A/N

Again, sorry for the update delays.

Thanks to my beta TwilightMomofTwo, my prereader snshyne, and my ficwife Lambie.

The following morning, before the town awakened, I left a note for my solicitor, asking for an appointment in the evening. A few hours later he sent word with a passing farmer, confirming a time that was suitable. Garrett had left earlier, stating he would be back well after sundown.

That evening, I dressed in my widow's weeds and made my way into town. I could see an oil lamp burning through the window of Mr. Jenks' office. I knocked and then let myself in. The door closed behind me firmly, and Mr. Jenks nodded at a seat in front of his large wooden desk. His office, while small, was tidy and efficient, much like the small, balding man in front of me.

I sat down, folding my hands delicately in my lap. Straightening to my full height, I directed my unblinking gaze at Mr. Jenks, who squirmed uncomfortably.

"Mr. Jenks, I am going away for a short while and I am putting you in charge of my affairs during my absence. I will wire you from time to time if I should need anything. Please tell the solicitor in Austria to continue as normal."

He blinked and cleared his throat. "Wh-what if there is an emergency?"

I gentled my voice slightly. "Mr. Jenks, you seem like a competent man. I trust you and expect you to maintain this in your usual efficient fashion. Is that understood?"

The business edge to my voice returned, and I smiled as he nodded.

"Very well."

"If I could ask, where is it that you are traveling to?"

"Out West."

His eyes widened. "Mrs. Cullen, I must caution you! There are Indians in those wilds, and men of the evilest ilk out there. All manner of outlaws-

My voice was low as I answered. "I assure you I am more than capable of taking care of myself." Mr Jenks sat back in his chair, but it was not to relax, more to put as much distance from me to him.

I rose, signifying the conversation was over. Mr Jenks stood warily from his chair. "You may trust me completely, Mrs. Cullen. I shall look after your affairs while you're away."

"Thank you. I shall see myself out."

I made my way back to the cottage where Garrett was waiting for me. He had managed to procure a set of boys clothing for me. I went into the bedroom, and quickly removed my dress and corset. Finding a scarf, I bound my breasts so that my chest would seem flat and unappealing. The boys' clothing slid against my skin, the coarse material so unlike anything I had ever worn.

Not bothering with shoes I re-entered the living room. Turning to Garrett who looked at me with hunger in his eyes, I smirked at him.

"Lead the way."

We left, and I locked the door behind me. Stealthily making our way back into town, I slid the key under Mr Jenks' door. Just as quickly as we were there, we left. I looked back as we raced away from the little town I had settled in and made my home for the last few years. Seeing it fade away into the dark night filled me with an odd sense of sadness. It had been the first real home I'd had since Austria and even though I had kept to myself, having someplace that was mine, permanently was hard to let go of.

I sighed, but stretched out my stride, wondering if Garrett would be able to keep up. I had always been fast; the only person able to beat me was Edward. I heard Garrett fall behind me, but he steadily gained on me as we dodged trees and leaped small streams. The forest thinned and eventually gave way to open plain. Clouds covered the sky as we ran, passing wildlife, and camps of traveling covered wagons.

I asked him a question that was burning in the back of my mind.

"Have you ever been to Volterra?"

"No, ma'am. You don't just go up to their door and knock all neighborly-like."

I ducked under a branch as I thought about this. "Has your friend Jasper ever done so?"

Garrett chuckled darkly. "No. He's ornery as hell, but he couldn't launch something on that scale."

"Are they that indomitable?"

He leaped over a rock as he answered. "Almost. No one has found a chink in their armor yet. But it's gotta be somewhere. Everyone has one."

I said no more while I pondered what he said. Stefan and Vlad had never launched an all out attack on the Volturi, choosing to stay on their own home ground. And it would appear Jasper was attempting the same.

Was Jasper's plan foolhardy? Were they vulnerable enough outside of their protective home?

