Disclaimer: SM owns everything. I just borrowed some stuff.

Chapter Fourteen: Oltremare as performed by Ludovico Einaudi

As we continued to mourn the ones we lost, we begrudgingly set to work setting fires around the clearing. Placing the mangled bodies on the fire, a sickly sweet smell would enter the air. The wolves were cough a bit, some would whimper. Apparently, a dead vampire smelled just as bad a live one.

Gently, my sisters and I approached Kate's mangled body, gingerly picking up the pieces and laying them on a pile of dead wood to be set afire. Irina was still a mess, but she did what she could to help. Emmett and Edward poured gasoline onto the wood and Carlisle struck a match. Tanya, Kate, and Carmen surrounded me, my arms reaching out to hold them all, as we watched the flames take hold of her body. All but for Irina's, our sobbing had lightened. Eleazar offered to speak on Kate's behalf.

"Kate was a beautiful creature. Kind-hearted, open, and warm, she was ever welcoming new members into our family. Kate was the one who had turned us towards the idea of becoming vegetarians, and I will forever remember her for that. Kate was not unhappy in her lot, but she refused to be a monster of the night. Kate, not only beautiful, but strong, will forever be a part of our family, and always be in our un-beating hearts. From the deepest depths of my heart, I wish her luck and Godspeed into the next world. If ever one should be forgiven for her transgressions, it is her. You will be missed, dear sister." His voice was strong and comforting. My heart ached for Kate, and I pleaded with God to please allow her stay in His heaven. Irina was standing closest to me, her head on my shoulder, and my head on hers. I whispered soothing words, hoping to make her feel better. Then I felt a light nip on the hem of my shirt.

Jake had approached me, still in wolf form. I let go of Irina and bent down to wrap my arms around his thick neck and quickly pecked him on the snout. He sneezed in response, which of course made me smile. I brought his face to mine and I looked deep into his eyes before speaking.

"I will always love you Jacob Black. Don't you ever forget that." He began to whine, but I continued. "Don't cry for me Jake, take care of Charlie for me, and please, don't ever forget me." I kissed him on the crown of his head and stepped away, back into my fiancée's arms. Jake slowly left the clearing, head down, following his brothers.

I looked at Edward, "What do you think will happen to them?"

"Well, with us out of the way, their numbers will die down. They'll stop phasing and eventually go on about their lives as normal humans." He hesitated before continuing, "But the alpha and second in command may never stop phasing." My eyes searched Edward's, asking him silently to explain what that meant. "Bella…. Jake is second in command, he should have been alpha really. He may never stop phasing." It took a minute before I realized what that meant for Jake. He was literally frozen in time.

"We will ever see him again?" My voice was timid and trembling.

"Forever is a very long time to be around, love. We're bound to run into each other eventually." He smiled easily and pulled me closer to him. My family gathered around us and Emmett was the first one to speak.

A huge smile spread across his lips, "Guess things are gonna get a little boring around here, huh?"

Carlisle shook his head and smiled, "We won't be around to find out, Em. I think Forks has had enough of the supernatural world to last them a very long time."

I asked the one question that was on everyone's minds, "Do you think they'll come back? The Volturi?"

Edward huffed at this and called out into the trees, "Marcus!"

With that, a pale, somber man, covered in the blood of Aro, descended upon us.

Edward shushed us, "Easy guys. He wants to speak to us."

Marcus took a deep, unnecessary breath and began. "First of all, I am tremendously sorry for your loss." His voice was soft, and very deep. "I understand what it means to lose a loved one, as Aro had my mate murdered so I wouldn't leave the Brethren. I refused to show him the immense pain I was in, and over the years, that pain molded into hate and disgust. Again, I am very sorry."

Carlisle stepped forward, "Thank you Marcus, for your apology. However, I am unsure as to why you stand before us. Why aren't you half way to Italy by now?"

Marcus exhaled loudly, "I've come to strike a truce."

Emmett laughed, "You have got to be kidding! A truce? Now?" He was obviously angered by this, and I could see the anger manifesting in his eyes.

Carlisle looked at Emmett, "Easy son, let him speak." He nodded towards Marcus.

"Edward knows why things happened the way they did. Edward understands why I supported Aro and Caius in this god forsaken war. But you do not. And you deserve to know. I knew that Aro and Caius would not survive this war- I knew how strong your coven was, let alone the Denali's. The wolves only added to my assumption. To be quite honest, I was actually rather giddy about the prospect."

I smirked at the idea of this sullen man actually feeling giddy. I pictured his nearly translucent form dancing around in circles, a happy smile spread across his face. I nearly fell over in laughter. I stopped when I realized everyone was staring at me.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

Marcus continued, "And so, now that Aro and Caius are out of the way, a new Volturi will take order. I will have my most trust companions take lead, however Carlisle I am very interested to know if you know of any whom may be interested in the position?"

Carlisle smiled, "That I might. It would be nice to know that a new kind of leadership will take over. Will you continue as part of the elite?"

Marcus shook his head, "I feel… I feel it is time for me to…retire for lack of a better word. But as I still hold the most power, I am here to promise you that the Volturi will no longer come after you and your family- unless need be that is."

Carlisle bowed towards Marcus, "Of course. I doubt there will ever be a need, however I understand you need to uphold the laws of the Brethren. Thank you, Marcus for bestowing upon us this truce." He stepped forward and took Marcus's hand in a quick shake.

Edward looked at me, and whispered softly in my ear, "Everything is going to be just fine, love." He kissed my dirty, matted hair and then it hit me. A tidal wave of happiness blowing over me full of truth: I was with Edward. Forever. I began to smile.

