At some point in her human days, Bella had said that the Volturi appeared to be rather angelic, judging by the grand painting that Carlisle had in our old home in Forks. I tried making sense of her words then, with not much success - after all, she had always been quick to see beauty even in the vilest of places. But having them in front of my eyes now, without the filter of acrylic paint to soften the blow, I could not see, for the life of me, what could possibly be angelic about these beings.
Their skin was almost translucent in its whiteness, all the centuries of being alive having left a mark. Their eyes, bright crimson and shallow as a rain puddle, bore no resemblance to ours. Their very presence held something otherworldly within it, making me feel as if I had arrived at the gates of the Inferno and met the guards.
Aro looked almost frail, with his short stature and his thin veil of long black hair sharpening his features, but there was no doubt about the fact that he was the leader. He had stopped one step in front of the others, a smile stretching the thin skin on his cheeks. Right behind him, I recognized Demetri.
Just as tall as I was and with a lean figure, Demetri was not only a gifted tracker - he was also a fighter. I could see it in the way he was carrying himself like a feline, each movement fiercer than the one prior. He stood in contrast to the short kids next to him.
The kids were younger than Nellie, their features so similar that there was no doubt about the fact that they were twins. The girl, Jane, had short hair, just like her brother, Alec. The only notable difference between them could be found in the plumpness of their lips.
One thing and one thing only kept me sane in front of this most unwanted meeting: my wife, who was holding tightly to me, reminding me that we could never - not even once, not even by accident - afford to be separated.
But we had been late - or rather, the werewolf had been late, and we were now paying the price. This delay had brought us here, face to face with a fate I could not accept.
"Young friends," Aro smiled. "It seems that we can never have a moment alone, with all this traveling you've been doing. You are quite the globetrotters."
"How I've waited for this!"
"Long time no see," my father offered with an amiable voice.
"Indeed, Carlisle. And to meet in such circumstances, what were the chances? Introduce us to these kids of yours."
"Of course. These are Edward and Bella. The young one is Nellie."
"So she does have a name," Jane noticed in an even tone.
"She looks just as sour as the last time I had seen her, no surprise here," Nellie's thought echoed in my brain. "It's a good thing I get to have her and her dumb brother's powers. Hm, I wonder if they can tell. The bitch looks like she could use a taste of her own medicine again."
I noticed a quick exchange of fiery glances between the two girls, reminding me of their old vendetta, from back when Jane and Alec had tried to recruit her into their clan - and the little one, being her usual self, had taught them a lesson using their own gifts against them.
"Ah, how wonderful!" Aro quipped, ignoring Jane, his eyes darting from me to my wife, making me grip her tighter out of instinct. "Bella, the youngest member, of course. Your cousins told me all about you."
"A true beauty," Demetri noticed, glancing up and down at her.
"I wouldn't mind at all if the Master brought her to Italy."
It took every ounce of my control not to launch at him then and there and rip him to pieces. His remark had set me ablaze, making me all too eager to prove that Bella was off the table for anyone else but me.
I had not realized how tense I had been until I felt my father's hand on my shoulder, patting me - gently, but warningly.
"Easy, please," his thought kept me in control enough for him to do the talking:
"Edward and Bella are each other's mates. He changed her back in summer."
"So I've heard," Aro murmured. "Her tiny blunder made the news, after all."
"A Cullen failing is such a rare sight. But beautiful, nonetheless."
"Giving away a good part of who we a-," Jane started, but stopped when Aro motioned her to do so. When he started speaking, he sounded overly-affected, almost as if he had rehearsed these words on numerous occasions:
"I'm just so, so very sad that we never got to sit down and discuss this properly. You just disappeared from Forks, leaving us no chance to understand things."
If I hadn't known better, thanks to all the stories Carlisle had told me over the decades and his thoughts, I would have believed that he was actually being reasonable.
"We had a treaty with the shapeshifters in La Push," Carlisle explained. "It was our only option, I'm afraid."
"So very sad!" Aro repeated.
"Running away like that is not a good look for Carlisle's clan."
I could feel Bella's body tensing up in my embrace.
"And so you traveled," he added. "All around the globe. Making new additions to your family as well, if I'm not mistaken?"
