A/N:

Are you ready for chapter 18 and to see some practices of White Magic? :-D

Title: The Undecided

Author: MarieCarro

Beta Reader: Unbeta'd

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, 049

{Chapter 18}

When I woke up the next day, I was relieved that my headache was gone, and once I'd taken a shower, I felt refreshed and energized; almost like a new person.

Maybe it was that the prophecy I'd predicted was slowly being deciphered and we were getting some answers, or maybe it was something else entirely. I simply felt more positive than I'd felt in a long time.

As I actually skipped down the stairs, I wasn't all too surprised to see that Charlie was still sitting on the couch and writing notes.

"Let me guess," I said. "You haven't slept a wink, have you?"

"Of course not," he replied, and strangely enough, he didn't sound tired at all. "Some of us have things too important to ignore to waste time on sleep."

I realized he was reprimanding me for going to bed last night, but I wasn't going to let him bring me down today. "Normally, a statement like that would piss me off, but I'm just gonna let you stew in your own bitterness this time."

My comment caused Charlie to freeze for a second before turning to look at me over his shoulder. "You're in a good mood, I see."

"Yes, I am," I said and gave him a smile that wasn't the least bit sarcastic. "I don't know why, exactly, but I feel peaceful. As if everything is falling into place."

He scrutinized me for a moment, and then he appeared to shudder. "No, I think it's worse than that. It seems your Evil side has been drained and your Good side has taken control for now."

I thought about it and then nodded. "You're probably right. I do feel less Evil than I usually do. Oh well, I guess it'll balance itself out again, so I'm not going to worry. I'm gonna fix myself breakfast, you want some."

Charlie grimaced. "No. And get your chipper self away from me. You're making me nauseous."

"Okay," I replied and made my way to the kitchen where I found Renee pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Good morning! Got a cup for me as well?"

Renee blinked at me in surprise. "Uh, good morning." Still confused by my good mood as Charlie had been, she poured another cup and handed it to me. "How are you feeling?"

I took a sip of the coffee and smiled at her. "I feel great. In fact, I have a suggestion I want to run by you."

"Okay." She put down her cup and gave me her full attention. "What is it?"

"I know I've appeared to have favored Evil lately." I leaned forward on the counter between us. "I want you to know that's not the case. I still cherish my Good side, but I admit I don't know much about white magic. I was hoping you and I could spend the day together, and you could teach me."

It was clear that Renee hadn't expected that, but she was also happy. However, I could detect a slight hesitance in her, and I knew why.

"Without Edward or Charlie, naturally," I said hurriedly. "They'd only be a distraction for me."

The hesitance melted away from Renee's face and was replaced with joy. "Sounds like a wonderful idea. And I know just the place for us to work undisturbed." She walked around the counter and held out her hand. "Take my hand and say this spell after me. Goddess and spirits I ask your charity—"

"Goddess and spirits I ask your charity—"

"Lend me your focus and clarity."

"Lend me your focus and clarity."

"Lead me to the place I want to find—"

"Lead me to the place I want to find—"

"So I can have peace of mind."

"So I can have peace of mind."

A feeling of being pulled by my midsection and leaving my stomach behind went through me, and I opened my eyes in shock, only to realize Renee and I were no longer in the kitchen at home. We were standing in the middle of a clearing in a forest, and despite the icy November winds in town, the clearing was green and filled with life as if it was in the middle of the summer there.

"Whoa," I breathed out in awe. "Where are we?"

"A protected spot in a forest in Scandinavia," Renee replied with a serene smile. "Mortals can't access it, and the magic performed here causes the clearing to always bloom."

"It's breathtaking."

Renee was silent behind me, but I could feel her eyes on me. When I turned to face her, there was pride in her eyes. "You feel it, don't you?" she asked and took a deep breath.

I knew I felt something. The feeling couldn't be explained, but it was there, and it was powerful. Fortunately, I didn't have to explain it. Renee knew.

"It's the presence of the Goddess. This is one of the few places on earth where she has appeared in a corporeal form," she explained.

I inhaled sharply in shock. "You mean you've seen her?"

Renee nodded. "Yes, but what I saw wasn't her only form. The Goddess can take whatever shape she wishes whether that's an animal, an element, or any other living being. The form she took when I saw her was that of an old coven member of mine. One who is no longer alive and hasn't been since the beginning."

I slowly walked around the clearing to take it all in. "You're talking about it as if it was just recently you saw her."

"It was. You remember the night Charlie and I told you who you really are, don't you?"

A somewhat sarcastic laugh escaped me. "I'm not likely to ever forget that," I said, and she smiled at me in agreement.

