Disclaimer: We don't own Alec and Renesmee, for reasons we still don't understand. That doesn't mean we can't pretend and pull on the strings of their puppets, though. Happy reading, darlings!
-Cee and Tiff {IITM} [Please read author's note at end of chapter!]

Epilogue: The Knight & The Princess

Alec's POV

"Nez…must we really do this?" I complained, looking to what I imagined very pathetic as I pouted.

"It's only for one night, Alec. Jake practically got down on his hands and knees, begging me to do this." Nez replied as we got out of the car.

I slammed my door shut a little too harshly, and I worried I might have damaged the car. But I remembered what I was about to do, and found myself caring very little about it. We made our way up to the Black family's front door. I felt like I was walking to my death.

"Being on all fours is a regular routine for him." I joked. Nez glared at me.

"You're not funny!" She snapped, but a hint of a smile appeared on her lips all the same.

We had been together now for almost nine years. But in my mind, it only felt like nine days. Nez was still as theatric as ever, never making one moment dull. Not that I minded that. I was as happy as I had ever been, living out the rest of my endless days with her.

I showed her the world, or some of it. We traveled to France, like I always wanted. Then to Spain, Japan, Germany, Sweden. Once, we even stopped back in Italy, where I visited with Jane. I didn't dare go to Volterra, though. Jane met us in Tuscany. I couldn't handle the thought of stepping back into that prison. I still thought about it. Quite a bit. I worried that somehow this was all fake, and that any minute I would find myself standing like a statue within that throne room before Aro.

Then I just reminded myself that he was dead.

Yes, the great and powerful Aro, leader of the Volturi. Ashes. A rebellion finally took place, covens from around the world uniting against the Volturi. Even some members within the Volturi turned on their master. Such as Felix, Heidi, and countless others. My sister joined the rebels, to which I was astonished. Never in a million years had I expected Jane to betray Aro. When I asked her about it, she told me that when Aro had intentions of killing me, she lost all the respect she had built for him in the decades she served him.

I couldn't help but feel proud.

The Denali coven and Adeline fought the Volturi as well. And while Felix, my sister, and Demetri survived, Adeline, Heidi, and one member of the Denali coven did not.

The death of Addie was a shock. I knew why she fought the Volturi. They killed her family the same day they transformed me into a vampire. One part of me grieved her, the part that knew her as a human, the girl I grew up with. But it was her choice, and she did die for a cause. I had to respect her, not only for her bravery, but for what she did for Renesmee and me.

As for Heidi, well, it hurt. We were never particularly close, but I had known her for centuries. She was an extended sister to me, as Felix was a brother. Others I knew had died as well, and for days after the battle had ended, I couldn't get over the shock.

But Aro was gone. At least Aro was gone. I didn't know who had the privilege of killing him, but I wanted to shake their hand, whoever it was. No one knows what happened to Caius. Some report they saw him flee, others say they killed him. As of now, Marcus is in charge of Volturi matters, but he does not reside in Volterra. I didn't blame him for not staying.

Jane still remained in Volterra with the remaining guard. I told her to move on, to be free. But she said she knew nothing else. I hope someday she'll come to her senses and leave. No one is stopping her.

With there being no fear of Aro ever returning to haunt us, Nez and I have been allowed to travel around without glancing over our shoulders. It's been heaven.

Until now.

The Cullens had moved from Forks after all, and they now resided in Chicago, the place Edward grew up as a human. Jacob and Leah decided to stay in La Push, however. They wanted to raise their family where they had both been raised. While on our visit to them, Jacob had requested that Nez baby-sit the pups for one night. Apparently, he and the missus wanted to spend the night in a hotel, getting away for a while. The reasoning's made me shudder. Anyways, Nez dragged me along, saying there was no way I wasn't in this with her.

"You owe me so much for this, Perla." I said lowly as she knocked on the front door. She giggled.

