Chapter 4: Renesmee's POV
"Okay, sure." I agreed hesitantly.
"Okay, well I met your mother when she transferred to Forks High School in March of our junior year about 7 years ago... And the first day she was there, we met and soon became good friends. All of the boys at school had crushes on her since the first time they saw her. There was Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, and Tyler Crowley. Now, Tyler Crowley is the reason your mother and father are together in my opinion. You see, one day it had just snowed and there was ice on the school parking lot. Tyler was driving his old mini-van and he lost control of his car.
His car was headed straight for Bella, now bear in mind that I had seen Edward at the other end of the parking lot, and then next thing I saw was that Edward was hovering over Bella and the side of the door on Tyler's car was bent in and his car was somewhat off the ground. I thought to myself that there was no possible way for a normal human being to get across the parking lot and stop the van and pick it up all while pushing someone out of the way in a matter of seconds.
I picked up my suspicions and went home to do some research after making sure Bella and Edward were both okay at the hospital. I went on the computer and searched for anything that could give me any tips about anything about Edward at all. I searched cold skin, gold eyes, doesn't eat, I had noted that none of the Cullen's ate at lunch, and super speed. I found different reasons from different sights and the few sites I saw the most were ones that talked about vampires, and mythical beings. I believed in ghosts, no doubt about them, but vampires I just wasn't so sure. I continued to watch them but every time I thought about them, Edward flashed a look at me but then looked away again. I didn't know what he was doing or thinking, but I thought that maybe I should be more careful with my thoughts, you just never know with some people.
During mine, Edward, Alice and Bella's senior year, something happened to Bella. Edward left with his family and told Bella that he didn't love her anymore, and for months she was by herself left in a deep deep depression and I thought she'd never come out of it. Some months later, Alice returned seeking Bella and she found her and told her that Edward was in Italy threatening to kill himself because she, she being Alice, 'saw' Bella throw herself off of a cliff in La Push and thought she was dead. Edward had told Bella before that he would not live without Bella. After all these months Bella still loved Edward, it was obvious that she could never stop loving him, she and Alice flew off to Italy to save Edward.
I guess they had gotten there in time to save him from himself because here he is right now. Anyways, I had heard all this information from others, they were a bunch of rumors to them, but I wasn't so sure. When I heard that Alice had 'seen' something, I then researched that and associated it with cold skin and all that. And again, something came up having to with vampires. Then I searched something again, and added Italy. And it came up with a website about these 3 men living in Italy with the most unusual names. Aro, Marcus, and Caius.
I did an image search of them and didn't find much, so I searched regularly again, and found a description. They were described as 'pale white, cold-skinned, well-built muscled, crimson-eyed men who could move at frightening paces and one of them, Aro had an ability. I compared them to Alice and Edward and I realized that like both of them, they were pale white and cold-skinned, and like Edward they could move real fast, and then like Alice, had an ability. There were sites upon sites saying that the 3 brothers, known as the Volturi, were vampires. And then I thought about it some more as days passed.
I had come to the conclusion that if both of the families were so similar, and both of them had reasons leading them to being vampires, I decided that that was probably what the Cullen's were. It would explain the no eating thing, the cold skin and the beauty. My whole life I had believed vampires to be like Dracula, they sleep at night, they can't come out during the day and they had fangs. But the Cullen's could come out during the day obviously, and they did not have fangs from what I could tell, and I wouldn't be able to know about the sleeping thing, but judging from what looked like bags under their eyes, that they didn't sleep at night, or ever.
And I noticed that the Volturi and the Cullen's had different color eyes, but I thought they were both vampires so why the different color eyes? I had no idea." The whole time I just stared at her wide-eyed, I'd known that Mom and Dad had a troubled past, but none like this. I couldn't think of anything to say, so Angela continued. "A while later after our senior graduation, your mother told me that she and Edward were getting married and wanted me to come. I agreed, and as I always had, I was careful about my thoughts with Edward near, I was sure if Alice could see things, then Edward could have something too. I figured it was mind reading because of me mentioning his name that he'd turn to look at me quickly. The wedding was beautiful, as were the guests. I noticed that most of the guests were just as pale as Bella's new family and cold when I accidentally bumped into them too. And they're eyes were gold like the Cullen's too and not crimson like the Volturi's. I was even more curious now.
