Chapter 3

I cant watch this

I watched as Bella handed her child over to Jacob. Saying goodbye. I looked away from the scence. It hurt to watch. Suddenly, i was surrounded by murmured goodbyes and I love you's.

"If we live through this, " Garrett whispered to Kate, "I'll follow you anywhere, woman. "

"Now he tells me, " she muttered. Rosalie and Emmett kissed quickly but passionately. Tia caressed Benjamin's face. He smiled back cheerfully, catching her hand and holding it against his cheek. I didn't see all the expressions of love and pain. I was distracted by the pain of Esmè missing me out. Edwars reached forward and touched my arm. I looked him in the eye. Sorry I failed you he thought to me. I shock my head at him. You never failed me I thought back.

"Get ready, " Bella whispered to the others. "It's starting. "

"Chelsea is trying to break our bindings, " Edward whispered. "But she can't find them. She can't feel us here. . . . " His eyes cut to Bella. "Are you doing that?" she smiled grimly at him.

"I am all over this. " Edward lurched away from me suddenly, his hand reaching out toward Carlisle.

"Carlisle? Are you all right?" Edward gasped frantically.

"Yes. Why?"

"Jane, " Edward answered.

"Incredible, " Edward said.

"Why aren't they waiting for the decision?" Tanya hissed.

"Normal procedure, " Edward answered brusquely. "They usually incapacitate those on trial so they can't escape. " jane was losing it. The Romanians started chuckling with dark anticipation.

"I told you this was our time, " Vladimir said to Stefan.

"Just look at the witch's face, " Stefan chortled. Alec patted his sister's shoulder soothingly, then tucked her under his arm. He turned his face to us, perfectly smooth, completely angelic. He continued to stare in our direction, his pretty face composed. Bella clutched at Edward's hand.

"Are you okay?" she choked out.

"Yes, " he whispered.

"Is Alec trying?" Edward nodded.

"His gift is slower than Jane's. It creeps. It will touch us in a few seconds. " I saw it creeping towards us. Benjamin had seen the creeping threat, too, and now he tried to blow the mist away from us. The snow made it easy to see where he threw the wind, but the mist didn't react in any way. It was like air blowing harmlessly through a shadow; the shadow was immune. The triangular formation of the ancients finally broke apart when, with a racking groan, a deep, narrow fissure opened in a long zigzag across the middle of the clearing. The earth rocked under my feet for a moment. The drifts of snow plummeted into the hole, but the mist skipped right across it, as untouched by gravity as it had been by wind. Aro and Caius watched the opening earth with wide eyes. Marcus looked in the same direction without emotion. They didn't speak; they waited, too, as the mist approached us. The wind shrieked louder but didn't change the course of the mist. Jane was smiling now. And then the mist hit a wall. The mist curled upward, seeking a breach, a weakness. It found none. The fingers of searching haze twisted upward and around, trying to find a way in, and in the process illustrating the astonishing size of the protective screen. There were gasps on both sides of Benjamin's gorge.

"Well done, Bella!" Benjamin cheered in a low voice. bellas smile returned. I could see Alec's narrowed eyes, doubt on his face for the first time as his mist swirled harmlessly around the edges of Bella's shield.

"I'm going to have to concentrate, " Bella whispered to Edward. "When it comes to hand to hand, it's going to be harder to keep the shield around the right people. "

"I'll keep them off you. "

"No. You have to get to Demetri. Zafrina will keep them away from me. " Zafrina nodded solemnly.

"No one will touch this young one, " she promised Edward. "I'd go after Jane and Alec myself, but I can do more good here. "

"Jane's mine, " Kate hissed. "She needs a taste of her own medicine. "

"And Alec owes me many lives, but I will settle for his, " Vladimir growled from the other side. "He's mine. "

"I just want Caius, " Tanya said evenly. The others started divvying up opponents, too, but they were quickly interrupted. Aro, staring calmly at Alec's ineffective mist, finally spoke.

"Before we vote, " he began. Bella shook her head angrily. she was tired of this charade. "Let me remind you, " Aro continued, "whatever the council's decision, there need be no violence here. " Edward snarled out a dark laugh. I didn't blame him. Suddenly, Edward stiffened at Bella's side. I searched his thoughts and grinned widely at him reading what he read.

"Yes!" he hissed. Bella risked a glance at him. His face glowed with an expression of triumph that she didn't understand- There was a low reaction from the guard, an uneasy murmur.

