Disclaimer: Emmett is my bodyguard. Jasper alerts me to fake friends and backstabbers. Edward completes my science homework. Carlisle is my on call doctor. Esme does my chores for me. Alice picks out my fabulous wardrobe. Rosalie fixes my make-up and hair daily. And Bella provides the comedic relief with her klutzy human stunts. I got the idea for this disclaimer from a Gilmore Girls fanfic and in case you haven't realized I don't own Twilight.

Summary: We all know that werewolves are vampires' mortal enemies, but who kept the balance before they existed? And was the person who kept the balance the only one of her kind? These answers lie inside the story so read and review. Will be canon pairings, eventually.

A/N : Nothing much really happens in this chapter, but it is very informational so pay attention. It will answer a LOT of questions about Marie. Just so no one gets confused, if there aren't ending quotes then the same person is still talking. The quotes like 'this' are what the characters said way back in the two hundreds when most of the chapter takes place.The cameo in this chapter goes out to An-Jelly-Ca who realized that Anna Marie Volturi was the mystery POV a few chapters back.


BPOV (Bella)

"Marie?" I ask, in a slightly breathless voice.

"Yes," she responded with a small smile.

"But, how, huh, what , uhh…"

"You know I don't think I've ever seen you this articulate, well except before your lunch date with Edward," she remarked, trying to get a rise out of me.

"Shut up," I responded while throwing a pillow at her. The pillow passed through her like she wasn't even there.

"Violence is never the answer Bella," Marie jokingly pleaded. "You have to behave like a normal teenage girl and spread an outrageous rumor to destroy someone's social status." I bit back a laugh before shifting onto a more serious topic.

"I'm confused Marie. I mean, I could kind of tell you weren't just a voice inside my head because you knew way too much. But this is just, wow."

"What do you want to know, Bella?" Marie asked kindly, sensing that there were a few too many earth shattering revelations in one day for me to be able to put up with all of her attitude.

"How about everything, I have a lot of unanswered questions."

"Okay, let's start with the basics. My name is Anna Marie Volturi and I am a vampire hunter."

"Like Van Helsing?" I asked jokingly, I mean everyone knows vampires are just myths.

"Yeah, except I am better at killing vampires, I have better personal hygiene, and I am way sexier," she replied.

"So vampires are real?" I checked after Marie answered my question seriously, well seriously for her anyway.

"Of course they are real. What else did you think killed Rachel?" she responded while raising an eyebrow.

"So how does one become a vampire hunter?" I asked, moving away from the subject of mythological creatures. Marie was taking this too seriously to be making a joke, and being able to hunt immortal creatures would explain the weird powers we both seem to have.

"Bella, do you just want to know my life story since I was the only vampire hunter for around two thousand years?"

"That would be fine."

"Well, I was the fourth and youngest child in my family. We were a part of the Goths, which you should know is a Germanic tribe. I have three older brothers Aro, Marcus and Caius. My mother died giving birth to me and my dad died in battle with the Romans when I was six.

"Aro became the head of our family and took care of us until he was eighteen. I was ten at the time, but I still remember it vividly. One day after working in the fields Aro came back writing in pain. I swear he aged twenty years in the two nights of his suffering. The priests came and took him away on the third day when he was still in pain. I cried for weeks and went into mourning. I blamed the priests for the loss of my older brother. I thought that I could have saved him if they would have let me continue to care for him," Marie paused here to take a breath.

"Would you have been able to save Aro?" I asked after she appeared to have calmed down a little.

"No, I wouldn't have been able to. You see, for whatever reason, Aro was fated to become the first vampire. I would not have been able to change his destiny. Eventually Caius was able to pull me from my depression and our life resumed its path to normalcy. Aro's presence was missed, but my family was able to function.

"I was happy as I could be. I still felt a whole in my chest that Aro's presence used to fill, but I would smile without having to force it. That is until Marcus turned eighteen. I must have been twelve at the time. The same thing that happened to Aro happened to Marcus. He came home trembling in a cold sweat and seemed to age rapidly. The priests once again took away my brother. This time they claimed he was possessed by Satan. Once again I slipped into depression. I turned to Caius to become my strength. My brother truly became my best friend. Caius and I managed to survive after suffering what would have been fatal losses to any other family.

