A Brother's Promise

A/N: Depending on how you look at this chapter, it can be considered either part of the overall plot or filler. To me this chapter is a bit filler-ish, despite the fact that it has Emmett recalling his life from his rebirth.

Hopefully Emmett's backstory is as accurate as it can be—I used Twilight's wikia page to help me out since I didn't really know much about Emmett's human life.

Disclaimer: It's FANfiction people, not Ownerfiction

Chapter 1: Something's Coming

Emmett POV

A thousand years have passed since the Silver Millennium ended and my mother died. True to my mother's word, I was reborn with my memories of that period intact which I have often viewed as a curse. Ever since my rebirth, the memories of that age complicated this one. The memories of another family constantly made me feel like I was cheating on them when I enjoyed the time with my new family and vice versa.

The dreams I had didn't help either. Every night when I closed my eyes, I would dream of my mother, Queen Serenity, and she would tell me how much she loved me. While that should have made me happy, it only made me cry and yearn for a time that was lost to me forever—though as a baby, the crying didn't raise that much concern.

Though it took me until I was about 6, I finally managed to pull myself together enough to remember the promise I made to my mother. I was to find my sister, Serena, and protect her and help her face the witch behind our kingdom's destruction. If I could find her, I would have something from that life to fill the yearning I had. I had hoped that when my mother in this life gave birth to a daughter, that it would be Serena, but when it wasn't, I just had to remind myself that my mother couldn't guarantee that we would be related in this life. Serena was still out there somewhere and as long as I prayed to the Moon and my old family, I knew I would one day find her.

With that in mind, I found myself embracing my new life and getting over the grief and yearning I felt for my old one. Without the shackles of being a royal, I found myself able to do things I hadn't been able to do before, like drink and gamble. I got to experience things that my old life wouldn't allow and I found myself missing my old life less and less. By the time I turned 19, I found myself rarely thinking of the Silver Millennium and completely in love with my new life.

It was on my 20th birthday that my past came back to haunt me. That night, my mother visited me while I slept for the first time since I was 13. She wished me a happy birthday and told me that she loved me with all her heart. Then she told me that the time had come for me to begin fulfilling the promise I made a millennia earlier and gave me instructions on what to do. Before the dream ended, she embraced my dream-self and kissed my forehead like she used to; when I awoke, I found myself crying over a dream for the first time in years.

Owing it to my mother to fulfill the promise I made on her deathbed, I packed a bag and headed for the mountains of Tennessee in the hopes of being reunited with my sister. I had barely reached the spot my mother instructed me to go to when I found myself being attacked by a bear. Fighting a losing battle with the bear, all I could think about was how my own mother sent me off to my death. Despite that thought, I found myself praying to the Moon and Selene that I would live.

That day, I found my prayers being answered for the first time since the Silver Millennium ended. Just when the bear was about to finish me off, a woman with pale blond hair swooped in to rescue me. Though she looked like an angel, the feral way she fought off the bear told me she was a vampire. While it should have scared me to death to be in her presence, I was too enamored by her beauty and grace as I watched her kill the bear to be afraid—though the fact that I was bleeding out probably had something to do with my lack of fear as well. As I succumbed to the cold darkness of what must have been death, I felt the beauty lifting me up into her freezing arms and running from the attack site.

Rather than heaven, I found myself in what could only be limbo; I could tell I was still alive and yet my mother was there waiting for me. While I wanted to yell at her for sending me off to my death, the sorrowful expression she wore kept me quiet. Embracing me in a hug, she apologized profusely for what she did and explained why she did it. According to her, her actions not only would ensure that I would find Serena one day but that they would also lead me to the kind of true love that she, my father, Serena and Prince Darien shared. The only catch was that in order for that to happen, I would have to become a vampire.

Before I could comment on that, she told me that when the transformation process began that I would have a choice to make. Since the process often affected memories because how traumatic it was and how greatly the eyesight of a human and vampire differed, there was a high probability that it would blend my memories together since I had two sets. During the transformation, I would have to focus on the set of memories that I wished to keep intact while the other set would be subject to the effects of the transformation process. With that said, she told me that she wouldn't hold it against me if I chose to save the memories of my new life over my old one because of what she had done, and released me from the promise I made her—assuring me that destiny would find a way to help Serena if I did. Kissing my forehead, she told me that that would numb the pain a bit so that I could focus on the memories I wished to keep and help me cope with the transformation a bit better. With one last kiss, she told me I had until I started to burn to choose, told me that she would love me no matter my choice, and left me to make my choice.

