Reflecting, I look into the blazing flames. It makes me think about the past again. At that time, I often sat in my parents' house in front of the fireplace, playing with a doll Dad had brought for me from one of his travels when I was four.

~ Flashback ~

One year later. It's late afternoon, father had left for the travel the day before.
As I sit by the fire and play, my mother sits in the lounge with the ladies from the neighborhood and laughs about the latest gossip. I don't understand what they are talking about.

Sitting on the soft carpet, I run the comb through the brown curls of my doll. Since Father gave it to me, I love to play with it.
I begin to hum a lullaby which the foster-mother always sings for me.

While I'm busy with combing, I notice anybody watching me. It's a boy. He seems to be the son of one of the ladies.
"Why are you looking at me so strange?", I ask cheeky, whereupon he is startled and runs again into the salon. Satisfied, I continue because I prefer to be alone.

In the evening I sit with my mother at the dining table.
"Mother, who was the boy who was with you?", I ask softly before the food is brought in.
"It was the son of my dearest acquaintances, and you will meet him soon", she says, suddenly smiling.
"Why?", I ask.
"Because his father is a good friend of your father's, and when you're old enough, you will marry him", she says, which only makes me big-eyed.
"Why should I marry him?", I don't look at her.
"To strengthen your dad's business relationship", she says. Now it'
s quiet again and the servants come in.

After the first meeting, I was glad on the one hand, on the other hand, I didn't want to be forced to the wedding. But mother said I should be lucky.
So I did.

~ Flashback End ~

It wasn't many years after my transformation that I finally understood that I was prevented from living an unhappy life and being there just to care for children. I also wasn't that sure that Ben really loved me.

Slowly I turn my gaze away from the fire and look at Renesmee, who's still sleeping in Bella's arms. It's still early in the morning and the storm is still raging. I hear Carissa and Grayson talking. They are in a normal conversation again, as they used to. Somehow that makes me happy.
That makes me think again about Tom and Embry. How are they doing?
I miss the others very much, as I hear it, the others here are feeling the same.

But right now it's more important that Renesmee and the baby are fine. Nobody leaves their gaze from her when she's awake. When she sleeps, Bella is looking after her and stays close to her.

It would be better to go. We should take the Denali's with us as long as it's storming here.

Carissa and Grayson come over and sit down next to me. She probably forgave him completely.
Whether I do that isn't certain. In times like these we should be careful who deserves our own trust and who doesn't.

After a while of silence, we begin to talk.