Thank you for reading/reviewing/rec'ing/favoriting/altering/ whatever. We've got lots of new readers joining the party and that's just lovely.
The next chapter is pretty much done and will be with Donna tonight so the wait won't be long.
And speaking of Donna, she is one awesome beta.
I don't own anything.
Nobody knows what to say.
The journey back to Forks, with our group of mourners, is a blur and the memory of it now that I'm seated in our home is lost to me. The words of those around me are lost, too, and I watch the frantic movements of my family through a sort of daze.
I take it all in through eyes that don't feel like mine.
There are many vampires here. My family brought the Denali's down from Alaska, along with the asshole Irina's grown so attached to, the one who told James about our daughter. Edward is shoving him a lot. It looks like he's yelling too, but my ears are not functioning. Jacob is yelling at the new, dark vampire as well, while the traitor Irina looks on in concern.
Everyone appears to be yelling, actually, with the exception of Victoria. She sits next to me on the couch in our living room with a dead look in her eyes. She looks like I feel.
Come to think of it she probably looks the way I look, too.
Carlisle, Jasper, and Eleazar are talking rapidly. Alice is still trying to see some glimpse of the future. Rosalie is smacking around Emmett's recently reattached arm, trying to get it to function properly.
The wolves have gathered outside, the whole pack. Again, I can't hear them over the buzzing in my head, but I know they are close, pacing, listening, waiting for someone to make some sort of decision.
It should be me. I am her mother and this is my entire fault so I should make the decision. I said no. He is punishing me because I said no.
But that's not really fair, is it? I should have the right to say no. It is my body. Really, this is Aro's fault. He is the one to blame here not me or Edward or Emmett or Rosalie or Jake.
Aro is the demon. It's always been his fault. And I will see to it that he burns for this.
As soon as I can get my ears to start functioning properly again, I'll make sure he burns.
Also after I get the damn phone call.
There is fighting and yelling, but I don't hear it and I can't feel anything. My skin is colder than usual. The buzzing between my ears only adds to my already excruciating headache.
There are flames in my head. An inferno blazes in my mind and God, how it hurts. It all hurts.
I'm on my feet and out the door before I realize that I'm moving at all. I'm a ghost. I'm a shell.
The wolves watch me as I move past, but I just stare straight ahead, unseeingly, as I move into the forest. I walk the path my daughter has walked so frequently since Edward's return.
Ten months. He got ten months with his daughter before we let it all unravel. I had ninety-six years, but still couldn't manage to figure out a way to keep her safe.
I'm in our family home. I'm in the cabin, but no one is here and Nessie is with my worst enemies so it doesn't really feel like home anymore. Just a place we keep our stuff.
Who cares about stuff?
Edward finds me some time later sitting in the middle of the bed in Nessie's yellow room with my legs tucked under me. I stare at a picture of the three of us taken only a few weeks ago after her choir concert. Her orange vest clashes horribly with her hair, but her grin is wide as she smiles at the camera, an arm slung around each of our shoulders.
It was taken only a few weeks ago and she already managed to have it framed.
Then Edward's face is right in front of mine. His lips move but it takes me a moment to diminish the buzzing so I can hear what he's saying.
"Bella," he repeats, touching my face with obvious concern. "Can you hear me?"
He doesn't ask if I'm all right because he knows the answer.
"Yes," I say with a nod. "I can hear you."
"Everyone is still arguing and no one will let me dismember Laurent," he murmurs, as my gaze drifts back to the photo on her bedside table.
"Doesn't matter. It's Aro's fault, totally. No one else is to blame."
I feel him flinch against me at the mention of the name, but can't find it in me to feel guilty.
"It's my fault too," he insists, full on panicking now. "I should have known James would do something like this. I should have never let Nessie go to—"
"Don't." My ragged whisper is enough to have him freezing before me. I drag my gaze away from the photo on the bedside table to really look at my husband for the first time in hours. He is so painfully distraught, totally broken.
I can relate.
"Don't what?" he whispers.
