Bella Vita

by Jesse Kimmel-Freeman

  How about we meet in the fields by the greenhouse, say around seven? I smiled at him.

  Okay, I'll be there. He grabbed his bag and stood up.

  Thank you, you may go now. I smiled and wrote down his abilities.

  I went through the list. When I got to Leland, he slowly walked up to the front of the room.

  Leland, please place your hands on the table. Now when I enter your mind, please don't resist. Or it'll cause an uncomfortable sensation for you. Okay? I asked hoping my patience would hold.

  Yep, darl. Go ahead. He shrugged at me and then placed his hands on the table.

  It was difficult to find a path to follow in his mind. There was a lot of confusion and a general sense of being lost. I didn't know how to heal this. I decided that it was something he would have to sort out himself. I finally found what I was looking for, it was buried deep within his consciousness. I discovered his affinity to compel people, the change into the panther, there was a development for healing but nothing compared to Charles- or anywhere near mine, but something I hadn't seen him do was an ability to become invisible. I didn't know if I needed to tell him, or if I should. This ability was clearly not developed, but it was present. I sensed he also could communicate with animals, but he hadn't realized this was a gift. I let go of his hand.

  Thank you, Leland. On the next class, I'll have a specific assignment for you. I tried to keep my voice level, I was kind of excited about his abilities.

  Okay, thanks, darl. He picked up his bag and left.

  Finally I was at Daniel. I asked him to come forward. He sat opposite me with his hands on the table.

  Now Daniel, please don't resist my mental probing, it won't hurt you- otherwise it'll feel uncomfortable. I told my professor.

  I would never resist something like this. He smiled at me.

  I took his hands. There was a warmth I had never experienced before. I realized that Daniel was proud of me and it was just below the surface. I tapped into this. It was a nice pleasant feeling, like dancing in the sunlight. I wanted to laugh because I felt so happy. I shook my head and had to force myself to move pass it. The path to his talents was difficult to come by. His mind had naturally developed tricks, but not defenses. It was very interesting. I finally got to what I wanted to know. His affinity in the mental arts was not defense or offense, it was similar to compelling but not the same. He had the ability to plant thoughts, but he also put feelings and emotions. He had the ability to heal emotions with his mind. It was a strange middle ground for healing and mental abilities. But it was similar to what I had seen with Charles. He could probably help with that aspect more than I could. I also found out that he only had this special talent. After seeing so many multiple talents it was strange to see a singular, but I knew not to discount it.

  Thank you, Daniel. I smiled at him.

  No problem. He smiled and got up.

  I gathered my papers together. I briefly looked over the talents that weren't being nurtured. There were several students that had no special gifts, about ten, the other fifteen had them, but didn't really know about them. I had great physical strength, healers, seers, time benders, more transformers, and so many more. I just didn't know what to do with all the information. I just packed it up for now. It would have to come later because I had classes to get to.

  Thank you again, Daniel, for letting me teach the class. I smiled at him as I headed for the door.

  No, thank you, Emma. That was by far the most interesting class I had yet. He grinned at me with sparkling light green eyes.

  I left and headed to my next class.

  The day passed quickly. The information we covered in both the history and living as a vampire classes was stuff I knew- which was nice. Leland allowed me to work by myself, his only instruction was to ensure that I learned control. Something he felt I was lacking, that and respect for authority. Control was easily mastered with me because I was able to communicate with my inner predator. It was a shared relationship.

  Once I was out of that class, I ran over to the greenhouse field. I wanted to make sure I was there before Charles got there. He needed to know he was not alone. I knew I was going to make sure that happened. I waited for about ten minutes before he appeared.

  His hair was mused, and his clothes looked a little crumpled. The clear signs of sleep were all over him. I smiled because we're supposed to be night owls by nature.

  Merry Meet,Charles. I bowed slightly to him.

  Merry Met, Emma. He returned the gesture.

  Please come and sit with me. I led us over to a bench.

  So why am I here? His words were filled with attitude, but more general curiosity- a clear improvement over earlier.

  Well, for starters, I want you to know that you have special abilities that haven't been refined or even noticed really. And I want to offer to tutor you personally. I smiled at him.

  Hmm, so what's the special gift? Tension colored his words.

  Well, you have two. You are a natural healer- similar to the way I heal, with your energy. But they don't teach that here, so it's no wonder that no one caught it before. And you're a seer, but your visions are expressed through your art. I hoped that he would listen.

  He stared at me in slight disbelief.

  I promise what I say is true. I have no reason to lie. I smiled at him.

  I heard about how you can heal. They say it's unnatural, but still a miracle. I don't need anything else that will draw more attention to me. He shoved his hands into his pockets.

  I can train you, and it won't draw anymore attention than your inner darkness does as it seeps its way into your everyday words and motions. I can help heal that as well. I reached out my hand to him.

  He looked at me in disdain and turned to walk away.

  “Charlie, you don't have to be angry and afraid all the time.” I took hold of his shoulder and turned him towards me.

  “Don't, don't call me that. I've not been called that since my little sister...” His words broke off.

