Chapter 11.
A/N. Yes, some of you think that Edward has taken the breakup a little too well. But as he said, he would always wait in the curtains. But he's a good actor, you'll find out more later, but I thought this would answer it directly. He still loves Bella and doesen't want to do anything to hurt her.
This doesent mean that he, himself isn't hurting.
BPOV
All I seemed to do lately was drive between La Push and the Cullen's Mansion.
I sighed as I drove through the forest.
Maybe this is why Alice had bought me a car. She knew that I was going to kill the truck and need something a little faster to drive.
But I couldn't even begin to think about the other thing that she had done. I shuddered and wondered what the hell she was thinking.
Alice, would be Alice, as unscrupulous as she was.
As the tree's thinned, I pulled into the familiar little drive and stopped, right in front of the familiar Red house.
"Bella!" Jake came running.
"I haven't forgiven you yet" I sounded like Rosalie, which scared me slightly.
"Right, Um come inside and I'll explain" he guided me into the lounge.
We sat down and the arrangement felt oddly formal.
"Bella, I'm sorry. What did Alice Say?"
"That it was her idea."
"I don't doubt that it was her Idea" there was not an ounce of doubt in my mind that it was completely Alice's Idea. A One hundred and five year old Vampire was no match for a Seventeen year old boy.
"You don't need to be so harsh Bella, It's not like she was being nasty"
"We sound like were in 2nd Grade"
"I know, it's pathetic, lets never mention it again" We both laughed.
"But Seriously, you need to never listen to Alice Cullen, ever again." He laughed.
Flashback APOV
Eeek! She's back!
So excited, I went to so much trouble to surprise her, I even got Jacob Black involved. He was an important piece in the puzzle, but still.
Oh no, I know that the Alice how dare you interfere in my life look!
"Bella, Hi..." I was still jumping up and down. But seriously how annoying is it to be normal. Eurgh, how I hated the word.
"Mary Alice Brandon Cullen... Why? Why would you do this to me?" She held out the box. I gulped, though as a human function, it did absolutely nothing for me.
"Erm, because I thought you'd like it" I was clutching at straws. I knew it and she knew it.
"Seriously Bella, calm down or you're going to go prematurely grey"
"And whose fault would that be?"
"Your own. This is what you deserve Bella"
"Really now, Isn't that for me to decide?"
"Well, traditions predicts that the man has to ask the Woman, and well Bella, you could have said No"
Who was she kidding. I was right and she was wrong.
"I don't want to get married Alice! I am eighteen years old, Jake is Seventeen. I do believe that getting married is illegal in America"
Her fear of marriage was unhealthy. Age is just a number. And Bella, bless her gets more middle aged each year.
"You could go to Utah?" I shrugged and suddenly she giggled.
"Is this really about Utah? Or you and your involvement?"
"I may have a talent" I grinned angelically. She knew what I wanted. And I wanted it sooo badly.
"Oh come on Bella! You almost ran off to Vegas a week ago and devoid me of planning your wedding to my brother and he almost let you! Now you've broken it off, you won't be my sister! You could at least do me the favour of letting me plan your wedding to your Werewolf sweetheart!"
I painted a forlorn expression on my face and she almost broke. But no such luck!
"You are still my best friend Alice, even if I'm not marrying Edward"
Aww. I loved Bella, but a wedding is a wedding.
"But Bella, Please, I'll love you forever"
I would love her forever anyway, but Being Bella, she never saw herself clearly.
"Why now?"
"Why not, Bella you only get one life"
"A life that should last another sixty odd years Alice, what do you know that I don't?"
"That it would make everyone happy"
"Sure it would" Her voice was filled with Sarcasm.
End Flashback.
"But do you listen to her Bella?" Jake whispered it into my ear.
"You'll have to see" I arched my eyebrows and he smirked.
The meeting was to be in the clearing. How much had happened there, on all of the occasions, The Vampires playing Base ball, then of course James, Victoria, the Newborns.
