Authors Note: I am surprised at how many people have decided to favorite and/or follow this story. And I really appreciate the couple of reviews this has gotten. In all actuality I am simply putting down on Word what pops into my head for this story. Sometimes I just gotta write :3 but feel free to drop more reviews. I'd like to know how all of the people reading this story like the new chapters.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Rosanna floated in gray silence for several moments. Nothing seemed to penetrate her haze until a nudge on her head from above made her blink and look up. Her Dad was beckoning to her from the center of the clearing. Momma held onto Renesmee's shoulder and tried to look reassuring. Jacob, in his wolf form hovered protectively and Uncle Emmett stood similarly on Dad's other side. It was the expression on her sister's face, or rather, the one in her eyes that got Rosanna moving though. It was a strange combination of fear, determination and a silent plea. Renesmee was strong in her own right despite having the aura of a delicate little angel. However, they were both only children still and they both needed each other's comfort to remind them that, no matter who revolved around them outside, they would always have each other to lean and rely on. Rosanna strode forward, her confidence stemming from Renesmee's need to be the weaker twin at the moment, and took her sister's hand in a firm, reassuring grip. They both walked forward with the comfort of family and friends behind them. Aro bent down at the waist and offered his hand to them.
"Hello Aro." Renesmee and Rosanna greeted in perfect synchronization. She nudged her twin to go first and Renesmee brought her small hand upward to Aro's cheek.
Rosanna was distracted again from the conversation by the crushing blackness to her right. This vampire, Marcus, had an expression of complete boredom on his face while his eyes raged with torment and drowned in sorrow. She wished she could free this poor man from his grief but then she recalled her Uncle Jasper having a similar talk with her some weeks before. He was also an empath, though he suspected a much weaker one, and he knew the feeling of being carried away with others' emotions. Before he left with Aunt Alice, they would sit together and he would teach her breathing exercises and techniques to distance herself so she couldn't be so easily swept away. Rosanna applied these now, in the present so that she didn't get lost in the tide of sadness. A soft hum in the back of someone's throat broke her concentration and Rosanna noticed a papery hand in front of her face. She looked up to see Aro gazing straight at her with a curious expression on his face. She got the feeling that he was impatient to see what was going on in her little head. Rosanna raised her eyebrow and graced the older vampire with a look. Chuckling, Aro withdrew his hand and bent a little closer so she could reach up and touch his cheek with her fingers. She didn't cradle with her palm the way her sister did but rather pressed the tips of her finger pads against the skin to allow the most direct contact. Rosanna felt rather than saw Aro stiffen and inhale a sharp breath. She was confused for a moment because she didn't think there was anything in her head that was so shocking. Most of it was the exact same as Renesmee's with a few key differences. Such as the lack of lovey dovey affection with a dog. Then she looked into the man's eyes and her own widened at the tide of emotion that swelled in them. She quickly recognized the distinct emotions she had observed during the beginning of the confrontation and her own reaction to it. She saw his gaze flicker to the side toward Marcus and his eyebrows tilted upwards in distress. This was something else that her Uncle Jasper had taught her. How to deal with Mind Readers. From his own experience with her Dad, her Uncle knew that anyone who read an Empath's mind could also get a sense of the emotion that they are feeling and perceiving from someone else. Usually it is duller than what the empath feels because they are only reading the waves of the mind. If a mind reader perceives the emotion of anger they aren't feeling that emotion the way an Empath does but rather processing the knowledge of what that emotion is. Uncle Jasper had told her that this might be a different case for her since her powers were so much stronger than his but Rosanna hadn't really dealt with the situation before since she preferred to keep her Dad out of her head at all times. In this case though, it looked as if Aro had a very good idea of what she was feeling and processing with her powers. The poor thing was looking overwhelmed and Rosanna felt compassionate. She could hear her Dad shifting behind her and quickly pinpointed his aura to send him a wave of shame for prying into their thoughts like this. And so he should be. Rosanna heard him shift in surprise before letting out a low, frustrated murmur. Triumphant she kept her eyes locked with Aro's and slowly sent him wave after wave of calm and tranquility. Slowly the raging storm of emotion in his eyes dispersed and peace filled his gaze. Aro slowly straightened up and Rosanna dropped her hand to her side. The line of Vampires shifted behind him, unaware of what had just transpired, as well as Rosanna's family behind her. Aro stared thoughtfully down at her for a long moment before tilting his head towards her in silent thanks. She gave a small shrug that indicated 'you're welcome' before her Momma took hold of both her and her sister and tugged them close to her side.
