Chapter 11 – Declaration

I was with the Cullens for almost a week. I was very happy, but there were times my mind was 1000 miles away, roughly. I was sitting on the roof of the house and it was raining, but I didn't care. The smell of the rain was amazing and the rain was helping me think. My parents should be back in Volterra. Alice hadn't seen anything yet, but I was still worried. When my father finds that I'm gone, he'll be livid. He may send Felix and Demetri to search for me. Demetri was a tracker. Edward believed that Demetri wouldn't be able to find me, because of how he tracked people. Demetri found people by the tenor of their minds, but no one could penetrate my mind. That thought did not comfort me. My mind was safe, but not the Cullens. Demetri could find them and eventually, find me. This thought was growing in the back of my mind. I was too happy to get away and see the Cullen, but I've damned them. I knew my father; he will blame the Cullens for taking me away. Though he cared for Carlisle, he would accuse him of poisoning my mind.
If Alice saw a glimpse of something, I may have to leave or maybe I should stay. Even if Demetri and Felix come here, and I'm gone, they could still pick up my scent here and the family could be in danger of my father's wrath. What was I going to do? Though I was happy, part of me felt that I shouldn't have come here. I had more than enough money, but how long would that have last me? Could I have lived like a nomad? That lifestyle wasn't appealing. That was one major influence I got from my parents. I preferred living in one place; having a home. Mother told me a lot of our kind lived like nomads. Never settling in one place for a length of time; not having a permanent home. The Cullens and Kate's family had homes. I didn't know where Kate and her family were from. I only knew they were from the West. Even if I did know where to find Kate, I wouldn't have gone there. Carmen and Eleazar were with them and they respected my father. If I do have to run, I would go to the Amazon. I smiled; before coming to the Cullens, I wouldn't have considered going to the Amazon.
The Cullens did have an influence on how I fed. The Amazon offered a lot of large predators that I wanted to try. Panthers, jaguars and anacondas. If I had to make a trip like that, I would love Emmett to go with me. He would enjoy hunting big prey like that. The rain was getting heavier and my clothes were ruined. I swung back into my room. Alice and Esme were in my room. Alice had a dress in her hand and Esme was leaning against the door. I took the dress from Alice and looked at them, "What's the matter?" They exchanged a glance and looked back at me. What was this about? Did they want me to leave? They should. My presence was condemning their family. Maybe I could go to.... "Don't be silly, Bella. We don't want you to leave," Alice chimed. I looked at her and she smiled. Esme sat me on the couch and began brushing my wet hair, "Bella, why are you thinking about leaving?" I looked back at her, "How did you know?" She nodded her head towards Alice, "She saw your decisions on where you were planning to go." I grimaced, "If you saw my decision, did Edward?" Her eyes fell and nodded, "When he saw it, he decided he would go with you." I couldn't let that happen. "I would tell him to stay here with you. I wouldn't take away your brother." Esme sighed, "You won't be taking him away. He would just be leaving." I hated myself. Alice sat on my other side, "Bella, he was already planning on leaving before you called. He wanted to be with you. He's been alone all this time and now that he's met you, he refuses to be without you." He's told me that before. What have I done? I've caused even more damage. I have to leave. "Bella, you're not going anywhere. It would hurt all of us knowing you have to be on the run. You've done nothing wrong. If your father tries to take you back by force..." My eyes widened in horror. Would he do that? Would my father take it that far?
"Alice, stop. If it comes to that, I will offer myself. He will have to kill me before I go back there." Esme and Alice stared at each other. "Bella," I looked back at Esme, "we will not allow it. If your father proves himself a tyrant, then he will risk losing his power. And you know he wouldn't want to do that." That was true, my father loved his power. Maybe more than he did me. I nodded, "Alright, but if you see something, you have to let me know." She sniffed, "Bella, stop worrying. Everything will be alright." I smiled and changed into Alice's clothing selection. Alice, Esme and I went downstairs, where Edward and Rosalie were arguing. Carlisle was trying to calm them down and Emmett was trying to calm Rosalie down. Edward caught sight of me, "Rosalie, that's enough. We are not discussing this any further." He walked towards me. "No, Edward. This is too important." Rosalie shot a hard look at me, "The whole family could be implicated. This can only end badly. We have to think about our family." I looked away from her. Edward took my face in his hands; I couldn't look at him. "Rosalie," Carlisle interjected, "Bella is with Edward now. She is apart of this family. And we take care of our family." I looked up to Edward, then to Carlisle. I couldn't take this; I was causing discord in their family. Edward took my waist and held me closer to him. Rosalie was glowering at me, "Carlisle, she is Aro's daughter. He will search for her." That was my limit, "He is not my father, not anymore. I was a weapon to him. A commodity. He kept me because of my ability."

