We run through the woods at an alarming pace, yet I can see everything perfectly. Every twig, every leaf, and every tiny clod of dirt flying up from everyone else's footsteps. We run until we reach a small clearing then stop to regroup. We set off again, a little slower this time, then stop together as we all smell something. I look up at the top of a small hill a few hundred metres away and see a small deer standing there, flicking its short tail back and forth. Carlisle looks at me and motions for me to take it, so I run forwards as quickly and quietly as I can. When I'm about 20 metres away, it turns its head to look at me. It starts to run, but it isn't quite fast enough. It crests the hill and manages to run over the other side before I dive on it and wrap my hands around its head, jerking it sharply to the side, snapping its neck. At least it died quickly, but I still feel bad about having to kill it even though I have to in order to survive now. I sink my teeth into its neck and suck the life out of the poor creature, feeling the blood quench the burning thirst I had before. When I can drain no more, I stand, looking at the shrivelled carcass in front of me. I pick it up and toss it behind a bush, then inspect myself. Surprisingly, there's no blood visible on me and I decide to head back to the others. I run back and find the others waiting where I left them, Edward with a satisfied smile on his face. I'm confused for a moment until I remember that Edward can read minds, and he must have read mine while I was killing the deer.
"Better?" Esme asks me, gently wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth that I didn't notice before in a very motherly action.
"Better," I reply with a small smile, while wiping off the rest of the blood.
Edward starts chuckling, probably about something I thought, until Carlisle give him a questioning look, silencing him. We set off again, but walking this time, trying not to scare off any prey.
"Nice kill," Edward whispers to me as we stalk through the trees.
"Thanks," I say, smiling nervously back at him.
"You did better than me," Bella chimes in quietly. "I got blood all over me my first time."
As we continue hunting, I notice the rest of the Cullens' eyes changing slowly from black to golden. I feel so out of place with my blazing red newborn eyes; I hope they fade soon.
Within a few hours I notice Carlisle stop dead in his tracks and everyone else does a second later. I don't understand why, but then I smell it. It smells floral, delicious, and I want it badly. It smells even better than the deer. I try to run, find the source of the scent, but Emmett wraps his colossal arms around my body in an instant, and I struggle against him, trying to get loose. I nearly escape, but the others come over and imprison me too, making my escape impossible, but I keep struggling. I can only think that I'm smelling the blood of a human, and I just can't contain myself; damn newborn cravings. Alice steps out and puts her hands on my shoulders, looking down on me and I look up at her, longing etched onto my face. She looks at me firmly, the power and authority radiating from her making me shudder in fear like the night I met her, but magnified enormously, and I finally give in after a few painful minutes. The Cullens release me and wordlessly we run back to the house, Alice's hand remaining tightly around my upper arm, keeping me close to her, just in case. I hold my breath as we run, not wanting to risk smelling something else that could set me off. Occasionally I slow dramatically, but Alice tugs on my arm, dragging me after her.
When we reach the house, Alice takes me on a tour with Rosalie. We flit up the stairs, going past everyone's rooms, going into Alice and Rosalie's, until we reach a rather empty room.
"Yours," Alice tells me. "Don't worry, I'll help you decorate!"
"You know you're never going to hear the end of that!" Rosalie says between laughs like tinkling bells.
"Well Rosalie…" I begin, before she cuts me off.
"Just call me Rose. You're my sister now, remember?"
"OK, Rose. I don't really do the whole decorating thing, so it's probably best that Alice does it."
We all agree, and go back downstairs having gone round the whole of the massive house in less than ten minutes. I spy the magnificent grand piano in the centre of the living room, and Rosalie notices my preoccupation and gestures for me play. I hesitantly walk over to it and ease onto the stool, brushing my fingers over the silken keys. I place my foot on the pedal and contemplate what to play for a moment. I remember a simple piece I composed during my time at the orphanage on their old, dodgy upright that was never in tune. It was years ago when I wrote it, but it suddenly comes flowing back to me. I wrote it just after my parents died. I quietly begin to play, the gentle notes flowing throughout the room. I feel something behind me, and I can only assume that it's the rest of the family. I hold the deep bass chords, feeling them resonate in the still air, supplementing the light, intricate treble line. When I finish, I turn and see that everyone is standing in the doorway listening.
"Do you have any other talents?" Esme asks me, mouth slightly agape.
"I played guitar, and I sang," I reply softly, concentrating on the grain of the wooden floor, not really wanting to look at anyone.
"I must say, that's quite impressive. You look quite young; what happened that caused Alice to change you?" Carlisle says. "We'll all retire to the lounge, and you can tell us there. Only if you want to though. Don't feel pressured to."
"Of course I'll tell you," I say earnestly. "You should know, now that I seem to be a part of your family."
"Of course you're part of our family Violet," Esme says gently. "Come on, let's all go to the lounge, and you can tell us what happened."
"OK," I say quietly, and follow her out of the room.
