Chapter Twenty-Two
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Renesmee
"No, there are not any garlic cloves, coffins, or wooden stakes," Jasper answered with an exasperated sigh, although there was a small smile on his face.
We were all sitting in the living room at my grandparent's house, enjoying one another's company as I asked question after question. The fire that Aunt Rosalie had lit was warm against my skin, a nice substitute for Jacob; although he was sitting right near me, we did not deem it appropriate for me to be in his arms at this time in front of my parents. But I didn't care; as long as I was near him, I was alright. As long as I was near all of them, I was alright.
I turned to Jacob, my eyes lit with a teasing sparkle. "And what about you? Do you howl at the moon?"
He rolled his eyes, giving me a gentle, playful push. "How about you ask another vampire question? I'm sick of the werewolf stereotypes."
I laughed along with everyone else, letting the happiness of the atmosphere sink in. Sure, life wasn't perfect, but it was as close to perfect as possible. For that, I was extremely grateful. Now that everything had been exposed, the world was bright again; there was nothing holding us back from being the amazing family that we had always longed to be.
Things were peaceful now, but coming home after Italy had been extremely difficult. Trust was broken on both sides; we knew it would take time to rebuild.
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"You can't even begin to understand how worried we were about you, Renesmee," my father had said, his eyes intense with disappointment, the morning after our return flight home. I had turned away, unable to look at him for longer than a moment. It was just the three of us, sitting in the living room of our house. My parents felt that this much-needed discussion did not need to take place in front of everyone, which I appreciated.
"I know," I told him softly. At the sound of his words, I felt intense shame, which caused me to blush and shift uncomfortably on the couch. I had never before done anything in my life to warrant a talk like this.
My mother, sensing I was nervous, reached out to grab my hand. "You cannot ever, ever do something like that to us again. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, I understand."
"You're not leaving this house for a little while. And you can hand over your cell phone," my father told me. He paused, hesitating for a moment. I looked up at him, wondering what he was going to say. Finally, he spoke. "And your mother and I think it would be healthy for you to have some separation from Jacob."
My stomach sank at the sound of his last sentence. I understood being confined to the house. I may have been a pawn in the hands of the Vulturi, but it was me who made the decision to get on an airplane and fly to Italy. It was me who chose not to let my parents know I was even alive for hours upon hours. It was me who chose not to answer any of their phone calls or any of their text messages. It was me who had left my family in a state of devastating sadness and worry.
However, they could not keep me separated from Jake. Not after I was certain that he loved me just as much as I loved him. Not when we were finally together, the way I dreamed it would be since the moment I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
"I'll stay in the house," I told my father slowly, prolonging the inevitable argument that was about to occur. "But you can't stop Jake from coming to see me."
Just as predicted, anger flashed over my father's face, seeming foreign to his typical demeanor. We never fought; we were too much alike, calm and level-headed for the most part. Besides, I'd always had this overwhelming desire to keep him happy with me. But keeping me away from Jake was going too far; of course, I was willing to accept the consequences of my actions, but they were also at fault here as well.
"You don't get to decide that," he told me in a low voice. "You are still our child."
I kept my gaze intense and unwavering as I looked between my mother and father. "Jake loves me, and I love him. I know it's hard to accept, but we are going to be together whether you like it or not."
Instantly, at the sound of these words, my father's features softened. "Renesmee. Don't you know us better than that? We would never keep you two apart because we don't approve. We do approve. We want you to be happy; both of you."
"Then is it retribution for him kissing me that day?" I asked. Jake had told me all about what had happened after I had left. I felt enormous guilt for what I had put him through, and it seemed no amount of forgiveness on his part could ease it. I would not accept my parents
My father sighed. "I know it may seem like it. But if I did that to you and Jacob, I would be a hypocrite. I loved your mother so much that your grandfather could not keep us apart, no matter how many times he tried." He turned to my mother, and she smiled at the memory.
"What about when he let me go with Nick? Are you still angry about that?"
By the looks on my parents' faces, I could tell that this topic was more of a sensitive subject than the kiss. "We can't say we've fully forgiven him," my mother admitted. "Just because we were so worried about you. But we can see why he let you go; who would have thought that you, Renesmee Cullen, would have run away? To Italy of all places."
