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Chapter 25:

Sienna looked at the shocked and tortured faces around her, still not comprehending what Alice had said.

"Who are the Volturi?" She asked innocently. That's when every face turned to her in surprise.

"You still don't know, do you?" Edward asked softly.

She shook her head, then tried to focus on only Edward. She needed to be able to read the minds around her, but everyone was on edge and it was hard for her to shut them out.

"I'm calling Bella. She should know what's going on." Jacob left the room, cell phone in hand.

"I'd like to know too," Sienna repeated.

Edward looked to Carlisle. His father would be able to explain everything best.

"In our world, the most important tool we have to aid us is our secrecy. The Volturi are a very ancient family in Italy who takes it upon themselves to...well, for lack of a better term, to govern all of us. When there has been a question about our kind being revealed, the Volturi takes care of it. I lived among them for a time, as Edward can explain more in detail later. So I know how thorough and efficient they can be."

"They take care of it...you mean they...?" She couldn't finish. She felt as if the blood had drained her face, even without it coursing through her body.

"Yes. They end the life of anyone, vampire or human, who they feel is a threat to our way of life."

"So...why are they coming here then?"

Carlisle looked at Edward. "I think you need to finish this part of the story, son."

Edward looked deep into Sienna's eyes and she noticed a sadness that was very rare for him. Whatever he had to tell her would be difficult indeed.

"There was a time when your mother and I were very close. You know that. Well, without going into too many unnecessary details, I decided to leave her for a time. I felt that the best and only way I could protect her was to leave and give her a chance at a normal life. And that's when she started growing closer to your father. That period of our relationship was very difficult for both of us. I didn't realize how hard she would take my leaving. Anyway...at one point, I had heard from Rosalie that Alice had a vision of Bella jumping off a cliff."

"Wait...what? My mom jumped off a cliff? That definitely doesn't sound like her."

"What we didn't know at the time was that she was supposedly doing it for recreational purposes. Even though it was beyond dangerous. But I didn't know that part of it. I thought she had committed suicide. I was devastated. The only solution I could come up with in my grief over losing your mother was to go to the Volturi."

Sienna contemplated his words. She had never really known or understood the extent of the love Edward and her mother had shared. Her stomach was starting to feel a bit uneasy. She tried to push back those awkward feelings and found her voice.

"Why would going to them make a difference?"

"I asked them to end my life. I was overwhelmed at the time and I didn't know how I would survive without her. I didn't want to. But they wouldn't accept my request. They said it would be a waste for them to destroy someone with a talent such as mine. So I decided to provoke them into killing me. But just before I could step into the sunlight to reveal myself to the humans, your mother was there. She convinced me to step back into the shadows where the Volturi guard was waiting." A low growl escaped his throat with the memory. "They brought us inside and threatened to kill Bella because she knew too much. Alice convinced them that Bella would be changed into a vampire so that she wouldn't reveal the secret. We left with the promise that we would make her immortal."

"But then my mom ended up choosing my dad. So how come the Volturi are just barely coming here?"

"When Bella chose Jacob, we decided to tell the Volturi that Alice had tried to change her, but had gone too far. It was Carlisle's idea. We put Bella in funeral makeup and a casket. And then we took photographs and sent them to the Volturi, telling them that we were mourning too much to see them in person and that Carlisle would make an appearance when our family had recovered enough after the loss."

Sienna looked at him incredulously. "And they bought it? With how you guys are reacting to them coming, they don't seem like the kind of people that just take your word for things."

Carlisle nodded. "That's what we were thinking as well. But they sent their condolences and didn't contact us for years. We just figured they didn't care any more. It wasn't until a few years ago that they sent an invitation for me to come visit with them again. I put it off for as long as I could, until a few months ago when their invitations became incessant. As soon as I got there, I realized they were very suspicious of the entire situation. They asked me questions about your mother the entire time. I kept reiterating what we had told them all those years ago, but they kept at it. Then Aro tried to touch my hand to see what really happened. I acted offended that he no longer had any trust in our friendship, so I just left before he could ferret out the truth."

"What do you mean about the hand thing?"

"Oh, I forgot. You don't know Aro yet. He has an uncanny ability to see the minds of others, including their entire past, as long as he touches the person in question. If he had touched me, he would have known it all."

