Author's Notes:
Hello and welcome to the third story in the Baby Sister series. If you aren't familiar, this is an AU series the parallel's Twilight from the perspective (mostly) of the blind baby sister of the Cullen family. Leia Cullen joined the family in 1995 when Carlisle saved her. If you haven't read the first two books in the series, please check out Dreamwalker first and then Rebellion. Else you'll be a little confused. :)
This story is AU, but it will be canon couples, mostly. If you consider Jacob and Bella's never-quite relationship to be sacred, this might not be the story for you. The timeline follows book three of the Twilight Series, Eclipse, albeit loosely. I tried to stay fairly true to the major events in the the Twilight series, but as I said, this is AU, so expect to major differences.
Disclaimer: The Twilight Series belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I'm only borrowing her universe for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers. No copyright infringment is intended, no profit will be made off of this story. I do so solemnly swear to return the characters I borrowed. However, the character of Leia Cullen is my very much a child of my own imagination, so I'll be keeping her. Her brothers would be very irritated if someone decided to steal her from me. So mitts off.
End Author's Notes
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Chapter One
"Leia, you have to go to college. Its your first time through and I'll feel all guilty if you don't go because of me." Bella was grumbling at me as we sat at the end of Bella's usual table at lunch. It was my first day back after Spring Break and I noticed the clear dividing line between Bella's old human friends and us. Jessica, Eric, Tyler and Lauren were pointedly ignoring us. Mike had given me a stilted hello, but that was the extent of it.
"Drop it, Bells. I'm not going to college unless you do. We'll do it together, next go round. Unless you want to give in to Edward and actually attend for a semester or two." I gave her a stern glance over my sunglasses and I heard her teeth grind together. Edward had started the great 'Send Bella to College Campaign' and I was happy to do my part in trying to convince her as well. But my best friend was as stubborn as my brother. Thinking of Edward made me borrow some eyes in the lunch line, where Edward was getting food for Bella.
"Oh, get her a fruit bowl. She'll enjoy the pineapple and its good for her digestion." Alice's whispered suggestion made me grin. She was trailing behind Edward making suggestions about Bella's nutritional needs. I wondered how bored Alice had been to have picked up a book on human nutrition.
"Leia! Its so good to see you again. I know Bella's missed you like crazy." Angela Weber slid into the chair beside Bella. I borrowed Bella's eyes to see Angela give me a welcoming smile. I knew Bella and Angela had gotten close during the months we were away and I was grateful to the girl for being such a good friend. Unlike the rest of the table. I gave her a bright smile.
"We missed her too. It's so good to be home." Angela pulled back a little, probably because I had flashed my teeth, and she mumbled something in agreement. Ben Cheney chose that moment to slip into a chair across from Angela. He murmured a greeting but very carefully did not look at me. He did, however, look up when Edward approached and through Angela's eyes I saw him go pale under his ruddy skin.
With Bella sandwiched between me and Angela, Edward's next obvious choice of seat was right next to Ben. I decided to have pity on Ben, and my brother, and got up to scoot around the table. I settled in beside him with a smile.
"I was in Edward's seat," I said by way of explanation and got grateful smiles from both my brother and Ben, seen courtesy of Bella's eyes. Alice slipped in beside me and angled her chair so she could prop her legs in my lap. I gave her a warm smile and began to play with the laces on her shoes.
"So, have you decided on what you want to do for the talent show, Bella?" Angela asked, distracting Bella from Edward. He had pushed the fruit bowl in front of her but she hadn't looked away from him after he'd settled next to her. She turned to Angela now with a grimace.
"Something from Peter Pan. Leia, Edward and I are going to do something together. We just haven't decided which scene yet." Angela smiled.
"Oh, I love that play. If you need an extra, let me know. I don't mind pitching in to help. As long as I don't have many lines." Angela added the last with a shy duck of her head.
"I can help too, if you want to actually do some flying. I helped rigging harnesses for the Senior play last semester." Ben's quiet comment had Alice bouncing in her seat.
"Oh, how wonderful! We can do a whole production." My sister's excitement attracted the attention of the crew at the other end of the table and heard Lauren hiss at Jessica.
"They'd better not try to steal my spotlight. My father promised that a talent agent was coming to the show and I won't have him distracted from the real talent by a bunch of half rate wannabes."
Well, that explained Alice's prediction about the talent scout. I grimaced and raised an eyebrow in my sister's direction. I could tell she had her eyes narrowed and my hand on her face told me she was glaring at Lauren. I patted her cheek gently and she switched her gaze to Edward's face. He looked amused as he leaned down to whisper in Bella's ear.
"I hear she's doing a scene from Romeo and Juliet with Tyler." Bella's quiet comment made me roll my eyes. Those two wouldn't know true love if it bit them in the.... I cut off my thought when Edward glared at me in Alice's peripheral vision. I stuck my tongue out at him. I saw Bella give me a curious look and I shrugged.
"Well, let her worry about her talent scout and we'll just concentrate on having fun," I said happily, knowing that no matter what happened, we'd end up with a happy memory for us all. With so much darkness hovering over the future, it would be nice to have something so mundane as a talent show to distract us.
*****
I sat at my desk, typing another email to Adam. I loved my new computer. It responded to voice commands so I didn't need someone looking over my shoulder to write a letter. I loved my family, but some things were better kept private.
