Chapter Twenty-One

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Bella

Our unending, unfailing, steadfast service.

As his plan unfolded completely, I felt myself retracing every vivid memory in my head; why hadn't we seen this before? The answer to this question seemed to break me into a million pieces. We hadn't been able to decipher their scheme because we were distracted by Renesmee. That was the brilliance of the plan; to distract us with the same tool they were using to lure us to Italy and ultimately into their coven.

He wanted to tear our beloved family a part. And if I were him, I would have done the same thing. We were strong and powerful, something we had proven years ago. But Aro had been wise; he had not stopped there. It was not enough to simply tear us apart. He had to make sure we would never get back together again. And what better way to do that than forcing us to work for him. We would be bound to him forever through Chelsea's power which would strengthen our emotional ties and force us to remain loyal.

Renesmee had been the key to it all, the perfect bargaining chip. He knew that we would do anything for her. So he made her weak and vulnerable. At the time, it seemed as if it had been a choice between changing her right then or waiting until she were older. But that hadn't been the case—Aro knew we were not going to change our daughter while she was so young. He was planning on us taking the other offer; so he had kept the shield on him the entire time, making certain that Edward did not learn of his horrid plan.

And then he sent in Nick, the brilliant key to it all. What girl could resist his charming looks and personality? Especially a girl who was at her breaking point as Nessie had beem. She had to have noticed the similarities between him and us right away. It had to have eaten away at her, until all Nick had to say was "come with me," and she would follow him anywhere.

Glancing at the ground, I looked to where I would have seen my daughter had she not been hidden by those monsters. I knew I couldn't take much more this, conscious to the fact that my child was in pain yet being utterly helpless to stop it.

Jane stepped forward with the elegant grace of a ballerina and the ravenous eye of a lion. "I think we should just get it over with. I am quite hungry."

"Now, now, Jane, we have to give the Cullen family options; that's what being a good leader is about." Although he spoke to her, he did not take his eyes off of us for a second. "Those are your choices. Either join our ranks, or..." Suddenly, he had Nessie in the air by the collar of her shirt, his sharp teeth against her neck. She was gasping for breath. I watched as blood dripped down her temple, a deadly, taunting image for the vampires that surrounded her.

"No!" Jacob screamed as he lunged forward before he was immediately restrained by Emmett and Carlisle. "Put her down!"

"Jacob, stop," Carlisle begged. "If you go over there, they will kill her before you have even stepped foot in front of them."

Aro slowly turned his head maniacally, the edges of his mouth turned up in a ruinous grin. "Are you agreeing to our contract?"

"Yes!" I cried from the depths of my soul. At the sound of this he dropped her, as if he was simply holding a disgusting inanimate object. She hit the ground with a stomach-churning thud, immediately followed by another cry of pain from both her and me.

The agony simulated a strange, yet invited feeling. It ran through my veins like the thick red blood of my previous life. It cried out to me like a siren. I felt my eyes fill with motherly-determination, a determination that was far more powerful than any other of the qualities that had come with my changing to a vampire. It poured through my body, my mind, and the very soul inside of me that I was sure now still existed; if need be, I would give them all to her, simply so that she may have one more minute of life. I inhaled deeply, and screamed from the bottom of that soul, a cry from a heart that was no longer beating.

"This is all your fault!" Anguish filled the air as the sound echoed through the meadow, widening the eyes that were now upon me. I whirled around and with force equal to the pain inside me, threw Edward to the ground.

He was too shocked to rise.

"You were the one who would not tell her!" I wailed. "You were the one who said everything was going to be alright, as long as we kept her safe. Is she safe now, Edward? Is she?"

My voice became soft, but remained as deadly as the man who was standing over Resnesmee. "You did this to her."

"Isabella." Aro spoke each syllable of my name with a dark emphasis. "We need your power with us. Leave them. The Volturi coven is more than everything you need."

"What choice do I have?" I asked. "Please let me see my daughter, and I am yours."

