6-Once Upon a December
Moving day was tomorrow. By now almost everything was already half-way to New Hall, being driven there by Emmett and Carlisle. We hired the moving vans and they set off yesterday to set up the house. Today was a sunny but cold day, with the snow spread evenly on the ground, so we couldn't go anywhere anyway. We couldn't feel the cold, so we were all outside doing something.
Rosalie had decided to do some tinkering with Edward and Bella's cars before we set off, and was absorbed in that. Esme was sat in the back yard, thinking of how her colour scheme would work in her and Carlisle's new room. I could tell that they were going to be fantastic. Part of that was because Alice had a vision of how it would look but swore Edward and I to secrecy. The rest of us were participating in what I thought was the longest snowball fight that had ever been fought. We had been at it for going on ten hours, but it never got old. I must admit, being able to tip snow over a certain blonde vampire was very entertaining, especially once you see his face. Laughing at my best friend was very good medicine. Nessie had us all make snow angels after about five hours, and they had now all been covered over. Soon though, she was going to have to go to bed, once we had all said goodbye to each other.
That was the hardest thing about splitting up the family: everyone's memories had been with at least one other. Carlisle and Edward's goodbye was one that they conducted in private, which I thought was right. They were the foundations of the family, father and son, and they were right to say goodbye alone. Emmett was another story. He decided to write a poem for Edward and Bella, and what a production that was. He gathered everyone in the dining room, and then launched into this whole rhyming speech about sports that they had played, schemes that they had carried out and threw in a bit at the end about his and Bella's sex life, which I soon learned was a very bad thing to do, because Bella was fuming in her seat next to me. I myself found it quite funny. Soon those two left with most of our furniture with them, leaving us with the five cars that we were taking and the furniture we weren't keeping. Edward and Bella were told that they would have to make the decision whether or not to sell the big house or move into it themselves, but they didn't know yet what they should do.
Right now, it was about six at night; the sun was down, the moon was out, and we were dumping large masses of snow on each other. Right then, Rose was about finished playing, and an extremely evil thought evolved in my mind at the moment I was about to throw a heap of snow each at Edward and Jasper. I threw the one at Jazz, but once I saw the smirk on Edward's face after hearing my thoughts, I halted my attack on him and went around the house with my heap of snow that was meant for him, Edward behind me with his own heap, and everyone else looking at us funny. True, we were hunched over sneaking around the house sides, but that didn't mean they had to stare! Soon we were around at the garage and Rose was closing the hood on Edward's Aston Martin. We took our time to strike. We ran into the garage, snow hoisted above our heads, and launched it at her. Once it made contact with her, she froze in her place. Edward and I didn't move either, waiting on her reaction. She let out a sharp breath, turning to face us, and greeting us with a death glare only Rosalie could give out.
"There's snow in my hair," she serenely. The kind of serene that makes you fear for your life. Of course the first thing my best friend notices is that she has snow in her hair. Typical Rose. Edward was fighting a smile, and if he opened his mouth to say anything then he would break. He was also screaming at me in his head not to say anything. But he should have known that I never follow other people's wishes.
"Well, you still have oil on your hands. Now it'll be easier to clean them," I said in a neutral voice. Edward looked at me as if I was crazy. Rose's nostrils flared, and soon we were running away from her back around the side of the house, all the while I was screaming at the top of my lungs.
"Help! Rosalie's on the warpath! DUCK AND COVER!" I screamed as we ran into the garden. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at what I was screaming about. Once they saw Rosalie's sopping wet hair, they burst into a fit of laughter, which did not improve her attitude. I turned to her and started running backwards. "Hey Rose, wouldn't you just love it if Emmett could see you looking this fierce? I think he would get as turned on as he was last night. I think that the Denali coven could hear you last night!" I shouted out to her. That was a big mistake. The sentiment 'Oh crap, I'm dead' doesn't even begin to cover it. She sped up to maximum speed and caught up to me, rubbing her oily hands all over my back, turning my coat back, making Alice scream and Jasper fall over from laughing. Alice kicked him for that, which I thought was fair game. Rose and I stopped running and faced each other. We smiled and laughed.
"I guess we're even now," Rose laughed.
