"If you don't accept the consequences of your actions, then you are forever chained to a position of defence."

Holly Lisle

The saddest thing was, yes Carlisle and Esme both understood. Even worse, they now saw that she had no choice. Suddenly, even with the prospect of having more than one potential future, Carlisle could see that having the ability to See them, even all the pitfalls, mistakes, misfortunes and tragedies that could be prevented or avoided, wasn't necessarily a good thing.

After all, no matter how much one Sees, can one predict everything?

He wondered if he should warn Alice. But he suspected she already knew.

"When I ensured death came to Lucian and the heavily pregnant Sonja, it was then that Viktor agreed to awaken Markus and Amelia." Lady Laima said softly. "I think he may have been relieved that Sonja's death came swiftly and with as little pain as possible, since if she had been captured and brought to trial she would have been sentenced to the same agonising death as the Volturi. He certainly grieved her loss, but that was not the only issue at hand. The other High Elders were angry at Viktor for having delayed their awakening in the face of such catastrophic and dire conflicts which pushed our kind to the brink and threatened to exterminate us- and the hapless mortals who, of course, had absolutely no idea of what was happening and suffered, not just as being caught within the crossfire of our conflict but as prey for the Lycans who had no such laws prohibiting the consumption of human flesh." Carlisle felt sick. "Even to Lucian, it had been necessary, for Lycans needed food, although Sonja was upset and he had tried to keep it from her. When Markus and Amelia confronted him, before Viktor could explain that I had to bear part of the blame, I laid bare before the two of them my responsibility in everything that had occurred. Amelia saw at once that I had tried to prevent this but was unable to take the hard step to kill Lucian- or Sonja, until now. She understood, even sympathised a little for me being placed within such a situation but ultimately thought it must have been because I was too soft-hearted until I was forced to end them. Therefore, ever since then she did not view me as a threat." The Lady Progenitor scoffed bitterly.

"I suppose she was right after all; I had been too soft-hearted. But Markus was the one who understood that by laying bare everything I had done before Amelia I had ensured my credibility towards her, as well as my desire to remain largely out of politics and without power. Markus had preserved his credibility in her eyes when he put aside his personal love and loyalty and captured his own brother for them all, and I had further cemented it when I showed I cared too much; especially towards those I deemed innocent and unfortunate, and my errors stemmed solely from that fact. Furthermore, I only took the steps to end their lives upon Viktor's orders and after I was forced to confront, not only my responsibility in what I had allowed to happen and failed to do, but the possible futures that would have occurred had Lucian and Sonja's children remained alive. I had informed Viktor and been truthful to him; I then allowed him to take some of my blood, ostensibly to see my memories as proof." A bitter smirk twisted her lips. "He took more than was necessary to punish me and because an opportunist like Viktor will always seize the advantage to sustain and increase his power. Yet I knew he would have done so and it was necessary to satiate his cruelty. Since I voluntarily did so without being even being ordered, Amelia no longer suspected I was scheming to seize more power for Markus and myself, and to dethrone herself and Viktor, before handing their positions to our children, Radu and Ruxandra. I was deeply invested in peace, the wellbeing of countless others and keeping them safe. Part of being invested in peace meant that I was invested in keeping the balance of power between the High Elders. I never acted or schemed against her. She saw that I wasn't untrustworthy.

"But she saw otherwise for Viktor. Yet despite her reluctance, we could all see what he wanted with the Mikaelsons. While Viktor viewed them with suspicion and as a potential threat, and remembering that if he had decided to kill Lucian- regardless of whether or not I had stopped him in that precise moment- then none of this would have happened, but he also could not deny that even with Lucian gone we were still in dire straits. The humans had begun to panic and go wild in their paranoia and fear for their lives and safety, and those of their loved ones, as well as their homes and means to support themselves. So we recruited the Mikaelsons. And Viktor- again- had the idea of creating a new breed of immortals, sprung from our species, to fight the Lycans.

"I was dismayed. Even without my Sight I knew how it would end." She sighed. "He was so arrogant. So I schemed to prevent further conflicts from arising within the future- and, yes, I admit, to keep the Mikaelsons alive. But I did not trust Viktor to listen. So I approached Amelia instead with my proposal. My husband and I discussed it with her. She could not deny our reasoning, even though my judgment had been clouded by my soft heart in the past. She understood. So we agreed on what to do.