At the sight of his nod, I rushed over to the other side and threw myself on the ground next to Nessie. She had passed out from the pain.

I stroked her hair, feeling Aro's dark eyes upon me. My precious, sweet daughter. The baby who had almost lead me to my death from the moment she began her journey to this world. The child that had been the catalyst to turning me into who I was always meant to be. The proof of love between her father and I, created when we were still part of two polarizing worlds of hunter and prey, of mortality and immortality.

If I died today, it would be worth every pain-filled moment, no matter how slow the Vulturi made it. I only hoped Renessmee would forgive me one day, when she looked back on this moment.

"Now!" I screamed, which caused my entire family to charge forward toward the pending battle.

With that, I lifted Renesmee into my arms and, quicker than I had ever run before, moved her from the chaos. I saw Demitri advanced forward toward me, but Edward cut him off. With angry snarls, the two tumbled on the ground, tearing at each other.

Next to me, Emmett fell to the ground, withering in pain as Jane stood before him, a heinous smile planted on her tiny face. With Renesmee still in my arms, I threw both of us on top of him and emitted a shield of protection. I knew it had been effective when Emmett exhaled a giant sigh of relief.

"Give her to me and I'll run," Emmett told me, reaching his arms out to grab my daughter.

"No!" I yelled. "They'll hunt you down and then you'll have to defend her alone. Stay next to me."

As we advanced forward toward Jane, I kept a shield on my brother. I watched her eyes widen when she realized her powers were not working. Emmett charged forward, throwing the girl to the ground with a thunderous boom. Giant cracks spread across the ground due to the force. I stayed close to Emmett, moving with him as he and Jane fought.

"Bella! Look out!" I whirled around just in time to see Alec charging toward me. I side-stepped just as Jacob, in wolf-form, tore him out of the air. I watched Alec's head soar through the air, landing right next to his sister. Seeing this,

"No!" I heard Jane scream. She twisted her body to escape Emmett's tight grasp. He tried to reach for her, but she pushed him backwards, and he went flying through the air.

"You will die the most painful death of anyone who has ever existed," she snarled at me, moving closer.

Edward, having been freed from his fight with Demitri, threw himself in front of me once more.

"Run, Bella!" he yelled at me. "Take Renessmee and run as fast as you can."

"I won't leave you to fight her alone!"

When Carlisle turned to me, my heart sank. Even though we had hardly fought the Volturi to this point, pure, agonizing defeat engulfed his face. He knew it was hopeless-we could never defeat a coven as strong and powerful as they were. I closed my eyes, desperate to come up with another plan that would allow the rest of my family to escape just as my husband and daughter had.

Suddenly, I felt the ground at my feet begin to shake. I looked up and expelled a cry of joy-running toward the Volturi at full speed was a pack of werewolves. And not just any pack of werewolves-Jacob's pack. They plowed into the group of hooded villains who had been too distraction to see the speeding attack coming. With angry, animal-like snarls, we immediately threw ourselves back into the fight.

A thought filled my head, and suddenly it was the only thing I could concern myself with-Jane's power would defeat us. I had to distract her somehow, for I was the only one who could not be affected by her horrible ability. I found her in the chaos and pushed her down with an angry snarl. She immediately shot back up, a deadly glare in her eyes. We encircled each other, each taking a step at the exact same time as the other. Ignoring the sounds of the gruesome battle that surrounded us, we focused on each other, tuning into every single one of our impeccable senses.

"I am going to destroy you," she growled in her child-like voice, making her threat seem like one from a girl on a playground. But I knew better than to underestimate her due to her exterior-beneath that skin was a one-hundred year old woman, a woman who had training and skills far beyond my own novice techniques. I recalled the basic training I had received, right before we had prepared to attack the Volturi due to their desire to destroy Renesmee. It wasn't much, and I hadn't reviewed any of it-there simply had not been a need to do so. However, I knew it would help some. And hopefully, it would be enough.

