A/N: Thanks again for your reviews, you are awesome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. The story and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Also, I apologize for any errors. I don't have this story beta'd (mostly because I am unsure of how to even go about doing that), so the errors are my own.
Chapter 8: Carnival Games
Esme and Rosalie went hunting after Rosalie put Bella to bed. On their way back to the house Rosalie began, "Please don't ask me to talk about this, Esme. It does not matter that she fell asleep on me. I am not changing my mind."
Esme desperately wanted to ignore Rose's plea but she refrained from pressing. Instead she brought up the topic of Bella's schooling. "Alice and I were discussing how we could keep Bella entertained during her stay here. She loves learning and everyone has volunteered to take some time to teach her. We were wondering if you might teach her French. She seems quite gifted in language."
Rosalie sighed heavily, "I see that even when I ask you not to discuss something you still find a way to discuss the issue under the guise of something unrelated."
"That was not my intention, Rose. I am sorry. We do not have to discuss it."
Rosalie hesitated uncharacteristically, "I am not sure if it is a good idea for me to teach Bella. Besides she already knows two languages. Does she really need a third?"
Esme didn't push the issue but countered with another question, "Will you at least continue to partake in our evenings as a family?"
Rosalie snorted, "It seems as though everyone is going to be insistent that we do something every night."
"It is nice to spend time together as a family, Rose."
"You do realize that Bella is not family," Rosalie almost sneered. Then her face softened and she proceeded, "But it would be impolite for me to not attend at least some of the time. I do not wish for the Volturi to feel as though I was unwelcoming to their little princess. Tell me, what is the plan for the evening?" She finished with a sarcastic flip of her hand.
Esme was not fooled by the harsh tone, but she wisely did not comment. Instead she simply pretended as though she did not notice the sneer and continued on as though they were having a perfectly happy conversation. "Well I believe that Alice said something about going to the carnival this afternoon. It is supposed to be a lovely day. It'll be nice to get out together."
Rose looked indecisive before responding, "I'm sure Emmett is looking forward to it, I'll come. It is always entertaining to see him become excited over human games."
Esme knew that Rose wasn't just coming to see Emmett, although he would undoubtedly be excited. Rose wanted to see Bella's reaction.
As they were arriving back at the house the rest of the family were going out to hunt. Emmett looked excited, "We are going to go hunt so we are ready to face the human smells later. Are you coming with us to the carnival, Rose?"
When she nodded, he picked her up and swung her around. "Great," he exclaimed, "We don't have any pictures of you and Bella yet, we will be able to get some this afternoon!" Rosalie didn't have time to respond before Emmett bounded off to catch up with the rest of the family.
Rosalie entered the house and shut herself in her room while Esme went to wake up Bella. When Esme entered Bella's room she took a moment to watch her sleeping form and she smiled. She gently shook her shoulder and called to her softly. Bella began to stir and she opened her eyes sleepily. She brightened when she noticed that it was Esme who had woken her.
"Good morning, Esme!" She exclaimed while jumping up to give Esme a hug. Esme returned the hug and kissed her gently on the forehead.
"Good morning, sweetheart. We have an exciting day planned for you."
Bella's eyes danced. "Every day has been exciting. I really love spending time with you."
Esme hugged the child tightly again before pulling away. "We love spending time with you. Today is extra special though. We are going to go to a carnival."
Bella's brown knit in confusion, "What's a carnival?"
Esme chuckled, "It is a festival or sorts. There are rides and games to play. I believe that humans also tend to appreciate the various food options available."
"That sounds fun! I've never been to a carnival! When can we go?"
"We will go after your nap this afternoon."
Bella pouted adorably, "If I do not take a nap, can we go sooner?" She looked up to Esme with a hopeful expression.
Esme almost caved at the look on her face but remained firm, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You will need to nap first; If you are better rested you will be able to enjoy it more." Esme hoped that her added explanation would keep the disappointment to a minimum. She was pleasantly surprised when it did.
"That makes sense. What are we going to do this morning?" Bella asked brightly, her previous disappointment forgotten.
"Well you and I," Esme said tapping her on her nose, "will be working on your reading and writing."
"I love reading!" Bella exclaimed and hopped out of bed. She immediately began to make the bed which caused Esme to pause. She had noted that Bella's bed was made the night before last when she went to tuck her in but had assumed that Alice had done it for her. She quirked her eyebrow and voiced a question, "Did you make your bed at home, Bella?"
