Chapter 37: Golden
(Bella PoV)
Arriving in Italy was no ordeal; none of the human noticed us any more than usual. We looked like a typical family, just large and astoundingly beautiful. Edward's hand was tense around my waist as he led me out of the airport. Elia slept contentedly in my arms, her face against my collarbone and her left arm around my neck, gripping the collar of my shirt.
The rest of the family followed behind us and we split into two cars, Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Elia, and I in one and the rest in the other. Everyone's expressions were hard, nervous, but I took no notice; I watched my daughter sleep, finally understanding the awe her father had about me sleeping. Edward's eyes showed his terror and I placed my hand against his cheek, trying to comfort him with my eyes. He leaned into my touch but his eyes still betrayed him.
Carlisle led the drive to Volterra with Jasper following him. Aside from Carlisle, none of us had ever seen Volterra in person; it looked typical of old-fashioned Italian architecture and custom. The guard at the gate pointed us in the right direction and we ended up in front of large, ornate building. A human came to the car door, opening it for us. I stepped out and looked up at the old building; I had always loved such elaborate architecture and would have studied longer if not for the direness of the situation and the desire to get Elia inside, away from the cold night air.
We entered into an equally glorious lobby where a woman sat a front desk. She looked up and asked us to get comfortable in a friendly accented voice. I sat with Elia on one of the couches with Edward while the rest of the family stood around us. No one spoke; no one dared.
It wasn't fifteen minutes later that a young boy came to greet us.
"Hello, Carlisle. It has been too long," he said cheerfully. Carlisle's face and voice were hard as he responded.
"The same to you, Alec," he said, shaking Alec's hand reluctantly. Alec gestured back the way he had come and Edward helped me to my feet. We started to follow Alec silently, who had already hurried up the hall. Elia had woken up in the time we had arrived in the lobby; she had not moved though. Now, though, as we passed the receptionist's desk, she locked eyes with the human receptionist. The woman gazed back, shocked. I stared at her in confusion before placing a hand protectively on Elia's head and turning quickly away from them. I looked up at Edward for clarification but he seemed just as bewildered as me.
The halls were brightly lit and garish in style, and never seemed to end. Eventually, though, Alec reached a door of pure gold and diamonds. Carlisle and Esme positioned themselves in front of Edward and I while our siblings clustered around us, creating a wall between Elia and the other vampires. Alec led us into the room, which was large, with high ceilings of at least two stories. There stood three ornate thrones across from the door, where three vampires sat, unmoving as we entered.
I recognized them as Aro, Marcus, and Caius from Carlisle's paintings in his office back in Forks. Around them stood several other vampires, a few I recognized from Edward's descriptions: Jane, Felix, Dimitri, Chelsea. I looked to the three thrones to avoid eye contact with Jane, holding Elia more securely in my arms.
Aro stood with a flourish, walking swiftly toward Carlisle, as if this were a family reunion on Christmas Day.
"Ah, Carlisle, my old friend, it has been too long," he gushed. He made no move to shake hands with Carlisle, a fact that eased me slightly. Carlisle nodded at Aro politely.
"It has, Aro. I just wish it were under better circumstances," Carlisle said tersely. Aro's smile faded. He took a slight step back.
"Yes, but you know rules are rules," Aro said admonishingly.
"We have not broken any rules," Emmett snapped. Aro's gaze slid to the large vampire, sizing him up. An unpleasant smile played around the corners of his lips.
"Who are you, may I ask?" Aro's politeness was tainted with another sinister disposition. Carlisle spoke for him.
"This is my family. My wife, Esme, and our children, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Edward, and Bella." He explained, purposely leaving Elia out of the introductions.
"The girl is human!" Caius interjected, "Another crime to add to the list." Carlisle met his gaze evenly.
"If you would kind enough to think before you speak, you would find that none of my family is human." He said scathingly. Caius glared at him in defiance and Aro spoke to break the contact.
"She is not vampire, Carlisle. This goes against our most important law." Aro said with a slight edge of disappointment.
"No laws have been broken." Carlisle said firmly. Aro's eyes widened, the milk red orbs filling with mocking amusement.
"If no laws have been broken, I would like proof." He requested, offering his hand. Carlisle began to reach toward Aro but Aro moved his hand out of reach.
"I would prefer one more central to the issue, or issues, as it so appears." Aro said, eyes sliding to Edward.
"It is evident your son, Edward, must be more central than you, Carlisle, as supported by the way the human and the abomination child cling to him as they do."
Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper hissed in anger at the remark but Esme hushes them. They obey, though their eyes appraise Aro with hatred. Aro himself steps back toward his throne, allowing Edward room to approach him willingly. Edward looks down at Elia and me. We exchange a look before he kisses both of us on our foreheads. He steps away and it hurts me more than anything to let his hand go but I do.
Edward steps toward Aro and allows him to take his hand. Aro's eyes go blank as he sees everything in Edward's mental past, both his transformation, how he met me, his leaving and return, my pregnancy, Elia's birth and everything thereafter. It takes several minutes for Aro to receive and process all the memories; when he finishes, he lets go of Edward's hand, astonishment in his eyes. Edward stares back evenly, his expression unreadable.
"Your gift is astonishing, so like mine, but so much power behind it." Aro muses. Edward does not respond as Aro's glaze goes to me, or more precisely, Elia. Aro looks back to Edward.
