Apologies for the long radio silence, I'm appalled that this is becoming a habit. I'll try my best to break out of it!
As always, thank you for your support and lovely comments, I get embarrassingly sappy reading them. Your fault, not mine! (Let's not kid ourselves, I honestly love and treasure them so don't stop please)
This particular chapter is something most of you have been waiting for, so enjoy! I'll ramble more in the end notes.
20. Reunited
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Rosalie's POV
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Rosalie gasped softly as she took in Bella's battered form. Per usual, she didn't arrive without injuries and this time her neck and left arm were covered up with torn up fabric soaked with blood. By the smell of it, the wounds were still bleeding.
"Oh you poor girl," Esme murmured with a mournful expression. Carlisle was crouching in front of the time traveller, carefully moving the fabric to inspect the damage. Rosalie was grateful that her mate was passed out in that moment, not howling in pain as she suspected the injury was serious, judging by Carlisle grimace.
"What is it?" Rosalie demanded, ignoring how her voice shook.
"I need to take a closer look, but her arm has been sliced up and there is some substance in it that I'm unable to recognise," he hesitated.
"And her neck?" Kate asked impatiently, before Rosalie could.
"Well, I'm not completely sure but it looks as if she's been graced by a claw,"
"A claw?" Rosalie repeated with wide eyes. Oh Bella, what had she gotten herself into this time.
"What animal?" Kate furrowed her brows.
"A werewolf," the doctor replied softly. No one was able to stifle their gasp.
"Seriously?" Emmett inquired incredulously. "Badass Bella strikes again!"
"This isn't a laughing manner Em!" Rosalie snapped at his proud smile. He quickly dropped it and offered her a sheepish look.
"I know, I'm sorry," Rosalie rolled her eyes and refocused on her mate. Only Bella could find danger life her life depended on it.
"Oh Bella, what am I to do with you?" she whispered and pushed aside a lock of hair from the unconscious girl's face. "You are a magnet for trouble,"
"We need to move her," Carlisle informed and Rosalie snapped into action. As gently as she could, she picked up her injured mate and followed her father into his office. She stared down at her unconscious girl and desperately hoped that one day she would return to the present without injuries.
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Bella's POV
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Bella shot up in bed with a small cry, her heart furiously beating in her chest. Her T-shirt was damp with sweat and clung uncomfortably to her skin. Her breath came out in quick gasps as she struggled to maintain control of it. There was a rustle of sheets and a hand tentatively touched her shoulder. Bella reacted violently and leaped away, crashing to the floor with a painful cry.
"Bella!" someone shouted in alarm. Bella crawled away, putting as much distance as she could away from the touch. "Bella, look at me," Bella shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. The image of a small boy's bloody face stared at her accusingly. The image quickly shifted into a monstrous sight, snapping canines accompanied with a furious growl.
"What's going on?" a new voice entered the scene.
"Bella, open your eyes," the first voice pleaded. "You're safe, open your eyes," Bella took several gulps of air before prying her eyes open. The world stilled. The familiar face of Rosalie swam into view, staring at her worriedly. Bella blinked in surprise and looked around. She was situated on the floor, with Bella kneeling in front of her and Emmett was standing in the doorway of the room, staring at her in concern. "It was just a nightmare," Rosalie insisted softly.
"No," Bella's voice sounded far away. "A memory," she recalled quietly, oblivious to the sad look Rosalie and Emmett exchanged.
"I'll take it from here Em," Rosalie told her brother, who gave Bella a lingering look before nodding and leaving, the door closing after him with a soft click.
"I'm sorry," Bella offered uselessly, painstakingly picking herself off the floor. She was too tired to reject Rosalie's help, who had quickly crossed the distance. "I guess I'm back then," she let out a humourless laugh.
"Yes, thank god," Rosalie muttered as she gently lowered Bella back on the bed and began fussing over the sheets. "You arrived with a flourish as always, crashing onto Esme's sofa table, all bloody and beat up. Carlisle had to stitch you together and you thankfully remained unconscious. While we expected you to wake up the next day you just remained in some sort of a coma, and it's been five whole days and I've been worried sick – "
"Rose," Bella interrupted the tirade, too tired and disoriented to process the given information.
"I'm sorry," Rosalie deflated before she hesitantly perched herself on the edge of the bed.
"I'm so tired," Bella confessed, and she knew Rosalie realised she wasn't just speaking of physically. The blonde let out a shaky breath but remained silent. "When it boils down to it, I'm just tired,"
"I know," Rosalie murmured softly and their eyes met for a moment before Bella had to avert her gaze. There were too many emotions swimming in topaz eyes, enough to hurt. "I just – "
"Please," Bella whispered and closed her eyes. "I know we need to talk but can we postpone it for tomorrow?"
"Okay," Rosalie agreed and made a move to stand up. Bella's hand shot out to grab ahold of her arm.
"Stay with me?" she wondered in a small voice, too tired to mask her vulnerability.
