A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Volturifanatics on Tumblr. Without her unwavering support, this story may have ended long ago.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Allies
The calls commenced, with the Cullens deviating the tasks by who had the best relationship with the vampires in question. Renesmee spent no less than an hour in one of the spare bedrooms on the phone with two vampires, described to me as hailing from deep in the Amazon Rainforests of Brazil.
The idea of them astounded me. Of my kind that I'd met, I'd noticed that vampires had a tendency to cooler climates, where the sun was hardly prevalent and they weren't so easily exposed. Still, under the protection of the canopy and far away from civilization, they must have found a place to bask in sunlight without garnering attention from Aro.
Alec and Jane and I stayed in the living room, silent and cooperative. Whenever they made calls, they'd make it a point to mention that a few members of the Volturi had come and switched sides.
They never said who, and my name was barely mentioned.
One day after the calls had begun, two vampires arrived at the front door.
The woman had deep, olive toned skin, with near-black hair that flowed in waves. In the way she carried herself, I was instantly reminded of Esme.
The man, too, with his easy nature and calming presence, seemed to be the perfect match to Carlisle.
"Carmen, Eleazar," Carlisle said, stepping to the side. Carmen's face twinged for a split second when she saw who'd come to join.
Then, she smiled and took a step forward, her hands outstretched. "Ah, but you're new, aren't you, querida?"
"Si," I answered. Spanish hadn't been a difficult language to learn, and it was rarely that I had the opportunity to speak anything other than English, "Soy Saoirse," I nodded towards Alec, who'd watched, shoulders tensed every time someone moved. "Soy su novia,"
Her eyes widened, her eyes darting from the twins, and then back to me, her lips pressed into a small line. Novia- girlfriend- it didn't have quite the same boundless and eternal connotations as 'mate' did, but if there was a word in Spanish to cover all of those basis, I didn't know it.
In the end, Carmen and Eleazar listened better than Tanya and Kate. They accepted our story, the one we'd told so many times that the words themselves had grown stale on my lips.
The same day, close to dusk, another pair of vampires arrived.
They caused Renesmee to squeal with excitement when Jasper opened the door. The small, red-headed girl in the center couldn't have been a year older than I was when she was turned. At her side, a tall and stately woman with broad features and one of the prettiest faces in the room.
"Siobhan, Maggie!" She screeched, elbowing her way past Jasper to throw her arms around Siobhan's waist.
"Lord, child!" Siobhan hummed, wrapping her arms around Renesmee's small waist, "You've gotten so big. So pretty, huh? Like a little flower."
"Thank you for coming," Edward said, pulling his daughter back before she could tackle Maggie to the ground. I reached for Alec's hand and braced myself for their reactions.
Siobhan regarded us with cold eyes. I never knew someone's expression could shift so quickly.
"Carlisle," She said, haltingly, "You are aware that they could be lying. I don't appreciate you bringing my family into such a situati-"
Maggie, contrarily, shook her head with a bright smile, "They aren't lying, Sio. I can tell it."
I rose to my feet and crossed with my palms up. If humans used such a gesture to mean peace and openness, then so could I.
"You're right. We aren't here to harm anyone. You're Maggie, right?"
"Yes, that's right," She said, though her voice wasn't as cheerful as before.
"My name is Saoirse,"
"Saoirse?" Siobhan repeated, her hands resting on Maggie's shoulders. "Then you're from Ireland?"
I blinked and licked the edge of my lips. "Scotland and Wales, actually. I might have been careless about the origin when I chose my new name,"
"You renamed yourself after your transformation."
"Yes," I didn't want to get into the details of it- and Siobhan was apparently perceptive enough to not ask.
"It's not such an unusual practice," Alec said, rising from the couch to wrap his arms around my waist. Behind him, Jane gave a low hiss, "Chelsea for instance- she changes her name nearly once every two-hundred years."
"You too are so precious together," Maggie sighed, her ruby eyes glinting. I pressed my lips into a fine line. The last thing I needed was more people commenting on our relationship. "He didn't have a mate- last time- I mean…" Her words trailed off, "Anyway- Siobhan. I think we should stay. I'm sure they've been vetted, right?"
"By Jasper and myself," Edward answered, his hands resting behind his back. "Even if they weren't, neither of them are capable of using their abilities. I would hardly consider them threats at the moment,"
"Are you sure it's not just Bella using her shield?" Eleazar asked, leaning back against the wall.
"She'd tell me," He answered, "And as I told the others before- their thoughts have changed. They aren't vicious or sadistic at all. They're...nervous. Unsettled. Jasper read their emotions too."
