Aro's POV.
My cold lips part but my teeth remain clenched together but despite this, a feral snarl manages to fight its way through my canines and echo across the clearing, in which a battle to the death is taking place between my beloved Guards and my dear old friends, the Cullen's.
I stare down at my brother, Marcus; his shattered body lay before me in two half's. The expression upon that old face, relief, doesn't shock me. I had known for hundreds of years now that he had sat, awaiting death like an old friend. Although this realisation doesn't make his passing any easier for me.
It angers me.
I look up and my eyes scan the scene before me. I watch as my friends, in the dark shrouds, are torn to pieces before my eyes. Either by the Cullen's, the army they assembled to kill me, or the shape-shifters who are content on killing as many of us as possible. Oh how the mutts annoy me.
I don't like this. I hate the fact I had to watch my friends and my guards, those who care for me so much, die before me. I will not have it. Caius has had his head torn off, Marcus has been divided into two halves and those who remain are nothing. They'll be lucky to survive the minute. I walk forward slowly, my boots crunching the snow beneath my feet. I stare ahead.
Oh how I wish it didn't have to come to this. I did not want to harm my friends. I didn't want anyone to die...although they did have it coming. My friends, as I once called them, have committed too many crimes in the past that I have let slide, due to my generous nature. But they have abused that. Isabella remained human much longer than anticipated; they exposed the secret to her. They consorted with shape-shifters and they created an Immortal Child.
They must be destroyed.
Killing them will be a waste, such a waste!
But it must be done.
Suddenly, from across the field. My eyes lock upon another's. Edward's to be exact. A grin appears upon my lips unwillingly. Though it hurts me to admit, seeing Edward hurt after so long of seeing him smug amuses me a little more than I'd care to admit.
Edward's staring at me; his eyes of liquid gold are focussed on me, burrowing into me as if I were the devil, as if I were the guilty one.
Poor boy.
How wonderful it would be to be an ally with dear Edward, oh how I have desired since the moment I met the man. How much I have desired his talents I ought to say. Such a waste of a talented young man. As I walk, Edward decides to run. He doesn't hesitate as he runs; his feet just stomp against the ground harshly as he sprints at me, with intentions of causing me a great deal of harm.
For just a fraction of a second I ponder the thought of running at him. He wanted to end my life, so why should I not wish to fight to protect myself. I must. So it takes me only a second to decide to run but just as I take a step, an image catches my eye in my peripheral vision and I recognize that stunning figure immediately.
She's running at me, faster than Edward is and the look upon my dear one's face hurts, it hurts me to see her so angry. Oh. Another valuable waste.
La mia piccola stella...Isabella.
Bella.
How angry my Isabella looks; it appears that she too loathes me. Oh I should have guessed this would happen when I tore Carlie's head from his body. Well, it's the price I must deal with. I must kill her too —another tragedy— because I knew she will not choose me now.
I suddenly came to realize I have a choice. Who to end the life of first? Edward...or Isabella?
They are both charging straight at me, both planning on ending my life. But Bella is a newborn, she has little training with physical combat and I'm guessing she is used to her new mental shield to protect her. It was actually amusing. I scoff at her bravery, I admire her for it. When I was her age —a mere newborn not even a hundred years of age— I would have cowered away from someone as old as I, someone as powerful as I, someone who could kill me without a problem.
Oh the child, how little she knew that today she would die. Then it will be her lover, my dear Edward. And then I will find that child and I will end her life also.
So I pick up my speed, let my fingers bend into claws and I charge at her, envisioning her death before my eyes.
Isabella finally draws close, she lifts her hand as if to strike me and I can't help but laugh quietly to myself. It's such an obvious move. Is she trying to aid me in her demise?
Before she can do anything, I simply strike her as hard as I can in the centre of her chest with my palm. Just as I do this, I can feel the vibrations from my hit ride through my hand, just before she is launched off the ground and I watch in guilty awe and Isabella Swan flies through the open air.
The way that Isabella flips through the air is amusing; her long stream of dark hair is flying around in circles as she is. Flying like a rag doll. I watch and, just my luck, Bella collides with Edward and the two of them hit the ground, rolling and grunting.
This may be easier than I originally thought.
I stalk forward; my long black cloak billowing out behind me. I can see the fear in their eyes as they sit, looking at me. But then the two of them, Edward and Bella, look at each other and their hands land upon each others, holding the others tightly. Their shining wedding bands touching.
How sweet, one last gesture of love before I destroy everything they've ever been or ever will be. In a way, it's romantic.