I felt myself blush once more at the mention of what I had done.
"Keeping Jake away isn't part of your consequence," my mother continued. "We just think that it would be better for you and him to have some space. This has all happened so suddenly, and you are still young. We don't want the excitement of it all to cloud your judgement. You have forever to be with Jacob if that is what you choose. For now, we want you to take just a little bit of time to get settled. You just found out an enormous part of your life, not to mention giving yourself time to process the trauma of the entire ordeal."
"We just want what's best for you," my father added. He leaned forward to give me a kiss on the forehead.
This whole situation had been a lot to process, understandably so. The new revelations meant that I barely knew my family, or myself for that matter. But time apart would be incredibly difficult. After all, besides my trip to Italy, I don't think we had gone more than two days without seeing each other in my entire life. On the other hand, space would give me the time I needed to process all of the changes to my life that had been suddenly thrust on me.
Sighing, I nodded my agreement. "For how long?"
"We would have liked it to be a month..." my mother started.
"A month!" I stood up quickly, ready to argue.
"But," she continued firmly, motioning for me to sit back down, which I did, albeit angrily. "We settled on two weeks."
"And remember, if he tries to sneak over, we will know," my father reminded me. The knowledge of their heightened vampire senses coupled with the fact that they did not sleep was going to take some getting used to. Luckily, as I found out quickly after I returned, my father tried his best to block out my thoughts from his mind for the sake of my privacy. He admitted he wasn't perfect, but he would try to keep the same level of respect for his only daughter that he had maintained over the years.
"Can I at least call him to tell him?" I asked hopefully. "I think it will be easier coming from me."
My parents had agreed. The conversation with Jake hadn't been easy, especially since he had just gotten me back, but he had accepted it with the promise that he would be in front of our house knocking on the door at midnight as soon as the two weeks were up. To my amusement, and to my mother and father's annoyance, he had kept that promise, down to the very minute.
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That had been two and a half weeks ago, and looking back, it had been the best decision my parents had made for me in a long time. The time at home had given me the mental clarity I needed to move forward; no distractions, no secrets, and no lies. My parents and I had never been closer, and I finally felt the sense of belonging that I had always known I was missing.
Now, sitting at my grandparent's house, I looked down with a smile at the worn, silver ring on my right hand; the reason for this togetherness.
I thought back to that terrible day in Italy, right after I had thrown Nick's ring against the tree in the woods. I had begun wondering why had he bought me a gift if it had all been a trick. My mind had been spinning, trying to come up with a reason, knowing that it had to be significant. And then I remembered that not only had he given me the ring, his intentions were for it to be ring that replaced the one my father gave to me.
In that moment, I had replayed the legend in my mind; the ring was supposed to destroy vampires. But it hadn't had any effect on the members of my family full of vampires. It was on my right hand. The same hand my mother always grabbed when she told me she loved me. The same hand Emmett had wrapped his own hands around when he taught me to hold a baseball bat. The same hand Alice put lotion on when she was giving me a manicure. And, on the day my father had given me the ring, it had handed it to me with no issues. If the ring was dangerous, why didn't it affect the members of my family?
I realized that the difference was, my family did not drink human blood. Nick, Aro, and the rest of them did. Which was why none of them had ever touched my ring.
At that thought, vivid memories of times when Nick had gone out of his way to make certain that he did not touch the ring flooded my memory. Things that seemed weird at the time, but I did not question. When he had me wear gloves while going on his motorcycle. When he had always stayed on my left side while we were walking before taking my hand, something that I had often teased him about. And of course, the most recent: When he had me take off the band so he could replace it with one of his own. Even Aro, when he had extended his hand for me to touch when I first arrived, had reached out with his left, which caused me to do the same.
Nick's deadly folly had been thinking I would not be able to piece it all together.
Thankfully, Jake had believed me. If he hadn't, I wasn't sure my family would be alive today. He told me later that it was the result of the imprint. At that moment, what I needed more than anything was a vindicator. Someone who would trust in me with all of his or her heart and put everything on the line to help me see justice through.
