Alice had just paid the bill and Jasper had finished loading the Mercedes as they waited for Bella to return from the room. Alice and Jasper had started talking, turning into a heated discussion. Y/N, too uncomfortable with the situation, waited in the lobby for Bella, sitting in one of the chairs as she looked around, her eyes falling on the arguing pair every now and then.
When she caught sight of Bella escaping through an opposite door, climbing in a taxi, her eyes furrowed as she stood and walked outside quickly. The taxi pulled away and Y/N quickly uttered her speed spell so she could catch up with Bella.
As she ran after her, keeping a fair amount of distance so Bella hadn't seen her, she tried to figure out what was going. Then she realized, this is James. He was on the hunt to play with his food.
Bella was going to walk right into his playground.
She knew how James worked, and she knew she wasn't strong enough to take him on alone. So she headed back to where she'd came from, going to Jasper and Alice as fast as possible to warn them quicker.
When she finally came into view of the two vampires, searching the hotel and the parking lot, eagerly trying to find Bella and Y/N, she didn't know if it was a good idea to walk up to them or not.
What if they're angry that I left? What if I get myself in trouble?
Y/N had lived with vampires long enough to know not to get on their bad side. When Victoria was angry, she'd pull on her hair, slap her across her face, hit her where it hurts. When James was angry, well, Y/N still had scars.
She swallowed her fear and ran over to them, cautiously speaking, "Alice! Jasper!"
They both turned around and saw Y/N. She braced herself for a punishment, but when one never came, she was surprised. She was even more surprised when she was hugged by them both. Their arms wrapped around her tensed body as they spoke, "Oh my god! Where have you been? Where's Bella?"
Y/N calmed a little and settled into the hug a little more comfortably before they pulled back and listened to Y/N answer their questions. She spoke, "I went after Bella. She got a taxi and went to the studio. James is there and we need to get to her. Now."
Jasper spoke, "We're not strong enough on our own. We'll have to wait until the others get here."
"When will that be?" Y/N asked urgently.
Alice answered, "Maybe half an hour."
Y/N thought for a moment before she nodded and said, "Okay. It should give me enough time."
"To do what?" Jasper asked.
Y/N bit her lip and sighed as she opened the door to the car, getting inside as she grabbed her jacket. "What are you doing?"
"Leveling the playing field." She simply said, grabbing a bundle of papers out of an inside pocket. Y/N opened the small sheets, searching for the right spell. As she fumbled through the papers, she finally found the right one, scribbled on a piece of paper as if she were writing it in a rush.
She probably was.
Y/N read over the words, a few of them slipping out loud as she scanned the words. "Is that Latin?" Alice asked. She nodded and Jasper asked, "How do you know Latin?"
Y/N didn't look up as she continued to scan the paper over and over again while answering, "Most spells are in Latin. It's practically a witch's second language." She read the spell a couple more times before she shook her head, "I've only performed this spell once before on James, Victoria, and Laurent. I'll need a little more time to go over it before I can do it right. It should be ready by the time they arrive."
Jasper nodded and Alice shared a look with him. "It will work. It did last time." You reassured them. Your last words were a little regretful, but it wasn't like you had a choice in the matter. The three vampires very much had the means to kill you, and they would have. Performing the spell was necessary to survive.
Alice and Jasper gave her some space to let her go over the spell. It would work, it had to. If it didn't work, the chances of the Cullens surviving could be a little low...
-
The Cullens came quickly, screeching to a stop next to the Mercedes as Y/N came crawling out of the black car. Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett came out of their car. "Where's Bella?" Edward asked, looking around.
Jasper answered, "She left while we weren't looking. But we know where she is."
Y/N stood in your spot, scanning the page a few more times as they spoke. Edward almost yelled, "Why aren't you going after her then?"
Alice responded, "We were going to, but Y/N said not to yet."
"Why not?" Edward insisted, turning to Y/N. She flinched at him yelling but quickly brushed it off so she could answer in a voice that wasn't small and squeaky with fear. "Because I have a spell that could make us stronger. So we have a better chance at defeating James."
Edward looked at Alice and she gave him a look, a silent conversation being held between them. Edward tore himself away, rushing away. Carlisle called after him, but he was already gone. "We need to get to him quickly."
Y/N nodded and dug through her pocket for a more rehearsed spell. "I have a spell that will help our strength. James has this one in his system, so if there are more with the same strength he has, then you can beat him quicker."
She read the spell once more before she said, "I need you all to grab hands. It will create a link so I won't have to do the spell individually. If we're lucky, the magic will spread through the coven and it could reach Edward as well."
The vampires held hands, giving each other looks before turning back to her. She got in the circle, grabbing Jasper and Carlisle's hands as she said, "Close your eyes."
They did as they were told and Y/N closed her own as she focused on the spell and her magic working together, moving inside of her. She felt the ground under her feet, the wind in the air brushing her face, the distance rustle of the few trees in the parking lot.
She spoke, the magic of the spell starting in her chest as it spread through her to her hands and venturing to the Cullens. "Da nobis fortitudinem."
The magic spread through them all, growing stronger as it resisted for a moment. "Don't let go!" Y/N exclaimed.
She continued to mutter the spell, the wind picking up slightly as the magic began to accept the Cullens. Y/N took a breath and the magic began to flow better, moving between the Cullens before embedding itself in their bodies. When the flow slowed, Y/N let go and took a breath.
