I gazed at the faces around me. All of the vampires were staring at me. I was shocked to realize that Renesmee was right- their eyes were all a yellowish color. She had said it was because they didn't hunt humans, but I hadn't quite believed her.
Despite their refusal to hurt humans, I was still terrified to see how outnumbered I was. I met Renesmee's eyes again, somehow hoping that she could bring me comfort, or even call off her family. She gave me a small smile.
I flinched as a hand touched my cheek. Carlisle was persistent, though, reaching for me again when I leaned away. His fingers brushed gently against my head, then trailed down to my cheek, assessing my injuries.
Having been on my own for so long made me uncomfortable to any kind of touching. Even Renesmee gently tapping my arm made me lean away. So my discomfort was growing steadily as I was held in place for this man to inspect the fading cuts on my face.
"I heal fast," I mumbled, twisting my body in an attempt to escape his grip. He allowed me to pull away, but kept a hand on my shoulder. His gentle touch couldn't fool me- this was no friendly gesture. He was keeping me in place, preparing to restrain me again if I tried to bolt for the window.
"So I see." Carlisle smiled at me. "The wound is all but healed. Luckily it doesn't seem to have been too severe to begin with."
I remembered Renesmee telling me that her Grandfather was a doctor, but that was just another aspect of her life I had assumed she had made up. A vampire doctor was a silly thought. But from his poking and prodding, followed by his assessment, I was starting to realize her family may actually be as ridiculous as she had described.
"You must be the friend that Nessie has told us so much about." Though Carlisle's voice was friendly, I was sure there was a hint of anger somewhere in it that I was missing. Now he knew that I was the reason Renesmee had crossed the river without permission. And that I had been the reason she was scolded for lying, even when she hadn't been. And I had broken into his home to steal clothes, woken Renesmee up hours after her bedtime, and all but destroyed her bedroom. Even now, my bare feet left mud stains on the floor as I nervously shifted from foot to foot, and the mix of blood and water slowly dripped down my face, to my arm, and off my fingertips to the floor.
I nodded. Denying it would only add 'lying' to the ever-growing list of reasons he might want to kill me.
"She's told us quite a lot about you. Though based on some of the information she gave us, I'm sure she misunderstood some aspects. I'm sorry to say I was actually convinced that you may just be an imaginary friend."
I hesitated, not having enough practice with talking to people to actually know how to respond. I settled for another nod, which seemed to be acceptable. I didn't want to anger him further. The longer I could keep him talking, the longer I got to live.
"She told us that you live all by yourself in the forest?"
I nodded.
Carlisle raised his eyebrows. Apparently he had thought that piece of information was a lie.
"Your Mother was a hybrid and your Father was a vampire? Making you primarily a vampire?"
Another nod.
"And that you seem to have several powers?"
This time I hesitated. My powers were my secret. If things went wrong, they would be the only chance I had at coming out on top- they granted me the element of surprise.
I shrugged.
Carlisle gazed at my face, knowing I was lying but not knowing to what extent I was lying. I glanced nervously behind me. All of the other vampires- Renesmee's family- were still standing in the doorway, watching me. Once again, my eyes found Renesmee's, and she smiled at me.
Turning back to Carlisle, I gave him the best pleading look that I could. I was sure it wasn't very good, though, because I had never had anybody to practice it on.
"Can I leave now, please? I said I was sorry. And I'm not hurt. Not bad, anyway. And I swear that I'll never ever come back or take Renesmee across the river. And I'll get new carpets to replace the ones I ruined, and-"
Carlisle held up a hand, silencing me. "Calm down, little one. Nobody is upset with you. How old are you?"
Assuming he meant my physical age, I considered my options. I was probably about nine or ten physically when I became fully immortal and stopped growing. But if I said I was older, maybe thirteen, he may see me as a teenager and treat me more maturely, trusting my word more.
On the other hand, if I said I was younger, he may see me as more innocent. He may be more willing to let me off the hook.
"Seven," I lied smoothly.
Carlisle's eyes narrowed, darting down to my chest. At first his glance only made me more confident in my answer. I hadn't hit puberty. My flat chest would probably help to confirm my age.
But then I turned and saw Renesmee's wince, and I realized my mistake.
Renesmee has told me once that she almost never got away with lying to her Grandfather because her heartbeat sounded different when she was being honest. Sometimes she could work very hard to be confident in her answer and get away with it, but that was rare.
He had heard my heartbeat change. He knew I was lying.
"You were born seven years ago?" I could hear the doubt in his voice. And the warning. I knew I needed to be honest.
"No," I admitted. "Just three-ish years ago. I meant physically I'm... around... that age. Maybe." There, that wasn't technically a lie, right? I had said around that age. Not exactly that age. And I had even tacked a 'maybe' on at the end, for good measure.
