"What's the deal with Rosalie?" I asked Edward two days later.

The question appeared abrupt; however, it was something that had been playing on my mind. Especially since we'd left the big house. I'd noticed Rosalie's hostility the second I'd woken up and attributed it to my mother. The loyalty I had for Bella meant that I was purposely being cold toward the glamazon, but a part of me had believed that her animosity would waver when Bella had left with Jasper.

But yesterday, the Cullens had made a brief appearance at the cottage to install electricity. Whilst the gentlemen took care of the wiring, Esme and Alice had taken care of some homey touches, beginning with a victorian closet for the bedroom. Rosalie had ventured to the house to help carry the supplies but remained at the threshold; indifference permeating the air. She left as soon as her spare hands were no longer necessary.

Her attitude was a stark contrast to Alice and Esme's exaggerated attempts to be cordial, and since that moment, the reasoning had been tickling my thoughts.

It was early afternoon and the winter sun's attempt to pierce the thick clouds was futile, but enough light was cast to shadow the lush greens of the bracken as we venture from our circular pasture and into the thick of the wild foliage. Our destination was the Cullen house for a check up that Carlisle had scheduled for me. Knowing the likelihood of seeing Rosalie again so soon, I couldn't stifle my curiosity any longer. There was no better time than now as we kept our pace steady and human, enjoying the stroll through the forest.

Edward smirked. "There's a lot to be said about Rosalie and this journey is short; can you specify?"

I pursed my lips, thinking. "Okay. Why is she so against my mom?"

I didn't need to add why I'd asked and Edward didn't try to insult my intelligence by claiming it wasn't true.

I watched as he furrowed his brows and pulled his lips into a tense line, but I couldn't be sure if he was contemplating his words or whether I'd triggered him.

"There are a few factors." His hands went into his pockets. "First, you have to understand that Rosalie loves our family deeply. A large part of her attitude back then came from fear. It's dangerous for a human to know about vampires, not because it could harm the human, but because it breaks the cardinal rule imposed on the vampire world: to keep our existence secret. Before Bella came into our lives - before I brought her into our lives - our relationship with humans was extremely passive. We co-existed, but that was it. By choosing to act on my feelings, I knowingly chose to endanger the family. That's how Rose saw it.

"At this point I have to stress that she hated our relationship, not specifically your mom. I'm sure she would have been the same had it been any human. So being indifferent to Bella's role in our family, in her mind, protected us. Although, that was difficult when those that she cared about, cared about Bella. That conflict made it difficult to simply tolerate Bella for my sake."

He took the briefest pause to navigate a swooping branch in our path.

"Additionally, whilst the rest of us have accepted our existence, Rosalie, even now, would give anything to restore her humanity. She would never have chosen this life for herself. Emmett makes it much easier for her to live with, but the resentment of what she is and what she lost as a result will never go away."

"Doesn't that upset Carlisle?"

"No," he answered without hesitation, "he loves Rosalie, she loves him, and he knows that deep down it isn't him she blames for changing her."

I nodded along, not really understanding but also not wanting to tangent off from the original point.

"Not many of us would have actually had the choice to give up mortality, but by Bella falling in love with me, she was choosing a life of immortality, even if she hadn't expressed it as a wish by that point. Bella was a constant reminder of everything that Rosalie could have had, had she remained human, and she was choosing to carelessly discard it."

"Did you have the same opinion?"

He looked down to the ground, kicking his feet through the few leaves that still littered the small path leading to the stream. He sighed, his face contorting into an unreadable expression. "I wanted her to have a full life, not damn her to this existence."

I sucked on my teeth. "So she was right about one thing."

I leapt over the stream before him, but he was only a step behind, listening no doubt to my mind's new commentary.

"Nessie, you never have to doubt how much I love your mother."

"I know!" I raked my hands through my hair. "I just- I don't think you handled it very well."

His lip twitched. He closed the distance between us and slung his arm across my shoulders, directing us forward once more. "Shall I continue?"

