I do not own Twilight or any of its' characters

Chapter 13

RPOV

I awoke in an office littered with antiques and paintings lying on a massive leather sofa, Jacob and Aro beside me.

"Oh child, thank goodness you're awake, you gave everyone quite a scare back there, especially your friend here," he said gesturing toward a concerned and solemn Jacob. "Or should I say, your mate."

I sat up slightly and tried to regain focus as I looked around, "Ness, are you alright?" Jacob whispered.

"Yeah," I croaked, "considering." I said rubbing my head, "I'm sorry Jacob, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"That's okay Ness, I'm just glad you didn't hit your head or anything, wounds like that tend to bleed a lot," he growled, throwing a sharp, defensive glance Aro's way. He looked back over at me and whispered, "You know, this isn't exactly the best place for you to be having a panic attack and passing out." His expression was worried and on edge, but he managed to smile at me anyways. I had never seen Jacob be afraid of anyone, but it seemed like Aro's presence made him uneasy. I couldn't say that I blamed him, he was a little unnerving, and I didn't trust him.

"We mean no harm to you or Renessmee, in fact, what I saw through your eyes was very interesting, it makes me curious to find out more about you. Your emotions, your feelings when you found that boy, and looking through your parents' things, fascinating, they try so hard to be human…Bella alone, is an enigma unto herself…" He continued, my stomach twisted at the thought of him having seen my most private thoughts and memories about my parents, my childhood, and our home, I immediately regretted letting him in.

"Mmmmyy, my grandfather, Carlisle," I stammered, changing the subject, "please, what happened to him?" I pleaded, fresh tears coating the surface of my stained eyes.

"Carlisle was a great man, I have always admired his kindness, his open mindedness," Aro started, his glassy eyes boring a hole through me, I felt Jacob reach over and stroke my shoulder in support. "However, this time, his greatest assets got the best of him and he paid for it with his life. He had come to my aid to help with a small coven of vampires that he knew that were causing quite a mess for us; Flaunting their powers, not disposing of their prey accordingly," Jacob seethed at his crude words and I saw his jaw tighten in anger. Aro ignored him and continued, "In any case, Carlisle pleaded with me to let him intervene, that there was a logical explanation as to why they were behaving in such a mutinous way. After much deliberation, I agreed to his request and as he was trying to compromise with one of them, he was taken down by another larger, much more skilled coven member, when he went to fight back, another joined in and sadly, my friend Carlisle was outnumbered."

"Where was Esme?" I asked, trying to hold myself together.

"She had stayed behind, thinking that it would not take such a turn."

"Where was the Volturi? Why weren't you doing your job?!" I accused flippantly.

"My dear girl, we tried, but Carlisle insisted that he go alone, he thinks that some of our practices are a bit barbaric, unfair even, so he requested to try on his own. I daresay it was very foolish of him." Aro said disapprovingly clicking his tongue.

"I can't believe this." I whispered, lowering my face into my hands. Jacob quickly put his arms around me, in more of a protective gesture than a loving one.

"What will you do now? You don't have a coven leader." Aro asked innocently in his papery voice.

"That's not up to me, I'm not going back." I stated bitterly as I looked up at him. A dark shadow seemed to cross his face at that moment but his eyes remained serene and patient. He was hypnotizing to look at. Not beautiful like my family or like Jacob, but other worldly, ancient and deep, and I couldn't help but look to him now for advice, as much as my intuition told me not to.

"Where are you planning on going? Your life can never be the same now, there are other parts of your nature to explore, that is quite evident now." He stated.

Jacob stood now, hovering over me, hulking really. I felt so small and broken beside him. I was bringing nothing to this relationship it seemed, nothing but trouble and sadness, and yet here he was, devoted to me. I knew we should leave, I knew they would not harm us; they had no reason to, yet. But, even though every part of my being and my core told me to take Jacob's hand and lead him out of this desolate place and back home to Washington, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"What do you suggest?" I asked slowly.

"Perhaps you might leave us for a moment, friend Jacob?" Aro purred.

"I'm not moving an inch." Jacob stated sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No!" I snarled, curling my arm around his waist, "Jacob stays."

"As you wish." Aro said lightly. He floated across the room and seated himself gracefully behind a wooden desk. For the first time since I had woken, I realized his bodyguards were nowhere to be found.

"Renessmee, you are aware of what the Volturi do aren't you?" He asked politely, leaning forward and clasping his bony hands together.

"Yes, to a degree, I think I understand." I said, tightening my grip around Jacob.

"Our main purpose is to keep the existence of vampires a secret. In a way, we regulate our populations and protect the human race to a degree." He declared, Jacob let out a bitter snort at that statement. "Is there something you would like to say Jacob?" Aro asked, shooting a look of disdain toward him.