I was in the Clearing, with Alice and Rose. The rest of the Cullen's were off in a discussion, far enough away from me that I couldn't hear what they were saying, but not far enough away, that I couldn't see the glances that they were shooting in my direction.
"So how's life in the doghouse treating you Bella?" Rose quipped, grinning slyly.
"Rose!" I protested. Alice rolled her eyes. "Just fine thank-you very much"
"Sheesh Bella, " She was Cut off by the Arrival of the Pack, coming through the woods into the clearing.
The majesty of the pack was breathtaking.
I never understood why Jake resented it.
The Cullen's soon moved forward to greet the Pack, and to the right of the clearing came Edward.
He was not Alone.
Her strawberry blonde curls wove gently down to the middle of her back and her body was waif like thin, a runway model. The familiar golden tone to her eyes alerted me that his was most certainly Tanya.
I had herd all about Tanya and her sisters and their 'escapades' as the Cullen's had put it.
They were single, but it was most certainly a lifestyle choice.
And the way that Tanya looked at Edward. She was like the cat who was going in for the kill.
Tanya was a brutal hit to my self esteem.
I was surprisingly unjealous though.
She was beautiful, but she was no longer the enemy.
"Well, well, you must be the human, Edward has told me so much about you" Tanya quickly embraced me. Her voice betrayed the hint of a foreign accent, Russian maybe?
"Call me Bella, It's nice to meet you. I sure have herd a lot about you"
"All good I hope" she said, looking at Edward who grinned uncomfortably.
"Oh absolutely" Rose interrupted, sarcastically.
It was clear that these two were not on the best of terms.
"Okay, I most likely deserved that. Before we start, I'm sorry for not being here for my family. It was wrong, but you probably know the whole situation now. Irina was angry. But I apologise for not being here sooner Bella."
"Already forgotten" I wasn't going to fight with her. She looked like she had about as much tenacity as Rosalie, when you got on her bad side.
Jasper stepped forward into the centre of the clearing.
"Alright, unless you have been out of the continental US, you know that Bella has decided to remain human. This is something that the Volturi will not tolerate. But if I think we are being honest, the thing that they are not willing to tolerate is the threat that we pose to them. So we need to make a descision. Whether we play it by ear and wait for them to make their move. Or we can do something a little more proactive"
"Proactive?" I questioned. It seemed unfathomable.
Jasper sent a wave of rippling calm my way, before continuing.
"We do not necessarily feel that the Volturi are being Judicious in a way that is fair. Given that our situation is unique, it is uncertain. But they are letting their Vendetta and their personal hard feelings over burden their decisions"
"So what do we do?" Tanya asked.
"That is the question" Edward pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I say we fight! The Volturi haven't been on the straight and narrow for years!" Emmett's reaction horrified me.
"You just want a good bone crushing fight Emmett" I whispered, trying to discourage him.
"Bella they will kill you" Carlisle said.
"If I have to be turned, I will be. I don't want to die"
Jake growled.
"If it's that or death, what would you choose?" I spat at him and he shut up immediately.
He went into the bushes to phase and came back human.
"That would be a violation of the treaty Bella."
"I think the Black and white of the treaty is now a million shades of grey Jacob" Carlisle was standing eye to eye with Jake.
"Well is there even any point to it anymore?"
Sam growled this time.
"You are the rightful Alpha Jacob. We made the treaty with Ephraim. Only you can alter it as his true heir."
"What so you can turn her?"
"Or so we can save her"
"Okay, point taken. But we don't want any hunting, you know that we aim to preserve human lives" He looked at me wistfully. I hated for him to have to go through the pain of all of this.
But at least he had a decision.
"Sam says that he will relinquish his role, for you Jacob" Edward translated for Sam.
"It doesen't matter right now" he shook his head dismissively.
"It does, You need to either step up or stay as Beta." Rosalie gave him the Ultimatum.
"I have a lot of faith in Sam, but as the rightful heir, I choose to fulfil my duty"
With that, Jacob grew, he was already the second biggest wolf but at that moment, he became the largest.
