After an enormous wait (sorry about that!), here is another chapter!

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No beta, all errors are mine.


BELLA'S POV

After the others have been informed of the unexpected visitors—with no small amount of teasing from Emmett—we finally breach the topic of my training with more intent.

Jasper, Emmett, Peter and Charlotte are all standing in a semi-circle in front of me.

"So, what is it exactly that ya can do?" Char says, smiling at me. Peter too seems curious.

I sigh, "I don't really know honestly. This thing, this gift, appeared when I was in Maria's camp, a while ago. I'm sure Jazz told you about it" I look at them, and their nods are confirmation of my statement. I continue, "Well, when Kai bit me he wasn't able to reach my veins. I mean, he only bit the most superficial part of the skin. Believe me when I tell you I was surprised, but I didn't have time to linger and think about it. Then when Jane attacked me, I kind of felt it expand, somehow? I don't know how to explain it."

I chew on my lip as I think about how to convey my thoughts. "Imagine a bubble, popping out of you, or pushing out something not from your body but from you mind. It kind of felt like that. It felt silky, also."

"So it originates from yer mind?" Jazz asks. I nod.

Emmett claps his hands. "Well, I dare say we have a mental talent on our hands. Now, considering the fact that both me and Charlotte don't have gifts apart from our irresistible charm—" he winks and gets an elbow in the ribs from Jasper, "—Peter has never really needed to control his gift, just to interpret his visions or apparitions or whatever, and that you, Jazzman, have a physical gift… how the hell are we going to do this?"

"Emmett!" Esme scolds from inside the house.

I smile at the normalcy of it all. It's almost as if we're not going to fight a war. Almost.

"Well, as much as it pains me to say this" Jasper massages his temples, "Em is right."

"So what do ya suggest?" Peter says, crossing his arms.

"When we trained the… recruits in Maria's army, we didn't bother with gifts" he explains, mostly to me, "They'd be dead long before ever learnin' how to properly use it in battle."

"And obviously now this decision in comin' to bit us in the ass" Peter grumbles, but even I can tell that there's no anger directed at anyone in his words.

"Well" I begin, tentatively sending Jasper some hope, "we could always call the Volturi to help us—help me."

Peter purses his lips. "I don't think it's necessary, honestly. Nothin' against the fellas" he adds, "But I just don't feel it's required here."

"Then what can we do?" his mate asks.

Another voice interrupts us. "I'm sorry to intrude…" Annalise timidly smiles, "But my talent is mental, even though it affects the body. I might be able to help. Would it be agreeable to you?" she looks at me.

I share a glance with Jasper and Peter. They both shrug, so I guess the ultimate decision falls to me.

"Yeah, I'd like that" I say. Her answering smile is small but emotional. "Very well. I'm ready to start now, if you desire" she says, wringing her hands.

At that Jazz intervenes. "I think it'd be best to take this to a more isolated venue. We don't know shit 'bout Bella's gift or how it could act up. Better safe than sorry."

After relocating to a small clearing in the forest, I sit on a moss-covered rock and wait patiently for instructions. After all, I have no idea where to begin. Annalise stands in front of me, "So, it's my understanding that you feel like your gift is a bubble? Not something physical?" she asks.

"Yeah, a bubble, but also something solid."

"Alright. The previous occasions when you gift manifested, they were times of fear or anger? What emotions dominated you when that happened?"

I don't have to think about it for long before answering, "I felt primarily fear, but also anger."

"Could you feel a specific part of yourself activating or reacting in anyway?"

This time I need to think about it a little. I can feel on me the eyes of Jasper and Peter, as well as Em and Charlotte. I hum, "Well, at the time I attributed it to fear, but I did feel a tingle in my spine going all the way up to my brain. I also felt kinda cold, but that can be due to the fact that I was almost naked."

Annalise looks intrigued by my words, but I offer no explanation or elucidation. Revisiting those memories is not painful per se but it's not pleasant either. A wave of comfort washes over me and I smile at Jasper, who in turn grins back beautifully. I look at him and every time I cannot believe this man is mine. I send back some love and his smile widens.

