The Keeper of Time - II

A wave of dizziness overcame Frances when her eyes eventually deigned to open. The young woman closed them instantly, but not quickly enough to miss the silhouette beside her. The smell of wood and polishing wax was enough to indicate that she wasn't in hospital. There were other familiar smells as well; books and leather. A library? A strange wave of relief passed over her, a wave that was absolutely out of place given that she had been abducted. Of this, there was no doubt, for her memory was quite clear. She had been running in the woods, following Scully's red hair when her nose had picked up a terrible scent. Chloroform. The dose had been mild, for she was not experiencing the splitting headache, nor the nausea that should have come with it. Yet, she could remember the coldness of the wind on her skin, and the incredible strength of the hands that had lifted her on a very cold shoulder, a running man's shoulder. The souvenirs were a blur, but the sensation imbedded into her brain. There had been a swift but short time when Frances had felt like she flew through the woods, and then she was deposited with care on a sofa. Hence the leather.

No, she should not feel so relieved to be on another's couch, in a library. The wave of peacefulness was out of place. All right, she was unharmed, and unbound, but still a captive. Her clothes, though, were soaked, and there was no warmth in the room. Frances shivered, lifting a hand to her skull in an attempt to crack her eyes open under the cover of her palm.

— "Get a blanket, Jasper," came a high-pitched voice.

A young woman then. A woosh was heard, and less than second later, a soft blanket landed on her limp form. Frances' hair flew slightly from the movement, as if the blanket had come at a tremendous speed. How weird, she had not seen anyone moving, but the lighting was quite minimal. Peeking under her hand was not efficient enough for her to make out the room, nor the people around her.

— "Better?"

The voice was beautiful, like a melody and yet so soft. Fed up with being kept in the dark, Frances opened her eyes fully, and sat up on the couch, startling the three people present. One of them she already knew, the insanely beautiful doctor. The two others were younger, in their teens probably. A pixie-haired girl with a bright smile, and a blond-haired boy that seemed uncertain. Startled by their inner beauty that seemed so alike the doctor's, Frances locked eyes with the oldest one, her gaze hard. Seventy-three hours he had roamed her thoughts, seventy-three hours during which she had mused over their encounter, and drawn no conclusion about what he was.

— "So we meet again," she stated cooly.

The doctor's gaze, as bright as a gold band, observed her without reservation.

— "Well said, my lady Frances."

Righteous indignation rose at his words. Not only did he know her name while she ignored everything about him, but there seemed to be an underlying private joke that she could not catch. Fed up with the game, Frances was getting ready to lash out when a new wave of calmness fell upon her, like a weight of deadly acceptance to which her will begged to surrender. This time though, she was prepared for it, and pushed it back with furry. Standing up in a blur, she yelled.

— "Are you trying to control me?"

The doctor's eyes widened slightly, and he gestured to the blond-haired boy.

— "Jasper. Leave us, please"

As soon as the boy passed the door, Frances' anger resurfaced, the veil of peacefulness lifted from her. Now, though, it seemed that there was nothing to tame it. Her eyes filled with fury, she turned to the doctor. The leader that had yet to show a fit of temper. He was so calm, so collected that she felt like … not, she didn't feel like harming him. Was it another one of their tricks? The ability to mess with her emotions so that she would refrain from striking?

— "Who are you people, and what do you want?"

Beside her, the little woman addressed her calmly.

— "Please hear us. Then you are free to leave."

Frances snorted in disbelief.

— "Really?"

— "Truthfully"

Her voice was sincere, yet Frances could not prevent from doubting her words. What would prevent them from killing her and dumping her in the forest afterwards? She was, after all, defenceless. The door from the library banged open, and another teen with the same shade of copper eyes appeared. The boy pointed to her gun in the holster, his face more beautiful than that of model.

— "You are not defenceless," he said with a pointed look.

Not a word was exchanged as he whirled out, earning a satisfied nod from the doctor. Dumbstruck, Frances sat down. On the scale of the weird things she had seen in her life, this definitely ranked high. She had been too dizziy to realize that her captors had not disarmed her. Feeling a little more at ease, the young lady sat back on the couch. Yet, the display of mind reading was a little unsettling. Did all those creatures possess the same gift ? The little woman handed her the blanket, and Frances laid it on her knees before turning her gaze back to Mister Universe, the insanely good-looking doctor. In the corridor, someone snorted loudly.

— "Edward! Go away!" suddenly cried the little pixie seated by her side.

Frances nearly smiled at the exasperation of the teenager. The tone of the little woman's voice was the exact same one she used when trying to get rid of her brothers. Somehow, this little world she had fallen into had a family feeling to it. But she couldn't let her guard down, especially given the circumstances. The little pun about her hair came back to haunt her, and she warned the doctor before anyone felt like prying into her thoughts.

— "All tight, I'm listening. And please, keep out of my mind."

The doctor's posture stiffened a bit, and he seemed to search for something in his mind for an instant before his smooth voice filled the library.

— "Thank you, Frances, for doing so. I apologise for bringing you there in such a disgraceful manner. My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my daughter, Alice. I had the need to talk to you, but couldn't expose my family to the federal bureau. As you have already noted, we are … different, and try to keep our existence secret."

That was a mild way to put it. Different. In her mind, Frances was already rambling about a dozen theories. Why her, specifically? And how did they hope to keep out of the radar if they captured her? But first and foremost, what were they?

