Disclaimer- All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer, whereas all new characters belong to me.
Chapter 31- Something to live for
Hope let out a tiny gurgle and pulled at my hair. I let out a tiny chuckle and wrapped her small hand around my finger. Alice sat beside me and tickled her stomach. " She's beautiful." She whispered. I nodded my head in agreement. I was sitting in the courtyard of the prison. Smoke was billowing up from outside of the cement wall. I'd told my troops to burn all the bodies. There were separate piles though. One pile was my men and the humans who'd been killed. Another pile was Mitchell and his men. Alice put her arm around my waist and then put her head on my shoulder. " What are you going to do with her?" She asked me quietly. I sighed and shifted Hope around to my left arm. She was so sweet. I could tell she was going to look like her mother. She already had the makings of dark brown hair, and her eyes were a light green.
" I think I'm going to keep her." I replied. I smiled and put a cold finger on her cheek. She let out a happy laugh and her eyes brightened. Alice tickled the baby some more and looked at me.
" Are you sure you can handle that?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Some people. . . They know you drink human blood and they assume you have no control over yourself around it.
" Yes I can handle it. I'm not a monster Alice. I would never hurt her." She shook her head and sat up, her eyes were weary and there was a cut on her arm. She'd worked her ass off in this war. As did all the other Cullens who looked pretty banged up. Nobody was able to clean themselves up yet, we were too busy getting rid of everything at the prison. Yuzria had given a potion to each of the human survivors so they wouldn't remember what had happened to them. The only one who hadn't been given one was Hope. She was too small.
" I know you could handle yourself around the blood. That isn't what I meant. And I'm sure you would make a fabulous mother. But, are you sure you want a reminder of anything that happened today around? You've gone through a lot Bella." She put a hand on my arm and smiled weakly. I returned the smile and looked back at Hope.
" I want to keep her." Was all I said. I'd made up my mind, and no one could change it. " There's just something about her." I whispered. " She seems. . . Special." Alice giggled and then stood up.
" You have a big heart Bella." She told me.
" Eh. . . I try." I joked. She nodded her head and then walked over to Jasper. I watched her throw her arms around his neck and kiss him deeply. Feeling like a peeping Bella, I looked around for my man. I frowned when I saw he was busy helping the troops cremate the bodies. I was startled when someone sat next to me. Then I heard them start to coo at Hope and knew who it was. " How's Travis?" I asked Lanina. She smirked and put her sword on the grass beside us.
" He's ok. A little wounded but, nothing that will kill him. Can I hold her?" I carefully handed Hope to Lanina, who fussed for a couple seconds. Then she started to laugh as Lanina made a face. One that made me laugh also. She sighed and looked at me. " How are you holding up? I heard it was pretty gruesome inside that prison. And for a vampire to say that you know it was bad."
" It was. . . I saw Hope's mother. She died in my arms."
" Wow. . . I heard you tell Alice you're going to keep her." I shifted in the grass and looked up at moon. Hours had passed since the war finished. But it felt like minutes.
" Come here to tell me it's a bad idea?" I asked her. She smiled and pushed her blonde hair behind her shoulder.
" Actually, I wanted to tell you that I think it's a great idea. If I were alive and something happened to me, you'd be the first person I gave my child too."
" Thanks Lan." I said softly. She put a free hand on my back and rubbed it softly.
" You'll be okay. I know it was hard on you. You should get some sleep. Rest yourself." I groaned and stood up, brushing the dirt and grass off myself quickly.
" All this sleeping almost makes me feel human again. It said in the book that I should only have to sleep every few months!"
" Those guardians probably didn't lead a war that could've been the end of the Volturi either." She pointed out. I shrugged my shoulders and took Hope from her hands. " Going to go show Edward his daughter?" She wiggled her eyebrows and stood up beside me. We shared a couple more brief moments of conversation, then I made my way over to Edward. As soon as he saw me he broke away from what he was doing and kissed me deeply. Hope giggled from in my arms. I laughed and gave him a quick peck on the cheeks before making him hold her.
" Are you sure you want to keep her?" He questioned me. I watched as he played with her and knew he wanted her just as much as I did.
" I'm positive." He nodded his head and lifted her up, then he blew a raspberry on the cloth of her stomach. I put a hand over my mouth and forced back my laughter. He looked so damn cute while playing with her. He looked up at me, his eyes bright. I could see my letter poking out of his jeans pocket. Laurent gave it to him even though he knew I was alive. Cute. He saw me eyeing it and arched an eyebrow.
" Honestly Bella, a letter?" He whispered. I glanced up at him and scowled. He walked towards me and put a hand on my cheek. " You should've known that I would've died if something happened to you. A letter wouldn't have helped to ease the pain."
" Made me feel better." I said. " Besides, I'm fine. So. . . I want you to burn that letter. Because I do not plan on dieing anytime soon." He smirked and took it out, then tossed it in the flames. I watched as the flames devoured my words and I smiled. I'd survived. I'd hoped I would, but I honestly wasn't sure.
