Chapter 11: Friends
#A/N. Hola everyone! Here's chapter 11! HUZZAH! Haha. I hope Edward doesn't seem out of character here - please tell me if he does!
Quick question. I've noticed that people have poems and etcetera on their profiles. How can I do that?
Don't forget to Review, Comment, and Enjoy! :)
*Edward's POV*
Our numbers increased over the past two weeks. The rest of the family had now returned, and with them they brought the Irish, Amazon, and the nomads Mary, Randall, and Peter and Charlotte. Benjamin and Tia had come on their own. Amun had not wanted to be dragged back into anything with the Volturi, and Kebi had stayed with him. Vladimir and Stefan had, once again, heard of our fall out with the Volturi, so they quickly showed up on our doorstep. They were sure that, this time, there would be a fight.
"You're actually going to them." Vladimir had said. "They will be working on the defensive side. A fight will be called upon."
"A fight will be called upon." Stefan echoed him.
I, reluctantly, agreed with them. The Volturi would be doing everything to protect their castle and city. They didn't take being ambushed too well.
It was inevitable.
As much as I wished there would be another way, I would do everything to get Bella back. If that meant I had to fight the Volturi to do so, then so be it.
Bella was worth it. She was worth everything.
I knew that everyone here agreed with me. They wouldn't be here, risking their lives, once again, if they didn't. Bella had formed a bond with our allies the last time we were gathered together. They had become her friends. They valued their friendship with her enough to be willing to fight for her.
I was grateful that we had such friends.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked at my phone. It was Jacob.
"Hello, Jacob." I greeted him.
"I told Sam that you were planning on meeting with him. Are you ready now?" Jacob asked me.
"Yes, I'll get everyone." I responded.
"We'll be there soon."
"Alright, we'll be waiting." I hung up.
"Carlisle." I called in a normal voice. I knew he would hear me wherever he was. He appeared in the room.
"I heard you talking to Jacob." Carlisle said. "Esme, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett." He called the family softly. They all appeared in the living room.
"It's time for a meeting." Carlisle said. Everyone else came into the room then, coming from wherever they were scattered around the house.
"We have to wait for the wolves." I told them as they took their seats.
"Certainly." Carlisle replied.
Chatter arose as we waited for the pack to arrive. Everyone turned to Alice when she suddenly gasped. Her eyes glazed over. She was having a vision. I focused in on Alice's thoughts, watching the vision with her.
"You're a very beautiful woman." Felix said to Bella. Bella was in a small room. She was chained to a twin sized bed; her gaze was focused intently on Felix as he slowly made his way to her bed.
"Though I must admit, I didn't find you as attractive when you were a human." He continued on. Felix put his hands on her face, stroking his thumbs across her cheeks. Bella flinched away from him. Felix grabbed her chin roughly in response.
"You don't want to do that, Bella." Felix said in warning. He continued to trace her face with his hands. Bella squirmed around on the bed, pulling against the chains in an attempt to put some distance between them. Felix moved his hands down to her neck, brushing her hair aside to bend down around and run his nose along her throat. Bella was wearing an expression that was a mix of fear and disgust. Mischief quickly passed of Felix's face suddenly. Bella stiffened suddenly.
Bella's scream of pain filled the room as Felix bit her.
Loud growls escaped from my chest as Alice's vision came to a close. I was shaking from head to toe in anger. My hands were balled into fists.
"What is it?" Emmett asked as Jasper said "What did you see, Alice?"
It took Alice a minute to find her voice. "It was Bella. She was in a room, chained to a bed –"
Alice was cut off by the outraged cries that went around the room.
"That's not all." Alice said through gritted teeth. "Felix was there too. He bit her." She growled out.
My growl was the loudest in the room as Alice repeated her vision to everyone. All I could see in my head was Alice's vision. How Felix ran his hands over Bella's face and neck. How Felix wore a look of enjoyment on his face and the look of fear on Bella's.
Bella's scream as Felix bit into her flesh.
With a loud growl, I flung the coffee table across the room. The room fell silent as I stood there, my hands balled into fists and my chest heaving in anger.
I was absolutely furious.
Emmett came by my side and grabbed me by my shoulder. I struggled against his grip as he pulled me outside. Jasper was right behind us.
"Edward, bro, you need to calm down!" he hissed at me.
"Calm down?" I asked incredulously. "How can stand there and tell me to calm down? You didn't see what I saw, Emmett. He had his hands all over her!"
I felt a wave of calm wash over me and my hands unclenched from the tight fists they were in. The affect didn't last long though, and I was glaring at Jasper.
"I do not want to be calm, Jasper! I thundered. "Let me feel my own emotions!"
Jasper just shrugged. "Throwing a fit won't change anything, Edward."
"You know what would have changed something? If I was here, none of this would have happened."
