Diamond Legacies: Part 9

Part 9

Ivana

After my conversation with Micah I left him sitting motionless in our living room. It felt like I was pulling against a strong magnet trying to keep me there with him but I knew I needed this. I just needed a break. From everything.

At first, I thought he’d follow me and fight for us but he didn’t. He didn’t climb in my bed to lie with me and he didn’t even say goodbye when he eventually left me.

When I woke the next morning, I had slept through the entire afternoon and night. I woke to a dozen messages on my phone.

What’s going on? I asked in the group mind.

Ivy, get to the Volturi sometime today if you’re free. Lidiya replied not giving anything away.

What did I miss?

Mother is back and we have a surprise guest
A surprise guest? I asked for clarification as I climbed out of bed, only I had a sudden wave of nausea hit me. I gasped as I held back the urge to vomit. I ran to the bathroom only to bring nothing up. I hadn’t hunted or drank blood in over two days. Something as a child of a Luna Bambini was a very stupid thing to do. My body ran on blood. I had a beating heartbeat constantly cycling and using the blood in my system. It had wiped my energy completely out. I realised not only was there possibly a life within me draining my energy but I has also slept that much because I needed to recover my strength. Children of the Luna Bambini do create their own blood but at a very slow pace compared to humans, we need to hunt to top it up. We only create just enough so that if we stopped feeding, we’d have just enough energy to track some more down. I groaned as I left my bathroom, heading straight to the kitchen where we kept supplies of drained animal blood. It was then I acknowledged to myself that Micah had gone but I didn’t spend much time thinking about it because all I knew was that was I needed blood and I needed it fast. The second it hit my stomach it came back up and my eyes burned with tears that my body was struggling to produce from the regurgitation. This angered me. The emotion I was feeling angered me, the fact I was very likely pregnant with my best friend’s baby angered me more. I began screaming and throwing things in frustration. When the door swung open my heart leapt at the idea of it being Micah. It of course wasn’t. It was my sister Lidiya. She stood there at the door way to the kitchen that was now a mess and covered in blood where I had thrown a few bottles of supply. She reached for me and I just fell into her arms.

“Oh Ivie,” she whispered my childhood nickname.

“What’s wrong with me?” I said angrily.

“You could just be so drained and emotionally exhausted from the past few days that your body is just messed up right now.” She tried to reassure me. I laughed at her.

“I’m our mothers’ daughter. Of course I’m freaking pregnant.” I groaned.

“Both Anelie and I needed the moon pool,” she reminded me. “I’m Esther’s daughter too.”

“Matthew and Tony aren’t Luna Bambini’s,” I reminded her.

“Touché,” she smiled and pulled me out of the kitchen. “Go get a shower, I’ll clean the kitchen and then we’re going out on a real hunt. None of that bottled shit, then we really need to get you back to the Volturi,” she told me pushing me to the stairs. I did as I was told and went to wash the blood from my body and clothes. My big sister was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

“All done,” she smiled and held her hand out. I took it and we started to run towards the woods north of Chicago most of the Cullen’s used to hunt in.

Spending a few hours with my sister is exactly what I needed, she was right, blood from the body was much better and I kept it down. Each elk made me feel stronger, better and more like myself again. In between hunts Lidiya and I just chatted, completely avoiding the subject of Micah which I was grateful for.

“Court isn’t missing you?” I asked her after a few hours when I realised we had spent the last few hours hunting through regular Volturi court time.

“Are you joking? I get bored in that damn mansion half the time. I’m very rarely needed in court anymore. My mother-in-law runs the show,” she laughed.

“Yeah, Chantelle is pretty scary,” I agreed as we walked human pace back to the city.

“I’m glad she’s around though. My husband never had his parents around as a child and it’s good he has them there now, that he doesn’t have to run his father’s legacy alone.” She said to me.

“He’s got your son now too. Has he not thought of stepping down? He’s spent his whole life running the Volturi,” I asked her.

“He has, but it’s hard to do something like that when you were the one behind it all. This Volturi was built on the premise of Matthew. It was built for him to run and he was the first to make it successful, to bring the world together in peace at last. Even after the death of our daughter, it was hard for him to give up. The Volturi was his first child, it’s part of him.” She explained. “I can’t imagine Matthew without the Volturi or the Volturi without Matthew.”

“Yeah I get it.”

