✓ | 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒, Volturi Kings

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ⁴⁹

ᴡᴇʟʟ, ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀꜱ. ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ᴏɴᴇ ᴇᴘɪʟᴏɢᴜᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ ɪꜱ ᴅᴏɴᴇ.

ᴀʟʟ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ.

For the first twenty steps I was sure that the opposing side was unable to see us. Once we reached fifty I knew that their eyesight was failing them. Only when we did hit the seventy step mark did the group of defendants see us.

The look on Alice's face when she realized that she did not see us coming was one that will be ingrained into my memory for all time.

None of our own witnesses had come yet. No, they would wait until we made our first statements, lingering in the background. Many of our own would have let the word slip that we did not need them there for the first few minutes because the defendants did not know that they would be coming.

All of it had been planned out so perfectly. I looked so delightfully evil in my stance, my pitch black cloak trailing after me, my covenmates not far behind. With my mates at my side, I stop at a good place in the snow, allowing some of the snowflakes to hit my head. The tiny snowflakes added some contrast to the midnight cloaks.

Our cloaks all matched in some way, although none are exactly the same. It was a shame that the outfits on the other side did not match.

I did have to give some props to the other hybrids for correctly matching themselves. It made it so much easier to spot them when they all look so beautifully aligned, even if Nahuel disliked most of them.

Poor Renesmee stood with her father, who just looked plain angry with us. Maybe he's upset that we have better outfits. Come on, Edward, the Volturi always show up in stylish clothes that will make an impression for the next century and a half. Get with the program.

We all stood there for a few minutes, waiting for them to take their stances. Lord, they should have known how to act in a trial. You always approach the royalty after they walk towards you. Simple hints, so simple.

Edward was the first one to walk, an almost shaky walk. He may have been angry, but there was always one thing that would outweigh his anger.

His fear.

"You don't need to be here. We haven't committed any crimes," his voice was calm and monotone, although I could hear the fear hidden behind his indifference.

Those words did nothing to stop us. Aro let out a small chuckle, one that sounded more threatening than anything. Not his usually maniacal laughter. No, this was laughter that would haunt your nightmares when you just wanted dreams.

"Quite the arsenal," Caius comments. "Were you planning on a coven meet up after trial? I didn't know you had any friends you could bring along. Usually the brooding alone type of guy, aren't you?"

"What would you know about friends, Caius?" Edward sneers, his calm demeanor suddenly falling back to his anger. He had to cover up that fear of his with anger because if he allowed himself to be afraid of us, Edward's ego would be shattered. We all know how much he cares about that fragile ego of his. You always did complain when anyone wanted to be friends with you, and claimed that they wanted to be near you for your beauty. I don't get how anyone could find you attractive.

"A lot more than you realize considering that I have been friends with my brothers for over three millennia. You do learn quite a lot about kinship with soul siblings. Though I don't think you have any of those. What a shame," Caius fake pouts at him before rolling his eyes.

Edward looks at me and then stutters, "I-I can't read you." You're welcome, babes.

Oh, what he cared about most. His gift that had only ever been known to fail with Isabella now failed with me, the person he hated most. What a turn of events indeed. Just like Alice not being able to see me or my coven, Edward was now unable to read anyone. He was really rendered useless.