A/N: Oh my gosh guys!! I'm soooo sorry for not updating!! But it's summer and I went to Maine and I think by now we all know what happens and my excuses for when I go to Maine. The stuff I needed for the chapter was either at home or internet only so I was stranded!! Pleaaaase don't kill me!!

Anyway…I'm going to do a plug for…drum roll please… Imprint: The #1 Twilight Podcast! And guess who does it?! Andrew, Matt, Elyssa, and Laura from MUGGLECAST!! Yippee!! For mugglecast listeners they already know about this from their shameless plugs but this podcast is awesome…you guys seriously need to listen to it. And maybe even check out their website twilightsource (.)(com).

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, xxxHolic to CLAMP, and any wacky or clinically insane OC belongs to me!

I can't believe it
It's all my fault
I feel so helpless
Answer the call

Bella had been thinking long and hard about a certain topic that she knew she would get in trouble for thinking.

Every day she would go through the training grounds and watch all of the soldiers vampire and other alike and think to herself "why me?"

Why were these people, some of whom she didn't even know, risking their lives for her sake? Yes her battle with Victoria had escalated to a point as to involve other races, but still…

She sat in her study with the door and windows locked, curtains drawn with the only light in the room the light from a solitary candle on her desk.

Bella pulled her knees up to her chest so her arms could hug them as she sat in the floor with her back resting against her desk, head resting on her knees. She was wearing some of the clothes that she had saved from her human days: a shirt from American Eagle and some shorts from Victoria's Secret that had been bought by her mother and the watch Charlie had sent her for her eleventh birthday.

The Air Queen had come to accept that title but that didn't mean that she was happy with what it entailed: men dying for her and not even knowing the true cause.

She had tried talking about this with Mordecai but his only answer was "That's the reality of war for any monarch." Needless to say she was not happy with that answer.

Many times Bella had entertained the idea of handing herself over to Victoria while her army was still small but she always found some excuse.

Her golden eyes watched as the candle light caused the ring on her finger to glitter. Edward had given it to her a few days previous with a renewed promise that Bella readily accepted.

"What should I do?" Bella asked into the darkness.

A letter appeared on the ground in front of her.

Gingerly she reached her hand out to pick it up and open it.

Bella Darling,

Our little quarrel seems to have really grown out of proportion, hasn't it? I, for one, never intended it to grow to this magnitude as to involve armies, but, sadly, you're the one who took it there. All those poor pawns dying for no apparent reason, tsk tsk. I find it to be a vast waste of talent so let's make a deal shall we? If you come meet me tomorrow at sundown I'll call off my troops and none of yours will be harmed. How does that sound? I will be looking forward to our little rendezvous.

Victoria

P.S. I'm positive you know the meeting place. I believe you took Edward there recently.

Bella read and reread the letter several times before it all sunk it. This was it! This was her answer to everything!

Suddenly Bella remembered the story of the Third Wife that she had heard when meeting with the Quileute to inform them of the new change in leadership in the vampire world and to forge a truce with them and the other tribes.

That was her answer right there: sacrifice herself. What's one person compared to hundreds?

Quickly Bella threw up her mind-shield so as to prevent any of the seers (Alice) from getting a vision.

Briefly the thought that her death would hurt those she loved most but she pushed that thought aside. They would get over it, if she was doing it to save those she loved she didn't care the consequences, whether she lived or died.

"I better start to get ready…say my good-byes in advanced if my plans come to fruition."

She stood up, brushed the bottom of her shorts off and made her way to the door.

After the door closed on the dark room a mysterious wind snuffed out the candle and an amused chuckle could be heard reverberating throughout the room.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Bella walked the halls, ignoring the weird looks she was getting for how she was dressed, her bare feet padding softly as she glided down them. She was going to have a mini-gathering of all those important to her. Unfortunately Mordecai, Cai, Xaephyn, and Raina were all gone but she was planning to write letters to all of them explaining what was going through her mind.

