Chapter 12
Not Your English Rose

Rosalie's POV

February, 14th, 2003

I sat at my vanity putting the final touches on my look for tonight. Alice had suggested I dress up as a restaurant was the most likely place Emmett would be taking me, and Bella had agreed. I sighed happily as I looked at myself in the mirror, my hair was parted at the side flowing down my back in elegant waves; not a hair out of place. I looked gorgeous.

Alice had done my makeup opting for a dark smokey eye with blood-red lipstick to match my knee-length red dress. It had originally been strapless, but Alice had found this beautiful satin ribbon and Bella had attached it to the dress, crisscrossing over my back to form a pentagram. I was absolutely in love with the design.

Lastly, Alice gave me french tips as Bella pilfered her own closet and came back with a long sleeved black half jacket and her absolute favourite black strappy heels with the half-moon buckles. I just about died at the fact that she was letting me wear them, even if they went perfectly with my dress. She'd nearly killed Renee for even touching them, so the fact that she was letting me wear them—I could have squealed.

After one last look in the mirror I sprayed some of Bella's homemade perfume on. She always made it with actual flowers and a few drops of nectar so it clung to our skin longer without it being overpowering like the cheap stuff they offered around here.

I walked downstairs ignoring the catcalls from my sisters, and gave Alice the finger when she suggested I offer gas or ass; if Dad hadn't been at work, he'd have had an apoplexy at that thought.

"Oh, my little speck of gold is all grown up." Bella cooed.

I smiled softly at her, knowing she was being genuine this time. I loved her nickname for me; I had been her 'speck of gold' since I was three when she had proclaimed that I looked just like a speck of gold with both my golden locks and golden tan from spending the day in the garden.

I fought back tears as I gave her a quick hug and looked at the clock. Seven o'clock on the dot. Right on time, there was a knock at the door. I felt like I was on cloud nine. Call me vain but I was giddy with excitement. Knowing this was my night to be fawned over and adored, where all the attention would be on me—at least from those who mattered—it was all I ever wanted.

I practically floated to the door behind Bella, smiling widely as she opened the door to reveal Emmett standing there looking nervous and holding…

"Is that garlic bread?" I giggled, looking at the package he was holding as if they were delicate flowers.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, well, you see, I had wanted to get you flowers—but then I thought about how cliche that is and you're not like any girl I've ever met, so you deserve something as unique as you. Then I remembered you saying you'd kill someone for garlic bread last week, and— I fucked up, didn't I?" he groaned and muttered. "I should have gone with the chrysanthemums."

My heart fluttered at him casually remembering both my favourite snack and flower. No one had ever made that effort before, and here he was, on the first date, doing it effortlessly.

"They smell divine." I bit my lip to keep from giggling at his hopeful pout. I took the bread and made a show of smelling it. "Bella, would you put these in the fridge for me?" I handed her the unconventional bouquet.

She nodded at us, smiling softly. "No problem; you two kids have fun, but not too much fun!"

"Says the girl who snuck into a bar at fourteen," I muttered.

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to!'' I sing-songed back as I pulled Emmett out the door, closing it behind me. Alice had opted to stay upstairs, probably to text Jasper.

As my eyes landed on the unfamiliar car in the driveway I harshly pressed my lips into a line to prevent myself from laughing.

There, behind Dad's cruiser, sat a shiny pink convertible, I turned to Emmett, amusement lacing my tone as I spoke. "Ah, interesting colour scheme; I hadn't thought pink was your colour."

Emmett grinned unrepentantly. "If you think I can't pull off pink, you have another think coming, gorgeous."

"I never said that," I smirked, thinking about what else he could pull off.

"It's Esme's," he explained as he held the door open for me. "My Jeep wasn't the best choice for a trip to Seattle, and Esme was the only one willing to let me borrow hers."

I shook my head in amusement. "I have half a mind to tell Alice; she'll lecture Jasper about how sharing is caring," I teased, sliding in.

Emmett chuckled, shooting me a wink as he closed the door and jogged at human speed to the driver's side. The sight was comical, and I decided not to mention that Dad was at work. The only reason his cruiser was here was because today was a paperwork day and the deputy had picked him up to spare the Chief the gas.

I smiled again as Emmett pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road at such a slow pace I knew he was trying to impress my Police Chief of a father. I watched the tension leave his shoulders as we rounded the corner and he put the pedal to the floor. Clearly Esme also liked fast cars, if this one was any indication. The top was up so I opened the window a bit; I'd always loved fast rides.

I suddenly recalled a part of our childhood in this life that I'd somewhat forgotten. The moment we were old enough Renee would always send us grocery shopping, and to make it fun, Bella would always steal a cart and let Alice and I ride in it home as she pushed us down the street. She always made sure we had the best time, always running faster when we demanded and never letting us crash. Then we'd ditch the carts before we got to our street and walk the rest of the way, holding that week's shopping and laughing, our cheeks rosy from the thrill.

And as the speedometer rose under Emmett's ministrations, I couldn't help but relish in the memory and feel of it all. I closed my eyes, listening to the purr of the engine.

As we drove towards the town border Emmet turned to me. "So, tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" I questioned, frowning.

He shrugged. "Everything. What are your hobbies? What's your favourite thing to do? Besides torturing mortals, I mean," he teased.

I smirked. "Well, I love working on runes. And any car I can get my hands on. I swear that rust bucket of a truck would have breathed its last long ago if I hadn't played with the engine a few times." I settled deeper into the seat. "I definitely wish we had something better. We have some money saved up, and what we inherited from Grandma Higgenbottom, but Bella doesn't think we should waste it on a car now, she wants to let it grow some interest while we have a truck that's okay for now."

