In most ways I wanted to be like an adult. I wanted to be big and independent like they were, and I hated being patronized like a child. But I didn't want to be so preoccupied with sex, as adults were. I was generally indifferent to it; when it came up in people's thoughts, as it inevitably did, I ignored it. But I found it annoying that my parents' having gotten back together was such a hot topic. Weren't these things supposed to be private?

Lucky me, I got to hear every side of the story, and also every side of the gossip. Most of them believed Gianna had seduced Aro. Those were the ones who said Sulpicia was going to get Gianna killed. Others thought Gianna was trying to replace Sulpicia. What did they think this was, Henry VIII?

Such a comparison could hardly be any less apt. Aro and Sulpicia would stay together, and no one was getting their head chopped off. To be sure, it was a delicate situation, but overall a rather uneventful one. Sulpicia liked to act as if such things were beneath her notice, though they really did bother her. She had been raised in a different age, one in which such conduct might be acceptable. Gianna had a right to Aro; after all, she had borne him a son. Sulpicia merely took refuge in her status as the official, favored wife.

I was just glad I'd get to see my mother soon. I would have preferred not to wait until after Felix's arrival, but she could hardly visit me while she was still thirsty. In the meantime, I had plans of my own.

I never ate in the "dining hall" with everyone else. Since I was warm-blooded, it would be too easy to mistake me for food. This made for an excellent opportunity to leave the wives' tower. While Sulpicia went to eat and fetch my food, I was completely alone.

Once she was safely gone, I opened the secret passage that carried me past the one-way glass. I followed my mother's memory and scent until I made into one of the main thoroughfare halls of the castle. From there I only had to follow the scent of humans, and there was the secretary's desk.

Regina was the only safe human being in the entire castle. Her heartbeat had quickened and her hands were shaking; it bothered her deeply to send humans through the halls to be killed.

I perched myself on the counter by her desk. "Excuse me," I said to her, "Could I make an appointment?"

She jumped. "Who the hell are you?" she said loudly.

"Tut tut," I sighed. "Secretaries aren't supposed to swear at people."

She eyed me speculatively. "Are you . . . are you –"

"The squalling half-breed brat you delivered six months ago? Pleasure to meet you too, ma'am."

"What are you doing down here? Aren't you supposed to be feeding with everyone else?"

I shrugged. "It's not safe for anything with a heartbeat in there."

"So why aren't you skulking about the castle like a proper half-vampire?"

"Skulking is boring," I told her. "Besides, I need to talk to you. We don't have much time."

"O . . . kay," she said. "What's going on?"

"I have a gift," I said, "that is similar to Aro's. I can read minds the same way he can, but I can also remove memories. So I know your whole story. I know you hate working for us, and if you could, you'd leave. So I have an opportunity for you. I can remove every memory you've ever had of the Volturi, of vampires, and you can go back to your old life."

Regina'd had plans for her human life. She was going to finish her education and become a doctor. Moreover, she wanted to spend the rest of her life serving the human race. Her grandfather, a man she had admired very much, had left her a modestly large sum of money, and while it sat in the bank collecting interest and being wisely invested, she had more than enough capital to begin a foundation – for exactly what cause she was not yet sure.

But it was her misfortune to discover the existence of vampires. From a distance she had glimpsed a vampire feeding on a human, and she was lucky enough that the vampire hadn't noticed her. But it had left her severely distraught for weeks. She called a psychiatrist, and that was that. When she showed up for her appointment, Alec was waiting for her. Her only choices were either to help save my mother's life or die. She chose the first option.

Now Regina held out her hand to me. "Go ahead," she said. "Do it."

"Wait," I said. "I need to warn you – I'll be removing a good eight months of your life. I've never removed that much before. It might be too much for your brain. I might even damage it."

"I don't care. Anything is better than this."

"All right. Just so you know. But we can't do it here. We'll have to leave the castle, so you won't have any memory of it. Also, you might want to write yourself a note. Reassure yourself. Give yourself some instuctions as to where you should go, what you should do. Then we can do it."

Already she had out a pen and paper and was scribbling. I gave her a few minutes, and then she was ready. "Let's go," she said.

We took the elevator up, and we walked a couple blocks away. All the while she was getting so excited. I could hear her heart beat faster. It was actually making me thirsty. And I'd never been around so many humans at once. But hunting within the city was a fatal offense, one I doubted even I could be forgiven for. I shook my head clear of such thoughts.

"Stop right here," I commanded, and she complied. "Keep your eyes on the note and nothing else. With any luck, you'll never see my face again."

"Before we begin," said Regina, "I'd like to thank you for doing this. I wish I could repay you somehow -"

"You already have," I told her. "Now we don't have much time. Take my hand."

Her hand made no such motion. "How have I repaid you?"

"My mother would be dead if it weren't for you," I said. "If you hadn't arranged for my delivery when you did, it would have been too late. Now take my hand."

Her face melted into a look of quiet wonder, and she took my hand.

I started a couple hours before she glimpsed her first vampire and bulldozed through every memory afterward. I supposed I could have left a couple of harmless memories there, for continuity's sake, but it was too complicated for me to go through each one and determine how safe they were – not to mention time-consuming. It wouldn't be long until my family came looking for me, and if they ran into Regina, all my hard work would have gone to waste.

