Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ In The Shadow Of The Sun ❯ Observance ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Leina sighed. She was lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling in their family room. All day long, the three girls had been cleaning the house and getting it ready for their small party. All day long, Leonna had been giving the other two orders on how to set different things up, controlling everything. And now, Leina was exhausted. She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.

Their day had begun pretty well. They had gotten up quickly, ate breakfast and went to school.

Leina's Biology class had gone pretty well. She and new Bio partner Austen worked on a mini-lab worksheet that was an intro to natural selection and a little bit of probability. Cooking and Art were boring, with nothing to report of.

Leina had sat through Government having Edward bug her about seeing the sketch again, wanting to know if she'd done anything else with it. She had ignored him for most of the time, until she made the mistake of trying to look at the clock, and accidentally looking at him. Then she had admitted that she hadn't done too much with it. The rest of the class was spent taking notes and talking quietly. Edward was interested in learning more about Leina and the group before they had come to Forks. Leina answered most of the questions, but didn't say too much on the subject. Edward had considerately avoided talking about the party.

She wasn't so lucky during lunch. A good half of lunch period was taken up by talking about the party; ideas, decorations, outfits. Leina had barely paid attention to any of it. Instead, she had stared out the window at the foggy, outside world beyond the school. It wasn't much more interesting... She vaguely heard them talking about possible plans for the weekend as well, but didn't join in the conversation.

The rest of the school day was uneventful. Leina had nothing to do in Study Hall, so she sketched a bit more while talking to Leonna about ideas for decorations. Math and P.E. were boring as well.

After school, they set out in Leonna's car to go get party supplies. She helped them pick out most of the things, giving her own opinion on the decorations, whether they were too cheesy or something. After they were mainly done, Leina walked over to some of the shops nearby and got some new clothes, since most of hers were all ready dirty.

"I still need to do my laundry... I wonder if I should-"

"Leina?"

Leina's crystal blue eyes flashed open and looked up.

Leonna was standing over her in her new, Halloween outfit. She wore a long, black skirt which parted in the front to reveal a deep, forest green silk fabric. The skirt was paired with a white spaghetti strap top with white lace and a long, black, bell-sleeved shrug. She looked very pretty, as always.

"Leina, would you be able to go and fix the streamers on the banister again?"

Leina's eyes grew with surprise. "Again?!"

Leonna chuckled. "Yes, again... Our little pixie got a bit too excited and slid down the banister..."

Leina huffed and bounced herself off of the couch. She heard Leonna chuckle behind her as Leina walked over to the table to grab the streamers. She took the roll of paper streamers and went over to the banister. Quickly, she had stripped the metal of the torn and crinkled paper. She was winding the roll down the banister when she heard someone thunk-ing down the stairs.

"I'm ready!" Luna said, jumping over Leina and landing with a hard ka-thud! on the floor. Luna twirled, making the black dress spin. The top of the dress had a zigzagged, square neckline. It had just slightly poofy tops of the sleeves, which fell elegantly and flared out at the ends. The skirt of the dress flared out, starting at her hips, falling in that same zigzag pattern at the hem. She wore tall, blue and black stripped socks that came up right above her knee with black boots that came to mid-calf. Her long, pale hair fell down in gentle waves with a very thin garland of silver-frosted, light blue blossoms.

Luna grinned at the other two girls as Leina finished re-wrapping the banister.

Leonna then turned to Leina. “Leina, honey... I know it’s only the Cullens coming, and you’re not very into parties... but-”

“Don’t worry about it, Leonna,” Leina insisted, interrupting, “I’m sure I’ll have fun; I know how much work you put into this and everything looks great!” she encouraged.

Leonna smiled warmly at her. “Thanks, Leina... that really means a lot...” She laughed. “But I was just going to ask you if you could change your outfit.”

Leina looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a pair of black, baggy cargo-pants with a black and gold-studded belt. Her top was a black, no-sleeve, turtle-neck sweater that came down right above her bellybutton. Basically, it wasn’t a horrendous outfit, but it definitely wasn’t Halloween party material!

Leina looked over at Leonna’s outfit, then snickered. “Hey, what’s wrong with my outfit?!” she laughed.

Luna giggled. “It’s not very festive!” she answered with a shrug.

Leina sighed. “No, I guess not... I’ll go check my new clothes.

