I'm going to be doing my best to keep ahead of updates, that is write, write, write! However, I will limit the updates to no more than three times a week. Thanks so much for all the support and beautiful reviews! Here's the next chapter, read, review, and enjoy!

I do not own any of Stephanie Meyer's work, solely the plot and some new characters in this story.

****************************Jeanine************************************

Caius stood expressionless before me, unspoken threats shadowing each word, each flicker of the eye, each purposeful step, exposure to everything at stake.

"And what, Jeanine, were you doing in Forks that fateful day anyway?" he asked me, his usual disdainful eyes betraying his façade slightly, too much fire, too eager.

I took a small unnecessary breath. I knew what I had to say, or at least what half-truths I need answer, and as much as I hated doing so…I had my family to think about. "Scouting Renesmee Cullen, in addition to her two canine friends, as Jane ordered, master."

"Was this your first visit to Forks?"

"No, master."

"And why were you told to scout her in the first place?"

Without thinking I frowned, answering against my will. "To make sure she continued what deems harmless, a follow-up, so to speak."

Caius' mouth tilted fractionally upwards, a hint of a sneer. "You mentioned also watching her two dogs, why did you do that?"

"During my routine visits to Forks," I said, masking my face as best as I could, "I happened to come across an interesting occurrence regarding the two boys—"

"No need to be civil with their kind, dear," Caius suddenly interrupted, an edge of irritation in his tone, "they are dogs, canines for a more sophisticated term."

I felt my eyes widen significantly, the anger boiling up inside me with his complete disregard for humanity. How could someone be so cruel? His smirk only widened, however, and so I was forced to nod in response. "Yes, of course, master. Well, on one of my first trips, I happened to come across a migrant vampire. He was merely passing by, so I made no notion of approaching him, however," I paused recalling the memory, "I did witness an interesting sight."

"And what would that be?"

I recoiled into myself ashamedly, retelling the memory as if it were yesterday…

"It was sometime early spring, one of my first visits to Forks. I remember coming across a nomad vampire, though he was too far to see me. Being a newborn, I sought him out easily. Just as I made to approach him, however, another pair caught my eyes: two young boys, playing in the forest, alone. For some strange reason, I felt compelled to get closer, perhaps it was thirst, I don't know, but suddenly they changed. It was as if a powerful heat had erupted from the inner part of their core, and I realized what they were: shape-shifters.

Judging from their confused states, even as wolves, I immediately understood that this was their first time. I also knew, given my unique smell and shield, that I wasn't the source of their transformation. Looking a ways, I noticed the nomad vampire had already begun to flee. The pair of wolves, however, fled the other way, and again, I felt the strongest urge to follow them, so I did. They led me to a sort of underground cave, hidden proficiently well. I followed them down, making sure to keep my distance and stay hidden. At this point, I was under the assumption that my veiled scent was due to my shield, but that's another point. They didn't feel my presence whatsoever.

They phased back into children, awed and scared but grateful to be out of public sight. It suddenly dawned on me that the rest of the pack might be down soon—I'd gathered little information about them by this point—given their thought-sharing abilities, and so I made to find another way out when—

"T-tom! W-what j-just happened?"

Tom shook his head, his body still trembling from the shock. "I-I don't know…I could've sworn I heard voices but now they're gone."

I only caught this small portion of their aftermath. As much as curiosity held on, I could not risk getting attacked. I left, the interesting observation still vivid in mind. These wolves were different than the rest."

"I knew my assignment was to watch over Renesmee, but until then, just to be safe, I maintained a close eye on these two as well. In addition to their uniqueness, they also grew slower. I reported my findings to Jane, and she agreed I monitor them as well."

"So, what you're saying is, they were a possible risk against us?"

I nodded, causing a low hiss from Jane's direction. "Well, no, not exactly, just that I made sure to keep an eye on them just in case."

Caius observed me with a slight frown. "I see…tell me, Jeanine, what happened next?"

"Renesmee Cullen began attending school with the two wolves and they quickly became friends. This was an advantage for me, granted, I never did get too close to the wolves for fear of being found out."

"Yes, yes, this all makes sense so far. Tell me now, Jeanine, on that fateful day, did you or did you not witness the murder of your friend, Gianna Mendez?"

His eyes locked onto mine. "Yes."

"And who, I ask, killed her?"

"Renesmee Cullen."

"I will ask you the same question I asked her: who attacked first?"

"Renesmee Cullen."

"The mutt tells me he was simply inquiring about his brother. Did you happen to see Gianna attacking another dog?"

I forced down a lump in my throat, avoiding the piercing eyes of Renesmee's parents. "She was fighting him, yes, but only briefly—"

"Jeanine." He warned.

