Evening ladies and gentlemen. I'm running late again, and for that I apologize. Thanks to the usual suspects, SM owns Twilight.

Now I'll just let you get on with it.


Chapter 28 – Revelations

"No. Edward no, no, no, no." Carlisle was shaking his head. "You can't be, you just can't be!"

"And why not?"

Bella was sitting back in the chair with her arms crossed and her lips pursed while everyone else was sitting around in states of shock. She was withholding her judgment until Carlisle said what he was trying to say.

"They're secretive! They wouldn't let me into their inner circle! It was too weird. I'm sure they had humans with them on occasion. Even when I was near their private mansions, I could hear a heartbeat. I'm certain they fed from humans in secret! They simply lost their humanity, and hid it from the world."

"How do you know, Carlisle? Have you actually seen them feed from humans? And what tells you all that, anyway? They could have changed their ways." I asked. I was flabbergasted he constructed such a flawed image in his head. The consummate scientist assumed everything together.

"Of course, they haven't! Leopards can't change their spots!" By this point, he was up and pacing.

Oh, that wasn't smart Carlisle.

"Excuse me?" Jasper asked. "Does that mean that I've been drinking from humans all these years but still managed to have golden eyes? Am I wearing contacts?"

Carlisle was shocked that he had been called out like that. He hadn't expected, yet again, to have anyone disagree with him.

"You sir, need to think before you open your mouth." Bella started as the others all moved away from him, including Esme. Once again, she was furious with him.

"Isn't one of your commandments: Judge not lest ye be judged? Isn't everyone entitled to redemption and a chance to change themselves? You are one of the most non-believer, believers I have ever seen or met and trust me I have met a lot. Those that say they believe but do everything against what they believe or those that state the commandments like gospel but don't follow them at all.

"You, Carlisle, are the most judgmental vampire, human or mythical being that I have ever met since I have been here on earth!"

With that, Bella stormed out of the house. She was furious but she needed a minute not just to get her thoughts together but she was going to apologize to Gabriel in advance. It seemed that the Cullens would all be finding out tonight what Bella was and she needed someone here to follow Rosalie until Constantine arrived. She knew that once Rosalie knew what she was we'd have to tell her all of it. And that wasn't something that could be helped, she needed to know.

I sighed while pinching the bridge of my nose. "Well, Carlisle, it looks like you haven't lost your knack for pissing people off in the time I've been gone. Haven't you learned anything yet?"

Carlisle sat, braced; his elbows on his knees his face in his hands. He realized what a stupid mistake he just made. He, of course, knew that vampires could change, and he had seen a remarkable change in Emmett, Jasper and Alice over the last months. He was surprised by the news that there was going to be a wedding – a royal one at that – for Bella and me, and that we would be the new brother and sister to the Volturi. That was what caused part of his outburst. The other part was that he never knew about my connection to Aro, Marcus, and Caius.

"That's because you weren't supposed to," I answered his thoughts. I had thought it best that I listened in on him while we were sitting there.

"But why? How could you keep this from me? When did you meet them?" His questions blurted out together.

"For one, there are a lot of things you don't know about me and secondly, the world does not revolve around you!" I stated, pointing at him. "I haven't told anyone of my relationship with the Volturi because it was safer not to until I was whole. Anybody could have used your love against both me, and the Volturi as a whole because I cared about all of you! Was that a mistake?

"I met them when I decided to spend some time away from you after you met Esme. I spent the first year or so traveling, learning and sticking to what I thought was exclusively your diet. But what I found out there was so much more." I exclaimed waving my hand around. "There are more of our kind out there on this diet than you have made us believe. But not just that, there are more mysteries out there worth discovering and I did that before meeting Aro, Marcus, and Caius.

"I decided that I wanted to see them, know them and learn from them. I spent the following eight years doing just that and they took me into their inner circle. They showed me how they lived, loved and learned. And also, how they ruled. They took to me. I learned I had a knack for getting to the bottom of problems, most of the time without using my talent to do so. They embraced me as family and still do to this day." I said in a quiet, reverential tone.

Standing, I paced around for a while. "They wanted to accept me then as the fourth leader but decided it would be best for me to come home to you until I found my mate as I could be hurt without her. We also did it because it was safer for all of you. I have suppressed myself and who I was supposed to be for so long, but now is the time for me to be who I am."

Bella walked back through the front door at that moment. She was glorious in her anger but held herself like the queen she is to me. The way that she would need to at our wedding. All in the room could feel the air that she was emanating; she was their leader and she would not be disobeyed.

'Gabriel has accepted that things need to change. He had not heard from the Gods but sometimes even they cannot see everything.' She told me. 'Amos and Alison have been given the task of watching the family until Constantine can get to them. Later, Amos will continue to watch the family and Constantine will follow Rosalie. They are waiting on the roof.'

