Chicago 2180
Today was the day my best friends would meet my baby. Since the day Ivana
was born I couldn't leave her alone. I didn’t get this baby part with my other
daughters and there was something magical about it. Something exciting about
her opening her eyes and her little smiles and her hair and her smell. It was
intoxicating. My husband was highly amused at my obsession with our new
daughter. This was his sixth child and although he’s a very different person as
he was when he had the first five he was a complete natural and was often the one feeding her or putting her to bed. I could tell he was secretly excited too, I would catch
him watching her sleep or watch his head turn every time she made the slightest
sound that might be distress and even when it seemed like he was doing
something else, he was always in the same room as us both.
We had only told a select few that we were going to have a
child. We had to use contraceptive like good old humans did and whilst
medicine had advanced so far that it was mostly sorted with an injection,
Carlisle and his little team of biologists worked on contraceptive for me too,
like they did for the hybrids in the family. Messing with genes and hormones
wasn’t something I ever made the effort to understand but it had worked. I never thought id have anymore
children but there was just a part of me that knew it was time. Aleksander and I never got the happy married with kids life but this time we would. I wouldn't have even considered it if i didn't have him, not after the lifetime id had with my twins. Most parents get about
18 years with their children not leaving them, I had decades. I couldn’t be
away from them in fear of their abilities overcoming them and I didn’t complain
one second. It had been some of the best years of my life. Even with the drama
of it all. I knew once Aleks was back that we’d find our way back together.
Even if we had an unconventional relationship the first time. There was
something there, there always had been, it was something far more intense than what I shared
with any other Luna bambini or person I had met before. The fact that all he
remembered when he came back was me, magnified that tenfold. Aleksander was who
I was meant to be with and I realised how stupid and naïve I had been during
our first relationship to turn away from him, to give him our daughters and
leave him the way I did. I remember the day I met him like it was yesterday,
after he died I used to play our time over and over again to try and pinpoint
the second my life changed forever but inevitably it was the second the door
opened and he stood there in front of me, tall, dark hair, piercing eyes and
gorgeous.
He was several years older than me physically, I guessed
late twenties early thirties but there was something about him that radiated
authority. He had been the breadwinner, the patriarch of his family for so long
before he met me. I remember Jane saying it was like he changed overnight when
I came to stay with them, like his walls had fallen and suddenly he was the man
she knew when they first met. Thinking of Jane pained my heart.
She was so selfless, so understanding I often wished I could have saved her. I'd
wonder how close we’d be now, would my daughters have been mad at her the way
they were mad at me when they found out who their mother really was? Would she
have helped me console Lidiya? Would she have been my best friend even today? I
liked to hope so.
I had traced Aleksander and Jane down from the moon pool. I
managed to find them with their names, to a remote farm house in the east of
Italy. Their house was traditional and had hundreds of acres of land
surrounding it. I remember thinking as I walked up their long dirt track how
tranquil it was. It had a swing set outside swaying in the warm breeze and the
house was relatively silent as I made my way to the door. Before I even knocked
on the door it swung open, Aleksander must have heard me a mile away. He was
one of the eldest moon pool children I had met, only having met Eddie and one
other before him.
“hello Aleksander, my name is Esther” I began in Italian,
he looked me up and down before his eyes finally locked with mine. He fell to
his knees in front of me and I wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“honey?” I heard Jane ask in Bulgarian from the entry way to
the kitchen. Her eyes fixated on me and she just stared.
“hi?” I asked slowly, not sure what to do. Aleksander
cleared his throat and stood.
“I am sorry. I should invite you in” he said
moving out of the way for me to enter. I ensured the glow from my ability was
as dim as possible, I didn’t want to sway or manipulate this family in any way.
I had learnt that lesson from meeting Eddie and his family. I had caused far
too many problems than I had intended.
“hello, my name is Esther. Its amazing to get to meet you
both” I said extending my hand to Jane, this time speaking in Bulgarian.
“you speak Bulgarian?” she asked me.
“I speak every language.” I explained with a small smile.
“I am Jane, this is my… well my ex-husband and father of my
children Aleksander, but I’m sure you already know that. From the look of you,
you are a moon vampire too.”
“a moon vampire?” I asked her turning to Aleksander.