"I can't say who attacked first, I was down by the shore when they came tumbling out from the ledge, Jane beside me—"

"So then we can't be sure Gianna even started any of this, can we? Interesting. Jane," he averted his gaze to the girl beside me. I lowered my own head in shame, disgusted with myself for handing over exactly what the deranged man wanted.

"Yes, master?" she asked sweetly, a crazed light of adoration in her petite face.

"Tell me, dear, what were you and your brother doing in Forks said day?"

"Well, master," she began, in as delicate a voice as she could feign, "as the Volturi leaders are aware, Alec and I made the choice of quitting the guard not too long ago. The wrong choice, master, and I wish to let you know how terribly sorry we are before I go on—"

"We all make mistakes my dear," Aro suddenly interrupted from his seat, "and you have always been a comfort to me. Please continue."

Jane bowed her head slightly. "Yes, master. As I said, we made the worst mistake. Only after travelling throughout the states for a bit did we realize it. In hopes of making amends, and possibly earning our way back into this grand family, we set out for Forks."

"Why Forks, Jane, dear?"

"Because it was the last assignment I was given command over. I continued to keep in touch with Jeanine, considering how close," here she offered me a brilliant smile, one I hesitantly returned with much less fervor, "we'd become whilst she was under my orders. She informed me of Gianna's accompaniment and Alec and I thought it'd be right of us to offer Jeanine some kind of back-up should Gianna attempt to attack anyone without reason, considering her newborn status. We were simply there to support a former fellow guard member, able to stop her if necessary. As we are all aware, the Cullen family is not a coven to take lightly, nor their territory, given their influence and prestige above many other clans. We were merely trying to maintain the peace."

"So not only did you risk your lives with the surrounding wolves in the area, but you considered maintaining the good relationship between the Cullens and the Volturi, who at the time you weren't even a part of anymore, is that correct?"

"Yes, master," Jane practically gushed, "and also to help out a fellow friend, right Jeanine?"

I almost narrowed my eyes at her, words unable to answer such mendacity.

"How very noble of you two, I'm sure, given the circumstances and now absence of a guard member, that reinstatement will definitely be worth reconsidering, what do you think, Aro?"

Aro's expression was still one of mild interest. "Oh absolutely, my dear brother, but there will be time for other matters later. Please proceed."

Caius' smirk faltered faintly, the sour expression overwhelming the brief second with Aro's flippant response. He regained composure quickly, however, returning his stony face towards Alec.

"Alec, my dear boy, where did you happen to be throughout this terrible ordeal?" he asked. Alec gave him a warming smile.

"I was up top, master, keeping guard for any possible trouble. I only went under every several minutes or so, to check up on my sister should Gianna make any mistakes."

"How is it, then, that you came to bring about a helicopter so quickly?" he asked, feigned accusation in his voice. Alec was more than ready, however.

"Simple, master. Jane and I are always ready for anything. The helicopter was already reserved should the minute chance arrive of its necessity. As soon as Renesmee Cullen attacked Gianna, Jane informed me of a possible hasty escape. We did consider jumping in to aid our former fellow guard member, but she seemed to be winning, at least till the very end. The details, of course, I did not see for I was already on my quick way to Seattle."

"Yes, I understand. Back to you Jeanine," he spoke, gliding over to hover over me even closer. "It seems neither of our other witnesses saw Gianna initiating any kind of fight, do you agree?"

"Yes, but—"

"And we have established the nature of these canine beasts, have we not? To destroy vampires, yes?"

"Yes, but master—"

"So doesn't it not make more sense to assume Gianna was but a mere victim from the beginning?"

I glared at him. Oh, she'd been a victim all right…

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear your response, dear?"

Edward and Isabella Cullen stared as if through me, their golden eyes daring, pleading, for their only daughter. Renesmee's warm, brown simply begged, begged for any compassion and humanity I had left in my soulless body.

"I…I have no further comment…master." I could feel his eyes blazing into mine, Jane's mind screaming the many obscenities and tortures I was likely to suffer soon, but…I couldn't possibly say otherwise.

Caius abruptly stepped away from me, smirking nonetheless. "Fine. Fortunately there is no further evidence required."

I looked away from the many pair of eyes, escaping into my own tormenting conscious for the words I knew were to come.

"Fellow Volturi leaders, and dear brothers, I approach you now with a final report of events. That is, of course, unless Miss Cullen has any explanations she'd like to add?"

All heads turned towards Renesmee, and despite the ever mounting tension, the small girl's eyes blared defiantly, unwavering brilliantly.

******************************Nessie***********************************

I knew now was my only chance. As grateful as I was towards Jeanine's attempts of helping, I knew the odds were still stacked ridiculously high against me. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and glared back at the wicked prosecutor sneering back at me.