"I thought about it after the wedding at my house. I figured that if the Cullen's were vampires, and the Volturi were vampires, then the people at the wedding must have been vampires as well, but I didn't know two things. Why the different color eyes and did Bella know that Edward was a vampire? Bella and Edward had already left for their honeymoon so I couldn't very well ask her if she knew and I'd have to wait 'til she got back. A few weeks later, I'd heard that Bella and Edward were back, but Bella had contracted a rare tropical disease while away and that no one was allowed to see her, not even your Grandpa Charlie. A long while after they'd gotten back I'd heard again, that Bella was better, but she and Edward had adopted his brother's little daughter after her parents had been killed in a car accident. I was even more so inquisitive as to if Bella's sickness wasn't a sickness at all. No one knew what I was thinking about and I wasn't even sure if I was even hearing things right.
"Soon after I heard that Bella was better, my then-boyfriend Ben broke up with me. And I decided to go have sometime to myself by traveling to the one place I'd always wanted to go. Italy. When I got to Italy, I was alone and didn't know where I was going. As I drove along the countryside, and into this city about an hour and a half outside of Florence called Volterra, I saw this huge old-fashioned castle. I didn't know what it was, but I was tempted to go in and see what it was and if they had tours. I thought it may have tours of the place, as if it were a tourist spot. I was wrong.
"When I went inside, I met the receptionist, her name was Jasmine. Jasmine said she would take me to meet the owners as she could see the wonder in my eyes, but she was hesitant I thought it was weird for her to see someone come in and want to see the place. I didn't think much of it. As I went into the main room, there were 3 men sitting in thrones. Two of them had dark brown hair and pale skin, and one of them had paper white hair and was also pale white. Jasmine called their attention. She had called them by the names that I recognized as the names I'd seen when researched 'vampires in Italy'.
"Aro, Marcus and Caius. Aro seemed the most friendly as he got up out of his chair to come and greet me. Marcus seemed bored and wanted nothing to do with me. And Caius looked like he wanted to kill someone. As Aro came up to me, I could see his deep crimson eyes. As he grabbed my hand, he developed an inquisitive look upon his face. He looked like he was confused about something and trying quickly to decide what to do. He then dropped my hand and had Jasmine leave the room and go back to her duties. He then turned to me and told me that he could read my thoughts and see every thought I'd ever had. I looked at him confused. He told me that I knew their secret. That now there was a choice. I told him that I wasn't sure what he was talking about. He said that my suspicions of them and the Cullen's were right. And that there were only 2 things I could choose from. I could either die, right then and there, or I could be turned.
"When I asked him what he meant he said that anyone's who knows their secret must die or they may be changed. But they can not continue to live as humans if they know. I'll tell you, I did sure as hell not want to die. And I told Aro that he may change me as long as a few of my conditions were upheld. He agreed to hear me out as he could not let me leave here a human. I told him that I wanted to know why their eyes were crimson while the Cullen's were gold. And I told him, that if he wanted to change me, he was going to let me go free and back home when this whole thing was done. Yes, I understood things would be different. But at least I could get my stuff together and then I could leave and find a place to be with myself. It took sometime to get Aro to compromise but he eventually agreed.
"When the agreement was made, Caius's and Marcus's facial expressions both changed. Caius was excited that something 'exciting' would be happening. And Marcus looked like he was utterly confused about my decision. I told him that I made my decision based off of my knowledge that I didn't want to die so young, that it wouldn't be fair because I'd never really done anything I'd ever wanted to do. Marcus seemed to relax a little, but only the tiniest bit. Aro decided it would be best to change me in a small private room in one of the empty tower rooms. On the way up, my heart beat faster knowing that things would soon be different. It tried to pump as much blood through my system as it possibly could before it stopped beating.
