𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘛𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘝𝘌

(the cursed witch, act one)

NINA WOKE UP TO A BRIGHT LIGHT SHINING DOWN ON HER – IT REMINDED HER OF BEING IN A DENTIST'S OFFICE. Squeezing her eyes shut, she opened them again, this time much slower.

Her once steady breaths turned uneven when she realized she didn't recognize her surroundings.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," A voice spoke suddenly as the door opened and closed, footsteps soft as they padded toward her.

Nina looked at the figure, her vision still blurry. "Eeyore?"

Edward would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so worried. Setting the tray of food he had brought in down on a side table, he moved to sit in the chair beside the bed. "Yeah. It's Eeyore."

She hummed softly, eyes closed as she held a small, tired smile. "My favourite character... Why do I feel like I'm floating?"

"I think you're still half asleep," He explained, his voice soft, not wanting to alarm her. Rosalie had warned him she might not deal well being in the same room as a man. She had even offered to go in herself, but Edward insisted he be the one to talk to her unless she was too afraid.

When Nina tried to sit up, she stopped herself instantly when she felt pain bloom from her ribcage. "Ow," She groaned softly, laying back down and huffing.

Pursing his lips, not enjoying the sight of her in pain, he placed an icepack on the bed. "Put it on your ribs. It'll help a little."

She grabbed the cold object and placed it where he said. She was thankful he hadn't handed it to her, she wasn't sure how well she would respond to the touch.

"Why were you in Port Angeles, Edward?" Nina asked. "How did you know where I was?"

He looked down, folding his large hands together slowly on his lap. His eyes flickered up at her from under his lashes. "I followed you to Port Angeles," He admitted, speaking in a rush. "I've never tried to keep a specific person alive before, and it's much more troublesome than I would have believed. But that's probably just because it's you. Ordinary people seem to make it through the day without so many catastrophes." He paused. Nina wondered if it should bother her that he was following her; instead she felt a strange surge of gratitude. He stared, maybe wondering why her lips were curving into an involuntary smile.

"You so like me," She teased, laying her head back on the pillow.

"Well, it would be a lot easier to like you if you stopped getting into trouble all the time."

"But if I don't get into trouble, who is going to make sure your heart still beats?" When he grinned, she continued, "Did you ever think that maybe my number was up the first time, with the van, and that you've been interfering with fate?"

"That wasn't the first time," He said, and his voice was hard to hear. "Your number was up the first time I met you."

She remembered that day, the abrupt memory of his dark black glare. She hadn't ever realized how close to death she had been.

By the time he looked up to read her eyes, there was no trace of fear in them. "You remember?" He asked with a grimm look.

"Yes." She was calm.

"And yet here you sit. Most people would have jumped out the window by now." There was a trace of disbelief in his voice; he raised one eyebrow.

"If it were anyone else, you would never see me again," She admitted. "But for some reason, I can't stay away from you... and I think if I try to get up I will fall on the ground "

He grinned again, this time as he picked up the tray of food he had brought in and placed it on the bed beside her. "You should eat. It'll help you feel better."

Nina stared at him before hesitantly taking a bite of the food he had given her. It was actually edible, something she hadn't expected from the boy.

"Esme made it. She cooks food for the homeless shelters in her free time," Edward informed her.

"You read my mind."

"I did."

She tsked. "I had a feeling you could do that."

"What gave it away?"

"You always seem to know what I need."

He nodded, "I try not to listen all the time. Your mind is very calming to me though. It's like a quiet escape for me."

"Are you saying I got no thoughts?"

Edward laughed softly, shaking his head no. "You're impossible."

"So, you're a vampire then?" She asked. The question didn't shock him, it stunned him slightly, though that was only because he hadn't expected her to ask so soon.

"I am... And you are a witch?"

She took another bite of the food before answering, "Yes. Well, not a very good one, but by genetics, yes."

"Not a very good one?" He asked. "From what I saw last night, I would call you incredibly impressive."

"And look where I am now. In a hospital bed under who I assume to be your father's care once again." She played with her thumbs, occasionally twisting the ring she always wore on her right pointer finger.

"You're not in this bed because of your magic, Nina. You're in here because I was too late."

She looked at him. It was only then that she realized the burn in her skin was gone. Her fingertips no longer felt as though they were going to sear off, or set flame to anything she touched. The only pain she seemed to feel was that of her ribs.

"How?..."

