I slowly opened my eyes as the light beamed through the window, it took a second for my brain to catch up with body and my memories to resurface from last night, I quickly turned around to find Emmett laid there staring down at me,

"you're here" I stated the obvious, the Greek god stared down at me with confusion,

"wasn't I suppose to be? I can leave" he enquired, I quickly shook my head, and grabbed his arm before he could stand, ignoring the cold shiver that went through my body

"no!" I said quickly, Emmett smiled,

"I just meant, I dunno I kind of just expected you to have gone and last night be just a dream" I said sheepishly, Emmett laughed,

"nope I'm here till you send me away" Emmett said placing a small kiss on my head, I blushed and then noticed his shirt, yesterday he was wearing a black hoodie top and now was wearing a grey polo style,

"you left though? It's different" I accused, touching the collar of his fresh shirt, he smiled down at me,
"I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in, what would the neighbours think?" Emmett said with a chuckle, I pouted still not liking the idea he left, trying not to think about how pathetic I sounded,
"You were very deeply asleep, don't worry I didn't miss anything the talking came earlier" His eyes gleamed in humour, I buried my head into his chest and groaned,

"What did you hear?" I mumbled into his chest trying to remember my dreams from last night, I heard a little chuckle before his cold finger went under my chin and lifted my face so I was staring into the golden abyss of his eyes,

"You said you loved me" he stated and grinned, I blushed immediately, I knew that I did but for that to be the first time I said it was just embarrassing beyond belief, and how did I even know if he felt the same,

"well that's embarrassing" I muttered casting my eyes down,

"hey look at me" he said softly, I turned my eyes to him to see his golden eyes had grown soft and a smile that could stop anybody in their tracks, he placed his hand on my cheek before lowing his head and placing the softest on kisses on my nose, causing me to blush even more, at this point I was certain I resembled a tomato,

"don't be embarrassed, it was nice to hear" he whispered, he grinned down at me, I smiled softly, trying not to let my face show I was a little upset even in my sleep, my most vulnerable and defenceless state I had admitted my deepest feelings to him and I was given the reply it was nice to hear, I knew Emmett cared for me, that was obvious, but did Emmett love me? Clearly I was falling harder for him than he was for me,

"so what's the plan for today?" I asked quietly trying to get off the subject of love, Emmett suddenly grinned,

"well your sister is spending the day with Edward and I wondered if you wanted to tag along" Emmett said grinning, I looked at him curiously,

"okay. . .what have they got planned?" I asked sitting up and turning so I was facing him crossed leg, he grinned again which sent a shiver down my spine,

"oh things. . . why are you scared?" he teased, I laughed,

"of course not, I'm just not sure what people do on a vampire double date" I confessed, he laughed,

"What would you say to meeting my family?" Emmett said grinning, I felt myself pale at the thought, I gulped which caused him to grin even wider at me,
"Are you afraid now?" He sounded playful, I scowled at him,
"Yes" I admitted, how could I deny it, the fear was clearly evident in my eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you" He smirked at me, I shook my head a little to clear my thoughts,

"I'm not afraid of them exactly " I explained sheepishly, he look confused at me, I stood up and paced a little before turning to face him,

"I'm afraid they won't… like me, I mean won't they be, well, surprised that you would bring someone… like me… home to meet them? Do they know that I know about them? Their pasts? Oh god I bet you told them about my sleep talking" I panicked, suddenly wondering if they thought I would be an intruder on their secret, Emmett laughed, he stood up and pulled me towards him,

"Oh, they already know everything, from yesterday I bet, They were taking bets when I went home on whether I would bring you back to the house today, though why anyone would bet against Alice, I can't imagine, at any rate, we don't have secrets in the family. It's not really feasible, what with the mind reading and Alice seeing the future and all that" Emmett said smiling down at me as he towered over me, I nodded slowly, still unsure whether this was a good idea, parents loved Bella, but me? And what if they didn't think I was good enough?

