Chapter 6 - Beauty

Just as any powerful coven, the Cullens had an insignia, a sign to let others of our kind know what branch we belonged to. The Cullen crest was of a lion with a hand on top and trefoils underneath. Each symbol having a significance, the lion represented the ferocity and strength of our coven, the hand atop our loyalty to each other and finally the trefoil underneath was a representation of our eternal life. As we had officially joined the coven Carlisle presented us with our respective silver crests. Alice decided to wear hers on a necklace like her newly found sister Rosalie, Jasper opted for an armband like Emmet and Edward. As for me, I opted for a ring just like our coven leader, something simple and unnoticeable to wear.

Once the jewelry was worn, signifying our official membership in the coven, Carlisle and Esme showed us to our rooms. Jasper and Alice would be sharing a conjoint room, while I was given a room a little farther from the couples in the family on the third floor of the mansion next to Edward's.

This got me wondering about who might be out there for me. Tapping into Alice's gift, I stared emptily in front of me, contemplating my love life which, so far, had remained empty. I had checked more than once, always facing the same image. Nothing, no one so far.

Alice's voice broke the silence from her room on the second floor, probably Jasper outing me with his emotion sensing. "She's probably not born yet," Alice said, pepping me up as usual, always seeing the positive in things.

"Or already dead," I countered with a depressed sigh leaving my lips, a statement she couldn't counter. Shaking my head to ward off the depressing thought, I reassured her and mostly myself, "You're probably right. Just need to wait," I psyched myself up before leaving my empty room, as I had no belongings to call my own.

Walking down the stairs, I met with the rest of the family in the living room, where everyone was gathered for a meeting of sorts.

"Take a seat," Carlisle instructed with a welcoming smile.

Without saying a word, I simply took a seat in the large room.

"Now that everyone is present, let's begin," Carlisle announced, quieting the room.

"We have been stationed in New York for 8 years now, and thanks to Edward's gift, we have deduced that people are starting to question our unaging nature. It won't be long before they start talking among themselves and potentially launch a witch hunt," Carlisle said, a statement that seemed to make Edward smile, probably an inside joke between them, I thought.

Alice simply looked into space, having another one of her visions, which made Edward look at her in astonishment. None of the Cullens knew about her gift yet, except Carlisle, who, by the look of it, hadn't shared that knowledge with the rest of his family.

"They won't begin their witch hunt for another 3 years," Alice expressed once she emerged from her trance, causing Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and especially Edward to stare at her in shock.

"What, you thought you were the only gifted one, Eddy boy?" I teased, using Emmett's way of addressing him.

"Every one of us is equally gifted," I stated, causing the unaware members of our coven to raise their eyebrows in astonishment.

"Alice, as some of you may have already figured out, has the gift of future sight. She can catch glimpses of the future. Jasper, over here, can sense and manipulate emotions. And as for me, well, let's just say I can do it all," I said with a mischievous smirk.

I glanced at Edward, who looked perplexed by my last statement. His eyes searched mine, hoping to catch a stray thought that would reveal my gift. Not one to be outdone, I tapped into the ten minutes of mind reading I had copied earlier when playing baseball with him. Instantly, I was assaulted by thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of stray thoughts. The cacophony was overwhelming, causing me to visibly cringe at the excess of information. I quickly shut off his gift.

"You can read minds too!" Edward exclaimed in astonishment.

"Hardly. I cringed," I said, massaging my head as if trying to alleviate a nonexistent headache. "How do you even live like that?" I asked, genuinely impressed by his control.

"You get used to it over the years. I learned to treat them as background noise. But it's still hard for me to resist turning in the direction of someone calling my name," Edward explained.

"Guess I'll have to train myself," I pondered aloud.

"Great, just what we needed, another mind reader," Rosalie expressed her distaste.

"I can see how it would diminish privacy," I replied. "I'll try to keep it off around you."

"How did you turn it off?" Edward asked eagerly, as to him, his ability was both a gift and a curse.

"Unfortunately, you can't. Just like Alice and Jasper, your ability seems to be active by default. I can only do it because of my particular gift. You see, I can copy the gifts of anyone I have direct contact with," I explained, then turned in Rosalie's direction. "Do you have a gift related to charm? Not to be rude, Emmett, but your wife is the most stunning being I have ever laid eyes on. It's hard to believe her beauty isn't a gift," I expressed.

"No offense taken," Emmett replied, staring proudly at his partner.

Before Rosalie could reply Carlisle interjected, "Well, I had a theory that each vampire brings a gift that represents them most as a human."

"Rosalie was always praised for her beauty, so it carried over into her undead life as well. And Emmett, as you can probably guess from his imposing physique, brought his strength with him," Carlisle explained.

"So Edward was good at reading people, Esme at caring for them, and you, Carlisle, based on your profession as a doctor, have self-control," Jasper finished, putting the pieces together.

"Exactly," Carlisle confirmed.

"Mmm," I stood up and walked up to Rosalie, extending my hand toward her. "Do you mind?" I asked.

Rosalie gave my extended hand a long look, glaring at it until her husband nudged her toward me. "Come on, Rosie, I didn't know you to be a chicken," he taunted.

"Ugh, shut up," she snipped back before finally extending her hands to mine. As I theorized, she did have a gift. Copying a bit of her charm, I immediately activated it. In an instant, every pair of eyes in the room turned in my direction. All were admiring what, based on their expressions, seemed to be the most handsome man they had ever laid eyes on.

"Judging by your reactions, I guess the experience worked," I said.

"Damn, well it worked! I know I'm not gay but you're giving me some pretty strange thoughts!" Emmett exclaimed without filters, causing me to immediately deactivate the gift.

"Emmett, never utter those words in my direction again," I shivered in disgust, just thinking about it.

The rest of the family erupted in laughter at the scene.