After Breaking Dawn... Tragedy

This is my own little epilogue to Breaking Dawn, the last book in th Twilight Saga. It's from Esme Cullen's perspective, and, a the title states, it about a tragedy. =P i hope you all like it!

 

After Breaking Dawn…

 

          Tragedy

 

    It was just another typical spring at the Cullen household. ‘Typical spring’, as in a horde of newborn vampires coming to attack us. Again. I stifled a sigh, waiting for somebody to say something. I certainly didn’t, fighting was not my area of expertise. I would’ve thought that my beloved husband, Carlisle, would have thought of something. Not that he enjoyed fighting, either, but usually he had some ideas.

    “Well, why are they even attacking? It can’t be because of me or Nessie, we settled that ages ago.” Bella said. She was right, it couldn’t be an issue with Renesmee, it was pointless. Bella had become a vampire after the birth of her and Edward’s daughter about eight months ago. Surely that couldn’t lead to more issues after such a lengthy period of time?

    “I don’t think so. Although, the current issue isn’t why they are attacking, it’s what do about it.” Carlisle replied.

     “Well, obviously, we have to fight them!” Emmett interjected, enthusiastically. Figures, Emmett always loved to fight. Nobody else said anything, and Carlisle sighed.

      “I suppose you’re right. It will probably end that way, anyways.” He whispered. I heard the pain in his voice, and reached over to take his hand. “It’ll be okay.” I murmured to him, almost silently. Everything would be okay… Or at least I hoped it would.

 

     I stood in a corner in the living room, waiting for everyone else to finish getting ready. According to Alice’s vision, the fight would take place today, in the clearing we used to play baseball. Carlisle came to stand by my side.

     “Are you okay?” He asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I nodded.

      “Yeah, just a little nervous.” I answered quietly.

      “You know, Bella’s taking Nessie away for this fight. You can go with her, if you’d like.” He told me.

      “No, I’ll come with you. I need to help with this.” I replied.

      “Esme, honey, nothing is going to happen. Really, you can go with her.” Carlisle said softly. I shook my head no.

       Then the others came down the stairs.

       “Are you two ready?” Edward asked. Carlisle nodded once.

       “Okay, Bella’s going to take Nessie to the reservation. They’re going to stay with Jacob and the pack. As for all of us, well, you know what we have to do.” Edward explained. I noticed Bella cringe slightly. Edward kissed her forehead quickly, and we all said our goodbyes, and then headed off to the baseball field.

 

           * * * * * * * *

 

         The horde of newborns had come earlier than expected, which wasn’t a good thing. But, luckily, we were prepared.

         I’d gotten rid of a few newborns myself, but there were still many left to go. Everything had gone as planned, until now.

       I had almost finished off another blood-crazed vampire, when I heard a shriek. It wasn’t like the somewhat normal ‘screams’ from the newborns, it was something else entirely. Someone from our side. And, I knew that voice only too well. Carlisle. I whipped around to face him, barely aware of the young vampire leaping at me. I froze in horror at the scene I saw in front of me.

       A tall, muscular, dark-haired boy was lunging at Carlisle. They collided, and the newborn had Carlisle pinned to the ground. I couldn’t bring myself to take a step forward; no matter how hard I tried. A metallic screech echoed through the clearing as Carlisle’s head disconnected from his body. All other sounds in the field seemed to be drowned out as I watched my husband be murdered before me.

      “CARLISLE! NO!” I sobbed, my voice an octave higher than usual. I wasn’t sure what happened after that, all I remember was collapsing to the ground before where the broken remains of Carlisle’s body burned in the blazing fire.

 

                * * * * * * * *

 

     “Esme, you have to come home.” I heard Alice say. I wasn’t able to reply to her, so I just shook my head. I hadn’t kept track of the time I’d spent in the baseball field, even after the fire was long gone; I still was knelt down by where Carlisle’s ashes remained. I know that I shouldn’t blame myself for this, because, of all things, it wasn’t my fault that he died the way he did. But, I did blame myself for not making our last moments together good ones.

    “I’m sorry, Carlisle, I really am. I love you. I know that I never said that recently, but, I do, I really do.” I whispered, barely audible. I didn’t care that I was talking to ashes, I didn’t care that my family was probably worried at home, and I didn’t care that Alice kept trying to make me go back. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything was gone, done, over. And nothing could ever change that.

    “Esme, come on. I know this is hard, but you have to let it go. Move on, everything will be all right.” Alice said, standing a few feet away from where I knelt down on the ground.

    “’Let it go’?” I quoted, “Alice, how can I just let this go? I just watched my husband die; I can’t just let it go!” I snapped. Alice was taken aback by my outburst.

    “Okay, I’m sorry. But, really, you’ve got to come home now. Everyone’s worried, and sitting out here alone isn’t good for you.” She said. I didn’t say anything, until Alice took a few steps forward, in an attempt to drag me back.

    “No!” I whined. I didn’t want to leave, and it didn’t matter how cold it was. I was a vampire, things like that don’t affect me. Apparently it didn’t affect Alice, either. Despite my struggles, she continued towing me back towards the house. It was clear that she wasn’t going to give up, so I did.

    We reached the house in a matter of minutes, a result of Alice’s determination. Everyone stared as we entered the big, white house, and I dropped my gaze to the floor.

   “Esme? Are you okay?” I heard Edward asked.

   “Of course she’s not okay, you idiot!” Alice snapped. I lifted my eyes to look at her.

    “Its okay, Alice. I’m just going to… Go upstairs.” I mumbled, and then trudged up the stairs.

    Going into Carlisle’s office probably wouldn’t help lighten my mood at all, but I couldn’t resist. The study still smelled faintly of his scent, but it got stronger as I walked further into it. I plopped down into his leather chair, and then slid down off it, to the little area under the desk. Hopefully no one would find me here. I just needed time alone.

    Well, my little plan didn’t work out as expected. About a half an hour into my ‘alone time’, Rosalie found me. She slid under the desk as well.

    “How’d you find me here?” I asked, barely more than a whisper.

    “I followed your scent. It wasn’t that hard, I figured you’d be in here.” She replied.

    “Yeah, and I came here for a reason. To be alone.” I said, looking away. Rosalie sighed.

