Welcome one, welcome all!

Let's begin with a short a/n.

1. Esme will be in this story, we're not pretending she doesn't exist. (Let's follow the canon a little bit as painful as that might be).

2. This story takes place after Breaking Dawn, but Renesmee will not be in this story. Because I just can't. It was simply too much.

3. I do not own Twilight or its characters! I only own my OCs.

If you're still here after reading all of that, thank you so much. And I hope you'll give this story a chance! As I'm pretty sure it'll be a bit different compared to most Carlisle/OC stories out there.

Hope it'll float your boat :)

Enjoy the first chapter of

'Down in the Willow Garden'.

Chapter 1 - Where the wild roses grow

Reading poetry was one of Carlisle Cullen's favourite ways to pass the time. Particularly anything written by John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and even Lord Byron, though he would never admit the latter out loud as he had not been too fond of the man in real life. Sometimes it really was best not to meet your so called 'heroes'. The poem Carlisle was currently staring at, was one he hadn't read before. At least, at first he was convinced he wasn't familiar with it. But after having read it for a third time, he wasn't so sure anymore. Perhaps he had heard it somewhere a long time ago and couldn't remember.

This was very well possible as Carlisle had been around for years. Since the 17th century to be exact. But one did tend to forget things over time, especially with everything he'd seen and experienced in his life. Which could be the reason why Carlisle wasn't entirely sure if this poem was as unfamiliar as he thought it to be. He held the book up a little higher and narrowed his eyes as he recited it for the fourth time that day.

"Down in the Willow Garden
That's where he found her
Gently floating down the river
Eyes open and lips parted
Roses resting on her chest

He jumped into the stream
Waded through the murky water
Until he finally reached her
Pulling her closely against him.

Dangling like a child's doll
Skin as white as snow
And hair like warm caramel

Her long sheer milky dress
Hugging her limp body tight
A soundless cry escaped him
As he hid his face
Whispering her name with affection

If only he had looked
If only he had seen
Glanced down her pale neck
Then he would have known

But he let her go
Gently floating down the river
Down in the Willow Garden."

"Down in the Willow Garden." He muttered under his breath.

He repeated the title as he flipped the pages back to the index in order to search for its author's name. Eventually he found what he was looking for, only to discover that it didn't ring a bell. Perhaps this person was not the originally author though the information told otherwise. He closed the book and placed it back on the coffee table, right in the spot where he'd found it earlier.

It was but a little bundle of poems, different styles and written by various poets. The book wasn't his, it belonged to his daughter-in-law, Bella Cullen née Swan. She was particularly fond of reading the classics of English literature, but recently had taken a liking to poetry. An interest Carlisle obviously appreciated and one that he shared with her. He wondered where she found it as it wasn't from their extensive library. No, then he wouldn't be questioning why it sounded familiar to him. But this particular book was old. The pages were beige coloured and curled up due to humidity exposure. The spine of the book was cracked and partially falling apart.

Unfortunately, he couldn't ask her where she'd bought for Bella and Edward, his adoptive son, were away on a trip at the moment. A three day weekend to Victoria, Canada.

"A soundless cry. Whispering her name with affection."

Carlisle turned his head and stared absent-mindedly out of the window, looking up at the sky which was a shade of warm pink and purple. He felt a tug in his stomach and he furrowed his brow. "But he let her go..." Why was he feeling so melancholic all of a sudden? He rubbed his chin before moving his hand to the back of his neck.

"Down in the Willow Garden."

"Carlisle?"

Esme's voice appeared right next to him. Soft and soothing as it always was. He tilted his head back to look up at her from his chair. "Sorry, did you say something?"

The gorgeous woman frowned. "I did actually. Are you alright?"

She'd called him from the kitchen, when he didn't respond she went out into the hallway to call for him again. Lastly she headed into the room where she knew she'd find him, but even then he didn't even turn her way. Had he really not heard her at all? That was odd. It was one thing for their kind to not notice another one's presence, with their impeccable hearing and sense of smell. But she had been standing right beside him when she asked him, for a third time, if he wanted to go out for a short stroll in the forest. Esme wondered what could have gotten him that distracted.

"I'm perfectly fine." He assured her. "A little lost in thought, that's all."

That did seem rather obvious, but what had caused it? Esme's eyes wandered towards the object lying in front of Carlisle on the low table. "Heavy read?" She nodded at the book.

