A/N: I HAVE RETURNED!

That's right, you guys thought I forgot about you, didn't you? Well, I haven't! Been pretty busy recently though. Started doing six-days-a-week of high-school, and also started dual-credit college courses at the same time. (Fun, right?) :)

My scheduling will be SEVERELY impaired, and I'm really sorry about it. I write as I can find the time, which is a spare commodity at the moment with me. Please don't be cross with me. XD

Another apology to you readers, this is in fact a somewhat short chapter in comparison to the others. And after you all waited so long for it too… I'm sorry to all of you for the SHORTcoming.

So just wanted to remind you all, I haven't forgotten, and I'm writing when I can. Sorry for the cliffhangers that may arise, and I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter Twenty: Trouble Arises in Paradise

Bella's POV:

Renesmee was put to bed, and Edward and I walked together outside, discussing this new page of our forever; this inner wolf of mine was another ornament on our tapestry of time that we had not expected to see, but it was a welcome surprise in lieu of the situation. This was going to play an important part in our upcoming battle, and we both knew it. Despite this obvious strength in our favor, Edward attempted a plea that I take Renesmee and run with her. Try to escape the Volturi. But I knew that would be fruitless in more ways than one.

"Edward," I said, looking him square in the eye. "We made vows to each other that we would never leave each other's side, and we knew when we swore 'I do' that that vow would last until the end of time. I'm not going anywhere without you, even if that means that I have to send Jacob and Renesmee away for their own safety without us."

Edward knew me well enough that more pleading would be fruitless. He nodded silently, and we continued our walk.

"Besides, maybe we won't be too late. If we manage to save Ben, then with this and his power combined we have a greater fighting chance!"

"The Volturi won't be having a fake trial again, Bella. They won't wait around, playing pretend just for the sake of their image. They will come and hunt us down. Two years ago was the stand-off. This is the shoot-out," Edward said, looking up at the trees.

"So? If we stick close together, then you and Ben and I can take them out. And maybe the other covens have heard of something by now. You never know how many of our friends will come help us fight."

"None of the other covens have someone like Alice. In all likelihood, Ben only heard about it from a text or something from the Irish Coven, before they were all captured."

"But there might've been some other way. Or maybe he sent a text too. Like you said, the others don't have Alice, but we do. Maybe he figured he'd save time, since we'd see it coming anyways?"

"Mm. It's more likely, I'll give you that," Edward said. But he slumped a little bit. "But in all probability, we'll have next to no help, while the Volturi capture each of the covens. Knowing them, they'll hit us as one of the last targets, because of the wolves and your mental shield. We'll have to fight against everyone."

"Well the Denali clan we can count on our side. They'll be able to get here much earlier than the Volturi can. And we might be able to get Zafrina and her coven in time, and maybe some of the nomads—"

"The nomads… who knows where they could be spread. And Zafrina is on another continent!" Edward sighed, obviously stressed.

"Edward, it's okay," I said, my voice smooth, level, and calm. "We'll make it through this. We're going to win."

"You can't be sure though. We need a backup plan."

"We already discussed this the last time the Volturi were coming. The odds are less favorable than they were before. There is no way out that we haven't thought of already, not with Dimitri on the Volturi's team."

"There has to be a way," Edward said, more forcefully than a moment ago. He looked up at me with sad eyes. "I can't lose you, Bella."

"And I can't leave you, Edward. You know how I feel about that idea," I said, frowning. "I'd rather stay with you than live a life without you."

Edward sighed again, obviously racking his brain for some clever way out. Some diplomatic bargain he could make. But we knew there was none. None that would let us lead the life we simply wanted to live, anyway.

"Edward," I said, my voice in its forte of calm and soothing. "It's alright. We can't win every battle. There will be losses in our future, and pain. But this battle… this one we're faced with, either sacrifice everything and live only to serve Aro or die… this one we can win. We will win. I can feel it in my bones."

Edward was brooding over this way too much and I could clearly see it. We both needed a distraction from the moment.

"Come on," I said, grabbing his hand and leading him back towards the main Cullen residence.

"Bella, what are you doing?" Edward asked, confused. I didn't answer right away, marching all the way to the Cullen's garage with him in tow. I opened the door to one of the cars, climbed in, and Edward sat in the other side of the car.

"I'm the one kidnapping you for a date. You need something to distract you," I said, pulling out of the driveway and onto the road. "Don't you dare think about getting out of this car, Edward Anthony Cullen."

Edward looked like he might've been about to contemplate it, but decided against it after seeing I was serious.

"So, where would you like to go tonight?" I asked.

This elicited a sort-of smile from Edward. "Usually it's customary to have planned out these things in advance."