In the smaller dining room off the Great Hall, all of importance were gathered: The Cullens, The Sparks, Nicole, Arabella and Antonio, Francesca, Aro, Jonathon, Aubrey, and Naphim.

Drinks were served to increase the cozy atmosphere. Bella was having the time of her life and with a pang she wished she could be selfish for once but pushed the thought from her mind. She had been selfish for prolonging the inevitable for so long.

Bella talked with everyone, teased Nicole with Raven, reminisced with the Cullens, sang with Ashley, Raven, and Nicole for old-time's sake, and was with Edward whenever she could be.

The party lasted well into the next day and didn't end till mid-afternoon when everyone finally called it quits. Through the whole party Bella made sure to let all of them know just how much they meant to her, puzzling quite a few of them.

Edward was the last to leave but Bella's pulling on his hand stopped him. "Bella?"

Edward stared at her. The usually confident Bella looked insecure and scared. "Edward, will you stay with me?"

Ignoring the dread growing in his stomach he smiled his crooked smile at her and pulled her to him. "Of course I will."

"Thanks." Bella nuzzled against him and they just stood like that for a long time.

With a quick glance Bella looked out the window and say that it was an hour till sundown.

"Edward, I love you. I love you more than life itself." Before he could respond Bella had pulled his face to hers and kissed him with all the love and passion she had for him.

She pressed her lips against his roughly as if trying to remember him. Edward recovered from his shock and deepened the kiss, his tongue licking the seam of her lips asking for the entrance that she granted. This kiss was different from the others they had shared; this one was full of their love and need that they had for each other.

After they broke apart, Bella slightly dazed, Edward asked "What was that for?"

"No reason. I just wanted to tell you how much I loved you."

Edward chuckled and kissed her on the lips again. "And I love you."

Bella disentangled herself from his arms and gave him a hard look. "I want you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"If I die…no listen to me Edward and let me finish…if I die I want you to move on. Don't mope around and pine for me…I'm being deathly serious! ...I want you to find someone worthy of your love…promise me Edward." The desperate look on Bella's face made him cave.

"Although I doubt I'll ever find someone I love as much as you, I promise to move on in the huge impossibility that you'll die." They kissed again.

Bella looked much happier. "Now I know how much you love to read so here." She gave him a book titled Indian Legends of the Northwest. There was a marker sticking out of the top of the book.

"I want you to read the chapter that I marked first."

Edward looked immensely confused at her behavior but went with it anyway.

"Alright."

Bella beamed at him, kissed him again, and made her way from the room.

She had twenty minutes before she had to meet Victoria. She went to her study and pulled out the letter from Victoria that she had kept with her.

She went over to the fire place and dropped the letter into it, watching the paper blacken and curl.

If I was strong I would have fought her
Maybe I should have said my last goodbyes
I feel I've lead them to the slaughter
If I had the strength I probably would cry

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Victoria let a purely evil and triumphant look come on her face as she looked at the paper that had materialized in front of her on her table.

The words scrawled on it were I'll be waiting.

Once Victoria read that the paper burst into flames and was gone.

"This will be truly be the deciding factor in our hundred year battle."

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Edward went to his room and decided to read the story that Bella seemed so desperate that he read.

'What on earth could be going through her mind that she would want me to read a book of dog legends.'

The page he opened to was titled The Third Wife. The whole script was written in Bella's somewhat more graceful handwriting as if she had copied it word for word as the Elder told his tale.

This is the story of the third wife's sacrifice.

Many years after Taha Aki gave up his spirit wolf, when he was an old man, trouble began in the north, with the Makahs. Several young women of their tribe had disappeared, and they blamed it on the neighboring wolves, who they feared and mistrusted. The wolf men could still read each other's thoughts while they were in wolf forms, just like their ancestors had while in their spirit forms. They knew that none of their number was to blame. Taha Aki tried to pacify the Makah chief, but there was too much fear. Taha Aki did not want to have a war on his hands. He was no longer a warrior to lead his people. He charged his oldest son, Taha Wi, with finding the true culprit before hostilities began.

