Twilight: The Fall

Chapter Two

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.

~ Confucius

Bella watched Alice go up and down the stairs in their home in an almost agitated state. To human eyes, she would have appeared to be dancing around the house but since Bella had lost those eyes over a year ago, she could clearly see Alice's discomfort. And she wasn't the only one who noticed. Carlisle had emerged from his study on the second floor to investigate all the movement.

"What is it, Alice?" he asked from the top of the stairs.

"I don't really know," she answered, frowning slightly. "I keep seeing flashes of us helping someone who's been hurt, but it's so...distorted. There's too many holes in the vision. But whoever it is, they're in a bad condition."

Bella immediately thought of Jacob and Renesmee, who were with Charlie that night. "The wolves?"

Alice shook her head minutely, as if running through the vision again. "I...I can't tell."

Silence hung between them for half a second before they heard the heavy foot falls of two wolves making their way toward the house. A sudden feeling of vulnerability came over Bella as she rushed to the door and threw it open. A rush of air left her empty lungs as she saw Leah and Seth carrying an unfamiliar person up the porch stairs.

Leah was the first to notice Bella. "Carlisle?"

Bella held the door open and motioned for them to come in. "He's here." It was hard to see the figure they were carrying underneath the wild hair and wet clothes. It was the smell that alert Bella as to the what, not the who, they were bringing to the house...a hybrid. The smell was a mix of the allure of a vampire but not as a strong. There was also the smell of blood but it was too tangy, like stagnant water. Carlisle was directing Leah and Seth to bring the wounded woman upstairs to one of the bedrooms, Edward's old room was the only unused one at the moment. Bella and Alice followed them and watched from the doorway while Carlisle tried to assess the damage.

"That's why I couldn't see anything," Alice whispered before rolling her eyes. "Hybrids and dogs."

As Carlisle was rearranging the mess of black curls searching for head trauma, he turned to Leah. "Do you know what happened to her?"

"She was hiking in the woods along your property," Leah answered. "Probably veered off a regular trail and ended up crossing the river into La Push territory. Sam's pack only smelled the vampire and attacked without paying attention to the heartbeat. She tried jumping back to your land when Sam caught her mid-air. Once she started bleeding and coughing up blood, they backed off. Seth and I brought her right here."

Seth was practically bouncing from one foot to another. "Is she going to be alright?"

Carlisle's hand were working their way swiftly down her body while she moaned faintly and shivered in her bloody, wet clothes. "There's a lot of broken bones in her torso. There could be internal damage but I'll have to get her to the hospital to know for sure."

"Esme's pulling your car around," Alice spoke up. "I'll get some extra clothes for her."

By the time Carlisle had gathered his patient up as gently as he could and situated her in the backseat of his Mercedes, Alice had set a bag of clothes on the floor of the front passenger seat. Without asking, Bella slipped into the passenger seat and shut the door. She needed to know more about the wounded hybrid in hopes of further understanding her own child. It felt selfish and uncaring but in her eternal heart, there seemed to be enough room for concern and selfishness simultaneously.

There was a stinging sensation in her nose, followed by the annoying beep of machines next to her head. A compressor kicked on and something squeezed around her upper arm at the same time panic started to squeeze her heart. A hospital...before she had even begun another new life, she was going to have to leave before explanations were needed. She listened hard to go beyond the typical hospital noise to see if anyone was in the room. Not hearing any heartbeats or breathing, she opened her eyes.

She was starting to disconnect the blood pressure cuff when she realized there were four people standing in the room. Four people...with no heartbeats...with no breath. When she forced herself to look at their eyes, she was instantly intrigued. Instead of them having the crimson irises she was accustomed to avoiding, they were all golden eyed. Maybe they weren't vampires.

"No," the one with bronze hair said with a slight smile, "we are."

Lucianna settled back in the hospital bed and tried to figure out how she could get out of this situation. She never allowed herself to get this close to their kind and she was never this vulnerable when she did realize she was in their proximity. She wasn't even certain of the extent of her injuries. And if they were gifted, like the one who spoke most likely was, there was no telling what they could do to her.

The other man, who was tall with blond hair, stepped up to her beside and crouched down next to her. "My name is Carlisle Cullen, I'm a doctor here at the hospital in Forks, Washington."

Lucianna frowned slightly. A vampire doctor? That was something she had never come across before either though she never come across a gainfully employed vampire. The younger looking man broke into another half smile. She had heard whispers of mind reading vampires out there, and given her own gift of seeing past events, she wondered if he might be one of them. So she asked him silently and he nodded.

"Yes," he spoke up, "I can read your mind. My name is Edward." He put his arm around a woman with long, dark brown hair. "This is my wife, Bella."

"And this is my wife," Carlisle pointed to a slight woman with carmel colored hair and a reassuring smile.

She laid a cold hand lightly on Lucianna's arm. "I'm Esme. We're going to take care of you, sweetheart."

"Anna," she said. "The name I'm going by is Anna Morris." Lucianna wanted to believe Esme, to believe all of them, but trust was a mythical thing in her life. The first person she had handed her trust over to tried to kill her. For all she knew, he would still attempt it.

"What can we do," Edward asked, his face pinched in an odd way, "to gain your trust?"

No one had ever asked her that before. She looked from each of their faces, those perfect, golden-eyed faces, and tried to come up with an answer. Finally, she cleared her throat. "I suppose not killing me is a good starting point."

A low chuckle rippled between them before Lucianna's thoughts turned serious. "How long will I be in here?"