"Well, I went here after your little escape routine with Edward, and we had no idea where you'd disappeared to." A light blush burned my cheeks as I thought of my behavior my last night as a normal teenager. "We knew you'd come home eventually, but we also had a feeling it was time to tell you everything. I prayed in this spot for the Goddess's advice. Normally, she'd answer them by placing thoughts in my head, but she acknowledged your situation was quite special and needed certain attention."

"I could use some of her advise now as well," I said softly and sighed to myself. "It feels as if I've been thrown into a pool filled with sharks, but no one taught me to swim." I looked at Renee. "No offense to you, but the magic I learned didn't tell me how to be a leader."

"It's fine, Bella. The magic we taught you was never supposed to tell you anything." She grabbed my hand and held it tightly in hers as she led me over to a stone altar partially hidden from view. "It was supposed to help you trust in yourself and your own ability. You were born for this. Being a leader is in your blood, and once you embrace that, it'll come to you naturally." She touched the altar, which started to glow before several tools and ingredients appeared on and around it. "As I've been told, you've already displayed great diplomatic skills, and that's not to be taken lightly."

"Thanks," I said, but I was still unsure. "It's just that I feel so insignificant around you, Charlie, and even Edward. You know so much about everything because you've lived it for so long. So far, I've relied on what comes naturally to me, and it feels as if one misstep will bring the entire thing down."

"Which is why I'm going to show you that you didn't become a Witch overnight." On the altar, there were knives, apples, dried corn leaves, and twigs of several different herbs. She grabbed a knife and started slicing the apples. "Your powers might have been dormant until you accepted your heritage, but you were born a Witch, and natural magic is all around us." She gestured around the clearing. "In nature, and the elements. Good Witches tap into that knowledge more often than Evil Witches, but as with everything else, there are two sides of natural magic as well." She handed me the apple halves to hold. "Since you came to me, I am obviously going to focus on the Good side of it, and we'll start with apples."

I nodded as I remembered something I read about. "Yes, apples are the fruit of knowledge, right?"

Renee smiled. "Exactly, and they hold a natural pentagram in their core," she said and pointed at the seeds forming a star. "As you know, the pentagram and pentacle represent good, pure, and white magic. That's why it's a symbol of light and love. Apples can, therefore, be used and combined with protection herbs such as rosemary and lavender to create a protected circle."

She nodded for me to place the lavender and rosemary against the core of the apple. Then we walked in a large circle around the altar while dropping the apple halves on the ground by each point that represented one of the elements in a pentagram.

"The altar is built in a conical shape to channel and center the magic inside the circle," she continued to explain, and lastly, she pointed up at the sun. "Whenever you have lost your way, travel from east to west, and evil no longer leads you astray." She met my eyes. "It was a rhyme we taught children long ago before Witches and magic were feared by mortals."

"It's just amazing," I said and sat down on the ground. "All of this knowledge that you have inside. How do you stay sane?"

"Simply knowing that being a Witch is a constant journey toward new things is enough for me," she said and sat down next to me. "That journey grants us knowledge, and knowledge is power." She stroked my cheek lovingly. "Magic is in everything we do, and that also means it's all about how we use it. Good Witches revere all of this and preserve it. Nature is our legacy."

"What about Evil Witches?" I had to ask. It was half of me after all.

Renee thought for a short moment, most likely in order to come up with a way to speak of her opposites in a way that wouldn't offend me. "Evil Witches have some reverence, but as you've already experienced, they prefer to not commune with the Goddess in her most natural form. They still believe in her, of course. She is as much a part of their magic as she is ours," she said to reassure me that I wasn't fighting a losing battle in my hope of somehow reuniting Good and Evil. "Evil Witches simply have a different way of thinking. They're more forward and innovative. I'd say their legacy is our current society. Mortals may not know of us, but they can still sense us. Since Evil Witches don't hide as much as Good Witches do, their sense of greed has infected today's humans."

"I guess that's why it's time for a new age," I said, mostly to myself, but Renee was intently listening. "Good Witches had the past; Evil Witches have the present, and Neutral Witches has the future."

"Precisely. You're understanding it now. Being a leader means learning from the past, and the present, but also having faith that you're moving in the right direction."

I leaned my head against her shoulder. "Thank you for this."

She shook her head. "No, thank you. I was hoping you'd come to me and ask about this, but in truth, I was getting a bit impatient." We laughed together and it felt incredibly freeing. "I know you have Good in you because I can feel it, but it's true that most of your social circle involves Evil Witches. Maybe you'd be willing to balance it out if I were to introduce you to a few friends of mine?"

I looked around the clearing in confusion. "Are they here now?"