"The Mikaelson siblings agreed to infect and create a new generation of vampires in their own image. But by then I sensed something else was happening. Much later these days do I know now that the gene had already been mutating and spreading, even without our control. I foresaw the creation of many a new species. I know that Viktor had a hand in the creation of some. We had searched and fought for ways, even at times enlisting the aid of human sorcerers in order to prevent sunlight from burning each of us. Even though we finally managed to find various ways and methods of withstanding sunlight, Viktor often took things to an entirely different level. Some new species he had discarded; eliminating as soon as they were created. Others... I know that yours were one of those which were bred and created to be naturally armoured against sunlight; but the result of that was that your powers were rather limited compared to ours, and certainly to human witches and wizards."

She fell silent for a moment, as her audience sat, stunned, before turning to one another with eyes of astonishment.

"The names of the first of your species were K̑leuou̯eikos, which means 'famed in battle', where the name Louis also originates from." The Lady said softly. "And Sereg̑ā, which was an early variant of Sarah. Or at least, those were an epithet and a title, not their true names." Her eyes softened, and Carlisle again had the sense that she was a mother speaking of her own children when reminiscing about them. "One was a famed warrior, the other a beautiful woman, a daughter of a high ruler. They were chosen- or rather, they volunteered."

The Lady fell silent for a brief moment. "Viktor did not wish to use too much of Markus' and my blood for fear that it could lead to many far too powerful for us to overwhelm, especially Viktor. So at times, he used strands of my hair, as the Mikaelson children's mother had done, or simply the parts of the vampire virus that came from other vampires. Less powerful ones. At times, he used himself as a template, taking the virus from his own body. No doubt he wished and planned to use all these new vampires solely under the High Elders' and our species' control, and eventually putting them all under his thumb, but Amelia, Markus and I were prepared for that. For the war had raged on for nearly a century before the worst had passed and Viktor- realising he could no longer delay the inevitable Chain- descended down into the earth for his rest. It was then that Markus, Amelia and I seized the advantage. Unlike Viktor, she had listened. To further cement Amelia's trust and her agreement with going through with this plan, I told her that I would be willing to be put away, out of sight and risk of threatening or challenging hers and Viktor's power, even unintentionally, every two centuries until Markus' turn came to be awakened. Just do not allow Viktor to control or attempt to seize control of the other vampires, I begged. For this would sow more chaos, more conflict and countless deaths, unimagined.

"I also reasoned that now it was too late to kill the Mikaelsons, their fledglings and all the others: since Viktor had been determined to transform more vampires, and I also could not warn him against this course of action since if he had tried to capture and eventually eliminate the Mikaelsons as a possible threat, then they would have simply escaped and likely joined the Lycans in being grave threats to us along with every other vampire, before creating their own fledglings to do the same, just as the other escaped 'specimens' would have. Viktor also could not be permitted to control and gain more followers by silencing the voice of history when he predictably erased or prevented all his mistakes from being recorded. While he could prevent Sonja's story from being made public, both embarrassing and humiliating him as well as rubbing salt into his wounds, he could never be allowed to silence the fact that it was he who ordered the creation of Lucian and his species- and subsequently, all other species of Lycanthropic werewolves to come."

"Neither could we allow him control over them; for their sakes, ours and the entire world's." The Lady reiterated, her voice now firm. "So we came to an agreement. We proposed to the Mikaelsons and their creations, along with all the rest of these new vampires the idea of the Vampire Confederation: an organisation that spanned multiple governments, and the High Council who would govern them. They would each govern their own species, and every species would be considered equal and independent of the rule of any of the others. Only the High Council and the Confederation would be above them, just as it would be above us as well." The Lady nodded.

"Including, not simply our species but Viktor whenever his turn came to reign."

Eleazar's eyes lit up. "Very clever."

Admittedly, this was true, the rest of the audience conceded, even grudgingly on Amun's behalf. The Lady inclined her head. "Just so. And once Viktor and Markus had gone under the earth, one ignorant and the other knowing of what was to come and in full agreement, we made our decision. Amelia signed the law into effect and had Markus' blessing and agreement. To the others, including the rest of our species, one High Elder giving their consent was enough, and two were certainly more than enough to spur them onwards, especially since one of them was Markus. So, we prevented history from being rewritten, modified or erased and forgotten; and the Vampire Confederation and the High Council were born.