"Oh?" Alec asked, cocking his head to the side, "Thank you for the personal evaluation, Edward. Jasper."
"Defensive," Edward added, barely glancing in our direction. "Maggie already detected that none of us are lying. In the end, we truly have nothing to worry about,"
"With us," Alec said, and his grip tightened. "You mean? Let's not forget why we're here, shall we?"
His voice grew steadier with every word that fell from them, "We're not here to reason with the Volturi. We're here to destroy it. We're here because Aro's lies and deceptions have gone unchecked for over five thousand years. We're here because every day that passes, he becomes more unstable and the threat to everyone grows stronger,"
He paused and met my gaze for a split second. Though my heart no longer beat, in its frozen state, it felt emotion. As I watched him, his expression shifted.
"I'm not here to lie to you," He continued, "None of us will claim that this is going to be easy. I can't promise that lives won't be lost. I can't promise that we'll win, but the prize for all the risks we'll be taking is the chance for a life lived without fear. Aro had a good idea- one time, long ago. We do need to make sure our secret is maintained, but that isn't what Aro cares about. Not anymore. He uses the law as an excuse to maintain control. The second someone threatens his power, he snaps. He'll kill anyone that stands in his way and he has the weapons to do it. So-"
He paused, "If anyone wants to leave, it won't be held against you, but with all of us here, I want to believe that we have a fighting chance,"
"What weapons?" Eleazar asked, "When I lived with the Volturi, you and Jane were the strongest offensive weapons in the guard."
"Aro's added new members to the guard," I said, "Kiersten. Tamsin," I inhaled, for merely saying her name required mental preparation, "Audrey,"
Tanya and her coven tensed, "We wouldn't have been able to stand against the twins if not for Bella. Are you saying these women are stronger?"
"Audrey can reflect attacks back at a person. I don't know how Bella's gift would be affected by her," I said, "Tamsin is a shifter. She can transform into anyone. Kiersten causes you to attack the first person you see."
Kate hissed lowly, and gripped Tanya's upper arm, "We could be slaughtered instantly- if Bella's shield doesn't work. That reflective gift would just cause me to electrocute myself,"
"There is, also, the issue of me no longer being able to watch Aro's decisions," Alice groaned from the other couch, rubbing her face, "I was informed a few days ago that Aro had a hybrid in the last few years. As long as she's around him, I can't see what his future is- not clearly, at least,"
"Then it's simple," Garrett said, stretching his arms above his head, "We kill the hybrid, and-"
"No," Alec snarled. "She's a child. Leave her be,"
"Her presence alone puts us in danger. We need Alice to see when Aro decides to attack. We'll be ambushed if she can't see him,"
Renesmee plopped down on the couch next to Jane and drew her knees up. "I don't think we need to kill her, Uncle Garrett. If we could get her away from Aro, it would be better for all of us. Alice'd be able to see the future properly and predict an attack, and she'd be safe from Aro,"
"You assume she needs protecting from her own father?"
"I think everyone needs protection from Aro, Uncle Garrett. Like with me, I believe that she should be allowed the chance to live. Her existence alone isn't a threat,"
"Very well," He said, and he smiled slowly. Renesmee had a miraculous effect on everyone. It was impossible to be angry with her- not in the slightest. "However, if it proves impossible to protect ourselves with her alive, we have to act accordingly. Do you understand, Ness?"
She pouted wordlessly, complying in the end. Young as she was, she understood more about the world than some full-grown, centuries-old vampires I'd come across.
Our days continued like that. One or two covens would arrive at some point during the day, and we'd go through the same routine. Distrust, consideration, and eventual acceptance.
Zafrina and Senna arrived from the Amazon two days after the Irish coven, just as impressive as I'd imagined them. Little by little, the house grew crowded, and though no one needed to sleep, the lack of free space put everyone on edge.
Alec and I retreated into one of the spare bedrooms late one evening. Everyone's voices combined proved more than we could bare at the moment. For months, we'd been accustomed to nothing more than one another's voice.
I lay on the bed as he paced back and forth, shoulders heaving.
