I am soooooooo sorry for not updating sooner. i won't bore you with excuses but i am changing the update days to saturdays. i dont know if i'll update this saturday or not.

ENJOY!

Jane threw open the doors and I mentally groaned.

Aaron caught my eye next to a different guard and nodded ever so slightly.

We were screwed.

The place had just about everyone here.

The three masters were up on a three-tired staircase all in their thrones. Bastards.

Jane went up to Aro and briefly touched his hand. His eyebrows shot up as mine scrunched down.

What the heck?

I shot a glance at Aaron but he wasn't looking at me.

I was a bit back from Aaron and Demetri was walking me up slowly.

Very...Very...slowly...

Finally I got tired of it and slammed my elbows into his midsection.

He let go with an 'oof!' and I strode forward. Everyone had crouched and the 'master's' guards had moved closer to them.

Once I was next to Aaron I turned back to glare at Demetri.

"I can walk on my own."

Aaron was looking at me and shaking his head slightly.

"What?" I demanded of him.

"Bella, you do realize where we are right?"

"You mean besides a hell hole? Yeah, Volterra. Unless they have another castle or whatever in Veneto."

Aaron was looking at me incredulously. I could understand why. I was taunting our captors. But, if I was going to die here I might as well make it fun.

So, I was beyond surprise when Aro burst out laughing.

We all looked at him in shock-especially the guard.

I turned to Aaron. "What did Jane do with his hand?"

"Oh, Aro can read thoughts. Every thought you've ever had by the touch of your hand."

Great.

"Hahaha! Wonderful! What a charming girl!"

Charming? I just insulted everything about you and you call me charming?

"Yet, we have a mystery it seems. Your dear boyfriend here-"

I nearly threw up right then and there. That was just gross. He noticed my expression.

"Or, not your boyfriend. Just a friend then. Your friend here is saying your human and yet my guard here says that you are a half human half vampire. And-"

I tried to hold it in, I really did.

But really? Members of the biggest, oldest coven in the world had fallen for that?

I snorted in laughter and Aro paused to look at me confused.

A couple more giggles escaped. Jane, Felix, and Demetri were all looking at me indignantly.

"I'm sorry. But they fell for that? Really? I mean you're the biggest, oldest coven and you actually fell for that? I mean there could be half vamps out there but wouldn't they smell…. I don't know, less human? And they-some of the best members of your guard-actually fell for it? I was just playing with the guy!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Felix cover a smile with his hand.

Could he actually like me?

Caius stepped forward. "Yes, the vampire you killed. In our land. That is unacceptable."

Something about this guy bugged me more than the rest. So I decided to pronounce his name wrong and mess with him.

He went by Caius. Pronounced Kie-us. I pronounced in Kayus.

"Really? Kayus isn't it?"

He glared at me. "It's Caius."

"Whatever. See the thing is I was in Veneto. Not Volterra. And even if I was, I would have been helping you out. After all, you have a strict no hunting inside Volterra walls do you not? This guy was going for the kill. I simply stopped him."

"You still killed him."

"Then I guess he shouldn't have been hunting there."

He glared at me while Demetri shifted his posture from defensive to offensive.

Could I really be gaining their respect? There was just no way! I mean Demetri had slammed my head onto the pavement and now he liked me?

My head wouldn't wrap around the notion.

"I'm going to kill you," he snarled leaning forward.

I dropped into a crouch and snarled back at him. "You're going to try."

"I am millennia old girl."

"Do you see me caring? I don't care if your millennia old or decades old. You attack, you'll get a fight you won't forget."

Aro stepped forward and put his hand on Caius' shoulder.

"Patience, brother. She is but a child."

Caius stalked back to his chair and Aro gave me a meaningful look…. I didn't know what it meant though.

What the heck?

I stayed silent though…even though I wanted to laugh when I saw the Caius was sulking. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

I felt Alec's shoulders shake silently with repressed laughter though.

This was insane. Could I actually be winning them over?

I looked over at Alec with calm eyes and his own eyes flickered over to Caius before he met my gaze and winked at me.

Holy Crap.

I was winning them over. But I knew better than to think that if it came down to fight they would be on my side. I knew they wouldn't.

I was just a temporary thing. Their own masters were forever…and ever…and ever…and ever…

"And yet, now the mystery becomes even more complex. It seems as if you killed a vampire last night. One that I wanted dead actually, so that works out well, but still. You are but a human child. How could you have possibly succeeded in killing him when others before you could not? He was several centuries old…how did you do it?"

They all were looking at me, though some stances and expressions were friendlier than others.

Aaron was proud. He was trying extremely hard not to beam at me and jump for joy.

"Ummm…. are you sure he was centuries old?"

"Quite sure. Many have fought him before and have failed."

"Well, then you sent the weaklings out to fight him or something cause that one was easy."

There was a pause while Aro processed that information.

"That…. one? As in there was more?"

"Not that night. But did you think I just had a lucky shot without any training or any experience? And really, that guy was super weak. I've fought vampires and won who were stronger and more cunning than he was. He was like a warm-up exercise. Barley noticeable."

