A/N: I know I've been out of commission for a while regarding this fic, it has not been easy to work on these last few chapters as the "battle" becomes the next and in reality worse hurdle of this fic. The reason I am putting this note at the beginning to give fair warning these next few chapters which will be updated within days of each other will pull A LOT from the book, I can't avoid this as much as I want to, Breaking Dawn was my least favorite of the books and the one I was most dreading in Chris' Saga. So please be as patient as you have been. I am very lucky to have such passionate readers such as you guys who have stuck by me through some of the worst writers' block I have experienced.
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By the time dawn broke the following morning, all of us were on our last nerve. You'd like to think that the sheer number of us supernatural beings, several with additional abilities would be able to differentiate deer crashing through the forest and an approaching Italian army, but sadly this is not the case. We were all so frayed so much on high alert we were jumping at every little noise, even Edward wasn't exempt from this as he bolted to the field several times throughout the night to investigate a noise.
I'm pretty sure the only ones who did get rest of any sort were the younger members of the pack, Brady, Colin, and a few of the others. Unlike Seth, Jacob, Leah and the rest of the pack they had not had battle experience, so any restlessness they might of had would be from sheer excitement of the day to come. The rest of us knew better. Even Nessie seemed restless. I parked myself outside her tent, Bella stayed inside with her and Jacob did patrols for a little bit before Carlisle finally insisted he get some rest.
Sometime during the night, (I had left my watch and phone at home) Fi joined me against the tree next to Nessie's tent, no words were said and I didn't even hesitate as she leaned into my side both of us watching the snow fall and staring down at our extended family camped around the roaring fire. Every now and then I would hear a little sigh from Nessie and it was honestly the best sound in the world, even so, I'm not entirely sure her night was restful.
Around two in the morning, Benjamin made a move towards the clearing and out of sheer curiosity I followed him, silently asking Fi to stay behind and keep watch with Bella over Nessie, which she did.
When I reached the field behind my friend he was rolling boulders, enormous boulders into inconspicuous spots through our side of the clearing before blanketing them with snow. Spotting one closer to the woods I hopped onto it and squatted down.
"You missed one," I called, he turned and grinned at me, quickly counting the boulders he already had in his possession.
"Did I now?" He asked and waved his hand for said boulder to start moving, rolling it's way towards the others, with me still riding it. I calmly jumped off when it was heading the other direction and stood next to him.
"What the bloody hell are you up to?" I asked with a grin
"What is it you Brits say, fortifying the castle?"
"What castle?"
He turned and blanketed the last boulder with the snow mounds,
"To the untrained eye these boulders appear as ordinary hunks of earth correct?"
"Last time I checked that's exactly what a boulder is Ben,"
"To someone without your power of observation or my deduction skills, those boulders would appear to be part of the naturally landscape, here for thousands of years, unchanging, unmoving."
"And as harmless as a mound of snow," I replied understanding his motive "unless you're my brother Emmett and it's snowball making snow." I paused "but unless you know the area you're not going to think they're a weapon…bloody hell."
Benjamin's face went serious for a moment, he took a deep breath and rubbed his chin thoughtfully,
"At least I hope that is the plan." He looked at me "offhand do you know if the Volturi has anyone in its defenses that can match your ability?"
I thought that over quickly and shook my head
"No, not that I can recall and I wouldn't even go so far to say match my ability, it's not exactly spectacular, it's a defense, not an offense."
Benjamin chuckled
"You may not read minds or control the elements my friend, but you can do extraordinary things with that defense," he smiled "even turn it into an offensive."
I took a deep breath and kicked some snow around with my foot,
"Hey Ben," I said
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you a really childish question?" Benjamin seemed confused for a moment, but nodded and waved his hand for me to ask my question. "If everything works out tomorrow morning, want to round up my brothers, the wolves, and the girls and have a snowball fight?"
The grin slowly reappeared on my friends face and it was catchy,
"Absolutely." He paused and I felt something hovering over my head, when I looked up I instantly regretted it as a pile of snow rained down on my face. I burst out laughing wiping snow off my face and spitting it out of my mouth. "A small taste of what I can offer."
"Hey as long as you're on my team feel free to use whatever weapons you've got."
As we trudged back to the camp, neither of us said anything, our bit of fun down on the field wasn't a way to sooth the tension we were all feeling, but it helped.
A few hours later the first ray of sunlight began filtering through the trees and with it life began waking up in forest around us, I could hear birds chirping and somewhere in the forest a deer cooing for its herd. On a normal morning this display of nature would be peaceful and an amazing
As a group we slowly headed to the clearing no one said a word everybody deep in their own thoughts or even prayers. The clearing was just as peaceful and beautiful as the forest had been, undisturbed and glistening with the fresh snow that blanketed it. The wolves stayed back, leaving only Jacob to follow the family. Sam and Carlisle had decided the best defense was to keep the wolves out of sight and bring them and their numbers out when or even if it became necessary. Carlisle's first instinct when it concerns Aro is to always go the diplomatic i.e. friendship route if he could appeal to Aro and their history together we might have a chance to walk away from this intact.
