Story Title: No Second Chances
Penname: Addicted to Edward
Entry for: PTB's I Can't Believe It's Not Canon Challenge (http://www .projectteambeta .com/ challenges-awards)
Summary: The Volturi say they don't give second chances. What if they really didn't give Edward and Bella a second chance in Volterra?
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Thank you to bonnysammy and Coreen for beta'ing this for me at the last minute. Much appreciated! Thanks also to jfka60 for the encouragement. :-)
Dialogue in bold is taken directly from New Moon.
Edward wrapped his arm around Bella, pressing against her gently. He loved the way her body fit against his, the softest satin against the hardest stone. He savored every inch of her heat radiating into him. Who knew how much longer he would be granted this privilege?
Despite the gravity of the situation, he was overjoyed to realize that Bella had endured no pain from Jane.
I tried to tell you, you fool, Alice thought.
Edward would suffer an eternity of Jane's torture if it meant Bella would suffer none.
Aro chuckled, and his thoughts began racing at nearly an imperceptible speed. Edward's eyes snapped to his as visions of Bella with blood-red eyes passed through Aro's mind. Edward's free hand clenched into a fist, and a growl escaped his lips.
"So what do we do with you now?" Aro stroked his fingers back and forth over his chin. His calm demeanor was in stark contrast to the excitement in his thoughts.
"Aro, the law claims them!" Caius hissed. Has he gone mad? What is it about this … human? Any other one would have already been destroyed for her knowledge. What is so special about her?
Always so impatient, dear brother, Aro thought. Edward could practically hear Aro's exasperated sigh along with this thoughts.
Edward's eyes shot to Cauis. He positioned himself ever-so-slightly in front of Bella. Somehow, he had to find a way to protect her from the vampires that surrounded them.
Stay calm, Edward. Don't be hasty, Alice pleaded.
"How so?" Edwad demanded of Cauis, hoping to slow everything down and find the solution they needed. Cauis wanted to kill Bella, and Aro wanted to change her. Neither outcome was acceptable to Edward.
Cauis pointed at Bella. "She knows too much. She is a vulnerability."
"I'm afraid Cauis is quite right, my friend," Aro said quickly, not allowing Cauis to continue. "She must become one of us."
"What?" Cauis' enraged outburst echoed through the chamber.
Bella trembled against Edward. He rubbed his fingers against her side, hoping to soothe away her anxieties and fears.
"Caius, surely you see the potential. I haven't seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?" Aro's voice was calm and patient, but his thoughts betrayed his irritation at his brother's lack of insight.
"And if we promise to turn her?" Edward asked through clenched teeth. If a promise was what it would take to get them all out of here safely…
"This is not a choice, Edward. She is to become one of us now," Aro said as he took a step toward Bella. His foot had not yet completely landed on the floor before Edward was between them, growling fiercely, crouched and ready to pounce.
EDWARD! NO! Alice's mental scream and the vision that played out in Edward's mind were all that stopped him from attacking Aro. The course of events was unbearable: Felix and Demetri would rip off Edward's limbs while Jane tortured him, preventing him from fighting back. Bella would scream and rush, foolishly, to his aid. She'd be thrown back into the wall, her neck snapping. Edward, unburned and rebuilt, would stand over her dead body some undetermined time later.
The vision changed as abruptly as it came, as soon as Edward reluctantly straightened his stance and ceased his plan to attack Aro, but the new one was no better: Bella would lie on the ground, drained of blood, while Aro licked the blood dripping to his chin.
"No!" Edward and Alice cried together.
Edward grabbed Aro's hand just as he reached for Bella and forced him to see the vision.
Felix growled from behind them, ready to move in for the attack, but Aro held up his free hand. "Well, we can't have that," he said, strangely calm in the sudden flurry of activity.
The visions in Alice's head flashed, one after another, all with the same result: Bella's death. Finally, there was a vision of Bella opening her eyes: vivid, red eyes.
