The Watcher

A/N thanks for sticking by me so far. I don't own Twilight or it's characters, but ?I like to mess with them. Also, all errors are mine. Thanks for being patient with me as I occasionally miss them when editing.

Sorry for the delay, I was coerced into going away to see family...I really needed it, loosing my mom in April has been extremely hard and I am trying to work through the massive hole that has been left in my life….the world has changed for me.

Chapter 3

Stepping into the meeting room I was met with a flurry of activity, both mental and physical. I had heard many disjointed thoughts, overlapping one another as Aro commanded others to do things and ready for guests earlier than he had anticipated. I heard Aro's impatience for my arrival before I even entered the room. I swept past Liam as he opened the door for me, his thoughts still concerned about receiving some sort of wrath in case his leader was unhappy with him for any reason. I didn't hear a single thought from Aro that should worry the boy, so I placed my hand on his shoulder as I passed him to try to ease his fear, Liam flinched back in response to my touch, but I gave him a gentle squeeze and a smile to counter the fear that flashed through him at the unexpected touch.

If I didn't know any better, I would have wondered if it was possible for a vampire to have amplified fear as a gift, or as a curse. I had never seen a vampire as nervous as Liam, but I knew his skill was in being able to keep information safe, he had an odd ability, and it made him very useful to the Volturi. If Aro gave him a message that was meant to be related only to a particular person, then only that person would get it, from him. It could not be forced from his mind by force, his mind was sealed and would only unlock when he told it to. He actually was not much younger than I, but his entire demeanour made him seem much younger, and he was changed at an earlier age than I had been, perhaps he had also been a small child, for his stature made him appear about 12, though he was 14 years of age. I felt protective of the poor boy And tried to set him at ease as often as I was able.

I stepped past Liam, approaching Aro's side slowly, but steadily. The moment he saw me enter he began mentally informing me of what was taking place. I listened soundlessly as I ignored verbal orders being given beside us for rooms to be made up for guests. Aros' thoughts told me everything I needed to know. There had been a small glitch when it came to the arrival of the group of vampires that were supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Five of the Volturi guards had been sent out, three to meet up with lone vampires who had contacted the Volturi asking for help testing to discover their powers, not an uncommon thing since the announcement had gone out among our kind about the discovery that every vampire had some sort of powers. The other two to meet up with a vampire who had turned someone accidentally because they had revealed themselves to a human without meaning to, and in a moment of panic, had bitten the human so they would not be in trouble for breaking the rules. The plan didn't work however, as the changing human screamed to such extremes, that it drew attention to them, and almost caused the human authorities to get called in.

An older vampire, in the same vicinity, who kept to himself, could have fled but chose instead to intercede. This seemed to have been done as much to protect himself as to protect the vampire who had caused the drama, He had bound and silenced the human, removing her under the cover of darkness, turning on multiple televisions blaring horror movie scenes simultaneously to drown out the sound being made, but to keep the sounds of torture going after the victim was gone. After the Police came, they issued a noise complaint, rather than investigating a murder/ vampire newborn.

After the escape, the older Vampire spirited away the still changing human from wherever they had been stashed. The older vampire used his gift to head towards the Volturi, wanting to have the soon to be newborn where it might get support and to have the quiet and privacy of. The older man had an earlier documented gift that gave him the ability to take three steps for every one usual step, and for a vampire that was phenomenally fast, but it only worked for a few minutes at a time before wearing off. It had however given enough of a boost that when the Volturi tracker had found them, they were a days travel closer.

The changing newborn and the older Vampire were both now at the castle, while a guard had continued on to collect the vampire who had started the whole debacle. Aro was irritated at the change of plans, but semi excited at the aspect of being able to diagnose a newborn with their power from the outset

"Edward, I wish for you to look in on her. Her time should be up soon, and when she awakes it might be prudent to have an insiders view in what she might be thinking. This girl is an unknown, and that makes her a possible concern, or a possible asset to our kind. We will have two of our strongest guards on hand. Jane and-"

I stopped him with a raised hand upon hearing Jane's name. His left eyebrow arched high as he regarded me.

"Aro, I think Jane might intimidate the young one…perhaps, if you might allow me, we could choose two of the guard who might not cause the newborn to feel threatened…?" I responded to his mental inquiry of what I did not agree with.

Aro regarded me, though only those around him would think it was silent. I heard the entire tirade about what could go wrong without the newborn being under proper control. Aro gave me example after example in his thoughts, offering up graphic images to accompany his concerns.

"You still feel the same way, even knowing what might go awry?" Aro questioned, watching me intently.

"I do." I confirmed with a curt nod.

"Who would you choose for this task?" Aro asked, trying to glean what I might be thinking.

"I would choose Heidi, and Liam." I responded quickly. Heidi because she remains calm under pressure, and Liam because he seems young and unthreatening. Perhaps your choices of guard could be nearby, yet not directly in the room..?" I suggested hesitantly, hoping to turn him to my way of thinking.

It seemed from his thoughts that Aro was about to disagree with me, so I spoke out quickly.

"Aro, if you want me to be able to read her clearly I need her calm. It will be chaotic enough because the girl will be distracted by every detail around her, from the light in the room to the dust motes in the air. I would rather be able to do my job without further chaos being added into the mix."

This last statement, and the firmness of my words, must have swayed him, I knew he had consented before he had even nodded. I took my leave immediately after Aro mentally conveyed where the prisoner was being held(not that I didn't already know from the other thoughts flying around the castle)and what he expected from me and those of us who would be attending to the newborn.

I knew Aro wanted me observing the newborn before any of the other vampires who had arrived, as their powers were latent, not strong. However, a newly created vampire might awaken powerful and deadly, having little control over their regular enhanced skills, let alone what control they might have over any special power they might have. I was curious as to what I might encounter.

I headed directly to the room that had been indicated as I knew the girl did not have much time left before her change was completed and there was never a set time for how long it took. I didn't wish to have her wake before I was in attendance. I slipped down the hallways until I found myself standing outside of a thick steel door, bound with riveted bolts. Liam stood outside the door, pacing back and forth along the hallway. His thoughts were very clear that he did not wish to be here.

At the sight of me, he stood upright, wringing his fingers, looking absolutely ill.

"Mr. Masen, Sir, um are you sure that I should be here?"

"As sure as could be." I responded quickly, not wishing to get the poor boy worked up. "Just stay outside here unless I call for you please, Liam."

Liam nodded, his head bobbling about as he gratefully accepted the fact that he did not have to go into a room with a newborn vampire. I wondered briefly if the boy could possibly faint, but chuckled at that errant thought, Liam came across more human than any vampire I knew of, but vampires could not pass out. I listened at the door, hearing the erratic heartbeat inside, and the level thoughts of Heidi as she awaited my arrival and was now aware of my presence. With that, I tapped on the door and slowly entered. From here it would simply be a waiting game.