As the sun began to fill the field darting in between the thickening cloud cover, a sparkle not just from our skin caught my attention, Bella was wearing Aro's wedding gift, I gave her a confused look and despite the tense situation she returned the look with a humourous 'not a word,' which I obliged.
Carlisle, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Tanya, Kate, and Eleazar made up the front line. I stood with Esme briefly, my mother hugging my shoulder's tight before I moved to the front line with my brothers, sister, and father. Bella stood behind us with Nessie holding onto her mother like a monkey, leaving Bella's hands free, protecting our greatest weapons if it should come to that, Zafrina and Benjamin, who both looked ready to attack, Benjamin was kneeling to the ground, keeping track of the elements and ready to lunge his boulder army if need be.
Everyone else was scattered, but not far from the epicenter that was Bella and Nessie. The Irish coven was the closest of our nomadic friends, and when I glanced over there, Fi felt my glance and gave me a halfhearted smile, our conversation from the previous night was still ringing in my ears, part of me regretted it, but the other part knew I had to protect her and the best way to do that was to distance myself from her. Even with the distance Jane might reach her own conclusion merely by assumption, she will undoubtedly see two girls our age and automatically mark them as competition that needed to be eliminated quickly or worse…see them as a tool to get to me to cause me as much pain as possible. Heck she had witnessed for herself however briefly what destroying Bree right in front of me had done, she would relish in the thought of wiping out as many as possible just to see me squirm, both scenarios played over and over in my profile and I felt almost sick to my stomach.
The tension must've been too much for Jacob to handle because he emerged from the woods, leaving the pack behind and standing alongside Bella and Nessie, a bit of movement nearby caught my attention as Edward reached behind him and took Bella's outstretched hand. I think I was the only one who noticed though, I was not however the only one to notice a flash that darted through the snow and stood bravely next to me.
"Fi!" I exclaimed "go back!" I added, begging, she looked at me defiantly and shook her head. "Please, you promised."
"I'm sorry Chris, I cannae agree to that promise. I'm not going to leave you," she paused "We stick together." She took my hand in her own "aron?" she asked, I felt my body relax for a fleeting moment as the Gaelic word for together flitted through my memory. I looked over at Liam and Siobhan, expecting anger on both their parts, though they looked saddened by Fi's decision, they nonetheless were not going to come over here and drag her out of the front line. I could read their body language, if it did truly come down to a fight, they would help us.
"A…ron," I replied, accepting her hand and praying I was not making a mistake, I felt stronger having her with me, I'm not sure why or where the strength came from, but it was there. As a glimpse of red filled the edge of our vision Fi moved closer to me and though I knew it was probably a risk, I put my arm around her, holding her close. I felt my brothers and sister move closer to us as well, protecting us as much as possible. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up into the grinning face of Emmett, silently assuring me that he was there with me and that he had my back, like always.
The herd moved out of the woods to the north, coming from the very direction I had assumed they would. The outer section of the formation was gray as each of the masses fanned out the color grew darker, at the very core well-protected by witnesses and the guard itself came Aro, Caius, and Marcus. At first glance no one in the Volturi's group seemed surprised by our own gathering, but their body language betrayed them, even Aro seemed surprised by the outpouring of support we had managed to accumulate.
Even with the witnesses who had agreed to do that and nothing more added to our support system, we were grossly outnumbered by the guard and their own witnesses. Caius' eyes narrowed as they fell on Jacob, but he too tried to maintain a stiff uninterested manner, betrayed only by his briefest of movement. I quickly did a head count, though the masses seemed to make their numbers more so, I only counted thirty-two, excluded two beings I had seen from a distance last time I was in Volterra…the wives, but even they were present, I had heard they never leave Volterra, for them to make the journey was unnerving to say the least and I couldn't decide it if made me calmer or more nervous about our coming inquisition.
With my free hand I reached for my cross, forgetting momentarily that Nessie had it, instead my fingers found my crest charm and I rubbed the onyx surface, it didn't sooth my worry completely, but it certainly helped, whatever was about to happen at least we were together.
"The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming," Garrett muttered, he glanced over at me and feeling his glance I looked up, he gave me a mischievous half smile, which I weakly returned,
"Literally this time," I muttered "don't fire till you see the red of their eyes," I added. He gave me an approving nod, before he moved to be closer to Kate.
"They did come," Vladimir whispered to Stefan.
"The wives," Stefan hissed back. "The entire guard. All of them together. It's well we didn't try Volterra."
In addition to the guard and those closest to the Volturi, stood another set… the Volturi's own version of witnesses, all of whom took one look at Nessie and scowled, not even trying to hide their body language or emotions like their well-trained masters.
I heard a gasp, almost a cry from down the line as Tanya and Kate noticed Irina standing near the guard, but trying to distance herself from it. I looked at her closely reading our cousin's body language, she was frightened, not only for us, but for herself.
