A/N: No B/E reunion yet but it's coming… trust me… it's worth the wait ;)

I have to say a huge thank you to Sara (get an account already girl!), Tlcatlady and IvoryAdulation- When I posted the last chapter I was having a rough time, feeling like my writing sucked. You ladies were a huge encouragement. Thanks so much! I even went back and changed my author's note for the last chapter because of you guys ;) Thanks for the confidence boost!

Short but action packed chapter ahead!

Chapter 16 - Vampire Royal

As I passed time on the plane back to Italy, my mind played back the previous two days repeatedly in my head. No matter what I did, I could not distract myself from them. The Cullens had offered to come help us face the council, but I refused to allow them to do so. They had a much more important task now; they needed to safeguard my daughter. I did not mention that there was no way I could put them in such a dangerous position. Carlisle begged and pleaded to allow his family to assist us but we all adamantly refused their help. Ness came to the hotel and we spent time together saying our goodbyes, neither one of us knowing when exactly the next time we would see each other would be. Saying goodbye to my daughter was very difficult, but I comforted myself in the fact that she would be safe with her family and they would take excellent care of her. I made her renew her promise to me to not allow Edward to know the truth about her, and to keep her mind blocked from his. She reluctantly agreed, and insisted that he would not come near her anyway. I was grimly satisfied with this. Ness would be able to keep my secret, and be allowed a chance to learn something about her father.

Against my better judgment, before I left, I paid one more visit to Charlie. I had missed him more than I realized. I decided to risk Aro's wrath at the chance to spend a little more time with my father. We spent hours catching up with each other, and this time I promised to keep in contact with him if I could. I also forced him to promise to stay away from the Cullens, even though I knew I had no reason to worry. The Cullens were going to head to Alaska as soon as the guard was gone, but I didn't want Edward to find out about me from Charlie either.

The rest of the time I had before we left was spent on how we were going to confront the council and keep ourselves from being manipulated by Chelsea. The moment we arrived in the city, it was going to be my job to take Chelsea out. I was the only one she could not affect. I hated the idea of taking her life, but I knew it was necessary or we would never be able to stop the council.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we landed in Volterra and sped back to the castle. I was nervous as we rode back into the city, and Alec grabbed my hand wordlessly in an attempt to comfort me. Jane grimaced when he did this and after a moment, I pulled my hand away. I had spent too much time in his arms, allowing him to comfort me, while we were in Forks. Jane's grimace reminded me that this would be affecting him and giving him hope that I cared for him too. I never wanted to hurt him more than I already had and so I knew I had to put some distance between Alec and I. Jane nodded at me and her face softened as she saw my response to her unspoken concern. She knew I cared for her brother as a friend and would not want to cause him any more pain. Alec looked at me with a perplexed expression for a moment and I shook my head at him slowly. Pain was etched on his face as he sat back in his seat, before replacing the pain with an expressionless mask.

Once we reached the castle, the guard assembled and as a unit, we marched inside. Someone notified us that Aro wished to see us immediately. We nodded at them and continued to the main room where we knew Chelsea would be with the skeleton crew that had remained behind to guard the council. I stood in the back, inconspicuous in the crowd. We all wore our hoods and marched into the council chamber. The second we entered the room, the doors slammed shut behind us and two furious faces, along with one bored one, of the council greeted us. Silently, the guard stood inches from the council and I moved over to Chelsea. Aro began screaming at Jane and Alec who stood there, frozen like stone. I had thrown my shield over the whole group so I could be sure that Chelsea, who was already trying to use her power against us, was not affecting anyone. I slid up behind Chelsea and before she could make a sound, my teeth severed her head from the rest of her body. The whole council turned at the sound of teeth ripping her granite-like skin, and watched motionless as I tore Chelsea to shreds. Once I completed my work, I took out my lighter and began burning her body. At this sight, the council moved again towards Jane, Alec, and rest of the group. Before they could do anything, Alec had deprived them of all their senses and they were at our mercy.

Slowly, Alec released his hold on the minds of the three council members, allowing them to understand and react with us. The rest of the guard stood there frozen under Alec's complete control. Finally, Jane, Alec, and I stepped up to the three members of the council.

Aro spit out, "What is the meaning of this treachery?"

The three council members looked back and forth trying to figure out what we were thinking.