"Customary-shcmustomary," I said, shrugging. "This is the twenty-first century. Deal with it. Where to?"

Edward sighed, but I heard a chuckle in the sound as well. "Very well. When you get to Seattle, I'll give you instructions."

I drove, talking with Edward as we raced along (Now that I was a vampire too, I saw his reason for driving so fast. It was just tedious driving normal speeds) the highway. We wove through the streets, slower this time, as he began giving me directions.

"Okay, pull up here," Edward said, directing me into a parking lot. "Let's go."

He climbed out of the car and came to my door to open it for me. Then we both went towards the back of the car.

"So, what are we doing tonight?" I asked, looking around us for what we might be going to. The theater is a few blocks that way, there was a library down at the end of the street, or maybe we were going to just walk around and admire the storefronts…

Edward popped open the trunk, before grinning. I walked over to see what he was looking at.

In the trunk were two bags, the kind that held suits or dresses of some sort. On the top bag was a post-it with elegant cursive on it.

"You might need these," Edward narrated, still grinning. "Told you I wasn't completely blind! –With Love, Alice. PS, sorry Bella, but you know Edward needs this. Don't be out too late, you two."

I reached down and unzipped the first bag, finding a pair of suit pants and a jacket inside. Fancy, but not overly so. And obviously for Edward. Which meant…

With reluctance did I unzip the other bag to see, that's right, a full-length strapless cocktail dress. It was an iridescent blue, so that depending on which angle you looked at it, it looked like either light blue, dark blue, or a purpleish-violetish-blueish sort of color. A matching set of shorter-than-stillettos-but-still-nightmares-on-stilts type heels were added to the mix, and what looked like a hairclip, fashioned in the shape of a rose.

"Edward, where are we going?" I asked, already feeling an intense burn in my cheeks. For a moment only, I actually missed the hues of red that would let everyone know that I was embarrassed or flustered. To convey that I didn't normally dress like this.

"Well, we're going to that building right over there," he said, gathering the bags in one hand and carefully folding them, and with his other hand pointed to a somewhat-glitzy-looking building across the street and to the left.

A neon sign said that this place was definitely a nightclub of sorts. Of course, here in Seattle an actual nightclub might be too scandalous for Edward, so this place was one of those halfway-nightclubs. One half bar, one half dance floor. Yet still this place acted like prestige, judging on the only mildly intimidating bouncer near the door.

"Are you sure they'll let us in?" I asked. I didn't want to hurt the bouncer, if he tried to push us back. He'd only meet with our stony skin and immovable bodies.

"Yes," Edward said, and I turned. He was already in his suit-pants and jacket, with a white dress shirt on underneath. He looked dashing, maybe like an action-movie star. A seventeen-year-old action movie star lounging at a local nightclub/bar.

"Where did you change?" I asked, sighing as I realized it was time to put on the dress.

"In the car," Edward shrugged. "But if you would rather, we can go in one of the little stores around here and ask to use the bathroom."

I nodded, and we both walked into a small antique store. The old woman behind the counter greeted us kindly, and we thanked her and asked her if we could use the restrooms. I was changed in seconds, and we began walking towards the door again, when Edward paused. Thinking for a second, he picked up something and changed course, heading for the cash register.

He made his purchase, walking back over to me with the small bag.

"What did you buy?" I ask, curious.

"Something to finish your outfit," Edward said, pulling out a beautiful silver necklace from the bag. "It might not be quite the finished shine that would properly go with your dress, but it will do the trick."

He put the necklace around my neck, and I fingered the small sapphire gem set at the base of my throat.

Edward stepped back, and instantly I could see his eyes darken, ever so slightly, with desire.

"You look… dazzling," he said, sounding as though he couldn't think of a stronger word for the time. Then, he offered me his elbow. "Shall we?"

I could safely say Edward was sufficiently distracted as we walked into the bar/nightclub unhindered. I felt eyes swivel to me, and Edward automatically frowned at some of the more evidently colorful thoughts some of the patrons of the bar were having. We avoided the foul-smelling spirits, and particularly fouler scent of drunkards at the bar, and walked over to the dance-floor.

It was almost as if the bar had fallen silent as they watched Edward begin to lead me through the steps. In my human life, I was very clumsy and I knew it. Dancing lessons? You could just forget it. But now that I was a vampire, I had grace beyond any other human, and many other vampires as well, as I had been told. Dancing was easy, now. Well, except for lacking actual skill in dancing…

Edward led me through the steps, twirling me around the dance-floor as the music played on. He was smiling, and that was good. I smiled back at him, and let him take me through the flow of the music. His movements were smooth as a glassy lake as he brought me through the motions, and I let myself flow in synchronization with his movements. The song playing was a fast-pace, but we easily kept pace as he led. I realized we were swing-dancing by some of the motions I could recognize by sight. While in movies it always looked as though swing-dance would be a hard thing to do successfully, it was the easiest thing in the world for me, since I just let Edward carry me through the song, only contributing where I felt the rhythm guide me.