Emmett nodded, "That's smart."

I smiled, glad he saw the wisdom in Bella's plan. "What about you? Any hobbies?" I questioned.

"I like whittling," he confessed.

"Whittling? Why?" I was genuinely curious.

"Well, it kinda ties into one of my favourite memories growing up, when I was human. My family, we were middle class—not rich or poor, we were comfortable—and my dad had this idea that all of us kids, meaning my two brothers and I, should have some sort of useful skill. My eldest brother chose hunting." He tilted his head to the side, no doubt recalling the memories.

"And my youngest chose botany; you know, identifying plants and shit like that. Well, I didn't know what I'd be interested in—" he shrugged easily "—so I told my dad I wanted him to teach me how to whittle. He'd done it as a hobby, and he was pretty damn good, so I figured why not?"

He snorted. "Honestly I'd never seen the man so proud as when I'd asked him to teach me. He went on and on about me following in his footsteps, and well, I really started to like it, after a fashion. When I was changed, whittling was the only thing that calmed those newborn emotions for me. Now it just helps me remember who I was," he smiled.

"What was your favourite memory growing up in your first life?" He turned to me, ignoring the road in a way that made me wickedly delighted.

"Well, when I was ten, there was an assembly to celebrate the village's 60th anniversary. Bella had done some extra work in the milliners in exchange for some shoe roses. I was so excited because I hadn't had anything that was pretty—not just functional—since mother died. Alice wasn't fond of many accessories, but Bella had gotten her a beautiful green ribbon to braid into her hair."

I closed my eyes, remembering the day fondly like it was yesterday. "We spent half the morning getting pampered by her. She even gave me her favourite amber necklace to wear as it went well with my dress. I remember how she would dart around the room, acting like a ladies maid while getting ready herself. It was the best day. She had even gotten our neighbour to lend us his cart and old horse, in exchange for her cleaning up his barn." I snorted.

"Then when we got there everything was so festive! It was my first assembly, you know?" I grinned at the memory, and that old excitement welled up within me. "And the mayor was there too, greeting everybody, and he called me Miss Rosalie, like I was a proper young lady, " I smiled, still remembering it with all the awe and excitement of my ten-year-old self.

"The party went 'til midnight, and I was absolutely exhausted by the time we left. But I would have killed to relive that night," I sighed. Those were the simple days, when my biggest concern had been whether my ribbons matched my dress.

I looked up as the sign showing we had entered Seattle rushed past. Emmett stayed silent, perhaps not knowing how to respond.

"What's your favourite animal to hunt?" I asked, changing the subject. He grinned at me.

"Grizzly bear," he chuckled, and I felt like I was missing some kind of inside joke.

I didn't mind though. Hekate knew my sisters and I had plenty of jokes. Half of the ones between Alice and I were at the expense of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Plus, this meant I'd just have to spend more time with Emmett to learn his. No arguments there.

"I know what your favourite snack is; what's your favourite food?" he questioned.

"Oh, I absolutely adore rib tips and fried rice," I said, smiling. My second favourite was Bella's beef stew; all warm and spicy, but he'd have to work to learn things like that. And I was looking forward to letting him.

In the next few moments, Emmett pulled up to a dark building with high windows. No matter how much I had tried to needle him earlier, Emmett had refused to tell me where he was taking me. Not that I minded; I loved a good surprise, particularly when I was the focus of it.

Peering inside showed me it was a restaurant of some sort but it wasn't until I saw a dish floating behind a server whose hands were full that I realised this wasn't a 'normal' one. My eyes widened comically and shot to the oak wood sign above the door, proclaiming the place to be "Hansel and Grethel" in very beautiful calligraphy.

I felt a smile tug at my lips as I finally recognised it; this was a very popular restaurant that my sisters and I had been meaning to go to. Established in 1814, two years after the original story of Hansel and Grethel had been written, it was a go-to for the supernatural where we didn't have to hide ourselves. It was also essentially a 'fuck you' to the Brothers Grimm for their portrayal of witches in that particular story.

In fact, its establisher was once accused of witchcraft; famously denying it by saying, "do I look like I have a house made of candy?"

My smile widened as we got out of the car and walked into the coolled establishment. It was obvious that something, probably an enchanted AC or two, was mimicking the temperature outside, only in this setting, it was more comforting than cold. Which was a relief—neither my sisters nor I were huge fans of the heat. Probably has something to do with being burned at the stake, I mused grimly.

Either way, it would have spoiled my mood for this date. Though as the hostess led us to a gorgeous private table, I doubted anything could spoil this.

I picked up my menu and looked over the selections, flipping the pages I saw they also catered to not only witches, but vampires, werewolves, incubus, and succubus as well. Larger portions for witches and warlocks, extremely rare meat for werewolves, blood for vampires, and highly acidic dishes for the incubus, and succubus.

I looked up only to notice Emmett's eyes fixed on the centrepiece of Candles. "What are these symbols for?" he asked, staring at the runes in the wax base curiously.

I glanced at them for a moment, mentally deciphering the meaning of the particular runic array. "It's a basic privacy ward. The array is to contain it within two feet of the table all around."

Emmett looks at me in awe. "How do you do that? Know that with just a glance?"

I tilted my head slightly. "It's basic Runes, nothing especially complex," I confessed, though pleased with the praise.

It reminded me a little about how Bella would always praise Alice and I for every achievement. Always making them—and us—feel essential.