    “I know. But, Esme, you have to come back down. Sitting in here won’t help anything. But, we can.” She put her hand on my shoulder, and I glared at it. She let her hand fall.

    “Please?” She begged, putting on her puppy-dog face. I couldn’t resist the puppy-dog face, and she knew that. This, obviously, is why she put it on.

    “Fine.” I muttered, and then got up and followed Rosalie.

    Rose and I had just descended the stairs, when Jacob decided to ‘pop in’ for a visit. Perfect. Just what I need right now. I thought, sarcastically. Jacob looked around at all of us.

    “Jeez, who died?” He asked. It was clear that he was trying to make a joke, but he wasn’t aware that it wasn’t as funny as he thought it was.

    “That’s not funny, mongrel.” Rosalie snapped, with a glare at Jacob. He looked surprised.

    “Why…? Did someone actually croak, or something?” He said. I tried to look normal.

    “Notice anyone in particular that’s missing, Jake?” Bella pointed out. Jacob looked around.

    “Carlisle?” He mouthed. Jasper nodded, and Jacob turned to look at me.

    “I’m sorry.” He apologized. I took a slow step back towards the stairs. I didn’t deserve his sympathy. Rosalie caught my shoulder again, as she noticed my escape attempt. She didn’t have to say anything for me to know that she meant “no”.

    “Well, what are you people going to do without him? Didn’t he, like, create you all, or something?” Jacob asked.

    “Can we please not talk about that right now?” I mumbled. I saw seven pairs of eyes turn to stare at me. Apparently they were shocked that I actually spoke.

    “No, we don’t have to. Calm down, Esme.” Edward told me, looking in my direction. I dropped my gaze. An awkward silence filled the room, and for a few minutes, nobody said anything. I quickly slunk away, back upstairs. Hopefully, nobody noticed.

    I decided not to go into Carlisle’s study again. The first time didn’t go too well, so I settled for our, well, now my, bedroom. I sat down on the floor at the foot of the bed (Why we even had one, I didn’t understand) and hoped to clear my head. That attempt was quickly eliminated as I overheard the conversation from downstairs.

    “How’d it happen? How did he die, I mean.” Jacob asked. There was a moment of silence; I assumed everyone was thinking of a response to that question. At last, Jasper spoke.

    “A newborn got to him during the fight. It was too fast, none of us could’ve done anything.” He explained.

    “Well, what are you guys going to do? About Esme, especially. She just seemed so… Depressed.” Jacob said. Great. A conversation about me. Now there’s something that I really didn’t need to hear.

    “Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait for her to accept the fact that he’s gone. I think she’s just in denial right now.” Edward answered.

    “But, what if she never does?” I heard someone ask. I didn’t bother identifying the voice, I really didn’t care. I’d already accepted the fact that Carlisle is… Dead. Right then, I really wished that I could sleep. That would probably help a lot to clear my head. But, of course, I couldn’t. So, I did my best to drown out the conversation that was drifting up the stairs.

 

    Over the time I’d spent locked in the bedroom, I’d thought of what I suppose could be called a plan. If Carlisle couldn’t come back, I’d just go find him. That was better than sitting locked in a room dwelling on it.

    Everyone else was gone for the day, so, now was the perfect time to put my plan into play. I quickly went down the stairs, to the large fireplace in the living room. I checked once more to make sure that nobody was around, and then lit a fire. I could always go to the Volturi, I thought, but this is easier. Less pain. I waited a few moments while the fire built up. It took longer than I expected, which didn’t help, because I had no idea when the rest of the family was coming home. I slowly inched towards the fire, trying not to think about what I was about to do. I took a deep breath, right when Edward burst through the door.

    “ESME ANN CULLEN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” He screeched. I was shocked that he used my full name. Everyone knew that I hated that. I hesitated, not sure how to respond.

    “Well…” I began, biting my lip, “I figured that if Carlisle can’t come back, I should just go to him.” I explained, bracing myself for another explosion from Edward.

    “So, you’re going to kill yourself?! By jumping in a fire?!” He growled. My jaw hardened.

    “I wasn’t going to jump. I was going to… Just… Step in, I guess. I’m sure it would be a relief to you all if I was gone. Since, apparently, all I’m doing is locking myself in a room and dwelling on this.” I said acidly. Edward sighed. Probably trying to calm himself down.

    “A relief? That would not be a relief, Esme! We just lost Carlisle, now you go and try to kill yourself? That wouldn’t help anything. And you know it.” He said, still somewhat angry.

    “Well, it would help me. And, don’t try and empathize, because you don’t know what it’s like, Edward. Everything for me, now, is just…” I trailed off, trying to think of the right adjective. “Empty. Over. Everything is just a big, black, lifeless hole.” My voice broke on ‘lifeless hole’. Don’t cry. Now is not the time to break into pieces. Especially with him here. I thought. For a moment, I forgot that Edward could read my mind. His expression softened.

    “Esme, it’s okay. I know it’s hard.” He said soothingly.

    “No, it’s not. He’s gone.” I whispered, so my voice wouldn’t break again. I sat on the floor, wrapping my arms around my knees, and trying to calm myself down. At that point, Bella walked in with Renesmee. Nessie leaned over to Bella, and asked her, “What’s wrong with her? And, where’s Grandpa Carlisle?!” Apparently nobody had told her yet. Bella shushed her, probably for my sake. Although, it didn’t really matter. Everyone had been talking about it lately.

    “Carlisle isn’t coming back. He went somewhere special.” Bella told her.

    “Where?” Nessie asked.

    “I’ll explain later. For now, just go upstairs for a little bit, okay? Go to your father’s room.” Bella replied in a hushed voice. After Renesmee left, Bella approached where Edward and I were in the middle of the room.

    “What happened?” She inquired. Edward shot me a quick glance, then turned to Bella.

    “Esme was about to jump in the fire.” He answered. He didn’t add why, Bella already knew. She turned to look at me.

    “Don’t kill yourself.” She said softly. I got up from the floor in a blur.

    “Why not? It’s not like there’s any other option for me right now.” I snapped, then turned on my heel and went out the back door, leaving Bella and Edward dumbstruck behind me.

