Twilight-Forever
Transitions
Chapter 12
Nessie reacts
By Cindra
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A/N: Nessie figures out that Jake has been keeping something from her and isn't happy in the least. That and Nessie and Lori's adventure in the UK comes to light...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the characters and storyline that I created. This has turned into an obsession of mine. You could say that the story sings for me now.
:: Telepathic communication
** or italic is character thought
() Twin Link
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Hours later
"How bad is it?" Nessie knew that Jake was hiding something. "We've been here for hours and you haven't let me out of your sight since Collin left in what I hope was an academy award winning performance and you returned after your talk with him. You didn't even sneak off for much needed air while the girls and I jammed with Taylor on stage. Quite the opposite, you and the guys shanghaied her band and got up on stage with us. I had no idea that you were so proficient on the guitar."
Jake walked with her hand clasped in his own, along one of the garden paths. "Collin's fine, just clearing his head. This is your night, you call the shots. I'm happy when you're happy, besides it got unnerving when the photogs mistake me for Lautner and asked Taylor if she's only doing the gig to try and hook up with him again…"
"I protected you, Wolfe." Nessie snuggled closer to his side.
"Remind me not to piss you off anytime soon. Those sharks will be bathing in calamine lotion for weeks after what you pulled." Jake kissed the top of her head.
"Serves them right for trying to get a money shot of us canoodling in the bushes when I was merely trying to find a place to discreetly call Gran to go check on Momma and Daddy. They followed us, no one made them wander into the rough where there happened to be a thicket of poison oak and ivy…" Nessie blinked innocently up at him.
"Yeah, imagine that, a not so nice thicket in an immaculately groomed golf course not far off the second hole. I'm shocked the grounds keepers missed it." Jake eyed her knowingly.
"Magic isn't my forte, Jacob. Yes, I can wield it, but the results aren't always what I want them to be. Rory's the most efficient at magic. If by chance my temper did cause that thicket to pop up, it wasn't done with malice or on purpose like Momma used to do when she was in a temper. It just happens, so I never give it any thought." Nessie pleaded her defense.
"Maybe it has to do with age or you've been in denial." Jake knew all too well that if Nessie couldn't master something to perfection she resorted to acting like it didn't matter or exist in her mind. Defeat wasn't in her vocabulary.
"Nonsense, Jacob." Nessie shrugged, staring dolefully up at him with soulful chocolate brown eyes. "I can't be exceptional at everything, so I focus on areas where I can. What's the point if all you'll ever be is mediocre at something?"
"Challenge is good for the soul, just because you happen to be crap at something like magic doesn't make it go away." Jake kissed her nose.
"Crap at it?" She arched an elegant brow, lip twitching to stifle a giggle. "What a fascinating take on mediocre, Jacob…" She couldn't help it and the giggle bubble out of her like a shining bell.
"I haven't changed that much, baby." He hugged her fiercely. "Or would you rather I chose something more eloquent?"
"No, always feel free to speak your mind. Inadequate, mediocre, crap, it all means the same in the end. Though my reasons for not embracing that part of me are sound." She sighed, resigned to her inadequacy in the field of practical magic. She was a horrible, bumbling, klutz at it, nothing ever turned out right. Her doing magic was not unlike the Mad Hatter's tea party in Alice's Wonderland, it was always chaos, no matter what she tried. So she chose not to even think about magic, it was safer for everyone that she did.
"That bad, huh?" Jake set his chin on top of her head.
"Worse, my wielding magic is like giving a toddler a loaded gun with a full clip. Disaster. Chaos. Doomsday waiting to happen." She muttered against his shoulder. "Mir and Donnie both have the patience of Job, but even they breathed a sigh of relief when I threw in the towel to focus on gifts that I can excel at like my music and my art."
"Too many volatile ingredients do make one hell of an explosion, maybe your gift of soaking up powers clashes with your ability to wield magic." Jake tried to figure out why magic and Ness didn't mesh. "What about Ben's..?"
