Secret Beneath the Roses
Chapter 18: The Rose is put on Hold
A/N: This chapter is presented in several different POV's, in order to get each character's perspective.
On a side note I have updated my profile so that now it will show the progress of my chapter completion for all of my stories so if you ever want to check when the next chapter is up, just click on it.
While Alice and Rosalie were wrapped up in their own world, out of harms way for now, everyone else was engaged in heated battle. The Cullen's had brought the werewolves and their vampire friends in order to fight the Volturi for the sake of protecting Bella's child. The Volturi wanted to kill Renesme but the vampire family wouldn't allow that to happen. She was a very special child, most importantly innocent of any crime, and they had to ensure that no matter what she wouldn't be in danger. Bella had insisted on bringing her child to Italy in order to try to convince the Volturi with her daughter's powers but she had never gotten to do that, Caius snarling and ordering the army to attack before Carlisle had the option of using his relations with Aro to sway the man and reduce the punishment they could receive.
Bella hadn't wanted to draw her daughter into a fight, much less cause there to be actual fighting. They had only brought the others as back up should the need arise but they had all been trying for a peaceful approach. It was too late for regrets now. Shaking her head she put up the shield around her and her daughter. This way she knew she could protect her child while the fight went on.
Edward hovered close to her, not willing to let her leave his sight. Although the battle had only started seconds ago already dead bodies littered the floor, most of them thankfully the Volturi's. Hopefully the Cullen's could keep it this way. Bella winced as a loud shriek pierced her ears. She turned her head to the direction of it and saw that Emmett was surrounded by a group of Volturi. Was the cry his? Was he in danger? But as the Voluturi guards went down one by one, Bella let out a sigh of relief and saw that the cries weren't coming from the vampire but from his victims. The man was smiling as he smashed skulls with the ease of someone smashing eggs.
"Mommy, I'm scared," Renesme whispered into her mothers shoulder and Bella pulled her closer, patting her hair. "Don't worry. Mommy and daddy won't let anything happen to you." As she spoke this, Edward was tackled by two vampires. They were big and strong looking and Bella almost rushed in to help him, not being able to stand the fact that her husband was being attacked. She could feel a snarl rip through her body but stayed put where she was, knowing that if she moved it would disrupt the shield around her and her daughter. She had to trust that Edward could take care of himself.
Her trust wasn't misplaced as the brown haired man tossed one man over his shoulder and into a cluster of fighting individuals before tearing the other vampires head and jaw apart. He looked back at her as the other vampires body fell limply to the floor and exchanged a wry smile with her. She smiled back fully, glad to see him alright, but it quickly faded as she yelled out, "behind you Edward!" The boy's head snapped around in time to take a punch to his face and fall back to the floor hard. The attacker jumped over the fallen body, his target not him but Bella. Bella's eyes opened wide as she saw the vampire charge at her only to be blown back by her shield, unconscious. Damn, her power was stronger than she thought.
"What an interesting ability you have there. Even my powers don't work on it," a young sounding voice drew Bella's satisfied gaze to the newcomer. It was a small blonde haired girl, her red cloak billowing around her. She had a cruel smile on her lips. "But, what about lover boy over there? Will they protect him?" Then with a sneer she turned her gaze on Edward. Bella's husband, who had recovered to his feet, fell with a loud cry of pain onto the floor. He began to writhe uncontrollably and she let out a scream. "Edward! Edward!" But he couldn't hear her, lost to his pain. Just when she had decided she had to drop her shield and help him, his squirming stopped.
"Edward, are you okay?" she asked, but he was still panting and catching his breath, unable to speak.
The little Volturi had been tossed to the side by a werewolf. But not just any werewolf. It was Leah. With a snarl, the wolf lashed her tail angrily while watching the blonde vampire get up from where she had been tossed. It seemed like Leah was trying to tell them to move somewhere else and Bella was all too happy to comply. The blonde vampire watched them leave before she turned her pain inflicting gaze on the wolf.
Carlisle was at the front of the conflict, ducking and weaving as Caius aimed all of his resentment and hatred on the doctor. Carlisle was doing all he could to avoid being hit by the other man. Over the years the doctor had become complacent, and weak. He hadn't a need to fight so he had let himself slack in his abilities and in this moment he wished he hadn't. It was all he could to avoid the hits of the other vampire. He contemplated running but he wouldn't wish the other vampire on anyone. Just thinking of one of his children taking on the monster sent cold shivers of dread down his back and keep him here. Maybe he could outsmart the other? He seemed very angry and kept his attacks very straight forward. Perhaps if Carlisle started feinting and using sneaky moves then he could win and rid the world of this atrocity?
Ducking under Caius's outstretched arm he sent his punch into the man's gut, the other not even grunting in pain as Carlisle ignored the throb that shot up his fist and sent another hit directed to the vampire's jaw.
