Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer
I'd like to keep Uncertainty all in Essie's POV but sometimes I write the POV of other characters to know their story. I have taken the advice of Nikki-Twilight Lover and decided to post some of these chapters. So now I will post them as they become relevant, or at least when they don't give too much away. So this is what my outtakes story is for.
I will give a brief description at the start of each outtake so you know where it should go.
This chapter is to coincide with chapter 32 of Uncertainty. This is Tobias' point of view of what happened when Jane came to town. I just felt that Tobias should get to reveal this bit since he's unlikely to ever reveal it to Essie here it is for you to read.
It had surprised me the night previous when young Esther had come to call to invite us to the cinema. Since she had discovered the fact that we knew of her secret she had seemed distant. Had I been fooling myself all this time that should she learn the truth then we would no longer have barriers between us, or had something else caused this new caution? Perhaps it was the fact that we had all been Volturi in the early part of our existence as vampires.
However she had requested our presence upon that Friday night and we had followed her and her Quileute friends down to Port Angeles where we indulged in a film. A film I might add that was nothing if not laughable at its representation of our kind. I felt a true connection for the first time to Esther's friends, the bashful Sammie, the hostile Susie and the oafish Harry. We connected and I found myself surprisingly inviting them all to join us at the house. Esther looked as if she was about to decline my offer to save her friends but Harry stepped in and accepted. It was a delightful evening and I found it strangely easy to connect with these children who were thousands of years younger than me and by their own admissions my mortal enemies.
I had no desire for the Quileutes' blood, there was too much of the wolf about them, but Will being there was a fly in the ointment. I was due to feed this weekend, perhaps I had left it a little longer than necessary in the hope that Esther would call on me again, although she had not. I endured the enticing scent of the human's blood by trying not to breathe as much as possible. I managed to hold back on my urge to feed and as soon as our guests had left I informed Marlin that I was heading further afield so that I may hunt in a more satisfying way, besides we were not here to deplete the local wildlife.
I drove for hours until I arrived at a place we had yet to hunt, although we had done our research and found there had been a rise in the number of carnivores this year. This was great news to us, because carnivore blood was much more satisfying than that of the herbivore. In my dark early days when I had fed on humans their diet had affected the taste of their blood. Rich people tended to taste nicer because they were more likely to eat meat, and lots of it.
I turned my mind from the past; my confessions to Esther on Tuesday had left my mind wandering back to those dark days more than ever. The guilt felt worse since Esther had seemed to accept it as a matter of fact and that I was no longer like that. However, for the biggest part of my undead life I had been a monster and sometimes I felt I teetered on a knife-edge and it was only a matter of time before I slipped and blood would flow.
I was brooding, I realised darkly. I had no right to brood for brooding was one way for me to become detached from the present world. Detachment was not a good state within which a vampire should exist. Detachment left one thinking that perhaps you were better than humans and that they were nothing more than animals. Detachment stopped you from seeing them as individuals with complex lives and the people with whom they were connected. Detachment was the pathway back to darkness. That was why Marlin and I had decided to experiment with this life the Cullens had adopted, to live amongst humans as one of their number. To be counted within society once more, and so far it was working.
I pushed all thoughts from my mind as I become that which is the true vampire, a creature of senses and instincts, and I hunted the hunters of this little wooded valley. I brought down an enormous male bear with little effort and I soon had the creature drained.
It was enough to satiate my craving and as I wandered back to my car, combing my hair back into the neatness I needed, I wondered at the fact that I needed so little blood nower days. One big bear would be enough to carry me through the next three weeks unless I overly exerted myself. Back when I was a newborn the thirst had been such that I required to feed every five nights or so, and that was because the Volturi had rules that forbade us from feeding every night. As I got older the frequency with which I needed to feed diminished until I fed but once a fortnight. By the time Marlin had entered our fold I was feeding once a month, much to the bemusement of the other Volturi, although Aro was impressed. Aro always finds strength impressive, regardless of what that strength may be.
I had chosen to drive my new Bugatti for this journey. I preferred my old Land Rover and of course Betsy, but tonight I had needed speed so I had chosen my most modern car. I slid into the sleek black vehicle and rang Marlin to let her know I was on my way home. She did worry so when I was away.
After making the call I sped off back to Forks.
