Disclaimer: All the wonderful Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, however the story 'Goodbye, Former Miss. Swan' belongs to me.
Hey, BellaJ here. Thank you so much for all the reviews for chapter eight, I definitely enjoyed reading them!
As for the 3 choices for my new story, please go to my profile and VOTE IN THE POLL. I will be checking it on Saturday, and whatever results show up that day is what I'll go with. So remember, EVERY VOTE COUNTS! Thanks, and please head over soon to vote!
Chapter Nine: The Cullens and Smiths hear about the war, what will they do?
Chapter Nine: Peter's Return
Edward POV
The phone in the kitchen rang, startling all of us from our own thoughts. Everyone was still tensed from Bella's visit, frowning and deep in thought.
I saw Nickolas nod to Carlisle, gesturing for him to answer the phone. Carlisle picked the phone up, surprise and shock flying across his face.
The Volturi? What could they need? Bella was only here a few days ago…
He spoke quickly and mutely into the phone; even with my vampire hearing I couldn't make out what he was saying. He was frowning, and his expression was laced with worry.
Minutes passed, none of us saying anything. Carlisle sighed.
He hung up the phone and looked at us, fear in his eyes. I was taken aback-I had never seen him so shaken. He was always so calm, so composed.
This cannot be good. The Volturi has no chance against them.
"Carlisle? What happened? What did they say?" I asked, my voice quivering slightly.
He turned to look at me, sadly.
"Peter's back. He's brought an army of vampires to destroy the Volturi and kidnap Bella. There's too many for the Volturi to fight and win, so Aro has been calling for help."
My breath caught in my throat. I could not lose my angel again. I stood up so quickly that I knocked the couch over in my haste to run, to go and protect Bella. My mind was swimming, going off in a million directions.
Edward, calm down! We aren't going to get anywhere if you act like this! I know you are worried about Bella, but we will find some way to help her!-Alice
I shook my head, not willing to listen to her. Didn't she understand that I had to get there NOW? I was about ready to sprint for the door again, until Emmett and Jasper moved forward, holding me back.
I growled at them, my anger rising and my temper flaring. Contemplating fighting, I was about to turn and punch them until Carlisle raised his voice.
"We will go help the Volturi, but we will not leave until we have figured out a plan. Everyone, sit down and listen."
Jasper washed my body with a few waves of calm, and begrudgingly, I picked the couch back up and sat, my head in my hands, not feeling anything.
"From what Aro has told me, Peter will be arriving with approximately over 100 human drinking vampires. He has them locked underground somewhere in the world, and he isn't revealing where. Demetri has already sensed him through his mind, knowing that he is close, only a few days away." He paused as he gauged our reactions. Our faces were masked with fear and sadness, each ranging in level from one to the next, the worst being Esme's, and the least belonging to Rosalie's.
Their minds were practically screaming the same thing. Why did Peter have to come back?
Over 100 vampires? Even with the help of everyone plus the Volturi, we'd have a slim chance of winning!-Nickolas
Nickolas was right. The chances were slim. There was no way that we could win, without losing people in the process.
As I looked around the room, I felt my venom run cold at the thought of possibly never seeing some of my family members again. Cheerful Alice, calm Jasper, boisterous Emmett, tenacious Rose, loving Esme, peaceful Carlisle, kind Nicolas, bright Monique, and sweet Veronica.
Bella. All I wanted was to be able to see her in my arms, to make sure that she was safe, to protect her from all the harm in the world.
Running up to my room, I slammed my fist against my shelf of CD's, knocking a few to the floor. They cracked, but I could care less. I wasn't there for Bella when she needed me the most, and the knowledge of it broke me in half.
I knew everyone was still downstairs, so carefully, I removed my window and jumped down, running from sight, running towards Volterra, to protect my precious, lovely, Bella.
Bella POV
"What. The. Hell. Is. Happening?!" Those were the first words I very nearly shouted as I stepped into the dimmed light in the throne room. Aro was sitting, with Marcus, Demetri, Caius, and Jane surrounding him. Various other vampires were standing in the opening of the other corridors and hallways, whispering softly.
Jane turned to glare at me, her teeth bared. "It's your fault!" My temper flared as those words left her mouth. How dare she blame everything on me? I didn't even know what the hell was going on here!
Aro placed a hand on Jane's shoulder to calm her. "Bella, dear, do you know of a vampire named Peter?" I froze, my mind ceasing to work.
Finally, my brain kicked itself and I responded, my voice carefully flat and emotionless. "Yes, I do."
An eerie silence followed.
"Bella, he is coming along with 100 more vampires to fight. He wants to kidnap you and force you to become his queen. Now, we have called and contacted as many others as we could, hopefully finding some allies and other forces. We are preparing for the battle, so you and Damien are now in charge of training everyone for the war."
Jane sneered at me, scowling. "Why should we fight because of her? If we just give her to him, then he'll leave us all alone! Why should we all suffer just because of her?" I knew that she felt a horrid distaste for me-she had always been used to being Aro's favorite, before I had arrived.
"Jane, darling, Bella is an important part of us. She is strong, and we will fight for her. What if it was you who were in this situation instead?" Jane's eyes burned with defiance, but she closed her mouth and bowed her head respectfully at Aro.
"Everyone. Line up, NOW!" I barked, and all the vampires quickly moved in a line behind me. Damien came to my side and we lead everyone down into the training room.
"Pair off, everyone! Mock fights, do not seriously injure anyone-we must be as strong as we can possibly be for the battle soon." Damien pointed out, and soon we were surrounded by a whirlwind of activity.
Damien turned to me, beckoning with his head to a fight. I nodded, throwing off my cloak as he did the same.
We threw a few punches at each other, but I noticed that Damien's mind wasn't on the fight. They were distant, and he had not blocked most of the hits. Finally, I dropped my arms to my sides, annoyed. "Damien, what's wrong?"
Damien stopped and looked me in the eye, pain in his gaze.
"Bella, I think I'm in love. With Veronica."
I smiled. I had known ever since they first looked at each other back in Wisconsin-it was exactly how Edward had looked at me before. Finding the situation slightly funny, I laughed lightly. Damien looked shocked now, backing away slightly.
"Geez, Damien, chill! I already knew that. You should have seen the way you were looking at her back in Wisconsin. Now, I understand what it feels like-I've been in love before." I patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"As much as I want you two to be together, you must understand that the war is your top priority right now. I promise that after, I will help you and Veronica be together. Alright?"
He smiled, I could tell he was a lot happier.
We tensed, and jumped back into our fight.
Okay, I hope you liked this chapter-I know, it was sort of a little filler, but we did start to move ahead more. Edward will probably be rejoining us in the next chappie, yay!
Please remember to go to my profile and vote on my new story poll-I will be checking it tomorrow, and I will start the first chapter tomorrow night or Sunday. Thanks! :D