"Can't wait.." She purred in my ear, setting me on edge.

She always did this. Always chose the completely wrong time to send impure thoughts through my brain…and through my body. When we were in public was her favorite time to tease me, wondering if I would snap and take her somewhere private to take pleasure in her body. Sometimes, on very rare occasions, I could resist her. But, sadly, ninety-nine percent of the time, she won. And I had no objections to it. The process of seeing her try to remain quiet (and failing) was very gratifying. Like, for example, this one incident where we were in a dressing room. She attempted to use her hand to cover her mouth, masking her cries the best she could.

Let's just say I had relocated her hand to a more suitable place, resulting in louder cries from her, and self satisfaction from me. I honestly didn't care if people heard. I had spent way too much time in my life trying to be discreet.

But, tempting me on Jacob Black's doorstep was really not the best of times, I didn't think. Especially not when I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything about it for the next several hours. Not when we were going to be watching over children.

"Hmm.." I wrapped my arm around her waist as we waited for someone to come to the door.

I could hear them inside. All three of them. The twins, Ava and Elijah, who were eight. And damned if that wasn't enough for Jake. They had another four years later. Sarah. She, in my opinion, was the most tolerable. She was sweet. Elijah and Ava on the other hand…

"HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!" I heard Ava scream from inside, running towards the door.

"Nez…" I whined, dreading of what would happen next. See, Ava…sort of had this little infatuation with me. It was uncomfortable and slightly disturbing. Not to mention annoying.

"Oh, be nice. She'll grow out of it.." Nez whispered.

Just then, the door swung open, and there she stood, staring up at me with those big, black eyes for hers. Black eyes, black hair, the rich tanned skin they all contained. She, to me, was the one who shared an equal ratio of both her parents features. While Elijah was the imagine of his father, and Sarah was exactly like her mother.

"Hi, Alec!" She grinned, barley glancing over at Nez. "Oh, hey, Nessie." I cringed. But of course Jacob had to instruct them to call her Nessie. It really couldn't be helped, I guess.

"Ava, you got taller!" Exclaimed Nez.

Ava nodded, like this was extremely old news.

"Yeah, two inches."

"Hello, Ava.." I forced a smile. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know.." She smiled and tossed her black hair over her shoulder, and I coughed to disguise a laugh. This eight year old was flirting with me. I didn't quite know how to handle this.

Jacob appeared in the doorway behind Ava, smiling widely.

"Hey, Ness!" He greeted excitedly. "Come on in. Ava, move outta the way, hon." He scooted Ava aside, making room of us to enter. She still had her gaze locked on me.

"Hey, Jake!" Nez squealed, stepping up to hug him.

"Jacob," I nodded. He returned the gesture. This was about the extent of our blooming relationship.

"Thanks again for this. You have no idea.." Jacob shook his head, releasing Nez from his hug. We all stepped inside their house, and I stood awkwardly. This was, after all, her family.

"It's not a problem. I missed these guys anyways," Nez said.

"They missed you too. Keep asking where you are. I tell them somewhere on the other side of the world. You should see their faces. You might as well be on the moon or something." He chuckled to himself, recalling the memories. I guess you had to be there.

"Aww." She laughed, then looked at me. "Oh, don't let me forget to get their presents out of the car later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Oh jeez, you got them presents? Now they're really going to be asking where you are when you're gone. You're spoiling them, Nessie." He grinned.

"Hey, it's my job to spoil them." Nez replied sternly.

Little thumping footsteps grew closer. I smiled upon seeing her. Sarah, a lollipop in hand. She stared up at the two of us, smiling bashfully.

"Sarah!" Nez cried, scooping her up in her arms. Sarah giggled, wrapping her little arms around Nez's neck. "How are you doing?"

"Guuuuud." Sarah answered, peeking over at me. "Hewo, Unca' Awec."

"Hey, you. Has your brother gotten any nicer to you since last time we visited?"

