chapter 11 : They grow up so fast (Edward's pov)
It had been 15 years since I had become a grandfather, I never would have thought that my existence could be that peaceful. Sure we had to move every once in a while, and we were even keeping secrets from the vampire world so it got tricky sometimes. But it was a small price to pay. Michael and Olivia had grown up exactly like their mother, which made a lot of adopted teenagers in the same household. So far we looked odd to the outsiders because we were all legally brothers and sisters but still appeared to be dating amongst ourselves (if only they knew the truth) but these two made us look almost normal. Now don't get me wrong, they were not dating that would have been plain wrong, but they functioned as a single organism composed of two entities. They look very similar, never speak to each other and yet always communicate. When you've seen them grow up it seems like the most natural thing in the world, but when you think that they are two normal human twins, I think the word kids use to describe it, is freaky. Anyway, we have always stood out at school, it was just a little worse than before. The funny thing is, they were the only ones of us not in a couple, and yet they were the only one of us nobody tried to hit on, not even once at the beginning, And trust me they are gorgeous.
Olivia could shift into an extensive number of different animals, she had even taken a trip to the great north with her brother to seek a polar bear. But I think her favorite was still the eagle, from what she says there is nothing quite like the feeling of freedom you get while flying; personally I wouldn't know but I trust her judgment.
During the first week of the Christmas break, Michael spent all his time in wolf form, which meant they wanted to keep something secret, or he was just in one of these moods when he needed to commune with the wild. That's the problem with not being able to read his mind, I had no idea and it drove me nuts. Finally on Christmas eve, Olivia called everybody down to the living room for a family meeting. I was the first to speak.
”So are you finally going to tell us what you've been hiding this past week?”
”You know, in most families, not talking about something until you're sure which way you wanna go isn't considered hiding anything. But I guess you're just not used to privacy.” My grandaughter snapped back at me.
”Alright! Olivia 1, Edward 0! I'll keep the score” Emmet boomed instantly.
”OK, enough of that, what do you have to tell us Olivia?” Carlisle said, trying to ease the tension.
”Well, this past week, Michael and I have been doing a lot of thinking. We weren't there when momma was born, but we understand why you feel the need to hide us from the authorities. But it can't go on forever, we're 15 and we haven't even met our cousins from Denali yet. We're tired of hiding, but going public, meeting other vampires would impact more than just us 2, it would put you all at risk. That's why we ask for your opinion on the matter, but even if you should agree, we would also have to consult our cousins from La push. So here it is, what do you think?”
Carlisle, as head of the family started answering with an understanding smile ”If I may start, let me say that I understand your frustration. And we always knew that there would come a day when you would want to expand your horizons. But you need to understand that not every one out there will welcome you with open arms”
”Oh we know, we have studied the family history, and it would appear that carrying Swan DNA and being involved in the vampire world inevitably attracts the attention of the Italians. And let's face it, if any random vampire doesn't like us, then it's too bad for them, I don't see anyone beside the Volturi with the resources to worry us.”
”True, but anybody can run to them to tell on you, which you should know if your study of the family history covered everything.” I said, more worried about the probable consequences than really angry at them. But Carlisle, always the peacemaker interrupted me.
”Edward, I'm quite certain that their study covered everything, in fact I think that Michael has been going through our heads in search of information for a while. And if I know them, they surely have a plan. So let's hear it in its entirety before arbitrarily passing judgment.”
”Thanks granps, we did spend an extensive amount of time thinking about it. It's very possible that we overlooked things, we're not perfect, but we have a pretty clear idea of what can happen. The way we see it, one of two things is going to happen. First possibility, we live our lives like you used to before we came along and even though at some point the Italians hear about us, they either are afraid, or simply reasonable, and leave us alone. I know, crazy thought, but one can hope. Second possibility when the Volturi find out, they use the fact that we are an unknown quantity to try and wipe us out. That's the eventuality we need to prepare for. First, before we even consider going through with this, we need the support of the wolves, if they accept me as their alpha we will have about 20 giant wolves unaffected by Jane or Alec. I know shielding everyone was grandma's job last time, but this way you won't have to focus on where we are, how fast we move or anything. Second, information is power, and Michael can get us every information we need out of their heads. I am sure that at some point Aro or Caius did some despicable thing to some members of the guard, or even to Marcus, and we can use that to divide them. Maybe we won't have to destroy them, maybe we can just get rid of the bad elements. All that is assuming that the people who stood with us last time will be in this time as well, because otherwise we're toast. But let's not forget that strictly speaking, we have the law on our side, we never even came close to posing a threat of exposure. The humans don't know what we are, even the vampires don't know we exist, it has to be in our favor.”
”I have to say that I agree with you, we haven't done anything wrong, so if the law is followed to the letter they won't come after us. And if they do come, then they will once again expose themselves for the tirants that they are. You may be a little over optimistic when you believe that we now have the means to do something about it. But if we don't try, we might as well kill ourselves now. I'm sure the Volturi would be only to glad to help.” Jasper answered with the apparent agreement of everybody. Then Carlisle added
”And it's not like we would be asking for a fight, we would just be leading a normal life. It seems like a good idea, but as you say, it would implicate the wolves, so we do need to run it by them.”
”Yeah, like they're gonna say no to a fight.” Emmet said grinning.
