Chapter 5: News
"Now that we have discussed your living situation, we can move on to the Volturi," Carlisle said. He had discreetly forced Bree to share information about herself. She felt like she had no choice but to reveal some to the man, as he had done so, placing her in an uncomfortable position of sharing her personal information.
She had tried her best to say as little as possible, hoping the vampire before her wouldn't press for more. It had partially succeeded. The girl had told him her full name and more about Riley, like he had requested. After that, the leader had asked her to stay with the coven, explaining how everyone involved would benefit from it to the fullest degree. They had come to an agreement where the newborn would be let go as soon as her newborn year was over and she could control herself better. She had decided to take the offer, suspecting it was her only chance to eventually get away from the dangerous coven. The other option would have cost her life or imprisoned her fully to the house she was in.
"Bree?" Carlisle said, his amber eyes glued to her.
"Yeah," the young teen answered. Her body twitched under his gaze. She didn't like when people stared at her. It made her feel vulnerable.
"We need to discuss what happened with the Volturi after you escaped." Worry stretched over the blond leader's face, overtaking his calm demeanour. "They feel quite humiliated for letting a newborn escape from their grasp. I fret about what they ought to do."
Bree looked down on her feet. She felt her nervousness spike. It raced inside of her against the odd, growing calmness, trying to defeat it.
"The volturi are not easily forgiving. You broke the law in their eyes, even if you did not know any better. They want to punish you and kill you for your crimes. However, I feel Aro will take an interest in your power," he continued silently. "It will be beneficial for you. He might want to chat with you and see if you want to join his coven."
"H-his coven?" Bree's eyes widened. She lifted her head, feeling uneasiness slither into her body, wrapping itself against her heart. She certainly did not want to join any coven, no matter how desperately she wanted to live.
"He won't, of course, force you to join, but I doubt he will let you away easily. Your power is quite interesting. I have never seen something like it in my time of being alive, and I doubt Aro has seen either." Carlisle sighed, moving his fingers against each other. His elbows touched the table, holding his hands up in the air. "I fear he will bring Chelsea when the time comes for the Volturi guards to arrive back here."
"Back here?" the young teen repeated, her body tightening from the words. She felt a surge of terror once again splash inside her marble-like body. The emotion was way too familiar to her now. She hoped to be able to throw it away and forbid it to ever torment her again. She was so sick of it.
"The Volturi guards left us with the promise of their return. We were demanded to catch you and imprison you before they would come back in two weeks," Carlisle explained.
Cold shudders went over the girl. She was going to die, after all.
The blond man looked at Bree. "We don't want to lock you into the house, so I hope you will still willingly stay here like we already discussed earlier. If the Volturi spares you, we will continue with our agreement and let you go when you stop being a newborn." Waiting for her response, he pursed his lips together.
"I don't want to die,'' Bree retorted. She instinctively tried to back down, but realised she was sitting on a chair.
"I know. I wish things could go differently, but we cannot defy the Volturi. It would end badly for our family," Carlisle said. His eyes stared apologetically at her. "But there is still hope; they might let you live."
The teen flipped through her mind, trying to find a way to convince the man to help her. She liked to think of her mind as a book. It had its own table of contents and index, designed to make searching for something even easier. She could always refer to one of them and try to locate the words she was looking for. Sadly, it did not help her much this time. She came up with absolutely nothing about a way to convince her capturer. Worry bordered her mind, stopping before entering it. It was almost like something was blocking it from emerging, leaving her to simply feel calm in the midst of her mind's frantic search.
The leader took her silence as acceptance, relaxing his sitting position. "Perhaps it's time to let you go. I'm sure you want to be alone for a while. Let your mind rest after everything that has happened so far." He stood up from the black leather chair he was sitting on, walking around the table closer to Bree. His shoes groaned as they came into contact with the wooden floor. "I'm sure my wife, Esme, has cleaned a room for you. She is coming down the stairs to show it to you."
The girl turned around to hear a silent creek as a door opened behind her. The office she had been sitting in for hours, finally letting her leave the room. She did not need to be told twice to leave. Her body shot up from her comfortable prison seat, starting to make its way to the woman standing hospitable on the door.
