{Complete Honesty}

When Bella walked into the cafeteria the next day, her attention was pulled away by Alice, who was waving at her to come over. Reluctantly she changed her path and made her way over to the table in the corner of the room.

"Hey Bella," Alice said. "Would you have lunch with me today? My dad wanted to know a few things about this afternoon."

"I would have lunch with you," Bella slowly said, turning her head towards her regular table, "but I promised Angela-" She stopped herself when she saw that Angela was looking at her, sternly shaking her head. "Well, I guess Angela won't mind if I sit with you."

Alice laughed while Bella sat down in the empty chair next to hers. Bella dumped her bag on the floor and took a Tupperware box out from the main compartment, placing it on the table with a thud.

"So, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

Alice shifted in her chair to sit sideways, facing Bella. "Well, first of all, would you mind driving with us, instead of with Tanya? That way she won't have to make a detour, and since we're all going to the same place anyway…"

"Sure," Bella shrugged after a moment of thought, pulling the lid of her lunch and going in with her spork to take a bite of the pasta salad. "Just give me a moment to text Tanya to let her know."

"No need," Alice said with a smile that showed the dimples in her cheeks. "Already done."

Bella followed her gaze and saw that Edward, who nodded to her when their eyes met, had his phone in his hands already. "Ah, the Telepath, that's right."

"You already know?" Alice asked, raising her brows.

"Yes," Bella nodded. "But we should probably leave that conversation for this afternoon."

"Alright," Alice easily agreed. "Now, we would also like to know whether you wish to talk to the entire family? Or would you prefer to simply speak with Carlisle?"

"I- I guess it concerns you all," Bella answered, playing with her food. "I think it would be best to hear everything first-hand from me. That way we can just get any and all questions answered right there and then."

-oOo-

Whilst she entered the massive house behind the two younger 'children' of the Cullen family, Bella was trying to decide whether or not she had made the right decision by letting everyone attend the meeting. Sure, she still thought it would be best to let them all hear the story directly from her. However, sitting in a car with two not-quite-familiar vampires had already been an unnerving experience. She was definitely not looking forward to having all of them looking at her with that ever-present curiosity.

Bella sighed softly and squared her shoulders. She had to calm down; she could not let her nerves get to her. There would be a time to freak out about everything, but that time was not now.

They walked into the tall hallway of the Cullen mansion, and Bella immediately spotted both Dr and Mrs Cullen, who were waiting for them. Tanya stood next to them and sent Bella an encouraging smile.

Bella smiled in response and stepped forward, presenting her gloved hand to Dr Cullen. "Good afternoon, Dr Cullen. It's good to finally meet you."

Dr Cullen nodded and shook her hand. "Likewise, Miss Swan. But please, do call me Carlisle."

"Only if you'll call me Bella," she answered, before moving on to properly greet Mrs Cullen."

"I'm Esme," Mrs Cullen told her. "I'm glad to meet you, we've heard so much about you."

"Now that we've gotten this formal part out of the way, I propose that we move this conversation to the living room," Tanya said, earning herself and irritated glare from Bella. "Oh, come on Bella, I've known the Cullens for literal decades. Trust me; they won't be insulted by a little less formality, no matter what your old man tried to teach you."

Bella simply sighed and shook her head, the amused looks of the Cullens emphasising the truth of Tanya's words. "Alright, lead me the way, then."

Edward offered to take her coat, which she slipped off, together with all her winter gear.

The living room was just as spotless as Bella would have expected from a vampire coven – one that did not have a Kate, that is. However, it did not take away from the effort she could see had been put into creating an actual living space out of the room.

Bella took a seat in an armchair that gave her a perfect view of all the others. Not long after Esme had gotten her something to drink, the last two coven members of the coven came down the stairs and joined them.

"I believe introductions may be in order?" Carlisle asked. At Tanya's nod he proceeded, motioning to the blond guy sitting next to Alice. "Bella, meet Jasper, our resident Empath."

Jasper nodded politely, a gesture which Bella returned.

"You have already been introduced to Alice and Edward, as well as their gifts, I heard," Carlisle continued. "And Rosalie and Emmett conclude our family."