"Of course," Rosalie answered in a relieved breath. Bella didn't dare to open her eyes again, and to be fair she wasn't sure if she was even able to. Her eyelids felt too heavy. There was a moment of indecision, until Rosalie lay down beside her, arms brushing against one another. "Sleep Bella, I'll keep you safe," despite Bella's conflicted emotions towards her mate, her body immediately relaxed at the words and she drifted off.
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Bella stared into the mirror with a small frown marring her features. As always, she looked tired and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her skin was sickly pale but that was to be expected according to Carlisle. She had been sleeping for a long time and her body was pretty banged up. It was the newest addition that made Bella frown. Starting just below her left ear and reaching down to her collarbone, was a brand-new scar. It was dark red and deep, although it thankfully wasn't bleeding any more. While the thought of a werewolf attack wouldn't occur to her human friends, it was obvious that it was left by an animal. Bella sighed heavily. As if she needed any more reason for her friends to ask questions about her crazy and mysterious life. Bella winced as she thought of them. Were they even her friends any more? She hadn't spoken to Angela for weeks, not properly at least. The girl must be beyond worried.
"Bella?" a timid voice called out, snapping her back into reality.
"Coming," with one last look, Bella shrugged her shirt back on and left the bathroom mirror. She paused in the doorway and took in the scene. Rosalie was pacing the floor furiously, muttering something under her breath. Bella's carefully crafted neutral mask crumbled, replaced by fond amusement. Rosalie had been a bundle of nervous energy the entire morning, reminding Bella of the time when instead of having a conversation, they danced around each other.
"Rose?" Bella's lips twitched as Rosalie's head snapped up, her expression the very definition of deer-caught-in-headlights. She sight was incredibly adorable.
"I…er…hi," the blonde greeted lamely. "I…" she trailed off.
"Are you okay?" as cute as Rosalie was behaving, Bella was a tad worried she might spontaneously burst from sheer nerves alone.
"Yes," pause. "No," Rosalie's shoulders slumped. "There has been some new developments that you need to be made aware of," brown met topaz. "I was wondering if we could talk afterwards? If you're not too tired of course. We can also reschedule if it's too much and – "
"Rose, babe. Calm down," Bella intervened before Rosalie could spiral more. The term of endearment was an accidental slip, a habit, but Rosalie seemed to visibly relax at it. "We'll talk after,"
"Okay, good," the vampire offered a shaky smile and gestured towards the door. Bella gave an equally awkward smile and followed her mate downstairs, where everyone was already gathered.
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The meeting only confirmed Bella's theories about Victoria, although the newborn army took her by surprise. It looked like Victoria was pulling out all the punches. The time traveler found that oddly flattering, in a morbid way. Everyone refused to listen to Bella's apologies for escalating the situation, but that didn't make the guilt go away. Inwardly she was glad that they decided to focus on how to handle Victoria instead of shifting blame but she still felt responsible. It wasn't until Kate had pointed out that it was hardly her fault for being a victim of sadistic vampires who didn't know when to quit, that the storm inside of Bella calmed down. Kate sure had a way with words. That had been fifteen minutes ago and so far no one had come with anything solid.
Bella had remained relatively quiet up until now, letting Carlisle, Tanya and Jasper lead the conversation but they spent more time arguing than working together. Her head was starting to hurt and she was rapidly losing patience since they were simply going in circles.
"I might have a solution," Bella ventured carefully and every head snapped towards her. She shifted awkwardly under the intense scrutiny and unconsciously scooted closer to Rosalie, who seemed incredibly satisfied with the result. Bella barely managed to keep in the eye-roll, while Edward has no such qualms. Bella smirked as Rosalie flipped her brother off.
"How?" Kate brought her attention back.
"I met someone who has the means to help," Bella shrugged. "As it turns out he owes me a favour,"
"Who?" everyone asked in unison and Bella's lips twitched. She wanted to ask if that was rehearsed but a glance at Esme's worried face, she decided not to be a smart-ass for once in her life.
"He's a vampire," she could drag this out though, their curiosity was amusing.
"We're vampires," Kate dead panned, obviously not impressed.
"You're a vampire but you're not the king of vampires," everyone stopped breathing at that.
"You met the Volturi?" Edward breathed out.
"Yup," the time traveler shrugged. Sure, Caius was scary but she didn't think he deserved this kind of reaction. Everyone seemed frozen in their seats. Then again he had killed a werewolf with such vengeance that Bella was still unnerved by the memory. Perhaps the reaction was warranted after all.
"Which one?" Carlisle found his voice and Bella blinked in surprise. She had never seen Carlisle's eyes this intense before.
"Caius," Bella answered flippantly. Judging by everyone's reaction, she imagined Caius was the worst of them.
"And you're still alive?" Kate was staring at her with something akin to wonder and a no small amount of incredulity.
"Last time I checked,"
"He owes you?" Jasper asked skeptically. Bella almost threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Yes," she leaned further into Rosalie, ignoring how her mate was staring at her with the same disbelieving expression as everyone else. "We made a deal. I would help him and in return he'd help me,"
"What did you help him with?" Tanya asked curiously and a bit reluctantly, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"I helped him kill a werewolf," Bella shuddered at the memory. "And let me just start off by saying, not a fan,"
"You killed a werewolf," Jasper stated slowly, staring at her incredulously.
