Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Quileute Reseveration, Washington

The house had an aroma that reminded Isabel of potlucks and grills. She caught the smell of the burgers, like Seth said, but also chips. Barbecue.

The younger boys had disappeared inside long before they headed down the hill. Seth abandoned her arm and ran ahead, slipping in while she strode forward at her own pace. Her hearing allowed her to listen in on the conversations in the house. She honed in on one in particular.

"Emily!" Seth shouted.

A pause. A heavy platter set on a counter. The shuffle of feet. "What's up?"

The voice was light. It had a slight rasp. Emily.

"Guess what!" He was out of breath due to his excitement. "Guess. What!"

A huff of amusement. There was a smile in her voice. "What?"

"Leah imprinted!" Seth burst.

Emily sucked in a sharp breath. "What?" She was much more serious this time. "Wh– Who?"

"Her name's Isabel!" he announced. "I think she's from town."

"How's Leah?" Emily asked. The question gave Isabel the impression that maybe Leah hadn't wanted to imprint. She sensed Emily's words had a history to them.

Seth laughed. "She ran into the forest, but she'll be okay." He sighed happily. "She can't be mad at you and Sam anymore now! Hey, where is she? She was right behind me."

Isabel took that as her cue to stop eavesdropping and go inside. She pulled open the door, cringing as it creaked loudly. She shrugged her shoulders to herself and took a few steps into the house.

She followed the scent of the food as their conversation ceased, rounding the corner to the kitchen. Seth smiled at her and she smiled too before her gaze landed on Emily, whose back was to her.

"Hello," Isabel said tentatively, brushing a hair behind her ear. The girl seemed nice enough, but that was when she talked to Seth. She was wary of how Emily might react to her presence.

Emily turned with the platter in her hands. A few of the patties were in buns, and the rest were set off to the side in a pile. The girl had long black hair pulled into a single braid. A scar ran down the right side of her face in the form of three jagged lines, and Isabel suspected immediately who–or rather, what–had done it.

She surveyed Isabel, who was still wet from her cliffside venture. The water had pulled her curls straight and her clothes were sopping. Emily raised an eyebrow but eventually nodded, tossing her questions aside.

"Hey," she responded. "I'm Emily." Then, she tilted her head toward the ceiling and shouted, "Food!"

A stampede of feet threatened to knock the walls of the house over as the boys bounded down the steps. The group who'd been at the fire appeared in the kitchen and dove into the platter, grabbing whatever they wanted. Two of them, both large and muscular, fought over a single burger before Emily picked another up and waved it next to them. Just as soon as they'd come, they disappeared into the living room.

Isabel could hear the groaning of the floorboards and the squeak of the metal coils as they made themselves at home on the couches. "All those boys and not a single 'thank you'," she remarked with a frown.

The bustle of activity in the other room momentarily died down, and she remembered belatedly that they could hear her. A moment later, a chorus of "Thank you, Emily" and "Thanks, mom!" came from them, causing both women to chortle.

Seth grinned. He took two burgers, one with a bun and one without, and put them on a plate like a civilized being.

"Thanks," he said, and vanished into the living room.

"Is this a daily occurrence?" Isabel asked once the noise returned.

"Nearly," Emily said, chuckling. She glanced at the platter, where there were three burgers left, all with buns. "Hungry?" she asked.

Isabel pictured the last time she'd eaten. She could digest things, sure, but it all tasted like sand.

"Oh, no thank you," she said, shaking her head. But, she didn't want to raise any suspicion, so she grabbed a few chips. Thank goodness they were spicy, so then at least she'd get a little flavor.

As she chomped on the chips she felt Emily's gaze. "You're from Forks?"

She nodded, waiting until she finished chewing to respond. "Yeah. I just moved here from Phoenix," she said, knowing it was the truth, because even if she hadn't lived in Arizona she had been visiting. Until that douche stole her Daylight ring.

"Are you Charlie Swan's daughter?"

