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by
Jessica L
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.
by
Jessica L
Today was an interesting day. Julia returned as expected, but her "training" was not what any of us were thinking it would be.
First of all, Julia didn't show up until the sun started going down- again. It seemed to be the time of day where she felt most comfortable. This was fine with us, as we were used to dealing with long days that didn't end.
Second of all, she showed up in another red-carpet worthy outfit. I do believe Alice is starting to get a little jealous of Julia's wardrobe, and I don't think jealousy is an emotion Alice has ever felt before. Seriously, the clothing Julia wears is top-of-the-line, fresh off the run-way designer-made stuff. Linens, silks, cashmeres, and even her jeans are top quality. Everything we've seen her wear has been ridiculously expensive and I've heard Alice mentally making notes of things to order out of her newest issues of Paris and New York fashion catalogs. Its hilarious.
Aside from that, she came ready to be taught. She came with a notepad and a fresh pack of pens, much like a student would go to school. She came, sat down in the family room, and listened to each of us tell our stories, taking notes about why we each feel it is important not to feed off of humans. Of course Emmett has had a few slip-ups. There have been a select few occasions where his temptation has gotten the best of him and he tasted human blood. And then there is Jasper, who started his vampire life out as a newborn army breeder, and has tasted human blood on countless occasions. Of course, deciding to go 'vegetarian' takes a lot of effort, patience, practice and time. We all explained this to her- one by one, in our own ways, while she took notes.
By the end of the night, her notebook was full, and she was ready to go out and find herself a deer. We told her that maybe she was rushing it a little bit. She should take a few days, wait a while between feedings, and then feed on an animal instead. It would help take some bitterness out of the taste of the animal. It would make the animal taste more appealing, and give her some time since her last human meal- helping to dull the taste of human blood in her mouth. All of these things were important.
It was also important for her to stay away from humans for awhile. She wasn't going to do well with not eating humans if she was around them all of the time. Carlisle encouraged her to stay with us for a little while, until she learned to tolerate animal blood, and felt strong on it. We wanted her to be sure she could be around humans without being tempted by them, and be confident in her newfound diet and lifestyle.
We also told her staying with us would give her a good opportunity to work on her ability of freezing people in motion. This would be a great asset to her, and teach her how to hone this power and use it on certain people and not others. She would be able to use it to her advantage, use it to protect herself, or use it as a weapon in times of need.
She was a little wary about staying with us at first. She didn't want to intrude on our home, and be a bother to us. She also wasn't sure if it was smart to stay with the clan of vampires that had destroyed her entire clan. In the end, being able to work on her power and learn to feed on animals won out over her mistrust. She didn't really seem that wary of us, but there was a slight part of her that was concerned, and of course anyone would have been in her position.
She left as soon as the sun started rising, and promised to return at twilight again, with her luggage. So here I sit, eagerly writing the day's events and wondering what's going to happen when she returns.
by
Jessica L
As if yesterday wasn't interesting enough, today was even more so. Julia came again, dressed in another thousand-dollar outfit, and carrying four suitcases fit for a queen. Her intention was clear. She was ready to take on a challenge. The challenge: learning to live like the Cullens.
It was harder than one might think, of course. Living without human blood, yet constantly being around humans- smelling them, having them breathe around us, laugh around us, play around us- it could be like Chinese water torture at times. It took extreme patience. Carlisle's optimism about Julia being able to go "vegetarian" wasn't clear. Mine was almost none.
It wasn't that I didn't like Julia, because I did. I found her interesting, and in an odd way, even funny. Her bizarre demeanor was almost human. She kept a lot of her human traits, like hugging goodbye, and nervous fidgeting when her thoughts were fumbling in her mind. I am not sure if she just made it a very good habit, or if these were simply a very ingrained part of her personality.
On this first day of her official "moving in" we did get to learn the story of her creation, however. It was as interesting as any of ours.
Julia is fairly young for a vampire- not as young as I am- but nineteen- which is fairly close. She comes from a broken home of runaways, foster children, vagrants, and such, right in the little town in Michigan where we ended up meeting her not long ago. She said the place she grew up was much like a boarding school except that it was run by a little old woman who simple runs the home out of the goodness of her heart- providing beds and meals for those who need them, when they need them. People come by and take what they need, and go through again.
