Breaking Dawn Re-write
I stared at the space in front of me, attempting to gain some insight of the future. Only if Alice were here. She would be able to help with that little problem. Actually, I wished that she was there for other reasons. Her and Jasper. I would have hated if something happened to either of them, or the rest of my family, because of me. Staring in front of me, I wanted decision, and I wanted it soon. At that point, a battle was very acceptable by me. I would prefer it not to have happened, but I didn't shy from the idea completely.
I listened to Garrett talk about the Volturi, and decided that a fight against a powerful coven might just do them some good, especially if they lost Jane or Demetri. The sudden flashback of Edward wreathing in pain on the floor next to me floated through my mind, and was almost unbearable. I hated Jane for that more than anything. Just to make sure my angel was still next to me, standing, I squeezed Edward's hand, gazing into his face; into his eyes. They were my favorite color of golden butterscotch. When he noticed, he flashed me his crooked smile, which was also my favorite smile. I couldn't help but to think that he was trying to distract me from the situation at hand. I knew that I had always been a sucker for those eyes, or just his beauty in general.
Garrett finished his speech by directing a question to the witnesses the Volturi had brought along. I head him ask something along the lines of 'Will you stand by while they find a way to break this family, a justifiable reason to usurp their power?' I was not paying full attention to him, for I had other worries on my mind. I did notice that he got a little offended by being called revolutionary, and that snapped my attention back to Aro.
"Peace, Garrett," Aro said tolerantly. "I was merely referring to your time of birth. Obviously still a patriot, I see."
Garrett glared back with an effort of hatred looming in his eyes.
"Shall we ask our witnesses then?" He turned to face the witnesses they brought along with them. "Let us hear their thoughts before deciding what to do. What do you think of the situation?" He said, now addressing the witnesses, "What are your opinions on the matter? Will this child be of harm to our secrecy? Do we let her live to protect this family? Will you agree to keep our secret, or will you follow young Garrett's right of it, fight us against our sudden quest for domination?"
The witnesses gazed at Aro carefully. A small black-haired vampire looked briefly to the male at her side, her mate no doubt.
"Are those the only options you give?" She spoke, "Agree with you, or fight against you?"
"Of course not, most charming Makenna." Aro said, taken aback by such a comment. "You may leave as you wish and have no part in this at all. You may go in peace." Makenna's mate lowered his head, and spat at the ground.
"Garrett was right, you do nothing but lie. You will not allow us to go in peace. You should know your witnesses better, Aro. At least enough to know which ones not to lie in front of. I know you speak nothing of peace, so I fight against you. I will not watch as your power hungry guard destroys an innocent family."
"Fear not, my dear Charles. I do not lie to you. You may go in peace." Aro said.
Charles hissed and darted toward the edge of the trees, and angled to run to our side of the clearing, followed by Makenna. Some of the guard shifted in response, but cooled at a raised hand of Aro.
"Let them come." Edward said, responding to a though some of the wolves on the edge must have had.
Four more of their witnesses followed Charles and Makenna. Thirty-seven stayed where they were, surveying what was happening. I guessed they were either too confused by what was going on, or they were frozen in place by shock. I knew that Aro noticed this too.
He walked slowly back to the front line of his guard, followed Renata, Demetri, and Felix.
"Well my friends, we are outnumbered. Shall we return home and let this question go unanswered?" He sang.
"No, master." They replied in perfect harmony. "We are not afraid."
"Brothers, we must come to a decision. Let us consul!"
"Let us consul!" Caius and Marcus spoke together. Caius and Marcus touched either of Aro's palms and silently conversed the situation at hand.
As soon as Aro's attention was diverted, two more witnesses joined our ranks. It was time.
I loosened Renesmee's arms from my neck.
"You remember what I told you?"
Tears instantly swelled up in her eyes, but she nodded. "I love you momma," she whispered. Edward was watching us, his topaz eyes wide. Jacob watched from the corner of his big, black eye.
"I love you too," I whispered back. I touched the locket around her neck, "More than my own life." I kissed her forehead.
Jacob whined uneasily.
I stretched up to whisper in his ear. "Wait till they're distracted and run as far away as you can. When you get far enough, well she has what you need to get in the air."
Edward and Jacob's faces were almost identical, except that one was an animal's.
Renesmee reached for Edward, and he took her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back just as tightly.
"This is what you kept from me?" he whispered over her head.
"From Aro," I corrected.
"Alice?"
I nodded, and his face twisted with pain and understanding. I wondered if that had been the expression on my face as I had pieced it together myself.
Jacob was growling quietly at my side, soft and even like a purr. His hackles were stiff and his teeth were bare.
Edward kissed Renesmee's forehead, then both cheeks, and set her upon Jacob's back. She climbed agilely to the spot between his shoulder blades, with lockets of fur in each hand. Jacob turned to me, his full of agony, with the growl still grating in his chest.
"You're the only one we could ever trust with her." I murmured to him. "If you didn't love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob."
He whined again, and dipped his head to butt it against my shoulder.
"I know," I whispered. "I love you, too, Jacob. You'll always be my best man." A tear the size of a golf ball rolled into the fur beneath his eye.
Edward leaned his head against the shoulder he had first placed Renesmee on. "Goodbye, Jacob, my brother ... my son."
The others were definitely aware of the farewell scene, but they had enough courtesy to not interrupt. Their eyes were locked on the three silent ancients, who would determine the near future. I knew they were listening.
"Is there no hope, then?" Carlisle whispered. No fear was present in his voice, just determination and acceptance.
"There is always hope, father." I murmured back. It could be true, I told myself. "I only know my own fate."
Edward taking my hand reassured me that I meant his fate as well. Of course my fate would be interlinked with his fate. We were halves of the whole; two sides of the ying-yang.
Esme moved past us, touching our face and breathing rather raggedly, to stand by Carlisle and hold his hand. Everybody else seemed to be saying their 'goodbye's and 'I love you's.
"If we live through this," Garrett whispered to Kate, "I'll follow you anywhere, woman."
"Now he tells me," she laughed. Emmett joined in on the laughter before he was stopped by a quick, but passionate kiss from Rosalie.
"I will stand and fight." Siobham said firmly. Before anybody could reply, I felt a tug against my shield, but I could not see where it was coming from.
"Chelsea is trying to break our bonds, but she cannot find them. Jane and Alec are also trying to incapacitate us, but they're failing. I might add that they do not like it. Are you doing this?" Edward said to me.
"I'm all over it." I replied, and saw that Aro knew this was not working and out to speak. "Get ready, it's ab-"
"I have come to a decision," Aro cut in. "First, would like for your guests to return. Alistair was one of them, and the other two were Amun and his mate, Kebi. Trackers!" I must admit, I was confused at first. I was not sure if he was referring to them as trackers, which Alistair was a tracker. I quickly realized the answer to my unspoken question. Five of the guard members glided forward to fall in behind Demetri. "There are five of you and three of them. Do me well. Three of you will go after two, while the other two will find the one. They might fight, and if they do ..."
"Jacob run! Go now!" Edward shouted next to me. I didn't want my daughter to leave, much less Jacob. I wasn't ready for that much yet. Couldn't they stay just a little longer? I stepped toward them, but Edward held me where I was, to make sure I didn't move. "I trust you, mutt, but if you do not get out of here now, I will slaughter you myself, if they don't beat me to it. Please, go and protect my daughter." I could not understand why it was so easy for him to say that. As was saying it, I had to fight tears back. Jacob threw a glance in my direction, and I nodded. I knew I had to let them go. I didn't want to though. Jacob howled, and I almost howled back.
"Be safe." Was all I could manage, and they were gone. The battle was going to happen, and I couldn't get around it.