“Thank you!” Leonna called as Leina shot up the stairs, chuckling the whole way.
-----
Fifteen minutes later, Leina slumped down the stairs, secretly happy with her new ensemble, yet embarrassed of how out of character it would seem on her. Luna was sitting down, munching on handfuls of snacks, while Leonna was refilling the other snack bowls that Luna had all ready been through.

"Is this better?" Leina asked once she had reached the bottom of the stairs.

Leonna grinned. "Yes, MUCH!"

Luna laughed good-naturedly. "Yeah, when she wants to!"

Leina responded by sticking out her tongue.

Suddenly, the three girls' bantering was interrupted by a soft knocking on their front door.

"Leina, can you get that?"

Leina nodded, sighing. She walked over to the door and pulled it open.

All of the Cullens stood out on their front porch. Leina smiled.

"Hey, guys!"

Alice was the first to step up. She was wearing an orange halter top with a black lace skirt. Orange leggings and black boots with orange laces covered her pale, slender legs. Holding back one side of her hair was a black and silver bat clip.

"Hello, Leina!" the cute vampire-girl said, giving Leina a quick and gentle hug, then excitedly rushed over to see Leonna and Luna.

Jasper was next, following Alice quietly. He wore a plain black, polo-shirt, paired with a pair of very nice tan pants. He silently nodded to Leina, then continued after Alice.

Rosalie came in after. The beauty was wearing a long, flowing, tube-top, deep purple dress with small gold details. She also wore separate sleeves the started at her upper arms and elegantly flowed down, echoing the graceful skirt of the dress. She also nodded to Leina. Leina gave her a small, hesitant smile to Rosalie, who in return gave her a quick smile as well. Then the exceptional smile was gone as the beautiful blonde continued her way into the house.

Emmett followed Rosalie in, grinning as usual. He wore coal-gray pants with a deep, blood red, button-down shirt, pushed up to his elbows to reveal the hard muscles of his forearm. "Whoah, nice outfit, Leina! You clean up well!" he laughed as he winked, giving her a clap on the shoulder that sent Leina flying forward a bit from the impact. He chuckled and continued on into the house. Once Emmett's hulking mass was gone, it revealed the last of the Cullen siblings.

Edward stood comfortably on their front porch, patiently waiting for his other siblings to enter before himself. In his arms, he carried three packages, each the same size. The boxes weren't all that big, and the weight seemed like nothing. Although to him, it probably was. He was wearing a pair of plan, black slacks with an un-tucked white, button-down shirt. Overtop was a plain, black vest and a deep red tie that, coincidentally, matched his brother's shirt. It seemed that someone had made the slight effort to comb his hair a tiny bit more than its usually styled-messy look, but it hadn't altered much.

As always, he looked absolutely and mind-bogglingly astounding.

"No one on earth should be allowed to look this good on a normal basis..." Leina complained to herself.

Edward chuckled, and Leina actually focused on his face.

"May I come in?" he asked, a slight teasing note in his tone.

Leina stepped back, allowing Edward to come in. His smirk grew as he passed, then he went off to greet his other hostesses.

Leina sighed, leaning on the door frame once he wasn't paying attention to her. She looked out the door. "This is going to be a long night..." She shut the door, the sound echoing her frustration and anxiety of her uncertain evening.
-----
Edward sighed quietly. The whole room smelled of Leina's scent; along with those of her friends. Thankfully, he wasn't hungry or anything; that could have been bad... He was still trying to get used to their individual scents.

The bronze-haired boy was standing a bit away from the others; watching them all casually. Jasper and Emmett had started an arm wrestling match while Luna watched them intently, bending down so only her eyes up was visible over the table, just watching their hands. Rosalie was watching as well, but from her own seat. Nearby sat Leonna and Alice, who were commenting on the decorations for the party and other trivial school-dramas. Leina had temporarily escaped to the kitchen for a drink. Edward then started thinking about the events leading up to the party.

Edward had been sitting in his room on his couch, his pale lids closed, listening to a *Faber Drive cd in his impressive sound system. It had been a pretty calming exercise; he wanted to make sure that he would be well in control of himself during this party... just in case. Then he heard Alice's thoughts.

"I wonder what Edward's doing now... is he getting ready like I told him to?"

Edward had chuckled. This was, technically, getting ready for the party... just not the way Alice was thinking.

