A/N: Disclaimer in first chapter. Thanks again for taking some time out to jot a few words to me. It means a lot.

Chapter 11

January 20, 2006, Friday

High heels not being a problem for me anymore was a conundrum in my mind. I had gone for so many years constantly whining about having to wear them to weddings, school dances where I wouldn't even dance, parties, and so forth that once it came down to wearing them and it not being a problem I was at a loss. It was then that I realized that I used my poor coordination and bad luck as a crutch to keep me out of situations where I felt uncomfortable. Case in point: walking up to the legislative branch of our nation's government in (really naughty word) Me Pumps.

Yes, Lauren's says it, but I still consider my saying (really naughty word) in front of my father and my mind diverts to something else to say.

When we made it inside a very well dressed young guy nearly ran up and nearly had to hold his hand over his mouth to keep his tongue contained from wagging. I actually waited to see if he kneeled beside Tanya and waited to be petted. Good dog. Roll over. Please, dear god, play dead.

"Ms. Denali, it's an honor to see you again. I apologize for the routine; security is waiting for you and your… uh…"

He paused and actually looked at me for the first time. "I—I…"

If there is one thing that being around Lauren for this last month has taught me, it's how to deal with panting boys. Painting on Fake Smile #8 I tossed my hair to the side and gave him the full force of my attention.

"Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella."

I concentrated on him for a moment and watched as he held out his hand and took a step forward only to trip and faceplant on the floor.

"Oh dear," I said. "Are you alright?"

He scrambled to his feet and quickly dug out a handkerchief to cover his bloody nose. Tanya shot a glance at me and I guess she was pleased with what she found, because she relaxed.

"Fine, fine. Sorry, I'm not normally so clumsy. I apologize. Right this way ladies."

There's nothing like a spike of pain to focus on when you find yourself not able to concentrate. My badge was checked a picture was taken and another badge created for me right on the spot before we were scanned with one of those wands they use at the airport. Once that was accomplished the intern or whatever led us around the building while Tanya spoke to me sub-vocally and quite rapidly.

"Does that happen all the time with your voice?"

I made a point to look around and take in my surroundings and managed an uh-huh without being heard by anyone but her.

"Fascinating. This might be easier than I thought. Did he actually trip or was that your gift?"

"Gift," I muttered.

Tanya glanced at me. "You still haven't learned to speak like this have you?"

"Nuh-uh."

"No matter. I'll offer you assistance while we are in the meeting. Just be truthful with what you have to say unless it pertains to the Volturi. You have their prepared statements."

I noticed a number of men found reasons to occupy a once moderately empty hallway when we happened by.

"What about the Cullens?" I whispered louder than I wanted.

"Everything, Bella. We have nothing to hide, except the more gruesome aspects of our society. You already know what not to say."

Right. No talk of bloodthirsty vampires that only were being told now to stop ripping out the throats of innocent people. No talk of draconian rulers and rules. Definitely no talk of the turn or be killed subject matter. Everything was rainbow and unicorns. Please.

There were already a few people in the room when we arrived, mostly guys in plain clothes with bulges under their arms. It made me wonder if Tanya and Caius had even told them that bullets were useless against us. The first thing that came to mind when I heard the term closed door session was that the meeting was obviously behind closed doors, maybe there would be a table involved and we'd all sit around and throw questions at each other or something to that effect. In fact it was a much smaller version of what I had seen on television whenever the Senate gets a bug up their butt and wants to look like they're doing something. It just wasn't as ostentatious and there weren't any camera's involved.

The large room was split into two parts. On the left was a long curved row of interconnected tables or desks sitting on a raised portion of the floor. There were name placards at the front of each desk, some I recognized and mostly others that I didn't. On the right were a very large flat table and two uncomfortable looking wooden chairs with a minimum of padding on the seat. It made me wonder if they thought this was some sort of interrogation. I suppose it was in a way.

