Esther: Naarah

SPOILER: DIAMOND LEGACIES 

I wanted to address some of Esther's feelings when finding out about her sister in Diamond Legacies, and I also wanted to write something to reveal exactly what Nova and Eden could do. I thought it was perfect to blend into this.  

This chapter blends a lot of knowledge of my stories, specifically Forever Legends, Hidden, Safe Haven and Diamond Legacies.

This is 7 years after the end of Diamond Legacies, but some of the chapter is a flashback to the events at the end of the story.

Chicago, 2212

Words could not describe what it felt like to have a sister. She was my confidant and best friend I never thought was possible in just seven short years.

Hundreds of years ago when I was living mostly in confinement I used to imagine what it would have been like if my older siblings had survived or been the same creature as me, how our relationship would be thousands of years later. I wondered even more as I got to know the Cullen’s and saw their familial bonds what it would be like to have a family like that, with so many people that love you. It wasn’t until I had my daughters that I realised what unconditional love actually felt like and I realised how lucky each of the Cullen’s were to have so much of it. Decades later, they were my family and I felt it and saw it every day, especially as my daughters’ families grew but I always had something missing in my life. The feeling of blood family. Eddie was more than my brother, he was my other half and more than I ever needed in the sense of a sibling but there was something unique about that blood bond. I had long since accepted that the only blood relatives I would ever have are my children, and so, as the strange old vampire began to talk about how she was raised by her older brother because her parents went missing, the longing, the hope, and the possibility of family I had once felt ignited inside me all over again.

I saw her mind as this vampire remembered her human years. Something incredibly impressive for her age. Most vampires don’t remember a day of their human years. Yet Naarah was 37 hundred years old and still had a pretty accurate picture of what her brother looked like. Her parents were blurry and that’s why I asked for clarification on their names. I knew what my parents had looked like. Id never forget seeing them in that cave. Her memory of them was human though and it answered a lot of questions as Naarah began to explain they bargained for a witch to keep Naarah alive. That witch had been one of the three that created me, their plea to save their child resulted in their demise. I always thought they’d been chosen at random for the spell to create me but it seemed that the witch had returned years later to collect on their deal.

As the realisation of all this hit me I remember falling to my knees in shock. All I could see was the history of this woman in my mind and it knocked my beliefs of everything I had ever known. This woman was my sister, my blood related sibling. She had been alive even longer than I and I had no idea she even existed. I still wouldn’t if she had got her daughter out of the house in time. We would forever be living our separate paths and would never know of each other’s existence.

I couldn’t answer her as her voice filled with concern for me. I remember Carlisle and Edward around me making sure I was okay but I just had to get out of there. I had to clear my mind and work through the information I had just received. I stood and left, knowing full well that my daughters had already saved the life of the child I had so tragically and unintentionally burnt alive. My niece. That child was my niece and I had killed her. I had killed a child.

Guilt suddenly wracked my body. It didn’t matter to me in that moment that she was alive and okay. I suddenly saw the image of my own granddaughter burning alive and I remember feeling her pain and then feeling it every time, she slept after her resurrection in her dreams. I had done that to my niece. She had suffered an unimaginable death at my hands.

I walked into one of the conference rooms. I was aware of people following me to make sure I was okay but no one said a word yet. There were guard members as well as Carlisle and Edward. I walked over to the table and leant over, placing my hands on the glass as I stared down.

I began to repeat the memories I had seen over and over in my mind to clarify my thoughts. Two thoughts were at the forefront and I couldn’t push them away no matter how hard I tried.

I had a sister. I had burnt my niece alive.

“Esther,"Carlisle said first. I saw Edward hold his hand out to his father.

“Give her a minute,” he whispered.

I murdered my niece. I murdered an innocent child. A child. The guilt was nothing like I had felt before. I could feel the pain of Allesandra’s death over and over. My sweet little Allesandra.

“Esther you didn’t know,” Edward answered my thought. “You didn’t know she was in there,” he began as the door swung open.

My daughters appeared followed by even more guard members that were concerned for me. My daughter’s eyes fell on mine the second they entered the room.

"Are you okay mama?” Lidiya asked. Edward left in that moment as we both heard Pancrazio calling for him in his thoughts.

“Es,” Eddie was the next in the room with Chloe, followed quickly by Zac.

“Esther? What’s going on?” Zac asked.

There were too many people here. I knew each and every one of them loved me but this was too much. I couldn’t think or process everything with so many thoughts around me.

“Everyone out. Now!” Eddie announced looking at those in the room. “We can't think clearly with you all in here. Everyone needs to leave.”

Not Eddie or Chloe. Not Zac. My thoughts ran wild but I knew who I needed. Eddie looked at me for a moment before catching Zac’s arm.

She wants you here. He placed into Zac’s head as the guard members, my daughters and Carlisle went to leave. My daughters were last and it pained me to send them away but I just needed those that knew me best for a moment. My daughters worried too much. I needed my clear-headed best friends.

