I was skipping lightly through the Washington greenery, on my way to the Cullens' to tell them that Tanya was having trouble finding clothes lately. Kate, Carmen, and I were apparently no help to Tanya; she needed the fashion police, Alice, ASAP. Running was the fastest way. I giggled; Tanya threw such a fit that even Eleazar went out of the house in a hurry. Must be hard being the only guy. I loved running, especially through trees, when I could hear the branches whipping past me, but I never ran into them nor received any scratches. Hah. As if they could, anyway. Even after being immortal for over a millenia, I still appreciated the simpler pleasures of being immortal-running at the speed of light, staying the beautiful, 20 year old I was two thousand years ago. I could tell I was getting closer to the outskirts of Forks. The sky was slowly reappearing; I could taste the rain in the air around me. Ew, there was some acid in there. Ugh, pollution. Oh, well. I was glad that I resided in Alaska. Unfortunately, at the rate the global temperatures were rising, we might have to pay a little visit to the nation's capitol…
A thousand feet ahead of me, I could see a bit of a meadow. That was when I heard it. I heard a baby-like gurgle, the delighted laughter of a child, happy and carefree. What was that? It forced me to stop in my tracks. I whipped my head around, but could see nothing but the endless spruce trees. Hmm. I couldn't smell anything human…the smell of the pine needles hit me, and nothing else. Was I reminiscing when my mother produced her immortal child? Hearing the doomed baby's last utterance? I would have to ask Carlisle once I got to their home. I started moving again, but took cautious, steady steps on the moss. What was that smell? I sniffed the air, trying to put a mark on it. I couldn't. I'd never smelled anything like it before. Was that…wool? No. A bear? Human food, left behind by some careless human? No. Damn, I forgot my cell phone again. Oh well. It wasn't like anything could harm me out here. But wait. Wasn't Laurent taken by…werewolves? Wasn't this near…their territory? Was that the smell? Well, it certainly didn't smell anything like an immortal. But it didn't smell like the acrid burning everyone told me about. I broke into a sprint again, anxious to get to the Cullens. They would know.
Finally, finally I saw more of the clearing ahead of me. A wave of scents hit me the nanosecond I stepped forward. The first was a light, floral smell, like…freesia, roses, and…lemongrass? That was a first; I'd never smelled a vampire with a fragrance like that. Must be Bella's. The next scent was not a perfume at all. It smelled like…wet dog. No, not really. But wait…the more I tasted the air, the more I felt like it was the smell of what I imagined to be wet dog. Huh. The Cullens couldn't have gotten a pet, could they? All creatures had a sixth sense, which could conclude that we were not normal. Weren't dogs supposed to have a better sense of smell than humans? Surely they could detect that we were not human, and escape the first opportunity they got. No, the Cullens couldn't have gotten a Labrador. So if it wasn't a pet, then what could it be? I sighed, then started forward again. I gasped. I saw it.
No. No. It couldn't be. My eyes darted ahead, and locked with a pair of wide eyes that hinted they were newborn, but no more than a year old. Bella. No. She couldn't have. How? Didn't she know the rules?! Was she insane? Or just plain ignorant! If she and Edward had tried anything while she was still human, he could've killed her! Her eyes widened even more when she saw my still figure; only she could have seen me. I quickly calculated the date of their wedding and today's date. It couldn't be. It was impossible for Bella and Edward to conceive a child! I heard it again-that laugh that I previously heard-was the immortal child's. I heard another laugh, but this time it was close to a bark-I was right, it was a dog! I'd seen that dog among the rest of its pack, maul Laurent! I fought the urge to uproot a tree. I gasped again-the dog had the immortal child riding on its back. No. No. The rules were absolute. I turned on my heel and ran.