"Yeah! 'Bout time these pencil pushers gave in. I was startin' to fall asleep, which is rather difficult I might add." Emmett bellowed.
I could tell he was ready, knew he had been ready since the thought of fighting ever came up. Emmett was not one to pass up a good fight, no matter the odds, or the stakes. I knew that if anybody would be ready for this fight, aside from Garrett, after that speech, and the Romanians, who had been waiting for their shot for a while, it would be Emmett. It was all I could do not to chuckle. I cut off quickly though, it was not a great time to be laughing.
"That's it little sister, let it out! Come on now, don't be shy." Emmett chuckled.
"You five go now." Aro said to his trackers. "Now, Demetri, looks like you'll have fun also. I want you to bring the abomination back." He said to his fiercest looking guard member. My heart leapt.
"And what of the beast?" Demetri said.
Edward dropped my hand, and ran at Demetri before I could stop him. I stared after him, trying to figure out what he was doing. I wanted to know what had caused him to charge at Demetri, but then remembered his ability. He must have heard something Demetri was thinking. I could see the dirt clouds spring away from the ground as Demetri hit it. Edward had taken one swing before Jane had him wreathing on the ground. My flashback was no longer a flash back, and it pained me to see. I couldn't stand it. I moved forward to put him in my shield and help him. Nobody was going to hurt my angel, if I could help it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Emmett running in an all out sprint toward Jane, followed by Rosalie. After I had Edward in the shield, he started to stand, but I had to continue my shield with Emmett. It didn't take him long to realize Edward held a hand up, motioning him to stop. I couldn't understand why he had stopped them, and better yet why the guard had not attacked. They should've reacted, and leaped toward my family, but they didn't. It was then that I realized Aro had raised his, just as Edward did. The two mediators of the clearing.
"Where is he? Where did he… I have to save them. I'll be back soon my love." Edward said to me. He was looking down into my eyes.
"No, you can't leave. We need you here!" Esme said before I could even start.
"But Renesmee, and Jac… Oh, that's a great idea, Seth! Alright, but I'd prefer that Sam went with you, and Leah." He was looking in the direction of a few wolves looking directly at him. "Sam's a bit more skilled in fighting, and though I know you can fight after the incident with Victoria's newborn army, Demetri is not so easy an opponent. Leah is fast enough that she'll be able to catch up to Demetri and slow him down, while you two sneak up behind him. Jake seems to agree that they should come with you. Oh, and you don't need to worry about the other five trackers, they're being finished as I speak." I still had not gotten used to the one sided conversations. I waited for him to continue, but caught the eyes of several people looking after the five trackers. Eager to know what was going on, I turned to look. Conforming to the actions of the group, I gawked after the smoke rising from the trees. "Go now. It's starting. Please keep my daughter and future son in law safe, as well as yourselves. Thank you." I turned as Edward finished to face the three wolves he now looked toward.
Seth, Sam, and Leah howled a long meaningful howl, and darted away, following Demetri's trail. Sudden grief stowed over me. Not only were Alice and Jasper gone, but now Seth, Sam, and Leah. I could not have it. They may not have been the closest of my friends, but they were here, helping me and my family. The image of Seth fighting Victoria's 'sidekick' ran through my mind, and I was suddenly reassured that they would be safe. Edward meant them to go help Jacob and Renesmee, but what did he mean about the five trackers? I could not be sure of it, but my best guess is that they were being burned, by who I still did not know.
"Come on and join us, Alice. It's too late. A fight is inevitable. They merely wait for the right time to strike." Edward said this in a raised voice, but not quite a shout.
Alice was here? My spirits lifted quickly. I was not sure that I would see her again, or Jasper. I wanted to leap with joy, but was interrupted by Alice, Jasper, and three others gliding into the clearing. I could not contain myself. Aside from any painting with Edward's beautiful face, this was the best sight I had ever seen. I dropped Edward's hand and ran to Alice and Jasper. In my happiness I forgot to stop myself and tackled them to the ground.
"Uh...Great to see you to Bella!" Jasper grunted.
A cackle of laughter bursts into the air, no doubt from Emmett, followed by a soft maniacal laugh. I raised my head to see where that one came from as Emmett spoke.
"Oh, and the Q.B. goes down. You'll be great at sports, hopefully you'll be on my team!" Emmett emaciated with another burst of laughter. I took this time to get to my feet, helping Alice also. Jasper stood between her and the Volturi as if to guard her, and I strode to stand beside Edward, giving her another smile.
"Looks more like a pathetic little girl, who misses her friend. Sad that your reunion will be short lived." Jane said.
Edward ignored this threat and strode to face the three newcomers, and I followed. I did not want to be far from Edward. If things went badly, his face was the last thing I wished to see.
"Are you three with us? You may leave now if you wish. Your story has no time when Aro's thick brain wraps around the fact that his guards are dead. When this happens, war breaks out." He said.
"We're in." A man that I had never seen before said. I shifted to try to gain a better look at him, but another voice caught my ear.
"So my guard are dead, Alice? What a shame." Aro said. He showed now sign of disappointment.
"Yes. They killed them, after your trackers killed the three they were after. These five, and the other three were not far off, awaiting my signal to join and present the story which would have changed your mind. It's too bad you were so headstrong and sent trackers out." Edward said.
"Aro, my friend, I hate to say goodbye, but it's been nice being friends all these years. My heart is at the mercy of my family, and I will fight alongside them, even if you stand before them. I'm sorry it has come to this." Carlisle's stunning voice sang into my ears. Beside Edward, I had learned the most about Carlisle, from this family. My learnings showed that he was always a compassionate man, who chose to do the right thing whenever necessary. He hated to hurt his family and friends, but he would rather suffer the pain of killing a friend than allow them to kill a family member. He even hated that more than he hated to kill.
"A fights gunna happen, why wait?" Vladimir said loudly. I snapped my head over to see him, followed closely by Stefan, charging toward the Volturi. The guard reacted accordingly, springing into action with an all out charge. Wolves jumped in to join the action also. I could not tell which were which. They were followed by my family and their friends. I also saw that the Volturi witnesses snapped into action, having decided to fight. They did not attack anybody on my side, though. They targeted the Volturi from behind. Now we truly outnumbered the Volturi.
It was not long before I realized that I was not the only one sticking close to my mate. I looked up to peer into Edward's face. Even in the beginning heat of the battle, my Adonis glowed with the beauty rightfully claimed by gods. I wanted to indulge in his touch. He was waiting on me though, eager to join the fight. He had his targets I could see, but he was trying to hide his eagerness. I had never told him that I could read him a little easier since becoming a vampire.
"Come on sis, I wanna see how well you can tear them apart. I wanna see my training skills pay off." Jasper said. To her surprise he was laughing. It was a rare sight to see him laugh, usually Emmett sucked all of the humor into his vortex. Maybe Jasper had finally learned Alice and Edward's secret to escaping that vortex, because they had no problem making jokes about her at times. "Well, I guess these guys actually trained you, but the instinct came from me!"
"Yeah, all the good ones will be taken." Emmett exhaled excitedly. "Maybe you can arm wrestle one of them?" I burst into laughter, unable to control myself, but quickly refocused.
Jasper was already fighting Chelsea, no doubt having a little bit of fun confusing her. I had experienced his abilities before, and didn't care much for them, so it was likely that she hated them with a passion. While Jasper could manipulate and control emotions, Chelsea could only change emotional bindings. As I had known she would be, Alice was not too far from him, fighting Aro's wife, Sulpicia. At first I thought that I made this name up, but then realized I was remembering it from when Edward was telling me something. I had not gotten use to the memory skills that came with being a vampire. Jasper's friends, Peter and Charlotte, were fighting some guards, who seemed to be just really great fighters from what I could tell, not too far from Jasper and Alice. I made a mental note to ask Edward if there were any ways to determine if somebody has an ability.
