7. Renesmee
The rabbit squeaked a little as she placed him back in the hutch. He was only a baby really and had fur as dark as shadows. His sister was black as well, but she had patches of white; on her front paws, her nose and her left ear.
Renesmee still hadn't decided what to call them both. They had been an early birthday present from Jake. Technically she would be ten years old next month but physically she was twenty-five. Jake had got the rabbits from a friend of his down on the reservation. They're younger sister's pet rabbit had given birth to them earlier that summer and Jake had asked if he could buy them.
Renesmee smiled, Jacob Black was so thoughtful. He was a wolf and she was half-vampire but that hadn't stopped them from dating these past couple of years. He had always been there for her, someone she could talk to when she couldn't talk to her parents, or needed a shoulder to cry on. Her mother had explained it all to her years ago; it was a wolf thing - he had imprinted on her.
She closed the hutch and went back into the house. They had been living in Forks for five years now, having moved back here from Alaska and only a handful of people knew that she was the same Renesmee who had lived here before. It was all a bit confusing but now she posed as her mom's sister to the people not in the know.
"Ness, have you decided on names for the rabbits yet?" It was Jake. He came up to her from behind and kissed her neck. She leant into him and smiled.
"No I haven't," she admitted.
"What about Salt and Pepper?" he suggested, "I mean – the boy's as black as pepper whilst the girl has speckles like salt?"
"Those are the most cliché names ever!" Renesmee said, "No way am I calling them after seasoning, Jake."
"How about Binky?"
"Binky?"
"Yeah like Binky the bunny," Jake said, enthusiastically, "Cute right?" Renesmee turned round and kissed him on the nose, before pulling back and looking him directly in the eye.
"Not in a million years." She raised an eyebrow, "I don't want silly names: these are rabbits who want to be taken seriously."
"Renesmee," said her mom from the sofa, "You know they're just rabbits right – I don't think they're going to mind too much what their names are."
"Hey mom," Renesmee said, "You don't know that!"
"Bella, how can you be so harsh?" said her dad appearing in the room, "Ness can name them whatever she wants."
"Thanks dad," Renesmee said and went over to him. He gave her a hug before joining her mom on the sofa. At that moment Granny Esme came in with Auntie Alice. The rest of the Cullen family were out hunting but Alice and Esme had been sorting through old pictures.
"Look," Alice said, handing Renesmee's mom a picture, "It's a picture of us after graduation."
"Oh my god Alice," she said, "I look terrible!"
"Was that when you were still human?" Renesmee asked, hurrying over to her mother.
"Yeah," said Jake, sniggering at the photo, "And when she was the clumsiest person alive." They all chuckled at this.
Renesmee turned to Alice to ask whether her mother had really been that clumsy and that was when she noticed something was wrong. Alice had dropped the few other pictures she was holding and they were fluttering gently down to the floor. Her eyes were wide, staring unseeingly out of the window.
"What?" Renesmee's dad said, staring at Alice intently; obviously he could hear what she was thinking.
"Edward what is it?" Mom asked, urgently, turning to him.
"Alice?" Esme took her hand tentatively and moved her over to sit on the sofa. Renesmee exchanged a look with Jake. Alice was having a vision.
"It's Caius," Alice said suddenly, turning to Dad, "He's coming here."
"I didn't see, was it all of them or just him?"
"Just him," Alice said, frowning, "But he was carrying a human girl on his back. She had dark curly hair, green eyes. I've never seen her before."
"When are Carlisle and the others due back?" Dad asked Esme. She looked down at her watch.
"They should be back soon."
"What does it mean?" Renesmee asked, she didn't like the feeling of tension now in the air. Her mom had got up and taken her hand, looking worried.
"I don't know," Alice answered, "He's not hostile. He looks... he looks different."
"He wanted Renesmee dead," Mom said, "He wanted any excuse to kill us all, why's he coming here now?"
"How long will he be Alice," Dad asked, exchanging a look with Mom, "Do you know when they'll get here?"
"Soon," she said, "Very soon."
"Well that's exact," said Jake sarcastically, "Great."
"Jake," said Dad, a warning in his tone, "That doesn't help."
"Why's Caius coming here on his own," Renesmee asked confused, "Without Aro or Marcus or any of the guard?"
"I..." Alice said quietly, "I think it's to do with the girl but I don't even know who she is..." She trailed off, looking as confused and worried as Renesmee felt.