"Do you think we have a chance?" I asked, staring up at the ceiling. "If everyone we've spoken to agrees to stay, Aro's army will still be at least six-fold the size of ours. Even without Audrey...we-"
"Stop," He halted abruptly, and stood over me, his hands placed on either side of my head. "I don't want to talk about that. We've done nothing but talk about what happened and what might happen and what we're risking. God, Saoirse, I don't want to hear her name,"
"It's not fair, though," I sighed, rolling onto my stomach. Alice had lent Jane and I some of her clothes to wear, and while Jane was swamped in them, the sweater she'd given me was uncomfortably form fitting. I tugged it down with a grunt. "To lead them on- to act like we think we have a fighting chance. If we're going to die, isn't it better to let everyone put their affairs in order,"
"We aren't guaranteed to die. A "maybe" isn't a reason to give up." He sat on the edge, "You used to be the optimistic one. Don't you remember? Talking for hours about where we'd go when we escaped?"
I pushed myself up and draped my arms around his neck. "Iceland. The lights."
"You promised,"
He cradled the side of my face. I nuzzled into his touch. "So I did. Dammit, there goes my hope for imminent death,"
"I fucking hope that you're joking,"
"You know my dark, fucked up coping mechanisms will never go away completely," I grinned and kissed the inside of his palm. He flinched, but only barely, but it was enough to make me stop the thoughts that ran through my head. "I'm sorry,"
"Don't be," He said, and though I'd expected him to pull away, he drew me closer to him. "I just… I want you to do things, like that, I do. I want you to touch me- it's only-"
"Her," I finished for him, "I understand, I promise. I'm not going to force it, Cariad. I promise you. We have forever. So… so, we have no reason to rush thi-"
He moved so suddenly, I hadn't reacted until his lips were on mine, his fingers tangled in the ends of my hair.
"Rush it," He groaned into my mouth, and I fell back onto my palms, "Saoirse, please. I can't… I need to do this,"
"Do what?" I demanded, my mouth millimeters away from his, "Have sex? Do you realize we haven't kissed, yet? This isn't exactly the proper escalation of things, Alec."
"Yes, I know, but goddammit. I need to get them out of my head."
I closed my eyes for a half second, considering the options.
"I wouldn't be any better than Audrey if I forced you into something that you aren't ready for,"
"You wouldn't be forcing me," he answered, gripping the sheets above my head. "Not if I want it. Which- I do. God, I want you."
"We could try, but we aren't going to continue if this proves to make things worse," I decided, pushing myself. I regarded him through my lashes. I'd regarded him as beautiful in those God-awful, torn clothes they'd left him in.
And he had been.
But the clothes we'd stolen along with the ones the Cullen's had lent us proved to make him a thousand times more stunning than perfect.
"Kiss me," I murmured, carding my fingers through his hair, one hand going to the buttons on Jasper's borrowed shirt.
And he did, pressing his weight down on me as he ripped the top Alice'd given me in half.
I had his shirt off, reaching for the fly of his pants when it happened.
Fingers wrapped around my wrist, ripping me away.
"Don't." He hissed, his eyes lidded and nearly pitch black. Hunts were made in small groups once a week. He'd only fed the day before- "Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me."
"A-A-Al-lec…" I shivered, watching as his grip tightened, bending my hand backward. "It's okay, it's alright. We can stop. I promise. I wouldn't make you continue. Okay? It's fine, let's just stop."
"Stop." He repeated, but it was more of a demand than an acknowledgment. I furrowed my brow. His eyes were frighteningly hazy. "Stop."
"Cariad?" I murmured, "Hey, look at me. It's alright. You're safe. Alright? You and I and...and Jane are all fine. We're safe."
He bent my wrist back further still. "G-Get...away. Get the fu-ck-"
"Alec, Alec, stop- pl-please," I begged, my teeth clenched. Any further, and my hand would snap off. "Please, I-I'm not Audrey. I'm Saoirse. I'm not going to hurt you,"
Against my instincts, which crowded in my gut and screamed for me to snatch myself out of his grasp, I brushed my thumb across his cheek. "Please, Cariad. I'm right here. You're going to be okay. I know,"
My voice hitched. We'd been free for weeks now, but the demons of that cell lived inside of my mate. Chewing. Gnawing at his mind.
With a growl, he broke my wrist in half.
And I don't know if it was the sound of bone snapping or my involuntary scream that brought him back, but in a second, the haze left his eyes.
Shaking, I cradled the stump of my arm and bent off of the bed, reaching the dismembered hand.
It only took some of my own venoms to get it back into place, but the pain lingered- a dull ache.
"Shit," He hissed, "Saoirse, I'm so sorry, I-"
"No, it's not your fault," I answered, flexing my fingers to make sure all of my tendons and nerves had knitted themselves together properly. "We're going to get through this,"
We settled on the bed, side by side, and for hours we talked of nothingness.
And of everything.