I remember feeling torn between what life I wanted to hang on to. On the one hand, my new life was filled with both love and freedom but the Silver Millennium was filled with love and a kind of happiness that not even my new life could replicate as well as a sorrow that still made my heart hurt. I was all set to hang on to my new life to forget the sorrow that resulted from the end of the Silver Millennium when something crossed my mind that made me change it: Serena. Serena was fiercely loyal and loved with all her heart in a way that drew people to her like his new family could never imitate. She would find a way move the heavens for someone she loved if need be and was my very best friend. If she was here right now, I knew that she would accept whatever decision I made, even if it broke her heart. It was for that reason that I couldn't forsake my memories of the Silver Millennium. I owed it to my sister to be a loyal and loving brother—to help her face the witch that had my mother so worried.

As soon as I made my choice, I felt something bite into me and felt something akin to fire being injected into my veins; forcing me out of limbo and into consciousness. Though the burning had be writhing and screaming in agony, my mother's kiss helped me to think. Without a moment's hesitation, I began to focus on my memories of the Silver Millennium beginning with the memories of my sister. As the first memory of my sister passed through my mind, I heard someone gasp but ignored in fear of losing control.

Though the transformation process had taken days, the pain made it feel like an eternity. When the process was complete, the first thing I did was think back to the Silver Millennium to make sure that my memories were left untouched—ignoring the burn in my throat for a moment. To my great relief and disappointment, I remembered that life with crystal clear clarity while my human life was very hazy; the reason for my transformation and the transformation itself being the exception. The moment I realized this, I heard another gasp.

The thought of doing so had barely crossed my mind when I found myself on my feet, facing the source of the gasp. Standing a few feet away was the angel who saved me along with another woman and two men—their alabaster skin and unnatural beauty telling me that they were vampires. My memories of vampires from the Silver Millennium flashing through my mind, I instinctively prepared myself for a battle; the bronze haired vampire gasping in the process.

Before anything could happen, the blonde vampire stepped forward with a careful look on his face with my angel right beside him. They quickly tried explained to me what had happened and what I now was—their voices melodic. Their explanation stopped short when I told them that I knew what had happened to me. But before I could explain how, the bronze haired vampire told them that I had two sets of memories in my head. When I opened my mouth to demand how he knew that, my hands flew to my throat as the burning sensation in it multiplied tenfold.

The caramel haired vampire with the heart shaped face commented that the explanations could happen once I fed, and the others agreed with her. Wincing, I told them that I refused to take the life of a human just to satisfy my thirst and that it would ruin any chance I had at fulfilling my promise to my queen. To my relief, they told me that they were civilized 'vegetarians' who fed on animals rather than people and that I too would have to if I wanted to be a part of their coven. Not wanting to have to go through this ordeal alone, I agreed. After quickly introducing themselves as the Cullen family, my angel—who I now know as Rosalie—offered to take me out hunting. Carlisle, Esme, and Edward consented, and the two of us left headed out.

Once in the safety of the wilderness, Rosalie helped me to adapt to my new senses so that I could locate my prey. It wasn't all that difficult to locate my prey—a bear ironically—but I didn't exactly take it down with a whole lot of grace and ended up covered in blood in the process. Rosalie laughed a little at my attempt and told me that the same thing happened to her when she first went out hunting in an attempt to comfort me. She then proceeded to demonstrate how to take down an animal without making such a mess and I managed to imitate her takedown with some success. After another 3 hours of hunting, the burning in my throat had subsided to a dull throb and we headed back to glass house where the others were.

Though I was a vampire now, I found myself suspicious of my new family simply because of the experiences the Moon Kingdom had with their—our—kind. They may have claimed to value human life and mean me no harm, but my memories reminded me of how the Volturi tricked us with the same lie once upon a time. It was for that reason I found myself telling them what I wanted to about my old life, and keeping the fact that I was the prince of the Moon Kingdom out of my mind in case someone could read it.

The story I told them was how I had lived during the peace of the Silver Millennium a millennia earlier and that I had promised my queen on her deathbed that I would protect her daughter and help her face the witch behind its end before she sent us all to be reborn in the future. I explained to them that I knew about vampires because we had to deal with them during that time. When the bronze haired Edward asked how my memories of that time could be so clear, I told them that Queen Serenity used her powers from beyond the grave to alleviate the pain of the transformation a bit so that I could choose which life I wanted to remember perfectly and so that I could cope with the transformation a bit better.