"Just… don't do the blame game thing you do. I don't have the energy to make you feel better and argue with you. It's Aro's fault, Edward. And James too, but that's it. I know there is no way for me to convince you of that, but just don't do the self-depreciative thing at me right now. I can't take it." My voice breaks at the end and Edward reaches out to cradle my face. I lean into his chest, dry sobbing because crying is a physical impossibility.
Eventually, Edward pushes me back. We curl up together in our daughter's bed, clinging to each other in an attempt to provide a little comfort but it doesn't work. Nothing will make either of us feel any better until Nessie is back safe and sound and in this bed.
"What do we do now?" he murmurs. My fingers tighten in his sweater, terrified he'll leave me.
"We wait until we get Aro's call," I whisper, even though he's aware of this already. "And then we get our daughter back."
Someone does the math to figure out how long it will take for the plane to land in Italy. Edward and I make our way back to the big house to wait with everyone for the call.
Although everyone has calmed slightly and no one is yelling or even speaking really, the tension remains, hanging thick and palatable in the air. The five Denali's are in the kitchen with Laurent. Victoria has not moved from her position on the couch. My family is stationed in the living room while Jake, whose body was recently crushed, is upstairs lying down in a spare bedroom, trying to heal as quickly as possible in anticipation of what's to come.
I fold myself into a chair and try to soothe my head.
It feels like we wait forever, but eventually my phone rings. Everyone freezes as I bring the device to my ear. Edward crouches in front of me, his hands on my knees. His fingers dig into my skin, but I barely feel it.
"Aro," I say, sounding remarkably calm. Enraged, but calm.
"Hello, my dearest Isabella," he croons. Rage boils in my belly. "How are you on this lovely day?"
"It's actually night here," I snap. "And you very well know I've been better."
"Ah, yes. The matter of a certain kidnapping. Not very vigilant of you, letting that ruffian take what is so precious to you. Do not fret. He was disposed of."
A growl builds low in Victoria's throat and Rosalie covers her mouth to keep her quiet.
"It's seems this has become a matter of two kidnappings, Aro," I say through a clenched jaw.
"Isabella," he says, tone laced with saccharine offense. "You wound me deeply, calling me a kidnapper after I so gallantly saved your daughter."
"Aro, must we do this? What do you want?"
I should be more patient, but calm is rapidly flying out the window as the situation sinks in.
Aro has my daughter.
Aro has Vanessa.
"She really is quite lovely," Aro muses. Edward pushes his face into my knee in an attempt to stifle his growl. "Although, I must admit I always imagined her looking much more like her mother. She has very little of you in her, Isabella. If I didn't know better I'd question her parentage."
She has my eyes, my human eyes, but this is not knowledge Aro is privy too. We've come around to the topic of parentage and I look at Edward, hating that I wasn't able to keep him safe. I failed to keep both of them safe.
"In fact, not five minutes ago, I mentioned this fact to the darling Vanessa." I lock my jaw to keep the sob from escaping my throat. Edward rips my jeans with his teeth, desperately trying to stay quiet. No one else dares to move. "She said the most interesting thing. Care to guess?"
I do not guess, nor does Aro allow me the time to offer one.
"She informed me that she takes after her father with a few exceptions. Her father. Fancy that."
God, he saw her. Five minutes ago, he saw her. I desperately want to ask how she is, demand that he put her on the phone, but that's what Aro wants. He is prodding me, attempting to get me to lose control. He won't let me talk to her. He won't answer my questions.
That's what Felix is for. He'll answer my questions.
"What do you want, Aro?" I ask, unable to keep my voice from breaking.
"She's so strong, your daughter. Like you. Knowing full well what I can do, she bravely accepted my handshake. Fascinating mind, your daughter has, and a truly intriguing gift of her own, but I digress. I learned so much from your daughter's memories and thoughts."
This is my punishment for denying him last time. I brought this on all of us, and Aro draws out every word, understanding just how to make me suffer. Through Vanessa's mind, he's come to know a very different version of the vampire than the one he is used to me being in his presence. He's seen my humanity and also my weakness, and now we're all suffering for it.
