A/N: This is New Moon through mid-Eclipse from Edward's perspective. These characters are not mine and all belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is her story and much of her dialogue wrapped in my interpretation of Edward's narration.

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Thanks for your patience with the shorter chapters. I do my own editing and with my current schedule it's much less overwhelming for me to edit around ~4,000 words at a time than ~8,000.

Volterra IV: Verdict

I released Bella, sliding in front of her to block Jane's line of vision. Smiling, Jane turned, her eyes easily finding Bella's leg not entirely concealed behind mine.

"Don't!"

I could guess what Alice's cry meant, but it didn't matter - I knew the likely result as I launched myself at Jane. It was with all of my will that I focused on my target. I thought that would be enough to push through her attack.

Not quite.

My mind was nearly wiped clean as it came under assault. My eyes closed tight, my body not where it had been a moment ago, I didn't know where I was in space. Not that I was much thinking of that.

The pain was general and specific. Aching and and sharp. Bludgeoning and stabbing. Fire. So much fire. My skin felt as though it was being grated like cheese from my bones while I was beat with a wrecking ball made from something harder than my own skin. Every nerve fizzled with the electrocution.

Transformation had been traumatizing. Torture.

This was worse.

I was sure I was coming unraveled, shaken apart. Maybe they were tearing me apart, burning me.

The thoughts around me were just an indistinct mumble amid the burning, but I passively realized I was not, in fact, undergoing destruction. I might have wished for it, except I knew Bella was alive.

I'd promised higher powers yesterday - any that might happen to be eavesdropping, amused by my suffering - that I would do anything to have just a little more time with her. A century in hell if it meant one more hour. I wasn't thinking of that promise as my nerves were charred, but I could feel it in a sense. I could feel Bella's presence.

And so I used that iron will, the one I'd thought would be enough to overcome Jane's defenses, to keep silent. I didn't want to alarm Bella and I didn't want to give Aro and Jane the satisfaction.

"Stop!"

Bella. Bella was hurting. Bella was scared. And I could do nothing for her. I was worthless.

Bella's safe. I have her. Bella's safe. Alice's chanting was a thread I seized onto with all of my might. She's in my arms and she's safe. Ten more seconds...

Ten more seconds! It felt like she'd told me there would be a decade more.

Seven more seconds...

Had only three seconds passed?

Two more seconds...

Relief washed over me. Cool, smooth. Quiet. The burning had been so loud. My muscles relaxed. Though the attack had stopped, the memory was so strong I felt like I'd been permanently injured. The reverberating effects made me feel broken and weak, scrambling and overwhelming my thoughts.

Now, don't overreact this time. See what I see...

Alice's vision was of Jane - Jane smiling at Bella. I didn't pay attention to what came next. From my position, crumpled on the floor, I sprang to my feet.

At the same time, Alice whispered to Bella, "He's fine."

The witch had already cast her eyes on Bella in the time it took me to come back to myself. I was too late.

Bella's eyes swam with so much pain and horror that it took me a second to realize that Jane was failing. Hearing Jane's wordless fury and frustration, I realized Bella's terror was for me. I glanced back at Jane once, still not entirely believing, and then my body finally relaxed.

There were no words to describe the level of relief I felt knowing Bella could never experience that. Not knowing her thoughts was a very small price for that assurance.

Bella looked at Jane, too, shrinking back as she met her gaze. I'd pulled her into a nightmare, a horror film. If we survived this, she'd be traumatized for life.

I closed the distance between Bella and I and touched Alice's arm for her to release Bella to me.

Why didn't you listen to me, you idiot?! I told you she'd be fine. Alice's tone didn't match her harsh words. The ache of witnessing such a thing was still with her like a ringing in her ears. She put her hand on my back.

Aro laughed in a strange staccato.

Alice scowled at him. You fucking scumbag... And that was one of the nicer things she had to say about him.

"This is wonderful," Aro chortled. He found it easier to lean into his fascination with the oddity that was Bella now that both I and the guard had been humbled. It neutralized his earlier humiliation.

I glared at Jane as she coiled, hissing, to launch herself at Bella. Her desires were graphic. But Alice could see that she would be stopped.

"Don't be put out, dear one," Aro soothed, placing a restraining hand on Jane's shoulder. "She confounds us all."

Jane bared her teeth at Bella, but abandoned her plans. She would not disappoint Aro.