Sarah hadn't come back to our house since that first time, but she had visited Bella on two occasions, leaving a new letter that first time. In it had been Adam's email address and little else beyond the little references to quotes from our favorite books and movies. We could have an entire conversation with those references and no one would be the wiser. Not my mind reading brother nor Adam's pack, who somehow managed to share his thoughts and memories when he was in wolf form.
Evidently Sarah's visit to our home had caused quite a stir at the rez and she had spent nearly five days being watched like a hawk. I knew from Adam that she hadn't spoken to Jacob the entire time, locking herself out of his life despite his pleading with her to understand the situation. Adam said that Jacob had 'imprinted' on Sarah and that meant he absolutely had to be near her, to make sure she was happy at all times. So eventually a bargain was struck and she was 'allowed' to visit Bella as long as there were no Cullen's in the house at the time.
I was caught up on all the rez gossip via Adam and I knew that between Adam and Jacob, who had Sarah backing him into a corner about it, they had the tribe elders seriously considering a meeting with my family. There had been no more suspicious killings in the area, but it was only a matter of time and Adam was using that as leverage for his argument. I just hoped they didn't wait too long.
I knew my brothers had been actively hunting Victoria almost daily but she had gone to ground. We were careful to hunt in groups and always with either Alice or Edward with us. Bella was not allowed out of the house without one of us with her and frankly she was worried enough that she didn't give Edward grief about his overprotectiveness. Much. I knew Sarah had invited her to the rez both times she'd visited and Bella was just a little miffed that Edward had forbidden her to go.
"Leia, we're leaving. Wrap it up." It was Edward's voice. We were heading over to Bella's to practice our scene and so Alice could fit the costumes she was making. I was playing Tinkerbell, Bella was Wendy, Angela was Captain Hook (odd, yes, but he had the least amount of stage time so Angela was willing to dress up like as a man for the cause) and Edward was, of course, Peter Pan.
We were taking a few liberties with the scripting, but nothing too drastic. We weren't trying to impress anyone with our play acting, but we were hoping to be entertaining at least. We had a regular comedy of errors planned that would ensure no talent scout would look twice at any of us, but if played right could have the audience in stitches. Even Angela was going along with the plan.
"Just a second." I hurriedly tacked on a reference to Peter Pan at the end of my email and hit send. Then I grabbed my backpack and flew down the stairs, stopping on the last landing and hopping on the banister to slide the rest of the way down. I knew Carlisle was there, waiting. He caught me and swung me around.
"I'll promise not to tell Esme you're polishing the banister with your backside if you promise to go to Seattle with me on Sunday. I have a surprise for you." Carlisle's quiet whisper was much too soft for the rest of my family to hear and I kissed him soundly on the cheek.
"Anything for you, father." I put both hands on his face and felt him smile. I kissed him again and the pulled away from him.
"I gotta go before Edward and Alice leave without me. Love you, dad. Love you, mom!" I yelled the last after he put me down, since Esme was in her studio out back. Then I sprinted for the door. I leapt from the porch and skidded to a halt beside Volvo. I could tell by the purr of the engine about where the door was so I wasted little time pulling it open and jumping into the back seat.
"So, what are Dad and I doing on Sunday, Alice?" I asked excitedly. I heard my sister giggle from the front seat but no answer was forthcoming.
"Awww, Alice..." I pouted but it did no good, as usual. Not that I was terribly disappointed.
"Unlike certain humans that are as good as part of this family, you happen to enjoy surprises. Let Carlisle have his moment, little sister." Edward's words held a hint of amusement and I sighed, knowing he was right. I tried to put thoughts of a night out with my father out of my head and concentrated on thinking about Bella. I was still trying to find some way to bring up the subject of marriage without being completely obvious. Alice kept vetoing my ideas from the front seat.
"You'll think of something, I'm sure. If not, just go with your first idea. It'll work fine." I nodded, but kept thinking. My first idea would work, but it wasn't my first choice. Alice had said it would work, but that Bella would still be doing it mostly for Edward's sake. I wanted Bella to be excited about marrying Edward, not resigned.
"Uh oh." Alice's comment was followed by a curse from Edward.
"What?" I asked warily.
"Our entire evening at Bella's just went blank. I think one of your canine friends is coming for a visit." Alice's announcement should have caused me concern, and honestly it did. But I also felt a flare of hope.
"Leia..." Edward's warning growl made me roll my eyes.
"Please, Edward. What are they going to do with so many human witnesses? I don't think they're coming to start a fight. Maybe they've decided they want to talk."
"Or maybe your furry best friend has decided he doesn't care what the rest of the pack does to him if he breaks the treaty. That's what you're hoping for, though, isn't it?" Alice's quiet question made me shrug.
"Maybe. It'd be just like him to pull a stunt like that. Besides, what better way to prove we're willing to be civil than to have him visit with us and then return to the rez completely unharmed? Besides, if he's the one that breaks the treaty, we have a bargaining chip when it comes time for negotiations. Win-win situation."
"I will not have Bella in the same house as..." Edward started and I reached up and hit the back of his head. The car actually jerked a bit and Edward growled.
"Don't be overbearing, Edward. Adam and Jacob are Bella's friends. They'd never hurt her on purpose. If there is any sign that something aggressive is going down, I'll be the first one to run Bella out of it."
And that seemed to be the end of it. Edward and Alice were silent for the rest of the drive. I knew they were tense and so was I, but I believed that tonight could be a turning point in relations between my family and the Quileutes. Hopefully for the good.
