AN: Edward is such a tiring POV to write, but I got through it. Hopefully this chapter isn't too confusing with the dialogue switching back-and-forth. Definitely was a challenge to try and format. I wasn't originally planning to write another Edward POV chapter, but I got a comment saying that they were interested in seeing a scene with him and Caius, so here we go. MadmoiselleFF, this one is for you!

Edward

The sun dipped just barely underneath the horizon as I jogged leisurely through the trees. Not that it would have mattered at this hour, but had he sunbeams had enough strength to cause any sort of reaction upon my skin, none would penetrate the canopy of branches. It was required of me to be more cautious this close to Voltera than it might normally be for me elsewhere.

I remembered once that Carlisle had taken me to la Blaze whilst I was still new to this immortal life. He had thought it important to introduce his new companion to one of his oldest friends: Aro. Excluding Carlisle, Aro had ben one of the first of our kind I had been introduced to. The hours to follow led us to run the hills in this forest in search of prey and adventure. Of course Aro had invited Carlisle and myself to join them in their own feeding, but as tempted as I was to indulge in what I had yet to experience, Carlisle had quickly and politely refused for the both of us:

"Even though you are tempted by the idea of a natural diet, you should never consider the taking of any life to be casual business. Every human life is precious, no matter how moral or terrible the person is."

I of course had left to decide for myself what a moral or an immoral person might be only a few decades later, though I knew that I would always return to Carlisle sooner or later. I could never deprive Carlisle of anything. His goodness was far too strong for me to resist trying to make him happy, and if something as simple as my presence was all that it took, then I would gladly give it to him. My recent leave from our family had been a necessary mistake for me to make, as was my return to Forks. I was curious on Carlisle's thoughts on the matter of my return and subsequent coming to Voltera. It would soon be dark enough for me to venture back towards Voltera in the south to find my Bella.

I huffed...

No, not my Bella anymore...

So stupid of me...

My own fault...

I would have an everlasting regret over our separation: over the replacement of the woman I had loved so bitterly. Part of me hoped that her efforts would prove fruitless; that it would be his turn to pick up the guilt that was weighing on my shoulders. Why should he get to have her when I was the only one who knew how best to love her. But I had to let Bella make her mistake. If I tried to pull her away, it would only serve to further sever any tie that I might one day have to her.

She wasn't mine anymore. My Bella was not coming back, and it was my own fault.

Amends...amends and closure would be the best gift I could give her now, but to remind myself of that yet again was no less painful than when she told me...what she told me back in Forks.

...I'm not your mate Edward. No matter how much you want me to be, I'm not her...

An unfamiliar mental voice caught my ear:

Se devo sostenere un'altra noiosa prova, ho intenzione di...

A vampire voice.

And then a vampire smell.

Was it...?

...Non c'รจ da smembrare quell'incompetente...

It took me only a half of a second to confirm that it was indeed him: Caius, but it took him only a quarter of a second to find my scent.

"Cullen." The monologue snarled.

White hair and red eyes came to view in front of me. His hands were clasped loosely behind his back as he took a few slow steps, making a semi-circle around me.

"Cullen," He began. It was an active effort on my own part to supress the shutter that his obvious malice invoked, "Carlisle seems to have a bad habit of misplacing his coven members. It was perhaps 6 weeks prior that my assistance was required in locating another one of you."

I knew that the utmost caution was required when addressing this king, "Yes, Carlisle was very...concerned to hear that we had inconvenienced you. We are, of course, very grateful for your help."

"Yes, I'm sure he was. And where is Carlisle? I am sure Aro would so love to find him."

"Unfortunately he was...unavailable."

"Unavailable," he echoed, "Really? Then I must presume you are here on some sort of business then?"

His thoughts were nearly begging for me to attack. He was searching for any excuse to justify removing me from this earth, regardless as to unhappy Aro would be in the aftermath. It was only his love of law that prevented an outright assault. However, being his hatred, there was a palpable bitterness to his mind. Not for where I was, but for where I had been. Was it jealousy or vanity that caused his detest of me? Or perhaps it was neither. Perhaps it was something else entirely. Was it...mourning?

"No, I was just...visiting a friend," I replied.

"A friend," he began. His thoughts were like gears winding to try and find just the right tension to induce conflict, "Do you consider me to be a friend Cullen?"

Both he and I knew the question was a trap of course, "I suppose 'acquaintance' might be a better term. A friend-of-a-friend."

"I see," the gears wound tighter, "And who is this mutual person responsible for our acquaintance?"

Tempt me boy. I would SO enjoy removing you. A pleasant task in contrast to my day-to-day. Such endless purgatory...Gods do I miss Forks...No! Don't let your mind go to her. She is behind you now. The task at hand is what presses on now.

"I recall us first meeting though Carlisle. Though please correct me if I am wrong."

He analyzed me closely, carefully, like a predator waiting for its prey to flee. It was a stark contrast to Bella's description of the past few months.

"1920."

"Yes, that sounds right."

"Of course it sounds right. Our kind do not forget our acquaintances."

"Of course, my apologies."

This fool came before me? Hah! Perhaps the boy did the both of us a favor leaving last September.

I struggled to push away the barrage of thoughts. It was easier to ignore the thoughts of others in a crowd. The noise blended together into a drone; each voice only distinguishable with an active effort on my part, but this was by far more difficult. I recalled the loudness of Jacob Black's thoughts the handful of times I had come across him in passing. In addition, Caius's monologue was a mix of Italian, Greek, and English. Had I been less practiced in my gift, it might have been overwhelming.

"And no other friend comes to mind?" He asked almost coyly.

"I am sure over the years..."

"Over the years..." He echoed monotonal.

"...Perhaps..."

"...Perhaps whom? You'd find the answer in my head boy, however I might advise you to keep your prying eyes to yourself."

A slew of memories flooded in. They were all nothing but casual evenings spent together in our old house; chess, cooking, movie, Bella doing homework on the couch. There was not a single thing offensive in any of the images presented; nothing but gentlemanly behavior.

"Bella..."

"Perhaps you had forgotten that specific common acquaintance."

I wondered where she was for the umpteenth time. Was she...

"...alone in the castle." I muttered to myself before realizing my mistake.

Caius stopped pacing, "Who exactly is alone in the castle?!" he said, visibly struggling to maintain some semblance of composure.

He stared at me, dead eyes boaring a hole into the place where my soul should be, but I didn't dare respond. He stalked forward; a predator advancing. Instinctively I took a step backward, but a white hand grabbed my throat before I could continue my retreated.

"Don't tell me," He began in a very carefully metered voice, "That you are simple enough to bring an unguarded mortal into the castle."

"I..." before I could get another word free, all speck of composure disappeared from his thoughts. The grip on my throat tightened and I felt my feel leave the ground.

"Are. You. FUCKING insane!"

I felt myself flying briefly before hitting the solid wood of a tree. The trunk of it splintered from the force of my collision. Before I had landed I was being thrown back towards the opposite direction, this time my head bouncing against a rock before being hauled up by my hair. I winced against the tension of his grip against my scalp. His other hand was firmly gripped on my chin, tilting my neck at an extremely unpleasant angle.

"When?!" he growled, "When, in your infinite stupidity, did you bring my woman into a castle filled to the brim with vampires?"

"T-two hours," I managed to say despite the immense pressure on my jaw.

He released my face, but the relief was only momentary as I felt myself being dragged across the forest floor by the hair.