Disclaimer: Of course Stephanie Meyer owns all rights and privileges that go with The Twilight Saga, I simply borrow her characters to provide you with the following...
I sat in the room above the throne room. The empty shelves where my journals used to sit made me feel eerie. It was weird to remember something that felt as though it had never happened.
I needed time alone for once. Between school in Forks and traveling back and forth I felt as though I stretched myself too thin. After all the craziness that happened over those past few days, I was grateful that we wanted the vampire world quiet for a while. Thanks to the Cullens everyone seemed to be laying low because of our so called 'heightened security.'
Edward was somewhere in the castle, probably talking to his family for the third time in the past two days. I knew he still had yet to tell them that he was an official member of the guard now. I felt bad that he wanted to hide it. But we both agreed that they shouldn't have to worry about me or him right now.
They thought that we would be coming home soon. Alice hadn't confirmed that she did or didn't know if we were telling the truth so we didn't bring it up to her. I figured that if she really knew what was going on, she was keeping quiet to help us.
Edward had told me if we stalled any longer then they'd come and visit without warning. I knew he didn't want them walking in on him murdering someone one day. But I assured him they wouldn't be disappointed if they loved him; he was helping protect them.
He didn't bother hiding the rush after taking Joshua's head. Most of us got it, but it worried me that he might not enjoy it so much. Plus, I had to admit that watching him do it was really hot.
All I could do was hope that when the Cullens found out, they wouldn't be mad. They had become a second family to me and I loved them just as much as my own – they were becoming my own. I knew Edward loved them too and the selfish side of me was hoping that if they were mad he'd stay with me. But the reasonable side of me was prepared to be left here without him. I wouldn't be able to go back to Forks; not anymore.
Finding the empty shelves too mocking for my liking I left the room and crept back down the stairs. Plus I wanted to know what the Cullens had been up to.
It didn't take me long to find Edward. All I had to do was follow the sound of a piano. I sat next to him and watched his fingers as I laid my head on shoulder; feeling mentally exhausted.
I felt his lips touch my hair. "How are you, love?"
I sighed.
"That bad?" He chuckled.
"Just tired. I've never wished I could sleep before."
He sighed too. "They still want to come up, you know. I keep having to assure them that it's best for them to stay put."
"It's better for them to stay. They wouldn't even be able to see us with everything going on. I hardly even see you…" I admitted.
The music stopped but I continued looking down as Edward's arms wrapped around me.
"I can't tell you I've been doing much. Just watching." He laughed.
"I know, it's all any of us have been doing. Your family really got the word out for us. How'd they do it so fast?" I was honestly curious about this.
"Carlisle knows a lot of vampires. I'm surprised humans haven't heard."
I laughed but when he wasn't along with me I looked up to find him serious.
"I'm afraid that if those words can travel that quickly – the people my family has talked to – and Zafrina was so interested that I was with you-"
"You think they already know," I finished his rambling.
He nodded. "That's why they want to come up so bad. I don't think they believe it."
"Do you think Alice has seen anything?" I asked.
"I honestly can't tell, maybe they should come up. Maybe it'll be best for them to see it."
His face was creased with worry and I reached up to smooth it out.
"Not until two weeks are up. Sorry." I kissed him chastely and got up. "I'm replacing Alec soon to watch with Jane; I should go."
He caught my waist as I went to leave and kissed me again. "Be safe."
"With how quiet it's been?" I laughed.
"It doesn't matter. I still want you to be safe."
He kissed me again and I pulled away from him.
"I'll see you later."
Edward sat back down at the piano and a familiar tune came out of it. I stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. His eyes were closed, but the tune came out perfectly.
"Edward?"
His eyes opened and he looked over at me. The music never stopping.
"I love you," I told him.
A crooked smile appeared on his face. "I love you too."
I left and made my way down to the front gate and silently replaced Alec. When he was out of sight I saw Jane smiling at me from the corner of my eye.
"What?" I asked her; wondering why on earth she was silently smiling at me like that.
She shook her head but was still smiling. "You're lucky, that's all."
I smiled then too. "I am. But why exactly would you say that?"
"The other day… Demetri was about ready to kill Edward, but he's really grown on all of us."
"Good," I said a little too harshly.
She laughed. "Your dad always liked him… Felix too."
I winced a little and hoped she didn't see it. "Not always…"
"He just didn't like watching you grow up; none of us did really. But he'd be proud if he could see you right now."
"I-"
"Bella! Jane!" I was about to tell Jane I was glad she thought so, but our heads snapped into the direction our names were frantically being called and then Demetri, Edward, and Alec appeared.
"What? What's going on?" Jane asked, and I expanded my shield just in case she decided to do anything.
Edward's hand unconsciously slipped his hand into mine and looked at us seriously. "Listen."
It was dead silent until I heard rushing footsteps somewhere in the middle of town. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but we were going to find out.
I looked up to the sky and nodded. "Lead the way Demetri. Hoods up."
We reached an alley where we would not be seen and I left them behind to get in closer to the mob of people. In the centre was a dead woman lying on the ground. Her neck was ripped to shreds, and I couldn't hear any blood left pumping through her heart.
As quickly as I could without drawing attention I made my way back to tell the others.
"Someone's fed inside the castle walls," I told them.
"That's an idiot move," Jane mumbled.
"Someone needs to get the front of the city to catch him if he tries to leave."
"What about this being one of the safest cities in the world?" Alec pointed.
