Title: Legendary Travesty

Fandom: Twilight

Pairing: Leah/Esme, established Bella/Alice (Bellice)

Author: Mirandyscrow

Rating: R

Summary: AU Leah imprints in Eclipse. We follow her as she deals with the consequences that this extraordinary event causes. This story take place about a month before the beginning of Eclipse and will be a femslash pairing. If you don't like it then don't read it. Thanks!

Spoilers: Let's say everything up until Eclipse is fair game, but I'm twisting a lot of facts and timelines to suit my story.

Archive: Sure if you really want it. Lol, it would be a surprise to me, just ask my permission first. (It's nice when people ask)

Disclaimer: Did Bella and Alice hook up in New Moon? No? Well I guess that means Twilight isn't mine. Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Any and all other brand names belong to their respective owners. I do not make any money on this story. Please don't sue; I only have a box of Easy Mac as collateral. BTW Easy Mac is the property of Kraft. :P

Author's Note: I don't have a clue where this idea came from. I was actually focusing on going to sleep and this plus five other prompts popped into my head and played around in my skull until I wrote them down and attempted to give them a fair shot at being written. Now here we are.

Author's Note #2: I am aware that some of the events don't exactly travel the exact same timeline of the book and/or movie. Please know that it is entirely on purpose to fit the story. So please no comments about 'how it didn't happen that way' because I'm sure I've messed up the timeline by simply having one of the pairing(s) Bella and Alice, lol.

Big thanks to faithlessfate for being an awesome beta and making this story worth reading! All careless mistakes are my own.

**Please Read**

Hello everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all! There are two things I need to address:

First off, I've gotten a lot of reviews asking about Alice's nose bleed. The nose bleed was simply to convey the amount of stress and effort it was causing poor Alice. I thought blood was an appropriate liquid considering. :D

Second, I feel I've done a terrible injustice and I believe that it should be righted. I want to personally thank all my anon reviewers up until this point: the several Guest(s), Santana, kel, ImAdOcToR, Klien, lynn, Roxie Cullen, liz and Omgirrl. Thank you all for your, constructive, funny, and excited reviews. You have also contributed to the many that encouraged me to keep this story going to its end.

Onto the chapter!

Chapter 5: Saving Me

Esme heard the mumbled word clear as a bell as she passed through the trees like the wind.

"Es…me."

Once she reached the large oak tree she couldn't help but notice the moonlight illuminating the forest, it seemed to cast a spotlight on Leah. Esme's heart nearly broke at the scene before her. She stopped in front of the tree, seeing the pale and weak young woman lying propped against the base of the tree with no clothing, forehead drenched in sweat, her hair slightly tousled with errant twigs strewn through her tresses.

The smell of the wolf's blood was thick in the air. Esme noticed various scratches and deep bite marks at Leah's neck with dirt and bark caked into the blood.

"Oh no," the vampire sobbed and grimaced as she felt her chest tighten at the sight of the younger woman in such a state. "Who did this to you?" She kneeled, gently cradling Leah's cheek in her hand and gasped as she felt the burning skin. "You're burning up."

Leah feebly batted Esme's hand away. The wolf's eyes opened.

"Why are you lying here, Leah?"

Leah looked up with a painfully goofy smile. "I can tell you because you're pure." She looked around for the non-existent people she had to keep her next words secret from. "Shh." Leah placed her fingers to her mouth before placing insistent fingers to Esme's still lips to hush her. Her glazed, unfocused eyes darted back and forth once more. "My daddy visited me. He told me to open my heart to my soul mate." Leah looked directly in front of her. "Didn't you daddy?" Esme frowned as Leah addressed the air.

The wolf nodded decisively and suddenly turned her head, blinking as if seeing Esme for the first time. "You look like her, Ms. Angel."

"I do?" Esme asked while she tried to figure out the best way to bring Leah home without disorienting her further. Carlisle should have just gotten home from the hospital by now. The wolf looked so fragile that Esme was almost afraid to touch her again despite how much her fingers itched to do just that.

Leah nodded once. "My Esme. My wonderful, pretty, wonderful…uh… pretty, soul mate." Her expression changed from happiness to anger. "Why do you look like her? Is this is a trick? Did Jake send you?" Leah tried to stand. "I told him it was dangerous to tell her," she said and pushed against the ground a couple of times before slumping back against the tree. "Why are you here?" she whined weakly.

"I'm pretty sure you called me," Esme replied, startled as Leah wheezed. "What's wrong?" Esme quickly dropped to the ground beside Leah.

