The entire story is just a click away. . .
It’s an interesting song to be honest. I loved it on Tiktok and the vids coming from it. When I finally found the full song, I added it to my writing playlists immediately! Teddy Hyde scored well with this song, a bit creepy with sick lyrics. Perfect for that no good character of the story, or that suave protagonist that wants to act like they don’t have any baggage. >XD
Guildhall is special to me because the game I am adapting and fanfictioning from is a game I play in my area. I find the whole experience of losing adult make believe kind of sweet. The friends I’ve made and the interesting situations I’ve caught myself in have been very though provoking. So it’s only natural that someone with my writing obsession would take up a pen and make some adventures myself.
At first it started as drafts for adventures to be written for the game. As my life became more hectic I would work on it on and off, taking a notebook as my co-editor and putting in lots of story lines and plots in it. Soon it wasn’t enough to just make the adventures, because the people and their characters were also inspiring to me. Every struggle and trauma they worked through with their character was very fun, very nuanced. I started keeping log of the stories to read off line, to see how they wrote themselves. I have always loved seeing how people write, its very telling of their personalities. And while I have a collection, I found the whole experience of getting the same energy at the live game as in the stories they wrote. I started practicing.
Songs were assigned, and I kept writing, making rules for myself and neat ideas I had for the overall game. I kept log, making changes I saw fit to keep the stories in line and keep the energy. The actual game kept moving, changing their systems and making new story lines themselves. So while I am entrenched with my own creation, I also had to realize that there was going to be a large distinction between the two universes. Especially after everything got shut down for a bit. Once everything came back the stories changed and while it would have been neat publishing this project during that time, it wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready. I will just have to be glad I kept writing and editing, re-writing and making up new plans, putting the pieces slowly together.
The Trade Chronicles will be a large project, one that I have time lined out, along with my other writings. Be prepared for something exciting! Daring! Fantastical and personal! I’m getting this series right.
Servant of Oranu takes place a little over a generation later from the Rise of Darkness. In the rise of darkness, a sealed Evil, evil spirit seeps into the realm and almost initiates the Age of Chaos in Evermore. Luckily many heroes stood against this spirit and were able to quell its followers and its wants. They didn’t defeat or erase the spirit, not knowing the reason it exists and wanting to destroy unknown possibilities.
Well now, the servant of Oranu brings the pain and the tragedy of the past into a national spotlight. For so long Evermore has passed the reins to the next generation of Guildsman, never looking back to what happened, only looking towards what will happen.
Forget the Past, And we are doomed to repeat it.
Ignore the past, and we are fated to re-do.
Servant of the Spirit King
Pastor of the Great Evil
All hail the Soulless magicians
This is a fan fiction taking place in an Alternative Universe (AU). No matter how close the story lines might come to the canon timeline, it is coincidence. The LARP, though not named for privacy reasons, still owns its copyright and all of its terms. (The world, the laws, and the magic system, etc.) Most characters are from the same LARP and belong to the individuals that play them, as well as how they want to play them in real life (IRL).
Any changes made to their characters and their arcs/ designs are to further illustrate the differences between the two universes and are never made in malice towards the character or player.
Some persons were made by the author completely Original. While OG to this universe, they all still use the LARP’s system and thus are applicable for usage by the original owner. The author knows they are fan ficting and just want to write about the silly little world.
If the owner or one of the players stumble upon this, know the author deeply enjoys the world and the characters and hopes for more years of story writing to come!
Note: There will be hiatus and rewritings during these postings. I will try to correct without damaging the quality of the storyline.
Ita needed for the done and the deceased.
But you’re gone, and I feel dead.
We can’t stay in the same grave,
So who dies? Who is done?
I feel both, and yet day after day I keep standing.
It’s second nature to me.
What luck is this? I’ll never know.
My exact reaction, double life was so much fun. But like… Imagine that old lady just going ham 🤣🤣
I found a tiktok that really does express the nature of this day, what it has become over the years. 20 (ish) years later.
I don’t know why or how it happened!
