Chapter Four
Beauté Mortelle
Marlowe Castille
Rochester, New York
February 1933

~

Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
...
O, thou art fairer than the evening air
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter
When he appear'd to hapless Semele;
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms;
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!
-Christopher Marlowe

~

"Edward, wasn't zat Miss Hale?" I whispered to him as we passed the young woman on the dark street.

"I believe so, yes." He nodded, tucking me closer into his side.

"It's so late out, and cold, she shouldn't be out alone like zat." I worried for her.

"This is a calm neighborhood, Marlowe. She's not far from home. Maybe she's confident she'll be okay." He offered me some comfort as he unlocked our front gate and ushered me through.

"I don't like ze idea of it zough. A young woman as jolie and rich as her es bound to run into trouble zis late." I frowned, taking his outstretched hand and following him up the walkway to the house.

"Who's getting into trouble?" Carlisle asked, meeting Edward and I at the door on his way downstairs.

"Père, I'm worried about Miss Hale, ze stock brokers' daughter from a few streets over, Edward and I just passed her on our way home from ze art exhibit. She's walking home en ze cold, dressed to ze nines, and I'm afraid she's going to get 'urt." I stressed to him.

"Marlowe, that's very kind of you, but I'm sure she will be alright. No one would dare hurt a Hale in this town." He promised me.

"I don't know, I 'ave such a bad feeling about et. "I sighed deeply, becoming frustrated. "Maybe you should go find her? Act as ef you were called to ze 'opital and Esme 'ad ze car? Please, I'm just so worried for 'er." I begged him.

"Alright, alright." He hushed me. "I'll go find her. You two stay here." He ordered, putting on a coat and grabbing his doctors bag for show before leaving the house.

"You're really upset about this." Edward frowned, realizing just how panicked I was.

"Mon chérie, you've never been a young girl walking by yourself on a dark cold night wishing someone would show up and walk you 'ome. You've never felt ze kind of fear zat comes with being a woman." I explained softly, wrapping my arms around him and tucking my head into the crook of his neck.

"You're right. I can't imagine that." He sighed, clutching me tighter. "I'm sorry for not being more concerned when you had good reason to be. I wish I would've asked if she needed an escort home." He apologized.

"It's alright, Carlisle's gone after her now. She shouldn't be too far away." I smiled against his neck. I love how understanding he is with me, never failing.

"Do you smell that?" Edward asked me suddenly, stepping out of my embrace and going to the door to peer out of the glass.

"Non, what es et?" I asked him urgently.

"Blood." He frowned grimly at me, face pressed against the glass. "Oh my god!" He cried out as he threw open the door.

Carlisle burst through the door then, holding a thrashing, blood-drenched girl tightly in his arms.

Edward and I both stood frozen in shock. I was fearful this was going to happen, but even I was taken aback. Miss Hale was literally dripping blood, she was injured so badly, and her faint heartbeat had me worried she wouldn't survive the change.

"I'll get ze room down ze 'all ready for you." I snapped out of my horror and ushered Carlisle to follow me.

"This is perfect, Marlowe." Carlisle still managed to praise me as he fretted over the girl. "I could use your help though, if you're able." He asked me as he laid her down carefully.

"Of course." I nodded, not even bothered by the blood. I felt it was wrong for her to be bleeding so badly, it repulsed me.

I buzzed around the house, preparing the room, getting towels for the blood, getting her a new set of clothes, and finding anything else I could that would help.

I helped Carlisle stabilize her as best as he could and after she had stilled for the most part, we both sat back for a moment.

"I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you, Marlowe." Carlisle sobbed and I felt his guilt hit me in waves.

"It's alright, at least you got to her en time." I smiled softly, trying to offer him at least a little comfort.

"I could've gotten to her before she suffered like this however if I had just trusted your instincts. She's going to blame me for the rest of her existence for ripping her life away from her." He sighed deeply and put his face into his hands.

"Stop zat." I ordered him. "She'll be upset, E'm sure, but she'll come to see zat zis existence es a meaningful one. She'll zank you one day."

"I suppose I'll have to believe you." He smiled weakly at me.

"I'll get 'er cleaned up and comfortable." I smiled and ushered him out.

I could tell she was in a lot of pain and, even though I had no memories of the burning, I felt badly for her. She had thrashed and tried to get out of my hold at first, until she relaxed suddenly. I realized my touch must have soothed her somehow and found a new hope to help.

I shed what little clothes Miss Hale had on her off, as they had been ripped so much that they were nothing but scraps. I made sure to get every trace of blood off of her. I didn't want her to have any grim reminders of what happened to her. After changing the bloodied bed sheets, I put her into a fresh set of comfortable clothes and began my next task.

I wanted to make her as comfortable as I possibly could. I grabbed a hairbrush and began delicately brushing out the knots in her beautiful long blond hair. I washed her hair as best as I possibly could after that and ran the brush through it again to make sure the knots were out.