"There's more?" I asked incredulously.

He chuckled. "You wanted to know why it seemed Rosalie has an issue with your mom and I want to be completely honest with you. There's one more point to it all which I think you'll find as amusing as I did- do."

"O-kaaaay," I dragged out, confused and curious.

"Rosalie is used to being admired; even as a human she was considered Rochester's shining jewel. As a result of her change, not only her appearance, but her vanity, was amplified. She needed this admiration.

"Carlisle had turned Rosalie with an underlying belief that she could be my Esme and although Rosalie never harboured any feelings for me beyond that of siblings, she'd been offended when I had not worshiped her beauty the way she expected all males to worship her. It aggravated her that I did not want her when she was used to being wanted by bachelor men, even some married ones."

He expelled a breathy chuckle between his lips as he came to the climax of his point. "She concluded that if I did not find her beauty worth worshiping, then there was no beauty on earth that would reach me. It was a belief she'd relied on. She'd been furious, and mortally offended that I found some 'insignificant human girl' more appealing than her."

His point was baffling. She hated my mom because Edward desired her over Rosalie. I unceremoniously spluttered, "But she has Emmett!" My unfiltered brain filling in the gaps.

Edward stopped me and spun me to face him directly, keeping both his hands on my shoulders.

"And they are deeply in love," he implored.

"I didn't mean to imply that if my affections had existed that she would have coveted them. For want of a better term, Emmett is Rosalie's soulmate. She never wanted me in any way - far from it. It was simply the need for her vanity to be fed. Thankfully, Emmett feeds it enough to satisfy."

With that, he redirected us towards our destination. "With all that in mind, I understood I couldn't ask her to love Bella as the others openly did. I firmly believe that her antagonism toward Bella was misplaced which is why I stopped challenging her about it. So long as she could tolerate your mom's presence in our lives, there was no cause for controversy. We both wanted peace within the family."

I digested all the information, choosing to process it at a time when I could privately do so. His insight was remarkable and I was thankful for it.

"How much of that did she choose to share?" I teased.

He grinned. "Not much."

We strolled in comfortable silence, listening to the song of nature as we approached the house. Just before we cleared the trees, Edward stopped us and guided me to perch on the trunk of a fallen tree, taking a seat by my side.

"You have another question," he declared, "and something tells me it would be better for you to ask it now before we're no longer alone."

I rolled my eyes. Because he was right.

"You're talking in the past tense," I pointed out.

Sensing a 'but', he stayed silent.

"If her antagonism comes down to the relationship you had with my mom then, why is she still like this? You aren't together anymore." He concentrated his gaze over my head, swallowed, then met my eyes once more. "And in the end she never actually chose to become immortal; she had no choice. Unless you count death as an option."

He took my hand and held it firmly. "Part of it could be habit, part of it is due to the circumstances surrounding us now-"

"She can't blame Victoria on my mom!"

"No, no- you misunderstand." He never let go of my hand, but he took time to consider his phrasing. "When we left, Rosalie championed that it was the right thing to do. It would keep the family safe, secret, and Bella's mortality would stay intact. Although everyone had complied with my decision, only Rosalie verbalised that it was probably for the best and she ardently believed that our family dynamic could return to what it once was.

"For years, she's fought and struggled to restore our family, growing more frustrated that a human had affected us so much... only to learn that you exist."

This doesn't make sense.

"One thing more than anything Rosalie craves from humanity is the ability to have a child. For the first time in ten years, she is resenting herself for our absence. She wonders if rather than defending my decision to leave but encouraging our return, she'd have had the chance to raise a child. That child being you."

"Is that why she's so hot and cold with me, too?"

"I don't think she intends to be. She's struggling with her feelings towards you. When she learned you were only ten, she hoped that, like a child, you still required parenting; not to influence you, but to guide you as only a mother could."

"But I'm not a child, and I have a mom."