I was left in the room with Eddie, Chloe and Zac. My heart ached for my husband. He had gone to check on Ivana to let her know I’d returned because she wasnt answering her phone. He had no idea what had happened. I felt briefly as Eddie called to Aleksander's mind, telling him to come home.

I couldn’t move from the table. I was aware of my friends trying to talk to me but I couldn’t even look at them. I didn’t know what I needed. I didn’t know what to think, what to do. I kept seeing my granddaughter burning alive over and over again, sometimes it was the image of that little girl in the throne room. My mind was conjuring up the image of how she died and I couldn’t get away from it.

“Zac,” Eddie’s voice strained. “Do something.”

“What? What do you mean? What am I supposed to do? Where’s her husband?” He asked, he asked his string of questions one after the other without a pause.

“Not here. You know what to do here,” Eddie said softly.

“What are you talking about? You’re her soul mate. You do something,” he added.

“You were her husband through one of the toughest times of her life. Do you know what is running through her head right now? The fact that she burnt that little girl alive. All she sees is that child dying and then she sees Allesandra burn, and she feels her death over and over. I wasn’t there for her then. Aleksander wasn't there for her either. You were, every second of it. It was you,” Eddie said to Zac. I didn’t hear Zac say anything else.

Suddenly he was at my side. His hands covered mine on the table and he took them in his. He pulled me towards him and our eyes locked. His soft golden eyes stared at me just for a moment, my Zachary. Suddenly I was against his chest as he hugged me. A wave of relief flooded over me. Eddie knew what I needed even when I didn’t. This wasn’t a hug between two ex’s this was medicine. Zac had seen me go through one of the most terrible times in my very long life and experiences like that sear a person onto your heart. He had been my sanctuary back then and Eddie had been right. If anyone could knock me out of this thought loop it would be him.

I’m sorry I’m not Aleksander, I know it’s been a while since we ever really spoke about this but I want to help you. So, clear your mind. Concentrate on my voice. On where im going. Follow me. Take my hand and follow me, love. He thought. And I did. The images in his head filled mine and I let him calm me, in the way he had done many, many countless times before.

The problem with my mind was that as complex and big as it was, the power in my brain could overcome me, with certain traumatic memories they could control me; overtake my mind and I would see it constantly on a loop and it would drive me insane. With the death of my granddaughter, that happened a lot. Zac learnt early on how to distract me from it. He’d bring me into his mind and he’d show me places, he’d tell me a story, or imagine somewhere new for us to explore together.

It only took a moment before I felt normal again, before the image of fire had been purged from my mind. My eyes opened to see Zac standing opposite me. Our hands entwined in front of us but I was no longer against his chest. Eddie and Chloe were standing behind him, watching us and waiting. Chloe was smiling and as my eyes fell on my husband at the door, I dropped one of Zac’s hands.

It wasn’t me that began to explain to Aleksander. It was Eddie. There were no signs of jealousy or misunderstanding on my husband’s face. It was relief. He walked over to us and Zac turned to look panicked at Aleksander. I smirked at him for being scared of my husband.

“I-“ Zac began but Aleksander put his hand on Zac’s shoulder.

“Thank you for being here Zachary. Not even I could have helped my wife in that moment. I am grateful you were able to calm her.” He said soothingly. Zac relaxed instantly. His hand that was still in mine brushed my thumb, a century old comforting technique we used on each other. His hand dropped from mine and he headed for the door.

“Wait,” I called after him. I stepped into Aleksander’s body and his arm wrapped around my waist but my eyes stayed on Zac. “Can you stay? I feel like I need some advice right now. I just found out I had a sister. I need people I trust.”

My ex-husband relaxed and smiled softly to me. He nodded in response and went to sit next to Chloe at the table. Aleksander and I sat across from the three of them and I sighed internally as I looked at the hand Aleksander was holding in his lap.

“So that vampire is my sister,” I began. They remained silent for a moment, expecting me to explain. “The little girl is my niece,” I choked on the word. I wouldn’t be able to think about Ophelia now without my mind conjuring the image of seeing her burn.

You didn’t know. Edward’s voice echoed in my head. It was Eddie repeating his father’s words to me.

As I began to explain everything I saw I placed the images in their heads so they could see it too. The whole time Aleksander had my hand in his lap and the other three never took their eyes off me.

As I began to explain the guilt over my niece, how I had been stuck in a thought loop, seeing her and Allesandra burn over and over; Chloe squirmed slightly in her seat. My eyes locked with Zac and he nodded, a small reassuring smile on his lips. This time the comforting squeeze of my husband’s hand kept me from going down the rabbit hole.

