A/N: This is my first fanfiction I've published on this site, so I'm a little excited. Please be nice when you give it, but constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you!
Important! I wrote this so that someone who had never read the Twilight series before would be able to at least somewhat understand it. IF you want to read the WHOLE first chapter and get used to my writing style, feel free, but if not, Skip to the paragraph about Alice and Jasper that begins "We didn't expect to see…."
"I've been, believing, in something so distant, as if I was human.
And I've been, denying, this feeling of hopeless, in me, in me."
Lost in Paradise by Evanescence
Chapter One:
The more I think about it, the more unbearably normal the beginning of that day seems. But, as we all know, looks can be deceiving, and as I sat contently on the couch with my beautiful daughter, Nessie, and my handsome husband, Edward, I hadn't even the slightest inkling of the coming storm. My world – all of our words – were about to be turned upside down in a way that would inflict irrevocable damage not only to us, but to everyone else in the world.
Nessie may have had the body of a sixteen year old, but don't be fooled – she was only about six years old and had the mind of someone in their thirties maturity-wise, but she was much more intelligent. Because of her appearance age-wise, she could have passed as my sister, which, as her mother, was a scary thought. Her bronze hair fell in ringlests to the lower portion of her back that I had rarely been able to bring myself to cut. Her face was a porcelain beauty, a perfect heart-like shape with brown eyes that were the spitting image of the ones I'd had when I was human. She also had a unique gift – with just the touch of her hand she could show you anything she was thinking about, and there were no limitations to her power that any of us had yet encountered. Even I, a mental shield whose mind not even Aro of the Volturi could penetrate, saw the effects of her power when she touched me.
Edward, my husband and simply the most charming, intelligent, kind person I knew (and would ever know), sat next to me, our daughter to his left. Besides his extraordinary looks, including his gorgeous bronze hair his daughter inherited, he too had a gift. Edward was able to read minds – every mind except mine, of course. When I was human, this used to really bother him. It still did, but because I'd recently mastered the art of pushing my shield out of my mind for a few minutes to show him something, we'd reached an unspoken compromise – I would let him in my head every so often and he wouldn't constantly ask me what I was thinking.
In the adjoining room sat four additional members of my family – Rosalie, her mate Emmett, Carlisle, and his mate, Esme. Rosalie was by far the prettiest of all of us with a body that one might see on a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, an absolutely stunning facial structure, and golden blond hair that many girls would kill for waving gently to the middle of her back. Emmett had the muscled physique of a bodybuilder, but once you got to know him, he really was a big teddy bear. A teddy bear that loved to make sexual innuendos, that is.
Carlisle, who was the first of us to be turned, had blond hair, and was a brilliant surgeon. He was kind and compassionate and tried his best to see things from all views. His wife, Esme, had sleek auburn hair that ended right underneath her shoulder blades. She was "mom" in this family, and she fit the part perfectly. She was always nurturing and kind, but when she instituted a rule, which she didn't often, she expected it to be followed.
There were two more members of my family still, Jasper and Alice. The two of them were mates. They weren't at the house because they were out hunting (animals, of course. We were vegetarians, which meant we didn't suck the blood of humans).
Alice was very short and had a black, spiky haircut, which made her somewhat resemble a pixie. She too had a special ability – she could see the future of all vampires and humans, unless there was a werewolf involved. If there was, she was likely to become extremely annoyed for a good hour or so. Alice hated being blinded. We suspected part of the reason she couldn't see them was she wasn't familiar enough with them. We hoped soon, with Jacob being around all the time, that would change.
Her mate, Jasper, had curly, honey blond hair and had a southern drawl. He'd been a soldier in the Confederate army during the Civil War when he was changed. He, like Alice, Edward, Nessie, and I, had a gift as well. He could affect how you feel, and he himself would also feel what everyone around him was. Needless to say, he tried to avoid large crowds.
We didn't expect to see or hear from either Jasper or Alice for a few days – they'd left their cell phones at home and were somewhere in South America to hunt more exotic prey. They'd already been gone for two weeks. I knew Nessie in particular was counting down the hours until their approximate arrival – she loved her Aunt Alice.
At times like these, when I was simply enjoying time with my husband and daughter, I tended to drift off a bit. I nostalgically thought back on my wonderful memories – both vampire and human – I'd made with my perfect family, and how ridiculously lucky I was to be where I was at that moment. I sighed, very comfortable right where I was. I looked over at Edward and he caught my eye. He started leaning in to kiss me when suddenly Nessie jumped up and started walking towards the Wii.
She looked back at us cagily watching her walk away and smirked. "You two carry on. I just didn't want you two to get so into it you forgot I was even there."
Edward and I laughed as she picked up the remote and turned on the television. He turned to me after a moment and started leaning in when I jumped back, startled at Emmett, who was whistling and saying "Hey Bella! Mind if Rose and I have a contest with you two?" Rose smacked him on the arm and he laughed, sitting on the other side of the couch with Rosalie. Carlisle and Esme walked in behind them, and they took the loveseat. We were all engulfed in our own little worlds when we were suddenly yanked from them by a sharp, angry sounding rap on the door. That small moment of true piece that had just been stolen from us was the last we'd have of it for a very long time.
Carlisle sighed, exasperated, as he got up and opened the door. He gasped as he saw who and what was behind the door. We all did. All of us except Edward, that is. I turned to him and noticed his horrified expression. I turned quickly back to the door and bolted upright, knowing something was terribly wrong.
A good portion of La Push was standing outside of our door, huddled behind a very angry looking back of werewolves with a very angry looking Jacob standing right behind a very irate looking Sam. The rest of us quickly got up and we all walked to the door, looks of concern and confusion on all of our faces, except Edward's, which still had one of absolute shock and horror.
Renesmee was the first to speak. "Jake, Jake, what's wrong?" Anxiety colored her voice as she saw her soul mate and one and only true love standing outside our door with a good portion of his town. She ran down the steps to join him.
Sam shot her a look of warning, then addressed Carlisle. "It's not safe her. We have about fifty people. I understand it's a tight squeeze, but may we come in?"
Just as Carlisle was about to answer, two vampires came zooming toward us from the tree line. They were Alice and Jasper. Alice was sobbing hysterical, tearless sobs.
"We tried to get here as soon as possible. We couldn't run fast enough. Everyone, you can't be here. Not yet. Come back in two days. Walk two miles southeast. They won't find you there. But they're coming. And if they find you here none of you will leave alive."
"They?" I asked, a horrible suspicion growing in my mind. "Why are "they", Alice?"
And, with voices as chilled and emotionless as ice itself, both Edward and Alice answered me.
"The Volturi."
So what do you think? I know it was short, but it was only a first chapter. Please review. Thanks!
-Christine
