The Human Countess {J. Hale}

Smile

Yasinya, Ukraine, 2020

Eliza found herself sipping coffee at the inn she had stayed at when she first arrived at the quiet, little town of Yasinya. Usually, she would have her morning coffee in her lovely cabin, but she ran out today and rather than going to the store, she had decided to just make a quick stop at the inn and have some coffee.

She is confused, quite extremely so. This was not a normal behaviour for her, yet she found herself doing it. She loved the solitude that her home brought her, the peace and comfort it gave her. And yet, here she is, sipping coffee in an inn that is, for a small town, crowded.

She tilted her head at her thoughts before shrugging and picked up her journal. Angling her body on the armchair slightly, she let herself fall into a trance as she drew. She started with the Canadian Rockies that was still fresh in her mind, then proceeded to draw a pack of Artic Wolves she passed by. The view of the mountains from her plane window. Faces of people she knew.

She was halfway into drawing a familiar face when she had felt eyes observing her, looking up , she found 3 people watching her. The boyish, mixed male rolled his eyes after he saw that she caught them, before pulling his companions with him, presumably to speak with Eliza.

She looked all three over, leaving the blond man last. She admired the female's sense of fashion, her designer winter clothes fitting her like a glove, showing of her curvaceous figure. She wore lace-up heeled winter boots, giving her tiny stature a boost of a few inches. She moved her eyes to the male to the female's left. A mixed male, with his brown eyes, and slight freckles on his boyish, sculpted, model face. His fashion sense was near impeccable, though she can see that the female had no influence over it whatsoever. She looked down, and saw a bright gold thread wrapping around them, before smiling. Moving her eyes to the blond one, she admired him with a tilt in her head. There was something off about him, albeit good. As she continued to look, she glanced at his eyes once, and felt her heart flutter. She looked down at her pinky and saw her own red thread brighten up. She followed it, only to see that the other end is wrapped tightly on the blond male's pinky.

"Forgive us for staring, we just noticed that you have been sketching for quite a while now and the one's I've seen were just gorgeous." The brown eyed male said in his deep, British accented voice.

"It's quite alright. Truth be told I haven't noticed the time at all." Eliza replied with a tilt on her head. She heard a bit of Ukrainian accent on her voice, most likely due to the fact that she spoke Ukranian most of the time. Shaking her head, she clicked her tongue and took a sip of her coffee to try and diminish the new accent she had just acquired. The blond stepped up and took the chance to speak.

"Hello, My name is Jasper. Jasper Hale. This is my adopted sister, Alice Cullen and her boyfriend Kyle Blaze. May I ask what's yours?" said the blond male, his Texan drawl seeping through as he introduced himself, the little pixie like female beside him, and the freckled man beside her.

"Eliza. Eliza Bathory." she replied, her British accent contained a hint of a Hungarian one.

"Bathory? Forgive me for asking, but are you by chance, from Elizabeth Bathory's line?" He asked, his gold eyes meeting her Hazel ones. Their eye contact got broken by Eliza's phone ringing.

"Ah, yes. Countess Erzsébet is my direct ancestor." she replied, before excusing herself, answering the call. She can feel his gaze on her as she walked away, and let a smirk out of her face as she felt the bond form.

Jasper looked at her in wonder and amazement. She was different, incredibly so. But something made him wonder. From what he remembered from Edward's experience, his mate's scent would have made him hungry and want to drain her, but all he felt was a soothing sensation. Her scent, which smelt like morning dew and winter breeze, didn't make him hungry. It calmed him, to the point that the smell of the humans around them did not bother him at all. Thinking back to the people he can ask regarding that, he came up with no one. Alice and Kyle were a special case, with his abilities. Carlisle was already desensitized to human blood and scents, which meant that Esme's scent at the time would not have had any effect on him. Rosalie was too worried about Emmett to even think of draining him, and Charlotte was already a newborn when she met Peter.

Then why, why did Bella's scent made Edward want to drain Bella? Looking at his sister and her mate, it seems that they all had the same question in their minds.

They got distracted from their thoughts when Eliza came back with another cup of coffee. She sat back and chatted with all three of them, from places she'd visited to the places she haven't yet, to her favourite shopping spots and to her favourite historical fact. Eliza felt...at peace. She felt like she could trust them, and she has never ignored her instincts, for they had saved her life multiple times.

Hours later, they found themselves debating about electric cars as they made their way to Eliza's home. She smirked when her guests gaped at her cabin, before chuckling at their quick apologies.

"It's alright," she said. "I had the same reaction when I first saw it too."

If they had gaped when they saw the exterior, they lost all composure as soon as they stepped a foot in the living room, with Kyle gaping like a fish, Jasper with wonder as his eyes zoned in on the area of the library that he could see from where he was standing, and Alice bouncing in joy and excitement.

They all sat at the couch to talk, while Alice zeroed in on the empty space by the wall, asking Eliza what her plans on it are.

"I've been looking for a cat...or three, actually. It gets awfully lonely here in the cabin, so I thought cats would be lovely. I've always wanted a few." She said, longing in her voice.

Alice's eyes glazed slightly as Jasper and Kyle distracted her with a talk about her favourite animals. Coming back to the present with a smile, she sent a text message on her phone to Carlisle, and smiled at his reply before easily sliding herself into the conversation.

"I hope you don't mind, but our father, a doctor, found a tame male Pallas Cat caring for a pare of Maine Coon Kittens. We would like to keep them, but a family friend of ours that is staying with us doesn't like cats, and we've been looking for a suitable home for them. Would you like to take care of them? We'll help you with the food and-" she was cut of when Eliza lunged at her with joy, a yes spilling from her lips over and over again.

She gave Alice one last hug before turning to the room with a euphoric smile.

And that's when Jasper knew that he'd do everything he can to keep that euphoric smile on her face. Ignoring the teasing look Kyle gave him due to the way he's been fondly looking at Eliza like a lovesick, teenage boy, he let his mind wander with ideas as to surprise her with the cats when he felt her emotions shift, her euphoria suddenly being replaced with nervousness, sadness, anger and longing. Pondering on the sudden change of emotions, he was not prepared at the question that came out of his mate's mouth.

"Is it possible for me to meet your father? And as soon as possible? There's just something I need to confirm." She asked, catching all three guests off guard with the seriousness of her voice.

Scratch that then. None of them were prepared.
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Ooooooh I wonder what's going to happen?

Thank you so much for reading my story! Let me know what you think?

Love, Roannieeeee