"Any call to the elements ends up horribly wrong. I don't know if it's because I can't focus my mind because it's filled with a chaos of emotions or if wielding that amount of energy is beyond my reach. Mental abilities are like cake for me to control. It's the physical ones that leave me wanting. Mom's shield being the exception of the rule that ability flows as easy as breathing to me." Nessie's eye's caught the flash of a smart phone screen in the bushes and all thoughts of playing nice flew from her mind.
Was there no end to this maddening obsession to report on her every move? Tonight was private damn it. Wasn't everyone's obvious attempt to capture her falling out with Collin on their phones enough for them? There was her time on stage with Taylor, as well as her duet with Jake singing Kristina Perrie's A Thousand Years for them to upload to social media too. It wasn't fair! How was she supposed to enjoy her prom with all of them whispering behind her back over her falling out with Collin? She couldn't even enjoy her time up on stage with Taylor either, not with the photogs hiding around every corner ready to pounce. Then there was Jake. She was positive that he was hiding something from her and it was driving her crazy because somehow he was actually able to block her out. That in itself was maddening to think that he could do what only a handful of people on the planet could, shut her out of certain areas of his mind. Shielding it, since when had he been able to do that?
All in all the prom hadn't been a complete disaster. After Collin's performance Jake had returned nearly twenty minutes later, oblivious to the hushed whispers and eyes all around the ballroom floor, and joined the others while she and Taylor had jammed on stage. Afterwards she'd sat down at the piano and played Love Waits her latest composition to her Wolfe, which in turn had jaws dropping, tongues wagging, and smart phones burning up the internet. Her latest composition would more than likely crash Youtube's servers. She didn't want to think about her impending talk with Bernie about releasing new material or the break up scene without giving her the heads up first. That all would be descending on her in the morning and days ahead. Her professors would also be nagging her to return to seriously focusing on her musical education again too. None of them could grasp the concept that her father's musical genius was all the musical instruction that she would ever need.
She took a few deep breaths, cleared her mind, and tried to give Jake's theory about her magical abilities a go. She channeled her latent gifts into a charm similar to her mother's trademark itchy-pox jinx with hopefully a new spin on it by making it timed released. If all went well and she silently prayed it would so that no one could pin this on her. Those snoops would find themselves in extremes a few hours from now and no one would be any the wiser. They'd played spy in the gardens and would pay dearly for it for days on end. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed that the two of them were slow dancing in the gazebo.
"Back to the dance, kids." Charlie growled from below them.
"Grandpa…"
"Renesmee." Charlie mimicked back. "Alone time is over. Go rejoin the rest of the pack."
"We're dancing…"
"You can dance inside the tent with everyone else."
"We're just getting some air, Charlie." Jake growled.
"Yeah, I see that, Jake. You've been in your own world for over an hour."
"There you are! It's nearly over! Go in there and show them that they haven't gotten under your skin!" Alice glared up at the two of them.
"Darlin, none of them are worth the time or energy, but that's no excuse for both of you to desert your friends by hiding out here in the maze." Jasper had his arms around Alice's rounded middle.
"It was either this or risk a Switzerland offense." Nessie narrowed her eyes at her family.
"All the more reason to go back in there and enjoy the last dance of your senior prom. You love Jake. He's your Paris and to hell with everyone who thinks otherwise. Your mom and Dad didn't back down and neither should you." Alice chided her niece.
"You made your bed when you started your pseudo romance with Collin and had to know there would be fallout when the two of you decided to bow out of your parts." Charlie wasn't sympathetic in the least. Chaperoning a prom was hell and that your granddaughter, daughter, and nieces were all enamored with their soul mates made it a nightmare. They all knew the rules, but had been blatantly testing them all night long. Not to mention having to deal with their unwanted photog guests. He would be glad when this night was over.
"Charlie lay off her." Jake growled.