"And Rosalie knows that," he clarified. "But you could have been her chance to be a mom, or as close to one as she could ever hope to be. Our absence prevented that and she may never get the chance again. She's confused and resentful, and sadly it's easier for her to channel if she has someone to blame."

"And Mom is her chosen target."

"I don't like it either," he growled. "But so long as she isn't verbally magnifying it onto Bella, I'll tolerate it… for the time being."

"I guess I can force myself to be ignorant, too," I reasoned, playfully. There was nothing lighthearted about the situation, but I felt like I was pivoting on a pedestal I wasn't aware I'd been placed on and my only way off was an awful attempt of amusement. To know that Rosalie held my existence in such high regard was like I'd gone from being a stagehand to being forced under a spotlight in a sold-out theatre.

"I feel bad for her," I admitted in a whisper.

As we stepped out onto the cobblestones of the driveway, the subject of our conversation stood nobly on the raised platform of the porch, her arms folded across her chest and her golden hair billowing around her face and shoulders as a lion's mane. She watched our approach. I was certain that my shame was painted onto my cheeks if the audible racing of my heart was anything to go by. Her eyes pierced me, causing me to hesitate in my steps, before she turned a glare towards Edward. "Stay out of my head."

Her eyes came back to me, her expression softening briefly before she turned away and disappeared into the house, leaving the front door open for us in her wake.

Not wanting to add further injury to insult, I inquired after her telepathically: how much of that did she hear?

"Enough," he offered as a response.

Is she okay?

He smirked at me, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "She's fine."

-o0o-

Trekking down the staircase, I felt lighter on my feet. Not from my examination, regardless of the news I was back to perfect condition, but because now that I was no longer being forced to live here under a microscope, I enjoyed the change of scenery.

Carlisle had met us in the foyer and guided me to his office - no fanfare, no ridiculous, family welcome - where I'd spent the past half an hour. He'd allowed me to leave afterwards without escorting me and no one was waiting for me in the hallway or on the stairs. In fact, I'd made it all the way to the kitchen without being accosted.

There, Esme was placing a plated sandwich on the island for me. She offered me a genuine smile then stepped away to clean the few dirty dishes she'd accumulated in her preparation. I wasn't very hungry, but eating gave me something to do other than make a conversation, so I sat and took a bite of the turkey sandwich, content with eating it slowly.

I could have walked out of the house after my examination knowing that Edward would have followed without question, but the politeness that had been ingrained into me combated any desire to be rude. Particularly now that desire was nothing but a fading ember. After my time alone with Edward and learning more about Rosalie, I realised that this change of dynamic couldn't have been easy for the Cullens either, and the threat that Victoria provided was just as unsettling for them as it was for the rest of us involved in her pursuit of revenge.

My gaze moved past Esme and to the glass of the back door, spying the subject of my earlier conversation sitting on the grass. Her face was serene as she watched Emmett throwing and catching a baseball nearby. I stopped chewing as her gaze landed on me. It felt piercing even with the distance that separated us. Her expression didn't change and there was something about that happening that allowed the anxiety over talking about her to fully dissipate.

My thoughts backtracked as she suddenly sneered, her mouth curling in disgust, glaring in Emmett's direction, but not at him it seemed. Understanding soon followed as I saw Jake step out from the trees behind her and proceed in the direction of the house; his shoulders tense and his pace aggressive.

Esme, upon noticing him too, darted back to the refrigerator and began assembling another sandwich.

Jake entered, closed the door behind himself, and took the seat next to me, resting his crossed arms on the countertop. I placed my hand on his arm, allowing my concern for him to seep through my touch.

Esme placed the full plate in front of him. He removed his arms and nodded his thanks before he pulled the plate closer and proceeded to inhale the sandwich. The contrast of our eating habits amused me as much as it befuddled me. My small bites meant that in the time it had taken me to eat a quarter of my sandwich, Jake was on the last bite of his. I pushed my plate over to him, offering the other half of my sandwich. He took it unhesitantly. The appetite of the wolves still impressed me as much as it disgusted me and I once again found myself wondering how they didn't experience indigestion.

