The Twilight Twenty-Five
Prompt: Plea
Pen name:
Pairing: Edward and Bella
Rating: T

N/A: This is my first in a series of 25 one-shots for this challenge. Special thanks to crysross and Emmettgirl for making this possible!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, places, and/or scenarios thought up by Stephenie Meyer.

EPOV

As I walked through Volterra's village square, even though in darkness, it reminded me of that fateful day many years ago. I could still picture the crowd dressed in red and hear Bella's voice floating through my mind. At that time I thought she was dead, but now she really was. I walked down the dark, arched hallway that led to the Volturi headquarters and found Aro standing at the back.

He spotted me and I ran closer. Within seconds, I was face to face with him.

"Dear Edward," Aro said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I am truly sorry for your loss. Let me call on my brothers and we'll discuss the situation."

Aro didn't need to call on them. Before my eyes, all three brothers, Marcus, Caius and Aro, were standing before me.

"Marcus, Caius," Aro said. "We all know why dear Edward is here."

Marcus smiled. Caius scoffed.

"Please," I begged. "My Bella is gone."

If I could have cried, I would have. The pain in my heart completely tore me apart. I wanted it to go away. I needed it to go away.

* * *

"She would've wanted you to live," Alice said.

"I don't care, Alice. I can't live without her. I need her. She needs me."

"She's in a better place now, Edward."

"I have to be there with her," I shouted.

"You spent a wonderful 76 years with her. She had a happy life. We all miss her so much, Edward, but humans die. It's a part of life."

"She's right, Edward," Carlisle said, stepping in.

"I should've changed her when I had the chance," I said, crying without tears.

"You know you don't mean that, son," Carlisle said, patting my back.

"I do, Carlisle. It's what she wanted. She would still be here now if –" I couldn't finish. My tearless sobs took me over and I began shaking. My family crowded around me and did the best they could to comfort me.

Esme and Carlisle held me in their arms for hours. Alice held my hand as Jasper held hers. Emmett even held me for a while. Rosalie stood in front of me, doing the best she could. Even she looked pained.

We held a nice, small funeral for Bella. Charlie and Renee were already long gone, as was Billy Black. The entire Quileute tribe was at Bella's service. Jacob, old and grayed by now, wept uncontrollably. In that one moment, I was envious of Jacob. He could shed tears for my beloved and I couldn't.

It was true what Alice said, though. Bella did indeed live a very happy 92 years as a human. After we got married, I convinced her, as well as the Volturi, that she should stay human. We went to Dartmouth together, we graduated, and we spent the rest of her life in Forks. She never wanted to be anywhere else. After a while, she insisted on getting a job to pay for her food and personal items, to the dismay of Esme and Carlisle. Bella knew we had more than enough funding to cover those things, but she simply insisted. I wouldn't let her go back to Newton's Sporting Goods, so, as a 20th birthday present from the family and I, we helped her open up her very own book store. That store was her baby – her pride and joy. She worked in that store until she was no longer able to deal with the stress. We closed it down three years ago. It should've been closed long before that, but Bella was stubborn. She loved her store as much as she loved me – maybe even more.

The day she died – exactly one week after her 92nd birthday – everyone was with her. We all stood around our bed in our little cottage until she passed of natural causes. That was the hardest day of my life. I kept to myself for months in our cottage. I kept her clothing in our closet. All her possessions were left as they were when she was still with me.

Carlisle knew what I wanted to do. Everyone else just wouldn't accept it.

Carlisle sat me down one day, begging me to keep living for Bella. He knew, though, as well as I did that with her gone I had nothing to live for.

"Do what you need to, son," he said sympathetically. "But just know that I, as well as everyone in our family, love you and will do anything you need to do and go anywhere you need to go. We support you."

* * *

And now here I was, doing what I needed to do. I needed to be with Bella.

Aro, Marcus and Caius were huddled, their backs turned to me. Even I couldn't hear what they were saying. I hoped and prayed that they would just let me die.

Finally, they turned to face me again. I stood straight, eyes closed.

"You say you have nothing to live for," Aro said. "But let me give you one more proposition."

"I won't come to work for you," I said immediately.

"Very well."

"Please," I pled, getting down on my knees. My dry sobs began. "Bella was my love and my life. I don't want to live any longer without her. She was my heart. I have nothing here. No pain you could put upon me would measure up to the amount of pain I'm going through right now. If you choose not to obey my wishes, believe that I will do anything and everything in my power to aggravate you enough to make you wish that you would've just killed me when I asked you to."

Caius let out a humorless laugh and Aro moved closer, holding out his hand.

"Let me feel your pain, dear Edward."

"Aro, you would never want to feel the pain in my heart that I have had for the past year, but I suppose that this is the only way you'll believe me."

I put my hand in Aro's, and he fell to his knees. He held his heart with his free hand. His head fell down and he released my hand.

"Marcus, Caius," Aro called. They bent down and Aro whispered something to each of them. Marcus and Caius, with devilish smiles on their faces, crouched toward me, baring their teeth.

I knew the decision they made. I closed my eyes and waited for the blackness and my dear Bella.