As we made our way back to the house, I began to think of my wedding. Edward mentioned going to Vegas, he even said I could wear my old jeans. He truly was perfect. Alice shook me out of my revelry by tackling me to the ground and pinning me there. The others had already gone inside and although they could hear us, nobody came to check on us.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Do you love me or not?" She hissed. She truly was a frightening creature when need be.

"Of course I do. You know that." She let me back up and I dusted myself off.

"Then why do I see you sneaking off to Vegas to get married without inviting me?"

I froze, muttering, "Oh". I could see that I had seriously hurt her feelings, and I hurried to defend myself. "You know how I hate to make a big deal out of things. It was Edward's idea anyway."

"I don't care whose idea it was. How could you do this to me? I expect that kind of thing from Edward, but not from you. I love you like you were my own sister."

"To me, Alice, you are my sister."

"Words!" she growled.

"Fine, you can come. There won't be much to see." She was still grimacing. "What?" I demanded.

"How much do you love me, Bella?"

"Why?"

She stared at me with pleading eyes, her long black eyebrows slanting up in the middle and pulling together, her lips trembling at the corners. It was heart-breaking expression.

"Please, please, please," she whispered. "Please, Bella, please – if you really love me … Please let me do your wedding."

"Aw, Alice!" I groaned, pulling away and standing up. "No! Don't do this to me."

"If you really, truly love me, Bella."

I folded my arms across my chest. "That is so unfair!"

"I'll bet Edward would like it better if you did this traditionally, though he'd never tell you that. And Esme – think what it would mean to her!"

I groaned. "I'd rather face the Volturi again, alone." I glared at her, as menacingly as possible

"I'll owe you for a decade."

"You'd owe me for a century!" I threw back at her.

Her eyes glowed. "Is that a yes?"

"No! I don't want to do this!"

"You won't have to do anything but walk a few yards and then repeat after the minister."

"Ugh! Ugh, ugh!"

"Please?" She started bouncing in place. "Please, please, please, please, please?"

"I'll never, never ever forgive you for this, Alice."

"Yay!" she squealed, clapping her hands together.

"That's not a yes!"

"But it will be," she sang.

"Edward!" I yelled, stalking out of the garage. "I know you're listening. Get out here." Alice was right behind me, still clapping.

"Thanks so much, Alice," Edward said acidly, coming from behind me. I turned to let him have it, but his expression was so worried and upset that I couldn't speak my complaints. I threw my arms around him instead, hiding my face, not wanting Alice to see how angry I really was.

"Vegas," Edward promised in my ear.

"Not a chance," Alice gloated. "Bella would never do that to me. You know, Edward, as a brother, you are sometimes a disappointment."

"Don't be mean," I grumbled at her. "He's trying to make me happy, unlike you."

"I'm trying to make you happy, too, Bella. It's just that I know better what will make you happy… in the long run. You'll thank me for this. Maybe not for fifty years, but definitely someday."

I sighed. "I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be willing to take a bet against you, Alice, but it has arrived." Edward grabbed my hand and led me up to the bedroom.

"You should shower, maybe take a bath to relax." He said. He took both my hands in his and quickly kissed my lips. His eyes were piercing through mine.

"What?" I asked.

He answered my question with his own. "When will you ever see yourself clearly?"

If I could have blushed, I would have. I reciprocated his actions and placed my lips on his. Before he could truly respond, I pushed him away and strode into the bathroom. I turned the shower on, letting the water beat down on my sore body, washing away the caked on dirt, grime, and blood. As I watched it wash away, I was reminded of all that had happened in just a period of weeks. I was finally a vampire, I took on an army of ancients, and Edward had returned to me. Edward was finally mine.

I stepped out of the shower and dried off. Patting my face dry, I looked in the mirror, reminded of what Edward had said. When will you ever see yourself clearly? I took in my features, and found that my eyes were now golden much like his, and dark, lush lashes lined my lids. My hair was darker, still chestnut brown, but it seemed to have red flecks in it, allowing it to shine. I smiled in the mirror, seeing that my teeth were porcelain white, and perfectly straight. I ran my finger along the bottom row and gasped when I felt the skin break. A tiny pool of blood formed on my finger. Damn, my teeth are really sharp. I lifted my wet hair off my neck and looked for the crescent shaped scar. Fading fast, it reminded me of a waning moon. I stared at the beautiful woman with the golden eyes, looking for pieces of me. There was something there in the shape of her lips – if you looked past the dizzying beauty, it was true that her upper lip was slightly out of balance, a bit too full to match the lower. Finding this familiar little flaw made me feel a tiny bit better. Maybe the rest of me was in there, too. I mumbled to myself, "Well, at least I'm pretty."

"Bella, you have never been merely pretty." Edward had entered the bathroom quietly, undetected. He took me in his arms and looked at me, drinking me in. His lips captured mine and it was like he'd never kissed me – like this was our first kiss. He lips sucked and pulled at mine, his tongue slipped out and entered my mouth. I sighed in ecstasy. Surely I was in breach of the contract. I shouldn't be allowed to have this, too.

"Edward." I sighed. "I love you so much."

His eyes met mine and he smiled my favorite crooked grin and responded, "And I love you. More than you'll ever know."

A/N: HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to my favoritist beta, Endlesslywaiting. You've been so amazing! :) We only have the epilogue left, so for those of you who have stuck with me since the beginning: thanks! For those of you who have reviewed over and over again: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! For those of you who read and didn't review- shame on you! Please, take a moment. Say, "Good" or "bad"... I'll appreciate either. Thanks :)

I am still waiting for Fearless to get validated on Twilighted. As I wait, I'd very much appreciate it if you'll checked out the story. Just go under my author info and click on the little link and read read read... :) Thanks dears!