Chapter 2: Family Lines

Chapter 2: Family Lines

"Who is she?" The youngest looking of the Cullen's spoke out as they met in the parlor downstairs.

"She said her name was Arcia, but after that she knocked out." Alice spoke with the girl still nestled closely to her body.

"She looks around our age." Emmett stated as Rosalie stared with curiosity at the new addition to her family.

"Edward she's not from our school right?" Alice asked.

"No I would've remembered seeing her, and you surely would have smelled her." He stated remembering the first day he met Bella.

"There's a vampire on the prowl here and we don't know if he's one of us." Carlisle brought up. "He bit her and left her. That may not make sense now, but in time it may clear up."

"You said she hadn't fed?" Edward asked, doubting that a newborn vampire refused to eat.

"Arcia hates the idea of eating anything living. She shuddered at the thought of eating a human and looked terrified when I mentioned animals." Alice reminisced.

"That's…strange." Jasper whispered. He had been the newest addition as of late and still had problems curving his appetite.

"I thought so too."

"We should keep her away from humans for the time being." Edward stood and made his way to leave.

"Going to see Bella?" Alice asked happily.

Edward smirked and left with that same speed they all seemed capable of. Jasper returned his attention to his mate and smiled. She looked absolutely protective of the girl in her arms. Would this young one be much like their child as they were to Carlisle and Esme? He rejoiced in the thought.

"She is very pretty, even for a vampire." Rosalie stated as she lingered near her sister. It seemed ironic that the gorgeous, blonde was complimenting the girl on her looks. "You will care for her?"

Alice nodded gently.

"I still wonder who bit her." Emmett thought out loud. "And how could he just leave her?"

"I don't know who bit me." Alice stated coldly but smiled all the while. That was perhaps why she felt so connected to the girl. They had both been abandoned by the vampire that bit them.

"Seems like we have yet another sister." Rosalie stated and smirked. "Good that makes everything even; we don't need that Bella ruining everything. She can be Edwards' mate." Offered Rosalie.

"Don't be ridiculous Rosalie!" Alice snapped at her blood sister. "He loves Bella and won't stop just because there's a girl vampire here with no mate. Plus I have a feeling there's someone else out there for her." She added with a touch of sadness.

Rosalie threw her a disapproving face but said nothing more. It all once again came down to Alice's premonitions of the future. Rosalie always did buy into them a lot more than she should have.

"I'm taking her hunting." Alice rose with the girl in her arms and Jasper right beside her.

"I'm coming with you." He whispered into her ear, not audible to the rest of the room.

"We'll be seeing you two later!" Alice said joyfully before she vanished from their eyes.

They fled to the mountains, north of their dwelling and where few humans could reach. Arcia woke at the sudden increase of velocity. The journey wasn't bumpy to her surprise. Even though she was in the arms of a slightly petite female, her run through the forest was smooth. She wasn't even sure if she was not flying.

"Where are we going?" She spoke weakly as she closed her eyes shut, the woods around her made her dizzy.

"We have to hunt; you'll do it natural enough." Alice spoke soothingly.

"I told you, I don't want to…" Her voice trailing away.

"You must." And as soon as she said that Jasper had managed to corner a family of deer.

"Dinner time." He said casually as he pounced on the male deer.

"Stop!" Arcia broke from Alice's arms and knelt on the ground. "Not again, please." She begged, shutting her eyes tight.

"Arcia it's the only way to keep the humans safe." Alice bent down to help the girl.

"I can't do it Alice." The girl smiled; her teeth sparkly white and perfect. "I just can't." The dark rings under her eyes all the more noticeable.

"Please try." Jasper bought the youngest deer towards the girl; it had already been punctured slightly, so the blood smelled strongly.

Arcia groaned as her vampire instincts begged to kick in. The blood seemed to call to her and it pained her every second she did not give into it. She curled on the ground, holding her stomach as she groaned helplessly. Her insides twisted and turned, her throat burned dry, and her whole body felt the pain of rejecting the blood.

"I can't…" She moaned as Alice placed a hand on her.

Alice winced at the girl as she wriggled in pain on the floor. How could she reject the food that her body craved so intensely? She had never known a newborn vampire to show such distaste for blood or the compassion for living creatures. Arcia suddenly stopped convulsing on the floor and sat up quite elegantly. This was the moment Alice had been expecting; Arcia was now lost in the hunger that took over. Her eyes were coal black and she quickly turned her attention to the mother deer, forgetting that the young one was much closer.

