Chapter Three

Mary didn't seem to be necessarily strange, just a little out of the ordinary. Edmund had made it a habit to stick to a diet of strictly single people with no children (or hope of any to come) who seemed to be flushing their life down the toilet, and for that reason, he was not very familiar with how to take care of a child, because usually he would watch his target for days in order to properly mourn them. He had no time for studying infants.

Other vampires had always thought Edmund had stood out, even thought that he might be one of those that feasted on animals rather than the human race. Edmund didn't enjoy killing, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from feeding on human blood.
Blood is to vampires what nicotine is to humans. It offers a relief that animal blood never could provide. It soothes the hunger that opens up in you once you are made into a monster.

I never met my creator, reflected Edmund. Whoever he or she was, they bit me and fled. I only remember only the wild eyes, the eyes that could only be those of a newborn. Since then I'd wanted to create a vampire to teach and to raise, but I vowed to myself that I would never leave them the way that newborn left me. If it was a newborn, because, if I'm honest, I'm not actually one hundred percent sure it was. I sure hope so. If not, then an old vampire has done a truly awful thing. I'm lucky I didn't turn out to be a savage and get murdered by the Volturi a couple hundred years ago.

Then Mary let out that burbling laugh again, like the sound of a little creek. One day, I hope I will get to hear that laugh ring high and clear. Mary will stay, and once she's old enough, she will join our world.

Admittedly, Edmund did feel a little guilty. After all, he was deciding her own path for her. But without him, what would she be? An abandoned, orphan baby on the street.

"Mary, you'll love Carlisle. He's a very wonderful man, and so is his wife, Esme. Tanya and her coven are simply delightful." Edmund laughed, and soon he found himself telling the girl everything she ever needed to know about Carlisle and vampires and even himself.

"I wanted to leave the city the night I was bitten. Start over, you know? A clean slate. I guess your slate has been cleaned at a fairly young age—" Edmund stopped mid-sentence, freezing to be still as Michealangelo's David. His pupils dilated down ten times smaller than they were before, and he stopped his heart and breathing to focus all his attention on listening.

Then, in the field, he saw something that made his heart start back up again. There stood a man with translucent-looking skin and silky black hair that fell to his shoulders, the sunlight reflecting off of his skin like thousands of tiny diamonds. Even from a distance, Edmund could see that Aro's blood-red eyes were shining with malice and contempt and excitement all at once. Excitement at the prospect of killing someone.

I didn't know you adopted a human infant, Aro thought to him. Aro had touched his wrist last time they met, and he could now read all of Edmund's thoughts. Edmund could read Aro's without a single touch. Edmund preferred to block out all thought connections out of respect, so he had not used his gift in years, even when the officer had arrived at Edmund's door.

Obviously you did, or you wouldn't have come here. Where's Jane? I thought back. If Jane's here, then Mary may be in trouble. So he scanned every area of the two-mile radius, listening for Jane's high-pitched, vain thoughts. He found her. Aro had better hurry this up, she was thinking. Either that or he'll hurry this up. I don't look forward to torturing an infant. He thought of Jane's small stature, big ego, and doll-like face. He had never before seen (or heard) her be kind. Apparently torturing the mind of an infant draws the line for her, even if it didn't for Aro.

How's Mary? Aro's voice brought him back to reality.

Come closer. Talk to me in person. In a second Aro was right in front of Edmond, staring him down with the cold, calculating stare that could only come from a man that ate his murder victims, the only kind of stare that came from a very, very old vampire. One that may never die.

"Jane, come here," called Aro in that arrogant, but also low and velvety voice of his. Then Jane was beside him, dutiful as ever, no matter the cost of her conscience. Then Aro turned to me. "I don't want to hurt the child, but if it comes down to it, I will."

"You mean Jane will kill her?" Edmund asked, Aro's stare not faltering. "I cannot believe that you would make someone else torture a baby. Even for you, that's taking it much too far, don't you think?" Now Aro loses his confident look, his eyes sliding over to his right to look at Jane. Then he turns back to Edmund and smiles.

"I don't want to hurt the baby," he says, "I was bluffing. You honestly think I would hurt something as helpless as that? No, far too awful. I simply want to return her to the rightful owners. See, the girl's stepmom only passed, not her birth mom. The father, sadly, wasn't able to live without his new wife." Edmund's face turned sad. He didn't want to give the girl away, but he must.

"Aro, at least let me take the girl to her mother since I found her." Edmund looked at Aro hopefully, and Aro sighed.

"Alright, you have my consent. But if I find out that you kept the girl instead of giving her back, I will find you again, and you won't get off so easily. Do you understand?" Edmund nodded, but he observed that something in Aro's face didn't look right. It then dawned on Edmund that Aro wanted the girl for some other reason. Not to harm her, but he must want her for something. Just in case, Edmund would watch the girl's house for a few years after he returned her.

"What's her mother's name and surname?" questioned Edmund.

"Her name is Alice, and her surname is Brandon. Apparently the woman never remarried," replied Aro. Edmund thought this girl's history quite sad, and was glad to be watching over her. Maybe he'd leave some money in Alice's mailbox to help her and her baby out. It must be tough to make much money as a single woman these days. "Also, she's raising an infant. A baby boy. Alice was pregnant with another child when her husband, Henry, left her." So Mary had a brother.

"What's the boy's name?" asked Edmund.

"A very plain name. His name's Edward, but he looks nothing like his sister. Wear color-deceiving lenses when you pay them a visit so you don't alarm the mother or scare the little boy."

"If he's anything like his sister, he won't be scared of my eyes," said Edmund, smiling down at the little bundle of jacket in his arms. I wonder if the rest of the Brandon family is just as strange as Alice. If so, this poor woman will adopt me, too. Edmund smiled to himself, laughing at his own joke. Aro gave him a very peculiar look, then turned to leave.

"Follow along, Jane," Aro said. "Meet me in Volterra at the compound, alright?" Then he turned and ran, his translucent figure blurring as he bled into the treeline. Edmund turned to Jane.

"Jane, what does Aro want with Mary? After all, he seemed very put off when I requested that I take the girl to her mother instead. He didn't deny my request because he's hiding something. What is it? After all, unless I'm mistaken, he's not yet able to read your thoughts, correct?"

"No, he cannot read my thoughts." Jane's voice rang out high and clear, and Edmund presumed that if she ever wished to laugh her laugh would be very beautiful. However, Jane's mortal life was taken from her a hundred years ago when she was only fifteen years old, and Edmund didn't think she'd smiled since.

Then Jane turned to follow Aro, and Edmund was left standing in the clearing with a baby in his arms who would, though he didn't know it yet, cause him an awful lot of trouble.