A/N:

Hi everyone!

I know I left you at the cruelest place possible, and I'm so sorry for this. And I also know that it's forever since I updated this story. And I'm sorry for that, too.

I wish I could give you a better explanation than the fact that I've had other projects that have taken up all my time and been prioritized.

I also wish I could give you better news about a weekly update schedule from now on, but I can't because as much as I love and adore this story, working on it goes slow, even though I wish the opposite. So updating will still be sporadic and might be long in-between.

By telling you this, I hope you won't feel the need to abandon the story because I will finish it, but not in a while, so if you want to wait until it's complete, at least keep the story on alert, okay?

I wanted to give you this chapter at least to bring you out of the last chapter's cliffhanger.

I truly hope you'll like it!

Title: The Undecided

Author: MarieCarro

Beta Reader: Chapter is unbetad

Genre: Supernatural/Drama

Pairing: Bella/Edward

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Good and Evil Witches. A Prophecy. An Unfulfilled Destiny. The Promise of a Leader. And it all rests on the shoulders of a "misunderstood" teenage girl.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Word Count: 3, 485

{Chapter 15}

I closed my eyes and groaned. "Are you freaking kidding me? What are you gonna tell me next that I am? I fucking unicorn?" I slouched down in my seat and leaned my head back against the back.

Renee sat down next to me and stroke my hair like she had done so many times when I was upset as a child. "Bella, honey, I know this must be very overwhelming for you—"

I scoffed. "You don't say? In the last six weeks of my life I've found out that I'm adopted, a Witch, an expected leader, that my boyfriend is legit Evil, that said boyfriend's father killed my biological parents, that I'm an Original, and now you're telling me that I'm a fucking Seer on top of all this?" I counted everything off in my head and then gave Renee a sarcastic smile. "Overwhelmed? That doesn't really cover it."

I stood up and started to pace the length of the room slowly as it was impossible to sit still. I knew I needed to calm down because Edward told me my powers had gone out of control in the bedroom when I started to stress, and I didn't want that to happen again, and so I started to chant quietly to myself.

"Soothing and strong where I belong, soothing and strong where I belong, soothing and strong where I belong..."

"Isabella—" Charlie started, but I quickly silenced him with a mouth-sealing spell.

"Pax," I said and made a closing gesture with my hand. Since the spell only sealed his lips, I could still hear his mumbled voice as he protested. "Don't talk to me right now. I need to focus."

He exhaled sharply through his nose and turned to Edward with wide, annoyed eyes, but Edward only shook his head.

"Don't look at me, I'm not gonna undo her spell," he told him. "Unlike you, I'm actually trying to stay in her favor."

When I finally felt calm again, I turned to the others in the room. "What exactly will be expected of me as a Seer?"

"Actually," Renee started. "I believe the wisest move would be to keep quiet about you being the new Seer."

"Why?"

She went up to me and took a firm hold of my hands. "You gained your full powers only yesterday, but you're already a high-esteemed figure in our community. You have been pretty much since your birth, and it's just now that you will truly experience how devoted Witches all over the world are to you. If we add any more on top of what you already have, I'm afraid Witches might start turn on you instead of following you."

I looked at her with confusion. "Why would they do that?"

"They'll probably be afraid that you'll become power-hungry and threaten our way of life instead of making it thrive."

"So what am I supposed to do?" I asked. "Just pretend I don't get visions? What if it happens when I'm in a room full of people? Don't you think they'll suspect something if that happens?"

Charlie tried to say something, but his lips were still sealed together, so with a sigh, I removed the spell. "Privo."

"Thank you for remembering," he said sarcastically, but I just challenged him to continue with that attitude with an unamused look. "What I was trying to say was that as long as we can keep it a secret, we should. The other Originals need to know, of course, but this information should never leave this room." He looked particularly at Edward, who rolled his eyes.

"Really, Charlie? You'd think I'd betray my girlfriend's trust like that? Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Charlie only shrugged, not at all ashamed that he continued to cast these hints at Edward. "You're the only one who would gain anything by sharing the information," he pointed out, and I glared at him.