"Now," Calrisle said, shuffling his feet. "We have the heads of three families here. Tanya, myself and Jacob. And we are each going to vote on whether we take a proactive stance against the Volturi. Before we do, though we should know that Alice has not seen the decision to come here, nor is it likely that she will see it for some time"
Tanya spoke first.
"Understanding my background, and my mother" she swalled, looking like she was about to cry, if that was entirely possible. "I have a very healthy fear and respect for the Volturi. What Sasha did was wrong. And they were right to do what they did, but in this case, their personal feelings and the threat they perceive are not fair. We should take action. And others will support us. They don't play fair, not anymore"
One vote.
Jacob was next.
"I don't really know what to say. The Volturi are the very essence of what we aim to protect people from. We were created to preserve innocent human life and we still aim to. But this fight could be at a great cost. The elders should be consulted, but a human life being destroyed is not acceptable, we can't just look the other way. Perhaps we could explain that she knows about the Vampire world, because she is a part of our world?" Jacobs voice resonated an authority that I had only herd once before.
"The Volturi do not honour truce's with wolves. They will not respect our truce, nor your explanation" Jasper reminded him.
"Then I guess you know where we stand" Jake answered grimly.
Two votes.
Carlisle spoke again.
"I used to be the forth brother of the Volturi" Many of the pack growled. Understandably.
"But I left after a few decades because they did not share my ideas about preserving human life. They see our family as a threat. They have never seen so many vampires living together in harmony, besides themselves ever. They are simply united for the business of 'Keeping the secret' but what holds us together is much stronger. Love is something that they will never understand and it is something that will not be broken as easily as business and of that they are highly aware. They will likely find a way to destroy is in the coming decades. They will come under a different set of pretences and destroy us, for some reason or another. The reason is insignificant to them, the goal is of the highest importance. They have become too comfortable ruling. Indulgent in the prestige and will do anything to keep it. This is their pretence. They know how we love Bella. They know that we will fight for her. They think that they will win, but they have never been threatened like this ever."
I was the pawn, in a game of chess with very high stakes.
Carlisle the king, Tanya the queen and Jacob the knight.
The lives of the people that I love depended on this.
They were all willing to fight for me.
But they were fighting for themselves too.
For the first time I understood that this wasn't about me, it was about the bigger picture.
Had I married Edward, and he had changed me, they wouldn't have attacked, this time.
But not long from now, they would find another reason.
They would always be peering over our shoulders and at the first chance they had, they would take us down.
But we had a choice.
It wouldn't be pretty, but there was a chance, a very good chance that we would win.
But even if we didn't, we died doing something that we all believed in.
And if that was how it had to be, that would be what I wanted.
If only I could fight.
This was where the downside of being human kicked in.
I was unbelievably and invaluably human at this moment.
"But what would happen if we win?"
Jake spoke. Unsure, but focused.
"We would naturally take their place" Jasper spoke. This was his domain.
"Us? Rule the Vampires?" Jake scoffed and got a smile out of Carlisle.
"Sam says that if that happens, he reserves the right to retire" Edward translated.
"Sure he does" Jacob rolled his eyes.
"So it's settled?" Tanya spoke drawing us back to the imminent decision.
"Yes, I think so. Alice will still keep watch, but we will challenge the Volturi. It is not a step to be taken lightly, but I think it is necessary, to protect everyone."
"Where do we go from here?" I asked, speaking up for the first time.
The whole group looked at me. I was the trigger for all of this, but certainly not the cause.
"We gather fighters. No Southerners, let's make that clear. And no newborns either." Edward stepped in, hearing all of the immoral ideas being passed around in peoples thoughts. Most of them, if not all, I would have guessed were from Jasper, who we all knew had considerable expertise in this area.
"Yes mother" Emmett mocked him. Esme strode up and smacked him on the head. The pack laughed at the nature and loving bickering between the Cullens. It was certainly something that they could relate to.
