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Simmers' Paradise / Sims Stories / The Van Helsing Legacy
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on: September 11, 2007, 10:51:37 pm
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Chapter 3 - No Such Thing As Normal
~ANNA'S POV~
For the first time in my life I woke up feeling like a normal teenage girl. I was in MY bed, in MY room with posters of MY choice on the wall. I stretched and reluctantly climbed out of bed my warm bed. I plodded over to my bureau to pick out some clothes before hurrying into the bathroom to take a shower. As I stood under the hot water I suddenly remembered the strange dream I had. I would have to remember to talk to Ella about it since it had something to do with us. By the time I was done showering and dressed I could smell food cooking. I had just reached the top of the stairs when the sound of yelling reached me.
"You are a selfish little brat, Ella," Mom yelled angrily.
"Yeah I know, Mom. I think we covered all that last night," Ella retorted, "I'm an awful daughter and a horrible sister."
"What is going on with you two," Dad asked interupting the fight.
"Last night Mom told me she wasn't cooking breakfast because no one appreciated how hard she worked on supper. I got up early and decided to start making breakfast. Mom came in the kitchen and started freaking out."
"You just wanted to cook so your Dad and Anna think I never took care of you. Poor Ella. Her mom was never there for her so she had to do everything herself," Mom said bitterly, "Michael, just look at what she did to her beautiful long, red hair. She cut it herself as you can probably tell." With that said Mom stormed from the kitchen.
She gave me a small smile as she stomped past me and up the stairs. I crept towards the kitchen quietly and saw Ella with her back towards the stove looking upset. Dad was standing in the doorway looking a little stunned.
"Morning," I said quietly as I walked towards the kitchen.
~ELLA'S POV~
I was so relieved to see Anna that I almost ran over and hugged her. I really couldn't deal with all of Mom's freak outs anymore. Suddenly the smell of burning pankcakes hit me and I whirled around to the stove. I managed to save most of them from becoming black charcoal disks. I put the serving platter on the table and smiled at Dad.
"Go ahead and start eatting, Dad. I've got to talk to Anna. Girl stuff," I told him as I dragged Anna into the library.
"What is it, Ella," Anna asked sounding a little worried, "Are you okay?"
I shrugged and sat down on the couch. "Yeah I'm just great. Listen Mom is going to take us to register for school tomorrow. She wants us to go to Ulrich High School. I did some research and it's a public school that basically sucks. I want you to suggest St Ignesias School For The Gifted. It's a private school that has a gorgeous campus and great course options. I really want to go there and I think you'll like it too."
Anna walked over to the window and started pacing. "What makes you think I want to go to St Ignesias? And why should I suggest it to Mom?"
"Dad told me that you love to play the bass. St Ignesias has an incredible music program. I want to go because they also have a great art program too. If you ask Mom she'll consider it. If I ask her she'll scream at me about being a selfish brat again."
Anna stopped pacing and looked at me. "Why does Mom seem to hate you so much?"
"I'm not really sure," I began, "She wasn't always like that. The older I got, the meaner Mom seemed to get."
Anna walked over to me and pulled me off the couch. She hugged me hard and I hugged her back.
"I love you, Ella," she said quietly.
"I love you, too. So will you ask Mom about St Ignesias? Please, Anna."
"Okay, Ella, I'll suggest St Ignesias to Mom."
I squealed excitedly and squeezed Anna really hard. I love having such an awesome sister.
~ANNA'S POV~
I was so bothered by the way Mom was treating Ella that I forgot to talk to her about my weird dream. After breakfast I went to the library to see if Ella was hiding in there. Ella wasn't but Mom was. She looked up from her book and gave me a huge smile. She put down her book and patted the couch next to her.
"Come here, Anna. I want to talk to you for a minute," she said happily.
I walked over to the couch slowly and sat down next to her. I leaned back waiting for her to say something but she just sat there with a smile on her face.
"Mom? What did you need to talk to me about," I asked.
"Oh right. Well you and Ella need to get registered for school soon. I was wondering if you gave any thought to what school you'd like to go to. There are a lot of good schools in the area," Mom told me.
I took a deep breath. "Actually I was hoping I could go to St Ignesias. They have a great music program. I can talk to Ella and see if she wants to go too. They have a lot of great courses so I'm sure they'll have something she'll like."