Eventually I caught up to the present, including her memories of having her mind wiped. It had been such a strange sensation, which fascinated me entirely. She now was entering into a blind stupor, which many of my subjects experienced after their memories were removed. It would probably last longer than the others, but not too long. I ran out into a crowd where she couldn't see, too quickly for human eyes to follow. From a distance, I watched her stare at her note, first blankly, then intensely. She looked searchingly through the crowd for a moment, which frightened me a little – perhaps I had not succeeded after all. But no, she was merely getting her bearings, for her eyes had found the street sign, and she walked away without another word.

Eight months of her life gone, just like that, and without any excessive side effects. Her life had completely changed in about five minutes, and I was the one responsible. I'd known before that my gift was powerful, but now I really knew it.

I still wanted to see how she'd pick up and move on with her life, make sure she didn't somehow go insane. No doubt Aro would send someone to follow up on that. And he'd also be just as curious as I was.

At that point I felt a shadow fall over me. Over my head was a woman asking if I was lost, which made me groan inwardly. I would have to get rid of her, which was really quite simple once I cleared my head. I gave her an innocent, hopeful look and took her hand. Soon after, I sidled up to some woman and her kid and pretended to be with them. They never seemed to notice me, and by the time I reentered the castle, they never did.

I seethed at the necessity, though. My body was growing fast, but hardly fast enough for me. How long would it be until I was treated like the adult I was inside my little body?

The instant I entered the lobby, I was snatched up by one of the guard. "I found him!" he yelled. "I found him!"

Good grief. I'd only been gone half an hour. What was I, a puppy? I certainly didn't like being manhandled like one as he swept me through the castle.

"You can put me down, Johann," I told him. "I acquired the use of my legs five months ago. I'd prefer to use them."

"I don't suppose you'll be dumb enough to run away again?"

I changed my mind. I'd take coddling over condescencion any day. "I was conducting business," I said testily. "If I'd had anything else I needed to do, I would have stayed out there. But I finished my business, so I came back. I'm perfectly capable of walking back to the wives' tower by myself."

He still held me.

"As if you wouldn't beat me to the door anyway."

He sighed and let me go. I walked ahead of him at a quick pace, not enough to suggest I would attempt an "escape," but enough to keep a distance between us. Nobody else said anything as we passed, but I caught several reproving looks.

They seemed to think themselves my disciplinaries. They were wrong. I only answered to Aro. And when he found out what I'd been doing, he'd eventually approve.

If I was an adult, I could have come and gone as I pleased, no questions asked. But since I was a child, we had to put on this circus. It was so unfair.

When I reached Sulpicia's room, Aro was already there. She immediately began reprimanding me.

"If you ever do that again, I'll be leaving a detail behind to watch you. And they get first claim on everything I bring back."

I simply went to Aro and touched his hand. As I'd predicted, he had intentions of sending someone to keep tabs on Regina, but he wasn't exactly too pleased that I'd snuck off to do it.

It's not your place to dismiss our servants. You do realize that all you're doing is putting another woman in her position, don't you? She may accept it, as your mother did, but chances are she'll feel the same as Regina. Images flashed through his head of former secretaries and their unhappy memories. You can't do that every time we find someone new.

It's different. I won't owe that woman my mother's life debt.

Is that really why you did it?

Do you think I did it because I sympathized with her? You've seen my thoughts. You know I don't.

Actually, I don't know. You haven't really thought about whether you sympathize with her or not. As a mind reader, that's something you need to know. You need to ask the questions yout subject hasn't, and you can never assume you'll be able to predict what a person will do, just because you know their mind. You can never guess their heart. It has a close connection with the mind, to be sure, but it is separate from it and far less predictable.

I don't care about humans. The only one I ever did isn't human anymore.

But that's just it, isn't it? You care for her, instinctively. This affinity you have for your mother, it's human. It's part of you. How can we know how your human tendencies will influence your behavior as you grow up? It breeds uncertainty in my plans.

This was true. Every part of his plans depended on my commitment to the Volturi. My sneaking out to satisfy my debt to Regina called it into question. He didn't care that I'd inconvenienced the guard or risked brain-damaging Regina. What concerned him was that I'd acted on human notions over the proprieties of vampires. Humans repaid kindness for kindness; vampires only avenged trespasses. Before today, he'd counted on me as a strength; now I was a liability.

Now I realized how arrogant I was, assuming that because Aro and I conferred everything, we would agree on everything, and that I had a share in his authority. Of course they all had a right to worry about me if I was gone. For all they knew, someone could have infiltrated our defenses – it would have come up no matter how old I was or appeared to be. I was so egotistical, so easily wounded. I had acted like a child today, and I deserved to be treated like one.

Oh, Julian. He picked me up and took me in his arms. You have not learned to savor your childhood as you should. Where would you have learned it – we have all but lost the memories of our childhoods. You do have an adult place in an adult world, but the responsibilities of an adult are not yet yours. Perhaps I expect too much of you – I winced inwardly, could I really not handle the small responsibility I had? – no, you don't want to be told that. But you should appreciate this period you have to grow and change. Today was one such experience. Take it and move on. Remember that I am still very proud of you.

I couldn't help it then. Despite my embarrassment, a few tears escaped and trickled onto his neck. Don't be ashamed to cry, he told me. It's quite all right.

Sulpicia, who had noticed what was going on but had resolved not to interrupt us, took both me and Aro into her arms. I appreciated the gesture, but at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to have my own biological mother take me into her arms as we were doing now.

Aro sighed. You should feed first. Then we will take you. I leaned out of the hug and kissed their foreheads before standing on my own. Dry by then, my eyes sought out the corpses on the floor. When I was finished, Aro and I left the tower with my little hand clasped in his large cold one.