2020 note: I have kept the notes from the 2009 publication as they seemed relevant.

Enjoy! ~ Pace

Author's Note: I appreciate that it was not entirely clear in the last chapter that Chelsea had, in fact, abandoned her hold on Marcus, enabling him to think clearly (independently) for the first time in 2600 years. Many of you are asking how Aro - with his ability - would not notice this. The account of Aro and his travails will be discussed at length in Chapter 21. This chapter will explain much more about all that is going on with Edward and Jane and should clear up some of your questions with regard to those personages.

The plot is convoluted, so we beg for your patience as it unfolds over the next several chapters. Know that each individual in turn - yes, chthonya, even Marcus! - will receive the same attention currently afforded others.

Character notes: Most of the characters to date are physically identical to the actors who portray them in the films. This is not the case with Jane and Alec, who are only 10 years old in our story. Both are said to be pale, with light brown hair and all the usual vampire features (beautiful, perfect, etc etc). While I do not have a specific physical model for our Jane, I think of her character as Eloise (the little girl from the beloved children's books) written by Stephen King! My other assumption is that Carlisle did, in fact, know Jane when he lived with the Volturi.

Finally, the subject of witch burning in England sparked debate with our British friends who maintain that witches were not burned in England (they were hanged). My primary source is the text The Discoverie of Witchcraft (published in 1584) by Reginald Scott that details the burnings of witches in Brenchlie (now Brenchley), Kent. Since he was reporting on the happenings in his own village, and protesting the execution of individuals he deemed innocent, I assume he had no reason to fabricate the incidents. My Mrs. Simons comes from his account.

Cheers! ~Pace

"If the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to two children-?"

The Turn of the Screw, Henry James

Chapter 20

It isn't a matter of trusting Caius. They were curled up together in the chair in the far room, their faces touching, trying to muffle the conversation with kisses - at least Edward's portion of it - to hinder the eavesdroppers. The only problem was that this activity was impeding the progression of the conversation, which - as Carlisle sternly continued to point out between lascivious thoughts of Edward's…(ahem) lower anatomy - was extremely important!

'Trust' is too simplistic a term. Caius is quite literally the only asset we have at the moment. Beggars can't be choosers, my Edward. He has to be handled with care, but I feel he will be useful to us, in the short term at any rate.

It appears that the Volturi court has arrived at an impasse, as is rather inevitable for any governing body. Bear in mind that their 1500 years in power - while much greater than my own existence and certainly incomprehensible for someone in only their second year of life - is little more than half of their lives to date, and still insignificant in comparison to what will come. You must remember that time is different for our kind, and that the longer you live, the less you will notice the mundane constructs of time that govern the lives of man. Rather, you will learn to mark the passage of time in terms of events.

Edward fought to suppress the surge of rebellion that always reared its ugly head when his youth was mentioned. He wanted to tell Carlisle that he did understand not counting hours or even days as he had certainly done that while he was locked in his mind, the event that marked time being Jane's arrival. But he knew his task was to listen, and to speak as little as was absolutely necessary, to lessen the likelihood that they might be overheard. So instead, he smiled impishly at Carlisle, and, in retaliation, ran his tongue across the other man's lips as his hand traveled downward.

Edward, STOP THAT! he moaned, but he made no effort to push the hand caressing him away.

Carlisle struggled to regain his concentration.

Aro has done an excellent job of fielding the opposition, amassing talent, quelling personality conflicts, and giving the appearance of unity and stability - even if that unity and stability has come about as a direct result of the talent he has amassed! Coercion within a government is often necessary for political stability, so let us not be too quick to cast stones.

While it may seem counter-intuitive, Aro's obsession with your ability and your evasion of his efforts to lure you into his circle are actually working to our advantage for the time being. He is so frustrated, he has stopped thinking rationally. We need to act swiftly before he comes to his senses and corrects his political blunders. For now, we must play along and let him pretend that he means us no harm. No one at court is fooled, but appearances are paramount in this world, and we have to grant him this one concession so that he can at least feel he is saving face. It will work in our favor in the long run.

I think we will do well to allow Caius to lead this for a bit and see whom else from the guard he can bring into the fold. Discontent is high and we may find ourselves with a small army.

"But what she said-" whispered Edward hurriedly before Carlisle cut him off again by demanding his lips.

