Hello everybody!
I felt like starting a new story... this chapter here had been lying around on my laptop for several months now (since last year maybe?) and I decided it was time to post it. I actually didn't want to work on more than one story at a time for a while, but *sigh* Whatever ;-)
Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer! I just like to coax them into doing something stupid and when they are done causing trouble, I put them in a fancy box with a bow on top and send them back to their rightful owner.
Warning: I put the warning for this story in the description and would advise you guys to take it seriously. I don't give them because I'm bored or because I wish to annoy you, I do it for you so you won't need to waste your time on stories you won't like. While I still don't know in which chapter the warning will be important, I still wanted to let you know beforehand so you can judge for yourself if you really want to read it.
Okay, enough said. Have fun with the first chapter!
It was one of these beautiful, overcast summer days the whole family loved and Rosalie was spending the afternoon in the garden with Esme, tending to the flowers and picking the most beautiful ones for several bouquets they wanted to make to adorn their home. The wonderful smell of blooming roses, marguerites and gillyflowers surrounded them and soon the same smell would scent their home and brighten up several rooms with the beauty of their delicate blossoms and rich colours.
"No, not the pink ones," Rosalie said and shook her head lightly before pointing at the big rose bushes to their right. "The red ones have a fuller blossom. They would look perfect in the sitting room."
Esme thought about this for a moment before she nodded her head in agreement, smiling broadly. "You are right. They would look fantastic on the little sideboard next to the shelf."
After they had cut enough flowers, mother and daughter brought them to the wooden table on the wide terrace, ready to get started. It was wonderful for both women to be spending time together doing these delicate works and chatting away about this and that. Two and a half years - it had been little more than two and a half years since they had basically become a family even though it hadn't felt that way right from the beginning – especially for Rosalie. But now Rose had to admit that it was like they had lived together forever, and she was sure that she was as close to Esme as her mother as she could be.
Ever since she had found her Emmett, it was like she could finally be herself again and truly accept her new existence and her new family. He was what she had needed in her life, the missing piece she had been longing for to find, and it had been love at first sight. She felt content and at peace with the world and herself now that he was a part of her life - and the most important part at that.
"Rose!"
That voice made a dazzling smile appear on the beautiful blonde's face, and she spun around just in time to be face to face with her big bear of a husband who caught her in his muscular arms and spun her around once before placing her back on her feet.
He puckered his lips and smacked hers with his, causing her to giggle when he pulled away again.
"Behave," she chided playfully and slapped her hand against his chest.
"Behave?" he queried with raised eyebrows and a smirk started to form on his lips. "Well, last night you liked -"
"Hem-hem."
An impish smile, dimpling Emmett's face, was directed apologetically at his Mom as he turned his head to look at the brown-haired woman.
"Sorry, Mom. Nothing happened, of course."
Esme shook her head, but her expression showed amusement. "Opinions may differ as to what nothing means. I think Edward would agree with me."
Emmett snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, the little imp doesn't mind."
"First of all I'm OLDER than you, and second of all: I DO mind! Your bed frame is hitting against my wall!" could be heard being shouted from the window on the second floor right above them.
Hearing that their nightly activities disturbed their brother did not have the effect that they would be embarrassed or even feel the need to apologise. No, Emmett guffawed and hugged his wife to himself, cupping her behind in a fashion that told Esme that they weren't planning on letting this night be any easier to endure for Edward than the last ones or the many nights before that.
She gave her bulky son a look of disapproval and tutted.
"It's a natural reaction," Emmett explained, giving his mother an innocent, yet mischievous look. "I cannot help it."
Rose placed her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his broad chest while a smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Seeing them together was so wonderful for Esme and the last thing she wanted was to keep her two newlyweds from being happy and getting to know each other in all possible ways, but she did have to admit that it was not only Edward who found their excessive love-making rather shocking. The problem was that as long as Emmett was still so young and needed surveillance, she couldn't send the lovebirds on their honeymoon away from the rest of the family. It would just have to wait and they would just have to accept the situation for now and try to live through it.
"How was your hunt, Emmett?" she asked, knowing that he was still completely euphoric about being able to hunt up animals, hold them down with his bare hands and, well, suck the life out of them.