"Now, don't you go blaming yourself, Edward. You know that this wasn't your fault." Jasper said.
"Do I?" I asked sarcastically.
"Cut that out, man.' Emmett glared at me.
"Cut what out?" I seethed. "It's true! I wasn't there when Bella needed me, and now….now she's gone! And it's my entire fault!"
"Edward –" Emmett began, but I cut him off with a loud growl.
I turned around and punched a tree. The tree fell with a loud thud from the force. I punched another and another. I went around the forest, punching and kicking trees down in fury. I finally calmed down somewhat after throwing a large bolder. I watched as it crashed into another bolder, both of them cracking into a little pieces.
"Are you done? Do you feel better?" Emmett asked me with a grin on his face. He was obviously amused by my tantrum.
"I suppose I do." I sighed.
"Edward, do you remember what I told you before? You have got to stop blaming yourself for everything!" Jasper said, staring at me intensely.
Before I could argue, Jasper held up his hand to stop me.
"The others are probably wondering where we are. We should probably head back." He said.
"Let's go then." Emmett said. "I'm sure you scared Nessie half to death." He elbowed me in the ribs.
I froze at that.
"Come on." Emmett said as began to run back to the house. I ran after him. We made it home in a matter of seconds. The wolves were there when we walked in. I ignored them and headed straight for Renesmee who was pulled into Esme's arms.
"I'm so sorry, my love." I said to her, grasping her hands in mine. Renesmee wiggled out of Esme's arms and into mine. I held her close to me, stroking her hair.
"I'm sorry about the coffee table, Esme." I said, looking up at her and apologizing with my eyes.
"It's alright, dear." She said, leaning in to place a soft kiss on my forehead. "Just don't let it happen again." She added.
"Yes, ma'am."
I sat down next to Esme on the couch, pulling Renesmee in my lap. I knew that as long as I kept Renesmee close, I would keep my calm. I nodded at Carlisle to start once I was settled.
"As you already know, Bella has been taken by the Volturi." Carlisle said, looking at the wolves. "But before we start anything, I need to know right now. Are you willing to stand with us once again? This time won't be anything like the last. If anything, it's more dangerous."
They looked at each other for the moment. Then, Sam stepped forward.
"We understand what we're getting ourselves into." Sam said. "And we are ready to fight."
Carlisle nodded. "Good. Now, we have to think about strategy."
"As much as we want to, we can't just waltz in and demand to have Bella back." Alice said from her perch on Jasper's lap.
"Right.'' Carlisle said. "We need a solid plan."
"Why don't you just let us go in? We sure scared them the last time." Embry said from his place at the table.
"It won't work out that way. The Volturi will be on the defensive." I said.
"Without Bella, how far would we actually get?" Emmett asked.
"With Zafrina and Benjamin on our side, I'm sure we could get far enough." Carlisle murmured.
"How do we get Bella back?" Jacob spoke up. His mind was full of images of his best friend.
"Edward, maybe you can find a way to sneak off and locate Bella from the Volturi's thoughts." Jasper said.
"They will probably have their minds blocked, but I will try. I'll try anything." I said.
"You can always follow her scent." Carmen said.
"Yes, that's true." I said, nodding.
"But then what do we do afterwards? What do we do while Edward finds Bella? I wouldn't take them long to find us." Esme pressed on.
"We fight." Rosalie spoke up.
As Rosalie said this, words of agreement came from around the room. This was so much like the last time we were up against the Volturi. Everyone declared themselves as Rosalie's words sealed the finality of everyone's decision to help us get Bella back.
I couldn't help but feel a new spark of hope ignite in me. I pulled Renesmee closer into my chest, allowing the hope consume me.
"I agree that the wolves should go in first." Emmett said. "They could at least deter them for a moment. We will have their flanks, of course."
"The most skilled fighters should go in first, followed by us who are gifted." Jasper said, his expression calculating.
"That would work." Carlisle said, nodding. "We all have to try to protect the ones who are gifted; they will be the Volturi's primary focus."
We continued to talk about our strategy for another hour. The wolves started to get hungry, so they left back to Emily's place. Our guests went back to their earlier activities when the meeting was over. My family and I stayed downstairs in the living room, talking quietly amongst ourselves.
"Do you think we have a chance?" Esme asked suddenly.
"I think if we play our cards right, we have a fairly good chance at winning." Carlisle said.
"Bring it!" Emmett added, flexing his muscles.
Renesmee was snoring softly against my neck - the heat from her breath warming me. I decided that it was time to take her to bed.
"I'll just go take Renesmee upstairs." I said, as I gathered her up in my arms. I flew up the stairs taking her into my old room, being careful to not jostle her.
"Sweet dreams, my angel." I said as I tucked her into bed.
I wiped Renesmee's tears away as they silently began to fall down her cheek.