The caramel haired Esme was fascinated by my tale and commented that she had thought the legend of the Silver Millennium to be just a myth. It was then that the blonde, Carlisle, explained to everyone how the Volturi had spoken of the Moon Kingdom and how they had feared the threat that it could pose to their kind. Though I kept the thought out of my mind, Carlisle's words made me even warier of the company I now kept. I growled openly when Carlisle commented on how relieved the Volturi were when the Moon Kingdom was destroyed; the sound putting the others on guard. They relaxed once Edward explained how the Volturi's joy over my home's destruction had simply pissed me off and that I wasn't about it attack.

Carlisle immediately apologized to me for not thinking about how I might respond to such a comment. He then went on to tell me that he would help me learn to control myself so that I could interact with humans and one day fulfill my promise to my mother. The need for help and not wanting to be alone winning over my wariness, I accepted Carlisle's offer.

It was a good thing I accepted it for a few days later, my mother's magic wore off and I found myself overwhelmed by my newborn urges. During the Silver Millennium, I heard about what newborn vampires went through and my new vampire family told me what it was like, but none of it prepared me for how little control I would have over my actions. The worst part had been when I had caught a whiff of human blood and found myself going after it; thankfully, my new new family stopped me before I could drain the target of my newborn instincts.

When I finally grew out of my newborn phase, I had thought I would finally be able to be around humans with little difficulty; but I was wrong. Two years after my transformation, I found two humans whose blood smelled extremely enticing and drained them before I could stop myself. Racked with grief, I found myself having a mental breakdown because I could no longer cry. When I was found by the Cullens, Esme and Rosalie tried to calm me down while Edward and Carlisle disposed of the bodies. Once the bodies were gone, we packed up and moved to Forks, Washington.

Upon our arrival, I excused myself from the others to take a walk through the wilderness. They tried to stop me from going—fearing that I would do something stupid in my grief—but I left before they could stop me. Though the smells and sounds of nature often calmed me down, they did nothing to help me. To vent my feelings, I began punching the trees around me with all my strength; knocking them down. I had been about to knock down another when a familiar voice echoed from behind me and told me to calm down. Whirling around, I found the ghostly image of my mother standing a few feet away from me. I barely had time to process the sight when she began talking to me.

"You have to calm down, Emmy," she told me. "This kind of behavior won't bring those humans back."

For the first time in my life, I glared coldly at my mother and shook with anger. "I won't calm down mother!" I yelled at her. "I took the lives of innocent people to satisfy my own hunger!"

Rather than get angry at me for yelling at her, my mother sighed and offered me a sad smile. "That's not the real reason you're so upset, is it?" she asked me. Unconsciously, I flinched; alerting her that she was right. "Why are you acting this way?"

My expression fell as I replied, "Those humans smelled so good, that I couldn't control myself. What if the same thing happens when I finally find Serena? I could never forgive myself if I hurt or killed her because of my lack of control!"

Shaking her head, my mother stepped forward and enveloped me in a hug; a hug which I could actually feel. Her familiar warmth and scent filling surrounding me, I found myself clinging to her for comfort—something I was surprised I could do given that she was a spirit. Holding me close, my mother hummed the lullaby she sang when I was a baby to calm me down. To my surprise, the melody worked.

Once she was sure I was calm, she pulled away and looked at me with pure love. "That won't happen," she assured me. "The bond you two share will ensure that. When you finally find her, I have no doubt that you will be able to control yourself around her and that you will be strong enough to protect and help her. That was one of the reasons I sent you to be changed; the other was so that you would meet Rosalie."

Had I been capable of it, I would have blushed at the comment. Even in death, my mother was playing matchmaker. The only real difference in her matchmaking was that the match was dead on for once. Unlike all the other women she tried to set me up with, I actually liked Rosalie and could see a future with her.

Her chuckle told me that I must have looked a little flustered by her comment. She smiled at me and cupped my cheek. "She may seem a little vain, but she is your soul mate; just as Darien is Serena's."

Tilting my head into her hand, I asked, "How is it that you can have so much faith in me even after I was set to abandon your memory? When I was going to abandon Serena?"

