Chapter 9

EPOV

"Edward, wait. You are being completely irrational. Just sit down, take a moment, and think." Jasper was saying to me, sending waves and more waves of calming emotions to me.

"Damn it Jasper, I don't want to be calm. I want Bella back." I was pacing Aro's office, waiting for him to return from a Council meeting that was in session when we had arrived. "I just want her back," I finally cracked and sat down on a chair. It had been a painful ride to the kingdom. The few miles flew by as I raced my horse faster. I thought the wind biting into my face would help, but it didn't. The only thought that ran through my head was 'find Bella, must find Bella'. I couldn't just sit here, like those worthless guards, and do nothing while she was out there alone in some cage being tortured. A sob racked my body. It shocked me still. I sat there for a moment. And another one came, then another. Emmett came and sat next to me, a tear was sliding down his cheek. He pulled me into a tight embrace. I clutched at his shoulders while he clutched at mine. We both sat there like fools, holding each other and crying like idiots.

Jasper placed a hand on both of our shoulders and I felt a wave of calm wash over me long enough to pull me from my misery. The sobs resided and I released my hold on Emmett with a pat on his back. My face went into my hands just as the doors opened. I stood instantly, as did Emmett and Jasper stood straighter.

"Sir," we all said and bowed respectively.

"Please, don't," Aro's voice was flat, desolate. I looked up to see he was a mess. His hair was unusually uncombed, his robes worn and askew, his skin was paler, and his eyes were black, deep bruises under his eyes. Aro walked to his desk where he sat carelessly into his chair, a hand covering his face. "What am I to do?" he asked no one in particular. "The war is raging on, but my mind wanders elsewhere. To where my daughter might be. To what might have happened to her. Is she alive? Is she well if she is? What are those creatures," Aro spat the word with venom, "doing to my baby girl?" He put both elbows on the table, dropping his head into his hands helplessly.

"Sir, I have every intention of bringing Isabella home." I stepped forward. I was surprised at how strong my voice was considering what I had been doing only a few moments ago.

Aro looked up at me with no emotion. "And how are you going to do that? I have troops stationed all over the Underworld. Most are in the Forks Woods where we have much reason to believe that is where the La Push pack is. That is where Bella might be, but no one has found any evidence of the Lycans there."

"Then I will go, with my own search party. We won't rest till we find Isabella." My voice was steady and I held my head high as I spoke with confidence. Oh how I hope we find my love.

"And I will go, father," Emmett stepped forward to stand beside me. I gave him a thankful glance.

"As will I," Jasper added.

"We will too," a shrill voice spoke behind us. I turned to see two very familiar faces. Jasper and Emmett let out a cry and ran for their own loves. Alice was swept up into Jasper's arms as Rosalie was picked up into Emmett's. I quickly turned away. It hurt too much to watch. I looked up to see Aro was smiling faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Okay," he said softly.

"WHAT?" Two voices squealed.

Aro chuckled, but it was forced. "I said okay. Rosalie, Alice, I think I learned my lesson. You have my permission to accompany Edward, Emmett, and Jasper to find my daughter. That is if Caius and Markus approve. Which, they will," Aro winked. A smile flashed over everyone's faces.

"Thank you," Rosalie and Alice bowed slightly and ran out the door to inform their fathers. Emmett and Jasper returned to my side.

"When shall we leave?" Jasper asked our commander and leader. Aro looked at me, saying with his eyes that I was in charge. A surge of gratitude coursed through me.

"Tonight; we should leave as soon as possible. I think we could be assembled by twilight." That left us with four hours.

Aro nodded proudly and excused us with a wave of his hand. "Should we bring our troop, or leave our numbers small?" Jasper asked as we headed for the stables.

"Leave the numbers we have. But our troop should stay close just in case we need back up." I entered Midnight's stall and petted her mane. She seemed sad and alone. I brushed her, but she ignored my coos and pats. She really missed Bella. I saddled her and rode her out to the practice ring. After a few laps, I noticed she had kept herself in shape. She probably knew her rider would need her again. I decided to ride her instead of Bolt. Bella needed a horse, and Midnight needed Bella, badly. It had taken a long time to get Midnight excited, but now that she was energized, she was good.

"Ready?" a voice called from the gate. I looked up to see Tanya.

"Tanya?" I asked skeptically as I reached her. She was dressed in riding/fighting gear. A long black leather coat, black leather top and pants, and black leather riding boots. "What are you doing here?"

Tanya walked next to Midnight as we trotted back to the stables, keeping pace. "I heard about the search party you are putting together. I felt, obligated to help. I have felt upset ever since she was taken. It wasn't fair for her to get taken out of all of us. It should have been someone else. Bella was so bright and caring. She never thought of herself, but of others. She was always so kind to me even though I was rather rude on more than one occasion to her. The class wants to help. Felix, Demetri, Jane, Chelsea, Alec, everyone. They want to help find Bella. They miss her and feel responsible for bringing her back." Tanya stopped and looked up at me. "If it is alright with you, we would gladly follow you Edward into the Forks Woods to rescue the princess."

