166Full Summary:
All of us seek redemption, however, we all seek it for different reasons. Some of us seek it as a way to find atonement for a wrong we have committed; while some of us seek it in hopes to avenge all the pain and hurt we have been handed. In this story all characters will be faced with the road of redemption, however, none more than Bella.
Even before Bella was born, she was handed a heavy crown for the destiny she was to fulfill. However, the destiny planned out was lost when the only person who knew the truth took her last breath as Bella took her first. In that moment Bella and Sam's life became a life of horror and a fight for survival as they learned to survive at the hands of a grief ridden father who turned to the bottle and anything else to ease his pain, but at the same time brought pain to his neglected children. In that time Bella learned the only love, care and support she has comes from her older brother, Sam.
In a blink of an eye all Bella knew is ripped away leaving her battered and bruised and at the hands of strangers. She is left to navigate the road of life on her own until she comes across what she sees as her salvation, but all to soon that salvation burns to ashes.
She finds her way back to her family and tribe; only to lose it all again years later when her family, all those she loves, and her tribe turn their back on her causing her to run. As she runs, she finds out exactly who she is and is forced into a war. A war she was destined to end but now fights to continue. She only comes to know hate, and loses any and all compassion and relishes in causing pain and punishment.
As years pass Bella finds herself once again in the Pacific Northwest and face to face with not only her past but her brother. Only then does she learn her importance to her tribe. As she learns the truth, Bella must decide if she will seek redemption on her family, friends and the tribe that shunned her by turning her back on them, like they had done to her; or will she unlock her stone heart and allow her compassion to come forward and fight by their side in hopes of saving them all from extinction.
Author's Notes
Hello,
This is my first attempt in fan fiction and as you can see by the summary, this story is VERY ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.
I do apologize for the long summary, and notes. I feel it's important information that needed to be put out before we start the story.
This story will also contain a lot of drama, angst and tragedy; it will also contain a lot of strong language (as I curse a lot in real life so it carries over to my writing). Also there will be adult situations, drugs, alcohol and most of all child abuse. For those reasons that is why this story is rated as Mature. So, if you are under 18 TURN BACK NOW, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT 200 DOLLARS! You have been warned, and even if you are 18 and older and hate to read stories with strong language, adult situations, drugs, alcohol and child abuse, then turn around now, because it is part of this story. Since you have been warned, do not review and say you don't like this or that due to those situations because I have warned you and nobody is forcing you to read this. So if you don't like it, hit the back button and leave.
Also, please be respectful in your reviews as there is no need to be hateful or rude. That being said, all respectful reviews are appreciated. When it comes to questions, I will do my best to answer them.
A few notes about the story- I cannot say yet if I will keep all original pairings the same. In the grand scheme of things this is mostly a Bella story. I can say that this is meant to be a Bella and Jacob pairing and while my main goal is to have her and Jacob together at the end they will face trials and Jacob will face very heavy competition as well. So in the end who knows how it will turn out; it all depends where my muse takes me.
Also Sam and Bella are both half Quileute, their mother, Renee, is of Gaelic decent and of course Joshua is full blooded Quileute. In this story Renee is not human, however, her gift can only be passed onto the female line.
Sarah has an important role in this story as well; she is a seer but much more powerful than Alice. Every character will be predominately OCC, however, they might carry some of their canon traits.
The Cullens will be in this story, while I do not like vampires in general, there will be no Cullen bashing as they are an important key to this story. But I will lay this out right now: THERE WILL BE NO BELLA AND EDWARD ANYTHING. So when I said there will be competition for Jacob, it is not Edward.
This story will not contain any lemons; I've never written any and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable enough to do so. With that said a lot will have to be implied. Also this story will start out with our main characters as children. I will be starting this story in the late 70's due to future settings (as shifters do not age while shifting, it will all work out). Since I didn't live in that era, I did my best to make sure I kept everything as accurate as I could from questions asked and with the help of Google. Please keep in mind I might make a mistake here and there when it comes down to the era, but again this is fiction and being accurate isn't a key thing.
In the beginning chapters a lot will be going on between two or more characters at the same time; so there will be a line break or something to show a switch to a different character in that chapter, if needed. Also this story will not just jump into everything being okay and all the pack are friends (while most are friends, some haven't come to live in La Push yet). There will be a lot of drama in the beginning and will focus a lot on Bella and Sam. We will get to everyone in La Push but all in due course (around chapter 5 we will get a taste of La Push life). Bella and Jacob's interaction will take a bit, probably around chapter 22. So please be patient with me and enjoy the build-up and the story.
Also I will be using time skips here and there to help move things along, otherwise this would be the never ending story since this starts out with everyone so young.
