The Unwanted Imprint

Chapter 19

Rosalie walked with Nichole all the way to the gate where her plane would be taking off from. "Message Carlisle when you land, okay?" Rosalie asked, and Nichole nodded her head. "Of course, I will."

Rosalie suddenly pulled her into a hug. "You're so brave, you know that? One of the bravest people that I know."

Nichole hugged her sister tightly. "Rosalie, what happens if the plan doesn't work? What if James gets to Bella and then comes looking for me next-"

"Nichole, listen to me, he isn't going to get Bella, and he sure as hell isn't going to get you, we'll kill him before that happens. Try to have some fun while you're in Egypt, I mean, when are you going to be able to visit a foreign country again? Plus, Benjamin is quite a looker."

Nichole rolled her eyes. "Rosalie, I'm not going to Egypt to look for a relationship."

"Hey, you never know what will happen." Rosalie gave her a wink before a stewardess announced that the plane was now boarding.

Nichole took a deep breath before she started the walk down the tarmac, turning back to glance at Rosalie one more time, but the blonde woman was already gone.

Nichole's seat was towards the back of the plane, and she sat down, glancing out the window at the rainy atmosphere that was Washington. Would she come back? As much as Rosalie had tried to convince her, the truth of the matter was that no one knew. No one knew if they would be able to handle James, he was a powerful vampire, but surely a whole coven would be able to handle him, right?

"First time leaving home?" A stewardess asked Nichole kindly, and she nodded her head, giving her a shy smile. "Is it that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so, but there's nothing to worry about. Egypt is a wonderful place, I'm sure that you're going to have a great time. You have people waiting for you there, I hope? You look a little young to be going around a foreign country all by yourself."

"Yes, my father's friends are going to be meeting me there."

"Good. My name is Taylor, so you just let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"I will, thank you."

Once the stewardess had walked away, Nichole stuck her headphones in her ears and settled in, it was going to be a long flight, so she might as well try and get comfortable.

Amun and Benjamin met Nichole at the airport in Cairo, and Rosalie had definitely been right when she said that Benjamin was a looker.

"Nichole." Amun had a warm and welcoming smile on his face. "Welcome to Egypt, I just wish that it was under better circumstances."

"Yeah, you and me both." It was late at night, which meant that Amun and Benjamin didn't have to worry about the whole 'sparkling like diamonds' situation. "Thank you so much for taking me in."

"Of course. Carlisle is a good friend of mine, and he cares a lot about you, you are very dear to him, I hope you know."

Nichole blushed darkly. "He told you all good things, I hope."

Amun laughed a bit. "All good, yes. Nothing that you need to worry about there. Now come, I'm sure that you're starving, Tia is going to have some human food waiting for you, although I'm sure that it's still going to be a bit different from what you're used to."

When they got there, Amun introduced Nichole to a beautiful, dark-haired woman. "Nichole, this is Tia, a distant relative of Benjamin. Tia, this is Nichole, Carlisle's daughter."

"Um, hi," Nichole said, feeling her cheeks start to burn red. Tia was really beautiful, and Nichole could feel her heart beating at a million miles a minute.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Tia said, pulling Nichole into a hug, which really didn't do anything to help Nichole's blushing any. "I hope that you're hungry."

"S-Starving."

"Good, because I made plenty of food, I wasn't sure how much you would eat."

While Nichole ate, she asked the trio questions so that she could try to learn a little bit more about their coven. "so, are you guys, vegetarians, too?"

"Not exactly." Benjamin chuckled a bit at the look that appeared on Nichole's face. "There's no need to be worried, we don't take blood from innocents, only people who deserve it, murderers and rapists and the like."

"Oh." Relief flooded Nichole's face. "I'm sorry for assuming things, I just-"

"Nothing to worry about," Amun told her. "I'm sure that you're going through a lot of stress right now with everything that's going on back in the States. But I can assure you that this James fellow won't find you here, you're safe with us."

"Carlisle also told us about Victoria," Benjamin said. "I don't think that she'll come here either, but even if she tries to, we would be able to tell. That shocking red hair of hers isn't going to exactly blend in here with the locals."

After dinner was over, Nichole offered to help clean up, but Amun shook his head. "We will take care of it, I'm sure that you're exhausted and ready for bed. Benjamin, why don't you show her to her room?"

Benjamin nodded his head. "Of course. This way, Nichole." He led her through the house. "So...what's it like living with the Cullens? You aren't afraid that they're ever going to go off of their vegetarian diet?"

Nichole shook her head. "No, they would never do that to me. They make me feel like I'm family, more than my actual family ever did."

"Hey...you wanna see something cool?"

"Sure."

He fluttered his fingers, and a small flame appeared in the palm of his hand.

"Woah..." Nichole whispered, her eyes widening in awe. "Is that...is that real fire?"

"It is, so I would be careful if I were you."

"But it...it's not burning you."

Benjamin chuckled a bit. "I suppose that it comes with the power. I can control the other elements too. You know, earth, wind, water. I can show you some more tomorrow if you'd like."

"I'd love that." If this was a normal situation, then Nichole could see herself and Benjamin becoming really good friends.

"This is your stop here. My room is right next to yours, so just let me know if you need anything."

"I will, good night Benjamin."

"Goodnight Nichole." He disappeared into his room, and Nichole went into hers, smiling softly. Now, she didn't think that being here in Egypt would be as bad as she had originally thought that it would be.