“She’s alive. You can help her. You can remove the memory. She’ll never have to remember what it felt like.” Chloe reassured me reaching across the table for my hand. I let her take it. I didn’t know why that thought hadn’t entered my mind, trust the level headedness of my best friend to make me realise. Ophelia didn’t have to live with this, I could take it away. If she wanted, of course. She didn’t have to live with the memory like Allesandra did. I'd have to live with the guilt of her murder but I knew the burden would be easier to bear if I knew Ophelia had no memory of the horrific death.

“You have a sister Es. A sister.” Eddie said, his excitement rose at the last word. He was trying to distract me now, he showed me my own memories, my own thoughts of what it felt like to have a sibling, to want a sibling as bad as I did throughout my life. He showed me his relationship with each of his sisters. Then what it could be like for me. He was showing me the new life I had ahead. The new life with a sister. I couldn’t help but smile at everything he was showing me.

“Does that smile mean you’re okay?” My husband asked at my side. I turned to look at his beautiful worried face. I dropped his hand to stroke his face gently in reassurance. If we were alone I'd have kissed him but I wasnt sure how comfortable I was doing that in front of Zac. Aleksander's whole demeaner relaxed at my touch. 

“I think so. Shall we go meet my sister?” I said looking at my best friends around the table. As I stood I felt Zac brush my arm and hand. He stroked my thumb again, very briefly. A reminder that he was there. Always there. No matter who our spouses were now, who our families were.

Thank you. I placed in his head as our hands dropped. It had only been a tiny moment. Barely a few seconds long but it meant everything to me. I was okay now. Chloe was right, I could help Ophelia. She wouldn’t have to relive her death every time she slept like my granddaughter did. She didn’t have the immunities Allesandra did. I could help her, she’d never know the pain of burning alive. And as for my sister… that was a whole new adventure I had to explore and the thought excited me like nothing else I had experienced.

We made our way to the guest quarters I knew Pancrazio had allocated to Naarah and her daughter and paused at the door. I knew Micah and Edward were in there talking to Naarah and explaining a basic background and what had happened.

Thank you all. You have no idea how much I love each of you. I placed in the heads of the people behind me as I reached for the door to open it. My friends didn’t follow me in, they stayed by the door but gave me space to meet my sister properly for the first time.

The second she hugged me it was like my whole world dissolved and suddenly I was holding my sister. Thousands of years were being changed in my head as I tried to imagine what my life would have been like if I knew about Naarah, if we had lived knowing the other existed. We had so much lost time to make up for.

Meeting Ophelia officially was both heart-breaking and warming. She was an enchanting little girl.

“There are people I'd like you to meet too,” I said to both of them as Ophelia crawled onto my lap on the sofa. I smiled at the child’s willingness to trust and accept. She had already seared herself onto my heart. I would talk to her mother later about the memory wipe, for now she hadn’t thought about it once, she was too busy thinking about me. Her childlike innocence was endearing, but I knew she hadn’t slept yet. She hadn’t had her nightmares plague her yet. She may have momentarily forgotten what I was like to burn alive but I was more than confident it would start to haunt her.

“Your daughters?” Naarah asked as she looked to the door.

“Soon, but first, the men in my life,” I smiled.

Aleksander, Eddie. I called out in my head and the door opened.

“First, this is my husband and…” I said suddenly lost for word at how to describe Eddie. Everyone we knew just knew what we were. We never had to put words on it before. Do I say soul mate?

“Closest confidant, brother from another mother, telepathic buddy, other half, awesomeness bestest friend,” Eddie grinned holding his hand out to shake Naarah’s. I just laughed at his explanation. Naarah smiled.

“Best friend,” I clarified.

“But more than that, we’ll freak you out how well we’re in tuned. We’re basically the same person.” Eddie chimed in.

“Basically?” Aleksander asked turned to his friend. “I can argue different,” he added with a smirk.I ignored my husband and friend as they bickered friendly about the whole 'same person' thing and turned to my sister.

“Eddie is the only sibling I have ever known. He is my brother in every sense of the word except blood. He is my true soul mate and my other half but Aleksander is the man I love, my world, the father of my children and my husband… It gets complicated around here.” I told her.

“Okay,” she laughed shaking the hands of both men.

Chloe. I said and Chloe entered next and went straight to Eddie to take his hand.

“And to complicate things more, this is Chloe, Eddie’s wife, love of his life and mother to his children,” I grinned. “also, my best friend.” I added as the pair greeted each other politely.

“I’m just not mentally linked with her,” Chloe smiled fondly at me and her husband.

“Doesn’t that get weird?” Naarah asked Chloe.

“Very,” Chloe mumbled but smiled wider at us both. “But I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she added.

“Aw, babe. If only the sixteen-year-old you could hear yourself now,” Eddie winked at his wife. Chloe rolled her eyes at her husband and I couldn’t help but laugh at the pair.

I turned to Naarah before speaking.

“I wont bombard you with other members of my family just yet. But you can meet my daughters officially tomorrow, they have things to do right now, but I know theyre excited to meet you.”

