𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙔
ミ★ ( bewitched, act three ) ★彡

     Lilith stood on the edge of a lake, in front of Jasper and an unfamiliar woman whom she assumed to be Maria, whispering into the Hale vampire's ear in Spanish. They all wore clothes that were dated from the 1800s and their eyes were blood red, giving Lilith the indication that they were back in time and it was the spot from one of Jasper's memories. The blonde witch watched as Maria's image began to distort into Victoria before switching back and forth, both were whispering into Jasper's ear telling him that they wanted him to do something for her.

     "Kill her." Lilith heard Victoria whisper.

     Jasper smiled maliciously before walking closer towards her. Lilith could feel the fear growing with every step that Jasper took towards her until they were face to face. Her breathing was loud and fast as he stood directly in front of her, it was a small moment where nothing happened and Lilith couldn't help her eyes flicker between Jasper and Victoria who was still behind him.

     Jasper's mouth curled before he then lunged—

     Lilith flinched awake from the nightmare, rolling over onto her back as her mind tried to process everything she had just imagined.

     "Well, now that all makes sense." She said to herself breathlessly as she stared at the ceiling above her. The vampire intruder. The newborn army. They were all Victoria's puppets. Just like how Jasper was with Maria. It made sense since Alice hadn't seen Victoria make any decisions to make an army—but, Victoria had to be the one hiding behind them and letting someone else decide. Not to mention how she was still making appearances nearby according to the pack and the Cullens.

     She hated how the realisation came to her in the form of Jasper's story, she felt guilty that her mind used something that he opened up to her about, and turned it into a nightmare for her that pieced together the last piece of the puzzle that everyone thought was missing. But, it seemed that his story helped make connections in her mind subconsciously, and her mind was just putting it together for her. Lilith would have to try and disregard the fear she felt when she was face to face with Jasper in her nightmare, simply because she knew that was no longer him anymore, and she knew that he would be crushed if she began to fear him after what he had told her about.

     Nonetheless, Lilith decided to get up out of bed and walk downstairs for a glass of water. She needed to calm down before the Cullens noticed that there was something wrong with her and would fret over it. She hated that she caused them to worry so much over her when it came to the littlest things; but, she appreciated how much they cared for her also.

     She walked down the stairs, not caring to creep down so that she wouldn't wake them—considering they probably already knew she was awake anyway since they were too, and made her way towards the kitchen area that was now always completely stocked up for her since she began staying there.

     Her body halted when she saw the entire Cullen family sitting in their family room, along with two very familiar faces, "You're back." Lilith stated to her parents that were sat in between the Cullen members.

     "We weren't going to risk being out of the state when you have a newborn army coming after you." Oliver replied, explaining why they were back so soon, "We're here to help fix this before we go off to fix our other problem."

     "Well, then, I think we need to talk." Lilith pursed her lips and clasped her hands together, "All of us."
They all turned to her wondering what it could be that she needed to talk about with them and motioned for her to continue, "The newborn army isn't just any army, it's Victoria's army—that's why they're coming here."

     Alice's eyebrows scrunched as she racked her brain in case she had seen Victoria decide to come after them, but she couldn't find anything, "I didn't see her decide that."

     "That's because she's letting that Riley Biers kid decide everything and she's staying out of the action." Edward realised, "That's how they were playing with the blind spots of your vision."

     "Well, at least now we really know why they're after you and why they're coming here." Jasper said, recalling how he had an assumption that they were after Lilith, but, didn't say it out loud then in case he was wrong. At least he was right about it, but, that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. "And now we can use that to help stop the army—kill the leader; dismantle the army with it." That was always how Maria took over territory and the covens that resided in them. She would always go for the leader because it would take away half of the fight when the people realised that they didn't have anyone to lead them and they would join the winning side.

     "We'll still have to make sure that she can't escape this time. We'll have to boarder off the battle ground areas and we'll also have to protect the town in case any of them escape." Oliver reminded them.

     "And we will." Carlisle assured his coworker and friend by clasping his shoulder with his own hand.

     "There's something else." Lilith licked her lips nervously as she figured that now was a good a time as any to finally tell them her plans to become a vampire to save herself. The witch looked up to Rosalie who gave her a nod to let her know to go for it, "I know how to save me from the high priest."

     "If you say by killing the high priest, I hope you're joking because—" Sierra began.

  Lilith made a face, "What? No! No one can kill him, and even if we could, we'd start a war with every single witch on the planet; dark or not." She interjected.

     "She's talking about becoming one of us." Rosalie spoke up, trying to help lead the conversation back where it was supposed to be, "She needs to become a vampire to save her from becoming a dark witch."

     "I mean, it could work." Oliver agreed.

  Sierra stood up angrily, "No, you're not becoming one of them. I won't let it."

     "And why not?" Lilith argued, "Are you really going to let running for the rest of my life and not using any magic to keep me a secret as my only option? My life sounds like a nightmare and there's no point to it if I do that. If I become one of them, it solves all of that."