After watching them for a fraction of a second, I blinked and looked elsewhere, to find Emmet and Rosalie, and now Siobham and Liam, trying to fight Jane and Alec. I knew they would have a hard time with that, due to Jane and Alec's abilities, but I was a little infuriated by this. Jane had hurt Edward before, and I did not receive my chance of revenge. I wanted to kill her. I wanted to repay the debt, with interest. Hoping Edward would catch on and follow, I started to run toward Jane. I was about halfway there when I realized Edward was not with me. Had he not seen me leave? I turned back to see Edward and Aro, with Renata at his side, circling each other, as if they were a couple of boxers looking for the best striking point. I couldn't just leave Edward to fight the two of them, though I knew he could. Ranata's shield would cause problems for him, and I couldn't bear it if he were hurt. I had to make it quick though; we had to make it quick. My shield would not cover everybody when I was focused on one person in particular. I ran back to be at Edward's side, but he had charged at Aro, spearing him to the ground. Renata moved almost instantly, kicking Edward in the face, and then drew back to do it again, but I had her on the ground before she could pull back all the way.
Nobody kicked Edward in the face, nobody. The same anger that I had felt when I first learned of Jacob imprinting on Renesmee was now surging through me. I wanted to rip her heart out and feed it to her, then rip her stomach apart, retrieve the pieces of her heart, and feed them to her again. I never thought I could be so... gory, but I had never seen Edward kicked in the face before. I drew my fist back to punch her in the face, but realized she was twitching, involuntary. My shield must have overpowered hers, sending her into a seizure like state. Awesome. Instead of punching her, I tore her limbs apart, as quick as I could. The head was first on my list. I knew without her head, the body was not much use. Taking her limbs of was somewhat fun, but a little narcissistic. It was not something I would want to do for a living. As sound as I had all of her limbs in a nice little pile, they burst into flames, no doubt Benjamin was watching.
Benjamin and Zafrina had stayed back a little, with a few others to guard them. They could do the most damage from the further ranks. The original plan was for me to stay back and shield them, but I could help with that from here.
Well, that was one down. I was relieved, and somewhat excited. There was one less problem, and it seemed to be quicker than I though it would be. Before I got too worked up, fear struck me. Edward was still fighting Aro behind me. I wheeled around to face Edward standing overtop Aro. Edward seemed to be lost in a confused thought, while Aro lay on the ground, nearly screaming.
"No! Please, don't! I don't want to be one of those vicious monsters. Just kill me, please." Aro cried. If he could produce tears, he definitely would have been crying. I strode to Edward's side, taking his hand in mind, and looked at him for an explanation.
"He's not talking to us Bella. The shield collision caused his mind to break. Now he is recycling all of his own thoughts. Benjamin, can you take care of this please. Yes, I think that will work, it's what I had in mind."
I looked down on Aro, feeling a bit of pity rise in my stomach, but forced it away. It was his own stupidity. I felt a heavy weight sink into the back of my neck, and reached up to take the necklace off. Aro had given it to me as a wedding gift, but I did not want it anymore. I threw it down onto his chest and stepped back.
Aro exploded, as if he had a bomb inside of him and then burst into flames. He stopped talking, and started shrieking, though he was not the only to shriek. The entire Volturi group sang in sync, a melody of painful cries. The loudest was Aro's wife's heart stricken voice. It was getting louder, almost as if approaching. I knew that Alice was fighting her, and would not allow her to charge at me, but then I realized my shield was not up, and Alec must be attacking her. I turned, crouching as I did, seeing exactly what I expected. Sulpicia ran at me, at top speed. She may have even been fast than Edward at that moment. What I didn't expect were the three wolves pouncing on her, and tearing her apart.
"Thanks!" I said to the wolves.
Before they could reply, two guard members attacked them, swinging at their throats. Blood stained the ground, as two wolves fell dead. Only the Volturi and wolves were fighting. The shield. I pushed my shield out to cover my friends and family, who were all cringing in pain, on the ground. It didn't matter too much if some enemies were in my shield, but I could not allow Jane or Alec to enter, because if somebody used ability while under the shield, they could use it on others inside the shield. Jane and Alec had to be taken out. I knew this was a must, and I knew that I had to do it, but I would need some help, some distraction.
"We have to kill Jane and Alex, Edward. We must, or we'll lose friends!" I whispered.
"I've got an idea," he said as Peter and Charlotte were passing to join Jasper and Alice. "Peter, Charlotte would you mind helping us please?"
They both turned to face him. It did not seem like they liked Edward a great deal, but Edward was brother to their friend, so they would help. "What do you need?" Peter asked.
"We need to take out Jane and Alec, but only Bella can get close enough. Her shield will fall when she surges anger and focuses on one person. So, us three will attack them, causing a distraction, while she is actually attacking. There are four others already attacking, or trying to, so it shouldn't take much." As Edward explained, I slipped off to ask Zafrina to help, by creating images in their minds. I wanted her to create the image of the other one being dead, along with images of the already dead Volturi. She agreed that it was a wonderful plan, so I hurried back to Edward's side.
"Sure, we're up for it, but where did Bella go?" I heard Peter ask while I was talking with Zafrina.
"She's speaking to Zafrina to give us another advantage. Oh, Carlisle and Esme wish to help. Sure father, and mother." Edward replied to an unspoken question. Just the thought of Esme fighting was enough to make me think of how my heart would be leaping right now if it still could. She was a lovely woman, and should not be fighting. I would not stop her though. We could use the help.
While going back to Edward I could see Kate, Garrett, Charles, and two wolves fighting Caius and Athenadora. Caius was frightened by the wolves, but did not falter. He was using his fire device to fight with an advantage. He mostly used it to keep Kate away from him. Near him Eleazer, Carmon, and Tanya were fighting Marcus and a guard member. The guard seemed to have a bit of a telekenetic power. It was only defensive as far as I could tell. I knew the others were fighting in the clearing, but I need to focus on what I was about to do.
I led the others in a charge toward Jane and Alec to signal the start, but slowed to let them surpass me. Carlisle and Esme charged from another direction, causing a bit more of distraction. Emmett, Rosalie, Siobham, and Liam were kneeling on the ground before Jane and Alec, trying to fight it. My shield had not been over them, because they were too close. I knew that Zafrina had to be putting the images in their minds now, because the four vampires could not fight this power without help, it was too strong. Nonetheless, they were still fighting it. The distraction would work a lot better than I planned, due to Zafrina's images having effect.
Carlisle and Esme lunged at Jane, while Peter and Charlotte attacked Alec. Esme was stopped by Jane's ability, but Carlisle tackled her to the ground. I had never seen Carlisle fight before, mostly because he didn't like it, but he was a very skilled fighter. The fact that his wife was being hurt probably furthered his fighting ability. Jane could not take both opponents on at the same time, but Alec helped her. He quickly seized control of Carlisle, Peter, and Charlotte, along with the four he already had, making his power even weaker.
This was my chance. Jane was going to die. She was the weaker of the two, and would be easier to take down. When she was still looking upon Esme, no doubt inflicting as much pain as she could with the mental distractions, I snuck up behind her and bit into her neck. Her body stiffened, and Esme was released. I reached up to grab her hair, and felt somebody else's hand already there. Edward was at Jane's other side, biting into her neck, pulling her head down. I put my hand next to his, grabbing a lock of hair, pulling up on her hard. I kicked the backs of her knees, releasing my teeth from her vile skin, causing her to buckle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alec charging strait toward us. I would have strived to dodge, but a loud crack told me to stay put.
