Part 13

"What happens now?" Alice asked.

Bella shrugged from her position sat on the human's bed. The bed was a novel thing for her, she didn't have one in her private rooms in Volterra. It was not as useless as she had once thought and so perhaps in future she would procure one.

Especially if Alice would join her there one day.

"I think everyone wants to go with Carlisle tonight." Alice commented. "To say goodbye."

She'd tried not to look forward to see what would happen during his departure. Everyone had been quiet and sad when they'd gotten back from school. Alice didn't want to see what the departure at the airport would look like.

That and knowing Edward was still angry with her.

Bella rolled her eyes and laid back on the soft surface to stare at the ceiling. She really didn't understand the need for all of this drama the Cullen's insisted upon. "He's going to visit some old friends. I hardly see this as reason to mourn." She'd spared his undead life after all.

Technically she'd spared Edward his undead life.

A decision she would long regret she was sure. And one Jane was going to remind her of for the next millennia.

Alice bit her lip. "But Esme will miss him."

Bella huffed and sat up, scowling over at her human mate. "So she will miss him." She snapped as she stood and crossed the room away from Alice. She didn't want to make Alice afraid of her but her temper was close to breaking when it came to the 'poor Cullens'. They had chosen this path, added to their coven, moved within miles of a group of shifters they had apparently known about for years.

This was their doing and Bella was growing tired of being blamed for it. Their laws were clear.

The Cullen's should be grateful she was being so damn merciful and not having them all brought before the Volturi to beg for their lives given their transgressions.

But…

With a sigh Bella turned back to her nervous looking human. Alice wasn't to understand that Carlisle's punishment was merely a slap on the wrist. Had it been any other member of the guard that Edward had threatened he'd have been killed there and then but no, Bella had to worry about how Alice would react to her afterwards.

Murder was hardly the perfect start to a relationship.

Bella blew out a breath and forced herself to calm down. Her mate was seeing this with human eyes, and so she was treating this as if a human family member was being sent away unwillingly.

Alice swallowed, she knew from Emmett and Rose that Bella had the right to kill Edward for trying to get them to attack her. Jasper had spoken to her and explained that their whole family could have faced that had Bella decided to take them all to Volterra.

And given what Alice knew about Jasper's past to see him so worried just made everything worse.

"I'm sorry, it's just, I know this is all my fault." Alice whispered.

Bella snorted and stepped closer to her mate. "No it's not. It's mine for not ripping the idiots head off when he deserved it." Bella shook her head and stepped into Alice's personal space. "You did nothing wrong." She insisted, forcing eye contact by raising Alice's head. "Nothing."

"But-"

"No buts." Bella told her. "You did not make Edward's decisions for him, and you did not force Carlisle to take his place."

Alice still looked conflicted.

Bella narrowed. "Did you?" Was it possible Alice had further powers?

"No!" Alice quickly shook her head. "But I should have seen this, Edward's right, I should use my gift more then maybe I could have-"

Bella growled as she pulled Alice into her arms. "Don't talk like that." She told her mate as she started sobbing into her shoulder.

She would have to do something about Edward or he would not live very long. Bella would not have her mate left questioning herself.

Only a knock at the door and her upset mate prevented Bella from racing down and tearing Edward's head from his body.

xxxxx

Jane grinned as she sat on the kitchen worktop. "I think your days are numbered." She informed Edward who was sat with the others waiting on Carlisle and Esme to finish his packing.

Rosalie grinned as Edward glared at the Volturi guard member. They all hated when Edward tried to pressure Alice into using her gift to see the future.

"Maybe I should cancel the flight. I get the feeling justice might prevail after all." Jane went on as she eyed the stairwell hoping to see Bella come charging down any second.

But all she saw was Carlisle making his way down with a large suitcase in his hand.

Emmett got up and flashed over to take the luggage for the older vampire. "I'll go put this in the car." He said before disappearing down to the lower level.

Carlisle cleared his throat as he eyes his children. "It's almost time now. There's really no need for everyone to travel with me, Esme can see me off."

Jane snorted quietly.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Rosalie asked before Emmett returned to wrap her up in his arms. She worried for Esme, she hadn't been separated from her mate for more than a day or two in all the time she had been with them.

Carlisle sighed. He had spent much of the day comforting his mate. They'd endure the time apart willingly if it meant Edward surviving. "You will all cope." He informed them. "Esme will do what she can and that means you all continue with school and stay out of trouble."

