Chapter Sixteen: Mirror, Mirror

Rosalie (POV)

Everything has been different since Bella's change; in fact, nothing has been the same since the day of the accident. Several times over the last six months I've practically begged Emmett to leave with me on a holiday. The melodrama alone was enough to drive me nuts. But the inevitability of Bella's transformation annoyed me to no end.

What made it worse was watching poor Edward struggle with his repressed emotions. Alice could have been a little more helpful, but nothing short of death could drag Edward away from the wreck he caused, pun intended. His rational choice to protect our family was a sound one, however, I wondered if it wouldn't have been better if he had just saved her. Not that any of it mattered anymore.

After Alice's vision, there were far more pressing issues we must worry about. A threat that no one else seems to see has infiltrated our lives in the guise of the perfect stranger. Something about Mason hasn't sat right with me since the day he arrived. With each of his tiny revelations I felt like he was baiting us, little by little. He seemed to be using the prize of information as a lure to ingratiate himself with my family, a clear attempt to gain our trust.

Then he laid a massive bomb, the temptation of powers. For me it wasn't just any power, but a vast and staggeringly impressive one. For a second, I wanted to know, I wanted the power. The vanity that I've always struggled with reared its ugly head and I was about to ask for more. But I couldn't let myself succumb to my usual impulses and fled the conversation.

I waited in silence, mentally preparing myself to curb my own reactions to the conversation we were about to have. Everyone took a seat at the dining room table, even Angela although she visibly looked like she felt out of place. There was a random scattering of light conversation as we waited for Bella and Esme to return, but after they arrived everyone quieted as Carlisle stood and cleared his throat.

"Our family hasn't formally had one of these in a while, a meeting to discuss everything that is happening and a forum to express concerns and resolve conflicts. Honestly, we haven't needed this kind of meeting, but I feel it is important to have one now. I have two things I wish to bring up first, and then the floor is open for anyone else to speak their mind. First I would like to welcome Bella." Bella and Carlisle stared into each other's eyes for a moment before he continued. "It has been a long time coming, I am grateful you have accepted us so fully." Bella smiled and nodded in acceptance.

"Thank you, Carlisle, I love this life, and I'm so happy to be a part of this family." Her enthusiasm was almost infectious it was so buoyant. She seemed completely and totally committed to our family. Although, her very presence posed a danger, I felt the need to welcome her since she came here to escape a form of physical and emotional imprisonment much like I experienced with Royce. I idly wondered how long it would take her to realize that this existence was just another form of prison, one that was utterly inescapable.

"I know I speak for everyone when I say, we're happy to have you, and I hope you love it here." My unexpected display of acceptance threw the entire room off. It made me feel smug to catch them all off guard. But it engendered the opposite reaction from Bella, she seemed genuinely touched. I felt a pang of guilt, but it passed quickly like always. Her eyes seemed to be pleading with me to confirm my sentiments, so I smiled warmly at her and nodded once. Then Alice took the floor by force, speaking her mind in her clear and grating voice.

"Everyone already knows how I feel, yet I think it's important to express those feelings out loud. Bella you are more than welcome, and I feel you have begun to complete our family in the best way imaginable." Alice was strangely serious in her words and tone. It was as if she knew that using her normal intonation would be inappropriate for the moment. As much as Alice irritates me on occasion, it's a nice change to see her not force her bubbly personality on a situation.

"I have always strived to be the voice of reason and compassion in this family. And I have always asked for your opinions before making a decision that would affect the entire family. This time the only person I consulted was Esme. Although she supported me, I never asked the rest of you if it was a course of action that was in the best interests of the whole. I beg you all for forgiveness as I say with the utmost sincerity how utterly happy, I am to have Isabella become a part of us. That being said, I also feel that our stay in this town cannot be for an extended duration. As much as it is my home, I feel there are too many dangers for us to stay here much longer. We should keep up appearances for a time, until a legitimate excuse can be made for our departure. I would like everyone's opinion on this issue. Also, I would also like your opinion of Mason and whether or not you feel that he should join us in where ever it is we are headed." Carlisle turned and looked at each of us with the love he always exhibited. And then began to wait for our responses with his endlessly infuriating patience.

"Yes, on the move, this town is like any other to me. If it gets us out of harm's way, then I cannot see a reason to stay. As for Mason, I can't put my finger on exactly why. But I don't trust him, and I have this instinctual feeling that what is hiding is more important than any of us can imagine. So no, I don't think he should join us. In fact, I would like for us to distance ourselves from him." I felt a sigh of relief getting it all off my chest. But the expressions on their faces made my second of relief tighten into a ball of angst. Even Emmett looked a little disappointed in me.