At that moment a waitress approached. She was wearing a corset peasant blouse and flowing skirt as her uniform and I smirked at the reference. Traditionally this would have been the standard wear for apprentices looking to become high priestesses—though apparently the look had fallen out of favour recently.

"Good evening. Welcome to Hansel and Grethel. I am Jeni Lynn, your server tonight. What can I get you?" she asked politely, looking directly at me.

I smiled, glad for the decent service and relieved I didn't have to put up with a whore like Bella had. But excellent service was to be expected at a place like this.

"I'll have the blue lagoon fishbowl, with the chicken and fried rice."

She nodded and turned to Emmett, waiting for his order. "I'll take the two and a half pint grizzly bear special. And the blood sausage with cheese?" he asked, confusion on his face as he read the food items on the vampire section of the menu. "Is that…food?"

Jenu Lynn, seeing his confusion, looked at him sympathetically. "First time in a place like this?" she guessed and he nodded.

Jeni Lynn hummed knowingly. "I thought as much. This isn't really common knowledge, but food prepared with aconite allows vampires to digest—and taste—human food properly," she explained. Emmett looked excited at the prospect.

"The plates are kept separate, yes?" I asked. I figured they would be—poisoning the clientele wouldn't exactly get them good reviews.

She nodded seriously. "Of course, Miss. It's all prepared in a separate kitchen and all plates, utensils, and glasses that are in contact with the aconite are washed and stored separately. We also have an up-to-date warding system on the other kitchens to prevent even the merest trace of aconite getting into any other preparation area," she assured me.

I nodded, pleased with the precautions and impressed with her clear knowledge.

She then curtseyed and left as Emmett looked at me confused. "Aconite is lethal for any being that isn't dead," I explained, leaning back in my seat. "Mummies and zombies. It's often used to tether the undead to a more alive state of being." I hummed thoughtfully. "And it helps vampires eat human food too."

"For the rest of us supernatural beings though," I continued, "ingestion causes us to become violently ill. Hence the separate kitchens."

Despite how easily it would have been to tell him, I deliberately downplayed the consequences of aconite for witches. We wouldn't die immediately, but after a few days without medical attention, we certainly would.

But proper medical care or not, it wasn't a pleasant herb. Even the tiniest amount would cause serious symptoms within moments, such as dizziness, weakness, and tiredness before our bodies shut down to focus on fighting the poison. Just a quarter of a teaspoon would have a witch out for hours.

He nodded, seeming uncomfortable with the topic of poison—I really couldn't imagine why.

"So, have you ever had a boyfriend before?" he asked, a clear change in topic, but I allowed it.

I knew some men were disgusted by the idea of women being with another before them—which was ridiculous—and I wondered if this information would finally be what scared him away.

"Not in the traditional sense. In my first life I had many suitors, despite our outcast status. Many men were attracted by my beauty but there were only two that courted me with any degree of permanence: Royce King—" I spat the name like an especially foul odour was attached to it "—and Vincent Collins," I snarled.

"My other suitors didn't pass Bella's basic requirements to be brought to my attention—I hardly remember any of them. The most memorable one was the butcher. Six months after his wife had passed, he was chasing me like an animal in heat." I rolled my eyes.

I'd barely been eleven, and he was lucky he too hadn't ended in a shallow grave. "He's only memorable because Bella poured pig's blood on him to make him go away…" I trailed off as our food and drinks were brought to us.

"Here you are. Blessed be," she said.

"Blessed be," I intoned, and nudged Emmett under the table, prompting him to repeat the farewell.

"So, who was this Royce guy?" he asked cautiously.

I scowled for a moment as I thought about who Royce was. He was an ass-breathing narcissistic toad of a man, I thought furiously, before smoothing out my expression as best I could.

"He was one of my more persistent suitors. He and Vincent were the only two left standing after Bella had scared off the rest. But I wasn't interested in him. Not really. I liked what I thought he could give me, but I was young and I was stupid. And due to a…misunderstanding, I believed he was what I should want in a partner." I rolled my eyes.

"He was not. After the misunderstanding was resolved, I ended my five-month courtship with him. And being the spiteful toad he was, he slapped me," I hissed.

Emmett growled deep in his chest and his eyes turned flinty. "What happened to the little shit?" he ground out, obviously seething, which pleased me more than I cared to admit.

"Bella is excellent at hunting," I said innocently

~Scene~

Emmett pulled into the driveway and I giggled once more at the shiny pink paint of the convertible.

I was still a bit in awe that Emmett had picked such a thoughtful place for our first date. I knew one of my sisters had no doubt referred the place to him, but I hadn't been able to stop grinning the whole time. It had most likely been Alice: for one, Bella would have probably suggested a car racing track, and for another, she was entirely too dramatic to keep any date a secret from us.

Emmett smiled at me and raced around the car at an inhuman speed to open my door for me. I smirked and placed my hand lightly in his as he 'assisted' me out. He must've taken some advice from Jasper, but as much as I appreciated the gentlemanly behaviour, I think I would've preferred he be his goofy self. It was, after all, the reason I was so taken with him.

The walk to my door was short, but perfect nonetheless, I had taken off my jacket after we left the restaurant and draped it over my shoulders, like a posh heiress. I placed my hand lightly on the door handle before I thought better of it and abruptly turned and smiled at him.

"I had a great time tonight,'' I said softly as I looked into his eyes.

He smiled brilliantly and brushed a strand of hair from my face. "I did too. I know I've said it multiple times, but you look absolutely stunning tonight."