"What do you want, Aro?" I ask again, trying so hard to once more gain some sort of control in this horrible conversation.
"Oh, the same thing I've always wanted," he says, voice low and deadly now.
And I know what he's going to say before he says it. It is the same thing he said last time. There's no way to spare Edward from this, but there is no way to stop the train wreck.
"You," he says. "What I require is you, Isabella."
"That's an agreement I've made before," I remind him even as my heart breaks.
"Indeed," says Aro with an exaggerated sigh. "That is an agreement you did indeed make but, alas. You broke it as well."
This time I'm unable to hold back the sob while Edward is unable to hold back his growl. Aro crackles with delight.
"Oh, Isabella. Keeping secrets. Breaking promises. I believe I'm being growled at. Could this be your mate, perhaps? Or do you prefer the term husband? Your long lost husband, back from the dead. How very fortunate for you and your daughter," Aro says.
He loves this. Absolutely loves it.
"What do you want?" I whisper, sounding so pathetic. "What more could you possibly demand from me?"
Aro sighs. "You are not in the mood to play. How disappointing."
"Aro, what will get my daughter home safe?" I demand.
"But I've already said. You, Isabella. That is what I require," he repeats. Edward hasn't stopped growling since Aro said this the first time. It's just a low level rumble, but I can feel the vibration in my bones.
"What do you mean?" I snap, tired of talking in circles. "Never once have I failed to protect the guard."
"Oh, I think you would be able to perform your duties much better if you resided here in Volterra on a permanent basis," he says. Aro drops his bomb and I shouldn't even be surprised. From the moment Felix called me I should have known we'd end up here.
Aro has been waiting for an opportunity like this for years, maybe even since we struck our original arrangement, and now he's found it in the form of my daughter.
"It's so simple, really. You for her. You stay here permanently or she does."
I can't find the words. Edward's frightened gaze meets mine, and nothing feels real.
"I'm tired of this conversation. Goodbye, Isabella. Please inform me of your decision at your convenience and we will deliver your daughter immediately, as we pick you up."
And then he's gone.
Nobody moves for a long moment. I feel as if I'm in a sort of daze as I look around at all the stricken faces surrounding me. Edward's is the most appalled, of course, but I see him through a fog.
I reach out to stroke his hair for the last time before getting up on unsteady feet.
"I've got to get to Italy," I say in a disembodied voice that doesn't sound or feel like my own. Moving towards the door, I feel like a ghost. The world takes on a wavy quality.
I have to go to Italy. Me for Vanessa. That's the deal. I have to go to Italy for forever.
The yelling has started up again, but it's just a general buzz in my ears. Vampires get in my face, but I step around them. There are hands on my shoulders but I make it to the front door anyway. Someone is holding me back and it's a struggle to break free, but I get through the door and immediately bump into a hard chest.
Through the foggy world, I gaze up at the vampire in front of me.
"Garrett?" I manage.
"Just where do you think you're going?" he demands, red eyes narrowed at me.
"I have to go to Italy," I murmur. "I have to save Nessie by going to Italy for forever."
"That's fucking stupid," he says, pushing me back through the doorway. Again, I don't even feel it. I just blink up at him through the hazy world, puzzling over the buzzing in my head.
"I've got to go to Italy."
Why doesn't he understand? I have to fix this.
"Get inside, Bella. You're in shock," he snaps, losing patience.
I cock my head to the side to study him. Vampires don't go into shock.
"Italy," I murmur. But then someone is wrapping their arms around me, trapping my arms at my side. I struggle for a moment but then Edward is whispering soothing words in my ear. I go limp against his chest.
I let him turn me around and press my nose into his neck, holding him as tight as possible. When my feet can't manage to move right, Edward lifts me up and wraps my legs around his waist. He's walking somewhere with me, but I don't pay attention to where until I'm gently lowered to a soft mattress.
"Edward, I have to go to Italy," I say through a sob. He crawls in next to me and I cling to his side.
"Bella, we'll come up with something. We're not trading you away into slavery."