He followed her gaze and a small smile appeared on his face. "I'm not sure to be honest. Come. Shall we head out for a bit? I could use some fresh air."

She accepted his hand and let him guide her out the front door. Ignoring the fact that he hadn't asked her what it was she had said to him. Part of her wanted to know why he had been staring out of the window for a good couple of seconds before realizing she'd been talking to him. Carlisle wasn't one to keep secrets. Not from her at least. It was probably nothing that important, because if anything was really bothering him, surely he would tell her soon enough. He always did.

Port Angeles

It was only a short ride from Forks to Port Angeles, about an hour and ten minutes. Though with the way Edward was driving it would surely be much shorter than that. And it had been. Which was a good thing for Bella as it provided her with time to visit one of her favourite book shops while waiting in the small port town for the ferry which would take them to Victoria.

Bella was actually looking for something specific and since the store in Forks didn't have what she wanted, she figured she could try the one in Port Angeles now that they were there anyway. It hadn't been too long ago that she'd been in the exact same store. Searching for nothing in particular, she just liked the smell of books and discovering new stories.

Somehow she always came back with something and the last thing she'd picked up from this shop, was a small collection of poetry. Not that she was an avid reader of the subject, but it was such a thin bundle, she decided to give it a try. Apart from the fact it had only cost her ten bucks.

"Remember, the boat is leaving in forty-five minutes." Edward Cullen whispered to his wife as she was tracing a line of books on a shelf.

"I know, I know." Bella replied hastily. "But you know, if we miss it,- we can always swim there?"

"Swim?"

"Yes."

"And the car?"

"The car can't swim, Edward." She chuckled. Bella then lowered her hand and groaned, her smile disappearing. "Dang it."

"No luck?" Edward asked as he arched one eyebrow.

"Why is it so hard to find?" The dark haired woman grumbled. "Are there that few copies? I guess it's not a popular book like that 'Pray Love and eat' or something story I keep hearing about."

"You could ask that guy over there?" Edward suggested pointing at a young man throwing a glance their way every now and then. "He's been contemplating approaching us to ask what you're looking for. Besides, if this store doesn't have it, we can always try another when we reach Victoria?"

Bella let out a soft sigh. "I know. But I was hoping to find it here and read it on the boat."

"On the boat?" Her husband frowned as he slipped his arms around her waist. "I thought we were swimming?"

"Funny." She smiled and she carefully pushed him back. "I'll ask that guy over there. You wait right here."

As Bella made her way to the counter, Edward turned his attention to the large window. He could see the ferry docked in the harbour. It had been his idea to go away for the weekend. Just the two of them. To a hotel. Celebrating,- well, nothing in particular really. The trip was not because of some special occasion. Edward simply wanted to visit Canada and Victoria was the closest town on their border. He was about to turn back around from looking out of the window, as he heard Bella reach the store clerk, when the little golden bell above the bookstore's door jingled merrily.

Edward diverted his gaze immediately towards the entrance. Under normal circumstances, nothing would have been wrong with this everyday occurrence. People did tend to walk and out of shops. But the person walking through the door did not fall under the category of 'normal' people. Edward straightened himself, his body and mind reacting in an immediate defensive manner. He observed the woman from the corner of his eye, quickly taking her in and keeping his senses on full alert.

She wore a pair of dark tinted sunglasses, hiding her eyes from sight, despite being inside of a building. Within a second she turned her head his way and her lips slightly parted when she caught him glaring her way. She seemed taken back for a second, but Edward suspected she must have sensed him the moment she entered the store, as there was no denying what she was.

Out of all the things that could happen today, meeting one of his kind had not been on that list. In Port Angeles no less. Since when was there one of them this close by? Whoever this woman was, she was obviously new to the neighbourhood. Surely he would have known about her otherwise. She was just as surprised as he was, however. He read it in her thoughts. But suspicious and cautious too. She hadn't expected another like her to be here.

Edward bobbed his head, indicating that he meant no harm with being there. At the same time hoping she felt the same way. Which she did, though questions were shooting through her mind. She returned his silent signal with a nod of her own, before removing the dark red scarf from around her neck. She moved her caramel coloured hair back over her shoulder and was about to continue when Bella appeared in her line of vision.

Thought I smelled more than one. Edward heard her mind wander.