“Do you just have the two? There have been stories that you have another one now. One that’s telekinetic.” She asked. Well that’s certainly one word to describe Ivana’s power. It can look like telekinesis if someone isn’t aware of how exactly she works.

“I have a third.” I smiled, confirming her suspicions.

“I have cousins?” Ophelia asked from my lap.

“I’m afraid they’re much older than you,” I said softly to the excited child, she thought she might have someone to play with. Her excitement faded at my words.

“I’m sure there are kids your age around here somewhere Ophelia. Our family have lots of descendants with children,” Eddie said softly to the child. She turned to smile at him.

“If you’re my aunties brother does that make you my uncle?” she asked him, Eddie’s eyes danced with excitement at another child to love and adore. I chuckled slightly

“I can be if you want me to be. I’m afraid I don’t live around here though. Judging by your accent I actually live in the same country as you.” He explained.

“England?” the child asked with renewed excitement.

“Yep,” he grinned. “My children and their families have lived there for centuries now.”

I turned to Naarah to explain how Eddie’s daughters had married into the family that descended from our brother.

I spent the afternoon with both of them and introduced them to my daughters the next day. It was also the first night Ophelia dreamt about her death. I told Naarah about what I could do and she agreed instantly. I took away Ophelia's pain and she never had the nightmare again. That was the day I also found out that my youngest daughter was pregnant and our lives changed all over again.

Ivana’s twin birth was complicated. Her second daughter couldn’t survive without the need for Anelie to keep her alive and I knew the only option after surgery with Carlisle and Chloe to see the extent of the damage was if Ivana saved her with her ability. I stayed with Ivana from the moment her daughter left for the hospital for days afterwards until she finally woke from her power induced coma. Ivana had never used that much energy and power to save a life before but she did it. To save her baby she managed it and I had never been prouder of her.

My newest granddaughters were like nothing else in the world. It was a true joy to watch them as they grew up into strong independent young adults. They were 2nd generation children of Luna Bambini so their minds were blocked to me. They hadn’t mastered the art of separating their telepathic link like my daughter’s generation had and so with their minds constantly linked I had no access to how they thought. All my other abilities worked though and if I wanted to get into their heads I could but only with their permission and with touch. As the twins aged into teenagers, they became much more interesting to watch. Sometime into their life we found out that they can see auras and essences like their father but not souls. Carlisle and I would often discuss our granddaughters and what this potentially meant for their abilities. At around ten, Nova began to show signs of an ability in ways of manipulating auras. She could enhance traits in people, making people more selfless, or braver, or happier, she could strengthen relationships and personalities in others. Nova was the brightest and happiest of the pair, always the optimistic and the most energetic. She always had a dozen friends around her and most popular with new people. She had a wolf from the Guild pack imprint on her earlier this year when she was physically 14 years old and he’s been her shadow and partner ever since.

Eden on the other hand was the tailor-made opposite of her sister. She struggled to maintain friendships in school, she’d rather being alone with a book than with another person. Her only friend really was her sister, she was also close to Ophelia but those were the only two she really cared to know in her life. She was shy and quiet, sensitive and more than often or not, in the background of her sister. She could see the auras just like Nova but had no control over them like she did. I knew this affected her, she thought she was broken and her sister was the gifted one but secretly Carlisle and I worried.

The twins were almost tailor-made copies of my twin girls. They were opposites and we both knew that meant their abilities were too. Nova could give and enhance which meant Eden could very likely take and destroy. The girls were not only the daughters of Micah, a selfless empath but also the daughters of Ivana, a powerful manipulator. It was inevitable that those two abilities would converge and create an ability with the power to manipulate the very essence of a creature. Their abilities had been split, just like Lidiya and Anelie’s had. They were each other’s halves so it was obvious to us that Eden could do the opposite of Nova. It just hadn’t activated yet. I worried for the day it would. It made sense that Nova was born the way she was, if Eden as a foetus had been channelling her mother’s ability, mixed with her own it she would have been unintentionally removing the life force from her sister. It wasn’t until they were separated from each other and their mother that their abilities regressed. I knew it wouldn’t be long though before they would appear. Nova’s had appeared only four years after her birth but Eden’s still hadn’t manifested. They were both technically seven now but physically fifteen. Carlisle and I both argued with the idea of informing Eden what we theorised and, in the end, we agreed to take it to her parents for them to decide. Ivana argued to tell her, Micah argued not and my daughter and her partner entered the first ever argument over their daughters they had ever had in seven years. The girls were close to full maturity physically but both remained in Chicago at the local high school. Their lives were here and their friends and family and I didn’t see them ever moving away. Even to study. The pair expressed the desire to continue their education into university but chose a local one so they wouldn’t leave the city.

Ivana and Micah's relationship post-daughters was… complicated. The pair were a married couple. They acted like it, they acknowledged it and yet they had never made it official. They raised their daughters in perfect synchronicity until this moment. They were arguing because they each wanted to protect their daughter in their own way.

