Never Let You Go: The King and His Puppet

by IloveBISHIES

Based on my one-shot "The Runaway Girls". This focuses on the story of Aro and my OC, Aria. Three girls, three Kings. Having been caught trying to sneak into the Volturi castle, what are three girls to do, but go with the flow. Aria being attracted to Aro, knows what little to do with a man whose as confusing as a puzzle and dead-set on never forgetting his dead wife, Sulpicia.

36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Thank you to the following reviewers: Victoria cullen30, Dondris, Gggggg, and Sarai

Thank you for the new stories alerts: KingAroBC532

Chapter 36

ARIA

"Michael, it's been 3 weeks. I don't want to read any more books!" Ari threw a book at him, which he easily dodged.

"You have 5 books left to read. Five."

"THAT'S STILL A LOT!" she yelled.

"Each of the books is like 20 pages long." He snorted. "And it's pictures. It's just identifying plants and animals."

"I know my plants and animals!" Ari howled.

"Really?"

"Okay. No…not really." She admitted. "But I know some of them."

He threw her a book. "Open and read. It'll barely take you an hour. You have a good memory anyways."

She sighed, flipping open the ancient crinkly book. "Plants and Animals: The Deadly and Dangerous. It is important that you are able to identify deadly and dangerous species should you encounter…"

2.5 HOURS

"….and now as you have learned, identifying plants and animals are very important in the job of a witch or wizard." Ari read out dully. "You know, whoever wrote this, really needs a life or needs to get out. It's so boring."

"Everyone has learned from these books. There is no such thing as rewriting it. Many have tried, but fact is, this form is the one best remembered by most."

"Okay well I finished it, so what now?"

"Now you read some more." He replied.

"WHAT?!" she stood up. "I'm not reading anymore!"

He laughed, "You should see the look on your face!" he chuckled. "I'm kidding. You've learned the basics. Now it's brewing."

"Br…Brewing?"

"Potions."

"I have to learn that?"

"Yes. Basic. Complex. Mid-complex. You have to learn it all." He told her.

"I hate this." She declared. "I don't want to learn anymore!"

"You know, if you don't learn by 17…."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll go crazy." She repeated.

"Well….you won't necessarily go crazy, your blood goes crazy. The magical part at least."

"Yay. Just what I want. To be crazy." She muttered.

"Okay, let's do it this way. You learned the potion ingredients, right?" he asked.

"Ummm…yes…"

"Then I will give you three potions to brew. How long it takes, how much you add, what you add, all depends on you." He said. "If you do this successfully, you don't need to brew the rest of the potions."

"Okay. I'll do it. Wait. What happens if I screw up?"

"Then you're learning everything, step by step." He replied, "At home."

"At….home?"

"In California and on Ada's island."

She hesitated, "Now I really don't want to screw up…." She muttered.

"Are you confident in your knowledge and memory?"

"Somewhat…"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes." She admitted.

"Then take the challenge." He replied. "Tell you what, besides not having to brew the rest of the potions, I'll even throw in a full complimentary picnic. All foods will be cooked by me."

"Oh. That does sound tempting." She gave him a long look. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Good. Then I want a burn alleviation potion, an aging/age reduction potion say about 10 years, and a temporary gender changing potion."

"There's a GENDER changing potion?"

"Temporary gender changing potion. And you can only take it a few times a year. And each time it lasts only a few hours. Take it more than 3 times a year, and you're going to go into a coma." He shrugged. "Sucks if you ask me."

"Hmmm….okay. So now I've got to go and brew these potions?"

"Yes. I'm leaving you to do this. Don't burn anything down." He nodded, heading off. "Don't think I'm not watching you. I'm watching you every single second."

"Psh. You're probably going off to nap." She muttered, starting a fire. Grabbing a cauldron nearby, she began by boiling water. First was the easiest—burn alleviation. Aloe, poppy seeds, lavender, and fish scales. Aloe went last. Fish scales was first. Poppy seeds next and then lavender. The strength of the potion depended on how burned a person was, assuming that the person was extremely burned, she would add 10 scoops of grinded fish scales. Poppy seeds were tiny, so those could go in roughly 15.25 minutes after the fish scales. Yup. She got this.

Michael

Michael watched her through the eyes of his familiar. She was…on the right track. He felt someone sit down beside him. "Delphin. Natalia." He greeted politely. They sat beside him, atop a tree.

"You're letting her mess around and experiment with potions already?" Delphin asked.

He shrugged. "She read the books. I made a deal. If she screws up, she's going home."

"Before, you would have never allowed your apprentices to touch potions until they've been apprenticed under you for at least 1 year."

He shrugged again, "Like I said. I know Aria. She's got an uncanny ability for the supernatural."

"Don't they all?" Natalia murmured.

"How are your lessons, going by the way?"

"Miss Mara has truly been very intriguing." Delphin clapped his hands delightfully. "She's out hunting for her familiar right now. Just a secret between the three of us, I think her familiar is going to be spectacular."

"Delphin, you think anything besides a flying turtle is spectacular." Michael muttered. "So what do you think it'll be?"

"A dragon? I don't know. To be honest, elves have elements that they have more of an affinity to, you know? I think it's wind for her. She's definitely having some sort of bird or mythical flying creature."

Michael couldn't help it. "Maybe it'll be a housefly." He said casually, seeing the old man tense up.

"Heck no! By my beard there is no way that her familiar is a HOUSEFLY. She descends from good blood, so why in the bloody blazes would you assume that it's a housefly?! It's something magnificent."

"I was kidding, Delphin." Michael smirked. "How's training going for Cassidy?"

Natalia was silent for a moment, "Terrible. Refuses to listen to me. She'll eat and sleep and ignore me."

"Did you punish her?" Delphin asked, munching on a honey cookie.

"Who wouldn't?" Natalia muttered. "I threw her down a ravine earlier."

"You did what?"

"I threw her down a ravine. If her demon has any sense, it'd rescue her. Or at least reveal itself. She's actually pretty talented in her own way, but she refuses to use that talent, so it's a waste. She knows what I'm talking about, or at least is familiar with it. I'm assuming her demon has already entered her subconscious and is slowly transferring memories to her. She probably thinks they're dreams, but she's learned some of the concepts already."

"So then he or she's not new to the game?" Michael asked.

Natalia shook her head, "Far from it. Dantalion is a bit wary of Cassie's demon. It hasn't revealed itself, but he's definitely not taking chances."

"So it's strong? One of the 72 Pillars or higher?"

"Most likely. But then again, it isn't that surprising. She is a direct descendant after all. And her parents' demons are pretty strong, even if one of them has a fetish for cooking."

"Think it's possible that it's Lucifer?"

"At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised anymore." Natalia admitted. "It's strong. That's all I know. She—it hasn't even bonded with her or made actual contact and already it's protecting her mind."

"So then why did you throw her off the cliff and into the ravine?"

"Because it was the simplest. If she's desperate, it's more likely to appear to appease her wishes." Natalia pushed up her glasses. "Just like the time, her father tied me to a post and set the area on fire, so Dantalion would appear faster."

"You know, I feel sorry for you." Michael muttered.

"No, it was understandable. It was on the eve of my 18th birthday. Most of my fellow classmates had already been able to conjure theirs. I was the exception. It was a desperate attempt that worked. And it worked well."

"Remind me again how did you guys end up…dating?"

"We liked each other." Natalia replied simply.

"Doesn't he have like a beastly side that turns you off?"

"No." she paused, "I love him equally."

"Speaking of Dantalion, where is he?"

"He's on duty today." She replied, "He's been assigned to rape sins."

"Doesn't sound fun." Michael muttered.

"It's his specialty. He's developed a whole torture method for those that sinned in that area. His favorite are child molesters. You know how he loves children with all his heart, so he hates those that hurt children." She replied.

"I don't even know why you date the insane." Michael muttered. "But I like the fact that those child rapists get what's coming."

"Honey cookie?" Delphin interrupted suddenly.

"I'll take one." Michael took one.

"I'll pass. Sweets aren't my forte." Natalia replied.