We walk into the lounge room and settle down, and I collapse into a beanbag. I feel everyone's eyes on me, and I decide to begin.
"When I was five, my parents were murdered right in front of me. A group of men with guns came into our house and shot them. They shot me too, but I survived. I was an only child, and had no other family. My grandparents were dead, and no-one knew anything about any other relatives I might have, so they threw me into an orphanage. I had no friends there, I preferred to be on my own. When Alice found me, I had gone for a walk for the afternoon because I had nothing to do. I went to the park, but lost track of time and it got dark and started raining. I only had a couple of blocks left to go, but a group of teenage boys dragged me back into an alley and attacked me. They wanted my money, but I didn't have any. One of them punched me in the face, so I grabbed my knife and cut his face. It wasn't deep, but it was bleeding, and he just snapped. He took the knife and cut my stomach open, then they left me there. I was about to kill myself because it hurt so much, but then Alice found me and brought me back here."
"That is quite the tale," Carlisle remarks. "How hard was it for you Alice?"
"I nearly lost control when I found her, there was so much blood. And when I changed her I started to lose it, but Rose pulled me away."
"I nearly lost control too," Rosalie says gravely. "She just smelled so good."
"At least you didn't kill her," Carlisle says gravely. "You managed to control yourselves and do what had to be done in my absence."
Everyone reflects on this for a few moments, before Carlisle speaks again with a small smile on his face, and I notice Edward smiling too.
"Alice, when is there going to be a storm?"
Alice closes her eyes and becomes very still for a moment then opens them again. Everyone seems to know what he's talking about but me.
"This evening. We'll be dry in the clearing." she says confidently.
"Violet, have you played baseball before?" Carlisle asks me.
"Yeah, I used to love it!" I say enthusiastically.
"Well this evening we're all going to play baseball."
"OK, I'm keen!"
"Good. We'll leave at about 4."
Everyone nods and walks out of the room, leaving me alone for a minute, just thinking about the endless games of baseball I used to play with the boys at the orphanage. But somehow that's all I remember. I can't remember anything specific. Edward quietly walks into the room and leans against the door frame.
"We lose our human memories," he says. "Sometimes we can remember our strongest memories, and most of us remember our transformations vividly. That's about it though. But if you think about something from your human life enough, you won't lose it." He rests a hand on my shoulder for a second as if he's comforting me, then strides out of the room. I stay sitting where I am, contemplating what I've just been told.
I wander out of the room and go back to the piano. I always found music my one escape, the one way I could feel free and release my emotions. I sit down again, this time just playing around, finding something that works. I spend hours sitting there, just playing, until I hear Rosalie come in. I finish the tune I was working on, then speak, but without looking at her. I just feel slightly awkward looking at them with their golden eyes, and me with my bright red ones.
"Hey Rose." I say with a small smile. Rose is one of the closest to me, since she was there when Alice changed me.
"Hey. You like cars?"
"Yeah, I was never the typical girly-girl. I preferred shorts over skirts, baseball over netball. I used to always hang out with the boys. All the girls thought I was strange."
"Come with me then. I've got a feeling you'll like this."
I stand and follow her out of the room and down the stairs to the garage, which they didn't show me before. Rosalie flips the light-switch and the fluorescent tubes light up along the ceiling and illuminate the sight before me. More than half a dozen expensive cars lined up in the garage. I see a yellow Porsche, a red BMW, a black Mercedes, a silver Aston Martin, a black Volvo, a massive silver Jeep, and a whole host of other flashy cars. I see a spot in the corner overflowing with some expensive, high-quality camping gear, and a workbench piled with tools and car parts, and a heap of baseball gear in another corner. Rosalie walks along the line of cars until she reaches the red BMW and gently pats the bonnet.
"Mine," she says proudly, looking at me. "It's an M3."
"Wow," I say in awe. "How can you guys afford all these cars and everything else?"
"Let's just say Alice's visions of the future include what's happening in the stock market."
We laugh, then look at the clock on the wall that says it's quarter to four. Rosalie and I walk back up the stairs and go to our rooms to get changed. I wander up to my room even though I have no other clothes, having borrowed the shorts, shirt, and shoes from Alice, but I notice a note stuck to the wardrobe door, so I pull it off and read the flawless writing.
I found some of Renesmee's old clothes and shoes that should fit you. I'll get you some more of your own tomorrow, but this is all I had for now.
Alice
I open the door and see that she's right. In fact, more than right; there are shelves full of clothes. I rummage through the shelves and find something that I like. I put on a pair of black Nike mid-thigh shorts with a mesh strip up the side and a skin-tight white Adidas crew neck t-shirt with the logo in black on the front. I put on a pair of cleats and a Rockstar cap, leaving my hair out, and go down to the others. They're all wearing similar clothes and once the last member of our party arrives, we distribute the gear and then all run out the door.
With me just following the people I now have to trust.