"And Jasper will make you feel all warm and fuzzy about spilling your guts, don't forget that" Emmett said jokily, I let out a small laugh, I nodded slowly, knowing Alice already probably saw me and Bella going today with both Edward and Emmett,

"come on lets get you breakfast first" Emmett said pulling my towards my bedroom door, I was about to protest,

"Charlie already left for work, can I say not before checking you hadn't snuck out or anything last night, he's convinced your hiding a boy from him" Emmett said with a grin, I blushed, I let Emmett lead me and into the kitchen,

"sit. I'll make you breakfast" Emmett said with a huge grin, I shook my head with a smile but sat down and watched as he moved at a human pace round the kitchen, I sat in silence as he placed a plate in front of my with some scabbled eggs and a glass on juice in front of me, he lent against the counter and watched me intently, I dug in but stopped when a question came into my head,

"So did Alice see me and Bella coming? Like meeting you and Edward" I asked curiously, he turned and glanced at me before turning away so I couldn't see his eyes, his reaction was strange,

"Something like that" he said uncomfortably, I stared at him curiously even though he couldn't see me, I was confused by what he meant by that,
"Is that any good?" he asked, turning back to me abruptly and eyeing my breakfast with a teasing look on his face,

"Honestly, it doesn't look very appetizing" he said eying the eggs, I laughed,
"Well, it's no irritable grizzly…" I murmured, ignoring him when he glowered. I was still wondering why he responded that way when I mentioned Alice. I hurried through my breakfast speculating his reaction.
Emmett stood in the middle of the kitchen, the statue of Adonis again, staring abstractedly out the back windows, I finished the food and when I glanced at him I saw he was now staring at me and he smiling at me with his heart breaking smile,
"And you should introduce me to your father, too, I think, seen as your meeting mine" he teased, I suddenly paled at the thought, I knew dad could be protective,
"He already knows you" I reminded him, stating the fact,
"As your boyfriend, I mean" Emmett said grinning, I involuntary smiled at him calling himself my boyfriend, I stared at him with suspicion,

"Why?" I asked teasing him a little,
"Isn't that customary?" he asked innocently.
"I don't know," I admitted. My dating history gave me few reference points to work with. Not that any normal rules of dating applied here, in fact I couldn't even remember agreeing to be his girlfriend, it felt weird even saying that in my own head never mind out loud, I took a quick drink of juice, before setting it down and biting my lip,
"Are you going to tell Charlie I'm your boyfriend or not?" he demanded teasing me again,
"Is that what you are?" I asked all the while suppressing my internal cringing at the thought of Emmett, my dad and the word boyfriend all in the same room at the same time.
"It's a loose interpretation of the word 'boy,' I'll admit." Emmett said grinning,
"and how am I meant to bring up the fact of the matter?" I enquired,
"Well, I don't know if we need to give him all the gory details." He sat down and reached across the table to lift my chin with a cold, gentle finger,

"But he will need some explanation for why I'm around here so much. I don't want Chief Swan getting a restraining order put on me" he teased me, I let out a little laugh,
"Will you be? Around here so much I mean?" I asked, suddenly anxious
"As long as you want me" he assured me looking me directly in my eyes, I blushed again,
"Are you finished?" he finally asked breaking the silence that had now come over us,
"Yes" I admitted, he grinned at me,
"Get dressed, Bella is nearly ready, I'll wait here" Emmett said picking up my plate, I nodded and moved towards the stairs, I took a few steps before turning to him,

"Em?" I said quietly, he turned to me,

"yes?" he asked smiling, I grinned,

"I can't remember being asked to be your girlfriend, guess you might have to rectify that" I teased and quickly sprinted upstairs, I heard his chuckle and passed Edward how was waiting outside Bella's room, I smiled muttering hello and quickly ran the rest of way a little a little embarrassed he had heard everything.

