elegance | victoria sutherland

vingt-deux

victoria led sequoia and herself out of the window view. "i'm going to head out with your stuff. i'll head out the back, join me in the car once your father goes to bed."

the witch nodded, handing over the small number of bags to the vampire. she sat back down on the couch, exhausted from the day's events. the turning of the front doorknob and keys rattling were present sounds outside. sequoia looked towards the opening door, her father entering with a large frown on his face.

"who's car is that outside? i haven't seen it before," charlie sighed, rubbing his eyes in the process.

"one of the neighbours must've bought a new one," the blonde shrugged, trying to make her voice as believable as possible.

"i'll ask them to move it tomorrow, as for now, i'm going to sleep," he made his way to the staircase, "don't stay up too late."

sequoia only hummed in response, eager to finally leave her home of nineteen years. she waited for her father to finish up his nightly routine, perked up on the couch listening for the final creek of the bed.

as she stood up from the couch, she looked at the small lower floor, taking in its familiarity before walking out the door. the witch took a deep breath, before thinking of the passenger seat she was in only moments ago.

"you could've walked here, it would've spared me from the slight scare," victoria furrowed her eyebrows at her mate's sudden appearance.

"where's the fun in that?"

"you're sounding like me already," the redhead laughed while starting the car.

thank you for visiting forks

a worn-down sign said, indicating the two women had left the small down. sequoia stared out the window, leaning into her hand, still in slight disbelief that she was finally leaving her hometown.

"i don't want to rush into things," the vampire spoke up after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "your brain knows i'm your mate, but your heart doesn't - right?"

the witch took herself out of the daydream she was experiencing. "you've worded it perfectly." she didn't feel the strong pull she had read all about in books. sequoia did still felt something with victoria, and she knew it was meant to be, but maybe edward made everything happen too soon.

"your sister's mate ruined everything," the vampire scoffed, "you're supposed to find out when the time is right, which is why you don't feel a strong pull yet. i promise you'll realise soon, but i just don't know when exactly."

"it's alright, i trust what you are saying is correct. maybe it was better for him to inform me, otherwise, i'd still be stuck with the cullens."

"even if you didn't know, i'd probably still take you and run off," victoria chuckled at her own saying.

sequoia smiled, looking at the woman beside her, "sounds like something you'd do."

the vampire turned onto a highway, increasing the car's speed, much to her delight.

"where are we going?"

"we rented a place slightly north of vancouver for the time being, but we can't stay for long."

sequoia avoided asking victoria if she legally rented the house, assuming she had already known her answer. "why were you passing through forks then?"

"we were planning to find another place to stay, the deaths in the area were getting too suspicious."

"it's been a while now, it'll buy us some more time to find a new place, especially now there's only one of you know," the witch immediately regretted what she had said, muttering a quick apology straight after.

victoria didn't address anything about it, the look on her face unreadable. "hopefully," she turned her gaze off the road for a split second, looking at sequoia's extremely tired face.

"you seem tired, sleep, we'll be there before you know it."

the blonde girl rested her head on the window seal, but deciding it was an uncomfortable position, she shifted herself leaning on victoria's shoulder.

the vampire tensed up slightly at the sudden contact, but she relaxed after a minute.

"sweet dreams dear."

-

sequoia woke up after a dreamless sleep, a golden tone gleamed over the room from the sun. she realised the lateness of the day, her sleep was long, calming, so much that she didn't wake up when victoria transported her from the car.

she sat up, looking at her surroundings. a plain bedroom hosted the bed she was laying on. a bed, something she hadn't slept in for years, it was a comforting experience to finally wake up in one. sequoia smiled, lying back down to savour the spacious mattress beneath her.

the roof above her was a plain beige, nothing she wasn't used to. the undecorated place didn't bother the witch, she knew the vampires wouldn't have time, or be bothered to decorate a mere 'holiday home'.

"had a nice sleep?" a voice asked, entering the room without asking permission.

sequoia sat up abruptly, not hearing the vampire's footsteps beforehand. "it was wonderful, best sleep i've had since bella's stay."

victoria grinned, walking over to sit at the foot of the bed, "i'm glad, you look a lot more rested."

"are you saying i constantly looked tired?" the witch crossed her arms. "rude, not my fault i need to sleep, unlike you."

the redhead snickered, standing up to sit on the edge of the bed, closer to sequoia. "i need to go hunting, will you be alright by yourself here?"

"i shall," the blonde started, looking around at the place, "entertain myself, somehow."

"you don't have an issue with my...diet?"

"no, not really," sequoia expressed, "i've heard animal blood isn't the best, and plus, i feel as if humans have done more things to deserve death. a 'vegetarian' diet exploits off the innocence of animals, the cullens drank a lot from deers, who cause no harm to them, or to humans."

"i've never even thought about it that way," victoria stated, her voice quieter than usual, "not like you had a choice, i wasn't going to change my diet."

the witch laughed at the woman's change of expressions, "well off you go, be quick."

"yes ma'am," she defended sarcastically, before running downstairs.

-

a witch's blood is extremely rare but extremely powerful. it affects each creature differently, but even a drop of it can cause changes.

vampires are the most vulnerable to blood, they may drink too much to turn it into poison. too much of the blood immediately results in death, the risk vampires have to take for strengthened power. their senses and special ability becomes heightened for a short period of time, depending on the amount one has taken, it can vary from one hour to forty-eight hours. they can become even more powerful than newborns, a vampire with witch's blood weighing them is extremely dangerous.

shifters react differently to their natural enemies, instead of becoming stronger, they can use their powers from their 'shifted' form, in their human form. once again, this is only for a short period of time, but for shifters, time periods can range from forty to one hundred hours.

due to this, a baby witch's mother is encouraged to first teach their child to mask their scent. it is enticing to supernatural beings and can become uncontrollable while in this state. although, a witch cannot lose enough blood to emit death, and their skin is not as weak as humans to cause blood loss from the skin.

-

"well, that was nice to know," sequoia sighed, before closing the book.

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