Taha Wi led five other wolves in his pack on a search through the mountains, looking for any evidence of the missing Makahs. They came across something they had never countered before -a strange, sweet scent in the forest that burned their noses to the point of pain. They did not know what creature would leave such a scent, but they followed it. They found faint traces of human scent, and human blood, along the trail. They were sure this was the enemy they were searching for. The journey took them so far north that Taha Wi sent half the pack, the younger ones, back to the harbor to report to Taha Aki. Taha Wi and his two brothers did not return.

The younger brothers searched for their elders, but only found silence. Taha Aki mourned for his sons. He wished to avenge his sons' death, but he was old. He went to the Makah chief in his mourning clothes and told him what had happened. The Makah chief believed his grief, and the tensions ended between the tribes.

A year later, two Makah maidens disappeared from their homes on the same night. The Makahs called on the Quileute wolves at once, who found the same sweet stink all through the Makah village. The wolves went on the hunt again.

Only one came back. He was Yaha Uta, the oldest son of Taha Aki's third wife, and the youngest in the pack. He brought something with him that had never been seen in all days of the Quileutes -a strange, cold, stony corpse that he carried in pieces. All who were of Taha Aki's blood, even those who had never been wolves could smell the piercing smell of the dead creature. This was the enemy of the Makahs.

Yaha Uta described what had happened: he and his brothers had found the creature, who looked like a man but was hard as a granite rock, with the two Makah daughters. One girl was already dead, white and bloodless on the ground. The other was in the creature's arms, his mouth at her throat. She may have been alive when they came upon the hideous scene, but the creature quickly snapped her neck and tossed her lifeless body to the ground when they approached. His white lips were covered in her blood, and his eyes glowed red.

Yaha Uta described the fierce strength and speed of the creature. One of his brothers quickly became victim when he underestimated that strength. The creature ripped him apart like a doll. Yaha Uta and his other brother were more wary. They worked together, coming at the creature from the sides, outmaneuvering it. They had to reach the very limits of their wolf strength and speed, something that had never been tested before. The creature was hard as stone and cold as ice. They found that only their teeth could damage it. They began to rip small pieces of the creature apart while it fought them.

But the creature leaned quickly, and was matching their maneuvers. It got its hands on Yaha Uta's brother. Yaha Uta found an opening on the creature's throat, and he lunged. His teeth tore the head off of the creature, but the hands still continued to mangle his brother. Yaha Uta ripped the creature into unrecognizable chunks, tearing pieces apart in a desperate attempt to save his brother. He was too late, but, in the end, the creature was destroyed.

Or so they thought. Yaha Uta laid the reeking remains out to be examined by the elders. One severed hand lay beside a piece of the creature's granite arm. The two pieces touched when the elders poked them with sticks, and the hand reached out towards the arm piece trying to reassemble itself. Horrified, the elders set fire to the remains. A great cloud of choking, vile smoke polluted the air. When there was nothing left but ashes, they separated the ashes into many small bags and spread them far and wide -some in the ocean, some in the forest, some in the cliff caverns. Taha Aki wore one bag around his neck, so he would be warned if the creature ever tried to put himself together again.

They called it The Cold One, the Blood Drinker, and lived in fear that it was not alone. They only had one wolf protector left, young Yaha Uta. They did not have long to wait. The creature had a mate, another blood drinker, who came to the Quileutes seeking revenge.

The stories say that the Cold Woman was the most beautiful thing human eyes had ever seen. She looked like the goddess of dawn when she entered the village that morning the sun was shining for once, and it glittered off of her white skin and lit the golden hair that flowed down to her knees. Her face was magical in its beauty, her eyes black in her white face. Some fell to their knees to worship her. She asked something in a high, piercing voice, in a language that no one had ever heard. The people were dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer her. There was none of Taha Aki's blood among the witnesses but one small boy. He clung to his mother and screamed that the smell was hurting his nose. One of the elders, on his way to the council, heard the boy and realized what had come among them. He yelled for the people to run. She killed him first.

