Rest of Shields of Power I did not write this story, therefore I do not own this story.

The whole thing is on FanFiction. Stephanie Meyer owns these Characters. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Combat BPOV The next few days dragged on during school as we all made our plans for the weekend. Alice had already arranged with Charlie for me to spend the whole weekend including Friday night with her and Rosalie, and Charlie was going fishing with Billy in La Push, which relieved me, as at least there would be some werewolves to protect him if any of the vampires got away. Jasper and Felix trained the others on how to fight newborns, not that we had too many worries about being harmed, since I would be shielding them all. Demetri and Felix were my constant shadows, and Edward seemed quite pleased with my extra protection. I was a little annoyed, since it meant that Edward and I had no privacy. They stayed in the forest, close enough that they could hear me at all times. It was very annoying at night as it put a stop to mine and Edward's practise for the wedding night. Lying beside Edward every night- pressed up against the body that I had now fully mapped out using sight, smell and taste- without being able to do anything was exceptionally frustrating. Edward had it worse though. On the first night I woke up in the middle of the night to find a pained Edward beside me. I had been rubbing up against him and moaning in my sleep, and there was nothing he could do about it. The next few nights weren't any better for Edward, and I knew it was pointless to ask Demetri and Felix to give us some alone time with a group of newborns heading for us. So we sucked it up, and I was left impatiently waiting for the weekend so that I could destroy the newborns and Edward and I could get back to practising for the honeymoon. One of the things that intruded on our anticipation for the weekend was a visit from Jacob during the week. The mangy mutt had the audacity to visit us after school one afternoon. Edward and I were in the kitchen making dinner, and Felix was out in the woods, within hearing distance. Edward had his arms around me as I leaned into him while stirring the spaghetti sauce on the stove. I knew something was wrong when he tensed suddenly. "What's wrong?" I turned in his arms to get a look at him. His face was hard. "One of the dogs is on his way here." Sure enough, there was soon a quick know on the door. Before I could go and open it the presumptuous dog let himself in. I glared at him, from the living room, still in Edward's arms. "Were you never taught any manners? You're meant to wait until you're invited in before you come inside Jacob," I said in a harsh voice. My week of frustration and tenseness while waiting for the fight meant that Jacob acting like he owned

the joint riled me up much more than usual. He shrugged, but his calm posture was betrayed by his eyes, which were bright and eager as he sized up Edward behind me. I rolled my eyes. Somehow, he still couldn't quite fathom that out of Edward and I, I was the one most likely to hurt him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward smirk at something Jacob though before he leant down and gently kissed the side of my throat. I couldn't stop the shiver of desire that ran through me, and as he moved back I could feel the smugness in him at drawing such a reaction from me. Jacob glared at us. "Careful leech. One tiny nick with your teeth and it will be war, and we'd love to rip you and your family apart." I glared right back at Jacob, annoyed beyond measure at his interfering. "Why are you here Jacob?" I demanded. "I'm here to remind you of the terms of the treaty- if any of your bloodsuckers bites-not kills- a human, then the treaty is void. So as soon as they change you, we can kill them." His eyes lit up in anticipation. I was angry. I pushed out a shield and held Jacob up against the wall, advancing on him and levitating myself up until my eyes were level with his. I felt a perverse sense of pleasure when I saw the fear now glimmering in his previously confident eyes. "Listen up you arrogant dog," I hissed at him. "I am well aware of the treaty, and you have no right to waltz into my house and order me around. You are alive because I have allowed you to live. I could easily have killed you for lunging at me during our first encounter in the woods. Do not try my patience because I may not be so lenient in the future." He seemed to be finally getting the message. "As for changing me, that can be done without biting me." That stopped both Jacob and Edward in their tracks and they looks at me in surprise. "I suppose it never occurred to you Jacob that the venom can be directly injected by syringe did it?" He glared venomously at us, but was still held up against the wall and slightly fearful, so he stayed silent. I let him go. "Now run along back to your pack like a good dog and let them know." He turned and made his way outside, keeping a distrustful eye on us. Once Edward relaxed I knew Jacob was out of range. I leant back into his reassuring embrace and sighed. "His pack is a bunch of immature puppies. If they came after us I could take them all out in the blink of an eye- not that I would, since Billy Black is Charlie's best friend- but I could." Edward chuckled. "Indeed love. Now why don't you tell me more about changing you with injections?" "The Volturi has been using it for years to change people- much safer than biting and risking the loss of control don't you think?" "Yes, I quite favour the idea myself. No doubt Carlisle will be interested." I went back to making dinner while I explained the logistics of using syringes of venom to change me-

the bonus in this method being that, if large amounts of venom were injected directly into my heart the change would only take two days instead of three- a much happier prospect, which Edward was inordinately pleased with. Unfortunately, our encounter with Jacob was the only interesting event during the week and as the weekend neared I was bursting with anticipation. As far as Charlie knew, while he would be spending the weekend with Billy in La Push, I would be sleeping over with Alice and Rosalie while Edward and his brothers were off camping. It was to be one of our last sleepovers before graduation, which was coming up in a week. None of the vampires were particularly enthusiastic about graduating again. They had begun dropping their grades slightly, so that they did not get awarded valediction, as they felt it should go to a deserving human classmate. I did the same, since I had had the advantages of vampire teachers all my life, and I didn't really have any interest in the award. Luckily, according to Edward, who had kept a watch on the minds of the teachers, Angela and Ben were neck and neck for it. The only other break in the week was when Rose and I got our Car and Driver magazines. I rushed into the Cullen mansion after school, Edward trailing behind as I waved my magazine. "Rose, have you seen the new Bugatti Veyron SuperSport?" I called enthusiastically. "Yes, and did you see that BMW is going to make and M6?" she was beside me in an instant, and oblivious to everyone else we made our way to the lounge chatting enthusiastically. "I can't wait until the supersport Bugatti is released! I have to have one." Growing up with speeding vampires had left me with a need for speed that was only appeased by owning the fastest cars in the world. "Well then you'll have to let me drive it. Personally, I'm really looking forward to the M6, although we'll have to wait a few years for it to come out." We continued our debate on the pros and cons of some concept cars for hours. After a while even Edward got bored and left in search of his brothers. When it was time for me to go home to Charlie, Edward had to drag me out as I continued to debate with Rosalie on whether we needed to buy a 2011 Corvette stingray convertible when it came out. I very unwillingly got into the car for Edward to drive us home, still not done talking about cars, however Edward made it up to me by pulling off into a dirt track so we could spend some time properly making out in the backseat of his Volvo before going home. Demetri and Felix were waiting, annoyance clear on their faces as we registered just how late we were when we finally arrived. Charlie bought the excuse that Alice had kept me late with wedding details, and after scarfing a few slices of pizza I was soon snuggled into bed with my personal Greek god. The weekend arrived after a long and tedious week of school. I waved to Charlie after dinner on Friday night and sped eagerly off to the Cullen house. Edward, Felix, Demetri and Alice left for the evening to hunt, while the others had gone during the day while we were at school. They all wanted to be as strong as possible for the fight, despite the fact that it would be no problem for us to win. Demetri and Felix had decided that animal blood was better than no blood, so they were tagging along.

Carlisle and Esme would be sitting out the fight, for they were too tender-hearted to actually participate if it was not necessary for the survival of their family- and I couldn't blame them. In fact, they weren't even going to be at the clearing. They would be waiting close to the edge of Forks, in case some of the vampires were to veer off and head towards town before making it to the clearing. They would stop any vampires that were after anyone in town, although I felt relieved that Charlie was going to be in La Push. The rest of us were eager for the fight, and I spent much of Friday night restless with anticipation, while fending off most of Alice's over-the-top wedding ideas, and approving others. When I woke on Saturday morning Edward was back, and I opened my eyes to look directly into his butterscotch ones. I sighed happily. I always felt better with Edward close by. All thoughts of the upcoming fight were lost as I looked into his stunning face and reached up for my morning kiss. He indulged me for longer than usual and, despite the fact that we could hear the rest of the family moving restlessly around downstairs, we spent the better part of the morning making out- unwilling to go further with eight vampires listening. Eventually though, around noon time, Alice bounded into the room, with no thought given at all to knocking. "Bella! How do you feel about this wedding cake?" she thrust a photo at me of a cake that was five feet tall. It was shaped two swans, with their necks arched towards each other to make the shape of a heart, and wreathes of flowers around their necks. My eyes went wide and I groaned. Alice, this is far too big- I'm not planning on inviting the whole town!" She pouted at me and I relented. "But if you can get them to make a smaller version- maybe one foot tall instead, then I think it would be lovely," I admitted. It was a beautiful cake after all, and I thought the swans were perfect, but as usual Alice's enthusiasm had led to some over-the-top ideas. She beamed at me and zipped back out of the room. I fell back down onto Edward's chest and heaved a sigh. "It's time to get up isn't it?" "Yes, I'll make you breakfast while you shower," he promised. I nodded and reluctantly extracted myself from his arms. I leant down and kissed him before heading into the bathroom. After a yummy breakfast, where I marvelled over how good a cook Edward was, we headed out to the garage, where Edward began packing camping gear. Emmett and Rosalie had already left for the clearing, where we were all planning to spend the night in wait for the vampires who were set to arrive early in the morning. I was the only one that actually needed camping gear of course. Alice came out with a wedding file and joined me watching Edward select from the range of brand new camping equipment stored in the garage. "Pack for cold weather," she advised him. "There's going to be a blizzard tonight." I shivered at the thought, and Edward looked for warmer gear while I made decisions for our wedding with occasional inputs from Edward. Thankfully packing gear for me to camp for the night did not take very long, and Edward and I were soon headed towards the baseball clearing that would become a battleground tomorrow. Beside us ran Jasper and Alice, along with Felix and Demetri who were carrying the backpacks Edward had

packed for me. Carlisle and Esme had bid us goodbye and good luck, and Alice had promised to keep them updated via cell phone tomorrow. When we arrived we found and enthusiastic Emmett stacking spare branches of wood next to an enormous bonfire in the middle of the clearing. It was already ten feet wide, yellow flames crackling amidst the branches Emmett had piled onto it. He grinned at us as we came to a stop beside him. "What do you think? I thought with the cold weather and all, that this would keep Bella warm." I was touched by his thoughtfulness and I hopped off Edward's back and hugged him. "Thank you Emmett." He smiled down at me. "No problem Bells." While Edward and Jasper set about putting up me tent and various other things they had brought with them for my comfort I took the bags of donor blood that Carlisle had acquired and, following Alice's directions, I laid a trail of blood and my scent to draw the newborns into the clearing tomorrow. Alice assured me that my scent coupled with the smell of blood would send the newborns crazy and lead them straight to us. When I got back I found a cosy tent set up near the bonfire with an inflatable mattress and a thermal sleeping bag inside, along with a couple of thick parkas. All in all, it looked rather comfortable. That night, true to Alice's word the weather worsened until it was freezing cold and snowing outside my tent. Inside the tent Edward and I shared the mattress, with him outside my cosy warm sleeping bag. Thankfully though, due to Emmett's thoughtfulness I was toasty warm, as the heat from the bonfire seeped through the tent and warmed me and Edward. In fact, Edward was almost warm to touch- an aspect I would have shamelessly taken advantage of had there not been six vampires outside the tent chatting quietly and making sure that the bonfire was fed regularly. Between my frustration at having Edward so close and warm without being able to do anything, and my feelings of anticipation for tomorrow I was having trouble calming down enough to sleep. Finally Edward murmured, "A little help Jasper," and my eyes immediately started to droop as a feeling of intense calm and sleepiness washed over me. Instead of fighting it, I allowed myself to succumb and drifted quickly off into a deep slumber. I awoke the next morning to Edward's excited golden eyes, and when we exited the tent we found that the weather had abated. I ate quickly as Edward packed away everything. Around me all the vampires paced impatiently, except Alice who sat calmly beside me. "Another hour until they get here, and their current number stands at twenty-two," she informed us. I finished up quickly then, and joined in the impatient waiting. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity Alice stiffened. "There here," she breathed. I cast out a shield and I could feel the quick movements of a whole herd of racing vampires. Knowing they would soon be here I placed shields around all of us. Emmett put more wood on his bonfire.

Finally we saw them as they entered the clearing. All had a single-minded focus on me- the delicious smelling human. They raced for me, and as the last entered the clearing I threw a large dome shield around the entire clearing to keep them in- the last thing we needed was for them to escape. I could have simply crushed them all with a shield now, and put their pieces on the bonfire. But where's the fun in that? Besides, Emmett would kill me if I destroyed his fun, and after he provided me with a bonfire last night I was feeling pretty charitable. Jasper was the first to leap into action as the twenty newborns neared us at a full run. All were concentrated solely on me- the delicious source of blood. Jasper leaped gracefully through the air to grab the heads of two vampires. He kicked out into their chests while twisting the heads. Their bodies flew back from Jasper, their heads remained in his hands and he quickly tossed them into the fire before continuing onto the next newborn in his path. The rest of us were only milliseconds behind him. Emmett was like a bear, tearing the newborns apart, while Alice and Rosalie still managed to look like they were on a runway while dodging snapping jaws and tearing off limbs. Felix and Demetri were very business-like, only their eyes gave away their excitement. Edward dispatched of the newborns with litheness. Even while wielding my shields and crushing vampires into pieces I could not help but sneak peeks at his supple form, and watch the muscles of his back and chest play under his shirt. I momentarily considered taking his shield down for a tiny second- just long enough for a newborn to rip the shirt that was obstructing my view, but I squelched that urge. Edward, Felix and Demetri still stayed close to me, keeping a protective eye on me just in case, but I was used to it, so I ignored them and continued on happily until I felt something at my personal shield. Turning, I was hit again, and although it didn't hurt, I was confused since I could not see any physical attack. Edward had also turned and was looking at me with worry and panic. It suddenly clicked as I felt a continual pounding and groping of my shield- very close to my skin. An invisible vampire. Never was I more thankful for my shields, for without them I would have been dead (although Edward would not have allowed me to be in this situation without them anyway). However, invisibility was no match for my shields. I felt out with a new shield and cloaked the vampire in it. As a flexed the shield and crushed the vampire slightly their invisibility dropped off them. I took a momentary glance at the vampire that had gotten so close; he stared back with crazed red eyes. He was a fairly non-decrepit man, and even with vampiric looks he was still ordinary. I had no doubt that he had been a quintessential wallflower before being turned. Nevertheless, he had annoyed me, and I crushed his body into pieces with my shield before throwing them on the fire. Edward, who had stopped fighting when he heard the thoughts of the invisible vampire, was in the arms of a newborn, but surrounded in my shield he could not be crushed. Instead he ripped both arms off the vampire and then destroyed the rest of her body. With more than half the newborns already burning I realised that Victoria was not among the group. I cast out a shield into the forest, searching for her. I was sure she would have stayed nearby to watch. Sure enough I found her and a second vampire about two miles away and up in a tall tree. I opened my mind to Edward and he nodded as I showed him where she was.