    I walked deep into the forest behind the house. Hopefully nobody would find me here. I hid in a nearby fern, and curled up like I had back home. I’d stayed like that for God knows how long, I didn’t bother to keep track. When I looked up, I thought I saw Carlisle standing a few yards away, by a tree. My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and I got up. I started towards the tree a little bit. I was almost positive I heard him say, “Listen to Bella, don’t hurt yourself.” I’m not sure if I was right or wrong about that, but, I crashed into the tree, and Carlisle disappeared. But, I was sure that I heard a faint “I love you” before his ghostly form vanished.

    “Great. Now I’m having delusions. Maybe I need to go to an asylum or something.” I muttered.

 

    I’d returned home, after a disappointed Alice dragged me back again. She made me sit down on the couch, while everyone else stood around the living room. Everybody. Including Jacob and Renesmee in the very back of my interrogators. I looked around once, and then just stared at the floor, waiting for whatever they had in store for me to begin. Surprisingly, Jasper was the one who spoke first.

    “Okay. Tell us what’s going on, please.” He instructed. I kept my mouth shut. They knew perfectly well what was ‘going on’. Rosalie raised one eyebrow.

    “Okay, if you won’t talk, then listen. Look, Esme, you can’t just keep running off, and attempting suicide. We all know the first time didn’t go well.” She said. I flinched. She knew that I hated talking about my suicide attempt after I’d lost a child when I was still human.

    “So, we’ve got to do something about this. What is it that you need to help? There’s got to be something.” She finished. I sighed, staring at the carpet again.

    “There’s only one thing that I really need. And I can’t have it. Not unless you let me die.” I replied, my gaze flickering to the fireplace and back. Emmett rolled his eyes.

    “Well, that’s not gonna happen, clear?” He said harshly. That was different, usually when Emmett was harsh, he was only joking. But, this time he was actually serious. Normally, that would’ve surprised me. But, today, I could really care less. Not just about that, about everything. All I wanted right now was for Carlisle to be back. For him to hold me like he always did when I was upset. For him to smooth my hair and say that everything would be all right. For him to say “I love you”, and really mean it with all his heart… And that would never happen. Never again.

    I came back to reality, to find myself holding back the tears that would never come. Edward must’ve read my mind, because I noticed him looking at me with sympathy filling his topaz eyes.

    “… And, you really need to go hunting again. You haven’t gone out since it happened.” Alice said, finishing a statement that I hadn’t heard. She was right; I really did need to hunt. Unlike the rest of them, my eyes were charcoal black, not the usual gold of a ‘vegetarian’ vampire. But, hunting was the last thing on my mind.

    “Hello? Did you hear me?” Alice asked. I looked up.

    “I’m sorry, what?” I mumbled.

    “I said that you need to get out somewhere. Besides the forest. That doesn’t count.” She repeated.

    “Any reason?” I asked quietly. Alice sighed.

    “You need to get out of the house. I told you, staying here doesn’t help anything. C’mon.” She said, grabbing my wrist and towing me out to the garage. I followed her reluctantly. Alice walked quickly over to where her yellow Porsche was parked. She got in the drivers seat, and motioned for me to get in the passenger side. I just stood. Alice sighed again.

    “Okay. You got shotgun. Now get in!” She instructed. I hesitantly got in next to her, knowing that if I didn’t she would probably just force me to some other way. As soon as I shut the door, she backed out of the garage and with a deafening screech, turned around and started driving.

    “Alice, where are you taking me?” I asked, not liking this one bit.

    “I don’t know yet. Just… Somewhere.”

    “Italy would be preferable.” I muttered, staring out the passenger window. Alice must’ve heard me, because she started again on the speech that I’d heard from Edward the other day.

    “Esme, you’re not going to the Volturi. And, if you try, I’ll stop you. Even if it’s the last thing I do. Killing yourself wouldn’t help us at all. Just think about what it would do to the family if you were gone. It’s already bad enough without Carlisle, so if you croaked, we’d be –” I cut her off in mid-sentence.

   “I know. I’ve already heard this, Alice; I really don’t want or need to hear it again.” I said, in a dry monotone.

    “Well, too bad. You’re not going to go and kill yourself over this. We love you more than you think, you know.” She said, her tone softening. That probably should’ve cheered me up a bit. But it didn’t. If they really cared, they would let me go. Because they’d know that I would be happy if I did that. I thought, not wanting to say it aloud.

    Neither of us said anything for the rest of the ride. Alice must’ve decided where she was taking me, because she stopped about a half an hour later. I hadn’t really been paying attention to our surroundings; I mostly just stared blankly out the window, not seeing anything. I’d thought that I’d seen Carlisle somewhere in the trees a few times along the way, but I knew that it was only my pathetic delusions again.

    “Okay, get out. I want to show you something.” Alice said to me. I did as I was told, knowing what Alice would do if I didn’t. She was standing next to me about a second later.

    “Follow me.” She said, grabbing my wrist again. Alice and I started off to… Well, wherever we were going. She still hadn’t told me.

    A little while later –I hadn’t kept track of time- the two of us finally stopped. It didn’t take us long, due to the fact that Alice wasn’t directionally challenged, like I could be sometimes. And, probably because of the fact that we’re vampires and the whole vampires-are-faster-than-humans crap. I barely noticed that Alice was trying to talk to me.

    “Look down there.” She whispered, pointing down off the cliff to the shining blue water below. Okay, this doesn’t make any sense. Why the hell did she take me to a cliff? I thought.

    “Isn’t it pretty?” Alice asked enthusiastically. I just looked at her.

    “And this is supposed to help me how? A cliff, Alice?” I asked. Alice’s face fell a bit.

    “Well, I’m sorry about the cliff thing. I know the… Memories… That cliffs hold for you.” She apologized.

    “Really…” I muttered under my breath, sarcastically.

    “But, I thought it would help take your mind off… Well, you know. Because it’s peaceful, and I know that you like peaceful things.” Alice finished, half-smiling. I tried to manage a smile, but I failed. Figures.

    “Well, thank you, Alice. But, I don’t think anything can really help too much right now.” I said, glancing at the water. Being on a cliff again gave me an idea, but, since I’m nearly indestructible, it obviously wouldn’t work. Alice must’ve noticed me eyeing the water like that, because she interrupted my thought.

    “Okay, um, we’ll go home now.” She interceded. I stifled a sigh, and followed her back to the Porsche, trailing a few feet behind.