"It's nice to meet you all," Bella said.

Jasper seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable, but she could expect that from an Empath. Rosalie was still regarding her impassively, as she had been doing from the moment she had walked into the living room, but Bella knew better than to take offense. She recognized the closed-off stance since it had been a part of her own façade for a long time. Emmett's expression was the complete opposite of Rosalie's; his face was an open book and it told her that he thought the formal introductions were quite humorous. From the latter two's body language, Bella rapidly discerned that they were mates.

"Alright, where would you like to start?" Carlisle asked, interrupting her thoughts. "Is there anything you need to know about us before we continue?"

"No," Bella shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I think I should just start to explain the arrangement I have? You'll become a part of that now, so it'd be good to know about that probably. If there are any questions after that, I can try to answer those." She shrugged. "That is really the only reason I'm here."

"I agree," Tanya said. "However, before we start this, I'd like to warn you that nothing that will be revealed can leave this room. It would not bode well if others found out what Bella means to the Volturi, and I think you can imagine what would happen if Bella is endangered because of you."

The Cullen coven unanimously agreed to that without much thought, surprising Bella. Tanya smiled reassuringly though, and nodded. "You can continue now."

Bella opened her mouth, but suddenly realized that she had no idea how to do this. She had never before had to tell anyone about any of this; the Denalis had been included in the establishment of the agreement, and it was not something they really discussed these days.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "So, uh, where should I start?"

Luckily Tanya came to her rescue. "Maybe explain the basics of your gift, and you can go from there?"

Bella let out a long breath. "Alright. Well, for kind of as long as I've known I have been able to see the past." She could see Carlisle's eyes lighten up in revelation, but he kept silent. "When I was younger, I would sometimes get flashes of the lives of the people I interacted with. Later – much, much later – I realized my ability was set in motion by eye-contact and touch, but it all happened so randomly back then, that it was impossible for me to connect it to those triggers.

"Nearly two and a half years ago, I was visiting Italy with my- my mother and her husband, when we went around the village Volterra. I was fourteen, I guess? And my ability had developed a lot by then. It was busy on the plaza and I got pushed around, making that my skin touched that of this woman and the sheer volume of her past immediately sent me into a near-catatonic state."

Bella heard Alice gasp and threw a small smile into her direction.

"When I woke up, I was told that I had been brought into the city hall of Volterra and I met Aro. He told me of his own gift and explained more about the vampires I had seen in Heidi's past."

"Why did Aro not kill you, or turn you for that matter? And how did you end up in the city hall in the first place?" Rosalie asked.

Bella's eyebrows rose at the blunt tone, but she soon composed herself. "Heidi recognized the gift-induced state I was in, from earlier experiences, and she brought me to Aro. He was easily able to establish that I was a witch with one touch, thought this contact then had me unconscious for longer, which was fun."

Bella noticed the near scandalized looks of the Cullens and added, "I have since then had a very enlightening conversation with him about the right to privacy." She winced as she felt the pressure in her head building up and moved her gaze to Edward. "Speaking of which, I would very much appreciate it if you would stop to try and enter my mind. The walls I put up are not so much in defence of the outside, but more so to contain my own ability. If you succeed in wearing them down, I'll probably end up in a coma again." Or worse, she added in her mind.

Edward had the decency to look guilty as the others shot him scolding looks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said quietly, and at once the pressure in Bella's head receded.

"You are right, you should be very sorry," Tanya responded, earning a soft sigh from Bella.

"It's alright," she told him. "Anyway, where was I?"

"You were explaining how you ended up in the city hall, and why Aro decided not to kill you," Carlisle supplied, leaning back into the couch.

"Right," Bella nodded. "Well, Aro realized my gift would be an asset to them, due to its objectiveness and whatnot. Later that day I met Marcus, who told us he could see a faint familial bond between us. I'm actually a descendant of Aro through several generations, which probably confirmed that I would not be killed. Family bonds, well, bonds of any kind really, are highly valued amongst vampires. Though, I guess you knew that already. And, uh, that kind of sums up why I'm still alive."

The Cullens were now looking at her with wide eyes. Their gazes burned into Bella's head, who sunk into herself, biting her lip nervously.