"I hope you have a pleasant stay here. You can come to me if you have any troubles." Carlisle's voice spoke behind her, filling her with an odd feeling. She didn't know what to think of the words said to her. No one had ever voluntarily offered anything like that to her before. She had always made sure to solve her own problems; after all, she had been taught that it was selfish to push your own problems on others, and even more so if someone helped to solve them.
She decided not to trust the leader's words. He could be trying to trick her into opening up even more, which she couldn't let happen. It was too dangerous. She was anxious from just playing with the idea in her head.
"Follow me, dear." Bree looked up to remember the caramel-haired woman. She was standing by the doorway in a flower-patterned dress. It moved gently from the teen's fast spurt of movement.
"I should come with you," the scarred boy said, stepping forward. He and the hulk-like man had stayed silent for the whole conversation, simply observing the newborn's movements. He had tensed his muscles every time she dared to even flicker her gaze at the windows.
"There is no need for that. I doubt Bree will do anything rash, right, dear?" Esme dropped her warm, amber eyes on the young teen.
Bree glanced around the room, feeling suddenly hyperaware of everyone's eyes on her. "I- '' her mouth opened, ready to assure she didn't need any more babysitters, but was interrupted by a silvery voice.
"Absolutely not! She is going to take a bath and then try some outfits on. I don't want to hear from you before all of that is done, Jazz. I certainly hope you don't want to pry on naked ladies." A tiny black-haired girl danced to the scenery, lifting her chin challengingly at the southern boy. "Bree will be fine. I can't see any problems rising."
The boy lifted his lips to a small smile. "I don't, ma'am. I'm satisfied with seeing only one undressed girl, if granted permission to see her." Jasper's words puzzled Bree. She didn't understand what he was trying to imply. However, the pixie-like girl next to her seemed to giggle at the vampire's words, making her suspect that at least she knew what he was talking about.
"Jasper! We have a child in the room." Esme gasped, grabbing Bree protectively in her grasp. The sudden touch made the newborn tighten her muscles and withhold a small hiss, almost escaping from her lips. She wasn't a child. She had just turned sixteen before turning into a vampire. That very least made her a teenager.
The boy glanced at Bree and then at the woman. "Sorry."
"We should go hunting later today." Alice smiled cheekily, forwarding her words to the southern-accented vampire. Her concentration switched to the young girl.
"Let's go! You need to be fixed," the pixie exclaimed, nudging her out of the door to freedom from the dreary office.
A soft light illuminated the bathroom window as the young newborn was thrust into the room. It was mostly made from slippery pale tiles that reached from the floor to halfway up the walls. They looked like they were eating the poor walls, trying to climb up them like monsters in nightmares. Bree frowned. She hardly remembered what nightmares had felt like. She knew they were scary, but how badly was a mystery.
The door squeaked. "You can leave your clothes on the floor. I will pick them up when you're done bathing!" Alice chirped behind her.
The door closed, signalling that Bree was alone. She inspected the room suspiciously, scared that there was something that could cause her harm. Her sneakers smacked against the floor as small pieces of mud squished between the floor and the shoes. The lake episode had not washed her clothes fully from the brown substance. Some of the slimy material had caused staining on her clothes, refusing to let go. She was in awe at how it still stuck to her clothes after being underwater for so long. It almost creeped her out. It shouldn't be possible for the mud stains to still manage to keep hold of her, but here she was, covered in the substance. At least the loose mud had fallen off.
The brown-haired girl started the process of taking her clothes off. She felt the fabric beneath her fingers break occasionally, making her cringe. The textile was fragile, feeling almost like cobwebs, strangled tightly on her skin, and hiding her marble-looking body. As the clothes finally fell to the ground, Bree stepped uncertainly into the slippery bathtub.
Its acrylic surface held the water in, cupping it so it wouldn't turn the bathroom into a swimming pool. The clear liquid rose as her body collided with it. She sank slowly into the water, feeling its familiar caressing touch. Pain shot into her unbeating heart, spinning her mind away and back to her mother. She let her face form into a short smile, dreaming about the woman. It was ridiculous that the newborn still thought about her. There was no reason for her to be reminded of the stranger who had given birth to her. She couldn't even remember her mother. The teen shaked her head, determined to get the oddly comforting human out of her mind. She shouldn't think about her. It wasn't wise to dwell on someone who didn't exist in her life anymore.
