Edward's POV

"I love you Edward." Bella whispers to me, her eyes a complete, beautiful burning golden.

"I love you too." I whisper back to her. "Forever."

Bella smiled serenely at me as she laughed, her voice like tinkling chimes. "I feel so safe with you." She says contentedly, stretching in my arms like a cat.

"You're safe with me." I promise, stroking her soft hair. "Always."

Just that one little word played havoc with my heart. My non-existent, silent heart which felt alive for the first time since I'd become a vampire. All because of this one woman. Bella. She was my soulmate, my destiny and I knew I would never leave her side.

Another image hit me and I scowled at Alice. "Will you quit looking through my future? When all this happens for real I'd like it to be a surprise!" I growl in exasperation.

Alice grins as she shakes her spiky dark hair. If you don't want to see the future, don't read my mind. Quite simple really. She thinks at me.

"You know I can't control it!" I growl playfully at her.

She giggles in soprano and skips to vocal communication. "I can't help it if my gift wants to show me your future Edward." She laughs at my annoyed expression and I end up smiling at her giggles.

"I'm glad to see you've started smiling again Edward." A voice says suddenly and I look up to see Esme watching me intently.

I tried not to frown. I hadn't noticed that Esme had been aware of my isolation and I immediately felt bad for putting her in that situation. She smiled softly at me, her eyes filled with compassion. My smile instantly vanishes as I realise what Esme being here means. "How's Jasper?" I ask quickly.

She frowns. "He's doing okay. Rosalie and Emmett are with him." She makes herself smile. "You really helped him when you talked to him. Thank you Edward."

I smile back at her, loving the goodness and purity that radiated off her every single moment. "Jasper is my brother. I didn't want him to remain upset with himself forever." And quite frankly I couldn't blame him for something I'd so nearly done myself. Jasper had not had nearly as much practice as me and I found it difficult enough.

Esme smiles generously at me as she takes a seat. "Will you play something for me Edward?" She asks suddenly, gesturing to my piano. "It'll take your mind off Bella."

I force myself to smile back instead of tense up at the mention of Bella. I refused to let myself think of how much I'd wanted her blood back in my bedroom, how close I'd come to losing control like Jasper. "Sure Esme." I say, just to please her.

I walk over to my stool and have to smile when Alice does a little happy wiggle and sits down next to me, an eager smile on her face. I run my hand gently up the scales, testing the pitch. The tuning was still perfect.

Edward is playing again. Esme thinks joyously, a smiling breaking across her face.

I add a harmonising line, letting the central melody that had just entered my head weave through it.

Esme sighs with contentment. A new song. It's been so long. What a lovely tune.

I let the melody lead in a new direction, following it was the bass line. The song was compelling, but incomplete. I toy with a bridge but it doesn't seem right somehow.

"It's beautiful. Does it have a name?" Esme asks.

"Not yet." I answer, engrossed in my work.

"Is there a story to it?" She asks, a smile in her voice.

"It's… a lullaby, I suppose." I got the bridge right then. It led easily to the next movement, taking on a life of its own.

"A lullaby." She hums contentedly to herself.

There was a story to this melody and once I saw that, the pieces fell into place effortlessly. The story was a beautiful female vampire with long brunette tumbling locks, fierce and gentle at the same time. She was mine. Alice sighs in contentment next to me and in her trilling, wind chime voice, she sketches out a wordless descant two octaves above the melody.

"I like it." I murmur. "But how about his?" I add her line to the harmony – my hands were flying across the keys now to work all the pieces together – modifying it a bit, taking it in a new direction…

She caught the mood and sang along. "Yes perfect." I say.

Esme squeezes my shoulder. "That's absolutely beautiful Edward." Esme says softly.

"It really is." Alice agrees, her voice excited. "You need to call it something! Pick a name!" She bounces in her seat.

"Bella's lullaby." I say, without thinking.

Esme smiles broadly, I swear I'd never seen her happier. "Perfect. It does remind of a lullaby, so soothing."

"Except the chick doesn't sleep." Emmet's voice sounds suddenly and I look up to see him standing in the doorway, totally at ease.

"Her name is Bella, not 'the chick'." I say curtly, annoyed at his nickname.

