Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie ❯ Tears of Joy ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“What went wrong?” Bella questioned. “Did the Volturi turn up after all?”“Please be patient and allow me to finish the story.” Edward requested with a slightly amused smile.

“Sorry.”It was the day of the wedding. Edward, dressed in his tuxedo, went over the plan with Tanya’s coven for the final time.

“Remember to hide yourselves in the forest surrounding the chapel, and-”

“The wedding is starting.” Carlisle warned with a grim smile.

“We’ll keep our eyes peeled for the Volturi and any other intruders.” Tanya promised.

“Thank you,” Edward added in an apologetic manner. “I appreciate that all of you came down here from Alaska.”

He gave them one last smile before entering the chapel.
“Take your places!” Tanya yelled as she swiftly climbed up the tallest, nearby tree.

Livio and the others quietly obeyed and did their best to blend into their surroundings. They began to relax a little once their preternatural ears picked up the priest assisting Edward and Bella with their vows.

In the midst of the relaxed silence, a loud rustling sound came from the bushes Livio was hiding in. Tanya unconsciously tightened her grip on a branch, accidentally snapping it in half.

“Is everything all right down there, Livio?”“Yes. It was just a raccoon passing by.”

She let loose a quiet sigh, and averted her gaze from the bushes to the chapel. She quickly became impatient as the minutes slowly passed by. For some reason or another, she personally couldn’t wait until she and her coven returned to Alaska. There was something very strange about Forks that really creeped her out.

“Hello there!” A cheery voice from behind greeted.

Tanya’s eyes widened in shock and she nearly lost her footing, as she recognized Aro.

Before she could even scream for help, the ancient vampire slapped his hand over her mouth.

“Send Edward even the slightest distressed thought, and I’ll have your coven murdered,” Aro whispered in her ear. “I, for one, find this entire situation distasteful, but it was Edward’s fault for not joining us when he had the chance.”

Tanya stared in horror as Livio ran headlong into one of the chapel’s windows.

As Bella was about to say, “I do,” Livio jumped through a narrow window, grabbed Bella, and vanished from sight. Just as Livio disappeared with Bella in his arms, another Bella in an identical wedding dress appeared.

This new Bella looked around, absolutely frozen to the spot. Letting out a shocked gasp, she fainted in Edward’s arms.

What in God’s name just happen? Edward thought.

A few screams came from the crowd at the sight of the broken window and the unconscious Bella.

As Edward stood there, not knowing what to do, Alice and Rosalie came over to try to revive Bella.

“Can I get a rag and some water?” Alice shouted impatiently.

The crowd before her merely stared at her with shocked expressions. A few of the guests looked like they were going to burst into tears. Charlie appeared before Edward and demanded to inspect her.

“Was she cut by any of the shards?” Charlie asked with a piercing glare.

It took Edward a few seconds to regain his usually cool composure.

“No,” Edward replied. “But I’ll have Carlisle inspect her just in case.”

After gently transferring Bella into Charlie’s arms, Edward approached Carlisle.

“Make sure Bella’s okay,” Edward ordered in a low voice. “I’ll be outside.”

The previous silence in the pews broke into a low chatter, and grew into a dull roar. Anger soon replaced shock, and Edward was very tempted to abandon his original plan and take on the Volturi by himself.

Whatever they were planning to do next, Edward vowed to himself that he would stop them once and for all. Even if he had to destroy the Volturi one by one for all to see, he would if it ensured Bella’s safety.

“Good afternoon, Edward.” Aro greeted politely, surrounded by the rest of the black clad Volturi. Tanya and her coven were nowhere to be seen.

“I’m not absolutely positive that you’ve noticed this by now…” Aro said almost hesitantly. “Livio is on our side and he has taken Bella with him.”

Not trusting himself to speak without going on a rampage, Edward silently fumed. He knew that there would be a deal involved, and thought it best to listen to all Aro had to say before doing anything else. He would (if his patience held) form a new battle plan once he knew what he was dealing with.

“We will be willing to give her back in return of your word.”

“What do you want?”“We want you to join us.”

Silence.

“Are you willing to keep your side of the bargain?”

“…”

“Edward?̶ 1;

“Yes.”

“We will give you back Bella as soon as possible.”Before Edward could even ask when, the Volturi disappeared from sight. He stared blankly at the wall of trees before him. His bottled up anger literally exploded from the unbearable pressure, and he lost all logic and reason. He wiped out the thick wall of trees with only two blows. The sight of the thousands of tree limbs flying passed by him only infuriated him even more.

“Why can’t I ever keep Bella safe?!” He roared as he pulverized nearby boulders into fine dust.

He gave a surprised snarl as a pair of unusually thick arms wrapped around his torso. He continued to flail to the best of his abilities even as the pair of arms tried to crush him.

“Edward, stop!” Emmett yelled as he was forced to tighten his hold on Edward.

Emmett patiently waited a few minutes for Edward to calm down. Once he did, he carefully set him on the ground.

“They took her.”

“What?”

“The Volturi took Bella.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Bella’s in the chapel.”

“That isn’t our Bella. Livio turned against us and replaced her with another Bella from another universe. At least, I’m sure that’s what happened.”

“I still don’t understand what happened.”“Didn’t you notice Bella appearing and disappearing after Livio jumped through the window?”“Now that you mention it, I did notice a weird blur.”“They promised to bring her back if I joined them.”“What did you say?”

