It has been just over a day since my run in with Tanya and thankfully she is staying well away from Edward and from what Edward tells me her thoughts towards us both have completely changed for the better.
"Bella? Please can you let me down now?" Calls Emmett from his spot in the trees, I had completely forgot about him, not that I was ever going to let him know that.
"What do you think Edward?" I call interrupting their discussion. He turns his full attention to me from the table and smiles my favorite crooked smile making my breath hitch.
"Well, as much as I would like to keep him up there for another couple of days it would be useful to have his input."
"But only if he has learnt his lesson, right?" I ask in a menacing voice, Edward knowing full well that the question was more directed at Emmett smiles again.
"Of course. Emmett?" He asks, directing our attention back out of the window to where Emmett is still tied and hanging upside down.
"I will try and be more careful about running back through the river, and try and make sure that I don't get you too wet next time. Oh, and if I do I won't laugh." He adds, I'm pretty sure that's the best apology we are ever going to get out of someone with a mental age of a five year old. I glance back to Edward who is smiling yet again, I give him a questioning look.
He is actually terrified of us now. Not that we will tie him up again exactly but because he knows we are very good at payback and this specific payback has deprived him of Rose. I think he has finally learned not to mess with us love. He explains causing me to burst out in fits. Emmett, scared of me and Edward, I never thought I would see the day. I vaguely hear Jasper asking if I am OK, Edward explaining and the rest of the family laughing at Emmett's thoughts.
"Edward! Stay out of my head!" As an afterthought he adds "Please?" Causing us all to laugh even harder.
"Nessie, would you like to do the honors?" I manage to ask between my laughing.
"OK!" She squeals, jumping off the sofa and into the kitchen to grab a knife and approaching me again. She presses her free hand to my cheek and shows me her cutting the rope holding him to the tree and letting him fall. I hear Edward and Alice stifle a laugh and I try my uttermost to hide to smile which is threatening to break through my 'serious face'.
"I don't know where you get your evilness from little lady but just remember, actions have consequences." I warn with a smile playing on my lips, this will be entertaining. She touches her hand to my cheek again and shows her and Emmett hugging and him forgiving her, the message, she is his favorite niece so he won't be angry with me plus, he's scared of Mummy and Daddy. At this I can't repress the laugh that bursts its way out as I push her out the door. We all watch in anticipation and she gracefully skips to the base of the tree and begins to climb, Emmett sighs in relief as Nessie comes face-to-face with him.
"Thank you Ness." She smiles sweetly at him before climbing up and standing on his feet. With a quick glance back at the house she begins to cut the rope, she's three quarters of the way through before he realizes where this is going and before he can say anything the rope snaps and he crashes to the floor with a sound that could rival thunder leaving Ness swinging from the small piece of rope giggling nervously. Everyone else is roaring with laughter as Emmett is wriggling around on the grass trying to free himself from the mass of rope.
"Renesmee Cullen!" He bellows. "You are a piece of work!" dropping from her temporary swing she lands at his feet just as he detangles himself and smiles sweetly down at his engraged expression.
"You are in big trouble little missy." He warns pointing his finger at her.
"Uncle Emmett, I am really sorry but-"
"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, do not go one syllable further with that sentence." Threatens Edward.
What was she going to say? I ask him as Ness turns to face the house, rapidly turning scarlet, embarrassed that she got caught, oh how I didn't miss that.
She was going to try and blame it on us, and from Alice's vision Emmett was going to make sure he got us back good and proper.
"Renesmeee! Here Now!" I screamed, I think this is the first time I have ever used that tone with her, she knew she was in trouble as did the rest of the family who rapidly cleared out.
"I'm sorry mummy." She cried tears threatening to fall. I kneel down so I am at her level and Edward joins just behind me.
"You know NEVER to lie! However small it may be, or however funny you think it may be. You are in such trouble."