"Gain? What would he gain by outing me?"

"Power and respect," Charlie replied coldly. "The community would think him trustworthy and they could rally against you and want him to be the new leader."

"The community must be incredibly frail for such a thing to overshadow a centuries-old prophecy," I retorted, but Charlie remained unfazed.

"You have no idea."

Renee nodded sadly. "It's true, Bella. The community was weakened a long time ago, and it never really healed. That's why it's in such desperate need of leadership."

"But how am I supposed to handle all this? It's impossible for one person to do it alone."

I slumped back down in the couch, unable to decide whether I was better off standing or sitting. I was feeling way out of my element. I wasn't supposed to have these worries. I was only eighteen, and I should be in my senior year at school. My worries should only have been exams and prom.

"You are encouraged to build a council of consultants eventually. I'd refrain from it right now, though," Renee told me sympathetically.

I glanced at her and waited for her to explain why I should wait.

"Marcus's coven is the largest in the states, yes, but it was still only a fraction of all the Witches out there, and not all of them are aware that you've accepted your destiny and some … rouges … have denounced every prophecy there is and won't just bow down to you," she explained, and I felt the great urge to whimper and jump up and down like a child having a tantrum.

"So what am I supposed to do? Force them to recognize me as their leader?"

"Sometimes, force is the only way," Edward responded, and I should have known that was what he would believe. As an Evil Witch, he wouldn't hesitate to use any sort of violence, but I was … not the complete opposite, but enough to not want to use unnecessary violence.

I was a firm believer in free will. Like I had chosen my path instead of taking one of the two presented to me. I created my own path, and I was going to make sure that was an option for these so-called "Rouges."

The Witch Community had lived in a black and white world for too long. It was time to incorporate some gray in there as well. However, until I had established myself as a reliable leader, I knew I had to tread carefully.

"So what's the next step?" I asked with a tired sigh. "You say I can't form a council yet, but I doubt you want me to travel the world by myself to chase down potentially dangerous rouges, either."

Edward glanced at me questioningly when I said: "by myself." "You wouldn't be by yourself," he pointed out.

"Your dad already hates me," I reminded him. "I don't think he would appreciate me taking his second in command from him right now."

"Screw him," he replied with a frown. "I don't care about him. I make my own choices and last night I made it very clear that I prioritize you over him."

I smiled. "I appreciate that, and I'm not going to throw any lessons in moral at you about how he's your dad. I'll leave that to Renee," I said and felt amused when Renee folded her arms and huffed in response. "My concern for his growing hate is purely for selfish reasons. I will never earn his respect so long as he hates me."

"No, but you can make him fear you," Edward replied with a smirk that was a mix of humor and anticipation. "You can go a long way on fear."

I nodded. "That is true. But fear feeds rebellions, and that is the last thing I want. In the end, I'd rather have Marcus on my side."

Neither Renee or Charlie gave me any further advice on what I should do, so I knew it was on me to decide what felt right.

"I might have received my powers now, but the last twenty-four hours have proved to me that I still have so much to learn," I told them. "I also think that in order to lead a community, I need knowledge of the other communities we involve ourselves with, mainly the mortal community."

Edward grimaced, but I ignored him.

"I need to go back to school."

Charlie gave me a look that said he questioned my sanity, and Renee tilted her head to the side in confusion. Edward was the only one who voiced his opinion.

"Why would you want that? It's not like you need the education."

"I know I don't need the academic education the high school offers me, and that is not why I want to go back," I explained. "There are still Witches attending, aren't there? I want to know who they are, and I want to integrate myself with the mortals. I don't believe the future wants us to keep separating ourselves from them as completely as we are now."

"Mortals can never know about Witches existence," Charlie insisted with a hard frown. "They have displayed numerous times that they can't be trusted with information about power. It always ends badly."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I didn't say we should announce it on speakers at Time's Square. I know we need to stay secret for many reasons, but it doesn't mean we can't socialize with mortals. As I've understood it, Good Witches already are, so why can't Evil Witches do the same?"

Charlie exchanged a look with Edward and then threw his arms out exasperatedly. Edward turned to me, taking it upon himself to explain what it was I was missing.

