Chapter 3 – Shared truths

Bella observed the uneasy silence after Kaure asked where they should start. Bella was usually such a private person, but she a strange connection with Kaure and felt at ease talking to her.

"Well I guess the most obvious place to start would be with me. I know how terrible I must have looked when you saw us on our honeymoon. I overheard you both talking outside and I know Edward's already explained that as a human I had made a request of him that we consummate our wedding day whilst I was still human. It was just a human experience I was unwilling to give up on"

Bella looked over at Edward and smiled warmly. "Neither of us expected me to get pregnant. Relationships between human and vampire are pretty rare and the pregnancy was a shock to us both and our family".

"As soon as we realised I was pregnant, Edward was frantic, it became very obvious that the baby was growing super fast and I was suffering quite a lot with nausea, which is why I looked so frail and Edward was beside himself with worry. He wanted Carlisle to terminate the pregnancy, but I am afraid that my maternal instinct, which ironically wasn't something I knew I had in me, kicked in and I was determined to keep it."

Kaure interrupted "But, you were just human, surely he could have made you end the pregnancy?"

Kaure glanced at Edward.

"I could have, but I loved her so much I just couldn't do that to her" Edward interjected.

Bella continued to tell Kaure all about her pregnancy, the unconventional birth and the decision to change her right there and then to prevent her from dying. Kaure listened to everything intently, pausing here and there to ask a few questions.

Kaure sat there in stunned silence. "So Renesmee, your daughter is alive? And you survived?" she repeated. Edward and Bella nodded in agreement.

Kaure was deep in thought when she heard Edward's voice. "Would you like to meet her?" he asked gently.

"She's here?" Kaure gasped, feeling more relieved that the bloodstone hadn't worked.

"I'd love to meet her" he said.

Kaure paused for a moment to consider her next actions.

"Wait, before you bring her in, I need to do something" Kaure said quickly

Edward and Bella looked to each other and shared a confused glance, but turned back to Kaure and encouraged her to do whatever it was she needed to do.

"I guess I should reveal the real me, I wouldn't want Renesmee getting too confused" she offered.

Edward and Bella were both unsure what to make of Kaure's strange behaviour, but nodded.

Kaure smiled, knowing that what she was about to do would cause quite a reaction.

"May I use the bathroom" she asked.

Bella chuckled "Of course, you know where it is"

As Kaure headed to the bathroom Bella lowered her shield.

'What do you think she is going to do" she asked Edward in her mind.

He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I have no idea he whispered"

A few moments later Edward and Bella turned their attention to the doorway when they heard Kaure approaching.

As Kaure appeared in view Bella gasped.

Kaure had changed, quite dramatically, she looked taller and leaner and younger.

"But..." Bella began

Kaure chuckled. "I promise I will explain all soon, but first I would love to meet Renesmee"

Bella felt very confused, but was relieved when Kaure promised to explain things later.

"Okay - Please be open minded though, Renesmee is part human, part vampire and as a result is aging quite rapidly." Bella said gently.

Kaure nodded and smiled. "I am open minded I assure you."

Bella smiled warmly and left Edward and Kaure sitting in the living room. She stepped outside to where Jacob was standing outside with Renesmee.

As soon as Bella was spotted Renesmee ran over to her and jumped up in her arms. "Mommy!" she beamed.

Renesmee placed her hand to Bella's cheek and replayed all the fun she and Jacob had been having.

"Looks like you've been having a lot of fun" Bella responded and kissed her daughter gently on the forehead.

Bella turned to Jacob and smiled "Thanks for keeping her entertained Jake."

Jacob walked over to where Bella and Renesmee stood and placed his arm over Bella's shoulder. "I think she's been the one keeping me entertained" he joked.

Bella filled Jacob and Renesmee in with details of their visitor. Renesmee pouted when Bella went over the part where Kaure used the bloodstone on Edward, but Bella assured her that it had done no harm and that Kaure was keen to meet her.

Jacob listened intently. He sniffed the air and aside from the smell of vampires he wasn't getting a smell of human. The scene had similarities to human, but there was something rather different about it.

"I'm coming too" Jacob said brashly.

