A/N: This is an AU story. There might be some borrowed dialogue from Twilight in here somewhere, as it does parallel that book. Please read the full disclaimer on chapter one.

Disclaimer: The Twilight Series belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Mitts off Leia.

***********************************************************

Chapter Four

I snuggled into Esme's arms, not just because I enjoyed the contact, but because by leaning back against her, it was effortless to see what she was seeing. Jasper was hovering in the background, I knew, and I was glad for his presence. I was content now, but yesterday I had leapt on one of the Denali's when they had come for a visit. It had taken Jasper, Emmett and Edward to pull me off of Irina. I wasn't even allowed to apologize, since everyone kept telling me it was Irina's fault for provoking me, a newborn vampire, by insulting Carlisle for his decision to turn me. Evidently she hadn't thought I could hear her hissed accusations, but not even Jasper had been quick enough to soothe me before I had flashed into the window as we'd returned from a hunt and down the stairs to attack.

After that, the Denali's had decided it would be better to wait a while before they came to visit again. I was ashamed of my behavior, despite my family's reassurances. I only had to remember Carlisle's horrified expression through Edward's eyes and I was usually able to curb the rage that sometimes rivaled my thirst when I thought of anyone hurting my new family, even if it was only their feelings. Usually.

I had a new set of bedding in my room and I was still finding feathers around my room from the last time I had 'snapped' just thinking about Irina Denali. Esme had just laughed and said she was grateful it was the bed and not something harder to replace, like the windows. Emmett had jokingly suggested they order me a few extra pillows 'just in case'. I had decided that next time I needed something to rip apart, I was going to visit his room. Rosalie would understand, surely.

For a girl who had often daydreamed about having a loving family, complete with siblings and a family pet, I could truly say my dreams had come true. Except for the family pet, of course. Poor Lassie wouldn't have lasted long at the Cullen's. Judging by the reaction of every animal from elk to insect whenever one of us got close enough to scent or see, Lassie wouldn't have stuck around long enough to get eaten anyway.

The Cullen's seemed thrilled to have someone in the house that was young enough to actually need teaching things. Edward had mentioned that change was exciting for them, and I supposed that after a few decades of the same old, same old, it would be nice to have something new to do. I was overjoyed that educating me seemed to be the something new.

I guess it was true that you could get anything on the internet, since the Cullen's had acquired a small truckload of educational textbooks and lab equipment over the last two weeks. They were taking home schooling to a level that would have blown Laura Ingalls Wilder's mind. Since my ability to see through someone's eyes seemed only to require I be touching them, there was no subject I couldn't learn. I just had to learn to adjust my reactions based on where *I* was instead of where *they* were.

Esme was teaching me math and geometry, while Carlisle was in charge of the sciences. Edward had the fullest load, being in charge of literature, languages and geography. Jasper was handling philosophy and Alice was teaching me art. Rosalie and Emmett were going to teach me 'shop', which Rosalie told me was anything from basic car maintenance to welding. I wasn't sure what I would need to know that kind of thing for, but it sounded like it would be fun to learn.

The whole family would be pitching in to help me learn to fight and to hunt. Since none of them had ever heard of a blind vampire, it was going to be a learning experience for all of us. For someone who had never been able to even dream of things like sports and martial arts, it was the one thing I was both most excited and most worried about. For the rest of my family, hunting was instinctive and each had their own style of fighting that played on their personal strengths.

So, here I sat with Esme as she showed some of her latest blueprints to me. She was showing me the practical uses for the math she would be teaching me. Edward was still drilling me on the difference between Braille numbers and letters and written ones. Most of my textbooks were in Braille, though. I refused to impose on my family so much that I couldn't study without one of them being forced to stare at the course work. One nice thing about my conversion, my mind retained and processed information faster than most humans could dream of. I was literally soaking up everything like a sponge.

"We're moving to Washington in a few years, once you're safe to be around humans. This is the house we'll be building. Nice, isn't it?" Esme seemed to be done with the teaching part, so I smiled up at her and nodded.