"What happens when you take your eye off the ball? You get beamed! That's why only real vampires play baseball!" With a cackle, he turned to see that everybody else Alec had under his penetrating power was okay. Rosalie sprinted toward him, as he spread his arms out to hug her, but she went right passed him to kick Alex in the face.
"And you, my love, you took your eye off of him!" Rosalie said with a haughty laugh.
I could not help but laugh. It was hard to top Emmett's jokes, but Rosalie was doing a fine job of it. This struck me as absurd. Here we were, fighting the Volturi, yet we're laughing. Absurd.
That brought my attention back to Jane. With my hand still grasping her hair, I pulled with all my might. I didn't think anything would happen, but then Edward's hands joined mine, and Jane's head came off with a tiny 'pop'. We were doing it together. I could not help but to think of how romantic it was. I wanted to kill Jane, and I'm sure Edward wanted his revenge, and here we were, pulling her head off together. Gory, but romantic. We moved to take the rest of her body apart, at first going fairly slow, but then we sped up. I realized that I could wait for some romantic attention, even if I didn't want to. We finished by piling up the remains and looking at Benjamin, signaling him to set her ablaze.
"I love you!" I whispered, as I took Edward's hand in mind. We looked into the fiery remains of one of the most vile vampires we knew.
"As I shall always love you!" He whispered back.
"Okay, okay. Save it for later you two, Jane might be dead, but Alec is giving us hell! You can play smoo-" Emmett started, but was cut off.
"No! You will pay for that!" Alec screamed as the vampires pulling at his arms fell to the ground. As soon as he was free he headed straight for me.
"Quick Bella, cover only yourself with the shield." Edward said in a rushed, but cool voice. I didn't want to obey, but I did anyway. He dropped my hand and stood in front of me.
Walls of fire and rock sprouted from the ground, between Alec and Edward and me. There was a rock wall not too far in front of me, and I got an idea. Darting in front of Edward, I ran to it, and leaped up, climbing as fast as I could. Edward went around the rock wall, to flank Alec. I could see quite a bit of the clearing now, but focused only on Alec and those still helping fight him.
Edward dropped to the ground before he reached Alec, while Emmett and Rosalie charged from behind. The others had turned to help others in need. Before Emmett and Rosalie could reach him, Alec jumped through a fire wall and up the rock all. He dashed vertically, toward me. My plan was working. I jumped off of the rock wall, first up, but then angled myself down.
From my height, I could see the entire clearing. For some reason, I focused on the dead. Of the Volturi I could see Aro, Sulpicia, Renata, Jane, six guard members, Athenadora, and Chelsea. Of my family and friends I could see Maggie, Eleazer, Senna and five wolves. I couldn't tell which wolves were which, but hoped Embry and Quil were not among them. I saw that we were nearly doubled in size of the Volturi now.
I saw that Marcus was lying flat on his stomach, pleading that he surrendered and would prefer to join the Cullens. The guard with him was slain by Carmen and Tanya. He appeared to be the one who killed Eleazer, because I could see Carmen staring at his remains with the utmost hatred. Two sisters turned to Marcus as if to dispose of him, but Carlisle stopped them. He strode to the man, signaling him to stand, while Carmen and Tanya went to fight some of the guard moving toward Benjamin. I knew they would not dare oppose what Carlisle said. Carlisle was telling Marcus that he accepted his surrender, and friendship.
"I'm glad to know you have obtained sense. I honor your friendship!" Carlisle said with all calmness. He showed no sign of the battle around him. Two more guard fell at the hands of Peter, Charlotte, Makenna, and Charles, not too far from Carlisle. They burst into flames before they could even attempt to reform.
"I will fight along side you now. Perhaps I will persuade Caius that he should give in." Marcus said. His voice was a sudden shock to me. I had never heard his voice before. It was deep and very philosophical. He spoke like he was one-hundred percent sure of what he said.
"He will not give in. I m sorry, but like Aro, he will not live beyond today. It saddens my heart to say..."
"You have all o eternity to worry about your heart, dad, unless you don't pay attention to your surroundings. More specifically, the guard member coming from your rear!" I said.
I saw Marcus leap behind Carlisle, at the Guard member, before I reoriented myself and focused on Alec. I knew that talking gave my position away, but Carlisle would have been struck, and Alec probably knew where I was anyway. He was in mid strife, not touching the rock formation, giving me the perfect opportunity. I fixed my body into a perfect dive position. The wind rushed around my body, past my ears, and I felt like I was free falling miles above the ground. I looked down at Alec, noticing the fear in his face. He realized that he would not escape, and that I had more momentum.
I hit him in mid air, surging all of my momentum into his body. My shoulder was on his neck, causing his head to detach from his body. I grabbed it with one hand, so that it could not get far. He started to punch at me, but only got two hits off before we smacked into the ground. Dirt flew everywhere. I looked around to see a giant crater in the ground. I leaped up, still holding Alec's head in my right hand, and his body was in my left hand then. Edward ran toward me, from where he was on the ground. Before could reach me, he fell once more.
"He can still use his ability! He is not dead yet." Edward whispered. Without thinking, I threw the head in Benjamin's direction, followed by the body. They both stopped in air, and caught on fire.
"Nice Zafrina! That will surely aggravate them." Edward exclaimed. I looked over to him, as he climbed to his feet. I rushed to him, hugging him. He perched his head on to of mine. "You were amazing!"
"Thanks, but we're not finished." I replied.
"We might as well be." He said
"Yeah, only one little vampy still fighting. Come little sister. Let's go have some fun with little old Caius." Emmett chuckled.
I looked around the clearing, realizing what Edward and Emmett hinted at. Caius was the only one still fighting, of the Volturi. The remaining guard members lay on the ground, in the same manner Marcus had. I walked to stand in the circle that now closed in on Caius. There were a few who stayed to watch the guard members on the ground, mostly the remaining Volturi witnesses.
"Caius, it only makes sense to surrender. We outnumber you, you saw how easily they defeated Aro, Jane, and Alec, and you know you were wrong from the beginning. Athenadora died because of your ignorance. You are to blame. Please, I do not want to lose another friend." Marcus said.
"Traitor!" Caius replied.
A few wolves moved closer to him, howling as they did. Fear struck in his eyes. He turned in a complete circle, as if looking for something. He knew there was no escaping, but he had one last plan. It didn't take Edward stepping in front of me, for me to see that he wanted me. Caius lunged in my direction, but Edward and Emmett dashed toward him. Fire shot from the device Caius had. Emmett dodged it, but Edward went straight through, tackling Caius to the ground, and rolling away from him. Benjamin put the flames out instantly.
Tanya, Carmen, and two wolves leaped at Caius and began to tear him apart. I went to Edward and helped him up. I expected a burnt face, but was overjoyed to see the beautiful face I loved so much. Benjamin had Caius on fire within seconds, and everybody relaxed. The fighting was over.
"What is happening with Jake and Renesmee?" I asked Edward.
"They're on their way back. Quil let him know of things here, and I can see how things went there. Sam, Seth, and Leah are dead. As is Demetri. Seth died to protect Leah, but then she sought revenge and charged in alone. Demetri killed her and then went after Sam. Right as he took Sam out, Jacob got him from behind. After tearing him apart, Renesmee lit him on fire. The little sneak had matches with her." He said.
"I swear, she's going to be a ninja some day." Emmett cackled.
"Seth, Leah, and Sam...dead? Also, Maggie, Eleazer, Senna, Alistair, Kebi, Amun and five more wolves. Why? Why did they have to die for our cause? This is why I do not like to fight." Carlisle said. I looked over too him. His eyes were big and tender. He looked very sad, as if he were going to cry, but I knew he couldn't. I left Edward's side to hug Carlisle.