Bella turned to look up to Jacob. "Of course you are Jake, I never expected anything else".

They all ran back to the house and entered the living room together. Bella was relieved that Kaure and Edward seemed to be talking happily.

Jacob had insisted on holding Renesmee in order to protect her in case Kaure decided to try anything funny. Bella tried to tell him not to be silly, but he insisted.

"Kaure, this is Jacob. He's a friend of ours and this is Renesmee our daughter" Bella said.

Kaure stood up and turned to face Bella and the others. As soon as she saw Jacob she understood his heritage. That explained the strange smell. He was a Quileute.

Kaure looked at Renesmee and smiled. "She looks just like her parents" she said kindly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Renesmee. Are you enjoying your time on the island?"

Before Renesmee had a chance to respond Edward cleared his throat. "You are speaking to her as though you know she can understand and respond. That's quite unusual. Most people speak to her like a toddler"

Kaure nodded her head in Edward's direction and sighed. "Renesmee is not the first half vampire half human child I know. I am well aware of how advanced she will be. Does she have any additional talents?"

Bella, Edward and Jacob were visibly shocked. "We were under the impression that she is very rare"

Kaure chuckled at their naivety. "I owe you an explanation. Not only will it explain how I know of another child just like Renesmee, it will also explain how I reacted so badly when we last met."

Kaure took a seat on the couch and beckoned for the others to sit down. She couldn't help but look at Renesmee again. "You really are so beautiful. I have someone I would like you to meet, if your parents and guard dog allow it"

Renesmee chuckled at Kaure's nickname for Jacob. She didn't know this lady but was very intrigued by her.

"Hey! Why did you call me a guard dog" asked Jacob gruffly.

Kaure grinned and couldn't pass up this option to tease him. "Oh come on, you're a Quileute. You are a shape shifting wolf, what else was I going to call you"

Jacob was shocked. The whole room had fallen silent and Kaure was enjoying this a little bit too much.

Edward was the first one to speak. "I think you have quite a lot to tell us Kaure, why don't you make a start"

Kaure nodded and giggled "Very well, but I was just having a little fun. Okay so I guess the first thing I should say is that much like Wolfboy over there I and my people are not entirely human. The Quileute are quite a simple tribe to understand. Those that qualify, generally the males of the tribe shape shift into wolves to protect themselves and other humans from vampires or the cold ones. My tribe are a little different. It's generally the women of our tribe who can shape shift, though others in the tribe can earn the right, but fulfilling a number of ceremonial tasks. We are also not restricted to shape shifting into one form. We have the ability to shift into whatever our opponent greatly fears, or greatly desires. We do however tend to favour the MngWa. It's more ferocious than a lion and deadlier than a leopard. It has dark grey fur with darker stripes. I guess you could say we're like cousins to the Quileute tribe."

Kaure paused to take in the look of stunned faces around the room.

"Just like Jacob's tribe, those of us who shape shift do not age. In order for us to blend in, we often shape shift into characters. Such as the middle aged cleaner with the stooped back"

She smiled as Edward and Bella's face showed that they suddenly comprehended. The Kaure they had known was simply a manifestation of the true Kaure that they could see now.

"So how old are you?" asked Edward

Kaure chuckled and shrugged her shoulders

"Let's just say you're not the only centenarian in the room" she teased.

Edward raked his hand through his hair and smiled. He nodded to Kaure and encouraged her to continue.

Kaure smiled and explained more about herself and her tribe.

"As well as our shape shifting abilities we have the bloodstone, which is very effective at turning vampires to dust, yet today I learned that it depends on their diet. So that's a little more about who I am, now let's get into why I reacted so badly to seeing Bella pregnant the last time we met"

Kaure held her hand out to Renesmee, who took it gladly.