Also 'any text like this' is showing inner thoughts, or comments made by the focused on character
Last story note. The chapters are all titled after the song I used to write the chapter. I will have the lyrics I believe best fit the chapter posted at the top. I do have 21 chapters, which includes the preface, already done; so I should have no problem posting right now once a week and making sure I stay ahead of myself in my writing. However, as we all know real life gets in the way; right now I have one major thing that might cause a delay. I play in a woman's ice hockey league, and my season is starting up and I am playing for two teams this year. So things might stall here and there, due to being busy from games, practices, tournaments and other conditioning.
Also, I am not an editor and I have no Beta; I do have my chapters looked over by someone, who is good at catching things, but mistakes happen with grammar, spelling, and punctuation so I am not claiming perfection.
Disclaimer: Lastly, I own nothing all known characters and anything recognizable belong too Stephenie Meyer. I only claim ownership to any original characters I might create. I am only playing with Stephenie's characters for my and, I hope, your amusement. Also I do not own any of the song lyrics used. They are owned by the artist listed below the posted lyrics.
Preface
Right Here
I can see every tear you've cried Like an ocean in your eyes All the pain and the scars have left you cold
I can see all the fears you face Through a storm that never goes away Don't believe all the lies that you've been told
Right Here
By: Ashes Remain
They say redemption is the improving of something, the act of saving something or somebody from a declined, dilapidated, or corrupted state and restoring it, him or her to a better condition. A very long time ago she believed that definition, but now with all that she has witnessed from this cold parallel world (where there is no black and white; where you are able to see in the grey area) she now knew there was an added part to that definition. She now saw redemption defined as not only trying to improve, make up for your actions, or save somebody or something, but also as an act that must be carried out, an atonement for the sins of those who had caused them. When you can see the world from a by-standing position, you can truly observe and you learn to see without adding atonement, without adding a punishment to those who have sinned, they will only sin again and again and never truly learn their lesson; and those who were sinned against will never find their way, will never find healing, and will never find their complete closure.
The sniffles and hiccupping dry sobs of the little girl beside her was the reason she now saw things so differently. Also it is who filled her with so much pain and guilt because her actions caused this little girl nothing but pain. You couldn't feel much in this deathly plane, but she could still feel love for the little girl she had left behind; the little girl she had left behind to a life she had not foreseen. Wanting more than anything else, she desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, to let her feel a loving touch in her time of need, to let her know that even if it appeared so she wasn't truly alone.
Renee had so much regret for her actions. In the long life she lived, she had done and seen so much and in some ways turned against her clan for what she felt was for their own good, damning them into a life of misery. Even that had nothing on the guilt she now harbored, guilt in hiding her true nature from her husband and from the people who could have helped prevent all this; but she was sworn to secrecy and sworn to protect her own above all costs.
'Ha, protect! How blind was I to see there were no rules to be broken? Because by telling those around me about my true nature, I would have protected my daughter from this unseen fallout,' she spat to herself in disgust. But as they say, hindsight is twenty/twenty only coming in the moment that Renee took her last breath and crossed into the cold plane between life and death, where she saw her mistake in an instant. Maybe if her pride to duty and to her clan wouldn't have blinded her, or perhaps if not for her weakening body over the nine months having clouded her thinking, she could have seen that by revealing herself to her husband and to her trusted friends would have resulted in protecting her daughter who was clan, and would have prevented all this hell she had brought down on three lives, especially the young one sitting next to her. Isabella's purpose to fulfill, was an even greater one than the one thrust upon Renee. From the moment Renee's friend a seer had said she carried a girl, she felt disheartened as it meant the happiness and love she had found amongst Quileute people and her small family was coming to an end. Yet it also meant that redemption was within her grasp. She knew her daughter's nature would be stronger than her nature; it was in her growing child's enhanced genes that held the key to the redemption they so desperately needed.
When Renee's brother ordered her away, it wasn't in hope of finding the clan's redemption; it was in hope of creating the ultimate weapon to use in his war. It didn't take Renee more than a few strides as she ran free for her to realize that in this quest to strengthen and build a better line of warriors, she could use it to her benefit and find that redemption for all the wrongs she and her brother committed. Yet even knowing her daughter would be stronger than her, Renee felt the need to ensure her daughter of an extra tool/gift. When needed in the end, it would truly ensure redemption of her clan and to the Native tribe she had come to love. However, to give her daughter the ultimate tool, it would cost Renee her life, which would cost her husband his sanity and her daughter and son a loving carefree childhood.
