The Remnants

Alternate Ending #2

Author's Note: First off, review ending #1 before you read this one and I spoil everything. Ok? Cool.

Next, I'm sorry. I really don't plan on bombarding you with ceaseless AU endings for this story, but I was editing my first AU ending, and one line of it struck me between the eyes and I had to write this one out, too. What? An AU of my own AU? This is just getting ridiculous!

But it had to be written...and it is ridiculous.

You know, I haven't been able to re-read Twilight or try to read Midnight Sun since I wrote the Remnants. I spoiled it for myself. That being said, Stephanie Meyer has had her revenge in full because now that I wrote this ending, I am going to have a very hard time taking my own story seriously again.

For those of you who would prefer a much more serious ending, please, avoid this ending entirely. Don't read it. Turn away now.

You've been warned.

ooooo

Premise: Remnants AU Ending 1-We start in the same place, but Edward does not stop himself in time and changes Bella. Here we go:

"He was interrupted from his reverie by her cry of pain and her hand over his mouth, which was millimeters [within] her delicate skin with his venomous teeth."

Then, she began to scream as the fires spread….

Oooooo

Edward emerged from his Research Lab and quietly stalked the halls of his temple. All was quiet. He was used to the quiet. He made his way to his own room unhindered. Bella did not meet him first. He didn't mind. She must be out hunting or running errands and he still had a few minutes to prepare himself for her return. At the thought of just what their reunion would entail, he closed his eyes and sighed with happiness.

He had glanced at a computer screen before he left and it had been a fortuitous reminder that today was their anniversary. Exactly fifty years ago, he had made the second best mistake of his life. He decided, then and there, that he needed to celebrate.

In his room, he shuffled through clothes in his closet. His Bella always made sure he had plenty of clothes and that the worn, messed ones were replaced. Sure enough, he found a charcoal grey suit in one corner and he pulled it out. After a quick bath, he put on the suit with a navy blue shirt and a black tie. Well, he tried to wear a black tie. His hands shook so much he could not tie it properly so he discarded it. Then he unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt in an attempt to make his lack of tie look intentional. Once he made sure his shoes were shined and his hair fell in just the way his Bella liked it, he sat down at his piano bench to wait.

He thought she would like it if she returned and found him playing her songs, the myriad of compositions he had written over the years, only for her. He moved to open the piano when he realized a thick layer of dust coated the cover. Strange. Bella typically kept his belongings neater than this. Rather than risk marring his suit, he grabbed his discarded t-shirt and used it to dust off the bench and the piano. Then he sat down to play.

Music filled his room and he played for hours. Each song carried with it a weight of beautiful memories that were inextricably forged into the creation and performance of the song. There were the songs that he had written for her back in the days when she was still human and she first stole his heart. Then there were the songs he wrote for her after the night he accidentally changed her and overnight found himself one half of a mated pair of vampires. He did not deserve the happiness he now possessed and he knew it. All the best parts of his life had been a product of his worst mistakes and he couldn't figure out how he had been so lucky.

His first greatest mistake had been the day he followed Isabella Swan into the forest and took her life. His second greatest mistake had been the day he followed his Bella into her bed and stole her human life. Yet the former had led to the latter and so he could not fully regret either.

When he first realized that, in his moment of weakness and passion, he had bitten his beloved, he had been distraught. For days, while she screamed and writhed, he had been nearly as frantic as she was for how he struggled with it. How could he have slipped and made such a colossal mistake? What would this mean for his future, for their futures? For a time, he had almost considered preventing the change from occurring, simply out of his own fear. By the heaves above, he was grateful now that he decided against that.

It was a risk, though, and he knew it. How would he keep his newborn mate fed and controlled? What if she didn't approve of his Other Bellas? What if she was angry at him for changing her? As much as there were risks, there were most assuredly benefits to having an impermeable, indestructible version of his Bella. Their night's events had given him the first course on what could become a banquet of eternal delights. He decided he was pleased with this state of affairs and he sat by her side, eagerly awaiting her to wake.

When Bella did wake, she embraced her new life, and Edward, with her whole heart. If Edward had thought he had seen beauty before, it was nothing compared to the goddess he now worshipped in his temple. If Edward had thought he had known pleasure, his siren humbled him to his knees and taught him he was but a novice. If he thought the sweet companionship of his days with Bella had been refreshing for his long-isolated heart, then the uninterrupted years of intertwined lives was a piece of the divine. His days, his nights, all were filled with Bella. He basked in her arms, in her presence, in her delectable self. She was all he needed and she was as happy with their "mistake" as he.