He just grinned at her in return - it was only broken by Rose putting a hand on the back of his neck and pulling his face down to hers. Her tongue flicked out and she licked his bottom lip before saying, "He had bear."
"And what a huge thing it had been! His paws were as big as my head," he exclaimed and held his hand up in a way the bear must have done, "and he slapped at me like he wanted to disembowel me and then feed on it."
Esme's face scrunched up at his detailed description and Rose took a step back so she wouldn't accidentally become a part of Em's little re-enactment.
"Please, Emmy, you don't have to graphic," Esme pleaded while he was busy replaying the fight for them by clawing at the air.
"You should have seen his face, Mom! He was completely startled but too proud to turn away and run from me. Thought because he was bigger than me he could win this little fight," he said, then snorted as the memory played out in his mind. "Stupid bear."
There was the iron smell of blood mixed with the strong, musky smell of bear on him that wafted over to her when a light breeze started blowing in her direction. She noticed that the crook of her boy's arm and the right half of his collar seemed to be soaked with blood and covered in loose bear fur - his face and his hands, however, looked clean. For a moment she had been concerned as she knew that he had developed some kind of difficult relationship with bears. But she always considered herself lucky when he kept it at wrestling with the bear - before he fed, while he fed, and afterwards when the poor creature was dead. Lately he had started talking about keeping a part of the dead thing and taking it home as well, but thankfully up until now they had managed to hinder him from following through with his idea.
They didn't have had that explicit problem before, but after his second slip-up - a very unfortunate incident which made a change of scenery necessary, of course - they had moved to Hoquiam, WA. The forest that surrounded them didn't just hold animals such as elk, deer, mountain lion and wildcat, but quite a few bears as well. The good thing was that bear made the boy extremely happy and the taste of the blood was satisfying enough so that he seemed to be a lot more in control of his bloodlust and the mood swings the newborn years brought. But the bad thing was that he was starting to become quite sulky when he couldn't find bear on one of his frequent hunts and had to make do with some different animal that was less tasty and less fun to play with.
Clearing her throat, Esme gave her son a little smile. "Why don't you go get changed, Emmett? You surely cannot feel comfortable wearing a dirty shirt." That way he would finally stop fighting imaginary bears and she could be sure that he wouldn't stain anything.
"Sure. Come Rose, I have to show you something," he said excitedly and pulled at his wife's hand, leading her to the open French windows and into the house.
Esme smiled as she looked after them, glad that they were leading such a more or less normal and comfortable family life. Her three healthy and happy children were truly a blessing and she was thankful that she had been given another chance to live a life like this.
She bound the last few flowers together and then looked down at the five bouquets she and Rosalie had made. They were indeed beautiful and she couldn't wait to see them in the pretty porcelain vases that were a present from her loving husband.
Grabbing two of them and cradling them in her arms so the flowers wouldn't accidentally break on the way inside, she then turned around and entered the house.
The strong smell of bear blood hit her, and she shook her head while letting out a sigh. Yes, the newest addition to the family, her boulder-sized cub Emmy, still had trouble feeding without spilling half of the nourishing liquid. He just had too much fun wrestling with the struggling animal and growling while drinking. He liked the funny gurgling noises and the little blood bubbles it created - yes, he was a little child in the body of a very, very big boy. Hopefully he wouldn't get the idea to use a straw next time - but then again, maybe that would leave his clothes in a cleaner state.
In their beautiful dining room - no, not the forest - she placed the freshly bound bouquets onto the old oak table and turned around to open the cabinet. She found the two vases she was looking for immediately, retrieved them and placed them in the middle of the dining table.
To get water for the flowers, she went to the kitchen where she picked up the watering pot from the floor next to the door and made her way over to the sink to fill it up.
It took her a moment to realise that something was odd. The purple lavender soap they kept next to the sink had just been used. That wasn't odd, naturally, because that was the purpose of this little piece of soap, but it was hairy and had light red streaks all over it and the surface it was lying on was soiled as well. She looked down into the sink and saw that the plughole was covered in wet, brown hair. So that's why it smelled so weird in here... oh well, at least she had managed to teach Em to wash his face and hands when they got dirty.
