Chapter 15: Persuasion
The sun hid behind the tall trees, its weak rays pushing themselves into the clearing as animals began to get ready to go to sleep. The two vampires crouched in anticipation. Their eyes were set on the location of the incoming noise.
"We need to hide," Bree hissed silently. She didn't want to have a confrontation with the wolves. They had caused enough trouble for her in the past, and because of their alliance with the Cullens, she wouldn't be safe around them. They couldn't know she was in their territory yet again.
The girl flipped her crimson gaze frantically around, trying to figure out where to hide herself. To her horror, there were almost no hiding spots nearby. She and Fred would be doomed.
"Let's hide in the tree," the curly-haired boy next to her suggested, pointing to the nearest brown tree trunk.
She nodded, accepting his proposal. The huge tree five metres from them was better than nothing. It didn't have particularly camouflaging leaves, but at least it could possibly bring some type of coverage to the two immortals. Hiding in a bad hiding place was a lot smarter than not hiding at all.
The newborn ran to the tree, jumping to its highest-reaching branch. She didn't want to leave anything to speculation and wanted to make sure it was as hard as possible for her to be found.
Fred climbed next to her. Their eyes met anxiously as they prayed together that everything would turn out well. There was a good chance the shapeshifters had heard their voices, which frightened her more than she was willing to admit. She did not want to get caught. Not now. She was so close to exploring the world and dodging her fate as an ash pile. She had no desire to turn into ugly grey dust.
Footsteps froze the vampires. They leaned harder against the tree, hoping it would help hide them more.
The young teen closed her eyelids, not daring to look at what would happen when the footsteps reached the clearing. She wanted to pretend everything was going to be okay, like they weren't going to get caught, but the likelihood of someone seeing them was too great. There was no way they wouldn't be spotted.
She tried to think of ways to persuade the coming Quileute to let them go. Maybe she could offer to do a favour for them. Or give them whatever they wanted, as long as it did not involve killing or hurting her or her friend.
Tension crackled in the air. Its tentacles gripped onto everything they possibly could get a hold of until it felt like there was nothing to breathe in. The suspense had stolen all the oxygen around her. She didn't need it, but she liked being able to breathe it. She felt panic rise in her chest.
"Bree?" a voice called. "I can smell you."
They were going to die. Her escape plan was now in shatters, unable to be fixed.
"How does that kid know your name? Do you know him?" Fred whispered from his place. He stared at Bree, his gaze full of confusion.
The newborn's reopened eyes went to Seth. The fourteen-year-old boy was glancing around, trying to spot her. "He and the yellow-eyes are friends. The boy, Seth, came to their house once."
"Dang it!" Fred snarled. He directed his eyes to the wandering boy below. "I could use my power on him, and we could run away in its guise," he proposed.
The girl shaked her head. "No, don't."
The curly-haired vampire looked dumbfounded. "Why not? It would be the most logical idea."
"I want to see if he will find us." The brown-haired teen explained. Her explanation was weak, and the truth be told, she wasn't sure if she believed in it herself, but something told her to stay in her place for a little longer. She wasn't going to deny her instincts so here she was trying to reason why her blond friend couldn't use his gift on the Quileute. It was a pathetic attempt, but she was still very least going to at least try.
"Alright," Fred nodded reluctantly. She imagined he was not used to not using his gift when it was needed. He had used it constantly in Seattle's newborn army, making all the other newborns avoid him like a plague.
She felt a quick pang of regret at not using the boy's gift to their advantage, but kept her mouth shut. They didn't need it yet, and they could always put it to use as soon as things went south.
Bree averted her eyes back to the young boy strolling in the forest.
Seth moved beneath the trees. His face was full of mystification from the mystery of attempting to find the vampire he was desperately trying to search for. "Please, Bree. I pinky promise I won't hurt you."
The newborn stared at him, not convinced by his words.
"Or your friend, as long as he is nice," the brown-eyed shapeshifter added.
The words made her stiffen. How did Seth know about Fred being her friend? He had probably smelled the scent of him down below, but that didn't mean he would have realised she and the other vampire knew each other. There was no way he could've known that. Except if the Cullens had involved the wolves in the search for her and told them about the curly-haired boy's scent. The yellow-eyes had to suspect she knew the vampire, which was true, of course, but an unexpected assumption. She had never shown any interest in the scent of Fred in front of them. Or had she? She wasn't completely sure, but according to her recall, not.
