Aurora Borealis

by Star-Of-Radiance

Bella's 'perfect slice of forever' slowly unravels, piece by piece. Months after the confrontation during Breaking Dawn, all the devastating consequences of crimes, both forgotten and overlooked, reveal themselves, and the criminal trials and sentencing of Edward Cullen and the Volturi unfold- along with its equally devastating aftermath. Think carefully before you choose to act...

11. Epiphany

Sorry but a lot of the narration, both in Bella and Jacob's POVs, in all the Twilight novels tend to be internal. That includes all the major revelations and realisations, like Victoria being behind the newborns sneaking into Bella's room, Bella realising that Edward was a vampire and then Jacob was a werewolf, he reaction towards her pregnancy, et cetera, Jacob's anguish in Breaking Dawn and his reasoning for imprinting. This may be a multi-crossover fanfic but I'm trying to make this as realistic to the novels as possible.

---

"We run carelessly to the precipice, after we have put something before us to prevent us seeing it."

Blaise Pascal

After they were done, the Death Dealer named Istvan opened the wall and let them through. As the door slid shut behind them, Bella, still in shock, blinked at what she vaguely registered was the outline of Edward before he disappeared from view.

Esme let out a breath. "What will happen now?" She looked at both Gabrielle- whom Bella had completely forgotten had been in the cell with them throughout their conversation- and Istvan, whom she now fully remembered had been listening in on them.

Gabrielle exchanged grim looks with the Death Dealer. "Nothing that we haven't already expected," she confessed. "The trespassing will be added to the list of charges against Edward, as is breaking the universal concept of hospitality, which, as immortals from all the ages, vampires adhere very strictly too."

"Even though Edward didn't know about the confederation?" Emmett asked, tentatively.

Gabrielle scoffed. "Edward didn't know about the confederation, but you don't need to know about them- or about any higher authority and law- not to break into someone's house or to be a bad guest by being rude to the host or over-extending your welcome. I'm quite certain that during his day and age- whenever that may be- including in non-magical human society, breaking into somebody's house without their permission- or before they even gave it- would be considered unacceptable.

"The other more personal things are not illegal," Gabrielle mused. "Any charges that involve either Edward or the Volturi preying upon humans are not going to count. Not because the confederation doesn't consider it immoral, but they will take into account that not only did you not know the law, you were never trained to resist fully nor did you possess the benefits of being aligned with wizards, as part of the confederation. Therefore, while your family will be held in higher regard than the others, applauded even, members of your species will still have to have some way to feed themselves, even if it means preying upon humans."

"How did the confederation not know of us, though?" Jasper mused aloud.

Once again, Gabrielle exchanged grim looks with Istvan.

"That is something we all want to find out." A woman's voice sounded.

Selene, the Death Dealer who had arrested Edward marched forwards.

"Members of the Volturi have been questioned and given their sworn testimonies, which they will defend in court," Selene informed them. She turned towards Carlisle. "One of them- Marcus- wishes to know whether you knew what Aro had done to his wife."

His wife? Bella glanced at an equally-bewildered Carlisle. "What?"

"I take it that's a no," Selene said, not even reacting. "Marcus has received something of a shock. As did more than half their guard and the two wives."

"Sulpicia and Athenodora?" Carlisle said, sounding bemused, surprising the rest of the Cullens. "Aro and Caius' wives? What about them?"

"It appears that the one known as Chelsea had been keeping them under some form of enchantment," Selene remarked "as did another: Corin. Apparently, their consorts, and many members of their army had never decided to stay in that tower or the citadel of their own free will, doing what the two of them wanted them to do. Once we'd placed magical inhibitors on Chelsea and Corrin-" her striking chestnut eyes found theirs "they snapped out of it- came back to their senses."

Bella and Esme inhaled sharply, while Carlisle Alice, Rosalie and Emmett gasped. Even Jasper looked disturbed. "Their wives were under Chelsea's spell?" Bella blurted. "I never knew!"

"But you did know what this Chelsea was capable of?" Selene arched an elegant brow.

"Eleazar told us," Bella replied, still in shock. She shivered and clutched her arm.

Esme cast a disturbed look towards her children.

"When was this?" Jasper asked, bewildered.

"When the Denalis came, after the two of you and everyone else left." Bella explained. "We'd invited the Denalis- Tanya, Kate, Eleazar and Carmen- to come to Forks while you guys searched for witnesses to make the Volturi stop and listen, after Irina had come running to report to them. Eleazar mentioned that his being together with Carmen was what prevented Chelsea's spell from binding them to the Volturi and allowed the two to leave the Guard but I never thought..." Bella was aghast.

Venom pooled at the bottom of her mouth, like bile. She felt the blood she'd drank back in Forks rise in her throat, threatening to regurgitate itself. Could vampires even vomit? She'd never asked.

So," Selene regarded them thoughtfully. "Marcus and Didyme would have been able to leave if they'd wished?" She asked Carlisle directly.

"Didyme?" Carlisle asked, bewildered. "Marcus' dead wife?" This question startled his family. Gabrielle turned her eyes towards him. Istvan raised an eyebrow. "She died, didn't she?"

"Was that the name of Marcus' wife?" Esme wondered aloud. "I wondered why there were only two when they came to Forks."

"She died many centuries ago," Carlisle explained.

"How?" Selene asked.

Carlisle shrugged, helplessly. "I never asked. She was gone by the time I first came to Volterra. It was a private thing, and I never inquired further in case I caused Marcus any more pain- or Aro."

"Aro?" Emmett questioned, a bewildered look on his face.

"Didyme was Aro's sister," Carlisle explained. Their eyes widened. Esme gasped. "His biological sister, not just his coven-mate. That's all I know about her- that and that her power was similar to yours, Jasper."

Jasper was astounded. "Me?"

"In a sense," Carlisle clarified. "She could only make other people feel happy." He paused. "I don't know what happened to her."

"Your species are not magically powerful," Selene remarked, eyes scanning each of them up and down. "And you were not aware of the existence of a much wider supernatural world. But you are physically virtually indestructible." Her eyes narrowed. Bella was startled to see that they were now a vivid shade of electrical blue.

"What other ways could any member of your species be killed apart from being deliberately torn to pieces and set on fire?" Selene asked quietly. "I highly doubt that Didyme's death had been an accident."

Silence struck them. "And I highly doubt that Marcus would have allowed his wife's death to go un-avenged." She claimed. "And he didn't; in fact, he claimed that Chelsea bound him in loyalty to Aro and Caius, even at the expense of investigating the truth or the prospect of avenging his wife's murder. He couldn't leave without another bond that was much stronger and even more personal, distracting and preventing the influence of Chelsea's power in clouding his mind and judgment- though not his grief. But at least they didn't allow Corin to make him feel content against his will. Judging by his reaction once he came to his senses, I did not doubt him the slightest."

This remark caused all the Cullens to gasp and to take a step back.

"What are you saying?" Esme gasped, hand at her heart. "That Aro- Aro used Chelsea…and Didyme..." she trailed off.

"Chelsea bound Marcus in loyalty to Aro and Caius," Selene confirmed. Esme and the others were too stunned to speak. "As they did with Sulpicia and Athenodora, Aro and Caius' wives. Quite suspicious, that Aro claims to have no idea about how his own sister died," She remarked "he didn't even make any attempt to avenge her nor to find out more about her death. And being the only ones that Chelsea directly answered to, only he and Caius had the power to investigate and avenge his sister's death without restraint- which he never did. And Marcus was placed directly under her spell as soon as Didyme died. He claims to have sought her killer, at least at first, until Aro came with Chelsea, then called Charmion, and persuaded him to return with them to Volterra."

Rosalie and Esme hissed in shock. "What are you saying?" Carlisle questioned, aghast.

"That we may be adding more to the list of charges," Selene remarked evenly. She leaned against the wall.

She listed them off: "Enslavement via enchantment, false imprisonment, kin-slaying and murder of the first degree, as humans would claim." She looked at Bella. "The first two isn't unlike the charges pressed against your Edward."

That jolted Bella back to her senses. "No- Edward would never-" she began heatedly.

"He already did." Selene answered, matter-of-factly. She straightened. "He's confessed. He had no choice: the investigators of MACUSA were most thorough. They interviewed those wolf shape-shifters-" her nose wrinkled slightly, barely discernible "-and the non-magical humans around town about his doing. They gave us all they found. And when we confronted him, in the face of all the evidence with a Truthsayer on hand, he crumbled.