"Heck no!" Said the loud yet small voice that I knew belonged to Elijah from behind. I turned around, chuckling lightly. He had a Spiderman shirt on, and he stood with his hands in his pockets, as if trying to look older.

"Uh, hey, Nessie." He blushed upon looking at Nez. Just as Ava seemed to have a crush on me, Elijah was head over heels for my woman. Who he claimed was his woman. Or, in his words, would someday be his woman. "I got a new game for my X-box!" He bragged randomly.

"Oh, yeah?" Nez inquired.

"Uh huh. It's-"

"Oh, who cares!" Ava interrupted, throwing her hands up in the air. "The game is stupid, Nessie. You wouldn't like it."

"Yeeaaaaah!" Agreed Sarah in a small voice.

"Be nice!" Leah snapped, coming into view. She had a suitcase in hand, and a scowl on her face. Ah, Leah. It never failed, did it? I didn't know her, and I seldom saw her. Nevertheless, every single time I did see her, she had a sharpness about her. Maybe that was only because she didn't like either me or Nez. Or maybe she was like that all the time…I never thought I could ever feel sorry for Jacob Black, but in that moment, I did.

"I was just saying." Ava said defensively, making a face at Elijah. He stuck his tongue back out at her.

I grabbed Nez's hand, already dreading the next twenty-four hours alone with these…little people. We'd been here two minutes and they were already bickering. Honestly, why would she torture me this way? I had treated her good. Very good, in fact. I didn't deserve this!

She looked over at me with those giant brown eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. Damn it, we both we she had me by the balls. She was heartless, this one. Worst part, I didn't care. I was so whipped. Had I always been this pliable in her hands?

Yes. Very much so.

"Renesmee, Alec…" Leah greeted, forcing a smile on her lips.

I had to admit, I was shocked that Leah and Jacob trusted me enough to be around their children. A vampire that up until a few years ago, fed on humans. Now, I never did adopt the animal diet. I would have, but Nez forbade me from doing so. She preferred my red eyes, and said that if I had topaz eyes, it would remind her of her family. I asked why that was such a bad thing, since she loved her family as much as she did.

'Alec, as much as I love them, I don't want to see their eyes when I look at you.' She had told me. Who was I to argue with her?

Instead, I lived off of donated blood from hospitals. It was difficult at first, I wouldn't lie. However, it got easier. Nez favored both methods. She hunted animals when she could, and used the bagged blood when we weren't in a area suitable for animal life.

Anyways, Nez must have assured Jacob that nothing of the sort would happen.

"Hey, Leah." Nez smiled genuinely, unlike Leah's fake smile. Was Leah seriously still threatened by Renesmee? After all these years? Pathetic. She needed to let it go. Yeah, Jacob imprinted on Nez. I wasn't happy about it either. But life moved on. Wasn't her three children and happy marriage to Jacob enough to convince her that he wasn't going to run off with Nez? Like that would ever happen.

"Okay, I have everything packed?" Leah said to Jacob, handing him the suitcase she was carrying.

"I'll go put this in the car."

While Jacob moved past us and out of the house, Leah was starting to say her goodbyes to the children. She didn't waste any time, did she? Was she that eager to leave? Damn, how long had Jacob been neglecting his duties as husband?

"Now, remember to behave. If I hear that you didn't, you're-"

"Yeah, yeah. You'll make us go over to Grandpa's house and we'll have to listen to his BORING story of Taha Aki and The Third Wife . We know the drill, Mom!" Elijah said coolly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you using a tone, young man?" Leah asked calmly, raising one of her slender eyebrows.

Elijah's eyes widened with fear.

"No, Mama."

Ava laughed, putting her hand on her hip.

"'No, Mama..'" She mimicked. Elijah went in to hit her on the arm when Jacob came back in, clapping his hands together loudly.

