A/N: I am sadden by the fact that my last two chapters haven't gotten much response. I really want to know what you guys think about this story and if it's going the way you want it to, so please review more and tell me what you think. I really want to hear.
Also, I know the last chapter was confusing with the constant P.O.V. changing and I'm sorry for that. Unfortunately, this chapter is going to be much the same. To make things easier, though, just try to remember that everything is happening simaultaneously.
BELLA
I followed Demetri downed the hall trying very hard to keep my heart rate under control. It wasn't very often Aro asked for me in the middle of the day wearing normal clothing. And when it did happen, it wasn't good for me.
"Don't worry, love." Demetri sneered. "You aren't in trouble. In fact, Aro and the brothers have a surprise for you."
The excitement in his tone told me that this wasn't a surprise that I would like in the slightest. Knowing Demetri, it was probably the worst kind of surprise imaginable. He was just that sadistic. Needless to say, I wasn't at all calmed by his words. In fact, they only made me more nervous.
We continued the walk in silence. I wanted desperately to ask him what the surprise was going to be. However, I knew him well enough to know speaking without permission was never a good idea. He'd probably hit me or slam me into another wall.
Under any other circumstances, I would've taken those punnishments. Unfortunately, I was headed into the belly of the beast with no idea what to expect this time. I needed all the strength and courage I could muster before I entered that room. I didn't need to waste any of it trying to get answers that I knew would never come.
"I see you're finally getting smart." he said after a moment of silence. "Or are you too worried about what's going to happen to bother being difficult?"
I bit back the disrespectful retort that was playing on my lips. I hadn't been here long, but I was learning how to play Jane's, Alec's, Felix's, and Demetri's games. And Demetri's had always been baiting me to give himself the chance to hurt me. I gave him what he wanted the first couple of days, but then I started to figure it all out. Now, I just started letting it go in one ear and out the other.
"You're hardly any fun anymore." he sighed. "I liked it when you were feisty and talked back all the time."
I, once again, didn't say anything, even though I was dying to laugh in his face or tell him to fuck off.
He chuckled and shook his head, but didn't say anything else until we reached the door where Aro held his meetings with the entire guard.
Now, I was really confused. Aro never asked to see me in front of the entire guard. He had enough dignity not to do the things he did to me in public.
"Are you ready for your surprise?" Demetri asked before he pushed the door open.
ROSEMARIE
Erick and I stood at Jacob's door for what seemed like an eternity before a woman finally opened it. She was a very beautiful native american woman in her forties. She had beautiful copper skin and long, straight jet black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.
If it hadn't been for the three thick, red scars runnning down the right side of her face, she would've been the prettiest girl that I had ever seen. I found myself wondering what kind of animal could do that sort of damage. For a split second, an image of my wolf friend flashed through my mind, but I shook it away. I couldn 't image any situation where he'd hurt me or anyone else for that matter.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked with her permanently marred smile.
I opened my mouth to say something, but my throat suddenly felt very dry and I couldn't form the words. All I could think about was who this woman was. Was she my stepmother? Or possibly my aunt? Either way, I knew I was finally staring one of my father's family members in the face, I honestly didn't know what to say.
"Hello, ma'am." I heard Erick's voice come to the rescue as usual. "My name is Erick Anderson and this is my best friend, Rosemarie Swan. We need to speak to Jacob Black about a personal matter. We were told he lives here."
At the sound of my name, the woman turned her attention toward me and fixed me with the most intense stare I had ever seen. Her eyes were filled with confusion and tears, but there was a soft, yet surprised, look behind them.
"Yes, he does." she said slowly as if unsure of herself. "But he isn't in at the moment. He had some business to take care of."
The balloon of tension and excitement that had filled my stomach suddenly deflated. It left me with the worst feeling of disappointment I ever had in my life. I looked down at the concrete step and sighed.
"Oh, okay." I heard Erick say. "We'll just come back another time then."
He and I both turned to go.
"Wait." the woman said. "If you want to come in, I can give him a call. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to come home and see you."
"That would be nice." Erick replied, taking my hand and leading me back to the door.
The woman nodded and lead us into the small house.
"I've actually just finished making breakfast. You are more the welcome to some." she offered as she led us through the small living room and into the even smaller kitchen.
