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"Home sweet home."

I didn't feel the same dread I usually did when I saw the darkened room materialise in front of me. I knew whatever was coming next, I would be back here. And somehow that thought made me see the imposing high ceiling and stifling garish colours differently. They weren't synonymous with being trapped. They were a glimpse of a future, however bleak, where the people I loved were out of harm's way.

I glanced out of the tall narrow window, checking the time of day. Stars twinkled in their indigo bed, winking like they knew some ancient secret. I guessed it had been less than an hour since Tanya had spoken to Felix, but not so short a time that the Volturi would be suspicious. I wasn't sure how much of my gift they understood or had already been told.

I eased open the heavy wooden door, grateful as it opened quietly.

The dank smell of stone tickled my nostrils as I swept through the corridors. This was no place for humans. No place for living things. I tucked myself into the shadows, careful not to be seen. Not before it was time.

But my efforts were in vain. The castle was deathly quiet. Too quiet. Corridors that should have been patrolled by guards were empty. As I pushed deeper into the fortress I became more and more anxious. At first, I couldn't place why, but then as I stood at a cross roads I understood. The corridors I had been creeping through were aglow with lanterns lining their walls. I hadn't thought anything of it, but now I could see the others weren't. It was as if they had known where I would appear and they had lit a path leading me towards them.

Dread settled over me. A thick cloak hanging heavy on my shoulders, tied too tight around my neck. The tingle sparked in my fingertips, that ever-present fight or flight response urging me to jump and run.

But there would be no running this time.

A feminine scream pierced the air and with it the fear turned to fury. My steps hastened, sure now that I wouldn't be stopped.

My palms crackled as I saw the iron embedded door at the end of the hall. It was the private chamber I had been dragged to many a time when I was human. The site of my soul's dissection. Aro and the other's probing deeper and deeper, peeling back the layers of my life until I was laid bare before them. Vulnerable and fragile.

As I turned the latch in my hand, I knew this time would be different.

Show time, I thought as I stepped through the door. A feral growl emanating from my chest.

"Put her down," I snarled at Felix where he held Esme in his brutal grip. Cracks showed on her skin like fine black lace.

"Ah finally, our guest of honour. How nice of you to pop in," Aro exclaimed with glee.

I cast my eyes anxiously over to the others. They stood trapped in the hands of the guards, but at least they were standing. The cracks were already starting to heal. Whatever damage Aro had ordered wasn't irreparable. I couldn't say the same for the look of turmoil on Bella's face. There was a desperation in her eyes that I hadn't seen before. I knew she was close to breaking point.

My eyes found hers and although I couldn't say it I hoped she could see the gratitude in my gaze. She had done the impossible and withstood something that would have crippled many of us. I knew others spoke highly of her self control and determination but to see how it manifested itself now, I couldn't help but admire her.

"I'm here now Aro, let the Cullens go."

"But of course." The guards released them instantly, falling back to flank their leaders. "We were just catching up. Isn't that right, Carlisle?"

He walked slowly towards me, casting a sly glance as Carlisle silently pulled Esme into his arms. The guards moved with him, a protective bubble around him. Never getting to close but always present. Even if the Cullens were at full strength we would be easily outnumbered.

"We've been looking for you for a very long time, Miss St Clair." He spoke smoothly but his eyes never left me. Like a panther stalking a gazelle he moved with deadly purpose. His ebony cloak showing only the roll of his shoulders as he moved.

"And now you've found me." I held still, allowing him to come to me as the tingle built in my palms. All I needed was one touch.

"Now give me your word that they can walk away without repercussions."

"Naturally. Felix, please show the Cullens out of the castle," he motioned with his hands as if shooing a child. "And ensure they find their way to the airport without further disruption," He added with intent.

He was almost within touching distance. The tingle could practically taste his energy.

"Yes, master," Felix bowed reverently.

