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DECISIONS, DECISIONS

ALICE CULLEN SAW THE DECISION BEING MADE, ALMOST LIKE IT WAS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME.

Before Bella Swan and her entanglement with their family, the pixie-girl never relied on her gifts for anything other than playing into the stock market and finding her family— finding Jasper. Recent visions were filled with Bella's life being at stake, decisions being made one at a time.

This vision was different; it was rapid chaos, the amount of decisions that were being made just then. One after another after another, like her brain was being overloaded with information.

She saw Irina Denali's decision to betray the Cullens and out them for creating a supposed Immortal Child. She saw Aro's decision to take action against the coven who were evidently guilty in Irina's memories.

And then, the part that worried her most, was Aro's decision to let Billie Burbank help the Volturi in their latest pursuit. The image of her adorning the Volturi crest along her neck, the rubies of the pendant matching the crimson of her irises, flickered behind her moving eyelids.

The glass vase she had once been holding in her hands slipped from her grasp, colliding with the floor with a tensed shatter. The music from the piano nearby ceased, and each member of her family turned in her direction with worry.

"What is it, Alice?" Jasper questioned, anxiously speeding up to the girl.

"The Volturi," she supplied, notably locking eyes with Edward who was able to see her thoughts of the vision roll in steadily, "they're coming for us; Aro, Caius, Marcus, the Guard, Irina, and..."

Bella took a hesitant step forward. "And who, Alice?"

Alice's eyebrows furrowed, almost pitifully as she ground out the following words.

"And Billie."

Alice, with the help of Edward, debriefed the family on their latest situation. It truly seemed as though the Cullens couldn't catch a break, but this time, their enemy was no measly feat; this was the damn Volturi they were talking about.

Carlisle jumped into a history lesson about the children who were made into vampires, a weathered book about the very topic sitting on the table before them all. "Aro has enough proof in Irina's thoughts," Edward said bitterly, "and their offensive weapons are too powerful for us to fight."

"No one can stand against Jane," Jasper added.

From her spot beside the empath, Alice chimed in with an, "and Alec's even worse."

"Well, we convince them— not fight," Bella tried, but was immediately stopped by Emmett's shake of his head.

"They're coming to kill us, not to talk."

Bella raked a hand through her hair, her eyes meeting Alice's. "You said Billie was with them," she noted,

Alice grimaced, almost sorrowfully. "She looks different now," the clairvoyant explained, and the image of Aro and Billie together as the decision to involve her was being made flashed within her mind. "She wears their crest. Her eyes were..."

When Alice let the sentence hang, a thick sort of silence coated the room's atmosphere. There was the confirmation they needed; Billie was no longer human, and it looked like she'd been among the Volturi long enough to begin wearing their coven's pendant freely.

Was she truly on the opposing side now?

"Do you think she could be reasoned with?" Edward asked his wife, remembering their strong friendship from before the blonde was taken without a trace all those months ago.

Bella tried to be an optimist when it came to just about anything, but especially when it came to her little miss sunshine friend . "This is Billie we're talking about," she said, something that sounded like a faint chuckle bubbling out of her throat. "She used to escort spiders out of my house just so Charlie wouldn't kill them... she wouldn't let anything happen to us if she knew we were innocent."

"Still, we'd need witnesses of our own that can attest to our innocence," Jasper said, and that sounded like the beginning of a decent plan. Everyone in the room murmured in agreement. "We can't rely on her— we need backup."

Convincing Billie was the key to convincing Aro, but there was the lingering possibility in everyone's minds that perhaps Billie wouldn't be convinced. Perhaps she'd spent too much time with the Volturi, as a newborn nonetheless, that she'd throw all caution to the wind and seek them guilty, too.

"I have to make some phone calls," Carlisle said, albeit a little bit to himself rather than to the others. "Sam needs to know... and so does her mother."

"Katherine may know about us, but it's too dangerous for her to be involved," Bella stated, obviously not pleased with having her friend's mother get too close to the mess they were dealing with, "especially with the Volturi on our case already."

For a moment, the vampires forgot Jacob Black was in the room as well before they heard him pipe up next. "She may not need to know right now, but Sam sure as hell does," he told him, and all eyes zeroed in on his follow-up statement. "Sam has to tell Embry; the poor soul's been going nuts these last few months... he deserves to know the most."

Carlisle was the first to nod. "Then it's settled," he started, "we gather witnesses, we alert the packs, and we don't tell Katherine until it is absolutely necessary."

And that was how their game plan was created.

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Later that evening, when the plan to gather witnesses in various parts of the globe was properly discussed, Bella Swan met the Cullen patriarch in his office with a quiet knock at the door.

He gave her a smile, inviting her in, but she merely lingered in the doorway. "Alice said Billie looked different," she said with a nervous edge to her tone, "and I know it's because she's a vampire now, but... do you think she is different now, too?"

There was a distinction in what Bella was asking. Billie certainly appeared different than before, with her new scarlet eyes taking over from their normal honey shade, and perhaps her skin was even more flawless, if at all possible. But other than the physical changes, was she now different? Had she still retained that happy go-lucky attitude of hers, and had she even asked for her friends and family once she woke up as a creature of the night?

All the questions were swirling inside her mind and that much was obvious to Carlisle, despite not being a mind reader like his son. But he thought on the very topic nonetheless, remembering the stories he'd heard from Bella about her endless compassion and that smile of hers that was utterly infectious.

So, his answer was a simple one; one that borrowed from his new daughter's innate optimism.

"Billie's heart has always been pure... and I don't think that being a vampire could ever change that."

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[ wyn's note ]

pack pov up next (aka embry pov lol)! ;) but yikes, not telling mama burbank?? cue: this decision will have future consequences....

thanks for 93k votes!! we are so close to 100k which is actually insanity!! i love you all always xx