His eyes had stopped right on Nellie.
"She's with us," was all I said.
"I had expected to see Alice."
"Alice is not here," I told him.
God, I could only pray that Alice and Jasper had left by now, if she had had this particular vision. They were both aware that we would not want them to come after us, now that we had been found.
"No, but she's not that far away, is she? Demetri here could finally get a trace of her."
Aro's tone was reproachful, silently blaming Demetri.
"Actually, if I may..." Alec began, looking at his leader to receive permission. "We were getting close to her, when we'd heard all that howling."
"We recognize Children of the Moon from miles away," Aro explained. "With the great threat their kind poses on ours, we must always make sure we eliminate them when we meet them."
"And what a surprise to stumble upon something else entirely! And what a joy!"
"Of course," Carlisle agreed. "Well, we took care of this one in particular, there is no need for further intervention."
"So I see. And we are most thankful for that, miei giovani amici. We do not let these deeds fade without acknowledging them with a reward. Although you could have asked for our help."
"We managed on our own," I said.
"Son, please keep to yourself," Carlisle's inner voice came in a pleading wave to me. "Aro's temper can be triggered by anything."
I simply nodded, closely examining the minds surrounding me. Beyond the surface amiability, something else was boiling. I could not understand completely what, since their thoughts seemed to be weirdly monotone, not giving away as much as I would have liked.
"And how exactly did you come across this Child of the Moon?" Aro demanded.
"My wife and I were on Siberian lands two months ago," I answered. "We were just unlucky, I suppose."
"Oh, so you met it while you were on the run."
He made sure to emphasize the last words. I felt a growl building in my chest, but I remembered my father's words and stopped the need to let it out right in the tracks.
"Aro, old friend," Carlisle began. "Now I know that what had happened in Forks months ago is indeed problematic. But I would be so very grateful if you wouldn't hold it against my children and my family. We tried to bribe the witnesses, but the check never made it to them. The news died down in the end anyway."
The red-eyed vampire scoured my father with doubtful eyes. This explanation did not suit the fake narrative he had created.
"Except they didn't," he pointed out. "Not fully. That man is still out there telling stories to whoever is willing to listen."
"With all due respect, he would not be doing that if you had not sent Chelsea and Heidi to Forks to kill his wife," I replied.
"For God's sake, son, can you listen to me once?"
"Young Edward's not afraid to speak his mind. It just goes to show how right I've been about him. He'd be great in the guard. Although he'd have to learn the importance of being more submissive."
Silence fell over us. I was acutely aware of the fact that Bella's hand, now closed in a fist over my chest, was currently my only anchor. She had remained silent throughout this meeting and I desperately wanted to know what went through her mind right this second. Was she scared?
"But the question remains: have we really done that?" Aro asked, smiling innocently.
I felt Bella's fist tightening over my chest. I tried making sense of this gesture of hers, with no success - it could mean anything. Then, out of nowhere, she started speaking:
"Alice saw it in her visions, so the answer is obvious."
"Love, don't…"
"But it's true!"
She looked up at me, an unknown fire burning in her eyes. Suddenly, I could hear the direction of Jane's thoughts changing - they were no longer stagnant, waiting for a command. She was getting ready to attack, the thrill of inflicting torture making her unaware that her power was no longer hers to use, but Nellie's.
"I'm afraid there is no evidence of that, dolce Isabella," Aro cooed, taking one more step in our direction; out of instinct, I pulled her behind me. "A vision that most people would not be able to see with their own eyes proves nothing. Your mistake is posing a great threat to our kind."
"I am aware of my mistakes. But this one is not mine, you can not pin it on me just because-"
"Bella," Carlisle's voice was firm when he interrupted her.
Aro made another step towards us and it was becoming impossible to suppress my territorial growl when his eyes started studying my wife. There was no lust in his thoughts - he appreciated her beauty, of course, but that was not the reason behind the act of licking his lower lip. Instead, he was curious.
"You're a rather intriguing presence," Aro pondered. "A little feisty, like your husband seems to be, but intriguing nonetheless. I would like to see more."
Another step and he was standing right in front of us. I had never held Bella tighter. Death was a preferable option to letting go of her right now.
