Chapters 24- Epilogue- Britta

Characters Involved

Bella

Edward

Victoria

Riley

Jacob

Carlisle

Esme

Alice

Jasper

Rosalie

Emmett

Seth

Sam

Leah

The Wolf Pack

Bree

Jane

Billy Black

Quil

Embry

Charlie

Renee

Phil

Places

The Tent

The Clearing

The cliff

La Push

The Meadow

The Cullen House

Bella’s House

24. Snap Decision

Bella and Edward sit in the tent as the fight begins. Bella sulks feeling the weight of Jacob’s kiss, and what it will mean for her and Edward. Edward finds out about the kiss, remarking that Jacob fights dirty, but does not blame her for what happened. Edward understands that when he left her, Jacob was the one to pick up the pieces; He understands that she loves Jacob. Bella tries her hardest to deny it, highlighting that she loves Edward more. She becomes angry, wishing that Edward would stop being so self sacrificing and fight for her. Bella throws herself at Edward, and Edward calms her saying that they will try, but just not as a reaction to Jacob Black’s taunts.

The fight carries on around them, and Bella listens as Edward gives commentary.

Suddenly Edward rips out of the tent, and tells Seth to run. Edward crouches in front of her defensively; Victoria is coming for Bella. Victoria leads Riley to them, before commanding him to attack. Edward tries to dissuade Riley by explaining that Victoria is simply using him. As Riley attacks, Seth jumps in to fight him. Meanwhile, Edward and Victoria fight. When Seth dismembers Riley, Victoria realizes that she is alone, and backs away to escape. Edward is far quicker than she is; he catches her, and beheads her.

25. Mirror

Bella watches as Edward dismembers Victoria’s body. Edward seems to be avoiding Bella as he and Seth busy themselves with gathering Victoria and Riley’s remains to burn them. Afterwards, Edward turns to Bella hesitantly, imploring her to drop the rock she is holding. Bella realizes that Edward thinks that she is afraid of him, and rushes forward into his embrace. Bella and Edward revel in the fact that they survived for a moment, until both Edward and Seth become wracked by a spasm. Bella screams in terror, and grasps Edward’s face between her clammy hands. Edward tells her that they are going to be fine. Edward gasps: “Sam–help him!” Bella realizes that Edward is speaking of a crisis happening with the wolf pack. He lifts Bella into his arms, and orders Seth to go home. Bella wonders what’s happening, and Edward alerts her that the Volturi have decided to intervene. Edward tells her that the Volturi haven’t come to claim them, just to assess the situation. Bella thinks back to Seth’s anguished howls, and realizes that Edward has deflected her first questions. Edward tells her that Leah found a newborn who was hiding, and engaged him alone. Bella wonders who was hurt if it wasn’t Leah. Edward tells her that it was Jacob who is hurt. Unable to cope with the news, Bella faints.

Bella awakens to Edward’s anxious voice. Carlisle instructs Edward to let her rest. Bella continues to worry herself over Jacob’s condition, but Edward tells her that Jacob is healing and will be fine. Bella notices that there are eight vampires in the clearing. She observes a newborn curled into a ball near the flames. Jane and the other Volturi members appear, eying the newborn with confusion. Edward explains that the newborn has surrendered, and Jane informs them that ‘there are no options for those who break the rules.” Jane inquires how many vampires completed the ‘army.’ Carlisle explains that there were eighteen newborns, created by Victoria. Jane asks who dealt with Victoria, and Edward answers affirmatively. After torturing the newborn with her glare, Jane asks for her name. The newborn answers that her name is Bree, and that she never knew her creator. Bree further explains that Riley commanded them to destroy the vampires with the strange yellow eyes, and that the first person to find Bella could have her; Riley didn’t help them as he promised, and Bree wanted to runaway, until Carlisle promised that they wouldn’t hurt her if she stopped fighting. Jane informs her that it wasn’t Carlisle’s place to save her life.

Edward tells Jane that Victoria held a grudge against Bella, and Jane laughs, remarking that Bella seems to bring out strong reactions in their kind.

Jane, believing to be finished there, commands Felix to to kill Bree. Edward and Carlisle try to take responsibility for Bree, explaining that they are willing to teach her the rules. But Jane declines, reminding them that they do not give second chances. She then remarks that Caius would be interested to know that Bella is still a human. Alice alerts her that the date to turn Bella is already set, and that perhaps they would come to visit them in the next few months.

Jane commands Felix to continue with his instructions, and he dismembers Bree. Afterwards, Jane, Felix and the rest of their members leave.

