If You Only Knew- Chapter 13- The Battle, The Aftermath, The Volturi, Oh My!
A/N: I do apologize for the super long wait! I know…Over a month. I'm such a bad author. This chapter is extra long for you, and I hope that you like it. Thanks to everyone that alerted or favorited this story!
Sorry if this chapter sucks. I re-read it a few times, and tried to make it a good one, but if it sucks…I apologize. I suck at action scenes.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Twilight…but Winter is mine!
Previously:
Leah rolled her eyes at me, while Jake just shook his head, clearly not believing me.
"I know you don't believe me, but after the battle is over, a stray newborn attacks you, Leah. He almost got his arms around you when Jake pulled him off. Jake saved you Leah. Unfortunately, Jake… You weren't so lucky." I continued regardless of Jake's skeptical look. " You got hurt really, really bad Jake. Please be careful."
Leah huffed and took off into the forest, while Jake however, nodded agreeing to be careful before following after her. Watching the wolves disappear into the trees I only hoped that they took my warning seriously and that they would be more careful after the battle.
Chapter 13
" So what do we do now?" A rough voice rang through the air. Eight pairs of varying shades of gold bore into me, questioning, all searching for answers that they all expected me to have.
We were all situated in the living room, scattered around the vast open space. We had been around and around the same question for close to an hour. What are we going to do next? Knowing what SHOULD take place, and what ACTUALLY takes place are two very different things. I took a deep breath, pushing my golden curls over my shoulder, and leant forward in my chair to rest my elbows on my knees.
"There is one thing that I know should happen before the battle takes place." I moved my gaze from the floor to the others. "You all need to hunt."
"She's right." Jasper agreed, my eyes moving to him. "If we're going to take on the newborns, like Winter says, we need all the strength we can get. The newborns will have an advantage because they will be stronger and faster than us, but it will be a more evenly matched fight if we all hunt beforehand."
"That may be true. But we all can't leave her unprotected. Someone should stay behind and protect Winter." Carlisle pointed out.
"So who stays behind?" Emmett questioned, shrugging his shoulders, his eyes on Carlisle.
"Winter?" Carlisle questioned, his gaze boring into me. "You know who stays behind, don't you?"
Our eyes met for a single moment, before I tore my eyes away from him embarrassed. I felt my emotions shift from embarrassment and nervousness to calm and determined. My mind knew that Jasper was manipulating my emotions and I wondered for a brief moment if my emotions had been too much for him to handle, which is why he manipulated them. I took a couple deep breaths allowing Jasper's influence to wash over me as I concentrated on my next words, focusing on the dark wooden flooring in front of me.
"Yes." I answered after a minute, still refusing to look at anyone, " But things are different. In the books, Edward stayed to protect Bella, who was human at the time, while everyone else went to hunt. Bella's already a vampire, so there is no reason for him to stay. The next logical choice would be for Jasper or Emmett to stay since they are the strongest and most skilled, but that also would be detrimental to the battle, since they are most needed during the fight."
My voice trailed off as I ran through the pros and cons for each Cullen to stay VS their part in the battle in my head and finally came to a conclusion.
"I think that Edward and Bella should stay, and the rest of you can hunt." I finally concluded, finally meeting Carlisle's curious expression before glancing at the rest of them. "Edward and Bella were never in the battle, and it only seems logical for them to stay."
"Then it's decided. Edward, Bella. You two stay and guard Winter, while the rest of us hunt. We'll be back in two days time." Carlisle agreed, the rest of the Cullen's dispersing through the house and into the forest surrounding their home.
The Cullens had left a few hours ago. Now I was currently sitting in the kitchen, on a stool with papers strewn about the countertop consisting of every possible scenario and outcome I could think of regarding the battle. I was getting frustrated. The topic of what to do with me, during the battle had yet to be resolved, and I still didn't know whether I could trust myself to do what needed to be done, or if I could try and keep to the books as closely as possible.
Grunting at the frustration, I planted my face on the cool marble of the countertop, giving up.
"Going that good, huh?" A velvet voice spoke from behind me.