I felt some of the vampires around me shift in shock.

Marcus spoke up. "You were very reckless child. You could have been tortured."

"Yes," Aro said. "It is not fun."

"I know." I said simply.

Even Jane showed shock at that statement.

"You…know?" Aro asked. "You couldn't have possibly been tortured by a vampire already."

"Sure have. Twice actually. The first I was just a convenient human-sort of. And the other was a revengeful bitch because I killed her mate. Now they're both dead."

Jane spoke up after a beat of silence. "I don't' believe you."

I rolled my eyes and pulled my hair back to reveal the bite mark when Aaron spoke up.

"You have to take the skin off."

I turned to him. "Huh?"

"We put fake skin over the bite so the doctors wouldn't look too closely while you were unconscious. You have to pull the skin off to see the scar."

"Huh." I took me a moment of searching blindly to find the edge but eventually I was able to pull the fake skin off of my neck and revealed the scar.

"Shouldn't you be a vampire by now then?" Alec asked.

"Aaron pulled the venom out." I said shrugging.

"Remarkable. And you had no problems with it?" Aro asked gliding closer.

"No. Bloodlust control is my gift. I woke up as a newborn and had complete control. In fact a human walked by not 10 minutes after I woke up in my new life."

I hid my smile as everyone gaped at him in open-mouthed surprise.

Caius strode up to Aaron. "You should have let it spread."

"Yeah, no thanks." I snapped at him. He stalked over to me.

"The law claims you."

"No, duh, stupid. But I prefer not to be stuck at ten. Kind of boring, ya know? So yeah, I think I'll wait. Get your sorry butt over it."

He snarled at me.

I stood there unblinking. "Was that supposed to scare me? Cause really all I got to do was smell your bad breath."

"We don't need to breath."

"Yes, but you do anyways. Hence, you have bad breath."

"So do you, girl."

I rolled my eyes. "You know, I'd be offended if I thought you actually cared about that kind of stuff. But you don't. You don't even notice. All you want is the tasty red stuff on the inside that taunts you even as I sit here mocking you."

He wasn't happy. That much was obvious.

He raised his hand to slap me-too bad it was too slow.

I grabbed his wrist before it came in contact with my face.

He did the same with the other hand and I stopped that one too.

He was starring at me in enraged disbelief.

I smiled back at him angelically.

He roared at me and went to pull his hand back.

But I was quicker.

With a quick movement of my hands I switched hands and crossed his, making it so that mine were still straight.

His eyes met mine in shock before I moved again.

With a quick jerk of my hands I had yanked him forward and down, but I jerked to the side causing him to fall with his back to the ground.

I caught him before he hit the ground.

I let go of his hands, grabbed him by the back and shoulder of his cloak and threw him into his chair.

It cracked.

He looked back at me and I folded my arms in defiance.

"Sorry. I don't feel like being your toy today. Maybe…uh, never."

He glared at me and I just starred back at him.

Very slowly, I felt a smile come onto Jane's face and her nod at me in approval.

This was so insane.

I felt Aro come up and trace my scar and took me a moment to realize he was reading my thoughts.

I jumped back and snarled at him.

He looked unfazed though and quickly snatched my hand back up.

I thought of burning his hand when he spoke. "How peculiar."

I froze. "Blank."

He looked up and met my eyes. "Completely blank. I see nothing."

He dropped my hand and gestured to Jane. "Jane dear?"

"I've already tried. So has Alec. She's immune to us both."

"Umm…Immune to what?"

Aaron was the one that answered me. He was beaming. "Their gifts. Aro can read your thoughts, Jane causes an illusion of pain, and Alec can cut of your senses. But their gifts all deal with the mind. You have a natural shield in your mind. They can't reach you."

"Remarkable indeed. And now we come to the real question."

My body tensed at his words. "Which would be what?"

"What are you my dear?"

My face scrunched. Hadn't he read Aaron's mind? Hadn't he gotten that bit of information?

I glanced at Aaron who shrugged.

I made my choice then. "I'm an elemental Aro."

He blinked at me but I could see the fear underlying in his eyes.

"I'm sorry?"

"An elemental. The kind that you brush off and assume that you are still in control. You're not. You are second in command and you always will be. You are no longer the most powerful in this world Aro and its time you understand this."

He looked at me calculating before he turned to Aaron.

"Your family coven is the largest in the world is it not?"

Aaron nodded silently. I was tensed. I dropped down slightly into my crouch.

"You say you do not wish to have power. And yet, you have it just the same. You have just sentenced your family to death. Starting with you."

The guard next to Aaron reached out, placed his hands on his head, and started to pull.

I saw red.

Some people are asking when the sequel will be out.

The answer is: after i'm done with this story which i may or may not break up into two parts. i don't know when i'll be done but remember i have to get Bella to 16 and to Forks. Things have to happen in order for the sequel to make sense but i'm working hard when i can. Please be patient.

Thanks to the pixie-like vampire, xoxrockin101xox, Ruskie Roo, crimson-goth-girl, bella234171819, and motherduckatschool for reviewing.

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