It was nearing dawn as I pulled onto the drive, not that one could tell. The cloud was thick overhead and it looked set to be another rainy Forks' day, but it was something one had to endure if we wished to live an open life. As much as I craved the warmth of the sun, for I was born and raised on the shores of the Mediterranean, I could tolerate the rain if it meant that I would not have to endure an endless existence of night.
I pulled into the garage and I sat for a moment contemplating my mood this morning. My mind was determined to go around in circles forcing upon me all my old doubts and fears. I was not tolerable company when I was in this mood and if I returned to the house now I would retire to my room and brood. Therefore I climbed out of my car and rather than returning to the house I went outside and crossed the river before I ran eastward deep into the forest.
Running would help clear my mind and everybody would benefit from it not only me.
I had ran for an hour and I decided it was time to turn back, I removed my cell phone from my pocket, such a handy little device, and was about to phone Marlin when a scent caught my nose. I sniffed the air as I pocket my phone and I felt a fear shiver through my being as I recognised the scent.
I beg of thee gods, anyone but her!
I followed the scent until I intercepted the small dark-clad figure.
"Greetings Jane." I said in the most welcoming voice I could manage.
Jane stopped and turned to me, she smiled when she recognised me.
"Tobias Seruvus, this is a pleasant surprise." She said, that smile still in place.
That smile I had come to fear in the years following her transformation.
"It is Hannigan now." I informed her.
"Ah yes, I remember from your last visit." She said serenely. "Which was ten years ago." She chastised.
I was not certain how to respond to this, you always had to be careful in your conversations with Jane.
"You have not visited in a long while. You don't write, you don't call, Aro is most upset." She said in saddened tones.
"Marlin and I have been busy acclimatising Layla to life outside of Volterra." I said promptly.
This was not the reason we had steered clear of the Volturi, but it was our official reason. It was the story we had agreed on should anyone bar Aro himself come calling. Then one touch of his hand and our secret betrayal would be known. Ebony was an illegal half-blood and we should have killed her or turned her over to the Volturi the very night we found her wandering the streets of Paris preying on the homeless. However we could not bring ourselves to do that to the child who looked about eight but was in fact barely more than three. It had not been her fault that some vampire had decided to make a half-blood; it was the father who should be punished. That had been a few short months after we had freed Layla from her tormentors and we had not been back since.
"For ten years?" Jane demanded. "That is an awful long time, even for a messed up little girl like her."
"Her mind is a tangled mess." I said coldly. "It has taken longer than expected to finally have her make sense."
"Is that so?" Jane challenged.
"Yes." I stated firmly.
"So this has nothing to do with the fact that you are playing human like the Cullens and the Denali coven?" She demanded, clearly thinking she had caught me out.
"We have settled here and in order to keep up appearances we entered the local school." I confessed.
"And the humans allowed you to do this without parents?" Jane asked, as if spotting the flaw in my argument.
"We have two new members to our clan who were in their forties when they awoke for the last time. They pose as our parents and so the humans do not suspect." I explained.
"Anyone I know?" Jane prompted.
"Sarrin Sanders and Evan Lithgow, although I do not think you have ever crossed paths. They were made here in the New World, somewhere down in the south. They are barely ten years as vampires and we found them wandering when we passed through the southern states on our way north. They were clanless youngsters and we adopted them, teaching them our ways and they seem to have adapted well." I said telling mostly the truth.
"That was…convenient." Jane observed.
"Yes."
"Did you not think Aro would like to know you have two new clan members?" Jane asked.
"Aro is a busy man, I doubt if he is interested in our exploits." I replied in a harsh whisper.
"I beg to differ." Jane said calmly. "Aro is always interested in the lives of his children, especially his favourite son."
"Then I'm sure he is well informed of Alec." I retorted despite myself.
I was no longer one of their number, and I had started to feel disaffected long before the arrival of the Twins, but it still hurt to think of how easily I was replaced when Aro had found someone with a greater gift. I had held the highest position possible short of being one of the brothers themselves, and then I did not.
"Silly Tobias." Jane said taking my hand and touching my cheek in what was most likely meant to be a comforting gesture but only succeeded in making my skin crawl. "Aro will always love you the most out of all his children for you are his first true son and no one can take that claim away from you."
Was it wrong that her words made me feel a little better? However I had always had a mixed bag of emotions toward my maker and part of being Volturi was the inexplicable urge to please Aro and be his favourite.
"Was there a reason you came?" I asked in order to shake these foreboding thoughts.
"Does there have to be a reason to visit family?" She asked in a hurt voice.
"No, but you never leave Volterra without reason." I pointed out.
