Seth –Goddess–
I froze at the door when I recognized that she was not with the others in the living-room.
"Alice and Rose took her upstairs," Carlisle said after he read the shock in my face. "Breath Seth. There's no need to worry."
I noticed that I had stopped breathing and sucked the air deeply into my empty lungs.
Edward chuckled. "Are you sure?"
I turned around and stared at him in horror. What did he meant with "Are you sure"? Was she in danger?
Edward shook his head, still grinning. He seemed to be amused by a joke I didn't get. "It's nothing like that," he explained. "It's just that Alice can be very… pushy."
He nodded towards something behind me so I turned around again.
She was standing on top of the stairs. Alice was holding her hand on her right side, Rosalie on her left behind her. She wore a white dress that seemed to be made of silk. It was strapless and nestled on her small slender body. The sleeves ended in the middle of her forearms and were held together by pink satin ribbons like the part at her waist. The dress ended at her knees in long pleats which probably would fly around her legs by the slightest breeze. Her slender legs were put into white boots with white silk gaiters that here also held together by pink satin ribbons. Her honey hair was tied to a slack ponytail by a ribbon and laid on her left shoulder. Her eyes were looking a bit unsure into the curious faces downstairs.
(Huh?? Still have no idea how the whole thing looks like?? Go and see this picture (you must add "h t t p : / /" in front of it): animexx./fanarts/output/?fa1364826&sortzeichner&ordner-1)
She was smiling weakly.
Outside she had looked like an angel, now she looked like a goddess! I wondered where her gloriole and wings were gone.
I heard Jake gasp behind me. "That's a dress?"
"She chose it because it was the only thing that wasn't completely pink." Edward chuckled quietly.
"Bella will like her." I could hear a grin in Jake's voice.
From the corner of my eyes I saw Edward nodding, pressing his lips together, forbidding himself to laugh out aloud about something that he had probably seen in hers or Alice's and Rosalie's thoughts.
"What do you think?" Rosalie asked and took her hand to make her pirouetting.
She looked down ashamed.
Emmett whistled and raised one thumb up. "Nice!"
"Pretty," Esme said and smiled her lovely smile. The others nodded in agreement.
Alice snorted. "Hmph! Nice, Pretty. Is that all you have?"
The others chuckled.
Chloe looked like she wanted to sink into the ground.
"Beautiful," I heard someone whisper. Everyone turned around to look at me and I noticed that it was me who had spoken.
Alice applauded. "At least one who brings up the right level of enthusiasm."
Chloe looked up and our eyes met. She stared at me, her eyes big and curious. I stared back. Again her look locked me to her and the desire to go to her and touch her was stronger than before.
I took a step closer.
"I don't think that this is a good idea, Seth," Edward said quietly, putting his hand on my shoulder again to hold me back.
'Why?'
"She doesn't know anything, remember?" he whispered back. "Take it slowly – step by step. Okay?"
I looked back at her. She was still staring at me curiously. Probably she had heard Edward's words and was wondering what they meant.
Yes, of course she didn't have any idea of me and all the crazy imprinting stuff. How would she react if I closed her in my arms and kissed her now? Probably not in a positive way. So I suppressed the wish to touch her and nodded. "You're right," I whispered. Edward took his hand down again.
Carlisle cleared his throat and ended the dead silence.
"Excuse me, Chloe, but I'm curious. How did you know about my family and how did you get here?"
She turned away from me and smiled at Carlisle. A strange – until now unknown – feeling hit my chest like a werewolf with a baseball bat; maybe even harder. Why did she smile at him? Why did she smile at everyone but me? Where did justice disappear? That was not fair!
"Easy, Seth," Edward said again, fighting a grin. "Don't lose your head by jealousy."
I stared down at him in astonishment.
Jealousy? Was it that? I was jealous?
He nodded, grinning now, unable to hold it back any longer. "Definitely."
I looked back at Chloe.
"She's just being polite," Edward continued. "It doesn't have any deeper meaning."
I heard myself sigh in relief.
"Would you like me to tell you?" her bell-like voice asked.
'Yes,' I thought. "Of course I'd like you telling me… whatever! It doesn't matter what you want to tell me; I just want to hear you voice again – your angel-like voice…'
"If it doesn't bother you," Carlisle answered.
"Not at all of course," she said, still smiling, and came floating down the stairs.
'Oh my… goddess!'
Carlisle offered her a seat and she sat down. I was frozen by her beauty, so Edward and Jake had to pull me to the couches to join the others.
"Headless pup," Rosalie murmured when she passed us to sit next to Emmett. Jake grinned and nodded in agreement.
Pah! He didn't see his own face when Nessie's around. Next time I would take a picture of his headless expression and show him.
Edward chuckled.
Best I'd sit or stood beside Chloe but Edward and Jake dragged me to Esme, Carlisle and Jasper to stand behind their couch. Alice sat cross-legged on the floor beside Jasper.
We all looked at Chloe in expectation.
She blinked and looked down at her folded hands. She seemed to be nervous.
I wanted to go to her and calm her down, but both Edward and Jake griped my arms and kept me at one place. I inhaled deeply. Was that bamboo? The lovely clover-aroma was still in the air but it was hidden by a strong bamboo-scent. Did she take a bath?
Edward closed his eyes and opened them again. – A nod.
"Umm… Where should I start?" she finally said, smiling nervously.
"Maybe, how you got to know about us?" Carlisle suggested friendly.
"Oh, of course," she said. Her nervousness seemed to ease off slowly.
"Well, I was in China when I heard about you," she began. "I've always liked to travel around, to discover the wonders of the earth and to see each single angle of hers. The earth is such a beautiful place."
'Just because you're here,' I thought.
"I was in the bamboo-forests to visit the panda-bears. It's so difficult to get near to them as a vampire, they always run away." She sighed with a smile, the others chuckled. "However, there I met two friends of yours who were here about a year ago, I think. Their names are Benjamin and Tia, they said that they came from Egypt."
From Egypt? Weren't there four of them?
"So they broke up with Amun and Kebi?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes, I think Benjamin said something like that," Chloe continued. "He joked that his 'father' began to become a strange old fogey and he decided to live in independence."
Edward grinned. "Good boy."
Chloe smiled back. "Yes, he and Tia were very nice. They told me about their interesting experiences in Forks and I decided to come and make my own."
"And?" Emmett asked grinning. "Are we as interesting as you imagined?"
She shook her head. "No. You're much better," she said smiling. "You're truly amazing. I've never met a coven – no, a family – like yours."
"I believe that we all here could say just say the same about you, my dear Chloe," Carlisle said smiling gentle.
She smiled back ashamed. "Thank you," she whispered shyly.
"How'd you come here from China?" Jake asked.
"I went to Siberia and swam across the Pacific Ocean," she answered like she was talking about ten laps in a swimming-pool.
"Met any sharks?" Emmett asked, grinning again.
"Yes," she answered again as if it wasn't anything special.
She met a shark?
"Two."
She met two sharks?!
"They didn't swim away?" Rosalie asked, making a sound of disapproval. "How stupid were they?"
"Well, actually, I chase them," Chloe admitted.
She chased two sharks?!
"I forgot to prepare myself for the journey, so I got thirsty on the way."
"How did they taste?" Emmett chuckled.
She thought about it for a second. "Fishy," she finally said, frowning in disgust.
Emmett bust into laughter, the others joined in.
I was the only one who stared at her in disbelief.
She fought two sharks?! But she was so breakable!
"Oh my… goddess!"
I must have said that out aloud, because suddenly everyone turned around to look at me.