Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I merely play in the sandbox. I do lay claim to my original characters, Ella, Adrian, Christine, Eldre etc. and the inclusion of the Fey world.

AN: Sorry, busy day yesterday and forgot to post! ~Hannah

Chapter Eighty-Three– It All Comes Down to This

Those storm clouds I was talking about hit Forks exactly three weeks after I'd had the feeling of uncertainty. I'd never set much thought into what the battle would be like. Films would lead me to believe that it would be over in a matter of seconds. Books would lead me to believe that it would be incredibly detailed over five pages. In truth, it was a mixture of both. I could tell you exactly what happened in on moment but have no recollection of another.

There was a sense of edible tension in the air and it seemed to me that everyone stood with their backs ramrod straight, waiting for the time to strike.

I had worked hard to obtain control over my powers and not have my emotions interfere with them. It had been hard work and an experience I wasn't likely to forget, however much I wished to.

I had thought of many things before I found myself standing here.

I had thought about why I was putting my family through this.

I had thought about running away.

I had thought about the implications of my actions.

I had thought about my past.

I had thought about my future.

I had thought about my here and now.

I had thought about how my life had played out. Before Forks my only desire was to get away from Renee as fast as possible and my passion for music and art had become an obsession that drove me to new lengths just thinking about getting away from her poisonous clutches.

Forks had opened my eyes. Here Dad nurtured me and wove into me the unconditional parent love I'd been craving. He taught me that family was important and to follow my hopes and dreams.

In Forks I'd seen Bella come out of her shy shell. I'd seen her clumsiness melt away as her confidence came forth. I'd seen her strive to new goals and gain friendships that she'd always needed but never had.

In Forks I'd met the Cullen's. Edward, who I knew inside out had filled a hole in my heart that I didn't realise I had. Rose had fallen so gracefully into the role of Mother that I'd realised how lacking Renee had been. It was a role in life that both of us craved. Jasper had become the brother I never had, the best friend I needed and the support system I could never live without. Emmett and Alice had become Uncle and Aunt, they offered advice and comfort among other things. Carlisle and Esme had become my doting grandparents though neither looked a day over thirty.

In Forks I'd found a friend in an enemy. Lauren had opened my eyes and showed me that people can change their spots and that what we see isn't always the truth. Lauren showed me that people hide behind closed doors as much as the stand in open ones.

In Forks Bella had met Adrian and I'd watched with barely concealed glee as she fell head over heels with him.

In Forks, Dad had met Christine – a union that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't met the Cullen's.

Forks had given me a lot of good things since I'd moved to his luscious green plains.

Standing deep within the forest under the canopy of trees and looking out across the deep foliage of the forest floor, I couldn't help the sorrow that flooded my heart in the knowledge that the forest was soon to suffer bloodily.

I could list the reasons I stood here on my two hands.

I was an easy target.

I was an obsession.

I was an enemy.

I was chosen.

I was powerful.

I was light.

I was complicated.

I was united.

I was destruction.

I was the hero.

Just because I could count out ten things didn't mean I necessarily believed them. If I believed the power I had, I'd be more likely to become over confident because of it.

I had noted the slight tremor in my hand grew only more violent as the time stretched on. The temperature chilled me to the bone, but the tremor was all nerves. I was basked in the light under the canopy of the trees and I felt a calm serenity fall over me as I let my mind wander all around.

White shone out in our congregation, a united front I'd wanted to present and a horde of light worshipers we represented. I wanted to present a front that was the opposite of Eldre's, so that if one was watching from above, they would truly see white battling evil.

It had been a battle to get Caius, Aro and Marcus to agree that the Volturi should dress in white for this one occasion and forgo their usual black attire. Caius agreed for strategically it was a good move and the other brothers followed in their agreement.

I'd never had a good game face, looking more like a constipated child. It was a talent I knew I wouldn't get better at. The game faces around me were so much better. We stood in a formation designed by Caius. I stood at the tip of the triangle, visible from all angles but near enough to be pulled back into the fold if needed.

Tanya, Irina, Cameron, Garrett, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Liam, and Siobhan stood on the front line. Their postures were tense, their games faces unreadable and their eyes focused. Behind their line stood a mixture of the strongest vampires and the strongest gifted vampires. Behind them stood everyone else, mixed together in groups of six, leaving no weak link standing alone.