There were twenty witnesses to the Cold Woman's first approach. Two survived, only because she grew distracted by the blood, and paused to sate her thirst. They ran to Taha Aki, who sat in counsel with the other elders, his sons, and his third wife. Yaha Uta transformed into his spirit wolf as soon as he heard the news. He went to destroy the blood drinker alone. Taha Aki, his third wife, and his elders followed behind him.

At first, they could not find the creature, only the evidence of her attack. Bodies lay broken, a few drained of blood, strewn across the road where she'd appeared. Then they heard the screams and hurried to the harbor. A handful of Quileutes had run to the ships for refuge. She swam after them like a shark, and broke the bow of their boat with her incredible strength. When the ship sank, she caught those trying to swim away and broken them, too.

She saw the great wolf on the shore, and she forgot the fleeing swimmers. She swam so fast she was a blur and came, dripping and glorious, to stand before Yaha Uta. She pointed at him with one white finger and asked another incomprehensible question. Yaha Uta waited. It was a close fight. She was not the warrior her mate had been. But Yaha Uta was alone -there was no one to distract her fury from him. When Yaha Uta lost, Taha Aki screamed in defiance. He limped forward and shifted into an ancient, white muzzled wolf. The wolf was old, but this was Taha Aki the Spirit Man, and his rage made him strong. The fight began again.

Taha Aki's third wife had just seen her son die before her. Now her husband fought, and she had no hope that he could win. She'd heard every word the witnesses to the slaughter had told the council. She'd heard the story of Yaha Uta's first victory, and knew that his brother's diversion had saved him. The third wife grabbed a knife from the belt of one of the sons who stood beside her. They were all young sons, not yet men, and she knew they would die when their father failed.

The third wife ran towards the Cold Woman with the dagger raised high. The Cold Woman smiled, barely distracted from her fight with the old wolf. She had no fear of the weak human woman or the knife that would not even scratch her skin, and she was about to deliver the deathblow to Taha Aki.

And then the third wife did something the Cold Woman did not expect. She fell to her knees at the blood drinker's feet and plunged the knife into her own heart. Blood spurted through the third wife's fingers and splashed against the Cold Woman. The blood drinker could not resist the lure of fresh blood leaving the third wife's body. Instinctively, she turned to the dying woman, for one second entirely consumed by thirst.

Taha Aki's teeth closed around her neck. That was not the end of the fight, but Taha Aki was not alone now. Watching their mother die, two young sons felt such rage that they sprang forth as their spirit wolves, though they were not yet men. With their father, they finished off the creature.

Taha Aki never rejoined the tribe. He never changed back to a man again. He lay for one day beside the body of the third wife, growling whenever anyone tried to touch her, and then he went into the forest and never returned. Trouble with the cold ones were rare from that time on. Taha Aki's sons guarded the tribe until their sons were old enough to take their places. There were never more than three wolves at a time. It was enough. Occasionally a blood drinker would come through these lands, but they were taken by surprise, not expecting the wolves. Sometimes a wolf would die, but never were they decimated again like that first time. They'd learned how to fight the cold ones, and they passed the knowledge on, wolf mind to wolf mind, spirit to spirit, father to son.

Edward stared at the page before him. Why did Bella seem so desperate that he read this particular legend?

His eyes traveled to the words "third wife's sacrifice". And if his face could be paler it would have been drained of all color. It was all too familiar. His mind flashed back to when Bella felt terrible about putting the Cullens in danger with James and when she left to sacrifice herself to James to save her mother.

She wouldn't do the same thing again…would she?

He set the book down on the table and raced to Bella's room and her study only to find them empty, when asked if anyone had seen her they would say the last time they saw her was when she was walking to her room after giving Edward the book.

