A special shout-out to Hokkaido_milk_pudding on Ao3 for their part in inspiring part of this chapter. They also did the same with my last story about Gabrielle. Veela/soulmates fanfics are really overrated and overused (and not even remotely compelling, to be honest. Sorry).
"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."
Alexander Graham Bell
Bella was silent as she reflected on the various conversations she'd had with her former high school friends.
Today had been the day, and when she asked for Gabrielle's help, the latter had helpfully checked for a time when all of the people Bella mentioned she wanted to see would be in Forks, since it would be suspicious if she travelled not only to the University of Washington where Angela and Ben were, when she also said she would be attending Dartmouth or the University of Alaska, but also end up wherever Eric, Mike and Jessica were going when the three mentioned they would be attending college out of state. No way she could explain that she'd gone and tracked them to wherever they were just to have a conversation, and Bella was eager to get this over with.
Maybe she was desperate to move on before she looked back. She hoped it wasn't a sign of her wanting to run away.
"What the hell Bella," Mike said hoarsely. His clear blue eyes were beyond shocked. His hand flew up to his head and he looked aghast.
Bella squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the aching pain in her heart. Her fists clenched and unclenched.
Interestingly and fortunately, the four had been in Forks for one last summer break together with their families and friends, without Bella or the Cullens, and before setting out for college and planning future summers in California, Connecticut and New York partying with their college roommates. She remembered she had been accepted in the University of Alaska, but Edward had continuously tried to get her to fill in the application forms for Dartmouth before deciding to forge her signature and handwriting to get her there himself. Bella had once wondered what the point of attending any college was since she was going to be a vampire now, and had at one point even taken money out of her college fund to go build that useless bike with Jacob. But those days were gone. And Bella admittedly, secretly now envied her friends the lives and futures she had carelessly thrown away.
The world had moved on without her and everyone went on with their happy lives, their dreams and goals for the future while Bella remained as she was: an eighteen-year-old girl who'd been blind and acted too rashly and made mistakes but could never take them back. Forever.
Bella had also been warned that she would be unable to attend Dartmouth, the University of Alaska, or any other institution in the non-magical world, by both the New-World Coven and MACUSA, the latter of whom had contacted the Alaskan Ministry of Magic for help in erasing her from any records, as the magical state was independent of MACUSA's control. They informed the Cullens that they were required to erase every detail of the family, including Bella, on the national database and any international records, but upon hearing that she wanted to properly divorce Edward according to the law once he was out of prison, for the sake of honesty between the two and to remove any potential misinterpretations on his part that their marriage could possibly still be legally intact in some way, they had postponed destroying her passport, birth and marriage certificates, and driver's license along with any other legal evidence of her existence in the non-magical human world, until the divorce could be finalised. But the Cullens still had to withdraw and disappear from the No-Maj human world completely.Meaning, Bella was unable to attend college anywhere now. Period.
As she had already become a vampire, it was too big a risk that could lead to her and, consequently, everyone else's exposure. As a full member of the supernatural world, she could not be allowed to officially exist anywhere in the ordinary human one, nor to live there full-time without taking extra precautions and fulfilling the legal requirements. In fact, the less she was seen by humans, the better. Bella Swan would cease to exist in humanity's eyes entirely. She would earn no diplomas, no degrees. All of which would have been ultimately useless as a permanently eighteen-year-old vampire, but, again, she hadn't really thought of that. Nor did she think about that when she wasted her college fund on a bike she couldn't even use and didn't have the license for or wondered what the point of going to college was as she was already planning to be immortal. Now, she cursed herself for throwing away and overlooking the opportunities that would never return. Like her whole life and future had been garbage.
Bella heaved a ragged sob.
It wasn't that she had much hope or enthusiasm for the future as a human. But remembering what she had Seen...
But was it that? It wasn't that alone, was it? No, Bella knew better than that. She had already started to regret even before Lady Laima showed her those visions.
Her plan had been to go to college in the fall. She'd postponed that in order to get married, to have a baby and to keep her safe and hidden, and now it would never come into fruition. It felt like every semblance of her previous life and existence as a human had already been wiped clean like it was never there. The past eighteen years... gone. Just like that. Isabella Marie Swan, otherwise known as Bella, had disappeared from the face of the earth. Every detail of her past, good and bad, and any future that she could have and might have once been... had vanished without a trace.
That was what disturbed and upset her the most. She really didn't know what she had until she had lost it all- including herself. Her identity, her life, her achievements and shortcomings, her family, the few friends she had, her past, her future, even her name and every single failure that, by definition, made up the person that she was and had ever been...
No one said anything about Charlie knowing about everything now. It might be because her father was the chief of police in Forks and was protected by the Quileute Wolves and considered an honourary member of their tribe that no one dared to try anything to tamper with his memories. Bella was grateful, especially as she and Renesmee both intended to continue visiting him in Forks until his human days had passed and they could say farewell. The other Cullens would never return; although the Wolves hadn't said anything, they understood and sensed they had overstayed their welcome, especially with all that had happened with Jacob, although the Wolves and the council of elders also felt they and he bore part of the blame. Besides, some memories were best put firmly behind them.
Bella was grateful to them for adopting Charlie as one of their own. She felt that as soon as Renée and Charlie were buried, any aspect or trace of her humanity, her previous life and identity, would have disappeared. And as soon as the Wolves who had known and remembered her from her human days were also gone, including Seth and Leah, that would also be the day when the smallest trace of any memory left of who she was, of Bella Swan, of her life, the way she was before she changed, ceased to exist and was forgotten by the world. Vampires didn't typically use surnames either, at least not legally. They had monikers and epithets just as they had clan and coven names, but they were typically addressed by their first names unless their family were of some significance, like the House of Corvinus or the Mikaelsons. Or as an informal means of referring to certain coven-groups like the Cullens, who congregate with and see each other as family. Of course, no one would legally take her surname away, but Swan was an informal reminder of her past, her identity, any achievements or shortcomings she might have once had, her birth family and where she was born, brought up and had come from; of her life for almost nineteen years. It was not officially listed and given in formalities and legal requirements, even the new passports they were preparing which would open doors for them within their allies' worlds. Bella Swan simply did not exist in the supernatural world any more than the others and she could not continue to carry the same identity she once had during the rare occasions she was permitted to enter the ordinary human world for fear of arousing suspicion and attention. And once the natural length of a human's life had passed, Bella Swan also had to be legally considered dead if all the memories of anyone who had ever known her hadn't been wiped or if their owners also weren't dead.
It was a law which was recognised and accepted by her species' new government with little difficulty since many vampires were born and turned before the laws of the human world officially enforced the use of surnames. Even those that had them seemed to be determined to put the past firmly behind them.
