AN: Ok Folks...newness...new chapter, new beta... not new- I don't listen to my beta, so the polished parts are hers. Glaring mistakes I'll take all the credit for. Thanks to Bell 1 for all her effort!

Jasper felt Caius' internal war with his anger and his fear. Externally, his brow knit only slightly in concern. After several moments of the two men staring at each other, Caius' emotions evened into boredom. This angered Jasper that they all felt the need to hide from him, which was truly the least of his concerns.

"Well…" Caius started, "what does this mean?"

Jasper knew he was trying to look a lot calmer than he was. He watched as Caius' hands tightened around the armrests of the chair, the wood under the leather creaked gently.

"Mean?" Jasper asked, while keeping his own turmoil hidden.

"You said this changes things. What does it mean for you? What does it change? Will you leave?"

Jasper paused only briefly this time before nodding to himself as he came to a decision. "If you'll excuse me, I think it means… I need to talk to Bella."

Jasper left the room and the king. He followed the path back to the library where he had left Bella and the other kings.

He didn't feel the need to knock, sure they could hear him coming. He let himself in and stopped in front of Bella. Marcus surged to his feet and stood between them to protect her.

"Why do you enter so hastily? What is wrong?" Marcus asked as Aro joined his side and eyed the new prince speculatively.

Using a commanding tone, Jasper said, "I need to speak with Bella." It wasn't a request.

"I see." Marcus turned to look at Bella. She hadn't moved. Her wide eyes gazed back at him in shock.

"What's wrong?" she asked angrily as she got to her feet.

"Can we go somewhere private?" Jasper looked at the two men, ignoring the girl behind them.

"You can remain here. We will leave," Aro answered and looked to Marcus for his agreement.

Marcus nodded and both men took their leave. The young couple watching their backs as they closed the door behind them.

"Well that was rude. Why did you do that?" Bella inquired while sitting back down in her seat with a huff.

"Rude?" Jasper repeated in confusion, as though it wasn't even a concept.

"Yes rude. I haven't seen them in months. You come barging in here and ask to speak with me, kicking them out, and for what? What's so important?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"You think I'm rude?" He looked pointedly at her posture.

"What? I didn't do anything wrong?" She sat up straighter and rested her hands in her lap. She didn't want to look like a pouting teenager.

"You killed a woman, Bella!" He took the chair, sitting across from her, which Caius had occupied earlier.

"I didn't kill her. Felix did. And so what? You're a vampire. You've killed thousands of people." She waved her arms at him as though his being a vampire excused her behavior.

"Bella," Jasper rubbed a hand down his face in a very human gesture of releasing the tension in his facial muscles. "I don't kill people, not anymore. I'm not that person. And even so… You know what… I don't want to argue with you.

"You had a woman killed to assert some kind of dominance over the people here. And it's wrong. You've been nothing but an attention-seeking brat since we got on the plane yesterday. And you've obviously lied about your relationship with the kings.

"I don't know you, Bella. I thought I was learning who you were, but over the last 24 hours, the person I've seen is not a person I want to know. You care only about yourself, and you lied to me."

Bella's emotions were still flowing freely. Jasper could feel her change from irritation to anger, and then to fear. But the only emotion he hoped to feel wasn't there. She didn't regret anything.

Jasper got up and walked towards the door, leaving Bella with wide eyes and mouth agape.

"Where are you going?" she gasped out as she stood.

He opened the door. Fear nearly crippled her. She couldn't lose him. She waited so long to be with him, only him.

Jasper kept his back to her, but answered, "I'm going to find someone to show me to my room. I would like to be alone for a while. I hope you decide what kind of person you want to be Bella. Because the Bella in Forks was a better person than the Bella in Italy. And I won't stand for anymore lies."

He left without another word and soon found Felix in, what appeared to be, a meeting hall talking with another vampire.

"Prince Jasper." Felix looked at him in surprise. Noticing the saddened look on Jasper's face, he asked, "Are you all right?"

"No, Felix, do you think you can show me to my room?" Jasper hardly looked at the small female vampire.

"Yes sir, this way," Felix stood and nodded towards the female in a silent goodbye. She smiled back.

"What happened?" Felix asked casually, as he led Jasper through a series of winding corridors.

"She's not the person I thought she was."