"The key word is helped," Bella supplied easily. "I don't know why you're so surprised, you've all seen my new scar,"
"Which is badass!" Kate and Emmett spoke at the same time. Bella offered the duo a wry grin.
"We assumed you were attacked by one, not that you killed one," Tanya explained in a tight voice. The Denali leader's expression was a comical mixture of awe and disbelief.
"Yeah well," Bella said lamely, unsure how to counter. To be fair even she was still shocked about how incredibly lucky she was. "Let's circle back to Caius. He told me-"
"We can't trust him," Edward interrupted.
"Okay first of all, rude," Bella frowned. "Second of all-"
"The Volturi are evil," Edward exclaimed in a snide tone. "They are murderers. You don't know anything about them," he added patronisingly. Bella's patience was already running thin but at that point she snapped.
"Oh get off your high horse Eddie," she practically spat out, ignoring his indignant expression.
"Don't call me Eddie!"
"Your biggest problem is that you see everything in black and white, which is honestly surprising given you're a mind reader – one would think you'd have more depth," Kate snorted at that but Bella kept going. "You can't put people in little boxes that says 'good' or 'evil', the world doesn't work like that. Considering what I've heard about you, you should at least understand that,"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward shot back defensively.
"I've heard about the time you changed diets drastically," Bella explained with a dry look. Honestly, he couldn't be this thick.
"That was different," the bronzed haired boy furrowed his brows. "I only hunted rapists and murderers,"
"Yes," Bella acknowledged before raising one eyebrow. "By killing them," he had no comeback to that. "I'm not saying they didn't deserve it, I'm just pointing out a flaw in your argument. I don't know much about the Volturi or Caius, it is however to my understanding that they govern all vampires. I imagine the moral code for such a job is somewhat flexible, if not a grey area. I'm not saying you must be their biggest supporter; I'm merely pointing out that not everything boils down to 'white' and 'black', 'good' and 'evil'. People, and I count vampires in that category, are more complicated than that,"
"They have done a lot of bad stuff though," Emmett piped up hesitantly when it looked like Edward wasn't about to respond.
"And I'm not defending their actions," Bella shrugged. "But I reckon they have done good stuff as well, or at the very least kept the world from finding out that vampires exist. There are different shades of greys in between, you can agree with their principles but not their methods," she sighed. There was no point in convincing them. "Caius was at least against the genocide, that alone makes him better than James and Victoria," the last part she muttered to herself, once again completely forgetting about supernatural hearing.
"Genocide?" Kate repeated in a horrified tone. Bella gently grasped Rosalie's hand when she tensed up beside her. Old habits die hard after all.
"Yes, I was in Rwanda," Bella answered dismissively, the memory too raw to have a proper discussion about it. "Long story short, I was in Rwanda, witnessed another genocide – "
"Another?"
"-and was forced to watch people die. Then I was being chased by psychotic vampires and as they were about to torture and kill me, Caius stepped in," Bella ignored Irina's question.
"Jesus Christ Bella," Emmett exclaimed, trying and failing to catch Bella's eyes.
"Look, I don't know the whole story about your beef with the Volturi, but I do know that Caius offered me his help. He could have killed me but he decided to spare my life. That gives him the benefit of the doubt in my book. We could rally up your vampire friends but I think it's smart to at least alert the Volturi about this problem. Victoria is creating a lot of havoc and threatens to expose your identity. Shouldn't they know about it?"
"I'm with Bella on this one," Tanya offered after a moment of silence, with a nod from her sisters. Bella let out a relieved breath. That were three votes.
"Of course you'd vote yes," Edward rolled his eyes. "You're their biggest fan,"
"Not at all," Tanya narrowed her eyes. "I am sensible enough to avoid their ire and detection though. You should take that advice to heart,"
Bella thought it strange how Edward was over 100 years old but still behaved like a teenager. But even if he was stuck mentally at 17, why did that rule not apply to the others? They seemed to evolve with time, much like most humans. Why was Edward an exception? She shook her head gently, a food for thought for later.
"May I call him?"
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Bella shifted awkwardly in her seat, wilfully ignoring how everyone were staring at her. At least they could pretend not to look, it was only common decency. Before she could voice that thought out loud, someone on the other line picked up.
"Hello?" it was a woman's voice. Bella didn't know who it was but the melodic tone was enough to convince her it was a vampire.
"Er… hello," Bella winced at the awkwardness of the situation.
"Who is this?" the woman sounded incredibly perplexed.
"I'm…Bella," she promptly ignored Kate's snigger, who was obviously enjoying Bella's blunder. "I'm trying to reach Caius?" she added.
"Bella the Fierce?" And just like that, the woman's entire demeanour shifted. She could practically hear the capital letter in the title Caius bestowed upon her. Bella blushed under the incredulous stares of the other vampires in the room.
"Err… I'm not sure what Caius told you – "
"He calls you Hearding you know," the woman sounded amused by Bella's awkwardness.
"Yeah to my face too," the time traveler muttered, which made the woman laugh.