"I suppose we are," I returned, and we hugged each other in a fit of giggles. I pulled her by her hand, not caring if mine got messed up, and pulled her to the fight.
o-o-o-o
Once it was eight at night, Nessie was flagging and we decided to stop. Edward and Bella took her back to their cottage to get her to sleep and then were going to come over once they were sure she was alright, to say goodbye. Once the rest of us got into the big house, Rose and I went to get a shower and get all the oil that was now in each of our hair and our hands. I, of course, was first back downstairs, but I hadn't dried mine and let it air dry. Jasper and Alice were playing poker with Esme as the dealer. It was quite interesting to watch; Alice was using her abilities to see what cards Jasper had, and he was changing her emotions to make her want to give up her cards. I watched for a while, reminiscing with vague memories of my father's gambling. After a while, the phone rang. Since they were still in their game, I got up and answered it, realising that it was Edward.
"Hello, Edward. Is everything all right?" I asked him, wondering why he and Bella were not yet here.
"I'm afraid not, Chanelle. Renesmee really is too smart. We've been trying to keep her calm until the morning, but she knows that you will all be leaving soon, and will not sleep. We've tried everything we can think of, even lullabies from our childhood. We wondered if you could think of anything?" he asked. I thought it over. Memories from my childhood were a bit sketchy, seeing as they were human memories. Then I thought of something. The music box. It was one of the things I hadn't packed away in a box; it was coming in the car with me. I smiled.
"I have an idea. I will by at your home in two minutes." I put down the phone and fetched my music box from my room with my mind. I went through to the living room where they were playing. "Hey, I have to go to Edward's and Bella's for a while. I'll be back in about half an hour. Y'all alright with that?" I asked them.
"Yes. What's going on over there?" Esme asked in a motherly tone. I smiled at her, but I didn't get a chance to answer, since Miss Future did it for me.
"Nessie can't sleep and they've tried everything, so they asked Chanelle if she had any ideas," she told her, then turned to me. "You're idea will work. I can see it. And it's a lovely lullaby. I'm sure it would send any child in history to sleep," she smiled at me, and I smiled back. It was touching to hear her say that, since it was the one my mother sang to me. The music box now lowered into my hands and I made my way to the cottage. I ran to the river and jumped it, not being able to do anything fancy because of the precious cargo in my hands.
Within two minutes I was at their doorstep and I could hear Bella trying to put down an upset child. Edward must have heard my thoughts and came to the door before I got to the house. He opened it and let me in. Bella had Nessie on her lap on the sofa, rocking her soothingly while murmuring things in her ear. Bella acknowledged my presence with a quick glance up at me, and once the front door was closed Nessie looked up too. She smiled and ran to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I lifted her off the ground and held her, stroking her hair. Edward went to sit next to his wife while I sat on the single seat with Nessie on my lap. She took her head out of the crook of my neck after a while, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Aunt Chan, I don't want any of you to go. Grandpa and Uncle Emmett are gone, and you're all going tomorrow. I don't want it," she cried. I smiled sadly at me.
"I know, honey. But this is something that has to happen. People must move on; see new places and meet new people. But those people never forget the ones they have already met, especially the ones they love. Sweets, you will always be able to talk to us, wherever we may be and whatever we are doing, we will talk to you anytime you want to. And that will never change," I told her. She sniffed a bit and rubbed her face with the back of her hand.
"Really?" she asked me.
"Really really." I smiled at her, and at the others. They smiled back at me, a silent thank you coming from Bella.
"You take her to bed, Chanelle. Thank you," Edward told me. I nodded and carried her to her room, taking the music box with me. I set the music box down next to the bed and tucked her in, sitting on the edge. She looked at the box curiously.
"What's that?" she asked. I smiled at her.
"This is a very special box. I've had this since I was three years old, which was in 1724. My mother used the music from this box and a song to send me to sleep every night, even when I was seventeen years old. Shut your eyes, petites fees." I opened the top of the grand piano, and soon the song from my mortal dreams filled the air.
"Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December.
"Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory.
"Far away
Long ago
Burning soft as an ember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December."