"But Nessie is with Aro! I have to go to Italy," I insist, getting hysterical.
"The best way to help Nessie right now is for you to rest and clear your head, Bella. We need you rational so we can come up with a plan."
"We don't know if she's okay even! He wouldn't have told me if I asked."
"Should I call Felix?" he asks.
"No, he might be in the castle. Text him."
Edward pulls my phone out of my pocket as I attempt to clear the fog. I curl up against Edward's side, squeezing my eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out the world. Maybe when I open them again this will all be in my head and Nessie will be safe in her yellow bedroom.
"She's okay," Edward murmurs. I hear his fingers tapping against the keys on my phone. "A little shaky, but okay. No one has hurt her, Bella. Felix is staying with her."
I nod and try to do what Edward says. I need a clear head to see a way out of this.
"When did Garrett get here?" I ask. I've wasted valuable hours falling apart, but now the fog is lifting. I'm pulling it together, but even with calm and logic I refuse to rule out the option of taking Aro's deal. It will be a last resort, but if it comes down to me or Nessie, the choice is easy.
"What?"
"I hear my friend Garrett. When did he get here?"
"You don't remember?"
I shake my head, feeling like a fool. Edward sighs and kisses my forehead.
"You were pretty out of it, huh?" he murmurs.
"This is my very worst fear, Edward."
"I know."
"So Garrett?"
"He's been here for a couple hours," Edward says. "He showed up right after you got off the phone. He thought about slapping some sense into you and I thought it was time to intervene so I brought you up here."
"That sounds like Garrett."
"He was quite shocked to learn about me," Edward muses. "Although he does keeping thinking about an interesting memory of you two in a tree last summer."
I just nod, hoping Garrett has something better to think about besides our brief affair.
"So you slept with him," Edward says as if he's talking about the weather.
I wince and nod. "It was a long time ago." Edward just frowns. "Please, don't make this a thing. We have so much to deal with right now. We've been friends for a really long time and he really cares about Ness. He'll be helpful, Edward."
"It seems like he's too busy flirting with Kate."
I roll my eyes. "He is such an idiot. They've been tap dancing around each other for decades and if he could manage to give up people and stay in one place for more than a week, they'd have a real shot."
Edward sighs and I kiss his cheek before sitting up.
"God, Edward," I murmur, my voice breaking.
"I know." He holds my hand. "We'll fix this. She'll be safe soon."
I listen with half an ear to the vampires and single wolf gathered in the living room below.
"I guess we need to attend this family meeting," he says.
"Or you could just let me bop off to Italy, never to return," I mutter. Edward just growls. With a final sigh I pull him out of bed.
Vanessa is special. I've always known this. She is so full of life, it makes us vampires ache for our humanity. Looking at Nessie may remind us of what we lost, but she also has a way of soothing the spirit. She touches everyone she meets and garners such loyalty from the undead.
Vanessa has a lot of powerful friends.
I sit curled up in the same chair I broke down in. Edward is perched on the back, his hand on my shoulder as we listen to our friends and family pledge their unlives for the safety for my daughter.
I am moved beyond words.
I've always known she's special, but somewhere along the line I forgot that all these vampires can feel it too. Nessie is special and rare and good and worth protecting at all costs.
"We can't just go marching into Volterra," points out Carlisle. He stands at the front of the room, leading the discussion. We haven't come up with a practical plan, but knowing we have the support of our friends is important too. "He wants to come get Bella. Does he think we'll just invite him over?"
"And you're living a dream if you think we'll be able to avoid a fight," says Tanya. I still can't look at the bitch, but she is here and she isn't being an asshole about Edward and I. Plus, she's willing to burn for Nessie. That's something.
"Bring on a fight I say," puts in Garrett. Emmett hardily agrees, shocking no one. "Revolution is long over due if you ask me. Their tyranny has gone way too far this time. Let's topple this dictator son of a bitch."
Kate rolls her eyes but many vampires around the room nod in agreement. I'm somewhat surprised to see so many willing to start a war that is sure to end aflame.