I didn't respond. Instead, I closed my eyes, keeping my remaining senses perfectly alert in case she should attack. I recalled memories, pulling them from the back of my mind.

The memory of Edward, while I was still human, withering in pain on the ground. It had been my first encounter with the Volturi, and Edward had jumped in front of me when Jane was going to test out her power on me. The memory of the battle over Renesmee, the coven standing before us, as ready to kill as they were now. The memory of my daughter, being beaten as we stood helpless. These remembrances flooded through me as I clenched my fists together at the pain they somehow inflicted simply by recalling them. This woman who stood before me had caused too much pain in my life-and I wasn't about to allow her to cause more. I would defeat her. I had to defeat her.

Gathering all of the strength I could, I attacked.

Renesmee

I lay in his warm arms once more, as if I had never left. The pain that jolted my body every time I simply blinked had subsided a little, but only because I was with him. He gently kissed the top of my head, treating me as if I was a fragile porcelain doll. But I wasn't fragile anymore, despite my physical injuries. I was with him once again. I was whole, ready to face the world and all of the problems it held.

As I lay here in this paradise, the sun shown down on me bright and beautiful. It was as if it knew I was finally with the person I was meant to be with. When I was first brought to this forest only a short hour ago, I had expected to be laying among the trees with someone who truly loved me; it just turned out that I was wrong on who that truly was.

For the thousandth time, my distracted mind suddenly remembered what was happening just a few short miles away. It was so easy to get caught up in the wonderfulness of what I was currently experiencing. My family was out there somewhere, fighting because of me. And although my father assured me a dozen times before he left me with a kiss on the top of my head, I was not sure if I believed that they would be alright. I was not certain how vampires fought or if they could even be killed. I simply wanted my family back. I did not care if the Volturi were overtaken or not.

He had ordered us to stay here, but I had an undying urge to fight alongside them. Certainly a half-vampire would be able to assist in some way. And sure, I had sustained a few injuries, but it was only a few scrapes and a sprained wrist. My father had told me that I was able to suffer more physical injuries than the average human. I was able to fight. I was willing to fight. I was not simply going to sit back to let my family pay the price for my foolishness.

"I'm going to help," I told him, sitting up with a hidden wince.

"No you're not," Jake retorted sharply, yanking me back into his arms, probably with more force than he had intended. "First of all, you have no idea how to fight a vampire, and you will fail miserably. Second of all, you're hurt. And third of all, if we leave this spot, especially to go and help, your father...no, your entire family...will destroy me."

I pulled away from him once more, turning to face him with unstoppable tears flowing down my cheeks. "Well what do you want me to do? Sit here and think about how my entire family and your pack are in danger? Don't you want to help too?"

"Of course I do; more than you know," he whispered as he wiped my tears away with a gentle finger. "But I'd rather help by keeping you safe. To your family, and to me, that is one of the most important jobs at hand. They didn't come all the way to Italy and fight the Volturi simply to have you get hurt or worse by trying to help them. Trust me, Nessie, they've fought plenty of times before-they know what they're doing. We just need to stay out of their way."

I fell into his arms once more, letting the tears flow freely. "Oh, Jakey, if anything happens to them, I don't know what I'll do," I sobbed into his chest.

"Nothing's going to happen; you just gotta believe me. They'll come back to you. And then we can go home and sort everything out. You just wait. Everything is going to be alright."

Another lie. They rolled off his tongue so easily at this point. But what could I do but wallow in my fear and misery? Jake was not going to let me risk my safety to help my family. And who was to say I would even be help? I may have been part-vampire, but I was also part human.

As I lay back down, this time turning to my side in an attempt to work around the pain, something in my pocket began digging into my leg. I pulled out the worn, silver ring that my father had given me. Taking Nick's present off of my finger, I hurled it into a nearby tree. Then I replaced my father's ring, placing my hand on my chest as I held it close to my heart where it belonged.

I felt a single raindrop on my arm and a distant boom of thunder, a sign from the sky that a storm was on its way.