"So are you pregnant?" Michael asked.

"What?"

"Oh don't what me, Natalia. I'm not stupid. Everything about you screams married. Did you get married in the demon realm?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Natalia said stiffly.

"Nat, you've got a baby bump."

"What?! I do not! It's only been a mont….." Natalia trailed off, slapping her hand over her mouth. "Shit."

"Shit is right." Michael said, half-serious. "So why didn't you tell us you're pregnant?"

"Because it's been a month. It's still early into the pregnancy, I could easily lose it."

"Are you married?" Delphin asked.

"Yes. Demon style. If you're talking about by the human world's way of marriage, no." Natalia wiped her glasses. "I can't exactly bring in Dantalion and say I'm marrying him when he has no ID or anything."

"Fake one?"

"Useless." Natalia shrugged. "It's more significant if you get married in the demon realm."

"How do you get married in the Demon realm?"

"How else? Since Dantalion's one of the 72, Lucifer married us."

"Lucifer acted as priest?" Michael stifled a laugh.

"Don't piss him off." Natalia replied. "But yes, he was our priest. Then we went on our honeymoon. Have you ever been to a demon hot spring?"

"No? Why would I ever visit the demon realm?"

"Well, it's too bad then. The spring did wonders on my skin." Natalia replied. "I bottled some of the water up if you want some."

"Give me." Michael stretched his hand out as Natalia extracted a small vial of…spring water? It in no way looked like spring water. It was bubbling and it was a deadly purple-ish color, almost like poison. "Uhhh. On second thought, I think I'd better refuse."

"Is the color turning you off?" she asked. "It's been concentrated, that's why. You only need a small bit every time you use it."

"No. It's fine. Messing with things from the demon realm probably isn't a good idea."

Delphin laughed, "Remember that time where you messed with that toy from the demon realm?"

Michael hissed. "Yes. Left me walking upside down for a week." He straightened up, "Thanks but no thanks."

"Very well." Natalia slipped the vial back into her pocket, "By the way, did you pick up on that energy?"

Delphin was faced forward, but his eyes slid over to Natalia. "You felt it too?"

"I'd say the girls' coven and the Cullens as well as us are not the only ones in the area."

"It felt like an elf." Delphin said.

"But our reports reported no elf." Natalia replied.

"No….not unless it's an exiled one."

"Should we move them?" Michael asked. "Will the exiled elf present itself to be a danger?"

"I think that if we stick to ourselves, it'll leave us alone." Delphin replied.

"Should we warn the girls?"

"No. It might arouse suspicion. It might not bother with the girls because it doesn't think they have anything to do with the elves." Delphin explained, "See, elves kind of like to think that they've got the upperhand. Some elves are extremely territorial. It's best if we keep to ourselves."

"You know, I think, that knowing the girls….somehow, just somehow, they'll still meet. Regardless of how we try to stop them." Michael muttered, "Their luck is sometimes unbelievably terrible."

"We don't know who the elf is. Exiled elves can be dangerous or un-dangerous. If it left because it's mate and lover was a human, then it won't be terrible to us. However, if it did do something bad, then it's best if we leave it alone." Delphin replied.

"Well, I've got to get going." Michael stood up on the tree branch, stretching, "Aria's about done. Did it perfectly. I think I should have given her a kaboom potion. Just to make her think that she screwed up. Then we could head back to sunny and warm California."

"I think I've got the best student. She's already mastered so many of the topics." Delphin sighed. "She's already in her final stages. Etiquette, history, powers—she's got those learned and mastered."

"Oh shut it." Natalia frowned, "Think she's awaken her demon. It's about to crack the barrier. I've got to go."

"Bye."

"Bye."

"See you two later." Delphin winked, pressing honey cookies into their hands. "Eat these for the trip." Delphin hopped onto his flying turtle and sped away.

ARIA

Ari sat down, wiping off the sweat on her brow. Three times, three times, she had almost caused her potions to screw up, and that would have resulted in her going back to sunny and hot California. "Done." She muttered. She had bottled up the potions into small vials, it was funny really. 5 gallons of water had been reduced in a mere three hours to 3 small sips of potion.

"Good job." Michael leaped down from nowhere, leading Aria to scream. "Oh god, just stop it."

Ari breathed, panting, "Don't just like jump out of nowhere!"

"IF you had been paying attention, you would have noticed me in the trees."

"I just finished those blasted potions. How the hell was I suppose to know?" she muttered.

"You should always pay attention. It's in the rule books." Michael sighed.

"Right. Book what of section what?" she replied sarcastically. "You had me read like hundreds and hundreds of books."

He sighed, "All right, where are the potions?"

She nodded over to the potions, "There."

He picked up them up, examining them. "Color looks good…." He muttered, "The age one looks a bit darker, did you almost burn it?"

"Yeah, but…it still passes, right?"

"Barely does, but yes." He unscrewed the caps, taking a sip from each one. "Each of them tastes right…"

"Michael. You just drank a gender changing, age and burn potion. Aren't you going to like….turn genders and stuff?"

"I took a nullification potion. It nulls most potions. I wouldn't have you make me a super deadly one. Each one is designed specifically for a different potion. You have to know what potion it is in order to make a counter."

"What if I had screwed up?"

He gave her a very long look, "I was prepared." He replied. "Delphin and Natalia would have been able to help me should you have messed up."

"So little trust…." She muttered, "So I passed?"

"Yes. You passed." Michael rolled his eyes. "You won't be going to California, but that doesn't mean that I'm giving you full reign on whatever you want to make. In fact, you're limited."

"Why am I limited?"

"Because first off, you're not a potion-based witch or wizard. We're classified into certain types. Your strong point is definitely not potions. Potions are for healing. You in no way are a healing type." He explained.

"Riiiight. I forgot about that classing thing." She paused, "So what am I again?"

He sighed, "Guess."

"Well, I'm not healing. So…protection and shields?"

He gave her a half-sneer. "Ari, you're one of the most protected persons I've ever met. Protections and Shields protect themselves and others. Not the other way around."

"Che. You're mean." She muttered. "Okay, so am I….elements?"

"Do you hear nature calling to you?"

"I don't need to use the restroom." She replied, with a somewhat serious face.

"Not funny. I'm not asking you if nature's calling to you. I'm asking if you if the elements respond to you."

"No…." she replied dully.

"Then you are…?"

"Seer?"

He sighed, "Can you tell the future or "feel" things?"

"No…."

"Then you're not seer, elemental, healer, or protectors. What choices do you have left?"

"A few…." She replied. "So am I….an all-rounder?!"

"Don't push your luck. Even if you're a special child to us, the chances of you being an all-rounder is close to none."

"A girl can't help but want to be special." She grinned.

"Guess." He said impatiently, stretching out to lay down beside her.

"A Sensory?"

"Ding-dong!" he announced.

"Oh…yay….sensory?"

"Hey, there isn't anything wrong with a Sensory. You get to learn it all, find those gifted kids out in the world, and bring them back. Not to mention sensory always get into mischief. You now have an excuse to waste coven funds to travel."

"Sweet. What are you?"

He gave her a one-eyed look. "Guess."

"Oh heck no, it took me forever to guess what I am. I'm not guessing for you."

"I'm a Healer."

"In a way, it kind of doesn't suit you. I mean. The abs…the height, I would have thought like sensory or….elements." she explained, not even blushing. A notable feat, Michael had noted, before, she would have blushed so terribly red.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm a Healer. But Healers don't make just healing potions. I lean more towards poisons."

"Are you….an assassin?"

"For hire~!" he grinned. "Cassie's family employs me sometimes."

"Of course." She muttered. "Are you expensive?"

"Depends on the mission. If you want me to seduce someone, it's going to cost you triple. And I'm already pretty expensive. Ah, but I don't operate on vampires, okay? Vampires are a pain in the ass to kill. Their venom is deadly. I've actually used vampire venom before to make potions for humans. Dissolves their stomach and organs, painfully slow death."

She shivered, "I'm actually happy that we're on the same team."

He raised an eyebrow, "You know, while the coven is very…..together and united, rifts do happen, and people do get killed."