But my kid is innocent 😇😅
They drove a few miles into town, a few words being passed every so often. Carlisle got a text from Edward with a question mark. He didn’t respond. They came to a parking lot of the small town’s favorite diner, though in the morning it was only getting ready for the lunchtime rush. Hidden under a cover of aspen trees, they waited for the brief sunlight to dim, and when it did, got out and went across to the park. Unlike most of the town where the trees had been cut down to stumps and large piles of dirt, large and dense bunches were hosted in the near miles long park. The trees were varied from large pines and sprawling oaks to aspen bunches and blossoming maples. Old wooden benches, ruined in color with the metal spotted in rust, lined the walkways.
Carine walked in a hastened pace, moving along the paths where any sunlight would only be on the sides and not speckled in the middle of their walk. Absently Carlisle followed, noting the unusual emptiness of the area. Usually there would be walkers and joggers, someone with their small and frightful dog, a couple lounging out among the shrubbery with books of different thicknesses. The morning in this new town of theirs never slept entirely. Someone was always doing something. A late night delivery man with a junker trying to match the speed of the highway into town, passing the Cullen house with a squeal from the undercarriage. The bakers in the homemade bakery opening the windows to air out the already hot kitchen at four am by the hospital. An half an hour later the newspaper kid would be making their rounds and be begging for just a slice of deliciousness, all while Carlisle would watch from the parking lot of the hospital.
Despite the town being small, only about five thousand or so people, it brought a lot of scholars for brief visits. The hospital was renown for niche specialist, as well as special courses for those niches. He had gone to several and found them interesting, though Rosalie noted a few things redundant.
‘Of course.’ He had smiled to himself.
Rosalie had done medical school not too long ago as a favor to him and had been persistent in finding all the minute and theoretical studies coming up in the world. She was thorough in tracking anything of substance during the favor, even in fields he hadn’t believed she would venture in to.
“Carlisle?”
He stopped in his tracks.
They had stopped at a break in the fencing, once made for a trashcan, now empty of purpose. He simply raised a brow at her, which made her giggle briefly.
“I promise we aren’t going too far. Just a little spot that I had found on my journeys. It will be very fun.”
Her smile was contagious. He followed her past the fencing, into a mists of trees and around where some bathrooms were. A small maintenance hub was built into a large rock structure. Knocking on it confirmed it was just heavy plastic. Carlisle also noted the small path that came to the area, though it wrapped itself out of sight and to the left. On the rock was a built in bench. Carine took a seat on it. She laid out her skirt for a moment before looking back up to him.
“It’s a secret spot of this place. This town has so many.” She grinned.
He agreed and took a few steps to look around. The trees were heavily dense, some smelling a bit too musky from the rest. Had to be the originals, maybe the darker shade among the sea? Or maybe the older ones were the lighter trunks? His family hadn’t gone researching the town this time, rather finding the hidden gem on accident and wanting to discover it all organically. It was a thrill they haven’t had for a long time.
“Hidden, like it was planned.” He noted in thought.
She nodded. “The town is very grid-like. So if you happen to find a weird shape, there’s probably a story as well as a secret.”
He raised a curious brow at her, begging for her to let one slip. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to ask. It took barely a second for Carlisle to shake away the want of a town secret. It was his thrill too. Plus, they had other things to discuss.
“So are you, me?”
Carine smiled wide. “And I, you. What gave it away?”
“Jasper. Well, all of them, last night. But mostly Jasper.”
It was Carine’s turn to raise a brow.
He smiled at the thought. “Jasper wouldn’t have stopped short of defending me if it wasn’t for a familiar scent. He doesn’t think I’m good at fighting and protecting myself.” That made them both break for a short laugh.
“Yes. He does seem very protective. Whitlock?”
Carlisle happily agreed. “Correct. And he is. If anything he likes to be in the front of a fight, not behind me. So when he shuffled, I knew he recognized something. Made him wait.”
“But you were with me. How are you sure it wasn’t you he was stopping for?” Carine asked with a grin.
“Jasper wouldn’t have stopped his brothers if I was in a fight already. They would join in nonetheless.” Carlisle explained. “But they didn’t, and even on the porch he didn’t jump in between you and Alice. I thought he would but he shuffled. Again.”
Carine covered her mouth to laugh silently, enjoying the thought process of Carlisle Cullen.
“So you’re me?”
Carine rocked in her seat for a moment. Then shrugged. “In a way, yes. But from a different time. A time where you are a woman and not a man.”
Carlisle leaned on the archway beside her. “Anything worth mentioning on first thought?”
Carine looked away for half a second before smirking at him. “I have a cuter partner than you.”