I hopped up on his back and was exited the large dome shield that was still around the shield, stopping some of the newborns from leaving. He ran us towards Victoria. I took the opportunity to meld myself into his back and breathe in his delicious scent. Coupled with his display of strength I was feeling more than a little aroused. Edward groaned and I knew he could smell it. "Not now Bella," he scolded me gently, but I could hear the reciprocal longing in his voice. I sighed and refocussed my thoughts. I made certain that all of my shields were still holding and then cast another shield around the trees in Victoria's vicinity. This time she was not going anywhere. Thanks to Edwards speed it did not take long for us to near Victoria's perch. We were only thirty feet from the tree she shared with Riley when Edward put me down. I looked up into the tree. Victoria's flaming red hair stood out amongst the dark forest as her eyes bored intensely into mine. She seemed solely focussed on me. Edward let loose a snarl, and I assumed that her thoughts had been on hurting me. He advanced a step but I stopped him. "No," he paused and looked at me questioningly. "She's mine. You can have Riley." He looked like he was going to protest until he saw the determination on my face. He gave a small nod and sent a glare to Riley, who stood beside Victoria. Less than a second later Victoria's incredulous laugh rang as she and Riley jumped from their perch to land with a muted thud on the forest floor. "You think you can hurt me little girl?" she snarled. "I'm going to destroy you- a fitting retribution since your mate killed my James. Then I'm going to leave your mate alive so he can feel what it's like to be in such pain." She advanced on me and seemed shocked when I smirked. Riley was dividing his focus. He alternated between looking at me with dark hungry eyes, and glaring at Edward, who was slowly closing in on him. Victoria's mind was solely on killing me. "I'm going to kill you." I always liked to be as honest as possible. She looked decidedly unimpressed with my warning, and disbelieving, maybe at my words, or perhaps at my bravado in the face of an angry vampire. She lunged and closed a hand around my shield covered throat. Mentally I assured Edward that I was fine, and I saw him refocus and tear into Riley. Victoria looked triumphant, but a little confused. "Hmm, you must not mean as much to Edward as I thought. Perhaps you are simply a plaything. He is not defending you at all, this is most disappointing- I was sure I would have to go through far more trouble to get to you than this. Instead he brings you straight to me and allows me to kill you without a fight." She stopped her musing there. "Still, you will make a delicious snack- I can see why my James was so set on you." Her eyes were alight with vengeance. I had had enough of standing still. I used my shield to slice off the hand holding my throat. It fell to the ground and Victoria stepped back in shock. "I warned you," I snarled, as I stepped towards her. She looked around, but by that time Riley was in pieces and she had nowhere left to run. She looked longingly at her hand, which was at my feet before turning to escape. I let her go, and after a few steps she ran into my invisible wall. Hissing in frustration she punched out, but my wall didn't move. She turned as I closed in on her, desperation in her eyes. She lunged at me, a vicious snarl loosing itself from her throat. I caught her with shield covered hands

and, using my shield again as a blade, I dismembered her as she tried to fight me. With a screech her limbs tore apart and her existence was at an end. I looked over at Edward, who was watching me with the same look I was sure had been on my face when he had been fighting the newborns, a mix of lust and excitement. Unfortunately, both of us knew that now was not the time to let loose such feelings, so we concentrated on building a small fire and throwing every last piece of Victoria and Riley into it. We stood there and watched as their bodies quickly burned into ashes. When all that was left were scattered ashes we left and headed back to the others. I made a tiny hole in the shield around the field for us to go through and closed it a millisecond later. While we were away the rest of the newborns had been destroyed. All that was left was a huge bonfire spewing purple smoke. I cast out to make sure, but there were no other vampires around. I sighed and lowered the shields surrounding my family members, snapping back my mental shield from Edward. He sighed- he loved hearing my uncensored thoughts, but I loved that they were a secret from him. I went to lower the shield around the field and realised that the La Push wolf pack was outside it. Some of them were pressed up against it, trying to get past my blockade. I had no idea how long they'd been there. At the same time Edward turned, having heard their thoughts now that there were no newborn thoughts to distract him. "The wolves want to talk," he informed us. I let down the shield and they loped towards us. My family congregated ion a protective stance near me. The largest black wolf trotted quickly off into the forest. Soon Sam came back in human form. "We want to thank you for destroying the vampires, since they were so close to Forks and La Push." He explained, "Although we cannot say that we are not disappointed that we did not get the chance to kill them ourselves." "We could not take the chance that many would escape and make it into town or the reservation," Edward stated coldly, "And twenty-two newborns would have been far too many for your pack to take on by themselves," he pointed out. There were a few grumbles from some of the wolves. "Nevertheless, because we have seen you kill your own kind in order to keep Forks safe we will not bother you again. Jacob has informed us of Bella's impending change, and as it will not technically break the treaty we will not be declaring war." I breathed a sigh of relief. While I would always protect my family, there would have been no pleasure in having to hurt the children of my father's best friends. "Thank you," Edward said, giving Sam a slight smile. Sam nodded once again and then he and his pack left. The russet wolf was the last to turn and he glared at me as he did so. The ending of the day was rather melodramatic as I we reunited with Esme and Carlisle and related the story of the fight. We then bid goodbye to Felix and Demetri. I hugged both of them goodbye. They patted me on the back. "I guess all our training came in handy after all hey Bella?" Demetri

chuckled before they left for the airport. The next time they saw me I would be a vampire. Charlie grinned when I got home, and proceeded to tell me about his day fishing with Billy at La Pusha perfectly normal day. I listened quietly, glad that he was completely oblivious to how close a coven of hungry newborn vampires had gotten to him today. The true highlight of my day was that night. With no outside audience, and Charlie sleeping like a log, Edward and I were back enthusiastically practising for the honeymoon and making up for lost time.

Weddings and Honeymoons My last week of school was uneventful, which was in many ways a relief after the fighting the newborns and all of the anticipation leading up to that. With my wedding coming up soon I managed to convince Alice not to throw a graduation party, telling her that we could concentrate more on our wedding plans. Finally Friday arrived and our graduation ceremony took place. Dad drove Edward and me there in my car, since I refused to go in the cruiser and have Edward sit behind the screen in the back. The rest of the Cullens came with Alice. As soon as we got there Alice came to me to complain. "Bella, can you believe they have yellow graduation gowns! Do the people who run Forks High have no fashion sense at all? How could they do this to us!" I let her rant, and commiserated with her because, to be honest, I was wondering whether the people on the committee that decided on such a gaudy colour for graduation gowns had been high when they decided on yellow. What was wrong with a nice standard black? Eventually though I had to separate from Alice and Edward as we lined up in alphabetical order with the others in our year. Jessica Stanley was in front of me and bursting with excitement. "Oh Bella! Can you believe it! We're finally graduating!" I smiled at her enthusiasm and attempted to interject some one word answers in response to her continuous excited monologue as we waited in line. Finally the ceremony started, and I listened to the speeches made by the Principal, and Angela, who had just managed to beat out Ben to become Valediction. It was then our turn to make our way onto the stage. I watched as Alice and Edward walked onto the stage amidst polite clapping from the audience, amongst which were the rest of the Cullens. I clapped loudly for them, even though I knew they had done this many times before. As my turn came and I shook the principal's hand I heard cheers and Emmett let out a loud whistle. I smiled as I saw my father and the Cullens- all part of my family, cheering for me. I had never felt so loved. I turned towards the end of the stage and my eyes locked with Edwards as he stood waiting for me. I walked towards him and took his hand, fully aware that in a matter of weeks we would be legally bound together for eternity. I couldn't wait. With graduation finally over and Edward and I accepted into Dartmouth, my human life was nearing an end. A small part of me was sad to see it go, but the larger part was excited to finally fully enter the

vampire world and spend eternity with Edward. With our wedding date only two weeks after graduation, the finishing touches were now being put in place. While Alice had originally wanted to invite the whole town, Edward and I convinced her that our idea of a perfect wedding was one that included only family and close friends. Although we did put an announcement in the local paper- Edward wanted everyone to know we were getting married. Apart from our families, only Angela and Ben from school had been invited. I will admit to the passing thought of having all the girls in our high school attend the wedding so that they would see once and for all that Edward was mine, but I wasn't that petty. My Volturi family could not come without making Renee suspicious, so we had arranged for small, high definition cameras at various vantage points to be recording the whole wedding to send to them via a live feed. Edward and I also wanted to have the recordings, so that we could look back on our happy day. I also knew that when I changed into a vampire my memories might become fuzzy, and I wanted to remember my wedding day in clear detail. Edward and I recorded our piano and harp duet love song for the first dance, and went through a list of other songs for the reception. Alice took care of the catering aspect and the procurement of furniture. Neither Edward nor I were particularly worried over whether the table cloths were lace or white satin. We did however wish for freesia and white roses for the centrepieces. Rosalie had offered to play the piano for my march down the aisle, and Edward and I couldn't be happier to take her up on her offer. Renee and Phil flew down a week before the wedding, and as I had expected, Renee got along really well with Esme and Alice, and loved looking at bridal catalogues with them. The most embarrassing part of the last week leading up to the wedding was the afternoon when Renee walked into Edward's room unannounced to talk to me about my wedding hairstyle and found us both on the bed and shirtless. We had been intending to get in some last minute practise for the wedding night and to make up for the days that Felix and Demetri had curbed out late night explorations. The whole family was supposed to be out- Alice and Esme had taken Renee to see the cake we had ordered, and to confirm with the caterers. Carlisle was at work, and the rest of the family was hunting. Edward and I were happy to be spending some alone time, away from the wedding plans and oversensitive ears of the family. We were shocked when Renee burst through the door to Edward's room. "Bella," She stopped a foot into the room, a hand still on the doorknob. She was speechless with her eyes wide, and my name still on her lips. I sat up quickly from under Edward and pulled my shirt back on. My face was bright red. I shot a reproving look at a shocked looking Edward, before glancing back at my mum. In those few seconds she had managed to gain control of her shock, and her appreciative gaze was now wandering over Edward's muscled chest. I sighed and handed Edward his shirt before hopping off the bed. "Was there something you wanted mum?" She looked momentarily startled and her eyes unwillingly tore away from the chest Edward was

covering to meet my inquiring eyes. "Um. Yes. That's right. I wanted to ask how you were planning to do your hair for the wedding dear." She recovered. "Come with me and I'll show you the drawings Alice and I came up with from a few different styles we liked," I was resigned to the fact that I would not be spending my afternoon solely with Edward as planned. Apparently Renee had been so excited to talk to me that she had pressured Alice and Esme into driving home after looking at the cake, saying that they could simply ring the caterers for confirmation. Nothing they had said to dissuade her and allow Edward and I more time had worked. In some ways I was thankful that she had walked in when she did, and not a little later when there would have been significantly less clothing involved. Of course my mother could not help commenting as we walked back downstairs. "My goodness Bella, that boy is gorgeous! If I was a bit younger I'd give you a run for your money! No wonder you can't seem to keep your hands off him." She whispered all of this to me, but everyone in the house heard, and when we reached the living room I could see the subdued laughter shining in Alice and Esme's eyes. Later that night Edward had apologised and admitted that he had been so focussed on us that he had not heard them arrive home, or Renee walking up the stairs. I forgave him after some very persuasive kisses were offered. Charlie, while reluctant to part with me, was happy that I had chosen Edward, who he believed to be trustworthy and truly adored me. Having said that, he still liked to stay as far from wedding plans as possible, and spent much of his time in La Push, or commiserating with Emmett and Jasper, who were often roped into helping out with the preparations. All in all though, the wedding was coming together wonderfully, and Edward and I couldn't be more excited. A few days before the wedding I was kidnapped by Alice and Rosalie for a bridal shower. They had kicked everyone out of the Cullen mansion, and invited Angela. Renee and Esme were there as well. Once we were all together we headed off to a spa day where we were primped and preened and massaged to our hearts content. Rosalie, Alice and Esme spent much of their time in the hot mud pool and then the spa in favour of the massage, since their rock hard skin would be far too noticeable, but we all had a great time, and by the time us humans joined them in the spa we were all happy and relaxed. We had a great time splashing about in the hot water, and I was glad Angela had joined us, because she deserved some pampering. We all reluctantly headed back to the mansion a few hours later, where I warily unwrapped my presents. Alice and Rosalie had given me hoards of sexy French lingerie. A lot of it was in varying shades of blue. There were corsets, teddys, nightgowns, lace, satin, silk etc. "Given how Edward likes to rip things off you, we figured you'd need a lot." Rosalie and Alice snickered and Esme and Renee smiled knowingly at me. I turned bright red, and noticed that Angela had a slight blush. "Thanks guys," In truth I did love the lingerie, and especially the idea of Edward ripping it off me. Angela gave me a pair of black silk robes- a larger one for Edward and a smaller one for me. She had

had 'Isabella Cullen' embroidered onto mine, and 'Edward Cullen' onto his. Tears came to my eyes as I ran my fingers over what was to be my new name. "Thank you so much Angela, these are wonderful." I hugged her tight and beamed happily at her as the others also commented on her wonderful gift. Renee gave me a set of old silver hair combs, set with clusters of sapphires. They were beautiful. "These are from Charlie and I," she explained. "They were your Grandma Swan's, and we had the original paste stones replaced with sapphires. We thought you would like to wear them for your wedding." Her explanation touched me, and I realised now why she had been so interested in my wedding hairstyle. "Mum, these are beautiful. Of course I would love to wear these for the wedding!" I assured her immediately giving her a big hug. Last, but certainly not least, Esme handed over a large box. I gasped when I looked inside. I pulled it out carefully for everyone to see. "Oh Esme," I breathed. It was a large crystal cube, about 20cm tall. The inside laser image was a 3D of the prom picture we had had taken this year. We were standing next to each other, hands clasped and half-turned to the camera with our focus entirely on looking deep into the other's eyes. The words at the bottom of the image were 'Edward and Isabella Cullen, Married June 27th, 2006.' Words could not describe how overwhelmed I felt by her gift. I could not wait to show it to Edward, and I felt my hugs and profuse thanks were not enough. "Esme, this truly is one of the best gifts I have ever gotten." She looked like she would be crying if it were possible, and she simply pulled me in for a hug. "You are more than welcome Bella. We are so happy that you are joining our family." After such a wonderful day the only thing that made it better was when Edward came back and I showed him our wonderful gifts (Except the lingerie, which I was keeping to surprise him with on the honeymoon). Like me, he was touched by our gifts, and Esme's was his favourite. One very special gift from the Volturi, which I shared with Edward was a thick leather-bound photo album of my human life. On each page were large photos of me from the time I was four years old, all the way through my childhood in Volterra, to photos of me with the Edward and the rest of the Cullens. At the end was space for our wedding and honeymoon photos. Both of us greatly appreciated this gift. Edward loved looking at my childhood photos, and I loved the fact that when I became a vampire I would still have some great reminders of my human life. "You look so cute and adorable there," he pointed out a picture of me during my first week with the Volturi, "It's hard to believe that even then you could throw vampires into walls." I scowled at him and huffed, crossing my arms in annoyance as he chuckled and moved onto the next photo. The Volturi females had also send me a multitude of things for the honeymoon, including more lingerie, and Edward spotted some of it before I quickly secreted it away in one of my suitcases. His eyes darkened significantly as he stared at me. I, of course, was not averse to taking advantage of him in this state, and that night was very pleasurable for both of us.

