"As a child I saw many things I did not want to be.
Am I the person I did not want to be?
…Do I wear the cloth of a man who has failed?"
Gregory Corso
"Hello"
Your "remember last month?" recap: Demitri talked about when Bella showed up in Volterra and then Edward's diary recounts seeing Demitri and Bella in Aspen in the 1970's where they had been sent to destroy a vampire who had been careless. They also had orders to destroy Tanya but Bella chose to disregard that order; frightening Demitri and confusing Edward.
"We left Aspen and headed back to Volterra. I was sure that we would be killed for failing to complete the mission." Demitri looked at them with a bitter smile. "Isabella didn't seem to care."
"Aro read in my mind what had happened. I know that he wouldn't have believed the story about being outnumbered. Everyone knows the Cullen's reputation for…passivity."
"He didn't kill us, obviously. After that he didn't send us on missions together without being accompanied by Felix or Jane. To make sure we finished the job, I guess." Demitri focused his attention on a spot on the wall. "He didn't send her out much after that at all. But he didn't seem any less fascinated by her. If anything, he kept her closer."
"She stopped…we stopped…" he shook his head and frowned. "Something had gone out, something was gone…"
Demitri abruptly stopped talking and got up from his chair. He walked over to the window and looked out at the surrounding orchard, his jaw clenching.
Nick put his pen down. He knew he didn't really have to record the story but having the pen and paper in front of him helped him to focus on what he was doing here, rather than getting distracted by the myriad of new sensations coming from his changed body: the thirst, the strength, and the fact that he could hear and smell everything. He could even hear it when Edward grabbed the arm of his chair too tight or ground his teeth together at seemingly random times in the narrative. This was always followed by an apologetic look from Demitri, and Nick guessed that it had to do with thoughts of Bella.
Nick watched Edward squint slightly at Demitri as he watched the slight man clench and unclench his fists.
"What is the point of telling my story at this point?" Demitri stared out the window as he spoke. "So many decades and what is the point? Who am I? A soldier who abandoned his post? A son who couldn't protect his family? Aro's loyal servant? Lover to a woman who belongs to someone else?"
"You left them and cast your lot in with us." Nick spoke gently. "Even though we'll be out-numbered. You're standing up to him now."
Demitri turned and looked at Nick. "I knew that he didn't provide for my family. There was nothing I could do at that point but I knew that he was telling me that so that I would go quietly. I assumed that he lied and I knew I couldn't go back to see if they were all right. I figured that they may or may not have survived but I assumed he had just left them alone."
"He had them killed." Edward said, looking at Demitri. Demitri nodded,his face stoic.
"They would have died anyway, of starvation. There were others in the village. He didn't have to kill them."
"How did you find out?" Nick asked.
"Alice," he said. He paused for a moment. "Felix and I were sent out together to Kiev. It was the closest I'd been to home since the fall of the Soviet Union. I was starting to visit government offices and hospitals to see if I could find out anything. Alice found me instead. She told me who she was and what happened and told me to ask Felix, that he would corroborate her story if I asked him…since he was the one who had brought them to Aro to feed on while I was changing. She told me how to find you here if I decided to leave." He paused. "I didn't bother talking with Felix. She knew enough about the circumstances to convince me. I knew it was true. I had always known it. I stopped in Rome to grab some things I had stashed there and came here."
"What about Bella? You just left her there?" Nick was surprised and appalled by his actions. "I thought you cared about her."
Demitri looked at him with annoyance. "Bella makes her own choices. Just ask Edward." Nick glanced at Edward who was examining Demitri closely.
"There's something you're not telling us." Edward said finally. "I can't get a clear read on it but you're holding back."
Demitri smiled wryly. "It's hard to hold back with him here." He gestured to Nick. "But some things are private. Right, Edward?" He looked at Edward with a pointed look, as if they shared a secret. Edward nodded slowly.
"Anyway, they'll be here soon." Demitri turned back to them. "We should have a plan."
"I suspect Alice will let us know what to do." Edward said. "She's here."
^O^ ^O^ ^O^
"How can you say that the best course of action is to stand back and wait?" Emmett's eyes glanced around at the rest of them for agreement. Nick glanced around the room at the rest of their faces. Carlisle and Esme looked thoughtful, as did the Greeks. Demitri eyed Alice warily and Nick was amused to see that Edward's expression matched his.
Personally, he didn't know what to think of what the small, dark haired woman said. He only knew that she had expressed no surprise at seeing the assemblage and that as soon as she arrived, with her tall, blond mate, she greeted them all with the odd air of someone whose conversation had only briefly interrupted, jumping immediately into their talk of what to do when the Volturi arrived.
Her mate, on the other hand, was quiet and watchful.
Demitri spoke up. "There are only eleven of us and many more of them. Aro will bring the entire guard and probably the wives as well, since they cannot be protected without the guard there. Acting first would give us an advantage."
"It seems that Alice would be in a position to know." Carlisle said gently. "Didn't you come here at her suggestion? Why would you doubt her now?"
"I agree with Demitri's reticence." Edward interjected. "She's withholding information. She blocks me." He glared at her.
