A/N: Hello, again! For those of you that got confused: what Emily told Melody will be cleared up in this chapter. And for those who wanted to know: every Cullen, including Nessie, Anne, Andrew, and Jacob, died in the battle. Most of the Volturi either a) died or b) fled the battle. Yes, Melody died, along with the mighty Guinevere. I really liked her, but Guin turning good wasn't a remote possibility. She had to go. So, please review! One more chapter after this one!
The Forest
I sat up groggily, rubbing my head, willing a pounding headache to disappear. I felt weird, almost human. Every breath was needed, and I could feel a strong heartbeat, which wasn't normal for vampires. I blinked opened my eyes, looking around the small clearing. Evergreen trees ringed the clearing and a lone apple tree stood in the center. The light from a setting sun washed over the clearing, bathing it in a rosy hue. Tall grass tickled my legs in smooth, rhythmic strokes. It was very relaxing.
I saw movement from the corner of my eye, and I tensed automatically.
"Melody?" Bella called. I relaxed and strode towards her.
"Bella!" I embraced her, glad, at least, to have a sister in this strange place. "Do you know where we are?" I asked her. She pondered that as I ran my gaze up and down her body, wondering why she looked different. It hit me when she spoke. She was still inhumanly beautiful, like all vampires were, but the beauty had been transferred to a human appearance. But, like it was with vampires, no human could ever hope to attain that beauty. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and a faint flush colored her cheeks.
"I have no idea. I just remember Marcus coming towards me, then… nothing…" Her voice, deeper, but still melodic, trailed off and a hesitant look entered her eyes.
"So you don't know where we are, either?" Rosalie's harmonic voice called out. Like Bella and me, she had that same human, yet inhuman, beauty. Her eyes were the color of a calm sea, and her skin was tanner than the vampire norm. "And why do we look human?"
"I feel more human, too." Esme spoke up from behind Rose. Emily and Alice grasped her hands. Emily was smiling at me, a small, triumphant smile.
"We won!" She whispered. I smiled at her, tears streaming thick and fast down my face. I ran towards her and engulfed her in a hug, whispering "sorry" over and over.
"It's alright. You had to do it." She rubbed my back with a warm hand. "I had a vision." She announced to the rest of the Cullens that were present. "Since I was the cause of this battle, being an immortal child and all, I had to die for success. I saw two paths. If I lived, we all died. If I died, we still lived."
"But we're… not really alive…. I mean, unless this is somewhere in the world…" Rose was the first to break the silence. She glanced around, starting when Anne and Renesmee appeared at our sides.
"You are alive." An ethereal voice intruded on the clearing, speaking with a calm assurance that thundered over our heads and echoed in the trees.
"How?" I asked in a wavering voice, wiping my eyes. "I died, I know I did. And I saw… I saw everyone else die."
"Think back on your past lives. As vampires." There was a slight pause. "Did any of you act like normal vampires, vampires that killed for blood, and lived their days in a haze of bloodlust?"
"No." We spoke as one. "We killed animals for blood, anything to avoid killing humans."
"Even if, at first, we hunted humans when our resistance wavered." Alice said softly.
"That is why I am giving all of you a second chance." The speaker stepped out of the tree as she spoke, and we all gasped. She was slight, with wavy hair the color of melted gold. Her face was exquisitely beautiful and her eyes were the color of a setting sun.
"A second chance?" Rosalie sounded hopeful.
"Yes. You will start your lives over as humans. You will have a strong recollection of your vampire years, and a weakened version of your powers."
"What do you mean by start our lives over?" Bella asked, curious.
"You're nineteen, right?" Bella nodded. "You will live as a human and your next birthday will be your twentieth."
"So we can have children?" Rosalie demanded, her eyes wild with hope.
The strange woman chuckled. It had been Rose's only dream. She wanted to have children, and this would make her day. "I bid you all farewell." She placed her cool palms on our cheeks and kissed our foreheads. "Live your life again, rejoice in your victory." The clearing shimmered, and a welcoming darkness fell across our vision like a thick, black curtain.
~*~
I opened my eyes and glanced around. The world was dimmer somehow, without vampire eyes to strengthen the colors, smells, and sounds. I heard Bella shouting Edward's name, and his deep chuckle. I glanced around, searching for Andrew. He stepped into my field of vision, wearing the usual turtleneck and jeans.
I rushed into his arms, a smile spreading on my lips. "Andrew!" I murmured.
"Mel…" He sighed my name into my messy black hair. I felt a pair of small arms encircle my waist and knew it was Emily. We were whole again, the Cullens were reunited and we could live again the life we'd always wanted.
I heard Alice's excited squeal and smiled. She'd found her Jasper, and at the same time, made her broken soul whole again.
It was a new dawn. In a sense, a dawn of a new life.
A/N: I hope you liked that, and that it answered all of your questions. The epilogue follows next! It will give a brief overview of the Cullen's lives and will focus mainly on Mel, Andrew and Emily. Please review!!