Carlisle noticed the girl's unease and visibly collected himself. He seemed to have a lot of questions, but ended up asking just one question that Bella had expected.

"I gather you will be changed once you are of age?"

But Bella shook her head. "As of right now? No, I won't."

Startled, Carlisle looked at the girl with a renewed gaze. "But surely-"

"That matter is none of your concern," Tanya interrupted. "What is important at the moment, is that you have been officially included in the arrangement about Bella's safety. Again, rumours of any of this cannot go out into the open."

"You, of course, have my word that none of us will tell a single soul," Carlisle reassured once more, slightly taken aback by Tanya's sudden harsh tone. "Now, is there anything else we should know?"

Bella shrugged as a blush crept up on her cheeks. "I don't know, is there anything you would like to ask me?"

"I believe you have given us quite a bit to think about," Esme smiled. "Thank you for telling us everything."

"No problem," Bella said, her face heating up even more.

"Well, I think this is where we conclude the meeting," Tanya stated, standing up from her seat. "I'll drop you off at home, or you could come over to ours for a while, if you want? It's still a few hours until your dad's shift ends."

"Or you could stay here?" Alice proposed, making all heads turn in surprise.

Alice looked so adorably excited at the prospect of spending more time together, that Bella nearly gave in without a thought.

"I would love to get to know you better," Alice continued. "I can drop you off back at your house whenever you want, we don't live too far apart."

Bella hesitated and looked at Tanya, who simply raised a brow as if to tell her to make a decision. She turned back around. "You wouldn't mind doing that?"

"Of course not, silly," Alice grinned. "I would not have offered if I did, right?"

"Alright then," Bella agreed with a faint blush. She immediately knew it had been the right decision when she saw Alice's face lighten up in delight.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Alice said, rising from the couch and grabbing Bella's hand to pull her up and along towards the staircase in the hallway. Bella snatched her bag which held her phone from the spot next to her shoes just in time before she was led up the stairs.

"Please don't mind the mess, I didn't think to clean up…"

The remaining part of the Cullen coven followed the two girls suit as they trickled out of the living room, leaving Tanya along with Carlisle and Esme.

Carlisle noticed the thoughtful look on Tanya's face and motioned for her to sit back down. She mindlessly accepted his invitation, finally averting her gaze from where Bella and Alice had disappeared out of sight.

"What is troubling you?" Carlisle asked.

Tanya was startled out of her thoughts and met his eyes. "She- she should not have been able to do that."

"What do you mean?" Esme asked, leaning closer.

"Alice," Tanya explained. "The way she grabbed Bella's bare hands… it should have made her fall unconscious, at the very least. You heard what she told you about what Aro and Heidi's touch did to her."

Carlisle's eyes widened. "How come she didn't, then? Fall unconscious, I mean."

"Honestly? I have no idea," Tanya sighed, shaking her head. "What I do know, however, is that Bella knew Alice's touch would not hurt her. Whether it was through instinct, or actually knowingly. Her reflexes rival that of a vampire by now, she could have pulled her arm out of the way in time, had she wanted to.

"Alice! Don't you dare!" they heard being shouted, before the door closed and cut off the noise.

Carlisle exchanged looks with Tanya. "I have a feeling our lives will become quite interesting."

"Complete honesty is not the same as full disclosure."

A/N: The quote above quite accurately explains Bella's story: it is far from the entire story. I tried to draw a line as to what she would tell a bunch of (practical) strangers, and what she would not tell just anyone (I hope I succeeded?) Later on, in a future chapter, there will be more on what happened during, as well as before, Bella's time in Italy.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the long wait, but I was very busy with studying for my exams at Uni. I finished writing this chapter nearly two weeks ago, but it was only today that I found time to edit everything. And it also happens to be my birthday :) Seriously, I'm officially old now. Please do leave me a review with your thoughts on this chapter, it makes me very happy if you do! I'll even send you a piece of virtual birthday cake in exchange for it. And also, don't hesitate to let me know if there are any mistakes you notice.

I'll try to update the next chapter quicker than this time, but I can't promise anything, as with more exams coming up it's going to be a busy few weeks for me. Until next time!

- Laura