Sorry ya'll, this took WAY longer then I anticipated! I'm taking some summer school classes, trying to knock some of those college credits out. I seriously have 30 pages of homework I have to do tonight UGH! I'm going to try and update every friday from now on or sometime on the weekends. A couple of people asked me in the comments why Bella had a sudden "thirst" in the last chaper. I explained it a little bit WAY back in the beginning, some of you probably forgot. Bella isn't your typical half human/ half vampire like the ones described in the books. She gets thirsty randomly, and her throat will start burning. And when that happens, she needs to hunt. So I hope that helps some of you that were confused. Ok, onto the next chapter! Stephanie Meyers owns everything twilight.
Previously in Chapter 22
"I'm so sorry Edward", he looked at me confused.
"What are you sorry for?"
"I promised you I would be safe and now look at me!" Edward wrapped his arms around me.
"As long as your not hurt, I'm ok. And everything will be ok. This time tomorrow we will be back on a plane home and we'll leave this mess behind us ok?" I nodded into his chest. "You need to go back now love. I don't want you to get in anymore trouble." I let the tears flow out of my eyes. I pulled back and took one long look at Edward. He took both of his hands and pulled my head closer to his for long, lingering kiss.
"I love you Edward", he kissed my forehead.
"I love you Bella", with that Felix took my arm and we ran through the forest back to the castle.
EPOV
As I watched Bella run back to the castle with Felix, it took everything in me not to run after her. To catch her and to hold her in my arms, never letting her go. But instead, I had to settle, watching her run back into danger. I told my family after hunting to leave me alone for the rest of the night. I needed to be alone and away from everyone. I needed space. I tried to think about the wedding. How beautiful and elegant Bella would look like in a wedding dress. How amazing she'll look on our honeymoon in a bikini when I take her to the island and when I rip it off of her curvaceous body...... But I couldn't help but think about what was awaiting tomorrow. I was worried. Worried about my family and, of course, worried about my Bella. Myself did not matter in this situation. If all else failed tomorrow, and I had no other choice but to join the guard, I would do it. Unwillingly of course, but as long as my family and Bella were safe, that is all that mattered.
The next day came a lot quicker then I anticipated. This was it. I met with my family and we headed to the great hall together. I had no idea how this was going to go down. I had full confidence in Felix and that he would show the video and we could all go home. Of course there was that nagging voice in the back of my head that told me just because he had the tape, didn't mean this would end well. So here we all stand. In the great hall awaiting Aro and the rest of the guard. I wonder if Bella would join us. What was suppose to tell Aro? No of course...but then what would happen if I told him no? What about the video tape? What would happened with that? What would happen with Bella? What would...
"Edward for the love of god calm down!" Jasper hissed at me. But then sent a wave of calmness towards me.
"I'm sorry Jasper. I cant help it." He sighed.
"I know man. I'm worried also. We'll get out of this though, were not going down without a fight."
"Hell yeah!" I heard Emmett yell out, which in return was smacked on the back of his head by Esme for his use of bad language.
"It's going to be ok Edward."
"You had a vision Alice?" She shook her head.
"No. You know how Bella's future works with me. It's not clear. I just know we will be ok. You'll get your Bella back today, just keep thinking that", I nodded and smiled at her response. A few moments later the Volturi Guard entered with Aro entering last. Felix took his spot next to him and looked over at me.
"Everything is going according to plan Edward", I nodded at his thoughts and waited for Aro to speak.
"Cullen family! How are you doing this fine morning?"
"We are hanging in there", Carlisle responded. Aro nodded.
"I can understand the sircumstances have taken a toll on you all. Especially you Edward", I swallowed hard and nodded.
"Yes sir it has."
"Felix why don't you go get Bella", Felix nodded and hurried out to go get my Bella. This was it, the moment of truth....
BPOV
The cellar door flew open in a flash. Felix stood there motioning me to come to him.
"Aro wants you to come up. We don't have much time, we have to get the T.V and bring it with us. Sarah you have to stay here", Sarah nodded.
"Ok. Both of you stay safe! Now Go get your man Bella!" I smiled at Sarah and ran out of the cell with Felix. I was a lot slower then Felix, so he carried me on his back to go get the T.V. Still on Felix's back, he got the T.V. and rolled it down the hallway at inhuman speed. Once we were just outside of the Great Hall, I hopped off of Felix's back and hid the T.V in the room next door.
