A/N: To those wondering how I'm updating so quickly, it's because I have about 200 pages of this story already written. That's right, it's a long one. But don't be discouraged, because I promise it's worth it. Some bad guys aren't quite as bad as you think and some are even worse. I have read so many of these stories that I tried my hardest to keep the plot fresh.

With that in mind I need to thank the appropriate people, those who have made certain fandom characterizations which will live in infamy: Jasper's "God of War" title, Peter's power, and plenty of other items which are too numerous to mention. I say that because Bella is going to put on a show here and I don't want anyone getting upset that I "stole" their idea for a cool gift for her to have. A sub-plot of this story is Bella trying to get a handle on the fact she is so powerful and yet still so helpless at times. It's a strange dichotomy that I needed to use a lot of abilities to accomplish, so if one mentioned here is similar to another fic it is purely unintentional and most likely the fault of reading far too much fanfiction for my own good.

Il Demone Bellissima

*Chapter 6 – The Pomp and the Pompous*

Edward's Point of View

After another round of Carlisle's precursory warnings, he finally summoned Bella back to the yard in order to give us this demonstration of what he said was too difficult to explain. I only hoped that all the hype was justified.

"Are you feeling a bit more at ease now, little one?" Carlisle asked Bella as she came to stand just behind and to the right of Jasper, keeping her distance from me as I stood with Esme on the gently sloping hill next to the small clearing behind the house.

"Much better. Thank you for asking, Sir," Bella answered dutifully. "Esme was showing me pictures of the family and telling me some old stories," Bella said, looking at Emmett with amusement in her eyes, clearly having heard some entertaining tale of the prankster's more outrageous exploits. "I had a wonderful time getting to know her. Thank you again for allowing me a moment to collect myself, Sir."

I couldn't believe how Bella was treating Carlisle. I understood her high-esteem for the man to some extent because he saved me as well, but she had such extreme reverence for him that it bordered on the ridiculous. With all of her "Sir" talk, I wouldn't be surprised if she asked to be allowed to kiss his feet later.

I noticed she was staring at me with a cold look in her eyes that I had not seen from her before. It was unnerving, and for some reason I had a suspicion she was sending me uncertainty and fear just like Jasper would because I suddenly wanted to bolt into my room and hide in the closet. I shuddered violently from the emotions Bella was putting off and the empathic duo grinned evilly at my reaction.

Jasper had a very satisfied expression on his face because the twisted vampire that my brother truly was felt proud that his sick little protégé was picking on me. Unbelievable. I hadn't done anything to her to warrant that kind of behavior. I had already planned on speaking to Carlisle about their behavior privately. This was just another issue to add to the list.

"Little one, you should try to extend the feeling of comfort you get from me, Jasper, or Esme to the rest of the family. We trust them unequivocally and after you take some time to get to know them, I am certain you will too. Take a deep breath and feel the trust we have in each other. Try to mirror it in yourself while we talk."

"I will do whatever you think is best, Sir," Bella answered dutifully.

Carlisle addressed Bella more directly, urging her to move from behind Jasper. "First of all, little one, Jasper has spoken to us about what you have requested of him. In the absence of the Kings, I think that he'll be a much better fit for you than me. We have all come to an accord on your desire to call him 'Master', but you may only use 'Major' or 'Sir' outside of the home so the humans don't get wildly out of hand with their rumors. Since I have conceded the prominent position to Jasper, I was wondering… I would like you to consider calling me 'Dad' instead of 'Sir'."

Bella smiled broadly at both Jasper and Carlisle before nodding enthusiastically, appearing as though she wanted nothing more than to hug them but was forced to remain in place by her adherence to some strict protocol I just couldn't understand. Carlisle looked at her with just as much love in his eyes as she had for him and continued with his silly grin. It was easy to hear how pleased he was at her acceptance of the title change, the undeniably contented sound of his voice giving off every indication he loved Bella like his own daughter.

Carlisle continued, "Jasper and I will explain this situation to the other ladies of the house so that you don't have to. They will undoubtedly be very uncomfortable with this arrangement at first, but should come around once they understand the particulars. Agreed?"

