Hello! My computer privileges were taken away earlier today, but I managed to manipulate my way into getting it back so I could write more of Sacrifice! Hooray! Enjoy chapter ten, you wonderful reviewers!

EPV

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I shuddered involuntarily when Jane smiled innocently at Bella. Bella seemed to be paralyzed with fear behind me. I moved her into my lap and she relaxed somewhat.

"What's happening, Edward? I feel connected to everyone somehow, but I don't remember how I know any of them," she whispered.

"I'll explain everything later," I said reassuringly.

…………………….

The vampires in the doorway began to shift restlessly. Aro seemed to notice, because he promptly said, "Back to work, everyone! Let's leave Eddie and Bella to discuss everything."

Victoria shot us one last deadly glare before turning on her heel and stalking out the door. Jane curtsied and smiled sweetly. It didn't reach her eyes. Aro glanced at her curiously and yanked the door free of the now-crumbling wall. The door hung crookedly and wouldn't shut, so Aro just shrugged and glided away.

Jane focused her cold eyes on Bella and sneered, "I'll be watching." Bella shuddered in my arms. Jane giggled and drifted out into the hall after Aro.

As soon as Jane was out of earshot, Bella looked up at me and said, "Who are they?"

I sat on the bed for hours, telling Bella about her human life: Renee, Charlie, our family, the incident with James, and, finally, about how she committed suicide. Tears pooled in her eyes when I finished.

"I… killed myself? How am I here with you then? Are we in hell?" This was the part I had been dreading.

"No, darling. We aren't in hell. We're in Italy. Volterra, Italy. I came here to destroy myself after you took your own life. As we already established, I left for your sake. You… couldn't handle it. You jumped off a cliff. I couldn't exist without you. It was as if my soul had been ripped away, leaving an empty shell. I came here but they wouldn't destroy me. 'A waste' is how they phrased it. My talent was apparently too valuable to destroy. They gave me three choices. Two, really. One was unthinkable. I didn't even consider it. They offered to let me walk away and exist without you. That one was unthinkable. The next was to destroy me… but also my family. We're a huge threat to the Volturi. That's where we are now, in the Volturi's palace. The third was to have you brought back from the dead and transformed, but both of us would serve the Volturi forever. I chose the last, because I knew we would figure out a way to escape." She looked shocked.

"You came here to destroy yourself just because I was dead?!" I could have cried again if I had any tears left.

"Of course I did! You didn't really expect me to be able to exist without you, did you? I love you more than anything. You complete me. Without you, I am nothing." Tears began streaming down her face as she smiled up at me.

"You really mean that? I feel exactly the same way about you." I love you, my angel. I grasped her face between my hands and gave her a deep, long kiss. She buried her head in my shoulder as I left a trail of kisses down the side of her neck. It's so good to hold her again. I missed her so much.

"Who is the vampire with the papery skin? And who was that creepy little girl?" she said, her voice muffled in my shoulder.

"His name is Aro, and he is the leader of the Volturi, the most powerful vampires in the world. They rule over the rest of us. He has two brothers that rule alongside him: Marcus and Caius. Aro's power is seeing every thought that has ever entered someone's mind, but he has to touch them. The little girl is named Jane, as you probably heard. You saw that her power is torture. She has a brother named Alec. He can raise the dead. He's the one that brought you back to life, and probably changed you. I'm not sure what everyone else's power is," I explained carefully. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then her eyes seemed to light up.

"I remember Alec! I was asking where you were after I woke up in this room, and he just jumped up and bit me! He ran away, and then you came in a few minutes later!" I smiled and hugged her.

I can't believe she remembered! I wonder what her power is…

BPV

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"What's happening, Edward? I feel connected to everyone somehow, but I don't remember how I know any of them," I whispered.

"I'll explain everything later," he whispered back in a reassuring tone. I can't wait to hear what's going on.

………………….

