Other than the echo of my furious shrieks, the forest was dead silent. Every living organism had frozen. Even the tall, green trees seemed motionless.
I didn't need to look to see that the Cullen's were staring at me. I could feel three pairs of gold, topaz eyes intently penetrating my new, cold, stone back. I looked over at them anyway.
Carlisle looked not only anxious, but also slightly confused by my random outburst. I looked into Esme's gold pupils. Her beautiful face wore an expression of concern and worry. Who could blame them, really? How were they meant to know the reason behind my furious outbreak? The reaction, however, which I was not prepared for, was that of Edward's.
His pale, snowy white face was intently looking in my direction. I prepared myself for a deadly glare at my inappropriate behavior, but surprisingly, he merely looked at me with a gaze filled with pure sympathy.
My eyebrows creased into a confused line across my forehead. Although I was practically shaking with rage, I was a little curious to the reason behind Edward's response to my angry shrieks.
A few very long seconds had passed, yet no one had broken the silence. I buried my face in my trembling hands, attempting to calm myself. I could feel ripples of agony and hurt pound through my torso. My un-beating heart seemed to rip inside of me. I took one quick glance at the blue sky above my before my body suddenly erupted in a spasm of pain. It was an odd sensation- agony seemed to rupture through me, causing my knees to give in. I had barley started to fall to the ground when I felt two arms catch my quickly and easily. I did not even try to resist. I let the pair of arms carry me for a short length of time. Whoever it was, seemed to be running. I noticed very quickly that we had stopped. My eyelids were shut tightly and I was breathing unevenly. A hand was stroking my forehead.
"Shh…" a sweet, placate voice crooned. Slowly, I plucked up the strength to open my eyes. Esme's striking eyes were filled with both comfort, but also pain. I immediately felt bad for causing her to hurt.
"Esme… I… am… I…" I tried to apologize between my agonizing weeps. Esme embraced me tightly, pushing my head into her neck with her open palm. She continued to calm me.
"It is okay. I promise I will never let anyone hurt you the way those humans did." The reminder of what Royce and his friends had done to me just made me crumple into Esme's body. She, although petite, supported me effortlessly.
"I am here for you, and I will always be… unless you wish for me not to be." She gently pulled strands of my long, golden hair off my face. I saw the reflection of my heartbroken ruby eyes in her topaz pupils.
"Oh, Rose…" Esme sighed empathetically and kissed my forehead. I collapsed into her arms.
At some point, I did realize that Carlisle and Edward must have made their way back to the house. I was absolutely distraught. Shocked by the new world I was forced to live in… in agony from the mere memory of that night… I was a complete and utter wreck. I was never going to see my family or friends ever again. What choice did I have? I imagined my mother's reaction when she would hear the latest gossip from Lady Harrington- Rosalie Hale was missing… and would never be found… presumed dead.
I opened my eyes, trying to distract myself. We were sitting down now. I was leaning against Esme, who had her arms around me. I hadn't realized where we were- I guess I was so caught up in thought. We were on a ridge, surrounded by a palette of green trees and shrubs. A tunnel of maple trees towered over us, sheltering the ridge. We were sitting close to the edge of the level rock, which overlooked the most amazing view. Gasping, I peered out into the valley.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Esme murmured. "I used to come here sometimes…to think things over. Whenever I felt down or depressed about this difficult lifestyle I would sit in this exact spot and gaze out into the valley." Esme pulled me closer. It was the most beautiful sight. Gazing out at the arrangement of flora was almost breath taking. I had only ever seen paintings like this picture… I never knew how little they had actually captured. A glint caught my eye, and I turned my head 6 inches southwest to notice that there was a humble waterfall trickling down slowly, but ever so gracefully, forming a small waterhole hundreds of yards below. I could see with precision the creeks branching out of the waterhole, transporting the water to different places. It was a very relaxing place to be- almost comforting.
"I found that whatever the problem was, this place would always allow me to think about tackling it clearly. Although, you should know, that I haven't been here for a long time. I suppose I eventually grew used to being…a vampire." Esme spoke the last word softly.
"It was hard…but Carlisle made everything so much easier. I cannot imagine going through this without him. I would do anything if it meant being simply being with Carlisle. It did not take me long to realize, that no matter how horrible my new life looked, it couldn't be all that bad if Carlisle was by my side. If I was to be doomed to this way of life forever, at least I was accompanied by the one I loved." She paused for half a minute, staring at nothing in particular, and then continued.
"I must confess, Rosalie, when I learnt Carlisle had changed you, I rather hoped that you would be to Edward what Carlisle is to me. I see that now," she chuckled lightly, "that would not be a possibility. From the moment you woke up, it was obvious that you would never love him, nor would he love you… in the way I longed for you to, at least."
A flock of birds caught my eye a great distance below. I saw with perfect precision that they moved in unison, as a single organism, flying from one tree to another.