"But K̑leuou̯eikos and Sereg̑ā had escaped by then. Upon the rampage of the Lycan horde and the combating Death Dealers, the mortals' paranoia and fear had grown to such a peak that they had gone from being a nuisance to a very significant threat, even armed with torches, farming instruments and false talismans. Viktor deemed that while the pair were mildly useful as they were able to withstand sunlight, they were much too conspicuous for everyone's safety and too magically weak to be of much use. He sought to kill them, but before either of the pair had even gotten wind of his intentions, they escaped and fled. They sought the aid- either by threats or blackmail- of one of the witches who worked for Viktor and helped him create these new species- if only as a temporary means of employment- killed and drained her once they managed to get her to cast a powerful enchantment to prevent them from being found by anyone, even by means of magic, and then fled into the night. We assumed they had been torn apart by the Lycan horde, but although Viktor was assured that we were safe, I was uncertain. I was never certain. Worse still, the more we and our magical human allies withdrew from the world of the mundane mortals, the less likely we were to hear what had become of them and any creations of theirs. But once Viktor inevitably learned of the witch's treachery and that the Sight would be useless in finding them, I was never permitted to search. Although Amelia and Markus' mutual agreement to my very willing and voluntary imprisonment, albeit reluctantly on the part of Markus, had been noted, Viktor was still enraged at my defiance. He sought ways to chain and curb my political and magical power and influence ever since, including my foresight. He may not be entirely successful, but it is nonetheless... difficult for me to reach out and find the others, which I have made an aim of doing so, if only to prevent them from being exposed and quite likely endangered- either by Viktor or other forces, including non-magical human governments and weapons."

Everyone stared. Finally Carlisle let out a breath.

"So that's what happened?" Maggie asked quietly. "That's how we all began? Why you couldn't See us and we didn't encounter any of you before?"

Lady Laima inclined her head. "Yes. Although now that I have finally managed to See you all, I can be certain of what happened to both K̑leuou̯eikos and Sereg̑ā. They are both dead, torn apart by werewolves of the first species even though they managed to survive for so long and when they believed they were finally free from the mortal mob, although not before they created more like them. Perhaps our virus was always meant to mutate, the way the various werewolf strains had even after Lucian, the first of the Lycans, was born and created more like himself. I am certain that no witch or wizard, while willing to tolerate our kind, would willingly make dealings with werewolves, at least back then. Therefore, the Lycanthropic virus must have evolved or mutated naturally."

"What about Vladimir and Stefan?" Esme asked urgently, remembering their original question. "Surely they must have known since they lived around this same area, in the Romanian part of Transylvania, around this time."

The Lady sighed. "They were fledglings, born and created mere generations after K̑leuou̯eikos and Sereg̑ā, although certainly not before yourself." The Lady gave Amun a knowing look. "The given names of Stefan and Vladimir, like Markus, his father and brother, even his late mother, as well as Viktor and Amelia's names were all given and adopted upon a later date. And yes, I had caught glimpses, and there have been a few interactions, even dealings between our species, but none of these had ever caught Viktor's attention- and they made certain of it. Any activities and interactions between both species along with others were illicit and far from authorised by any High Elder or the lesser Elders who govern the smaller covens, as well as the other species of the Vampire Confederation." Her eyes darkened momentarily but then she sighed. "Say what one wills about the pair and their coven; at least they knew better than to confront Viktor. There were suspicions by the other High Elders, but even when Viktor was not awake he had others to do his bidding and to ensure his will was done. Followers loyal to the point of fanaticism. For that is the only kind of loyalty that Viktor inspires: fanaticism." She warned darkly.

"Viktor took the opportunity to order his followers to blind our individual Sights, along with Amelia's, as much as possible. Same as with all our children and loyal followers and supporters. Even to everyone else's detriment. He could not risk it. He did not trust Amelia for she had turned and conspired against Markus, despite for understandable reasons, and he was certain that she could do the same to him- if she has not already done so. His paranoia was as such that when Amelia's son was born, he had to be hidden for a time and remained under strict guard until Markus and I along with Amelia negotiated and deemed it safe for him to appear. At least Viktor never dared to harm our twins." Lady Laima stated darkly.

Esme, Tanya and Maggie were mystified. Zafrina's eyes narrowed. Mackenna's brow furrowed and it was she who voiced the question that everyone else was thinking. "Would Viktor dare to harm pure-born children? Especially those of the other High Elders? If not every human survives being turned by your species, then surely these children were priceless?"