She seemed to dance elegantly towards the deer that seemed frozen in its place. She touched the deer's face and smiled so pleasantly as if she had just made a new friend. Her lips went to its neck and she bit so gently. The deer made no sounds even as the girl drew its blood; it simply stood still. Alice watched intently, admiring the elegance of the girls' hunt. It was amazing that the girl could show such control and not simply devour her prey. She looked closely at Arcia's face and noticed the lone tear that slid from the far corner of her eye to the edge of her chin. Even while feeding off the animal, she wept for its loss of life. Alice had never met someone who ate so…beautifully.

The deer being sucked dry of all its contents was gently laid on the floor. Arcia smiled, once again, sadistically and returned to Alice and Jasper who were still watching in awe.

"I'm done." Her eyes rose to meet Alice's. They both now held that lovely amber color. "I don't want to hunt anymore." Her voice did not wane.

Alice merely nodded, knowing they would have to hunt often, but for now they were done. Jasper held Alice's stare for a moment, both of them still amazed by her kill. Arcia looked to Alice and asked:

"You think I hunt…beautifully?"

Alice caught off guard at the girls' question, eyed her with uneasiness.

"How did you know that?" Alice asked curiously.

"You said so." Arcia said, not realizing she had read Alice's thoughts.

"Not out loud." Alice replied and tried another tactic.

She eyed Jasper up and down, all the while repeating a single phrase in her mind, wondering if Arcia would grasp it. She returned her attention back to Arcia and noticed the flustered face she held.

"So you caught a hold of that did you?" Alice asked while slightly laughing.

"Yes." Arcia squeaked, uncomfortable at the thoughts she had just heard. "Is that a vampire thing?" She asked suddenly.

"Some vampires have an extra ability." Jasper explained. "You have the exact ability as Edward."

"Edward…" The name danced across the girls' lips. "He is your brother." She said more to herself than the other two vampires.

Just then the girls' eyes went blank and she seemed to zone out, but in another instant she was back. She had seen a girl, quite white but not as pale as her pull up to the Cullen's house in a red pick up. The girl in the image was lanky with brown hair and another vampire was beside her.

"Someone is going to be at your house." Arcia looked to the sky. "In about ten minutes."

Jasper seemed alerted by the news but Alice was merely dumbfounded. The girl could see the future as well? Suddenly an idea hit Alice, how had she made the deer stay so still as she bit into its neck.

"Arcia how did you get the deer to stay still?" Alice asked curiously.

"I remained calm and in a sense I told the deer to remain calm too. I didn't want it to be thrashing everywhere, or for it to feel panicked. It kind of just happened." She replied, unsure of what Alice was getting at.

"This is strange; she has all of our abilities." Jasper stated still keeping calm and wondered if this was due to the girls' doing.

"Am I not normal, even for being a vampire?" Arcia asked, sadness lurking in her eyes.

"You are certainly a unique vampire in the best kind of way." Alice replied. "Let's ask Carlisle about it. He always knows more about this than we do."

All three agreed and bound off back to the Cullen's Household. The truck that Arcia had seen was exactly as she pictured it parked on the front lawn. Before Arcia could make it any closer to the house, she felt a tug on her wrist.

"Arcia" Alice spoke quickly, her lips moving inhumanely fast. "Can you be around a human?"

"Of course." Arcia said this without moving her lips; she had spoken in her mind. Once again surprising Alice. How many tricks did this girl have up her sleeve? "I smell her from here, but I promise not to do anything to her. I would disgust myself."

Alice nodded and noticed that Jasper was also hearing this in his mind. He smirked, astounded by the girls' ongoing abilities.

"Everyone will be surprised." That was an understatement.

They walked in through the doors, Carlisle and Esme both waiting there to greet them. Carlisle smiled at the newest edition to their family and Esme seemed absolutely thrilled about it.

"How wonderful to meet you!" Esme embraced the girl with no warning and laughed. "Carlisle has told me little of you so I'm hoping you're up for a family discussion tonight."

"Isn't it pretty late? Shouldn't we go to sleep?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Arcia.

"Do you feel tired?" Esme asked.

"No, not at all." Arcia replied suddenly aware of what everyone was thinking. "You don't sleep."

"We don't sleep." Edward corrected her from his hidden spot. "I'm taking Bella home, but I'll be right back."

"Bella…" Arcia turned to gaze on the girl from her premonitions. "You're not afraid of me?" She spoke as Bella gazed at her straight in the eye.

"Well no but Edward told me, you just became a vampire." Bella replied and Arcia noticed how Edward gave a scolding look towards both of them.