"There!" Aro cried. "What was different for that one?"
Alice didn't answer out loud. She didn't have to.
"No," Edward whispered, defeated, as Aro laughed with sadistic glee.
Edward has to do it. He's the only one that can. The conviction in Alice's thoughts solidified the decision in Aro's mind. Edward could see the excitement in Aro's thoughts as he imagined watching Edward bite Bella. The visual repulsed Edward.
He dropped Aro's hand and met Alice's eyes. How could he do this? How had he destroyed everything so completely that not only would Bella be forced to relinquish her soul and become a monster, but that he would have to be the one to do it? To do what he swore he never would? What he couldn't?
I'm sorry, Edward. It's the only way. It's that or her death. There are no other outcomes. Alice's thoughts were reminiscent of a conversation they'd had more than a year ago. Despite all of Edward's efforts, Bella's fate still had not changed: she'd either die as a teenager or become a vampire.
"I can't," he whispered. His eyes pleaded with Alice to understand. Her vision had to be wrong. It had to be.
You can. You must! Alice showed him the result of his failure to comply with Aro's demands: Bella's death, his ashes in a pile next to her body, and Alice burning next to his ashes. There were no further visions beyond Alice's destruction, but Edward didn't need to be a psychic to know that Jasper would soon coming searching for Alice, and that Emmett would surely go with him, along with Rosalie. Where would that leave Carlisle and Esme? Would there be any members left of his family when all was said and done?
"What? What is happening?" Caius demanded. He despised having to ask, not being privy to the thoughts of those around him.
Edward turned to Bella and cupped her face in his hands gently. "I'm so sorry, love," he whispered.
Bella trembled under his fingers. "What? What's going on?"
"Aro, what is the decision?" Caius was growing impatient, but Aro seemed determined to force Edward to be the one to say the words out loud.
"I have to change you myself. It has to be me."
Bella's heartbeat began to slow, nearly to its normal pace. She was…calming? "Okay," she replied, her voice wavering slightly, yet still somehow peaceful. "That's how I'd wanted it to be, anyway."
"Bella," Edward sighed. How could she still want this?
Do not delay, Edward, Aro thought as he turned to head back to his throne.
"Wait," Edward said, his voice strained. He held out his hand to Aro, who took it eagerly.
Please, allow me one more night with her as a human, Edward begged silently. Come morning, I swear it will be done.
Aro didn't respond; instead, he pondered the possibilities.
No tricks. No escape plans. I just need one night with her. Please. As Carlisle's son, I ask you only for this favor.
Aro nodded.
I want her comfortable, in a hotel for the night. There are no beds here.
Aro's eyes narrowed.
You know I plan no treachery. Demetri will know our every move. Alice can confirm my commitment to return before sunrise and…and perform the change.
Even as the thoughts flowed between the vampires, Alice's vision came to Edward's mind, confirming his intentions.
Aro released Edward's hand and turned to his brothers. "Edward will accompany Bella to a hotel tonight," he announced. "Alice will remain here with us. They return in the morning, and then Bella begins her immortal life."
Cauis rose from his seat for the first time. "You are letting them go?"
"Only for the evening, dear brother. Our wishes will be carried out as expected."
Edward looked to Alice. She nodded. He hadn't intended to leave her here alone, but he could see from her vision that she would be safe, so long as he returned with Bella by sunrise.
"In your vision, Alice, I'm wearing a shirt I don't currently have. Where is that shirt?"
"I have a bag, hidden in an alley. I had a feeling you'd be needing clothes." She winked. Only Alice could remain cheerful in a situation such as this. "Everything will be fine, Edward. You'll see."
He wanted desperately to believe her, but her visions had been wrong before. Wasn't the fact that Bella was standing here, alive, proof of that?