"No," Isabel answered, aggrieved at how quickly her plan had fallen apart. She knew the man probably told a few people, though, which couldn't be undone, so she said, "I'm a friend."

"Oh," said Emily.

Isabel let the topic drop.

"How do you know Seth?"

"I don't," she responded quickly. "Not really. I just met him."

Emily nodded. "So, you must be his sister's friend then."

She frowned. "His sister?"

"Leah."

The name made her insides melt, and she pictured the one glimpse she'd gotten of the girl's face. She smiled the biggest smile.

Emily smirked. She tested Isabel by saying her cousin's name, and by doing so confirmed the imprint. "And how do you know Leah?" she ventured to ask.

Isabel's smile vanished. "Uh–" She bit her cheek. "I don't. I just met them both."

"Oh?" Emily prompted, enjoying how flustered the girl was.

"Yeah. I was taking a…" Isabel struggled to find an explanation that didn't say she'd just jumped off a cliff, knowing how unlikely humans were to do that by themselves. "A swim! Yeah, I was taking a swim, and when I came out, I saw Seth and Leah. They were sitting on the beach."

Emily raised an eyebrow again. She leaned forward, cupping her hand around her mouth, "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

Isabel's eyes grew as wide as saucers. No. She most certainly was not. The situation, the 'imprint,' must've knocked her off her game. "Uh–"

"Don't bother," she shrugged. "We've all got our secrets, and I'll let you keep yours since you're obviously not a–" Emily cut herself off, unsure whether this girl knew about the things that went bump in the night.

"Cold One?" Isabel tried.

This time Emily's eyes grew wide. She swallowed and stared at her. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, I'm not friends with the Cullens if that's what you mean," said Isabel. Deciding to opt for a vague truth, she said, "I've read about Cold Ones before."

"Really?" Emily's skepticism was plain as day.

"You'd be surprised at how accurate some mythology can be." Isabel shrugged. "But you don't have to worry. The people who have the books are–" Trustworthy, she wanted to say but nearly snorted. As if the Volturi were capable of honoring trust. "It's in their best interest to keep the knowledge to themselves."

Emily accepted the information. She obviously had more questions, evident by the curious gleam in her eyes, but stifled them. "If you know about the Cullens, then you–"

"Know that the tribe has an affinity for petting wolves and walking away unscathed?" she finished. "Yes."

"That isn't in any books, I thought?"

"Some people read to escape to other worlds. I read to learn more about this one." Isabel remembered she could be heard by the herd of boys in the living room. She didn't attempt to lower her voice. "Oftentimes knowledge comes straight from the source."

Emily balked. "Are you insinuating someone in the tribe talked to the Outsiders?"

"I need to talk to Leah," she said simply, believing the woman could resolve the issue on her own. Isabel headed for the door.

"I really don't think that's a good idea. She's–"

"Angry? Confused? Upset?" Isabel sighed. "I understand."

"You don't get what I'm saying," Emily pressed. "She's probably shifted."

"I can talk to her," she said confidently.

"You think she won't lash out. You think you can talk to her and that will be it."

"I know I can. Leah can't hurt me."

"I didn't think Sam would hurt me either," said Emily, pointing to her face.

Isabel scowled. Her patience was wearing thin. "This is not a matter of choice, but a matter of ability," she explained. "I never said that she wouldn't. It's that she can't."

"Wh–"

"I'm leaving."

The door slammed behind Isabel as she fled the house.

Forks, Washington

"I don't understand why we didn't just kill them and get it over with," Kol huffed, swatting at a branch. He was tired of forests.

"Like it or not, the Cold Ones were the last people to see her," said Rebekah. "They were the only ones with the information we needed. To repay their cooperation with death would be cruel and dishonorable."

Kol snorted. "What do you know about honor?"

"More than you!"

"Children!" Mikael snapped and the two stopped fighting immediately. "Let us not get distracted."

