Renesmee's POV-

"Why there she is now. Come, Renesmee, I'd like you to meet the Cullens" I took a deep breath and walked forward. I could feel their eyes on me as I nervously made my way to Aro's side. Aro gave me a reassuring smile and turned to the Cullens again. "My friends, this-" He motioned his hands toward me "-is my granddaughter, Renesmee." I gave him an appreciative look. It made me feel better that he introduced me as his granddaughter. "It is for Renesmee that we are throwing the ball later this week— in honor of her hundredth birthday on Sunday." I nodded, not really sure what to say. I've pictured this moment so many times, but now that it's here I am extremely nervous. Carlisle was the first to address me.

"It's great to finally meet you, Renesmee. We have heard so much about you." He shook my hand and gave me a warm, sincere smile. I couldn't help but smile back at him. "My name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my family." He motioned his arms to the rest of his family, standing behind him. I was in awe. There seemed to be some sort of unspoken admiration among everyone in the family. You could tell just by looking at them that they loved each other dearly. Immediately, the petite, brunette girl came gliding toward me, outstretching her hand.

"I'm Alice. I'm so glad to meet you. I can't wait for your ball! I know that it will be fantastic, and we will be great friends!" She told me, very quickly. My heard seemed to skip a beat. I had so many thoughts running through my head. A few times I had heard my mother mumble under her breath that I was a "mini-Alice", mostly when I had been fed too much sugar by my relatives or when I bored my mother with my fashion advice. I laughed at Alice's enthusiastic attitude and eagerly shook her hand.

"I'm so glad to meet you, Alice. I'm so glad that someone other than myself is excited for the ball." I joked and gave Aro a look, causing him to smile a bit. I watched as Alice skipped backward a bit and dragged the blonde male she had been standing with earlier forward, toward me.

"This is my husband, Jasper. He's not exactly social." He looked at her, pretending to be insulted and then looked at me.

"In my defense, I don't ever have the chance to get a word in with this one." He looked toward Alice, lovingly. I smiled at his joke.

"It's very nice to meet you, Jasper." I told him and he bowed his head toward me.

Next were Emmett and Rosalie. From what I could tell they were a wonderful pair. Right off the bat, I could tell that Emmett was very funny, but highly inappropriate. Rosalie balanced him out though with her sophisticated manner and her ability to put Emmett in his place. I imagined what my life would be like with them in it. I could see Emmett being my partner in crime, and Rosalie being my loyal confidant. It made me a little sad thinking that the situation probably wouldn't become a reality.

Following the dynamic duo was Esme. She introduced herself as Carlisle's wife and the mother figure of the family. The whole time she was speaking, I wanted to hug her. She was so incredibly sweet in her demeanor and I could tell by the looks of the rest of the family that she was absolutely adored. I could feel myself becoming progressively nervous when I realized who was next. I looked up at my father. He was still staring at the floor with his hands in his pockets. I waited for him to say something for a few seconds but he didn't. I watched as Alice gave him a look, probably saying something to him through her thoughts. He looked in Alice's direction, seeming annoyed. I decided to say something first.

"So, I guess by process of elimination that you are Edward Cullen?" I asked, smiling optimistically. He looked at me, unamused.

"I guess so." He said sarcastically. The rest of the Cullens gave me a sympathetic look and Alice looked as if she could kill him.

"Can't you be respectful for two seconds?" She asked him. He raised his eyebrows at her and have a devilish smirk.

"My apologies. It's an honor to meet you Renesmee." He said sarcastically once again, this time bowing dramatically in my direction. Everyone was either looking at me apologetically or shooting daggers at my father. I didn't know what to do. One part of me wanted to cry and another part wanted to reciprocate his rude antics with a curtsy and sassy comeback. I decided on the latter, but before I could do anything Carlisle asked me aquestion, successfully diffusing the tense atmosphere.