He had written her so many songs then, in their early days, and she had listened with rapt attention to each one. He never could compose enough songs to do her justice. But there were other songs, too. As vibrant as their lovemaking, their arguments burned even fiercer, and he poured so much of his frustration from those early fights onto his piano keys that he had even had to replace a few after he had broken them. Those songs were as filled with passion, but he did not often like to remember the memories that led to their creation. There was sadness and anger still, woven into those memories like red threads marring a bolt of yellow cloth.

Yes, back then, his Bella had been all he needed.

At least until she wasn't.

He taught her to hunt animals first, of course, and he even went along with her and hunted himself. It tasted like ash on his tongue, a mockery of the blood which had first brought him to her. However, he still hunted and drank, for her. For a fleeting moment, he even considered abandoning the Others and turning back to his old diet completely. But as his old appetites began to hum out louder than his new, he decided not to make any hasty decisions.

His eyes had turned nearly gold before he finally saw his chance. Bella had wanted to prove she could still do their supply runs. He had accompanied her the first few months to ensure she could handle it and she did, admirably. Finally, she wanted to go all on her own.

"You can do this," he told her and he gave her a deep, lingering kiss before she left.

He nearly clapped his hands in excitement when he saw her go. Seeing his chance, he took it for what it was and he fled into his Research Lab. The Others reminded him, all over again, why he lived and breathed and kept going each day and why he had moved heaven and earth to make them his. He was crowned king of his temple all over again and when he woke, it was with a deeply contented sigh. He knew, then and there, that he would not be going back to hunting animals again. When he emerged from his Research Lab, his eyes glowing scarlet and his shirt stained, his Bella was waiting for him outside the door, her gold eyes glowing with their own scarlet rage.

The argument that followed was so heated, it shook the very foundations of his temple to its core and he was glad there was no one within a five hundred mile radius to hear.

"You told me not to drink from humans, so why are you drinking from humans?" she asked.

"These ones aren't humans. They are clones," he said. "I don't take the lives of any innocent humans."

"Edward, how can you not see it? Each of those Bellas are another version of me. How can you rationalize killing me?"

"I am not killing you. You are right here, with me. I'm simply feeding in a way that does no harm to any creature other than those I farm specifically for this purpose."

No matter how he tried to explain his logic, he only made her more angry. If he neglected to tell her that his true motives were less about sustainability than sensual delights, it was more due to the fact that she stormed out of his temple than because he chose not to tell her. She figured it out soon enough, and the argument that followed was no less violent.

If the early days of their relationship was an ocean yacht on a smooth, sun-drenched sea, then the days that followed were a rowboat in a tempest. Bella was nothing if not stubborn and the early intimacy of their mating bond had given her a sense of entitlement that she had not yet developed during her human days. She felt that she should have a say in Edward's affairs and life choices. While he was tolerant enough of this at first, especially when it came to matters like which books they read and which animals they hunted, when it came to the Other Bellas, he had to draw the line. She had to know that this was something about him that she would not be changing, no matter how she pleaded, argued, bribed, or threatened. Yes, she was his mate, but that didn't mean she got to tell him what to do.

"There are some needs you cannot fill, Bella. It's not that you aren't wonderful and it's not that I don't love you. I do. It's just, I need them, too," he told her.

She didn't speak to him for a week and he almost would have felt guilty, if he had been conscious for any of it.

She cycled through every approach she could think of to change his mind. When overt tactics failed, she moved on to stealth. She tried to distract him, to lure him away with her charms. Sometimes it worked. Eventually, he grew thirsty in a way she could not fill. One time, when she grew desperate enough, she tried to sabotage the Others. This led to banishing her from half of his temple and locking up his precious Bellas from her reach, at least until she apologized and promised not to do it again. One day, she came home from hunting with red eyes instead of gold. He had eyed her carefully and almost wanted to speak to her about it, but he knew she wanted his attention for it. If she succeeded, this would only encourage her more. He didn't mention, not even once, and slowly her eyes changed back to gold, at least for a time.

Then, she got more creative. The time she brought her human quarry home with her was when she did best his self-control and succeed in getting his attention.

He woke from a feed to hear the thoughts of a human in his temple and Edward nearly panicked. He burst through the halls until he came to the source of the thoughts - a human man who was the very willing captive of his mate.

