Alice was right. Rosalie became an expert at driving in no time. She had been doing all of the braking to see how much pressure was needed on different surfaces. She had made it a very scientific process. A lot of trial and error was how Carlisle explained it. But he was delighted with her results.
Serafina sat in the front passenger seat with Rosalie in the driver's seat. They had gone straight from Pennsylvania to Texas without stopping unless they were stopping for gas. Esme and Carlisle were in his car behind them, while Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice followed in Esme's. They probably could've gotten there faster if Serafina had known proper directions. But she could only describe the direction from how she remembered from her walks which was very different from the road. She had long known she wasn't giving the best guidance. She was pretty much going based on instinct. It was her home, after all. Rosalie didn't mind. She was patient. She considered it more time to be together.
They made it to a large sign that brought a smile to Rosalie's face, "did you name the town?" she asked.
Serafina didn't even notice the sign. She had never paid attention to it before, "no, why?" she asked with confusion.
Her response threw Rosalie off a bit. She had a strange suspicion and wanted to confirm, "Do you know the town's name?"
There was silence from next to her; she looked over and saw Serafina with her brows furrowed. She was trying to remember.
"No idea?" Rosalie laughed.
"I never had to say its name before. It's just home. Or my town." Serafina shrugged. She then continued giving directions until they reached a beautiful town square. It was well maintained with roses and other flowers. But strangely, to the Cullens, many large shades covered large swaths of the square. All three cars stopped, and everyone got down.
"Is there a reason why you had us stop here first?" Carlisle asked, walking up to Serafina and Rosalie with Esme, admiring the different types of flowers around.
Serafina had a small smirk on her face. Edward narrowed his eyes at her. He could hear her excitement in her thoughts at them seeing something. He averted his eyes once he heard Emmett exclaim, "Holy shit, is that you?"
He looked in the direction Emmett had begun going until they approached a giant statue in the center of the square. Everyone's jaws dropped.
"You've got to be kidding me," Edward said exasperatedly.
"That is, in fact, our Doña. The founder and guardian of our beautiful little town here." A voice came from the direction they had just come from. It was a professionally dressed, pretty young woman and her small entourage, consisting of the council. She looked to Serafina, "Doña, welcome home. After you called, we sent a cleaning crew to your home to clean up and left the gates open. Will you be going home from here, or shall we do a small tour now for your friends?"
"Maria? You're the mayor?" Serafina asked with confusion.
The young woman blushed, not because of infatuation. It was an incredible honor for her to be remembered by the Doña. But that wasn't how Rosalie had seen it. She stepped closer to Serafina and grabbed her hand. Almost as though she were claiming her. Neither Serafina nor Maria noticed. But the other Cullens did. They smirked to themselves just behind their backs as they listened.
"Yes, Doña, I hope you're not upset. Juana didn't want to be mayor. She didn't care about tradition. She wanted to be a doctor." Maria answered.
"Did she become a doctor?" Serafina asked.
"Yes, she's currently going through a residency program at Yale," Maria said proudly.
"No trouble getting in?" Carlisle chimed in. A Hispanic woman going to an Ivy League, he was surprised.
"Of course not. A member of the board is actually from here. He put in a good word and didn't allow anyone to deny her qualifications," she answered.
"But I thought you wanted to be a singer?" Serafina asked after a moment of thought.
"I also wanted to be a princess," she laughed, "I grew up. I still sing for fun! But I didn't want the mayor's position to leave my family. We were entrusted with looking out for the town and keeping in touch with you, and I won't let you or any of the people down!" she said happily.
"Well, good for you," Serafina smiled. Putting her other hand affectionately on her head as she looked down at her. It was a quick rub like when she was a child. Then she motioned to Rosalie, who held her hand beside her, "This is my very good friend Rosalie." She said while smiling affectionately at her. She didn't know if the hunters had explained mates to them and didn't want to confuse them. Just like usual, only Serafina's eyes were covered, so Maria could clearly see her smile. The Doña had never brought a friend to town before. She had even warned her ancestors to avoid others similar to herself. Her bringing these people to town showed the council their importance to their Doña.
