TA’S MAY FEATURED FAN FICTION – MY LOST YOUTH BY MISSPIERCE

Each month we choose a fan fiction from our forum to be the featured fan fiction. For the month of May, MissPierce’s “My Lost Youth” is the winner.

Title: My Lost Youth
Author: “Edward A. Masen” (Miss Pierce)
Rating: PG-13 for violent imagery
Characters: Edward, Carlisle, Esme
Summary: My Lost Youth is Edward’s non-chronological retrospective about the years of 1911-1934, exploring his struggles as he transitions from reluctant newborn vampire to Carlisle and Esme’s son. He offers insight on Carlisle and Esme’s journeys and his own, including the dark time he rebelled against Carlisle’s way of life and left, setting out a path that would always haunt him afterward.

Isle Esme, August, 1932

The sea floor rose beneath me; living towers of the intricate reef gave way to rippled, golden sand shimmering in the sunlight that filtered through the warm ocean waters. It looked like our long swim, which had started with a plunge into the waters off Rio, might be coming to an end.

All I knew is that Carlisle wanted to show me something he was giving to Esme for their anniversary- and he was keeping his thoughts about what it was to himself successfully, which was a little disgruntling. He was getting better and better at disguising his thoughts when he wanted to.

The streaming wake of Carlisle’s torpedo form disappeared as his feet touched the sand, kicking up a billowing cloud of white, taking off onto land, and I burst through it, right behind.

Emerging into the languid, sweet tropical air, the scent of a new place, was exhilaration itself, a relief from being underwater. The only thing that bothered me about swimming- being unable to smell anything. It didn’t hurt to take water into my lungs, but it was disgusting, to say nothing of the foul process of choking it out later. I’d tried it once, and that was enough for me.

The sand was silk under our feet as we raced along an island shore. He was apparently sure we were alone there, unconcerned about our bodies openly refracting the brilliant sunlight, and I didn’t smell any humans. Best of all, this place was blessedly free of their tedious, muddling thoughts.

Carlisle flashed a grin over his shoulder and cut to the left, heading for a patch of jungle in the center of the island. I caught up and overtook him a half second later, slicing through the vegetation, chuckling as five rainbow-feathered birds flew away in fright after I’d already dashed under their roosts. I was always faster than Carlisle, something I never grew out of from my newborn days. Because of that, everyone always assumed I was stronger than he was as well. Only the two of us knew better. He could thrash me anytime he felt like it.

Not forgetting that he was the one who was showing the way to this mystery item, I let him take the lead again, just in time for the jungle’s end as we emerged on the other side of the island. The place was tiny. We’d crossed the entire thing in a few seconds.

Carlisle abruptly slowed to a walk, approaching the waves rolling onto the beach. He turned to me and took a few giddy steps back, holding out his arms in presentation.

“Well? Think she’ll like it?”

“A vacation here?” I shrugged. “Sure.”

“No,” he grinned. “The island itself.”

“An island,” I said flatly. “You’re giving her an island?”

“Welcome to Isle Esme! I signed the papers last month.”

“She’d better like it.” I chuckled, incredulous.

Their tenth anniversary was two weeks away, and she’d already told me what she was giving to him, too. It wasn’t anything like an island, but I knew he’d be thrilled with it.

Carlisle wandered to the edge of the surf and paused there with the stillness unique to our kind. His hair and swim trunks, like mine, were already dry from the run, the only parts of him that the warm breeze could move. I joined him– his thoughts were a soft jumble of longings and anticipation.

“I want to surprise her, to bring her here that night,” he murmured.

“She’ll love it, Carlisle.”

His smile took on a dreamy aspect; he was imagining her reaction, what their anniversary night would bring. I had to leave his thoughts in a hurry, to focus on listening to the corporeal sea in the absence of other minds. Carlisle really did try to be discreet around me, but it got away from him every once in a while.

A few moments later he glanced at me apologetically.

“Sorry about that.”

I just smirked, and resumed enjoying the place.

“It really is beautiful here, Carlisle.”

Peaceful, he thought, and turned his admiration to the sunset about to occur, the wind picking up speed, the roar of the waves.

“Why am I here?” I asked eventually. “You could have just told me.”

I wanted you to see this place, Edward. To know where it was, if you ever need it…

To read the complete story click here.

Name: Alexandra Pierce

How did you start writing fan fiction? I started writing Twilight fan fiction right after I discovered and read the series in December. I’d devoured the books, all the extras and the Midnight Sun excerpt from SM’s site, a bunch of fan fiction – everything in just over a week. Right after I started participating in the Twilight Universe online, I decided to try my hand at a one-shot about Edward and Bella’s first night on Isle Esme. I chose Edward’s POV and started when he was waiting for Bella out in the surf, but it didn’t go very well, I’m afraid. I didn’t count on what a busy brain that boy has. Many pages later, poor Bella was still stuck in the cottage while Edward was busy moodily contemplating everything from hurricanes to Steinbeck, so I gave up. But at least it gave me an idea of how comfortable I was with Edward’s POV.

My next project was a film script for New Moon, which was my favorite of the books. Several scenes have been posted exclusively on TA. I finished, but decided for a number of reasons not to publish the rest anywhere online.

When I’d get stuck on an aspect of New Moon, I’d take breaks by working on a non-chronological Edward-POV retrospective about the Cullens from 1911-1934, and it became My Lost Youth. Without a doubt, it’s the one that’s really hooked me- and, evidently, a few others, too!

The whole urge to write fan fiction was really new to me, actually. I’d written before, but not fanfic.

How did you find TA? I discovered TA via IMDb. I was looking at IMDb’s news feed on something Twilight-related (I don’t remember what specifically), and one of the news items was attributed/linked to TA. I clicked on the link, and the rest is history! TA is my absolute favorite of all the Twilight sites. It’s got a ton to offer, but what really impressed me the most were the forums. They’re the most friendly and diverse in Twilightdom, hands down.

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