"Yes." Jane said in a tone that seemed regretful. "I came on Aro's request. He wished for me to carry to you a message of greeting and to find out how well you were keeping out here in the world of humans."
"We are keeping well." I said promptly.
"Really? No run-ins with other vampires?" She asked.
"We have had the odd occasion, but nothing we could not handle." I said lightly.
"We heard that you are also friends with the Quileutes." Jane said, clearly fishing now.
"We could not hold this territory if we were not." I said simply.
"I heard you are friends enough for one of their daughters to accompany Marlin on a date with a vampire and his cohort." She said, her sly smile suddenly appearing.
"I take it Darius paid you a visit. He said he would." I commented, letting her know that whatever Darius had reported was trivial. "I know nothing of his true agenda, however it seemed to be enticing vegetarian females out on dates and then draining the human who accompanies her before destroying the vampire. He got more than he bargained for from Kate." I said and I smiled as I remembered Marlin's description of how Esther had thrown the boy across the alley, nobody messed with my Wolf Girl.
"Kate?" Jane latched onto the name and I was suddenly glad Esther had the foresight to request a false name in that date debacle.
"Yes. Kate is one of the rare Quileute females who can phase. It came as a shock to her for her mother had been a bit, what is a polite term, promiscuous in her youth and had enticed many a man to her bed. She knew not who Kate's father was and so the wolves were not watching her. That is why Kate doesn't feel as much a part of the Pack as the others. She feels closer to us, and she and Marlin have become great friends." That was a complete lie, except for the latter about Marlin, but I had to put Jane off the trail by any means necessary. The Volturi could never find out about Esther and I cursed Darius for carrying out his threat so quickly.
"She sounds delightful." Jane said with a grin. "May I meet her?"
If my heart were beating it would have stopped in terror, I had piqued Jane's interest in my attempt to cover our trail. I had to think quickly, although I knew of a truthful fact that I could depart.
"She would not wish to meet you for you are a carnivore. The only reason Kate feels comfortable with us is because we only drink the blood of animals."
"Does she know about your past?" Jane asked with a smirk.
"Yes."
"And she still wishes to be your friend?" She asked in astonishment.
"Kate believes that what you are now is more important than the mistakes you made in the past. That it is our dark memories that remind us of why we want to be good." I answered.
"So she is a philosopher this little Indian girl who chooses to run with vampires." Jane stated.
"She doesn't realise it, but yes." I answered and I had to stop myself from smiling once more as I thought of Esther.
Jane was watching me curiously and I knew that she thought I was keeping something from her. It would only be a matter of time before she began to torture me with her power to find out what it was or invited herself to my house and then the shit would truly hit the fan, to use the modern expression.
I had to get her from here, but how?
Then I remembered the research Marlin and I had done not four nights before when we had heard of the growing drugs problem in Seattle. We had considered scaring the low lives into handing themselves over to the authorities, but now a better solution had wandered onto our territory.
Was this the right thing to do?
But Jane will feed regardless and better scum like that than some innocent walking the wrong alley at night.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
"Pardon?" Jane gasped, taken aback by my sudden question.
"I asked if you were hungry. We can not permit you to hunt on our territory for obvious reasons, however I can show you a place where there are humans aplenty who will not be missed." I said as enticingly as possible.
Jane narrowed her eyes at me.
"Why would you know where there are humans to feed on?" She demanded.
"For these humans are evil and we have been keeping an eye on them while we decided how to best deal with them." I explained.
"I find killing them helps." She said simply. "Although that is understandably against your ethics. So where are these detestable humans?"
"Seattle." I declared. "Come, I'll show you." I added and I held my hand out to her.
Jane looked at my hand cautiously at first; I had not offered my hand to her since I was to take her hunting for the first time. She had wanted Aro to take her, not me, but even by that time the old one had started on his path to a more or less sedentary lifestyle and no longer indulged in true hunting. She had used her gift on me, I had the honour of being her first vampire victim, and by the time I had regained my senses she was already pestering Aro. I had made a vow that day never to offer my hand, or any other part of me, to her again. Although she had used her powers on me many times after that, I had the unfortunate duty of training her and little Jane didn't like to be told what to do.
She took my hand eventually and I began running in the direction of Seattle, towing Jane behind me. I drew a little pleasure from the fact that she was finding it hard to keep up with my pace; at least Esther could outrun her. I slowed my pace slightly lest little Jane should lose her temper and retaliate in the best way she knew how.
