A Floating Life
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
A Stranger in the Camp
Life proceeded peacefully for a while. Jacob and Bella settled into a new routine – even though she was still supposed to be officially living at the Clearwaters – most of her time was now spent at the Blacks. Rachel had finally moved out of the house and in with Paul, freeing up one of the bedrooms. Whenever Bella and Charlotte stayed over, which was often, this room became Charlotte's. Bella was supposed to be sharing with her daughter, but everyone knew that was for appearance's sake. She had been caught more then once by Billy sneaking none too subtly of out of Jacob's room at sunrise. He never commented on it, just threw her a wry smile, which Bella returned sheepishly. It was ridiculous to keep up the pretense, everyone knew that she and Jacob were sleeping together, but they kept up the charade anyway.
With the separate strands of her life finally coming together, Bella felt able to relax for the first time in months. With Charlotte's growth spurt showing signs of slowing down, she began to feel a ray of hope for the first time that the dire predictions concerning her daughter's future would not come to fruition.
Charlie and Sue's relationship had finally taken a romantic turn. Freed from the worry over Billy's reaction, the new couple finally decided to be honest with their children and announce that they were together. Bella took the news in her stride as did Leah and Seth. All of them had seen it coming, so it wasn't really much of a surprise. Billy put his aside his own reservations and congratulated Charlie and Sue, showing how pleased he was for them by inviting them over for dinner. The three of them enjoyed a hearty meal, reminiscing about the past, especially the parts which involved Harry.
While Bella was enjoying all this new found positivity in her life, it all came to a crushing end when out of the blue Carlisle got in touch. He spoke to Jacob and Bella via zoom call.
Still under the illusion that Bella was soon to become a permanent member of the Cullen clan, Aro had sent a present after Alice had sent a copy of the wedding announcement to the Volturi leaders. While Bella and Edward had been far away on Esme's Island, she'd seen a vision of Volturi soldiers – Jane and Alec – the devastatingly powerful twins among them. Caius was planning to send a hunting party to see if Bella was still human, against their edict (because Bella knew about the vampire world, she either had to join it or be silenced…permanently). So, Alice had mailed the announcement, seeing that it would delay them as they deciphered the meaning behind it. But they would come eventually. That was for certain.
The present itself was not overtly threatening. Extravagant, yes, almost frightening in that very extravagance. The threat was in the parting line of Aro's congratulatory note, written in black ink on a square of heavy, plain white paper in his own hand:
I so look forward to seeing the new Mrs. Cullen in person.
The gift was presented in an ornately carved, ancient wooden box inlaid with gold and mother of pearl, ornamented with a rainbow of gemstones. Alice said the box was a priceless treasure, that it would have outshone just about any piece of jewelry besides the one inside it.
"I always wondered where the crown jewels disappeared to after John of England pawned them in the thirteenth century." Carlisle said somberly as he held up the priceless treasure to show Jacob and Bella.
Bella recoiled at the ostentatiousness while Jacob gritted his teeth.
"I suppose it doesn't surprise me that the Volturi took their share." Carlisle continued grimly.
The necklace was simple – gold woven into a thick rope of a chain, almost scaled, like a smooth snake that would curl close around the throat. One jewel hung suspended from the rope: a white diamond the size of a gold ball.
The unsubtle reminder of Aro's note concerned Bella more than the jewel. The Vollturi needed to see that she was immortal, that the Cullens had been obedient to the Volturi's orders, and they needed to see this soon. They could not be allowed near Forks or La Push.
"I had hoped for more time but then this arrived." Carlilse sighed. "I have been discussing this issue relentlessly with the others over the intervening months, trying to come up with the perfect solution."
"And?" Jacob snapped.
"Jake, calm down." Bella murmured when she felt him begin to shake beside her. He was barely in control, his frustration and anger apparent in every line of his body. "What does Edward say?"
Carlisle sighed again. "Edward is struggling, Bella. I have been relentless in my mission to try and rehabilitate him. We spent weeks in Denali. I was hoping that being surrounded by others of our kind, particularly Tanya, that it might make him realize that there could be another chance at love - if only he would open himself up to the possibility. I know that Tanya still holds a candle for him, but he shows no interest at all – showing suicidal tendencies in fact. I have him under twenty-four-hour watch. When Aro's present arrived unexpectedly, Alice saw his determination to travel directly to Italy and prostrate himself at the feet of the Volturi – pleading with them to exchange his life for yours. Alice saw that this rash decision, much like the one that preceded it, would not turn out well, and we managed to stop him in time."