I stood in front of my wardrobe staring at all my clothes, why was it so hard to decide what to wear? I doubted there were any etiquette books detailing how to dress when your potential vampire boyfriend takes you home to meet his vampire family,

"Edward? Can you send Bella up here please" I said, knowing Edward would hear and would be right by Bella, a few moments later a knock came and Bella walked in smiling,

"you called?" she joked, I smiled and looked at her outfit, she was wearing her only skirt, a long, khaki-coloured and she had paired it with a dark blue blouse,

"Bella I have no idea what to wear" I almost groaned at myself, Bella laughed,

"let me help" she said grinning, well this was a first, her giving me fashion advice, we chatted quietly about yesterday to each other as we went through my outfits, after we had chosen I glanced at myself in the mirror, I was now wearing a pair of high waisted jeans paired with a slim fitting black top with a little lace detailing on, paired with a small black boot,

"this okay?" I asked Bella, she grinned,

"yep, I'll meet you downstairs" she said, I nodded and watched her walk out before quickly sitting at my vanity and putting on some light makeup and putting my hair into bun and framing two loose pieces around my face, I smiled to myself trying to give myself some confidence, I stood up and quickly made my way down,
"Okay, I'm ready" I said smiling as I bounced down the stairs as I reached the foot of the stairs,
Emmett was waiting, closer than I'd thought, and I almost bounded right into him, he laughed and steadied me, holding me a careful distance away for a few seconds before suddenly pulling me closer.
"Wrong again, you are utterly indecent, no one should look so tempting, it's not fair" Emmett murmured in my ear, I paled for a second, I glanced down at myself,
"Tempting how? I can change…" I asked, wondering if this outfit would somehow make anyone uncomfortable, Emmett laughed, shaking his head,

"You are so absurd." He pressed his cool lips delicately to my forehead, making the room spin. The smell of his breath made it impossible for me to think.
"Shall I explain how you are tempting me?" he said. It was clearly a rhetorical question. His fingers traced slowly down my spine, his breath coming more quickly against my skin. My hands were limp on his chest, making me feel lightheaded, he tilted his head slowly down and touched his cool lips to mine for the second time, very carefully, parting them slightly, I almost lost myself in the moment before a cough made us break apart,

"Emmett, Liliana? Shall we?" Edward said very formally, I glanced now to see Bella grinning behind him, I blushed and hid myself in Emmett's shoulder,

"way to kill the mood" Emmett grumbled, I blushed even more and let Emmett lead me outside to wear a silver Volvo sat in the drive, we quickly all got in with Edward and Bella sat upfront and me and Emmett in the back,

"So let me get this right, you're both worried, not because you're headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think those vampires won't approve of you, correct?" Edward asked both me and Bella with a smirk as he drove,
"That's right," I we both answered immediately, and in sync, myself trying to hide my surprise at his casual use of the word, He shook his head, and gave a little laugh,

"You're incredible" Emmett muttered, I glanced to see him grinning at me once again, I smiled and focused on the roads outside.

I realized as Edward drove out of the main part of town, that I had no idea where the Cullens lived, we passed over the bridge at the Calawah River, the road winding northward, the houses flashing past us growing farther apart, getting bigger. And then we were past the other houses altogether, driving through misty forest. I was trying to decide whether to ask or be patient, when he turned abruptly onto an unpaved road. It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. The forest encroached on both sides, leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpentlike, around the ancient trees.
Then, after a few miles, there was some thinning of the woods, and we were suddenly in a small
meadow, or was it actually a lawn? The gloom of the forest didn't relent, though, for there were six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their protecting shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep porch that wrapped around the first story.
I don't know what I had expected, but it definitely wasn't this. The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration.