I looked over to Nessie, who's eyes were now closed as the last notes from the piano ended, my hazy memories coming to a close. I quietly closed the lid and stood up, kissing her lightly on the forehead. I left the room silently, closing the door behind me. I let out a slightly shaky breath, knowing that it had been about two hundred and fifty years since I had heard that song, let alone sung it. I walked through to the living room and sat down in the seat I had vacated five minutes ago, meeting the eyes of Edward and Bella. They were just smiling, which was surprising. I had been spending a lot of time with their daughter, and I thought they may have felt as if I was stealing her from them, but I could see in their eyes that was not the case.
"We know you would never do that, Chanelle. Thank you for calming her," Edward said to me, reading my thoughts. "And that was truly a beautiful lullaby. From your childhood?" he added, and I nodded. "Beautiful."
"I translated it, so she could understand the words. It seemed logical," I said quietly. I smiled at them before standing, picking up the piano. "Come and see us tomorrow, if she's up to it. I'm sure everyone would like that."
"We will. We promise," Bella said. I nodded and left. I walked back to the house this time, enjoying the snow crinkling below my feet and the starlit sky. I wondered if the sky was this beautiful in New Hall. Thinking of the new place made me think of Carlisle, and I decided to call him and see how things were going. I took out my sleek black phone and pressed speed-dial number one, which he picked up on the second ring.
"Hello, Chanelle," he greeted me, and I could tell that he was smiling, either because I had good timing or bad timing.
"Hello. How is everything going over there?" I asked him. Suddenly I heard a loud crash from somewhere else in the house, and a loud 'sorry' shouted from the same place. I chuckled.
"Emmett's making sure all of the beds are assembled properly by flopping onto them. That one evidently wasn't." I laughed at the fact that it was Emmett that was testing the beds. "Tighten up the bolts on that one, Emmett," Carlisle said to him.
"So are you nearly finished?" I asked as I was about two minutes away from the river.
"Yes, everything's out. Your room is exactly the same, as promised. A good view, too. Mind you, all the rooms do." We continued chatting about the new house until I got to the lake and then I ran into the house, giving the phone to Esme, who, once she was finished, gave the phone to Rose so she could talk to Emmett. After they were done with their conversations, we had a night long marathon of poker, one where I was closely monitored to make sure my guard was up at all times. Maybe Edward always cheated and won every game. Something to ask him in the future.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Soon the sun was rising, and we cleared up the chips and cards. In the end it was Jasper who won, and he won five hundred dollars from us each, but let Alice off as long as she promised to make their next vacation away together very much worth it. I kept my gate up by my own free will after that promise was made. We made our way through to the garage and set up our phones to the Bluetooth system the cars had. Esme was driving Carlisle's Mercedes, Jasper was in Emmett's jeep while his bike was in one of the moving vans. The rest of us had our own, and I was quite happy that I was going to get to drive my baby cross-country. The sun was all the way up when we were finished, and we could see Edward and his family coming over the lake. Bella was holding Renesmee while they leaped over, and as soon as they were over, Nessie jumped out of her mother's arms and came running towards us, tackling Esme first. Bella and Edward were right behind her, coming up to hug someone. Bella went to Alice and Edward to Jasper. They said their goodbyes and went onto the next person. Edward came up to me.
"If you ever need any help with Nessie…" I said.
"I know who to call. If you ever need to talk about something that you've heard in someone's mind that you don't know what to do with…"
"I know who to call." I smiled. "Telepaths in arms." He laughed, and then hugged me.
"Thank you, Chanelle. For everything." He drew back and went to Rose. Bella came up to me.
"I'm going to miss you. You offer teasing material for everyone. You have the same ability as Edward and you use it completely differently," she stated and I smirked.
"He uses his powers like a superhero, and I use them like the bad guy," I answered. She looked at me funny, as if she was trying to remember something from a past life, which in a way it was. I smiled. "Ask Edward. I'm sure he'll jog your memory." I hugged her tight and let her go to Jasper. I now watched as Nessie went to Rose and Edward to Esme. I checked on the music box in the front seat of my car as I leaned against the side, seeing that it was securely strapped in. Soon I felt a small force hit into me and small arms wrap themselves around my hips. I looked down to Nessie encircling my waist. I knelt down to pick her up and held her.