"Bella, what are you doing?" he asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

She arched one eyebrow in reply and pulled the man onto her lap as if he were a pet poodle and not a full grown human.

"No outside food here," he said, grasping at the most logical straw he could pull to prevent this from reoccurring. "If you are going to hunt humans, that's your choice. I won't interfere, but don't bring them here."

"What if I wanted to play with my food before I eat it?" she asked, her calculated gaze watching him intently for his reaction. It worked. His jealousy and anger spiked and Edward fairly threw the hapless human out the door of his temple. Then he stalked towards his mate with all the fury of an angered bull.

"No," he shouted.

"No, what?" she asked.

"No playing with food," he shouted.

"Why not? You play with your food. I've heard you."

"That's different."

"How is that different?"

"They are... that was... I will not tolerate infidelity, Bella. You are my mate. You belong to me and only to me. I will not be sharing you."

"Hypocrite!" she roared and she prowled towards him as if she wanted to pull his head off his shoulders herself. "What if I don't want to share you?"

"You don't have to!" he said. "Can't you see it? Everything I am is yours and only yours. I would never, not in a million years, ever even want another."

"Edward, you have more other women in your life than you even stop to count. You need to choose. Do you want them or do you want me?""

"Oh, Bella. How could you think that? Can't you see? There is no choice because I have only ever chosen you. The Others, those are all you. It's only ever been you."

Bella had stormed out of the temple again that night and had not returned for some time. At first, he worried that she would genuinely make him choose between the Others and her, but then he remembered something. She was his mate. Even if she wanted to leave him, her own instincts wouldn't let her. No matter what he did, she could not run away from him permanently. Eventually, she would come back. She had to. She had no other choice. All he had to do was wait.

When she did return, he could tell some subtle shift had occurred between them. She stopped asking him to change. Instead of arguing or complaining, she only gave a small sigh when she saw him leave to go feed. She even went so far as to take up the care of the Bellas again. These small acts, these small surrenders, made Edward inordinately happy and he had all the hope in the world that they had turned a new leaf.

They fell into an easy, comfortable rhythm. When he withdrew for his feeds, Bella took care of the temple and hunted. When he emerged, she was there to meet him and all their time was spent together, back as it had been before. They read, played games, listened to music, and basked in each other's many charms and delights. It was perfection. It was paradise. It was too good to be true.

The only thing it lacked was her full and unhindered support of his life choices. He knew, by the tightening of her lips, the twitch of her eyes, and subtle shifting of her tone of voice, that she still did not approve of the Others. While she may not speak her distaste out loud, it was still present, and in her heart, she despised him for how he needed them. This meant that he dared not share with her when he discovered a new way to experience their blood or gush over a particularly potent feed. It was as if he had to keep the dearest, most important part of his heart locked away from her because he knew she would not accept it. This made an invisible wall between them which he wished he could break down, but he didn't know how.

She had her own ambitions which also could not be entirely shared by him and which, he knew, she wished she could.

"Edward, let's travel the world," his Bella said to him one day. She was paging through a National Geographic and admiring all of the pictures when she rolled over onto her back, her eyes glistening with enthusiasm, and she nearly pouted. It was such an adorable, inviting expression that he stopped what he was doing to pounce on her and kiss her deeply before letting her finish her thought.

"Where would you like to go, my love?" he asked.

"Paris and Dublin and Mexico City and Kathmandu and Timbuktu, oh everywhere! Let's get out of here! Let's explore!" she pleaded. "Just you and me."

"That sounds amazing," he said, genuinely pleased with the idea… he began to dream over all the places he'd been that he could experience with her at his side, enjoying her delight and companionship along the way. He thought of how they could begin in Chicago and then move through British Colombia and up to Alaska... but how?

"But, I could not possibly leave my temple for more than a week. Realistically, I cannot leave for more than five days, not if the Others are going to survive."

When he saw her face fall and the glint of enthusiasm shimmer out of her eyes, he began to back-peddle. He did not want to go back into their "choose me or the Others" argument. Not again. Not when they had finally come to some sort of harmony between them. He wanted to see her happy, too.

"I know! I can make one of the Others into a new guardian and then we will be free to travel!" he said.

He did not understand why she threw the lamp at his head or why she was suddenly overcome with fury. He was only trying to compromise and trying to make her happy. It didn't make any sense. She was entirely unreasonable.