Edward pulled to a stop in front of the house, I glanced around, the Volvo was the only car in sight. I could hear the river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest.
"Wow" Bella muttered from the front, I nodded still staring at the beauty the house emitted
"You like it?" Edward said smiling at her,
"It… has a certain charm" Bella responded, Edward pulled the end of her ponytail and chuckled.
"Ready?" he asked to Bella, she slowly nodded and suddenly Edward was opening her door, that damn vampire speed, I watched as they walked towards the door, still I sat motionless in my seat,

"Lil? How about you? Ready?" Emmett said, I turned to him, trying to give him a small smile,

"Not even a little bit, but anyway let's go." I tried to laugh, but it seemed to get stuck in my throat. I smoothed my hair nervously, he opened my door and smiled down at me,
"You look lovely" He took my hand easily and helped me out of the car, I smiled as a thankyou as we walked through the deep shade up to the porch. I knew Emmett could feel my tension; his thumb rubbed soothing circles into the back of my hand.
We followed Edward and Bella inside the huge oak front door, I was taken aback from seeing the tiny intricate details that were woven into the wood on the door, the inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. It was very bright, very open, and very large. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river.

A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

My eyes landed on a on a raised portion of the floor just to the left of the door stood by a spectacular rand piano, were Emmett's and Edward's parents.

Of course I had seen Dr Cullen before, yet I couldn't help but be struck again by his youth, his outrageous perfection, stood at his side was Esme, I assumed, the only one of the family I'd never seen before, she had the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them. Something about her heart-shaped face, her billows of soft, caramel-coloured hair, reminded me of the ingénues of the silent-movie era. She was small, slender, yet less angular, more rounded than the others. They were both dressed casually, in light colours that matched the inside of the house. They smiled in welcome, but made no move to approach us. Trying not to frighten me or Bella, I guessed.

"Carlisle, Esme, this is Bella and Liliana" Edward's voice broke the short silence, I gave a little smile towards them both, I'm sure everyone in the house could hear the beating of my heart as my nerves raced, Emmett rubbing small circles into the small of my back was the only thing from keeping me from passing out,
"You're very welcome, Bella, Liliana" Carlisle's step was measured, careful as he approached us, he raised his hand tentatively, and I watched as Bella stepped forward to shake hands with him.
"It's nice to see you again, Dr Cullen" Bella said and stepped back to be beside Edward, I took a step forward and tried to give a bright smile,

"pleasure to see you again, can I just say your house is beautiful" I said trying not to let my nerves show,
"Please, call me Carlisle, and thank you although I owe that to my beautiful wife Esme" Carlisle said while holding his hand out towards Esme, Esme smiled and stepped forward as well, reaching for my hand, her cold, stone grasp was just as I expected,
"It's very nice to meet you" she said sincerely giving me the most warm smile,
"Thank you. I'm glad to meet you, too" And I was, I felt like I was meeting a fairy tale, Snow White, in the flesh.

I stepped back to Emmett where he snaked his arm around my waist, I felt myself relax, the gesture indicating that had gone well,
"Where are Alice and Jasper?" Edward asked, but no one answered, as they had just appeared at the top of the wide staircase.
"Hey, Edward! Emmett! You're here!" Alice called enthusiastically. She ran down the stairs, a streak of black hair and white skin, coming to a sudden and graceful stop in front of both me and Bella, Carlisle and Esme shot warning glances at her, but I liked it. It was natural, for her, anyway.
"Hi, Bella!" Alice said, and she bounced forward to kiss my sisters cheek. If Carlisle and Esme had looked cautious before, they now looked staggered. There was shock in my eyes, too, but I was also very pleased that she seemed to approve of my sister so entirely,

"Ana! I'm so glad you came!" she grinned and gave me a quick hug, which caused my hair to move a bit,. I was startled to feel Emmett stiffen at my side. I glanced at his face, but his expression was unreadable.
"Oh, you do smell nice, I never noticed before," she commented, to my extreme embarrassment, I didn't have a clue how to react but no one else seemed to know quite what to say, and then Jasper was there, all tall and leonine stood next to Esme, a feeling of ease spread through me, and I was suddenly comfortable despite where I was. Edward was staring at Jasper, raising one eyebrow, and I suddenly remembered what Jasper could do.
"Hello, Bella, Hello Liliana" Jasper said. He kept his distance, not offering to shake my hand. But it was impossible to feel awkward near him.
"Hello, Jasper." I smiled at him shyly,