"You see, I am somewhat of a thought-reader," he continued calmly, looking directly at her. "The difference between me and your mate is the fact that I have to touch you to get a glimpse into your mind. But when I do, I can see everything."
"I know," she replied flatly. "Carlisle had told me."
"Of course he did," he grinned. "Your hand, please?"
There was no room for 'no' in his voice. Still, I refused to let her go. Aro waited patiently, not once showing any signs that he might have changed his mind. Rather reluctantly, my Bella liberated herself from my arm and stepped in front, with her hand stretched in front of her. I immediately grabbed her waist, not bearing the idea that she would be out of reach for even a second.
Aro's eyes studied my possessive hand carefully, as his palm met Bella's.
"He is rather proprietorial. It seems that they have found their one true bond. This might be a problem."
As these thoughts were roaming through his head, he started realizing that something was not right. He had expected a cascade of memories to wash over him; instead, all he could hear were the trials and tribulations of his own mind. His brow furrowed in frustration for the shortest moment, but he let nothing out. Confused, he gripped her tighter and, contrary to any expectations, started laughing.
A laugh so maniacal, so oddly-placed, that it made me freeze in place.
"Now that's just marvelous! I hear absolutely nothing."
He let Bella's hand go, and they both stepped back - Bella closer to me, Aro closer to his own group. The incertitude in her eyes was mixed with something else: pride maybe?
"Now, I know from your cousins that you were immune to Edward here", Aro explained, still gleeful after his laughter. "It is another thing entirely that you are immune to me as well. Isn't it fascinating?"
"Of course, Master," Jane agreed. "Makes you wonder what else she is immune to."
"After all, I'd put her on her ass in seconds."
"This could be interesting."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, my dear Jane?"
This time, I no longer held anything back. I allowed my rage to come out in a loud growl, pushing Bella way back behind me. Then, everything seemed to happen at once.
Demetri hunched to attack.
Nellie moved away from me.
Carlisle urged me to just stand back.
Bella murmured a simple 'Don't'.
And Jane went from smiling to being on her back and crying out in pain in the blink of an eye.
I watched in awe as she was squirming on the ground, quietly processing the fact that Nellie was, in fact, the reason behind this. Alec tried to intervene, only to realize that he, too, was just as powerless as his sister.
"Master?" Alec sounded exasperated, the child in him coming to the surface.
Aro simply raised one finger to silence him, observing this new turn of events. As he did so, he realized he had seen Nellie before - in Jane's and Alec's memories, when they told him they had met the most annoying, yet also most useful vampire during one of their missions. He had been intrigued back then, but too caught up with his own issues to go searching for the kid. So he simply did something he was known for: he postponed.
"Now that's just not polite," he sighed.
Nell kept the pain going for just a few seconds more; when she stopped, Jane dropped to the floor with a gasp.
"This bitch was going to do the same thing to Bella," she said. "How is that fair in return?"
"An eye for an eye will make the world blind, child."
"Yeah, I don't vibe with that. How about you don't hurt us at all, so that we don't have to keep any kind of score?"
"Do something, son," my father's words were not calm this time, when they silently called me out.
"Nellie, dear, it's all right," I murmured, grabbing her shoulder with care, making her step back. "We apologize. She can be impulsive, but she really means no harm."
"The hell I don't, old man. These fuckers are up to no good, you know it."
Jane was finally recovering, sitting up, her eyes throwing dagger after dagger in our direction. She was getting ready to tell Nellie off, but decided not to when Aro spoke again:
"Perhaps we should try something less painful then. Alec?"
As opposed to Jane, Alec's gift was much more forgiving: he could deprive anyone of their senses, creating a powerful, inescapable illusion. This time, however, he would not deprive anyone of anything.
"Good luck with that, bitch number two."
It didn't take long at all for Alec to realize that the power he was so certain of would not come to the surface. I gripped Nell's shoulder tighter when she was getting ready to prove to him that she could knock him out in seconds, just like she had done with his sister.
"If that isn't bewitching, I don't know what is," Aro inferred, chuckling with pleasure. "Can you control this power of yours, young girl?"
