A/N: FOUR reviewers. Nice. I would like everybody to welcome "music is my muse". I've had two requests thus far: I've been asked for Dawn's past and about what Dawn does for a living, so this chapter is more explanatory than it is anything else. Once I get those out of the way, then there might be more action involved (winks). Anyway...here you go.

(Looks around)

Hmm. Carlisle must be off hunting. Hope he got past the rabid fangirls okay...

Chapter 6

The hunting trip had gone well. The only ones who were still feeding were Rosalie and Renesmee. Everyone else was contented and lounging around against the trees. Carlisle and Edward were sitting in the grass watching the action.

"I want to hear that story that Jacob told you," Carlisle said abruptly.

It hadn't been a sudden thing for Edward. Carlisle had been wondering about it all day and Edward could feel his curiosity slowly burning a hole in his thoughts.

"Okay," Edward said, trying to think of a good way to start it. He was no storyteller compared to Jacob.

"Jacob said that there was a race of 'bird-women', named because they had wings and because they could sing beautifully, actually better than birds. They didn't start out anywhere near this place; they said they came from an island in the middle of the ocean. They stayed there to protect themselves and their young. People have tried over the years to kill them because they thought that these bird-women were dangerous. They sang songs of welcome to the sailors, but the sailors were so overcome by their song that they'd run their ships into the islands. The Sirens would dive into the water to save them and they'd stay on the island. The Sirens would circle around them and sing, feeding off of their life-forces, but they'd accidentally kill the sailors in the process. They never understood why; in fact, it made them all upset. Many of them stopped singing and intentionally starved themselves to death. They started sending their children over to the other parts of the world, hiding them on the ships that survived the island. Then, that's where the Quileute tribe comes in. One of the women found one of these babies. She was so in love with that baby, with her dark eyes and golden skin, that she couldn't condemn it to die. The settlers who brought her over here were happy to be rid of her. All of the children wanted to play with her instead of working, which didn't go over well with the parents."

"That baby was Dawn?" Carlisle couldn't help asking.

Edward grinned.

A mental image formed in Carlisle's mind of a giggling baby Dawn. The image seemed so innocent compared to what she was now.

"So, they raised her over the years. She grew up the same as a normal child would, but she hit twenty-one and didn't age a day. They told her she needed to get married, but she wasn't interested in marriage or children. She worked just as hard as everyone else, but preferred to spend her time singing and playing with the children. She didn't want to waste her time on adults, especially men. She saw them as a food source and nothing more. The adults were willing to overlook it for a short time, but then she accidentally killed one of the tribal chiefs because she got too greedy with the energy-draining. They started to call her an 'evil spirit' and demand that she leave, so she did. She felt bad for what she did for a short time, but not for long. She started wandering the world, just trying to find her place in it. Then," Edward paused for a moment, watching Renesmee take down a deer. He smiled, then returned to the story.

"This is where the Quileute tribe leaves off and the Volturi's account comes in. They've been trying to capture Dawn, or should I say, 'Aurora' for years. They took an interest in her, seeing how easily she could gather a crowd. They wanted her to help them get tourists down there, but she refused, saying she worked only for herself. Aro just laughed it off, saying she was a fool to pass up such a great offer. What he said in a nutshell was 'you get their energy, we get their blood, what more could you ask for?' But that wasn't good enough for Dawn. They've tried killing her every way possible, but she left before they could try starving her to death. Where there was a guard, you see, she could feed off of them. Physical hunger just gives her a bad stomachache. It's the energy that she can't do without. So, she broke out of the Volturi prisons and came over here. Aro said he let her go because he'd grown bored with her. He had a wife already and it was becoming too much of a temptation to keep Dawn around. Besides that, she wasn't as good at keeping hidden as Aro and the others were. She didn't like living underground all the time. It's a Siren thing."

"How did you discover all of this?" Carlisle couldn't help but asking.

"Well, I know she is la tua cantante for you, and I got curious. So did Bella. And...well, pretty much everyone, so we've been trying to piece this story together. I'm surprised you didn't ask earlier," Edward admitted.

He looked over at the sun, which was beginning to set.

"Anyway, Dawn broke out even though the Volturi swear up and down that she got to leave of her own free will and lived in America again for a little while. That's where she picked up the accent she has now. Aware that people would get suspicious if she ever became well-known, she didn't accept record deals or anything like that. She became content with smaller jobs like church bands or small-town bands that played public places like parties and malls. She'd been all over the United States and eventually got bored with that, so she moved over here about four years ago. She used a bunch of cosmetics and different clothing styles to make her look younger than she really was, then gradually appeared to get a little older. When she hits twenty-five or twenty-six, she plans on leaving again. That came straight out of Dawn's head, by the way."

Carlisle's expression was thoughtful.

"Aro didn't try to injure her at all?" he asked.

