In chapter 8, visitors step into lion's den...willingly! It turns out to be a...family-reunion? Leo also reveals details thought irrelevant about her previous life…like who her attacker was. (A/N: One of my favorite chapters! Although its length is…well, sorry…)
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Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine, but THIS story certainly is! Its mine! ALL MINE! !
Chapter 8: Leo's Story
Esme POV
"Alright," my husband said, sitting down on the sofa in the discussion room, "let this conversation begin."
Carlisle and I sat on the left loveseat, Alice on the sofa adjacent to it, and curled up to her was Jasper, Renesmee, Bella and Edward. Emmett and Rosalie sat on the loveseat adjacent to the couch (across from the loveseat Carlisle and I sat on). Leo sat in the armchair that faced the sofa, in between the loveseats.
We came home, Leo stopping for a quick snack (it is amazing how much she eats!), shortly after the…incident. It was nearly six in the morning now, and in five hours and ten minutes, almost exactly; Leo would be a five-day old vampire. She acted like a five-year-old vampire, though.
Leo curled into a ball and hugged her knees. (Oh, did I mention Alice had given Leo some of Renesmee's future clothes? She looked quite beautiful.)
"The first question I want to ask is," Edward said, "how were you able to block Jasper and I out before? Especially since, right after you spoke with Rosalie, we were able to hear and feel you again."
She became uncomfortable. "I guess I sort of…put up a wall."
"A wall?" Jasper asked.
"Yeah, I guess I…disconnected myself from everyone and just…collapsed in on myself."
No one said anything.
"Well, now that that's answered, let's get to the important issue." Leo smirked sadly, "Like…how the heck I'm still alive—or, well, oh, you know what I mean!"
"Someone called for us?"
I heard Jacob's familiar voice call from behind us.
"Jake!" Renesmee bounded straight into Jacob's arms. After a moment, Jake let her go, looking into her eyes.
"Nessie, what's up? You sounded so urgent on the phone—"
"It was the only way to get you here in enough time! We're trying to figure out just how Leo became a vampire, since, you know—she's a shape-shifter and she should have died when Lancaster bit her—"
"Sure sure, I remember. That's why I brought a few friends."
Nostrils flaring, Jacob motioned for Sam, who pushed Billy inside. Emily followed quickly after him, half of her face clearly uncomfortable, pushing "Old" Quil Ateara. Poor man, he must have recently succumbed to his wheelchair. The last time we met, during the Treaty Re-Negotiation, he had to constantly refuse the new, "unnecessary help" as he called it.
Everyone seated themselves around the room, Emmett brining in extra chairs for Emily and Sam. He put them on the side of Leo's armchair, as far as possible from him and Rosalie, letting Sam and Emily wheel Old Quil and Billy on the side closest to us. We made an uneasy square.
After introductions, Billy, Quil and Sam all looked at Leo in wonderment, Emily gazing at her with kind eyes…or, eye.
"Now," Carlisle said, "let's begin."
"What are the legends of your tribe, Leora?" Sam asked after clearing his throat.
"Oh, uh, call me Leo."
Emily pulled out her notebook and pen.
"I guess they're not as…magical as the Quileutes' but they go something like this.
"We all descend from an ancestor also related to you wolves. The first, great Spirit Chief, Kaheleha." The visiting men took a quick, surprised breath, "Him, his sons, and the other spirit warriors attacked an invading tribe, leaving their bodies on the boats and their spirits to call upon the wind, dogs and bats to aid them in winning.
"While we master the Quileute legends because they are the descendants of our ancestors, simply of a different branch. We have observed that, through the years, they forgot the very legend from which my Troop originated: The legend of the spirit warrior's corpse that never re-animated with the man's spirit."
There was a silence as I, and everyone else looked at each other, to see if it was true. The way her words poured out with precision, as if she knew them by heart, but also with feeling and subtle rhythm. It was like hearing poetry performed by its author.
"What the young woman speaks of is the truth!" Old Quil, standing, shooed off the assistance offered and ignored our shocked expressions. "There have always been rumors in the midst of our legends, things not certain, but suspected. The young man she speaks of was rumored to be Kaheleha's youngest son. This son, allegedly, had very weak strength in the Spirit, but was one who could adapt with ease almost unnaturally
"Many today previously thought this son, Tatuka, was simply a figment of a storyteller's overactive imagination. We can see now that nothing is simply a myth any longer.
"Tatuka was new to Kaheleha's spirit army, and he was not as familiar with his spirit self. He was among the spirits who were instructing the dogs of the invading tribe to turn against their masters. He either was not informed of the plan to use wind and bats accidentally or purposely, and once the winds began screeching, his spirit was lost in the chaos.
"He wandered and searched, but, as he was weak in spirit, he was unable to return to his awaiting mother, Kaheleha's lesser wife, who would hold her son's empty body forever."