I had not wanted to share 'goodbyes' or 'good lucks' before the fact. However, with nerves running amuck in my body, I wished I had offered some words of comfort and thought to those I dearly loved. I could sense Edward nearby; his caress was like a gentle touch upon my arm. I allowed his love to filled me up and calm be as the time dragged on.

I had thought, naively in my mind, that the battle would start the moment we headed into the forest. Time however, seemed to be against us or at least, wished us to suffer in suspense. Caius had planned to battle in so many scenarios. This was just one of many. We'd been hoping that Eldre' would meet us in the camp, that had been cleared of all furniture, but it seems he was cleverer than we thought, and so, we'd descended into the forest to seek him out.

Remember when I said that battles in books were described in depth for several pages? The battle hadn't even started, and I was already driving myself crazy thinking about all the 'what if's?' and committing everything I could to memory. Nothing about the battle started as I would have thought, nothing about what happened, happened as I would have thought and the lack of control I felt over these facts was enough to shock me into early retirement – shocking really, as I didn't even have a job.

The ground trembled beneath my feet and wildlife scattered through us as if chased by something terrible. The tremors were five seconds apart and getting louder as they got closer. A deep strangled scream echoed around us, my heart beat faster within my chest and I reminded myself to stay grounded and in control.

Battling the trees in a fighting match only it could win, three giants bashed their way through and stopped just shy of the tree line opposite us. I'd never seen a giant before or even knew that they existed. The three giants had a loin skin wrapped around their lower half. Two of them had large silver hops threaded through their ear lobes while the third had one through his nose.

They were waiting for something and their waiting meant we had a chance to scope out how we'd defeat them. Louder in sound than the giants, came a grotesque scream and wail, the chill around us got colder and the happiness seemed to be sucked away. Incubi flooded the spots around the giants, their bodies torn and shredded, undead but still willing to do their masters bidding. They looked horrifying and served as a stark reminder that there were infinite horrors in the world that were yet to be discovered.

I had thought the giants were impossible but the trolls that arrived were worse. At least, I think they were trolls. It was hard to see creatures I'd only read about but not visualised. It was difficult seeing something I thought was fiction become reality. The trolls were half the size of the giants but still much taller than us. They wore a tunic over themselves, but it appeared to be mostly made up of rags and didn't seem to be doing much. The trolls carried big bats in their meaty hands and I knew to stay well away from them. Powers or not, one hit from a bat like that could kill me.

A quietness descended over us all. I felt magic from the witches' coven begin to work its way through us, preparing and aiding us for what was to come. I had been expecting dark creatures, but I'd been expecting creatures who were the same size, not giants and trolls. I was more alarmed that incubi were real than I was at seeing a giant for the first time. With the big players in play, we waited.

The last to arrive, arrived almost silently. I imagined the dark fey to look like Eldre, but they didn't. Some seemed to be made of darkness itself while others looked no different from me. Their eyes were limitless, they collectively looked like a child's nightmare. I wondered how many were born with darkness in them and how many had simply been lured to Eldre's side through the actions of others. Was their hope for the dark fey that stood before us? Could we change their minds? Could we save them? These were questions I couldn't answer but questions I wanted answered all the same.

Hidden from sight to everyone but me, Eldre stood behind his army with a victorious smile upon his face. That he already thought he had won this battle irked me to no end. I hoped against all hope that he had underestimated us and that I would be able to wipe that victorious smile from his face.

In a flash of light or it could have been a blink of my eye, someone moved and lurched and the battle started. I felt like someone had thrown sand in my eyes, I squinted in an effort to see clearly but all around me, people were moving too fast for my brain to process. Standing still on a battlefield is not a good thing to do. Grounding myself, I thrust my powers forward and working in tandem with two at a time, I plunged myself into the battle around me.

Staying away from the trolls was harder than I thought, and I was grateful Jasper had taught me a thousand ways to duck and dodge an enemy. Avoiding the trolls was an assault course in itself, a weave too far to the left put me in the path of a giant, too far to the right and I was swarmed by a horde of dark Fey.

