Disclaimer: I don't own anything owned by Stephanie Meyer. Shocking, right?
Chapter Eleven
"I have a few questions," Alice said. I expected as much.
"We will do our best to answer them truthfully," I replied. "However, some things we are not allowed to tell you, though they will not put you in any more danger by not knowing."
"Why are you so important that Fire Clan wants to hurt you? And why can't they attack you directly?" Alice asked.
"In our language, I am Rythen-Tharina no ani'halA. Roughly translated, it means Princess Rythen of Wind Clan. Rythen is my name in our language. Because I am the princess, it is too difficult to attack me directly. I am surrounded by others and bodyguards, and am skilled in the art of swordsmanship. There is no guarantee that they would be able to get to me in order to physically wound me. The next closest thing is to harm my friends and family, to wound me psychologically," I replied. Sparrow and Wren melted into the trees above our heads and Grandma, Uncle Luke, and Aunt Hail ran into the trees towards my home.
"Where does my family fall?"
"By our customs, you are my family, because I fell in love with Emmett. His family is my family."
"Her family is my family," Emmett finished. "By the customs of her people, we are, for all intents and purposes, the same person."
"What one knows, the other knows. If one is unavailable, the other can speak with all the authority of the first. It is nice to be able to do that if the queen or princess is acting as her general self."
"Her love can then speak for her, instead of requiring all of the generals to take off their hoods," Emmett finished. "If I need to, I can speak for Raven."
"You two just gave me even more questions," Alice complained. "What does being a general mean for your people? Why does Fire Clan want to hurt you in the first place? Why –"
"You talk too much," Emmett complained, cutting her sentence short.
"Why don't I take you to my home," I proposed. "All of my family can work together to answer your questions. Would that work for you?"
"naa'mA, sanata ree sathe!" Cirrus exclaimed. Brother, watch the danger! In an instant, he was behind me as I held my swords crossed in front of my body to block the Fire Clan arrow.
"sfarK xenil! tilaY uwe carrguh nei adah heta!" I yelled to answer the arrow. The coward! Only a coward shoots after the battle has ended.
"What did Raven yell?" Alice asked Emmett.
May I translate? he asked. I nodded, just barely. "She yelled, 'Offensive coward! Come and fight me yourself! We should start moving. Fire Clan is still hanging around."
"How do you know?" Alice asked.
"They're the only clan with a potential reason to shoot or kill me. Wind Clan would never dream of shooting towards me, because Raven loves me."
"We need to be moving," I said. Cirrus hissed in pain next to me.
"There is fighting at your house, sister," she said. "Someone is injured."
"Go," I told her. She ran behind a tree and then I felt the winds rush to her as she flashed the rest of the way to my home. "Come, Alice, we need to get there in a somewhat timely manner. A part to the magic of my people will allow me to protect my home."
"Lead on," Alice said. "I know which direction we're going to go, but there's a werewolf at your house."
"Yes; he is visiting me," I said. I turned to the trees and walked away from the house. Emmett and Alice followed me. Once out of sight from the house, we started running, the trees flashing by us. I kept a careful watch on Alice, making sure she did not drop too far behind. Closer to my house, I heard snarls from Dave and the clear, pure ringing of sword fighting. If we stayed on the ground and tried to get to my border, we would run straight into the fighting, where I would have to protect both Emmett and Alice, not to mention fighting our way to the border.
We cannot run any closer to my border, I said to Emmett, also letting Grandma know we were here.
Should we fly? Emmett thought back.
You have not had any practice and we need silence. We shall have to run from tree to tree, as I have not taught you to flash yet.
"What are we doing?" Alice asked so low only an elf or vampire near us could hear. Emmett and I looked at each other.
"Climb a tree," Emmett and I said together using the same volume as Alice.
"I shall go up first, then you follow me closely, and Emmett will follow you."
"Why do I have to go last?" Emmett complained.
"Either I go last or you go last, and I do not think you are very experienced at tree running," I replied.
"Fine," he said. I jumped into the nearest tree and landed neatly with my feet on a (mostly) sturdy branch. Alice jumped up after me and I helped her find her footing. Emmett jumped last and found stepping places with only minimal help from me.
"There will be no talking from here until we touch the ground again," I whispered. With any luck, Fire Clan will assume we are squirrels.
You're trusting luck? Emmett asked.
I am hoping, I replied. Sun?
Yah? she replied.