  “Let me help you. Here sit and I can help heal some of this now.” I took his hand and led him to sit down on the bench.

  “It's just so hard, ya know. I was right there. They coulda taken me. Why her?” His eyes had turned a stormy gray and tears were pooling in them.

  “I don't know.” I didn't know who had taken his sister, but I could only guess. The one thing that often fought against us- the werewolves. I could easily see how there was a clear divide amongst our people. There were those that were touched by the werewolves in a negative way and those that hadn't dealt with them at all. Hate and indifference were running the way the vampires saw the werewolves, and I knew I was going to be the one to change this. I was going to start with this boy.

  “They destroyed her, for no reason. She was just turned. Hadn't even learned to control her fangs yet.” Snot dipped off his nose along with the flood of tears that was breaking free.

  I took his hands in mine. I knew he wasn't aware that I was about to heal that darkness out of him. But I could only hope that once it was gone that he would heal and come to see things in a different light. The darkness was still very strong and easily found. When I realized how much of him it filled, I doubted if I could heal it all in one go. But that only lasted about five seconds. I can do this and I will do this. I was never the one to back down from a challenge and this was a huge one.

  I started to pull it from where it clung to him. Once it broke loose it was easier to disperse. Eventually I had it all free. It swirled around inside him, trying to reattach itself to anything- including me. I directed my energy at healing it away and mending the damage it had done. I could feel my physical body shaking with the amount of energy I was using- I didn't care as long as I was able to heal this poor kid. To me, he represented part of the future. I felt the darkness leaving Charles. Soon there were only traces of it left. With the last bit of healing energy I had left, I sent a powerful healing light throughout his entire being. When I finished, I
knew that the darkness had left him as well. I faded back into my body.

  I was covered in sweat. Charles was holding me. He looked really worried.

  “Oh my fucking god, are you okay?” He saw my eyes focus on him.

  “How are you feeling, Charles?” I blinked at him.

  “What? I thought you were having a seizure or something and now you're gonna ask me how I feel?” He looked incredulously at me.

  “Yep.” I smiled at him, I could feel my body regenerating energy- I knew I would have to feed more than usual tonight to try and make up for what I had done.

  “I feel...” Charles face lit in surprise- it seemed that he was too busy worrying about me to notice the change within himself.

  “Well?” I tried not to ask him a million questions at once.

  “I feel... so much better. The anger and sadness are gone. What did you do?” He looked at me accusingly.

  “I healed you. Something you might be able to do yourself if you were trained properly.” I beamed at him.

  “I could, I could do this?” He looked at his hands like they belonged to a different person.

  “Yes, you could. I saw that inside you earlier today. I could help you learn how to do such things.” I smiled at him again.

  “I would like that. And please, call me Charlie. She would've wanted me to be happy- not the way I was.” His smile was like the sunshine itself.

  “Okay, Charlie.” I knew I had gotten through to him. Things were going to change and the future wasn't lost.

  I met Dominic outside the big castle and waited for my car to be pulled around. He looked grim and I didn't know why. It was strange having a life completely outside of him, but it seemed like I was creating just that for me.

  “What's wrong?” I smile at him.

  “Just a rough day. Why did you need to stay late today?” I could see him try to push away whatever was bothering him.

  “Oh, I found several gifted students in my mental training class. One of them needed some help.” It gave me a warm feeling to think I helped Charlie.

  “See it wasn't so bad! And I'm glad that you have found something to take your mind off things.” His smile was genuine.

  “Yeah, me too. I need a favor.” My face became as sweet looking as I could make it.

  “Oh, yeah.” He laughed as my car pulled up.

  “Yep. I need a meeting with the school head. I want to propose a class, and possibly suggest a screening to see how many other people have fallen through the cracks that are special.” I batted my lashes at him.

  He sighed. “Emma. I'm not certain that he'll see you again. Besides classes are typically presented before the board after they've been approved by Spawling. Perhaps, if we could skip him altogether...” He was suddenly lost in thought.

  “Dom? You mean it's possible to just skip him?” I squealed and hugged him tightly before I raced over to the driver's side and threw my stuff in the back.

  “Possible? Yes. Getting it done? Very hard. I'll have to use all my contacts. Perhaps you should talk to your grandpa too, he has a lot of sway at this school.” He winked at me.

  “Grandpa?! Of course! Sometimes I forget the most obvious stuff.” I sped off towards home.

  “So do you still want to do a teaching tonight, you're looking mighty tired, mia bella.” His eyes were rich as pine trees but darkened with concern.

  “Maybe you're right. Healing Charlie took a lot out of me.” I sighed, I was still glad I had done it.

  “Charlie? Hmm. Do you mean Charles?” Dom looked at me in shock.

  “Yep. I know he doesn't or didn't look like anything special, but sometimes you have to polish the stone for it to become a gem. I could merely see pass the surface to what was inside.” I beamed at him.

  He rubbed his jaw and went back to his thoughts.

  “What?” I looked over at him quickly.