"We protect the humans," Jacob sneered pointing hard at his chest, "you eat them."

"We do what we need to do to sustain ourselves."

"Then why not hunt animals, like my family?" I asked accusingly, regaining back some of my courage.

"Renesmee, the harsh reality of our existence is that we essentially are self indulgent monsters. Quite honestly, animals are more intelligent than most humans; they haven't lost their sense of instinct and survival. Essentially, it's easier to hunt and kill a human than say, a deer."

"But that's why you have strength and speed and heightened senses." I explained, "if humans are so easy, then all of that is overkill, it makes more sense that vampires have evolved over the centuries so that they can go for the more difficult prey, which as you just stated is an animal. Hunting humans seems almost, lazy and unnecessary." I stated boldly, Jacob smirked.

Aro let out a lighthearted laugh, "fascinating, you fascinate me to no end Miss Cullen. While all that you said is true, it is plain fact that human blood makes us the strongest so therefore, we could argue that evolution has ultimately doomed the human to become our prey. But that is just evolutionary theory, we could argue many other points, but you have to understand that your family is quite unique. If your father had never met Carlisle and been shown the way, he would have a body count of thousands surrounding him, much like your uncle, Jasper. Perhaps your aunt, Alice, and even your mother…"

"That's out of line!" Jacob snarled, stepping toward Aro.

"It's the truth." Aro answered, holding his hands up casually.

"No it's not! My father would never murder anyone, whether or not he was shown otherwise! He's a good man! And Alice, Alice decided on her own that she didn't want to take people's lives."

"Because she had the gift of sight, she could see that there was another way." Aro argued, "And as for your father, I've seen his mind, he has killed many an innocent and he enjoyed it quite a bit. Young Edward is a much darker man than you imagine." He said with a small smile.

"Don't listen to him Ness, he's trying to turn you against them, he wants you to join him." Jacob warned.

"Is that what you're trying to do?" I asked angrily.

"My dear girl, I assure you that I am only discussing the truth. The fact is, vampires enjoy human blood, we enjoy the power we have, even when we deny it, there is a small part of us that will always crave it, no matter how civilized we may seem. We are monsters. You of all people can sympathize, I know, I saw your true nature. Your parents have preened you to be human, but there is more of your father in you than you can imagine, you are very nearly the same person with the same thoughts, the same wants, the same needs, the same weaknesses. I would be more than pleased if you chose to stay here with us and join our little family. I expect nothing of you but to be true to your nature, that's it. "

"My father was human once, I embrace that part of him, my mother too, all of them, they were all human once and me, I am human, just a little different." I said with more confidence than I had ever had before. Aro was wrong, there was more to life than just blood and power. All the important things; love, kindness, loyalty, bravery, patience, all of those were human emotions and those things to me were the most prominent things in life, the most prominent things about my personality. In Forks, in my mind, I was surrounded by humans; out here I was surrounded by vampires.

"You are absolutely right, but that being said, you are still not planning on going back are you?" Aro asked.

Tears filled my eyes and my voice trembled, "no." I whispered.

"You can join us." Aro suggested.

Jacob for the first time had nothing to say, and I could feel the fear rolling off of him in waves. I wanted to tell him it would be fine, that we were in no danger, but I knew he wouldn't believe me.

"And do what?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Record our proceedings of course. You would be free to live your life whatever way you please, we can certainly provide for either lifestyle you choose," he added. "You would be expected to join us on each occasion in which we had to intercede and just watch. Then, you could use your remarkable gift to report back to our record keeper. It would eliminate a great deal of effort and confusion on our part and would benefit us immensely."

"I wouldn't have to kill anyone?"

"No."

"I wouldn't have to hunt, drink blood, or live in this castle?" I asked, gesturing around the room.

"No."

"What about Jacob?"

"Renessmee," he hissed, "I can't believe you'd even consider this!"

"Jacob, where else am I going to go? Maybe I could make a difference, Carlisle believed in them, maybe you and I…"

"No Renessmee, No! You know I'll go anywhere you are, but, this, this is bad, this has nothing but disaster written all over it. He just tried to pin you against your father! He's devious and cruel! We need to get out of here immediately! This is not safe!"

"Jacob," Aro called, "you wolves call yourselves protectors, perhaps you could convince some of your pack members to join. An alliance between werewolves and vampires, internationally, not just locally. Together we can all work to keep our secrets and the humans you all adore so much protected."