The vision of my future self locked in the Volturi room flashed in my head. Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe the future could be changed, because as I saw Aro standing before me I felt anticipation and euphoria tightened my limbs. Like a cobra ready to strike I envisioned Aro's end in my mind and with it the place Kate and I had been used in our training.

"All except Edward, and lovely Bella." He watched blissfully as my confidence faltered.

If I was going to do this, I needed to know everyone was out and safe. All it would take is a miscalculation in time and even without Aro at their helm the Volturi could slaughter them.

"Why?" I hissed.

"Leverage, Sarelle. We can't have you running away from us."

My future self's words ran through my head. They'll put us to trial tomorrow. I had foolishly thought she'd meant me and her. A strange anomaly of meeting with yourself from a different time. I hadn't thought anyone else had been detained.

The Cullens jostled as guards separated Bella and Edward from them. In the commotion Jasper caught my attention. We had planned for this. He had made us. Ever the strategist. As I saw my family file through the door I held onto the scraps of our plan. I had come here with one of my own but seeing them had weakened my resolve. If I could separate the Volturi, as we had discussed, we could still get out of this. The future could still change.

That mantra filled my head as I watched the door close, the Cullens flanked on either side.

"You don't need leverage. I'm not going to run. I've been running all my life."

"Perhaps. But it's always best to have a back up plan." He paused, tilting his head as he stared me down. "Much like how you have the Denalis waiting for you in Rome. Just one word to our guards and we'll eliminate them." The tingle rippled as his threat.

Maybe Bella hadn't been as strong as I had thought. I wouldn't have blamed her. We took a risk that she would be able to withstand Aro's gift in the face of such brutality.

Caius slipped from his place beside Athenadora, strutting towards Aro and I with an air of arrogance.

"You seem shocked. Sarelle. Did you think you'd outsmarted us?" My eyes flashed between them as my self-assurance unravelled.

"We've been around for millenia, do you not think we've learnt to keep track of our opponents. And it always helps to remember, the enemy or your enemy is your friend." His eyes crinkled and I thought back to Renesmee's presence during our tactical meetings. She was always in the background, always listening. Could she have been feeding more than my existence back to the Volturi?

I felt the sparks build in my hands.

I lurched to grab Aro, the tingle ravenous for the jump. A chorus of hisses surrounded us as the guard reacted to my assault.

I fixed the destination in my mind. The cruel bitter winds. The biting cold. The desolation. The thought of Aro in such a miserable place almost brought a smile to my face.

I let the tingle take over as it reached for Aro like tendrils of ivy spreading over stone. Seeping into the cracks, embedding itself. The sense of accomplishment sang in my veins and I tensed in preparation. Waiting for the feeling of being overwhelmed with pressure.

Except it never came. Instead all went still. The current running over my skin sank down to my depths like water sinking to the earth's core. I chased it frantically, trying desperately to get it back but it evaded my control.

With despair I looked at Aro. A radiant grin cracked his face in two, a victorious laughter erupting in the silence.

His hand wrapped painfully around my own, twirling me against him in a macabre Viennese waltz.

"As I said Sarelle, we can't have you running away again," he whispered in my ear as he directed my focus to the vampire standing guard at the door. His eyes were fixed on me, but I could see how he shifted uneasily.

"This is Aaron, I don't believe the two of you have met."

Aaron watched me nervously, a look of concentration rife on his nondescript face.

"You see Isabella's gift works two ways, Miss St Clair. So as long as she hid your secrets from me. She also unwittingly hid ours from Edward."

Athenadora slid from the chaise longue, sauntering around Aro and I, trailing a leisurely finger across Caius as she slowly approached Aaron.

I saw how he tensed as she ran her hands seductively up his chest. His body wanted to react but his loyalty and survival instincts held him still.

"Aaron has the most unusual gift," Aro continued as Athenadora ran her hands though his hand. Stroking him like a loyal pet.

"You see, much like our dear Isabella, he acts like a shield. Except rather than deflecting a gift, he contains it."