"I'll burn them all," hisses Victoria, fists clenched at her side. Her eyes are wild and for a moment I'm thankful to have her on our side, even if she is partially to blame for our current predicament. "Which one killed James?" she asks, turning to me.
"Probably Jane," I say, lying through my teeth. The sadistic little bitch isn't one to get her hands dirty. In reality, Dmitri probably did the deed, but some ridiculous part of me still dreams of converting the tracker to our cause so I'll protect him from Victoria's drive for revenge. I'm sure Jane tortured James plenty before he lost his head, so Victoria's rage will not be wholly misplaced.
"I will end her," says Victoria with such quiet conviction it makes me actually believe her words.
I nod my approval.
"These are dangerous words," says Laurent. He stands with his body angled towards the door, as if he is ready to flee at any moment. I've stopped blaming any one but Aro for this situation, but I hate this nomad anyway. "What you speak of is suicide and treason. I will have no part in it."
He takes a step towards the door and half of my family immediately moves towards him, ready to prevent his exit.
"Let him go," I say, causing Edward to frown at me. "He's got a big fucking mouth and he's a coward, but he's also irrelevant. Let him go. We don't have the energy to spare keeping him prisoner. Laurent," I say, addressing the asshole for the first time. "He'll burn you like he burned your friend if you go to them. Just being at this meeting is a death sentence."
Everyone settles down a little, even if they still want to tear Laurent apart for telling James about Nessie in the first place.
"Irina, come with me, my love. It is suicide."
"No," say Irina. Her loyalty earns her a very small fraction of my forgiveness, but it is something. "I started this whole mess and I owe it to Vanessa to see it through. You do too, Laurent. Please stay. If not for Nessie, then for me."
The dark vampire just shakes his head sadly before vanishing out the backdoor, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye. Irina lets out a mournful wail, collapsing into Kate's side, but the rest of us get down to business.
"I can't ask you to fight for me," I murmur. They could all turn to ash for me and mine. It's a price I would willingly pay for my daughter's safety, but not for my own. Although they are doing it out of love for Vanessa, they will really be fighting to save me from an eternity of servitude.
"You're not asking," murmurs Carmen, speaking for the first time since this little meeting began. "We willingly volunteer. Or I do."
She looks around expectantly.
"As do I," says Eleazar.
The rest of the Denali's progress to pledge their unlives to this fight. My family chimes in too, along with Jake and Victoria. I'm over come with emotion by their willingness to take on such risk.
"There will be others, too," says Tanya, looking to Carlisle. "We have many friends."
A part of me wants to put a stop to it, to protect the remainder of our friends from the danger of the Volturi, but it's for my daughter so I remain quiet.
"You wish to recruit others to join us in this fight?" Carlisle says, deep in thought. "It did work rather well last time. If we get lucky, Aro will balk at our numbers and we will find a peaceful resolution that keeps both Vanessa and Bella safe."
My father's gentleness is admirable, but seems somewhat naive in this moment.
"Fuck that," mutters Emmett.
"If we reach a so called peaceful resolution we'll just be delaying the evitable," points out Jasper.
"Aro's out of control. I understand the purpose of the Volturi. I really get it, but Aro's time is over. He's too power hungry and he needs to be stopped. This collecting thing he does is fucked up. What's to stop him from going after the Denali's for Kate? Or Alice or anyone else who is special? It's not just about Nessie and Bella. It's about all of us," Garrett insists. "He needs to burn."
Everyone goes still and silent.
This is what we've been discussing for the last couple of hours, but Garrett is the first one to actually say the words. The thought of taking out Aro seems as impossible as it is dangerous, but I don't see another way. He'll just keep coming.
At this point, it's me or him, and I have much more to fight for.
I can see the fear in the eyes of my friends and family and Victoria, but also the conviction. We'll really attempt this, even if we all burn for our efforts. It is thrilling and terrifying.
I plot separately in my head, unwilling to voice my plans with the rest of the group. Their heads are unsafe.
"Even so, if there are enough of us the threat of a fight might be enough for Aro to give this up," says my father.