I preened at the compliment and leaned into his touch. His hand cupped my cheek, and my skin blazed beneath his touch. I thrummed with excitement as his gaze dropped to my lips. I slid my hands up his chest to entwine behind his neck.

"My beautiful English Rose," he murmured.

As soon as that hatful nickname left his lips, my blood ran cold.

I was immediately reminded of Royce. He was sixteen years my senior and the son of a gentleman with a small estate in the nearest town. He had been visiting with his aunt when we met; it hadn't been more than a fortnight before he began courting me. And he was an asshole personified.

Everything about him was hateful. He used his status like a weapon, and his tongue was sharper than any blade. He revelled in tormenting those he considered inferior, and when he had me, he got worse.

When he started pursuing me he was charming in every way. Just standing near him made you feel like you could rule the world at his side, but when he was finished using you… The moment I'd agreed to his courtship, he became spiteful and nasty. He'd look down his nose at me whenever I spoke and scorn my ideas. He'd pinch me in places covered by clothes and tell me to "tighten up" because "the only thing that should be large on a woman is her bosom".

At no point was I ever self-conscious about my appearance, but I thought he was what I needed in a partner and all his flaws were merely things I had to put up with. And I did, for five long, horrible months.

I hated every minute of it, and I hated him. Because in those five long, horrible months, he'd started to chip away at every bit of me until it felt like I was on the edge of shattering.

The crux of it was the jokes. He would always call me his 'English Rose': always quick to comment how much lovelier I'd be if I shed all my 'thorns'. Which, when translated from sexist pig, meant my attitude, my wish for an equal marriage, my ideas of love and so on. Essentially anything that prevented me from being his perfect submissive little wife.

And to top it off, he would frequently joke to his friends about 'wilting' me.

I could take him chipping away—I could hide that—but those jokes made me want to bring him back just to kill him again.

It was only after his disappearance that we learned a horrifying fact. Had Bella not saved me from that life, I'd have ended up his fifth wife—all four of my predecessors had fallen prone to 'accidents'.

Thinking back on him and how much he'd hurt me made me want to throw something. I could still vividly remember the sound of his palm striking my cheek, and the following sting. I'd been so shocked that I hadn't even reacted to defend myself when he raised his hand to hit me again. Luckily a local stableboy was not keen on seeing a repeat performance, He hadn't lived long after that, then everything with Vincent had started a few months later and…

I can't allow what happened with Vincent to repeat itself

Except I was. Because somewhere along the way I'd started liking Emmett.

But I can't like Emmett! I thought desperately. I don't ever want to be hurt like that again!

Because as lovely and sweet as he was, there was no guarantee he wouldn't be like that too.

"–ose! Rose!" Emmet said, concern lacing his voice and I realised he'd been calling my name while I was lost in thought.

I immediately stiffened and hurriedly ducked out of his grip, backing away, being careful not to swat at him as I went.

"Right, well thanks again for the date," I said hurriedly as I reached behind me and swiftly used magic to unlock the door before hurrying inside. "See you around!" I said with forced cheer as I slammed the door in his baffled face.

February 15, 2003

The truck screeched to a halt in the school's parking lot, causing some of the stupid humans in our way to jump back. Bella huffed in irritation as she threw the hand brake on. "These humans are so rude. How dare they get in the way of our truck! Really, they're going to get themselves run over one day, standing around like that," she complained.

"I agree completely. Alice has more patience than us—I have no idea how she doesn't run them over just for fun." I watched as Jasper's car slid into the parking space beside and raised my voice teasingly. "Too bad she decided to catch a ride on—oops, I meant with that cowboy of hers."

Jasper's window rolled down as Bella choked on her own laughter to reveal Alice, sitting in the passenger's seat, glaring playfully at us. "You're hilarious, Rose. Tell me, where's that oversized gorilla of yours?" she shot back.

He's not mine, I instantly wanted to say, thinking back to last night. Even as a small voice whispered, But he could be.

Instead I just rolled my eyes, ignoring the curious look she sent me.

After I'd run inside last night, I'd gone straight up to my room. My sisters were already there; Bella standing by the window, no doubt staring at Emmett, and Alice waiting on my bed with open arms. They'd heard everything, and while Alice couldn't have understood why that nickname had set me off, she was there for me anyway.

Bella had understood of course—abusive exes were something we both knew plenty about.

Jasper snorted from the driver's side of the car. "Now darlin', just cause he scratches his head all the time doesn't mean he's a gorilla—he's an idiot not an ape,'' Jasper drawled.

Bella and Alice laughed as we all got out of our cars, and I busied myself looking through my bag.

"Hey! I resent that!" Emmett said as he and Edward walked up to us. I didn't look up, but I could feel his eyes trained on me.

"I see why Alice drives; you're a menace on the road," Edward said to Bella, a teasing note in his voice that made Alice and I share a glance.

Bella raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry: did the man who acts like it's illegal to drive under a hundred miles per hour just criticise my driving?" Bella asked incredulously.

I smirked at Edwards expression, clearly he didn't know what to say—he never did.

She then turned to Jasper and her face grew serious. "Edward and Emmett, go away—I've got questions for your brother," Bella said in mock solemnity.

Edward rolled his eyes and walked away; clearly he was smart enough—now—to know when not to argue with Bella.

Emmett, however, grinned wildly. "Oooh. Someone's in trouble!" he sang mockingly. I saw his eyes dart to me, though I acted like I hadn't.