Realisation hit and with it my eyes dropped to stare at the ground before me.

The Volturi snickered around me, titivated by their master's cunning.

"As long as he's alive, Miss St Clair, you're not jumping anywhere," Caius said, a wicked smile gleaming in the candlelight.

Under Aro's instruction Aaron stood guard outside my door, keeping my gift under his control. No matter what I did I wouldn't be able to convince him to let me go. I knew that the instant I saw the look in his eyes. He was under Aro's control and there would be nothing I could do to break it. I was within Aro's grasp for a third time and he was not going to let me go.

In truth I had no intention of jumping, not when I knew Edward and Bella would pay the price, let alone the rest of the Cullens. I also had to make sure I saved the Denalis and Aslo from the watchful Volturi guard. I had to be sure they were safe.

There was quite a long to do list forming in my head.

Some hours later, a soft knock at the door caught my attention. I didn't bother to answer it, it would open whether I wanted it to or not.

"How do you like your new room, Sweetness?" Jane purred while I turned and rolled my eyes.

"I don't think sweetness is appropriate now, Jane. Do you?" I smirked as her eyes glinted. I hadn't had much contact with Jane when I was human, and I was grateful for that. There was something about the dead unnerving stare she fixed you with that made my skin crawl.

"No perhaps not. Tell me, did you enjoy it when you killed her?" she asked in her child-like voice.

"Who?" I asked sweetly, but Heidi's vacant eyes flashed in my head.

Irritated with my insolence she ignored my question instead she crooked her finger and called for me to follow her.

"Aro wants to talk with you." I shut the door behind me, glad to be out of the room that seemed to suffocate me even though I no longer needed to breathe. Aaron walked diligently behind us.

"He's been so cheerful since you arrived. It's odd," Jane said in an offhand tone while she walked. For a vampire she had a strange stiffness in her gait. It was the walk of a girl with a sense of importance beyond her.

"And how is darling Caius? Is he as perky to see me again?" I drawled earning a wry smirk.

"Oh I do hope they don't execute you, it would be such a shame." Her sugary tone suggested the very opposite. A shiver run through me, but I made sure to hold steady when we came to where Aro was sitting.

"Master, Miss Sarelle St Clair as asked." Jane bowed her head gently, receiving a small kiss upon the crown.

"Thank you, Jane. Now would you please ensure Mr and Mrs Cullen are comfortable. I'm sure they must be thirsty." She was gone the second the last syllable hit the air around us, leaving only a whisper of her blueberry scent.

"Have you and Aaron become acquainted, Sarelle?" Aro asked as if wondering if I had settled into my room.

"To a point." I glanced behind me with disdain. Aaron stared back without expression.

"I do hate to suppress that gift of yours but given your history..." I saw his ancient anger pass over his irises, and if I had any doubt this visit would be my last his expression allayed it.

"I understand completely, Aro, and if I may apologise for leaving you so abruptly last time… And the time before that." I resisted the urge to smirk.

"No apologies needed, my girl, I've more than come to terms with your actions." There was a pause as he studied me with his usual shrewd gaze.

"Forgiveness is an inherent part of our existence, I find. We must forgive those who created us, forgive those who left us behind or forgot about our presence in their lives. Some even seek a way to forgive themselves for the actions they have taken. Not that I hold such a thing very highly. But I find the most prevalent form of forgiveness is that which we are sometimes forced to give those closest to us, don't you think?"

"Forgiveness isn't hard if you care about the other person."

"Really? You think it's that easy?" he teased, and I felt my spine tense. I didn't bother to answer him. He would take the conversation in the direction he wanted no matter my input.

"I am most curious, Sarelle, if one of your beloved friends stole from you would you forgive them?"

I rolled my eyes at his pointless showmanship.

"If someone you thought of as a close companion smeared your good character for their own benefit would you still take them in your arms and call them a friend?"