They ultimately agreed not to tell her and I thought this was a big mistake.

Several months later Eden hit her head whilst at school. One of the football players ran into her by accident and she fell, falling onto concrete. Initially her injuries were minimal, she was checked over by the school nurse and sent back to class but pain started to radiate in her brain gradually over the day. By the time she went home she had immense pain in her head. It was gradually getting worse and worse until she was crying in pain.

She was brought to me at the Volturi and I had no idea what I could do for her. I had a really bad feeling that when it got to a point she couldn’t handle it anymore her ability would explode.

I had no way to help her other than put her to sleep until we could figure out what to do.

We had an emergency meeting. Anyone who meant anything in the Volturi or Eden’s life were there. Her parents, grandparents, the leaders of the Volturi, my sister, just from her thousand years knowledge of abilities, Ophelia and even Axton, Alena and Amirah. They visited the Volturi a lot to help Ophelia keep control of her magic and her vampire side. They became quite good friends with her. Alena specifically. I guessed she was done being the third wheel to her brother and friend. Nova wasn’t allowed in the meeting; her parents didn’t want her hear as we discussed the fate of her sister and whilst I understood their reasoning I also felt Nova was important too and shouldn’t be kept out of this.

“Her power is growing. I can feel it. Its building up like nothing I have seen before. Not even when Lidiya was young,” Pancrazio said to the table. We were all in the main conference room of the Volturi. A grand room that linked to the throne room, the place where most of the more complicated decisions happened. Eden was in the holding room just two doors down from us.

“I was unbalanced back then because I didn’t have Anelie, Nova has her ability. Why is Eden showing signs of fracturing?” Lidiya asked the room.

“Because she’s been holding it back,” I said to the table.

“Holding what? Her ability? She knew what it was?” Naarah asked me.

Amirah answered before I could reply and the answer had everyone all stunned.

“No, she didn’t know. That poor girl had people tell her, her whole life that she was the granddaughter of Esther Josephson and Carlisle Cullen. She’s had pressure on her since the day she was born to be extraordinary. She has been watched every day of her life, she has been studied and observed. In case she becomes this legendary being everyone expects her to be. Her body protected her from it. Unconsciously she has been hiding, willing for herself to be normal every day of her life so that she doesn’t have to be watched or feared. She has kept it hidden from others and from herself because she didn’t ask to be the granddaughter of legends. She didn’t ask for this legacy. She just wanted to be normal. It has pushed her power down and down into a dormant form but her body, her mind couldn’t take it anymore. It's building up and up and its going to explode. Her power is going to burst out of her like nothing we’ve ever seen.” Mia announced. Her eyes fell on me then. This girl who none of us knew for thirty years of her life. Understood so much. Emphasised immensely with the situation. With Eden. Her intelligence almost shocked me over the last few years of truly getting to know her. I had been one of the very few people in this family that knew of her existence from the start but I barely visited her after the immortal twins were made her guardians and teachers. She didn’t need my help and I was still learning to control my magic myself. Seeing her now, a fully-grown adult, full of information and intelligence, I had to remind myself that she had lived in isolation for so long. She was so intuitive considering her only company for twenty years were wolves and the two witches that never leave her side even to this day. “I’m right, aren’t I?” She asked me.

All I could do was nod. I saw her boyfriend take her hand. Axton held it in his hands and I could see the understanding in his mind that whilst Mia had been talking about Eden, she had also been talking about herself too, about her pressure of being the only tribrid in history.

“So, it’s our fault?” Ivana asked, her voice breaking. “You’re saying it’s our fault for even having her?” She was insulted by Mia’s suggestion. The pair had never really got on, they clashed far too much. The both had their own God complex that didn’t have room for another as powerful as themselves. Most of the time they never spoke, both far too similar for their own good. Micah had his hand on Ivana’s arm, stopping her from standing against the tribrid.

“Of course not. She doesn’t blame her parents for her birth. No person does. I’m saying certain people can’t take the pressure of being a Cullen. Some people need that extra reassurance that they dont have to live up to the legendary people that carry that name. Nova has never needed it a day in her life and because she was the confident one, because she was the loudest, you all assumed Eden was okay with it too. What do you expect? Those girls never got to chose whether they were going to be a Cullen or not. They were told.” Mia told my daughter and I could see my daughter take offence at the words from Mia. Ironically if I had said this instead Ivana probably would have accepted it without much complaint. Because it was Mia, Ivy just saw red.I definitely wouldnt have said it in the same words as Mia, but she was portraying the same point.

The Cullen name was both a curse and a blessing. There was a lot to live up to, and that kind of pressure isn't needed on a supernatural child but at the same time the name is legendary, it has its own reputation that if you had the opportunity to take, it will protect you against anyone that hears it.

Almost anyone anyway.

“I didn’t assume anything. The Cullen name was for protection! Their father is a Cullen of course they were going to have that name!” She hissed back.

