Upon entering the dining hall, everyone was greeted by the rich aromas of freshly baked bread and hot stew. Cassie and Felicity placed the platters on a long mahogany table, where three young children were already seated. It was clear from the physical resemblance that these were Felicity's son and daughters. The second he stepped into the room, Vermundr went straight to Cassie's side, not quite moving at vampire speed, but certainly much faster than a human. Bending down slightly, he quickly whispered something into her ear, much too low for even the Cullens to overhear. Whatever it was Vermundr had told her, it made Cassie's brows furrow a bit in mild confusion, but she simply nodded.
"Welcome, everyone," Cassie greeted with a smile once Vermundr had stepped away. "Please have a seat. And I hope you are hungry for quarry stew, Mr. Black."
"Quarry stew," Jacob repeated the name as everyone selected one of the vacant chairs. "I've never heard of it."
"Oh, you probably wouldn't have," Abraham laughed as he sat down at the head of the table, with Vermundr taking up the spot to his right. "It was an original recipe Cassie concocted herself soon after she came to live here. So, what meats did you use this time, Cassie?"
"Partridge combined with the rabbits Vermundr brought home yesterday," Cassie replied, ladling the soup into separate bowls that she served to everyone, excluding those who survived on a blood diet. "It can also be made with venison, but to be perfectly honest, I prefer using rabbits, since doing so saves me from worrying about what to do with the excess meat. There's always too much meat in deer to put into quarry stew without a good portion left to spoil, particularly when you consider how I usually only have to prepare enough food for myself and Abraham."
By now, everyone who was eating had been served some of Cassie's quarry stew. Upon sampling the stew, Jacob found that it was an eclectic assortment of flavors that somehow successfully blended together to make a surprisingly hearty meal.
"So then," Abraham began, glancing over at the Cullens before starting on his stew, trying not to show that he noticed Felicity attempting to discreetly shift her chair a little further away from Alice's. "Why don't you tell us all about your story now?"
As the meal progressed, everyone listened with rapt attention as the Cullens relieved their entire history, starting with Carlisle's birth as a vampire, continuing to how he eventually formed his family. Everyone proved themselves to be a good audience, their expressions displaying sorrow at all the right moments. When Carlisle retold the details of Rosalie's conversion, a low growl of fury slipped from Vermundr's throat. However, no one actually interrupted the story until they had reached the part when the Cullen family had come to Washington in the 1930s and had their first encounter with the Quileutes. The second they mentioned about how the Quileutes could become wolves, Cassie suddenly gave a strangled gasp of horror, dropping her spoon with a clatter.
"Turn into wolves?" she stammered, eyes wide with sudden fear as she stared at Jacob. "You mean…?"
"Cassie," Vermundr soothed, suddenly standing behind her to place a comforting hand on her arm. "It is all right. There is no danger. As I just told you when we came in, Gash was a tree, Jacob here is a bush. Similar, but not the same."
"What do you mean, 'I'm a bush?'" Jacob inquired, looking from Vermundr and Cassie to Abraham. "And what's Gash?"
"Not what, Jacob, who," Abraham responded, sighing heavily. "As you've possibly concluded, we've had quite a few notable hardships and ventures of our own through the years. One of those times was about three years ago. We had a bad experience with a werewolf. Cassie's sister, Margret, did not survive the ordeal. Gash was the name we gave to the werewolf involved, because he had a single jagged scar that ran across his face. Ever since then, Cassie has had an understandable fear for anything that even resembles werewolves."
"So that's why you asked Jacob to phase back into a human before we came here," Alice surmised, glancing over at Vermundr.
"Yes, it is," Vermundr confirmed. "Of course, Jacob's wolf form looks absolutely nothing like the werewolf, Gash. However, I did not think it was a wise idea for Cassie to see him as a wolf without any prior warning, just in case there was enough resemblance to cause her to panic."
"If it makes you feel better," Bella spoke in compassion towards Cassie. "We have since been told that Jacob is technically a shape shifter, and not an actual werewolf."
"Shape shifter," Cassie repeated hesitantly. "So… he doesn't lose his mind when he changes?"
"No," Jacob said, shaking his head. "I may lose my temper at times, but for the most part, I'm in complete control as a wolf." Instantly, Cassie's tangible fear seemed to evaporate, and a calm smile appeared on her face.