"Oi! Lovebirds, we're tryin' to train here!" Peter hollers, earning himself a smack on the head by Char.

"Let 'em be you moron!" she hisses.

Emmett laughs so hard he almost falls to the ground, but Annalise remains composed. Only a small smile graces her features.

Yeah, I can definitely see how she is the most well matched to Edward.

I tear my gaze away from her and meet Jasper's red ones. Their striking colour always catches me off guard, but this time it's not the only thing that surprises me.

Usually, when he looks at me, I can see love, sweetness and devotion—hell, even a few seconds before they were like that! But now I can see them slowly hardening. Turning cold.

I startle when a hand lands on my shoulder. Peter looks at me and smirks, "That is his business look. Get ready to be turned over like a spare sock. Ya need to train and he'll make sure that ya be trained thoroughly."

After everyone gets back under control, Annalise gives me her piece of advice. "Your gift is quite different from mine, but one thing I think could help is envisioning your shield as a physical thing. Not something abstract and most certainly not other. The handling of a gift is something that comes from within us. Seeing your gift as something separate from you is the biggest mistake you can make."

"And how do I do that?" I ask.

She sighs, "I mastered that part of my gifts in a couple of years, but in insight I think meditating would have helped me immensely."

"We don't have a couple of years" Emmett cuts in, very eloquently.

"And that is why Bella needs to start as soon as possible" Jasper says. His posture in ramrod straight, arms crossed over his chest, muscles flexing.

A wave of concentration squashes my lust in its bud, but I agree with Jasper. I need to concentrate.

Not minding the humid ground, I sit down cross legged. "Try to find a comfortable position. You need to be relaxed" Annalise says.

I lay back against the rock I was just sitting on and close my eyes. I let my arms flop mindlessly over my lap, letting them and my legs relax.

Jasper aids me by sending small but constant waves or relaxation at me.

It takes me a minute but in the end I manage to completely relax, so much so that my head lolls back against the rock. I can fall asleep at any moment.

"Very good, Bella. Now try to feel inside your brain and find the shield" Annalise tells me.

How the hell am I supposed to do that.

As if sensing my confusion, she elaborates. "Try to imagine yourself in a dire situation, or in a predicament where you might need your shield. Pay close attention to your mind and if you feel something grasp it."

I imagine myself falling down a cliff, being run over by a car, being assaulted, hell I even imagine being once again in the hands of James! But all I can get is a mere tingling. I cannot grasp it as Annalise says.

I begin to get frustrated, and Jasper tries to calm me but to no avail. "I can't do it! Nothing works. We have a few days and I can't do it!" I sneer.

"Calm Bella. This takes time but being agitated helps no one" Annalise says, looking apologetic.

"We don't have time!" I scream.

Jasper speeds to my side, massaging my shoulder and kissing my temple. I melt into his touch, letting his coolness wash over my overheated skin.

I look around at the others, Emmett and Char seem to be discussing other ways to stimulate my gift. Annalise is pursing her mouth and muttering things I cannot hear, and Peter seems deep in thought. He's pacing so quickly I almost can't see him.

The he suddenly stops. His face lights up, like he's had a Eureka moment.

"Bella get back in your relaxed state or whatever" he says, coming to stand beside me.

"Why?" I begin, but he lifts a hand and cuts me off. He puts his hands on his hips, tapping a cowboy-booted foot. "Just do it, sugarplum."

With the help of Jasper, who still hasn't left my side, I return in a semi-meditative state. "Now what?" I whisper.

I have my eyes closed so I can't be 100% sure, but Peter sounds like he's smirking. "Now think 'bout Jasper bein' in mortal danger. Or immortal. Whatever, ya catch my drift."

The mere thought sends a shiver down my spine.

My mind immediately conjures an imagine of Maria and Kai doing the impossible: they are alive and they are killing Jasper.

A part of my mind is certain this is impossible, but a larger part is absolutely convinced it could happen. And under the influence of Jasper's power, sending dread and fear to me in constant waves.