 

After another very long drive (long even with the way Alice drives) Alice and I finally reached home. I knew that everyone would be like they were earlier, interrogators. Edward, would you mind not telling them anything about this? I thought to Edward, knowing that he could hear both of our thoughts. But, when we walked in the door, the family’s expressions weren’t curious. They were something else entirely. I stood in the doorway, not wanting to know what could’ve happened to make them act like that.

    “Um, is something wrong?” Alice inquired. Edward and Jasper exchanged a glance. After a few moments, Edward spoke.

    “It’s the wolves,” He began quietly.

    “How do the wolves affect us?” Alice asked. I could tell by the way her shoulders were set that she really didn’t care about the Quileute wolf pack. Edward sighed.

    “That’s just the thing, Alice. Apparently, a human saw one of them phase. The human followed him –the wolf happened to be Jacob- to here. Unfortunately, a few of us were hunting, in the wrong place at the wrong time. And…” Edward sucked in a deep breath, “She saw us hunting, and Jacob phase back to human form. I think this human has discovered what we are.” He finished. Alice and I stood quietly, and nobody said anything. So, I decided to break the silence.

    “But, how is that a bad thing? I mean, Bella knew our secret, and she didn’t do anything. What makes you think that this one will?” I pointed out. Then, everyone exchanged a worried glance. That was never a good sign. Edward didn’t seem to want to say any more, so Rosalie took his place as spokesperson.

    “Because, she wasn’t any ordinary human,” Rosalie began, “She was one of the most dangerous and ancient vampire hunters.”

 

Alice and I froze, rooted to the same spot. This couldn’t be happening; all the vampire hunters were extinct, gone forever. There wasn’t any way that one of them could’ve come back.

    “Well, what are we supposed to do?” Alice asked.

    “Either go somewhere away from here, or fight this vampire hunter. I believe her name is Amber.” Edward said, in a dry monotone, “I bet Carlisle would know what to do.” He added, more quietly. My chest tightened at the mention of Carlisle’s name. Did they really have to talk about him right now?

    “I say we run.” I whispered, barely audible. Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes.

    “Oh, of course you say to run! I say we stay and fight! I’m sure this girl can’t hurt us that bad, she’s only human.” He said, with a big grin on his face. Alice quickly walked over, and smacked him in the shoulder.

    “You idiot! Don’t you understand that this isn’t any normal human that we’re dealing with here? She’s an ancient vampire hunter. This Amber can kill us all in a matter of minutes. She’s not the kind of vampire hunter that you read about in your little story books, Emmett. I’ve been told that the ancients are pretty much humans from Hell. They have special abilities that allow them to pick out vampires from a huge horde of humans, and, their enhanced abilities let them know how to kill us on instinct. We can’t fight her, you brainless… You brainless THING!” Alice screamed at Emmett. Rosalie glared at her, but Alice didn’t seem to care. Apparently this… Amber… was a bigger deal than even I thought she was.

    “Alice, calm down.” Edward snapped. Alice stepped back.

    “Sorry. I just had to get my point across to Emmett here. Rosalie, is your husband really that stupid?” She asked. The rest of us sighed.

    “Alice, I don’t think that’s really relevant right now. We kinda have a crisis here!” I said, although it came out as more of a hiss. A few of them in the room seemed surprised at my tone, since I’d barely spoken since… Carlisle’s death. I forced myself to think the words, maybe if I did that it wouldn’t hurt as much. A moment later, everyone refocused on the current issue.

    “I think the best thing to do right now, would to be to wait a little bit. You know, to see how things go from here. There’s not much else we can do to stop this, and I’m sure the wolves couldn’t, either.” Jasper suggested. I agreed with him, there wasn’t anything else we could do. I tried to think of what Carlisle would’ve said. Nothing came to my mind; my memories of him were too vague, too clouded.

    “I don’t think we should wait. I mean, if she already knows what we are, she’s probably already coming after us.” Bella pointed out. Well, she had a point, too. This would be harder than I thought.

    “Well, why don’t we vote? It seems reasonable.” Rosalie suggested. Edward turned to look at her.

    “Rose, I never thought that I’d be saying this, but, that’s a pretty good idea. Okay, we each vote either fight or run, got it?” Edward said. We all nodded once in acknowledgement.

    “Okay. I vote run. Emmett?” Edward began.

    “Fight!”

    “Jasper?”

    “Fight.” Jasper wasn’t as enthusiastic as Emmett, but, his choice surprised me.

    “Bella?” Edward asked.

    “Run.”

    “Okay, Rosalie?”

    “Fight.” Now, that was unexpected. Apparently Emmett was rubbing off on his wife a bit. Edward stifled a sigh.

    “Alice?”

    “Run.” Alice replied solemnly. At last, Edward turned to me. This was the moment I’d been dreading. Why did I have to be last?

    “Well, Esme, I guess you’re the tiebreaker. Fight or run?” He inquired. I hesitated, not sure which to pick. Fighting seemed more logical, we could just get rid of Amber and that would be the end of it. Although, she is an ancient…

    “Run.” I finally decided. Emmett rolled his eyes.

    “Wow. Nice job, Esme, taking all the fun out of it!” He nearly yelled. I shot him a glance, not saying anything, and then turned back to Edward, who was glaring at Emmett. Alice cleared her throat.

    “So, when are we going to go?” She asked. Edward thought for a moment.

    “Well, I suppose we should give it a day to get ready and things like that, and then we’ll leave.” He explained. Then, something occurred to me.

    “Hey, um, vampire hunters don’t kill humans, do they?” I asked quietly. Emmett burst out in guffaws of laughter.

    “Humans? Vampire hunter? Wow, Esme, get real! I don’t think a human would go after another, unless they’re freaking homicidal!” He said through his chortles of laughter. I didn’t understand what he found so funny. Apparently, neither did the rest.

    “What is so funny? You can’t blame her, vampire hunters are unpredictable.” Alice stated.

    “Alice, you don’t have to defend me.” I whispered to her. I didn’t like it when people did that. I could defend myself; I didn’t need anyone else to do it. But, Alice didn’t seem to care.

 

    The next day, while everybody was ‘getting ready’, I stood in the same corner that I did on the day of Carlisle’s death. They were taking a very long time, which I didn’t understand, so I decided to go outside while I waited.