"Yes." The Vampire Queen sighed. "But Viktor is as paranoid as he is powerful and arrogant. As such he can often be blind enough if he deems the cause necessary. I suspect that he had planned to use Sonja to replace Amelia as a High Elder should the latter ever turn against him, but obviously that was all for naught. Ensuring that Radu and Sonja were wed would also have, if he could not be rid of Markus and I, ensured we could never work against him." The Lady tilted her head. "Ideally speaking. Instead, Sonja, his pride, joy and the embodiment of all of Viktor's hopes for the future, not only betrayed him by choosing Lucian, she is dead; and Markus' and my daughter has married Amelia's son." She gave a rueful smile. "When Viktor wakes, he shall be far from happy. He believes that I have defied him too many times, especially when it came to not only hiding Lucian and Sonja's affair and aiding their escape, but concealing David's birth and upbringing. And although he cannot kill me, he would never have normally allowed this defiance to stand. Had I been another vampire, no matter how high the rank, he would have killed me a long time ago, to make an example to all others so that my defiance would not be emulated. As it happens he would have to settle by seeking ways to make our lives and aims as difficult as possible and ridding himself of those loyal to us."

Maggie's brow furrowed and she exchanged glances with both Siobhan and Mackenna. The three Amazon sisters were frowning, as was Esme. "You did the right thing, the only right things that could be done in those circumstances," Mackenna replied, stunned. Maggie nodded.

Lady Laima shook her head. "Do you think that matters?" She asked softly, eyebrows raised. Slowly, she emphasised every word she spoke: "Listen well, for I shall only warn and speak of this once; you may warn your families, your individual coven-groups. But never are any of you to repeat this conversation ever again. Do you understand? Especially not if there is a risk that they may spy and eavesdrop, especially with magic. I shall ensure that no one shall manage to do so when you are telling your families, but I cannot do more without Viktor or his followers noticing so that must be the end of all repetitions of that topic." Siobhan exchanged uneasy glances with Esme. "Viktor and his followers are more dangerous than the Volturi and the Romanians of your species, no matter the comparisons between him, Aro and Caius. More dangerous than the threats posed by the Immortal Children and all those who defended them, Benito and all those who came into conflict during your Southern Wars. Do not rise up to and take any possible baits. Do not bait him. Do not challenge him- treat him with respect but never trust him nor any who may be his followers. Stay out of his way. Leave his threat to Markus and myself."

"But if he wanted to kill his only daughter..." Tanya looked sick. So did Esme and all the others.

Lady Laima shook her head. "Again, leave the threat of Viktor to Markus and I."

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."

Bill Gates

"HO. LEE. SH-"

"Emmett," Rosalie said sharply, eyes flying towards the direction of the bedroom where Renesmee lay sleeping. Emmett snapped his mouth shut and looked suitably embarrassed. "Not so loud!"

"Sorry," he apologised. "So that's what happened? That's how it all started? How we all began?"

The Cullens all looked at each other. They were all currently in the living room of their Seattle penthouse apartment, where Carlisle and Esme had returned to fetch their children and granddaughter after they had sorted their items for storage and paid a year's rent in advance.

Carlisle and Esme both shook their heads swiftly. "We mustn't even repeat this conversation or topic, or show anything that might clue any of Viktor's spies- and they can simply use magic to find out- in on us and what we're saying. The man's dangerous, Emmett. He tried to kill his only daughter after he learned she was pregnant with hybrid babies."

Esme looked infuriated. "I can't believe," she hissed. "Did he not know just how LUCKY he was?"

Rosalie agreed.

"To have a child and not only that, but a grandchild," Esme insisted. "No- grandchildren- how could he be so blind?" She looked aghast and utterly stunned, plopping down on the sofa among them. "So hateful..."

The Cullens looked at each other. On that, not a single one could disagree. Emmett then shook his head. "The kids would've lived tragically and died a terrible death anyway." He hinted darkly. "And if Lucian and Sonja were fated to fall in love with each other, then they were always meant to have those kids. The kids were always meant to suffer and die." He said sadly.

"But you don't know that!" Esme exclaimed. "There could have been a way-"

"She tried to find a way," Carlisle reminded his wife gently, sitting himself down beside her. "And look how that turned out. Besides, their children were going to be hunted and treated as hated outcasts for the rest of their lives along with their parents, and how long would they have survived that? She must have searched for countless possible futures in which the children could not only survive but thrive and live in safety alongside their parents... but hadn't she tried to do the same to Lucian and Sonja before?" He questioned. "Besides, Sonja not only helped Lucian to escape, she fought against and killed her own kind.

"And she allowed the pure-born kids to be murdered and led their attackers right to their safe places and the entrances and exits to and from the covens." Jasper added darkly.

Carlisle's brow furrowed and he looked thoughtful. "I don't think she intentionally did that. That's what the Lady said anyway."