Seeing Nessie up close, hearing her heartbeat, and seeing how she had changed since her rash accusation, Irina was realizing she had made a mistake and it was either going to cost her life or all of ours. I knew how devastated we had felt regarding her betrayal, but that thought had faded quickly at seeing her, mainly because I knew no matter the outcome of this, Irina would not be going home to Alaska with her sisters. The Volturi on top of being "sticklers" for the rules also do not like false accusations no matter how well based those accusations may be.
Once Aro and the others realized Nessie was not an immortal child, Irina would be dead, I knew it and unfortunately Kate and Tanya knew it as well, she had signed her own death warrant the moment she turned away from Bella, not allowing her the chance to explain Nessie. Even if that hadn't been the only reason, she had nothing to offer the Volturi, no reason for them to be lenient and spare her life. I glanced at Edward, but he wasn't even paying attention to my profile or my mind, he was focused on something else, something in Aro and Caius' minds that I did not have access to, but I could profile almost well enough to keep up with my brother's telepathy,
"Alistair was right," he murmured to Carlisle, Carlisle looked at Edward, confused, before looking at me, I exchanged the look with my father, before looking back at the Volturi, my god he was right…this mission of theirs was originally an investigate and punish, but the power gathered here was too much to ignore, bloody hell this was acquisition mission.
"Alistair was right?" Tanya whispered, pulling my thoughts back.
"They—Caius and Aro—come to destroy and acquire," Edward explained, he looked at me again, reading my mind and my profile, before continuing "They have many layers of strategy already in place. If Irina's accusation had somehow proven to be false, they were committed to find another reason to take offense. But they can see Renesmee now, so they are perfectly sanguine about their course. We could still attempt to defend against their other contrived charges, but first they have to stop, to hear the truth about Renesmee." He lowered his voice even further. "Which they have no intention of doing."
Jacob gave a strange little huff and I couldn't help the 'bloody hell' that slipped, especially as the procession came to a halt across the field, Fi gave a sharp deep breath, and I hugged her shoulders tighter. Behind us the wolves had emerged from the woods. They had branched out so basically each wolf was standing alongside a vampire partner, a show of unison and support we had hoped for, but hadn't expected to this magnitude and it had stopped the Volturi's march cold. I spotted Seth and he cocked his head, his way of saying 'we're here, we're behind you guys' but it was the collection that really caught my attention. I knew from Seth that because of the increase of vampires in the area, there had been a sudden surplus of Quileute's changing and a lot of them were younger than even Seth's youngest friend Brady, some couldn't be more than ten or twelve years old. As if he could read my mind, Seth nodded, his look clearly telling me 'it is what it is,'
Behind me I heard Bella utter a low growl, and I felt Edward's movement as he gave her hand a squeeze. Seeing how young most of the wolf pack was now was hard to accept, Seth has become a great friend, but we are so close to the same age physically it's easier to deal with his participation in this, but seeing the little kids of the pack it was like seeing child soldiers and that's basically what these kids were, child soldiers.
Though the rest of the guard seemed emotionless, I could see the fear in their eyes, the fear of the unknown that stood in front of them and if anyone looked homicidal it was Caius, he looked at the wolves with a type of fear that always leads to violence, like a cornered animal ready to kill to protect itself. I looked over at Carlisle quickly before looking at Caius, it took me a moment, but I remembered something Carlisle had told me once, how Caius had made it his life's mission to hunt down and exterminate werewolves, he had encountered either one or a pack of them and they had nearly killed him, so he eradicated them from Europe, but still lived in fear that there was more. Though we constantly kept calling the pack werewolves and they did as well, we all knew they were not true werewolves, they were shapeshifters that happened to take on the form of wolves.
I think in the back of my mind I had assumed there could be werewolves, true turn at the full moon, bitten and that's how they come into being, werewolves, but it was such a sci-fi concept I never thought it was a possibility. But now seeing the look in Caius' eyes as he looked at our wolf friends...I mean if we could exist, then I suppose other supernatural creatures could also exist. In all the occasions I have been in Caius' presence I have never profiled true fear like I was right at this moment. I took a deep breath, this could either be to our advantage or just add to the charges against us, if Caius assumed, which I knew he would that these were not shapeshifters but true werewolves, our supposed mortal enemy.
I looked behind me at Bella, she was studying Marcus, Caius, and Aro, as the three accessed the situation, well I say three, but in reality it was just the latter two, Marcus was off in his own world, as if he was completely oblivious to where he was, this didn't stop the three of them from holding hands, keeping in constant communication with one another, while behind Aro was a woman, her hand on his back. It took me a few seconds, but I remembered her, I had seen her the first time I was in Volterra, she hadn't stood out to me as much as Jane and Alec had, but her presence and the clear way she held herself expressed to me that she had an ability, though I wasn't sure at the time what that was, but now I realized this was the Volturi's shield, a shield against powers like Edward's, Julianna's and Siobhan, but useless against a physical ability, earthmoving like Benjamin…but what about Kate?