"The next three years were tough, but eventually my brother and I found a rhythm and began to prosper. When Caius began to approach his eighteenth birthday, I started to pray every night. I knew that if Caius died, like I believed Aro and Marcus had, then I would not be able to avoid death, And it appeared, for a while, that my prayers were answered.

"Caius did not change on his eighteenth birthday, he changed on his nineteenth. I was a sixteen-year-old female living alone in a Germanic tribe with no suitors or inheritance to speak of, the general consensus was that I was doomed," Marie paused here to look at me.

I sat there gaping like and idiot before I finally found my voice. "But, you must have survived, I mean you haven't killed any vampires yet!" I said, still trying to process her story.

"I did survive, but I wanted to make sure you understood the dynamics of my family," Marie said.

"You were the baby sister, you were closest to Caius, Aro was the father figure and Marcus was just there," I said, simplifying the story.

"Yes, but Marcus was also the silent support system in our family. He always knew what was going on with our family and I could have become close to him after Aro died, but her let Caius become my best friend. The other thing you need to understand about Marcus was that he was engaged to a girl named Elizabeth. She disappeared shortly after Marcus died, but it was known that she ran away. Elizabeth didn't want an arranged marriage when she was in love with my dead brother, which was very modern of her."

"So Marcus left a lot behind when he died?"

"Yes, he did. Now I'm guessing you want me to continue the story and tell you what happened after Caius died." At my nod of confirmation she continued her tale.

"I found my salvation in the form of love. I know that sounds really cheesy, but it's true. It turns out that I wasn't as suitor-less as Caius led me to believe."

I interrupted angrily. "Caius didn't tell you that you had a prospective suitor?! Why the hell not?"

"He wanted me to stay with him, and if I had a suitor I would have left. I don't know if he wanted me to stay because he wanted to hold onto the memory of what our family used to be or if he was just too selfish to let me live my own life. At the time I believed he needed the emotional comfort, I didn't want to believe anything bad about my brother when he was dead. Now I believe that he was just selfish, but that explanation comes later.

"Anyway, Anthony, my unknown suitor, became my rock. He parents supported our relationship and took care of me until we had a solid foundation. I lived with them while Anthony gained my trust and eventually my love. We spent two years forming a relationship, which was unheard of back then. I was eighteen and he was twenty-one when Anthony proposed.

"I agreed immediately and his mother began to help me plan the wedding. We were married in the fall and had a huge feast, the harvest was excellent that year. Everyone in the village came to celebrate. The only black spot was that my brothers weren't there, but I didn't let that sadness ruin my wedding day.

"Anthony and I moved into our own home shortly after we were married. His parents helped us pay for it and build it. They wanted us to have our privacy when we got to know each other, like all married couples." Marie laughed at the blush that made its way across my face.

"For the first time since Aro 'died' I didn't feel a huge hole in my chest, but that all changed one spring night. Something in the woods was attacking young children and leaving their body parts strewn across the land. The common belief was that it was a malicious wolf. My husband went out one night with other members of our village to slay the beast. I remember waiting up with the other women for their husbands to return from the search.

"The first pair came back, then the second until almost everyone came back. Anthony and his partner were not among them. His mother urged me to go home because she thought he might have returned there instead. I took her advice and started walking home when I felt this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"That feeling coupled with the anxiousness from not seeing my husband caused me to believe something was wrong with Anthony. I didn't think to go get the men of the village. I was determined not to lose another man I loved," Marie paused here to gauge my reaction. Seeing nothing wrong with me she continued her tale.

"I heard screams and ran towards them. I ran through branches, spider webs, and slipped in the mud. I was so focused on reaching my husband that I failed to see an important obstacle in my path. I tripped and fell onto the forest floor. My hands got cut up, my dress was ripped and my ankle was twisted.

"For some unexplainable reason I looked behind me to see what I tripped over. If common sense had ruled I would have assumed it was a fallen tree, but I never was one for logic. With the starlight I was able to see what it was," Marie took a shuddering breath.

"What was it?" I whispered, scared to break the spell that surrounded us.

"It was the dead body of David. David was the husband of Trisha and the hunting partner of Anthony. I knew that if David was dead, the outlook wasn't good for Anthony. I rushed ahead hoping that my husband was still alive, and that someone would find David's body to give him a proper burial. The image of David's corpse still haunts me to this day."

