"Could she die, Carlisle?" Esme's voice was frantic, unable to fathom the horrifying possibility that had been plaguing Amelia for several hours.
"I really don't know, Esme," Carlisle replied, staring at Amelia in distress. He wanted to kick himself, it should have been one of the first things that crossed his mind when it became more and more apparent that Amelia was so different from a standard newborn. Would she always remain so weak, or would she strengthen after the first year?
For once, answers failed him. For once, the ever cool, calm, collected and serene patriarch of the Cullen family was scared. Scared for his daughter, for her future, and scared for his family, who'd never be able to fully recover if Amelia died. Her immortality was a given almost from the very beginning. They always worried about her when she was human, but always knew that the likelihood of her perishing was nearly impossible, and chose not to dwell on it too much. The developments of the past day questioned everything he knew to be possible. Was it really possible that he'd condemned his daughter to her death? In changing her, had he essentially given her a death sentence?
"We need to speak to the Volturi," Eleazar muttered, leading the Cullen and Denali clans to the dining room table where everyone sat down.
"No!" yelled Rosalie, resolute in her decision to leave the vampire royalty out of the equation.
"It's the only choice we have," whispered Carlisle, glancing up at Alice, imploring her to reassure him.
"No Alice, tell him that it's going to end badly!" Rosalie was starting to grow hysterical, "we can't lose Amelia. We talked about this yesterday!"
"I know, Rose," Carlisle silenced his eldest daughter.
Alice was silent for a moment, her eyes unfocussed as she saw things that only she could see. Amelia quietly put her mug of cereal in the sink and walked into the dining room, taking her seat next to Esme. Samantha followed suit. All eyes were focussed on Alice.
"Relax, babe," whispered Emmett, rubbing his arms up and down the tops of Rosalie's arms in a soothing gesture. The expression on Rosalie's face nearly broke Carlisle's unbeating heart. She was absolutely terrified. Esme bore a similar expression.
"You will have to go and see Aro, Carlisle. It's the only way we are going to get answers. Aro has heard rumours of Amelia's existence and it is imperative that we show him that she has been changed. Otherwise, they will come here and I can't guarantee a peaceful gathering," spoke Alice, snapping out of her vision.
"It'll be a chance to show them that you mean no harm, that you have no plans to overthrow them," interjected Jasper, ever the military tactician.
"You are not hiding anything from them. Amelia should not be kept secret because of her immense power, even although we all know that Aro will try to recruit her," Eleazar broke in.
"What do we do if that happens?" Esme spoke softly.
There was silence as all eyes suddenly turned on Amelia, who looked rather alarmed at being the centre of attention. Rosalie let out a horrified sob. It was Carlisle who broke the silence, addressing his youngest daughter, "Amelia, what I told you back in the library the day you got discharged after that massive blood vessel rupture remains unchanged. The decision is yours."
"What did you tell her, Carlisle?" whispered Rosalie. Amelia locked eyes with him as she shifted through her hazy human memories. Recognition lit up her face. Carlisle nodded once, an unspoken message flowing between the two of them.
"I asked him if I would be alone," spoke Amelia, "Dad told me that you would never abandon me, but that he would not stop me if I decided to leave on my own free will. I then asked if I would ever find a mate, and he told me that there was someone for everyone, someone who would love me for who I was, and not be deterred by my... history."
"Carlisle!" Rosalie and Esme chorused, horror struck that Amelia may actually leave them. Carlisle could not blame them for being upset, but did not regret his decision.
"Amelia is a Cullen. She is one of us. One day, she may wish to leave us. You and Emmett have done so in the past, Rosalie. Alice and Jasper have also upon occasion left for a while. There may come a time when Esme and I desire to go off on our own. Edward and Bella don't live with us, for heaven sake!" Carlisle exclaimed in exasperation.
"Bella and Edward live within spitting distance," argued Rosalie. Esme glanced at her youngest daughter, who was frowning at the exchange, her shoulders sagging in defeat. Amelia decided to intervene.
"Rose, do you honestly think I would walk away without a backward glance? The Volturi may try to recruit me, but I have little desire to 'work'," she made quotation marks in the air with the index and middle fingers of both of her hands, "for the people who have Bree's blood on their hands."
