Running
I didn't know where I was going. Just running until I drained my energy. From there I'd probably just have to wait for Luke to find me. Pretty simple. But too complicated to fathom. I sped up, and the foliage turned into swirling green mist around me. Never knew how fast I'd be. Never tried. I stopped short when I smelled it. Vampire scent. But it wasn't Luke. Crap, I thought. Alice would've been able to find the path that disappeared in a heartbeat. I was toast. But decided to take the opportunity to run before I met with them. It took about ten seconds after that for Alice to tackle me. She slammed into my back and pinned me down as a deafening thud rang through the trees. But when we came to a stop, it wasn't Alice. It was Jane.
"Okay, half-breed. Let's have a little fight, you and me. Make it fair, no powers. I won't use my mind, and you won't use whatever it is you have. Mind reading, shields, none of it. Raw strength," she said through gritted teeth. I nodded through a scowl.She let me up so we could do this the professional way, but more like someone would get her for it if she went back on her word of a "fair fight". We circled for a moment, then it was fast. I leaped at her small body from five feet away, snarling. She growled, and tried to kick me off. I had a good grip though. I clawed and punched, Jane did the same. It was anyone's win now. She finally pinned me to the ground, and I kicked her in the gut hard enough to fling her off. Then we both pounced again. The clawing, snarling, and punching continued, and it was almost clear who was gonna come out saf-
"STOP!" A firm voice commanded. We both saw him, then sped back against a few trees. I shot a panicked look at her, and she looked just as frightened. This was a first. Sympathy for Jane. What had the world come to?
"There will be no tolerance for fighting with allies. This feud will end, here and now. Comprehend the message, ladies?" I'd never known Aro could be so…harsh. It sent me into shock. But Jane and I nodded silently. We didn't move from our spots, though.
"Now, can we head back to the castle peacefully?" he asked. We nodded again and followed the rest of the group back to the palace.
"A crisis is at hand, and you choose to begin a fight, Jane? I am very unimpressed. Renesmee has been a friend to us for over a year now, and neither of you have come up with a solution to this problem yet? Such disappointment. This is to end, now. What is the problem, anyway? I see nothing to separate you two like this," Aro said. Neither of us answered. Neither of us knew.
"Well? Why do you two hate each other so?" he asked. We fidgeted.
"So this whole thing has been going on for no reason, has it? Well? I do expect an answer from you, especially Jane," he said, and I knew this would go on for a while.
"I…I don't know why we fight, master," she answered dutifully. It took all the will I had to keep from bursting out laughing. Master? Are you kidding me? Maybe I'd just go live in Forks again, because I wasn't staying here if they expected to be called master.
"Jane, the Cullens have come to us in their time of need, and I fully intend on welcoming them into the guard. Including Renesmee. I will have to see to it that you will be ranked down if you cannot control yourself. Now are you prepared to take that risk, girl?" he asked, a hard expression on his face.
"No, master." I almost cracked that time, "I will respect Renesmee." The second part made me want to hurl. She looked at me innocently, an apologetic expression filling her flawless features. I'd take it now, but I hoped she didn't expect any full out niceness from me. I'd just avoid her most the time.
"Good. On with this, then. Bella, Edward?" Two grey cloaks stepped out from the end of the line. The same ones I'd noticed earlier. The one in front was the person who'd begun to walk out when we entered. The one behind had been the one to hold them back. They walked up to stand at Aro's side. I stared for a minute. I knew they couldn't be real. I was dreaming, that was it. No other reasonable explanation for this. My parents. My vampire parents. Who I hadn't seen in two years. Who I'd believed must have forgotten me when they began working with royalty. My parents, who would now, if this were real, be targets for Luke.
The second cloak laughed. Aro looked at him questionably. He pulled the hood back as he began his explanation. Dad.
"She believes this is a dream. That this experience can't be real," he chuckled again, "Oh, and that we'd forgotten her when we started working for royalty." Aro laughed, as did a few other of the ominously cloaked forms in the room.
"Child, where have you illustrated such ridiculous thoughts from?" Aro chuckled.
"From two years ago when you attempted to murder me for completely unjustified reasons. Oh, and shall I forget the fact that you did murder my family? The name Irina ring a bell? Hell, I'd suspected you'd brainwashed both my parents by now," I snapped back. I was not in the mood for his oblivious interrogations at this moment.
"Oh, and the fact that if this were real, Luke would've killed me by now." Apparently no person had ever spoken to a Volturi like that before. 'Cause I was getting a lot of head turns and bugging eyes right about then. I simply crossed my arms and shifted my weight to my right leg. When Caius and Felix gave me looks that could probably literally kill, I just raised an eyebrow. They straightened. Then I realized how tense Alice was next to me. And the others, as well. What had I done now? This was an utter suicide attempt, unless I truly thought we could win this fight. I ticked them off. They were going to kill me. Just don't let Caius do the honors, please, I thought. Anyone but that demon. Dad straightened when he heard me think that. Even he probably hadn't forgiven that evil man. Then someone clapped. I looked up. It was, of all people, Marcus. He was applauding slowly. Everyone watched in shock.
"Grand performance, I must say," he said. I'd never heard his voice before. It was strange. Fluid, smooth. But somehow rough, grungy. I was bewildered. His voice was…still human, in a way. The others, Aro and Caius, their voices were precise and smooth. But his still sounded ever so slightly imperfect. Then he spoke again.
"Why, no one has taken a stand like that in ages! I've been waiting for some individual rebellion to come along, just against one single act we pursue. But oh! Little Renesmee has the courage to stand up to a royal. Truly amazing. She would be quite an addition to the guard. Too bad we have to kill her," he said as he slowly shook his head in sorrow, as it appeared.