"Was Anthony's fate the same as David's? I asked when Marie didn't continue the story.

"Bella have a little patience. I'm getting there," Marie scolded gently, her translucent eyes twinkling.

"You stopped talking!" I exclaimed, taking a break from the tension that surrounded the room.

"I was pausing for dramatic effect," she replied with a 'duh' tone. "Now if you are finished critiquing my story telling ability, I'd like to tell you what happened to my husband."

I motioned for her to continue.

"Anyway I ran away from David's body and towards the place where I last heard noise. I got to a clearing and it the moonlight I was this figure crouched over something. It looked like that scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone where he sees Voldemort drinking the unicorn blood. Without thinking about the ramifications of my action I picked up a rock and chucked it as hard as I could at the creature.

"It pauses before turning to look at me. All I could see were blood red eyes and Anthony's body below it. I impulsively picked up more stones and throw them at the thing. Probably not the smartest idea, but it was killing my husband. The figure smirks at me before returning to my husband. At the time I couldn't understand what happened, but as I was screaming at the thing a white whip appeared out of my hand and struck the creature. It cried in pain and advanced on me.

"As it advanced its hood fell off. Without that obstruction I could see who the creature was as it moved to attack me. It was Caius.

"'Caius!' I screamed as he advanced towards me, trying to reach my brother who seemed to be trapped inside this creature. He didn't understand me. He barred his teeth and launched himself at me.

"I threw up my arms in front of my neck and face to protect myself. It didn't deter Caius. He just bit into my arm and moved to rip it off so he could reach my neck.

"In the instant before he could two things happened simultaneously, Anthony cried out in agony and Marcus ripped Caius off of me.

"I watched for a few moments as Marcus and Caius fought. Caius fought to get to me and Marcus fought to keep him away. Another cry from Anthony turned my attention to my husband. I rushed to his side to try to help relieve the pain.

"Anthony was in so much pain that he could barely recognize me. I sobbed over his body, convinced this was the end for both of us. After all, my best friend, my brother was trying to kill the both of us.

"'Marie?' a voice called to me.

"I looked up to see Aro standing near me with a concerned look in his red eyes.

"'Aro?!' I cried as I took in his appearance. 'Aro, help Anthony,' I pleaded. 'Caius bit him and now he's acting like you did before the priests took you away. And I love him, so I don't want him to be hurt or die,' I rambled.

"Aro silenced me by placing his hand over my mouth. He told me something, but I don't recall what. All of the sudden I was in Aro's arms and he was gliding through the forest and then across the country side. I dimly remember seeing Marcus running in a similar manner.

"I eventually fell into a fitful sleep and woke up in a room underneath the Volterra castle. Aro explained to me that he, Marcus and Caius were changed into vampires. He told me since that Caius didn't finish draining Anthony like he did David that Anthony had changed into a vampire. I had been asleep for three days.

"Aro told me that I couldn't see Anthony because he would try to kill me. I didn't believe him- my husband would never try to kill me. I faked being completely distraught to cause Aro to leave the room; he was never good with sobbing girls. I snuck out of my room to see my husband as soon as I was sure no one was following me."

"Did Anthony try to kill you?" I asked.

"No he didn't, but he didn't recognize me either. Frankly my husband not knowing who I was was more painful than my brother trying to kill me. It probably was more painful than if my husband would have tried to kill me.

"Aro scolded me for disobeying him and risking my life. I got fed up with his over protectiveness; I still resented him a little for leaving to me. I started crying because being yelled at by my oldest brother and parental figure after having the love of my life forget me was a little too much to handle.

"Aro took on a look of panic as he tried to calm me down and comfort me. He wasn't going to leave me alone again because last time he did I put my self in a life threatening situation. He told me that Anthony would most likely regain his memories of me in time. I told Aro that until Anthony remembered me I was leaving. Aro recognized my look of determination and agreed. I left Volterra that night."

"So you just left because your husband temporarily forgot you? Wouldn't your husband remember you faster if you were around? And don't take this the wrong way-but isn't running away a very shallow, very childish, very drama queen thing to do?" I rant, my voice growing louder every sentence. Seriously how could her story end there?