Speaking of which, Bella noted how immersed in their new line of work Carlisle and Esme had suddenly become. The couple were also in talks with Gabrielle for a new inter-kind organisation she was setting up, but they were hard at work with the other vampires chosen to become the new governing body. They needed to restructure or properly build an entire society from scratch, one which would involve every individual of their species and whose laws were legally required to be followed by them. The horrific, heartbreaking grief of Edward's sentence, the destruction of his marriage and relationship with his daughter, and the annihilation of his reputation in the eyes of their friends and the entire supernatural world who judged him was something people doubted they would ever recover from. But it was as if the Cullens also had fresh air and new life breathed into them, focus and energy for a good cause, a good purpose, or perhaps they wanted to keep themselves occupied to prevent sinking deeper into misery and despair. For the first time, they all had a purpose, and they no longer needed to hide when living among their own kind and others who knew them for what and who they were.
Apart from politics, diplomacy and socio-economic problems, Carlisle and Esme agreed to be a part of the organisation's scientific research and healing division. They were equally busy assisting Gabrielle and the others she had recruited and joined in setting everything up. It was an exciting opportunity to learn about different species and kinds, their societies and cultures, the science of the environments they lived in and the magic they wielded, and how they co-existed alongside each other and the ordinary human world and to travel and explore. For the Cullens, who had been stuck living as high school and college students, a small-town doctor and his wife, this was also a means to stretch their wings and really live to and fulfil their full potential and possibly make names for themselves and live more interesting and exciting lives, with meaning and purpose.
Rosalie was equally immersed and interested in joining, although she had yet to figure out which branch she would focus on, and Renesmee might have been deprived of the right to go to normal school, but she could still learn in a thrilling new environment while travelling the supernatural world. Bella's daughter also received full citizenship and, consequently, the protection of the Confederation and was legally recognised as such and protected by them. Her daughter's smiles had grown increasingly rare, but now she looked like she had hope, just as she had a chance for a safe place she could call home, friends and a future.
Emmett and Jasper had officially joined their species' armed forces. While the Death Dealers were the elite unit of the first species, used by the entire Confederation when necessary, they needed their own military and police or peacekeeping force. Jasper's experience and skill in combat, training and military strategy and Emmett's childlike enthusiasm, sheer strength and relentless determination were more than welcome additions to their ranks. Alistair, Liam and Garrett had also joined, and a few others who were with them in the Old-World Coven had already signed up as well. Their governing council had also sent emissaries, including Carlisle, who would find and bring individual vampires and coven-groups into the fold and join their world in every way. Some of those they met were surprisingly interested in joining.
But Alice had been shaken and traumatised the most out of the other Cullens and, apart from Edward, Bella and Renesmee, she was the one who gave them the most cause for concern.
Alice simply hadn't been the same since MACUSA's Aurors, led by Adsila Sizemore, had appeared in front of the Cullens' home and opened the door to another world. A prospect which normally would have been exciting and thrilling for anyone, especially her, but Alice whose four-feet-ten-inch height was compensated by her boundless enthusiasm, relentless energy, bubbly sweetness and zest for life including any new thing, had changed. The best word to describe her now was mousy.
Bella wasn't sure what broke her: the news about the part she played in the Della Rosas and the other victims' demise without knowing or seeing it in any way, the harsh reprimand and the knowledge she was also forced to confront about aiding and abetting Edward and letting him get away with trespassing and stalking Bella, the fact that her helpful and caring attitude towards her brother had enabled him to use her to hold Bella an effective prisoner in one place while turning a blind eye to his bad and controlling behaviour, the fact that she was forced to understand that she had hijacked control of Bella's wedding- a wedding which Bella hadn't even wanted or was sure she did- and pushed her and Edward together in a match that didn't take Bella's consent entirely in mind and proved disastrous, the understanding that Edward had actually been emotionally and psychologically abusive to both Bella and Renesmee and how she'd turned a blind eye and even excused or justified his behaviour, or the emotional and psychological horror of his later trial and sentence.
However, it was just as likely that what finally broke her was Lady Laima's revelations about her visions: how there had been more than the two possible futures that Alice had seen: one in which Edward had been unable to resist the lure of her blood and ended up killing her and made Alice panic, and the other in which Bella and Edward fell in love and became mates, which she eagerly pursued without thinking to look further and see the length and duration of Edward and Bella's relationship. Bella herself didn't need the Sight to know her and Edward's relationship and subsequent marriage would've broken down anyway, even though she ignored it.
But the cherry on top had been the more recent news MACUSA, the Italian Ministry of Magic and the vampires of the New-World Coven in New York had given to them: the ones that told them that the Cullens had entered the radar and aroused the suspicions of the authorities in Italy and the US, and perhaps any other countries they had been to- and the major role Alice had played in bringing their attention to her family. Even more so, the news about how the policeman she'd bribed and his colleagues in Volterra who had been finished off by Aro and his pawns. And through it all, the overwhelming sense of guilt and shame which she doubted she could ever get rid of, even if she wanted to, that she had been spared. Edward had been arrested, tried and sentenced, but Alice was left in peace.
At first, Bella did wonder why she and Alice had been spared. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were one thing, but technically, she and Alice would've been arrested by the federal police if various supernatural entities hadn't slowed and stopped them. If the two of them weren't charged as perpetrators, they could have been seen as accomplices and charged for that by the confederation, but they weren't. At first, Bella didn't understand, but she knew she had still been punished, and she was beginning to understand that Alice hadn't gone unpunished either. After looking at her, Bella determined that she certainly wasn't unscathed.
If the heavy price for slightly alleviating Edward's imprisonment and staving off his potential execution had been the irreparable destruction of his and Bella's love (or illusions of love) along with his relationship with their daughter, then the Vampire Queen and the other judges, despite not showing Alice any of the visions or speaking directly to her until after Bella had them confirmed, had punished her in a similar but indirect manner. After all, Bella was also the one paying the price for the role she played, as she made clear; and Jacob, for the role that he played, unwitting as it was but mostly for his responsibility in the destruction of Renesemee's innocence, freedom and childhood, and for intending to kill her when she was newly born. It made perfect sense that Lady Laima would punish Alice in the same indirect manner, by sparing her yet revealing to and forcing her to understand and confront all that she had done, and to witness her brother paying the price caused, in large part, by her own actions, inactions and schemes.
