chapter 13 : Happy new year cousins! (Jasper's pov)
The rest of our stay in Forks went by uneventful, we were halfway through Canada, stopped at a gas station to refill our 3 different cars when Esmee came to Olivia and Michael. ”Just to clarify everything, what exactly do we tell them? are you planning a demonstration like you did with the pack? We didn't exactly discuss this.”
”Sorry grans, you're right. I think we need to tell them as little as possible, not that we don't trust them, but any information in the head of someone outside of this family is vulnerable. And let's be honest with ourselves, dealing with the fact that we've been around for 15 years and hid from them is going to be enough for one time.”
”So you're not really coming out of the closet, you're just taking a peek outside?” Emmet supplied, as subtle as ever.
”Thank you for that Em. But no, you're wrong. You seem to forget that we've been spending the last 15 years, or even 27 as far as the rest of you are concerned, under the assumption that Aro would use anything he can find to launch another grand scale attack against us. Just because we don't want to stay hidden anymore it would be reckless to start assuming today that the Volturi are happy little bunnies that will never try to harm us. We need to be very careful and assume that as soon as they find out we exist, they're going to play us a remake of the Spanish inquisition, Italian style. You know the saying 'Si vis pacem, para bellum', if you want peace, prepare for war. And if we want to win this war, we need to make sure that as little information as possible reaches the Volturi.”
”You know, strictly from a military perspective it makes a lot of sense. Besides, it's not like they need to know what you can do in order to know you. If we tell them that you're Nessie and Jake's kids, that Liv is a shapeshifter and Mike half vamp half shapeshifter, they won't feel the need to ask questions. And we wouldn't even be lying to them.” I added, concluding the exchange for them. These kids seemed to have planned everything down to the last details, they just needed the support of someone with actual military experience to give them some credibility.
So then we continued our road trip to Alaska, our three cars caravan breaking every speed limit there was. About 50 miles from our final destination, the Black family stopped at a resting area on the side of the road so they could eat before getting there. The real reason of course was so that the rest of us would get there first and prepare our cousins for the surprise. Apparently my little niece and nephew planned to appear as shy and unsure of themselves in order to make sure that, if the Volturi didn't move on them, it wouldn't be out of fear that the Cullen clan had gotten stronger since their last encounter. How very Machiavellian of them.
When we finally made it to their house, Carlisle went to knock and was greeted by Garett, who instantly called inside the house ”Hey everyone, the cousins are here.” He then turned back to us ”Hello cousins, it's been too long, happy new year!”
”Hello Garett, it has indeed been a while. I trust you are doing alright. Kate , you look as lovely as ever.”
”Thank you so much Carlisle, but don't stay there, come inside ... Where is my favorite cousin? Don't tell me she's in Forks with Jacob's family again. I mean it's been a while since we've last seen you, but it's been forever since the last time we saw her. It's been what, 17 years I think?”
”That sounds about right, but don't worry she's here this time. She just stopped to grab a bite to eat with the rest of her little family.”
”Excuse me, WHAT? Carlisle, what on earth are you talking about? What family? What are you saying? Do you mean she's with Jacob? Or are you actually saying what I think you're saying? Because that would just be insane, you realize that? Seriously, you do realize that Aro and Caius went loony over a human vampire hybrid ... a kid like that would be what? Do we even know what would be in the cocktail?”
”Well Kate, that was a lot of questions. But to answer at least one of them, I am actually saying what you think I'm saying. As far as it being insane, it's not the word we would use, but we are aware of the danger. Which is why you haven't seen Nessie in the past 17 years, we were keeping them a secret from anybody who might run into Aro. But it's not insane, it's just what happens when two people love each other. Being what we are, we tend to forget that most people are gifted with a body that has the ability to create life, and it's a beautiful thing, not insanity.”
The rest of our cousins had been listening with rapt attention, so Tanya cut in ”Sorry to cut in the middle of your conversation guys, but I have a few questions of my own. 17 years? Them? How many little cousins do we have, and exactly how old are they? And while I'm at it, if you've hidden them for so long, why come out now? did the danger disappear? Or are you so bored that you are actively looking for a fight?”
”I was actually just getting to that. You have 2 litlle cousins, it was 2 for the price of 1, twins. They're 15 years old, but they grew up like their mother, so they stopped aging about 8 years ago and they look about 20. We've kept them hidden this long because we didn't want to put them at risk. That being said, we've always been ready to fight and die for them if necessary, just like we were with Nessie. We just didn't want to knowingly put them in harms way, but it's been 15 years, and they want to see the world, they want to meet their cousins and the rest of our friends eventually. So we made sure they understood the risk, and if need be we will stand our ground. Whether you stand with us or not is entirely your choice. this time the danger is of our own making so we would understand, but the need might never arise so ... let's enjoy some time together and think about the difficult things when they come, if they even come.”
Carlisle, ever the diplomat had scored points for our little niece and nephew. To tell the truth I never truly expected to be rejected by our cousins from up north, but it's always good to have things put in a favorable light by someone as respectable as Carlisle. Anyway, what really mattered was the reception that the twins would get, because regardless of battle strategy, family is what matters. So when the Black finally got there, and the wonder twins went timidly say ”Happy new year cousins” to a smiling Denali clan, I knew we were in for a joyous celebration.