"We will split up, and each take a coven or pack? We will send a mixed group. From this point on, we are all a big, and very happy family" Carlisle seemed to feel a need to heavily emphasise the last words.
They were my family. A big, relatively happy, if not dysfunctional and drama filled family.
But since when is life ever normal right?
"Okay, we choose one person from our own group." Carlisle started.
"Only those who are of age may go, Sorry Seth" Edward looked over at the gangly tan wolf, who looked utterly heartbroken.
"We need five groups, so nominate your first."
"Jasper" Carlisle nominated, "as he was the most experienced fighter".
"Sam" Jacob nominated, "As he is the Beta, and I'm stuck at seventeen". The pack snickered.
"Kate, as she is our strongest fighter" Tanya surmised.
"Okay, thats the first group. Where you are going will be worked out later"
"Edward" Carlisle said, without explaination.
"Leah" Jacob smirked. He was sticking them together as a bit of revenge, for the both of them I was
sure. Leah looked resentful.
"Elezar" Tanya nominated "He used to be a part of the Volturi too" She explained to the pack.
The third group.
"Emmett, simply because he's ego's too big to be picked last" Edward snickered.
"Carmen, because she'll counteract Emmett" Tanya added, grinning.
"Paul, because if he's not here, he's not annoying me" Jacob added, joining the fun.
The fourth group.
"Alice" Carlisle started, making the whole thing a little more serious.
"Quil and Embry, because together, they may make a balanced person" Jacob snickered, but I had to admit, I joined in too.
"Irina, but you'll have to watch her closely, ok?" Tanya seemed hesitant.
"And the fifth group is Jacob, Tanya and myself, we will be planning things" Carlisle added.
"And Rosalie, Esme, Seth, you will be watching over Bella, just in case."
"What, so now I need security detail?"
"Victoria?" Alice looked at me incredulously. Oh, Right.
"And Jared and the rest of the pack will be looking after patrols, stretching out to include Cullen land"
"You say it like it's some foreign territory" Rosalie scoffed.
"Because it is dude!" Quil said, earning a look form Rose.
"Did you or did you not just call me dude?" she narrowed her eyes.
"Enough" Edward interrupted, knowing that Rose would likely carry on with this forever.
"Group one will be training people to fight, so Jasper, Sam and Kate.
Group two, so Edward, Leah and Elezar will be tracking down all the different people who may fight or testify with us. You will need to go to the Amazon, Egypt, Ireland, and track down some nomads, Peter and Charlotte specifically, you will have to send them back, and keep going. We have to be quiet too" Edward and Leah glared at Each other, but nodded.
"Group three will be going to Romania"
"Romania?" Jake asked, confused.
"The Romanians ruled before the Volturi. We most likely do not want them to rule, but they will most certainly help us to destroy the Volturi from the inside out" He nodded. "So Emmett, Paul and Carmen, that's you".
"Alice, Quil and Embry and possibly Irina will be scoping out any leads that we may have. If Alice has any Visions about people who will want to fight with Us, because rumour will spread, you will fetch them. But mostly, you will be looking for different packs. I honestly doubt that you are the only ones. There have been rumours about the Makahs?" Alice and Quil and Embry nodded.
"And group 5, Esme, Rosalie, Bella and the rest of the wolves that aren't running patrol will be packing."
"Sorry packing?" I questioned in disbelief.
"Well the Volturi have Volterra, Bella we need a safe haven away from Forks just in case we win" Alice was practically jumping up and down, despite the fact that she was blind to the outcome.
"Okay, everyone has to be back in two weeks. In the mean time, good luck" Carlisle spoke and with that, everyone broke off into their oddly matched cliques.
We each went off into the world, to fight the little battles that would hopefully win us the war.
Okay, so now we are getting to the serious stuff.
This Chapter is my longest yet!
Next Chapter will start the two weeks that they are scouting.
Oh and Charlie gets informed on what Bella really had to choose between. (Snicker) and yes I'm serious.
Let me know what you think! A review is the best way to tell me!
-B