Bella

The shreds of Jane lay before me, a chilling yet beautiful sight to my eyes. I winced as I remembered how only a few minutes ago she had me pinned against a tree, growling a promise to not only kill me, but to first torture me beyond belief. At the time, all I had been able to think about was Edward and Renesmee, how my death would mean that I was once again hurting them. I couldn't die. I wouldn't die. But it appeared as if there was not going to be any miracles like the ones that had happened every other time I had faced death.

Just as had I lost all hope, I found myself on the ground, released from her menacing grip. With the timing of a guardian angel, Edward was before me, not only fighting Jane, but defeating her.

Now, he smiled at me, the first sign of happiness I had seen after the past few days of pure hell. And then, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone-remembrance flooded his eyes as he realized that the battle had not been won. The rest of our family was still out there, probably fighting for their lives.

Take my hand into his, once again completing the union that could never be broken, we ran back toward our beloved family. As we drew closer, it was clear they had once again separated, with Carlisle and Aro at the front of their respective sides. We joined our own side, looking each of our family members in the eyes as we lined up next to them. We were ready to fight. We were ready to kill.

"Jane is dead," Edward stated as an answer, apparently after having read Aro's mind.

I glanced at the villainess ringleader, whose expression was blank. I knew he was trying to appear as if his death had no affect on him, when in fact on the inside, he was falling apart.

"Demitri's dead as well," Edward continued. These words caused me to breathe a sigh of relief-the two most vital assets to the Volturi were dead, thanks to Edward. The future suddenly seemed bright and wonderful-maybe we could win this.

"You will pay for that, Cullen, with a slow and painful death," Aro promised with a snarl, his eyes glaring and deadly. "But first," he continued, "you will watch your wife and daughter die before you, slowly and painfully as well."

Edward growled, protectively stepping in front of me just as he used to do when I was human.

"Two of the members of your coven are dead because of you. I suggest that you surrender before your yourself wind up in a thousand pieces," Carlisle threatened, his voice calm as he spoke to a man who had once been his greatest friend, now permanently branded as his worst enemy.

"Never," Aro hissed, taking a single threatening step forward.

As the pack growled in unison, I suddenly realized who was not among us: Jacob. Even though he would be in wolf form, I would recognize him among his four fellow pack members. I thought of Nessie, praying that she was safe in Jacob's arms. I could not imagine where else Edward would have left her-he would not have come back to us unless he was certain that Renesmee was safe. Jacob was one of the only people in the world who was able to provide that safety.

When we had first called Jacob in hysteria to tell him of Renesmee's disappearance, he had not answered his phone the first few times. Finally, he had picked up with a grunted hello, and we explained what had happened. He told us he was coming over and immediately jumped into his car and sped the whole way, making it to our house in record time. When he arrived, we had already called her many times, but she had not answered her phone-in fact, it was turned off. We had been sick with worry, unsure if whether Nick had kidnapped her or if she had gone willingly. We weren't even sure if she was alive or dead. Our world was dark and lugubrious, and we yearned to take action. However, without Nessie's location, there was truly nothing we could have done except to wait and hope that she came back home to us.

That entire night, we had sat in the living room in complete silence. Every few minutes, someone would call Nessie, interrupting the quiet with a pleading voicemail. When Nessie finally answered one of Edward's repeated phone calls, we were filled with relief-at least she was alive, wherever she was. And then she told us-Italy. We knew exactly what that meant: the Volturi had been behind this whole ordeal-and our little Nessie was in grave danger.

All eleven of us, in addition to the four members of Jacob's pack, had immediately driven to the airport. Frantically, we told the woman who had been selling tickets that we were willing to pay whatever it took just so we could get a flight to Italy. But she informed us that every single seat on the plane had been booked-and we were not permitted to try to bribe someone into selling his or her ticket, for it bore the name of the passenger and identification was required before getting on board. The next flight available had been the next afternoon at two o'clock-and by the time we arrived the worst could have happened.

