After leaving a sulking Emmett in the game room Rosalie made her way to the dressmaker workroom where Alice, Victoria and Charlotte were looking through fabric books.
"Do we really have to go Rosalie?" Alice asked as soon as Rosalie stepped into the room.
"Yes we really have to go Alice but like I told Emmett we can come back again." Rosalie told her.
Alice plowed into Rosalie giving her a hug. "You mean it? You aren't banning us?"
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You all behaved well enough to get a future invitation."
Alice clapped her hands together excitedly." Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can I use some of the garment bags to pack up the outfits I made to bring home with us?"
Rosalie was about to say ask Bella but she realized that Bella would just remind her that the house was as much hers as it was Bella's. It was a lot to consider and almost overwhelming to accept but she was Bella's imprint and this wasn't a huge decision to make. Maybe it was time to get in the mindset of being Bella's partner in all aspects of life.
Rosalie rolled her eyes at herself. It was just some garment bags she was giving Alice not some valuable artifact."Yes go ahead and take what you need."
"Does that mean that I can take some fabric and accessories also?" Alice asked hopefully.
"You're pushing it." Rosalie huffed. "But if you don't go overboard then you can take some stuff with you."
"You're the best." Alice turned her attention to Victoria and Charlotte."I don't know why you guys think she's so scary."
At Rosalie's raised eyebrow Charlotte fumbled to explain. "We don't think you are scary. The subject of the great white tiger came up and the fact that there is little known about the tiger's mate. We simply didn't realize how formidable you would be especially when your mate was simply insulted."
Rosalie turned her attention to Victoria. "And you? Do you think I'm scary?"
A big smile spread across Victoria's face. "I think you're terrifying. Every one of my instincts is telling me to run as far as I can away from you."
Alice gave her a confused look." Why do you look so happy about that?"
"Because I know against the white tiger and her mate, James doesn't stand a chance and I'll finally have my freedom." Victoria told her.
Rosalie was stunned by the absolute faith in her and Bella. Victoria didn't have any allegiance to their cause other than the destruction of her sire and the fact that she wasn't pretending otherwise made Rosalie trust her a little bit more.She would still go through the security footage when she got a chance but she was becoming less suspicious of the red head every time they interacted.
"We are leaving as soon as we can so make sure you are ready to go. I'm going to go talk to Jasper." Rosalie said leaving the three to look through fabrics.
Rosalie found Jasper and Peter in the war room looking over what Rosalie thought were battle plans on a large table. As she walked over to them she was caught off guard by the smile Jasper gave her. She had never seen him look that genuinely happy before.He was always so careful with his emotions holding them tight to his chest so to see him so happy gave her pause.
"Bella wanted to make sure you got everything you wanted scanned and copied and if not I'm here to offer my help." Rosalie told him.
"I've scanned most of it. There are a couple pictures that weren't printed out that she has the glass negatives of. I was wondering if there was a way for her to have them developed." Jasper asked.
"I'm sure she will know exactly how to have that done. Did you mark them all down?" Jasper nodded. "Did you find anything interesting? I know of the one picture but was there others?"
Jasper's smile was back. "There was more than pictures. I found battle plans and one of the negatives is marked as what I think is my unit's camp. Before battle or after battle I don't know. She also has a lot of confederate battle pictures and plans. I originally thought it would be only union records that pertained to her ancestors battles but there is so much more than that. Her civil war records rival that of the national archives and some of the things are marked as secure storage and I don't know were that is but the items marked are priceless."
"She has a few secured locations that are protected from fire and theft. I'm sure next time we come if you have something specific you want to see she will take you to it." Rosalie told him.
Jasper chuckled."Does that mean we are invited back? I had to console Alice after you told us we were leaving today. I think she would have been more upset if she didn't claim to have so much to finish before we left."
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "They somewhat behaved themselves so the invitation has been extended. Both Alice and Emmett like to point out that they were not the ones that did the damage, I was so they shouldn't be banned I should."
"Yes, you did do some damage didn't you?" Jasper agreed.
Rosalie sighed."Does this mean you two are afraid of me now as well? Victoria and Charlotte claim to be."
