Rosalie's POV:
Two months have passed since Edward joined the Volturi. Snow litters the ground and Christmas is right around the corner. Edward's sacrifice saved Alice from having to join the Volturi. He knew that if he didn't go, Alice would've volunteered. I may have voted for him to go, but Bella would've sufficed as well. She is stronger than the rest of us and could've easily taken care of the Volturi with Victoria's help. My family would still be together, and we would eventually be safe from the Volturi once and for all. Who knows, maybe Bella will eventually decide to use her powers to take down them down anyways.
Thinking about my family was hard. Other things plagued my mind. Since Edward kept his word and their people are safe, the shapeshifters agreed to use their resurrection spell on me to make me human again. I already retrieved the blouse that I was wearing the night Carlisle turned me and gave it to Evie. It was speckled with old, dried blood. I initially buried it as the smell of my own human blood burned my throat with thirst as a newborn. I never even attempted to wash the blouse. I kept it as a reminder of what I had lost. I never imagined it would be what gives me my human life back.
I have already set a date to be turned back, and time is moving fast. I chose to be changed on December 22nd, which is my human birth date. Evie informed me that after I change, I should be able to conceive, my eggs having been frozen all this time. Emmett and I tracked down a nephew of Emmett's in Tennessee. His nephew Robert is ninety years old but has a family of his own. We of course lied to Robert and told him that Emmett was a distant cousin. We informed Robert of our inability to have children, blaming it on Emmett being infertile. Robert introduced us to his grandson, William. William took one look at me and agreed to donate his semen so that Emmett and I could bear a child with at least some of Emmett's DNA. I'm not thrilled that Emmett has to stay a vampire but at least we will get to raise a child together.
There are only two days left until I'm changed back. It is bizarre to me that in all the years my kind have lived, we never knew of such a thing as human resurrection. Of course, the shape shifters kept quiet about it. There was never a need for them to reveal such a thing, as they only used it on themselves if they were accidentally or forcefully turned. I feel awful for the people who did have to use the resurrection spell. If druid shapeshifters are turned after their spirit animal ceremony, their spirit animal's soul dies, and they are stuck as a human until they die. They can't redo the spirit ceremony. To have your life and your choice ripped away from you, isn't something I would wish upon anyone.
"You're awfully quiet." Emmett caresses my cheek soothingly, ripping me away from my thoughts.
"I'm just enjoying this time that we have together." I respond, lying naked in his arms. Our bedroom is lit up with light spilling in through the windows. The snow on the ground outside making it even brighter in here than normal.
"Are you sure you're not just anxious to change already?" Emmett asks playfully.
"I am. I'm ninety-one years old Emmett. I'm ready to have my life back. I'm ready to age again and feel human experiences again. Believe it or not, I would kill to eat a salad or a hamburger again." I say, slightly joking. Emmett chuckles.
"Well, we better get to the love making then. I know that is something you'll miss as a human." Emmett pulls me on top of him so that I'm laying with my chest to his.
"We can still have sex while I'm human, we just have to be careful." I giggle.
"Yeah, but it won't feel as good for you. We feel everything much more immensely as vampires. That's just fact." Emmett responds.
"Fine. Let's get to it then, pretty boy!" I laugh, leaning into kiss him.
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Bella's POV:
I've done my best to avoid being around humans until now. Esme invited Victoria and I to go shopping with her in Port Angeles. She has to buy human necessities for Rosalie, such as food, hygiene products and baby necessities. I hate shopping but accepted her offer, I need to get used to being around humans. Of course, Alice and Jasper decided to tag along as she is the only one allowed to choose clothing for the baby. It hasn't even been conceived yet but that won't stop Alice. Esme chats away as we walk down the isle of a grocery store. Out of habit I breathe and instantly regret it. The smell of human blood instantly set a blazing fire in my throat. I feel as though I swallowed lava. I grimace in pain, and my fellow companions turn to me instantly.
"It's okay. We won't let you hurt anyone." Alice says in an attempt to comfort me.