"You Mother is right, as soon as we have seen off Caius and the others you are grounded for a month. That means no TV, no books, no shopping, and you will only see Jake when we say so! Do you understand?" He asks resting his hand on my shoulder.
"Yes Daddy, I am so sorry. I will never lie again, I promise." She whimpered as the tears began falling.
"It's OK, now come here." I say taking her hand and pulling her close and Edward pulls us both onto his lap.
"You should get back to the family meeting." I said breaking the science after a couple of minutes. "I'll stay here with this one." I smile indicating to the now sleeping heap in my lap.
"Alright, but I want your input aswell." Kissing my on the cheek he shifted us to the sofa before heading back to the dining table where the rest of the family had slowly congregated.
We have all been spending more time in the main house mostly so we can discuss fighting techniques and plans not to mention so we can all spend as much time with each other before it all kicks off but I guess that goes without saying. I had not actively taken a role in many of these conversations mainly listening from across the room, only ever sharing my thoughts with Edward who would then voice them as his own if needed. This was one of those conversations and since we had now gotten all the wolves involved, yet again, Alice was unable to let us know anything about the outcome of this which put everyone firmly on edge. At the moment we were trying to decide how we were going to confront them.
"Are we all going to stay together, present us as a united front?" Asks Alice once Edward had taken his place at the table.
"I think we should. It would look more intimidating to both sides, especially with the wolves as well." Replies Carlisle after a moments consideration.
"We should wait in the woods for Aro and Caius to arrive." Suggests Jasper.
"No I think we should wait in the middle, right in the centre, that way we can be seen to obviously take a side?" Muses Esme.
"I agree Esme, I think it would be safer if we were all together in the middle." Carlisle adds.
Neither of these ideas would work particually to our advantage though, we would either be completely surrounded or all be spread out. Both of which could end up in us getting attacked and hurt.
In Alice's vision we were stood at the east of the field with Aro and Caius at the West? I asked to which Edward slightly nods as he glances at me.
Then everything suggests that they would both arrive from those directions? Again he nods but looks slightly lost as he begins to think over my thoughts. I am just about to tell him my opinion when he speaks.
"We should stand to the south of the clearing, on the edge of the woods, that way we're not surrounded but we are also in the middle so can see both Aro and Caius clearly. Plus the wolves can hide in the trees if they want and we will have much more protection."
"I agree with Edward." This was the first thing I had said all day, and the way everyone looked at me, a mix of confusion and smiles made me wish I hadn't said anything at all, they didn't particually like that I wasn't directly involving myself in the conversation and they knew that half of what Edward was saying was my thoughts. I sighed and ignored their stares, soon they were back to discussing other ideas and to be honest I wasn't that interested anymore.
"I need to hunt." I announce after another half an hour, standing up and making my way to the door.
"I'll come with you." Calls Edward before promptly dismissing himself from the conversation and joining me at my side, I just look at him. "What?"
"You don't need to hunt, stay here and carry on with the plans." I did want him to come with me and honestly I didn't particually need to hunt either but being in the house while everyone is talking about all possible forms of defense and attacking methods was starting to drive me insane.
"I want to hunt. Plus do you really think that I am going to let you go hunting alone?" He challenges raising an eyebrow, I feign a sigh in defeat, I've learnt that in times like these it was just better for him to think that he was getting his own way than to attempt to reason or start some sort of argument.
"Fine, shall we?" I ask holding out my hand for him to take.
"Ladies first." He replies taking my hand and gesturing for me to take the lead.
"Can I come too?" Rings the musical voice of my daughter, automatically I turn to look at her still in her sat on the couch.
"Do you think you deserve to hunt?" I ask, knowing fully well that I was going to let her come with us both.
"I know I don't deserve to come mummy but please can i? I'm thirsty." She begged kneeling on the sofa bouncing up and down, I smile.
"Of course sweetie, you can come, just behave." I reply holding out my spare hand for her to take.