Author's Note:

Sorry I was a bit behind last week! In this chapter I wanted to show the current relationship she has with the Cullen's, explain something that happened in the first chapter, and use this chapter as a way for her to learn about the wives' situation. Thank you for all the support so far!

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Amaryllis's P.O.V

It was like arriving at a second home when I pulled up to the Cullen's house. Before Italy, I'd be here about as much as I would at my cottage. The house looked like something unattainable by normal people. It was refined, high class, and modern with windows for walls that gave it a welcoming and open feeling. It was one of those rare sunny days so I knew that they were either at home or hunting. When I got out of the car, Emmett came out of nowhere to pull me into a bone crunching bear hug. I couldn't help but laugh as he swung me around like a toy.

When he put me down I quickly glanced over him. He wore a tight fitting faded blue tee shirt that showed off his muscles and a pair of rugged jeans. Part of his face glistened in the spots where the thin streaks of light that broke past the trees hit him. Some of the blinding light was reflected into my eyes so I had to squint. His angular cheek bones ran parallel with his sharp jaw line which framed his playful golden eyes, perfect nose, and lips. If you saw him walk into a room, you would immediately think of him as the handsomest football player on the team that had girls and guys alike, hanging off his every word. Personally didn't I find him attractive, but I've seen how others gush over him.

"You haven't come to visit us in weeks flower girl! What? You afraid to take me on in a rematch?" It kinda hit me on then that I've been brushing them off lately which created a bubble of anger at myself. I was letting my self-sabotage get in the way of my friendships.

"Haha, you wish. If I recall correctly the last two times I had you yell out uncle like a pansy." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yeah and the time before those two times I had you cry out uncle like a weakling," he poked at me playfully.

Before I could walk towards the modern house, he held me by the shoulders and looked me over. "Man you really look terrible. Every time I see you at school I think, 'There's no way she can look any worse than this,' but you prove me wrong time and time again. You need to sleep flower girl."

"At least I'm not a brutish Neanderthal looking thing like you," I poke back at him playfully.

"Hey I'm beautiful. I got women fawning all over me, and I got the most beautiful woman in the world to be my girlfriend/wife for eternity." I rolled my eyes.

"You lucked out with Rosalie. She's way prettier than you man," I shook my head, "Anyways, is Carlisle here? I need to ask him some stuff."

"I think so. I've been out and about for a few hours, but I doubt he's left the house. What are you going to ask? Is it about your changing body? The birds and the bees?" He then overdramatized the look of concern while pulling me closer and whispered, "Oh my God flower girl, did a bee….pollinate you?" I laughed my freaking ass of at that.

"Yep, definitely. Now let go of me so I can walk before I beat you to the ground." He pouted for a split second, no doubt wanting to goad me into a fight but deciding against it because of how tired I look. He let me go and walked with me into the home. We found everyone gathered around in one of the house's many lounging rooms. The room was fashion forward like the rest of the house, but it had plenty of things that gave it a sense of homeliness. The heavy tension in the air, seemed out of place here.

All the Cullen's looked like statues, and there appeared to be a stare off between Edward and Alice. Carlisle was standing a little behind Edward. He looked to be early 30s and had short dark blond hair that nearly matched his eyes. It was wavy with white highlights that streaked across it. He has a masculine jaw line, pouty lips, and a nose that was angled very slightly downwards. Carlisle was tall and had a body type between Emmett's football build and Jasper or Edward's thin muscular body type. It was no wonder that every nurse in the hospital had the hots for him. When I first saw him, I'm pretty sure my mouth hung open while my nose had blood exploding out of it like in an anime. He was currently standing next to his stunning wife, Esme.

She was about a foot shorter than me, with a more rectangular shaped face, round eyes, and large lips that were painted red. Esme didn't look as angular as the others. No, she looked motherly and loving which perfectly translated to her personality. She treated the others like her children. There was no question that she was perfect for Carlisle for they both were predominantly compassionate.

A much less compassionate woman's glare made it hard to look at her. It was Rosalie Hale. She had long and flowing blond hair and a face that could make most women envious. She fit the societal standards of beauty to a tee. She was only just starting to warm up to me after I mentioned my situation with my daughter. Rosalie loves children and has always resented that she could never have kids of her own. I mentioned to her that the next time I see my daughter, I would introduce them. This worked to draw a very delicate smile out of her, and it was in that moment that I personally thought she was gorgeous. Now though, apparently I lost what little I had in our "friendship" to begin with.