"For fucks sake." Jacob swore. "He's like a loose cannon. Is there no end to his stupidity? Its because of him that we've been forced to deal with this in the first place!"
"Hush, Jacob." Bella said again, placing her hand over his. She understood his frustration, even shared it, but they needed to keep a cool head. She turned her stricken gaze back on Carlisle. "I am extremely sorry that Edward is suffering so much, but you must see that he brought a lot of it on himself with his rash decisions."
"I cannot disagree." Carlisle said wearily. The dark shadows underneath his eyes showed he had not been hunting in a while. His eyes were almost black, the pupils blown. It appeared the majority of the twenty-four-hour watch had fallen on his shoulders. Bella could only imagine what a terrible burden that would be. Edward was not entirely rational when he was wallowing in his own misery.
"You said that you'd spoken to the others? Have you come up with a plan?" Bella asked.
Even in the short time she had known Aro, Bella had been able to see that he was a collector – and his most prized treasures were his living pieces. He coveted beauty, talent, and rarity in his immortal followers than any jewel locked in his vaults. It was unfortunate enough that he'd begun to covet Alice's and Edward's abilities. It would be terrible if he ever found out about Charlotte -beautiful and gifted and unique- she was one of a kind. He could not be allowed to see her, not even through someone's thoughts.
"That's the conundrum, Bella." Carlisle answered as if he had been following the train of her thoughts. "Any scenario we came up with ends badly. All the infinite possibilities that Alice explored ended in disaster. Each time Aro insists on using his gift of tactile telepathy to read our minds. As you know he can reach far more deeply into a person's mind than Edward, because he can read every thought, feeling and memory a person has ever had in the past. And because of that he always finds out the truth – about you…and Charlotte."
Bella felt her heart constrict in her chest as she shared an alarmed glance with Jacob. She knew she was the only one whose thoughts that Aro could not hear. If she had followed through and become a vampire, she would have travelled to Volterra alone to appease him and the other Volturi leaders. As it stood, her humanity, ruled that option out.
"So, what does that mean?" Bella demanded shakily. Her grip on Jacob's hand tightened significantly as a pained look crossed the coven leader's face.
"We don't know." Carlisle admitted with difficulty. "Alice has become worried by the indistinct quality of her visions. She said they were sometimes similarly hazy when there were outside decisions that might conflict but that had not been solidly resolved." His eyes were tight with strain. "Alice keeps searching for the future, but the things she sees are unrelated to what she was looking for. A new trend in the stock market; a possible visit of reconciliation from Irina, though her decision was not firm – she was not in residence when we sojourned in Denali; an up coming snowstorm" His voice tailed off into another resigned sigh.
"Great!" Jacob thumped his fist on the table in irritation. "So where does this leave us?"
"I am at a loss, Jacob." Carlisle confessed in defeat. "I would travel to Italy myself and try to negotiate with Aro and the others, but Alice has foreseen the outcome does not go in my favor. Even Aro's affection for me and my longstanding friendship with them will not diffuse the tension or change their minds. Aro will insist on reading my mind, knowing that I am trying to keep things hidden, which will then lead him to finding out about Bella and Charlotte. I cannot take the risk."
Jacob's expression turned grim, his eyes darkening. "So, we need to prepare for another battle? Is that what you're saying?"
"I am hoping it won't come to that. I will keep looking for a solution." Carlisle said doubtfully. "But you mustn't underestimate the power of the Volturi, Jacob. This will be no newborn battle – it will be ten thousand times worse. If it came to a straight fight, I cannot see a positive outcome for anyone involved. It must not be allowed to get that far."
Carlisle's words poured gasoline onto the spark of fear in Bella's stomach, destroying the last vestiges of her inner peace. Like a rusty bladed knife, sinking into her flesh, she felt the pain cut her into jagged pieces. One quick glance at Jacob's face showed how much this news was affecting him. Where she was afraid, he was angry. His anger masked his dread, his quick mind already conjuring up several scenarios all at once, quickly rejecting some as baseless, filing others away for future use.