I get closer, and after a few seconds this last minute romance is just a waste of time I no longer have. So I growl once more before running at them. Just as I get close I look down and noticed that Edward's grasp on Bella's wrist had tightened?
Why?
But then his other arm reaches out, he grabs Bella's leg and just as he gets to his feet he lifts his mate into the air, twisting them both on the spot and my eyes widen. I realize their plan just a second too late.
Just as Bella's foot makes contact with my face, I turn my head, arching it to the side. Her foot hits me hard enough to knock me back and I'm positive she cracked the side of my neck. I know that if she had hit me straight on, a blow with such strength as that one, could have been fatal. Her foot alone would have decapitated me if I had not turned my head away.
That was not nice; I scrunch my face up into an angry scowl and I roar as loud as I can.
They are doing much better than I expected.
I turn back to them. I will kill them. No mercy despite their talents but I'm caught off guard once more. Edward holds Bella in his arms and he just then threw his true love straight at me. Bella flies overheard like a sparrow, her foot lands on my shoulder to steady herself and her other foot rebounds, slamming into my chest as she lands.
I find my legs are no long stable and I'm stumbling backwards idiotically. I try to steady myself although a pair of strong arms has wrapped me in a cage. Edward! He is holding me from behind; his hands come up and tightened on my throat.
No, I had to escape!
I lash out with my feet, my hands, my nails rake down his arm, leaving distinctive marks as they did so although the marks heal almost instantly. No!
Edward squeezes and I try to yell out but his grasp is so tight, no words can be formed; only moans and gurgles of anger, disbelief and rage!
I will kill him!
Suddenly his arm rise just that centimetre higher than they should have and I find myself able to twist free from his iron like cage. I turn under his arms, and just before I strike, I see the look of shock on his face. His arms still have a hold of me but they are slipping whereas my fingers reach up and I force Edward's head back, squeezing and crushing his jaw with my bare hands.
Suddenly I felt something on me and I didn't even need to look up to know that Isabella had come to her dear beloved Edward's rescue. She had launched herself at me and she now crouches on my back. One leg on my shoulder, the other digging into my already injured spine. Her hands seem to slither down around my neck and then she yanks at my throat with all her might; with the strength of a newborn, it'll take half the time to kill me than a mature vampire.
I know straight away that I have another choice to make, and in half a second I make it. It's either I kill Edward, but then Bella kills me. Or I let Edward go and save myself. I must think of my own safety first. So I released Edward, pushing him back a few feet and my hands start to come up to throw Bella off me, but before I can Edward runs back, and using his leg, he knocks me down.
I cry out as I don't know where to focus first. Bella's grip will last maybe sixty seconds before she beheads me, but I've lost balance and I'm heading down. I need to keep myself stable but it's no use. When I hit the floor a stinging pain shoots up through my legs and I know my knees have cracked and dented too badly for me to recover from straight away.
No!
That's when I hear the sound, a loud crunch. It takes a few seconds for the pain to hit. I look down while still trying to fight Bella, although it's no use. Edward's foot has just snapped the lower half of my spine and his foot went the entire way through my body, leaving shards of me to fall upon the floor.
I need to go, I need to get free and heal myself. Maybe I can free myself if —
— Pain. Sharp and sting pain at first but then it's dull, almost a memory. I try to think of the source of the pain? my legs? my arms? spine? Then it hits me. I've lost my head —
I no longer feel my body. It's gone. All there is is pain. All I can see before me if pure while, just white but then there's a flash of emerald green but it's replaced by the same white again...then the green and then the white one final time.
Oh. of course. My head is rolling.
I've lost. Failed. I try to not think at all, to let my last few moments go in peace although it's becoming a difficult task seen as though the edges of my vision are blurring and soon I'm barely able to see anything, my hearing seems to have vanished, no, not vanished but I've deafened. Almost to the extent of a human! I try to look around my eyes don't work. I can see but I cannot move them, cannot move the tongue in my mouth and I cannot blink.
I can't stand the thought but it seems I won't need to much longer. As the remainder of my head lays still in the snow, I capture the last image I'll ever see. Isabella leans towards me with a lit torch in her hand. Then there's only a flash of orange flames and the brief sting of fire.
FanWriter's Note.
This is just a one chapter Story I thought of at the bus stop this morning. I thought about the battle, about how Aro died and I just wondered what he must have been thinking during that time and when I got home I made this. I hope you enjoyed this little chapter.
~FanWriter~