"Have you ever killed anyone in the three families?"

"Yes." He didn't even hesitate to reply.

"Who?"

"People I'm better off not naming if I want to live to see my daughter become immortal."

"Carrie's a witch?"

"Future witch." He replied. "Or at least hopefully. If she ends up not being a witch, she'll still work for one of the Three families."

"So how come you guys never told us we're related?"

"Like several hundred of times removed."

"But still related."

"It's a story that you learn after you're of age. Period."

"So when did you learn of it? Wait, so then if like we're….are we related?! NOOOOOO."

"We're not related. I'm a child brought in by one of the Sensory."

"Okay, good. We're not related." She fake wiped her brow. "I was worried for a moment there."

"You pretend to be worried, when you're pushing me onto Mara." Michael sighed.

"Oh right. Have you asked her to the movies yet?" she asked.

"No. She's busy with her…egg thing that Delphin gave her."

"What's suppose to come out of that thing anyway?"

He gave her a lopsided smile, "You'll know when it comes out."

"Can't you give me a hint?"

He shook his head, "No. Even I don't know. Delphin's was totally unexpected. Well, actually not, he was always like a turtle—slow but very wise. I guess it was only fitting that he was a turtle. But I guess he was a bit odd, so his turtle became a flying turtle."

"Okay, I know this sounds stupid, but does anyone have a flying pig?" she asked.

"No. Not that I know of." he paused, "So you can't use the phrase, "when pigs fly", but I do think you can use the phrase "when turtles fly", right?"

"True…true. If I remember." She giggled. "So what's next for me?"

"Learning for Sensory really never ends. You find the kid, and you find a match for them. Like if you were to find an elemental kid, that kid's going to need an Elemental mage as their master. I feel sorry for all-rounders. They have the most masters since they need one for each class. Of course, if you could find an all-rounder mage that was willing to take in the kid, then he or she will have just one, but just to tell you, all-rounders are always weird. They like to stick to themselves. It'd be easier for us to buy a country then to get them to do anything that they don't want to do. It's their nature. They're like geniuses, so they act like them. Weird and eccentric."

"Wait, so then why are you, the Healer type, teaching me?"

"Because no one else wanted to come with Natalia and Delphin. I've known Natalia and Delphin for a long time, so I volunteered. I did study sensory class topics during my free time. After living for a while, you kind of have to entertain yourselves, so I just studied a bit. Figured it would help later on if the situation required me to use my knowledge. AND before you mockingly question my credentials, I was tested before I came."

"Why don't people want to come with Natalia and Delphin?"

"Well….Natalia's husband can become overwhelming sometimes, her, ahhh, comrades, a few of them on past missions have committed suicide or died an unfortunate death." He explain, "And anyone that travels with Delphin ends up wasting time, money and gains at least 10 pounds during the mission, even if it's a one-day mission."

"Have you gained any weight?"

He shook his head, "I've been monitoring my intake of Delphin-products." He paused, "Besides, would you have wanted anyone else?"

"No. I hate other people anyways. Some people in our family are a bit too…." She trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Ambitious?" he offered.

"Yeah. Ambitious."

"That I can relate to." He replied. "By the way, I got several marriage offers ever since people discovered that I'm going to be your Master. Teacher-Student relationships last forever."

"Did you accept any of them?" she asked.

"No. I wasn't interested." He replied, "Found something wrong with each and every one of them."

"Really?"

Michael nodded, pretending to be half-serious, "Three of them had crooked noses, two of them still were toddlers, nine did not have my preferred hair color." He began. "And then 22 of them, their breasts did not match with what I preferred—."

"WHY THE BREASTS."

"It was one of the last things I looked at." Michael protested. "I didn't have any attentions to marry them or even be with them, but they made the marriage folders, so I might as well have memorized them to introduce to other people."

"I don't even want to know." Ari sighed, "At least not anymore."

"Well, besides the marriage proposals, I also got some nice bribes."

"What bribes?"

"Rare, good ingredients. Before people avoided me like a plague if they could since I was an assassin. Only your family and the two other girls' direct families interacted with me."

"Well sucks for them." She replied. "So am I good to go then?"

"Not quite. I've got to explain your job."

She groaned, "Isn't it to find magical kids and then like diagnose what class they are and pair them up with the right person?"

"How do you find a "magical kid" as you so put it? How do you diagnose what class that child or person is? How do you find the right person?" he asked, knowing that she wouldn't have an answer.

She frowned, then pouted, "Well…things happen around special people right? Maybe strange occurrences."

"What is classified as a "strange" occurrence?" he asked.

"I don't know!" she panicked. "Like if they had an affinity towards something?"

He sighed, "Maybe this is too early on, but after a while, you'll be able to just know who is who. Like how people recognize when they see other witches and wizards on the streets. You can recognize others that have harnessed it. After a while, you'll grow. It's an instinctual thing." He explain, "All right, how do you diagnose what class?"

"You see what bends to them? Like an instinct, maybe?" she asked hopefully. "Like if nature kind of bends to them…."

"What do you mean by bend?"

"I don't know! An affinity!" she snorted. "Like I'm assuming that you think I have an affinity because I've formed a coven with vampires and werewolves, and Cassie and Mara are in it and we kind of met even though we may have not been able to meet until now."

"Biiiiinnnngo." He smiled, "I suspected as such. And because of Orion."

"My brother?" she asked confused.

"No. The wolf."

"Wait. Orion? What does Orion have to do with this?"

"Orion isn't a normal wolf."

"Well obviously. He's the Alpha wolf." Aria rolled her eyes.

"Riiight. He's an Alpha wolf that happens to just live forever."

"Orion's an immortal?"

"He lives on Cato and Ada's island."

"Wait! Then how did I meet them?"

"You lived there for a while."

"I lived with Cato and Ada? How could I never met them?"

"Remember when you were sent to live with your….grandparents?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Well…they are your grandparents…..just several times up the family tree."

"How come I never knew?!"

"Because you were too young to remember them. And besides, you spent most of your time with Orion the wolf, did you even put aside time to get to know Cato and Ada? Probably not." Michael shrugged.

"But someone could have told me later on!" Ari squeaked. "Great. Now I feel like for ignoring them."

"Doesn't matter to them. They understand. They still love you very much….even if they often call you the wild child."

"I am not a wild child."

"Right, try telling that to the numerous family members that were summoned in a panic when you went missing." Michael snorted. "Only to discovered a naked baby running through the woods, with nothing to cover her at all."

"OH. MY. GOD." Ari blushed, "Why wasn't I informed of this?!"

"What baby hasn't ran wild and naked before in their life?"

"Ummm….Carrie?!"

"Sorry, Carrie ran naked before. On her birthday." Michael said bluntly. "Flashed everyone on her 3rd birthday."

"Cassie?! Mara?"

"Cassie went swimming naked in a pool once." Michael replied. "Natalia told me. Cassie's father ended up sectioning off the whole pool until his little precious Cassie was finished swimming. Needless to say, it cause a lot of traffic congestion. The sectioned off area extended for miles off the pool. People had to take long detours just to get to the mansion."

"And Mara? She's like Miss Perfect. She'd never run naked."

"Think again. Mara ran naked through a huge party reception before because she refused to wear a pink dress. Of course, she did have a diaper that was incorrectly put on, so it did fall off."

Ari groaned. "I can't ever look anyone in the face again. Especially those that saw me butt naked…."

"By the way, did you know that you have a birthmark in your butt crack?"

"What?! Wait! Ew! Michael!"

"It's true. I don't know if you've ever seen it, but I saw it when I was trying to wrestle you away. Months of running like a wild child helped you condition your legs." He shrugged.

"This is getting wayyy to personal." She muttered.

"If it helps you, I'll tell you that I have a birthmark as well…on the inside of my thigh. High up."

"I really didn't need to know that." She replied, "But good info I guess. A birthmark for a birthmark."

"When you turn 17, you need to come home."

"Why are you talking about home, again?" she asked, exasperated. "Seriously?"

"What's my partner?"

She reeled, "What's your partner? Isn't it that snake over there?" she nodded to the snake she had later learned was a Black Mamba.

