41 | NORTHERN LIGHTS |

HATING HERSELF WAS BETTER THAN PRETENDING NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.

Rory released her emotions out on the deep forests of Washington, trees crashed and animals were drained as she tried to regain a sense of control over herself. She despised herself, she hated what she had to do, had to leave, and remember every fucked up thing that happened to her. Every hurt and pain that had been suppressed deep in the chambers of her locked memory made it worse.

She felt ridiculous, having a belated tantrum over realizing what had happened to her life, losing her life and becoming what she fought so hard not to be.

She could blame her current state of disaster on her memory loss. If she remembered who she was before the change, maybe she would've left the Volturi as soon as possible before they put her on a mission to be an instrument in the destruction of the Cullen coven. But even without remembering her history, she knew what she had been doing was wrong from the beginning. She was just too afraid and too proud to run away.

She could pin the blame on Alec for letting her become his little protege because she didn't know any better and listened to his every teaching, but Alec had never pretended to be something he was not. He liked his games, but he never pretended to care if he didn't actually. He was brutally honest and it was why Rory couldn't blame him in the end. He never played the saint.

A part of her wanted to blame the Cullens; they shouldn't have been so naive or let their guilt over what happened last September allow them to trust her words so easily or ignore the fact that she had used her gift to prevent Edward from reading her thoughts. They also shouldn't have left her in the first place—it was all a brouhaha of pain and betrayal all around.

But mostly, and truthfully, she blamed herself. She got herself into this mess, and she had to deal with the repercussions.

Jasper was a whole other topic. She didn't know how to feel about him anymore. She didn't know how to deal with her conflicted emotions now that her heart was fighting her mind.

Before she turned into a vampire and forgot everything, she was sure she wanted nothing to do with him after he left her in the hospital. He broke her heart and she went all the way to Italy to try and prove something. Yet in the last month she spent with the Cullens, with Jasper, she understood why he had to leave in the first place. Their relationship was dangerous. He only wanted to protect her, even if it ended up being futile.

She hated him for leaving, but she loved him in spite of it. He was her first love—that was something that could never go away, no matter how far she ran.

Rory stared up at the endless stars above, not exhausted from tearing up the forest—as a vampire she had an unending supply of energy—but she just simply had no more motivation left within to fight her feelings. She let it overtake her, consume her.

She wished she could just fall asleep and never wake up, not by any prince or devil. For once, she envied the Disney princess for having her happy ending with the handsome prince.

Rory could never have that.

She was no princess and fairytales were dead.

➖

The worst part about losing Rory again wasn't the aching hole in his heart that she left behind, it was the fact that Jasper could have stopped her.

Her final words struck him frozen, a state of shock that took him completely off guard as she had constantly denied her feelings the entire time she stayed in Forks. If only he wasn't thrown off from her admitting she loved him still, he could have chased after her and prevented his entire family being devastated just one day before they were expected to fight a newborn army.

Jasper and Alice were solemn as they delivered the news that Rory wasn't coming back. The only reason the two could somewhat give was that Rory felt like she didn't fit in with their family anymore. It was unexpected how much Rory's leaving caused the Cullen family to practically mourn her and blame themselves.

Esme was nearly inconsolable, dry sobbing on the very same staircase Rory had once fallen down. It took her husband and remaining children to assure her that Rory's abrupt leave without any note or goodbye was definitely not something Esme was at fault for. No matter how many comforting talks, Esme felt like she had lost another child again.

It was difficult for Carlisle to remain strong as his family members reacted to losing Rory again. He held his mate tight as his own eyes filled with unshed tears. He wished he had spoken to Rory more, maybe she would've felt more a part of their family like the way they saw her.

Emmett and Rosalie were in a state of disbelief   It was only the other day that Rory was happily helping Rosalie fix her car and beat Emmett at Call of Duty. Rosalie had doubted her all this time, but she didn't think Rory would actually leave. Emmett took the blow hard, silently sitting in their room, rewatching Sleeping Beauty over and over again.

