A/N: Greetings, lovely readers! How are you on this fine day? Well, here I am again – my third Twilight fic! Thank you so much to those who reviewed Sweet Surrender and Immortal Shadow! I really appreciate the wonderful comments and encouragement! : )

I've had this idea forming in my head for a while now and decided that it was high time to write it out! It started out as a one-shot, but after some consideration, I decided that it will instead have two or three chapters. : )

Title: Lullabies at Dusk

Rating: T

Summary: Growing restless with the fact that Bella is still a human, Edward is kidnapped by the Volturi as motivation and Bella must do everything in her human power to get him back – even if it means sacrificing herself to save him. Post Eclipse, but definitely no Breaking Dawn spoilers or even hints of it.

Please read on and enjoy. : ) The next chapter should be up soon. Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter I: Heartache

It happened so quickly – as if I'd merely batted an eyelash and suddenly they were there, lingering and waiting in the shadows. Alice saw it, of course – but her visions just could not take into account sudden changes and redesigned plans. Now, here we were, standing in a quiet field, dusk upon us and fear draining us.

We were a united front – at least I wanted to think of us as such; but I knew that the others were only going to go out of their way to protect me. Because I was the weak, vulnerable human, they could not let me get in the way of the Volturi, only to set myself up for self-destruction. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle all stood around me, forming a protective shield.

Vampire or no, though, I felt I could rip Aro, Marcus, and Caius to pieces myself.

They had him – my worst nightmare realized. His body lay limply in the grass – eyes closed - like some kind of sick prop from a horror movie. The breeze gently ruffled his bronze hair, but the rest of him stayed motionless – one arm splayed unceremoniously across his chest, the other laying relaxed at his side. From where I was standing, I could see the holes in his white t-shirt and the jagged rips in the legs of his jeans. I shuddered to think what they had done to him because of me.

Furious, I stepped forward, trembling from the adrenaline. Aro only smiled at this, a polite and amused look on his ancient face. They were only fifty feet away. I could easily close the space between us and -

"Bella, step back," Jasper's voice sharply demanded. He grabbed my wrist as if to make sure I would not go anywhere.

He could not, however, contain the scream that bubbled up in my throat. "Let him go!" I shouted. "It's me you want, isn't it? Well, here I am!" The wind shook the trees and blew my hair around my face, but nothing could vanquish the heat I felt pulsing through me.

A spark of delight ignited in Caius' weathered features. "Ah, the human speaks! How graced we must be by this particular occurrence, don't you agree, brothers?"

Anger distorted my face and I released a feral snarl. "How dare you!"

Carlisle quickly stepped in front of me and Jasper gripped my wrist tighter. How it must have been driving him crazy to feel the steady pulse of my blood and smell the scent that wafted off of me with every little breeze. But Jasper was stronger than he used to be.

"It really wasn't that hard to capture dear Edward. All we had to do was say that we would come after you, and he rushed right into us without a second thought, like stupid, ignorant knights in shining armour are won to do. By the time he realized that you weren't really in any danger – not at that point, anyway – it was too late," Caius rambled gleefully.

I fought back the sob that threatened to break free. "I would have gladly come in place of him!"

Caius smiled widely. "Dear, Bella. This was much more fun. We were able to experiment. In case you haven't noticed, he's unconscious. This is all many thanks to a newly devised formula created in one of our labs – the stuff renders our kind useless – and it's magnificent. Who would have thought such a thing could exist?" He paused a moment to brush an imaginary piece of lint off of his black hood. "Of course, we had to have some fun with Alec and Jane before we allowed him any closure. I must say, I don't think I've ever heard a man scream so loud."

"You sicken me!" Alice suddenly spat, baring her teeth. I, on the other hand, was rendered speechless, as the tears began to fall freely from my face. The very thought of Edward in pain was enough to send icy tremors of fear throughout my body.

"But that's beside the point!" Aro cheerfully interjected. "What we really want is for you, Bella, to become a vampire – a wish of ours that you have chosen not to fulfill!"

Carlisle's eyes hardened into a cold line of disgust. "She and Edward planned to wed before they were to take that step, Aro. You have no right to intervene in this matter – the promise would have been fulfilled. But you, like a child, have become terribly impatient and have subjected my entire family to pain."

His words did not phase Aro. "We just want to see Bella at her full potential, Carlisle, before her wonderful gift fades or disappears entirely!"

I couldn't even hear him because now I was blind with rage. My beloved lay just feet away from me, unconscious and helpless because of some vampires with a God complex. I felt Jasper trying to calm me down, but my anger and disgust were so strong that the effect on me was nearly none.

"Let him go," I demanded in a low voice, "and you can do whatever you want to me."

Esme shook her head vigorously, resting her hand on my arm. "No, Bella. You will not sacrifice yourself as such! Edward would not want that and nor do we." She looked up at Aro, frowning deeply. "What you have taken upon yourself to subject my son to is unforgivable."

Emmett suddenly snarled. "So, where are they, then? The rest of your vicious little clan? I can smell them, so they might as well come out!"

Everyone around me inhaled in surprise as Jane, Alec, and Demetri stepped out of the surrounding trees, moving to join the rest of their coven. My eyes automatically locked on Jane's and I saw a deathly smile creep up on her features.

Aro opened his mouth to say something, but a small groan of pain made every one turn to the source.