When I had questioned my father about the ring later on, he told me that he had known its history but did not know if the legend was true. He had given me the ring more so for its symbolism; he never imagined that I would ever be separated from the protection of my family or Jake.
Suddenly, father stood up at lightning speed, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Carlisle," he said. "The Amazon coven are here." This caused the rest of my family to stand as well. I follow suit, the human part of me causing me to wobble; Jacob grabbed me with his strong arm to steady me.
"Alice?" Emmett asked, turning toward his sister.
"Nessie is here," Alice reminded him. "My visions are blocked."
At the sound of those words, I felt my heart starting to beat faster. Something was wrong, again.
"Grandpa..." I started, but stopped when my grandfather held up a hand to keep me quiet.
"What do they want?" my grandfather asked my father.
My father was about to speak when the door burst open, causing pieces of wood to go flying around the room. Three beautiful women suddenly moved inside, one moving faster than another at an attempt to get farther into the house. There was a loud slamming sound when she ran directly into the protective all that was my father and grandfather.
All three were tall, hair with dark hair and skin. All three wore clothing that exposed much of their bodies; it seemed to be made from animal skins. Beautiful beads draped the woman who had come into the house first, who had long, straight hair tied back in a braid. The other's hair was untamed, adding to her wild appearance. The third looked the same as the other two, but with a colorful scarf draped over her head, which looked out of place in comparison to the primitive clothing she was wearing. They also held the same traits as my family, in addition to their blood-red eyes, which by themselves told a tale of countless deaths.
"You killed them!" the woman with the beads yelled.
She should have been absolutely terrifying to me, but the familiarity in her voice caused me to relax just a bit as a small piece of a broken memory came forth; I had met her before, at one point in my life. However, I knew I could not rely on this fact to prove that she was a friend to us. After all, Aro had been subconsciously recognizable as well.
Her eyes searched the room until she locked onto me. As soon as she did so, Jacob stood even further in front of me, so that I was blocked from her vision. "You stay away from her, or all three of you will die today, bloodsucker," he snarled, his voice even more threatening than in Vulterra, if that were possible.
"Everything is fine, Jacob." My grandfather's voice was calm, but he did not take his eyes off the trio before us. "You remember Zafrina of the Amazon coven. And Kachri and Senna. They fought next to us to protect Renesmee when she was young. They are great friends to our family."
My grandfather had explained this event to me in vivid detail. I regarded this incident as A, the first time the Volturi had come into my life. B was the time they hypnotized me. And C referred to this past encounter in Italy. It pleased me to know that there would never be a D.
"We fought next to you then because your cause was righteous!" Zafrina yelled. "But this? We cannot stand by your side in defense of this terrible action."
One of the other women took one small, non-aggressive step forward. "Give them a chance to explain. Unless you want to be like the Vulturi, who enforced judgement before hearing all sides."
"What is there to explain, Kachuri?" she replied. "They loathed them for what they had done; hypnotizing that half breed. They took it upon themselves to brutally slaughter them. Our world has lost its leaders, and you will pay for what you have done."
A chorus of angry growls broke lose among those who formed a protective boundary around me. Trembling, I turned toward Jacob, unsure of what to do. But he did not return my glance, only grabbed me by the arm once more.
"Zafrina, my dear friend," my grandfather began, his voice as calm as always, as if our family had not just been threatened by death once more. "If you would allow us to explain, I am certain that we will be able to clear up this entire situation."
"Let him speak," the other woman, Senna, told her.
After a moment, Zafrina nodded. "Go on, Carlisle. You have always been a good friend to us. I truly hope your words will clear your name."
"When the Volturi had come years ago, to hypnotize my granddaughter, they had an undisclosed plan to tear apart my family," my grandfather continued. "They lured Renesmee to Italy with the intent of forcing Edward, Alice, and Bella into unending servitude. My granddaughter had been the key to the entire plan. They were not going to let us leave there alive without us giving them what they wanted."
And there it was. The words my grandfather spoke were believable. After all, it was the truth. They simply had to accept what he had told them.
However, I knew the moment Zafrina's eyes filled with outrage once more that she had not believed him.