"False imprisonment- when he recruited, or manipulated more like, his sister-" her electric-blue eyes found Alice who looked aghast and sick to her stomach, and like she wanted to shrink back "to keep you in his house without your saying otherwise, especially since some of them testified that you'd fled the first opportunity you could, even though you were forced to come back." Esme's eyes widened. She looked like she'd been slapped. Rosalie turned furious eyes towards Alice. "And before that when he removed your car battery." Selene remained cool and collected. "-in order to prevent you from going somewhere- or seeing someone."

Now, Selene scoffed. "If that isn't anything like what Aro and Caius did to the wives and the 'brother' they claim to love, I don't know what is."

"No," Bella exclaimed hotly. She glared furiously at Selene. "Edward is nothing like them!" She retorted fiercely. She looked back and forth between Selene and the Cullens. "He isn't!" She exclaimed desperately, seeing Esme's shocked and horrified features.

"So you deny it? Every single one of those claims? You are willing to testify it in court in front of the Truthsayer and the judges?" Selene's questions made Bella freeze.

She remembered what she was. She remembered what had happened, what she'd discovered. And she knew that Maggie would be able to tell the difference between truth and lies.

Selene's blue eyes narrowed at Bella. "Why do you stay with him? If he deceived you? If this is what humans these days call an abusive relationship-"

Bella was aghast. "It is not-" she struggled. "It is not an abusive relationship! And he never deceived me!"

The last sentence was said as a shout. Belatedly, Bella realised that she had been shouting to drown out all those voices hammering in the inside of her head. Selene's voice hadn't raised a notch.

It was the voices that she had been ignoring for quite some time.

Bella glared fiercely at Selene, using all the hatred and outrage she could muster. Unfortunately, the veteran Death Dealer was unaffected, merely turning her gaze towards the rest of the family. Begrudgingly, Bella thought that centuries or millennia of fighting would have given Selene better immunity to resistance and fear from enemies. And she must've known that Bella was nowhere near as dangerous.

"I think your species need to tell the difference between love and Stockholm Syndrome," Selene casually remarked before turning around and going her way as Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie, all watched her go. Bella's eyes were wide with- what? Shock or outrage? She didn't know.

Alice looked like she'd been punched in the gut. Only Jasper, stunned but silent, kept her from falling and crumbling.

---

Back in their rooms, Gabrielle poured them glasses of blood from a carafe they had all found on the coffee table.

She sighed as she regarded each of them. The Cullens all appeared shaken, but none more so than Bella.

Pursing her lips, she decided not to ask any questions to pry into any of their personal lives. They wouldn't listen to me, anyway. She looked at Bella. Or at least, she wouldn't.

"You already know what you need to know about Edward's list of charges," Gabrielle said slowly, as they drank their blood. "There really is no way to prepare until you get to the court and are questioned by the judges and the Truthsayer. The trials will be held in public. There will be cameras, but they will take measures to ensure your privacy and your safety. Especially in regards to your daughter."

The Cullens relaxed slightly. Gabrielle sighed. "However, these… revelations will cast doubt on Edward's integrity, as well as the Volturi's. Normally, everyone would consider the phrase, 'innocent before being proven guilty', but these admissions along with the mounting evidence and list of charges…" she trailed off, helplessly.

"MACUSA would have passed them onto the judges beforehand." Gabrielle stated calmly. "The Death Dealers would have also investigated. As Edward is a vampire, and the treaty is magically binding- but allows everyone a chance to salvage things before the entire race can be cursed-" the Cullens winced, except Bella who jerked, as if coming back to reality, eyes wide and slowly coming back into focus as she gazed at Gabrielle. "Or potential conflict, even war can errupt between both our kinds, Edward will be tried by vampires, as will the Volturi. If the wizards do not find the sentencing appropriate to their level of transgressions, or detect any hint of the slightest attempt at subverting justice, then the treaty will be considered broken." Gabrielle paused. "So, as you can see, your entire race is at stake. This is very powerful ancient magic. Even if it can be undone, everyone has long forgotten how to undo it."

Carlisle took a shuddering breath. He closed his eyes. Esme did the same, in despair.

"So… there is no hope for a release. Or a pardon." He said, his voice distant.

Gabrielle shook her head. "I am afraid not. Even if there is, they would not give it, not if they feel they cannot trust him not to commit more blunders or to do anything intentionally if he goes free. He has already confessed to trespassing, violation of hospitality, false imprisonment, attempted exposure- which, since it places everyone in danger, is considered akin to treason-" she winced. "And now there is the dubious… matter of how you came to be married."

Bella exhaled slowly.

Alice turned away. She burrowed her face in her hands.

Still clutching her glass, Bella turned numb eyes towards Gabrielle. "You think I had Stockholm Syndrome?"

The Cullens winced. Gabrielle shook her head. "It doesn't matter what I think. Firstly, I'm officially a neutral party assigned by the ICW and agreed upon by the Vampire High Council, to guide you through the trials. Besides, the trials haven't concluded yet, so I don't have an official opinion- or an unofficial one, considering that I never signed up to make any sort of judgments about anyone." That made the Cullens regard her, as if under a new light. Gabrielle continued, "Also, I don't believe anyone is truly guilty or innocent in anything. There is no clear-cut division between good and evil, and there never will be. I've met proclaimed heroes who have saved countless lives- even those they won't ever be thanked for- do morally questionable things, even cold-blooded murder. I have met people who are seen as villains, who align themselves with such figures, save innocent people." Memories of the war, particularly during Fleur's wedding and her first year at Beauxbatons surfaced. "No one ever walks into or does something believing that they are the villain." She paused. "Everyone is the hero of their own journey, the protagonist. And I believe, regardless of whether or not Edward or the Volturi are truly innocent or guilty, that that is what they see and believe themselves to be."

A pause enveloped the living room as everyone absorbed this. Bella took another sip, feeling the warmth flood and shoot down her body, making her feel more like herself.

It made sense, what Gabrielle just said. Too much sense, as a matter of fact. Bella felt like her world-view had been tipped upside down repeatedly. Her stomach churned.

Gabrielle caught her eye. "It's alright to love someone who has flaws, you know," she pointed. "As a matter of fact, it's not merely acknowledging someone having flaws, but cherishing it as another part of their personal qualities and characteristics, that make a relationship stronger, not seeing them as the embodiment of perfection." She mused. "Everything about a person: their likes and dislikes, their reactions to things, even the things that get on your nerve- if you both cherish and know each other, in and out, for every single detail, then it's love. Regardless if other people might see them as flaws."

Bella bit her lip. But before she could dwell on that, Gabrielle spoke. "You can see that they have flaws on their face- and still love that person. You can disagree with what they have done, admit that what they did was wrong- and still love them. You can admit that they are prideful to the point of arrogance, or vain, or be upset with something they did and admit it was wrong, and at the same time, still love them." She smiled.

"My brother-in-law was bitten by a werewolf," she confessed, making them straighten and stare at her. "It wasn't during the full moon but that werewolf was particularly savage and bit everyone he could, even without transforming." Gabrielle shuddered. Carlisle looked horrified, Esme shivered.

"So, while he didn't turn into a werewolf, he developed a preference for eating bloody meat." She grimaced, slightly. "He was also terribly scarred across his face. Everybody thought that my sister would leave him." Her smile widened. "But she never did. Their love for each other only ever grew stronger. They have three children now. It makes no difference before or after his face was scarred and his steaks were bloody. She is happy to cherish him, and he cherishes her. For every quirk, every characteristic, every personal secret they shared to each other, every flaw that they are too embarrassed or ashamed to show the world. Oh, they argue," she stated sagely. Nodding, Gabrielle continued: "Arguments and disagreements are a normal part of every relationship: familial, platonic and romantic. You don't know my sister- she doesn't like to back down. She's beautiful but she's proud and stubborn to a fault. It's not necessarily vanity, but she spent her entire life- as did I- being judged upon, alternately hated or wanted because of her looks." Gabrielle shook her head, fondly reminiscing about Bill and Fleur.

A twinkle was in her eye. "Fleur defiantly spent all the years at school trying to prove to every person that she was more than just a pretty face." Gabrielle confessed. "She worked her hands to the bone, she went crazy during exams and assignments, she put romance at a back seat because she wanted to prove she was more than what society made of her- of what other people perceive her to be." Gabrielle smiled fondly. "She even managed to become Champion for our school during the Triwizard Tournament- though she didn't win. Belatedly, years later she would tell me that she had been largely unprepared because she was overconfident. That tournament was designed to catch them off guard, and sadly she learned that she can't always win, no matter if someone is at the top of the class or is the best at doing everything up until that point." She paused. "Afterwards, she earned a job at Gringotts, the wizards' bank," Gabrielle explained, seeing their befuddled looks. "She did this largely because Gringotts was run by goblins. Goblins don't have the same standard for beauty as humans do, so Fleur looked as grotesque as any other in their eyes." She smirked.

