Chapter Five: Reality

There was something about the way the earth rotated that Eden could feel deep within her being. She lived an eternity below the ground, no sign of the sun or life beyond the soft noise above her. Yet, she could sense the beginning of a day, the sun as it rose beyond the East horizon in it's journey West. This was the first morning in her entire lifetime that she did not rise with the pull of an unseen force, though the morning glow bled through the opaque curtains. She wasn't sure she was ready for this day to begin and she silently willed the sun to wait to depart, though she knew it was a futile plea. As this day would inevitably commence, so too would the sun rise. Eden was forced to find solace in the fact that this day would also come to an end and so too would the sun set.

She waited until she could hear her sister skipping through the woods, her delicate footfalls hardly making a thud at all. Rensemee danced through the trees, her parents laughing with pure joy at their youngest child's antics. She had grown in to a beautiful young woman, yet had retained a child-like charisma. Eden sometimes wondered if it was the naiveté that the people she was meant to call her family appreciated about Ren; She was ignorant enough to trust their every word. Eden had read many books, thousands upon thousands, in her time and though it would never replace true experience, she utilized their knowledge. Her family locked her away for several reasons, most of which she knew, but they kept her here not because of anything she did, rather because of how the majority of them felt about her. Eden was condemned there for a single, foolish mistake and she hadn't felt she paid a price, but was rather given a blessing in a way. She just hadn't quite figured out what that blessing might be.

She didn't remember much of the night before, aside from the events leading up to her fall in to hysteria. Alec had carried her, knowing full and well no one else in her family would touch her. Ren, however, was too weak to hold her weight, even if she'd wanted to care for her twin. They had set her in an old guest room. Eden wondered if they lumped Alec in the same space in an attempt to keep the monsters together or if he willingly choose to stay nearby. Either could be true. Nonetheless, he took the couch and had remained silent for the greater part of several hours, watching her, though it was not a prying gaze. Eden laid beneath the soft blankets, staring blankly at the crisp, white ceiling. She had felt her hair grow longer throughout the night, even if it was only a few centimeters.

The day before had not been what she expected. She never wanted to look in a mirror again, only to see the painful thoughts and feelings directed towards her were rational. Eden looked every part of a demon and yet, nothing like one at all. The contradicting nature of her appearance horrified her, confused her, and sent her spiraling in to the first panic attack she'd ever experienced. The witnesses were uncomfortable to discover she was more than an empty shell, that she possessed emotions and felt them so intensely. That made their decision years ago feel more weighted than ever before.

"Why is it when I see myself in your thoughts, I look so angelic, yet in a mirror, I look like... like a beast?" she whispered, knowing full and well how attuned to her Alec had become in the span of twelve hours. She understood it just as well; Her whole body felt as if there was an invisible connection between them, allowing her to sense him on a deeper level than anyone else in the house, other than Ren.

Alec wasn't startled by the question. He'd been wondering what it was that scared her about his thoughts, as he did see her for the magnificent woman she was. In fact, he knew what it was like to look in the mirror and not recognize who is looking back, only for everyone else to see someone else entirely. That's what had happened yesterday and Eden was still wondering which image was the right one. Though, he couldn't tell her. That was for her to decide.

"I see you differently than you will see yourself," his response was slow, deep and low, "I see perfection where you will see flaw."

An unfamiliar warmth bloomed in Eden's chest, spiraled through her veins and fluttered around her belly. She suddenly felt like air was on low supply, but when she took a breath, all she could smell was him. His essence was comparable to the sweet smell of a post-downpour as the sun melted the Earth combined with a hint of honey nectar, saccharine herbs and a piquant mixture of spices. It was almost as if, after living on the planet for so long, he had absorbed the aroma of it all and now, released it as his own signature scent. It was absolutely intoxicating, but she remained stone. Eden had no words in response to his statement, unsure of what he was trying to say so she stood from the bed and took a left in to the bathroom to dress for another day.