Bella sat on Edward's lap in the lobby, the façade created to shield the Volturi from the humans of Volterra. It seemed time could either move too slowly or too quickly but never just right. The plane ride to Italy had been agonizingly slow. The car ride with Alice, once the noon deadline was in place, too quick. The race across the square to reach Edward in time, too slow. The confrontation with the Volturi, too quick for her to even understand all that had happened. Listening to the screams of those poor, poor people, never-ending.
Sitting here, with Edward's arms around her, with Edward's lip periodically pressing against her head, time was moving both too quickly and too slowly. Too slowly because all she wanted was to be alone with Edward and spend whatever time she could with him before he was gone again. Too quickly because she felt like he would disappear at any moment.
The three of them – Bella, Edward, and Alice – sat in silence. Edward's body would occasionally go stiff beneath hers and gradually relax again, only to repeat the cycle several minutes later. Bella suspected Alice was talking to him through her thoughts and wondered what about. Alice had said that Edward had separated himself from the rest of the Cullens; maybe she was simply filling him in on what he'd missed while he was off with his "distractions."
Finally, and yet too soon, Demetri returned.
"The sun has set. You are to retrieve your bag and return here promptly," he ordered with a nod towards Alice.
Bella made to rise from Edward's lap, but his arms tightened around her. Demetri saw the slight movement and made a noise that sounded like an angry hiss. "She goes alone."
Bella felt the vibration through her back as Edward let out a low growl. It was different than what she'd heard from him in the chamber. This was a growl of warning, not attack.
Demetri ignored him and watched Alice rise and head out the door. Even after Alice was out of sight, it looked like he was still watching her. His head tilted slightly up towards the ceiling, and then his eyes moved across to the right as if he were following her every move.
"Demetri's a tracker," Edward whispered in her ear.
Demetri gave no acknowledgement of Edward's statement besides a smug grin. Bella shivered. The last time she'd heard that word, she was being hunted by a sadistic vampire intent on using her to attack Edward.
Alice returned a minute later, carrying the bags she and Bella had brought from Forks. Bella stood in response to a gentle nudge from Edward. He removed the cloak and handed it to Demetri who accepted it with a curl of his lips and a narrowing of his eyes. Edward put on the shirt Alice handed him. She also gave him a large wallet and Bella's bag.
"You are free to go, but return before sunrise. I will be watching. And, remember, the Volturi do not give second chances." The threat in Demetri's voice was clear. He turned to Alice. "You are to come with me."
Edward and Alice looked at each other, and Bella was sure there was another silent conversation passing between them. But it was over after only two seconds, and then Alice was following Demetri back into the depths of Volturi lair while Edward was guiding Bella forward through the doors to the outside.
Bella breathed in the fresh air, happy to be free of that terrifying place. She worried about Alice but trusted that Edward would not leave his sister if she was truly in danger. Edward laced his fingers through hers as they walked through the square, still crowded with people enjoying the festival. It was easy to believe that nothing had changed between them when he held her hand and rubbed his thumb soothingly against her skin.
"Where are we going?" she asked finally, afraid that breaking the silence would cause everything to disappear.
"Hotel San Lino. It's not far. If you're tired, I could carry you," Edward offered.
It was tempting, to be that close to him, snuggled up against him, breathing in his sweet scent, but would she be able to handle it after he left again? "No, I'm fine."
Edward nodded to a building down the road. A beautiful garden surrounded the front entranceway. "See, not far, even for a human." His tone was light, and he flashed a smile, but Bella could hear the tightness behind the words.
Inside the lobby, Bella looked around in awe. Of course, Edward probably chose the most expensive hotel in the area. Or maybe it was just coincidence? This just happened to be the nearest one? He seemed to have found it effortlessly. It had been too long; his way of simply knowing surprised her once again.
Bella followed Edward to the front desk. She tightened her fingers around his, as if she could ever stop him from letting go. She was afraid their time together was coming to an end soon.
Edward spoke in fluent Italian to the concierge. Bella didn't even try to keep up or understand, until she heard the words "il Signore e la Signora Cullen" as Edward squeezed her fingers gently. Her heart skipped a beat; she was certain that translated to "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen."