"At first, I was disappointed. I have known Edward for a long time, and it is obvious to anyone, that he has trouble with our lifestyle. He thinks of himself as nothing more than a monster, a murderer. Now, we all have trouble with this hard, cruel lifestyle, but at the very least, Carlisle and I have each other. It pains me to see the hurt glint in Edward's eyes every time I hug Carlisle… every time I we kiss… even when we pass humans in a loving embrace. It absolutely kills me that he has no one to love like that."
Esme, I noticed, looked down as she said,
"And I really hoped that you would be that person, that person he could love," I felt her soft hands support my face, pulling it up so that it was level with hers.
"I, however, see that you two do not… will not… love each other. Maybe, one day, as siblings, but not as lovers." I tried to apologize.
"Esme, I'm so sor-"
"Sweetheart! What on earth are you apologizing for? It was merely a little hope in the back of my head! I am sure that one day soon he will find someone. I will take care of you for the time being… and you can decide if you want to stay with us Cullen's or branch off alone."
My face pinched into a crumple as I tried to think. Esme stroked my flawless hair comfortingly. An unfamiliar feeling overwhelmed me… for some absurd reason; each stroke and reassuring word gave me hope. Esme comforting behavior made me feel… loved. I struggled to remember back to last week… it wasn't long ago, but I had a lot of trouble recalling the events of last Monday. I was merely walking down a path, wearing a light pink frock and had m hair pinned up high. Not one person passing me was able to keep their mouth shut, nor their eyes off me. Everyone always loved the way I looked… but did anyone ever love me?
"Rose," Esme sighed, pulling me closer. Esme, as impossible and ludicrous as it was, already seemed to love me. If I had to live like this, would it not be immensely foolish to do so without someone who was willing to look out for you?
We sat out there for hours in silence. Not awkward silence, but comforting silence. The sun was setting in pleasant shades or pink, red, orange and yellow. I could, however, easily spot traces of blue, peeking through every now and then. I finally decided to put an end to the quiet.
"If it's not… too much trouble… you wouldn't mind if I… could I stay with you for now?" I whimpered pathetically
With her soft, white, perfect finger, she traced the contours of my new face and whispered,
"Of course. Rose, we would be happy if you wished to join our family!" She stared earnestly into my eyes.
"We should head back to the house. There, Carlisle can explain to you properly the details of your new lifestyle… Are you thirsty again? We could hunt quickly before we leave if you wish." The reminder of hunting sent a painful, dry explosion of fire up my throat, but I shook my head.
We both stood up in a liquid, most fluid motion and turned towards the direction of the Cullen's house. Before we began to run, Esme held my hand softly and half smiled,
"I must admit, life is going to be a bit more enjoyable with another female in the house!"
If I was not already in devastated spasms of distraught, I might have even laughed.
**************************
I clicked the door of Carlisle's study shut and slowly made my way down the spiral, metal staircase. I felt rather disorientated. Carlisle had just explained everything. He told me about my new lifestyle, and I had agreed to join his family, and only feed on animal blood. Carlisle also told me the story of how he came to be and how he found Esme and Edward.
I got to the bottom of the stairs, feeling the wooden floorboards beneath my feet, and made my way to the formal lounge room, where I found Edward, engulfed in a game of chess. He had no opponent, but I gathered he was fiddling around with set plays, trying to figure out the best moves.
After a while, I spoke.
"So this is what you do to pass time, is it?" I asked in an expressionless tone. Surely there was something more interesting than chess! How mind-numbingly tedious!
Edward's cringed arrogantly.
"Chess can be extremely competitive. One often underestimates the amount of hard work and thinking that is put into a single move. Of course, I wouldn't expect someone like you to grasp such concepts!"
"Edward!" Esme's sharp voice rang from the library. Rather irritated, I left the room with one scowl at Edward, to find Esme.
I entered the library, looking at the walls that were filled with if not hundreds, thousands of books. Her petite, beautiful body was hugged by a dark green, inviting velvet lounge. She greeted me with a glittering, smile of pearl white teeth.
"Carlisle just explained everything." I informed her softly.
After four seconds exactly, she replied,
"How are you coping?"
I looked at myself in the reflection of the wall-sized window behind her and glowered inside.
"Surprisingly well. Although, it hasn't quite sunken in yet… but I am okay for the time being." I gave her a small smile, not showing my teeth.
"Well, if you ever need to talk, remember I will always be happy to listen… and I apologize about Edward's behavior. He is just finding hard to cope with another vampire in the house. Don't fret, Rose, he'll get used everything soon."
An angry hiss echoed into the room causing me to severely doubt that Edward would get used to a new family member. Esme rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Boys will be boys, will they not? Always so egotistic!"
Esme got up gracefully off the luxurious lounge and stopped right next to me. With her mouth only an inch away from my left ear, she whispered,
"He's just worried you'll be better than him at baseball!"