"Because you're still my baby," she answered, "And because I had faith in you to make the right choice." Her expression turned serious. "Don't be afraid of trusting the Cullens, they are good people who will not betray your trust like the Volturi did and will help you in your mission."

I wasn't surprised by her comment. Even after being with them for 2 years, I was still wary of the Cullens because of what had happened with the Volturi. Though I never told them, I suspected the Cullens knew that something had happened in my past to make me mistrustful of vampires, because of the way they acted so careful around me. But if my mother believed them to be good people, then I should too.

Her expression softening, she stretched up kiss my cheek. "I'm afraid that it is time for me to leave."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she silenced me by placing her ghostly hand over it. "I came to help you get over your grief and now that you have, I must go. But should you ever find yourself in need of guidance, pray to our home and to Selene, and you will find your way." After another kiss to my cheek, she left.

As soon as I was alone, the rest of my family were by my side. To my surprise, they commented on how they had smelled an unfamiliar aroma in the area and that that same scent was all over me. That little detail through me for a loop, though a quick sniff told me that my mother's scent was all over me. How could the scent of a ghost be on me when they had no physical form? Shaking off my confusion, I suggested we head back home so that I could explain the scent to them.

Taking my mother's word, I found myself fully opening to the others about my past; apologizing for being so secretive being the first thing I did. To say that they were surprised to hear that I was the prince of the Silver Millennium was an understatement; they were absolutely flabbergasted.

"You're a prince?!" Rosalie gasped after a full minute of gaping.

I nodded. "I was," I confirmed.

Esme looked hurt by my lack of trust in them. "Why did you keep that from us? Were you afraid that we'd treat you differently?"

"It's worse than that," I told her. "I didn't trust you all; the Volturi taught us to never trust vampires."

"And why is that?" Carlisle asked. "What could they have possibly done?"

"They told us that they valued human life and meant us no harm, and then betrayed our trust by attacking the Moon and killing my father," I replied, my voice thick with grief.

The vampires before me were stunned by that comment—even Edward despite his talent to read minds. After a moment, they managed to pull themselves together and asked if that was how our kingdom fell.

"No, that happened 5 years later when I was 20. Their attack came when I was 15 and we met them when I was 10."

"Then how did you all manage to survive their attack?" Edward asked. "They're the largest and most powerful coven."

"Coupled with their murder of my father, the Volturi's betrayal infuriated my mother. Using our kingdom's most powerful weapon—the Imperium Silver Crystal—she vanquished all but the Volturi leaders and ended the attack; forcing them to surrender. My mother spared their lives but told threatened to blast them to the sun if they ever set foot on the surface of the Moon again or threatened us or humanity."

"Why did she spare them?" Carlisle asked. "Wouldn't it have made sense to just kill them?"

"It would have if the Moon Kingdom hadn't forbade the death sentence," I countered. "Plus her destruction of the Volturi's army was meant to send a message to all vampires: that they would be wiped out of existence if they tried anything like that again. And what better way to do so than to take out the most powerful coven and leave them to tell the tale? Needless to say, we never saw hide nor hair of vampires again."

Rather than try and defend their kind like I thought they would, my family understood why I was wary of them. The Volturi had ruined my faith in vampires and it would take time for that faith to be rebuilt. Though they were happy that I was opening up to them, they were also confused as to why I chose that moment and how that explained the scent that covered me.

"While I was in the forest, my mother's spirit decided to visit me," I explained, earning gasps from the others. "She helped to alleviate the guilt and fears I was having. I don't know how her scent got on me when she's nothing but a spirit."

"Maybe she has unfinished business that keeps her from finding peace?" Rosalie suggested.

"That's what I'm beginning to think too," I told them. "My mother's been watching over me since I was reborn. I think she won't be able to rest in peace until I find my sister and fulfill my promise to her. And I will; I owe it to both my mother and to Serena."

"How are you going to find her?" Edward asked. "All you know about her is her first name, and that won't help you much."

I shrugged. "I don't know how I'll find her, but I know I will eventually; I have an eternity to find her. And if I pray to my home and to Selene, I oughta find her a lot faster."

"How will praying do that?" Esme asked.

"The Moon houses the Chamber of Prayer and the Crystal Tower," I explained. "In times of great need, a person of Selene's bloodline could enter the chamber to pray to the tower and the Moon would protect us. However, praying to the tower will also make a prayer come true—though I may not be able to go to the Moon, I can pray to it from here."