The girl felt a branch's hard surface rub against her. It resided on top of her head, looking hardly even as thick as her fingers. She held her breath, wanting to gasp at the shock of its sudden movement, but managed to keep herself quiet. She couldn't give herself away.
"Bree?" Seth had moved closer to the tree. He was bound to see her and Fred at any second now. He just needed to look up.
The last sunrays hit the two vampires, making them sparkle in thousands of colours. The unanticipated situation caused the black-haired boy to turn his head up, as he most certainly saw a glow from his eye corners. "Bree!"
They had been found.
Fred turned to look at her, his eyes pleading for permission to use his power. The yearning in his gaze burned the young teen's skin. She had to make a choice. Fred seemed to want to use his gift, but was it really that beneficial to let him use it?
Could she try to talk to the boy below and make him understand why she wanted to leave so badly? Or did Seth already know that she would end up dying at the hands of Volturi if she stayed? He might not care about her safety. They hardly knew each other. There was no guarantee he would let her leave after hearing her out.
But then again, if he wouldn't, Fred could get her and himself out of the scene quite quickly. The two immortals would both be safe, no matter which option she chose.
The expectation for her to choose what to do caused a wave of stress to go through her. She didn't want to be the one to make the decision. Why couldn't Fred do it? It was his gift.
She blinked unnecessarily and studied the eyes of her blond friend. "Let's attempt to talk with Seth. Maybe we can reason with him and make him let us go." She silenced her voice, only to whisper before continuing "And if that doesn't work, you can use your power on him."
A thump echoed in the silent forest as Bree fell onto the grass. Her feet took support from the ground as her eyes stared at the brown-eyed Quileute suspiciously. Her body was ready to bolt if necessary. She was not going to get attacked.
Fred appeared to her left, raising his head cautiously. She could see he was not pleased with the fact that she wished to speak with the younger boy.
As both of the immortals stared at the fourteen-year-old, crickets started to play their musical in the distance. Their soothing songs calmed the trio enough for them to not glare at each other.
"So..umm…" Seth stuttered nervously. His palms looked sweaty, like he would have been especially anxious.
The newborn remembered how she had used to produce the odd human substance when she had been one. She did not miss the clammy feeling accompanying sweat and was happy that the memories, including those moments, had faded to almost nothing.
"Please, Seth, let us go," the crimson-eyed girl pleaded silently. She tried to look as non-threatening as possible, relaxing her muscles from their stiff state. It felt wrong to ease her body's rigidity, but she didn't want to seem too hostile.
The black-haired Quileute shaked his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. The Cullens need you. Without your presence, they are going to get into big trouble, and no one on the reservation wants that to happen. It might affect us negatively too."
Fred let out a growl.
The sound made Seth jump as he took a step back. "I'm really sorry, truly! If your leaving wouldn't cause any trouble, I'd let you go, but that's not the case."
A short, sly look appeared on the young teen's face. Her mouth corners threatened to rise, but managed to stay down.
"You can't know for sure if it will cause any of you trouble." She argued back, feeling proud of her line. The boy would have to see she was right.
However, the Quileute didn't react to her words like she'd hoped. Instead, he just shrugged. "Carlisle knows Volturi and if he says that your leaving will result in something bad, we should believe him."
Her irritation swept her off her feet as it proceeded to explode inside of her. The emotion's strength surprised her. She hadn't thought she'd get so frustrated so easily, especially because of a mortal. Her emotions were supposed to be more in check now. She was now over three months old and had tried to keep her worst anger outburst away. They had, for some reason, come back. She was not happy about the discovery. They made her wonder why they had returned so suddenly. What had happened between this moment and last week? There had to be a reason why her feelings came out more freely.
"You sound like you're repeating what he has said," Bree pointed out, frustrated. It had been a mistake to come chat with the shapeshifter. She and Fred should have left when they had a chance. Maybe she could try hinting to the other vampire that they could leave without alarming Seth about it.
Her eyes went to Fred, trying to get his attention.
The Quileute changed his standing position, crossing his hands bravely and fixing his stance to be more assertive. It didn't look natural to him to be in such a pose. He didn't seem like someone who would choose to go into a position like that. "Maybe I am."
