10th December 2122

Enough. Would it be enough? It had to be. Everything would fall apart if it wasn't. One would be lost to the Volturi, another would be lost to anguish, the rest would be lost to grief and guilt. They had one shot at this and they had to get it right.

Plastering a smile to her face, masking her stricken expression, Esme opened the door to welcome the Denali's inside.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to this," she began.

Eleazar held a hand up and she faltered, her smile fading slightly.

"We want to be clear with you. We are here for Bella, and Bella only. We are doing this for her. Once this is over, we would prefer to cut off contact, for some time, if not forever. You understand, I'm sure? This ordeal has caused us much trouble."

Disappointment and dismay filled Esme, but she quickly covered it up. "Of course. I understand and the others will too. Thank you for being here, for Bella."

Eleazar nodded. "What do you intend to do? You must realise this confrontation cannot go peacefully as it did before. Skilled as we may be, it will be extremely difficult to overcome their numbers."

"We'll find a way," Esme said, with confidence she didn't feel. "Jasper and his friends plan on helping us train in preparation. The wolf pack have also agreed to help."

"And what about meeting with Aro? How are you going to draw him to us." Eleazar paused. "You can't be considering this confrontation taking place in Volterra-"

"Of course not," Esme hurriedly said. She hesitated. "One of the covens… if they agree to it, of course, will draw the Volturi to us. We doubt that, if they came to visit us personally, they would bring Bella with them. But we need to get her out of there."

Narrowing his eyes, Eleazar stepped inside. "Are we the last to arrive?" he asked.

It was obvious to Esme he was changing the subject, but she decided to let it slide. This was a big ask of them, after all.

"No. Zafrina and Senna are here. We're just waiting for Jasper's friends."

Eleazar raised an eyebrow. "That's not a lot. Are you certain this is enough?"

Esme took a deep breath. No. She wasn't certain. How could she be? But she had to have faith. She had to keep going, hold it together, for the sake of her family. They couldn't give up. Giving up this fight meant giving up on Bella- and that was something none of them would ever willingly do.

"We'll make sure it's enough."


Five days later…

"Bella."

"Felix."

The larger vampire rolled his eyes. "Come on Bella. You trust me, don't you?"

Bella eyed him, doubtfully. "Can you blame me for being wary."

"No," Felix admitted. "But it's safe. No human around these quarters, or anywhere near the courtyard. You can risk going outside for a few minutes."

"I don't like it."

Felix sighed. "You're going to have to do it sometime. And I'll be with you at all times, in case anything bad happens. Which it won't."

"What if this is just another one of Aro's conniving plans?"

Pulling his lips down into a frown, Felix placed a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt, Bella. I thought we'd really strengthened our bond over the past week," he said in mock hurt. "Don't you trust me?"

Bella grinned. "Can't be too careful."

Felix allowed himself to smile for a few seconds, before his expression turned serious again. "I'm serious, Bella. I'll make sure nothing bad happens. I promise you, no humans are going to be around right now. It's nowhere near feeding time, all the visitors have left for the day. Any humans working here know not to venture into these quarters. It'll be fine."

For a moment, Bella watched him, gazing at his earnest eyes. "Okay," she said, quietly.

Releasing a breath, Felix held out his hand to her. "Nothing will go wrong."


"Word travels fast, Carlisle. Have you not learned that from last time?"

Carlisle looked up at the red-eyed, white haired vampire that stood leaning calmly against the wall; then to the one beside him who wore a mocking smirk on his face.

"You would be lucky if the Volturi have no heard of what you're planning," the vampire continued.

"No one would inform the Volturi," Carlisle said, narrowing his eyes.

The vampire tilted his head. "Was it not a friend of yours who told the Volturi about you?" At the silence he received, he uncrossed his arms and straightened up. "Be careful who you trust."

"Why are you here Vladimir, Stefan?"

"Like we said, we will take any opportunity to overthrow the Volturi."

"You should have done it so much earlier," Stefan said. "Last time. We warned you but you didn't listen to us. See what has happened?"

Carlisle took a step back, eyes becoming cold. "We don't plan on killing the Volturi. It won't be peaceful, we know. But death isn't our intention. We only want Bella back."

"You're a fool if you believe you'll be able to get Bella back without tearing apart the Volturi."

"We can't destroy the Volturi. Harsh as their methods may be, they create order in the vampire world. They keep our secret safe."

