*Loud Trumpet Entrance*

Rudolphtherednoseddolly presents:

New Horizons

Chapter One ~ Antarctic Findings

Antarctica was amazing.

The glaciers were huge and awe-inspiring, even for a band of Vampires, Shape-shifters, and a hybrid. On the water, they drifted in such a slow, measured pace, you wanted to do the same.

"Tell me again why we have to be in Antarctica?" asked Rosalie.

"Because," said Carlisle, "Renesmee's still growing too fast. We can't keep her hidden in a house forever, as demonstrated by that noble in Russia. It'll just be a year or two, she's nearly matured.

The girl in question was shivering in an enormous parka. "I know, but why Antarctica? Esme's Island seems a pretty good substitute for me."

Bella smiled and resisted the urge to wrap her arms around her seemingly-junior-high-age daughter; she was cold enough without her mother's marble skin to contend with. Jacob, instead, unzipped his lightweight jacket and held her against his bare chest. Edward growled softly (he had yet to get over the fact that Jacob had imprinted, and the new shock that had come when Renesmee had finally reached the dating years), but said nothing as Renesmee's shivers subsided.

"Esme's Island is now within fifty miles of a cargo ship company's path, Renesmee. We can't risk anyone seeing you until you stop growing. Ships rarely go exactly on course, and then there's storms, shipwrecks, and pirates. If Antarctica doesn't work out, we'll go there, but for right now, this is our best bet." he said.

Renesmee sighed. Another reason she didn't like Antarctica was the fact that any time she wanted to go outside, she had to speak aloud. The hybrid could now project her special ability all over her skin, but not into the air, as Bella could. Therefore, unless she wanted frostbite, she had to keep herself covered and unable to mind-speak with anyone except Edward. And it was cold here. Her temperature had dropped as her growing had slowed down, and although she was much warmer than the average human, she was still cooler than Jacob or Leah, who had accompanied them to escape going back to Sam. The only non-shape shifter she would tolerate was Renesmee herself, who had captured her months ago.

They were standing on a nondescript field of ice, just like so many fields of ice surrounding them as far as the eye could see, whether semi-human or not.

"How much farther, Carlisle?" asked Esme, eyeing Renesmee.

"Not far. About ten minutes, if Renesmee's up for a run."

Renesmee immediately pulled herself away from Jacob and laughed. "Of course I am! Ready to lose again, Leah?"

Renesmee had inherited some of her father's speed, and she and Leah were forever racing against each other. They were pretty evenly matched, except when Renesmee decided to cheat and leapt her way to victory.

Bella listened for her heartbeat and said, "Fine, but if you get tired again,"

Renesmee rolled her eyes, looking exactly like Edward. "Yes, mom, I know. I'm fine, really. You all are so overprotective. I'm not even the most fragile thing here!"

"Yes, but you're the reason we're here, and if anything happened to you, not only would I be pissed about this little journey, but I imagine you'd be doubly protected. You should've seen Edward when Bella was still human."

"With good reason." said Edward. "Only she could get in that many life-threatening situations with that little time."

Bella punched him lightly and turned back to Renesmee and Leah, who had scratched a line in the ice.

"Okay, the house is due east for ten minutes. Edward will go ahead to declare the winner. On your mark, get set…go!"

Renesmee, Leah (who had already been in wolf form), and Edward streaked away across the field. Jacob, now in wolf form, whined softly. He hated seeing Renesmee run away from him, even for mere minutes. Bella, too, was uneasy.

Esme laughed. "Don't worry; it's only for a couple minutes. But we might as well get going, too."

And with that, seven vampires and one shape-shifter formed a blur after them.

Leah was losing. Renesmee was a full two steps in front of her. Stupid ice. Her paws were made for the forest, not bare ice. She increased her speed a little, her breath huffing in and out as she poured it on.