"She is absolutely not going to school with us! She'll kill somebody!" Rosalie hissed, her palms slamming on to the dining room table. She was livid at the mere notion; who thought it would be a good idea to sick the psycho freak on to a college campus full of humans? It was totally ridiculous and she couldn't stomach the idea to even consider.

"Well, we can't leave her alone. Esme and I have to go to the hospital just the same as you all must go to school. I feel more comfortable having her under watch and she seems to have enough control over herself to refrain." Carlisle comments, glancing around the faces at the table.

The truth of the matter was that Eden was unpredictable. Alec even more so. Leaving them in the house, all day, with no one to prevent either of them from going on a killing spree was a thought that weighed so heavily over Carlisle's shoulders. Jake was the only one who didn't attend the school, but he was running his new auto shop. Meanwhile, the pack had returned to Forks. There weren't a lot of options.

"I was assigned to watch the girl and so I will. I understand your customs of not drinking human blood so I will follow that directive. I will take her hunting far enough away from the hiking trails should she need to go, otherwise, we will not leave the house. You have my word, Carlisle. I am not here to cause trouble, but rather observe and offer my assistance when required."

All eyes shifted to Alec and Eden as they entered the dining room. They had been very quiet about the whole ordeal, but it wasn't a shock that another immortal would catch a word or two. Eden stood silently behind Alec, head bowed forward as if she were in mourning. Ren shifted in her seat, facing her grandfather, "I don't understand why this is such a big deal; She's not a blood-thirsty newborn. Eden has perfect control over herself, can't you see that?"

"Renesmee," her father began, eyes flickering to Eden for a moment, "You've only seen her in a controlled environment. Outside of that, we have no idea what she's capable of. It's too dangerous to put innocent lives at danger... again."

Eden felt something boiling inside of her and before she could rein the intense emotion back, her tongue began forming words that held a biting lilt.

"Though you all may feel entitled to your inane opinions of how "dangerous" I may or may not be, the only being in this room who has any semblance of an idea of who I am is Renesmee. The rest of you have not a single notion of what I'm capable of and if you haven't noticed, I'm more than able to control myself. You think of me as a savage monster, but take a look in the mirror; you're a bunch of charlatans. I stand before you and you don't even speak to my face. What does that say of you?"

Rosalie snapped to her feet, "It says that we don't think of you as a party worth addressing; you're nothing, but a monster. Do you remember what you did? How many innocents you slaughtered?"

"I remember perfectly, Rosalie, and I also remember what all of you did as well; nothing. None of you choose to solve the problem, but rather lock her away in a basement for twenty years. What if Renesmee had been the one to be left unattended?"

"That would never happen and she would never kill an human!" Bella was on her feet now, her eyes livid and wild.

Eden looked to Renesmee, awaiting her to admit her secret. She had killed someone. Like Eden, it had been an accident. Ren met her twin's gaze and bowed her head in silence. She would not admit to her mistake for it could risk her place on the pedestal. Alec noted the exchange though everyone else had been focused on Eden and what she would say next.

"And yet, it was alright to leave me on my own? Am I not your child as well, Bella? I vaguely remember being loved by every single one of you at one point, but one mistake and I'm cast away. Now, years later, I'm not even given the chance to prove myself. Redemption seems to be a concept no one here has discovered. So be it. Alec has agreed to watch over me; perhaps he should keep me in the basement until you all return, if that makes everyone more comfortable."

No one could conjure a response to her final statement. She took her leave and disappeared down the hall. Renesmee felt horrible, ugly guilt settling in her chest; She wanted their family to accept Eden, but not at the cost of her parents looking at her the way they looked at her sister. That thought slammed in to Eden's chest with the force of mac-track. Halfway up the stairs, she shattered on the steps at the realization that she was more alone than ever before. She did not even have her sister in this reality. Eden began to long for the safety and comfort of the basement, but returning now would not reset the events that had already occurred.

This was her world now and she would have to adapt. Somehow.