    I wasn’t going into the forest for the same reason I had before. Like Alice had suggested, I went out to hunt. I’d taken down a few deer, which satisfied my thirst more than I thought it would. I was just about finishing up, when I heard a faint rustle from the ferns behind me. I hesitated shortly, but then kept walking. It was probably only an animal. The ferns rustled again. This time, I stopped walking completely. It’s only an animal; I don’t need to get so freaked out over this. I convinced myself. Well, I was absolutely wrong about that.

    “Esme.” Said a voice that I hadn’t heard in so long. And, I would recognize it anywhere. It was Carlisle’s voice; and it sounded the same as it did when he was still alive. I snapped out of my moment, knowing that this had to be another one of my hallucinations. But, the voice echoed in my head, over and over. I finally turned around, and by the fern, stood Carlisle. He looked different this time; not as faded. Hmm... No wings. Aren’t angels supposed to have wings? I thought, tilting my head to the side a little bit.

    “Carlisle?” I tried to say, but no sound came out, except for a small squeak. My hallucinatory Carlisle nodded, and he cleared his throat.

    “Okay, I know that this is probably very awkward… But, I came to try and help.” He said. I didn’t get why he thought it was awkward. It was great, being able to talk to him… Even if it was only a delusion.

    “Can the others see you, too?” I asked, in barely more than a whisper. Carlisle shook his head.

    “No, only you can. I’m not exactly sure why; maybe it has something to do with the fact that you were the closest to me, and vice versa. But, that’s not the point. We’ve got to deal with this vampire hunter of yours.” He answered. Vampire hunter… I had almost forgotten about her in the midst of what was happening at the moment.

    “Okay, I know, I know. But… Is this real? Are you actually here?” I asked. The questions rushed out before I could stop them. Carlisle smirked.

    “Real to you, I suppose. But actually, physically here, no. See?” He held out his hand to me, and I tried to take it. But, my hand just fell through his as if there was nothing there. My shoulders slouched a little bit.

    “But, anyways, about the current issue. I think I have an idea of how you and the rest can defeat this Amber.” Carlisle told me, refocusing on the current problem. I raised one eyebrow.

    “And what is this idea of yours?” I inquired, hoping that it was a fairly good idea, and that it would work. It’s Carlisle, you idiot! Of course it’s a good idea! I scolded myself, mentally.

    “Well, Amber is an ancient. There aren’t many ways to destroy ancient vampire hunters, but the most common way is to stab them with an onyx stone. But, keep in mind that it has to be straight through the heart, it won’t work anywhere else. And, onyx can be quite hard to find.” Carlisle explained.

    “Why does onyx kill them?” I wondered. Carlisle shrugged.

    “I’m really not sure. It’s just their weakness, I suppose. But, I wish all of you good luck.” He answered.

    “Can I tell the others about this? About you coming here, I mean.” I asked.

    “If you’d like. Although, they might think that you’ve gone crazy.” He said, with a weak laugh. But, he quickly erased the humor out of the situation.

    “I must be going… I can’t stay here for too long. But, good luck, and, I love you, Esme.” Carlisle said softly, before fading away.

    “I love you, too.” I whispered, a moment too late, after his form vanished.

 

    I entered the house again, and it was only Bella who had come down. Hopefully neither she nor the rest had noticed my absence.

    “Hey, where’ve you been?” She asked. Oh, crap. Apparently she did notice. And, I wasn’t sure whether or not to tell her about my little ‘encounter’ out in the forest. Bella raised an eyebrow, waiting for my response. I gulped, not sure how to begin.

    “Well, let’s just say that I know how to kill Amber.” I told her. There, that was good enough.

    “Well, how do we kill her?” Bella inquired.

    “We have to stab an onyx stone through her heart. That’s the only way to really know that she’s gone.” I whispered. Hopefully she wouldn’t ask how I knew that… But, of course, she did.

    “And how did you find this out? It’s not very often that you have random bursts of intuition, Esme.” She said. I let my gaze wander around the room, not sure what to tell her about that. Well, they already know that I’ve gone just a little insane. What difference would it make? I thought.

    “Um, Carlisle told me.” I said, innocently. Bella smirked, and tried to hold back a laugh.

    “Carlisle told you? Carlisle’s dead, how could he tell you something about that?” Bella asked, still somewhat smiling. I sighed, not seeing the humor in the situation.

    “Okay… Well, I was out in the forest,” I paused, waiting to see if she would tell me off for that again, but, Bella kept quiet, “when I had some delusion of him. He said that it wasn’t one of my hallucinations again, but I don’t know. And, he told me.” I explained, with a shrug. Bella narrowed her eyes to slits. She didn’t look suspicious… Just confused.

    “Hallucinations again? You mean that this has happened before, and you didn’t tell us?” Bella asked.

    “Well, he never said anything before. But, I’ve had delusions of Carlisle before, yes.” I replied. I knew she was probably going to go off on some speech on how I was going completely nuts any second now. If she was going to say anything, Edward and the rest cut her off by coming down the stairs.

    “Is something wrong?” Jasper asked. He must’ve sensed our tension in the room.

    “We know how to kill the vampire hunter. We have to stab her through the heart with an onyx stone.” Bella told them. Edward smiled at her.

    “And where did you find this out?” He inquired. Bella looked at me.

    “I didn’t, Esme did. She said that—”

    “Bella…” I said, cutting her off in mid-sentence.

    “She said that Carlisle told her.” Bella finished. Everyone turned to stare at me. I looked down, avoiding eye contact. Emmett grinned.

    “Carlisle told you? Wow, I always knew that something was up with you, Esme, and this proves it! HA!” He chortled. Rosalie smirked at her husband’s comment.

    “So… Should we go now?” Edward asked, changing the subject. Most of the family –with the exception of Emmett and me- nodded. If I could have, I would’ve blushed.

 

    The family and I headed off. We went to the south, because, according to Alice’s vision, Amber was heading north. Hopefully she wouldn’t catch our scent and follow us. I have to remember that she’s only a human. How could she catch our scent? I thought.

    “She’s not an ordinary human, Esme. She can easily follow us on instinct, keep that in mind.” Edward whispered to me. I dropped my gaze. I should’ve known.