“its what we call him. We’ve never met anyone like him before.”
She said leading me into the kitchen area.
“would you like to know what we’re really called?” I asked
him, he hadn’t said a word since I entered.
“he’s not normally this quiet. In fact, I’m normally the
quiet one” jane chuckled slightly. “Aleks honey?” she asked her partner. I had
noticed her call him her ex and yet their relationship didn’t seem to me that
it was over.
“I apologise. I need some air.” Aleksander said and left the
room and even the house. I turned back to Jane to see her smiling widely.
“you know, I never thought id see that man speechless.” She
laughed leaning over the counter.
“did I do something wrong?” I asked her carefully. It was
very hard meeting new people and not simply reading their minds, I had Edward’s
ability for only a few months and yet it had become almost a necessity in my
life at this point.
“not at all Esther, he simply finds you captivating. He
hasn’t taken his eyes off you the second you walked in.”
“I am confused Jane. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries
but the reason I knew where you were being because I tracked you from the moon
pool. I saw you create three children with Aleksander, I saw you in love. Why
is it you call him your ex-husband and yet still appear together?” I asked
carefully.
“Aleksander and I have been on good terms for the children
and they are unaware we are divorced but after the birth of our son we knew
that we had made a mistake. There was something about our son that changed it
for us. I do not blame my child, not one second but the birth of a true heir
for Aleksander changed him in ways I did not like. He has been cruel and
patriarchal, not the man I married.” My eyes widened at ‘cruel’. The man in the
cave I had seen seemed anything but cruel. “no don’t be alarmed, he has never
hurt any of us. He’s not that kind of man, I mean cruel in a different sense.
Unaccepting. Demanding. Strict and disciplinary. He began to teach our children
in ways I didn’t agree with, just a difference of opinion. He’s a good man. I
promise you that” she explained and I sat opposite her.
“jane, why are you trying to justify your ex-husband to a
stranger you just met?” I asked softly.
“because I know in my heart that you are not a stranger, and
that you will be in our lives from now until the end. Because I know you are a
part of our family already and we’ve barely spoken” she said with a warm smile.
That was the second I knew that I could trust this woman
with everything, even the lives of my daughters later down the road.
Jane and I spoke for hours, I told her about myself as much
as she told me about her and her family. Aleksander returned after a while and
he avoided us, announcing he was picking up the children from the town nearby
where they had gone for the day to be with their friends. When he returned I felt
like I knew all three of the children without even meeting them. I smiled
widely at Katerina, Izabela and Anton standing side by side next to their
father. They were the spitting image of him.
“children, come meet our new very good friend. This is Esther,
she’s like your papa. She’s a moon vampire, although they are actually called
Luna Bambini.” She announced excitedly, grabbing her eldest daughters hand and
bringing them over.
“hello” I said softly, smiling. I felt strange, like I had
to make a good impression on these children for no reason. The girls curtsied
and Anton did a small bow in respect. I smiled at how well behaved they were.
“oh, don’t do that, I’m just a friend” I smiled and when
Izabela asked me a question about how old I was and If I had met anyone else
like them I quickly fell into a comfortable conversation with them all. The
whole time I was talking to Jane and the children I was achingly aware of Aleksander’s
eyes on me the entire time. He stood by the door, watching me interact with his
family and I realised I had barely said one word to him and he was the one I
was here to see. When he finally left I felt the urge to follow him.
“if you’ll excuse me children, ill be back in a moment if
that’s okay?” I asked them, they nodded enthusiastically as they carried on
talking about the story I had told them. I eyed Jane, almost for permission and
she nodded in encouragement and so I turned and left through the same door as
Aleksander. I found him easily. He was sitting on the swing set, gently
rocking. The second I stepped out his eyes were on me again and so I took this
as an invitation and walked over to him, taking a seat in the swing next to
his.
“I feel like we haven’t had much time to talk. Did you get
enough air?” I asked him and saw his lip twitch into a smile. I took that as an
answer. “from what your wife has told me, you don’t seem to be the type to have
nothing to say. Do I scare you? Is there something wrong?” I asked, he finally
turned to look at me.
“ex-wife” he clarified. I smiled slightly.
