This chapter contains spoilers for Forever After (particularly Holly, Izzy and Matthew's mate.) Be warned.
A few requested this to happen in the last chapter and I can't remember everyone so I'm sorry I can't mention names but this chapter is for all you and those that have ever read this story, thank you so much. There will be two additional (bonus) chapters after this but this is the official end to the story. There will also be a one-shot with Elizabeth, Lexi and Izellah as fully grown adults as they explore the world together.
Bella Cullen
I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I walked through the house, I was surrounded by my family, at least my close family, my children and even a few of my great grandchildren. Seeing the relationship Elizabeth and Lexi had with Izellah warmed my heart. They were all the same; they were all born generations after their siblings and cousins, they were different than the other children we had before, it didn't matter to them that they were adopted or great nieces or aunts to each other. They were sisters and they were family.
It was the day a lot more of our family were arriving. It was Christmas and we hadn't had a Christmas together in an extremely long time. Last time the Cullen's and Black's were together it was in Italy about five decades ago. This time everyone was coming to us. Even Zio and Matthew and all those living in Italy. We would have a week together; Carlisle, Esme, Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Chantelle, Zio, Esther, Lidiya, Matthew, Anelie, Tony, Holly, Christian, Avia, Teddy, Will, Sophia, Sarah, Nahuel, Lauren, Nick, Zac, Leah, Isobel and her husband Jason were all coming. It was kept to the three generations. The younger generations were invited but most of them had families of their own to be with. The only members of the next generation that would be around were Izellah and Jay. Even Beniamino chose to stay and be in charge of the Volturi whilst his father and grandfather were away. He was never the family type, not since he lost his sister.
I was beyond excited for them to arrive, everyone was and no one was more excited than Renesmee. My daughter was a ball of energy. It was like the child in her was coming out all over again. I knew how much she missed Chantelle, although Chantelle was technically her adopted cousin they were more like sisters. Chantelle was Renesmee's Lexi and Lexi was Beth's Chantelle. I was most excited for my son and Chloe to return. They had gone back to Italy with Esther to help out with some werewolf business but they were returning for good now, they had been back and forth over the past few months helping when needed.
Elizabeth was sixteen months old now and nearly thirteen years old physically, Lexi was still only eleven; she would be twelve in a week, Izellah was ten months old now and about eight physically, Jay was six months and about five. I knew the children would love having everyone around. They hadn't really met everyone yet but as soon as they realised how fun Emmett could be or how excitable Alice is or how lovable Rose can be they would soon soften up.
"How long now momma?" Renesmee's voice bounded through the house.
"Renesmee," I sighed as she came into view. "You have been asking me every five minutes for the past three hours. Thirty minutes my little nudger," I giggled when she grinned widely at me. I hadn't called her that in a very long time but her behaviour reminded me of when she was inside my womb and couldn't stop moving.
"This will be the best Christmas in years," she sighed happily as she sat opposite me.
"Yes it will." I grinned as I finished preparing the lunch I was making for when everyone arrived. I now had to cook for my niece and nephew, as well as my grandchildren now. A lot more mouths than just Renesmee, Jacob and Lexi.
"Everyone's mostly here, but I told them to go on a hunt on the main land before they came to the island. That way most of their time is spent here. We may need to go and hunt again on Christmas Eve but I think we should be fine for the rest of the time," Edward smiled at our daughter, he sat next to her and she snuggled into his side. I smiled at the sight.
"Does Matthew still have trouble with human blood?" Renesmee asked.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Edward asked but without pausing continued. "No, he does exceptionally well now; he and Jasper have bonded over their lust for human blood. Not something a regular grandfather and grandson bond over but last time I checked they were both doing great."
"That's good," Renesmee said happily. "My children will be here and I don't want to be worrying."
"I understand," Edward answered, kissing her forehead. Matthew had been on human blood for the vast majority of his early life. When he left us as a child the Volturi forced him to drink human over animal and even years later when Matthew became the leader he found it very hard to go back to animal. It took him until his first child; Beniamino was born until he was fully off the human blood. He tended to have diluted forms, much like what we gave Pancrazio as a child but just like Zio when he was a child, Matthew preferred human and before he married Lidiya he had no one to stop him drinking human like Zio had us. Matthew was on human much longer than Zio was and every now and then he'd have cravings like Jasper had. He nearly snapped at Renesmee once, which was why Renesmee always asked about him. I knew she loved her nephew but I didn't blame her for being cautious, he didn't have the same upbringing as the rest of the Cullen children. By the time his daughter was born Matthew didn't even flinch at the smell of human blood, of course that changed when he lost his daughter and it was a daily fight for him for nearly two decades.