Carlisle remained in his crouched position so he would stay on eye level with her. "You do have multiple broken bones in your torso, many ribs, your collar bone and some fractures in your left arm. There was also some internal damage but it was healing quickly enough so surgery wasn't necessary. At the rate that you're healing, we can move you to our home tomorrow evening and let you finish your recovery there."

"No, I couldn't ask you-"

Esme patted her arm again. "You didn't."

"Besides, having you here in the hospital," Edward spoke up, "might be a little too out in open considering what you are."

Lucianna closed her eyes. "I was suppose to start work tomorrow. I don't even know how to get in touch with anyone-"

"Who do you need to call?" Bella asked. "We can do it for you."

Trust was still elusive and Lucianna kept her mouth shut but soon realized she had no choice but tell these people who she was. Even if she kept her silence, Edward would know everything and tell them anyway.

"I don't work like that," he said in response to her thoughts. "Unless it's imperative information for the safety of this family, whatever you think is kept private." He raised his left hand. "Scout's honor."

Lucianna felt a rare smile appear on her face. "That's the wrong hand." Seriousness came over her again. "I was hired as the Medical Examiner for Forks so I guess the Chief of Police would be the one that needs to be informed."

Bella grinned. "That's easy. The Police Chief is my father. I'll call him on the way home tonight."

Lucianna nodded her thanks and resettled in the hospital bed. She felt Carlisle stand and whispers of air as the vampires retreated from her room. Just as she was started to fall back asleep, she felt someone remove the blood pressure cuff from her arm and turn down the volume on the heart monitor.

There were times in every empire when those in the ruling body knew a change, an upset, was about to occur. As Sulpicia made her way to Aro's library, she could feel the stone shifting under her feet. Demetri had contacted her that night with the most unwelcome news. News that she had to reveal to her mate after three hundred years of silence. It was the only way to ensure that they would survive the coming fallout.

She didn't pause to knock at the large gilded doors, far too many centuries had passed for there to be a lack of familiarity between them. The room had changed many times over the course of passing eras. She had watched the library's furniture change with the time periods, some she preferred more than others, but for now it was sleek, modern. Computers took the place of scrolls and parchments though Aro would still write in leather bound journals. She supposed some things never change.

"Ah, beautiful Sulpicia," he smiled widely, more out of habit than genuine emotion she was sure. "To what do I owe this visitation?"

She didn't see anyone else in the room with him but that didn't mean much. "I need to speak with you in private."

The smile changed, sharpened and faltered slightly. "I see. Renata, dear, you are free to go for the evening."

The slight, raven haired girl emerged from the shadows. She gave one nervous glance towards Aro, who nodded his head, and she drifted off into the shadows of the Volterra stronghold. Sulpicia waited until the sounds of the closing doors reverberated through the stacks of books and silence returned. In that moment, she realized just how far this fall was going to be.

"I have recently spoken with Demetri," she started, straightening her shoulders. "He is in Forks again upon my request."

The smile completely vanished. "And who is he watching at your request?"

She stepped off the ledge and into the unfamiliar free fall of honesty. "Lucianna."

Aro grew very still as that one name suddenly changed the course of the entire Volturi coven. Sulpicia waited until all the scenarios that were in front of them now had to be dealt with and swiftly. After a few minutes of deliberation, Aro resettled in the leather wingback chair.

"How many know of her?"

Sulpicia remained standing. "Only myself and Demetri."

Her mate's gaze became thoughtful and she knew exactly what was going through his mind as well as if she had his ability.

"You needn't worry over Demetri's loyalty. Destroying him would be detrimental to the situation any way."

"And how is that?"

Sulpicia fought the urge to frown. "He is completely infatuated with the girl, has been since she was a child. At the moment, he is the only one who knows her as thoroughly as possible. If we need to establish contact with her, he will be the only one she would trust. However..."

"Forks," Aro said. "I assume this subject of discussion is the fact that she has contacted the Cullens."

"She was attacked by those wolves. She needed treatment and was taken to the Cullens. The connection has been established. It won't be long before-"

"Edward Cullen realizes I already had knowledge of a hybrid."

"Perhaps I should have allowed you to destroy her that night in Rome."

Aro turned his focus to her in that moment. "Why didn't you?"

Sulpicia wiped her flattened palms on her darkened robes. "I believed I was making up for neglecting Didyme." She wondered if Aro would reveal himself and his possible part in his sister's death but he remained perfectly still and silent. She knew he was planning, running various scenarios through his mind and trying to pick the one that would have lesser repercussions. While he was thinking, she placed the cell phone that gave her instant communication with Demetri on the polished mahogany desk.

"Demetri?" he asked.

"It is the only number on the phone. He is still in Forks, waiting for orders."

He picked up the phone and turned it in his hands a few times. "I will most likely have to go to Forks myself. Smooth things over with the Cullens before they have a chance to gather their witnesses again." His eyes flicked back up to her face. "You should come with me."

"You fear for my safety?"

"I fear Caius' temper. It has yet to cool from our last visit to Washington. If he were to discover the reason for my impromptu trip back to Forks, I do not know what his reaction would be or the severity of his retaliation."

Sulpicia smiled slightly. "I will consider it."

"I believe having Demetri initiate contact with the Cullens, tell them what he knows about the situation would be the best course of action. I will leave tonight and fill in any details that are necessary. I hope I'm not underestimating Carlisle's understanding and generosity."

Sulpicia didn't say it, but she sincerely hoped for the same.