Its chapter 10, and…THE VOLTURI ARE COMING, THE VOLTURI ARE COMING! Hang in there, Leo! There's lots a love surrounding the Cullen family.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.
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Chapter 10: Don't Panic
Jasper POV
No one said anything. I stared at the sleeping Leo.
Her beautiful, marble-white features, the pounding of her heart every three minutes, her auburn-tinted sandy brown hair…all of that was in danger. Grave danger.
I thought it was unfair, even cruel that I was only given three weeks with my somewhat-child. The universe hadn't even given me that! Only my five days…five days of terrified, confused and lovely bliss. Leo could be gone in the next hours.
I looked to my Alice. "What do you see?"
Edward and her spoke. "It's the same clearing from the first vision. Someone convinced them to act with haste, and they came as soon as they could. I can see that they plotted their return the instant they left three years ago. Just like before, they only needed a spark to light the fire of their return, but someone lit it with a flamethrower."
"What are they coming to accuse us of?" Carlisle asked.
"It's still about creating an immortal child," Alice said. "They are convinced that there is no excuse out of this one." She sighed. "If no one among us created her, then they accuse us of not reporting or destroying her. Like the last time, they have no intention of letting us explain."
"Who all are coming?" Edward asked.
"I could only see two really brief flashes; one of us and one of the Volturi. In the Volturi flash, I couldn't see as many witnesses as last time. There were the Ancients and the Main Guard. They're not risking the wives because they know there will be violence."
"Names," Jacob demanded.
Edward spoke alone. "She saw Aro, Caius, Marcus, Alec, Jane, Chelsea, Afton, Corin, Demetri, Felix, Heidi and Renata. I'm guessing he wants all the 'supernatural' help he can get. Nothing less and nothing more. They have ten witnesses, but again don't count them. There's also one new member hanging by Alec and Jane, but his face was covered. That must be Lancaster."
Someone hissed, but I didn't look to see who it was. "Is there any hope, Alice?"
Alice seemed…torn. "I can't see, and those flashes were so blurry…"
"There is always hope," Sam said, standing. I looked to him, then Billy and Quil the Elder. The older men had fallen asleep and were snoring lightly, along with Leo. "My pack," Sam continued, "was here on a visit. We came to see Jacob, Seth, Leah—" I could see he still had difficulty calling the group "Jacob's pack." "—we are here for family, and we will stay for family."
We were all very confused.
"Leo said it herself that we—the Quileutes and her Troop—are descended from the same ancestor. She has Quileute blood in her veins, even if she does not look it, or phase into the same animal we do, or follow the same ways…My point is that by far, far extension, we are family. I speak for my pack when I say we protect our family."
The human equivalent to howls exploded into the air from outside, agreeing. I looked to Jacob.
"Sure, sure…" he muttered as if it were obvious he had planned the same from the beginning.
"How many does that give us?" Rosalie asked seriously.
"Seventeen wolves."
"Twenty," Sam corrected Jacob. "A few if your cold friends were curious after our last encounter, and three more caught the fever."
"Man," Jacob sighed.
"Tell me about it."
"So," Emmett declared, "that means twenty dogs, one half of a cat, one half of a human and eight and a half vampires. Why don't we put everyone in cages and call us a zoo?"
We half-heartedly chuckled. This was too serious a situation to be making jokes.
Twenty-nine against thirteen, and their and our witnesses. We still outnumbered the Volturi, but only with the wolves. Who knew what kind of strategies the Volturi knew to kill the wolves? Once again, the wolves risked their entire species on this battle—and there were no guarantee they— or we—would survive.
I looked around at every face in our little living room. Whom could we possibly stand to lose?
No one.
Then we would all lose together.
_ _ _ _
Esme POV
Sometime later…
This. Was. Horrible.
"When will they meet us?" Bella asked. She didn't have to say the Italian invaders' name. The vampires and the wolves had split to discuss strategies of their own, leaving me to worry about how far apart the species were. I wanted to be close together, as if we would be safer that way somehow.
Alice breathed a sad chuckle. "Eleven o six is when they'll step into the field."
Eleven o six. The same time she first saw Leo.
"How should we approach this?" my husband asked. I could never understand the extent of his ability to remain calm, even in a situation as terrifying as this.
"I think our best option is to treat it like we did with Renesmee. Carefully and calmly." Edward said.