"Thank you for fighting, even when you hated it. I'm sorry that your friends, and mine, died for this. I am very grateful for it." I stepped away to face everybody else. "To all of you. Thank you. I'm sorry for the losses. I would have preferred a different way, but there was no other. To those of you who went beyond all of what you thought was right, thank you so very much. I know you were even further from having a part in this than some others, and you have suffered a great deal." This last bit I directed toward the wolves. The wolves all darted to the edge of the forest, and then ran back in human form.
"Bella. We are glad to have fought along side you. We know this will bring some more peace to the land. Also, it was mostly because of Jake and Renesmee. We take care of our own, and the ones they imprint on. We are like you in many ways." Quil spoke. I noticed there were only seven wolves behind Quil. Embry was not among them. He must have been among the five that died here. Jake would be terribly upset by this. Only nine lived total, out of the seventeen that started this fight with us. If Billy had not hated me before, he would probably start now.
"Thank you Quil." I walked toward him, as some of the others behind him twitched, and stepped back. "I am sorry for your lose, I know you were close to Embry." Tears showed their way to his eyes. I didn't know what to do besides hug him. As I did, his face tightened, no doubt because of my smell, but he hugged back.
"Thank you Bella. You may smell bad, but you have a kind touch." Now that I realized it, he smelled pretty bad himself. Mostly like wet dog. I stepped back, taking my place beside Edward.
"We are all grateful for your help, Quil. I hope that this will further the peace between our families, as you have mentioned. It would please me to no end to make friend out of the Quileutes wolves." Carlisle said. He walked slowly to my side and put his hand in front of him, holding it out to Quil. Quil looked at him hesitantly, and shook his hand.
"I can't promise anything, seeing as I'm not the Alpha, but I'm pretty sure Jake will agree. Wouldn't happen to have any food would you? I'm sorry, but that fight drained us all." He said in return, a pleasant smile breaking his sullenness.
"Sure, but we might have to make a few more dog bowls. Give us a minute, and we'll have them ready. What are the names, Spot, Fido, and Skip?" Emmett roared. Rosalie nudged him in the ribs. Rosalie had never been one to like the wolves, but even she had to admit their help was useful. I could see her hide a chuckle though.
"I prefer Old Yeller!" Quil replied, with a hackle of his own. Everybody joined in.
"Shall we go to the house, and wait for Jacob and Renesmee? Everybody is welcome. You may leave if you'd like, but I would like for you all to stay. There is matter which we must address, and you should all be a part in deciding." Carlisle said, starting the walk back to the house. I knew he was walking for the sake of Quil and the others. Everybody moved at once, being more silent than I expected. They were all sad but grateful. "Edward, what are our prisoners planning?"
"They follow Marcus, since he is the only remaining leader alive." He answered.
"Then, they shall come too?" Marcus said. "If they truly follow me, they will be of no threat."
"I said everybody was welcome. That means anybody who does not oppose us. The last of your guard are welcome, my friend, so long as they do not start trouble. Enough fighting has happened today, enough blood spilt." Esme tightened her grip on his arm, resting her head onto his shoulder.
"Guard, come. You will cause no problem, understood?" Marcus said, as he turned to face the seventeen men on the ground. They all stood, and nodded at once. They were like a perfect army, acting in unison. Well, perfect until we came along, and then broken. We continued the walk home, mostly in silence.
"Quil, are all the wolves in Jake's pack now, since Sam ... has passed? Or has somebody else been chosen as Alpha." Edward asked.
"I'm not sure. They must be in our pack now, because they all heard me tell them to go to the edge of the forest and change and I heard their thoughts near the end of the battle." Quil replied.
"Yes, we are all in Jake's pack now. Sam commanded us to join his pack, should anything happen." One of the little ones replied. She was a little younger than Seth. She was like Seth in a few ways. She wasn't afraid of the Cullens, and she showed no signs of dislike. Her hair was a silvery black, which extended to her mid back. Her black eyes stood out against her light skin. At first glance I would have mistaken her for a vampire, but the smell would never fail me.
"Am I right to assume you are the Beta, Quil?" I asked.
"Ha, Beta. That's pretty funny actually. I think so. Since the only other three from Jake's pack died, I guess I automatically assumed the position, and it doesn't feel like that has changed since the others joined. Not to mention, they will obey me if I tell them to do something. Jake doesn't like forcing them though, so I would not. I like my fur too much." He and Emmett shared a laugh.
"I kinda like this mutt." Emmett said, putting his arm around Quil. "He's kinda funny."
"Jake's almost here." Edward said, as we all settled ourselves on the first floor somewhere. Carlisle and Esme took up the couch, turning it around to face everybody. "Bella and I will fix you all some food, Alice, Jasper would you mind helping?"
"You know we can't cook properly." Alice chipped.
"Yes, but Bella and I can. You two would merely be there for the extra hands. Not to mention, it might be an experience to learn." He smiled at them as he finished.
"I will help you, if you'd like." The man that Alice brought with her said. "Since I did not have time for an introduction earlier, my name is Nahuel, and this," he gestured to the woman sitting in front of him, as he stood. "is my aunt, Huilen. I will share my story with you if you'd like, but I will help them cook first."
"Thank you Nahuel." I said.
Nahuel had a very dark toned skin color. Impossible. Was he not a vampire? His eyes were different too, a warm teak color. His hair was dark, and braided, similar to a woman's but not as long. He was beautiful, like a vampire. The most shocking thing about him, was his heart beat. I didn't notice it before, but I could hear it very clearly now. I felt Edward's hand on my waist, and realized I was staring at Nahuel.
"I will help too. I have a little experience in cooking. Having raised Nahuel on both human blood and human food, I had to keep the ability after turning." Huilen said. She was a rather small, olive-toned, vampire with the same kind of braid as Nahuel, but hers was a lot longer. Her burgundy eyes stood out against her skin tone.
"Excellent. Thank you very much." I replied. I lead the way to the kitchen. I know the Cullens kept food around just in case, but could they possibly have enough for nine wolves, and Nahuel and Renesmee, if they were hungry.
"While you were practicing the last few days, Esme took it upon herself to stock up on food." Edward answered my question. Sometimes I wandered if he could really read my mind, but he once told me I was some what predictable in certain situations. "She thought we would have need of it, for Jacob and Renesmee. Good thing she likes to be over motherly, and bought a lot of extra, or we might not have had enough."
Edward made three dozen scrambled eggs, loaded with a bunch of different ingredients, some bacon and sausage, and some toast. I made spaghetti, ravioli, meatballs, and garlic bread. Huilen made tea, juice, and got the soda out. She also got eleven dishes and cups out, along with eleven sets of silver ware. Nahuel made deserts. He wanted to make the best smelling thing on the list. He made two cakes and a few pies. While he was putting the icing on the cake Emmett came to see how we were faring, and he decided to help, if you could call it help. He took the icing and made the shapes of wolves all over the cake.
"Ha-ha, I should have made them color coordinated. That way they would each get to eat themselves." He chuckled.
I heard footsteps coming down the hall.
"Don't say anything about coordinating colors, Alice might come and scrutinize us." I whispered.
"Excuse me? I didn't hear any complaints at your wedding, or your graduation, or your prom!" Alice whined.
"Alice do you have to start, you know she was..." Edward started, but cut off when a giant blob of icing smacked into Alice's face. Emmett took the liberty of launching a spoonful of the icing he held.
"Geese, you're really slipping if you didn't see that. The yellow looks nice with your eyes at least" Emmett said.
