Let’s Re-Read Breaking Dawn Together! Chapter 37

Welcome to the BreakingDawnMovie.org’s Community Re-read!

While we impatiently wait for Breaking Dawn part 2 to be released, we continue with our highly-popular Community Re-Read!

Every Tuesday & Friday, I’ll post a breakdown for each chapter in the book, counting down the days until the official release of the film on November 16th. Let’s get started, dig out your copy of Breaking Dawn, read the chapters together with us, and discuss anything you may find of interest that you might have missed the first or twentieth time around. Let’s continue our journey into FOREVER. 2 CHAPTERS TO GO!

Chapter 37: Contrivances 

“This was a signal. The response was so fast that we all stared in stunned disbelief while it happened. Before there was time to react, it was over.”

Last time we left our guests, Aro took to Caius, Marcus and the rest of the Volturi guard to discuss how to proceed. Let’s head back out to the snowy clearing!

Pg. 701-702  There’s a whole lot of talking going on in this chapter. Frankly it’s annoying how Aro prolongs everything possible. But Edward put it best when he said it’s all about the show. Caius and his disgusting attitude are displayed throughout these last few chapters. Caius has his own agenda: kill and burn, period. While Aro wants to kill and acquire.

Pg. 702-703 As the Volturi approach even closer than before, Bella finds herself stretching her shield in ways she never knew were possible.   Anxiously I inspected my shield; it felt just as impenetrable as before. I flexed it now into a low wide dome that arced over our company. I felt my forehead crease as I pulled the elastic armor very carefully closer. Carlisle was the farthest forward; I sucked the shield back inch by inch, trying to wrap it as exactly to his body as I could. My shield seemed to want to cooperate. It hugged his shape; when Carlisle shifted to the side to stand nearer to Tanya, the elastic stretched with him, drawn to his spark. Fascinated, I tugged in more threads of the fabric, pulling it around watch glimmering shape that was a friend or ally.

Pg. 704-707 This is where things take an ugly turn. Caius is not satisfied with Aro or his interest in Renesmee and so he begins to search for any little thing he can to pin on the Cullen’s and prove their guilt. Caius spots the wolves and decides to use the alliance between the vampires and the wolves as an excuse to find a fault.  “Will you defend that alliance, too, Aro?” Caius demanded. “The Children of the Moon have been our bitter enemies from the dawn of time. Yet Carlisle encourages a familiar relationship with this enormous infestation-no doubt in an attempt to overthrow us. The better to protect his warped lifestyle.” “Caius, it’s the middle of the day,”  Edward pointed out. “These are not Children of the Moon, clearly. They bear no relation to your enemies on the other side of the world.” “You breed mutants here,” Caius spit back at him. “They aren’t even werewolves. Aro can tell you all about it if you don’t believe me.”  Aro then informs Caius that the Quileute’s are in fact shape-shifters and that the werewolf form is more of a coincidence than anything.   Caius glared at Aro with an irritation and something more-an accusation of betrayal, maybe. “They know our secret,”  he said flatly. “They are creatures of the supernatural world, brother. Perhaps even more dependant upon secrecy than we are; they can hardly expose us. Carefully, Caius. Specious allegations get us nowhere.” “I want to talk to the informant,”  Caius announced abruptly, and turned his glare on Irina.  She looked up, startled and instantly afraid. Caius snapped his fingers. “So you appear to have been quite mistaken in your allegations,” Caius began. “I’m sorry,”  Irina whispered. “I should have made sure of what I was seeing. But I had no idea…” “We all know you made a mistake. I meant to speak of your motivations.” “My motivations?” “Yes, for coming to spy on them in the first place. You were unhappy with the Cullens, were you not?” “I was.” “Because?” “Because the werewolves killed my friend. And the Cullens wouldn’t stand aside to let me avenge him.” “So the Cullens sided with the shape-shifters against our own kind-against the friend of a friend, even,” Caius summarized. “That’s how I saw it.” “If you’d like to make a formal complaint against the shape-shifters-and the Cullens for supporting their actions-now would be the time.” “No, I have no complaint against the wolves, or the Cullens. You came here to destroy an immortal child. No immortal child exists. This was my mistake, and I take full responsibility for it. But the Cullens are innocent, and you have no reason to still be here. I’m so sorry. There was no crime. There’s no valid reason for you to continue here.”  Caius raised his hand as she spoke, and in it was a strange metal object, carved and ornate. Three of the Volturi soldiers leaped forward, and Irina was completely obscured by their gray cloaks. In the same instant, a horrible metallic screeching ripped through the clearing. Caius slithered into the center of the gray melee, and the shocking squealing sound exploded into a starling upward shower of sparks and tongues of flame.