At this, Elijah turned to him and Esther. "You were saying Isabel is a witch and a vampire. Some kind of heretic."

Esther nodded.

"This doesn't make sense," Finn said. "Isabel wasn't a siphoner. Her magic was a product of yours, which is wholly different from that of the heretics. The magic was already in her."

"She's a witch in her own right," Elijah continued, jumping onto Finn's train of thought and shifting to face him. "She's using your spells. What kind are they?"

"Boundary spells. A number of protection spells. I think she's also tried her hand at charming rings to remake the one stolen from her."

Klaus frowned. Finn only created spells when he was human. "Brother?"

"Klaus," Finn sighed.

"How did you know to create a Daylight spell before any of us were turned?"

"Uh–"

"Finn?" Rebekah questioned.

Esther stepped in. "I told him to."

"What?"

"You knew?" Kol exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Klaus demanded.

Finn snapped. "I was in a coffin for 900 years!"

Rebekah crossed her arms. "You still had a hundred to tell us about it!"

"Quiet!" Esther shouted. She looked over each of her children and sighed. "One night, when all of you were away, I was refining the Immortality spell. Isabel walked in and discovered what I was doing and what I planned."

"Why didn't she stop you?" Klaus asked.

"She tried. When she accepted my determination, she offered to let me test it on her. Isabel said that it was a new spell and it could've killed all of you if it wasn't perfect, so I should try it on her before you."

The memory rang clear in her head.

If you test me first, I alone will perish. Then you will know your cowardice killed only one of your children instead of us all.

I love you, Isabel.

Just do it.

Esther shook her head, swallowing the pain of that moment.

"You actually tested it on her," Rebekah whispered incredulously, seeing her mother's distraught face. "That's why she wasn't there that night. You sent her away to hide the fact that you'd already turned her!"

"But she still died," Klaus said. "We all saw her body after the wolves attacked. It was Henrik all over again."

"I didn't understand, at first," Esther said. "She was fast, strong. She could hear everything. The sun burned her, so I asked Finn to create a spell that would protect her. I didn't tell him who it was for."

Mikael frowned. "When you turned the rest of our children, you were surprised at their thirst for blood. You'd turned Isabel first, you must've known to prevent it for the others."

"Isabel did not present an immediate thirst for blood," she said. "When the wolves killed her, I thought the spell hadn't worked. She had the qualities she needed to protect herself but I thought she didn't have the Immortality the spell promised."

"How is that possible?"

"You know what has to be done to turn someone. I couldn't bear to hurt her again, especially since I didn't know if she would survive."

Elijah's eyebrows turned downward. "You assumed she was immortal instead of verifying it."

"I wish I had taken the measures to ensure her immortality. What matters is that I thought I'd failed. So I tweaked the spell. Made it more potent. My modifications unintentionally heightened the need for blood."

"Isabel doesn't need blood as often as us?" Finn asked. If she'd been turned under the original spell… "Is that why she still has her powers?"

"I suppose."

The words of the scarred Cold One came back to Rebekah. She had spent an extensive period of time deprived of blood.

"She still needs blood enough to have gone mad without it." A sick realization washed over her. "We buried her. When she was still alive." She and her family had thought she was dead when they buried her, but it didn't excuse the fact that they had been the reason why she slaughtered a village.

Kol paled. "How long was she buried before she escaped?"

"I can answer that," said Esther. "After I died, I would visit our graveyard. We had no means to mark their graves other than planting flowers and placing stones at the head of the graves." She looked up. "I do not blame any of you for not returning to their graves, however, you would have known the truth a lot sooner had you."

Rebekah swallowed. "How much sooner?"

"By nearly nine-hundred years."

"She's been on her own for that long?" Finn said. He knew just how long that time period was, and could feel the weight of every year, day, and second.

However, Elijah's thoughts worked inversely. He fell still. "Over a century," he muttered. His eyes snapped to his mother. "Over a century without blood and trapped in the dark."

Klaus scoffed. "That doesn't sound much different from being daggered."