"I think he's cool, I don't know how trustworthy his is. Also, if Rosalie has a bad feeling then I trust her intuition, but I can't really agree with her. I haven't seen anything that would make me think he is working against us. I know we haven't spent too much time with him, but that should be our test. We should get to know him better. Oh, and I like it here, if we can find a way to stay, I would love it. I think running from whatever fight is coming is a mistake, and we should confront it head on." Emmett bless him spoke in his usually earnest way, his simple yet infectious attitude chipped away at my resolve a little. But I was bound and determined to make sure Mason wasn't a threat. He looked at me for approval and I smiled slightly at him and squeezed the big hand that was always wrapped around mine.

"Look I'm not saying that he is a bad guy and we should stay away from him at all costs. I just have a feeling, and I think it would be better if we didn't take the risk. He has already admitted to influencing our powers. I mean Alice was practically comatose, and Edward is still without his abilities. At the very least he can't be trusted. At the worst, he is trying to infiltrate our family under orders from the Volturi." It was a stretch, but the point was made. Everyone fell silent as they considered what I said. Then Angela stood up suddenly. She took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"Rosalie you might not trust him, but I do, he saved my life! If I knew nothing else about him, it would be enough. I mean, from what I understand that's not a natural impulse for a vampire, is it?" Angela looked fierce and earnest and looked to Carlisle for confirmation. Her impassioned defense of Mason seemed to be coming from a deeply emotional place.

"No, it is decidedly not a natural impulse. I don't think Rose is arguing against his values, instead she is questioning his motivations. And she does have a point we don't know where he is coming from, and where his true loyalties lie. If we were to take him at his word, then at the very least the Volturi may want him for information, at the worst they may want to kill him. That could cause us issues, especially if you are to remain human Angela." Carlisle looked a little pained. It was obvious the subject of Angela's transformation was difficult for him. "Does anyone else have anything to say?"

"Yes." Edward stood. "Mason is an issue, but I don't think he is a dangerous one. Everyone is a question mark; I have heard the way people twist themselves into making the wrong decision. But how can I or any of us truly understand the mind of an ancient as powerful as him. Whether or not his stories are true, he can obviously affect us on several levels. Yet I can't stop myself from wondering with awed curiosity about what could he teach us. The simple question of what we could learn about ourselves if he stays? Powers aside, there is so much that he's seen, that he apparently knows, that we would be fools to pass up the opportunity he presents. And if it is true that danger looms ahead of us, then having a powerful ally that could teach us how to broaden our abilities would be an asset, not a liability. Also, the disgust he displayed when he spoke about the Volturi makes me fairly confident about where he stands in relation to them. I think we should trust him; I think we should invite him to teach us, or at the very least we should get to know him better." His eloquent and emotional speech sold the room. I felt betrayed; it seemed my family refused to listen to me. I left the room quickly with a sigh of impatience and disgust.

I flew into my bathroom and stared into my mirror. In that moment I realized I only had one choice. I needed to prove once and for all if he was trustworthy, or not. And the only way I could do that was to find out if I really had powers like he said. I examined my perfect reflection, and in a moment of hallucination it seemed to laugh at me mockingly. The look of nearly demonic glee made me shutter to the core. This false image, this mask I always wore had become heavy and hideous in its visage. I turned away from the illusion and felt pained by the ugly person I had become. Then I moved quickly to the window in my room that overlooked the river behind the house. I threw open the fragile glass with little care to whether it shattered or not. Then I propelled myself into the woods, using every ounce of strength in my fearsome body. This was the hardest I had pushed myself in decades. It reminded me of that terrible run to Carlisle with a broken human Emmett in my arms.

I found his scent easily and followed it to his home. I entered the property and circled around to the front of the house. Mason was toying with the engine of a car that was barely worth the effort. As I approached him, he stepped back from the car and turned towards me while standing to his full height.

"Rosalie, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He smiled at me in genuine acceptance.

"I need you to teach me, I need to learn how to use my power." I said with determination, hoping he would fall for my plan.


Author's Note: Surprise. This point of view is a one off, and I hope it isn't an unwelcome one. Rosalie's voice is unique and I wanted to get her point of view in this moment.

Fun fact, in my original outline Bella and Edward were a couple at this point in the story. This had to major problems, one it left one of the major conflicts totally resolved in the first quarter of the story, and two it left Bella with very little to do from this point forward. I have no interest in stringing along the romance side of things, but keeping Bella and Edward apart, and introducing Alice as a triangle element makes the emotional side of this story all the more complex and fun. I honestly don't know where things will lead at this point, my outline is mostly plot related. I'm letting the character stuff happen as organically as I can.

Thank you for reading as always, and please take the time to leave a review. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts.

You can check my profile for the release date of Chapter 17.