At least it seemed smaller because there were three other Native American women sitting around the small table chatting happily amongst themselves. The conversation immediately stopped when they noticed the two strangers enter the kitchen.
"Ladies, this is Erick Anderson and Rosemarie Swan." the woman who answered the door stated. "They're here to speak with Jacob when he comes back."
Once again, upon hearing my name, the three girls at the table turned to stare at me with confusion and tears. I blushed slightly and looked at the floor. Nobody said a word and the awkward silence stretched for a moment.
The woman who answered the door, pulled two folding chairs out of the closet and set them up.
"Please have a seat." she said with a smile. "I'm Emily, by the way. Jacob's sister-in-law for all intents a purposes." She held out her hand and I shook it wondering what she meant by for all intents and purposes. "And this," she said pointing to the youngest and prettiest girl at the table. She had light copper skin and jet black hair the fell down her back, almost to her waist. She didn't look much older than twenty and had a beautiful smile. "Is Claire."
"Hi." Claire said with a slightly embarrassed smile.
I nodded still trying to figure out why they were all gawking at me like I was a science experiment.
"I'm Kim." the girl next to Claire stated holding out her hand. She looked to be about my mom's age, but her smile made her seem much younger at heart. "Another in-law."
I shook her hand trying to look less awkward than how I felt at the moment.
"And I'm Rachel." the last girl said, holding her hand out as well. "And I'm Jacob's biological sister."
"It's nice to meet you." I said with a slight tremeble in my voice. I shook her hand trying very hard to keep my body from shaking. I was actually meeting my aunt for the first time in my life and I didn't know how I felt about that.
"It's nice to meet you as well." she replied with a kind smile. "And I'm sure my brother will feel the same way about you."
"Thank you." I said with a smile.
"Jacob is on his way." Emily stated coming back into the kitchen. She must've stepped out while the others were introducing themselves. "Leah and Seth are coming with him." she informed the others.
Hearing that Jacob was on his way home sent my heart pounding and I tried to catch my breath. I was finally going to meet my father and I didn't know how I felt about that. Erick squeezing my hand calmed me a little, but not as much as the knowledge that this Seth guy was coming with him, whatever the hell that meant.
EDWARD
Esme and I walked downstairs in silence, both trying hard not to think of what Alice was going to tell us when she returned home. I didn't want to think about it and Esme didn't want to hurt me. I could, however, hear the beginnings of speculation, before she chastised herself for it. And all her speculation came back to the one thing that I hoped wasn't the case. Somehow, though, I knew it was the only logical option.
We arrived in the dining room to find Rosalie, Emmett, and Carlisle already there. All three had taken up their usual positions. I sighed and slid into the chair next to Carlisle, who was at the head of the table. Esme sat on his other side and put a hand on top of his.
"How are you holding up, son?" Carlisle asked and I could hear the concern in his voice and see it in his eyes.
I shrugged and put my head in my hands not knowing what to say.
"He's dealing." Esme said quietly. "It might get easier once everything's out in the open."
I didn't have the heart to tell her that I didn't think so.. I knew in my heart that no matter what Alice said in the next few minutes, it would make things a million times more complicated, for all of us.
Nobody said anyrthing after that. Instead, everyone got lost in their own thoughts of what we were about to hear. I wouldn't have minded too much, but everyone was going for the one thing that I didn't even want to think about.
"Please, guys." I said after a minute. "It's hard enough dealing without all of your thoughts and worries on the subject."
Everyone muttered apologies, but while the thoughts quieted, none of them completely went away. I suppose it didn't matter because my world was going to be shattered even more the second Alice walked through that door.
It wasn't long after that when Alice and Jasper returned. Alice entered the dining room with a completely neutral look on her face. She had gone back to singing Taylor Swift songs in her head.
"Alice, if this is going to be some half assed explanation of the last sixteen years, then don't bother." I growled in frustration.
"It's not." Alice replied as she slid into the chair beside me. Jasper remained standing behind her. I could tell that he was on his guard. "I just want you to hear the words, before the thoughts. It might be easier that way."
I sighed, but consented. I doubted that was the case, but I figured after everything, I should probably make her think that she was doing me some good. Alice bit her lip, but didn't say anything.
"I'm not sure where to start." she said as she twiddled her thumbs.
"How about the beginning?" Carlisle responded. "With what we already know."