It took us two hours to run to Seattle and we wound our way carefully through the humans on the main streets, making our way toward the dock area where I knew the gang hid its headquarters. Finally we reached the collection of empty warehouses with their broken or boarded windows. Glass littered the concrete floor where nature was making a good attempt to reclaim her land with shoots of green pushing up through the cracks.
Despite the bustle of the docks this area seemed to be forgotten and abandoned.
The gang occupied the warehouse at the end of the wharf and we stopped before the nearest warehouse and ducked into the alley created between it and the next warehouse. The ocean was grey at the opposite end of the alley while we had entered from the road. We peered around the corner, down the road to the warehouse that lay across it.
There were two humans slouched outside, looking for all intents and purposes like nothing more than a couple homeless bums clustered around for the shelter the building held. It took a trained eye to recognise that they were actually guarding the door and most likely had weapons concealed about their persons.
"Two." Jane observed. "It will be too easy to kill them."
"From our research the gang numbers at least twenty in the main circle, they are nearly always on site." I informed her.
"Not even a challenge." She scoffed.
"Yes." I agreed; twenty humans were nothing for a determined vampire. "Although you should bare in mind that these humans will have no qualms in hurting you, despite the fact you look like a little girl. In fact they like little girls." I said lowly, my meaning clear in my voice.
"That will give me more determination to destroy them." Jane said with a delightful laugh that was unsettling.
Then I felt a little fearful for Jane, she had her power and she was a force to be reckoned with, but perhaps their numbers would be too great for her? How many could she kill before they overpowered her? What if they did over power her and found some way to destroy her, although it was near impossible for a human to do this, what would Aro say?
I voiced my concerns and she laughed.
Suddenly she turned to me and her smile was chilling again as she backed me up against the wall. She gave a giggle that I never thought I would hear fall from her mouth and she ran her fingers through my hair, which was curled and messy from our Journey here.
"Why Tobias are you really that concerned?" She asked.
"You are family." I replied cautiously, unsure of her intent.
"If you are that concerned then why not join me?" She asked. "I am sure you can use the exercise. Hunting deer can't be that much fun."
"You'd be surprised." I said flatly, I did not wish to be enticed like this.
"Come Tobias, let us feast and be merry." She whispered seductively and had I not been a vegetarian for such a long time and had I not known how Jane worked I think I would have succumbed.
However in that moment I had a strange sense of Esther being near, and I wondered how she would feel if I were to take Jane up on her offer. Could I look into those chocolate eyes and see the look of hurt and betrayal…and worse of all hate? No, that would be truly unbearable.
I pushed Jane away from me as politely as possible.
"I am sorry Lady Jane but I am unable to take you up on your gracious offer." I said, throwing a slight bow in for good measure.
"Such a shame Lord Tobias. I'm sure we would have had much fun together." Jane said sweetly.
I bowed once more before I took one last look down toward the warehouse. I had to leave; the scent of so much fresh blood, even from this distance would be too tempting.
"I will bid thee adieu Lady Jane and I hope you enjoy your feast." I said as way of good-bye.
"Oh I will." Jane promised. "And I hope you'll contact Aro, he gets ever so anxious about his children. If they do not write he thinks that something may have happened to them and feels the need to investigate their whereabouts."
In other words, contact Aro or I'll be back and next time I'll have more of the guard with me. It was the only thing that blackened the life I led now, never would I truly be free of my former clan.
"I will contact him." I promised.
"Yes. He has e-mail now." She said and she slipped a card into my hand. "Feel free to contact him any time."
"Of course." I said.
Jane smiled once more and looked around the corner at the men standing guard. One of them fell to the floor and began to writhe in pain.
"I love it when they do that." Jane chortled and she was a blur as she made a beeline toward the other guard who was looking down at his colleague with a mixture of humour, annoyance and growing worry.
I could witness no more and I made myself scarce.
Once I was free of the eyes of mortals I began running in the happy knowledge that my journey home would be quicker because I wouldn't have Jane slowing me down. I was making good time and I was about an hour from home when I felt that strange sense that Esther was near once more. It was but five minuets later when I caught her scent as well as Marlin's scent and I stopped as they suddenly appeared in front of me.
"Are you ok?" Esther asked and she sounded slightly panicked.
"Yes." I replied, as I felt relieved that I had taken Jane away from here.