Mom eyed me suspiciously like she didn't think it was my idea. She turned and stared out the window. I was beginning to think she knew it was Ella's idea and she was going to say no.
"Let me talk to your Dad about it," Mom finally said after what seemed like an eternity.
I hugged her. "Thank you Mom. You're the greatest."
Mom watched me leave the library with a smile on her face. I was impressed by my acting ability. I ran upstairs and knocked on Ella's door. I had to tell her the good news, we might be going to St Ignesias.
~ELLA'S POV~
I was finishing doing the breakfast dishes when Dad came into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter watching me. I felt a little weird but I kept drying the dishes and put them away. I turned around and looked at him.
"Dad? Is there something you'd like," I asked him.
"No. I just thought I'd come in and see how you're doing, after the fight with your Mom."
I gave him a little smile. "I'm fine. Mom and I....well we fight alot lately. It's not really a big deal."
"I see. Your Mom wants to take you girls to register for school tomorrow. Are you going to be okay with that," Dad inquired.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? Anna's going with us so no problem."
"Okay if you're sure. So have you giving any thought to schools?"
" Anna and I were thinking about St Ignesias. It has a great music program for Anna and a great art program for me."
"St Ignesias huh? Well it sounds good to me."
I smiled at Dad. "Thanks Dad. I'll be in my room if you need me."
"Okay honey. I'm here for you if you need something."
I walked by the library and saw Mom and Anna sitting on the couch. Mom looked unusually happy. Hopefully that means she'll think about letting Anna and I go to St Ignesias. I walked upstairs and into my room. I had just sat onto my bed when I heard knocking on my door.
'Please don't let it be Mom,' I thought.
"Come in," I called as I sat up.
Anna walked in with a huge grin on her face. "Mom said she'll think about it! Isn't that great."
~ANNA'S POV~
I have no idea why I was so excited about going to St Ignesias. I'd never even heard of the school until Ella told me about it this morning. But for some reason since Ella was excited about going to St Ignesias so was I. I walked over and sat down on the bed next to Ella. She looked like something was bothering her.
"Ella, is everything alright," I asked her quietly.
"No. Yeah. You know, I have no idea," Ella answered.
"Okay. What does that mean?"
Ella shrugged and smiled. "I have no idea. I'm not thinking clearly today."
"Rough night," I inquired.
"Yeah. I had the weirdest dream," Ella confided, her voice barely above a whisper.
I looked down at the floor. "Me too. And I'm pretty sure the dream was about you."
~ELLA'S POV~
I stared at Anna for a moment before I said anything. "What exactly makes you think that your dream has anything to do with me?"
"I don't know really. I just got a feeling that it was about you. That was the really strange part of it," Anna replied with a look of concern.
I laughed at her expression. "Anna, it was just a dream. There's nothing to worry about."
"I know but something about it felt so familiar. Now that I think about everything in the dream seems familiar. I mean it didn't when I was having the dream but it does now. Does that make sense," she asked me.
"Maybe it seems familiar because you've been thinking about it for a while," I told her trying to sound wiser than I felt.
"Yeah I guess that makes sense. But still."
"Anna, you worry to much," I told her as I layed back on the bed, "Listen tonight after supper lets go somewhere. We can tell each other our weird dreams without Mom and Dad overhearing. They might over react like you."
Anna gave me a smile and slapped my leg. "I am no overreacting." |
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Simmers' Paradise / Sims Stories / Chapter Two-The Truth Can Hurt
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on: August 31, 2007, 01:13:24 am
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Chapter 2 - The Truth Can Hurt
~ANNA'S POV~
While Dad and Mom were busy talking Ella grabbed my hand and led me over to a small walled in garden. I looked over at her and she gave me a small shrug.
"I saw it on the way in," she explained.
We walked into the garden and sat down in the flowers and started to talk. It's so weird, I have a family now, I have a twin sister. I know this might sound weird but even though we just met I felt like she completed who I was. She was like the piece of my life that I never realized was missing. I couldn't resist sneaking glances at Dad and Mom. It felt so weird to be saying Mom after all these years.
"So what's Mom like? Is she nice?"
Ella gave her shoulders a small shrug as she layed back. "She has her moments. She's great about 60 percent of the time. The rest of the time she's not that much fun to be around. But who knows maybe I bring out the mean in her."
