A/N- I just realized that I won't have time to write this weekend. Silly me. So… I decided to go ahead and put together this chapter. Ease your minds a little, readers.

Don't get too comfortable though.

I don't own Twilight. I just like borrowing its characters.

Bella's POV

My disposition went from disinterested to white hot anger in only a matter of seconds. I stood--scrambled really—to my feet and felt the almost familiar pressure building up around me in an even larger proportion.

The Volturi guard tightened around us a little more. Something within me tensed up. The pressure was great. I felt Edward stand up. He must have been feeling the pressure as well.

I took a moment to try to control it. To see if I could control it. I closed my eyes and focused on reigning it in. I focused on the pressure, instead of the alert that told me there were fifteen Volturi guards surrounding us.

And it worked. Something clicked within me. Something I hadn't ever tried before. The alarming vibes that I felt in the air around me began to work synonymously with the seeming pressure that usually exploded out of me and into the object causing my alarm. And it seemed as if I suddenly had it under control. Like instead of having to worry about hurting someone, I could use it. As long as I found that center. Focused on the pressure instead of the fear.

I was suddenly thankful. None of the family had caused the protective vibes to flare up within me. But that could be because they weren't thinking of me as a threat. They saw me as Bella. Edward's wife. Sister. Daughter. The Volturi had probably branded me something with a negative connotation. Something much worse than "half breed."

All of this happened in the space of seconds. I was finally in control.

And no one else knew.

"Why do you think we would ever break away from Carlisle? From Esme?" I suddenly growled, allowing myself to put on an indignant front, "To what? To have to live away from our loved ones? Our family? You can't tell us what coven we have to be in."

"Oh… dear Bella. We weren't telling you what coven to be in." Aro's voice took on that saccharine tone again, "We only meant that you might stay here with us."

"We also have an old friend, Seamus, who we want to call up," Caius interjected, "We believe he would shed some important light on the situation."

I almost gasped. Edward squeezed the hand he was holding, keeping me silent. I wondered what was on his mind, but knew enough to keep from speaking or even looking his way.

"And if we decline?" Edward asked.

"Well, of course, we couldn't necessarily keep you here," Marcus shrugged indifferently,

"But if you cooperate, you might actually have a life outside of these walls someday. It would be a shame if I had to send guards back to Massachusetts with you. Or anywhere else that you might move. And I imagine that you wouldn't want to submit your precious family to the same treatment."

I waited. I felt the need to stand still. To keep myself in balance. But the information that I was taking in was beginning to make my head spin. My imagination ran wild as I envisioned guards always being posted at our front and back doors. Lurking in the wilderness wherever we were. Following us to work. To school. Feeding.

"And you just want—this Seamus to check us out? To see if he can find any new information?" Edward tried to clarify, all the while playing like we hadn't already seen Seamus.

"Yes. That is all," Caius confirmed, "No tricks. You allow Seamus to check both of you out and then we can discuss what he finds. Seamus was a Druid witch doctor who was changed. His healing gift was carried over from his human life. He could be an amazing human healer, but he is tentative and, of course, many humans are afraid of him. But since you are seemingly half human, he may be able to check you out and tell us things that Carlisle cannot."

"May I have a moment? To speak with Bella?" Edward motioned towards the door.

"As you wish," Aro nodded. Edward made quick work of getting us outside and closing the door, banishing all Volturi eyes. That was something at least.

"Your gift… is becoming very strong." He placed a hand on my face, "I can feel the pressure radiating from you."

"Focus," I forced a laugh out, trying not to sound too hysterical. It was taking all my strength to keep focus on the pressure, "Find Alice's mind."

He made a face at me that was a cross between annoyance and understanding, but then faced the direction he believed our family was in. For a moment, it seemed like he wouldn't find her. She couldn't be more than a hundred yards or so away, but there were probably many minds between them.

"It looks good," he finally nodded, not willing to elaborate with vampire ears so close, "How are you feeling?" I knew exactly what he was asking. He was asking if I thought I could take being surrounded by vampires for so long like this.

"Ok." I nodded.

"So, we'll stay." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead, before reaching for the door.

