Broken Hearted on the Mend

It was time for everyone who was leaving to leave. The only wolf that was going to be leaving was Leah. She was going to take Adrian and follow Dimitri and Rose towards the palace in Pennsylvania. Rhiannon had asked Leah to take Adrian since it would mask his scent through the traveling from the Volturi. Rhiannon knew that the Volturi wouldn't dare go near Leah especially if she was running fast enough. Rose and Dimitri would help protect the two as well. Rhiannon trusted them in protecting her human son from harm. The family had spent the last three days practicing on how to fight the Strigoi if they ever came across any on their travels.

Carlisle, Esme, and Kira all excelled in the training rather well. Kate and Tanya seemed to enjoy it too. Kate had asked if her special gift would give her any kind of leverage against the Strigoi. She even demonstrated on Emmett. After the demonstration Rose and Dimitri thought about it and then decided that it might give her the upper hand, but neither one of them were too certain since no one had ever electrocuted a Strigoi before.

The day to leave had arrived. Rhiannon and Emmett made sure to have everything ready for their kids. There was a bag for each little girl to wear on their back. It was small and black. In each backpack held a passport, an ID card, and a lot of cash. Of course there were also some clothes and a blanket for each one. Rhiannon said goodbye to Nadia and watched as Lissa carried her away. Edward, Bella, and Christian both promised to keep her little girl safe.

Emma was the next one to leave. She was being held by Rosalie, so Rhiannon knew that she was definitely in safe hands. Mia was going to be their guide to the Royal Court located in Pennsylvania. She lived there and couldn't wait to return to her father. She had missed him so much. Rhiannon hadn't really contacted Mike and Sarah since she had been home, but she knew that it was the safer way to go. She would send them a letter of gratitude when she felt that her family was safe. She felt bad, but in the end she knew that it was best to leave them out of her current troubles.

Before Jasper's group had left Rhiannon had given them another stake since she felt like the team would need it. Rose had decided to travel with Rhiannon and Emmett since they also needed a guide. Rhiannon was now holding baby Adrian in her arms and hugging him tightly, but not too tight to crush him. She kissed his forehead gently before handing him to his father. Emmett took him and cradled him gently. He too kissed him on the forehead before handing him back to Rhiannon.

Rhiannon took him back and the handed Leah his backpack. It was a little bigger than the girls' backpacks because he needed diapers and such besides clothes, money, formula, and the passport and ID just in case. Each group had a cell phone to keep in touch with everyone. They were to contact Rhiannon the minute they reached the safety of the Royal Court grounds.

Leah took the backpack and then placed it on her back. She had added her own clothes and essentials to the backpack as well. Dimitri and Eddie had their own packs, but they honestly didn't look like they needed it.

"Rhiannon, before they go, I called in a couple of favors from my mother. She's on her way here to help them, not they would actually need it, but it asked her as a precaution," Rose said.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," Rhiannon said with a smile.

Rhiannon held onto Adrian as they waited. She was actually happy that she could spend some more time with her son. She loved her daughters just as much, but her son meant a little bit more because he was completely human. There was a knock on the door and Emmett stood up to answer it. When he came back into the living room he was followed by a woman and a man. Rhiannon furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Rose did the same at the man.

"Rhiannon this is my mother Janine, I mostly take after her when it comes to my temper," Rose smirked.

Janine smiled warmly at her daughter.

"I hope it's alright if we tag along with Dimitri and Eddie. Rose told me how much this little boy means to you," Janine said walking closer.

"I don’t mind at all. I was a little skeptical when Rose said that she was traveling with me and my fiancé. Now that you're here as some added protection for our son, I thank you so much. Just out of curiosity, who's the male," Rhiannon asked.

"Oh my apologies, this is Abe, Rosemarie's father," Janine stated simply.

"Excuse me," Rose interrupted rather loudly.

"Rose not now, but we'll discuss this once we all meet up at the Royal Palace," Janine answered rather calmly.

"Damn straight," Rose seethed.

"Alright, so first things first, I have my own connections and I've set a few good people up to tail your friends with your other kids. No matter what they will reach the palace," Abe spoke.

"Thank you I appreciate that a lot," Rhiannon smiled at him.

"Alright, Rhiannon, it's time we left. We're running behind schedule as it is," Leah said sounding sad.

"I know Leah," Rhiannon said looking down at her son one last time.

Rhiannon gave him another kiss on his forehead before handing him to Leah. She cradled him close to her chest and then nodded towards Rhiannon. Rhiannon moved closer to Emmett and stood on the porch while they both watched their little boy leave them for a short period of time. Rhiannon turned her head into Emmett's chest and let a few tears escape her eyes. Emmett wrapped his arms around his fiancée in comfort.

"We'll see him again," Emmett whispered.

"I know, but it's still hard," Rhiannon said.