Edward was disappointed, but not surprised. He comforted Bella throughout the few days before the battle. He wished he could have confronted Rory before she left, demand answers to questions he never had the chance to ask, and most of all, convince her to stay. Despite all his suspicions and doubts about her character, Rory was one of his sisters and an integral part of their family.

Bella was heartbroken by the news. She thought she had finally gotten her best friend back and now Rory was gone without any real explanation. It was suspicious, but no one except Bella believed it was. Bella was positive there was a bigger, more logical reason Rory would go away.

Or it was because Rory had remembered everything and then Bella was somewhat at fault, but maybe it was for the better then. She couldn't blame Rory for not wanting to face the Cullens after freshly remembering they had all abandoned them last fall. Bella just wished Rory could've stayed one more night so she could show the sparkling huge engagement ring she had just accepted.

The entire day before the battle, Jasper stayed at the ledge, stupidly hoping for Rory to return. He was more quiet and stoic than usual as he instructed preparations for the battle. No one pushed him to talk either, knowing he needed space and to be distracted by the upcoming battle. The last time he was the one who left Rory and he reacted badly—now she was the one who left and there was no telling how he might explode. He was a ticking bomb.

Despite being the only one who knew the entire truth, Alice kept her mouth shut as she watched her family grieve Rory. She wished she could explain, but Alice knew it would make matters worse.  She explained Victoria being behind the army, which shocked the family and reminded them that they still had more family to fight for. She kept an eye on Rory's future though, only comforted by a vision that confirmed Rory never quite reaching Seattle.

➖

She was running.

She was a blur of dark hair and pale skin, a lightning bolt of fury, ready to strike.

Rory had never felt an anger that burned through her until she was lying in the dirt, feeling sorry for herself, and she caught the passing scent of vampires. A lot of them. They were maybe a half mile away from her, but they were close enough for her to catch their stench.

The army was heading straight for Forks, for the Cullens, and she was just lying on her back, as they headed to destroy the Cullen family—her family. She was immediately drawn out of her melancholy and pissed by their audacity.

How could she go to those who wished her family to be killed? Yet she couldn't return to her family who she had betrayed.

There was one part of the equation Rory could go after.

No, Rory would not be waiting in Seattle after all. As she caught the sickening scent of someone who thought Rory was long dead, Rory felt herself fill with renewed fury.

If she didn't make it to the battle, she would at leading be the one to take down Victoria.

Even if it meant her own destruction.

➖

Alec Volturi was reluctant to leave Seattle to follow the newborn army. Aurora still hadn't arrived and Demetri said she was somewhere between Forks and Seattle, most likely hunting Demetri had mused. But Jane was in charge of the mission, and he didn't want to infuriate his sister in order to insist that they wait for Aurora. His sister was not very good at accepting Alec didn't only care for her anymore—Aurora was important to him too now.

And so the four Volturi guard members left Seattle, and Alec hoped his Aurora would be waiting there for him when they returned.

As they took their time following after the newborn army, purposely delaying so that the army would have time to attack the Cullens, Alec thought about why there was a newborn army created to destroy the Cullens in the first place. The coven was relatively peaceful and unaggressive—dreadfully boring, but they hadn't done anything to any other vampire to an extent that would result in a whole army being created. As the Volturi kept tabs on all vampires, there was not really anything substantial reported.

Alec wondered how his Aurora could stand being with the coven for so long as both human and her mission as a vampire.

Although, there was one thing that never made sense to Alec about Aurora's human past. In Florence, she had lied to him about who revealed their secret to her. She never gave an inkling that she ever knew the Cullens, never revealed she had lived in Forks or that she had fallen in love with one of the Cullens of all ridiculous things. However—

Alec stiffened as he remembered the name of the vampire Aurora always gave out, the one she was afraid of, the same vampire who tried to kill her and nearly succeeded, ending her human life before she had a chance to truly live. Alec seethed as he realized the only person who could be behind the army. Victoria.