"Oh. Well Dad's really nice. Dad home schooled me until I was 13, then he dropped me off at Harmony Hills Monestary so I could learn from the monks. He said he had to take care of some stuff and it was too dangerous for me to come with him. Dad had taught me a bunch of stuff by then."
"Mom started teaching me a whole bunch of random stuff when I was about 4. Mom homeschooled me too until I was almost 13 then she brought me to Our Lady Of Rome Convent. I thought it was because of what happened with me and William. Now I'm not so sure."
"William? Who's William. Nevermind. You can tell me later."
I looked over and saw that Mom was cuddling the little boy while she and Dad continued to whisper back and forth. A thought suddenly popped into my head. I had no idea who the little boy was. I turned towards Ella who was still staring straight ahead at absolutely nothing. She had a strange look on her face.
"Ella. Whose the little boy? Is he our brother," I asked cautiously.
"Gabe. His name is Gabriel," she replied without looking at me with an edge in her voice, "As of right now your guess is as good as mine."
'How can she be so upset? Our family is back together,' I thought.
'Because they've been lying to us our whole lives,' another voice replied.
I jerked my head towards Ella and stared at her in shock. Was that her voice I heard in my head? It couldn't be. Ella finally turned to look at me with her sad, little smile.
~ELLA'S POV~
How could Anna be so happy? Sure it was nice to find out that Dad wasn't dead and that I had a twin sister but our parents had lied to us our whole lives. And who exactly was Gabe? Was he really just a little boy that Mom took in cause his family was murdered by vampires or was he really our little brother? Anna was still staring at me in shock. I guess she was pretty shocked to hear my voice in her head. No more surprised then I was to have her voice in mine.
"Yeah Anna that was me in your head," I replied to her unanswered question, "It must be a twin thing because you were in my head too."
"How....how is that possible," Anna stammered.
I shrugged and looked towards our parents. "I guess we'll have to ask them. There's tons that they haven't told us so maybe it includes us being psychically linked."
I watched as Mom and Dad talked and laughed like nothing was wrong. I wanted to run over and scream at them to tell us the truth. I needed to know everything. Now. The sooner, the better. I was sick of being in the dark about my life.
"Do you really think they know what's going on with us," Anna wondered so quietly it was almost to herself.
"Probably. They seem to know everything else. Or at least that's what they'd like us to believe. I know about as much as you do about what's going on. Maybe if we're lucky they'll start giving us some answers soon."
"Ella are you alright? Is everything okay with you," Anna asked me.
"Of course I'm alright. What could possibly be wrong?"
Finally Michael and Selene decided it was time to take the kids back to the house so they could start explaining everything to the girls. The car ride was silent except for Gabe talking happily to his toy. Anna and Ella stared in awe at the huge house that Michael slowed in front of. He let the girls look at it for a few minutes before he pulled into the garage. They all entered the house in silence.
"I'll put Gabe in the nursery. You take the girls into the library. I'll be back in a few minutes," Selene told Michael.
Michael nodded and motioned for the girls to follow him. "Come with me girls. This is the library. I'll show you where your rooms are after we've talked."
Anna let out a squeal. "Rooms? Does that mean we'll have our own rooms," Anna asked excitedly.
"Yes if thats what you want. Or you can move both beds into one room and use the other room for whatever you'd like."
Anna and Ella sat on the floor while Michael sat on the couch. No one said a word as they waited for Selene to return. Selene entered the library and sat down on the couch next to Michael.
"Okay so I guess I'll start at the beginning. Everything we told you about us meeting is true, and so is what we told you about the first year. The only thing your mom and I left out is that you had a twin sister. On you first birthday I was downstairs with Ella who was being cranky while Selene took Anna up to bed. Selene had forgotten to give Anna her teddy bear so she went back to give it to her and she saw a shadow bent over the crib. She knew exactly who it was. Dracula. She screamed for me and I ran up to see what was going on. The shadow disappeared and I realized it was an astral projection. Almost impossible for most vampires but Dracula is powerful enough to do it. I got downstairs and saw the real Dracula trying to pick up Ella. When he saw me and Selene he ran across the room and jumped out the window. That's when Selene and I decided to seperate you two. I kept Anna and we stayed in Europe while Selene took Ella and went to America. We wanted to get Ella away from Dracula because her wanted her for some reason," Michael told them.