"It was there where she met Bill Weasley. The only man whom she noted didn't turn red or purple, didn't gape, didn't wax lyrics about her looks, stalk or act mesmerised by her- well, not after the first time they met. It wasn't that he was blind or didn't admire her looks- it was just that he treated her as any other person- with respect and consideration. He treated her like a person." Gabrielle nodded, firmly. "An actual being. An equal." Bella nearly jerked back, like she had been slapped. Gabrielle didn't seem to notice. Her lovely violet-blue eyes were distant.

"And that was something no one else seemed to do because they either put her on a pedestal because they were in awe of her, for whatever reason- even her achievements, or mesemerised by her looks, as was often the case. Neither did Bill belittle and push her aside, scorning her as a vain, full-of-herself, empty-headed pretty face, or a slut- pardon my language- without truly attempting to get to know her, which was also often the case. Nor did he heap contempt on her because she was only part-human.

"Bill had worked alongside goblins, who are notoriously prickly and temperamental among our kind. He didn't judge her or become mesmerised by Fleur because she was part-Veela, the way other boys were. Nor did he become scared or repulsed because she was part-human, and it wouldn't have been uncommon in those days." Gabrielle stated darkly.

"Her beauty was a small portion of what made Fleur Delacour." Gabrielle murmured, thoughtfully. "And not her greatest achievement. She was born with it, so was I. We didn't earn it. We didn't work hard for it. We weren't better because of it, and we never saw ourselves to be better simply because of it- everything my sister, my mother and I achieved, we achieved on our own, because of hard work, brains, morals and guts.

"And Bill saw her as more than what she appeared to be. He respected and admired her, he liked her, for every flaw, every quality, every personal characteristic, in and out. He admired her for her hard work, her toughness, her determination and courage- even her stubborness and internal insecurity which often caused her to be over-proud and defensive. He loved her spirit, her defiance. He loved that she didn't just take things lying down, even as others expected her to." Gabrielle sighed. "She even kept her maiden name after her marriage, which caused a lot of eyebrows to raise." Bella blinked, as shock hit her like a hammer. "Not because she didn't want to be a part of her husband's family, but because everyone already knew her as Fleur Delacour, and she wanted- proud and truly insecure that she was- to prove to the world that she was strong and not solely defined by her husband or lack thereof. She was to remain the same Fleur as she was before her marriage, before she even met Bill. And nothing could change that. Nothing ever would. And the world would just have to accept that, whether they liked it or not.

"Bill didn't mind. In fact, he admired and loved her reasoning behind the decision. He said that she wouldn't be the girl he loved, fierceness, defiance, courage, determination and stubborness, if she didn't do that. Besides, he didn't need a label to prove to the world that she was his; as a matter of fact, unlike all the other boys and men, he had nothing to prove. Unlike Fleur, he never felt the need to prove to the world anything, including the fact that she was now his, even when other guys kept making passes at her. He wasn't even jealous- he knew her, what she was like, what she liked and loved about him. He trusted her." Bella felt her breath hitch. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed within her chest.

"Bill was nowhere near as insecure as all the other men and boys were and not even Fleur and I could boast that." Gabrielle continued. "Whether she was Mademoiselle Fleur Delacour or Mrs Bill Weasley, it makes no difference. She was still the same person that he loved, and she would still be loved by him, even if she got old, wrinkled or scarred as he was. And he would forever be loved by her, scarred as he is, or grey-haired and wrinkled as he someday will be."

Dimly, Bella realised she was gaping and struggled to close her mouth. It was hard when her stomach was churning so uncomfortably, or, worse, when it felt like her heart felt like it was being crushed in a vice, and she didn't even understand why.

"People kept expecting Fleur to choose differently, or to dump him." Bella froze as Gabrielle smiled, seemingly unaware of her inner feelings; the shock that slammed into her like a tsunami and the turmoil that brewed like a hurricane. "He was never so insecure as to show or prove to the world that she was his. That's what she loved so much about him; that and the fact that he thought of and considered her as a person- her own person. She belongs to herself. She may listen to him, or she may not, in the end that is her choice and she was going to choose. He would never force her. He respected and admired that about her, and soon he grew to love her in part because of that." She smiled. "Fleur had gone out with other boys before. And usually, well, it really doesn't matter how beautiful you are- as a matter of fact, her beauty was what caused many of her relationships in the past to fail- jealous and paranoid boyfriends never feeling easy- that sort of thing." Bella gazed at her with wide eyes. "One of them, due to his own jealousy and insecurity, sought 'comfort' within the arms of other girls, cheating because he suspected that she was doing the same thing with someone else, or that she intended to leave him, and to make himself feel better and soothe his own personal insecurities about his hot girlfriend attracting every boy, especially the good-looking ones. That's what put us both off many a relationship. Our mother too, before she became involved with our father." Gabrielle sighed.

Bella gaped in shock. It never occurred to her... She'd never imagined that being as beautiful as Gabrielle, as Rosalie, could ever experience, much less cause any infidelity.

Gabrielle smirked sadly. "It's a naïve mistake to assume that beauty is enough, nor will it ever be enough. Beauty may open doors wide for you, but it will never be enough to keep you in the same room- nor will it earn happiness or comfort if it turns out you are ill-suited for and have appeared in the wrong room because of your internal differences or issues. Many of the mistresses and side-girls that men and boys cheat on their wives and girlfriends with are actually less beautiful than their 'official' significant others. Feeling bored or confined may cause someone to act out. Being unready for an actual long-term commitment, especially a permanent one or not truly knowing or understanding your significant other is another factor. As for the case with Fleur, it was because the boy who did this felt insecure and judged, particularly by other men when he was dating her, although the reason they did this is because all those observers were largely envious themselves. Even though his logic and reasoning may have known that not only what he was doing was wrong but that they were only saying things, including the things that led him to fear that perhaps Fleur was cheating on him since she was way beyond his league- according to them- simply because they were jealous of him... It didn't matter because he was insecure deep down, as well as very immature and not ready for a serious commitment and the reality of what it meant to be in a lasting relationship.

"And many relationships, even in the non-magical world with purely non-magical humans tend to fail because of this."

Bella swallowed and bit her lip. It struck a chord within her. It contradicted everything she had believed, which seemed so simple, and yet... it made perfect sense. Her eyes flitted to Rosalie whose eyes were misty and who looked thoughtful, stunned, even. Like she'd finally understood something after so long.

"Maybe that's why she chose Bill: because deep down, like me, Fleur knew that she was insecure: too concerned with what other people thought about and made her to be, to the point where she would go wild trying to prove herself to be otherwise. Even in trying to prove that she was confident and not insecure to others, even to the point of appearing arrogant, although she would later admit it was a mistake.

"I was even more shy and more insecure than she was. And I found it hard to find someone like Bill or my father, Antoine. Someone who would not only see past my looks, see me for who I truly am, as opposed to what they believe me to be or what I appear to be, and also love me, flaws and all. Someone who won't use me as a trophy, a plaything or anything they want me to be like or do. And, like Bill- like my own father, in fact- someone who would not get jealous to the point of paranoia, even over my few male friends, who wouldn't seek to control or confine me, who wouldn't publicly seek to stick his label on me and show it to the world, and not allow his internal insecurities and conflict to affect our relationship. And of course, I would have to wait until we are both ready before jumping into any long-term commitment. It's not a matter of finding 'the One'. If you're not ready, even if you are genuinely in love, your lack of readiness or understanding of what you are getting into, as well as your lack of knowledge about your significant other, can really ruin your relationship. Even in a happy marriage."

If Bella's heart could still beat, she was certain that it would've slammed hard into her rib-cage. As hard as a battering ram.

She couldn't understand why she was feeling such things...

Or perhaps, maybe it was because she didn't want to understand?

If her heart still could, it would've gone into cardiac arrest. Venom, much like bile, rose within her throat. Dread pooled in her gut like a murky sludge in a swamp. No, it didn't make so much sense. It made too much sense.

Dimly, Bella realised that Gabrielle's warning sounded too much like what happened to Charlie and Renée. Only her story about her sister, Fleur sounded like the precise opposite.

"Fleur was and still continues to be my inspiration. My hero." Gabrielle emphasised. "But none of the ones who knew and loved her best- truly knew and loved her- are under any illusions that she is flawless. But she doesn't have to be: not to us.

