The Human Countess {J. Hale}

Unexpected Visitors

Yasinya, Ukraine, 2020

Eliza was woken up by a knock on her bedroom door. After yesterdays altercation, she pulled Caitlyn to her room for an impromptu sleep over and left the Cullens to talk amongst themselves about what had been spoken and revealed. 

Shaking the sleep out of her head, she covered her green silk nightgown with her black fluffy  robe and opened the door to greet Jasper, whose eyes darkened at the sight of Eliza in silk. Rolling her eyes at her mate, ignoring the look he gave her, the foreign feeling she felt because of it, and her own desire to reciprocate his look. 

She knows she's not ugly, but by no means does she see herself as beautiful or attractive, and had not seen a look of desire sent towards her in nearly two centuries. Not that she noticed them anyway, for she had been more focused on Nature's beauty to even entertain a suitor, or pay attention to the hormonal lust that came from the adolescents that noticed her. 

"Breakfast is ready, Darling. Why don't you go and wake Caitlyn and freshen up and I make you coffee or tea?" Jasper said kissing her forehead daintily. 

"Alright. Thank you for waking me. Earl Grey Tea, a teaspoon of sugar and a quarter of the mug with milk for me, please. Black coffee for Caitlyn." Eliza replied, giving Jasper a kiss on the cheek before returning to her room to wake her best friend up. 

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Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair. No loud conversations were held as Eliza and Caitlyn ate, the only thing audible around the room were the slight scraping of utensils on plates. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, nor was it awkward. It was just there, surrounding them like a blanket. It was clear that the topic of...feeding has taken root in their minds and had not left yet. Carlisle and Esme are deep in thought, glancing at each other every now and then. Rosalie, Emmett and Alice are huddled together, their lips moving although their words are inaudible to anyone not in close proximity. Renesmee sat at the table, her nose in the book the she had been holding, murmuring about mazes, gladers and grievers. Kyle and Jacob had gone hunting for rarer meat while Jasper is beside his mate, his index finger tracing circles at her nape. Edward, both Eliza and Caitlyn had ignored at the moment, focusing on their food, although neither had missed the glances he sent in Caitlyn's way. 

The silence had been interrupted when a series of knocks had been heard from the front door. 

Eliza froze as she recognised the harmonious tones that the knocks produced. 

Knock. Pause. Knock, knock, knock. Pause. Knock, Knock. Pause. 

Eliza looked at Caitlyn, trying to stop the hope from blooming in her chest. Caitlyn looked back at her with a raised brow, a smirk gracing the thin yet full lipped the purple-eyed female. 

"You might want to get that. You'll find yourself finding something you've lost for a long time." Caitlyn said, amused when her best friend froze in incredulity, the hope she had tried to diminish lighting her hazel eyes brightly.

And with those words, Eliza ran. She dropped her utensils on the table with a loud clang, ignoring the worried looks she was sent and ran. Jasper followed her closely, her safety in the forefront of his mind. 

Wrenching the door open, her hazel eyes met a pair of grey-blue ones and she pulled the owner into a tight hug, tears spilling down her cheeks. The grey-blue eyed man hugged Eliza back just as tightly as he could with one arm, trying to soothe the crying female as his own tears fell from his eyes. 

Jasper had been froze behind Eliza, not because of the crying pair, but because of the people that accompanied the crying male. 

"Volturi?" The empath asked, confused, shock and reserved. The family hadn't done anything, had they? Nor had they broken any rules. The red-eyed raven leader opened his mouth to reply when a loud slap was heard, followed by a cry of pain, and a scolding. 

"Stefan Gregori Bathory. How dare you? How. Dare. You?! Three centuries. And you did not bother to give me any indication that you were alive?! Where are your manners?! We did not go through years of studies for you to forget your manners! I'm your sister! The head of the family! You were supposed to let me know where you had gone! Do you know how worried I have been?! And now you show up at my doorstep, with the audacity to grin like you had done nothing wrong? I ought to ground you, young man." Eliza chastised loudly, ignoring the gawping of the most people that surrounded them, including the Cullens that had arrived after Jasper had uttered the guest clan's name in shock. 

Eliza tilted her head as she looked at the green-eyed blondie that had been holding her brother's other arm. The Blondie had laughed when she chastised Stefan and how the male had hung his head in shame, which had caught Eliza's attention and startled the rest. Finally noticing the eyes on her, the blondie looked at Eliza with a calm smile, her cheeks tinted pink from her joyful outburst, her green eyes swimming in anxiety and embarrasment.

"Good Morning, Lady Bathory. Forgive blatant display of emotions. I hope I had not offended you, and if I did, please know that it had not been my intention. My name is Feronia Rachel Volturi, but call me Fera, please. I am Stefan's mate, although whether that is fortunate or unfortunate is still undecided at the moment."  Fera said with a curtsy, her right hand shaking slightly as she held the skirt of her grey fit and flare dress coat delicately, ignoring the petulant hey from Stefan. Eliza's right brow rose at the impeccable manners that the young one displayed, and the guts Fera had at the blatant jab at Stefan in the presence of his family head. 

"Please, dear, no need for the curtsy. I may be old but these are modern times. Although I will admit, to have someone that knows the Olde ways and it's mannerisms is quite refreshing. Pleasure to meet you, Fera. Call me Eliza. Welcome to the family." Eliza replied with a soft smile, walking towards the shocked female, giving her a soft, welcoming hug that the blonde returned eagerly as the shock wore off.

"Thank you, and I'm overjoyed to be a part of it." 

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Hi! Sorry for the lack of proper schedule in my updates. I finally was able to get a job and it had taken up my time.

Thank you so so so much for the 3k+ reads! You all are bonkers and I love you all. 

I hope you like this update!

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Much love, 

Roannieeeeee.