Chapter Five
Coupe de foudre
Marlowe Castille
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
1935

~

Love is not love which alters it when alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! It is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken;
it is the star to every wandering bark whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out, even to the edge of doom."
-William Shakespeare

~

It had been a little over a year since Rosalie's change when Emmett suddenly entered our family.

I was in the den, sitting next to Edward on the piano bench, talking happily with he and Esme about our recent move when Rosalie announced she was ready to start hunting by herself.

"Are you sure, Rosalie?" Esme worried. "It's not an issue to send Carlisle with you if you feel you aren't ready."

"I'll be fine!" Rosalie huffed. "It's been so long and I'm tired of being babysat."

"I trust you." I smiled at her. "Go on, et's bear season, 'ave fun." I encouraged her and she kissed my cheek in excitement before rushing out of the house.

"I hope that was the right decision." Esme sighed.

"If we keep her on a leash for much longer she's bound to snap eventually." I explained. "She's just beginning to come around to all of us and I would hate to ruin zat. Besides, she got through her night of revenge without drinking any of zeir blood."

"True." Edward nodded. "And that was a lot of blood." He grimaced.

"As much as I shouldn't condone violence-" Carlisle sighed as he came into the room to join us "they got what was coming to them. Such an act as they committed should not go unpunished."

"Agreed." Edward and I spoke in unison.

"Unforgivable." Esme nodded.

A bird chirped loudly outside, tearing my attention away from the discussion as I tuned into a strange sound coming from deep in the woods. It sounded like fast footfall, but it was far too heavy to be Rosalie.

I shot up out of my seat and went to the door to look out of the glass.

"Marlowe, what's wrong?" Edward asked worriedly.

"Listen to those steps." I told the room. "Zey're too heavy to be Rosalie. I hope she's okay." I worried, my eyes watching the tree line carefully.

"I'm sure she's fine-"

"Oh la vache!" I cried out, cutting Edward off as I threw open the door.

Rosalie came in with a man thrown over her shoulder. They were both drenched in blood and at first I was terrified she had killed him, until I realized he had been attacked by a bear.

"Rosalie!" Esme cried.

"You have to help him!" Rosalie screamed at Carlisle.

"I don't know if-"

"If you care about me at all you will change him, Carlisle!" She panicked and I realized what was going on.

"Carlisle, they're mates." Edward confirmed my suspicions.

"I can't deny you of that." Carlisle sighed heavily. "Take him to the guest room." He told her and she rushed off down the hall.

"Marlowe, I could use your help again." He smiled half-heartedly at me.

"Of course." I nodded.

We both started rushing around the house to get everything we needed ready. I was setting the room up when I noticed just how much Rosalie was panicking.

"Rosalie, go wait outside until I get him cleaned up. Everything es going to be okay." I cooed, trying to soothe her.

She bolted out of the room as Carlisle entered.

"She'll be okay, et was just starting to overwhelm her." I explained to him.

"Alright, let's get started." Carlisle nodded, and we got to work to stabilize him enough to be able to turn him without causing his death.

Emmett!

"What did you say?" I asked Carlisle, feeling as if I was about to slip into a a vision of a memory.

"Nothing dear." He frowned at me. "Are you picking up on a memory?"

Sunlight, a porch, a young girl doing laundry out in the yard, a middle aged woman with a main of dark curls and a scowl on her face.

"Emmett McCarty! I wish you wouldn't go hiking at this hour! The bears are just starting to come out!" She yelled across the yard as Emmett continued to walk towards the tree line.

"I'll be fine Momma!" He laughed at her, disappearing into the woods.

"Emmett." I stated, coming out of the memory. "Es name es Emmett McCarty and 'es mother asked him to not go hiking because of bears."

"Well he obviously didn't listen." Carlisle muttered. "I think this is the best we can do. Thank you for your help, chérie." He kissed my cheek before ushering me out of the room.

"Marlowe, would you mind too terribly much to go speak with your sister? She's having a complete and utter breakdown and wouldn't let me help her. She's quite upset over this whole situation." Esme rushed out her words.

"Mère, calm down, I'll go talk to her." I giggled, stopping to kiss Edwards cheek on my way out of the back door.

I trekked through the woods for awhile until I could smell Rosalie's signature rose perfume.

"Rosalie?" I called her name, knowing she was somewhere around me. "I came to help, jolie fille." I cooed.

"I don't want to talk, Marlowe." She sighed, alerting me to her position deep in the woods.

I quickly ran over to the fallen log where she was seated. She had her bloody hands buried in her beautiful long blonde hair, creating a very eery effect. She was also covered in dried blood, ruining her new creme-colored dress.

"Emmett es going to be okay." I smiled as I sat beside her, entwining my fingers in hers.

"Emmett? His name is Emmett?" She perked up, smiling beautifully at me.

"Yes." I smiled back. "Emmett McCarty."

"How do you know?" She pressed me.

"I caught a memory of 'es from zis morning. Es mother called him zat, warning 'em to be careful due to et being bear season. 'E told her 'e would be fine." I explained. "Ironic, considering 'e was mauled by one."