With a full watering pot in hand, she made her way back into the dining room and poured some water into the vases. Placing a bouquet into each, she pushed one vase into the middle of the table, then grabbed the other one to carry upstairs. The sideboard on the upper floor could use some flowers to brighten up the ordinary hallway and she hummed a happy tune while climbing the stairs.
She could smell exactly where Emmett had been, his trail was thick in the air and if she didn't know any better she would have thought that he had been rolling around in a puddle of bear blood.
When she reached the uppermost step and looked down the hall, the vase suddenly slipped from her hands and shattered on the wooden floor, spraying her legs and the walls with water and covering the floor with shards of porcelain. The freshly cut flowers that she had chosen with her daughter lay limp amidst the mess.
She gasped in disbelief, but it wasn't the broken vase that drew this reaction from her. She just stepped over the puddle, pieces of the vase crunching underneath the soles of her feet, and she hurried down the hall with her mouth agape.
The whole time her eyes were fixed on the sideboard and what she found had been placed on top of it.
There was a dirty, bloody, smelly, overly disgusting bear head. Its tongue hung from its open mouth that was missing a few teeth, and one eye seemed like it had been penetrated as a gooey mass was oozing out of it, making the thing look even more grotesque and repugnant. The snowy-white decorative cover that she had put there earlier today to place the vase with the flowers on was now discoloured and soaked with dark blood. A soft dripping sound told her that the blood was already forming a little puddle on her expensive and pristine hardwood floor behind the sideboard.
She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes while reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose like Carlisle was prone to do in stressful moments, all the while hoping this whole mess would somehow magically disappear as soon as she would open her eyes again.
But she had no such luck.
"Emmett!" she yelled, "You will come here right now! Edward, you, too!"
It was silent for a moment until she heard shuffling of feet, then the clicking of locks as two doors were being opened. They creaked simultaneously and so Esme knew her children had heard her, but obviously fancied the safety of their rooms over having to face her as no one emerged from the rooms.
She did not turn around, just lifted her hand and curled two fingers at them, knowing that her children would see it and understand what that motion meant.
The doors creaked open further and out came two boys.
"Esme?" Edward asked hesitantly while approaching her, even though he was well aware of what she had found and how much she liked having it in her house.
Closing her eyes as though it would help her keep the irritation at bay and slowly turning around, Esme pointed at the mauled bear head and asked in an exasperated voice, "What is that?"
"Do you like it?"
Her eyes snapped open and she stared at her dark-haired son. Of all the reactions, of all the things anyone could have said at the moment, she had not been prepared for that.
Emmett didn't seem too concerned; he just stepped closer to her and smiled at her like he was glad she had finally found it.
"Wh-what?" she queried, looking and sounding completely flabbergasted.
"Do you like it?" he asked again and took the last few steps until he reached the huge head. He bent down a little - it was like he was looking this gross thing in the face - and then he reached out and started petting it. "It's the biggest one I have ever caught. You said you wanted to adorn the house today, so I brought this," he told her and smiled while he stroked it some more.
"Emmy, honey... no, I don't like it," she replied.
His face fell and he straightened up again to look at her with big, round eyes that held disappointment.
"Baby, nobody in their right mind would like that," she told him with a sad look in her eyes, shaking her head.
Just a moment ago she had been appalled and shocked and angry, but now she started to feel bad as she seemed to have quenched his excitement over his successful hunt and the little present he had brought home. He had only wanted to contribute, but she wouldn't let that happen - she couldn't let that happen because this was absolutely gross. It was just so hard to be strict at that moment as her son wasn't the bigmouthed, exuberant Emmett right now, but a disappointed, little boy. She was truly curious which side would overweigh once he would grow out of his newborn years.
"This is gross. It is dirty and it smells, and it soiled the sideboard and the floor. You cannot bring something like this into the house, honey, you know that."
"But I love it! I caught it myself and I want to keep it."
She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, pressing her lips together for a moment while giving him a sympathetic look. "No."
"But-"
"No," she said again, shaking her head at him.
"Awww."
"We have told you before that we don't want anything dead in the house."
