the menu. Russian! Everything was in Russian. I looked up at my savior and he was chuckling at me.

Hey what’s so funny?

You

What I can’t help it that I can’t read Russian.

Okay let me see if I can help

He picked up one of the menus and began to skim the pages.

Okay most of it is beef type products. Some of the more simple stuff like burgers and roasts.

Oh okay well which sounds the most edible?

I would say go for the pasta or steak. Plain and simple.

Perhaps I will have a steak done medium well with some steamed vegetables and a baked potato.

That sounds fine I think I will have the same.

What?

Hey I like a good steak as much as the next person.

Will you answer some questions while we wait? I’m extremely curious about you.

Sure Bella. Anything you want to know.

Well since you know Russian how about we start with you placing our order?

Sounds like a plan.

He turned and waved the waitress over and spoke perfect Russian. After she left I started in with my interrogation.

“So just out of curiosity, how old are you?”

“Just a hair over 35.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes I do. Just add a few zeros to the end of that and you will get my age. I found that dropping the zeros makes humans a little less nervous.”

“Oh I understand. So you have seen and learned a lot huh?”

“More then most people will in a life time.”

“How is it that you speak so well in my language?”

“I pick up on languages quickly. I can assimilate to any time period in a matter of seconds by having one small conversation with anyone.”

“Wow. Okay….a…How about the rumor that you can have children with humans?”

“It’s not a rumor. I can and have many times.”

“Do you ever check on your descendants?”

“Yes I frequently check the blood lines to see how far they have continued. If they ever die out then I find and start a new line.”

“I see and your most recent one?”

“From what I have known last that line is still going strong.”

“Would you like some help tracking them down?”

“Yes thank you”

Our food arrived shortly after that and we ate in a comfortable silence. We had no need to fill it with unwanted chatter. We finished quickly and left the diner and headed towards a park of some type. I began with my questions yet again.

“What should I call you? Dracula could cause some attention if I was to call out for you.”

“You have a point. You can call me Simon. That was my human name.”

“Which leads me to my next question. How did you become a vampire?”

“That my Dear Bella would be a question I too would like an answer too.”

“You don’t even know how you became what you are?”

“No I do not. I only know that I was dying and then I wasn’t and I looked like this.”

“Do you sparkle in the sun like the others?”

“No Bella I do not as you say sparkle. I’m not sure what caused the mutation that causes vampires to sparkle but it wasn’t always like that. They used to have to only come out at night because the sun would burn them. But somewhere along the line they became immune to it or adapted to the sun.”

“I bet Carlisle could help us figure it out. He loves puzzles. He studies the vampire world and other mythical creatures to get a better feel for the world around him. He can also help heal them if he knows more about their genetics.”

“How long do you think it will be till they are here? I would really like to meet this Carlisle.”

“Let me call him and find out.”

I went to the nearest store and purchased a cell phone and set it up. Then I called Carlisle.

“Carlisle. It’s Bella”

“Hello I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon”

“Yeah I know, I will explain it all later. Where are you now?”

“We are about 20 minutes outside St. Petersburg why do you ask?”

“Because that is where we are right now.”

“But how? And what do you mean We?”

“I said I would explain later. Could you meet me outside the old train station clock in the center of the city?”

“Yes sure Bella. We will see you soon.”

“See you soon”

I hung up the phone then. I can’t wait to see my family again. I have missed them so much. Hell I wouldn’t even mind seeing Tanya.

“Who is Tanya?”

“I may never get used to having someone else inside my head. She is a vampire who has a serious attitude problem with me cause Edward and I were in a relationship, and she wanted him.”

“So you are no longer in a relationship with him?”

“I don’t know exactly. We had a fight the last time I talked to him and that was almost a month ago. I know he was planning some big to do to win my affections back but he never got the chance because of Riley kidnapping me. But I have had plenty of time to think about things and I don’t know how I feel about him anymore. I mean I care for him and even love him, but am I in love with him? I don’t honestly know.”

“I guess it’s a good thing he can’t get inside your head.”

“Speaking of which. Will he be able to read your thoughts?”

“No he won’t. My thoughts are protected by my block. No abilities can penetrate it.”

“You are so cool”

*chuckling* ” I will take that as a compliment”

“Sorry my immaturity showing there for a sec.”

“Don’t apologize Bella. It’s refreshing to see it, most of the time I run into vampires who are stuck up and holier then thou. They act as if they are better then everyone else. It’s a nice change of pace to see someone so comfortable with who they are.”

“Thank you. I think?”

“That was a compliment.”

“Okay well they should be here any minute now”

I started scanning the crowd for the familiar faces and golden eyes of my family. I heard them long before I saw them.

“They are coming”

“Yes I know I can sense them”

“How?”

“They all course with some diluted form of my venom, so technically they are all a part of me.”

“OK that’s just weird.”

I looked around then and was suddenly wrapped in a pair of large muscular arms.

“Bella, Bella, Bella. I missed you so much you had me so worried. How are you? Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Where is that vampire scum who took you?” Awe Emmett our beloved brother.

“I’m fine Emmett. No I’m not hungry, and Riley is dead.”

“But how?”

“I will explain everything shortly can we please find somewhere to rest I am a little tired.”

“Yes sure we have a hotel set up on the outskirts of town”

“okay let’s go”

“Bella” Carlisle

“Yes Dad?”

He smiled at the endearment but continued.

“Who is your friend?”