Julia had stayed there for six years when the four vampires settled themselves nearby. Julia said the old woman's name was Patty, and that she was kind, caring, and more a mother than she had ever known. Julia's own mother had been on drugs and in and out of her life since she was six years old. Julia fended for herself ever since. Patty found Julia when she was twelve, just coming of age, and took her in. By then, Julia had already done many things for money that she wasn't proud of. Patty slowly turned her into a proud, happy teenager. Julia told us she felt like she had gotten a second chance at childhood- and was in no hurry to leave. As Patty got older, Julia started helping more and more around the house and with the duties of helping the passer-bys.
When the vampires arrived, people started disappearing slowly. At first no-one noticed anything, because people usually didn't stay long anyway. Except Julia would see them again not long after they would leave. They would always be much different- more beautiful, cleaner, and wearing very nice clothing. Julia felt mixed feelings towards these people. For one, she wondered where they were going, and how they were becoming so different- in such a good way. For two, she was understandably jealous. For the first time in her life, she saw people in her life come from worse places than her leaving and becoming much greater than she- and she wanted that. But there was also the nagging feeling that something wasn't right with these people.
For more than a year this continued. Patty's house was the perfect place to collect various people without being noticed. One night, a tall, beautiful woman in a very pretty silk dress appeared in her room and asked her if she would like to go with her. As odd as it seemed, Julia agreed. She went with the woman, walking for what seemed like about half a mile, then the woman told her to close her eyes. She felt herself being lifted off the ground, and a great breeze on her face. When she opened her eyes, she at the docks, surrounded by a bunch of vampires. The scene was terrifying, but the woman told her she not to be scared. Julia instantly fainted, and when she woke up, she had no idea how much time had passed, or what day it was.
Julia woke up strapped to a bed, in a small room of a houseboat. She could feel the rocking of the water all around her. The worst thing she could remember was that her entire body was on fire. For three blazing days at sea this continued, until finally, someone came down into the little room and asked her if she was feeling better. Finally, she was. She didn't recognize the man standing before her, but he unstrapped her from the bed, and she sat up with more speed than she ever thought she could have.
The man quickly explained to her that she was different now- what some people call a vampire. She was strong, powerful, and just like the beautiful people Julia had seen around Patty's house. They were going to be a big, powerful family now, and have all the money and beautiful things in the world.
For a while, words like this made Julia happy. Telling homeless and poor people they could have riches and luxuries was an easy sell. But Julia was often lonely. She often went back and watched Patty through the window. At night, she would do Patty's chores for her, to make her life easier. The four leaders didn't like this, but didn't usually say anything. Patty's house was important to their cause. They needed Patty and her house in order to keep gaining their vampire clan. And Julia often missed Patty.
The leader told Julia the vampire rules, so she knew contact was forbidden, but she thought of breaking the rules from time to time, or even turning Patty into a vampire. But she was scared. After the Cullens destroyed all of the other vampires, Julia decided it was time to go from being a monster, to someone that Patty could be proud of. So- here she was. And after she was more educated in vegetarian- and vampire- ways, she could decide what to do next.
Julia's story was touching and moving in ways I couldn't even comprehend. We all seemed more eager to help her after hearing her plight. We set to work immediately after, and didn't stop until we were all mentally exhausted. I can only imagine all of the information Julia took in today. She took notes again, of course.
So I will be back with more details tomorrow.
by
Jessica L
Today was another day full of training for Julia. She learned a lot today, and sometimes I wonder how her brain can handle so much information at once. She is truly very motivated.
I suppose I should start where all good stories start: at the beginning. We knocked on Julia's door early in the morning, and told her she should get a full day of training in. After all, a vegetarian vampire lives like humans. We don't live like a vampire, who "wakes up" at night and disappears during the daylight hours to do vampire things in their den or wherever they choose to be dark and brooding. We choose to be normal. Of course, by now she was starting to get this picture already.
She was dressed and showered before we knocked on her door, so she grabbed her notebook and was ready to go. We explained to her that we generally try to live life in society, among regular people. Hence our lovely Chicago home at the moment. Of course, that requires us to move on every few years or so- to prevent people from noticing the fact that we do not age.
Julia- the smart cookie that she is- brought up a question- couldn't we put on stage makeup and pretend to age? We could, but that would be a hassle, and require perfect makeup application every time. What if one day we forgot a wrinkle, or put one in the wrong place and someone noticed? That would be a disaster! It was easiest just to move on.
