Alice's POV
I was mad, upset. I was furious. I couldn't believe that Emmet would have suggested such an idea.
"Alice quit moping. This will be good for Karla." said Edward.
"And just how will taking Karla to yard sales benefit her?" I asked.
"It something that normal humans do all the time. She'll have fun. Don't be all grouchy just because you're not going to Paris."
"I should be. They are having an auction on one of a kind designer dresses. And they even have a clothes line for children that would look lovely on Karla. Plus I don't see why Rosalie gets to go and with Emmett. Emmett doesn't even like clothes!" I sat down in the love seat and crossed my arms.
"Do you love Karla?" the question surprised me.
"Of course I do."
"Then do this for her. When the Volturi come, her life will change. She will be exposed to a different life. And we will eventually have to changer her."
"Don't let Jasper hear you saying that. He's been trying to come up with reasons for Karla to stay human."
"Do you think that she should stay human?" asked Edward.
"I'm not sure. I just want Karla to be safe. That's all I want for her. Sometimes I wish that I could have save her parents too. Just so that Karla wouldn't be mixed up in all of this." I looked at the ground and felt like crying.
"We'll keep her safe. We've bee training for a while. Aro is friends with Carlisle. I'm sure he'll let us explain."
"What about Jane? She loves to fight." I looked up at Edward.
"Emmett does too. We'll leave her to him." he smiled.
"No. I'll take care of her." I said sternly.
"Momma." I turned my head as Karla ran down the stairs as fast as she could. Jasper was right behind her.
"Karla don't run on the stairs, you'll trip." said a nervous Jasper. He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.
"Daddy." Karla giggled. "I won't fall." Jasper carried and handed her over to Edward.
"How's my favorite niece doing?" Edward kissed her forehead. Jasper sat down and wrapped his arms around my shoulder.
"Is Uncle Eddie coming too, momma?" Karla looked at me with pleading eyes and then back at Edward.
"Sorry I can't. But grandpa Carlisle will." said Edward. Karla started pouting, stopped as she heard the front door opening.
"Hola, family." grinned Emmett.
"Emmett aren't you supposed to be on a plan right now, heading to Europe?" asked Jasper.
"I decided that it would be better for Rosalie to have some girl time. So we called Esme at the store and she met with us at the airport. And now I'm here." Emmett took Karla from Edward and sat down on the couch. "So what is Karla doing up at 6:00 in the morning?"
"Alice and Carlisle are taking Karla to yard sales." said Edward as he sat down next to Emmett and took Karla back.
"Cool. Can I go?" asked Emmett.
"Why do you want to go?" I asked.
"Because, there's so many things that you can find at yard sales. Besides Karla wants me to go, isn't that right Karla?" Emmett took Karla from Edward once again and kissed her nose. Edward frowned and took her back. He and Emmet were practically playing tug-of-war with her.
"Would you stop? My daughter isn't a rag roll." Jasper stood up and took Karla from my idiot brothers. Karla didn't seem effected at all though. She was still smiling. Jasper rocked her in his arms. Edward and Emmet both wore an apologetic face.
"So can I come?" Emmet spoke in a small voice. I sighed.
"Fine. Karla would want you to come anyways"
"Yes. In your face Fredward. I'm Karla's favorite uncle." jumped up Emmett
"Shut up Emmet. She asked me first." smirked Edward. Emmet's face fell in betrayal as he slumped back down on the couch with a frown. Carlisle walked in with his working attire.
"Carlisle, is there a change of plans?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm afraid that they need me ASAP. I am sorry." he walked over to Jasper and looked at Karla's face. "Will you forgive me angel? I cannot go with you and your mother."
"It okay, grandpa." Karla kissed Carlisle's cheek. Carlisle walked left leaving me to deal with some unfinished business.
"Karla, are you sure that you want to go to the yard sales?" I asked hoping that she'd rather go to Toy's R Us or something.
