Penname: Javamomma0921

Derivative Fiction

Rating: T

Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

Prompt: Everywhere

Walking in Woods on a Snowy Evening

"Alice, you want to go for a walk with me?" Kate asked quietly.

I looked over at my husband, still sitting somewhat uncomfortably amid the other vampires. I looked into the future and saw he would be fine, though uncomfortable, without me. I also saw that Kate had some things she wished to discuss with me. She was still deciding what she wanted to talk about, so our talk was still fuzzy in my mind. It would be worth my time to go with her.

"Sure, Kate," I said.

Jasper stood up, ready to go with us but I held up my hand to him. Immediately, his face was filled with questions and worry.

"It's fine," I said. "I've seen it. Talk to Eleazar; he has some things he wants to share with you."

He nodded and walked over to me. He bent my head forward and kissed my forehead gently.

"Come back to me soon," he said.

"Always," I replied.

Once outside, Kate and I began to run. The wind was whipping through the trees and everything around us was covered in a dusting of snow. Everywhere I looked, I could see the snow sparkling in the moonlight. Kate didn't want to talk about families tonight; she wanted to talk about gifts. We settled into a fast paced walk as we reached the denser trees.

"When did you first know you had a gift?" I asked her.

Her eyes flashed over to mine. I was still getting used to the idea that I could be open with others about my gift; I had hidden it for so long. Still, her words did end up surprising me a little.

"You're so like him, you know?"

"Like who? Jasper?"

"No," she said, chuckling. "I mean you are like Edward. He's talented you know?"

"I thought he might be," I said. "It's difficult for me to know all of the details. My gift involves reading people's choices. Is he…like me?"

"In a way…he's a mind reader. Eleazar says he might be the most powerful one he's ever met."

"Hmm," I murmured.

"You'll be just what he needs, I expect. You and your mate, that is…"

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"It isn't easy being the only talented vampire in a family. Until Eleazar joined the family, it was just me. They never made me feel different; but still, it was lonely. I imagine it's more difficult for Edward because Rose goes out of her way to make him feel different regularly."

I nodded, sympathizing at once with the vampire I had not yet met and the woman standing in front of me.

"I wondered when you knew you had a gift…?" I asked.

"Oh," she said, chuckling. "I stunned Tanya within two minutes of waking up. I, of course, didn't know what was going on when I woke up, but they were all pretty surprised that I was shocking them. We figured things out pretty quickly after that."

I chuckled along with her for a moment and we both trailed off.

"You really don't remember anything about…before?" she asked.

I shook my head. I was prepared for this conversation but it didn't make it any easier to talk about. I had only ever discussed this with Jasper.

"I don't remember anything before the time when I woke up. It didn't take long for me to have my first vision though and I knew exactly what it was."

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe it was just that it seemed to be in the future. But I think…" I trailed off, unsure of whether to share this with her.

"Do you think you had visions…before and maybe that's why you understood?"

"Yeah, I do," I said.

"I can't imagine what you must have gone through," she said, turning to me and taking my hands.

I smiled at her and squeezed her hands back.

"It's fine now and I try not to think about the past anymore."

"I'm really glad that you and Jasper are going to be part of our family. And I'm even happier that Edward will have you," she said, looking down.

"You really do care about him," I said.

"Not like that," she protested. "I leave those feelings for my sister. It's just…well, for a long time I had hoped that he would fall in love with her. It would have been nice to have Edward as a real brother."

We walked further through the forest and Kate told me about her family and how it was formed. She told me about her mother and how they lost her so abruptly. I had never connected with another female vampire as quickly as I had with Kate. It was refreshing to have a true friend. When we got back to the house, I wasn't surprised to find Jasper and Eleazar missing. They had gone for a hunt and I didn't expect them back for the rest of the night. Somehow, I allowed Kate to talk me into singing. The five of us spent the rest of the night in the music room taking turns playing piano and singing. It was the most time I had spent with a group of vampires in my entire existence.

A/N: I don't know why I've always thought of Kate and Alice as good friends, but I away have even though we don't really see the interact at all in the Saga. So, here's my little homage to their friendship. I also really think that Kate thinks of Edward as a brother type figure. I imagine that she would sypathize with how difficult he has it as the only talented member of the family before Alice and Jasper arrive. I wanted someway to foreshadow just how important Alice is in Edward's life. Kate seemed the perfect way to do that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I won't be participating in the June May Wit Fits in an attempt to catch up on my other two stories, but I do hope to participate in July. If I do though, I don't think I will try to do a complete story again. I will just see what comes out. Possibly just drabbles that may or may not connect into a story. :) Hope you've enjoyed this littl exercise. If so, please leave a review! It'll make my day that much brighter! ~Jen