Esme sat on the couch, cradling her stomach, feeling insure and overprotective. Three members of the Volturi where sitting in her living room, looking directly at her stomach, or rather the baby growing inside her. She felt her husband's hand on her shoulder, giving her extra comfort.
Clearing her throat she sat up straighter. "Please tell us about Gracie." forcing her voice to sound strong and stern, like she was scolding one of her children.
"Hasty are we?" Aro replied, standing up from his seat and walking over to Esme leaning over, hovering his hands above her stomach. "May I?"
"Gracie frist." Esme stated, her voice unwavering.
Sighing, Aro stood back up and made his way over to the front of the room before turning around to face everyone in a very theatrical way. "We were told of Benjamin and his mate had gone out on their own, leaving Amun's coven. We kept an eye on them for a brief time period, and we noticed they were not going to cause any harm. They had adapted to a lifestyle similar to your own, feed on the surrounding animals rather than humans.
"We got word that they had a small child living with them. Naturally, we feared the child would be an immortal one. We ventured off to confront them, and to take care of the problem if needed." Esme winced at the thought of a small child dying whether they were immortal or not. Carlisle scensed his wife stiffen and tighten his grip slightly on her shoulder. Nodding for Aro to continue.
"When we arrived, we were met with a hysterical Tia, telling us the child was human. We feared they would turn her, giving her immortal life, when it wasn't theirs to give. They lived a sheltered life and have never dealt with newborn vampires before. They would not be able to control the child, no matter how old she was turned. We could hear the faint heartbeat of the little one, and knew there was in fact a human baby living there. We took her, for everyone's safety." Aro continued.
"Jane was the one who went up the stairs to grab the child." Aro gestured toward Jane at the moment, who at there with a sinister look on her face. "Tia and Benjamin didn't put up much of a fight, overtaken by their own greive. Tia kept telling us to not hurt her. When we returned to Italy, we notice strange things about the little one." Aro said, his face held a blank expression, getting lost in his own memories.
"Strange? What do you mean by strange?" Esme asked, her voice cracked as she was holding back tears.
"She is very special. She reminded me of Bella personally." Aro confessed. "When we got back to our home, I wanted to see what her life was like. Who her birth mother was and how Tia and Benjamin got a hold of her. When I placed my hand upon her cheek, I saw...nothing. It was as if I was trying to read Bella. I saw nothing." Aro confessed, his hand raised as if he was placing it upon a cheek, but no one was there.
"You couldn't see anything? "Esme questioned, wondering how it was possible for two humans to carry this kind of power. Wondering if Gracie was meant to be one of them as well. Her mind began to wander back to when Bella was human. Remembering how frustrated Edward was the first day he came back from school, claiming he couldn't read the mind of a new girl in school, but knew she was human. They are still baffled as to how Bella had her vampire ability while she was human, only to conclude, it was her destiny to be with them.
"No. I couldn't see..anything." Aro said, his voice soaked with defect. "I decided to test the theory that she was exactly like Bella and had Jane.." Aro trailed off, seeing Esme's face plastered in horror, knowing there was no need to continue.
Esme looked over at Jane, who looked almost angry. "Same result." Jane said plainly, clearly upset more than one person can block her god awful power of the illusion of pain.
Esme leaned back letting out a small breath she had been holding. "You believe this little baby, Gracie, would be the next Bella?" Esme asked.
"What are you getting at love?" Carlisle asked, stepping around the couch and sitting next to Esme grabbing her hand.
"I am not suggesting that Gracie should become a vampire, I am only suggesting she may hold the same ability as Bella had when she was human, only to be amplified when she turned." Esme explained her theory the best she could, remember how only Alice and Jasper could get through Bella's shield.
"She definitely has the same human ability." Aro announced.
"What..what happened to her." Esme asked, afraid of what the answer would be.