"Oh I see…and you want to become a vampire too?" At this Bella gulped a little; no one, not even Edward, had been able to read her thoughts.

"Yes but Edward is adamant about me staying human." Bella replied shakily.

Arcia looked at Edward who was now looking curiously back at her. She nodded and he looked appalled.

"What's wrong Edward?" Bella asked at his sudden behavior.

"Nothing, let's get you home." He took Bella's hand and made way to the door.

"Nice meeting you Arcia." Bella said as she passed by her at the door.

"Same here." Arcia smiled pleasantly and returned her attention to the rest of the people in the house. Apparently they had all been staring at her this whole time.

"I wasn't going to eat her." She retorted, looking directly at Emmett who had been glaring intensely at her.

"I think we need to have a family meeting, wouldn't you all agree?" Carlisle said as he led the way to the parlor.

They all followed and sat on the cushioned sofas. Arcia made sure to sit on the edge, so that only Alice was by her side. For some reason she did not feel comfortable in anyone else's presence.

"How did the hunting go?" Rosalie asked Alice.

"It went fine, she ate a deer." Alice replied, but everyone noticed how Arcia shook at the words. "We figured out some other things while hunting." Alice added.

"Like?" Edward asked; already back from dropping off Bella. He glared at Arcia. She could not look him in the eyes any longer.

"She seems to have all our abilities." Alice stated. "She can read our thoughts, she can predict the future, she can control emotions and she can speak into our thoughts. That's it…so far."

"You can read Bella's thoughts?" Edward asked.

"Yes." She glanced quickly at Edward before returning her gaze back down to her hands.

Edward stared, wanting to know why she could and he couldn't. It ate at him that he could not read his loves' thoughts.

"Arcia do you remember your human life?" Carlisle asked.

Arcia stayed silent for a while but then answered. "I can't remember."

"Why can't I read your thoughts?" Edward asked almost angrily.

"I don't know." Arcia answered a bit shaken. "I don't know." She repeated in a whisper as Alice took her hand in her own.

"Edward…"Jasper looked at him sternly, calming his brother down with his ability.

Edward looked slightly taken aback; had Jasper just stood up for the girl as if he were her father? Now that he observed Alice, Jasper and Arcia closer, he noticed their bonds. Alice had taken in the girl and Jasper was merely reacting the way a mate should when the other finds a child.

"She is yours?"

"No." Alice stated quickly. "Remember I found her in the woods today."

"But you will care for her in other words?" Edward rephrased his question.

Alice nodded happily as she noticed how intently Arcia stared at her. Her eyes filled with the fear of being rejected.

Everything seemed to be taken care of except for the arrangements for Arcia's human life.

"So is she going to school with us?" Emmett asked.

"We'll have to see how well she does around humans; a large amount at that." Carlisle noted.

"She didn't jump Bella today; I think that's a lot more than can be said for any other newborn vampire." Edward stated looking admiringly over to Arcia who looked back with a furtive glance but quickly shied away from his gaze.

"Did much better than you and your first day meeting Bella, that's for sure." Alice pointed out with a snicker at the end; obtaining an annoyed look from Edward.

Edward looked angry at first but then pondered on a certain thought. How could this girl show such restraint when she had only been a vampire a day ago or so? She showed better control than some Elder vampires he knew.

"How did you control yourself?"

Arcia looked at Edward and then looked at Alice. She was afraid to speak for some reason and only took comfort in Alice. So she used her unique ability to speak to Alice in private.

'I don't know Alice, I thought I was going to be the one asking questions.' Arcia spoke into Alice's mind with obvious fret.

'Can you hear me?' Alice spoke in her mind, knowing it would relay back to the girl.

Arcia's replied 'Yes!'

'Don't worry you don't have to talk now. Remember we have an eternity.' She winked back at Arcia who smiled slightly.

"I think that's enough for today." Carlisle announced as he noticed the girls' silence.

"But Carlisle…" Edward interjected.

"Don't worry Edward." He stated and looked at the rest of his family; it had grown during a full century and he loved them.

"I suggest you go shopping for clothes tomorrow." Esme suggested happily at both Arcia and Alice.

"I don't have any money." Arcia said nimbly.

"Don't worry I got you covered." Alice gave her a thumbs up.

"I can't take your money." Arcia replied and Edward laughed at her reply; she reminded him of Bella.

"And why not?"

"It's yours and I'll feel bad."

"I have loads of it, so I can spare you quite a lot." Alice argued. "Plus you're literally family now."

"Family…"Arcia sighed and slightly smiled at the other vampires' around her; she was thankful. She wasn't alone after all.