Aro chortled again, remembering me writhing on the floor. "You're very brave, Edward, to endure in silence. I asked Jane to do that to me once - just out of curiosity." He shook his head, utterly impressed. Now, now, no permanent damage done, he hummed, responding to my hostile gaze, the disgusted twist of my mouth. It was all in your head.

Aro could see I would not participate in any more of his small talk and surely their meal would be here soon.

"So what do we do with you now?" he sighed.

Alice and I stiffened, watching our odds of survival slip further away from us. Aro had accepted his daydreams of a warmer union between our two groups was unlikely and was bracing himself now for our imminent destruction. After the display I'd put on, he couldn't let me leave to go on living in blatant disregard for their laws. Word would get around. Even if he would allow it - the idea tempted him - he knew Caius would not.

Bella trembled, feeling my heightened tension.

Aro looked to me first. "I don't suppose there's any chance that you've changed your mind? Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company."

How he still had hope, I could not understand. But then... maybe... would he be open to an exchange? My servitude for Bella and Alice's freedom...

Oh, please do join us, Felix thought. We're really lacking for an arrogant ass around here...

No respect. He has no respect at all for our work... Jane's thoughts were frantic and flustered at the prospect.

The idea stressed Demetri and annoyed Caius.

Only Alec matched Aro's enthusiasm. We'd be happy to have you! He smiled warmly at the prospect.

I spoke slowly, allowing Alice time to map out the possibilities "I'd... rather..." Caius would not allow a trade. Not with everything Bella knew. "Not."

"Alice?" Aro was more nervous for Alice's response. He didn't know her as well as he did me. "Would you perhaps be interested in joining with us?"

"No, thank you," Alice said, her polite tone at odds with her rather vicious inner monologue.

"And you, Bella?"

I hissed, taken by surprise, though I shouldn't have been, hearing Aro's keen interest in her earlier.

It's all she's ever wanted, Aro argued. Shouldn't she have the right to choose between the thing she desires and... other fates?

He wasn't bluffing. It would be an easy thing to change her and a nice little hobby to ferret out the boundaries of what he saw as a gift. Based on what he'd seen so far, she could very likely be of value. But, more immediately, if he could get her to join, he guessed that I would, too.

Bella stared at him blankly and I had the very real fear - as Aro rightly guessed - that she might take him up on his offer.

"What?" Caius whispered harshly.

"Caius," Aro said, giving him an exasperated look. "Surely you see the potential. I haven't seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?"

Demented loon... Caius deliberately looked away, like a temperamental child.

Jane's thoughts were all tangled up again, snarled with jealousy and indignation that this ugly little human could be considered on the same level as her. Meanwhile, Alec cocked his head, trying to transform the puppy of a girl into his future sister. The idea amused him, but he was open to it.

Growls rumbled deep in my frame at the idea of Aro robbing her of her humanity and soul for his own gain.

Calm down, Alice nagged me, it's not going to happen.

Bella cast me a worried glance before looking back to Aro. "No, thank you." It was just the faintest breath.

Aro's expression was grim as he sighed. "That's unfortunate. Such a waste."

A path occurred to me then. Aro maintained the façade that service to the Volturi was entirely voluntary, but I'd seen enough now. Sure, some people joined up willingly, but from the effort Chelsea was exerting, I knew a lot of wills had been tampered with.

I hissed. "Join or die, is that it?" I questioned, heaping my tone with outrage and disgust. "I suspected as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws."

As I had hoped, Aro was scandalized by the idea that that was my interpretation. His controlled thoughts lapsed for only a moment as he thought of Chelsea.

"Of course not." Aro blinked with a perfect performance of astonishment. "We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you."

Caius's eyes, boring into Bella's, burned with hate. "Aro. The law claims them." The little wench knows everything. She's seen our home.

I'd prepared for this line of argument. It seemed like our best bet. "How so?" I demanded.

Aro was piqued, considering immediately that I already knew what Caius was thinking. If I wanted him to say it aloud, perhaps I had a workable mechanism to free us. He wasn't opposed to the idea if he could retain his dignity.

Alice was less hopeful. This wasn't pushing the needle in our direction.

Caius was not as astute as his brother and immediately threw a bony finger in Bella's direction. "She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets."

"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well," I pointed out, my eyebrows raised.

Caius thought of Gianna and their other mortal minions, his face twisting into a cynical grin. "Yes." Quite brilliant, you are. "But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not."

