Epiphany

"Please! No! No! Please, please!" I begged, screamed, more than a note of panic in my voice. They couldn't kill him. Not him. Not now, not now that everything was okay, not even if everything was, well, like before. After he left. Pain flew across my heart as I thought of it, of being without him. My heart couldn't survive it if he died.

Aro motioned Alec to stop and studied me, his red eyes glinting

"Kill me! Kill me! Not him." I said, the words flowing, though I wasn't thinking. How right it seemed to be sacrificing my life for him. If anyone deserved to live, it was him.

I breathed deeply, taking in what I'd just said. It felt right. I should be terrified, but I wasn't.

Aro cocked his head to one side with an expression you would expect of a deer caught in the headlights, bewildered. He slowly walked towards me, smiling slightly.

"How extraordinary." He said, his voice silky and sly, a smile tugging at his white lips.

"You would give up your life for someone like us." He whispered, pausing, "A vampire." He looked at Edward, a sadistic grin on his horribly beautiful face.

"A soulless monster…" He murmured, trailing off.

"Just get away from her" Edward said gruffly, struggling in Alec's iron grip.

"You don't know a thing about his soul." I said, my voice breaking as I looked at him. Anger boiled in my stomach even though I was terrified and I looked Aro in the eyes.

"You imply that he has one…" Aro murmured, as if prompting me to say what a horrible, soulless monster Edward was. But I wouldn't. Because he wasn't a monster. He was the most beautiful creature alive and I loved him. And for some strange reason, he loved me back. And nothing would change that.

"He has a soul, even though he doesn't think he does. His soul is the most beautiful soul in the entire world, the entire universe. He is my everything and my world revolves around him." I spoke with confidence now.

This was an argument I would always win. At least in my mind, because it was the absolute truth.

"You think I'm crazy to love him, but I do, so much. He's not a monster, he's an angel. He's my true love. He's…" I trailed off, taking a shaky breath, trying to stop the tears threatening to flow down my cheeks.

"He's not one of you." I murmured, finishing my thought. I looked Aro straight in his eyes and something sparked in them.

I glanced at Edward, and gasped at what I saw. His face was a mixture of emotions; pain, guilt, adoration and pure, unconditional love. He was breathtaking. I saw a ghost of a smile flash over his face.

I knew I shouldn't smile under these conditions, but I couldn't help it. I smiled at him, hoping that he would see the truth on my face. The truth that he really had a soul.

I stared at him for what seemed like hours. Time had stopped. In that moment everything that had happened that day melted away, leaving only me and him, frozen in time.

That was one of the best moments of my life.