And just like that he started smirking, before a laugh escaped him. "But... Edward is dead, too. Does that mean he is not allowed inside the house anymore?"
"Emmett...," Esme scolded, not deeming her son's remark the least bit funny. "What would your father think if he saw this?" she asked and motioned towards the severed head of the smelly male bear which was despite its lifelessness still busy soiling her house.
"I don't know...," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, but as Esme's just continued to stare at him as she was waiting for a proper answer, he hung his head.
"He wouldn't like it," he eventually murmured, sounding crestfallen and sad.
"Yes, he wouldn't like it," she confirmed and sighed when she saw that he still hadn't changed out of his dirty clothes. Lightly petting his cheek with one hand, she said, "Go take a bath, Emmett."
His shoulders slumped but he nodded his head before turning around and shuffling down the hall until he reached the bathroom. He looked back at Esme one more time with a pleading look on his face, but all she did was shake her head. And without another word he disappeared into the bathroom to clean up.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Esme put her hands on her hips and focussed her eyes on her other son. "Edward, what's this about?"
He heaved a load groan. "I told him not to bring it inside."
"And what is this?" Esme asked and pointed at the bear head. She didn't even want to look at it anymore - all she wanted was to get it out of the house and forget that this had ever happened.
With his arms crossed, he leaned against the wall and glared at the floor. "Mother, he refused to listen to me." He didn't know why his parents loved to pick him as the babysitter and whenever something happened, he had to explain himself. It wasn't his fault that Emmett was lacking common sense, maybe it was Rosalie's fault, who knew, but it definitely wasn't his.
"And why didn't you tell me what he had in mind? Just look what happened."
He distorted his mouth. "Because I prefer to stay out of his mind, Ma'am."
"The blood will most definitely leave stains," Esme mumbled with a sad sigh, then shook her head as standing around and feeling glum would not help get rid of the horrible thing and the mess it had made.
Edward would not say it now and definitely not in front of his mother, but the stains didn't worry him all that much. The thing reeked, that was a bit of a nuisance, but apart from that he just wanted to ignore it until somebody would throw it out and clean up.
"Edward, Rosalie? Please help me clean this up."
Rolling his eyes when Esme wasn't looking, Edward cursed under his breath as he had already half expected that he would have to clean up the mess one of his lovely siblings had made. He was really starting to detest newborns as they were so hard to control and never listened to him. He was the second eldest person in the house but still - no one listened to him. It was quite frustrating.
And it was remarkable that Rosalie had watched the whole talk from her room without even uttering a single word, but now suddenly sprang to life at her mother's words.
"I'll pick up the shards of porcelain and put the flowers in a new vase, Mother!" she chirped, then picked up the dripping bouquet they had bound a few minutes ago and vanished downstairs.
Edward's eyes narrowed while he listened to the sounds of his blonde sister bolting down the stairs as she was desperately trying to get away from the bear in order to keep her hands clean. That left him and Esme to clean up the bloody mess her husband had created.
"Could you take it outside, Edward? I go get a bucket and a brush." And with that, Esme left as well and the bronze-haired boy found himself standing alone in the hallway. He turned his head and looked at the bear head with the leaking eye and the long tongue hanging out... it looked like this stupid thing was mocking him.
It infuriated him and with an angry snort he took a few steps to the end of the hallway and wrenched the window open, then grabbed the dripping head and tossed it out of the house and into the forest. He could hear the faint splash of water in the distance which made him smile with satisfaction as he knew that he had just thrown it into the river that wound along through the thick forest.
Would be interesting to see if it sinks or floats..., he thought with a low chuckle. And if it floats, it would be interesting to see the stupid looks on the faces of the humans who would be fortunate enough to find it.
But when he heard Emmett starting to sing in the bathroom while he undressed to get in the tub, he couldn't help but groan as he perceived his brother's carefreeness despite the mess he had caused.
And that was the first time Emmett had managed to bring a bear head into the house.
Yep, Emmett's very own story! I really hope he likes it and will keep his nose out of his siblings stories from now on... but I have my doubts that this distraction will work, LOL
Thanks for reading and, as always, I'd love to know what you think!
