Good morning everyone! I hope you've all had a great week so far! And I hope you're enjoying my story, flaws and all. To the guest reviewer, please remember, I do not have to update anything. This is not my job. I do it because I enjoy entertaining people with my stories. I'm sorry you're finding so many flaws with my writing, but keep in mind, if you can still read and understand even though there are mistakes, then power through it. You'll be fine. Unless the mistake completely confuses you, then let me now so I can correct it. And that goes for everyone, if there is a mistake somewhere, please let me know because I do try to correct them before I post.

Also, and I've said it many, many times, I DO NOT WANT A BETA! It's nothing against them, I think they're wonderful, but when I feel the urge to post, I want too just post. I don't like waiting a few days, I just like to post. And another thing guest reviewer, please remember that you do not have to read my story. If it truly bothers you this much, please feel free to find another story to read.

Please Enjoy!


Chapter Ten

"Many years ago, before the Goddess saved the females, we lived in constant turmoil. We were plagued with famine, disease, war, and violence." Esme said before shuddering. "All of these plagues were caused by our male counterparts of the time. They viewed us as less than. We were nothing but dirt in their eyes. Our only purpose was serving and breeding."

The other women sighed heavily and shook their heads in disgust. I hated to tell them that not much had changed, and some men did still view women in such a way.

"Females of the time were often traded, as though they were livestock. We weren't allowed to even select our mates. The normal selection of our mates was dictated by our fathers. The men had to do nothing to prove themselves worthy of us."

Several of them hissed in response to this. Even though they had heard the story many times, it still seemed as though they were hearing it for the first time. To be completely honest, I was just as invested.

"On the sacred night of the green moon, hundreds of us were forced into the underside of a large boat. We laid on the hardwood of the boat, chained so tightly that our wrists turned purple and blue. Many of us didn't survive the terrible journey. We cried and begged for release. The Goddess heard our prayers."

Esme reached over and plucked a green flower from the ground, holding it high in the air.

"The water below opened," She said as she held the green flower in the air for effect. "The ship spun and spun. The men screamed in terror, some jumped from the boat, others tried to control the boat. Finally, the boat was sucked into the water, and fell through the sky. Into the new water." She dropped the flower into the water.

The young girls gasped, which caused Esme to smile. "Our chains remained tight. We cried and begged for it all to end. The pain, the fear, the suffering… we would surely die soon. We could only pray for the end."

"The females prayed to die?" A young girl gasped.

"After many years of pain and suffering, of course they prayed for death!" Esme said. "Females of that time were so cruelly treated. I did not exaggerate."

"What happened after they landed, mama?" The little girl under my arm asked; I wanted to gently push her away as she started nuzzling the skin of my arm. I wasn't used to this kind of physical affection.

"Well, the strongest of the females survived for a few days longer as the boat drifted on the water. The ones who were left knew the end of their suffering was coming but not in the way they had prayed for," Esme smiled softly. "The boat had drifted into the last remaining village's fishing canal. The last of our males were curious and of course, boarded the boat."

"Why were they the last of our males?"

"That is a completely different story, my love," Esme said to the little girl closest to her. "I will tell it at another time. Let me finish up with the current story."

"Sorry mama." The little girl blushed.

"It's alright my love," Esme said as she stroked her hair gently. "Now, as I was saying. Our males were very curious about the boat. When they boarded it, they were met with the most gruesome of sights." Esme shuddered. "I spare you the gory details. The men who had run the ship had perished in a way that they most certainly deserved. Our males explored the ship and found us. They broke our chains and healed our wounds. At first, we rejected them. Our interactions with men in the past had caused too much pain for us to trust these strange, manlike creatures. But of course, they were able to prove themselves worthy and earn our trust. They showed us how they could protect us and care for us. It didn't take long for us to become their mates and replenish the dying breed with strong babies that would carry the bloodlines for many years to come."

All of the girls awed and giggled.

"This is why we must thank the Goddess every day. This is why we leave her offerings in the temple. She rescued us from the horrors of the other side and gave us a new life." Esme smiled before looking over at the sun. "My sisters, we must finish up. The ceremony will begin soon."