"Ne jamais avoir peur que vous n'aurez pas d'amour.Il sera partout où vous allez," I whispered in her ear, and she held onto me tighter. We stayed like that for a few more moments, until I realised that I had to go. I put her back on the ground and she ran to Edward. He picked her up and held her the way I had. I got in the car and started it, relishing the purr. I heard Edward groan slightly. I chuckled and stuck my head out of the window. "Edward, you know you're going to miss the Purr of the Porsche." He laughed and I waved goodbye. They waved also, and I could see the tears flowing down Nessie's cheeks. I blew them kisses and stuck my head back in the car. Esme left first, then Jasper, and then myself with Rose following after me and after her was Alice. We all drove out of the driveway and were soon on our way out of Forks. We followed Esme from here until we got to the US – 101. This was when we were all mean to call Esme. I pressed speed-dial number eight and waited for her to pick up; she picked up on the second ring.
"Hello, Chanelle. Alright, we're just waiting for Jasper to call and that's us all—" she broke off and I smirked. While she was talking I sent a 'mind message' (yeah, because that's the most sensible thing you could call it) to him that was quite strong worded about him calling Esme. I think it did the trick.
"Nice for you to join us, Jazz," I teased, and he thought very malicious things. I laughed and told Esme to carry on.
"From here we have to go to the SR – 104 east, then to the SR – 3, to the SR – 16. Then we go on the road to Seattle, and then we go on the SR - 18. Call again once we've passed here. I'll talk to you soon." We all hung up, and then sped up to one hundred and forty-five miles an hour. If we kept at this speed, we'd be where we had to call in an hour and thirty-five minutes. I put my music on, prepared to see what this car could do over long distance.
o-o-o-o
"Ellie, are you getting the vibe that we look like the auto bots from Transformers when they are driving along?" Jasper asked me twenty minutes into our conversation. I could see where he was coming from; we were all driving in a straight line, switching lanes when the one in front of us did. I chuckled.
"I suppose. We do look a bit strange to passers-on, I'll tell you that."
"Yes, how can we not? All driving incredibly fast in good looking cars, switching lanes when the one in front does and with one of us wearing sunglasses, even when it's not sunny." Yes, alright, it was me wearing the sunglasses. But, really, they were new and I was breaking them in. I scowled.
"I like my sunglasses. They are nice sunglasses. I am keeping the sunglasses on my face. Do I make myself quite clear, Mr. Whitlock?" I growled over the phone; he stayed silent for a while, and I smirked, satisfied with myself.
"Yes, ma'am. sorry ma'am," he said after a few moments, his southern drawl becoming more prominent.
"I am glad to hear that," I said in mock seriousness, but then ruined it by laughing. I turned up the radio when a very old song came on. "Jazz, can you remember this one?" I turned it up loud enough that Jasper could hear it over the phone. Soon I heard him laughing.
"That is extremely old! When was that, about 1952? Wow, they must be desperate on that station."
o-o-o-o
The rest of the ride carried on the same. Calls to everyone and meaningless chat. That was, until night time set. On the road there were no other cars around for miles, so we decided to have some fun. Rose, Alice and I put the tops down on our cars, and careered full speed down the road.
"Show-offs!" Jasper called to us, and we just laughed at him. He then put his iPod on full volume on the song "Driving With the Top Down" from Ironman. That made us laugh even more. The rest of that night, we were all doing tricks in our cars, bar Esme, who took it upon herself to supervise and give scores. In the end it was Alice who won, because she had the smallest car.
"Alright everyone. ETA is around twenty hours going at the speed we are at. Have fun from here," she called. And like the good kids we were, we did what we were told.
o-o-o-o
The journey ended up taking eighteen hours, thanks to our speed increasing something chronic. We got to New Hall at about four on a Saturday afternoon. For such a small town, everyone was on the main street; families, elderly people, children and teenagers. So all were there to see the five ostentatious vehicles drive into town. By now I had put the top back up on my car, as had Alice, but Rose still had hers down, flaunting her good looks to every man with working eyes.
"Careful, Rose. You could be the foundation of a break-up if you're not careful," I teased over the phone.