It appeared as if his worst fears had been confirmed.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Bella had changed into a pair of her finest slacks and one of her best training shirts, all of which improved her mobility and provided her the ability of blending in. She threw a cloak over her shoulders and took one last look at her bedroom.

Once outside she changed her appearance so that she was taller, hair to just under her chin, and tweaked her face slightly so as to appear to be another one of the soldiers.

"Sorry Raven." She whispered under her breath for using her power.

She had less than ten minutes to reach the meeting place, which was, thankfully, outside the palace grounds. The clearing was the one she had gone to with the waterfall where she would go swimming.

Nodding to the guards at the entrance, she left and almost immediately veered off into the woods where she used Cai's speed to get the rest of the way there. If she had used her wings it would have taken a longer time than she had and been way too obvious.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Victoria sat on a blanket in the clearing with Matthias, enjoying another glass of human blood.

"Oh what a beautiful place, no?" sighed Victoria, her skin sparkling in the sunlight.

"Indeed. What a gem she stumbled upon here." Matthias agreed, sparkling as well.

"Speaking of which, I believe she is here now."

Victoria gestured in the general direction of the trees.

A brown blur appeared there to slow down and reveal a stony faced Bella.

"Bella dear! How are you?" Victoria waved her arms to invite Bella to sit with them. Exercising all her court etiquette she accepted.

"Considering the circumstances…no, not very well. Why did you call me here?" Bella ignored the glass held out to her by Matthias.

"Matthias she does not drink with us uncivilized people." Victoria said condescendingly.

"She doesn't know what she's missing." He replied wistfully.

"That may be, but I am happier living the so-called 'vegan' life I have now than the vile life you claim to live." Bella retorted.

Bella was extremely uncomfortable while Matthias and Victoria seemed to be right at home. They sat there chatting away about such trivial matters as the weather and drinking from their glasses.

She had had enough. "Cut it out!" she yelled causing Victoria and Matthias to look up at her outburst.

"What's wrong Bella dear?" asked Victoria innocently.

"You! You called me out here for a picnic?!"

"That's what it looks like." Said Matthias.

"I'm here to talk business not chat it up about the weather."

Both Victoria's and Matthias' faces grew solemn and serious.

Bella steeled her nerves and pushed all doubts and regrets from her mind as she faced them.

"Victoria, this is between you and me. No one else."

"I know that but then that whole prophecy made things bigger than they had to be."

"That's why in exchange for the lives of my people I'll hand myself over for you to do as you wish."

"Hm, a very interesting proposal. Do you honestly care about all of those people that much?"

Bella's eyes widened to show her shock at the question. "Well of course I do! They're my people!"

"I know that but you're willing to die for complete strangers?"

At the phrasing Bella looked away from Victoria's cold ruby gaze. "Just because I don't know them doesn't mean that there aren't people who care about them and don't want them to die. It's unfair of me to ask them to fight for my sake. That's why I'm asking you accept my life in exchange of theirs."

Victoria sat silently, appraising Bella's face and what she had said.

"If just plain killing me isn't enough you can hurt me any way you like…"

"I don't like that."

Bella looked up sharply, resting her gaze on Victoria's face in shock. "What?"

"I don't like that at all. You realize that you're throwing your life away. Rather carelessly I might add."

Bella was frozen with shock at what she was hearing. Victoria was denying her request? But this is what she's wanted from the start!

"Do you think I can exchange something that you would carelessly throw away with something so precious? All those delicious powers of the vampires in your army, once I kill them I will obtain their powers. Yes Bella dear, I get the powers of the vampires I've killed and with all those powers for the taking I had no intention of calling off the war despite what I had said in the note."

Bella didn't know she had stood up until Victoria was standing in front of her, tilting her chin up so that she could look at her directly in the eyes, Matthias still on the ground watching.

"Those men tried so valiantly to protect you when I sent my tester squad to attack the palace. Not to mention all your little spies that I killed. You must think they are all fools because they died to protect something you consider trash."

"You're wrong!" Bella yelled in her face as Victoria took a couple steps back, desperate defiance written on her face.

