MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS (Helena)

I kept a firm grip on Ali's hand while we ran through the forest, towards what I assumed would be the Cullen's favourite hunting spot. I smiled inwardly at her innocent laughter. Ali had always loved running. I was glad that she did not fully understand the gravity of the situation. If the Cullen's refused to offer us protection, we would be forced to run. Travelling from place to place was fine for me; I'd been doing it for over 200 years, before Ali came along. But she needed stability. She deserved stability. I was pulled out of my thoughts when we arrived. Ali looked around her in amazement. I had to admit it was beautiful. A ledge jutted out from the mountain, providing a comfortable and shaded area in which we could sit and admire the beauty of the view before us. But I was not here to admire the scenery.
"It's pretty isn't it Leenie?" whispered Ali in awe.
"It's my favourite spot," said Bella. Ali looked at Bella strangely.
"Leenie she's like you! But different; I can't read her at all!" she exclaimed in shock.
"Don't worry. Neither can Edward," Bella said, smiling. Ali's smile brightened. I could tell she liked her.
"So what did you want?" asked the idiot from the cafeteria, just as another man arrived. I assumed this was Carlisle.
"Emmett, don't be rude," he reprimanded. He turned to me.
"Now excuse my rudeness, but who are you?"
"My name is Helena. This is my little sister Alina. Tanya told us we would be safe with you." I answered clearly. The look of shock on his face was unmistakable.
"Tanya never said anything about you. When did you join her family?"
"Oh when I was a baby. That's four years ago now!" Ali chirped happily.
"Four years? Why hasn't she mentioned you?" asked Edward.
"When's the last time you spoke with her?" I retorted.
Edward grinned.
"About four years ago," came his reply. I nodded, I would have grinned back, but I was still on guard.
"So she is half vampire?" asked Bella. I nodded, and Ali laughed.
"Isn't it great?" she said with a smile. I restrained my smile once again.
"We need a home and the Cullen family has the reputation of being...vegetarians," I said, struggling to find the right word. Carlisle smiled slightly, but there was more he needed to know.
"Tanya, well, she can no longer provide a home for us."
Ali's smile fell. She had loved Tanya, almost like a grandmother.
"Why not?" asked Rosalie. She really was quite sweet underneath all that make up.
"Ali, go play," She hesitated.
"She's not exactly a child," said Emmett, rolling his eyes.
I clenched my fist, determined to ignore him.
"Now," I said more forcefully. Ali looked at me but she knew I always had my reasons, so without a word, she grabbed Renesmee's hand and they ran off to play. "Not TOO far," I called out immediately. Ali rolled her eyes playfully. Once she was out of earshot I turned back to Carlisle.
"Tanya has decided to join the war."
Carlisle looked surprised.
"What war?"
Now it was my turn to be surprised.
"Word hasn't reached you yet?" I asked.
A few of them glanced around, mainly at Alice, but they still remained silent. That was all the reply I needed. Taking a deep breath, I began.
"Tanya told me about the last time you asked for her assistance. The Volturi were on their way to destroy you all because of Edward and Bella's daughter. Two vampires joined your group of witnesses; they were from Romania."
"Vladimir and Stefan," Carlisle interjected, shocked.
I nodded before continuing.
"Apparently your showdown gave them the inspiration they needed for their ultimate goal; to challenge the Volturi and definitively wipe them out for good.
"They're dangerous and they're desperate. They are gathering more and more creatures to their armies each day. But it is still not enough. Their eventual plan is to bring back..." I paused. This was the most sickening part.
"Bring back what?" asked Emmett. The first serious and inoffensive question he'd made that day.
"They want to bring back the immortal children." I answered.
The gasps and looks of outrage were only to be expected. "Tanya, Kate and Garrett they all left about three weeks ago. They're looking for the Romanians."
Edward nodded in understanding.
"For Irina," he muttered and I nodded.
"Revenge has been burning its way through Tanya and Kate equally. In this, they see their chance to get back at the Volturi," Carlisle agreed his face somber in understanding.
"I had to take Ali some place safe. She's too young to be wrapped up in all this. From your reputation, I judged that wherever you were, it would be the best place possible for her." I added, saying only what was necessary. Edward would be unable to get through me so in that regard we were safe..... Carlisle looked over at his family; staring at each of them, lost in silent communication. Finally he looked back at me.
"Ours is such a big family," he began, "We're bound to stand out by adding two more."