“I agreed to it.”

“What the hell did you do that for?!” Emmett roared, clenching his fists together.

“I don’t know,” Edward replied with a snarl. “I had to buy some time!”“Let’s go tell Carlisle, then.”Bella stared softly into Edward’s onyx eyes, not sure how to respond. At a loss for words, she got up from the boulder and hesitantly approached Edward. She wrapped her arms around his icy neck and gave him a hug.

“I’m so sorry Edward,” Her throat choked up with tears. “I can’t believe that you went through all of that, especially for me.”“Bella,” Edward let out a low sigh. “You still don’t understand what I’ve been trying to tell you all along,” He now placed his hands tenderly on her face. “You are the most important being in my life. That is why I cannot afford to have you here. You must leave Forks as soon as possible.”

“O-okay,” Bella agreed with a sob. “I’ll leave for Florida. Just let me be with you for a while longer.”

Edward’s facial features softened, and he lightly traced the outlines of her jaw. He smiled her favorite crooked smile and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks.

Leaning his face into hers, he tenderly pressed his lips against hers. Oh, how she missed the icy, yet sweet taste of his lips! Love radiated between the two; it felt as nothing could possibly break their private sphere filled with pure love and longing. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Bella could now perfectly understand Edward’s seemingly irrational concern for her. There had always been a part of her that had doubted the strength of Edward’s love. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that, yes, Edward’s love for her was just as strong, maybe even stronger, as he promised.

Even if their positions had been reversed, Bella would’ve done the same thing. She too would’ve begged Edward to stay away as far as possible. As cheesy as it may sound, Bella believed that she and Edward had reached a new level in their love for one another. She had once believed that they had reached the highest level in their relationship before their wedding. She now realized that there were still challenges awaiting them both. They would, one way or another, overcome even more obstacles and continue to watch their love transform.

Their lips broke apart, and Edward was concerned to find Bella crying again.

“What’s wrong, Bella?”

“I-I’m not sad,” She giggled. “I’m crying tears of joy.”Still sporting a quizzical frown, Edward kissed her forehead. Bella began to half-giggle and half-cry. He looked down in surprise as a snort erupted in the middle of her giggling.

“Way to go and kill the romantic mood,” Edward teased with a genuine chuckle. “I didn’t know you’d be quite this excited to see me.”

“Sorry.” Bella apologized with a laugh.

“Don’t be,” He replied, running his fingers through her slightly frizzy hair. “You’re cute when you snort.”Bella slipped her hand into Edward’s, and wordlessly led him to the boulder she was previously resting on. He laid upon the moss, and Bella sat in his lap, contently linking her hands with his. She nuzzled into his arms, and gave a satisfied sigh as the sun overhead broke through the gray clouds and allowed its rays to cover her like a blanket. All of her never ending weeks of depression were worth living through, just to now have it end with her lying in Edward’s arms.

Edward too felt his guard completely down, and allowed himself to let out a relieved sigh. It didn’t matter if these were their last moments together. Now that Bella had a glimpse at the extent of his love for her, he knew he would be able to take on anything and anyone.

“So…” Bella spoke softly. “What happened to Tanya’s coven?”“They’re here right now.”“The other me?”“She’s currently in the original universe with Jacob.”“Jacob came back?”“Yes. He came back only a week after you were kidnapped.”Bella desperately wanted to say that she would have to thank Jacob later, but she didn’t even know whether she’d ever return to her universe or not. From the sound of things, it seemed like an unlikely ending.

“Wait…” Bella said, realizing that something was off about Edward’s story. “How did you get here if Livio is with the Volturi?”

“Remember when I told you what Tanya told me about the rustling of the bushes?”

“You mean, when we were getting married and her coven hid near the chapel?”“Yes. It turns out that the Livio I had met was kidnapped and switched out by this universe’s Livio. He was sent to an entirely different universe. Fortunately, he eventually found his way back to the original universe.”“How come I’ve only seen you in my dreams up until now?”“Unfortunately, our Livio does not have complete mastery of his skills. He never trained himself. The other Livio has better control over his abilities.”“But why in my dreams?”“It’s when the mind is unguarded and therefore, the most susceptible to outside influences.”“So are you here to bring me back home? Do you know what happened to that Spanish werewolf pack?”“Actually, we-”

“Edward!” Jasper appeared with a panicked look on his face. “The Volturi are coming!”“Take Bella back to Carlisle,” Edward ordered. “I’ll go join with Emmett and the others. Goodbye, Bella.”Bella and Edward shared one last short, yet passionate kiss before parting ways. Although he managed to smile, the smile did not reach his eyes. Before Bella could believe it, Edward disappeared into thin air.

“We have to hurry.” Jasper informed urgently while offering her his hands.

Bella stood up and climbed onto Jasper’s back. She shut her eyes and patiently waited for him to start running. After a few minutes, Jasper hurriedly dropped her off at the edge of the woods and disappeared.

“Charlie is at the hospital,” Carlisle informed her. “We better leave before the Volturi reaches us.”Just as he opened his mouth to say something else, a voice neither of them wanted to hear for as long as they lived spoke up.

“Aro’s too soft on you,” Jane stated with a slight smirk. “I, however, will not show you any mercy whatsoever.”