The day of the wedding finally arrived and I woke for the last time in my bed at Charlie's. Edward had left at midnight, so that he technically wouldn't see me before the wedding today. Jasper and Emmett had arrived to take him hunting- a type of bachelor party for vampires. I felt a little stab in my heart and I already missed Edward, but excitement flooded through my veins at the thought of our wedding- and even better, our wedding night! I jumped out of bed and scarfed breakfast before speeding off to the mansion. Alice and Rosalie met me at the door, and my eyes widened to see the changes to the house. They had obviously been hard at work (a major advantage of super speed and no need for sleep). The whole bottom open floor had been cleared. In place were garlands of white roses spaced intermittently with coloured freesias, the cameras were all set up, and a short aisle led from the staircase to the wall of windows overlooking the river. "Perfect," I breathed, stopping to admire it all. I was sure that as soon as I saw Edward during the ceremony I would be completely ignorant to any of our beautiful surroundings, so it was best to admire them now. They smiled exultantly before ushering me up the stairs. "The guys aren't allowed to come back from hunting until you are safely away upstairs and have us shielded from Edward's mind," Alice informed me. I dutifully did as I was told and headed into Alice's bathroom while shrouding them in a mental shield. Alice pulled out a phone and called Jasper to let him know he could bring Edward back, and we set to work. Esme and Carlisle were putting the finishing touches on downstairs, including a large bower of flowers and gossamer ribbon at the end of the aisle for Edward and I to stand under, as well as directing the caterer of on where to set up. Upstairs as they braided and curled my hair, and we all got ready I could feel the excitement building. I couldn't stop smiling. Esme and Renee came in as we were near finishing and snapped photos of us. I gave an appreciative sigh as Rosalie pulled my dress out of its protective bag and into the light. It was the product of weeks of designing, using my ideas and Alice's knowledge of fabrics and styles. In the end I had a strapless white taffeta gown with a delicate vintage lace covered corset style bodice. The skirt gathered a little on the left at the waist, resulting in soft pleats down the left side. The pleats had been embroidered with tiny delicate flowers by Esme. The end result was a mixture of old and modern, much like Edward and I. I eagerly donned the dress and waited as Alice and Rosalie did the same with their dresses. Grandma Swan's sapphire hair combs were then placed in my hair, Edward's diamond heart sparkled at my throat and my diamond and platinum cuff was in its usual place. I hugged both Alice and Rosalie before Rosalie headed downstairs to take her place at the piano. Esme and Renee also gave me quick hugs before following Rosalie. Charlie then entered. He looked slightly uncomfortable in his charcoal suit, but far more handsome then I had ever seen him. His eyes misted slightly as he looked at me. "Oh honey, you look so beautiful." I made a valiant effort and held back my tears as I hugged him tight. "Thanks Dad."

We were finally ready. We exited Alice's room and stood just to the side of the stairs that would lead me down to Edward. While I hadn't seen Edward today, it didn't mean that I wasn't keeping tabs on him. Ever since he had entered the house I had had a shield around him so that I could feel him and knew where he was. I could not feel him standing at the head of the aisle in from of Angela's father; Pastor Weber. As Rosalie started playing and Alice moved to the top of the staircase and started her descent I opened my mind shield to Edward, and shielded the minds of everyone else, leaving him only in my own thoughts. So that you can hear how much I love you as we join for eternity, I thought to him. All too soon it was our turn to head downstairs. I clasped Charlie's arm tightly as he helped me navigate down in my high white shoes. He led me down the aisle to my lullaby, but once my eyes met Edward's I couldn't focus on anything else. His light butterscotch eyes stared back intensely as Charlie led me towards him. Though the aisle was short it felt like forever until we finally reached Edward and Charlie gave him my hand. Our familiar electricity hummed through my body as we touched. Neither of us broke eye contact for the entire ceremony as we said our vowels to each other and became bound for eternity. There was deep joy, pride and love in his eyes, and I couldn't look away. I love you, I thought at him before our lips sealed our wedding vows and we were finally married. I indulged myself in his kiss, completely forgetting that we had an audience until Edward pulled away with a smug smile, and I heard Emmett's boisterous laugh. I blushed a little, especially when I realised that my parents had been watching us. We signed the marriage certificate and walked down the aisle amidst the cheers of our family and friends. I could not keep my eyes off Edward, and the smile on my face was unshakable. Alice had delivered on the reception atop a wooden dance floor that had been placed on the grass out on the back lawn, surrounded by Esme's beautiful gardens. As we moved outside to our reception, we saw our wedding cake. It looked very impressive, and as I had negotiated with Alice, it was only one foot tall instead of five feet tall. The two swans had their necks arched and beaks joined to form a heart, and one of them even had a princess tiara as a subtle symbol of my status among the vampire world. I almost didn't want to cut into the cake as the time came, for it was so beautiful, but Edward understood my reluctance and reassured me in a whisper that Alice had taken many photos and video footage of it. Edward slowly fed me a piece of the cake as everyone watched on. It was delicious, and with my eyes locked on his I slowly licked every crumb off Edward's fingers, watching smugly as his eyes darkened. I pulled away with a blush when I realised that our parents had been watching. I quickly picked up Edward's piece of cake and distracted everyone by smashing it into his face. He pretended to swallow some as I rubbed it in, and everyone was soon laughing. As the rest of our guests got a piece of cake I wiped the cake off most of Edward's face before sucking some icing off his lips. Once the icing was all gone I pulled back with a satisfied grin, and he purred at me, his eyes promising retribution. My heart beat faster at that very enticing thought. All of our human guests enjoyed the cake, which was an absolutely delicious chocolate mud cake, but it had definitely tasted even better when Edward was my plate. We received our congratulations and speeches from most of our family, who all had something to say, and it was then time for our dance.

The familiar chords of our piano and harp harmony washed over me as Edward led me gracefully around the dance floor. My skirts twirls around me, and in Edward's arms I let my happiness wash over me. I was finally married to the love of my life and my mate; Edward. I then danced with my Dad, while Edward led Esme around the dance floor. We swayed slowly to the music, and I looked into Charlie's eyes to see that they were misted. "I'm so happy for you Bella, although I will miss you so much." I was touched. We had gotten to know each other a lot better during my stay, and had grown much closer. "I'll miss you too dad," I promised, knowing it was the truth. Charlie was like me in many ways and we had gotten along great during my year and a half in Forks, which had turned out to be the best time in my life so far. Charlie knew that Edward loved me, and that he would take care of me. "He's a good man," he admitted, "You couldn't have picked better for yourself Bells." I hugged him, "I know," I assured him, before turning my adoring eyes to my husband. After my dance with Charlie I danced with some of the others, before I was returned to Edward for another dance. It was heaven being in his arms As our reception neared its end I threw my bouquet, which Alice and Rosalie allowed Angela to catch while feigning eagerness to catch it. As they were already married, they thought it would be nice for Angela to have the bouquet. Angela's beaming smile as she caught it was evidence enough of the rightness of their thoughts, and we were all pleased for her. Edward then led me to a chair, where I sat down, and tried not to let my desire show as he ducked under my dress and dragged his nose up my leg to my inner thigh. I held back a shiver that would give me away. I kept my body frozen as Edward kissed my thigh and then grabbed the garter in his teeth, slowly dragging it back down my leg. My breathing and heart rate picked up, and I could feel Edward smile against my thigh as he itched the garter down slowly. It was my sheer force of will that I managed not to jump him then right in front of everyone. As the garter reached my knee I opened my mind so that he could see just how close I was to having my self control undermined, and he relented and quickly dragged it down the rest of the way and off. He winked at me and shot the garter at Ben. It landed in his surprised hands, and he turned to look at a blushing Angela. We restated the dancing after that, and soon enough I found myself in Edward's arms for the last dance. We swayed slowly to my lullaby, eyes locked, and our feelings for each other evident in our eyes. The rest of the room faded away as I tipped my head back and Edward's lips slowly descended to meet mine. We continued to kiss for the remainder of the song, and when Alice finally succeeded in catching our attention it had already finished. I gave up on being embarrassed, and simply enjoyed the tender look Edward sent me. Alice quickly dragged me away to put me in a going away outfit she had picked out, which turned out to be a pretty blue dress that was quite comfortable. "Thank you so much for all your help planning

the wedding Alice," I told her as I changed. "It was absolutely perfect." There were tears in my eyes as I hugged her. "It was no problem Bella, and it's wonderful to officially have you for a sister," she beamed at me, and we made our way downstairs to where Edward was waiting for me. He held out his hand and when I took it he led us to the front door. "Ready?" he asked. I took a deep breath and nodded. Outside we were showered with handfuls of rice, and I couldn't help but laugh at Emmett's enthusiasm for it, and the disappointed look he wore when he realised that I had shielded us- I couldn't have Alice mad by getting rice stuck on my outfit or, even worse, in my hair. We hugged everyone goodbye before Edward helped me into his Vanquish and we sped away. As we left Emmett shouted out "Go forth and multiply!" I blushed as Charlie looked at him and glared, before shooting Edward a warning look. I was lucky he had no idea that Edward and I were planning reproducing during our honeymoon. We drove away while I looked happily at my wonderful husband, exulting in the fact that I now held the title of Edward's wife. Edward hadn't told me where our honeymoon would be, but we had discussed places I had been, and what I liked in length, and I trusted Edward to provide me with a wonderful honeymoon. In truth though, it wasn't the location I was eager to enjoy, but Edward himself- although with a face and body like his who could blame me? We arrived at Houston first and I cocked an eyebrow at Edward. "Just a stop along the way," he assured me. Our next flight was to Rio de Janeiro, but Edward again assured me that we would not be there long. I gave up speculating and fell asleep in Edward's arms as we flew closer to our final destination and the start of what I was anticipating to be a wonderful honeymoon where we would conceive our children. We arrived in Rio just after sunset and were taken straight to the docks, where Edward immediately led me to a sailing yacht. I could see the excitement and anticipation in his eyes as he ushered me aboard and we set off out into the ocean. I enjoyed watching him sail; his sleeves were rolled up and his muscles flexed as he worked the sails. I licked my lips and settled back on a cushioned couch to enjoy the view my husband was providing. I inwardly squealed at the reminder that he was finally my husband. Edward served me dinner on the yacht, which only made my love and desire for him increase, especially when he hand fed me strawberries dipped in chocolate. To be fair, I could see his own eyes darkening with lust as he watched my tongue swirl and the chocolate strawberries. The yacht proved to be a very romantic and intimate setting and I was very happy with the way my honeymoon was going so far. Before long Edward called me to look ahead, and I began to make out the shape of what appeared to be a small island. His arms encircled me as we neared it. "Welcome to Isle Esme love," he whispered in my ear. I shivered in anticipation as a beautiful island came into view.

"Wow," I breathed. "It was a gift to Esme from Carlisle a while back, and Esme is allowing us to use it," he explained as he let go of me to start bringing the yacht to the dock. I gazed over it in awe as Edward docked us. It was beautiful. Waves gently slapped at the silvery shoreline, edges with lush palm trees. It was the quintessential private tropical island. The water was clear and I could see fish and corals in the water by the moonlight. There was a slight bump as the yacht docked and Edward leapt out to tie it up. He then helped me out and was soon back on the dock with both of our cases in one of his hands. With his other arm he scooped me up. I gave a startled laugh, and looked up into his excited eyes as he carried me towards the house I could see between the palm trees. I snuggled into his chest and proceeded to thoroughly distract him as he walked. I started nibbling along his jaw and up his chin until I reached his lips. I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth and he loosed a growl that vibrated through my whole body. I latched onto his lips and kissed him hard. He kissed back and when he finally pulled back we were standing in front of the house. He dropped our cases on the porch and opened the door, carrying me over the threshold. He carried me through the house, flipping on the lights, and I caught a pale colour scheme and a vague impression of a beautiful house as I returned my attention to Edward and kissed my way down his neck as I started undoing the buttons of his shirt. Edward seemed to get the message that I was not interested in viewing the house as he sped up and opened the door to a large bedroom. It contained a large white bed, and glass doors leading outside to a beautiful beach. I made a quick mental note to explore the beach with Edward sometime later on during our honeymoon, but right now I was busy getting Edward out of his shirt and running my hands over his broad shoulders and muscled body. Edward deposited me gently on the bed and pulled back, zipping out of the room to return milliseconds later and deposit our cases on the floor. He looked at me hungrily. "Is there anything you want to do first love? We could go for a swim- the water here is very warm," he offered. I shook my head. "I want you,' I breathed, looking into his eyes and allowing him to see all of my pent up desire. His eyes showed a reciprocal desire, and his lips quickly met mine. Our desire exploded and soon our hands were roaming and our clothes were being ripped off in our passion. When we finally came together the feeling of completeness overwhelmed me as we lost ourselves to the pleasure. At the height of our pleasure I opened my mind and let Edward experience my feelings of ecstasy and completion as we consummated our union and our mating bond. I woke up, feeling absolutely blissful as I felt Edward's hands running lightly up and down my naked back. Sunlight was streaming into the room as I raised my head from Edward's wonderfully cool chest to look at his sparkling face. His eyes retained the deep joy and love that had been radiating out of him since our wedding. "Good morning," I whispered.

"Good morning my love, how are you feeling," slight concern was on his face, but it was mixed with a certain amount of smugness, no doubt caused by his prowess last night. I took stock of my body and was pleased to only find a slight ache, and when I mulled over how that ache came to be, feelings of desire started to run through my body again. "Wonderful," I purred, as I started to run my hands down his muscular chest. I could read the desire in his eyes, but he pulled back slightly. "Are you hungry? I should make you some breakfast." My hand continued its path lower. "Oh, I'm hungry Edward, but right now it's not for food." My hunger for him had been building up considerably in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and while last night had temporarily sated it, I was desperate to have him again. Being the considerate husband he is, Edward was most eager to oblige me, and immediately pulled me further up his chest so that we were pressed deliciously against each other. Later on during the day we finally made it out of bed, after multiple sessions in an attempt to assuage our mutual hunger for each other, and Edward fed me before we went for a walk along the beach. "Do you think we've made our beautiful twins yet?" Edward asked; a look of hopefulness and excitement was upon his face at the thought of our gorgeous girls. I smiled, my feet sunk into the sand as I wandered ankle deep in the warm water, "I suspect we probably have, especially after last night." My eyes glazed over at the thought of our wonderful wedding night. "And I suppose we could call Alice if we really wanted to know," I continued, "But," I stopped and looked mischievously at him, "As long as we don't know for sure we should make every effort to conceive wouldn't you agree?" His gazed turned predatory as he stared at me. "Absolutely," his husky voice agreed with me and he scooped me up and ran us into the warm waters of the ocean.