"Fleur and Bill fought together side by side, during the Second Wizarding War in Britain. Afterwards, she received medals from the French and British Ministries of Magic for valour. She became an Auror, before working only part-time, because of their kids, having dual-citizenship with Magical France and Britain. She and Bill discussed this at length. Bill had initially been posted in Egypt before the war, and while they both decided to settle in Britain, he also decided that they should spend a significant amount of time with France so they could be with our side of the family," Gabrielle murmured. "They both made a point of making each other included within the other's family, and in touch with their loved ones, even if they have to travel constantly between France and Britain." Bella winced. "Their love is based on friendship, familiarity, trust and respect, as much as it is based on romance." She paused. "And he's pretty chill and laid back- he balances her out, with all her ambitious goals and internal insecurity.

Bella stared, astonished by what Gabrielle had just said. She had never heard love being described that way, not by Renée, and certainly not by Charlie. Not by her Gran Marie, either. And yet… it somehow struck a chord.

And a nerve. Bella was still disturbed and stung about how… quickly things seemed to progress between her and Edward. Thirteen months since they first met, or eleven when they first started going out, until September when they married.

"The reason I am telling you this is, partly because you just revealed personal details in front of me, which I also promise not to disclose unless you wish me to," Gabrielle said, grimacing. "But also to tell you that if you know and love your husband, your son, your brother- or in your daughter's case, her father- and if you truly know and love him, feel comfortable around him, then it's okay. It's alright to be horrified and to despise what he has done," Gabrielle said, eyes focusing and meeting each of theirs in turn. Bella swallowed. "And even then, you can still love him. Love him for every flaw, every quirk, every quality and characteristic that he has. Love him even if he has flaws on his face and skin. Love him for even that. It's perfectly alright: if you know and love your son, your brother and your husband, you can hate what he has done and you can still love him." She paused.

"If you feel that he was, still remains, and will always be the right person for you," Gabrielle said, looking straight at Bella with an intensity that made her feel exposed. "Then you have every right and reason to love him, regardless of what he has done or what others say. But if you feel that you and your daughter, and the rest of your family is not safe- not just physically safe, but emotionally and mentally safe- when he has broken your trust and caused potential damage or harm to you, your family and friends, or even just people that you don't know- then it's best if you leave him; for your daughter's sake and your own." Bella now jolted like she'd been given an electric shock- or struck by lightning.

"But if not, then it's okay for you to love someone and not defend them- not defend their actions." Gabrielle continued. She gave Bella a sympathetic look. "It doesn't mean that you are betraying him if you don't like or agree with what he does. Happily married couples- Bill and Fleur included- don't always agree. Merlin, they can even argue. As a matter of fact, it's healthier to argue and openly disagree with one another than to keep things bottled up inside of you until it explodes, or to turn a blind eye to the wrong things they have done, allowing them to wrap you in cotton wool, in case you see a side of them that they don't wish you to see. Blind-siding someone is not love, even if they claim it's for your own good." She gave Bella a knowing look.

Bella wanted to shrink in her seat.

"Sometimes," Gabrielle said thoughtfully. "The way to tell the difference between someone that genuinely cares as opposed to someone that only wishes to pacify and keep you quiet and content for whatever reason-" Bella jerked back "-is to stand your ground. Stand up to them. Be true to yourself. If they love you, genuinely and truly love you, they will respect you and your opinions and feelings, even if they don't agree. It doesn't mean flinging unfounded accusations and angry words their way, but it does mean that you have to make your opinions clear and be true to yourself. That you sometimes have to focus on your individual self and what you need and want, as opposed to what the other person wants or even the couple as a whole. After all individuals make couples- and happy families. That is the test of true love: when everyone does not agree but is not only fully aware but acknowledges and- most importantly- accepts and respects each other's opinions and decisions, then even if the other person has done something truly unforgivable, it is alright to still love them without excusing or ignoring anything."

Bella didn't breathe. "Don't do what they want, or what you think that they want or need. The test of true love is being true to yourself and observing how the other one takes it. Whether he ignores, disagrees, simply tolerates- which may eventually lead to the former two reactions- or whole-heartedly accepts and even supports you- unless you're doing something dangerous and illegal. But even if that someone feels you may be endangering yourself... well, talk things through and see how they reacts or respects you- or not.

"And it's not just for couples, but for families too." Gabrielle looked pointedly at the other Cullens.

Esme closed her eyes, took a deep breath and looked down. Carlisle wrapped an arm around her, his brow furrowed and gaze saddened. Rosalie stared, not seeing anything, absorbing everything in silence and Emmett looked thoughtful. Jasper's hard gaze seemed to soften marginally whereas Alice bit her lip and looked at the floor.

Bella understood what Gabrielle was saying. But her stomach was churning in such unimaginable levels, her head was spinning and there seemed to be a ringing in her ears. She half-expected her heart to jump back to life, thumping like mad.

Even though she didn't experience anything like what she said, and had never been told about it, either by her parents or grandmother, Gabrielle's words had resonated so deep within that she understood it all too well. But now, something irrevocable had happened to her. It took a while before she realised what had happened:

Her image of Edward, of this perfect, flawless, dazzling being too wonderful to exist, and their beautiful, outstanding, amazing love- the greatest love story in the world, of all time- was tarnished. That she had made a mistake.

It wasn't that she didn't believe or didn't want to believe Gabrielle- far from it. But Bella had already begun to realise just how stupid she'd been, and how lucky they'd so far escaped unscathed. She wasn't sure if her luck would hold out. And for some reason, even though Fleur and Bill's romance, minus the war and fighting side-by-side and Fleur's multiple achievements, seemed less glamorous it somehow seemed... well, more.

A month ago, Bella would've laughed. She would never have believed it; she would simply refuse to believe it. The idea that anyone- even a couple that stayed together regardless of what everyone would expect or how they appeared to look, who were openly flawed and seen as such by their significant others, who argued with each other, could be more in love, could be happier than her and Edward...

But now she wasn't so sure. She didn't want to believe it. But Gabrielle's story complete with advice and assurances, Selene's robotic and casual factual confirmations, Carlisle and Esme's confrontation and calling out of Edward and Alice, Sue's outrage, Renesmee's confinement and resentment fuelling the flames of rebellion, Renée's divorce and regrets about her life as well as her parenting, along with Charlie's bitterness and regrets, seemed to be hammering something; an indecipherable tattoo on the inside of her head, something which Bella struggled to decode.

And everything Gabrielle had said just made so much sense- too much, if Bella was being truthful. Bella didn't know how old Gabrielle was compared to her, but she could safely bet that she was younger than Edward, and yet seemed so... mature. It felt like a betrayal to say that, but she remembered what Gabrielle had just said: that you don't have to excuse, defend, ignore, like or even agree with the other person's actions to truly love someone.

And yet it completely went against her long-held beliefs: everything she had previously thought and understood about love, and Edward seemed so naïve, so childishly fantastical and blind as compared to, not just to Bill and Fleur, but everything Gabrielle had said about what she had learned. Bella didn't know Gabrielle's own history in relationships, she didn't know if she had found someone the way her mother and sister had with their husbands, but it seemed that she had learned a lot from them. And despite Edward's actual age, Gabrielle seemed to be the more mature and correct of the two, her views unclouded by any bias or even judgment. She wasn't imposing her views and opinions on Bella or the rest of them; she was just offering reassurances to make them feel better along with another alternative view to see things from, leaving Bella free to take or ignore it whichever one she decided.

That felt... strangely refreshing. She welcomed it. Bella was well and truly stunned to see her own reaction. She had felt so... restrained. So confined, almost like Nessie. And she'd never realised it. Never acknowledged it because she was so happy and so in love with Edward, she'd never seen the cracks in her perfect life until now.

Why did she feel that way? Why did everything Gabrielle, Selene, Sue, Charlie, Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie said disturb her so much? It wasn't what they said but the fact that it totally contradicted everything she had seen and believed about her relationship and marriage to Edward, the image of him that she had in her mind of a flawless being that now truly came and kicked her on the behind. Was she really that young, that naïve? She'd always thought of herself as mature, and Renée and Charlie both seemed to think so- as did her Gran Marie. Oh God…

Bella inwardly cringed when she remembered her Gran. She wanted to fold inside herself. Her Gran Marie had disapproved and strongly hated Renée's flightiness and inconsistency; her lack of ability to commit herself to any form of hard work throughout her life. Add to that the fact that she'd jumped into an early marriage and parenthood with a man she barely knew at the age of nineteen, Gran had spent the last decade of her life teaching Bella how to look after herself, always warning her and using Renée as an example of what not to be and how not to end up like her- a warning example which Renée had undoubtedly hated and resented to no end. But even then, Bella had detected a small measure of guilt within Renée's eyes, and shame, although it was quickly swallowed by resentment. The two women could barely stand one another, but Gran had seen Bella as some sort of hope of redemption, her only granddaughter who was going to turn out better than her daughter: she would succeed with Bella where she had failed as a parent with Renée.