Carlisle gawked at her with a huge smile. “Blasphemy!” He took a few steps and dramatically turned away from her, crossing his arms and huffing. “Impossible.”
Carine laughed loudly.
The morning birds sang aloud with them, hopping from one branch to another in the peaking sunlight. The air was cool and breezy. In the distance and low, Carlisle heard a beating heart of a human jogging by, alone and paced. His phone inside his pocket was still and silent, a reminder of help waiting for him.
“It’s impossible, Esme is the best there is.” Carlisle stated.
Carine kept smiling, delighted. “Prideful today aren’t we?”
Carlisle smiled with some smugness. “For once I can honestly agree to it.”
She shook her head and looked away to the trees, in the direction of the faint heartbeat. He watched carefully, noting the stillness of her body, how her pale hair flickered gently with the breeze. He made note of his phone, waiting for her or it to move. She did. She turned back to him.
“We are getting ahead of ourselves. I brought you here for privacy. We can have this rivalry later. I’m curious on what else you have thought of.”
Carlisle fought to keep the small smile on his face. “You have something with last names. You didn’t seem to really know Alice until she said her own. Seemed very particular about your own.” Then in a suave voice, “Miss Cullen.”
Carine slowly nodded her head, laughing at the switch in his voice. “I am a bit lost. That I can agree to. I don’t want to jump before solidifying their identities. How embarrassing would that be?”
He nodded silently, knowing very well his family would make the best of the awkward situation. They were malleable like that. He looked up at the blanket of trees for a moment, wondering the question he always asks to himself.
Are they safe? Or has he already messed it up? For him and for them.
“Your partner, Esme,” It sounded foreign when Carine said it, like it didn’t fit right. But she was him, and him her. “She loves you. Platt? Or maybe Everson?”
Carlisle shook his head quickly. “Platt. I’d rather not think about the other.”
“They were horrible people.” Carine said in a strained voice suddenly.
He stayed quiet.
“But from those horrible people come great opportunities.”
Carlisle shook his head, “No. Not really.”
Carine looked sharply up at him. “Carlisle you can’t think like that. Not now.”
He pushed himself off the arch and took a few steps away. “To think this was a great opportunity, a hopeful one,” He didn’t even finish, the anger and anguish choking him in his throat. “No.”
“They have a better life. All of them. As do you. Do you think you would have been happy as the next Pastor Cullen?”
He turned to her swiftly. “If that’s what I had to do then yes. I would have made the most of it, what of that was. Just like I’m trying the best with what I have now.”
“So what about Hale? Or Whitlock? Is Platt better off-“
“Don’t.” He answered loudly. Then softer, “Don’t.” He could barely breathe from the thought. The memory of Esme laying in the hospital bed came back to him. Lame, quiet, she was the epitome of everything she hadn’t been several years prior. That wasn’t the woman she was, nor the woman he loved. Even when Esme was a teenager, Carlisle had seen so much potential in her. There was almost like an invisible tether between them, and it had pained him so much to leave her afterwards. But he would never damn another to his life, no matter how tight the tether was back then. Only when there wasn’t another option.
“I would never choose this life for any of them. We live outside the world, and it can be very harsh and alienating.”
Carine opened her mouth but another voice sounded. One from up the path, and breathing hard.
“CAR-LIZZLE! What’s up?”
They both jumped. Carine stiffened in her seat.
Approaching them was a young man, mid thirties with a creeping hairline, who had a big smile on his face. Dressed in shorts and a baby blue tee shirt, the man jogged right up to them, waving enthusiastically.
“What is up my man? My main man Carlisle Cullen!” He playfully punched Carlisle in the arm, hesitating on keeping up his excited energy.
Carlisle gave the man a small smile, mostly out of regretful recognition. “Doctor Joseph Adams. What a surprise.”
The man bounced at the announcement of his own name, switching between looking to Carlisle and eying Carine. “Yep, ol’ Joe Shmoe. Doctor of whatever I need to be.” He took a minute to pause finally and collect his breath. The ‘siblings’ watched the man with a bit of annoyance, politely disguising with small smiles. The ones saved for people they didn’t particularly want to stay around. Maybe it was their sense of humor, their attitudes, other times it could have been their loud reputations and even louder opinions. For Joseph Adams, it was the insistence of including everyone and taking it personal when Doctor Cullen wouldn’t join. The dramatics made Carlisle try to evade the man, and the man knew it was the reason his acquaintance wasn’t always welcomed.