"Bella be quiet, you'll wake up Charlie! And my story is not over, so if you'll let me continue I'll tell you the real reason I left."

"Sorry," I whisper. Marie waved my apology off.

"As far as everyone in Volterra is concerned the reason I left was because of my husband. Aro might have figured out the true reason, but I never really told him. I left because I was three months pregnant and I didn't want Anthony's and my child to be born in a building with blood thirsty vampires.

"On July 11, somewhere in the two hundreds my daughter Rebecca Marie was born. The Italian town where I lived was under the impression that I was a widow that was forced to flee my previous town. I had some medical knowledge from taking care of my brothers so I was accepted as a healer. I raised my daughter for eighteen years before seeing her get married and have a daughter Patricia Marie.

"After I was content that my daughter would have a comfortable life I searched for a reason to head back to Volterra without seeming suspicious. In the midst of my planning I started to hear murmurs throughout the town about me being a witch. I had barely aged since I came to town pregnant. The reason I hadn't aged was because of the vampire venom Caius had injected into me a little over twenty years ago, but if I told the townspeople that they would definitely burn me at the stake. So I prepared to leave one night to avoid a stoning, when I heard screams throughout the town.

"I ran outside and saw beings which I recognized as vampires attacking the town. When they moved to attack my daughter and granddaughter I called upon the same power that I had the night Caius was trying to kill my husband. A light once again appeared from my hands and killed the two vampires.

"Rebecca's husband dropped his torch in shock and set the bodies on fire. Once I was sure my family was safe, I quickly ran away from the village before people could accuse me of being a witch. I sought refugee in the forest. Aro had taught me how to survive without luxuries when I was very young.

"I lived off the land for around a year. Somehow I would know when vampires were running a much and I would destroy them to keep the delicate balance in the world between vampires and humans. It was through this pattern of tracking that I honed my vampire hunting abilities. It was also during this time that I became marked." Marie paused here to show me her right arm. There was a red spiral pattern that wrapped around her arm and ended with fangs on the inside of her wrist. I looked at my right arm and started to see the same image emerging. Marie answered my unasked question.

"Yes Bella, you are the next vampire hunter. I'll answer your questions after I finish my story.

"Back to the two hundreds, I had just finished killing a pair of particularly stubborn vampires when another group of vampires surrounded me. This was really unusual because normally vampires stayed out of each others' business, unless it involved a meal, and they never traveled in covens larger than three. There were five vampires in this group.

"'How'd you kill this pair girly? We've been tracking them and attacking them for a week, yet we have been unsuccessful,' one of leered at me.

"'Maybe I'm just better than you?' I offered as an explanation. I wasn't really afraid of what these vampires thought they could do to me, because if push came to shove I'd be the one walking away unscathed.

"The one who addressed me before growled and started to lunge towards me when the only female in the group whacked him on the back of his head.

"'What do you think you're doing?' she hissed. 'You know the boss will want to see her, since she killed them.'

"'You know I can hear you, right?' I asked once I got tired of being ignored.

"'Our apologies. My name is Angelica and our master would be delighted if you would meet with him. We will not force you to come, because based on your skills,' I remember Angelica eyed the dead vampires warily here, 'it would be foolish on our part.'

"Now I didn't really have any plans on where to go after I killed the two vampires so I agreed to go with them. I rode on Angelica's back. Before day could break they slipped into a series of tunnels, I rapidly lost my sense of direction.

"We reached the end of a tunnel and entered through huge doors. A passing vampire stopped to taunt Angelica.

"'Angel you were sent to destroy a pair of vampires, not to bring a snack back.'

"Angelica didn't respond verbally. She merely put me down and ripped the other vampire's arm off."

"Wait, why did the other vampire call her Angel when she said her name was Angelica?" I asked Marie puzzled.

"That's exactly what she asked her and she said, 'Because Aro can't be bothered to learn such a complicated name as Angelica, so he shortened it to Angel. On top of that whenever I try to correct him he changes Angelica to Angelique.'"

"Wait, Aro as in your brother Aro?" I ask Marie.