Emmett squeezed her tightly before turning back towards the house. Rhiannon followed him and then they both went to their bedroom to pack for their trip to the Royal Court. It was going to be a long journey for the both of them, but they knew the reward or rather the outcome of this journey was going to be positive. Rhiannon quietly packed some clothes into a backpack and then waited for Emmett to finish his packing. Once he was done they both headed back downstairs to start their journey towards Pennsylvania.

Downstairs Carlisle, Esme, Kira, Tanya, and Kate were waiting to see the final group leave for the time being. Rhiannon locked eyes with Kira and then ran into her arms. The two best friends hugged each other tightly and promised each other that they would see each other again. They were going to take down the Volturi once and for all and then finally live the lives they dreamed of. When the two girls pulled away the each held a smile on their faces.

Rhiannon gave hugs to Carlisle, Esme, Tanya, and Kate. She thanked them for their help in this troublesome time. They said that it was no problem and they wanted to help. Rose was ready to go, so it was time for Rhiannon and Emmett to leave as well. If they didn't leave now then they would be way behind schedule on fooling the Volturi.

The journey for the entire Cullen family had just begun. It would be long and hard, but they would push through until the end. They wouldn't give up for any reason whatsoever. They would fight until they were killed or until the battle was declared a draw. They were all hoping that the battle wouldn’t be declared a draw, because the Cullens believed that the Volturi had gone too far this time.

Lissa's Point of View

We had been travelling for about three days since we all left Forks. Edward kept in contact with Rhiannon. She was so worried about her children so much. If I was a mother I know that I would be just as worried. Nadia was such a doll. She listened to us and always wanted me to carry her. Sometimes Christian would get to carry her as well. When we weren't travelling and we were staying at a hotel Nadia would always play with Christian. Sometimes she'd play with her cousin Nessie, but it was mainly Christian.

They were so cute together. He would control fire in front of her and she would be so amazed by it. The first time that he did that though, Edward had pulled her out of his reach in complete fear. Christian had asked why he did that, but it was Bella that answered. They weren't immune to fire like Moroi were which was going to make being a ruler of our kingdom a little difficult. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when we finally brought our future queens to the palace. I could only imagine an uproar seeing as though these young girls weren't even part of the Moroi family at all.

Now that we were travelling again, Nadia was on my back hanging on tightly. Things were going just fine at the moment. Edward and Bella said that they couldn't hear any movement. When night fell we were going to run as fast as we could towards the border of the state of Nebraska. We had already made some good time, but we still had a ways to go. It would have been easier had we been able to take the St. Vladimir's private jet to the Royal Court, but I wasn't sure if Christian and I could ask that of our former school. They did, however; let us spend a couple of nights at the school in a ring of protection. They accommodated us to the best of their ability.

Christian and I were able to feed with their feeders. Bella and Edward went out and hunted animals. Guardian Petrov had been quite interested with the way Edward and Bella were. She wanted to discuss with them how they came to be, but knew that we didn't have time for that. Guardian Petrov, or Alberta, as most novices at St. Vladimir's called her enjoyed the company of Nessie and Nadia. Christian and I even talked to her about our situation. She had offered to have one of the other guardians from the school go with us, but we declined and told her that she would have to use all of her guardians for the students.

Edward and Bella did give her a quick rundown on how to treat vampires such as themselves and how to destroy any that managed to cross the barriers. Bella asked to see how wards were created so that she could maybe help with her own kind of technique to keep her kind out. She was shown how they were created and a few more were put up around the school. The more there were, the better protection the school had. We had all left after staying there for two days. We couldn't put the school in more danger than it already was.

Two days after we left was the day that Edward had caught scent of someone following us. They had been rather good at keeping their identity a secret for so long, but Edward had finally gotten a whiff of their scent.

"Stop," he said suddenly.

"What is it Edward," Bella asked concerned clutching Nessie to her chest a little too tightly it seemed.

"Someone is following us," he said almost too quietly.

"How far behind," Christian asked on high alert.

"Not too far," Edward answered.

Edward listened closely.

"What does the scent smell like," Christian wondered.

"It doesn't smell as nasty as a Strigoi. It actually smells like you or whatever Dimitri is,"
Edward said loosening up his tight muscles and standing up straighter.

"What do you mean," I asked quietly.

"Stay absolutely still and quiet," Edward said.

We did as he said. Edward disappeared all of a sudden and then in a matter of seconds reappeared with two people in each hand by the neck. He tossed them to the ground Christian stood over one while he stood over the other.

"Who are you," Edward demanded a little angry.

"Don't hurt us, we're here as extra protection," one said.

"Who do you work for," Edward asked again.

"Our boss doesn't like to be named out in the open. He told us to trail you as extra precautions. We're only doing our job," the one under Christian said.

"What are your names," Christian asked sounding rather menacing.

"Guardian Nikolai and Guardian Romanov," Guardian Nikolai stated in a shaky breath.