For the next few days I sat diligently at Miss Hales side, cooling her down and talking to her about whatever I could think of. Edward thought it was odd, the way I was so adamant about not leaving her side, but he also thought it was the kindest thing he'd ever seen and would occasionally pop in to talk for a bit. Esme would come in too, except she was more curious as to how Miss Hale would fit into our family.

Carlisle was a different story however. He would come in, sit with me, and question me about every piece of her existence. What was she like as a human? What did her past hold? Would she carry any of it into the future? Would she hate him? Would she eventually find happiness? Would she accept our diet?

I had no answers for him, for anyone, on how Miss Hale would be in her new life. I couldn't even find her first name in the abyss of strange visions I had been receiving. Her past was shifting constantly, probably due to the fact that her mind was under too much stress to allow me access. I was dizzy for the first time in my existence because of this phantom of a girl.

All at once, my parents and Edward entered the room quietly, breaking me out of my rêverie.

"What's 'appening?" I asked quickly, knowing I hadn't seen any changes.

"She's about to wake up soon." Carlisle nodded. "Listen."

I heard her heart beat picking up frantically. It sounded like a bird wildly flapping it's wings as if it was caged. In reality, she is a caged bird, trapped forever in a life she would've never chosen for herself.

"Marlowe, would you do something for me?" Carlisle asked me, speaking quickly.

"Of course." I stood and went to him. "What do you need?"

"I need you to talk to her. Explain what happened." He answered and I gasped.

"I can't." I shook my head. "I don't know what to say."

"She knows the sound of your voice. She knows that you've stayed with her." Edward chimed in. "If you speak to her, she'll be calm. She'll be more likely to listen to you." He smiled encouragingly.

I quickly rushed back to Miss Hales side, as I heard her heart stop and had no time to answer Carlisle's plea. I had just taken my seat when her blood red eyes snapped open and she sat up, pushing herself back against the headboard.

It broke apart as if it were a toothpick.

"Miss Hale." I greeted her calmly but happily. "We're so glad to see you're awake."

"W-what happened?" She questioned quickly, surprised by the sound of her new voice.

"You were attacked." I explained softly. "My father, Carlisle-" I gestured to him "found you and brought here. E's a doctor and e-"

"Bit me." She sneered her nose up. "He bit me and it burned, badly."

"Miss 'Ale-"

"Rosalie." She frowned.

"Rosalie. What a pretty name." I smiled. "E suppose zere's no easy way to tell you zis...we are all vampires. Your injuries were so grim zat, to save your life, Carlisle changed you into a vampire as well." I explained.

She took a deep breath...and then lunged towards me viscously.

~

The days progressed very slowly after Rosalie's change it seemed. Our relationship was very forced, she only pretended to like me because she remembered how much I had helped her. I couldn't complain really, I had the best relationship with her out of everyone in the house, even if she did try to kill me.

She detested Carlisle. She wouldn't even look at him. She blamed him for taking her life and thought it was all his fault she had been attacked in the first place, though we all knew that wasn't true. She needed an outlet for her anger and Carlisle gladly accepted her anger if it meant she would leave the rest of the family alone.

Esme tried to be a motherly figure to her, always checking in on her and offering to help her. Rosalie refused her every time. Once, when Esme had revealed she was happy to have another daughter, Rosalie started screaming at her that she would never be her mother. Esme locked herself in her room that night, and sobbed for the rest of the night, only calming down when Carlisle came home from the hospital in the morning.

And, as much as I hated it, Rosalie and Edward fought on a constant basis. There was always some sort of tension between them. Edward detested her for hurting me and constantly checked on the cracks in my neck from her attack, always letting me know exactly how much he hated her. Rosalie constantly complained about the way Edward treated me, going as far to claim he was abusive to me.

Edward and Rosalie always had a snide comment to say to one another, a mean word would lead to bickering and bickering would lead to an all out war of words between them. No subject was off limits that they could attack each other with. It would start off fairly harmless, each other's appearance or something petty of the sorts, and that lead to much more harmful things. Rosalie would laugh at Edwards choice in a mate, taking snide jabs at me, which would set Edward off and he would end up pestering her about her choice in a fiancée. That's when I would have to step in and separate them, usually by cursing at them in French until they went to their respective rooms.

"Marlowe?" Rosalie called my name softly from my bedrooms open doorway. "Can I talk to you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course, I'm sitting at ze vanity en ze bathroom." I called her in.

She came in with her head down, looking very meek, as she sat behind me on the edge of the tub. I saw her reflection in my vanities mirror as I curled my wild hair, she seemed so sad, so I held my tongue and waited for her to speak. I had never seen her act this way before. She seemed so...soft. Very different from the headstrong woman I was used to.

I was suddenly made all too aware of the differences between us. She was curvy with beautiful long platinum blonde curls and wide doe-like eyes. Everything about her screamed beauty and elegance. She is every mans perfect woman.