Renee was so blinded by the thought of redemption in making things right with and for her clan that she had lacked to think through her decisions, which left only one person outside of clan who lives with the truth of her nature, the old Quileute shaman. In her declining state she needed care from somewhere and needed someone to administer the injections as she started to become to weak to do it herself. Old Quil was the perfect choice, not only was he a shaman but he would not reveal her nature no matter
what. He had made an oath and he would keep it, but more importantly he would keep a letter and a vile safe until Isabella was seventeen, when her birth right would start to make itself known and force its way forward. Then Renee's plans for redemption for her clan could begin; because clan to her kind (especially Renee due to her bloodline) meant everything, nothing mattered more than the clan's safety. It was an innate instinct and she knew Isabella would feel it and would surrender to it.
However, they say even the best laid plans can go awry and that is exactly what happened the moment her heart stopped beating. As she watched the chaos around her, she didn't need to be a seer to know things were taking a nose dive for the worst; it was in that moment as she passed by the gateway and the voices of her mother and ancestors calling her to join them that she knew she needed to stay behind in this empty cold plane and watch out for her daughter, as it would be Isabella that would live the harshest of lives.
As the years passed Renee fell into a disdain as she watched her husband's actions towards their children. She knew he grieved and she understood why better than any of them did, and she could even blame herself for his madness because if she would have revealed herself, maybe he could have understood the pain better and found strength. But she couldn't blame herself for how he treated their children, most of all Isabella; she thought the magic that bound herself and Joshua would have had him at least treat the last parts of her with nothing but love and care. How wrong she had been. Her husband never took time to come down from his drunken, drug induced state to even try to see through the madness. In that time she had come to see how you can't expect redemption by not atoning for your sins, and she knew that she would have to face hers one day and so would her husband. She knew he was to far gone and that he would never seek redemption on his own, only finding it through the monster he helped create. When the Fates cut his thread and he met Renee, she would be waiting to see him face the redemption of the afterlife.
The only pride she had left was in her children. Even through all the pain and hurt, Isabella remained caring, sweet, and fair; and then there was the pride Renee felt in her son, Sam. He had lived by his word to protect his sister and care for her better then she could have ever dreamed of. Even though she saw the anger and bitterness in his eyes, it was always directed in the right place, towards the man that created the hell he forced them into. Never once did he show that disdain in his eyes to his sister; he only ever showed her love and acceptance when he looked at his small sibling.
Yet, even at seeing her son's love and devotion, she worried that he would falter somehow as he was so young. With such responsibility would he snap as a teen and breakaway from the burdens of raising a child? And if that happened, how would it affect Isabella? In these moments Renee wished she could reach out to the Fates and demand to see the future they have woven, providing they weren't blinded by Isabella's shield. Renee knew the Fates struggled with her own shield when they tried watching her; but in watching her daughter she could see the shield she possessed was more powerful by far. Renee snorted as she realized even if she could convene with the Fates, it would be useless when it came to Isabella. Her small amount of mortal blood would only give them small glimpses, which would be few and far between into her and those lives around her; and it would remain that way until she raised it.
Renee sighed heavily as she reached out and ghosted the frightened features on the young child's face beside her, wishing she had enough energy to spare to let Isabella feel her. Again Renee didn't need to be a seer to know that someday soon she'd need all the energy she had to stand by her little girl. In every part of her soul Renee knew that redemption would be the main focus and drive in her daughter's life, and she knew her daughter wouldn't see redemption for anything other than for atonement. How else would anyone see it who has been wronged by those around her? As much as Renee wished she had seen and done certain things differently and made better choices to spare so much unnecessary pain, she could not regret the action that led to the loss of her own life. For in it she had given the next generation the most important tool - to seek redemption for their clan.
The little girl next to her has been told nothing but how much of a mistake, waste and how unimportant she is. But how wrong Joshua is, because the little girl he despises and thinks nothing more than a waste of skin is the savior to not just the Quileute, their clan, but to all life.
Renee could hear her daughter's heartbeat increase from the noise below. Scooting closer, she wrapped herself around her baby girl and held tightly even if Isabella couldn't feel it. Renee would be damned if she wouldn't hold her child go through her terror alone. While the precious bundle could never feel her, Renee had never turned her back and never let her daughter go through any of her trauma outside her ghostly motherly arms. Renee would always be right here by her daughter's side through the good, bad, and horrible; she would never falter because dead or not, a mother always remains right here, right by their child's side no matter the distance.
Again I'm sorry for the information overload before starting the story. Like I said I'm new to this, and just wanted to make sure I covered all points. Good news is I can say that will be the last large AN for this story.
Any-hoot, there you have it I hope you all enjoyed the start of this story, and look forward to following Bella and the others on this journey.