"Ok Bella", Felix spoke so low that I could barely hear him, "when we get in there, do not leave my side whatever you do. Do what Aro asks of you understand me?" I nodded and he took me by the arm and led me into the Great Hall. Everyone was staring at me as I made my entrance but none of those people mattered. I looked for the one face that mattered most to me right now. As soon as I found Edward, his golden eyes looked absolutely terrified. I wanted to run to him, hold him...tell him everything would be ok. But I couldn't. I stood next to Felix, while he held my arm tightly.
"Bella it's nice to see you this morning!" Aro exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.
"Likewise", I muttered out.
"Edward, Bella is here! Isn't this great?" Edward stiffened.
"Yes, she looks beautiful", I managed a small smile at Edward. Even in the face of danger, he still managed to make me feel like the most loved person in the entire universe.
"Well Edward it seems you have a choice to make. I have given you time to think about this decision and now I need an answer. So Edward, what is your choice?" There was a long silence. I looked at Edward, who looked like if he could cry he would. He looked so torn. He took a couple deep unneeded breaths and finally spoke.
"Your offer is quiet tempting but I can not accept and I am sorry", Felix shook my arm. Right, I forgot I had to stay in character.
"WHAT?!" I screamed out. "I thought you loved me Edward! You would rather have me killed! I can't believe you! I hate you! I hate you! I...", I kept screaming and yelling whatever I could to make it seem as though I hated Edward.
"Get her out of here Felix! Put her back in the Cell!" Aro yelled. Felix picked up me up and out of the great hall. Once we got out side, Felix took me into the room where the T.V was and set me down.
"Ok, good job. Everything is going according to plan. This is what I need you to do. Were both dead anyway if this plan doesn't work. Go run and get Sarah. We need her, she is the best evidence we have. Most of the guards are in the great hall so you shouldn't have a problem getting her out. Take this key, get her, and run as fast as you can back up up here do you understand me?" I nodded, grabbed the keys and ran for my life.
EPOV
"Well Edward it seems you have a choice to make. I have given you time to think about this decision and now I need an answer. So Edward, what is your choice?" I stared into Bella's eyes, taking deep breaths. This could be the last time I ever see this beautiful angel that has touched my heart in so many ways that I thought never existed. The plan has to work. I have to keep telling myself this. In a few moments after this tape is shown, Aro will be massacred by the guard for lying to every single person in this room and we will be able to leave home free. I took one more deep breath and spoke my answer.
"Your offer is quiet tempting but I can not accept and I am sorry", Aro's eyebrow's rose in surprise. I tried to read his mind, but of course, he was blocking me out. I looked over to Bella who didn't look so surprised. I guess because she knew this was apart of the plan. I saw Felix squeeze her arm and she snapped out of it quickly.
"WHAT?!" She yelled at me. "I thought you loved me Edward! You would rather have me killed! I can't believe you! I hate you! I hate you! I...", she went on and on screaming and yelling at me that she hated me. Even thought I knew what she was saying was not true, it was still a terrible site to see my love yelling at me that she hated me.
"Get her out of here Felix! Put her back in the Cell!" Aro yelled. Still screaming at the top of her lungs, Felix picked up Bella and exited. I exhaled the breath that I had been holding and closed my eyes.
"Your doing a good job Edward. Keep it up", Alice's thoughts were reassuring.
"I know one thing man, you never want to get Bella angry. The girl can yell", I glared at Emmett, "sorry. I'm trying to keep the mood light. Your doing good keeping yourself together", I nodded at him and faced Aro once again.
"Edward I am shocked that you do not want to join the guard this evening. But I am even more disappointed in the choice you have made to have your Bella killed. It's such a tragedy", I couldn't say anything. I could never not say I didn't love Bella. I just looked straight ahead at Aro. "Please know that a position for you on the guard if always open for you if you are ever interested in joining us", I nodded once at him.
"Let's get this show on the road Edward. Here we go", Felix's thoughts interupted me. He entered, rolling a large T.V in. Everyone turned to look at him.