"It's not a that snake." He told her, half-amused. "His name is Sweetie." The snake lifted its head and hissed.

Ari laughed, "I wouldn't call the snake, "Sweetie". Seems like he's not a sweetie. He should be named like Devil or Venom. Or Mr. Death or something."

Michael rolled his eyes, "Don't give him those egotistical names. It makes his ego way much more inflated. I don't need or even want that. It's hell."

Ari eyed the snake, "Well it certainly isn't Sweetie."

"It's Cutie Pie." Michael replied.

"I feel like he's about to bite you." Ari mused, seeing the snake launch itself into the air, wrapping itself around Michael's neck. "You know, I always thought he was just an ordinary snake that you weren't allowed to legally have, but you still kept."

"He won't. He's born from me."

"That sounds so wrong." She replied.

He sighed, "Stop the immature act. Where do familiars come from?"

"Familiars come from this special place where they're born. Then they wait in this like forest for their partner, and then once they've been found and bonded, they're buddy-buddy." Ari replied. "Wait, am I going there soon?!"

"No. You'd have to go to California, something you've been refusing to do." He paused, "And no. I cannot bring you the whole forest for you to try to find him or her."

"What if I can't find him or her?"

"Then he or she isn't born yet and you'll just have to wait." He replied calmly.

"That would suck."

"The chance of it happening is close to none. Like 0.0001%." he replied, "The only person that had difficulties was your mother."

"Mom had problems finding her familiar?"

"As you may or may not know, your mom is a klutz. You are too….somewhat. Your mom ultimately got lost in the woods for weeks before your dad rescued her. Needless to say, her familiar wasn't too impressed with her other half being a klutz. They're buddy-buddy now, but acceptance has taken a very long time." He told her, "Anyways, let's head back. I'll ask Mara out to the movies for next week? I think she'll be done by then. Or heck, maybe she'll even be done now."

"Even Cassie who's been complaining?" Ari's eyes went big.

"Yes. Natalia pushed her off a cliff in hopes of bringing out the demon faster since Cassie's meditating lessons ended up her sleeping."

Ari tried to hold in a laugh. Michael and Delphin had made Mara and her meditate with Cassie for a while, to calm one's nerves, they had said. Ari had closed her eyes, slowed her breath and her heartbeat, focusing on nature, falling into a semi-conscious state, when she had heard a really loud snore erupt from Cassie. Mara and her were amused. Natalia…not so much. "Natalia pushed Cassie over the edge because Cassie pushed her over the edge?" she mused, "Hey! The irony! One's mentally and emotionally and the other's physically!"

"Yes. Now let's head back." Michael told her.

"Yes sir!"

BACK INTO THE CULLEN HOME

"We're back~!" Ari sang, stepping through the threshold of the Cullen family.

"OH FUCK YOU GUYS. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY OR HOW MISERABLE THEY ARE! IT TOOK US FOREVER TO LEAVE AND I'M SURE AS HELL NOT LETTING THEM GO BACK!" Nicholas spat on top of his lungs.

"What happened?" Ari muttered.

"Dunno. We came back and it was like that already." Cassie replied lazily, sitting on the couch, leaning on her right arm which sat on the arm rest.

"Nicholas has been yelling for quite some time. To the fact that he doesn't even notice that we're here." Mara replied with a bit more detail. "Something about going back. Sadness. Regret. Maybe Nicholas was going to go back home really fast with Yale? Or maybe Yale wanted to go back to where his coven was destroyed to confront his feelings but Nicholas is totally against it?" Mara sat on the left, leaving the space in the middle for Ari.

Ari came over, sat down, then swung her legs up onto Mara's lap and laid her head down in Cassie's lap. "Hnnn. Maybe. But I think it's something else. Nothing really gets Nicholas that pissed off."

"Hey! Pissed is my word." Cassie muttered, not even looking at Aria or Mara. "Think it involves the Volturi?"

"Could be." Mara mused. "Did they catch up? If so, then we need to leave. I think this should be our final trip for a bit of time. Maybe when we're older and we don't look the same."

"Aww bull shit. I'm not forsaking my trips for a few vampires." Cassie complained.

"We need to head back to California anyways. I do want to see Cato and Ada's island. Maybe we can go there for a trip, then?" Mara suggested.

"Ooohh. Yess. Orion is there."

"Your brother?" Cassie sighed. "6 pack Orion. A beauty to behold."

"Orion is not a beauty." Ari groaned. "He's just using it to confuse people into doing things for him."

"Which makes him amazing!" Cassie chuckled. "A sister-complexed 6-pack-abs brother."

Ari rolled her eyes, lifting her hand to poke Cassie's stomach, "You do too. You have that brother too…"

"Meh. Can't really date my brother." Cassie stopped, eyes widening, "Wait. Shit. If you and I are related by Cato and Ada….then that means that Orion's related to me too!"

"Hey I've always wondered this, but….you have a wolf that you know whose name is Orion. Your brother is named Orion. Loki the white wolf here is…well named Loki and one of your uncles is named Loki. Why do you always name people after your brothers?"

"Tell me that Loki the white wolf's name does NOT match him. Loki the wolf's always getting into mischief. I heard yesterday he shredded all of the clothes Alice got him." Ari protested.

"Who can't remember that?" Cassie groaned. "Alice is still out shopping for clothes to get more revenge on him….where is he by the way?"

"Kidnapped." Mara piped up. "Alice's revenge. Wolfnap into shopping with her. Luna restrained him as they got into the car. That's how Alice got him to go."

"Wait. Luna willingly went?"

"Luna does anything to see Loki miserable." Ari laughed. "Even if it means going shopping."

"OH FUCK THIS. LISTEN UP DAMN CULLENS. YOU SPROUT A WORD ABOUT THEM AND I'LL FUCKING RIP YOUR HEADS OFF AND USE THEM AS FIREWOOD." Nicholas was still yelling. Ooookay. That was too far.

"NICHOLAS!" she yelled, seeing Nicholas stop his rant, to stare at her with darkening red eyes. He needed to feed….and soon.

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath, "All right. Tell me what happened. Without yelling."

"The Cullens approached me and asked me if you three would like to see the Volturi again. We didn't tell you but they've basically sent out international orders to find you. Messages and warnings come every day that anyone that hides the Volturi is in trouble. Like it's considered treason."

Mara turned to Carlisle. "Is this true?" she asked softly. "Is it treason?"

He hesitated slightly, before nodding. "It's true." He confirmed, trying to be as gentle as possible. "We already decided to help you. We will stand by you and your decisions."

Cassie shook her head, "That's stupid. You shouldn't put us first, Carlisle." Cassie's glare softened. "You should worry about your family first. You guys are in deep shit if they find out. We can move on. If such a thing had happened, you should have told us and then we can remove ourselves from your presence. Then you report us. I thank you, and probably Ari and Mara do as well, for your good intentions, but we can't live on knowing that you guys sacrificed your lives to give us freedom."

"Freedom." Carlisle repeated, "Is what it is about. You have been courteous and nice. You are interesting. We consider you family. Time does not play a role in our decisions. We get to know you and then we make decisions. Our decisions were to stand by you. What happened was we received a phone call…."

"STOP RIGHT THERE CARLISLE." Nicholas boomed. "Don't tell them. If you do, they'll go back!" By now, most of the vampires had silently flitted into the room, watching the scene unfold.

"Nicholas. Go feed." Ari ordered. "We'll be fine. I want to hear what's happening with the Volturi. I will make my decision myself. As will Cassie and Mara. We will decide by a vote. You haven't fed for a while by the look of your eyes. Do you want to lose control? Go feed."

He shook his head, protesting, "I can't! I can't do it! It took forever for me—for us—to leave the Volturi. And for you to forget Aro! It's painful. I spend so much time with you and yet….and yet….Aro. Aro. Aro. It's just not fair. What does Aro have that I don't?! Why do you have to know how the Volturi, how Aro is doing?! You left! You shouldn't care about the Volturi anymore!"

