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(The picture is how I imagine Liv to look)The forest was silent and still, the only sound and movement coming from the leaves of the trees as they swayed and whispered in the wind. There wasn’t a soul in sight, not even a forest creature. I wasn’t sure whether to take comfort in the silence or to be wary of it. I chose the former.I collapsed onto the grass, not caring it was damp, leaning against the ancient sycamore. My body felt tired and I ached all over. I pulled my sheathed sword closer to my body as I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the tree. I willed myself to silence my thoughts and clear my mind, taking a deep breath. The smell of wet leaves, damp soil and fresh rain relaxed my overworked brain and washed over my body like a refreshing wave. I felt myself slowly drifting off and shuffled into a more comfortable position before welcoming the darkness.... I startled awake, blinking and looking around. I was still under the tree and the sky was slightly darker. If I had to guess how long I had been out, it couldn’t have been more than two hours. I frowned, wondering what had woken me up. The forest was still silent, but this time, it was eerily so. Shadows lurked behind the trees and I quickly stood up and grabbed my sword once I recognised the silhouette of a man. “Please, we’re not here to hurt you,” a soft voice spoke. The silhouette moved until it became a man standing before me. He had light golden hair and matching eyes with almost startlingly pale skin. He was beautiful and carried this air of grace about him that no human possessed. His eyes roamed over my appearance and lingered on the sword I held before me, unsheathed and glinting in the low light of the sun. “We were passing through and noticed you. We thought you might need help,” he took another step towards me, but held his hands before him, his stance humble and submissive to show he meant no threat. I put my sword down, realising the meaning of his words as more silhouettes slowly stepped forth into the light. “I am sorry, I had no idea this land was claimed. I’ll be leaving shortly,” I put my sword away and tied it to my gold chained belt. “That is not necessary, we don’t mind you staying here longer. This land however, is a peaceful one and no one should come to harm.” I nodded at his words, showing I understood. “I assure you no one shall come to harm by my hand unless it is in defence.” He smiled at my words. “If you don’t mind my asking, but where are you from?” His eyes ran over my appearance again and I looked at his clothes and that of the three other members that flanked him. The differences between us were startling. Most of their skin was covered by cloth, unlike me. The three males wore similar trousers and long sleeved shirts while the small girl wore a dark dress with a dark shirt underneath. I wore a black material on my breasts and a long black chiffon skirt that covered my bare feet. It had a long slit on it to make walking in it easier. I also wore the traditional jewellery for people of my status: hair jewellery and shoulder and back jewellery. They were all made of twisted gold chains and encrusted with my gem: the emerald. “That’s a difficult question to answer,” I had hoped they had understood I was not willing to discuss that topic. It wouldn’t be fitting to expose myself, especially so soon. “Well, my name is Carlisle and these are my children Alice, Emmett and Edward.” His children looked no younger than him and they were all so different. None of them possessed any similarities with each other aside from pale skin and liquid gold eyes. The man, Carlisle, as he had introduced himself, looked at me expectantly and I mentally cursed myself for forgetting my etiquettes. I guess living with my family can do that to you. I frowned, not wanting to give away my real name. Again, it would not be fitting to reveal myself so early on. I remembered a nickname a nymph had once given me. “They call me Liv,” I smiled. Carlisle smiled too. “It’s short for Olivia?” He left the question hanging at the end of his sentence. “Yes, something like that,” I nodded. It was silent for a second longer and I wondered what these people really wanted from me. Where I come from, people aren’t usually nice for the sake of it, there’s usually a hidden agenda behind it. And that’s another reason why I wanted to get away. “We just wanted to introduce ourselves and extend an invitation to you to stay with us,” the short pixie like girl piped up. She smiled at me when I caught her eye. “You see, we’re not exactly human either and we all have questions we want answering.”The three men all looked at the young girl in surprise, as if shocked by her words. The blond man looked back at me nervously, to gauge my reaction. I wasn’t shocked or scared, just mildly surprised. I had guesses they weren’t human, last I checked humans didn’t possess such coloured eyes and such pale skin, but that didn’t mean I knew exactly what they were. I was curious but my guard was still up“Is this a trap you’re tricking me into?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at them. They shook their heads and I caught the pixie girls eyes again as she nearly bubbled with excitement. “Well, that certainly changes things,” I commented, breaking the awkward silence. “You can come to our house and meet the rest of our family, I know someone’s dying to meet you,” Alice beamed. I felt my resolve crack and break and she must have sensed it because she skipped over to me. I watched her warily but she simply linked her cool and hard arm through mine. Standing this close to me, I realised how short she was as her spiky black hair barely came to my shoulder. She gave me a mischievous smile. “Come on then, we’re wasting valuable time here.”