The sight of Bella surprised her just as much a Edward had. Being caught off guard twice within not even the span of a minute clearly irritated her and Edward couldn't help but grin a little. He didn't have Jasper's gift of sensing emotions, but he reckoned that's what she was feeling as she shrugged her shoulders for a moment. He already caught her thinking she wished for the two of them to simple be passing through with no intention of hanging around the town for too long. Which of course they weren't planning on, but the woman didn't know that and Edward wasn't planning on striking up a conversation with another unfamiliar vampire.

But, as luck would have it, his wife had other plans than him.

"Oh, excuse me." Bella said to her politely and she stepped aside.

She also saw what this woman was within an instant. The scent was also a dead giveaway. Their kind smelled a rather specific way and had a certain air about them. Quite easy to distinguish from anything or anybody else. Now that Bella was no longer human, being around their kind didn't frighten her anymore. Not that it ever really terrified her at all, but at least she'd been wary back when she was mortal. Sometimes her fearlessness worried Edward. It had gotten her into trouble before and even though she was strong and immortal now, it was no guarantee it wouldn't cause trouble again at some point.

Bella looked at the woman with a curious expression, Edward was about to call her over when the other young man opened his mouth first.

"Ah, Miss Willoughby! What a coincidence." The guy behind Bella exclaimed gleefully. "Your timing is impeccable. You truly could not have come at a better time!"

The woman, who was apparently called Miss Willoughby, cocked her head and smiled. "It is? Have you need of me, Peter?"

Pee-tuh. Edward noticed her pronunciation straight away. English. Across the pond English. Obviously her surname would have explained just as much that she wasn't American, but in these times you could never truly guess where somebody was from unless you either knew them or heard speak. This was becoming even more curious. What was someone like her from Europe, doing all the way over here? The man called Peter, obviously knew her. His thoughts were rather rude and explicit also.

"Actually it is this young lady here that has need of you." Peter chirped. "She asked specifically for you. Uh,- your work, that is."

Edward stared at them with great confusion, not understanding what was going on. But not his wife. At first Bella had frowned at the guy when he addressed Miss Willoughby, but now her frown had been replaced with a loud gasp and then a broad smile followed. Edward couldn't help but tense up. He was not in the mood for chatting. Especially with another vampire and when they had a ferry to catch. He was not planning on swimming to Canada.

"You're Ada Rose Willoughby? The author of Where the Wild Roses Grow?" Bella asked with obvious excitement.

"Guilty." The woman raised her hand and batted her eyelashes.

"Oh, wow. This is so unexpected. I mean you are,- I hadn't expected you to be,-" Bella paused and cleared her throat as she caught her husband shaking his head at her. "I'm sorry. Would it be awfully rude if I were to invite you for a..." Her eyes flicked towards Edward swiftly. "Cup of coffee?"

Edward sighed inwardly and ran a hand through his hair. He was not having any luck today, was he? At this rate, Bella's joke from earlier was definitely going to come true. Or at the very least they'd have to wait for the next ferry to arrive instead.

::::::...::::::

It was obvious that Bella no longer had any concept of time. Unless you were to take certain things into account such as when she had an appointment of what the opening and closing hours of a store were. Clearly ferry schedules were not any of those. They were suppose to leave port within thirty minutes. If Bella would hurry up and cut her conversation with Ada Rose Willoughby short, they would be able to make it. But who was Edward kidding here? Technically they had all the time in the world, didn't they?

The three of them were currently seated at a table in port and Edward was not enjoying his empty cup of coffee, which he'd dunked into the street when nobody was looking. He was listening to Bella's talk with the woman they'd just met. She was like them. Unexpectedly so indeed, as Bella had stated.

Edward truly thought he knew every vampire within the state of Washington. But clearly, it would seem he was wrong. The only locically conclusion was that Ada had not been living here for that long. He'd already deduced she was not the one passing through town here. The other thing he'd also learned, luckily enough, was that Ada seemingly had no ill intend towards him nor Bella. But he wouldn't be Edward Cullen if he kept a sceptical attitude towards it all.

How could he not be? With everything he'd been through over the past few years since falling in love with his wife. He had to occasionally remind himself, now that Bella was no longer human, that things had changed. There was no need to watch his or her back at all times. A habit he would hopefully get rid off one day, but until then he was going to stay cautious. Just in case. They had no idea who this person was. Yes, she seemed nice, kind and polite at first glance, but first impressions didn't mean anything, not to him.