"This was not my idea! Collin set it all into motion days ago on Twitter and Facebook hinting that NCWild were over and then not logging on to update on if it were true or not. I do not have an official Twitter or Facebook account, not a public one anyway. Family and Friends only. I don't put myself out there by choice. I don't attend award ceremonies by choice. I march to my own drum and to hell with the public eye. If I wish to partake in a charity concert, competition, or school dance then that's my business. Taylor, Collin, Brady, Gabe, and Matt all thrive on the rush of the spotlight, the roar of a cheering crowd. Lori is content with or without it. For me it's the music or the adrenaline rush of an event, not the response of the crowd. This was my first date with Jacob and it was supposed to be brilliant, a fun time with my friends, and my Paris nothing more. Now Collin is upset and I'm the talk of the social media universe because nearly everyone in my class are leashed to their Smartphones! TMZ is no doubt spouting lie after lie for all of their devoted followers. E, ET, Access, Extra…all of them are probably enjoying the media feeding frenzy." Nessie glowered at her grandfather, infuriated that she had to defend her side to him.
"Charlie, just because Lori and Brady are trying on your last nerve, is no cause to jump on our asses. Collin is…" Jake was about to lay into Charlie for upsetting Ness when Collin cut off his rant.
"Fine. I just needed to get some perspective, clear my head, and get focused on the battle ahead." Collin stepped out of the shadows. "Thanks, it helped big time, Big brother. She's one hell of a ride." He tossed the keys back to Jake.
"Glad to hear it, baby bro, a drive was the best medicine for what was eating at you." Jake pocketed the keys.
"The Sheriff understood too, after he pulled me over for doing 120 on the…"
"You did what?!" Charlie forgot all about Ness and Jake, as did Jasper.
"What? He's my Uncle, it's not like he was gonna haul me in and throw away the key." Collin shrugged. "Besides, I was the least of his worries tonight."
"You lied to me!" Nessie easily gleaned enough from Collin to read between the lines. "They went and boosted Daddy's pride and joy didn't they?!" She glared up at Jake.
"Ness. Nothing went down or Mike would have called it in. Dorothy said, besides taking Bells and Edward to the ER, it's been quiet." Charlie frowned.
"ER?! And you let me continue to party with my friends? Momma was never rushed to the ER when she was carrying the triplets!" Nessie's fury triggered her previous hex. Her fellow students, as well as the loved ones around her, not including Alice, all broke out into angry, itchy, hives.
:Jesus, Renesmee! Not cool! I didn't know about the ER! The tweebs boosting the Vanquish, 911, and Ferrari, yeah, but only after the situation was being handled. My focus was on Collin. Leashing him, not on what was going down in the parking lot. It was more than being taken care of, so I came back to focus on you. Us.: Jake gritted his teeth, barely resisting the urge to claw at his flaming itchy skin. "Bram and Willow are here visiting Twy and this snit is in the Switzerland category!"
"That's gone and done it…" Jasper glowered down at his niece.
"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, that was not called for!" Alice glared at her.
"Of all the…this is not what I call control of your gifts or temper, young Lady." Charlie scowled.
"I get a pass! Rory! My baby sister is in Grandpa's care, because Collin…" She pointed an accusing finger at him, "The Iceman couldn't deal with a little healthy competition with a barely teenage boy, who at least had the balls to put her first no matter if it meant facing the lion and lioness head on. He's her best mate or will be. Like you're mine. Get used to it, because I'm on Team Nik and so are the youngest members of our pack." Nessie upped his misery three fold.
"Christ, Renesmee! I was on Defcon 1 alright! Jake had already reamed my ass, enough to get me to see that I needed to get a better handle on it all, so I took the keys and got gone for a while." He snarled out through gritted teeth. "It's not like she wanted me there, seeing as she locked me out and all that! Me! It kinda stung a lot, so yeah I bailed to get my emotions back in check again until I could deal!"
"You're a bigger bonehead than Daddy and Jacob combined! She's ten or was when we left for the dance. In the emotional state that she's in now we might be looking at having another teenager in the family! It would serve you right if she kicked your ass to the curb and turned her sights on Nik." Nessie shot that zinger into play, eyes flashing hot with temper.
"Renesmee, cool it!" Jake warned arms securely around her waist.
"Now wait just a god damned minute! None of what went down tonight is on me! I've been here all night dealing with ending our farce of a relationship for all to see! I did not make any of them jack their parents' rides or have anything to do with Aurora going off the emotional deep end!" Collin got into her face.