I had no idea what was going on, but got the hint that it was about me when Edward finally broke off the look he was giving Alice, to send me the brunt of his angered face. "Hey," I said lamely. Carlisle and Esme gave me a slight smile, but the rest were as unmoving as stone. I shifted awkwardly as all their eyes bore holes in me.

"Sorry if I interrupted, I'll come back another time." I was about mid-turn when Edward spoke up.

"You're mated to them- I saw it in Marcus's thoughts- but with you coming back here I assumed that you rejected them. I thought you had enough sense to know how terrible it would be to be tied to them, yet now their coming here to Forks. You claimed to care about Bella but you don't. You claimed to care about me and my family but you don't." I was taken aback by the venom behind his words.

"How can you say I don't care?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE PUTTING US ALL IN DANGER JUST TO SEE YOUR MATES!" I took a step back from the thunder of his fury, but then took two steps forward.

"They are coming here regardless of my opinion and they plan on basically kidnaping me so no, I didn't invite them here and I'm defiantly not thrilled at the concept of being taken against my will," I kept my voice low and steady as I met Edwards accusing gaze with a scowl. Silence sifted around all of us.

"We will not protect you," Edward finally stated. Alice narrowed her eyes at him.

"She is like family to us. If they try and take her, we can't just let her go," she countered. Jasper stood beside her for support. He was another one that I used to crush on. Jasper Hale has longer hair for a guy, that is naturally wavy. It had multiple tones in his hair that ranged from dark to pale blond. His features were angular and he had a southern accent that could melt an ice cube. It's odd now, but I don't find myself really attracted to him or Carlisle anymore, which is good because they're both with someone else. Jasper seemed to be focusing, which I assumed was him trying to keep everyone calm with his emotional persuasion technique.

"I know Aro, and he would not kill her. We shouldn't put our lives at risk any further than we are now," it surprised me to hear those words out of Carlisle's mouth. I agreed with his argument but damn Carlisle, I thought we were friends. I ignored the hurt I felt when I saw Esme, Rosalie, and Edward give slight signs of agreement with him.

"Why the hell did no one tell me this?" Emmett put his hand on my shoulder. "She's in a mating bond with those monsters?" I turned my head and gave him an apologetic look. He returned it with a quick glance, shook his head, and then continued. "Whatever. She's a sister to me and I'm not going to let some stuffy old men come in and swoop her away against her will. I'd love to pick a fight with the Volturi anyways."

"They may not kill her, but they will hurt her," Alice joined in, "She is our family. Can you in good conscious sentence her to a life of torment?" Carlisle and Esme did betray looks of shame, but Rosalie and Edward stayed firm. I was a little mortified because Alice was basically saying that she saw a vision of me getting abused. Right now the king's decision is to take and torture me. Great…

"She probably manipulated what you saw," Edward countered, "That's what she did before when you saw her as a vampire. Regardless, she is powerful. I'm sure she can get out of her own messes." Wait…what? It was so difficult to keep up with their vampiric speedy talk while I was in this state of being a tired mess. They were shooting off comments and arguments and each one left me winded.

"Hold the fuck up," I felt bad for cursing in front of them but between the constant pain and exhaustion, it was hard to be civil….and it didn't help that half of the people who I forgave for up and leaving Bella and me, were planning on leaving me to fend for myself. I guess I know who my true friends are in this group. They all turned back to me, each pair of eyes leaving me to feel exposed. Alright, time to put on the leader face.

"First, I want to make it clear that I was not coming up here to ask for help. Carlisle is right. You shouldn't risk your lives for me and I can find a way out of my own mess," I then looked pointedly at Alice, Jasper, and Emmett, "Although it means the world to me that you're willing to do so. You guys are family to me." I gave them the brightest smile I could muster, but then let it slip back down to a frown when I looked over the rest of them. "I came up here to try and find out more information about these guys. I know so little of who they are and I thought that Carlisle would be a good source to turn too. On a side note, I cannot change any visions Alice had. The seeing me as a vampire, I'm sure was a misunderstanding. What did you see?"