"It'll be beautiful. I hope I'm ready soon. Do you think I'll be able to go to school like the others? It'll be boring to sit around at home while everyone else goes to school." Esme chuckled.

"Are you saying I'm boring?"

I was immediately sorry for my choice of words and began to stutter an apology when Esme put her fingers over my lips and shook her head.

"Child, I'm only teasing. I spend my days doing work when the children are at school. I'm not offended, Leia. I get to have you around for several years. We'll both get our fill of each other and be ready for a change of pace." I turned and wrapped my arms around Esme, watching my own face come up to kiss her cheek. I put my hand against her face and felt her smile.

Only three weeks with the Cullen's and I wondered how I had ever survived without them. Of course, they weren't all as loving as Esme and Carlisle. Esme had wrapped me into a hug within moments of our first meeting and Carlisle, well, I had loved him since the moment he had defended my life in the hospital. Of my siblings, Edward I could truly say I loved. He had been with me through the most terrifying and painful times in my life. The adoration I felt for him had no comparison. Oh, yes, I had a terrible case of hero worship. I did my best to try and hide that from my beautiful, mind-reading brother. I doubt I was completely successful but he never mentioned it.

Alice was quickly worming her way into my affections with her determination to be the best big sister a girl ever had. She did indeed find me to be a most excellent doll. I didn't mind playing dressup for her. What teenage girl didn't love a good makeover? We spent hours in my closet, discussing not only clothing but also my dreams. She was going to teach me how to dance, take me snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and take me to the Louvre in Paris. Among other things. I couldn't help but ask her if she saw me being able to adhere to the vegetarian lifestyle, what with her ability to see the future. She would only tell me it was a very good possibility that I would never 'fall off the wagon' as Emmett called it.

Emmett, I couldn't help but love, despite the fact that I knew he and Jasper were betting on how many humans I would eat when I was allowed out of the Alaskan isolation. He was like a big teddy bear, free with both his teasing and his affection. He could have me in stitches one minute and mortified with embarrassment the next. He reminded me of a frat boy who didn't know whether to treat me like a naïve baby sister or an adult. He never made me feel unwanted though. We were becoming fast friends. Not so with his wife.

Rosalie and I were still a careful around each other, like two girls with nothing in common trying to find common ground to build a friendship on. Of all the Cullen's, she seemed to be having the hardest time accepting me. During a recent hunt with Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper, they had explained that Rosalie wasn't really happy being a vampire herself and if there was any way for her to become human again, she would leave without a backward glance. Emmett said this himself with a hint of sadness. It couldn't be easy to know that the woman you loved would trade you for humanity in a heartbeat. Literally. It made me understand Rosalie's reluctance now. She would never actually tell me this, but she probably thought I should have chosen death over immortality.

Jasper was hard to feel affection for. I was thankful for his presence, but of all the Cullen's, he was the only one that I was still truly shy around. He was quiet and hovered so much I couldn't help but compare him with a guard dog. Whether he was protecting me from myself or the rest of the family from me, he was always on alert. Edward had promised he would come around once he wasn't so worried about me turning into a raging, feral lunatic. Edward had said it in jest during one of our hunts, but I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't close to the truth.

Jasper himself had told me of his history with the newborn vampire armies in the south. He, of all the Cullen's, was the only one to have lived on the darker side of vampire life for longer than he'd been a vegetarian. He was the darkest of us all, and yet when I saw his love and tenderness for Alice, I knew he would always fight the darkness. If he ever fell back into that way of life, it would tear his wife's unbeating heart to pieces and he would rather have his brothers tear him to pieces than to hurt her. I couldn't hope that I would one day inspire some man to that kind of love. That thought caused a brief moment of despair before Jasper flooded me with a deep sense of calm and quiet. I rolled my eyes and stuck out my tongue at him. He just grinned lazily from his perch on the back of the couch.