"Okay," she replied, nodding. "So what happened after that?" With the momentary crisis averted, the Cullens' story continued on, spanning through how Alice and Jasper were welcomed into the family, then jumping ahead to them moving to Forks, meeting Bella two years later and everything that followed, finishing with their last hunting trip when the mysterious fog appeared. Once the story had come to an end, Abraham gave a quick chuckle.
"And here I thought Vermundr and I had seen everything," he mused. "A vampire-human half breed. Taking this into account, I have to wonder what else we simply have taken for granted."
"Oh," Vermundr spoke up, glancing over at Renesmee. "Speaking of the dýrr barn, I think she's had enough for the day." Sure enough, Renesmee was slouching in her seat, having fallen asleep during the story.
"We normally would have had her in bed by now," Bella announced, getting to her feet to scoop her daughter up.
"By all means," Cassie announced, also stepping away from the table. "Please come with me. I can escort you to the spare bedroom. It's about time we got some use out of it again."
"Thank you," Bella agreed, smiling with gratitude. With that, Bella followed Cassie as she led the way out of the dining hall. The pair walked in complete silence in order to keep from waking Renesmee until they entered the spare bedroom. Taking a moment to look around, Bella's first thought was that the room was very organized; not a single object was out of place. At the same time, it was also nondescript. In her experience, most bedrooms seemed to reflect the style and personality of their owners. This room, however, was completely vacant of anything that suggested someone had ever slept there.
"I hope this will do," Cassie said in a low whisper, pulling down the soft looking comforter on the nearby bed to allow Bella to set Renesmee down. "While we do come in here to clean every now and then, no one has really used this room in a while. It was originally meant to be Margret's room, you see."
"Oh, Cassie," Bella gasped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to…"
"None of that, Bella," Cassie insisted, dismissing her concern with a wave of her hand. "Like I said, this room has been lying empty for quite a while now. It's not as if Margret has any use for the room anymore."
"Still," Bella persisted. "I am sorry, especially for your sister."
"I thank you for that," Cassie answered, her smile reflecting her appreciation.
Bella and Cassie continued to put Renesmee to bed in silence and quietly left the room afterwards, but upon leaving the door open a crack, Bella could no longer hold back a new question that she had wanted to ask for a while.
"Cassie?" she asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but there's something I don't understand."
"And what is that?"
"Well, Abraham and Vermundr told us how they met and became friends, so I understand why they're here. But…where do you come in?" The instant Bella had asked this, Cassie gave a sudden laugh.
"Did you know that you're probably the first person to ask me that question?" Cassie asked. "Heaven knows how many times Abraham has been asked that, considering that he's a man who hunts monsters and yet lives under the same roof as a vampire. And yet, no one has ever asked me, either because they simply conclude I'm being paid enough money to stay here as a willing sacrifice to Vermundr one day, or they believe that foolish rumor that vampires can actually hypnotize people to do their bidding."
"So, what's the real reason?" Bella urged.
"The truth is," Cassie explained. "I can relate to Vermundr in one very important way. We both have pasts we're not proud of. Once, long ago, I earned a living as a lady of the evening." Pausing, Cassie took a second to take note of Bella's expression of shock.
"You?" Bella cried. "Cassie, why would you…?"
"Possibly for the same reason why you used to work at that shop your old school friend's family owned," Cassie responded. "We all must do what we can to survive, after all. And to be honest, at first, it seemed like a step up from where I started out. I do not know what became of my mother, but my father was a cruel man. I still carry some of the marks he gave me on my back. To get away from him, I was willing to do anything. Even run away and enter into a life that held the promise of easy money each night. But the more I sank into that life, the more I found myself entertaining men who were just like my father. That was how Abraham found me, living on the streets of Bristol. He came to my aid in the middle of a dispute with a particularly violent client and offered me a safe haven here in his home. As you've already heard, I was quite leery of Vermundr for a while after learning that he lived here as well. But from the moment I first came through the front door, they have shown me nothing but kindness, and a fierce willingness to keep me safe from everyone who recognized me from my previous life. In time, I grew to trust them completely.