We also explained that we usually go to school. Julia- considering her lack of family, and parents- as lamely as we sounded saying this- would probably opt for a job instead, like Carlisle. She could decide to do almost anything, so long as she felt comfortable around people. She should probably start in career fields that kept her around fewer numbers of people for the first few decades, and then move up as her comfort level increased. Jasper offered to help her with a connection we share who provides false paperwork for birth certificates, passports, drivers licences, etc.
Julia shared her plans for the future with us. She said that she most likely intended to go back to Benton Harbor, Michigan, to check up on Patty right away. She told us that Patty was in her late sixties by now, but in overall very strong health, so she wanted to pursue a nursing degree, with Carlisle as her inspiration. We were all a little skeptical about this, but didn't want to discourage her just yet.
The biggest bombshell of her plans came when she told us she wanted to turn Patty into a vampire. Of course, Aro was quite an old vampire, and Marcus and Caius, so it could most likely be done if she was healthy, but then again, it was uncertain. It was risky. We all hoped amongst ourselves that she would change her mind after she got a little more training- but it was ultimately her life and her choice. All we could do was train her the best we could to make smart, kind decisions with her new ways.
After a long day of training, we decided to go outside and relax a while- which we all needed to do. Emmett challenged Julia to an arm wrestling contest, thinking perhaps he had met his match, with Julia being such a new vampire and all, but he won hands down. We all had a good laugh over that, even Julia. I suppose it was good for us.
I guess I will be back later- tomorrow. We are thinking of taking Julia hunting tomorrow. Her first time tasting animal blood. It should be interesting. Until then, good night.
by
Jessica L
Wow. I don't think I've ever seen such a scared creature in my life. Seriously- her hair was standing straight up on her neck, and when we spoke, she nearly jumped right out of her skin. I am talking about Julia here- not the deer. Yes, we took Julia on her first deer hunting trip today. The hunting trip consisted of Julia, Carlisle, Alice, Jasper and myself.
It was quite the sight to see. She seemed ready, and after a few days of training, we didn't think she could have been any more prepared. I mean really- it isn't rocket science. You go out into the brush, you find some animals, and you grab them. Then you suck their blood out as easily- or easier, actually- as you would any human. It is actually a very simple process.
The only hard part of the entire thing is getting over the smell. When feeding on humans, the entire thing is alluring. They look good, they smell good, and they taste incredible. The only bad part about the process of feeding on a person is the guilt- which most vampires don't have to deal with, since feeding on man is a natural thing for vampires and vampires consider it to be a natural process, much like a lion hunting a gazelle.
However, with animals, they smell much different. It is not necessarily horrible- but it is not appealing by any means. It does not attract us. It is metallic, strong and clear in our noses. We can sense it is there, but it does not shout out "here is your next meal!" to us such as a human's blood does. It certainly does not sing to us. And as if the smell was different, imagine the difference in taste.
Julia seemed to notice the smell the second we got into the little woods. The area was abundant with animals, small rabbits, white-tailed deer, and other such creatures, but the only thing we were interested in for our next meals were the deer. Julia was sniffing the air and wrinkling her nose the instant we hit the animal scent.
Carlisle explained to her that animals smelled different, and she would get used to it. She smiled warmly at him, but her thoughts weren't so sure of his words. The deeper we got into the trees, however, the more nervous she became. I have never seen anything like it. Her thoughts were going crazy. She was actually frightened of the deer. She was afraid they would kick her. Afraid they'd fight back. Afraid that she'd hurt them. Afraid she'd like it, afraid she wouldn't. A million thoughts flew through her head a mile a minute.
Finally we reached a good spot, where several deer were unsuspectingly drinking water from a small brook. I demonstrated to her how we would do things, and we went over the plan once again. We would each grab a deer fairly quickly, and feed. It was an easy process, no need to be nervous. She was, of course.
The next thing I knew, she started hyperventilating. Another odd vampire behavior, since we don't breathe, but it must have been an old habit that she kept from before. She sat down quickly on the ground, tucked her knees into her chest, and started breathing extremely heavy.
Jasper rolled his eyes, exasperated, but immediately sent out calming sensations in her direction. I tried to talk her through her thoughts, to get her to calm down as well. Carlisle was doing the same thing as me, and Alice was standing there, unsure of what to do. After a moment, Alice just fished around for some future visions to see if she could determine what happened next. Julia's state of mind was too unpredictable of course, so Alice got nothing.