Pregnancy During our wonderful honeymoon we did end up using the tight black bodysuit and thigh high boots Emmett had given us when we went to New York. We also went through the majority of my lingerie, as Edward seemed to delight in ripping it off me- although I found no reason to complain about it. Every night I slept peacefully, dreaming of our twin girls. We stayed on Isle Esme until I began to get morning sickness, about eighteen days after our arrival. A quick call to Alice confirmed what we had already hoped and suspected- I had conceived on our wedding night. As soon as I started throwing up Edward booked our flights and dragged me back to Forks to ensure that I would remain as healthy as possible during my pregnancy. Alice had assured us that her visions of our children had been solidified and that she could see my pregnancy and the birth of our daughters. That had made us incredibly happy and we had of course celebrated in a particularly

intimate way. Nevertheless, Edward and I knew that carrying twin half-vampires would be hard, and that I would soon need the nutrition of the blood bank that the Cullens had built up for the children and me. Edward constantly vacillated between excitement and worry. Despite Alice's visions, we all knew that there were many things that could go wrong. Edward had kept himself occupied during the time I slept on the island by reading pregnancy and parenting books. Every morning I woke to find him with a new book in his hands. He summarised the most important bits and we read some of them together in between our lovemaking sessions and our exploration of the island. He cooked for me throughout the honeymoon, constantly plying me with large serves of delicious foods that I just couldn't say no to. He claimed that I needed to put on weight to help me through what was sure to be a hard pregnancy, and I couldn't argue with his reasoning- especially when the food was so good. When we arrived back at the airport the whole family was waiting for us; anticipation and excitement tangible in the air around them. Alice was bouncing up and down with excitement and Rosalie was tapping her foot impatiently while continually searching for us in the crowd. When she saw us her face lit up, and several of the men near her stoped to stare at the stunning picture she presented. All of their eyes immediately dropped to my stomach as we neared them and you could see them looking at the very subtle bump I now sported. Edward and I had discovered it a few days ago, and I had joked that with the way he had been feeding me I was probably just putting on weight, but after Alice's call we had stood together in front of a mirror for a while, gazing in awe at the subtle bump where our two miracles lay. Emmett was the first to congratulate us; he slapped Edward on the back, "Well done man, you knocked up your wife!" He gave Edward a fist bump, and I rolled my eyes at the smug and cocky look on Edward's face- hmph males. The rest of the family congratulated us in a less rowdy manner, all of them beaming with happiness. We were soon speeding back to Forks, accompanied by Carlisle and Esme. Carlisle began plying me with questions about how I was feeling. "Well, I feel nauseated a lot, and I've had a lot of trouble keeping down my last couple of meals, but other than that I feel fine so far," I answered honestly. "Good, as soon as we get home we'll get you some blood and hope that helps give you and the babies some nutrients," Carlisle started planning. I nodded in agreement and placed my hands back over Edward's on my tiny bump. Every now and then we would feel the tiniest of flutters from our babies, who were developing fast. We got home and filled everyone in on some parts of our honeymoon, describing the beautiful island. We also called Volterra to give them the good news that I was pregnant, and Alice informed them of the date for their birth, which she had already seen in her visions. They were delighted with the news, especially Aro and Didyme. They also complemented us on our wonderful wedding, which they had all made sure they did not miss. "It was so beautiful Bella," Didyme said, and her voice was higher than

usual. "The dress was absolutely perfect for you," Heidi complimented us, "And I loved the cake." I spent a few hours talking to them and catching up. When I finally said goodbye Carlisle came downstairs with a cup. I sniffed and realised that I recognised the rusty, salty smell of blood coming from it. This time though, instead of fainting like I normally did, I felt a yearning for the bright red liquid. I reached out for it, and Carlisle slowly handed it to me, I looked around to find the entire family watching me intently. I took another sniff of the now delicious smelling liquid and then sipped. As the blood hit my throat I moaned in ecstasy. This was better than chocolate! I gulped the rest down as fast as possible before holding the cup back out to Carlisle with soft begging eyes. "More?" I asked hopefully. He took it from me and chuckled, eyes slightly wide in fascination. Emmett laughed, "See Bella- I knew you'd love grizzly bears!" I blushed as I realised they were all watching me with a sort of morbid fascination. Carlisle went back upstairs and returned moments later with the cup refilled. I downed that too, and I finally felt like I had had enough blood. I suddenly realised that I was now craving eggs. "I'm hungry now," I mentioned. Edward immediately darted up from his place beside me on the sofa, "What would you like love?" "Eggs please," I grinned at him. He whipped them up quickly and I dug in eagerly, demolishing the entire plate quickly. This time there was no nausea. I admitted this to them and Carlisle smiled. "It seems you need both while you are pregnant to keep the babies happy." Edward looked pleased that I had not needed to run for the bathroom and regurgitate his cooking this time, and there was a tiny amount of relief in his eyes. As the sun got ready to set Alice started bouncing. Edward frowned at her. "Alice, what are you hiding?" She smiled innocently at him and refused to answer. Esme rose from the couch and smiled at us, eyes shining with anticipation. "We have a surprise for you two," she announced. She led us outside. "It's a little way away, so you're going to have to carry Bella, Edward." That was all she would say before I found myself safely ensconced in Edward's arms as we darted through the forest on Esme's heels. Behind us the rest of the family were shadowing us. We stopped and Edward set me down carefully. I turned and was shocked to find a beautiful little stone cottage in front of us. There were little flower beds framing it, and I immediately fell in love. "Oh, it's beautiful," I breathed in awe. "It's our wedding gift to you two," Esme beamed at me. "We thought you two would like to have your own space for a while- at least until we move elsewhere."

I hugged her tightly. "Thank you Esme, this is wonderful!" I stepped back into Edward's arms and looked at my little cottage in awe. "We moved all of your stuff in while you were away, so you should be all set for tonight- we'll let you explore on your own," Carlisle thoughtfully led the others back to the house for the night. Once they were gone I eagerly grabbed Edward's hands and led him to the door. I stopped their and turned to him, "Do you want to open it?" His response was to sweep me into his arms as he opened the door and carried me over the threshold. Inside the house was beautiful, yet homey. I could definitely see myself living here with Edward and our children. It was perfect. "Wow," I breathed. Still holding me, Edward nodded in agreement. "I had no idea they were renovating this place for us," he admitted, "they must have been hiding it extremely well." The inside of the cottage had high timber ceilings, a rustic fireplace, and smooth stone floors. The furniture included an ottoman, recliners and a couch in the living room, with a bookcase next to the ottoman, already filled with my books. My paintings had been brought over from Charlie's house and were hanging on the walls, making it feel even more like my home already. The next room was a large nursery. It was already fitted with two matching cots, and an abundance of other necessities. It didn't take much to know that Alice had had a hand in designing this room, since it had a walk-in closet already full of clothes for baby girls. Edward and I chuckled at that, and looked wistfully at the empty cots as we both rubbed our hands over my bump. Our room was designed to look much like the one on the island. It had a low light timber bed, and glass doors led outside to a daybed on a porch area overlooking a small walled garden and pond. It was perfect. I sighed with happiness. Life could not get any better. I had a wonderful loving husband and family, a perfect home, and two children on the way. Of course, being held closely in Edward's arms soon had me feeling a little hungry in a different sense of the word. I turned and initiated a kiss that quickly became hot and wet. Edward did not take long to catch on, and appeared to be in complete agreement as he shredded the dress and lingerie I was wearing before leading me to the bed. His own clothes were not far behind, and soon we were breaking in our new bed enthusiastically. The next morning Edward surprised me soon after my breakfast of blood, steak, eggs and tomatoes. I was back at the Cullen mansion, relaxing with everyone in front of the TV when Edward suddenly disappeared and then reappeared carrying a set of large padded headphones connected to his iPod. I eyed him with confusion. "What's that?" "It's so that the babies can listen to music," he explained with an excited grin. "Research shows that babies can hear sounds fairly early in development, and that they like the sounds of music- it has proven beneficial effects. I thought they could listen to some of our compositions." Tears came to my

eyes as Edward carefully placed the headphones on my developing bump and turned on his iPod. The first song our baby girls ever heard was my lullaby. I felt them move as it played, and I placed Edward's hand on my bump so that he could feel them too. Their flutters seemed to increase with the music. I locked eyes with Edward as tears started streaming down my face. His own eyes were full of awe, joy and love. From that moment on every time I sat down Edward was picking out songs with me for our babies to hear. After all, we wanted them to have good taste in music when they got older. We also talked to our babies constantly, wanting them to get used to our voices. Of course, once the rest of the family figured out that we were getting the babies used to our voices, they all crowded around to talk to the babies too. In the evenings though, Edward would carry me back to our cottage, and I would lie out on the day bed watching the reflection of the moon on the garden pond if the night wasn't too cloudy and read my favourite stories to our baby girls with Edward cuddled up to me under an electric blanket rubbing soothing circles on my steadily growing bump. I still had terrible nausea in the mornings that no amount of blood could soothe, however I soon found that my new craving for chocolate covered ginger helped a lot with keeping my morning sickness from being overwhelming. This meant that Emmett and Jasper were sent to scour every shopping centre in a two hundred mile radius for chocolate covered ginger for me, while a larger bulk order was sent for to be delivered in a week. I was almost continuously eating the ginger as if it was a drink, and it seemed to be one of my strongest cravings. Edward soon learned that it was best to not get between me and my ginger, as my mood quickly became unpredictable, and I used my ginger to console myself. At times I would snap at Edward, especially if he was hovering- which he did a lot of. Unfortunately, with my mood swings, I also couldn't stand for him to be away from me for longer than about ten minutes before I would break down in tears and worry that he was not going to return to the babies and me. Luckily, Edward had no intentions of leaving me, even when he was due to hunt and I reluctantly agreed to part with him for the day and remain under the strict care of Carlisle and Rosalie, both of whom had medical degrees. Edward refused, and in the end Jasper and Emmett caught a pair of elk for him and brought them back. Edward met them about a mile into the tree line near the house to drink the elk, and I had a shield around him the entire time so that I could feel that he was still near. As far as my own blood drinking experience went, it appeared that the babies and I shared their father's tastes, as mountain lion quickly became my favourite, although to be fair, grizzly bear blood was a close second. One surprising development that happened the week after we came back from our honeymoon was the discovery that I craved Edward's venom. Edward had always been careful about the way he kissed me, but as out sex life got steadily more heated with my raging sex hormones he allowed me to take increasing liberties with him. I would often wake during the night to assault my all-too-willing husband, and it was lucky that he did not get tired. I had already had a healthy libido before the honeymoon, but partnered with my pregnancy hormones it had skyrocketed- it didn't hurt that

Edward was so good looking either. As a result we soon discovered that I seemed to crave his venom even more than I craved blood. Every day I sucked as much venom out of his mouth as he could produce- which proved to be a particularly pleasurable task that often led to us ripping each other's clothes off and passionately loving one another. Carlisle theorised that perhaps when I ingested the venom it made me stronger and helped our halfvampires grow, for I always felt better after having Edward's venom, and our babies were always more active afterwards. Every day I steadily grew noticeably larger, and Rosalie and Alice insisted that my bump be photographed and measured every day. I was now sleeping for around twelve hours a day, and every time I woke I found Edward softly singing or talking to our baby girls. They steadily became more active too- rolling around in my stomach as if it was a wrestling cage. I called Charlie and Renee a few times and guiltily assured them that Edward and I were doing well and settling into our new house near Dartmouth. We sent them a few pictures of us on the island taken during the rare times that we were actually clothed. I had already registered to do my Dartmouth course online, since I didn't want to waste any time away from our children as they grew up- it would be simple enough to do the work while our children were sleeping at night, and with Edward's help it wouldn't take very long. We were hoping that perhaps in a few years, when I would hopefully be able to be around humans, that I might even be able to invite Renee and Charlie to my graduation ceremony at Dartmouth and they would see me receive my degree. By that time, with a little bronzing makeup they would hopefully attribute the rest of my changes as me simply getting older. I was a little worried about the change- I was not a big fan of pain, and the idea of voluntarily throwing myself into flames and staying their while a fire burned my body was not a particularly appealing thought, but I wanted to be with Edward and our children forever, and I knew that I could handle anything for them- I would happily burn for an entire year if that's what it would take, but luckily it would only be two days. I was also a little jealous that for the two days that I would be changing my baby girls would grow significantly and I wouldn't be there to see it. I made the whole family promise to take videos and photos of them constantly during that time. I wasn't worried about harming them after I became a vampire- firstly, they were my children, and I already loved them and knew I could never harm them, and secondly, my Volturi vampires had assured me that the few hybrids they had met had not smelt like food. As I neared the end of my pregnancy, Edward watched me like a hawk, and I couldn't hide the fact that now I was so large I was distinctly uncomfortable. My size meant that my back and feet were aching, and my bladder was constantly pounded by the movements of the twin- who were particularly strong kickers. One day as I was lying out on the daybed with Edward I felt a particularly hard kick. I winched and rubbed at the spot on my stomach where pain was emanating from. Edward watched me with worried eyes before talking softly to the babies, his velvet voice soothing them. They stopped kicking and I breathed a sigh of relief. Every day they kicked harder, and I had a

few light bruises on my stomach from their efforts now. The only good thing about it was that it meant that they would soon be ready to come out. Only a couple of months after conception Edward and I found ourselves over at the Cullens after an excited call from Alice. Alice wouldn't tell us what was up, but everyone knew that something important was about to happen by the way Alice was bouncing on the spot, her eyes glowing with excitement. She made us stop for a second and took a photo. Then she ushered me in through the door and sat me down on the couch, dragging Edward to sit beside me. "Sit down," she ordered everyone else. When they had complied she sat on my other side and glanced at the clock. She nodded and looked satisfied. "Now, Bella, please shielded everyone's thoughts from Edward. Everyone else; be very quiet." I did as I was told, shrouding everyone except Edward in mind shields. I then stayed very still, casting confused glances over at Alice every now and then. All of a sudden Edward gasped and we all turned to look at him. His eyes were glowing, a look of wonder on his face, and a smile that rivalled the one he had worn on our wedding day. He was looking intently at my bump, and he slowly raised a hand and caressed it softly. "Hello my sweet girls, I can hear you now," he crooned to them. I gasped, and when Edward's eyes rose to meet mine I gifted him with a beaming smile to match his own. He could hear our children. "What are they thinking?" I asked. The rest of the Cullens sat in rapt attention to us. "They love us all, especially you and me. They seem aware that you are their mother and I am their father, they know our different voices. They adore us and they are so happy." His face was that of a doting father as he continued to caress my stomach over our beautiful little girls. "Of course you are," I crooned to my babies, "How could you not be happy when you have the most wonderful father and family in the world." After our wedding and honeymoon I had wondered whether I could ever feel happier than at those moments, but this surpassed even that. "Wow," Jasper breathed. "I didn't notice before, but now that everyone is still and calm I can feel their emotions. Coming from you Bella is your normal amount of love and happiness, but also two more measures of love, happiness, adoration and curiosity." He was smiling, basking in the happy emotions he was feeling from us. I was awed. My talented babies could already think and feel. "They recognise your voice too Jasper- they love you and from their thoughts they are quite anxious to meet us all," Edward murmured. Alice nodded in agreement. "Two days," she promised. I was suddenly surprised by how quickly my pregnancy had passed and was a little nostalgic. Sure, I had known that it was going to be a very short pregnancy due to the accelerated growth of the babies, and I never wanted to repeat morning sickness ever again, but I was suddenly worried. My babies would no longer be safe and protected inside me- they would be out in the world, where there were many supernatural creatures that might try to hurt them. Then I relaxed. I knew that neither my Cullen family, nor my Volturi family would allow anything to happen to our baby girls.

