Where the Hellebores Bloom

Who's in Favor?

—You guys came. Carlisle says, greeting Sam, Jacob, and Seth. They came in at the first ray of light, eager to get answers. —Come in and make yourselves at home.

All three of them enter the house and gather in the living room like always, but this is far from a social visit.

—You know why we're here. Sam is not looking for chit-chat. The smell of a human in a house of vampires brings back bad memories.

—Of course. Carlisle always tries to be as relaxed as possible when talking to Sam. The boy has enough anger in him for the both of them, so it's better to keep things civil. —And I believe you also know that there is nothing to worry about. We are practically a hotel for humans at this point.

Carlisle's humor falls flat in the room. Emmett is better than me at this. He thinks, feeling uncomfortable.

—That isn't true. The situation here is different, right? We heard from Jasper that human has no ID. Sam says.

—Yes, but we are investigating that. Alice says.

—Is that so? Sam says sarcastically, looking around the room like he's looking for someone. —I don't see any police anywhere.

—Jasper is taking care of the investigation. It's... complicated. Alice looks over to Esme. She has her head down like she's ashamed.

—The situation is always complicated. What is the problem this time? Sam is very impatient.

—She appeared to us in an.... unusual way. Carlisle explains. —We found her, lost in the woods. We were not going to interfere, but she came to the house, looking for help, and we couldn't let her freeze to death because we had to keep a low profile.

Carlisle is cautious about keeping the most crucial details out. He and Edward have always acted like mediators between the shape-shifters and their family, and they have gotten closer than ever to each other, but they can't ignore thousand-year instincts.

—I took care of her. He continues. —She was very weak, and when she woke up, she had no memories of who she was, but we noticed some peculiar things. She couldn't remember her name, but she knew how to use the robots. Carlisle can hear Anne breathing slowly in her room. He agrees with Jasper that it is better to investigate this ourselves. Besides, Anne is just a human. She's not a risk to anyone in that house. They can keep things under control until Jasper returns. They have to.

—It's true. Alice says, backing up Carlisle. —She didn't recognize herself in the mirror. She doesn't even know how old she is.

—So, she has no ID, and no other human knows that she's here. If she disappears, no one will notice. Sam must ensure that the Cullens keep the rules they agreed upon for a peaceful life together. It doesn't matter how friendly they are to each other; some lines shouldn't be crossed.

—Why are you keeping it a secret? Her problem sounds serious; maybe it's better to let the humans handle it. Jacob gets in the middle of the conversation, trying to calm things down and move the conversation to a more optimistic one than the "human captured to become dinner" tone that Sam was going for.

—Because I made her a promise. Esme finally speaks up. She's anxious about this conversation and knows she can't let things get out of control. She needs Anne to stay with her, at least until Esme's... ready. —When she woke up, she was terrified of everything. If we were to deliver her to the police, she would have to suffer the trauma of being put through the system and tossed in a home without anyone on her side. I want her to feel safe, at least until she recovers her memory. She's very... sensitive to everything around her and very jumpy. I knew she needed someone to rely on, so I promised her she could stay with us until we found her family.