There were two bottles of Blue Blood for each of us set to the side. At least there were refreshments! I took advantage of the meeting not being in session to look around and be generally nosy until one of the doors behind the desks opened and men started filing out. A few of them took note of the new face in the crowd, me! They eyes dropped down to my legs and then raked up my body before they moved on to their seats.

I took my cue and went to sit beside Tanya.

"Chad, are you ready?"

Some guy at the end of the room surrounded by electronic equipment nodded and gave a thumbs-up to the Senator in seated in the middle.

Tanya leaned over to me. "He's the scribe or whatever they're calling it these days."

"Let's get to it," the rather aged man in the middle said. His placard read Senator Packmen. "Ms. Swan, since you're new to these sessions please introduce yourself for the record."

"Full name, residence, and profession," Tanya rattled off under her breath. "Don't bother standing. This is informal."

I cleared my throat unnecessarily. "My name is Isabella Swan of Forks, Washington, and I'm a twelfth year student at Forks High School."

None of them looked surprised at that. Apparently, they had already been briefed about me; either that or they weren't quite awake yet. The smell of coffee was thick in the air and somewhat off-putting.

"Thank you," he said as he looked at a computer monitor in front of him. We had one similar on the table in front of us that was showing a waving flag in screensaver mode moving around the surface. "First, I want to clarify some things that we've been told about you."

I just nodded and waited for the inquisition to start. The truth was, I was very nervous and laced my fingers together underneath the table so they wouldn't see them shaking. It's one thing to be in front of people I didn't know. It was an entirely new experience to be in front of people that supposedly ran the country. Nerve-wracking would be the phrase I'm looking for.

"Daughter of Charles Swan of Forks who serves at the Chief of Police for the city?"

"Um… yes?"

"Is he aware of your status?"

That confused me for a moment. "Status?"

"That you're a vampire, Ms. Swan."

"Oh, yes. Dad was a little shocked at first. I mean who wouldn't be? Vampires are real and all, but once we explained everything to him he was supportive… is supportive."

A few of the senators blinked, some shuffled in their chairs, but above all of that, all of their attention was now on me instead of whatever they were poking at on their desks. Even Senator Packmen looked a little glazed for a moment.

"I… um… I see." He shook his head for a second and then looked down at his screen again. "And you're how old?"

"Eighteen as of September. This is my seventh day as a vampire."

He shifted a little and I saw his hand disappear for a moment before he shifted again.

"Very good. You were a normal human when you moved to Forks to live with your father?"

"Yes, my mother had just gotten remarried and they were still in their honeymoon phase at the time. Needless to say I preferred the quiet so I moved in with my dad."

There were a couple of chuckles from the side which I returned with a small smile.

"That's about where we lose the story. How did you come about meeting your first vampire?"

"Well he was in my biology class. He was a little standoffish, but he was trying to fit in, eventually I got to know him after he saved my life. The parking lot was icy from a short rain the night before and a van was about to crush me against my truck. Edward raced across the school yard and protected me even if it meant exposing himself. That's when I got really curious and it just snowballed from there."

Someone else, a Senator Phillips slipped in a different sort of question. "There are witnesses to this event?"

I nodded. "Half the students of Forks High saw what happened, but the angle Edward came in was bad for them to see. Plus, he was pretty fast. People were focused on Tyler's van more than they were on me."

"So there's nobody that can corroborate your story, then?"

"I'm sorry; I don't understand what you're getting at. There were about a hundred students in the area who saw."

"You just said that nobody saw this… Edward was it? Nobody saw him actually save your life."

My mouth slid open at the implication. "Yeah… I saw him."

Phillips looked down and shuffled some papers around as he ignored me.

"Ms. Swan."

"A point of clarification if you would allow," Tanya interrupted. "Senator Phillips, I reiterate for the seventy-fifth time since we have been having these talks, because of rampant fear, hysteria, and idiotic superstitions, vampires have had to hide themselves. I can name dozens of times over the course of human history, which I actually lived through, where revealing ourselves has met with the deaths of thousands and even tens of thousands of people. Edward saved the life of a human teen with no regard for his own. Isn't this exactly what you were raging about just yesterday? That we are all demons and simply want to enslave you? Again I ask, why would we do this?"