I sat on Midnight's back, absolutely speechless. Tanya, the one who had done so many mean things to Bella just for the fun of it even though she was nice even when she had every right not to be, wanted to find Bella. "Uh, y-, um, yes; we need the help. Thank you. Be at the front gates at twilight." I informed her before riding into the stables.

"Did Tanya speak with you?" Jasper asked, walking into Midnight's stall where I was sitting, brushing her black mane.

I looked up at him; he had his fighting gear on as well. I nodded, "I'm going to get ready. Ready everyone. I will be at the gates exactly at twilight. We will leave as soon as I arrive. Not a second later."

"Yes, sir," Jasper bowed slightly and left. I patted Midnight once more on her head and ran to my room. After changing into my own leather gear, I threw a strap across my torso that held every weapon imaginable. Another belt went around my waist that held a sword and different types of knives. My pouch that held silver arrows on a strap went on in a similar fashion on one shoulder and across my torso and back. A crossbow soon joined it. My boots hid silver knives. And if I was out of everything, two silver daggers in my jacket sleeves and a silver necklace. If that doesn't hold through, my hands are always more than ready.

"Ready," I muttered and hurried to the stables. Midnight was saddled again and several pouches and weapons hung from the black saddle. She neighed and bucked her head. I hopped on her back and galloped to the front gates. The sun was almost gone over the horizon and the night was taking over slowly. Fourteen horses with riders were waiting behind the closed gates. Jasper and Emmett were towards the gate. "We stay together. We will not stop until Isabella is found. Are you willing to die for her?" I called out to them. A speech was necessary in this situation. Before any battle, a speech had to be made to raise the troops' spirits.

A large chorus echoed from them. Tanya even had her sword out, raised to the sky, yelling. "Isabella is to be brought back to the castle at all costs. If we are unsuccessful, we will reap the consequences when we return. To what I understand, Isabella is in the Forks Woods. And to my understanding, several troops are out there searching. Well, I don't think they are trying hard enough." Another large chorus erupted from them, only in disappointment. "We WILL be successful. We will return with Isabella. The future of the Underworld depends on this! Now, who is with me?" I finished, my voice rising with each word.

The response held while Jasper threw the gate opened and we rode out into the night. The chorus of voices stopped when we reached the woods. After that, we moved stealthily through the woods, killing any Lycan stupid enough to come across our path. After a few hours, the moon high over head, we came across a camp by the Phoenix River.

I raised my hand to halt the others. Moving my horse slowly forward, I reached the watch guard. The guard, recognizing me instantly, stood and bowed hurriedly. "Sir," he mumbled in respect.

"Name?" I demanded. The man stood quickly.

"James, sir," the man replied sheepishly.

"James, you have a girlfriend, correct? Victoria, her name I think is," I questioned.

He looked up startled at me. "Why yes sir."

"And you love her very much, right?"

"Of course sir," James answered.

"Then you would do anything to find her if she were kidnapped." I assumed, anger rising in my voice.

"Of course sir," James repeated, exasperated.

I gave him a pointed look, my eyes piercing his like I was looking into his soul. "Then why in the HELL are you sitting around here doing nothing? Isabella is my Victoria. I am doing everything I can to find her. Now, why are you just sitting here?"

James' lip quivered. "Um, sir, we have been out all day looking. No sign at all of the La Push pack. And definitely no sign of Princess Isabella. We needed a break, so we are resting before looking again for her."

I think I had just lost my temper. "Daylight, you were searching in the daylight? And you decided to take a break at night? Night is the strongest time for us. We are built for the night. We live in the night. Why on earth would you sleep at night?" My voice was low, but James' flinch told me I came off menacing. Good.

"Sorry sir, I will wake the others." James bowed once more before disappearing into the camp. We waited a few minutes while the soldiers woke up and packed the camp. A slight rustling of leaves caught my attention to the East. I turned my head. There were three Lycans and a man that stunk of Lycans. By the way he was moving through the trees, I pegged him as a Lycan in human form. They were a few yards out, so I warned the others. We drew our swords, signaling the camp that there was danger near. Wow, they really aren't on their feet at all times, I realized. They were vampires for goodness sakes. Their hearing should have detected movement. I shook my head furiously and waited patiently for the Lycans to appear.

A man stepped into the clearing first. The three Lycans stayed hidden, but I could tell where they were easily. The light reflected off their eyes and I could smell their blood and hear their heartbeats. The man was lanky and had a mess of brown hair that was cropped short. He was wearing a scrawny piece of cloth that I thought had once been pants.

"Hello, we came to talk; not to fight. We are from the La Push Pack." The man spoke strongly. I was surprised his voice was steady. He was standing in a camp with two dozen trained vampires and he had three Lycans for back up. I would be nervous if I was him.

"You may speak in peace then Lycan," I spoke out. His head darted to my direction. I realized I was still hidden by the trees so I moved my horse forward. My party moved behind me to show themselves, but stopped to give me space as the leader. The man nodded once.

"Our leader, Jacob, sent us to negotiate. We assume you are in the woods looking for a person; a special person. Princess, in fact, of the Underworld," the man continued with no emotion. His face was a serene mask.