"So, Renesmee, if you don't mind me asking—How is it that you have a heartbeat? And your eyes, they aren't like the rest of your…family's." He half smiled. "I find it incredibly intriguing." He admitted. I smiled at him, trying to shake off the little situation with my father. I looked toward Aro, making sure that it was okay that I share this personal information with them. Aro gave me a nod of approval and I turned to the Cullens.

"I'm glad you asked, Carlisle. Both of those characteristics derive from my mother. She was human when I was born." I smiled, thinking about my mother and all that she sacrificed for me. I looked at Carlisle, whose shocked and confused expression mirrored that of the rest of his family.

"I can't say that I understand what you're saying." He told me honestly. I nodded, trying to figure out what to say.

"I mean that I was born like this. I'm half-human and half-vampire, so I inherited some characteristics from both sides." I could see that they were all confused. "…Like I can run pretty much as fast as any other vampire…and I'm strong. Maybe not as much as a typical vampire, but still significantly more than a human…and I can sustain myself on blood—at least for a little bit. It's good to eat human food too." I told them. Carlisle looked amazed.

"How…" I watched as he thought about what to say. "How could that happen?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow at him. "—Well I mean, I understand how that could happen, but…" He was at a loss for words. "I never knew that was possible." I smiled at him. "That's incredible." He admitted.

"I'm sure Renesmee would be willing to discuss it more with you later." Aro told him, looking at me for confirmation.

"Yeah, of course." I told him. Aro smiled and clasped his hands together.

"Wonderful. Maybe now, I could speak with Carlisle and Esme while Renesmee shows the rest of you your rooms?" Aro suggested. Carlisle nodded at the rest of his family and I took a deep breath. I could see my father out of the corner of my eye. I could tell that he was not happy at all.

"Right this way." I turned and headed toward the east wing of the castle. That's where most of the bedrooms were located. The west wing also had some bedrooms but most of the rooms were for training or entertainment. The north wing was where Aro's office and our library was located. The South wing was basically occupied by the throne room, which doubled as our ballroom. It sounds worse than it really is. All of the wings were connected by hallways and despite being divided into the four separate wings, everything was pretty open. All four of the wings surrounded a center area that we call the base. There you could find the kitchen, the pool room, and a fairly large open area occupied by couches, TVs, and a set of stairs that lead to the atrium upstairs.

I led them into the east wing and explained the basics of it. The center was open and diverged into two halls. All of their rooms were located in the left hall. I led them in the direction. After a few seconds, we reached the first set of double doors. I opened them and I walked in.

"This is Alice and Jasper's room. I hope you'll appreciate the massive closet through that first set of doors." Alice smiled widely, jumping up and down. I laughed and then walked out, everyone else following me.

"Next, we have Rosalie and Emmett's room." I went to open the door, but Emmett beat me to it, walking in and collapsing on the bed.

"Ooh, this will be just fine. Come see, Rosie." She rolled her eyes and I quickly shut the door, not wanting to see anything else. That left just my father and I. I cursed myself as I could feel my heart start to race. I heard him chuckle.

"Do I make you nervous, Princess?" He questioned. I kept walking, making my way to his room. Fine. He wants to play that game? I can play too.

"Wow. It's almost as if you read my mind." I told him, pretending to be astonished. His smirk that had once been plastered across his face disappeared, probably catching on to where I was going with this. "…But you can't, can you?" I asked, rhetorically. He looked at me with an annoyed face. "Wow, I bet that really pisses you off, doesn't it?" I opened the door to his room and he gave me an unamused look before walking in and closing the door behind him. I smiled. I guess sass runs in the family.

Edward's POV-

"Hello? Renesmee, are you still there?" I heard a quiet, beautiful bell-like voice say. I and the rest of my family immediately turned in the direction that it came from. Across the room, I saw a petite girl, standing about 5 feet 4 inches tall looking at us fearfully. She had long, bronze hair that fell in loose ringlets, and she was outstandingly beautiful. Most astoundingly, this girl had large brown eyes and a faint blush across her cheeks. She reminded me very much of my lost love, Bella. I could hear that my family thought so too.

