Red Room ₪ Breaking Dawn Fanfiction

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫

Chapter Twenty-One —— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫

The reason of life
The meaning of life
And the road of life
Is LOVE.
——Nurudeen Ushawu

"Althea," Edward said.

"We'll talk once everyone leaves," I told him.

The Cullens, their guests, the pack, and skinwalkers sat in the Cullens' backyard in the forest as we treated wounds and reattached body parts for those who were injured.

Vladimir and Stefan had vanished before we'd stopped celebrating. They were extremely happy with the way things had turned out.

Benjamin and Tia were quick to follow after Amun and Kebi, anxious to let them know the outcome of the conflict; I was sure we would see them again—Benjamin and Tia, at least.

None of the nomads lingered. Peter and Charlotte had a short conversation with Jasper, and then they were gone, too.

The reunited Amazons had been anxious to return home as well—they had a difficult time being away from their beloved rain forest—though they were more reluctant to leave than some of the others.

"You must bring the child to see me," Zafrina had insisted. "Promise me, young one." Nessie had pressed her hand to Bella's neck, pleading as well.

"Of course, Zafrina," Bella had agreed.

"We shall be great friends, my Nessie," the wild woman had declared before leaving with her sisters.

The Irish coven continued the exodus.

"Well done, Siobhan," Carlisle complimented her as they said goodbye.

"Ah, the power of wishful thinking," She answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. And then she was serious. "Of course, this isn't over. Someone needs to replace the Volturi to keep order." She added.

Edward was the one to answer that. "Yes, but do you think Carlisle will take on that role. . ." His eyes tightened.

"No, I was hoping Althea would," Siobhan said in a sure voice. "But we'll gather again to discuss options for a suitable leader." She added.

There was no way in hell I would be the leader of vampires; that would be too much for my mental state.

"Let's focus on healing for now," Carlisle replied.

"Yes, my friend, now we heal," Siobhan agreed.

"Exactly," Carlisle said. He and Siobhan embraced, and then he shook Liam's hand. "Try to find Alistair and tell him what happened. I'd hate to think of him hiding under a rock for the next decade." He explained.

Siobhan laughed again. Maggie hugged both Nessie, Bella, and me, and then the Irish coven was gone.

The Denalis were the last to leave, Garrett with them—as he would be from now on, I was pretty sure.

Huilen and Nahuel were the ones who stayed, though I had expected those last two to go back with the Amazons.

Carlisle was deep in fascinated conversation with Huilen; Nahuel sat close beside her, listening while Edward told the rest of us the story of the conflict as only he knew it.

He smiled at me with a look I didn't entirely recognize—it was tender but also awed and even exasperated. "You did amazing out there; the way you killed Aro, then Jane was thrilling." He said softly. Then he spoke louder to the others as well as to me.

"You should have seen how we looked to them! Usually, Alec cuts off all sense and feeling from their victims while they go through the charade of a council. That way, no one can run when the verdict is given. But there we stood, ready, waiting, outnumbering them, with gifts of our own while their gifts were rendered useless by Bella. Aro knew that with Zafrina on our side, they would be the blind ones when the battle commenced. I'm sure our numbers would have been pretty severely decimated, but they were sure that theirs would be, too. There was even a good possibility that they would lose. They've never dealt with that possibility before. They didn't deal with it well today." Edward explained.

"Hard to feel confident when horse-sized wolves surround you," Emmett laughed, poking Seth's arm.

Seth flashed a grin at him.

"Of course, it was the wolves who did all the hard work," I said.

"Sure was," Seth agreed.

"Absolutely," Edward agreed. "That was another sight they've never seen. The true Children of the Moon rarely move in packs, and they are never much in control of themselves. Twenty enormous regimented wolves were a surprise they weren't prepared for. Caius is terrified of werewolves. He almost lost a fight with one a few thousand years ago and never got over it." He said.

I rolled my eyes, and Alice laughed, leaning forward—she was tucked under Edward's other arm—to wink at me.

"So, when should I start planning the wedding?" Alice asked me.

I glared at her.

"Don't even think about it!" I exploded.

"Alice, she's way more stubborn than you," Bella said as she held Nessie—asleep now on her lap.

Alice hugged.

"Fine, but after that baby is born, there's no way you're not marrying Edward," Alice said.

"I'm not marrying Edward," I said.

She looked at me speculatively for a moment. "I don't think so," She said. "You're lying to yourself." She added.

I pouted and looked at Edward.

"Edward, tell Alice to leave me alone," I said, pointing at her.

Edward chuckled.

"Alice, leave Althea alone. We still have things to work out, like how she kept the imprint a secret from me and the divorce." Edward said.

"Okay, okay!" Alice said.

I felt oddly tired. Sleepy, of course, but just like the day had been long enough.

I looked at Edward and yawned.

"I need to take a nap," I said.

"That's probably a good idea." He agreed quickly. "I'll take you to the treaty line so you can go home." He said.

I nodded.

"Goodbye, everyone," I said as Edward picked me up.