He hoped he would have the chance to tear that bitch apart.

➖

While the Cullens and the pack fought the horde of newborns in the baseball field, Bella, Edward and Seth were just up the nearest mountain, fighting off Riley and Victoria.

Bella felt her whole world freeze as Edward was  forced to his knees by Riley and put in a tight choke hold by Victoria. He was losing—she was about to lose him and there wasn't anything she could do to help—their eyes met. The look they shared gave her clarity, and she's never been more sure of what she wanted in her life than in that moment—with a sense of purpose, she grabbed a sharp piece of slate from the snowy ground of the mountain ledge.

And then she plunged the shard downward, in a burning pain she didn't mind. A river of crimson flowed down her pale exposed arm.

Bella watched in terror, but kept her ground, as both Riley and Victoria jerk their heads toward her as the scent of fresh blood reached them. Their eyes went black and for a brief second, they relented their grip of Edward in lieu of going after her.

Edward seized the opportunity her distraction invented, he dropped to the ground and kicked Victoria off him and away from Bella, into an old tree that split into two at the force. Seth, finally recovered, tackled Riley with his sharp canines digging into him. As Seth dragged him into the woods, he screamed for Victoria—who didn't even grant him a second look. He disappeared out of sight. Soon, his screams ended abruptly.

Victoria didn't hesitate as she launched herself at Bella—yet she was interceded by Edward. The two vampires rolled into the side of the mountain, a battle of blurs that worried Bella as she tried to stem her bleeding arm with a makeshift bandage from her ripped flannel. For a moment, Edward was about to win, his arms around Victoria's neck. He looked at Bella, an expression of relief on his face.

Then, unexpectedly, Victoria somehow managed to twist herself around and pinned Edward to the ground with her knees digging into his chest and her hands about to rip his head off.

Bella lurched forward as if she could pull Victoria off Edward. Her heart pounded slowly as the seconds passed. This was the end. Seth was nowhere in sight to help, and Bella was without anymore tricks up her sleeve to distract Victoria.

The sound of someone approaching, heels crushing the snow nonchalantly, turned  Victoria's head. The redhead's eyes widened at the sight of the interruption.

In fact, everyone was surprised by the newcomer. Bella grinned broadly while Edward smiled slightly at their savior.

With her arms crossed and her fiercest smirk on her crimson lips, Rory stood, her freshly amber eyes glaring at the redhead. "Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me," she snickered at Victoria's expression of utter disbelief and confusion.

"You." Victoria hissed, her hands still forcing Edward to stay still.

"Me." Rory smirked. "I'm back and better than ever." She eyed Edward who looked as though he needed a little help. She winked at him before meeting Victoria's shocked gaze once more. "Now I suggest letting Eddie go. Actually, I'm not suggesting it. Let him go."

Victoria's hands unwrapped from Edward's neck immediately. Not understanding the reason behind it, Victoria leaped off the bronze haired vampire and crouched, stuck between Edward and Rory.

Victoria was pissed even more so now that she knew Rory Aden had not died as she believed. It had been months since Victoria thought she had left the girl to die in the burning school. Only one person would have been quick enough to intercept Victoria's deed.

"That witch twin changed you?" Victoria narrowed her stare.

Rory rolled her eyes, not caring to confirm the redhead's assumption. "You've been such a slippery bitch, Victoria. Time someone's treated you like one." She had noticed Victoria was seconds from an attempt to make an escape. Rory grinned maliciously. "Stay!"

Edward, seeing that Rory had control over the situation, went to Bella's side. He stood in front of his fiancée protectively, just in case, although he doubted Rory would lose. The look on Rory's face was nightmarish. If there was any reason Rory came back, Edward knew it was to destroy Victoria.

