The four days leading up to their arrival were, well... torturous. I was on edge the whole time, hardly able to leave the house, only briefly to hunt. The wolves guarded the outside of the house, circling it day and night. Though we didn't need them there, they insisted on being there, just in case. Every so often Jacob would morph back into human form and come inside to be with Nessie. This was all too familiar. I couldn't believe how soon I would have to face the Volturi, again, for the second time since being turned.
Rosalie spent most of her time bitterly mumbling loathsome words under her breath, or sometimes just out loud. Edward would get very defensive, though. I couldn't say anything. I knew I deserved the vexatious remarks. I had a lot more on my mind than seeking Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper's forgiveness, too. I'll worry about that later.
It was almost too painful, not knowing where Charlie and Carlisle were. They couldn't call, of course, in case someone traced the call. We had to take every and any precaution. I still worried about them being on their own. If the Volturi were to trace Charlie's scent, and go directly after him, Carlisle wouldn't be able to handle them all on his own. Edward's certainty was the only thing holding me together at this point. He didn't show any fear, and constantly reassured me that Charlie would remain safe. Though I was at my breaking point, I knew I had to stay as calm as possible to ensure I didn't do anything to hinder Charlie's safety. I also had to keep a brave face on for Nessie. I never want her to worry. She loves Charlie with all her little heart, too, and would be completely heartsick if anything ever happened to him. Nothing will happen to him, though. I needed to stop thinking of it as an option. Nothing could happen to Charlie.
Alice drew out the spot where Aro, Demetri, Caius and Marcus would expect to meet with us. The clearing. Big surprise. What did surprise me though, was when Emmett and Jasper told Edward they would come to the clearing with us. Jasper made sure to point out he was only coming to keep Alice safe. Though I'm sure that's part of the reason, I also knew that Jasper wasn't as completely furious with me as he was when he first discovered that I told Charlie. He hadn't been looking at me with that atrocious look anymore. He doesn't really have much of a choice, either. Alice gets snippy with him anytime he snarls at me.
Rosalie was shocked and had the look of disgust on her face when Emmett volunteered himself. He half grinned and told her he was only coming for Edward's sake. Rosalie didn't care, though, and continued hissing at him. Everyone was used to her growls and hisses by now.
When you can live forever, four days goes by almost impossibly fast. I couldn't believe we were standing there, in the clearing, again. It was unusually sunny, making us all sparkle celestially. Edward's face was expressionless, his lips flat, his eyes focused. He was as perfect and beautiful as ever, though. I had to remind myself what was about to happen and drag myself out of my immersed state of awe. I lightly shook my head, remembering he would be here at the end of this. We both would. Still together, happy. Either of us were going anywhere, ever.
The wolves were laying in a crescent shape in front of us. Jacobs russet fur looked almost unrecognizably lighter in the sun. I could see it pained him to be away from Nessie, remembering the reason the Volturi were here last time, to potentially destroy her. She was safe, though, at the Cullen house with Esme. Someone had to stay back with her, and Esme was the most obvious choice.
The uncommon bright blaze in the sky began to set, and in the distance we saw four figures seemingly floating towards us. My body hardened, froze. Edward positioned himself one step in front of me, protectively. My eyes fixated on them, shifting from one face to the next. Aro dominantly glided a few paces ahead of Marcus, Caius and Demetri, also fixating his milky eyes on us. The wolves stood straight up, their chests puffed out, ready to strike. Alice's vision was right on. There were only four of them. Jane and Alec, the Volturi's main weapons, were noticeably absent. I assumed they were left behind because the Volturi know their powers are useless against my shield and they would be destroyed easily, ridding the Volturi of their most powerful weapons.
The four of them were standing silently before us. Then, Aro spoke. "I see you brought your wolf friends again. It's good to see you have such a tight bond with them." His lips curled up into a half smile, though it didn't touch his cloudy eyes. The wolves snarled, exposing their razor teeth. I nodded, waiting for him to continue. He did. "I believe you know why we're here. We don't plan to stay long, but we must take care of the human, Charlie, who knows too much about our kind." He put his head down, glancing up at me dismally.
I could see their mind was already made up. Caius was about to say something, but I interrupted, pleading. "It's my fault. I told him what I was. He didn't ask to know. I can assure you that Charlie would never tell anyone, ever. Just please let him be."
Aro began again. "My dear Bella, you do know you cannot go around exposing our kind, I hope. There are consequences for those type of actions, Bella." He glanced over at Demetri, then clasped his hands together in front of him and continued. "Bella, if we didn't think there was hope of one day bringing you into our coven and having the chance to use your gift to our advantage, we would destroy you right now, for what you've done." Edward hissed, leaning forward in a crouch. "I wouldn't allow that to happen, though," Edward snarled.
Marcus took a couple strides closer, then spoke for the first time. "We didn't come to fight, we are simply here to let you all know that the human must either be killed, or turned into a vampire. You have one week from now to decide what you're going to do. We will be back exactly seven days from now to find out your decision."
I was shocked to see Alice out right refuse to comply. "I'm sorry, but we're not letting anything happen to Charlie. He will remain alive, and human. He is innocent, and I can vouch that he will not tell a soul. If we have to fight, to keep Charlie alive, then so be it." Her expression was flat.
All four men looked at Alice in shock before looking at one another, not knowing what to think. Edward, Emmett and Jasper were just as shocked, but agreed out loud that we could not allow anything to happen to Charlie.
Caius's burgundy eyes flickered from me to Alice before he spoke. "We were afraid this would happen. If it's a fight you want, though, we will have to comply. Please know our only mission is to protect our kind. We will do whatever it takes to ensure the human does not carry on with the knowledge he has. Before we battle, though, we will have to take care of your little wolf friends."
Suddenly every single wolf dropped to the ground, paralyzed, howling in agony. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In the far distance, Baylor was walking towards us, his eyes bright red.
I couldn't have prepared enough for the fight that was about to happen. I couldn't have prepared enough for the twist it took at the end. I will be back to finish soon, I have to go now, there are some important things I have to do.
Will write again soon.
-Bella.
SORRY FOR UPDATEING LATE
