Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, but not Merged Souls

Authors Note: This is it the last chapter and it's a shorty. I will not be writing the battle scene for one thing I suck at it and I was not satisfied with any draft that I came up with. So Esme is going to summarize the outcome.

Special Note: To my favourite reader Pienuniek, she has been home ill while reading my story but has been unfailingly supportive. I wish her all the best, because she is the best! Pienuniek has posted her own one shot it's her first try at writing fan fiction so check it out, it's called Renesmee's Lesson.

Chapter 20

EsmPOV

How did one sum up the death of people you had lived with, in some cases, for centuries. Some you had considered friends and others you never really knew. How did humans go onto a battlefield and not feel fear and remorse for what was about to happen. The truth is they did feel all that, and intensely. But it was all a matter of control as to how much they showed it and how they reacted to it, and we were no different.

On the day the Volturi arrived we were outnumbered two to one. We met on the old baseball field, the site of so many happy times. For me it would never be a happy place again. We won that day but lost more than we gained. Leah died in the first assault against the Cullen's. Caius had thrown the Voltutri reserve en mass against us, without warning, as the Volturi main force attacked the Princes' followers. Even the Volturi guard seemed surprised by such a move.

Bella and Masen's bubble didn't protect against physical attacks and while all of us were fighting two or more at a time. Bella was trying to protect the children at the centre of our group.

Leah had taken down one of the guard and was still fighting another hulking monstrosity who was easily twice her size and weight. But she turned her back on him, when she heard Beth scream as Bella was attacked. Edward made short work of the two he was fighting and reached Bella first. Leah had already turned her back to run towards the kids, when she was pulled down from behind, before she could turn around or anyone could reach her, the brute snapped her neck in two, severing her spinal column. There would be no regeneration, as she fell at his feet and he roared his victory.

Both Sam and Emmett had arrived just seconds too late to help her, they dismembered her murderer with intense precision and Bella lit the fire that consumed him.

Jane was taken from us by Caius. Marcus and Richard had worked their way through Aro's bodyguard one at a time, while Jane took them down with excruciating pain. Jane was finally swarmed by Caius's personal guard, she lived just long enough, to incapacitate her former mentor so they could reach Aro and destroy him. Then she passed from this life. With Aro gone Caius tried to flee, but was caught by the wolves and ripped into unrecognizable pieces.

Aro's demise caused just enough confusion in their ranks that we overwhelmed them. Many of them ran, some surrendered and those that didn't died. The sky over our beloved baseball field was thick with a dark purple smoke. The smell of incense was so intense that the wolves had to withdraw coughing, hacking and complaining of burning lungs.

Of the Prince's followers only Yuri had died, perhaps it was his time or perhaps he chose his own time. His people had been decimated by Caius. His brother Anton had been found by the Volturi on their journey here, and was killed. Yuri had nothing to return to and nowhere to go. He had tried to make his way to Caius after phasing into a Russian Black Bear. He took down at least ten of the guard, before he was literally pulled apart by a trio of Caius' personal guard.

Once all the pieces of the destroyed were accounted for and burned and the wounded healed, we retreated to the grounds surrounding our home. The Princes' immediately sent out parties to track down those that had run and deliver their own form of justice, what that was we didn't want to know.

The Princes', Marcus and the Denali's stayed with us as everyone else left almost immediately for their own homes, to contemplate what was to come next. And we mourned our dead. Leah was a beloved daughter of the Quileute and had a special place in our hearts and memories. She at least would never be forgotten for what she had done for my grandchildren and Bella.

Sue was stoic as always, she had in a very short time lost a husband and a daughter and it had taken its toll, but Seth was a rock for his mother. Billy came home from Scotland for the funeral and to testify against Arthur Rask and his attempts to defraud the Quileute. His cousin had left him with an open invitation to return. Alice told me that Billy was going to try to talk Sue into going back with him, at least for a vacation, and Seth would encourage it.

Heidi had finally given Richard his kiss, three days after the battle, while they sat on the deck. He was combing her hair and singing to her about his home and he asked if she would come with him. I witnessed this tender moment myself. After he put the comb down she had leaned forward and looked into his eyes, for the first time since I had met the girl, she smiled in such a way that it could have rivaled the sun. Then she placed her hand on his cheek leaned in and kissed him deeply. When she pulled back he had such a stunned look on his face, it was almost comical and she whispered: "I will follow you anywhere my love." He stood up holding her close, spinning her around and yelling at the top of his lungs that he loved her.