"Yes." replied an almost sleeping Karla. I looked at the clock. It was 6:15 a.m. I figured that I could let her sleep for a while longer.
"Jasper why don't you take Karla up to her room for a nap." I suggested.
Jasper's POV
I quickly carried Karla up to her room trying to make as little movement as possible. I stared down at her angelic face. I watched as her mouth and nose scrunch up before she sneezed. Her eyes opened a bit and she seemed to be in a daze.
My mind went back to two days ago where my daughter had witnessed me training with Emmett. I had never seen her so scared of me before. It hurt just thinking about it.
I placed Karla on her bed and wrapped her in her favorite blanket. The mysterious blue blanket that she had taken from a boy in her dream. It seems ridiculously impossible, but there didn't seem to be any other explanation as to how it got in her possession.
"Daddy?" whispered my daughter.
"Yes?" I said as I laid down on her bed next to her.
"Is everybody ok?" she asked.
"Yes, why?"
"I dunno, but they seem scared. I asked Emmie but he won't tell me." I was thankful that for once my brother could keep a secret from her.
"I'm sure you're just imaging things. Now why don't you go to sleep so that you won't be so tired when you leave with mom and uncle Emmie?" I kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes with a little sigh.
I didn't want her to know. I didn't want her know why her dad was training so hard. I didn't want her to know what Edward was going to be doing tomorrow that was going to keep him very busy.
I brushed a hair away from her face and began to wonder how her life was before Alice had found her. Carlisle never found any relatives because we didn't really know who her parents were. And the police didn't know who her parents were because they had burned to ashes, or at least that's what Esme saw on the news. But still I wondered if she had any brothers or sister or if she lived in a mice house. Or if her parents even loved her.
I was aware of the crimes occurring around the world of child abuse, and I would hate to imagine Karla having to go through something like that. I looked down at Karla as she began mumbling something.
"Jose." she said. I mentally cursed in my head. This boy had met my daughter and yet he was mean to her, so why was he in her dreams. I instinctively wanted to protect her from this boy who she'd never meet again or probably didn't even exist except in Karla's dreams. I watched her curl up into a ball and wanted to wrap my arms around her, but knew that I would only be making her colder. I wanted to be able to keep her warm, but the least that I could do was to keep her safe from the Volturi. I started to think about how she would look like when she'd grow up. How would she react to having to move so much due to our appearances?
I looked at Karla as she began whimpering, probably having a nightmare.
"Daddy… don't leave me." she begged and moved closer almost as if she was searching for me. "Momma, where are you?" I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled her close to me and tried to comfort her by rubbing her back soothingly.
"Shhh, princess it's okay. It's just a dream. Wake up princess." I begged. I could hear her heart beating quickly and she started to kick and thrash around. I held her more steadily. "Karla, wake up." I said louder this time.
Her eyes finally opened. Tears were forming on her eyes and I quickly wiped them away.
"Are you feeing better? Did you have another nightmare?" I asked. She couldn't speak. Her face looked so pale. "Edward." I called and he walked in slowly obviously hearing what had happened. I asked what she was thinking.
"She was dreaming about the little boy again, except they were both being chased by something." Edward spoke too quickly for Karla to understand.
"Or someone." I looked back at Karla's face. Her eyes were red from tears and she was too scared to even blink. She was shivering and I was rethinking letting her go with Alice.
"She's shaking with fear. Her health has nothing to do with it. Besides like I had told Alice earlier, she needs to have these human moments. No matter how small they are, she needs them to keep her sane."
"Edward, are you suggesting that there could be a possibility that she will be crazy when she grows up because she is living with us?" I was almost offended.
"What I am saying that she might be a little paranoid if there is nothing in her life that is slightly normal. Besides," Edward turned away and walked to the door, "she's been looking forward to this, and what kind of a father would you be if you disappointed your daughter?" He walked out and shut the door behind him. I hissed at his last comment. I looked back a Karla when she snuggled closer to me seeking comfort. I laid her on my chest and combed her hair with my fingers.