  “Well, I mean, since his kid sister was killed by a werewolf attack a few years back, he's been really shut down, and dark. I mean there is no other word for the kid- he is just dark. And Charlie? Yeah right, when his sis died, that name died with her.” He was still thinking.

  “Yes, I realize that. But I healed the darkness out of him. I couldn't heal his pain, but he'll heal now. The dark part of him was his despair... it had taken him over in a way. He is better now. And I'm going to train him.” I was proud of my work.

  “You healed him?” Dom looked confused.

  “When I went to discover if he had any special gifts, I found a darkness inside him. I healed part of it right away, but I needed to heal more. So he met with me tonight. It took a bit, but I was able to heal it out of him. He will heal now. You'll see.” I tried not to be annoyed by his lack of belief in my abilities.

  “Emma, don't think that I'm doubting you or anything, but I think that kid is just evil.” He shook his head.

  “Think what you want. But you'll see. He'll be different.” I dropped the topic.

  The drive home fell into silence. We were both lost to our own thoughts. I kept wondering how I was going to help the students I had discovered in my class, and what I would say to the Board to get them to let me teach a class. I knew I was new to all of this, but I was capable of teaching them so much and finding those that had natural specialties.

  As soon as we were inside, I was on the phone with Grandpa. Things were going to happen, and I was going to make them. Dominic went to the library and started shifting through his papers. It looked like everything was getting sorted out and my idea was an actual possibility. I was excited.

  Chapter five

  Life was changing quickly. Grandpa had talked to the board and they agreed to support my new class. It was to begin the following week. I was also instructed to start slowly working my way through the student body to see if I could find more special abilities. They had given me the week off to get everything sorted out. I decided that this would be my week to go to Ireland. My time was becoming limited, but it was something I needed to do. Sometimes life isn't about what you have to do, but more about what you need to do- this was one of those things.

  The plans were already in place, all I needed was to add in the date. Dominic wasn't happy about my going- he wasn't able to take the time to come with me. Things were too busy with his classes and getting his side of the details for our wedding worked out. He was also working with Grandpa to start the process for our move to the castle-palace thing that would occur after the wedding. Things were moving so quickly. When I stopped to think about it, my pulse kicked up to what would be considered normal if I was still human.

  I packed up my bag, I would leave tonight. I'll figure out everything and come back and be peaceful for my wedding. So I kept telling myself. With all the plans in order, I suddenly felt very unsure. I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing anymore. Surely I can't live with the what ifs for the rest of my damn life. I knew I couldn't, it wasn't something I could deal with. With my bag packed, I laid down on my bed. My thoughts wandered in all directions, and slowly I fell asleep.

  I really hated the feeling when you wake up and you think that it's nighttime, but you've only fallen asleep for a quick nap. The feeling of panic and disorientation that came along with it was horrible, and to think that something as simple as a nap could do that to you. When I woke up, my mouth was dry, my eyes felt heavy and thick, and I wasn't sure where I was or what time it was. It took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on. I blinked the sleep away and tried without much success to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth.

  When my eyes were able to focus, I found Dominic sitting in my room. I blinked hard to make sure I wasn't imagining it.

  “Hey you. I was just going to look for you.” I smiled at him.

  “Where are you going, mia bella?” He was worried.

  “Oh...” I laughed. “ I'm going to Ireland while I can before life turns to chaos.” It must've looked worse to him because when I told him he let out a long breath.

 
; “Okay. Do you need a ride to the airport?” He smiled at me but sadness replaced the worry.

  “Yes, of course, I want a ride to the airport! And stop looking like someone just killed your favorite pet, I'm going so life is easier for us when I get back.” I sighed and shook my head.

  “I know, my Little Emma Bird, but it still hurts that you have to do this trip in the first place. I wish we never left and moved here.” He turned from me.

  “If you hadn't moved I would've never had the chance to fall in love with you as an adult.” I walked over to him and stroked his cheek.

  His cheeks flushed just enough to let me know that I had smoothed over some of his hurt. I knew I would never be able to fix it all, but it was one of the things that he had accepted when he decided that I was going to be his queen.

  “Okay, so I'll meet you downstairs in about thirty minutes so we can eat before we leave.” He walked over to the door.

  “Okay. I'll shower and switch into traveling clothes.” I headed over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of bright green chucks- not neon, a pair of black yoga pants, and a black tank top. My Jack Skellington grey sweatshirt was on the bottom of my bed. I sighed and went into the bathroom.

  I was downstairs about thirty minutes later. My bags sat by the door. I was planning on being gone the entire week- even if I wasn't spending most of that time with Mike, I needed the time to think. And I couldn't think of a better place than Ireland. Dom was in the kitchen with a cup of cocoa for me and some tasty looking sandwich. I plopped myself down in front of it.

  “Thanks!” I beamed at him.

  “I had to make sure you ate well before you left. And to remind you of my mad skills in the kitchen.” He winked at me.

  I laughed and bit into the sandwich.

  The ride over to the airport was nice and quick. I had made the arrangements with our private jet this time. No secrets and nothing to hide. Dominic drove me in his sleek black sports car. The world zoomed by and we drifted in and out of easy conversation.