Nessie shoved her elbow hard into his solar plexus and stomped down hard on his designer loafers. "When I want someone to leash me I'll ask for it! Back the hell off, Jacob! It's not like you have any say! This is between me and Collin! Charlie! Jazz! Alice all of them might have a right to censure me, but being here just a few days after years of absence negates Alpha authority when it comes to any of us that has to be earned again! You can't just take up where you left off, so stay out of it!" Her temper was unleashing a sharp tongue and the pent up fury at him for staying away, no matter the reason it still was a hot subject for her.
Jacob felt as if a million razor blades had just sliced him to shreds. It was crystal clear that he and Ness were far from being back to being in balance again. Julliard had taught her more than just honing her musical and artistic side. Then again she'd always been a skilled actress. He stood there stunned speechless at her sharp words, numb to his singing ribcage or throbbing toes.
Charlie, Jazz, and Alice gaped open mouthed at her sharp stinging words towards the young man whom they knew she loved more than the air she breathed. Her actions were far from normal and Jasper couldn't even begin to use his gift to calm her down. It was like Dark Ness was out to play and Renesmee was content to curl up in a corner and let her.
"Bloody hell, Ness! That was cold. True, but glacial." Collin muttered under his breath. :Jake had his reasons just like I did and putting it all on him is just wrong. He wasn't using the Alpha influence on you, he wouldn't dare. It wouldn't work on you anyway. He busted his ass to graduate early just for you and take you to this pageant that they call a prom. It was 'rent central down in the lot and the last thing they needed or wanted was for you to go off the reservation, so Jake chose to focus on you. Yeah, Ness, that's what I call a heartless bastard. Not.:
"My family means more to me than some dance and thinking that someone I care the world for sees me to be that shallow and selfish a creature as to want my happiness over my own family's wellbeing..." Her face flushed hot with fury.
"I didn't know the facts, other than what I gleaned from Edward and Bella…Rory was upset over something that happened between Nik and her, but that's it…Collin was in the mood to shred Petrov…Physically she seemed fine…Edward and Bells not so much, but then that goes with the pregnancy. You were finally letting loose and having fun with your friends, forgive me if I thought hearing about their latest antics could wait." Jake growled coldly. :I know that I have to earn it all back again, but never…not once did I think that you enjoying yourself meant that you were selfish or shallow. Nor was my warning meant to do anything, but get you to think clearly again. Dark Ness is not someone any of us like to deal with, especially out in the public eye…:
"That isn't the point, Jacob. Rory has been on emotional Defcon 1 for most of the day. Collin not going to check on her compounded everything! Okay is not having to go to the ER! That is not okay! Okay is not borrowing the car to bolt for our parents! Okay is not being the star of everyone's Smart Phones for most of the night! Okay is not being stalked by the blasted photogs everywhere I turn! Okay is not being trusted by my family to be able to handle what went down in the parking lot for fear that my dark side would come out and play! I would just like some kind of normalcy for once, but that isn't possible is it? Not for a Cullen it just isn't done! It has to be go big or go home!" Nessie angrily paced in front of them.
"I wanted everything to be special for you…" Alice blinked back hurt tears.
"I'm built to tolerate all of that, but Rory! She isn't! She's sensitive to a fault, an emotional empath prone to severe headaches and nosebleeds when she has to use her latent gift of shielding it out of her head! He knew this and still let his jealousy overrule his emotions! That's the main reason why I'm angry…Collin has never had any reason to question Rory! Jealously over Nik is pointless. You can't dictate who she becomes friends with any more than I could decide who Jacob chose to associate with at the University!"
"Renesmee that is enough. Taking it out on us is not going to be tolerated any longer. Alice is not the enemy, none of us are, and getting worked up over what's already happened isn't going to do anything but compound the situation." Jasper snapped out at his niece, cuddling his distraught wife in his arms.
"I can't do anything mundane it isn't in me." Alice sobbed against Jasper's shoulder.
