47
Breaking Dawn [Pt.2]
F a r e w e l l D e a r C h i l d r e n
THE VERY NEXT morning, everyone apart from Bella, Edward, Adele, and the children had packed and readied themselves to go on their separate ways so that they could gather witnesses. Renesmee and Max played quietly in the living room as everyone aside from Alice and Jasper, who'd apparently left already, gathered in the living room for a final meeting.
"At least we get to go to London again." Esme smiled bittersweetly at Carlisle who adoringly wrapped his arms around her. They were heading to London, then Egypt, to seek out his friend Amun."We haven't been there in a long time."
Tension was thick in the air again as this time, it was the life of a little girl hanging in the balance.
"All right." Emmett clapped his hands and grabbed his duffel bag. He and Rose were off to seek out Carlisle's wartime friend, Garrett. "Let's get this show on the road."
Adele, Edward, and Bella saw everyone out of the house and onto the front deck. As they began to bid each other farewell, they noticed Sam and Paul walk towards them. The Treaty was voided after Jacob imprinted on Renesmee and since the circumstances concerning Renesmee and the Volturi arose. While things were still tense, they weren't hostile.
Adele walked down the steps and Sam handed her a slip of paper which she already knew was coming. "Alice asked me to give you that. She and Jasper crossed our lands to the ocean last night."
After briefing her eyes over it, she she faked solemnity and handed the slip of paper to Carlisle.
"Carlisle?" Esme asked fearfully. They all thought it was odd that Alice and Jasper left them without a goodbye.
He sighed. "They've left us."
"Why?" Rosalie questioned, her voice cracking. She didn't want to believe that they could do that.
"She didn't say."
"Can I see that?" Bella inquired and Carlisle handed her the slip of paper to her. She read it to herself with furrowed eyebrows and when she looked up, she caught the furtive look that Adele gave her once she finished reading the note. She knew at once that the wise Cullen was behind it.
Once again, Adele Cullen was going to save everyone. This time, however, was different, for she was plotting something, something big. Bella felt reassured that she was helping. A mutual understanding passed between them as she tucked the note into her pocket and Adele turned away.
Gather as many witnesses as you
can before the snow sticks to the
ground. That's when they'll come.
-Alice
Everything was going according to Adele's plan.
• • • • • •
Later that same day, Paul stuck around long enough to catch Adele alone. He pulled her into the nearest empty room in the Cullen house and shut the door while Bella and Edward watched over the three children in the living room.
"You know something." He stated blatantly in a hushed whisper.
"I know a great many things."
"You know what I mean. I saw your face when Sam gave you Alice's note." He clarified. Her faux surprise may have fooled everyone else, but not him. He knew her too well. "What's going on?"
"I cannot tell you or anyone."
"Why not?"
"There are only two minds safe from the Volturi." She stated vaguely. Bella had a mental shield that only she and Bella herself could go through. She wasn't at risk. "I cannot risk it, Paul. Just trust me with this."
"Should I be worried?"
She gave him a stern ook and he sighed. He knew that no matter how much he pushed, he wouldn't be winning in this conversation. He felt as though it'd always be like that. "What about Max and Asa?"
"Many vampires are going to be coming here, Paul, and they do not share the same diet as my family." She shuddered to think of what could happen to her children if they stayed in the same house as the other vampires. If she was worried about Bella, she didn't want to imagine the magnitude of her anxiety with other vampires. "They cannot stay here."
"My parents could take them for a week or two." He suggested carefully as he assessed the anxious expression on her face. He knew she was hiding more than that. "My mother has been dying to meet them. I think it will work out."
Paul's parents lived out of the state, which was far enough away from the fight, much to Adele's comfort. She nodded in agreement at his suggestion. She dreaded the idea of being away from her children, of thinking that she may never see them again.
"I'll call her." He nodded and pulled out his phone. She watched his every move with a blank expression but troubled eyes and he sighed, taking her hands in his own. She didn't pull away. "You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm here for you. I always am."
You weren't a few weeks ago.