"I'm not afraid of you. You may be the mate of the great white tiger but above all that you are my sister. I trust you Rosalie. You would never hurt any of us without cause. Even when you manhandle Alice off your mate you could easily hurt her but you never do." Jasper told her.
Rosalie cleared her throat of the emotion Jasper's words brought her."Thank you Jasper. I'm feeling off balance with the way things are going right now and it's nice to know you are on my side."
"It seems you will be needing as many allies as you can find on your side now more than ever." Peter said.
"You aren't speaking of Edward are you?" Rosalie asked.
Peter shook his head." The Volturi will summons you. It is well known that even with their history the Denalis are Volturi loyalist. I'm surprised your sire even involved them in this battle."
"It was his belief that they should be included because one of Edward's minions has made contact with them. It was the right thing to do in a sense." Jasper said.
"You believe the Volturi should be involved?" Peter asked him.
"No, no of course not. I think they should have been warned but we honestly didn't need them to fight with us. With Rosalie and Bella we probably won't be needed at all. The rest of us are more there as back up. I asked you and Charlotte here more to help train us than to fight. You two know newborns just as well as I do." Jasper explained.
"We will stand with the white tiger always." Peter said proudly.
Rosalie was stunned."It is that easy for you?You know very little about Bella. You've never even had a conversation with her but you would stand with her?"
Peter took a moment to put his thoughts in order. "The legends say that the great white tiger will be the savior of all supernatural races. How and from what we will be saved isn't known but I and many others believe the legends as they have come from many different respected seers. Not standing beside you and the white tiger is standing against you and there is no way my mate and I will stand against the great white tiger."
Jasper interjected." It's not just Bella we stand with Rosalie. It's you as well. In your own right you are equal to Bella. She may be the white tiger but you are the support she needs to be the great leader she is destined to be."
"Will you stand with us when the Volturi come?" Rosalie asked.
"You expect them to just come not summons you?" Jasper asked.
"They will summons us but Bella is a shifter and I am no longer a vampire so they have no authority over us. We have decided to decline the invitation." Rosalie told them.
Jasper agreed."That is a good idea. They would have no qualms about capturing you and doing all sorts of experiments and testing if you went to Italy. From a military standpoint it would be like going unarmed into the enemy's camp. They would have you completely outnumbered. Did you ask Carlisle about what he will do?"
Rosalie sighed once again. " Bella and I spoke to him. He admitted telling Eleazar everything he learned about Bella and myself. He also told us that the Denalis haven't decided to fight against Edward because they want to make sure Edward is the lesser threat than Bella and I."
Jasper frowned. "I always thought the Denalis would stand with Carlisle unconditionally. You must really have thrown them off their game if they would stand against him. Although it was rather humorous seeing Bella dismiss them so easily."
Peter laughed. "The way you took control of Kate and didn't even look up to dispatch the others was brilliant. I've known of Kate for many years and her battle prowess is well known. To have you so quickly and easily control all of them. Well I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. Did she even use her gift on you?"
"Bella and I aren't sure if she did. I would assume so but it had no effect on me. Maybe that was why she was so angry." Rosalie mused.
Jasper hummed in agreement."It would make sense. You definitely bruised her pride. Although she seemed to have a chip on her shoulder to start with. It was like she was itching for a fight. I have known her in the past to be more level headed and willing to discuss things. I wonder what caused her defenses to go up."
"I may know the answer to that. It's Bella." At the confused looks Peter explained. "When we came here and were told we were going to meet the great white tiger we didn't know what to expect. Maybe you guys are used to it being around her so much but when in Bella's presence you feel an overwhelming sense of power coming from her. It's like knowing that know matter what you do you will never be more than prey to a very powerful predator. Victoria explained her gift to myself and Charlotte and told us that whenever she is near Bella not even in the same room just near her she feels the need to run as far away as she can. Even when Bella was protecting her from you she said that she was fighting the urge to run."