"Half Mortal, Half Immortal. Conceived and Carried by this newborn while she was still human." If Aro's voice had a lingering roughness to it no one noticed.
"Impossible." Snapped Caius to her right. Rosanna lifted her eyes to the white haired vampire who had turned his scowl down towards her and her sister. Renesmee gripped her hand tightly.
"You think they have fooled me brother?" Aro asked sharply, amusement lacing his tone. It was almost cute how thunderstruck Caius looked. Rosanna felt Renesmee's hand slip from hers as Momma tried to tug them both away. Jacob let out a threatening growl and she looked back at Aro and Caius. Aro moved his head to the side and gazed down at her from the corner of his eye. Rosanna tilted her head at him thoughtfully before her name was called from behind her. She turned to see her Dad gazing down at her curiously and she stuck her lip out at him but allowed herself to be picked up and carried back to the rest of the family. Rosanna watched the rest of the proceedings from behind her Grandpa Carlisle's legs. The arguing went back and forth like a well-played ping pong match. Tensions in the air were only increased and Rosanna could see that this was not going at all the way the Volturi had planned, especially with Momma and her abilities. Once, in a small fit of desperation combined with eager excitement, the informer that she had seen at the beginning of all of this bother was quickly interrogated and condemned. As Rosanna watched the fire before her and the struggle of two sisters who, at that moment, positively radiated murderous anger towards Caius, she considered the poor woman absolved of her crimes at least and glanced up at the three kings who seemed to be discussing something amongst themselves for they had formed a triangle of black and white and Rosanna realized that she had missed another significant portion of conversation while she had been distracted. A rumbling noise took up her attention this time and she watched in fascination as the ground began to split open. Aro and Caius glanced at it in perfect surprise while Marcus stared at it boredly. She had a feeling that he was intrigued under all those heavy layers of emotion yet of course none of that broke through. Rosanna studied Marcus again and in that moment the wind shifted and she saw his nostrils flare in her direction. Suddenly she was captured in his direct gaze, a feeling of intensity washed over her small frame and she noted that his eyes widened a fraction. Before, she supposed, she was always seen by him with her twin so they were rather interchangeable but at that specific second when their eyes had met, something in his demeanor shifted slightly. It was another emotion she hadn't a name for but it was seeping out from the layers of grief and Rosanna figured that alone made it significant. She watched him stare into space for a moment, his eyes seemingly fixed on something she couldn't see before he drifted over towards his brothers' and took Aro's hand in his. Aro blinked in shock and glanced over towards her with a piercing gaze. Rosanna merely stared in return. Rosanna could see Caius questioning Marcus in her peripheral but her full attention was centered on Aro and the way his lips curved upwards, his milky eyes gleamed and his narrow shoulders heaved in excitement. Her gaze flew to her Dad to see if she could interpret Aro's behavior in his gaze but her father's eyes weren't on Aro. Or rather, whenever he drew his gaze to the Kings, his eyes darted away again and his eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. Rosanna was confused as well. As far as everyone knew there was no shield in the Volturi ranks and Rosanna's compulsion of shame had already been dropped. Momma was obviously not the one to blame and no one else had the power. So what was shielding Aro's mind? Rosanna's musings were interrupted when her Dad suddenly called out.
"What if we could guarantee that they would remain concealed from the human world? Could we leave in peace?"
