Author's Note: Updating again. Aren't you thrilled? The final battle! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 35

Edward sat in his study, deep in thought. His army was all prepared to defend the Palace against Eleazar and his allies. He had made sure that Tanya was confined to house arrest, surrounding her quarters with soldiers. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.

If he was Eleazar Denali, what would his next move be? He would stage a coup. He would want to get rid of the King who refused to be his puppet, and replace him with another member of the royal family.

Knowing Eleazar, he would think ahead. He would be confident that he would win in the final battle. He wouldn't know that he, Edward, would be ready for his revolt. He would prepare his second step.

Jacob. Edward was positive that Eleazar would approach the prince to assist him in this revolt. He would offer to make Jacob king in exchange for his loyalty toward the Black Faction. He would use the bad relationship that Edward and Jacob had.

He had to get to Jacob first.

"Thea!" Edward called.

Cynthia entered the room and bowed. "You called, Your Majesty?"

"Ask Prince Jacob to enter the Palace immediately," Edward ordered. "Right now. I want to see him."

Cynthia could not hide her surprise. Edward hadn't asked for Jacob since their relationship had gone bad. What was so urgent that he would need to ask for his cousin?

"Immediately," Edward demanded, and she scurried away to carry out the task.

Edward resumed his thinking. "I hope you haven't been approached yet, Jacob," he murmured. "For my sake and Gardenia's."

The two young men sat quite still, their eyes never leaving the other. Finally, Jacob cleared his throat pointedly.

Edward's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you were surprised that I called for you."

"I was." Jacob paused. "I hope it's for a good reason that I rushed over here."

"I'm sure you have heard that the Black Faction fled," Edward said. "I'm inclined to believe that Eleazar Denali will approach you."

"Approach me?" Jacob smiled sourly. "For what?"

Edward looked closely for signs of lying. All he saw was the same bitterness that Jacob had carried with him for the past two years. He hadn't been approached yet.

"He will make you an offer," he said. "He will ask you to help him bring me down in exchange for placing you on the throne instead."

Jacob blinked, taken aback. He hadn't expected that at all. After a moment, he said, though without conviction, "Then I should help him. Why shouldn't I?"

"Please, Jacob," Edward said stiffly. "I'm asking you to help me save Gardenia. I'm asking you to help me save Bella."

Jacob froze. His eyes narrowed. "What does this have to do with Bella?"

"I know that you still love her," Edward said. "Won't you help me for her? She wants her revenge on Eleazar Denali and the Black Faction. She wants to end this political war."

Jacob didn't move. Suddenly, his mind had gone blank. Revenge?

"Pretend you'll help him," Edward requested. "But continue to stay by my side. I need allies right now, Jacob, and you are the most important one. Your decision will change everything. Please help me defeat the Black Faction, if not for me, then for Bella. It will be the last favor I will ever ask of you, and I will forever be in debt to you."

Jacob stared at his cousin. "I don't like you," he stated boldly. "I don't want to be involved in this. Whether it's for Bella or for you, either way, it will end in the same way. You with Bella by your side as your queen, and I, alone."

"You're involved, whether you like it or not. Help me end it, Jacob. Please."

Jacob's expression was unreadable. He was silent for a long time before rising to his feet. "You've come to the wrong person for help. You have only yourself to blame if I go over to the Black Faction. You've done nothing for me, but they would make me king. They would give me Bella if I asked them to. There's no reason I should say no." He swept out of the room coldly.

Edward stared at the closed door. He closed his eyes and whispered, "I know the person you are. Thank you, Jacob. Thank you."

Jacob raised his eyebrow at his lone visitor. "What are you doing here, Lord Denali?"

Eleazar lowered his hood. "May I come in, Your Highness? I must speak of something very important to you. I only ask for five minutes of your time."

"You are a wanted man, Eleazar," Jacob said, smiling slightly. "If I allow you inside my home, I will be interacting with a fugitive."

"Please, my lord," Eleazar said. "I will make it quick. I bring an offer that will benefit you."

Jacob stared at the man. "It must have been hard on you, Eleazar. Look at you. Wandering around in the middle of the night like a criminal." He smirked. "I admit, I am curious. Five minutes. That's all you're getting." He stepped back to let him in.

The door closed with a solid bang behind the two men.

"It's today."

Bella drummed her fingers against her thigh. She glanced briefly at Evan, who had spoken, then turned to look her book once more.

"How can you be so calm?" Evan demanded. "Your lover is going into battle. There's going to be an actual battle here in the Palace. Inside the walls. Doesn't that make you nervous?"

"Why?" she asked. "I'm not fighting."

"You're usually so obsessed with the King's safety," Evan reasoned. "But you're not even worried about him right now."

Bella closed her book and stared at the cover. "I am worried."

"Then shouldn't you be insisting that you need to be there with him?" he retorted. "Not that I would send you."

"He'll be fine. I taught him myself. He's a good strategist." She rose to put her book away. "Besides, he won't be fighting much. Neither will his guards."

"What?" Evan asked, straightening.