"Are they here yet?" I heard Sarah's voice come through the house.
"No," Renesmee replied grudgingly. Sarah, Nahuel and their two children came into the house.
"Good morning Sarah," I greeted my granddaughter. Izellah and Jay had already gone off running to find their friends.
"Grandpa!" I heard Jay call.
"Hey little man," Jacob said, lifting his grandson up in the air and catching him. Jay giggled delightfully.
"Where is Beth and Lexi?" Izellah asked coming into the lounge area where we were congregating.
"Somewhere on the island. Could you ask them to come home when you find them? Our family will be here very soon," I told her.
"Sure grandma," she smiled and ran to the back door.
"Is everyone arriving together?" Sarah asked, I could see she was excited to see her siblings again.
"I think the humans might be here first," I told her.
"Lauren and Izzy?" she asked.
"Yes, they are the only humans aren't they?" I giggled. As if on cue I heard a boat pull up to the dock.
"Stay here," Edward told us. Renesmee was practically at the door before I could blink. "Renesmee." Edward warned.
"They are my daughters, you've got no chance at parenting me right now daddy dearest," she giggled and was already out the door. I heard Edward groan as we all went to follow Renesmee out.
"Fine," he grumbled as we had completely changed his plans. I laughed, taking his hand and pulling him with me as we ran towards the dock. Lauren and Isobel were barely out of the boat before Sarah and Renesmee collided with them in a hug. Nick Clearwater, Lauren's husband and Jason Black, Isobel's husband pulled the bags out of the boat. Nick was a wolf that imprinted on Lauren when she was a teenager and Jason was actually a hybrid, he was one of Chantelle's biological half siblings. Isobel and met Jason when she had been visiting everyone in Italy. Jason had showed her around and spent most of his time with her during that time. Since then they had been inseparable. Since Jason wasn't born with a surname, he took Black on their wedding day eighty years ago. They married a month after finding out Isobel was pregnant with their first son Oscar, they proceeded to have two more sons and I often wondered if one day they would try for their daughter I knew Izzy wanted.
"Mom," Isobel sighed happily when the foursome switched to hug the other. Izzy tripped as she pulled away. Renesmee caught her and laughed.
"Nothing changes does it Izzy?" Edward laughed as we walked over to them. I hugged my granddaughter.
"I'm so sorry you're stuck with my clumsiness," I said into her hair. She laughed as she hugged me.
"I'm used to it," she giggled and pulled away. I kissed my granddaughter and then turned to Lauren to hug her. When all the hugging was over we went into the house.
"The others should be here soon. We left them about two hours ago to hunt." Lauren explained as she lounged on our couch like she owned the place. Yep. Nothing changes.
"Jason you didn't want to go?" Edward asked him.
"I'm used to going months without blood. I went before we left Italy. I'll be fine," Jason smiled politely.
"Very well, we keep bottled blood for Beth if you get thirsty, we should be hunting again on Christmas Eve anyway. Sort of like a family outing," Edward said, laughing at the end.
"Oh! Where is Beth? I want to meet her! And Lexi! And Izellah!" Isobel said excitedly. Giving me a major sense of déjà vu of when she was an excitable seven year old.
"Well this is Jacob. Your nephew," Jacob said coming in with Jay.
"Oh my gosh!" Lauren cooed and both her and Izzy were over by their father as quickly as their human legs could take them. Jay was taken back at first and cowered behind Jacob's leg.
"It's ok little man, this is your Aunt Lauren and Aunt Izzy," Jacob said, kneeling down to Jay's height. Sarah was by his side in a flash and lifted Jay into her arms and brought him over to her sisters.
"These are my little sisters," she explained to her son, Jay seemed to soften at the idea as he held onto his mother tightly.
"It's so strange seeing you with a baby," Lauren laughed stroking Jay's cheek as she watched her sister. Sarah smiled.
"Who would have thought eh?" Sarah laughed. "You having kids before I did."
"We always thought you'd be next after Will and Sophia," Isobel agreed.
"Still not the last though," Lauren laughed. "I never expected to have kids, never mind being the second of us to have them."
"Well the twins were an accident," Nick winked as he came over to meet Jay.
"Don't tell them that," Lauren laughed. Lauren and Nick had identical twin girls. Isla and Lily. They had both phased at thirteen and been wolves ever since. They had grown up years ago now and had had children and families of their own.
"He's beautiful Sarah," Isobel cooed.
"Wait till you meet Izellah." Jacob smiled proudly.
"Yes I want to meet the little princess. Where is she?" Isobel asked.
