A/N: I took down the previous version of chapter nine because I had to make some adjustments. I'm sorry for the people that already read it, but the first version was rushed, and I was very uncertain about posting it. I didn't have anyone to give me an opinion about it, so I just posted it because I like to keep my readers happy with frequent updates. I'm sorry that I let that cloud my vision, instead of taking more time and producing something that I was sure about. For those who liked what I had before, you might be mad at me for what I changed. I'm sorry again. Now, this is what I really wanted to write. A lot is the same, just some sections have been cut out or added to. If this is your first time reading this chapter, then ignore what I just said.

"Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking." Jim McMahon

"Yeah...still lost. Who are The Volturi?"

"Just a second, Bella." She sighed. "Carlisle-"

"Already getting ready. We'll meet you in Florence, then go from there."

"Sounds good, call me when you land." Rose hung up the phone and turned back to me. "The Volturi are very dangerous. They are pretty much the rulers of the vampire world, and will kill to enforce the law."

"Vampires have laws?" I asked, confused.

"Only a few that they enforce regularly."

"And...what are those?"

I was kind of afraid to ask, seeing as how Rose was reacting.

"The number one rule as a vampire is to never let our existence be known to humans."

Then that would mean...

You've broken the law, with me."

She nodded. "Technically Edward broke the law, since he's the one that told you. But we're all held accountable."

So Rose was right. After I first met her, she said that I would be nothing but trouble. At the time, I didn't know how she could say that, but now I understood. They were putting their lives on the line for me and I didn't even know it.

"Why would he be want to be with me when it is against the law?"

I was so confused. If that is the law, then why intentionally break it?

"Because you blood sang to him, and that made him think that you were the one."

"He never intended to change me though, so why would risk getting punished?"

"I never understood Edward and his decisions, but I'm not sorry that he broke the law with you. You changed this family for the better."

"No, I ripped it apart. You wouldn't of had to leave if it wasn't for me and my stupid feelings."

"Your feelings aren't stupid, and you didn't rip apart the family, Edward and Jasper did. Neither had the sense to bow out gracefully and let you and Alice be...they were selfish."

There was a long pause. I didn't know how to respond to that, because from my end, I would agree with Rose. But I also could see where Jasper was coming from at first. If Alice was mine and someone was in love with her, I'd get possessive too.

"What is the punishment, for breaking the law?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Death." She answered quietly, after a moment.

"Even if I want to be changed eventually, and I don't tell anybody?"

"I've never dealt with The Volturi, Bells. But from what I hear, they don't take mercy on anyone, no matter what their reason. It doesn't mean you can't tell anyone, you just have to not get caught."

It seems like it would be hard to hide that sort of thing. Well, for a normal person anyway...I had no trouble because I was different that most people. If I was to tell anyone, it would be Charlie. It was the only way to explain everything that's gone on with me since I met the Cullens, that I could think of anyway. I still had yet to come up with a good excuse for why I left with just a crappy note to say that I'd be back at some point. I couldn't even start to think about that now, when we now all had The Volturi to worry about.

"How bad of an idea do you think it would be to tell Charlie? How else am I going to explain my sudden departure?"

"Bella, it's your choice. From what I've seen and heard of Charlie, he's a good guy...but I'm not sure how well he'd take this information. Especially since you want to be one of us, I'm sure he would protest."

"Are you still against me...becoming like you?"

"I love you, and will respect whatever you chose in the end. Just make sure you've done everything you want as a human before you change, because you can't go back." She finished, then started pacing the length of the hotel room.

I knew Rose was sad that her human life had ended so suddenly, when there was things she still wanted to do. I understand why, she didn't chose this life, but I don't blame Carlisle either. He thought he was doing the right thing by saving her, and if I had been in his shoes, I would have done they same thing. I don't know the extent of what happened to her, though. Just bits and pieces I got from Edward and Alice in conversations.

But I did think about what she said, and considered it for a while. Was there any human experience I wanted to do before I turned? There was only one big thing that I wanted, and I felt embarrassed about wanting it as much as I did, but I couldn't help it. I'm a teenager with hormones, but I didn't think I'd ever get it from the person I want it from. I wanted to know what sex felt like as a human, but I only wanted it from one person, and there was this high doubt in me that that would ever happen.

"You said laws, so what's another big one?" I asked.

Rose stopped her pacing and leaned on the dresser in front of me.

"That we don't make spectacles of ourselves." She responded. "Pretty much, that we don't kill a lot of people in one area because that will draw attention, and The Volturi definitely wouldn't like that."

Least I didn't have to worry about that one.

"And death is the same punishment?"

"Death is the only punishment. The Volturi don't give second chances."