"Yes, I agree. Thank you… Dad," Bella said with what I decided was a deceptively shy smile. I had to wonder momentarily if she was somehow pretending to be demure and helpless to appeal to Carlisle's desire to protect the down-trodden. Besides the protective bubble she used to shield Jasper from me, the chilling feeling she continued to give me in intermittent doses through her empathy was enough to lead me to believe she could be just as aggressive and sadistic as her new 'Master'.

Worried for the safety of my family, I considered how much worse she would likely get through Jasper's influence. I decided I needed to get Carlisle far enough away from Bella so that he could see through the damsel in distress act she had clearly used to manipulate his thoughts, hopefully to make it easier to understand just how dangerous she and Jasper were together.

"Now, you need to show the family what you are able to do. Start with your inherent gifts and we'll work from there," Carlisle said proudly, eagerly anticipating the family's reaction to Bella's supposedly impressive capabilities, whatever they were. I could hardly imagine that all of the pomp was warranted.

As I watched her move into a defendable position a bit farther away from all of us, I noticed there was something shifting in her personality. It was clear in her posture, the intensity of her eyes. She looked like an entirely different person. The emotionally fractured vampire we had met earlier was gone, giving way to something even more mysterious. This vampire standing in front of my family now was stealthy and dangerous, radiating a confidence that almost bordered on arrogance as her inner demon simply awaited her Master's command to be unleashed.

She looked at me and snickered, as if she knew something I didn't. Though I was uncomfortable, I tried not to look away, feeling her eyes on me as I continued to assess her personality shift. I shook off her disturbing gaze and tried to ignore the fear I could feel creeping up on me. I had a very bad feeling that being the focus of her attention in this venue was not going to be a good thing.

"Certainly, Dad," Bella replied assertively, her voice sounding far less sweet, "but who is going to be the one to attack me?"

"I think it should be Jasper since you trust him not to hurt you. He is a very formidable opponent though, so you will need to use your full strength against him. Please trust that I will not let you hurt him," Carlisle reassured her as they all moved into position.

She nodded in response, but I was still confused. What was that supposed to mean? How could she hurt him? Does she lose control that completely?

"I will stay in control, Dad. I will not disappoint you." Bella turned her attention on her would-be attacker and grinned, dipping her head down respectfully. "Master, please try to attack me with anything you can think of. I will defend with only my physical and mental shield at first… I apologize in advance for any pain I might cause you."

Jasper nodded, slightly awed by her confidence, and ran towards Bella in a quick frontal assault but was halted about halfway there just like I had been. Thrown back by her invisible barrier, his body was propelled fifty feet in the opposite direction. My slack-jawed family was left staring in shock at Bella who was looking completely unfazed at the center of a bubble which had turned slightly less translucent for a moment just after Jasper's impact.

Recovering from the same humbling experience I had endured not too long ago, I watched as Jasper straightened out his clothing and kept his eyes trained on anything but Bella. Having read his thoughts, I already knew that he was employing a trick of misdirection. He was attempting to create the illusion that he hadn't yet re-engaged in the fight, but really he was trying to use his empathy to cause some reaction in Bella. She, however, was completely unaffected again, much to Jasper's dismay.

Although he was surprised, he betrayed nothing externally to indicate anything had happened, or that his power wouldn't work on her. "What now, Carlisle?" Jasper growled in frustration, realizing the futility of his situation.

"Little one, drop your physical shield, but not your mental one. I want you to reciprocate whatever Jasper was trying to do to you a moment ago and add a little extra intensity just to prove the point." Jasper looked surprised that Carlisle knew what he had at least attempted to do, so my father explained, "Son, I know you well enough to assume you would have tried to hit her with something emotional the moment she sent you flying across the yard like a projectile."

"I apologize for this, Master," Bella said sincerely, but before he could respond Jasper fell to the ground. He was shaking, trembling and twisting in the dewy grass. With a strangling noise coming from his throat, he pulled his knees into his chest and his head began turning uncontrollably from side to side.