"Emmett." She sighed wistfully, already in love with the name. "What's he like?" She asked excitedly.

"From what I saw 'e's a regular farceur." I laughed.

She just stared at me blankly.

"A clown." I translated. "I really 'ave to work on teaching you all more French zis es getting ridiculous." I huffed, teasing her as I knew she wanted more information.

"So he's a clown?" She questioned me, getting flustered just like I wanted.

"E'll tease and pester everyone en ze house for ze rest of our existences...but 'e'll make ze family better." I smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Better? How?" She asked.

"I believe zat each of us brings something to ze family. Carlisle started zis family through 'es wisdom and guidance. Edward brought a sense of realism and a loyal presence. Esme es a wonderful mother figure zat we all need, a constant loving caretaker. You gave us all another reality check and your headstrong attitude gives us another viewpoint zat we need to make decisions. Emmett es going to bring out ze playful side of ze family, a side I think we've been missing." I explained.

"What do you bring to the family, Marlowe?" She asked me softly.

"I...don't know." I confessed. "Edward brought me into ze family. We're meant to be, but I'm not sure ef I actually help zis family en any way." I giggled.

"Trust me, Marlowe. You help far more than you think you do." She smiled widely at me. "I think you need to really think about how much this family needs you, the answer will surprise you."

"Maybe." I nodded thoughtfully.

"Amoureux?" Edward called for me from the porch and I couldn't help but snicker at the term. I couldn't wait to get to the bedroom when he called me that.

"Eww." Rosalie cringed, still not understanding how Edward and I could be together romantically. "You're too good for him, you know?"

"You'll understand soon enough." I smirked. "You should go talk to Emmett, I know 'e'll love to listen to your voice." I smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Marlowe." Rosalie smiled and hugged me tightly before rushing to the house.

"You're really great with her. How?" Edward suddenly snuck up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

"We get each other, somehow." I giggled as he trailed kisses down my neck.

"I missed you." Edward smiled into my neck, his teeth protruding slightly against my skin.

"I missed you too." I laughed, turning myself around in his arms and jumping up to wrap my legs around his waist. "We don't spend as much time together as we used to." I pouted seductively.

"We have a family now, responsibilities as big siblings." He laughed, the sound carefree and teasing.

"You make et sound like we 'ad a child." I laughed at him, dropping back onto my feet.

He got a very sad look in his eyes, the tone of our conversation shifting into a more somber mood, and sat down on the log Rosalie had previously occupied. He looked absolutely crushed. I hated the way his golden eyes seemed so utterly defeated so suddenly.

"What did I say, mon amour?" I asked softly, sitting in his lap and running my fingers through his hair, not wanting to see him like this any longer.

"It's nothing." He shrugged and started kissing my neck lovingly.

"No." I pushed him off of my neck. "Tell me what's wrong. What did I say to upset you so?" I asked him softly.

"You don't understand American human customs very well, Marlowe." Edward reminded me.

"Try me." I coaxed him, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"My entire life I was brought up to believe that I would be married with a child by the time I was twenty one. That was normal, expected even. Through this new existence I've found the love of my immortal life in a very unexpected person." He smiled brightly at me. "A French woman with a chaotic childhood and amazingly free spirit. A strong woman despite her setbacks. Someone who smiles like she's never been hurt by someone she loved." He praised me, looking at me as if I were his entire world. "But I'm never going to have a normal life with a steady job and two-point-five children, and I suppose that bothers the part of me that always tried to please my mother." He explained.

"So...you're sad about not 'aving kids? Ze same way Esme and Rosalie are?" I asked, trying to understand his mindset.

"Mostly." He nodded. "I guess you teasing me about it on top of Emmett's change made me a little more sensitive than normal."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, love." I apologized and kissed him, allowing him to feel my full range of emotions. "I know I'm not ze most sympathetic person when et comes to 'american zings' but I can recognize when you're 'urting. I know I wasn't brought up under ze pressure to 'ave kids by a certain age, but I do zink about et sometimes. I can understand why you would be upset, but I don't ever want to see you 'urting. If you need or want to talk to me, you know you always can. I love you." I promised him.

He nodded his head, his eyes looking happier, and kissed me back very fondly. I felt absolutely weak as he held me tightly but lovingly. I never wanted him to let me go; when he regretfully did, I growled in response which only caused him to laugh.

"I love you, Marlowe Castille." Edward swore to me, making me woozy. "I'll follow you through any hell." He swore to me.

As he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me tenderly, I felt as if we were solidifying a special vow of our own. This is why we don't need marriage. It's not binding enough for our love. Marriage vows in sickness and in health, when we have neither, for richer or for poor, which affects us little, and till death do us part when we exist in the in-between.

"Marlowe? Edward?" Esme called out hesitantly. "Could you come back to the house, please?"

"She thinks we're busy." Edward laughed.

"Well we were about to be." I smirked, kissing up his jaw just to get him bothered. "Coming, Esme!" I called back to her, standing and straightening out my clothes.

"Such a temptress." He growled at me playfully before offering me his arm.