"What does Renée know?" Charlie had asked. Well, it seemed that her mother's dreams about romance had failed her utterly, with both Charlie and Phil. She'd jumped into an early marriage with Charlie and regretted it, griping at Bella the risks and failures of an early marriage. But come to think about it, how long had she known Phil for before they got engaged? Bella's stomach seemed to shrink as she remembered. It made perfect sense and corresponded with what Gabrielle- a witch and part-human hybrid whom Renée had never even seen. But Gabrielle based on what Gabrielle had said, her own parents and sister had had very happy marriages and loving relationships with their spouses- and their children. Gabrielle seemed to look up to and admire, not simply respect, her parents and their choices, as much as her sister and brother-in-law. She was choosing the same approach to her own life.

Bella might've envied Gabrielle her knowledge and experiences. What did Renée know? Or Charlie?

Bella admitted to herself that Renée was, if anything, inconsistent and overly reliant upon others, particularly Bella and then Phil. Her sense of judgement was clouded at the best of times. She'd taken Renée's blessing and the reasoning behind it as an irrefutable fact that she was ready for that sort of thing. That unlike Renée, she was mature. Better-prepared even. But it wasn't just that Renée was overly reliant upon her and seemed to look up to her- like a child looking up to and expecting their parent to look after them, Bella thought, queasy. Bella herself knew her flaws all too well: that she'd never quite fit in and never could expect to. Not only was she clumsy, as a child, even when Renée had her do the cleaning, cooking, bills and laundry, she'd often wished for someone else to take care of her. She'd never had any friends apart from Renée and she'd always dreamed of an older brother who would look after her. Until she learned she was pregnant, Bella had never wanted a child because she didn't want to look after one after spending so long looking after Renée. She yearned to be looked after, to be loved and nurtured, kept safe and protected, which Edward had done for her. And she'd been so scared of losing him, especially after he dumped her in the forest, that she was too afraid to say anything that he could interpret as her having second thoughts about becoming a vampire and gaining immortality, even if it meant marrying him first, a task which she hadn't felt ready for...

Unwittingly, Bella remembered her hesitation, even fear, when Edward popped the question and her reasoning behind it. She was eighteen. Not only had she been scared of Renée's reaction, she'd genuinely been scared about getting married and entering into a lifelong commitment as a teenager. Even for the sake of an eternity with Edward.

Bella wanted to snort. A lifelong commitment… She'd wanted to make an eternal commitment with Edward, a man she'd only known for thirteen months and had been willing to trade her human life for it. Do vampires even get divorced? Carlisle and Esme were right: they'd simply been lucky things turned out so well for her and Edward.

But had they? They'd obviously overlooked a lot of things. It never really sunk in that Edward had broken into her house without her permission, and now that she came to think about it, those eyes which he had glared at her with when she first came to Forks High, which she'd almost forgotten, weren't the eyes of someone who was attracted or drawn to what or whom they saw. They were the eyes of a predator; because Edward found the scent of her blood appealing and could barely resist preying on her, and frustration, Bella thought, eyes widening with an awful sinking feeling, because he couldn't read her mind.

Rosalie was right: she may have been attracted to him, mesmerised by the sight of his inhuman beauty, but he hadn't been in love with her, not at first sight. He hadn't even been attracted to her. After all, why would he? Without her scent, without her latent shield, she was just another face in the crowd. Even as a newcomer. He wouldn't have noticed her; Bella distinctly remembered Edward mentioning that he turned surrounding people's thoughts into something along the lines of white noise. What was another student, even a new one or the police chief's long-absent daughter, to any of the Cullens? What was the subject of the latest human gossip in this small town to catch the attention of any of the immortal Cullens, especially since they'd held themselves apart from the other humans to avoid too much attention. At best, she was someone the Cullens would look up to glance at, before turning back to whatever occupied their attention.

Bella hitched in a breath. Rosalie had known Edward for far longer than she did. As did Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Jasper and Alice.

She… she barely…

Did Edward know her?

Of course, a part of Bella, quite angrily told her that she was being silly: Edward knew her well enough to know how she would feel-

Like when he did when he knew that you would only ever accept his proposal in the end? Like when he took out your car battery for no good reason, other than jealousy? Like when he knew you wouldn't be too upset with him when he did it?

Bella froze. That- that sounded like…

Before Bella could finish that train of thought, Carlisle sighed. "I see."

Manipulation. At its finest.

Belatedly, Bella realised that- yet again- her vampire brain was running and processing things faster than time itself. She thanked God for that, or else she would've seemed like an idiot, staring into space.

"Thank you," Carlisle said softly. Esme nodded in assent. Rosalie bit her lip, looking down. Alice was… subdued to say the least. The most vibrant and colourful of the Cullens, the fullest of life, had never seemed so small despite her pixie stature, with nothing to say. It seemed so wrong.

Gabrielle nodded. She stood. "Forgive me, but whatever happens now, your first and foremost priority should be your daughter." She said, looking down at Bella. "Regardless of what happens to Edward and what you feel before and during the trials or in the aftermath. You have to be there for her: you have to support her, and consider her feelings."

Bella winced, unable to stop herself.

"Her whole world has changed as she knows it," Gabrielle warned. "And I can tell from my own personal experiences, as well as my observations, that being a hybrid does tend to set one apart from the others. She doesn't need to be made to feel that she stands alone, no matter what she and others may feel."

Carlisle nodded. "Thank you." Gabrielle nodded.

"I will go to see the coven's regent," she explained. "When I return, I will come back with news."

She left.

Carlisle sighed and buried his face into his hands. When he looked up, everyone was still subdued and silent.

"She's right," he said. "We have to focus on Renesmee. And accept Edward. He is the son, brother, father and husband that we all know and love. It doesn't excuse what he has done, nor can we justify any of his behaviour, but I would never wish death on him. And we don't have to accept his actions as right, or defend them, just because we love him. Nor can we ignore them, even if he isn't at risk or in serious trouble now." Bella winced.

Everyone agreed. "All I wish is to prove that Edward can be and come out of this a better man," Carlisle insisted. "I know he can: I have seen him when he gave into his urges to prey upon humans, thinking that just because someone is a criminal that they deserve to be killed. But he was wrong; and he knew it. He came back to us, permanently fixing himself to our thinking, our way of life. I was there: I guided him through it. I understood." He looked at Esme. "We both did."

The Cullens all nodded. Bella bit her lip. "How long after he was turned did he start… his rebellious phase?"

Carlisle seemed surprised by that question. "He was turned in 1918 and left during 1927. He returned a few years later. Why?"

Bella blinked. It wasn't that she didn't know, Edward had mentioned and admitted to her about his rebellious phase, but…

"He never talked much about it," she admitted. "Or about much of his life apart the facts about his transformation and you guys, meeting Tanya and her sisters, his college degrees and subjects." She paused. "Or about his parents." She gave Carlisle a look.

Carlisle's brow furrowed. "I assumed that he did." He sounded surprised.

"You were the one that told me about them." Bella pointed out. "About his mother and how she asked you to save him. He barely spoke of them."

"I assumed that he told you more afterwards," Carlisle blinked. So did the others.

"He told me that you found him and changed him during the 1918 pandemic but he never mentioned anything particular about his mother." Bella paused thoughtfully for a while. "Until he gave me her jewellery: a diamond heart for my charm bracelet and his mother's engagement ring. It was more than he ever said about his father, though."

"Really?" Alice blurted, unable to rein in her surprise. "Because he gave Esme and I some of her pieces- even Rosalie too- and he sometimes spoke of her. Not all the time, but…" she trailed off.

Bella froze. She kept her face expressionless, then nodded.

"Bella," Alice's voice made her look up. It quivered. Alice trembled. Her eyes shone wetly. "I'm sorry! I reallyam! I never meant to take away your choices or to push you into making one- or to let Edward get away with breaking into your room, following you, or keeping you in the house even though you'd wanted to see Jacob- or to let him take your car battery, I just-" she took a few deep breaths. Alice struggled with words.

"I saw that your future had disappeared and I panicked." A wet, hiccupping laugh. "And Edward saw that and he knew. He also saw that you would be with him." She scoffed, crying without tears. "He didn't want you to become a vampire with him, but he did want you…" she trailed off.