"Of course. Well not every day. Mama makes my bed on my birthday. Why?"
"Just curious, sweetheart." Esme inwardly grinned at the thought of Suplicia actually making a bed but she didn't voice her thought. Esme turned toward the girl's closet and noticed that Alice had already chosen her outfit for the day. She wondered if Bella minded not being able to pick out her own clothes and decided to check with her. "Sweetheart, do you want to pick out your own clothes? You know you don't have to wear what Alice picks out for you."
"I like wearing what Alice picks out. It makes her happy," Bella responded simply.
"That is very thoughtful of you." Bella shrugged and pulled on the clothes that Alice had chosen for her. Esme fixed her hair and then led her down the stairs. "Would you like to help me make some breakfast? We could make pancakes."
"I never get to help! I would like that very much!" Bella pulled herself up and stood on the chair that Esme pulled up next to her at the counter and they began to start making the batter. When they finished and Bella had eaten, Bella helped Esme clean up and then they made their way back to the dining room and they began their lesson.
After a few hours of instruction Esme and Bella made a quick lunch and then Esme swept Bella up to take a nap. She read to her for a little while until she got sleepy and then left her room after she placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
The rest of the Cullen family arrived shortly after Esme put Bella down for her nap and they quickly changed and got ready to go to the carnival. Emmett made sure to pack up all three cameras he had purchased and then deliberated on who should take them. He muttered more to himself, "I should have gotten a camera for everyone," before deciding the Carlisle, Alice and himself would take the cameras. He also provided strict instructions as he handed the cameras over, "Don't think, just shoot. We can always delete shots later, but we can't recreate moments. I am trusting you with this."
Emmett looked so serious that the rest of the family burst into laughter. Jasper recovered first, "Relax, Emmett. Just enjoy the afternoon."
Emmett looked a bit sheepish and shrugged before changing the subject, "So, do we wake her up, or do we have to wait until she wakes up on her own."
In response he heard a small voice some from behind him, "I am awake. Let's go!"
Emmett cheered and picked Bella up and swung her around a few times. "Your wish is my command princess." He set her down with a bow. Bella giggled and then took his outstretched arm as he led her to the car. "Do you want to ride with me in the Jeep?"
Bella looked to Esme for approval and grinned when she saw her nod. "Great, I'll get you strapped in the back." He then turned to the withdrawn vampire in the corner. "Do you want to sit up front, or in the back, Rose?"
Rose looked from Emmett to Bella before responding, "I'll sit up front, of course." All of the other vampires in the room sent her warning glares and Esme gave her a slight growl in addition to her glare. Rosalie scowled back at her and climbed into the front seat.
Bella, oblivious to the tension in the room, looked happily toward Emmett and asked him if they could get going. Her excitement for the carnival completely overrode the rudeness of the other vampire in the car. The rest of the Cullens climbed in with Carlisle and Esme and they all headed off.
Once they arrived they parked and Esme leaned down and spoke to Bella, "Now remember, sweetie, you need to stay with one of us at all times. It would be best if you held one of our hands while we are moving through crowds."
"Okay, Esme," Bella responded and took Esme's hand. Carlisle spoke as well, "Don't forget, Bella, it is Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle when we are inside."
Bella's eyes went wide with the reminder, "I forgot about that. Thank you for reminding me." Carlisle smiled and ruffled her hair in response. Then he took her other hand and he and Esme led her toward the entrance.
As they made their way through the grounds they stopped to ride some of the rides and play a few games. Bella was somewhat surprised that the rides were so slow, but as she was accustomed to running with vampires, it made sense that the rides would seem a bit below par. Because of this the Cullens spent most of their time playing the games with Bella. The vampires practically fought with each other in order to get to take Bella with them to try different games. They were all so engrossed in playing that they barely noticed the other families surrounding them. Esme would occasionally notice parents and children interacting and she felt the familiar tug of longing. One look at Bella though and the longing diminished. She noted that Bella also seemed to be inquisitive about some of the other families. When Esme asked her about it, she told her she was just curious.
When they had finished trying out most of the games, Emmett suggested going through the fun house. They made their way through and were amused by some of the features. There was a room with various mirrors covering the walls and another with clowns that popped out of a giant jack-in-the-box type toy. When they reached the other end, Esme looked around for Bella. She searched the hand of every vampire and couldn't spot her. She began to panic.
