After the practice meeting and setting things up, they were ready for the battle. Dean was standing with the Cullens while the wolves were hiding. Sam and Seth went with Ella and Edward in hopes to draw Victoria away from the battle. "Edward, what's going on?" Seth was in wolf form and he was able to read his mind since Seth had the telepathy connection with the wolf pack.
"We were able to draw the newborns to the battlefield. They've been following Dean and Sam's blood and been searching for it. They're fighting now," Edward drew his breath in.
"What?" Ella asked.
"She's close. I can hear her thoughts. Seth, go," he told him right before Victoria came. "She knew we weren't there, but she caught our scent."
"Good. She found us," Ella said. She stood by Sam to make sure she he had back up if he couldn't fight.
"She's not alone," he said and saw a male figure walk in. "Riley, listen to me. Victoria's just using you to distract me. She knows I'll kill you. In fact, she'll be glad she doesn't have to deal with you anymore."
"Don't listen, Riley. I told you about their mind tricks," she told him as soon as she landed on a nearby tree branch.
"I can read her mind. So I know what she thinks of you," he told him, ignoring Victoria's comment.
"He's lying."
"She only created you and this army to avenge her true mate, James. That's the only thing she cares about… not you," Edward replied.
Riley looked up to Victoria and she said, "There's only you. You know that."
"Think about it. You're from Forks. You know the area. That's the only reason she chose you. She doesn't love you," Ella responded.
"Riley, don't let them do this to us. You know I love you," Victoria said as Riley looked up her again.
Riley looked back at Edward with confidence and said, "You're dead." He charged at Edward, but had not expected a wolf to charge at him and push him away from Edward. Riley continued to fight with Seth.
Victoria was ready to run away but stopped when she heard Edward say, "You won't get another chance like this again! You want her! You want me to feel the pain you felt when I killed James, when I tore him to pieces, when I turned him into ash, when I turned him into nothing." Victoria growled and charged at him. They both landed on the snow covered ground. They both attempted to reach the other's neck at the same time block the other's move. While Seth was fighting Riley, he was distracted which gave Riley enough time to pick him up and throw him over a boulder. Riley was on the move to hit Edward, but Ella jumped on the back of Riley and held his head.
"Victoria! Victoria!" Riley called out. Victoria was looking at him with a scolding look. Riley saw this and realized that Edward had been telling the truth the whole time. Ella snapped his head off from his body and he died. Edward attempted to punch Victoria in the head but she saw what he was going to do and jumped onto a tree. Ella moved Sam away from the tree as Edward went around the tree and pushed the tree down onto the ground. They fought a bit more but Edward managed to grab her head and toss her body in front of him and bit her neck before snapping it off her body. Ella and Sam grabbed Riley's head and body and put it next to Victoria's and Edward put a lighter on their bodies which immediately caught fire. Seth came and stood next to them.
"The battle's over down there. We need to get down there," Edward said. With Edward and Ella's help, they managed to bring Sam down to the battlefield in time to see that the fire had started. "How long?"
"A few minutes? 10 minutes?" Alice responded unsurely.
"The pack needs to leave. The Volturi won't honor a truce with the werewolves," Carlisle said. The wolves were ready to leave when a lone newborn had come out of nowhere and was ready to attack Leah but Jacob saw what had happened and attacked the newborn. The newborn had his arms around Jacob's shoulders and shattered it. The other wolves got a hold of him and killed him off. Jacob transformed from his wolf form to his human form.
"Jacob! You stupid idiot! I had him!" Leah called out.
"Shut it, Leah" Sam called out.
Ella and Edward ran towards Jacob and tried to help. Carlisle was already leaning down next to Jacob, assessing injury, "The bones on the right half of his body are shattered. I need to set the bones before his accelerated healing kicks in. It's already starting."
"We need to get him out of here. We're not gonna win a fight with the Volturi," Edward said.
"We'll take him home," Sam said.
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Carlisle replied. There was a new truce to allow Carlisle onto the Quileute territory.
"Dean and Sam need to take off. The Volturi will kill you immediately because you know too much about us," Ella replied. Both Dean and Sam looked wide-eyed and started running off to the opposite direction as hard and fast as they could. The wolf pack had left as the Cullens stood around in a protective stance. They were waiting for the Volturi to arrive.
"But what are they doing here? I thought they sent us to resolve the situation," Ella said.
"I don't understand it, either, but they're here," Carlisle responded.
"Do you think that maybe they're hoping that this war would kill us?" Edward asked. "I mean, they don't agree with our way of life."
"It's a possibility. I have a strong belief that Aro's been wanting to recruit you, Ella and Alice to join the Volturi. It's possible that they sent us here in hopes that our family would be destroyed," Carlisle responded.
"They're coming," Alice announced. Within a distance, they all could see Jane, Alec, Felix and Demetri come to the battlefield. Within a second, they were standing across from the Cullens.
"Impressive. I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact," Jane commented.
"We were lucky," Carlisle responded.
"I doubt that," Jane answered.
"It appears we missed an entertaining fight," Alec said.
"Yes. It's not often we're rendered unnecessary," Jane agreed.