“ex-wife” I repeated. His eyes stayed locked with mine for a
few minutes. The swings had stopped and we were just looking at each other, I waited
for him to speak. I didn’t know the sudden change in personality. He was a new
person to me, someone I barely knew.
“you could never do anything wrong.” He began. Clearing his
throat. “you know why I fell to my knees the second I saw you?” he asked and I
shook my head. “because you appear at my door like a goddess, no warning, no
explanation, you’re just there and I have never seen anyone so beautiful.” He
said in awe. “I had to get some air because its like you knocked my very being
out of my body.” He explained, his eyes finally looking away from me. He began
to move the swing set again and so I copied.
“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. From what your wife has told me, you are quite the strong
personality” I laughed.
“don’t call her my wife” he said in a strong voice and my
laugh stopped instantly.
“sorry” I whispered.
“no, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be harsh. Its just. She’s
not my wife. Only around the children or people in our lives. It’s a show” he
said strongly.
“I understand. Jane has explained it to me.”
“I’m sure she has” he sighed.
“well, I’ve only heard her side” I mentioned, urging him to
maybe speak a bit more. I saw him fight
a smile again as he began to explain his life with his wife.
Their story was sad really. Aleksander had spent centuries
trying to find the right person. He had gone through wars and countries and
towns, he had traveled and watched kingdoms fall and rise with the ever-increasing
ache to find someone to experience it with, much like every immortal
experiences. He found Jane, and her selflessness and purity was captivating to
him, it was like a whole new world for him and he loved her, he truly did. And so,
he got her turned and they married, they never knew they could have children until
the day he decided to take her to his special cave. The cave his mother had
taken him to as a child. The cave he felt a connection with like all Luna
Bambini’s do. There they conceived their first child Katerina and their lives
were something entirely new. They wanted another one after that and so Izabela
was born. Aleksander explained that he loved his daughters but wanted nothing
more than a son. After Anton was born it was like all he could focus on was his
son and that destroyed his marriage with Jane. They both realised that they had
got into this far too quickly and it had been a mistake but they loved their
children more than anything and that they would remain together for them at
least on the outside. The pair haven’t touched since the day Anton was
conceived and no one was the wiser. I was the first to ever know the truth.
“I guess I’m honoured?” I laughed slightly.
“jane knew, she knew from the second you had me on my knees
that you were special. As much as we disagree, she’s still the only person in
this world that knows me better than anyone else. You’re different, and you
might have changed me the second you walked into my house” he said softly. “I’m
going to have to apologise now for the way I act when we’re not alone” he added
stealing a glance at me across the space between us.
“what do you mean?” I asked.
“I am not this person. I can’t be this person. Not with
jane, not with my children, not in my life. I am a patriarch. I am the leader
of my coven. I cannot be weak. When we're alone its different, its like i cant control myself, like you're a goddess that bends my will. I want to be that, i do, i am yours completely to do as you please but around others, you wont see this part of me. Do you understand?” he asked. I frowned
slightly.
“yes, I understand.” I said, I was momentarily shocked by his sudden declaration of admiration and almost submission. I had to look in his mind at
this moment because honestly, I didn’t understand at all.
I saw his inner conflict. His desire for me, his fascination
and admiration like he was seeing the sun for the first time. I also saw his life; his children were the most important thing
to him. He didn’t want me to change that for him.
“I understand” I repeated with clarification.
“good” he said and suddenly he was in front of me, his arms
around my waist and he had pulled me off the swing. I was momentarily shocked
at his speed. I hadn’t been around anyone that fast or strong for a very long
time. He was kissing me and I was kissing him back all in the space of a
millisecond. The kiss was like nothing I had ever experienced. Ever. There was
nothing I wanted more than to carry on kissing him but I was quickly aware of
the movement in the house and the voices of the children wishing to say
goodnight to me before they went to bed.
Aleksander. I placed in his head as our kiss continued.
Aleksander. I repeated and he stopped, barely moving away from me to look at
me.
“how did you do that?” he asked.
“I will fill you in on my abilities soon but your children
are about to walk out that door. I think perhaps we should separate for a
moment” I told him slightly light headed. I watched his head tilt towards the
house and suddenly he was back on the swing. It took me a second to do the same
and the door opened as the three children and Jane walked out.