"Aro, what is the meaning of this?"

He held a finger up to silence me while fixing his eyes on mine with a vicious smile fixed on his lips.

"If a friend, a person you trust... a doting student turned you over to those you hid from, would you forgive them?"

I stared ahead stubbornly.

"I think I underestimated our little Renesmee. She's rather ruthless really, isn't she?" He smiled, clearly he was proud of his pet hybrid.

"She knew you and Edward were involved and it seems she wasn't willing to turn a blind eye."

Aro looked down on me with a victorious grin. I should have felt the anger. I should have been hurt. I should have bowed my head to hide the shame in my gaze. But instead I felt hysteria rise up my throat. So instead of bowing before him, a meek pawn for him to toy with, I let the laughter bubble free. I laughed because for all I hated Renemee's actions I couldn't stand there and deny that I got what I deserved. I had known all along that what Edward and I had would never end happily, but I had been so blinkered by it all that I hadn't seen what was happening around us. I hadn't noticed the way Renesmee had changed towards me. At least not until it was too late.

Aro's eye's narrowed as I lost all composure before him. Like all those years ago when I waited behind stone walls, listening to the Volturi play out their show of mercy to Edward and Bella, knowing all along I was trapped awaiting death. I once again found myself in their grasp. And again I would sacrifice myself for Edward and Bella. A final act of my guilty conscience. Aro had me exactly where he wanted me. But what he didn't know was that I was exactly where I wanted to be. And now, even though the outlook was bleak I would find some way to gain a victory from this situation.

"You honestly believe I didn't know?" I spoke calmly as I fixed my eyes on his. "I have spent centuries running from you, and until some spoiled child made some rash decision, you had absolutely no idea I even existed. So, you can play out your theatrics, gloat as much as you want, but I suggest you think twice before you underestimate me."

As I stared into his glittering ruby gaze I started to plan. After all I had nothing left to lose.

I turned to glance behind me, Aaron hovered in the shadows, watching me carefully.

"I think I'll take my leave now, Aro. I'm sure Aaron can escort me back to my room."

I didn't wait for an answer before turning on my heel and leaving Aro to fester in his fury.

I smirked as I heard the crack of marble echo behind me. It was a sound that could only be made by a fist colliding with solid stone.

I didn't let my step falter as I passed through the halls. The last time I had walked towards my prison cell with such vigour was the night I knew the tingle would take me away. That wouldn't happen this time, but nonetheless I felt triumphant. I had finally realised that despite the prison I was walking towards, I was free. Aro's hold over me was broken. There was no fear left. I had taken the upper hand and I had no intention of giving it back.

I stepped through the door, leaving it open behind me. Aaron stopped short at the threshold. He was smart enough to know not to be in a room alone with me. My gift may have been immobilised, but he knew that didn't mean I wasn't dangerous. I was centuries older than him after all.

"You're young, aren't you?" I asked as I slowly turned to look at him.

"I'm 28 years old," he replied stiffly. They hadn't taken much time to help him adjust to his new self. You could see it in the way he held himself, too still, too stiff, too uneasy.

"I didn't mean how old you were. I meant how old you are now."

His head tilted in confusion, "you mean how long I've been a vampire?" he tripped on the word vampire, and for a moment I felt pity for him. What life had he been ripped way from when they found his gift? Was his change carried out in the same manner as mine? Caught in the middle of the Volturi's feeding frenzy, surrounded by blood, death, and fear?

"I think it's been a few months," he twitched as his mind was pulled elsewhere. I could remember what it had felt like in the first few months, years even. My mind could think and react within a second but because of that my attention was constantly drawn to whatever new stimulus crossed its path.

"And Aro changed you?"

"Yes." His misplaced loyalty made his voice curt. "You too from what I understand."

I nodded as the image of Aro swooping towards me sent a shiver down my spine. "I was eighteen, in the wrong place at the wrong time." I paused as I thought of the deal I'd made with Aro to spare Edward and Bella. "Or perhaps the right place, right time, depending on your perspective."