Just as the pixie-framed girl had knocked on the door, Edward was already answering her. "Come in, Alice."

Alice practically had danced in through the room and over to Edward, wearing her new Halloween party-clothes. "Edward, you should dress up some more; you don't look very festive at all."

Edward had sighed and flashed his golden eyes up to meet hers. "Must I?" he asked, all ready knowing the answer.

"Yes," she replied, walking over to his closet. She had started to roam through, tossing him some clothes. "There, that should do it... Are the presents wrapped as well?"

"*Sigh* Yes, Alice."

"They're going to love them!" Alice exclaimed with glee as she exited.

Edward had just nodded as she left.

They had ran through the woods, right up to the house. Leonna had definitely gone all out. There were two, small fog-machines and a plethora of small candles lighting up the porch. There were bunches of streamers; the main color was purple, with some silver, orange and black ones accenting them. Edward had stood patiently while his siblings made their way into the house. And then he had saw her.

Leina had been trying to recover from Emmett’s boisterous clapping on the back. But still, she looked beautiful. She wore a deep purple, cami-strapped dress that belled out a little around her. It also had a 2 inch band of orange-gold 5 inches from the bottom hem. On top of the dress was a magenta, tank-sleeved corset top, and red/orange-gold striped arm socks covered her forearms. Her hair had been brushed into two low pig tails with long, magenta ribbons tied into them. Edward had never seen her looking so...

BAM! Edward stopped his reminiscing at the interrupting sound.

The object of his previous thoughts came sprinting into the room.

“What are you guys DOING?! Who shot a gun?!” she asked, obviously freaked out.

Luna laughed. “It was Emmett! He beat Jasper in arm-wrestling!”

Jasper sighed. “You win, Emmett... I’m done, for now...” He got up and sat in the chair next to Alice.

“Aw, come on, Jasper!” Emmett pled. “Just one more round, just for good measure?”

Luna bounced up. “I’ll verse you, Emmett!”

The whole room went silent as all eyes turned to the hyper-active pixie girl and the muscled vampire.

“Um, Luna...” Emmett said, scratching his head, “Are you sure about that?”

Luna grinned. “Of course!”

“This should be interesting...” Edward thought as the two met their hands in preparation for the match.

The two struggled for a while, mainly at a general tie. Luna grinned happily the whole time, while Emmett seemed surprised that it was taking so long. Finally, Emmett managed to beat Luna, a loud BAM! signaling the end of the match.

“Aw, good try, Luna,” Alice encouraged.

Emmett smiled at Luna. “I have to say, I haven’t struggled like that with many... especially outside of my own family!”

Everyone laughed at the truth of his words. Edward noticed that Leina merely smiled at them, looking slightly worried at the table.

“Does she think they damaged the table? Well, I suppose that is possible... And these are the times where I would love to know what she was thinking-”

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Alice exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat. "Edward?"

Edward, already having heard her thoughts, nodded and picked up the three boxes. He walked over and placed them next to Alice.

Alice smiled at the three girls. "This is our housewarming present! ... of sorts..."

Leonna's hands flew up in front of her. "Alice, you really didn't-"

Edward chuckled, then smirked at Alice. "Oh, she did have to... she couldn't wait to, actually," he joked.

Alice looked down at the three boxes. "Hm... I believe this one is Luna's-"

Luna jumped up and grabbed the box. She immediately started tearing away the blue-with-silver-polka-dotted wrapping paper.

"LUNA!" Leina yelled at her friend for her manners.

Alice merely chuckled. "No, it's fine."

Luna produced a blue Video iPod from the wreckage of the box. Her eyes lit up with curiosity. "What's this?!" she yelled with excitement.

The whole room burst into laughter.

"It's a device you can use to play music, Luna," Leina explained to her friend. "An iPod."

Luna started to gnaw on it.

Leina's eyes grew wide. "NO, DON'T DO THAT!!!"

Edward smirked as he watched Alice pull the iPod out of Luna's mouth. He walked over to Leina. "Oh, and we gave hers a life-time warranty... I believe it will come in handy."

Leina nodded gratefully. "Thanks... seeing her initial reaction to it, we'll need it!"

Leonna's gift was handed to her next. Hers was a gray-silver Video iPod.

Then Alice handed Leina her box. It was wrapped in a bright orange with a green ribbon; just like a pumpkin.