/-/

Now that we had made plans with Carlisle and Esme, Rose convinced Élise and Sophie to go back to France, not wanting them to be involved if things go sour in Italy. I thanked them for their help, and they departed with the request that Rose call them to let them know how things went. I knew they would be our allies if we ever needed them again, and I was grateful for everything they had done for us.

I packed my duffel and book bag, and we left the hotel and headed to the airport. We took a plane from Warsaw to Florence, found a nearby hotel, and waited. I could tell Rose and Emmett were raring to go, but it was best to wait for Carlisle and Esme to get here first. They didn't like that we were so close and had to wait, but it was better than going now and having no backup if something were to go wrong.

In the meantime, I slept, catching up because I hadn't gotten much in the last week due to stress. Now that we most likely knew where they were, I could relax a bit more, and just hope that I would be seeing my Alice soon. When Rose got the call from Carlisle the next day, I knew they had landed. She informed them of where we were, and everyone got anxious, a good and bad way. They wanted to go out and search, and I was anxious and happy, because I hadn't seen either of my second parents in so long.

When Carlisle and Esme finally arrived at out hotel room, I was instantly pulled into a hug. I eagerly hugged back, wrapping my arms around Esme's neck and taking in her familiar, calming smell. When I pulled back, she covered my face in motherly kisses, and I couldn't resist giggling. She looked exactly as I remembered, just with darker circles under her eyes like the rest of them, but her eyes were bright gold. I assumed they fed right before coming.

"I missed you so much, Bella." She said before pulling me to her again for a shorter hug.

As soon as she let me go, another familiar body wrapped around me, and I rested my head on his chest as I held him to me.

"It's so good to see you, Bella." Carlisle said in his smooth, tender voice.

He let me go, but not before I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, to show him that I was happy to see him too.

After all the hello hugs, Carlisle pulled some containers of animal blood out of a backpack, and gave them to Rose and Emmett. I didn't even want to know how they managed to travel with all that and not get caught. I was just thankful that Rose and Em were getting what they needed, and now everyone would be at the top of their game. Not that I expected a fight or anything, Carlisle wasn't one for violence, so I was expecting that as a last resort.

I sat on the edge of my bed, Esme following, and pulling me into her as the others talked about what we were going to do. Eventually they decided to head out right then, since it was an rainy day, so not many people were out roaming the streets, it was a perfect time to start. They would go and see if they could catch either Jasper's or Alice's scent, and then come report back to us, and go from there. They had their suspicions that they were somewhere near Volterra, but I knew they were hoping that wasn't the case.

They were afraid of the Volturi, mostly because of me...since they were breaking the law, and I was worried for them more than ever. Esme stayed with me to keep me company while the others were out searching. We talked about everything she could think of, and now that she knew the truth of how I felt about Alice, she was so happy for me. And because I loved to see her happy, I couldn't tell her that I doubted Alice felt the same way...I mean, why would she?

I must have dozed off, because I woke up with a jolt as the hotel room door closed, my head in Esme's lap. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, seeing Emmett entering the room and sitting down on the bed. I leaned over and looked at the clock, four o'clock PM. It was the next day already,

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"We split up to cover more ground. I went South, Rose went North to the East, and Carlisle went North to the West. We're supposed to meet back here."

"You didn't find anything?"

"Nah. A few vampires are down in Calambria, but they haven't come across Alice or Jasper."

"I got nothing either." Rose said as she came in the door. "Carlisle's right behind me."

A few moments later, he came through the door as well, and we all turned our attention to him.

"I found their scents and followed them into a neighborhood just outside Volterra." He announced to us. "I sat back and observed for a while, but I never saw them come or go. I think we should go as soon as possible, so that if Jasper catches our scent in the meantime, he won't get too far if they run." Pausing for a second, then he continued. "Now we just need to figure out the best way to go about this." He said, glancing at me.

I knew that I was the problem. Having a human that knows about the existence of vampires, get so close to the vampire rulers, wasn't a good idea.

"I can stay here." I said reluctantly.

"You came too far just to leave you behind, Bella." Rose commented.

"It's more dangerous if you take me though. Me being with you so close to The Volturi is just asking for something bad to happen."

I could see that Carlisle was thinking about it, resting his chin in his hand and furrowing his brow.

"The Volturi rarely come out, even when it's overcast and they can roam freely. So if we go right now, we should be safe, as long as we don't get too close, or run into one of their rats."

/-/

After talking through everything, they just decided that it would be easier to run there, since it would be so much faster. I took a quick shower to lessen my scent, put on clean clothes, and we left. Emmett carried me once again, hiding my face in his shoulder as I was pelted with raindrops. It didn't take long to get close to our destination, and Emmett put me down so we all walked the rest of the few streets that were left, Carlisle leading the way.

We rounded the corner into the another street, and I stopped in my tracks.

"What is it, Bella?" Esme asked, concerned.

"This is the street that was in my dream." I said, looking around me.

That only had to mean...

