Chapter 12 - Visitors
What will you sacrifice to protect the ones you love?
And how will you live with that shame?
Bella
Carlisle and Emse flit about the house like two birds, concern pulling their usually flawless faces down into somber and confused frowns. Edward stays next to me, watching them move, reading their thoughts. I want to know what he hears, but every time I ask, he waves me away, his fingers silencing me. Meanwhile, I sit and stew about Jacob and Renesmée. They left early this morning again, to train the pack again. It's a good thing, too, considering what's coming. Hopefully, under his training, they'll be able to hold their own against the Volturi. I don't want to send them to their deaths, but I don't exactly have a choice.
Suddenly, Edward grabs my hand, and pulls me towards the door. I follow him silently, watching his face with concern. As soon as we step outside into the chilly air, he turns to face me.
"Jacob and Renesmée are fine. But there's been a development. The Romanians are coming here."
"What? When?"
"Tomorrow, just after noon. They're bringing the original eight, including Anastasia."
"They're bringing lady medusa herself here?"
"I need you to think up a reason for Jake and Renesmée to go away that morning, and not come back until they're gone."
"Okay," I panic, "I can do that."
"You can," he reassures me, planting a gentle kiss on my forehead.
"Hey," a familiar voice calls from the trail.
"Jake," I breathe, rushing over to hug him. "Where's Nessie?"
"I took he to your house, she should be in bed now."
"Good," I sigh. "What's up then?"
"It's Dahlia. She's... Made an interesting decision in her love life."
"What do you mean?"
"You can't be serious," Edward laughs, having already read Jacob's thoughts.
"She's a lesbian," Jacob explains, "and she imprinted on Faith."
"On a vampire? I didn't think that was possible."
"Neither did I. Also, she's a girl... Girls can't imprint," he sputters.
"Apparently they can," Edward snorts.
"Okay, well, I have to be supportive, and so do you. This can be confusing for people."
"I don't think it's very confusing for us," Jake smirks. "Once you've found her, you know, you know?"
Edward nods, like he understands, and I smile at him.
"I suppose."
Jake nods, still grinning, and takes off towards his cabin. Edward takes my hand, and leads me towards ours.
"You know," he says, his lips pulled back into that captivating crooked smile again, "I think, if I were a wolf, I would have imprinted on you the moment you walked through the door in science class all those years ago."
I smile. "I might have imprinted on you then, too."
He leans down, and kisses me timidly on the lips, his soft lips brushing, then gently pressing against mine. I lean into the kiss, taking his hands, our fingers entwining.
"I love you, Bella Swan," he whispers.
"And I love you."
He kisses me again, harder this time, his hands rushing from mine to take hold of me. One hand twists into my hair, the other one clutches onto the small of my back. In shock, I latch onto his shoulders, pulling him down to me. His tongue plunges into my mouth, brushing and dancing with mine, his teeth biting down on my lower lip.
"Edward," I murmur as he moves away, his lips and teeth moving to my neck.
He picks me up from the front, my legs wrapping around him, his hands squeezing my thighs.
"Bella," he sighs, walking as fast as he can go without dropping me. As soon as we are in the room, he tosses me onto the bed, then pounces on top, mercilessly kissing me, his hands running all over my body. "I love you."
"I know," I reply, smiling. "And I would never leave you. You're mine. Forever."
When morning comes, so does a sense of dread which chills me to the core. Today, the Romanians make their appearance. And with them, they bring their powerhouse, the one who brings death on anyone she makes eye contact with. I shiver, something I haven't done in many years, imagining what she might do to any of us at any moment.
"Hey, Bella," Jacob calls, chipper this morning.
"Hey, Jake," I call in reply, and quickly move over to him. "Can I ask you a favour?"
"Sure," he replies, raising one eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I need you to take Nessie out tonight, and don't come back until I text you."
"Okay," he laughs nervously, "but why?"
"Just trust me, and don't come back before I text you. If you have to, rent a hotel room, I'll reimburse you later."
"What is going on, Bella," he asks.
"I can't tell you that. Just... Don't come back, ok?"
