INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! STORY FOLLOWERS AS OF BEFORE THE 23RD OF FEBRUARY OF 2013, THIS CHAPTER IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU READ IN CHAPTER 14 LAST TIME. I HAVE REPLACED CHAPTER 14 WITH THE CHAPTER 14 I KNOW YOU ALL WANTED: THE WEDDING. TO VIEW IT, JUST GO LOOK AT WHAT IS NOW CHAPTER 14. NEW READERS, JUST READ ON.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullen's camp was attacked, but Carlisle made a truce with the other coven's leader and they were informed of the Volturi's mandate. Next the Cullens met with the Denali coven. Meanwhile, Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors; the survivors were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Alice prepares Bella for a special night out, and Edward proposes at dinner. They were secretly married in a private ceremony.

Chapter 15 (BPOV)

I push my eggs restlessly around my plate. The stares of my fellow humans are so potent they are almost tangible. I do not usually eat with them; Edward has always brought my food to the room we've stayed in since the wedding.

I smile at the memory. The wedding, I think smugly, My wedding. Despite our need for secrecy, Alice managed to turn it into a remarkable affair. It was simple and antique, like one of the Anne of Green Gables fantasies I had when I was younger. It was just what I would have done for myself, minus the venue. The Cullens transformed a clearing in the nearby forest into a lovely site for the ceremony, but the entire time I worried that one of the guards would swoop in and tell us this was unacceptable, that my humanity was too valuable to be lost. Fortunately, the event seems to have gone unnoticed by the vampire royalty. Since I am still human after all, we aren't sure if the Volturi will mind; they don't seem like the type to regard such unions as sacred or anything that would be problematic, but we don't want to take any chances. I shudder to think how they might punish us for doing anything against their wishes, but marrying Edward is definitely worth anything they might do to punish me. Only harm to Edward or his family could possibly make me regret my decision. My automatic response to his request was to open my mouth to tell him no, but then I thought about it. I thought through all of my qualms with marriage, my parents' problems, their anger, etc. and realized with a pang of loss that they aren't here to be angry with me and no one here was going to judge me as being "that girl." They all know I'm the insane vampire lover. Since I can't bind myself to Edward for all eternity through changing at this time, what way could be better than marriage? And, of course, the night after wasn't half bad either. Yes, definitely worth it.

"It's time," a familiar, bell-like voice commands, breaking me from my fantasies. I watch in confusion as the other people all stand with a sigh, moving mechanically to stand beside a door I hadn't noticed before and my favorite doctor.

"Carlisle?" I ask quietly , bewildered, "What's going on?"

"It's blood drawing time, We do this every day," he explains with a worried glance at the unhealthily pale figures in line.

Warily, I stand to join my kind in line for what I suppose would be harvesting. Frightening things flash across my mind. The dreaded sterile smell of the hospital, the rusty reek of blood, and…needles. If anyone but Carlisle were conducting this, I don't think I could remain standing. It feels bizarre being with humans again. I am no longer accustomed to the heavy breathing or the warmth. I feel almost claustrophobic despite how few of this there are. Over the weeks since the wedding, I have barely left Edward's side. Only now that he and his family (minus Carlisle, I suppose) have gone hunting have I seen these people again, even to eat. Edward brought me all of my food.

The line inches forward slowly. One by one, people go into the room and the door closes behind them. I shift nervously on my feet when I realize that no one comes back to the room once they have had their turn. It's Carlisle, Bella, I remind myself, He's a veggie vamp, remember? After some deep breathing, I am able to expel most of my fears and focus more on my surroundings. The human turnout is still dismal. I still can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that there are fewer people in the entire world right now than there were at Forks High School a few months ago, not counting the undead entities present. It all seems so surreal, especially considering the people I knew. I'm still half expecting Charlie, Renee, and Jake to walk in at any time, but I know that they never will.

Tears force their way to the corners of my eyes and the despair that always disappears in Edward's presence returns with a fury. No matter how happy I am that Edward and I are back together, nothing is anywhere close to perfect. When I step back to examine my life, which I try not to do too often, it's difficult to be content with what I see. I'm trapped in a castle full of vampires who would kill me before letting me spend an eternity with my beloved, our relationship, however strong, dangerously perched and borderline impossible. The absence of my parents and Jake is like another hole in my chest, aching but mostly masked by my love for Edward.