She finished explaining by the time she had reached my side. I held my hand out for her and she placed hers in mine before I lifted it to kiss.

"Are you sure about this course my love?"

"Yes. I believe this is the only way to correct his assumptions, considering my great grandmother is one of these monsters he continues to insult and judge."

This brought a round of gasps from the peanut gallery in the living room. The loudest being Carlisle's.

"That's right Carlisle. And you shall see how wrong you are to judge. Please, Edward, move aside."

I smiled placing a kiss on her hand once more, before placing one on her forehead. She was going to go dramatic again; I did love it when she did that. I let go and moved back toward the love seat where we were sitting before while she moved the coffee table out of the way and stood in the center of the room.

"You have a lot to learn about the world around you, all of you do."

With that, she looked back over her shoulder at me, smiled then flung her arms out wide. There was a bright light accompanied by this action making us all close our eyes. I waited until the light had faded and the gasps had, once again, filled the room before I opened my eyes. My girl had certainly gone for dramatic because she had spread her wings out as far as they could go, and she'd also changed her clothes with her magic. Gone were the jeans, top, and cardigan she was wearing; now she was wearing the dress she had worn to our mating ceremony.

"My love." I sighed coming to her side. I wrapped her up in my arms and kissed her. "You look more beautiful today than the last day you wore this dress and then you were stunning."

"Thank you, Edward. I love you more now than I did then." She placed a quick kiss on my lips. "But I feel a few out of place on the back, please can you reach them? They're uncomfortable."

I could feel my eyes darken at her request even though now was not the time. She giggled watching them. "You evil temptress, you," I growled quietly. "Of course, I will love."

As I straightened up her feathers, we could feel the eyes of the others on us but they were not talking. They weren't thinking either, for which I was grateful. It hadn't hit yet, but I was sure it would. I was wondering if it would click for Rosalie, considering she thought vampires couldn't have children.

We all heard when Rosalie let out a snort as I started grooming Bella's feathers.

"Problem Rosalie?" Bella asked.

All the others were quiet. Emmett and Esme sat back because they had already known but Alice and Jasper's thoughts were loud. They were amazed, in awe and scared all at the same time. Carlisle was a different matter, he was ashamed. Ashamed of all of his recent behavior, how he treated one of God's creatures and ashamed that he realized how far he had come from his faith; how much Bella was right about him being a non-believer, believer who spouted it like gospel but didn't follow it.

She snorted again. "Yeah I have a problem…"

"Rosalie stop." Emmett both begged and interrupted.

"No!" She shouted. "I have a problem. I have a problem with you, the way you hold yourself higher than me and the way that you treated my brother just now. He's not your slave!"

"Ah, so the bigotry returns." I sighed still fixing the few of Bella's feathers that she couldn't reach. "Bella asked me to fix a few of her feathers, Rosalie, is that how you get Emmett to do things for you? Or do you demand the way you are accusing Bella?"

Bella looked over her shoulder at me. 'In for a penny, in for a pound. I'm going to piss her off even more.'

I shrugged looking at her. 'You do what you have to do my love. It'll be best to get it all out now.'

"I don't need to demand that Emmett caters to me!" she yelled. Now standing and pointing at me.

"Really?" Bella asked in that calm controlled voice that made people listen. "Not that it matters, Rosalie, because, with that attitude, you will never be allowed to come around the children that Edward and I will have when the time is right."

That brought all the thoughts circling around us to a screeching halt.

'Oh, that's the news that's going to send her nuclear.' I heard Emmett mutter in his mind.

'Grandchildren?' I heard Esme squeal in her thoughts right along with Alice's, 'Oh I'm going to be an aunt!'

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Rosalie seethed. "Vampires can't have children."

"Not Hell, Rosalie. Children are a gift from the heavens. Angels can have children," it was the first time anyone had said the word since Bella had revealed herself and she was the one to say it. "And we can have children even with vampires. Didyme and Marcus's children, Felix and Heidi are proof of that.

"But just to be clear, vampires are not infertile. They are unchanging and that makes conceiving impossible for a female vampire. Males, however, can have children with other species if they are mated to them. So you see, Rosalie, you need to change your tune or you will never meet our children."

She stared at us shocked, before stamping her feet and screeching so loud that she shattered the windows along the back wall of the living room. When she was done throwing her tantrum, she took off out the now open windows and into the night.

Emmett went to take off after her but I spoke up before he could. "No, Emmett. Leave her be; right now she needs to be by herself."

I wasn't going to tell him that we were having her followed, who knew what a scorned female vampire would do when she's pissed off.

He nodded as he left the room to gather up Esme's broom and dustpan so he could clean up the mess that Rosalie had left behind.