"Well if I had to guess I'd have to say my soul is splitting itself apart," Leah said with a bitter chuckle. She sounded a bit more coherent.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Esme asked.

Leah's inhaled deeply as the smell of lilies and nutmeg surrounded her. "I'm actually feeling better than I have in a long time," she replied and promptly passed out.

Esme heard Leah's heart beat erratically and became alarmed. She shook the younger woman lightly. "Leah?" The wolf's heart slowed down. "Leah!" Esme scooped Leah in her arms, grunting with effort despite how light the other woman was. She cursed inwardly and shook off the wave of exhaustion, running at top speed back home.

-x-

'No! Don't go in there!'

'Don't you want softer, firmer skin?'

'Frankly, Scarlett…'

"Would you please find a channel and stick to it?" Alice asked, not looking up from her magazine, finally fed up with the loud random phrases being sprouted from the television speakers.

"There's nothing on," Emmett griped, flipping more vigorously now.

Alice looked at him with disbelief. "We have over 500 channels."

"That's what makes it such a shame," Emmett stated matter-of-factly, switching the television back to channel one.

Alice stopped mid page flip. "Turn it to channel-"

Esme barreled through the front door. "Carlisle!" she called. She cradled Leah in her arms as she swept everything off the coffee table to place the unconscious Leah upon it. She tried to shake off her terror when Leah's heart started to skip beats.

Carlisle was downstairs in an instant. "What happened?" he asked. He nearly gasped state of the injured young woman Esme placed down.

"I found her underneath a tree. She thought she was hallucinating when she saw me and it's obvious she hadn't eaten anything in awhile," Esme added when she noticed Leah's prominent ribs. Carlisle quickly started checking over her vitals.

"Hasn't bathed in that long either," Rosalie griped, wrinkling her nose.

"Go get a large container with warm soapy water and some towels, Rosalie. You will be helping me wash Leah when Carlisle is done," Esme said in a sweet, motherly tone which was contradiction to her eyes which were hard as diamonds. Rosalie just looked back in defiance.

Alice flashed forward, handing Esme a sheet to cover Leah's modesty and a piece of paper with a phone number on it and the name Sue. "You're going to need this," she said effectively breaking the staring contest between she and Rosalie.

"Thank you, Alice." Esme turned, giving Rosalie a meaningful look. The blonde pulled a face in response and all but stomped away to fetch the requested supplies.

Carlisle clicked off the penlight, placing it back into the front pocket of his lab coat as he spoke, "Her pupils are responsive to light. Despite the slight starvation she appears to be well hydrated. My main concern, however is her heart, which is beating rather erratically and the wounds along her legs and neck."

Before Carlisle could begin applying pressure Leah's neck, Edward handed him his medical bag.

"Thank you." He nodded to Edward and dug into the bag for the supplies he would need for simple stitches. "I can practically see her skin knitting itself back together albeit slowly, so the stitches will only need to be in for a day or so." He gently prodded the wound, beginning the sutures.

Leah let loose a series of growls, moans, and whimpers that broke Esme's heart. As Leah seized in Carlisle's arms, Emmett rushed forward to hold her in place.

"She's in pain," Jasper remarked quietly.

"Well, yeah," Emmett said. "She's got a huge fu-

"Emmett!" Esme hissed.

"-freaking bite on the back of her neck," He finished contritely.

"I mean beyond that. Something in her heart is causing her great pain," Jasper clarified with a grimace as he felt Leah's warring emotions. Alice rubbed his back in a comforting motion.

Rosalie returned, holding a large bowl with soft white suds practically overflowing from it. "Why don't we just dump her at the hospital?" She didn't look the least bit chagrined as everyone looked at her in disbelief. She didn't and probably never would trust the wolves as far as she could throw one. How did they know this wasn't some well disguised plot? "What I mean is I'm sure the hospital would be better suited to handle her bleeding all over their property."

"Beyond the obvious wounds we don't know if what's wrong is an illness due to her mystical blood or not and as a doctor I can't in good conscience leave her in the care of just anybody. It could make it worse." Carlisle looked at his son. "Jasper, if you could."

Everyone felt the soft blanket of serenity settle in the room. Leah's heartbeat finally slowed down to a normal rate. Carlisle checked her vitals once again, smiling at the results. He carefully cleaned and dressed the bite. Everyone else just looked on, each pondering the reason for the said bite. After Carlisle was done, he had Emmett take Leah to his and Esme's room.