"Hello, It's nice to meet you, and can I just agree with Ana you have a very beautiful home" Bella added conventionally,
"Thank you, we're so glad that you came" Esme said as she spoke with feeling, and I realized that she thought both Bella and myself were brave.
I also realized that Rosalie and Lucas were nowhere to be seen, and I remembered Emmett's too-innocent comment on how Rosealie could be cold towards people, Carlisle's expression distracted me from this train of thought; he was gazing meaningfully at Edward with an intense expression. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward nod once and felt Emmett do the same,
I looked away, trying to be polite. My eyes wandered again to the beautiful instrument on the platform by the door. I suddenly remembered my childhood fantasy that, should I ever win a lottery, I would buy a grand piano for my mother, my mother wasn't really good, she only played for herself but I loved to watch her play. She was happy, absorbed and she seemed like a new, mysterious being to me then, someone outside the "mom" persona I took for granted. She'd put us through lessons, of course, but like most kids, Bella whined until she let her quit, myself loved it and carried on till I moved to Forks, I noticed Bella also looking at the piano, Esme noticed our preoccupation.
"Do you both play?" she asked, inclining her head toward the piano, Bella shook my head.

"No I don't, not at all, but it's so beautiful, Ana is the musical genius in our family, Is it yours?" Bella asked politely, I blushed at the comment
"No, Edward didn't tell you he was musical?" Esme gave a little laugh as she answered,
"No. I should have known, I guess" Bella glared at his suddenly innocent expression with narrowed eyes, Esme raised her delicate eyebrows in confusion.
"Edward can do everything, right?" Bella explained, Jasper snickered and Esme gave Edward a reproving look.
"I hope you haven't been showing off Edward, it's rude" Esme scolded Edward,
"Just a bit," he laughed freely. Her face softened at the sound, and they shared a brief look that I didn't understand, though Esme's face seemed almost smug,

"I didn't know you played Liliana" Edward said glancing at me, I blushed,

"Oh it's nothing really, defiantly not as talented as you I'm sure" I said with a soft smile,
"She's being too modest, she been playing for over ten years now" Bella corrected, Emmett slight cough made me turn to face him where I saw he had cocked his head to one side,

"I had no idea" was a simply statement he made, I shrugged and looked back towards everyone else,
"Well, you must play for us, if you would like too of course" Esme encouraged,
"I couldn't possibility match the standard you are used to" I said smiling trying to be polite,
"I won't judge" Edward commented, I tried to think of a response,
"I'd like to hear you play" Emmett said quietly,
"okay, but I warn you all now, I'm really not the best" I warned,
"It's settled then" Esme guided me toward the piano, I sat down and glanced around to see everyone stood listening, I gulped a little before I turned to the keys.
My fingers flowed swiftly across the ivory, and the room was filled with a composition that was Bella's favourite, I had learnt it for her last birthday, I loved playing and now realised how much I had missed it, once finished a turned to see everyone smiling and Emmett's mouth open in astonishment, and heard low chuckles behind him at his reaction from Edward,
Edward looked at me casually, while he held Bella's hand,

"Claude Debussy?" Edward asked quizzically, I nodded shyly,

"yes Clair de lune, it's Bella favourite" I answered,

"it was beautiful dear" Esme commented, I blushed again and thanked her,

"I'm feeling extremely insignificant, my girlfriend is more talented than me" Emmett grumbled leaning on the piano, my blush got even deeper at the girlfriend comment again,

"I believe if I'm not mistaken, you haven't asked her yet Emmett" Jasper spoke with a slight tease to his voice, chuckles were heard, I was extremely embarrassed before a walm of calm came over me, I smiled at Jasper,

"how about Edward plays for us, I'm sure Liliana would love to see to the garden Emmett, I know she loves the forest" Alice said kindly, I smiled and let Emmett lead me out into what I could only describe as a picture straight out of a fairy-tale, I glanced around at all the beautiful coloured flowers as we walked towards a small river at the edge of the house,

"They like you, you know, Esme especially" Emmett said conversationally as he reached for my hand, I smiled
"I'm glad, they are all lovely, But Rosalie and Lucas…" I trailed off, not sure how to express my doubts and questions to where they were, He frowned.