I nodded, "Yes, Isabella Volturi. And we are assuming you have her."

"Well, you assume correctly. Princess Isabella is in our possession. She has not been treated as a prisoner though. So we ask for you to hear us out before you raid our camp and kill us all to get her back. She has been kept under the best of terms and personally, I believe she has enjoyed herself in our presence." At that, several voices rose behind me in disagreement. I held a hand to silence them.

"What are your terms Lycan?" I demanded quietly.

"Our terms are that you surrender the war." The Lycan replied smoothly.

We all stood there in shocked silence. I was baffled that he could even suggest that. "No." I answered after there were more than a few shouts from the troop.

"Then no princess."

I studied him a moment. I felt there was so much pressure on me. "It is not my place to surrender the war; only the King can. You should know that. If I said yes, my words would mean nothing. I hold a very small opinion in the King's Council so I cannot influence him to do by your terms. Rethink them and contact us at a later time," I finished with a smirk.

"You are also not in the position to be telling us to rethink the terms. We have the princess. So it is in our position to be telling you to rethink your answer." The Lycan was starting to infuriate me. I quickly recomposed myself when a growl started to build in my chest.

"We shall send a messenger to the King. When we have an answer, we shall inform you of it." I answered the only way I could.

"Of course," the Lycan nodded before turning to go.

"How do we find you?" I asked.

The Lycan paused and looked over his shoulder. "The large clearing fifteen miles east from here." And with that, he disappeared with the other Lycans into the woods. I heard the two patters of feet turn into four and then turned into a full out sprint.

"Follow them," I whispered to Jane and Alec. The twins nodded and galloped away. I sent the two because they fight excellent together and have very special abilities. Alec could paralyze the entire pack and Jane could, basically, electrocute them with a simple touch. And if something happened, one could always come back to inform us.

"Do you think it is a trap?" Jasper asked, moving his horse forward.

"No, I think that is there camp. I think that is where Bella is."

"They've been gone for four hours. What could possibly keep them both that long?" Emmett complained next to me. We were sitting sprawled out across the floor of the woods waiting patiently, well some of us, for Jane and Alec to return with news.

"Relax Emmett," Jasper said softly and I felt a wave of calmness float over the camp.

Emmett sighed, "Thanks Jasper."

"No problem," he replied. Two pairs of horse hooves pounding the ground from the east startled us. We rose; weapons at the ready, but Jane and Alec were the ones to come into the clearing.

"They have her," Jane said breathlessly. I went to get on my horse but she stopped me. "They have guards stationed around the entire clearing. Twenty, we counted. Every two hours, someone comes and releases them. Then there are thirty more in the camp. And we suspected three more in a tent at the top of a hill. We watch Isabella leave the tent, but sir, she looked horrible. She had been crying at clutching at her sides. And sir, she was limping and tripping everywhere. The Lycans ignored her as she stumbled along. It was quite awful to watch her struggle just to walk. Then she climbed a tree that is at the side of the clearing closest to us, like she knew that was where we were. Three of the twenty are within a ten feet distance of the tree at all times. Then, when she fell asleep, another four came and positioned themselves near her. All in wolf form," Jane reported. My head was reeling with the information. Bella, so the Lycan had lied. She hadn't been kept safe. A growl erupted from my chest, but a wave of calm washed over me. I nodded in thanks toward Jasper.

"So there are fifty-three Lycans, seven keeping guard around Bella. We have thirty vampires here. Where is the nearest troop and how many do they have?" I asked James.

"Sir, there is a troop thirty miles north with seventeen. And another troop forty-six miles across the river west with twenty-two. The nearest one after that is fifty-four miles east, across the clearing." He informed me. I nodded again, gathering all the information and devising different plans.

I looked up to Jasper who was on Bolt, the fastest horse here apart from Midnight. "Jasper, your horse is the fastest, how long do you think it would take you to get to the troop north and back with the others?"

Jasper considered for a moment. "By dusk, if everything goes smoothly."

"Okay, go there. We will work with that. While you are gone, I will speak with the others and come up with a plan. I don't want a battle. So, we are going to have to figure a way to get to Bella without alerting the others." Jasper nodded and jumped on his horse.

"Jasper take Renata and Felix with you," with another nod, they were off.

"So how are we going to do this?"

A/N: I am SO sorry for the LONG update. But truth be told, I just started this chapter today! I'm proud of myself! What do you think of the chapter? And what was that about Bella limping out of the tent?!?! Well, review and tell me what YOU think happened! Oh, and I love questions. If I get enough, I will answer them next chapter!

What did you think of the Harry Potter movie? That is, if you went and saw it… I LOVED it! I balled like a baby… I knew I would. My friend and I were like, oh my gosh, it's coming. I'm going to need a hug! And on and on… The guy next to me was getting mad. Hee-hee. But I loved the movie. So better than Twilight! I don't understand why they didn't want competition from it. I mean, Twilight (the movie) sucked! "It needs more blue tint."- Catherine. Ha-ha.