New Summary: To love is to sacrifice. Edward gave it all for Bella. Now she's in a race against time—and the Volturi—to get it back. O/S for the ADF "Pain, Tears, Angst" LD weekend contest, NOW BEING CONTINUED. ExB/Post-Eclipse AU/canon

A/N: As soon as I was done with the original o/s, I realized that that couldn't be the end of the story, and ideas for what might happen next started formulating in my mind. I've wanted to dabble in AU for a while now, and this seems like the perfect opportunity to do so. I'm going to challenge myself with this one just a bit; keeping with the word limit of the first chapter, I am going to restrict myself to exactly 1000 words per chapter (as counted on Word, since we all know that counts on FFn are complete crap! You'll just have to trust me on it. LOL). Additionally, I'll be working a bit differently on this one compared to all other my other stories which have pretty much been completely mapped out before beginning. Yup, I'm winging it. I know generally where I'm going (and the important twists), but getting there will be an interesting journey. As such, I have no defined posting schedule—I'll just be posting when inspiration strikes, though I will do my best to update regularly.

A few things to remember: This is a post-Eclipse AU story. As such, the events of BD, other than the wedding and honeymoon, did NOT happen. There is no half-demon spawn here, and as alluded to in the first chapter, Bella opted to stay human for a while after the honeymoon. In fact, in this world, she would have been happy as a human for a few more years (at least long enough to finish college). When the Volturi finally tracked them down a year after the wedding, Edward changed her so that she would be less fragile and easier to protect. They've been living on the run and in partial seclusion ever since to avoid detection. However, Aro has gotten impatient and now wants Bella as a trophy. At this point, no one—not even Bella—is aware of how her shield works. Or its power. Important note: while the characteristics/powers of the established Cullen vampires will remain true to canon, I will be expanding on Bella's powers in this story.

Thanks to tiffanyanne3 for the beta and radar1230 for the pre-read.

Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. While the main characters will be making an appearance here, I'm aiming for this story to be something completely different. No copyright infringement is intended.

Hope you enjoy.

Sacrificial Love

Bella

Edward kissed me, then sprung the trap door. It slid silently shut, separating us. Despite the wall between us, I heard the knock at the front door as if I was still standing in the main room. After a slight pause, Edward crossed to the door and took a deep breath before opening it. The sound of his knees hitting the floor was as loud as a gunshot in my ears, and I had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out in agony with him.

"Where is she, Edward?" a cold voice asked.

"She's gone, Aro," Edward snarled. Pain was evident in his voice, as was defiance when he spoke again. "And you'll never find her."

"You can't stop me," Aro cackled.

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity, accompanied by a low grunt. I wasn't sure what was happening, although it was obviously some sort of scuffle. As I was trying to sort out the sounds, to figure out who attacked, a horrendous screeching sound ripped through the air. I'd only heard that sound once before—when Edward had severed Victoria's head from her body more than ten years ago—but it was one I'd never forgotten. My entire body began shaking with dread.

Although separated by several walls, his quiet whisper echoed through my head as if he had shouted it from the highest mountain.

"I love you."

Someone screamed, which prevented me from having to do so.

In that moment, I realized I hadn't fully comprehended what Edward had intended to do. I'd naively thought that he'd meant to buy me some time to get away, that he would use his mind-reading ability to glean whatever knowledge he deemed necessary, then escape. We had a plan—an evacuation plan, complete with a place to meet if we became separated. Ever since we learned that the Volturi wanted me, we hadn't functioned without a plan.

This wasn't part of it.

With nothing more than a screech and a scream, I was lost, left rudderless on a very rocky sea. For more than ten years, my life had revolved around Edward. He'd been the one to take control, to plan, and to execute each of our moves. But now, in less than a minute, he'd thrown every plan we'd ever concocted out the window. I had no clue what to do. My brain—my infinitely expansive vampire brain—couldn't comprehend what had just happened. For a moment, I was frozen. But only for a moment. Then shock and… rage… kicked in.

They had just killed my mate.

All of a sudden, a future that I had never looked or planned for was laid out bleakly before me. It was a future that I didn't want: an eternity without Edward.

No! My brain refused to accept that possibility. It isn't supposed to be like this! We're supposed to be happy. We're supposed to live forever. Together.

If my heart had still been beating, I would have said that I could feel the blood pumping furiously through my body. As it was, something inside me was seething and surging, inundating every immobile cell and metaphorically oozing from my pores. After undergoing the transformation, a vampire supposedly remained unchanged for the rest of eternity, but I now knew that wasn't true, because I could feel myself altering somehow, becoming harder, more knowledgeable, more aware. Just… More.

The wrathful force inside me bubbled closer to the surface, surrounding my brain and mutating it. It changed the way that I thought. It changed… me.

Quiet, complacent Bella was pushed to the side by something stronger, driven, and cunning. Something much more powerful. Something feral. It surged through my entire being, energizing each and every nerve. While my body pulsed with awareness, my mind reached out, searching for answers. As I searched mentally, my physical senses became more attuned as well; I could feel the energy disseminated by the bodies outside the cabin, I could smell the sickly-sweet scent of each one of them, and I could hear their voices clearly, even though they weren't speaking.

They were in chaos over the attack on Edward. Aro was furious. In fact, his retaliation was as brutal and unexpected as Edward's sacrifice had been. Demetri never saw it coming. It was a quick and efficient dismemberment.

"Burn it," he commanded. "Quickly."

Listening carefully, I determined that there were five other vampires with him; several of them were now terrified for their lives. One, however, was angry. Very angry.

"What about him?" she asked.

While the voice was steady, revealing nothing, I could feel her anger. Aro, however, distracted as he was by Edward's sacrifice, overlooked the obvious signs.

"No!" Aro shouted. "Not him. We'll need him, if we are to find her."

Confused by his words, I stretched my mind further in an attempt to discern anything that would indicate whether Edward was still alive. Suddenly, to my surprise, I found my mind linked intimately with someone whose inner thoughts and emotions matched my own perfectly. Through her eyes, I was able to visualize the destruction outside our home. Edward was on the ground, his head and limbs severed from his body. The image alone brought me to my knees, and I longed to go to him. To bring him back. Before I could move, Aro took over the task; dropping to the ground, he reassembled the body and began doing something. I could only assume it was a vampire version of medicine. The other vampire—the vampire whose mind I was sharing—watched on, seemingly detached. But I knew the truth. I felt her wrath, her… hate.

A plan began forming in my mind.

Knowing that Edward was safe—for now, at least—I did what he had wanted me to do, what he had sacrificed himself for. I turned and ran down the tunnel.

Life as I'd known it was over. I was now running towards a new, uncertain future.

A/N: Since Edward has been incapacitated, we're obviously going to be hearing from Bella for a while. That said, I promise that we'll eventually get back to Edward's side of the story.

Thanks for reading!

:)

KL