"I don't want to die and that will happen if I stay here." The newborn stated dully. Her brown hair moved slightly in a gentle wind. She had said the line to the Cullens, to herself, and now, for the first time, to Seth. She didn't want to have to fight to survive—she wanted to live a happy life. Why was it so hard to attain a peaceful existence? She must not have deserved it. It was the only explanation for why she had to constantly fight to not get slaughtered.
"Why would you die?" Seth asked, bewildered.
The girl frowned. The yellow-eyes had not told the Quileutes she was going to get killed if recaptured? How convenient for them. She should have guessed they wouldn't have told them about that small detail. "Alice saw that I would die when the Volturi came."
"What?" The Quileute gasped. He looked too stunned to speak. "Really? You would..die?"
She nodded cautiously, getting ready to bolt again. Her muscles tensed.
Fred tilted his head towards her. His face had twisted into a mix of disgust and worry. "I don't completely understand what you mean by 'Alice saw' but in that case we really need to get you out of here."
Her friend's words warmed her unbeating heart. She hadn't waited for him to be so worried about the idea of her dying; hence, she had not seen it as an important thing to tell him. It made her feel…important—like she wasn't just a doll to be tossed aside when playtime was over.
"No! You can't leave," Seth commanded uncertainly.
"We can and will leave now," Fred spat. "Bree is my friend, and I don't want to see her get hurt." The curly-haired boy took the young teen's marble-like wrist and pulled her closer to him.
The action made the shapeshifter panic visibly "The Cullens must have some type of plan to keep you alive. They care about you, Bree; I'm sure of it."
"What makes you think that way? I was very clearly just a nuisance to them. Jasper has attempted to kill me multiple times!" The young teen shaked her head stubbornly. She wasn't going to believe anything that came out of the fourteen-year-old's mouth. No, the yellow-eyes did not care about her. In fact, she was sure that if given the opportunity, they would have ditched her gladly.
"Well, Carlisle and Esme seemed concerned about you when they called. I could hear their tones of voice when they talked with Sam," Seth said.
Bree narrowed her eyes. She looked at her blond friend and whispered too low for the Quileute to hear, "Fred, use your gift in two minutes."
The boy next to her nodded firmly. His body relaxed as he got ready to send his power out of him.
"They are just worried that I have escaped and want me to go back so nothing happens to their coven." The newborn spoke more loudly as hurt flashed between her irises. She glared at the shapeshifter, not caring anymore if she seemed hostile or not. It wasn't like she and Fred were going to stay here for much longer.
Seth glanced behind his shoulders, then turning back towards the two immortals. "What if it's both? They could be concerned about you and their family. Neither of the options cancel each other."
His words resonate in the air, their syllables hovering dangerously around the girl. She shaked her head again. He didn't understand. The fourteen-year-old hadn't been the one living with the Cullens. She was more than capable of drawing her own conclusions, and most importantly, she was older than the black-haired boy. He was younger and didn't understand some things. Sixteen-year-olds were significantly smarter than fourteen-year-olds. She was basically an adult, making her words more trustworthy.
She was also not unstable, like the yellow-eyes thought she was. She was fine.
As her focus went back to Seth, she started hearing steps from a distance. Her face twisted with terror as her horrified gaze went to Fred. Their irises met, and with a nod, the curly-haired vampire activated his gift.
They needed to run.
The young teen sprinted, her legs carrying her through the masses of bushes. Their spiky branches poked her as she ran. She didn't care that she pushed herself through them, leaving holes in the plants. They deserved it. The Cullens and Quileutes both deserved to get odd holes in their bushes.
Her boots thrummed against the soil as their speed made the dirt rise after her. She and Fred would soon be completely free. They could go anywhere.
The scents of the wolves disappeared as the vampires reached the other side of the shapeshifters territory. This was it. They were officially out of anyone's land and free to roam wherever they wished.
Bree's chest filled with joy. Her eyes twinkled with excitement and thoughts of possibilities.
She looked at Fred, wanting to see his face. His expression mirrored her own, showing how relieved he was to be away from danger.
She doubted the Cullens were going to come after them. The grass the two ran on was not the yellow-eyes or the wolves. They had no authority here and couldn't force her to go back.