Selene waited a few moments before continuing. "Gabe is your brother. When Micheal dropped Anna at Harmony Hills Monestary and I dropped Ella off at Our Lady Of Rome convent we started living together. We decided to try for another child, a boy hopefully. I made up the story about his parents being killed by vampires because I wasn't sure if you could handle the truth. Sometimes I'd go over to visit your dad and sometimes he'd come over and visit me and Gabe. We decided a couple months ago that it was time for our family to reunite. So here we all are."
~ELLA'S POV~
'Here we all are? Who is she kidding? Does she really think it's that simple? What is wrong with them?'
The angry thoughts raced through my head before I could stop them. I knew from the look on Anna's face she heard them.
I jumped up and glared at my parents. "So that's it? I think you guys forgot the 'Once upon a time' and 'Happily ever after'," I said my voice dripping with sarcasm," So am I supposed to be okay with all this? Dracula was or is after me for some reason and you never bothered to tell me. Why not? Didn't you think that was something I deserved to know?"
I was trying not to yell or cry but I couldn't help but do both. My emotions were working overtime. Anna looked like she felt my pain and she turned to stare of the window. Mom got the angry expression I knew came right before she screamed at me. Dad simply stood up and reached out his hand to me.
"Ella, I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling right now. I know now that maybe what your mom and I did wasn't the best thing for you and Anna. But at the time it seemed like the right thing to do."
I calmed down a little but not alot. "I get all that but you should have told me about Dracula. How could I protect myself from him if I didn't even know he was after me?"
"Ella! Stop it right now," Mom said sharply, "You're acting like a child."
"Guess what Mom. I am a child."
I turned and stomped out of the library. I decided I might as well explore the rest of the house and the grounds.
~ANNA'S POV~
Ella stormed out of the room and left me alone with Mom and Dad. I didn't know Mom very well but to me she looked very angry. Dad just looked confused. I was beginning to understand how Ella was feeling. Dad and Mom put her life at risk and Ella was upset about it.
"So Anna you haven't said much. How do you feel about all this," Dad asked me.
"I'm so happy that I have a family especially a twin sister."
"You're not angry at us are you," Mom asked sounding angry herself.
"No but then I didn't just find out I might have Dracula chasing after me," I replied shortly.
I felt a little angry at Mom. She seemed to be so upset with Ella all the time. None of this was my fault or Ella's fault. Dad and Mom made the decision to seperate us. How could they blame us for how we reacted?
"Oh? So now you're mad at us too," Mom said bitterly.
"I'm not mad exactly," I tried to explain, "I just kinda get how Ella feels. It must be a twin thing."
"I'm going to go make supper. Michael, why don't you find Ella and show her and Anna to their rooms," Mom said as she stood up and stomped from the room. And Mom was complaining about Ella acting like a child.
"Dad, I'll go find Ella. You wait here," I told Dad as I jumped up off the floor.
I hurried from the room to find Ella. I really needed to talk to her.
~ELLA'S POV~
I stormed out of the library and stood there unsure of where to go next. I leaned against the wall in the hallway and listened while Mom and Dad talked to Anna. I couldn't help but smile when Anna defended me to Mom. The must have pissed Mom off. I turned to my left and noticed the backdoor. I walked towards it and noticed the kitchen was on my left and the dining room was on my right. Well now I knew where the kitchen was in case I wanted a midnight snack. I looked out the door and I almost started jumping up and down. We had a pool, a hot tub, a cute little gazebo, and a doghouse. A doghouse? The doghouse was new but we didn't even have a dog. Did we? I walked out onto the porch and down the steps. I really wanted to go swimming but I had no idea where my bathing suit was. I don't why but I stripped off my clothes and dove into the pool in my underwear. I swam a couple laps around the pool and climbed out and sat there on the edge of the pool trying to clear my head.
'What is wrong with me? I have a family now. I should be as excited as Anna is,' I thought as I let my feet dangle in the water.
I heard doors slamming and stomping feet from inside the house. Someone must have upset Mom and for once it wasn't me. I heard the backdoor open followed by light footsteps across the porch and down the steps a few minutes later.
"Ella? Ella, are you alright," Anna asked in her quiet voice.
~ANNA'S POV~
I heard Mom slamming around pots and pans in the kitchen and I held back. I didn't want to walk by the kitchen but that's where the backdoor was. I don't know how I knew it but Ella was in the backyard. I tried to sneak by the kitchen without Mom noticing me but no such luck.
"Where are you going, Anna," she asked sharply.