"Angel, it's not so much that Evil Witches can't socialize with mortals, it's more that we don't want to. We simply prefer being around like-minded people and not having to listen to trivial, inane mortal problems."

"But if it would advance the magic community, could you not make that sacrifice, just for that sake alone?"

He grimaced. "Evil doesn't work like that, and you know it. That part of you that doesn't care who stands in your way of getting what you want, that is what Evil Witches feel most of the time. Evil is selfish. We don't make sacrifices unless we gain majorly from it, and interacting with mortals isn't a guarantee for advancement. That idea will not sit well with Dad's coven, so for your own sake, I'm telling you to let it go."

I gave him a smirk. "If I did what other people told me to do, I wouldn't be what I am today," I reminded him. "But I get it. Not everyone is ready for my ideas so I won't push that matter further right now. I'm still going back to school, though."

"We can't stop you," Renee said. "If it's what you want."

"I don't like it," Edward disagreed. "I'm banned from the school area. I can't protect you there."

"I don't need protection at school," I insisted. "Nothing's ever happened there."

"That was before you had your powers. You weren't seen as a threat back then," he pushed.

"That doesn't make sense," I disagreed. "If I was less of a threat, I would have been an easy target, so it should have been more dangerous for me before."

"No, because everyone wanted to know which side you would choose," he continued. "If you'd been one or the other, people would have been fine with that, even the opposite side because you would have been half of what you are today. But this uncertainty of what you'll do scares everyone. It doesn't ring well with anyone that one person has that much power, and no one even knows of your Seer ability yet."

"And so it will remain," I assured him. "I don't like being this … almighty person any more than you do. If I'd had my way, I would have remained just a normal Witch and not have to deal with leadership, or Original powers or any of that." I stood and walked up to him to cup his cheek in my hand. "But this is the way it is. I can't do anything about it, so I have to accept it, and I can't exactly hole myself up in this cabin forever. If I'm going to be a leader, I need to start acting like one."

I stood on my toes and placed a kiss on his, still, disapproving lips. Then, a thought hit me.

"From where does this sudden respect for the ban Banshee put on you come, anyway? You never cared before."

Edward glanced questioningly at Renee and Charlie, and they gave him a small nod. Trepidation filled me as I prepared for another outrageous truth of my life before Witches and magic.

"Banshee's a Good High Priestess."

I blinked. "What?! You're saying that she's a Witch, too?"

"She doesn't practice her magic on a daily basis. It's a rule for those who dedicate themselves to the Goddess," Renee explained, and I turned to her.

"I know what a High Priestess is," I told her annoyingly. "I've read everything I can about the Witch Rang. A High Priestess is the third most powerful and respected rang of Witch in the world."

"Fourth."

I shifted to look at Charlie instead. "What?"

"They're fourth in rang," he repeated. "Your books forgot to mention that seers are just below Originals."

I let out a sharp exhale. "Alright, then, fourth," I conceded, and turned back to Renee. "Banshee—"

"Hollie," Renee corrected pointedly, and I rolled my eyes, but I refused to use her first name.

"Principal Greene must have known who I am, so what was up with her agenda against me?" I asked as my anger steadily built.

"She was trying to guide you to the best of her abilities," Renee defended her. "It's not her fault you rebelled against everything."

I shook my head in disagreement. "All she did was call you every chance she got whenever she thought I did something bad. Did she think she could reprimand my Evil side out of me?"

As I raged, I noticed how Edward was fighting a smile, and I knew he wasn't suppressing his amusement with me. In fact, I was positive he was imagining the confrontation he most likely wished I would have with Banshee if I actually returned to school.

I still wanted to, but knowing that a Good High Priestess was the Principal made the idea less desirable. I buried my face in my hands momentarily and let out a small groan of frustration before I looked back at my "entourage."

"There's nothing to do about it. Besides, I rank above her now, so while she can control the school as much as she wants, I'm not going to stand for her continued unfavorable treatment of young Evil Witches."

"Hollie doesn't favor anyone—" Renee began, but I stopped her as I didn't want to hear it.