"As if you would know," Kol glared. "Time stops. You're not quite aware."

"When you removed my dagger," Rebekah began. "I was parched, not starving. I assure you it is very different."

To stop the brewing fight, Esther continued. "Over time, the flowers died and the stones crumbled. A century passed and a family came to settle. Without any markings to protect the graves, they began to dig. At that point I could not dare to watch them uncover our bones, so I left. When I returned, I discovered their bodies and an empty coffin. I could not tell any of you what I had discovered, so I began to look for a way to break through the Other Side."

"And here you are." Finn sighed. "If you didn't look for Isabel on the Other Side, tell me you at least looked for Freya."

"I did. I don't know where she is, but I do know where to find Dahlia."

"Good God. She's alive, too?" Klaus asked in exasperation.

Mikael asked, "Why does the location of your dastardly sister matter in finding Freya?"

"She used an immortality spell of her own, linking them. A century asleep, a year awake. We cannot wake Freya without waking Dahlia."

"What does that matter?" said Rebekah "None of us have children for her to take."

"That might not be exactly true."

And the fun continues, Kol thought grimly. "You think Isabel has a child, don't you?"

"Nine-hundred years is a long time to spend alone. In addition, I believe she is capable of bearing a child."

"Bloody brilliant."

"We go after them is what we do!" Edward screeched as he listened to the family's discussion of recent events. "I couldn't hear them. Who knows what they want!"

"Edward," Jasper said as calmly as he could. "They want their family member back. I doubt they're plotting against us."

"That's exactly it!" he persisted. "You 'doubt,' you don't know."

Emmett stood. "Would you shut up, Edward?"

"Emmett," Carlisle warned.

"No, dad. He needs to hear this." He turned back to the bronze-haired boy. "No one is out to get you. Newsflash, Edward, but not everyone is thinking about you 24/7."

"I never said–"

Emmett snorted. "They have to think about you to plan your demise."

"He has a point," Alice said.

"Oh not you, too, Alice!" he whined.

"I get you're upset about not finding your mate, and that's my fault for misinterpreting a vision and getting your hopes up. But the answer to your emotions is to not strike first when they're likely never going to strike at all."

"But–"

"Nothing!" she interrupted. "But nothing, Edward. If you're going to continue your tantrum, go to the Denalis. You're giving me a headache, and it's quite literally impossible for me to get a headache!"

As Edward slowly lost the battle, Rosalie gripped Emmett's hand and began to drag him toward the back door.

"Where are you going?" Jasper asked.

"To hunt."

"Be careful, please," said Esme. "The Mikaelsons are still around, I'm sure."

"We will," she said. "Come on, Em."

They left the house and ran into the forest. Emmett knew she didn't need to hunt and led the way away from the house. Far enough out of both hearing and Edward-range.

"He's impossible," she huffed, perching herself on a fallen tree. "And entitled. I'm surprised Carlisle and Esme didn't let him kill us all by starting an unwinnable war."

"I was, too," Emmett agreed. He sat down next to her. "What's wrong, babe?"

"There's something about her," she started but quickly shook her head. "It's stupid."

"You can tell me. You know that."

"I do. I just–" She hesitated before deciding she wanted to know what he thought. "When I saw her, there was an instant connection," she said. "I felt…"

"You felt..?" he prompted when she fell silent.

Rosalie breathed in. "I felt the way I did when I found you. Remember how I said I was meant to find you?"

He nodded, confused.

"I think I was meant to find her, too."

"So what?" Emmett chuckled. "Do you have another mate now?"

She shook her head adamantly. "No. And gross, Emmett."

He raised his hands. "Sorry."

"It feels more like…" Rose paused and stared at the gloomy sky. "More familial."

"Familial?"

"So… what is she, your mother?"

"I don't know, Emmett," Rosalie sighed. "She could be."

He frowned.

16 - Written: 11/13/22 - 6/24/23

Posted - 6/24/23