At the end of a hallway, they came to a stop in front of another large wooden door.

"This is your room." Felix opened the door and let Jasper in, while he stayed in the hallway. "She's not a bad human. She's just always been around vampires." He closed the door, leaving Jasper to his thoughts.

Jasper took in the room. It was small. A king-sized bed filled most of the room with dark blue bedding. There was a small area with a couple of light blue plush chairs and a glass end table between them. His bags were in front of a door off to the right of the bed, which must be the closet. The door across from the bed must be the bathroom. He didn't care about inspecting the rest of the room, or unpacking.

He threw himself on the bed and heard its heavy wood frame groan as he settled with his hands behind his head. He needed to decide what to do next.

SMBDW

Bella sat for a few moments flabbergasted at what happened before she got up and ran to Cauis' study, and burst through the doors, which didn't pose nearly the hassle they used to.

"Dad! Jasper!" she was panting, which quickly changed to hyperventilating in her panicked state.

"Yes, my darling. I had a short, but worrisome talk with him." He motioned for her to sit in the same seat Jasper previously occupied, across from him.

"Do you know what is going on? What happened, Bella? I know he was terribly upset with your little display with the maid, but I feel that is not the only problem here."

With tears forming in her eyes, Bella took some deep breaths and nodded. She couldn't lose him. All she did was screw up.

Caius moved to sit next to her and wrapped a heavy, cold arm around her in comfort.

She finally gasped out her thoughts, "I keep… screwing up," just before the tears started flowing.

She leaned into Caius' chest for the first time ever and cried. No matter how fatherly he was, he was not usually one to console her. He didn't raise her to behave in such a way. Not that she ever cried much anyway; she had no reason to. Today though, he stayed silent.

There were too many larger topics to worry about. The God of War could take over and rule with Bella, without the kings. He may even kill them. There was no doubt he had the power to do so. The young vampire exuded power. Having him angry with them was not going to help. He could leave and not fulfill his destiny, leave Bella. He could kill them all and then leave. The options were all there. And the thoughts were all negative as they ran though Caius' mind.

Bella sniffled as she calmed. "What am I going to do? He called me a liar and not the person he thought I was. He said I only think of myself." She sniffled some more.

"You know what though?" she asked Caius, or maybe no one specific, as she spoke aloud.

"He's right!" she wailed and broke down again in a fit of hysteria.

Caius knew things were suddenly very bad indeed. If she was all those things to him, what chance did they have of making him their Prince? He hugged Bella again, but his thoughts were not on the crying girl; they were on how to gain Jasper's favor back?

SMBDW

Aro and Marcus sat in their thrones awaiting Caius. They knew the young Major was upset when he returned, demanding to speak with Bella. Being the last one to speak with him, Caius could maybe help with the issue.

Marcus sat just staring straight ahead. "What do you think Caius said to him to make him so angry?" He asked without looking at Aro.

"I do not know. Do you think he will want to take Bella and leave?" He looked over at his brother.

Aro looked at his brother and pursed his lips as hands unconsciously clenched into fists. He did not like the idea.

"Their bond is not strong," Marcus uttered and met Aro's widening eyes.

"Do you think he would try to break it? Or ignore it? Is that what had you upset earlier?"

"I do not know his mind, brother. I do know their bond is that of mates, but they have not accepted it yet. He has not accepted it yet. There is no love there. They've had months to become closer than this. If Caius did say something to him, well… no, the bond was not there before Caius took him to talk privately." Marcus continued to think out loud muttering to himself.

The sound became incomprehensible to Aro as he also began to worry.

Felix walked in and bowed before them, "Masters."

"Felix, just the person we need to see. So perceptive of you." Aro stood from his throne.

"Yes Masters. Is this about Mr. Whitlock?" Felix inquired as he approached Aro.

The kings looked at each other knowingly. Aro had thought to ask him about the developing relationship when they were in the Americas, but now it seems Felix may know something about today's events.

"Yes, Felix. What do you know?" Aro inquired.

Marcus walked slowly over to join them in the middle of the room.

"Only that he just came to me and asked me to show him to his room."

Marcus nodded. "Did he say anything else? Do you know what ails him?"