How able are you to cover for the three of us in the trees?
Who are the three?
Emmett, Alice, and I are the three you would help to hide.
Alice? I don't know her.
She is Emmett's sister, I replied, running from tree branch to tree branch. I made sure Alice would have safe footholds before I stepped to the next branch. We only need to avoid the fighting until I am inside my border, at which time I shall erect my barrier.
I'll pass along the plan. She fell silent, then spoke again. The fire elves know where I am, so I can't do much to help you, other than distracting them.
That will have to do, I replied.
You're camouflaged, Sun thought. Her voice took on the strange double echo quality that showed she was telling the same message to the others. I led the way over the battle. Alice peered down through the barely leafed branches to see the battle below. When she saw the eyes of the fire elves, she stumbled and Emmett caught her. He let go after she regained her footing. We passed over the rest of the battle with no more mishaps. When I reached my border, I felt a new tingling: my barrier wished to activate in order to stop the fighting. We ran further in before jumping out of the trees. I closed my eyes, centered myself, and activated my barrier. I made sure to allow my family, Wren, Sparrow, Sun, and Dave to remain inside.
Cumulus and Cloud were the first to fall back. Cirrus followed soon after, supporting Aunt Hail. The others trickled back last.
"Is everyone alright?" I asked.
"I shall be fine in a little while," Aunt Hail replied.
"You are not fine, not by a long shot," Cirrus replied, angrily. "Can someone fetch a chair for Helen?" Grandfather walked into the house and came out with one of my kitchen chairs. "You will sit in that chair until I tell you it is okay for you to stand up. Do I make myself clear, Aunt?" Cirrus asked. Aunt Hail nodded and meekly sat in the chair. I smiled to myself. No one in his or her right mind would disobey an order from a healer.
"Is anyone else injured?" I asked. No one said anything. "Good. For those who were not at the Cullen's house earlier, Alice is allowed to know anything directly related to the safety of her family."
"Do we know why?" Mom asked.
"I can see the future, based upon the decisions of others," Alice replied. "That may have something to do with it."
"I think it does," I said.
"Then you know what clan we are a part of and why the other clan –" Alice cut Cloud off.
"Fire Clan," Alice inserted. "The other clan is Fire Clan."
"Why Fire Clan wants to hurt you?" Cloud finished.
"Raven said my family is in danger because she is the princess and fell in love with my brother. Your clan is Wind Clan." Sun smiled.
"I'm not saa-shi, like Raven," Sun said. "I'm a fairy, and Raven's best friend. Dave is the werewolf and my boyfriend."
A brilliant light ripped the sky in two. I closed my eyes against the glare. Spots danced against my vision, even in my mind world. When I opened my eyes, something was very different. Emmett wondered what I saw.
"Someone has come back," I murmured. A young girl's voice – Stratus's voice – started singing the Clan song of Wind Clan. I joined her halfway through.
"Whisper, whisper, says the wind,
Whisper, whisper, in the trees
Fly up higher,
ever higher,
Whisper, whisper, in the trees,
Whisper, whisper, come again."
The song ended and I began the call to summon the singer, the one I thought was Stratus. Everyone else remained silent.
"Whence do thee come, fahnina, fahnina," I sang.
"O'er the rainbow, my lady, my lady," the reply came.
"For what have thee come, fahnina, fahnina," I sang.
"To finish my business, my sister, my sister," I joined Stratus when she sang the words 'my sister'.
"Rainy!" Stratus exclaimed, flying into my arms. "Did you miss me? I wish I could have said goodbye to you." I held my seven-year-old sister on my hip. "But I was right to tell you to come here, wasn't I?" I blushed when she looked at Emmett. "I was the one who told Rainy to come here, because then she'd meet you. I mean, you would have met eventually, but then she'd look older." Emmett was stunned. I laughed.
"Emmett, Alice, I would like you to meet my youngest sister, Starla." Stratus made a face. "I know you do not like your fake name, but at least it makes more sense than Camille." Stratus pushed her bronze hair out of her face. "How much time do you have with us, sister?" I asked.
"I have less than a day," she replied. "Because of how I died, I only have enough time to say my final goodbyes and officially choose my successor." I set Stratus down. She walked over to Grandfather and gave him a hug. "I'm going to miss you, Grandpa," she said. "Hopefully, it'll be a long time before we see each other again. I wish I could tell you that you'll live to see your great-great-grandchildren, but I can't guarantee anything." Stratus released Grandfather and floated over to Grandma. "Love you, Grandma. You're the head of this family, and I don't need to be able to see the future to know they will need your wisdom in the coming days, especially Rainy."
