Burning Star: A Twilight FanFic

Epilogue: Teeny, Tiny Hands

"What's your name, kid?" Gavrila asked the soot faced teen in front of us.

She tore her eyes away from the burning wreckage of her former prison. Olly was tearing it to shreds. It seemed this girl been the one keeping all the kids together. She'd become the closest they had to a mother in there, the leader they looked to for guidance and compassion. But the sheer amount willpower it was taking her to come close to hiding her tremors was proof that she was still a child, too.

An experimental research lab dedicated to evolving witches beyond humankind. A lab brought down by its subjects before the council could arrive. Ten children were trapped inside that hell, facing horrific tortures, day after day, for years. There was no one there to help them except each other.

"I'm Hailey. I've been in there for about five years, since I was ten. I was there the longest, so I just tried to take care of them," she replied in a shaky voice.

I  nodded. "Do you know their names, Hailey?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I do."

We began processing the kids immediately, sending out various enforcers and officials to track down their records- if any.

Hailey Lorenzo, American, age 15. Her mother was a retired Academy teacher and musician before she died protecting her daughter. Her father was a real estate developer in Germany, and a low-level witch. He'd attempted to file a missing persons report shortly after her disappearance, but his separation from his daughter and ex-wife made it difficult to initiate a proper investigation. He now had full custody of her.

Leon Sinclair, French, age 17. He'd attended the academy until age 15, completing extra time, and then went on to attend a boarding school in Belgium; he'd been kidnapped while out with friends just over a year before. Both were confirmed to have died the evening he disappeared. His parents failed to report it to the Council, despite human police involvement. They were deemed unsuitable guardians, and are awaiting neglect trials. He was an acquaintance and research partner of Gavrila's back in school, so she took loose custody of him until his upcoming 18th birthday.

Jan, African, age 14. He grew up an indentured farm hand in the Republic of Congo. He knows that he was not originally  from the nation, but was sent over too young to remember where he was from. He was sold to the coven running the lab by his former master three years ago. The African Enforcer and Executioner, Mariam Ballo and Abeo Adams, adopted him. He is already a close big brother to Cecile, their daughter.

Thomasina and Mairéad O'Shaughnessy, Irish, age 10. The twins been reported missing after their disappearance three years ago. Their mother Shauna was killed during the abduction. Their father Cian later took a position as a missing persons investigator for the Council. He and Shauna had never been married. His husband Han-neul, a Korean Under-enforcer, have taken custody of them. They now live in Seoul.

Lorelei "Lola" Janssens, Belgian, age 8. Both parents died during her kidnapping. She was originally the sole target of the strike, but Leon was nearby at the time. They arrived at the facility together. She is temporarily in the custody of European Executioner Jonna Forsberg. Leon will likely take custody of her after he turns 18.

Maddox Franco, Australian, age 8. His parents Liam and Venus died during his kidnapping, 4 months prior. Australian Enforcer, Jessie Wilson, has been investigating. She was Venus's second cousin and close friend. Custody of Maddox was left to her in his parents will. He'd attended the academy until age 6, but was pulled out for anxiety issues. He wants to return as soon as possible.

Alejandro Fontanilla-Roberto, Peruvian, age 5. His father was in a coma as a result of wounds received attempting to defend his son. His mother has been stabilizing him during slow healing. He was returned to their custody, with aid from South American Enforcer, Luis Medina, an old friend of Alejandro's father.

Alexei and Hope, Russian, ages 3 and 4 months. Their father died three months before the abduction of Alexei and his then pregnant mother. It is presumed the father spoke English, and was likely American. Their mother spoke only Russian, and nobody was able to get her name. No other family to speak of. The daughter was born in the facility, and named by the kids. Their escape plan was hatched after her birth.

At first, we didn't know quite what to do with the last two. They really did need a family, not a lifetime at the Academy dorms. It was a last resort option, but we were trying hard to avoid it. And then the obvious thought finally occurred to me.

A couple- in particular, a woman- who would do anything for children. A perfect mom for two little ones like Alexei and Hope.

"What did you need to talk about, Brielle?" Rosalie asked me carefully. I  knew I probably looked very nervous. If she refused for some reason, I had no idea what would happen to the kids. Seth and I had gone out to see the Cullens in Anchorage, and I'd pulled Emmett and Rosalie aside to talk to them.

I explained what had happened as vaguely as I could, and then got to the important part. "We've almost finished getting all the kids to safe families. Eight of them are home now. The last of the children, the youngest two siblings, still need parents, ideally parents who won't age."

Rosalie slipped her hand into Emmett's, eyes sparkling with impossible hope. "What are their names?"

"The older one is Alexei. He's three. He as dark curly hair and an infectious little laugh. The baby is Hope. She's just over four months old, with curly blonde hair and two tiny dimples. She's the calmest baby I've every met. Both have hazel eyes, close enough to your 'in-between' shade," I told her with a smile.

I knew if she could've cried, she'd be sobbing. Happy tears, of course.

"So where are they?" Emmett asked. I'd never seen such deep emotions so overt on him. I was relieved by that. I wasn't sure if Emmett would want kids the way Rosalie did if he knew it was possible.

"With one of the council members right now. But we can bring them as soon as you're ready. I spoke with Alice earlier, and she told me there would be no objections from the family. Everyone will be ready to help you prepare for them as soon as we get back. Seth and I'll be around to help too, of course."

She darted back to the house instantly.

Alexei was nervous when we told him that he was being adopted. The fact that they were vampires didn't bother him, but he was very worried they wouldn't like him.

"Don't worry, bud. They're going to love you, I promise," I assured him.

"Do they speak Russian too? Sometimes I forget still and speak Russian instead of English. I don't want them to get confused and stuff."

I nodded. "They do. And don't worry about switching, you'll get better as you get bigger."

He took a calming breath. Maddox had taught him and the other kids in the facility to do that when they were nervous. "I'm ready to go Miss Brielle. I'm gonna go meet my new Mama and Papa."

I caught his little hand in mine, took Hope from Boahimaa, and stepped through the gate to the Cullens' home.

Everyone was waiting with huge smiles on their faces. Alexei shrunk behind me shyly as Rosalie walked up, carefully maintaining a human pace.

"Hi, Alexei. My name's Rosalie, and I'm," she pause, the words catching in her throat. "I'm your new mom."

Her smile was radiant, and her perfect beauty stunned the little boy for a moment. Then, slowly, he stepped up to her. She kneeled to be closer to his level. He wrung his hands for a second, and then raised his arms up to her.

"Mama," he said simply. She cried out in joy and swept up in her arms, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

And so a new journey was set to begin as the Cullen family welcomed its new members.

A/N:

Thank you guys so much for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this. As I mentioned in the last chapter, I've got the sequel in the works, though Brielle and Seth will only show up occasionally. It'll be a Rosalie book, starting with her POV of this chapter. I really hope you guys check that one out too when I release it.

Lots of Love and Thanks,
cailin