Carlisle looked intrigued by the statement. "That's astounding," he commented. "But if that's true, then why did the Moon Kingdom fall?"

With a sigh, I leaned forward on the couch; clasping my hands together. "If I had to guess, my mother was too preoccupied looking for me and Serena to get there. She may have been able to find Serena during the attack, but I was on Earth at the time of the attack."

"Emmett, if you'll allow us, we'd like to help find her," Esme offered.

Carlisle nodded in agreement. "After what the Volturi did to your people, we'd like to help rebuild your trust in our kind."

I nodded in approval. "I'd like that; you're my family now and I'd like it if my old friends and family could trust you."

After that confession, I found myself a lot closer with my new family. Without any secrets, I grew to love them and they me. Despite not being blood related, they would join me in praying to the Moon and to Selene whenever the caught me in the act. No one joined me in praying more than Rosalie did—insisting I tell her whenever I was going to so that she could join me. It was because of that that I found myself falling in love with Rosalie.

It was June 30, 1947—12 years after I became a vampire—that Rosalie and I married. Rather than having a large, traditional ceremony, I asked her if the wedding could be according to the customs of the Moon rather than Earth. I had expected her to protest my request but, to my great surprise, she respected my wishes and agreed. The venue for the event had been a large flower meadow which allowed a perfect view of the sky. I had picked my sister's birthday so that in a way, she would be present at the event.

For the event, I instructed Esme on the customs of the Moon Kingdom so that she could officiate the ceremony in place of the high priestess of Selene. Under the light of the full moon, we asked Selene and my mother to bless our union—their blessings coming in the form of her scent wafting toward us on a breeze. With their blessings, we continued the ceremony with me and Rosalie presenting Esme with bouquets of our favorite flowers as an offering to Selene—immortelles for me and roses for her—which she in turn burned. Afterward, we exchanged the rings and said our vows. When we sealed our marriage with a kiss, I could have sworn that I heard Serena whisper her congratulations in my ear.

Three years later, our coven gained two more members—their names Alice and Jasper. Like Edward, they had supernatural abilities—Alice the power to see the future and Jasper the power to either excite or calm a person down. Much like I had been with the others, I had initially been wary of the two; but I grew fond of them as soon as Edward told me that they bore no ill will toward us or humanity. Taking him on his word, I opened up to Alice about my past in hopes of her being able to foresee my reunion with my sister. Though it took her a few moments, she was able to see our reunion—but unable to foresee when it would occur. That night, I found myself praying to Selene to thank her for the reunion in addition for it to come soon.

79 years have passed since I became a vampire and I have yet to locate my sister—despite how often we have moved around as to not arouse suspicion from humans. For the past 64 years, I have had Alice constantly looking into the future for the day we would be reunited, with no definite day as of yet. Despite the lack of news, I continue to pray that I will be reunited with my sister soon—albeit once a week rather than every day.

Lately however, there has been a shift in the air. I can't really explain the shift, but it feels like something is about to happen. And I'm not the only one who can feel the change; my family can too. The shift originally started a year ago—around the time Edward met a girl who we all knew was going to end up his mate—and has only gotten stronger since. A few months ago we left Forks because we had stayed in town too long and people were getting suspicious of why he didn't look older, but also because the shift in the air has made us a bit uneasy. But now that we're returning—because Edward was completely miserable without Bella—I tell that the air is charged with magic.

If the Silver Millennium taught me anything, it's that something monumental happens when the air is charged with magic. The last time it happened was when the Moon Kingdom fell, and the time before that it was when Serena was born.

I'm not entirely sure what the charge could mean, but I'd like to hope that it means that I'm going to see my sister again soon.

I pray to Selene that that is what is about to happen. Because if it's another catastrophe, the entire town of Forks is royally screwed. And if it's the witch my mother warned us about, without Serena here it could spell the end of the world.

A/N: Dear lord this was one long chapter! 10 pages long to be precise.

This chapter was also my first time writing in the first person point-of-view so there may be some slip ups in that category. If there are, please feel free to let me know.

Like I said earlier, this chapter can be considered filler. And I left the part where they made the treaty because: A) it should be implied that it was in there somewhere, and B) Sam's pack won't play a major role in the story until the end of Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. Things will start picking up in the next chapter.

Until then, let me know what you thought in a review.