"Hopefully on the way back. The girls get into a lot of mischief," Sarah laughed as she walked over to the couch with her son still tightly wrapped around her. She placed him on his father's lap.
As we all caught up with Lauren and Izzy the back door swung open. We could hear giggled radiating through the house. It wasn't long before Lexi, Beth and Izellah were standing in the lounge… covered in mud.
"What have you girls been doing?!" I gasped, the mother in me coming out in full force. I couldn't believe how irresponsible they had been, they knew we had guests coming over.
"We're sorry momma," Lexi said softly.
"Sorry," Izellah and Beth chimed at the same time; this set them off in another set of giggles.
"Bathroom, now!" I ordered the three girls and they ran towards the downstairs guest bathroom. "Upstairs!" I called after them and they laughed harder as they turned around and ran up the stairs.
"I'll come help," Renesmee laughed. I was glad she was laughing… I certainly wasn't. "Hey, cheer up mom. They're children what do you expect," she laughed.
"Yeah you're right," I smiled; I had to see the funny side of this because otherwise I'd just be angry.
After Renesmee and I cleaned off the girls we gave them some clothes to dress into and they were finally ready to be presented to our family.
As a child Beth loved dresses, even though she loved the outdoors more she would always be out in a nice dress or skirt. She didn't care if it got dirty because she'd just put a new one on. As she hit puberty and got older she wasn't so into them, she'd much rather wear shorts and a tshirt as she did god knows what on the island. I could see her uncomfortable in the dress I had given her.
"Beth, you can't wear shorts all the time, this is a special day. You're meeting family members you've only seen in pictures," I told her as she fiddled with the dress.
"Why do I have to wear a dress though mom? I'm not a little girl anymore," she said.
"I know," I said sadly as I saw my thirteen year old daughter in the mirror next to me. She paused, as if she had seen my face and turned to hug me. I sighed as I hugged my baby back. Sometimes I forgot how old she was. Most of the time she acted so young, Lexi and Izellah were still children and Beth had overtaken them. Luckily it would only be a few years before they were all the same age again.
"I'll wear the dress for you momma," she said as she pulled away.
"No sweetie, wear what you want. You're right, you're not a little girl I'm sorry," I told her and kissed her forehead. She ignored me and went over to her dressing table, she picked up her locket. It was much like the one I gave Renesmee as a child but it was slightly different. I had since given Lexi one too, all of my daughters had a locket to signify my love for them.
"Can you help me?" she asked handing me the locket. I nodded, not trusting my voice with my emotions and fastened the locket on her neck. "I love you momma," she said.
"Love you too, let's go meet the rest of our family," I smiled at her, taking her hand and following the other girls down the stairs to where they were already talking in the family.
By the time the rest of the family arrived from their hunt I was having trouble keeping up with everyone. Even as a vampire there were a lot of people to keep track of. Esme and Renesmee helped me serve lunch to those that were eating and we all sat in the lounge, sometimes talking as a large group and sometimes breaking away to talk to those closest to us. Izellah, Jay, Lexi and Beth were dotting around, playing and talking to their new friends. Emmett had already bonded with Jay; he was wrestling with him constantly. Renesmee and Chantelle were inseparable, they barely left each other's sides, and Zio was with Jacob and Eddie, just like old times. All the others found groups to catch up with and we spent the most of the day and night just talking. It was incredible to see everyone together again. I sat on the bar stool and Alice skipped over to me with Rose, they sat either side and we all laughed as they hugged each side of me.
"We miss you Bella," Alice said hugging my arm.
"I miss you too," I told her truthfully, I really did miss my sisters. A lot. "How is Italy?" I asked them both.
"Not as good without you and Edward. It feels like part of the family is missing," Rose answered.
"I know, maybe one day we'll get to be together again like we used to," I said happily as I watched our family mingle from a far.
"Not maybe, definitely," Alice said to me. I turned to smile at my pixie friend. I had missed her so much. I pulled her into a hug and then opened my arms for Rose to join. We all giggled but I felt like I could cry.
"Persuade your son to move the Volturi to America," I told Alice as we pulled away.
"Oh yeah, there's no chance," Alice laughed.
"Why not?" I frowned.
"Italy has always been the home of the Volturi," Alice answered.
"But it's not the Volturi, not like it used to be," I argued. "Zio could easily bring it to America and we could be together again, after my daughters have grown up of course," I said to them.
"I asked Chantelle and she said she brings it up quite often, he's definitely leaning towards the idea," Rose told me.
"Oh that's great," I grinned.