     "Lilith, you wouldn't want to be what we are." Edward muttered softly, "You're terrified of becoming a dark witch because you're scared you'd hurt the people you love with no mercy, but, vampires hurt people the exact same to survive."

     "But, I wouldn't be hurting you." Lilith reminded him. The Cullens hunted animals to survive, and if that was what she had to do, then she would do it to protect the humans and the people she loved.

     "Is it because of Edward? Are you really going to throw away who you are for some boy?" Sierra snapped while Oliver tried to calm her down.

     "Oh, please. How can I be the one to throw it all away when it was you two who already signed my fate for me?" Their daughter scoffed pointing at the both of them, "And it isn't just for 'some boy'—it's for the pack, it's for Bella, it's for the Cullens, it's for everyone here in Forks, it's for everyone in general; and lastly, it's for me."

     "Are we really going to risk her becoming a dark witch for the sake of keeping her as a witch?" Oliver questioned his wife. While he didn't exactly agree with the thought of Lilith becoming a vampire, he couldn't help but see where she was coming from and how it would actually help them, "What if she's right and this helps get him away from her?"

     "I can't help but agree with Oliver." Carlisle spoke up, "And your daughter would be safe with us, and as one of us."

     Sierra began to tear up, the situation just kept getting worse and worse for all of them, especially Lilith and she hated how guilty she was because it was her fault for dragging Lilith into this mess. She was the one who pressured Oliver into meeting with the high priest and it was her that agreed to his terms without thinking of the repercussions deeply, "I just can't lose you." She sobbed.

     "And if it weren't for the Cullens, you might've lost me a long time ago. You know they wouldn't do anything that would put me in harms way." Lilith reminded her mother, "But, if we keep going the way we are, we might just lose me all together." Becoming a dark witch didn't just change the source of one's power and change their ability—it changed the person as well. They were ruthless and cold, they didn't care about anyone besides themselves and their power—they barely cared about the high priest, but, they did because it was a respect thing—dark witches destroyed everything and anything in their paths because they could, and they didn't care who would get hurt in result of that.

     If Lilith were to become one of them because it was in her destiny from the high priest, who knew who she would hurt, and she couldn't bare the thought of it—because she had a very long list of people that she cared about that the dark part of her could go after. And in the small chance that she would be able to change back over, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for the things she might do, regardless if she hurt people she cared about or not. It wasn't her to be malicious, and it wasn't her to be cruel. That was all the darkness had to offer, which no amount of power could compel her to agree to.

     "What if we found another way?" Sierra suddenly offered, "What if we found another way to save you and you didn't have to become a vampire?"

     Lilith turned over to look at Alice for her opinion on the matter, and the vampire shrugged her small shoulders, "If you could, I could let you know if it would work in her favour. But, at this point in time, her becoming a vampire is her best bet." Alice had been checking Lilith's future constantly ever since she returned back to Forks, before she had decided to become a vampire, all she could see was her becoming her own ruin as a dark witch. But, as she thought about her being a vampire, she saw her alive and happy. There had been other decisions that Lilith made that Alice saw result in her own death, but, she thankfully decided against them which saved her.

     She could understand why her parents would be so desperate to find an alternative to Lilith's future so they wouldn't have to see their daughter as a monster; but, they had to remember that being a vampire wouldn't be as bad as being a dark witch. Especially for someone like Lilith.

     Lilith mouthed a 'thank you' to Alice who nodded at her before she looked at Jasper and entwined her hands with his. Lilith then looked at Edward who only seemed to be conflicted with everything that had just happened. She just hoped that she would be able to talk to him privately and let him know that everything would eventually be okay... before it was too late.

     The next night, Lilith stood in her makeshift room at the Cullen home, she had her bags packed with things she would need to bring to the campsite for the battle and she was just going over the spell books to make sure that the spells would be correct as she didn't want anything to go wrong for the battle that was happening the next day.

     "You okay?" She heard Edward ask from behind her, the girl looking up from her book to make eye contact with him and nod for an answer before looking back down.

     The rest of the family had went hunting to power themselves up for the battle, and they had to make sure that they were at full strength; while the Bailey parents were out and placing spells on the town to protect them in case any newborns came early or slipped through closer towards the people. It left Edward and Lilith by themselves for the night. Lilith didn't mind considering that Edward usually left her alone and gave her space, and even if he did come up to talk—like he was now—she had mainly gotten over her stubbornness and she was able to hold a conversation with him now without feeling the need to burst into tears over the past.

     Edward slowly walked over towards the bed, making sure to take slow steps towards her in case she gave any indication that she didn't want him there and he would turn around and give her her space before he sat down on the edge of the bed. Lilith looked over at him, "Are you okay?" She questioned him, recalling how he seemed conflicted during the conversation they all had the night before.

     "I'll be okay once you're safe." Edward answered her truthfully, "I don't know what would happen if you got hurt and I wasn't there to stop it."