Edward looked about to say something but Alice cut in. "You were covered in blood and your eyes were red. You had murdered someone so brutally that it barely looked human anymore." Wow, surprised that she still wanted to be friends after seeing that.

"Which leads me to another point. We can't trust Amaryllis anymore. Wouldn't she have to be either as bad as or much worse than the kings, in order to be mated to them? We know nothing of her history, and about what she is. I don't want her around us or Bella anymore," Edward demanded.

"It could also mean that she is strong enough to change, not only one, but all three for the better. True mates can work to bring out the worst and best in each other," Carlisle defended. A few more comments were thrown around extremely fast.

"Okay, okay. I can't make any judgments on my character because my view is biased so believe what you want on that point. With the vision Alice saw, that was most likely me killing one of the enemies that were after me. I've been told that my eyes turn red when I unleash my full abilities, which is why you construed that I was a vampire. Edward, you are being completely irrational and hot headed. It was this nature that nearly got you, Bella, your whole family, and me murdered so maybe think a little bit more about things before you spout off your ideas." He was clearly not happy with that last comment but I held up my hand to stop him from interrupting.

"I get it, you are upset because the kings are coming here and they wouldn't be if I left, but I have my reasons for trying to stay in this town. Think of it this way, if this talk goes well between the kings and me, then they wouldn't want to ruin it by hurting those I love right? I effectively could protect Bella better than you ever could against them. No I'm not permitting you deny Bella immortality because of this- mainly because it's what she wants- but I can ensure that they won't have any second thoughts about it before you two make your decision as to when to turn her. Even if the talk doesn't go well, I guarantee that I don't piss them off to the point that they hold enough vengeance to try and hurt someone I care about just to vex me."

"And if you do anger them to such an extent?" Edward's words irritated me.

"I won't anger them to that extent. I'll play suck up the whole time if I have too," I stayed firm and waited for the next move.

"If you wanted to keep us safe, it would be best to go with them willingly." It was getting to be really difficult not to snap at Edward.

"I will not do that." We did a stare down but a step towards me from Carlisle drew my attention.

"She is not asking for us to defend her and she is trying to keep us out of it. At the very least she deserves the right to try and stay here. Amaryllis, I would be happy to give you some pointers on how to persuade them." Esme sighed in relief and obvious agreement. Rosalie and Edward still didn't seem convinced, but before either of them could speak, Carlisle stated, "Most of the family is in agreement. We will not debate this topic any further." At that Alice and Jasper nodded while Emmett smiled and patted my shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll win your fight to stay here. You're like those gross carnivorous plants whenever anyone crosses ya." I smiled in return to Emmett's statement. Edward scoffed, then he and Rosalie flitted away. Carlisle beckoned me to him with his hand. "Come, we'll speak in my study."

I followed him through the house until we reached his room. A bunch of paintings adorned the walls depicting a bunch of different things. My eyes immediately trained onto the one with the three kings in it. My heart lurched and I was nearly knocked down by how much I missed them. They were dressed in old fashioned Victorian clothes that were the color of gold. They were watching the chaos beneath them with disinterest. Memory doesn't do their beauty justice.

"For a time I was with them. They hold respect for the sciences and arts and are very refined." It was hard for me to tear my eyes away from their gorgeous figures, to see Carlisle behind them. He paled in comparison. I finally turned away and sat on a plush, black couch.

"Aro and I were close, but neither he nor the rest of the clan understood my choice in diet. It became very lonely so I left in search for others like me," he sighed and then sat next to me. Before my heart might have fluttered at his proximity, but now it didn't register as anything. He looked me in the eyes and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Aro is a mastermind, with little care for things that don't work to solidify his supremacy. In the end, he will always do what is necessary to stay at the head of power. Although he might not care for many, he does take interest in others. He loves accumulating rare items and powers, which is another reason he would try collecting you. You are a rarity he's never seen before. Aro does make friends, but if they get in the way he'll have no quarrel with getting rid of them. Listen…I have seen what he is capable of and…I'm doubtful that you could change his mind if he decides to take you back with him." Carlisle reminded me of a doctor telling bad news to a patient. He got up and then moved to sit in the elegant chair across from me.