“Benjamin isn’t as involved as he used to be. Not since his wife. He took a leadership position after losing his sister but it changed a lot when he met Lexi and they had their children. She became his new priority. He found it easier to distance the Volturi than his father ever could. Benjamin’s children have only been around the past thirty years or so, it’s still quite new for him especially with grandchildren. He hasn’t attended a real court in years.”

“Yeah I can’t say I see him around a lot,” I laughed. I helped the Volturi when they needed me, which was rare but I liked being there, especially with my sisters and nieces.

“Thank you for today,” I said to my sister as we walked to the Volturi.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled pulling me into her side for a hug as we walked up to the entrance of her home.

Two guard members were waiting with cloaks for us immediately.

“So, you’ve avoided the subject all day, what’s going on here?” I asked her as she pulled on her unique robe. She smiled.

“Something I think might just distract you from what’s going on in your own life for a little while,” she said holding out her hand. I took it and followed her through the throne room and to the guest quarters.

As we reached one of the guest apartments we paused, my mother stepped out the door and I ran to hug her.

“Hello my sweet girl,” she whispered into my hair.

“When did you get back?” I asked.

“When you were sleeping,” she responded and pulled away to kiss my forehead. She smiled down at me and suddenly all my messed up emotions from the past two days faded, the loving face of my mother took away all my pain, all my confusion and anger and I was okay. She watched my face, her eyes darting across my face.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I am now,” I smiled at her and her smile widened as she kissed my face once again.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” she said holding her hand out.

“Meet?” I asked with a frown as she led me into the guest apartment.

“Naarah, I’d like you to meet my other daughter, this is Ivana,” she said to the vampire sitting on the couch. Anelie was sitting with her, they both looked up to me and Esther. The vampire smiled widely as she stood and walked over to us.

“It’s nice to meet you Ivana. My name is Naarah, I am your auntie,” she said softly. I looked to my mother confused. My auntie?

“Naarah is my sister. Blood sister.” She clarified.

“Sister?” I frowned, still very much confused.

“My parents had two children before me, I thought they both died long ago but it turns out that Naarah survived. She was turned and has been a vampire longer than even I have,” my mother clarified.

I definitely saw the resemblance that was for sure. I managed a small smile at the woman in front of me. It was at that moment a child came running from the bathroom. She took a jump from a few feet away into my mothers’ arms. My mother smiled down at the child and turned them to face me.

“This is Ophelia. She’s your cousin,” my mother explained, the girl smiled widely at me.

“Hello,” she said with the normal excitement of a child.

“Ophelia this is Ivana, my daughter,” Esther explained. I was just speechless at this whole situation. I looked to my father sitting on the table and chairs who was watching me with curiosity.

Was this even happening right now? Was this woman and child really related to us? My Volturi trained mind was seeing every possible trap in this situation.

“I know it’s hard to take in. Trust me. But it’s real. Naarah let me into her mind, I saw my parents as humans. I saw our brother. Edward has read her mind, Micah has analysed her. It’s all true.” My mother explained and my head whipped around at the mention of Micah’s name. He knew?

“Only last night. He wanted to come tell you. But he also wanted to honour your agreement. He knew we would bring you here to tell you. He figured you’d want to be with family,” Esther answered my thoughts.

Where is he? I asked her.

Washington. She placed in my head and I suddenly felt very dizzy.

Naarah caught me since Esther was still holding her niece.

“Hey sweetie, are you okay?” She asked me. I held her for support just for a moment. My father had shot up from his place and was over by me in a second. My mother watched with concern and my sisters were also standing watching the situation.

“I’m fine,” I said holding each of my hands out for my aunt and father. They stood like statues to support me but it only took a moment for the blood to rush back to my head.

I watched as my mothers’ eyes went to my stomach. So, did my fathers and aunts in that very second.

“What?” I asked.

“New heartbeats,” Naarah said.

“What?” Ophelia asked confused.

“Heartbeats?” I asked in shock at the three vampires in front of me. “Plural?”

“Two,” my mother clarified.

I felt sick. My father pulled me against him as he sat down in the arm chair. His hand ran over my face and hair in concern.

“My daughter,” he whispered in Bulgarian. It was a term of endearment he used and his voice was full of concern.

“I guess I don’t need those tests from Carlisle anymore,” I mumbled. Esther put the child down to go play. My mother moved to sit on the arm of the chair me and my father were in. Lidiya and Anelie sat down opposite us. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Waiting for me to talk but I just didn’t know what to say anymore.

