Edward never knew the real me. He knew one side, which was the sweet, angelic little human, who was never able to defend herself. He only knew that half, while I always fought to keep the other side of me at bay. I had to so that no supernatural creatures, especially vampires, could find out what I truly was. Not that I'm ashamed of who and what I am, but certain things had to stay hidden and unknown until the time was right for everything to come out, which was actually set for a week after my birthday. I just never anticipated that everything would go to hell before I had a chance in explaining myself to my so-called family.

I guess being without the Cullen family for eternity was my fate. The entire coven left me right after my disastrous party on September 13, 2005. I was 18, forever damned to stay that age and be alone, with no mate to keep me company. I just wish that the Cullen's, who knew how un-trusting I was, could have come and said goodbye to me, themselves, instead of having Edward do it. Unfortunately, my personality wanted to remain optimistic, however my mind and heart knew that it was useless. They were all right with hurting me as long as they were not the ones doing it.

Still, it should have been my decision. I mean, I knew I was clumsy when I found out what they were, but it was my decision to stay around them, to be with them, forever, through better or through worse. I even told Carlisle one day that if any one of them ever tried to attack me, that they would be automatically forgiven. I knew what I was getting myself into, in the first place.

Vampires have often said that my blood is like a drug, hard to resist, yet the Cullen family were all around me for six months and never slipped. Just because Jasper almost attacked me was not a reason to leave…honestly, I was surprised that he was able to go that long with as much as I was hurt. Regardless, he never even touched me that night, so that excuse was no longer valid. Edward was the only one who truly hurt me, and in many ways that were both mentally and physically damaging. While the Cullen family hurt me by not saying goodbye, that was the only reason that their leaving hurt me. Nevertheless, what Edward had done was crippling, and I would never get over it nor would I ever forgive him. The thoughts that plague me still haunt me every night, to this very day. Moreover, with my family leaving, I had no one to talk to about it. Moreover, if my father got word of what happened, there would be hell to pay, with Edward taking the brunt of the punishment, which is death.

Edward, the golden-boy and the only Cullen who truly dictated every decision that the entire family made. Even thinking his name, now, gives me the willies…though I do rather owe him a pat on the back, as well as a swift kick to his testicles, all for the same reason. Sounds bi-polar, I know, but unfortunately, you will soon understand.

When Edward and I began dating, I went along with us supposedly being mates, but we never were. I knew that before I even met him. My family never told me my mate's name, but I knew that my mate was not from the Olympic coven, but they did know one another.

Truthfully, I think Edward was only obsessed with my blood and silent mind, but that was unimportant, unless misleading others is now a crime. I wish it were. Father told me that nothing was my fault, that the blood in me was just alluring to vampires…daddy said that was a gift, not a curse. I know that part is not my fault, because I was born this way, but when I come to these conclusions, I feel that it is my fault. If my blood were normal and not so damn appealing, everyone I love would be safe, which is mainly why I had to find most of the Cullen's (except for Assward) before word got out about me.

So who am I, you may ask. Well, my name is Isabella Marie, but not Swan…Volturi. My father is Aro, my mother Sulpicia, and Charlie, Renee and Phil act as my guardians whenever I live in the human world. I know it just fine, but having others by your side to watch over you when your family is gone, helps. Especially since many vampires want to kill my father, or the Volturi guard, which consists of aunts, uncles and cousins of mine. I have a difficult life, but I love it just fine. Even now, when things have gotten weirder, I welcome it with open arms. Which brings me to what Edward did before he left me…something that really, really hurt me, in many ways.

After I got home from the party that I never wanted, Edward promised he would be back, so I took a shower, got ready for bed, and waited. It made me feel better that a vampire was watching over me when my parents could not. However, as soon as I was laying down with a book in my hand, he stormed in my window, and that was when he started scaring me.