She followed suit and unwrapped the box. In the light green wrapping paper sat an apple-green Video iPod. She took it out, then looked at all of the Cullens. "Thanks, guys... I really appreciate this!"

Edward leaned over to her. "There's something else in there..." he whispered.

Leina lifted up the wrapping paper. He was right. Underneath laid a necklace. It has a simple, thin, silver chain. Hanging at the end was a small, blue-glass orb, it's diameter only as big as a dime's. Looking closer, she saw that there were small white and purple-ish swirls within the orb.

"What do you think? That's my present," Edward stated simply.

Leina looked down at the beautiful glass orb. "It's... unreal... are you sure this is for me?"

Edward chuckled, the sound making Leina's knees practically melt beneath her.

"Yes, I am sure that it's for you... try it. Or do you need help with that?"

A slight blush rose to Leina's face. "No, I can do it myself." She undid the clasp and quickly put it on.

Edward smiled. "It looks lovely on you."

Leina blushed more, then turned back to the other's conversation.

Emmett was leading a proposition that wanted to go have a "race between the species," inside and outside. Leonna was the head of the opposing force, insisting that it'd ruin her decorations and other things. Leina looked around. Considering it would be a vampire-type race, all of the candles, pretend-floating ghosts and streamers seemed like they'd be in danger.

"Well, should we continue the games by arm-wrestling some more?" Jasper questioned.

Leina shook her head. "No; you all will end up breaking our furniture..."

They all chuckled, even though Leina was completely serious.

"Hey, I know!" Luna exclaimed. "We could have 'Ultimate Apple-Bobbing'!"

Everyone in the room looked at Luna, a look of intrigue and questioning in their eyes.

"'Ultimate... Apple-Bobbing'?" Leonna asked.

"Yeah!" the pixie said, beginning to explain. "See, the Cullens technically don't HAVE to breathe, right?"

The Cullens, for the most part, all nodded reluctantly.

"Right, and I really don't have to, either! So, what if we put a BUNCH of apples in different containers FILLED with water, and had to get them all out, using ONLY one breath! You get extra points if you can get some small object from the bottom of the bin after!"

The Cullens all looked around at each other. Then Alice grinned. "Sure, let's try it!"

Rosalie sat down on a seat. "I'm not participating in this one; I'll judge," she stated simply.

Luna ran out of the room to go get the supplies, while the others started making teams.

"Great..." Leina thought. "Another magical-being game where I can't play because of my human-disadvantage..."

She sighed, looking out the window, then froze.

"Were those...?"

Leina thought she had seen a flash of bright red in the dark, dense line of forestry. Was it only her imagination? Was it the fact that she had been surrounded by so many unrealistic-seeming things that she had started to hallucinate even further unbelievable things?

"No... it's probably some jerk-kid, trying to play a prank on the new kids in town... it is Mischief Night, anyway..."

Leina tried to dismiss the thought. It must just be some joke.

Luna appeared from the kitchen. "Hey, I got the water-"

All of a sudden, Luna gasped, and the whole room went silent. Leina looked slightly to her right. Edward had practically materialized next to her, holding her forearm. His grip was firm, more protective than usual. She could see his eyes, cold, hard, searching...

SPLASH!

Luna had dropped the bin of water, causing some of it to spill out onto the floor. Leina looked to the window, and a shudder of absolute terror was sent flying down her spine.

A pair of bright, blood-red eyes stared out, only a meter or two away from the window. It was so dark, Leina couldn't even see an outline of a person, or any sort of being. The eyes swept quickly around the room, flashing from each body to the next, then settled on one person. Leina could see a gleaming grin form on the person's face, their teeth practically glowing. Then she noticed something in horror: that thing was looking straight at her.

Leina heard a sound come from Edward that sounded like he was growling at the unknown being, and his grip tightened.

Then, quickly has it had come, it was gone again.

The whole room sprang into action while Leonna barked orders.

"Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie; you all come with me to go find them. Luna, you secure this house; NOTHING else gets in until I call you, you got that? NOTHING! Edward, you stay here with Leina. I don't care where she goes in this house, but she DOES... NOT... LEAVE!!! You do not leave her UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, YOU GOT THAT?!"

Edward nodded. "I only got flashes. It was her they were interested in, but not why they originally came. That's basically everything that I understood..."