She started to scrub herself. All the filth and blood stuck on her body washed off, turning the water dark. The change in the liquid's colour made the girl feel uncomfortable. She jumped out of the bath, stepping onto a foot towel. It laid unsuspectingly on the ground, not knowing it was about to get wet from her feet. A pleasant feeling washed over her as her toes touched the cotton-like material. She purred happily, not expecting it to feel so soft. Her feet stood still, refusing to move from the white towel.
She fought the urge to close her crimson eyes adamantly, deciding to take the body towel hanging close to her. Her hands found it and wrapped it against her skin, gaining another purr from her chest. She sat down, cocooning herself inside the warm towel. Bree didn't feel ready to leave the bathroom yet. She wanted to stay in the comfortable towel. Letting her eyes finally close, she let out a sight. All the negative emotions had disappeared from her in the bath, just as all the dirt had. She felt cleansed and peaceful.
The door opened with a short creak. It dragged the girl back to the edge, shooting her up, alarmed. Her frantic eyes found their way to the pixie standing in the doorway. The raven-haired girl smiled at her, excitedly holding a set of clothes in her arms. "I got you some clothes from my wardrobe. They were supposed to be for Bella when she starts understanding fashion, but she is the most closest to your size, so I decided to give them to you instead."
The young teen narrowed her eyes. The pinkish mammal was mentioned again. She seemed to be very important to the Cullens, especially to the mind reader and the pixie. Perhaps the plain-looking human was a mate of one of them. It would explain everything that had happened in the clearing a few days before.
Bree took the clothes cautiously, ready to bolt backwards if the exchange went south. Her body's muscles tightened from danger as Alice frowned. The older vampire gave her a surrendering smile and picked up her tattered clothes from the tile floor before closing the door once again as she retreated out of the bathroom.
The newborn stood still a bit longer, making sure that the steps of the raven-haired girl were truly further, before letting the white towel around her drop down. She glanced at the clothes, seeing a royal blue sweater and black jeans. They were accompanied by black underwear and boots. The clothing set was frighteningly expensive-looking. It made her almost drop them on the pale tiles. How was she meant to take these? She was afraid to even touch them. She could shred them to pieces by accident.
Her shaking hands placed them on the floor, and took the underwear from the top of the pile. She inspected them until she gathered enough confidence to put them on. The rest of the clothes found their way onto her too after agonising pondering.
The young teen left the bathroom with careful steps. Her light feet took her to the bedroom, where the bathroom belonged. The room was huge and decorated with purplish and grey tones. An unnecessary bed was placed against one of the walls, pleading for it to be used. Noise from the hallway made her crouch in anticipation. Esme halted in the room and stopped in front of her. The caramel-haired woman's cautious amber eyes looked attentively at her as another pair of footsteps followed her in. The leader, Carlisle, stepped inside the room, resting his hands on Esme's hips.
"Bree, would you like to come downstairs with us? Or would you prefer being alone a bit longer?" the man asked.
Bree took a step back, letting herself stand up. Her body tensed. "I want to stay here."
"Very well, as you wish. We will leave you alone for another hour then," Carlisle promised, trying to smile soothingly at the girl. It caused the newborn to crouch again, fearing he would try something.
"This is going to be your room during your stay here. We use it normally as a guest room," Esme explained from her place. She seemed reluctant to leave when the leader tried to nudge her towards the door. "We are more than happy to entertain you. If you wish, I can go get you books."
"No thanks." The teen shaked her head. She gulped when the woman continued standing still. She wanted to be alone and was more than capable of figuring out something fun to do for herself.
Carlisle whispered in the caramel-haired woman's ear, leaving the third vampire curious about what the words being said were. She wondered, were they talking about her?
A TV got turned on downstairs, stealing her attention. Her head tilted towards the noise. "The Seattle murders have ceased. The city officials are relieved by the turn of events. They are still in the process of figuring out the murderer and want to remind everyone to stay away from suspicious people, even if the murders have stopped for now. You can…" the voice stated. Bree let her concentration hover back to the room she was in, only for it to get stolen back to the black screen's voice once and for all.