Before ether of them could speak, Joe went on.
“It seems like you hurried off yesterday. I suppose this little lady is the reason?” He slid closer to Carine and her smile slipped off, turning into an unamused frown. It shook Joe instantly, some of the confidence fading at the sight.
“Yes. Family matter. How can I help you today Joesph?” Carlisle answered with a bit of ice in his voice.
Joe slowly nodded his head, shuffling a bit back from the tone. “Well I just wanted to make sure you’re coming to the swanky gala tonight! It would be fantastic if there was one hundred percent staff attendance.”
Carlisle gently shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”
Joe bit his lip, an obvious sign of disagreement. “I never said you couldn’t bring the fam! They’re all invited.”
Carlisle’s phone rang out with Alice’s ring tone. He waved Joe off. “No, thank you.” He took several steps away from the two to answer the phone.
One the other side was shuffling, an audible intake of breath and then,
“Do it Grandpa!” Reneesmee’s voice rang loud and clear through the device. In the background was loud shuffling and faint running steps.
“Nessie?”
Behind Carine walked towards Joe who was stuttering for a reason more to invite the Cullens. It was annoying.
“Do it! Do it! Auntie Alice is loving it!” Reneesmee squealed.
“Nessie! Nessie get back here!” Edwards voice was light and fading in the background. It was frantic. She merely giggled at the sound.
“Love you lots! Come home soon!” The device went silent.
His mind went wild with scenarios that was happening back at the house. Why was it Alice’s phone being used? What was Nessie running for?
“It’s a very un-opportune time for a gala. It is of the up most importance we have this taken cared of sir.” Carine gently explained.
“Where’s the fire girl? I mean, it’s really important that he comes. A hundred percent means hundred percent. And I have important things too! This is one.” Joseph pressed.
Carlisle sighed in annoyance and turned to the doctor. Before he could speak again, Joseph was already in front and whispering
“Listen, I need to pull the favor right now. Remember when I did that double shift for you when you left last week? Another family issue,” He emphasized the words through his teeth. “I’m calling it in man. I have a thing going on at this gala and a hundred percent needs to be a hundred percent. No matter what.”
Carlisle quickly shifted his eyes to Carine. She raised a curious brow while not looking to be able to listen to their conversation. Within the same second he came back to the pushy man.
“Fine. But this better not be some charity, investment scheme for the board of directors. I won’t ever talk to you again Joseph.” Carlisle narrowed his eyes.
Slight panic came over the man at the prospect Carlisle was threatening with. But after a moment understood the acceptance. A wave of relief washed over Joe’s face and he smiled. “Yes! Thank you! You will enjoy yourself. You both!” he turned and opened a hand to Carine, inviting her back to the conversation. She smiled and stayed where she was. “Tonight will be giving you bags till next year! And I’ll actually know why for once!” With that he took off back up the trail, faster than before.
Carlisle looked off to the side to let his annoyance and confusion settle. Carine inched closer to him with a big smile. He refused to look at her.
“That’s a breach.” She jested.
“No.”
“Yeah, you definitely been risky lately.”
“No. No, we are not doing this.” He said in a chuckle.
They left the park quickly after and went home in silence. At the front door he was met with the rest of his family, all with different emotions playing on their faces. Reneesmee broke from her father’s hold and hugged Carlisle’s waist. She smiled happily up at him.
He hesitated to figure out what was the appropriate response, but he didn’t need to. Sitting at the steps with Bella, Alice looked glum.
“You promised us no more Director’s parties.” She whined.
Carine bowed her head into her hands. Carlisle closed his eyes and exhaled every last bit of air he had in him. When he opened them back up a minute later he met eyes with Rosalie’s glare.
“Great job Carlisle. Like we have time for a party.”
She shot a stern look past him to Carine before huffing up the stairs.
“This is insane,” Rosalie repeated again, strutting past the dining room and into the front sunroom.
She had been roaming from the sunroom to the dining for an hour now, finally being able to vocalize her dissent from the night’s activity and discovery. The morning light had come and glimmered through the large windows hours ago. Since then Jacob, with the rest of the wolves, had gone back to the cottage. Renesmee was with them, troubled still over what information she had been able to get from the others. Bella had gone with her to the cottage and only returned recently. She stayed at Edward’s side in the living room, shielding him for the privacy of everyone. It wasn’t really needed since most were being forthright with what they were thinking.