    We’d passed through a few towns on the way, and we were now in the very northern part of California. This would be hard; California was one of the sunniest places on the West Coast, we’d have to be careful not to… Sparkle around humans.

    “Haven’t we gone far enough now?” Rosalie asked, irritably. Edward looked around, and checked the time. Why he did that, I wasn’t sure of.

    “I suppose we have. What are we supposed to do, though? Sitting here isn’t going to get rid of her.” He asked. A few of us exchanged a confused glance.

    “Why don’t we just fight her? I’m sure we could find onyx somewhere out here.” Bella pointed out, looking down at Renesmee, who was sound asleep in her arms.

    “Bella’s right. We don’t have a stone; and, we should get one. You know, just to be prepared.” I said quietly, looking around at everyone.

    “We’ll get one later. But, for now, don’t you think that we should find somewhere to stay for a while?” Rosalie asked. Edward rolled his eyes.

    “If you insist.” He sighed, turning to look at Rose. 

    We’d found a large cavern to stay in. It wasn’t the best area to take cover in, but, at least it was shelter. There were several small parts of the cave that served as ‘rooms’ for all of us. Each couple had their own ‘room’, so, of course, I was alone.

    Most of the others had gone out hunting, to check out what sort of animals there were around here. I stayed back, as I had gone hunting a while ago. I sat in the corner of my part of the cave, when I heard a faint footstep from somewhere nearby. I looked up from the floor of the cave, to see if anyone was there. I didn’t notice anything, so I let it go. It was probably only the wind.

    I’d almost forgotten hearing the faint footsteps earlier, until I heard a crack from above me. I slowly looked up, to see a rather large, dark form slinking away between the stalactites on the ceiling of the area. It was probably only a bat. Nothing to worry about. I convinced myself mentally. Well, apparently it wasn’t a bat.

    A tall, slender, dark haired girl jumped down from somewhere in the ceiling. She was dressed in all black leather, and had many weapons slung from her belt. I wondered if a wooden stake was one of them. The girl looked at me huddled up in the corner, and tilted her head to the side.

    “Hmm. Have we met before? You look strangely familiar.” She said, in a high pitched, musical voice. Her piercing blue eyes stared me down.

    “N-Not that I know of.” I stuttered. Something about this girl was strangely familiar to me, as well. “Who are you?” I whispered. Maybe her name would ring a bell. A shocked expression crossed the girl’s face.

    “Oh, how rude of me. I’m Amber; and you, must be my next victim.” She said, meeting my eyes with an intense glare. A glare of a killer.

 

    I froze, waiting for the vampire hunter to make her move that would end my life. Amber smiled faintly, and reached for the hilt of a sword that was slung through her belt. I let my gaze rest on it for a moment.

    “You do realize that a sword can’t kill us, right?” I asked quietly, to keep my voice from shaking. The vampire hunter smirked, and laughed once.

    “Of course I do, I’m smarter than the average human vermin, you know. And, does this look like any ordinary sword to you?” She inquired, pulling the sword from its sheath. Amber held it up for me to see. She was right; it wasn’t any ordinary sword. A long, shiny, silver blade protruded from a golden hilt, which had many marks on it. They probably meant something, in some ancient language that I didn’t know. But, the most un-ordinary part was the faint aura of purple light the surrounded the silver blade. I paused to look at Amber, who was staring at the sword with such admiration, that I wondered if she was going to use it.

    “Nope, this isn’t your everyday sword. In fact, I used it to kill that blond one of your coven, I believe.” She told me. My jaw dropped, forgetting the weapon that was only a few feet in front of me. I couldn’t bring myself to believe what the vampire hunter just said.

    “You killed –” I began, but she cut me off in mid- sentence.

    “Yes, I was the one that killed your husband. Carlisle, am I correct?” She said, with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. I just nodded; unable to speak.

    “B-But I thought that a newborn killed him.” I whispered. Amber considered that for a moment.

    “Oh, you mean Dylan?” She asked. I raised one eyebrow.

     “Well, Dylan was a friend of mine before he was changed. Way back when I met him, I decided to take a little break from my ‘career’, if you could call it that. But, when my best friend was changed into the species that I hated the most, it brought out my inner instinct. So, when he was turned into a vampire, and joined that little pack of newborns, we decided to try and kill them. But, then they just had to be difficult and go after your coven. So, I figured, why not just kill both the coven and the pack of newborns?” She asked rhetorically, with a shrug, “So, we watched your coven for the longest time, when, finally, the newborns decided to attack. We’d figured out over time that the blond, Carlisle, was the leader, so we wanted to get rid of him first. It wasn’t very hard to make it look like Dylan killed him; we had worked together like that before. We got to the rest of the newborns, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t get to the rest of your coven. Well, unfortunate for Dylan and I, at least.” Amber paused for a moment, “So, we’ve come full circle.” She finished. I still couldn’t get over the fact that I was in the same room with Carlisle’s murderer.

    “Hmm, nothing to say? Well, I suppose that’ll make this a lot easier that I thought it would be.” Amber said excitedly. She un-sheathed her glowing sword again, and in a movement that was too fast for even me to see, the vampire hunter had me pinned up against the wall, with the blade of the weapon hovering at my throat.

    Amber raised her eyebrows. She looked confused… But, why?

    “Wow, this is too easy. You’re not even struggling!” She said in amazement. I didn’t want to get away from her; I probably wouldn’t be able to, and, the sooner I was dead, the sooner I’d be with Carlisle again. During my little thought, Amber must’ve come out of her ‘amazement trance’. She put a small amount of pressure on the blade, pressing to my throat ever so slightly. I drew in a quick breath, waiting for the moment that Amber would decide to just do it, and kill me. Maybe she’s just building suspense? There’s no way she can be afraid to kill me. I thought. Apparently she wasn’t, because a moment later, she applied more pressure to the sword, causing it to slit my throat with the glowing purple aura. I tried to growl, but all that came out was a quiet but high-pitched whimper. At that point, something hard fell and hit me in the head. I blinked once, and it landed in my hand. I slowly looked down to see what the object was, and to my surprise, it was a smooth, black and very sharp stone. An onyx stone.