"You are such a beautiful young girl. I have a niece; her name is Tawémake, in our native language that means moon. Her mum, my sister died during childbirth. You see, your mum is not the only human to have fallen for a vampire. My sister Yula, she fell deeply in love, however she didn't know that the man she loved was a vampire. He left quite suddenly, claiming that he had to go back to his masters, but that he'd try to come back to visit her if he was ever given the chance. My sister was devastated. She curled up in a ball on her bed and cried for days. When she finally emerged from her bed her stomach was rounded and she felt unwell. We soon realised she was pregnant. She refused to end the pregnancy and went through all of the pain as the baby broke her ribs and literally drank her dry. My sister made me promise not to take her suffering out on the child. I will admit I struggled to make that promise, but I did eventually relent. "

Kaure wiped the tear that was forming in her eye.

"When my sister went into labour she was just too weak to survive it. My sister was just a normal human within our tribe; she didn't want to be a shape-shifter, so she had no extra strength, just sheer determination. When Tawémake was born Yula managed to stay alive just long enough to look at her for a few seconds and push me about my promise. As she took her final breath I was so desolate. I came so close to destroying Tawémake, but as I looked into the child's eyes I saw my sister in them. From that day on I have raised her as best I could. That was 3 years ago, but Tawémake is around 10 years old physically."

Kaure was exhausted after sharing all of that. She sat taking a few breaths trying to calm down after sharing all those difficult memories.

Bella spoke next. "No wonder you reacted so badly when you realised I was pregnant. I am so sorry your sister didn't make it. It sounds like you kept your promise to look after Tawémake and I am sure you have been doing that very well."

Renesmee started to struggle in Bella's lap and she loosened her grip. Renesmee climbed up on Kaure's lap and wiped away the tear that was rolling own her cheek. She smiled at Kaure cautiously and placed her hand to Kaure's cheek.

Kaure gasped as her mind was full of images of Bella giving birth and then Bella's transformation into a vampire, images of Edward full of concern for his wife and of the love that Renesmee felt for her parents. There were then images of Jacob, many of them and Kaure rolled her eyes when she realised that he must have imprinted on this child.

There was then a vision of a group of vampires approaching Renesmee and her family and others and the threat of death. Kaure gasped again as she recognised one of the figures in the confrontation.

She gently took Renesmee's hand from her cheek and thanked her. "Wow that is quite a gift your child has. Tawémake has an interesting gift too. She can give life. She's not strong enough to do it to humans, but she can regenerate plants and some animals"

Kaure didn't even pause to allow anyone to speak.

"One of the visions that Renesmee just played were of you all standing on a large field amongst others, whilst a group of red eyed vampires approached. There was a sheer sense of fear. Who were the vampires in Rensemee's memories and what were they doing?"

Kaure listened patiently as Edward explained all about the Volturi, who they were and how they wanted to destroy them.

"How interesting!" Was the first response from Kaure. "I recognised one of the Volturi, does the name Felix ring a bell?"

Edward and Bella exchanged looks. "He's one of the Volturi guard." they both responded together.

Kaure hissed. "That vampire, is the one who got my sister pregnant"

Bella didn't know what to say or do. "I am so sorry Kaure; we can assure you they are no friends of ours. The Volturi are like the royal family of the vampire world. They try to keep order, but they are quite corrupt. They don't believe that as vampires we should deny our right to feed on humans and they are very keen for Edward and me to join them."

Kaure shook her head wildly and patted Bella on the knee. "The vision that Renesmee showed me, made it more than clear that they were no friends of yours. I believe there are some stories that the elders in our tribe share that mention the Volturi. Would you all like to come with me to the mainland and meet my tribe? I am sure Tawémake would love to meet Renesmee."

It didn't take much discussion for all of them to agree. Bella insisted that Jacob, Renesmee and Kaure had something to eat before they set off and excused herself and Edward as they did a quick hunt. They wouldn't catch much on the island, but they'd be able to get enough to keep them going until they could go to the mainland to do a bigger hunt.

"It's really been quite a big day hasn't it" she said to her husband as they walked hand in hand back to the house.

Edward turned to Bella and smiled "It sure has, it sure has. I am still in shock over the whole bloodstone thing. I mean the thought of spontaneous combustion isn't one I am happy to have." He tried to keep his tone light, but he was very shaken by the existence of such a weapon.

"I do hope that the Volturi never learn of its existence. It would make Kaure and her people a target" Edward continued.

Bella nodded and squeezed Edwards hand tightly.