"What idea?" I heard Zio ask, it was so nice seeing him dressed normally. Last time I saw him he was in his red robe, in full leader mode. I was now seeing him in jeans and a tshirt with Chantelle at his side in a white summer dress, smiling as if she was a lovesick teenager; it reminded me of simpler times when they were newlyweds. I smiled at my niece and nephew.
"Moving the Volturi to America," I told him.
"We're not talking about work on this vacation," Chantelle chimed; there was a sense of authority about her now, both her and Zio. Being leaders had changed them but I was glad it was them leading our world and not the old Volturi.
"Well just think about it Zio. Imagine us all together again. Like this, when Lexi and Beth have grown up, Edward and I will need somewhere new to go. We miss you all dreadfully but you know certain members of the family refuse to live in Italy. If you could run the Volturi from America it would mean we could all be together again. Go back to high school and it would be like old times," I smiled at the thought.
"I'll think about it," Zio said sincerely.
"Matthew won't agree to it," Lidiya announced as she came over. She hugged me. "I haven't managed to see you yet," she smiled. "I'm so happy you got everyone together like this," she added.
"Why wouldn't Matthew agree to it?" I asked her as I hugged her.
"Allesandra," she said. The name cut daggers in the conversation; suddenly the atmosphere went from happy to reminiscent. "Her memorial, the memories of her, she still lives inside that castle. Matthew will never leave that castle, neither will Benjamin." She said sadly at the thought of her daughter.
"She's right," Zio said sadly. I didn't want to say 'I forgot about that' because Lidiya was standing right next to me, I wouldn't tell her I forgot about her dead daughter. I suddenly felt extremely guilty and heartless, how could I ever think that we would all be together again? Not after what happened with Allesandra, it was a reminder how fragile life was, even when the family was immortal.
"Why do I have to alter this mood?" Jasper asked as he came over. I suddenly felt happier and I knew Jasper was trying to rectify the situation.
"We're sorry Jasper," I said softly as he wrapped his arms around Alice.
"We'll be happier," Rose agreed.
I promise the subject of Allesandra won't be sad forever. I heard Esther's voice in my head, I scanned the room to find her by the fireplace, and she was talking to Eddie and Chloe. She wasn't making eye contact; she wasn't even looking in my direction.
What do you mean? I asked her in my head. She didn't answer; she just continued her conversation with her friends.
"Bella what are you cooking for dinner?" Esme asked coming over to me. I was quickly distracted from Esther's earlier message as Esme and I prepared dinner.
Part of my vampire brain was still thinking about it though, over analysing it. What did Esther mean? The subject of Allesandra would always be sad for our family; for as long as we lived, even if that was forever.
After dinner the children were put to bed as it was already late and the rest of us continued to talk into the night. For three days straight none of us left the house. You would think speaking to each other nearly every day over the internet and the phone, we wouldn't have a lot to say but there seemed to be plenty. By Christmas Eve we went on our family hunting trip; leaving the humans on the island to take care of Lexi.
On Christmas morning the children were up early, even my grandchildren who were fully grown adults had excitement in their step. Tony and Zac raced each other down the stairs to the giant Christmas tree in the middle of the room. We didn't send Christmas presents to each other anymore, decades of Christmases meant we ran out of things to buy but this year everyone made an effort, the children had the most to open but it was nice to receive gifts from the adults too.
I was in the kitchen again, making some pancakes for the children with Esme. I was shocked as Esme hugged me; stopping me from doing any cooking and turned us to face our family all lounged about by the tree.
"I just want to say thank you," she said. I laughed softly as I hugged her back.
"For what Esme?" I asked all serious now.
"For bringing us together today and for our family. We wouldn't be here without you, Renesmee wouldn't be here, and Eddie wouldn't, or their children, their grandchildren and great grandchildren. You and Edward have given us so much. Thank you," Esme said, emotion clearly getting the better of her. I hugged her again.
"Thank you Esme, for giving me Edward," I said as we pulled away. She giggled slightly.
"Oh I'm just so glad he's happy now," she said as we both looked over at Edward who was smiling and laughing with Izellah on his lap she was showing him a princess tiara and Eddie was trying to make him put it on.
"Me too," I answered her.
I watched my family, all cuddled together laughing and playing on Christmas day and nothing in this world could warm my still heart more.
The End
Thank you so much to all those that have reviewed, favourited and loved this story. It means so much to me. Bonus chapters will be about how the Volturi is run in Italy, plus maybe a little surprise ;)
Ellie, I can't see the link you posted. Either email me (bellanessiecullenff gmail . com) or post it again but add spaces between the dots (like I did in my email).