"If you arrived a half hour ago, you would have fulfilled your purpose," Edward replied.
"Pity," she said and saw a female newborn, "You missed one."
"We offered her asylum in exchange of her surrender," Carlisle replied.
"That wasn't yours to offer," Jane said. She looked at the girl and asked, "Why did you come?" When no answer came, the girl screamed and fell down. Everyone knew that Jane was using her power on the girl to make her believe that she was in pain. "Who created you?"
"You don't need to do that. She'll tell you anything you want to know," Esme said.
"I know," Jane said.
"I don't know! Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe," she answered.
"Her name was Victoria. Perhaps you knew her," Ella retorted.
"Ella, if the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would have stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?" Carlisle asked.
"Of course," Jane hesitantly said. She looked towards the man on her left and said, "Felix."
"She didn't know what she was doing. We'll take responsibility for her," Esme offered.
"Give her a chance," Carlisle commented, attempting to diffuse the situation.
"The Volturi don't give second chances," Jane answered.
"Then tell me this, Jane," Ella started off. "Why is it that you're here even though Aro ordered us to resolve this situation?"
"You'll have to ask Aro," she responded. "You alone are free to join us now to ask him yourself."
"My family comes with me," she replied.
"Pity," she said. "Take care of that, Felix. I'd like to go home." Felix went to the girl and killed her as she screamed. He threw her body parts into the fire and left with the others. When it was safe enough, "I need to check on Dean and Sam to make sure that they're safe," Ella answered and ran to the direction that they had left.
"She's angry," Edward responded.
"She's not alone," Carlisle agreed.
"They're treating us like puppets," Rosalie commented.
"I'm going to check on Ella and make sure she's all right," Edward said and ran after her.
"I need to go check on Jacob," Carlisle said. The rest of the Cullens all stood around making sure that the fire won't get out of control. After an hour of getting things situated, they were all at the house, making small talk and watching the news. They wanted to make sure that things are not out of control when they leave to go back to Hogwarts. So far, there hasn't been anything new on the news, but they were getting somewhat restless, so they decided to go hunting and come back the next day to see what's been going on.
After they had settled down from hunting Ella wandered off to her bedroom, stood in the middle of it and looked around. She'd like to think that Harry would have loved coming into her room and learn all about the history behind every little thing that she and Edward had collected through time. "Love, what's the matter?"
"I can't stop thinking about Harry and how he's doing. I think that this is a lonely time for him since I'm not there for him. Plus I think he would be asking us questions about our things had he been in our room," she answered truthfully. She knew that if she lied, Edward would somehow persuade her to tell the truth.
"I know. I'm sure that Dumbledore is keeping him safe. He did want us to focus on Harry 100% and he knew that we couldn't do that if Victoria is running around giving trade secrets about Hogwarts and magic. That's the one thing about wizards/witches share with our world… the confidentiality of it," Edward explained.
"I know but it still doesn't stop me from worry about him, you know," Ella said.
"That's just the mother in you," a voice called out.
They both looked at where the voice was from and saw Esme standing by the doorway, "What do you mean?" Ella asked.
"I just realized something and the math is close. You would have been close in age and would have been able to give birth to a child as well," Esme explained.
"When you say, 'close in age,' just how close?" Ella asked.
"Lily was born in January, correct?" Esme asked.
"Yes," Ella answered.
"And you were born in March, right?" Ella nodded. "Now if you were born in the same year as Lily but same month, you were practically the same age, just about 3 months apart," Esme said. Ella thought about it and realized that Esme was right. When Esme saw that Ella understood what she meant, she continued on, "So it's really the mother in you that's affecting your behavior right now. You feel like his mother because you were learning how to be a mother when you were turned into a vampire."
"I get it," Ella said softly.
"If you really want to stop worrying about Harry, then stop loving him," Esme said. Ella gasped at what she said. But before Ella could say anything else, Esme continued on, "It's the only way for you to stop worrying about Harry, Ella." Ella looked at Esme and realized that she was right.
If she truly wanted to stop worrying about Harry, then she needed to stop worrying about Harry and that was something she couldn't do. "I can't stop loving him and I'll never stop loving him," she said simply.
"Then you'll never stop worrying about him," Esme added.
Ella hugged Esme, "Thank you."
"Oh, you're welcome!" Esme said. "Carlisle wanted us to have a meeting downstairs, that's why I'm here."
"Okay," Ella said as they all went down to the dining room.
Once everyone sat down in their designated seat, Carlisle spoke up, "I wanted to discuss this with everyone. I wanted to hear what all of you have to say about this before putting our decision into action."
"What is it, Carlisle?" Jasper asked.
"Should we stay here and make sure that things have settled down? Or should we go back to Hogwarts?" Carlisle asked.
"I think it would be better if we stayed here for a week or two just to see if things have settled before going to Hogwarts. I think that if we just went ahead to Hogwarts, all of us would wonder what would be happening here in Forks and in Seattle," Ella voiced her opinion.
"I agree. It'll help us focus on Hogwarts 100% knowing that things have calmed down," Edward added.