"I know how that sounds like, but he looked so happy in my vision, you both did." Her voice shook. "I never thought-"

"That technically what he did was unacceptable?" Esme arched an eyebrow. "I assume, considering the conditions of the proposal-" Bella winced "- which Edward had tried to hide with Bella's own acceptance, and Bella's own hesitation along with her reluctance to take centre-stage in any show, that you forced Bella into having that wedding? You certainly went crazy with selecting, arranging and choosing the different details, like the flower arrangements and I don't recall you ever mentioning that you had consulted Bella, even in passing, much less deciding or announcing out loud that you intended to go see and ask Bella herself over which things she would prefer, nor did you actually consider taking the time to go to her to do so." Alice shrunk back. "Did you even ask her if there was anything in particular that she wanted for her ownwedding?" Alice shrunk back like she'd taken one of Alice's potions in Wonderland. "Like her own wedding dress? Or even the flavours of the cake since she was the only one apart from her parents and guests, and Minister Weber that could actually eat it, taste and decide the flavours that she liked before deciding which one to use?"

Alice flinched. She looked like she was expecting to be struck. "No, but…"

"But what, Alice?" Esme's voice was soft and quiet, not dangerous, but… tired. Disappointed. "You were always so excitable, but I never thought you'd get so carried away that you'd neglect to ask the bride what she herself wanted for her own wedding." Bella thought that she had never seen- nor imagined that Alice could look so ashamed. "Nor to consider that she may not have wanted to stay in the house for a sleepover before the newborns came, which I am now perfectly aware that she did not." Regret showed in her eyes. Esme's voice was blunt and on-point.

Bella grimaced as she admitted to herself that that was also true. The sleepover had been Edward's idea; he'd recruited Alice to keep her in the house, watched for all times and away from Jacob- whom she barely managed to escape with. That had happened, Bella reflected, eyes widening, after he first took out her car battery after Alice had claimed that her future had disappeared. Edward knew she would be with Jacob and his excuse was that they couldn't look out for and keep her safe, and that the Wolves were dangerous. But Bella had hung around Jacob for months, including while Edward was away. This was before Jacob did a jerk thing and slapped a kiss on her, holding her in place. Edward was only jealous- and he admitted as such. He admitted that his actions were borne out of jealousy, rather than any real and valid concerns about her safety. Afterwards, he'd become resigned and even accepted Jacob, after the latter had imprinted on their daughter, but he still remained... controlling. Bella's breath hitched. Not just to her, but to Renesmee.

He hadn't changed one bit in regards to his behaviour towards her, only now his behaviour extended towards Renesmee. He hadn't even tried to respect either of them. And maybe, that wouldn't have bothered her once, but now...

Bella felt embarrassed and ashamed. Embarrassed and ashamed because it had never bothered her when Edward did those things to her; she never even got angry or tried to stand up to him. But worse, now she wasn't just allowing him to treat her daughter- their daughter- that way, she had even supported and encouraged his efforts to keep Nessie caged and controlled.

Along with Jacob's help.

"Perhaps that included all the times you dressed her up, proudly treating her as if she was nothing more than a barbie doll." Esme was still saying. Alice flinched again. "Even though she was a person."

Alice cringed. "We should've put a stop to this much sooner." She looked at Carlisle. He nodded. Regret was in both their eyes as they looked down on her. "We're sorry: to all of you. We neglected to be good parents."

That took their children by surprise. They each looked up at their parental figures, weighed heavy by regret and the remorse they had for their children's actions, and by their own perceived failure to prevent or teach them otherwise.

Bella opened and closed her mouth. This sounded strangely like Charlie's confession of regrets, and- indirectly- Renée. If Phil's breakdown had pushed Renée to seek counselling and go to therapy, and made her erratic, scatter-brained, eternally optimistic, hopelessly immature, eternally dependent, flighty and inconsistent mother to rethink her parenting choices, Bella couldn't begin to imagine the mountain of regret that her mother had had over her daughter's upbringing.

And she didn't want to face the same regrets with Renesmee. Never mind that she had already begun to make mistakes- dreadful mistakes- as a mother, which, no matter how brief the period, she was sure would haunt her for the rest of eternity. She'd failed to defend her daughter and her rights. Even worse, she'd failed to prepare for Renesmee having any sort of life outside their cottage, the main house or Jacob's house. Shame filled her. Bella had no intention of ever introducing her daughter to her grandmother, or even informing Renée that she had a granddaughter- was now a grandmother. Bella had been so protective, so fearful over her daughter's safety, she'd neglected to think about her own daughter's happiness- and her future. If she'd ever planned for Renesmee to have one, that is.

Bella swore from that day on, she would change. She would become a better mother. She had defied Edward- and Jacob- when she'd made clear that she wanted to keep her baby. But she then cringed to think about how cowardly she'd sounded hiding behind Rosalie and Esme, rather than standing up to Edward- even when the latter bitterly remarked things like how Bella was now afraid of him now. There seemed to be a roaring in Bella's ears when she remembered this. Her heart pounded.

She had to put her foot down; as much as she loved Edward, and as remorseful as he claimed to be, she had to do what she'd failed to do since she'd first known him: stand up to him. Even if he didn't like it. She couldn't fold; not this time. And she couldn't let her own inability to hold a grudge get in the way of that- nor Edward's knowledge of how and what to make her feel so she would fold. He didn't know what was best- it felt like poison to think it, but how Bella knew it was the truth.

"It's time we retired," Carlisle stated clearly. They all stood. "We might not be able to sleep but we all need the rest." He looked at Bella. "You too."

They turned and everyone walked to their respective assigned rooms. But Bella sat down on the bed, thinking about everything she'd just heard.

Something else niggled at the back of her head, lingering at the edge of her subconscious. Gabrielle's story about her sister, Fleur, and how she fell in love really resonated something with Bella, not just what she'd said about respecting your significant others instead of trying to stick labels on them. She didn't know what it was, Bella thought, rapidly scanning her memory for what Gabrielle had said about Fleur. Maybe it was that Fleur refused to take things lying down, and that she'd worked her hands to the bone to become a top student and a champion at a tournament, and eventually landed a job run by people who didn't care about her looks (Bella found that hard to believe, if Fleur looked anything like Gabrielle). Maybe it was the fact that Fleur had ended with a pretty successful career after fighting alongside her husband in a war, and ended up with medals of honour from both the British and French magical governments and seemed to have a pretty good life, having achieved something memorable that had nothing to do with her looks. Or maybe it was her story about how Bill and Fleur fell in love and got together.

Bella froze.

She didn't know how long it had taken for the two of them to get together; Gabrielle had never mentioned it. But now that she thought of it, Bella seemed pretty lacking when compared to Fleur. That grated her: Bella who had always been so touchy and sensitive about her looks, but had been a straight-A student, seemed to have achieved less than Fleur, the girl who had been noticed solely because of her looks but who went on to achieve numerous things that didn't have anything to do with her appearance. Gabrielle, if what she had seen so far was any indication, seemed to be the same. After all, wasn't she working as a diplomat between the wizard and vampire worlds? As an agent of the ICW which was like the United Nations for the magical world? Didn't she say that she was also a scientist and proved her expertise when she told Nessie to eat more human food and to sustain herself on that special blood?

Gabrielle might have been the most beautiful woman Bella had ever seen, but her achievements had nothing to do with her looks. Bella didn't know if they had supermodels in the magical human world, but Gabrielle was clearly not one of them.

It startled her: Bella had seen the awed and envious look on Rosalie's preternaturally beautiful face when Gabrielle told her sister's story. Rosalie who looked both mournful and wistful when Gabrielle described her sister's life. Rosalie whom Bella had initially thought to be the most beautiful woman on earth, surpassed only by Edward and Nessie. She remembered Rosalie's story: how her parents saw her beauty as her greatest achievement, how she never seemed to be pushed to be anything other than being the carrier of such beauty that would be her ticket to the good life. It was the nineteen-thirties, Bella knew they weren't as enlightened then than they were now. And Rosalie had been brought up that way, raised to believe that her beauty would take her places, open doors, gain her things she would otherwise have lacked: money, status, even love and family.

But Royce had not loved her. Bella dimly remembered Rosalie describing her friend Vera and how her husband had kissed her when she thought Rosalie wasn't looking, as compared to Royce who would kiss Rosalie in front of all the cameras. Rosalie barely knew Royce, that much she made clear; she barely saw him at anything other than public events and dates that were either chaperoned or in public places. She'd mentioned that Royce had told her that he didn't like the taste of champagne, but she'd never imagined that he preferred something stronger. And she'd never imagined that he would do what he did, because she didn't yet realise that he didn't love her, or even cared about her.