Carlisle looked me up and down, and I was uncomfortable as he analyzed me. Though I did look young, I knew seven was pushing it a little. I should have said eight or nine.
"You're quite young then," he pondered. "Far too young to be on your own."
I bristled at his words. I could manage just fine on my own! I had been doing it my entire life. I opened my mouth to say so, but Carlisle continued talking, not giving me the chance to defend myself.
"I'll need to do a full exam, Love". A full exam of what? "Come with me, please".
As if I had a choice. Carlisle's hand was still on my shoulder, guiding me forward. I stumbled for a moment when we came too close to the doorway. I didn't want to pass by all those vampires.
Carlisle kept his pace, gently pushing me forward. "It's alright. Nobody is going to hurt you".
I kept a weary eye on the others as we passed them. None of them made sudden movements, but they did follow me with their eyes the entire time. Only three of them really caught my eye. One was a blonde woman, the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Her hair was close to the same color as mine, but she was older, more mature. I wondered if that was what I would have looked like if I had gotten the opportunity to grow older.
Probably not. It was probably wishful thinking.
The other two, the more alarming two, were male vampires. One hard dark hair, and was one of the biggest people I had ever seen. He was not only tall, but his shoulders were broad, and his muscles were almost bulging out of his shirt.
He looked like he could crush me with one hand.
He grinned at me, and I instantly turned away, glancing at the next threatening person. This man was, somehow, even more horrifying. Nothing about his size stood out. He wasn't tall or particularly muscular. He was actually sort of skinny.
But from his wrists all the way up to his neck was covered in bite marks. Slightly shiny mouth marks, the same kind that appeared on the animals I hunted after I drained them.
Vampire bites.
And he still stood, so that had to mean that for every bite on his body, every vampire that had attacked him- he had destroyed them. Every, single one had died.
Somehow, the pace of my heart picked up even more.
The sense of a looming threat didn't disappear once we passed the crowd. Turning my back to them to follow Carlisle down the hallway only increased my anxiety. I could feel the eyes on me as I moved, and I kept my senses on high alert. I may be too weak to use my powers much at that moment, but I was certain I could react quickly if I heard a sudden pounding of approaching feet behind me.
The attack never came. We came to a door at the end of the hallway, and I hurried into it when Carlisle held it open for me. Though I was concerned about what exactly Carlisle wanted from me, I was far more confident being alone with one vampire than being alone with an entire coven.
"Esme, can you assist me, please?" Carlisle smiled as a dark-haired woman stepped into the room. Just like him, she had fair skin and yellow eyes. Her smile didn't put me at ease.
Once again, I was outnumbered.
Carlisle seemed to misunderstand the discomfort on my face. "This is my wife, Esme," He introduced. "As you have been informed, I am a Doctor. But for checkups, children your age tend to come in with their Mothers. Due to the absence of a Mother in this situation, I hope that my wife standing in as a maternal figure will help to calm you."
Yeah, right. More like he wanted to make sure he had backup for when I tried to rip his head off.
"Esme, can you help her undress please? I'll gather my equipment."
Esme stepped closer, and a low growl escaped me. She hesitated, glancing at her husband, but reached over to undo the only button remaining on the front of my old dress. The rest had been torn off during my rough ventures through the wilderness. She began to pull my dress off over my head, and I grabbed at it, holding it in place.
No way was I going to be naked. Not with Carlisle in the room, probably not even in front of Esme, and definitely not when I was in the middle of forming an escape plan.
Or... in the middle of trying to form an escape plan. Currently my best plan was to throw myself out of the window, despite the raging storm outside. And despite the fact that any vampire could probably catch up to me in just a few seconds.
Esme made a disapproving sound. "It's alright, Sweetheart. There is no reason to be embarrassed. I'm a woman, and Carlisle is a doctor. Nobody else will come in. Lift your arms for me."
I couldn't stay dressed without defying her direct orders. I was sure there was no faster way of upsetting the Cullens than insulting their Matriarch, so I slowly raised my arms, allowing Esme to pull my dress off. Then to pull off my shorts that had been under my dress.
Standing totally naked, I felt exposed, but there was another emotion I had never felt before. A weird, uncomfy shame that was building.
Humiliation washed through me, despite Carlisle's back being turned and Esme's eyes zoning in on a cut that was still struggling to heal on my upper arm. Nobody had ever seen me naked before. No doctors had ever analyzed my growth, or lack thereof, taking in exactly how childlike I would remain for an eternity. I had never lost my baby teeth, my body seeming to know that there was no point in growing secondary teeth when I would eventually stop growing, anyway. I had never shown any signs of puberty before I stopped growing, either. Even my voice was eternally high-pitched.
There was no way they would take me seriously. There was no way they would see how mature and responsible and grown-up I could be. All they would see was a little girl.
