A/N: This Chapter is weird, I know. I originally wasn't planning to do this, but I think that it fits in with the plot I have in mind quite well. I can't wait until a couple more chapters in, when... Well, I'll keep it a secret, but I can't wait until it happens. I'll bet THAT will get y'all to review. Heh heh...
Well, ignore the above rambling, and Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Except in my dreams, I do not own Twilight or any of the characters therein. However, Fiona, Jared, Harold, Randall, Jamie, Jessie, and many more to come do belong to me... with the help of my friend Fiona on some points of her namesake character.
I stood at the door of the small house, not sure what to do. Why was I even here? I had no loyalty to the bloodsuckers, especially the weirdo crossbreed who took away one of my brothers. If I ran away now, no one would blame me… except for Jacob… and mom.
I sighed; this weird thing that she had with Jacob often put me into uncomfortable situations. I am, however, proud to say that I am responsible for one of the scars on the blonde-haired bloodsucker's face because of it. So I suppose it's not a total loss.
I just stood there, waiting. Waiting for myself as much as for anything else. Just waiting for myself to be ready; waiting for myself to work up the nerve to knock on the door. Work up the nerve to do anything, really.
I was starting to get impatient with myself, so I closed my eyes, and, with a deep breath, knocked on the door.
In seconds, it was open. Thankfully, everyone had moved on but Jake and Reneesme, and they no longer lived in the main house, but in a small one around back, that, to my understanding, was a recent addition, built just for them. This meant that the house did not reek of vampire. Oddly, Reneesme actually smelled kind of good. It was hard to hate her, the way she seemed to human, but I managed. I thought it was easier to just hate them all than risk my own sanity finding other people and places to put the blame.
Standing at the door was, of course, Reneesme. She was actually kind of pretty, with her long, curly brown hair. She had some tint to her pale skin, and she could probably pass off as a human. But still, I was trying to hate her.
"Hello, Fiona. Glad that you could make it." She said sweetly with a smile, but I remained impartial. I couldn't let myself grow fond of her, because she was sure to have something to ask me.
"Afternoon." I said, as coldly as I could.
She sighed, but still smiled. She knew that I always acted like this. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire mythical world knew. "Well, come in. I have something to show you."
I followed behind her wordlessly; amazed at how human the home seemed. It even had a kitchen, which I suppose was to be expected, but it surprised me. It just seemed so…weird to imagine the… Blacks as humans.
She led me up a small spiral staircase and I thought I could hear a baby crying. I was surprised that Reneesme bothered going slowly, but I guessed that she was leading me to wherever it was that we were going and didn't want me getting lost and destroying her house or anything like that.
Finally, we entered a room with a double bed and a crib in it. It was decorated very minimally, and I noticed that there was a little baby in the crib.
Reneesme walked up to it and scooped a little boy out of the crib. He was very young, but he looked older than a day. Old enough that there was a definite male slant to his chin, but it was still round and chubby. Maybe that of a one or two month year-old. But definitely not one that was born today.
I just stared at his brown eyes, which stared back at me innocently. He looked so… human, with his tan skin. Very little vampire remained in him, I knew. But still… I had never expected anything so… adorable. He was even more human than Reneesme. Just a helpless little baby… Just like me, he was born into the wrong family at the wrong place, wrong time. What he was wasn't his fault… And there was nothing that he could ever do about it… I could change, but he would always be a twisted cross-breed.
I felt a warm tear slip down my cheek, and I was shaking slightly, but for the first time ever, it was controllable. I had a reason not to phase. A real reason. I couldn't hurt this little baby.
"Are you okay? Do you need to go outside?" Her voice was layered with maternal worry, and I found it impossible to find the hatred I usually relied on to push her away. But I couldn't; she wanted to protect the same thing I did.
I shook my head, as if I could clear this fog from my head with something that simple. Was I okay? No, but I was in control. There was no way that I could ever hurt the little baby.
"No, but I'm not going to hurt him. I promise." I felt that the words were to myself as much as to her. I needed reassurance; I needed to hear myself say the words.
"What's his name?" I asked desperately, trying to distract myself.
"…Jessie." She said quietly, trying to read my expression, and weighing my words. I could see the fear in her face, and I didn't blame her. I wouldn't want my kid in danger of a werewolf mauling on it's first day in the world, either.
Despite myself, I smiled. Jessie… and Nessie. How fitting. I took a deep breath, and forced the shaking to stop. It felt so good… to just be in control of myself. To be able to act like I was a normal teenage girl for once, even if only for a few seconds; to be able to be angry without this monster clawing at my insides.
"…Can I hold him?" I asked, not wanting to be too pushy. My voice was unsure, but the shaking had to show up somewhere.
She stared at me long and hard, as if she was looking inside of my head, but I knew that she couldn't. She shared her mind with others, not the other way around.
