Crescent Moon: Aloura Cullen

Chapter 15

"Quickly they're almost here! " I say clearing off the table in Carlisle's study, while Ed comes over and places clean cloths and hot water on the matching smooth Ivory chair.

"You haven't explained what's going on, and whose coming here Aloura." Esme says as she paces in front of the window.

"Our newest edition, her name is Rosalie and it's probably best if you both wait in the other room." Before I could explain, Carlisle bust through the front door almost covered in blood, carrying a young woman who barley had a heart beat.

"Carlisle quickly she's dying!" I yell as he gently places her trembling beaten body on the table.

"What happened to her, where did she come from?" Esme ask as she carefully lifts her head to place a small pillow underneath.

"You have to do it now Carlisle, she's slipping away. Don't let her die like this." I look him straight in the eyes and plead.

 "I won't let her die, you said she becomes a part of this family and we protect our family. She's going to need help getting through this." He moves a piece of her long blonde hair from her face and leans in.

"Hold on, it'll be over soon, just hold on child." Carlisle whispers, turns her head to the side and bites.

Not even a second goes by before she's crying out in pain and begging for it to stop. Carlisle and I hold her hands while Esme and Edward wait outside. They weren't ready to be around that much blood yet, but the screams of this poor abused girl, were more than loud enough for them to hear.

"How long does this usually last?" I ask as I dip a piece of cloth in the water then start cleaning her blood off.

"Two or three days, it really depends." He says while we both listen as the venom slowly makes its way through her blood stream.

"Here sweetheart, I have a dress she can wear, I'll help you get her cleaned off." Esme says as she places a beautiful light green silk dress on the couch then walks over to Carlisle.

"You did the right thing my love, we'll protect her now." She holds his face in her soft hands and kisses him.

"Come dear let's get her washed up." We carefully remove her torn bloody clothes and hand them to Carlisle who was waiting patently by the fireplace, ready to turn them to ash.

"Disgusting fowl creatures, they will pay for this, slowly. I'll make sure they all suffer." Edward's thoughts poured in with such hate.

"You will do no such thing! This is not your fight Edward, none of you will go after those vile pieces of trash. Those lives are not yours to claim, they belong to her and her alone. When she wakes, I will take it from there, I'll help her find them all and make sure she doesn't harm any others in the process." I say loud enough for everyone to hear.

"She'll be up by tomorrow, this new life will be enough to take in. The last thing we need to do is tell her the rules about not hunting humans. I won't let her kill anyone who doesn't deserve it." I say.

"You might be a little busy if that's the case." Ed muttered from the front steps.

"Enough, both of you. She can probably hear this." Esme says in a stern low voice as we lace up the green dress.

"Trust me Es, the last thing she's thinking about is this conversation. Compared to the agony she's in right now, this little talk is truly insignificant." I say as she brushes her long golden blonde hair.

"Regardless, I don't want to hear either of you speaking that way. We don't allow hate of any kind in this family." Esme says.

"Now, let's give her space and let what needs to be done, be done." Carlisle says as he ushers us into the front room.

"And now we wait." Says Ed as he sits at the black Baldwin piano by the fireplace.

"And now we wait." I reply as I hit the F key.

Her body slowly stopped jerking on the hard wooden table and was now twitching ever so slightly. Her thoughts were becoming more clear and alert. She was now fully aware of her surroundings, but the transformation was still a far from over. With every beat her weak heart had left, the venom pulsed through her veins, scorching every cell and nerve it came in contact with. This process was painfully slow, but in the end after the screams and pain subside, the final outcome would be glorious and truly stunning.

"Ok sweet girl, I know you can hear me." I gently hold her hand then fill her head with my thoughts and memories, just enough to ease the pain.

"Everything's alright Rosalie, your safe now. I know your in pain but I promise you it'll be over soon." I go on to show her one of my favorite memories.

It's a beautiful windy day, the colored leaves on the trees just starting to fall. Al and I laying side by side on the soft green grass behind our old home. Dad sitting on the trunk of a fallen swamp red maple tree, admiring mom as she plays the violin he crafted for her from that same tree. We all enjoyed that day without a care in the world. Oblivious to the dangers waiting for us, in what we thought would be a peaceful future.

As simple as it all was, that's what seemed to calm Rosalie the most. The thought of something like this, a family of her own, gave her clarity. That only made explaining this new life more difficult. Her breathing began to slow as the venom nearly completes it's course. I had to drag out the memory for a few hours, but she didn't seem to mind or even notice for that matter.

I could see the transformations nearly complete, she was almost ready. Her heart slowly comes to a stop as she relaxes her body then let's out her last human breath. She lays in silence, taking in the enhanced smells and sounds around her. Finally, after fighting an excruciating internal battle, she slowly opens her eyes to her new world and is reborn. She calmly sits up and looks around the room until her new born eyes fall on me.

"Welcome back Rosalie, my name is Aloura." I say with a slight smile.

  She stands and walks over to the large mirror hanging on the wall behind her. She's stunned at first,  walking closer to it as she takes it all in. Her new appearance was what she's already used to, beautiful. Her eyes were what kept her attention the most. As lovely as they were, she was not a fan of the blood shot color.

"You ready to go find the sick imbeciles that hurt to you?" I say, already knowing the answer.

"Do you mind if I change first? There's a dress I've been dying to wear."