"No, but she allowed them to be placed in a vulnerable situation and attacked," Jasper pointed. "She could have just targeted the Death Dealers while they were riding out or at their campsite. Instead, she was just as arrogant as her father and attacked the covens directly. She might have thought it was to end the war, but neither she nor Lucian could prevent the innocents from being harmed, and they must've figured it out early on. If this happened because they didn't things through, then why didn't they stop it?"

"Maybe they did," Bella suggested. "Maybe they did stop it or tried to when they realised what was happening, but Viktor used Lady Laima to get to them first."

Everybody looked back at the two oldest Cullens. "She did say that Lucian and Sonja had not meant to harm or cause them to be harmed. And that once someone begins to hate they can't stop." Carlisle grimaced. "As we have found ourselves. So maybe," he conceded. "It could have been just that." Carlisle sighed. "How glad I am none of us will be there when Viktor awakens."

Everybody grimaced. Esme shuddered. "What a horrible, irredeemable person. And we can't even discuss or repeat any of this again for fear of our lives." She was disgusted.

"But we won't be in the Old-World Coven for more than a year," Carlisle reminded "and it's a full century until Viktor awakens. We'll be far out of his reach by then. We just have to be careful when we're interacting with the members of other species.

Alice was silent. She was so quiet that now, coupled with her small size and- for the first time in her life, less attention to her appearance, made her seem more diminutive and mousy.

"I guess this is the lesson I should've learned, huh?" She asked numbly. "You can't do whatever it takes to save or make everyone happy. And the more you try, the more people will suffer and die." She stared blankly out of the window. It was growing dark.

"What would have happened if I'd put a stop to it?" She asked in a voice so quiet that no human could've heard. "What would've happened if I had told Edward to stop doing what he did... I knew what he did was wrong, but since he would've been so happy in the end and I had Seen another future where he would kill you..." she trailed off in a whisper.

Alice shook and bowed her head. "This is all my fault." She whispered. "I thought that what he did was justified; since it would've all turned out well in the end... The Vampire Queen was right: I didn't think to look."

All the other Cullens looked sadly towards her. Alice gazed out the window, unseeing as Jasper came beside her and wrapped her in his arms. "How could I have been... she was right. I was impulsive. I panicked at the sight of one future- any bad future, really, not just the one where I saw Edward killing Bella but where I saw him going to the Volturi to ask for them to kill him... I panicked. I knew- or really, I only saw later when I stopped to think about it, that we could've just as easily called them and you, and once Edward gets there we could've put Bella on the phone to make him stop. We could've also warned the Volturi about the Wolves and how they wouldn't take it lightly if a human under their protection- whose family and home were under their protection- were threatened. Bella and I didn't have to go all the way to Volterra...

"I played God," she said quietly. "Or at least I tried to. I didn't see it at the time, but that's what I was doing." She heaved a sigh which turned into a sob.

"But I never thought... I was so used to saving people..."

Bella squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. "I know." She said quietly. Then a long moment passed with nothing but silence in between as Jasper cradled Alice in his arms.

"I forgive you," Bella said finally, causing all the Cullens to stare her way. "Alice... I forgive you."

Alice stared wetly, although her eyes were empty of water or any body fluid apart from venom and the blankness of her hazel-brown eyes, a shade which Alice herself wouldn't have remembered, betrayed her thoughts.

"What?" She whispered, broken.

"Why?"

Bella took a deep breath. She carefully measured her words. "Because... I wasn't any better." She finally said.

"I was as impulsive as you were... I ran out of the house when my dad was at his best friend's funeral, someone who was more like his brother than a friend, practically family, barely leaving a note before I went overseas... and when I came back, just hours later, I threatened to move out of the house and leave him, if he didn't accept Edward coming over." Her voice was a broken whisper. "Maybe you were also at fault for the first part but... the second was entirely my fault. I chose Edward- someone I barely knew, if I ever knew him at all- over my own father." She took a shuddering breath. "Until Charlie asked me to imagine myself in his place and Renesmee in mine..." she faltered.

Just imagining or thinking about Renesmee doing the same thing, giving the same threat or ultimatum to her and threatening to choose somebody else over her... Bella thought that her heart would break.

"I didn't do a good job as a mother." she whispered. "But it would still kill me if she did that. If she said anything like that... anything I said." Her mind flew back to what she said when she ran out of the house, trying to prevent Charlie from stopping or going after her because of James.

Bella breathed deeply.

"What about prom?" Alice asked quietly. "The slumber party? The wedding? You forgave me for all that?"