Be VERY careful of Jane, Edward. She is eternally a child and, as such, will always think like one. She is the one who cannot be trusted.

Edward pulled back and his mouth quickly assumed a childish pout. He was about to protest that Jane was older than he was, but the other man, satisfied that they had reached a good stopping place in the discussion, was busy removing his clothes to move on to other affairs.

Edward allowed himself to be coaxed out of his bad humor.

Vampires are so easily distracted!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carlisle was reading and Edward was studying at the portraits and the days seemed very long indeed. He tried not to comment on how time dragged as he didn't want to draw attention to his youth, but how painfully dull it was not to have anything to do apart from reading Carlisle's books. At least when they had been on good terms with Aro, they had all of the court activities to enjoy. The boredom of being confined in the room was fast becoming excruciating and Edward was just starting to feel rebellious when he heard Jane moving nearby. He glanced quickly over to Carlisle to make certain he was absorbed in his book - he knew that Carlisle would be very upset to learn that he had taken to talking with Jane to while away the empty hours - and, upon affirmation of this fact, he closed his eyes and went to search for her in the corridors.

She was hiding behind a pillar. She jumped out and shrieked, delighted to have surprised him.

He smiled hugely at her, glad for someone to play with. "I spy with my little eye - " he began.

"I was just coming to see if you wanted to play hide and seek," she interrupted. "I'll hide," she added quickly so that she could get her first choice. "You seek."

"Alright," he indulged her.

He was surprised to find how easy it was to navigate around the castle just following her thoughts; it had been all but impossible when he tried to memorize them in a grid pattern as Carlisle had instructed. Now he could move in and out of rooms on any floor, wending his way through the maze until he found her - again and again and again.

He allowed her to win every now and then to keep her happy. But she was just as happy to be found and would throw herself into his arms, giggling.

"We mustn't be too loud!" she warned when he almost lost her - she had wandered down towards the castle dungeon where it was impossible for him to hear anything - and called out to her to come back. "Aro will be angry if he catches me playing with you."

"Why?"

"I'm not supposed to see you. Only if he sends me." She hopped up to sit on the pedestal, crossing her legs and shrugging her shoulders. "He's in an awful temper these days! He's very angry with your Carlisle! He wants to get rid of him, but then he wouldn't be able to have you. So he's going to do awful things to him instead. I think he might send me." Her brow furrowed at the thought. She didn't care about Carlisle, but she adored Edward, and Edward loved Carlisle, and she didn't want to make Edward sad again. He was much more fun when he wasn't sad.

He knew what she was thinking. "Don't, Jane!" he begged her (Ooooooooo, she loved it when he begged!). "Don't do anything to him. I feel about him... the way you do about Alec and Aro. He isn't just my maker and my mate, he is the only family I have. Please don't hurt him!"

She nodded sadly, her eyes blinking rapidly as if they were filling with tears. "I know. And family is the most important thing! You shouldn't have to lose yours." She sighed, reaching out to pull him into her arms and cradle his head against her chest.

"I lost my family once already. I could not bear to lose him as well." He was becoming very upset at the prospect of her attacking Carlisle, and the idea of even a single day without the man was too much for him to contemplate. He had nearly lost his mind in the eight months they had been apart!

"And he is so much dearer to you than they ever were," she said sympathetically, kissing the top of his head in her child-like way.

"Do you remember what your family was like, before you were changed?" The mention of his parents brought back the memory of what he had seen when they were in the water together.

"Yes," she said, even sadder now, "Aro showed me.". And then she released him, sitting straight up and crossing her legs under her on the pedestal in preparation to tell her story.

Storytelling was a highly valued skill at the Volterra court, for Aro was the Keeper of Histories, and, as such, believed each story should not only be transcribed for future generations, but recounted in such a manner that others would remember and take it upon themselves to disseminate the tales. Jane, his favorite acolyte, had been trained for the task from her earliest days, and it was with such conviction that she approached this responsibility that one could not help but believe she was a minstrel from an earlier era.

And so she began.

Jane's Story

"I was born in 1553 in the town of Brenchlie in Kent. My brother, Alec, came into this world shortly before me. My mother, God rest her soul, died in that brief interlude, and I was cut from her stomach by the old village midwife. When I made my appearance, my face was covered with a caul - a veil, the midwife told me, to protect me from the Devil who was attending my birth to viciously snatch my mother away. She waited until candles had been lit and prayers said before removing it so that I might walk unafraid of the darkness surrounding me.