“we’re about to go to bed father, we wished to say goodnight
to you and Esther” Katerina spoke for the children.
“goodnight my children” he said standing to give each of
them a kiss on the head. They turned excitedly to me and I couldn’t help but
smile back.
“goodnight Esther” they said politely.
“goodnight” I said softly, my eyes moved across all three to
finally Jane. She was looking at me strangely but also accepting. I wasn’t sure
what it was.
She’ll do him good. He's a changed man already. He deserves
someone like her, someone true and right. I heard in her head as they walked
back into the house.
“I have to go home.” I said turning to Aleksander standing
by the swing. His head whipped around, I saw the panic in his eyes. “I’ll be
back. I promise.” I assured him, he took a step towards me and I took a step
back. “I don’t regret it. I don’t. but I need time okay? Can I just have some
time?” I asked him. He nodded in response. His hand reached out for mine and
our fingers touched for a moment.
“I'm yours” he said clearly.
“I know” I sighed and I dropped his hand and left.
That had been the start of a rollercoaster. I spent a week
with the family, getting to know each and every one of them, Aleksander more
than the others. The day I told him I was returning to the US was the day we
finally slept together. The next day I was on the plane to Washington to let
Eddie know everything about the possible children in his future. I was unaware
that the entire time I had been telling him about children I was pregnant with
my own.
The weeks that followed I returned to Italy but didn’t visit
the Balev’s. I became aware I was pregnant a few days of being home. I heard
their heartbeats first, then I felt their abilities develop and I quickly
realised there was something very unique about the lives growing inside of me
and that I needed to both protect and shelter them from the outside world. I
wasn’t close to the Cullen’s at that point so I felt I had no one to turn to. I
knew I couldn’t go to Aleksander and Jane in fear of ruining their image and so
I stayed at home, researching and talking to my contacts in the witch community
about the babies inside of me. The labour came quicker than I expected, I was
supposed to have a witch friend from Spain come and help me give birth but it
was earlier than expected. I knew these babies would be different, I knew they’d
need more than what I could give them on my own. I knew they’d need teaching
and I made the decision midway through labour that they needed to be taken care
of whilst I found out as much as I could to save them from themselves. I turned
up on Aleksander’s doorstep merely minutes away from Anelie making an
appearance.
There were no questions asked. Aleks brought me in and he
and Jane helped me deliver my children. I had ensured through telepathy that
they must not meet me for their intelligence meant they would remember me as
their birth mother and not Jane. I made them promise to take care of them and
they did, without question. Jane held me after the birth, she hugged me as I
healed and I cried into her shoulder at the sound of my two daughters crying in
the next room.
“I’m going to go and help him okay?” she asked and I nodded,
wiping the last of my tears. “what would you like to name them?” she asked.
I… I don’t know. I placed in her head. I had no idea, I
hadn’t even thought of names. I was too busy worried about their abilities,
about who they were.
“okay. Its okay. We’ll take care of them. I promise. Like
they were my own” she said, kissing my forehead lightly and she left the room.
I got myself up, having established I was healed from the birth and I left.
Without saying goodbye but I knew it was for the best.
I began my journey across the world to find out anything and
everything to do with Life and Death. It was during that time I became close to
Eddie and the Cullen’s. It distracted me from the thought of my children so far
from me, blissfully unaware of the fact Lidiya had killed her twin sister and
was slowly becoming out of control.
When I finally returned, I saw Aleksander was like a
different person. He was that person that Jane had told me about. I watched him
scold Lidiya for dropping a toy and my heart broke into pieces. The death of
Anelie ruined him. I tried to support them as a family friend but the
connection between myself and Lidiya grew. I had successfully separated her
from the child I bore in my own mind but she clung to me like a child to its mother. I knew
after the death of the Balev’s that Lidiya was vulnerable and fragile and telling
her her whole life had been a lie would seriously damage her recovery. I got to
raise her after all, and the first day she called me her mother sent shards of
pain through my chest but I remained passive, even successfully hiding it from
Eddie for two decades. Something that would have been impossible now with how linked our minds had become. When Anelie came back I knew it would be different.