"Two days." I repeated and nodded. In two days I would see our baby girls for the first time. Suddenly all my worry vanished in the excitement. I couldn't wait to see them- although I knew it would only be a glimpse before I would need to be changed, but that would be enough to get me though the burning torment I would then face. The rest of the family took turns murmuring sweet nothings to our babies, and after a while Edward chuckled softly. "They're hungry," he announced. Carlisle immediately disappeared upstairs and reappeared with a cup full of blood. I drank it down quickly and after a moment Edward nodded approvingly. "They're a little happier now, but I think they're after some other food." "Well since I'm craving a turkey roll and lots of ginger, perhaps that's what they're after," I smirked. Esme zipped out of the room, and was back as soon as vampirely possible with my food. I wolfed it down, with all of them watching on, and we then continued to take to the newest members of our family. Later on I felt our children settle. "It seems that that was exactly what they wanted love, they're very happily fed now," Edward murmured. "They are taking a nap." At the world nap I yawned, and Edward felt the change in me as I registered me sleepiness. As quietly as possible we bid our family goodbye and Edward carried me back to our cottage. I fell asleep in his arms only seconds into our journey and woke some time later to find myself tucked up in bed with Edward humming to our girls. A feeling of contentment washed over me as I watched him. Later that night I finished my human memories photo album that the Volturi had given me. The last photos were a multitude from our wedding- some formally posed, others were fun, like the photo of me smashing cake into Edward's face. My favourite was one of us dancing together. Our bodies were close, and both of us were ignorant to everyone else as we stared intensely into each other's eyes. After the wedding photos were some of our honeymoon, and the very last picture was the one taken by Alice this morning. Edward was standing behind me, hands clasped with mine as they rested on my large bump, and both of us were smiling joyfully at the camera. The next two days passed far quicker than I had anticipated, and all too soon we were ready for my delivery. Jasper and Emmett had left, not sure that they would be able to able to handle the scent of my fresh blood. Also, none of us wanted Jasper to have to feel the immense pain that I would be in when my change started, so it was Emmett's job to keep him away. I lay down nervously on the padded table that our babies would be delivered on. Edward held my hand, his eyes showing his anxiety. I smile weakly at him. "Cheer up Edward- soon we'll be seeing our babies, and in two days I will be a vampire, and nothing will ever be able to separate us- not even death." He smiled half-heartedly in response, and I knew that as while I was changing he would be torturing himself over every wince and scream that I let loose while I burned. "Take good care of our girls while I'm changing." I ordered. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "You know I will, and all three of us will be waiting for you while you change."

Carlisle came in then with Rosalie. They both had a serious demeanour. "Are you ready?" he asked us. I hesitated a second before nodding. "We don't know whether the morphine or even the local anaesthetic for delivery will help you or not, but we'll try anyway." I nodded weakly. I doubted it would help, but it was definitely worth a shot. "Okay, I'm ready," I clasped Edward's hand tightly for a second before reluctantly releasing it. Carlisle nodded, and they uncovered my large rounded stomach. They put up a small barrier so that I couldn't see them working because there was no way I wanted to see them reach into my stomach and pull out our children. I felt the slight pinch as needles were injected into me, and then a numb feeling came over my lower body. "How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked. "I can't feel my lower body at all," I muttered. "Good," I took it to mean that this was supposed to happen. I couldn't feel when Carlisle made the incision, but I knew when he called Edward away from my head what was supposed to happen next. I felt a slightly tingling start as Edward sunk his teeth into the hard protective membrane that held our children. From Aro we had learned that the protective membrane was as strong as a vampire's own skin, and could only be torn through by the sharp teeth of the child, or another vampire. All I could feel was a burning tingle somewhere below me, but as I was still numb I couldn't locate it, and so far it was not bad enough to distract me from the fact that my babies were coming out. I listened anxiously, and finally I heard it- loud twin cries. I gasped as the last tears I would ever shed ran down my face. Carlisle quickly stitched my stomach, covered it and pulled down the screen while Edward and Rosalie cleaned up our girls. "How are you feeling now Bella?" Carlisle asked. "So happy," I ignored the slight burning I was now feeling as Edward and Rosalie brought our seconds-old babies to me. Just like the pictures Alice had drawn, our babies were absolutely beautiful. They already had little crowns of light chocolate hair, and as they opened their eyes I saw their stunning hazel irises; the perfect blend of milk chocolate and emerald green. I smiled exultantly up at Edward. "We did it Edward- look at our little miracles!" He was glowing as he gazed adoringly at them. "I know love- they're perfect." He placed them both in my arms, and I looked adoringly down at my daughters. They were incredibly warm to hold. "Welcome to the world Charlize Rosemary Cullen, and Jemma Renesme Cullen," they both gazed up at me, and I could already read the love in their eyes. I sighed as I reluctantly handed

them both over to Rosalie and Carlisle. Already I could feel the tingling burn in my stomach start to accelerate. It was time for me to change. "Goodbye my darlings- I'll see you again soon," I whispered as they were taken to meet the rest of the family and be fed from the blood stores we had collected. I watched until they were out of the room before looking at Edward. "I love you," I reminded him. He smiled softly, "And I you." I closed my eyes as he injected more morphine all over my body, and I could feel myself becoming extremely drowsy. I opened my eyes for him to give me a soft and loving kiss before he plunged a syringe of venom into my heart. Almost immediately the burning tingle in my stomach was superseded by a raging inferno in my chest. I clamped my mouth shut before a scream could escape and locked my jaw. I tried not to moan in pain as Edward quickly bit my wrists, thigh, neck and legs, forcing more venom into my body. When he finished I closed my eyes before he could read the pain and agony in them. I was determined to not make a sound during my change- I would not have Edward suffer with me. The fire roared viciously and ruthlessly through my body, and I was certain that my happiness these past few months was being repaid now with this intense agony I was going through. It was hard to keep my mind focussed away from the immense pain, but I managed by thinking of Edward, Charlize and Jemma- the three most important people in my world. Vaguely I felt him pick me up, and I knew he was moving me to his room- we had planned this. He placed me down lightly only moments later, and I could feel him changing me into some comfortable sweats and one of his shirts. Wonderfully he began to talk- giving me something stronger to focus on. EPOV I lay beside her, stroking her hair softly. Despite the fact that she hadn't screamed, I knew from Jasper that she was in pain, but Jasper had although told me through his thoughts that she still seemed slightly aware. "I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I remember hearing the minds of Rosalie and Emmett as they changed, and sometimes they could understand us, so I want you to know that I can hear our family downstairs- Emmett and Jasper are back and have met our beautiful girls, Jasper managed to come inside for a little while- he says your pain is not near the threshold of the newborns he felt when he was in the southern wars- so I guess that makes me feel a little better." It really did help to know from Jasper that she was not suffering as much as I remember my change had. "Our babies appear to have definitely inherited my tastebuds love, because they already have a preference for mountain lion over deer." It was amazing to hear our daughters' thoughts as they tried blood for the first time, and hear the adoring thoughts of my siblings and parents as they gathered around to watch them. "Carlisle is trying to give them baby formula right now, but they seem to think it smells horrible," I chuckled, and downstairs I could hear more laughter as they heard me. I continued giving her a play-by play of Charlize and Jemma for the first few hours, until our girls

eventually fell asleep in the arms of their doting aunt Rosalie and grandmother Esme. I concentrated on Bella then. Already her skin was hardening, and I could see her changing. Alice soon skipped through the door, a bright smile on her face. I raised an eyebrow questioningly, but she ignored me and came over to hold Bella's hand. "Good news Bella. I don't know how or why, but by this time tomorrow you'll have completed your change- less than 20 hours to go now." My head shot up in surprise and hope. "Really?" Downstairs I could hear the incredulous thoughts of my family. Alice grinned. "Yes," she showed me her vision of Bella waking as a vampire tomorrow. I sighed in relief. That meant even less time that Bella would have to suffer through the burning pain. Carlisle zipped into the room- eyes bright with the knowledge of a new discovery. "Perhaps with all the extra venom you injected, and the fact that she has already been ingesting your venom for the last few months has increased the speed of her change," he theorised. "That makes sense," Alice agreed. "I didn't see this coming because the last time I looked for Bella's change was just after you got back from Isle Esme- before she started drinking your venom, and now when I look her change takes less than a day." "I don't really care how or why it happened, I'm just grateful that her change will be fast," I admitted. As they went back downstairs to watch our soundly sleeping babies, I turned on my stereo and selected Bella's lullaby. I hoped it would soothe her, but at the very least it soothed me. "Darling, I suppose you should be happy to know that our babies are both dreaming of you and I, and the rest of our family, but we are already showing up more than the others in their dreams. They are very comfortable and happy, and already they are sleeping soundly. I suppose since I can hear both of their thoughts clearly, that means that neither of them have inherited your mind shield, and since I can't hear the thoughts of anyone else through them they haven't inherited my telepathy either. I'm happy about that- it's not an easy thing to have to listen to everyone's thoughts all the time, but you make it far more bearable for me love. I'm not sure how happy our daughters will be when they grow up and I can still hear their thoughts though Bella, I'm sure there will be some things they won't want their father to know, and if they ever find mates, I hope you'll shield their thoughts because there are some things I will never want to hear in my baby girls' minds." I chuckled dryly. I kept her updated and talked to her the whole time. When the twins woke up the next day after a solid eight hours of sleep, I gave her running commentary on their thoughts, as well as what the rest of the family was thinking, much to their amusement. I told her about how they had already grown to look weeks old instead of less than a day old, and how Carlisle was measuring them regularly, so that we would have an accurate record, since the only previous knowledge was from memories Aro had gained from South American vampires. As Alice had predicted, I could soon hear Bella's heart racing as her change neared completion.

"You're almost done now love," I assured her. Downstairs Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle offered to come up and help me in case she went wild, but Alice and I assured them that she would be fine. Bella's heart beat sped up and then stopped. I watched anxiously as Bella gasped, sucking in her first breath as a vampire. Slowly she opened her blood red eyes.

Daughters BPOV I opened my eyes to find the world completely different from the one I had left. I felt like I had only been watching the world in black and white before, and now there was colour. Everything was vibrant, and my previously impressive hearing could now hear every breath and heartbeat from what I quickly identified as my daughters downstairs. I looked into Edward's bright golden eyes, which showed a hint of anxiety. He squeezed my hand and I quickly registered that he no longer felt cold to me. Our temperatures now matched. "Bella love, how are you?" I took a breath and was surprised when it didn't feel the same. I could taste the slight hint of a delicious scent, and my throat tingled. I quickly stomped it out, realising that it was my own scent that was making me thirsty. Other than that though I felt wonderful; I could feel the raw strength running through my veins, and all the little aches that I had had with my pregnancy were gone. I felt like a phoenix- risen from the flames and all that jazz. I concentrated on Edward. Slowly, aware that as a vampire my speed and strength had severely altered, I slowly lifted a hand to his face. He leaned into it, his eyes softening. I knew exactly what I wanted my first words as a vampire to be. "I love you," I said in my new musical voice. If I listened closely I could still hear the undertone of my human voice in it. Edward's answering smile was blinding, and with my new sight I could finally appreciate just how incredibly handsome my husband was. "As I love you," he leaned down and my hand moved cautiously from his cheek to cup the back of his neck. I kissed him and soon my desire raged through my body. I threw myself into the kiss, completely forgetting about my new strength. With no need for air I was revelling in our kiss when Edward pulled away from me. I looked at him in confusion. "Gently love, you're stronger than I am at the moment." "Oops," I said sheepishly. He chuckled and offered me a hand and pulled me up from the bed. Moving as a vampire was ridiculously easy. I had to make a conscious effort to slow my movements, because as soon as I wanted to move I found that I already had. I looked deep into his joyful eyes. "Thank you for talking to me while I changed Edward- I heard every word, and it helped me concentrate on you and our daughters rather than the burning pain." His smile got brighter, and I could see a hint of relief in them. "I only wish I could have done more love- but I'm so glad it's over now and that nothing can ever take you from me." he hugged me tight