Leonna replied by nodding, then shot out the front door, followed by her reconnaissance team. Luna locked the door behind them, then started to pile up random pieces of furniture in front of the door. She ran around the room, locking and shutting all windows and blinds, then shot upstairs.

Edward pulled Leina over to the couch, sitting her down a bit more rough than intended. He sat down next to her, his head in his hands, yet scanning the room as if the being would appear out of the shadows.

“Edward, what exactly is going on?!”

Edward stayed quiet, staring ahead, ignoring her question.

Leina frowned. "Edward, tell me."

He seemed to sigh. Then he looked down at the floor, removing his hands from his head, gripping his knees.

"What did you see and think over the past couple of minutes?"

Leina, relieved that he was cooperating, thought for a moment. "I had seen a flash of red before, but I thought that it must have been a Mischief Night prankster... so I didn't think a lot of it..." She paused. "But then I saw the eyes... staring at me... more like through me..." Leina shuddered. "They were horrifying..."

Edward nodded. "I could see why... do you know what that was?"

Leina shook her head in reply.

Edward stood up suddenly, as if he had materialized away, and started pacing close to Leina, not going beyond five feet from her. He seemed to be pondering how to explain it all to her.

"Is he worried he'll scare me?"

Finally, Edward stopped, facing her. "Do you remember, at the tennis match, I believe, that you asked me about my family's eyes?"

Leina nodded. "Yes... you said only vampires with hunting habits like yours-"

Then it hit her. She stopped short, understanding why she had been so terrified of this unknown figure.

"It was a blood thirsty vampire... one that drinks... from humans..." she said slowly, her words making all the more real. The truth of the danger settled into her body, cementing her to the sofa. "Right?"

"Yes..." Edward said softly.

"Do you know them?" Leina asked, internally praying the mysterious vampire was a friend of the Cullens.

"No," he replied, looking down.

Then a thought of hope allowed Leina to stand up. "But what about your mind-reading? I'm sure you could hear their thoughts-"

"Yes, and no..." Edward seemed to shake with frustration. Leina looked at him, confused. "Allow me to explain. I could hear only bits and pieces of its thoughts. Basic things, but enough to show me it was not here for a social call..."

"Only bits? I thought I was the only-"

"You are," Edward assured her with a twitch of a smile. "It was an effort for them to stay out of my radar and their mental barrier kept slipping... they must have trained for this."

"But could you break into their mind if you tried?"

Edward finally met her eyes, so filled with worry for her. "I don't know... but I do know they aren't tracking you right now."

Leina chuckled with forced humor. "Well, I guess that's a small relief!"

Edward smiled sadly, then looked down, loosely taking one of her hands in his.

"Can you tell what they're doing now?" Leina asked quietly, trying to keep herself coherent (which was hard with his cool touch against her own skin).

"Running..."
-----
The figure shot through the trees, barely making a sound. It could out-run them...

Finally, it leapt over a river, landing gracefully and silently. It moved further down the river, then came to a stop.

High mountain cliffs stretched up in front of the being, outcroppings of the rock jutting out dangerously for any human. It was an easy jump or two with the figure’s skills. The figure completed the jump, and floated into a crevice and into a room created by the rocks.

A small fire burnt in the back, its flames smoldering into mere embers. It was far away from the entrance of the cave, unable to be seen outside even by the figure’s own enhanced eyes. The fire was technically not needed; the being’s eyes were far too acute to actually need it.

Then the being sensed another presence in the cave; it’s own partner, only a minute behind. It was breathing raggedly.

“Oh, Master,” it sighed, “that smell... the human girl... I could barely take it...” it spoke in a slightly worn, sore voice. Yet, it was definitely female. “How could you?”

The first being, the master, gently pulled off the hood of its cloak. Its long, waving, raven hair cascaded down the back of the cloak. It’s red eyes burned brighter then the useless embers of the fire.

“Many years of practice... you will learn.”

The original’s voice was calm, precise, with a hard and cold edge to it. It, too, was female.

“The Cullens,” spoke the partner, “they have made friends here, then...?”

“Yes, it seems they have... I was not expecting the rest to follow us for so long; I miscalculated their attachment to that... child.”