The Cullen's eyes were shut a little longer as they felt the power in their bodies. When their eyes opened, they took a breath. Emmett spoke up, "That feels good."
They all looked to her. "Thank you." Carlisle told her gently. She smiled, "Of course. Now for your speed. Simpler spell, by far."
The Cullens kept their feet planted to the ground and Y/N held up the paper, looking over the spell once before stuffing it back in her pocket saying the spell once. "Da nobis celeritas."
"Okay. Let's get going." Carlisle said. The five of them headed out just then, running to the studio in a flash to get to Bella.
-
When they finally reach the studio, Y/N immediately heard the damage being done inside. They climbed up the side of the building and dropped down from the balcony. Y/N looked around in fear, she'd never actually stood against anyone before, much less fought.
Jasper placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod before going to take care of James with everyone else. Y/N gulped, making her way quickly over to Carlisle to help there. Y/N, Edward, and Carlisle rush to Bella, who laid injured on the floor.
As Carlisle worked, Y/N sat next to him, doing what he needed her to. "Her femoral artery's been severed. She's losing too much blood."
Bella yelled in pain, "It's on fire! My hand!"
"Venom." Y/N said, looking away from Bella and at Carlisle. She asked her quickly, "Do you know any spell that could help?"
Y/N shook her head, "I never studied before James and afterwards, my only spells were to make them stronger and faster. I'm sorry."
Carlisle nodded reassuringly and turned back to Bella. He spoke to Edward, "You have to make a choice. Either let the change happen-"
"No!" Edward yelled. Y/N flinched a little, but quickly recovered and continued to listen, going through her head to see if she could find anything remotely helpful.
Alice stepped in, her eyes seemingly off somewhere as she spoke, "It's going to happen. I've seen it-"
Her arm brushed against Y/N's and she was brought into the vision she'd just had. There is was, clear as day. Bella's eyes were a crimson red and her stared with hunger in her eyes. Y/N gasped as the short vision ended and she looked back at Bella.
"It doesn't have to be that way." Edward argued.
"Alice, give me your belt." Carlisle told her. She rushed to get her belt off and hand it to Carlisle. Carlisle began to tie the belt around Bella's leg and she screamed in agony.
Y/N placed her hand over the wound on Bella's leg and began chanting. "What are you doing?" Edward asked.
Y/N replied, her eyes still closed and her words a rush, "Calming her pain."
"Calme la douleur, ne fais plus de mal." She chanted under her breath, the pain in Bella's leg subsiding.
"Why is she still hurting?" Edward demanded.
"The spell can't calm vampire venom. I've tried it before, there's only so much it can do." She spoke quickly, continuing to chant so Bella didn't descend back into her agonizing pain.
"What's the other choice, Carlisle?" Edward asked.
"You can try to suck the venom out." He replied.
"I - won't be able to stop..."
"Find a will to stop. But choose, she only has minutes left."
Edward looked down at Bella, thrashing in pain. Finally, Edward took her hand and she tried to pull it away. "It's alright, Bella. I'll make it go away."
Edward began to suck the venom from Bella's system, their eyes locked onto each other as Bella's pain began to subside. After a moment, Carlisle spoke, "Stop. Her blood is clean, you're killing her."
But Edward doesn't stop, he continued to drink Bella's blood, unable to find the will to stop. Y/N spoke, "Edward." He still doesn't listen.
Fear began to grow in Y/N and, with that fear, her magic pulsed through her. Bella started to drift off and Y/N panicked. In her moment of fear, her hands parted from Bella's leg and began to glow softly as she spoke, "Prohibere!"
Edward dropped Bella's hand and his eyes grew wide. He looked at Y/N as she caught her breath, her hands slowly coming down as she breathed heavily. Edward swallowed and looked from her to Bella, again and again.
He sat back on and stared in fear. "Is she...?"
Carlisle shook his head as he listened closely, hearing the slow heartbeat of Bella. "No, but we need to get her to a hospital."
They worked quickly, taking care of everything while Y/N stood to the side, recovering from the scene that had just taken place.
When Bella was removed from the building, Y/N took a place in the middle of the area and took a breath before chanting a well-practiced spell she memorized while with James and his coven. The spell would set the scene to the way it was before it got destroyed. James got messy.
"Restituere." Y/N chanted quickly, moving her hands rhythmically to move everything to where it was. The glass lifted from the floor, piecing itself back together and going back into its place on the walls. The floorboards restored themselves, the ashes of them rising and becoming what it was before it was destroyed.
The scene put itself back together as Jasper walked up next to you. "Are you sure that won't bring him back as well?"
You nodded, continuing to chant to spell after you told him simply, "Positive. It is almost impossible to bring a vampire back after it has been burnt. If you were able to, the witch would be very powerful, old, and well-studied in black magic. I'm not any of those."
Jasper nudged her shoulder a bit teasingly, making Y/N flinch from the sudden contact. "Apologies, I didn't mean to startle you."
You shook your head, fixing the last piece of wood and dropping your hands, turning to Jasper. "No, it's not you. I just get really jumpy. I'm not...used to that." She chuckled nervously at the end.
"You don't need to be afraid anymore. You'll be safe with us. We'll protect you, just like you protected us." He told her, placing a hand on her arm. Y/N smiled nervously and nodded, "Thank you."
Jasper returned his arm to his side and told her, "You did great tonight." She looked down at her feet, not used to all the compliments. "Thanks." Jasper flashed her a smile and they walked over to rejoin everyone else.