"We can leave at any time, you don't have to put yourself through this torture so soon after your change." Victoria takes me by the hand.
"No, I want to see Charlie again and I'll never be able to do that if I can't control myself. I'm staying." I stand my ground. I hear Jasper chuckle under his breath.
"I heard that, something funny?" I turn and glare at Jasper.
"It's just at the beginning of the year when you were human, and you got that papercut, I almost lost control. Now you know what I was feeling." He smiled sympathetically. I thought about that for a moment. My memories human memories grow foggier every day, but I slightly remember Jasper trying to attack me after I cut my finger on wrapping paper. His black eyes boring into me like he could drink my blood from across the room. Jasper couldn't keep control of his thirst.
"Yeah, I remember that. I'm already showing more self-control than you and how long have you been a vegetarian?" I joke.
"Just wait until someone gets a papercut." Jasper mutters. I giggle and accidentally take a breath, yet again regretting it. A human is standing on the opposite end of the isle from us. My head snaps in her direction. Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail, exposing a large throbbing vein in her neck. I count each pulse as her vein throbs, the delicious liquid pumping through her body calls to me. The fire in my throat spreads, getting hotter and nearly inextinguishable. I lower myself into an attack stance and bare my teeth. A low growl rips from throat.
"Bella, No!" Esme turns to me. It was too late though; the feeding frenzy had begun. Every person in this store was in danger. I take a moment to count every heartbeat. There were sixty-two men, women, and children in this store, and I wanted them all. The human girl at the end of the isle didn't even hear the growl. Her body is turned away as she reads a product on the shelf. I attempt to take a step toward her but suddenly Victoria is in front of me. She places both her hands on either side of my face and looks deep into my eyes.
"This isn't you, Bella. Think about what you're doing. I know it's hard and you feel like your animal instincts are taking over but fight it! Feeding on these people will go against everything that you believe in. Think about the families you would be hurting. You're not a monster, don't turn into one now." Victoria says encouragingly. Her bright yellow eyes captivating me, I stand back up and hold my breath. I nod, not attempting to speak. The frenzy was slowly fading away and the human turns and leaves the isle.
"See, it's not as easy as you thought." Jasper chuckles, proud that I was instantly served with karma after making a joke about his self-control. I turn, glaring in his direction. He looks at me sternly and suddenly I feel calmer, less like I want to rip his head from his shoulders.
"Hey, no fair!" I shove him playfully. Everyone giggles and Esme returns to her shopping.
"I'm proud of you Bella. You snapped out of that with ease." Victoria says, taking my hand.
"Well, you helped me with that. Make sure to stay close or it will happen again before this shopping trip is over." I only half joke, the burning pain in my throat still raging.
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Rosalie's POV:
It's my last day as a vampire, and it couldn't feel more surreal. I always wondered what it would be like if my life had never changed. Would I still be with Emmett? I likely never would have even found him. His bones would litter the woods where I found him after he was attacked by that bear. Had carlisle never found me, I would have bled out after being attacked by my ex fiance and his friends. While it's true that Carlisle gave me a life that I never could have even imagined, it isn't enough. I wanted more in life, although I guess that doesn't matter because I would've just died. Now i'm frozen in time, never aging, never bleeding, never sleeping...
Emmett has the right idea about wanting to spend my last day as an immortal spending time together. Of course, he wants to stay in bed. I have other things in mind, though. I want Emmett to chase me through the woods, always being a step ahead of him with his bulky build. I want to feel the wind whipping through my hair at a speed that would kill a human. I want to listen to nature. I want to feel the earth rumble beneath my feet as a stampede of deer run away from me in fear for their lives. I want to jump off the side of the cliff and fall, just to land on my feet, perfectly unscathed. I want to feel everything as intensely as I can because I know the moment I turn human, my senses will become dull. My mind will feel foggy. My vision will become weak. My speed will slow, and one day, my life will end.