"Our fascination with her only grew, as all of us tried our powers on her and nothing seemed to bother her. We cleared out a room for her and we have been studying her. She was staying with us in Italy. We have had her for awhile and she is about 18 months old now. She doesn't seem to fear us, but somehow understands we are not the ones who are meant to raise her." Aro said, looking over at Esme.
"Where is she now?" Esme asked.
"Love, she is in Italy." Carlisle said, a bit dumbfounded at her question.
"No, they said she was in Italy, where is she now?" Esme asked, almost yelling at Aro. Her own face had grown hot and hard at the anger she held against them, hoping Gracie was still safe.
"Nothing gets by you, dear Esme." Aro chuckled, taking a couple of steps towards her. "She is safe, no need to worry. When we found that Italy was becoming unsafe for us, we found a safe place for the child. We still have so much more to learn about her and if there are others like her."
"Where is she?" Esme asked again, every word dripped with anger.
"I don't believe we want to say." Aro said, a smug look on his face, that Esme so desperately wanted to smack off.
"Why do you have to study her in Italy, why can't you study her somewhere else." Esme suggested, trying to calm her voice and herself.
"What are you getting at?" Aro asked, confusion written all over his face.
"You said so yourself, Gracie knows you and your coven are not the ones who are meant to raise her, why not place her with the family who is. Give her back to Tia and Benjamin and study her from afar. My family will be able to see her, and test our own talents on her, see if it is more than just mental." Esme said, choosing her words carefully.
"What do you mean, more than mental."
"Bella's shield only works when it is mental. Edward can't hear her, Jane can't hurt her, and you can't see anything with her mind Aro. All of those things are mental, but Alice can see her future and Jasper can mess with her emotions. Those are physical and emotional things. If Alice can't see Gracie and Jasper can't mess with her emotions then maybe its more than what Bella has." Esme explained.
"I like the way you think Dear Esme. We might be able to arrange something we can all agree on." Aro said, the sinister smile returning to his face.
"I will only allow my family to participate in this study, only if you agree to have Gracie live with Tia and Benjamin until Gracie herself, with no influence from anyone, agrees to move out, when she is old enough to do so." Esme bargained, her own smug smile spread across her lips, knowing she made a deal that Aro couldn't refuse.
"You leave me no choice but to agree, but before I give her back, you must help us with a couple of things." Aro said plainly, clearly upset that Esme outsmarted him.
"We agreed to one thing, to help you figure out who or what has been chasing you. We did not agree on anything else." Carlisle argued.
"Please, would you allow me, to see your child?" Aro almost pleaded.
Esme sat up and nodded, ignoring the look of disapproval her husband was giving her. Aro made his way over to Esme slowly, making sure she wouldn't flinch away. When he finally reached her, he sat down on the couch beside her, his hands hovering over her extended belly. When he was inches away, they all could hear a growl coming from Carlisle's chest.
"Love, I.." Carlisle started, before being silenced by Esme placing her hand on his knee, silently telling him everything was going to be okay. He placed both hands on her shoulders and took in an unnecessary deep breath in.
After looking a Carlisle one last time, Aro placed his hands on Esme's stomach, his face intently went blank, then held a shocked expression for a few minutes, before pulling away.
"What? What did you see?" Esme asked, seeing Aro's expression had not changed.
"Your child holds something I cannot begin to understand. The love it has for you and your husband is so pure and beautiful." Aro started.
Esme smiled, looking over at her husband who pulled her in slightly, for a small hug.
"It possesses a power much stronger than my own." Aro continued, winning back their attention.
"Power? But the baby is human." Carlisle stated, taken aback at this.
"Yes." Aro stated plainly.
"What power does it have. I don't understand. It is so small and human. Do they possess the power now?" Esme's mind was wandering, so fast, she was having a hard time keeping up. She didn't understand how her human unborn child could possess a power, much stronger than Aro.
Suddenly Esme got a tingle on the back of her neck, and she looked over at Carlisle who was on high alert.
"Someone is here." Carlisle said matter-of-factly.
"Its them." Aro said, looking around.
"Who?" Esme asked.
"The ones who have been chasing us."