My heart is hammering in my chest. Rationally I know that he could never be overpowered like that, but Kai's power…

Power. I have a power.

I unconsciously flex my fingers.

I can help him. I need to help him.

Maria is laughing cruelly, Kai standing behind her. She has Jasper's head in her hands. Pressing, cracking his skin, but I am powerless to stop her.

I want to stop her. I will stop her!

As my heart reaches an unhealthy rhythm, a scream tears its way from my throat.

I feel an intense pressure and a whoosh. Maria and Kai disappear, but so does Jasper.

Where is he!?

I frantically open my eyes, launching forward, only to stop short at the sight in front of me.

The rock behind me is in shambles, a few trees have been knocked over either by my shield—shimmering in the dim light, ethereal and flimsy—or vampire bodies.

The first to recover are obviously the warriors. Charlotte, Peter and Jasper are up in a matter of seconds, too fast for me to see. I am vaguely aware of the others getting up, but I only have eyes for my Jasper.

My shield starts to retract to let him in, but a female voice stops me. I barely hear Annalise over the beat of my own heart. "No, wait! Keep it there!" she pants, funnily out of breath.

"Jasper…" I whimper. I need to feel that he's safe and sound.

"I'm fine darlin'. I'm right as rain, my love" he says to placate me. His eyes are wide with wonder.

"Bella, feel the shield. Explore it! Know it!" Annalise sounds almost desperate.

As my head clears a bit more, I am able to focus on the task at hand.

I close my eyes once again and simply feel.

My shield is both malleable and hard. It feels like I could make it any shape I desired. I try to do it—move it—and it's surprisingly easy. I simply feel a tingling every time I will it to move and a sensation of someone lightly pulling at something. The shield, I conclude, is attached to me but I can extend it at least half a mile [A/N: about 800 meters].

"Darlin', can you feel what I'm sending you?" Jasper asks gently, coming as close to me as my shield allows.

I concentrate, but nothing. I shake my head. I extend a hand towards him. I want to touch him.

Suddenly my shield expands even more, this time englobing Jasper. He looks genuinely surprised, and I must look even more shocked: as soon as he was with me under my shield, I began to feel him. I can feel him not as a physical presence—at least, not until he swiftly comes to stand beside me, holding my hand in his much bigger one—but more like a mental imprint.

When I tell the others all of this, they look at me with awe.

"That's great Bella, now" Charlotte says, "can we test your shield a bit? I know it's physical—hell, ya threw us head over heels back there!—but I want to see how ya fare under pressure."

I nod, determined to make it. "Sure, bring it on."

The vampires outside my bubble launch themselves at my shield. I feel the impact but hold on. Every punch and kick makes my knees shake, but I remain strong. What I don't expect is to feel Jasper sending me waves of confusion and light-headedness. It almost feels like a betrayal, but I know he's just doing this as part of training.

My vision blurs and I can feel my shield snapping back inside my body. It barely has a chance of settling back in my mind before I growl and push it out again. Sending everyone flying once again, Jasper included.

I decide to try something, as they all shake off the bits of trees and dirt on them. I picture my shield splitting, as if it were a cell during telophase, and send several bubbles away from me while keeping my shield intact around me. I encase everyone in a singular, separate bubble, and lock them in.

I will the bubbles to harden, and by the looks of it it's working.

I slowly make the main bubble recede until it's back inside me, but the others are still blocked.

Only then I realize that the tingling in my head has turned into a full-on headache.

"Babe, ya okay?" Jazz says, putting a hand against the shield encasing him.

I abruptly drop the shields.

Jasper is immediately by my side, holding my cheeks in his hands. He kisses my forehead, cheeks and mouth. His touch makes me calmer and happier, but the discomfort still lingers.

"My head hurts" I say, grimacing. I sag against Jasper's side, trusting him to hold me up.

He pulls me in an embrace and picks me up in a bridal carry. I lay my head against his very cold and very muscled chest as he tells the others about letting me rest.

I barely feel as he runs back to the Cullen's house. I am asleep before we even reach his bedroom.