She smiled slightly. "I said he was a good strategist, not a fighter. While he's excellent at fighting, his strategy today will not be to fight, but to use battle strategies. And he will win. He'll be using one of the oldest tricks in the book. There's no need to worry about anything."

"I don't understand."

"Whoever said you had to dive headfirst into a battle with a sword to win?" Bella countered. "And why waste time and energy, when you can use archers?"

"Archers?" Evan glanced at Seth, who raised his eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

"Don't worry, he'll win," Bella said, grabbing another book. She rifled through it. "I'm worried about him acting recklessly and getting hurt, but there's a very slim chance of that. But I'm not worried about losing."

Evan and Seth watched her as she came to sit in her chair again. She really did seem unconcerned.

"Have you started packing yet, Evan?" Bella asked lightly, flipping through the pages. "This murder case will be solved soon."

Evan blinked. "Er, no, I haven't. I didn't even think about it."

"Let me know when you'll be leaving before you inform the King," she requested. "So that I can arrange a few things too."

Evan nodded slowly. "You're staying."

"Yes, Evan, I'm staying." She peered at him. "Feeling nostalgic yet?" She smiled her mysteriously beautiful smile.

Evan stared at it. Finally, he said, "It's been such a long time since you've smiled like that. I've missed it."

Her smile faded.

"Do you feel better, Bella?" he asked. "Do you feel justified now?"

Her smile returned, though it held a bit of sadness in it. "Yes." She sighed deeply. "As much as I regret the deaths that will occur, I feel justified."

Half of the King's courtyard was filled with the Palace guards. The King's private guards were right behind the army. They were all wearing armor and held sheathed swords in their left hands.

Behind the King's private guards was a staircase that led into the meeting hall. At the top of the stairs, Edward stood looking down at the courtyard, not dressed in full body armor. Jasper was standing beside him, also wearing his usual work robes.

They were speaking in low tones about an issue that was totally unconcerned with the situation that they were all waiting for. They, too, seemed at ease, not at all fearing the coup that would soon be occurring.

Jasper was speaking, but he soon broke off when they all heard a huge bang as the Palace entrance was forced open. Then came the loud battle cries of the Black Faction's private army, the sound drawing nearer as each second ticked by.

"It's time," Jasper said. He raised his voice. "Soldiers! Stand ready!"

With a single cry, the soldiers acknowledged the order and straightened, facing the closed doors of the courtyard. A minute passed, then two. Then, abruptly, the doors burst open, and an army of soldiers wearing black flooded into the courtyard and stood against the Palace guards defiantly. They could not hide their expressions of shock and uncertainty as they took in the unexpected sight.

Eleazar Denali came forward with Aro Volturi and his other colleagues right behind him. He, too, looked taken aback at the sight of the prepared soldiers. For a moment, no one moved or spoke. There was absolute silence as king and subject stared at each other.

Finally, Eleazar spoke up, his voice raised to carry over the soldiers and up the staircase. "You've been waiting for me, Your Majesty."

"Indeed," Edward said. He smiled rather pleasantly. "What took you so long, Eleazar? I was beginning to think that you weren't coming. That would've been a shame, since I've already set the stage for your coup."

Eleazar smirked. "Well, I guess this is better. We can tell the world that you went down fighting. We'll grant you that."

"How very kind of you," Edward said sarcastically. "But what makes you think that you'll be the winner, Eleazar?"

"We have an ally today," Eleazar announced. "A strong ally. With him by our side, what could go wrong?" He grinned. "May I introduce you to our future king? Join us, my lord."

Jasper inhaled in shock when Jacob came into view, also wearing armor. He looked rather bored with all the commotion. He stared up at his cousin, his eyebrow raising.

"Jacob," Edward greeted. "What brings you here?"

Jacob shrugged lightly. "Well, Eleazar here made a rather tempting offer. I simply couldn't refuse it. So you'll forgive me if I fight on his side, Your Majesty. He promised me more than you've ever done for me."

"Including Lady Swan, I believe," Eleazar added slyly. "I trust she is in good hands?"

Jasper glanced at Edward, startled. "Edward..."

Edward ignored his friend. "Not a scratch on her. Steal her away from me if you can, Jacob. I shall fight gladly for her hand."

Jacob smirked. "How disheartening it must be for you, Edward. I don't see her by your side. Instead, I see her brother, looking very worried and concerned. Perhaps she doubted you?"

Edward smiled. "I wouldn't know. You know as well as I do that she is a very mysterious young woman. I'm sure she'll be waiting for the news in her quarters."

"Enough bullshit," Eleazar snarled. "Let's get on with it." He raised his hand and beckoned forward. "Attack!"

His soldiers ran forward to attack the Palace guards, but Edward's soldiers did not run forward to meet them. Instead, the soldiers retreated, and the front line of soldiers held up defensive shields to form a protective wall.

At the same time, Edward raised his hand. With a rush of hurried footsteps, more Palace guards ran forward, approaching from behind the King himself. They were all archers.