"Where is Bella," she exclaimed somehow managing to keep the terror out of her voice.
The rest of the vampire family joined Esme's panic. Esme looked to Alice, "Can you see her?" Alice eyes widened and she spoke fearfully, "It's blank."
Carlisle then took charge. "Everyone separate and search." He gave everyone brief orders containing areas to search and informed everyone to text if they found her.
Esme was at the front desk reporting Bella as missing when her phone went off in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a text from Rose. She had found her. Esme made a hasty retreat after thanking the woman at the front desk and ran back toward the funhouse. When she arrived she saw Rose holding a soothing a tearful girl in her lap. She sighed in relief and when she went to inhale she was met with the most repugnant smell.
She looked up to find herself staring at none other than Billy Black. He looked at her warily and then spoke in a deep timbre, "Hello Mrs. Cullen. It appears as though my son, Jacob, found something of yours."
Esme, having never harbored a grudge against the tribe of shifters spoke with sincerity, "I am eternally grateful, Mr. Black. I don't know what we would have done if something would have happened to Bella." She then turned toward Jacob, "I thank you as well young Jacob." Esme almost reached out her hand to shake theirs but thought better of it. "What happened?" She was looking at Rose and Bella but Jacob was the one to speak.
"We were going through the funhouse and when we got to the room with the mirrors I heard someone crying. I found Bella in the corner and brought her out to see my dad."
Billy continued to fill in some necessary details, "The clowns seemed to frighten Bella and she ran back to try to escape through the entrance but go stuck in the room of mirrors."
Esme immediately reached out to stroke Bella's hair. Esme felt terrible. How could they have lost her? They were vampires, how did they lose one human child? The guilt began to overwhelm her and surprisingly Billy was the one to help calm her.
"Do not worry, Mrs. Cullen. These things happen to the best of us. Your," he hesitated not knowing the relationship of the girl to Esme, "child" he settled on a vague term, "will be fine."
Esme felt marginally better and leaned down to look at the child in Rose's arms. "Bella, sweetie, are you okay?" As she was finishing her statement the rest of the family arrived and surrounded them. Bella nodded and turned her head to look at Esme, "I am sorry I ran off, I was afraid."
"I understand, honey. We are just glad you are alright. I don't know what we would do if something would have happened to you." She started to rub soothing circles in Bella's back. Then she heard Billy speak to Carlisle,
"Mr. Cullen, it appears as though we have some things to discuss regarding the treaty."
Carlisle nodded, "Can we meet tomorrow? I think after what happened tonight, we all just want to get home." Billy agreed and they set a time and place. Before they left Jacob approached Bella to say goodbye. She turned in Rose's lap and gave him a short hug and they said their goodbyes. Jacob asked if they could meet up sometime to play. Bella glanced up at Esme hopefully and Billy responded that Carlisle and he would discuss it the next day. Bella turned back around and clung again to Rose. Rose stood and cradled her gently while she and the rest of the family walked back to the parking lot.
Rose strapped Bella in the backseat and then crawled in next to her. When they all arrived home Bella looked toward Rose shyly. Rose smiled down and said softly, "how about you and Esme go up and get ready for bed." Bella looked a little hurt but then Rose continued, "Then I'll come up and read to you." Bella beamed and that and gave her another hug before reaching for Esme's hand.
Esme took her time helping Bella get ready for bed. She couldn't seem to let her go. She was so afraid that she had lost her. Bella seemed to need just as much comfort and clung to Esme just as tightly. When she finally finished getting her ready, she helped Bella curl up in bed next to Rose. She told her goodnight and kissed her forehead before the leaving the room. On the way down the stairs she heard Rose begin to read to her and she smiled.
Esme met the rest of the family in the living room and Carlisle spoke, "We need to discuss what happened tonight so it doesn't happen again. We should also discuss what needs to be done about the meeting with Billy Black."
Esme replied, "I agree, but we should wait for Rose."
The vampires waited in silence, all of them feeling responsible and terrible for what happened. When Rose returned a half hour later, Carlisle started again. "First off, I think we need to know what happened in the funhouse."
Rose responded before Esme, "She got frightened when she saw the clowns in the last room. She tried to go back out the way she came, but got lost in the room of mirrors. Jacob Black found her in that room and led her out to his father. They were just about to take her to the front desk when I arrived." She added as an afterthought, "I don't think Billy was happy to see me and seemed quite suspicious of my relation to Bella."