"Here you go Alice." Nahuel said, handing Alice a towel.
"Thank you." She said to Nahuel. She turned to Emmett, "It's because you were standing next to Nahuel. You do it again, and I'll pummle you. Maybe I'll just get Bella to beat you in an arm wrestling contest again!" She laughed, followed by a few laughters coming from the other room. "Anyway, are you finished yet?"
"Yes, we were just waiting on the spaghetti to finish. Doesn't it smell wonderful?" Nahuel exclaimed.
"It smells appetizing." Alice replied, trying not to hurt his feelings. I knew she did not care for the smell. Human food had no appeal to vampires.
We carried everything out to where everybody was, and set it on a table.
"Help yourselves. We can make more if you'd like." Edward said. They did help themselves. They each took a plate, and stacked it high with food. They didn't care too much about what went where, they just put the food on the plate wherever it fell. The eight wolves and Nahuel finished everything that was set out for them, while the rest of us sat in silence and waited. "We'll wait till Jacob and Renesmee get back to see if they're hungry. Anybody want anymore?"
One of the younger wolves burped loudly.
"I think that's a no, Edward." Emmett chuckled.
"Excuse me. I'm good thanks." He said. This boy was almost identical to the girl who had first said that all of the wolves were in Jacob's pack now. His hair was shorter, but the rest of him looked very similar to the girl's features.
"I'm good too. Thank you so much." Quil said, standing. Edward glided to meet him.
"Please allow me. I'll take your plates if you're done." He said.
"Thank you." Quil said, and sat back down.
We sat in silence, waiting for something. Whether we were waiting for Jacob and Renesmee, or for a grieving period, I was not sure. It seemed to be both.
"They're here, I'll be right back." Edward said. I got up and followed him. "Bella wait in there please, Jacob needs to change. I don't think he'd like it if you saw him naked." He put an emphasis on 'he'd', but I knew that he meant that he, Edward, wouldn't like it if I saw Jacob naked. I stayed inside, but waited near the door.
"Trust me Bella, it's not a pretty sight." The girl said. Emmett laughed loudly. "It's not fun being a girl in the pack with all boys. I see in their minds and see things I don't want to." She continued, as Emmett laughed even louder.
"I think I would jump off of a cliff if I had to see Jacob naked." Emmett said.
"Not much it would do." Jasper reminded him.
"Yeah, but I didn't say I'd be jumping alone." He laughed. Jasper joined him.
"Can you stop talking about how you're going to dive bomb into the bottom of cliff with me in your arms?" Jacob's grizzly voice said. "It's bad enough that you're talking about me being naked, now you want to hold me in your arms and jump off of a cliff with me? I know a good place that might satisfy you. Ask Bells, she's jumped off of it before." He panted, almost out of breath.
"I might have to take you up on that." Emmett chuckled louder than he had before.
I ran forward to hug Jacob. The heat from his body was very hot against my skin. I was glad to see him alive. I heard the others say he was alive, but I needed to see him.
"Owe, Bells. You're not human anymore, remember? That hurts now!" He growled.
"Oh, sorry." I let him go, realizing I had been hugging him rather hard. "Thank you Jacob. I'm glad to see you're alright."
"Me too. Not even a scratch. Did you even fight? You didn't hurt your hand punching any of them did you?" Jacob laughed.
"Want me to break your chest? I bet you I can do it this time. The spoiler, it won't hurt me a bit." I replied.
"Will you?" Rosalie coughed. Everybody turned to look at her. How could she still show dislike towards them? "I was only kidding. You know it would be a funny sight to see." I turned back to Jacob, and hugged him again, more softly this time. I turned to Edward, holding Renesmee, and held my arms out. She jumped into my arms, reaching up to my face.
She showed me everything that happened. She showed Seth jumping in front of Leah to save her, and Leah trying to take revenge on her own. I saw Leah fall quickly, as Sam seized the chance to attack Demetri. Demetri tore at Sam's throat, right before Jacob bit his head off.
I looked at her face, and saw a tear fall from her eyes. "I'm sad mommy. I didn't want them to die for me." She said in her high pitched voice.
"I know baby. I didn't want them to either." I snuggled her closely to my chest, making sure that I did not squeeze too tightly. "I'm glad you're okay though." While her head was buried in my chest, I smacked Jacob lightly on the shoulder.
"Owe!" He shouted. "What was that for?"
"For letting her see that!" I shouted back.
"Excuse me for not wanting to leave her by herself. I wouldn't have been able to stop him, if I did. I would have been too worried about protecting her." He said quietly.
"Thank you Jacob. I am very grateful." Edward said, pushing him forward so that I could not hit him again. "Would you like some food?"
"No. Thanks though." He said, taking a seat near Quil.
"I am terribly sorry for you losses, Jacob. I wish we did not have to suffer anybody. I am very grateful for your participation though. We could not have done it without you. I would like to offer to you, the Alpha of the pack, an eternal truce." Carlisle said, raising from the couch and walking toward Jacob.
"Thank you, and you're welcome. I agree to a truce. I trust you and your family, especially since I'll be part of it one day! Well, she'll be part of mine, but we'll call it square." He reached up and shook Carlisle's hand. "I'm sure we both know the guidelines to follow."
"Yes. No humans, got that covered. We keep to our own area, and you keep to y-" He started.
"No. You may now come to the Quileutes lands. No trouble, as I'm sure you wouldn't think of it. I truly want to live in peace, and share what is mine with you. A true family shares all, and you are family to me." Jacob said.
"I thank you Jacob. You are always welcome here, along with the rest of you." He said, facing the others. With a nod from them all, he returned to the couch. Marcus took the opportunity to stand and address everybody.
"Now, since I know everybody would like to return home, we have a matter to discuss, one which I feel you must all be a part of. I say this, because you all fought here today, valiantly I might add. The Volturi is left open for rule. Somebody must be to assume command, because without that, our secrecy will not be secret so much longer, and we will have hunters after us. I offer you the right to take control of the Volturi. Carlisle," Marcus turned to face him. "You would be one of the leaders, along side your sons, as I would suggest. The rest of you would have a place as well. You are a group of power, but also a group that knows how to use that power accordingly. You know what is right and what is wrong, and even have a man who can determine what is right and wrong with his ability. I know that you will create a new reformed Volturi, that will work more efficiently and fluidly than the one I helped lead."
Take control of the Volturi? That would allow us to make sure there were no more power hungry battles. I would have to leave Charlie for good. I could come back and visit though. Little harm could reach me while I was part of the Volturi, and I could finally live in peace.
"I'm game." Emmett said.
"Easy Emmett. Marcus, I like the sound of that. Peace could finally be administered, and maybe I could convert more vampires to my diet. It would be a way for us to live out our lives, not worrying about being so careful of ourselves. I would like to hear some opinions from everybody else first." Carlisle said.
"I'm in. With Amun and Kebi dead, I don't really have anywhere to go. Besides, I was getting bored with the sand. If Tia agrees, we're in." Benjamin said.
"I'll do whatever you do." Tia said to Benjamin.
"You know we want the Volturi." Stefan said.
"Yes, we all know that." Marcus said.
"Was that supposed to be a stab?" Vladimir said.
"No, I was merely saying that we knew what your answer was. I was going to offer you partnership, whether they said yes or not."
"Oh. Well, accepted." Vladimir said.
Siobham looked up to Marcus, "We like the idea, however, we do not want to leave Ireland. It is such a beautiful place."
"I would like to not have to leave the Amazon." Senna said.