"Carlisle, what is she doing to him?" Emmett asked, concerned over our brother.

"She's giving him a sample of his own power, Emmett," Carlisle said, looking slightly surprised by the turn of events. "At this moment I am forced to assume we've never seen Jasper use his empathy as a weapon before. I… had no idea just how effective this could be, only a theoretical understanding."

Carlisle didn't need to say anything else because I knew they were all thinking the same thing. The implications made by the intensity of Bella's use of Jasper's power had exposed his past to the others in a way only I had ever known before, having seen scenes like this in his head many times over the years. My empathic brother was very powerful indeed, and given his proclivity towards violence in his past, what he was experiencing now was a fate many had endured by his will for almost a century in the South.

With everyone coming to similarly dark conclusions, Carlisle didn't hesitate to give Bella another command. "Now, little one, ease into a more pleasurable emotion for him and then let him up."

Bella let out a puff of air, looking relieved, as if she was feeling every ounce of discomfort along with my brother for the few minutes since they began. Her brow tightened in concentration and then she began smiling, intensely satisfied. Jasper stopped writhing in what I had to assume was a torrent of agonizing fear and within a fraction of a second his choking groans ceased completely.

To the surprise of everyone on the lawn, he immediately started panting with his eyes clamped shut, his fists clenched tightly. "Oooh-okay, Bella," he moaned, hugging his arms around his own body like he was nervous what they might do on their own volition. "Oh my God, oh Bella!" he yelled and Emmett guffawed, already planning on mocking Jasper for the sounds of ecstasy we were forced to witness. "Wow, that's enough, Darlin'," Jasper somehow managed to say in a drawn-out moan. "Ease off the euphoria a little cuz' I'm getting dizzy!"

She must have done as he requested because Jasper suddenly regained his composure seconds later and sprang to his feet. He was at Bella's side in an instant, hugging her tightly with similar mirth-filled grins on both of their faces. I supposed he was overwhelmed by whatever residual feelings he had from their encounter because without warning he picked her up and spun around, murmuring into her hair. "Thanks for the dose of respect at the end there, Kitten. It sure made me feel better about you kicking my ass all over the yard."

"Well, Master, I had to make up for hurting you somehow," Bella announced happily before switching to a more seductive tone, just above a whisper. "I didn't think you'd be ready for another hunt just yet so I could express myself properly."

I wasn't close enough to be sure, but I thought Jasper might have groaned in response. It was easy enough to assume since Jasper's thoughts flashed immediately to a scene where he was looking deeply into Bella's eyes from a few inches away from her face, their mouths connected to the neck of the same deer as she reached over to caress his face while they drank.

My reaction must have been too obvious as Bella seemed to focus on me like she was about to employ the same cocktail of fear she had to Jasper moments before. I could tell by the savage look on her face she would jump at the chance, but somehow I doubted she would follow it up with anything pleasurable like she had done with my brother.

I took a step back, disgusted over their inappropriately intimate bonding in the woods. Needing to know more, I tried to search Jasper's mind again only to find an impenetrable blanket had been placed around him. Bella. She was now completely shielding his mind from me.

"That's it, Carlisle," I declared, throwing my hands up in frustration. "We all need to know what exactly happened between them earlier because I keep getting flashes of things that seem… wrong," I said disgustedly. "She's shielding him completely from me now, so I know they're hiding something," I said. Seeing Carlisle's hesitation, I blurted, "I think they had sex in the woods and they're trying to hide it from us."

"We did not have sex, Edward, but why would it bother you so much if we had?" Jasper asked coldly, taking the opportunity to make me look foolish.

Angry at the potential of yet another sexual joke at my expense, I retorted, "Oh, no reason. I just thought your wife wouldn't take the news too well that you were rubbing yourself all over our new sister. What do you think Alice would think about that, huh?" Even though Alice had been secretly shopping around for her real mate for the last twenty years or so, I knew she was going to be ridiculously jealous of her deviant husband's 'relationship' with his mentally-ill playmate.