"Most times not, it's random," Nellie shrugged.
"Are you stealing my power as well as we speak?"
"Nope, I can only do two at a time."
"What a treasure. I'd like to know you better. Allow me, please."
Once again, he stepped in front of us, his movements so fluid that a pair of human eyes could have mistaken them for floating. Without asking, he grabbed her hand in his - but something about the shape of his fingers and the texture of his palm seemed to trigger an avalanche of painful memories for her, all starring her father, that made her gasp loudly. Some of them were blurry, from her human life, some of them crystal-clear, from her newer life.
"Shhh, you're all right, kid," I whispered, caressing her shoulder lightly, reminding her that there was nothing here to threaten the autonomy of her own body.
Nellie's mind was trying to push back the unwanted memories when slowly, out of nowhere, I realized that I could no longer hear her. Aro was met with nothingness as well. He frowned, waiting impatiently. It didn't take me long at all to understand what was happening here; sadly, it didn't take Aro long either.
"Once again, I see nothing," he grumbled, not letting go of her hand. "Is there any chance that this has anything to do with your power, Bella?"
"Yes," she answered simply, hiding nothing.
"I would very much appreciate it if you held back for now."
Bella shifted ever so slightly - ready to protest, if I had guessed right. But protesting would not have done us any favours.
"My love, just do as he says," I murmured in her ear.
When I had begun to hear the string of slurs in Nellie's head and witness the way Aro's mind started swimming with all the thoughts she had ever had, I realized that Bella had finally listened. Witnessing the avalanche of thoughts was an overwhelming experience, to say the least.
There it was, absolutely everything: from the foggy memories of Nellie's past life - the sorrowful face of a woman that looked like her, broken bottles on the floor, the insides of a closet that she had once considered home, the face of a boy she had found endearing at some point, the hiding spots she would find to escape her abuser - to the more nuanced recollections of her life as a vampire - her first hunt, the first time her monstrous father had taken advantage of her in her new form, the conflicting feelings she used to have whenever he was being nice to her, the feeling of being trapped, the absurd idea that she might deserve it, the way that the monster would beat her when she would go out on her own.
But there were happy thoughts scattered in between too: the thrill of discovering her power, the day she had killed her abuser, the joy of sneaking in movie theaters and libraries, the way she had decided she liked Bella from the moment they met, the immense pleasure of being taught how to fly a plane, the unexpected fun of an emergency landing, the day she had told me the one secret she had always wanted to keep for herself, the unforeseen peace that came when she realized I had not judged her decisions one bit. Then the walk around Paris, the way the city looked from the ferris wheel, the ugly bracelet that was now hanging from her wrist, the gratefulness that had come with my and Bella's act of saving her from the werewolf.
This was a strange payback for all the times I had complained about not being able to hear her.
I was only snapped back to reality when Aro let Nellie's hand go. He sighed deeply, taking in every little detail he had just witnessed. Every eye seemed to be on him now, as he was composing himself enough to speak again.
"You haven't had the most pleasant life, child," he concluded after a while, stating the obvious. "But you're all right now, aren't you?"
"Yes," she answered sincerely.
"Edward and Isabella are not by any stretch of imagination your parents, yet you seem to feel some type of way towards them."
She didn't respond, at least not out loud. But I heard her unspoken affirmation nonetheless and held her a little tighter in response.
"These bonds can be a problem… not unsolvable, of course, as long as we have Chelsea," Aro considered. "She'd be such a prize as well, but I will not get greedy. Her time will come."
Once he reached this terrifying resolution to the conflict in his head, he continued with a clear voice:
"I wonder if they feel the same way towards you. And since Bella won't let me inside her mind, maybe Edward will. No tricks this time."
He looked directly at my wife when he voiced the last words.
"Fine, let's get this over with," I said.
I stretched my hand in front of me, looking him in the eye. He made no pause, holding my gaze when he took my hand in his. And just like before, I listened as the sound of his mind weakened, getting replaced with everything that had ever gone through my mind at once.