Bella inhaled deeply again. "Yeah," she said quietly, after a while "I do. Just so long as you promise never to do any of that to me again... at least not without permission."

Alice gave a tremulous smile. "I swear."

Bella nodded. "I think... I think I might even forgive Edward. It's just... I don't trust him."

The Cullens looked at each other. They perfectly understood.

Bella's mind flew to Phil, her soon-to-be ex-stepfather who was divorcing Renée in part because he didn't trust her and also because he didn't trust himself not to be manipulated or used by her.

She and Edward had used one another as a means of fulfilling their respective fantasies and as an escape from the grim (in Edward's case) or dull (in Bella's) reality of their lives. And while Edward had been malicious in his intent to harm Renesmee before she was born, Bella was the one who had let things slide and never stood up to him, and she had been ignorant enough to refuse to see everything that could have and almost did go wrong during the pregnancy and subsequent birth, ignoring the very real threats that Edward and Jacob both posed to her daughter and, once again, taking all her good luck for granted. In short, she was as guilty as he was, as was Jacob.

"It's over though." Bella said, staring at the greyness of the skyscrapers in Seattle. The mountain was lovely, so were the clear blue skies, the trees and vegetations were lush, like Forks'. But Seattle seemed a mix of Phoenix and Forks; the two places she once called home, with grey concrete and skyscrapers.

"I don't want you to get any false hopes... I think- no, I know, given enough time Edward's and my marriage would've broken down. Neither of us really saw each other for who we really were. If none of this had happened, sooner or later we would've been forced to confront the fact that we didn't really know each other that well at some point, and everything would've broken down anyway, without all... this." And again, her mind flew to Phil and her father. "And given enough time, what may have seemed touching or endearing, like Edward controlling every aspect of my life, like he did with what I used to eat and when, what I would wear and where I would be allowed to go, even going as far as to forge my signature for Dartmouth, take my car battery when he got jealous of Jacob and make arrangements for an abortion without so much as asking me..." Bella trailed off "I think I would've snapped and broken down at some point, and he wouldn't have understood why I was making such a big deal. I'm like Charlie," she admitted "I tend to put off getting angry until it bounces back at me at some point... and even though it doesn't do much once it's too late. And I don't trust Edward not to emotionally manipulate me again. Or mentally." she added in an afterthought.

"I'm sorry," Bella said in a softer voice "but it's over between us."

There just wasn't any other way to put it anymore. And deep down, Bella knew she was right. If Edward and she had just been an ordinary teenage couple in high school or college, they would've broken things off between them long before they got to the aisle, when reality forced their eyes to open. Instead, Edward's early twentieth and late nineteenth-century upbringing, combined with nearly a century of immortality on his own watching his human classmates move on with their lives and living with three happy couples, combined with Bella's desperation and anxiety not to lose the first person to make her feel like she was the centre of his world when he showered her with love and attention again, made them both go for marriage and an eternal commitment neither of them were truly prepared to go through.

For a moment, the Cullens didn't speak. Then finally, Carlisle was the one to break the silence. "We understand," he said quietly "even though this situation isn't ideal, it's the best choice for you to make." He sighed, looking at Esme. "You'll always be a part of our family, Bella. No matter what. I keep my promises, just as I did to Elizabeth Masen, many years before, I'll do the same to your father." His eyes softened. "And to you."

Esme nodded. "Always and forever, Bella. You'll always be our daughter." Slowly, the other Cullens all did the same.

They came and embraced her. Bella inhaled their scents deeply, memorising it the best she could. Just like she did with Charlie.

The way she wished she could have done a long time ago.

Meanwhile outside and down below the Cullens' penthouse apartment, the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle was currently hosting the belated birthday celebrations of the newest shining star, the youngest CEO of the new Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. Despite its strange and unwieldy name, the CEO in question was twenty-four-year-old Christian Grey, who was, from this moment on, known as the most eligible bachelor in Seattle. Perhaps in the whole of North America.

The hotel ballroom was packed, and Ava Swan raised an eyebrow at the crowded celebrations glimpsed from beyond the entrance to the ballroom.

"Quite the party," she said dryly, before turning her attention back towards Gabrielle. "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. She was in disguise. Although now nearing her twenty-fifth birthday and therefore, closer to being half-Veela than one-quarter Veela, like her sister Fleur had been when she had taken Polyjuice Potion, Gabrielle had other means of disguise. Ava had to admit she looked impressive- not in her usual, breathtaking way, but in a way that meant that if Gabrielle had not alerted Ava beforehand, she would not have known who this was.