Eight months later

"Okay, we're just going to walk down the street. If things get too much, just say so, and we'll grab you." Jasper said quietly. Jasper, Edward, Emmett and myself were in Juneau to give me my first human test. I would have been perfectly happy to stay safe inside the house for the rest of my immortal life at this point. Just this morning, I'd been so excited to be getting out. Not that I was dissatisfied with home life, but I knew until I crossed this hurdle, I would always wonder if I had the strength to be a true Cullen.

"There is no shame in…" Edward trailed off when I barked a very nasty insult at him in my head. In Spanish. He raised an eyebrow, not at me but at Emmett. "You've been teaching her some really ugly words, bro."

"Not my fault she can hear a pin drop from three miles away. Shall we wash her mind out with soap?" Emmett's chuckle made me roll my eyes. I really wasn't capable of amusement at this point, so I just left them standing there and struck out along the sidewalk. It was after midnight, so there was very little traffic, foot or vehicle. There was an all night diner two blocks down the street. If I made it that far, we would actually go into the diner.

With Jasper's view of the street and the darkened shops along the sidewalk firmly in my head, I didn't have any trouble moving along sightless. Over the past several months, I had learned to get about with and without my family's help. I had been blind my entire human life, so I knew how to use a cane to maneuver unfamiliar ground. I didn't even use it around the house or even in the forest closest to the house. I had a map of each tree, rock and hill in my head.

I still had to hunt in pairs with someone else. Whoever was with me would lead me along until I could see whatever we had tracked. Once I had my dinner visualized, I could now finish the hunt on my own. Even if the animal ran, I could track it with my other senses. I hadn't tripped or clipped a tree in almost two months. I was finally hunting every week or two with the family instead of every day or two. We had all just hunted this morning, so I wasn't truly hungry.

As I walked, I could point out every human within a two mile radius by their heartbeat. That wasn't the truly tempting thing. It was the delicious scents that scorched my throat like venom burn, the humans that were close enough that it would only take a few strides to run them down and…hmmm, best not to follow that train of thought to conclusion.

"Yes, let's think of something else. Like what you'd like to order at the diner. Maybe some coffee? Or a soda. You should probably order a soda." My sight returned as Edward strode up beside me and grabbed my hand. I was glad of the distraction. I turned a smile up at him and saw his face reflected in the mirrored surface of my sunglasses. It had been Alice's idea for me to wear the mirrored shades. It was nice to actually see the face that belonged to the eyes I was borrowing occasionally.

I was thrilled to make it to the diner. Jasper was extra tense as we stepped through the door. The jangling bell over the door sounded especially loud to my sensitive ears as we stepped out of the dark street into the well lit, nearly empty diner. At this point, I knew I wasn't the only one having trouble. Jasper might be a lot older than me, but he used to feast on the very thing that he now abstained from. I knew our struggles were the same, but different. At least I didn't have to fight the memory of taste. I just had to deal with the scent and the pain. It was Jasper's hand that I gripped tightly as we stepped forward.

The hostess approached, a teenager in a pair of faded jeans and diner logo t-shirt, and I stopped breathing before her scent intoxicated me beyond my limits. Just the impression of the scent chased by the melody of her beating heart made my eyes roll behind my mirrored glasses. There were suddenly another hand gripping mine and I felt Emmett's hands settle around my waist. The odd, layered multi-vision that resulted broke through the climbing frenzy, forcing me focus on just seeing through one set of eyes.

"Just four?" The hostess, the name on her shirt was Amy, looked positively stunned. Who wouldn't? I knew that I was surrounded by three specimens of ultimate male beauty. Most women would be drooling about now, despite the warning bells that would no doubt be ringing in their heads. Most human beings knew subconsciously that we were dangerous. Nothing in life was as perfect as we were without having some hidden agenda. Edward nodded at her and she led us to a booth near the door, where I found myself sandwiched between Jasper and the wall.