Too soon, it is my turn to go through the door and face the dreaded needles. I creep cautiously inside, finding a room with a setup similar to your average hospital examination room. Carlisle is waiting beside the customary examination table, prepping a needle. Nausea comes over me at the sight of it, and the refrigerator in the corner does not help. I can guess what's in there. I climb habitually onto the examination table and wait for Carlisle to be ready, squirming nervously like a small child.

"You look well," Carlisle comments.

Knowing how pale I become when I am faint like this, I doubt I look anywhere near well at the moment. "I don't feel so well," I reply, nodding at the needle in his hands.

He smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry about the needles. I know how uncomfortable they make you. We've managed to keep you from it for the last few weeks, but we can only protect you from so much, I'm afraid. There are worse things, and we don't want to give the Volturi any more reasons to dislike us."

"Yeah," I sigh, "I know that I have to do this. It is my purpose after all, right?"

Carlisle sighs and shakes his head. "I'm trying to convince them of otherwise. That's why you haven't seen me around much lately. When I'm not doing this or giving checkups, I'm working with the present portion of the vampire population to encourage a new diet. It would be easier for everyone if we could just switch, if only temporarily. Unfortunately, thirsty vampires are not easily reasoned with. There are just so few humans now that a pint a day from each one barely satisfies the guard. We're rationing, but it's difficult. Bring out a few bags for a coven and they all fight for the most. It may not be possible for us to die of starvation, but our unusually close proximity and hostility is certainly eating away at our numbers. Not enough to make it any easier to feed them, and too many to call this anything remotely close to a peaceful gathering."

This news of the outside intrigues me. "How many have you managed to switch over? To drinking animals, I mean."

Carlisle smile softly. "I've converted several. For some, telling them my story was enough to make them try it. Others finally just got so thirsty that they broke down and abolished a few herds of deer. It's happening slowly, but it is happening. Aro told me I was, 'ahead of the times' all those years ago. As you can see, it's nothing more than a way to avoid the thirst for them, not a moral choice. I'm hoping that will change soon," he explains sincerely. I smile back at Carlisle, unable to feel a portion of his infectious hope. How anyone could not be impressed by Carlisle I will never know.

Unable to ignore the impending doom any more, I sigh, "Let's get this over with. Take my blood, vampire."

"Already done," Carlisle responds, holding up a syringe of my blood as proof, "Would you like a Band-Aid?"

My mouth falls open in shock. Then I grin at him, relieved. "You're magical, Carlisle. How didn't I notice that?"

"Centuries of practice with nervous preschoolers," he laughs, "The key is to distract them." He reaches into the fridge I noticed earlier and pulls out a juice box. "This will help with the fatigue." I take the juice box gratefully, only now noticing the affects of my blood loss.
"You're magical, Carlisle," I laugh before sucking greedily at the straw of my apple juice.

"So I've been told. Now, it's time for your checkup. Just a routine thing, no needles," he tells me, "I'll start by asking you a few normal questions." I nod in consent before he begins the script he has probably gone through countless times, asking all about how I feel. "Have you been getting enough to eat?" I swear the Volturi is trying to fatten us up. "Have you felt lightheaded lately?" Only when needles are being brandished at me.

"When was the last day of your menstrual cycle?" This one makes me choke on my juice. Once I push the embarrassment away enough to consider answering, I remember the last month. Then the next one. Then the next one. My blush drains away as my face pales.

"Come to think of it," I respond nervously, "I don't think that's happened since…since you guys left."

I watch Carlisle's face carefully as he responds. He looks at me sadly, sympathetically almost. "The stress will do that to you. It's perfectly normal for someone who undergoes such an ordeal. You have nothing to worry about. Trust me, I've been to medical school more times than anyone alive," he assures me, "I'll have Alice get you some supplies so you're prepared when it comes back." Cue return of blush. That's going to be the most embarrassing encounter I've had with my sister-in-law yet.

"And, another thing about that time," I say shyly, "Since you guys took me from that, um, place, I've been seeing weird stuff. Stuff that isn't actually there."

Now Carlisle looks worried. "What do you mean? What do you see? Are they like visions or more like hallucinations? And what do you see?"

I bite my lip, looking down at my feet. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. "More like…hallucinations. And I see people. I saw lots of them in the city when we came in, and I see them sometimes in the halls of the castle. Most of the time they are barely there, but other times, they almost seem…tangible. Like I could reach out and touch them if I wanted to. They're usually glaring at me, like I did something to hurt them. It frightens me, but no one else sees them. They started the first day we arrived in Volterra."

My father-in-law thinks for a few seconds. "What kind of medication where you on in that institution? Any anti-psychotics?"