Victoria willed her body to listen, desperate for a muscle to move, but she remained in the half crouched position. She cast a glower at the grinning vampire. "Why can't I move?"

Rory casually strolled toward the redhead without much hurry about. "You know the first thing I remembered about you other than being the one to cause my death, was your pretty, red hair." Rory picked up a curly tendril, uncaring of Victoria's wish to attack because she was incapable of it.

"Really, it's nice. I wonder if it'll really look like fire before it turns to ash like the rest of you," Rory met the redhead's glare with a scowl as she yanked the curl out from her scalp like a weed. It couldn't have been a nice feeling by Victoria's hiss.

She had made a mistake—she should have never touched Rory Aden, if she'd known she would be her undoing. Victoria knew she had no chance to live by the dark look on Rory's face. "Riley!" Victoria yelled in a panic, forgetting her boy toy had long stopped screaming.

Rory tsked and shook her head. "He's dead. I helped Seth kill him like two minutes ago." She shrugged at the looks of confusion shot her way. They didn't realize she had been the one to silence Riley's screams. Rory bent forward, meeting Victoria's now terrified gaze. "Now it's your turn."

Bella started forward, worried by the dark tone of her friend. "Rory..."

"She killed me, Bella," Rory faced Edward and Bella with hard eyes. "It's my turn for revenge. I'm gonna tear the bitch apart," Rory said darkly as she continued forward. "—Actually, on second thought; she can do it for me."

They were all confused by the statement as Rory backed away from Victoria, still frozen in the crouched position.

"Victoria, rip your legs off. Toe by toe."

Uncontrollably, Victoria's hands mechanically began to follow the mind controlling vampire's command. "AHHHHHH!" she shrieked as she dismembered herself.

"After your toes and legs are in a neat fire ready stack, start pulling out your hair for the kindling," Rory continued, her arms crossed casually as if she were giving out arts and crafts instructions and not vehemently torturing Victoria.

By that point, Edward had pulled Bella into his chest, shocked by Rory's unnecessary display of making Victoria an instrument in her own killing. Victoria was screaming as she made a pile of her own body parts.

Rory looked back, "Edward, be a dear and toss poor Riley's body on there too." She hardly cared that she used her ability on Edward.

He stepped away from Bella without any choice, "Bella, don't look," he whispered to her as he walked into the woods to find the pieces of Riley being guarded by Seth.

She's a monster, Seth thought as he trotted alongside the bronze haired vampire back to the camp. Edward nodded in agreement as he carried the pieces of Riley's body to the pile before Rory.

He wasn't thinking of Victoria either.

"Rory, stop—you're out of control," Edward said lowly to her as he regained his body control since he finished following her command. "You're acting like..."

She scoffed, unbothered by his concern. "Like what? A vampire? Because she's the one that made me like this," Rory hissed, her pain evident in her tone.

"Rory..." Bella stepped forward, yet was stopped from getting too close by Edward.

Rory turned around completely, ignoring Victoria for a moment. Her expression was dark and stormy, an unrelenting fury. "Victoria never left a scratch on Bella because she had your family and the pack protecting her. I had no one. She killed me. Left for dead just like your family left Bella and I last fall."

"I'm so sorry," Bella shook her head sadly, understanding Rory's unbridled anger. She didn't know Victoria had been the cause of Rory's death. She didn't blame Rory for exacting her revenge on the vampire who was now ripping herself apart on Rory's command.

"You remember everything?" Edward realized.

Rory met his stare firmly. "You read minds, you tell me," she snapped, dropping the command she made weeks ago to allow the mind reader in.

Bella looked between her boyfriend and her best friend as they communicated something she couldn't interpret.

Finally, Edward nodded tersely. "I understand perfectly."

Bella wondered what exactly Rory told Edward because it was more than just the fact Rory had her human memories back.

Rory inhaled sharply, gathering herself to make one last command. "Now take Bella to the baseball field."