    I lifted my gaze back to Amber, who hadn’t noticed the stone that fell out of… Well, I didn’t know where it came from. She grinned savagely, and my grip tightened on the black rock in my hand. The vampire hunter drew her sword away from my throat, lifting it to get the perfect angle for the death blow. It all happened very fast then, although it seemed like slow motion. Amber swung the blade, aiming for my throat, and I lifted the stone, plunging it as far as I could into her heart. That stopped her in mid-swing, and dark red seeped through her chest, soaking my forearms, and spattering all over on me. I tried to ignore the white-hot burning in my throat as more blood spilled onto the floor and soaked me as well. Amber’s body fell back, still with the stone stuck in her chest, and landed on the floor with a muted thump, broken and lifeless.

    “Oh, God. Oh, no…” I whispered, barely audible. Whether I said it about the body lying limp on the cave floor, or the warm blood spreading rapidly around it, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t have any time to consider it, as Edward walked in then, with the rest behind him. His gaze zeroed in on the body of Amber, then on my bloody form that was knelt beside it.

    “Um, everyone, stay out here… There’s a lot of blood in there. Esme, what happened?” He asked, shooing the others away, and coming in the small area in the cave. I could hear confused and shocked murmurs from the rest of the family outside. I sighed, biting my lip, because I wasn’t sure what to tell him. I finally decided just to tell him tell him the truth.

    “I killed the vampire hunter.” I said, almost silently. Edward just looked at me.

    “And where did you get that onyx stone?” He inquired, glancing at the stone still protruding from Amber’s chest, and back. That, I really wasn’t sure about.

    “Um… I really don’t know. It just fell out of the sky, and hit me in the head. It’s true, I swear.” I told him, a little louder than before. I really didn’t want to talk about it anymore, the scent of the blood was already beginning to overwhelm me, and I didn’t know how much longer I could go without letting myself snap. At that thought, Edward stopped asking questions, and motioned for me to get up.

    “Well, um, c’mon. We should probably go home, and get away from all of this.” He said. I glanced back at Amber’s lifeless body, then down at my blood-coated self.

    “But, what about her?” I asked, gesturing towards Amber. Edward considered that for a second.

    “We can just leave her here. I highly doubt that anyone comes here, anyways. But, really. Come on. I can tell that you’re probably going to let your thirst take over at any moment.” It was true; my throat was still burning intensely from the scent of all the human blood in the room. I followed Edward out of the cave, trying to stay unseen. All of the others stared as we came out, not at Edward, but at me. It was understandable, my hair was matted, and I was covered in Amber’s blood from nearly head to toe. Jasper and Bella were near the back, with Emmett and Rosalie in front of them. I looked down, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

    “What happened? You look awful.” Alice asked, critiquing my blood-stained clothes.

    “Alice, is now really the time for that? She just killed the vampire hunter; I don’t think she really cares about her clothes.” Edward snapped. More confused murmurs came from the rest of the family.

    “You killed the hunter? Wow, I never knew you had in ya, Esme.” Emmett said to me. I glanced up at him, and nodded once in acknowledgement. Everyone paused for a moment.

    “Do you guys mind saving this for later? I really need to, um… Clean myself.” I asked quietly, avoiding everyone’s gaze. Edward smiled at me encouragingly.

    “Sure. I know your thirst is probably very uncomfortable. This conversation can wait.” He said, stopping the conversation from going any further.

 

    After a very long drive, we’d all made it back home, to Forks. It felt better to be out of that cave, and back in the familiar living room. Although, it didn’t feel better to be back in the same spot as before we left. We were all in the main room, just standing there. I was the center of attention; which I really didn’t like, and everyone else was like interrogators, yet again. Well, at least I wasn’t covered in blood anymore.

    “Where’d you get the onyx stone? I’m pretty sure that there wasn’t any in that cave.” Rosalie asked. They already knew how I got it; because even I didn’t know.

    “Well, like I’ve said how ever many times, I don’t know. It just fell out of nowhere, and hit me in the head, I swear.” I explained to her. Rosalie humphed, and nobody said anything for a moment.

    “And, why are we even discussing this? Isn’t it a good thing that I killed her? I really don’t think you guys need to know every little detail, because it’s not that complicated. I got the stone, and when she was about to kill me, I was faster and killed her. Got it?” I said impatiently. I really didn’t want to talk about it.

    “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec. She tried to kill you?” Alice inquired. Well, shoot. Apparently I hadn’t told anyone about that part.

    “Well, yeah. She was a vampire hunter, what did you expect? And, didn’t you see that glowing, purple sword?” I said. Edward looked at me funny.

    “Well, I saw a sword, but it wasn’t glowing purple. Maybe it dies out when the hunter is killed?” He wondered aloud. I just shrugged.

    “What did she do with the sword?” Alice asked. I thought for a second.

    “She didn’t get very far. All she did was slit my throat a bit, but she didn’t get a chance to really hurt me before I got her with the stone.” I explained.

    “Okay. Well, the good thing is that it’s over now.” Bella said, putting her hand on my shoulder. For once, I actually let it stay there. The others must’ve decided to give up on the conversation, because nobody said anything more.

 

    It had been about a day since I killed Amber. Everybody was in the house, just minding their own business, so I decided to go outside, for a change of scenery.

    For the first time in a while, I didn’t go into the forest. Instead, I decided to go by the winding Sol Duc River, that wasn’t too far from our home. I sat on the riverbank, and watched the clear blue water flow by at a quick pace. I’d been sitting there for so long, almost zoned out, that I barely noticed when Carlisle’s form appeared next to me. I wasn’t surprised, I’d grown almost used to his sudden appearances. I glanced at him once, then let my gaze slowly wander back to the water.

    “Hey.” I said quietly. Carlisle’s forehead creased in consternation.

    “What’s wrong?” He asked, moving over a little closer to me. I shook my head slightly, not meeting his gaze, although I could almost feel it burning into me.

    “Nothing, I’m fine.” I lied. I didn’t like lying to him; even if he was only a delusion, I still felt bad about it. Carlisle smiled slightly.

    “No, you’re not.” He said. As much as I love Carlisle, sometimes it bothered me how he could always tell if I was lying or not.

    “How can you tell?” I asked in a monotone. He just shrugged once.

    “I know you too well. But, that doesn’t matter. Of all things right now, you should be happy.” He whispered to me, with sympathy filling his golden eyes.

    “Well, just because I killed the vampire hunter, doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ll be happy. And, why does it matter, anyways?” I pointed out. It really didn’t matter, it’s not like anyone cared.

