Edward didn't generally covet the gifts of other vampires. But never before had he come across one with so much potential. Even Alice's gift did not measure up. He had to actively restrain himself from seeking out the guest that was currently taking up residence in his old room at home – and the only reason he did so was because he had questions he wasn't willing to ask in the presence of his wife and child, whose company he loathed to be without.
"What do you keep thinking about?" asked Bella now, her smooth hand cupping the side of his face tenderly. They were watching Renesmee play chess against Jacob, though there wasn't any doubt in Edward's mind who would win. The wolf cared about nothing but the happiness of the object of his imprinting – which should, as a father, make him very happy but only served to irritate him. Edward raised his hand to lay over Bella's and smiled her favourite crooked smile.
"Nothing of importance, love," he assured her, though he felt the lie in his bones. Something told him that it was extremely important, though it would probably destroy his contented state of mind.
"Good day to you Edward, Isabella," bade the guest in her now familiar breathy voice. "I'm off to hunt."
"Enjoy yourself, Cecelia," Bella smiled at her without looking directly towards her, and Edward had to stifle a smirk at how absorbed by him his wife still was. He echoed the sentiment.
A sudden urge gripped him, and he smoothly – though reluctantly – separated himself from the glorious creature beside him. "Cecilia, do you mind if I join you? I could use a hunting trip." He thanked whoever there was to thank that his eyes were indeed quite dark, and that Bella had hunted with Renesmee just the day before. "You don't mind, do you, Bella? I'll be back quickly."
He could see the way the muscles in her jaw rippled in displeasure and how her eyes narrowed, but she pulled away and nodded with a small smile. "Of course. Have fun."
"I won't be long," he reiterated, brushing her white cheek with her lips, and her smile became slightly more genuine.
"I'll miss you," she whispered and Edward nodded at her, aware of Cecilia waiting, with growing impatience, behind them.
"Thank you for letting me accompany you," Edward said as the two began to run into the forest.
"Any particular reason you decided to come along?" she asked, easily keeping pace with the vampire beside her. He began to respond but Cecilia was already striking and he had to pull back to avoid confrontation. He followed her attack with one of his own; she had respectfully left the larger male deer for him (her time of birth had taught her that men were her superiors, and even after all these years it was difficult for her to repress this).
Her hunting took longer than his own, so he stood to wait for her on a branch of the tallest nearby tree, watching her. Her grace was phenomenal, her strike deadly. Edward vaguely wondered if she had time to use her lovely talent when hunting, but after a quick scan of her thoughts it was evident she did not.
What it must have been like to know the answer to the universal question, "what if?" Her gift surpassed Alice's by her ability to see all options; Alice could only see the results of the decision after it was made. It surpassed Alice's in another way too, in that she could not only see the what ifs of the future, but also the what ifs of the past. This is what intrigued Edward the most. So when Cecilia finished her hunting and came to look up at him from the forest floor, he broached the subject as he jumped down to join her.
"Cecilia, I must admit there was an ulterior motive in my hunting trip," he began.
"I suspected as much," she smiled, and then waited for him to continue.
"I actually have a question I would like answered by that mystical talent of yours," it was out there now, no turning back. And the curiosity really was eating at him.
"Ask away. I suspect it will be easier than usual to answer your question as you can see the answer without my having to explain it."
"Yes," Edward agreed. "Anyways, I would really like to know…what Bella's life would be like had we not met – no, more than that; what it would be like if I, and other vampires alike, did not exist."