The partner’s hungry grin showed from beneath her own cloak. “Do you think... it would help if the child was disposed-”

“No,” the first interrupted, sending her partner a firm look. “Not yet...” She grinned, now staring at the low flames. “You could say... her fate lies with the decisions of the Cullens now...”
-----
The next day, Leina slumped over while she ran around the P.E. track. Her eyes, half-closed, had dark, bruise-like marks underneath them from her obvious lack of sleep.

The Cullens had patrolled their house and the surrounding area all night, trying to find the mysterious and elusive vampire. Yet the scent had been lost in the night rain.

Leina herself had been forced to go upstairs and try to rest. But, just like the vampire, sleep had eluded her. All night, she had stayed awake, imagining those evil red eyes appearing out of the shadowy corners of her room. The only mild distraction she had was the attempted-softened whispers coming from downstairs and outside of her bedroom door. Yet these distractions did nothing to ease her fears.

“It disappeared?”

“Yes, it’s like it was never there... You’re sure it didn’t circle back for her?”

“No, it’s original purpose wasn’t coming here for her... it’s blocking me again so I can’t see what that purpose was...”

Leina had tiredly slouched her way all of her classes, not speaking to anyone. The Cullens, Leonna, and even Luna had stayed silent during lunch, though she could sense that they were having mind-conversations through Edward. She was just going through the motions of the day, not fully mentally “there,” so it really didn’t bother her as much as it usually would.

“How are you feeling?”

Leina didn’t have to turn to know who it was. It was the first thing someone had said to her all day.

“Tired... couldn’t sleep. Kind of scared.”

“I don’t blame you for either... but trust me; I-...” he stopped speaking for a moment, then continued. “We... will not let anything happen to you.”

She turned her head, looking at Edward. She gave him a small smile, just so he wouldn’t have to worry too much about her mental health.

He slowly returned the smile, as if he wanted to reassure her. It was her favorite, crooked smile.

TWEEEEEEEET!

“All right, guys,” barked Coach Clapp. “DISMISSED!”

Leina stopped jogging and walked back to the gym with Edward. He turned to her as they neared the locker rooms.

“I’ll wait for you.”

She nodded, then walked into the changing room.

“Oh... my gosh!” Marissa said, meeting her at the door. “Guess what?!”

“What?” Leina asked, not really caring. Her tired voice would have told Marissa, but she was too excited to notice.

“We’re gonna have two new girls coming to the school!” she practically shouted as they went about changing out of their uniforms. “Yeah, they’re officially starting school tomorrow, but apparently they’re coming to the Halloween party tonight! You’re going, right?!”

Leina’s eyes opened wider with sudden interest. She tried to stay calm. “New... girls, you said?”

“Yeah!” Marissa exclaimed, glad her friend seemed interested. “They’re, like, from Europe. Greece or Italy or something! I guess we’ll meet them tonight!”

Leina nodded, then gathered her stuff, done changing. “I’ll see you later, Marissa...” She sprinted over tot he locker room door.

“It couldn’t be-... but the timing is just so perfect...!”

She practically ran into Edward as she shot out the door. She even forgot to question is impractical quickness of changing in her excitement.

“What’s you rush?” he asked, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

“Did you hear about the new kids?!” Leina almost shouted.

Edward paused for a moment, confused. “Yes... I heard there were two.”

“Do you think one of them could be the thing from last night?”

Edward stopped, seriously considering her idea. “I’m not sure; they could just be regular humans.” Leina frowned. “Sorry.”

Leina shook her head, dismissing the comment, then thought for a moment. She really had a feeling about this. “Would your opinion change if I said they were from Europe?”

Edward’s eyes widened. “Europe? Where?” he demanded.

She back-tracked her thoughts to what Marissa had said. “Um, I think Marissa said either Greece or Italy... why, does it matter that much?”

He nodded solemnly. “It makes all the difference.”

Leina’s head tilted in her utter confusion. “Edward, what you do mean?”

“Come on, and I’ll show you... I have to talk to my siblings about it first...“

Edward offered his hand to her. It was her choice whether to take it or not. Leina took it. It was freezing in comparison to her own warmth. Though, it strangely enough felt comforting... soothing, even...

“Let’s go, before the rest of the class gets out...”