In the end, she absolutely forbid him from making another guardian and she told him she'd just travel the world by herself. He was a bit disappointed by this and he tried to make it up to her. He went to Cairo and Nairobi with her. He even went as far as Morocco and Zanzibar, but she had her sights set on further prizes and so she gave him a sweet kiss, packed up her suitcase, and went to see the world.

When she came back, she positively glowed with all her adventures and new experiences. It had been every bit as wonderful as she thought it would be and she was so happy she had gone. She showed him selfie after selfie of her in all the magical places she had been and he delighted in her radiance as she told him all about it.

"So, how have you been? I've missed you," she said, turning her focus to him.

"I've missed you too," he answered. What else could he say? He didn't have as many stories to tell her, of course, but that was only because she wouldn't enjoy hearing his latest avenues of experimentation. In truth, during her absence he had spent even more time with the Others than before. He told himself it was because he missed his Bella, but another part of him was relieved that she would not be there to grouch about how he spent his time or that he was ignoring her. He felt free to do what he liked, unhindered by any obligation to her.

When she returned, he was genuinely happy to see her. Really. He was even happier for their reunion and successive nights spent intertwined together on the floor of his room. They fell back into their old rhythm. She kept careful tabs of when he would be out of his Research Lab and between feeds and she made sure she attended to his relational needs. She was there with new books for them to share, movies for them to watch, and stories of what new adventures and hobbies she had picked up since she last saw him. She had long ago taken over more and more of his finances and the logistics of keeping his temple and affairs in order and so he did not have to waste any precious time with such tedium. She had complete autonomy over all that occurred in his temple and all Edward had to do was lean back and enjoy it.

Yet, not even such a beautiful, precious balance could last, even if Edward wished it would.

"Edward, you realize you are spending more and more time with them than you were before? You come out to me less and less," she rebuked him one day. He gristled and grew irritated. She was right, but he didn't want to tell her that. What made it worse was the guilt he was trying to rationalize away. He knew that he was spending less and less time outside his Research Lab and when he was not with the Others, he was often still thinking of them. However, he did not want to admit this to Bella. He responded with anger instead.

"Why do you keep trying to control me?" he roared back. "It's none of your business what I do or the decisions I make."

"Fine," she said.

"Fine?" he asked, not at all liking the way which she spoke it.

"Yes. I am going to make my own temple, over there," she said, and pointed to the east. "You need more space during your feeds to 'be free' and I don't want to hear… or smell… what goes on in there anymore."

He thought about this and the idea had definite appeal, except it roused his suspicions. "You don't want to live with me?"

She sighed. "I don't want to live with you and them. When you aren't with them, I can be with you."

He thought this sounded like an acceptable arrangement. It's not like it would change much of their current arrangement. After all, he only saw her between feeds and where she wanted to spend her time in-between was her business. So, he quickly agreed. She created her own temple, about ten miles away, and this task kept her very occupied for some time. She was happy, though. Genuinely happy in a way he had not seen her since she returned from globetrotting. He hadn't realized how her eyes had dimmed or how she spoke less and less until she gained her own little home and then she came to life again. When he emerged from his feeds, he found his lovely, doting mate waiting for him, ready to embrace him and shower him with her adoration.

He truly was the luckiest man in the world. He would have written song after song in honor of his Bella, but he was far too busy for song-writing these days. He did not remember the last time he wrote a new song. The days and months and years washed over him without him pausing to know how many had come and gone. How could he be bothered? He had eternity and that eternity was already his own, particular form of supernatural delights.

Since he could not think of a new song, now he sat at his piano and he played the old songs. He hoped she would arrive soon and come to nestle in his lap and force him to continue his song from around her waist. He loved the way her giggle in his ear melded with the tune from his fingers or how her hands would wrap in his hair while she leaned her forehead against his and forced him to play blind. With these memories so fresh in his mind, he grew restless. He closed his piano again and he paced for awhile. He grew worried that something had happened to her to keep her from coming to him. She was always here. Every time he woke, he could count on her being there, just outside his door, ready to welcome him back into her arms. He decided he needed to seek her out himself.

He had never actually visited her new temple. She had told him he could come, whenever he wanted, and he kept telling her he would, but somehow, he just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Actually, he couldn't remember the last time he left his temple compound at all, now that he thought of it. He knew the general direction he needed to go, however, and he followed her old scent trail through the desert until it led him to another underground bunker.