After Leah was settled in the large, plush bed, everyone left excluding Esme and Rosalie. They gently and thoroughly gave Leah a bed bath and dressed her in a new pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Esme dutifully ignored all the snide comments Rosalie grumbled while they worked. She wasn't going to give her daughter the satisfaction of leaving this task early. Soon Leah was tucked in and sleeping peacefully. Esme gathered the dirty towels, handing them to Rosalie along with the bowl of water. Rosalie tightened her jaw but remained silent, leaving the room.

As Rosalie closed the bedroom door, Esme got the paper Alice gave her earlier and dialed the number, waiting impatiently for the person to pick up the phone. "Hello. Am I speaking with Susan Clearwater?" she asked once the groggy voice on the other end answered. Her tone was pleasant but curt.

The voice sounded more alert this time. "Call me Sue, please."

"I realize that it is very late but my name is Esme Cullen and I'm calling to inform you that I found your daughter Leah underneath a tree not far outside the reservation."

Sue gasped, "Oh my go-"

"She is fine," Esme reassured her. "I was able to bring her home quickly. I believe you are familiar with the fact that my husband is a doctor?" she asked.

"Yes, yes, thank goodness. I swear, I leave for just a little while..." Sue trailed off.

"You may come see her first thing in the morning… or tonight, if you wish?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can tomorrow. I'm too far away right now and won't make it there until tomorrow morning even if I were to leave now. I may as well get a few hours sleep."

"We'll be here." Something suddenly occurred to Esme. "Before you go, is Leah allergic to any medications?"

Sue was thrown by the thoughtful question. "N-no, none that I know of."

"Great. I'll see you in the morning. Goodbye." Esme ended the call, walking back to the master bed she now rarely shared with Carlisle. She looked at how small Leah looked in the large bed. Leah's forehead was scrunched up as she groused and shifted in bed. She stroked the young woman's face, calming her instantly. She bent down to place a lingering kiss on Leah's forehead.

"Sweet dreams," Esme said, sitting in the large armchair she moved beside the bed from its previous place in the corner of the room to wait out the night.

-x-

Morning came all too soon to the Cullen homestead. A bright stream of sunlight shone through one of the massive windows to rouse Leah Clearwater. She grumbled something unintelligent, throwing the impossibly soft and sweet smelling blanket over her head. She breathed in and stopped cold. She lowered the blanket, looking around in a panic. She obviously wasn't home in her own bed. She saw a nice large room with deep maroons and gold adorning the walls. Beside the bed sat a large armchair with an abandoned stack of books. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep underneath a large tree. But that smell…

She panicked. "No, No, No. I did not just pull a Goldilocks in a house full of vampires." Leah sat up quickly. Her vision swam and a substantial migraine made itself known. "Ugh, my head."

She rubbed her temples firmly, trying to get the pounding in her head to retreat. She felt the stitches at the base of her neck tug and her hand shot backwards to touch them. "Ow, shit!" she hissed and jerked her hand away.

Just then door opened and Leah was assaulted with a distinctly unpleasant but familiar odor. She knew it was Carlisle even before he poked his annoying, flawlessly coiffed blonde head around the door.

"I see the patient is awake." He came in with his medical bag clutched in his right hand as he came to a stop beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Leah eyed him warily. "I'm fine and I don't want you touching me." She nodded to the medical bag in his hand, trying to clamp down on the instant flash of anger in her chest his scent and appearance caused.

"Leah Harriet Clearwater! I've taught you better manners than that," Sue scolded her daughter, stepping swiftly into the room.

"Ma?" Leah finally noticed her mother regarding her with sharp, disapproving eyes. Just behind her mother's shoulder she caught sight of a lightly amused Esme. The wolf fell back onto the bed, very much like a petulant child. The action propelled the covers once more back over her head. She grimaced as she pressed down on her wound but refused to resurface. "Why are you here?" the perturbed lump of linens asked.

Sue marched to the end of the expansive bed. "Why...why am I here!? You're my baby girl and call it foolish but I love you and actually care about your well-being, so in this situation where else would I be? You've been sick for quite awhile now and I want you to tell me what's going on."

Her mother's raised voice was doing nothing to calm Leah's headache. "I don't want to talk about it!" she snapped, throwing the covers off her body and to the floor.

"Leah, this is the last straw!" Sue threw her hands up in frustration, pacing back and forth. "I want to know why I got a call last night informing me that my only daughter was on her deathbed under a tree in the middle of the woods when I'm positive that when I called to check on her a few hours before she was safe in bed and don't you dare tell me this is some relapse from Sam." Sue stood over the bed, glowering at Leah who flinched at the mere mention of her ex's name. "You may be able to get everyone else to buy into that lie but I'm your mother and as your mother I deserve the truth from you."