"Edward, I'm going insane." I whined, peeling my face off the counter and turned towards him as he crossed the room and picked up one of my scenarios, studying it further. "How do you not change the future, yet still fix what needs to be fixed!"
I continued when he smirked, taking a seat across from me. "I know what happens in the books, but what if it doesn't happen the way I think it's going to happen? What if my decisions already changed the outcome of the fight? What if people die?"
"The future always changes. There's nothing you can do about that."
"But what if I COULD change the future? What if I know things that I could prevent from happening, and I just went along with what was supposed to happen?"
"It's your decision, Winter. Whatever you decide, you're going to have to live with it." Edward's voice rang in my ear, as my eyes settled once again on the papers.
We sat in silence for a few minutes before his voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." I answered, refusing to look at his face, my eyes still scanning over one of the scenarios that I thought might actually help us.
"What was supposed to happen between Bella and myself?"
I froze. That was not a question that I was expecting to hear and abandoning the paper in my hands, I studied his face. He looked genuinely curious, and I debated on telling them their relationship, but in the end, I spilled.
" In New Moon, you left her, fearing for her safety. Alice had thought that Bella tried to kill herself and that's when you went to the Volturi to die. Bella survived her little cliff dive, and raced with Alice to save you. You all escaped Italy with the promise to change Bella into a vampire. Since Bella is already a vampire, none of this happened. In Eclipse, Victoria wanted revenge for you killing James, her true mate, and so she created an army to defeat you. In the books, we won and Victoria was destroyed. After the battle, the Volturi Guard shows up, checking to see that she's a vampire . They leave, after destroying a newborn who chose to surrender."
I watched as his face twisted ever so slightly as he took all this new information in.
"The last book, Breaking Dawn, was about the two of you getting married and your life after marriage."
It was a minute before he spoke again, by then my attention was focused back on my scenarios.
"Your not telling me something." He accused, his eyes narrowing. " What aren't you telling me?"
"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. It will never happen." I shot back, once again abandoning the papers, to meet his gaze. "You can't change the past."
As if he knew I would try and run away, his hand flew across the small distance between us catching my arm before I could escape, his voice soft and pleading.
"Please?" He begged. "Do we get divorced or something?"
"No. You don't get divorced." I assured.
"Then what? What happened?" His voice was soft, gentle, pleading. My eyes filled up with tears at the words I hoped I never had to say, for I knew it would crush him. I refused to look at him, as I quietly said the words.
"You had a daughter, Edward."
"That's not true. Vampires can't have children." His voice was soft, yet strained, and he finally released my arm.
Rubbing the spot where his hand had been, I slowly turned to face him. "Her name was Renesmee Carlie Cullen. She was half vampire…half human."
I watched as his face twisted and contorted into confusion, then bewilderment, shock, awe. Then his face contorted into something I never thought I'd see….sadness.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I never meant to tell you any of this. I didn't mean to hurt you like this."
"How?" He choked out, his voice strained. If he could have cried, he would have, yet still maintained his composure somewhat.
"Your honeymoon. Bella was still human. You saved her, Edward. After she gave birth to Renesmee, you turned Bella. That's why I asked about Renesmee when I first met you. I thought Bella could only be a vampire AFTER she had Nessie… Obviously, I was wrong."
After explaining every detail about Nessie, I retreated back into my room, exhausted from the day, and fell asleep moments after my head hit the pillow.
The rest of the Cullens came back after the weekend, and we all decided that Edward and Bella would stay behind and protect me, while the rest went to destroy the newborn army that Victoria and Riley had created. The wolves would surround the area and attack, catching the newborns off guard, and together they would destroy the army.
Or so we hoped.
Edward and Bella had set up a small tent not far from where the battle would take place and I would be kept there until it was safe for me to come back after the battle.
The army came the following day, Seth, a shape shifter from Sam's pack had been sent as extra protection for us, although we didn't need it.
Our plan was executed perfectly and the newborns were destroyed. It wasn't until Edward and I returned to the field, when we realized that the Volturi were coming, that I saw him.
Riley...