"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Rosalie. If you need anything, just let me know. You can tell anyone you see to find me if I'm not around. I will do my best to help you." Maria said, now putting her eyes on Rosalie. She could see the Doña treated her exceptionally well. She was gorgeous. She wondered if she was another angel as well. She then glanced behind the two to the other Cullens, "and they are?"
"Oh, they're just her family. Treat them well too. I suppose," Serafina waved them off.
The Cullens couldn't help rolling their eyes at her behavior. They weren't surprised in the least. They knew they only had Serafina's tolerance because of Rosalie. But to hear her so obviously say it to others, they found her ridiculous.
Rosalie gave her a look, "be nice."
"I'm sorry. Please treat them well," Serafina tried to sound more sincere. The others shook their heads, still not believing she cared, until they heard her continue, "This is Carlisle. He's a doctor. Somewhat of a workaholic, show him the hospital, and I'm sure he'll volunteer to help without pay. That's just the type of man he is, very selfless." She then introduced Esme, "Take Esme to the greenhouse. Sign her up for some classes with some of our top botanists. She'll probably be able to teach them a thing or two. She has a green thumb." She gestured to Jasper, "Take Jasper here to listen to our town historian. He's an odd one but knowledgeable. Thankfully we haven't been impacted by war in our little town, but we've had some scuffles he may be interested in." She then walked over to Alice and put her hands on her shoulders, "This is Alice. Take her to our more upscale boutiques. She'll enjoy speaking with some designers and maybe enjoy doing some shopping." She looked to the man with an annoyed look, "Este hombre con su cara de fuchi es Edward. I'm sure he'd enjoy our music hall. We're a small town, but it's relaxing. We have a few retired musicians who enjoy playing for fun there. I bet Edward would enjoy showing them up." She finally turned to Emmett, "And this giant of a man will enjoy the orphanage." That brought a look of confusion from everyone, "these people know we're different, Em, the children do too. You can play with them as you wish. As long as you make sure not to break them. They like to play hide and seek, and when you appear as if from thin air to catch them," This brought a huge grin to his face.
This shocked everyone. The Cullens were especially surprised. They honestly didn't think Serafina cared for them too much. She never made it seem that way to them before. She made it seem as though their presence annoyed her and that she was only spending that time with them for Rosalie and couldn't care less about getting to know them.
Esme couldn't help it. Her eyes became glossy as she went over and hugged Serafina. Before she could say anything, Alice had joined. It was Serafina's turn to roll her eyes. But then her small smile turned into a frown as Emmett lifted the three off the ground. Rosalie had a loving smile as she watched.
"I knew you liked us!" he said happily.
"Down," Serafina said with a straight face, "and stick to the shade when you guys are out and about. I'm sure I don't have to explain why."
They nodded in understanding.
Maria and the council were shocked. These people were incredibly close to their Doña. It was almost as though they were family. But they knew the Doña had been alone for more than a century. Some legends had even said that she could be La Llorona which would make her family deceased. Who were these people? Did these other spirits find each other to be a family? Their Doña did seem happier. Who were they to question things? They kept their mouths shut and nodded in acquiescence to the Doña's arrangements.
Carlisle had a giant smile, "she knows us well. But! I think it would be nice to spend our time together. So let's spend each day doing what everyone likes together except for the hospital. I can do that at night. As she just said. We're a bit different. We don't need sleep."
One member from the council did step forward and looked to the Doña, "Doña, the hunters you had told us about before said that we had to be careful of having open wounds near you or blood. Will he be alright at the hospital?" he whispered.
Serafina lifted her veil, revealing her eyes. The Cullens were surprised, but these people didn't even flinch, "my eyes show that I'm not to be crossed. But do you see theirs?" she gestured to the Cullens, "that eye color means that they don't hurt people as I do. But the one with the most self-control will still be Carlisle. Call him Dr. Carlisle. He can be trusted to save lives and not end them. They're trying to teach me to be nicer like them. It's just taking me a bit longer to adapt." She said, putting her veil back down.
