Beating Hearts

Chapter 2

"Ness, there you are! Where the hell have you been?" Alice rushes her with a worried expression, her frantic golden eyes looking over each of her limbs before deciding that she's fine and healthy.

"I'm alright, aunt Alice. I just needed to leave for a bit."

"Everyone was worried sick! We were only moments away from searching for you ourselves."

"Always the dramatics," Renesmee mumbles under her breath as she looks toward the groups of people in the next room. "Has anyone broken out the good whiskey yet?"

"Listen, there's something I need to tell you before you walk in there."

She paused, waiting for Alice to continue. "We sent out a funeral invitation to-,"

"Ah! There she is! The beautiful Renesmee has finally arrived!" The world stopped turning.

Renesmee's ears rang as she zeroed in on the man approaching her, bile raising into her throat as that voice echoed in her head. The same voice that plotted to kill her entire family.

As the three Volturi Kings made their way towards the little half vampire, their footsteps came to a halt. Each one of them completely frozen.

Marcus' eyes widened as she met each of their bewildered expressions with one of her own.

Next to her, she hears a gasp and the sound of a glass breaking; soon after, Jaspers calming voice asking what Alice was seeing.

"It can't be," Renesmee hears her say, snapping her out of the trance.

"What the hell is going on? Why are they here?"

She looks around to find that everyone was now in the room with them. "They were invited, Ness."

"Alice?"

Renesmee looks to find her aunt glaring into the direction of the kings, who were still rendered speechless. "Can someone please explain what's going on?"

"Brother," Aro mumbles, raising his hand towards Marcus; without their red eyes looking away, he reaches into Marcus' mind, seeing the golden bond strings that attached each and every one of them to her.

"Impossible."

The heavy silence in the room felt awkward as they gazed upon her. This was not the same little girl they met all those years ago. No, this was a woman. And a beautiful one, at that.

"I think it's best if we have the other guests leave, don't you think?" Esme's soft voice muttered into Carlisle's ear, even though everyone could hear her anyways. "I agree."

"Wait, where's grandpa?"

"He left after the funeral, sweetheart. He's alright," Rosalie soothes while Carlisle clears the rest of the house.

Peering back at the Volturi, a clear expression of anger forms in her eyes. "Is anyone going to say anything? Why are you staring at me?", she yells, causing a certain temperamental vampire to snap.

"Mind your tongue, you little-,"

Jasper and Emmett snarl, moving into a fighting stance while Rosalie, Alice, and Esme block him from coming anywhere near her.

But he didn't get the chance to take a step before Aro and Marcus were slamming him into the next room. "You fool! Do not speak to her that way!"

Renesmee was astonished at the way the usually quiet one spoke to Caius.

No one spoke to Caius that way. She remembered how much he scared her as a little girl.

"Our apologies," Aro began, glaring towards Caius, who was now picking himself off of the floor with a growl deep in his chest. "We did not mean to cause any type of stir."