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Special thanks to Snarkymuch, Gredelina1, Arrr, Augustmoon. Verseseven and Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen for pre-reading this.

The was pre-read by jtmd24 and beta'd by Maxipoo1024 from Sparkly Red Pen. Thank you ladies.

Chapter Seven - Side By Side

Bella POV

It was not merely Tanya's impending arrival that made me leave but also the need for solitude. There were so many clashing personalities in the room; it made me uncomfortable.

It had taken considerable control to stop myself from slamming the vapid blonde through a wall. She had almost goaded me into revealing my secret. I had been largely anonymous for over a millennia and with one moment of weakness, I almost destroyed it.

Something about this coven made me forget myself; I suspected it was the empath. I knew he wasn't using his gift on me, but he affected me nonetheless.

I never intended to ask him to join me; the invitation escaped me before I could suppress it. I was angry at myself for being so impulsive. Now, I had not only lost the solitude I needed, but I would have to focus on keeping my emotions from him, too.

My shield did not automatically protect me from him and his intrusive gift. Unlike the mind reader, I had to make a conscious effort to block Jasper.

We ran side by side through the park. I was glad that he did not feel the need to fill the silence with inane chatter. As we passed the mountain, I told him of my desire to jump from the top.

"I'm sure we could arrange it somehow," he mused. "I will ask Tanya, but I'm sure there must be times that it is too dangerous for the humans to attempt."

"Do you think so? It seems to me that humans have very little sense when it comes to their safety."

He fell silent again, his lips pressed into a hard line.

I wondered if I had offended him; his coven had peculiar ideas about humans after all. I felt his curiosity pique and realized he was keeping himself from asking the questions he was desperate to ask.

I hated being questioned; it often led to lies, and I didn't like to lie. I promised myself when I met the sisters, I would never lie to them. If they asked me directly, I would reveal my connection to the Volturi. I had not been present at their creator's execution, but I suspected they would find me guilty by association. They had never asked. My ability to keep them entertained outweighed their need to know more about me.

His curiosity grew until it was almost overpowering. I blocked it but knew he was still battling with himself. Eventually, I took pity on him and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

"Either ask your questions or stop projecting," I said irritably.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said, sounding far more distressed than was really appropriate for the situation. "You don't have to tell me anything."

"I know I don't have to, but I am willing to. This is a rare instance of selflessness, take advantage of it while you can."

He smiled tentatively. "Shall we sit? We will look a little odd if a human saw us standing perfectly still in the middle of the wilderness."

There was no one around for miles, but I decided to humor him anyway. We moved to an outcropping of rocks and sat facing each other.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"How did you control that human?" he blurted.

I was surprised that this was his first question. Of all the things he had seen me do with my gift, this was the least interesting. I decided a demonstration would be the best explanation.

"Raise your arm," I instructed.

He looked confused but dutifully raised his arm. Before he had fully extended it, I snapped my shield out and blocked the action. He struggled against it and when I released my hold on him, his arm shot in the air.

"The brain is a series of pathways," I explained. "I am able to block them. It doesn't work as well on vampires as it does on humans, as our brains function on a different level. I cannot make you do anything you don't begin, but there are some actions I can stop."

"So, the man at the auction…"

"Was using a series of actions to annoy me," I said, nodding. "All I did was block the pathways, and he was none the wiser. I have been told it is akin to the human phenomenon of 'zoning out'. Nobody gets hurt and I am able to avoid tedium."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Clever really. Can you use it defensively?"

"Not against a vampire. There are too many actions involved; I have used it successfully against a werewolf, though."

He looked shocked. "A werewolf? Where? When?"

"About ten years ago in Russia. I was traveling and picked the wrong night to go for a moonlit hunt."

I shifted uncomfortably. It was one of the very rare times I had come close to being hurt and was not a memory I relished. I shook off the maudlin and smiled brightly. "More questions or is it my turn?"

"I have hundreds of questions, but if you promise to answer them, I will answer some of yours," he said.

My impression of him thus far was of an interesting man with a tendency to lose control of his gift. The longer I spent with him, the more intriguing he became.

"Why do you fight it?" I asked, elucidating when he looked at me blankly. "The bloodlust. Eleazar told me you are a veteran of the Southern Wars. You must have kept to the human diet then. What changed?"

"I am an empath," he said simply.

I felt a wave of unexpected sympathy towards him.

"You felt it," I said, not entirely hiding the shock in my tone. "You felt their emotions when you hunted."

He nodded sadly. "It was torture. I had to feed to live, but with every hunt, I sank deeper and deeper into depression."

His eyes darkened and became unfocused as he lost himself in the memories.

I could picture the scene as clearly as if I was there: the black eyed vampire stalking the streets, his onyx eyes burning as he fought the pain of thirst, the rush of relief as he finally succumbed to temptation, the euphoric feeling as the blood rushed into his mouth. Then came the pain, regret, and self loathing as he took their feelings for his own.

I felt an impulsive urge to comfort him, to tell him I understood, but I quashed it. Yet again, I was preparing to reveal my secrets to someone I barely knew.