Ari, Cassie and Mara stared at him, half in awe and half in shock. "What the hell, you can't tell us to do a thing!" Cassie spat, narrowing her eyes.

"We want to hear what Carlisle has to say." Mara explained more softly. "Granted, yes….perhaps knowing how your….ex is feeling isn't a brilliant idea, but…they are Volturi."

"We're not going back, Nicholas. We're not stupid." Ari told him. "Even if I'm not dating Aro anymore, I still consider him a good friend. I still consider Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix and the countless others I got to knew there my good friends. If something has gone wrong and they need help, I want to help them." Turning to Carlisle, "Sorry Carlisle. Nicholas will either listen quietly or leave and feed."

Carlisle coughed, "As I was saying….we have been receiving multiple messages, sometimes several times a day, asking for your…return." Carlisle was trying to phrase his words carefully.

"Oh." Ari and Cassie said together.

"There's more right?" Mara asked.

"Yes…." Carlisle hesitated.

"Oh for pete's sake, Carlisle." Rosalie snapped. "Marcus called and he sounded fucking miserable on the phone and he was wanting you back. So does Aro and Caius and they've in their own way have threatened the rest of the world and shown us that you three are possibly their weaknesses." A silent enveloped them.

"O…okay." Ari broke the silence, "So you need to report us."

"We have time to decide. We….wanted to see what you wanted to do before we made any rash decisions."

"Well, report away." Cassie said bluntly. "We'll just move away."

"But the Volturi will be on your trail." Bella protested.

"Oh Bella," Ari sighed. "Don't worry. In a way….we're….special? Magical? Well. Whatever happens Michael will be the shield for us."

"Never offered." He grumbled.

She winked at him, "But you know you would have. Mr. A."

"Mr…A?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"It's a codename." Michael slapped a hand over Ari's mouth, glaring at her. "Something she shouldn't be blabbing."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." She apologized. "It's a secret. So what did you guys come to a conclusion of?"

"That we'd ask you? If you agreed, then in a week or so."

"WAIT! Stay!" Alice ordered. "You have to stay!"

"Ummm….uhh…what?"

"You need to stay. If you go to California, Aro's still going to find you. Your family is going to blow up and it's going to be an all out attack. Not pretty." Alice explained.

"Isn't there like…a chance that they don't find us?" Cassie asked.

Alice shook her head. "Aro, Caius and Marcus are going to spend the rest of their lives looking for you. If…you choose immortality, then I must tell you, I can't see that far into the future, but…I saw that if you did…die. They do find your graves and commit suicide."

Ari's lips formed an o-shaped duck mouth, "Oh. Suicide."

"Quite graphic really." Edward said dryly. "Really disgusting."

"So we have to stay here?"

"Just confront them." Jasper spoke up. "Tell 'em y'all are not interested anymore."

"What if he makes them go back?" Emmett asked.

"Can't really make them since they've got several supernatural creatures here—besides us— and they got like little magical flying witches and wizards in California. And demons and tiny elves." Rosalie muttered.

"Rose! Don't call their families tiny witches and elves and demons." Alice rolled her eyes, but her face was serious. "You can't leave. It's really bad. You have to stay."

"I agree." Edward replied, after having silent for so long. He had read Alice's thoughts. Inwardly, he had smiled. They were going to get together. Unless Aro, Caius and Marcus somehow screwed it up. It was unlikely though since they were going to be here. Close enough to the girls where they couldn't run away. And he really doubt that the Leaders of the Vampire world would leave while they knew that at any chance, the girls would bolt. Again.

"You agree with what, Edward?" Cassie spat.

"I agree with Alice, Cassie." Edward replied evenly, staring at her with his liquid golden eyes. "While it is true, that you could…run, the consequences were undesirable. If you have truly moved on, as you say you have, then it's really simple. Just reject them. If they say that your knowledge of us has made you a threat to our peaceful existence. Simple reveal your heritage, if you want, you can even lie about waiting to be changed later on."

"Whoa. Good plan, Eddie." Emmett joked, "How long did that take you to figure out?"

"Well, it was a better plan than yours, Emmett. To say that they had met some vampire that warped them into a 3rd dimension reality somewhere, and so they no longer existed in this world, but in the warped world that would only appear again if said vampire would release them."

"That doesn't even sound real." Jasper muttered.

"But it'd be really cool if there was a vampire that could warp someone into an endless dimension where nothing existed besides other things that had been warped in. Maybe you'll never feel hungry."

"Emmett. Pretend to be stuck in that reality, for just a moment. Just floating there. In the darkness. You don't see anything, you don't feel anything. There are no video games there—or football games."

Emmett looked at Rosalie in horror, "No!" he breathed, "Never! Games go, I go!"

"Of course." Rose sighed. "I'm going to go work on one of the cars. Want to lend me a hand, Bella?"

Bella stood up, smiling, "Sure. What are we working on today?"

"Hey! How come you didn't invite me?" Jacob protested. "Scared of my skills?"

Rose sneered. "Even after so long, living here with you, to me, you're still a mutt." She huffed. "I don't want a wet dog stench on my new leather seats. Custom made, all Italian."

"Well, I'll just go work on the trucks then. Screw your sports cars. They're not as cool or as strong as trucks." Jacob huffed. "Nessie, you want to come? I'll make spaghetti later if you do."

"Spaghetti?" Cassie sat straight up from her slumped position, "I'll do it."

"I offered it to Nessie, but you're welcome to come." Jake's eyes flickered over to Nessie. "If that's okay with her, of course."

"It's fine. Let's work on that silver truck today."

"Okay." He nodded, heading off for the garage too.

"I'm going to go read." Mara stood up, pushing up her glasses.

Ari looked over to Michael, nudged him hard in the side, mouthing movie to him. He cocked his head a moment before a look of knowledge spread across his face. He nodded. "Hey Mara?"

"Yes?" Mara half-turned to him, a foot on the stairs.

"I wanted to go watch World War Z with someone, but Ari's chickening out—" a hard punch from Ari—"And Cassie's working on trucks for food, so I was wondering if you'd go with me?"

Mara hesitated, "I don't know." She admitted.

"C'mon Mara! You should go!" Ari tried to encourage, as casually as possible. "You haven't been in the movies for forever."

"The last time I went to the movies with you we ended up watching an animation. While I love animations, it just wasn't worth the money." Mara sighed.

Ari motioned for Mara to come back over to her, "Go and then brag to Cassie later. Like say you acted all love-y dovey and then pretend like you got really scared and then feel his abs. They're rock hard. I felt them the other day while I was doing a crash course." She whispered quietly, knowing the vampires could hear. And the shapeshifters. "They're to die for. Just go. It'll be fun. You need to go out. You're so terribly alone."

Mara sighed, "Well, I'd like to irritate Cassie." She said slowly. "All right, I'll go. Just let me go get my wallet."

"No need. I'll pay." Michael headed for the door. "You okay with going by motorcycle?"

"Yes." Mara shrugged. "Okay. I've got a 60 in my pocket."

Ari held back a squeal, waiting for them to exit, as she scrambled over to the living room window, pressing her face against the cold glass, staring at the form of Michael and Mara speed away. She squealed. Loudly. "Aww! Yes! It's the black motorcycle."

"Did we miss something?" Carlisle asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Okay, so like Michael's motorcycle. It's sacred. Like only people he approves rides on it. One time, this one chick—this beautiful chick with many marriage proposals—sat on his motorcycle without permission, and let's just say after that…..she was the one begging people to marry her."

Alice shuddered. "What happened?" she leaned forward. "It's got to be really gross."

"Warts." Ari said. "On her face, her hands. It was everywhere. No matter what she did, it wouldn't come off. I heard she now works in a distant area where no one knows her."

Alice squealed. "Ewww! That really IS disgusting!"

Ari laughed, "I know. I saw her once, and I don't mean to judge, but she really was mean—"

"A bitch!" Cassie yelled from outside in the garage.

"Thanks, Cassie!" Ari yelled in return, hearing Cassie's booming laugh, "But yes. Just contact him in a few weeks. We would like to prepare ourselves if possible. You guys should prepare too. We'll try to make sure you guys get out first cause it's kind of our fault that you're in this predicament."