I thought about the shield training Kate had done with Bella, did this shield work the same way as Bella's, could Kate's gift be useless if it came to that? The woman looked at me as if she knew what I was doing, as if she realized I was profiling and was trying to prevent me, if she was however it didn't work I was still able to profile everyone in front of me…my ability isn't physical like Kate's, it's not mental like Siobhan, Julianna, and Edward's…my ability can't be guarded against at least not 100%, you could stand perfectly still and close your eyes and your body language will still tell a story. The shield must have sensed this, because her face only grew more determined and I could practically feel her shield expanding for a brief moment, enveloping Aro, Marcus, and Caius. Aro must have sensed it too because gave his head the slightest of shakes and she obediently backed off, her hand never once leaving his back. As my profile moved to Aro I could see him scanning the group before him, hunting with his eyes and I saw a twitch of disappointment as he realized the one being he was searching for was missing. He was looking for Alice.
Edward read my mind and gave me a slight nod…this was an acquiring mission and their key target was thankfully not here, but Edward and I both understood that wouldn't change the outcome, it also wouldn't change any offer that Aro was prepared to give…any offer that would persuade those of us with abilities to join the guard, those who refused would join the rest of the condemned.
Movement not far from Aro caught my attention and I involuntarily shuddered as her gaze found me…Jane was staring at me from under her cloak…staring is too gentle of a word, she was glowing at me and more importantly Fi. Alec was right alongside his sister and he didn't hesitate to join her glare, if looks alone could kill I would long dead by now and shaking hands with my entire human family in the hereafter. Behind me I felt Bella shift in the snow, seconds later I felt something envelope Fi and I like a blanket, Jane's glare intensified, but she also looked slightly confused. Not wanting to draw any attention on Bella I promised myself to thank her later as her shield protected us.
"Edward?" Carlisle asked, low and anxious. "Christian?"
"They're not sure how to proceed." Edward explained "They're weighing options, choosing key targets…me, of course, you, Eleazar, Chris, Tanya. Marcus is reading the strength of our ties to each other, looking for weak points. The Romanians' presence irritates them. They're worried about the faces they don't recognize…Zafrina and Senna in particular…and the wolves, naturally. They've never been outnumbered before. That's what stopped them."
"So they are afraid of the pack?" I whispered and Edward nodded
"I don't understand, why do they feel outnumbered?" Tanya whispered incredulously.
"They don't count their witnesses," Edward breathed. "They are nonentities, meaningless to the guard. Aro just enjoys an audience."
"Should I speak?" Carlisle asked.
Edward hesitated, he looked at me, and I took a deep breath, feeling more responsibility than I really cared to have at that moment. I profiled Aro quickly, he was hoping Carlisle would make the first move, speak first…it was a bloody chess match. Aro's words to me all those years ago when I first met him, when we played chess against one another. 'I always play as black'. In a chess game white respectively makes the first move, by allowing your opponent to make the first move, it allows you to gage their style for rest of the game…the player who moves their pawn out first has a different method than the one who moves his knight out right off the bat. That's what Aro was doing, he was waiting for us to make the first move then he would apply his counter. Edward read my mind carefully, then nodded.
"This is the only chance you'll get." He spoke up, Carlisle squared his shoulders and paced several steps ahead of our defensive line. I fought my instinct to follow him, mainly because Emmett kept a hand on my shoulder, holding me back. I wanted to follow my father, I wasn't much of a bodyguard, but it was better than leaving him unprotected, but at the same time diplomacy was the best way to kick this off, better to show trust and amnesty towards the Volturi than a show of force. Still I was so uncomfortable with this whole thing. He spread his arms, holding his palms up as if in greeting.
"Aro, my old friend. It's been decades."
You could hear a pin drop a mile away for a long time…almost dead silence for a long moment. I stared at Aro, studying him as he took in Carlisle's actions and words, he had hoped Carlisle would make the first move, but he hadn't been entirely sure he would, now he began adjusting his own next move…before he stepped forward out of the center of the Volturi formation. His shield followed like a puppy, but it was the rest of the guard that caught my attention, they did not like their leader moving away from the protection of the circle. But Aro held one hand up toward them.
"Peace." He only walked a few steps closer to Carlisle before stopping and studying his old friend. "Fair words, Carlisle," he called, his voice sending a chill down my spine. "They seem out of place, considering the army you've assembled to kill me, and to kill my dear ones."
I couldn't help the growl that escaped my throat, Emmett squeezed my shoulders, trying to keep me calm.
"We've assembled?" I muttered "who is invading whom here?" Emmett's squeezed just a little tighter and Fi did the same with my hand, but that I think was more for her own comfort than calming me down.
Carlisle shook his head and stretched his right hand forward as if there were not still almost a hundred yards between them.
"You have but to touch my hand to know that was never my intent."
Aro narrowed his eyes, almost glaring at my father.