"We are glad you are going to cooperate. Such talent should not be wasted," Aro's sickening smile was firmly in place as we walked back in, "Henry will show you to your family."

Henry stepped out of the ranks of guard around Aro, Marcus and Caius. I wouldn't have noticed him, except that he had a very young face. A teenager's face. But so much younger than Edward. His hair framed his face in an unruly curled style that had been popular . His bone structure, even though angular and beautiful, was still seemingly half formed. Youthful without really meaning to look like it. His eyes told me he wasn't a newborn… or anywhere close. They were a stagnant red. Almost tired looking.

There was something about him—some feeling that I was getting. It was a combination of my protective instinct and my own first impression. Contradictory. The protective side of me was telling me that he was a very dangerous creature. But he looked so—young and seemingly polite.

"Are you new?" I asked. It was a completely involuntary reaction. I was just so curious.

"I have only been with the Volturi for ten years." He confirmed as he led us away from that horrid corridor and towards the same set of elevators that had once freed Edward, Alice and me of the Volturi's grasp. His voice was velvet. A beautiful tenor that seemed incongruous to his youthful appearance.

I nodded, realizing that his admittance into the royal coven must have been because of his gift. Something that could be particularly useful. I wondered what Edward was pilfering from Henry's thoughts. I hoped it would be constructive information. Maybe a way to understand why he had been selected to take us back to the Cullens.

Once off the elevators, Henry led us down another nondescript hall, lined with doors to the left and right of us. We stopped at the door at the end of the hall.

"You will wait here until Seamus has come." Henry opened the door and then disappeared back down the hall we'd come from.

I was glad to step into Esme's waiting arms. She embraced both Edward and me, speaking so quickly I could barely understand. She had been worried. Admittedly, I had been, too. But as soon as Henry was gone, the pressure eased. My mind did not have to remain constantly on controlling myself.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked, when Esme finally let us go.

"They just asked us a bunch of questions about how this all happened," Edward gestured towards his own body, indicating the Volturi's interest in our half breed forms, "And then wanted to know why Bella blew up Felix. They want us to stay and be checked out by a Druid doctor turned vampire named Seamus."

Everyone nodded. Alice must have already filled them in, but what Carlisle wanted to know—what everyone wanted to know—only Edward could tell. Because he had, more than likely, been reading the minds of the Volturi and Volturi guard the entire time.

"Bella, is that pressure coming from you?" Jasper asked. I suddenly realized that he could probably feel it.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Can I do anything to help?" he asked. He stepped closer and I felt a small soothing wave of calm. But it dispersed as quickly as it came.

"Its worse when the Volturi and their guard were around us. I don't think that your calm will work on me as it once did." My eyes flashed towards Edward, "What were they thinking?"

"I really do not wish to discuss that," Edward nodded towards a desk in the large sitting area. I smiled at him in understanding. Everyone else seemed to catch his subtle hint as well.

Edward swiftly sat down and began writing furiously on the small sheets of paper that were on top of the desk. He would pass a page to Carlisle as soon as he was finished with it. I was amazed at how much he had managed to take in. He had seemed to be so focused on answering the Volturi's questions.

Soon the pages were being passed down the line, so everyone could read Edward's elegant script.

Aro, Marcus and Caius tried to keep their minds heavily guarded. They have not had much practice, though, so I did manage to catch some of their plans.

They do want us to see Seamus (and we let them think we did not know him) but they are stalling us more than anything. They want some of us to stay. Alice, Bella, and me especially. They feel threatened with the eight of us together. They think we're powerful and that we might rise up and try to overthrow their rule someday.

Marcus is especially worried, because of his ability to sense the strength or weakness of relationships. Our coven's relationships are very substantial. Solid. Strong. It frightens him to know that we all live in harmony so well together.

Paired with the fact that there are three very powerful beings in the coven (Alice, Bella and I) they believe they have due cause to be concerned. And so they are trying to find ways to keep us here. To stall us.

They are also trying to keep Bella and me from being part of this coven. Even though she and I are considered powerful, we are also weaker, because we are hybrids. They think that Bella and I should keep to a coven by ourselves because we don't hunt at all. Our lifestyles are somewhat different.