"But he is generally resoundingly patient with getting things he wants. Aro would even make games out of it. If you tread carefully, he might let you go. I'm not saying for you to play "suck up" as you mentioned earlier, but keep a level head and maybe try and befriend him,"

Carlisle grimaced for a second before composing himself, "As for Caius, we never got along. He found my diet disgusting. Caius doesn't hold much patience for others in general and will no doubt try his hardest to attain you. For him I suggest trying to connect to him through art. He is an excellent artist. It is one of the few things aside from reading and such that he is passionate about. Caius will no doubt take interest in your capabilities." My eyes bulged out of my head.

"Wait…he's into art?" Carlisle nodded and I nearly laughed. He, the impatient, sadistic, and hot tempered man, is an artist! Huh, when you think you got a guy pegged. I think Carlisle understood my thought process because a smile flashed on his face as well.

"Yes, and if you can connect with his passion, the chances might lower that he'll ignore your pleas. As for Marcus, I don't have much information. He is a reserved man that doesn't seem to hold interest in anything."

"I'm concerned least about him to be honest. I don't think he'll be difficult to sway. So, what else can you tell me about them? Does Aro have any interest, aside from collecting, that I could use?" Carlisle's gaze drifted to the direction of the king's painting. He seemed to be contemplating something for a moment.

"Well, just to give you an idea of what you might have to handle I think I should tell you. Have you heard anything about their wives?" I stomach lurched forward at the mention of them. I shook my head no.

"I didn't think they would have mentioned it. Especially to one who…" he looked away again, "…isn't as submissive as they are used too. After Marcus's wife passed on, Aro and Caius realized that if their wives perished they could become like Marcus. They are protective, especially of their weaknesses. They locked their wives away in a castle that is heavily protected at all times by guards. I have never seen Aro's wife, but I did catch a glimpse of Caius's wife while they were walking in the gardens together once. Even then there was several guards flanking them." My eyes widened slightly.

"So…they've been locked in a cage for centuries. That's what your telling me?" He nodded and I couldn't repress a shiver. Dear god they are seriously going to lock me away even if I get on their good side. Are they going to throw me in with their wives or are they going to confine me to another area where I'd be alone?

"How are their wives okay with that? That's cruel! They don't deserve to be locked away like a pair of cherished toys." I couldn't help but feel so bad for them. Not only were they caged up and missed so much in their lives, but to add the cherry on the shit cake, they'll eventually find out that the kings are mated to me, some lowly human that doesn't compare to them in any way.

"There is a woman named Corin with the ability to make you feel content. They've been using that power on the wives to make them okay with the situation."

"What the hell? So they just force them to be okay with it? If I ever get the chance I'm going to take Corin away so their wives can actually express their anger. They must be going mad after years of repression." I shook my head in anger. I'm supposed to play nice with these assholes but as the thoughts of their cruelty and selfishness play on in my twisted mind, the idea of being nice to them was becoming harder to stomach.

"I'm afraid that would make matters worse. Corin's ability is addictive. They longer they stay away from Corin the more unsettled they will feel," Carlisle frowned sympathetically at me. "Aro likes music," he said to no doubt direct my mind elsewhere, "He is exceptional at every instrument I have seen him play. Aro loves all sorts of strategy games as well. As I've said, if you try and play to their interests you might be able to get them to listen to you."

I nodded and got up. "Thank you. I appreciate you giving me some pointers." Carlisle looked a bit sickened for a moment.

"I'm sorry for my crass words earlier. We really…" I raised my hand to cut him off. "I understand your reasoning behind it. Trying to stand up for me would get everyone killed for nothing." He still looked sympathetic but he dropped it and escorted me to my car.

The ride home was full of contemplation. I was still reeling a bit about the argument they were having over me. It sucked that Edward was being so rude about it but I learned, after that night he convinced me to leave Forks, that he isn't afraid to hit below the belt. I had long since lost whatever ounce of respect I had for him. Guess I don't have a piano teacher anymore. Maybe I could ask Aro to give me piano lessons sometime since he's a pro at everything. I shook the thoughts away while blushing. My terrible playing would just give him another reason to end my life.

I got to the house with a sigh. It was going to be a long two days.