Title: Solstice
Author: marjorie16
Fandom: Twilight
Summary: This is a story mid New Moon. Edward leaves Bella. Bella befriends Jacob. The werewolves kill Laurent BUT Victoria gets passed the werewolves and bites Bella.

Laurent: "...but if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella..."

Well, what if you did?

* Third Person POV

CHAPTER 10

"A party?" Edward's surly voice grew quizzical. After realizing that Victoria is behind every damn thing that was happening against them, Alice went on to seeing the future of the vampire army.

"Uh-huh. The newborns are planning a sort of masquerade. There are going to be humans." Alice heaved a sigh. "It's going to be a slaughter."

Esme gasped. "We can't let them do that to those innocent people." She looked at her husband. "We have to help them."

Carlisle put his arm protectively around his wife to soothe her. "How many are they?"

"Twenty atleast." Alice answered. "And there are going to be a lot of humans. Maybe twice the number of the immortals. I can see what they're planning. It's already finalized. They're preparing for a sort of final stand or something. They know something's coming after them--"

"No doubt the Volturi" Jasper injected.

"--yeah I think so too. But they're confident."

"And Victoria? Is she still with them?" Edward asked. He knew what Victoria was capable of but he had to ask. She wouldn't go against the Volturi even if she had an army that size. No matter how many they are, they're still newborns. Still untrained.

"No, she's not with them." Alice said after a while. "She's--" looking hard into her future "--alone. In a... I'm not sure. It's dark. It feels like a cave or something. She's hurt."

Damn, Edward thought. If Victoria wasn't with the army where could she be? Could she have taken Bella with her or left Bella to be slaughtered along with the humans during the party?

"Where?" Jasper asked from behind Emmett.

"A cabin by a river. It's not very far from town. The kids will be intrigued." Alice answered. "They wouldn't know what hit them."

"We have to move fast." Esme said with determination.

"Do you think Bella's with the army or is she with Victoria?" Emmett asked. He wanted very much to attend the party. Much more exciting under the circumstances. By his side, he could feel Rosalie snuggling closer to him.

"I still can't see Bella. It's blurry. I don't get it." Alice's lovely face turned distressed. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

"Don't worry about it." Jasper said, soothing her. "The logical thing to do is attend the party, grab a vampire for questioning--" He saw Esme glaring at him "--right after saving the humans from a terrible fate."

"Where's the Volturi when you need them?" Rosalie hissed. Their family will surely be in danger. Newborns or not, they still had the upper hand in numbers. Their only hope was to stay undetected. Good thing the part was to be a masquerade. "Can you look into their future, Alice?"

Alice thought for a while. "Um..they're here. They're planning the assault as we speak. They're just waiting for something... someone. It's not clear yet."

"Wait. If they're going to the party and we're going to the party, we might be accused of something?" Emmett paused. "That's bad, right?"

"It's very, very bad, honey." Rosalie said. "Maybe we should find the Volturi first. Tell them our side. We might be able to join forces."

"That might work. Aro and I are acquainted." Carlisle said. "It will be safer if we contact them first."

"Even if we get to the party first, they'll still believe us, right?" Edward asked his father. "Aro can do what I do, can't he?"

"Yes he could, only he need physical contact first. but, it'll be safer for us to join forces with them. They can take on an army even if... how many of them came anyway?"

"Seven." Alice provided.

"Right. Even if there are only seven of them, with their talents and skills, they're perfectly equipped to destroy the army. They have experience with this." he paused. "We don't."

Edward, leaning on the tree, thought hard. Hand in his pockets. "If Bella's with the army, they'll decide to kill her either because she knows about our existence or because she smells too good. Either way, it's risky."

Realization donned in the Cullen clan. As much as it might be safer for them to join the Volturi, Bella's safety is fist priority. Edward's right. It's too risky.

Silence continued. They each new what was at stake here. They all would have to take on the dangerous waters in the heart of the army itself.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Emmet blabbered. "When is this masquerade anyway?"

"Tomorrow. At dusk." Alice answered in a whisper.

"Will the Voturi be there too?" Esme asked.

"Probably. I can't see it yet. One more decision to make. They're waiting for something."

Edward straightened up getting ready. "Whatever that it, it's extremely annoying. It'll be harder for you to pin point their exact arrival."

"He's right." Jasper agreed. The others came closer as a group. "We have to move fast." He turned to Alice. "Cabin by a river, you say? Lead the way."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Bella." Jacob Black was sitting under a tree. His left leg was broken and bleeding. Isabel crouched over him with a dagger at hand.