"When I was a little girl, on the many times I tried in vain to hide from my father's wrath, I had often wished that I had been given a brother who would protect me, keep me safe, and always be there for me when I needed him. But now, I have two brothers, and no one could ever have a finer pair of brothers than them. And that is why I still remain here. If it wasn't for them, I would have died long ago, in either body or spirit. It was Abraham and Vermundr who reached out and took my hand, and helped me learn to stand on my feet again. They gave me the second chance I had desperately wanted but could never seem to achieve on my own. And for that, I will forever be grateful to the both of them." Even after Cassie finished her story, it was a few seconds before Bella could find her voice again.
"Cassie, I can't believe…everything you had to go through. I'm really, really sorry."
"No, Bella," Cassie stated, shaking her head with a laugh. "Do not feel sorry for me. In a way, I'm actually glad for all of that. If my life had been whole and complete, with a good and loving father, I might never have met Abraham and Vermundr. If I had the choice, I'd go through all of that again. With friends like those two, it was more than worth it." Cassie continued to smile warmly, the sincerity of her words etched on her face. Anyone who looked at her expression would have been left with no doubt of how much she loved and cared for Abraham and Vermundr. For that reason, a part of Bella wasn't too surprised by the next words out of Cassie's mouth.
"Bella, just so you know, no matter what Baba Yaga says when you go see her tomorrow, I'm rather glad you and your family were brought here by that fog. It might not be my place to say this, since he tries so hard to hide it, but I've always had the feeling Vermundr has a harder time living here with Abraham and myself than he lets on."
"Yes," Bella agreed. "I can imagine that it is much harder if you know what human blood tastes like."
"Oh, no. I'm not talking about that part," Cassie explained. "Although, I suppose that is quite true as well. No, I was really talking about how he's never been able to truly fit in around here. I'm quite sure that you all noticed how Felicity acted throughout dinner, constantly looking at each one of you as if you'd lunge at her or the children any second. It's the same with everyone in town, even though Vermundr has proven time and time again that he wouldn't harm any of them. While they will interact with Vermundr on occasion, there's always a strong feeling of tension in their voices when they do. I've often gotten the impression that, apart from Abraham and myself, Vermundr doesn't have anyone to really talk to. And yet, neither of us, not even Abraham who probably knows Vermundr better than anyone else in the world, can completely relate to him, since we're both mortal humans, and Vermundr, well… isn't. I'm glad that, for possibly the first time since he was bitten all those centuries ago, he's able to form friendships with others of his own kind. It's probably quite refreshing for him, since you know far better than either of us what it's like to be a vampire, particularly a Gold Eye."
"Well then, we're happy to oblige," Bella said. With another kind smile, Cassie casually reached out and gave Bella's hand a friendly squeeze. Before anything else could be said, Cassie turned and glanced down the hall. Following Cassie's eyes, Bella saw that Edward was standing at the top of the stairs, seemingly waiting for them.
"I know it might seem like I'm just being, to use Alice's wording, overprotective and irrational," he announced. "But, for some reason, I'm still not quite over the last few dark months. And… having both you and Nessie out of my sight in an unfamiliar time and place..." Edward's explanation was cut short when Bella moved to his side at vampire speed, placing a single finger over his lips.
"It's okay, Edward," she assured. "If you had been the one who brought Nessie to bed while I was left waiting in the dining hall, I'd have felt the same way." Silently, Edward gently repositioned Bella's hand to his cheek, slightly leaning into her touch.
"Well then," Cassie spoke gently, clearly not wishing to intrude on the intimate moment. "I hope the two of you will excuse me. I'm sure Felicity will be wondering where I am, since she will probably want my help in cleaning up after dinner." Without another word, Cassie headed down the stairs as discreetly as possible, leaving Edward and Bella alone.
"Is something wrong, love?" Edward asked tenderly, noticing the sudden shift in Bella's expression.
"No, nothing really," Bella replied truthfully. "I was... just remembering some of the things Cassie was telling me."
"Mmmm," Edward hummed, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. "And I suppose you're not going to fill me in, are you?" Before replying, Bella pulled back slightly, so she could take in his entire face as she gave her answer.
"Sorry, Edward," she replied. "But I have a feeling that the things Cassie said to me were spoken in complete confidence."
"Somehow, I rather thought that's what you'd say," Edward admitted before leaning back in for another kiss.