"What do I tell Renesmée if she wants to come home?"
"Tell her you've been planning this date for months."
"You want me to guilt trip your daughter into staying out all night? You make me look like the bad guy."
"Trust me, you're not."
"Alright," he sighs. "But when we get back, you'd better explain everything."
"I will."
"Good," he smiles, turning to leave. "The pack and I are going hunting today, just so you know where we are."
"Take Nessie with you, and make sure she doesn't get lost."
"That was the plan."
I smile, and wave goodbye. Today will certainly be stressful.
By the time the Romanians have arrived, I've completely rearranged my bookshelf, color coded my closet, and cleaned every speck of dirt in the cabin. The stress and nerves from their arrival was freaking me out, so I started stress cleaning. I would have been stress cooking or biting my fingernails, but those habits are gone now. Edward watches me, helpless and concerned, as I descend into madness, until finally, he rises, and I realize that they are here.
I drop my broom on the floor, whip off my apron, and fluff my hair one last time before bolting out of the house, making a beeline for Esmé and Carlisle's house. Edward waits there, nervously tapping his foot, while the others sit in the living room, clutching their own hands or each other. Alice stands in the corner, her eyelashes fluttering, her eyes almost rolling back in her head. Jasper stands a few feet away, watching her carefully.
Carlisle straightens up when Edward does, and looked towards the front door, where eight figures wait silently. Esmé rushes over to open the door, revealing two familiar faces smiling at us. Stefan and Vladimir wear sickly grins, leading their coven in behind us.
"Good afternoon, Cullens," Stefan says. "Glad to see you all here. Where is your child and her werewolf friend?"
"They went out. I don't think they'll be back for a while," I answer, my voice shaking like a leaf.
"Ah, what I shame. She was a charming girl," Vladimir laments. "Ah, well. We'll surely see them in a bit."
"Well, we'd like to welcome you to our new home, friends," Esmé smiles. "I'd like to introduce my family, this is Edward," she gestures to Edward and I, "and his wife, Bella. Then we have Rosalie and Emmet, Alice and Jasper, and the two absentees, Jacob and Renesmée. And I'm sure you already know Carlisle." She looks back at him, fear in her eyes. "And my name is Esmé."
"What are the special abilities among this coven," a woman with long, curly black hair asks, her red eyes matching the red lipstick she wears.
"I have the ability to read minds," Edward says, "Alice can see the future, Bella is a shield, and our daughter, Renesmée, can make her thoughts known to anyone by touch. The rest of us have other abilities, but not so powerful to be 'special.'"
"Ah," smiles the woman with black hair. "Well, allow me to introduce my coven." She steps out from behind the group, and gestures accordingly to each person.
"This is Stefan, and Vladimir, as I'm sure you know," she grins, as the two men step forward. "And I'm sure you've met Cristian." The one we met earlier steps forward, a toothy grin on his face. "Then we have Mihail, who is able to harden and soften his skin at will. He can be as hard as a diamond, or a s soft as talc, at any time." A man with soft brown hair steps out, his eyes ringed with dark eyeliner and his lips tinted dark purple, almost like a bruise. "Then we have the girls. This Anastasia Maria," she smiles, gesturing to a woman wearing a blindfold over her eyes. "She has the ability to kill anyone she makes eye contact with, which is why she's wearing the blindfold, to minimize casualties. Then we have Elena, who can become like a ghost. You could walk right through her when she uses her ability." A woman with grey hair steps out, her mount downturned into a permanent frown. "Then we have Mariana, who can turn herself into water at any given moment." The last woman steps out, her dress made of soft blue satin fabric. "And my name is Andreea."
"It's good to meet you all by name," Alice says with a smile. "I'm sure we'll all be able to get along swimmingly."
"I certainly hope so," says Mariana. "But there is one order of business first."
"And what is that," asks Carlisle.
"In order to ensure loyalty, we must ensure that all of you are willing to give up your ideals for or cause."
"Vone of you must drink human blood for us. Zen, and only zen vill ve trust you," Cristian smirks.
"We can't do that," Carlisle objects.
"Zen ve have no choice but to kill you all."