"How?... You-- what's?"

"I'm a werewolf, Bella." He said, interrupting her incoherent sentence. He coughed twice. "Or 'Isabel' I should say." He smiled despite his pain. "I've been meaning to tell you before. But just as I was about to, a vampire came at of no where and went off with you along. I'm sorry I couldn--" He exhaled sharply, aware of the stinging sensation in his leg.

"I hurt you." Isabel stared at the leg she stepped on, oblivious of the foul smell of his blood.

"It will heal. Just give it a minute." He smirked. "I heal fast. It's a wolf thing."

"I--" She was having trouble saying anything. She still couldn't believe what was happening. Conflicting emotions warred in her. This was Jacob. Jacob. But he was... he was the enemy. He is the enemy.

Jacob's the enemy. No, Jacob's a friend. Jacob's a werewolf. I'm a vampire. We're enemies. We were friends. Are we still friends? We fought before. He pushed me away. He shouted at me. But he was keeping a secret at the time. Was he keeping me safe then? Now it's different. He tried to kill me before, when he had found me with Harry. But he hesitated. What does that mean? Wait. Harry. Harry?!

"Harry?" She whispered, half afraid she'd lose her cold unemotional state. This was the time to stay focused and stop feeling. Feeling would complicate things.

"I saw." He answered. "It's not like you could help yourself." he paused. "How are you..." He bit his lower lips considering. "How did you become... What happened to you?"

He said these words with concern. Not like he was disgusted at what Isabel had become. Nor of what she had done. Could she kill him? She has to but...

Isabel stood up abruptly. She was beginning to feel. Bad idea.

"I have to kill you." She said softly. Dangerously softly.

"Bella..."

"Don't call me that."

He was looking at her as if he understood the conflicting emotions she was experiencing. She has to kill him. It's the only way.

"I'm your friend." He said with such devotion Isabel could tell it was the truth. "Even if you ate my uncle." He chuckled. "Even if you broke my leg."

She smiled at that.

Jacob was a friend. Jacob is a friend. But he had to have his head. Kill Jacob? Her Jacob? Bad idea. For this moment, just this moment she would be herself. After all, her revenge didn't include him.

"You hurt me too." Carefully, she sat beside him and put her dagger back in its case strapped around her belt.

"I know. I should have told you what I was." He paused. "What I am. I wasn't supposed to tell you because its dangerous for humans to be near us. It's sort of wired with our temper. You know?"

She laughed. "No, i don't know."

Jacob looked down at his chest and took a deep breath. It was time to explain. "I failed you. After we fought, I... I decided to defy all wolfy rules and tell you because I didn't want to see you hurting any longer."

"Wolfy?"

"Yeah. Bella, I'm serious. Stop laughing at me like that. That night, a vampire took you and I couldn't stop her. I ran after her as long as I could but there were others with her. I couldn't take them all...I--" Admitting that he was not strong enough was hard on the ego. "I'm sorry."

Bella's icy cold hand touched his shoulder but she quickly jerked it away. No doubt, because of the heat he was producing. Already, his kneecap was feeling better.

"I'm sorry that I can't say 'it's okay. no problem' because it's not okay and it was definitely a problem. What I can say is that, it wasn't your fault. I knew what was coming at me and I couldn't escape. I couldn't fight for myself. I was the weak one. It wasn't your job to protect me. I understand."

"but if I were able to... you wouldn't be... you wouldn--"

"Be what i am?"

He simply nodded. "If I had told you or if I had come sooner, I would have been there before anything happened. I... We would have protected you."

"Maybe you're right. But we can't change what has already happened." She was looking ahead at nothing. "It feels sort of like a solstice, huh? There was a time when my life seemed perfect. The sun shone brighter, longer at the time." She sighed. "But now, the nights are longer." She smiled a little. "I don't even recognize the sun." Her voice sounded dead.

"Where does that leave us?" He looked at her beautiful pale face.

"Here." She whispered. "I'm a vampire. And you're a werewolf."

"I'm still your friend. And you're still my most devoted admirer." He stood up. His leg already healed. He held out his hand to help her stand but she had already straightened up. "Aren't you going to tell me what happened to you? You've been gone a long time. What have you been doing? What did the redhead do to you?"

Bella's crimson eyes hardened as he looked through it. Then, she withdrew her gaze and walked slowly towards another tree.