Emmett's POV
"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" I was jumping up and down at the foot of the stairs waiting for Alice to come down with Karla.
"Shut up Emmett!" that was Alice. I knew that she was looking for and outfit for Karla. Just as my patience, Karla walked up holding Alice's hand. Karla was wearing faded pants with a white tank-top covered with blue butterflies.
"You look very pretty today Karla." I grinned. I could see her blushing.
"Let's get this over with," whispered Alice so Karla wouldn't hear. I knew that it wasn't the fact that she didn't want to spend time with Karla. It was just that she hated shopping for anything that wasn't designer. Karla ran down the stairs and I picked her up. I walked her to Edward's Volvo.
"We taking Uncle Eddie's car?" asked Karla.
"Yeah. He borrowed your mom's, so he let us use his." I replied. I placed her in her car seat and I could tell that she didn't like it. Then as soon as Alice started the car, Karla began kicking and screaming and crying out begging for us to let her out. Alice stopped the car.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Alice turned around and unbuckled Karla from her seat. Karla crawled over the seat and into Alice's arms.
"Didn't you find her in a car?" I asked.
"Of course. How could I have been so stupid?" Alice stepped out of the car carrying Karla. "Emmett do you still have your motorcycle?"
I ran quickly to the garage and pulled out my new black motorcycle with green flame on it. Rose told me that they looked stupid, but I thought that they were pretty rad. It was a big. I got on and Alice climbed on still holding Karla.
"Momma, is Emmie gonna crash?" asked Karla.
"I won't I promise. I've done this a lot." I assured her.
"Karla grab onto your uncle." said Alice. I felt small hands trying to grab my waist. Hey almost tickled.
"Ready?" I waited.
"Yes, Emmie." replied Karla.
I drove out of our long driveway and began speeding down the road.
"Are you feeling better, munchkin?" I used her nickname.
"Yup. Go faster uncle Emmie." ordered Karla. And so I did.
We stopped at the first yard sale. The house was yellow with roses and a white picket fence. I felt like throwing up just thinking about how the people who lived here looked like. Sure enough a woman wearing an orange platted dress walked up holding a tray of cookies.
"Welcome to our yard sale. Everything is out back. Would you like a cookie?" she bent down to Karla's level. Karla took one. We walked through the open garage and I saw that there were a lot of other people that were drawn here.
I followed Karla to the toy pile. I saw her pick a doll. She pulled the string and dropped it as it spoke.
"Hi my name is Alice will you play with me?" I laughed at the resemblance. The doll was blonde, but with short hair like Alice. The doll was also dressed pretty nicely.
"I dare you to go show it to your mom." I told Karla.
"But she's scary."
"You're right. Your mom can get very scary."
"Not my mommy! The doll." said Karla. I kicked the doll a little to show her that it wasn't really alive.
"See, it won't eat you. Now go." I said. She picked up the doll with one hand and carried it, keeping distance between herself and the doll. I turned my attention back to a toy car. "Awesome!" I picked up and started moving it across tables and over books. I even moved up and down across some guys back.
"Excuse me but will you stop?" asked the man.
"Well, sorry! I am just trying to drive the commander to his ship or else our world will blow up. Do you even know who I am? I am commander Luke Fly-water, and you are under supervision of the FBI. We know your secret and it has been going on for too long." I spoke in a serious voice. I watched as the man's face became scared.
"No, I swear I'm going to stop." He got down to one knee. "Please don't tell anyone about it."
"No can do, we have it all on tape."
"But I swear I'm not gay. It was a one time thing. I just needed the money, honest." the man quickly ran out. I didn't even want to know what he did. I started laughing.
"What's wrong with him, Emmie?" I turned around and saw Karla.
"Where's the doll?" I asked.
"Mommy went to go burn it." she looked down. Just then Alice came running towards us.
"Run!" she picked Karla up and ran through the garage. I took the toy car with me and followed her. We got on my bike and drove off. Then I heard a loud bang. I turned around and saw a lot of smoke.