"He's incredibly fond of you,"
"Err…"
"To be fair I'm unsure if I believe all his stories. He describes you as someone invincible,"
"I think I can safely say that I'm not invincible at all ma'am," Bella snorted.
"Oh there's no need for this ma'am address. You and my husband are friends so I hope you just call my Athenodora," the woman, Athenodora, said pleasantly. "Maybe in time we too become friends,"
"Very well. It's nice to sort of meet you Athenodora," Bella continued. "Although I'd appreciate if you just call me Bella, none of that Fearless or Hearding business," Athenodora laughed again.
"Well maybe next time we'll meet in person and I'll be the judge of that," Bella made a small noise of agreement, only to hurry up the conversation. "One moment, I'll call my darling husband," there was a ruckus on the other line.
"Did you just – "
"Hearding!" Caius cheerful greeting cut off Emmett's remark.
"Caius," Bella answered in kind, unable to suppress a small fond smile for the crazy king.
"How wonderful to hear from you my friend! I was worried you had lost the number or even forgotten about me!" he sounded oddly wounded.
"I can confidently state that there is no way I could ever forget about you Caius," Bella assured him with a small eye roll.
"Well of course not! You stole my sword and then helped me slaughter a werewolf!"
"I borrowed your sword," Bella corrected in a sulky tone.
"We've been over this," Caius sighed heavily, although it was easy to detect mirth in his tone. "Did you give it back?"
"…"
"Hah!"
"Anyway so I just returned from our werewolf…hunting and turns out I have a few problems at my end. Remember your promise?"
"Of course,"
"Victoria isn't the only vampire after me, turns out she's making a newborn army,"
"Are you certain?" the king sounded completely serious, all trace of previous mirth forgotten.
"Yes,"
"That is most troubling to hear," Caius murmured. "I will send my best guards to you to assess the situation,"
"That's great," Bella let out a sigh in relief. "We appreciate all the help we can get,"
"We?" Caius paused. "Your other vampire friends I assume. You never gave me names you know,"
"There wasn't any time," Bella snorted. "I'm here with two covens, the Cullen's and the Denali's,"
"The Cullen's?" Bella could almost picture the look of distaste and she had to swallow her laughter. "Is Carlisle still boring?" Bella almost lost it when she glanced at a frowning Carlisle, Esme patting his arm in consoling manner. Thankfully she managed to keep face, although that did not apply to Kate, who was shaking with silent laughter. "At least the Denali's are interesting," Tanya shot Carlisle a smug look.
"Please don't insult the Cullen's," Bella tried to sound stern but judging by Esme's disapproving look, she failed.
"There are a lot of interesting vampires in the world Hearding. In fact, you can still come to Italy!" it was glaringly obvious that Caius held no love for the Cullen's, at least not Carlisle. He sounded incredibly disappointed in Bella's choice of friends.
"I might visit one day but for now I'm staying here," Bella almost laughed when the king let out a sigh. "Plus my mate is a part of the Cullen clan," she did not look up but was highly aware of Rosalie's stare.
"That makes more sense," Caius' cheerful manner returned. "There had to be a logical reason for you to hang around Carlisle Cullen," she tried her best but at the end of the day Bella was still human and didn't have as much control with her emotions she'd like. So she burst into laughter.
"Caius! Be nice," her laughter kind of ruined the effect.
"Being nice is overrated," Caius stated, seemingly pleased about her reaction. "Aro has always been incredibly fond of the man, something I've never understood. His character is incredibly bland, much like the taste of the blood he drinks I presume – "
"Okay! How about we change the subject," Bella was not comfortable shit talking Carlisle in front of him, even if it was really funny.
"Spoil sport," Caius lamented. "Very well, have it your way my friend. I will send two of my best guards to assess the situation and they will report back to me. We'll go from there,"
"That sounds reasonable," Bella agreed, seeing no flaws in that argument.
"You'll come to find that I am nothing but reasonable," Caius quipped, which made Bella snort.
"That's a blatant lie," she fired back humorously, ignoring the shocked expressions around her. She was aware that their dynamic was a bit unusual, as she remembered Felix and Demetri had the exact same reaction.
"Oh how I've missed you Hearding," Caius laughed joyfully. "No one dares to speak to me like you do,"
"Someone's got to keep you grounded," Bella smirked. "Breathing in that royal air all of the time just makes you big headed. I am only serving the world by humbling you a bit," Bella wondered if she had gone too far this time. Something about Caius just made her lose her filter. To her immense relief, Caius laughed again.
"Indeed," the vampire king finally calmed down after a moment. "How are your injuries?" his voice shifted to concern.
"Healing," Bella answered awkwardly. She was more comfortable with dealing with snarky and amused Caius than when he expressed his odd fatherly concern. "The scratch burns from time to time," she added as an afterthought.
"I see," there was a long pause. "I took the liberty to contact a Potions Master on your behalf,"
"Oh?"
"You will be fine, although I would expect a few changes in your body,"
"That sounds ominous," Bella frowned. "What kind of changes?"