I told Emmett my plan, and that's what we're doing. He chases me through the woods. I feel the wind in my hair, caressing my skin like a long, lost lover. The Earth beneath my feet trembles as we run. We scale up the largest mountain that we can find at an inhuman speed. My strong immortal fingers imprinting in the mountain as I climb. Within two minutes, we reach the top of the mountain. The mountains peak pierces through the clouds, and the air is thin up here. Not that that matters since we don't have to breathe. That's something else I would have to get used to again being human, breathing.
We stand at the top of this mountain peak and just watch as the sun begins to set. I'm not ready to leave just yet, but we are hundreds of miles away from home, hours away from home. Emmett pulls me into an embrace, and we hold each other for a while as we stand on top of the mountain. I never want this feeling to end, but my human life is waiting for me. I break my embrace with Emmett, peck him on the cheek, and then I leap off the side of the mountain.
The earth crumbles beneath me as I land perfectly on my feet just as predicted. After a moment, Emmett lands beside me, the earth crushing under his weight. The after shock of Emmett's impact vibrates the ground beneath our feet. I watch as the dirt lifts into the air, dancing in the wind.
"Catch me if you can!" I give Emmett a sly smile, and then I sprint off into the wind.
I speed through the forest, the trees limbs whipping me in the face. I hear Emmett catching up, and I pick up my speed.
"You have an unfair advantage with speed!" Emmett yells from behind me. I giggle and continue speeding at fast as I possibly can.
Emmett chases me like this until we get home, and then we run upstairs and crash into our bed. We spend the rest of the night making love, allowing pleasure to course through us until the sun begins to rise.
At the site of the sun peaking through the curtains, a new feeling overwhelms me. Anxiety. Within just a few hours, I'll be going through the process that changed me back into a human. Evie explained that the painful process will last for days. The concoction that I ingest will spread through my veins, burning my venom. As it dissipates, my blood cells will return to normal , returning me back to my human state. I will be reborn. Evie mentioned my heart might not start beating on it's own and her clan will have to perform CPR or shock it back to the living. I've been assured that I will live and that they have never lost a person who has had the ritual done, but for a brief moment, I may not exist at all and that terrifies me.
Thinking about it only makes me more anxious. I cuddle into Emmett's shoulder for a sense of safety. I always feel safe when i'm in his arms. Emmett senses my anxiety and pulls me in tightly.
"You're finally getting what you've always wanted. You'll be happy and safe with me, I promise. Our children will be lucky to have you as a mother." Emmett delicately kisses my forehead.
We lay in silence and listen to the clattering coming from downstairs. Evie and her clan are here to start the ritual. I hear everything they do as they're doing it. Bowls clattering, vials clinking, a potion being stirred, the other vampires in the house chatting with the shape shifters, getting to know each other. Half an hour passed before they were ready, Evie slowly ascended the stairs and gently knocked on my door.
It's time for me to say goodbye to this existence and return to my human one. I hug Emmett gently and dash out of bed, throwing clothes on. I needed to speak with everyone before the ressurection. I make my way downstairs and see that everyone is waiting in the living room. Even Bella and Victoria came by to watch the transition. I don't mind, though. The entire world could be watching, I don't care as long as I end this journey as a human.
" I just want to thank my family for the existence they've given me. Carlisle, you saved my life, and you're the best father in this entire world. Esme, I only hope that I could be as good of a mother as you are. Alice, you and Jasper are the best siblings that anyone could ask for. You are stronger than me in supporting this decision of mine. I can't possibly thank you enough for that." I watch the sadness in my family's faces as I speak.
"Don't look so sad. I'm not leaving you. I want my children to be included in this family. I want them to be loved the way I have been loved this past century. I want them to have the freedom to know that they will never die if they don't want to. I will give them the choice that i've been given. If they choose to become a mortal, I will accept that. So long as I don't have to see my children die before me. They will know life, and they will know death. Hopefully, they will never experience heartache and loss the way that we have. But if they so choose to become immortal, I won't stop them. I only hope that you accept them into this family the way you have for me." If I could cry, I would.
