Chapter 8: Comrades
I didn't stay at the Cullen's much longer after the fight. Charlie had called asking me if I was going to be home to back his dinner. Danielle had called it a night; it was only six o'clock our time, but the jet lag made her feel like it was gone midnight. Edward had driven me home and was going for a local hunt with Esme, Alice, Jasper and Emmett before coming back to stay the night.
It was about eleven o'clock when I heard Edward tap at my window, announcing his arrival. Charlie's snores reasured him that it was safe to come in.
"Are you warm enough?" He asked. It was his way of asking if it was ok for him to lay with me.
"I am very warm actually, wouldn't mind cooling off a little." I said, wanting him next to me.
He smiled and did as I wished. However, I was not in the mood for our usual night of seduction and rejection. Edward had either picked up on some silient message I was sending him, or he felt the same. "It's been a long day today hasn't it. A lot has happend."
I nodded and layed my head on his chest. "Edward can I ask you some questions?"
"Bella, you know I love to find out what you're thinking about. Please do ask."
"The Volturi, what did Esme mean when she said they wouldn't stop untill they found Danielle?"
"The Volturi are committed to the prolonging and protection of our species. The hunter of course is committed to the opposite. They have killed a couple of Danielle's kind since they came across one in the 1800's. It wasn't easy. The Hunters have evolved since then to sense vampires from further and further away. Unfortunately, it doesn't always save them. Danielle has to live with the memories from previous hunters – both good and bad memories." Edward stopped and looked away with a sombre look on his face.
"She can see the ways that The Volturi have killed them." I guessed.
"As if it were her there." Edward said, loud enough just so I could hear. Of course, he too had experienced this, through Danielle's mind.
"That's... aweful." I breathed. "Is that why she's so scared of them? Why she left Seattle when she knew they were coming."
"She didn't do it for her own protection, as Rosalie would have you believe, but for the protection of the future hunters. She doesn't want them to see even one more horrific death than they already have to."
"She is a good person." I said, trying to lift the depressing atmosphere away from us.
"She has a very kind heart." Edward replied.
"When did you all first meet her?"
"Four years ago. She had just turned sixteen when she became the new hunter. She came to see us that summer. She stayed for about a week. The only one who has ever done that. Many of the previous ones introduced themselves and kept away. Danielle was comfortable enough to stay for a while. She tends to visit when she is called to America, staying for a few days. Emmett joked that she was Esme's favourite, but in truth we have all grown to love her."
"With one exception." I hinted, thinking of Rosalie's reactions today.
"Rosalie is very protective over our family and our secrecy. You know that she doesn't appreciate humans knowing about us. Even though Danielle and the other hunters aren't any danger to us, she still sees them as a threat."
"Why do they – the hunters – become involved with you? I mean, why do they travel to introduce themselves to the family?"
"It's their job to hunt down and kill any vampires that cause a threat to human life. They feel that it is necessary to introduce themselves to us so they know personally who we are and what we look like... to ensure that no mistakes are made. However, Danielle's reason for visiting was different. She saw us as comrades. She wanted to meet the family that was committed to preserving human life – as she was. She didn't mention it but she is intregued by the wolves for the same reason. She believes that we are all fighting the same war – just in different ways."
"She's lonely isn't she?" I asked him.
He sighed, "She feels like she doesn't belong anywhere, that she's stuck somewhere between our world and the human world." He looked into my eyes and tightened his arms around me. "She loves you, you know? She truely believes that you are the only person that can relate to her."
I smiled, "I thought exactly the same."
He laughed, "She didn't know that you were human you know."
I stared at him, shocked. "What?"
He laughed again, "She didn't know until she felt your warm skin when you hugged her."
"But she can sense when vampires are near. Wouldn't that mean that she'd know I was human, when her sense didn't pick me up?"
"Rosalie was sitting right next to you, out of Danielle's sight. It was her she sensed but you she saw."
"Didn't my human appearance give me away?"
"Nope, to her you were just as inhumanly beautiful as I believe you are." I blushed at his words. He laughed, "You should have heard her thoughts when she realised you were human. It was a mixture of sheer shock and pure happiness."
I smiled again, for I had felt exactly the same.
