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Chapter Ten

"I can't thank you enough," Jumelles told Renesmee profusely as she invited Jumelle into her and Jacob's home that evening. "Honestly, after I left you--"

"Relax, it's fine!" Renesmee chuckled. "Besides, you're my twin sister; we're supposed to do anything for each other, right?"

Jumelle smiled gratefully at her, and she stepped over the threshold with Daniel in her arms. Daniel gurgled softly as he glanced over his mother's shoulder at his aunt. Jumelle smiled and waved, and he turned around quickly.

As Jumelle closed the door over, she felt a small tug in her chest. She knew what that was from experience; it meant Alec missed her. Whenever one half of the soulmates missed the other, they would both feel a pull in the other's direction. It was a vampire thing.

Renesmee put Daniel in his crib and cooed to him softly. "Hey there. Hi! Whatcha doing, huh? Oh, you want this? Here you go ..."

"When was he born?" Jumelle asked quietly as she watched her sister hand Daniel a monkey toy. Renesmee smiled softly as she turned to Jumelle. Daniel seemed happy enough with his monkey.

"September fourteenth at three forty-seven in the morning," she answered. Jumelle whistled.

"Heck of a ride, huh?" she asked. Renesmee sat down on the living room couch and beckoned Jumelle over, patting the spot next to her. Jumelle sat down beside her and the twins faced each other to continue their conversation.

Nessie nodded. "Yeah, it was horrible. I don't regret it, though."

"I wouldn't either." Jumelle glanced over at the baby boy with a grin as she realised he was watching her. She waved and he smiled with a gurgle.

As Jumelle turned back to Renesmee, she noticed her sister was watching her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Nessie said quickly. "I just noticed how fond you are of kids."

"Yeah, well, I've met a few lost ones in my days, and I helped them find their parents. Aro would kill me if he ever found out."

Renesmee grimaced at the thought of her sister's literal death, but soon shoved the thought aside.

"You're so good with kids," she complimented. "Have you ever ... wanted ...?"

Jumelle's eyes widened at her sister's unfinished question. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously and felt another tug in her chest; now it was she who missed him.

"I-I've never thought about it, honestly," Jumelle admitted. "But it wouldn't work, Alec would be thrown out of the castle and neither of us would have jobs."

"You don't need a job when you're a vampire, Elle," Renesmee mused with a grin. "You know that, right?"

"Yes, but I love what I do," Jumelle protested. Renesmee raised a brow and Jumelle smiled sheepishly. "Honestly, it's actually quite interesting."

"What, going around killing people who've made a single mistake? Yeah, some fun," Nessie scoffed. Jumelle blinked, startled by her harshness. Renesmee quickly looked back at her sister and apologised. "I'm sorry, Elle, but we were brought up to believe that the Volturi were very bad people--"

"But they're not, Ness!" Jumelle proclaimed. "They are not all bad people! They're good people with bad intentions."

"What about Alec and Jane, huh? What've they done that's so good in their lives?"

Jumelle felt another tug in her chest as she huffed. "As a matter of fact, they've done several good things in their lives. Besides, they hardly had a choice. Aro was the only one there when they were turned, so they looked to him for guidance," she explained.

Renesmee rolled her eyes. "Alright, off the topic of murdering vampires--"

"They're not murderers!" Jumelle cried out. "They are just misunderstood!"

"What about Aro? Caius? Marcus, even?" Nessie fired.

Jumelle gripped her hair in frustration. "Nessie, they all have good intentions; they enforce the law, that's it. I'll admit, Caius is power-hungry and damned, but Aro isn't! As I said, they enforce the law."

"And that's why they tried to kill us."

"Ness, Irina saw wrongly. She took full responsibility for her mistake, she said it herself. We're not immortal, so we don't pose a threat."

"Now," Renesmee scoffed. "Can we please just stop talking about how good the Volturi supposedly are?"

Jumelle sighed and ran a hand through her hair; a habit she'd inherited from Edward. "You're right, this is crap. Let's talk about you. How've you been? I mean, I know you've got a kid and you're married and all, but seriously."

Renesmee chuckled. "I've been better than ever. I don't wanna sound mean here, but it's been a lot better without you around."

Jumelle frowned. "Ouch, that stung."

"I didn't want to be mean!" Renesmee cried out quickly and apologetically. "But in all honesty, it has. What about you? You're married, surely?"

Jumelle chuckled. "No."

"Engaged?"

"No, not yet," she mused with a sigh. "I've hoped since the Jenson family was executed, but it hasn't happened yet. I don't think it's happening any time soon, either."

She sighed and Nessie rubbed her leg comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Ellie. He'll come back, in the end. They always do."

Jumelle gave a short laugh. "Yeah, you're right. They do."

"Maybe it's us, actually," Ness said in mock thought. "Maybe we're just that good-looking."

"I dunno," Jumelle shrugged, playing along. "Probably. I mean, I'm not denying the fact that I'm irresistible, but ..."

The two both shared in a laugh before Daniel made himself heard. Renesmee stood up to go and feed her son, who Jumelle noticed was quite big for being only two months old.

"He has rapid growth, like us?" she questioned. Renesmee nodded.

"It's the shape-shifter too, I think," she said. "He's got three in him; human, vampire and shape-shifter."

Jumelle's eyes widened. "Damn. Must be a handful."

Renesmee shrugged. "He's alright. Jacob and I were hoping for twins, but we're happy with just this little guy. Jacob said he wants more little pitter-patterers around the house, but I said we're waiting until Daniel's at least one."

Jumelle chuckled. "I would too. I wouldn't want the age gap too far apart, though."

Renesmee thought for a moment. "No, me either," she decided. "Only a year or two, maybe three, between each kid."

"Each? How many are you planning on having, Ness?" Jumelle asked incredulously.

Nessie shrugged. "Enough."