She woke up from the sound of people singing softly, though loud enough to wake her. Their voices sounded angelic and familiar and even before she opened her eyes, a smile had found itself on her lips. When she did open her eyes, she was taken aback by her family's beauty, just for a split second. She saw them every day and still she wasn't used to the perfection that simply clung to them.
"Happy birthday, dear Celia," they sang in unison. "Happy birthday to you."
"Thank you guys," she said, her smile brightening the room.
"Alright, get dressed, honey, we have a surprise for you downstairs," her mother said. She pressed her cold lips to her daughter's temple, before giving her a sweet smile and disappearing out of the room. Her family followed after.
Cecilia let out a loud yawn, stretching her arms until they touched her headboard. Once a year they woke her like this, her whole family standing by the end of her bed, all singing cheerily. Exactly seventeen years ago a strange woman and man had found her lying in the middle of the forest, only protected by a linen cloth, one she still had in her possession to this day. That strange woman and man she now considered her mom and dad, loving both dearly.
She pushed the covers from her body and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. As soon as her feet touched the cold tiles of the floor a thin layer of goosebumps covered her skin. She slipped her feet into the comfortable fuzzy slippers instead, forcing herself to stand up and stretch once again. She absolutely loved the feeling of stretching in the morning, the way her muscles tensed and relaxed again. She'd told Rosalie once and the girl had declared her crazy. Cecilia had taken it with a grain of salt, because after all, Rose was the one who hadn't slept in over seventy years, so how could she remember what it felt like to stretch in the morning.
From her closet, she grabbed a knitted grey dress, the wool protecting her from the cold. She had been living in Alaska for over fifteen years now, but the cold was something she hadn't quite gotten used to either. She turned her head to the heater that was placed in the corner of her room. Some time deep in the night it must have shut itself off, because her room felt oddly chilly.
As soon as she'd put her brown hair up, she took a moment to observe herself in the mirror on her desk. Two monotone blue eyes stared back and she couldn't help but compare her beauty to the one of her family. She had tried to force the thoughts of comparison away for a long time, but they kept popping into her mind, reminding her of the imperfections she had. Now, she took the time to really watch the small squiggly scar above her right eyebrow from when Emmett had pushed her slightly too hard as a child and she'd ended up falling on top of a stone, Rose had given him hell for that one. Her eyes observed her crooked smile, the corner of her left lip ending slightly higher than the right one and the way her skin was anything but even. She was critical of herself, that was for sure, and every now and then she had to remind herself that it was only temporary. Another year and her father would turn her, making all those imperfections disappear.
"Are you ready yet?" a voice called out, the sound abruptly pulling her out of thoughts.
Cecilia looked up to Alice, the look in her eyes like she was caught doing something illegal. The girl cleared her throat, the everlasting grateful smile finding its way back on her lips. "Yes, I was just about to go down."
"Great, let's go," the black-haired girl said enthusiastically, her voice sounding somewhat like bells chiming. She held out her arm and Cecilia hooked hers into it gratefully.
Together they made their way down the stairs. One swiftly and elegantly, the other a little more... humanlike.
As soon as her eyes landed on the people standing in front of her, all of them calling out 'happy birthday', Cecilia forgot all about her insecurities from seconds earlier. "Benjamin, Tia!" she called out happily as she rushed down the stairs. Though both had red eyes, she wasn't afraid to wrap her arms around their necks, drawing them in for a hug. "It's been ages."
"What do you know about ages?" Tia said in a teasing tone as soon as Cecilia had let go of the couple. "If I remember correctly, you turned only seventeen today."
"Your time will come," Benjamin said, giving the human girl a soft nudge.
"I know," she replied contently. Turning on the tippy toes of the fluffy slippers she was still wearing, she made her way to the couch to sit a little more comfortably. In the blink of an eye, Tia and Benjamin were seated on the chairs opposite of her. Her family followed at a more human-like pace. "So, how was your trip to Alaska?"
"It was good," Tia said, gazing at Benjamin with a look in her eyes Cecilia could only hope she would have one day. Like every other vampire, Tia was incredibly beautiful too. Her olive skin showed no imperfection and though they'd just travelled for thousands of miles, her hair still looked like she'd just walked out of the hairdresser's salon. It was her sing-song voice that was the most breathtaking though, reminding Cecilia more of a siren than a vampire. "We barely had any trouble."
"Barely?" her father asked, his eyebrows raised high.
"There was a nomad in Russia with some issues," Benjamin said, giving Tia's hand a slight squeeze. A childlike smirk covered his face boyish-looking face. "Let's just say he's searching for the solutions somewhere deep underground."
Cecilia watched in amusement as Tia rolled her eyes, obviously a lot more mature than her soulmate. She loved Tia and Benjamin, even though she only saw them once every year, sometimes every two years. Mostly she liked listening to their stories, which were so different from the world she lived in. They'd even tried to teach her some Arabic, but though she had a knack for other old languages, Arabic really wasn't her piece of cake.
