Ridiculous Situation

B pov

How had I gotten into this situation? Of all the things Father would chide me for doing, this had to be the most reckless of them all. A human in our midst was considered taboo to the greatest extent, and to think that I was the cause of it. There was no way to prevent bringing humans in; everyone just knew and obeyed the law without question. The human body was too complex for any protection we could make, and so if one truly wanted to, they could smuggle them in easily, but no one wanted to. Humans were vile creatures who destroy their own lives for merits. In the eyes of the kingdom, that was all they were. My father and I knew better.

My father knew more than anyone that the stereotype for humans was false. Never the less, he was the one who made the law of banishing humans from our existence. Any act against the law was supposedly met with cruel retribution. However, no one went far enough to test the punishment. Everyone believes the king. After decades of rumors and the absence of a species once so interesting to us, the kingdom of Etuaete became oblivious and lonely.

Now all of that seemed pointless, the years my father had spent protecting me from the turmoil a human could bring, because I was the one who brought one in. And not only a human but an arrogant and small minded one. How had this happened? How had I gone so low as to seek out something strange in the air? He was strange. He could see Souls and he could see us. That was one thing my father was good at, making us invisible to the eye of the beholder. But this boy was not affected by any of our rules. He even thought I was human. A few people have direct decedents who've seen us, communed with us even and they have the sense to acknowledge our presence, but we are only a smell or a change in the air, nothing more. But him! He saw me as clear as the midnight sun. And the fact that he was so unaware of what he was doing to the Souls was in fact humorous. I couldn't leave him there to be killed because that was surely what would have happened.

At first I thought he was loyal to them, working under the lowest of classes to be in a supernatural setting, but he seemed as stupid as the rumors. What was I to tell the king? I felt like I found an abandoned, helpless puppy and was bringing him to my father in hopes he would let me keep him, but I had no desire to keep this human as a pet. I could not just leave him, for he was now my responsibility, but getting attached to this mindless thing was something I would prevent. He had a charm that made it difficult to accomplish such tasks but not very. I would figure out how to dispose of him and not bat an eyelash.

We were heading to Alice's house. She was my closest friend and the only one who knew I disobeyed Father's orders and went outside of the castle which was forbidden. She was not a part of the rumors. She neither hated nor loved humans. This would be the first time she's ever seen one.

As we drew near her home, I turned around to see the human deep in thought, looking at the ground. He did not see me stop and ran right into me which was greatly vexing. "Sorry." He looked embarrassed. I began to tell him the protocol for dealing with Alice's flamboyant and eccentric nature. "She is very…hyper. I'm giving you forewarning just this once." I knocked on the door, its wood carved into an intricate design of flowers and vines. Jasper, her mate, had built this house for her and I thought fit her personality very well. She answered before I pulled my hand away, a gracious smile blooming on her face as she met mine. "What did you get into this time, Bella?" She smiled wider until she saw him. Her grin slowly disappeared and in its place grew a look of pure shock. "Is that…is that a human?!" She asked, horrified. "What have you done? Why is it here? Does your father know? Did anyone follow you? A Human?!" She bombarded me with inquiries not giving me time to answer before she asked another. "Alice!" I cupped my hand over her mouth and moved past her into the house, dragging the human along behind me.

She closed the door and looked at me expectantly, as if I could remember all of her questions. "Well?" She pressed. "I can't think right now ok?" She nodded and moved towards the human who stared at her, obviously noticing the differences in her features. "Do you have a name?" And then I realized that I had never asked his name, like he did. He kept quiet after I told him who I was. He glanced at me like he was asking permission which was ridiculous. I nodded anyway. "Edward" He said cautiously. "Can someone explain to me what the hell's going on?" His impatient attitude was getting on my nerves. "Well you get right to the point don't you?" Alice said. "I wonder how similar you are to us." She mumbled before pulling on his copper hair. "Ow!" He flinched away, and I chuckled. Of coarse Alice would be curious, given that he was a completely different species she knew almost nothing about. I just felt pity for Edward, for he was the one who had to deal with her curiosity. She started pulling on his clothes and his ears, pretty much any where that she could get her hands on and if Edward look embarrassed before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now. I wasn't surprised. Our species was considered attractive to most humans and having one place her hands all over you, I would imagine being quite the experience. I chuckled at how she wanted to lift his shirt up but he wouldn't let her.

I laughed again. "Alice, I'm sure his chest doesn't look that different from Jasper's. He's about the same size." She dropped his shirt and smiled. "You're probably right." Alice looked at the very red Edward. "He is quite cute, though." She giggled then turned to me, expecting some sort of agreement. I did not give her any. She knew my father wanted me to get married and had offered several males to my judgment, but I refused them all. I was not looking for any relationship, but the look on Alice's face was all too familiar to me. She was going to try to match a human with me. Of all the strange things she had come up with, this was the most vile. Oh how I imagined what Father would think if I brought home this boy with plans to marry him. It would be following his footsteps exactly, which he was strongly against.