"What the heck happened?" I yelled at Alice.
"Um, you don't really need to know."
We arrived at another yard sale.
Alice's POV
I quickly got off the bike. I was glad to get away from the exploding yard sale. I had left a check for the family, so they'd be okay.
Karla walked over to some of the clothes and Emmett went towards the toys again. I noticed a jewelry box and opened it. A ballerina popped out and it began to dance.
"Momma, what's that?" Karla stared at the ballerina in awe.
"Do you like it?" I handed it to her carefully.
"She's pretty. But not as pretty as you." she smiled.
"How much for this music box?" I asked a lady there.
"$3." I handed her the money.
"Here you go Karla. A present from me to you."
"Thank you momma." Karla hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey look what I found." Emmett walked over to us carrying a pile of Power Rangers movies. I smiled to myself. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought it would have been.
We arrived back the house and Karla was listening to her music box for the hundredth time. I had Emmett carry everything we bought inside. The house was too quiet. Then I felt something tackle me to the ground.
"Momma!" I heard Karla call out. I looked up to who was pinning me.
"Jane!" I hissed. Then as she looked me in the eyes I felt immense pain. I could hear her laughing at me.
Get off of her!" It was Jasper. I felt her being ripped off of me. Jasper lifted me up. I looked and saw Karla being held by Aro.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" I was pissed. "Give me back my daughter!"
"Alice you and your family have broken the rules. This child must pay for that price now." spoke Aro.
"Where is the rest of my family?" I asked in horror.
"They are outside dealing with my guard. I say, this human must mean a lot to all of you, if you are willing to die for it." laughed Aro. I saw Jasper launch himself toward him, but then watched as Jane's power took over him. He cried out in pain. But then Jane was tackled from behind by Emmett. They rolled on the ground. I took this moment to leap toward Aro, but was stopped by Alec. He tried to aim for my neck but I dodged him. He eventually grabbed my arm and he threw me at the dinning table.
I looked up and was surrounded by my family. Carlisle stood up and calmed down.
"Aro, I would like appreciate it if you would hand over my granddaughter and leave me and my family alone. This is very unnecessary."
"I am sorry to say Carlisle that we cannot do that. We have been watching for some time, and we realized that this child was different by the fact that you could resist her blood."
"That does not mean that you have to kill her."
"We do not plan on killing her. We would like to make a deal with you. We will allow the human to live if she stays with us in Volterra. There we will make sure she does not expose us to the world. You may see her from time to time. But other than that she will not return." finished Aro. I didn't know what would be worse. To have her be killed or to be taken away from us forever. Either way she'd die.
If she went to Volterra then she'd be scared to death.
"And if we don't agree to either of those?" asked Carlisle.
"Then we kill her now and here." replied Aro with such easy it sickened me.
"Then I'm afraid we have no choice but to let her go." said Carlisle.
"Are you mad, Carlisle? I will not let them take my daughter away! Who knows what they will do to her? I refuse to let her go!" I said. I looked up at Jasper for support, but he seemed to be debating as well.
"I guess we will be going now." Jane began to walk away and Kara cried out for me.
"Momma! Help me!" cried Karla. I tried to go after her but Jasper grabbed me by my waist.
"Jasper let me go!" I looked into his eyes. They were in pain. He shook his head. I stared into his eyes wondering what to do. Jasper looked up immediately hearing Karla.
"Daddy, please help me! Uncle Eddie, you promised! You pinky promised!" I looked over at Edward. His face matched Jaspers.
"Shut up you brat." hissed Jane.
"Aro," Carlisle called.
'Yes?" asked Aro.
"You must promise that you will not harm her." spoke Carlisle in a dark tone.
"Yes, of course my friend. I promise. Good bye."
And just like that, my daughter was gone. She had taken her music box with her. It was the only thing she'd have to remember us by.
I promised myself that I'd see her again. I didn't care if I was killed by the Volturi afterwards, but I would see my daughter once again.