After the awkward introduction at home, Rosalie, Serafina, and Emmett went to the park to escape. Rosalie bounced the rubber ball continuously against the wall outside the town park restroom. She would bounce it to Emmett, who would bounce it back. They slowed down their usual game due to being in town. Serafina sat on the picnic table nearby, watching them but getting sidetracked by the children playing on the playground.
"Think fast!" Emmett shouted as he bounced it harder and faster to where it bounced back and headed toward Serafina.
Serafina caught it with one hand without looking over. There were compliments from some admirers nearby. No matter where they went, people were always watching. Emmett and Rosalie feigned being impressed. At the same time, Serafina tossed the ball back to Emmett. But Rosalie walked over to her to see what Serafina was looking at.
She joined Serafina to sit beside her, but while Serafina sat with her whole body on the table, Rosalie sat on the table with her feet on the picnic table bench. Rosalie's back was touching Serafina's side. She caught a pass from Emmett but then turned to see what Serafina was looking at, "Miss town?" she asked after seeing the children in the distance.
"Yeah, maybe we should go off on our own after graduation?" Serafina asked back.
"Rude," Emmett said after catching a pass back.
"I would invite you too, but I don't want to," Serafina smirked.
Rosalie chuckled, "Maybe we should? Just the two of us. Everyone else has been a little too preoccupied with the new pet. I bet they wouldn't even notice."
"I'd notice!" Emmett argued.
"But you know Jazz needs you more. He's afraid to be near the pet, but Ali is all for her presence. Ed too. He needs someone, so he's not alone." Serafina answered.
Emmett knew it was true. Although everyone agreed not to kill the human, the dividing line remained. Jasper was on that other team. The team with Serafina and Rosalie. He wouldn't intentionally side against Alice. But keeping his distance from the girl was more manageable, so he typically stayed near his two sisters. If they were gone, he'd be by himself. Emmett couldn't do that to Jazz.
"See, you have to help him so he won't be alone. Everyone is too preoccupied with the new pet. It's not fair for him to be alone," Rosalie commented.
Emmett lowered his voice, "Why do you guys keep calling her a pet?" he asked.
"He says he's not going to turn her," Rosalie began.
"So he's feeding and watering her until she dies of old age. Isn't that how you take care of a pet?" Serafina finished.
"Huh, you guys make a good point. But I feel like this is a trap. If I were to call her that in front of Ed, I'd bet he'd kick my ass," Emmett frowned.
"Your fault. You are way stronger than him. He shouldn't be able to do that," Serafina mocked.
"He cheats!" Emmett complained.
The sky slowly darkened. When Emmett's cell phone rang, Rosalie saw darker clouds rolling slowly in. He answered, and the three could hear Alice's excited voice telling them about the storm. Emmett had his empty fist clenched in excitement as he eagerly looked at Rosalie, who nodded in agreement.
"We're there!" Emmett answered happily.
The three ran to the park parking lot and jumped into Rosalie's car to return to the house. Rosalie ran upstairs for her favorite baseball outfit. Emmett went to his room to do the same.
Serafina immediately found Alice, who knew what she wanted to know: "No rain on the field. It's only going to rain over town," She smiled.
Serafina gave her a high five as she laughed and zipped upstairs to change. If it weren't going to rain, she'd wear her cheerleading outfit Alice designed for her. It wasn't an actual cheerleading outfit. But a red plaid skirt and red camisole top with a large 'R' in the middle of her chest, partially covered by a white button-up. She still loved skirts and dresses but didn't get to wear them as often nowadays. Considering the places their family moved to and due to the change of times, she'd gotten used to wearing pants. She would only wear her skirts or dresses now if the rain didn't ruin the effect.
Edward had asked to borrow Emmett's jeep while everyone got ready. The family then went out to their baseball field in the middle of the forest to wait for Edward to arrive. Rosalie ensured there were no issues with the canopy and seat she had built for Serafina to watch the family play. It was perfectly fine for its sole audience member. Serafina still refused to play. She would sit on the sidelines and cheer or jeer when she felt like it.
While Rosalie settled Serafina down for the game, Edward arrived with his human. Esme and Emmett immediately greeted the two with giant, enthusiastic smiles. Rosalie saw but merely rolled her eyes as she made her way to the field away from them.