Queen Jane was not my mother. I never considered her to be a part of our family. No, my mother was a human, but very beautiful and gentle and giving. My mother was a woman named Renee. She had met my Father when he was still prince and they fell in love like fire spread, rapidly and out of control. Their love was kept secret, for my grandfather and the king at the time did not approve of relationships between us and them. We were too different in his mind and so my father could never officially marry Renee. One night the king found Renee in the prince's bedroom and became so furious that he executed the human and forced another female of our species onto my father. I know he did not love Jane and so no one would ever have to feel the hardships of different species relationships, he created a law that isolated our world from theirs. And if I planned to marry this boy, I would be falling into the same hole as my father, Aro. Humans were simply not compatible with us. One could love them and they could very well love back, but there was a wall that remained a mystery to Father, a wall that made him feel unbalanced. There was a loss of relativity that they both shared, like there were too many differences to ever belong, too many problems in the relationship to harmonize.

Age is the main setback. Our life span is approximately one thousand times longer than a human's. And while one withered and broke, the other stayed young and strong watching their loved one die and not having the sense to be near them or right behind them on the way to the afterlife. They felt helpless and lonely as their mate left with the love that could have lasted centuries but only survived a few decades.

My thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Oh, that must be Jasper!" Alice exclaimed. She rushed to the door to find her mate with a rose in his hand. He tenderly handed it to her and looked towards me. "Hello, Bella. I haven't seen you in a while since you"— his eyes had drifted to Edward's awkward stance. And though he slid Alice slightly behind him, he did not grow furious which I thought he might. Jasper had no opinion on humans much like Alice. He would be cautious if he found any male in her house. Jasper was always protective, never letting her go to Earth or fight Souls, where Alice's expertise lay.

"Bella, I know this is your human, because you are the only one in The Wind Forest who would do something this reckless. You're reason is your business, but I hope you know what you're doing, which you don't half of the time." I was not offended, for it was entirely true. My acts were almost always spontaneous. "I know, Jasper that you will not agree to this. However, this is Alice's choice since it's her house." I turned to look at her curious face. "Could this human please, please stay with you while I try to figure out what to do with him? Just until then." Jasper stiffened, but Alice nodded her head brightly. "Of course, Bella." Edward was looking at me with pleading eyes, obviously not happy with his accommodations. His eyes were a soft green and denying him was, to my surprise, difficult. And it was the most absurd thing in the world. Since when had I been affected by someone's eyes? They were mesmerizing to the fullest, but to be this vulnerable to a human no less was absolutely insulting. I felt weak and under control. However, it was not enough for me to agree to his pleading stare. I ignored Edward's face, for it clearly was affecting my ability to focus and shot Jasper one last apologetic look before they walked out the door, hands linked.

This was the time they normally went out for a walk, leaving me to prepare this human for the danger in living with Alice. I honestly felt bad for him. I glanced over toward him and he was looking right back at me. Staring was more like it, like he was thinking about something and did not realize what he was doing. I cleared my throat to snap him out of it. Edward's eyes were alive again, their green depths turning liquid. I could get lost in them.

Of course, here I was becoming vulnerable once again. I'll have to figure out a way to cure this maddening fancy that I have with him, I thought to myself.

Alice's house was small, but she was also small and living alone, which made it difficult for me to find a place for Edward to sleep. Her home was cluttered and disorganized, yet welcoming and sound. There were clothes every where of all colors, scattered along the floor and tables. I had no idea how Jasper could put up with her. There was an extra room that held her blankets for winter, and then I figured I could make some sort of a pallet out of these. It was of quick timing in which his bed was made. I turned to see him gawking at the piled up blankets. "This is where I'm supposed to fucking sleep? You have got to be kidding me." I was outraged beyond belief, for I did not have to make him this. I didn't have to do anything. The easiest way out of this would be for me to call the guards of the castle and have this ungrateful human taken away, but I didn't because of my compassion for these creatures and that's exactly what I told him. "How dare you! What a stupid unseeing child you are! I could have left you there in the woods to be murdered! Do you know what Souls do to the people they capture? They rape them for hours until they get hungry! They eat you alive and then wear your skin for clothing! Is that what you would prefer instead of the torture of having to sleep on this horrible thing?!" My rant was finished, but the horror on his face did not leave for a long time. "I—I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to seem ungrateful. Just please don't take me to them! The Souls! I'll do anything. I really am sorry." His panic was fading into a quiet plea and what could I do but grant him his wish. I was worthless; I could not stay angry at him for more than a minute. And with my last shred of dignity, I slowly nodded and wrapped my arms around his torso, feeling the warmth, his heart, his spirit,