Edward and Bella walked into the backyard holding hands with my grandchildren just then and they stopped to take in the site. Edward called to Richard. "What are you thinking Richard, if you two keep up this public display, Emmett is going to have a field day!"

Bella and Edward smiled as Richard turned, initially he glared down at them then he smiled and offered his thanks, he took Heidi up into his arms and ran off.

My grandchildren ran into the house looking for a breakfast dessert as they called it. Bella and Edward had taken them on their first hunt and they were full of stories about how they had done. I shooed them into the kitchen where Carlisle was, all smiles, standing with an ice cream scoop and a gallon of chunky monkey ice cream. As Bella and Edward entered, I nodded towards the direction Richard had run and asked: "Where did you send them, as if I didn't already know."

Edward smiled and put his arm around his wife they were both smiling and said at the same time. "Our Meadow."

Marcus and Sabina came down the stairs with Simon, Charlotte and Ruby. Marcus had given his Seattle property to Richard and Edward as a base of operations. He was tired and did not want to gather followers around him anymore, he wanted a family. Carlisle and Edward had agreed to be consultants for the new order. They had both declined a leadership role. Carlisle told the Princes', "Let those that had been born to lead assume the responsibility." But we will always be there to aid you whenever your cause is just.

So the Princes would share the duties of guiding our kind, but not ruling them. The old laws would stand, because in and of themselves they were right. It was how they were administered that had been wrong.

Joham and Sara would be starting on the lecture circuit this fall, they would return in a year as guest lecturers at UDUB for the Environmental Studies program. The Denali's were going to return to Alaska and mourn the loss of Tanya. It would be a while before Carmen would come to terms with how Tanya had deteriorated to such an extent without her noticing. Janice would be accompanying them, working with Carmen as she had with Heidi.

Aldrich was going with a team to Volterra to clean out the den of iniquity, as he called it. The intent was to remove all references to the Volturi lifestyle and our world. Then turn the castle into a living museum. Lord knows the artifacts contained within the castle would make it a world class attraction for tourists and academics. The human servants, that had worked there, would now have jobs with true value and that they could tell their families about, without fear of death.

The NorthWest Trust would be responsible for the museum's administration. Marcus wanted nothing to do with Volterra, but he would act as a consultant on the work to convert it to a museum. Edward, Alice and I would be flying over for a few days to interview the staff and weed out the untrustworthy. Bella would come with the children but only as far as London, where she was meeting with Charlie, Carol and Alastair. I would be staying on in the capacity of architect and design consultant for a few weeks, and would return every few months to oversee the work.

Our plans to move to New England had been scrapped. Bella and Edward decided they wanted to stay home and raise their children, until they reached their full maturity. Then the Cullen children would be attending high school once again but this time with Anthony, Beth and Masen. All I could say was: 'Lord, help the humans'.

It was time for us to move on, at the request of the triplets we were leaving Forks for Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Demitri had once told them how beautiful it was and how he'd like to return one day. They thought it would be a way to honour his memory, by going there, and we agreed. We would take his, Jane's and Yuri's ashes to scatter over the mountains there. Marcus and Sabina would be moving close by to just outside of Kamloops. Simon, Charlotte and even Ruby would be living with them, close enough for them to visit regularly, but far enough away that we wouldn't over hunt the region.

Simon had pledged himself to Beth and our family. We still weren't too sure about the boys. Then one day Beth said that Uncle Emmett had told them they should play the field, before they committed themselves to Charlotte and Ruby. Edward and Bella would be talking to the boys. And I would be talking to Emmett.

Alice and Jasper were going to Paris for fashion week, Rose and Emmett were going with them to Paris and then on to Africa to try some big game hunting. And yes that was Emmett's idea. Rose's backup plan was to go extreme skiing in the remote Alps.

Bella and Edward would be going with Carlisle to set up our new home in Canada when they got back from Europe. It was actually more of a lodge. Each couple would have their own separate residence. The main building would go to Bella, Edward and the children. I was looking forward to time alone with Carlisle, we hadn't had that since Edward had left us back in the 20's and that was not a happy time.

And the Quileute's would do what they had done for generations. They would watch over the land, and wait for the vampires to return.

And that would summon the wolf once again.