XLI. Artifice.

I stood on the open, snow-covered field. My family and the witnesses agreed to fight for my innocent daughter and stood with me. The wolves, except for Jacob, lingered behind us. Delia stood between me and Edward, both her tiny hands clutching onto my arm.

Garrett stepped up beside Kate, looking down at her with a small smile. "If we live through this, I'll follow you anywhere, woman," he assured her.

Kate stared up at Garrett before lightly rolling her eyes. "Now you tell me," she said with a soft huff as she looked up at him, returning his small smile.

I glanced back at them; I glanced back at all of them. Guilt overtook me, all these lives that could face their last day. I diverted my gaze and caught Edward's eyes. Once more, I prepared to stare death in the eyes because of the man I fell in love with...yet still, I couldn't regret the decisions that led me to this love.

"The Redcoats are coming! The Redcoats are coming!" Garrett yelled.

My head snapped forward, eyes focusing on the approaching group of vampires that came out of the three lines. They were more than us, much more. At the sight of the many cloak figures stalking at a fast pace towards us, Delia's grip on me tightened.

There were a good few yards between us and the Volturi when they came to a stop in the middle of the snow-covered field. Aro's eyes lingered on me, then shifted to Delia, and then his eyes swept over everyone else.

"Aro's looking for Alice," Edward mumbled softly as he stared at Aro with narrowed eyes, instinctively moving closer to me and our daughter.

Carlisle walked to the front of the group, standing a few steps ahead of us. "Aro, Let us discuss things as we used to. In a civilized manner," he suggested with a pleading tone to his voice. He wasn't speaking too loud; there was no need, even with the distance between us and the Volturi.

"Fair words, Carlisle," Aro replied as his red eyes settled with intensity on Carlisle. "But a little out of place, given the battalion you've assembled against us," he claimed as he motioned towards the witnesses we had gathered.

"I can promise you, that was never my intent," Carlisle assured as he shook his head. "No laws have been broken," he claimed.

"We see the child. Do not treat us as fools." Caius snapped as his lips pulled back into a snarl and his brows furrowed into a scowl, his hand waving in Delia's direction.

"She is not an lmmortal!" Carlisle quickly claimed Delia's innocence. "These witnesses can attest to that," he stated as he motioned towards the witnesses standing firm behind him. "Or you can look. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks," he added as he motioned back towards Delia.

"Artifice!" Caius yelled in an accusatory voice.

Aro held up a hand to silence his brother, and the long-haired blonde immediately went quiet while silently fuming. "I will collect every facet of the truth," Aro assured his brother before his eyes settled on Edward. "But from someone more central to the story. Edward, as the child clings to your newborn mate, I assume you are involved." he accused.

Edward looked at me and I stared at him with a small frown. He offered an assuring smile but it did little to calm me. His gaze diverted to Delia, and he bent down to kiss the top of her head before walking towards the Volturi. I stared at my husband, focusing solely on him and my urge to protect him. A purple haze, only for my eyes to see, burst forward and engulfed Edward, stretching to follow him into enemy territory.

Delia moved around me and came to stand between me and Jacob, one of her hands reaching out to gently clutch onto a small fist full of the wolf's hair.

I watched as Edward held his hand out and Aro gladly took it, looking through every memory Edward had of our daughter. The angry memories of finding out I was pregnant, the desperation when I had no choice but to have the baby, the hurt when I died in childbirth. The good memories of holding Delia and seeing her grow up in such a short span.

Aro's eyes widened as he pulled away from Edward, his eyes flicking towards Delia. "I'd like to meet her," he stated. Edward glanced back at me and I slowly nodded my head. Together, Edward and Aro began walking in our direction, Dimitri and Felix following for protection.

My eyes narrowed at the two extra vampires approaching. While taking Delia's hand in mine, I looked at the large brown wolf standing beside my daughter. Jacob nodded his head and followed as I and Delia took our first steps. I still felt rather uneasy and glanced over my shoulder, meeting Emmett's gaze. He didn't hesitate to fall in step with us, him and Jacob flanking me and Delia on either side.

We met Edward and the three Volturi members halfway on the field. "Ah. Young Anastasia. Immortality becomes you." Aro said in delight as he looked me over with a small, fascinated smile. I gave him a tense smile as I nodded my head in a thank-you gesture. Aro's gaze was quick to divert to Delia as he gasped before letting out a high-pitched laugh. "I hear her strange heart," he claimed as he pointed at Delia.

"Delia looked up at me and I gave her an assuring nod. She let go of my hand but both me and Edward lingered close behind her as she stepped towards Aro. "Hello, Aro." she greeted as she reached out with her small hand.

Aro bent down and reached out to take Delia's hand, but instead of taking his hand, Delia placed her hand on his cheek. She stared at Aro, projecting all her memories, from the very first one, into his mind.

"Magnifico!" Aro cried out as he pulled away from Delia. I grabbed onto my daughter's shoulder, tugging her back towards me and her father. "Half mortal, half immortal." Aro claimed to the rest of the Volturi while his eyes remained fascinated on Delia." Conceived and carried by this newborn while she was still human." he added as he motioned towards me.

"Impossible!" Caius claimed as he shook his head.

Aro spun around and began stalking back towards the other Volturi members, with Dimitiri and Felix following him. "Do you think they fooled me, brother?" he questioned Caius as he raised his eyebrows.

I shared a look with Edward, both of us still uneasy and worried. We both took one of Delia's hands, walking back towards our own group with Jacob and Emmett following after us.

"Bring the informer forward," Caius demanded and Irina was roughly brought to the front, held by two members of the guard. On instinct, both Kate and Tanya stepped forward a little. "Is that the child you saw?" he questioned as he pointed towards Delia.