"I was tortured." She whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"They kept me somewhere. Locked up in a room I think. But it might as well have been their dinner table. Everyday four or five of them would come and they'd bite me." She said this in an emotionless voice that only emphasized the depth of pain that Jacob sensed from her.

"But always Victoria would come and suck the venom out just as it burns through my veins." She touched her right arm, remembering. "I'm not sure how long they did this."

"Oh Bella."

"Isabel." She corrected without looking at him. "The next thing I know is that I'm in this room with no doors and windows." He could see she was remembering that moment. His muscles tightened at how it must have been.

"Where were you?"

She looked at him. Her eyes bright red and mysterious. "I was buried."

He gasped. Bella was gone for three months at least. "When Harry found you..." He trailed off. He tried again. "Yesterday you were... it was just then, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"That's why your were--"

"Yes."

At that moment, both Isabel and Jacob heard the running noise coming at them.

"They're coming for you." Isabel said. She knew full well who was coming at them. She could smell it.

"You can stay with us. You don't have to go back, Bella. I mean Isabel...I mean...whatever."

"I'm a vampire."

"So? We've got room spray."

She laughed at that and moved to stand directly in front of him. "I'm not going to kill you, Jacob, because you didn't kill me before. I owed you and now the debt is paid. That's why you're alive. Not because you were my friend. And definitely not because you charming." She smiled. "My name is Isabel now. I'm not human. I'm not Bella anymore."

"So, after this?"

"If we meet again, you or any of your kind, I won't hesitate to break your neck if you mean harm." She walked past him and turned towards the direction of the Volturi.

"Isabel's miss tough girl, huh?" He shouted as he saw her quicken her pace into a run. He wondered how much pain she was trying to conceal.

I'll always be here for you. I'll always be your friend. I'll always love you, Bella.

He looked at the werewolves that surrounded him. His family. His brothers.

Even if we're all wrong for each other now.

Shadows of the pale immortal girl he loved disappeared in the trees.

* * *

"Where's his head?" Aro demanded.

"I didn't kill him. Just before I was about to, he phased into his human form." Isabel said bravely. She didn't know what she'd done. Logically, she should've just killed the wolf. But he was Jacob. So now, she'll convince the Volturi, and herself, that she did it to pay a debt.

"You took pity?" Caius shouted. "Pity? Of all--" He took an unnecessary breath to calm himself. "You cannot be part of us if you can't stomach death."

"I can." She said fiercely. "I let him live because he let me live once. I owed him. So I paid him back."

Aro didn't quite know what to do. He was so sure that Isabel could do it. What to do now? He was the one who said that if she couldn't bring him the wolf's head, she wouldn't be part of them. But he wanted her to be part of them.

"You let him go!" Caius was furious already. He has had nasty experiences with werewolves. It bothered him that there were still some that existed.

"If they bother us again, I'll kill them."

"Right!" Aro's head snapped. "If they come again, you'll kill them." Yes, this was what he needed. He could challenge her once more. For now, he'll let this one pass.

"Aro!"

"Patience, Caius. Isabel will turn out fine." He smiled solemnly at his brother. "Chelsea?"

Chelsea came forward and handed Isabel a mask.

"What's this for?" Isabel asked.

"We're getting near the base camp of the army." Demetri explained. "From what we were able to gather, there's a party."

"How did you find that out?"

"We have some connections." Felix winked at her. "Some immortals can be very...unloyal"

"We're going to crash a party?"

"What does it look like we're doing?" Jane snapped. She was really getting irritated with Isabel. Jane was so sure Aro wouldn't break his promise. If he said she can't join 'cause she didn't pass, she can't join! But now, she can't believe what she was seeing. Isabel was given a second chance.

"I am so excited!" Aro cheered. "I've never been on a masquerade since the turn of the century!" More than that, he was also eager for Isabel to demonstrate her skills. "Tell me, Isabel. What are you going to do with your sire?"

She looked at him in puzzlement. "Your sire?" He clarified. "The vampire who turned you." He was so impatient to see Isabel in action, doing sinister things. In his mind, he was rubbing his hands together. He knew full well that Isabel was angry. So much anger is painful. So much pain will leave her dependent on him---them. So much pain. So much anger. So much power!

Isabel carefully wore the half mask on her head.

"I'm going to hunt her down and kill her."

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This has got to be the longest chapter I've ever written. The moment everyone has been waiting for has come at last.

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