It was equal parts fascinating and unsettling to watch all of my thoughts flashing through his mind, invading him. There were barely any human memories left, the brightest one being the green eyes of my biological mother watching over me as she tucked me in to sleep. The rest I was all too familiar with: years upon years of living a half-life. Death and blood and justice and remorse and hatred and music and books and laughter and the best family I could have hoped for.
Then, powerful and bright like a comet shooting across the darkest galaxy, Bella.
With her scent and her well-guarded thoughts, she had awakened everything in me when we met. I relived with dread all the plans I had once made about killing her. I watched as my selfish frustration turned into love - slowly at first, as if I was too scared to let it envelop me, then all at once when I realized it was out of my control. A love so consuming that it had crept into my every cell, finding its forever home.
The painful musings of leaving her for her own good followed, intermingling with thoughts of thirst and were so many thoughts attached to one particular night spent in the Alaskan wilderness. I was relieved when they disappeared altogether, making room for the rest: all the nights spent practicing for our honeymoon in the darkness of her childhood bedroom, the heavenly bliss of seeing her walk down the aisle, the exciting trip to Rio, the way her body had welcomed me when I made love to her for the first time, our midnight swims, the night we danced on the beach, all the painful waiting we had had to endure once we went back to school, the unbearable happiness I felt when she moved into our house, the supreme bliss of feeding from her, the endless hours of holding her in my arms while my venom ran through her body, transforming every single atom into something I would cherish forever.
I was getting drunk on my own memories flashing through Aro's mind: Bella opening her eyes to her new life, the awe with which I observed her first hunt, the rapturous feeling of finally loving her - worshipping her, adoring her, fucking her - fully, with no earthly limits, the dread of seeing her human victims in a pile. And in the end, absolutely everything else that followed after, leading up to this particular moment in time.
Aro let go of my hand, a soft moan rolling off his lips when the connection broke, leaving him alone with his own mind again.
"What a spectacle!" he whispered.
I was back by Bella's and Nellie's side in no time. Carlisle's eyes analyzed me, full of concern, and I simply shrugged. He was getting progressively worried with the way this encounter was unfolding.
"To read every thought in a room at any given moment is one precious gift," he mused. "And my curiosity has been satisfied: it's not just the kid that finds you endearing. It's rather mutual."
"He might miss her, but not nearly as much as he would miss his mate."
"So… a stealer, a mind-reader and a shield that's still rough around the edges,," Aro continued. "Quite the trio. If only Alice were here to make it a quartet."
Alice not being here was the only good thing about this whole charade. With the werewolf out of the way, I knew that her visions could be clear once again. I prayed that no vision of hers would bring her down this path. She and Jasper had to know better.
"Carlisle's got a small collection, it seems," Demetri noticed with a playful smile. "Who would have thought?"
"My father does not collect," I spat the words out. "We simply happen to be this way."
"I might just break his jaw."
"I might just do the same with you," I replied to his hidden wishes.
He snarled at me, but didn't go further. He would not act without having Aro's blessing. The air was thick with anticipation and I felt the muscles in my body clench with the need to grab, punch, fight, rip, kill. I had to remind myself to do none of that, seeing that it could spell trouble for our family - as if we needed more than what we had already got ourselves into.
"Now, my young friends," Aro broke the freshly-fallen silence, as his mind was analyzing the dynamics within our group. "The Volturi are nothing if not understanding when faced with such powerful individuals. But you must be aware of your own mistakes as well. Decimating so many humans and leaving a witness behind, only to run away after, is a quite abhorrent act. In normal circumstances, we would leave none of you alive after that."
"We are sorry," my wife muttered.
"'Sorry' does not protect our species, cara mia. Our strong values, however, do. We have spent millennia keeping our secret. We cannot risk the truth getting out there just because someone has not been careful."
Jane and Alec smiled, quietly celebrating this public humiliation.
"But because we are understanding," - Aro continued, making exaggerated gestures with his arms, reminding me of the pompous speeches that dictators would make - "we present you the gift of forgetting and forgiving. With one condition, of course."
"What's the condition?" Carlisle demanded, even if he already knew.
"I would very much like to have Edward and Alice in my guard, as a way to balance out the sins of young Isabella."