We had purchased the tickets anyway, just in case we could not find an alternative way. It had seemed as if it was a lost cause-the soonest we could reach Italy was in the evening the following day. And then, just as it always did at the most crucial points in my life, a miracle happened. An old man had come running up to us, out of breath and red in the face. Taken aback by our beauty, he had hesitated a moment before speaking. Then he had told us that he knew of a plane that could get twelve of us to Italy, if we were willing to pay the price, which he named.

We had instantly accepted the offer without hesitation-we would reach Italy by the morning of the next day. Edward had made arrangements for the Jacob's pack to fly in on a different plane that the man knew of-we had known that we would need all the help we would get. A few hours later we were on the plane, ready to rescue our Renesmee from the terrible situation she was in, whether she had known it or not at the time. That plane ride had been the longest six hours of my life-every second that passed left me antsy with worry. When the plane finally landed, we had immediately began running toward the Volturi mansion, making certain that the bustling city around us did not notice anything peculiar-of course, we could not care less about this little rule, but we had not wanted the Volturi placing any crime on us when we arrived.

As we had passed the forest we were currently in, we smelled them, their scent thick with evil. We had immediately run into the forest-and there we saw them, staring at us in their dark cloaks. Their eyes were as blood red as ever. We had faced them just as we were now, ready to fight our final battle.

Rain suddenly began to fall around us as the thunder boomed in the distance.

Renesmee

"What was that?" Jake asked me, walking over to pick up the ring I had thrown.

"Nick gave it to me," I admitted quietly. "I put it on instead of this ring my father gave me."

Suddenly, I stopped. Pounding thoughts flooded my already spinning mind.

His eyes narrowed, like they always did when he was concerned for my well being. "What is it?"

"Would you do anything for me?"

"More than you know, Nessie."

I grinned at him as a weird sort of happiness filled my body. It was a happiness that meant I finally had the power back, after all of those years of being manipulated. My family was no longer going to be a pawn in their games. Now, I held the cards. Or rather, the ring. "I know how to defeat the Volturi."

It took a few minutes of hurried convincing, but before long, I found myself on the back of a giant wolf as he ran as fast as he could through the forest. Agony shot through my body, but I ignored it, until I could no longer distinguish the pain from my body from the pain in my heart.

Bella

Aro, Caius, Marcus, Alec, Nick, Matthew. Joining only moments ago, Chelsea, Felix, and two hooded strangers.

Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, five werewolves, Edward, myself...

Jacob.

And Renesmee.

Renesmee

When we finally reached them, I felt ready to collapse from the pain that burned through my veins. As I approached, they simply stared at me, as if they thought I was an illusion before them.

"Ah, Renesmee, you are back," Aro greeted wickedly, his expression surprised but pleased.

I did not say anything. I simply took my place in line with my family along with Jake, where we belonged. Someone behind me pulled me backwards by my arm, causing me to wince in pain. "What are you doing here?" It was Emmett, his whisper sharp and angry in my ear.

"I..." I began, but stopped as my entire family formed a protective circle around me, my grandfather front and center with my parents on either side of him.

"You think you can protect her?" Aro screamed, his voice echoing through the forest. "She willingly came back, the foolish girl! I suppose she did us a favor-with our tracker gone, her return has saved us the trouble of hunting her down later." His emphasis of the word 'hunting' sent chills down my spine. I really was in danger here. But it did not faze me; I had a plan that my heart, mind, and soul were screaming about, convincing me that I would succeed. I had no choice; I had to try.

I dropped to the ground and before my family realized what I was doing, was on the other side of the circle, face to face with the very people I had just escaped from. Before I even had time to blink, I was in Alec's tight grasp. I felt immense pressure on my lungs, and the world began to spin. My family's frantic shouting filled my ears, but none of them dared to move for fear that doing so would mean my instant death by the hands of this evil creature.

I closed my eyes, raised my hand, and pressed the ring on my finger to Alec's cold, white skin.

