"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" Edward asked after the last of the notes had faded away.

"Absolutely."

Edward took me by the hand, pulling me out of the living area and up the massive staircase. There was a long hall at the top of the stairs. Like the rest of the house, the floors were a honey-colored hardwood. The walls were a light and airy gray that complimented them nicely. There were various photos on the walls, ranging from the early 20th century to today.

Edward led me down the hall, pausing to let me know which rooms we were passing as we did. "Rosalie and Emmett's room… Carlisle's office… Alice's room…"

He tried to continue, but I pulled at his grasp and moved to look at something at the end of the hall. It was a large, dark, wooden cross. I wanted to touch it, but I had a feeling it was the oldest thing in the home. I didn't want to damage it. I was drawn to it though. I got a weird feeling just from staring at it; it wasn't a negative one, but it wasn't quite positive either.

"You can laugh," he said, chuckling at my bewildered expression. "It is sort of ironic."

I didn't want to laugh though. Instead, I focused on the cross. "1626."

A blond man dressed all in black was hanging up a large, simple cross above the pulpit in his church. He took a step back to admire the effect.

Another man with dark hair stepped forward towards him. "We celebrate our glorious sovereign, His Majesty, King Charles. I fear, however, his choice of consort will bring unrest."

The blond man nodded, acknowledging his words, though he said nothing.

"Sick is the daughter of Sion, and the complexion of England gives her not to be sound. If she feel her own pulse, and examine the symptoms of her illness, her works of disobedience, she must confess that her health is impaired by the sinners that call themselves Catholic."

"My concern lies elsewhere," the blond replied nonchalantly. His mind was clearly not on politics.

The second man looked appalled. "Where, then?"

The blond frowned. His voice was harsh with fury and indignation as he began to speak, and the longer he spoke the angrier he became. "The devil can take many forms. He is ancient, though his wrinkled hide lies smoothed and sleeked and white. He walks among us as an angel of light though shrouded in darkness. And he tempts wretched sorceresses to some real covenant with him so as to insinuate into mortal hearts. God's children must be protected and those of Satan destroyed!"

The dark-haired man beside him gave a curt nod. "God's children nourisheth the devils and witches with their own blood. It cannot stand, though I will, beside you."

I shook my head, clearing the image of the church and the two men. A shiver ran down my spine.

"What did you see?" Edward questioned hesitantly from beside me.

"Another vision of the past—it had to be. I saw the man that owned that cross. A blond… harsh. I think he knew about vampires… witches too, actually."

To my surprise, Edward didn't look shocked. "The cross originally belonged to Carlisle's father. He was an Anglican pastor in London. Carlisle's mother died giving birth to him, and his father was… intolerant. As the Protestants came into power, he was very enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions."

"He supported King Charles I, but he didn't like his Catholic wife," I noted.

Edward grinned, astonished by my input. "Amazing," he muttered, before placing a kiss on my forehead. He continued. "Carlisle's father believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves, and vampires."

"I probably could have guessed that much." I repeated what I had heard Carlisle's father saying to the other man. "Did they end up finding any?" I wondered hesitantly. If Carlisle was a vampire, I could probably guess that they did.

Edward nodded. "They burned a lot of innocent people—of course, the real creatures that he sought were not so easy to catch." Edward turned, pulling me back down the hallway that we had come down. He didn't hesitate before opening the door.

We walked into Carlisle's office. The walls were paneled with dark wood, but most of it was covered in floor to ceiling bookshelves and paintings. Carlisle sat behind a large mahogany desk in a high backed, dark leather chair. He was scribbling something down in elegant handwriting.

"I'd forgotten much about my father, though the words you spoke could have only been his." He was writing down what I had heard his father say in my vision.

I told him the rest of my vision in great detail, careful not to leave anything out. I could tell by his furrowed brows that his father's beliefs were a bit of a sore subject that had taken centuries for him to overcome. In my opinion, it left him a better man than his father could ever be.

As he finished writing, Carlisle stood and moved across the room, gesturing to a painting. "The London of my youth."

The painting was only a miniature, but it was incredibly detailed. The Thames filled the foreground, crossed by a stone bridge as the city with its cobbled, slanted roofs spread out behind it.

Carlisle's mild bass tone filled the room. "When my father grew older, he placed me in charge of the raids. I was obedient and willing, eager for his approval. But I wasn't as quick to accuse innocents as my father had been—much to his dismay."

