Divine Comedy (37)
Jane
The kresnik Luka, and the threat he posed, had hung over us like a dark cloud. Now I felt like the storm had passed. We were all free to live the existence we deserved.
Luka's death had freed Goro and the covens from the ring of fire. Seth, Leah, Alec, and I were free to return to our bodies.
"You four were incredible out there," Edward remarked. "Your minds were so connected and in sync. I've never seen such seamless teamwork before."
Esme pulled us four in, wrapping her arms around us as much as she could. "I'm so glad you're all okay," she whispered.
Instead of pulling away, Leah actually hugged her back. "We're glad you're okay, too. We've been fighting to protect you, after all."
"We were so worried," Carlisle admitted. "Luka seemed so strong, but it was inspiring to watch you all pull through and prove him wrong."
Rosalie's face was pinched in, like she was in pain or about to cry. "What you said back there to Luka, about how we deserve to exist...you spoke on behalf of all of us. Thank you for that, Jane."
Goro stared down at me and Alec for a long moment, then he surprised us with an embrace into his big arms. "I am so, so proud of you both," he murmured into our ears.
I put as much fondness and appreciation for my father figure into my remaining arm as much as I could. We couldn't have come this far without our teacher. And to ensure that Seth and Leah weren't left out, Goro clapped them on the shoulders and congratulated them for a job well done. The sun continued to rise over the sea, and its light upon us seemed to reflect the glow of our joy and relief from the aftermath.
We returned to the Cullen house to celebrate and recuperate. Carlisle even invited the wolves over, and though they kept declining to come inside, they were fine with staying in the backyard, which was as good as a wolf's comfort level and trust could get, I supposed.
There was concern over the burn wounds Jasper and Carmen had sustained, though they insisted that the pain was already subsiding and they would be well soon.
Garrett heartily shook our hands. "Your burning passion was such an inspiration to watch. I'm honored to have fought by your side, even if only for a bit."
"You two really have come a long way," Tanya said to me and Alec. She even gave us a small smile. "You're serious about wanting to bring change to our world. I wouldn't have believed it until I saw you take down that kresnik."
"What will you do now?" Kate asked.
With the threat put behind us, she posed the big question that we would need the answers to soon. We were free to do whatever we wanted, really. We had our whole lives ahead of us.
Seth and I wanted to get married in the near future, though I agreed with his mother that he ought to focus on school first, finish high school, go through four years of college, and explore all his options before committing to such an important life decision.
"I've been eyeballing some colleges on the East Coast," Seth told me later, "and I found this school that'd be perfect for you, Jane." He showed me his laptop. "You heard of Juilliard? It's the most prestigious school of music in the country. You could go there for singing, get formally taught, if you want."
I stared down at the website, and its claim to the complete, serious dedication in the performing arts. I considered it for a moment, and I thought about how nice it'd be to live the life of a girl my age, for a change. And best of all, go to school with Seth. I met his questioning eyes with a smile. "I would like that very much."
Alec, interested in the formal study of literature, also wanted to attend college. But before that, we would have to attend high school.
It just so happened that Sue was at the tailend of her nursing career, and upon retiring, she graciously offered to be a homeschool teacher for me and Alec, so we'd have a legitimate way to gain college admission. We were still not allowed on Quileute land, so the Cullens continued to let us stay in their home while we took on the role of high school students.
Three years passed. After the whirlwind of world-changing events—the fall of the Volturi, Alec and I training to become fighters, and battling Luka—those quiet, slow three years were a very welcoming breath of fresh air.
Seth and Alec went on to attend Columbia University, to major in anthropology and English literature, respectively. After a "stellar, ethereal" vocal audition, as the committee had put it, I gained admission to Juilliard. This arrangement couldn't have worked out better for us. The colleges were not only in the same city, but a mere few miles apart. We could visit each other in the lulls between our studies.
I immensely enjoyed my time at Juilliard. I was immersed in an environment that fostered a seriousness and passion for vocal arts. Though I was hundreds of years older than the most experienced teachers in the school, I learned much from them and admired the expertise and insights they had gained in their limited lifespans. I also found a community I could thrive in. I made many friends who shared my love and talent for singing. I became that one friend who never ordered drinks at the coffee shop or a bar, and was always cold to the touch, but my friends didn't think much of my quirks. They accepted me as one of them.
As for Alec, he came out of his shell since joining a book club in college. He could talk for hours upon hours with other book lovers, and seeing my brother so passionate and feeling like he belonged made me very happy for him.
He and I, however, haven't forgotten our ultimate responsibility. We haven't been idle on nights when humans were supposed to rest and sleep. As immortal, tireless beings, we used that aspect of our biology to our fullest advantage. When it seemed like we were sleeping in our college dorms, we went spirit-roaming. We spent those nights going out to form a new order, just as we had promised on the day that Stefan and Vladimir had almost killed me.