"Shush Bella, I'm getting there. So anyway Angelica tells me to be quiet and let her do all the talking. She says I may have been able to kill those two vampires in the forest, but these guys would be no match for me. I gave her some signal that she took as confirmation. When we got into the room and I saw who the people in charge were, I did something that would have given Angelica a heart attack, if she still had a beating heart that is.

"I jumped up and down and started waving like an idiot while I yelled, 'Hiya Aro! Did you miss me?'

"Aro laughed at my antics, Marcus gave me a wave while looking ashamed, Caius gave me a tentative smile and Anthony was by my side in an instant pulling me into a passionate kiss. He remembered me while I was gone. That would be the story on how I became a vampire hunter.

"Nothing much else happened in my life for the next fifty years. I helped my brothers set up their coven to be feared and respected so I wouldn't have to run around keeping the balance between vampire and humans. Eventually the werewolf came to keep the balance after I left the world.

"After fifty-five years Anthony was destroyed in a fight with unruly vampires that Caius sent him on. I followed his path shortly after.

"Before I died I made a prediction that Marcus and Aro witnessed. I refused to see Caius because I blamed, and still blame, him for Anthony's destruction. Caius and I were never close like we were during life after I found out he kept Anthony from me as a suitor, and then tried to kill us. But I'm getting off topic. In the moments before I died I set your destiny when I said that, "My 76th descendant, Isabella, will have my powers and will succeed where I could not."

"So that's why almost all the vampires in the world are conspiring to kill me. It's all your fault!" I cried while pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But really is it my fault that boys are idiots and jump to conclusions?"

"No, not really. So, if you died, why aren't you up in heaven?" I ask Marie while rolling onto my stomach.

"Well I have been in heaven with Anthony, but I needed to help you out. I mean could you imagine doing this without me?"

"Well, without you Dr. Esme Cullen might think I'm sane, but on the other hand I would be a pancake 'cause Tyler's van would have crushed me. So your presence has some downfalls, but I think I'll keep you."

"Glad you realize it."

"So are you ever going to leave me?"

"Once you don't need me."

"Do you still have your powers?"

"Some of them. I have enough to talk to you from outside your body, obviously, and if one of your, like, third cousins quadruple removed comes along I can take over their body for a while and act like I used to." I nodded in understanding and slight awe before a thought dawned on me.

"Rachel was killed because people from Maria's coven thought she was me, wasn't she?"

"Yes she was," Marie replied without blinking.

"Are you going to train me to use my powers, now that I know I'm the next vampire hunter?"

"Of course Bella. When do you want to start?"

"Tomorrow," I replied, eager to learn how to protect myself, especially when crazy vampires are trying to kill me.

"Okay Bella, because I'm sure that is an excuse to miss school that no one's ever used before. 'Hi Bella can't come to school today because the voice in her head is teaching her how to kill vampires.' We'll start training Saturday."

"Why can't we train after school?"

"Because you are going shipping tomorrow, you have therapy on Thursday and you have 'father-daughter bonding' with Charlie on Friday, or you have a date with Mike Newton. You're booked sweetie. Now get some sleep, you have school tomorrow," she quickly glanced at the clock, "today, actually," she corrected.

I followed Marie's instructions as I placed my head on my pillow. I felt Marie's familiar presence return to my mind as her "physical" form disappeared.

"Sleep tight Bella," Marie called.

"One last question," I pleaded before asking it. "Why did you die? It seemed from your story that because of the venom in your blood that your mortality was under your control."

"It was my decision, and I could still be alive now if I wanted to live back then. But I had lived for as long as I wanted to without Anthony and I wasn't going to live without him again. Since I was human, everyone just assumed that it was my time to go. Now go to sleep."

As I felt myself nodding off the only thought that I had was that I wished someday Edward and I could be like that. I barely knew him, but he had already affected me more than any other male. After all, I had last seen him less than twenty-four hours ago and I already missed him. That's why at two in the morning my mind conjured up the image of Edward sitting in my rocking chair.


I loved writing Marie's story. I think after this is done I might write a side series of one-shots about her living in Volterra. My favorite part of this chapter has got to be the ending. But my opinion isn't what really counts, what matters is your opinion. And the only way I can know your opinion is if you review! REVIEW!!

Oh, and if any of you have questions about Marie's story type them in your review and I will either answer them in my reply or Bella will ask them and Marie will answer in the next chapter.