There they were - the words Alice had heard in her visions more than once. Words that I, too, had heard. They were as ice-cold and bone-chilling as she had predicted, yet somehow they still managed to make me feel as if my limbs had been ripped and thrown into the fire.
"I'm sorry, but you are not playing fair," Bella intervened, her voice more confident than I had expected. "Everyone here knows that this has been the plan all along. You killed Cochran's wife to get him to talk some more, making me and my family look bad on purpose. This is hardly a fair condition."
Aro raised his eyebrows, surprised by this. He had expected resisting, but he had not expected to be called out.
"Are you questioning my methods?"
"I am only stating that we are not fools."
"She's right," Nellie realized in silence. "Oh, God, I can put them all on their asses right now, in fact. Oh, somebody hold me…"
I squeezed her shoulder harder, making her look up at me. I nodded 'no', wishing more than ever that she could hear what was going on inside my head. A fight with the Volturi could potentially end with a victory for us, thanks to the kid's ability to steal the lethal gifts of Jane and Alec. Without the twins acting as their strongest weapons, it would have been a fair fight. But their coven was far more numerous - so much so, in fact, that there could be no possible scenario in which we would come out alive after killing their leader.
"I hate that you won't let me do this, old man."
"As I have said before, there is no proof for your claims," Aro explained, his patience starting to grow thin for the first time tonight.
"You were talking about values earlier. How is deceiving a value for a coven as powerful as yours?"
A small part of me wanted to stop her. The bigger part was too busy being awestruck by the way she was handling this.
"You are young, Bella," Aro replied. "So very young, in fact, that you might not understand the way the world works."
"I know enough of the way the human world works, since I had been part of it until recently. I had expected higher values within the vampire world, but it seems that I have been wrong."
"You are talking a lot, but I want to get one thing clear: are you trying to tell me that death is the preferable option to you?"
He had dropped the affability in his voice, making me understand what Carlisle had meant when he alerted me about this man's easily-ignited temper. My father was getting ready to intervene, in a bid to stop the looming conflict, but I jumped in before he had the chance to:
"She is not. None of us want that, in fact."
"Of course not," she agreed. "That was not what I meant."
"Then be more precise before I change my mind."
I felt her body tremor in my embrace, but she did not back down, her voice sounding just as poised as earlier when she talked again:
"All I'm saying is… we've killed a Child of the Moon tonight. All by ourselves. And we even eliminated the man it had bitten. You mentioned how big of a threat their kind is to ours and that you do not let these deeds fade without acknowledging them with a reward. So please, please, just let us go in return."
Aro watched her carefully, impressed, yet furious. He was now regretting ever letting those words out. But there was no going back now, and he knew it. He had already ventured into the muddy waters of deceiving once, he did not want to risk his chances of leaving this place with his reputation intact twice.
For a beautiful, short second, relief started seeping in my bones - Bella had found a way for us to walk out of these doomed catacombs together. Maybe this wasn't bad as I had feared. All these months spent on the run would not come to a dire ending.
But my relief came crashing to the ground as soon as I heard Aro's next words:
"You are making a valid point, even if a bit far-fetched. So here's my reward to you: we will get to bring back to Italy either Edward or Alice. We leave the choice in your hands."
"Friend, maybe if we could-"
"I'm already being mighty generous here, Carlisle," Aro interrupted my father. "One more word about this and I might just change my mind. Take your time deciding, we can wait."
The Volturi remained unmoved in their position, having no qualms about this decision. They watched us, taking delight in the way our world was slowly crumbling. Demetri was the only one feeling a pang of sorrow, realizing that Aro's choice would not leave much room for the possibility of getting to know my wife better, as he had hoped. In normal circumstances, I might have had the urge to slay him just for having those thoughts. Right now, however, my priorities were entirely different.
This truce served us no favours. I could not leave Bella and my family behind. But I could not let my favourite sister take the blow either. And I most definitely could not afford to be selfish enough to prefer death over all this.
"I can't make such a choice, son," my father's thoughts were full of misery when I turned to meet his eyes.
So kind and fluid like honey, those eyes were the one thing that had kept me on a straight line throughout my existence, up until I met Bella. A life away from them did not feel much like an option. He turned and made a few steps towards me, saying no words as he came to hug me. Bella and Nellie followed suit, their arms wrapping around my waist tightly.