“How can you just accept this? Are you even thinking?” Rosalie demanded from the front room.
Carlisle stayed seated in the dining room chair, staring at the oak wood table and listening to her movement. It was the only thing he could do, his mind was bouncing between ideas and excuses. None would satisfy her. Esme stood in the corner behind him, poise to spring up at any moment. Rosalie’s anger has been climbing all morning and it made Esme uneasy. Emmett stood in the doorway watching her pace back and forth. He tried a few times to get a word in, but mostly just waited. Alice and Jasper camped by the front stairs, on a mission to see what all this led to per Rosalie’s demand.
“Like, do you even know this woman enough to take her word for any of this? So what if she has our eyes! So did Alice and Jasper before they came to us!”
Carlisle silently nodded. “I really can’t explain it, but I believe what she is saying is genuine. She came straight to me at the hospital.”
Rosalie came back into the room and slammed her hands on the table, the wood cracking at the base. “So can I if I know the doctor’s last name!”
Emmett was instantly beside her just as Esme wrapped an arm around his shoulders. There was a moment of cool down, Emmett pulling her away from the table. Carlisle remained silent. Rosalie puffed a few times, darting her gaze everywhere except for at him. After a few minutes, she went back to pacing through the rooms. Emmett went back to the doorway.
“Can you trust this woman? Who is she Carlisle?” Emmett asked gently.
Carlisle shrugged at the table. “Best way to answer that is my sister.”
The silence was terrifying. No one knew how or what to ask next. Nothing was calming Rosalie and besides the anger, she had several good points being made.
“Okay, so sister. Why does she care about what happens to you?”
Carlisle broke from the table to look at Emmett, confusion on his face. “I’m not sure I’m following.”
Emmett bobbed his head as he spoke. “I’m not saying anything vindictive or anything but like, you’re killer old Carlisle. Love you but it’s true.” There were a few chuckles in the house. “Being that, why now has this decided to rear its head? And why would a ‘sister’ come to find you in order to circumvent a problem suddenly?”
Carlisle paused to ponder it but Edward sounded off from the living room.
“She said it had already happened to her. She made rash decisions she thought would keep everyone safe but it didn’t.” Then lower. “It was odd about how she went on doing it all.”
Emmett nodded his head to the information, not entirely convinced. “So what says that you’ll be any different?”
Rosalie paused beside him with a truly worried look. She then looked to Carlisle, the words failing her again.
Esme let out a defeated sigh and started to rub his shoulder in absent thought. Carlisle went limp at the thought from Emmett, the worry and trouble slowly eating away at him. He didn’t enjoy this, none of this. His family was wracking their brains around an issue of his, it made him feel exposed. There wasn’t anything he could find endearing of it. It all just crept at him as selfish. He didn’t want that. He stood up and went to the window, turning his back to the rest of the family.
The forest was still in the bright sunlight, the trees spanning miles in every direction from the house. The window was propped open, only the slightest, and from the crack, Carlisle could smell the fresh sap and the wet grass. The pack’s scent was barely there anymore, only Jacob’s scent was there, faint. Below the window was a small gardener’s box with some flowers planted in a quinte row. From the brisk wind, he guessed that the poor things wouldn’t last for long. Maybe a few days and then a cold snap would kill them. Still, the pale blues and eggshell flowers were pretty. They reminded him of the colors Carine wore yesterday.
My sister, Carine Cullen. His head was spinning at the idea of having a sister. He couldn’t remember much of his human life, but he would have remembered a sister. Or that his dad was gone for long periods of time. Or there being another woman around them. But no, nothing came up in his mind. Not before, and not after the terror. And being so close in appearance, to an uncanny level, there had to be a reason. He couldn’t place it but there was something, familiar about her. But was it safe around her?
Edward moved into the other room. “She seems to have hope that Carlisle can avoid the mindset she had, and therefore the mistakes and assumptions she made.”
Carlisle turned back to his family as Edward and Bella appeared in the living room doorway. They stood adjacent to Rosalie and Emmett. Edward was deep in thought, Bella’s eyes glazed on him in concentration.
