The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (42 page)

Charles said he would be there through anything.

Charles was a law student in Barcelona when he met Makenna. They fell in love. After some time, Makenna told Charles that her family was unusual and she was approaching some big changes. Charles said he would be there through anything. Makenna told him she had to leave for a while, but would come back. If Charles wanted to wait, he could. If not, she would understand. When she returned more than a year later as a vampire, Charles was still waiting. After hashing through all the pros and cons together, Charles decided to join her. They waited three years so Makenna would be able to keep from killing him, and then he was successfully transformed.
They live nomadically for the most part, but Makenna still visits her family often.

C
HARLOTTE

Charlotte was added to Maria’s newborn army during a time when Maria was regrouping and not actively planning to conquer any more territories. Maria still kept a large number of newborns to protect herself, but she was not as picky about the newborns she selected. Jasper had just destroyed a large batch of newborns, and when Maria went hunting for
more, Charlotte was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Peter was in charge of babysitting the newborns on a day-to-day basis, keeping them from attacking one another, feeding them as inconspicuously as possible, and helping Jasper a little bit with their fight training. Peter was the first person to talk with Charlotte after her transformation. He was the only stable, sane thing she knew during her first weeks of vampire life. As Charlotte’s first year of life passed, a deep bond formed between them.

Charlotte could tell something was wrong with Peter in those last weeks with Maria. He was tense and irritable with everyone. Though Peter idolized Jasper as if he were an older brother, Charlotte saw them arguing heatedly. A few times it seemed as though he wanted to discuss something with her, but he always changed his mind.

She trusted him enough that she broke into a sprint without a second of doubt.

One night, Jasper was giving the newborns one-on-one instruction. He would call them out individually, but none came back before the next was called. Charlotte was the eighth to be selected. Jasper called for her and gestured for her to follow. But Peter was there, looking both furious and fearful. He yelled for Charlotte to run. She trusted him enough that she broke into a sprint without a second of doubt. She heard him running with her. She listened for some other pursuit, but heard nothing.

When they were very far away, Peter said they were safe, and Charlotte stopped running. Peter finally explained what was going on, and what he feared they were up against. However, they quickly learned that much of what they knew about life applied only to a limited geographic area. Soon they were comfortable with the new
vampire world they’d discovered. Peter only had one lingering regret, and after five years, he decided to go back for Jasper. Charlotte wanted to go with him, but Peter told her that he could sneak in more easily alone.

Charlotte was surprised that Jasper chose to join them. She wasn’t entirely thrilled with having him in their new coven. Certainly, he added to their strength. However, he was depressing to be around in those days. When he decided to leave them, she was relieved. She preferred to have Peter to herself. Peter always kept in touch with Jasper, and after Jasper found Alice, Charlotte enjoyed his company a lot more. If not for their dietary peculiarities, Charlotte would have been tempted to join Jasper and Alice.

M
AKENNA

Makenna comes from a Maltese family with a very unusual link to vampirism. One of her ancestors, Luca, was converted to vampirism around 400
B.C.
Unlike most vampires, Luca did not leave his mortal family behind; he continued to look after his family’s prosperity and safety. And, with a vampire on their side, the family prospered greatly. Everyone in the family was in on the secret and thought of Uncle Luca as a kind of personal family saint. The next generation grew up with an entirely different perception of vampirism than was usual. After several more generations had passed, one of Luca’s relatives, a distant nephew, asked if he could join Luca. When he saw that the boy’s parents were willing, Luca agreed. The nephew went his own way rather than staying a part of the family, and Luca was disappointed. He looked for another family member to help him protect the family line. He converted a few more of his relatives into vampires, two of whom became his constant companions. Others left the family for various reasons; Renata, for example, was adopted into the Volturi. It became the tradition that every other century, one child would be chosen to join Luca as a family protector. Makenna was one of the chosen ones, and she grew up knowing this would be her destiny. She looked forward to her fate, until she met Charles. Luca told her she could give up her heritage if she wanted to grow old and die with the human. Makenna did not want to give up either, so she chose immortality, always planning to go back for Charles.

When she went back to Charles, Makenna was honest with him. She explained to him all the drawbacks and advantages of vampirism. They discussed everything thoroughly before Charles chose to be with her. Knowing her uncle Luca would not change someone unrelated to the family, Makenna waited until she was sure she was strong enough to handle the temptation, and then she changed Charles herself.

Renata was the one who invited Makenna and Charles to accompany the Volturi to Forks to witness the crime the Cullens had committed. Because the Volturi were sure that Renesmee was an immortal child, Charles got no sense of dishonesty until they arrived in the clearing.

P
ETER

Peter was created by Maria to fight in her newborn army. Jasper found a kindred spirit in Peter and was impressed with his
abilities; he advised Maria that Peter might be worth keeping. Maria didn’t care much either way, and so indulged Jasper in his preference.

Peter knew Jasper had saved his life, and he felt indebted; he would do anything Jasper asked.

Jasper enjoyed Peter’s company, and they worked well as a team. Peter knew Jasper had saved his life, and he felt indebted; he would do anything Jasper asked. He cheerfully took on the responsibility of the other newborns. He was not concerned about their fate. Like Maria and Jasper, he viewed them as tools without individual personalities—until Maria brought Charlotte back.