He closed his eyes for a fleeting moment. "There's a lot I need to tell you – things I should have told you months ago. I was afraid... afraid that you'd be repulsed by me and run for the hills as soon as the words left my lips."

"What is it?" The witch asked, her voice softer than she realized. She hadn't even noticed she had placed her hand on his. She didn't even feel the coolness of his skin.

"Vampires..." He started. "Vampires have this thing. I never really believed in it till I saw you. You're my mate, Nina."

She stared at him. "Mate as in... like a soulmate?"

He nodded silently, unable to meet her gaze, too afraid to see what she might have been feeling. He couldn't even allow himself to focus on the sweet sounds of her thoughts.

"Isn't that a good thing?" She asked, knowing he wouldn't speak until she did.

"You don't want to be mated to me. I'm not good for you, Nina. I'm a monster."

"What am I then? You saw what I did last night. How does that make me any different than you?"

"You did that out of self defense. I killed because I wanted to rebel." His tone was dark, but she could tell he wasn't letting his anger show for her own accord.

"Who did you kill?" Murderers? Rapists? Criminals?

He nodded to her thoughts.

"Then we aren't all that different. You can't think of yourself a monster if you don't think of me the same. I won't let you."

He held her hand a little tighter. His thumb brushed along her warm skin. She felt like a warm, sunny day, or atleast what he remembered a warm, sunny day felt like. He hadn't felt such temperatures since he had been human. It was almost mesmerising, the way her touch felt. If he gave in, he wasn't sure he'd ever let go.

"What happened to the body?" She asked after a minute of silence.

"Rosalie and Emmett took care of it... And the rest of them."

"The rest of them?"

"Emmett was a little angry that they touched his favourite witch. And Rose... well, she'll take any chance she gets at killing boys like them."

"I guess I'll have to thank them."

"You've got tons of time to do so. But right now you need to stay here. Your ribs are bruised and one is fractured."

"I guess that's what hurts so much."

He nodded with a pained look in his eyes, a look that made her sigh. "Sit with me?" She asked.

"I wouldn't want to hurt you," He disagreed.

"You could never hurt me."

Nina had stayed at the Cullen home that night, and the night after that. Dr. Cullen had informed her mother of what had happened and Natalie very quickly agreed to letting her daughter stay with them. She had even come to visit her daughter for a few hours each day, though she eventually had to go back to the hospital, her skills rivaled those of Dr. Cullen himself.

"If you're a vampire, what kind of powers do you have?" Nina asked, sitting on the couch with Emmett by her side. Carlisle had wrapped her ribs tightly with a bandage which seemed to relieve some of the pain, the rest had been taken care of with some strong concoction of herbs Natalie had brewed – the only side effect being that it made Nina tell the truth and nothing but the truth for 8 hours.

Esme had warned the Cullen children not to take advantage of the situation for Nina's sake, but she knew her attempts would eventually be futile. There truly was no wrangling of the Cullen children when they wanted something.

"Well," Emmett smirked. "I'm very strong." He flexed his arms to prove his point.

"That's it?" Nina asked, not all that impressed. "Aren't all vampires strong? I mean, Eeyore stopped that van with his hand like it was a normal Tuesday activity."

With Emmett's newly bruised ego, he left and was replaced by Jasper.

"Hello," He greeted her from the doorway. "Emmett warned me you might hurt my feelings."

"Can't help it," She smiled. "I promise to apologize when this wears off."

Jasper grinned as he walked further into the room, taking a seat on the chase beside the couch. "You'll apologize, but we'll still know you meant it?"

"Exactly. You'll learn to get over it. Eeyore did and he can read all my thoughts..." Her eyes widened, "Wait can he read all of them? Even like... the bad ones?"

"What kind of bad ones?" He asked, holding in a laugh when he felt her emotions switch.

She blushed brightly. "The ones about Sebastian Stan?"

"Probably. But I can assure you he's heard and seen much worse from our other siblings. He's told me Emmett's mind rivals... What did Alice call it? Ah, yes. The hub of porn."

Nina giggled softly. "That makes a lot of sense." She trailed off, "What's your power again? Edward said you all had different abilities."

"I can influence the emotions of those around me," He informed.

"That's awesome," Nina breathed out. "You could be an instant cock-block for your siblings. Like, give them a thought of their naked grandma and then you can sleep a full 8 hours without hearing them going at it."