Carlisle nodded, "We need to do a better job when we go out with Bella. I know that she seems very mature but she is still just a five year old. As such she needs us to be looking out for her."
All of the vampires in the room agreed and hung their heads slightly in disappointment with themselves. Carlisle then turned to Alice, "Do you know why you couldn't see her?"
"I don't know, but I think it had something to do with Billy's son. When we arrived back at the funhouse I searched for Bella again and was able to see her but it was as if I was looking through a mist. Then when Billy's son got closer to her, she vanished from my vision all together."
Carlisle looked thoughtful for a moment, "It would appear as though our presence has caused the mutated gene to activate. Young Jacob will be a shifter."
Esme remembered when they first met the shifters almost a century ago. The members of the tribe would lead normal human lives unless they were exposed to vampires. If exposure happened, then when the child reached the age of adulthood, they would shift into wolf form. She felt a pang of sadness for causing this effect in the young boy. He seemed like such a sweet and caring child, she didn't want to disrupt his life by bringing in more complications.
Carlisle then turned to Edward, "Do you know what Billy wants to discuss tomorrow?"
Edward nodded, "He is concerned about how Bella is related to us. He wants to know what she knows and if we plan to turn her. He seemed to be surprised by how much we all cared for her. I think that is why he agreed to meet instead of simply calling the treaty void, even if we didn't actually break the treaty."
Carlisle continued to discuss the issue with Edward and the rest of the family dispersed. Esme pulled Rose aside and asked to speak with her.
"Thank you for taking care of Bella, Rose."
Rose looked thoughtful and the small smile graced her lips, "I have to admit Esme I feel so torn as to what happened tonight. I hate that we lost her and that we put her in a situation in which she became frightened." Her smile got slightly larger and she continued, "When I made it back to the front of the funhouse and saw her, she immediately threw herself into my arms. She was shaking and crying but I was able to comfort her." She looked as Esme with an almost pleading expression, "me, Esme. She needed…me."
Esme smiled at Rose but remained silent. She knew that Rose had more to say and didn't want to stop her when she was being so open. She had never seen Rose without some of her walls up. This was the most vulnerable she had ever been. Esme would never want Bella to ever be frightened or lost, but a small part of her was glad that it happened because of what it clearly did to Rose. Esme took Rose's hand and Rose continued.
"I cannot describe the feeling I felt when I was holding her in my arms. I wasn't even concerned about the shifters. All I could think was, 'she needs you.'" Rose paused again and then said even more quietly, "You were right you know. It is worth it." Esme scrunched her brow silently asking for Rose to explain further. She did, "Even though she is going to leave and break our hearts, it is worth it to be with her now. It is worth it to be her family, even if it is only for a little while." Rose looked up and smiled at Esme and accepted the woman's hug. They stayed like that for a brief moment before pulling away sharply at the sound of whimpering coming from Bella's room.
They both raced up the stairs and Esme went and cradled the small girl. Bella moved in her arms and mumbled, "Mommy help me. The clowns are coming." Esme's heart clenched, they girl needed her mother and she was half a world away. She gently pleaded with her to wake up. Bella opened her eyes and grasped on to Esme shaking.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I've got you. Nothing is going to hurt you. It was just a bad dream." Esme continued to whisper words of reassurance until she was able to settle Bella down.
Rose brought up a warm glass of milk and gave it to Bella once she scooted slightly out of Esme's embrace. Bella placed it on the nightstand and hugged Rose tightly before pulling away and taking up the cup to sip. Rose kissed her forehead and spoke softly, "Do you want us to stay until you fall asleep again?"
Bella nodded and curled up into Esme's side. Esme lay down with her and she snuggled in closer. When Bella drifted back off to sleep, Esme didn't have the heart to leave her. She told Rose she was going to stay and Rose nodded her understanding and made to leave. Before she reached the door she spoke softly to Esme, "She was calling for you, you know."
"What do you mean?" Esme whispered back.
"When she called out for 'mommy'? She meant you." Rose stated as she softly closed the door.
Esme tried not to allow herself to hope for such a thing. Instead she pushed it from her mind and held the little girl close. She was trying to remind herself that this was not her little girl, but the line was getting very blurry.
a/n: Yay, Rose is in the fold. I just couldn't hold out any longer for that to happen.