Alice nodded and started Bella's story.
JACOB
"So tell me more about this girl?" I asked Seth as we walked home. I was still having trouble understanding who she was and how she would've ended up with the werewolf gene.
It was weird enough that when she transformed, she was going to be the second girl in our pack. But she was an outsider who had never even been to Forks or the reservation before. I didn't even know how that was possible. According to Sam, our ancestors had never ventured outside of Forks, for fear of tranformations happening with no one to explain things to them.
Yet, here this girl was. According to Seth and Leah, she was a definite outsider, but still possessed the gene. I didn't understand that and I couldn't make sense of it. It was even more frustrating, because Sam seemed ton understand more about it, than I did and he didn't feel up to sharing. Did that mean he was afraid of how the information would affect me? And why was it so important to talk to the Elder's about it before he talked to me about it?
I hated not being able to figure this stuff out.
'Well, like I said, she is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." Seth said with that dreamy in love smile on his face.
"I don't think that's what he means." Leah said sounding extremely aggravated. "No one else gives a shit about her looks." She smacked him on the back of the head to emphasize her point.
"Ah, Leah, leave him alone." I sighed. "It's kind of cute."
Leah rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.I understood where she was coming from, though. It wasn't that hard to see. She hadn't been in a relationship since Sam broke her heart and that was over twenty years ago. Sure, she was in the healthier, I'm getting over phase, but it must hurt to see others falling in love and wondering if you'd ever have that again. It's something I had gone through all the time. Still, I couldn't be openly bitter about it, because I was very happy for Seth and I didn't want him to think otherwise.
I put a hand on Leah's shoulder to tell her that I understood.
"Go on, Seth." I said because I needed every detail if I was going to figure out who this girl and her little friend were."
"Well she had a very light copper..." Seth started to say, but the ringing of my cell phone cut him off.
I sighed and pulled it out to see my house number flashing on the screen. Emily must have left her own cell at home again. I signaled for Seth and Leah to hold on a minute and flip the phone open.
"Hey, Emily, what's up?" I asked.
"Jacob, where are you?" she asked. I notied right away that her tone sounded weird, almost afraid. But it wasn't the normal kind of afraid.
"Seth, Leah, and I are about halfway back to the house." I answered. "Why? What's up?"
"Is Sam with you?" Emily asked.
"No, he went to see the Elders about the people who are staying in Bella's house." I answered. "Seth and Leah had an interesting report. He wants to find out what it means."
"Oh." Emily answered. "I don't think that's going to be necessary anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"I think it might be best if you just came home and saw for yourself."
"Emily, just tell me what's going on?" I said barely containing my anger.
I was so tired of everyone pussy footing around everything because they thought it was going to upset me. I wish they would all just start saying what they needed to say and get itover with. I was glass. Even the most surprising and devasting news wouldn't shatter me. I had already lived through the worst, hadn't I?
"I can't, because I don't even know." Emily replied not at all phased by my tone. "Just get home. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll understand."
"Fine, whatever." I sighed before snapping the phone shut and shoving it back in my pocket.
I shot Seth and Leah a puzzled look and they both shrug. I knew they had heard every word of the conversation, but they were both just as clueless as I was.
"Maybe we should follow her advice, though." Leah said with a sigh. "If she wants us to hurry, then it must be important."
"You're right." I sighed. "We should probably run then."
"Agreed." Leah answered and Seth nodded.
We ran toward the cover of trees and barely took the time to remove our clothes before we phased.
EDWARD
Alice's story had confirmed my worst fear. When Bella had left Forks, she had been pregnant with the mutt's baby. Granted, she didn't know that she was pregnant at the time. She didn't discover it until after she had been in Jacksonville for a little over a month.
I was sure how I felt about, though. I was angry that the mutt had been able to give her another thing that I couldn't, but I was happy that Bella had been able to have that experience. I had always known she would make a wonderful mother, despite her lack of interest in having children. It also hurt a lot to think that Bella felt she couldn't come back to us. She should've known we would always do what we could to help her, despite the circumstances.
It didn't help matters that Alice had finally revealed this knowledge after sixteen years of secrecy. She was family and family didn't keep secrets like this. Family was always open and honest about everything, regardless of the circumstances.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" I growled at her needing to relieve some of this anger.