"How do you feel about going to the Volturi, Amelia?" asked Eleazar. Amelia was silent for a moment as she considered her options.
"I am hesitant to go, not only because I am so new and unsure of this all – what if I hurt someone on the flight to Italy? We don't know yet what is going to happen to me, what if I suddenly develop a thirst for blood 30 000 feet above sea level? The thought terrifies me. Then there is the minor issue that the people whom you desire for me to engage with killed the closest person I had to a sister, pre-2008," she stated, chewing on her lower lip as she replied to Eleazar's question, holding up a hand as Carlisle tried to convince her to change her mind, "but I respect that things between our family and the Volturi have been strained for a while now, and word would have spread about me to them. Humans knowing about vampire-lore is forbidden, and you adopting me, a human, would not bode well with the royalty. Now that I have been changed, I think it is imperative that we show them that we are but humble servants, so to speak, and have no plans to overthrow them. Also, we need answers. We need to speak to others with gifts like mine, and find out what we are dealing with."
"I agree with Amelia," stated Jasper.
"As do I. Spoken like a true Cullen," Carlisle stated, winking at his daughter, who shot him a grateful smile in return.
"What happened to tracking down Leopold?" demanded Rosalie, throwing a sympathetic glance at Blythe, who winced as the name of her sire was mentioned, "why can't we do that first?"
"Because Leopold will not be easy to find, and we really should not waste time in getting to Volterra," spoke Alice smoothly, interrupting the conversation, "I've seen both outcomes. We can get answers far sooner if we speak to the Volturi than if we search for Leopold."
"It's settled then. Alice, when do you propose we leave?" Carlisle's voice was commanding. Rosalie, who had been about to protest yet again, shut her mouth with a snap. Amelia reached across and entwined their fingers, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring manner to the blonde vampire.
"Phone Aro and see what he says, but I estimate that we should leave within the next week or so."
"Who all is he expecting?"
"All of us Cullens, Blythe included. Bringing the Denalis, Alair and Samantha along will only incur trouble I'm afraid," said Alice quietly, glancing at the uneasy expression on Carmen's face. The vampires in question nodded their heads.
"I'll need to head back to New York anyway," commented Samantha, "I can't take too long off for the so-called funeral."
"I'll man the fort," stated Alair, winking at Amelia, "I've been dying to raid Alice's closet for ages."
The tension in the room, wound as tightly as a coil, broke suddenly as almost every vampire present in the room burst into laughter, aside from Alice, who started shrieking pitifully and threatening Alair with a painful dismemberment, amongst other heinous acts. Jemima bounded into the room in alarm, before snorting and making her way over to Amelia.
"What about Jemima?" Amelia asked softly, holding the Scottie dog in question in her arms. The pooch frowned at her owner, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, before yawning and licking Amelia's face and snuggling into the crook of her neck and sighing.
"She's quite a character," commented Alair, "I can keep an eye on her."
"Bella and Renesmee will not be accompanying us," volunteered Edward, speaking for the first time, "I'm not having those vile creatures anywhere near my daughter. They can look after Jemima – I have no doubt that Renesmee will love to take care of her."
"It's settled then," remarked Carlisle, "I can see the logic in keeping Renesmee away from Volterra. I have no qualms about that."
The rest of the family voiced their agreement. Renesmee's life had been threated before, and it was once too many for the Cullen clan. There was no way that they would be sending her to the very people who had been responsible for that threat.
"Amelia, I think it best that we take the time we have remaining to aid you in gaining control of your duplicated powers. Even if we don't understand an awful lot about them, I'd rather you be prepared for an attack," Eleazar voiced his thoughts, hesitant to leave his niece vulnerable and unprotected.
"She ought to learn how to project my gift, it's a useful defensive one," spoke Kate, "I have no issue with sharing my talent with Amelia. Two vampires proficient in psychic electrokinesis is better than one."
"Bella will not object to her shield being duplicated either. I'll have her come over later," spoke Edward, grinning at Amelia.
"It's settled then, Amelia. Go and hunt, find yourself a stag for two, and then we shall begin your training. Chop chop!" Eleazar beamed, enthralled by the opportunity to be involved in training a magnet such as Amelia.