"It's my little sister's sixteenth birthday. We thought we'd have a piece of pie to celebrate." Emmett grinned at the girl and she blinked at him before glancing over at me speculatively. I could see her mind working to decide if I was related to all of the men in the booth or just to Emmett. Then her eyes settled on Edward and I actually saw her lick her lips. I hissed softly, just enough to make her focus change to me. In that moment, something happened that made me forget I was holding my breath. I was no longer seeing through Jasper's eyes. The point of view was coming from…the hostess? I gasped in shock and in that moment of surprise, the taste of her rushing across my tongue and through my nose triggered an unguarded response. I watched through her eyes as my lips pulled back from my teeth in a snarl and I was suddenly crouched on the tabletop, not one water glass or piece of silverware disturbed. The girl didn't even see the transition.

"Oops, maybe we should have made sure sis had her meds before we checked her out of the home," Emmett said, trying to distract the girl, who had stumbled back in horror, her hands clutched around her throat. I could see it in my mirrored glasses. Then I watched as Emmett and Jasper grabbed my arms and stood, lifting me from the table and hurrying me towards the door. It was Edward that stayed to soothe the girl's fears as she hyperventilated. Luckily and amazingly, no one else seemed aware of what had just happened. A few soothing words and a healthy tip had the girl calming down, sure she'd just imagined the fact that I had been poised to leap at her throat. The last thing I saw from the girl's eyes was Edward's back as he sauntered out door.

"Nice, little sis! That was the most fun I've had in a couple of decades." Emmett was chuckling. Jasper actually snorted in amusement on the other side of me. Neither one of them was surprised by my behavior, obviously. I was hovering between being grateful to them for snatching me away from the situation and wanting to smash my fist into Emmett's face. I was still newborn enough that I had some extra strength and I was fairly sure it would hurt him more than it would hurt me.

"Cut it, Emmett, before she breaks your face and her hand." Edward's voice was tight, obviously not amused. His comment certainly amused Emmett, however, because my big brother laughed heartily. Jasper didn't laugh. He tightened his grip on me and I felt a wave of soothing calm rush over me. I gave him a grateful smile. By this time we were back at the car. I found myself bundled into the backseat with Jasper while Edward and Emmett took the front. As Edward threw the car into gear and accelerated away from the city, I shook off Jasper's hand and sank into a soothing darkness.

"Well, that went better than I expected. Well done, Leia. You could have fought us when we took you out of there." Jasper sounded proud. I sighed, a sound that echoed by Edward.

"She probably would have done great, if she hadn't been surprised by a new development in her eye-stealing talent." I let Edward explain it. I was still getting a grip on my instincts. The monster inside me was roaring at the loss of a feast. He explained what had happened in the diner and both Emmett and Jasper were immediately curious.

"She wasn't touching her. How is that possible?" Emmett asked the question I wanted answered. The brothers threw around theories as we sped back towards the house. By the time we got home, I was back in control of myself. I pushed out of the car and reached out to touch Edward just to get my bearings and then I ran into the house.

"Well, I didn't eat anyone." My tone was wry as I announced this. The rest of the family would hear it, wherever they were in the house. Alice was the first down the stairs and she grabbed me in a tight hug.

"I saw. It was a little scary there for a few seconds. I knew you would be okay, though." The rest of the family all came to get the play by play. Of course it was Carlisle that was the most curious about why and how I had seen through poor little Amy's eyes. I put my foot down when they all began planning experiments.

"I'm all for figuring this out, but I almost ate Amy. Can we give this another couple of weeks and then start out small? Please?" To my surprise, it was Jasper that drew me into a hug.

"You really did do great, Leia. You'll do fine and we won't let you snack on anyone, I promise. I do agree with starting small, though. Maybe the Denali's would be willing to help. They have human…friends."

Jasper's suggestion had merit and I relaxed, letting the rest of them discuss the options while I just let my thoughts drift. Only time could tell how this development would affect things in the future. Well, time and Alice, but I hated to bug her about it.