Old Quil sat back down.
Leo nodded slowly. "In the land of the invading tribe, Tatuka's spirit would find a group of captured Hohs and Makahs, whose tribes had made treaties with the Quileutes. His spirit found the closest animal available, a mountain lion who had wandered far, far from its birthplace. He asked to share its body, and the cat agreed, curious what this strange voice had planned.
"He convinced the captured men and women who he was, organized their escape, and together, they made off in the direction of the side of the world where the sun rises. Or, the eastern United States, which was to them the west.
"They ran for miles and miles, until they reached the land with many lakes. Near, what they thought to be an ocean, they decided to make their home.
"Because of their limited numbers, the members that remained, including the Tatuka-mountain lion, agreed to a system of organized child births, and those two children, always a boy and a girl as planned with their magic, would be mates.
"Sometime when this group was running, Tatuka fell in love with his Spirit Pair, what we now call an Imprint. The love for her was so strong that his feline self shuddered and exploded back into a human, though more glorious than his first form."
"Just like Taha Aki…" Sam muttered.
"These two," Leo continued, "were the first to perform the organized conception, their child being a son who also had the ability to phase into a mountain lion.
"With that, our beliefs, customs and lifestyle were developed. The mountain lion gene was awakened in the male descendants of Tatuka whenever a Cold One was present. We created strategies, moves and even weapons made of the teeth of our deceased that aided in our destruction of the Blood Drinkers.
"Unfortunately, the state which my Troop decided to stay in later became a difficult place for tribes to keep their land. Those who could, hid, disguised themselves as their other Mountain Lion forms, and those who could not, secluded themselves to the woods to hide. Our Troop simply adjusted to the ways of the trees, and we remain hidden in the forests until this day.
"These woods were a frequent pass-through for Cold Ones traveling. The numbers of Mountain Lion shape-shifters were the numbers of the amount of children born.
"Eventually, the Troop's gene pool became a small puddle, and the tribe leaders feared that they would soon need to organize births between families. They came up with a solution that none really liked, but was necessary: they brought in fresh, human genes.
"Purely human, the first woman of the group was nothing special. The man of our Troop assigned to her claimed she was his Spirit Pair, and the Troop let them marry.
"Every few generations, this would happen, to keep the available mates not related to the other baby. In the 1900s, this process wasn't needed any longer, because the Troop was big enough that a parent seeking a mate for their child could easily find one or two couples—"
Leo froze in place, gasping. Her gaze seemed distant. Jasper and Alice were instantly at her side, causing the visitors to squirm. I held tight to my husband.
"Leo, what is it? What's wrong?" Jasper asked.
A look of disgust and horror filled her eyes while quick tears escaped their corners. Her fists shook with rage.
"No…no! It can't be! It can't…it, simply can't…"
I turned to my oldest son as he gasped at Leo's thoughts.
"Leo, are you sure?" Edward demanded.
Leo wailed, nodding. "NO! No…" She leaned her head into Jasper's shoulder, holding Alice's hand. "How… Why…"
"Leo, please, tell us what's wrong," Alice begged in a whisper.
Leo exhaled slowly. "Okay, do you remember how I said way before that Lancaster looked familiar, but I couldn't put a name or face to him?" Everyone nodded but the newcomers. Jacob leaned down and explained to his family: "Lancaster was the teenage newborn that turned Leo."
"Well," Leo said sniffling, "I remember now." She squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping. "My birth was organized between my parents and a newlywed couple who were dear family friends. This other couple had no children, but they both had strong genes and their youth added to that. My parents already had four other children and my mother would soon be too old to bear children. The Council approved the match, and they were given their Week of Rest.
"What no one in the Troop knew was that a mountain lion man by the name of Elliot, who was aged eighteen years had met a human girl, fallen in love and had taken his own 'Week of Rest' at the same time my parents and the other young couple did.
"A few months later, my mother and the family friend began to develop larger, rounder stomachs, both carrying child. The whole Troop was delighted with the children to come, until Elliot came home and revealed that the girl he had fallen in love with was also pregnant.
"The council went into a frenzy. No one had ever heard of what Elliot did in the history of our Troop—believe me they looked. Not only was he under the age of the Child Bearing age of twenty-two, but he had decided to make children without the Council's permission, and worse, his mate was a human. Elliot's line had very weak genes, so much that there was a chance his child could have no shape-shifting abilities.
"Because there was no other couple willing to have a child that would not only be months younger than Elliot's, a big issue in our beliefs, the new child carried the risk of being the same gender as the child of Elliot, and both of them would be without mates. Elliot's weak heritage did not help the search for a willing couple. The Council was forced to make a decision no one ever thought the Council would have to make.