to his chest. I melted against him, running my hands lightly up his muscled back. It seemed that my libido hadn't changed one bit. He groaned, and then pulled away. I pouted and he chuckled. "I'm sorry love, but I'm sure you want to meet your daughters." My mind immediately refocused, although since it was larger now, I was still planning what I would do to Edward later, when I got him back to our cottage, at the back of my mind. I nodded enthusiastically, "How are they?" Edward's eyes glowed with fatherly pride. "They are absolutely perfect love. They've been spoiled rotten by the whole family all day yesterday, and they are waiting anxiously to come up and see you again. They are already very alert and recognise everyone." I beamed. "Can I see them now?" I bit my lip, suddenly worried that I might not be able to hold them with my new super strength. He nodded. "Stay here and I'll be right back love," I sat down on the bed and waited, comforted that Edward wasn't worried about me with the babies. He returned quickly cradling a beautiful baby in each arm. Instead of being day-old size they looked weeks old. I gasped at their beauty. They looked liked delicate cherubs, beauty seeming to emanate from them. At my gasp they focussed their stunning hazel orbs on me. Recognition dawned in their eyes and they smiled, each reaching out a hand for me as Edward sat down beside me on the bed. I hesitantly reached out a hand to each, allowing them to grasp my hands. I hefted my mental shield around all of us so that Edward could feel the love and awe I felt at us having created two such amazing little angels. "I know love," he whispered in awed agreement as we gazed adoringly at Charlize and Jemma. Although identical to the human eye, there were tiny differences that a vampire could easily pick up about them. "Hello my little girls," I whispered softly. Charlize reached a small hand up an touched my cheek. All of a sudden I was pulled into images of me laying, exhausted on the bed in the other room, gazing down with amazement and love, with Edward beside me. I pulled away in shock. "What was that?" My eyes met Edward's shocked ones. "It seems that she has a gift- she just showed you her thoughts," he sounded shocked. "Wow," I hadn't even considered the fact that our babies would be talented before, although now that I thought about it, with Edward and I for parents it was hardly surprising. Charlize reached her hand back up again, and I accepted it without hesitation as she showed me her day yesterday, from when she had been taken from the delivery room, downstairs with Rose and Esme. She recalled her and Jemma being fed bottles of blood, which made my throat itch lightly, but I swamped that feeling and continued to concentrate on her memories. She gave me a complete run down of her and Gemma meeting the rest of the family, including impressions of each. She seemed to

think Jasper was quiet, but perfect for a cuddle, and that Emmett was delightfully amusing. Edward snorted at that. She remembered Carlisle trying to feed her and Jemma human baby formula, and I scrunched up my nose in sympathy as she recalled the taste, and laughed softly at the images of her and Jemma spitting it all over Carlisle. We were lucky he was so good natured. Soon she had finished running through everything I had missed while I was changing. "Thank you baby girl," I cooed, overjoyed that I had gotten to experience the day I had missed after all. She pulled her hand back and I reached out softly to stroke her cheek. All of a sudden a shiny silver ornament in the shape of a musical note came flying off the shelf and into Jemma's hand. My eyes opened wide and Edward laughed. "It seems our other daughter has the gift of telekinesis and wanted to show you that she's talented to." "Of course you are," I reassured my other daughter, "You are both so special." I gently took the ornament from her, proud of myself for having the control to not crush it. "The others are all downstairs listening," Edward muttered, "It seems Alice wanted their gifts to be a surprise. Carlisle is fascinated." I laughed lightly then reached cautiously towards my baby girls. "So you think I could hold them?" I was unsure of whether this was a good idea, but I desperately wanted to hold my babies. Edward nodded encouragingly, "They're skin appears to be as indestructible as ours," he reassured me. I relaxed a little and slowly reached out as Edward gently placed them in my arms. I beamed down at them. Sitting there with my baby girls and Edward, I felt complete. I looked up so see Edward watching us with absolute adoration, love, pride and joy etched into his features and glowing in eyes. "My three beautiful girls," he whispered reverently. Seeing that, and hearing his words, my heart leapt with love for my amazing husband, the other half of my whole, and the other side of my coin. I had waltzed in and turned his life upside down, and he had valiantly braved every step of our shared journey wherever I wanted to go with a devotion that still left me speechless. Thank you, I thought, looking deep in his eyes. "No love, thank you. Before I met you I lived a lonely lifeless existence. You brought me to life showed me how to be truly happy, gave me your love and our two miracles. All of this is far more than I would ever have dreamed of, and I now have everything I've ever wanted as well as the things I never knew to ask for." There was nothing I could say that would adequately express my feelings at that moment so I simply tilted my head back. Edward leaned towards me and out lips met in a soft, loving kiss. We spent some more time with our beautiful babies before it was time for their next feeding. I reluctantly handed them back to Edward to take downstairs, knowing that I wouldn't be allowed at their feedings until I had hunted myself. There was a large chance that if I smelt the blood I would go for it and that one of the babies might be hurt in the process. "They'll be fine Bella, go and hunt," I heard Alice call up the stairs as Edward's footsteps came back up the stairs.

"Okay," I muttered as Edward reappeared. "Before we go though I want to see what I look like now," I mentally prepared myself for the inevitable red eyes as I dragged Edward into the bathroom. I gasped as I took in my image. The red eyes stared back at me. The rest of me was fairly unchanged. I was paler, and my features had all been enhanced, but underneath I could still see me. I sighed with relief. I still looked like me- only far more beautiful. I couldn't wait until the red eyes disappeared. "What do you think?" Edward asked. "I'm beautiful," I murmured. Edward rolled his eyes, "Bella, you've always been far more than beautiful." I grinned up at him, "You're my husband, you have to say that," I teased. "Come on, I'm hungry," I announced, turning away from the mirror. He took my hand, eyes dancing with excitement. "Are you ready for your first hunt love?" I nodded. I had seen Felix and Demetri take down animals before, so I had a rough idea of what to do. "Let's go," I smiled. He grinned and led me to the glass doors in the window that lead the forest. Holding my hand, we jumped. I stopped myself from instinctively casting a shield to catch myself, and allowed myself to land on my feet, my new vampire body easily absorbing the impact. Edward watched with amusement as I discovered my new body. He tugged on my hand, and I followed as we raced away into the forest. I had always loved speed, but this was the most enjoyment I had ever gotten from it. Running beside Edward, sharing our mutual love of running as we sped quietly through the forest, watching the clear crisp forest as we passed at blinding speeds was amazing. Far too soon for my liking Edward drew us to a stop. Releasing my hand he brought his hands up to cup my face. "Okay love, what do you smell?" I sniffed the air cautiously, and smelt a musky scent slightly north of us. It smelt familiar. "Deer?" I asked, sure I had drunk something similar during my pregnancy. Edward nodded encouragingly. "How many?" I cast my shield out and felt them. "Six." "Good, now let your instincts take over." I obediently took a deep breath. My throat burst into flames and I raced towards my prey. The wind changed suddenly and I smelt a far more delicious scent. I stopped. My instincts roared at me to race for the tantalising scent I would smell, but I didn't recognise it. I pushed back my thirst as Edward came up beside me. I was half hoping that the scent was a particularly tasty lion or bear that I would be allowed to have, but one look at Edward's panicked face and I had my answer. Human. "Bella, no! They're humans!" Edward's voice was fearful. I raised an eyebrow and his eyes widened in

shock. "You stopped," his voice was incredulous, which I admit, felt a little insulting. He looked like he wanted to interrogate me with questions, but instead he grabbed my hand. "Come on, we can't hunt here with humans so close." I followed as we raced away from the delicious scent. When we were far away Edward stopped and turned to me. "Bella, you always amaze me. I can't believe you stopped! I'm so sorry I didn't check to make sure there weren't any humans in the area before I let you loose- it would have been my fault if you had gone after them." Once I realised what he was talking about I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I had been told stories of newborn blood lust for over a decade, and I knew that theoretically, I shouldn't have been able to stop. "I don't know how or why Bella, but that was amazing." I shrugged, "I don't know either, I just knew that I hadn't drank blood that smelled like that before, and I was afraid it might be a human so I stopped and waited for you to tell me what it was," I explained. He looked awestruck. "Well, we can talk more about that later love, let's get you fed." I nodded and refocused. I smelt something east of us that smelt rather good- better than deer, although nowhere near as appealing as the humans had smelt. This time I cast out a shield, enveloping the forest momentarily. "Huh," I mused at my new discovery. "My shield range had doubled," I muttered, vaguely impressed. I shrugged that aside for the moment, focussing on my prey now that I was sure that there were no humans in the area. I knew from my shield that it was a mountain lion I was after and it was in a tree. I raced towards it, spotting the tawny fur. It managed to take one swipe as I leapt on it, my teeth easily finding the throbbing jugular and biting easily through the fur and muscle to drink down the warm delicious blood. I moaned as I sucked the animal dry. When I was finished I dropped the carcass and looked up to see Edward a few paces behind, eyes mesmerised, and staring directly at my chest. I looked down, and realised that the one swipe the lion had given me had torn the bodice of my dress to shreds, giving Edward a fairly unobstructed view. When he saw me watching he refocused on my face. "Still hungry?" I nodded. "There's a herd of elk nearby- four of them. "Let's go," I took off, using my new senses to pick up the beating heartbeat and musky scent of out prey. I took down two of the smaller ones, draining them quickly. When I looked up I was in time to see Edward take down the last elk- a large buck. He looked so raw and powerful, muscles rippling under his still clean shirt. It was strangely sensual to watch this wild side of him that he no longer needed to temper in my presence. He finished quickly and turned to find me. His eyes turned dark and he stalked towards me as he took in my lustful gaze. In no time our lips were fused, our bodies hot and desperate against each other. I revelled in my heightened senses as we connected for the first time as vampires. Afterwards I glared playfully at him while running my hands up and down his chest as we lay on the forest floor. "You were holding out on me."

He grinned, "Only a little, and only because you were still breakable," he protested, "Rest assured love that I will never hold back again." "Good." We picked up the torn shreds that had once been clothes and headed back, my gaze trained mostly on Edward's naked form as we raced through the forest. A quick change at our cottage and we were soon back at the main house and doting over our beautiful daughters. Time sped by as our daughters grew fast. Far too soon for our liking they were already talking- not forming babble like normal children, but properly enounced sentences. Likewise before they were a fortnight old they were walking- with perfect balance. They never ceased to astound us with their amazing developments. Throughout it all Carlisle took down all observations, Rosalie and Alice photographed every major event, and the rest of us doted on them. Their uncle Emmett was a favourite- his fun loving nature making him a natural with them. Both Jemma and Charlize could easily manipulate their gifts, and it quickly became apparent that when they were touching they could share each other's gifts- a side effect of being twins Carlisle and Aro thought. Before long it was time for them to learn to hunt for themselves. The blood stores were running low since Charlize and Jemma needed a lot of blood to support their rapid growth, and Carlisle announced one day that it was time they learnt to hunt for their own food. Naturally I was hesitant, desperately trying to rid my brain of images of them up against a grizzly or a mountain lion. Emmett was ecstatic, "Don't worry girls, Uncle Emmett will show you how it's done!" I glared at him, but he ignored me, smiling at the enthusiastic looks on the girls' faces. Edward's arms wrapped comfortingly around me, "Don't worry love, their skin is as impenetrable as ours, and we'll start them off small," I relaxed into his arms and huffed, nodding reluctantly. "No grizzly bears until they are older Em," he warned his brother. Edward and I followed along behind Emmett and the girls as they ran through the forest- even though they only looked to be about six they had already taken after their father as far as speed went- they could already keep up with Emmett. We hung back a bit and I sighed with relief as I realised that Emmett was leading them towards a herd of small deer- far safer than a grizzly in my point of view. As with everything they did they took to hunting like ducks to water- making their first kills neatly and efficiently like their father, with only a few spots of blood spilled. I was still trying to keep my clothes from being soaked in blood when I hunted. The whole family helped to raise them. Esme, Rose and Alice pampered them and loved dressing them up, Carlisle doted on them and loved telling them stories. Jasper taught them to read and play chess, and Emmett showed them how to have fun.

Jemma and Charlize developed into sweet, good natured and fun-loving girls. Jemma had the more mischievous, sportive streak and would often enlist the help of her more musically and fashion orientated sister in playing pranks on their favourite target- Emmett. It seemed that they had inherited traits form both Edward and I. We couldn't be prouder of them, and Edward loved listening to their happy thoughts and devious plans for Emmett. Edward was delighted that Charlize was so interested in music, and while he taught her to play I often helped Jemma refine some of her pranks. One particularly entertaining one was when I found Jemma sitting comfortably on the couch watching as Emmett attempted to catch the game controller that was moving erratically around the room thanks to Jemma's telekinesis. I couldn't help but laugh and the rest of the family immediately came to see what all the fuss was about. "That's it Emmy! Bounce like Tigger!" Jemma called to him and the rest of the family joined in my laughter. She truly did take after me when it came to mischief. Jemma and Charlize also loved playing playstation, Wii and Xbox games against Emmett. Both had their own preferred method for beating him. Charlize would subtly reach over in the middle of a game and touch Emmett- showing him an image of him losing. This would then get him so distracted that Charlize would be bound to win. Jemma had a different approach. She would sit back and use telekinesis to handle her controller, floating it in front of them. As soon as she said the words "look Emmett! No hands," he would turn to look at the controller, for some reason no matter how many times she used that trick he couldn't stop himself from looking at her controller floating and moving without hands on it. This distraction would inevitably cost Emmett the game. I couldn't have been prouder of my girls. The Volturi loved hearing about them and seeing regular pictures and we made plans to visit them soon- we were only waiting to see whether the control I had shown on my first hunt meant that I could be around humans, and how the girls would react to humans. Carlisle provided a solution though. He brought home human donor blood from the hospital one day and tested us. I took a deep, but hesitant breath. My throat burned with thirst, but it was controllable. I found that as I kept breathing the familiarity helped. "Not so bad after all," I muttered. The girls fared even better. They sniffed it and shrugged, "Mountain lion tastes better," Jemma muttered. I turned to glare accusingly at Emmett. He put up his hands defensively. "She was fine Bella, and she didn't want a deer when the mountain lion smelt better," I growled at him. He backed away slowly. "It's the principle of the thing Emmett- you should have told me," I demanded. "I know, and I'm sorry- I promise I'll tell you next time," I sighed and looked back at Jemma. He was right- she was fine. I nodded to Emmett and relaxed, clamping down on my heightened newborn emotions. Since the blood test had gone so well we made plans to visit the Volturi in a month. They were all

excited- Heidi, Didyme, Sulpicia, Jane and Renata all rushing out to redecorate my tower and buy beds for our daughters. I was looking forward to seeing them again too. All was going so well and our family couldn't have been happier, so I should have been on the lookout for something to go wrong, but I had grown complacent. Soon after we began to plan our trip to Italy Emmett and the girls came back from their hunt with confused looks. "Tanya and Irena were coming to see us, but when they saw us they turned around and ran off," he explained. Alice nodded. "I saw them decide to come and apologize- they wanted to make amends with our family, especially since we have close ties to the Volturi, but they hadn't decided when they were coming so I didn't mention it," she murmured. Then her face went blank. Beside me Edward froze. They snapped out quickly and their faces showed horror. "The Romanians," Alice whispered. "They've been building an army to go up against the Volturi, and now Tanya and Irena are going to give them an excuse to use it- they're coming for us." My eyes opened wide, "Why?" I demanded, "What excuse do they have?" Edward turned his eyes on me sadly. "They saw our girls and they think they are immortal children." I gasped. It had never even occurred to me that someone might think out beautiful creations were immoral children. "Well they're not going to win," I said determinedly. The others nodded in agreement.