"You're on the same side as her, so I don't want to hear your excuses of her behavior. I've seen it first-hand and been subjected to it. It's disgusting, and it ends now unless she wants to be pulled from her position."

Renee looked hesitant. "She's not going to like it if you traipse into those halls and pulls rank on her. Hollie is a very proud woman. She'll take it as an insult."

I shrugged, not really concerned. "I won't pull rank on her unless she forces me to. I'm going to talk to her when I return and I will make it clear that I don't agree with her practices. After that, it's up to her."

A sudden case of vertigo hit me, and my head started to ache in a similar fashion it had earlier when I saw the Seer's memories. It was different this time, though, because I was certain what I was seeing now wasn't memories.

I saw the blazing sun, high in the sky, and a large field of grass waving in the wind, surrounded by trees in full bloom. I could feel the wind on my face but it was blowing in two directions, and dark clouds moved across the sky, threatening to extinguish the sun's light.

A broken pot with a red liquid spilling out was on the ground, and a candle melted down to a nub next to it, and as the dark red reached my toes, a burst, like an explosion, caused everything to go white.

My sharp inhale traveled harshly down my throat and I started to cough. I blinked and realized I was back in the cabin living room, but I was sitting on the couch again. I couldn't remember moving back to that position, and I startled when I saw that I had a notebook in front of me, as well as a pen in my hand.

I looked at it in confusion and back at the notebook. The page had writing on it that I identified as my own, but the words were unfamiliar.

The ones born close to when the Earth was awash with fertility and fulfillment close in on their destiny.

Two paths are drawn but only one can be followed. Within this climax is the whisper and promise of a return to the Dark or the start of the golden age.

Blood must be spilt by the means of stones and steel, or the power can't ever be set free.

I could feel the tremble of my voice in my throat when I looked up at the trio surrounding me, two of them with eyes intense and filled with wonderment, and the third who stared at me with fear and concern.

"D-did I write that?" I asked with a small nod toward the notebook.

"Yes," Charlie replied and reached out to read it. "You just predicted your first prophecy."

My eyes widened as I looked at him and then back to the other two. "I barely remember anything. What happened?"

Edward reached out for me, and I didn't care that he did it for selfish reasons, as was his usual motivation for anything, because, at that moment, I needed reassurance as much, if not more, than he did. I gladly stood up from the couch and allowed him to cage me in his embrace.

"At first I thought you fainted," he told me, and while his voice was as smooth as ever, I could still detect the hint of fear he was unable to hide completely. "You fell back against me, but then you opened your eyes and they were the same as this morning. Renee and Charlie figured you had a vision, and after I placed you on the couch, they coaxed you to write down what you saw."

I swallowed thickly and glanced at my mentors, both of them still on the couch and staring intensely at my writing as they tried to decipher the riddle. "Do you understand any of it?" I asked.

"The basics, but it's impossible to figure out its meaning before we know who the prophecy refers to," Charlie mumbled. "It's more obscure than previous prophecies I've read."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

He shrugged. "Hard to say. It means it will take more time to decode." He looked up at me with the same intense look he had as he read the words on the page. "What do you remember of what you saw? Any little thing could help."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes in hope that it would help me remember, but all I saw was a summery field of grass.

"I remember a field of grass, and it's obviously summer, but that's it."

Charlie hummed and looked back at the notebook.

Exhaustion was creeping up on me, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. Luckily, Edward noticed, and I heard him tell Renee and Charlie that he was going to help me to bed.

"Will I always feel this tired after a vision?" I asked softly as he supported me toward the stairs.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "But I don't think so. New powers have a tendency to drain Witches of energy before they're used to them."

"Great," I said sarcastically. "Not only do I have to worry about having a vision in public, I just may fall asleep in the street as well."

Edward chuckled but didn't say anything more as he led me to bed.

A/N:

I don't have a whole lot to say here, but if you have any questions at all that I feel I can answer without spoiling the story, I will answer them! I promise!

Only one thing: do you have any suspicions as to who the prophecy refers to? And what do you think it means?

I'll update as soon as I feel I can!