A Floating Life
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Turning Dark
Charlotte remained at the window; her nose pressed to the cold glass. Snow continued its dance in the weak light filtering through the thick cloud cover; a choreographed ballet conducted by the gentle wind. As she watched her dark eyes grew that tiny bit wider, her mittened hands eager to feel the fresh flakes, her booted feet yearning to dive in the bountiful sea of white. She had begged and pleaded to go outside but mommy had said no, that it wasn't safe for her right now. Some bad people were coming and they had stay locked up inside the house.
Charlotte could see her mommy's image reflected in the window. She was pacing up and down restlessly, her head was bowed slightly, as if it was weighed down with her heavy thoughts. Both her grandpas sat rigidly on the old sofa, their faces solemn, their worried eyes moving back and forth as they followed her mommy's every movement. Her Aunty Sue sat apart from the men. She had a glass of water in her hand, but she wasn't drinking it. Condensation was beading the outside of the glass as she continuously ran her finger around the rim as if she was trying to slice the top off.
The air was so brittle it could snap, and if it didn't, Charlotte felt like she might. No-one was speaking, there was nothing left to say. A week ago, they were all so relaxed and happy, but now there was nothing that could be done to ease the terrible burden of worry.
Charlotte had listened carefully when her mommy had explained about the need to stay inside. Apparently, some vampire called Irina had spotted her and Seth playing. It was thought that this Irina had been spying on them for some time. It was slightly confusing for her young mind to fully absorb, but apparently this Irina held a grudge against her daddy because he was the one responsible for killing her mate -the mate who had been about to attack her mommy. Now Irina wanted revenge. In her blind hatred, she had done the worst thing possible, she had contacted the vampire royalty- the Volturi. Mommy had said that Irina losing her own mother to the Volturi's justice had made her and her sisters, Tanya and Kate, purists when it came to the law.
This simple explanation hadn't really been enough for Charlotte. She was intelligent enough to know that it wouldn't take the death of one vampire's mate to bring the wrath of the vampire royalty down on them. No, this was so much bigger than that. She wasn't being told everything. She pictured her daddy's face when he had come home after patrolling. He had taken one look at mommy's face, crossing the room in three long strides, and dropping on his knees beside her and mommy. Charlotte could feel the heat shaking off his body as tremors rolled down his arms and shaking hands.
"What?" He asked flatly. "What happened? Is Charlotte okay?" Daddy had touched her forehead, tilting his head as he listened to her heart. "Don't mess with me, Bells, please! Is she okay? Are you?"
"Nothing's wrong with me or Charlotte." Mommy had choked out, her words breaking in strange places.
"Then who? Is it Billy?"
"No, Jacob, its all of us." Mommy had whispered in despair. "Its over. We've all been sentenced to die."
Charlotte sighed, her breath fogging the window. She used her mitten to clear the cold glass, gazing out at the floating white flakes of snow. The newly clothed trees rose like white fairytale beings in the wintry landscape, only serving to increase her longing to be outside.
That was where her daddy was now. With the rest of his pack, he was roaming deep in the forest, keeping a careful watch, braced to fight and protect them all when the vampire royalty finally made their move. Charlotte imagined him moving into the morning light in his wolf form -russet toned, fur glossy and thick, his large paws kissing the earth with a lightness and grace that belied his huge size.
Charlotte remained still and focused, looking for any sign of the wolves moving among the tall trees. She breathed deep and let time slow down, taking photographs with only her eyes. She could only dream of being as free as the wolves out there in the snow, at one with nature, strong and vital, ready to protect their loved ones until their last breath.
The hours trickled by slowly. They all sat there in the house, until day turned into night, frozen statues of horror and grief. All the grownups were at their limits – frenzied into absolute stillness. Even her mommy had given up on her endless pacing and sat as frozen as the others, her face a mask of fear. She had pulled Charlotte away from the window, ending her silent vigil, urging the little girl to sleep.
Charlotte didn't feel tired at all. The heightened tension seeping off the grownups was enough to keep her feeling wide awake. But to please her mommy, she feigned sleep. With her eyes closed, she listened as her two grandpas discussed in low voices what was coming their way and how they planned to defend the house should it come down to that. The retelling of what had led up to the dire train of events seemed to make it sound so much worse. And then Grandpa Billy said something that really caught Charlotte's attention as he tried to explain to Grandpa Charlie in simple terms about Irina's intentions.