"I need to speak to Sam and the others." He said to Bella in a low voice before his steely gaze met Carlisle's one last time. "Keep us updated." He stated harshly. "And make doubly sure your leech of a son behaves himself and doesn't mess things up further, or I swear I will rip him apart myself. Do we understand each other?"
Carlisle grimaced at the implied threat, but did not comment on it. "I will be in touch."
Then the laptop screen went blank.
The three of them, Leah, Seth, and Charlotte, were out roaming the forest together. Charlotte had begged to see the siblings in wolf form, clapping in delight as they transformed into the huge beasts, giggling when the sandy wolf (Seth) pretended to trip over his own paws.
"Seth." Leah remonstrated with her brother through the pack mind as Charlotte danced ahead of them into an open clearing. "Even though we're just babysitting, you need to stop acting the fool."
Seth snorted. "I'm just having fun. And Charlotte likes it."
Leah lost her concentration for a second as she glimpsed something white out of the corner of her eye. She and Seth both automatically looked at Charlotte. The little girl was staring in wonder as a snowflake fluttered high above her head, melting before she had a chance to capture it in her opened palm. She stepped further onto the yellowed grass in the long arrow-shaped meadow that they were standing in. Her cream dungarees were just a shade darker than the snow, and her red curls managed to shimmer, though the sun was buried deeply behind the clouds.
The snow started to fall in earnest. Thrilled at the sight of the white flakes, Charlotte crouched for an instant, then shocked the life out of her wolf guardians as she suddenly sprang fifteen feet up into the air. Her little hands closed around a flake, and she dropped lightly back onto her feet.
Spinning around with a beaming smile, she opened her hands to show the gray and sandy wolf the perfectly formed eight-pointed ice star in her palms before it melted.
"Pretty." Seth said appreciatively through the pack mind link.
Charlotte bounded over to him, her face alight with awe as the white flakes continued to float down all around her. It was her first time seeing snow. Meanwhile, Leah had retreated behind a tree so she could transform back into her human form. She reappeared wearing a thin tank top and shorts. Her feet were bare. The falling snowflakes melted when they came in contact with her feverish skin.
"Come here, Charlotte." Leah held out her arms. Charlotte easily leaped into them, proud to show off her newfound skill. Touching Leah's cheek, she showed her an image of a small herd of elk moving further into the wood. Leah frowned worriedly, wondering why the elk seemed so spooked. She knew it wasn't because of them. "We should go back." She said aloud.
Leah's eyes swept the across the meadow, a sense of disquiet overtaking her. She saw a glint of silver – or was it gold? – against the green black edges of the surrounding forest.
Her gaze zeroed in on the color that shouldn't have been there, so far away in the haze that an eagle wouldn't have been able to make it out. She stiffened and stared. Charlotte, sensing the she-wolf's rising panic, turned her head to look in the same direction. Seth moved to stand protectively in front of them as they all smelled the same sharp, sickly-sweet scent that could only belong to one thing.
A vampire.
As they huddled together, the cold one finally emerged into view, driven by an insatiable curiosity. It was a female, her skin was marble white, the texture a million times smoother than human skin. Even under the clouds she glistened ever so slightly. If her scent and glittering skin had not given her away, her stillness would have. Only vampires and statues could be so perfectly motionless.
Her hair was pale, pale blonde, almost silver. This was the gleam that had caught Leah's eye. It hung straight as a ruler to a blunt edge, parted evenly down the center.
Leah didn't recognize her, but she had the same dark, golden eyes as the Cullens, which meant she fed on animal blood.
For one moment Leah stared at her, and she stared back. The she-wolf wondered whether the female vampire intended to attack. She braced herself behind her brother's wolf form, preparing to protect Charlotte with her life. She watched as the female vampire's lip twisted the tiniest bit, making her face suddenly hostile.
Charlotte let out a faint whimper, fear making her eyes widen. The female vampire's face jerked slightly at the sound, her gaze cutting directly to Charlotte. Leah tried to hide the little girl from view, but wasn't completely successful. She had no idea how long the cold one had been watching them and castigated herself internally for taking her eye off the ball.
The female's jaw unlocked as she issued a feral growl, her eyes narrowing to slits as she stared at Charlotte trembling in Leah's arms. As soon as she made that sound Seth darted forward, a low growl rumbling through his teeth as he began to chase her.
After issuing another feral snarl, the female vampire sprinted into the surrounding trees with the sandy wolf hot on her trail.
A/N-thanks for reading!