"Okay," Leah said in a small voice. She really didn't have the energy to fight her mother and she just wanted the yelling to stop. Maybe she should have let Dr. Fabio give her something for the pain. "Okay, I'll tell you what's wrong." She kept her head bowed. She was extremely aware of the vampires still in the room and even more aware of the pair of molten gold eyes that would certainly hold questions she did not want to answer just yet.

"We'll give you some privacy," Carlisle announced. Leah barely heard their departure but she smelled their scents fading. When she was satisfied they had gone far enough she began with a sigh. "I imprinted-"

"Leah, that's great!" Sue engulfed her daughter into a big hug. Unfortunately, her arms pressed a bit too high on Leah's neck, brushing against the sensitive bite marks there. Leah stiffened and cringed, biting down on her bottom lip to stifle a pained cry. Sue pulled away slightly, to study her daughter's face.

"Why are you looking like someone just drowned a kitten in front of you?" Her hands reached up to touched the bandage at the base of her daughter's neck. She had to hand it to Dr. Cullen. The gauze was neatly applied and could not be noticed by someone who wasn't looking. It was just chance that Sue's fingers happened to sweep it.

"What is this!? What happened?" Sue asked frantically trying to peel the bandage away to get a look at the injury.

Leah felt the quickly becoming throb of an impending headache make itself known behind her head and shrank out of her mother's touch. She carefully brushed the bandage self-consciously. "Sam." Her voice was devoid of any emotion. "Sam happened."

"Sam?" Sue breathed disbelieving. "Why would he-?"

"I challenged him after he told the pack who I imprinted on." Leah finally lifted her head. "I imprinted on Esme Cullen." Her eyes shone with tears. She was waiting for the same rejection and hostility the pack had shown her.

Sue's mouth fell open in shock, her eyes blinked rapidly, and her arms released Leah. Finally, she swallowed thickly and walked away from the bed. She faced the window to the right of the bed and stared out it for several minutes.

Leah's heart cracked and shattered over and over again with every passing agonizing second her mother was silent. She fought to keep her tears at bay.

"Again, I say, that's great, Leah," her mother eventually said, turning away from the window with an unreadable expression.

Leah was sure she'd misheard her mother. "Y-you don't hate me? I mean she's a vampire, she's probably at least a hundred years older than me and she's a she."

Sue walked back to the bed. "I love you unconditionally, Leah. There's nothing you can do to change that, not even being an elder of the tribe. Not everyone finds their soul mate and I've witnessed the alternative of keeping you away from Esme." Sue pushed some of Leah's hair away from her face. "The worst ordeal a mother can go through is to watch their child in pain and I'm going to try and accept this relationship as soon as possible so as not to cause you any added stress."

Leah closed her eyes in relief. "I love her so much, Ma. Imprints don't affect a wolf's mate as intensely and it hurts that she already has a mate and she may not love me the same way." She buried her face in her mother's shirt and sobbed. She hated how weak and helpless she was feeling but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

"Oh my baby girl," Sue cooed, gently rubbing Leah's back. "You are being so incredibly stupid right now."

Leah abruptly pulled away from her mother. "What?"

"If Esme didn't care about you she wouldn't have put forth all this effort to keep you alive. She could have left you under that tree to die." Sue replied, studying her daughter's face. "Now tell me the other reason you're torturing yourself."

"I'm not…" Leah trailed off when she spotted the look her mother was giving her. "I know what it feels like for the love of your life to tell you that you aren't their soul mate and I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"Leah, have you even considered that Esme may be suffering the same as you?"

Leah shook her head. "I can't take the chance of being set up to have my heart broken."

"Leah, if you take a chance sometimes good things happen. Yes, sometimes bad things happen but if you don't take a chance nothing happens," her mother informed her sagely.

Leah sniffed. "Okay, I give. Who said that? Gandhi? Shakespeare?"

"It came from Dorothy Zbornak but it's still valid now as it was in the Golden Girls."

Leah laughed and sniffled once more.

Sue grabbed a couple of tissues off the bedside table and handed them to her daughter. "Think about what I said and at least try. Your father and I did not raise a quitter and despite her being a uh…cold on-, I mean v-vampire she seems to be a very decent woman."

"I guess from the stutter you aren't really ready to go to PFLAG just yet?" Leah said with a tiny grin, referring to the organization of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Sue chuckled a little. "No, not yet. I'm still adjusting." She kissed her daughter's forehead. Her face took on a serious expression. "What happened while I was gone, Leah?"

"Sam found out I imprinted and rallied the pack to chase me out of LaPush."

"And when you refused he attacked you?" Sue guessed.