Finally, she sighed. "If you're absolutely sure. And if you do anything to hurt my baby, I will rip you to shreds." Her voice had very little menace behind it, though she was trying. It was soaked through with surrender. I half-wished that she had said no, but I sighed, as well, and reached out to take Jessie.
"Don't worry, I'll beat you to it if that happens." I whispered to myself, and I felt the weight of him in my arms as she reluctantly set him there. It was comforting, in a very strange way.
I pulled him close, and he was curious. He looked up into my blue eyes, and saw something strange there, I could tell. I could feel it myself. He grabbed at my hair, and I laughed, but it was hollow. I wondered if I had imprinted; I loved this baby, but in a very maternal way. It wasn't as dramatic as everyone had made it sound. But regardless of whether or not I had imprinted, I was going to be this little boy's big sister. And I was going to stop pretending I hated Reneesme.
"Have you… please don't tell me if I'm right." Her voice was a horrified whisper, and I could understood. I was more than a bit rattled myself. Even if it was the truth, there was no way that I could be good for the boy. It couldn't be true. For his sake, it wouldn't be.
"…I'm not sure. It's… I feel weird, but it's not as amazingly dramatic as everyone makes it sound. I don't feel… in love. I just feel weird." My voice was the same volume as hers, with a definite maternal undertone.
"You can talk about it with Jake later. For now, I have something to ask of you." Her voice was begging and slightly skeptical, but I wasn't used to having to read people's faces. The corners of my lips lifted ever-so-slightly at that one. Vampires, people. It really was a possibility.
Still, everyone I ever talked to, I could either hear their every thought or they were Mom and Jared, and they didn't exactly have complex emotional systems. They had very… wolf-like minds. Survival instincts and… well, that pretty much covers their priorities. Sure, my mom could be very human-like if she wanted to, with problems and complex emotions, but there was really no need to with Jared.
"What is it?" I asked, trying to hide my desperation. I wanted so badly for her to ask for me to stay away from her baby. Was that really so far-fetched? It would be better for both of us if the poor boy stayed away from a very messed-up wolf who could hurt her at any minute, with no warning, for the stupidest of things. Until I learned to control my temper, I could not be allowed to be near the boy.
"Well, Jessie… he… here, let me show you." She pulled the boy away from me, and his face turned red. He started crying, and soon, a little puppy was cradled in her arms. My face went blank as it all came together. The presence from earlier… was Jessie. I could feel tears slipping down my cheeks, but I was not sure why. I wasn't entirely sad, just surprised. I did feel pity for him, but relief that out curse was not taking a human brother, but someone who's life was already in the land of myth and legend. That we were not corrupting another perfectly good human life.
And then I realized it.
The cute little boy, who felt like my little baby brother, was cursed with the same fate I was. The circumstances might be slightly different, but he still had the same curse. He was worse than I was, a twisted cross-breed with twisted blood, the kind of thing that you expected to see as the result of a nuclear explosion. Unaffected at first, but twisted in so many little ways.
"Oh my God…" I finally managed to say, unsure what else I could.
"Well, I was wondering if… if you can hear his voice." She seemed distressed, so I guessed that Jacob couldn't.
"…I'm guessing he's phased this morning, which I've been a wolf for most of, so no. I can't." I finally said, trying to just get it over with so that I could stop interfering in this poor little boy's life. He seemed so frail…
"I was afraid of that. Jacob can't either. What do you suppose it means?"
"Well… I've been feeling a presence on and off all morning, which I imagine is his. I think that… because he's one-of-a-kind, he can't belong to our packs. Because of his vampire blood. It makes him… kind of counterintuitive, on a different wavelength or something. He just… doesn't fit in. I'd have Carlisle or Jacob look into it if you want more information. They could probably give you more scientific explanations than I could; I'm just riding on instincts and intuition." I turned around to leave, but she stopped me with one hand.
"Please, talk to my husband on your way out. I really need to know if you've imprinted on my baby or not… Gosh, I feel like Mom must've felt… But less angry, thankfully." She stopped suddenly and shook her head, then let out a heavy sigh. "I digress. And… I hope that you'll be back. I can't force you to come, but I need someone to help her with her self-control, and… well, quite frankly, I don't think my husband's up for it."
I was about to ask a question, but she stopped me. "You'll see. Please, consider it. At least until he gets over it, but after that… well, I think it'd be good for him if he had two teachers. It's always good to have a second point of view." She took a very long pause, and right when I began to think she was done, she added something else. "Plus, I'm hoping to try and bring the two packs back together. If not literally, then at least emotionally. In an obscure kind of way, I feel like this is all my fault." She sighed, then smiled her dazzling smile again. This time, I smiled back.
No use wasting energy on hating people. Especially nice people like Reneesme… Regardless of whether or not they're fully "people."
I sighed, and turned around to face the person I really did hate; the one that had kept the bloo… Cullens here for so much longer and changed me forever.
This was sure to be fun.