"Alright! Nessie, you hungry? I can make us some sandwiches before we-"

"I'm sure Renesmee knows her way around our kitchen, Jake." Now Leah was sounding desperate. I hid a smile.

"Dada, do you haive to gow?" Sarah asked from Nez's arms, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

"Aw, Sarah…it's just for one night." Jacob said in a soothing tone, taking her from Nez. Sarah clung to him. "Besides, you're going to have a lot of fun. Right?" He gave Nez a look.

"Oh, yeah! We're going to have a pajama party and everything." Nez said enthusiastically.

Pajama party? I heard nothing of a pajama party up until now. I assumed she knew that I would not be participating in this. I had no use to wear pajamas. I had no pajamas!

"Yeah?" Sarah asked, a small tear running down her pink, chubby cheek.

"Yeah! And we'll watch movies, make popcorn, play games…" She went on and on.

Oh, joy.

Leah kissed both Ava and Elijah, hugging them to the point of suffocation, in my opinion. She took the weeping Sarah from Jacob, giving the same amount of affection to her.

Jacob did the same with the twins, and after a little more small talk, they were on their way out of the house. Leaving us alone with the infants.

"Hey, dude…dude!" Said the demanding whisper, followed by a jab in my hip. I suppressed a growl. Looking down, I saw Elijah curl his finger at me, indicating to bend down. I did so, unsure of what he was trying to do.

"Yes?"

"C'mon, I'll show you where I hide the stash!." He said in a low voice, like this was classified information. What the hell was he talking about?

"The what?"

"The root beer, duh! The parentals wont let me drink it normally, but I sneaked some in a while back from Uncle Paul. I hid the cans under my bed…" He looked around hastily, making sure only the two of us were in on this. "I've been saving them for the right moment."

Was this kid serious?

Thankfully, I had been accustomed to human beverages while living with Nez, so I knew what root beer was. However, I was a little confused as to why Elijah's parents wouldn't let him drink it. It had no alcohol in it, to my knowledge. Why did he have to hide it? The poor child was so excited he could barely contain himself.

"Okay…well go drink it then." I encouraged him.

"You want some?" He asked eagerly.

I was under the impression that Jacob's children knew about vampires. While it seemed risky to me, after being with the Volturi for years, it was really none of my business. They also knew about their…heritage, I should say. Shapes-shifters. Nez told me that Jacob and Leah were the first in a all long time to tell their children about the legends before they started…what was the term, phasing. I suppose they thought if they could handle knowing about shape-shifters, they could handle vampires. Obviously Elijah didn't know, however, that vampires couldn't obtain a human's variety of food.

"No, thanks. Not really a fan.."

He gasped, taking what I said for blasphemy. He then shook his head to himself, turned around and walked away, his shoulders slouched.

Strange child.

I walked to the living room, where I found Nez, Ava, and Sarah.

Ava was showing Nez her movie collection, and Sarah was still enjoying her lollipop, sitting on the sofa. I sat next to the little girl. Sarah smiled up at me, sticky sugar all over her face. I chuckled, but froze when she decided to crawl up on my lap. She giggled, an innocent, sweet sound. I relaxed a little. There was nothing to be afraid of. She was a little person…but also very fragile. One wrong move and I seriously hurt her. No pressure.

"Um…Nez?" My voice was high, desperate.

She turned around, took one look at Sarah on my lap, and melted. "Aw! She loves you!"

Ava, on the other hand, was glaring at her sister as though Sarah had stolen something precious and vital to her. I instinctively wrapped one arm around the child, unsure of what Ava was going to do.

I think this only made Ava more angry. She huffed, threw down whatever movie she was showing Nez, and stomped out of the room.

"Is she…quite sane?" I inquired. Nez smiled, then shrugged.

"She just has a big crush on you," she said, and sat down next to me. Sarah stayed on my lap.

"Ava is meeeaaaan!" Sarah wailed, then stuck what was left of the lollipop back in her mouth. I nodded in agreement. Nez hit me lightly.