“There were some things she knew. The reaction from Rose,” A few glances went to the angry woman. “The protectiveness of Esme and I.” He felt Esme slide closer to him, their hands brushed each other. All he did was nod in Edward’s direction.
Edward paused for a long moment, his mouth parting a bit. Almost like he was trying to speak but wasn’t able to. Carlisle eyed him just as long, silently calling for his son within his own mind. After a minute or so, Edward cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. “I don’t know.” He admit in a huff. He then lightened up with a smile. “She sure wasn’t expecting Jasper.”
The room went light with chuckling. Jasper and Alice joining beside Emmett and Rosalie, the two brothers fist-bumped quickly.
“I may have overdone myself then. I wasn’t expecting Carlisle to go feral on us.” Jasper jested lightly.
Carlisle couldn’t help but laugh with the room, happily embarrassed.
The house silenced instantly when the doorbell rang out. Rosalie took a quick step towards it but Emmett placed his arms around her, lovingly but restrictive. Jasper eyed to the front, and then to Carlisle with a poised face. Alice tried to give him a smile but fell short of a grimace. Esme squeezed his hand and stepped for the door. He held tightly, stopping her and looking at Edward.
“She’s here.” He said grimly, almost regretfully.
Carlisle turned with a smile at Esme. “It will be fine.” He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head before nodding to Edward. Effortlessly he slid to her side. Jasper hung back in the side room, leaning on the bookshelf and absently reading the spines of the books. They gave each other small smiles but neither abandoned their positions.
Taking a deep breath he opened the door and met Carine smiling on the porch.
“Hello again.”
She gave him a smirk. “Do you remember me, Carlisle?”
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. “My little sister. How could I forget?”
She ducked into her hand for a moment, peaking out to him. “Little? Oh dear, you’ve already started running with the narrative.”
He nodded confidently. “I think it’s a great detail to the story. Why not have a bit of fun?”
She agreed enthusiastically. “I believe there was tea offered?”
He went to nod before freezing completely, glancing into the side room with Jasper in it, and then absently at Carine. He listened to the others, hearing a few shuffling and one set fluttering over to the kitchen. After a few seconds, with soft tinkling of fine china cups, the footsteps went off towards the back of the house.
“Carlisle?”
He blinked and looked down the porch to a quint sitting area by some bay windows. On the table was a small tea set with two cups, a decorative kettle, and a tray, all in a pastel blue and white. He gestured to it and led Carine over to it. They took seats beside the table and for a moment eyed the decorative piece.
“This is so cute.” Carine awed in a whisper. She gently traced the rim of one of the cups with her finger. “I got one of these a while ago. Green and white, Hale accidentally chipped it once. They wouldn’t stop apologizing to me.” She chuckled lightly and looked to Carlisle. “They never mean the damage they do, don’t they?”
Carlisle took a moment to think. Hale. Rosalie? It had to be since Jasper had only adopted the last name for the sake of coercion within the family. A small memory came to mind where he had unpacked the set when they had moved houses. In the midst of placing it, Rosalie had absently turned into him. There was no time to move and they bumped into each other. There was a crack on the bottom of the tray because of it, kept together with some industrial glue and precision handling. Now it was barely noticeable but Rosalie was panicked in thinking she had broken the fragile thing. It took a bit of convincing to calm her and to not apologize to Esme either.
He nodded slowly. “She’s a good girl. Once you get past the thorns.”
Carine kept looking at the cup, lost in thought for a moment. With a brush of wind rustling through the porch, she looked up. “Where would you like to start?”
There was a few seconds of hesitation, and then “Anywhere I guess.”
Carine nodded and sat up straight. “I don’t know how father-”
“Not him.” Carlisle quickly and roughly cut in. “Sorry, anywhere but him.”
Carine didn’t speak again, just stared at him, waiting.
Carlisle sat back and closed his eyes. “The ambassador. Who is he?”
“A man I hadn’t seen before. Ebony hair, sickly skin, they had unkempt nails and a salt-watery scent to them. But not like at sea, or on a beach. More like under the water like a fish of some sort. It made me recoil like some wolves I had smelled once.”
Carlisle opened his eyes, fading in and out of his mindscape.
“Nearly took down a pine because of it. But it wasn’t as potent up close. Just enough to keep reminding me that they were there.”
“What did they sound like?”