It was only when the song ended that I realized that the rest of the dance floor had been cleared, much to my embarrassment, except for us. The people who had been dancing were standing off to the side, clapping as we danced together. Edward spun me, drawing me close as he leaned over.

"Ignore them, Bella. For now, it's just you and me, here together."

I felt my shy nature begin to melt back into a comfortable zone as I let his words soak into me. I did ignore the other patrons as the next song came on. The DJ must have been watching us too, because he played a slower song than before, and the swing-dancing turned into a gentle slowdance.

Burying my face into his shoulder, part from embarrassment, part from doing as he asked, I breathed in deeply the scent of lilac and honey that I knew so well, letting my eyes drift closed as I followed through with the steps directed to me by a gentle force of music.

Leah's POV:

Wow. Bella was… truly a wolf now.

Or, some biological relative thereof. She still had hands, so…

Her wolf form was massive, definitely fitting the qualifications we would need for a humongous advantage in the upcoming battle.

I drove home, returning to my punishment. More than anything, I didn't want to go. I'd be out of the loop for four weeks. I wouldn't know what to expect, and I wouldn't have any say in the plan.

And of course, I wouldn't be able to see Rye as often as I would want to.

Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh.

Rye's POV:

What. The. Actual. Heck.

"It's you—" Rosalie said, touching my cheek. "My little scarlet boy?"

She seemed to take another look at me.

"You got so big!" she adds, looking me up and down.

"H-how are you even here—" I began.

"You should have realized by now I was a vampire, right? I've been here for a while—" Rosalie said. Her mind still seemed to be stuck on her previous train of thought, as she reverted back to it. "I mean, I had heard we had a visitor, but I never would've expected—"

"You haven't changed a bit," I noted.

"And you've definitely changed quite a bit—" she said, chuckling to herself. "I can't believe you found me!"

And just like that, brought back to reality. I knew she could detect the frown on my expression.

"Why did you leave?" I asked. I realized that it was a rather cliché thing to ask, but I couldn't help it. I needed her answer. Was it because of me?

"Oh, I-I couldn't help it," Rosalie said, looking for all the world like she getting ready to cry (or the vampiric equivalent thereof). "I wanted to stay, or to bring you with us. But another matter drew my attention, and try as I might, by the time I had returned you were gone. I-I thought something had happened, and I turned another page of my life. But i-if I had known…"

I could see where this was going. I hadn't waited long enough. My own circumstances had hindered me from seeing her again, not because she wanted to leave.

"…I'm sorry I didn't put more effort into searching further for you," Rosalie said, her entire body-language communicating apologetic bashfulness, "I should've… should've…"

I was upset, sure. The woman who I had let myself grow close enough to call 'mom' had suddenly left one night. Up until just now, I had thought it was because… well, to be fair I guess I didn't really know why I thought she had left. All I had known from then till now was that she had left, and that she had left me. I knew that it hurt, and I knew how much it had hurt me.

Rosalie clearly saw this on my face as I drew back a pace, dealing with new information suddenly. She stepped forward a pace as though to try to comfort me, but I held out a hand for her to wait.

Was I angry? Well, it sure felt like I was. How dare she try to—try to—

—apologize? How could I be angry for that? Especially since I saw that she was being genuine. So why was I angry? Angry that she hadn't tried harder to find me? That she hadn't brought me with her, wherever she had gone? I mean, I had considered her my mother, after my biological mother had abandoned me…

Or—was I angry about something else? What else could I be angry about this whole situation? It was either her fault, whatever she had gone after, or… or mine?

I realized that the fault went both ways, even if she herself believed it to be her own fault. She had looked for me, and though she had not looked hard enough to find me, neither had I looked hard enough to find her. After a day or two of waiting, I had assumed she had left me forever, and gave up on hoping to find her again.

The day she left…

Over the course of slightly over a week, Rye had begun to seriously grow his strength back. The fever still plagued him, but thanks to the constant care of the woman, he seemed to be able to sit up on his own. Though shaky, he was able to stand. But constant pain and heat surges flashed through his body, like a fire melting him from the inside.

The woman, at first ecstatic when he was able to move on his own again, steadily grew confused as the fever continued to rage on. It was like she had been waiting for something to happen to him.