"You will always be my daughter. You will always be a part of this family, and so will your children. We may be sad that eventually, one day, you might die. But we accept your choice, Rosalie. We love you, and we will be here for you every step of the way." Esme speaks up. In one swift motion, she is in front of me, pulling me into a hug. My family gathers around us, and we stand in an embrace for a while. I break the hug when Evie clears her throat.
"Bella, I did want to think you as well. You entered our lives once again, and you brought the shape shifters with you. That act is allowing me to have my life back, so thank you. I once thought of you as a sister, and I still do. And Victoria, if you ever hurt her, there will be hell to pay." I say, very sternly at the end.
"You thought of me as a sister? I thought you hated me. But you're welcome. I'm glad that you're finally getting the life that you have always dreamed of. We both wish you nothing but happiness and peace." Bella says with a smile, Victoria nodding in agreement.
"Are we about ready?" Jack asks with usual judgemental tone, breaking up the endearing moment.
"I'm ready." I say as I walk over to the hospital bed that has been set up for me, and I lie down. Emmett comes to my side and takes my hand in his.
"Please keep in mind that this is going to be unpleasant. You have been through a process that is similar to this but different in many ways. You will not feel hot as when the venom spread through you. You will feel cold. When the process is about to end, you will actually start to warm up, though. That being said, the process takes about two to three days. Carlisle has assured us that he has human blood that's your type stored that he took from the hospital. The moment you start to thaw and return to your human state, we will give you a blood transfusion. Any old blood that has been left in your system will be flushed out along with any venom left over." Jen, Otso's wife, explains.
"I understand. Evie explained all of this to me already. I'm just ready to get it over with." I exclaim anxiously.
"Okay. We'll begin with you drinking this. Once you've ingested it, your body will absorb it the way that it does blood after you'vehunted. It will only take a few minutes for it to start working." Jen says, handing me a small ceramic bowl with a maroon liquid in it. I smell my human blood in the bowl and it makes me ravenous. I greedily gulped the concoction down in seconds. The odd liquid slides down my throat and leaves a cooling sensation as though I drank something minty.
Everyone's eyes are on me as I hand the bowl back to Jen and lean back in the bed. Awkward silence passes as everyone anxiously waits for the potion to begin working. After a few minutes, I begin to feel a cold sensation spreading through my stomach. I feel it eating its way through my digestive tract. I clench my teeth as the sensation enters my blood stream and starts circulating through my system.
"Now I'll ask that Carlisle and Emmett hold you down. You'll do anything to make this sensation stop, even harming people around you. They will hold you for the duration of the entire process." Jen says, directing her statement to Carlisle and Emmett.
Emmett and Carlisle stand on either side of me, holding my arms in place. The potion speeding through my veins becomes even colder. My teeth begin to chatter, and I start shivering.
"This is actually kind of refreshing. After feeling nothing for over seventy-five years, even this isn't that bad." I say through my chattering teeth.
"Oh honey... Hold onto that thought as the process continues." Evie says with sympathy in her voice.
Time begins to pass. The chilling sensation souring through body grows more intense by the second. I'm vigorously trembling, the hospital bed vibrating beneath me. My teeth feel like they could break as they chatter.
"Can I at least have a blanket?" I ask, starting to grow uncomfortable.
"Of course. It won't do much, though." Jen says. Alice sprints out of the room and is back in under three seconds, blanket in hand. She drapes it over me and tucks it in.
The blanket really doesn't help much. The cold is coming from within my body. The blanket just shielded me from the slight breeze in the room.
"Can.. can someone please turn on the heater?" I stammer. Esme disappears and within a few moments I hear the heater kick on.
More time passes. Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days. At the end of the second day, I couldn't take it anymore. The cold felt as though it was smothering me. It wracked my body from my toes to the hair follicles on my head. Out of nowhere I felt the urge to breathe. I took a breath and then another, realizing I became lightheaded if I didn't. The process is working, my body needs to breathe the way a humans does. I get excited about that gact u til I realize I can no longer feel my fingers or toes.
"I think... I think it's working." I exclaim through chattering teeth. I lift my hand from beneath the blanket and gasp at what I see.