Julia's little display didn't last long between Jasper's calming powers and Carlisle and my talking, and after a moment, we talked her into going back home and trying again another day. Severely embarrassed, she apologized the entire way home.
Who would have thought that perfect little Julia was scared? She seemed so composed and poised- and when it came down to it, all her fears broke through. I felt very sorry for her though, after all that she had been through, and was determined to help her try again very soon. After discussing it with Carlisle, we both feel certain that she can master eating animals instead of feeding on humans. It will just take patience. What come easily for some is not so easy for others.
In the meantime, Carlisle is shut away in his office, wondering why this is so difficult for her. And Jasper feels some sense of justification that he is not the only one struggling with a vegetarian life.
That was our day for today. Be back again soon.
by
Jessica L
Julia was desperate for another chance at hunting. The first one didn't go so well of course, but it left her with a fervor to try again.
We were all a little nervous, considering how badly her first hunting trip went. We decided to give her a little time, and supplemented her thirst with a little bit of blood from the hospital, which Carlisle brought home after his shift ended that day.
While Julia preparing herself mentally, we gathered some extra supplies. Normally, all hunting requires is a vampire body and an animal body, but in this case we wanted Julia to be successful, so that the next time could be even easier.
We put together a backpack filled with nose plugs for her nose (to help cover the metallic scent of animal blood), perfume for her to wear to help in case the nose plugs weren't strong enough, some bottled water to help wash the taste out of her mouth in case she was successful in catching a deer, and a sweater for her to wear home just in case her hunting attempt became messy. We were all set and ready to go. Even Julia felt more at ease about this.
We got ourselves out of the house and into the woods fairly quickly. A pack of deer was not too far away from where we were. I could sense a very different outlook in Julia's thought between this time and last. She was determined, strong-willed and almost angry with herself for not going through with it last time. We were not going to have that problem today.
It was the same little hunting group as before- Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, Julia and myself. This time, before Carlisle had finished his prep talk- and I know because I heard him mentally preparing it the entire walk to through the woods- Julia had pulled her noseplugs out of the backpack and popped them on her long, straight nose. She spritzed a few sprays of perfume on herself and took off into the woods, her grey knit sweater and designer jeans barely a glimpse in the wind.
I took off behind her like a shot- as I am the fastest runner- but the others quickly followed. By the time we caught up to her, she had already grabbed a deer and sunk her teeth into its neck before the deer even realized what was going on. We all stood around her- amazed. After a few seconds of awe and admiration, we stopped gawking and grabbed our own meals.
Once our bellies were full, we gathered together and started making our way back towards the house. Conversation naturally gravitated towards congratulating Julia on her excellent hunting job. I don't think any of us were as impressed with her as she was impressed with herself. She immediately plans to tackle the job again tomorrow, without the nose plugs. We will see how that goes. Her words are about hunting, but her thoughts are of Patty, and going home. She wants to check in on the woman she cannot speak to, and she wants to start a life closer to the life she left behind.
So that was our day today. I had better gear up for a busy day tomorrow.
by
Jessica L
We weren't expecting things to happen as quickly as they did. We had awaited Julia's knock on the door so long, the idea of her walking back through it really hadn't occured to us. I think most of us were starting to see her as part of our family- and we were embracing her and all her oddness with the welcome mat that us Cullens so rarely put out.
Julia, on the other hand, had different plans. The day after her big hunting trip, she left her room earlier than any of the rest of us and ventured out of the house on her own. Of course, we are just her "vegetarian lifestyle advisors," here to teach her how to live peacefully and without harming those around her. Or so Carlisle lectured us when a few of us started to go out the door after her. Unlike Julia, however, Carlisle is our father- so we obeyed his direction to stay home and leave her be.
It was only a couple short hours before she returned. Her belly swooning full of familiar-smelling blood, and a triumphant smile on her face, it was clear what she had just done. I quickly scanned her thoughts as she breezed passed me and plopped down onto the sofa with an ease only a human would have. Her mannerisms still surprise me- the way she maintains human likenesses without trying, while most of us still have to remind ourselves to appear human and display human tendencies like sitting, fidgeting, etc. These things come naturally to her.
Anyway, Julia's thoughts were bouncing around with joy- she was extremely proud of herself, very exciting about taking the next step in her major plan- whatever that is- and by the time I was starting to put it all together with the obvious- she blurted it out herself:
"That was the best hunting trip ever!"
We stared at her, stunned. I was the least surprised, perhaps because I could read her thoughts.