"Ms. Swan," Phipps said as he ignored Tanya. "Have you ever tasted human blood?"

His question was a ploy and anyone with half a brain could see that. "Well, before I was turned I bit my tongue, busted my lip, had bloody noses, had a paper cut that I've sucked on and so forth, so technically, yes. After become a vampire no. I've never had it. The synthetic blood is more than enough and is actually really good."

"This is ridiculous, Paul," Senator Norris said from directly opposite from Phillips. "We've already dealt with the past. We're trying to look to the future here. Would you rather them go back into hiding?"

Phillips straightened his shoulders. "I'd rather them not exist at all."

A gavel hammered a sharp noise throughout the room and Packmen snapped, "This is not devolving into the circus that it was yesterday. We're here to find out facts not to start a witch hunt of an intelligent species."

I tightened my hands together and tried not to freak out. My voice had apparently worn off of these men in record time, and I didn't know why.

"Is that what you think they are," Senator Harris spoke up. "Aliens or something?"

"They might as well be," Packmen said. "This is a watershed moment in human history, gentlemen. Let's get back to business."

~O~

"That sucked," I said as Tanya and I walked out of the room for the first break of the day.

"Not as much as you might think, Bella. They are posturing. This is politics. While there are many people out there that will treat our revealing ourselves as the beginning of the apocalypse, there are more people that see this as a good thing."

Looking around I found a decent alcove where we could speak privately considering the amount of people that were once more finding reasons to walk the halls.

"What am I even doing here? They're just asking questions, personal questions about my life."

Tanya smiled and eyed a young man walking past with a note of hunger in her gaze, and I don't think it was because she was thirsty. "You're the youngest vampire in North America at the moment. Some of them think rightly that you haven't had time to become acclimated to the vampire mindset, whatever that may be. In short, you're more likely to slip up and say something that you aren't supposed to."

"Oh."

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Bella. They see that you're nervous and most men like to put nervous women at ease, especially one with your attributes. Packmen obviously likes you."

I agreed. "He's the youngest. I swear, is there anyone in there under the age of sixty?"

"Hmm," she pondered with a curious look on her face. "That may be the reason they aren't as affected to your alluring voice; low testosterone. Still, I can smell their pheromones in response to your presence. Phillips is the worst offender."

"Pardon?"

"He greatly desires you, Bella. He simply has a lifetime of experience suppressing his cravings. I have a feeling that is why he's acting so aggressive at the moment. Odds are that he hasn't had an erection in twenty years."

I nearly gagged. "Please don't."

Tanya laughed at seeing me cringe. "All of them have been harder than blue steel in there listening to you. It wouldn't surprise me if they're taking advantage of this break to relieve some stress."

If there was one picture I didn't need branded in my brain it was any of them in their office acting like a sixteen year old boy.

~O~

Packmen's face was a little flushed when he tapped his gavel. "Let's resume where we left off, Ms. Swan. You mentioned that you were approached by Katrina Katová soon after the Cullens left Forks. Was there a reason why she decided to turn you when Edward Cullen wouldn't?"

Like I said before, they ask very personal questions.

"I already knew about the existence of vampires and she knew that I wanted to be turned. I guess it was convenience more than anything else."

Phillips leaned forward. "She didn't have the same concerns for your immortal soul as the other one did?"

I licked my lips and tossed my hair to the side. "Would you define immortal soul for me, Senator, so I know how to answer your question properly?"

His eyes narrowed at me. "Have you ever been to church, Ms. Swan?"

"Several times. My mother exposed me to a number of different beliefs."

"Then you'll already know that the immortal soul is the essence of a person, that part of them that can tell right from wrong, good from evil, the part of a person that leaves them at death and then communes with God afterward."