With every turn of my body, I found another creature to attack. A combination of my powers worked well against the dark fey, I could send one flying through the air with the power of air, while I could slash another to threads using frozen water. I could burn another with my powerful light. Giants, I'd discovered but too big for me to focus my powers on, it would drain me too quickly to keep my powers trained on them. I figured that the others could take care of them instead. It was no good if I wore myself out in the middle of the battle.

My mind hadn't yet caught up with my actions, I wasn't registering the kills I was making, only that I was working to eradicate the threat. I felt my powers beat in sync with my heart, my mind pounded all around me, the rush of adrenaline giving me more confidence. I was forgetting, in the mist of the battle, that I was vulnerable and not immortal. However, it was perhaps a good thing that I wasn't thinking of my mortality, for it would surely make me a cautious fighter and being cautious could cost me in a battle like this.

I tried in vain, to break the ranks of Eldre's army to reach him. I had been surprised with how strong his army was, I had foolishly been thinking that they would be in disarray working together but Eldre had obviously trained them to some degree. The longer I stood in the thick of the battle, the more annoyed I became with Eldre's lack of participation. I knew he was a master manipulator, but I didn't think he was the kind of person who would let others fight his battles, considering, how badly that had gone in the past.

I began to realise I needed to employ a sneak tactic to get closer to Eldre. Ducking and weaving between friends and enemies, I used the air around me to spirit me closer to my goal. In my effort to get close to Eldre, I'd blocked off some of my observation. I was hurled into the air before I realised I'd been hit, mid-flight I managed to cocoon myself in the air around me, causing my descent to the ground to be slow and cushioned. My ribs ached with the force of impact, my breathing was laboured, and I was sure I'd bruised my ribcage, perhaps even cracked a few ribs. Though I wanted to run and hide, I knew that wasn't an option, I locked my pain away in a locked chest in my mind and tried to focus on the task at hand.

One of the trolls had stepped away from the throws of the battle and was heading right for me. I sent a dozen frozen water spears in his direction. Their impact left him with a few scratches and deep gouges, but he continued coming towards me. I followed the frozen water with a cyclone of air, wrapping the troll within its grasp and attempting to suffocate the beast. Through the cyclone I sent a burst of light to blind the troll. As I saw it begin to sway and wobble, I withdrew all my powers and watched as it flopped to the floor, unconscious. Hopefully, it would stay unconscious for a long time.

From the downed troll, the way to Eldre had cleared slightly, walking around the troll, I used the undergrow of the forest as hiding spots, sneaking from one clump of ferns to another, as I snuck closer and closer to Eldre.

I was ambushed by a particularly violent group of dark Fey who carried a variety of sharp objects that they twirled in front of themselves. It was a game of cat and mouse to them, I moved right, they followed, I moved left, they countered. One of them threw their weapon out and managed to nick me on the side of my face, causing my cheek to start bleeding. They howled at each other, spurred on by the sight of my blood. I stood stock still and urged them to come closer. When they had circled me and stood just a hairs breath away, I attacked before they could even use their weapons. I let the water flow into my hands and form perfectly round water droplets that were as large as a baseball and filled with boiling water. Hurling them out to the circle of enemies around me, I listened to their cries and painful moans. As they turned to attack, I staked them through the heart with a spear I'd made of water. They fell like dominoes to the ground.

I hid for a while, behind a large tree trunk. Gasping for breath, I pushed what I'd just done to the back of my mind. I breathed in the forest air and dug my hands into the earth to ground myself. The earth groaned all around me, it rumbled with anger at what was happening. I let the sound of the forest eat me up until I was strong enough to stand once more. Peering out from behind the tree, I saw a clash of black and white. I couldn't make everyone out as they were moving too fast, but it heartened me to pick out Edward, Rose, Jasper, Jane, and Alec from the crowd. The latter two looked like they were having fun. Edward and Rose were severe in their faces. Jasper I realised, had morphed into his other ego 'The Major', and I had to admit that I'd never seen someone more suited to the battle around him.

Most of the major players were now down for the count. There was only one giant left standing and the remaining dark Fey of the army. The dark Fey swarmed from the forest like a pack of rats and headed straight towards the battlefield. As they had with me, the dark Fey seemed to favour attacking a single person in a group of six or more. No one on my team worked alone, we'd come up with the idea of working in groups and were sticking to it. The dark Fey were finding that we weren't easy targets and were having to switch up their fighting styles on the fly. The roars and thuds, quakes and rumbles of the battle carried shivers up my spine. I couldn't dally any longer, and I couldn't waste time looking out onto a battlefield and not fight.