"Oh thank god!" Esther gasped, and caught me quite by surprise as she drew me into a tight embrace. "We were worried about you."
"There was no danger and I am back now." I stated as I resisted the urge to breathe in her scent.
When she ran flat out her scent took on an appealing vampire edge that was simply divine.
Esther stepped away from me her relieved face slowly becoming a mask of anger. Then without warning she pushed me and I actually stumbled, I had never imagined she was that strong, stronger than a Quileute when in human form and it made me wonder if she realised.
"Don't you ever do that again!" She raged at me and I was curious for a second as to the reason behind her rage. "Do you know how worried Marlin was?" Ah yes, Esther was full of empathy for her friends and had a tendency to become angry on their behalf.
Although I must admit I was lost for words, I could not imagine Marlin's worry would merit such a strong reaction, especially since Marlin was looking at Esther with the same level of shock that I felt. Was Esther's anger really a product of her friend's agitation or did it come from somewhere else entirely?
"What were you thinking going off with that sadistic bitch?" Esther demanded and there was a growl in her voice now.
How did she know I had gone off with Jane?
"I knew nothing would happen." I assured her, and I shrugged to try and alleviate the seriousness of the situation.
However my attempt at nonchalance seemed to have no effect on Esther's agitation.
"Are you sure of that? This is Jane we're talking about. Did you even think how your family would have felt if she'd killed you?" She spat the words at me, although she was starting to look confused.
"But she didn't." I pointed out; I was starting to feel agitated myself.
"But she could have you stupid bastard. Did you even stop and consider how this may effect those around you?" There were tears in her eyes, but even in her anger she wouldn't meet my eyes.
Then I registered the fact that she had called me a bastard, which hurt me. My intention was to protect, not to harm. My family would survive without me. They had Marlin to keep them safe in my absence.
"Yes." I lied, because I hadn't considered their emotional well being, only that I could protect them from the Volturi. "I was thinking of you." I added quietly, because I thought I should garnish the lie with the truth.
"ME?" She demanded incredulously.
"Yes. I was leading Jane from here so that she would not discover your existence." I explained quickly.
"But that's not your job. The Pack is here to protect me. If she'd set one foot on Quileute land then we would have been well within our rights to kill her." She retorted, but I had to disagree, Jane was a vicious experienced killer.
"Not before she hurt or possibly killed a proportion of your number. No. It was better I led her away." I informed her, did she not know how dangerous Jane was?
"And left Marlin to worry? If nothing was wrong why didn't you check in?" She demanded, unable to find argument with my statement.
Damn! I had been about to phone Marlin when I had detected Jane. I had forgotten to do so in my haste to be rid of her. Of course Marlin was worried I had not phoned, I had told her I'd be back hours ago. But now was not the time to worry about such a small matter, I had risked myself in taking Jane away and now I was being berated for not calling in? I felt my anger threaten to rise and I tried to keep it under control.
"I wanted to keep Jane busy." I said in a cold voice.
"In what way?" Esther demanded, and the look of mortification on her face made my stomach turn in disgust at what she was implying.
"Not in that way." I gasped, appalled beyond measure. "I would never…not with Jane." And I shuddered at the thought.
"Never Jane." Marlin agreed gravely for my sister knew me well.
"I showed her where she could…" I was still not wholly comfortable that I had done this so it was hard to speak the words. "Where she could hunt undetected far from our territory." I had hoped never to reveal this fact, oh well, the truth always comes out.
"You showed her where there was people to kill." Esther translated darkly.
"She was going to feed anyway. Was it not preferable she do this far from Forks?" I retorted although even to myself this sounded a poor excuse and I tried to compensate with anger.
"It would be preferable if she did not do it at all." Esther snapped.
"And how do you propose to stop Jane from feeding?" I hissed, I was starting to tire of this exchange.
"She can't feed if she's dead." Esther said pointedly.
"And how do you suppose Aro would react should we destroy his favourite minion? He might just start listening to Caius more and launch his attack on the vegetarians, starting with your precious Pack." I replied in a glacial voice, if it had been that easy to be rid of Jane I would have destroyed her myself.
"You should have led her onto the Res." Esther said smoothly.
"What?" I demanded, had she gone insane?
"The Res is like a territory right. In the covenant forged after the great standoff an agreement was drawn up that made Quileute land off limit to vampires unless invited. Quileute land is seen as a vampire territory and must be treated as such. What's the penalty if you were to go onto another vampire's hunting range and start killing humans?" She asked.