“Tired.” Carine’s face narrowed in concentration as well as confusion. She was relaying the meeting in her mind as she told, and every emotion came clear on her face. “They never seemed interested in the conversation or what was being said. If it wasn’t for the odd scent, I wouldn’t have remembered them for the entire time.”
She paused, then looked to Carlisle.
He looked off, letting the silence cover for him. “It was a him?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t know him?”
There was no verbal answer. Carlisle turned to see her shaking her head.
The silence held longer this time, and during it two sets of feet came to the front. Jasper propped open the door for Alice who had a silver tray and a kettle in her hands. Steam came from the spout. With a big smile, she glided over to them and put the tray on the table, sliding the decorative one to the back. She flashed the smile at Carine, who after a second of eye gaze, gave one back. After a quick turn to Carlisle, who gave a half-smile, Alice stood up and clapped her hands.
“You were promised tea. It would be rude to leave you empty cupped.”
Carine bowed her head in agreement. “Such thoughtfulness miss Cullen.”
Carlisle peaked back to Jasper, whose eyes were entirely on Alice. Only after a few seconds did Jasper turn his gaze to Carlisle. Instantly he turned back around, feeling a pang of interest in what was being talked about. He chuckled to himself.
“Awe, you don’t have to be so formal.” Alice giggled. “We’re all family here aren’t we?”
Carine shuffled in her seat. “Of course.”
Alice held out a hand to her. “Alice.”
Carine carefully took her hand and shook it. “Carine. Cullen.”
“Brandon. If that makes any difference.”
Carlisle watched as Carine’s face changed, almost like a light had been turned on. With new eyes, Carine looked Alice over.
“Yes. Yes, it does.” Carine said with an excitable pitch.
The excitement spread quickly to Alice.
“We are very determined to help Carlisle in this situation. I’m looking for all the possibilities and futures.”
Carine softened and tilt her head to the side. “Look too far ahead and you’ll see the destruction. Look too close and you’ll see the hopelessness. Your Carlisle doesn’t need to secure his future, it’s his past he must regain control of. I don’t think you have a gift for that.”
From the corner of his eye Jasper shuffled in his stance, his calculated posture lost. Alice opened and closed her mouth, a bit startled by Carine’s words. Carine was not troubled by the look, almost expecting it. She smiled once more.
“Thank you, Alice. But moral support and family trust will be more beneficial.”
It took Alice another few seconds to respond. “We shall see.”
She turned quickly on her heels as Carine softly shook her head, now conscious of Jasper waiting at the door. Once they were inside, she scooted the kettle against the tray until it hit the wall of the house.
“I think we should move to a more private location.” She noted with a turn into the bay windows and looking to see who was hovering in the living room. She smiled at Carlisle. “You would do well if you trust them. They can’t help if you bubble it all inside.”
He briefly laughed. “I thought we didn’t have the gifts necessary for help.”
“Not in this chapter we don’t.” Carine got up and walked over to the Grey Lexus by a corner of the driveway. “But what your side of the family lacks, they make up for in exquisite loyalty, trust, and love for you. I wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating that.” She opened the door, waited and looked, and then gestured for Carlisle to come join her.
He stood up and walked to the edge of the porch, studying her. “Did you underestimate them?”
Carine stared for half a second before sighing, resting her head on top of the door. “I underestimated a lot. Myself, my family, I thought it would be okay if I had kept them out. And even near the end. . .” She took a long breathe in thought, her shoulders giving a quick shiver during it. “I know before everything happens, you need to trust someone. I’d like that to be me.” She smiled wide at him. “And who’s better than your own self?”
Carlisle chuckled and stepped off towards the car. Inside her head a pair of hesitant heels, followed by a paced pair. Glancing at the door he saw Esme watching him, Edward perched right over her shoulder. She was upset and made no effort in hiding it. Edward was focused for a long minute before looking to Carlisle in a pleading manner.
I’ll be back. And I’ll explain what’s new. He said in his mind.
The Lexus was ready when he finally sat down. From the tinted windshield, he noted the other hidden faces. Emmett’s in the bay windows, Rosalie impatient behind him. Jasper slipping behind Esme from the other shoulder. Bella peaked from upstairs. None of them could hide the panic on their faces. Staring at Esme as they pulled away, he couldn’t breathe.
Merri