Bella growled fiercely, placing herself between me and Jasper even though I had no intention of attacking him. Seeing her volatility at some perceived threat, Jasper put his hand on her shoulder to keep her in check. It was something she clearly needed, as the detached look in her eyes subsided with the power of a simple touch. He smiled at her compliant behavior, but kept his icy glare trained on me in place of hers which was now downcast in deference to him.

"I guess this is to be expected since you don't know what sex looks like beyond clinical definitions, Edward," he taunted. "Bella and I hunted together, I already told you that. We ended up drinking from the same deer at one point and that is all I'm going to say on this subject because it's none of your damn business," Jasper said with an air of finality. "Besides, as far as Alice goes, she removed her claim on me before she left. Remember? I know that you know she already signed the damn divorce papers too. In fact, you've known all along, haven't you, brother?"

"Yes," I said quickly, practically before I even registered the pained expressions on the family members who hadn't had a clue. "I have known for some time that she had divorce papers drawn up, but that doesn't make your behavior any less vile." With disdain clear in my voice, I couldn't help but feel like I had just delivered the last word, something I knew Jasper hated.

"May I speak to Edward, Master?" Bella practically purred at Jasper who suddenly couldn't have looked more pleased. He nodded his approval and she promptly focused her scrutinizing gaze on me. "Edward, I do not like that you keep referring to my Master as a sick deviant… or worse. I heard the things you accused him of doing to me while I was in the house with Esme and I know what you truly think of me, 'his mentally-ill playmate', but I thought you should take a moment to consider that you have been extremely rude and very offensive yourself. You really are in no position to judge."

"What do you mean you know what I think of you? … Does this mean she can block and use my power, Carlisle? If I had known I would have tried to block my thoughts from her. You should have warned me that my mind could be breached," I screeched in a voice I rarely used, especially directed at my own family.

"Sucks, don't it?" Emmett asked me with a smirk.

"Edward, I didn't explain because we are all still unsure how her gift exactly works. It seems like when someone uses an active power against or near Bella, she then can use it for herself. Sometimes it takes longer than a single encounter to take hold. There seems to be no exact equation of how she acquires them, but with enough exposure she seems to be able to take on any ability she wants. By being able to mimic someone's power, she is essentially able to cancel them out to keep herself safe as an extension of her instinctive shield. That was Eleazar's theory anyway. He practically fainted when she started demonstrating for the Denalis."

"Really?" Emmett asked, intrigued probably by seeing a vampire react that way.

"Apparently his own power was overloaded when he saw how many Bella uses simultaneously. Her mental shield never really goes down, nor does her physical one to some extent, which is the reason she cannot be burned unless she wills it."

"So if someone with a power uses it against you, you can recreate it for yourself. That is amazing, little sister," Emmett said excitedly, looking as dumb-struck as usual.

Bella growled at me and I felt fear creeping up inside me again. Jasper glanced at me and smiled, purposely turning his face into an impassive mask as he moved in front of Bella. "Kitten, let's leave Edward with his thoughts for the moment and you can continue to impress Emmett some more." Jasper rubbed the back of his hand gently across her cheek and she gave me one last dose of fear before she pulled back her power.

"Yes, Master," she said in a mechanical voice, quickly morphing back into playful mode. "Emmett, would you like me to shock you with a low volt like Katie? Or I could make a small cloud over your head, though I'm not sure if you'd be able to tell since it seems like it's always cloudy here."

"Hells yeah, Belly Bear. This is so awesome. I'll be your guinea pig, just don't rough me up too bad or we'll have to wrestle for real. I can guarantee I won't make it as much fun for you as it obviously was with Jazz." Emmett waggled his eyebrows at both Jasper and Bella before laughing like a fool and running backwards, hoping to entice someone to chase him.

Feeling humbled by the encounter, I sat down to better observe Bella use her mimic power, trying to figure out a way to keep my thoughts to myself so I didn't get embarrassed like that again. I sat there for what felt like an eternity, watching the source of my recent troubles ingratiate herself even more within my family.