"You'd think that would be a good thing," I interrupted. "If people weren't so quick to judge and accuse, so much tragedy throughout history could have been avoided." Like the Trials.

Carlisle smiled knowingly. "Not everyone is so wise. I tried not to see demons where they did not exist, though. My persistence eventually paid off. I discovered a coven of true vampires that lived in the sewers beneath the city. They came out only at night to hunt. We gathered at night with our pitchforks and torches until finally, they emerged."

I held my breath. I knew how the story would end, but that didn't stop the suspense from growing.

"The creature that came first was ancient—he spoke Latin. He was very weak. Even as a human I could see that. Despite that, he fled and we pursued. Normally, one of our kind would have been able to escape easily, but this one was weak. I'm not sure what caused him to turn and attack, probably hunger, but he did. He bit me first but was forced to stop as the others caught up. He had to defend himself, and he did. He killed one of my companions and took the other.

"My father burned anything that had to do with the monsters that walked among the people. I crawled from the ally and hid in the cellar of a building while the mob continued after the vampire. I remained there, undiscovered, for three days as I underwent the change."

Edward had spoken to me about the change, but he hadn't gone into detail. He'd only mentioned that you had to be bitten, and it was incredibly painful.

"Did you ever see your father again?"

Carlisle shook his head. "No. I don't even remember his name. You probably remember what he looked like better than I. But his more tolerant teachings stayed with me. I knew what I had become, but I rebelled against it. I tried to destroy myself, though I'm sure you know that's not quite possible without help. Eventually, I found that animal blood suited my needs almost as well as human blood. I could live my existence without being the monster my father taught me to hate.

"I was suddenly faced with an endless amount of time. I pursued education and art. I found my calling in medicine. I could save human lives instead of taking them, though the self-control took time to acquire. I studied throughout western Europe, ultimately finding myself in Italy."

Carlisle gestured to a different painting this time. There were four figures painted on a balcony looking at the chaos below them as if they were quite literally above it all. One of the men was blond and startlingly familiar. It was Carlisle.

"Solimena was greatly inspired by Carlisle's friends. He painted them as gods," Edward informed me.

I knew immediately who the group was, though I had not seen them before. "You were a part of the Volturi?"

"I stayed with them for a time. Aro, Marcus, and Caius were civilized compared to others of our kind."

I examined the Carlisle of the painting and compared it to the one standing next to me in the flesh. The one in the portrait seemed much colder, like his painted companions. Carlisle resembled his two-dimensional counterpart in looks alone. I was grateful that he wasn't like them. I didn't associate the Volturi with goodness, though I did associate Carlisle with it.

"I left for the New World after departing from their ranks. They tried to persuade me to stay, but our lifestyles were… incompatible. When I arrived in America, I found that after two centuries, I could interact with humans without suspicion. Still, I was lonely. My time in Italy had shown me the companionship that I had been missing since my transformation, though they had been the first of my kind I had come across since my turn. I began to find myself thinking about creating a companion."

"What stopped you?"

"I wasn't quite sure how it was done. My memory was foggy of that night. Also, I was reluctant to take someone's life from them as mine had been."

I glanced at Edward, who was watching me intently as Carlisle spoke. "But you figured it in Chicago during the Spanish Flu epidemic," I guessed, allowing a small smile to appear on my lips.

Carlisle nodded, matching my expression. "Edward has been with me ever since."

"Except for his teen angst phase," I added, remembering what Edward had once told me in the meadow.

Carlisle laughed. "Of course. How could I forget?"

It fell silent between us as I considered Carlisle's history. I hadn't met many vampires. My knowledge of the subject was limited to what the Cullens had shared with me. Still, I knew that Carlisle was someone extraordinary, even if he didn't have an obvious magical talent like Edward, Alice, or Jasper. "Thank you for telling me your story."

"We'll leave you to your work," Edward said, spinning me by the shoulder and towards the door. We headed back down the hall towards the cross, stopping at the end. "This is my room," he informed me.

Edward's room was quite similar to what I imagined it'd be. The back wall was floor to ceiling glass, but the other three were covered in shelves of CDs and books—mostly CDs. A sound system sat in the center of one of the shelves, and I noticed speakers placed all around the room. Between that and the insulation, I bet the acoustics were amazing.

