A New Cullen Life

Chapter 8

"Carlisle!" Rosalie and Esme chorused, horror struck that Amelia may actually leave them. Carlisle could not blame them for being upset, but did not regret his decision.

"Amelia is a Cullen. She is one of us. One day, she may wish to leave us. You and Emmett have done so in the past, Rosalie. Alice and Jasper have also upon occasion left for a while. There may come a time when Esme and I desire to go off on our own. Edward and Bella don't live with us, for heaven sake!" Carlisle exclaimed in exasperation.

"Bella and Edward live within spitting distance," argued Rosalie. Esme glanced at her youngest daughter, who was frowning at the exchange, her shoulders sagging in defeat. Amelia decided to intervene.

"Rose, do you honestly think I would walk away without a backward glance? The Volturi may try to recruit me, but I have little desire to 'work'," she made quotation marks in the air with the index and middle fingers of both of her hands, "for the people who have Bree's blood on their hands."

"How do you feel about going to the Volturi, Amelia?" asked Eleazar. Amelia was silent for a moment as she considered her options.

"I am hesitant to go, not only because I am so new and unsure of this all – what if I hurt someone on the flight to Italy? We don't know yet what is going to happen to me, what if I suddenly develop a thirst for blood 30 000 feet above sea level? The thought terrifies me. Then there is the minor issue that the people whom you desire for me to engage with killed the closest person I had to a sister, pre-2008," she stated, chewing on her lower lip as she replied to Eleazar's question, holding up a hand as Carlisle tried to convince her to change her mind, "but I respect that things between our family and the Volturi have been strained for a while now, and word would have spread about me to them. Humans knowing about vampire-lore is forbidden, and you adopting me, a human, would not bode well with the royalty. Now that I have been changed, I think it is imperative that we show them that we are but humble servants, so to speak, and have no plans to overthrow them. Also, we need answers. We need to speak to others with gifts like mine, and find out what we are dealing with."

"I agree with Amelia," stated Jasper.

"As do I. Spoken like a true Cullen," Carlisle stated, winking at his daughter, who shot him a grateful smile in return.

"What happened to tracking down Leopold?" demanded Rosalie, throwing a sympathetic glance at Blythe, who winced as the name of her sire was mentioned, "why can't we do that first?"

"Because Leopold will not be easy to find, and we really should not waste time in getting to Volterra," spoke Alice smoothly, interrupting the conversation, "I've seen both outcomes. We can get answers far sooner if we speak to the Volturi than if we search for Leopold."

"It's settled then. Alice, when do you propose we leave?" Carlisle's voice was commanding. Rosalie, who had been about to protest yet again, shut her mouth with a snap. Amelia reached across and entwined their fingers, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring manner to the blonde vampire.

"Phone Aro and see what he says, but I estimate that we should leave within the next week or so."

"Who all is he expecting?"

"All of us Cullens, Blythe included. Bringing the Denalis, Alair and Samantha along will only incur trouble I'm afraid," said Alice quietly, glancing at the uneasy expression on Carmen's face. The vampires in question nodded their heads.

"I'll need to head back to New York anyway," commented Samantha, "I can't take too long off for the so-called funeral."

"I'll man the fort," stated Alair, winking at Amelia, "I've been dying to raid Alice's closet for ages."