"Hah! And spoil the surprise? You know me better than that Hearding!" Caius mood went back to amused. "I have to go! I'll send my guards this afternoon,"
"Wait-"
"Do call again! It was nice hearing from you!"
"Caius-" the call ended abruptly, making Bella sigh heavily. As amusing it was to deal with Caius, it was also very draining. She put down the phone and gently massaged her temples.
"Okay so is no one going to address the fact that Bella is BFF with Caius fucking Volturi?" Kate finally broke the silence. The time traveler glanced up and by sheer willpower alone, did not burst into hysterics as she noticed the queer looks every vampire was sporting. Even Rosalie was staring at her as if she was an alien.
"What? He's cool," Bella shrugged, biting her lips when Rosalie looked up at the ceiling, as if praying for a higher power to help with her sanity.
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Rosalie's POV
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"So…" Bella cleared her throat gently, seeming uncharacteristically awkward with being alone in a room with Rosalie. That sight was new and Rosalie hated it instantly. It was a testimony how much she screwed up between them. She needed to fix this.
"I'm so sorry," Rosalie began earnestly. Bella blinked in surprise. She looked as if she appreciated the apology but was still unclear what she was apologising for. Rosalie's mind flashed to Emmett's surprisingly thoughtful theory on Bella's mind. 'She is prone to jump to conclusions and second guess everything. While she's finally starting to open up about her feelings, she is a master of self-destruction. If you don't say the things she needs to hear, her mind will conjure up the worst possibly images. You need to clarify things," Rosalie drew in a sharp breath, mentally preparing herself. Just be honest. "I lied before,"
"Lied about what?" Bella ventured carefully, obviously trying her best to stay calm. Something about the anxiousness in brown eyes softened Rosalie and she finally found her courage.
"I want nothing but to spend forever with you," blunt but true. Bella's eyes widened and she seemed frozen on the spot. "I've been incredibly unfair to you," the familiar feeling shame rose in Rosalie's chest. "I've been encouraging you to face your demons while neglecting my own," Rosalie averted her eyes when the inscrutable look in Bella's became too much to look at. "You know how I was changed, hell you were even there. I resented Carlisle for a long time for changing me and I detested my new life. I never got the choice and I felt powerless for it. I suppose the resentment was also built on the fact that I was powerless in my last moment as human too," a warm hand touched Rosalie's, almost startling her.
The blonde braved to look up and met Bella's soft eyes, shining with compassion. If Rosalie was capable of it, she would have shed a tear. Even though she behaved like an asshole, Bella still showed how she cared. She remembered how Bella kept contact with her during the meeting before, acting as if her mere touch soothed her. That sentiment was clearly shared, as Rosalie's nerves settled right away as Bella squeezed her hand gently. "My point is that I've never really dealt with my trauma properly. Mostly I've just locked everything away in a box at the back of my mind and convinced myself that I'm fine, that I don't need help. Then I've just carried on for the last decades, acting as if being bitter was a solution to my problems," she let out a small self-deprecating laugh.
"Rose," Bella uttered her name softly.
"I want nothing but to spend forever with you," Rosalie repeated, catching her mate's eyes. "But I have to be honest with you," she let out a shaky breath. "I'm afraid,"
"Of what?" Bella used that same soft voice, as if talking to a wounded animal.
"I'm afraid…" she trailed off unsure. Remembering Kate's words of wisdom, Rosalie steeled herself and continued. She owed Bella to try, to fight for her. "I'm afraid that you'll end up hating being a vampire. That you'll grow restless," she swallowed. "I'm afraid you'll grow tired of me but still cursed to live this life,"
"Darling," Bella scooted closer, their knees touching gently. "I'm afraid too,"
"You are?" Rosalie hated how her voice broke. With anyone else she would have already fled the scene, being vulnerable was not her forte but something about Bella's soft voice and equally soft eyes made her stay put.
"Of course, I am," the time traveler laughed mirthlessly. "You scare the shit out of me, but in the best way," the roguish grin that accompanied that statement was incredibly charming.
"Likewise," Rosalie smiled hesitantly back.
"Those things you just listed. I'm also afraid of them. Well, not growing tired of you but the other way around," Rosalie opened her mouth to protest such an absurd idea but Bella continued. "But I can assure you now that there's not a chance in hell that I'll ever grow tired of you,"
"We're afraid of the same things?" was the only thing Rosalie could focus on.
"I think that's normal in a relationship between two emotionally stunted individuals," Bella pointed out wryly, smirking when Rosalie nudged her knee in a playful reprimand.
"I love you Bella," Rosalie smiled gently, privately amused with the brunette's stunned expression. Surely she must know that by now? "I know our last conversation was just another chapter in our miscommunication book, so to speak, but I need you to know that. I love you and I want you forever. We agreed to take it slow so I know we're skipping a lot of steps for those sort of promises," Rosalie smirked. "To be fair you're the one who brought up the whole vampire thing in the first place," Bella shot her a playful glare at that remark before sobering up.