"Our arrival on that unhappy day was witnessed by another, a foreign man of obvious rank and wealth who had been acquainted with my mother for reasons I only learned much later after our arrival here. The man offered his blessing to my father and arranged to undertake our support as it was apparent that my father could not manage on his own.

"My father was a simple man whom fortune had never favored, and the loss of his wife was sorely grievous to him. He sought solace in drink, and, now provided with a means of support, ceased his labors altogether. Oh, the Devil does make work for idle hands!

"For a time, his neighbors came to his aid, assisting him in the task of rearing his children. But as the years passed, he became a burden to others and was roundly shunned in society.

"These unfortunate circumstances meant that my brother and I were all too often left without defense in his most violent humors. In turn, we made ourselves absent from his presence as often as possible, passing our days in the company of one Mrs. Simons. She was a good woman with a kind and generous disposition. She assumed responsibility for our education, teaching us to read and write and committing to memory our daily prayers.

"The gentleman, by the name of Eleazar, came to our house each successive year on the same day to ascertain our welfare. He had marked my mother as someone of potential interest years before, and we were accorded that same interest. He was, of course, seeking talent for the Volturi guard.

"On one such occasion, he arrived at our house and he and my father argued as the hour was late and we were not to be found anywhere. He searched the village for us, and, upon locating us by the good Mrs. Simons, expressed his gratitude to her for keeping us with such sincerity that we could not but be touched by his words. Unthinkingly, I recognized that we were somehow special to him.

"Our father was angered by the reprimand he had received from his benefactor and turned to his neighbors for recourse. Now, the Christian people of our village had no liking for a man they deemed a drunkard and a sloth, but their dislike of the elderly spinster Mrs. Simons was such that they rushed to his defense, claiming falsely that the goodly woman had tricked us with witchcraft to run away from our rightful home.

"She protested, but what is one voice against the multitude? She was tried and sentenced to be burned at the stake for witchcraft." here Jane's voice broke and she bowed her head in reflection for a long moment before continuing.

"The morning her sentence was to be carried out, the gentleman, Eleazar, again came to us. My father had insisted that we be present at the execution to atone for our own sin of consorting with the Devil's subordinate, and the man expressed concern as our youth made us impressionable. They argued again for some time, and so great was my father's wrath that he sent the man straight away - and all of his money with him!

"We were therefore led to the town's square and made to stand directly in front of Mrs. Simons, who had been situated in the center, tied to a stake. The usual practice in our village was to allow family and friends to place faggots at intervals up the body to hasten departure. In this instance, as part of the condemned's sentence, the wood pile was built small, so that she would suffer long enough to atone for her wickedness, giving her one last opportunity to join the Kingdom of Heaven.

"This method meant that the body was burned sequentially, commencing with the feet and calves, then thighs and hands, torso and forearms, breasts, upper chest, and finally, the face," her voice trailed off. "Death came last of all, late upon the scene.

"Mrs. Simons burned for more than two hours, and her cries were piteous as she called upon God to relieve her of her torment and take her soul." Jane looked down at her hands.

"I felt the fear grow in me until I could no longer contain it. Then the fear turned to anger. And then, suddenly, those standing closest to the spectacle fell to the ground, screaming in pain!" She grew animated at the memory.

"Believing it to be the witch's final curse, they also called upon God to spare them and punish the wicked woman.

"I, meanwhile, felt as though I had assumed control of the madness surrounding me. I did not understand then, as I now know, that my power as a witch had begun to manifest itself.

"Several months passed and my father found himself without means to support his habits. The succor of his neighbors had disappeared shortly after Mrs. Simons' death. Unwilling once again to be abandoned by his small society, he created a great diversion in the village, claiming that Mrs. Simons had instilled her ungodly ways in my brother and myself. The fact that I had inadvertently been able to cause pain to the spectators at the execution lent validity to his claim, as many came to believe that that final act was a transference of her spirit to us.

"By such trickery as placing items from her household - gifts to my brother and myself - on our persons and revealing us publicly, he successfully raised suspicion as to our innocence.

"It was only a matter of time, then, before we were arrested, tried for witchcraft and sentenced to be burned at the stake as our predecessor had been."

She raised her eyes level to Edward's. "I have already shown you the circumstances of my death. Do you wish me to repeat it now?"