Rosalie took a step toward me. Edward tried to pull me behind him. I stepped away from him and towards Rosalie. "I will not tolerate any danger on my family," she spat at me. "Neither would I. Why don't you just say what you have to say?" She glared, "Leave." I held my glare, "Done." I headed for the door, but Edward held my wrist and Emmett stepped in my way. "No, Rose." Emmett spoke up, "She did nothing wrong. She's not leaving. None of us want her to." I looked up at Emmett. He smiled at me, "I want her to stay. She is already a sister to me." I was shocked. "And me," Alice squeaked. "To me, as well," I heard Jasper declare. Rosalie glowered, then sat on the couch. Carlisle patted her shoulder, "It's settled then. Bella will remain here and we will get her settled. Jasper, give Bella her information." He looked to me, "Bella, you'll be starting school with the others." Edward squeezed my arm and we sat on the couch. Carlisle explained that the "children" attended high school, as part of their public story. He explained that the public believed that Alice, Emmett and Edward were adopted by Carlisle and Esme. Jasper and Rosalie were twins and were foster children of the family. Jasper gave me the false papers he had created for me, including a new passport. "I usually complete them myself. What was the name your fa... Aro used for you?" I sighed, "My human name, Swan. But I don't want to go by that." I looked to Jasper, "What was your human name?" Alice giggled. He looked at her, then back to me, "Mine was Whitlock, but I go by Hale." I laughed, "Then, publicly, I am your younger sister, Isabella Hale. I found you and Carlisle and Esme took me in." Rosalie scoffed. Jasper laughed, "Fine. You're mine and Rose's younger sister. You'll be in the same grade as Edward and Alice. Tomorrow, Esme will register you and you'll have the same schedule as Edward." Edward put his arm around me, "Also, we should explain about the treaty." I looked at him, "What treaty?" Carlisle explained about the werewolves treaty he made and where we are not allowed to go. "Werewolves still exist?" That was surprising. He explained their existence.

The next morning, Esme drove me to the school. Jasper stayed close to me while I was being registered, being my big brother but also watching me. Making sure I was under control. Esme recommended my schedule and Jasper "charmed" the administrator. Edward waited for us outside the office. I was registered for classes and he guided me. This morning, I fed again before leaving, so that I was had better control. I noticed all the students staring at me. Was I so different? My eyes were as gold as Edward's and the Cullens. Edward took me to our first class. Mr. Varner introduced me, "Alright class, this is Isabella Hale. She's new. Is there anything you want to tell the class about you, Ms. Hale?" I looked to Mr. Varner, then to Edward. He nodded in encouragement. I went over my memorized back story. My parents passed away, I was in foster care, found my brother and sister and was taken in by the Cullens. I walked to my seat and sat next to Edward. "I think she's involved with Edward," I overheard a girl behind me sneering. Edward took my hand and kissed it, "Her name is Lauren. She thinks of herself as the most popular girl. She hates when new girls start here. Especially beautiful ones," he whispered and caressed my cheek, "She hates having the attention taken away from her." I nodded and looked back at the girl. She was mildly attractive. Edward squeezed my hand, "She's even more jealous than usual." I looked at him. "You are with the elusive Cullens. Many girls in the school, including her were infatuated with me. They believed I didn't date because no one was good enough. You're here now, so you must be good enough." I smiled and we focused on the lesson.
Edward was with me the entire day. He told me the thoughts of the humans around us. The girls were jealous and the boys were admiring. At lunch, Edward bought us a small lunch. I looked at him. He smiled and whispered, "Props." We went to the Cullen's usual table. "How is your first day so far?" Alice beamed. "It's okay. " Rosalie was silent, looking out the window. The rest of us talked and every once in a while, I looked towards the scornful girl. I caught her looking at me. I was starting to dislike her. Before lunch was over, I went to my locker to leave my new books. Emmett and Edward came with me. We had the same class next. "Well, I don't know what he sees in her. Besides, it's sick. They live together and she is the younger sister of his foster brother. That whole family is weird," I heard Lauren say from around the corner. I glared in her direction, when she came around the corner. I smiled, "Lauren isn't it?" She was silent and nodded. I just smiled, "Siete niente ma un bambino umano pathetic. Potrei ucciderlo così facilmente, in modo da sarebbe migliore che smettete di parlarli di di. Piuttosto non li ucciderei. L'anima è difficile da uscire fuori dei vostri vestiti." (You are nothing but a pathetic human child. I could so easily kill you, so it would be better that you stop talking about me. I would rather not kill you. Blood is difficult to get out off your clothes.) I spoke in fluent Italian and walked away.

"You'd rather not want to know what she said," I heard Emmett explain. They caught up with me. Emmett was laughing and wrapped his big arm around my neck, pulling me into his side, "Someone has a temper." I couldn't help laughing with him. I wished I could have said I was his sister. After school, Emmett was telling the others about my encounter. Jasper was impressed that I kept my temper under control. If this was Volterra, no one would have stopped me from killing the child. At home, I was looking through Carlisle's personal library, when Edward came into the office. I took a large book off of the shelf; I was going to use it to help me with my homework. "Bella, can I talk to you?" I nodded, "Yes, but let's talk in my room." He took my hand and we went for my room, but he was going up the stairs. "We'll talk in my room." I complied and went with him. In his room, the layout was similar to mine; south facing glass wall, no bed and a long couch. He sat me on the couch and he went to his closet. I looked out the glass wall and looked back when I heard him sigh. He darted to stand in front of me. He sat down next to me, taking my hands. "I want to give you something. It's something I've had for a long time." I sighed, "What is it?" Edward smiled as he held out his hand. Dangling from his thumb and middle finger was a long silver chain. Hanging from the chain is a heart shape diamond, cut into many facets.

I gasped, "Edward." He leaned forward, brushed my hair back and fastened the necklace around my neck. The diamond hung to my chest. "This is beautiful." I held my new charm, "I love it. Thank you." He hugged me, holding me to his chest. I smiled and leaned away from him, "Edward," I looked down to my charm, then back to him, "I love you." I was shocked by my own words. We stared at each other, and he took my face in his hands, "I love you too." He pressed his lips to mine. He suddenly stiffened and looked to the door. "What's wrong?" He whispered, "Alice, come here." Alice flew into the room. Her face was frozen. I looked between them, "What is it?!" Alice huffed, "Nothing." I glowered. "Your mother went back to Volterra early. She's found your letter. She's contacted Aro and they decided to send Demetri to look for you." I couldn't speak. This is what I was waiting for. I knew this was going to happen soon. I've doomed them all.