"I know it was a lot to ask for. I've thought about it and I agree that we need to take my powers into consideration before any decision is made. You're not solely to blame, I was quick to assume you didn't want me. I have a hard time accepting you want anything to do with me since I carry a lot of baggage. So it was easy for my mind to make up answers and not give you time to explain your reasoning. I apologise for that. But know that I do lo-" Bella hesitated.
"Don't say something you're not ready for," Rosalie exclaimed gently, giving her an understanding look. "I just want you to know my commitment to this relationship. I don't care about the complications or whatever baggage you have. As we've established, I come with a warning label as well," Bella smiled with a roll of her eyes. "No matter what, I'm not letting you go," Rosalie faltered. "Unless you want me to,"
"I don't want to let go of you either," Bella murmured, eyes glistering with hope and a little bit of awe. As if she was surprised the conversation had gone to in this direction. Something in Rosalie's chest unclenched at the words and she felt lighter. "We obviously have stuff to work on, separately and together, but I want forever with you too," Bella had barely finished the sentence when Rosalie eagerly fused their lips together. Bella let out a startled noise but quickly sank into the kiss, moaning when Rosalie deepened it a second later. Rosalie's heart was bursting with so many joyful emotions, beyond delighted that Bella still wanted her. They could fix this.
"Well damn," Bella muttered when Rosalie finally pulled back. The blonde felt incredibly accomplished at the glazed look in her mate's eyes. She smothered her laughter when Bella was still silent after a whole minute. "Your lips should come with a warning label as well,"
"Are you okay?" Rosalie smirked, an idea forming in her head.
"Peachy," Bella snarked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Are you sure? You got that far-away look in your eyes," Rosalie's teasing smirk widened. "And there's the fact that you're still holding my hand," Bella's eyes went comically large at the words, glancing down at their intwined hands.
"You did not just steal my line!" the time traveler gasped, prompting Rosalie to burst into laughter. "You thief! Nothing is safe around you,"
"I was unaware I've stolen something else," Rosalie wiggled her eyebrows playfully, amused at the snort Bella let out.
"Don't expect me to say something sappy in return,"
"Like what?" Rosalie kept her tone light and innocent. She had missed these moments with Bella.
"Like 'my heart' or something like that," Bella retorted with a roll of her eyes.
"Aw, really? I stole your heart? That's cute,"
"Rosalie!" the blonde laughed at the realisation on Bella's face. "You tricked me!"
"Of course not my love,"
"Vampire or not, I will kick your ass,"
"You say the most romantic things,"
"Oh just shut up and kiss me,"
"With pleasure," Rosalie stated happily and cupped Bella's face and gently kissed her, losing herself in the softness and the warmth. A small moan escaped when she felt Bella's hands move to rest on her hips and pull her even closer. Things had gone way better than planned. They would be okay. Maybe she was capable of being vulnerable, at least with Bella.
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Bella's POV
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"They are here," Alice announced, reaching out to clasp her hand with Jasper's. Emmett crossed his arms and straightened his posture, his expression uncharacteristically grim. Carlisle and Esme stood side by side, the former serious as ever and the latter worried. Rosalie shifted so she was halfway shielding Bella from view, her hand firm in hers. Bella couldn't help but to feel nervous at the shift in everyone's mood, she had no idea what was going to happen, but she reckoned it couldn't be any good. A small part of her was a bit annoyed with everyone's over protectiveness. It's as if they had forgotten that she helped to kill a werewolf a few days ago.
Eventually the door opened, and two figures trailed inside. They were surprisingly a lot smaller than Bella expected, a little under 5 feet and appeared more as children than the terrifying Volturi Guards Bella had been hearing about. Then again, appearances could be deceiving. Caius had assured him that they were the best of the best after all. Bella had to admit it was impressive how fast they traveled, after all it had only been a day since she asked Caius for assistance.
She eyed them carefully, taking in their black cloaks, the hoods obscuring their faces. Rosalie tightened her grip on Bella, who swallowed nervously. Finally, the two figures reached up and lowered their hoods. Bella felt like the breath was knocked out of her.
"Jane?" she blurted. "Alec?" Both guards snapped their heads towards Bella. While they had that same unearthly beauty as all vampires had and red eyes, they had not changed a bit. They were the same Jane and Alec that Bella had left in England in the 8th century.
"Bella?" Alec asked in shock.
"Yeah," Bella nodded faintly, staring at the twins with wide eyes. Jane's jaw had slackened, and her eyes were just as wide.
"How are you here?" Alec wondered, taking a step forward. His movement made every Cullen react. Rosalie pulled Bella even further behind her, trying to shield her body as best as she could, while Emmett took a step towards Alec, a menacing scowl tugging at his lips. Jasper started dozing calm waves over the whole room and Esme seemed to be on the verge to run over to Bella.
"Jesus, calm down," Bella frowned at them. "I actually know them,"
"I don't think you know what they are capable of," Edward warned her. "They are monsters,"
"Don't call them that!" she scolded him with a glare. Her words surprised everyone, including the twins. They were staring at Bella with matching disbelieving expressions.
"What the hell," Emmett muttered to himself.