"This wonderland is gonna be in the memories of everyone for the rest of their lives. It makes them all feel special that someone went all out for their prom. Normalcy has nothing to do with it, Ness." Charlie growled.
"What in the world is going on? Everyone is itching and scratching inside and out here?" Lori, Brady, and the others raced into the center of the maze.
"Daddy called for the medical assistance. Carlisle is here and Donnie and Mir's parents." Lucy and Lacey said a mile a minute.
"It's like someone played a nasty practical joke." Gabe was intrigued. "The rest of the prom is a total wash and the after party. Taylor's being checked over by Mir just to be safe."
"We're fine though, but not the rest of you…what's up with you guys…" Matt frowned at the others.
"Renesmee is going postal," Collin snarled through gritted teeth.
"Renesmee is having a temper snit," Bram, having seen and heard more than enough, stepped out of the shadows. "Young lady, Collin is not to blame for any of what transpired this evening. This tantrum will cease this instant! Throwing a snit solves nothing and taking out your frustrations and temper on those who love you is inexcusable."
"Enough! Alice needs to go put her feet up this is not good for her or her baby. Jasper go get set right again, you are also needed to calm down those affected, and can join her later…Kira and Mother are both watching over things at the main house so they will be there as needed…Collin and Renesmee will take a time out…Jacob, go with Jasper and get sorted out…" Ian wasn't at all happy with his granddaughter's latest acting out. Collin, Nessie, and Alice vanished. Jake and Jasper stalked off to hopefully get set right again. "Son, Bram and I will deal with Renesmee and Collin while you go see about getting set right again. Those of you who are clearly unaffected by what is plaguing those attending this formal will see to assisting with the healers of the family."
"Um…" Lori bit down on her lip. "This might not all be on Ness…I was getting sick of all the smartphones too and may have…"
"Well, that explains what's going on inside and seeing as Ness's temper triggered her jinxing this is gonna be an epic mess to clean up…" Charlie gritted his teeth, trying to focus on the situation at hand and not the rash spreading to god knows where on his body. He wanted desperately to go see if one of the family doc's could reverse the jinx on his person, but had a feeling that his daughter was about to enlighten them all, so healing would have to wait.
"Lorelei, you know better than to lash out using your gifts. It's not like the council thinks that only Nessie needs reined in and this will only cement their decision to hand down a similar punishment to you as well." Ian narrowed his eyes down at his niece.
"Renesmee is rarely if ever without her partner in crime and what happened in Paris as well as other escapades that the two of you ventured on during your time away from your parents eyes did not go unnoticed." Bram shot Lori a knowing look that had her staring down at the lush green grass at her feet.
"Lorelei Aurora, did Ness take the heat and you let her?" Charlie narrowed his eyes at his daughter.
"Not exactly, Daddy…the plans were always her brainstorms and I was, um, there to keep Dark Ness in check…you know like an innocent bystander?" She blinked innocently up at her father.
:Well, there goes our summer…all of those crazy adventures that you keep trying to block out are all true?!: Brady turned her around so that she was looking him in the eyes. "There is no such thing when it comes to the two of you and they used to call Collin and me 'Double trouble.' We were nothing compared to you. Paris wasn't the only incident was it?"
"No…but we were always careful and never got in over our heads…we always had an escape plan…for the most part all we did was act like teenage tourists who got lost or walked off from their class tour…We never even made a ripple…and the whole time you knew?!" Lori turned to frown at Bram.
"There is very little that I don't see or know. The only reason why you have not been given the same punishments as Renesmee is because you have tried to keep out of mischief this year and Renesmee has not even attempted to do so. Brady was after all yours and had been for many years." Bram folded his arms, giving her a stern look.
"Whereas, young Jacob was trying to do what he thought was right even though by doing so he had to endure hell for what seemed like an endless amount of years. Renesmee had to step out her protective den and get a taste of what it is like to not get your own way all the time. Life isn't about compelling everyone to do your bidding, nor do your wishes always get met. Scholars in prestigious institutions tend to exploit the gifted anyway they can in order to crow to their rivals that they were behind the molding of their student and to achieve that in this day in age they use technology to speed the way. All of these factors contributed to Renesmee's endless list of rule breaking. But the main factor in her attitude as of late above all of this is simply she was wrong and that is the one thing that our Nessie cannot comprehend."