"Because, she made me promise not to." Alice answered. I could hear the hurt in her voice, but I couldn't find it in my heart to really care at the moment. I wanted her to feel some of what I was feeling at the moment.
"But we're," I indicated everyone sitting or standing around the dining room table. "Family. You don't keep secrets from family."
"Bella's family too!" Alice replied. "What happened sixteen years ago doesn't matter. She is my sister and always will be. If she asks me to keep a secret, I will, no matter what."
"So why come clean now?" Carlisle asked trying to keep the fight from escalating. He could read that he wanted to figure things out before Alice got to upset to keep talking. "I mean, you were so against it, an hour ago."
"I know, but I figured some things out and had another half vision about her." Alice answered with a sigh. "Things might be about to get out of hand."
"Okay, then tell us what's going on." Carlisle pressed.
"I can only give you theories on what I think happened, but I'm pretty positive this is what happened." Alice sighed. "The Volturi came calling and threatened Rosemarie to get Bella to do what they wanted. When Bella agreed, she called me, said her goodbyes, and arranged for Rosemarie to be taken care of by having me deposit the money. Then two weeks later, I saw Aro's decision to burn Bella's house, because he wanted me to be able to see it. We weren't allowed at the funeral and Renee refused to talk to us because she didn't want us to find out anything about Rosemarie."
"So are you saying that she is definitely with the Volturi?" I asked.
"I'm almost positive." Alice answered. "There is no force on Earth that could take Bella away from Rosemarie, unless Rosemarie's life was in danger."
I nodded and took a minute to mull things over. Once Alice told her story, things started making sense. Bella had always been one to put others before herself, especially when it came to those she loved. And there was no greater love than that of a mother for her child. If Aro had threatened Bella's daughter, she would've put a gun to her own head if he had wanted her to. Anything to save her child. It would make sense that she willing went to Volterra to save her little girl.
"So what do we do?" Emmett asked.
"We respect her wishes." Rosalie replied quietly. "She is doing what she needs to do to protect her child. As much as it hurts, I think we should just let her do it."
"Rosalie." Esme reprimanded. "We can't just leave her there. We could save her and protect them both."
"Not against the entire Volturi, love." Carlisle replied gently patting her shoulder.
"I agree with Esme." Alice said. Her words shocked me so much that I pulled out of my pity party to stare at her unsure of what to think.
"An hour ago, you wanted to let it go too." I said. "What's the deal?"
"My vision." Alice replied simply. "It was another half ass one, but I saw enough to know that Aro is up to something. And it's big and bad.
"And what exactly did you see?"
"Well, Bella was..."
BELLA
"Good, Demetri, you're back." Aro said as Demetri and I entered the room. "And you brought our little pet. Excellent."
The brother's were sitting on their thrones at the front of the room with the entire guard standing in a loose, relaxed circle around them. Damien was standing beside Aro with a self - satisfied smile on his face. Alec, Jane, and Felix were standing beside him, looking like Christmas had come early. I was suddenly untterly terrified about what was going to happen to me.
Demetri unclipped the leash from my collar and went to stand in his spot beside Felix. I sighed and went to Aro before dropping to my knees.
"Good afternoon, Master." I said as audibly as possible. "Master Demetri said you wished to see me."
"Yes, Pet, I did." Aro responded and I could hear the sneer in his voice. "Young Damien, here has just informed me that we will be having visitors soon."
His words surprised me so much that I almost forgot my place and looked up at him. Almost. My fear of puishment kept my eyes glued on his feet.
"Visitors, Master?" I questioned in a voice that carried around the room. It irritated Aro when I didn't speak up.
"Yes, Pet, visitors." Aro answered and I could hear the amusement in his voice. "Special ones actually."
I swallowed hard. When I first came to Volterra, Aro had mentioned "special visitor" would come to the castle ocassionally. It would be my job to entertain them in anyway they wished. It made me sick to even think about that. It was bad enough to have to service and entertain the brothers and their guard, but to have to do it with others was something I didn't want to think about.
Aro's extra sensory senses must have picked up on my discomfort somehow. Most likely, my increased heart rate, seeing as my eyes were still glued to the floor.
"Don't worry, love." he said in condescending tones as he stroked my hair. "These guest will not require your services when they arrive. I think they'll be more concerned about your well being."
