Chapter Three-Cornstalk

A/N; For those that don't know, Cornstalk was early Australian slang for a child which grew exceptionally tall and quickly. I figured it would be an appropriate title. All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

EPOV

It was strange seeing the ancient walls of the tower decked out in the equipment of a nursery, but not nearly as strange as the situation unfolding within it. As always, four of the guard stood by the exit, – no outsider went near the tower unless accompanied by at least four of the guard – in addition to this were Sulpicia, Athenodora, Aro, Carlisle and myself. But strangest of all, in the very center, was Bella. Isabella Marie Volturi.

Carlisle was examining her and I was there to assist.

It was clear she was not a human child. Her chocolate brown eyes were bright and fully aware, her heart beat too fast and her skin was too warm. And yet, it was these same features which distinguished her from an immortal child. She was unique. Which made things awfully complicated.

Carlisle and I had both been shocked to discover how short the pregnancy had been. How Bella's growth would progress from here was a complete mystery. As such, Carlisle's first priority was to establish a definition of normal. So he measured everything. Her weight, her length, her temperature and the circumference of her skull, her grip strength, her jaw strength and the sensitivity of her ears, he determined her reaction times and the proportions between the different parts of her body. Everything.

What was amazing however, was the way Bella put up with it all. It was clear she wasn't happy, a small pucker had formed between her eyebrows, and yet she gave him her full cooperation during the entire examination. I wasn't sure that I had that kind of patience.

I was here as a secondary medical opinion. My job was to run through Carlisle's thoughts and object if I saw something I believed to be incorrect; completely unnecessary, but Carlisle always insists on being thorough. Never-the-less, I was happy to help. Helping meant being one of the lucky few who got to spend time with the most gorgeous infant in the history of the world. Even if she was annoyed.

Eventually, Carlisle stood and handed Bella back to Sulpicia who immediately resumed cooing at her daughter as if there were no one else in existence. Bella gurgled happily in response.

Carlisle cleared his throat. 'Now, as to the child's diet -' Aro glanced warningly at Carlisle who sighed '- I know I'd be wasting my breath to try and convince you to feed her on animal blood. However, for the sake of the Bella's mental well being I severely recommend feeding her indirectly. Draining the blood from the person and giving it to her through a bottle would probably be the best method, but at the very least sedate the humans you intend to feed her. I truly hate to think what the screaming would do to her.' I was impressed. I knew exactly how much it cost Carlisle to talk so calmly about murder and yet he pulled it off with out a hitch.

Still, all the talk of blood seemed to be making Bella thirsty, she whimpered quietly in the arms of the woman she would now know as 'mother'. The fate of her actual mother was a subject that both Carlisle and I avoided. I felt disgusted at the thoughtless way the Volturi had treated her, and guilt at my acceptance of it. Even knowing that I could have done nothing about it, even knowing that the Volturi had killed countless other individuals through their own selfishness, I still felt wretchedly guilty.

Aro stroked his daughter's cheek while deliberating over Carlisle's words. He sighed as he came to his conclusion, 'Very well then, - Otello! Call Heidi, we need her to go hunting again, tell her to keep it close – I want her back here as soon as possible. When she arrives, slit the jugular and collect the blood in a bottle to bring up here for Bella! Understood?'

'Yes master' Otello bowed and hastily fled the room. As soon as he was gone Carlisle continued with his report.

'As I said earlier, she seems to be fine, but I won't be able to tell you anything definite until I have more information – to that end, I think I should come back up here in a few hours to conduct more measurements...'

Bella sighed.

******************************************

Bella continued to grow rapidly, although her frequent measurements showed this to be slowing. She slept approximately the same amount as a normal child, but in solid blocks rather than the scattered naps expected of a human infant. Carlisle claimed that this was hardly surprising given her massive growth spurt. The real shock came when she was only three days old.

'Mamma, how many more measurements does Carlisle have to do?'

Much to Bella's distaste - and my amusement - this question didn't have quite the intended effect, as Carlisle immediately began on an entirely new set of tests intended to determine her level of intellectual maturity. The infant rolled here eyes in disgust and I chuckled quietly, causing her to round her glare on me. It was then that I noticed that I couldn't hear her thoughts. I frowned, and Carlisle asked what was wrong.

I explained quickly, and everyone's eyes returned curiously to Bella.

Fascinating....what could possibly be causing...; As usual, Carlisle was intrigued with the quirks of the new species he was presented with,

What!? What is he suggesting?; Sulpicia's worry was immediate and intense,

Interesting. Is this normal for a half-vampire child? Or something more? I wonder...;

Aro grasped what was going on far quicker than the rest of us. Gently, he pressed his own palm to Bella's. I heard no change in his thoughts. 'Fascinating' He murmured.

Sulpicia glanced at her husband questioningly.

'I can't hear her either'

The next hour was completely taken up with various members of the guard testing their powers upon the infant – the only gifted vampire whose talents were not requested was Jane, Sulpicia refused to let her near the girl and I couldn't say I blamed her. Bella of course was annoyed, but suffered in silence. It seemed she had figured out that protesting would only make the testing take longer. Carlisle understood however and left off his other tests for another few hours, guessing that her patience, at least, had been tested enough.

By the end of the hour we had determined that Bella had a complete mental shield, however she was still susceptible to physical gifts. I did not like the way Aro's thoughts reacted to the knowledge of his daughter's gift.

As we made to leave, Bella sat up in her mother's and waved, calling 'Ba-Bye' in her adorable little voice, lips twitching into the most gorgeous of smiles. I caught Carlisle wondering whether or not these actions required further testing. I just shook my head and reminded him of his earlier sentiments, before leading the way out the door.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: While it took Renesmee an entire week to learn to talk, I think she took longer than a 'normal' half vamp would, since she had little need for verbal communication. Thus I let Bella talk in only three days.