There was no bed in his room, though it did have a large leather sofa against the glass of the back wall. Beds were unnecessary if you didn't sleep. The floors were hardwood like the rest of the house, but there were three rugs of varying jewel tones slightly overlapping that covered the majority of it, again, probably for insulation. Maroon blackout curtains hung in front of the glass window, but they were pushed wide allowing for a view of the Olympic Mountains behind the house.

I wandered slowly around the room, examining the shelves. I started with the books. They included both fiction and nonfiction of many different subjects ranging from fairy tales to medical texts. Most were in pristine condition, despite their obvious age, but a few were well worn: The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Great Expectations, Anna Karenina. I shook my head in disbelief.

"What is it?" he asked eagerly, noticing the motion.

"Your most well-read books are some of the most depressing works I've laid eyes on. It's masochistic, Edward."

He chuckled lightheartedly. "You've made me much less depressive these days, I promise. I started A Tale of Two Cities just the other night." He gestured to a book, open and face down on an end table next to the sofa.

I gave him a blank look. "That ends with Sydney Carton's execution in the midst of political upheaval."

Edward shrugged. "'I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss.'"

This was the second time he quoted something to me, and I had to admit it sent shivers through my body. Edward was outwardly attractive, incredibly so, but his intelligence was just as striking.

My shivers did not escape Edward's notice. He moved slowly toward me, taking me by the waist and pulling me toward him. He bent, pressing his forehead to mine. Edward spoke in a low tone, but there was obvious heat behind his words. "'I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heaps of ashes that I am, into fire.'"

I tilted my head up, blinking stupidly as I gazed into his amber eyes. My heart skipped a beat. He took my face in his hands, almost roughly, and kissed me in earnest. His lips moved against mine, and I reached up winding my arms around his neck. I pressed myself closer to him as if I couldn't be close enough. My breath hitched as his lips parted.

And then, the rug beneath our feet burst into flames.

I let out a shriek of surprise, pushing Edward back toward the couch and away from the fire. This was what more or less happened when a witch couldn't control her emotions. I closed my eyes, trying to get my heart rate to something that was normal.

Edward was openly laughing from the other side of the room.

I opened my eyes a slit, glaring at him. "That was your fault, you know." The fire faded away into nothing. I examined the damage I had done.

He grinned crookedly, playfully. "I know." It didn't seem to bother him in the least that I had singed both his rug and his jeans.

"Sorry," I muttered, looking at the hole in the rug. "I'll replace it."

Edward waved a hand. "Don't bother." He was being very blasé about this.

I was worried, though. Incidents like this were why relationships with humans were discouraged. The magical fire that I created couldn't hurt me, but it would burn through objects and others as if it were created with a match. In situations that were highly emotional was when I was at my most dangerous; uncontrolled emotions caused unpredictable outbursts of magic. This wouldn't faze a warlock, but it could seriously injure a human.

Edward was neither, however.

He was staring intently at me from the couch. "What is it?"

I looked away, suddenly fascinated with his CD collection. This was a conversation we had brushed the surface of but hadn't actually had yet. "I've told you relationships with humans are discouraged for my kind. When I can't control my feelings, I'm prone to unpredictable outbursts of magic. It doesn't hurt me. A warlock would know how to counter the magic to not be affected by it, but it would seriously injure a human. But you… I just don't know." I fiddled with the end of my braid, turning to him.

He smiled encouragingly. "You can't hurt me, Emme."

"I can."

He rolled his eyes. "You can't."

I narrowed my eyes at him, a smirk playing on my lips. "I can't?"

Edward's eyes met mine. He leaned forward as his lips twitched upward. "No." And then he was on his feet, sprinting toward me.

I threw my hands up just in time, gasping as I caught him with telekinesis right before he reached me. I pushed with all my might, sending him flying through the air back toward the couch. It slid back a few inches as he landed on it, ramming into the window behind it with a bang. Edward sat up, running a hand through his already tousled hair. He was laughing freely and looked lighter than I had ever seen him.

I took in his singed pants and messy hair. He'd had the sleeves of his sweater pushed up, but one had fallen down when I threw him across the room. Edward, normally put together, looked more disheveled than I had ever seen him. And then I was laughing just as hard.

There was a knock at the door, but Alice didn't wait for Edward to answer before waltzing in gracefully with Jasper in tow. They took in the pair of us and the burnt rug.

Jasper looked slightly shocked at the scene he had walked into. He stared at Edward as if he were a stranger. I had no doubt they were communicating silently.

Alice, however, raised an eyebrow, amused. She traipsed over and settled herself on the couch next to Edward. "It sounded as if you were having Emme for lunch, but I see now that she had you, instead."

