17th November 2122
"Is that everything?"
"Yes. I can't think of anything else."
Edward sighed. "I'm sorry, Bella," he said. "I failed. I messed up. Badly."
"Yeah, you did," Bella said, nodding. "But so did I. The important thing is that we understand how and why we messed up, and prevent it happening again."
"I suppose you're right," Edward said "But I wish we hadn't had to work through our problems this way. I wish we'd already done that. We could have saved ourselves so much pain and trouble."
"I know," Bella murmured. "I wish that too sometimes. That would have been the easy way, though, and life doesn't like giving us the easy way."
"A constant struggle," Edward added. "Battle after battle. So much to overcome."
Moving closer to Edward and resting her head on his chest, Bella shut her eyes. "Yeah…"
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Edward spoke. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know," Bella replied, knowing instantly he was talking abut the meeting with Aro in two days.
"He wants me," Edward said. "Of course he does. I'm the cause of our exposure. He'll want me dead."
"We won't let them kill you," Bella assured him. "They'll have to get through us first."
Edward smiled, sadly. "But there's a limited number of us and so many of the Volturi guard. We can hardly call upon our friends to assist us again. Last time we broke no laws. This time we have. And we have to face the consequences."
"I know but… they can't kill you. We'll work something out."
"Don't do anything rash, Bella."
"I can't promise you that."
Edward's expression grew frustrated. "Bella, no. Listen to me. This is my own mess that I created and dragged you all into. I'm going to face the consequences alone."
"No, Edward, you listen to me. I'm not going to just stand by and watch as they kill you without doing anything to prevent it. How would you feel if I was asking the same of you?"
"I wouldn't do it."
"Exactly, so how can you dare ask that of me?"
"I just don't want you to get hurt. Not because of me."
Bella shook her head. "Well I don't want you to get hurt either. I promise you, I will do everything I can to prevent your death, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. I am my own person, and I will make my own decisions."
"This is different," Edward argued. "This is about your safety."
"And it's about yours too! Look, Edward, there's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. You want to protect me, I get that. I want to protect you too."
"You're being irrational. This is my problem, and these are my consequences. You weren't even requested to go."
Bella looked down, her voice softening. "Yeah, well, sometimes love makes us do irrational things."
18th November
Renesmee made her way up the stairs, knocking on her parents' door. She stood waiting outside patiently, until her mother called for her to come in.
"Hey Mom," she said, stepping inside and gently closing the door behind her.
"Renesmee, honey," Bella said, turning around to face her. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Have you and Dad talked yet?" she asked, going to sit down on the bed.
"We have," Bella replied. "About everything. Every problem. Every difficulty. Every wrongdoing we could think of."
Shifting closer to Bella, Renesmee nodded. "That's good."
"Have you forgiven him?"
Renesmee looked up at her, unsure. "I don't know," she said. "Not yet. I want to because he's my father and there's so much good in him. But at the same time… he did horrible things. He hurt us all, especially you."
"Don't worry. I feel the same way. It's difficult."
"I think it's just going to take time. He has to make amends for what he's done, and he's making progress."
"He is," Bella agreed.
"It's just, sometimes life gets a bit much, you know? It gets really difficult, and I don't know what is wrong and what is right anymore. Then I don't know what to do. It's… a struggle. I can either forgive Dad or I don't, and they both seem like the right option, but the wrong one at the same time. I try to work it out, but the more time I spend thinking about it, the more confused I get."
Bella nodded. "That happens to me sometimes, too. What I've found is that when you're confused, and struggling, and you can't do anything to change the situation, the best thing to do is stop worrying about it. Stop trying to come to a conclusion. Stop trying to find an answer. Just let life take you where it will."
Renesmee sighed. "Be careful tomorrow."
"We will be," Bella said. "Don't worry about that. We won't let Edward be killed."
"And you. You need to come back safe too."