"I think I have a solution to that." Peter said. He stood, as if he were claiming the floor and Marcus sat. "Some of us have a place we would like to stay in, whether it be a home or a specific area, while others are nomads. Why not have outposts all over the world? The Cullens, and anybody who wishes to reside in Italy, will go to the main Volturi location, while the rest of us remain in our place. We can monitor more of the world that way. They would be quite spread out too. The outposts can handle small matters such as informing new vampires, and old ones that need retaught, the importance of maintaining secrecy. If there is a matter that needs more than the power at hand, they can contact the main headquarters. For larger covens, like the ones gathered here, you could offer them to become an outpost for the Volturi. Not only would this balance the power the Volturi has, but it would allow more eyes and ears to watch and listen for corrupt vampires. As for your diet. I'm sorry Carlisle, but I don't think I could live on animal blood. I think you could administer responsible eating though. Feed on those who are not going anywhere, perhaps? Such as the homeless, the victims accidents, or future victims of starvation or genocide. You could not convince them all to diet on animals, but you could make sure they don't ruin the lives of anybody. Possibly even help the helpless."
I thought he had a very great point. Outposts and responsible feeding would be much more appealing than the old ways. I decided that I was completely for this. I wanted to run the Volturi with my family and friends. I looked over to Edward. I wanted to live with Edward also. Maybe we could live together, and raise Renesmee, and then join. Or even maintain an outpost here, while the rest of the family go to Italy. We could visit. I stood, wanting to let everybody know my opinion on the matter.
"I like Peter's ideas. Outposts is a great idea, as is the responsible feeding. I think taking control of the Volturi would make things more peaceful, and more under control. Right now, raising Renesmee is my first priority, and I want time with my husband. Maybe a couple years, however long the chains hold." I threw that part in for Emmett, knowing he would enjoy it. Sure enough, he chuckled. "After that, I would love to help out in anyway possible, even maintaining an outpost here. We could even set up intervals in which control shifts. Like, one decade one coven remains in headquarters, the next another takes over, and then just cycle through. I think that considering everybody on an equal level would be better though. When time comes for a decision, we could talk about it and take a vote on what to do. Ask me again in a few years, Marcus, and I'm in." I resumed my place at Edward's side, taking his hand. Renesmee had taken it upon herself to snuggle up in Jacob's lap, falling asleep.
"Grown up talk must be too boring for her." Esme whispered with an edge of humor. She didn't seem to realize she said that out loud.
"I like what I've heard, and I'm up for it." Carlisle said. "Everybody who is interested, please raise your hand now." I looked around, raising my own hand, and saw that every hand was raised, even the wolves and Nahuel and Huilen. "Jacob, what would you and your pack seek in joining the Volturi?"
"Well, I was just thinking. We could set up a large number of outposts, and we could all communicate with each other easily. We would be able to report things quickly. Of course, we would want our own division. It occurred to me that with offsprings, it might be possible to start a chain of werewolves in other places. Of course, we would control our numbers."
"You know, you're not werewolves. You're merely shape shifters. I noted this before the fight, because of something Caius was thinking. He referred to werewolves as Children of the Moon, ones who change with a full moon. You all change at any time you wish to. I do like that idea though. It will keep a truce between us more solid if we work together. We could even take control of the Children of the Moon, and minimize their numbers. Possibly eliminate them completely." Edward said.
"He's right, we could." Marcus agreed. "So, you're all interested. How many of you would go back to your own homes?" Again, hands were raised. The Amazon Coven, the Irish Coven, and the European nomads all raised their hands, along with Peter and Charlotte. Some of the Volturi guard raised their hands also. Marcus turned to look at them.
"I think they're trying to be funny." Emmett laughed, then frowned. "It was a poor attempt."
"What do you all mean by raising your hands?" Marcus asked.
"Emmett is right, we were trying to be funny. We meant in that we're gong back to continue being guards. We will work under whoever leads." One of the guard said.
"True soldiers." Garrett sniffed.
Carlisle got to his feet, addressing everybody again. "Alright. So there will be an outpost here, the Amazons of South America, and Ireland. We can also keep in contact with the nomads of Europe and North America. If some of the guard wouldn't mind, we could have them set up outposts in other countries as well, such as countries in Africa, Asia and Australia. Jacob, I leave the planning of the wolves up to you, however I would like to know what you plan to do. I shall assume command if that is what you are granting Marcus, but I would like to be equal leaders along side you, my wife, my sons, and my sons' wives. Vladimir and Stefan I offer to you control of communications and partial command of the guard. I say partial, because I think Benjamin should head the guard. His high awareness of right and wrong will become very useful. The rest of you shall have places where we find need, or where you wish to be. While under my command, you will not take a human life, unless they were in danger and it was a last resort. The list that Peter gave will suffice. I'm sorry to say, even though I don't like violence, I will do what I must to make sure this is held to my standards. I might even buy a few farms too." Carlisle said.
"Everybody in accordance with what has been decided?" Marcus asked.
"I." All but two voices said. Nobody expected Renesmee to answer, having fallen asleep, but when Nahuel didn't respond, every set of eyes shifted to him.
"Oh, sorry. It's just that ... I don't know where I fit into this. I guess I should tell my story first?" He said in a questioning voice.
"Go ahead." Alice urged.
"My name is Nahuel, and I'm a half human, half vampire, like Renesmee. My father was a vampire, believed to be the Libishiomen of my aunt's tribe. My mother was human, and died when I was born. I was told that I ripped my way out of her, and bit my aunt. My father is still alive, and I have sisters out there also. He has raised my sisters to follow his ways, which aren't the best. I've lived thinking that I was a monster, a natural born killer, because my mother did not survive." He turned to face me and Edward. "I thank you Bella, and you Edward. You have taught me that my father is the one to blame. He shouldn't have been careless, and that there was nothing I could do. I see you three living happily, well now you can anyway. Bella, I see the life my mother should have had, in you. Edward, I see what my father should have been, in you. I thank you."
I stood up and walked to Nahuel. "You're welcome. I'm sorry that your father caused this pain, I wish there were something I could do."
"You've done enough, but you could do one more thing for me. Raise Renesmee properly, as I have no doubt you will." He replied, and I hugged him.
"If she turns out half as descent as what you seem to be, I will be grateful." I stepped back and turned to Huilen. "You did a great job raising him, I know it must have been hard. I hope I can come to you if I have any struggles." I knew there might be some down the road, and it would be nice to have a guide.
"Thank you, and you may come to me anytime you need to." Huilen said.
"Bella, are you done being mushy? I don't think he was done, and I think he's leading to something rather interesting." Jacob said.
I turned my head to glare at him. "Emmett, would you?" Emmett flicked the remote at Jacob, but Renesmee caught it.
"Uncle Emmy, please don't throw things at Jacob. It's not nice. If you must, lets settle this with arm wrestling. It's quick, easy, and less messy than a fight." Renesmee chirped. Emmett and Jacob roared with laughter. Renesmee reached up to touch Jacob's face, and he laughed even harder. She touched his face a second time.
"Sorry Nessie." Jacob said, and stopped laughing immediately. "Carlisle, you might want to bring a first aid kit from the hospital. Nessie is going to break Emmett's hand."
"If she's got her mother's strength she will!" Edward said with a chuckle and a glance at me.
"Seriously guys, I do think Nahuel wasn't done." Jacob said.
"Sorry Nahuel." I said.
"It's okay. It's good to have some laughter after today's events. It's even cheering me up a little. What I was getting at is that I think my father should be dealt with. My sisters may not be venomous, but they could prove to be dangerous, more than any of you in some ways. However, my sisters are innocent. They were tainted by my father, but could be taught a better way. I would like to join you in becoming the Volturi, and I would like it if my sisters could be a part too. After a little bit of teaching, they could be very useful. Being able to live among the humans more easily than any of you, we could blend into the most widely known vampire and human area. The cities where many nomads live among humans."