"Don't worry about Rosalie, she'll come around" Emmett said, his eyes wide and persuasive, I pursed my lips sceptically.

"Lucas?" I enquired, wondering what he thought on the situation,
"Well, he thinks I'm a lunatic, it's true, but he doesn't have a problem with you, he actually really likes you, he's trying to reason with Rosalie" Emmett explained glancing back at the house, I nodded,
"What is it that upsets her?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer or not, Emmett sighed deeply.

"Rosalie struggles the most with… with what we are. It's hard for her to have someone on the outside know the truth. And she's a little jealous of you and your sister" Emmett explained, I stopped dead in my tracks,
"Rosalie is jealous of me?" I asked incredulously. I tried to imagine a universe in which someone as breath taking as Rosalie would have any possible reason to feel jealous of someone like me,
"You're both human, She wishes that she were, too " He shrugged, I nodded slowly, and started walking a little again,
"Oh," I muttered, still stunned, I thought for a second,

"why did you freeze like that in there, after Alice's. . . comment" I asked curious,
"I told you Jasper was the most recent to try our way of life. I warned him to keep his distance from you, Alice just worried me for a second" Emmett explained rubbing circles into my hand, I nodded,
"Esme and Carlisle… ?" I continued quickly,
"Are happy to see me happy. Actually, Esme wouldn't care if you both had a third eye and webbed feet, all this time she's been worried about me and Edward afraid that there was something missing from our essential makeup, that we were too young when Carlisle changed me… She's ecstatic. Every time I touch you, she just about chokes with satisfaction" Emmett said smiling, I smiled and squeezed his hand a little,
"So what was Carlisle telling you and Edward before?" I enquires, His eyebrows pulled together. "You noticed that, did you?" he asked smiling, I shrugged,

"Of course, I'm observant" I said smiling, he looked at me thoughtfully for a few seconds before answering,

"He wanted to tell us some news, he didn't know if it was something we would share with you" Emmett answered honestly,
"Will you?" I asked eager to know the answer,
"I have to, because I'm going to be a little… overbearingly protective over the next few days, or weeks and I wouldn't want you to think I'm naturally a tyrant" he said with a small smile, I could tell whatever it was had him nervous,
"What's wrong?" I asked pulling him to a stop by the river edge,
"Nothing's wrong, exactly. Alice just sees some visitors coming soon. They know we're here, and they're curious" Emmett said looking at the water,
"Visitors?" I asked confused,
"Yes… well, they aren't like us, of course, in their hunting habits, I mean. They probably won't come into town at all, but I'm certainly not going to let you out of my sight till they're gone" Emmett explained turning to look at me, I shivered without even thinking about it,
"Finally, a rational response, I was beginning to think you had no sense of self-preservation at all" he murmured, I wasn't sure if he was joking or not but I let that one pass, looking away, my eyes wandering again around the spacious garden, he followed my gaze,

"Not what you expected, is it?" he asked, his voice smug, I smiled,
"No" I admitted, he laughed,
"No coffins, no piled skulls in the corners; I don't even think we have cobwebs… what a disappointment this must be for you," he continued slyly, I laughed and ignored his teasing,

"It's so light… so open, it's perfect" I commented,

"It's the one place we never have to hide" He was more serious when he answered, I smiled
"Do you want to see the rest of the house?" Emmett asked, I grinned,
"No coffins?" I verified, the sarcasm in my voice not entirely masking the slight but genuine anxiety I felt. Emmett laughed, taking my hand, leading me away from the river,
"No coffins," he promised.
We walked up the massive staircase, my hand trailing along the satin-smooth rail. The long hall at the top of the stairs was panelled with a honey-coloured wood, the same as the floorboards.
"Rosalie and Lucas's room… Carlisle's office… Alice's and Jasper's room…Edward's room…" He gestured as he led me past the doors.
Emmett would have continued, but I stopped dead at the end of the hall, staring incredulously at the ornament hanging on the wall above my head. Emmett chuckled at my bewildered expression.
"You can laugh, it is sort of ironic" Emmett said, I didn't laugh. My hand raised automatically, one finger extended as if to touch the large wooden cross, its dark patina contrasting with the lighter tone of the wall. I didn't touch it, though I was curious if the aged wood would feel as silky as it looked.