"But how can your intent possibly matter, dear Carlisle, in the face of what you have done?" He frowned, genuinely looking disappointed, like it or not I could never deny that Aro was fond of Carlisle and respected their friendship.
"I have not committed the crime you are here to punish me for."
"Then step aside and let us punish those responsible. Truly, Carlisle, nothing would please me more than to preserve your life today."
"No one has broken the law, Aro. Let me explain."
Before Aro could reply, Caius drifted swiftly forward to Aro's side, if Aro looked disappointed, Caius just looked angry and ready to issue a verdict there and then.
"So many pointless rules, so many unnecessary laws you create for yourself, Carlisle," the white-haired ancient hissed. "How is it possible that you defend the breaking of one that truly matters?"
"The law is not broken. If you would listen-"
"We see the child, Carlisle," Caius snarled. "Do not treat us as fools. And it is not like this is the first time you have toed this particular rule," he added gesturing to me "we looked the other way with the boy. Perhaps you felt to further test our generosity."
I couldn't help my own snarl that escaped my throat, talk about focusing on the past, Carlisle and I had fought my case and won over sixty years ago and Caius was still stuck on that. I was growing more and more uncomfortable with this whole thing, I know I wasn't the intended target at the moment, but all the right buttons were being pushed to tick me off.
"She is not an immortal. She is not a vampire. I can easily prove this with just a few moments-" Carlisle tried to explain but Caius cut him off.
"If she is not one of the forbidden, then why have you massed a battalion to protect her?"
"Witnesses, Caius, just as you have brought." Carlisle gestured to the angry horde at the edge of the woods; some of them growled in response. "Any one of these friends can tell you the truth about the child. Or you could just look at her, Caius. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks."
"Artifice!" Caius snapped. "Where is the informer? Let her come forward!" he looked around viciously, before spotting Irina. "You!" At first Irina didn't move, it was like she was frozen or in a different world. Before Caius could order again one of the larger members of the guard, whom I could only assume was there to protect the wives, stepped forward and pushed her along, sending her to Caius. Irina was staring at our line the entire time, more specifically her sisters. Instead of waiting for her to reach him, Caius closed rank quickly and ended it with a loud slap to her face. Both Tanya and Kate hissed in unison and we all felt the degradation watching our cousin be treated like that. As angry and betrayed as we felt towards Irina, there wasn't a member of the Cullen family nor the Denali's that didn't twitch, trying to maintain our composure, but wanting to step in and help Irina. Caius pointed one clawed finger at Nessie, where she clung Bella's back. "This is the child you saw?" he demanded. "The one that was obviously more than human?" Irina peered at them, examining Nessie closely, studying her, she seemed confused and I sighed, she was realizing how wrong she had been, how she had jumped to conclusions. "Well?" Caius snarled.
"I… I'm not sure," she said, her voice unsure and uneasy. Caius's hand twitched as if he wanted to slap her again.
"What do you mean?" he said.
"She's not the same, but I think it's the same child. What I mean is, she's changed. This child is bigger than the one I saw, but-"
Caius did not take Irina's answer well and growled at her, cutting off her sentence, leaving it unfinished. Within seconds Aro was at Caius' side, hand on his shoulder, restraining him.
"Be composed, brother. We have time to sort this out. No need to be hasty." Aro…always the diplomatic and smooth talker of the group eased Caius from his impending temper tantrum. "Now, sweetling," Aro said in a warm, sugary murmur. "Show me what you're trying to say." He held his hand out to Irina, who took it uncertainly, as her thoughts spilled into Aro's mind, giving him exactly the answer Caius was unable to obtain. "You see, Caius?" he said. "It's a simple matter to get what we need." Checking on his audience, Aro glanced at them for a moment, before returning his focus on Carlisle. "And so we have a mystery on our hands, it seems. It would appear the child has grown. Yet Irina's first memory was clearly that of an immortal child. Curious."
"That's exactly what I'm trying to explain," Carlisle said, I watched my father's shoulders relax slightly, he wasn't completely at ease with his "friend" but there's one thing Aro can never ignore it's strange things, he's the epitome of curiosity killed the cat, heck I'm convinced the only reason I survived my first encounter with the Volturi was because my eyes weren't bright red, nor were they yellow like he had come to experience with Carlisle, my blue eyes confounded Aro, provided a challenge for him to investigate. The fact that I could profile probably had a hand in it as well, but the chance to learn something new, study something previously unstudied, that's Aro's Achilles heel to a T.
Carlisle held out his hand again, still hoping to persuade Aro to listen to his thoughts, see his experience with this whole thing. Aro hesitated for a moment.
"I would rather have the explanation from someone more central to the story, my friend. Am I wrong to assume that this breach was not of your making?"