"No, thank you. I am happily married three times over and I don't go for humans," she replied. "And, excuse me, but you could start a break-up too if you took the top down off you car," she told me, and I stayed silent. I knew I was nowhere near as beautiful as Rosalie Hale, even though I was a vampire. I just looked down at the steering wheel, ignoring the people staring at the cars and Rose. "Oh no. Don't you get that look on your face. You are beautiful and you know it," she said with finality. Conversation ceased after that statement as we drove through the little town to our new home. Soon we reached a forest and I realised that this house was as secluded as the last. We drove on the pebble road to come to a clearing at the edge of a cliff, and to see our mansion there. The house was three stories and had a Victorian style thanks to the beams and the bay windows. It had a little one story house off to the side that had been converted into a garage. We all parked in there and got out to see Emmett and Carlisle coming out the house to greet us. The two men went to their wives to greet them as I walked over to Jasper. Emmett and Rosalie were still locked in each others embrace when Carlisle came over to see me.
"Hello," he greeted me and I kissed his cheek. He motioned to the house. "So, what do you think?"
"I think it's great. And huge! Though I should have realised you would go for something big. Because that's just you, isn't it?" I asked sarcastically. He looked at me.
"Well, we couldn't have a French aristocrat's daughter living in a shack, now could we?" he shot back. There were laughs behind us from Emmett and Jasper, commenting on how our humours bounced off each other. I told Carlisle and Emmett to show us around the house, which they did. As we went in the front door, the first thing I saw was this gorgeous oak staircase leading up to the second and third floor in the middle of the house. The floor matched the dark shade the oak had and the walls were a delicate cream colour. The rest of the first floor flared out from it, with the living room and dining room at the front left and right of the open-plan floor and the kitchen at the back. I wondered what the other part of the floor was used for and walked through. On a platform in the middle of the room, was a white ivory grand piano with a white ivory seat and red velvet cushioning. I stood in the doorway, stunned at the sight. It was an exact copy of my music box. I heard footsteps approach and turned around to see Carlisle and Esme walking towards me, smiling. I smiled at them and hugged them once they we close enough. I let them go and just flipped my vision back and forth between them, wondering why. Soon, Esme spoke.
"We thought this would be something nice for you. In Forks you were using Edward's a lot, and we didn't want to loose the music," she smiled at me.
"But you have all given me so much already. This is too much," I tried to argue, but Carlisle stopped me.
"Well it's too late now. It's too big to fit out the door since the man came and assembled it in here. You have no choice," he smiled cockily, and I gave up, hugging them once more. Once I let them go, Carlisle kissed Esme and took my hand, leading me out the room. "Come on, I'll lead you to your room." We took off up the stairs to the third floor and turned right to the end of the hallway. I opened the door to find my room in the exact state it was in Forks, except the bathroom and closet were in a different place. I turned to Carlisle and smiled.
"It's perfect. I love it."
"Good, I'm glad. Meeting in the dining room in an hour to discuss you all going to school next week. And you and Alice can reveal your big secret concerning it. We're all a bit scared," he whispered the last part.
"Really scared!" I heard Emmett and Jasper shout from somewhere else in the house and laughed.
"Really scared," Carlisle corrected himself. "An hour downstairs, okay?" I nodded and he left.
o-o-o-o
After an hour was up we were all in the dining room. Carlisle was going over the fact that the school term had started on the Thursday and we would be starting on the Monday. He started to explain the school uniform when I butted in.
"That is where Alice and I come in," I said and Alice disappeared momentarily. "You've all been dying to know what Alice and I have been whispering in corners and running off to do for quite some time and it's time we told you. Ever since we found out there was going to be a uniform, we have been coming up with ideas for uniforms. Guys, you were hard to do because you can't be as versatile as us, though you will look good." Just then Alice came through with five clothing bags and laid them down on the table. We opened Jasper's first and Alice explained.
"Jazz, you have a white shirt with a mandarin collar. You won't have a tie but you don't need one; it's not school regulation. With this you will be wearing black pants and black leather shoes." She handed over his clothes and he smiled, trying to visualise what it would look like on him in his head. I flashed the image of the sketch into his mind and he smiled thankfully at me, liking the look of it. We moved onto Emmett.
"Emmett you are more of a laid back person, so you are going to be quite traditional. A blue collar shirt and tie with the top button undone and your tie a little loose. Beige pants and brown loafers will go with that. You and Jasper are just getting a little bit of originality and both of these combinations and within school regulation and are worn by students. We've checked," I said and smiled, handing over Emmett's things. Rose was more eager to look at it than him and nodded in approval. Next was her outfit.
