To Love or To Destroy [TWILIGHT]

The Final Battle

This was finally it. The long-awaited day wherein we would face Victoria, her newborn army, and... Riley. Carlisle and Sam had explained the plan—Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Esmé, Carlisle, along with the wolves, would await the newborn army—ready to fight.

I on the other hand, would accompany Bella and Edward atop the snowy hills to protect Bella—and inevitably face off against Victoria and Riley. We would also have Seth—a young brown wolf with us, and Jacob—who would only join the battle once the newborns arrived.

After Bella smudged her blood on a couple of tree trunks—as a way to lure the newborns away from us, we hiked up the snowy mountain—footsteps crunching on the ice. Edward had chosen a site to set up the tent where we would be spending the night, anxiously awaiting the next day. We had finally arrived, thanks to our vampiric speed. Soft snow started trickling down from the sky, making the hilltop seem enchanting. It was hard to believe a battle would be ensuing a couple hours from now.

I sighed softly as nightfall begun. Bella, Edward, and I were in a cramped tent while the wolves were sleeping outside. Their fur could withstand the coldest conditions, which worked in our favor.  I doubted all of us could've fitted inside the tiny tent.

Vampires couldn't sleep—which was one of the things I missed the most about being human. I missed the utter bliss of being able to escape to a calmer reality for a while. Edward and I watched over Bella, worry creasing on his brow as she was outwardly shivering.

"I can't sleep with all that teeth chattering going on," Jacob's face appeared as he opened the tent.

Edward's face was the epitome of worry and regret as he said, "I should've chosen a site lower down. What can I do, Bella?"

His eyes met with Jacob's brown ones as realization settled on his face. "No, no way. It's out of the question," Edward snapped. I guessed Jacob wanted to hold Bella in his arms, as wolves' body heats were way higher than ours. I shifted uncomfortably, I found myself right in between their little love triangle. Maybe we should've brought another tent.

After a while of debate and arguing, Edward finally agreed after he watched Bella's incessant suffering. Jacob's tanned warm chest pressed against Bella and instantly, her chattering ceased. I breathed a soft sigh of relief, at least she wasn't in any more discomfort.

"I'll just.. step out for a little while, get some air," I said as I noticed Jacob and Edward giving each other tense glances. They probably needed time to talk about both of their feelings about Bella. They gave me a brief nod and I slowly opened the tent, stepping out.

I tried shutting out their discussion—it seemed quite private. From what I caught, Jacob asked Edward what he'd do if Bella chose him. I knew it wasn't any of my business but I couldn't help feeling slightly annoyed at him. Edward's entire world was Bella and Jacob just kept trying to steal her away. Bella had obviously already made her decision—I didn't know why Jacob couldn't just accept it. But after all, who was I to talk about acceptance? I could never accept Riley's disappearance and couldn't accept that he wasn't the same person anymore. I ran my hands through my long hair, huffing in frustration. Tomorrow, everything would change. I would finally meet Riley again.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

The sun rose, signaling the start of a new day. The sky was painted in light oranges and reds, it felt as though an artist took a paintbrush to the sky and made art. To everyone else, it was probably a day like any other. I could imagine humans running about their days, thinking nothing of it. To us, it could change everything. To me, it could mean losing several people I had grown to love—and one I hoped to save.

Bella's head popped up from the sleeping bag, her eyes blinking sleepily. "Morning sunshine," I smiled, ruffling the hair of the girl whom I've come to think of as my sister. She gave me a sleepy smile in return as her and Edward stepped out into the cold.