I'm thin in the extreme from what Carlisle calls an "undiagnosed illness" which puts a stark contrast between our body types. And my chest length ginger-red curls seem so plain compared to her unique color. My skin is disturbed by blood red freckles all over my body, where her skin is flawlessly porcelain. I am certainly not a perfect woman to anyone...except Edward of course.

"I wanted to apologize to you, Marlowe." She said suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts, I was honestly a little surprised. "I thought it would be easier to say sorry to you first." She added.

"First?" I questioned. "So you're apologizing to someone else? For what?"

"Don't play with me now, Marlowe." She grumbled. "I know you've seen it coming, you always see everything, so don't play ignorant now. I'm sorry for the way I've been treating everyone, it's not fair." She sighed.

"I forgive you, of course." I smiled, setting my curling iron down and turning to face her. "I understand your anger. Everyone knows you need an outlet right now."

"I don't think Carlisle deserves my anger." Rosalie sighed deeply. "He's really a good man, isn't he?"

"Ze best." I nodded. "E understands your anger with 'em more zan anyone. E's 'appy to be your target ef et means you leave everyone else alone."

"Then he's even better than I thought he was." Rosalie sighed again.

"Don't worry too much about et, Rosalie." I smiled. "Carlisle cares very deeply for all of us, especially you and Edward."

"Why Edward and I?" She asked.

"Because 'e changed both of you and 'e sees himself as responsible for you. In 'es eyes, you both were changed at such young ages zat et makes you children, which I guess we all really are, so 'e feels very parental over you." I explained.

"Doesn't he feel the same for you though?" She questioned me. "Didn't he change you too?"

"I could've sworn I told you." I laughed off my sudden sadness. "Carlisle didn't change me. We don't know who did, or why zey did, but zey did." I sighed. "Carlisle cares for me of course but I sometimes zink 'e just treats me as his daughter-en-law."

"You don't know who changed you?" She asked, shocked at the thought.

"No, I don't. I was alone when I woke up." I explained. "Ze Volturi found me mid-change and took me to zeir quarters. Zey taught me ze rules and let me stay with zem...until I found ze Cullens of course."

"Don't you remember who was with you before your change though? Did you not see or hear them?" She asked, unable to imagine me not knowing my creator.

"Rosalie, I don't remember anything about zat." I confessed. "I remember getting caught en ze garden by ze German soldiers and zen nothing after."

"Nothing?" She cried, worry evident in her eyes.

"Absolutely blank." I nodded.

"Marlowe, that must be so awful. I can't imagine not remembering something." She worried, taking my hand in hers very sweetly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." I shrugged, not used to talking about the darker parts of my past with anyone but Edward. "It doesn't bother me." I smiled, trying to convince her enough for her to let me go. I didn't like this sudden attention.

"Still, I had no idea." She sighed, letting go of my hand. "So, can I ask you a question?"

"I suppose." I nodded.

"How did you meet Edward?" She asked me excitedly, reminding me of a schoolgirl. "How did you know he was your soulmate?"

"Zat's a wonderful story." I smiled widely, loving the new conversation topic. "Ze Volturi 'ad decided to throw a celebration and asked to use my childhood home en France. Ze Cullens came of course as to not seem rude. Well, I was still a new vampire zen, and needed a break from ze party, so I went out on to ze balcony of ze ballroom...and zere he was." I fell into a daze, seeing the scene in my mind again as I kept telling the story. "E was walking en ze garden when 'e looked up at me. E rushed en, introduced himself, and asked me to dance. It was magical and perfect and no one could doubt our bond." I giggled as my sight returned to me, and Rosalie looked at me enviously.

"That's beautiful, Marlowe." Rosalie smiled sadly. "I can't wait to find something like that."

"You will." I promised her. "Look at you! Such a gorgeous woman, I 'ave no doubt Fate es going to be very kind to you, Rosalie."

"Thank you." She smiled as she stood from her seat.

She was about to leave when she paused and carefully ran her hand through my curls.

"Would you like me to finish your hair? I'm fairly decent at curling." She offered and I nodded excitedly, happy she was finally wanting to do sisterly things with me. "So why are you curling it so neatly? I like how curly it is naturally."

"Edward es taking me dancing tonight." I smiled apologetically. "We would love to invite you out with us. Although, you're still so new to bloodlust and you're supposed to be dead to Rochester." I explained.

"I understand, I'm not one for dancing anyways." She laughed happily.

We chattered about anything and everything we could think of while she finished my hair. As we laughed and giggled, I felt myself fully embracing the idea of having Rosalie for a sister and I was overjoyed that Rosalie was beginning to see me in the same way. I had silently begged for her to like me so many times. It was a dream come true for me, and I couldn't help but get emotional.

"Marlowe?" Rosalie questioned, sensing a shift in my emotions. "Are you okay?" She worried over me.

"Perfect." I smiled happily at my sister.