"Rose, we all know you are a classy girl so you need a classy outfit. A grey pencil skirt with a white three quarter sleeved satin blouse will look fantastic on you. With that you will be wearing grey three inch heels, again, within regulation." She smiled in anticipation as I handed over the bag. I looked to the top of the table to see Carlisle smiling at us.
"So if you did theirs, who did yours?" he asked us.
"Chanelle and I did each others. We don't even know what they look like," Alice gushed. "But, I want to see mine first," she smiled and I just laughed at her eagerness. I motioned for her to sit down and she did.
"Alright. For Alice I have chosen a blue blouse, tie and black three quarter-length sleeve cardigan with a black skirt that comes to mid-thigh. Not quite a miniskirt but close enough. Black tights and little black pixie boots will finish you off." I smiled and handed her the clothing bag. She took it and stood up to hug me. I hugged her back and laughed.
"I suppose that means you had a vision of what it looks like on you?" I asked her. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Alright, alright. I've seen mine, time for you to see yours." She motioned for my to sit, which I did and she clapped her hands. "Okay. You are going to be wearing a white silk blouse with puff sleeves that tie together at your wrists with a thin silk bow. You'll wear a tie and grey waistcoat. With that you'll wear high-waisted grey pants with black pinstripes and grey ankle boots with a two inch heal finishes it off," she smiled triumphantly at me and handed me the bag. I opened it and felt the sleek satin of the blouse and smiled and, as Alice did, hugged her. After we released each other from our embraces, we turned and sat in our seats. Carlisle had waited patiently for us to finish our presentation and carry on his instructions.
"Alright. Thank you, girls. We now know that everyone will look good, thanks to the fashion police," he teased, smirking. I rolled my eyes at him and motioned for him to carry on. "On Monday you will all go to school in Chanelle's car, but after tomorrow you can go in whatever car you please. You will have to go up to the office, hand over your transcripts and get your schedules. There are only six periods each day, but your subjects differ from day to day. Remember that it's cold weather right now so you will have to wear coats to keep up appearances." He turned to Esme. "Am I missing anything?" he asked her and she stood up.
"I just wanted to say that this time school doesn't have to be as boring. If you want, you can come out of your shells a little," she paused and smirked. "Live a little," she said and we snickered at the irony in the comment. I wasn't sure what these four were like in school, but by what Esme had said, I suppose that they are quite reserved. Then again, I thought that humans could be a little infuriating. I don't mean to say that I am prejudiced against them, but I hadn't been around them for a long time in a while, and it would take a little to get used to. Esme waved for us all to leave. We picked up our uniforms and started to leave when Alice raised her voice.
"Oh! I almost forgot! You don't have to wear these everyday. Just tomorrow and whenever else you want to. But, please, please, please… don't double wear! Even if you just change your shirt, please don't wear the same outfit two days in a row!" she was getting hysteric now, but then Jasper, our empathetic saviour sent calming waves to her. She calmed and sent us on our way. I floated up my outfit to my room, all the while heading out the back door, which was just a sheet of glass, as were the front doors. The bedroom and bathroom doors were glass with film over them so you couldn't see what was on the other side.
Once outside, I walked the ten feet to the cliffs edge, then lowered my self so I could climb to a ledge in the middle, about twenty feet down. Once there I sat down and just listened. Listened to the birds wings flapping, causing friction in the air. Listened to the waves crashing into the cliff, retracting, and repeating the process, as nature entailed. Listened to Emmett's stunned gasp when he saw a floating clothes bag behind him. I just sat on the ledge with my eyes closed, and listened to the world go by.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o
I AM SOOOOOO SORRY!!!! No excuse but a thousand reasons. From family, to files, to crashes that started fears, to school, to holidays, to falls, to parties I haven't had any time, and for that, I give you all a piece of my head each, as a token of my apology.
Okay, some info about this chapter. Extra long, and some changes to real life. I'm not sure whether the two Porsches roofs can be put down, but it works for this. Also, song credits for this chapter and the last are: My Immortal by Evanescence and Once Upon a December from the film Anastasia.
Again, my humblest apologies, and my head is in the mail. ;-)
xoxo
Cora