Felix debated letting them know the other comment, but really couldn't see the harm in it. Maybe they could help Bella. He paused for only a second, but they both noticed the hesitation.

"He said, 'She's not the person he thought she was'." Repeating those words, Felix felt almost sad.

Bella had been Felix's world for years. He didn't like to think he contributed to making her a person Jasper didn't like. He knew of course, probably more than anyone he had. He was the only constant in her life. Her family and the Volturi pulled her in different directions, while Felix just followed her around wherever she went.

He was her friend, her protector, her father, and her brother. She had never truly been allowed friends. Her family was surrogate at best. And even though she saw Caius as her dad and the other two as uncles, the kings were absent most of the time, only seeing her for a couple months a year.

No, she was his, and he screwed up. He didn't know how to raise a human child in a vampire world, or actually, half in a human world and half in a vampire world. Having said all he could, he kept his expression from the others, nodded, and walked away.

Felix retired to his own room. Thinking about his Princess and how to fix the situation. He shouldn't have killed the woman when they arrived. He knew Jasper was not going to like it. He didn't really think it through though. He was told to kill her and, like always, did as he was told. This was not a new thing. The girl knew she was going to die. The others knew she was going to die. If he refused, would it have changed Jasper's point of view on the situation? He surely would have gotten in trouble with his kings, and the girl still would have died.

Too much. There was too much to think about. Felix settled on a white leather chaise lounge in his room and began debating how to help Bella be a kind, selfless person. Basically, how do you change someone's whole personality?

SMBDW

Caius hugged Bella one last time and stood. "This is not acceptable, cara. That is your mate. We need to fix this before he leaves." His words were hard and commanding.

Bella's heart dropped when he suggested that Jasper might leave.

"No! He can't leave. What do I do?!" she nearly screeched at him and saw him flinch slightly from her loud tone.

"Well, I think it's best to go find your uncles. We all need to sit down and figure this out. But Isabella, you are going to have to tell us what has happened, everything. The truth, no lies, no omissions, and you are ultimately going to have to be the one to win his favor."

Bella sniffled and nodded as she took Caius' offered hand and set off to find her uncles.

SMBDW

Jasper hadn't moved a muscle, not even to breath. He just needed to think. He mulled over the events of the last 24 hours as well as his budding relationship with Bella.

He just couldn't overcome her cruelty to that woman, her selfishness as soon as she arrived, and the obvious love she had for her family here - the family she said she hated and wanted to get revenge on.

Could he leave? Should he leave? He knew the bond was there. He felt a pull to her almost immediately, which is why he broke up with his sweet, little pixie wife. His finger twitched with the idea to could call her. She could maybe help. She can't see Bella, or him anymore, but she was his best friend. He debated making the call a moment longer, and then decided his "ex-wife" probably didn't want to hear about his current relationship problems.

He sighed. He had hurt her, his Alice. She was always his. And until Bella showed up, he was always hers. He was happy, he worked hard to become a vegetarian, to put his past behind him and now it felt like everything he worked for was slowly being pulled away from him. It wasn't true of course, he was still a vegetarian, he was still the man he had become with Alice.

However, all the people here thought he was this mighty warrior. The God of War, they repeatedly called him. It wasn't him, not anymore. He hated being reminded of that time. He wasn't a God of anything. He was a soldier dragged into a war he hadn't enlisted for and he survived. Jasper stopped his thoughts before they went down that road; he wasn't going there.

He focused back on the current issue. Could Bella be a good mate for him? She's nothing like Alice. It probably wasn't fair to compare them, but he was happy with Alice. For a few moments, he could see himself loving Bella, but seeing this side of her now, he just wasn't sure.

SMBDW

Caius and Bella arrived in the throne room with the other kings.

After Felix departed, Aro and Marcus had returned to their thrones. But as soon as the pair entered, they rose approaching their sniffling niece.

As Bella went to Aro, he asked, "Bella? What has happened?" He held her tight and looked also to Caius for an answer.

"Let us return to the library," Marcus suggested.

They walked silently back to the library where they could comfortably sit with Bella.

Taking the seats they previously occupied, Bella leaned against Marcus.

"I screwed up," she sniffled, looking at no one.

"She had a maid killed when we arrived from the airport. I do know this did not win The God of War's favor," Caius spoke softly. Bella nodded into Marcus.