"No, but Witches can hear an Original's calling, so I can easily ask them to join us."

Admittedly, I was hesitant because at that moment, my only encounters with Good Witches, excluding Renee, had been rather unpleasant. But then again, the atmosphere at school was vastly different from the one we were surrounded by now.

"Okay then," I said. "I've already committed to practicing white magic all day. I might learn more from these friends of yours."

"Only if you want to," Renee said with earnest eyes. "I would never force you."

I smiled. "I know. And I do want to. My father would have wanted me to learn about his heritage as well."

Renee closed her eyes, and a warm breeze blew in our direction. There was a presence in it which told me the Goddess was pleased we were gathering in her sacred place.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps in the grass, and then four people emerged from the trees; two men and two women. They were strangers to me, but as with previous meetings with magical beings, I could sense their magic. It was powerful in these four individuals, much more powerful than what I'd felt from Angela or even Mrs. Greene.

Both Renee and I stood up and the four of them fell to their knees in front of us.

"Blessed be," they said in chorus before rising again. One of the men took a step forward, effectively acting as a spokesperson for the others. "It is an honor to be called upon by a Witch of the Old and our prophesied leader. What may we do for you?"

"Garrett, there's no need for formalities here," Renee told the man. It was clear they knew each other from before. "I've asked you all to come here to give Bella the chance of meeting the coven leaders in America at least. She's a bit out of practice with her white magic, but she's a quick study."

Garrett turned to me with a warm smile. "Before we denounce all formalities, I have to say what an absolute pleasure it is to meet you, Miss Alistair. I've known about your prophecy my entire life, and being in your presence now is humbling."

Feeling quite uncomfortable by his praise of my character even though I'd been warned there would be those who did so made me feel at a loss for words. However, I knew I needed to speak because if Renee spoke for me, I'd appear an ignorant child in need of constant supervision.

I took a deep breath to calm down, and then I returned Garrett's smile. "It's a pleasure for me to meet you all as well. I hope I will live up to your expectations." I didn't tell them they could call me Bella because I didn't want to lose their respect when they'd asked to extend the formalities until introductions were over at least.

Garrett turned to introduce the others. "Miss Alistair, these are my friends and fellow coven leaders; Carlisle, Margaret, and Emily."

Renee took over. "Bella has some extraordinary experience working with the elements, but I want her to experience it while in such close proximity with the Goddess as we all are here. Would you be willing to assist me?"

This time, Carlisle was the one to speak up. "Gladly, Renee. Have you a formation in mind?"

"Bella should channel Spirit, and I want you, Carlisle, to take Fire. Margaret on Air, Emily on Water, and Garrett on Earth."

I followed the others in silent curiosity until we stood in position around the altar, and I immediately understood why Renee had us prepare a circle before. Even though she wasn't certain I would have wanted to meet the others, she had wanted everything done ahead in case things went as she hoped.

Subtly, I looked at the others. I had Margaret on my left side and Emily on my right, and I realized with a start that they were waiting for me to lead them into the circle. I quickly scrambled through my head for the circle ritual I'd performed in the cabin weeks ago with Renee, Charlie, and Edward.

"Magic of the Universe dwells in here

By the power of the Goddess, the almighty seer

By the power of Lightning, our visions are strong

By the power of our ancestors we belong

The earth, the fire, the sea, the sky, and spirit we claim

Our powers roam freely in this domain."

I immediately noticed a difference in this ritual because the others didn't call for their elements out loud. They had their eyes closed, and their mouths sealed, yet I could feel as each element joined the circle, much more powerful in one way compared to the last time I felt them, but also weaker since I didn't hold them all myself this time.

It was my turn to call for the Spirit, and I gave it all my attention, stripping away all the distractions I felt inside and said the words in my mind's eye.

"I call for Animus."

The Spirit entered the circle, but it was somewhat confused, most likely because I'd called for it in a non-verbal manner, and I'd never done it before, but when the element understood that it'd done the right thing, it shed its confusion and supported me fully as it had before. It recognized me as someone who understood it and welcomed me into its embrace.

Suddenly, everything around me melted away. The sounds of the clearing, the others breathing, and even my own heartbeat; everything became completely quiet. I wasn't really feeling anything either, but it wasn't an altogether uncomfortable feeling.

At that moment, I just was. Nothing more, nothing less.

Still, I was confused, and I couldn't keep my eyes closed any longer.

However, when I opened them, I saw the last thing I expected.

A/N:

Sorry about the cliffie, but I had to stop the chapter here. It just happened naturally.

So what do you think she sees? Share your thoughts and let me know :)

As Always,

Stay Awesome!