Serafina ignored the pleasantries until Alice said, "It's time." Just before, the first clap of thunder reverberated through the air.
Esme looked to Edward as though asking permission, then took Bella from him as they walked towards home plate, "It's a good thing you're here. We need an umpire."
"She thinks we cheat," Emmett joked.
"I know you cheat," Esme said, pointedly looking at Serafina in her seat, her daughter had a slight smirk. She looked back at Bella as she got the young girl beside her, "Call 'em as you see 'em, Bella." Bella nodded in agreement but couldn't help but glance questioningly toward Serafina in a covered seat next to the field, "She's Rosie's cheerleader. She doesn't like to play." She shook her head and returned to the others on the field.
Alice began to chuckle, "You forgot."
"Boo! Edward sucks!" Serafina called out angrily from her seat.
Edward glared at his sister on the sidelines.
"She also likes to jeer at Edward," Alice finished. Now, the other teens began laughing with her. Even Bella cracked a smile from seeing him being teased by his sister.
Esme shook her head in exasperation. She knew Serafina wasn't just putting up a front for their guest. She honestly did this whenever they played. She would occasionally cheer for everyone and give jeers to everyone. But the only one she gave her full positive attention to was Rosalie and Edward received most of her ire.
Esme spoke with Bella the entire time. She wanted to get closer to the human. She didn't want her to be scared of herself for any reason. She could sometimes see the discomfort when the family moved too quickly and close to herself. The only one she felt genuinely comfortable with was Edward. Esme wanted to change that.
They spoke about baseball, as the girl knew nothing about it. They discussed Esme's first son, and they addressed Edward and Bella. But ultimately, the two returned to the game once it was underway.
The family treated her as one of their own. They didn't hold back any of their speed or strength. They just played and had fun, as usual. Although it was always rainy or overcast in Forks, they didn't have as many thunderstorms as they would like. This was their favorite pastime to let loose. The human was in awe and quickly understood why the thunderstorms were needed.
Rosalie was at bat, and Serafina was on her feet already cheering. She hit the ball, which went far, but Edward quickly ran after it. Rosalie was nearly home, and Serafina had run over to congratulate her on her home run when the ball came speeding toward Esme during Rosalie's slide. Esme tagged her leg just as she reached home, and all eyes went to the human.
"You're out," she shyly said, avoiding direct eye contact with Rosalie.
"Out! Whoo!" Emmett said excitedly from his position, earning a glare from Rosalie and Serafina, "Come on guys, it's just a game."
"Bad call! What are you blind?" Serafina finally said from just behind the human. Bella jumped at her sudden voice. She hadn't seen it when Serafina made her way over. Her reaction made Rosalie smile as she raised her hand for Serafina to help her up. Serafina made sure to pat the dirt from Rosalie's pant legs. She maybe lingered too long on Rosalie's backside before returning to her seat on the sidelines. She ignored the scolding she had received from her mother for scaring the human the entire time.
The game continued with horseplay from the boys in the field. Rosalie couldn't even hold back as she called Emmett a monkey after he climbed a tree just for a catch. But it was all in good fun until Alice froze in the middle of the field. Edward immediately had fear in his eyes when she shouted for everyone to stop.
Everyone immediately huddled near the human at home plate, Rosalie included. Only Serafina stayed where she was with furrowed brows as she listened.
"They were leaving, then they heard us," Alice said nervously.
"Let's go," Edward said as he tried to pull Bella away.
"It's too late," Carlisle told him.
This brought Edward to a stop. He tried to think of a solution quickly but wasn't coming up with anything, "Put your hair down," he ordered Bella. She promptly followed his instructions.
"Like that'll help. I can smell her from across the field," Rosalie pointed out as she turned away. She saw Serafina watching from the sidelines. The family was in a silent panic while her girlfriend was relaxed on the sidelines. But she saw Serafina give her a wink. Before Rosalie could question it, she felt warmth coming from her ruby bangle. She knew Paprika was now protecting her. She gave her a smile in understanding and went back with the family to protect the human.
"I shouldn't have brought you here. I'm so sorry," Edward said sadly to Bella from behind the wall his family made for them with their bodies.
"What?" Bella questioned but was cut off by Edward.
"Just be quiet and stand behind me," he said, following his family from a distance while his father took the lead to meet the new arrivals.