A harsh lesson, Bella swallowed and bit her lip. And a bitter one, but one that none of them could deny had been well-deserved, least of all the victims and their families. As much as she wanted to hate Lady Laima, Bella admitted she couldn't deny her reasoning, the effectiveness of these punishments and the necessity for them. It was either this or their entire kind, themselves included, would pay the price with death- or worse. And Bella had been selfish enough. She didn't want to be that again. She and the other Cullens held no grudge against Lady Laima, especially once they'd heard Carlisle and Esme's recollections about what the Lady Progenitor had told them of how she had once tried to save a few innocents only to end up with the people she'd saved destroying many more innocent lives. Bella was forced to understand her reasoning. And Gabrielle did warn them that the Vampire Queen was more interested in the overall wellbeing of countless lives as opposed to a few individuals. None of it was her doing anyway; she was just showing them the actions and the consequences of what they did to themselves, each other and everyone else. Nothing more.
Bella sighed. Her insides felt like it ached, although physically she felt fine.
Alice had surprised them all, however, when she mentioned she'd received an offer to help master her Sight. It had stunned the other Cullens, but she had gladly accepted it. The course also offered to teach her various methods of Divination along with Arithmancy, a branch of magic that studied the magical properties of numbers, which included predicting the future with numbers and numerology. Graduates could apply for higher learning or for various jobs around the Old-World Coven, like assisting the military or science divisions, all of which Alice could eventually do with her species once they had built their first major coven. Alice, for the first time in over a month, had a future and the promise of a life of her own which she could look forward to, so that gave her consolation and hope.
Bella still didn't know how she would be perceived by their former allies and friends in the Old-World Coven since she hadn't actually interacted with them face to face. Would they pity her? Would they reject and hate her? She knew Edward had a harder road than he could have imagined once he had been released from prison. After the red-haired judge, Walter Bernhard, none of them were likely to forgive him, and she suspected because the new laws prevented them from killing any vampires along with humans, for whatever reason, that was the only thing that kept all the friends who had come to their rescue and once welcomed Edward along with Carlisle, before promising to stand and defend him and his family at their own cost, from killing him. The Denali coven who had lost Irina would not have seen his life as a fair trade for hers.
Bella didn't return to the cottage or their old house. She just sat in the woods facing the cliff. She was dimly aware that some of the Wolves had noticed and sniffed out her presence, but upon seeing her they did not approach or confront her. Bella also said nothing. She just sat there on a tree which Edward had once climbed with her on his back, staring out at the distant sunset. It felt like the sun was setting on everything she had once had, including her own life. It had ended, whatever dreams or plans she had were gone same as her love and relationships with Edward and Jacob, yet Bella wasn't dead; she was still here.
She heard the sounds of a tell-tale pop beside her. Gabrielle balanced herself upright with one hand delicately grasping a branch. She was at peace with and had always been one with nature; she was a Vila as well as a witch.
Bella kept her eyes on the distant sunset, her face dull and blank, her shoulders slumped. Gabrielle then cast her eyes down and saw several furry shapes moving away once they realised who it was, although some watched curiously, almost completely hidden in the shade of the trees. No doubt many of them wanted to know whether Bella regretted her decision to be a vampire. She wondered whether they felt vindicated. Bella wondered the same thing.
"Bella," she said quietly.
Bella didn't answer except for a lowering of her eyelids. Gabrielle gently went to sit next to her.
"It's gone," she said slowly, feeling numb, her voice distant. "All of it. Every trace of who I was, my life, my family, my home, my name..." she hesitated "my future... it's all gone."
Gabrielle said nothing.
"I traded it," Bella said in the same hollow tone. "I traded it all: for Edward, for what I thought we had together and the future I thought we would have, but also for beauty, eternal youth, immortality, grace, speed, power and strength... I was selfish. I used him as much as he used me." She blinked, eyes hazy as if struggling to comprehend what she was seeing and where she was.
"I thought I loved him," Bella said softly "I thought he loved me. We were in love what we thought who the other was as well as what we believed we could give to each other, as much as we hated ourselves. I traded everything for... for what? What did I end up with?"
Again, Gabrielle said nothing. She pressed her lips together. She didn't think that there was anything that she could say.
Down below, Gabrielle could sense a few more of the Wolves slinking away. No doubt they judged Bella for trading her humanity in exchange for immortality and a false love that didn't last, and for shallow, materialistic purposes too, just as they resented her for her part in all that had happened with Jacob and what it had ultimately costed him, but they could not deny that their own had also done that: Sam, Emily, Paul and Jacob. They could not deny that Jacob had also been selfish, and Renesmee was the innocent one. And worse, they could not deny that it could have easily happened to them: if any of them had imprinted, they could and would've done the same, regardless of who it had hurt.
In the end, they had all lost.
The word 'devastating' would not be enough to describe this, Gabrielle thought. The true word was 'heartbreaking'.
"I didn't even know." Bella continued voice even more quiet now. "I didn't stop to think."
Gabrielle sighed. "Many don't. Your misfortune, Bella, was that you were not as mature as many others were when they were presented with the same choice, and you were pushed to make that choice. Also, judging from your past you had every reason to believe that your future would be no different. The others who faced this, who went through the same thing, they had families who were close to them. Who had always been there for them. They had friends. They had dreams and hopes for the future. All of which served as anchors to the human world, the lives they lived. All you wanted to do was to escape." She sighed again. "I won't say that you were innocent in all of this because you weren't. But if anyone were in your situation and had lived seventeen-to-eighteen years in your life and shoes, not just presented with the same choice and opportunity that you were, many people would've done the same."
Gabrielle paused for a moment, regarding Bella in silence.
"What will you do?" She finally asked.
Bella said nothing. Why should she? It wasn't as if she had thought of anything before. And she was the same person as she was then. What now? How could she ever get herself out of the trap she built for herself?
Gabrielle huffed slightly. "Bella, are you going to allow your bitterness and regret consume you for the rest of eternity now that you possess immortality?"
Bella flinched involuntarily. "You know how Edward wasted his second chance at life," Gabrielle pointed darkly "the new life his own mother was so desperate to give she died trying to give it to him and ended getting Carlisle to do it. Then he spent nearly a century taking Carlisle and Esme's care, consideration and trust of him only to tear it to pieces and throw it back to their faces and down the drain. He almost succeeded. Now look where it's finally gotten him." Gabrielle said, her voice grim.
"Do you want that to be you someday?" She challenged. "To destroy your second chance at life and betray everyone who ever loved and trusted you?" In Gabrielle's secret opinion, Edward was better off dead. Maybe the Volturi's executions were too brutal, but Jane and Alec's came off as merciful and normally, Gabrielle herself was vehemently against the death penalty, but she would have rather he or anyone else have faced that rather than what was to come. She was certain Edward would envy the twins too once he had gotten out and learned the truth of what had and was going to happen; he was going to get an even nastier and more devastating shock when his wife finally divorced him and his daughter cut ties with him completely, if not almost. And then there was the matter that every single vampire he and Carlisle had ever befriended or met, and even the ones who didn't know him, felt like they had been betrayed by his careless endangerment of them while the ones he had known also remembered how he had also asked them to stand with and protect him and his family, at the risk of their and their loved ones' lives. Even the formerly based Denali coven group who had lost a sister had turned their backs against him. To complete the cherry on top, every magical human, and other being was out for his well, not blood or venom, but certainly Edward's pile of ashes and would be more than happy to make him suffer if not kill him outright. What did he have to live for? Nothing would ever be the same again.