"Only they didn't do a brilliant job of it." Vladimir smiled. "When the Volturi fall, I assure you my coven will be ready to step up and lead as we once did."


Turning her head, Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A small smile formed on her face.

"It's nice to be outside again. It's been weeks since I was last out in the fresh air."

"What did I tell you?" Felix asked, moving to the walls of the courtyard. "No one around at this time."

Bella nodded. "It's peaceful. Nothing to worry about…" She glanced over at Felix. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to plot an escape. The most ideal time to leave would be during feeding, which is next week so we have plenty of time to plan this. It'll be in the afternoon so there'll be plenty of humans around. Aro wouldn't do anything that could risk exposure. This courtyard is also the one furthest from the feeding hall so it's less likely we'll come across anyone."

"There'll still be the usual guards though."

"True. But only a few. Most will be feeding." Felix shot Bella a grin. "And I bet we could easily take down a couple of guards together."

Tilting her head, Bella frowned, watching Felix with a thoughtful expression. "Why are you helping me?" she asked.

Felix shrugged. "Because you don't deserve this. Because I don't agree with what Aro is doing." His voice trailed off, eyes darting towards the doors that led back into the building. He shared a look with Bella, who silently nodded and extended her shield cover him.

"Yes, it is quite relaxing," Felix said, louder than necessary. "You should come out here more. There's no point in staying locked up in your room. It's not going to get you anywhere."

"I suppose you're right," Bella replied, resisting the urge to keep an eye on the door, until it swung open a moment later.

Aro strode through, a falsely surprised smile on his face.

"Ah, Bella, Felix. How lovely to find you here," he said, his tone too cheery to be genuine.

Bella forced herself not to show her disgust, and instead bowed her head in greeting.

"Enjoying the scenery, I see," Aro continued, eyes drifting to the small flower patch surrounded by stone paths.

"We were just discussing how relaxing it is," Felix said.

Aro nodded. "Mmm, yes. Well Bella, I won't keep you. I only need to speak with Felix."

Stiffening, Bella glanced at Felix, who gave the slightest inclination of his head. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bella," he said, walking past Aro who was watching them closely. Once inside, the doors swung shut with a bang behind them, as Aro led Felix to a more private and secluded area.

"You're spending a lot of time with our Bella," Aro stated, simply.

Felix blinked, contemplating his answer for half a second. "Yes." There was no point in denying it; that would be a blatant lie and only arouse suspicion.

"May I ask why?"

"I need her to trust me. It's to help with your own plan to convince her not to escape. If she believes the Cullens won't want her, and that she has a friend, she may be more inclined to stay here."

"I see."

"Is this alright with you?"

Aro eyed him. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. But Felix, do not get attached. At the very least, certainly not until we are sure of her loyalty."

"Of course." Felix's eyes darted towards Aro's hand, which rested on his shoulder.

"It appears Bella is shielding you."

Felix gave a silent thanks to Bella, internally releasing a sigh of relief, while keeping his expression neutral. "She's been practising. Trying to see how far she can extend her shield."

At this, Aro's beady eyes lit up and he withdrew his hand. "Tell her to keep practising. I'd received word that the Romanian coven are staging an uprising, attempting to throw us out of power so they can once again rule. They have likely acquired others to assist. We're going to need all the guard if they choose to carry out this confrontation. Bella will be a necessary asset."

"I will pass the message on," Felix said, brow furrowing slightly. This was bad news. With the training and preparation, Aro would keep a closer eye on both him and Bella, making it much harder for them to carry out their escape plan the following week.

Although if there did end up being a confrontation, it would be just as easy to escape in the midst of the fighting. He wasn't entirely sure about Bella's fighting skills though… But what was he planning to do? Run away with Bella? Leave the Volturi to ensure she returned safely to the Cullens? He'd be considered a traitor by the Volturi, most likely hunted down and killed. With Demetri on their side, he could easily be found.

"Felix?"

His eyes snapped back to Aro. "Yes?"

"I was saying that further intensive training will begin tomorrow. We need to be prepared to finally eliminate the Romanians."

Felix nodded, still frowning. "Wait," he called, as Aro turned to leave. "The Cullens."

Aro raised an eyebrow. "What of them?"

"Do you think they might be part of this?"

"I have considered that, and yes, there is a possibility this is their plan to get Bella back. But it doesn't matter. I rather doubt she could face them…" He paused. "We won't wait for the Romanians to instigate. We will go to them. In four days. Imagine how ashamed Bella would be for the Cullens to see her with red eyes."