"I was initially wary of Bella but I've always trusted her with Alice and she's never made me feel threatened but I do know what you mean. Bella is very powerful. It crackles in the air around her. I guess the reason I don't fear her is because I've seen her with Alice and even Emmett and she indulges both of them and shows such kindness. It was surprising when she shifted and held you down when you attacked Victoria." Jasper told Rosalie.
"I have been feeling very protective over her. Before we were a mated pair it wasn't as bad but after the bond was accepted I want to fight people for just looking at her. Do you think this could be a response to Bella being the white tiger and not just a newly mated pair?" Rosalie asked.
"You've always been passionate about what you care about but your reactions are a little extreme for a newly mated vampire. The level of violence you exhibited for just a question of your mate's motives was extreme but then again you have only been mated for a little over a week and you haven't had any uninterrupted time with your mate. I've never heard of a vampire mated to a shifter before but newly mated vampires usually spent time alone together for months after the bond has been accepted to strengthen the bond and allow both mates to feel more secure with the other's feelings." Jasper said .
Peter nodded." Not having any time to yourselves has probably made you feel insecure in your bond. I bet that has you making rash decisions. I know you don't have time but the best way for your vampire side to feel secure is to spend more time with your mate. Maybe when this is over you can take a vacation together and get some alone time. It will be good for you temperament."
Rosalie wasn't feeling very optimistic that would happen."I would love nothing more than to have even a day alone with Bella but there is always something going on.Hopefully the Denalis come through and we can deal with this stupid Edward business and get on with our lives until we have to deal with the Volturi."
"I think we all hope to deal with this Edward situation quickly. I've always disliked him but kept the peace for Alice's sake. I think she felt a sort of bond with him over having such intrusive powers. That and she wanted us all to be a happy family. After he left she told me that the next time they met she wouldn't hesitate to take action against him. Her love of Bella outweighs any fondness she ever felt for him." Jasper said.
Rosalie thought of Edward's hatred towards her. "Edward has always been a snake. Ever since I was turned he made so many hateful comments about my body and my love of women. The only reason he hated the idea that Bella was my mate is because he is a homophobe who uses what very little he knows about religion to try and lord over others. If Carlisle and Esme didn't always protect him I would have killed him long ago."
"I often wondered why he was protected. He had many enemies and even the Volturi were known to have their own problems with him. That he lasted this long is a mystery if you ask me." Peter said.
"It was only for their respect of Carlisle. He is a much loved man even amongst the Volturi. Few would want to cause problems with him." Jasper explained."Although after Edward's initial reaction to Bella being your mate it seemed like Carlisle was done protecting him. Wanting to kill what we thought at the time was an innocent human girl was going to far for both him and Esme."
Peter considered what he knew of Esme." Do you think they would actually kill him if it came to that or would they hesitate?"
"I don't know if they will even have the chance to get near him before myself or Emmett get to him. Emmett has been against him since he was turned and after spending so much time with Bella I think Emmett would destroy whatever threat came to her. " Rosalie said.
"Do you not think Bella will confront him?" Jasper asked.
Rosalie chuckled. "My mate has promised me many times that I will have my chance at destroying Edward. She would never take that away from me. The only way she would get involved is if Edward would try to run away. Then she would simply capture him and give him to me. She loves me enough to grant me my revenge."
Peter laughed outright. "Alice told us of her different ways of romancing you. The bear fighting story was my favorite although I can't say I understood the peep show machine."
Jasper hung his head and groaned. "Great now she'll get ideas from Charlotte."
Peter shook his head. "That's the problem,she won't.I don't think any of us can live up to Bella's reputation. Charlotte was giving me the evil eye as Alice was telling her about the mountain lion cubs. I mean how in the hell am I supposed to top bringing my mate to meet lion cubs. Animals don't even want to be near us."
Rosalie sighed dreamily. "My mate is rather romantic in her own non traditional ways. Maybe you should ask her for help in that department."
"After this trip I think I might." Jasper mumbled causing Rosalie to laugh.
"On that note I'll leave you boys alone to discuss your romantic shortcomings. When Bella is ready I'll let you know the details." Rosalie said as she made her way to the door.
"We'll be here." Jasper said watching her walk away giving them a wave.