Then, he froze. His Bella was undeniably within, but the only reason he knew this was because he could see her through the thoughts of another. In fact, he could hear the distinct minds of at least a dozen others. If he had just caught the thoughts of someone sharing the evening news with Bella, the door to her bunker might have survived. However, when he caught the thoughts of a man entirely enraptured, and much too familiar, with the sight of his mate, Edward stormed in, roaring like a charging bull.

The entryway led into a massive, underground cavern. Intricate sculptures were carved out of the rock face of the walls. Thick carpets covered the floor and drank in the sounds which otherwise would have echoed off the vaulted ceilings. A giant bookcase covered one entire wall and a pipe organ covered the other. A table and chairs sat on one side of the room, separated from the main room by a curtain. On the other side, a leather couch and series of recliners were facing a large television. Across the room, behind another curtain, he could see a canopy bed.

There he found them. Oh, he found them. On this bed, his Bella lay on the bare chest of a man, his arms wrapped around her and his face buried into her hair. Both were whispering and giggling to each other like old friends, like old lovers, and Edward felt ill at the sight of it.

"What is this?" Edward shouted. He covered the expanse of the room in five long strides and the pair on the bed shot upright in surprise.

"Oh, hello Edward," Bella said, her voice ringing more with the lifeless quality of apathy than with any tinge of guilt or shame. She stood and came to him. The dim light of the cavern reflected off the shimmering sequins of her evening dress and the long earrings she wore. The man who followed her had at one point been dressed in a full tuxedo and bow tie, but his coat was thrown over the bed and his shirt hung open with his bow tie loose around his neck.

"What are you doing?" Edward demanded.

"Celebrating our anniversary, of course," she said. "We had a delightful presentation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It truly was phenomenal."

She tossed a coquettish smile over her shoulder to the man who emerged from the shadows to stand beside her. He placed his arms around her waist and placed a kiss behind her ear. Edward's mouth fell open, but not merely because of the flagrant display of affection. From the tips of his head to the bottoms of his toes, he was frozen in place when he could finally see just who was embracing his mate.

It was a human version of Edward.

"What is this?" Edward managed to force out between his dumbstruck teeth, in equal parts horror and wonder at the sight.

"I think the appropriate question is 'who?'. This is Romeo." She said and she turned to place a kiss on his nose. The man had the audacity to giggle, then, and gaze upon her as if she were the sun and moon and stars.

Edward averted his eyes, but the wall nearby him did not do much to ease his sense of his world turning inside out around him. It was a wall of photographs. He recognized them. They were the photos Bella had showed him from when she travelled the world. Except, on second glance, he realized they were not exactly the same photographs. In the ones she had shown him, she had always been alone. These were nearly identical. Bella was in the same locations and wore the same clothes as the photos he remembered, save that in each and every one, she was accompanied by a human version of himself.

How long had this been going on? He wondered. His mind spinning as he tried to sift through so many decades of life together to find out just how he had missed this.

It was a moment later when Edward remembered there were more thoughts coming from around the bunker. He was reminded when not only thoughts, but footsteps, joined them in the cavern.

"Bella, love, are you alright?" asked another male voice. "We heard voices."

It was like something from a nightmare, only one that he never, not in a million years, would have dreamed. A dozen more versions of Edward poured into the cavern and they marched in a line to encircle his mate, all their attention fixed on her. They were all human, but they were not exactly the same. These were not seventeen-year-old humans. These looked to be men in their twenties...and thirties...and even forties… They proved that, if given a few more years, Edward would have been significantly taller with the potential for greater muscle mass. Their hair fell at various lengths, though some grew darker auburn while others even had a few specks of grey. Some wore beards and some were clean shaven. All of them were dressed in Shakespearean costumes and were thinking over how well their night's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream had gone.

"Oh, you are sweet, Lysander. I'm fine. It's only Edward," she said, as if everyone present was familiar with Edward and should be nonplussed by his sudden appearance. As if they all knew more about him than he did about them and had no qualms about his existence.

"What is this?" Edward asked, repeating the phrase which he felt might become the common refrain of whatever song he could compose out of this disaster of a night.

"My temple," she answered, a beatific half-smile on her face. She opened her arms to the men behind her. "These are my fairies, or at least, for tonight they are fairies. Perhaps tomorrow they can be my knights in shining armor or my band of warriors. Go back and rest, my pets. You've all been marvelous tonight. I need to spend some time with our visitor on my own. I won't be long."