"To the backyard. Dad asked me to go get Ella," I answered quickly.
"Fine. Just hurry up."
I slipped out the backdoor and saw Ella sitting on the egde of the pool in her bathing suit. Then I realized it couldn't be her bathing suit since that was still packed. Ella went swimming in her underwear. I saw the pile of her clothes at the bottom of the steps that confirmed it. I figured I better tell her to get dressed before Mom or Dad saw her. I hurried across the porch and down the stairs stopping behind Ella.
"Ella? Ella, are you alright," I asked her softly.
Ella shrugged her shoulders as I sat down next to her. "I guess so. As alright as I can be."
"Look I understand why you were so upset. Mom and Dad put your life at risk," I told her.
"Not just me. They put you at risk too," Ella said angrily, "Don't you think its strange that we were taught the exact same things, made to wear almost the same clothes, and have our hair the exact same way. Mom was the one who chose all of it for me and I'm betting Dad chose everything for you."
I stared at Ella in shock because she was right. Dad picked out what I learned, he chose my clothes, and he even had a say in how I wore my hair. None of this was making sense.
"But why would they do that, Ella? They're our parents."
"Because we're twins. If we looked exactly the same Dracula would never be sure whether it was me or you he was getting," Ella replied.
I turned and ran into the house with tears streaming down my cheeks. This was all too much for me to handle.
~ANNA'S POV~
I found my room without any help from Dad and I locked myself in it. When Dad called me for supper I told him the truth, I wasn't hungry. I couldn't sit at a table and face my parents. If what Ella said was true then my own parents tried to sacrifice me to protect Ella or vice versa. I changed into my pajamas and sat on my bed just staring out the window. My life was so simple a week ago. Okay simple for me but now it was like some weird soap opera. I heard raised voices from downstairs and I knew it was Mom yelling at Ella. I only caught some of the words. "Selfish." "Control freak." "Sacrificing your kids." Then I heard the sound of skin on skin and cringed. I didn't need to be downstairs to know that Mom had slapped Ella. I heard Ella stomp upstairs and slam her bedroom door.
'Ella? What happened,' I asked with my mind.
'Mom asked me what horrible thing I said to you. Listen, Anna, what happened downstairs was no big deal. Don't worry about it,' Ella told me gently.
'I can't help but worry. We're twins, Ella. What hurts you hurts me too,' I reminded her, 'Tell me what happened.'
'Fine,' Ella relented with a sigh, 'Mom said I was a selfish brat for trying to upset you just because I hated seeing you happy. Then I called her a control freak and said that I couldn't believe her and Dad were trying to sacrifice their own kids. That's when she slapped me.'
'I should go down there and tell Mom and Dad that you would never say anything to intentionally hurt me.'
'Thanks Anna but you should just leave it alone for now. It's been a long day. Get some sleep.'
'Okay. Night Ella,' I said then added, 'I love you.'
I could feel Ella smile. 'I love you too, Anna.'
~ELLA'S POV~
My fight with Mom and my mind talk with Anna left me completely exhausted but I wasn't ready to go to bed just yet. I grabbed Tigger and Cookie and set them onto the bay windowseat with me. After I got comfortable I stared at the only two toys from my childhood I had. They were presents for my first birthday and sadly they were my only friends. I suddenly remembered that Anna had gotten Pooh and Elmo. I wondered if it was really my memory or if it was Anna's memory popping into my head.
"What the heck is wrong with me guys," I asked Cookie and Tigger, "I have all these awful thoughts running around in my head and that's where they should stay. Anna was so happy earlier and I just had to tell her all those horrible things. I must be the worst sister in the world."
I felt hot tears building up and I angrily swiped them away. Maybe Mom was right. Maybe I am a selfish brat. Maybe I hated seeing Anna happy so I told her those awful things to upset her.
"NO! No way," I exclaimed to no one, "Anna had every right to know what I thought. It just too much of a coincidence that almost everything about us is the same."
From the cormer of my eye I caught a shadow moving in the yard. I turned my head and stared hard at where the shadow was but it seemed to have suddenly disappear. I shivered when I remembered what Dad had said about Dracula. I couldn't help but laugh at my sudden paranoia. I layed perfectly still again hoping that whoever or whatever it was would come back. After twenty minutes my muscles started to cramp up so I climbed off the windowseat and dragged myself to bed. I had no idea what excitement tomorrow was going to bring. |
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