At that moment Grandpa Carlisle came through the door followed by Renesmee's Uncles, Emmett and Jasper, and Auntie Rose. Carlisle took one moment to look at their anxious worried faces before turning to her dad.
"What's happened?" He asked as he walked over to Esme and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Caius is coming here," said Mom, "Alice saw him, but he's not with any of the guard." Jasper was at Alice's side in a second, an arm around her shoulder.
"What?" Carlisle asked, confused.
"Alice what exactly did you see?" Jasper looked to her, concerned. Alice took his hand.
"He was in a forest very near here," Alice began, "He was running and on his back was a girl."
"A girl?"
"Well a young woman," she amended, "She looked to be in her early twenties with dark curly hair and bluey-green eyes. Do you know her Carlisle?"
They all turned to him but he just shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Was she human then?" Alice nodded.
"How long till they'll be here?" Rose asked quietly, "Soon?"
"Yes," Alice answered, "I think this evening perhaps, but it's hard to be sure..." She trailed off and everyone was quiet for awhile. Renesmee looked around at them all. Everyone seemed confused and worried. She wasn't sure what to think.
"Well he can't be coming for a fight," said Emmett, "So what does he want?"
"That is the question," Mom said, dryly.
"Perhaps he wants help?" Renesmee suggested, thoughtfully. He was on his own, she reasoned, without any of the guard.
"Yeah," Jake said, "Maybe he's left the Volturi or something?"
"Caius - leave the Volturi!" Carlisle didn't seem convinced, but then he paused, "I suppose it's possible..."
"Did you see his eyes," Rose asked, "Were they red or..." She trailed off.
"His face wasn't clear enough," Alice said, "Hang on," And she closed her eyes, frowning slightly. Jasper tightened his grip on her hand slightly. Everyone watched her intently. Renesmee bit her lip, her heart thrumming. Then Alice gasped and opened her eyes.
"They're golden," she said and turned to them all in surprise. Emmett whistled.
"Well..." Dad trailed off: he looked genuinely shocked, as did everyone else.
"Could it be something to do with the girl?" Esme asked, turning to Carlisle.
"Perhaps," he replied, "I don't know what to think though. Of the three of them, Caius was always the least likely to... to change... I always thought... He thought it disgusting, feeding off animals..." Carlisle looked genuinely confused and surprised.
Renesmee felt relieved: if his eyes were golden it meant that, for whatever reason, he had changed. He was trying not to feed of human, trying not to feed of people. And if he was coming here, it seemed clear that he wanted help not to harm them. Her mother didn't look convinced by this, neither did Auntie Rose or Uncle Emmett.
Then the doorbell rang.
"That'll be him," said Alice, looking to Carlisle. He nodded in response and went over to the door. He opened to reveal Caius standing with a dark haired woman at his side.
Caius looked exactly as Renesmee remembered him: a handsome pale face fringed by white-blond hair which fell about his face, but his eyes were no longer that crimson red. They were golden, the same shade as the rest of the Cullen family and he no longer looked angry or bitter. His face looked ever so slightly different without that anger; it looked kinder and more wholesome. At the moment however, he looked desperate, a pleading look in his eyes as he faced Carlisle.
The woman at his side looked decidedly plain, almost ugly, next to him. He was an immortal vampire, a creature of beauty whilst she... clearly she was a human. That said, Renesmee was drawn to her eyes. They were a dark green colour, a sea-green, and were wide and beautiful. They were the only thing about her which looked unique or special at all. Her hair was a dull brown and looked a mess. Although she wasn't fat, neither was she particularly slim, still somehow seeing to lack any sort of figure, least of all an attractive one. Her nose wasn't particularly large or odd shaped but was enough off centre to be unattractive, her eyebrows were heavy and her lips nothing more than average looking.
Yet Renesmee was still drawn to her. She had always been surrounded by beautiful people: her parents and the rest of the Cullens were vampires and so therefore attractive, she herself was half-vampire so wasn't ugly, and Jake was... well, she smiled a little, Jake was just perfect. Perhaps it was this stark contrast between what Renesmee was so used to, perhaps that was why she was so intrigued by this young woman.
"Carlisle," Caius began then trailed off, clearly unsure what to say.
"Alice saw you coming," Carlisle said patiently, "Why don't you both come in and we can talk." Caius nodded and the two of them came into the house. Renesmee felt her mother tense beside her before slowly moving to stand in front of her.