He shook his head. He didn't want to hear anymore.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carlisle was apoplectic. If a vampire could turn any whiter, Edward was certain the man sitting beside him would.

You WHAT?!

He cringed a little. He had certainly anticipated that Carlisle would be upset when he learned of his liaisons with Jane, but he had failed to factor in the magnitude of the other's adverse reaction. He already regretted telling him and the words had only just come out of his mouth.

Wait! Start again. I don't understand. How does she come to you? In your mind?

"Yes. Well... that is... I'm not really sure. I just find that I can not only hear her, but see her, feel her, and she can hear and see me as well. Almost as if we were together. As we were before, when we were in the water."

Edward, this is very, very serious! Carlisle had put his head in his hands, always a bad sign. I wish you had told me about this earlier, when I might have been able to prevent it from going any further.

This means that her ability is much greater than many know. I suspect Aro has already started to harness it for malicious intent.

And did it not occur to you how strange it is that you can hear her, see her, feel her when everyone else in the castle is cut off from you?

'Except you,' Edward mentally corrected. And added, again to himself, 'Compared to other things, it isn't so very strange...'

Carlisle was staring at him, shaking with anger. Have you no common sense? How could you be so foolish as to allow yourself to fraternize with her? Do you not comprehend how dangerous she is?!

I lived with the child for eighty years and saw her maybe a dozen times at most. How could you be so reckless as to seek her out?!

Do you not remember what she did to you so very recently?!

She is young, Edward - immature,volatile, VERY dangerous. The thoughts shouted at Edward, who was pushing himself a little further into the arm of the sofa - a little further away from Carlisle.

"We were only talking," the boy grumbled, wondering why he was carrying on about the girl when he had just given him important information regarding Aro.

Your careless willfulness has caused more harm than you can imagine. When will you learn, Edward? Now I shall have to think of a way to undo the damage you have created. Carlisle sighed in frustrated anger, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"I thought you would want to know about Aro -" Edward began quietly in his own defense.

I already knew about Aro. And have known for months.

But when he opened his eyes and saw Edward's crestfallen expression, he softened and added, Please, Edward. Please try to stayput and keep out of trouble. Let me work with Caius on the problem.

And then he bent down to kiss Edward's forehead. I do love you, in spite of everything I have said. And he offered the boy a weak smile to pull him out of his doldrums.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Carlise is angry with me," he sighed.

She was a very empathetic child and sat beside him, absorbing his misery. "Because of me?" Her lip trembled as she relished his strong emotions seeping into her.

He nodded, and then frowned, trying to find the right words to ask her.

"Jane?"

"Yes?" She said quickly, leaning into his shoulder to draw in the fear and distress building in him.

"Do you remember... when you came with the others to Vermont?" He flinched at the recollection of her terrible power.

"Yes." She sighed unhappily. "We were very, very bad. Aro was angry!" She smiled a little to herself.

"Why did you do that to me?" He understood her better after hearing her story, but he still could not comprehend why she had chosen to attack him when he had never done anything to her, had never even met her.

"It started as a game," she said softly - clearly ashamed of herself. "Felix wanted to play and we were just going to chase you awhile. But you were so clever and fast!" She looked at him with a fierce gleam in her eye. "I have never had to run so hard - ever!

"Felix plays rough sometimes. He's like that," she apologized quickly for her fellow guardsman, and just as quickly dismissed the matter. "But you seemed to enjoy it, so we kept going."

Edward stared at her, stunned.

"Well, you did! I mean, what people do when they..." she paused deliberately, pretending to be delicate. "You know, when they... do it."

Edward was dumbfounded.

"Oh, you know what I mean! Of course, I am too young for such things. Aro tells me I am not allowed... but Felix tells me all about it," she giggled, biting her lower lip. "He said you were very, very good," she whispered to him. "He still watches you. With him.

"But now Aro makes Caius go everywhere with us, and it isn't any fun at all. Caius says he would let us play, but Aro would be angry again and then someone much stricter would be put in charge." She pouted, sticking her lower lip out and crossing her arms. "I hate having others in charge of me. I wish I were a grown-up!"

And then, brightening, she sat up again. "Let's play 'Cat's Cradle'!"

Edward stared at her, horrified and more than a little repulsed. And part of him felt shame acknowledging that Carlisle had been right all along.