"Um…not to interrupt what will be Lori's introduction to the bling ankle monitor, but where did you send Nessie and Collin?" Lucy asked timidly, this night had gone from fantastic to horrific and her two best friends were going to be grounded for eternity. Add that she and Lacey had been in the know and it was a disaster of epic proportions.
"The two of them did look ready to kill each other, so leaving them alone for any length of time is not a good idea." Gabe risked entering the fray.
"Yeah, and not that what Lori is saying isn't beyond incriminating and all that there is such a thing as statute of limitations and this all went down during a period of years, right?" Matt wasn't about to let his friends go down without a proper defense and truth be told all of them sans Collin and Brady really were in the know.
"Years?!" Charlie's eyes darkened to nearly black with fury and he glared murderously at Brady. "And you knew about this?!"
"Only about Paris…the rest not a clue and they swore to Collin and me that they were gonna cool it with the adventures after that!" Brady all but shouted in his and Collin's defense. "I was so pissed at the two of them! We both were and stayed clear for the whole summer when they got back…we went on tour!"
"Daddy, we never let them in on any of it, not really and they gleaned Paris from my head because it popped in there the second they both asked me about everything that Ness and I were up to during our stay in France!" Lori defended Brady then seeing as they were already in it up to their necks decided to come clean about some of their adventures. She'd deal with Nessie's reaction when her dad allowed for visiting hours.
"And the other adventures…were spur of the moment here in the States… New York is a wild city to venture around in and we weren't exactly helpless females…most of it was defensive measures…like in Central Park…we may or may not have taken down a mugger or two…and there may or may not have been a few cases where we sort of helped some girls convince their ex's to leave them alone…but we really tried to stay under the Shining One radar whenever possible…Peter and Charlotte would have sounded the alert back home and it was bad enough that for our second year Donnie and Twy were added to our watcher entourage…Columbia my butt…after that we were perfect angels for the most part…"
Ian had cast a sound dampening spell over the entire gardens so that this confession stayed clear of tellurian ears. "Do continue, niece. Mother and Aunt Ti's grumblings are starting to make sense now, what else did the two of you wander into? As for Nessie and Collin the two of them are having a time out on two of the lounges on Edward and Bella's back deck and will remain there until we get to them…Bella, Rory, and Edward are all resting, so hopefully they are none the wiser, stress of this magnitude is the last thing that any of them needs."
"We were never in any danger not like we were in Paris…neither of us would even think of going up against Lycan or his goon squad…that was just us underestimating the douche nozzle. I mean, who would even think that Dolph was one of Lycan's minions...big bad's aren't supposed to be that desperate when they recruit, right? On the plus side it got Nessie focused on winning back big brother again, so that has to give us some brownie points, right? And so what if we may or may not have tried to find out if the UK royals were part of our family tree or not…no blood no foul…it was an innocent adventure..."
"You and Ness went to stake out the royal family? Are you out of your minds? Royals have the Men in Gray, not to mention MI-5 and MI-6 around them…You saw that during the Winter games…their kids were absolute monsters to keep track of…I mean MJ and Tony have nothing on any of them and that's saying a lot…If you were that curious then you should have just asked Collin or me and we would have gotten you a meet and greet…Hell, we asked you during the games and you weren't even interested, why now?" Brady paced in front of Lori.
"Ness found out that three of the royals knocked her off the top of the Junior Mensa list that alone got her hackles raised…they don't call shape shifters Were's in the UK either…JK's books are so like big sis's but the humans are too blind to see what is in front of their faces. Seriously,
Merlin and Mab and none of you not once clued us in that's not fair…" She shot her Uncles a dark look.