Pg. 708-712 Caius stood alone beside the blazing remains of Irina, the metal object in his hand still throwing a thick jet of flame into the pyre. Caius smiled coldly. “Now she has taken full responsibility for her actions.” “Stop them!” Edward cried out, jumping to grab Tanya’s arm as she lurched forward toward the smiling Caius with a maddened cry of pure rage. She couldn’t shake Edward off before Carlisle had his arms locked around her waist. “It’s too late to help her,” he reasoned urgently as she struggled. “Don’t give him what he wants!” Kate was harder to contain. Shrieking wordlessly like Tanya, she broke into the first stride of the attack that would end with everyone’s death. Rosalie was closest to her, but before Rose could clinch her in a headlock, Kate shocked her so violently that Rose crumpled to the ground. Emmett caught Kate’s arm and threw her down, then staggered back, his knees giving out, Kate rolled to her feet, and it looked like no one could stop her. Garrett flung himself at her, knocking her to the ground again. He bound his arms around hers, locking his hands around his own wrists. I saw his body spasm as she shocked him. His eyes rolled back in his head, but his hold did not break. “Zafrina,”  Edward shouted. “Give me my sight back,” Tanya hissed. “Listen to me, Tanya, Kate,”  Carlisle said in a low but intense whisper. “Vengeance doesn’t help her now. Irina wouldn’t want you to waste your lives this way. Think about what you’re doing. If you attack them, we all die.”  Sidebar-this is just an utter mess! And it better be in the movie, lol.   Tanya’s shoulders hunched with grief, and she leaned into Carlisle for support. Kate was finally still. Carlisle and Garrett continued to console the sisters with words too urgent to sound like comfort. And my attention returned to the weight of the stares that pressed down on our moment of chaos. The Volturi guard no longer stood at the disciplined attention-they crouched forward, waiting to spring the counterstrike the moment we attacked. Without the immediate attack that Caius had countered on to distract his rash act, the Volturi witnesses were left questioning exactly what was going on here. Aro touched Caius’s shoulder lightly. “Irina has been punished for bearing false witness against this child. Perhaps we should return to the matter at hand? Just to be thorough. I’d like to speak with a few of your witnesses.”  Two things happened at once, Caius’s eyes focused on Aro, and the tiny cruel smile came back. And Edward hissed, his hands balling up in fists so tight it looked like the bones in his knuckles would split through his diamond-hard skin.

Pg. 713-717 Aro makes his way through the witnesses and speaks with Amun. Amun witnesses for Carlisle as agreed, and in a swift motion, he and his mate Kebi are gone into the woods headed afar away from Forks.(Not surprising) Next was Siobhan. She witnessed and added that Renesmee knows her limitations and could never be a threat now or in the future.  “No broken law,” Aro repeated. “However, does it follow then that there is no danger? No. That is a separate issue. She is unique…utterly, impossibly unique. Such a waste it would be, to destroy something so lovely. Especially when we could learn so much. But there is danger, danger that cannot simply be ignored.”  Still looking at his own witnesses, he spoke again. “Only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable. The unknown is…a vulnerability.” Caius’s smile widened viciously. “You’re reaching, Aro.” Carlisle said in a bleak voice. “Peace, friend. Let us not be hasty. Let us look at this from every side.” “May I offer a side to considered?” Garrett petitioned in a level tone, taking another step forward. “I came here at Carlisle’s request, as the others, to witness. That is certainly no longer necessary, with regard to the child. We all see what she is. I stayed to witness something else. You. Two of you I know-Makenna, Charles-and I can see that many of you others are also wanderers, roamers like myself. Answering to no one. Think carefully on what I tell you now. These ancient ones did not come here for justice as they told you. The Volturi come to erase what they perceive as the competition. But the ancient ones look and see something besides their strange choice. They see power.”