Carlisle gave her a kind smile, "It's fine. We chose to have you live here with us."

Ari nodded slightly. "Well, then if not anything, I'm going to the woods. TATE!"

"Where are you going?" Nicholas stood up, blocking her way out of the door.

"Nicholas. Move. I just want some time to think."

"Well, take me with you."

"I think you and I will talk." Ari said flatly, trying to maneuver around him, to no avail.

"I won't. I'll be dead silent. Hug coupon?" he pressed.

She pulled back, staring into his red eyes. "What is with you today?" she asked quietly. "First you yell at the Cullens about the Volturi. And now, you're acting like some father or mother paranoid about what her teen's doing."

"I'm not." He protested half-heartedly. "I'd just like to be there in case something happened."

"Yes. You. And Yale. And Brecken. And Eri. And Aki. And Adam. I'm fine." She reassured him. "I'm not running off and ditching you guys in the dust—even if I don't care for you guys, I still care for Cassie and Mara. And I do care for you guys, I'm not going to ditch you guys and pretend like none of this happened. And I'm not going to go and get myself wasted to the point in which I don't know who is who and what is what. Now move."

"If something happens, you will call or yell for me. I'll be by the woods."

She sighed. "Yes. If something happens, I will call you. For pete's sake, what is wrong with you today? I like my old Nicholas better. The one that wasn't paranoid that I wasn't going to disappear or get kidnapped if I took a step out the door alone or with someone else."

"I'm not. I'm just worried about the Volturi." He said quietly.

"You know, you can disobey orders for only so long. I told you to go to Seattle and feed, but have you done it yet? No. A hungry vampire is a worthless vampire to me. You can't control your urges right? After a while, you do have to feed. By you not feeding, when you have to fight off other Volutri members or any other supernatural creature for that matter, you'll be weak. If you're in a weakened state, why would I call you to help me?" she pressed.

"Fine. I'll go feed and then come stand by the woods in case you need me. For now, Yale and Brecken will stand there."

"Don't go assigning people jobs without asking." Ari muttered. "Oh for godssake. I'll be fine. Vampires that drink human blood go to Seattle and feed. We don't know when the Volturi will come. Vampires that drink animal blood—ah, besides the Cullens cause they actually feed regularly—, go and get yourself a deer or in Aki's case….a bear."

"Yeah!" Aki fist pumped.

"As I was saying, get yourself a bear or several bears and come back." She ordered. "Go out and have fun while we can. I don't know what will happen when the Volturi come. Heck, if you want to go and fuck some chick while you feed from her—go do it. If you want to pretend to be an innocent child and then drain some pedophile's blood—go do it. Yale. Don't glare. If you want to pretend to be a host for a day, because of your insanely good looks—Brecken— go do it. Or heck, go have that bear wrestling competition you guys have been going on and on about." She waved her hands in the air. "Anyways, I'm heading out. Don't wait up. Don't call. I just need to relax. Tate." She ducked under Nicholas's arm, heading down the porch steps as she swung herself onto Tate's back. "Just take me somewhere in the woods. Somewhere quiet and near a lake. Or a river. Or the beach. I don't know. Choose something." She clenched Tate's fur as he sped off, trees going by in big blurs. She shut her eyes, leaning in closer to the wolf, as he looped in and out for several long minutes before the smell of the beach permeated the air. Tate slowed down, laying onto his belly, for Ari to slid off. She did, opening her eyes, taking in the beautiful scene before her. "Is this a private beach?"

Tate stood up, went back into the woods, before he transformed, "Yes." I think it's private."

"We aren't near the La Push wolf pack right? We haven't met them yet, and I don't want them to attack you or anything."

"They won't….hopefully. The Cullen territory is close by. We are humans and…wolf. We're not vampires." Tate replied. "Please go enjoy yourself."

"Yes." Ari nodded, she was wearing knee-length shorts and a black t-shirt. She slid her feet out of her flipflops. She stepped hesitantly onto the beach, feeling the grains of sand curl around her feet. It felt…nice and warm. She stared into the ocean, the blue ocean. It was beautiful. Waves were crashing into the shore, just a few feet from her foam spraying slightly. It was refreshing. She took a deep breath before she ran into the sea without further comment, letting the ocean hit her with full force. It hurt slightly, and was cold, but it felt good. She walked deeper into the ocean, until the water was up to her shoulders and she stood there, jumping slightly so she wouldn't be swallowed by oncoming waves. Eventually one of the waves did overtake her, as it pushed her back slightly. She had her back turned towards Nicholas. Silent, warm tears slid down her cheeks. Why was Aro doing this? Was he really miserable? He couldn't be. He had tons of women at his disposal. Perhaps, he was miserable because he lost Cassie, the talented one. She smirked, well, he would be sorry, she was a witch. She probably couldn't perform assassinations like Michael, but she could definitely perform little….spells? Like next month, Michael was going to show her how to move fast (or as she liked to call it. Fly.) Not on a broom (like she had guess from Harry Potter), but it depend on her element. Air, Fire, Earth, Water, and Metal. Personally, she wished to be air. It'd be cool to float. Then she could actually pretend to be a ghost for Halloween. But….still. Why did Aro….why was Aro looking for her? Was he really that angry that mere humans got away from him? Perhaps, he wanted to protect the vampire world. She knew too much. He thought she was a human. She was…in a sense. Did she still love Aro? Yes. But had she slowly began to forget him? Yes. There was just so much learning and training from Michael that she was too exhausted to even think about him. But now, she had a break. It really was time to evaluate her feelings. Could she move on? Most likely. There were plenty of fish out in the sea. She felt a little tug at her heart. It didn't hurt, but it was annoying. But as she believed, that thought would go away soon. Once she found someone she truly loved even more. Maybe that person was even beside her already, and she was just waiting to discover it.

CASSIE

Cassie sat on one of the counters, resting her chin on her palm. She stared dully at the trucks. She really was interested in this area. It wasn't her forte. At all. But spaghetti was so good. A bit messy but good. She looked at the silver truck, focusing on the license plate. She really wasn't staring at it, but past it. Fucking bastard. Caius wanted to find her? Fuck him. She had a rule, once you broke the trust, you're not let back in easily. Besides, she could hardly believe that he was depressed. Him? Depressed? Please. He was always a jerk. Looking back, she really wondered what she saw in him. Yeah he was cute. Long blonde hair, sparkling ruby eyes, but what else was there? She didn't know. At first, she had been interested, and interest had turned into attraction, and soon, it went fucking downhill real fast. He was a jerk. He was always telling her that he owned her, that she wasn't allowed to cheat on him. Stupidly, she had listened to him, hoping that she could be let into his heart, and hopefully, change his way of treatment of her. It was stupid. She endured beatings and slaps. All for nothing. It was silly now that she thought about it. When she went out in public with Tate, pretending to be on a date, he was much more kind to her. He listened to her. He treated her the way she wanted to be treated—good. He didn't make stupid remarks about her excessive eating habit and he especially didn't try to pull any "moves" on her. This was all a fucking lie. She knew it. Why would he suddenly miss her? Regret? Well, he was out of her life and that was it. Even if he showed up at the door step, depressed and ragged, she would give a flying shit. Her life was dedicated to her family (including Ari and Mara), her friends, this coven, and the stupid demon in her head.

'I'm not stupid' it spoke up.

'If you're not stupid, then am I stupid?'she thought back.

'Didn't I rescue you from the bottom of that ravine?'

'My friends would have found be eventually!' Cassie muttered. 'What the hell is your name anyway?'

'My name?' it echoed amused, 'Why my name is so simple really! You've heard of it before. It runs deep in your bloods and bones. I'm everywhere, yet nowhere. I am the light of the moonlight. I am in the dark crevices of the riverbeds. I—'

'That isn't your name.' Cassie sighed. 'You know what? Fine. If you don't want to give me your name and I don't want to guess your name, I'll just give you a name. I didn't get too good of a glimpse of you last time, but you looked human-ish. I suppose you can be like….you'll be Peter.'

