The Girl Who Was Taken (Renesme Cullens Twin Sister)

Forty

In the weeks that followed, the anticipation for the ball was contagious. It filled the castle up with laughter, chatter, and noise. There was always noise now, none stop. No one wanted to be quiet anymore. Suddenly there were people running through the halls at all hours. The staff grew, the guard doubled, guests started to show up a week in advance because this was a big deal. The first ball in almost one hundred years.

There was talk about how this was a declaration, a message of strength, a call to come out of hiding after so long. A new age of vampirism. To wake up, to not be afraid of humans. It had been a long slumber, but now the sun was rising over the horizon.

Jane pulled the brush through my hair, attempting to get out all the knots and tangles. I watched her reflection in the mirror I was seated in front of. "It's a lost cause," I said, grimacing at her yanking and tugging.

"You are representing the Volturi Coven tonight, you must look presentable," Jane said in her sweet voice. She was hanging out with me suddenly, out of the blue. "You're also expected to wear shoes tonight, if you take them off, I'll get a chain and lock to keep them on you until you die." I might have looked older than her, but she'd always act like my older sister.

"How am I supposed to dance in shoes?" I asked. "I can barely walk in them."

"Not my problem," she said.

"I still don't know which dress I should wear."

"Don't worry about that, I special ordered one for you."

"What does it look like?" I turned around, but Jane tugged my hair hard to keep me in my seat. 

Jane looked me in the eyes through the mirrors reflection. "Don't you trust me? It'll be here shortly. It's the best dress you'll ever wear, so I'm trusting you not to get it dirty."

"I can take care of dresses, and wear shoes, and be decent. You need to start trusting me," I shot back, crossing my arms.

Jane mists my hair with a de-tangler for the millionth time. My hair is soaking wet with conditioner already. Normally it curled in all different wild directions, and was big like a lions mane, but now it stuck flat down to my scalp. It was much longer than I had realized.

There was a knocking on my door frame. Aro stuck his head inside, "Delivery!" He came into the room with a big white box with a ribbon on it. "Here's your dress, Ember." He placed the box on the foot of my bed.

"Thank you," I said, trying to turn around again, but Jane tugged me back into the seat. I smiled at his reflection.

He stood for a moment smiling back at me warmly. Then his smile dropped. "I do need to tell you something though." I froze. "Diplomatically, it would have been a disaster if we did not invite the Cullen Coven to the ball. I did not expect them to show, but it seems now that they are all coming. So of course, it will be a surprise to them when they find that you are not dead. But I'm sure it will all be very civilized, and. . .oh dear, don't look so frightened."

I tugged my hair away from Jane, and stood up to face Aro. I had my hands in fists, and ground my teeth. But I didn't know what to say. What would he think of my anger? He gave me a sly apologetic smile. I swallowed my pride and sat back down.

"Okay then," I said. I looked down at the vanity's table in front of me. "What are you going to do when they demand that you return me?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, my dear. I'll protect you from them."

"It's not me that I'm worried about," I said taking the brush from Jane's hand. I began to brush my hair out myself. Jane busied herself with her own hair.