"Look just," Bella tried to move but Rosalie didn't budge. "Rose, please," she murmured gently. The blonde moved reluctantly after a moment, although not without giving the twins dark glares. Bella barely managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes, knowing her mate was merely protective.
"I thought you had died," she hesitantly took a step forward.
"We did," Jane spoke for the first time, her melodic voice sounding deadpan. Bella did roll her eyes this time.
"You know what I mean," she insisted. "I thought the mob had killed you, or that vampire. It didn't even occur to me he might turn you," Bella frowned.
"You are not a vampire," Alec stated, cocking his head. The gesture was so familiar to the one human Alec did that Bella couldn't suppress a smile.
"I'm not," she agreed. "I'm actually a – "
"Bella!" Rosalie cut her off abruptly. The brunette looked back with a puzzled look, noticing the warning in her mate's eyes. "You don't know what they might do with that information,"
"They deserve to know. Plus, Caius already knows," Bella argued. "I need to explain why I disappeared,"
"Why?" Edward crossed his arms. "Why do they deserve an explanation,"
"Because once they were like family to me," Bella was growing annoyed with the Cullen's, although they thought they were protecting her. Bella turned back to the twins, who were both staring at her with strange expressions. Alec, who always wore an easy grin, looked as if he didn't know how to respond; flittering between wariness and hope. Jane, who had always been guarded with her feelings, was studying her with quiet intensity, although she seemed taken a back with the declaration.
"What are you?" Alec asked carefully, ignoring the other vampires.
"A time traveler," Bella replied easily, watching the flash of understanding appear in two pairs of red eyes. "But I have no control over my powers," she added sheepishly.
"No control?" Jane echoed, her voice tight.
"No," Bella shook her head. "I never know when I travel or where, nor when I get back in my own time," she sighed and added. "If I get back in my own time,"
"So you didn't know?" Alec guessed. "You didn't know you were about to travel back when you did?" he elaborated when Bella gave him a confused look.
"Of course not," Bella was genuinely appalled. "You honestly think I would have left you there if I had any control?" it was more of a rhetorical question but the twins looked unsure. Bella acted on pure instinct and took the whole room by surprise when she marched up to the siblings and threw her arms around them both. The Cullen's and the Denali's let out a synchronised gasp, horrified with what was happening. The twins however were more shocked than anyone, standing stiffly in her embrace. Bella felt like she was hugging two statues.
"Hug me back god damn it," Bella ordered in Jane's hair. "I never ever thought I'd ever see you again and I even mourned you. So give me this," almost five seconds passed until the twins hesitantly, and very tentatively, hugged her back. Bella let out a relieved sigh.
"Just when I thought Bella couldn't get any crazier, she goes and hugs the Witch Twins?" Emmett's bewildered voice made time traveler pull back, her eyes narrowing. The same fierce protective feeling Bella used to have with the twins, unexpectedly flared up.
"What did you call them?" she hissed at her best friend.
"That's what they are called," Edward offered. "They are known as the 'Witch Twins',"
"What the fuck?" Bella snapped, surprising everyone yet again. "How dare they!" her tone darkened. "When I find out who the hell decided that was an appropriate name I will shove my foot so far up their-"
"Bella!" Esme scolded. Bella fell silent with a small scowl.
"It's okay," Jane said after a beat, making the brunette turn to her. Jane's eyes had the same soft gleam she had gotten as a human when Bella surprised her with her protectiveness. "We've grown used to it,"
"Still, you shouldn't have to," Bella grumbled. "It's just…" she searched for a word but only managed lamely come up with, "Mean," her eyes darkened as she remembered the horrible rumours and hateful eyes that followed the twins back in England.
"I think they have earned to be called something," Edward's lips sneered over the next word. "Mean,"
"Don't be a dick Eddie!" Bella purposely used Emmett's hated nickname.
"Stop calling me Eddie!" Edward snapped back.
"Then don't give me reason to!" Bella crossed her arms with a defiant look.
"Okay how about you guys calm down?" Jasper suggested with a pointed look. "This isn't helping anyone,"
"You're right. Come sit down," before anyone could react, Bella had dragged the twins towards the couch. Even though they could easily break out of her grip, they seemed to be too stunned to do so and simply sat down with Bella in between them. The action caused quite a stir of emotions from the others, since they all looked like they were a second away from pulling Bella off the ouch. "Although before we get into the whole Victoria discussion, I want some alone time with them since I haven't seen them for-," Bella's words were drowned out loud protest.
"For gods sakes, they are not going to hurt me! I lived under their roof for weeks!" Bella snapped when every vampire, except the twins, hesitated.
"They were humans then," Edward pointed out. "It's different now,"
"No it's not," Bella rolled her eyes. "I trust them. Now please leave us alone. We need to catch up and I prefer it to happen without the thinly veiled judgement in your eyes," the twins head snapped towards her and they both had the exact same dumbfounded expression. Normally the sight would have been comical but since Bella realised what words had triggered such a response, she only felt sadness. Trust. She doubted many people trusted them, judging by the Cullen's suspicious eyes and Denali's hesitant ones.
"You trust us?" Jane wondered in an odd tone as soon as the others filtered out, Rosalie lingering in the doorway until Bella shot her a pointed look.