Bella's pleading, frail whisper surprised me. "I wouldn't - "

She cut off immediately under Caius's sharp gaze. He looked away from her just as fast.

"Nor do you intend to make her one of us. Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only her life is forfeit." He smirked, entertained. "You may leave if you wish."

My lip curled up, baring my teeth.

"That's what I thought," Caius sighed.

It was truly a pleasure knowing you, Felix promised, moving into a crouch.

Alice hadn't given up, but her attention was divided now. She was thinking of Jasper, spending what were likely her last minutes with him. She could see that Aro would let her go, but she wouldn't accept. She would die trying to protect Bella.

I decided I would signal to her that she should accept. If there was truly no hope...

Stop it, Edward, she snapped, seeing my intentions. I'm not a coward. I'm not leaving you. I'm not leaving Bella.

I ground my teeth, frustrated with her decision.

As our ending grew nearer, Aro's desire for Alice grew, too. One of a kind. Never have I seen...

"Unless..." Aro mused, thinking quickly now. "Unless you do intend to give her immortality?"

Visions of grief twisted into those of reunion as Alice watched. There would be no problems if I answered yes. We'd be back in our family's embrace in little more than a day.

I pursed my lips. "And if I do?"

Aro glowed, his demeanor bright again. "Why, then you would be free to go home and give my regards to my friend Carlisle."

Caius's jaw was rigid with viscous disbelief.

Aro's lips turned down a little, as if hearing his brother's thoughts. "But I'm afraid you would have to mean it." If I know you, and I feel I do now... perhaps you are prepared to make a promise you don't intend to keep.

He raised his hand in front of him.

Caius relaxed. Don't endanger the girl's soul, he mocked. Surely your lives are a small price to pay for that.

If Bella doesn't leave with you, I can't promise to keep her out of Felix's hands, Aro thought regretfully. He's been eyeing her our entire meeting and I'm afraid he tends to get what he wants. Such an ornery one, that one...

I wished they'd killed me. That Alice and Bella had been too late. I was no longer grateful for my one hour. If they'd killed me, I wouldn't have to decide now between destroying Bella's soul and leaving her to face the most hideous death imaginable.

I stared down into Bella's eyes, paralyzed. Tortured.

"Mean it," Bella begged. "Please." There was no color in her face and her eyes were wet. But still she was perfect. Just like this. Perfect.

I was so evil, so stupid, so foolish... My actions had left her with no future. Either way. No future. No, I couldn't take her soul.

Yes, you can, I reminded myself. You wished you were there at the cliff. To save her.

No. No. No.

Besides... if I touched him, he'd realize I knew too much. If he heard my thoughts about Chelsea and Demetri... if he saw the conclusion I'd drawn about him and Didyme... If I was right about that, he might kill me on the spot.

It's going. To happen. Anyway. Alice's opinions were loud. Edward, I'm begging you. I'll kill you myself if you say no. Don't do this to Bella. Don't do this to Esme and Carlisle and Charlie... I fought the tragic visions she forced into my head.

Aro, too, cooed persuasively with his thoughts. Of course, he wanted our gifts preserved, but I could see a small part of him wanted a different ending to the soap opera of our lives. He couldn't wait to read the next installment.

Oh. Alice's tone abruptly changed. Of course. She stepped away from us. Bella and I turned to watch her.

Aro waved off his guard as she approached. He looked as though he might explode with anticipation as he strode forward to meet her halfway.

You're not going to give me any trouble over what you hear, Edward, Alice ordered firmly. You owe me for the rest of your life, starting with not giving me any grief. I never want to hear one word about it.

Obviously, I was more than a little interested in what I was about to hear. I concentrated as Aro took her hand, closing his eyes.

I missed much as the record ran, but I saw plenty.

"Believe it or not," Alice had told Bella, "it's possible to lie with your thoughts."

Yes, wouldn't Alice know. How skilled she was in that area. So many lies! So many puppet strings! The games she'd been playing...

And Carlisle... I couldn't believe that he would...

And Bella and Jacob Black. That was an interesting interpretation of friendship...

My jaw snapped shut under the assault. I wasn't sure which detail infuriated me more, but I tried my best to file it all away for later contemplation - should later exist - because Alice had a request.

I know you're pissed right now, but since you owe me, could listen for what happened? What happened when I was human?