Pg. 718-724 This extremely lengthy chapter ends with Garrett slamming the Volturi to their own witnesses and calling them out on their ‘laws’, and then the beginning stages of the end.    “Carlisle assured us all, when he told us what was coming, he did not call us here to fight. These witnesses agreed to give evidence, to show the Volturi advance with their presence so that Carlisle would get the chance to present his case. But some of us wondered if Carlisle having truth on his side would be enough to stop the so-called justice. Are the Volturi here to protect the safety of our secrecy, or to protect their own power? Did they come to destroy an illegal creation, or a way of life? Could they be satisfied when the danger turned out to be no more than a misunderstanding? Or would they push the issue without the excuse of justice? I came to witness. I stay to fight. The Volturi care nothing for the death of the child. They seek death of our free will. So come, I say! Let’s hear no more lying rationalizations. Be honest in your intents as we will be honest in ours. We will defend our freedom. You will or will not attack it. Choose now and let these witnesses see the true issue debated here.”  Aro then looks for backup from his witnesses but it doesn’t go accordingly.  “Let us ask our witnesses,” Aro suggested. “Do we take the risk and let the child live? Do we put our world in jeopardy to preserve their family in tact” “Are those our only choices? Agree with you, or fight against you?” “Of course not, most charming Makenna. You may go in peace, of course as Amun did, even if you disagree with the council’s decision. “We did not come here for a fight. We came here to witness. And our witness is that this condemned family is innocent.” “Ah,” Aro said sadly. “I’m sorry you see us in that way.” “It’s not what I see but what I feel. Garrett said they have ways of knowing lies. I too, know when I am hearing the truth, and when I am not. That is our witness. We are leaving now.” “Brothers,” Aro said somberly. “There is much to consider here.” “Let us counsel,” Caius said eagerly. “Let us counsel,” Marcus repeated in an uninterested tone. This was it. Carefully, I loosened Renesmee’s arms from my neck. “You remember what I told you?”  Tears welled in her eyes, but she nodded. “I love you,” she whispered. Edward was watching us now, his topaz eyes wide. Jacob stared at us from the corner of his big dark eye. “I love you, too. More than my own life.” I kissed her forehead. Jacob whined uneasily. I stretched up on my toes and whispered into his ear. “Wait until their totally distracted, then run with her. Get as far as you can on foot, she has what you need to get you in the air.” Edward’s and Jacob’s faces were almost identical masks of horror. Renesmee reached for Edward, and he took her in his arms. They hugged each other tightly. “This is what you kept from me?” “From Aro,” I breathed. “Alice?” I nodded. Edward kissed Renesmee’s forehead and both her cheeks, then he lifted her to Jacob’s shoulder. “You’re the only one we could ever trust her with. If you didn’t love her so much, I could never bear this. I know you can protect her, Jacob.”  He whined again, and dipped his head to butt it against my shoulder. “I love you, too, Jake. You’ll always be my best man.” Edward leaned his head against the same shoulder where he’d placed Renesmee. “Goodbye, Jacob, my brother…my son.”  “Is there no hope, then?” Carlisle whispered. “There is absolutely hope,”  I murmured back, “I only know my own fate.” Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. Esme’s breath was ragged behind me. She moved past us, touching our faces as she passed, to stand beside Carlisle and hold his hand. Rosalie and Emmett kissed quickly but passionately. I didn’t see all the expressions of love and pain. I was distracted by a sudden fluttering pressure against the outside of my shield. “Get ready,” I whispered to the others. “It’s starting.”

*I think this scene needs to be a full 60 minutes in the film, because none of it can be left out, seriously. This is crazyyyy at best. The goodbyes always have tears rolling down my face. 2 more chapters to go…

Tags: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 Re-Read, Breaking Dawn Re-Read

Category: Breaking Dawn Book