They knelt down on one knee and aimed their arrows down at the enemy. Without waiting for a signal, they fired without hesitation.

Chaos erupted within the Black Army. Soldiers fell immediately upon being shot perfectly. Eleazar and his colleagues wore similar masks of shock and disbelief. Jacob had unsheathed his sword and was now knocking down arrows that flew his way.

Finally, when the Black Army's number had reduced to more than half, Edward raised his hand again. Immediately, the arrows ceased to fire, though the archers continued to aim at the enemy.

"You fool!" Eleazar screamed. His eyes were wild with rage. "How dare you think you can beat me? How dare you aim for your own bloodline?"

Jacob glanced at him, looking abruptly irritated. Suddenly, he was holding his sword to Eleazar's throat, his eyes flashing. "How dare you think you could stage a coup and win?" he hissed. "Did you really think that I would betray my own family?"

Eleazar swallowed hard as he and the army backed up slowly. "P-Prince Jacob..."

"I admit I don't like my cousin," Jacob growled. "He gave me every reason to despise him. He even took away the one woman that I loved. But I never wanted to become king. You've approached the wrong person, Lord Denali...and you were much too late. Perhaps, if you had come to me sooner and beat Edward to it, I would've agreed to help you. Now, you'll pay for your crimes."

"Fire!" Edward ordered.

Arrows flew, and more of the Black Army's soldiers fell. One by one, Eleazar's colleagues and Edward's ex-ministers began to fall to the ground with a yelp. He glanced around wildly. Bella Swan's words pounded in his ears: When you see your colleagues crumbling down one by one, just know that your downfall isn't that far off either.

"No," he muttered. "No, no, no..."

With a sudden scream, Aro fell to his knees, clutching his heart. Eleazar watched, horrified, as his old friend lay writhing on the ground, gasping for air, until his strength depleted...and his head sagged to the side.

He realized, too late, that he was the only one standing.

"NO!"

Eleazar stumbled forward, trying in vain to reach the King. With a disgusted look on his face, Jacob slashed through his stomach with his sword. Eleazar froze, his mouth opening and closing, clutching at his wound. He kept moving forward.

"You just don't give up," Edward said softly. "You're the fool, Denali, not I."

"Your Majesty, if I may," Jasper said flatly. He was holding a bow.

Edward glanced at his old friend, then nodded. He had suffered as much as he and Bella had, grieving for his sister. "Go ahead, Jasper. End it."

His aim was flawless. With one powerful force, the arrow whistled through the air and pierced Eleazar Denali's heart. Eleazar froze once more. Blood spurted out from his mouth, and the area around the arrow began staining red. He buckled to his knee, then fell forward.

Eleazar Denali was no more.

"It's over," Edward whispered. He couldn't believe it. After years and years of bantering and fighting back and forth, it was finally over.

The courtyard was silent. Absolutely silent.

A young woman wearing an elegant pink dress was walking slowly through the garden, a long, thin, silky blanket in her left hand. She dragged the blanket along the dirt path as she looked left and right at the beautiful flowers that had bloomed under the gardeners' care.

She saw her favorite tree up ahead. A tall, shady oak tree. Her destination.

She paused in front of a bunch of gardenias. White, pink, even light blue ones. How beautiful they were. And such a mild, yet pleasant aroma!

The young woman plucked a white gardenia and held it up to her nose. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. She felt her feet rooted on the earthy ground, and she could feel the tranquility of the garden surrounding her. Such a beautiful, peaceful environment.

Slowly opening her eyes, she plucked the petals off the stem, one by one, holding them in her fist. She let the useless green stalk fall to the ground, and she continued on her way. She let the petals fall to the ground, little by little. Soon, she had left a trail of white petals along her wake.

She reached the tree. She took her blanket and threw it over a thick tree branch, then began forming a noose. She formed another one at the end of the blanket, then began hunting for a rock she could stand on. She found one a few feet away and carried it, with difficulty, under the rope that she had created.

She stepped onto the rock, then placed the other end of the rope around her neck. She looked ahead of her at the beautiful flowers.

"Why was I born with such a sad fate?" she murmured. "The world looks so beautiful and calm...but it's all a trickery, a disguise." Tears formed in her eyes. "My father and my husband have gone to battle. I have no hope that my father will win. He will be killed. My family disgraced. And then, Edward will come for me. I will be stripped of my title...exiled, most likely."

She laughed softly as tears cascaded down her rosy cheeks. "No. I don't want to be deposed. I don't want the whole world to see my humiliation. My dream was to remain by his side forever as his queen. And I will do so. I would rather die as your queen, Edward...than be stripped of my title."

She reached up and began to tighten the knot around her throat. "Make her your queen, if you will, Edward. But I will die as your queen. I will remain your queen, even in death." She closed her eyes.

Using her feet, she pushed the rock away. The small boulder rolled away...and the young woman hung lifelessly from the self-made rope, looking elegant and deathly beautiful.

AN: Was anyone expecting that? Now you must feel something of sympathy or pity for her, no? Leave me long, long, long and nice reviews! I like long reviews! ;)