As I moved closer to the darkness of the forest, where the canopy of trees blocked out all sunlight. I sensed the darkness all around me was growing into something more sinister. Creeping as quietly as I possibly could, I sensed more than saw where Eldre was standing, and as I came out of the shadows to attack him unawares, he turned from the shadows and faced me with a grin upon his evil face.

There were many different versions of what I thought Eldre would look like running through my mind. Each one as different from the last as can be. None of the images I'd thought of came close to what he actually looked like. Normal would never have been a word I thought I'd use in regard to Eldre but yet that's what he looked like. Oddly, he wore a black suit, tailored in the style of famous old mob bosses. Every line of the suit, the shirt and the tie were as crisp as can be. There wasn't a wrinkle in sight. His shoes were black and shiny and looked out of place in the forest.

The way he looked sickened me, it felt like her was trying to appear as something he thought I would fall for. Like he'd worked his clothes into his manipulation. To my knowledge, the only person I fancied in a suit was Edward and it was going to stay that way forever.

"We meet at last my dear Ella."

I refused right then to resist talking to him for I knew he would only try and use my words against me. I didn't need to be distracted by his manipulations, I needed to be focused so I could end this for the last time.

"You would have made a great Queen."

I remained where I was but raised an eyebrow in response to his sentence.

"The greatest Queen there ever was but alas I don't believe you are fit for the role anymore. You are tainted I think."

Ignoring what he was talking about, I flexed my hands and drew on my power, readying myself for the right moment to strike. I was going to hit him with the full force of my three powers combined. I'd only practiced with the three of them on occasions because the power was so great, it usually ended up destroying everything within the vicinity.

"It's a shame really, I had such high hopes for you, but I see now it was all wrong."

Again I remained uninterested, even going as far as to examine my nails with the most bored expression on my face.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I did it?"

…

"Seriously, you aren't going to ask how I managed all this? Why I wanted you?"

I turned from my nails to look at him, starting at his shoes, I worked my way up, making sure I gained eye contact with a sneer upon my face.

"I invented that look, it does nothing on me sweetheart. Oh the times we could have had, but this road is better travelled alone. I can see that now. You were simply a distraction, a curiosity but now my curiosity has been satisfied. I'm sure you had a grand plan to end me, but it simply won't end that way. My army is out there destroying yours because I had darkness on my side and you merely have 'love' and 'friendship', so pathetic. What did you think was going to happen? That you'd kill me, and I'd go down in flames? Purlease. I didn't get this far by being an idiot. Go on sweetheart, do your worst…it's only going to be the last move you make."

Smug bastard. Just hearing the words that poured out his mouth were grating on my already frayed nerves. A vortex of pain and power was pulsing in the palm of my hand. The expectation I had of Eldre was just coming true. He had a way with words and clearly believed all that he said, and yet there was a lack of something in his words. They just didn't feel so definite to me, they just sounded like words of a playground bully. I had expected so much more of the fey who had tortured me so much since he set his eyes on me. Yet in reality, he was just a little boy in a big man's suit.

He looked at me smugly, truly believing that he would survive anything that I threw towards him. He hadn't even considered the fact that I might have the ability to conquer him. He hadn't known of my powers prior to this battle but still he was confident that I didn't hold enough power to defeat him. It angered me that he still viewed me as a helpless woman.

It would I believe, be his downfall. I let my mind think of all the things that he'd done, all the decisions he'd made since he started on his path to darkness. I had hoped that on meeting him I would find some redeeming quality, something that would make me pause and think of what I was doing but I found myself faced with a fey whose face contradicted his body language. I didn't know anything more about him than I did before I met him. He was still a mystery, Yet I didn't want to attack him while he was just standing there looking at me, it would be like shooting someone when their back as turned. I knew I shouldn't think like this, I should just end him.

Stupid conscious.

"Are you going to join me instead?"

That fucking smirk was back again.

Eldre held his hand out to me, it seemed innocent enough, but I could see something dark and sinister flowing from his hand. It leaked out like slime and travelled towards me. I swayed where I stood, the world getting darker around me.

No!

I blinked once and looked at Eldre.

Smug bastard.

I struck.