"What ceremony?" I asked Alice as the other women swam away.

"The mating ceremony," She said. "The new women are going to select their mates tonight. And the men will prove their worthiness."

The girls who were now women had gotten out of the water and were sitting crisscross as other women braided their very long hair. I swam out of the water and searched for my skirt.

"Let me fix it for you," Esme said as she walked over to me, holding my skirt.

"Esme, how… how did you know all of this stuff?" I asked her as she knelt down and fixed my skirt tightly around my waist. "I know you said that the Goddess shows you what you need to know, but there's no way."

Esme chuckled before pulling me down to sit in front of her. "You are what the other side calls a scientist. You believe in things you can only see or feel. The Goddess isn't something just anyone can see or feel. She selects special females to talk through."

"So, she talks through you? You're a priestess?"

"In a sense," She said as she brushed out my hair with her fingers. "She shows me things that I need to know and need to tell the people. I uphold traditions and values amongst the women and the babies."

"What does Edward's father do?"

"Carlisle is the same, but for the men and boys. He teaches them how to be men. He leads hunts. He protects us from everything. The Goddess, however, doesn't speak through him. If there's something Carlisle needs to know, then the Goddess tells me, and I tell him."

"Why doesn't she speak through Carlisle too? If she created them, then wouldn't she be more likely to speak through them?"

Esme sighed. "You remind me of a small child."

A laugh slipped passed my lips. "Edward said the same thing."

She chuckled. "Edward favors me in a lot of ways. He is my only child."

My brows furrowed. "I thought Alice was your child as well?"

"Edward is my birth son. Alice is my daughter, but I did not carry and birth her, as I did Edward. When we consummate our mating, our mates will give us one seed for us to grow and carry. Anymore seeds would cause us sickness and death. Alice's mother, Goddess rest her sweet soul, didn't survive birth. And when the women die, the men die because they cannot bear the sorrow of a mate-less existence. So, as the healer, it was my duty to take and raise Alice as my own. The Goddess could not save Alice's parents, but she could give me what I needed to nurture Alice. When I started leaking, I knew Alice's mother wasn't going to survive the birth, but I did my best to save her."

Esme sounded very sad when she told me this. I heard her sniffle a little before clearing her throat.

"But in the tragedy, I was blessed with a beautiful daughter. I love Edward dearly, but I did always want a daughter of my own to shadow me. She will make a fine mother one day. She is also very skilled at healing, even if she isn't to become to healer one day. But it will nice to have another who can heal just as well."

"Are you speaking about me?" Alice asked as she finally bounced over to us.

"Yes, my love," Esme chuckled. "Only good things."

"I wanted to braid her hair." Alice whined slightly.

"Why don't you finish up?" Esme asked as she got to her feet. "I must tend to the new women."

I watched as Esme walked over to the seven new women who were currently being rubbed with a white substance by other women. The seven seemed genuinely happy, laughing, and chatting excitedly. Esme began painting their skin in bright colors. Other women began to help her paint the new women's skin. Their long hair was also pulled back into braids.

As Alice finished braiding my hair, I watched Esme pick up large blue vase. The first girl, whose skin was painted, and hair was braided, got on her knees and let Esme place the tip against her lips. The woman took several sips before pulling away and shuddering. I watched in horror as the woman's eyes turned completely black and she started shaking violently.

"W-what's wrong with her?" I asked in alarm, feeling my gut twisted painfully as I watched.

"Huh?" Alice said as she looked over my shoulder. "Oh, nothing's wrong. She's just becoming a sister instead of a daughter now. And sisters share pain, sadness, happiness, and joy. She's feeling everything her sisters have felt over the last generations."

The woman gasped as her eyes turned back to normal. She fell backwards into the waiting arms of two other women. After a moment, once she was fully back, she began to both simultaneously laugh and cry.

"It's an overwhelming experience. But now she is a sister, and she is connected to all of her sisters."

"Hmm." I said as I bit my lip. "So, you would be a daughter?"