Slowly, Bella shook her head. "Haven't I already, though?" She whispered. "Haven't I-?"
"You're only half right." Gabrielle pointed flatly. "You've been given a second chance. Don't do what Edward did; don't squander it."
For a moment, the pair sat in silence.
Bella closed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Forgive me," she whispered. She didn't know who she was speaking to; the Wolves she knew were still listening in to their conversation, the ghostly images and memories of Charlie, Renesmee, Phil, her high school friends, her grandmother or Jacob... or even Edward whom she had used and who she was about to betray again in thirty-three years' time, for all he had done to her and everyone she cared about.
"Forgive me for everything."
Gabrielle said nothing and Bella didn't expect her to. Nor did she expect forgiveness any longer.
It still hurt.
"Trust and forgiveness are earned," Gabrielle said finally "as are second chances. You started to earn your second chance by your remorse; your repentance and your father's unconditional love and forgiveness. But remorse is only the first step of the journey. You still have a long way to go to make things right. For the people who love and, despite anything you may have done, who still believe in you. For your daughter. And for yourself so you don't spend eternity stewing and eventually rotting in your regret. So you don't turn into someone you will feel repulsed by and do what Edward did."
Bella blinked. Gabrielle was certain that if Edward slapped himself on the head and really looked back to see what he had done, he would be beyond revolted. As it so happened, Edward regretted the consequences of his actions, particularly on Bella and Renesmee and even strangers like the Della Rosas, and he wished he had never done these things, but he didn't truly regret his motivations, his reasoning behind those actions. At least not completely- not yet.
He would soon enough.
"Don't make any more regrets." Gabrielle said quietly.
The weight of her words echoed like thunder.
Bella took a shaky breath. She swallowed. Her lip trembled.
She gazed into the distance. Another sunset. And then... another day.
What would that day bring? Apart from the spoiled and snobbish girl from Bella's high school, whom Gabrielle could only pity but was unable to interfere to change her fate entirely (not without setting off a chain of events that could potentially be harmful), the others could look forward to the future. Maybe not the future in the next two decades or so, certainly not the global economic recession in the Muggle world which would come the next year and begin the downward spiral that was sure to come, but their own individual lives and how they managed to get through.
That, in part, was thanks to her. In actuality, Gabrielle was only twenty-one. But that was four years away from the halfway point of her own transformation.
She had already stopped aging physically. However, unlike Bella, her ancestors, the High Elves, and her mother's family and species were naturally occurring immortals. Unlike vampires, the High Elves only grew 'wiser and more fair' as they became older. They didn't stay static, even if they remained physically fit and youthful. And while she was technically around almost half-human at this point, her powers had grown so significantly it sometimes scared her.
But one of the things she could do, which she liked to do but couldn't do often was to, well, bless them, in a manner of speaking. Even the ones they came into immediate contact with because as soon as Eric Yorkie's meeting with Bella ended, he met his girlfriend, Katie. Her Vila powers of ill-wishing or cursing (which she hadn't used) and well-wishing or blessing were not as powerful as her grandmother and other full-blooded Vila, particularly the more ancient ones, but she could still propel them forwards to live their full potential and to opportunities for a better life and future. Lauren Mallory wasn't anywhere near town when Bella came to visit so she did not come into contact with the magic. Gabrielle supposed she felt that would make Bella's eternity and guilt easier to bear and she was glad to do it, regardless.
She could not use it excessively though. But she did take the opportunity when she could to improve the lives of those that required it. Unfortunately, she could not use it on Bella as giving her the easy 'quick-fix' could, at this point, only cause more problems in the future. Besides, the gift itself would be wasted if she did and could not see what she already possessed. So, for now, Bella was simply the carrier.
The rest was up to her.
Gabrielle sighed and spoke to her. "There's something you need to know."
Bella blinked. "I'm twenty-one." She informed her. "I was born in 1986, roughly a year before you."
Bella stared. "You can't be."
Gabrielle shrugged carelessly. "I assure you, I am. You can ask my parents and sister if you would like. I'm the same age as Leah."
Bella gaped. "But you- you..."
Gabrielle sighed. "Listen, Bella." She said quietly. "I told you I'm only partially human, right?" She said quietly. "When I was a teenager... things started happening to me. Things I didn't understand."
Her violet-blue eyes misted and grew sad. "I had dreams, like any other kid. But compared to you, I was sheltered. Protected. I had a happy childhood, but I was truly unprepared for the world and future ahead of me.
"My dream was to be a healer and eventually join the ranks of the French Ministry of Divine Health- well, the No-Maj American equivalent for that is the Department of Health and Human Services, though they don't have a universal public healthcare system over here the way both non-magicals and mages have in France and Britain." Gabrielle grimaced. "Believe me, that's going to start biting the No-Maj United States back within the next two decades. But leaving that aside, there was also a boy I admired in school." Gabrielle paused. "One who I was infatuated with and who I believed had a good chance of being together. And as it turned out, my feelings were reciprocated."
Gabrielle paused. "Then my Veela powers started to kick in. Bella, the first thing to understand is that the magic that witches and wizards do- which is human magic- is different from the magic of the Fey or the Fair Folk as some call us- well, them." Gabrielle grimaced. "I admit, being part this and part that does... make lines blur and causes confusion as to who I should identify myself with. But the Fey, otherwise known as the Fair Folk and as faeries-" Gabrielle nodded at the recognition in Bella's eyes "were never mortal. Unlike vampires, even the pure-born ones and the descendants of the House of Corvinus, we were never human, therefore, we are even less similar to them though we parallel in some ways. The Fey come in several genera- plural for genus- and those have a number of species each. The Veela, as they are more commonly known but are more accurately referred to as Vila or Samovila, are a species consisting solely of females." Gabrielle paused. "There are no men. Magic bends a lot of laws of nature the way the majority of humans perceive them, although there are some laws that remain intact. To reproduce, we typically breed with males of other kinds, typically humans. The male offspring take after their fathers, although they inherit some of our traits. The females take after their mothers. Meaning, during their twentieth year, once they have physically matured, they cease to age, and at fifty, their transformation into full-blooded Vila is complete. If you were to take a newly-transformed fifty-year-old Veela's DNA sample and compare her genetics to that of her human father and brothers..." she shook her head. "All traces of humanity disappear. Even if they show some of their traits."