Bella remembered all those books by Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, how each daughter was pushed by her parents to marry someone as soon as possible, to secure a good future. It was similar to how parents in the twenty-first century pushed their kids towards college degrees and diplomas. It was how it was done back then: their ticket to a good life, a good future, where their parents felt their daughters would be safe, both financially and in terms of security, was through marriage. The parents didn't think they could achieve anything on their own. And even if they could, it would be very difficult. The glass ceiling concept had its basis in history. Bella vaguely remembered her tenth grade English teacher mentioning that some women writers in the nineteenth century used to pose as men, submitting their works for publication under male pen names, so that the publishers and readers wouldn't know. Few people would want to pick up a book written by a 'silly woman' unless they were into romance novels, like Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters. And even these would be stereotyped as being 'silly', romantic and 'trivial' when compared to men's works.

While they weren't so constrained or limited in their options during Rosalie's day- or even Edward's- she had no doubt that they still weren't as free to do as they wished, unlike today. Rosalie had been brought up, raised and spoon-fed fairy-tales about princes who would spirit beautiful damsels away to live in magnificent palaces, draped in luxury, and crown them princesses. She had been trained and taught to keep house, to socialise, to adorn herself because that was the only way to attract the attention of a potential husband who would then secure her future. Her parents had been proud and boasted of her beauty, making sure that people would hear about it, even before they saw for themselves. Bella remembered with an awful, sinking feeling, Rosalie telling her that her father had conveniently forgotten his lunch and her mother had insisted she dress up and do her hair just to bring it to him. That was when Royce first saw her. He started sending her flowers soon after that. She didn't notice him at the time, but she'd accepted it- because that was what her parents wanted, the kind of match they'd hoped she would have. And worse, she had been practically raised to want it, to think of it as ideal.

Rosalie's own parents had pushed her into the arms of a man who turned out to be a monster- all because they wanted her to lack for nothing in the world, including protection. Bella's stomach churned as she thought she might be doing the same thing to Nessie. Money itself wasn't a problem, although Jacob could never claim to be a millionaire (at least it wasn't likely) the Cullens were wealthy. But the important thing was that Nessie would be kept safe and protected for all her days, worshipped by her pre-destined soulmate and thus reassured that that special someone was already there and waiting for her and would forever love her, even should death part them. And that was what made things okay, or so it seemed. After all, didn't she accept Jacob's imprinting of her daughter, first when she'd learned that the Wolves wouldn't attack now that she 'belonged' to one of them, and then when the Volturi came and she thought that Jacob could spirit her away? Bella didn't know that vampires could feel ill, and yet here she was.

And Nessie… Nessie had been too young to understand what it meant. But she'd been drawn to Jacob, didn't she? While she was still inside of her…

Not anymore apparently. Nessie had been a newborn baby when Jacob imprinted on her. Although her body- and intellect- grew at tremendous speeds, Bella noticed that it took a while for her reasoning and emotional capacity to catch up- part of why she had been so protective over Nessie in the first place: she seemed so young and innocent. And when had Bella been that way? Edward too admitted that Nessie was 'younger in some ways, more mature in others'. It took a while for Nessie's reasoning and emotional depth and capacity to catch up to her body's hastened growth, but catch up it did. Didn't Bella hear stories about toddlers undergoing the 'Terrible Twos'? Didn't Renée, who was a preschool teacher, tell her that some psychologist claimed that the Terrible Twos were a phase when toddlers weren't merely being defiant or disobedient, but developing their own sense of reasoning, and learning to exert their own free wills, exploring what it meant to want something different on their own? It wasn't like she was a rebellious teenager which was the stage when kids had the will of an adult but the reasoning of a child. But she was exploring her options, her boundaries, her horizons.

There was no such thing as rebellious teenagers in Edward's or Rosalie's day. Or Terrible Twos. Just disobedient brats who needed to be spanked or caned, or worse, belted.

Did Edward think along the same lines as Rosalie and her parents? Although Edward had never raised a finger towards their child, Bella was still horrified. He'd merely thought of Nessie as being disobedient, incapable of thinking and deciding for herself, without their instructions, or Jacob's supervision. Didn't that mean...

As if the revelations and reflections she had had couldn't get any worse. The only reason Edward had accepted Jacob's imprinting of Renesmee and immediate branding her as his 'soulmate'- which somehow Bella thought that Bill and Fleur had never done to each other, nor would either of them ever allow to happen to any of their children no matter the age- was because Edward had realised, just as she did, that Jacob would always protect Nessie. Even from the Volturi and from his own kind. And, Bella suspected, because he felt guilty at being in part, if not completely, responsible over Jacob's pain.

Another thought struck her. The reason why Gabrielle's story about her sister had disturbed her: Fleur's romance with Bill and how her sister had described it. It was… totally different from anything she had ever heard or experienced. Bella had been mesmerised when Gabrielle had mentioned that he didn't react because of her looks; that he'd loved her for her spirit, her passion, her brains, her courage and her sheer determination, even her stubborness, pride and insecurity. Before they got together, he'd treated her like any other person. He loved her, even though, on her own sister's admission, she'd been proud. And he probably loved her even for that. Their love, she'd claimed, was based as much on friendship and respect as much as on romance.

He treated her as his equal. He never sought to put a label on her, even his surname, neither did he seek to always make her listen or to do what he wanted her to do. Even if he didn't agree, Gabrielle mentioned that he was always aware that she had a choice: Fleur was her own person, through and through. And Bill not only respected that; he loved her for it.

Bella's stomach churned. Even though her heart was frozen, Bella felt something familiar from ages past; she felt that it should be pounding even though it didn't. All her insides seemed to jump, even flip. But why?

Why did Edward love Bella? Bella always believed that that was because fate had pulled them together, that destiny had pulled the strings, but now she wasn't sure. She wanted to know precisely why. If Edward didn't love her at first sight (not that Bella could blame him) and had only picked her out of the crowd initially because her mind was closed off to him and because of the alluring aroma of her blood, which he tried to avoid for her sake, his and everyone else's, why was he so persistent and couldn't leave her alone, even when he'd warned her that they shouldn't be friends?

Bella didn't have any of the answers. She could only compare Gabrielle's story about her sister and her husband, with that of what Rosalie had told her about her past and Royce. Rosalie, the beauty of the town, had been only praised and seen prospects because of her looks. She'd also been pushed by her parents to get engaged to Royce King the Second, a man she barely knew but was the richest and most eligible bachelor in town who turned out to be a monster. Bella had had no doubts that if Rosalie had stayed at her friend Vera's overnight, or had not gone out in the first place, that she would have been married to Royce and when she did she would've been miserable. She knew almost nothing about Royce, and certainly nothing that showed his true colours which he hid from her as much as the cameras they'd kissed in front of. Yet she'd been pushed into marriage because her parents saw it as a good idea and brought her up accordingly, and as a result, Rosalie herself had believed in the idea and grew up wanting it. Dreaming about it, even.

A chill struck Bella. Was this how she wanted Renesmee to be like? To end up as?

But Jacob was no Royce. Everyone could see that.

Bella remembered seeing the regret on Rosalie's face when Gabrielle told her about her sister. How she'd seemed sad and envious, almost in awe and wistful when she'd heard what Fleur was like and what she'd fought to achieve, and when she told them of what brought Bill and Fleur together. Rosalie had her soulmate in Emmett and even a blind man could see that they were happy. What she regretted was that she wasn't more like Fleur during her human life, instead of turning out the way she did, believing her beauty to be her greatest achievement and ticket to a good future, and becoming engaged to the first handsome rich guy that proposed to her- even though Bella knew that her parents and the time she had been born in were partially, if not largely, to blame. Rosalie had been only eighteen, and, by the standards of those days, the perfect age to get married. Twenty would have been considered too old, or simply just pushing it. If Rosalie or the girls in Edward's day had waited until after they were twenty-one to get married, everyone would have considered the clock to be ticking for them, and many men would have considered them too old. Bella cringed in disgust. Didn't Rosalie say that grown men over half her age started noticing her good looks when she'd turned twelve? Didn't Shakespeare write that Juliet wasn't even fourteen yet when she first met then married Romeo and got engaged to Paris?

Rosalie hadn't been happy when Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. Granted, she'd never liked Jacob, and it was mutual, but she'd tolerated him afterwards. Still, Bella suddenly remembered seeing Rosalie's eyes flashing whenever Jacob came around to see Nessie, and how stiff she looked, like she'd wanted to push Nessie behind her, how she seemed to hate and resent Jacob the more he came around. Was it just her natural protectiveness towards Renesmee, who was as close as she could get to having a child of her own, her dislike- and prejudice- of Jacob, or something from her own past that haunted her?