Garrett, Emmett, and Jasper open their mouths to argue again, but Carlisle holds up a hand and the boys remain silent.
"Still, we'll gather as many of our friends as possible," he continues. "Emmett and Rosalie can track down Zafrina and Senna. Someone should get in contact with the Amazonian hybrids as well. They are difficult to find."
"We can handle it," says Rose. "Hullen likes me."
"And she hates Aro," Esme murmurs. "After they found out about Nessie he took Nahuel."
"Alice and I can find Peter and Charlotte," says Jasper.
"Irina, Kate, and I can swing through western Europe," says Tanya. "Talk to the Irish coven and the French nomads."
"Kate stays here with me," I say, surprising everyone. "I need to practice."
Carlisle nods in understanding, although pretty much everyone else looks confused.
"I need her gift," I explain with a shrug. No one forces me to elaborate but Kate looks at me dubiously.
"Eleazar and Carmen should talk to Randall," continues Carlisle. "Esme and I will handle Alistair. He's jumpy."
"What about Amun and Kebi?" Tanya asks. "Amun probably would never take such a risk, but it's worth asking, right?"
I wince and study my lap, overcome with guilt. Although I never personally met the Egyptian pair, Tanya and Carlisle always spoke of them fondly. Now they are ash and I'm responsible.
"They are gone. Amun turned a vampire with the ability to control the elements, earth, fire, that sort of thing. Aro collected him."
Everyone goes silent once more.
"And this is the newest member of the guard?" Irina asks, her voice small. "He can control fire?"
"Don't worry about Benjamin," I reply.
"Why not?"
I do not answer. Their minds are unsafe.
"What about me?" asks Garrett. "Everyone else has an assignment."
"Do you know anyone else you can ask for assistance?" asks Carlisle.
"No, sounds like you guys got the crazy ones pretty well covered," Garrett muses. "I don't know anyone else who would even consider signing up for something this deadly." He sounds as though he is thoroughly looking forward to it.
"Perhaps you could do some training with the wolves?" Carlisle says, turning to look at Jacob's battered form, sprawled out on the couch. "I don't mean to assume—"
"We've got some young ones that I'll try to talk into coming," Jake says. His words are met with the distant sounds of growling and he grins. "But yeah, a little bloodsucker training could probably do us good."
Garrett and Jake high five.
"I've got newborns," Victoria says suddenly. Everyone turns around to gape at her.
"Like an army?" Jasper asks with a hiss, absolutely seething.
"Is ten considered an army?" she asks.
"Ten!" Jazz shrieks. "Where?"
"Well nine and one who's a year or so," she corrects.
"When did you do this?" demands Edward.
Victoria just bats a hand dismissively in my husband's direction.
"James wanted to start up the wars in the south!" Edward shrieks, responding to her thoughts no doubt.
"What!" screams Jasper.
"Because he was bored!" says a horrified Edward.
"Where!" hisses Jasper. "Where are the newborns?"
"It's safe. Do not concern yourself. It's not like the Volturi are about to swoop down and punish me. They have other things on their minds currently," Victoria says, grinning.
"You can't bring them here, Victoria," Edward says. "You can't hope to control ten."
"And you can't force them to fight either," says Carlisle.
"They'll want to avenge their sire," says Victoria. "They'll stay where they are for now, but when we roll out, they are coming too."
"We'll talk about it later," Carlisle says before Jasper can blow up again. "For now we have our assignments. Let's go quickly. The longer this takes…"
He trails off and we all think of Nessie, locked away with Aro and Jane and the rest. My stomach turns over, but then I steady my resolve. I'll spend every waking moment with Kate if need be.
After another hour to get organized, everyone moves out. I try to hold on to the hope that we actually have a chance.
But we don't. Not really. Not without more help.
So I'm hoping this feels Breaking Dawnish what with the planning and whatnot. I know a lot of you want the big showdown chapter, but I'm trying to make it feel like Breaking Dawn and there was a lot of planning chapters in that sucker so there you go.
Thanks for reading! See you soon.