"I also know this is not the only problem. He has accused her of being a liar; and she does not deny this." Caius looked at her with disappointment.

"Cara, you lied? To your mate? About what? Why would you do such a thing?" Marcus asked, pushing her to sit up and look at him.

"I… I… I just wanted him to like me." She looked around and their expressions were identical- disappointed.

"I'm sorry. I knew he didn't like the Volturi, you guys." She loved her family. She shouldn't have lied.

"We told you this, Bella. So what did you lie about? You were supposed to gain his interest, his trust, fall in love, and change his mind about us and our rule. What went wrong?" Aro asked softly. He knew Jasper's feelings on the Volturi. He taught Bella everything he knew.

"I can't tell you. You'll be mad at me." She turned away from all of them and curled into a ball on the sofa.

"That is not going to work." Caius approached her and pulled her gently from her fetal position. "You need to tell us what is going on. If what you say makes us mad, you'll have to deal with it. We need to understand what is going on, Piccola."

"You'll hate me!" she cried out and tried to turn away again, but Caius would not allow it.

"I do not know who this person is in front of me right now, but it will stop. You will sit up and you will talk to us like a young woman. You are better than this. Now get ahold of yourself and tell us what is going on."

"I… I told him that I… I didn't like you guys either. I said… I wanted revenge because you killed my mom. I… told him I didn't want to be royalty." Bella looked at the shocked expressions on all their faces before she began crying again. She just couldn't pull herself together because now they would hate her too, leaving her with no one.

"Oh dear," Aro sighed, while his brothers sat stunned at this revelation.

"Is any of that true, Bella?" Caius asked, but looked to Marcus for confirmation.

"Her bonds are solid with us brothers. She loves us. That was her lie. He can feel her love for us."

She nodded and mumbled, "I didn't keep the boredom going when I got home. I just forgot he would feel everything. That he would know."

"How did you expect it to work, Isabella? How did you expect to lie about our relationship and have him become a prince here? Do you really hate us for killing your mom? She was in the way and a nuisance. She did not want you raised as a princess, nor a queen. Do you not want to rule as we do? Do you not want your mate? What were you thinking?!" Caius yelled at the end, jumping to his feet.

Bella's tears were flowing silently as she held onto Marcus.

"Cara, what have you done?" Marcus asked softly, shaking his head in disbelief. He wanted to comfort her, but he was also very upset.

"Isabella?" Aro questioned waiting until she looked at him with teary eyes. "We need to know what else was said. What he said today." Aro's hard ruby eyes told her she was not going to get out of this.

"All…" sniff, sniff, "he really said…" sniff, "was that he liked the person in Forks better than here." She took a big calming breath. "I will fix this. I'm sorry."

Bella stood to go find Jasper, hoping she could catch him before he decided to leave.

"No." Aro stood also. "That is not a good idea. We need to talk about how to deal with this."

"But what if he leaves?" Bella's red, swollen eyes were huge, her cheeks red and blotchy, her body trembled in fear. He couldn't leave.

Marcus spoke from his seat on the couch. "He's not leaving. If he was going to leave, he would have done it by now. He's contemplating, and we need to come up with a plan,"

Caius' anger started to diminish. He took his seat, nodding for Bella and Aro to do the same.

SMBDW

Jasper continued to lie on his bed thinking. He just didn't want the hassle of a spoiled brat mate. He didn't know why she would be meant for him, they were clearly very different. Was it the prophecy bringing them together? Certainly, she should not be a part of anything so important.

This was the real Bella. Everything he learned about her, or thought he had, in Forks was a lie. Felix knew and never said anything. Now he tells him that her behavior is excused because she's always been around vampires, that she's not a bad human. What did that mean anyway?

Jasper didn't really need to hunt, but he wanted to make a phone call away from prying ears. He checked his pocket for his phone and left his room heading for the front door. He passed a receptionist there, whom he hadn't noticed before. He said nothing to her as he let his natural speed carry him out the doors into the Italian countryside.

When he could feel he was alone, he pulled the phone from his pocket, which began to ring in his hand. The caller ID indicating it was just the person he wanted to talk to.

"Hi," he answered with a sigh.

AN: So who's on the phone Alice? Peter? Someone else? *giggles* Review please!