"Luckily for us, Gran and Aunt Ti were there otherwise we would have been trapped there for like forever, because our side of the Shining One tree tends to send up flares on that side of the pond…We are so much better at keeping it low key here than they are…they don't know the meaning of the word rein it in…and it's not like Nessie and me were clueless morons or mindless by any means…They were just as shocked that big sis's saga was as real as theirs was…or that they had family here in the states...they had no clue not really that Avalon is many, many, realms…for the most part all they deal with are the fairy side…Merlin and Grandpa aren't exactly best buds either…he refuses to believe that Grandpa isn't a big bad anymore…or that the rumors were in fact all true that the Shining Ones were in harmony again…He's got enough of a headache dealing with the next generation, believe you me…Nessie and I are saints compared to them…And they are nothing like the books that JK wrote…she got it sooo wrong…and she was obviously in the know too so that is just sad…."
Everyone was gaping at her as if she were out of her mind, well, everyone but Lacey, Lucy, Matt, and Gabe.
"Don't look at me like that we exist, so it's not impossible that they do too! I can prove it…we had a private video blog and cataloged our adventures there, so that Luce and Lacy wouldn't feel so out of the…Crap…I can't believe that I just spilled that…" Lori bit down on her lip. "Forget I said anything…Nessie is gonna strangle me as it is for caving…but again none of what we did were ever…excluding Paris…Switzerland offences." Lori plopped down onto the grass, oblivious of her gown, and buried her face in her hands.
"Well?" All eyes were on Gabe, Matt, Lucy, and Lacey.
"They seemed like they were having the time of their lives and that whole Paris French Quarter incident…" Lucy eyed her twin.
"Wasn't really documented for either of us to see…not really…though they were really quiet for a while so that might be during their laying low period…" Lacey shrugged her shoulders, it wasn't like viewing a private blog was a crime now was it?
"Their antics in the UK were epic, but nothing life threatening…" Matt also shrugged.
"So there was no real reason to sound the alarm…" Gabe ignored Brady's glare.
"Mason and Xavier's Epic Adventures?! That was you?! I never got anything but that from these two traitors, because they can lock it down as tight as Bella can. But I did catch that much when they kept bailing during practice…and that topic was clear as day in their heads! How the hell could you keep something this epic from Collin and me! Not cool man! Not cool at all! And how could you let them in the know and not me!? Did ya think that I was gonna nark on you or that Collin would nark on Nessie?! We didn't nark about Paris did we?! You and I are forever, Lori…that means trusting each other no matter what…" Brady dropped down on his knees in front of her.
"Jake would have gone postal…the two of you are so not as strong at blocking him out as you think you are…it was hard enough shutting him out myself…he needed to focus on school…we were perfectly safe for the bulk of our adventures…the blog was for girls only…I didn't know that Matt and Gabe were in the know…you have to believe me on that…and we both knew that you needed to focus on your careers…achieve your wildest dreams at Vancouver, your tours, the Winter X-games, and Sochi was on the horizon, so we kept you and Collin free of all that stress and worry…neither of us meant to hurt either of you…" Lori took her smartphone out of the pocket of her skirt and in seconds she had one of their adventures playing for all to see.
"That's the Fairy tree in Wales…it's surrounded by a fruit orchard…and down the way there is this really gorgeous lake…and there are stables with lovely horses and the grounds are just breathtaking…so is the family who resides there. Mostly little kids seven and under...none of them at least on that side of the family tree go through growth spurts or shoot up like we do. Though they do shape shift, but consider it a natural magical ability, and none of them come close to us in size when they shift, so there is that difference, and it was lovely to be able to run free for an afternoon on their grounds and we didn't mind having our cousin tagging along for the ride…we'd been stuck for ages in our human forms and were itching to go for a run…" Lori spoke at lightning speed, trying like mad not to look her Uncles, Brady, or father in the eyes.