"I never thought about that," Jasper admitted. If he were human, he was sure he would have blushed from her words. Nina on truth serum was quite vulgar with her words, though it made their first conversation much more entertaining than he had expected. "I'll have to give it a try one day."

He glanced down at his watch; it looked like it was worth a few thousand dollars. "Looks like my ten minutes are up. Rose is next."

"Wait! You guys are speed dating me?" Nina yelled as he ran out of the room.

As he said, Rosalie was indeed next. The striking blonde woman walked slowly into the room, a small, hesitant smile on her perfectly glossed lips as she sat down beside Nina.

"Hi," Nina greeted, slightly star-struck by her beauty. "I guess I know what your power is now."

Rosalie's smile grew, "I get that a lot."

"You're like the most beautiful person I've ever seen," Nina would have never said that if it weren't for the herbs.

"Don't tell Edward that. He might get jealous."

Nina flicked her hand, "Ah, forget about him. I'm stuck with him for eternity now or something so he's gotta learn to not be a jealous little bitch all the time."

"Mmm. I guess that is right," Rosalie nodded. "Though my brother can be quite hard headed, so you might have some trouble getting that one through his thick skull."

"I said you could have ten minutes each and not make me look like a loser, Rose!" Edward's voice came through the house, echoing slightly.

"He's been listening this whole time?" Nina whispered to Rosalie.

"He's a bit of a loon," Rosalie explained.

"You blonde bit–" Edward muttered but was cut off by Emmett's hand smacking against his shoulder. "Don't call my wife that. She is one but you can't call her that."

Shortly after, Rosalie had left, her ten minutes having run out. Alice then appeared through the window. She had walked in on a nearby branch before she jumped gracefully onto the hardwood floor, not a single sound emanating from the movement.

"Hi, Nina!" She greeted excitedly, though when she normally would have gone in for a hug, Edward had already warned her that he would rip out her hair if she did – an act that was deeply frowned upon as vampires can't grow back their hair. Esme always told them that if they were to fight, hair was off limits, and the private parts after Emmett gave Jasper a purple-nurple.

"Alice," Nina smiled, happy to see someone she had spoken with prior to that day.

"What's it like being a witch?" She asked with a fairy-like look of astonishment. Ever since she had been informed of the girl's species, she had been more excited than ever to speak with her on it.

"It's pretty cool," Nina smiled, choosing against talking about her current status. "When I was younger, before my powers started acting out, I would sit outside for hours in any closeby forest and just make all the flowers around me bloom. They used to bloom with every step I took so my mom always knew where to find me."

"That sounds amazing," Alice practically gushed.

"It was," Nina smiled at the memory.

"What else can you do?"

It felt nice that she asked the question as though it wasn't something she could no longer do, as if it was something she had lost. It made her feel like she was still something.

"I, um..." She racked her brain, "I can turn invisible. I used to be the best hide and seek player, I won every game at my old elementary schools. I always used to scare the other kids when I would just appear at the end of the game when they had given up."

"Can you curse people?"

Nina shrugged, "I haven't personally. I think I can though. I've read a few spells for it. There are all types of curses, ones that create insanity, sickness, there is even one called the poppet death."

Alice was instantly intrigued by the name, "What's that one?"

"From what I've read, the spell is performed by stabbing a poppet with a needle while chanting. The victim will experience shortness of breath, cold chills, weakness, vomiting blood, and then unconsciousness. The victim will eventually die in two days."

"What language is the chant in?"

"It's always a mix of a few, depending on each spell. Mostly Latin, sometimes a little French... Bulgarian, Czech, Italian, Old Norse... The list really goes on."

"That's amazing. And you know all of these languages?"

"Not all of them," Nina shook her head. "But since I haven't been able to physically do much magic, I have been studying for quite a while. I'm fluent in French, Latin and Bulgarian since they are the most popular. The rest, I just know the odd spell or two."

"Edward! You can't go for the hair!" Rosalie's voice suddenly screeched through the house. Nina could hear Emmett's booming laughter soon follow.

Alice sighed, "You'll get used to them. I swear, those four are just children."

"Oh, yeah?" Nina grinned. "Have you ever put them in timeout?"

The vampire before her smirked wildly, "No, but that is a wonderful idea."

Edward was sitting outside staring at the treeline when Nina found him. Make no mistake, the interior of the Cullen home was beautiful but the surrounding area outmatched it in every way. The surrounding forest left the sounds of small forest creatures to flow through the air while the nearby river left sounds of gentle trickling water.