"Is there any time to call on witnesses?" Carlisle asked.
Alice looked into the future quickly. "I can only see flashes, but I can make out the Denalis, but even they're fuzzy. I see Garrett with them; he's definite. Mary and Randall keep…blinking. I can't tell if they're going to come for sure." Her gaze refocused. "No one else is there, not on our side, at least."
"Since you can see them, does that mean Jake and Sam haven't made up their minds about including the packs?" Bella asked.
"I suppose…"
Alice wasn't sure about anything. Our future was still undecided, unwritten. This could be a very dangerous encounter.
Edward sighed. "I'll call Mary, Randall and the Denalis."
"Should I help you, Daddy?"
"Of course, Ness." He looked to his Bella. "Maybe this should be a family thing?"
"I'm on it," she said, speeding away with him and their daughter.
"Get the wolves together," my Carlisle said, standing. "We need to know if they will join us, and if so, there are strategies to plan."
"Oh, we're coming," Jake, said, strutting in with Sam. Everyone smiled just a tad.
"Then there are preparations to make," I added. Thank goodness my coming guests didn't eat! I only had a few rooms and activities to prepare, and that should—
I realized I did have guests who ate. I had twenty huge, constantly hungry teenagers. Emily entered the room and our gazes met. I was positive she was thinking the exact same thing.
"The grocery store," Emily said simply.
I nodded, taking my purse (it held plenty for whatever the wolves might need). I turned to Sam, whose face was tight with worry.
"Please, Sam, don't worry." I took a step in his direction, slowly as to not scare him. "I will keep her safe."
He didn't seem so positive at that. Jacob put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sam, we all need you here, and the packs need food. Who better knows their needs than your Emily?" Jacob's face was something I couldn't place. There was pleading, confidence and eagerness all in his adult features. "I trust her."
"So do I," Emily said, surprising us all. She held Sam's hands. "Won't you trust Esme, even for me?"
Sam sighed, deliberating. His features loosened, and he turned to me. "Not a scratch on her?"
"Not a one," I promised.
He nodded, and I could feel his untrusting eyes diving into my back as we left. I hope that all my kids would behave until I returned.
_ _ _ _
Leora POV
When I was all up to terrifying speed, I sat with Rosalie and Alice as Jasper and Emmett showed the newest wolves some pretty awesome moves. Rose and Al (A/N: She's gotta have some kind of nickname for her…) had already heard the lecture before, in the fist mini-war against the Volturi. I've known what Emmett and Jasper are teaching since I was eight. This was just a big flashback to the third grade.
Even now, I held onto the values E and I cherished when I was still mortal. I sighed at the memories and accepted the slashes and burns from the hole.
Esme had left with Emily a while ago, and after they left, a wolf named Seth rolled Old Quil and Billy to their temporary home. Edward, Bella and Renesmee were calling those vampires they called their "witnesses". Carlisle, Sam and Jacob conferred inside, waiting for those friends from Alaska to arrive.
"Leo," Alice said, pulling me to her. "There really are just a few things to remember with the Volturi. Number one, don't offend them."
"Yeah," Rose said, "the instant you see them, you'll know to be on your top game. Just be patient, polite and formal."
"Number two, don't lie. Be totally honest, but remember to present your case so you are innocent. The Volturi have their own mind reader—"
"Arrow, yeah," I said. I knew the legends about him well enough.
"Aro," Alice corrected. "Unlike Edward, he needs physical touch top read your mind. Once you give him your hand, every thought you've ever had is shared with him."
"It's like a stalker going through every piece of paperwork there is on you, plus every family picture and drawing you've ever done."
"Number three," Alice said, annoyed, "is to remember that you are innocent. You have done nothing wrong; and work hard to make sure they don't convince you otherwise."
"Yeah, just stick with us and you'll probably not get killed."
"Rose!"
"What, Alice? I'm telling the truth."
Alice huffed. Then, inspiration stuck her. I could practically see the light bulb turn on. "Oh my God! Why doesn't Leo wear the dress I made her?"
Rose stood. "That's a fantastic idea. I'll go get it."
"No, let's bring Leo along. I want her to see first hand what she looks like form every angle, and your dressing room has that capability."
I sighed as Alice towed me along, not at all excited to be in a dress in front of the rulers of the vampire world that haunted my dreams as a child. Wait, wasn't I still a child?