I looked up to the apartment building to my left and pointed to a second floor window.

"There." I said.

Everyone looked where I gestured and started walking again, Esme holding my hand, but keeping me behind her. Carlisle was just about to turn the knob to get into the building when they all stopped and cocked their heads to listen.

"He's running." Carlisle said. "Emmett, Rose, come with me."

They shot off, disappearing in a second, leaving Esme and I. Wasting no time, she turned the door knob and lead the way up the stairs, following Alice or Jasper's scent, I guessed, to an apartment door. Not bothering to knock, she turned the knob that was locked, but broke it easily and let us in. She closed the door behind us and I looked around frantically, recognizing the living room from my dream. The back window was open, curtain blowing in the wind that was coming though, where I figured Jasper had made his escape.

Esme blurred into what I assumed was the bedroom, to the right of the living room, and I followed her. Finding her kneeling beside a bed, taking off her backpack. Alice was sitting on the small bed, leaning up against the wall with her eyes closed. My heart started to pound as I ran over to Esme's side. While she got the animal blood ready, I carefully sat on the bed next to Alice. I rose my hand and gently caressed her soft face, getting a good look at her.

She looked so exhausted, with dark purple circles under her eyes, her dark hair uncharacteristically flat, and her body slumped. I couldn't tell if she was conscious or not, but I hoped there wasn't anything permanently wrong with her. I didn't know much about vampires, seeing as Edward kept me in the dark about it intentionally, but I figured anything was possible.

"Alice?" I whispered.

Her eyebrow twitched in response a few seconds later, and relief washed over me. Esme vanished for a few seconds, then came back, a glass in hand, and started pouring blood into it for Alice.

"Can you open you eyes?" I asked.

She struggled for a minute, her eyelids fluttering before she was able to pry them open to reveal her coal black eyes. Hers found mine a second later, then ghost of a smile tugged at her lips.

"Hey, you." She said in a breathy, scratchy voice.

I smiled back letting a tear fall down my face, resisting the urge to hug her and never let her go. But we had to get her fed before I could do that. I moved aside, switching places with Esme so she could help Alice drink the blood. As she raised the glass to her mouth, I let my hand find hers, squeezing lightly and she gulped down glass after glass. Her eyes slowly regained the gold I was used to seeing.

"How do you feel, honey?" Esme asked.

Next thing I knew she had thrown her arms around Esme and I, and was squeezing us to her. Esme chuckled at the response as I wrapped both my arms around her waist and buried my face in her neck, taking in her delicious scent that I had missed so much. I smiled when Esme's arms hugged both of us, and I felt like I was where I was meant to be. In the arms of the girl I'm in love with, and my second mom.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but no matter how long I got to stay in this moment, it would never be enough. Eventually Esme let us both go, excusing herself to call Carlisle, leaving Alice and I still embracing. I felt if I let her go, she would disappear again, so I squeezed her even tighter. A few minutes later she pulled back to look at me before she spoke.

"You know, if you were a vampire, I would be kicking you butt right now for trying to kill yourself."

"I know." I whimpered, my eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry."

I sobbed into her shirt for a few minutes before she pulled me back again to look me in the eye, wiping my tears away as she gently held my face.

"Just promise me that you'll never ever try that again."

"If you promise you won't leave me." I replied.

She nodded. "Nothing will ever separate us again, I promise."

She rested her forehead on mine, and I enjoyed our closeness.

"Alice?"

"Yeah, Bells?"

I took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. "I have to tell you something..."

I paused for a few seconds, getting the courage to reveal my biggest secret. I was just about to blurt it out when I saw Esme come back into the bedroom.

"Girls?" Esme said as she came back into the bedroom. "I hate to interrupt, but-"

Alice's eyes glazed over, causing Esme to stop. We didn't have to wait long though, she blinked as she came to with a worried expression on her face.

"We have to go." She announced.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing good..."

Grabbing my hand, we followed Esme out the door, the way we had come in, stopping in the alley just before getting onto the main street. Alice and Esme shared a knowing look, and I was so confused, being let out of the loop again.

"Bella, we need to run. Hop on my back." Alice gestured.

As usual, I did as I was told. Thankfully the rain had stopped, so I wouldn't be drenched by the time we reached...wherever we were headed. The speed at which we were going though, I couldn't handle, and I buried my face into the back of Alice's neck to keep from getting sick.

It wasn't long of a run, thank goodness, and we stopped just after a minute or so. When Alice let me down, I noticed we were behind a building, and I gave Alice a questioning look.

"Just precaution. I didn't want anyone seeing us arrive so fast. Come on, we have to go."

She grabbed my hand once again, and we picked up out pace once we rounded the corner of the building, and walking in the exact same place from my dream, except void of all people. I had a really bad feeling about this...

A/N: Special thanks to azrael8919.