Midnight Sun ❖ (Embry Call - The Twilight Saga)

2.03

Emilio gave a small smile to his daughter. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

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Emilio slowly moved both of his hands to Gracie's temples. His touch was gentle and a tear let loose just from the sheer contact. He closed his eyes, concentrating the energy within his own mind and through his body. As his supernatural ability touched Gracie, her own eyes closed too. Her body shook a little as the energy reached her mind. Emilio began restoring memories. Memories that had been dormant for centuries if not a millennium. She could see it all, so vivid. Almost as if she was living her memories right now. She could feel her surroundings, hear everything around her, smell what was present - all except for that of taste and touch to which was the only reminder that these were memories and not the present reality. 

It was clear as crystal. A date pulled out from the banks of her memory. The year 399 AD. This wasn't just her memory, but the memory of her father. Like a shadow, Gracie watched as Emilio nursed her newborn self in his arms whilst a lady who would only make sense to be her mother held a young boy, also a baby. It was Riley. 

The memory swirled to what seemed like not much later at all. 

Her figure stood inside a small cottage, the sun glimmering in through the windows creating a golden glow. There were screams outside, the sound of windows being smashed and homes being broken into. Gracie noticed something move under the kitchen table to which she crouched to the level and spotted her mother holding a newborn wrapped in pink cloth whilst an infant version of Riley Biers sat beside her. They were hiding. The chaos outside seemed to get louder and louder, closer and closer. At the nick of time, the newborn began to cry loudly. The woman tried to hush the baby, frantically. Unfortunately, she was unable to. The door to their home was kicked down and in marched Caius with a smirk on his face. 

     "We've been searching for you, human." Caius taunted, slowly wandering around the kitchen table they were hiding under. "Emilio knew the rules, yet still he broke them. He refuses to turn you, now you bear children whilst human. Now he must bear the consequences of refusing you immortal life. Human's aren't permitted to know this much about us without being turned."

The woman stayed silent especially now that the newborn had stopped crying. Caius flipped the table up, grabbing the woman by the arm and dragged her to the open spot of the house, leaving the two babies in their spot. The woman begged, though Caius showed no mercy, nor hesitation. He bit into her neck, his strength holding her down until she stopped trying to resist. He had drained her of all blood and simply sped out and away leaving the babies by themselves. Gracie wondered why he hadn't taken them then or tried to kill them too, but time was still rolling and she watched her father run in with two others, Vladimir and Stefan - two she recognised at the Cullen's not long ago. Her father dropped in front of her mother and suddenly watching him break down was the worst thing she'd ever watched. The pain he felt then, Gracie now felt through the memory. 

Embry watched Gracie closely, as did the rest of the pack. Gracie unknowingly was crying and now she was showing signs of emotional pain. 

Embry looked to Sam quickly. "It's hurting her! We need to stop him."

     "No. Wait until the memories are restored." Sam answered as Jared and Paul held Embry away from Emilio.

Gracie now saw the memory of a rebellion. A war between the Romanian Coven and the Volturi in the very same town the last memory was in, sparked by the murder of her mother. Gracie, in memory, ran around the fight until she found her father. He was in the midst of fighting a strong Volturi member, though he was stronger and in luck that this member - Anne - had no special ability. She watched him kill her, then burn her body, all before Felix and Renata worked together in capturing Emilio. As Renata mentally guided Emilio into the hands of Aro, Caius retrieved the two babies, now a year old. It was in this memory that Gracie witness how her father reacted when he was separated from his children.

The memories came back where for centuries, Graciela and Rilian Di Russo were both raised in Volterra, mainly by Sulpicia - Aro's wife. She witnessed the time where Immortal Children plagued the world in the 1000s and also saw that she in fact knew Carlisle during his time with the Volturi, to which she and her brother resonated the age of about thirteen in the 1700s. She saw in the 1800s, that Sulpicia told them about Benito, a new-born vampire, creating the first army of new-borns for a war in Mexico and how the Volturi were covering his tracks. She realised the emotion she felt during this time, distrusting those around her and longed to see her father again but feared the outcome if she ever mentioned it. She lastly saw who wiped the mind of her and her brother - her father. She saw, in the year 2002, how broken Emilio was when forced to wipe the memories of his own children and watching them be taken away to a compulsion-ridden couple far away.

Emilio let go, abruptly, which made the pack members more concerned. Gracie gasped, taking a step back as her head started to ache. She crouched, screaming out in pain as she clutched her head. More memories, in quicker flashes were flooding in. All of them from the time she was in Volterra. All of them with Sulpicia - the only Volturi member to show her kindness. A whole life being framed in a short amount of time. 

     "What did you do!" Embry shouted, launching himself at Emilio who was just as much in shock as they were. 

Paul grabbed Embry before he reached the man, using his strength to pin him against the unlit fireplace. Embry shrugged free of Paul's hold, dropping beside Gracie. She let go of her head, the pain disappearing instantly and looked up, teary eyed, to her father.

     "I remember everything." Gracie croaked, blinking to push away the tears which only made it worse. "I gave away my mother's hiding spot. I...It was my fault she was found. It was...It was...my fault she died."

Gracie's breaths were rapid as she began to cry into Embry's chest. She began to cry out in pain, a strong emotional pull. 

     "No." Emilio insisted, ignoring the tension between him and Embry to crouch right in front of his daughter. 

Embry slowly let Gracie free of his hold, wanting her relationship with her father recover. Gracie looked up. Emilio placed his hands on his daughter's cheeks, wiping away the tears that followed. 

     "It has never been your fault. Any of it. You're my daughter and I...I love you." Emilio's voice cracked in between, pulling Gracie into a hug.

The four boys watched. None of them said a word. They all just watched Gracie embrace her real father, taking in how harsh their lives have been. Embry felt bad. He felt bad for the way he treated Emilio out of fear of losing the girl he loved most, when in reality, Embry knew that nobody had to be more fearful of losing Gracie other than Emilio Di Russo. 

However,

                     Embry also knew how bittersweet this world they lived in was. 

Nothing good ever stayed. Immortality battled Mortality. Permanence battled Temporality. 

He knew this moment wouldn't last forever. 

He knew that torment was on the way. 

Torment was always on the way.

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What do you think about Emilio Di Russo?

misstonii

p.s. its college week of hell so I'm going to be hella busy this week and won't get any writing done until the following week x