"Felix, what in the world is all of this about?" Aro asked, with confusion in his voice. Felix swallowed hard once and took a few steps forward to face everyone.
"Sir it has come to my attention that you have not been telling the truth about this situation", Aro's face erupted into anger.
"How dare you call me a liar Felix! Get him out of here!" He yelled. Three guards made there way over to Felix.
"I have proof that you have been lying to me and the entire Volturi guard for that matter", the three guards stopped walking and looked over to Aro. Felix ran over to the T.V and turned it on. He pressed play on the V.C.R and the video began to play. It showed Sarah clearly starting the fight. The guards watched and looked over to Aro occasionally in disapproving glances. Their minds clearly stated they were not happy about behind lied to. My lip curled up in a smile. Everything was going according to plan. As soon as the tape was finished, I heard loud footsteps, running, outside of the great hall.
"Go, go, go Sarah!" That was clearly Bella's voice yelling. My smile widened even more. Sarah came sprinting inside.
"It's true, it's true!" She yelled out. "Aro has been lying to all of you."
"Sarah, you are my daughter and I am your father and I would like for you to address me as such!" He yelled at her.
"For what you have put me through, I do not consider you a father to me whatsoever! You've had me in a cell locked away for two days how else am I suppose to feel towards you?!" She yelled at him. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the guard, Cullen family, Aro has been lying to all of you and I am sorry. This was all a plan to get Edward to join the guard", Sarah made her way over to me, "Edward you are the first person I want to apologize to. Aro made me apart of this set up. The only reason I acted so forward with you and acted attracted to you was because Aro told me to in order to try and get you to join the guard and if I didn't do what I was told, he would have killed me. I'm so sorry for what I have put you and your family through. Bella's heart belongs to you and only you Edward I am so grateful for that. I love Bella more then anything and it has killed me these past few months to do this to her. To do these things and put your family at great risk like this. I cannot apologize enough to you", I smiled at Sarah and nodded.
"I accept your apology Sarah. I'm so sorry for what you have been through." She shook her head.
"It's nothing compared to what you and Bella have been through. What I have put you through, trying to rip apart such a great love. I never wanted to do this do you both."
"I understand Sarah. And I know Bella understands as well", she smiled and turned to face Aro.
"So what are you going to do father? You have the entire guard, Cullen family, and two very angry half-human-half-vampires ready to rip you to shreds. What are you going to do huh? Try and kill us all? Because if that is the case then I am sure that you will indeed not make it out of here alive yourself." Aro stared at over fifty very angry vampires who were about ready to have his throat. Aro was speechless, something that never happened to him.
"You maybe older then every other vampire in this room, but that doesn't make you any stronger and anymore powerful then the rest of us", Felix seethed out. Aro's face had horror written all over it. He really did not know what to do. He was screaming in his mind and trying to figure a way out and escape. I heard Emmett let out a great huff.
"Well what hell are we all just standing around for? Let's kill this asshole already!" Emmett yelled out. For the first time in forever, Esme did not argue once with Emmett's choice of language. I think everyone agreed that Aro needed to be taken care of. Everyone yelled in agreement and sprinted towards Aro.
BPOV
Two guards grabbed a hold of each of his arms and ripped them from Aro's body, while two other guards took his legs and ripped them off of his body. I stood by the entry way, leaning up against the wall, watching this all unfold.
"Emmett and I will start the fire out back!" Jasper yelled out. Everyone yelled back in unison in agreement. While all of this chaos was happening, I scanned my eyes over the crowd of people for Edward. Then, the crowd split, and there he was in all of his glory staring back at me. It felt like I was in some kind of movie and everything was happening in slow motion. It felt like one of those moments out of a movie where two lovers are running across a beach, in the sunset, with cheesy orchestra music playing in the background. But that was not the case at all. Instead of a beach, we were in a creepy old castle with no sunset and the only soundtrack in the background were angry yelling vampires...but I'd take it. We ran towards each other as fast as we could. Edward picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him with as much passion and love as I could show him. Everyone else in the room didn't matter. All that mattered in this moment was me and Edward. Still holding me and still having my legs wrapped around his waist, we broke the kiss and rest our foreheads against each other, our breathing both ragged.
