Spirit Guardian

Tear-Stained Soul

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                    When Koda first met the Cullens, she had thought, 'What do you feel when you turn into a vampire?' the answer was hot... very hot. Like lava running through your veins, setting your body ablaze, and nothing can extinguish the fire. Koda wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she had prayed over and over for the pain to end, and at that moment, she wished for death's gentle caresses to pull her into its sweet abyss. After what felt like years of torment, Koda felt the cold for the first time in years. Her skin felt as if it was frozen, and she was sure her body was shaking uncontrollably as the sound of her thundering heart began to slow until even her own ears could barely pick up its beat. At that moment, Koda's eyes opened, revealing bright green irises with splotches of blood red. The eyesight of a werebear was already superior to humans or shifters, but it's never been like this. Koda could now see the complex beauty of things, even simple dust particles. She stands up from the medical bed the Cullens had laid her in but almost falls over by her new speed. Koda regained her balance and did her best to take plodding steps toward the long mirror on the wall. After a few steps, she comes face to face with a stranger. The mirror revealed a painfully beautiful young woman, but what really got to Koda was the soul-breaking pain in her own eyes that had once been filled with joy and mischief. That wasn't the only thing that had changed about her. Koda's lean muscles were even more defined than before, reminding her of a Greek sculpture of Athena. Her lightly tanned skin seemed paler and smoother while it glistened subtly from the sun's touch that peeked through the room's only window. Koda's once shoulder-length wavy, light brunette hair was now long, reaching to the middle of her back, with each wave more defined than before. The color of her hair was now lighter to the eye and thicker.

                    "I want to see her," Bella said, her voice coming from somewhere in the house, but to Koda's ears, it was as if she was yelling right next to her.

                    She covered her ears in pain, "It's not safe, Bella...not after the trauma she's been through," Edith explained, trying to keep her mate safe. Her words send a flash of unwanted memories through Koda.

                    The sound of glass breaking filled the Cullen household, catching everyone's attention. Edith keeps Bella from running up the stairs. Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and Esme take a protective stance around them as Carlisle rushes to the room Koda had been resting in. He finds the door open, revealing Rosalie hugging Koda from behind as she breaks down. "I got you...," Rosalie whispered, understanding Koda's pain and self-hate. Once Koda is calm, Rosalie has her sit back on the medical bed as Esme enters the room. She cleans up the glass on the floor as Rosalie sits next to Koda. Carlisle had left, deciding Koda was in good hands. Rosalie begins to tell her story, saying her human years were simple times because her family was very well off and she was extraordinarily beautiful, which made her the center of attention to everyone. Rosalie is very candid about her vanity, which Koda likes about her. Rosalie continues the story by telling how she met the man of her dream Royce King the 2nd. All she ever wanted was to live comfortably and raise a child. Royce, on the other hand, always wanted to be out with Rosalie because he enjoyed the way people looked at them. Koda wonders if Rosalie has so much bitterness towards her sister because she had been so close to having what she always wanted. Still, it had obviously been taken from her, while Bella just wanted to throw such things away without a second thought. Rosalie continues her story, and Koda can sense that an unpleasant ending is nearing. Rosalie begins to recap the evening of her death. She remembers everything about that night, the coldness of the weather, and her worries about having to move the wedding indoors. Rosalie had been leaving her friend Vera's house to head home when she ran into Royce. He was obviously drunk and with several of his friends. That night Royce showed his true colors as he and his friends assaulted Rosalie and left her for dead in the street where Carlisle found her. He tried to save her, but her wounds were too severe. Rosalie remembers she felt like she was flying and the searing pain as if her body was being consumed by the sun. She explains how she heard Edith express how upset she was that Rosalie had been changed. Edith had nothing personal against Rosalie at the time. It's just that she knew turning someone from a well-known family could put them in danger of discovery. After Rosalie's transformation, she chose to stay with the Cullens because she did not want to be alone. "Unlike the others, I've never tasted human blood, not even when I hunted those bastards down one by one, leaving Royce for last," Rosalie explained with a smirk, then sighed. She finally looks Koda in the eyes, "I'm not going to lie to you and say everything will be ok because it won't be....not for a long time. It might take days, weeks, months, or even years before you finally stop feeling disgusted in your own skin. It may even take longer before the nightmares cease, but someday you will find someone that...washes all the sorrow, hate, and pain away like Emmett did for me," Rosalie admitted with a soft smile.