Dare she let herself feel hope? The idea of marriage had never crossed her mind before, but now the thought that she could, someday far into the future, be Mrs. Edward Cullen thrilled her. No…no, better not to get her hopes up.
Edward and the concierge exchanged a few more sentences in Italian before Edward pulled out a stack of cash from the wallet Alice had given him. Bella tried to hide the shock on her face; there were many, many more bills left in the wallet. Wondering just how much money Edward was carrying with him made her feel dizzy.
The man handed Edward a key. "Buona sera."
"Grazie, signore," he replied, nodding to him. He turned to Bella. "Let's go, love."
The elevator took them to the third floor, the highest level of the hotel. Bella followed Edward without a word to the room marked 310. He unlocked the door, and at the same moment, Bella found herself in the air. She gasped from the suddenness of it; again, it had been too long. Knowing she'd probably regret it later, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her nose into his skin, drawing in a deep breath.
Edward carried her over the threshold of the room. "Your room, Mrs. Cullen," he said softly. His eyes were black fire, smoldering as he said the words. "I hope it's to your liking."
Bella swallowed. "You don't have to pretend anymore, Edward."
Edward set her down on her feet and cupped one hand on her cheek. "I wish I didn't have to pretend."
Bella closed her eyes and willed the tears to stay hidden. "I'm sorry. This is probably so awkward for you. And you look so thirsty too. You shouldn't have to be here with me."
The usually smooth marble of his forehead creased. "I want to be here with you."
She sighed. "You have to let go of this guilt. It doesn't do you any good to be here, suffering."
"Do you want me to leave?" he asked in a tight voice.
"I don't want you to be here because you feel some obligation or duty or guilt or whatever."
"Is it because of him? Alice told me you have grown close to Jacob Black. Bella, if you have moved on and don't want me anymore, I would understand. Just say the word, and I'll leave you alone."
Now it was Bella's turn to be confused. "Don't want you? How could you even think that? Jake and I are just friends. You're the only one I've ever loved. The only one I will ever love." She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "Do you think that…once I'm a vampire, I might be good enough for you then? Maybe you could learn to love me again?"
He placed on a hand on each of her cheeks and gently raised her head. She tried to avoid his eyes, but she couldn't. Who knew how much longer she would have to see them?
"I have never, ever stopped loving you. I will love you for eternity and be at your side as long as you want me there."
He lowered his lips to hers, tentative at first, but the moment their lips touched, the fire ignited in Bella. Her hands latched around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. She never thought she'd feel this again, and she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
When she started gasping for air, he pulled away. The words and his kiss finally caught up to her. "Wait, I don't understand. You said you didn't want me, that I wasn't good for you, that –"
"I lied. All of it, lies. I'm the one not good enough for you. I've constantly put you in danger. I was taking everything away from your future. You deserve so much better than a monster. I left to protect you, to give you a chance at happiness, normalcy." He sighed. "And now look at this mess that I've created."
"You…lied?" The tears that formed in Bella's eyes now were tears of anger. "All that time, you let me believe that you didn't care about me? I was so lost without you, and all that time, we could have been together. How could you think I would just move on and forget you?" The tears fell freely now, but she didn't bother to wipe them away.
"Bella, I'm so sorry. If I'd known… If I could take it all back…" His eyes pleaded for her understanding. "Please, I must know. Can you ever forgive me?"
Forgive him? How could she not forgive him? He was here. He loved her. They could be together for eternity. It was what she'd wanted for so long.
"I've already told you. I'll always want you. Always." She pressed her lips to his as hard as she could. He responded eagerly, yet gently. Always gently. Her anger melted as their lips moved together in harmony.
The kiss seemed to last forever, yet it still ended too quickly. Edward picked up her bag and handed it to her. "Get dressed for bed, love."
"I don't want to sleep," she insisted.
"Bella," he sighed. "This is your last night as a human. Your last night to dream. Your last night to have a soul."