“It’s Micah’s. We made a mistake. We didn’t even think about it. We just assumed it would be fine then we realised that maybe since I’m my mother’s daughter that it could happen. Carlisle was waiting a few days to confirm it.” I explained to my parents.

“I’m sorry sweet girl,” my mother said softly. “I didn’t think to warn you. It didn’t work like that for Lidiya and Anelie. I thought you were safe. I knew you’d had partners before and you were just fine. I honestly thought you’d be okay with Micah too,” she explained.

“Can someone explain?” Naarah asked for clarification. My mother began to explain our situation and unique family. She then began to explain me and Micah. Naarah smiled at our story and I wish it was that simple. I wish I could smile and move on but the words soul mate still echoed around my head.

“It’s a mess,” I clarified when Naarah asked if I was happy I was pregnant.

“That’s your hormones talking,” Lidiya told me across the sofa.

“This explains why you’ve been so emotional with everything that’s happened, why you reacted the way you did to Micah,” Anelie added.

“I reacted that way because he lied to me.” I shot back.

“Did he lie to you?” Anelie asked me. “Part of you has always known you were his soul mate and you know it.”

I couldn’t answer that.

“Ivana, if there is one thing in this world I know, more than anything is that that man loves you and you love him. You are each other’s forever and you may disagree over things but that much is true. I wouldn’t just say this to you. I’ve seen your mind and I’ve seen his. Everything he does he thinks of you. Your bond is so unique. It may confuse you at times but all relationships go through that phase. That man lives and breathes for you. He has since the day he met you. And you do him. I’ve never seen you apart.” My mother said taking my hand in hers.

“Then why did he run off to Washington?” I asked.

“Because you asked him too,” Lidiya interjected. The panic rose within me. Micah was across the country. He was actually thousands of miles away from me. This has never happened. Not in the past fifteen years it hasn’t. I didn’t quite know how to function without knowing he was around.

“You seem very co-dependant on him,” Naarah mentioned. I looked to my new aunt for a moment wondering how to explain the depth of my bond with Micah but my father answered for me.

“The pair of them have been like that for decades. They just worked from the start, they fit together like a jigsaw, there is no Ivana without Micah and no Micah without Ivana,” he explained and I sighed, leaning back and resting my head on my fathers’ shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me tighter in comfort.

There was nowhere I felt safer than in the arms of one of my parents. Nowhere, not even with Micah. They were my sanctuary.

“I drawed a picture for you,” little Ophelia ran up to me holding out a tablet. I smiled down at her as I took the tablet. “You can send it to your tablet if you want,” she added. I looked down to see a drawing of me holding Ophelia’s hand and she was holding the hand of two tiny humans, above them she had my name spelt incorrectly, her name and ‘baby 1’ and ‘baby 2’.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” I said in awe, the little girl was smiling up at me widely. I moved off my father’s lap to kneel on the floor and hug her.

“I can help you look after your babies. I like babies,” she said to me with a childlike innocence. I smiled, reaching out to stoke her nose.

“Thank you, I’m going to need lots of help with two,” I smiled and her little face lit up as she reached to hug me.

“Looks like we should start looking for a house in the states then,” Naarah laughed at her daughter. My mother stood from the arm chair.

“I can get you one here if you wish. Or help you find one in the city.”

“Here?” Ophelia gasped. “By your house, auntie Esther?” The way Ophelia pronounced my mothers name in her cute little accent made me smile.

“The neighbourhood here is for family and guard members. One of the free homes has your name on it if you want it,” my mother said turning to her. Naarah smiled at her sister.

“I will pay for your kindness I promise,” Naarah said in gratitude.

“Sister, this family has more money than it needs. We’re just happy you’re staying,” my mother answered and I couldn’t deny that I liked the sound of my mother saying ‘sister’. Being a sister suited her.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my family and it was amazing to see my mother and her sister bonding and laughing and exchanging stories. I spent most of my time with Ophelia. The child was miraculous. She was a hybrid Luna bambini but she was also a witch. The small spells she could do were captivating. Her favourite was floating glitter, she danced in around and pretended she was a fairy. She was just as captivated with me too, I broke off a part of the wooden bed and began to change it back into the shape of a tree. She giggled with joy as she used her magic to grow the leaves. I placed it on the wooden table and began to form flowers around it for her.

“Mummy, mummy look!” Ophelia giggled trying to get her mothers attention. Naarah indulged her child to see what we had created.

“That’s amazing!” She said turning to look at me. I smiled but shrugged. It was nothing compared to what else I could do.