I would not deny her that - even if I didn't owe her, which I most certainly did. The tide was already turning. We would survive this. Alice was ninety-three percent certain.

Incredible. Aro attended to Alice's present thoughts as much as her past, fascinated watching her gift work in real time.

As Aro continued to move deeper into the past, he slipped from her days as a newborn vampire into her duller human thoughts.

I hadn't expected to feel... moved.

Among the last of her human visions were flashes of vague, indistinct figures that she couldn't understand at the time. One was Jasper. And the other was me.

If that hadn't been enough to zap my anger at her, to set my eyes stinging, I saw the horrors that had been her human life. Her gift had left her isolated, vilified. She'd seen that her mother would be murdered and Alice could only hold it off so long before she failed. It had been her father that put the hit on her mother and then he put one on Alice, too, because she knew too much.

He'd ultimately settled for faking her death and sending her to the asylum. This last part we'd known more or less - the electroshock therapy that had wiped her memory, the ground's keeper at the asylum, a vampire who had grown fond of her, that changed her when she warned of James' imminent attack. The friendship he'd had with her... it reminded me of Alice's tie to Bella.

It was jarring, given the gravity of what we had just heard, when Aro emitted another off-putting chuckle. "That was fascinating."

I wanted to rip his head off.

Alice's answering smile was less polite than her earlier charming grins. She didn't see the need to play pretend now that he'd heard the myriad of vulgar descriptors she had for him.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she replied dryly.

"To see the things you've seen - especially the ones that haven't happened yet!" He shook his head in amazement.

"But that will," she stated.

"Yes, yes, it's quite determined. Certainly there's no problem."

His certainty was based on visions that I was still wrapping my head around. Visions that involved, most centrally, backstabbing and deceit. Alice's mostly. But Carlisle's and Bella's, too. Jasper's and Esme's. But I couldn't focus on that now. Again, I stuffed those thoughts back into their drawer for later contemplation.

"Aro," Caius objected.

"Dear Caius." Aro smiled at his brother, unruffled. "Do not fret. Think of the possibilities! They do not join us today, but we can always hope for the future. Imagine the joy young Alice alone would bring to our little household... Besides, I'm so terribly curious to see how Bella turns out!"

Something about his words confused Bella and then her face changed, smoothing from fear into something blank and cold. Something that reminded me of the path in the woods outside Charlie's house.

I needed to know what triggered the change. But this wasn't the time or place.

"Then we are free to go now?" I asked calmly.

"Yes, yes," Aro assured me. He was floating, still high off of Alice's thoughts. "But please visit again. It's been absolutely enthralling." Who would have guessed the docile Carlisle would draw together such an animated family?

And good luck with your romantic pursuits, he added. This Jacob Black character makes for an interesting twist...

Caius was far from pleased with the outcome. "And we will visit you. To be sure that you follow through on your side. Were I you, I would not delay too long. We do not offer second chances."

I stiffened, not the least bit pleased with the idea of any of this lot visiting our neighborhood, but we would be a force waiting for them when they did. I nodded once.

He smirked, appreciating my obvious tension.

Felix groaned, disappointed that he would miss out on both a physical altercation and the plans he'd been laying out for Bella. He gazed at her wistfully.

"Ah, Felix," Aro sighed, misinterpreting the source of his grief. "Heidi will be here at any moment."

I could hear the thoughts of the approaching herd of prey. They weren't far from the slaughterhouse.

"Hmm." Anxiety made it difficult to maintain my newly diplomatic tone. "In that case, perhaps we'd better leave sooner rather than later."

"Yes. That's a good idea," Aro agreed quickly, not wanting to spoil the happy ending he'd just orchestrated. "Accidents do happen. Please wait below until after dark, though, if you don't mind."

"Of course."

"And here." Aro motioned Felix forward.

I barely won the battle, just resisting rolling my eyes at what Aro was about to do.

He pulled the gray cloak from around Felix's shoulders and tossed it to me. "Take this. You're a little conspicuous."

Jane and Felix watched sourly as I put it on, leaving the hood down.

Yes, this. Lovely. Though, perhaps one shade darker. "It suits you," Aro sighed.

I chuckled, unable to help myself, at his impossible fantasies of me willingly spending my days by his side, touching his wretched skin.

Stop flirting, Alice ordered, cutting through the voices of the guard, indignant at my sacrilege. We need to go!

