Quiet.
The loudest thing around was a snowflake falling to the ground unaware of the tension around itself. One landed on equally cold body of a woman that would be shaking were she still a human and her heart would be rapidly beating due the fact that her family was in danger. She looked at her daughter holding her hand and squeezed it.
Everybody was tense. Waiting for the answer to the most important question of the day. Will we survive this? The answer was painfully slow coming towards them along with the group of people that will be the ones deciding.
Suddenly the sound of snow crunching under numerous feet was heard.
For some that caused a relief go through their body that the waiting stopped and for others the sound made them even more terrified.
They stared at the fog surrounding the forest all around them and watched as figures started to appear. Dark cloaks matching the pale skin came out of the fog and marched forward.
A row of what seemed to be an army let a few of them to go in the front forming a triangle with the most important figure at the top. That man was watching everyone standing before him with a calculative look in his eyes.
"Aro's looking for Alice," informed a bronze haired man his wife.
Aro, the man in the front of the walking group, was not the only one looking carefully over the opposite clan. A blond with an innocent appearance but deadly red eyes smirked at the sight immediately thinking of the pain she can cause just with once look. Another blonde was also scanning the clan before her but her honey eyes held worry when she saw her sisters standing between the ones she accused of committing one of the worst crimes possible in their world. A bad feeling settled in her stomach.
The army continued in their dramatic march until they heard a howl.
Wolves started to appear from the woods.
One by one growling as they joined to back up their side. A rusty-brown coloured wolf came to the mother holding her child and they exchanged worried look. The threatening and surprising appear of the snarling wolves made the army stop.
The triangle of royalty stood in the front examining the situation and then took off their hoods simultaneously as if they practised it countless of times. Everything stopped for a while. The moment of silence broke a blonde man. He took a few steps forward and with a name he stopped.
"Aro." He looked at the man before him. "Let us discuss things as we used to, in a civilised manner," he pleaded.
"Fair words, Carlisle," Aro responded, his accented voice making it seem as if he was mocking the man. "But a little out of place, given the battalion you've assembled against us."
"I can promise you that was never my intent," Carlisle responded with a calm voice. "No laws have been broken."
"We see the child," a blonde man, Caius, joined the conversation tilting his head sideways and continued with an angry expression. "Do not treat us as fools."
The bronze haired man looked at the young girl at the mention of his daughter, fathers love and concern clear in that gesture.
Carlisle looked at the whole group in front of him preparing to make an announcement.
"She is not an immortal!" he yelled to the crowd. Then he scanned his eyes at the people standing behind him. "These witnesses can attest to that. Or you can look," he gestured to the child. "See the flush of human blood in her cheeks."
"Artifice!" spat Caius angrily not wanting to be viewed as a fool.
"I will collect every facet of the truth," assured him Aro with a raised hand. "But from someone more central to the story. Edward," he pronounced the name sweetly, "as the child clings to your newborn mate, I assume you are involved."
Aro came forward his hand reaching to the bronze haired vampire.
Edward looked down at his daughter. He stroked her head in comforting manner before sharing a meaningful look with his significant other. Then he slowly stepped forward.
As he went to Aro his wife moved their daughter behind her closer to the rusty-brown wolf.
She caught the look the innocent looking blonde with red eyes was giving her husband and knew just how dangerous the vampire was since she already crossed her way with the blonde in the past. She couldn't help herself as she remembered the painful screams Edward was holding and send her newly trained gift to help her love. Her invisible shield. She focussed and felt a drip of relief as it reached his back but it quickly bounced back. She sight in annoyance and watched carefully her husband.
Edward arrived at the other side. He clenched his jaw and hesitantly let his hand touch Aro's. He on the other hand grabbed Edwards palm without hesitation, eager to know what exactly was going on with everyone in that family.
You see Aro has the ability to see all the memories of the person he is touching and with Edward's gift of reading minds he was learning everything about everyone in a matter of seconds.
Satisfied with getting what he wanted he smiled in bliss.
But as he saw that what Carlisle was saying at the beginning was true that smile disappeared and Edward's hand fell out of his.
Then thinking of the child he whispered with an exited voice.
"I'd like to meet her."
This is what they were waiting for. The chance to explain and show they did not commit a crime they were accused of. Still, Edward wanted nothing more than to get his daughter as far away as possible from the waiting man.
He slowly turned around to look at his wife well aware Aro was watching him impatiently. His wife looked down at their daughter. She heard a protective growl of the wolf beside them but didn't pay it any attention knowing it was an instinct to protect the girl. She squeezed the child's hand and stepped forward.
With the wolf following she stopped to look at a masculine man. He understood what she was asking and stepped forward to walk to her, his mate shooting worried glances as he went.
As the small group got to Aro, the protective mother gave him a warning look but he did not even noticed it. He couldn't take his eyes off of the child.
Then as if he just noticed she came too he made a noise expressing his surprise.
"Ah, young Bella," he pronounced her name thoroughly examining her appearance. "Immortality becomes you."
Bella just stared restlessly at him, wanting her daughter be as far away as possible.
No such luck as Aro again started to focus on the stunning child before him. He listened closely and when he heard her heart beating he made an unidentifiable noise that some would say was supposed to be laughter.
"I hear her strange heart," he pointed at her and then gestured for her to come to him.
The little girl glanced at her mother to confirm she could go closer to Aro. She nodded and slightly pushed her baby forward. The wolf that had been quiet until then growled warningly as everyone stared curiously at child. She was his imprint after all and being so close to that dangerous man was the last thing he wanted.
