Chapter 53
Aro knew Marcus would not be able to truly fullfill his wish for a child, so Caius, despite his skepticism, was the one to do so. The lunar eclipse was finally upon them, and Aro was eager to see if it would prove to be effective in his quest for what was previously considered to be an impossibility. He knew they had to relocate for the night, or at least until the eclipse had passed. Sulpicia was aware of a plan of his being put into effect, but had no idea it was anything of this magnitude.
Caius and Jane joined Aro and Gianna at one of their many Italian lairs. This one was more elegant than their typical dwelling, and resembled that of a high class suite in some fancy, celebrity-ridden hotel. There were lights strung, with a centerpiece chandelier to match and tie the main room together.
Gianna entered the home arrogantly, with her head tilted upward in such a way and an expression so smug, that Jane felt a twinge of anger toward her new found friend. Caius stood stern, waiting for Aro to give his commands.
Aro looked toward a large grandfather clock that ticked in the far corner of the living room. It read 4:15 am.
"At exactly 4:40, Caius, that's when you should go ahead with your wishing," Aro instructed, "I have the time frame mapped exactly."
Caius and Jane both glanced at the clock, that in any modern pawn shop would probably sell for thousands of dollars. Each tick made Caius more anxious. "Very well," he answered.
Gianna's expressions remained smug and she smiled quickly at Jane as she and Aro made their way to a segregated part of the house. Jane's eyes burned with ferocity, and as much as she wanted to tell Caius the amount of hatred she was beginning to develop for Gianna, she held off, knowing Aro would be angered by her words at this moment.
Caius found his way to two bottles of wine that Aro had prepared for them. It was laced heavily with their favorite blood types, and each bottle was decorated with a name tag that suited each of them. He popped the corks and poured a glass for Jane, and then himself, comfortably sitting in a chair by a small fire with one leg crossed over the other.
Jane tried to resist her glass, attempting to send a message to Aro due to her newly found dislike for Gianna, but the smell of the blood in Caius's wine made her senses twitch with uncontrollable delight, and she helped herself to the glass he'd poured for her.
This could turn out to be disasterous," Caius whispered, a bit too loud for Jane's liking. She motioned for him to be quiet with her finger, but nodded sternly in agreement.
He didn't appreciate the gesture, and glared at her, taking a big swig his beverage. He refilled his glass, as did Jane.
As the bottles both neared empty, the ticking clock stung their eardrums. Momentarily they put their slight differences aside and Caius waited the final ten seconds. Jane's fingers tightened around the wine glass, looking from Caius, to the clock and back to Caius, with each tick.
The second hand finally reached it's destination at the top of face, crossing past the twelve and slowly making it's way to the one. Jane watched Caius, almost looking as if he were saying a prayer, as he closed his eyes and mouthed the words in a cold whisper that had been instructed by Aro, which would have been considered "under his breath" had human ears been listening. Jane heard them loud and clear, and knew that by ten seconds after the hand had crossed by the top of the clock, the wish was secure, and surely granted.
It was almost 8:00 pm in Forks. The entire Cullen family, along with Jacob and Billy, sat together, all wishing for Emmett and Rosalie. Bella knew she had been a part of the process that helped Carlisle and Esme with Masen, so she was praying with everything she had for another miracle to fall upon them.
"Anything Alice?" Jasper asked quietly.
Alice shook her head, "I'm not seeing anything at all, one way or another. I don't know."
"It has to happen," Bella said, "It has to. Why would this be any different?"
"These things are mysterious," Billy told her, and the rest of them, "You never know what's going to happen."
Esme had wished, what she felt, was hundreds of times for Rosalie. There was an aching feeling in her chest that she knew would linger until the results were in. She knew how much the two of them deserved this type of gift, and she knew how Rosalie would react if it didn't happen.
Carlisle squeezed her hand, sensing her anxiety, and let his thumb run over her wrist lightly back and forth. Everyone seemed on edge, and both hopeful and worried at the same time.
Bella's head laid on Edward's shoulder and Jasper stroked Alice's hair, every so often kissing her on the forehead, or cheek.
Jacob flashed friendly smiles in Renesme's direction, and to Edward's surprise, he had no thoughts that ran through his mind that would make Edward unhappy. His thoughts primarily focused on Rosalie and Emmett, which actually shocked him, seeing as he and Rosalie were never overly friendly. Every now and then a thought passed hoping that Renesme wouldn't be upset over the outcome.
Masen's thoughts made Edward smile to himself. He was singing a self made tune in his head, saying ' I want Emmett to have a baby. And Rosalie to have a baby. I want a baby cousin." His thoughts then wandered to other places, like baseball and video games, until someone happened to mention Emmett or Rosalie again. It was actually quite amusing.
Billy and Carlisle exchanged glances. Carlisle looked down at his watch.
"We still have over an hour until it passes," Billy told him.
Carlisle nodded and pulled his sleeve down over the watch. He found himself cringing at the thought of Aro bringing a child into their world. He knew that a lot could happen in the next six months or so, and prayed there would be no negative backlash. As much as he wanted this for Emmett and Rosalie, he stayed content with the thought that it could put the unwanted spotlight on them by other members of their kind, particularly if Aro's situation were to go wrong. The only thing worse than Emmett and Rosalie not being able to conceive, would be if a child they created together were to be taken from them.
Time passed, and everyone attempted to make small talk. They had all come together with the same wish for their two family members. Now, only time would tell what would become of them.