"That vampire would have every right to destroy me." I answered promptly, for it was law.
"Exactly." She declared smugly.
However there was a flaw in her argument if she wished to employ that law.
"But you would have had to have let her kill someone." I replied gravely.
She shook her head. By the gods she was stubborn!
"She should not be on our territory, we have every right to defend it." Esther said flatly.
"You're plan would work right up to the point where Aro sends someone to investigate and you're left open to discovery yet again." I responded in exasperated tones, for someone who lived in fear of the Volturi she didn't seem to be as aware of Aro's tenacity as she should.
"But don't you see the beauty of it. We'll just pick them off one-by-one." She said as if it were the most perfect plan in the world.
I felt like crying at her determination to continue this line of reasoning. It would not work and that was that. How could I make stubborn Miss Esther see sense?
"It would not work." Marlin said with a sigh. "He would send an army when the second didn't come back." Hopefully my sister was growing wary of this conversation as well for Marlin had a way for bringing conversations to a close.
Esther seemed to subside a little, if I had made the point I'm sure she would have continued to argue. Yet she seemed to accept what Marlin said as gospel, she had on many occasion.
"Well, anyway. It was still wrong to lead her to the humans." Esther muttered.
With that I couldn't argue, but I'd try my damndest. I would show her I could be just as stubborn as her. I had walked this earth for nigh on three thousand years, she was not quite seventeen. I would show her what it meant to be stubborn.
"It was a gang of drug dealers who have washed the streets of Seattle with their evil product. They have killed and they have raped and they have done things that would sicken old Aro himself. They are not innocents." I said in a dark voice.
"Then they should be in jail." She replied, and she was right, but this gang had slipped by the legal system undetected for many a year.
"But they're not." I stated gravely.
"Ok. Tobias you were wrong to run off and for leading Jane to humans, even monstrous scum like the ones you chose. Essie, just accept this as the favour it is and don't look too deeply into it. Jane was here, now she's not so we have nothing to fear." Marlin cut in, she knew when I was beginning to get unreasonable and that neither of us would give in before the other. "Now with all that aside, can we just go home?"
"Yeah, you're right." Esther said with a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry for pushing you and all."
"You were upset." I said as gently as I could to show that I harboured no bad feelings toward her.
"Still, that's no excuse. You had us worried and when you were ok…well you had us worried." She appeared to be stumbling over her words, as if she couldn't work out her own feelings.
"I'm sorry to have caused you worry." I murmured. I was unsure if I had caused Esther any personal worry, but if I had it merited an apology.
"Now that's better." Marlin said with a smile. "Now come on, we have a Halloween party to prepare for."
Not the Halloween party! I had advised against it, but Marlin was a social animal and craved company. Now it had been mentioned to somebody outside the clan there was no going back.
"What Halloween party?" Esther asked.
"The one I have decided to throw for our class. They are most curious to see our 'spooky' mansion." Marlin replied with a grin.
I rolled my eyes and refrained from entering their conversation for fear of telling them what I truly thought of this plan.
"So you're gonna invite them up on Halloween." Esther remarked with a chuckle.
I couldn't help but hope that if Essie thought it a silly idea Marlin would give up on the whole nonsense.
"Of course." Marlin said with a smile. "What better time is there to visit a spooky house?"
Esther chuckled again and we made our way back to the house, but this time I got the feeling that she was warming to the subject.
"So what was little miss Sadist doing here anyway?" Esther asked, drawing me back into the conversation.
"We have our friend Darius to thank for that." I answered darkly, trying not to mention the fact that this situation had arisen from yet another time Marlin had ignored my advice in pursuit of social happiness. "He went back to Volterra with tales of the Hannigans. Jane came bearing greetings from Aro and also a reminder that we were not forgotten. He had lost track of us these past five years."
Marlin obviously knew that Aro had lost track of us five years ago, Essie didn't. Although it had been ten years since we had last contacted Aro it had taken a while before we could cover our trail enough so we were undetectable.
"They know where we are again." Marlin murmured. "Oh dear."
"Yes. Thanks to Darius." I said bitterly.
"God. If I ever see that spiky haired jerk again I'll tear him apart." Esther growled and there was a clear tremor through her body as she clenched her fists.
"I'd rather you didn't try." I said with a sudden sense of foreboding. "Darius is a seasoned werewolf hunter with all the skill and knowledge needed to tackle a wolf."