Edward grinned, not even bothering to deny it. I crossed my arms across my chest, slightly smug.

"Anyways, it's about time to go. Emmett's pulled the jeep out in case you don't want to run."

My response was immediate. "I want to run."

It was raining lightly when we stepped outside, but I could tell the storm was worse back towards town. We seemed to be on the edge of it. It was warmer than usual for the end of March—which is probably why there was a thunderstorm, to begin with.

"We'll meet you there," Edward told his siblings. They ran off quickly, faster than I could follow. Instead of scooping me up like last time, Edward slung me across his back.

I rested my chin on his shoulder, tilting my head so my mouth was close to his ear. "Ready when you are." I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I saw him try to suppress a shudder.

Then we were off.

I kept my eyes open as long as I could, amazed at the way the trees streaked past us in blurs. But soon I was forced to close them as the force of the wind made them water too much. I relished the feeling of the wind hitting my face. I was thankful that my hair was still held back in a braid, or else it would have been whipping both Edward and me in the face. I felt as if I was flying. I made another mental note to ask my aunts about how much energy it took to do that.

When we stopped, Edward placed me gently on my feet as if I weighed nothing. He took my hand as I examined our surroundings.

We were in a large clearing—a field, more like. It was bigger than a baseball field and closer to the size of a couple of football fields. I could just make out the mountains behind the treetops in the fading light. Esme, Emmett, Rosalie sat chatting on a few boulders close to us, while Carlisle looked as if he was marking bases. I noticed that they were much further apart than they would have been in a regular baseball game. Alice and Jasper were throwing something back and forth in a distance that looked much too far; I was sure it was a ball, though I didn't see one. They were fast.

When they saw we had arrived, the group made their way to us.

"I didn't expect a human to be that quiet while running with one of us," Esme stated, examining me for any signs that I was hurt or troubled by the experience.

I waved her off. "I'm fine," I promised.

"Emme loves it, Esme," Edward smiled, giving my hand a squeeze.

Alice stopped fluidly in front of me. "It's time!" she announced excitedly.

Lightning flashed immediately after she finished speaking. Thunder boomed quickly afterward.

I glanced at the petite girl. I supposed Alice would be better than any weatherman I had seen. "You know I can do that, right? Or were you just waiting around to be overly dramatic?"

Alice giggled lightly.

Emmett's head whipped to face me, topaz eyes wide in surprise. "You can do that? Like on command?"

I smirked, shifting my gaze from him to the sky above. Almost immediately, lightning tore across the sky only to hit a tree on the far side of the clearing. It was followed by even louder thunder than before and the crackle of a limb of the tree tearing off before crashing to the ground. I looked at Emmett again, brow raised.

He was silent for a moment. "So… you're telling me we can do this whenever we want?"

I snorted. It must be hard to try to fit in with humans when you clearly weren't one. I couldn't imagine having to hold back with every movement I made. I had a hard time controlling just my feelings, let alone my actions. I didn't know why they needed thunder for a baseball game, but the giant's smile was genuine. He looked thrilled at the possibility.

Alice grabbed his hand. "Let's go," she said, pulling him into the field. I was surprised to see that Emmett's movements were just as graceful as hers despite his size.

Edward, Rosalie, Jasper, and Carlisle took off, following them quickly. Esme stayed back with me, however.

I looked at her, curious, as we made our way into the clearing albeit at a much slower pace. "Are you not playing?"

"No," she began. "I prefer to referee—I like keeping them honest."

"I suppose it's a different game when you have supernatural abilities."

She stifled a laugh. "You should hear the arguments they get into. Actually, I hope you don't." Esme looked at her family in the field fondly.

"You must love them quite a lot." It was the only reasonable conclusion after seeing her facial expression.

The woman's smile didn't fade. In fact, it brightened. "I think of them as my children. I never could get over my mothering instincts. Did Edward tell you I had lost a child?"

I blinked at her candidness. "No. Your backgrounds were about the only thing he didn't tell me. I thought they might be too personal to share with a stranger after hearing his."

Esme nodded. "He was my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing." She sighed. "It broke my heart, and I was already in such a bad place. That's why I jumped off the cliff."

I really looked at her then. For someone that eluded such genuine happiness, it was hard to imagine Esme as anything but. I didn't want to. And if someone else had—well that was inexcusable.