     "Hey." Lilith said softly as she closed the book and moved closer towards him on the bed, "I'm going to be fine, and so will everyone else. We're all making sure of that."

     "I know." Edward whispered, "I just worry that something will happen and we won't be prepared for it." He just hoped that all of their bases were covered, and hopefully nothing went wrong. He wanted to be prepared for everything and everything to make sure that the worst couldn't possibly happen.

     "Would it make you feel more comfortable if you were at the campsite with me?" Lilith suggested without thinking, causing a small blush to appear on her cheeks from how straightforward it came out.

     Edward turned to her, "Would you be comfortable?" He would of loved nothing more than to be there with her to make sure that she was safe since she was only going to be with Seth and Jacob. Edward felt that she was going to be safest by his side, and it would possibly ease him to have her in his sight at all times to make sure of that.

     Lilith thought about it, would she be comfortable? They weren't together anymore and there had been a lot of incidents around Edward, but, the main thing that she had noticed was how he did everything in his power to make sure that she still came out of a situation alive. He was always in protective mode and she always appreciated that around him, since she would feel that she wouldn't always have to be the one on guard to protect herself because he was there to do that for her.

     When it came to Victoria, Lilith knew that Edward would do everything he could to protect her from her. And he did, he left her because he felt that would lead her away from Lilith. Even though it didn't work, he tried. She had to see his decisions from his perspective instead of just her own. Yes, he hurt her because he left her the way he did, but, he thought he was going to be able to protect her that way; by making Victoria think that she meant nothing to him so she would lose interest in killing Lilith.

     No matter how much it hurt the both of them, he was trying to do a selfless thing by making sure Victoria wouldn't try to kill Lilith because of him—and she could see how much it tore him about it to this day. She was just being too stubborn to acknowledge that he was in pain too because she was too busy focusing on her own. And there was also the fact that he was still there, and he was still trying to get her forgiveness. Everyone had promised her that they wouldn't leave again and it seemed to be that they were telling the truth, which compelled her to believe it.

     If Edward was willing to give up their relationship in order to save her life even when he said he couldn't bear the thought of being away from her, proved to her that he would go to great lengths to keep her safe. Lilith nodded her head with a small smile, "I would love for you to be there with me." She told him and Edward looked slightly surprised by her response. She didn't just tell him that she'd be comfortable with his presence, she said that she wanted him there with her.

     "Are you sure?" Edward asked suspiciously, hoping it wasn't some trick, "Like... are you really sure?"

     "I couldn't be more sure about anything else." Lilith responded and she watched as Edward's expression turned to one of relief, "I know that there isn't anywhere more safe than beside you, remember?"

     Edward closed his eyes, remembering the day that she said said to him when she was first running from Victoria, "Even after everything I've put you through?" Edward uttered, not looking into her eyes and keeping his eyes closed.

     "Yes." Lilith stated and Edward's head snapped up to meet hers, "Because I know now that everything you've done was done to protect me. That's all you've ever wanted to do."

     "You're wrong about that last part." Edward murmured and Lilith's eyebrows furrowed, "Protecting you isn't the only thing I've ever wanted to do." He reiterated and got up from his spot and kneeled in front of the bed, grabbing onto her hands so they were face to face rather than side to side, "Lilith, ever since I've met you, I've wanted to protect you, I've wanted to love you; I've wanted to make you laugh, and make you smile. I've wanted to wipe away every tear and I've wanted to bring you peace and joy. I've wanted to bring you everything good in life and keep everything bad away from you. But, all I have ever seemed to do is fail in those aspects."

     Lilith smiled sympathetically at his speech, "You didn't fail, Edward. You did what you thought was best—and I'm still here, aren't I?"

     "But, at what cost?" Edward whispered, "I don't have you anymore, all I can do is look over you from a distance. I don't think you'll ever forgive me for what I've done and I don't blame you. I hurt you so badly and I don't even forgive myself for it." He claimed, "Lilith, I don't know what it'll take for you to forgive me, but, know that I will continue to apologise for it until you tell send me away. But, you just need to know that I'm sorry and I regret that day more than anything."

     "You don't need to apologise anymore, Edward." Lilith told him as she placed a hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb on the ice cold skin, "I've already forgiven you." She admitted.

     "You have?" Edward stammered, their faces so close already but Edward has moved closer in shock. Lilith nodded her head with a grin, already feeling the weight off of her shoulders lifting, "Why?"

     "Because I still love you." Lilith whispered in response, "And I don't think I'll ever be able to stop or anything will be able to change that."

     Edward didn't hold back as he swooped in to kiss her, the girl grinning into the kiss as Edward pulled himself up from his kneeling position to bring her closer towards him before melting into it. The two felt the sparks that they once did, but Lilith couldn't help but feel them more magnified compared to before, but she didn't pay it much mind as all she could feel was content in the arms of the boy that she loved.