I looked to Edward. "You have to make sure no one saw anything. Stay around here. Alec and I will stay too, he might still be around. Jane and Demetri, you should…"
I trailed off. There was a faint ticking sound my ears wouldn't stop focusing on. They made it sound so much louder and closer then the group of terrified humans nearby.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
I took a step into the direction it was coming from; completely opposite from the people, in the depths of the alley we stood in. It sounded like a watch.
"Bella?" I heard Edward try to bring me back and I put a finger on my lip and then pointed to my ear; trying to get them to listen too.
"Don't you hear that?" I asked very low.
I sped closer to the sound and tried to stay as quiet as possible.
I heard everyone else follow behind me and guessed that they could hear it as well.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Then Edward spoke even quieter, "I hear more than just their watch."
We got deeper into the alley until the noise became the only thing I could hear and an uncompleted wall of stones lay.
I decided to finally take action. "Oh come on, we know you're hiding. Come out before we have to do this the hard way."
Tick. Tick. Tick.
"Hard way it is. Jane, just wait until we get back I don't want to attract unnecessary attention."
I knew just the mention of Jane would have him bounding right out of his hiding spot. I caught the back of his shirt without effort.
He kept struggling in my grip so I tightened it.
"I find it very disrespectful that you think its okay to feed in our city. I'm sure my father would too, actually."
"Isabella Volturi I'd love to find out," he threw back.
I pushed him to the ground between me and the rest and he looked up to see who else was with me. His eyes darted straight to Edward.
"Oh this is good. I wasn't going to believe it till I saw it with my own eyes."
Rolled my eyes.
"It's everywhere, my friend. Aro's newest addition is a Cullen, mated to the most famous Volturi." He said it mockingly.
I was used to criminals trying to sass their way into things, but this guy obviously really wanted to die.
"Alec. Shut him up," I announced before anyone could say anything more.
The guy went under immediately and Demetri slung him over his back.
On the short way back to the castle I couldn't help saying something.
"What the hell is wrong with people? Am I missing a serious memo here or something?" I asked.
"Bella," Alec started calmly, "I think you're forgetting that you were the newest member of the guard before Edward."
It slowly clicked as we entered a passage into the castle. I'd never witnessed someone joining the guard. I was their newest member for almost two hundred years.
I felt Edward's hand graze across the small of my back as he whispered, "it's alright, love," very quietly.
I smiled softly at him before bursting through the throne room doors. Dad looked up, unsurprised, from his chair and stood. He immediately looked to Edward and they touched hands briefly.
"I see," he muttered. "I guess I'll do research of my own."
Then his eyes flickered to me and his face looked worried. "You alright, Bella?"
The corners of my mouth turned up for a second then relaxed. "Peachy, Dad."
Edward's hand slipped into mine.
"Let him go, Alec," dad ordered.
The vampire was probably around 38 when he was turned, which was an old age to be turned and I wondered how it happened.
As Alec let him go he slowly got up from where we threw him on the floor. He looked like he was thinking about bolting. But then his eyes locked with Edward and he stayed put.
Dad stepped towards him. "I'd welcome you here but I've been made aware that you already know where you are."
"I do," he answered without any emotion.
"What is your name?" Dad asked.
"Michael."
"Well Michael, I need you to give me one piece of information - who sent you here?"
I didn't even think of this, what if Michael was connected to the newborn in the Amazon? It could all be connected.
But then Michael's eyes darkened and he answered, "We all rebel on our own terms."
"Rebels?" I asked without thinking.
His eyes flashed from Dad's to mine and he started approaching me. Before he got five feet away, Edward was in front of me and Michael fell to the ground, screaming. I looked over to Jane and recognized that she was using her power.
Dad held up a hand after a few seconds to stop her.
When the pain faded, Michael looked up from the ground and straight at me. "Dozens of rebels. All day, every day we rebel against the likes of you all. But I think you may just survive us, you're… well protected. Because no one would ever let any harm come to Isabella Volturi."
I stepped out from behind Edward's shoulder to approach him myself. When I came to him I knelt down to meet his eye level.
"We all live because I protect my city." I looked back to Jane and was about to nod at her but while my head was turned, Michael decided to grab the back of my neck.
Before anyone could recognize what was going on I grabbed his arm and turned myself underneath it to face him. Once we were standing I kept a hold on his arm and twisted it around his back.
"I'm afraid to inform you that you won't be able to pass on any messages to your fellow rebels." I ripped off his arm and he fell onto his stomach. Then I pushed my foot into his back and grabbed his head. "But you should know that I protect myself."
With one twist his head was off his body.
"I hope we got all the information we need," Heidi said.
"We did," Dad confirmed.
"What about where the rest of the rebels are?" I asked.
"Except that," Edward said.
Dad's eyes went downward for a brief second. "We don't need that."
"What are you talking about? Of course we do!" I countered.
"We're not starting this. If we start it, we become the bad guys. If they start it, they stay rebels."
"Or we could just prevent it all together," Jane suggested.
"Not this time."
"This time?" I asked.
"Yes." He was done with the topic as he turned to Demetri and asked him to dispose of the body.
The whole atmosphere around me changed. I'd never experienced something like this before and it was safe to say that I felt like the weak one despite telling Michael I wasn't.
Somewhere a group of vampires were planning the death of the guard. Edward and I were almost a successful mission for them… Felix was.
There was no way to prevent them trying and we couldn't get to them first.
I just prayed to whatever God there was; that my family would be spared.
A/N - There's a longer chapter for you all! I hope you've been enjoying this fanfic as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you all. As always, thanks to everyone who's been review, following and favoriting! Next chapter is probably my favorite so keep a look out for in a week!