There were few good things about this alliance with the bloodsuckers, but they were good enough for her to stay. One was the fact that millions of miles and no mind connection separated her from Sam. She was very nearly over him, after all these years of being away from him. She still dreamt about him sometimes, but those dreams didn't mean anything, didn't hurt like they used to. This new pack allowed her to remember who she had been before Sam, before she became part of his pack. The change in her was complete; although she had yet to acquire the ease around vampires that Jacob and Seth had, she was almost used to the smell, and their sudden, quick, sharp movements. The hair on the back of her neck stayed down, until they did something unusually weird. Edward knew not to answer her thoughts out loud unless she directly addressed him, and he said that he usually tried to keep clear of them altogether, keeping them in what he called the 'background noise'.

Another thing was Renesmee. Although she didn't quite feel the devotion the others exhibited towards the hybrid, they were friends. And racing her gave her a chance to push her muscles to the limit as they had never been pushed before. She got faster every month. Edward had clocked her at over two hundred mph last week in Russia. Sometime in the next couple years she hoped to reach the speed where humans couldn't see her.

She took another ragged breath through her nose. She was catching up! Renesmee's scent wasn't nearly as bad as the vampire's, like clean air next to a sewer. She took another breath, saving the scent for when she'd have to live in a vamp-infested house. She hoped her room was near Renesmee's…

Leah stumbled as a new scent totally overwhelmed her senses. Vampire. But it wasn't familiar, like Edward's should have been.

She skidded to a halt, sliding several feet before stopping behind Edward. Renesmee, taken by surprise (she didn't need nearly as much oxygen), blew past, and then did a circle and stopped neatly beside Leah. She was about to ask why they had stopped when she caught the scent, too.

"Who's there?" she called.

No answer.

Edward had his cell phone to his ear and was speaking rapidly into it. Suddenly, he flipped it closed and looked at Leah.

"You, Jacob, Bella and Renesmee are going to hide out in a cave Carlisle found. No, not hide like that. We don't know how this vampire's going to react to you shape-shifters, or how long it's been since they've eaten. No, Bella's not there to protect you. She's going to protect Renesmee. Jacob will be hard-pressed to keep her safe when in wolf form, especially when in wolf form. The cave's straight back west for two minutes, then turn north-west for a couple seconds. Bella's going to try and cover your scents with hers. Go!"

Leah ran west, cursing Edward's ability to read minds.

Two seconds later, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett arrived.

"Where is it?" asked Jasper, curving protectively over Alice.

"I don't know. I waited for you to follow the trail. It doesn't smell of human blood, however."

Emmett flexed his muscles. "Let's get a move on, then, shall we?"

The group trotted forward, searching for any clues as to the identity of the mysterious vampire. The trail curved first north, then east. As they came over a hill, they found the house in view. A sparkling mansion made of glass, slightly darker than the snow around it.

"What do you think we should do?" asked Esme.

Alice's eyes were blank and unfocused.

"I see her! She just decided to go into the house."

"Who is she?" asked Carlisle.

"A female vampire, I'd say about fourteen years old. I've never seen her before. Dark hair, dark eyes, I can't tell if she's a vegetarian or not."

"But certainly crabby." guessed Carlisle.

"She hasn't had food in a while. I wonder how she got here. Wait a sec…" Alice's eyes went blank again. "It's okay, she won't fight us."

Emmett sighed, disappointed.

Edward had his phone out so fast, no one could follow the movement. "So can we get the others?" he asked.

Alice sighed. "I don't know, Renesmee, Jacob and Leah are blocking me. She doesn't seem violent, though."

Edward was already finished speaking to Bella.

Carlisle took a step towards the house. "I think it would be best if we went in first, before the werewolves and Renesmee."

Everyone nodded and started toward the house. When they arrived, Alice leapt up the steps and knocked on the door. Emmett snorted but said nothing.

A minute or so passed. Edward was starting to wonder about Bella. Should they knock again? Or just barge in? It was their house, after all. But Alice just stood there patiently, so he waited. Impatiently.

Finally, the door cracked open, and a face peered out.