Chapter 14

Edward

Once Alice had taken Lexi, Alec, and Nessie to the mall, we all sat around the table for a "family meeting". It had only been a few days since Lexi and Alec had come to live in our house, and I had been reading their minds often, to make sure that they would not hurt our family.

"Well Edward?" Carlisle asked me.

"Yea, what did you get from those horrid brats?" Rosalie snidely said.

"Rose, chill out—they're just kids," Emmett replied, lounging back on his chair.

"Yeah," Rosalie said, "just two normal vampire kids who have the power to kill us as soon as they have the thought."

"Alice would see if they tried to do that," Esme told her.

"Alice can be wrong, if people know her gift, then they know how not to make a decision and stick with it, but to do something spur-of-the-moment," Rosalie rudely said.

"That's what I did," said Bella from her spot next to me.

"Exactly my point," said Rose with a contemptuous look on her face.

"They haven't thought about anything like that," I intervened.

"Why don't we all allow Edward to speak?" Jasper calmly asked.

Rose rolled her eyes as everyone else turned to face me.

"They don't really think about us. Mostly at night they read and talk to each other. Or sit in silence with their own thoughts. They talk about their past. I have learned a few things about the Volturi, but nothing new. I have, however, learned much about the Romanian Wars, and Vladimir and Stefan. It is true what she said when she first came to us—if she wanted us dead, we would be dead. I have seen her powers in her thoughts, and they are quite remarkable. I am sure Aro wants her very badly."

"Then why doesn't he just take her?" Bella asked.

"Because, love, he can't. She has much more power than he has, and with the allegiance of Alec and Jane, the Volturi could possibly be destroyed. And I believe Aro wants Alexandra's sister, Lucy. She seems to be like Alice. And we all know how badly Aro wants Alice."

"How about their lives? How hard have they been? What have they gone through?" Esme ask, worriedly. In her mind Esme was fretting about the welfare about these two children. I almost didn't want to tell her.

"Before they were vampires, they had it very tough. Alec was thinking about the memory she projected for Aro—"

"She did what?" Rose interrupted.

"She can manipulate the air or mist or whatever to produce a picture."

"I thought her power was telekinesis—she held Seth in the air."

"No, she manipulated the air to keep him up there. Alexandra can also manipulate fire, water, rocks, anything really."

"I still don't understand." I sighed. Sometimes Rose could be so stupid.

"Okay, Rose, so she can have a ball of fire fly through the air until you catch fire. She can also make it seem as if she is standing in front of you, but she is really behind you, or someplace else. She can manipulation the air to project an image of herself to confuse you."

"Great, now that we know she's really dangerous and the Alec has no soul, we should kick them out of the house."

"Rosalie," Esme interrupted us, "we will not get rid of them. Now, please be quiet, I want to hear Edward answer my questions." Esme was still worrying about Alec and Lexi.

"Ok, so the memory showed Alexandra and her sister Lucy finding out that Jane and Alec were going to be burned as witches, the two of them being beaten, then the house being set on fire by their parents, so that the girls would die, then two vampires rescuing them." I said it quickly and avoided looking at Esme. But I could still hear what she was thinking, and her heart grieved for the children.

"And before they were vampires," I quickly continued, "the four of them were family. They lived close to each other and Lucy and Alexandra were ostracized by other children because they chose to be friends with Alec and Jane. Lexi and Lucy were abused by their parents, while Jane and Alec were ignored by everybody.

When they became vampires, from what I have gotten from their minds, Alec and Jane were kept by the Volturi and have been there ever since, but Lexi has a very tough vampire life. She has been in many fights, be captured, I don't know how many vampires she has killed, and had abandoned the Romanian coven."

"Those poor children," Esme sighed, as everyone stared at me.

"Well, they had a sucky life," Emmett remarked, still leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Jasper agreed.

"We should get rid of them while we still have the chance," Rosalie bluntly said, "they both could be emotionally damaged. Oh, wait! Alec already is!"

"Enough Rosalie," Carlisle said, "we will allow the children to stay with us. However, I will check on them—if it makes you feel better."

"What would make me very happy," Rose shot back, "was if you gave them therapy sessions. I'm sure they both need it badly." And with those words she got up from the table and stormed into her room.

"Erm…" Emmett looked at us as he also got up from the table to talk to Rose. "Jasper?"

"Not getting any help from me today, payback for beating me at chess," Jasper said, smirking.

Emmett sighed and rolled his eyes and walked up stairs. Carlisle and Esme were in deep conversation; Jasper looked at us and left the table. I looked into Bella's eyes and we went over my piano to play a few soothing songs. These two children were more trouble than they are worth.