"The outcome changes based on how much information I give you." Alice said, her voice more sad than angry. "If I tell you too much, it affects how you respond and everything we've tried to do will fall apart." She fixed her gaze on Edward but her eyes took on a kind of blankness. As Nick watched Edward's face took on an expression that made him look as though he was listening to something no one else could hear. They remained that way for a minute before Alice shook her head as if to clear it. Edward looked alarmed.
"And you can guarantee that won't happen now?" he asked her, frowning.
"No," Alice said with an apologetic look. "But our chances get better this way."
"What did you see?" Carlisle asked, looking between the two of them.
Edward looked at Carlisle and shook his head. "You'd rather not know."
"I don't even understand why it concerns us." Rosalie said angrily. "We've done nothing wrong. We should just leave Aro to sort out his beef with you." she addressed Cyril and Andreas. "There's no reason why we have to engage them. There's no reason for us to take up with someone who's left the guard." She glared at Demitri.
"It's not that simple, Rose." Alice began but Demitri cut her off. "May I?" he asked, waiting for her acquiescence. Alice nodded to him after a moment.
"You're right, you don't have to engage in this fight now. But it will come to you eventually. Aro has made no secret of his dislike for your family and how you pose a threat to our kind. You have a large…group and you live among humans. You can chose to meet him now, with the support of the Greeks and myself, or you can wait until he finds a reason to come after you when your numbers are less. It's your choice."
"But why now?" Rosalie asked, looking from Demitri to Alice to Edward. "After all this time, why come after us now, when we have the strength of numbers?"
Edward looked at Alice. The small graceful woman let out a sigh and looked chagrinned.
"Because we are all together." she said, reluctantly. Rose exploded.
"But that was your work! You brought us all together!" The blond drew up to her full height and raged at the slight figure. Jasper took a step closer to his wife and shot Rose a warning look.
"I know." Alice said, pleading with Rose. "It was the best outcome I could find."
"So we just have to trust you." Emmett said, stroking his wife's shoulder lightly, a rare worried look on his face. He looked to his brother and raised an eyebrow curiously. Edward frowned and nodded slightly.
"She's telling the truth to the best of her ability," he said. "She has to, with these guys around." He gestured to the Greeks who had been watching the exchange calmly.
"Then it's decided," Carlisle spoke, rising from his chair and walking over to where Alice stood slowly. "We have no choice but to trust you, Alice. Please don't betray that trust."
Alice nodded at him solemnly. She opened her mouth to speak, stopped and then continued. "We wanted to be part of your family." She reached behind her and took the hand of her mate. "We were supposed to be able to join you decades ago."
"What stopped you?" Nick interjected. Alice glanced at him and then at her mate.
"I can't say any more now." She smiled at him bitterly. "If it all works, I'll be able to tell you my story." She glanced around the room. "The Volturi will be here in an hour."
"How many?" Andreas asked.
"They are bringing almost the entire court, including the wives." Alice said, her eyes glazing over slightly again.
"The wives?" Esme asked. "Why?"
"Because if Aro brings the guard, there'll be no one to protect the wives. His mate and Caius'. You know how vampires get when their mates are in danger." He looked at Edward who shot him a quick, angry glance. If Nick hadn't been paying attention he would have missed it.
"What about Bella?" Nick asked, receiving the same angry glance from Edward.
Alice looked somber. "She'll be with them, too."
^O^ ^O^ ^O^
They agreed to follow Alice's directions, since she could see the outcomes as they changed.
"Just one suggestion," Demitri spoke up. "Aro doesn't know about you. Or if he does he doesn't know what you can do. If things go poorly and he knows that you can predict the future, he won't leave you alone."
Alice looked at her husband grimly and then back to the former guard member. "I've been assuming that if we don't stop Aro that we wouldn't make it. That's one possible outcome." She glanced around apologetically as she said this.
'But an even worse outcome would be for Aro to know about your ability and to be able to use it against any of us who do survive, or the rest of the world." Edward looked thoughtful as he spoke.
"It'll work." she said. He nodded.
"What'll work?" Emmett asked, frowning.
"Alice will relay orders to me and I'll give them," Edward said. "Come on. Let's go wait for our guests."
They stood around one half of the giant stone circle and waited, each of them lost in their own thoughts and alert to the sounds around them.
Edward heard them first and he told them: "Five minutes." A few moments later Nick could hear the sound of dozens of light footsteps and the swishing of clothing against trees and brush.
Then they came into sight. A small blond-haired girl and a dark-haired boy in grey robes entered the circle, followed by a huge man, easily Emmett's size but without his gentle smile.
Several more robed figures followed them and spread out on the other side of the ancient circle, making way for three elegantly dressed men; a young blond, and two older men with long dark hair. The taller of the two looked tired and disinterested, the shorter one had a lively, curious expression and a smile. At least two dozen other vampires stood behind them, clad either in robes or dark, fancy-dress clothes.
And standing next to the smiling man, looking bored and lethal, was Bella.
a/n: Thank you for your infinite patience and your reviews. I have no excuse. I am a lazy, lazy person. On a positive note, we're done with set-up and might get some actual present time action, if you're into that sort of thing. I took a month to write this and EverlastingMuse and Liz3615 took like an hour to get it back to me. They are far superior creatures. Thanks for reading! JuJu