I nodded in understanding. "Would it be safe to say that the soul is what urges us to do good for good's sake, to help our fellow man with compassion and love instead of physical reward?"

Phillips shrugged. "Among other things, yes."

"Then I submit to you, Senator, that the soul does not leave a person when they are turned into a vampire. Carlisle Cullen, a minister's son, withheld drinking human blood for hundreds of years because of his belief in God and the human soul. He entered into the medical field and has devoted his entire life to helping others as a doctor. He doesn't do it for the money. He does it because of his compassion. His wife, Esme is probably the most compassionate person I have ever met, even more than Carlisle. If they are an example of what a person can be without a soul I would have really liked to have known them during their human life."

I looked around at the other men behind the desks. "There are dozens of examples I could give to show their worthiness in this way, and you can either believe me or not. I really don't have a ball in this game, Senators. I'd be just as happy living in the middle of nowhere with the people I love, living in seclusion away from the worries of mankind.

"But vampires in general are tired of hiding. Some have lived through the births and deaths of nations. Why in the world would you want to want to keep that kind of knowledge contained? Imagine what you could learn? Some are worried that we might be evil and given popular fiction I completely understand. But see, the thing is it's fiction. If we judge vampires by that alone then you might want to start clearing the shelves of all the murder mysteries and action thrillers as well, because there are a heck of a lot more of those showing that humans can be just as evil and powerful as any vampire that's been written about."

Reaching over I popped the top of a bottle of Blue Blood and held it up. "Can you say that nobody and nothing is harmed by the production of your food source? There are some cows that might have an opinion about your choice if they had the brains to speak. So, if anything, I further submit that vampires have the opportunity to be even more civil than humans.

"I studied a little Plato in English class this year. He considered the soul the essence of a person, something that decides how we behave; it's as simple as that. Since we can't qualify or quantify something as immaterial as a soul then we only have speculation left. I propose that I do have a soul and it tells me to go forth and live a good life. I ask that you put aside your preconceived notions about how romance writers, that are trying to make a buck, use their pencils to titillate people into buying their books using whatever means necessary, and look at what's sitting right in front of you. Pull out your crosses and garlic bulbs, whip out your wooden stakes and see how wrong novelists have gotten it over time. If they can be so wrong about these fundamental things then can't they also be wrong about the nature of our existence?"

There was a quiet moment in the room and Tanya reached over and set her hand on my arm as she beamed a smile at me.

Packmen leaned forward and gazed down on me. "Are you sure you're eighteen, Ms. Swan?"

I ducked my head and then looked back up at him. "My mother says I have an old… soul, sir."

He smiled down on me. "I think she might be right."

~O~

Tanya leaned back against the seat of the limo and grinned at me. "How did you like your first exposure to pure politics, Bella?"

"Uh… not so much. I'm ready to go back to Forks."

"Ah, well, that's too bad. I'm afraid I have need of you here for a while."

I nearly did a double-take. "I'm sorry, what?"

She laced her fingers together and set them on her lap. "Caius did us quite the disservice when he strode into that room four days ago listing his… well, demands is too heavy of a word, but that's basically what they were. You reversed a week of bad attitudes and actually got them to think about their preconceived notions. They may not change their minds about our place in society, but they are at least thinking about it instead of being on the defensive for the entire time we were in there."

"But…"

"That little speech you gave right before lunch is exactly what I'm looking for. I've planned hundreds of different explanations about how vampires are just as good or bad as humans, but that one speech did more good for our cause than any prepared material. I want to go over some other issues with you this weekend and…"

"Tanya," I pleaded. "I have school, and—and Lauren and my dad…"

"And they will all be there for you when you get back. I'm sure we can even arrange to have them flown out for you. In regards to your schooling, I'm equally as sure that appearing in front of a Senate committee will be excuse enough. I'll have Katja drop by and have a talk with your principal on Monday."

When Tanya saw my reluctance she pressed on. "I'm afraid I must insist, Bella. There are bigger things going on here than your desire for a social life."