Edward's fist clenched suddenly, and he slammed it into the wall. He must have pulled back at the last second because there was only a dent. At full-force, his hand would have gone completely through the wall as easily as if it were water.
"Edward?" Bella whispered. The shock of his sudden outrage scared her.
He covered his face with his hands. "It's all my fault. You're forced to become a monster, and it's all my fault. Everything I've done to try to protect you, to save you, and still, look what I've done. I've fed you right to the most dangerous of our kind."
He lowered his hands and placed them on her shoulders. His eyes bore into hers. "Please, understand the seriousness of the situation. Aro is extremely interested in you, in the potential for a power you may have as a vampire. That he was so guarded with his thoughts, not thinking about anything that may happen after your change, worries me greatly. It's also perhaps why Alice had no visions beyond your change. I don't know what he has planned."
Bella tried to catch up to the abrupt change in their conversation. Suddenly, she was very frightened. "What's the worst case, do you think?"
"That Aro has no intention of letting any of us go. That he will use our powers to serve the Volturi. That he will use us against the rest of our family."
Bella didn't miss the "our family" part. Her heart pounded. He truly wanted her, loved her. "So why don't we just run away after I'm changed?"
"Demetri. He can track us anywhere in the world. His tracking abilities are far superior to what James' were. Once he's heard someone's mind, he can find them anywhere." Edward's eyes widened. "But not you!"
"What?"
"I can't read your mind and neither can Aro. Jane can't hurt you. It's very possible that Demetri can't track you. You could run. You could be safe. You wouldn't be able to go back to Forks, of course. Or Phoenix. And you mustn't tell me where you're going or where you are, ever. But you would be safe."
Bella tried to keep breathing, tried to keep the hole from growing in her chest again. "No," she whispered. "I can't ever be apart from you again. Never again."
"Bella," he pleaded. "It's the only way to protect you."
She shook her head violently. This couldn't be happening. They'd only just gotten back together and he was already pushing her away. "I won't leave you. Wherever you are is where I will be." She placed her hands on his cheeks. "You still don't understand what you mean to me, do you?"
He opened his mouth to argue but shut it again without saying a word. She could see the defeat in his eyes. He pulled her into his embrace, his body shaking with tearless sobs. "I'm so, so sorry, love. I can never fully express how deeply sorry I am for what I have done to you."
She wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could, trying to convey every ounce of love she had for him. They would be together for eternity. It was all she'd ever hoped for.
"You'll never see your family or friends again. Everyone you know will grow old and die while you remain unchanging. You'll struggle with the desire to kill every human you come near. You'll never be able to have children, start a family."
She refused to think of the bad things. "I'll be with you. I can't be whole without you. I can't."
He pulled back from the embrace and stroked her cheek gently. "Let's at least lie down in bed, all right?"
Bella sighed. She was exhausted, if she let herself admit it. "Okay. I'll be right back. I could use a human minute, anyway."
Edward chuckled softly as she took her bag and locked herself into the bathroom. She debated a shower but decided she couldn't wait that long to be with him again, so she settled for brushing her teeth and changing into sweats and a tee shirt.
When she came out of the bathroom, Edward swept her into his arms immediately, causing her to drop her bag.
"Oops," she giggled, suddenly giddy.
He carried her to the bed, which he had already turned down, and laid her gently in the middle. He tucked the blanket around her before lying next to her. They kissed softly, and she ran her fingers through his hair, savoring the silky feel of it. He broke off the kiss before it could become too heated, and gently pressed her back against the bed. He rested his head against her chest, right above her heart, and began to hum her lullaby.
"Such a cheater," Bella muttered. He didn't interrupt his humming to respond. She could already feel her eyelids getting heavy as she listened to his sweet angel's voice and thought about what the morning would bring. She tried not to think of the pain, only of the joy that spending the eternity with Edward would bring.
To Be Continued... maybe.
There's still a lot to be told in this story...