Gabrielle paused for a moment. "That was what typically happens. Except that my grandmother fell in love with and married a wizard- a magical human." She stressed. "That caused a battle for dominance between the two dual natures, the two different sources of magic, and then my mother- who was both Vila and a witch- married another wizard, my father." Gabrielle sighed. "Two daughters they had, and the battle for dominance still continued. But Fleur, brave, beautiful Fleur, my incomparable sister, identified herself with human mages more than Fey." She pursed her lips. "The magic that exists within our genes- of all kinds- senses our willingness, our likes and dislikes. What we felt and who we truly are inside. Remember I told you about the wizard-boy whose mother had a horrible sister whose equally repugnant husband also despised magic or anything out of the ordinary?" Bella nodded, remembering. Gabrielle seemed to struggle with her words about something and this piqued her curiosity. "How the magical gene sensed the level of hostility within that side of the family- and not just with the husband, but with his biological sister. Horrible, really. Despite the fact that their son, the boy's cousin, has grown up to be a relatively decent man with a nice and happy family of his own, the magic within their genes has died." Gabrielle said shortly. "The level of hostilities that the uncle's family possessed- in the past at least- made it sense its emergence would be unwelcome."
"You make it sound like it's..." Bella struggled with her words "awake or aware or something."
Gabrielle nodded. She didn't need to use Legilimency to know that the Wolves still listening below had remembered Rachel Black and how the Alpha-Wolf gene within her had also died when she left and tried to forget her family and tribe. "I believe it is semi-sentient. That would be the correct word. Anyway, the magic inside of us- of all of us, my sister, my mother and I- could sense what we all wanted. But there are far fewer Vila- or Fey in general- in the entire world than there are wizards, despite them being outnumbered by Muggles- well, No-Majs. My mother and sister both made the choice, despite my grandmother's hopes. Me? I didn't know yet. So there was a potential to repopulate the Fey's ranks. Very important since immortals do not breed so easily and numerously as mortals. Fleur was determined, as always, to not only be accepted but respected. We both faced the same problem," Gabrielle noted grimly. "We were both confined to certain expectations and judged, sometimes unfairly, based solely on our appearances. But Fleur was always brave and determined, far bolder than I was. I was shy, meek by comparison. Always self-conscious. I craved acceptance and to be respected and even liked and loved, for more than my mere appearance. To be judged fairly and without taking my looks into account, or the potential possibility of what it could do. But I wasn't yet- settled, I believe the word was- or fixed in my desire to remain within the magical human world. To be one of them; to be human."
Gabrielle sighed. "If we were sired by Muggle, sorry, No-Maj fathers, we would have had no choice. We would have been compelled to leave the human world for good, whether we liked it or not. Even if it meant abandoning the friends and families we had already established and formed strong connections with. We cannot stay. But having two different types of magic battle it out for you along with our dual nature..." Gabrielle sighed. "My mother and Fleur both made their choices. I had not and nature cannot allow us to go into decline and eventual extinction. That I can understand.
"I have made my choice to join the world of the Fey," she said quietly "at some point, I shall no longer be a witch or even a human." Bella stared.
"Won't you miss it?" She asked pleadingly. "Don't you want to-" Gabrielle grimaced. This was the hardest part.
Bella, for her part, was haunted by the carelessness of her own mistakes, her impulsive attitude to making choices which caused so much pain for everyone, least of all herself. But Gabrielle did not know if her next words would provide some means of consolation for Bella either.
"I had a harsh awakening," she admitted "in some ways, I was luckier than you. In others..." she faltered.
"If you were to put yourself in the same shoes, and most importantly, the same set of mind that you had when you were a seventeen-eighteen-year-old schoolgirl who had grown up in Phoenix and fell deeply for Edward," she began "but then you saw the future and the outcome of that relationship, what you are going through now. Would you change it?"
Bella swallowed, eyes stinging. "The Vampire Queen-"
"I know what the Vampire Queen showed you," Gabrielle said abruptly "that wasn't the question. If you hadn't Seen the visions she showed you... what Edward's secret plan was, the kind of future you would have had as a human... if you had Seen none of these things but you did See the outcome of the future which ended in this moment..." Gabrielle paused, trailing.
"Would you have gone after him?" She asked, her voice quiet, although Gabrielle was certain the Wolves below could still hear her. "Would you- being infatuated, mad for him- still go after him feeling like your life wasn't worth living without him, back when you were still the same person you were just after facing that disaster during your unwanted eighteenth birthday party?"
Bella froze.
"Don't think with the mind that you have now," Gabrielle said softly. "If you had just known it would not have lasted but you were still mad for him, still the same youthful and naïve and impulsive person you were, what would have ultimately been your choice?"
Bella's mouth felt dry. "I- I don't-" she swallowed. Gabrielle nodded gravely.
"I don't think I would have listened to reason," she whispered "I would've refused to believe it. Just as I didn't listen to Charlie or anyone else."
Gabrielle sighed. "What about when you first encountered him in Port Angeles? Or when you had your first proper meeting in your biology class in high school?" Gabrielle asked. "Would you, at that point in time, with all the conditions I've mentioned, still engage in a conversation with him? Allowed him to pursue you? Or would you have rejected him, especially once he admitted that he broke into your bedroom and spied on you during your first date in Port Angeles?"
Bella bit her lip. She felt completely ashamed. "I think I would've still been polite. I would've been scared to- you don't know me-" but Gabrielle made a face.
"You didn't know me either, then." Gabrielle admitted. "Believe me, what made Fleur flourish would've made me crumble. I wasn't like her- I was in awe of her. It would have taken me a longer time to be as respected and as valued a member of society as she was. But even Fleur could not entirely pretend that those back-stabbing remarks, those false friends, those salacious rumours and gossip people happily spread, those judgmental accusations and beliefs done by people who barely, if ever, spoke with us didn't get to her. Nor the friendships that were broken off and destroyed- or did not come into fruition- because our former or potential friends felt insecure, especially once their romantic interests looked at us standing next to them. Fleur developed a shield, of sorts. A projection of confidence to the point of what seemed to be arrogance at times, to mask her own sensitivities and secret insecurities. Much like one of her brothers-in-law." Percy Weasley's face flashed in her mind. "It their way of dealing with things, dealing with the hurt and what they perceived to be the rejection of others they secretly wished to be included amongst. But it sometimes made to bad decisions and didn't endear them to other people. They thought Fleur was superficial, shallow..." Gabrielle trailed off. "You name it. All because of what I now realise was a bunch of bad habits, which were borne out of the naïve coping mechanisms of children who felt truly alone, even amongst a crowd. Even amongst those who seemingly approved of them."
Gabrielle remembered Percy Weasley. Fleur hadn't met him before the night of the Battle of Hogwarts, yet she seemed to understand him better than, quite sadly, his own flesh and blood. The two of them got along rather well.
