Chapter Ten:

Hunting

Those twelve hours every day that Carlisle worked were the worst hours of Esme's day. Her time was wasted missing Carlisle...though she hardly thought that missing Carlisle was a waste of time. Edward would do his best to help Esme by distracting her as much as he could, but he could only try and help so much. Edward would eventually sigh and go off on his own, leaving Esme be.

She thanked God above when the sun refused to go away one Friday, meaning that Carlisle would begin his weekend off early.

The three off them gathered in the music room after Edward had announced that he had finished his new composition.

"Let's hear it then, dear boy." Carlisle smiled proudly at his son as Edward took his place on the bench in front of the keys.

"Why certainly, old chap." Edward spoke with an exaggerated English accent, poking fun at the faint trace of English in Carlisle's voice.

Carlisle chuckled and folded his arms as he leaned against the doorway.

Edward grinned and cracked his knuckles before settling his fingers on the keys, his brow furrowing immediately as he concentrated.

The song began on a very gloomy note, yet it was brilliantly lovely. The tempo was slow and the song was simple, but it seemed to bring forth memories from Esme's human life. There was a small section where it seemed to be slightly cheerful, reminding her of the first time she met Carlisle before it slipped back into its gloomy chords. Yes, it definitely reminded her of her human life. There was a sudden bar of accented notes, reminding her of when she had jumped from the cliff before sounding as though a knight was moving into a battle – that was Carlisle coming to save her. The tempo picked up slightly when she remembered when Carlisle had bitten her. The ending was gloomy, yet somehow happier, reminding her of when she had woken up as a vampire, seeing Carlisle again.

Edward kept his hands on the keys, letting the final notes sink into the silence.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"It's wonderful, Edward." Carlisle smiled.

"Oh Edward, this is my favourite one so far." Esme smiled, tossing her arms around Edward's shoulders.

"I'm glad you like it – how about I name it after you." Edward looked up at her. "Esme's Favourite."

"How original," Esme giggled, rolling her eyes. "Nonetheless, it's wonderful. Play more." She urged.

"You know," Edward grinned mischievously. "Carlisle can play the violin."

"Really?" Esme asked in surprise, looking up at Carlisle who was smiling sheepishly. "Why haven't I ever heard you play?"

"I used to play when I was alone...once I turned you and Edward I just didn't find the time. I was too busy enjoying the company of others."

"Well, you've got time now," Edward said, "Play for her, er, us."

"I don't know –" Carlisle began.

"Please," Esme bit her lip and looked up at him.

Carlisle sighed and walked over to the shelves, pulling a small case off the highest shelf. "Oh all right."

"I know just the piece." Edward grinned as he rushed over to the cabinets, flipping through the stacks of sheet music before locating the one he wanted to play. "Here," he handed Carlisle a page.

"You really enjoy Debussy, don't you?" Carlisle chuckled as he looked over the music, tuning the violin in his hands.

"What made you want to play the violin?" Esme asked.

"I was in Italy in the early seventeen hundreds when I went to see one of Vivaldi's operas. I enjoyed how he used string instruments as solo instruments instead of the much used harpsichord." He explained as he touched the bow to the strings, playing a lovely note.

"You've been playing for two hundred years?" She asked in disbelief. Sometimes it was so hard to forget how old Carlisle really was.

"Yes," he nodded, smiling timidly.

"Ready?" Edward asked. Carlisle nodded.

Edward began to play a lovely tune, smiling to himself as he played. He nodded to Carlisle and Esme turned her attention to the young violinist.

She felt her mouth fall open as he began to play, his attention solely on the sheet music in front of him. It was a simple song yet the way Carlisle played made it a hundred times more delightful. She could see Edward grin out of the corner of her eye at her reaction. Esme quickly composed herself before Carlisle could see.

Carlisle played with a sort of delicate care and passion as well as complete concentration. He was absorbed by the music just like Edward always was. Carlisle was suddenly more attractive as Esme learned that among all the other things he was good at, he was also talented in the art of music.

None of them made a sound, they seemed to all stop breathing – even the wind died down outside as they listened. No sound could be heard save for the music.

Carlisle kept his gaze down until the final note had been played. He looked up sheepishly at Esme.

"That was beautiful," Esme breathed in wonder, "Absolutely beautiful."

Edward cleared his throat and Esme giggled, turning to him. "You were wonderful too Edward."

"Why thank you," he stood and bowed, grinning crookedly.

"You should play more often, Carlisle." Esme smiled.

"Maybe I could teach you." A smile began to form on his lips.

"Trust me, I won't be very good." She smiled shyly.

"Well, we have eternity to practice."

"Play more," Esme urged, pushing the violin back towards him. Carlisle smirked, his eyes sparkling dimly. That was when she noticed his dark eyes. "Oh, Carlisle, when was the last time you hunted?" She asked worriedly.

"A few weeks ago," He admitted, ducking his head. "I've been busy. I haven't found the time to go hunting."