She has a heartbeat and brown eyes. Is that possible? -Carlisle

She…looks like Bella. Oh no, I hope Edward's not listening. -Rosalie

Wow, she's beautiful. I love her outfit. -Alice

This must be the princess. I can't wait to meet her. -Esme.

She is nervous and scared. I can feel it. -Jasper

Her eyes remind me of Bella-Boo. -Emmett

All of a sudden it hit me. I couldn't hear her thoughts…at all. It's wasn't like when my family tried to hide their thoughts by thinking of different topics. It was like silence—absolute silence. The only other person that I've come across that I couldn't read was Bella. I grew frustrated at this revelation.

"Yeah, sorry. I gotta go. I love you too. Talk to you tonight." She spoke. Her voice was gentle and kind. It was like music to my ears. I was still highly annoyed though. I watched as she hung up her phone and Aro said something to her about coming to meet us.

I zoned out while she was being introduced to everyone. I gathered that her name was Renesmee and she was 'Very honored to meet us' as she repeated several times. She seemed nice, but it made me extremely uncomfortable to know that I have no idea what she is thinking. I wasn't paying much attention, but I snapped out of my daze when I heard her speak to me.

"So, I guess by process of elimination that you are Edward Cullen?" I looked at her. She had a cheery, happy smile on her face. I didn't buy it, and her cheeriness made me want to leave.

"I suppose so." I told her sarcastically. She looked as if I may have hurt her feelings. I felt a little bad, but I quickly recovered.

Come on, man. That's unnecessary. -Emmett

"Can't you be respectful for two seconds?" I heard Alice say, probably toward me. I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. I was not in the mood for any of this. I wouldn't have come to Italy if my family didn't make me. I glanced toward Renesmee once again.

"My apologies. It's an honor to meet you Renesmee." I said, once again being sarcastic. By now, she looked almost angry. I could tell she wasn't as sweet as she was trying to make everyone believe. If I could only read her mind…

I heard Carlisle try to diffuse the tension by posing a question, but by that time, I had stopped listening. Everything about this situation was horrible. I never wanted to come to Volterra, and if it weren't for this pointless ball, I wouldn't have had to. I thought back to the last time that I had gone dancing. It was prom—with my beautiful angel, Bella. I missed her so dearly. I left for her safety. I loved her too much to put her in such dangerous scenarios any longer. I was an idiot to leave her. I tried going back a month after I left to check up on her, but by that time, she was gone.

I tried reading people's thoughts—Charlie's, Mike's, Jessica's, Angela's—but nothing came up. All that was known was that she disappeared. Nobody knew what happened to her. I was frantic. I asked Alice to look into Bella's future, but she couldn't see her any longer. I looked for Bella on my own. I spent a year searching for her. I tracked down Victoria, whom I assumed may have had a role in her disappearance. She had found a new mate, Riley, at least that is what she had been telling him. I discovered that she had been using him to build an army of newborns to take down my family.

That was taken care of relatively easily. Riley escaped, but Victoria and her puny army were eradicated. I never was able to find out what happened to Bella.

It was scary how much Renesmee reminded me of Bella, which made me dislike her even more. I couldn't read her mind. She has the same chocolate brown, large, doe eyes that Bella had. She has a heartbeat and can blush. She even resembled Bella! I wished that I could leave right there and then. I could tell that this would be a long trip, and I was already counting down the days until we left.

Author's Note:

I hope you liked this chapter. A good majority of you voted that you would like Edward to be rude to Renesmee because she reminds him of Bella, so here you go!

I might be making another poll (which will be on my profile) soon, so keep an eye out.

Again, thank you to everyone who has favorited, alerted, and reviewed! You all are amazing and make me want to keep writing more.

Please take a few seconds to review. I know it's a little inconvenient, but I'd like to know what you all think so I know if I'm on the right track, or if there is anything you think I should add or change. Any feedback is appreciated!

Until next time, Taylor