The house was just as she
remembered; spacious, clean and bright, despite the night sky
outside. Her last visit had been around eight years ago, but to her,
it felt like yesterday. The only difference was Renesmee. The once
small child of Edward and Bella Cullen had developed and blossomed
into a stunning young woman, whose appearance was a mixture of both
human and vampire, yet frozen at the age of seventeen. Kate smiled
widely as she embraced Renesmee first from the group of beautiful
creatures before her.
"Nessie! I can't believe how much
you've changed!"
"It has been eight years, four months,
since your last visit! I almost forgot who you were!" She teased,
her chocolate brown eyes widening and a large smile playing upon her
rosy lips.
"You could always come and visit me!"
"Well…
Jacob is slightly over protective and I didn't think you'd want a
werewolf stinking out your territory…"
"You and Jake
are always welcome."
Renesmee's cheeks flushed crimson as she
brushed her long, bronze curls from her face.
"Love, eh?"
Emmett winked at Kate, his arm draped around the shoulders of his
wife, Rosalie, who was smiling softly.
"Rose has finally
accepted that no matter how hard she tries to avoid the fact, Jacob
Black is now part of our family." Edward emerged slowly from the
kitchen, hand in hand with his wife, Bella, their lips upturned.
Rosalie's eyes flashed with resentment, but her expression quickly
altered when a low growl escaped Edward's lips. "She's still
the same old Rosalie though, don't be fooled by the mask."
The
room was then filled by stifled laughter as Rosalie's eyes narrowed
towards her brother.
"Things never change, do they?" Kate
smiled and surveyed each vampire before her. Suddenly, she realised
that not everyone was there. "Where's Alice and Jasper?"
"They
should be back soon." Carlisle reassured her, apprehensively
resting his hand upon her shoulder. "They were both desperate to
hunt, and I thought it'd be easier for you to face this lot first,
opposed to the entire clan."
"They're the two that are
probably the easiest to face!" Kate mumbled, yet her voice was
still musical. "And Carlisle? I know better than to shock family."
She chuckled softly and continued to greet the rest of the Cullen in
turn, asking the questions about the past few years. Carlisle was
still working shifts at the hospital, Esme was still playing the
mother figure, resolving arguments and cleaning up after them all and
Emmett and Rosalie were now travelling a lot more, although Rose was
still very uptight and Emmett still carefree. She discovered that
Edward and Bella now lived in the cottage built for them on the
Cullen land, and Renesmee occasionally stayed with them, although she
preferred to spend her time with Jacob Black. All in all, not much
had changed in eight years, but Kate felt as though she was looking
at seven very different vampires.
"Now that you know what
we've been up to, tell us what you've been doing!" Renesmee
questioned, her eyes bright and eager.
"I think she has more
news than we think. Maybe we should wait for Alice and Jasper to
return." Edward interrupted, trying to hide the smile lingering on
his lips. "Just be patient."
"You know patient isn't
a word I fully understand." Nessie complained. She folded her arms
noisily and fell into the soft armchair, making more racket than
necessary.
Edward chuckled loudly, his hand still linked with his
wife's, as they both stood still and statuesque. Bella looked
lovingly at her daughter and husband, her golden eyes full of
happiness, clearly more than content with the consequences of
becoming a vampire. Hearing her thoughts, Edward met Kate's eyes.
He held her gaze for a few minutes before smiling widely and softly
nodding his head.
"Alice and Jasper are back, I can smell
them!" Nessie exclaimed loudly, breaking the long silence. She
rapidly turned towards Kate and beckoned her forwards to take a seat
on the adjacent sofa. "Now you can tell us what you're
really here for seeing as everyone is keeping me in the dark!" She
glowered at her family, yet her beautiful face remained
angelic.
"Nessie, Alice and Jasper already know ab-" Bella
started, moving towards her daughter. However, she was interrupted by
the entrance of the two vampires in question. Nessie raised her
eyebrows, and a small smirk formed upon her beautiful face.
The
greetings begun once again as Kate embraced two more members of her
family, asking them questions about how they had been, but never
responding to the questions directed at her. In fact, she had no
choice as Nessie continuously interrupted, eager to hear the entire
story for herself from Kate's own mouth, and so she took control of
the situation.
"Now, everyone, sit!" She gestured towards the
many open seats with one hand, whilst she held Kate's wrist with
the other, desperate to hear exactly what was going on. However, she
was met by laughter and a loud grumble from Emmett.
"Nessie,
hun, we'll stand." Bella rested her hand upon her daughter's
shoulder and smiled reassuringly.
"Fine! But I'm sitting, and
so is Kate!" she stated, pulling Kate down beside her on the large,
cream sofa. "Now, tell us… well, me… what's going on!"