"I'm sorry, my friends, but the story you have told me is unfathomable." Her voice was now soft, full of mourning. "I may have disliked the Volturi and their practices, but I know that they would not have been capable of something such as that. Many covens have come to me over the past few weeks, after hearing the news of their deaths, and asked me to handle the situation. We have more than enough evidence to bring you to a trial in Volterra, in front of the temporary counsel."
"No!" I suddenly found myself screaming. I tried to break past Jacob, but he had grabbed me tightly around the waist, knocking the wind out of me a little bit as he pulled me back. "Let me go!" I yelled once I had caught my breath. Lunging forward, I struggled against him, but he was too strong for me.
"Nessie! What are you doing? She's going to hurt you!" Jacob screamed, pulling me backwards once more.
My father came over to me immediately. "Renesmee, stop!" he pleaded.
At the sound of my father's voice, I relaxed in Jacob's tight grasp, looking up at him as tears poured down my cheeks. "Dad, please. You have to...you have to trust me."
I repeated the plan in my head again, hoping he would listen to it and accept its potential. It was dangerous, but it was a risk I had to take for the sake of protecting my family. I knew he had understood my intentions when he pulled Jacob's arms off of me, allowing me the second I needed to escape his tight hold. My mother's scream filled my ears as I ran forward, but it did not give me pause.
Stopping when I got to Zafrina, I felt like a child looking up at her with wide, fear-filled eyes.
"Renesmee. You have grown much since the last time I saw you." Though her voice had softened, her reddened eyes were staring at me with the same deadly intensity.
Determination filled me once again. And I knew exactly how I was going to do it; only this time, there would be no casualties.
Inhaling deeply, I placed a hand on Zafrina's head, as if it were the most natural act in the world. I was sure to use my left, as my ring was still on my right. Then I expelled every memory I had of what my grandfather had attempted to explain moments before. Meeting Nick in the cafeteria at school for the first time. Screaming at my parents in the living room, begging them to tell me their secrets. The terrible moment when I told Jacob I did not love him and never would. The way Nick lured me to Italy with promises of the truth, taking full advantage of my pain. Aro's enchanting voice telling me the truth of what I had been missing all of these years. The moment I found out that it had all been a trick, along with the overwhelming guilt that overtook me for putting my family through hell. The coven spreading apart to reveal the ones I loved, sickened with worry. My father grabbing me in his strong arms to carry me to safety. The moment I realized the power behind the ring, when my fear subsided.
As the story came to a close, I felt additional visions come forth. Although they had the appearance of memories, they were not recognizable to me. As I watched them in my own mind, I realized what was happening; my power was helping me to recall many of the lost events of my childhood. Joy filled me jut as quickly as the visions came. I saw my mother and father taking me to a forest to hunt. Our beautiful little cottage. The sun shining down around me as my parents' skin sparkled like diamonds. Jacob, there since the beginning, the best friend I had in this world. My grandfather, placing a bandage on my skinned knee with his healing hands.
Memories of times of fear were next. Aro and his followers surrounding my family and the covens that had come to fight alongside them. Zafrina, the woman who had been a friend so long ago, standing in defense of me as well, telling my parents that no harm will ever come to me. Caius' evil eyes, longing to destroy me and my family.
Memories of right before I was forced to forget. A giant copper-colored wolf standing next to me in the same protective manner that Jake had been just a few moments ago. A man with raven hair, whom I recognized to be Matthew, sitting me down in a chair as he told me that we were going to play a game, right before hypnotizing me.
The private words he had said to me were swimming through my head.
You will forget everything you have ever known. You will not remember anyone you have met before, even your closest family members. Although you will realize there is something different about your family, you will be unable to ask, unable to seek answers, unable to connect the pieces together.
Until you hear a voice inside your head, prompting you to finally act on what you have always longed to do.
I felt Zafrina pull away, giving me a nod that expressed that she did not want to invade my private memories anymore.
"My dear friends," she said to us all with a voice that was filled with regret. "I am deeply sorry for the misunderstanding. I was seeking justice for the deaths of our leaders. I now see that I had been wrong."