"Then let's go now," Edward stood. "I'm not the type to pass up a good hunt at any time. It'll be fun."

"Really, it's not a bother –"

"Let's go, Carlisle." Edward sighed, pushing his father towards the door. Esme giggled as she followed the two outside.

They sprinted into the forest, Carlisle's objections and assurances fading as he ran faster. Edward led them through the woods. He loved to run fast and was happy leading the others.

Esme had never actually seen Carlisle in the midst of the hunt before. She had been with him, but he tended to wander away to hunt on his own.

This time, he stayed with them.

Butterflies formed in Esme's stomach as she watched him stop. His eyes slipped shut as he listened, taking a deep breath to catch a scent. There was the sound of a twig cracking somewhere and his eyes snapped open. He sprinted deeper into the woods, Esme following close behind.

She watched as he pounced on the wolf, bringing it to the ground. She had to resist the urge to pounce on him. He was a gloriously dangerous predator. Esme had never seen Carlisle so...uncivilized.

He dug his teeth into the animal's flesh, swallowing large mouthfuls of blood. Esme had never wanted to tear those lips away from the wolf and kiss him as badly as she did now. It was almost painful to just stand there.

Carlisle sighed a few moments later as he pushed the corpse aside.

"I'm sorry; I should have given this one to you." He frowned, standing slowly.

"Nonsense, you needed to feed. I'm not that thirsty." She reassured. Carlisle smiled to himself. "What is it?"

"I don't think I've ever heard a newborn say they're not thirsty." He chuckled.

"I've been a vampire for five months now, I'm not that young."

"Well, newborn instincts take about a year to wear off...Come on, I'll help you find another." he nodded towards the wolf.

Esme had consumed a wolf and two deer in the time span of ten minutes. She hated that need for blood that seemed to take over when she hunted.

Carlisle stopped her after she had drained the third deer.

"Esme," he was so close... "Your eyes."

"What about them?" She asked worriedly. She hadn't seen her reflection in a while. What had happened?

Carlisle smiled. "They're golden."

"Really?" She asked in amazement. "So, I don't look as gruesome anymore?"

Carlisle laughed, making Esme grin even more. A soft smile lit his face as his laughter subsided. "You were never gruesome to begin with."

Esme felt the heat flood her cheeks. She smiled shyly. If her eyes were golden...did that mean she could go back into society again without the fear of suspicion?

"Can I go back into society now?" She asked.

Carlisle's face fell. "With your eyes finally a golden colour, it is safe enough that you won't draw any suspicion...but, Esme, you need to learn control first. You haven't been around human blood, it's still not safe."

"But I haven't killed anyone yet."

"Yes, but you've barely been out of my or Edward's sight." He said gently.

"It's so lonely." She murmured.

Carlisle sighed. "Trust me, I know the feeling."

"Maybe in a few weeks," Esme suggested.

Carlisle deliberated that for a few moments. "Next Saturday, Edward and I were planning to go into town to keep up human appearances...I suppose we can try..."

Without thinking, Esme wrapped her arms around his waist. She was too excited to even notice what she was doing at first. "Thank you," she smiled, closing her eyes.

Esme realized what she had done when Carlisle embraced her. She blushed furiously as they released each other awkwardly.

"We'll see how it goes from a distance, and if you feel as though you are in control, then we'll go further into town...if not, then we'll take you home."

"Truly, Carlisle, you don't know how much this means to me." She smiled.

"I'm just happy to see you happy," he said softly.

Before they could say anything else, Edward stepped into view. He sighed and folded his arms, leaning against a tree.

"I don't know, Carlisle, are you sure you want to risk this?" Edward frowned.

"We would have to try eventually," Carlisle sighed. There was silence and Esme guessed that they were having a silent conversation.

"I haven't killed anyone yet." She reminded them.

"So this is your idea?" Edward asked. Esme nodded as she watched Carlisle throw a glance at Edward. There was another minute of silence before Edward spoke. "Well then, I'll clear my calendar for Saturday, then. You don't have to do this, Esme."

"But I want to."

"We'll talk about this when we get back to the house." Carlisle sighed. "Let's just continue on our hunting trip for now. Esme, you'll have to be sure to hunt everyday this week."

Esme nodded and Carlisle turned to Edward. "I had to go through this when you were a newborn, too, remember that."

Edward frowned. "Just try not to kill anyone."

"Edward, enough," Carlisle said. "If she wants to see how much control she has then let her."

"I'm sorry, Esme," Edward apologized.

"You're forgiven."

Edward tilted his head up and sniffed the air before grinning, "Mountain Lion – my favourite."

I just want to say how AH-MAZING Breaking Dawn was! I saw it this morning and I can't wait until I see it again! After I finished watching it I felt like doing anything that involved twilight and I've been gushing about it ever since this morning - my parents are probably sick of hearing it :p Anyways, I'll try to get my next chapter up to par...I've been thinking that's once I've finished this story, I'll go back and edit a lot of things...we'll see.