How he managed to not die during battle, I didn't know, but his bright red eyes gleamed and locked on to mine. My breath caught in my throat, and my stomach dropped. I could feel the blood drain from my face as he took a step towards me.
I wasn't the only one that saw him. Unfortunately, so did Leah, and she lunged at him.
"Leah, NO!" I roared, and watched helpless as Riley almost got his arms around her, just as I had predicted. I watched when just in the nick of time, Jacob pulled Riley off her, and was surprised when the two worked together and destroyed him, his cries for Victoria echoing through the air.
I breathed a sigh of relief, when I realized that despite my warning, they actually trusted me enough to accomplish something without fighting. "It worked." I sighed.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" I heard Edward ask from behind me.
"Yes. It was in the books. Jacob was supposed to get hurt. In the book, the newborn wasn't Riley, and this newborn got his arms around Jake crushing the entire right side of his body. My warning changed the outcome. " I answered, "But something doesn't feel right. I can't explain it, but something isn't right."
My eyes scanned the surrounding area looking for something out of place, slowly edging away from the Cullens as I searched. It didn't take me long to figure out why. A vampire stood a short way away, her hair bright red as if her head were on fire, her bright crimson eyes studying me as if I were a piece of meat.
Victoria.
"She's here!" I shouted, trying to get the Cullens' attention. "Victoria's here!"
Within a half a second, I was surrounded by my protectors as they glared at Victoria.
"Give me the girl." She sneered, her eyes still locked on me, seemingly unfazed by the fact that she was clearly outnumbered.
"Why?" Emmett growled, as I felt Alice's arms tighten slightly, as if to comfort me.
"You killed my mate, now I want to kill yours!" She growled, her eyes glistening with tears that she wouldn't shed.
"Never." Emmett hissed, tensing his arms for the fight that was bound to happen sooner or later. She shrieked and although she was fiercely outnumbered, she attacked. Having the ability to escape any situation, Victoria easily dodged every attempt the Cullens had to grab her, as she fought to get to me. I felt Alice's arms disappear as Victoria came close enough to reach me, Alice attempting to protect me.
But their efforts would be in vain.
A moment after I felt Alice's arms disappear, a much rougher force grasped my arms, and without warning, Victoria's teeth easily pierced my neck. I struggled against her, although deep down I knew that it would do no good, and within seconds, I was released from her grasp as I felt her being yanked away from me. The pain of the bite, turned to fire as I knew the venom was spreading quickly, as I writhed on the ground.
My mind was too focused on the pain, to realize that Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and Rosalie had finished destroying Victoria, as her fiery screams mingled with my own.
"Winter, Can you hear me?" Carlisle's voice sounded close to my ear. Opening my eyes, I clutched Carlisle's arm in desperation of the pain, my frantic eyes locking with his, pleading to stop the fire. "I'm going to try and suck the venom out, okay?"
I nodded, closing my eyes once again, vaguely hearing Carlisle's instructions to the others to back away from us, as he attempted to release me from my own personal hell. I felt his cool lips against my skin and gradually, the fire decreased to nothing. After a moment, I opened my eyes to see Carlisle and the others gathered around checking to see if I was alright, and sitting up slowly felt a bandage across my neck where Victoria had bitten me.
"Are you alright?" Carlisle questioned.
"Yeah." I sighed, weakly, my eyes moving from the others to him. "Thanks for saving my life."
"Sure." He nodded, carefully helping me off the ground. I clung to Esme for support as I felt very weak standing on my own, and as soon as I felt I could manage by myself, released her just as Alice's voice echoed through the air.
"They're coming!" Alice announced.
"The wolves need to leave. The Volturi won't honor a truce with the wolves." Carlisle and I said at the same time, as I watched the wolves scatter into the trees.
"That's just creepy." Emmett muttered, shaking his head and, like the others, turned towards the forest where the Volturi would emerge.
True to her prediction, four figures emerged through the trees, their ruby eyes shined brightly as they looked at the nine vampires (Including Bree who surrendered) and myself.
"Impressive." Jane started. "I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact."
"We were lucky." Carlisle assured, giving nothing away about the wolves helping us.