The day with my new family members definitely distracted me from my real problem but it was nice to not have to worry over what my life was going to be like in five months.

It was hours later and I decided to stay at my old room in my parent’s house for the night instead of making my way back across the city home.

Right as I was about to sleep my phone buzzed with Carlisle calling.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hello sweetheart, how are you feeling?” he asked.

“Well, the babies got their heartbeats today. I was in the room with my parents, they heard them. I can confirm, I’m pregnant,” I said with a sigh at the end.

“Twins?” he asked.

“Twins” I clarified.

“Well you certainly are your mother’s daughter after all,” he chuckled and I smiled but I couldn’t feel okay with this until I had sorted everything out with Micah. “I actually rang you to ask if you were coming back to work. I guess now you won’t be.”

“Yes! I will!” I said suddenly. I had to go back to the hospital. I had patients that relied on me. “Sorry I’ve had a busy day. I’ll be in tomorrow,” I apologised.

“Take all the time you need Ivy. It’s going to be hard working whilst pregnant with twins.”

“Women have done it for centuries,” I reminded him with a laugh.

“You’re pregnant with twin vampires and your pregnancy will be twice as draining and half the length of a normal one,” he reminded me.

“Good point,” I mumbled, how would I explain a 5-month pregnancy to my co-workers? “Maybe I’ll just do another month or so at work,” I added although I hated the idea. I never really wanted kids, at least not yet. This wasn’t what I had planned my life to be like just yet.

“It should probably be Micah you discuss this with. Just let me know what you decide.”

“Right,” I mumbled. Micah, the father, of my now, children. “I’ll see you tomorrow anyway.” I said changing the subject.

“Okay Ivy, goodnight… and congratulations,” he added, I heard the smile behind his voice.

“Goodnight,” I said and hung up. I leant back on my childhood bed and stared at the ceiling. My ceiling was painted back, LED lights made to look like stars above me. I loved it as a child. I could count them all every night before I fell asleep. My hand fell to my lower stomach. I couldn’t hear the heartbeats just yet but I knew they were there. I could feel them now. I tapped in to my ability to feel the cells multiplying. The process of gestation working away inside me.

Guys. I placed in the group mind. I didn’t need to say anymore. I showed them what I could feel.

Holy shit Ivy. Teddy’s voice joined the group mind. Congratulations little sister. He added.

Thanks. I mumbled.

It will be okay. Anelie joined in, knowing my worries about Micah.

It’s different now. Before I thought he loved me and wanted to be with me for me. Now with the soul mate thing and the baby thing thrown in there I don’t know anymore. I projected my fears.

Ivy. Holly’s voice joined in. I suddenly felt guilty. She nearly lost her husband a week ago and here i was complaining about having a man entirely devoted to me.

Ivy, you have a right to your own problems. We all have them, you have legitimate concerns and I can safely say amongst us that I am the only one that actually understands what you went through.

You do? I asked in confusion.

Christian wasn’t the first man I ever loved. There was someone before him, he was a Quileute wolf and I loved him so much that I didn’t know it was possible to love anyone else again. We were best friends, he meant so much to me and I did to him. And then he imprinted. She explained and she started to show me memories of her youth, of what it felt like to realise the man you loved wasn’t yours.  

I get what it's like to be plagued with the what ifs and society telling you you should and shouldn’t be together. I’ve never said anything to this point because I didn’t want to interfere, I didn’t want you to think Micah was your Jace but he isn’t. Imagine knowing what you’ve known and then it being taken away from you with one look. Soul mates are as rare as they come, you’re one of the lucky ones Ivy. Please don’t waste it.

Holly continued to show me that after returning to the states after years in England her and Jace went back to being best friends, she became close to his imprint and she helped them raise their son. She stayed close with them and was there on their dying day. She was they’re at their son’s wedding to Phoebe Cullen-Black. She was there when his own children were born and she watched as their family grew and grew into what it is today.

Good comes out of everything in the end.

Thanks, Hol. I sighed.

Jeez Hol, you nearly have me tearing up. Teddy chimed in. Holly laughed at her younger brother.

Mama? I asked, leaving the joint mind to see if my mother would answer me.

Yes, sweet girl? She asked.

Can you tell Micah I’m ready to talk now? I asked.

Of course, I can. She answered and I didn’t reply. I turned and curled into my childhood bed to sleep.
I would get through this, we both would, for our children.

End of Part 9