"Wow. So what do we do now? They're gonna come for us. Why can't we just run?"

Edward answered this one. "We can't run because they would find us."

"But there has to be something we can do."

Before anyone could respond to Sienna, they all heard Bella's car pull up to the house. Because of their uncanny hearing ability, all of the Cullens were privy to the conversation that followed between Jacob and his wife.

"Jake, what happened? When are they coming?" Bella's worried tone made Edward's throat constrict. He couldn't help but continue to blame himself. He still felt responsible for the entire mess.

"I don't have any details yet. But I'm sure everything will be ok."

"What if they find out we have children? Jacob, they're gonna kill our family!" Her voice was getting louder and she was becoming hysterical.

"Come here, Babe." She allowed him to pull her into his arms as he stroked her hair gently.

"Shhh....don't worry. We'll figure it out. If we have to get out of the country, we will. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you or anyone in our family."

She buried her face in his chest and he soothed her as best as he could for a few moments. Then he led her inside so they could get the rest of their questions asked.

Alice walked straight to Bella and hugged her.

"Bella, I'm sorry I scared you. They're not coming yet. They've been taking their time. The preparations to leave are just starting. I'll see when they're about to arrive. We have time to come up with a plan."

"And what plan would that be?" Jacob interrupted. "Sit around and wait to be murdered? I think the only choice we have left to us is to leave the country."

"They'll find you." Edward said quietly.

"Then what the hell do you suggest, Cullen? You think we should stay and try to fight?"

"The dog's a coward now." Rosalie's snide voice came from the opposite side of the room. "I would've thought you would have been one of the first to run head first into a fight and volunteer for the slaughter."

"Maybe that was the case a long time ago. But I have a family to protect now. I'm not taking any chances with any one of them."

"What if you don't have to?" She continued. "They're coming to see Bella. Why don't we just give them what they want?"

Jacob started toward her, livid.

"Keep your pants on, I didn't mean that we would give them your breakable little wife. I was thinking more along the lines of your daughter. She looks enough like Bella would have as a vampire, I'm sure. We just tell them we lied. That Alice did change her."

They all looked at her in disbelief. Carlisle spoke up first.

"You know that's never going to work, Rosalie. What happens when Aro touches her hand?"

Edward answered her unspoken thought.

"No. No way. That would never work. It isn't worth the risk."

"What wouldn't work? Rose?" Sienna was looking to her new sister. If she had an idea...any idea...she wanted to hear it.

"Its simple. You're a copy cat, right? We just have Bella close enough that you can use her ability. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Aro touched Bella's hand he couldn't see a damn thing, right? So if Sienna uses Bella's mind trick, he'll think he's touching the real thing."

"Aro is far from stupid, Rosalie. If he suspects anything, we're back to square one," put in Edward.

"She'll just have to be convincing then."

Jacob stepped up now. "No. There's no way we're putting both my wife and daughter at risk. Where would we put Bella that she would be close enough to help Sienna, and far enough that she won't be sensed by those monsters?"

"Hey, I haven't figured out logistics yet. I just think its worth a shot. And it doesn't really matter what you think. Its up to Sienna and Bella."

Sienna looked at her mother and knew they were both feeling the same apprehension. Then she looked at Carlisle. "Do you think I can do it?"

He took a moment to think about it. "If it were to happen tomorrow, I would say its impossible. But hopefully you'll have some time to practice. I think it would be very difficult and would probably zap your strength pretty quickly. But it may be possible."

"I never thought I'd say this," said Edward, "but I agree with Jacob. Its too dangerous. We can't put either Sienna or Bella in that kind of danger. We may as well just try to run."

"You know Demetri will find us. And the rest will not be far behind." Rosalie said. "Sienna. Bella. The choice is yours. Don't let these silly, overprotective males decide your fate for you. This is our only chance to survive."

Bella stepped up to her daughter and held her cold hand in her own. Sienna looked in her mother's eyes and felt as if she didn't need Edward's ability to read minds when it came to her mother. They looked up at the gathering around them and said in unison.

"We're in."

End of Chapter...More to Come

You think its gonna work? I guess we'll see, huh?