Leah chuckled ruefully before speaking. "No, I was so angry with having my private thoughts broadcasted over the pack link I jumped out my window to challenge him."

Sue's eyes enlarged to nearly unnaturally proportions. "Leah, my God. You've been so weak and sick why would you do such a thing?"

"I was just so tired of Sam," Leah said, hitting her fist against her leg. "Every time I see him and Emily together he gets this disgustingly smug smile on his face as if to say he won. I really just wanted to knock him down a peg or two."

"Do you have any desire to be Alpha?"

Leah shrugged. "I've never really thought about it. I could probably do a better job than Sam." She looked out the window watching the breeze blow over the trees before turning back to her mother. "Have you even been home yet? Do you know how Jake and Seth are?"

"Why would they be hurt?" Sue asked, alarmed.

"They fought for me. Tell Seth I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Why don't you know what's going on?"

"Somehow I've been shut out of the pack link. I don't know what's happening with the pack or even if the pack's still a pack," Leah finished with a huge yawn.

"I'll find out what I can. Get some sleep and I'll call you later," Sue said, picking the blanket up from the floor and tenderly tucking Leah in. "I've got a lot of business to take care of," she said firmly.

"Sam better run," Leah said thickly before succumbing to sleep with a small smirk on her face.

Once Sue found her way back into the living room she thought she saw a flash of auburn hair lurking just beyond the window. "Esme, would you mind terribly if I asked you a few questions about how you found my daughter?" she spoke a little higher than her normal tone of voice, unsure if the vampire would be able to hear her.

Esme appeared beside her a second later. "Of course."

Sue simply nodded. "Drive with me. I have some business to attend to back on the reservation."

The two women walked to Sue's car without a word. They drove in relative silence; the low murmurs of the car radio the only sound between them. A few miles away from the La Push border, Sue pulled over to the side of the road, turned off her car and turned to the woman beside her.

"Tell me what happened," Sue said, watching Esme's expression while she relayed the events in the forest that lead to Leah recovering at the Cullen's house. The vampire's face gave nothing away but her eyes and tone gave away volumes of information that Sue read easily.

"You care for my daughter," she said once Esme finished her story. It wasn't a question.

Esme merely nodded.

"And what will you do about your marriage? Don't you dare play with my little girl's heart," Sue said fiercely.

"I would never do that. I've already decided to accept this connection we have." Esme studied Sue's face much in the same way the other woman had just moments ago. "What exactly is the connection we have?"

Sue glanced away. "That's something you need to ask Leah."

"But you know."

Sue offered nothing more.

"If you're not going to give me any answers, why are we here?" Esme smiled a little despite the tense situation. "Surely, it's not just for small talk?"

"We are here because if your intentions with Leah are anything other than honorable, I'll personally make sure you are looking down the business end of a blowtorch. Am I clear?" Sue threatened.

Esme nearly forgot that she was an almost indestructible predator that could snap a human's neck like a twig and mentally regressed back to an awkward teenager. The only response she could manage was another mute nod.

A grin crossed Sue's face. "Good." She said nothing else.

Esme knew she was being dismissed and exited the car. As soon as her feet touched the forest floor she was off like a shot, determined to make it back to Leah as soon as possible. She was so engrossed in her departure that she never saw the bemused but genuine smile on Sue's face as she watched the woman race back to her daughter.

"Good," Sue said again, turning on the car and continuing to the reservation. The smile on her face slowly dropped into a grim line. There would be an emergency elder meeting and if she had her way Sam would be out as Alpha. She wished there was some way to strip away the ability to phase.

-x-

Esme opened the door to her bedroom watching as Carlisle placed his stethoscope back around his neck. She looked tenderly at Leah's sleeping form.

He looked at Esme with a penetrating gaze before as he spoke. "I gave her some pain medication for her headache and to help her sleep. Once again, I could find nothing medically wrong with Leah but her body seems to be handling a large amount of stress." he glanced down at the girl on the bed. "Her vitals are doing much better than last night." he gathered his medical bag and placed a few trial samples of medication on the bedside table. "She'll probably be asleep for the rest of the day and well into the next, but just in case she does wake up complaining of pain or restlessness I'll leave these."

"Okay," Esme said not taking her eyes away from Leah.

"I'll see you no later than 11." He kissed her cheek and departed, unable to shake the dismaying feeling that he no longer held Esme's attention.

-End of Chapter Five-

So that was Lesme's second meeting. What did you think of Esme's knight in diamond like armor role? Tell me in a review! I promise there will be much more interaction in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! Until next time.

~MC