Seeing that tiny face stare at me in wonder and admiration again broke me down.
If the witch hadn’t revealed my secret it wouldn’t have been long before I
admitted it anyway. I had managed to raise Lidiya and keep her sane but I
couldn’t do it again, not through lies, not with Anelie who was so pure and
good. The day Anelie got her ability back was the first of many I was
permanently attached again to my daughters. I could barely go out of town without
their power overcoming them and so our co-dependency formed and our relationships
slowly became what they are today. I knew if I ever had the chance to bring
Aleksander back I would so that he could see Anelie alive and well but the day
it came I didn’t expect the first word our of his mouth to be my name. The
co-dependency shifted and suddenly Aleksander consumed my every waking thought.
Even when Zac Cullen came back into my life, the only man up to that point in
my very long-life time I have ever truly loved with every soul of my being, I
had the chance to be with him again and all I could think of was Aleksander
saying my name after he was brought back from the dead. I was aiding his
recovery as much as possible and wanted nothing more than for him to remember
everything so that we could be the two people on the swing again, so I could
maybe feel that passion again. So my daughters could have their father back.
So Lidiya could start to finally forgive herself even just a little bit.
That was nearly fifty-two years ago to the day. Aleksander
was the man on the swing again, he was even that man around his children,
around my family. His whole life revolved around me, he went where I went and
supported me in everything to do with the Volturi and family wise. He wasn’t as
attached to the Cullen’s as I was, he didn’t form real friendships with anyone
outside our immediate relations with our daughters but he tried and he was
there for me which is all that mattered. He would often tell me that he didn’t
need the large family. All he wanted was me and his daughters but he would be
part of it for me, because he knew I loved them and that’s all that mattered.
He did eventually become close to Eddie and Chloe. It was
hard not to. Eddie and Chloe were the most important people to me that weren’t
Lidiya and Anelie and my grandchildren. We often went to visit them or them to
us and Aleksander oddly formed a close bond to each of them in their own
special ways. We knew the second our daughter was born that her name would have
both Jane and Chloe in it. Although it wasn’t part of our culture when our
first daughters were born, I knew my third daughter would grow up American, she had a very American family and deserved the combination of cultures and so we gave her a middle name
and Chloe-Jane seemed perfect.
“they’re nearly here” I told my husband as he picked the
baby toys off the floor. I lifted my baby and she woke slightly as I placed her
in my arms from the bassinet.
“Aleks!” I heard Chloe squeal as the door opened. I walked
into the entry way to see them both in a hug and Eddie standing there tapping
his foot impatiently. His head whipped around to see me and his face lit up in
a smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at my other half as he appeared in
front of me. Taking the baby out of my arms without even a hello to me.
“Hello pretty baby. Hi!” he cooed lifting her in front of
him. The tiny dark-haired baby opened her brown eyes to stare at her uncle in
front of her. Cooing gently at his voice. He tucked her into his arm as she
continued to stare up at him. “I’m your uncle Eddie. Edd-ie” he said sounding
out his name.
“Are you joking, you know its going to be Chloe she says
first, not Eddie. After all, she has my name” Chloe bounced over to take the
baby off her husband.
“Hey pretty Ivy. Hey.” Chloe cooed and I just laughed.
“Where is my hello?” I asked my two best friends.
“Hey Es” Eddie said pulling me into his arms.
“Hey” I giggled holding him tightly. He kissed my head a few
times before finally pulling away and turning to my husband. “Hey mate” he said
with a laugh and the pair hugged manly. I turned to smile at my daughter being
held by Chloe.
“Esther, she’s gorgeous. I can’t look away. What have you
made?” she gasped.
“She’s just a baby Chloe” I laughed.
“Oh, but she isn’t” she said in admiration and walked past
me to go sit down in my lounge. Me and my boys followed her in and I sat next
to her, Eddie on the other side.
“Can I have her back now?” he asked.
“No” Chloe said sticking her tongue out at her husband.
“You guys, you can stay as long as you want. You don’t need
to fight over her” I laughed crossing my legs and sitting comfortably, unable
to keep the smile off my face having my best friends back in the same room as
me.
“I’m going to give the girls a call and let them know you’re
here” Aleksander said eyeing our friends and leaving the room.