We called this new order the Knights of Red. We would be successors of the Volturi—doing away with what made them tyrants, and continuing the laws that hold sense and validity in our world. Creation of immortal children would still be forbidden. So would the senseless slaughter of humans that drew attention and news headlines. Recognizing the value and dignity of human life, however, was our top priority. Any of our kind who didn't respect that would face retribution from the Knights.
Unlike the Volturi, which was established and based in Volterra, the Knights would have no centralized seat of power. Members can remain with their covens and keep ties with them while serving as a Knight of Red. They would respond to emergencies, crises, and interventions only as needed, so they didn't have to feel like they'd be abandoning their mates or friends.
Before we even put out the call for new recruits, some familiar faces already offered to join: Kate and Garrett from Alaska, Goro from Japan, and Enkh from Mongolia, who was now full-grown and old enough for his parents to allow his greatest wish: to see the world.
Within the next four years, Seth and Leah, along with our allies, traveled with me and Alec to find more recruits. Benjamin from Egypt and Maggie from Ireland—faces I had recognized among the witnesses for Renesmee—were the next to join. Others hailed from India, New Zealand, the Philippines, Afghanistan, South Africa, Germany, Iceland, Brazil, and Colombia. This diverse, international assembly let us have a widespread reach over every continent in the world.
The formative years of the Knights were not without its rough edges to smooth down. Our most controversial law put in place involved the prohibition of consuming live humans for sport and sustenance. On top of that, we made the decision to reveal our existence to mankind. Alec and I believed that publicizing our existence could only come with the promise to respect human life, otherwise humans would not hesitate to throw up their torches and pitchforks and wage war on us. Expressing our intent to lead a peaceful coexistence, and showing our capability as decent, civil beings, were crucial to our success.
The Native Americans and First Nations across the country, many of whom have been aware of our existence for generations, partnered with the Knights of Red in easing the transition to reveal ourselves. Not all of them joined at first, of course. The Quileutes were the first to support our cause, and eventually, after much convincing and establishment of trust, other tribes followed. It certainly helped that the Clearwaters have made themselves leading advocates in their tribe to foster friendly vampire-shapeshifter relations.
The Knights of Red have been working closely with world leaders to establish blood donation centers. That would be a reliable and humane supply of food for our kind. Hunting down humans wouldn't be necessary anymore. Either we could rely on the blood donations or consume the blood of non-endangered, wild animals. Kimi's mother, a nurse, became heavily involved in running one of the first donation centers.
Some of our kind pushed back against these big changes. Some covens sought to gain a foothold on power, or refused to give up a life of hunting down humans. Using our fighting prowess, and in a superior show of strength, the Knights of Red would put those stubborn dissidents in their place. Fortunately, we didn't have to draw out our swords often. By the time Seth, Alec, and I graduated from college, we had the Knights of Red running at full operation and existing as a point of stability our world needed.
"Not bad for a bunch of college graduates," Seth would say with a laugh.
The Knights' current structure had me and Alec as the co-leaders, though we'd differ from the Volturi by rotating leaders every fifty or so years (very long for humans, but a reasonable amount of time for our kind). The Volturi had operated like an oligarchy and a dictatorship: a small set of leaders permanently held power with an iron fist, with guards at their disposal. The Knights of Red would strive to function more like a constitutional democracy, with representative members upholding and adhering to a set of laws. Every member had equal rights and a valid voice, so they felt equally heard.
In the years to come, as we'd integrate more with the human world, we hoped to establish a system where our kind had voting rights and opportunities to represent our best interests and needs.
A mere few years ago, before I had met Seth, I never would have in my wildest imagination conceived of such a world. Now I couldn't imagine it being any other way, and I hoped it would last for years to come.
This future, a future with Seth by my side, was worth fighting for.
Seth
The world had changed so much in seven years, and so much for the better.
I learned a whole lot from my time in Columbia, had fun being a college kid, and graduated with my degree. Along the way I helped the vampires go public, which was a whole full-time job in itself, and studying anthropology actually really came in handy. Despite all that, my plans for the future hadn't changed. I still wanted to move back to La Push and marry Jane, the love of my life.
The proposal was no public fanfare, no audience and recording and noise. I wanted to make it simple and sweet, between just the two of us. At the field of dandelions, our special place, where the first sparks of love had flown, I got down on one knee and presented the ring to Jane. She said yes. I pulled her into my arms, swinging her around and around, and we sent up a cloud of dandelions into the air.
The wedding brought vampires and wolves together like never before. Even the Knights of Red showed up to honor the occasion. The Denali coven and Tsermaa's family were also invited. The few humans among us were Kimi's family, Charlie, and some of our closest friends from college. We held the ceremony at the border of the rez, where the boundary symbolized a bridge to cross over as Jane and I would take the first step into another chapter in our lives, and wolf and vampire would join for the first time in matrimony.