"Mm hm," She nodded enthusiastically. "I can't become a sister until my first bleed. But that won't happen for a long time. It's okay though." She leaned forward and whispered. "The boy I want to be my mate is only eleven too. So, he has to wait to become a man. And by the time he becomes a man and I have my first bleed, we can mate!"

"Oh, well, that's exciting." I said.

"So, are you a woman? Have you had your first bleed yet?"

"I was actually your age when I had my first bleed," I knew she was talking about periods, but I wasn't sure if she knew the terminology. I didn't want to confuse her like I confused Edward.

She gasped and scooted around to face me; her eyes as wide as saucers.

"You had your first bleed when you were a child?"

"Yeah. Where I'm from, it's pretty normal to have your first bleed at that age."

Alice looked horrified as she placed her hand over her small belly. "I couldn't imagine having my child now. I don't think I would survive! I'm too young! How could you have your first bleed when you were a child? Did you have your baby? Did it survive?"

I sighed softly. "It's different where I'm from. Girls from the other side mature younger, but they don't have babies after their first bleed. A lot of girls wait several bleeds before even having a baby."

Alice's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, so, the girls from the other side have several bleeds? How many?"

"Do you know what a month is?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, well, every thirty days a girl from the other side has her bleed."

Alice's jaw dropped. "Every thirty days!? Are you kidding me! That sounds horrible! Bleeds are the most painful experience ever! Mother has to give the women flowers from the qhizai tree so they can even stand. How did you do it every thirty days?"

"I mean, our bleeds can be pretty painful, but we just take medicine and continue on with our days," I shrugged. "How often do the women bleed here?"

"Only once," She said as she shuddered. "I couldn't imagine bleeding every thirty days. What kind of God would make women bleed every thirty days but not have babies? That's why we bleed. For the babies."

"Oh, so the women will bleed until they get pregnant?"

She nodded before she started plucking the tiny white flowers from the ground and putting them in my hair.

"Yeah, sometimes it takes a couple days. The women bleed until they are with child. After they have their baby, they never bleed again."

So, everyone only had one baby. That actually didn't sound so bad. I had painful periods, so the thought of only having one and then being done after having a baby sounded wonderful. Not that I particularly wanted a baby. I didn't really like kids all that much.

"That actually sounds really wonderful. So, the new mated couple only consummate their mating one time and have a baby? After that are they done? Do they, consummate anymore after that?" I asked; I wasn't sure how much Alice knew about sex, but I really wanted to know more about these people and their culture. I was in my element, discovering all sorts of new things. If only I had a way to take notes.

Alice had scooted around to sit in front of me. She covered her mouth with both of her hands and giggled.

"The consummate only on the night of their mating ceremony because it completes their mating," She said. "But if you are asking if they have sex more beyond that, then yes, of course they do. My mum and dad think that Edward and I don't know that when they tell us they're going to go look at the dhelea flowers, they're actually going there to have sex. They go there almost every day."

I blushed. "Oh. Wow. Alright, well that,-"

"I know when I mate with Jasper, I'm going to have sex with him everyday too," She giggled even more. "It's how we show our love to our mates."

"Ah, I see," I chuckled. "So you are going to wait until you and Jasper are officially mated to have sex?"

She gave me a strange look, before giggling again. "Of course! Jasper and I aren't mated yet. Why would we have sex now?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea."

"It's time!" Esme exclaimed, saving me from this awkward conversation.

All of the women got to their feet and started singing in a wordless, ethereal harmony. Their mystical voices were beautiful and nearly made me tear up. I had never heard voices so beautiful before. Alice had opened her mouth and began singing beautifully as she pulled me to her feet.

"Sing Bella," Alice said, only briefly pausing her singing.

This whole island was completely strange. Everything they did was strange. But it wasn't any weirder than the traditions of tribal people from the other side. And I'm sure if they looked at American traditions, those would seem strange too.

I opened my mouth but refused to let any sound come out. I wasn't a good singer, and I definitely didn't want to kill the mood.


I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! If you didn't I'm sorry! Stay tuned for the next update!