Emmett smirks, his dimples appearing. "But she is a chick, bro. If you took her to town I'm sure the human men would agree." I glare at him and holds his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay dude I get it. She's your chick. Now chill out." He turns to Alice, a huge smile plastered on his face. "What's up Alikins?" He laughs.

Alice looks serious for once. "How is Jasper doing?" She asks lightly, instantly sobering up Emmett's mood.

"Better. Rosalie's talking to him. She's good when it comes to Jasper. She understands his struggle to fit in with this life." He says grimly.

Thank me later for distracting him Edward. Alice's thought floats into my head and I raise an eyebrow at her. Then I'm distracted by a different thought from upstairs, where Eleazar and Carlisle are with Bella.

"Whoa."

"What?" Alice asks instantly.

"Bella had a… wound from Jasper." I say hesitantly. "Carlisle was cleaning it, then it healed itself. Just like that. The skin closed while he watched."

"That girl is something different." Emmett says suddenly and the fact that he didn't call Bella a chick showed that he was serious. "Not bad different," he says hurriedly, after Alice shoots him a warning look. "just different to us."

"Well I'm sure Carlisle will help Bella find out why she is a bit different." Esme says calmly, her faith in Carlisle as strong as usual, her thoughts full of love and warmth. I had to smile when I realised I no longer felt any envy towards her and Carlisle's relationship. I didn't feel left out anymore.

"That's because you have Bella." Jasper's voice sounds sincerely and I glance up to see him hovering uncertainly in the doorway, Rosalie just behind him. I smile warmly at him.

"Yes I think it must be." I smile widely.

I'm so sorry… Jasper's thoughts instantly begin but I cut him off.

"No don't Jasper. She's healed now, perfectly fine. It was just a mistake." I reassure him.

One that shouldn't have happened. I should have been in control. I've been vegetarian for eight decades now and I still can't control myself. He thinks miserably.

I shake my head at him. "I was barely in control; how could I have expected that from you?" I admit quietly. "You're still younger than all of us when it comes to our diet. I completely understand why it's so hard for you."

"She has to go." Rosalie hisses suddenly and I turn to growl at her when someone beats me to it.

"No." Emmett growls, completely shocking me. "Babe, we've gone through this. Bella makes Edward happy, therefore she must stay. It's the only logical course of action."

"I'm not making Bella leave!" Esme exclaims, her voice passionate.

"Stop being such a bitch Rosalie!" Alice tells her.

Rosalie tosses her mane of golden hair, clearly displeased with our comments. "Well I don't like her." She growls.

I had been pretty calm up to this stage, considering that Rosalie had been insulting my mate but this comment irritated me more than most. "Well I don't always like you, but you've never been made to leave. So shut the hell up about Bella! Don't you think she's gone through enough? She's just found out she has human blood for god sake! Stop being so damn selfish Rosalie!" I snap at her and she stares at me, hurt in her eyes.

Least she has some human part left. I hear Rosalie think to herself before she turns panicked golden eyes to me. Did you hear that? She demands, her thoughts instantly worried.

"So that's what it's all about." I breathe, suddenly understanding. "That's why you hate her so much."

Rosalie scowls impressively at me while Alice looks confused. "And why is that?" She questions, peering at Rosalie curiously.

"It's not just because Bella has fit so naturally into our family, it's because even though she willing gave up her human life to become a vampire," I explain, feeling glad that I'd told my family of her creation story, "she has still kept all her human traits, not lost to her instincts. She also chose to become a vampire which Rosalie hates and… perhaps the most important reason of all; Bella still retains a little bit of humanity within her human blood. And besides, Rosalie really doesn't like people calling her bitch." I grin, as I read the rest of her thoughts.

Alice smirk and Esme looks at Rosalie in concern. "Oh sweetheart, I know you don't like the circumstances of this life but…" I automatically tune Esme out as I hear my name spoken in another conversation, this time from upstairs.

"Edward can't read your mind, can he Bella?" This was Eleazar.

I frown. What relevance did this have? I'd been half-aware of their conversation from down here and realised that they had been discussing Bella coming to find me. Eleazar's question seemed almost random.

Bella sounded confused as she answers. "No," she says hesitantly, "how do you know that?"

"But Alice can see your future… and Jasper can control your emotions?" Eleazar probes.