"Then why arent you a Cullen?" Mia asked her.

"I'm pretty sure thats none of your business!" Ivana almost shouted back. Micah had tight hold of Ivana now. She wasnt moving from that side of the table even if she wanted to.

“Calm down. Both of you.” Zio told the two girls then turned to the rest in the room. “It doesn’t matter how or why we’re in this situation. All that matters is what’s happening to that child that we all love. We all care for her and we all want her to be okay.” Zio said strongly, turning to my daughter to make sure she heard him.

Family tension like I’ve never seen. Naarah’s thought and I turned to smirk at her. She had no idea. She had only lived seven short years in this family. I was sure she’d see many more family arguments and discussions in the future. It was never ending with a family this size.

“Alright princess, how do you recommend we help my daughter with her compressed power?” Ivana snapped at the tribrid. Mia had long been called the Princess of the Wolves because of their protection order on her, much like Allesandra was named Princess of the Volturi centuries ago. Mia had many names and none were mutually exclusive. She had many of her wolves follow her around when she was here, like a constant guard and their title for her was heard often around the Volturi castle. I knew my daughter was using it in a mocking tone and I tried to express my concern with her teasing the all-powerful tribrid.

I’m not scared of her Mama, I never have been. Ivana thought in response to my projection, her eyes not moving from the girl opposite her on the table. I smiled inwardly at my daughter’s feistiness but I didn’t condone it. Mia was trying to help. She was trying to explain the situation the best she could. Perhaps the reason Ivana was so offended was because she was worried she was right. Both these girls had such fiery personalities. I hoped one day they could get past their differences and they might actually be good friends.

“Let her explode,” Mia suggested answering Ivy’s question about what to do next. This almost caused a riot. Voices erupted around the table, all trying to get their opinion in the matter. At first most disagreed, but some were starting to agree with Mia.

“Enough!” I called to the room. “All of you stop. Of the people in this room right now, only a few have ever been in a slightly similar situation, and as much as I hate admitting it, Mia is correct. She is right. I’m sorry Ivy.” I said turning to my daughter who was being held somewhat reluctantly in the arms of her lover. “The only thing we can do is see what happens.”

“And what if she can’t control the wave of power? What if we have another Asta on our hands?” Axton asked the room. Eyes fell on Asta, Lidiya and Matthew's daughter, at the head of the table with her father and mother. She smirked at the room.

“Then you do what you did to me. You take it away.” She answered and the room went silent. I turned to see Ivana had relaxed into the arms of Micah. She had given up all fight. She didn’t know what to say to that. She hated the thought, but it was an option.

“We don’t have someone to reverse it. How do we know what she can truly do?” Micah asked the room.

“We know because we know what Nova can do. And we know she is the reversal. It's going to take work. She’s going to need training and attention and teaching but she’ll get control I know she will.” Carlisle stood to answer his son.

“Then let’s go wake the ticking time bomb,” Asta said rather insensitively. I rolled my eyes at my forward granddaughter. She has never been one for subtly. Luckily everyone in this room knew what she was like and Ivana didn’t take offence at her niece.

“I want to be there when she wakes up,” Ophelia announced to the room. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion. “I’m the only person in this room she likes. Let me be there to explain what’s going on,” she added. I watched as Alena glared at her in disbelief. Ophelia took her hand in comfort for a moment before dropping it.

“Not a chance in hell. Sorry sweetie,” I said to my niece.

Auntie Esther. She thought, showing me a conversation with Eden, how Eden said she felt no one understood her like Ophelia did. That she was her best friend and only person she felt she could go to.

“If we’re right, Eden can remove parts of your aura, she can remove who you are. Destroy traits and what makes you you.” I explained to my niece.

“I’m well aware of that,” she answered, her thoughts showed no sign of wavering in her offer.

“We can put a protection spell on her,” Alena said from her side. I looked cautiously at the immortal witch but nodded. The power of two immortal witches would protect her, I had no doubt.

“Okay,” I said.

“Nope, not happening,” my sister came to my side. I smiled at Naarah but turned back to Ophelia.

“Ophelia is right. She stands the best chance in there with Eden.” I said to Naarah.

“Esther,” Naarah hissed at my side.

“I’m sorry Naarah. I don’t mean to side with her over you but I know she’ll be safe. Nothing can get through a protection spell like the twins can do. Believe me, people have tried,” I told her as Ophelia and the immortal twins headed for the door.

“You have to be in there too,” Naarah said matter of fact. I reached to quickly run my fingers over my sisters concerned face.

“I'll be fine big sister,” I winked and went to leave the room and follow Axton, Alena and Ophelia to the room that held Eden.

Mia stood with the twins. Her hands outstretched to each of them. It was a moment before Mia stumbled back and the twins began to use incantations to build the protection spell around Ophelia’s essence. I waited and watched in fascination. Their power was pretty incredible. I knew they often siphoned Mia, the three of them shared their powers to boost each other but this was phenomenal. I wasn’t even sure I could penetrate that protection spell. Chantelle took Mia in her arms to steady her and Mia smiled up at her great-aunt in gratitude.