I knew he wanted me to engage in the teasing with him, and he probably wanted an explanation for last night too—if his five messages this morning were any indication—but I couldn't. Because if I did explain all of it then this would be over. He'd either turn nasty like Royce, or he'd run like Vincent. And I couldn't go through that again.

Bella turned around and glared mockingly at Emmett. "You're next monkey man," she said threateningly.

I couldn't help but smile a little. Even though Bella could feel my hesitation for whatever this was, she still wasn't going to let him get away.

Emmett widened his eyes and turned towards me. "Rose, gorgeous, you'll save me won't you?" he asked pleadingly.

"No, I want to see you suffer." I sniffed dismissively, finally playing their game. "If you can't handle Bella's trials then you're not worth my time."

And that'll tell me once and for all if you're just playing me for a fool, I thought coldly. After all, Bella would never let a repeat of Vincent or Royce happen.

Emmett looked wounded as he mockingly clutched his heart, but I could see the real sadness in his eyes. I looked away before it could hurt.

"My fair lady has forsaken me; I must go to mend my broken heart! You're on your own bro," Emmett said dramatically before he bounded off towards the school.

I couldn't help but watch him as he walked away. I wanted nothing more than to call him back, to see that heartstopping grin, to join back in with his flirting. But I thought better of it.

I turned away, only to see Jasper's hard look. He raised an eyebrow slightly, eyes flickering to his brother before back to me. I looked away quickly. Damn empaths.

Whatever he could feel in my emotions must have convinced him of something because he turned away after a second. He watched his brothers escape Bella with a disgruntled scrunch of his face.

"Traitors," Jasper mumbled.

Bella turned to him with an amused expression. And so her games began.

"So Mr Cullen, I hear you'd like to court my sister."

"Court–?"

She didn't let him get a word in. "Are you a gentleman or a tradesman?"

"Er…gentleman, ma'am."

"Do you own an estate?"

"I still own my parents ranch house…"

"Do you have a suitable horse and carriage?"

Jasper opened his mouth before closing it quickly, confusion washing over his face.

"Come now, you need not have something as grand as a chaise and four, but you must own your own carriage."

A slight smile was forming on his face. "I think I see what's going on here…"

"So you have no carriage. A pity. What about your income—does it exceed twelve hundred pounds per annum?"

"Yes, ma'am." He relaxed a little as he got into the game.

"Have you any vice?"

"No, ma'am."

"Have you any hobbies?"

"I'm an avid hunter, ma'am."

"Miss Mary Alice is the daughter of a tradesman; have you any problem with that?"

"Mary Alice?" He turned to Alice with a delighted expression, who blushed furiously—clearly she hadn't told him. "Alice is her middle name?"

"You don't know my sister's name?"

"No, I mean, yes I–" He cleared his throat. "I do now, ma'am."

"How am I meant to believe your suit is a serious one if you don't even know her first name?"

I was practically in tears as I laughed at my sister's antics. Alice was standing back with her arms crossed, looking like she was ready to tear her cowboy away in an instant. Even if she did have an amused smile tugging at her lips.

"Bella, leave him alone. He doesn't know how to handle you when you're at your most impertinent," Alice admonished.

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" Bella pointed a finger at Alice sternly. "Else I shall make you practise your scales on the pianoforte!"

Even Alice started laughing at her dramatics.

Bella sniffed haughtily. "Very well, I give you leave to like him. You've liked many a stupider person." And with that she flounced off towards the school. I shook my head, still giggling as I followed my eldest sister.

~Scene~

I sighed in relief as I slipped out of Mr Banner's class. You'd think that a biology teacher of all things wouldn't be weirded out by the topic of 'female issues', but he was. All I'd had to do was bat my eyes and say I needed something from my sister for my 'feminine issues' and he'd practically shoved me out the door.

Not that I was lying this time. I really did have bad cramps, and Bella's herbal tea always did wonders, but I could have just as easily messaged her.

Final period had started a few minutes ago and so the corridors were nearly empty. I passed a girl wearing a hideous red turtleneck with glued on silver gems and I shuddered. It looked like something a fashion-blind grandmother might wear. Or just a blind grandmother in general.

By the look of her books—and exhausted face—she was heading to Trig and I felt a flash of pity. I had outright skipped Trig today—not that anyone ought to hold it against me. I was tired of correcting Mr Varner, and avoiding Emmett's consistent attempts at eye contact.

I didn't even know what I was doing at this point, but the thought of having that conversation with him made me want to disappear, so every time he tried, I'd find an excuse to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Which was why when he called out to me in the corridor, I'd have happily crawled into a hole just to get away.

"Rosalie!"

I was just outside of the gym, metres away from my sister and her cramp-stopping herbal tea, and it was too far. Because the corridor was finally empty and I had nowhere to hide. Not that I wasn't going to try.

"I know you heard me." He was suddenly right behind me and I knew he must have used his vamp speed and the school's lack of cameras to his advantage. I could hide, but I somehow knew, this time, he wasn't going to let me.

"I'm just coming to speak with my sister." I kept my voice light and breezy, when inside I was anything but.

"C'mon Rose, why are you acting so hot and cold?" he asked.

I turned, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm glad you think I'm hot," I joked.

He simply stared at me with a serious expression, perhaps waiting for a serious answer. I hope he enjoys disappointment.

"And you're one to call someone cold—you could double as an icebox," I continued.

"You done?" he asked, crossing his arms. As if that would've swayed me; hah, he clearly doesn't know me if he believes he can out stubborn me.