I believe that are just trying to break the coven apart so that we won't be as much of a threat.

Their guards, on the other hand, were a different story. They see Bella and me as weaklings. They think that it would be easy to just kill us and get it over with. They didn't even seem to care that Bella had blown Felix up. They thought it was a fluke and that Felix was a little too cocky anyways.

Most of the guard has some tracking power or another. There was only one that I could not identify. Henry. The guard that brought us here. He thought the same things the other guard did, but if he has a special gift (which is more than likely the case if he's part of the Volturi guard) I did not see it. I even tried to further read him, as he brought us down here, but it was difficult.

I think our best action is to cooperate for now. As far as Alice can see, they have not decided to proactively pursue breaking the coven up. But they want to. They do not wish to be threatened by our numbers.

Edward stood from the desk as soon as he was finished writing. Carlisle seemed to be asking Edward questions in his mind, which Edward always responded with a nod or shake of his head.

The rest were all milling around. I wondered what they thought about this. Was it selfish to try to stay in Carlisle's coven? Would it be better for all of them if we broke away?

Apparently, Edward thought the same thing. I heard him whisper quietly to Carlisle and then Carlisle seemed to get very angry.

"How could you even think that? You will always be part of this family. You and Bella can break away any time you wish, like Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice do. But you will not--I repeat--will not leave us because the Volturi want you to. I will not even allow it."

Esme sent a hurt expression Edward's way, as if even thinking of breaking away from the coven was blasphemy to her.

"I don't know why you have to create more drama than is necessary," Rosalie rolled her eyes from her motionless pose against the north wall of the room, "You know that none of us will ever allow you to even think of leaving us permanently. It's ludicrous."

"But you are stuck here until we are free. If we broke away, at least you all could be back in Massachusetts." Edward pointed out.

"Worrying about you and Bella." Jasper snorted, "Wondering what was happening and having to rely on Alice's visions to tell us anything. It's not fair of you to ask us to go through something like that thousands of miles away, when we could be right here, where Alice can keep tabs on everyone. Where we can actually see you both with our own eyes. Know that you aren't in any danger."

"Forget it, bro," Emmett shook his head, "You are not getting us to go anywhere. You've been a part of this coven far longer than the rest of us. You'll stay that way."

"Edward," I stepped over to lay a hand on his arm. His green eyes held a piercing gaze and I smiled because it was a beautiful sight, "You are going to have to quit being a martyr. I could easily be one with you, but I know how much it would hurt Esme and Carlisle if we had to break away. I know how much all of our brothers and sisters would miss us. How offended they are that you would even suggest that we go our separate ways. We are not going to get rid of them as easily as you think you can. They're just as stubborn as you and me, sometimes."

His mouth formed a grim line, studying my face. He knew I was right. I could see it in his eyes. We had all fought far too much to be together. All of us. From the first time I laid eyes on Edward until that very moment.

"Then I suppose we wait for Seamus." Edward acquiesced, reluctantly.

Author's Note:

"A hearty welcome back to Seamus. Congratulations on making the final cut for the last story in the series!" I smiled, standing next to my very own vampire.

"I am always pleased to be back in the trenches with the Cullen family. They are so easy to get along with." Seamus nods to me obligingly, "Although, you aren't very safe with Edward and Bella. Can you not give them a little break?"

I scoffed.

"Where is the fun in that? If I ever gave them a break, we'd be watching two half breeds over a picket fence. That is not exciting at all." I shook my head at the idea.

"Ah, but it is safer for everyone. And I would have to take fewer trips away from my home place in Ireland."

Seamus Irish brogue seemed to become more evident. How very attractive. I almost got lost in his golden gaze.

"Well, thank you Seamus, for being our topic of discussion here in the author's note."

"Always happy to help out the author. As long as there's a happy ending." His smile was teasing. And mesmerizing.

"We'll see." I shrugged, "But until then, readers… don't forget. Reviewing doesn't involve watching movies over and over again. Let me hear some noise if you want the next chapter."

Seamus and I waved goodbye before walking off the page.