They came to meet us in the foyer - all fifteen of them – looking picturesque like models chosen to star in a brochure of the house. My eyes went to the ones I did recognise first before the ones I didn't; Benjamin leant against the right wall with Tia on his arm, smiling softly at us. Randall smiled down at a short Asian woman I didn't know, she peeked at us through a curtain of fine, black hair the length of her spine. Peter and Jasper headed down a set of curving wooden stairs, their brilliantly red eyes and wet winter clothes hinting that they'd recently been out. Vampires of all colours, sizes, shapes and styles. The only familiar characteristic being the colour of their red eyes, save for two vampires that emerged from the back of the crowd, Emmett and Garret.
"Welcome home!" Emmett roared with laughter.
"Uncle Emmett!" Renesmee sobbed, darting through the crowd of strangers to meet him as he dropped to his knees, arms of pure muscle squeezing her in tight enough to make me worry he would snap her.
"Not just a pretty face, your lass, is she?" teased a woman with cropped red hair. Rosalie closed the door behind us, shaking off her long coat. She scowled at the woman who winked back.
"Jake!" Emmett sang, pulling me into a bear-hug of my own, patting me on the back.
The vampires began chatting, welcoming Rosalie, Tanya, Esme, Anita and Roland home and cautiously approaching to introduce themselves to Renesmee and me. I couldn't help but take in the beauty of the house in-between snippets of conversation. Three separate arches and hallways lead off to unexplored sections of the house, a grand wooden staircase ventured to the second floor.
"Let's get inside," Esme instructed, "And we can get acquainted." Esme lead us down a set of steps into what appeared to be the living room. It was beautiful; with a stone fireplace, flanked by tall pottery vases standing on either side, displaying bouquets of vibrant flowers. A rocky chair was placed in the corner by a wall of bookcases and framed photographs, a stretched settee and chair we facing the hearth, above which hung a rather large T.V. Adding a little modern-day to the earthly feel.
Roland, who'd taken our bags the last few hours of the journey, dropped them at the threshold.
I glanced around, letting out a long whistle. "Whoa, this place is huge. Feels like we're staying in a hotel,"
All around the room tall wooden beams grew two entire stories, just like the wide glass windows and the bookshelves. Far above me, a glass chandelier twinkled in the light of the fireplace. I saw a balcony on the second floor, leading off to other branches of this enormous house.
"Yeah," said a woman who bore a striking appearance to Angelina Jolie, spinning softly to admire the place but with a casual, almost indifferent look. "Except no room services, no five-course meal and no turndown service. You want something, get it yourself."
"This is Gladys, she offered this place as a safe house." Explained Esme, touching the female – Gladys – on the arm lovingly. Gladys tucked strands of thick, auburn hair behind her ears and pursed her plump lips.
"It's nothing." She shrugged.
"Better than the abandoned flat we're squatting in," Commented a brown-haired, bushy-bearded male.
"Jon's just mardy, ignore him." Said a woman with curves in all the right places and thick, spiralling black waves. She held out a hand to shake my hand, "Georgie," She commented. I shook it and though she smiled, I could tell she was uncomfortable.
"Would you like something to eat? Drink? You must be starving!" Tanya asked Nessie and me.
Nessie's eyes lit up and the room chuckled together.
"Want to come sees what we have, child? I'm not sure what passes for edible, these days."
Ness froze when the woman that spoke approached, and I could understand why. Dressed as if from some really bad punk band, from the eighties; cropped stark white hair poking out in hazardous directions, smudged black paint…or eyeshadow…circled her bright red eyes which matched the colour of her lips, nails and dress, hidden beneath an over-sized leather jacket.
At Nessie's hesitation, she withdrew her hand. Quickly, a second woman approached. She too was dressed in all black, with black lipstick but somewhat refined make-up. Her silver hair reminded me of Kate's, being ridiculously long and straight as a ruler.
She lay her hand softly on the other woman's back, then kissed her shoulder gently.
She looked to Nessie, "Bonjour¸ Renesmee." Nessie's name sounding weird in her French accent. "My name is Naomi and this is my wife, Addie. I know she looks scary but you will never meet a bigger softie."
Nessie giggled a little at this.
"C'mon, let's get you some food, sweetie." Tanya joined Naomi and Addie and the three of them lead Nessie away from the couch and through an archway into another room, studded boots and heels tapping all the way.
"She'll be okay," Rosalie assured and I let out a breath, sitting on the sofa alongside some of the others.
Esme sat beside me, then indicated to several of the others as she said their names. It took a good few minutes but I managed to catch everyone's names and general relation to one another.
There seemed to be only two main covens with the remainder of the crowd being nomads that had met when joining the sanctuary. The leader of the first coven, the woman who'd teased Rosalie minutes ago, was Fiona who introduced Nessie and me to her husband, Ewan, and their daughter, Paige, who was Ewan's real-life daughter he turned when she became of age. She shared in their Scottish accent and Ewan's black hair.
"So exciting to meet a real werewolf!" She chimed, shaking my hand ferociously but was quickly hurried aside by several of the nomads. Two blonde teenagers sat across from us, a boy with hair that looked softer than any blanket I'd ever owned and an extremely thin but chipper female, with a wide, curving grin.
"Oscar," Said the boy, "And this is my friend, Jenna."
"Pleasure to meet you," A hint of a Boston accent in her voice.
Nessie soon returned with two plates of mac and cheese in her hands, she handed me one with a fork and plonked down next to me. "Mac and Cheese!" She squealed. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had it and quickly took to the meal, unbothered by the fact nearly two dozen vampires were watching. Conversation resumed, some about our journey here and our meeting Volturi Guards. As they spoke and I ate, I couldn't help but inspect the room again. Ben and Tia were a tight-knit couple by the far fireplace, Ben mumbling something to Tia whilst flickering with a flame from the hearth in his palm. Garret had meandered off to stand by Tanya and Anita and Roland, reunited with the other Nomads, spoke to them of any potential allies they might have known. The conversation continued but the boy, Oscar, had his eyes locked on another male across the room, another younger boy with sandy brown hair and dimples as deep as Ness. "Toby," Answered Esme who'd picked up on my unspoken question. At the sound of his name, Toby glanced our way and nodded his quiet acknowledgement.
The only vampires not to introduce themselves were the only other larger coven – well, a coven of three.
They sat in the corner of the room, on plush leather armchairs and with open but unread books in their laps. The first female was the obvious leader. There was something…old…about her. She looked maybe twenty, with a slender frame and angular jaw and plump lips and cascading brown hair not dissimilar to Esme's but…she was an old vampire. It showed in her glossy, hazy dark red eyes. She sat with poise, and grace and elegance. Almost in the way a queen would.
The male by her side was similar to Emmett in size and stature but where Emmett grinned like a goofy toddler, this guys features were expressionless and bored, staring out arched windows at the downfall of thick snow.
Only the third female, the Asian woman who'd been by Randall's side, bothered to offer any kind of smile. He stood by her now, whispering about the weather to her from her side. I wondered what their deal was, why so…recluse and why hadn't anyone bothered to introduce them?
~Asher's Note~
In this chapter we are introduced to some of the new covens to join the Sanctuary since the end of the Winter Battle. I wonder what you think of them.
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Stay Safe.
Asher.