Edward pulled Bella onto his back without hesitation. Bella had more questions, but there was no time to ask them.

Before he sped off to the baseball field where his family were unscathed and burning the bodies of the destroyed newborn army, he offered Rory a smile of gratitude. "Thank you."

Rory nodded as Edward disappeared along with Seth following behind.

She turned back to watch Victoria just lying there on top of a pile of her own dismembered body parts. She had even ripped out her own tongue, Rory's command carrying out to it's fullest extent. Rory walked closer, one hand in her pocket as she stared at Victoria in disgust.

"You ruined my life," Rory sneered. "I didn't have a chance to try all the authentic Italian cuisine before you left me to burn. You should've listened to me when I told you there's more to life than heartbreak."

Victoria's eyes widened as Rory bent forward and ripped her head off her body. Victoria was no more. She set the head on top of the pile. Rory pulled out a simple white lighter, her thumb sparking the object to life. Rory tossed it without hesitation. The tiny flame grew bigger in Victoria's glassy eyesight as it got closer and closer.

"Now what was the phrase—burn, bitch, burn."

➖

Edward and Bella didn't have time to reveal who had been their unlikely savior and the true destroyer of Victoria as Jacob was crushed by the last newborn soldier. Amongst the chaos, neither of them had time to warn the others of Rory's return. Then, the Volturi arrived and there were more worrying things on their minds. It was only when the Volturi guard's began unveiling their hoods, that the dark haired newborn emerged from the woods, the pungent scent of burning vampires clinging to the all black outfit she had stolen on the way to Forks.

Alec was the first to notice her approach. His indifferent expression shifted to one of surprise and relief as she neared. Yet even from the shortening distance, Alec could tell something was different about her. Her face was empty, but she kept glancing at the Cullens—all but Edward and Bella were surprised by her appearance. Interesting.

"Aurora?" he called out as she paused between the Cullens and the Volturi guards, as if she wasn't sure which side to join.

Rory had known she would have to make a decision, but now that it faced her, she felt stuck, like she was being pulled in both directions for vastly different reasons. The way both sides eyed her expectingly and with surprise wrecked her anxiety. She stilled herself, forcing all emotions away so she could focus.

"You're here," Jane stated calmly, yet her eyes were burning with irritation.

Rory smiled nonchalantly. "Funny story, I was just on my way to Seattle when the most curious thing occurred—I caught your scent somewhere between and realized there must have been some miscommunication," she said sarcastically to the four guard members. "Jane must have mistakenly told me to meet you all in Seattle when you were all coming to retrieve me in Forks, isn't that right, Jane?"

Alec, Felix, and Demetri avoided the mind controller's stare. Evidently, she was pissed and more so because they all knew she had figured out they didn't want her involved with the Cullens battle against the newborn army.

Realization dawned on each of the Cullens faces as they listened to the conversation. At first they thought they were acknowledging a former guard member, but it was clear Rory was still active, had known the Volturi had been in Seattle all along, and had some sort of premeditated plans to rendezvous with the four.

Jane met her stare challengingly. "Plans were changed. I attempted to notify you, but you were unavailable," Jane lied smoothly.

Alec looked at his sister and then back at Aurora. There was a different sort of tension between the two powerful vampires that didn't exist before. They had gone from toleration to full out despising each other.

"Hm," Rory regarded Jane coldly. "Lucky I turned around then."

"What are you waiting for?" Alec raised his brow pointedly at her position between the two covens as though she had a choice still. There was a pause as both sides waited for Rory to pick.

With the pressure on her, she realized she had no other choice as she joined the side four cloaked vampires.

"You never left the Volturi, did you?" Bella asked hollowly, addressing Rory's actions out loud.

Alec snickered at the astonished expressions of the Cullens and their human pet. "Obviously," he drawled, stepping closer to Aurora, who strangely stiffened at his nearness.

"You owe us an explanation," Rosalie demanded angrily.