“No tell our daughters I need more time with their little
sister! I'll go see them later!” Eddie called to his friend. I rolled my eyes. Honestly, a stranger
looking in on our family would be so confused.
“So, do you know her ability yet? Eddie said you didn’t feel
anything when you were pregnant with her.” Chloe mentioned.
“No, we have no idea.” I said looking down at the tiny baby
in her arms.
“That scares you” Chloe said as a matter of fact. I looked
up to see her watching me with concern.
“It’s terrifying” both Eddie and I said at the exact same
time.
“No, don’t. Don’t do your freaky soul mate twin thing.”
Chloe groaned and Eddie and I laughed. When Eddie and I were together for too
long it was like we thought as one, we would say each other’s thoughts without
even realising it. It freaked Chloe out once when she asked Eddie a question
and I told her the answer from the other room without even realising.
“I think she wants
her mama” she said, her attention going to the fussing baby in her arms. She
looked at me and I reached for the baby. I laid her against my chest just in
time for Aleksander to return with the bottle.
“She’s hungry” Eddie informed Chloe before she even had
chance to see the bottle.
“Have I said how beautiful she is yet? I mean Eddie showed
me what she looked like in my head but for some reason I expected her to be
lighter in complexion. Do you think she’ll be blonde?” Chloe asked. I laughed
as I held her off to Aleksander to feed.
“Have you seen her dark hair? That child is 100% her father” I laughed and he left the room with her, knowing she needed her nap after
her feed.
“He’s really good with her” Chloe mentioned.
“He’s amazing with her. He knows all the right things to do when i don't. I’ve never had to do babies. This is his sixth” I said with a sigh. “it’s
exhausting” I said resting my head on Chloe’s shoulder. Both of them burst into
laughter, full, uncontrollable, laughter.
“oh, shut up.” I mumbled.
“I cannot believe Esther Cullen Balev Josephson whatever you
call yourself now just said she feels exhausted.” Chloe laughed.
“Shh you’re going to mess up the babies sleep schedule” I
hissed and the pair just laughed harder.
“Okay okay, laugh all you want but I’m new at this, just
because you’ve done it three times” I mumbled moving across to rest on Eddie
instead since he wasn’t falling onto the floor in laughter like Chloe was.
Eddie wrapped his arms around me and he tried to contain his
giggles by resting his head on my hair and shoulder.
“We love you” he murmured.
“Yeah yeah” I pouted as Chloe stopped laughing and climbed
back onto the sofa.
“You just don’t expect someone as powerful as you to be
defeated by a week-old baby” Chloe smiled adoringly at me.
“I’m glad it amuses you” I said to my best friend with a
smirk.
“Oh, it’s the best thing that’s happened in a decade” Chloe
winked and rested herself on the opposite arm of the sofa to me and Eddie.
Eddie, Chloe and I sat there for hours, even though we were
fully connected and every day of our lives were experienced together even
thousands of miles away, there was still things to talk about and to catch up
on. Even with mine and Eddie’s telepathy and link, things might have happened
but we were too busy to actually discuss it, or we’d not noticed something
because our own lives were consuming, or we had blocked each other out, which
we did especially with intimate moments, and yet we ended up talking about the
funny ones anyway when we met in person.
“You didn’t?” I turned to my best friend when Chloe tried to
explain a rather awkward situation they got themselves into one night in London
when they were with the Wright's, my other extended family and their, very much, current family.
“I was mortified” Eddie laughed.
“Your daughter? Really? Holly?” I asked.
“Why do you think I’ve never told you?” he asked and it was
my turn to burst into laughter at that point.
“Esther my love, do you know how hard it is to get our
daughter to sleep when her mother and best friends won’t stop laughing?” I
heard Aleksander’s voice from upstairs.
I’m so sorry. I placed in his head and my eyes went to
Eddie.
“Maybe we should go hunting whilst Aleksander gets the baby
back to sleep for the fifth time?” Eddie suggested.
“Good idea” I said and got myself off the sofa.
“Oops” Chloe murmured with a giggle and she grabbed my hand
as we left the room. I laughed with her as we left the house.
I love you. I placed into my husband’s head as we left.
I know. Go and enjoy your friends. He responded and Chloe,
Eddie and I took off running.