"The children of the moon maybe, but I'm not a half crazed monster controlled by a shiny rock in the sky. I'm Quileute." She pointed out justifiably proud.
"I know. But Darius is dangerous and a lot stronger than he looks. You should never underestimate him." My tone became urgent by the end, I knew Esther had a tendency to go and do things that were not wise, would she go seek Darius out voluntarily?
"I won't." She promised. "But if he comes near me again I will defend myself."
Which is reasonable, but if Darius ever comes near her again I will kill him myself.
That thought caught me completely by surprise as surely as the rage that had coursed through me when I witnessed that cur licking Essie's face. The rage inside had been great and I would have ripped him apart had he not been under the protection of the Volturi. Under vampire law Port Angeles had not been part of our territory until I had declared it so that night, so he had ever right to hunt Essie. If I wished to destroy Darius I would need a valid reason to do so.
"So will I." Marlin said firmly. "But I doubt if we'll see Darius here again. At least not on his own."
Which was the truth. Now that Darius knew how powerful our clan was he would not return unless he had back up. Hopefully that back up would not include the Volturi Guard or the Wolf Hunters, we could not defend ourselves against such a force.
"Essie?" I heard Marlin say softly and I turned to see that she Esther had stopped.
Esther looked pale, and it had nothing to do with that little trick she had shown me during our afternoon of revelation. She looked terrified.
"You don't think the Volturi will come here?" She asked in a small voice.
"They've no reason to come here. We're not breaking any rules and we have nothing they want." Marlin said in soothing tones. "That they know of." She added.
"But what about Jane?" Esther demanded.
"She only came to see if what Darius said was true so that she could report back to Aro. In fact we are less likely to have a visit from the Volturi now because the territory is taken." I explained, for it was the truth and there was no use in Esther upsetting herself over nothing.
"Oh god, I wish this would all just be over with." She sobbed and slumped to the floor. "Why can't I just stop developing already? At least then I wouldn't have to fear the Volturi because they'd have no argument against me."
"What do you mean?" Marlin asked, as she sat next to her.
I stood there feeling like an unneeded part, I was not good at comforting. This was Marlin's territory.
"You've heard the story of the great standoff." Esther stated as if it were common knowledge among our kind.
"Many times." Marlin said, for we had.
"So you know why the Volturi wanted to kill my mother once they found out that she wasn't an immortal child?" She asked.
I dropped my head as I felt a flutter of dread run through me. I remember this part well for it was what outraged most of the carnivorous nomads who had recounted this tale to us. It was what made them think that perhaps the Volturi where not as benevolent and just as they'd been led to believe. It made them wonder why the Volturi would search so hard for a reason to destroy a clan whose only crime appeared to be their great number.
"Only there's no secret full-grown hybrid out there to vouch for me. I'm the first. The prototype. The one all others will be measured by. And since my parents are the only half-blood/werewolf couple all those little uncertainties will be my siblings. I need to turn out well to protect them." Esther said simply.
I had not realised the depth of her worry, no wonder she presented a tough, angry exterior to the world. I had called her childish once and told her that she had no idea the responsibility I had when I was her age. I had been foolish; I had no idea the responsibility she felt now. I saw Esther as what she truly was, a marvellous unique creature who deserved to be nurtured and treated with awe. Caius would see her as an abomination and petition Aro to destroy her, but I think Aro would see the beauty of her potential.
"You will turn out well." Marlin said firmly.
"Most definitely." I agreed. "If Aro cannot see that then he is blind." I added, for those with no true knowledge of the inner-workings of the Volturi feared him the most.
"But it's not Aro I'm worried about." She pointed out.
So Esther did recognise true danger now and then?
"We can handle Caius." I declared fervently.
"He's afraid of us." Marlin said with a giggle.
"He's not afraid of anything." Esther said lowly.
"He doesn't like lightning and he doesn't like wolves. They are the two things that have nearly killed him since he was made vampire. So we would make a formidable team." Marlin explained in an almost gleeful voice.
I smiled slightly, remembering the time when she was fairly new and Caius had made advances to her. She had landed a lightening bolt so close to him it had singed his robe. He had been wary of her ever since.
"You're right." Esther said cheerfully, but I could tell it was false, she just wished to close the subject. "I won't let it worry me anymore. If the Volturi come they come. Hopefully they won't and I'll never have to see any one of them ever again."
"That's the spirit." Marlin said, helping Esther to her feet.