His red eyes watched me from the doorway where he leaned awkwardly on the frame. He still wasn't aware of how his new body moved but there was a hint of a man below the marble surface. Someone who had been easy-going and confident; able to look at home no matter where he was placed.

"How long have you been like this?" he surveyed me, eyes lingering on the curve of my waist then the swell of my hips. I knew his lust was just another fleeting reaction, a by-product of his age.

"How long is a piece of string?" I quipped running a hand through my hair. His head tilted again.

"Playing with the new toy, Aaron?" Jane drawled as she stood like a statue in the corridor.

Aaron didn't reply, instead he just dropped his gaze. Like a beaten dog.

"Master Caius has requested Miss St Clair be moved to the west wing."

"How lovely, do I get a room with a view?" I teased

"I'm sure you'll find something to entertain you while you await trial."

Caius clearly loved irony. It was a characteristic he'd displayed wonderfully when Jane showed me to my beautiful prison cell. I knew he would put me back in the same room I'd once escaped from when I was human. The diamonds were the same flawless shade of blue, the gold dividing them still seemed to glint when the light hit it. It was as if no time had passed at all.

I scratched at the stonework by the window, etching in another hour as it passed. Counting the seconds had been the only thing I could do to stop myself from listening to the voices through the wall. Caius had had another objective in mind when he moved me here. As if putting me in the same room hadn't been enough. No, his cruelty wasn't satisfied with that.

I hadn't realised at first, but then I heard her voice coming through the thick stone walls and my stomach clenched.

As he told her it would be OK, I wanted to close my eyes and pretend it was me he was speaking to. I wanted to but I didn't, because when Bella asked him quietly if they were OK he said he loved her as he always had. And that riled me, like his words were like ants crawling over my skin. A small part of me reasoned with the internal harpy defiling his name. What else could he say? We had agreed to wait until this was all over to tell Bella anything. And would it have achieved anything if he had told her now that his feelings had changed? Or would it just cause her unnecessary hurt?

The questions had rattled endlessly through my mind and I had to give it to Caius. He knew how to break a person. He might not have had Aro's intuition, but he didn't need it. He knew I could take the waiting, but I would never be able stand having to listen to them. Not after what Edward and I had shared. It was like rubbing salt in an open wound.

So for my own sanity I had forced myself to focus on this, the passing of seconds, in the hope that eventually all I would hear would be the numbers counting down in my head.

3, 2, 1…

A sardonic smile crept onto my face as the familiar hum cut through the quiet. My body resonated as if greeting an old friend. My gift may have been smothered but it felt like I could almost absorb the energy in the room. It was so palpable.

She gasped as she appeared behind me. I knew the dread that had fuelled that gasp.

"I was wondering when you would turn up," I whispered, careful to keep our conversation away from Aaron's attentive ears.

I turned and pressed a finger lightly against my lips, indicating the thick oak door.

"How long have we been here?" she asked. Her hair floated gently around her shoulders, the static not quite leaving her.

"A couple of days," I started, "I think they'll put us to trial tomorrow."

"Us? To trial? What went wrong?" she pushed.

"You know it's better I don't tell you that."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you'll want to tell them and you can't," I said knowingly. I knew how I felt in this moment. I had been desperate and uneasy. Those things weren't conducive to making rational decisions.

She started to retort, and I saw a glimpse of the stubbornness everyone always said I had. It was strange to have the chance to really see myself as other's saw me. Not just a mirror image but exactly as I am.

"It's better this way. The less they know, the less Aro knows." It felt odd saying the words. Like I was just reading lines in a play. I knew what I had said so I knew what I had to say, but at the same time, it was like I was saying them for the first time.

"Will they be safe?" she asked, and I smirked as I thought what an odd question that seemed now. I was standing here, in this place, alone and we had been worried about everyone else.

