Alec's POV

The sounds from the other end of the door were muffled. Even with my super hearing, the thickness of the wood impeded my being able to spy into what was being said. Even with the horror I was about to face directly, my mind kept wandering back to my Bella and Natalia. I spent so many years being miserable and evil and vile, uncaring, unsympathetic, cruel and destructive. Never in all of my years had I ever thought I'd be this lucky, that life would see past all of my imperfections and acts of monstrosity and grant me the gift of love and being loved...it all seemed too brief, and too full of heartache and drama. Still, it was more than I could have ever asked for; the love a woman, the love of a daughter. Two loves that made my whole world complete. I would not let some sorry excuse of a warlock, and some ambitious vampire, take that away from me. So it was with a heavy heart that I splintered the wood with the force of my fist to knock down the door. I would do whatever it took to keep them alive and out of harm's way – even if it meant sacrificing myself.

I'm not exactly sure what I expected to see; maybe some sort of trial – Ulric being his little mischievous self. What I didn't expect was the scene before me... Marcus and Caius fighting, Felix and Demitri off into the far corners ready to fight along with Jane...and Aro, with little Ulric, standing in the middle, eyes blazing.

Shock doesn't come easy to me. I've seen way too much in my long life, but Aro...yeah, my mouth was hanging wide open.

"Ahh, Alec, why the frustration? For a moment there we thought u were the intruders. Come, son, well discuss your manner of approaching the court at a later time."

What. The. Heck?

My eyes moved from one corner of the room to another as I took a step back. This had to be some kind of trick, right? I saw him die. How could he be standing there walking and talking as if nothing ever happened?

I took yet another step back.

Jane arched her eyebrow and eyed me curiously. Marcus' stance stiffened as Caius narrowed his eyes at me.

"You no longer pledge allegiance to us, Alec?" asked Marcus, clearly reading my alliance to Aro and the rest of the Court. What in the world was going on? How was Aro alive?

….and what in God's name were they wearing? It was almost as if they had taken a page out of the 1910's

...and then it hit me.

It was 1908, and I remembered this day quite perfectly.

I was in the past.

Rogue vampires infiltrated the castle today. They were trying to spy on the Volturi to find a way to take over. I was sent to scout the palace out for the stealthy bastards who managed to find their way in undetected.

They weren't searching for Bella and me. They were searching for the traitors from back in 1908.

I mentally let out a massive sigh of relief as I corrected myself immediately. I only had one chance to pass unnoticed and these Volutri hardly let anything suspicious get past them. The little bastard brought us back to the past, I'm unsure as to why, but Aro hasn't died yet and Bella hasn't been born so no one would know of her existence. This was perfect. I adjusted my collar and stood straighter.

"Master, I do apologize. I could not hear what was going on behind these doors and I was unsure as to your safety. Come; let us get you out of the castle and into the safety of the dungeons. You are not safe here."

I was lucky. They didn't suspect me, no one, of course, except for the little devil Ulric who smiled mischievously at me.

They didn't hesitate in following my lead, which was good, but I couldn't shake the stare coming from Marcus. He knew something wasn't right.

"Where is your Volturi emblem, young Alec?" asked Marcus not even trying to hide his suspicions.

I automatically reached for the chain around my neck and felt the C ring Carlisle had given me with her ring on it.

"I…uh, I'm not sure." I said pretending not to know. "I found this ring a while back, I must have forgotten to wear the V today."

"Ahhh, young master." Began Ulrich. "I forgot to bring it. It fell on the floor of my chamber this morrow as you were assisting me with the move of my equipment." he winked at me and I turned to Marcus.

"Well, there you go."

I turned and continued walking. As we walked down the hallway past the spot where I had left Bella, I panicked slightly. I prayed that she wouldn't come waltzing out of a corner and be caught by this motley crew following just behind me.

I stopped listening closely for Nattie's heartbeat – Nothing. Good, they weren't here. I sped down the hall toward the turret the girls and I had arrived in. I needed them as far away from the exit as possible.

"Where are you taking us Alec?" Called out Jane. "The escape tunnels are the other way."

Luckily, with being a vampire, it's pretty hard to hesitate.

I turned around and got in my sister's face.

"Jane, you second guess me again and I will not hesitate to take you down for stalling the retreat. Don't you realize that whoever was smart enough to get into the castle may also be smart enough to block the tunnels leading OUT?"

Her face was stony as she shifted her gaze, looking passed me. That was her 'I'm trying hard not to kill you' look.

"Good. It appears reason and understanding has entered that hard head of yours." I snapped.

She hissed, but I was used to ignoring it.

Again, I continued our walk and again I was interrupted. Only this time it was by something entirely unexpected.

"Hello, brother."

It was…me.

Holy shit.

Bella's POV

I stared at the door. Really, what else was there for me to do as I waited for Alec? So much time passed I was starting to get antsy. It might have been an hour or so later when I heard a large crash and thud from behind me. I whirled around to find Nattie on the floor convulsing.

I rushed to her side but found that I had no clue what to do. I held her close to me but she continued to shake.

"H-he's…h-he's g-g-g-going to d-die." She stuttered, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as every inch of her seized.

"Natalia!" I said as softly as I could manage in my panic.

"Alec…." She breathed and went limp in my arms.

I stood there in shock and in horror as her eyes closed and her body stilled – as her heartbeat stopped.

"N-nattie? Baby?"

Nothing,

"Nattie?"

Silence.

"Natalia!" I screamed - a sound that was ripped from my chest, a call from my heart.

I looked down at the lifeless body of the teenager I had grown to love as family and wanted to die.

I buried my face in her hair and cried and cried without tears to shed.

I lost her. I lost Natalia.