War BPOV Our timeline for visiting the Volturi was moved up dramatically and in three days we were packed and in a private jet on our way to Volterra. Our girls were excited to be travelling, having heard all about their extended family. Likewise, the Volturi couldn't wait to see their newest princesses. If we hadn't had the threat of the Romanians hanging over our heads this would have been an uninhibited and enthusiastic flight. As it was we tried to stay positive and happy for the girls, while at the back of our mind analysing all the information Alice had managed to see about the Romanians. The girls and I had been fine through the airport- my throat had burned horribly, but I had managed to remain in control. Jasper helped by sending me waves of calm and I only had to look into Edward's eyes to relax and completely forget about everyone else. Human blood just couldn't compete with my husband. The girls had barely noticed the scent of human blood and hadn't been bothered in the least. The whole family was proud of us.

Rosalie flew the plane, with me switching on and off with Emmett as co-pilot when I wasn't spending time with my girls. They seemed to love being on the plane and were curious about everything. When their curiosity about the plane had finally waned Alice kept them occupied with European shopping destination plans- she didn't see why we couldn't mix a bit of pleasure with our business. I had some shopping plans as well- a surprise for Edward. When we finally reached Rome I brought the jet down for a smooth landing at the airport, having had plenty of experience landing in Rome before. I eagerly led the girls outside and to the waiting cars, happily anticipating seeing my extended family and introducing them the Charlize and Jemma. I knew the rest of my family was going to dote on them- nobody could resist my girls. The castle quickly arrived in view and my girls' eyes sparkled with eagerness. "Mommy, it's so pretty, is this where you are a princess?" Jemma's young voice asked. "It is darling, and you and Charlize are my daughters, which makes you both princesses as well." Their eyes widened with delight. I smiled at their expressions. "That's right baby girls; you're not just daddy's princesses- you're Volturi princesses too." They chattered away in delight as when drove into the castle. When we arrived it was amusing to watch them try to get to me first. Naturally the front runners were Felix and Demetri, but Felix managed to throw Demetri into the wall before speeding towards me. He didn't get very far before Jane froze him in his tracks and he collapsed on the ground in agony while she ran past him. Unfortunately for her Alec unleashed his gift on her, stopping her from moving as he overtook her and reached me first. He hugged me hard, no longer having to be careful since I was now a durable vampire rather than a fragile human. It felt wonderful to be back. I hugged him back as I watched the others over his shoulder. Felix was back on his feet and annoyed at Jane. 'Was that really necessary?" he demanded. She shrugged, "You were in my way." "Well you didn't have to give me such a high dose of pain!" "That was only a tiny love tap," she protested. Sulpicia rolled her eyes as she glided past them, "Children," she muttered scornfully before sweeping me out of Alec's arms and into her own. "Bella welcome back honey. Being a vampire suits you, but then, we always knew it would. Cullens, it is good to see you all again." Then she turned to look at my daughters, who were watching the squabbling vampires with interest. "And now, perhaps you could introduce us to our new princesses." The squabbling stopped then, and the rest piled around, delighted to be welcoming me back, and eager to meet my baby girls. Said girls watched on with eager and curious eyes as they were

introduced. As predicted, my Volturi family was immediately enthralled by our little princesses. For the rest of that day and all of the next the fierce Volturi dropped everything to spend time with Charlize and Jemma, who soaked up all the attention with delight. The first thing Aro, Marcus and Caius did was present both girls with a charm bracelet. There were already three charms on it- a Volturi crest, a Cullen crest, and an amethyst encrusted "J" for Jemma/sapphire encrusted "C" for Charlize. The very next day Edward added to their bracelets- a small diamond heart each. They were perfect miniatures of my own diamond heart that I wore around my neck. "Now all three of you have a piece of my heart," he murmured and my heart melted. Edward was the perfect father, and my girls and I adored him. As a mother I was determined that despite the upcoming threat my children would enjoy their childhood- especially as they only had seven years until they were fully grown. Didyme was delighted to find that both liked music, although Charlize had more interest than Jemma. While they had liked both Edward's piano and my harp, they soon found under Didyme's encouraging influence that they each had their own favourite instrument. Jemma liked the clarinet, and Charlize found the violin to be her favourite. They also loved playing videogames with Felix, Demetri and Emmett, with my guards making sure to show them every trick in the book to win- beating Emmett had become a hobby of theirs, and as their mother I couldn't be prouder. Whenever they had separated to do different things, upon returning they would hold hands and show each other what the other had missed. Us females took the twins shopping, since they knew I wanted to maintain a semblance of normality for my girls. Meanwhile the males would be making plans to overthrow the Romanians. Luckily my girls had far more stamina than I had when I was four. On those shopping trips I had often been carried home after falling asleep in one of the shops- it had been tiring to try and keep up with the limitless energy of shopping vampires when I was only a human child. But thankfully my girls stayed energised and excited all day- happy to be spending the family money. I let Suplicia, Heidi, Didyme, Esme and Renata take the girls into a toy store while I ducked into a lingerie store and bought my surprises for Edward. That night, after we had put our girls to bed, I modelled each set for him, delighted when he ripped each one off and ravished me thoroughly at the top of my tower. In the early hours of the morning I lay atop Edward as he soothingly stroked my back and I opened my mind to him and allowed him to soothe away all my fears for the coming weeks. The men kept us updated on any plans they made. They had already contacted the Romanians so that they would not mistakenly head for Forks. Tanya and Irena had told the Romanians about Alice so they were not surprised when the Volturi called. They agreed to a time and place far away from humans in the Dinaric Alps, Croatia- a midway point between Italy and Romania. We had three weeks to prepare and we had already called on all the outlying Volturi members. It did not take long for them all to start arriving. All the outlying Volturi members poured in from all over the world- Egypt, Ireland, Amazon, Africa, Russia, Asia... There were vampires from all over the world gathering at the castle. Charlize and Jemma loved all the attention they got, for nobody could resist their charms. They were shocked upon first meeting Charlize and Jemma- their minds

immediately thinking of immortal Children, but once they stopped and we explained, allowing them to hear their heartbeats and the blood running through their veins they all relaxed. Most had not heard of hybrids before, although there were a few who came from South America that had. Zafrina was one of the most interesting South American Volturi members. She had the gift of illusions, and was a little put out that her gift would not work on me unless I allowed it. I did allow it once, curious about the extent of her gift. She showed me a beautiful underwater reef that looked and felt incredibly real. She was quite motherly and quickly grew attached to the girls, as did everyone who showed up. Perhaps the most surprising arrivals were Kate, Eleazer and Carmen. They came to show us where their allegiance lay despite Tanya and Irena's betrayal, although Edward and Aro later mentioned that in reality they were siding with the group they thought was most likely to win. One of the nomadic Volturi members, Garret- a good friend of Santiago's, took one look at Kate and fell in love. She was a little harder to convince after having been a succubus for thousands of years, but one electric touch was all the confirmation she needed. I was happy for them, but it made me thankful that I hadn't had to wait millennia to find Edward, though if need be I would have. The week passed quickly, with us planning out our attack using Alice's visions. We were astounded by the sheer size of the army the Romanians had been building. They had secretly been making vampires for years, and many of them were likely to have talents. They also had many newborns, which were each paired with an older vampire to keep them in line. But we had our battle plans worked out. Although Alice couldn't see what gifts the Romanians had, nor how the fight would go- there were far too many decisions still to be made for that, we were fairly confident that we would win. The Volturi had a small weapon that looked like a crucifix. It turned vampires to ashes in seconds. When it touched a vampire and a button on the top was pressed it would shoot and extremely flammable gel created by Sulpicia onto the vampire along with a spark that would ignite it. In seconds the vampire was no more. The crucifix had been designed by Santiago, who just loved the irony of a cross shaped weapon that killed vampires. It had been the reason for the myths about vampires not going near crosses. A Volturi holding a cross was something to be avoided. These weapons were handed out to those that wanted one. Some of us preferred to use our gifts, or our own strength. One of the highlights of our week was when I equipped my two little girls with large bottles of diet Coke and some Mentos. They snuck up on Emmett, who was engrossed in a video game and couldn't hear their heartbeats over the speakers. Placing the Mentos in the Coke, they shook it up and aimed for Emmett. The Coke exploded out of the bottles and all over Emmett. He leaped into the air in fright, while we all laughed at him. I made sure to video the whole thing and later I put some photos of the event in the girls' scrapbooks. I was so proud that they were taking after me. A few days before the battle everyone had arrived. In total we had about 50 members, many of which had talents. The Egyptian vampire Ben could control elements. Maggie and Siobhan from Ireland could detect lies and will the right outcome of situations respectively. There were many others that also had unique gifts. There were also those that, while not gifted, were very talented fighters. Garrett, was one of those, as was Randall- another American nomad. Emmett had a great time wrestling with

them during the week. The most interesting additions to Edward and I were the hybrid Nahuel and his aunt Huilen. They had been recruited many years ago, and Aro had managed to get into contact with them, knowing that now would be a good time for us to meet him, in case there was anything else we wished to know about hybrids, and what we might expect as our girls grew. We spent a lot of time talking to both of them, and letting them meet Charlize and Jemma. Nahuel seemed fascinated with them, and I was a little worried about what might happen in the future, but Edward reassured me and corrected my assumption. "It wasn't the girls he was looking at love, it was you." I cocked an eyebrow at him in surprise. "You are alive, even after giving birth to hybrids. It has changed his whole perspective. He always blamed himself for his mother's death, but now he can see that it was not his fault, that his father had the choice to save her, but didn't care enough to do it. It has relieved him greatly to know that he was not born inherently evil because his mother died at his birth." After that I still felt awkward around Nahuel, but I pushed it aside, feeling sorry for him. The day before we were to leave for the fight Alice saw the final figures for the battle. All told the Romanians had over eighty vampires, half of which were strong newborns. She had been puzzling over something for the last week, and she had finally figured it out thanks to her visions. "There's a female vampire with them, small, with black hair. They call her Chelsea. She's the one helping control the newborns by binding them to an older vampire. She also has the whole army bound to Stefan and Vladmir." At this news Aro, Caius and Marcus hissed. "Chelsea is one of our members. We had wondered where she and Afton had gotten to when they did not answer their summons. Now we see why- the traitor. No doubt they plan to have her try and break our bonds and disintegrate all connections within our group," Aro explained. At this news everyone growled. Nobody liked a traitor. In an effort to lighten up the crowd of vampires, and my little girls, who had sensed the upcoming battle, I went shopping for some specific items. Edward and I had told our little girls that there was to be an upcoming battle, but that they were not to worry. They would be staying behind at the castle with Didyme, Sulpicia, Esme, Carlisle, Renata and Alec. We wouldn't be sure that the Romanians wouldn't send forces to take the castle while most of us were away. Both Tanya and Irena were well aware of how Alice's talents worked and how to get around it, and I would not leave my babies unprotected. Neither would I subject them to the horrors of war unnecessarily. Renata was staying behind because her shielding ability could be extended to anyone she touched, and she had promised to faithfully protect my children. Alec was staying because his ability could be used to incapacitate an entire army if the need arose, and, after me, he was the best choice for protecting my girls. Didyme, Sulpicia, Esme and Carlisle were far too peaceful to go to war if they were not needed. For while they would do anything to protect their family, they knew they weren't needed in the fight, and had therefore elected to stay and provide protection and distraction for our daughters. I came back from my shopping trip with all the garlic juice the city held, and a massive amount of supersoaker water guns. Enlisting the help of my wonderful husband, who wrinkled his nose in disgust, but bravely helped fill the bottles for the guns with the garlic juice, I soon had them all ready and placed in the main hall. Alice had seen what was going on and came to help, bouncing excitedly and towing my enthusiastic daughters. They grinned with delight when I told them my plan and ran

off to lure all the vampires into the main hall. My uncles, aunts, Esme and Carlisle had been told and they stayed up on the doorway of the balcony to watch, with a shield surrounding them to protect them from any wayward sprays of garlic juice. Other than the guns Edward, Alice, my daughters and I held, the rest had been hidden around the hall, in which we had placed cheep tables, lounges and other furnishing in to provide cover. I shielded all of us separately, not really wanting to smell like garlic for the next few days and we waited. My daughters had done a good job. Emmett and Jasper were the first through the door. Emmett had been talking to Jasper, and I took aim just as his mouth opened. "Bullseye!" I screamed as the garlic juice was squirted right in his mouth and I jumped up from my hiding spot. Emmett was desperately trying to spit the foul tasting juice out of his mouth when he was bombarded with juice from the others, quickly soaking him to the skin. Jasper ran to hide, but soon popped up again when he found his own weapon stashed away. He started taking shots too, military trailing coming in handy as he shot at us. The rest of the vampires soon arrived, and were ambushed by us as well, most finding their own weapons quickly and retaliating immediately. It was exhilarating to run around shooting people. I was feeling especially smug that my shield allowed any juice I was hit with to simply slide off. We kept the play in the main hall- my uncles would have been most displeased to have the entire castle smelling like garlic. It soon turned into an every person for themselves fight, with Charlize and Jemma turning to Edward and I with mischievous grins before spraying us. We had to reload a few times. One time while I was quickly refilling my gun Emmett jumped on top of me, pinned me down and poured the entire 5 litre can of juice all over me. I got up and shook, sending the liquid flying around the room as it flew off my shield. "You cheat!" Emmett exclaimed as he realised that my shield was in place. I simply laughed and shot my reloaded gun at him in point blank range, right into his open mouth. He choked as it went down and I ran before he could retaliate, shooting at Garret and Randall as I passed them by and took cover behind a piece of furniture. We eventually ran out of juice, but everyone was relaxed and laughing, which had been my main goal in the first place. Everyone pitched in with the cleaning, burning the cheap furniture, and washing down the room. I remained nice and clean, as did Edward, Renata, Charlize, Jemma and Alice. The rest of them stunk of garlic, even after a vigorous wash. I snickered as we all regrouped, my nose wrinkling at the smell. Uncle Caius groaned at the assault on his sense of smell. 'Well at the very least, you'll probably be able to scare of the Romanians with your scent," we laughed. "All part of my plan uncle," I winked at him. ... Edward and I reluctantly said goodbye to our beautiful girls and left with the rest of the Volturi and our family. It was time to head for the Dinaric Mountains. We sped down the European roads in the many sports cars that sat in the Volterra Castle garage. My Bugatti was in the lead, being the fastest of all the cars. We quickly reached the end of the road, from which we would hike deep into the mountain range and far away from any humans.