"neI phrate adah bai ock adah savafau, Shidaka," Grandma murmured, not bothering to wipe away the silver tears flowing from her eyes. "neI axi adah." When Grandma let Stratus go, Stratus floated over to Aunt Hail, who picked her up and set her on her lap.
"Did you have a horse picked out for me?" Stratus asked.
"I think Penny's daughter would have chosen you."
"I'm going to miss you. We had a lot of fun, watching the mustang herds of your valley." She dropped her voice to the barest whisper, too soft for me to hear. Whatever she said, it made Aunt Hail throw her head back in laughter. Stratus said her final goodbyes to everyone else, though she left me for last.
"You knew what you were doing when you told me to come here," I told her, scooping her up in my arms again. "Thank you." She smiled at me.
"I wish I could have lived longer. But Rainy, don't name any of your children after me. It's a cruel, cruel name." I laughed.
"Was there any way you could have lived?" I asked her. She sighed.
"In the futures where I lived, either you or Sara died. Rainy, there could never be a replacement for you, and it would be hard to find a suitable replacement for Sara. But I already know whom I'm going to ask to be my successor. Raven, it is okay to let me go. After this, I can never come back. There was nothing you could have done to save me without dying yourself." Emmett wrapped his arms around my waist. "You were my favorite sister, Rainy," Stratus whispered in my ear. I set her down, hearing the farewell in her voice. She straightened and seemed to age. "Emmett, take care of my sister. She tends to try to over protect, over exert, and under explain."
"I will," Emmett replied. Stratus smiled and nodded.
"Good. My time grows short, now, and I must choose my successor." She took a breath and turned to Alice. "Alice Cullen, born Mary Alice Brandon. You see possible futures and are Raven's sister. Will you take my place as Next Wind's Eye, to see the past, the present, and the futures? As my successor, you run the risk of dying as I did, but you will be able to know the manner of your death. Will you take my place?"
"I will," Alice replied. The next few moments happened in a blur. Stratus became insubstantial and rushed towards Alice. Alice opened her arms to her. Stratus flew into Alice, who collapsed as Stratus disappeared in a flash of black; her time with us ended. Cirrus and I rushed over to Alice, who lay where she had fallen. Cirrus brushed her hands over Alice's forehead.
"Alice is fine," she said; "she is only resting and changing. Grandmother, have you ever heard of something like this happening, when a vampire takes an elfin title?"
"No, I have never heard of anything of the sort. I know her ability will change, but the rest is only supposition." Cirrus nodded.
"She will be fine; she just needs to rest while this change takes place. Rain, will you find a place to place her while she changes?" I smiled and picked her up. The first thing I noticed was her skin was warmer than a normal vampire's skin. It also had more give to it, closer to an elf's skin than a vampire's skin. She was no longer made of ice, as most vampires are. I carried her into my house, Emmett and Cirrus following. I sat her down on the couch and marveled at how tiny she was. Alice fit comfortably on the couch, where I would be curled too tight for comfort. Cirrus sat down on a chair by her head.
"I shall watch Alice," she said. "You decide how we will tell Alice and what we may tell her family. Unless something rather large has changed, we cannot tell them enough." I nodded. Emmett and I walked back outside. Mom and Uncle Luke sparred; Mom's movements were quick and slightly clumsy while Uncle Luke was relaxed and used the weight of his swords against Mom.
"Is there any news on Alice?" Grandma asked. I shook my head.
"Cirrus is watching her," Emmett replied. "My family is going to want some sort of explanation."
"We should avoid lying to them," I said. "They deserve the truth, or as much as we may tell them. I owe them that much."
"Can we hide Emmett and Alice for a few days, or until we think of some explanation? It would stop them from having a reason to question us," Cloud said.
"There are three coming this way," Grandfather said. "They're moving quickly." I nodded and ran to meet them. I was a little shocked to see Edward, Bella, and Nessie. I was reminded anew how much she looked like Stratus. They were nearing my barrier, but not there yet. I adjusted it to allow them nearer to my home.
"This is a surprise," I said, greeting them. "What brings you here?"
"We were looking for you," Bella replied. "Well, Alice, really; but she left with you."