Bella

The cry of pain that came from Alec was absolutely terrifying. The type of horrible sound that echoed in the mind and the soul for a long time afterward.

And then he was on the ground, motionless. I saw Renesmee's eyes light up in recognition that he was dead. She moved on to the next one, Chelsea, who screamed yet another blood-curdling scream before dropping to the ground as well.

Without even having to think, my entire family ran forward and restrained one of the six remaining vampires before they could use their lightening fast reflexes to hurt Nessie. The werewolves surrounded the scene, ready to attack in case one of the Volturi should attempt to escape.

Nessie then moved down the line to her next victim, Marcus, who was being restrained by both Esme and Rosalie. "Please, dear child. I will give you whatever you wish for. Money, power. Just please have mercy on me." Renesmee did not even bother to respond before digging the silver weapon into his exposed arm.

Next came Felix, who tried fighting against Emmett's iron grip, but alas it was to no avail. In seconds he was in a heap with his friends.

As Nessie stood before Nick, restrained by Jasper, she hesitated for a moment. At first I believed it was because she was not able to go through with the vicious act of killing the boy who had once been her friend. However, as Nessie parted her lips to speak, I realized her hesitation was for a whole other purpose.

"You lied to me, you betrayed me, you used me, and you attempted to hurt my family." Her voice was quiet and well-contained, although certainly not lacking in emotion. Nick simply glared at her, his eyes as blood-red and deadly as ever.

"To tell you the truth, you are an extremely pathetic human," he snarled viciously.

With a loud outcry she dug the ring into the center of his lips, an act that forever silenced him and his vicious lies.

We all turned to Aro, who was harnessed by the strong arms of Carlisle. I expected Nessie to assert herself forward and kill him this very second, just as she had done with the others. Instead, she turned to her father and pulled the ring off her finger, extending it out to him. He hesitated, fearful that touching it would mean the same fate as the other vampires.

"Dad, you've touched my ring before. You were the one who gave it to me. You have to trust me."

Those five familiar little words at the end, that phrase that he himself had uttered many times before, caused Edward to reach out a steady hand and take the offering from his daughter.

A moment of silence passed, a few seconds of seeming contemplation. "Burn in hell," Edward suddenly snarled as he pushed the deadly ring into Aro's neck.

And with that, it was over. They were all dead. Every single one of them. Immediately, we began ripping apart their bodies into thousands of tiny pieces, making certain that they were as dead as could be. Carlise quickly lit a fire, which engulfed the pile of our enemies hungrily.

When we were finished, I looked away from the shreds that were now blowing in the wind, and was instantly staring at Nessie's beautiful face. She ran into my arms and I hugged her a tightly as possible without hurting her. I kissed the top of her beautiful head as I sobbed a vampire's cry.

"Don't ever leave me again," I whispered into her ear.

"I won't. I promise," she replied sincerely, hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

Then she gently pulled away from me, turning so that she could embrace her father. "Daddy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for all of this to happen. I..."

He silenced her with a finger to her lips, gently pressing his smooth lips to her forehead. "Hush, darling. We will sort everything out when we get home."

Nessie nodded before walking over to hug her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I heard her whisper her apologies to each of them, which they immediately dismissed in the same manner as Edward had. After all, this ordeal truly not been her fault-we were as much to blame as she was. With a slight chuckle, we watched as she bravely walked forward to pet the members of the werewolf pack that had fought loyally beside us for the second time, giving each a kiss on their soft fur.

I tore my gaze from this scene and glanced at Edward, expecting him to give me an angry glare. After all, I had hurt him in the worst way possible, even if it was simply a distraction so my daughter could escape. I knew it might not be as easy as an apology for him to forgive me. However, just as he always did, he surprised me by leaning over and giving me a small kiss, silently conveying to me that everything was alright. Joy filled me at this small but powerful action.

After Renesmee was finished, she came back toward Edward and me, taking one hand into each of hers. "Let's go home," she said as she expelled an exhausted sigh-and that is exactly what we did.