Carlisle and Esme extended their hunt until the sun transitioned into a waxing crescent accompanied by a thousand lights. The light snow fall reflected petite rainbows, which created images of spring in Esme's artistic mind. Her thoughts evoked a small laugh, making Carlisle turn his head and smile back.

"What?" he said.

"Just thinking," she replied, lost in a reverie.

"About?"

"Spring."

"Of course you are!"

She crouched down on the sheet of snow, and withdrew an acorn from its icy grasp. Placing it in her palm, she shifted her left hand above it, and swirled her wrist. A hint of green protruded from the brown cage, and instantly grew into a sapling. She immediately swirled her wrist in the opposite direction, and the sapling retracted.

"Maybe you should take up gardening when the snow melts," Carlisle smiled, "Though I doubt you need to do much work." He remembered when he first changed Esme and took her hunting.


"Okay, Esme, you have to stalk the prey, be patient, and then pounce." but she had already taken off. "Esme, wait!" When he finally reached her, she was sitting in a meadow of tulips and lavenders. One patch was completely devoid of any color at all, which is where Esme sat, perched on a tree root. She moved her hand about in a counterclockwise motion. A small wind stirred and fluttered her hair around her face. In moments, little wild flowers littered the desolate patch. African Daisies. Baby Blue Eyes. Foxgloves. Crimson Corn Flowers.

"That's breath-taking, Esme!"

"Thanks," she stated, shyly, "I didn't mean to run off. I just felt I had to try something."

"You're allowed to go wherever you want, Es. Don't think otherwise." Her eyes filled with a shine that was thought to be lost a long time ago. Tilting her head, she took off once again with Carlisle at her heels. They came to the edge of a waterfall cascading into the thick, pale blue mist below.

"This can't be real," she gasped in utter shock and disbelief.

"It's all yours," whispered Carlisle. He intertwined her fingers with his and walked a few paces back, preparing to jump the gorge of the waterfall, when he felt Esme tense up.

"We'll make it. Even if we don't, we'll end up in the water." She nodded, squeezing his protective hand tighter. The two leaped across, feeling the mist stain their faces. Once their feet connected with the moist ground on the other side, Carlisle drew her close to him.

"You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?" she looked up at him, grinning.

"I can live with that," he said, laughing his laugh that sounded like wind chimes hanging from a beach house on a warm summer day.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you," she said, pulling away from his embrace, "what's your favorite plant?"

"What?" he asked, smirking.

"I know it sounds odd, but just tell me."

"Alright, I have a great liking of the holly tree."

"Can you believe I figured that?" she said in mock surprise.

"Can you believe I figured that?" he mocked her, grinning.

"Hey!" she said, playfully smacking his arm. If his laugh was the wind chimes, her laugh was surely the wind that peacefully blew in whatever direction it felt like, but always caught the wind chime on its path.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled, "I'm done, for now." Rolling her eyes, she retrieved a lone stick. She held it up to him as it levitated in her right hand. In a swirling motion, the twig erupted with the shiny, pointed leaves known to holly, and the little, red berries soon appeared. A minute passed by when Esme ceased her motions. In her palm posed a miniature holly bush with a baby root system. Flicking her hand once more, the bush returned to the lifeless stick, except for two berries. Carlisle plucked them off the branches. His eyes never leaving hers.

"Here's to the start of our forever," he said, burying the red orb beneath the dirt. Esme mirrored him.

"And here's to the end of our never."


"Can you believe it? I…" she started, but then stooped down next to a meager branch of holly that possibly fell victim to the birds. Picking it up, she repeated her previous movements until the branch contained several branches coiled into a heart shaped wreath. Dashing over to her, Carlisle kissed her with all the passion that had been burning inside of him. Pulling back, he breathed, "You're a hopeless romantic."

"You still love me," she grinned, but it soon faded as she caught the scent of human. Carlisle hastily put on a black beanie and matching scarf over his winter coat. Esme, likewise, placed a white beanie on her head with a matching scarf, dropping the holly wreath.

"Excuse me," came a voice, "Oh, thank God!" He blessed himself. "Can you help me? I seem to have lost my trail."

"Of course," said Esme, taking a normal step forward. "Where are you headed?"

As soon as the man went to answer her question, his head snapped to the left, and his body fell limp as though an invisible force was in attendance. His body slowly became more and more colorless as the blood was drained.

"Carlisle," she went to tugged on his arm, but he wasn't where she thought he was.

"Carlisle?" she said again, this time more desperately. The wind blew her words back into her face as she spun around, pleadingly scanning her eyes through the wall of trees.

"Carlisle!" she screeched. Her feet crunched the frozen crystals as she darted one direction and then another until she ended up at her starting point. She attempted to rush forward, but she returned to the same spot, tripping to the ground.

"Well, well. Who do we have here?" an ominous voice echoed in the surrounding air.

The lanky figure approach until she recognized the platinum blonde.

"Caius," she replied, stand up and brushing the bits of snow off of her pants. He rushed forward, grabbed her neck, and shoved her up against a tree trunk.

"You're family better watch themselves or my hand may just slip," he smirked, nudging her head to the side, "Understand." As she glanced down, she saw blood droplets by the holly that led into the dense vegetation.

"Esme!" a familiar voice called out, "Esme!"

"It seems dear Carlisle slipped up," Caius stated, smugly.

"Esme!"