This one caused Caius's head to snap back and spittle to fly from his lips. Carlisle swallowed down a hiss of pain from punching the man-had the vampires skin gotten harder or was it because Carlisle was weak?-and jumped up, grabbing the man by the shoulders. He tucked his knees under him and when his kneecaps had drawn level to Caius's throat, he slammed them into his Adam's apple with all the force he could muster. The vampire choked and his hands came up to grab at Carlisle but the doctor had used his hold on the shoulders to swivel around and drop down behind his back. Once to his feet he sent his elbow swinging back hard enough to crack Caius' ribs. The vampire who was still choking was unable to cry out in pain and he fell to his knees, dropped by a kick to his lower body that shattered his left leg. With a relieved smile Carlisle saw he had the man exactly where he wanted him. His fingers enthusiastically encircled the other vampires head.
Sulpicia was pissed off, hands clutching empty air where Alice had been a mere moment ago. That sneaky blonde bitch had taken her away! She had to get the pixie back or else there was a real risk her pheromones would stop working! With a growl she turned on her heel, ready to hunt down the two vampires when she saw Aro from the corner of her eye sneaking away to an exit. He was batting away at some vampires that Sulpicia didn't recognize as he retreated. That little coward was trying to run away? This wouldn't do. What had he said? That Edward was supposed to kill him? No way was Sulpicia going to prevent that from happening! Alice could wait for a little bit. This was a bit more important. Now where was Edward...
With a satisfied grin she saw that Jane had the bronze haired boy writhing on the floor in pain. Perfect. She could just up and grab him while his stupid wife and child stood there stupidly unable to do anything except panic.
She was almost there when Jane's concentration was broken by the arrival of a nasty mutt. The mutt sent the girl careening through the air and hitting the ground harshly upon impact. Jane let out a hiss when her arm snapped and shattered against the marble floor. With her out of the way, Edward and Bella along with their child scrambled to move out of the way. No! Sulpicia grit her teeth, battling her way through a thick cluster of fighters, all the while keeping her eyes trained on the Cullen. Their path was intercepted by three Volturi guards and Sulpicia knew it would be too much for Edward to fight against. The man fought with a wild ferocity; a strength he drew from protecting his family, but not for long if she had here way. She grinned sickeningly as she drew closer.
"Guards, hold him down for me!" she ordered when the guards noticed her.
"Sulpicia!" Edward hissed, fear and hatred mixing in his voice. "Wait until I get my hands on you. I'll bring you to mother who'd like to have a few words with you! You won't get away with manipulating-"The boy was too much of a talker. Sulpicia yawned, covering her open mouth with one hand and slapping him with the other. Her smack sent his body to the floor where the three vampire guards pounced on him and pinned him to the floor.
"Good," she drawled as the boy struggled uselessly again the floor. He spat at her, and it caught on her robes. She dismissed this, crouching closer to him.
"Don't you dare-don't you dare!" the boy was trying to be intimidating but she sensed fear coming off of him in waves. No doubt he knew what her abilities were and what she was going to do next.
"Oh, I dare to," she sneered and pushed her hand to his forehead as he screamed.
"Edward no! Let him go!" Bella was trembling with vampiric rage but she stayed put, clutching her child. Her power might protect her but it also prevented her from being useful to anyone other than those under her shield.
"Don't worry Bella, I'm not going to do anything to harm him physically. You'll see." And with a wink she set to work.
The werewolves had ripped through a decent chunk of vampires by now but their numbers never seemed to drop, nor their determination to continue fighting.
"Is it just me or are their still the same amount of Volturi as there were before?" Paul asked in exasperation as he bit down on a vampire's head, effectively severing it before wincing at the taste and spitting it out. The wolves had lost two of their own by now and so they had decided to group up and stay close together to avoid another loss. Except they didn't know where Leah was. She had ignored their call to join up.
"Guys- something's wrong with Leah. She needs help!" Jacob howled as Leah's pain vibrated through the bond the pack shared with one another. "I'm on my way," he sent back to her and ran, pushing through some fighting vampires. He knew he shouldn't separate from the pack but he couldn't leave the girl in this much pain. They couldn't risk to lose another one. Whatever argument Sam had had to stop Jacob from leaving died on his tongue. Jacob was right-they couldn't afford to lose another.
"Me too!" Sam added as they charged on, praying for the girl to hold on. But when they got there they knew something had gone wrong, judging from the way Leah's pain had reached a violent crescendo and then stopped.
They saw her body lying on the floor, reverted back to its human state in her death. A blonde vampire kneeled next to her, hands soaked in her blood.
"Ugh, mutt blood is disgusting. I'll have to clean myself now of your wretched fluids," the blonde vampire muttered, looking at her hands in revulsion. Jacob felt the anger in his body taking over, clouding his mind. How could she? How could she kill one of the pack!? She would pay for this! He could feel Sam's anger in his own mind, his tinged with the guilt of being unable to arrive in time.