Now that I had calmed down, I begrudgingly had to admit that Bella was rather impressive. Aside from her appearance which I had found striking from the first moment I saw her, Bella's extraordinary speed, strength, and overall versatility made it almost impossible to stop her. Now I understood why the Volturi did what they did to keep her loyal, however barbaric their methods. It was obvious she could easily destroy a room full of vampires in seconds, and now she would forever be their most unbeatable weapon wrapped up in an innocent-looking package.

The brilliance of their plan did nothing to mitigate my opinion of the depravity vampires were willing to commit in the name of survival, what Bella had endured was proof of that. Thinking about what they did to ensure their own safety made me remember the scene Carlisle accidentally provided me with earlier. I felt guilty about how I treated her after observing Bella's thoughtful interaction with my family. She seemed funny and kind, and I was certain she was a wonderfully sweet human. The things that had happened to her were some of the reasons I always felt vampires were true monsters, no matter their choice in diet.

But here she stood in front of my family, virtuous and good-natured now that I hadn't upset her any further. Watching her play around and talk to all of them so happily allowed me the opportunity to see the person my brother met in the woods – the real Bella. This was the girl Carlisle knew and cared for so deeply, the one he claimed as a daughter with the most profound sense of satisfaction in his thoughts that I had ever read from him since the day Esme became his mate.

It was then that I realized why I had acted the way I had towards her. As much as I disliked the situation with Jasper, I had actually felt threatened by her relationship with Carlisle more. When Emmett and I arrived back from our hunt, we were waiting for Esme, Jasper, and our new sister to get home to make our introductions. Carlisle had finally unveiled her name to us and began to regale us in some stories of their travels.

Moments after Esme arrived, we heard Jasper and Bella approaching and Carlisle had gotten visibly more excited. While my father spoke so proudly of this newborn vampire, I read his thoughts and knew how deep his devotion for her ran. I was mortified that his sentiments towards her equaled that of his regard for me, and I had feared it possibly surpassed it. That alone lit the fire of jealousy within me.

I might have been able to extinguish the envious flame if we had all met properly, but fate had other plans it seemed. After seeing how close she was with Jasper when I believed Carlisle intended for her to be my companion, I felt incensed with jealousy. I knew it might have taken some time, but two single vampires in a house full of mated couples would surely have led to our inevitable relationship. I wanted her to be mine in the way Emmett had Rose and Jasper used to have Alice. I couldn't help but think it wasn't fair that Jasper had already gotten so close to her before anyone else – before I even had a chance. If I had been the one she met in the woods, would it have been us tangled in an embrace like they had been?

For some reason I hadn't mentioned the full extent of what I knew happened between them in the woods. Even when I was livid and yelling at them, I never revealed that I knew they kissed - a lot. Having read his mind before Bella hid his thoughts from me, I was unfortunately aware of exactly how much Jasper enjoyed it. Knowing his propensity towards action, it was amazing how hard he fought between his own desire to continue and his restraint to stop for the sake of propriety.

Admittedly, I had only said that they had sex so Carlisle and Esme would be angry with Jasper for taking advantage of Bella. It was a foolish attempt to keep them separated, though at that moment I had severely underestimated the intensity of the whole relationship between them since they had only just met.

Feeling a prickle of awareness that alerted me to the fact I was being watched, I looked up from the tiny dandelion I had been staring at to find Bella already looking at me. With a gentle lift of her eyebrow she encouraged my train of thought, gracing me with the first sincere smile she had aimed in my direction since we met.

I realized that the entire time she had been displaying her other gifts, she had been listening to me working through my thoughts on her. That was awkward. It would definitely take some getting used to in having another mind-reader around, especially since that was something so new to me.

I would have to try to make things up to her even if I didn't agree with her strange way of dealing with the burden of so many talents. Maybe I could help her come to a different solution. Being submissive to Jasper was simply not a good idea since he was not who she thought he was. He certainly had no business kissing her like that, let alone encouraging her to submit to him like some kind of lowly sex slave.