As we both finished our final mouthfuls, he brushed his hands together then pushed the plates to the side before turning to me and offering his hand. I placed it in his, hoping that our contact would help relieve the tension I saw on his face and in his body. He didn't speak but the expression on his face was one reserved for only me and I worked at reassuring him that his worry for me was unnecessary.

Recalling the last two days, I showcased the comfort I felt at being in the cottage with Edward in comparison to the days prior when I was here full time. Nothing would ever be as comforting as being at home with Charlie and Bella, not when I was worrying for her, but I was infinitely better than I was and Edward was responsible for it.

Jake scowled, his distaste at my new emotions for Edward replacing the tension I'd just alleviated with my reassurance I was doing okay. "Does he have to stay there with you?"

My lips twitched into a smirk as I recalled asking Edward the same question, only without the hostile bite. I wasn't sure what I'd been feeling or thinking in the lead up to asking, but once I had it didn't matter because I couldn't argue with his reply:

"It's for your sanity that we're staying here. For the sake of mine, allow me to stay with you."

I could see that Jake was struggling to counteract his point as well. Edward's feelings aside, it was safer for me to have someone close by and my safety would always come first with Jake.

As if to solidify the point, someone began playing a piano somewhere in the house and we both knew who it would be. Jake's scowl deepened but instead of matching his ire, I found myself highly amused. A fact that I was expressing.

Jake rolled his eyes at me and pushed away from the island. He kissed my hair then left through the back door and jogged into the tree line. Again, Rosalie ignored him but glowered.

As I watched him go, I let the music take over my concentration and allowed it to lull me. I rested my head on my forearms and closed my eyes. My relaxed state only broke when different footsteps and a new scent intermingled with mine and Esme's. Opening my eyes, I wasn't surprised to see Alice standing across the room from me, a few books in her arms.

"Hi," she offered with a tentative smile.

"Hi," I returned as I lifted myself upright.

"I took the liberty of collecting you these," she said as she placed the three books on the worktop. "I thought you'd be missing them."

My eyes widened and I felt a smile burst onto my face. "My sketchbooks!"

I grabbed for them, flicking through the first one. Alice giggled at my exuberance.

"Thank you, but how…?"

Alice held up a set of keys I recognised as Grandpa's. "Charlie was kind enough to let me collect some of your things." At least she didn't break in. "He likes me." Amusement infused her voice.

I smiled in genuine gratitude. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I pushed the first aside when I came to a portrait of Bella. I flicked through another and among the blank pages I found a set of soft sketch pencils that I hadn't owned before. My house wasn't the only place Alice had been to today.

My new perspective on Edward and Rosalie seemed to extend to other members of the family so I looked up, ready to offer her another 'thank you'. Except when I did, she was gazing out of the window, her eyes distant and slightly pinched. Her hands, now empty, were locked together in a tight hold. Her stance was relaxed as she leaned back against the counter, but it was these other signs that I paid attention to.

"I'm sorry," I blurted.

Her attention came back to me and she tilted her head to the side. "What on earth for?"

I sighed and worried my hands in my lap. "In all the worrying over my mom, I forgot that you're probably just as worried about Jasper."

They were both missing somewhere in their pursuit of Victoria and her newborns, neither having contacted us since they'd left. The only saving grace had been Alice herself, seeking out futures to reassure the rest of us. Her anxiety was probably the one that could match mine most ardently. Plus, she had the added pressure of being the one to reassure the rest of us along with herself.

I suddenly felt extremely empathetic towards her.

"I worry about her too, Ness."

I wasn't sure what got my back up more: the direction of the conversation or her deliberate use of my mom's nickname for me. But instead of biting like I would have done a few days ago, I remained silent.

"I know my leaving hurt her second to Edward. I didn't want to go; I fought him on it so much but his pigheadedness was-" she huffed. "She was my best friend, Nessie, and I love her as a sister, I always have."