"Of course." Caius drawled, "But that cannot be known."
"Actually, it can."
The look on Caius's face was skeptical and then changed to surprise and slight annoyance. And then Rosanna heard them, second to the full vampires super hearing. Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper had returned. Rosanna squealed happily and darted from in between her Grandpa's legs to Uncle Jasper who scooped her up into his arms and held onto her protectively. They strode forward towards Aro, only to be prematurely intercepted by part of the Volturi Guard.
"I have evidence that the children will not be a threat to our kind," Aunt Alice began and Aro looked less than pleased, "Let me show you."
"Brother?" Caius questioned. "We have seen enough witnesses."
Aro held up a hand to beg further patience from Caius and beckoned Aunt Alice forward eagerly. When their hands touched all was silent for a moment before Aro gave the slightest jerk backwards and a displeased, yet thoughtful frown appeared on his face as his eyes darted around the clearing, first over his brothers' and the guard and then to the Cullen's, their allies and the wolves before finally resting on her laying her head in Uncle Jasper's arms. Something warred in his eyes, a three-way battle of feeling but before he could speak again Aunt Alice interrupted.
"Now you know, that is your future if you continue this course of events." She beckoned over her shoulder and Rosanna noticed two people heading towards them, both of them vampires as well. She watched in silence as the two of them related their story and shed some new information on her and her sister's kind. There was a little hesitancy in his eyes as he glanced from Renesmee to herself and it made Rosanna curious. Aro noticed it as well for he beckoned the younger vampire forward and grasped his palm. His pale, crimson lips thinned and Rosanna couldn't tell if he was pleased or angered.
"My friends," He began, "There is no danger here from halfblood children." He went on to give a small speech that Rosanna had no interest in until Caius, grasping at straws for some reason she couldn't understand, accused her family of consorting with werewolves. What was so wrong about that? They smelled horrible and were kind of cocky and annoying but they weren't dangerous. To humans at least. Rosanna wondered if that wasn't Caius's point. She felt sorry for the white-haired vampire when he was rebuffed by both Grandpa Carlisle and Aro. Not werewolves then. Simply shape-shifters. But what did a true werewolf look like then?
A more relaxed atmosphere was beginning to spread around her family's side of the clearing. They seemed to almost be out of the woods. What did the Volturi possibly have against them now? They were about to find out.
"They are innocent of the crimes they were accused of." Aro decreed to the clearing at large. "However," Aro added and turned to regard the Cullen's shrewdly. Tension spiked in the air. "One last thing remains. As I was speaking to the halfblood." AKA reading his mind, "I noticed something peculiar. It seems as though the legends and experiences these people have had speak of very dangerous things regarding…...twins." Aro paused for a moment, reading the faces of the vampires before them.
"That's all they are though, Legends." Grandpa Carlisle interjected quickly. "They have no bearing on the modern world nor on Rosanna or Renesmee."
"That is where you are wrong dear friend." Aro smiled patiently, "Legends of vampire twins are not merely superstition but have plenty of eyewitness credibility. I myself have seen their power."
"They are not full vampire though! They are half human too!" Dad called out and Aro chuckled.
"It matters not. Who's to say they won't grow in strength as their years pass? Together they could create much more damage than one alone. That is why we have decided…." Aro paused again and set his milky sights on Rosanna. "That we will take one of the twins with us."
The reaction was immediate. Rosanna gasped half in surprise and half because Uncle Jasper's hold had tightened on her considerably. Aunt Alice and Grandma Esme both flew to Momma who had let out an enraged roar in perfect synch with Dad who was currently being restrained by Grandpa Carlisle. Renesmee was on Jacob's back, he was snarling and surrounded by his pack, Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett stood protectively in front of the twins and their allies stood in frozen surprise, warring between their fight or flight response. All of this had happened in the barest space of a few seconds and all the while Aro simply stood there with a patient and serene smile on his face.
The clearing was dead silent for five minutes before Rosanna's small, strong voice broke it.
"I will go."