But not once did she waver her acts of kindness towards Rye. In fact, if anything she grew even fonder of Rye since the day he had crowned her as his new mother. She seemed to be taking her new role quite seriously, making sure that the little fever-struck boy was as comfortable as he could be while the fire tore at his skin and darkened it with scarlet burns.

She took no real notice at his changes as they began to grow from him. His wings were a bit larger, and fleshier than they were when she met him, that was for sure. They were now nearly as tall as his torso, when they were folded against his back, and they were a vibrant shade of red. But a new limb, short as it was, had formed as well; a small tail that wiggled and waggled every now and then restlessly. A short dark spike was on the end of it, though it was dulled on the end.

The woman —Rye learned her name was Rosalie in time, though he still called her his mother— held him as he panicked over his tail. Her skin was frosty and soothing to him as she held him in a comforting hug, calming his senses as she surveyed his newfound limb with complete serenity. It was strangely unnatural, the level of open-mindedness that she always seemed to have for his oddities.

"It's not so bad," she said. "Rye, you can calm down sweetie. Look at me."

Rye glanced up at her, as she brushed some of his hair out of the way. The movement left lingering trails of cool icy relief across his skin.

"To be sure, it's not quite usual, per se," Rosalie said softly, as soft as a breath of wind. "But I don't see you as anything less or different, son."

As mentioned before, she really had taken to the title 'mother', and was doing her best to step into the role given to her. It was a bit strange to be called son by someone else, but Rye couldn't say he blamed her, since he was constantly calling her 'Mom' by now.

"B-But—" Rye sobbed a little, his wings shaking jitterishly as he cried. "H-Ho-How—I-I'm not even n-n-normal like a-anybody else! I-I'm turning i-into s-some kind of mons-ster!"

"Shhh, my little scarlet boy," Rosalie's voice whispered, giving him another hug. "I still love you like my own son, alright? Nothing you could turn into could change my mind."

Rye cried a little more, and Rosalie was silent as she held him. But then she began to say something else.

"In fact," she began, slowly, "I'd be surprised if you didn't think of me as strange."

Rye glanced up again, his crying being put on pause to make room for his confusion. "W-Why would I th-think you're st-strange?"

Rosalie glanced down at him, looked as though she was about to say something, then stopped. She bit her lip, for once breaking the calm façade of an angel that Rye had seen before. She looked more natural, as she obviously debated telling him something.

"I-I have a secret of my own I would like to share with you, but…" Rosalie began, slowly speaking. "I'm not sure now is the right time for it."

Seeing the traces of apprehension in Rye's eyes, Rosalie resumed her calming and soothing expression, drawing Rye into her lap.

"Just know, no matter what you may become, or no matter who you grow up to be, I will think of you and love you."

She gave him another hug as he hiccupped and panicked himself into a dreamless sleep.

Gently, and ever so carefully did Rosalie lay the crimson youth on the blanket, curling up the weather-beaten pillow under his head to cushion him from the harsh stone of the floor of the cave.

She stood, twitching slightly as she glanced away. Her eyes were dark amber. She should've gone to hunt long ago, but the boy had required her utmost attention. But at this point, she was almost in danger of being tempted by his blood; something she could never allow herself to do.

She leaned down, showing self-control that could only rival Carlisle's as she gave the small boy a kiss on the forehead, before standing back upright with a jerk. Even that small act had cost her throat to inflame a bit more with its parched demands. She stood, and dashed out of the cave, gone like a breath of wind.

When Rye woke up again, he found himself carefully laid on the blanket laid out for him that served as his 'mattress'. Flashes of heat were surging through him, and the heat had been enough to wake him from his slumber.

"W-water please, Mom," he croaked, before looking around. The woman was gone, probably on another of her errands for more supplies.

Rye sat up again, and saw that the bottle of water was in reach. He reached over, scrambled with the lid as the fire tore at his esophagus, demanding satisfaction.

Trying to be sparing as the woman had, Rye took slow gulps of the water as it went down. His throat was extinguished for the time, and he laid back against the blanket, groaning as the water went through its course, quenching the rage of the fever set throughout his body.

He waited for her to return. Usually she wasn't gone for more than a few minutes at least, nearly an hour at topmost. While he waited, he patted himself down with the damp cloth like she had done for him before.

He waited. An hour passed by relatively quickly, as he waited for none other than the woman to return. But still she was gone. Two hours. Three.

He fell into a dreamless sleep that was wrought with steamed awakenings, only long enough to down more water for his parched body, before falling asleep again fitfully. The fever was reaching new crescendos without her to be there for him, and he had no idea what to do than ride out the pain as his body tried its best to compensate.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and still she was not back. It was only when Rye was edging to unconscious slumber that the thought occurred to him.

Is she ever coming back?