Still, he couldn't really find anything negative from reading her mind as well. She was being careful, trying not to engage too deeply into her conversation with Bella. Which he appreciated, but he could also tell she was curious. Questions kept going through her mind and Edward wondered if she was a inquisitive person by nature or if there was more to it than that.

So far he had learned that Ada was the author of the book Bella had been looking for the last couple of weeks. He found it a rather odd profession for somebody of their kind to have. Publicity was not something they wanted or could risk. Though if things went wrong there would be plenty of ancient covens ready to deal with it. Of course there was one specific ancient coven that he did not want to deal with ever again.

"Isn't it risky?" Bella asked Ada with genuine interest. "What if you plan to publish more books as time goes by? Somebody must realize you don't age."

"The risk will always be there, I'm afraid. That being said, I have always tried to be careful. For example by using a different name as the years go by. Never residing in one place for too long. Never showing my face or have a picture printed on the back. But with today's technology I do feel I have to be more careful." She placed smiled faintly. "Thankfully, historical romance novels are not everyone's forte. I'm surprised you're specifically looking for this one?"

Bella replied. "Accidental coincidence. I read a poem recently, Down in the Willow Garden? Somebody on the internet wrote that they read a book which they think is based on that poem." She shifted in her seat and leaned forward towards Ada. "Are they right? Is the book based on it?"

The answer to that question was yes. At least Edward found that out immediately after Bella had asked Ada her question. But the woman didn't reply with a simple answer. Instead her mouth formed a grin. "You'll have your answer once you've read the book."

"I guess that is what I'll have to do then." Bella said, she then turned to Edward and cocked her head. "That reminds me. Didn't Esme write and publish a book once too?"

Edward frowned at his wife. He didn't quite understand why she was this talkative all of a sudden and with a stranger no less. Was this a new habit she was developing? Or was it all because Ada had written a book about some poem Bella had recently discovered and absolutely loved?

"She did. Though that was quite some time ago." Edward confirmed as he glanced down at his wristwatch.

"Esme?" Ada Willoughby frowned.

"My mother. Adoptive mother, that is. It's our,- cover story for when we move into a new town. That way we can stay around for a while." He explained. Great, now he was engaging into the conversation. That was not his intention, he wanted to catch that ferry. "We don't stay around for too long. A decade at most, before moving to a new state or country."

Ada pursed her lips. "I guess that's the way we all live after a while. But the smaller the number, the safer it is, I suppose."

"Eight in total." Edward answered and Ada's eyebrows appeared above the rim of her sunglasses.

"Beg pardon? Eight? Goodness me." She blinked, the change of tone in her voice had not gone unnoticed by Edward. He couldn't tell if she was impressed or if the number shocked her.

"That really is a solid number." Ada continued. "I wouldn't know what that is like."

Bella smiled a little at Ada's comment. She herself came from a broken home and had always been an only child. Now that she was married to Edward, she had become part of a much larger family. Though it was a bit too much to live with all of them in the same house, which is why she was thankful for the cottage Esme had designed and redone for her. But it was also nice to know there was a family she could rely on

"You get used to it." Bella assured the other woman. "They're all very lovely people."

Ada returned the smile and clasped her hands together. "Well, I have to say it was lovely meeting you both. But allow me to no longer take up any of your time. As I recall, you have a ferry to catch?" She threw a quick glance at Edward who was tapping his finger in the table impatiently. She pushed her chair back and stood up. "It was a pleasure meeting you two."

Bella followed her example and got up as well. "It was and thank you so much for being willing to meet us once more when we return. I cannot wait to read your book."

The book Bella had been looking for was alas no longer in stock at the store, seeing as it only had three copies and all had been sold out over the past few months. But luckily Ada had a few lying around at her home, though there was no time for her to pick one up, at least Bella would eventually get what she wanted once they would return from Canada.

"It'll be my pleasure for you to read it. I bid you both a good trip to Victoria." She turned her head towards Edward, threw him a swift smile too and walked away. "I'll see you in three days."

I can only hope you all enjoyed this teensy tiny introduction chapter (and would like to see more).

Would love to hear your thoughts about this beginning.
I know it was short and with a severe lack of Carlisle, but he will be back in the next one!

Have a great day! Until next time!