"I would like to meet her," Aro states, though it sounds more like an order. After a moment, Edward nods stiffly and turns toward me. I make to move toward through the throng of my family when I hear a knock coming from the throne room door. Everyone turns to look at the visitor, though I'm the only one who knows who it is.
Elizabeth enters alone, striding toward me and taking my hand. She smiles slightly at me and I return the gesture before making our way to Edward and Aro. Aro is shocked to see Elizabeth but recovers quickly.
"Elizabeth, how wonderful to see you!" He exclaims, though even I can sense the nervous edge to his voice as he greets her. He is confused about how he did not know she was here; it is only I that knew she was coming. I had asked her not to come and the family protested vehemently. I gave no reason behind it though and they eventually stopped asking. As Aro sifted through Edward's thoughts, I blocked those pertaining to Elizabeth, allowing for an extreme shock upon her late arrival.
Elizabeth nods and returns Aro's greeting, standing to her son's left while I stood to his right. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist as Aro watched us with new eyes. His eyes were anxious but he tried to hide the emotion by looking toward the quiet infant in my arms.
As if on cue, Elia looks toward Aro, whose eyes go blank with awe. Nothing passes between them as they lock gazes. Elia's hand is pressed against my neck and I saw what she sees, I felt what she feels: she sees Aro's dishonesty, his nefarious acts, his plan on destroying all of us he feels will be useless to him while keeping those with strong gifts; she sees right through his eyes to his soul, and there she sees everything. In turn, I see everything. Aro cannot control what she sees but he knows that she sees it all and is scared by it. He is scared not only by that but also the presence of Elizabeth, how her knowledge can expel the secrets of the Volturi and destroy their power in the vampire world. He is scared by the strength of our family, Alice's ability to see the future, Jasper's empathic abilities, Emmett's strength, Edward's telepathy, Rosalie's viciousness, even Carlisle's desire to protect. All these traits add up to one inevitable outcome for him and his reign: decimation.
All with one look, Aro has a self-reflection and fears us. Well, I think, he's about to fear us even more. I take Edward's hand purposely and open my mind to him. He retaliates, allowing the connection to flow between us. He reaches out and touches Elia's cheek lightly, thus creating a mental circle between us. Elizabeth places her hand on Edward's arm, linking him to her. The four-way bond between us is strong in the air and all the vampires can sense; it is so powerful, it is almost tangible.
And then it is.
A golden hue begins to radiate from the four of us, an iridescent aura encircling us. The aura pulses as if it was alive and promises eternal protection from foes. The vampires in the room see, and understand, and fear. They all fear us, and yet are mesmerized by us. I sense the rest of the family approach us as Aro steps back toward the safety of his throne. I feel our family touch our skin and feel their presence in the bond. The connections between all of us as a whole is strengthened by the infinite bonds between any two, three, four, five, or six bonds that formed between us. The relationship between Esme and I, Carlisle and Edward, the girls to the boys, Alice and Rosalie to me, and all vice versa. An immeasurable amount of connections link simultaneously and burn golden in the throne room, making the solid good doors and ceilings and ornaments dull and macabre in comparison.
As one mental being, we allow the pulsating aura to subside and we remove our hands from each other, aside from Edward's arm around my waist and my arms around Elia. Aro's face is filled with nothing but fear, terror, horror, and awe. These expressions are mirrored in all the vampires around him, including his brothers. We know they cannot hurt us; we know that they know that too. I cannot help the wry smile on my face as Carlisle gives our goodbyes for us to the silent and shell-shocked room. We all turn and leave the room; no one stops us; no one dares to.
Within minutes, we are in the cars on our way back home. I sit in the front seat while Edward drives. Esme and Carlisle sit in the back quietly. Edward kissed my hand gently as I rolled down the window to let a bit of sun come in. Elia sat in my lap quietly, playing with a small flower that Alice found for her on our way out of Volterra. The flower is red with white on the outer edges and the green stem matches her emerald eyes. She does not pull off the petals like an ordinary baby but she strokes them gently.
Elia looked up at me and smiles her cherub smile. I returned the gesture and watch my daughter fondly. Edward, I sensed, is watching her too. I felt like there was no one left in the world but the three of us. Elia and I were safe; nothing was ever going to hurt us. I reflect on the past year and half: Edward's leaving and his return, me telling him of my pregnancy, the gleam in his eyes whenever we discussed the baby, when he touched her through my skin, all the memories of us and our family as I progressed through my pregnancy, those two nights of labor, the feelings I felt as I held my daughter for the first time, and all the first after that, and all the firsts that have still yet to be…
As I watch her play with the soft crimson petals, I see her as she truly is.
She is my daughter, Elizabeth Elena Rose Cullen…
…my Miracle of Love.
The End.
I promised myself I wasn't going to cry :'(:'(:'(:'(:'(:'(
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Final Shoutouts, MVP's, and VIP's—
Shoutouts: lilnudger82, cecilia4059, decadenceofmysoul, SesshomarusPegasus, Dizzyxx, MrsJacobBlack25, ms simmons, pinklady34, kouga's older woman, Leibeezer, twimom1960, YaleAceBella12, LilCullen454, Bobbie Francies Reisen, ceann aisteach, sujari6, alc1002, Mireads, and sshart :)
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Special Acknowledgements—
(No particular order)
- Pinklady34
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These people stood out to me from the beginning of the story to the end and I can't thank them enough for their support!
I love all of you regardless whether you stuck with me from the beginning, came halfway through, or just joined up at the end! THANK YOU! :) :) :) :) :) :)
All my love,
~MelindaHP :) :) :)