"Who are you leaving in charge?" Emmett asked. As much as he loved Esme, she was not strong enough to be the head of this coven without Carlisle to stand with. Her thoughts will constantly be fighting the instinct to be with her mate.

He gave her three months before she went missing and turned up at the steps of Volterra.

Edward scrapped his chair back as he stood. "I could-"

"Not Edward." Everyone said around the kitchen before he could finish.

"Rose would be great in charge." Emmett said. "I'd follow her." He said with a stupid grin of love on his face.

"Jasper is a natural leader." This from Rosalie.

Jasper quickly shook his head, he'd been keep as much of a low profile as possible these past few decades, leading a group of vampires as powerful as the Cullen's for even a year was not in his plans.

He was worried enough should the Volturi turn more of their attention on them. Jasper Whitlock needed to stay in the past where he belonged. "No, I am only a guest member of this family."

Edward scowled at those around him. His family. He was the longest serving member of their coven after Esme, of course he should be in charge.

"Oh my god," Jane cried as she hopped down from her seat. "You all are too much." She continued. "You act as if Carlisle is going on holiday when he will be taken to Volterra and put into servitude for my masters to do as they wish." She ground out through a glare.

"And you!" She narrowed her eyes as she took in Edward's defiant attitude. Gathering her power she brought the idiot to his knees in excruciating pain. "You dare to lay the claim of leadership of this coven? If I had my way you'd be nothing but dust."

Carlisle closed his eyes. As if they didn't have enough problems without Edward causing more.

"Enough!" Bella shouted, causing Alice to wince from her position behind her, stood with Esme.

Jane sneered then released her hold on Edward leaving him gasping on the floor.

"All I have been witness to since my arrival has been displays no better than children, and despite how you choose to mask yourselves in the world, you are not." Bella went on as she stepped into the kitchen. "You leave me with little choice but to revise how tonight ends. Prior to this show of petulance Esme had already approached me to request that she be allowed to travel with her mate."

Rosalie gasped. No matter how much Bella might put up with them because they were family to Alice, to ask such a thing of a high ranking Volturi guard was almost unheard of. Volturi rule was absolute, to argue against a judgement could result in swift, and very fatal retribution.

Bella allowed her eyes to drift across the vampires to settle on Rosalie's. At least one of them seemed to have a few brain cells still functioning.

"I have granted that request. Esme will no more than one month at her mate's side before returning here to fulfil her duties and for Carlisle to serve his punishment." Bella went on, shocking even Jasper with her compassion.

"However, my decision to spare Edward does not seem to have altered his attitude in the slightest." She walked from Alice and stood in front of Edward as he struggled back to his feet.

Edward held his head high as he stood tall despite the pain still radiating from every bone in his body. "Go ahead, show exactly why we shouldn't follow blindly the will of the Volturi."

"Edward!" Esme cried out in shock. To insult Bella, now, after she had given them such concessions?

Carlisle stepped back and gathered Esme to him. He kept silent and would not come to his son's aid yet again. You could only push so far before the more powerful individual displayed their true strength.

Edward was out of his league and Carlisle would not allow his actions to bring further heartache on his mate.

"Quiet love." He whispered into Esme's ear.

Jane had been growling ever since she'd released Edward, but now she looked to her friend hopeful that she could unleash more of her power against the Cullen boy.

Bella saw the look and shook her head signalling that she had things under control.

Which was little consolation to Jane, she despised Edward Cullen and would like nothing more than to make every moment he had left in his soon to be short life, an excruciating one. She wanted him to beg for death. She'd only be too willing to provide it.

"Man you're an idiot." Emmett muttered.

Bella smirked and turned away from Edward to look Carlisle in the eyes. "You will both enjoy the pleasures of Volterra has to offer before returning to Fork while Edward remains in servitude as a foot solider of the Volturi Guard under the watchful and painful care of my humble associate Jane Volturi."

"Hell yeah!" Jane yelled.

"Dude." Emmett couldn't think of anything worse. But at least this way Esme wouldn't be separated from her mate for a year. And Edward might final learn his lesson. "You are so screwed."

Carlisle frowned. "What does this mean?" He asked, afraid to believe that they would all survive this.

"It means you got lucky." Jane offered helpfully before stepping into Edward. "And that you are mine." She told him gleefully.

xxxxxx

AN/

Still here. Thanks for reading!