"You went hunting by yourself?" Carlisle asked.
"Yes! And it went fantastic! I caught a deer immediately, and without nose plugs, perfume, or any of that nonesense! It was wonderfully easy this time. I'm ready!" She was exasperated.
"Ready for what?" Carlisle mused. I already knew of course.
"To go home." Everyone just stared at Julia, not saying a word.
No-one wanted Julia to leave, of course. I think everyone had talked themselves into thinking that she would like it here so much that she would stay. I knew better- seeing the thoughts in her mind. I knew she missed her home, her town, and the woman, Patty, who cared for her. She worried about her and longed to go back to watching over her and sneaking into the house at night to help her with her chores. She was even still contemplating turning Patty into a vampire. Her most recent thoughts, however, were about returning to Patty and pretending to be human. This was almost as risky as turning Patty into a vampire. But as Carlisle said- it was Julia's life, and not ours. We are not a family, no matter how much we started to like her. I think a few times it even crossed some of their minds that Julia could be my mate. This made me laugh of course, because although Julia is beautiful- as all vampires tend to be- I am not attracted to her in that way. She is not even attracted to me in that way, as far as I can tell. Her mind is on one thing and one thing only- going home.
This thought sunk into the minds of the Cullens for a moment, while Julia looked from face to face.
"I can always come a visit, and you can come visit me!" She smiled warmly, "We are the best of friends now."
This brought smiles all around. Of course they all knew she was right. She needed to leave. But was she ready? Carlisle asked to talk to her privately about leaving, and they stepped into his study, away from the bombarding eyes and emotions of the rest of the Cullens. I knew they were talking about whether or not it was smart for Julia to rush her plans. Of course, I also knew Julia probably wasn't going to budge. At any rate, Carlisle would give it his best try, and he was a great talker.
I suppose I will fill you in on the details of Julia's goodbye tomorrow. Or- if she decides to stay, although I don't see that very likely. For now, I should go see if Alice can foresee any problems with Julia going home to Patty so soon.
by
Jessica L
Julia left early this morning before the sun came up. We all watched her go with saddened eyes, but I think at least half of us were more worried about what she was going to do when she got back to Michigan.
As of right now, Julia's most prominent plans for her future involve reinserting herself into Patty's- her caretaker and adopted mother of sorts- life. She will do this under the guise that she is still human and ran away to sort out her life only to do some growing up and discover home is where the heart is and all that.
If any vampire could pull off posing as a human under close watch it would be Julia. But can she pull it off to the one person who knew her best? And if Patty discovers her secret then what? It is entirely too risky. Julia is thinking with her heart and not her head.
At any rate, she went home. Alice has been locked in her room ever since, trying to forsee any problems. So far she sees very different things every time she looks. She sees a happy Julia spending days relaxing in her house with Patty, she sees a determined Julia up late at night doing chores while Patty rests, with ever fading health, and she sees the Volturi. This last vision is the most disturbing and at the same time it is the most vague. She is not sure what she sees about the Volturi- whether she is seeing them because of Julia or because of us. She just sees hooded members of the Voltui clan headed in a very obvious direction, as though they were told somewhere to go and are set in motion. They are going somewhere, but Alice cannot see where. She can see, however, that they are still in Italy, so she is not too incredibly worried about the vision. She just stays locked in her room, keeping herself focused on the future. Always looking to make sure nothing changes for the worse.
The rest of us are trying to relax and put things back to normal. We are eager to get back to the way things used to be before Julia came knocking on our door. It really seems difficult. Having Julia around was nice, she wasn't quite family but she had quickly become a good friend. We are doing our best to keep busy to fill the gap she left in the house. Jasper is leaving Alice alone while she does her mind-bending future-telling stuff, so he is listening to Carlisle's theories on why he feels some vampires have abilities and others don't. Rosalie is out in the garage tinkering with one of my cars- trying to annoy me as best as she can while I pretend I don't know what she is doing. I'll make her put it back together later or else I will threaten to tell Emmett what she's planning on making him wear to their next wedding.
Meanwhile, Emmett has challenged me to a game of chess. It should be interesting considering he thinks I cheat and read his mind- which I don't- and then we end up wrestling on the floor. Esme is overseeing the chess game, worried about our impending wrestling match. Mostly she doesn't want us to dent the hardwood. I should be more worried about it than she is, but I see her point. These are nice floors. I suppose, I should put this down and go before Emmett gets too impatient. Be back later!