"We would welcome you with open arms." Esme said. She could never turn anybody down. She was much to loving, a mother a heart.
"We will attend your father for you, and you can go with the group if you'd like. It shall be our first order under new rule." Marcus said.
"Thank you." Nahuel finished.
"We'll go." Jacob said.
"Go where?" One of the other Quiluetes said.
"To take out this Libishomen guy. We'll follow Zafrina back to the Amazon, and track him down. If Zafrina is willing, she could come along and blind him and Nahuel's sisters while we take him out. A few others might want to come though, to control the sisters. Perhaps Emmett and Rosalie would like to take a mini vacation in the Amazon?." Jacob said.
"I wouldn't mind going with you. It will be easier for me to find them than you could. I had to learn to search for blind spots, and I think I could do it again. Jasper could control the sisters' emotions. Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, what do you say?" Alice said.
"Actually Alice, I want to go with dad, and see our new palace. It is a palace isn't it?" Rosalie said.
"Sure." Marcus said.
"I wouldn't' t mind going." Garrett said, looking to Kate.
"Yeah, we'll come." She confirmed. The spark had passed, Kate and Garrett had a full circuit going. I decided it would be there wedding we attended next.
"It's settled." Marcus said.
"Alice." I said. "Make sure don't run off this time. I'd miss you too much."
"I won't. Promise." She said. "I can see me returning, don't worry about it." I looked to Edward, but caught a wink Alice hoped to pass to Edward unnoticed.
"I saw that!" I whispered.
"Dang. I keep forgetting that you're senses are more tuned in now. You never would have caught that before."
"Yeah she would've. She just wouldn't know what to make of it. She'd think your eye twitched or something." Emmett said.
A sudden feeling of fatigue washed over me, not sleepiness, but the effects of a long exasperating day. I wanted to be alone with my husband, in our little house. I wanted Renesmee in her bed, sound asleep. I wanted some peace. I stood up, looking around to everybody.
"I thank you all again, but I want to take Renesmee home now. She needs to get a good night's rest, and she'll never do that with boring grown up talk, and Emmett and Jacob laughing as they have been."
"Go ahead dear, enjoy yourselves for a change. We'll see you when you're relieved and soaked in peace." Esme said, gliding to me. She kissed my forehead and returned to the couch. Jacob was getting to his feet, but Edward motioned him to stay, and swiftly lifted Renesmee from his lap.
"Please, be comfortable Jacob. The rest of them are about to fall asleep, you might as well stay. You may use my bed if you'd like. We could get some blankets and pillows for you all." Edward said.
"Thanks." Jacob said. He kissed Renesmee's forehead and sulked back to the floor. He passed out nearly as soon as he hit the floor.
"Have a safe journey everybody. Phones are a good idea Carlisle, I will call you in a few days? We might take Renesmee on a vacation while the pack go to South America. Thank you all, hope to see you all soon." He said.
"Oh Jasper?" I said, only just remembering something I wanted to ask him.
"Yes Bella?" He replied, curiously.
"I was wandering-why is J. Jenks scared at first mention of your name?"
It was different to hear Jasper laugh, even though I had heard him do it a few times. "It's just been my experience that some kinds of working relationships are better motivated by fear than by monetary gain."
I frowned at him. "I think I will be taking over the family's working relationship for now on Jasper. J seemed to enjoy the possibility of doing his work without fear of having a heart attack." He laughed again.
"If you wish. Less for me to do." Jasper chuckled.
We where kissed and hugged by everybody, other than the sleeping Quiluetes. Nahuel stared after us longer than any of the others. I truly felt bad for him, having grown up the way he did. At least now he was happy. Edward, with Renesmee in his arms, and I started home, slowing a little after the river, to a near human speed.
"I must say, I'm impressed with Jacob tonight." Edward said.
"Yeah, the wolves were pretty impressive, weren't they." I replied. They had been. Without them, we would have lost.
"That's not what I meant. His mind didn't linger on the fact that Renesmee would be fully matured in six and a half years."
"He doesn't think of her like that. He only wants her to be happy is all. It's going to bad for him when he realizes the possible competition." I whispered.
"We'll deal with that when the time comes. For now let's be happy with what we have." He said.
Though some died today, I had reason to be happy. Renesmee was safe, Edward was safe, and this in itself was the foundation of my happiness. My family was reunited, and hopefully Alice's promise to return would stick. My daughter's future was very clear and satisfying. I knew she would be very happy in life, especially with Jacob watching over her. I would go so my father, and show him that joy had returned, and he would become happy. Sue Clearwater would be with Charlie-the werewolves' mom with the vampire's dad- and he would be happier. It might be hard for her to deal with the death of her children, but he would help her out.
The most important section of this wave of happiness was the most certain fact of all: I was with Edward. Forever.
The day may have been terribly played out, but it made me appreciate what I had.
The cottage was the most peaceful place we could be right now. We carried Renesmee in and placed her gently in her bed. We looked down at her for a long moment, his head rest on mine, while mine rest on his chest. I was very grateful to have her alive.
After a few minutes Edward led me to our room.. We swung our hand between the entire way.
"Time for a proper celebration!" He whispered, lifting my chin to place his lips on mine.
"Wait." I hesitated, pulling away.
He looked at me, more confused than ever. It was some rule of relationships that I wasn't supposed to pull away. Supposedly it was the number one rule.
"I want to try something," I relieved him of confusion, smiling slightly at his bewildered expression
I put my hands on both sides of his face and closed my eyes in concentration.
Zafrina tried to teach me this, but I wasn't very great at it. I knew my shield better now. I understood the part that fought to separate from me, the instinct to protect self before all else. It wasn't as easy as pushing my shield to cover me and everybody else. I felt the recoil as my shield fought against me, to protect me. I strained to push it away, with all of my focus.
"Bella!" Edward whispered in shock.
This was my sign that it was working, so I concentrated even harder, picking out specific memories I had saved up for this moment, letting them flood my mind as well as his. Some of the memories were human memories-so not very clear. The first time I had seen his face...the feeling I got when he held me in the meadow...the sound of his angelic voice when I floated in faltering consciousness when he'd saved me from James...his face when he stood under the canopy of flowers, waiting to marry me...every beautiful moment we spent together at the island...his icy hands nurturing our child through my skin...
And the sharper memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I opened my eyes after my second birth, to the endless dawn of immortality...the first kiss...the first night...
His fierce lips, suddenly against mine, made me lose my concentration.
With a gasp, I lost control of the elastic shield I was holding away from myself, and it snapped back. My thoughts were sealed up again.
"Oops, I lost it." I sighed.
"I heard you," he breathed. "How? How did you do that?"
"Zafrina taught me. We practiced a few times."
He was stunned. He blinked twice and shook his head.
"Now do you understand?" I said lightly, "It is impossible for anybody to ever love anyone as much as I love you."
"You're close, but it's no cigar." He smiled, maintaining his awed expression. "I know of one exception.
"Liar."
He started kissing me, but stopped abruptly.
"Can you do it again?" He wondered.
I grimaced. "Its rather difficult," but his eager expression didn't changed as he waited.
"I can't hold it out with even the slightest bit of distraction." I wavered.
"I'll be good," he promised.
My lips tightened, and eyes narrowed. I pushed the shield away from my mind and continued where I had left off.
He kissed me even more fiercely and urgently now, and I laughed breathlessly.
"Damn it," he snarled.
"We have plenty of time to work on it."
"Forever and ever and ever." He replied.
"That sounds better from your lips than my mind."
We carried on, blissfully, into this little section of our forever.