I looked around, noticing the halls had cleared completely, either nobody noticed our little conversation, or they feared this would turn violent—not that I blamed them. Between us and our siblings, we'd shown this school plenty of what our ire could do. And Emmett's brothers just didn't know basic manners; really, provoking my sisters into acts of violence—it's like those boys were raised by wolves. At least Emmett had the decency to keep our 'discussions' flirtatious.

Not that he was right now.

My eyes snapped back to his. "Not quite. I'm debating my chances of fleeing the scene."

"You don't need to run away! Just talk to me!"

"On the contrary. Bella once said 'if you have nothing nice to say, curse them instead'."

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm trying to confuse you by making an unrelated statement in hopes that you'll forget your original question and leave me alone."

Emmett gave me a withering look. "I'm not leaving you alone until you give me a straight answer."

"As opposed to a gay answer?"

He narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

"You'd make a lot of money as a statue." I was hoping if I went off subject enough he'd eventually just give up. "I'd bet I could sell you as a depiction of a modern hercules and get millions."

"I have no doubt you could," he replied easily, not budging an inch. "You're still avoiding the question though."

"I know, but I grew up with Bella as a role model for stubbornness, so give me a reason or we could be here until the turn of this century."

"Oh, no." He shook his head. "You're the one with all the reasons. I'm not going to convince you to give me a chance to hear your reasons for giving me the cold shoulder."

"Ok, guess that's it for this game. Thanks for playing. Au revoir," I said, giving him a smile before I spun on my heel and began to walk away.

I blinked and he was in front of me again, my hair rustling as he passed. "You may have grown up with Bella's stubbornness, but I've lived with Edward and Jasper for more than fifty years—I can wait longer than you can."

I was just about to retort about my stubbornness when suddenly Bella was between us, casually taking a defensive stance in front of me. Her right hand rested innocently on her hip and her head was tilted to the side curiously. I knew it was just a farce though. There was a tightness to her shoulders like she was prepared for anything to happen, like she wasn't going to let anything come near me.

I felt a flash of relief that I refused to let show. As cavalier as I had been, I didn't know how much longer I could have gone on pretending this whole damn thing wasn't killing me.

"Emmett! Just the man I was looking for!" she said cheerfully. "Time for gym, come and watch me hit Lauren Mallory in the face with a basketball and make it look like an accident."

Translation: back the fuck off my sister if you please, I thought.

The message was clear in her voice and I could tell Emmett saw it in her face. I'd have bet anything her eyes were fucking violet too.

He took a step back, jaw clenched and I darted away from them, rounding the next corner in a heartbeat. There I stopped, curiosity getting the better of me when I heard Bella's voice.

"You want to tell me why you're cornering my sister?" her voice was low and tight.

"I want to know what the hell happened?" There was a desperation in his voice. "Last night was amazing, and today she won't even look at me!" he sighed heavily "What did I do wrong?" He whispered pitifully.

I closed my eyes and dropped my head back against the wall. A part of me felt guilty for leaving the explanation up to Bella. I should have done this myself—it wasn't fair on either of them—but I wasn't ready to talk about that part of my life yet. It was easy to tell him about the hateful things Royce did that made me curl my fists—it was easy to get mad. But the thought of talking about anything else—I just couldn't.

Not yet anyway.

And maybe it was unfair of me to leave this to Bella, but I wasn't ready to do it myself, and my sister was always happy to do the things we didn't want to do. That's what big sisters were for, right?

I blinked, pushing away those thoughts as I listened for Bella's reply. "That nickname brings up a lot of unpleasant memories. Don't call her an English Rose, That's what Royce used to call her." She spat.

It was silent for a moment before Emmett growled, "The bastard ex?"

I couldn't tell by her silence if Bella was surprised that I'd told him, but by the snarl Emmett let out, I knew she'd nodded.

"How'd he die?" Emmett asked, the promise of death in his voice, in that moment I knew, if Royce were still alive, Emmett would have gladly brought me his head on a platter. The thought made my heart flutter.

He's nothing like Royce… a voice whispered in my head. Relief blossomed in my chest and I didn't realise until then how much I had been hoping he'd be different. Because, despite everything, I liked Emmett. More than anyone—more than even Vincent, and I had no idea how to handle that.

"Hunting."

"He went hunting?"

"No, I did."

~Scene~

With the sun setting behind her, Bella handed us a basket each. "Right. We only have a little over an hour before we absolutely have to start cooking so we need to make this quick. Alice, you look for whitebark raspberry leaves, Rose takes the checker lily, and I'll handle the glasswort. And then we'll all keep an eye out for fireweed. Agreed?"

And with that the three of us headed into the woods to collect fresh herbs. Our stores were running low and we needed more—particularly if Alice's premonitions rang true. And even if they didn't, it was always good practice to be prepared.

At the edge of the forest, I closed my eyes. I was far better at my rune-work than I was communing with nature, but I was a witch, and all I had to do was ask.

Checker lilies, please, I thought clearly. Like a beacon, I felt the subtle caress of Mother Nature leading me to where I needed to go. With my eyes closed to better feel the pull, I began walking, trusting the earth to lead me safely.

A few minutes in, I stopped as the energy in the forest suddenly shifted. Something was here that hadn't been before, but…the forest didn't reject the presence. These things were meant to be here, but there was something about them that felt off in the forest's energy. My eyes snapped open. It's a warning!

I darted towards where I could feel my sisters' magic pulling to me. The forest cleared a path for me as I ran.

Eventually I reached the clearing where they were and saw them standing back to back, watching the forest with wary eyes.