Her body fled past the two surprised yellow-eyed vampires and found herself downstairs. She slipped into the room where the TV's voice was coming from. Quick footsteps followed her. She did not pay much attention to them and instead concentrated her crimson eyes on the screen. "Police have arrested George Tanner for two murders. He is suspected of having killed his own wife twelve years ago. The officers found her bones in the suspect's backyard as they had come to take a report on Tanner's missing daughter. All the clues for now are pointing at the daughter's demise, but the police are hoping to find her body to confirm the suspicion. The officers are searching for it restlessly."
The newborn's face stared horrified at the TV when her father's face got plastered on it. She felt sick in her stomach, like someone would have made her eat spoilt food. He had killed her mother. All the nights she had cried from not having a mother next to her, occasionally cursing her birther for leaving. After all this time, it had been her father all along who had made her grow motherless. He had killed her. It wasn't as big a surprise as the girl had thought. Her heart wretched. It wasn't far-fetched to think he could do something so horrible and heartless.
Her legs failed to hold her body up, making it collide with the floor. The impact dislodged two miniscule pieces from the floor, forcing them to fly into the air momentarily. The teen laid shaking on its wooden surface, her eyes desperately hoping to be able to shed tears as she started crying.
Why was she so upset? She had not known her mother or spent much time with her. Her body's reaction didn't make sense. She was crying about a stranger's death. Or perhaps it was her father who had made her cry. Maybe Bree still missed him somewhere deep down. Very deep down. Her heart wretched painfully again. Its dead surface felt like it was being impaled by an arrow.
The pain weakened as the object's feathers dulled some of the emotions inside of her. Their fluffy textures caressed her back, hugging her from behind and lulling her like a baby.
A soothing voice rose to her ears. It hummed calmly behind her, soothing her like a mother would a child. She weeped, feeling more miserable than before. She had never experienced a mother's love. It would never be in her reach—withhold from her forever. What had she done to not get loved? Was she so undeserving of love that even the emotion almost everyone had felt coming from their mothers refused to let her feel itself? Could she be worse than criminals? Bree closed her eyes. She had to be. She had killed very many humans. But to her account, they were dumb creatures. Some of the mammals even fell ridiculously often to the ground. Didn't they have proper balance? A hint of annoyance sparked in her body as she made another weep.
A familiar smell hovered around her, confusing the girl. It was sweet, bringing honey, lilacs, and cinnamon to the air. Spattering them around the teen like petals. With the smell, strange blankets took hold of her from both sides. They pressed her with their soft but firm touch, hugging her from behind. She wanted to cuddle closer but withheld her wish. She didn't know where the blankets had come from. They could be a trap.
"Bree, dear," a soft voice called for her. She didn't know where it came from. Everything around her felt dimmer and bigger. It was almost like the world was expanding from her sadness in an effort to not get broken by her emotions.
The blankets around her became harder, gripping her away from the floor. They thrust her into a new blanket that was placed against her head. The tree fabrics closed around her, making her wince. She was scared they would shallow her as a whole. But would it be such a bad thing if it happened? They were soft and felt nice against her skin, so being inside of them couldn't be that horrible. She could live inside of them, pretending that the outside world didn't exist. It could be like she didn't exist.
The young teen let out a cry. She hoped to be able to shed tears. They were one of the only things she missed from her human life. Their healing power had always made her feel better, but now that they had abandoned her, she was left alone to grieve. To drown in her sadness.
The soothing voice was now closer. Bree felt it vibrating gently on the blanket against her head. How was it able to do so? Its strange syllables danced on her ears gleefully, ready to enter her ears. "Bree," it whispered once again.
The newborn cuddled against the blanket, feeling herself suddenly serene. The feeling had creeped on her when she had not expected it. She was mad at it for disturbing her wallowing. Her eyes opened on their own accord, facing the world again. She was curled up in Esme's arms. The woman soothed her, stroking her hair worriedly. "It's alright, dear. You're okay now."