"Aro?" Edward called, nearly shouted, undisguised victory in his voice. Aro hesitated for a second, assessing this new mood warily before he answered.

"Yes, Edward? You have something further... ?"

"Perhaps, " Edward said pleasantly, controlling his unexplained excitement. "First, if I could clarify one point?"

"Certainly, " Aro said, raising his eyebrows, nothing now but polite interest in his tone. Oh he wouldn't be thinking that in a second.

"The danger you foresee from my daughter-this stems entirely from our inability to guess how she will develop? That is the crux of the matter?"

"Yes, friend Edward, " Aro agreed. "If we could but be positive... Be sure that, as she grows, she will be able to stay concealed from the human world-not endanger the safety of our obscurity . . . " He trailed off, shrugging.

"So, if we could only know for sure, " i suggested, smirking "exactly what she will become... Then there would be no need for a council at all?"

"If there was some way to be absolutely sure, " Aro agreed, his feathery voice slightly more shrill. He couldn't see where Edward and i were leading him. Neither could Bella. Or anyone else for that matter "Then, yes, there would be no question to debate. "

"And we would part in peace, good friends once again?" Edward asked with a hint of irony. Even more shrill.

"Of course, my young friend. Nothing would please me more. " Edward chuckled exultantly.

"Then I do have something more to offer. " Aro's eyes narrowed.

"She is absolutely unique. Her future can only be guessed at. "

"Not absolutely unique, " Edward disagreed. "Rare, certainly, but not one of a kind. " I smiled The sickly-looking mist still swirled around the edges of bellas shield.

"Aro, would you ask Jane to stop attacking my wife?" Edward asked courteously. "We are still discussing evidence. " Aro raised one hand.

"Peace, dear ones. Let us hear him out. " Jane bared her teeth at Bella; Bella grined back at her.

"Why don't you join us, Alice?" Edward called loudly.

"Alice, " Esmè whispered in shock. Alice! Alice, Alice, Alice! I grinned widely. I had really missed her.

"Alice!"

"Alice!" other voices murmured around me.

"Alice, " Aro breathed. Both sides were motionless in expectation. The Volturi witnesses scowled in fresh confusion. Then Alice danced into the clearing from the southwest, and I felt like the bliss of seeing her face again might knock me off my feet. Jasper was only inches behind her, his sharp eyes fierce. Close after them ran three strangers; the first was a tall, muscular female with wild dark hair-obviously Kachiri. She had the same elongated limbs and features as the other Amazons, even more pronounced in her case. The next was a small olive-toned female vampire with a long braid of black hair bobbing against her back. Her deep burgundy eyes flitted nervously around the confrontation before her. And the last was a young man... Not quite as fast nor quite as fluid in his run. His skin was an impossible rich, dark brown. His wary eyes flashed across the gathering, and they were the color of warm teak. His hair was black and braided, too, like the woman's, though not as long. He was beautiful. As he neared us, a new sound sent shock waves through the watching crowd-the sound of another heartbeat, accelerated with exertion. Alice leaped lightly over the edges of the dissipating mist that lapped at bellas shield and came to a sinuous stop at Edward's side. Bella reached out to touch her arm, and so did Edward, Esmè, Carlisle. There wasn't time for any other welcome. Jasper and the others followed her through the shield. All the guard watched, speculation in their eyes, as the latecomers crossed the invisible border without difficulty. The brawny ones, Felix and the others like him, focused their suddenly hopeful eyes on Bella. They had not been sure of what her shield repelled, but it was clear now that it would not stop a physical attack. As soon as Aro gave the order, the blitz would ensue, Bella the only object. I wondered how many Zafrina would be able to blind, and how much that would slow them. Long enough for Kate and Vladimir to take Jane and Alec out of the equation? That was all Bella could ask do all I can. Edward, despite his absorption in the coup he was directing, stiffened furiously in response to their thoughts. He controlled himself and spoke to Aro again.

"Alice has been searching for her own witnesses these last weeks, " he said to the ancient. "And she does not come back empty-handed. Alice, why don't you introduce the witnesses you've brought?" Caius snarled.

"The time for witnesses is past! Cast your vote, Aro!" Aro raised one finger to silence his brother, his eyes glued to Alice's face. Alice stepped forward lightly and introduced the strangers.

"This is Huilen and her nephew, Nahuel. " Hearing her voice... It was like she'd never left. Caius's eyes tightened as Alice named the relationship between the newcomers. The Volturi witnesses hissed amongst themselves. The vampire world was changing, and everyone could feel it.