My daughter probably won’t think to thank you, but I will. I placed into the tribrid’s head for giving her power to the twins for the spell. She looked at me across the hall and gave me a swift nod.

“Are you ready?” I asked my niece. Ophelia nodded and took my outstretched hand. We entered and I shut the door behind us with telekinesis. Eden was still lying on the bed peacefully.

“I don’t know how long this will take for it to explode,” I informed Ophelia.

“It's okay. Just get out as soon as she starts to move.” She announced. I nodded as I reached forward to my granddaughter’s mind. It was cliché but I decided to remove my sleep spell on her with a kiss on her forehead. The second her eyes opened, I teleported from the room to where her parents waited outside the door.

“Hey Eden, how’s your head?” Ophelia asked her cousin. Eden didn’t answer, I heard her breathing pick up and she moved from the bed in a panic. “Hey, its okay. Honey, you’re okay. I know it hurts, I know. I’m sorry this is happening to you. I’m so sorry,” Ophelia was watching as Eden began pacing the room, her hands on her head. I turned to my daughter who was standing under the arm of her father. I smiled at their bond. No matter how old Ivana got, she was still a daddy’s girl.

“What’s happening?” Eden asked Ophelia.

“Your ability. It's going to explode. It's okay. Just let it happen,” she explained.

“No, you need to leave, you need to leave now,” her voice shook and there was nothing I wanted more than to go in and comfort my granddaughter. I know Ivana felt the same, she tightened her grip on her father, closing her eyes tightly to keep herself from heading to the door.

Keep hold of her. I placed into my husband’s head. His eyes locked with mine for a moment and he nodded quickly.

“Eden…” Ophelia tried to comfort her.

“No. Get out!” She screamed. “Get out, I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Eden was crying and I saw Ivana couldn’t handle it anymore. She span away from her father to head to the door.

Aleksander kept tight hold of her wrist and Micah, realising what his wife was about to do, was suddenly in front of her. Stopping her from getting to their daughter.

“Move. Now!” she glared at him.

“No way,” he glared back.

“Micah! She’s scared!” Ivana argued.

“I’m well aware of that. I’m also well aware that our daughter is going to be an adult very soon. She has to deal with this. She has to get through this without her powerful mother doing everything for her,” he said, his voice the calm to Ivana’s storm.

“Not alone though,” Nova said appearing from one of the other waiting rooms.

“Nova, please!” Her imprint yelled after her as she left the room, he trailed behind her. “Nova!” He called to his girlfriend as she headed for the door. I reached for my granddaughters’ wrist. Stopping her from reaching the door handle.

“Please Nonna. I need to be there for my sister. You’re right. I’m her other half, right? I’m her reversal, I’m her opposite. I can save her from herself.” Nova said knowingly. “You know I’m right. You all do. One thing you all failed to bring up in your little meeting was that I could stop it all. Wasn’t it?” Nova asked.

“How did you know what we said? Those walls are sound proof. Even to vampires.” Micah asked his daughter.

“Ophelia used a spell to mentally link me so I could hear every word. I wanted to know how you were deciding my sisters’ fate.” She told everyone and I saw Naarah sigh in disappointment at her daughter for breaking rules.

“I know I’m right because Anelie was your calm, right?” Nova said turning to her aunt. Lidiya reluctantly nodded. “Eden is my twin. I’m her calm. I know I am,” Nova said strongly reaching for the door again, this time I let my grip slip and Nova entered the room.

“Nova!” Ivana called after her daughter. Micah's grip slipped and Ivana broke free. I was moments away from grabbing hold of her when suddenly Amirah's hand extended, a forcefield extending in front of Ivana and she banged her fists on it. She span to face Mia, the look on her face was murderous.

"Drop the barrier before I rearrange your insides!" She yelled at her.

"I'm sorry Ivana but I can't let you in there. You may hate me but you can't stop this." Mia replied extremely calm for the situation. I had no doubt Ivana would do exactly what she said.

"They're my daughters!" She almost screamed back. "How dare you stop a mother from protecting her children!"

"I'm protecting their mother!" Mia screamed back.

"Ivy," Micah wrapped his arms around the emotional Ivana. Everyone was aware she wasn't thinking clearly, even Ivana herself. There was nothing she could do in there, but there is nothing in the world stronger than a mothers urge to protect her child. Nothing.

Whilst all this was happening on our side of the door Eden was having trouble herself. She was shaking violently within the room, tears streaming down her face as Ophelia tried to talk her down. It didn’t work, it only took a few moments after a gutrenching scream of pain from Eden, intense undiluted power started to flood from her body. It was so strong that Ophelia had to shield her eyes.