"Too ashamed to escape with them."

"Exactly. Perhaps we can once and for all eliminate the Cullens. All except Alice, maybe. Having a vampire with foresight would be extremely useful."

Felix froze. "Once and for all?" he repeated.

"Yes," Aro said, absentmindedly. They've caused us problems too many times. After this exposure, I feel it is safer for the vampire world to be rid of them. There's so much power in that coven though. Some of them would be good assets…" Aro turned back to Felix. "I'll let you leave now."

Head spinning, trying to process this new information, Felix spun and hastily made his way back to his room. He walked past the floor Bella stayed on, knowing he had to be alone to think things over before he could speak to her about it.

Once inside his room, Felix sat down, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to clear it. Tomorrow, he had to talk to Bella. She needed to know what he knew.


"I mean no disrespect Jasper, but half of them are hopeless."

Jasper followed his friend's gaze and saw that Charlotte was indeed right. Emmett, Rosalie and Alice were making good progress. The Denali sisters were also doing well, as were the wolves. But Esme, Carmen and Renesmee were clearly too kind hearted to practice against each other. The same could be said for Carlisle and Eleazar. Zafrina and Senna were also struggling to get the hang on fighting, having had little to no prior experience.

He knew they had managed back when they had to fight the newborns. But that was just it. They were newborns. They relied on strength and speed. This time they would be going up against the Volturi, many of whom were skilled and tactical. A good fighter could combat their gifts, but when half the fighters were hopeless…

"Keep them training," Jasper said. "They'll get there. Our lives are on the line. That's enough to make them fight."

Charlotte nodded and went back to shouting orders at the various vampires. Jasper's eyes sought out Alice, who threw him a small smile before ducking to avoid a blow from Emmett. She twisted around, sliding past him and flipping him onto the ground. He quickly got to his feet again swinging him arm towards her neck. Alice began to dodge it but froze, her eyes becoming glassy. Emmett stopped just as he was about to hit her, spinning around to search for Jasper in the crowd. Alice's mate had been watching, and hurried over, taking her hand in his.

"It's the Volturi," Alice said, looking up at Jasper, her tone nervous. "They're coming in three days."

Jasper cursed. "Do you know how many of them?"

"The entire guard, including Bella."

Lifting his head to scan the area, Jasper's heart sank. "Three days," he said. "Three days to make sure these guys won't be killed in combat."


"What do you mean you think Aro had something to do with the vampire hunters?" Bella stared at Felix incredulously as he paced her room.

"Think about it, Bella. He told me he wants to eliminate the Cullens. That there's so much power in your coven."

"So what? Look, I have no love for Aro but I don't see how he's connected."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Felix ran his hand threw his hair and took a deep breath. "Aro is scared the Romanian coven will overthrow him and remove him from power. That's what he loves. He thrives on the power and control he has over people. See, usually covens are quite small, only a few people in them. Yours is an entire family."

"And your point is?"

"That's a lot of people, half of whom has gifts. I think Aro was scared your coven would try to overthrow him."

Bella furrowed her brows. "Why would he think that?"

"It's not difficult to see that you all have hard feelings towards us. Combine your power, our differing views on how vampires live, and our past history, it's not a stretch for Aro to believe you want him gone. And when that happens, his response is to eliminate the problem."

"So he wanted to eliminate us then, just as he wants to get rid of the Romanians now?"

Felix nodded. "I think so."

"Why not just kill us then? Send out some of the guard to do the job? Wouldn't it be easier?"

"It would have several repercussions for him. He can't just send out the guard to kill vampires unprovoked. That time with Renesmee, the vampire world couldn't strike back because he had a legitimate reason for confronting you."

"So he sent humans to find out what we are and expose us, and then he'd have a reasonable excuse for killing us?"

Staring out the window, Felix shook his head thoughtfully. "I don't think he intended for you to be exposed. That would only cause more problems, making the Volturi potential victims. No, I think he wanted the humans to finish you off themselves. Only, those humans were greedy, and selfish. They wanted recognition for their actions, and that messed up their plan."

"Aro sent the vampire hunters so he could keep his hands clean?"

Felix nodded in confirmation. "That's my best guess."

Swallowing, Bella met Felix's eyes.

"You're telling me that everything I've gone through over the past century, all the stress, fear, worry, all the danger we've been in, is because of Aro?"