"Speak, Huilen, " Aro commanded. "Give us the witness you were brought to bear. " The slight woman looked to Alice nervously. Alice nodded in encouragement, and Kachiri put her long hand on the little vampire's shoulder.

"I am Huilen, " the woman announced in clear but strangely accented English. As she continued, it was apparent she had prepared herself to tell this story, that she had practiced. It flowed like a well-known nursery rhyme.

"A century and a half ago, I lived with my people, the Mapuche. My sister was Pire. Our parents named her after the snow on the mountains because of her fair skin. And she was very beautiful-too beautiful. She came to me one day in secret and told me of the angel that found her in the woods, that visited her by night. I warned her. " Huilen shook her head mournfully. "As if the bruises on her skin were not warning enough. I knew it was the Libishomen of our legends, but she would not listen. She was bewitched. She told me when she was sure her dark angel's child was growing inside her. I didn't try to discourage her from her plan to run away-I knew even our father and mother would agree that the child must be destroyed, Pire with it. I went with her into the deepest parts of the forest. She searched for her demon angel but found nothing. I cared for her, hunted for her when her strength failed. She ate the animals raw, drinking their blood. I needed no more confirmation of what she carried in her womb. I hoped to save her life before I killed the monster. But she loved the child inside her. She called him Nahuel, after the jungle cat, when he grew strong and broke her bones-and loved him still. I could not save her. The child ripped his way free of her, and she died quickly, begging all the while that I would care for her Nahuel. Her dying wish- and I agreed. He bit me, though, when I tried to lift him from her body. I crawled away into the jungle to die. I didn't get far-the pain was too much. But he found me; the newborn child struggled through the underbrush to my side and waited for me. When the pain ended, he was curled against my side, sleeping. I cared for him until he was able to hunt for himself. We hunted the villages around our forest, staying to ourselves. We have never come so far from our home, but Nahuel wished to see the child here. " Huilen bowed her head when she was finished and moved back so she was partially hidden behind Kachiri. Aro's lips were pursed. He stared at the dark-skinned youth.

More time passed. My focus on the speech slipped. I was soulely focused on reading the thoughts of the einiter guard, so Edward didn't have to. Before I knew it Carlisle was speaking. His words snapping back to the covosation at hand.

"Leave in peace, Aro, " Carlisle said stiffly. "Please remember that we still have our anonymity to protect here, and keep your guard from hunting in this region. "

"Of course, Carlisle, " Aro assured him. "I am sorry to earn your disapproval, my dear friend. Perhaps, in time, you will forgive me. "

"Perhaps, in time, if you prove a friend to us again. " Aro bowed his head, the picture of remorse, and drifted backward for a moment before he turned around. We watched in silence as the last four Volturi disappeared into the trees. It was very quiet. I followed their minds as they took off. I didn't dare move. I couldn't believe our luck.

"Is it really over?" Bella whispered to Edward. His smile was huge.

"Yes. They've given up. Like all bullies, they're cowards underneath the swagger. " He chuckled. Alice laughed with him.

"Seriously, people. They're not coming back. Everybody can relax now. " There was another beat of silence.

"Of all the rotten luck, " Stefan muttered. And then it hit.

They where gone? They where really gone?! Cheers erupted all around me. Rosalie jumped into Emmett's arms, Garrett spun Kate around. Bella pulled renesmee of Jacob's back. I stood and watched the happiness all around me. I watched people embracing there true other.

I watched for 5 minutes before I decided it was time to leave. Time to retreat back to my life in the shadows.

"No" Edward pleaded, looking straight at me. He was in front of me in a instant, pulling me into a hug. "Are you insane?" he murmured into my hair. I knew he was referring to all the times I had risked my….existence for there lives. I just laughed. He put me down and pushed a strand of hair of my face. It was only then that I realised everyone in the clearing was watching us. Edward sighed.

Look at you all grown up he thought

Technically I've been 'all grown up' for a long time. I thought back I have to go

Don't he pleaded again

I turned and started to walk away, back to my home in the trees.

"Don't" Edward said out load

"Bye" I said smiling at him "Eddy" I added saluting him, as I turned back to the forest. Esmè's head burst with realisation. So did Carlisle's and every other Cullen's. I was the only person to ever have the balls to call Edward that. I had to give them some hint of who I was. It was tearing me apart leaving without them knowing it was me. I couldn't bare it. I walked into the cover of the trees. Leaving behind there stunned faces. Walking away from the Godfather and my family.