A low warning growl made me realize I had done it again as she grinned menacingly at first before changing to a bit more playful demeanor, reminding me we could be friendly but not to think about Jasper like that in her presence. She did not seem to handle maliciousness towards her new Master very well. She nodded at me, confirming my beliefs and went back to her exhibition as if nothing substantial had just occurred.

It was amazing to me that she had such an effect on me so quickly. Any lingering dark thoughts, of which there were only a few, pertaining to Bella were completely obliterated after she displayed her ability to project images into our minds. Using a scene of someone, one of the Volturi Guard members based on their dark robes, trying to chase her after she tied their shoelaces together, making them trip during a training exercise was extremely comical. Using her gift like a slideshow, she continued to show us some amazing sights from her trip back to America with Carlisle. There was a beautiful garden somewhere that she had seemed to be fixated on, a snowcapped mountain range where she found some interesting wild game, and Carlisle reading in the sunlight on the Denali's porch; it was beautiful.

Seeing how well Bella's "talent show" was working in easing our family back together after the earlier tension, Carlisle requested that Jasper and I ask Emmett some embarrassing questions that he would usually lie about. Apparently Bella also had the ability to detect lies and then compel the truth to be told, something Emmett believed would come in very handy the next time Rosalie suggested we play 'Truth or Dare'.

"Okay, Emmett, the time Rosalie came home and found all those tiny tears on the back of your shirt, what really happened to you?" Jasper asked with a smirk, circling Emmett like a shark as my larger brother plopped down on the grass to get comfortable for his imminent interrogation.

"Uh, I was at the mall and some crazy human girl from the nail salon tried to convince me to get a pedicure. When I pulled away from her grasp, her 3-inch long hot-pink nails made some tears in my shirt," Emmett answered swiftly, but he was concentrating hard enough on hiding his memory of the actual "incident" that it made it obvious to me that he was lying even if I didn't know exactly what about.

"Oh no you don't, Emmett. Try again. I want to hear the truth about… both of those stories," Bella demanded and Emmett cringed. "There was definitely something else going on with the nail salon. That part was true, just not the whole truth," Bella insisted with a knowing smirk that reminded me of Alice. Bella grimaced at me, obviously insulted by the comparison as we waited for her power to take effect on Emmett.

Having seen her wince at Alice's name, I realized that Bella must have heard my thoughts earlier regarding my psychic sister and her long search for her real mate. To my knowledge she had not mentioned it to Jasper yet, otherwise I was sure he would have confronted me about it. She shook her head slightly without the others realizing we were silently communicating, much to my relief. I was grateful for her discretion on this matter because Jasper and the rest of my family would have been quite angry that I had known Alice intended on leaving him the moment she felt the mating pull towards another, no matter how long they'd been together or what lies she told him to string him along over the years. She had not even prepared him for the eventuality of finding a different mate until fairly recently, and I still didn't understand why.

"Fine, Bella you little She-Devil," Emmett grumbled through clenched teeth, looking uncomfortable but impressed by her lie-detector skill which had finally won out over his attempt to refuse. "I had accidentally chased an especially wily mountain lion close to a residential area and hadn't noticed the tiny heartbeat of a house cat in the tree above me. It attacked the hell out of my back while I was draining the bigger cat. Okay? Happy now? Emmett got clawed by a big fat kitty-cat. Satisfied?"

"Not yet," Bella giggled. "Nail salon?" She lifted her eyebrow quizzically in a very Jasper-like gesture, daring him to try to hide the truth again.

"Argh, fine. I got a damn pedicure. Okay?" Emmett huffed as a round of laughter began from our family. Even Esme was laughing now, and hadn't bothered to correct his crude language due to her giggling. "One day when I was bored, I got curious since Rosie was always telling me how much she loved having her nails done. I didn't think anyone would notice because I only got a clear coat done. Obviously I didn't let them cut my nails since they would have seen how impossible that was, but they put my feet in a warm foot bath thing and it was really relaxing… That was until the talon-clawed woman I mentioned came over asking me if I wanted her to wax my… area. She called it 'man-scaping', but I think she just wanted a peek at 'Little Emmett' so I got the hell out of there. Now whenever Rosie drags me shopping I have to avoid that entire wing of the mall lest that crazy man-scaper offer me a discount for being a repeat customer or something."