Running was always exhilarating, but this time there was an edge of tenseness and anticipation surrounding us. Just before we reached the peak Alice froze and Edward froze with her, a furious growl escaping from his throat. I watched them anxiously. "What is it?" "Just as we suspected, they have sent fifteen vampires into the castle to take it while we are away. They are moving in now." I clutched his arm anxiously. "Will our girls be alright? I was ready to race back now in the hopes that I might reach them in time." Alice had yet to come out of her vision, but a moment later she blinked and nodded, as I felt Edward relax. "They will be fine. Alec will be able to take care of them with no help," she reassured me. "Your daughters won't even see or hear anything because Esme and Renata will keep them occupied." I sagged in relief, before anger flooded through my veins. I was ready to take down the entire Romanian army singlehandedly for their underhanded tricks. We had agreed to meet them here for the fight, and yet they had sent people to take our castle while we weren't there. My daughters had been threatened and I was out for revenge. "Stefan and Vladmir are mine," I growled. Nobody was stupid enough to challenge me in my enraged state. I strode forward, my uncles on one side of me, and Edward on the other. My royal blue cloak loudly proclaimed my status as the princess to all who looked. It was time to show the world just how invincible I was. We reached the edge of a large clearing in the heart of the ranges. On the other sides of the clearing there was already a large gathering of vampires, all watching us eagerly, their stances aggressive and eager. There were well over a hundred of them, while there were only fifty of us, but I wasn't worried. I let my rage infuse me, using it to strengthen my power. I had shields over every one of the Volturi members, layered to ensure that they stayed safe. As we spread out on our side of the clearing Edward glanced quickly at Eleazer, while Aro touched him momentarily. Edward leaned down and whispered quietly in my ear. "They have a pair of changed twins like Jane and Alec, only one of the twins is a shield like you, while the other negates shields." I froze at that information. I had never come across a vampire that could counteract my gift. The idea of my shield not working was frightening. My shields were our greatest defence, for we were only half the size. Without it we would still be able to win, but there was the chance of casualties. I did not want there to be so much as a scratch on any of us. I was determined. "Where are they?" "Two middle aged women to the side. The one of the left has the shield- though it is only a single physical layer- no mental protection and no multiple shields, and the one on the right negates shields." "Jane, when this starts, I want you to take down the one on the right. I will deal with the shielded one myself." She smiled angelically.

Slightly ahead of us, my uncles progressed until we neared them in the middle. "Vladmir, Stefan. Is it really necessary for you to challenge us?" Aro asked futility. We already knew the answer. "Aro, we will no longer remain under your laws. It is time for vampires to rule the world, not lurk in shadows. Your princess has violated your own laws by creating immortal children, and that served to show that you are hypocrites that cannot rule properly. You are weak now, and it is our turn to rule." "Ah, but your informants only saw the children for a second, and therefore did not register the children's heartbeats, nor blood. They were not immortal children that Tanya and Irena saw, but hybrids, much like Nahuel," he said, indicating the hybrid behind him. The eyes of many Romanians widened as they registered his fluttering heartbeat and heard the rush of blood through his veins. It only made them pause for a few seconds though. "Even if what you say is true, it is too late. Right now we have vampires taking over your castle, and we will rule the world. Nothing you do can stop us." Aro's jaw clenched. "So be it." Immediately I felt my shields being torn down, but thanks to the many layers, I simply replaced them. I kept one part of my mind on replenishing my shields, finding that I could put up shields faster than the vampire at the other end of the clearing could take them down. She was only targeting me, and could only remove them one at a time. "Jane." Beside me Jane focussed on her and she collapsed to the ground, screaming and convulsing. Moments later she was dead. Her twin turned to glare at me as I felt out with another shield. She had a large bubble over the vampires- a single shield. None of the Romanians had moved yet, apparently wishing to stay under the protection for the shield for as long as possible. I spread my shield out to encompass hers, pressing against it. I smiled as I saw her frown. She had felt my shield slowly compressing hers. She was still quite a new vampire from the looks of things, and she may have had a shield, but I was far more powerful. I constricted my shield, and hers lost ground. Pressing even further, her shield snapped back, no longer protecting the army, only providing her with protection. I allowed my shield to advance on her, encompassing her shielded body. She screamed as my shield pressed into hers and caused it to slowly crush her. All of a sudden I slammed it down, her body crumbling into pieces. With the Romanian's shield down, they burst into battle. We retaliated immediately. Ben's elemental control extended to lightning, and the sky was flashing as bolts felled the Romanian vampires. Emmett, had thrown himself into the battle with gusto, and Edward was fighting with finesse- always one move ahead of his combatants. I stood in the middle, keeping my shields safely around my family, unwilling to sacrifice any in today's battle. As a monitored my shields I scanned the Romanians, searching for the leaders. They were near the back, having dropped back to be protected by their minions, when I spotted them. Vladimir and Stefan. It felt creepy just looking at them. It wasn't the red eyes- I had grown up with a whole family of red-eyed vampires- no; it was simply the menace that seemed to emanate from them. I felt sick just looking at them. I felt the inexplicable urge to crush their throats in my bare hands. These creatures had dared threaten my family, and had wanted to destroy my daughters. Never before had I felt such hatred. Moving forward I used my shield to part

the vampires in my path that were making a futile attempt to stop my progress towards their masters. I pushed them aside with contempt. My family was well shielded, and I was invincible as I headed for them. The evil smirk on Stefan and Vladimir's faces slid off as they watch my easy progress through the ranks of their army. I walked slowly, confidently, knowing that there was nothing that could stop me. Their deaths were assured. My face remained stony, royal blue cloak flying out behind me as I advanced on my prey. Vladimir attempted to smile, glaring at Chelsea. "Princess, you are welcome to join us. You could be our queen, and rule the world," his sinister smile did nothing to calm my anger, and I could feel Chelsea's increased attacks against my shield as she tried to break my bonds to my family and tie me to the Romanians. I didn't even bother to glance her way as I crushed her into pieces with a shield. The Romanian's eyes widened at the sight. "I am invincible to attacks- you didn't really think she would be able to sway me did you?" I glared at them. They gulped as I stepped the last few feet towards them. "You threatened my family, and for that you have earned you death. They tried to run at the last minute, desperately searching for a way out as they turned to flee. I grabbed each one by the throat and brought their heads close to me as they struggled franticly. "Goodbye," I whispered before using a wrist flick Felix and Demetri had shown me to neatly behead them. With that done I quickly crushed the rest of their bodies and set them alight. I turned and found that the battle had all but stopped. With their leaders gone, and Chelsea no longer there to maintain their bonds the Romanian army did not know what to do. Most stopped, and those that continued to fight were quickly taken care of. I looked around, searching for a pair of familiar faces. Irena was already gone, most of her body disintegrated by one of Ben's lighting strikes. Tanya though was at Edward's feet, begging his forgiveness, while he stood there looking down at her in disgust. I stalked towards her and Edward shifted his gaze, eyeing me with lust. Apparently my little power trip had been a major turn on. I returned his look before refocusing on Tanya, still on her knees in front of my Edward. Angry, I viciously pushed out the shield surrounding Edward. Tanya flew back. Uncle Caius caught her. Holding her by her long strawberry blonde hair he brought his mouth to her ear. "You shouldn't have betrayed our Princess," his whisper was heard by the entire collection of vampires. Tanya didn't even have time to screech before Caius brought down his crucifix and she burst into flames. In a matter of seconds all that was left of the vindictive succubus was ashes. With Tanya's death, all the remaining Romanians swore allegiance to the Volturi. All in all we had recruited more than twenty vampires. I couldn't be bothered staying around while my uncles sorted out the new recruits. I ran for Edward. He caught me up in his arms and we shared an explosive kiss, pouring in all the amped up feelings that were raging through us thanks to the battle, and all of our lust for each other. I felt like I was on fire, warmth and heat shooting through my body. However, despite desperately wanting to drag Edward off into the forest and take him against a tree, we needed to see our little girls. We headed back to Volterra, racing back across Europe. Alice's vision had worried us, despite her assurances that all was well. As a mother I still needed to have them in my arms, check anxiously over

every inch of them and reassure myself that they were fine. Edward was the same, and so we made it back to Volterra in record time. I rushed in and ran straight to my girls, gathering them up in my arms and kissing them. Edward joined me, wrapping his arms around all three of us. We simply held them for a while, grateful that they were safe and sound, as were the rest of our family. A few days later we left and headed back to Forks. I fervently hoped that there would be no further adventures anytime soon. I had had enough action to last for at least the next century. Now I just wanted to settle down and spend time with my wonderful husband and daughters.

Epilogue 2 years later BPOV I walked out on stage in my gown and graduation cap, smiling as I received my English Literature degree. It was luckily an overcast day, and in the crowd was my wonderful husband, the Cullens, and my parents, who had never looked prouder of me. My daughters were nearby, but away from my parents who, would know something strange was up with just one look at their faces. Their growth had thankfully slowed, and they now looked to be about twelve. Their faces, just like their eyes, were a mixture of both Edward and I that was immediately obvious to everyone that saw them. Thus they could not meet my parents, though we had allowed them to come and see their human grandparents and watch me receive my degree. I had easily completed it through online courses, but I had wanted Charlie and Renee to have the opportunity to see me receive my degree, knowing that this would probably be the last time I would ever get to see them. A little bronzing powder, some makeup and contacts had allowed me to see my parents without making them suspicious. The Cullens were also wearing makeup that made them look like they had aged. About a year ago we had finally moved out of Forks and were living in Canada. It was beautiful and we all enjoyed it. We stayed mainly out in the wilderness so that we wouldn't have to go to school yet, and it was relaxing to simply focus on providing Charlize and Jemma with as many childhood experiences as possible. It also allowed Edward and I to spend a lot of time together, for we were still in our newly mated years and liked to ravish each other as much as possible. As I stepped off the stage I was engulfed in Edward's arms as he hugged me. "I am so proud of you love." I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him happily. Eventually he released me and we made our way over to our parents. There were lots of hugs and kisses and congratulations, and I was happy that I got to spend the day with them before they had to head back. Rosalie headed home with our girls after the ceremony, and I caught up with my parents. I still phoned and emailed them regularly, but I knew that this would probably be the last time I could see them in person, so I made the most of it.

Phil was now a minor league baseball coach, and Charlie was dating Sue Clearwater, a lady from the reservation that had been married to his best friend Harry. I tensed slightly as I remembered that both of her children were werewolves, and I could only hope that she wouldn't tell him any the supernatural aspects of the world he lived in. Charlie was the type that preferred to live in a blissful ignorance if the truth was too much to bear, and he didn't need to know about vampires and werewolves. Beside me Edward soothed me by stroking my arms and I relaxed, realising that if Sue had told Charlie anything Edward would have read it in his mind. Renee was her happy flighty self. Her new fad was collecting antique cuckoo clocks. I could just imagine the noise of all the cuckoo birds driving Phil mad. I hoped for his sake that she would find a new hobby soon. I was pleased that both of my parents seemed to be happy and adjusting well to not having me nearby. It was sad to say goodbye to them, but I was happy that I had had the chance to see them again and that they were doing so well. Once they left Edward simply held me in his arms for a while, knowing that all I needed was his soothing embrace. Eventually I turned and sighed. Taking his hand, I laced my fingers through his. "Let's go home." Over the coming years I still maintained contact with my parents, I sent them photos using age progression technology to make us look older. I also kept an eye on them from a distance. Charlie ended up marrying Sue, and he continued to happily live in blissful ignorance. I was grateful that there was someone to take care of him now. Renee lived her days out happily changing hobbies every few weeks and enjoying life. We visited the Volturi regularly, and they were the undisputed vampire leaders of the world once again. After the fight rumours had circulated throughout the vampire world about the Volturi's invincibility, and more specifically the 'all powerful princess.' Nobody dared challenge them now, and thankfully that meant that there were far less incidents where vampires broke the law. Our daughters loved life as well. They brightened up rooms with their constant smiles and happy demeanours. They continuously played pranks on Emmett, and had each developed their own interests. While they still did most things together, they each liked specific things. Jemma was the more sporty of the two and loved to skateboard and swim. She was already looking into motorcross, and I had a feeling that in a few years time we were going to have to buy her a motorbike and build her a track. I was very thankful that her skin was almost as tough as ours and that it was nearly impossible for her to harm herself, despite the dangers such sports would pose to a human. Charlize loved most musical instruments, favouring her violin, but playing almost any instrument she could acquire, including obscure ones such as the glass harmonica, chrysalis and the fluba. Her other favoured instrument was the banjo. She also loved to paint and created beautiful landscapes of the surrounding forests and lakes for Canada. We couldn't be prouder of our girls, and Edward doted on them like any loving father would. I loved to watch him play with them, and see the loving adoration etched on his face as he looked at them. With Edward, Charlize, Jemma, the Cullens and the Volturi, my world was complete.

10 years later Our girls had grown up. Now they both looked to be about 25, and could pass as our elder sisters. They were stunningly beautiful and turned heads wherever they went. Edward would often groan at the thoughts of every straight man that caught even a glimpse of Charlize and Jemma, and I often shielded him from it to give him some relief, and to stop him from scaring every human near him when he glared furiously at those with the most impure thoughts. We had allowed Charlize and Jemma to go to school once their aging slowed down enough, and at the age of four they had started as high school freshmen. As much as the rest of our family had wanted to join them, they refused to go to school with their parents, aunts and uncles. So Edward, being the protective father he is, found them a nice all-girls school, where they greatly enjoyed their advanced classes and made a few human friends. Now they had finished high school and they wanted to leave the nest and travel the world togetherwithout the encumbrance of overprotective parents. I didn't think it was very fair that normal parents usually got to keep their children for at least seventeen years before they had to let them go, and we didn't. But they were grown up and mature girls, and I wouldn't hold them back for anything in the world. So Edward and I reluctantly sent them off on their world tour, making sure they had everything they needed and that they had promised to call us regularly and send lots of photos. We had taken them to our favourite countries a few years ago, and they were going back to visit some of those as well as exploring more of the world. We also made sure that they had had a lot of combat training in case they came across anything supernatural. Their gifts had expanded to the point where Charlize could plant thoughts in the mind of anyone (except me) within a few miles, and Jemma could move anything within that range. Jemma's telekinesis could also be reversed and used as a force field around her and Charlize, which relaxed Edward and I a little. As long as they were touching they could share both powers, and each had learnt how to handle their twin's power as well as their own. We felt we had prepared them as best we could, and we sadly waved goodbye at the airport as they boarded a plane, bound first for Africa. Edward held me in his arms as we both resisted the urge to drag them back off the plane and take them home. When the plane finally took off I gave a sad sigh and turned into Edward. "Our babies are gone." "I know love, but they'll be back before you know it. We have eternity with them after all, a year around the world is nothing." I could tell he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me. "Besides," he continued, "I have a surprise for you." I raised an eyebrow as he took me by the hand and led me down the airport to a different plane- one bound for Rio. "I thought we could have a second honeymoon- just think, all alone on Isle Esme, and we don't have to be back for a whole year. I even made sure that the island had a phone connection installed and that the girls know where to contact us."

His golden eyes were irresistible, and just the thought of our first honeymoon at Isle Esme had me smiling and eying him lustfully. "You always know how to cheer me up."