"You okay?" She asked him, setting her hand on his shoulder making him look up at her. His eyes were soft and shining gold. Nina was certain she would never get used to him.

Edward smiled, placing his hand on top of hers. "I should be the one asking you that."

Biting her lower lip, she sat down beside him, letting her knees hit his left thigh. "Well, you did just find out I know you're a vampire. I've known you knew I was a witch for a few weeks now."

He could get used to this, having her be so close to him, so close they were touching. Just being near her, he felt more at peace than he ever had. He craved the feeling.

"I knew you would find out eventually. I would have to tell you one way or another. I don't think I would have been able to stay away for much longer."

"Does this mean no more mood swings?"

"Does this mean you won't call me Eeyore?"

Nina gasped dramatically, "I thought you liked that nickname!"

"Oh, really? Does that mean I can call you Tigger?"

"How dare you use Tigger's name in that tone!"

He smiled, amused by her passion toward a children's cartoon but his eyes soon drifted down to her smile. He almost got lost in it – the gentle curve of her soft pink lips, the amusement that twinkled in her sparkling blue eyes, the way her hair glinted red when the sun hit it.

If she'd let him, he'd never take his eyes off of her. He was enchanted by her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked him, a blush coating her cheeks and ears when she realized he had been staring.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb..." He murmured, his hand reaching up to twist a lock of her hair behind her ear. She looked away, hiding the apparent redness in her face, thrilled by the word.

"What a stupid lamb," She sighed, leaning against his hand that had yet to leave the side of her face.

"What a sick, masochistic lion."

The coolness of his palm calmed the heat in her face as she looked back up at him. "I didn't realize lions sparkle," She teased when his skin caught a fraction of the light.

"Only the special kind."

Her fingers hesitantly reached up to his jaw and when he nodded, she let her fingertips touch his skin. They rested below his chin, ghosting along his frigid skin.

"Feeling afraid?" He asked.

Nina shook her head. "I don't think I can ever be afraid of you now. At least, not after I saw Rosalie rugby tackle you."

"I was caught off guard!"

"You went down like a sack of potatoes, honey."

He could get used to that pet name, it was much better than Eeyore, though if he were being honest, he had come to like the name, or more so, the way it sounded when she said it.

"Why did you run from me before?"

His smile faded. "You know why."

"No, I mean, exactly what did I do wrong? I'll have to be on my guard, you see, so I better start learning what I shouldn't do. This, for example" — She stroked the back of his hand — "Seems to be alright."

He smiled again. "You didn't do anything wrong, Nina. It was my fault."

"But I want to help, if I can, to not make this harder for you."

"Well..." He contemplated for a moment. "If I'm being honest, it wasn't you I was staying away from. It was actually Bella's blood. But I knew that you had come to like her, but that you were always near her and I didn't want to kill your only friend."

She nodded. It made sense, he was always kinder when it was only the two of them. He was always on guard when Bella was near.

"What do I smell like to you?"

"You want me to be honest?"

She laughed, "No, lie to me."

"You smell like apple pie and cinnamon; like a morning after a storm and..." He leaned in slightly, he didn't have to, but he couldn't help himself. Hearing her gasp slightly at the closeness, he grinned. "And a bit of tea."

"What kind?" She smiled, almost dazed by him.

"Your favourite, earl grey. Though that might just be from the unhealthy amount you drink each morning."

"It's healthier than coffee," She grumbled, hitting his arm.

Edward laughed softly, "Sure it is."

She turned to him suddenly, "Can you really read my mind? Like all of the time?"

His laugh didn't fade. He was undeniably entertained by how worried she was over the subject. "Not all of the time. Your mind blocks me out occasionally..." He was silent for a moment before an amused smirk fell on his lips, "Yes, I have heard what you think about Barry Allen."

Nina groaned, "Oh god."

"Have I got some competition? Between him, Sebastian Stan and Maya from sixth period, I don't know where I fit in."

"You mother fucker–" She went to smack him but he stopped her by grasping her hand and moving it to his icy lips. Placing a chaste kiss against her skin, he listened as her thoughts were consumed by only him. "There," He smiled, kissing her hand once more. "No more competition running around in there."

She blushed but her eyes widened a moment later, "Was that a pun?! Oh my god, you're learning culture finally! This is such a big deal!" 

a/n

eeyore is so obsessed her with already. can't blame him tho, i would be too