Bella wondered about her own mountain of regret, how it seemed to grow. Was there something akin to Rosalie inside of her? Something that made her feel… envious- regretful, even when she heard Gabrielle's story?

Bella thought back to what she'd remembered: the uncomfortable twinge in her stomach when Gabrielle described her sister's romance with Bill. How it seemed to be based on friendship and respect as much as romance. How Bill not only didn't seem to mind that his wife had kept her maiden name, but he'd loved it. He loved that about her: that she was clinging to her own identity and refused to let marriage change her, or denote her under her anyone's label, even her husband. He loved it when she chose to either listen or not listen to him, even if he didn't always agree with her. He respected her.

He'd treated her as part of his family. Bella instantly remembered how Edward had referred to her as Mrs Cullen before they were even married and her stomach flipped itself upside down.

Emmett had also been happy for Rosalie to keep her surname, the same as Jasper for Alice. Granted, Rosalie and Jasper were posing as twins and as far as the town knew, none of the Cullens, apart from her and Edward, were married. But Edward had immediately referred to her Mrs Cullen before they were even married and during their honeymoon before any official change- and she'd accepted it during their engagement without so much as batting an eyelash and called herself with his surname before she signed any official documents, or even asking him why she even should. She didn't have any regrets about being one of the Cullens, and it wasn't that she was adverse to his surname or married women taking their husband's surnames, but no one had any discussion, or asked her whether she'd be keeping her name. She was, unquestionably, Bella Cullen even without anyone asking her to change her name, even before she knew it. And she barely seemed to know when she transitioned: when Bella Swan had disappeared and been replaced by Bella Cullen.

Bella grew cold and her breath caught in her throat. Was she… was she that much of- of a pushover? Was she truly that blind?

Venom rose in her throat. She wanted to throw up and hit herself. How could she ever have been so weak, so stupid, so blind as to let anyone have their way with her without asking for her input, or even considering that she may want something different? Or even just knowing that these things had happened. How could she let anyone get away with that, even the ones she loved? Granted, she didn't let Charlie get away with saying things she didn't like, even about Edward being under his roof after he'd dumped her and then came back. But it didn't mean that she didn't love him! Bella felt her stomach curl itself into a knot. How could she let others run and decide her life without even asking any differently?

Yes, she'd wanted vampirism, she admitted. And she'd wanted Edward. But what about their romance, when compared to Bill and Fleur seemed so…

Lacking. That was the word. It jolted her like a thunderbolt.

Bill had never expected Fleur to change her surname, Bella realised. Bill's relationship with Fleur had been based on mutual friendship and respect as much as love. Bill not only allowed Fleur to make her own choices and listen to whoever and do whatever she wished, even if he didn't agree and argued with her- but he'd admired her for it, for standing her ground. No, it dawned on Bella with an awful, sinking feeling. He didn't allow it; he made it clear that he didn't believe himself to have the power to allow or disallow it. She was his equal. She was her own person. Although they were married, she did not belong to him. She only belonged to herself, and he was happy for her to let the world know. He never called her Mrs Weasley.

Bella's mind flashed to the wedding and the honeymoon when Edward had immediately- and proudly- introduced her as his wife to the Denalis as soon as he'd greeted them. At the time, she thought it'd been sweet and felt truly touched, overjoyed to be Mrs Edward Cullen but now even that memory seemed to rub off the wrong way.

Once again, Bella's stomach churned. She felt sick though she didn't truly understand why. Or maybe she did, but she just didn't want to acknowledge it. Bad enough that she had to accept that Edward did not respect her nor treat her as an equal.

Edward did not consult her, not when he'd forged her signature to get into Dartmouth, not when she'd cried and been upset when she didn't want to go to the prom- Bella cringed at that memory, of how childish she'd been. But Edward hadn't cared about her feelings: he'd ignored her outright when she made it perfectly clear that she'd been upset, and again when she told him to his face that she didn't feel ready to get married when she was eighteen.

What was Edward's response?

"Well I'm nearly one hundred and ten. It's time I settled down." Bella's breath hitched and became ragged. It threatened to break out into sobs. Her vision blurred.

Was Edward brought up similarly to Rosalie in her day? To get married as quickly as possible, even though these days they'd think him to be too young? Or maybe it was because of her youth that he'd been so smotheringly protective... but then shouldn't he have taken her hesitation to enter into an early marriage as a sign to wait, especially as he claimed he wanted her to think things through carefully, in case she regretted it?

Everything Edward had said to her now seemed to disturb Bella. She didn't think too much about it at the time, but Edward seemed to be more concerned… about his being unmarried after so long, as opposed to waiting for her to get ready.

Surely, it was a joke, right? Bella considered. She'd taken his response as a joke. She didn't find it very funny but…

Something about that sentence made her feel uneasy.

Esme was right: they could always transform her first. He didn't think too much about making excuses or pacifying Charlie, he'd never had. And the Volturi…

He'd been ready to challenge them. Bella remembered that correctly. Even though she'd wanted to be changed, Edward didn't care about that at all.

He didn't care about what she'd felt, much less what she'd wanted… unless it was as Esme said: to keep her quiet and content.

Despite what Gabrielle had told her, it still felt like a betrayal to Edward, this train of thought. This way of thinking that felt like blasphemy and yet… such a detail seemed small and insignificant in the sheer, overwhelming horror that encompassed her, and the shocking realisation of what she had done and what she was like, and what she had seemingly skipped out on when she'd jumped into marriage that Bella couldn't deny that it had been true, not just for her, but for everyone else.

It had been the way for Nessie, the way Edward had brushed aside her feelings, her wishes for privacy and freedom, along with her defiance. It had been the way for not only the Della Rosas, but for the other humans whom Edward had planned to expose himself to, long before her cliff-diving incident or even breakup. It had been that way for Charlie, whom Edward found all too easy to reassure her about in case she had any doubts or negative feelings about Charlie's feelings and approval. It had even been that way for his family, who might've gotten into big trouble for letting Edward get close to her in the first place, without ever turning her, if Aro hadn't been so corrupt. It had been that way for Jacob when he'd made certain that he'd overhear about Bella's engagement.

All to keep her quiet and content. Bella squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the incoming tidal wave of images, memories and words. She swallowed to suppress a moan. She tried to remember what Gabrielle had said, about loving someone despite being abhorred by and acknowledging their mistakes, but it was tainted by the other things she'd said: about her sister knowing and loving Bill…

About knowing and loving someone not because they saw them as flawless, but despite the fact and because they are flawed. As people.

Bella let out a breath.

Edward had never been anything other than perfect to her, even when he did things that she didn't agree with or got upset by. She'd even said so himself, to his face. And it made her cringe at just how stupid and weak she now realised she'd sounded. How childish and immature she was. How limited in her worldview. He'd been drawn to her initially, not because he was attracted to her, but because he was drawn to her blood, and he couldn't understand why her thoughts were closed off to him, of all people: a girl who didn't seem like anything special, apart from being the chief's long-lost daughter with the runaway ex-wife.

Now everything looked and sounded tarnished; like blackened silver, everything had lost its glamour and lustre. Even the memories.

---

Now, I thought about doing this chapter in Bella's POV, but I decided to save it for when she was looking back in and narrating. This is In the Moment. And that is very important.

Now, you may understand why making Gabrielle Delacour, of all people, the Cullens' guide in this new world is necessary. I find it ironic that, despite the lacklustre depictions of romance in the HarryPotter novels- which assuredly has some of the best examples of friendship in fiction- Fleur and Bill's romance is widely popular with the fans. More than any other canon pairing, this couple is popular. By contrast, despite the prevalent themes of romance in the Twilight series, adults and later even fans who had been on Team Edward or Team Jacob seem to have more regrets, looking back. And that includes me. But while people may criticise Bella for not standing up to herself, and making bad choices with sticking around either Edward or Jacob, ask yourself: at that age, in Bella's shoes, would you do it any differently? We all thought it was romantic when we first read the series, when the books and the films were coming out. Everyone was either on Team Edward or Team Jacob back then. It's only now that we look back and see the all the red flags and the warning signs that scream abuse. Unless you were adult critics reading them at the time, tomboys or macho-men who didn't like romances.

This is also why I decided to stick to the original timeline for the merging of the Twilight and Harry Potter series. Bella's age, the amount of time she spent with Edward before getting married and the details of their backstories are all important, even more so as the story goes on.