I dropped Chloe’s hand to run faster in an attempt to race
Eddie. I would win, of course.
“Hey no fair!” we heard her yelling. Eddie and I laughed as
we reached the forest line to hunt. We stood there as we waited for his wife to
catch up. He pushed me on my arm, causing me to tumble and so I turned to glare
at him. He wanted to play fight but every time we did this, i beat him.
“You wanna go there?” I teased him. His eyes widened in
mischief.
“Yeah I do. Your mind is my mind.” He teased back.
“I have magic!” I exclaimed as I reached my hand to the
closest tree and snapped it in two.
“Es!” he exclaimed loudly. “You know trees are protected now. You
just cut a decade off your new daughter’s life span” he said in shock.
“Oh please” I mumbled as I walked over and lifted the large
tree with one hand, placing it back on the stump and using my spare hand to
touch the wound, tapping into my healing ability and putting it back together,
right as Chloe joined us looking rather annoyed.
“I thought I heard a tree snap” she scolded.
“It’s okay, it's good as new!” I grinned at them both.
“We shouldn’t even be in here. It's protected ground” Eddie
said crossing his arms at me as if he was trying to get me in trouble.
“Everywhere is protected ground now. It’s the only place where there’s
animals. We have to eat somehow. Not everyone can live in self-sustaining
England with its fancy regeneration farms and forest coverage.”
I moaned.
“Britain” he corrected me childishly. “It’s not England
anymore”
“Blah blah, I remember when I had the British accent and now
you’re the one sounding like you need an English lesson in America” I teased.
“Brits were here first!” he reprimanded.
“I was here first”
I countered with a grin and took off running to the herd. I heard Eddie follow
and Chloe groan that she hated hunting with us.
The afternoon with my two best friends was delightful. It was like they never left. Every time. We
returned after an hour to see my daughter was fast asleep, Aleksander was
waiting for us in the lounge and we spent the rest of the evening and night
talking together in hushed voices.
Eddie and Chloe stayed for three months. Long enough for
them to be around when we finally discovered Ivana’s ability when she was
physically six months old. We had been right to be worried. The first thing she
disintegrated was one of her toys Chloe bought her and she cried for hours
because it was gone. We had various members of the Cullen’s and Volturi come in
to help work out what exactly she could do until Pancrazio and I finally worked
it out together using his ability to sense power. She could manipulate
molecules and atoms. She could destroy and create with a single thought. She
was God.
I had been right to be
terrified. I said one evening to Chloe in her head. It was just us two. The
boys had gone out into the city for time together. Chloe and I were
left with the baby. She and Eddie were returning to England soon because Chloe
had to go back to work.
Es… she said
painfully. I knew in her head she understood. This tiny baby had a power like
none other. Not even a match to her sisters. Anelie couldn’t bring back someone
if Ivana decided that they shouldn’t even exist.
She’s just a baby. You
can teach her, you have your daughters, they’ll help. They know what its like to
have that much power. It will be ok. She’ll be ok. Chloe assured me and she
reached for my hand entwining it with hers.
I can’t believe I have
to do this again, I didn’t want another unstable daughter. I projected my
worst fear and I knew I wouldn’t even say that to my husband. It was that
moment that I was the most vulnerable I had ever been with Chloe. It was my
darkest thought and I needed help with the burden.
You know you can do
this. I believe you can. She said strongly. Her hand squeezing mine. She continued talking out loud.
“You’re the strongest person I know. The strongest person in
the entire world. You bring people to their knees, you evoke and inspire. You
bore life and death and kept them from destroying the world. You brought back
the dead when not even Life herself
could bring them back. Esther. You are the most amazing being to ever walk this
planet. You will not be defeated by God. Not even if that God is your child.” Chloe whispered.
Word is going to
spread. People are going to find out what she can do and they’ll come for her.
Just like they come for Lidiya and Anelie. She’s too young to protect herself
yet, she’s too weak. I countered. Her words had helped but I still needed more.
She has you. Chloe
said strongly. And she has Aleksander.
I’ve never seen a more fiercely protective and attentive father. You need to
talk to him.
I turned to look at my best friend who was staring at me
with such raw emotion I couldn’t contain the tear rolling down my cheek.