Rory pursed her lips in a flat line. "After the revelation that your coven allowed two humans to know the secret, I was sent here to ensure there were no more discrepancies. To uncover any more threats to our kind your coven might have been hiding."

The Cullens were shocked by the revelation of her true motives.

"You've been working for them this entire time?"

"You never forgave us, did you?"

"This was all about revenge?"

"Did you even lose your memories or was that another lie?"

They all looked at her like she was some sort of monster, something to be terrified of, all except for Alice and Edward, who knew the full truth. It stung, but it was necessary. And Jasper, the way he stared at her—she had so much more to say to him but it was not their time yet. She had work to do. She forced herself to remain steady, but it pained her to hurt her family.

"Careful, Cullens; Aurora is the only person who will decide whether or not your coven is guilty," Felix warned, his eyes filled with excitement at the prospect of the Cullens losing their shit. He loved a good fight and wished Jane had just let him take down the army, but nooo, she wanted the newborns to succeed in their endeavor.

The Cullens were all startled by the information. They moved closer to each other as if she was about to sentence them all to death that very moment. They were afraid of her.

Rory stared at them steadily. "My decision remains unchanged. The Cullens are still innocent and trustworthy. I'm sure their tendency to fall in love with humans is a lesson they've all learned to never repeat again." She hoped she sounded as emotionless as possible. If she even wavered, the others would pick up on it. Rory gave them a nod. "There's no reason to condemn them, when we should be commending them. They've done our work for us. With that matter is resolved and over with, I'd like to go home now."

"Not yet," Jane dismissed her as she surveyed the Cullens critically. "I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact."

Rory clenched her jaw tightly.

Carlisle tilted his head solemnly. "We were lucky."

Jane raised her brow. "I doubt that." Her ruby eyes flickered off to the side for a fraction of a second, clearly insinuating with Rory's help, the fight had been diminished. Jane knew all too well how strong Rory's powers worked—even from a distance.

"It appears we missed an entertaining fight," Alec drawled, eyeing the piles of burning newborns amusedly.

He glanced at Aurora once more who had yet to add any comments like he expected her to, instead she continued to stare at the Cullens in a strange manner. Almost...longingly. Alec gritted his teeth at the odd emotion he felt. Was it jealousy...or guilt?

"Yes," Jane agreed with her brother. "It's not often we're rendered unnecessary."

Edward shrugged slightly. "If you'd arrived a half hour ago, you would've fulfilled your purpose."

"Pity." She clearly didn't mean it. She ran her gaze over the Cullens once more. They all were afraid of her, which she found great joy in. All except for one. Jane smiled sadistically. "You missed one."

Hiding behind the backs of Esme and Carlisle, was a young girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen. Her wide red eyes couldn't mask the confusion she felt. She was too helpless and too innocent for the world she had been pulled into. The girl cowered away from everyone's stares.

Jasper walked up to her, either protectively or executional, no one could tell. He stood next to the helpless newborn with a steely gaze. Rory kept trying to catch his eye, but he stared past her and at the rest of the guard members.

Carlisle raised his hand toward her calmingly. "We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender," he explained.

Jane tilted her head. "That wasn't yours to offer." She looked at the newborn.

Esme shot Carlisle a concerned look. She wanted to stop Jane. But Carlisle shook his head subtly.

Jane raised her voice. "Why did you come?" But before the girl could answer, Jane was already torturing her.

The agonizing shrieks of the newborn grated on their ears as they all watched. The girl crumpled to the ground, holding her head painfully as it feels as though it is being stabbed a million times with burning knives.

Jane continued on her assault, not bothering to relent in her mental attack. "Who created you?" Only screams answered the question.

"You don't need to do that," Esme urged Jane, who looked at her uncaring of her opinion. "She'll tell you anything you want to know."

Esme even glanced at Rory pleadingly, wishing she would intercede and stop the unnecessary pain. Rory looked away, knowing there was nothing she could truly do to help.

