CH 11: Weightless (Two Years Later)

A/N: Song for this chapter: "We Remain" by Christina Aguilera.

Call me crazy, but I went through the burn one more time. Though the timing of my first change had been out of my control, It was something I'd wanted with all my heart. Saturno or not, I felt like I was born to be a vampire.

"We should head back," Jasper said, rolling off me. We'd finished our hunt as we often did. We could hear Kate and Garrett off in the distance; they liked to finish their hunts the same way. We spent a lot of our time with Kate and Garrett. So much had changed.

It took a couple months to repair all the damage done to Castello di Volterra, even with dozens of vampires pitching in. Most of the Guards we'd torn apart were reassembled. Marcus was forgiving, knowing first-hand what it was like to live under Aro and Chelsea's control. The wolves weren't happy with his decision, but with time they were able to let it go and move on. Only some of those Guards remained in Volterra to serve Marcus. Many of our allies joined the new Guard—well, they'd changed the name. Those working under Marcus were referred to as his Agents, or as Agents of Volterra, or AVs. Marcus was simply referred to as Lord Marcus, not 'King' and never 'Master'. Felix, Amelia, Lysander, Maria, Alanna, Peter, Char, Carmen, Eleazar, Tanya, Irina, Benjamin, Tia, Siobhan, Liam, Maggie, Irwin, Alice, and Annie were Lord Marcus' new AVs. Afton gladly became an AV after he was reassembled. With his free will restored, he was actually very nice, with a boyish playful streak. Alec's body had been too close to the first fire-bomb when it went off. His head had been burned, so there was no saving him. At least Jane had walked away from the battle with her mate.

Jane and Jude had submitted requests for reversal. Marcus had implemented new secrecy laws to allow for reversals. Amelia was happy to help. Shortly after the battle, we found out she didn't drain me because she craved venom, not blood; Tristan used to bite himself so she could feed without biting and changing him. Aro had ordered her to change me during the battle because he thought one of our allies would try to drain me, making us turn on each other. Truly a desperate man. As for the legal reversals, of course Rose was the first to apply. She, Emmett, and Jillian were the first vampires to undergo legally permitted, monitored reversals. Marcus insisted upon observing the three of them for a few years before turning any more vampires back into humans, just to make sure there were no dangerous side-effects. Carlisle and Esme were torn, still deciding if they would sign up for reversal or not. Zafrina and Senna had returned to the Amazon.

"Come on," Jasper said, tossing me my clothes and quickly dressing himself. "Irwin's coming for us in two hours. Alice went all-out with this wedding; she'll never forgive us if we don't look our best when we get there." I groaned and got dressed. He was right. "Kate, Garrett, let's go!" He called. The four of us had basically formed a new coven. Sometimes we stayed in Volterra, sparring with the AVs. Sometimes we stayed with Emmett and Rose, or with Carlisle and Esme—we regularly visited my parents and my brother, Mason. More often than not, we lived like nomads. We'd seen enough war, endured enough drama, we had no desire to become human again, we hated feeling trapped. We were the restless ones, enjoying our freedom, seeking out new adventures, chasing the sun. Our new life was perfect.

The wedding was held at the Cullen house in Forks. My parents, Mason, and several humans from the Quileute tribe were in attendance, as were most of the AVs. The entire pack was there, in human form even in the presence of so many vampires. While Jasper, Kate, and Garrett went to mingle with the other guests under the fairy lights and flowers hung between the trees, I went inside and made my way up to Alice's bathroom, the largest in the house. Angela and Leah were in matching strapless dresses, the forest-green color lovely against their respective skin tones. My maid-of-honor dress was the same color, but it was one-shoulder, with a little gold beading along the neckline. "Oh, you look great!" Alice flitted over to me, pulling me down into a chair so she could slide a glittering gold comb into my braided updo.

"Where's Jillian?" I asked.

"Changing her shoes," Alice said, pouting a little. "She won't even let me help her with them. She said the shoes I picked out for her are beautiful, but too uncomfortable for her wedding." I laughed and laughed. I couldn't help it. Alice glared at me at first, but she finally gave in and laughed too. "You spoiled me," Alice said, smiling fondly. "You let me get away with anything."

"You know I love you, Alice." Alice beamed and hugged me.

Jillian walked in looking positively radiant. Her dress was a simple strapless fit-and-flare. No beading, no lace, but the fabric had a subtle sparkle to it, like snow in the sunlight. She wore her curly, fawn-brown hair down. Small sapphire earrings caught the light and made her cinnamon eyes pop. Her freckles looked like nature's glitter on her. Her look was so simple and pure, but so stunning. She blushed under my gaze and the look was complete. "You look amazing," I told her. She positively beamed.

That night, standing before a mixture of humans and supernatural creatures, a shape-shifting wolf married his imprint, a vampire-turned-human Saturno who could talk to the dead. Jacob Black, my childhood friend, married Jillian, a centuries-old woman with the appearance of an eighteen-year-old girl. Of course, Jake couldn't wait for the day he could tell his children they were descended from spirit-chiefs and pirates.

On the subject of children, there was one I rushed to see as soon as the reception was well underway, after giving little Mason a kiss of course. Rose and Emmett were sitting far from the dance floor, so Rose could feed her daughter as needed without feeling too exposed. She grinned when she saw me walking over. Emmett was bouncing his eleven-month-old on his lap, making funny faces and noises. The baby girl laughed with each bounce. Emmett shot me a playful glare and started saying in a sing-song voice, "Bella Rose McCarty really likes a party, but soon she'll go home and go to sleep." Yep, that little blonde baby was named after me, and Alice had seen she'd grow up to look just like Rose. Emmett had already become an excessively protective father, so her teen years would sure be interesting.

"I get it, Em," I said. "No big jumps, I promise." Rose stood and draped a blanket over my arms so her daughter wouldn't get too cold. Taking Bella Rose from Emmett, I looked into her gorgeous eyes and smiled. There was recognition in her eyes, but that was it. Little monster. Glancing at Emmett briefly, I looked back down at the baby in my arms and growled. Bella Rose broke into peals of laughter. The sound was a siren call to Esme; she and Carlisle walked over and sat down. Giving the baby girl a gentle kiss, I passed her to Esme, blanket and all. Esme cooed and stroked her hair, completely spellbound.

I danced with Jake once, then with my dad, my mom, with my little brother in my arms. I danced with Jasper for a while, but then I felt it again: The call of the wild––the urge to run, jump, roar. Jasper felt it and saw it in my eyes. We said our goodbyes and asked Jake for permission to cross the border, the four of us. Having heard us, Garrett and Kate were already waiting for us when we slipped away. The four of us ran to the cliffs. We left the pain behind, the anger, the guilt... the weight of the world fell off our shoulders. We were finally free to just... be. Free to be, and free to go wherever we chose. That night, we chose the sea. We chose to jump. The water touched everything, and so would we.

END

A/N: It's finally finished! I'm so sorry it took so long, but sharing this story with you had made me so happy. Thank you so much for all the love and support sent my way over the years. You have no idea how much each and every review and PM has meant to me. Hit Author Alert and/or Favorite Author so you'll know when I post new stories–I have so many ideas! Time for the next adventure! Children of Saturn is finished.