"They're right. It would be better knowing that Forks and Seattle were in safe hands before leaving," Jasper said.
"It's true, I think we should stay and keep an eye out for any mysterious behavior," Rosalie said.
"I vote that we stay here just for a few days," Alice replied.
"Me too," Emmett said.
"I agree," Esme added.
"It's unanimous that we'll stay here to make sure that things are running smoothly," Carlisle said.
"Maybe we could ask Dean and Sam to make sure that they haven't heard anything else either," Ella said. "Plus I would feel better if I could see them in person and make sure that they're healthy."
"I forgot about them. Do you think you could call them and ask them to stop by?" Carlisle asked.
"I'll call them now," Ella said as she pulled out her cell phone and called Dean. Moments later, she came back to the dining room and said, "He's on his way here with his brother. He said that it'll take them roughly an hour or so."
"Good, it appears that things are slowly settling down," Carlisle said.
"I agree. I think it would be safe to say that I should start making some food for them when they arrive," Esme said.
"I'll help," Ella stated as they both headed towards the kitchen to start cooking. The others dispersed to different places of the house and did what they wanted to do. Carlisle and Edward ended up in the kitchen about 45 minutes later, helping the girls with whatever they needed help with. Not 15 minutes later, they heard the doorbell ring. Carlisle went to answer the door. He led them to the kitchen area. Dean and Sam saw everyone gathered in the open dining area that was attached to the kitchen.
"You owe me $100!" Sam exclaimed. Dean stood there, looking somewhat mortified. He didn't even think that they would offer him and his brother food.
"Why does Dean owe you money?" Ella asked. "And why does Dean look frightened?"
"He didn't think that you'd be cooking us food and I did. We bet on it and now he owes me money," Sam answered. "Plus I don't think he's used to the idea that vampires can cook even though you don't eat human food."
Everyone laughed except for Dean, who just sat there with a scowl on his face. "Well, if Dean isn't hungry, then more for you," Esme said. She placed a plate in front of Sam, who was sitting at the dining table.
He dug in and moaned, "Esme, this is delicious!"
"I'm glad that you like it," she said. Everyone smirked as they saw Dean smelling the food that Sam was eating and was trying to take some of his food.
"Get your own!" Sam said, hogging his own plate of food. He looked at Esme and was unsure as to how to ask her properly. Edward had to leave because he couldn't control his laughter at what Dean was thinking.
"Dean, would you like some food?" Esme asked, after a few minutes.
"Yes, please," he answered. She put some food on a plate and offered it to him.
"Is there a reason as to why you've asked us to be here, besides the fact that you've offered us food?" Sam asked after he chewed his food.
"We were wondering if either of you have heard anything about the vampire battle since you've left the battlefield," Jasper asked.
"We've been mainly trying to protect ourselves but let us make some phone calls and see what we can find out," Sam said as he picked up his cell phone and made several calls. "Gotta give it some time before we find anything else out."
"We figured that," Edward said.
"Why don't both of you stay here for a bit," Carlisle offered. "Rest up, take a shower if you feel the need for it."
Both Dean and Sam looked at each other and agreed. Since they weren't working on a case, it was a good time to take a break before heading out. Plus it saves them some money from having to pay for a place to stay, gas and food.
After Dean and Sam had eaten their food, the boys had gone to their own separate ways. Emmett, Jasper and Dean had decided to do some friendly competition to see who was better, whereas Sam had spoken to Edward and Carlisle in library and discuss books. Sam wanted to gain as much knowledge about various histories and learn what he can from their collection of books. Slowly but surely, Sam was getting phone calls and everyone has told him the same thing: Nothing new about the vampire world in Seattle. Carlisle turned the television set on and listened to the news and nothing. The women were in main living area, together but still doing their own separate things; Rosalie and Alice on the computer, shopping for clothes, and Esme and Ella poring over interior design magazines. "Ladies, may I have your attention just for a second?" Carlisle asked, ever so polite.
"What is it, dear?" Esme asked.
"I thought that you'd be interested to know that there's nothing new so far about the vampire activity, although the news did say that the murders and disappearances have stopped. There aren't any escalating behavior, which I'm grateful for."
"That's good news. Have they said anything about what's causing them?" Rosalie asked.
"So far, there have been theories that a serial killer is loose, an animal had started attacking the city, or a Bigfoot roaming around," Carlisle answered.
"But there's no such thing as Bigfoot," Ella replied.
"True, but the thing about humans, they'll believe just about anything that they don't understand. Of course, there are a few exceptions," Alice commented.
"Agreed!" Ella replied. "You know what I think we should do?"
"What are you thinking?" Esme asked.
The smile on Alice's face looked like it was going to break her face. "Alice, Ella? What's going on?" Rosalie asked.
"We need to do some major shopping for Harry, Ron, and Hermione as well as the rest of the Hogwarts staff for missing the holidays with them," Ella commented.
"We should do that," Esme agreed.
"Where's the best place to go?" Rosalie asked.
"Well, let's go to New York first, then to Italy," Ella commented as she looked at Alice, who then squealed.
"I need to look on the Internet and see what's new," she said and immediately started looking on the computer for things to buy.