"There was no breach." Carlisle reminded him
"Be that as it may, I will have every facet of the truth." Aro's feathery voice hardened. I winced and looked at my brother
"You Edward, he's gaming for you," I whispered, even though Edward could read Aro's mind and knew that already, he nodded and put a hand on my shoulder quickly. "And the best way to get that is to have the evidence directly from your talented son." He inclined his head in Edward's direction. "As the child clings to his newborn mate, I'm assuming Edward is involved."
Edward turned to quickly to kiss Bella and Nessie's foreheads, before heading off towards the middle of the field, he clapped Carlisle on the shoulder as he walked by. I didn't have to turn around to feel the tension and fear emanating from Bella and Esme, especially when my mother let out a whimper. I reached behind me and felt the crunch of snow as Esme joined us up front, she put her arms around both Fi and I, embracing us and using us to maintain her own composure.
As Edward walked towards the group, he held his hand out to Aro with an arrogance that only my brother could pull off, an arrogance that would come off to the untrained eye as star struck, which definitely played into Aro's own arrogance, the rest of the guard were not amused. Especially not Jane and Alec, the pair of them looked ready to unleash their abilities at the first word…Jane's looks towards me had not stopped, if anything they had gotten more intense and I'm certain Bella's shield was the only reason I was not writhing on the ground in sheer pain.
Feeling the terror emanating from her, I looked over at Fi, silently urging her to reconsider and return to the Irish coven, her family, but she shook her head stubbornly and held my hand tighter. As we watched Edward walk closer and closer to Aro, I felt the mounting fear from everyone around me, especially Bella, however this fear didn't last long as I felt something new, something else began picking at my profile.
I felt Bella's shield move past Fi and I, heading towards Edward. It was still wrapping the pair of us like a blanket, but. Now it was expanding, covering Edward as he moved closer to the Volturi side. I stole a glance at Bella, she was surprised at her own actions, her own ability and was almost laughing, but what made the whole thing even better, more priceless was the look on Jane's face. Clearly she had been waiting for Edward to get within range and though it would've been a complete violation of Aro's orders, she was prepared to toe the line and at least make Edward as uncomfortable as she possibly could without physically hurting him. But with Bella's shield she couldn't do anything except scowl as her smug smile was wiped completely off her face.
Of course Bella's joy was short lived as Edward reached his destination and Aro looked at him like the blood sucking vampire he was. The moment Aro took Edward's hand and the memories began to flow between them we all watched Aro's expression and I see Bell's discomfort growing into anger, she had pulled back her shield, realizing that if she kept it covering Edward Aro wouldn't be able to read his mind, and thereby would prevent the story we needed to be told, our best way to reach the one who could potentially determine our fate.
This didn't change how helpless she felt, emanating all of our feelings on the moment. She let out a soft growl, which startled Fi so much she turned around quickly, she squeezed my hand tighter out of fear this time and I wrapped my arms around her shoulder, comforting her, I knew this was the last thing I should be doing, displaying for Jane my feelings for Fi, especially with my brother so close to the lion's den, but I had to risk it, I didn't want to hide from anyone, especially not Jane, especially if it meant ignoring Fi.
"Easy, Bella," Zafrina whispered to Bella, I watched her body relax somewhat with Zafrina's words and not a moment too soon as Aro straightened, his eyes opening as he focused on Edward. Edward was still tense, not as much as before, but clearly aware that he was not out of danger yet, but it was moving that way.
"You see?" Edward asked keeping his voice as calm as possible, even his body language was calm, I don't know how he was staying that calm, but I give him props for it.
"Yes I see, indeed." Aro agreed, there was a chuckle to his voice, amusement even. "I doubt whether any two among gods or mortals have ever seen quite so clearly." The guard seemed confused, which made me bite back a grin, Nessie was falling under the same category as me, an interesting development in what had been previously set in stone, an oddity even. It was being an oddity that got me out of Volterra alive, maybe being an oddity would be what saved Nessie and thereby saved all of us. I looked back at Nessie and gave her a slight grin, she returned it, no words were needed. "You have given me much to ponder, young friend," Aro continued. "Much more than I expected."
"What does that mean?" Fi whispered "what's happening?"
"Aro likes strange things, things that do not necessarily fit into the perfect vampire mold, like Nessie's existence, my blue eyes, Alice's gift of the future. He likes to study and learn more about them. He's the epitome of a professional student." I paused, "there's not much I admire about him, but the fact he is so intellectual and willing to learn new things is one thing I do, his chess abilities is the other."
"Chess?" Fi asked
"He's a brilliant chess master, and I've had the pleasure of beating him, even though it was the closest game I have ever faced."
Across the field, Aro was looking at Edward closely, he glanced towards our line, right at Nessie and Bella and I knew what was coming next, each move was being set up for a checkmate, the problem was my profile hadn't figured out who was going to be the winner yet and that was frustrating me to no end. I could see one thing happening, one thing that Aro out of pure curiosity would insist on and I knew I was not going to be the only one against it. So I took a deep breath and allowed my wince as Aro's next question came
"May I meet her?" he asked—almost pleadingly I half expected him to put his hands together and beg Edward, Aro's curiosity makes mine look nonexistent. "I never dreamed of the existence of such a thing in all my centuries. What an addition to our histories!"