"Because while they may hide beneath a veneer of swagger, of seeming overconfidence, of arrogance, vanity and overblown pride..." Gabrielle sighed. "Deep down, they feel insecure. It might be their home life- or not. My home life and Fleur's wasn't lacking." Percy's home life, despite his approving parents, and his relationship with his family had been another matter entirely. His siblings' seeming rejection even before he had walked out on them, and the jokes that never seemed to end but always came at his own cost, had hurt more than he was willing to let them know.
"But when you were first made to feel like an outcast, the ones who did that... the ones who started you on the path of wanting to escape... they were taking it out on you." Gabrielle said gently.
"It wouldn't surprise me if they themselves felt like that. So, of course they had to make someone else feel like the outcast too."
Bella took a shaky breath. Her eyes stung.
"But I didn't know that then. And now it's too late."
"No, have you ever heard of the saying 'When God closes one door, He opens a window?' Whatever your beliefs, the idea is it might be the end of one journey, but you could still start another. One that you are truly meant and called for." Gabrielle said softly.
"Just as I did."
Gabrielle was silent for a while, and then she continued:
"My Vila powers include the Sight." She said shortly. "That manifested in dreams before I started having waking visions. I dreamt I graduated Beauxbatons and achieved my dream of becoming a healer and eventually rising through the ranks and even becoming the head of the Ministry of Divine Health. I would have married that boy whom I was infatuated with, and I would have had three children with him; all sons." Her eyes moistened. Bella's sharp gaze noticed that Gabrielle's tears seemed... clearer than a human's. "Those children... we were not like you and Renesmee. I wasn't always fated to be their mother, but I would have been their mother if I had chosen that path."
Bella was silent. She sensed that Gabrielle had turned her back to that future and chose another, a different path. "What happened?" She asked.
Gabrielle sighed. "I saw the outcome of that future." She swallowed. "I saw a happy and harmonious marriage. A loving one. I saw myself becoming first the most skilled mediwitch- or medic- in France, and then the most skilled and high-ranking healer. And then eventually, I became the head of the ministry. My sons grew and had children, girls- my granddaughters. But I also saw that despite our happy marriage, my husband and I were struggling. He was struggling under my neglect. My children too. I struggled to balance my hectic work life, complete with superiors who demanded more and more of me than was normally possible- many people in our world were old-fashioned, not used to things like annual leaves and maternity leave since most witches were mostly full-time mothers until this decade. I struggled with a severe lack of understanding and consideration from my superiors, combined with the demands of being a full-time and rather important healer working around the clock in hospital and eventually managing everything, while also struggling to raise and nurture three growing children and to maintain a happy and healthy relationship with my husband. And then, the outcome of that was that I was rarely home, my children barely knew me and looked at me like I was a stranger, and my husband... left me."
She pursed her lips.
"He just... I went home one day, and I saw a note. He was gone. He couldn't cope with it anymore and said he was sorry. There was nothing else, no explanation. And then, in my dream, Fleur came for a visit."
Gabrielle took a shaky breath.
"He left the children with me, but Fleur sent them with their uncle. She tried to speak to me. I couldn't cope. I had finally broken down, but I was afraid of taking even a few days of work since I was scared that my then-superiors on the Board would be upset and take action against me. Fleur finally snapped, telling me that I had let my job run my entire life. My husband wasn't worth it, but it takes two to make a marriage work after all. And I rarely saw my children, and I could not get the time I had with them back. My job and desire to fulfil my childhood dream had taken precedence over my whole family, the family I had chosen to have."
Gabrielle took another breath. "Now, I know there are many busy mothers out there who struggle to balance full-time work with family life. I had my dream job, my dream husband and the children who were better than any dream I could have had. But Seeing all this made me realise I was not fully prepared for a family life before I embarked on it. Moreover, I was not prepared for the kind of future I would have had, to balance a full-time, important job, with the kind of family and marriage I wanted. And that I truly was not prepared to live and deal with the kind of man I would have married on a daily basis. Now, I won't say anything against him: he did have his good qualities and his points. Like I said, my future self was as responsible for the destruction of our would-be marriage as him, even though his actions were cowardly and equally inexcusable. But that's another matter and I didn't take the time to prepare myself for any of those things, I didn't think any of this through, and I did not fully understand my husband and his needs- meaning I did not truly know him. And now that I had Seen this side of him, even in my Sight-dreams, did I truly wish to be with him, knowing what this could cost me? What it could cost him, and- most of all- what it could cost the children, the family we would have had together?"
Gabrielle shook her head. She sighed.
"If I did not understand him... did this mean I did not know him well enough before I jumped into this? That I still didn't since I hadn't seen it coming when he finally left me and the children? All of this- not just marriage and motherhood, but family life and the kind of life I had wanted?
"Moreover, once I had found out, did I still want it?"
Bella was still and silent. A breeze ruffled through their hairs. The strands of shimmering silver sparkled in the light of the setting sun. The natural glow Gabrielle's skin possessed seemed to be magnified. She was almost blinding, at least to a human. Bella's skin sparkled like the shimmer of a thousand diamonds, a different way of shining since Bella looked like her skin was made out of billions of cut facets in millions of diamonds. Bella was rock crystal, frozen, and merely reflecting the glow of the setting sun and Gabrielle. Gabrielle seemed to radiate with a light of her own. Bella also seemed more solid, less at ease with the natural world, despite her unearthly beauty, than Gabrielle who, as a faerie, was, she supposed, a part of nature. By contrast, despite the fact that Bella was very slim and graceful, thanks to her vampirism, Gabrielle seemed lighter, like she could be swept up by the wind and rise to the skies in a beam of sunlight bursting through the crowds, or as if she could sprout wings. Rising to the heavens where she also belonged. She was different from Bella, who, despite the beauty vampirism had given her, appeared more human than Gabrielle, like a sculpture made from Venetian glass, porcelain or crystal. Maybe a sad, lonesome ballerina trapped in an antique music box like a precious jewel in a melancholy imitation of life. Or Aro's wedding present.
"I did not truly understand anything, yet I jumped into it without preparing myself." Gabrielle confessed. "And then I understood the reason why. My alternate future self had an outburst when Fleur confronted me. Apart from being desperate to achieve the childhood dream and the life I wanted, I was also desperate to prove myself, just as Fleur had." She admitted shamefully. "I was desperate to prove myself as worthy as she was. I had let the desperate desire, my secret obsession with proving my self-worth, my dream of being accepted and respected as Fleur was, take precedence over my family; my children."
Gabrielle shook her head sadly, sighing once more. "What did it cost them?" She wondered aloud. "If I had gone down that path... What would it have costed us all?"
She bit her lip. Gabrielle's brow furrowed and for the first time since Bella had met her, she truly looked uncertain.