Bella hesitated. "I can't promise you that. But I'll do my best." She reached over and pulled her daughter into her arms, staring at the clock, counting the seconds as they passed, hoping the next day would go smoothly and peacefully. Hoping she and all her family would return home safely just as Renesmee had told her too.
19th November
Bella clutched Edward's hand tightly, as they walked through the dimly lit hallways, following Demetri. The entire family, excluding Jacob and Renesmee, had gone to Volterra, even though Aro had only requested to meet Edward and Carlisle. Demetri had gone to collect them from reception, and was leading them to the antechamber.
He pushed open the double doors, standing to the side and the Cullens entered, and slamming them shut behind them. He went to stand beside Felix, who stood opposite Jane and Alec. In the centre, three vampires occupied the thrones.
"Ah, Carlisle," Aro said, a smile breaking out across his face. He put his hands together, standing up and stepping down to join them. "How lovely to see you again. And all your lovely family too! Such a pleasant surprise."
Carlisle nodded. "Aro," he greeted, stiffly.
Aro looked around, eyes zoning in on Edward, lingering for a few seconds longer than necessary. His smile faltered, so slight it was barely noticeable.
"Edward," he murmured, shaking his head. "You have caused us plenty of trouble, that is for sure."
Edward stared back, his cold eyes meeting Aro's. "I am aware, and willing to accept my punishment." Bella opened her mouth to protest, but Edward shook his head and she reluctantly closed it again.
"I see," Aro said, slowly. "As you know, we have very few laws, but that which we have are highly important, and meant to be followed with extreme care. The most important, naturally, is we must not be exposed. Violation of that law results in…" Aro tilted his head, gazing at Edward with a falsely pitying expression. "Death."
"It is a law you have now violated twice," Caius said, looking down at the Cullens. "First, with Isabella. Secondly, worldwide. It was a severe exposure and must be dealt with equally severally."
Aro sighed. "It is not something I will delight in doing. But your actions have consequences. I cannot let this slide."
Edward bowed his head. "Of course."
"You will be taken Edward, and given a quick death. The rest of your family can leave freely, but I will tell you now, this is your last warning. If you ever break another law, I will have no qualms with killing you all to ensure the safety of every other vampire." He looked at Felix, who nodded, moving towards Edward with a grim smile on his face.
"Wait!" Bella cried, stepping in front of Edward. "Wait."
Felix paused, and Aro turned to Bella, surprised. "Yes?"
"You aren't going to- to question us? To ask us our side of the story? To know what happened?"
"We know enough!" Caius snapped. "Edward has violated our law, and he must be disposed of. There is nothing more to it."
Bella winced at the word 'exposed'. "But… he didn't directly violate it. He didn't go around telling people that we're vampires."
"We are aware of how the word was spread," Caius said. "We know everything we need to know. All else is irrelevant."
"So you know that we were infiltrated by a vampire hunter?" Bella asked, sarcastically. "Or is that detail irrelevant?"
A flicker of something crossed Aro's face, but only Bella, Jasper and Edward noticed it. Bella couldn't quite place the emotion and Edward detected nothing from his thoughts, but Jasper knew that it was a moment of fear and panic.
"Of course it is relevant," Aro said, holding up a hand to silence Caius. "Please Bella, do elaborate."
"A human wormed it's way into our family," Bella said, triumphantly but wary at the same time. "Sarah."
"Ah yes. I had heard about her in the news," Aro said. "Quite a bit of discussion about her, wasn't there?"
"Yeah… Well, she had a gift. She could bring out the worst traits in us and amplify them to the point where we lost sight of ourselves, and that was all we could think about. It even caused our own gifts to fail us."
Aro was nodding. "Interesting," he said. "I assume that she gained your trust through this… gift of hers. Then proceeded to report back to whomever she was working for and the news came out that way."
Bella blinked. "Yes. Yes, that's the gist of it."
"With this knowledge, I may have to rethink your punishment. There will still be consequences, but perhaps of a less severe sort."
"Aro, they have-" Caius began, but Aro cut him off.