The kid's mind was once again a long string of obscenities addressed to the Volturi. My wife's mind was silent, but I knew her well enough to understand the emotional storm she was facing behind her façade. I loved these people so deeply, that it was pure torture to fathom leaving them behind.
I realized then that I had truly had it easy for most of my life, despite the copious torment that had haunted me for a good part of it. I had a family. I had the love of my life by my side. I had this kid that, against all odds, I had grown to love. There was so much to lose here. Out there, there was no sanity without them, no reason to keep on living.
"I can't ever lose you, Edward," Bella's voice sounded different, as if someone was strangling her. It slowly dawned on me why: she was crying. A tearless, vampire crying.
"I love you so, so much, sweetheart," my own voice sounded strange in return - I might have been crying as well, judging by the painful, not quite familiar sting in my eyes.
There was nothing else I could say. At the end of the day, that was the only thing that would remain unchanged for the rest of eternity: my love for her, her love for me, flowing endlessly beyond time and beyond what science and religion defined as the end of the world. And while this was not the apocalypse, it very much felt like it.
"Son, this cannot happen," Carlisle's words still held hope, as he was battling to find a last-minute solution.
"Our family can't go on without you or your sister. I'll try to talk him out of it again."
"It's the only way," I murmured. "And I can't ask Alice to make that sacrifice in my place."
"She wouldn't want you to make the sacrifice either," he said.
"There's no way out, dad."
I had not truly registered the fact that Nellie was no longer throwing insults left and right in her mind until I felt her arms letting me go. Curious, I turned my head to understand what had happened. She said nothing when our eyes met, just one thought sizzled in the air between us:
"I love you too, old man, you know that?"
I smiled, inviting her to come back, but she had already turned her back on me.
"I hope you understand why I'm doing this."
I watched, completely perplexed by her cryptic thoughts. Bella and Carlisle seemed to notice something was off as well, for they gently parted from the embrace in which we had been entangled to watch Nellie, as she was stepping away from us and closer to the Volturi.
"Okay, I have a deal for you," she said, stopping a mere six feet away from Aro.
He seemed just as dumbfounded as the rest of us when she talked.
"I am done making deals, child," he announced.
"You're going to like this one."
"I'm sorry, really, I am. Tell Bella that when you get out. I love her too, for the record."
I was still conflicted, not understanding where she was going with this.
"Do tell, young one," Aro sighed.
Nellie hesitated, throwing one quick look over her shoulder to glance at our little group from beyond her fringe. She turned back immediately - something about the pain on my face had disrupted her train of thought.
"All right, here goes nothing..." she mumbled. "Take me in your guard instead. Let them go."
At first, the information did not register. I simply stared at the scene in front of me, trying to comprehend whether my hearing was failing me for the first time. Or maybe I was having a hallucination, if that was even possible. That had never happened before, but there was a first time for everything. Still, there was no clue hinting that I might have heard anything that had not been said out loud.
When the kid spoke again, I understood that I was not hallucinating:
"I know I've been wanted in that guard ever since these two over there tried to get me to join via force."
She pointed towards Alec and Jane and they huffed in unison.
"The Cullens have their bonds, I have nothing holding me back," she explained. "You've already agreed to take just one gifted vampire in your guard tonight, as a means to reward the killing of the werewolf. So, take me."
"Nellie, wait…" Bella tried to chime in, but Aro raised one finger in the air, motioning her to stop.
"Are you saying that you would be willing to trade your freedom for theirs?" he queried, his eyebrows raising with suspicion.
"Well… yes. That's what I'm saying."
"She is a valuable asset," Demetri contemplated.
"If that isn't the most unexpected turn of events, I don't know what it is," Aro declared. "You are not in the wrong, because we do want you, child."
Each passing second made me realize that this was hardly fair for her. Her freedom was her everything. She had dreaded the idea of joining the Volturi for this very reason - it was one of the very first things she had told us in Belaya Gora. She deserved to be free, after spending the better part of her life being the prisoner of the man who was supposed to love her the most.