I'm not afraid to admit that I turned to look out the tinted window and pouted as I rubbed my hand against the coven cuff given to me by Katja. "How long?"

She shrugged. "Meetings are being held throughout the rest of the month, possibly longer. Since direct changes can't happen in normal sessions of Congress, because of the secretive nature of these talks, it's going to be a slow process."

We rode along to the hotel, which was only a short distance from the Capital buildings. Before we had a chance to arrive I suppose Tanya chose to try a different tactic with me.

"Perhaps we can make your stay official. Obviously you'll be drawing a salary considering your new position."

"I'm sorry?" What was she getting at?

"Considering my position as Queen of North America there will need to be people that carry out certain duties. Since you're still in school I'm sure you're somewhat familiar with the way governments operate?"

I nodded.

"Well then I'm sure that you won't be surprised to find out that when foreign governments speak to one another they use an intermediary for most of their day to day issues. Anything important would go through me, of course, but there would be a certain amount of autonomy in the position of Ambassador."

A panicked chill shot down my spine. "No… I can't. I hate politics. I suck at it. My debate team always lost in school."

"This isn't school, Bella. This is something that you are passionate about."

"I'm too young."

"Which seems to be an advantage in this instance. Granted, you'll need to be taught certain aspects, but that is one of the advantages of having perfect recall and senses of a vampire. You'll learn in a month what a college aged person would in years. You'll be fine."

My left hand was already clenched in a fist as I tried to think of a way out of this and I rubbed even harder against my cuff.

"We'll need to get you a new coven crest as well. It wouldn't do to have you in Katová seeing as you'll be representing Denali."

The cuff snapped off in my hand and I felt like breaking down in tears right there. "Nooo…," I whispered and picked up the broken pieces in my hand.

~O~

I couldn't call Katja or any of my friends with my worries, because Tanya was always close by arranging things for me. A stupid tailor was arriving that night to measure me for a new wardrobe. Assistants were being arranged for me to do my running around so I didn't have to leave the suite. Books were being ordered through Kindle so I could begin my studying as soon as possible. She already had two dozen downloaded and was adding the major foreign languages to the mix for when I finished. I thought regular school was bad. This sucked.

In between calls Tanya was making, her phone rang and she gave it a frown when she looked at it. "Hello, Katja."

One good thing about being a vampire was that it was impossible for me to not eavesdrop on the call.

"You are not stealing Bella from me. She's mine!"

A surge of hope rose in my chest at hearing her voice.

"Quit being so dramatic, darling. Bella is doing wonderful here."

"Helping you out is one thing, Tanya, but Alice is already having visions about her permanently becoming a Denali. I won't let this happen."

"It's already happened. She's our first vampire Ambassador to the United States. You should have seen her in the closed session; Bella had them eating out of her hand."

"As I told you she would, Tanya. She is my childe. You can't arbitrarily steal another coven's members. Bella has family and a life here. Has she even agreed to go along with any of this?"

"Well, not at the moment, but once she is in place I'm sure all of that will take a back seat, Katja. You would waste her skills as your attendant. She is obviously meant for so much more. Irina called and said that she was dropping by to introduce herself. I'm sure she can satisfy any needs that Bella has for family."

"Tanya, don't think about introducing her without me there. I love you, but I won't hesitate to rip your arms off and beat you with them if Bella is harmed by Irina. You know her tastes run into the extreme."

"Exotic, darling. The word you're looking for is exotic. And don't threaten me. You know I've won the last five competitions we've had. I'll have you saying uncle well before you have a chance to take my arms. Honestly, Katja, you're beginning to sound like Felix."

The thought that she was going to hurt Katja was a little too much for me and I couldn't hold back the anger I felt. Her cell sparked and then caught fire. Tanya yelped and dropped it to the floor before stomping on the thing to put the small flames out.

"That was completely childish, Bella. Please direct your gift somewhere else when I am conducting business."

I glared at her. "What did she mean when she said you can't steal another coven's members?"

