Esme:
Edward and Bella were safe in Florida for the weekend, and Carlisle and I were wandering through the forest in the twilight hours of Saturday night. Well, that is, to anyone we might have passed, it would have seemed like wandering, but really we were hyper-alert.
"You know I wish you were at home right now, don't you?" he asked in a conversational tone.
"I do, but I'm not going," I replied amiably. We'd had this discussion a thousand times.
A branch creaked high above us, then suddenly stopped. I stopped too, and Carlisle only a few paces after. I looked up, and saw a flash of red. Before I could make a sound, Victoria spun around a branch and launched herself at me. There was a thunderous crack, and we rolled over one another down the bank towards the river. Somehow, she found her feet before I did. She lifted me up by the neck, holding me out over the river.
Three large werewolves yipped and bayed from the other bank. I was less scared of them than Victoria though: I grabbed her forearm with both hands and forced it backwards. Her wrist cracked, her grip weakened, and I fell into the river's churning waters. I missed the treaty line - just.
"Esme!" Carlisle cried, his feet slipping slightly on the muddy bank as he scrambled to get to me.
"Carlisle, look out!" Alice exclaimed, appearing on the bank opposite the wolves. The others were not far behind her.
Carlisle ducked, only just dodging a swipe from Victoria. Outnumbered on both sides of the line, the redhead let go a furious hiss before darting away. I was still sitting in the river, drenched and very unimpressed as the wolves and vampires shot off after their illusive prey.
"Are you okay?" Carlisle asked, offering a hand to help me up.
"Of course I am," I said, still growling under my words. I took his hand and we clambered back up the bank together. There was a frustrated snarl from in the distance, followed by a shout of dismay from Jasper. Carlisle and I charged towards the sound.
.o.o.o.
Carlisle:
We caught up to Emmett and Jasper, running a few feet further from the line than they were. It didn't follow the river here, but the wall of scents was an easy enough marking.
"She's following the treaty line," Jasper informed us as we ran. "She's making it difficult for us to judge which side she's on – that way we can't get her without risking a fight."
Three enormous wolves shot past twenty yards to the left of us. Emmett and Jasper disappeared ahead of us, no doubt to catch up with Alice and Rosalie. Esme and I took off then, followed on the left by three more wolves.
It wasn't long at all before we caught up with the others, all crowded around a scene of scraping and snarling. Victoria was nowhere to be seen: the fighters were Emmett and a large gray wolf. I sighed. This was a terrible tactical situation to be in: the enemy of our enemy was certainly not our friend, and this only proved for extra fighting on the side. We were supposedly aiming for the same thing, but Victoria was having a field day. Jasper crossed his arms. Clearly, he shared my sentiment.
I edged my way to the front of the group of spectators. Emmett snarled at the wolf and backed off a little. On the other side, the black Alpha - larger even than the others - looked at me with approval. He was backed by an entourage of wolves who seemed to be quite enjoying the scuffling match: they snarled and yapped angrily at me.
"Are we all keeping to our sides of the line?" I inquired calmly.
"Yeah," Emmett replied. "Misty of Chincoteague here doesn't seem to think so, though."
"Have you ever thought that they don't like us because we insult them so much?" Esme suggested, staring with wide eyes at the enormous black.
"I don't care what they think," Rosalie snapped. "Emmett didn't break any rules."
The black snarled again and advanced on me, but Jasper kept everything under control. The other wolves set themselves out in a more regimented line behind their leader, and the gray in front of Emmett turned back to join his companions. Emmett returned to our group, muttering bitterly about how unjust the whole situation was. Alice bared her teeth at the black as he came towards me, but he meant no harm. He stopped right on the line and lowered his enormous head to my level.
"We understand we have no business crossing the line," I explained. "I don't believe anything happened here, but if it did there was no harm done. He did not attack, did he? Not seriously?" The black moved its head from side to side; no.