"What is this about, Aro?" Caius snapped before Edward could answer.
"Something you've never dreamed of, my practical friend. Take a moment to ponder, for the justice we intended to deliver no longer applies." Caius hissed in surprise at his words. "Peace, brother," Aro cautioned soothingly. "Will you introduce me to your daughter?" Aro asked Edward again. Edward looked hesitant, almost unsure, even with his back to us I could profile it, even though I couldn't profile any danger at the moment, that didn't mean I was willing to bless this meet and greet, I didn't want Nessie anywhere near Aro and his goon squad, no matter how much it might help our case.
"Chris?" Bella whispered, I looked at her, Nessie was cradled in her arms, protected "is it safe,"
I took a deep breath and sighed
"It is...I'm not happy about it, but right now it's safe." I paused "I really don't like it though." She reached forward and squeezed my shoulder.
"I think a compromise on this one point is certainly acceptable, under the circumstance. We will meet in the middle." Aro called, he let go of Edward's hand, but when Edward turned to come towards us, Aro put his arm casually around my brother's shoulders and that really made me uncomfortable, I sucked in a breath and let it out, trying to keep myself calm and keep myself focused, I needed to focus, I needed to profile. When the entire guard shifted to follow them I felt my body tense and I started to move as well, only to be held back by Emmett and Esme.
"Stay kid," Emmett whispered
If Aro noticed this exchange, he didn't acknowledge it as he held up a hand, stopping the guard in their path,
"Hold, my dear ones. Truly, they mean us no harm if we are peaceable." The guard was clearly not pleased with his decision to go alone, and his shield was especially not pleased as she let out a whimper and called to him
"Master,"
"Don't fret, my love," he responded. "All is well."
"Perhaps you should bring a few members of your guard with us," Edward suggested. "It will make them more comfortable." Aro seemed to like this idea as he nodded, he snapped his fingers, without looking behind him, calling out the two names I was partly dreading and partially hoping for as strange as it sounds.
"Felix, Demetri."
I had been hoping that it would be them for the very reason that if Aro chose them, he would not take Jane and Alec with him, but on the other hand, both Felix and Demetri have made me nervous since my first encounter with them, I learned very quickly that for whatever reason only known to him, the colour of my eyes royally freak Demetri out, maybe Aro explained my profiling ability as me staring into their soul or something, if we even have soul's anymore, but that doesn't change the fact that I am just as intimidated by Felix and Demetri as they are of me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes tight for a moment, trying to compose myself…waiting for Edward's call to Bella.
"Bella," he finally called. "Bring Renesmee… and a few friends."
I knew instantly that I would not be one of those friends, Jacob wouldn't want to be without Nessie, and having her that close to danger he'd want to be by her side constantly and if things did become physical, there was only one member of the family I would want out in the center of that field with my brother, niece, and sister…Emmett. So I was not surprised as Bella made her decision, not surprised, but I wanted to be out there with them, I wanted to help however I could.
"Jacob? Emmett?" she asked as she began walking, still holding Nessie close, Emmett gently pushed past Fi and I and with a nudge from his head into my back, Jacob followed. Without Emmett right by her side and Carlisle still in his spot, Esme and Rose crowded closer to Fi and I, holding us close, our family's numbers left to just the four of us for the moment.
The guard hissed and growled a little bit as Bella, Nessie, Emmett, and Jacob joined Edward in the center of the field, meeting Aro, Caius, Marcus, Felix, and Demetri, Jacob was clearly not a popular choice, but he was definitely the right pick for this, if it caused this type of reaction.
When the group was only a few yards from Aro's group, Edward left Aro's side to rejoin Bella, taking her hand and holding it tight. From our side we watched the exchange even with our hearing it was difficult to hear details, however I didn't miss Aro's question to Bella regarding her necklace
"You liked my gift?" he asked,
"It's beautiful, and very, very generous of you. Thank you. I probably should have sent a note." Bella replied perfectly, Aro laughed at that
"It's just a little something I had lying around. I thought it might complement your new face, and so it does."
I couldn't help myself, I growled at that statement,
"Chris?" Fi asked timidly
"That necklace belongs to the Crown Jewels,"
Fi blinked in surprise
"THE Crown Jewels?" she repeated
"Yep," I replied, "Aro gave it to Bella as a wedding present."
Before I could continue another noise caught my attention, Jane had let out a hiss and was glaring at Bella with murderous eyes, I could profile her pretty clear, she had coveted that necklace, had hoped that Aro would give it to her, as annoyed as I was that the Volturi had them in the first place, I would definitely rather Bella have the necklace than Jane. Aro, of course had no idea Jane was being so materialistic as he gazed at Nessie with admiration and curiosity, exactly what we had been hoping for.