"I know," I respond, embarrassed, "I wasn't really paying attention to what they fed me, and they weren't exactly explaining it to me. Sometime they used an IV. They could have given me anything."

He sighs, thinking intensely. "Maybe I could send Emmett to go get your hospital records. My best guess is that you had something like that, and the long term affects can be rather bad. Though they are designed to fix chemical imbalances in your brain, but they have actually been known to create more of an imbalance. I won't be able to do anything until we know exactly what you had."

"And until then?" I ask, on the verge of panic.

"Until then, I suggest you don't worry about it until we have more information. Ignore the hallucinations and drink lots of water. Does Edward know about these?" he asks.

I shake my head regretfully. I had guessed it had something to do with my time in that institution, and he already felt so guilty about leaving me. I didn't want him to feel any worse about that, especially know that he is just beginning to forgive himself. Also, the gap between us is already so colossal; I don't want to be any less worthy of him. It doesn't help that he also treats me like I'm made of glass. That would only get worse if I told him I'm hallucinating. "No, and I'd rather keep it that way," I say, hoping he'll understand.

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to," Carlisle agrees, "But I think you should tell him."

The rest of the examination passes uneventfully. After several more questions, a blood pressure check, and a few more boring procedures, Carlisle declares me to be in perfect health—minus the few issues discussed earlier—and lets me go.

The moment I exit Carlisle's makeshift office, I sigh with relief and color returns to my face. There goes another conversation to add to the Top Ten Most Embarrassing Conversations of My Life list, I think wryly. Right up there with "the talk" I got from Renee. Of course, my peace does not last long. I blink, and the hallucinations are back. They are not a big issue in the castle, but they've gotten progressively worse over the last few weeks. They started as we drove through Volterra the very first day we came here when I saw imagined the townspeople. Since then, my subconscious just loves to remind me of what has passed. Upon seeing a few phantom-like children playing with wooden swords, I take off sprinting down the hallway. I've already been running for several minutes when I realize that I have no idea where I'm going. My lack of a sense of direction hasn't failed to get me lost in this castle yet.

I drift to a stop, breathing heavily, and sink down to the cold stone of the floor. I weep for the lives that have been lost, my loved ones in particular, the dismal situation here, and my own insanity. Renee will never hug me and tell me everything is going to be okay, her eyes wide with her childish innocence. I'll never again make dinner for Charlie. Jake will never finish his beloved Volkswagen Rabbit. Edward and I might never have peace or spend our entire existences by each other's side. And when will these damned hallucinations let me be?!

"What are you doing in this part of the castle?" someone growls.

I jump to my feet, backing up against the wall. A bulky vampire with a medium grey cloak and bared teeth stands in the middle of the hallway, glaring hungrily at me. "I-I got lost," I respond, backing up along the wall, "I'd best be on my way now."

"Why don't you stay a while?" the vampire asks, his voice a chilling purr, "Or maybe I could show you the way back to your room."

Then he's right in front of me. My heart thrashes around in my chest and adrenaline pulses through my veins like liquid panic. Tears continue to streak silently down my cheeks. "No, I think I really must be going. I know the way," I respond, trying to make my voice sound level. I move quickly to navigate around him, but his arm shoots out in front of me to bar my exit.

"Why the hurry?" he purrs, "Stay a while. I won't bite…much." His straight black eyes send tremors through me. He's thirsty. I search wildly for an exit strategy. "Great décor, isn't it? You'd think, for all this extravagance, they'd have better refreshments here, right?" he says cordially before leaning forward to whisper in my ear, "But you're the most appetizing thing I've seen so far."

"Felix," an angelic voice calls sternly, "Back away from the human." Felix doesn't respond. "Felix," she snaps, her voice sharper this time, before sighing.

Felix falls to the ground in front of me, screaming in agony. I cover my ears and cower against the wall, wishing I could disappear. After several seconds, I recognize the female voice. This is Jane, the one we met in Alaska. This is her gift of torture. I stand in terror for several minutes before Jane finally releases Felix from his hold and he sprints away.

Jane looks me over critically, assessing me for injuries. "Come," she orders, walking past me down the hall. I stumble after her, too terror stricken to formulate any other plan. I follow her breathlessly through the labyrinth that is the Volturi's castle until we miraculously arrive in front of the room Edward and I share. "Do not leave your room alone," she orders sternly, "And Aro will want to see you when Edward returns."

Review prompt: What will Edward think when he returns? Will Bella be able to keep her secret? What does Aro want?