"Something's here," Alice said in a low, tight voice. "Something natural, but not quite right."

Bella reached for me as a rustling sounded amongst the trees. She pulled us both behind her, throwing up a protection ward as we turned in time to see six massive wolves pad into the clearing.

"Fuck, what in the name of Circe do they feed the wildlife here!" I exclaimed. No wonder the forest warned us.

I felt Alice reaching her magic out to the trees and vines around us, even as she squealed in faux delight, clapping her hands. She was distracting them while she determined the loyalty of the forest. "Puppies! Bella! If I promise to pick up after it, can we keep one? Please? Please?" she begged.

One of the wolves growled lowly and I knew now why Alice had chosen that particular act. These wolves understood what we were saying, so they definitely weren't normal wolves.

"Alice, we are not keeping one of those mutts! Dad would have a heart attack," I said before scrunching up my nose at them. "Besides, it would cost a fortune to neuter one."

One of the smaller wolves whined, moving his tail to cover his bits and I couldn't help but grin.

"Begone from here!" Bella ordered, authority ringing in her voice. "Leave and don't come back to this part of the forest again." The power of her words thrummed through the air and the wolves shifted uneasily. Had they been typical wolves, they'd have run off immediately.

Bella's power swelled and the smallest of the wolves seemed to inch back until a black wolf snapped at it. After a long moment, The large black one darted back into the trees. I assumed it was the first to leave, but a moment later a shirtless man appeared in his place. "Stop it! Stop whatever it is you're doing!' he demanded.

He was heavily muscled, with short cropped hair, anger and a trace of fear carved into his face. There was an air of his own authority around him that had the wolves instinctively shifting towards him.

He must be their leader, I thought, eyes wandering over him.

"If they're all like that, Alice," I quipped, "I don't think Jasper will let you keep one either."

"True," Bella said. "Alice, now."

Suddenly vines reached out off the trees and wrapped themselves around the dogs hulking bodies, necks and muzzles. Alice's eyes fluttered shut as her magic thrummed through the roots, tearing them out of the ground. They wrapped like a vice around the paws and legs of the wolves, then did the same for the man. Shooting quickly out of the ground, the vines wound around the man's legs tightly.

Bella smiled, nodding approvingly at Alice as they whined and the man shouted a curse in surprise. "Nice work Ali. Did it take much convincing?" she inquired.

Alice shook her head. "No, the earth likes us better. Humans no longer show respect to the earth, and these wolves are no better. Even if they are natural beings, they aren't as intune with the earth as they once were," she informed us.

Bella nodded and turned back towards the man. "So, what are you? A demon? Or just a shapeshifter with an overinflated sense of self worth?" she questioned.

"Demons don't exist," the man growled. "We are werewolves; the protectors of La Push. I am Sam, the Alpha." Smug pride seemed to radiate him and the wolves, and I rolled my eyes.

Bella snorted. "Yeah, go pedal that to someone who believes your bullshit, okay? I know what a real werewolf looks like and it sure as hell isn't like a male porn star with a superiority complex.

"You also look like you took a few too many steroids in a desperate attempt to cover up the fact that you were not well endowed. Now I'll ask one more time: demon or shape shifter? Keep in mind that if you don't answer I will assume the answer is demon and simply kill you," Bella said, looking at her nails and frowning. "Rose, we should really start using a hand scrub—my nails are a bit dull."

Translation: she was bored and wanted to wipe her hands of these idiots. "We could get a manicure," I suggested. "There's a cute place in Port Angeles."

She looked back at the man. "My sisters and I are busy. Whatever the hell you are, either tell us why you're bothering us, or you can act stupid and Alice can ask the vines to strangle you to death. Your choice. Personally, I think some of these plants could use the nutrition," she said simply.

"Bella, one might think you like plants better than people," I joked.

"I like a lot of things better than people."

Alice snorted. We refocused our attention onto their 'Alpha' Sam who was looking at us as if he wasn't quite sure what he'd gotten himself into.

"What are you?" he asked.

Alice perked up. "Oh! Me me me! Bella pick me! I've always wanted to answer this question!" At Bella's smirk, Alice turned to the wolves and schooled her face into a serious expression, making her violet eyes flash ominously. "Your worst nightmare."

"Bella—" I started, but she cut me off immediately.

"No."

"But–"

"We've had this discussion before, Rose. We're not having Alice committed."

"What if—"

"Not even for a short stay or if we visit her everyday."

Alice flipped me the finger and I smiled sweetly back at her.

Bella turned back to the man. "Ok fido, tell us why you're here," Bella demanded, her eyes narrowing.

The man, Sam drew himself up impossibly taller, as if that would intimidate us. "We came to warn you to stay away from the Cullens. They're dangerous."

Warn us? How insulting! I scowled at the dogs.

"And if we don't?" Alice raised an eyebrow, entirely too amused at the subtle threat.

As one, the wolves started growling. My lip curled in distaste. Yeah, Alice is definitely not keeping one, I thought in wry amusement.

Bella sighed, shaking her head, "How disappointing. I guess that ought to teach me for having high expectations of puppies."

She shook her head. "Okay, I'm only going to say this once. I don't give a flying fuck about the Cullens. In fact, if Carlisle himself was on fire and I had water I'd fucking drink it. I'm not here to make nice with them, so you can take your misguided warning and shove it. I can take care of my own damn family. Now, we're going to leave, and the vines will let you go in an hour, if you behave."

And with that she dropped the protection ward and headed back to the house. Alice and I followed—we'd get the herbs tomorrow.