"I loved those children," she said softly "even in my dreams. I felt that, even if I had to go through that much pain, seeing them, watching them grow, the men they turned out to be... it would've all been worth it. But was momentary happiness worth their pain, their entire childhood, the cost of their happiness?"
Gabrielle's eyes closed briefly. A tear seeped through her delicate eyelids and down her luscious black lashes, glittering like a liquid diamond and just as clear.
"I Saw these dreams every night," Gabrielle confessed. "When I slept, it was as if I woke up as a grown woman, ready to start another day at work, to make breakfast for my children, to button up their shirts and brush their hair. It was different from a few flashes and glimpses. I lived another life, the life I might have lived had I chosen it. And how heartbreaking it was to turn my back to it. To the ones I had grown closer to in my dreams. Every night I would tuck those babies of mine into bed. Until my shifts became later and later. But they were still there, waiting for me."
Another tear fell. "Until one night... I dreamt no more. And I Saw my family no longer." Gabrielle sighed again. "That was when I knew my future had changed; because my heart had already understood and decided against it."
Bella was stunned. When she finally managed to speak, she asked, "So every night..."
Gabrielle nodded curtly. "Every night. Every single night. I was sixteen when it ended. One year younger than you were when you met and decided you wished to be with Edward back when you could still dream."
Something inside Bella clenched into a fist around her heart. It was different from what she felt a while before. The word she could describe it was pity.
"I'm sorry." Bella said quietly. Gabrielle inclined her head in acceptance.
"But if you loved those children..." Bella faltered. Bella Swan hadn't wanted to become a mother until she learned that she was pregnant. It was one of the reasons why she didn't think giving up her human life and future was such a loss. But now that she was one, she could not imagine life without her daughter. Could not envision how she could feel happier and more fulfilled, despite everything she would go through, to feel such joy and satisfaction without feeling regret. At least not about that, that part of her life which had made it all worth the pain and helped to carry her through now. Bella might have regretted her relationship and early marriage to Edward, but she would never regret Renesmee. And she felt even more glad and touched when she saw Renesmee was the same child she was always destined to have in another life, another future. She felt, in a strange way, fulfilled. Like, Renesmee alone made it all worth it. If Renesmee could grow and end up happy, then it would all be worth it, no matter what it cost. She could not ever imagine losing her, nor did she want to.
Her heart tightened again. Never mind that she almost had.
Bella could not begin to imagine what Gabrielle felt. To see those children, to carry, give birth to and raise them, to watch them grow, to love them every single night you closed your eyes and went to sleep, and woke up in a different life... Only to lose them; not to death, but for them to never exist entirely.
And to mourn on your own. It was beyond terrible.
Gabrielle looked at Bella and smiled through her tears. "It killed me, especially since I wasn't sure what the future would bring me after that, only that I would never See them again nor meet them in real life. But I realised I was not cut out for that life. And I could build my own future, a better one than the one I had. Those children will always be in my heart, Bella. But maybe someday..." she sighed. "The children I can still have will have a far better and happier childhood, a far better mother and father than the ones those poor boys had. A happier home." She sighed. "Just... not yet."
Gabrielle fell silent again. "When?" Bella dared to ask. She smiled sadly.
"You can't force it, Bella. You have to listen to yourself: your heart, your mind and soul. To truly become one with yourself. And at peace. Find peace within yourself and make peace with who you are inside. Let go of your insecurities, your comparisons of yourself to others that make you feel more lacking. Only then you can find a way forwards."
Gabrielle knew some of the Wolves were still listening. She was sure that, at some point, Paul, Sam and Jared would see this in their memories, as would Quil.
Bella knew that vampirism could trap a human. It would preserve them in their states of mind as well as the ages their bodies were when they were transformed, without a way forwards. But had Rosalie grown, even somewhat? She might not have changed entirely, but now that Bella thought about it, she seemed more at peace.
Was it Renesmee's birth? Having a child she could treat and love as her own? Rosalie had been a better mother than Bella, certainly Bella couldn't think of anyone other than Esme who was more deserving. Perhaps that would give Bella more reason to be glad of the future she'd chosen.
But no, even before that in the throes of her bitterness and regret, Rosalie wasn't like Edward. She wasn't so mired in her own despair and hopeless misery. She went through countless years of school and educated herself beyond what her parents did in her human days. She recognised and learned from her own faults without falling to bitterness, resentment, self-hatred and misery. She had grown, even if she largely remained the same in all ways, including mentally. Edward had refused to do it.
Gabrielle spoke again.
"Do you know what I did next? At the age of sixteen, after having my heart broken in a way I would never wish upon my worst enemy?" She asked quietly. "After years of those dreams?" Bella blinked and slowly shook her head. She was stunned at how long Gabrielle had been having those dreams of the future life she would have once had.
"I gradually started to lose interest in the boy who would have been my husband someday. My feelings had changed, now I had Seen that side of him during our struggles and knew that there was no way we could have made it work, that our love would never have lasted... Yes, I was to blame as much as he was for the failure of our marriage- at least our future selves were. But in this life, he started to notice I was losing interest in him. He asked me out." Gabrielle pursed her lips momentarily. "I said no. Sorry, but I couldn't." Gabrielle's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, to walk away from him, from the future and the life I might have once had. From the children and even grandchildren I had loved but would now never be born. I could be in France right now, at this point in history, in hospital with the career of my childhood dreams, with the man of my literal and figurative dreams. I could have been on my way to having the marriage and children I had totally given my whole heart to." She smiled bitterly. "In fact, I could, I suppose, go to back to France and reconnect with him now. I can still do that. I still have a chance at this point and maybe I know what to avoid doing." Then her smile faded, and she shook her head. "But I won't.
"That future will never happen. Not now, not ever." Her voice was blunt and factual. "I saw him, you know." She said pointedly. "My schoolmate who would have been my husband once. Who, if I took the chance, could still be my husband. He lives in Lyon and has a prestigious career of his own now. If we had married, we could have gone home at the end of the day and start preparing to raise a family if we hadn't already started doing that. It's tempting." She said sadly.
"But you won't go for it." Bella whispered. Gabrielle shook her head in confirmation. "No, I won't. I've already changed."
Bella didn't know what to say. "Did these visions- dreams change you?" She questioned. "Make you act... more mature than you were? If you were already an adult in those dreams..."
Gabrielle's brow furrowed. "Only in part. I suppose it had been the beginning of the change. The next stage came after, during the summer holidays when I visited my grandmother and her people."
Bella's eyes widened.