Alec and Jane turned towards me, and I took a deep breath as I addressed the council saying, "Aro, Marcus, Caius, you have overstepped your bounds too far this time. We will not allow you to rip families apart to strengthen your own numbers. We will also no longer allow you to force people into servitude to the Volturi. You have become corrupted by your power and we will no longer allow this to continue. I knew about your plot to kidnap Ness and use her against me. I was appalled by this, but I decided to get her out of harm's way and hope it was an isolated incident. However, your actions in Washington proved to me otherwise. Of course, you had no idea that I would not allow you to harm the Cullens anyway, even if they had been in the wrong. You see, Edward Cullen is Renesmee's father. There was no way I could take his life. When I found out the reasons behind your actions, I decided that it was time to act. Fortunately, for me, the rest of the guard agreed with me. What you're doing is wrong and we will not allow it. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Aro stared at me with fury and rage evident in his eyes as he said haughtily, "Edward Cullen? Well that is a bit of a surprise. I should have seen it with your reaction to Carlisle's name when you first arrived. I had thought that Eleazar's wandering eyes had gotten himself in trouble again, and perhaps you had run here to escape Carmen's wrath at his infidelity."

Caius also looked back at us with a furious but superior expression. Marcus, however, surprised me. He looked sideways at his brothers with shock and horror.

When Aro noticed Marcus' reaction, he growled at him and said, "I should have known that you would fall in with these pathetically emotional creatures. I should have killed you when I took out Didyme."

Marcus gasped and froze.

Caius looked at Aro with disgust and said, "You killed your own sister to keep him here? I would never have done such a thing. Your own sister, Aro."

Then Caius addressed us, "While I do not agree with your actions, Aro has become a liability to the Volturi. He will no longer serve on the council."

Jane and I moved towards Aro to destroy him, but Marcus growled out, "NO! He is mine!"

With that, Marcus, showing more emotion than I had ever seen on his face, tore Aro to shreds and burned his body.

Once Aro's body was producing a sickly sweet column of smoke, I turned to address Caius.

"Caius, you are only bothered by the fact that Aro killed his sister. However, I see no regret about my daughter or the Cullen family. Am I right in interpreting your actions in this manner?" I said stiffly.

I would not pass judgment without considering all the facts, as the council had been so prone to do.

Caius paused and then gravely said, "While I think Aro was wrong in taking his sister's life, I do not think that it was wrong for the council to use whatever actions necessary to protect itself. You were too valuable to lose and the Cullens would have been a great asset to the guard. I believe that we should take whatever we need for the greater good of the vampire world."

I looked at him in disgust. He actually believed the drivel that was spewing from his mouth.

Before I could speak, Marcus turned and addressed Caius, "Brother, while I appreciate your distaste at the loss of my wife, I would never have willingly agreed to the direction the council has taken. The two of you used Chelsea to control me. You and Aro have corrupted the point of this office. You have been blinded by power and I will not continue to serve alongside you."

I looked at Marcus and said, "That will not be a problem. Caius will no longer be allowed to serve on the council. We will destroy him."

With that, I motioned to Jane and Alec, who gravely nodded in unison and began tearing Caius to pieces.

As they worked, I turned to Marcus and said, "Marcus, I would like you to remain on the council. You have shown me that you still have the right purpose and heart for this job. Would you consider it?"

Marcus looked at me warily for a moment and then slowly said, "Bella, I will not rule alone. After what became of my brothers, I will not allow myself that temptation. However, if you are to appoint two others, then I will remain. There is much I have to atone for while I was under the control of Aro and Caius."

I considered his request for a moment, then I gave him a hard smile and said, "I have two others in mind to become part of the council with you."

Marcus smiled and said, "I think I know exactly who you mean. The whole vampire world will fear them, but they would be fair and have good hearts."

I smiled back at him and then turned to Jane and Alec, "Jane, Alec would you take the other two seats on the council?"

They both looked back at me in shock and awe.

Alec finally spoke up and said, "Bella, what about you? You would be just as good a placement as either of us, maybe even better."

I shook my head with a sad expression on my face.

Then, I brokenly said, "I am in no condition to lead. There are too many demons that I need to face in my own life. I cannot keep pushing this aside. Alec you saw me fall apart in Forks. I need to deal with my pain. I had been ignoring it for Ness, because she was more important than me, but now I need to deal with my pain and grief."

Jane then said, "Bella, I believe you are right. If you don't deal with your pain, you will become twisted inside, as I was with Chelsea's assistance. I never gave myself a chance to grieve the loss of Eleazar, and I became someone who enjoyed hurting others. It became a way to inflict the pain I was feeling on someone else. While Chelsea played on my rage, turning me into an even darker version of myself, the heart of it was still my fault. I also need to make up for past sins and I will use this position to do so."

I hugged Jane, Alec and Marcus in turn. Then, I said, "I have complete confidence in you. You will be able to right many of the wrongs that have occurred at this council's hands. I will miss you all, but I must leave. I need time. Thank you for everything."

Alec looked at me with complete agony and Jane nodded at my sympathetically. Then, all three of them hugged me again and I walked out of the castle for the last time. I dropped my cloak at the door, leaving the Volturi guard behind for good, and allowing the pain to take me over.

Curious if anyone saw what Aro was thinking about the identity of Nessie's father?

What do you want to see from who's perspective? Let me know!

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