What am I going to say to Felix? I pondered worryingly.
There were two choices - truth or lie. If I told him the truth, the positive would be that I would gain more of his trust. The negative however, would be that it would be dangerous - If the Volturi intervened with their most odious of vampiric rulings (and the one that was most punishable by death), they could kill Felix for the knowledge he possessed and drag me and my vampire family into death alongside him.
My other option was to tell him a lie. On one hand, it would keep Felix safe from the knowledge of vampirism. This would shelter us from any audaciously undesirable whispering about my supernaturally gifted family and their unwelcome contribution to the town of Forks. On the other hand if I did lie to Felix, it would leave him inconsolably confused and perhaps drive a wedge into our already tumultuous, tempest of a love story. I could not stand for this as our relationship was set to blossom and it did not need the persistent thorn of society to poison it."I will not be discouraged! I shall conquer this I shall!" I thought to myself.
I realised that I needed to think about my options. Before I could make a final decision, though, the bell above the vet door tinkled. I turned around to see Edward standing there with a worried expression. Though Edward looked concerned, his face possessed the pale but mirror-like palor like what I had seen represented in many portrayals of vampires in my storybooks.
"Excuse me, Felix," I said, "My father is here and wants to speak to me."
I made my way to the other end of the waiting room, out of earshot of Felix.
"I heard of your predicament about the Volturi and Felix," said Edward. "Come, our family will help you ascertain your answer."
I propelled back to Felix with an apologetic expression. "I must take my leave now, my family needs my expertise with a rowdy bookshelf."
Felix appraised me with an unconvinced look, but accepted my messy fallacy nonetheless.
A short time later, I was perched in the Cullen lounge room with my family all around me. Seeing their loving faces surrounding me gave me hope that they could possibly provide me with a solution and ease my racing mind about what to tell Felix.
"Edward has filled us in on the matter at hand in regards to Felix," Carlisle said in a authoritative manner. "All of us have had to combat the same feelings of confusion and uncertainty that are plaguing your mind with their sharp claws and oh-so vicious intent."
"I know you feel like being faithful to Felix at the present but we cannot allow him to know about the existence of supernatural creatures like us," Bella intoned from the left side of where I was positioned on the snow-white cushions.
"You have always endeavoured to protect us from the knowledge of humans, Ella, and you must keep doing so," Jasper said from across the room. "But the amount of lies we have to make up can take a toll on anyone. Don't despair, my niece," he stated empathically, "Emmett and I, along with all of our family are going to assist you."
For the first time I realised one of the downsides of existing as a vampire; I would spend the rest of my days lying to save my family's and my secret. I had always prided myself on being honest and valued the trait but now I would have to lie to everyone I met. I felt deeply saddened by this revelation so I curled into myself, hoping to derive some comfort from the action.
Unexpectedly, there was a light but forceful rapping on the pristine, white front door.
We stopped our conversation abruptly at the interruption. I had a sudden worried realisation. "What if it's Felix?" I thought anxiously. "I haven't resolved anything yet. I need more time."
With a feeling of dread, I made my way to the door and opened it...
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