"She'll grow out of it," she insisted, protective of the girl whom she considered a niece. I tried to look as though I agreed.

"Sure she will…or, she might just get worse."

Nez sighed.

The afternoon turned to night. The kids and Nez playes a game called Twister, which was quite amusing. I secretly wish it were just Nez and I playing it. I'd have to buy one just for the two of us one of these days. We had watched two animated movies. I have long forgotten what they were called. But one consisted of a lot of dogs, and the other cats. I think Ava pulled out one at some point and it was about both cats and dogs, but it was, mercifully, at that point that Nez told them to get into their pajamas.

I would take a pajama party over another movie about talking animals.

Until Nez shoved a pair of sleep pants and a tee shirt at me. "Here, go change!" She sounded so excited. I complained, groaned, and went to change. She must have bought these recently. The pajama pants were black and red. So at least the color scheme fit me. They were striped, which I wasn't too keen on. But beggars couldn't be choosers. She even had some black slippers for me.

When I walked out into the living room, I saw that sleeping bags had been set up not only for the children, but for Renesmee and I as well. Nez was sitting on hers, ordering pizza over the phone. She wore purple checkered sleep pants, a purple tank top, and a purple silky robe over it. She loved planning her outfits with care. I really didn't prefer her to wear anything, but if she enjoyed it, why not?

Ava wore a pink pajama set with an electric guitar on her long sleeved shirt. Elijah wore a set with a sponge with a face on it. I think the logo said SpongeBobSquarePants on it. And little Sarah had on a white pajama set with colorful bows adorning it.

Elijah was chugging a can of root beer, and already reaching for another.

"Yeah, one large pepperoni. And cheese sticks, please."

"Mom never orders pizza. This is awesome!" Elijah exclaimed, then belched loudly, no doubt from the high quantities of root beet he'd been consuming. I had to laugh. I sat down on the floor on my designated sleeping back.

Once the pizza had arrived, Nez and the kids ate. I watched, almost wishing I could try a bit. But the outcome was too disgusting. I'd tried, a long time ago, to consume human food. The result was, ironically so, very human indeed. I puked.

They all have ice-cream and cookies for dessert, and after a long while, Renesmee told them to all climb into their sleeping bags. Which meant we were to climb into them as well. "We're not to remain here bored all night, are we?" I asked as they climbed in, complaining a great deal. "You haven't forgotten that I can't sleep, have you?"

"No," she laughed, going to turn off the living room light. It was dark then, except for the little light that was above the kitchen stove.

"Ooooh, let's tell stories!" Ava said from her sleeping back.

"Yeah, ghost stories!" Elijah said.

"Nooo!" Sarah protested.

"Don't be a baby. Okay…how about this. There once was a transformer, called Bumblebee-"

"No. I have it. Elijah, let's tell them the story, The Princess and The Knight!"

"What's that?" Nez inquired.

"No way! That's a girly story. You tell it. I'm going to sleep." Elijah said bitterly, closing his eyes and pretending to snore.

"It's a story Daddy has told all of us. You want to hear it?" Ava asked, looking at me for a response.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" I said, laying back on my pillow.

This should be interesting.

Nez giggled, and held my hand.

Ava cleared her throat loudly, sitting up on her sleeping back. And, in the most dramatic voice possible, began:

"ONCE upon a time…." She paused, and Elijah snored loudly. Sarah and Nez giggled. "There was a beautiful princess, who lived deep in the rain forest. She was loved a lot by anyone who met her. And one day, she was told she had to marry the Joker!"

"The joker?" Nez asked, her voice amused. "Like, the court jester?"

"Something like that. Anyway," she sighed. "The princess didn't want to marry the joker. She didn't love the joker that way. So, she ran away! Far, far away."

I felt my brow furrow. But I shook my head, and listened on.

"She went to another kingdom. The kingdom of The People Eaters!"