"Do you want anything to eat?" Esme asked the woman, as kind and sweet as always, "Have you come far?" The woman looked a little spaced out, as if she hadn't really taken it in, but then she seemed to pull herself together.
"I'd love something to eat," she replied, "We've come a long way."
"From Volterra?"
"Yes," she said and it seemed to Renesmee that she attempted to suppress a shudder, "So you're the Cullens?"
"Yes, we're the Cullens," Carlisle said and smiled at her, "Won't you sit down?" He gestured to the comfy chair by the fire and the woman sat down, albeit slightly timidly. Caius followed her, standing next to the chair.
"This is Elizabeth," he said, "Elizabeth Hervey. She... she arrived at Volterra a few days ago and..." He trailed off.
"And they decided they didn't want to eat me because I might have 'a gift'" The young woman, Elizabeth, finished off for him. Renesmee watched as Caius's jaw stiffened: clearly he didn't like it; that fact that she was only alive because Aro thought she might have a gift.
"Can we stay here?" He asked, turning to Carlisle, "I mean... I need help, controlling my thirst, and Elizabeth needs to be away from the Volturi and..."
"You mean you want us to shelter you," said Rosalie, angrily, "You want us to endanger ourselves for you."
"Rose," said Carlisle giving her a warning glance before turning back to Caius, "We'll do what we can," he said, "But if Aro comes here looking for her... after what happened with Renesmee ten years ago..." He trailed off but Caius seemed to understand, he nodded.
"Thank you Carlisle," he said, "It's more than I deserve but Elizabeth; she is innocent in all this."
"What happened ten years ago?" Elizabeth asked, looking from Caius to Carlisle.
"You didn't tell her," Rose said disdainfully, "But of course you didn't."
"Rose," Esme said quietly but firmly, "Stop it."
"What," she replied, angrily, "Don't you remember what Caius did. He murdered Irina and even when Aro decided against slaughtering us all, he was still up for it. If it had been down to him alone, we'd all be dead!" With that she stormed out of the room.
"I'll go after her," Emmett said, and hurried out of the room. Renesmee looked over to Elizabeth. She was sitting up in her chair, a frozen expression on her face. Then she spoke, quietly but powerfully, ice in her voice.
"You thought it would be a good idea to seek the help of people you've tried to murder," she stood up and faced Caius, "What is wrong with you?!" She turned to Carlisle, "I'm sorry... We shouldn't have come... I can leave... There's always one sure way of avoiding the Volturi." Renesmee knew what she meant by that – suicide – and so it seemed did everyone else in the room.
"No Elizabeth," Esme said firmly, "We'll protect you, for as long as we can."
"Thank you," Elizabeth replied, "But when they come for me, I won't endanger you all I promise. I'll leave."
"And then what will you do?" Caius said, his voice weak and sad, "They'll find you and then they'll change you."
"I won't give them the chance," Elizabeth replied. She stared at Caius without blinking and then turned and left the room. Esme went after her.
"It might not come to that," Carlisle said to Caius, "Who knows what goes on in Aro's head?" Someone coughed loudly. Renesmee turned to see her dad giving Carlisle and Caius a wry smile. Caius gave a weak smile back but then frowned.
"Aro isn't letting us go that easily, Carlisle," he said quietly, "He hasn't just lost Elizabeth, he lost me. I've been by his side for three millennia; he's not going to let me go that easily."
Renesmee cocked her head to one side; that was true enough, but how on earth would Aro be able to bring Caius back? Clearly there was no way Caius would return to the Volturi willingly, especially if Elizabeth died to avoid them. What would Aro do? That was the real question. What Aro would do, Renesmee realised, wasn't going to be anything rash - especially not if losing Elizabeth, and more importantly Caius, was at stake.
By that logic Renesmee thought, and with a bit of luck, they had time - perhaps even enough time for Elizabeth to live out her life.
Then again... Perhaps not...
A/N: Ok so I'm not sure about this chapter. I decided to take a completely new pov and so tried to write from Renesmee's pov. The problem was, I wasn't a hundred per cent sure how to refer to Edward and Bella. Does it seem a bit awkward, a bit clunky? Or is it ok? The whole mom and dad thing... :/
Well asides from that, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. If it's terrible please say because I can rewrite it... er... yeah? But any ideas for improvement would help. :D
Thanks for reading and Guest201 - your review was the best thing I've ever read. Thank you so much for taking the time to review; I really really really appreciate it - like really! 3