A/N: I love the title for this chapter. It's actually the reason I put a table of contents at the beginning of the story. Hehehehe! And just to add in understand this chapter takes place one month after the previous chapter. In other words Allegra has been with the Cullens for two months now. Thanks so much for all the reviews and thanks to the people who aren't reviewing but are reading (note the sarcasm).

Chapter Nine

The Things We Can't See

Isabella Swan strode unhappily up to the palace. She used to think of this place as a home, now it was prison. Locking her up with the choices of her past. Choices she regretted making. It didn't matter though, after this it was over. No more "taking care" of things for the emperor. She was done and she was going to make sure he knew that.

It hadn't taken her six months to clean up James' mess. Only two. And it had only taken that long because of the children involved. She hated taking parents away from their babies, but when it came to this job, she thoroughly believed that those children would be better off without their parents around. Criminals didn't make the best role models.

The large entry way to the palace was stuffed with people. Commoners looking for help, diplomats looking for money or power and the bored princes and princesses that hung around for something to do. Bella waved at them as she pushed her way through the crowd.

People snapped at her, then recognized her and apologized. That was the way of it. Everyone knew how much James liked her and everyone knew how few people James actually liked. If it came down to it, Bella could have anyone killed and get away with it. Getting on her bad side was a fatal mistake.

Or at least it used to be, but no one needed to know that.

Being feared meant that she never had to wait in a line at a store. She never had pay her tab at a pub, she never to deal with bitchy mean people ever again. All of those people are cowards anyway, when faced with some more influential, more powerful then themselves they clammed up and learned some respect. Everyone respected Isabella Swan. And if they didn't respect her they respected her position with the emperor.

"Hey Bella," Harry called from the library. She stepped in for a moment. The boy had grown into a very impressive (happier) version of his father. She remembered teaching him his first words with Hannah and the horrified look on his mother's face when she heard her fourteen month old baby scream, "Fuck you!"

It had been Hannah's idea and while Bella knew better she couldn't stop laughing long enough to make her friend behave.

"How was the party?" she asked, sitting down at one of the large wooden tables situated in the royal library.

"It was loads of good fun," Harry said, coming down one of the ladders on the north wall. He sat down across from her with a stoat leather tome in his hands. "They got a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster and a merry-go-round. They even tiered a bunch of cinnamon rolls to look like a cake for her." Bella smiled. "It was delicious." They laughed for a moment, then fell into a companionable silence.

"What'd you get her?" Harry's smile faded and Bella froze. She knew that look. He felt guilty about something and Harry felt guilty about very few things. "Harry?"

"You have to understand, Bella. They love that baby and if you plan on living with them in the near future they deserve to know exactly what they're getting themselves into."

"What did you give her?" She couldn't think of anything he could give Allegra that would reveal her secret.

"I gave her the portrait I painted of you three years ago." She gave him a confused look. He'd painted four pictures of her three years ago. "The one with the dagger."

Bella sighed in relief. He hadn't given away half as much as he thought he had. The connection was vague, even if they did found out what was written on that dagger it was unlikely that they'd be able to figure out how exactly she fit in to the equation. The blade was a weapon of war and even though she had fought in the war, she'd never touched the dagger before posing for that painting.

"What exactly did you hope to accomplish by doing that?" she asked. She had to know if there was something she was missing.

"It's all symbolic, Bella," he said, shaking his head. "Do you know why I had you hold that dagger while I painted in you in such a sensual position?"

"I thought it was-"

"I know you did and I let you think that because it served my purpose but you're wrong. In that picture you aren't you, you are my father, the Emperor. You're playing the part of a leader that everyone loves. And what everyone loves is a sexual, confident woman. That's why I positioned you that way. Isabella Swan is the dagger. The weapon of the leader. The blood, my blood, is a sacrifice. The leader uses the weapon to sacrifice himself for the people." Bella stared at him, silently.

"The imperfections all over the place in the painting are symbolic of the truth in that statement. Sacrifice is messy, it's torn, it's chipped, it's coming up at the seams." Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You've spent the last sixty some odd years sacrificing yourself for my father. It's about time he sacrificed something for you."

The voices outside the library got louder, pulling Bella's attention away from Harry. He'd always had a very interesting way to looking at the world. People could be other people in the artist's mind. It was a gift Bella admired and resented in Harry. It meant that he could see things she couldn't and any one in her line of work hated being blind to anything.

James made his way into the library, he was being swarmed by power hunger diplomats that were giving his body guards a hard time. The swearing and jostling stopped with one stern look from James. People might fear Bella, but if they had a choice between her and James, they'd always pick her.

James was the emperor. The people loved him because he made their lives better. The people feared him because he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they crossed him. It was a fine balance that worked out favorably for most people.

"Isabella," he said. "I'd very much like to speak to you alone." He was standing ram rod straight, his eyes expressionless, the set of his mouth was unfriendly. He was mad and that made things unpleasant for who ever he was focusing on. Unfortunately he was focusing on Bella.

"I'll see you later, Harry," she sighed.

"Hopefully," he muttered low enough that only she heard him. Bella sighed again and followed James to his office. The body guards eyed her suspiciously, before conceding to James' wishes and remaining outside the office. There were few people on the planet who could get passed the guards and cause the royal family any real harm. Bella was one of those people.