The scenery continued to pass us by, and not a word was spoken between us other than Garrett giving slight directions. We ran for days, almost non-stop. The times we did stop, it was to feed. I chose my usual fare of whatever wildlife was available. But Garrett preferred human game, and I tried to ignore the sweeter smell of human blood that almost emanated from him.

He asked me as we cleared a mountain pass. "Why do you deny yourself?"

"The person who made me…it was his way."

"Where is he now? Why has he has not come back to lord it over you? Is he maker, master, or both?"

I came to a stop, and turned on Garrett, catching him mid-stride. We rolled on the ground until I was on top, pinning him. Growling, I bared my teeth. "You will not speak of him thus."

Garrett smiled triumphantly at me, knowing he was under my skin. "Last I checked, it's a free country, Miss. I can say what I damn well please. You should live a little, see what else is out there."

I raised my brows at his suggestion. "And what is it you're suggesting? That I should just forget everything that I am, live feral, and then what? Fuck you?" The last was said mockingly, a jibe meant at his own coarse language. But the word was unfamiliar to me and it showed on my face.

He gave a shocked laugh at my expletive. "Well if you're asking, I'm dancing, sweetheart." He shifted his pelvis, and the very real evidence of his acquiescence pressed against me.

It had been far too long, but it felt wrong somehow, and I instantly stood up and put distance between us. He got up and took a step towards me. I snarled at him and he held his hands up.

"Easy. I ain't gonna touch you. Just think about it. And besides, for what we may be up against, you might need a little human blood."

I eased back, and absorbed the abrupt shift in subject. "Why? Is there something you haven't told me?"

Garrett looked slightly sheepish as he held his hands a little higher. "No. Not really. Just that Jasper has a knack for getting himself into tight spots. And…maybe the Volturi will be there. They've been trying to shut these battles down before they get beyond an unmanageable scale."

"And what is unmanageable?"

He looked at me, his scarlet eyes delving into mine. "Think about it. Claiming an entire hunting ground as your own. If that hunting ground was one of the most populated but impoverished parts of the world…for most nomadic vampires having your own territory is only a fever dream. To make it a reality would be both a blessing and a curse."

"Why?"

He looked at me in frustration. "Because you could feed like a glutton, but constantly holding that property would take an army. And what better army than an army of newly born vampires? You remember what it was like? You were constantly thirsty, and stronger than you have ever been."

"But a whole army would…could potentially drink a town dry and draw far too much attention from the mortals."

"Exactly. Which is why the Volturi are keen to see any uprising squelched."

"Your friend Mr. Whitlock is entertaining the devil himself by participating in that."

"He's trying to force their hand. Nothing more."

"For what?"

"For love. He wants his mate back. Would you not do the same?"

Silence fell between us as I tried to comprehend conceiving something on that scale just to have Edward back.

It may work. But at what cost?

Garrett spoke while I mulled this over. "We should probably get going, I want to be there at dusk."

+IB+

The green scenery gave way to sandy brown. The ground was littered with brush and cacti, some of it I had never seen the like of before in my life. Before I could ask, Garrett spoke quietly to me.

"We're almost there."

The smell of burning met my nose but it had an odd element that I couldn't quite place. It was sickly-sweet but acrid. We cleared a steep rise, and as we did so, a purple plume of smoke appeared on the horizon, and Garrett's stride slowed. I came to a stop with him while we studied the land in front of us. We were on a plateau, and below I could make out figures in the dying light. Nothing was familiar; they were too far away to tell if they were human or vampire.

"Wait here."

I looked at him. "I will not. I'm coming with you. You're not going to bring me to this place just to leave me alone and vulnerable in the open."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Come with me. But I'm not sure what we're walking into. Do you know what that smoke is?"

"Obviously something is on fire."

Garrett nodded. "Yeah. But do you know what is on fire?"

I shook my head, and a steely look eclipsed his usual jovial face.

"It's vampires. Someone is burning themselves a big ol' pile of immortality. And not even trying to hide it."

That last statement was ominous, and I turned shocked and horrified eyes to that plume of smoke reaching towards the sky. I held my breath, not wanting to breathe in anymore of what was in the air.