Now, I looked at Renesmee. She looked back at me, her face scrunched in confusion. Okay, so I wasn't the only one feeling a sense of familiarity.

"The people eaters?" I heard myself ask.

"Yes, the people eaters. A very mean people, with gross skin and smelly breath."

I rolled my eyes. Thanks, Jacob.

"That's not how he said it. They had GREEN skin, with scales like lizards!" Elijah interjected, then went back to snoring.

"Whatever. Anyway. The King of the People Eaters wanted the princess to stay at his palace forever, so he appointed a handsome knight to make the princess fall madly in love with him."

"Handsome? I thought they were all ugly," I said bitterly, and Nez laughed quietly beside me.

"Not this People Eater. He was very handsome."

"Yeeeaah!" Ava agreed.

"Anyway, the Knight and the Princess fell in love, and went off together on a really big boat-"

"Oh, jeez." Nez shook her head. "I'm going to kill Jacob for this," she muttered, too low for any of them to hear.

"And the knight gave her a beautiful necklace. A magical necklace. A necklace that would bring him back to her, if they were ever to be away from each other."

I shifted. This story was bringing up memories I'd rather not think about. Nez squeezed my hand. She smiled a little.

"When they got back to the kingdom, King People Eater told the princess all about his plan to keep her forever! The princess cried, and went back home to the Joker. But…she still had her magical necklace."

I remember when I gave Nez that necklace on that yacht. It was night, and the scars were painting the black sky of Italy. We were kissing each other like the world might end the next day. In a sense, I guess it did. I smiled at the memory of when she felt the box that had the necklace in it in my pocket.

'Please tell me that's not what I think it is…'

To which I replied:

'You missed, that's my pocket.'

I chuckled aloud, and Nez looked at me, puzzled. Her own expression somber. I could tell she wasn't enjoying the story either.

I kissed her cheek, and she relaxed a little.

"Uh, HELLO? Are you people listening?" Ava snapped. I rolled my eyes. "Anyway. The Joker felt so bad for the princess. He didn't mind anymore that she didn't want to marry him, because he didn't really want to marry her anymore either." What a relief that was. "The princess was so sad for like…months. She cried everyday, but never took off the magic necklace."

"Sad story.." Sarah sniffed.

"Wait, Sarah. You know the ending is the best," Ava went on. "Dang, I spoiled it! Oh well. So, basically…the handsome knight found the princess! Deep, deep in the rain forest. He swept her off her feet, kissed her-"

"Ew, gross." Elijah muttered."

"And then the princess pushed him!"

"That's more like it!" Elijah said loudly.

That memory was another that stood out. The night I had arrived in Forks, to beg her for forgiveness. She'd been hunting in the middle of the night. And I had distracted her from feeding. She was beautiful. But so lethal. Like a prowling lioness in heat. She had pounced on me, quite literally. To this day, she'll say she didn't comprehend it was really me at first. Renesmee had claimed me, marked me as hers that night. Even if she didn't realize what she was doing. Then, she did kind of push me in a sense. Pushed me away.

"But when the knight took hold of her necklace, she remembered that the necklace was magical. For the necklace would only lead him to her if he really loved her. The knight left King People Eater, and the two of them lived happily ever after."

"…Your dad told you that story?" Nez asked, her voice stunned.

"Uh-huh. Lots of times. Right, Sarah?"

"Yeeeeaaah!"

"Well, it's pretty stupid to me." Elijah sat up at last. "There needs to be some fighting in it! Some blood!"

"Oh, there was blood," I said dryly, and laughed at my own private joke.

"How do you know?" Ava asked, looking at me straight in the eye.

"Intuition," I said.

"What's that mean?" Elijah asked.

"I just have a hunch, that's all."

"I can't believe he told you guys that!" Nez exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Why not? It's just a story…" Ava's eyes sparkled. "Unless it's not just a story."

"What do you mean?" Nez asked.