As one, the entire group of men departed from the room, but not before one or two cast a lingering glance on Bella and wished her to hurry back to them soon.

I know what she's doing. Edward thought. She's trying to get revenge. She wants to make me jealous. It won't work. I won't play into her little game. Don't react. Be calm. Be casual.

"So, this is where you live now?" he asked, looking around again. "I apologize for not coming to call upon you sooner. I have been remiss."

"Yes, this is our home. We are quite fond of it."

"And you put on your own little theater show? That's nice."

"It was."

"For our, uh, anniversary?"

"Yes."

"Happy anniversary, by the way. I waited for you, but you, well, it looks like you were busy."

"Oh, Edward, I apologize! It had been so long since you last emerged, I gave up waiting. And my fairies were so very concerned that we have a proper celebration for our anniversary, after all."

"Fifty years is worth celebrating."

"Fifty?" she asked. "Edward, it's been 70."

"Seventy? The computer in my lab showed it to be fifty."

"Oh, most of your clocks and computers are so out-of-date, it's a wonder they still work. No, dear, it's been 70."

"Bella, you are a hypocrite," he finally said, wishing to dwell more on her flaws than on the fact that, if Bella was correct and it had been seventy, then he could not remember more than half of those years. "You spent so long telling me to give my the Others, and here, you are doing the exact same as me."

Her grin stretched and morphed into something so unrecognizable, he was sure he had never seen such an expression on her face before. "Oh, Edward. You really believe this is anything like what you have with your Bellas?"

He considered, for a fleeting moment, parading his own collection of Bellas around her the next time she came so that she could have a taste of her own medicine. But then he realized that the Other Bellas could not walk or speak. They would not be draping themselves over him like a garment and gazing adoringly into his eyes. Even worse, Bella would not be able to read their thoughts and so she would not be able to hear their adoration for him. (Then again, were any of them even conscious enough to know he existed, let alone that he was wonderful?) No, if this was vengeance, then it was the perfect dose for a telepath because he could see in graphic color, all the reasons her Edwards adored her.

"It won't work," Edward said, attempting to reestablish himself before her with a show of smug bravado. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her. "If you are trying to make me jealous, it won't work."

"Oh, Edward, I'll admit, it might have started out of a desire to get back at you, but I forgot about that almost as long ago as you forgot our anniversary. Believe it or not, Edward, this actually isn't about you at all."

"I won't do it. I won't exchange my Bellas for your Edwards."

She laughed, a bell-like sound that bounced off the walls around her like pixie dust. "I wouldn't give my fairies up, not even for you. As you told me, they are you, after all, and I wouldn't give you up for anything. You see, you helped me have a revelation one day and it's changed my perspective ever since. I realized you were right all along. Instead of fighting against your chosen lifestyle, I should learn from it. How could I possibly ask you to give up your Bellas? I understand now why you fought so hard to keep them. I had woefully unrealistic expectations of you from the beginning."

"You did? I was? You were?" he asked.

"Yes. You were right. There are just some needs you can't fill, and that's why I need them. Don't worry, Edward. I have only ever loved you. There's just so much more of you to love now. I truly can't get enough."

He gaped at her, entirely dumbstruck, but then it all fell into place. No wonder she had seemed so distracted, so distant. No wonder she had been slower and slower to come to him. She had recreated her singer, too. After so many arguments and bitter debates, she knew. She finally shared his thirst, his need, his delight, his insatiable desire for more. She must know why everything else must sink away into insignificance and she would no longer ask him for what was impossible. Finally, finally, she understood him and he felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. The invisible wall between, the prying wedge keeping them apart, it all came crashing down around him. This must change everything between them.

How much more could they share now? He could finally tell her all the deepest, darkest, wildest passions of his heart that he had feared to share with her before. He would not have to hide anything from her or feel her disapproval when speaking of what he loved most. Surely, she could move back to his temple with him and they could be closer now than they ever were before. His heart was nearly bursting with a potent mix of relief and anticipation and hope of what could be.

Until he finally noticed her eyes.

They were golden.

ooooo

Author's Notes: This ending had to happen eventually. This is in honor of King Shahriyar's first wife. She really got the short end of the stick in that story and deserved better.

Finally, I love all the AU's. After I finish Shahrazád's Ghosts, I want to have a chapter with any reader AU ideas, for any story. Have a crazy way you thought this story should have gone? Send me a PM so I can include it. :)