Finally, the day of the visitor's arrival came. We were all waiting in anticipation to see who would show up at our door. Alice made sure we all stuck to her vision like glue. Emmett and Rosalie were forced to go pack, even though they wanted to wait in the family room with the rest of us, eager to see whose hand was coming to knock on our door. Alice wouldn't hear their arguments, however. It was important that we all do whatever we were doing in the vision, because we didn't want to change things.
Of course, in reality, simply waiting in the family room with us instead of packing wouldn't have stopped our visitor from coming. We all knew that. But Alice was being stubborn, which is a rare mood for her, so we let her have her way. In fact, the mere squabbling between Alice and Rosalie was entertaining, and it could have continued all day for all I cared- the trite remarks Rosalie made and the quick comebacks of Alice were very amusing- but Jasper was getting defensive, and soon he joined in, which in turn prompted Emmett to get involved too.
Leave it to Jasper to defend his lady love. Jasper protects Alice like he protects himself- probably because without Alice he would be completely lost. I think it is automatic and he doesn't even realize he is doing it- he just defends her and keeps her safe as though she were a part of him, because as far as he is concerned, she is. Emmett doesn't need to protect Rosalie the way Jasper does Alice, however. Emmett knows that Rosalie is perfectly capable of defending herself, for one thing. Yet it is more than that. The love between Emmett and Rosalie is not less than Jasper and Alice, but it is different. It is carefree and simple, easy and free. They love each other the way teenagers love each other- or perhaps the way two people just falling in love do. With Alice and Jasper, their love is intense, steadfast, and deep. It is not about kissing in public or breaking beds during the night, it is about connecting on a different level. They read to each other, they picnic together, they take walks in the moonlight. It is like comparing apples to oranges.
Anyway, Carlisle put his fatherly foot down and ordered Rosalie and Emmett to their room to pack, and Alice and Jasper to the family room to wait. I followed to the family room, and Esme and Carlisle headed to the kitchen to cook, in case our visitor was human. You can't tell much from a hand and a shadow. Esme was excited to use the kitchen again anyway- it was her first time using the Mason kitchen, and being a large kitchen, she was enjoying herself immensely.
Finally, our visitor arrived right as the sun was going down. Twilight. A vampire's favorite time of day, or so they say. Carlisle opened the door, and chuckled a friendly laugh of surprise.
"Julia! Welcome to our home! What brings you here?" He gestured for her to come inside.
Julia, the sole remaining survivor of our recent vampire war in Michigan, was our surprise visitor. Needless to say, we were all taken aback. Emmett and Rosalie were in the foyer with Alice and Jasper the second the knock was heard on the door.
We all stood there, trying to look more friendly than surprised, but our minds were all racing with wonders as to why she would come to the house of the vampires who had just killed her entire coven- and how she had managed to find us.
"I am sorry for barging into your home like this." She said by way of explanation. Then she walked into the house, "You cooked?" She looked inquisitively towards the kitchen.
"We thought you might be a human visitor. We saw someone was coming." Alice explained.
"Come inside, sit down." Carlisle motioned for her to step further into the house, towards the family room.
Rosalie led the way into the family room, taking a seat on on of the plush couches. We all followed suit, Julia included. She looked good, with her hair pulled up in a high french bun, and an expensive cashmere sweater and black slacks. Expensive black slingback heels and an expensive matching purse hung accented her outfit. I mentally cursed Alice the second I realized that I knew what slingbacks were. Alice must have instantly gotten a vision of me cursing her, or she is just smart- because she looked over at me and smiled mockingly.
However Julia's outfit made me wonder where she got her money from.
"I am sure you have many questions for me. But first may I explain why I came here?" Julia asked.
"Of course." Carlisle responded.
"I am lost." was her answer. Nobody said anything. I suppose we were all waiting for her to continue, so she did.
"I do not have a coven anymore, and your words of not hurting people spoke to me. I am lost and need to find my place in this world. I thought I would start my search with your coven. I thought perhaps you had something to teach me." Julia said.
Carlisle gave her statement some thought before he answered. His thoughts were complex- should he let her stay? Did she mean us any harm? Surely he couldn't turn her away.
"I see." He said slowly, "I am certain there are things you could learn from us. We could teach you to hunt animals instead of people. Is that what you mean?"
"That would be wonderful!" She exclaimed, "I have a hotel in the city, I will be staying there for two weeks while you teach me the ways of your coven. Thank you so much!"
And with that, Julia stood up. She smoothed out her slacks gracefully while we all stood as well. Then, unexpectedly, she gave each of us a hug. Hugs are very uncommon in the vampire world- so when she first reached out and hugged Carlisle, it caught him very off guard. Then she grabbed Esme and pulled her in for a hug as well. And so on until she had hugged each of us, as though she was hugging us goodbye. Then she uttered a final thank you, and left quickly.
We were all completely caught off guard by Julia. Not only by the fact that she was our visitor, but by the fact that she had come here to learn our lifestyle. She seemed genuine- I didn't pick up anything in her thoughts to tell me otherwise. We were also sideswiped by her hugging each of us at the end of her visit. It was an odd gesture, but not an unwelcome one. Wow. What a crazy girl. We will have to keep our eyes on this one.
I will be back to write more tomorrow. I am assuming that Julia will be back tomorrow, although she didn't necessarily specify when she would return. Anyway, I'll be back with an update soon.
Labels:
Alice Cullen
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Before Twilight
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Carlisle Cullen
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Chicago
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Edward Cullen
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Emmett Cullen
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Esme Cullen
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Julia
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Rosalie Hale