"Hello, Renesmee." He said loud enough for everyone to her, and I took a deep breath, waiting for Nessie's response, as she did not disappoint
"Hello, Aro," she answered maturely and Aro practically swooned
"What is it?" Caius hissed frustrated,
"Half mortal, half immortal," Aro explained, mainly to Caius, but to the rest of the guard as well. "Conceived so, and carried by this newborn while she was still human."
"Impossible," Caius scoffed.
"Do you think they've fooled me, then, brother?" Aro asked in a serious tone "Is the heartbeat you hear a trickery as well? Calmly and carefully, brother," Aro cautioned, still smiling at Nessie. I could tell from his body language, he was preparing a speech, a soapbox my father would call it, putting himself center stage, he was speaking to Caius, but was addressing everyone present "I know well how you love your justice, but there is no justice in acting against this unique little one for her parentage. And so much to learn, so much to learn! I know you don't have my enthusiasm for collecting histories, but be tolerant with me, brother, as I add a chapter that stuns me with its improbability. We came expecting only justice and the sadness of false friends, but look what we have gained instead! A new, bright knowledge of ourselves, our possibilities." He held out his hand to Nessie, but we had all come to know that's not how Nessie shares things, Aro seemed stunned for a moment as she reached for his face, but allowed her to touch her finger tips to his face. A few moments passed before he finally smiled
"Please?" she asked him. His smile turned gentle.
"Of course I have no desire to harm your loved ones, precious Renesmee." I felt my stomach drop as I read between his words, my distrust in Aro growing stronger, this confirmed by a hiss from Maggie, where she stood not far from us, she had sensed his lie just as I had read his body language and profiled him. Aro's curiosity was only going to get us so far…bloody hell this was not good, this was not the path we wanted to take. "I wonder," Aro said thoughtfully, he lowered his voice, but we could still hear him even from our position.
The way he was speaking, he wanted us to hear, wanted us to know what was going on across the field. He looked at Jacob, then at the rest of the pack, like they were trainable puppies, guard dogs…I exchanged a look with Seth, he might not have the ability to profile like I can, but he's not an idiot, he could see the same look I was profiling.
"It doesn't work that way," Edward explained, an edge to his voice
"Just an errant thought," Aro said,
"They don't belong to us, Aro. They don't follow our commands that way. They're here because they want to be."
Jacob growled menacingly.
"They seem quite attached to you, though," Aro said. "And your young mate and your… family. Loyal."
"I swear to god if he calls the wolves our pets someone may get eaten." I muttered, I didn't think I said it loud, but I wasn't all that surprised when Seth nodded in agreement, letting out a low growl.
"They're committed to protecting human life, Aro." Edward countered "That makes them able to coexist with us, but hardly with you. Unless you're rethinking your lifestyle."
Aro laughed merrily.
"Just an errant thought," he repeated. "You well know how that is. We none of us can entirely control our subconscious desires."
"I do know how that is. And I also know the difference between that kind of thought and the kind with a purpose behind it. It could never work, Aro."
Edward must've read in Aro's mind what I had profiled and shared it with Jacob, because even across the field I could hear the low growl, which reverberated throughout the pack around us, jaws snapping and growls, that were quickly stopped when Sam issued one solid snap of his jaw.
"I suppose that answers that question," Aro said, laughing "This lot has picked its side."
Suddenly Edward let out a hiss and started forward, we could all see Bella's grip on his arm tighten, in reaction to his sudden movement, Demetri and Felix both shifted into attack mode, crouching low, just waiting for the command. Aro gave them a wave which brought them back to non-aggressive posture, Even Edward seemed to follow Aro's instructions in that matter.
"Calm down Edward," I muttered, hoping my thoughts could reach my brother this far "he's baiting us…don't give in."
I saw Edward's shoulders relax and I knew he had heard my thoughts at least.
"So much to discuss," Aro continued "So much to decide. If you and your furry protector will excuse me, my dear Cullens, I must confer with my brothers."
I expected Aro to rejoin the guard, but instead he called them forward. As inconspicuous as possible Edward started backing up, pulling Bella and Emmett with him, Jacob followed suit, but much slower than my siblings, he was about to lose it, I read it all over his body language, Aro's comments about guard dogs and his attitude that the wolves were our property, us the masters them the pets really got to Jacob and while Sam could silence the pack with a single motion, Jacob was not bound by that same influence any longer.
Edward, watch Jacob! I warned, not wanting to draw more attention on Jacob or give Aro reason to push more buttons. Now I don't know if it was just her own instinct or if Nessie somehow heard my thoughts, but she grabbed Jacob's tail, holding it tight, with her there, Jacob had no choice he wouldn't leave Nessie's side and followed Bella, Edward, Emmett, and Nessie back to our side.
I felt a quick sigh of relief escape me, having my family back on this side of the clearing…but we weren't out of danger by a long shot, even though Aro and Caius seemed to be divided as their discussion began, I could still see the danger. Something was about to happen that would shift everything, I just couldn't tell which way it was going to shift or what it was that was about to happen.
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