"That depends on plan C," I said.

"There is no plan C."

"There's always been a plan C. We both know that." It was true. Even now, with the past few hours of history leaving a sour taste in my mouth I had still been planning how we would get out of this. How I could make sure the ones I loved lived to see another day. Because whether I liked it or not, I did love Edward. Even if was a fool in love.

She bit her lip against the truth lacing in my words.

"What are you saying?" she whispered as her eyes watched me carefully.

"You know what I'm saying."

She inhaled a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

I continued as she paced over to the bed and lowered myself onto the plush covers.

"We came into this life alone and now we have to save it alone."

She nodded as the words sunk in, "Suppose I should have known. Nothing ever seems to go to plan."

I nodded, freezing as soft words of reassurance drifted through the wall.

The noise of Aaron gagging comically sounded beyond the door and briefly I worried he could hear us as clearly as he could hear them. He made no move to interrupt us, so I turned back to our conversation. Edward's voice murmured through the stone and for a moment I was cast back to the night we spent together. The words he'd said and the noises he'd made.

I let myself bathe in the memory of the feelings he'd elicited and as I did I remembered that she had all of it to come. She hadn't yet experience what it was like to be with him. Really with him.

"Listen to me. This could be it. We might not get a second chance. Are you willing to go into this without knowing...what it must be like?" I fixed her with a persuasive stare and the image of Edward and I flashed through my head. Heat followed, slow and burning in the pit of my stomach.

She gaped in front of me as a salacious smirk lifted the corners of my lips.

"For once damn all the consequences, take what you want." I continued, fuelled now by lust alone. A need to have him last if not forever. "There might not be another chance."

As the hum of static tickled my ears I turned back to the window. Caius had put me here to throw Bella and Edward in my face, but as my past self left I thought of what she was going back to. Caius couldn't take that from me. And listening to Bella and Edward next door I knew nothing he said to her could either. No matter what came next what we shared would never be tainted.

7th July 2048

I shifted off the bed, unable to stand being so close to the soft muffled noises of Bella cooing to Edward. All those sweet words of 'it will be OK,' 'we'll explain,' 'we'll be home soon.' She didn't understand just how dangerous of a situation this visit was. Edward didn't either but at least he had the sense of mind to know that Aro didn't invite you to Volterra for a friendly chat.

I heard a knock on their door. It was sharp and short. Must be Jane.

Two sets of footsteps followed the rap on the door, one set spaced closer together than the first. Jane and Alec? They rarely went anywhere alone but the second set seemed to hesitate before following.

I listened intently against the wall. The first time I had had the urge to do so since moving into this room.

"You know what to do,"

Definitely Jane.

A pause followed without a sound.

"What are you doing?" Bella's voice rose in urgency,

"Stop it," Her words cut through cries of anguish helplessly, "Leave him alone!"

I recoiled from the sound of Edward's pain as if I could feel it myself.

"We don't know anything, we haven't done anything!" Bella continued, panic punctuating her words.

"Whoever said you had?" Jane laughed joylessly.

Another shout of agony echoed through the walls. She left the question hanging. Letting it gnaw away at his conscious while her gift eroded his willpower.

"Why are you doing this?" Bella asked weakly as Edward's shouts eased to moans. I rested my forehead against wall, desperate to take this agony from him.

"We take training our newborns very seriously here at Volterra," Jane said sweetly. "Come Aaron, you've done well."

Footsteps made their way to the door before pausing once more. "Felix will come to fetch you for the trial. I suggest you remember what just happened before trying anything untoward."

Her voice sent a chill down my spine. They were flexing Aaron's muscles and it was clear no gift was safe from his control. What's more, he was getting stronger. He had been able to bind Bella's shield and contain my gift without weakening. For one so young it was an impressive feat. If not a terrifying one.

Felix came for Bella and Edward within the hour and they went with him without complaint.

I didn't make it as easy for him.

A/N: Thanks for reading!