“Ivana!” Micah suddenly screamed, Ivana, who was the closest to the door started to stumble, her mind began to blur, I saw through Micah’s mind her aura stretching towards the door. Like a vacuum was sucking her essence from her body. I projected the image to Ophelia in the room and she jumped up to face Eden.

“Eden you’re hurting your mother,” she told her.

“What?” Eden asked although her voice shook with fear and uncontrolled power.

“You’re sucking the life out of your mother, her personality, her aura, everything that makes her, her!” Ophelia explained to a panicked Eden. Eden wasn't in control, she didnt want to hurt her mother, she wasn't doing anything intentionally.

“Eden.” Nova said and Eden span to see her sister. Nova reached to hug her sister. “Hey. I’m here. I’m here. It’s okay. It’s okay. There are people that can help you. We can have lessons, so we can work together to control our powers.” Nova whispered to her sister. Eden didn’t do anything at first until she finally hugged her sister back. The two were nothing alike, they were polar opposites in personality but for a simple moment they were sisters. They were twins and they were each other’s other half. Eden relaxed into the arms of her sister. Nova whispered reassurances into Eden’s ear and I imagine her mind too and suddenly the power dissipated. Ivana could stand again. I watched through Micah’s mind as her aura came flooding back to her body. Micah hugged her closer to him, pulling her away from the door. He had never held her tighter in his life. There was pure relief flooding over him. If Ivy had been closer, if she had been in that room when Eden's power exploded who knew what would have happened, would Ivana even be Ivana anymore? Could Nova reverse a complete personality wipe that intense?

The door opened and Eden stood, her hand in her twin sisters. Her eyes fell on her mother being held by Micah and she rushed forward and into Ivana's waiting arms.

"I'm sorry mama, I'm sorry," she sobbed but Ivy just held her daughter tighter, kissing her hair and 'shh'ing' her daughters sobs. A few moments of relief past and Eden raised her head to look at me directly.

“I think I’m ready for some lessons now,” Eden announced. I smiled across at my granddaughter.

“Then you’re in the best place,” I said with a smile. She smiled back. Her hand reaching for her sisters.

They had a long way to go, both of them. Even Nova, she’d have to learn how to use her ability alongside Eden, to keep her sister equal and balanced. Just how my twin girls had to do back when they were young. It was history repeating itself and I had never felt prouder of the family I was part of as everyone worked together to help yet another set of young gifted Cullen’s.

“I knew you had quite the family Esther but I never expected something like that. Even after seven years here,” Naarah said as she sat in the chair opposite me in my living room. I smiled across to her. I held her a wine glass of blood, it was spiked with a bit of alcohol. It had become a relaxant of mine, something Naarah and I began to share over our endless nights of stories we told each other.

“Now you can imagine what it was like when it was life and death we had to train,” I mused. Naarah scoffed a small laugh.

“I’m sort of glad I didn’t know you back then,” she grinned taking a sip of her drink. “I don’t envy your life, sister. I thought I had it bad with Ophelia but it must be one hell of a burden to know you’re guaranteed such powerful offspring.”

“I’ve never thought of it like that. I’ve always figured we’d get through it. No matter what,” I answered, my eyes trailing off to the window where I could see the sky was clear, stars were shining in the sky, making me suddenly feel very small.

“All the same. Maybe the responsibility of being your descendant is something that needs to be addressed. If Mia was right and the reason today happened was because that poor girl had the pressure of being a Cullen and a Josephson over her head, I fear for any others that have to carry that burden.”

I turned to look at my sister. Seven years of friendship and we could say anything to each other in confidence and confidentiality. I thought over her statement for a moment, watching the drink in my glass sway.

“We’re too big,” I said in agreement.

“Too big?” She asked for clarification.

“Too loud. Too old. Too important. Too powerful.” I explained. She pursed her lips for a moment before taking another sip.

“The curse of being a legend?” she asked after a moment. A smirk covering her face. I rolled my eyes at her. I hated that word, but it was the same word Mia had used.

“The curse of being a Cullen,” I corrected her.

“First world problems,” she chuckled. I grinned back.

First world problems. I echoed in amusement at how right that statement was.

As the family grew so did the problems that occurred. I sometimes wonder about the day I met Eddie in the back yard of his home in Washington, how if I hadn’t have over heard the vampires in Italy talking about the Cullen’s that I may never have found him. I may never have met my soul mate or my adoptive family. If I had known about Naarah before, would I ever have gone searching for that missing piece of me in my Luna Bambini siblings, would I have met Aleksander and had the daughters I had now? Would Naarah and I just be two nomads with no real home exploring the earth decade after decade as it changed? Who knew.

One thing I was sure of though is I never expected my life to be what it was now.

I had spent so many years spent in confinement, trying to hide what I was and now I was arguably the most famous creature in the supernatural world next to Carlisle. No wonder that when our bloodlines finally crossed, nothing would ever be simple again.

I just hoped my granddaughters could learn to accept it and perhaps not hate the legacy they were born into.