Gabrielle handed her a file. "Be careful." She said quietly. "Damn." Ava gave a low whistle when she scanned the contents. "And no one knows?" Gabrielle shook her head. "No one." Ava raised an eyebrow. "And you want me to get involved with this?"

"I need you to create a diversion." Gabrielle said in a soft voice. "With your consent. Are you up for it? Because if not, it's okay-" Ava held up a hand.

"I'm up for it." She remarked. "But what makes you think he'll go for me? Why not you instead?"

Gabrielle shook his head. "I'm too intimidating for some people. Too fancy. Not easily cowed."

Ava's brows flew up. "Oh, I see. You think he's some kind of bully?"

"Not think. I know." Gabrielle remarked. "Besides, I have a much harder target to land myself."

Ava tilted her head. "Who?"

"There's a woman inside there." She nodded towards the direction of the ballroom. "One Elena Lincoln. Crime: paedophilia. I've been discreetly leading the No-Maj Seattle police to her doorstep. But we can stop her protégé before he gets worse."

"You want me to curse his balls off?"

Gabrielle stifled a smirk. "No, Aves. Unlike her, this guy actually has a chance of turning things around and becoming a better person, since he hasn't harmed anyone that severely, plus he's one of her victims. Of course, if we'd waited until he was, say, twenty-eight years old, then we might've had a problem. But Christian Grey can be saved. I want you to keep him distracted and then lead him out to see what's happening. I'll cause a distraction, get dear Mr. Grey out on his own so he can see you..." Very calmly, she detailed her entire plan.

"And then I need you to say no to him, quite firmly, put him in his place. Don't use magic on him, wait until the hotel employees see what's going on between you, not just his bodyguard whose sole task is to protect him, but also hold him there long enough for the police to arrive and take Elena Lincoln away."

Ava's brow knitted together. In a split second she reminded Gabrielle of her cousin, Bella Swan. "That doesn't answer my initial question: how do you know he's going to go for me? I was never the prettiest girl in Ilvermorny."

No, she wasn't. But she was beautiful enough to hold her own, even though she didn't appear as otherworldly way as Gabrielle or Adsila. Yet Ava Swan had been, according to Adsila, her boyfriend Darius and several other Ilvermorny alumni, one of the most attractive girls in Ilvermorny. There was no denying that fact. She was fun-loving, loyal, not as insecure as to have her friendship strained and to become jealous of Adsila, just by being close to her, she was highly intelligent, clever, bold and adventurous. Quite frankly, her not caring or even realising just how attractive she was, instead of batting her eyelashes and all that... well, Ava's charisma and charm certainly won more than enough admirers, even beside Adsila Sizemore, the beauty of not only Thunderbird House but Ilvermorny.

"Don't worry, Christian Grey has been severely traumatised, but he still needs a good knock of reason to the head." Gabrielle said flatly. "He was an orphaned boy, his biological mother a prostitute and a drug addict whose pimp abused both her and Christian. He used to put his cigarettes out on Christian's chest when he was a boy." Ava reeled, horrified. "When he was a toddler, his mother took a particularly bad beating and had a subsequent overdose to cope with the pain. She died and Christian was left beside her body for four whole days, starving and just waiting for her to wake up, until the police found him. He was left in a foster family for several months until the doctor who was on duty when he was brought into the hospital and her lawyer husband adopted him. They did their best, but he was still a troubled child, on all accounts." Gabrielle's eyes gazed towards the direction of the ballroom. "He had violent mood swings, often got into fights and drank in secret, becoming addicted to alcohol. So his parents arranged for him to have a summer job with his mother's friend. Elena Lincoln was her name and unbeknownst to Christian's parents she was the one who seduced him when he was only fifteen and then introduced him to BDSM."

"BDSM?" Ava repeated quietly, eyes disturbed and full of pity.

Gabrielle grimaced as she explained what BDSM was to Ava. Ava shook her head, both aghast and disgusted. "That's messed up. Maybe if you want to conduct it, then that's your right, no matter what I think. But he was, what fifteen?" She asked incredulously. "And his mother's friend was how old? Wasn't he working for her?"

Ava looked disgusted. Gabrielle nodded grimly. "That's bound to have messed him up even worse," Ava pointed. "There's no way in hell a kid with a traumatic background and with severe emotional and mental issues could have healed with... that." She stated flatly. "Or under her guidance."