"Come on, let's go plan this party." Esther declared, sounding truly buoyant now. "I'll race you back to the house."
Marlin laughed as she got to her feet and I couldn't help but smile.
"Are you ready?" Esther asked.
"I'll beat you Wolf Girl." I said with a chuckle, she had beaten me the other day and I was determined not to allow it to become a habit.
"Not if I can help it Fang Boy." She retorted.
I felt a secret thrill whenever she called me that name, as loath as I was to it at first. I felt an inexplicable pride that Esther had deemed me worthy enough to bestow me with a nickname. Even if it had been done out of devilment when she had first used the name upon me.
"Looks like I'm going to lose." Marlin said mournfully for I had told her of Esther's speed Tuesday night.
"Ready. Steady. Go!" Esther shouted, and we took off running.
I was running neck and neck with Esther as we neared the house. I was past the cottage when I realised she was no longer running at my side. I turned back to see were she was. She had stopped dead in the middle of the track.
"What's wrong?" Marlin asked, as I made my way back toward them.
"Mom's here." Esther said excitedly.
"She is?" Marlin asked.
"Yeah. Come on." Esther declared excitedly, pulling at both of us and I felt excited that Esther would want to introduce us to her mother as her friends, although we had met Renesmee before.
"Would you not rather spend time with your mother alone?" Marlin asked cautiously.
Of course I had forgot, Esther didn't see much of her mother now because the university was open once more and she had lectures to give.
Esther stopped to consider Marlin's words.
"You're right." She said. "I should. But I'll be over this evening so make sure you got your planning head on."
"I will." Marlin promised.
"Then I'll catch you guys later." Esther said, before leaving us on the trail.
We waited a moment before Marlin spoke.
"Why didn't you call? There's more than just you in this family, I sometimes think you forget that." She hissed in her native language that no longer existed. She often did this when we were alone I think it was to keep the language alive since we were the only two people who still spoke it.
"I forgot." I replied in the same language. "I had more pressing matters to attend to. Besides if I had called you Jane would have been aware of the connection I had to you out there in the wilderness and would have insisted you join us. Better she think that I was alone than have her corner the both of us."
"I can handle Jane." Marlin said coldly.
"Jane would not have been here at all if you hadn't gone behind my back and accepted that date with the pointy haired imbecile." I retorted, speaking now in Latin.
Marlin glared at me.
"You put Essie in danger that night, exposing her to a vampire you did not know and you did it again today, enlisting her help, what if I had been in serious trouble?" I demanded, sticking to my native language.
"Then Essie could have helped us." Marlin stated, stubbornly sticking to her native tongue. "She is stronger than you think. You treat her as if she would break at the first sign of trouble but she has fight in her and keeping her cooped up in this forest is not the answer. Besides, she's the best tracker we know and I did not wish to worry the others, you know how Layla fares when she becomes agitated."
"It was still wrong for you to call on Essie." I said firmly.
"I would not have found you if it was not for her." Marlin said quietly.
"She has a good nose." I said approvingly.
"No. It had nothing to do with her nose. The rain was washing the scents away and jumbling them all up. However Essie had the idea to deploy one of her other skills."
"Which one?" I asked, intrigued now.
"I think she sent herself from her body. At least she told me to guard it, twice. If she had not done it the second time we would have run all the way to Seattle." Marlin whispered.
"And right into Jane." I finished, switching back to Marlin's language.
"Yes. So you see Esther has a good sense about her which she could use more fully if people would allow her to develop them." Marlin said, it was a line of argument she had used many a time.
"I agree with you little sister, but her parents do not. They wish to keep her safe, they are overly protective of her and I'm sure you can understand why?" I asked.
"I understand, but I don't agree. Their method is pushing Essie to danger unprepared. For example we made friends with Essie before she knew we knew her secret. I think that perhaps she would not have done so had she known in the first place. She is a very contrary person and I think she would have felt her parents were trying to force the friendship and she would have rejected us out of spite. So Jacob's plan to keep her away from us failed." Marlin's voice had taken on the quality that had set her as a mystic among her people as it often did when she was making an observation of this kind.
"You're right little sister." I said, pulling her into an embrace and I kissed the top of her head, as was our custom.
"I always am big brother." She said and nudged me in the ribs. "And don't you forget it."
"As if I could." I said with a chuckle. "Come, let us go see what the young ones have been up to in our absence." I added and we made our way back to the house.
I hope this answered a few questions.
I'd like to know what you think so please review
Gemma x