The council was in awe of these people for trying to change the Doña. Once they had her stamp of approval, they were perfectly fine with having these people here and notifying the hospital of an extra doctor in town should they need it.
"Before we do anything, can you tell us about this statue?" Rosalie asked. She admired the statue of her mate as an angel holding a flame while extending a protective arm around two children.
"I can read the plaque for you all," Maria said, walking a few feet from the front of the statue and reading a concrete slab with a bronze plaque at the top. Even though she stood before the statue, the distance didn't hinder their view of it, "This statue is called La Doña. It was inspired by the guardian angel who founded this town. By La Doña's grace, the people here found a haven to survive and thrive. Even now, she continues to guard and protect those who reside here. All children have nothing to fear so long as she is there to protect them with her heavenly flames. Those who wish evil upon the women or children in town, beware. La Doña doesn't show mercy to those who harm her townspeople. Due to her protection, the town has been named Guardian's Grace. All visitors, please show your respect for La Doña."
"I like it," Serafina said with a smug grin.
"Sounds like you," Rosalie said with a smile.
The other Cullens were disbelieving again. Serafina was full of surprises. They only realized they had no problem telling her about themselves and their likes while she was with them. They knew very little of herself. Only Rosalie seemed to be actively learning, which wasn't surprising. But they felt somewhat guilty.
"You said the gates to my home were open?" Serafina asked.
"Yes, everything has been cleaned. The power and water have been turned back on. Your grounds cleared and tidied. Let us know if we've missed anything, and we'll take care of it for you." A council member stated.
"Thank you all. I think I'll take them home first to get settled. Tomorrow we'll go as a group to the greenhouse. Please arrange everything for that." She said with a smile.
They returned to the cars, and Serafina directed them to the opposite side of the square. They saw a large gazebo just off the side of the entrance of a massive set of opened gates.
"Really?" Rosalie couldn't help looking into the distance. Past the gates was a large grove of trees with space wide enough to allow cars to drive single file up to a gorgeous mansion at the top of a cliff in the middle of town.
Once they got down, Emmett was the first to comment, "You know, coming up that driveway, through those trees, and coming to this mansion. It was like the start of a horror movie. Considering we're vampires. I guess that makes it true, huh?"
Everyone laughed while Serafina frowned, "does my house look like a haunted house?"
"No!" Rosalie and Esme said together.
"It's beautiful. He doesn't know what he's talking about," Rosalie continued, "is it haunted, Alice?" she turned to look at the petite brunette.
Alice looked at the two women with confusion, "How would I know?"
"Aren't you psychic?" Serafina asked.
Alice looked slightly offended, "I can see the future. I'm not psychic!"
"Potato," Emmett began and changed the pronunciation as he continued, "potato." He finished.
"Then tell us, will we be murdered by a ghost in the middle of the night?" Edward asked with a grin as he looked at the house in admiration.
"Enough," Carlisle lightly reprimanded the teens.
"This architecture, wow," Esme said as she walked up to a pillar and patted it, "look at the attention to detail they have on this place. They carved roses into it. There are even roses on the wrought iron balconies on your second floor! I'm in love."
"Had a thing for Roses even before you met Rosalie, did you?" Alice laughed, jokingly elbowing Serafina in her ribs.
"Don't embarrass her, love," Jasper grinned as he pulled her away. He was adding to her humiliation by letting everyone know about it.
"If I had a bad room in this house, I would make you two have it. Luckily for you, every room is excellent," Serafina mumbled, causing everyone to laugh.
"Come inside, mi casa es su casa," Serafina said, "The master bedroom at the top of the stairs to the left is mine and Rosalie's. I'll show you all around, and you can pick your rooms afterward." She finished, grabbing Rosalie's hand and leading her inside to show off her home. Secretly hoping Rosalie would be impressed. She wanted this town to feel like home to Rosalie as it did for her. She knew they wouldn't be able to stay there forever. But maybe she would like it as a vacation spot for them, at least.