Suddenly, three barefoot nomads came out of the forest. All three were pale and red-eyed. The man in the lead was darker complected with his shirt open, revealing his chest. A lighter-skinned blond male and red-headed female flanked him. Once the three reached the field halfway, they stopped at a respectable distance from Carlisle and the others.
The nomad leader held a baseball up to show everyone, "I believe this belongs to you." He said before tossing it to Carlisle.
Carlisle caught it easily, "Thank you."
"I am Laurent," the man in the center said. His eyes lingered a little too long on Rosalie, bringing a frown to both Rosalie and Serafina. Serafina debated going over after all, but Rosalie gave him an unmistakable look of disdain before he continued his introductions seconds later, "and this is Victoria," he gestured to the female who gave a nod, "and James." The male gave them a surveying look. It was a little uncomfortable.
"I'm Carlisle. This is my family," Carlisle introduced while gesturing to everyone surrounding himself.
"Hello," Laurent said with a smile.
"I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us," Carlisle continued.
"Our apologies. We didn't realize the territory had been claimed," Laurent responded with slight disbelief.
"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby," Carlisle explained.
Laurent looked toward his male comrade as though unsure if he heard correctly or not, "Really?" he asked with a hint of playfulness, "Well, we won't be a problem anymore. We were just passing through."
"The humans were tracking us, but we led them east. You should be safe," Victoria teased as though they were afraid of the mere humans.
"Excellent," Carlisle answered, ignoring the taunt.
"So, could you use three more players?" Laurent finally asked. They could see the uncertainty in the larger coven's eyes, "Oh, come on, just one game."
"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Carlisle gave in, "A few of us were leaving. You can take their place. We'll bat first."
He tossed the baseball back toward Laurent, but the female caught it, "I'm the one with the wicked curveball."
"Well, I think we can handle that," Jasper said. He had relaxed a bit. His ability was somewhat working on masking himself, Alice, Esme, and Bella. It seemed they might get the human out without being noticed. Now, he just wanted to beat these nomads. Emmett shared the same sentiment as he gave Jasper a fist bump in agreement to his words.
Everyone began to separate to take their places on the field, "We shall see," Victoria said, giving Laurent a low five to celebrate getting to play.
No one noticed that the male of the nomad group hung back a bit, staring at the backs of the Cullens as they walked away. Only Serafina did from her position and Edward since he could hear what was being thought by this stranger. Serafina raised her brow in suspicion at what he might be thinking. She looked at Edward to see if his body language would give her some insight.
He hadn't moved. He refused to turn his back to the nomad, and his human was trying to hide as close to him as she could. Serafina felt a little bad for the human. The red eyes were pretty shocking. She remembered how terrified the humans in her town would be when they saw her red eyes in the past; that was why she always covered them.
Just then, a breeze hit, and Serafina could see the human's hair blow in the nomad's direction. She put her hand to her forehead in annoyance as she shook her head. This had to be the most unlucky human in the world. She couldn't even walk a straight line without tripping over her feet; now, even the wind was out to kill her.
The lighter male inhaled deeply at the scent, "You brought a snack." He smiled as he took a threatening step forward into a crouch.
Edward immediately pushed Bella behind himself toward Esme and hissed at the male. He knew Esme was already reaching for Bella to protect the girl behind herself. Alice immediately stepped to Bella's other side, pulling her further away from the danger while everyone else joined Edward up front.
"A human?" Laurent questioned as he and Victoria immediately joined James' side. But where James' and Victoria's stances were aggressive, his attempted to be more placating. He knew they were outnumbered.
"The girl is with us," Carlisle answered, standing protectively before Edward, "I think it best if you leave."
"I can see the game is over. We'll go now," Laurent said while slowly backing away. He looked to the lighter male, who was still aggressive, "James." He called.
James' eyes never left Edward. But he soon stood up straight as he gave him a grin. The female only stood up to join him after he turned from the Cullens. He immediately wrapped his arm around her as he glanced back at the larger coven, taking note of everyone, including the brunette who never stepped forward, while walking away with his mate.
"Get Bella out of here," Carlisle directed Edward, "Go."
The family watched Edward hurry Bella back to the Jeep as they watched the nomads leave. Although Jasper didn't want to, Carlisle did voice the opinion that Alice and Emmett go with them. Emmett for the muscle and Alice for her visions; she and Edward worked well together in dire situations. Jasper didn't want Alice to be without him but knew they needed a united front against these nomads, and he couldn't openly disagree. They may be lingering in the shadows, watching them after all. Alice nodded to him, letting him know she would be fine, and disappeared with Emmett to follow Edward and Bella.