"Are you really an Angel?" We heard whispered behind us.

As we turned, we saw Alice reach out to touch Bella's wings then pull back as if she thought she was wrong. Bella smiled at her, stretched her wing out and tickled Alice under the chin.

"You can touch, Alice. Please feel free to ask your questions. Plus Edward and I have something for you guys as well."

I looked at her confused for a moment until she ran her hand down my arm, running her fingers over the communication bracelet. I shook my head at myself for forgetting them, of course now was a good time to hand them over. I walked over to my bag listening to Bella as she talked to Alice.

"Yes, Alice, I am an Angel. There are different kinds of Angels but I'm a very specific kind."

"What do you mean?"

With that, Bella pulled Alice over to the loveseat we were sitting on before and started explaining about Angels, the Gods and how they were all created. She explained what kind she and Didyme were and how they were able to mate with vampires. Everyone in that room listened with rapt attention, even Esme, and Emmett because before, they only got the condensed version.

"Does that mean there isn't any one correct religion?"

"No, Carlisle. For every new religion, there was a new God. Unfortunately, there are some that are misinterpreted and their believers are more flawed than others but essentially everyone has a right to their religion and there is a God to be worshiped."

"What happens if a religion is no longer believed in? What happens to that God?"

"If a religion is no longer believed in or worshiped the God that was created for that one then melds into the group that grows from his or her particular religion. They don't die but they become part of the one that stems from their own."

"So we're not damned then, Bella? Vampires are able to be redeemed?"

"Esme, vampires were never damned. If you live your life well and ask for redemption for those things you feel you did wrong according to your religion, then you'll be fine. The ones that are damned are those that enjoy being the vampires of evil, those that torture and kill for fun. There is a special place for them."

"Can you fly?" asked an excited Emmett.

I laughed loudly. Full-on gut-busting laughs.

"Yes, Emmett, I can fly. It's how Edward and I have been getting around for a while now." Bella giggled in reply.

"Cool," He said in awe.

"It is very cool." I agreed.

"So that means there is an afterlife? For everyone?" Jasper asked with awe. While being Southern, he'd never held much stock in religion. Since becoming a vampire, he'd stepped further away thinking himself damned. It seemed he was having a change of heart.

"Yes, there is an afterlife for everyone. Of course, that is all based on your religion. And how your religion handles it. If you are a non-believer of any religion, there are rules for them also, as you can believe in Heaven and Hell but not any particular religion. Although I know there is a Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo."

"But how does that work?" Carlisle demanded.

Bella raised an eyebrow, clearly stating she wasn't going to reward his rude behavior.

"I'm sorry, Bella. This has thrown me for a loop. I see that I have lost my faith but please can you answer the question."

"I can answer, Carlisle. Your apology has been accepted. I'm not going to answer for any specific religion as they all work differently. I'll summarize what I know.

"Firstly: Heaven is as simple as it seems. It's Heaven, it's where the souls of those not wanting to be reincarnated go. It's where you will be with loved ones again, including any pets.

"Hell: again as simple as it seems. For those who cannot and will not take redemption, those that are not sorry for all the suffering they have caused. They are the evil of any species and will be punished for all eternity. However, it is a Hell of their own making. Little cells and being surrounded by their worst fears, every day of forever.

"Purgatory: not quite as simple. This place is where the evil doers of the world go to be cleansed of their sins before being sent to Limbo. It is not a nice place, to be cleansed is painful. You feel the pain for those souls that you have made suffer. It is for those truly repentant.

"And Limbo." Bella smiled at me because that's where my parents were, helping those that have crossed over to decide what they are going to do. "Limbo is where the souls of the good first go after they have crossed over to the other side. It is here they will stay until they have decided what they want to do. Whether they want to be reincarnated or go on to Heaven. Children that have passed on will immediately be reincarnated as they are the most innocent and deserve to have long happy lives. There are helpers there that look after them until they decide.

"Those that have come from Purgatory have the same options as those coming directly. They have had their slate wiped clean and get another chance at life. While they do enter from a different door as those coming directly, they are offered reincarnation or heaven." She finished the explanations of the afterlife.

Carlisle opened his mouth again but she held up her hand.

"I have more. The Angels of Death are given information on the people they are escorting across and where they are to take them. I believe there is a limit to how many times your soul can be cleansed in purgatory before you are deemed unworthy. If you continue to live your life against the religion you have chosen or continue to hurt and cause suffering life after life, then you may be listed as pure evil and sent on a direct way to Hell.

"The Original Angel of Death will assess everyone's soul due to the rules set forth by the Gods. He decides where that person is to go unless the Gods themselves step in and decide the fate of that person's soul. And that is only with the worst of them. Also, the Original Angel of Death can ask the Gods for help in deciding the fate of a person's soul."