'You're naming me, Peter?'

'Do you want to be named Fluffy?'

'No'

'Will you tell me your real name?'

'No….'

'Then we have reached an agreement, you idiot.' Cassie muttered in her head.

'But…..'

'Really, make yourself useful and get out of my head. How long does this thing last anyways? I don't want you snooping around in my head and memories.'

'I've been in your head since the moment you were born. You're just too big of an idiot to notice it. And I'm not leaving until you figure out my real name.'

'Well, screw you. I ain't gonna learn your name for quite a while. Don't you have some sort of house you need to haunt or something?'

'No my minions do that.' It said a little too smugly.

'Okay, you obviously can't be that weak since you have minions.' She muttered.

'I could be lying to you….you know.' It warned.

She mentally raised an eyebrow, 'Fuck right you would. Natalia said you were strong. She sensed it. Even though she can be a bitch, I trust her judgment.'

'How smart. To not trust me.' It said flatly. 'Your one and only familiar.'

'If I was to trust you, maybe you should tell me your real name.' she shot back. 'You know what? I give up on finding your real name, if you won't tell me it, I'll call you what Isis called her demon. Luci. Don't care what your real name is. You're Luci from now on.'

'You're naming me after Luficer?' it echoed, amusement laced in its tone.

'Unless you wanted to be named Fluffy. Or Demon.'

'Luci it is.'

She smirked. 'I thought so.'

'Don't be a smartie. You're centuries younger than me.'

'Don't you have work to do?'

'Yes.'

'Then go do it.'

'Lazy.'

'I bet you that if you don't do your work, Lucifer is going to kick your ass to Heaven. Isn't Heaven painful for demons?'

'Overrated. We dislike it. It's like….a sunburn. Itches. It drains our dark magic away after a while. We don't die on contact with Heaven….'

'JUST. GO. WORK.'

'And you let you fill your tiny brain with thoughts of the blonde vampire?'

'Luci, shut the fuck up and go away.'

'You're mean.'

'You're mean. Go away. Once I find out who you really are I'm going to bust your ass.'

'Okay. Okay. I'll leave….' Cassie felt the connection end, sighing in relief. She felt the connection in her mind break, leaving it in silence. Luci, her little nameless demon, was right in a way. The moment he left, she thought about Caius again. He distracted her most of the time, but it was true. Maybe this what those stories online were talking about. That people that try to leave abusive relationships often think that no one else would love them. Maybe she was in that stage of a fucking relationship. Yeah that was probably it. Why else would she think of Caius? Who even gave a flying fuck about him? He cheated. She hated cheaters. Even if he was so-called miserable, that mean nothing to her. Nothing….right? Oh to hell with it. Fuck it. Caius wasn't her priority even if her heart felt a weird tug. It probably was that abusive relationship withdrawal thing. Aria and Mara were her priorities. They were sisters, Cassie had to protect them from Aro and Marcus. She had been blinded by Caius before, but not anymore. Ari and Mara always came first. Period. They were always there for her, she would be there for them. Period. Call her stupid for putting friends (practically her sisters) before her love life, but that was how she rolled. Her dad didn't find love until he was in his forties. All her brothers? Half-brothers from an arranged marriage. He had married to unite two families. Later on, he found her mom and that's how they fell in love. Then her dad's ex-wife became deranged and tried to kill her mother who at the time had been pregnant with her, and as a result, her father shot and killed the ex-wife. No one really liked her anyways. Not even her sons. Not even the other family could protest. During the years after marriage, her dad had built up power and influence. That family had practically no say. Granted, they still hated her dad, her mom and her up to this moment, but that's how it was. If her dad didn't find love until his forties, then she too could wait. Yeah. She could wait. If she couldn't find a living guy, she could always go to Hell and find some guy. Sometimes, maybe, you had to go to an alternate world to find your love.

"You okay?" Rosalie asked, rolling out from underneath her car.

"What?" she looked around. Jacob, Emmett and Nessie were gone. She could smell the aroma of food being cooked.

"Are you okay?" Rosalie rolled her eyes.

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "Are you, Rosalie Cullen, actually asking how I'm feeling?"

"Shut up." Rose glared. "You just made a whole bunch of emotions on your face. I wanted to know was all."

"I'm fine." Cassie replied. "Personally, I don't see why you should worry about me. I hate Caius now."

"Another point we agree on." Rosalie muttered, "But I'm not as dumb as the mutt over there makes me out to be. I know….that it's not easy to….ahh, forget past lovers. Even if you hate them."

"You still remember your ex?"

"If only. I hated him. Went back and killed him." Rose's lips curved into a small smile. "It was a good moment. He was begging for his life. You should have seen his face. It was filled with fear. At first, he couldn't even believe it was me. I had become….extremely beautiful. He had mistaken me for someone else. Attempted to bed me, he did. Took him into an alleyway and scared the living hell out of him and then I killed him. Slowly. Bit by bit. I started with his privates of course."

Cassie shuddered. "Ooookay. Too much info." She muttered. "But….did you feel good afterwards?"

Rose gave her a long, hard stare. "I did." She admitted. "Did I feel very good? Probably. He had ruined me, had left me there to die. Perhaps, if I had met Emmett during the time I was changed, I might have felt bad for him, but fact was, Emmett Cullen didn't exist yet—at least not in the vampire world. But I did. Rosalie Cullen did. And I got revenge. Carlisle didn't like it very much, but he understood my frustration to an extent. Carlisle's kind. Never killed a human before, but he didn't scold me or shun me for killing my ex. But don't think you can go and kill Caius Volturi. Personally, I don't know why Alice is making the three of you stay. I can see that you all are clearly scared and well…you're being pulled back into that hole. You were think of Caius right? Even if you hate him, fact is, you can't help but think of him."

"I don't care about him." Cassie said hotly. "I don't give any fucks about him."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"It's not a lie."

"You know, what? I'm not going to even argue with you. You know the truth yourself. I've seen the way you guys look. Do you feel a pull?"

"A….pull?" Cassie's eyes furrowed.

"Yes. A pull." Rose jabbed a dirty hand towards her dead heart. "In your heart."

"Ummm….sometimes?" Cassie replied hesitantly, lowering her gaze to the floor. She studied the garage floor intently, as if she was trying to analyze the ingredients of the mixture.

"Especially when you think of Caius?"

"Oh fuck. Don't tell me he used some voodoo magic on me and made me his slave."

"No." Rose smiled. "You are no more his slave than he is yours."

"Caius is my slave?"

"You are….enslaved to each other, in a sense." Rose began, "As mates…."

"As….as WHAT?" Cassie leapt off the counter. "What did you say?!"

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you. You guys are mates to them. I don't know how you left, but the mating pull shouldn't even be felt by humans. Maybe it's because your ancestors are little magical people or something. Usually humans, just feel….empty. It's more of a feeling that Bella can probably describe to you. She's Edward's singer."

"I'm Caius's singer? Then why…."

"Singer and Soul mates are the same. Carlisle has a theory that mates are born as singer or soul mate. It switches every now and then. It's to keep the game….interesting?" Rose shrugged.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you screwed up somewhere. Athenodora is his mate." She finished bitterly.

"You know, guys are sometimes blockheads." She commented, as she shuffled through her toolbox.

"I thought you were against us going back." Cassie glared. "What changed?"

"You guys. Your facial expressions when you heard they were miserable and looking for you." Rose said, sliding under the car again. "We all saw it for a brief moment, a flash of hope. You wish to spend time with Caius. As Aria is with Aro and Mara with Marcus."

"That's bullshit." She sneered. "I've moved on from him."

"You know, you may be saying that, but personally, I think that you haven't moved on." Rose said slowly. "What are you going to do when Caius comes here?"

"Ignore him."

"He's going to follow you around for life."

"I'm pretty sure he can't go to Hell." Cassie shot back.

"If he dies, he will."

"Well then, once he's dead, I'm back on the earth's surface." Cassie said hotly. "I can go anywhere. I can go to Cato and Ada's island too, can't I? Or I can go with Mara to the elf world. There are plenty of places where I can go. Away from Caius."