His eyes, normally golden, were black. I remember Carlisle telling me, in secret, about black eyes in a vampire meaning thirsty or lustful, and since I knew that he had hunted the night before, there was little doubt in me that it was the latter. I knew he wanted my blood, but I also knew that his control was rather good. In addition, I heard Carlisle threaten him once that if he killed me, Carlisle would kill him, and he was one Cullen that Edward would not cross.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a shaky voice as I clutched my covers. I was now, truly, afraid for my life. However, with what came next, I wanted to end it.

I shook my head, not wanting to relive it. It physically and mentally hurt me to remember it. Maybe one day I could speak about it, but that time has yet to present itself. After the Cullen family disappeared, Charlie and I had to contact Renee and Phil who, in turn, contacted my family in Italy. I was pregnant by a vampire, and with me being a hybrid, my pregnancy would be the epitome of weird.

Overall, it lasted only two months. When my mother was pregnant with me, she only carried me for a month, while a normal pregnancy was nine months. I was perfectly content, for the most part, with how my pregnancy went. I had more pain than a normal pregnancy but with the length of time, it was definitely manageable. Since I never liked human food, I stayed on a human blood diet, which my child enjoyed, as well. Human blood is what we drink; and to this day, neither of us would have it any other way.

Now sometimes, I do wonder how the Cullen family never knew I was half-vampire. Since they never noticed anything, I never divulged my secrets, but I wonder if the shield power I possess hid what Charlie and I were, as well.

Oh…my darling daughter…she was born Renesmee Carlie Volturi at three o'clock AM on November 11, 2005. Since her DNA made her more vampire than human, she grew at an increasingly slow rate after her first year, compared to how I had grown. She just turned one and looked four, but now she would grow much like a human child, until she became mature at around age fifteen. Unfortunately, nobody saw her but me. We had to flee Volterra when she was only seven months old, much to our family's dismay. It was too dangerous to have Renesmee there, so I fled with her under the cover of darkness, while nobody was around. It was hard and took intense planning to manipulate our escape without the others knowing…but it had to be done.

Fortunately, I was the one person that Demetri could never track. Being the Princess of Volterra, I had found this out early on in my life, probably at the age of six months. While I was little, father and my uncles assigned me a few guards, and we always ended up playing games, like hide n' seek. When I hid, no one, including Demetri, could find me…in fact, nobody knew where I was for eighteen hours until I finally got bored, came out from my spot and stomped into the throne room. Oddly enough, Demetri was among the ones that were in there, planning my search party. Needless to say, hide n' seek was banned from the castle after that little incident.

As I ran through the forest, daughter on my hip, I smiled as I thought about that memory. Most of my memories were good ones, save for the last two years, ever since I tried to find my mate and found a family, instead. At least what I thought was a family. I went from angry, happy, sad, depressed and back to angry and sad in a matter of moments. Sometimes, life was more than I could handle.

Momma?

I almost flinched when my daughter's hand came to rest on my cheek, wondering at my sudden change of mood. As she showed me images of how I looked in the last few moments, I suddenly felt guilty, but hid it well. Underneath her curiosity was a tinge of worry for me, as well as sadness because she felt like she could never make me happy. Her gift was always helpful in allowing me to know how she felt, for which I was glad. I decided to allow us a stop while we were in Alaska, and I settled both of us on a blanket that barely covered the deep snow. When I sat, I seated her on my lap, facing me. This way it was easier to catch her in a lie, should she tell me one.

"Renesmee," I spoke softly, moving a curl away from her face. I looked into her eyes, which were a beautiful combination of crimson, tinged with chocolate brown and emerald green…so original, so perfect, and so mine. Suddenly her hand came up, connecting with my cheek, again. I felt blind to the world outside as she allowed me time in her head. I saw images of the two of us, before and now. How we were with our family in Volterra, how perfect our life seemed…I felt how badly she missed everyone, and she showed me that she missed, most of all, our dinner being brought to us, as well as playing games all over the castle with her favorite aunts and uncles. Moving on to now, she showed me how our life was and how badly she wanted to go back to what she considered home. We were all alone, now…we had each other, and we loved one another, but she was terrified of what would happened while we were out here, in the real world. It was hard for me not tell her the truth, but I refused to make her worry, more.

