16th December 2122

Three days until battle

"I can't be sure, but when I think about it, it's logical, reasonable… a likely explanation."

Bella bit her lip, a million what if scenarios running through her mind. "If only we'd known, this all could have been avoided. But of course Edward's mind reading wouldn't work properly. Aro really got lucky."

"He did…" Felix turned towards the door as three clear knocks sounded, and it was pushed open.

"Training is about to begin. Aro wants all the guard in the training hall," Jane said in her usual monotone.

Felix immediately stood. "Of course. We'll be right down." He expected Jane to leave, but she stayed leaning against the door. Finally he moved towards the exit, feeling Jane's watchful gaze follow him. He motioned for Bella to follow him and she did so, sticking close to him the entire way to the training hall. When they arrived, it seemed most of the guard was already there, paired up and fighting, doing their best to weaken the other. Bella felt a twinge of worry as she gazed around the room. In three short days, these vampires would not be simply trying to disadvantage their opponent. They would be decapitating her family, and the people she cared for most.

"The Volturi are not taking this lightly," Bella said, as she and Felix walked back to her room after training.

"No they aren't," Felix agreed. "This is bad. It's unusual for the Volturi to put in this much effort to prepare for a showdown. Aro must be scared."

"Which means the best case scenario is they and my family are evenly matched. We have some good fighters but so do the Volturi," Bella finished for him. "And when I escape, Aro will be furious. He'll target my family and he has the entire Volturi behind him."

Felix nodded slowly, his brows furrowing. "Not if the Cullens take the Volturi out first."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked. "You know as well as I do that the Volturi is crucial for the world to keep going as we know it. They keep our secret, they have laws and create order. I'm all for eliminating Aro but the entire coven? It's unthinkable."

"Not just Aro," Felix said. "Caius is just as bad as him. Plus, a good chunk of the members are greedy, vindictive vampires who will stop at nothing to rise to power and control the vampire world once Aro is gone. Another bunch are far too loyal, and will hunt us down after we eliminate Aro. They all need to go, except for a select few who we know we can trust."

Entering her room, Bella moved to rest her folded arms on the windowsill, looking out over the city. "So on the day, we'll work with my family to pull apart the Volturi, and that'll be that. In three days, we'll stop all of this."


"Don't burn them!" Seth called out from where he sat beside his sister in the Cullen dining room.

"I'm not going to!" Renesmee shouted back, huffing impatiently.

"I can smell the smoke."

Leaning against the countertop, Jacob smirked at her. "I would've thought after all these years, you'd be able to bake muffins without burning them."

"I don't see you helping," Renesmee shot back.

Jacob straightened, holding his hands up. "Hey, I helped make the mixture. You wanna yell at someone? Yell at those lazy idiots sat out there."

"Who are you calling a lazy idiot?"

Rolling his eyes, Jacob gently pushed Renesmee away from the oven, turning it off and opening the door, waving his hand in front of his face as the smoke wafted out. Renesmee crouched beside him and they both stared at the slightly blackened, but otherwise perfect muffins.

Ten minutes later, each wolf in the dining room had a muffin in hand.

"Quite tasty once you get past the burnt bits," Seth said, nodding appreciatively.

"Well enjoy them, because I doubt you'll be having these again for a while," Renesmee replied, before taking a last bite of her muffin. "Once everyone returns from hunting, it's back to training for us all, with only very brief pauses in between."

"I don't see why we all have to train with the other vampires," Embry piped up. "We've been doing this for years. Our purpose is to kill vampires. We're good at it."

"We aren't risking it," Jacob said. "A little more training won't hurt."

Embry rolled his eyes. "Sure, but does it really need to be intensive? For us? We should be strategizing. At the very least, we could be partnered up with someone who's a competent fighter. It gives us a challenge, rather than those weak vampires who can barely hold out for five minutes."

"Embry!" Renesmee snapped. "We are strategizing. But you need to train. I'm sure that after so many years of hiding away, your skills have got sloppy."

"I could say the same about you! Cowering away in hiding for a century."

Renesmee narrowed her eyes. "We didn't have a choice. Would you rather we killed humans to protect our secret?"

"It's not like you didn't already do that," Leah replied.

"They were trying to kill us."

"Oh yeah, and why's that? Edward. The reason we're all in this mess right now."

Sensing the argument getting out of control, Jacob stepped between the two sides, keeping them apart.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I get it. You're both stressed, worried, scared-"

"I'm not scared," Embry spat.

Jacob threw him a glare. "Emotions are strung high, patience is running low. I understand. But we can't afford to have any major disagreements now. We all need to be working together as one big team, and we can't be splitting apart."

"If you want to have arguments, have them after the fight," Seth added. "For now, focus your anger on the Volturi. They're the ones at fault here."


Resting against the doorframe, Emmett wrapped one arm around Rosalie's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "So, what's the plan?" he asked, glancing over to where Jasper spoke in hushed voices with Carlisle on the other side of the room.