Emmett, you and Alice went hunting an hour ago and haven't returned yet, I thought to him. Take either Grandfather or Uncle Luke with you when you disappear.
You're avoiding questions?
Of course I am. I switched back to talking with Edward and Bella. With any luck, they did not notice my lapse in concentration. "Alice left to go hunting about an hour ago," I said. "But come, I'll show you my house." I led them to my house. Everyone except for Sparrow, Wren, Emmett, Alice, Grandfather, and Cirrus sat in chairs or other miscellaneous furniture in front of my house. "I'd like to introduce my grandmother, Penelope, my mother, Gail, my uncle Luke, my aunt Helen, and three of my sisters, Cora, Camille, and Sally. My grandfather, Julius, went hunting with Emmett and Alice."
"Stop trying to read my mind!" Sun exclaimed. "I don't like it! It tickles." She sat in a blue armchair, huddled in blankets. Dave held her feet in his lap, warming them. "Blasted cold," she muttered. I smiled.
"The fairy over there in all the blankets is my best friend. Currently, we're calling her Ellen. The shape shifter next to her is Dave, Alpha of the Michigan Pack," I said in order to introduce them. "My family and friends, I present Edward, Bella, and Nessie, Emmett's brother, sister, and niece." I noticed Mom's face. She was ready to cry again. "luU adah bai, nai'aH?" I asked her.
"neI klee'ah bai," she replied. "Excuse me." She stood up and hurried into the house, her red hair hiding her face.
"Mom's a little emotional right now," Cumulus said. "Did Raven tell you about Starla?" Edward nodded. "Nessie looks a lot like her."
"Wind sister Alice is asking for you, wind sister Rain," a wind said, ruffling the ends of my hair. I sighed.
"Please tell wind sister Cirrus that she needs to request my presence in a way that others can hear," I replied. The wind rushed off and I waited.
"Raven!" Cirrus called. "Where did you hide my suitcase?"
"I guess I need to help her," I sighed and turned to walk into my house. No one stopped me, so I walked inside and sat on the couch next to Alice, who was sitting up. The most shocking difference was her eyes. Instead of the golden eyes of "vegetarian" vampires, her eyes shone silver. They were a cross between Wind Clan's gray eyes and vampire gold eyes. "Why did you ask about your suitcase?" I asked Cirrus. When she shrugged, I turned to Alice. "kayaN ora adah alam, nii'fa?"
"I feel different," Alice replied.
"Speak in the Common Tongue," I said in the Common Tongue, knowing Alice would understand. "Your brother, sister, and niece are outside and they can hear us."
"How do I speak in the Common Tongue?" Alice asked, her voice gaining a new musical lilt as she spoke in the Common Tongue. Cirrus and I laughed.
"You just did," Cirrus replied in the same language.
"Oh."
"Is there anything you wish to know?" I asked. She shook her head.
"I have some of Shidaka's memories," Alice replied. "My earlier questions – the important ones you couldn't tell me, I mean – have been answered by her memories. I'm still sorting the memories, though." Her eyes unfocused and then refocused. "Silpahl and Calene are coming in to show Nessie the house. Is there anything I should know before I flash to Arryn and Naamkah?"
"You'll want to do something to replenish your energy after you arrive. Be careful, Amara." She nodded and flashed away as if she had been doing it her entire life. Cirrus and I looked at each other for a moment before walking upstairs, discussing her suitcase and its possible whereabouts. I heard Snow, Cloud, and Nessie enter my house. Cirrus and I rummaged around her room to make it seem like we were searching for the suitcase on top of her bed.
Thanks for reading! Review to remind me to write?
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Common Tongue in this chapter:
Rythen-Tharina no ani'halA – Rythen, Princess of Wind Clan
naa'mA, sanata ree sathe – Brother, watch the danger
sfarK xenil! tilaY uwe carrguh nei adah heta – Offensive coward! Come and fight me yourself
saa-shi – elf
fahnina – child, literally 'little one'
neI phrate adah bai ock adah savafau – I wish you well on your journey
neI axi adah – I love you
luU adah bai, nai'aH? – Are you okay, Mom?
neI klee'ah bai – I will be okay
kayaN ora adah alam, nii'fa? – How do you, sister?
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Names in the Common Tongue
Rythen – Rain
Shidaka – Stratus
Silpahl – Snow
Calene – Cloud
Arryn – Julius
Naamkah - Emmett