"You need to reject him." Rose said hesitantly.

Cassie sighed. "Ugh. I don't know anymore. I….I did like Caius. I really did, but fact is….he hurt me. Not just physically, but emotionally. Like…what if, Emmett started abusing you? Hitting you and telling you that you're his pet? And if you were human, that you were just a mere human."

"I'd fight back." Rose said seriously.

"But what if you were in love with him? What if you believed that you could change him slowly, bit by bit?" Cassie pressed on. "And then….then, one day, you just walk in on him moaning his dead wife's name while fucking some vampire chick?" Rose was silent. "And then you left, and now, you hear he's miserable without you? That he's looking for you? How do you react? With joy that maybe he really does love you now? Or…with fear? That never has he had someone run away from him like that? What if you feared him bringing you back to the castle where he continued his abuse? He always told me, you know, that if I ever tried to run away, that….that he'd kill me without second thoughts. I just don't know. I'm hurt, you know. I can't deal with being with Caius if he's going to continue being the way he is. And that's probably how he is. I don't know what I am to him, and even if you say that we have the pull, if we really did, then the times where I was still there, he should have felt and he should have treated me right. He didn't. I don't care if I have to live with the pull for the rest of my life. I'm fine with that. I'd rather live with a pained heart, then living with a broken heart and a loveless relationship."

"Have…..have you talked to Aria and Mara?"

"We're all in shock right now. We'll probably talk tonight. Form a plan. Most likely, we're not going anywhere alone anymore." Cassie sighed. "I just wish I could sleep this away. If someone told me 3-4 months ago that I'd be stuck in this predicament. I probably would have sent them to our underground doctor for psychological treatment." She hopped off the counter, "I'm going to go eat. Bye."

MARA

Mara stared blankly at the movie screen, her mind barely registering what was flickering across the screen. She saw vague shapes of the lead actor, Brad Pitt, going into the contaminated area of zombies with the two other people. But her mind wasn't on the movie, but on a different topic. Marcus. Her heart ached at his name. Carlisle had made him sound so…pained. So lonely. Did he really miss her? What was there even to miss about her? She was too tall for her own good, at 5'11. She had glasses, a darkish brown hair that was slightly wavy. And she had blue eyes. And she was a bookworm. What type of guy would love a bookworm? She almost laughed inwardly. Cassie and Ari, they had people. Ari had Nicholas and Tate. Cassie, in some twist way, had Yale and Brecken (even though she and Yale bickered a lot). Who did she have? Sure she had Cassie and Ari, but that's all she had. She kept more to herself, interacting only when needed, often spending her time in nature. But it was her nature, Delphin had said. That most elven children, stuck to themselves or with their kind and didn't like to interact with other species often. She slipped her finger into her pocket, figuring the seed. Delphin had said that it would soon bloom and there, would be her familiar. Although, Delphin had said, that eleven familiars were kind of like….summons. They had thoughts of their own, yes, but it more of like a master-servant summon. Both sides should respect each other, but Mara was only to call upon her familiar when the situation called for it. And it definitely did not talk in her head unless both sides permitted it unlike Cassie, who spent half a day, silent, while her face contorted of various emotions. Marcus. Marcus. Marcus. Her mind echoed. What was she to do? Admittedly, Ari looked like she had moved on quite a bit and Cassie, well, Cassie's philosophy was to forget those she hated. Cassie probably had some emotions towards Caius left. Not much, but still some. What made her laugh was that Ari was the last to let go to the Volturi, and yet, it was her who moved on the fastest. Mara had been the first to let go, right after Marcus had declared his undying love for Didyme. And now, she was the last to completely let go of Marcus. There was just something stopping her. What, she didn't know. Maybe it because she was a stupid romantic who hoped and believed that Marcus would come and beg for her to come back, that he would declare his new love for her. How stupid. She knew. Marcus would never. Perhaps, he was missing his reading buddy or maybe, he had considered her a dear friend of his, and her sudden departure had wounded his feelings. There was no way he loved her. Not after his little speech that he had given her. How Didyme was his everything, that she was his this and that. That everything reminded him of her. There was just no way….right? She felt warm tears slide down her cheeks as she muffled a sniffle. Why. Why couldn't Marcus leave her alone? What did she do to warrant this? She had always tried to live law-abidingly. She didn't even jaywalk or download music illegally. She never littered—in fact, she even picked up trash. She volunteered at homeless shelters and animal shelters whenever she had time. So why? Why had fate been so cruel? Why did she have to meet Marcus? She sniffled again, rubbing her eyes. She focused on the screen again, seeing the credits roll. She had missed the whole movie. What a waste of money.

Unbeknownst to her, Michael had watched her. Ari had been right. Mara was suffering silently. She had cried at the moment towards the end of World War Z where they were passing out vaccines. Sure that was a happy scene, but to the point of crying? He doubted it. He cursed those Volturi kings. His three girls were shells of their former selves. Before, they would play pranks, travel, and….have fun. Now they were cautious, and hid things from him. "I'm feeling a bit hungry? Want food?" Michael sat up, stretching slightly.

Mara looked up, "Sure." She got up too, as they left for a nearby eatery. They ended up eating ice-cream. Mara and Michael sat outside, watching random people pass by. Mara stared at the ice-cream in her lap.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on." She replied quickly.

"Mara, you three took care of me when I was in my dumps. Now tell me, what's wrong?" Michael pressed.

"It's nothing." Mara insisted.

"Does it have to do with the Volturi kings?" Michael asked. No reply.

"….Perhaps." she finally admitted.

"What are you worried about?"

"I want to know why they're here!" Mara almost exploded. "I…If they wanted to find us, they didn't have to come up with some sob story that they miss us! It would have been better if they had just said that we knew their secret and that we had to be killed. It would have been so much easier to leave, to…to hate them. Why, Michael? Why did they say they missed us? That they were depressed?"

"Well, I don't know. Men can be stupid sometimes." Michael paused, "But you know what? Don't worry about it. Your little Astral coven won't let them hurt you three. And you've got the rest of the families. We won't go down without a fight. We have plenty of places we can escape to if we need to."

"I know, but…it just hurts me, you know? Just when he was about to disappear from my life, he springs back with all these supposed "emotions" of his and….and am I suppose to just accept it?"

"Tell you what. I'll tell you guys what you told me before. Eat the ice-cream. And just let out all your emotions. Let the ice cream be your emotions. Every little bite you take, you're getting rid of some memories or emotions of him that you don't want." He replied. "Ice-cream is every sad person's best friend."

She looked at the ice-cream, picking up the spoon. She lifted it to her lips and shoved it into her mouth. It tasted cold and delicious. She felt tears run down her face some more as she continued to shove ice-cream until her mouth. Memories of Marcus and her flowed out. That's what they were. Just memories. No more emotions. "Can you go buy three tubs of ice-cream?" she said at last when she finished her ice-cream.

"Three tubs?" Michael raised a brow, "What do you plan to do?"

"Pig out and eat all the ice-cream that I can with Cassie and Ari. We're going to let it all out tonight."

"Got it. The usual flavors?"

Mara smiled, "You always did know us best, Michael."

He winked, "I'll get you 6 tubs of ice-cream for that comment. I think you should have just a big party tonight. What about we go to the grocery store first and then come back to buy ice-cream?"

"Okay. But don't forget—"

"Cassie's jerky." Michael finished.

Mara laughed. "You really do know us best."

OKAY. Super boring chapter. I know. I know. Y'all want Aro, Caius and Marcus here, but you see….I'm in this mood where like I feel like I should just let them run away and then like…never ever meet again, until the girls become reborn and the same process happens again and….and…then I felt bad. Ha….ha….ha. Anyways! Leave a review, tell me what you like, what you don't like—heck, even tell me if you hate me for keeping them apart (in all honesty here, how many of us have actually read fanfics where the main couple are kept apart for so long especially for a reason like this?).

Once again, I'll apologize if my characters are too mary sue or if the twilight crew are too OOC.

HAVE A GREAT LABOR DAY EVERYONE (if you celebrate it lol…)!