"Hello, Aro," the child named Renesmee spoke for the first time.
Aro smiled creepily and waited for her to take his hand. She looked down at it but then she shocked Aro as she reached her own hand to his face.
Mouth open with surprise he let himself be consumed by her gift. With one touch she could show you anything she wanted and now she was telling him in that way how she was brought to this world.
He was looking at the things she was letting him see with so much fascination he whispered after a while.
"Magnifico."
At that scene the person that caused all this to happen lowered her gaze and guiltily stared at the ground.
Aro moved his head back in astonishment.
"Half mortal, half immortal," he informed his people. "Conceived and carried by this newborn while she was still human." As he finished he stared at Bella intensively.
"Impossible!" Caius exclaimed breaking his gaze.
Aro harshly turned to look at him and asked, daring Caius to question him. "Do you think they fooled me, brother?"
The little family before them seeing their chance turned around and left quickly. The wolf stayed to growled at the vampires before him interrupting the brother's conversation.
Caius watched him with disgust as the shapeshifter left back to his pack. He has his own history with wolves.
"Bring the informer forward," he then ordered.
A few guards accompanied the beautiful blonde with honey eyes to Caius. She was looking guiltily down and as she was approaching the angry man she met her sisters worrying looks. She looked at Caius as he asked her a question and from the look on his face knew exactly what will happen to her in a few moments.
"Is that the child you saw?"
The blonde examined Renesmee closely once again and after a while of not knowing what to say she forced: "I'm not sure."
"Jane," Caius said warningly. The blonde with a sadistic look in her ruby eyes prepared to use her painful gift.
"She's changed," the informer quickly explained what she meant knowing exactly what Jane could do. "This child is bigger."
"Then your allegations were false," Caius accused her calmly.
She swallowed before holding her head high. She was ready to accept the consequences of what she had done.
"The Cullens are innocent," Aro looked at her unsatisfied as she announced that. "I take full responsibility for my mistake."
Then she looked deeply in her sisters eyes apologizing. "I'm sorry."
They glanced at her in worry as Caius gave a nod to a guard.
"Caius no!" Edward yelled.
Breaking arm was heard as a torch came into view
"Irina!" cried out two sisters.
Irina screamed as her head was torn out of her body. Caius came to the rest of her, torch in his hand and with an arrogant look he set Irina on fire.
Aro watched as all hell broke loose on the other side with a slight smile.
Irina's sisters run forward in attempt to avenge their sister as everyone tried to stop them. Bella was prepared for a fight from the beginning and put her daughter on her loyal wolf. They agreed on a plan. Relieved that the wolf can take her daughter to safety as soon as things get out of control she watched as Irina's sister used her gift on a man holding her. She send painful shocks through his body but he held still not wanting her to run and die too.
"Blind them," Edward said to one of the Amazons quickly as he saw that. The fighting sisters instantly lost their vision. They stopped moving desperately searching for something they could see.
"Give me my sight back," one ordered as she helplessly looked around. Edward talked to her.
"Tanya, this is what they want. If you attack now we all die."
Tanya realized her was right. She didn't want to lose anyone else, especially her other sister.
She calmed down slowly along with her sister and Edward nodded at the Amazon who gave them their vision back.
The opposite clan watched as everything cooled down. Aro gave Jane a signal, not wanting to pass the opportunity of them starting a fight. Jane pleased she can use her gift look at Edward and said calmly.
"Pain."
And that's what he felt. He fell down on his knees in agony holding. A hand on the ground so he wouldn't fall down completely.
Bella instinctively took a step to her mate but had to stop to concentrate on using her shield. It quickly came out of her as she heard her husband cries and wrapped it around him as a safety blanket. The pain stopped. His screaming died down and he looked at her in gratitude. Aro carefully observed the situation.
Bella extended her shield on everyone and as Edward walked to her.
"It's working," he assured her.
She felt Jane attacking everyone with her pain like a sword. But she was failing. Aro looked at his loyal servant questionably but Jane was searching for a reason why her trusted gift was not working. As she landed her eyes on Bella she realized what was happening.
Bella returned her look. And as she saw Jane's furious eyes she smiled. That send Jane over the edge and she stepped out in anger.
Her calmer twin stopped her.
Caius came forward angry as well sharing a look with Aro. Jane's brother trying to help his sister started unleashing his own gift but Aro gestured him to stand down. The mist coming out of his hand pulled back.
Carlisle wanting to end this started again.
"Aro you see there is no law broken here."
Aro looked at him. Then he examined the wolves. Snarling slightly they seemed more than ready to fight.
"Agreed," he started hesitantly choosing the right words. Behind him stood a row full of vampires that came to witness a trial. And he intended to have it.
"But does it then follow that there is no danger?" Aro came forward to talk to everyone. He wanted to convince them that Cullens deserve to be punished just as they planned to since they heard Irina's accusation in Volterra.
This child is a new kind of vampire. And what is new is feared and that is exactly what he planned on using. Fear.
"For the first time in our history humans pose a threat to our kind," he turned to his followers to look them in the eyes so that the message could really sink in.
"Their -"
"Well, to be fair," a new voice entered, interrupting what seemed to be a long speech.
Aro after hearing the few accented words froze.
He recognized that voice very well. Images of the most violent night of his life flashed before his eyes. He lived through a lot of brutal experiences in his existence, enough to be traumatised for the next three centuries, but the day he met her would always send a wave of horror through his body.
"your kind was never much durable to begin with, now was it?"