An Immortal's Favour

Jack- A Healthy Dose of Excitement

Warning: A panic attack is described in this chapter. Please do not read the following if it might be triggering for you.

*

The whiteness faded, and Edward was at my side in a flash, so concerned that he laid both his large hands over my own, pulling them back. "Jacob, Jacob, are you alright?"

He looked so worried, with his thick eyebrows screwed together and his mouth hanging open, that I nearly broke with guilt. "I...I didn't know that you're an illusion caster. I wasn't ready for that."

"My apologies..." Edward started to ramble "...thought Gale would've mentioned...should've known you wouldn't be ready...when she said 'share memories'..."

His words floated in and out of my mind, but his casting had triggered something that threatened to tip me over the edge. My breathing shallowed as I tried to remind myself that things were getting better. The pangs of fear prickling my skin receded. The weight pressing down on my chest vanished. I could breathe again.

"Are you alright there?"

"I'm good. Fine."

His lordship smiled at me crookedly, drawing his hands away. I tried to get my heart rate down, something I'd been improving in over the past months.

"It may not look it, but things are getting better," I said. Huffing a laugh, I bit down on my bottom lip.

"That's good to hear."

"It's a shame Gale's in so much trouble."

"Wouldn't be the first time. No, not for her." Edward crossed his arms over his chest, his voice like rumbling thunder.

"Oh?"

"Ever wondered why her hair's white?"

"Born with it?" I tried, shrugging.

"You've met people born with white hair?" His lips lifted upwards with a teasing lilt.

"I didn't believe that casters actually existed until last year."

"Fair point."

"Her hair, then?"

"See, there's this immortal called Yargei who decided it'd be a good idea to sneak into Gale's hut and swap her hair revitaliser- a nasty smelling thing, by the way -with bleach."

"Yargei did that because...?"

"Oh, those two were always at each other's throats. Gale could handle the other immortals, but something about Yargei rubbed her the wrong way. She woke me up with her screaming."

"Dear spirits," I mumbled.

"But she got him back. The woman pretended she liked the look of her hair until it grew on her eventually. Needless to say, Yargei was rather disappointed."

My lips pulled into a playful smirk. "Want to hear something even more outrageous?"

"I'm all ears."

For what seemed like hours, we traded stories with one another about Gale's antics, my trip with her and our lives in general. By the end of it all, I had to press my hand around my knee to stop myself from falling over as laughter racked my body.

"Now, what was I going to say? Ah, yes. Let's see." Edward's eyebrows pulled together in thought. He started off with her time as an immortal and moved onto Gale's teenage years, going on about her parents and the village from which she came, continuing until his words triggered some sort of recognition in me. The story sounded very much like-