Everyone broke out in a fit of raucous laughter after Emmett's admission, much to his chagrin. After the hilarity of Em's "interrogation" died down, Bella was obviously feeling more comfortable with him. With Jasper's approval she agreed to wrestle with Emmett, but only if he could catch her first. I noticed Jasper chuckle darkly before going to stand next to Esme, clearly expecting to see something interesting that only Carlisle seemed to understand. My father looked like he was anticipating even more entertainment at the expense of my typically cocky brother.

At first Emmett and Bella were laughing and casually chasing each other around the back yard, but when Emmett started teasing her I could tell she was eager to put him in his place. I had to assume that he was naïve enough to think she only had skills due to her powers, clearly not having paid as much attention to her other abilities earlier as I had. She was cunning. Carlisle had already alluded to the fact she would hold back in order to size up an opponent, but Emmett was not known for his observation skills and probably got distracted by the notion that she had wrestled with jasper at all.

"You are just too sweet and innocent, girly," Emmett teased, tapping her on one shoulder and running around her back. He was trying to instigate a proper wrestling match, but she kept refusing to take the bait.

"But, Emmett, wouldn't you rather show me up in a race first? Otherwise how would you know if I was even worthy to wrestle with a competitor such as yourself," Bella said innocently, challenging him to different distance races around the yard. I had to wonder if she was nervous to engage him because she found her ability off-putting and she had made so much head-way in winning over my giant brother.

Correctly having gauged Emmett's love of rough play, Bella would let him get in front of her and give him a zap to make him run faster, or cause him to fall down altogether based on the intensity. If she got in front of him he would lift her up under her arms and toss her up in the air to show he still had some game. It was a constant one-upsmanship between the two of them. They looked so at ease with each other, almost like they were true siblings that had known each other their entire lives.

"Come now, I thought you were supposed to be some tough Volturi Guard member, but you're just a little girly-girl. Think you can take on the big bad grizzly?" Emmett asked Bella, trying to egg her into a play-fight.

"When I wrestle with Felix like this, he calls me 'Kitten', not girly. Though in your case, 'Kitten' might bring back awful memories of being attacked by fat housecats so I can understand your reluctance, Grizzly," Bella countered, creating another chorus of laughter at Emmett's expense.

Jasper looked very uncomfortable for a moment and the only thing I could think of as the reason for his intense expression was the idea of Bella fighting the notorious Volturi strongman. Felix had a very well-known reputation for being a ruthless combatant, yet Bella spoke of him with such love and kindness that I was intrigued how she had seen anything other than his brutality.

As soon as Emmett got into an attack pose Bella glanced at Jasper, an interaction my largest brother was clearly not paying attention to. The way she waited for his consent made me realize Emmett got tricked. Setting a note of foreboding, Jasper nodded his approval enthusiastically and I prepared to witness whatever unexpected abilities she had yet to showcase.

Emmett lunged for Bella at full speed, but she sidestepped him effortlessly with a speed she had yet to show. After springing into the air, she flipped over his head and landed in front of where he had stopped when he finally realized he never even touched her. Her movements were so incredibly fast that even with my vampire senses, I only saw her smile and heard her giggle for a fraction of a second before Bella grabbed Emmett by the waist and suplexed him with such an incredible force the ground shook.

Jasper couldn't resist the opportunity to remind everyone that he had fallen for Bella's tricks first. "See, I warned you guys. She's a dirty little cheater."

A/N: I don't make money from these characters or concepts, but will happily accept reviews on this story as compensation. Let me know if you have a question. I'd be happy to answer. :)

And a special thanks to all those who have reviewed and all those who will! I'm not too ashamed to admit you make me giddy! Seriously, I blush like Bella all the time. It's rather embarrassing actually. :)