"You have no idea the relief I felt when I discovered I could drink animal blood," he said, breaking into my thoughts.

He was wrong. I had a very good idea, in fact.

"I don't have the same… appreciation of human life that my family shares, but I have learned to respect it."

"You respect it?" I made no attempt to hide my incredulity. "They are violent and foolish. If they aren't killing each other, they are killing themselves. They know they have a limited time on the earth, but instead of appreciating it, they hurry the process along. They drink and smoke and take drugs. They abuse their bodies day after day, yet every one of them is shocked when it catches up with them. Plain foolishness."

"That's a rather dark view." He plucked a blade of grass from the ground and twisted it into an intricate knot. He seemed unaware of what he was doing. His expression was concentrated as he tried to articulate his thoughts.

"You aren't seeing the positives. They are inventive and clever, and they love wholeheartedly. You have never felt them the way I do. I see a mother with her child, and there is nothing that compares to that love, outside of vampire mating of course."

I scoffed, and he glanced up at me. "You disagree?"

"No. I'm sure it's lovely. Your question," I said airily, not wanting to enter into a discussion about mating.

I had my opinions on it, and I had no desire to spend another day listening to someone wax lyrical about that "special connection." It was fine for others, but I had seen just how much damage that connection could wreak upon a vampire. I was not going to allow that to happen to me.

"If you don't respect the humanity, why are you a vegetarian?" he asked.

"Because I am a victim of circumstance."

He waited for me to explain further, but I shook my head. "Next question, please."

He considered for a moment. "How do you change your eyes?"

"You ask the strangest questions, you know?"

"They are only strange to you, to others, these are standard ways of getting to know someone. And you are avoiding the question. How do you change your eyes?"

The more we spoke, the more relaxed he became. He still projected at random intervals, though it was a calm contentedness now. I rather liked the sensation.

"I'm not avoiding the question. I just don't know the answer." I said. I didn't like admitting the fact there was something about my own power that I didn't know. "I've always been able to do it. I just focus on the color I want, and they change."

"You mean you can change them any color you want?" He looked excited at the possibility. "Could you show me?"

I focused and knew by the sensation of pooling venom that it was working. I flashed them between colors. His own eyes widened as he watched.

"I like the brown," he said shyly.

"I think it was the color of my eyes when I was human. I quite like it too, but it makes me stand out a little too much when around others of our kind. I tend to stick with red or gold."

I left them brown for the time being; it was a simple thing, and it seemed to make him happy.

Again, I noticed my curious feelings about him. With the exception of Eleazar and my coven, I rarely cared about the happiness of others.

"Your turn," he prompted.

"I don't think I have any questions left to ask, do you?"

"Only a hundred or so, but some of them are a little… personal?" He phrased it as a question. "Eleazar said you are a private person. I don't want to overstep my bounds."

"You can ask. I may not answer, but there is no harm in asking."

He looked discomfited as he asked his next question. "How old are you?"

I frowned. "Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend… I was just curious…" he stammered.

"Are you always this jumpy? How you survived the wars, I'll never know," I spoke more to myself than to him. "I was changed in '91."

He cocked his head, looking confused. I had been intentionally vague. Having not yet passed his second century, I wondered how old he would assume I was. Eventually, I realized he wasn't going to hazard a guess for fear of offending me. That didn't mean I was going to make things easy for him, though.

"You're a clever man. I'll give you a hint and you can do a little research. My name was not Isabella when I was human; it was Leofflæd, and I was the daughter of an earl."

"Leofflæd," he considered it for a moment. "I prefer Isabella."

"So do I. It is much easier to pronounce and not nearly so dated."

"Is that why you changed it, to keep with the changing times?"

"Nobody chooses their own name," I scoffed. "My creator gave me a new name upon my awakening. Leofflæd died and Isabella was born."

"And you didn't mind?"

"I was not in a position to mind at first; my newborn period was especially difficult. Once I regained my wits, I was accustomed to it. Much the same way you must have adjusted when joining your coven." I glanced at him and saw his discomfort. "Adjusting to the doctor as a leader must have been difficult after your previous life."

He was silent for a long time, and I thought he was going to refuse to answer. I hoped he wouldn't. This subject intrigued me more than any other.

"He's not a leader," he said finally. "I know you don't fully understand the dynamic within our family, but he truly doesn't think of it as leading us. He created a family. While I don't share my siblings' views of him as a father, he is not my leader either. Would it be so bad if he was? Have you got a coven?"

"I do, at times, live with a coven. I enjoy a certain amount of…" I struggled to find the word to explain the convoluted power structure of the Volturi. "Influence within them."

We were heading into uncharted territory now. If I allowed him to continue his questioning, I would reveal far too much. I needed a distraction. Luckily he provided one.

"We cannot enjoy the mountain without revealing ourselves, but there must be something we can do that would entertain you."

A wide smile crept across my face. "I know just the thing."

Thanks for reading. If you would like a teaser of the next chapter let me know in a review or a PM.

Simaril x