There wasn't any tv or radios here; probably too far out to get any reception. Don't get me wrong! There was still lots to do at Slane Castle- swimming, walking, reading, etc. It's just weird living without a television again; feels like I'm back in the twenties. I did have fun in the roaring twenties; I'm not gonna lie. Charlie always made sure I wanted for nothing…. Back when he was alive.

Garrett and I retired to the castle library for the evening. I hadn't told him about the werewolf I saw earlier and didn't plan to; it would only make him worry. It's strange…. We'd only known each other for half a day and he's already taking his duty of guardian so seriously. There was rarely a moment, aside from when he was drinking his dinner, that I was out of his sight. Speaking of dinner….

I groaned a bit and clenched my stomach with the hand that wasn't currently holding a book. Garrett immediately looked up from his reading at me. "Thirsty?" "A little," I winced; I'd never gone this long without blood before….. His nodded gave a slow, single nod, as if to reassure me. "I'm doing some research on human fasting. Bouts of hunger pains are normal during longer fasts. But don't worry; it'll go away in couple of hours. The books say it doesn't get worse, only subsides if you're patient enough." "But I'm a vampire. Is it the same with me?" His shoulder shrugged. "I should think so. You may drink blood but your body's still human in every other regard….. uh, minus the aging thing," he said, and I laughed. "Thank goodness for that; I like being permanently seventeen years old. But I'm sure you're right; just gotta wait it out, I guess….." A sigh left my lips as I slumped down into my cushy, leather chair. Garrett grinned my way and reached his hand out to give my forearm a squeeze. "You're doing great, kiddo. Just have some vitamins before bed; you'll feel better in the morning." My face mirrored his pleasant one. I wasn't sure if it was the unconscious- or conscious- sensation of my warm blood that pushed him to be so nice to me, but I chose to believe that wasn't the case.

We then quietly returned to our readings; him on human fasting practices and me a Jane Austen novel. I had just gotten to the part where Elizabeth Bennett was about to meet Mr. Darcy for the first time when the library door suddenly opened. Both our heads turned up to see who it was. A girl and guy I didn't recognize entered and Garrett instantly frowned, unhappy with the current situation.

"What are they doing here? I told Carlisle that we'd be in the library tonight," my guardian muttered under his breath. "Are they….. the Cullen kids?" I inquired to Garrett, not taking my eyes off the pair. The girl had long blonde hair and the guy was swoll. This immediate feeling of awkwardness overcame me as they stopped in their tracks, suddenly staring back in our- or rather my- direction. It was apparent that they weren't expecting to find us in here; I guess Dr. Cullen didn't pass on Garrett's memo.

They froze and Garrett rolled his eyes dramatically. "Ugh, could they be more obvious? See, this is why I keep to myself; the Cullens got their own thing going on." "W-What's wrong with them?" My lips quivered a little. "Mmmmm? Oh, nothing. They just weren't expecting you to be a human, I guess. Haven't had one of your kind stay here in a loooooooong time. The blonde girl's Rosalie and that's her husband, Emmett." "Husband?! They're married?" "Oh yeah, most of the Cullens are married- to each other, I should add."

The two vampires, Rosalie and Emmett, were quickly joined by two other vampires; another couple. There was this little brown-haired girl and another guy, who had the most distinct reaction when he saw me. The atmosphere in the room flipped on a dime and all eyes were square on him now, especially his concerned partner. The brown-haired girl took the blonde-haired guy by the arm, whispering something indistinguishable to him. Garrett seemed like he was about to stand up and physically get between us but refrained for the moment. I could tell he was on edge by peering at him from the corner of my eye.

Nothing happened for a moment, and I plucked up the courage to break the stifling silence. "W-Who's that?" "Alice and Jasper; another married Cullen couple. The girl's fine but the boy…. Personally, I think there's something wrong with that kid but that's just me. Don't be scared; he's just the newest vegetarian vampire so it's a little hard for him. He must not be used to the smell of ambrosia." I can't imagine that many vampires are….

Realizing her husband was in distress, she took him by the hand and began to lead him back out of the library, but not without one last look at me. The other two left with Jasper, leaving Alice the last one in the library with us. She didn't look at me again but at someone else. A fifth unseen entity had appeared and halted just shy of the doorway; enough for us to know he was there but not close enough for us to see him. Garrett relaxed in his seat slightly, still watching the two at the doorway. So was I…

"Who's she talking to?" "Dunno; must be Carlisle's fifth kid- the single guy." "Guy?" My eyebrow raised. He nodded, lifting his finger up to his mouth. "Name's Edward; he turned when he was about your age. He's Carlisle's first adoptive kid, if I'm not mistaken." "Oh…." I pondered, glancing back over to the door. Alice was talking, or rather quietly arguing, with the fellow still concealed from view on the other side. This time she was speaking loud enough for me to barely hear- just barely. Gotta love average human-level hearing.

Her arms bent up at her sides exasperated. "Yes, she's in here. Why'd you think we had to get Jasper away?" A response I didn't catch from this so-called Edward. Alice's face lit up in surprise and dismay. "What do you mean you can't read her mind? Has that ever happened before?" Huh, so I guess mind-reading was Edward's vampire power; neat. Wait, did she just say he CAN'T read my mind? Why would that be? I'm just a human- granted an immortal human, but still. I had no special powers besides; being "human" WAS my power, and not a very useful one. Well, excluding when I wanted to go out in public areas without worry of getting caught.

Alice rolled her eyes at him. "No, don't go inside then. Are you crazy? She's a human, just like Carlisle said." Another pause here. "That's because she's fasting, you idiot. I can smell her blood from here too." Insert pause. "Listen to me, Edward; just leave. If you think you can't control yourself, then go. We'll have a family meeting about this later. Just stay away from her until you talk to Carlisle." Edward must have said something that made Alice roll her eyes again and huff. "How am I supposed to know how long she's going to stay for? You're the mind-reader; read Argus's mind or someone who does. Look, we're wasting time; let's just join the others." One final pause. "What? Oh, uh brown….. She looks like a regular human, but with really pale skin. She has deep brown eyes instead of crimson…..

And her hair is also brown."