26. Ethics

Bella longs to go to La Push to be with Jacob while he is ailing. Alice does everything she can to distract Bella from going to La Push, by playing dress up. Alice explains that Bella needs to do everything she can to keep Charlie in the dark for his safety, and because Charlie had gone to La push and saw Edward and Carlisle had arrived back from their trip; She suggests that Bella should go home and talk to Charlie. Before Bella leaves, Alice asks if she would like to talk, as she must be traumatized after going through everything over the last twenty-four hours.

Bella asks if she will be like Bree when she becomes a newborn. Alice says that everyone takes to it differently, but that she will react something like that. She promises that it will pass in a few years or less, but because she has never observed someone choose to become a vampire, it might be interesting to see how it affects Bella. Bella wonders how Alice is able to see her future, when no other powers seems to work against her? Alice explains that Jasper’s power works on her because it affects the physical body, whereas Edward, Jane and other members of the Volturi have powers that affect the mind. Bella’s is safe within her mind, and therefore no one can reach her there.

Bella decides to go home and deal with Charlie. Once home, Charlie inquires whether Bella heard about Jacob, and urges her against riding motorcycles, as he believes this is the cause of Jacob’s injuries. Bella tells him that she intends to see Jacob after dinner. She asks if Jacob was awake when Charlie went to La Push. Charlie replied that Jacob was awake, and that his right leg and arm is broken, and that his entire right side was crushed because of the motorcycle accident. He also said that Jacob was well enough to tease him about Bella’s choosing Edward over him. Before Bella can leave for La Push, Charlie asks a favor of her. He explains that he has this feeling that he is about to lose her, and asks if she can tell him before she does anything major so that he can hug her and say goodbye. Bella promises that she will.

Bella enters Jacob’s room, and he looks at her intently for a while before changing his expression into a cocky smile. They discuss the fight for a moment, before it turns serious, and Jacob asks Bella how she is. He wonders whether Edward was mean to her after the kiss. Bella tells him that Edward wasn’t mean, even though she wishes that he was, and that Edward only desires her happiness. Jacob becomes angry that Edward didn’t give her an ultimatum, and believes that Edward is better at manipulating her than he thought. Bella tells him that Edward isn’t manipulating her. Jacob believes that his job is accomplished because she knows now that she loves him. He understands that Bella choosing him was a long-shot. Bella wishes that he would get angry at her instead of understanding, so Jake plays into it by reprimanding her for kissing him. Bella reacts to it seriously regretting her actions. Jacob stops as he observes her tears, and tries to stand, but Bella pushes him back. He puts his hands around her waist and pulls her beside him. Jacob promises that he will be a good friend, and that though it may be a long distance friendship, he refuses to ‘cut Bella in half’ anymore. He continues to explain that he is right for her, and it would have been effortless for them to be together if the world contained no monsters. Bella ponders to herself that Jacob is right; she knows that they would’ve been happy, and that in the natural world, they were soul mates. Jacob says that Edward is like a drug to her, and that he himself would have been more healthy for her, like the sun. Bella explains that the worst part is, she has seen their whole life, and wants so badly to make him happy, but she just can’t and it kills her. She always knew that she never had a choice. They discuss the wedding and how Bella will be turned afterwards. Jacob tells her that he’ll always be the spare option. Bella asks id she should come back and see him, and Jacob replies that he will think it through and get back to her. They give each other their love, and Bella leaves.

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Quotes

“When I left you, Bella, I left you bleeding. Jacob was the one to stitch you back up again…I can’t blame either of you for something i made necessary. I may gain forgiveness, but that doesn’t let me escape the consequences” (Edward, Chapter 24, 309).

“We don’t make exceptions…and we don’t give second chances. It’s bad for our reputation” (Jane, Chapter 25, 334).

“I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us—comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your life would have taken…If the world was the way it was supposed to be, if there were no monsters and no magic” (Jacob, Chapter 26, 346).

“I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” (Edward, Chapter 27, 353).

“If the silence in my head lasted, I would never go back. I wouldn’t be the first one to choose this form over the other. Maybe, if i ran far enough away, I would never have to hear again…I pushed my legs faster, letting Jacob Black disappear behind me” (Jacob, Epilogue, 363).

Questions

1. Did you like how Stephenie seemed to tie most of the ends in this novel?

2. Did you agree with the ‘games’ Edward and Jacob played to win Bella?

3. Who’s side were you on?

4. Supposing the events in Breaking Dawn haven’t occurred yet, How would you have believed Bella would turn? What powers would she have? How would she blend into the Cullen Family?

5. Do you agree with how Jane dealt with Bree? Should she have shown mercy?

6. Did you sympathize a bit with Victoria and her plight? Do you believe she truly loved James that much?

7. Do you believe that Edward and Bella’s relationship is a healthy one, or full of flaws? Are they truly in love with one another, or just obsessed?