Edward and Christian immediately stood back and helped the two Guardians to their feet.

"Edward, are they lying," Bella asked.

"No," Edward stated simply.

We had a few words with the two Guardians before they went back into the shadows. We started off again on our journey. Unfortunately, the time we took talking it put us behind schedule a little. Edward didn't like that. As we were walking through the trees of the nearest forest Edward stopped suddenly again. He had a look of pure hatred on his face. His mouth twisted into a snarl.

"Bella hand Nessie to Lissa now," Edward demanded.

Nessie climbed onto my back and held on tight. I hugged Nadia closer to my chest as Christian moved closer to me. I took my free hand and clutched his. His other hand was already ablaze with fire. He was truly pissed.

"There are ten of them, be on the ready Bella," Edward informed.

"Christian look after Lissa and the children, do not, and I mean do not, leave their side whatsoever," Bella said.

"I got it covered," Christian answered.

Christian led us towards a clump of trees in the dark. We huddled together. Christian then put a safe distance around the clump of trees a protective ring of fire. Nadia and Nessie both huddled close to me for protection. I held them each to my side as tightly as I could. I knew that they were afraid. I could sense their fear a little bit.

"EDWARD," I heard someone scream loudly.

"RUN, now, all of you RUN," a different voice yelled.

"CHRISTIAN, LISSA, LETS GO," Edward's loud voice yelled.

Christian picked up Nessie and I picked up Nadia. Christian lowered the flaming barrier that we had around us and we quickly met up with Edward and Bella. The girls were transferred to the front of Edward and Bella and we had climbed onto their backs. Both of them started running as fast as they could go. I had to hand it to them, they were both fast. Edward seemed to be a little faster than Bella, but she kept up pretty well.

"We're almost out of danger," Edward muttered hardly breathing fast.

I could see into the distance and noticed that the sun was coming up soon, one of the only ways to get safely away from Strigoi. Edward continued to run through the woods until we came to a road. Edward and Bella were racing against the clock, not because they would burn, but because they had to keep their secret in order to stay under the radar of the Volturi. From the sounds of these Volturi they were just as bad as Strigoi, maybe even worse.

"Edward, where are we headed," Bella asked still running.

"There's a motel not too far from here. We need to run faster in order to stay out of the sun," Edward answered.

Bella stayed silent after that. They both continued to run until we finally came upon a small town. Edward had stopped running and let us down. I took Nadia from him as he led the way towards the motel located in town. The sun was just breaching sunrise at the moment. We had about ten minutes left before the sun would rise higher in the sky. We made it to the hotel and Edward checked us all into two rooms that were connecting. He had given a fake name and paid in cash so that we didn't leave a trail.

"We made it, but just barely," Edward said as we convened in one of the rooms.

"What the hell happened back there," I asked.

"Ten Strigoi attacked just after you and Christian walked away from us. We were able to kill five, but the other five were a little too fast, even for me," Edward said.

"Who yelled at you two to run though," Christian asked.

"Nikolai and Romanov, they jumped in just as Bella and I were about to go after a sixth one.
We took down two more when they told us to run," Edward said.

"We have to call Rhiannon, things like this need to be reported to her. She has to know," I said.

"I know that, we'll call her in a little bit," Edward said.

I settled down with the two girls as the Edward, Bella, and Christian huddled together to talk. I knew that I should be a part of the group as well, but I felt like I needed to stay with the girls. As they were all talking though there was a knock on the door to the room, and we all looked in that direction. I instinctively pulled both girls closer to me. Christian moved closer to us and so did Bella. They both took a fighting stance in front of us as Edward walked towards the door. He looked through the peephole of the door before opening it.

"Guardian Nikolai and Guardian Romanov, you're alive," Edward said opening the door wider and letting the two Guardians through.
We all visibly relaxed at his words.

"Yes, the six you killed made it a lot easier for us. Well, and of course the sun rising. I'm glad you all made it safely. We're still going to tail you until you get to your destination," Guardian Romanov stated.

"Thank you, we appreciate your help," I said from my position on the floor.

"We're just doing our job Princess," Guardian Nikolai said flashing me a smile.

The two guardians left after a short while. Edward had made the phone call to Rhiannon and I could almost hear her shriek of panic for her child. Edward reassured her that everyone, including baby Nadia was alright. He talked to her for a few more minutes before hanging up. We stayed overnight so that the girls could rest. They had enough excitement for one day. We would leave the minute the sun would go down the next night. Edward was trying to get us to a car dealership so that we could have a faster journey, but he had to make sure we were far enough away before we could buy one.

Christian and I turned in for the night in one bed. The girls slept in another and Edward and Bella guarded the room. They didn't need to sleep, which was a bit handy at night. I felt safe, not only with Christian by my side, but knowing that Edward and Bella were keeping watch.