"Well that was said with a lot of enthusiasm," remarked Amelia drily, standing up with Jemima firmly encased in her hold. The scottie had fallen asleep. Eleazar grinned and waved her off.
"Carlisle, phone Aro and tell him we are coming. Rosalie, Emmett, please take Amelia hunting," instructed Alice, standing up and leaving the dining room.
"Aye aye, Captain!" saluted Emmett, standing up with military straightness. Jasper shot him an incredulous look and rolled his eyes, before following his wife. Rosalie offered Amelia a small smile, before heading off to change into more appropriate hunting attire, determined to have a little chat with her baby sister.
"I'm going to put her to bed," whispered Amelia, pressing a kiss to her dog's head. Jemima's ears flicked and she snuffled in her sleep.
"Alright, sweetheart," dismissed Carlisle, watching his daughter slowly climb the stairs, careful not to jostle the dog. Most of the vampires dispersed. Alair and Samantha, who had become good friends, left the house to return to Alair's apartment. Blythe retired to her bedroom to reply to an email from Herr von Stein regarding some or other maintenance issue at her house. Edward returned home to Bella and Renesmee, with the promise of returning later. The Denali's, minus Carmen and Eleazar, departed for a hunt as well, opting to allow Amelia the opportunity to duplicate Bella's shield and work with it, before Kate allowed her to duplicate her psychic electrokinesis.
"Carlisle, are we doing the right thing?" asked Esme softly, reaching out to grasp his hand.
"I hope we are, Esme dearest," her husband replied, pressing a kiss to her hand.
"I believe that we have no other option. Alice's visions merely cemented my opinion," offered Eleazar.
"I really hope that this doesn't end badly," murmured Carmen, "Amelia's so special. An eternity of grieving if it does go south is going to be unbearable for all of us."
"An eternity of not knowing what will happen next is equally unbearable," spoke Amelia from her bedroom, having heard the hushed conversation with perfect clarity.
"I'm inclined to agree with Mia on this point," commented Blythe from her bedroom, sighing to herself as her fingers tapping away at the keyboard of her laptop as she reviewed and approved the proposed plan for a cracked column at her manor house.
"House maintenance sounds like a pain," remarked Amelia as she walked down the stairs.
"Tell me about it," agreed Blythe, shutting the lid of her laptop and putting it away, "We'll have to tackle your house soon."
"I was thinking of making it a small music school or something. Peter's always wanted to teach. I should speak to Simon about that, see what he thinks."
"That sounds like a lovely idea."
"How did they get so off-topic?" whispered Esme, listening to her two newest daughters chat away as they met on the staircase. Carlisle shrugged his shoulders.
"Teenagers," was the best answer he could come up with.
"I'm older than all seven of your other children, Carlisle Robert Cullen!" called Blythe, "and your wife!"
"Yes Dr Casper," he called in response, rolling his eyes.
"I've got my eyes on you, mister!"
Giggling, the pair left the house, calling a farewell to their family. Rosalie and Emmett were waiting for them, ready to teach their baby sister a few tricks.
"No teaching Amelia how to wrestle a grizzly bear, Emmett McCarthy Cullen, or there will be hell to pay!" called Esme to her middle son's retreating form. A dismissive "yeah yeah" was the only response she got.
"Teenagers," she agreed.
---
Author's Note
Hi everyone. I do apologise for the two and a half week delay in uploading this chapter. Things have been busy, and truth be told, I've been struggling a lot with writer's block. So when I finally get the chance to sit down and write, I have no idea what to write!
I give credit to chantisweety for being awesome and helping me with this chapter. Yes, you did help me, Chantal. It was lovely to Skype you yesterday - long overdue!
I officially have four weeks left to wrap up patients, prep crown and bridge units (what a nightmare to get those ducks in the same pond, never mind in a row), deliver false teeth (why is my exam denture such a nightmare?) and a hundred and one other things that still need to be done, on top of which I have to study for another massive exam in two weeks. The only thing that is good at this point is that the September public holiday in my country falls on a Saturday, so lab work will not be delayed. Yay. Thank you for your patience thus far, and I am afraid to have to ask of you all again, please bear with me!