The police chief had been forced to let go of his 'need to know' mantra and endured an information dump as the others tried to get him up to speed on werewolf and vampire politics. Just like everything else he had dealt with since Charlotte's birth, he took this new information all in his stride, surprising everyone by thinking critically and coming up with plans to defend the house should the need arise. But also making sure to reassure Bella and everyone else that he had complete faith in Jacob and the wolf pack to keep them safe.
"When this Irina of the Denali Coven saw Charlotte, she mistook her for an immortal child, a human child who had been turned by a vampire." Billy whispered to Charlie. "This is not just about wanting vengeance on the pack because they killed her mate. She believes its her duty to inform the Volturi, as immortal children are not permitted to live."
Not permitted to live! Charlotte couldn't keep up the pretense of sleep anymore when she overheard this terrifying snippet of information. So, this was all because of her! It was because she existed that the Volturi were coming to La Push with the intent of killing them all!
As she opened her eyes, being careful to conceal the terror building up inside so as not to alarm her mommy, Charlotte sat up, one glance toward the window showing that the sun had finally risen, meaning they had survived another night.
Charlotte looked up at her mommy's face. It remained permanently set into the fixed mask it had worn all night. She longed to see her mommy's beautiful smile, to see the happy light shining in her chocolate brown eyes. She wanted to feel safe again, not to feel the fear in her chest waiting to take over. Charlotte noticed Seth snoring in the corner of the room. It was his turn to rest while the others remained on guard outside. Not that it would do anything but get them killed with the rest of her family.
The sun leaked through the back window, sparkling on her skin. Charlotte felt her mommy's arms tighten around her. She looked up and met her stricken gaze, which her mommy quickly tried to hide.
"Did you sleep well, sweetheart?" Mommy asked, but she remained distracted.
"Yes, Mommy." Charlotte replied dutifully.
"That's good. Are you hungry?"
"No, Mommy."
"Okay. Maybe later." She murmured.
Charlotte saw her mommy's eyes wander to the frost bitten windows. The white outside was glaring, the snow blanketing everything in sight. Taking advantage of her mommy's distraction, Charlotte slipped off her lap and onto the floor. She returned to the window to maintain her silent vigil, staring out at the wintry landscape. Snow clouds, silver and black, in a multitude of precious-metal hues, adorned the sky, promising another velvet eiderdown of snow.
Balancing nimbly on the window ledge, Charlotte reached up and opened the window slightly. As soon as she did, she could smell the hint of wolf in the breeze blowing from the east. The pack was somewhere close by. She had memorized every single scent, so it gave her a good impression of where each individual wolf was based. They had stopped their wanderings and were now packed together from here to the treaty line.
Then the wolf smell was suddenly stronger, and Charlotte's head snapped up. She noticed her mommy's head do the same as she caught the same scent.
"Stay with Charlotte." Mommy cried to Grandpa Charlie and Grandpa Billy and Aunty Sue as she sprinted through the door with Seth, who was now wide awake, hot on her heels.
Charlotte was too quick for the men and Sue. She jumped gracefully off the window ledge and launched herself after her mommy and Seth. She could smell daddy. He was coming back, that was what had her mommy so excited. She wanted to be there to greet him, too.
"Charlotte, stop!" Grandpa Charlie puffed breathlessly as he made a grab for her.
But Charlotte barely listened. She was much stronger and fleet of foot then the two men and Sue. She quickly outpaced and outdistanced them. She used that strength to push herself forward, swiftly overtaking her mother and even Seth. She raced through the deep snow, so light that her boots barely made an impression as she moved with lightening force.
"Charlotte!" Mommy cried in alarm. "Come back! What are you doing?"
"Daddy's coming!" Charlotte all but shrieked. She was not as familiar with the treaty line as the rest of them, but she could smell the hint of wolf blowing in the icy breeze. Her head swept from side to side, her red ringlets bouncing around her shoulders as she sprinted joyously to meet her daddy.
Then Charlotte came to a sudden stop. The rest of them froze too as they finally caught up.
Sam came through the trees a few hundred yards away, walking quickly toward them in his human form, flanked by two big wolves – Paul and Jared. It took Charlotte a bit longer than it should have to work out what was happening, she had been so fixated on greeting her daddy. Then she saw her mommy's skin go as white as the snow blanketing the ground, her face drained of all color. Then she saw –
"DADDY!" Charlotte screamed in horror, her entire world turning dark.
Jacob lay across the broad backs of Jared and Paul in his human form, his body broken and bloody. His eyes were closed, his long black hair matted with his own blood.
A/N-thanks for reading!