Irina looked at my daughter, her eyebrows furrowing. "I'm not sure." She admitted as she shook her head.

"Jane," Caius muttered without even looking at the young blonde vampire.

"She's changed." Irina was quick to admit under the threat of Jane. "This child is bigger," she explained as she shot another brief glance in the direction of Delia.

"Then your allegations were false." Caius snapped as he scowled at Irina with his eyebrows drawn up and a snarl tugging at his lips.

"The Cullens are innocent. I take full responsibility for my mistake." Irina stated as she nodded her head before glancing at her two sisters across the field. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

The two members of the guard grabbed Irina by the arms while a second stepped forward with a torch. Their intent was clear to everyone. Irina was sent to die for her mistake. My mouth fell open as my eyebrows furrowed. Even though Irina was the cause of this, the cause of my family nearly dying, this is not what I wanted. I did not want to see her die.

"Caius, no!" Edward yelled; despite his anger at Irina, he felt the same way as I did. She made a mistake that was not punishable by death.

I grabbed Delia, one hand cradling the back of her head as I forced her face into my stomach, shielding her from what was to come. The two guards ripped off Irina's arms, her porcelain skin cracking away.

Felix stepped forward and grabbed Irina by the sides of her face and with a sickening cracking sound, he ripped off her head. Caius didn't waste a second as he grabbed the torch and stepped forward, setting Irina's limbs ablaze.

"Irina!" Tanya cried out as she and Kate sprinted forward.

The vampires closest to the blonde sprinted into action, grabbing and restraining them both. I sensed the urgency of things declining, I sensed Caius and Aro's defiant plan brought through their actions. I grabbed Delia and lifted her onto Jacob's back while securing her backpack.

There was no doubt that even with all the evidence, Aro and the Volturi would still rule against us. I could tell us much by their wicked grins as they watched the grieving sisters being detained. They planned to make us fall apart. They knew to every vampire on our side that family was important, and Caius used that.

Edward looked at Zafrina. "Blind them," he instructed, and immediately, her gaze turned to Tanya and Kate. Both women immediately tensed up as their dazed eyes widened.

"Give me my sight back," Tanya demanded as her wide eyes rapidly darted around.

Edward approached Tanya, speaking to her in a calm and soothing voice. "Tanya, this is what they want. If you attack now, we'll all die," he told her softly.

Both of the women instinctively calmed down, and Edward glanced at Zafrina, giving her a nod of his head. Whatever the Amazonian made them see disappeared, and neither of them sprang to attack anymore.

This infuriated the Volturi, who craved the violence so that they could have a reason to attack us. I watched with narrow eyes as Aro turned to Jane, giving her a look. My gaze flicked to Jane, watching her as her eyes settled on Edward who was walking back towards me and our daughter.

"Pain," Jane muttered as her gaze remained on Edward.

For a moment Edward grimaced, his knees buckling underneath him. "I don't think so bitch." I spat softly as I took a deep breath while stepping in front of the group. My shield expanded in front of me like a wall, not letting anything penetrate.

Edward stood up on shaky legs but his grimace of pain was gone. He continued walking towards me and came to stand beside me, taking my hand in his. "It's working," he mumbled softly.

Jane's eyes shot towards me and her eyebrows furrowed when I met her gaze with a sharp smile. Her gaze diverted, flickering around as she desperately tried to bring members of our group down to their knees. Aro glanced back at her with furrowed eyebrows before he turned, his gaze settling on me, eyeing me up and down with fascination.

Eleazar was right. He wants you too. Edward told me silently and my eyes narrowed, giving his hand an assuring squeeze.

"Aro, you see there's no law broken here," Carlisle spoke up as he stared at the Volturi, a last attempt to make peace.

"Agreed," Aro replied before taking a few measured steps forward. "But does it then follow that there is no danger?" he questioned as he spread his arms by his sides. "For the first time in our history, humans pose a threat to our kind." He claimed as he turned around to face his people. "Their modern technology has given birth to a weapon that could destroy us. Maintaining our secret has never been more imperative." he continued while glancing between us and the Volturi.

There was a mocking tone to Aro's voice, a sinister look to Caius' smile. No matter what we did, nor what evidence we had brought, the Volutri would find fault. Their goal today was no justice but oppression and death.

"In such perilous times, only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable. And we know nothing of what this child will become. Can we live with such uncertainty? Spare ourselves a fight today, only to die tomorrow." He finished his speech, and the witnesses they had gathered began mumbling in uncertainty and fear.

Two pairs of footsteps approached in the far distance and Aro let out a delighted gasp. Edwrad's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced over his shoulder. "Alice," he whispered and my head snapped to the side, watching Alice and Jasper approach from the distance.

"Alice!" Aro whispered in delight as Alice and Jasper neared.

They walked past us and walked straight towards the Volturi, but the second they were close, Dimitri stepped forward and placed a halting hand on both their chests while two extra members of the guard stepped towards Alice and Jasper.

"My dear, dear Alice, we're so glad to see you here, after all," Aro spoke as he stepped a little closer towards her.

"I have evidence the child won't be a risk to our kind," Alice claimed before holding her hand out over Dimitiri's shoulder. "Let me show you." she pleaded with him.

Aro nodded and motioned for Alice to be let through. Demitiri let her go and turned to Jasper, slapping him across the face. While Alice was allowed to approach, the two guards grabbed Jasper by the arms.

Alice walked to Aro and held her hand out. He immediately took it, his eyes ever so slightly widening.

I looked up at Edward. What's she showing him? I questioned him silently but Edward grimaced as he lowered his gaze. Edward, tell me. I demanded.