"Good. I assure you, I will enforce discipline, but I believe there are more urgent matters to take care of."
The black snorted and snapped his teeth together, but he knew I was right.
"Where's she headed?" I asked Alice, whose eyes were glazed over.
"I don't know – I can't see past the wolves."
"Oh, yes," I muttered. "We should let the wolves take it from here, if they can find anything. We should be getting back - Emmett, I want to talk to you." I turned to the leader of the pack. "The line is all yours," I told him. "We'll try to stay out of your way."
"But-!" Emmett and Jasper objected at once. The black wolf and I growled at them simultaneously, and they shut their mouths, looking outraged that I had agreed with a werewolf over them.
"Let's go," I urged. The wolf leader nodded at me, and with a silent signal they charged off after Victoria, some of them crossing the line as they went.
.o.o.o.
Esme:
Everyone was mad with Carlisle for the rest of the weekend for giving up the treaty line. They believed it was unnecessary, unfair, and completely inconsiderate of our comforts. Our hunting land stunk like wolf from the pack running through it, and some of them weren't being very polite at all, which didn't make it any better.
The children made a reluctant peace with their father by the time they left for school on Monday, but Emmett's run-in with the gray wolf was not forgotten. Edward brought Bella over afterwards, claiming that Jacob Black, her werewolf friend, had told her all about it.
"I know about Victoria," Bella said, loud enough for all of us to hear. "I know she's here. I know she's after me. And I know that you were hunting her in the forest while we were away."
"Bella, I know where you're going with this," Carlisle interrupted. "And I still say no. You have seven vampires protecting you. She won't get anywhere near you."
"But what about the one after her? And the one after that? You've known me what – a year? Maybe a little more. And I've already had James, Victoria and the Volturi after me. You can't keep fighting them off – I don't want you to keep fighting them off – and you can't stay here forever. Besides, graduation's only in a few weeks, so it wouldn't even be cheating that much…"
"All the more reason for you to wait, Bella," Carlisle replied calmly.
"I just think it's stupid for you to be running around risking your lives – behind my back - while I just have to sit here weak and tasty and wait for the next disaster. Everyone knows it; I'm a special case. Someone like me ought to be a little less helpless."
"There are seven of us, Bella," he said. "And with Alice on our side, I don't think Victoria's going to catch us off guard. I think it's important, for Charlie's sake, that we stick to the original plan." He said 'original' plan for a reason: the plan where he and I go out together was the second plan – one I'd forced on him because I was determined not to be left behind. The original plan was for me to search for clues and updates on Victoria, the werewolves and Charlie. Carlisle, like Edward, was prone to being overprotective. If it was up to him, I'd be chained in the basement right now, and he wouldn't let me up until Victoria was gone for good. But it wasn't up to him, and he knew that.
"We'd never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart," I told Bella, including myself in the we. "You know that. Please don't be anxious." My last statement was directed at both Bella and Carlisle. I leant in and kissed Bella on the forehead, the warmth of her skin an odd and yet comforting feeling.
"I'm really glad Jasper didn't kill you," Emmett remarked. "Everything's so much more fun with you around."
Rosalie glared at him.
"I'm offended," Alice scoffed. "You're not honestly worried about this, are you?"
"If it's no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida?" Bella demanded.
"Haven't you noticed yet, Bella, that Edward is just the teeniest bit prone to overreaction?"
Bella nodded absently and let Edward lead her from the room, and suddenly – freed of Jasper's influence - she snapped back into character.
"Edward! Don't you care anything for my safety?" she demanded. "I should be turned! It'll be safer for all of you."
"That's between you and Carlisle," Edward replied calmly. "Of course, I'm willing to make it between you and me any time that you wish. You know my condition."
Bella gave a cry of frustration and stormed out the door, and Edward followed after.
"I told you Edward would come around," Carlisle said.
"What's his condition?" I wondered. Carlisle looked smug as he wandered off to his study.