A thought came to me, desperate and caused me to race forward. What if Edward was there?

"Edward!"

"Bella, no! Wait up, god dammit." Garrett's voice was small behind me as I catapulted myself forward. I was faster, panic making my strides longer, quicker, driving me closer to that horrible indigo cloud.

The wind roared loudly behind me as my feet ate up the distance. My mind refused to accept the worst case scenario and the mere thought of Edward hurt spurned me forward.

The figures that had seemed small specks before were now moving people. There were two groups, and a small patch of land separating them. As I came upon the scene, I could see two people in the middle. They looked as though they were…negotiating.

The first person, I would know that figure anywhere. His hair, the perfect shade of a burning sunset. His frame tall and lean, but full of quiet reserved strength. His robes covered most of him, except for his head, where the hood was pushed back. The wind must have shifted, and his head flicked over in my direction. His eyes widened for a moment in recognition before he turned away from me.

I looked at the vampire Edward was talking to, sizing him up. He was taller than Edward by almost a head and had a mop of blonde hair that swept past his ears. His nose was sharp as a knife blade and there was something ruggedly handsome about his features. But on a whole, he radiated a danger. The closer I got, the more I could make out a criss-crossed map of crescent-shaped scars on his neck and arms. There was even one over his eyebrow.

The group behind him seemed to pulse with energy, waiting to explode at any given moment. They were crouched, and seemed ready for any signal to fight. The only problem was they were only about six, and the group behind Edward was a dozen, easily.

Edward's group were dressed in the all too familiar dark robes, the hoods pulled over their heads so only a hint of their faces could be seen. I sniffed the air, trying to pick up familiar scents. I found none, other than Edward.

Garrett had caught up with me, and his hands settled on my shoulders, making me tense. Edward's eyes, which returned to me and then studied Garret behind me, caught the gesture. His eyes narrowed slightly and a shiver of approval swept through me at his reaction.

Garrett's voice whispered in my ear. "That one in the middle is Jasper Whitlock."

I watched as Jasper turned at the sound of his voice on the wind, and he cocked an eyebrow at Garrett before nodding at our presence. For a moment, his eyes were kind as if he recognized an old friend. The look was gone quickly, and replaced by a coldness that only the immortal could create.

He turned his frosty gaze on Edward and to a figure behind him.

"I'll stop when you give me back my wife."

Edward answered just as coldly, a tone I had never heard from him before. "She is no longer yours to have."

"Bullshit. Where do you people get off telling us how to live our lives, and take our mates?"

"We are an authority you will either recognize or you may join your rebelliously futile brethren on their pyre."

Edward gestured towards the plume of smoke and I tried to stop breathing as the smell once again filled my nose. If it were at all possible for a vampire to be nauseous, I was experiencing that now.

One of the hooded figures behind Edward stepped forward. A pale hand pulled the hood back, revealing a small impish face. Her features were delicate and lovely, her dark hair was short and cropped like a boys'. It only brought out her deep red eyes even more.

"Edward. We have our instructions. Spare the talented ones, kill the rest."

There was some nervous shifting behind Jasper. Another hooded figure stepped forward, but he did not remove his hood.

"Young Alice is right. No more negotiating. Take the Empath, the strong one behind him, and the two new ones."

Edward's eyes flicked to me, looking over me, worry crossing his gaze.

"They have nothing to do with this-"

"Yes. But one is a Shield, a powerful one...I almost didn't note her. And the other is a Manipulator."

A shield?

I looked at Garrett behind me who froze.

Manipulator?

Was he referring to me? Did I have a talent, like Edward? What was a Shield? Or a Manipulator?

Jasper and Garrett suddenly fell to the ground, screaming in agony, as did the other vampires behind Jasper. I stood, watching Garrett writhe on the ground. I bent to try and help him but he was beyond my help. He seemed totally unaware that I was even there.