James settled behind his desk, Bella shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She was very rarely unnerved around James, only when she'd done something wrong and knew that he knew she'd done something wrong.

"I asked you to take care of my little problem," he said, not bothering to settle her down. James knew when to be kind and when not to. Generally speaking he was kind when he was happy. This didn't bode well for Bella. "I asked you to do your best work this one last time for me. I asked you to be quick, subtle, efficient. Three things I've asked you to be many times in the past. Three things you've been many times in the past." He paused seemingly for dramatic effect. Bella would have laughed had the situation been different.

"And yet, this time, you managed to make such a large mess that it actually attracted media attention before your clean up crew could destroy the evidence. Honestly, Bella, what were you thinking? Leaving-"

"Hey," she said, cutting him off. No one interrupted the Emperor, but he let it slide. "I'd like to see you 'take care' of an army of sixty some odd highly trained warriors without making a mess. And you didn't ask me to be 'quick, subtle and efficient.' You asked me to be 'quick, efficient and subtle.' The difference may be lost on you but it isn't on me. I had to be fast and proficient and if I had the time as subtle as possible.

"I handled the biggest hurdle first, then moved on to the stationary operatives. Taking down the army was the hardest, most dangerous part. If I hadn't done it first, the others might have called them in for back up. It was the most efficient way to do it." She paused, purposefully for dramatic effect. "Don't you think?"

"I've never questioned how well you do your job. There is simply no one better. Even the person you replaced wasn't as good as you are." He sighed, losing some of the tension in his body. "You've finished early, which is more than I could have ever asked for. Since that is true, I'd like you to show your face around a bit. Let the people know that it was you who took down that army. Put a good spin on the situation." Bella opened her mouth to protest. She missed her baby, for crap's sake! "Only a month, then you can go." Bella sighed, this time in defeat.

---

Carlisle might have agreed with Edward about letting Allegra meet her grandfather, but he also agreed with Rosalie that it would be a risk. They needed to be prepared for anything. If the neighbors saw eternally youthful Edward coming and going, there would be talk, speculation, investigation, all sorts of things they didn't need.

The plans to see Charlie didn't come to fruition for a month due to Rosalie's many objections that Carlisle considered one by one and then dismissed.

So, Emmett and Jasper (in between teaching Allegra to play baseball) scooted out the house. Their specific instructions were to figure out the best possible time to introduce Charlie to his Granddaughter. A time when Charlie was in the house alone, with the neighbor preferably not around and Sue's kids no where to be seen. They were to map out the best entrance and all possible escape routes should anything go wrong.

They came back from their first scooting trip without any of that.

"What happened?" Carlisle demanded, when Emmett and Jasper returned empty handed mere minutes after heading out.

Allegra was upstairs playing dolls with Alice and trying to force Chocolate out from her closet at the time, with Edward hovering over them like always. When he heard in their minds what they had found out he nearly had a heart attack (only nearly though, his heart wasn't beating so an actual heart attack is out of the question).

"Werewolves!" he shouted. Allegra let out a little yelp of surprise at his exclamation and looked up at him liked he'd lost his mind. She reached over to Alice, who was equal stunned and showed her the last few seconds with a silence question behind the image. She wanted to know what Daddy was yelling about, but Alice was frozen. So was Edward, though he was frozen in rage. How had Alice missed THIS!?

"Werewolves?" Esme asked. "I thought they'd died out a generation or so ago."

"So did I," Emmett said. "But apparently we were wrong. The scent was all over Charlie's house. I think it was Sue's son, Seth. He caught our scent the second Jasper and I got close."

"We got out of there as soon as possible," Jasper added. Alice unfroze before Edward, taking Allegra down stairs and out side where the family had gathered. Edward followed once they were out of sight.

"How could you have missed something like this?!" he demanded pulling Allegra out of Alice's arms.

"Now, Edward," Carlisle said, patiently, "no one expects Alice to be omnipotent."

"This is huge, Carlisle. This is dangerous and she's supposed to be watching the future for any threats to Allegra's safety!"

"I can't watch everything! Important things will start falling through the cracks," Alice snapped.

"Well it seems like important things already are."

"Alice isn't Lyra, Edward!" Jasper growled. Edward sighed and tried to relax. This was huge, he needed to be relaxed and level headed to deal with this situation. He knew not to expect Alice to see everything, she wasn't Lyra and he was glad she wasn't.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I know you're doing your best, but this is not good," Edward said.

"Well, I don't like it anymore than you do," she sighed. That baby is my niece! I don't like the thought of be blind to anything, she thought. Least of all something that could be dangerous for Allegra. First Bella and now this!

"What do we do?" Jasper asked. He wasn't happy with Edward, but didn't press the matter since he'd apologized.

"Obviously Allegra won't be going to see Charlie now," Rosalie said.

Edward nodded. Allegra was being oddly quiet but he didn't pay much attention to that. He didn't like it but Rosalie was right. With Werewolves running around the police chief's house he couldn't have his baby over there. Perhaps they could invite Charlie over to their house.

"Daddy, look!" Allegra exclaimed, pointing into the forest. Edward pulled her behind him, cradling her gently behind his back. He couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out sooner. All those years ago when they came into this area the shape shifters showed up. Why wouldn't they show up this time? And why wouldn't they show up unannounced to the house?