"Antiquated laws. However, since we are in a new age there are new laws. I'm conscripting you into service for an indefinite period of time; not stealing you as my sister so brashly put it."

"Like the Volturi."

Tanya's smile drifted away and firmed into a more serious position. "Watch how you compare us, Bella. Gifts come and go. I have survived for well over a thousand years on nothing but my guile and my skills as a fighter. I simply require your natural skills. Sometime in the future your services will no longer be required. At that time you will be welcome to leave with my well wishes attached."

"How long is that?"

She shrugged and bent over to retrieve the melted slag that was once her phone. "Once we have cemented our race's position with the North America citizenry. When the average human can look at us and see us as an equal or greater. I can't see it going on past another century or two. Perhaps less if I… URK!"

I don't remember blinking as I wrapped a hand around her neck and slammed Tanya through the bedroom wall, as I focused my gift on her. She slammed her fist into my abdomen and I flew over her head, but my grip didn't lessen and I wound up bringing her with me and we hit the opposing wall. Somehow we got turned around and I dug my fingernails into her skin from behind.

"B…a!"

"You're not taking my family from me!" I yelled as I shoved my knee in her back and her head popped off her shoulders with a deafening shriek of sound. "GAH!"

I scooted back and dropped Tanya's head watching as it rolled across the floor. Her strawberry-blonde hair tangled in her mouth and covered her face.

"Oh crap," I said in a panic. "Katja's going to be pissed."

~O~

I might have been wrong about that part.

"Hold on," Katja said after I called her on my phone to tell her what I did. The sound of a door closing alerted me that she found somewhere private to speak. "What happened? I can't imagine Tanya would willingly let you talk to me after that mess she was spouting."

I cringed. "I asked her how long I'd have to be ambassador for, and she said one or two hundred years. Then I kind of got mad."

"Two hundred years!" My head jerked away from the phone at her shriek. "Over my dead body. I've already chartered a jet, Bella. I'll be there in six hours or less. Just keep her occupied until I show up."

Looking over on the floor I saws Tanya's body start inching toward her head. "I don't think that's going to be an issue. I kind of… rippedherheadoff."

"I'm sorry say that again. We must be getting some really bad reception."

With a sigh I looked down. "I ripped her head off."

"…"

"Katja? Did you hear what I said?"

"…"

"Hello? Can you hear me now," I said as I checked the signal I was receiving. Five full bars were clearly illuminated.

"Bella, did you say that you ripped Tanya's head off? Like totally detached it from her body?"

"Uh… yes?"

"Whew. Good. Now go pick it up and stick it into the mini fridge that I'm sure is in your suite somewhere. Put her body in the bathtub and close the door. I'll be there in six hours and then Tanya's head and I are going to have a nice talk."

Does something sound intrinsically wrong about that last statement or was it me? "She's not dead?"

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "No, pet. Tanya is fine if not a little disoriented at the moment. She's just learned a valuable lesson today. Just because you can handle your bloodlust doesn't mean that your newborn strength and speed hasn't diminished in the least. When I get there, I'll have a chat with her, put her head back on, give her a few bottles of blood, and she'll be fine. Then we'll have another chat and work out something where everyone will be happy."

I breathed a sound of relief. "Okay. Um… see you soon."

We rang off and I did what Katja said about the body. By the way, handling a detached head is so incredibly gross. I gagged three times on the way to the minibar. They so don't pay the staff enough for the mess that was needed to be cleaned up. Once that was done I tried cleaning up the hole I made in the bedroom wall, but that was a lost cause.

It was an hour later when I dropped everything and sat on the couch wondering what to do in the meantime. Then a knock sounded at the door. The scent of vampire hit my nose and I rushed to the peephole. On the other side, a pale blonde woman stood there staring at the door.

"I can smell you on the other side of the door, Tanya. Open up already."

"I'm not Tanya. I'm Bella. Who are you?"

"Bella? Oh, Katja's childe. I'm Irina."