This time, there was a heavy, pregnant silence that followed Bella's words.

"Wow…"

"Yes, wow." I agreed. "Now that Bella has given you all sorts of things to think about, I have gifts!"

"Oooh, yay, presents!" squealed Alice, breaking the tension that Bella's information had placed on everyone.

We all chuckled at Alice before sitting back onto the lounges. I was listening to Bella's thoughts and she decided that she was going to leave her wings out so that everyone could get used to them.

Esme and Emmett recognized the items when I pulled them out of the bag that I had brought. I placed the items down on the coffee table that had been moved back into position. Holding onto one, I rolled it around in my hands.

"The Angels used to be able to communicate over long distances between where they lived and the Angels down on earth by using doves. They'd attach their notes to their bodies and they'd fly between them. After Bella had met me, I noticed that it could be ineffective.

"They had devices that could talk between realms…"

"Realms?" They all shout.

"Yeah. Limbo, Purgatory, Earth and of course where they all live in Eden."

"Oh, is that where you live, Bella?" Esme asked.

"Yes, Esme, it's a beautiful place and I'd like to take you there one day."

"That would be lovely."

Bella nodded and then motioned for me to continue.

"Okay, after I had been to Eden the first time I decided to see if I could combine their technology with ours. I took this," I said pulling out the Soul Projector and placed it on the table, "with this." I finished pulling out a mobile phone.

"Can I ask what this is and how it works, Bella?"

"Of course, Carlisle. This is what we call a Soul Projector. It's our device to talk between realms as Edward described. Instead of telling you how it works, how about we show you."

Bella picked it up; deciding the most shocking thing to do would be to contact my parents. So pulling up and spinning the top one hundred and eighty degrees, she set it all in motion.

"As long as someone is holding onto the Soul Projector the image that is projecting from here will always be seen. If you let it go, then the image disappears; hangs up if you will." Bella explained.

"Bella, my dear. How are you?" My mother asked.

"Oh my God. Mrs. Masen?"

"Dr. Cullen. Long time, no see. How have you been? Oh, that's right, lately, it's been terrorizing my son and daughter."

Carlisle had the decency to look ashamed.

"Elizabeth," Bella scolded. "We didn't call you up so you could start a fight."

"I apologize, Bella. Let me just get Ed."

"I'm glad to see you are well Mom. How have you been?"

"We've been well, Edward. There's been just the normal amount of people through Limbo so that's been good. How was your trip?"

"Successful, Elizabeth. We're sorry that you cannot come to the Royal Wedding." Bella apologized.

"It's fine sweetheart. I know you are going to try to film it to show us and that will be good enough. Seeing your mating ceremony was plenty."

"Bella! There's my girl. How are you?"

Bella giggled. "I'm doing well, Ed, how are you?"

"We're good. Are we a parlor trick again?"

"Hi, Dad. I'm good, thanks for asking. And yes, just because you always forget me – that's all you are to me today!"

There were laughs all around. Everyone was amused at this. We chatted for a while longer before hanging up with my parents. They were grateful for all that Esme and Carlisle had done for me. Including giving me siblings, something they never could.

"That is an ingenious device, Bella. Who thought of it?"

"It was made by my grandfather Amos. He fashioned them off another design, but that doesn't matter right now. Continue, Edward, please."

I nodded to her. "So after a few tweaks and some testing, I managed to combine the two technologies and make this."

I held up the Communication Bracelet. "Emmett, if you please." I nodded to the backyard indicating he should go out there and give me a call on mine. I explained how it worked to them while we waited for Emmett. My ringtone came through loud and clear, pushing the green button, I answered the call.

After demonstrating how to use it, I handed out one to Carlisle, Jasper, and Alice. Either they were ignoring it, or they didn't realize that Emmett and Esme already had them.

"I know you want us to stay, but we have to get back and organize things for the wedding." Bella apologized.

"We understand dear. We can't wait to see you there." Esme replied.

"Now, Emmett, come into the backyard and I'll show you that I can fly."

We all walked out outside following Bella.

'Don't worry, Edward, we're keeping an eye on Rosalie.' I heard those words come from the area of the roof. I nodded knowing they could see me.

Bella climbed onto my back, wrapping herself all around me. "We'll see you in Italy in a few days," She called before we took off into the sky with Emmett and Jasper cheering behind us.


Thank you all for reading, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all the information in this chapter. And on the behavior of Carlisle and Rosalie.

I'd like to recommend something this week, but I've been so busy writing that I haven't had any time to read. For that I apologize, I love to give recommendations. So I'll go with the usual trouble makers, Drotuno, Edward's Eternal, Jenny Rarden, Sarge's Girls and Tufano. There are many more out there that I love and have been recommended previously, please check them out.

Thank you again, see you next week!