Esme seemed to sense where my thoughts were heading. "I don't regret anything. If my circumstances had been different… if I hadn't of done it, I wouldn't be where I am today." She smiled at me warmly. "I'm happy he found you, dear. He's been the odd man out for too long; it's hurt me to see him alone."

"It doesn't bother you that I'm a witch, then?" I asked, a little bit shocked.

"Of course not. You're not a stranger. You're what he wants. You're one of us. I know it will work out." Her voice was resolute. Another clap of thunder sounded.

We came to a stop. My eyes found Edward in the left-field straight away. Carlisle stood between the first and second bases, and Alice held the ball, positioned on the pitcher's mound. Emmett held an aluminum bat, swinging it in circles like it was the most natural thing in the world; I could easily imagine him as an athlete. Jasper stood behind him, playing catcher. Again, I noted the distance between all of them. They played with no equipment except the bat and the ball.

If the strangers really were going to make an appearance tonight, like I still sensed they would, there was no way they could sneak up on us. We had the advantage.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as the game began.

Alice straightened, eyes focusing on Jasper. I barely registered her movement as her right arm shot out, throwing the ball to her mate. Emmett didn't hit it. She grinned to herself as she caught the ball easily after Jasper threw it back. Strike one.

I couldn't follow the ball very well. Instead, I focused on their movements to tell what was happening. It was a bit difficult to follow at first, but I grew used to it quickly.

Alice threw the ball again, and this time, Emmett swung. As the ball connected with the bat, the impact made a crash so loud and thunderous; I understood why a storm was necessary. It covered the noise of their playing.

Emmett took off immediately, moving like a blur. Carlisle ran close to him. Edward had vanished into the trees after the ball.

I sucked in a breath, eager to see if Edward would make it back. He was running out of time.

"Out!" Esme called. Not a moment later, Edward emerged from the forest, ball in hand. I could see he was grinning even from this distance. "Emmett hits the hardest, but Edward runs the fastest," Esme explained.

They continued playing, and I watched, completely invested in the game. I'd never been into sports, but I couldn't deny that I loved watching them play. I couldn't stop myself from cheering as Rosalie flit around the bases for a home run, pushing her team a point ahead of Edward's. I didn't much care who was winning, I just liked how exciting it was.

"What do you think?" Edward asked, eyes twinkling as he appeared next to me as he was waiting for his turn to bat.

"I've never cared for sports in my life, but I might if they were all like this," I answered honestly. "It almost—almost—makes me wish I had an athletic bone in my body."

Edward flashed his crooked smile at me before jogging slowly to home plate. He didn't bat as Emmett did. Emmett used his brute strength, as he did for most things, I guessed. Edward hit hard but kept the ball low to the ground so it wouldn't easily be reached.

He was almost to second base when he stopped suddenly. His head snapped up to look at Alice in horror, and then he was by my side without hesitation. The rest of the family grouped around us hurriedly.

"Alice?" Esme breathed. I could feel the worry coming from her.

"Emme was right. They're coming."

Jasper was at Alice's side, his posture protective. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "They weren't planning on stopping, but he smelled me. He recognized who I was. He wants to finish what he started."

Seven pairs of eyes flashed to me.

"How soon?" Carlisle asked his voice more authoritative than it usually was.

"Three minutes," she answered, her eyes unfocused.

Emmett shifted eagerly from one foot to the other. "Let them come," he scoffed as he tossed an arm around Rosalie's shoulders. He was the picture of confidence.

Carlisle thought for a moment before speaking. "We try to reason with them first. Let's hope it doesn't evolve past that."

But I knew it would.

A/N:

You guys probably recognize a lot of this chapter, but I had to include the backstories and the most iconic baseball game of all time. If you didn't listen to Supermassive Black Hole while reading this, you did it wrong, just saying lol.

I'd also like to acknowledge Thomas Adams for allowing me to rip off his sermons for the vision of Carlisle's dad. Since he's been dead like 400 years, I felt comfortable using it without fear of legal action. I also quoted Charles Dickens. And SMeyer, but we all knew that already.

SPEAKING OF, MIDNIGHT SUN, ANYONE? I'm so hype. I used the rough draft on her website for a lot of the earlier chapters and literally thought that she shouldn't make us wait any longer and she'd have to publish it soon if she was ever going to. Call me Alice, cause I guess I can predict the future lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this last moment of peace before we get into some action! Thanks for all the faves/follows/reviews! I'm close to 100 reviews now... I might cry if it happens haha. Until next time!