The vampires in the doorway began to fidget and glance at the paper-skinned vampire every so often. Seeing this, he dismissed them with a "Back to work, everyone! Let's leave Eddie and Bella to discuss everything."

Victoria shot us an evil scowl and stalked out the door. Jane curtsied and smiled. To me it looked like a grimace. Aro looked at her, puzzled, and ripped the door out of the decrepit wall. He left it slightly ajar and shrugged before floating away. Jane looked straight at me and hissed, "I'll be watching." I shuddered and cringed into Edward's chest. Jane giggled innocently and drifted out the partly open door.

"Who are they?" I asked, still very confused. Edward began explaining everything to me.

I apparently had two parents who divorced when I was a baby. My mom's name was Renee and my dad's name was Charlie. I had a stepfather named Phil. I had been living in a tiny town called Forks for about two years. Edward's family, or 'our family' as he called it, consists of Carlisle and Esme, the parent figures, Alice, my best friend who can see the future, Jasper, who can control emotions, Emmett, my 'big brother' who is exceptionally strong, and Rosalie, who is exceptionally bitchy but beautiful. I found it hard to believe that bitchiness was her only talent, but Edward assured me that it was. I then learned about my run-in with James, Victoria, and Laurent. It scared me even more when I found out that James' Victoria was the same Victoria that had just been in my room. Finally, I learned that I had committed suicide when Edward left me. I started crying at the thought. Are we in hell?

I asked fearfully, "I… killed myself? How am I here with you then? Are we in hell?" He answered slowly.

"No, darling. We aren't in hell. We're in Italy. Volterra, Italy. I came here to destroy myself after you took your own life. As we already established, I left for your sake. You… couldn't handle it. You jumped off a cliff. I couldn't exist without you. It was as if my soul had been ripped away, leaving an empty shell. I came here but they wouldn't destroy me. 'A waste' is how they phrased it. My talent was apparently too valuable to destroy. They gave me three choices. Two, really. One was unthinkable. I didn't even consider it. They offered to let me walk away and exist without you. That one I immediately discarded. The next was to destroy me… but also my family. We're a huge threat to the Volturi. That's where we are now, in the Volturi's palace. The third was to have you brought back from the dead and transformed, but both of us would serve the Volturi forever. I chose the last, because I knew we would figure out a way to escape." I was stunned.

"You came here to destroy yourself just because I was dead?!" That's unthinkable. This perfect being would destroy himself for a plain-looking, boring human? He looked hurt.

"Of course I did! You didn't really expect me to be able to exist without you, did you? I love you more than anything. You complete me. Without you, I am nothing." Tears began pouring out of my eyes. This is too good to be true. I decided to play along to see if he was telling me the truth, or just making me feel better.

"You really mean that? I feel exactly the same way about you." He smiled crookedly at me, grasped my face in his hands and kissed me. Hard. He began moving slowly down my jaw and neck with his lips. I buried my head in his muscular shoulder. I guess I have my answer. Wait! Who was the paper-skinned vampire? And what was with the creepy little girl named Jane? I asked him, but my question was muffled by his shoulder. I was surprised he understood what I said.

"His name is Aro, and he is the leader of the Volturi, the most powerful vampires in the world. They rule over the rest of us. He has two brothers that rule alongside him: Marcus and Caius. Aro's power is seeing every thought that has ever entered someone's mind, but he has to touch them. The little girl is named Jane, as you probably heard. You saw that her power is torture. She has a brother named Alec. He can raise the dead. He's the one that brought you back to life, and probably changed you. I'm not sure what everyone else's power is." Oh my god! I remember Alec!

"I remember Alec! I was asking where you were after I woke up in this room, and he just jumped up and bit me! He ran away, and then you came in a few minutes later!" He smiled crookedly again. If my heart could have beaten, it would have been going crazy in my chest.

Yay! I'm getting very close to my goal length! Tonight is a school night, though, so I must stop writing for now. More tomorrow afternoon!

Maggie