"Yes," shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage. It was the truth after all. Sure they might be vampires and had reputation now but it was hard to separate them from their lonely and wonderful human versions. Bella had grown to like them and they had earned her respect, that fact hadn't changed. Not yet at least so they deserved the benefit of the doubt.
"Thank you," Alex said softly and a bit cautiously. That wouldn't do.
"So do you still have a crush on me?" she teased, trying to lighten the atmosphere. Her plan worked marvellously as Jane let out an amused snort while Alec gaped at her. She was pretty sure that if he were still human, he'd be red as a tomato.
"You knew about that?" he wondered sheepishly.
"A blind person could have seen that brother," Jane stated in a flat tone, her crimson eyes dancing with merriment.
"You were cute and it was harmless," Bella reassured him with a fond smile. Old habits died hard and just like she used to do to human Alec, she reached out and ruffled his hair. Alec gave her a startled look, both shocked by her audacity and casualness of the action. Bella wondered with no small amount of sadness how many people dared to touch him nowadays. Alec's expression shifted into a shy smile, a reminiscent of the young and innocent boy he used to be. The transformation was a lovely thing. Jane seemed to share her thoughts and a rare smile graced her lips, gazing at Bella with something close to wonderment.
"I am incredibly sorry about how things turned out," Bella repeated her earlier statement. "You both deserved better,"
"You seem oddly acceptant of our nature, especially given your family's and mate's opinion on us," Jane hedged carefully, suspicion mingled with surprise swimming in her eyes. Even though her facial expression was always carved into stone, her eyes always gave her away. Bella treasured that characteristic.
"For a time you were the only ones I had," Bella admitted. "I might have been a strange and incompetent girl to your eyes who practically forced her presence upon you, but your company slowly started to feel like family. I know that may seem odd to you but it's the truth," she remembered how quickly she grew attached to the twins and how fiercely protective she was of them.
"It was not one-sided," Alec gave her one of his trademark charming grins and Bella's heart felt lighter. She had missed the sight of it. "You felt like family too,"
"Yes," Jane cleared her throat, averting her gaze awkwardly when Bella shot her a fond smile. Unable to help herself, Bella scooted closer to the stoic girl and wrapped one arm around her. Jane stiffened for a moment before gradually relaxing in the loose embrace. Perhaps she was feeling unusually charitable today or that she had missed Bella too. The time traveler hoped it was the latter.
"So the weirdo who was stalking you turned out to be Caius?" Bella began conversationally, grinning when Alec let out a bark of laughter.
"I wouldn't call him a weirdo to his face," he sniggered.
"I don't think he would mind," Bella mused out loud. He sure seemed to enjoy her snark.
"Perhaps not," Jane gave her a side glance. "You seem to have him wrapped around your finger,"
"A common theme with you and vampires," Alec teased, gesturing towards the front door, where Bella suspected the others were eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Are you denying the fact that I'm incredibly charming," Bella batter eyelashes jokingly, earning an eye-roll from the twins.
"Hardly," Alec shrugged. "Just an observation,"
"No worries, you're among my favourites," Bella whispered as if sharing a great secret, biting down on her tongue as she envisioned the outraged looks from the vampires at the other side of the door. Judging by the twins growing grins, Emmett or perhaps Kate commented on that. Sometimes Bella wished she had vampire hearing.
"Some will protest that notion," Jane said casually but there was tightness around her eyes that betrayed her worries. She was nervous, Bella realised.
"Let them," Bella tightened her grip on the smaller girl. "They don't know you like I do," although it was subtle, tension eased from their shoulders. They were honestly worried about this. That wouldn't do, Bella decided.
"Let's talk about something else," the time traveler proposed. "Did you know Caius forced me to fight a werewolf?"
"That came up," Alec laughed. "And he practically worships you for it,"
"You are known as Hearding in Volturi," Jane offered with a smirk. "Even Felix and Demetri sing you praises,"
"Well that's sufficiently embarrassing," Bella commented with a small blush, ignoring their amused looks. "That was a bad topic change," she grumbled. "You guys have been around longer than me. You must have some funny stories?"
"Alec once punched a clown," Jane offered after a moment, obviously taking pity on her. Bella's head whipped towards Alec, who glared at his sister.
"Story time!" Bella declared cheerfully, leaning on Jane as Alec begrudgingly began his tale. Her heart was bursting with happiness. Not only did Rosalie want forever with her but two people she never expected to see again, were sitting right beside her. Sure the world had gone to shit and apparently there was a vampire army after her but for the time being, she allowed herself to experience this happy reunion. She had missed them dearly.
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To be continued...
Yes. That happened. You're welcome.
So to recap: Rosalie and Bella made up (Yay!), Caius is still hilarious, Bella might have side effects from her wound AND the twins finally reunited with Bella! I'm incredibly curious about what your thoughts are. I admit I found it ridiculously hard writing this chapter, since I've been struggling with writers block - so I hope you aren't too disappointed.
Please don't hesitate to leave a review. Lots of love and stay safe everyone!