"It's about you two, isn't it?" Ava looked triumphant. A big grin was on her face, and her arms were crossed over her chest. "You're the princess!" She pointed to Nez. "And you're the knight!" She pointed at me, then blushed.

"No way, dude. No.." Elijah shook his head.

Renesmee only smiled sheepishly. I shrugged.

Ava crawled over in front of Nez, and pointed to the necklace I had given her. She gasped. "The magic necklace…" She whispered. I fought laughter. "Can…can I touch it?" Her eyes were wide with excitement.

Nez laughed, and opened up the seashell necklace to show Ava the little pearl tucked inside. "Go ahead."

Ava reached out and touched the small pearl, her mouth the shape of an O.

"Wow…it's so pretty." She sat back.

Elijah was still in shock. "Whoa..whoa…" He looked at me. "You're from the Kingdom of People Eaters? I mean, I know you're like…a vamp and all, but…whoa."

I grinned. "That's right. Which makes your dad the Joker."

All three of them gasped.

"EWWW! Dad wanted to marry AUNT NESSIE!? What about MOM!?" Ava yelled, standing up in outrage. "That is so gross."

I nodded.

"That was before he married your mom. It was a long time ago." Nez reasoned, looking amused.

"Dude…nasty." Elijah muttered. "I'm getting more root beer…I need to think." He got up and walked from the room. Poor kid. I couldn't blame him. It was a lot to take in.

"How dare he want to marry anyone but Mom?" Ava said, her arms still crossed.

"He was…confused.." Nez said awkwardly. I scoffed. Confused, really? He Imprinted on her. But I guessed that was something to explain to the kids another time. They would be way too disturbed and confused to hear it now. I was too disturbed to hear it, and I was over three hundred years old.

"The important thing is that everyone is who they're suppose to be with now. And we're all…living happily ever after." She laughed.

Elijah came back in with another can of soda. "Whatever. I'm going to pretend I never heard about any of this. I'm going to sleep now, for reals. Goodnight, Aunt Nessie." He came over and hugged her tight. He nodded at me. "Goodnight, People Eater."

I smiled. "Goodnight, kid."

He crawled in his sleeping bag, and turned away from us. This time, I think he was snoring for real.

Sarah had fallen asleep as well, with her thumb tucked inside her mouth. Only Ava sat up, looking extremely put out.

"So, it's all true? You ran away from here because he wanted to marry you?"

Nez nodded slowly.

"Where did you go?"

"Italy," she said, then looked at me. "And what's weird, is when I first saw Alec, I thought he was like a knight, coming to my rescue."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

She nodded again. "Yeah."

Ironically, though, I also thought that anyone would look like a knight coming to save me. Even Leah Clearwater. Now her daughter it retelling the tale to us. She thought, sending them my way. My hand on her squeezed, and I smiled.

"And the bad king?" Ava asked.

"He's gone now," I said, "and he's never coming back. He can't hurt anyone anymore."

Ava sighed in relief. "That's good…well…I'm tired. Goodnight." No hugs were given from Ava. I think she was disappointed that she finally had reason to suspect that I really was off limits to her. Like Nez said, she'd grow out of it. I couldn't help feeling a little bad for her though.

"Goodnight, Ava.." I said, and she turned, looked at me, blushed, and rolled over.

Me and Nez sat there until we were sure all three of them were sound asleep. Then, we slipped off onto the front porch, sitting on the steps.

"That was weird," she said. "having Ava tell us our story…well, the shortened version, anyway."

I smirked. "The rated PG version."

She laughed, and looked at me. "We're R material, huh?"

"I'm afraid so.." I leaned closer, close enough that our noses brushed against each other. "Or unrated." I whispered.

She brushed her lips against mine, teasing me. "Not tonight, though."

I groaned, and nipped at her bottom lip. "You still owe me," I muttered.