"Not this, not yet. I will not risk you being tortured or worse." She shook her head and a shiver ran down her back at the thought of it. What
happened to Jace would not happen again. To anyone. "No, I have to keep it to myself until the time comes."
He frowned and took her face into his hands. "You don't have to do everything alone, Adele."
"Oh, but I am not alone." She looked at him and thought of everyone who was willing to fight for her and her family. For justice. She thought of the blonde haired boy and the girl with the identical eyes – the angels from Alice's vision. "I am far from it."
• • • • • • •
When the Cullens returned from their voyages a few days later, each and every one of them was accompanied by more than one witness. The Denali coven was the first to join them – courtesy of Bella and Edward. Jasper and Alice's friends, Charlotte and Peter, we're among them – sent by the couple themselves. There was Garrett, Amun, Benjamin, the Nomadic coven, even a pessimistic Alastor.
Paul had just finished helping pack both of the kids' suitcases into the trunk of his car and waited uncomfortably outside among the scattered vampires. Adele had just finished dressing Max into her winter clothes and they were saying their heartfelt goodbyes.
Adele knelt down to her height as tears welled up in Max's eyes. "You are going to have so much fun at Grandma Maggie's house. You can make cookies,watch movies, and eat all of the ice cream you want."
"Even choco chip?"
"Yes," Adele chuckled and wiped at her tears. "Even choco chip."
She couldn't believe how far Max had come since she was a shy, deprived little girl at the orphanage. Her speech had improved significantly since she had gotten the hearing aids and had started her sessions with a speech therapist. She was signing and speaking fluently at the same time them. Adele was so proud of her.
She sniffled and mirrored Adele's sadness. "I'm gonna miss you, Mommy."
She managed a soft smile. "I am going to miss you so much more."
"How much?' Max wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands and signed.
"To the moon, all the way around, and back." She signed the words.
Max's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "You're getting better."
"I promise you that by the time you come back, I will know every word." She vowed. She was determined to keep that promise to her little girl.
"But that's impossible!" Max exclaimed.
"Nothing is impossible, Max." She smiled. "Not as long as you put your heart into it."
She frowned. "I don't want to go, Mommy."
Adele placed her hand on either sides of her daughter's face and kissed her forehead, "I know, darling. But you can call me every day."
"Every day?"
"Every single day. And when the two weeks are over, Aunt Posy will bring you home." She put on the biggest smile she could to reassure her child because that's what mother's do. They shield them from pain. "Then we can celebrate your birthday!"
Max beamed and held up five fingers. "I'll be five!"
"Yes. You will be a big, big girl then." Adele nodded with a watery smile. "And you can show me what a big girl you'll be right now. Can you put on your bravest face for Mommy?"
Max nodded and wiped her tears away one more time. Adele took her hand and they walked downstairs. The rest of the Cullen family bid the little girl a solemn farewell and Adele walked her out to the car where Paul was waiting with Asa already in his car seat. The other vampires that were standing outside with the Carlisle and Esme discretely watched the melancholic scene as the mother readied herself to part with her children.
Paul strapped Max into her own car seat as Adele bid her son farewell. "I love you, Asa. Mommy will miss you so much."
Adele braced herself for the heartbreak and walked around the car to say goodbye to Max one last time. Her little girl understood what was happening much more than baby Asa did.
"Goodbye, baby girl." She managed a smile and signed. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Mommy." She signed because words were going to fail her and she had to put on a brave face for her mommy.
"While your gone, think about what you want for your birthday, okay?'
It was not working. Tears began to pool in her big innocent eyes and Adele forced herself to look away as she turned to Paul. He regarded her with sadness – it pained him to see his imprint so heartbroken. He wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, that nothing was going to happen, that they would make it out of this. But he couldn't. He didn't know that. No one did now.
"I love you." She pulled away because she wanted to show just how strong she could be in the face of the worst moment of her life yet. "Have a safe trip."
"I love you." He shared a passionate kiss with her and climbed into the running car.
Many of the guests and the Cullens watched Adele step back as he pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the road. Max sat up in her seat and looked at her mother from the window. Adele could not manage a smile that time, so she signed for her daughter.
"To the moon, all away around, and back."
Max signed it back.