"Sweetie, we'll go home as soon as possible," I promised her, kissing her forehead and holding her close. Truth was I would take us both home today if I thought that everyone involved would be safe, but I honestly had no idea. I just had to keep us gone a little while longer, so that I could find the Cullen family and explain to them what was going on. Finding the Cullen family on foot was the only solution that I could think of. I had no phone numbers for any of them. All of the numbers changed right when they left Forks, so that was an automatic out for me.

"Hello?"

I was startled, which was a first for me since I was part vampire. My nostrils immediately flared, smelling the distinctive scent of this woman before me, who I knew automatically as a vampire. However, my hybrid status made it easy for others to mistake me as a full human, because of my appealing blood, and I could feel that she was confused because of it. As soon as she saw my red eyes, she gasped, but soon sniffed the air, looking confused. I knew why, but had no reason, yet, to voice my concerns. For now, I would go along with this, so my baby could rest. After that, I planned for the two of us to be on our way, never looking back.

Quickly, I stood up with Renesmee, faster than I should have but I noticed immediately that she had golden eyes, just as they had. I began to trust this woman, even though I was only seeing her for the first time. In a way, she reminded me of Esme, whom I would always cherish no matter what. Because of this, I was very trusting of my conscience…it was telling me that it was right to trust her, and that I would soon find out why. With that last thought, I carried Renesmee with our two bags and blanket and was soon standing in front of her. If she was startled or surprised by the nature or appearance of the two of us, then she hid it quite well.

"I'm Carmen," she said, and I noticed an accent that seemed to match her olive skin, but she was a vampire through and through. Close up, her scent hit me like a tidal wave and was mainly what gave her away. Besides, that was the easiest to distinguish in a full-blooded vampire.

I looked at my daughter, then back at Carmen, and her eyes were shining as she looked towards Renesmee. I could only assume that she may have had a child in her previous life, but I refused to bring it up. Instead, I held out my hand to her and she took it, gently shaking it. "If anyone outside your coven asks, I am Annabelle and this is Caroline." I hated asking her to lie, but if Renesmee and I were going to survive this, lying was our only hope of getting out alive.

Immediately, she nodded her head and we followed her around the building, into the back door of her house. All was quiet, for now, and as we entered the living room, I became aware of seven distinctive scents that included Carmen in the mix. I sat Renesmee down, taking off our jackets and handing Renesmee a blood bag, before I turned back to Carmen. She had waited patiently, but now stood with a curious look on her face. She was risking her and her coven's life, so it was only right that she be privy to our identities, as well. "So, who are you two?"

I was surprised that she immediately welcomed us, however, not wondering at all about Renesmee's vampire status or lack thereof. As if she was reading my thoughts, Carmen held up her hand. "I can smell the human part that's in her. I know she's not an immortal child…at least not a full one."

I nodded, understanding. Usually, I was so caught up in how others acted, that I didn't fathom that she knew the complete truth, but it then again, I saw how others have acted before and, needless to say, none of them are here, anymore, to spread the word about the two of us. "I'm Bella, and this is my daughter, Renesmee." Renesmee, finishing her blood bag, now looked to Carmen and dazzling the vampire with her beautiful smile.

A lilting laugh left Carmen her as she saw blood caked on Renesmee's teeth. Carmen smiled, bending in front of my daughter and whispering, "Such a precious Bebe linda." She then placed a kiss on Renesmee's forehead, causing me to smile. Not many interacted with my child, because they were afraid of who or what she was, never understanding that she was also a little girl, above all. A tear welled in my eye, but I quickly wiped it away. "Renesmee is Aro of the Volturi's only grandchild."

Slowly, Carmen stood back to my height, staring at me as a knowing look came across her face. The shock that she tried to hide came out in a gasp as her breath hitched in her throat, from worry or excitement, I would never be sure. "Then that means…"

With her look solely directed at me, I could only smile a dry smile, just now beginning to hate my heritage, as people often felt at odds when I am near. "Yes. It means that I am Isabella Marie Volturi, princess of Volterra."