"It must be very old," I guessed, still admiring it, He shrugged,

"Early sixteen-thirties, more or less" I looked away from the cross to stare at him.
"Why do you keep this here?" I wondered,
"Nostalgia. It belonged to Carlisle's father" I nodded
"He collected antiques?" I suggested doubtfully, Emmett smiled,
"No. He carved this himself. It hung on the wall above the pulpit in the vicarage where he preached" Emmett explained, I wasn't sure if my face betrayed my shock, but I returned to gazing at the simple, ancient cross, just in case. I quickly did the mental math; the cross was over three hundred and seventy years old. The silence stretched on as I struggled to wrap my mind around the concept of so many years.
"Are you all right?" He sounded worried all of a sudden,
"How old is Carlisle?" I asked quietly, ignoring his question, still staring up at the cross,
"He just celebrated his three hundred and sixty-second birthday," Emmett said. I looked back at him, a million questions in my eyes, he watched me carefully as he spoke,
"Carlisle was born in London, in the sixteen-forties, he believes. Time wasn't marked as accurately then, for the common people anyway. It was just before Cromwell's rule, though" Emmett said, I kept my face composed, aware of his scrutiny as I listened. It was easier if I didn't try to believe.
"He was the only son of an Anglican pastor. His mother died giving birth to him. His father was an intolerant man. As the Protestants came into power, he was enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves… and vampires." I grew very still at the word. I'm sure he noticed, but he went on without pausing,
"They burned a lot of innocent people — of course the real creatures that he sought were not so easy to catch.
"When the pastor grew old, he placed his obedient son in charge of the raids. At first Carlisle was a disappointment; he was not quick to accuse, to see demons where they did not exist. But he was persistent, and more clever than his father. He actually discovered a coven of true vampires that lived hidden in the sewers of the city, only coming out by night to hunt. In those days, when monsters were not just myths and legends, that was the way many lived, the people gathered their pitchforks and torches, of course" Emmett's brief laugh was darker now,

"and waited where Carlisle had seen the monsters exit into the street. Eventually one emerged." His voice was very quiet; I strained to catch the words.
"He must have been ancient, and weak with hunger. Carlisle heard him call out in Latin to the others when he caught the scent of the mob. He ran through the streets, and Carlisle, who was twenty-three and very fast, was in the lead of the pursuit. The creature could have easily outrun them, but Carlisle thinks he was too hungry, so he turned and attacked. He fell on Carlisle first, but the others were close behind, and he turned to defend himself. He killed two men, and made off with a third, leaving Carlisle" Emmett paused. I could sense he was editing something, keeping something from me.
"Carlisle knew what his father would do. The bodies would be burned, anything infected by the
monster must be destroyed. Carlisle acted instinctively to save his own life. He crawled away from the alley while the mob followed the fiend and his victim. He hid in a cellar, buried himself in rotting potatoes for three days. It's a miracle he was able to keep silent, to stay undiscovered, It was over then, and he realized what he had become" I'm not sure what my face was revealing, but he suddenly broke off.
"How are you feeling?" he asked looking directly at me,
"I'm fine," I assured him. And, though I bit my lip in hesitation, he must have seen the curiosity burning in my eyes.
He smiled. "I expect you have a few more questions for me"
"A few" I honestly said, his smile widened over his brilliant teeth. He started back down the hall, pulling me along by the hand.
"Come on, then, let me show you my room and you can ask them" Emmett said, I smiled and followed him, still trying to process the story Emmett had just told me.