"The child of my parents' and friends' 'arrangement' who came out female with two male suitors would be given both of them, Elliot's child being the first in line. If Elliot's son could not produce shape-shifting children or was not suitable in any other way, the girl would be given the other suitor.
"Vice versa if Elliot's child was female. The child left hanging in the wind would be given a high social and political position.
"My parents and their friends were heartbroken. The match had been perfect, textbook, if you will. Whosever child was the second mate might spend their life alone if Elliot's child was capable of producing shape-shifting children.
"Five months past, and the whole Troop started preparing for the births. It is tradition that the boy and girl were given the same first letter for their names, and the letter would be replaced with a name at the First Change Ceremony. Since the girl or boy would have two mates, it was decided that he or she would be the first to have two letters for his or her name, one for each mate.
"The day came when my mother and our friend both went into labor. The rest of the Troop considered this a sign that the two children were destined to be together, and to have no interference form Elliot's child in this perfect match. Soon after, however, Elliot's wife went into labor an hour later. The Birthing Room was prepared for the unnatural number of mothers, and soon the women were holding hands in support. My mother was in the middle, but all three of them were secretly hoping for their baby to be a shape-shifting boy.
"First born was our friends' child, the new parents exulting when they discovered that they had a son. Quickly, they gave him the 'name' E.
"Next, Elliot's child was born, and the two gave quiet joy as they uncovered that their child was also male. My parents nodded, understanding that their baby girl would have these two boys as suitors, and thus, a very confusing childhood.
"Up until now, all babies born showed the First Sign. When boys of our Troop are born, they show a certain characteristic pertinent to their future Mountain Lion form. It did not matter if a Cold One was present; the Sign simply showed that the boy had the ability to shape-shift when they were older.
"E's first sign was paws for hands and feet, then a tail that quickly disappeared. Elliot's son had not yet shown his First Sign by the time I was born, and I averted everyone's attention.
"A few seconds after I was born, I surprised everyone by showing my own First Signs. No one's gaze drifted from me. Females did not show First Signs. They just didn't. Females could not shape-shift, as the gene was passed down from our first male ancestor, Tatuka.
"But, all babies that showed First Signs became shape-shifters. Everyone wondered whether I would be the first female shape-shifter. A few hours of pondering later, Elliot's son, who was given the 'name' L, still had not shown his First Sign. Some worried that L would not be able to shape-shift. Ever.
"The council was delighted with the idea of a female Mountain Lion, especially one I my situation.
"After questioning, the Council announced this: my name would have to be L. E. My first mate would be L (if he could not shape-shift, my genes would fill the gap) and if L could not give me Shifting children, I would be given to E, my second suitor, and L would be dealt with accordingly.
"I grew up, but instead of having my name pronounced 'Elle', I insisted on the pronunciation of my name just as it was spelled. I was little, so I thought it spelled 'Lee', and I just kept the name.
"I tried to get along with L and E, but L was never interested in others, especially me. He kept to himself, and I always suspected he knew he was different. E and I, in the meantime, became best friends. We were practically attached at the hip. He and I were always in awe of each other, and as we aged, I began to wonder if we had an Imprint.
"It wasn't until E, L and I were ten that I realized I was right. The other boys were doing their daily chore of teasing me, but one began taking it to another level.
"He began pushing me, bumping into me, etcetera. Finally, I was approaching the river for a drink, and the boy pushed me in. Everyone was frozen in shock. They knew I could have a wicked temper, and all feared that E's temper would be greater than mine would.
"E approached L, who had been looking on at this incident from a distance.
"'Why didn't you do anything?!' E demanded.
"L just stood there.
"'Look, as her mate, you need to look after her! You need to make sure she's taken care of and not pushed into rivers! You may not appreciate what you have, but you need to start!' He gave L this look of threat and fury. 'You don't know what you have.'
"'Everyone wants what they can't have,' L sneered.
"If it wasn't for me there, I know he would have punched him then and there. Instead, he took me by the dripping wet hand, away from the group of teasers and L. E practically smoldered with rage. I couldn't help but smile. The boys never teased me again.
"A few weeks later, the Second Sign Ceremony went underway. The Ceremony was proof to the whole Troop and Council that the participants were ready to begin their journey towards the First Change Ceremony, a journey that ended with them becoming Mountain Lion men…and woman.
"Every young boy in the Troop and me showed off our hard work by performing our Second Sign for the Troop to see. E decided that his Second Sign would be the same as his first: paws for hands and feet and a tail.
"I did the same, my ears, whiskers, paws and tail sprouting and causing the crowd to gasp. I wondered if they were surprised that I could show a Second Sign, and that my first wasn't just a mistake.
"L was next. Minutes passed. He could not perform his Second Sign, because he never showed a First Sign.
"He screamed and ranted about never being like the other boys, also saying he was never going to be a shape-shifter. After his speech, he ran away into the woods.