He started to run. Leina chuckled to herself. The pace was probably extremely and aggravatingly slow for him. Though, it was Leina’s natural running pace, before she would have to start pushing herself. She kept pace with him as best she could. At times, it felt as if he were almost pulling her along. His grip tightened as they took a shortcut by hurtling over a bush, then continued running through the parking lot. He seemed to be able to predict where the puddles would be; dodging them and guiding her around them, even at their quick pace.

At last, they came to his Volvo. His family, along with Luna and Leonna, were all ready standing around the car, waiting for them.

“Sorry, guys, I held Edward up...” Leina apologized as they started slowing their pace.

Edward then let go of her hand and went over to talk with everyone. Leina stood next to Leonna, who was sitting on the back of her car.

"How'd school go?"

Leina shrugged. "Well enough... but we found something out!"

She turned to Edward. He was speaking to his family in low, serious, urgent tones, yet he spoke too fast for her to follow.

Leonna seemed to realize that Leina wanted Edward to explain whatever it was that they had found out. "Edward, would you care to share with the rest of us your and Leina's apparent discovery?"

Edward turned, a sheepish half-smile on his face. "Sorry, Leonna... how about we speak in a more... private place?"

The group looked quickly around the parking lot. It was filled with kids and staff, attempting to get into their cars and away from the school.

"Of course," Leonna agreed, nodding. "Where should we go to?"

"I think it would be best to head to our house, and I shall explain it all to everyone," Edward told her.

Leonna nodded. "We'll meet you there."

"All right..." Edward nodded to her, then flashed a small, brief smile at Leina, and headed over to his car.

Leonna jumped off the back of her car, turning quickly to the driver's seat. Luna got into the back seat and Leina took the passenger seat.

Leonna swerved out of the parking spot, beating the Cullens yet barely missing a slow, tan teacher's car. She sped out onto the highway, hitting 60 mph. All of a sudden, Edward's silver Volvo cruised up and around them, pushing almost 80. Leonna growled and sped up.

Eventually, the two cars made it to the Cullen house. Edward pulled into the garage while Leonna left her green Boxster out on the parking area. They filed into the absent-chroma dining room.

Emmett and Jasper each pulled out a chair from another room for Leonna and Luna, while Edward retrieved one for Leina. He set it next to his own (the one to the right of the head). The mood was extremely tense, so no one said anything as everyone sat down.

"What has happened?"

They turned around at the sound of a voice. Carlisle stood there, followed by Esme.

"I'll explain everything..." Edward assured him.

Carlisle nodded. He walked over to Esme's seat (the one to the left of the head), pulling it out for her.

Leina noted how polite Carlisle was. "Well, I guess you'd learn a thing or two about proper etiquette after the first hundred years...” It was obvious about how much he loved Esme. Even in this simple act of courtesy... it seemed more than just that...

“Please, Edward, enlighten us now,” Leonna urged.

Edward sat in his seat in between Leina and Carlisle, and paused, thinking of how to start. His mouth formed a hard line as his hands folded together.

“Leina... could you start by telling them what you heard?”

Leina nodded, seeing that he was at a loss as to where to start.

“I’m sure you all, or at least most of you, have heard the new bit of school gossip... there are two new girls coming to school tomorrow.” She noted that none seemed to react to that. Considering Edward’s previous lack of reaction, she wasn’t so surprised. “The second part is that they come from Europe. Either Greece...” she paused, trying to figure out which country was the one they would be concerned about. No reaction.

“...or Italy...”

The Cullens didn’t move; no one did. But Leina could tell that the latter choice was the one that worried them. Their golden eyes widened just a fraction, and their bodies seemed to tense up.

“I’ll take it from here,” Edward whispered. He stood up to address everyone. “So, if what we’ve heard is correct... and the two new girls are from Italy... I believe you all catch my meaning,” he said, gesturing to his family. “With the events happening the way they are, I have an idea of who these girls might be.”

He took a deep breath, and shot a look over to Leina. She could see his worry... and whatever his hunch was, she was sure he wished he was wrong.

“I believe that the vampire from last night is one of these girls... and that she is in the Volturi.”

Leina’s face twisted into one of confusion. “Who are the ‘Volturi’?”

“Yes,” said Leonna. “I have only heard of them, not about them.”

“Are they vampires, too?!” Luna asked enthusiastically.

“Yes,” Edward said, nodding to the pixies. “But they are not like us...”