"I'm turning blue!" I exclaim.
"Good! That's a good sign. That means that the process IS working and that your body is entering hypothermia." Jen says with excitement in her voice.
"That bad though. Isn't that bad?" I ask anxiously. I start to hyperventilate.
"No, that means it's working. In just a few hours we'll start the transfusion." Jen speaks up.
"A few hours? I don't think I can take this much longer." I say as my body trembles.
"You chose this path. You have to see it through to the end." Jen says sympathetically.
I quiet down on focus on breathing. I still didn't regret my choice to change back but the potion is freezing me from inside out. Each second that passes it becomes worse. It actually makes me miss the venom that once poisoned my veins. I miss the burning sensation and would prefer to experience that heat one hundred times over before I ever considered doing this again. Even the newborn burning in my throat was better than this. The thought of that made me realize something. I'm thirsty.
"I'm thirsty. Do we have any blood around?" I ask.
"Yes, I brought some for everyone just in case we needed to feed so that we wouldn't crave your blood when you've turned. I'llget you a glass." Bella speaks up. She leaves the room for a moment. I try to listen to what she does and I realize I can't hear her moving through the house. Her footsteps faded as she left the room. I smell the air every scent that I could once smell is muted to almost nothing. I look around the room and can no longer see the dust particles floating through the air. My vision is actually muggy and blurry. My senses were human again.
"Did you hear that?" Jasper asks, stepping forward.
"No, hear what?" I ask, confused.
"I can hear your heart beating." Jasper responds.
I place my hand over my heart and sure enough I feel the thumping against my trembling palm. A new feeling spreads through me. A feeling of joy. A single tear forms in my eye and falls down my cheek. I wish I could say it brought me warmth but it was cold, like the rest of me.
"If my heart is beating then shouldn't I drink a water and not blood?" I ask curiously.
"Actually yes, your stomach would just evacuate the blood." Evie says. Bella returned to the room then with a glass of water, having heard what Evie just said.
She steps to my side and places the straw in my mouth. I suck the refreshing water down in huge gulps. It was... warm.
"Thank you." I whisper as the warm liquid slides down my throat, warming my insides for a moment. Bella nods and takes a seat across the room by Victoria.
I lean back into the bed. Emmett and Carlisle no longer holding me down as I am no longer a threat. The warmth from the water quickly fades and an ice like feeling takes over. I feel like an ice statue. I place my hand over my beating heart and I close my eyes. Feeling every thump made me so excited. I laid like this for hours, enjoying ever beat against my palm. It was a nice distraction from the chill that raged through my trembling body.
After more time had passed the cold began to fade. My chest started to get warm first. I help my ice-cold hands to my chest, soaking up every bit of warmth that I could. The warmth begins to spread through my arms, legs, fingers, and toes.
"It's happening! I'm getting warm. Does that mean it worked, am I fully human again?" I ask with excitement. My heart starts racing at a fast pace and I feel a pulse throbiing through my body.
"It worked and we didn't even have to restart you heart. I have to say, I've never witnessed someone so calm while going through this process." Jen says with a smile.
"It's time for the transfusion. After that you'll be very tired as you haven't slept in over seventy five years." Jen says. Carlisle leaves the room and quickly returns with hospital blood bags. He starts to set up an IV.
"Ow!" I shout when he pokes me with the needle.
"She's human alright!" Emmett says excitedly, slapping Jasper on the shoulder.
"I know, I can smell her." Jasper shouts almost mouth wateringly.
Choosing to ignore his comment I say "It's weird, feeling pain again. I'm also hungry."
"I'll retrieve some soft foods and liquids." Esme says, leaving the room. She returns with a hot cups of tea and applesauce. I hungrily shove large portions of applesauce into my mouth. It's so sweet. I remember trying to eat human food once while I was a vampire and it was disgusting and bitter. I sip the tea slowly between bites and finish the food in record time.
"How do you feel?" Emmett asks lovingly, taking a seat next to me."
"I'm not sure. I feel... weak. I feel like I could sleep for a decade. I feel... human."