"Alice? Are you not happy the wolves will help us against Victoria?" Bella asked cautiously when Jasper paused in his explanation of the newborn weaknesses. After her skill show, Alice sat grumpily on the ground apart from the others and sulked. At Bella's question she sighed.
"I am good, Bella. Everything's fine," she growled half-heartedly. Bella raised her eyebrows. She didn't even sound as is she meant it any more. Something was most definitely wrong.
"You already know why everything's so fast you won't catch it. Why are you still worrying over it?"
Alice pursed her lips. "Something's wrong. I have a felling something's eluded me."
"And would that be news? Now?" Bella corrected herself, when Alice gave her an outraged look.
"Not like everything else. Something important. Different than those flashes. I missed something for a different reason than decision change. I don't understand it." She folded her arms with such strength it made a hard-sounding noise.
"Don't worry uselessly, Alice. We're doing what we can. At least most of us do," Bella comforted her morosely. Before she could start whining over the fact that everyone treated her as a porcelain doll again, Alice gave a sudden gasp, exactly at the same moment the other vampires and werewolves turned to face one direction. They all stared at the eastern border of the forest.
"Alice?" frowned Bella, but Alice was already on her feet, and standing next to the others.
"It's all right! She doesn't want to hurt anyone, not even Bella. She wants to talk to us. She left Victoria," she explained quickly.
"Just like that?" Edward growled, but Carlisle looked at Alice.
"Didn't you catch her sooner?"
Alice nodded. "Just like you. There was absolutely nothing."
A movement appeared between the trees on the eastern side, and the werewolves and Edward crowded around Bella.
"A newborn?" Bella whispered to Edward with fear. He looked at her with dark eyes. He didn't have to give words to the answer.
A pale form of a woman emerged from the forest. She had wavy dark-brown hair, and so intensively red eyes that they sparkled in the moonlight. She moved forward carefully, warily watching everyone present on the meadow. Her gaze fell on Bella and the group of werewolves around her shortly, and smiled a bit.
"Victoria's definitely not expecting that. Good idea, though I don't know how you can stand to be around each other," she crinkled her nose slightly. She looked at Carlisle, ignoring the defensive stances of the majority of the present vampires. Just Alice, Carlisle and Esme stood a little less tense.
"My name is Carmen Beaton. Or it was, before Victoria changed me. I grew up in Seattle." She came a little closer, still not displaying any sign of aggression or thirst.
"Jasper, Edward, Alice," Carlisle spoke calmly.
"What I said is still valid. She wants to talk to us," said Alice.
"I don't detect any thirst or deceit from her. Just caution and calmness. She's very strange for a newborn," Jasper informed with a frown.
"Nothing dangerous. Yet," Edward growled from his place next to Bella.
"You are probably Edward. Victoria is quite possessed with her vengeance. She is aware of your abilities, Alice," the vampire looked at Alice peacefully.
"Why have you come?" Carlisle, as a leader of the Cullens, asked calmly.
"Why are you not thirsty?" Jasper joined with a sharp look in his eye.
"And why did I not see you sooner than minute ago?" Alice whined grumpily. The vampire blinked, but didn't move otherwise. But she did look a little amused when she looked at Alice.
"See me?"
"I have visions of what is going to happen when the person decides they are going to do it. I haven't seen you when you left Victoria," Alice frowned with slight suspicion.
"I have a gift as well. It blocks everything else, probably including other vampire gifts. Jasper?" she looked at the tall blond vampire cautiously. He was staring her straight in the eye. "I never liked blood. I felt like fainting even when I saw the artificial one in television. I did faint everytime I had to have blood drawn during medical check. When Victoria changed me I didn't really want to drink it. I need it and I can feel it, but it's nothing strong or overpowering like what I saw in the others. Carlisle, simply put, Victoria was getting on my nerves. She behaved as if she was our goddess, none of us even knew her name and we never saw her, except for one of us who is something like her mediator. And despite it all we had to behave exactly as she wished, as if we were just puppets, worthless soldiers. Even before turning I had slight problems with respecting authority if I didn't like the person. I'm not going to start doing it as an undead. Victoria is a bitch, I want her dead. I'll help you. Although with wolves as allies you don't really need me." The corners of her lips twitched.