"I did the first thing I could think of: I turned and smirked at E. True, I should have been feeling remorse and fear. After all, my mate, the boy I who I was supposed to marry and have children with, the one I was supposed to grow old with and whom I knew I might have grown to love…he had left. But I had never loved L. I didn't think I ever would. Now, my future only held my Imprint and me. No one else."
Leo let out a wail, throwing her face into her hand and her head into Jasper's lap. The other hand circled her stomach and held tight.
"Leo, what is it?" Jasper asked.
Leo took a few breaths, and, between sobs, said this: "Lancaster…is…L."
Se let out another wail, Jasper putting his shocked arms around her.
_ _ _ _
Leora POV
How could I not have noticed? How could I have been so oblivious to the fact that L, my mate, the destined father of my children, was the teenager that Turned me? That he was the one that haunted my dreams? That he…sort of raped me?
I barely remembered L from back then, but Lancaster was very sharp in my mind.
I forced myself to continue with my story, clinging to Jasper, desperate for him to have the power to hold me together while I spoke of E.
"E and I were very happy for the next few years. We did everything together. The Troop knew that if they invited one of us to an Event, both of us would come. We were two halves of a whole. It was as if our very Spirits were made for each other."
At the very same moment, Sam looked at Emily, Carlisle at Esme, Edward at Bella, Jasper at Alice, Emmett at Rosalie, and Jacob looked between Bella and Renesmee.
I felt the hole singe as I had no one to look at. I pulled my arm tighter around my stomach as the familiar ache returned. I barely held myself together.
"Just like our lives," I continued, "E and I matured at the same age, and our First Change Ceremony was organized for that Saturday evening.
"Those were the most terrifying four days of my and E's life.
"The scent of a Cold One was discovered right around the woods we lived in, seeming to circle around us, then slowly trying to spiral into the village.
"Now, a Cold One was not usually something to worry about, but its proximity concerned the Troop. Guard…cats were put on duty for the four days, but the guards only found dead ends by following the scent.
"The night before the Ceremony, I had horrible, frightening dreams along with the terrible, feverish sickness. L was in them, and I could not control the dream. He always had that quality; staying in the back of your mind, only to be pushed forward during your dreams. These dreams concerned me.
"I told E about them. How I saw my life ending and L having something to do with it and E being fatally injured, L being the one who hurt him.
"E calmed me down, saying that it didn't really mean we were going to die, but it was a symbolic death. He said it was referring to the Ceremony, where our child selves would die and we would qualify as Mountain Lion men and women. L was something that would never change the way we would, and the rest had been my wild imagination.
"I accepted his response, but still worried.
"The time came for our Ceremony to begin. E and I both felt even more ill than before, but everyone said that it was normal, and that it would pass as we phased. We both certainly hoped so.
"Everyone thought it would be appropriate for each others' to be the first thought E and I should hear, and then the Troop would join our thoughts.
"When we phased for the first time, hearing each other's thoughts was…"
I sighed at the memory of the sound of E's thoughts. Although other "human" memories were sometimes fuzzy, this memory was not, something for which I was grateful. I know that they would be the most glorious things I would ever hear.
"It was magical," I finished. "E and I thought a long conversation about our proceeding shape-shifter lives. Suddenly, a Guard Cat bounded in, saying he had the other Guards tracking the Cold One, but it seemed that the leech would attack very soon.
"Every Mountain Lion man was called to join the fight. I guess they forgot about me. E phased back and protested, not only for my absence, but for being called to fight. He and I made our dislike for Hunting the Cold Ones very clear, and yet the Council demanded he follow.
"E went back into his Mountain Lion form, apologizing to me.
"Don't go, I pleaded.
"I'll be back, don't worry. He brushed his face against mine. I love you, Lee.
"I love you, E. Come back safely.
"He nodded, and then, with a long glance back at me, he followed the other men. So many thoughts of war and sport filled my head that I made myself phase back into human form.
"The Ceremony continued for me, although uneasily. I was given the name Leora by the Council. The Council said that E's name would be announced when he returned."
I swallowed back tears.
"E never came home.
"The pain was terrible, and I knew this pain had nothing to do with my First Change. The elder that lost his Imprint said that not to be too concerned, that I was not hurting fully and so my Imprint was injured, but not dead yet. I asked him how he knew that this wasn't the real pain of an Imprint dying.
"He responded, 'Because I had not desired to or killed myself.'
"I wanted to believe him, especially because the Guards who had fought alongside E only said that E had disappeared, but something told me he was dead. Or worse.
"What the 'or worse' was, I couldn't imagine.
"The next day, I took a run. What happened to E was all the convincing I needed to firm my refusal of Hunting. I ran away, not knowing I would never come back. On that run, Lancaster, or, L, caught up with me."
I took a deep breath, not really wanting to continue. I took a huge yawn.
"And we've come full circle," I said.