    “It matters because, Esme, you can’t go though life being depressed. And, I know you can’t; it’s just part of who you are.” Carlisle pointed out. I sighed, not saying anything. He was right; and I couldn’t deny it.

    “I know you’ll be okay, you’re strong.” He pressed, to emphasize his point. I let my gaze rest on the fast-moving water, it was almost hypnotizing.

    “But, there’s one problem that prevents it.” I began. Carlisle looked confused, like he didn’t know what I was saying.

    “And what is that? I don’t think that anything can really prevent happiness.” He said.

    “It’s you, Carlisle! I can’t be happy without you; it’s just not possible.” I explained, turning to look at him. Rain began to fall, soaking my hair, making it dark and heavy. But, I could really care less about that. Carlisle and I just stared at each other, each of us waiting for the other to say something.

    “Yes, you can. And I promise you will.” He said quietly, moving over a little closer.

    “How am –” I began, but whatever I was about to say was cut off when his lips met mine.

 

         ***********

 

    After a very long moment, Carlisle and I broke apart from the kiss, reluctantly. We were both soaked with rain, and he brushed away the damp hair from my eyes. I wasn’t sure if any of that was real; but I didn’t want him to disappear again.

    “How… How was that possible? I-I thought you were only a delusion.” I said, breathlessly. Carlisle glanced away quickly, then back.

    “Well,” He began, probably not sure how to begin, “remember that purple aura that surrounded Amber’s sword?” He asked. I nodded once.

    “The thing is, that purple aura gives the ancients power. And when they use it to kill a vampire, the power from the aura makes sure that the vampire is really dead, and stays that way. Being killed by a vampire hunter isn’t the same as being killed by another vampire.” He explained, taking in a deep breath, “But, anyways. When the hunter is killed, the purple aura dies out, because there is nothing for it to give power to any longer. Which means, since the aura is gone, it’s no longer keeping the dead souls dead. So they all pretty much come back to life. Well, most of them, at least.” Carlisle finished. I wasn’t able to reply, so I just threw my arms around his waist, and hugged him.

    “We should probably head home soon, don’t you think?” He asked. I gave a small nod, and he got up, pulling me along with him. On our way back home, something occurred to me.

    “Hey, where’d I get that onyx stone?” I inquired. Carlisle didn’t seem confused at all.

    “The onyx stone? Oh, I sent it.” He told me. I smiled up at him.

    “Thank you.” I thanked him quietly.

    “Well, I wasn’t going to let you die. I’d rather have both of us alive than both of us dead. But, you’re welcome.”

    We’d reached the house, and Carlisle hesitated before entering. I didn’t have to ask why to know.

    “What are we supposed to say when I suddenly walk in, alive and well?’ He asked. The question wasn’t exactly directed towards me, it seemed like he was asking himself what to do. I looked down, and thought for a moment.

    “Well, I’m sure if one of us explained everything, it would be all right…” I trailed off, not sure of anything else.

    “Okay, how about this,” I began, “I’ll go in first, and you follow behind me. We’ll try to stay discreet, so nobody notices your sudden appearance.” I finished. Wow. That’s a really stupid idea. I thought. Carlisle considered it for a moment, and then nodded. I sucked in a deep breath, and then opened the door. Bella, Edward, Alice, and Renesmee were the only ones inside.

    “Hey, Esme. Where’ve you been? And… Why are you all wet?” Bella asked, before her gaze locked on Carlisle, who was standing behind me. The others were pretty much frozen to their spots, shocked by his appearance.

    “GRANDPA!” Renesmee squealed. Carlisle smiled at her.

    “Hi, Nessie.” He said. Edward and Bella were dumbstruck, but Alice was grinning, ear to ear.

    “Um, we can explain.” I said quickly, so they wouldn’t assume anything. Edward stared at us.

    “Well, then. Get on with it.” He said. I suddenly forgot anything I was about to say, and my throat tightened. I looked up at Carlisle for help; he nodded, and put his hand on my shoulder.

    “Did she tell you about the purple aura surrounding the hunter’s sword?” He asked. All three nodded in synchronization. Then, Carlisle began on the same explanation he told me. None of them said anything for a few moments after it ended, so we stayed quiet, too.

    “Well, it’s great to have you back, Carlisle. We all missed you terribly.” Bella said quietly.

    “Thank you, Bella. I missed all of you, as well.” Carlisle replied.

 

    I stood by the back window, watching the steady fall of rain outside. It had been about a day since Carlisle’s return, so I don’t know why I was so down. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m thinking about everything that happened with Amber. That would obviously make me feel quite guilty. I thought. I barely noticed Carlisle’s approach.

    “Are you all right? You seem a little… Tense.” He said, wrapping his arm lightly around my waist.

    “Yeah, I’m fine.” I answered quietly. He looked at me sympathetically. “Really.” I pressed, to emphasize my point.

    “Well, just remember that everything’s better now. The vampire hunter is gone, all is well.” He said in a comforting tone. I just nodded, leaning my head on his shoulder. We both just stared out the window, watching the rainfall. I let my mind wander, because nothing else mattered at the moment. All that I really cared about right now was that Carlisle and I were together again. Everything was the way it should be. And it’ll stay that way. Nothing would ever bring us apart like that again.

 

 

         The End

Author's Note

Some reviews would be greatly appreciated. I would like conscructive critisism for future writing pieces, but, please, nothing mean.

Reviews

[Alice Black]

It's a little long but pushes the reader to keep reading. A little tweeks here and there and you've got a whole novel! :)

[Renesmee Carlie Cullen]

This was really sad but it pushed me to keep reading, Good job.

[Brooke]

Oh, courtbug, its not long! Only about 18 pages on microsoft word! =D Lol.

but, thanks, you guys!!

[courtbug]

ITS AWSOME BUT ITS A LITTLE LONG

[deeps]

Wow! This is toatlly awesome here!
This is one amazing story. Love it
Wonderful story, I even chuckled.
Found it leave me clinging it to my seat.
I love writes with drama and suspense
You did that very well.
Iwouldn't change anything to it.
You write wonderful stories.

[Brooke]

Aww, why didn't my fonts work?? ...Apparently I did something wrong. Wow. What a shocker.