"No. Aro actually liked her. He wanted to keep her around for entertainment purposes. Marcus and Caius had differing opinions, though. They've shot her, stabbed her, beat her, tried to drown her, hang her, you name it, they've done it. She only came out of it with a lot of annoyance. The drowning memory was kind of funny," Edward admitted, a sly smile on his face, "they discovered she could breathe water as well as air. Jane tried to hurt her with her powers, but Dawn just stood there and smiled. She didn't feel a thing. In fact, none of the Volturi's power worked on Dawn. The only way they could get her was if she actually allowed those things into her head, kind of like Bella when she lets me inside of her shield. I can't read Bella's mind until she lets me in. It's the same way with power attacks and Dawn. If Dawn knew how much I'd spied on her, she'd have blocked me, too."

Images flicked through Carlisle's brain like a very fast slideshow. He had a difficult time picturing Dawn with the Quileute tribe or the Volturi, but he supposed it was possible.

"She's always wanted children," Edward said, "but she can't find another like her. She's been impregnated by a lot of human men, but she always miscarries around the third month. She hasn't been around enough vampires to know if their children are more viable or not. Dawn figures there's no point in bothering with relationships if she can't get what she wants. She thinks she's too busy for that, anyway. Or at least she used to think she was too busy..."

Carlisle almost laughed at the pointed expression Edward gave him.

"Jasper has figured out that she's enrolled in the university as an art major. He met her one day after she went tearing across campus and literally ran into him. He got a good look at her while she was picking all the paintbrushes and tubes up."

"How does she pay for it?" Carlisle asked, knowing that college was very expensive here. Singing in a mall couldn't pay her that much, could it?

"Well," Edward said, shaking his head and laughing, "all those admirers she has are more than willing to help out. She doesn't even ask them to do it-- they do it because they're so convinced she's going to marry them someday. Then, she just never does it."

Carlisle couldn't help but laugh with him. Dawn was apparently very good at manipulation. If he wasn't still grieving for Esme, he might have actually fallen for it. But Dawn would never compare to Esme. Dawn was simply too selfish.

"Why did all of you go to so much trouble?" he couldn't help but ask.

Renesmee and Jacob came back from the woods. Now sated, both of them looked sleepy. The sun had almost completely sank below the horizon. The sky was a deep blue fading into a blood red at the horizon.

"We thought you needed to know what you were getting into," Edward said.

Something in his tone implied that there was far more involved than thirst. Realizing he'd nearly given it away, Edward suddenly went quiet.

"There's more involved than thirst, isn't there?" Carlisle asked wearily.

"Afraid so," Alice said, coming over to sit with them, "a lot more."

Carlisle groaned.

"But there's a chance that it won't happen, right? Your visions are always subject to change..."

The knowing look in Alice's eyes shut him up.

"It's been pretty constant," she admitted, "I started seeing it even when Esme was still alive. But I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid it would upset you."

"Did you know that Esme was going to die?"

He sounded ill. His voice was trembling violently as the question hesitantly left his mouth.

"No," Alice assured him, "I didn't. I would have said something, I promise."

The pain in Carlisle's face when he spoke Esme's name was nearly unbearable for all of them. He felt so...resigned. He felt as though God had suddenly ripped away part of his free will and left him with no choice.

"That's not true," Edward said, reading his thoughts, "you still have a choice. If you think that Dawn's not good for you, don't worry about it. She's got plenty of growing up to do and I know you. You wouldn't be happy with her the way she is right now."

Alice leaned over and gave Carlisle a sideways hug. Edward did the same.

"Don't worry about her right now. Just take care of yourself and remember that we're always going to be here."

It made him feel better as his family gathered around him. Night had now settled, cool and dark. A nice peaceful feeling settled over the Cullens and they sat in silence for a little while. Carlisle wasn't sure if it was Jasper's doing or not. He sat behind Alice, who was leaning back against him. He was running her fingers through her hair. Edward and Bella lay side by side in the grass looking at the emerging stars. Seth, Jacob, and Leah were taking a run through the woods, Renesmee on Jacob's back. Rosalie and Emmett were holding hands a few feet away.

"Nighttime sharpens,

heightens each sensation...

darkness stirs...

and wakes imagination...

silently the senses...

abandon their defenses...

helpless to the music that I write...

for I compose the music of the night..."

"Who's singing?" Bella asked, looking around.

"It's Dawn," Edward answered almost immediately.

Carlisle was about to get very irritated when Edward shook his head.

"She's not trying to do anything right now. She's just singing to be singing."

Carlisle somewhat doubted that. Dawn seemed to have a motive for everything.

"Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor...

grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender...

turn your face away from the garish light of day...

turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light...

and listen to the music of the night..."

Dawn's voice seemed far away, but it was powerful nonetheless. It was as though the very breeze carried her presence. It echoed all around them like the golden chime of bells. The Cullens were silent and still, listening. It was the first time that all of them had heard her.

Close your eyes and surrender

to your darkest dreams

purge your thoughts of the life

you knew before...

close your eyes, let your spirit

start to soar......

and you'll live as you've never lived

before..."

Before the song was finished, Dawn's voice disappeared and it was suddenly still and quiet.

Too quiet.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about that?" someone asked.

Carlisle suddenly was afraid, but not for himself. Without waiting, he went tearing towards the castle ruins. Dawn's anger be damned, he needed to see that she was okay.

A/N: Oh, I'm so evil! I left you with a cliff-hanger! But I couldn't resist...You guys asked for action, so you're going to get what you wanted. I promise it won't take long :)