Aro was quite the charmer, he had just appealed to Jacob's main purpose now, to rid the world of vampires and protect the innocent. Jacob stared at me intently, his eyes dark and meaningful. I didn't know what else to do; I didn't know where to go. I didn't fit in with anybody it seemed, clearly not with other humans and now I didn't even fit in with my family, the vegetarians. I had killed someone, and I knew it was going to get worse; it had taken four days for that boy's blood to completely leave my system and for my eyes to return to their regular color. However, now what I feared most was making itself evident and I didn't have the courage to tell Jacob; I wanted more blood. I needed more blood, and the need was almost as strong as the need I had to be by Jacob's side. The blood lust was actually rivaling Jacob right now, but I could still control it. My mouth felt dry and chalky, I felt an uncomfortable thirst in my throat and on my lips. Aro continued to try to persuade Jacob to join the Volturi, assuring him that no harm would come to either of us, tempting him with the idea that once he joined he would play an active role in disciplining the offenders; specifically the ones who caused harm to humans. Aro's words were becoming more and more distant and I was beginning to hear the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. I needed to leave and regain my resolve, I needed to digest everything that had just been said to us, I needed to mourn the loss of my grandfather and consider for the first time since this had all begun, calling my parents.

"Aro," I said as calmly as I could muster, "may Jacob and I have some time to consider your offer? You've given us quite a lot to digest in one day, and since we are together, all decisions between us must be reached on a united front. Would that at all be possible?" I asked sweetly, flashing my most persuasive smile.

Jacob stared at me in amazement; there weren't many times where he had seen my more charming side. Charming was not me at all, most of the time I was casual and awkward, but this was a precarious situation for both of us.

Aro looked thoughtful for a moment or two; he silently pondered my request and then looked at me quizzically. I knew he would agree, he wanted me too much, my powers intrigued him. As did my father's and my mother's, maybe he thought that if he could recruit me he could do the same for them. He even seemed to be interested to see what Jacob could offer as well. In this situation, it was starting to look like I may have the upper hand for a change.

"Certainly my dear. Take some time to discuss our offer with your mate, but don't wait too long, I get so impatient at times."

"Give us a day or so, we won't deliberate too long, that would be extremely discourteous." I said calmly.

Aro smiled and shook his head from side to side, "ah, you remind me so much of Edward, it's uncanny really."

"I've heard that once or twice before." I replied with a smile.

"Excellent then!" Aro chirped, pressing his hands together, "You will consider us then won't you?"

"Of course. I thank you very much." I answered.

We exchanged formalities once or twice more and then Jacob and I swiftly made our way out of the Volturi lair and back to the flat. Once we had left Aro, I felt like a haze had lifted. Had I really just considered joining the Volturi? I knew that they were to be respected and feared, but joining them? I didn't think I would ever take it that far. I felt like I had been under a spell in that short time we spent with Aro. I didn't like it, and yet I had remained so calm once I had regained consciousness. Could it be I was playing along with Aro's game knowingly because I felt like we were in danger? Possibly, but Jacob didn't know that. I knew that I was in for an argument, I could tell by the body language Jacob was presenting me with. I was sure he was furious with me, but I convinced myself that I needed to play it up like I was interested in Aro's offer to get us out of there. I hoped he would understand when I explained that to him.

We had traveled via cab and Jacob had been silent the entire time. When we finally arrived at the flat I had to speak, "Jacob, I'm so sorry about all of that, I just, I had to make him feel like we were interested in order to get us out of there, I…"

"Wait a minute, you weren't serious about that?" He asked, confused.

"No, of course not, why?"

"I don't know Ness; maybe they're not so bad. I mean, we'd be set financially and shelter wise, we'd be out of Forks and we could be together and have a life together and they wouldn't give us any trouble."

. stunned. Jacob Black, who had sworn up and down that the Volturi were unsafe, distrustful, evil, was now campaigning for them? He wanted to, join them?

"Jake, what are you talking about?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together.

"Well, you're bent on staying away from Washington, these 'people'" Jacob said, making quotations with his fingers, "they already know about you, about your family, about the wolves and they won't hurt us. They want our help. It could work."

He lumbered behind me as I climbed the iron staircase to the flat, I was incredulous. I was speechless, and I was still thirsty. Carlisle was dead, I didn't know where Esme was, I needed quiet for a minute. I rolled my eyes as I went to turn the doorknob. Suddenly Jacob's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, just as I was about to turn the key.

"What is it?" I whispered, suddenly breathless.

"Wait." He whispered tensely, "there's someone inside, a vampire, get behind me."

I sucked in my breath and waited anxiously as Jacob went ahead of me and turned the knob. He stood protectively in front of me and gestured with his hand to follow him. I stayed practically on top of him, who was here? Was it Esme? Was it one of the Volturi? What about the vampire that killed Carlisle? I couldn't remember if Aro had said he had been caught or not. All of my muscles tensed into a ball as I scanned the house frantically. We walked through the kitchen and living room, past the study and into the dining room. I let out a little gasp when I saw what was waiting for me, seated cross legged on the table with a smoldering look on their face. This was going to be bad.