Victoria chuckled. "No, I'm not. I'm sure they're combing the palace looking for you right now." Matthias held up the mirror to show people frantically running in the halls looking for her. "Plus what would Edward think?" The mirror flashed to Edward's distraught face as he dashed through the palace, raking his hands through his hair as he tried to think of where his love could be.

"There must be others that care about you. People close to your heart. You don't seem to understand that causing you to not take care of yourself." Victoria's words held the cold truth in them that was mirrored in her eyes.

"You hate to see others hurt yet you don't mind when you are hurt yourself. You can't possibly comprehend how much you hurt your precious ones when they see you hurt."

Bella stood, fists clenched at her sides, grinding her teeth and glaring at Victoria for all it's worth.

Victoria's face allowed a mocking smile to appear on it. "I hate these kinds of things."

Then the smile turned from mocking to cheerful as she said "Which is why I deny your request."

Bella turned her face down and let her hair hide her face.

Victoria approached her once more and made to tilt her chin up again. "Did I hurt your feelings? Let me see your crushed face."

Right when she finished that sentence Bella whipped her arm up to point a dagger Victoria's startled face.

"Please allow my people to live."

Victoria's face may have looked cheerful before but now it was downright jubilant. "This is the kind of thing I like."

In a flash Bella whipped the dagger around and pulled the twin of the dagger in her hand from the pouch around her stomach hidden underneath her shirt. With it unsheathed she swiped and cut a thin red stripe on Victoria's cheek causing some venom to leak out.

Victoria's smile never faltered. "Lovely, you have your fighting spirit back."

She put a hand up to feel the cut on her cheek. "Fine, I'll spare your men if they surrender to me, but if they don't I cannot guarantee their survival."

Bella watched her warily from her fighting stance as thunder crashed overhead. Victoria looked up at it with a thoughtful gaze. "It seems as if the weather has called an end to our meeting."

Matthias stood next to Victoria. "Adieu Your Highness." He said with an elaborate bow.

Bella growled at him and bared her teeth slightly. "Tsk tsk, such manners." Victoria scoffed. With that the pair appeared to dissolve into nothing and were gone.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

In the reports made later in the day, the sentries near the north gate would say that they found the missing Queen Adelina where she fell on the ground as she made her way home to the people she loved.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

She gave it all but I'd give, too
If it meant protecting you
Its not enough just to want to try
Stone in hand I'll make my stand
It's not a sacrifice
Just like the Third Wife

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

A/N: Hey Guys! So what did you think? How do you like my Victoria? The song is The Third Wife by the Mitch Hansen Band. It's a Twilight Band...isn't that awesome?! Ok, the whole end scene with Victoria and Bella is from the Spider Arc in xxxHolic by CLAMP. Not mine in any way. I may have tweaked Victoria's or Bella's wording but it's the same general gist of it. xxxHolic is awesome..check it out. (and Vampire Knight..hotness drools). Holy Crap Guys…Breaking Dawn. One Day. Kick. Ass. I'm going to a release party!! Who else is?! I'm so lucky my dad's gonna pick me and my friends and take us home at midnight…round of applause for an awesome dad!! But I preordered my book so I have to wait for it to arrive in the mail so I'll be one of the only losers who didn't buy their books at 12:01.

And BATMAN!! JOKER ROX MY SOXZ!! I have to say that Heath as the Joker in the Nurses' Dress is pure sexiness…who's with me?! If Heath doesn't get an Oscar for this I will be severely pissed. Who else has the urge to try out the pencil disappearing act for real? I DO!

Oh and I have a question…what does romance of the 104 variety or quality mean?

Review good people. It seems that if I don't remind you, you don't do it. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE!! IT KEEPS ME MOTIVATED TO KEEP GOING!! I'LL NEED IT FOR THE FIGHT SCENE LET ME TELL YOU!!

"What do you believe in then?"

"I believe that whatever doesn't kill you simply...makes you stranger..." -The Joker