Esme was the matron of honor. Leah, Rosalie, Alice, and Bella were the bridesmaids. Jake was the best man. Edward, Alec, Quil, and Embry were the groomsmen. With the exception of Edward and Bella, the bridesmaids and groomsmen set aside their wolf-vampire differences just for this special day, walking down the aisle looping arms around each other. Edward and Bella came up first, followed by Alec and Leah, Alice and Quil, and Rosalie and Embry. Goro acted as Jane's father for the wedding. Seeing Jane, my bride, all decked out in a one-shoulder white dress, and her hair pulled and pinned up underneath the veil, made me want to cry.
Goro put up a stern face while walking her down the aisle towards me. I could tell that if he was human, he'd have tears run down his scarred cheeks. Jane had told me that when she mustered the courage to ask him, he had accepted the tremendous honor and given her the deepest bow, to hide how his face crumpled.
When Goro handed off Jane to me, I wanted to give her the tightest hug and plant the biggest, longest kiss on her lips, but that had to wait till the end of the ceremony. In the mean time, I put as much joy and love into the way my two hands clasped her only one.
Mom stood before me and Jane, and between us, as the officiant. We exchanged rings and vows, swore that we'd love each other for as long as we lived. It took every fiber of my being not to choke up in the process.
Mom declared us husband and wife, and we sealed the ceremony with a kiss. Jane became the first ever vampire to marry into the Quileute tribe. We've allowed vampires on our land before, like Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper—only for extreme circumstances—but never to settle in, only to come and go. Jane would be the first vampire in tribal history to be granted permanent residence in La Push, so she could live happily with me, her new husband. By extension, because he was family too, Alec was given access to the rez. He and I were brothers now, and Leah gained a new sister in Jane.
I was over the moon for the twins, who would finally have a real home and a real family.
The reception afterwards was a bonafide party. The groomsmen and bridesmaids promised it'd be a blast, and they delivered. Wolf and human guests were treated to a four-course buffet and the wedding cake. Jane and I had decided on a fairy woodland theme for the decorations, so tables were decked out in candles on mossy tree stumps, and string lights were spread out over the entire venue.
When it came time for Jane to throw her bouquet, Leah was the one who caught it. I wasn't surprised—she was still going steady with her girlfriend from college. Engagement wasn't too far around the corner.
Everyone populated the wooden dance floor when the classic bops came on. There was something both cool and hilarious about hundred and thousand year-old vampires, all dressed up in tuxedos and gowns, dancing to the Cupid Shuffle or Cha-Cha Slide.
The vampires and wolves then split up to compete against each other in an epic dance-off. In any other place or time, we'd be tearing each other's throats out. Now we were facing off in harmless good fun.
Jane and I slow-danced to "Rewrite The Stars," which both of us felt was the perfect song capturing our feelings and how we were brought together.
The Cullen family's wedding gift to us was a furnished cottage, much like Edward and Bella's. Jane and I would live there from now on, though it wouldn't be too far from Mom and the house I was born and raised in.
Jane and I spent our wedding night at our new home. It was such a beautiful night out that despite Esme doing a knock-out job with furnishing our place, it'd be almost a sin to coop up inside. We relaxed on the rooftop, brought up some pillows and blankets, so we could cuddle and gaze at the stars. I held Jane's hand, and stroked my thumb over her new wedding ring.
I pointed with my other hand at the twinkling stars. "I like to think those are our families on the other side, looking down at us and smiling." I looked over at her. "What do you think, babe?"
Amusement tugged at a corner of her lips. "If you had asked me that the day I met you, I would have scoffed in your face and called you a fool." She turned her gaze skyward and her voice softened. "But now I like to think they're out there too, as happy as we are."
I squeezed her hand. "I'm so proud of you. You've come so far and done so much." When I met Jane, which seemed like a lifetime ago, she had been a seamless part of the Volturi, an agent of pain, terror, and darkness. It seemed like she'd always be a part of them, never to know the light of another life. I didn't regret playing my part in saving her from that shroud of darkness, but from there, it was Jane who took it upon herself to become a better person. Her life began with the world being cruel and unaccepting of her, and for a long time she glared back at the world with hatred and revenge raging under red eyes. Now she looked ahead and shaped the world into a better place for everyone, for both humans and vampires. The Jane back then wouldn't have recognized the Jane now.
She squeezed my hand back. "I've already said my vows, but words really aren't enough to say how glad I am that you came into my life." She wrapped her arm around my chest and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Seth, my darling, for everything."
I caressed her face and we locked lips. When we pulled apart, I rested my forehead against hers. I felt the small ridges of the scars across her skin. "I love you," I whispered.
"I love you, too," she whispered back.
I didn't remember anything else that night. I probably fell asleep right there on the roof. The last thing I remembered feeling was my wife's cool touch wrapped around me.