I do not own the rights to the characters in this story nor am I attempting to claim credit for any except for Ella.
"Aro, I refuse to take part in this...slaughter!"
The antechamber stood dramatically silent as Ella's melodic voice faded into a whispy echo. She pushed a stray lock of copper hair out of her delicate face. Her golden eyes raked the room, daring any of the guard to speak against her.
"Your mate is a fool." Caius spit at Aro. He paced around the ocular room as his comment reverberated around the room. Aro returned a frosty glance to Caius, anger evident in his aura but nonetheless, smiled.
"She is simply concerned for her family." He replied dryly, resting his bony fingers on his arm. "Brother, surely there's no shame in that." He turned to his beloved wife, sympathetically. "Regardless my dear, we must investigate the...situation."
Caius slyly smirked at the shocked Ella. "Aro, Caius is pushing for death to the Cullens! We have no just cause-" She pleaded. Aro looked at her, the shock and sadness in her topaz eyes almost faltered the ruthless leader but the calming touch of Marcus kept him on track.
"We? There is no we, stupid girl! You are-" Caius snapped viciously at the woman before Aro held his hand up to him. The white-haired ancient glaring murderously at the youngest vampire in the room.
"A wife and a member of the coven, but nonetheless, Ella, I'm afraid that I saw what Irina saw. It was an immortal child. You know the rules." Aro said to his wife, visibly fuming. "Now, go get ready, we leave at midnight."
Ella nodded defeatedly at her husband's request and silently swept away to her room. Aro shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, sitting down in his throne. "Aro, you did the right thing." Marcus mumbled quietly as the room quickly dissolved into the three Volturi leaders. Caius nodded, his cloudy red eyes full of pride.
"A wife should learn her place. Why, if Athena had spoken to me that way-" He began, before he was met with a scathing glare from Aro, his words halting in his throat.
Aro sighed and touched his forehead, as though the simple touch would cure a headache brought on by the weight of all his stress. "She's still so young, not even a century old. Ella will learn. She's very bright you know, and that power!" He began doting on his young mate, eyes widening in delight.
Caius growled in exasperation and quickly left the room, mumbling something about making sure that his own wife was getting ready for the journey to Washington. His hatred for the pathetic little waif knew no end. He hated her power, he hated her seemingly infinite power over Aro. Most importantly, he hated that she was so beautiful and young, and that she would never ever be his.
"Carlisle, what if we could get Ella to side with us? Surely she'd be more than willing to support our cause-" Edward trailed off as he spoke to his father. He needed anything to reassure Bella, and himself.
His father shook his head. "You know how unlikely it is that she would side against her mate, and Edward...I could never ask her to, nor could you. Hopefully it won't come down to a fight, but...I'm afraid that she would side with Aro, just as you'd side with Bella. She may mentally side with us, but if it comes down to a battle, she will fight to kill us."
Edward nodded silently, as they stared into the fire, hoping that when tomorrow comes, he'd live to see his daughter grow up.
Ella stared at her brother's face from underneath her black velvet hood. She held her husband's hand delicately until he gently pulled away to speak to the "defending party". She grimaced at the collection of the covens behind her family. They had come prepared and surely her husband and cohorts would see that as an active sign of war.
The little girl, the one who looked just like her brother and Bella, looked directly into her eyes and Ella could feel her thoughts. After all, she was the only one of the Volturi to have the vegetarian golden eyes. Ella smiled at her reassuringly, but she knew that if Caius had his way the little girl, her niece, Renesmee would die.
Suddenly, she heard her husband's laugh. How maniacal it sounds. She thought to herself, catching a glance of Edward's nod. Ella always knew how power hungry Aro was, in fact she loved how ambitious he was. Though now she was more wary of his lust for power.
"Ella, please come here." She looked up at the wistful sigh of her husband and silently glided over to the small group. She felt Jane's glare on her back, smiling ruefully to herself. When she reached Aro, she looked into his face, trying to discover what it was that he wanted from her. "Do you hear it?"
Her delicate features puckered up into a beautiful mask of confusion, eyes fluttering rapidly as she silenced her own breathing to hear a tiny rapid thud. A rather lovely scent crossed her nose.
"The strange heartbeat. The smell of human blood." He prompted, grinning wildly at her. Ella smiled again at Renesmee who returned the smile. Ella nodded and bent down to Renesmee's eye level, searching the big brown orbs.
"Brown? Not red, or gold, or black?" Ella whispered quietly. The girl touched her face delicately and smiled. All of a sudden, the young vampire knew everything. How Bella and Edward got married, had their wedding night as a human and vampire, Bella giving birth to Renesmee and how the wolf, Jacob, imprinted on her. Ella stood up and looked at Aro, her eyes wide in wonderment.
"She's no immortal child Aro...she's a...a..."
"A what?" Caius snapped viciously at her. Edward's growl filled the silent crack. Alec smirked at the sight of Bella restraining him carefully. Oh he was ready to fight.
Ella blinked and shook her head, her copper curls bouncing with the movement. "She's a hybrid. Offspring of a human...and vampire." Aro laughed again.
"Wonderful! All of the potential in the world!" He trailed off as Caius and Marcus approached the tiny circle of convention. Caius grabbed his hand.
A threat! Aro, she is a threat! He thought. Aro nodded thoughtfully and the three ancients drew back a bit, leaving Ella to fade back into her spot next to Athenodora.
"I'm afraid..." Aro said. Ella zoned out of the conversation and looked at Nessie, as everyone in her family was prone to calling her. The little girl was beautiful, the spitting image of her father and mother. Suddenly, Alice and her mate appeared out of the mist surrounding the clearing. She conversed with the three hooded figures and it seemed as quickly as they arrived, they were leaving. Ella felt the marble hand of her husband enclose her own small porcelain hand and they were off.
As they were running, Ella looked into Aro's eyes seriously and asked, "What did you see?"
The death completely surrounded him. Everyone was dying, Jane, Marcus, Caius...He could deal with all of that, but not his Ella. He looked her and made his instructions clear.
"Get into a tree. Stay away from the battle. And remember...Io ti amerò per sempre.." He whispered in her ear. She looked at him and he repeated himself. She nodded and kissed him swiftly, but meant it. She found a tree and climbed up it, hiding in its branches and praying that her husband would be joining her soon. After this awful thing, they'd be able to get away, just the two of them.
Ella saw Edward and Bella completely disarm her husband and before she could scream, his head was off and in the fire. Aro hoped that she would take comfort in that his last thoughts were of her beautiful face.
Edward looked up as he heard her thoughts, a widow's wail. He went looking for another Volturi member and Ella jumped down. She morphed her body until she had the full physique of her older brother. She approached Bella.
"Bella..." Ella/Edward said smoothly, opening her/his arms to Bella who gratefully took the opportunity. As the embrace went on, Bella felt "Edward" shrink.
Alice and Edward screamed, "NO BELLA!" She pulled away, too late, to see the glare of Ella who wasted no chance and ripped Bella's head off by her hair.
Edward screamed angrily and the ballet of death began between him and his sister. The two sparred and jabbed and bit and kicked and scratched.
Finally the two ran at each other, and before anyone could stop it, both of their heads were rolling in opposite directions.