She waited for me to say something but I didn't, and it must have been the sign she wanted because she moved to a chair and sat down. "He asked me not to look for her future and I tried to respect that. I didn't purposely look, but I was so attuned to her at that point that I'd get visions about her without meaning to. They filtered out and I believed it was due to not searching for her future. I'd get glimpses, enough to see she was alive, but nothing more concrete. Eventually, the brief glimpses I did see were blurred and it was only then that I actively tried searching. When that didn't work I had a moment of panic and physically went looking for her. I came back to Forks."

"You did?!" I asked in disbelief.

"It was only for a short time - long enough to learn from the townsfolk that Bella was alive and had moved to Florida." She downcast her eyes and shrugged. "Maybe if I'd stayed longer, I would have seen you both and learned the truth."

"When was this?" I questioned, tentatively.

"About three years ago." She let a moment of silence lapse before she delivered her next bit of shocking information. "I went to Florida. I wanted to see for myself that she was okay as my visions weren't showing me much. I never intended to reveal myself. When I arrived, I learned that Renee had passed away and there was no one else I could find who knew of Bella. I tried to find Phil but he'd gone, too. I went to Phoenix first and eventually found him in Cincinnati, but he didn't offer anything in his conversations and I couldn't risk asking him directly."

"They don't talk much, only on Renee's birthday and her… anniversary," I told her.

"Even though I couldn't find her, I trusted I'd know if Bella were dead, even as I was cursing my sight.

"Then earlier last year, I had a vision of Edward and I on a university campus. I didn't know it was to do with Bella, but I had this feeling that we had to be there, only the two of us. It took Edward a lot of convincing, but I was certain and he'd never had reason to doubt me before." Her usual excitement began underscoring the wistfulness her tone had previously undertaken.

"Then I met you and I was drawn to you, Nessie. You reminded Edward of Bella - which makes so much sense now - so he was skeptical about me wanting to be your friend. I guess you reminded me of her too. I knew we were meant to be friends. You're the perfect mix of my two best friends; how could you not be?"

I felt myself backing away at her exuberance, my defences rising, and she must have noticed because her face dropped and she made a grab for my hand.

"I'm sorry if I've seemed… intense," she pulled that word from my own thoughts, "The connection I had with you was the first time I'd felt a particular way for a human since Bella. Then you brought Bella back and I learned you're actually my niece-" she cut herself off as her joy grew to a climax. "I'm sure Jasper had no complaints at my happiness. Not only because of the two of you, but because I finally understood my inability to see Bella's future."

My thoughts fixated on Bella and what she would have seen had she been able to, and I could feel the accusation playing underneath. So could Alice.

"I never wanted to leave her. I fought so hard for us to stay. I knew it would affect the entire family and I knew that we'd regret it, but I had to respect the decision that had been made."

I nodded. I'd heard Edward's side of the story and I now understood the why - I didn't need Alice to explain again. It didn't dilute the pain that had been caused, but it was the beginning of a healing wound. Alice's insight added to that.

She squeezed my hand. "I think all of us, except maybe Edward, misjudged how mature you are. I should have sat down with you like this before now and maybe I wouldn't have pushed you away. I'm sorry for that, too."

I squeezed hers in return before removing it from her grasp, wanting to accept her apologies without the stream to my musings.

"Thank you, for sitting me down and telling me your side." I paused, contemplating whether I should voice my next thought or not. But I'd been honest with Edward and I owed the same honesty to Alice. "I'm not the only one who needs to hear it."

I was confident that Alice was aware of the conversation Edward and I had had yesterday morning and I was certain that the conclusion of that conversation also applied to her. A step in the right direction didn't mean we were on solid ground.

"I know," she replied, her youthful face full of unquestionable understanding.

"They'll be okay," she added. "We all will."

I knew her well enough by now to know she meant more in those three words than simply surviving the fight.

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