"Aro warned me that the pain would be excruciating and that it would be the worst possible pain anyone could ever possibly feel. He said that it would feel like a fire was burning you from the inside out and there was no way to stop it and that the pain wouldn't stop for at least 3 days. I told him that I'd rather feel the pain for three days and then live the rest of forever than feeling pain and not being able to live the next day.
"He seemed to understand my point-of-view on the subject. When we'd reached the room, I sat down on the gold and red adorned bed that was surrounded by an antique dresser, mirror and two doors. I assume one led to the 'bathroom' and the other was a closet. When I sat down he told me why his eyes were crimson and why the Cullen's weren't. He said that the Cullen's didn't drink human blood; he said they felt like they were doing wrong by killing innocent people so they hunted animals. I thought to myself that that must've been why they could attend high school without fear of hurting humans. He explained that after feeding on so many animals, your eyes turn a gold-topaz-amber color. But if you feed on humans, you're eyes remain the same color crimson as when you were created. He warned me that my eyes would be the same color as his when I woke up and that I would feel a burning scratch in the back of my throat, which meant that I'd be thirsty. Then he told me that he'd have some human downstairs for me to feed on when I was a vampire.
"I told him that I didn't want to kill humans; I didn't want to end a human's life and have that on my conscience for the rest of eternity. I told him that I wanted to have animals to feed on, he was weary of my decision but I told him that that was what I wanted and I wasn't going to have it any other way. He then told me that I was quite stubborn and then agreed to have animals waiting for me. He then told me to lie down on the bed, and relax, and close my eyes. I did as he told me, as best I could anyways. I didn't hear him but I could feel him inhale deeply and then next thing I knew he'd bitten me and I could hear him growling as he bit me and kept his teeth there.
"When he backed away, and then I heard a loud glass shattering scream and the door close. It took me a second that I had screamed and Aro left the room. The pain I felt was beyond indescribable. The pain was so immense that I had wished I'd chosen death instead of this penalty. I felt like the fire that was coming from my throat was spreading throughout my body and it was going to engulf and burn me to death any second but it never did. After many hours of screaming I'm sure, my eyes slowly closed. The pain was still there and it hurt a lot but I became sleepy and soon I fell asleep.
"I don't know how long it was before the pain went away that I woke up. When I did wake up, I could hear everything going on. I could hear people walking up and down the hallways, and talking downstairs and I could see everything more vibrantly. Everything seemed brighter and more alive, and then I noticed something. I noticed that I couldn't feel my heart beat, and I felt the burn in the back of my throat that Aro said meant I was hungry. With inhuman speed, I got up off the bed, and then I realized I was still wearing my glasses. I took them off to experiment, and I saw that I could see everything perfectly, whereas before nothing farther than a foot from me was clear. I thought I put my glasses down gently on the dresser, but I guess I didn't because they shattered.
"I forgot about that as my throat burned even more. I ran downstairs to see if Aro had the animals for me to feed on. When I got downstairs, Aro, Marcus and Caius all looked at me with wonder. I asked them what they were staring at and they said that it had been only about a day and a half since Aro had changed me and that they weren't expecting me to be done transforming already. They also told me that I wasn't as pale as other vampires, and I said it was probably because of my tanner skin color before.
"Aro told me that he hadn't gathered my food and I told him that I felt in enough control to go out to the forest and fend for myself, and then I would go back to my home when I was done. He was unsure about letting me out in public whilst I was a newborn, so he and I made a deal that he would have someone drive me to the forest's edge so I wouldn't have to walk through the town.
"We said our good byes and I was on my way. Before I left, when I shook Aro's hand good bye something happened. I felt an electric shock in my hand and Aro felt it too. Then I reached for Marcus's hand and the same thing happened; only now I could read his mind and see everything he'd ever thought. I was confused but continued to say good bye to Caius. When I shook some of the other vampire's hands I always felt that shock as did they. When I'd gotten into the car to go to the forest, I looked back at the shocks.
"Whenever I touched someone's hand, I could see their mind but I couldn't read it unless I was touching them. I also had other abilities like being able to start fires with my mind, and my favorite as of this moment, being able to change my body into any being. That was when I realized that my ability as a newborn vampire was that whenever I touched a vampire, if they had a power, I would duplicate that power and thus, adding ability to my collection. I smiled in revelation of my new discovery.