The others went home to discuss further. Soon, they had a visitor. This time, Serafina let her presence be known as she opened the door with a frown, "If you wanted a fight, you had better odds on the field. Now you're at my house, and I must protect it. So if you came here for a fight, I'll end it quickly." She said while allowing her eyes to glow.
"That's not it! Please, let me explain," he immediately put his hands up in surrender.
"Serafina, wait, please," Carlisle said as he calmly touched her shoulder.
She sighed but stepped back, allowing him to enter. He seemed hesitant to move after her little display, but his slow response annoyed her, too. When she began to narrow her eyes at him, he apologized and entered, following the coven leader into the heart of their territory. He felt like a fool, but this was still better than the alternative. He hoped to prove his innocence so this larger coven didn't track him down and destroy him for his prior allegiance to someone tracking their human.
He explained how their coven functioned to everyone and expressed his leaving their side. Serafina wasn't paying attention. It wasn't her problem.
Soon, Edward came home with the others and immediately hissed at Laurent's presence until Carlisle stopped him. Laurent told Edward the same thing he had told the others. But only Edward knew for sure if what he was saying was true.
When he left, Edward quickly turned to Serafina, saying, "You have to kill him."
Serafina tilted her head to the side, "Now why would I do that?"
"He's a tracker, he's tracking Bella, he's going to kill her," Edward gritted out.
"You don't know that for sure. You haven't even sat down and had a conversation with this man. You don't know if that's what will happen. I'm sure you can ask him to leave her alone," she grinned, "Isn't that the order you're supposed to do things? You don't kill first, then ask questions later. Isn't that what you told me before?"
Rosalie remembered this conversation, and she agreed. She stepped beside Serafina and held her hand as she looked from Edward to her father, "Murder is wrong, after all."
"I said if there was trouble in the future, you can take care of it yourselves. I'll make sure my Rosa is alright. So you be sure to protect your little human," Serafina reminded with a shrug.
Edward gritted his teeth. He was so upset. Carlisle sighed. What he said before was true: a woman never forgets. But he looked toward Edward, who was glaring at his sisters, before walking away hastily to put everything else together for their plan to be set in motion. Carlisle sighed again but followed.
Once they were in the garage, getting the human in the car, Edward told the plan to everyone else since only his small band of four had been privy to what would transpire. He grabbed a duffel bag and looked toward Rosalie, "Rosalie, Esme, could you put these on so the tracker will pick up Bella's scent?" he asked while pulling the clothes out and tossing them to each woman without awaiting their response.
Rosalie already hated the human, and none of this was helping. The danger just kept coming, "Why? What is she to me?"
Edward only looked at her with despair while Carlisle turned around to answer, "Rosalie, Bella is with Edward. She's part of this family now, and we protect our family." Rosalie angrily walked away with the jacket, acquiescing to what Carlisle said.
Surprisingly, Bella went to Serafina. She had heard the whole conversation where Edward asked her to kill James. Of course, she did. She was standing right next to him when he did it. She knew the female couple didn't care for her but needed their help, "Please. I know you won't kill for me. I'm not asking you to. But can you please look out for Charlie?"
"Who's Charlie?" Serafina asked with confusion.
"Chief Swan," Rosalie answered. She was impressed the girl was smart enough to ask Serafina that. She guessed she knew Serafina had a soft spot for him.
"You call your dad Charlie? That seems very disrespectful to me," she mumbled as she thought out loud, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on Chief Swan. He'll be fine." She told her. The girl thanked her with obvious relief.
The family soon dispersed to complete their tasks. Although Serafina knew Rosalie would be fine, she was still worried for her family. She wondered if she should have just killed the nomad. But she didn't think it was fair. It wasn't fair. She steeled her resolve and continued to the Swan residence to look after the chief. Maybe the nomads would be dumb enough to enter her new temporary territory, and she'd kill them. That would solve all their problems without her losing her principles.
Wishful thinking, but she had nothing else to think about for now. She relaxed in a hidden tree near the Swan home, waiting until she got some news. Who knew how long she'd be on guard duty until her incompetent little brother got the job done.