Preparations
Edward's POV
Jasper worked hard to control every one's anxiety as we waited for our cousins to arrive, on the day after the Volturi visit.
There was no time to relax. Our minds were focused on the coming fight against Victoria and Maria. Last night, he had practiced with the wolves both in their human and animal form. It pleased him to see they learned quickly. He planned to introduce them to all the visiting vampires.
Alice out did herself preparing Bella to meet our visitors. I caught Rosalie complimenting Bella in her thoughts before I saw her for myself. She looked utterly irresistable, and every part of me agreed. I couldn't help myself when I proudly introduced her to our cousins. She carried herself well, even though Alice had said she was worried about meeting the Denali sisters. Both Kate and Irina congratulated me on finding my mate. They complimented her subtle beauty in their thoughts. Carlisle and Esme were proud of her for welcoming Zafrina the way she did.
"Edward, what a great find. I am sensing a gift from her. She'll make a powerful immortal."
Eleazar thought as I introduced him to Bella. I shook my head slightly, communicationg that he should keep that information to himself.
"You already know?" He asked. I nodded.
"Does she know?" I nodded again in answer.
Eleazar watched us curiously before he stopped all thoughts of our family. It was not before I caught his last thought. He compared our strength as a coven, to that of the Volturi.
Zafrina was very confused and intrigued by our covens. Living in a large coven was foreign to her, as was our diet. She was shocked when she learned that I was mated to a human. She did not judge us, not in spoken words or in her thoughts.
After exchanging pleasantries, Jasper insisted we start training. Play fighting was fun; especially with the Denali's. I didn't hear Irina or Kate when they decided to go talk with Bella. Alice warned not to interfere when I thought to join them for Bella's sake.
It was good she did.
I hadn't heared Bella laugh or seen her blush as hard, in a few weeks. She quickly made friends with her future cousins. Irina felt that she owed her immeasurable gratitude for sending Laurent to Denali. It did not matter how Bella had known they were mates. Kate, like Alice, enjoyed finding a human friend in Bella. She liked watching Bella's flaming blush when she embarrassed her. She was also happy that Bella played a part in her sister's happiness, and was my mate.
Peter and Charlotte were happy to be back, and see Bella again. In my absence, Peter made sure to push Bella's limits. I watched while they ran through the forest towards the baseball clearing. I saw how recklessly he played with her. She was never in any real danger. Peter was protective of Bella, as Emmett and Jasper were.
I was not surprised when I heard Tanya's thoughts. She was not pleased with her sisters for accepting Bella so completely, and calling her family. In her mind, Bella was too plain for me. She still held some hope that I would change my mind and be with her. To avoid her completely, I sat with Bella on the side of the clearing while Jasper and Peter trained our group.
Bella's frequent nightmares quickly became a concern. She hardly slept for three hours at a time before she woke in a cold sweat, without any memory of what she had been dreaming. Being as stubborn, she still insisted on watching us train.
Jasper and Peter were putting us through our paces. They never once let us forget that the army we would face was unlike anything we had ever experienced.
Those of us with gifts trained with Zafrina. She could effectively calm Kate and Jasper with her illusions, and make them vulnerable. She could affect what I heard from the thoughts around me for at least three seconds, at the beginning of her illusions. Her stronger illussions affected Alice's focus of mind, therefore her visions.
This was an interesting development, as it had never happened the few times Carlisle and I visited them before. Carlisle theorized that her gift had become more powerful. However, I knew that she had never really used it fully against us. There was never any danger before.
When Bella suggested that Jasper change his style of fighting, I heard every vampire mind within range stop to think her statement over.
All were impressed with her insight. Jasper saw the wisdom in her words. Maria was cunning. She always used an enemy's strength against them if she knew it. We all took a break to discuss strategy, making sure to force Jasper to think differently about his attack and defence tactics. It was hard on him, a purely mental exercise. He was very single-minded in a fight. We agreed he should pair up with me since I would always know what he was thinking. Alice pouted, but I quietly let her know that her visions may be compromized with the wolves around.
The strong emotions that Jasper felt let me know there was something wrong with Bella. She was in distress. Her emotions ovewhelmed him, but he followed me into the house after we heard a bloodcurling scream cut-off suddenly. I burst into my room and held my angel to me, trying to wake her up.
"Bella! It's alright angel. Wake up, you're safe!" I cooed.
Tears fell from her closed eyes. Her breathing was shallow.
"It feels like she's dying Edward." Jasper thought.
"Bella, please wake up sweetheart. It's me." I tried again, then asked Jasper to fill her with lively emotions, hoping to push her to wake up.
His thought had frightened me, I did not want to reflect on them. Bella's eyes fluttered open slowly. She was frightened. Her eyes flickered over my family's faces, who all stood behind me. She stopped at Esme.
"Mom" Bella called to her teary eyed.
Esme knelt by the bedside and held her hand, cooing at her to calm.
"I'd like to talk to her Edward. Her emotions were too strong. I'd like to find out what happened." Jasper asked in thought. I nodded slightly in agreement.
Carlisle checked Bella's vitals when my family gave us some privacy. He did not find anything irregular. I lay with Bella for hours on the bed in silence. She quietly cried and calmed, only to start the process over , we kissed and held each other close. We felt a deep need to comfort and assure each other.
I ran hera a relaxing bath and brought her supper to our bedroom. She ate while I took a shower. All our guests were curious about what had happened. Surprisingly, none of them thought of it as a normal bad dream any human would have.
Bella fascinated them, and so did the afternoon's events. I understood their curiosity when I saw how my family had reacted to Bella's scream, from their point of view. Bella was truly the baby of the family, the most treasured and most fragile. We joined everyone in the living room later that evening. Bella quietly listened to the discussion. Jasper and Peter were going over our pairings for the fight.
"I have a suggestion, if I may?" Bella spoke quietly, gaining everyone's immediate attention.
"What is it Bella?" Carlisle asked. Everyone in the room noticed the adoration in his voice.
"Jasper, have you thought about what I said earlier?" She questioned instead.
"Yes, we decided I should pair up with Edward. He will be able to keep up and know my thoughts. Apparently, I'm very…single-minded when in a fight." My brother answered.
I liked that my family treated Bella with respect, and took her advice seriously in front of our friends. It set a good precedence for the way they would treat her in future.
"I think you should pair up with Alice." Bella countered.
"Bella, her visions are affected by the presence of the wolves. It might be more dangerous for her to pair with me." Jasper argued
"Jasper, you know how her visions work. They change based on results of millions of tiny decisions. What do you think will happen whenever she sees you… even if you're able to defend yourself…it might be too late for her." Bella explained the reason for her suggestion.
"What do you mean Bella?" Carlisle asked. Jasper already understood what Bella meant and found himself tongue-tied.
"I dreamed of Alice giving up. She was in the middle of the fight and she just gave up. I can only guess the reason was because of something she saw. Only Jasper could cause her to have that reaction." Bella explained her thoughts.
All mated pairs in the room knew the truth of her words. No one could argue with her.
"I think that you should practice with Alice around the wolves. She'll learn to see around her blind spots." Bella finished.