"My first discovery was still apparent; it felt like the burning in the back of my throat would never go away. That was when we got to the forest I thanked the driver and ran into the forest. I could smell the trees, the moss, the dirt and most of all, I could smell the wildlife. The first scent I found was a small herd of deer. I followed the scent of the deer and when I found them I snuck up behind the biggest quietly. Then I snatched it and fed. The fire in my throat was slowly being put out. When I'd finished that deer, I went for another.
"After 3 deer, I went back to the castle in Volterra and saw that my rental car was still parked outside with all my stuff in it. I got in my car and drove like a maniac to get back to the airport. I bought another ticket for the first plane back home, I decided to buy first class seat only to be as far away from human blood as much as possible. I could smell it in the air, all around me. It was tempting, but I knew I couldn't and that I shouldn't, so I didn't. I got on the plane and sat as comfortably as I could with all these humans around. I still was trying to get over the fact that I was now and vampire and no longer human.
"It would take over 31 hours to get home because I had two stops on the way back to Washington. I thought I'd be able to make it, and thankfully I was. I got home packed whatever I needed and went on my way. After seven years of wandering the world, never needing sleep and eating animals whenever I could, I got bored. I decided to come back to Forks to see what had come of your parents and they're family. I heard that you guys had moved over here so I came to see Bella. Alice wasn't even expecting me to come here and drop in on your family. When I knocked at the door, and Bella opened it, she stared wide-eyed.
"When I shook her hand, I saw that she didn't know what she to think and she wondered why my eyes weren't brown anymore and why my hand didn't feel outrageously hot to her. I sat her down and explained to her what happened, only with less detail as to save time before you came downstairs. I explained things to everyone, and then I asked them something they weren't expecting.
"I asked them if Edward and Bella were your biological parents. They were surprised that I'd had my suspicions early on but they were honest when they told me that you were and that Bella had conceived you when she was human and Edward was a vampire, which made you a hybrid. They told me that they had to change Bella when you were born because Bella almost died. When I hugged Bella after she opened the door, I could see everything that had happened in the past seven years that have been different for everyone. When I shook your hand, I could see your newly formed relationship with the shape shifter, Jacob, and I also took your power. Don't worry, you still have it, everyone's power that I've taken, they still have, I've merely duplicated it. I'll show you." She rose her hand to my cheek and showed me a picture of my parents in high school when they were first going out, and then she showed me the wedding and how red Mom was when Emmett made fun of her at school. I couldn't help but laugh with Angela who laughed in remembrance.
"Ness, I've already asked your family this while you were upstairs changing, and they've agreed but I do want your approval seeing as how everyone seems to do what you want. I wanted to know if it was okay with you if I came to live here in your house with you and your family. You see, I have no where to go, and no one to be with. And since I remembered Bella and the Cullen's I thought that maybe I could stay with you guys and be part of your coven. You see, I have never been much of a person who could go without being around people that I knew. I feel like I need to be around people that I knew, and hopefully will know forever." She looked at me with pleading eyes. I hadn't noticed, but when she walked up to me, we kept walking, we walked out the back door, and now we were far in the forest, just the two of us and I was just lost in her story still. I stood there speechless for a moment before answering. I trusted her, if Mom was friends with her than she was definitely someone to have around.
"Sure, Angela. I'd love to have you around. You seem like a really cool vampire." I chuckled at my sentence. She laughed to and then we hugged and decided to race back to the house. When we got back, Alice showed Angela to her house and said that she'd have to take her shopping soon. We laughed as Alice whisked her away. When I sat back down with Jacob, he looked at me with questioning eyes. I showed him what she told me, in parts. I showed him that she was able to duplicate powers and so she had my power to, as well as the shield my mother had. He smiled as I did. He kissed me again and told me it didn't bother him that another vampire was moving in. I smiled and kissed him one more time, before I told him that this was the best birthday present I could have asked for. I loved my Jacob. Everything was wonderful and I knew nothing could go wrong. At least, I hoped. With a vampire family, you never know.