Thank you. Was all
I had to say and her face broke into a smile.
“I love you.” She whispered hugging me over the sleeping
baby. I chuckled slightly and projected her an image of her very human self,
nearly two centuries ago burning in fury at the sight of me. She laughed.
“We both know that I was an idiot back then” she laughed. “you’re
my best friend now and I can’t believe I ever thought you would be anything
other than that”
“Well she is your husband’s platonic soul mate, I don’t
blame you for worrying” Eddie said entering the room.
“Oh, get lost. We were having a heart to heart” I told him.
"Careful, from that display of affection, soon you’ll be sleeping together” he teased sitting by Chloe
as Aleksander came to sit next to me. Chloe slapped her husbands leg as he
curled into the sofa behind her. She rested her back against him.
“Don’t you two ever get tired of his joking around?” Aleksander
asked us.
“Yes. Often.” Chloe nodded the same time I nodded to my
husband. Aleksander instinctively reached to stroke our sleeping daughter’s
hair.
“Shall I put her in her cradle?” he asked me his arms
reaching out for her. I nodded softly handing him our baby.
Go to bed after. Ill
be up in a moment. I placed in his head and his facial expression barely changed at
the invitation.
“Goodnight my friends” he said to Chloe and Eddie as he left
the room.
“Are you going to ask politely for us to leave or just do it with us here?” Eddie asked.
“You share my mind, what do you think?” I asked him and he
sighed.
“Chloe it’s time for us to find a hotel somewhere” he
announced to his wife. Chloe laughed slightly but looked at me, nodding.
You need this. Go be
with your husband. Tell him your worries. I’m sure he shares them.
I reached over to kiss Chloe’s forehead. Thanking her one last time.
“See you guys tomorrow” I said before I stood and left the
room.
I heard Chloe and Eddie leave my house just as I reached my
bedroom. Aleksander was already taking his shirt off when I reached him.
“Just wait a second” I told him and he paused, standing
there with just his underwear.
“I know we need to talk about it all without the ears of our
friends but right now I miss you” he said his hand coming to my cheeks, the
tips of his fingers tickling my ears. My eyes closed involuntary at his touch.
Chloe and Eddie hadn’t been staying every night but they
were here most of the time for the past several months. If they weren’t here,
we had been at one of the Cullen’s or out doing something or taking care of Ivana
together. We’d barely had any time alone with our spouses. Something I wasn’t
complaining about, not really. Time was all relative when you were immortal but
the feel of Aleksander’s hands on my skin made time stop and I was abruptly
aware that although we had been raising our daughter the past few months we
hadn’t actually had time to be together in this sense.
His lips were on mine and the passion ignited like it did by
the swing set on the day we met and we fell into the familiar dance, we had about an hour before the cry of our daughter interrupted us. I went to get her and lay her in our bed in between us both. I rested my head on Alek's arm above us as i stared at our sleeping daughter between us.
“We’ll get through this. We can do this together. You don’t
have to do this alone, not like last time” he whispered to me in the dark of
our bed room. His fingers were running through my hair, stroking my forehead
every time they passed through my hair.
“This is new, this is different” I told him, worry coating
my voice as i watched Ivana's chest rise and fall with each breath.
“Because there is no Anelie this time,” he spoke my thoughts.
“Because there is no one to reverse anything she does.” I clarified.
“Then we teach her right. She won’t become Lidiya. I promise
you. She has both her parents, her sisters, her family, her very large family
to take care of her.” He comforted me.
“You’re right” I said my eyes closing just for a moment.
Maybe I should sleep for a few hours.
“Would you like to sleep tonight my love?” he asked.
“I think I would,” I whispered.
“Then I will watch over you and Ivana. Close your eyes. Watch your life and know that when
you wake, I'll be right here by your side to fight this fight with you, you’ve
spent so much of your life alone but you are finally part of something bigger.
Our family.” He said into my ear. That was the first time he ever called the Cullen’s
or Volturi ‘our’ family. He normally referred to them as ‘your family’.
I love you. I
placed in his head.
I caught his reply just as my very long life began to play
behind my eye lids.
As I love you. Always.
Love it(: I hope you post more.
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