"Then make it one more," I suggested, jumping ahead of him, "I can go back to living as a nomad, I lived that way easily for over 200 years. Believe me, it's my first option if this doesn't work out. But...I can't do that to Alina, subject her to that way of life. She's still just a child."
"Renesmee is hardly a child now," Edward pointed out, interrupting me, "why is Alina's progress comparatively slower?"
"It only seems slower, believe me," I explained, getting annoyed with all this talking, "her behaviour is of her own choosing. It's a combination of how much she has seen of the world for herself, and what she has seen through the eyes of anyone else. You have no idea how strongly affected she is by people. As it is, she sees you and already agrees with what each of you believes to be right, Soon, she's gonna try to make each of you happy by molding herself based on what she sees. She barely has any sense of the person she is; of her own self."
I took a moment to calm myself; this was getting frustrating. It always gets this way when I tried to help people understand and sympathize with Alina's situation. She could sympathize with anyone; they could at least afford her the same courtesy.
"She is gifted," Edward muttered. It was not a question.
I nodded.
"Quite powerful too," I said, leaving a subtle message; he's getting no details from me.
"As are you," he continued, "the fact I can't hear you is testament to that,"
"That is neither here nor..." I began when suddenly there was a terrific crack and one of the huge oak trees was knocked to the ground; there was also a huge peal of high pitched laughter.
"Alina," I yelled, ignoring everyone else and running toward the now dead tree.
"Alina, come here now!" I screamed.
"Hi Leenie,"
I whirled around to see her running toward me, flanked by Renesmee and the most enormous werewolf I had ever seen; and she had the biggest smile on her face like everything was great.
"Ali, which one of you is responsible for tearing half the forest down?" I asked, struggling to stay calm.
"Leenie it wasn't my fault honestly!" she replied, grabbing my hands in excitement, "me and Ness were playing like you told us, we were trying to see who could bring down the biggest buck; she wanted to go after the mountain lions who live over the ridge but I said that would be too far out, and then Jacob joined us,"
"Jacob- I'm assuming that's the mongrel?" I asked, glaring over her shoulder angrily at the beast. Tanya had warned me the Cullen's were different, I didn't realize exactly how big an understatement that was.
"He's a friend Leenie, I promise you, aside from the smell he's a good guy," Ali said, still trying to appease me, "anyway he wanted to join in the challenge so he phased and me and Ness paired up against him and while we were running we knocked him out of the way and he crashed into the tree that's dead now."
I paused for a moment in surprise.
"You two, managed to knock a werewolf over?" I asked, disbelieving.
"Well, it helped that he tripped over at the same time," Ali added with a shrug.
I sighed.
"So, Leenie do we get to stay with them?" Ali asked looking at me all excited as if she knew the answer would work in her favour. In a way it did.
"Ali there are 8 vampires, one half breed in this coven plus who knows how many animals," I began, "They stand out too much all ready. It's too much adding two more to the mix."
Ali's smile faded and she lowered her head, understanding. And then it snapped up and suddenly I knew she was reading me.
"Why are you detaching?" she asked, "everything about you is detaching, why?"
"It won't be as noticeable adding one more compared to both of us," I explained, trying to be gentle about it.
"Then we won't go with them," Ali suggested, "We'll both go nomad; you've done it,"
"Yes I've done it so I know what it's like and it's no life for you," I replied a little harshly, "No you can stay with the Cullen's and I promise you I'll always be nearby and we can always hunt together," I added, now it was my turn to try and appease her. I could see how well it was working too.
"That is not good enough!" she said angrily, she was beginning to shake with the intensity of her anger.
"You promised me Leenie. You said wherever we would go, we would always be together. Just like Tanya and Kate, we're sisters and cannot be separated you promised me that. You promised me you would never leave!" she screamed, gripping my arms as tight as she could.
"Ali!" I yelled back, "I am not breaking my promise. But like it or not you are staying with the Cullen's! Above everything else I also promised that I would do what was best for you!"
I couldn't look at her face; everything I was doing went against everything in me, against the grain, against everything I had. But it had to be done, and I had promised myself that I would do anything to ensure that Ali was safe. My child...
Stubbornly, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the cave where all the Cullen's were still gathered; Renesmee and the dog had joined them at some point during our argument. No matter. She did not fight me as I pulled her long but she did drag herself behind me, tugging against my grip.
When we reached the cave entrance I looked over at Carlisle and all his family; each of them had a different expression on their faces.
"Protect her," I said savagely, "that is all I ask,"
And with that, before she even realized what I was doing I threw Alina directly at Carlisle, turned and ran as though my life depended on it...