The Queen of the Forest. I'm the Queen of the Forest.
The words repeated again and again in my head, trying to console me. I was fast and strong and brave and powerful. I could easily kill any animal. I could jump across rivers. Outrun giant werewolves.
I could even weave flowers into tiaras for myself to show off my title as Queen.
I was so mature. They had to be able to see that.
Despite my mind's attempts to help me feel brave, I shrunk down when Carlisle turned to face me, holding different things in his arms. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at the floor, listening to his footsteps approach. Esme put her hands on my shoulders, guiding me over to a table with a weird paper cover on it.
"It's alright, Honey," she whispered to me. "He's worked in quite a few childrens' wards. He's very good with kids".
She gripped me under my arms, lifting me to sit on the table. My hands automatically fell into my lap, trying to provide me with any sort of cover they could.
I finally dared a glance up at Carlisle's face. His eyes were on my head again, seeming to be checking the cuts that had been on it. I wanted to remind him that he had already looked at them, but stayed quiet. Maybe he was just checking to see exactly how quickly or thoroughly I healed.
"Normally I would offer you a hospital gown, and excuse myself while Esme helped you into it," Carlisle told me apologetically. "But I need to assess your entire body for damage as quickly as possible. A child your age, out there in such an awful storm, with almost no clothing..." He shook his head, reaching out to touch my neck.
Hissing, I moved away from his hand, only to find myself leaning into Esme's arms. She rubbed my shoulders gently, shushing me softly.
"I'm just checking your pulse. I'll place two fingers on your neck. I want to have a starting amount of beats per minute, so I can start a regulation chart." I stiffened as he touched my neck, but managed to stay in place. I didn't even snarl at him.
Carlisle checked over my entire body, narrating his actions before he actually moved to touch me. He held my arms above my head to inspect them, and asked me to open my mouth so he could press some wooden stick against my tongue. He placed something he called a 'thermometer' in my mouth. It made a beeping sound that startled me, causing Esme to grip my shoulders a little firmer when I jumped.
When Carlisle verbally noted my lack of breast and pubic hair development, I felt a warm, tingling heat in my cheeks. It happened again when he asked me to get off the table to bend over and touch my toes. It wasn't until Esme promised me, once again, that I didn't need to be embarrassed that I finally understood.
Blushing. I was blushing. I didn't even know I could do that.
Carlisle placed me back on the table, using a warm cloth to carefully clear my face, arms and legs of blood. Anywhere he saw dried blood, or a stream of blood that had almost completely faded from the rain, he would rub it away, checking under the red smears for wounds. I had healed pretty well, but not completely. I was weak at the moment, and my body was responding slower than usual.
Despite this, I rolled my eyes when Carlisle placed a pink, sparkly Band-Aid on my arm, and another on my knee. I hadn't even noticed how horribly my knee had been scraped up when my tree-fort had fallen.
After what felt like fifty years, Carlisle finally handed me a weird dress. He called it a hospital gown. Esme moved to help me put it on, but I quickly pulled it over my head without assistance. I wasn't fast enough to tie it up in the back before she did it herself, though.
I was horrified to realize that the back was mostly open, and I wasn't nearly as covered as I had hoped.
I was even more horrified when I realized the thin fabric of the gown was covered in little dancing bears in tutus. It was almost like Carlisle had picked out the most childish fabric he could find. Though I did secretly find the design pretty, it was not something I ever would have worn in front of others.
The exam moved quickly after that. Carlisle weighed me and measured me, concluding that I was about the height of the average nine or ten year old, but only weighed about as much as the average seven or eight year old.
Maybe my claim that I was around seven physically hadn't been so far-fetched earlier. At least I could be proud that I was a decent liar.
After Carlisle stood me against a wall to mark my exact height, he sent Esme to go and get some of Renesmee's old clothing. I was hesitant at first. Though my whole reason for coming here had been to take clothes, that had been an emergency. Renesmee tended to wear... nice clothes. Clothes that almost seemed formal to me. Clothes that might restrict my movement, or upset the Cullens if I got them dirty.
Not that it would matter when I escaped.
Esme didn't come in carrying anything too fancy, though. She had what appeared to be a simple dress thrown over her arm, and a piece of bright pink fabric in her hand.
I reached for the clothing, hoping to prove that I, maturely, did not require assistance to get dressed. But Esme moved the clothes slightly, pulling them out of my reach. "Not so fast, little missy. These are for after your bath".
A bath? What did I need a bath for? I had jumped in the river just yesterday. And I had been out in the rain for hours earlier that night. And just twenty minutes earlier, Carlisle had cleaned my cuts, clearing me of any blood.
"I don't need a bath!" My argument was lost as Esme grabbed my hand and began pulling me back into the hallway. Most of the other vampires had cleared out already, but Bella and a blond man I hadn't seen before were hovering outside of Renesmee's door wearily.
