Forever Young

Chapter 7

***Warning: This chapter does contain non-sexual spanking. if that bothers you, now would be the time to stop reading. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter. There is quite a bit of development!***

Camellia. My name is Camellia.

The words repeated in my head over and over. I even found myself silently mouthing out the sounds. That made it feel more real, as if the name was a tangible thing that I could reach out and touch.

Camellia Louise Cullen. That means something. It's a person. It's me.

Though I had never felt the desire to have a name, or even really bothered to consider that I might be able to have one, it felt so... so right now that it was actually happening. As if a part of me had been missing and I hadn't even realized it until I got it back.

Camellia. My name is Camellia.

I was so giddy with joy that I actually let my guard down for the first time since arriving at the Cullens house. Sitting on the couch beside Esme, I allowed her to pull me into her, leaning into her side as she spoke to Carlisle. She kept her arm around me, and would sometimes run her fingers through my hair, but I hardly noticed. I didn't even listen in to the conversations around me. I just kept repeating my name over and over in my mind.

It wasn't until a loud sound echoed through the house that I actually came back to my senses. I jumped, quickly looking to the source of the sound as Esme hushed me, trying to get me to relax again. 

Renesmee was sitting at the piano, playing a song that sounded fairly simple. Edward came to stand behind her, playing another part, and the song suddenly sounded far more intricate. 

Slowly, hesitantly, I rose from my position next to Esme. Stepping towards the piano that Edward and Nessie were at, I noted that this was the first time I had willingly inserted myself into a part of their family dynamic. Though I was weary of the situation, I had only ever heard music from a distance. This was the first time I was actually seeing it be created.

Renesmee kept her eyes on the keys, but Edward didn't seem to even need to pay attention to play. Sensing that I had come nearer, he looked up, then summoned me forward with a finger. With just a small amount of fear, I stepped even closer, leaving just a few inches between the piano and I. Edward stopped using one hand, and his hand still in motion seemed to blur over the piano keys as it took on double the amount of work.

With his now free-hand, Edward took me by my arm, pulling me even closer. I wasn't as comfortable with his touch as I was with Esme's. Despite my uncertainty with the situation, I allowed him to guide me over and place two of my fingers over the piano. He pushed my fingers down one at a time, the sounds mixing in with the rhythm of the melody that they were playing.

 Eventually I became familiar with the 1-2 rhythm that I was supposed to follow, and Edward seemed to recognize this. He let go of my fingers, allowing me to press down on the two keys by myself. If I ever faltered slightly, he would reach over and place his fingers back over mine, guiding me until I once again played in harmony with them. My grin was wide as the song came to an end.

I was maybe a little too proud. After all, my fingers had only ever touched two keys, and it was just a back and forth rhythm. But I had done it. After all of my years of humming to myself, of trying to create a beat by smacking sticks against trees, or listening to muffled car radios from a distance... I had played a real instrument. I had made music.

To Renesmee, that moment hadn't been important. She stood, bowed dramatically, and went back to sit beside Rosalie. But I was stunned in place. Despite the fact that I could turn invisible, that I could make water levitate and create fire with a flick on my hand... those few minutes of pressing down on those two piano keys felt like the most magical moments of my life.