"Edward, Alice."
Edward growled: "Nothing," but he seemed to be completely unwilling to believe it. Alice smiled a little. "Everything's true as far as I can tell. I don't know what her talent is. But Victoria thinks Carmen is defective because she doesn't desire blood. Carmen hates her in turn. She doesn't respect anyone who doesn't respect her."
"Wait, how do you know that? You said you had visions, not that you read minds," Carmen stared at Alice.
"You made a split second decision to say that when you were speaking before. Then you probably decided it wasn't necessary, and didn't say it in the end. I saw you saying those words."
Carmen was still staring at her in amazement. "That's one hell of a gift you have there. Victoria must be crazy if she can avoid detection. No sane person would be able to beat that."
"You did," Alice remarked.
"Beating gift with a gift doesn't count," she returned slyly. Alice smirked at her.
"I think I like you."
"Carmen, if you are to help us, you have to drink animal blood, not human," Carlisle said slowly.
"Carlisle!" Edward growled. Carmen shot a look his way.
"That's fine. It's not going to make that much of a difference. Maybe it will taste better than the human blood does. If you let me help, you can watch me for any amount of time, Edward. I don't know what your talent is, but if you didn't find a treachery until now, maybe it isn't there, what say you. I don't want to hurt Bella. She doesn't smell bad, but I can smell blood from her with every beat of her heart. Bleh," she shuddered.
"If you want to accept her, she will have to prove some skills. There's no time to train her, Carlisle," Jasper spoke quietly.
Carlisle nodded.
"We are preparing for a battle, Carmen. We teach the werewolves how to kill newborns. There's no time for you. If you don't prove that you are capable of defeating newborns in a fight against Jasper, you will not fight actively. And we will watch you for some time. If you want to be a part of my clan, you fall under my jurisdiction."
Carmen gave a nod.
"Respect me and I will you," she intoned dryly. Then she glanced warily at Jasper. "What kind of fight, Jasper?"
"I fought in the newborn wars. Who gets their fangs on the other's throat, wins."
"In any way?"
"You can use a gift," Edward growled. Carmen looked at him with slight interest.
"So you can read minds? Useful," she turned to Jasper. "When?"
Jasper stepped a couple steps towards her, so that they were both in open area. "Now," he said, and sent her way a strong feeling of exhaustion. Carmen's eyes widened, and she immediately disappeared.
Based on the sudden yells Bella surmised that the vampire didn't simply move too fast for her to see.
"Don't you say," a voice sounded, coming from a place to the left of Jasper who was looking all around him quickly. He turned sharply, but he still couldn't see her, couldn't smell her, hear her or anything. Nor was he getting any emotions from her. "You control emotions? That's even better. You don't even need the werewolves to win. Are the other four so fine as well?" she paused when Jasper lunged her way blindly.
"Alice, sorry. I can't quite reach him otherwise," she said again, and in the next moment Carmen appeared with her legs locked around Jasper's waist from behind, with fangs on his throat. Jasper jerked, and stiffened.
Carmen slid down and smiled at him when he looked at her in shock.
"I couldn't feel you at all! No feelings!"
"No thoughts," growled Edward, a little admiringly against his will.
"No vision. Is that why I couldn't see you? Did you use your talent right after you decided to leave and only cancelled it here?" Alice asked hopefully. Carmen nodded, and Alice squealed happily.
"With a slight difference - I turned invisible when I was through listening to the orders of some vampire with superiority complex. I watched her for a while, then I decided she was a cow and set off straight for here."
"Your talent is making yourself invisible, Carmen? Disappearing completely?" Carlisle asked in confirmation. Carmen happily nodded.
"As a human I was very good at being inconspicuous when I wanted. That was why my rebellious tendencies didn't result in complaints and lowered marks. Am I accepted then?"
Carlisle nodded, and Esme offered her a warm smile.
"That's fine," Carmen looked at everyone in turn and smirked happily. "Not that I expected such a colourful family."
AN - just a litle one-shot. As is becoming my routine, it may get a couple more chapters, because I have some other ideas of how it could continue, but I don't know if it will be enough yet . In any case it will take a looong time, and so for now, this is complete.