She pulled back, raked a hand through my hair, and said:

"I know." She leaned her head on my shoulder, staring at the forest. She giggled. "Magical necklace. You never told me it was magical." She laughed even harder. "King of the People Eaters!" She slapped her knee. "I'll never think of Aro in quite the same light again. And Jacob, naming himself the Joker…"

"He was very thorough.."

"Oh, don't be so mean…" she chastised. "Admit it, you've had fun tonight."

I shook my head. "I'll to no such thing."

She arched an eyebrow, testing me. "You're a softie. Those kids are growing on you, aren't they?"

I sighed loudly. "Maybe…a little."

Nez smiled, then the smile fell a little.

"What's wrong?" I asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

She shrugged. "Do you ever wish…ever wonder what it would have been like, if I could have a baby?"

I froze. The one time we'd discussed this, she had played a terrible joke on me, convincing me that she might have been pregnant. The idea had been a terrible one. The thought of bringing a child into this world that belonged to me. I thought I would have made a terrible father. But that was then, when I was bound to the Volturi. Now…that it was just us, years later?

"Do you?" I asked, choosing my words carefully.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "Sometimes I wonder if it's possible. But…after eight years of us together, and I've never gotten pregnant…" She sighed, and looked down. "I don't know. I just wonder about it, that's all. And get kind of depressed when I do…am I insane?" She looked up at me, her big brown eyes locking onto mine.

"No.." I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her. "And I'm sorry…that I can't give you a baby." I felt helpless. To be honest, I hadn't thought about having babies at all. She was more than enough for me, and things were perfect as they were in my eyes.

But she was a woman. She had natural maternal instincts in her that I couldn't understand. And it broke my heart to think she felt as though something were missing.

"Alec, it's not your fault. It's what I am. If I were human…then we could. Like my parents did. But being that I don't age at all…" She sighed. "I'll be okay. And it's not like I feel like this all the time. Just sometimes."

I kissed the top of her head, feeling like someone had punched me in the gut.

"What can I do? To help make it pass?" I asked, desperate. "Ask me something…anything."

She pulled back and grinned. She knew the reference immediately. It had been a couple of days after she had arrived in Volterra, and we were both in her bedroom. My former coven had started to feed on a group of tourists in the throne room, and Nez couldn't handle it. I had wanted to do something- anything to help distract her. So I told her to ask me anything. Since I had been a big mystery to her back in those days, she couldn't pass it up.

'Ahh! Uh- Okay, I'll go along. Um, what's your favorite color?'

'I don't know…red.'

"Red? As in…blood red? What's wrong with you? Why can't you just pick-"

'Okay! Okay, black? Blacks a good color!'

'Black is not a color, it's a shade.'

'Damn it, is there no pleasing you, woman?! Ask another question I can give you the right answer to!'

We both laughed at the memory.

"Ask you anything?" She repeated.

I nodded. "Anything."

"Do you ever miss bring human? You could have had kids then…" She sounded sad again. I took her chin in my hand and made her look at me.

"Kids with Addie? Are you nuts?"

She smiled, then laughed. "Besides her. Do you miss anything else?"

I shook my head. "I certainly don't miss my parents." They were still a sore topic. "I don't miss getting sick. I have everything I need as a vampire. I have my sister…even if Jane is difficult. I have a new family.." Her face glowed when I said that. "I have you. So, no….I don't miss being human."

"I love you, you know.." She whispered.

I kissed her softly, leaning my forehead against hers.

"I know…Ti amo, Perla…"

Writer's Note: WOW! This is so exciting! I know it's been a couple of years since TES ended. And we've had this Epilogue idea even before we ended the story. I (This is Cee, btw) have been working on this for quite a while now, and finally had the inspiration to finish it! It seemed like a cute idea, bringing in Jake's kids for the epilogue.

Thank you to all who have read and reviewed this story. It will always hold a special place in our hearts! :)
Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I didn't proof read it or anything.

Love you guys!
-IITM