A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to the beginning of Broken Coda! Here's some general information for you.

Characters/pairings: Mainly Edward/Bella, Jasper/Alice, Emmet/Rose with a hint of Jacob/Leah.

Summary: My take on Breaking Dawn; the Volturi are growing impatient while waiting for their end of the deal to be fulfilled. Aro sends Jane with a warning. Meanwhile, the wolves are getting edgy and the fact that Jane has taken up a temporary residence in Forks isn't exactly helping matters.

Chapter One is finished, and I'm working on Chapter Two as the moment. I'll be posting Chapter one in a few days, once chapter two is completed. I want to have something waiting in the wings all the time, so I don't get too far behind with this. I have the entire plot worked out, for the most part, up until a certain point, But I plan on adding more to it once I get that far, so we'll see how it goes!

So far this story is slated at 29 chapters, though the plot still isn't complete, so that number is subject to change.

And just to clarify, this is the preface, and it takes place sometime in the middle of the story, so Chapter One won't be starting off after this. I'm going for a Stephenie-esque style with this, here. Without further ado, enjoy!

in spite of everything
which breathes and moves,since Doom
(with white longest hands
neatening each crease)
will smooth entirely our minds.

- "in spite of everything" E. E. Cummings (whose name, ironically enough, is also Edward.)

but if a living dance upon dead minds
why,it is love;but at the earliest spear
of sun perfectly should disappear
moon's utmost magic,or stones speak or one
name control more incredible splendor than
our merely universe, love's also there:
and being here imprisoned,tortured here
love everywhere exploding maims and blinds.

- "but if a living dance upon dead minds" E. E. Cummings

-

The atmosphere in the room was tense, but that was easily explainable. Three looming figures lined the farthest wall, cloaked imposingly in shadow. Another, significantly smaller body stood with the other three, stoic and silent. The silence that permeated the air was heavy and thick with tension. It seemed endless, the quiet, and I was beginning to feel a prickling sense of unease settle in my stomach, unwelcome. Was this ever truly going to happen?

There were seven others in the room with me, not including the previous four, and I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed; although, I couldn't truthfully say I was ungrateful for their support in this. While the seconds ticked by, painfully slowly, the fear was once again beginning to bubble to the surface of my mind, and I went rigid in response; a trait I had picked up from the people surrounding me.

The terror came back to me then; but my own fears were stifled by the deep voice that penetrated the room, quiet yet demanding authority simultaneously.

"Shall we begin?" the voice was friendly on the surface, infused with an endless quota of patience that only could have been accumulated over countless centuries of living. But I had been around these creatures long enough that I had learned to recognize the subtle undercurrents in their exquisite voices that other humans might not have been so keen to pick up on immediately.

Aro's voice was undoubtedly calm, and I detected no sign of irritation, but all the same; the way he spoke made it seem as though he didn't plan to wait much longer for me to compose myself. I had no trouble believing he had no intention of wasting the night waiting, despite how much patience he might seem to have.

My stomach lurched at his words. My throat was dry and I tried to swallow, forcing down the minuscule, irrational seed of doubt that seemed to quickly take root in my mind and refuse to let go. A cold, stony hand squeezed my own tenderly, quickly erasing any lingering notions of doubt, and I grinned up its owner thankfully.

Out of my peripheral, I noticed someone nod once, and assumed Carlisle was responding to the question (though it was more of a statement, the way it was spoken) Aro had asked. I had been prepped before-hand on the specifics of how the procedure was to be carried out, so I was not surprised to see Emmett step forward. He stood off to my left, out of the way, but close at hand for when he was needed.

I was lying on my back on the ridiculously large bed Edward had bought so many months before. It was comfortable, but it held no reassurance; my reassurance was right beside me, holding my hand. I was certain, that without him here, I wouldn't make it through this. Just then, Edward's angelic face filled my vision, his topaz eyes subtly pained but determined as he leaned down to place a tender kiss on my forehead. When he began to pull back, I lifted my other hand to secure his face and raised my lips to his own for a proper kiss.

He didn't protest.

The kiss was nothing but pure affection, but there was a painfully familiar urgency to it that was not unlike the kiss we had shared before the battle with the newborns last summer. My body stiffened once I recognized it, but then began to thaw slowly once I realized the reason behind it.

He kissed me until my breathing grew labored and even then only pulled away enough to allow me to breathe, resting his forehead against my own as he gazed intently into my eyes.

"Ready, love?" he asked, velvet voice so soft I would not have heard him if his lips weren't inches from my own. I could only nod; I didn't trust myself to speak.

I didn't miss the way his jaw suddenly clenched; his topaz eyes tightening as his free hand gently brushed the hair from my shoulder to expose my neck. I was dimly aware that Aro had stepped back to stand with the rest against the far wall; a beaming smile on his ancient face. Emmett stepped into my line of vision again, ready to restrain me when I would no longer be able to control my own actions. But Edward shifted over me, and then all I could focus on was him. The last thing I saw was his god-like face descending to the hollow beneath my ear.

"I love you," he whispered; laying light, airy kisses along my neck, until his lips paused at the nape of my neck, where it joined with my shoulder.

I felt his cool, marble lips on my neck, my skin tingling with the contact. He breathed once, his breath fanning out along my skin and sending a shiver coursing through me.

And then his sharp teeth pierced my skin.

-

A/N: So Chapter one will be up as soon as I can get chapter two finished! Oh, and by the way, the first chapter is much longer than this one, this is meant to be short.

Every time you ignore that review button, the Volturi have innocent people over for lunch. Think of the people, people!