I looked over my shoulder toward the coming crowd. "Thank you, Aro. We'll wait below."

"Goodbye, young friends," Aro said absently as he looked hungrily towards the entry way.

"Let's go," I urged Alice, towing Bella with me at the fastest human pace she could manage. Alice stayed on Bella's other side, vigilant.

Demetri led us out.

"Not fast enough," Alice muttered, embarrassed by what Bella would soon see.

I couldn't move her faster. Just as before, it would have been stupid to flaunt my inhumanity in front of Bella within the Volturi's lair, but on top of that, the other humans were upon us now.

"Well this is unusual," squawked a man with a Texan accent.

"So medieval!" His wife agreed.

The large crowd began filling the entry area leading into the turret.

Demetri impatiently swiped his palm through the air, urging us to move to the side to make room for the unwitting humans. He wasn't thrilled with his present assignment, knowing he would have slim pickings when he returned.

I couldn't help but watch the trickle of excited and confused tourists. While some happily accepted this strange, unpredictable tour, others were starting to think about the unlikely way they'd come to be on this trip. A contest they'd won when they never won anything, a stranger at the bar who gave them his plane tickets because he'd just found out a work thing came up... Something wasn't adding up.

"Welcome, guests!" Aro threw his hands up theatrically where he waited in the turret behind us. "Welcome to Volterra!"

One woman clutching a rosary didn't notice as she walked into someone's photo. She thought of Heidi. Her strange skin, her unnaturally heightened beauty... and Demetri, Alice, and I... there was something wrong about us. Demonic.

"Where is the exit?" she asked in Tagalog to one chipper tourist. "Which way to the exit?" she asked another, her voice growing more urgent.

It was then that I noticed Bella's eyes, round with horror, were watching the woman, too. I pulled her face, full of understanding, against my chest.

When a small break appeared in the crowd, I didn't wait for Demetri. I pushed Bella quickly through the door.

Back in the golden hallway, we came across the infamous Heidi, trailing behind her catch. She was statuesque with long mahogany hair and her red eyes were clouded by blue contacts, creating a muddy violet. Her beauty reminded me of Rosalie's.

She looked me up and down, confused at my robe, but liked what she saw. Wow. Isn't he something? She smirked and met my eyes. There was significance in her gaze. Intention that reminded me of Jane, though I felt no pain.

I felt a pull to draw nearer to her before I realized what was happening - something I had experienced before. Her powers of attraction went deeper than her physical beauty, but they were easily resisted with awareness.

Alice took an unconscious step closer to Heidi. She was not too stressed by our current situation to find the woman's outfit, snug fitting red and black vinyl, extremely tacky. Alice fixated on it, not understanding why she continued to stare.

Heidi cocked her head slightly, her eyes narrowing in bemusement as she focused her efforts on Bella.

"Welcome home, Heidi." Demetri approached from behind us, openly admiring the vampire.

"Demetri." Heidi, distracted by Bella - Bella who was not resisting her spot by my side to draw closer - smiled only faintly. He's blocking me somehow... She glanced quickly at me and the gray cloak I wore. Or his lure is stronger. The idea rolled nervously in her stomach. The idea that Aro had found someone with a more useful version of her gift.

I enjoyed her uneasiness, sick at the mass murder she'd used her gift to facilitate.

"Nice fishing," Demetri commented. He was nervous - a state I understood now was baseline for this vampire who always wore a calm façade. It seemed he had more than superficial feelings for Heidi and he worried she did not return those feelings, or find him even remotely interesting. Driving that feeling home were the curious glances she spared me.

Embarrassed, he tried to redirect his thoughts from the insecurity he was feeling over our differences in appearance.

"Thanks." She smiled warmly at him. "Aren't you coming?"

Hope mingled with enchantment, brought on by her smile. "In a minute," he answered half a second too late. "Save a few for me."

She nodded, trying once more coax Bella forward as she disappeared through the door.

I realized then that Heidi's efforts had been working on me better than I thought, holding us hostage through the little flirtatious episode between her and Demetri.

Aro was wrapping up his bizarre presentation inside and the feasting was seconds away. All but dragging Bella, I paced quickly away from the hellish chamber.

Dammit, Alice despaired.

The screaming commenced.

A/N: Up next Edward and Bella finally get their moment and the trio escapes Volterra. Don't worry, we will get to all of Alice's lies.

Thank you for reading!