Gabrielle nodded. "No, and you're right. Mr. Grey believes that Mrs. Lincoln's teachings taught him how to control his emotions and channel his anger into positive outlets. He attended Harvard University but dropped out in order to start his own business." She nodded again towards the direction of the ballroom. "Mrs. Lincoln loaned him a hundred thousand dollars of her husband's money to help him start his own business and Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc. was the result." Gabrielle inwardly shook her head at the name which sounded like a pretentious yet desperate attempt to sound important and wealthy. "To the outside No-Maj world, Christian Grey is a success story, someone to admire, respect and aspire to be. He's twenty-four years of age and the youngest billionaire CEO in North America. However, what most people don't know is that he's into Mrs. Lincoln's twisted version of BDSM. She may have- in a sense- helped him to control his emotions and channel his anger into 'positive outlets'; but she's also taught him to deal with the trauma and pain of his past by being a control-freak, a bully, and a bit of a sadist when it comes to the opposite sex. His unresolved personal issues with his biological mother meant that he had a great deal of pent-up personal resentment and grudges towards her. He's drawn to brown-haired women who are fair or pale-skinned, not too tall and rather slender."

Ava blinked. "Oh. So that's..." she gestured to herself.

Gabrielle nodded. "Yes. That's where you come in. He's going to be baited hook line and sinker. Christian is drawn to this type of woman. Yet he beats them in his BDSM sex room." Ava's jaw dropped and Gabrielle continued. "On one hand... his biological mother seems to have been loving and caring. So therefore, like a number of boys who grow into men he's drawn to women who remind her of him, as a sort of feminine ideal. On the other hand, she put him in a terrible, abusive situation where he was in constant harm, fear and danger, and terribly traumatised, then she 'abandoned' and left him to fend for himself. So yes, Christian Grey gets aroused by beating slender, light-skinned, brown-haired girls in his secret sex room. And it's all thanks to Elena Lincoln."

Ava was silent after a while. "I am willing to help him see the light, so to speak. That's what you intend and want me to do, right? Draw his attention, keep him distracted and in place long enough to see the No-Maj police arrive with an arrest warrant. That's what they're called, right? Poh-Leese?" She asked awkwardly. Gabrielle nodded. "Okay then. When they come and take that woman away-" Ava made a disgusted face when mentioning her, even indirectly "-he's going to be upset. He credits her with making him the way he is, right? So how do you intend to tarnish her in his eyes?"

Gabrielle was rather impressed. This was part of the reason why she was hiring Ava. Like Adsila, Ava had been present during the invasion of Ilvermorny and witnessed the attacks and countless losses of life. She learned, however, to think on her feet. Gabrielle leaned forwards and, tilting her head to one side and furrowing her brows, Ava did the same. "Christian Grey isn't the only victim of Mrs. Lincoln. And two of those include his adoptive brother and sister. When he hears what all the other victims have had to say- and what his own siblings have also said... well, he's not going to be happy."

Ava sighed. "Fine. I'll trust your judgment." She blinked. "Is this something you've Seen?"

Gabrielle nodded, pursing her lips. She had no doubt that her Sight was nowhere near as powerful as the millennia-old Vampire Queen, yet it was still something. However, this had its own problem: Ava Swan was a secretly caring person who sympathised with him, no doubt and Christian Grey... was going to fall in love with her.

Gabrielle's eyes hardened. Oh, well. Even if that can't be helped, it might teach Christian a lesson or two. He was known to be as equally unable to understand the meaning of the word 'consent' as Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. And sometimes, you needed a good hard lesson to teach them a thing or two.

And Ava was always going to get with Darius Smackhammer in the end: a far better person than Christian Grey ever will be. At least he would never fall for the other girl this time, poor Anastasia Steele.

And yet Gabrielle couldn't help but wonder whether she was about to make the same mistakes as Alice Cullen. She would have to remind herself to use this power only sparingly, and even then to help poor boys like Elena Lincoln's victims.

Merry Christmas everybody. Or at least it's Christmas Eve where I'm uploading it. Might be Christmas by the time you read it, or, like me, you're taking a break from all this until it's over. Don't know when I'll resume this again, so Happy New Year to all.

Dredre2023: Thank you, but don't sell yourself out so easily. There's always a way to bring them together. I figured Klaus Mikaelson and Eric Northmen would get along, especially since they were both Vikings. And yeah, Winter Roses. But even though the A Song of Ice and Fire novels don't exist in this universe, there's someone who knows about them. This is a multi-crossover and a lot of characters from other fiction series and standalone novels, films and TV shows will at least be mentioned if they don't appear directly.