~Scene~

I placed the two large bottles of cokes down on the newly conjured coffee table with a nod. It was nearly dinner time and everything was almost ready.

Alice had called Dad earlier and begged him to come home a few hours early from work. She'd said that spending time with him was our main reason for coming to Forks, and yet we'd hardly gotten to. And at this point it hadn't even been a lie. We'd come to Forks expecting another lacklustre parent, but he was surprising us at every turn and we all found ourselves actually wanting to spend time with him.

And so we prepared this dinner. Because out of our four parents, we were due to finally have a decent one that actually stuck around.

Of course, when Alice had called, it had also been a subtle guilt trip. Deputy Mark had been more than willing to cover him when Bella had called him earlier, supposedly looking for Dad. Who she knew would be on his lunch break at the time. After being told he was out she had let out the most sorrowful sigh she could muster and the deputy had fallen for it hook, line and sinker. She'd then fed him a not entirely untrue story about how when we had moved to Forks to spend time with our father, we'd expected to actually spend time with him.

Only we couldn't because he was always either at work, or fishing. And how these days it felt like we never saw him.

Predictably, Deputy Mark had fallen over himself to assure Bella Dad would be there for dinner, even if the whole station had to drive him there themselves. Bella had sucked in a shaky breath and thanked him in such a wobbly voice it was a wonder she hadn't burst into tears. It had been a delight to watch. My sister could put Leonardo Decaprio to shame with her acting skills

Bella nodded in approval as Alice nearly danced into the living room with a gigantic bowl of popcorn. Any human would have probably spilled it, but Alice had always been naturally graceful, even for a witch.

Bella then came in with the tray of dips in one hand and a large lasagna pan full of loaded nachos. We had stopped at the store after school to get ten bags of nacho chips as none of us wanted to bake any homemade chips.

And Dad was obsessed with our loaded nachos,

Bellla had combined the ground beef and cheese in the pot, then added the shredded cabbage and diced tomatoes, and mixed it for a few moments before pouring it over the nachos and adding the homemade guacamole, sour cream, and fresh chives. I brought out the chicken wings we had spent the last hour frying. It was a lot of work but worth it.

Bella had suggested this morning that we make a game night style dinner for Dad—something he hadn't had since we got here and started eating in the kitchen as a family.

We had also gotten rid of his old coffee table which hadn't been big enough for the spread and conjured a larger one. Honestly, we probably had enough food to feed fifteen people, but whatever we had left, Dad could take into work. And then his colleagues might be more amenable to letting him leave work earlier more often. It was like training dogs to do a trick you wanted.

The oven dinged and Bella looked up from where she was setting down the disposable plates and cups—because there was no way any of us were washing up tonight. "Pizza's are ready. Rose, come give me a hand."

Alice organised the food on the coffee table in such a way that made it all look artfully yet effortlessly arranged. We had levitated the kitchen table into the living room earlier and placed it against the wall to hold the pizza's. We had made two large pepperoni pizza's and two large cheese pizza's.

I quickly levitated two of the pies out of the oven, while Bella did the same to the other two, the delicious smell wafted through the house as we floated them over to the table and set them down.

As I looked at the spread, I nodded in satisfaction. Anyone walking in would think we were hosting an entire football team, not that it mattered, we were witches—we could easily out-eat a football team. With the amount of magic we'd been doing lately we needed the extra calories, and as long as there was cheese, I was always happy.

Plus, the more leftovers there were, the more bribes we had for the Forks police officers.

Just then we saw Dad's cruiser pull up through the window, and oddly enough another beat up old car pulled up as well. I frowned at the tinted windows but I couldn't see who was inside. I wondered briefly who it could possibly be, before Bella called out from the kitchen.

"Rose! Come here and take off your apron!"

I looked down and smiled slightly to see I was still wearing the dirty apron. It had been clean when I put it on, but an apron was unfortunately no match for two hours of food prep and cooking.

I rushed into the kitchen and tossed the apron into a basket in the corner of the kitchen. The door opened and three male voices filtered into the kitchen. My sisters and I walked into the entryway and smiled at Dad and our two guests. One was an older man in a wheelchair wearing a cowboy hat, and the other was a younger man, perhaps his son, with cropped spiky hair.

"Welcome home, Dad!" we said in unison.

The man in the wheelchair chuckled and joked, "Well Charlie, if this is what you come home to everyday I might just have to move in!"

Dad rolled his eyes. "Hilarious, old timer. Girls, this is Billy Black and his son Jacob from down at the Rez. "

Bella's eyes narrowed slightly, and I'm sure my expression matched hers. Alice had a carefully neutral expression on her face.

"I mustn't have been that memorable," the old man—Billy joked as he took in our expressions. "Clearly you don't remember me. We used to all hang out from when you were this high." He held out his hand above the wheel of his chair, grinning like it was a joke.

Oh, we remember you.

We eyed the younger one—Jacob. Whether it was the fact that he looked like he was on steroids or the ego practically glowing off him, it was clear he was a shifter as well. Or whatever the dogs from the forest were.

I wonder if Dad would notice if I punched that smile off his face. I narrowed my eyes at the smug surety radiating off him.

My sisters and I shared a look, clearly Fido and his gang didn't get the message. But that was okay; we were more than willing to teach them a lesson they wouldn't so easily forget.

Dad smiled at us all and turned to hang up his gun. The moment his back was turned, we locked eyes with the two intruders, our irises flashing violet and the smiles dropped from their faces.

Let the games begin.