They growled, haunches bunched and jaws drooling. The vampire noticed them and gave an annoyed sigh. "Great, now more of you mutts have come." She rolled her eyes. "Come fight me then." They didn't need any more prompting than that.
Jasper dropped the twentieth body he had decapitated and let out a tired sigh. He may be a war general but even he grew tired of fighting. How much longer till it could end? Till they reached a conclusive decision on both sides? With Caius he had no idea. The vampire looked happily for bloodshed whereas Aro was a fifty fifty shot. The only shot they had with redeeming Bella's child. And speaking of Bella, here she was coming. Distress rolled off of her in waves and Jasper swallowed harshly to prevent the panic from settling into his skin and alighting it into his bones. It would make him sloppy in battle. He sent calming waves at her. "Bella what's wrong?"
The girl would be in tears if she could cry. "It's Edward. Sulpicia got her hands on him! She's-she's-"
Jasper made to approach the girl but stopped. She still had her shield in place and it would send him flying, friend or no friend, and he did not need that right now.
"What, what did she do to him?" he asked, hoping his concern for her could be heard in his voice. He had lost track of his family minutes ago and had hoped for the best; that they would be safe but now it seemed like Edward wasn't,
"I don't know, she did something to him and he's not the same anymore. He won't look at me!" She placed a hand over her eyes and her daughter clung to her chest harder, trying to soothe her.
Jasper thinned his lips grimly. He had an inkling of what Sulpicia could have done to Edward and he didn't like it. Not one bit.
"Aro!" Edward's cry of pure rage was more than enough to shake the man from the vampire he had been engaging. Aro whipped around to face the Cullen, his eyes wide in fear. He had been trying to escape for the past few minutes but when you were the head of the Volturi it was nearly impossible to do it without notice. He had been fending off attacker after attacker fearing the moment it would be Edward who appeared. He had relaxed a little, as time went by and still no sign of the bronze haired boy, thinking that perhaps he could get away even but no, Edward had finally arrived and with it the promise of Aro's death.
"I will finish you off and stop your evil once and for all!" Edward promised and the poor vampire was so frightened that he fell to his back on the floor as he tried to get away. He quickly sat up, sliding back as he was too immobilized by fear to get up and run. His eyes were opened wide and he held a hand up in mercy. Edward had no idea he was the one to kill Aro, and did not think too deeply on the matter of why the man was so terrified of him. All he wanted to do was protect his mate Bella. And their child.
Aro, too traumatized by the knowledge of his death was unable to make a stand to fight for his life and with a snarl Edward dropped onto the man and completed the vision's prediction.
Sulpicia watched Edward rip Aro's head off from her spot halfway across the battlefield. She had made the fool believe that she was his beloved Bella, and with her order ringing through his ears he had dutifully strode across the field and challenged the Volturi leader outright. She had thought that Aro would have fought, but the man fell to his behind, cowering and pleading for his life. That was certainly amusing. She should have guessed this would be the way that pathetic excuse for a vampire would end. He had only ever risen to power because of her, because of her powers. Without her he would be a no one, certainly not the leader of the most dangerous vampires in the world. He was like mold in her hands, doing what she told him to, but that changed over the years gradually until he was becoming less of a listener to her and more of a listener to other vampires, taking their advice into account when he should only be considering her words. This slight insulted her intelligence and she grew frustrated, she grew to fall out of love from him and she began to yearn to take back the empire that she had built but that was unrighteously and undeservedly his.
So she had planned and she had schemed. She was the one who had insisted that Alice would an asset to them. She had brought the obsession of the pixie girl unto Aro. And when they had finally gained the girl, it hadn't turned out like expected. She had a mate and the separation weighed heavily on their bond, making her powers useless. She had to fix this if she wanted to be able to use the girl's powers and the perfect solution had presented itself in mimicking her love. But now the Cullen's had arrived and put a hold to her plans or so she thought, until Alice had seen a vision Sulpicia had only prayed and wished for with all her being; one of Aro dying and by Edward's hands. That was when she knew what she had to do to push the brown haired into doing it and she had succeeded. It had been so easy to rearrange his bond with Bella.
Sulpicia wanted to cackle with manic laughter, she wanted to shout out her joy from the top of the world that now the Volturi was her's as it rightly should be. She put her evil glee on hold as she refocused her thoughts on something else. If she was going to take over the Volturi now, then she still needed Alice and the pixie had been carted away by that blonde. With a flip of her cloak she set out in the direction of where Alice had last gone.
A/N: This chapter is not Rosalie and Alice centric but I felt it was needed to add the perspective of the fighting vampires especially since Aro is defeated. Like it's super important to have him be brought down and to have Sulpicia's plans succeed. Also Bella is pretty much useless in this battle as she is with everything else. Even as a vampire she can't do much, for now. I'm gonna see if I can make her more useful.