As I fell back in line with my family, I felt Jacob's hand at the small of my back. My mother walked over and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
I looked up at her with a smile, never feeling more whole than I did in this moment. I felt like I had finally found an old friend. Someone so important to me that my life could not fully go on without them.
"We will make certain the rest of the covens hear the truth of what happened," Kachiri said. "There are many who respected our leaders, but have been affected by injustice. We are certain they will accept your story as we have."
Carlisle nodded. "We can meet in Vulterra soon to choose new leaders. I have a few suggestions to ensure that whomever we select does not become overwhelmingly powerful like their predecessors."
With further promises to protect our family at all costs, the Amazon coven left.
"That was incredible, kid," Emmett told me. He wrapped one arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his side, which felt like I was hitting a brick wall.
"We are so proud of you, Renesmee," Rosalie told me after her husband let me go. She kissed the top of my head, her beautiful curls falling around our faces as she did so. "I cannot believe how much you have grown."
Alice threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. "We love you, Nessie." I felt Jasper's arms around me next, saying nothing; however, I felt a wave of peace and happiness wash through me.
My grandparents were next. "What ever did we do before you were born, you wonderful girl? You are able to manage every terrible situation we find ourselves in," my grandfather told me.
"Well, hopefully that was the last one," my grandmother responded. She squeezed both of my hands before we parted, her eyes as kind and loving as ever.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to us," my mother whispered, kissing me on the cheek as she hugged me. I inhaled deeply; now that some of my memories had been restored, she smelled like the greatest parts of my childhood. Back to a time when any problem could be solved by running into my mother's arms.
Next my father pulled me tightly into a hug. Suddenly, I found myself crying on his chest, the release of weeks of pent up emotion. He held me for a moment, before I felt a second set of arms around me. Backing away, my father held my mother close around the waist as he and the rest of the family looked lovingly upon Jacob and I, wrapped up in each other's embrace.
After a moment, I wiped my tears away with trembling fingers and looked toward my wonderful family, with my arms clasped tightly around the love of my life.
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A few weeks later, I was laying with Jacob in the living room like we had done hundreds of times before. Only this time, it wasn't as friends. We settled into our new role beautifully, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I wove my fingers through his and sighed. I felt warmth flow through my body, like it always did when his skin touched mine. "Jacob?" I asked.
He looked down at me with chestnut eyes filled with worry. "What's wrong?"
Sitting up, I sighed once more. "I know I've said this before. But it was right after we had gotten back from Italy, so I feel like we didn't get to have a full discussion about it."
"Nessie," he said, sitting up as well. "You don't need to..."
I shook my head. "No, I do. I'm sorry for everything I said that day. The way that I hurt you. And I knew it was going to hurt you; that's the part that I cannot forgive myself for."
"You were trying to make me hurt as much as I had hurt you," he replied. "I understand. You didn't know that there were reasons that I had to keep those secrets from you."
"But I should have realized that you would never intentionally hurt you. On that day, I proved that I did not have that same quality."
We sat for a few moments of silence before he spoke. "Renesmee," he finally said, his voice gentle. "There is nothing you can do to me that I would not forgive you for. The sun rises and sets with you. There is nothing else I that I want than for you to be happy."
I dropped my gaze. "That's too much. I don't deserve that."
Rough, calloused fingers were under my chin, softly forcing me to look back up at him. "There is nothing good in this world that you don't deserve."
I smiled, feeling my guilt leave me instantly. In that moment, I promised myself that I would love this man as much as he loved me. Forgiving as he had just forgiven me, giving him the grace and compassion he had shown me every single day of my life.
Another moment of silence. And then, "Nessie?"
"Yes?"
"I was going to wait," he told me. "Really, I was. I promised your parents. But we've waited long enough."
I sat up too, confused. "What are you talking about? Wait for what?"
And then he gave me that grin, the one that caused my heart to flutter no matter how many times I had seen it. He reached down, grabbing my left hand; but unlike Nick, it was not to avoid the deadly weapon that was still on my right.
"Renesmee Cullen," he said softly, as the sparkle of the ring he had pulled out of his pocket caught my eye. "Will you marry me?"