Immortals could not feel pain; we were supposedly impervious to anything that could hurt us physically. This was something I had never experienced, and fear lanced through me. The Volturi advanced on the vampires behind Jasper. I watched in horror as they dismembered their brethren, the sound of immortal flesh tearing was horrible, like the screech and jeering of a locomotive coming to a stop.

I held my ground, more out of fear to move and end up like the twisted pile of mangled body parts. That acrid sweet smell grew stronger, and I knew then they were feeding those horrible flames. A hand grabbed my arm, and I yelped.

"Don't be afraid, they will not hurt you if you go quietly." Edward's voice was in my ear, washing through me, and I was comforted.

"What will become of me?" I opened my eyes and looked at his glorious face. He was like an archangel, his jaw strong, his eyes blazing.

"I don't know. I didn't want this for you, mein Engelchen."

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head at me, his scarlet eyes were worried as they captured mine. "What are you doing here-"

A voice interrupted our quiet reunion. "Enough. We will interrogate them in Volterra. I'm sure Aro will be fascinated by our find."

Edward nodded, and his eyes met mine, beseeching and apologetic. "You will wear this, and do not try to escape…or we will…we will kill you."

My lips parted in shock at his words. He produced a crude black hood from inside his cloak and placed it over my head. I could not see, but I could smell, and touch. Having my sight cut off was something I wasn't used to, and I fought the instinct to struggle. Edward was here, and for the moment we were together.

That was all that mattered.

+IB+

12 weeks later

Being close to Edward again made me happy. For awhile.

Edward fulfilled his role as a Volturi guardsman to the letter. I supposed this was to keep me safe.

The other vampires did not fraternize with the prisoners, and Jane kept the rest of the them on a short leash. The larger guard, called Felix, was assigned to me, and kept an eye on me at all times as we crossed the American wilderness. I could not feel the pain or any of the other mentally manipulative talents that the others had and this seemed to make some of the older members of the guard nervous.

We seemed to be heading back east, and I thought I heard someone say Boston. They really were going to take us overseas. As soon as we were closer to civilization, we were loaded into a iron box and traveled via rail.

I had not fed in weeks, and as we neared the city, the smell of humanity burned in my throat. I longed to rip my hood off, break the wagon we were concealed in, and devour anything alive within a miles radius. My fellow companions seemed to be as hungry as I, but Jane kept them under control.

The iron box we were traveling in tilted unexpectantly, and it felt like we were being dragged up a ramp of some sort. I knew very well this must mean we were boarding a ship. Panic welled inside me, but I sniffed the air, and found Edward's scent. Calm settled through me, and I listened to the sounds of the ship being loaded and readied for our journey.

Suddenly the door opened, someone grabbed my foot and I was dragged out. I blinked as the hood was ripped from my face. I steeled myself for a fight, but Edward's familiar arms surrounded me, and his lips found mine.

His lips lifted from mine, and his hand stroked down my cheek. "Oh mein Engelchen, what will they do with you? I do not want this life for you."

I looked up into his eyes, and a longing filled me as I pressed my body close to his. "I only want to be with you."

"No. You must go, escape. I can only exist knowing you are alive and well." He dragged me up a flight of stairs, and moonlight greeted us.

"Come with me." I whispered afraid he was risking much by exposing us up here.

He shook his head. "I cannot. If I do, they will kill us both."

He lifted me in his arms, and held me over the side. I struggled, but it was futile. "No, Edward! Please don't! Not without you!"

Too much time had passed since I had fed, and I was no match for him. Edward threw me into the water and I barely had the strength to scream as I hit the drink. I sank, and water filled my useless lungs. When I hit the bottom, my feelings of rejection and separation from Edward ate at me.

Until finally I realized that wallowing would not reunite me with Edward. With the last ounce of strength left, I pushed towards the surface. Breaking into the air, I expelled water and inhaled the air. Hunger burned in my throat, venom pooled in my mouth, and I swam for the shoreline I could barely make out in the distance.

On the beach, there was not a soul around, and I entered the waiting forest, hoping to find some sort of prey. I could only find small game, but it was enough to energize me into a run.