"I learned from them." Gabrielle confessed. "I felt a deep connection to them, to their world, their kind more than I ever had with the magical human world. I felt at home. Perhaps the magic within the gene was trying to get me to choose this path. But I know those weren't mere premonitions of a false future. Or hallucinations and illusions. My grandmother also confirmed them. But I had... a crisis, I guess you could say. A blow not just to my confidence and self-esteem but to my ability to trust myself. What do I know what was best, for me, for anyone, for the spouse and children I had wished to have?"
She took a deep breath. "More than that, I started to have visions- waking visions, not just dreams- of another future. Not my life, but the future of the world as I knew it. As we all knew it. Many things were revealed to me as well: Vivian Gandillon and her kind, the Loup-Garoux, the connection between Squibs and Muggle- No-Maj-born witches and wizards, the different vampire species... and so much more."
A genuine smile started to blossom on her breathtakingly beautiful face. The sadness did not dissipate, but Gabrielle looked radiant.
"A world of knowledge, of learning, secrets and possibilities opened itself up to me. That's how I started to learn and discover so much." Her smile grew. "It lit a flame inside of me; a fire that refused to be put out. I had a whole future of possibilities before me. Those children are forever dear to me, but why should I always keep looking back to something which is now lost and is sure to end in sorrow?
"Then something else happened. Queen Jerisavlja, the monarch of our species, came to me with a proposal. My visions started growing darker as well as brighter. I started seeing multiple alternative futures, few of which were good." Gabrielle's voice grew dark, and her face grew grim again.
"One of the things I had Seen was the breaking of the International Statute of Secrecy along with all the other laws of secrecy for every kind and species across the globe."
Bella grew cold.
"That's right, the humans discovered us. The non-magical humans. They discovered everyone, from the Loup-Garoux, to vampires, to witches and wizards- and other species of mages- and faeries. Even the merpeople in the deep waters weren't spared. Nor any other kind."
The darkness in Gabrielle's voice made Bella suddenly understand that the worst would have come to pass. And it still could.
"By Vila law, I can't reveal what happened next, what exactly they had done to me with my agreement. Only it was with my whole-hearted consent, and no one was trying to trick me or anything. But powerful magic- magic in nature, a phenomenon and a natural force which could not be tamed or harnessed by any living being- entered me. Instead of Seeing and becoming the person I might have once been and living the life I would now never have, I saw hope. I saw the darkness of the potential futures that could still be realised, but I also saw possibilities of light. Of hope. There was a way for us to survive, and I was given a choice to play a part in it, if I was willing.
"Of course, I was! I would do anything to make sure these... these horrors and the chaos of everything that would happen would not kill millions- no, billions of people! That the world as we know it would not be destroyed when the non-magical humans inevitably tore every single one of us apart and everyone else did the same to them. I also saw something else; or someone. Another person. Another person so full of potential, so full of life, yet ultimately unfulfilled."
"Who?" Bella whispered through frozen lips. "What do you mean?"
"A human being. Someone flawed but with compassion. Someone with potential, a good heart, wisdom and intelligence but was completely stifled in a cage, one created partially by herself and by others. Someone who did not ultimately fulfil her potential and prayed for a second chance. Someone who, despite falling into despair and having given up on her own future, still possessed hope."
Gabrielle sighed. "Who she was, I won't say. Only that she was already a grown woman. I felt her within my heart, my soul. I heard her call.
"And I answered." Bella was still in confusion and yet... Gabrielle's words called out to her. Maybe it was the haunting melody of her voice, more alluring than a lullaby or a love song. Or maybe it was her words, seeming to whisper of promises to be fulfilled and doors to be open.
"I allowed the spirit of this woman, stifled, suffering and oppressed, to enter my body, my mind and my soul." Gabrielle admitted softly. "Instead of possessing me, however, her mind and consciousness, even her spirit fused with mine. My soul and hers became one. Our minds melded together. Her life experiences became my own. Sixteen-year-old Gabrielle Delacour still existed, she was there, but at the same time, she had become another person. We had- somehow- fused together to become a single person."
Bella thought her eyes had popped. Her jaw crashed to the ground.
Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, that's what happened to me. Essentially, Bella, I was once two people. Two separate individuals. But like mixing blue and red to become purple, or blue and yellow to become green, we became the one. The same person. Two different people, two different personalities living two different lives, both at very different stages of our separate lives. My lives."
Bella managed to choke out- without breathing: "HOW?!"
It was the closest she had ever been to a croak since she turned.
Gabrielle shrugged. "I don't know." She admitted carefully. "But even if I could, I will always keep my people- including my grandmother- and their secrets safe. All I can say is that I am very glad I chose to become one with another. We both are."
Gabrielle looked at Bella and for the first time, Bella became aware of the eerie understanding that there seemed to be two different individuals staring back at her.
"I never studied Muggle psychology," Gabrielle mused. "Or the psychology of families and relationships." She smiled slightly. "Or at least, Gabrielle Delacour never did, certainly not at the age of sixteen." She smirked.
"But I took on a heavy burden," her smile faded "I paid a heavy price. I took on power and knowledge, yes. But great power comes with great responsibility, yes? I can never go back to an ordinary life. But my future is my own to decide.
"And I won't squander it. Not this time."
Did you all enjoy the revelations about Gabrielle? What do you think? How about the ultimate fates of Bella's high school classmates? Do you think any of it was well-deserved? Please let me know.
Child of Dreams: Definitely; the Jessica many fan-fiction writers envision, the Jessica that Meyer wrote, and the interpretation of Jessica in the Catherine Hardwicke films which is actually an amalgamation of book-Jessica and Lauren Mallory- only she comes off as silly and shallow but also sweet and lovable, even humorous.
These are actually very different characters. My take on what became of Jessica and how she lived out her life, is book-Jessica simply maturing. Since Bella is supposed to be the 'heroine' and someone Meyer wants readers to root for, Meyer's Jessica is supposed to be shallow, spoiled, petty and attention-seeking, to the point where she actually not only thinks badly of Bella, as revealed by Edward's POV in Midnight Sun, she only befriended her so she could draw some of the attention everyone gave Bella to herself; especially Mike and Edward's. She does actually care for Bella and wasn't all selfish, as she was worried for Bella's safety in the first and second novels, both times in Port Angeles. Yet because Bella, Edward and Jacob get a lot of criticism, and people are angry when Bella doesn't seem to realise after the biker-incident that Jessica does have a right to be angry, since Bella put both of them in danger and didn't seem to think that she did anything wrong and forgot what had happened, fan-fiction writers typically see Jessica as the wronged party and validated in cutting Bella off, which in all fairness was true, but they also reimagine her as a good and supportive friend while making Bella the bad guy. Jessica had every right to be angry with Bella, but that doesn't mean what she did was also excusable.
I'm just putting it as being down to her own immaturity and personal insecurities, which stemmed from her home life and personal issues with her banker mother who sounded like someone with high expectations and demands as well as the gossip she was in canon.