"They didn't even blink an eye, not really…their lives must be total chaos…I mean look at who they are…they know chaos…and baddies…it's mindboggling that both our realms can coexist without either being the wiser, but then family history can lead to huge rifts and all that…Seriously, Merlin is holding a mega grudge against Grandpa Cain and Uncle Oberon, even though Uncle Finn swears that the two of them have really called a permanent truce...I guess it'll take time for them to seal that rift...something about being sealed in a ring while they focused on turning the realms upside down with their feud… there was more, but for the most part Ness and I meekly sat next to Gran and Aunt Ti... you can ask them Uncle Ian we were both on our best behavior, mostly because we were floored that they were all real…"
"So you two are the reason why the three of them are finally speaking again? Mom never once mentioned that you veered that far off the beaten trail during your spring break holiday in the Isles…though she did mutter something about reining in curious little kittens…those kittens being you…what astounds me more than anything is that the two of you have said nothing to any of us about your adventure…and Bram…you knew all this time and nothing not a word either to any of us…" Ian paced in front of the gazebo.
"That particular adventure was harmless compared to the incident in Paris and Renesmee's endless curiosity brought about the beginning of a lasting peace between all the realms of Avalon. So that particular holiday detour was not a Switzerland offence…Paris had me worried that she was veering off the wrong path again, but then she righted herself by choosing her holiday adventure in the Isles…Her determination and how she went about wooing Jake did border on the manic and the fact that she was drawing on her darker side more often than not during her attempts to court him gave us all cause to step in and rein in her rebellious actions…She has begun to show, since Jacob's return, that her acting out days were behind her…that was until tonight…though I suspect that it was not intentional, simply her irritated by not being able to shut out the all-seeing eyes of her peers and the media. That and she had not entirely forgiven Jacob for not chasing after her…It was not the girls fault that Donavan and my daughter were hopelessly out matched when it came to keeping an eye on them during their year abroad. For obvious reasons the two of them were preoccupied and for the most part trusted them to be on their best behavior. Paris can be quite the distraction for those who are in love, while the rest of the family were all focused on keeping track of Lycan and his minions and the two of them safe from harm." Bram calmly defended his side of this eye opening situation.
"Next time keep me in the know!" Ian glowered darkly at his best friend.
"I will keep that in mind, if and when there is a next time, old friend. Nevertheless, they were my charges to watch over and sounding the alarm would have done far more harm than good. Charles and Alistair shadowed them and were well aware that Lycan was in Paris. Neither one of the girls were ever in any danger. I'm not nearly as trusting as other members of our family and also had members of the Guardians of the Light watching over them as well."
"Enough, there are people in need of healing!" Sabine's soft tone ended any and all discussion as all eyes turned to look at her. "Charlie, go get sorted out. Mark can't handle the situation alone. The rest of you will help us tend to your school mates. This is a mixture of magic gone awry and a not so harmless school prank, so it will take time to get everyone sorted out. Ian, Bram, go see to Nessie and Collin. We need her to settle before whatever was done can be truly mended."
"Um…it wasn't just Ness this time…" Lori bit down on her lip.
"Well, that's a piece of the puzzle then isn't it," Sabine arched a brow at Lori, arms folded in front of her, mouth set in a firm line, as she walked over to glower down at her. "We'll deal with it all later, for now there are miserable children and chaperones to see to. I thank the maker that Taylor wasn't affected by all of this or Forks would never hear the end of it…imagine having to quarantine a singing sensation…it's bad enough that we may have to quarantine the entire prom…"
"Um…sorry…"
"Sorry, is not going to set your classmates right, now is it, Lorelei Aurora? Nessie I can understand acting out, but you know better, and have far better control over your gifts…"
"I know…" She bit back tears.
"Well, what's done is done." Sabine reached down and gave her a quick hug. "No tears. That isn't going to help matters, but action will. As for the other matter that has all of you in a frazzle…girls are allowed to have their adventures and no harm was done. However, the family will want to have a viewing party of all of your adventures after this current situation is right as rain again. Agreed?" She looked her directly in the eyes.
"Fine…yes, if it makes all of you stop freaking out…Nessie has to agree to it though…" Lori sighed, resigned to her fate.
"Oh, I don't think that Nessie will have any problem saying otherwise…" Ian and Bram both vanished from the center of the maze.
"Well, then let's fix this tangle shall we?" Sabine motioned for all of them to move out and they all headed back towards the dancing tent.
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Next
Chapter 13
Damage Control
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