— "So, you are not human?"

Carlisle settled back on his chair, his face slightly pained. As if the acceptance was still difficult.

— "No, not any more"

Frances swallowed. There, she was stuck in a house full of non-human beings, four of them at least, able to manipulate her moods or even read her thoughts. That was just swell. And if Mulder's guess about the cold ones was correct, then they were…

— "Vampires?"

Carlisle nodded slowly, carefully studying the young woman's features as she gave nothing away. Yet, he could hear the beating of her heart as she took the news. He could have sworn that the very notion of undead people threw her off balance, as much as it did for him all those years ago. Would she need time to process all the implications? Would she dare asking her questions to him? But then, something hard passed on her features as the young woman seemed to brace herself. The question that flew out of her mouth shocked him to the core.

— "Am I a snack?"

— "No! I'd never…"

Horrified, Carlisle choked on his response, his soul loaded with so much pain that the young woman winced in sympathy. How could she ask such a thing? He that had never hurt another human being? He that owed everything that he was today, his second life to her? Could she not see how important she was? How he nearly worshipped her?

Alice intervened that, for the first time in years, Carlisle struggled to regain his bearings. The others would not be pleased that a human could affect their father and mentor so.

— "We do not harm humans. We are somewhat vegetarians."

Frances' lips upturned in a smirk, relief washing over her. She might not end up in tiny pieces after all, or drained altogether.

— "Vegetarian. A smart way to put it"

The doctor smiled at her. And had she not been sitting, Frances knees would have given way such was the sincerity, the beauty of his beautiful features enlightened by his smile. The man, er, vampire was so dazzling that it prevented her from thinking properly. Probably a trait from their vampireness.

— "It was a clever woman who introduced the concept to me. I appreciated the term, and choose to stick with it."

Frances nodded, her thoughts flying back to Scully's autopsy.

— "But then, the killings…"

— "Another set of Vampires that do not adhere to our code. They had been taken care of."

— "By the Quileutes?"

The pixie snorted beside her, visibly impressed by the knowledge of a mere human. A proud look from her father suspiciously looked like 'I told you so' before his golden eyes came back to Frances.

— "As well"

The answer was clear enough. Vampires had drained people in Forks, and the Quileutes had, somehow, taken care of the bunch, aided by the vegetarian family.

— "All right. This explains that, and Scully will be pissed. But what does this have to do with me? And who was the man in the woods?"

— "Ah, this was Edward. He is the fastest of us all. But fear not, your friends are safe, they are searching for you, but Emmet and Rosalie will ensure nothing happens to them."

— "How many of you are there?"

Ah. There came the questions. Carlisle let his forearms rest on his knees as he prepared for the unavoidable queries she might have. And then, as if Frances had come of her own free will into their home, Carlisle explained to her what he was, and how he came upon his children, adopting them one by one, saving them from death. And Frances listened, accepting to take a tour of the house, her senses still weary, but realising that those vampires were not threat to her. She was introduced to Esme, a beautiful woman and mate to Carlisle, and his children, Jasper and Edward. Both of them apologised, after a pointed look from their father, for using their mind-reading skills and emotion manipulation on Frances.

— "And you Alice? What is your skill?"

— "I have foreseen your arrival in a vision," she simply answered.

And Frances, a frown marring her forehead, stared at the little vampire in thought. She needed to get back to Mulder and Scully as soon as possible, for they would be worried sick. But beforehand, she needed to understand what the vampire family wanted from her, and what she would tell them. And so far, they had not been forthcoming regarding the reason why they wanted to talk to her.

— "Right. You see the future, pretty handy."

And Frances wondered if this whole ordeal had something to do with her little nick with time. For she had known for a long time that she, sometimes, could also see the future. Through dreams, or feeling, sometimes through a vision, a fleeting image. It didn't happen often, quite scarcely to be honest, but her feelings, dreams and intuitions had more often than not proven right. It was, after all, after a dream like this that she positioned herself in a tree with her bow in hand, and saved Mulder and Scully's life in the first place. Chance or destiny? Still, her own gift was nowhere as detailed as what Alice had just described.

Feeling bold, she then turned to Carlisle.

— "And what's yours?"

The doctor's golden gaze held her for a moment, and once more, it was Alice who answered.

— "Empathy"

Well, that couldn't be less explicit.

— "Empathy?"

This time, it was Carlisle who explained, Esme taking hold of his arm in a tender gesture.

— "For a long time, I was alone. Only when I met Edward and Alice did it occur to me that some vampires have a gift. I though none of it, I didn't claim any. But Alice has another opinion"

— "I believe that Carlisle's natural empathy had been enhanced when he was turned. This is how he is able to be a doctor when none of us could,"

Frances nodded, realising the difficulty of being a blood sucker in an environment where human blood was flowing. Empathy would mean that Carlisle would feel strongly about others, hence willing to help them no matter what. And it started to make sense, given what she had just learnt of his character, and the swarm of adopted children that seemed so protective of him. And yet, something was nagging at the back of her mind. What if this gift went two ways? Could it be the reason why she also felt strongly about him? The reason why she didn't want to see his face frown, and his eyes sadden.

— "All right. I think I am starting to get it. Hence the obvious question. What do you want from me? Why break the secrecy?"