It felt as if my feet had been trapped in a block of concrete - it required a great deal of effort to move them from where I was standing. But when I did, there was no stopping. I walked to Nellie, kneeling down so that she could see me properly.
"Listen, no one's asking you to do this," I said. "I love you for this, but I can't force you to do it."
She had to listen. She had to understand. Yet her thoughts revealed that her decision was set in stone.
No.
To hell with her decision. I could not rob her of her liberties and throw her to the wolves. She was, after all, just a kid. Who was I to let her make sacrifices for my sake?
"I know you can be stubborn like a bull, but you don't have to be," I insisted. "Not now."
"No one's asking me to do anything. And you're not forcing me. I want to do it."
With the corner of my eye I noticed Bella joining us. She kneeled near me, reaching out to take Nellie's hand in hers.
"Look, you're pretty much the coolest people I know. And your family is kind of awesome as well, from what I've come to see. Hell, tonight you fucking saved me from a werewolf!"
"There's no need for payback," Bella offered softly.
"I know. The point is… I'm not blind. I am aware of the fact you've got everything to lose here. I don't."
Her eyes went back from me to Bella, trying very hard to keep her mien carefree and push back the feeling of stingy eyes.
"Nellie, let me just-"
"It's fine," she interrupted my wife. "It really is. Not exactly what I'd been hoping for, but it's the least I can do after… everything."
She was now blinking fast, fighting back tears that would never come out.
"I wanted to meet the rest, I really did. Maybe one day we'll cross paths again. We have an eternity ahead, right?"
I struggled to find my words and failed miserably. In the absence of words, my arms surrounded her and Bella joined in, holding her tighter than either of us ever did.
"It really wasn't supposed to be like this," Bella whispered.
"I know."
"While this is all terribly endearing," - Aro began, his voice friendly again - "I would like to get this over with already."
Nellie slipped away easily from the tight hug we had her in, leaving us behind with empty arms. She made a few more steps, until she reached Aro and the rest. She kept her eyes down, unwilling to face them directly just yet.
Plenty of thoughts were swarming through my head - Aro's delight at his newest acquisition, Jane's irritability towards Nellie, Alec wondering if they would actually get along, Demetri wanting to just go home, Carlisle being shocked beyond words at the course of events - but only one mind interested me in that moment more than anyone else's: Nellie's.
I could make out the effort she was putting into keeping her thoughts on a trajectory that would keep some of her emotions hidden. And it was working, even if barely so. She kept herself occupied by replaying the memory of our emergency landing. That was a happy memory, as I had found out, keeping her on the surface of her own feelings.
"Welcome, my dear," Aro smiled. "You're a strange surprise, I must admit."
"And a very pleasant one at that."
"Strange things have happened here tonight, this might as well be one of them," she replied.
"There's a lot of learning to do once we arrive home."
"Such as keeping that fiery spirit under control."
The kid agreed reluctantly, no longer looking at me or Bella. She turned away, so that the only visible part of her was now her back. The rest went by in a blur. I heard their 'goodbye's, but I found myself unable to respond to them. I felt Bella's hand searching for mine, but I barely had the strength to mould my palm to hers. I saw the dark cloaks leaving, getting lost in the darkness. Only one thing I had heard clearly - Nellie's last thoughts before disappearing into the tunnels:
"Come back for me one day?"
My brain was already replaying the words on a loop as soon as they had abandoned the safety of her mind. I was still on the ground, in the same position as I had been since I had held her in my arms. Somewhere, someone was sobbing endlessly, cursing out loud.
It had taken me far too long to realize that that someone was me.
This chapter has been a really, really emotional ride for me - I would absolutely love it if you could let me know what it was like for you! What did you think of Nellie's decision to sacrifice her freedom for the sake of keeping the Cullens together? How do you think this will affect Edward and Bella from this point on?
Any thoughts you have are welcome, as always! I'll make sure to respond to everyone :).
With all this being said, I wish you all a happier, healthier new year - here's to hoping that 2021 won't suck!
Stay safe and happy, guys!
P.S.: It might be a little while before the next chapter is ready, I am sorry! Currently, I am battling several COVID-like symptoms (I am getting tested on Monday) and I haven't been able to do much in the past few days for this reason.