I ran for days, in no particular direction. Boston was long behind me, and the wilderness surrounded me again. I ran and welcomed the burning pain of hunger. Falling to the ground out of weakness, I looked up as the sweetest smell ran across my nostrils.

Struggling to stand, I eventually made it back to my feet. Looking around me, I could see a clearing up ahead, where land had been made available for a homestead. It was mid-afternoon, the light golden and gentle as it fell upon a cabin. I could hear the laughter of children, followed by the voices of adults.

My nose caught the smell of their flesh on the air, and the last vestiges of my humanity left me as I stalked towards them.

I was all huntress and lethal predator as I fed on them. I glutted myself on something I had denied myself for so long. Something in me rejoiced as I was reborn in their blood and I embraced it fully.

I sat there, amidst their corpses, and looked down at the blood on my hands.

My life flashed before my eyes, from waking from the change, to finding Edward, and losing him again. My wandering, my feral existence and denying myself in hopes that if I patiently waited, Edward and I would be together again.

My patience was worn out, and for the first time in decades I was thinking clearly. I had heard one of the Volturi guard whispering about my supposed abilities. I was a Shield…and a powerful one.

The Volturi were powerful enough, they had routed Stefan and Vlad, and were able to keep a tight leash on their collection of vampires with abilities. If I was immune to them, could I not take what I wanted by stealth?

Could I shield Edward as well?

I had to try. I had to do something rather than living an existence where I barely existed.

I made my way to the nearest town, and reached it by nightfall. At dusk, I slipped quietly into a house, and was lucky enough to find a wardrobe which obviously belonged to a widow still in mourning. I quickly slipped into the dress, and found a hat with a netted veil for my face and crimson eyes.

The following day the weather turned foul, and I was able to walk about the streets unnoticed. The dress I wore was almost too tight on me, but this worked to my advantage when I asked to send a wire to Mr Jenks without the coin to pay for it.

I waited patiently until my wire was answered two days later, confirming the money I requested would be at the bank here in town.

Perfect.

The closest port was New York, and I quickly booked the train to my destination. I thought of how I would proceed. This was both suicide and madness but I no longer cared.

Once I arrived in New York, I wired Mr Jenks to confirm I would be traveling in Europe, and that he was to lease out my cottage.

Passage to Italy seemed to take forever and a day, and I was glad to once again set foot on dry land. A sickness had overcome some of the passengers on board, and several deaths had occurred.

How unfortunate, but very necessary.

The trip inland took several days, but it had been worth it to see the small city slowly reveal itself in the moonlight. A strange feeling moved through me, as if I were seeing what could possibly be my own real death. Garrett's words whispered through my head, and I questioned myself for the hundredth time since I started this course of action.

Shaking it off, I set foot on the cobblestones at the entrance to the city. An eerie feeling like I was being watched shivered over my skin. I pulled my shawl around me and over my head.

I walked forward, the silent sounds of humans sleeping echoed from every window, walkway and door. I wondered if they knew a large nest of their most lethal predators lived among them.

Moving through the city, I eventually found the center. A large square opened up in front of me, a still water fountain rested quietly in the middle. A clock tower was positioned at the head of the plaza, like a King sitting in a tall backed chair at the head of a stately table.

I could hear music, a piano being played somewhere, and the song made me pause.

"Der Sturm."

The music stirred faster and louder, like wind and rain, crashing into my ears, pulling me towards it. As I pushed through the wooden doors, the music was clearer, louder. And his scent, it ghosted under my nose. I was entranced, all thoughts and movements solely focused on Edward.

For a moment, I was back in that drawing room, a fragile young girl again. I closed my eyes, trying to see the foggy human memory of the first time I ever laid eyes on Edward.

"Edward…" His name was a sigh, expelling from my lungs, leaving me breathless.

The music faltered slightly, but he picked back up again.

I looked up as a vampire with icy blonde hair came out of the shadows to greet me.

"Isabella Swan. We meet again."

Thank you for reading.

For those that have asked, this has maybe 5 chapters to go.