"I doubt that. " Jane sneered, as I'm sure the scents of the wolves surrounded us.
"It appears we missed an entertaining fight." Alec chimed in.
"Yes." She agreed with her brother. "It's not often we're rendered unnecessary."
"If you'd arrived a half hour ago, you would have fulfilled your purpose." Edward spoke, his voice on edge.
"Pity." Jane's voice was smug, with almost a disappointed edge to it as if she was hoping that the Cullen's would have failed. Her ruby eyes gazed past Carlisle and Esme to where Bree was standing nervously. "You missed one."
Jasper moved from his position, to stand closer to Bree as if protecting her.
"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender." Carlisle explained. Jane's eyes narrowed at the comment.
"That wasn't yours to offer." Jane focused on Bree and demanded answers. "Why did you come?"
A scream from Bree echoed through the air, as Jane used her power on her. I cringed, she continued, "Who created you?" Another scream erupted from her and Esme interrupted.
"You don't need to do that. She'll tell you anything you want to know."
"I know." Jane sneered, a smirk pulling at her lips. By her face, you could tell she enjoyed inflicting pain on others.
"I don't know." Bree begged from the ground as Jane stopped torturing her. "Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe."
"Her name was Victoria. Perhaps you knew her." Edward sneered, turning his attention back to Jane and the others.
"Edward," Carlisle warned, "If the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would have stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?"
"Of course." Jane responded, although I knew that they had no intention of stopping Victoria at all. I knew she had decided to stay out of it, in hopes that the Cullen's would be destroyed. I clenched my fists at my side, pissed off, trying to control myself. "Felix."
I watched in horror as Felix took a step closer, Jane's command warranting Bree's death.
"She didn't know what she was doing." Esme pleaded, and for a moment (at Jane's signal), Felix stopped. "We'll take full responsibility for her."
"Give her a chance." Carlisle persisted. Jane pursed her lips, at the thought, before agreeing.
"It's decided." Jane announced. "You will be held responsible for her."
"Thank you." Carlisle spoke, with relief. I watched as Jane's eyes turned to me, and I froze.
"And the human?" Jane questioned, "What do you know?"
"Nothing." I lied. Before I could think, my body felt as if I were being electrocuted and I screamed, feeling the full effect of Jane's powers, as my body hit the ground, writhing in pain yet again.
"What do you know?" She questioned again, as the feeling vanished. I took a deep breath.
"Enough." I responded breathlessly, pushing myself into a standing position, trying to fight off the tingling sensation that still remained throughout my weak body.
"She's a liability, sister." Alec warned. " She knows too much."
"You know the laws, Carlisle. What are you planning to do with her?" Jane questioned. "She changes or dies."
I closed my eyes and took a couple deep breaths trying to clear away the lightheadedness that seemed to attack at that moment.
"…Winter…"
I struggled to push the dizzyness away until after the Volturi left, opening my eyes once again answering for Carlisle.
" I will become one of you. The date is set."
My statement was a total lie, but if it could buy us some time and get us out of this mess, it was worth a shot. Jane smiled.
"Is this true?" Alec questioned.
I prayed that he would follow my lead and go along with my little story, and thankfully he did.
" Yes. The date is set." Carlisle agreed.
"Very well. Caius will be interested to know that your family is expanding." Jane commented, before adding a warning. " The Volturi don't give second chances. Keep that in mind."
And with one final farewell, the four figures turned a disappeared through the forest.
"…Winter…" the voice sounded again and I brought a hand to my head again, swaying slightly, my vision overcoming with dark spots.
"No!" I cried as the darkness enveloped me, collapsing on the ground.
A/N: Ah… what a way to end the chapter. Bree was saved, Jake was spared, and Winter faints. Soon, the story will come to a close…but not yet! Please review! Thanks!
Next up: Carlisle is getting closer to figuring out the side effects of Winter's fainting spells. Any theories?
I was going to add one chapter after this before the ending, but I may change my mind and give you ending 1 instead. What do you think? One more chapter? Or The Ending?
Let me know and you might get a sneak peek of the ending!
Thanks!
~ Shorty ~