She must have been sent back to bed.
I was uncomfortable with the realization. At least before, I had known that if anything happened Renesmee would speak on my behalf, defending me against her family. Now there was nobody on my side. Maybe I could sneak into her room and wake her up, leading her away with me. Renesmee and I could escape this house together. I could show her so many things that these overprotective vampires had never allow her to see.
She seemed pretty attached, though. She probably wouldn't go for it.
The blond man made eye contact with me and shook his head slightly. I wonder if that meant he disapproved of me. Bella, at least, was looking at me with a hint of sympathy. Maybe her lingering sense of compassion would be enough to save me.
"Bella, can you come help me in the bathroom, please?" At Esme's request, Bella patted the man's arm, sending him a reassuring smile and sprinted past Esme and I, entering a new room in the hallway. I heard water running and decided it must be the bathroom.
I wondered if they would let me take a shower instead of a bath. I had often wondered about how a shower would feel. One of my favorite things to do was to find little trickling waterfalls, and to stand under them. The water running over me always felt so relaxing. A shower would probably be the same way, only better- warmer.
As Esme tried to turn me into the room that Bella had entered, I stopped fast, shoving my feet into the floor until it creaked loudly.
The blond man. He was still in the hallway outside of Renesmee's bedroom, his eyes trained on me. But I was still in the hospital gown with the open back. If I turned while he was standing right there, he would see-
"I'll give you ladies some privacy". He swiftly turned and left, heading down the stairs and out of sight.
Wow, way to read the room.
I watched for a moment before turning to head into the bathroom, certain that he had actually left. I stopped just inside, taking it in. It seemed to have a white and gold theme to it, and the space seemed bigger than necessary considering most of the people in the house didn't actually have a need to use the bathroom often.
And in the center of the room was a massive bathtub, filling up with water and bubbles. Bella was adjusting one of the faucets on the tub, seeming to be testing the warmth of the water.
I tried to step closer to the tub. Maybe I could just take my gown off once I was in it, the mountain of bubbles offering some semblance of privacy. But Esme quickly placed the clothes she was holding on the counter and reached over to untie my gown. She slipped it over my head before I could protest, tossing it into the hamper a few feet away.
Esme then reached under my arms, lifting me into the tub. Though I appreciated that it was happening quickly, since I was once again naked with eyes on me, I was more embarrassed by the childish treatment than I was by the nudity. "I can do it," I mumbled to Esme, submerging myself into the water.
"Don't fret, Honey," Esme soothed. "You've had a hard day. It's late, so let's clean you up as quick as we can and get you straight into bed." She reached for a bottle that was on the edge of the tub and started squirting something into her hand. It had a strong smell, like a mix of lavender, strawberries, and something else that was familiar, but I couldn't quite place. Almost like the fresh scent of laundry as I pulled it off the line.
It just smelled... clean. And sweet.
Despite the nice smell, I cringed as Esme began rubbing the stuff into my hair. It felt thick and gloppy, the way I imagined well-chewed human food would feel. The thought made me lean away from her, trying to escape as she mixed the stuff into my wild curls.
"Hold still, Honey. I need to get this shampoo through all your hair. When was the last time you had a nice bath? A real bath?"
I tried to hold still as I contemplated her question. I had taken a nice "bath" just a few days before meeting Renesmee. I had found a river with a swim hole and a small waterfall, and had spent hours just floating.
But what did she mean by a "real" bath? One in a tub, with soap and warm water?
When I didn't respond, Esme glanced at my face, her eyes wide. "Oh, baby, have you never had a real bath? You did say that you've been on your own. Have you never had a home?"
I shoved down my frustration at being called a baby. This question, at least, was easy. "I've had lots and lots and lots of homes. More than I can count. I'm real lucky, I guess". I grinned as I said the words, pride filling me. Most people were excited to get a single home. I moved around all the time, making new little forts and treehouses for myself wherever I wanted. Where most people found one home to be a success, I had countless homes. More than anybody else, probably.
That made me the winner.
Esme didn't smile back, though. Neither did Bella. They exchanged a concerned glace, and Esme picked up a pitcher to rinse my hair with. I didn't miss the way that their eyes were on me now, watching me closely. Too closely.
"Oh, Honey," Esme sighed sadly.
Feeling exposed, I slowly sank back down beneath the water, going as deep as I could without putting my head under.
I guess they were jealous that they didn't have as many homes as me.
***(Carlisle saw right through her attempts to slightly mislead him, didn't he? And now it's bathtime, and Esme and Bella are starting to realize just how secluded she was before meeting them- imagine having never been in a house or taken a bath. In the next chapter, she realizes that she doesn't like baths much lol. And that Esme isn't one to be messed with. Vote and Comment if you liked this chapter!)***