" Carlisle called Aro and told him everything. He wants to talk to you as soon as we get home." I was about to nod my head when something struck me. He'd said home. I raised my eyebrow and grinned.
" You consider Volterra home eh?" I teased. He pulled me close to him and I saw the love for me burning in my eyes.
" If that's where you are, it's home." He replied. I put a hand on his chest and ran my hands over a small gash on his skin. He winced so I bent down and gave it a small kiss. I raised my head back up and planted a kiss on his lips. We broke away and I looked down at the ring on my finger. It shined in the bright moonlight.
" When I was with Annebelle," I began softly, my eyes still on the ring. " I never imagined that I would have a family. I thought I would die there." The memories stung at me, like a knife in the stomach. I hated thinking about what I was then, what she'd made me. " She would've loved Mitchell." I said bitterly. I turned my gaze back on Edward and saw he was frowning. Pity was practically seeping off him. I rolled my eyes and took Hope back. I loved the feel of her in my arms. " I don't want your sympathy Edward. What's done is done." I told him strongly.
" I just wish it hadn't happened to you."
" I do too." I said quietly. " I do too. . . " I looked around. Everything was calm. The fire was burning out and the prison was empty. I walked around the courtyard, I could see the marks of my fallen men. I could see where fire had scorched the ground. I put my hand against the prison wall and then I heard the jets begin to land on the opposite side of the island. Some of the men were already there from having checked the rest of the island for any of Mitchell's vamps who might've gotten away. All in all, I lost half of my men. I came with seven hundred and I was leaving with three hundred and fifty. Nobody close to me had died except Lisa. . . And Laurent was falling apart. He didn't need to tell me in order for me to know. I could see it in his eyes when he looked at me.
Two hours later, everyone but the people closest too me was gone. Our jet was almost there. We all sat in a tight circle, our bodies touching. Hope was sleeping in my arms and Edward was behind me, his arms around my waist. Lanina was sitting in Travis' lap, her head on his shoulder. Jasper and Alice were sitting together, as was Emmett and Rosalie. Esme and Carlisle were laying down beside each other, his arms held her close to him. Yuzria had left with Tori. We'd already said our goodbyes. He was going with her to England. He'd be gone by the time I got back. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him to keep in touch with me. He promised me that he would. Ash and Mike were in each other's arms, while Manny and Flora were walking around the courtyard. Laurent was by himself. I sighed and put my head on Edward's chest.
" That was one hell of a battle." Emmett spoke up, breaking the silence. Rosalie squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek.
" I'm glad he's dead." She said, her eyes angry. " Good men and women died because of him."
" He paid for it in the end. They always do when they fuck with Noleen." Ash responded, her eyes on mine. " You're one hell of a warrior sister." I smiled and nodded my head.
" Sister?" Jasper asked, looking confused. Ash chuckled and turned to him.
" It's a thing we did while at Annebelle's. Flora, Noleen or as you call her, Bella, Lanina and myself were so close we were sisters. We always will be. Noleen was by far the strongest one of us. She always defied Annebelle."
" And always got her ass kicked for it." Mike mumbled. I laughed and threw a small pebble at him.
" But it was so worth it." I added.
" Yeah, and the look on Annebelle's face when you would tell her no was priceless." Lanina laughed. Then we all quieted down.
" I bet she's burning right next to Mitchell." Flora whispered. I looked up and saw her and Manny had joined our group. I shook my head in agreement and scooted over so they could sit down.
" I bet they are." I whispered back to her. Silence once again fell over the group. We all were just looking around at each other. When the plane finally came, we loaded onto it. Hope didn't even squirm in my arms. I took one glance at the desolate prison and then I threw a lit torch onto it. We'd made the decision to burn the place to the ground. I couldn't agree fast enough. I looked down at Hope and smiled. Not everything bad had happened because of this war. I'd gained a daughter and gotten closer to my love. After twenty years, I had something to live for. And I wasn't about to give up the chance at a life. Annebelle had stolen my innocence and made me Noleen. Edward came back and showed me that I could be both. That I could be loving and ruthless all at the same time. Mitchell had helped me prove just how strong I was. In my heart I made a vow to protect all that was good. And anyone who got in my way would have to deal with me. I was Isabella Noleen Cullen. A Volturi member and a guardian. . .
Let them bring whatever they have. I'll always be ready.
Fin
A/N: Ahh, the end of another story. It's all kind of bittersweet isn't it? I hope you enjoyed Forever is a long time as much as you enjoyed Eternity. I hope I did the characters justice and I hope this chapter was a good ending chapter. I'd feel sad to see them go if I hadn't planned another one haha. But then again, there's always a feeling of accomplishment when you put an end to a story that's close to you. And these stories certainly are some of my best work. Thank you all for reading, I really can't tell you how much your reviews and kind words mean to me. Thank you for assuring me that I do have some talent and that I could make it as an author :) Believe me, you don't know how glad I am to hear that because I do want to be an author. Look forward to the next story, An everlasting love. The first chapter should be posted in a few days. Again thank you for reading and please review on this chapter so I know how you liked it!
Until next time,
Faith