A ghost of a smirk appeared on the witch twin's lips. "I know."

Carlisle placed a hand on Esme's shoulder, comforting his mate as they were forced to listen to Bree's screams. It finally stopped as Jane allowed her a chance to answer.

Bree panted, looking up from the ground to look at the cloaked beings. "I don't know," she said painfully, "Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe."

Unimpressed with the newborns answer, Jane narrowed her laser stare and the screams began again.

Edward frowned at the display. "Her name was Victoria," he interrupted the torture session. Jane turned her attention onto him, but he wasn't afraid. He raised his brow. "Perhaps you knew her. She was even the one behind Rory's death." Everyone glanced at the silent newborn who stood on the edge of the Volturi's group.

The Volturi clearly were insulted with the insinuation. Jane imperceptibly pursed her lips, but her expression remained blank, which was even more dangerous.

Carlisle shook his head. "Edward. If the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would've stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?"

Jane met his stare wordlessly as a beat passed.  Alec looked away from the Cullens and looked at the statue that was Aurora. He had realized the truth too late.

"Of course," Jane answered. She turned her head to her side. "Felix."

The bulky vampire moved to Bree. Edward tightened his protective grip on Bella, the others were reluctant to move apart from blocking Bree.

"She didn't know what she was doing!" Esme interjected again. Jane held her hand out, stopping Felix from moving forward. Esme nodded pleadingly. "We'll take responsibility for her."

"Give her a chance," Carlisle added.

Jane remained apathetic to the situation. "The Volturi doesn't offer second chances. Keep that in mind." She looked at Bella pointedly. "Caius will be interested to know she's still human."

"The date's been set, Jane," Rory intervened cooly, much to the surprise of the golden eyed vampires. "In fact—Isabella Swan will be turned into a vampire before the summer ends."

Rory met each of the Cullens gaze fully and purposefully. It was obvious to all that she was using her ability of control to force the Cullens into submission. They all felt the command shift something in their mind, they knew they had a deadline to follow. Whether or not they were ready to change Bella, they now had no choice, but to do so by the end of summer which meant they had a little under two months to get everything prepared.

"Take care of that," Jane gestured to the terrified newborn. Felix started forward, but Jane turned to the newest guard standing off to the side of their lineup instead, "—Aurora. Like you said, it's time we go home."

The Volturi all looked at her expectantly, with the exception of Alec, who cast his sister an annoyed look. Felix and Demetri were amused by Jane's decision. The Cullens were shocked, but Rory was not. She knew what it really was—a test. Jane was forcing her to prove herself and show the Cullens that Rory was part of the Volturi now.

Rory didn't let their stares get to her as she walked forward, the Cullens parting around her to let her through to the newborn who still laid on the ground.

As Rory neared, Bree attempted to get up, but Rory quickly wrapped her arms around the tiny newborn, who couldn't fight against Rory's embrace.

Jasper met Rory's eyes finally. His were full of a murkiness Rory couldn't discern for once. If he had decided to stand next to Bree in order to attempt to fend off the newborns executioner, there was no way he would now. He hadn't anticipated Rory being the one to execute Bree.

He turned his back to her. He refused to watch.

Rory looked away, bitterness in her mouth at Jasper's literal cold shoulder. She steeled her emotions and looked into Bree's terrified eyes. I'm sorry. You shall not feel a thing, she commanded mentally, knowing the mental command worked as Bree's eyes dulled and numbed.

She wrapped her hands around the girl's neck, and with a loud, piercing snap, Bree Tanner was no more.

Rory carefully placed the decapitated head on the nearby fire, the purple-black flames and smoke thickening as it consumed Bree's body. She slowly returned to the Volturi's side where Jane looked at her triumphantly. This time, she stood in line with Alec and Jane, forming the trio they had become in Volterra with Demetri and Felix flanking them.