I wasn't sure what to make of his words. What kind of guests would Aro be recieving that would care about my well being? My first thought had been the Cullens, but Aro wouldn't be speaking of their visit with such excitement. Unless he had something planned for them.
My heart rate picked up as an image of the Volturi guard tearing my wonderful, loving family to shreds before my eyes. All because they had the nerve to come and try to save me.
"Don't worry, my pet." he answered gently lifting my face so I met his eyes. I could see that he knew exactly what I was thinking. "By the time they arrive, you won't give a damn what I do to them."
"I don't understand, Master." I said, even more afraid of what was going to happen.
"You don't have to." he smirked for a moment, then his face changed. He was no longer the amused and cheerful Aro that good news made him. He was the cold hearted Master that could inflict more pain than anyone else in that room. I was suddenly very afraid. "Stand up." he ordered.
I immediately did as he ordered. My legs were shaking so much that I almost fell over a few times. Once I was standing, Aro wrapped his hands in my hair roughly and yanked my backwards hard.
"I'd apologize for this, but it won't matter in a few days anyway." He whispered in my ear.
There was a second of utter horror where I wondered exactly what he was going to do, before my feet disappeared from underneath me and I was sailing through the air. Several horrifying seconds later, I hit the far wall head first and fell to the ground.
There was a lot of pain, but there was also much relief. Slowly, every worry, thought, or fear just flew away from me. Jacob, Edward, Rosemarie, the Cullens, the wolfpack, my mother and father, and anyone else I ever cared about just left my mind. It was almost as if I was losing them for ever and that didn't bother me. Because for the first time in years, nothing mattered. The wonderful lasted for only a few moments, before the world faded to black.
And then, the burning started...
JACOB
"Before you go in there, Jacob, I need to warn you about something." Emily bombarded us the second we walked into the house.
I had started heading toward the kitchen, because if I was going to have to meet and deal with random strangers in my house, I was going to need some food first. Emily, however, hadn't allowed me to get that far before jumping in the way.
"What do you mean you have to warn me?" I asked confused. "They didn't try to hurt you, did they?"
"Oh, no." she replied shaking her head. "It's nothing like that. I'm actually not sure what it is. I just think that you need to be prepared for what you are about to walk into."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, still not understanding what she was trying to tell me. Why would she think that I needed to be prepared to meet random strangers? If I didn't like what they had to say, then I would just tell them to leave.
"Well, see the girl is...Well, she has...And I..." Emily stuttered and I got the feeling she was having a hard time figuring out how to tell me something.
"Look, Emily, don't worry about it." I said. "Whatever it is, I can handle it."
I was so sure that was true. I had been handling everything this past week in my stride. Sure, Bella's death had been difficult, but I was getting through this. I could get past whatever this stranger had to say to me.
As I walked past Emily I heard her sigh and say something that sounded like,
"Your funeral."
I shook my head and pushed the kitchen door open. It was then that I realized, I should have listened to Emily. Sitting in the corner around the table chatting with Kim, Claire, and Rachel was a boy and a girl. I didn't notice much about the boy, but the girl was..I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
She didn't look much older than sixteen. She looked to weigh about 120 pounds and was a little under six foot tall. She had long, but curly jet black hair and beautiful brown eyes - he ones that I remember looking into everyday - and a smile that could light up the world. She had the most interesting complexion that I had ever seen. She was clearly Native American, but the Caucasian in her was so dominant that it didn't want to be silenced.
I stood there staring at her for a long time unable to believe what I was seeing. There was no way this girl could be who I thought she was, but the proof was right there. She had the all the features and even that light in her eyes, but it couldn't be. Bella would've told me. Wouldn't she?
She must've sensed someone staring at her, because she turned her attention to me. The other girls looked up when they realized that I had been in the room.
"Oh, Jacob, you're home. Good." Rachel said in the same excited, yet ucertain tone as Emily.
"Jacob Black?" the girl at the table asked as she rose.
"Yes." I said taking in more of her and trying to make sense of everything.
"I'm Rosemarie Swan." she said in a shaking voice as she held out her hand. "I think I'm daughter."
A/N: Well, what do you guys think? I hope you understand what I was trying to do with Bella. If not, all will be explained in the next chapter. Please review! I wanna know what you guys think.