Carlisle spoke up to help Edward. “They do not have the same dietary habits as we do. And they are a much larger coven; most likely the only family bigger than ours.”

A small smile came to Leina’s face. Part was from thinking how a seven person family could really be considered that large. The second part was because of how Carlisle called this group not his coven, but his family. And seeing how much they clearly cared about one another, it was an apt term for them.

“They are the main vampire-law-enforcers, of sorts,” Carlisle continued. “They make sure our kind are careful not to reveal what we are.”

“And you revealed yourselves to us...” Leonna said quietly.

“Yes...” Edward answered quietly.

“Yet they should not be coming to hand a harsh judgment, correct? We all ready knew about the existence of vampires.”

“True,” Edward said. Then his expression clouded over. “Yet Leina did not...”

The whole table’s eyes shot over to Leina. Her own eyes flew open wide, her mouth opening in a small “o” of horror.

“It’s my fault, then...” she whispered quietly.

“Leina, dear, please don’t blame this all on yourself!” Esme pled.

Rosalie’s fists slammed down on the table, causing it to groan with the force. “So what do they want to do with us? Punish us?!”

“We don’t know that yet, Rose,” Carlisle said gently, trying to calm her.

“Frankly, we don’t know if one of them is even from the Volturi. At this point, it’s just a hunch,” Edward said, sitting down. “I’m not sure where to go from here-”

“The party.”

Everyone’s head turned to Leina. She was hunched over in her seat, fists clenched in her lap, focusing on the grains in the wooden table.

“Is she mad?” Edward wondered. “Worried? Scared? What is she thinking?!”

“My friend, Marissa, said that the two would be coming to the Halloween party tonight. We could figure more out there.”

They all thought in quiet for a moment. Finally, Alice broke the silence.

“You know, she’s right. We should go to the party as we planned and do some investigating. Edward’ll keep pushing into their minds, and I’ll see if I can find any clues in the future.”

“Good plan!” Emmett exclaimed. “A party, AND possibly fighting Volturi? This should be fun!”

Everyone else sighed, rolled their eyes, and/or shook their heads.

Alice stood up from the table. “I believe we should all go get ready for the party...” She turned to Leonna. “I think that you guys should go get ready.”

Leonna nodded. The three girls stood up and started to walk out.

“See you soon!” Luna said, waving happily.

They were just at the door when Leonna heard her name.

“Leonna?”

She turned, seeing that it was Edward. He gave her a look that said, “I need to speak to you alone.”

Leonna twisted her head ever so slightly; only one with eyes like theirs could have noticed she was nodding. She whirled around.

“You guys go get in the car, ‘kay? I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

“Okay!” Luna answered as she skipped out to the car.

Leina paused, looking from Leonna to Edward and back again. Then she nodded, giving Edward a small smile, then followed Luna.

“What is it?”

Once Leina was gone, Edward’s face changed from calm to an almost suppressed anger. Leonna couldn’t tell why; it confused her. What was there to be angry about?

“Edward, what’s wrong?”

Finally, Edward spoke. “I don’t want-... I don’t think that Leina should be that close to those girls... it will be crowded at the school and they could sneak their way around to her...”

Leonna looked at Edward with a tiny knowing smirk, then looked away for a moment.

“I agree...”

Edward’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Leonna continued. “I also don’t want her there... I don’t want her within two meters at the very least of those-...” She paused, trying to regain her calm. “Anyway, we’ll be in public, and if they’re smart, they won’t try anything.”

Edward noticed that she said this almost as if she was trying to reassure the both of them.

“What do you know about them... the Volturi?” he asked.

Leonna shook her head slowly. “Not much... but you should know that.” She gave him a teasing glare.

Edward nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “But you’re right, they are dangerous. You have the right idea to keep Leina away from them,” he frowned.

“Untrustworthy?” Leonna raised an eyebrow.

Edward nodded again, biting his lower lip.

“Not like you trust many people anyway.”

Leonna sighed, knowing that statement was true.

“I understand, though...”

“Yeah... thanks! We should get going. See you tonight! I’ll keep a lookout for anything suspicious.” Those were her final words as she left the house with a small wave of a goodbye.

“Come on, Leonna! I wanna get home! I’m starving!” Luna complained in the passenger seat.

“Speaking of which, we need more food. I’d rather not have party food as our only option for meals for the next week.”

Leina stuck out her tongue.