Rory offered the confused and severely thrown off golden eyed vampires a smile. "Thank you for graciously hosting me, Cullens. I apologize for any trouble or confusion I may have caused. I hope you all understand and we can move past this in time," she apologized formally, meeting each persons eye to communicate her regret. Jasper met her stare blankly, which stung more than she expected. "After all, you'll always be family," she finished with resolve, but not meeting any sympathy from those unaware of the full story. They were still shocked by her actions.

Satisfied with the upset atmosphere and rift in the Cullen coven, Jane lifted her black hood over her head, the others following suit, signifying it was time to make their exit. Alec gave her a look 'we have much to discuss' it said. He had always known her so well, he must have detected a change in her, that something happened. Rory nodded once, in finality, as she made her turn.

"Rory, wait!" Alice ran up to the Volturi, her hand brandishing an unfamiliar small black bag. "You forgot your bag." Alice had somehow stashed the bag away on the field and retrieved it before the Volturi arrived. She had been waiting for the opportunity to give it to Rory.

"My bag?" Rory eyed the object as Alice shoved it in her arms.

It wasn't even the backpack she had brought to Forks, it was some designer purse that couldn't even fit in a book. She opened the purse to find a thick stack of ivory letters, all folded neatly. She quickly shut it before anyone else peeked over. Rory looked at Alice with furrowed brows.

Alice nodded at her pointedly. "Your flight will be long," she said vaguely before returning to the side of the others who gave her a curious look. It was evident Alice had known much more than she let on.

"What a freak," Felix muttered while Demetri snickered under his breath. Rory shot them a narrowed glare and they promptly began to walk back in the direction of Seattle.

As Rory followed the four Volturi guard members, she cast one final glance at the Cullens who stared after her in disbelief. She offered them a reassuring smile, even if they didn't understand yet, she hoped she would be back to explain everything, this time for good.

Always and forever indeed.

➖

OK ECLIPSE IS OVER

sorry if y'all expected me to write out the cullens vs the newborn army but in my personal opinion it wouldve been extraneous and a tad overdone as it happens in literally every single OC/Jasper Hale fanfic where the OC kicks ass in the battle while admiring Jasper like we all been knew that man was ares on the battlefield no need to write it over and over again lol

rory taking down victoria was more in character 🤷🏻‍♀️

back to eclipse being over—this meanssssssss i can FINALLY reveal what i've been secretly working on since chapter 26 or so aka when alec volturi and rory (Alora) became a Thing™

so im very happy to announce for all those insistent readers requesting me to make an AU story for alec that i actually did it

rory and alec's alternate universe begins in Obsidian

SNEAK PEAK:

One of the few things Alec Volturi ever allowed

himself to be was unsure.

He was always calm, collected, and confident. The three C's kept him sane in his very long immortal life, just over eight hundred years of indifference to it all—humanity, love, wars, revolutions. He killed, he drank, he got whatever he wanted. And throughout his extended immortal lifespan, he had his sister, Jane—in all her power and sadistic games, he was right beside her. Silent, but just as deadly, if not more, given his ability to incapacitate entire armies in minutes.

Alec and Jane were the witch twins, the terrifying twosome, that the entire vampire world feared. And they were glorious.

Then, on an ordinary daily hunt in the nearby city of Florence, he met a girl.

In one of the numerous art galleries in the ancient city, amidst a crowd of hundreds, he saw her standing there. Alone yet happy as she took in one of the lesser popular artworks. In that moment, he wasn't sure what it was about her that intrigued him so, but all he knew was that she was special.

And she made him unsure of everything in his life up until that point.

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i really didnt expect yall to be torn between jasper and alec so much but it makes me happy bc alot of ppl slept on the hot potential that was alec volturi (esp the movies smh)

please note that it is entirely separate from crimson hence the alternate universe aspect

i will be releasing the first few chapters within the next week or so (hopefully) but definitely before i drop the next and final segment of crimson :,)

dont forget to comment, like, and follow for more!!