"Quiet, Caius," he said, gently. "As the exposure was not entirely in their hands, and it was indeed an attack on them that sparked this, death is maybe too harsh. They shall not be getting off scot-free, however, so we must think of another punishment."
Caius scoffed. "You would do well to remember this is the second time they have breached our laws," he said. "If this was the first time, I might be inclined to agree with you." His expression, however, showed clearly he would not have agreed at all. "But as this has happened twice, I do not believe death is too harsh a punishment. This shouldn't be taken lightly ."
Aro sighed. "You may be right, Caius. I still do not like the idea."
"I must be done."
"I cannot deny that. Felix."
Felix was instantly at Edward's side, pinning his arms behind his back in a firm grip.
"You may say your goodbyes."
Edward rested his eyes on each Cullen, all of whom wore distraught, defeated expressions. They knew they had no chance of fighting Aro and winning. Not when the numbers were so uneven. Not when Aro obviously had the advantage, being on his territory, able to call upon his guard if the need arose. There was nothing to be said that could prevent Edward's death.
"You may leave now," Aro said, quietly. "I hope we are never again forced to meet under such unpleasant circumstances."
Carlisle turned to leave, gripping Esme's hand tightly in his own. Rosalie was glaring at Aro, ready to attack, but Emmett held her back. Jasper was torn between staying and leaving, while Alice was watching Bella, frowning.
"Wait!" Bella shouted, stepping forwards between Edward and Aro.
Aro turned to her. "Surely there is nothing more for you to say. I have all the information I need, do I not?"
"You do," Bella said. "And I agree that there should be consequences. That's why I want to propose an offer."
Aro looked at her, intrigued. "What kind of offer?"
"Don't kill Edward. Let him go free. In return, you can have me. I- I'll join the guard."
"No!" Edward yelled, pulling and tugging, trying to wrench himself out of Felix's grip. "No, Bella!"
Tilting his head, Aro stared at Bella, eyes alight with joy, like a child on Christmas Day. "You would join the guard?"
Bella nodded.
"This is… quite unexpected," Aro said. "It is tempting, I will admit."
"You cannot seriously be considering this," Caius exclaimed.
"I think we should take her up on it," Marcus said, finally speaking. "You all remember the extent of her shield. She would be invaluable."
Edward shook his head. "Bella, don't do this," he pleaded.
"It's either this or you die, Edward. I can't live in a world without you. None of us want to. At least if I join the guard, you'll know I'm still alive."
"Very well," Aro said. "I accept your offer. Felix, release Edward. Demetri, show the Cullens out."
Felix let go of Edward, pushing him towards the others. None of them moved, all stood frozen watching Bella, unsure of what to do.
"Go," she whispered. "I'll be fine. I promise."
"No, Bella, don't," Edward pleaded again.
"Just go," she replied, quietly. "Please. You can't change my mind."
Carlisle's eyes met Bella, and she nodded her head with the tiniest of motions. Defeated, Carlisle led Esme out. Emmett followed next, still restraining Rosalie, who was fixing Aro in a death stare. Jasper unwilling left, gripping Alice's hand, who mouthed, "I'm sorry," as she left.
Still, Edward remained, despising the thought of leaving without her, but his hope dwindling, knowing how stubborn she could be.
"But what about Renesmee? What about Jacob? What about me?"
"Tell them I'm sorry, and I love them."
"That won't make anything better."
"You'll be fine without me," Bella said. "At least you'll know I'm still alive."
"But not living. Not happy."
"I wouldn't be happy if you were dead, either."
Edward sighed, knowing it was no use arguing. He lifted his eyes to meet Bella's, and said, "I love you." Then he turned away, hating himself as he forced his legs to move, further and further away from Bella, her quiet response of, "I love you too," replaying over and over in his head.
Once Demetri shut the doors behind him, Bella gritted her teeth, steeling herself, before facing Aro, trying to ignore his smug smile.
"Welcome to the guard, Bella."