"We've never mentioned Alice's or Jasper's abilities around you." Carlisle says, and it's not a question.

Eleazar's voice sounded neutral when he spoke, but his thoughts were apprehensive. "I was in the Volutri for a reason Carlisle." He says quietly.

"You have a supernatural gift." Carlisle states neutrally but his thoughts were disapproving.

"Indeed." Eleazar agrees.

"What is it?" Carlisle asks flatly, his thoughts filling with anxiety at the mention of the Volutri, those friends of his that he spent decades with.

"I have the ability to sense the type and strength of gifted vampire's talents." Eleazar explains. I take a deep breath. What an interesting talent. No wonder the Volutri had collected Eleazar, he would have been most valuable to them in telling them which vampires had what gifts and who would be the biggest threat to them.

"Are you saying I have a supernatural gift Eleazar?" Bella asks quietly.

"You do have exceptional self-control." Carlisle interjects quickly, his voice eager.

"Edward." Alice's voice broke into my subconscious.

"What Alice?" I ask, still focused on the conversation upstairs and on Bella.

Eleazar laughed at Carlisle's question. "No Carlisle that's not it, although that is certainly something to consider. Originally, that's why I started assessing her, in my belief that she had the gift of self-control."

"Edward!" Alice says again, more sharply.

"What?" I repeat, my tone matching hers, but I'm still focused on upstairs.

"If it's not self-control, what is it?" Carlisle and Bella ask, their voices in perfect sync.

I grin and then immediately scowl as Alice grabs my wrist. "I've just had a vision Edward." She says curtly.

"Not now Alice." I mutter, pulling my wrist out of her grasp. "It's your fault for poking through my future." I focus on the conversation upstairs once again.

"Well I'm actually struggling to get a read on you Bella. When I look at vampires, and even humans, I get a… sense of them, if you'd like. Who they are, what abilities they possess, even their potential gifts as a vampire, but with you… nothing. It's like a brick wall." I frown. What did this mean for Bella? Was there a way around it? I suddenly had a deep burning desire to read her thoughts and figure her out once and for all.

I had to smile as Bella asked the question I'd just asked myself. "So what does that mean?"

"It means you're blocking me. Totally subconsciously, you're that powerful. It also makes you pretty easy to classify when it comes to gifts." Eleazar explains.

"Blocking you? What do you mean?" Carlisle asks quietly.

"She's a shield." Eleazar says calmly.

"A what?" Carlisle and Bella ask simultaneously again.

"She's a mental shield." I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. I should have figured this out earlier. Eleazar's thoughts were telling me everything I needed to know.

"A shield," Eleazar repeats calmly for the benefit of Carlisle and Bella who unfortunately could not read his thoughts, "as she protects herself from others. Purely mental, which is why Alice and Jasper's physical abilities work on her, but it means her mind is protected from any mental attack, hence any gifts like Edward's that involve interfering or accessing the mind are useless against Bella. A purely mental defence, but effective." Eleazar explains, confirming what I'd heard in his thoughts. It explained why I couldn't read Bella's thoughts and, frustrating as it was to me, I was glad to have some of the madness explained.

Silence fell upstairs and I was so distracted by Eleazar's thoughts and through them Bella's reaction that Alice's hand smacking me across the face triggered my vampire instincts. I twisted under her hand, throwing her roughly to the floor.

"EDWARD FOR CHRIST SAKE PAY ATTENTION!" Alice yells, jumping to her feet. "I just had a vision that could change everything!" She growls.

I finally give Alice my full attention, recognising how agitated she was. Her thoughts hit me full pelt and I cursed very verbally.

"Edward!" Esme chastised but I wasn't hearing her.

"When?" I demand of Alice.

"Ten minutes." She whispers, half locked into the future, half locked into the present.

"What does it mean for us?" I ask slowly, dreading the answer.

"Trouble." She answers.

"What's to say you can't shield others too?" Eleazar's voice floats downstairs. "Renata can project her shield out from herself a few meters. You may be able to do the same."

Bella's voice was tinged with hope. "I would… be able to protect others? From vampires like the Volutri hurting their minds?" She asks breathlessly.

Alice growled menacingly under her breath as she's hit with another future possibility before sprinting for the staircase and shouting up it. "Eleazar, Carlisle, Bella! Get down here now! We're going to have company."