"Anyway, since it's your birthday, we have a gift for you," Benjamin said. He held out an ancient-looking book, the cover made from real leather and engraved with Greek letters. "I found it in an old antique store, it's ancient Greek. At least, that's what the seller told me. You can read that, right?"
"Yes, I can," she replied as she carefully opened the book. Her eyes scanned the title page, a smile covering her lips and her eyes radiating with joy. She absolutely loved books, especially ancient ones. "It's Hymn to Aprodite, I don't have it yet." She had to force herself to close the book, knowing that she'd lose herself in it too quickly and looked up to Tia and Benjamin, who were both smiling contently. "Thank you, really, I love it."
"So, how about I beat your ass in a game of... how is it called again? Marco car?"
"Mario Kart," Cecilia said, letting out a loud chuckle. "Be prepared to lose, though, you can't even remember the game's name, let alone how it works."
"Oh, you're really going to be like that, huh?" Benjamin called back as she went to start up the tv that was connected to the Gamestation.
"You know she'll beat you," Tia said smugly, giving her lover a nudge. "The only time you won was when she was seven and you distracted her with a mini tornado."
"Yeah, that was pretty unfair."
"I'm joining too," Emmett announced, plopping on the couch so hard that the springs let out a protesting squeeze.
Cecilia threw him and Benjamin both a steering wheel, which they caught gracefully. Grabbing her own wheel, she started up the game and took a seat next to Emmett. After two pools, in which she both finished first, even though Emmett had tried to get her off the track multiple times by giving her a nudge every now and then, both he and Benjamin started to complain.
"You're cheating," Emmett said.
"Yeah, how else can you beat two vampires?"
"I'm just great," Cecilia replied, smirking as she steered Princess Peach over the finish line as number one. Though her family might be more beautiful, faster and stronger, at least she was the best in Mario Kart, and she guessed that counted for something as well.
"Yeah, great at cheating you mean," Emmett shot back.
She walked over to the game station to shut it off. "Get over yourself, sore loser," she called over her shoulder. "You have twice as much time to practice and you're still shit."
"Suck that one up, McCarthy," Jasper chuckled.
Cecilia turned around, an innocent smile on her lips as she watched Emmett staring daggers at his controller and steering wheel. "I'm just joking."
"The trick is to not apologise after you burn someone, Celia, it makes you look weak."
"I don't care."
Just as Emmett was about to reply, Renesmee and Jacob walked in, the first carrying a big cardboard package in her arms and just like that, Cecilia cancelled Emmetts teasing out like some white noise. Nessie was the only one that Cecilia somewhat considered as a sister, mainly because as she had some vague memories of the girl actually growing up, instead of just staying the way she looked, like now.
"Happy birthday, Celia," Nessie said, smiling cheerily. "Now you're finally seventeen as well."
She had been found only a couple of months after the whole incident with Renesmee and the Volturi, leaving the two girls around the same age, though they matured at very different rates. "Thank you," she smiled.
Carefully, as if not to break the thing inside, Nessie placed the cardboard box on the dining table, looking at Cecilia enthusiastically. "Well, open up."
"Alright then," Cecilia said, feeling giddy with excitement. Gently, she opened the lid, revealing the beautiful cake underneath. It was round and covered in blue-green icing and on top of the cake was a one and a seven, both made of golden-coloured cookies. "It's beautiful, thank you!"
She hugged Nessie, and Jake as well, his warmth a welcome change to the usual cold she was surrounded with, before grabbing two plates, three forks and a big knife from the kitchen.
"Well, it's a good thing you like it," Nessie said. "Jake almost ate half of it on the way here."
"I can't blame him."
The cake was way too big for three normal persons to eat by themselves, but then again, nothing really was normal in this household. Jake had to count for at least five persons with his wolflike appetite, pun intended. She cut off two pieces, placing them on the plates, before shoving the cardboard box to Jake and handing him a fork, knowing very well he would finish the rest of it with no problem.
"Gee, I just love birthdays," Jake said happily, stuffing his face with cake.
"I could get you a bowl," Rose called out from the living room. "Sometimes I wonder whether you really are a dog or a pig."
"Whatever, blondie."
"By the way," Nessie said, breaking through the bickering of Rose and Jake. She leaned against the counter, her brown hair flowing over her shoulders in pretty curls, once again a reminder that even as a hybrid, she contained vampire-like perfection. "My parents wish you a happy birthday as well. They'll bring you a gift from Brazil to make up for it."
"Oh no, it's completely fine."
Cecilia had a strict no gifts from her family policy, since they spoiled her enough during the rest of the year. The only reason she liked her birthday was because members of faraway covens, like Benjamin and Tia, would visit her and that the day of her transformation was another year closer, but other than that it was just another day. So, she didn't really mind that Edward and Bella couldn't be there, knowing full well that the couple was enjoying themselves in Brazil.
"They insist," Nessie said resolutely, ending the discussion.