"Just a second, Emmett," Jasper said. "Let's wait for the Denalis to arrive and then we'll tell everyone together." He turned back to the numerous sheets of paper splayed out across the table, frowning at one, making a minor adjustment to another. When the Denali's joined them, Jasper collected all the papers together, standing to address their small army of vampires.

"Jasper and I have devised a suitable formation," Carlisle said, leafing through the papers in Jasper's hand until he found the right one, holding it up for everyone to see. "We'll be in two rows, with the wolves on the flanks. The gifted, most skilled fighters will be in the centre. Behind the Romanians, of course," he added, as Stefan opened his mouth to say something. "As they will be providing our cover."

"Then it will be the weaker fighters on either side of them. Then the skilled fighters, then the remaining gifted ones." Jasper sighed. "There's not much I can say to you. Use every advantage you have. If you go up against a powerfully gifted vampire, make sure you have something to combat that. For now, train your hardest. It's the best we can do."

There was a sea of murmuring voices and nods, and Jasper looked to Peter and Charlotte, both of whom stepped up beside him and began pairing people up to train.

"Emmett and Eleazar, Rose and Edward, Zafrina and Tanya," Peter was saying. "Esme, you'll be with me and Senna will be with Charlotte. None of you go easy on your opponent. Push them to improve. Come on, let's go."

In their allocated pairs, the vampires filed out of the room, all except Alice who hung back to speak to Jasper.

"Do you know where the Volturi will be?" he asked.

"Same place as last time," she told him. "At midday."

Jasper nodded, silently. Watching him intently, Alice nudged his shoulder with hers, giving him a bright smile.

"We'll be ready for them," she said, confidently.

"I wish I had as much faith."

"You're forgetting Bella's going to be there. We both know she won't ever turn on us. She'll work with us, shield us. Don't be so doubtful. We have strong fighters and good allies. It will be enough, because we won't allow it to be anything less."


Caius' beady eyes follow Aro and he made his way up the stairs to his throne, turning to sit with a little swish of his cloak.

"You must keep an eye on Felix," he said. "Ensure he is not becoming too fond of Isabella. He could become a liability."

"Yes, they do seem to be getting quite close, don't they," Aro said, thoughtfully.

"And what are you going to do about that? There is a high chance Isabella will attempt to escape during the battle, and if she and Felix are this friendly, he may help her."

Aro gave a small laugh. "Caius, Bella won't be trying to escape. She'd be far too ashamed of herself to go back to the Cullens. If not them, where would she turn to?"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Caius said, doubtfully. "It would be best to stay on guard."

"Of course, of course." Aro waved an arm, settling back into his throne.

"It's not wise to be so nonchalant about this."

"Oh, but Caius, you've seen how Bella is. So shy and quiet. She has no confidence in herself."

Caius raised an eyebrow. "She's changed. Surely you see that."

"I do. However, that is part of her nature. It will always be there, underneath that toughness she shows to the world, and it will never leave."


Gripping a small, plastic plant pot tightly in his hand, Edward approached the grave. Over the years, it had become one with nature, hidden amongst the grass and weeds. A wave of guilt washed through him and settled in the pit of his stomach. He crouched beside the headstone, gently placing the flower pot next to it, tucked away in the grass.

"Hey Chief Swan." He chuckled. "Chief Swan. I suppose after all this time, I'm still scared of you. Your attempts at intimidating me did work. Although I've never admitted that to anyone before." He paused for a moment. "It was because I always knew you could separate me and Bella. It was almost my worst fear, my worst nightmare, even if I didn't always show it. I really owe you for allowing us to continue seeing each other. Especially for giving your blessing for our marriage." Edward's face fell again. "That day, I swore to protect her at all costs. I messed up. So many times over this past century, I failed time and time again. But I promise you Chief Swan. I will get your daughter back- for both of us."

As day turned to dusk, Edward remained crouched there at the grave, simply looking at the gravestone, a million fragmented memories whirling through his mind. Some made him smile fondly, others intensified the guilt. All of them deepened his longing to have his mate in his arms once again.

Small, delicate flakes of snow started to fall, pulling Edward out of his reverie. He tilted his head up to gaze at the sky, once again thankful his brother has agreed to let him leave the training for the evening. Letting out a breath, he stood and walked a few steps, before stopping and twisting his upper body round to take one final look at the headstone.

"I'm sorry."


Talking to Charlie had been oddly therapeutic, Edward realised, as he walked around the back of the house to see his friends and family training. He hadn't said much, but it felt good to let it out, nonetheless. Even if that person couldn't respond.

It was also with renewed determination that he threw himself into the fight, doing all he could to overcome his opponent. Through the night, he kept going relentlessly. Because in a few short days, he would see Bella again. Be able to save her. Reunite with her. Fight the Volturi to get her back safely.

For Bella. Always for Bella.