A/N: Hello, everyone! How is everyone doing? It's been an interesting time for me. Anyway, life happens but I want to write. I have a few more stories going on in my head but I haven't posted them. My focus is on this story.

Now, the ark is going to be moving forward. I don't know if I would do this justice but I'm trying.

Chapter 14 The Training

Carlisle was at his house in Forks. It seemed that he preferred being in small towns instead of the big cities such as Seattle. He had been there for twenty years. Since everyone knew him as the gentle vampire, they had gotten accustomed to his strangeness and had welcomed him to the community.

Alice, Edward, and I were at the Cullen Mansion at Forks. There I got to see Esme and Emmett. Rosalie was busy doing some errands from Carlisle and Carlisle was at a meeting out of town. When we got there, Esme enveloped me with a warm embrace. I was taken aback with such a warm reception.

"I'm glad you got back here safely," Esme said.

Emmett brought some food. It was enough to feed ten people. I noticed that the Cullens tend to be too eager whenever they welcome someone into their home. Whether with vampires, wolves, or humans, they made sure that everything was taken care of.

Esme seemed tense. It was unusual for her to fidget. Vampires don't fidget unless they're extremely tense. Something must've happened.

"Are you okay, Esme?" I asked.

"The Volturi had charged us for harboring a fugitive. Carlisle left to search for allies," Esme explained.

I wasn't expecting that. "I'm so sorry," I said. I disrupted their lives.

Esme shook her head. "We've made our choice. They crossed the line when they abducted Alice and Jasper for bargaining chip," she said.

Esme and Emmett talked about how they could gather more allies. Rosalie left on her own. Emmett was left with Esme to protect her. She was considered weak for a vampire.

Edward and Alice were here to rest. Alice had been through a lot. Vampires were unchanging creatures. When something extraordinary happened to them, it changes them. Good or bad, it creates some change in them. Alice had become a lot more reserved because of the ordeal.

On the other hand, I realized that vampires weren't all that bad. My father was a vampire now. He hated it so much and wanted to kill himself. I felt horrible for my father.

Someone knocked on our door. There were vampires who dressed like Amazonian warriors straight from the middle of the forest.

"Zafrina, Kachiri, Senna," Edward said.

Edward introduced me to Amazon coven. It seemed that they preferred being in the Amazon rainforest than being with the civilization. However, since Carlisle was in trouble, they came here in full force, to lend their strength to Carlisle.

We spent our days sparring. It was refreshing to learn from the vampires who were so wild and unpredictable, that you didn't know their next move. It was in great contrast with mine. I had to modify my attacks in order for me to take them down.

"Let's go to the forest. I think it would give you a better practice if we take down some deer," Zafrina said.

I nodded. She was right. I would need all the practice I could get.

Zafrina, Kachiri, and I went to the forest. Senna decided to stay back. She was helping Alice with something.

We were in the forest when we heard a roar. It wasn't a deer we were hoping to find. A deer don't make that much sound. It was a much guttural one.

When I looked, it was a bear heading to my direction. In an instant, Zafrina was holding it by its neck.

"I need to practice so let's practice on the bear," I said.

"Are you sure?" Zafrina asked.

"Yes. Just be sure to have it in control when it's close to killing me," I joked.

Zafrina let go of the bear. I tried to move fast but I was no match for the bear. I couldn't even stand a chance. In less than two minutes, the bear already had me pinned down. I couldn't move. And then I blacked out.

I woke up on the bed. It was Edward standing right next to me.

"Do you have a death wish?" Edward asked.

"We were practicing. The bear caught me off guard. I can take care of myself," I said.

"Zafrina said you're pinned down in less than one minute. She had to make sure that it doesn't kill you so she stepped in quickly," Edward said.

"What is wrong with you? First, you want to save me. Then, you want to hunt me down. Now, you watch me while I sleep? Make up your mind," I said.

I left not knowing what I was going to do with him. He was gorgeous and yet perplexing at the same time. I tried not to think about it. His reactions overwhelm me. What I need to focus on right now was finding Jasper because Alice isn't the same without him.

End Notes: What do you think about Edward being worried about Bella? He was there when she wakes up and was already berating her for being careless.