"Hi", he whispered. I let out a quiet laugh.
"Hi", he smiled.
"What do you say we get out of here, get a hotel and I make love to you for the rest of the evening?" I smiled and nodded my head.
"Yes, that sounds like a very good idea to me Mr. Cullen", he kissed my nose.
"Well then let's get out of here Miss. Cullen", I kissed him on the lips one last time before he carried me out of the great hall and outside in the shade where his car was. I think everyone inside knew all we wanted was to be alone. We didn't bother telling anyone where we were headed, we just left as fast as we could. The sun was still shining brightly and so the windows were tinted. We drove in silence the entire way, just holding each others hand. Nothing needed to be said right now, we just needed each other. Edward would occasionally pick my hand up and kiss my palm. Within minutes, we arrived at a large hotel. Edward parked the car under shady overpass so his skin would not attract any attention. He threw the valet his keys and some money, probably a lot more money then necessary. When we got inside we headed for the front desk.
"Hello, reservation for Cullen", I rose an eyebrow at him. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.
"I knew we would be ok love so I went ahead and made a reservation for us", he whispered to me. I smiled at him.
"Ok Mr. Cullen, here is your key to the honeymoon sweet. Enjoy your stay! The bellhop is ready to take your bags..."
"No bags. Thank you very much", Edward took the key and grabbed my hand as we made our way to the elevators.
"Honeymoon sweet? We aren't-", He interrupted me with a kiss.
"It was the biggest room they had available. And for what you have been put through love, you deserve this", the elevator doors opened and we made our way in. We were the only ones inside and we could not keep our hands off each other. Kissing and touching everywhere. I'm sure security was getting a good show from the camera that was inside the elevator. As soon as we reached our floor, the doors opened, and Edward took my hand and we ran to the honeymoon sweet. He swiped the card and we went inside. The room was gorgeous. Better then anything I could have ever imagined. There floor was white marble and the walls were painted in a dark blue color. There was a large glass chandler that hung in the middle of the room and a large white leather sofa that reminded me of Edward's black leather sofa back home. But what took up most of the room was the large, white bed. It was so big and high up there were steps to get to it. I couldn't wait to jump in and have Edward ravish me. But I couldn't help but feel a little self conscious. I had been locked in a cell for two days and I probably looked like hell. I turned to face Edward, who's eyes were pitch black with lust.
"Edward I feel really dirty so I think I want to take a shower fir-", Edward placed one finger on my lips to silence me.
"For what I'm about to do to you, your going to be getting quiet dirty. Right now Bella I want...no I need to make love to you. I need you, I need you", he kissed my lips softly and kept whispering over and over that he needed me. He picked me up bridal style and placed me on the bed. He hovered over me and I let him have his way with me.
We made love for hours, but it seemed like days. We stopped for a while and just held each other in bed not saying a word. Edward would place a kiss on my forehead here and there. It was a pretty surreal moment. We had actually made it out of there alive.
"Edward?"
"Yes love?" He whispered to me, kissing my forehead.
"I love you", He smiled at me and kissed my lips.
"I love you to. More then anything in this world Bella, I love you."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Let's never talk about what has happened these past couple days. I don't even want to think about it anymore."
"I couldn't agree with you more sweetheart. We will never speak of this ever again", I smiled and snuggled into his chest. We were quiet for a moment more, until my stomach had to interrupt the perfect moment. Edward chuckled softly.
"Hungry love?" I nodded into his chest.
"Very."
"Room service?"
"That sounds good. Do you care if I go take a shower while you order for me?"
"Not at all. What would you like?"
"Breakfast food."
"Bella, it's 7 o'clock at night", I shook my head.
"I don't care I'm craving some breakfast food right now. So get me some eggs and bacon and stuff", he laughed and kissed my forehead.
"Whatever my Bella wants, my Bella gets", I smiled and hopped out of bed and headed for the shower.
A/N
So everyone survived and lived happily ever after....except for Aro lol. Next chapter will have talk of wedding plans and other stuff. This chapter took forever to write. My fingers hurt. So please review! Leave me some love! Oh and by the way, how A-M-A-Z-I-N-G is the New Moon trailer?!?!?!? It looks incredible. I believe in Chris Weitz!