"I just want to add that I didn't purposefully kill Gianna Mendez. Oliver happens to be my best friend, a loved one as much as family, and I was simply defending him, as a brother—"

"Brother?" Caius cut in, a disgusted snarl erupting from his throat. "I meant to avoid any further implications, Miss Cullen, but it was also brought to my attention that you and this thing feel much more than that of mere siblings. Marcus can vouch if need—"

"No!" I interrupted, feeling my face heat up instantly. I didn't need to look at Oliver to know he was just as humiliated. "I mean, t-that's not the point, the point is—"

"That you killed in his defense, correct?"

I blinked, unsure of whether it was another trap. "Y-yes—"

"And so you imply that killing Gianna was justified?"

"I—wait, no I—"

"Really? Did it ever occur to you to simply maim Gianna? Hmmm? I think not, it sounds like you went directly for the kill, which makes you a killer, Renesmee Cullen—"

"But she would've—I never meant—"

I couldn't think, my pulse quickened and I searched for words, eyeing my parents in panic. Daddy suddenly stood up.

"Caius, with all the confusion, surely you can't expect a child to have done otherwise—"

"Mr. Cullen, please sit down or you will only worsen the circumstances for your delinquent daughter."

Daddy growled, his throat visibly tightening, but sat down. Beside him mom squeezed his hand in reassurance, her eyes swimming in agony over their helplessness.

"Now, Miss Cullen, you must remember that despite all the evidence or lack of, as you may be trying to convince yourself of, the bottom line is this: you killed Gianna Mendez, a murder based on saving not even a human life, but a shapeshifter! Our natural enemies, so to speak, and hence not even rationally worthy of saving—"

"So you're saying I should have just let my friends die!" I suddenly roared, lunging forward slightly out of Felix's grip. He pulled me in firmer, tighter and closer to himself. I didn't care though, I was too mad.

"I think that is all we need to know. Aro, Marcus, shall we consult with each other?" Caius was saying. He made his way back up and the three began uttering in almost silent whispers. I continued struggling uselessly against Felix's hold, my careful control completely gone.

"THIS IS UNFAIR! JUST BECAUSE THE WOLVES AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? THEY WOULD'VE DIED! TOM AND OLIVER! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY—"

And then everything went blank.

***********************Edward*************************************

I couldn't do it, sit here any longer whilst the fate of my little girl, my Nessie, rest in the hands of these ignorant fools. I immediately moved towards the front when she started screaming, her heartfelt cries piercing stabs into every part of my stone skin, the tears driving madly down her sweet face. And thus far, the royal trinity was aiming for the worst…suddenly Nessie's mind went blank.

I made up my mind.

In a flash I was on top of Alec, my teeth sunk deep into his shoulder. For a quick second no one moved, Alec's wide eyes in shock, his small form about to be crushed beneath my lethal hands, one quick swipe and that would be it, on to the next piece of vile, but then—

"Edward, please, can't you see we're trying to be civil here?" Aro asked, an air of disappointment in his voice. Felix held me tightly, and I quickly glanced towards Nessie, no longer under Alec's spell but now held by another guard, one I didn't recognize.

"Civil?" I spat out, "You call this civil! Renesmee was in all her right to do what she did, and you know it, I can see that you do!"

Aro smiled knowingly at me. "I do admit that she may have acted morally, yes, but Caius is right, she could have simply injured Gianna, and so the fact that she murdered a former Volturi guard member, which is quite a crime, let me remind you, remains unchanged."

I growled, hearing the decision before they even spoke it aloud. I felt Felix's arms circle my elbows the way they'd done Nessie's as Jane suddenly took a piqued interest in me, edging closer to Aro with a broad smile. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bella rise and move closer, careful to avoid confrontation but enraged.

"So that's it then?" I bit, "That's your modified punishment for my two year old daughter!"

Aro frowned. "Two? I was under the impression she'd be closer to fifteen by now, judging by her appear—"

"DOES IT FUCKING MATTER!" I raged, pulling and failing to get out of Felix's firm grasp.

"Edward! Please, calm down, let me address everyone, yes? This silent conversation is unnerving the rest."

"SHE'S A CHILD! HOW COULD YOU—"

"Jane dear." Was all I heard before crumpling onto the floor, the familiar pain settling in automatically, an eternal fire of hell.

When I came to, Bella was by my side, furious in Jeanine's binding hands. Aro spoke again, this time more softly.

"Now, yes, we have reached a decision." He motioned for Nessie and her captor to take a step forward. Nessie's face was blanched in tears, her cheeks flushed and panting.

"Renesmee Cullen, for the murder of Gianna Mendez, we hereby find you guilty."

Oliver began trembling, and Alec immediately focused on him, quieting him instantly. Nessie glared, her lips wavering but refusing to give away any further signs of weakness.

Despite the terrible ordeal, I felt a sudden burst of pride for her.

"However," Aro continued, "considering the reasoning behind your actions, we have agreed to modify the usual punishment for this kind of crime—which I will remind you is 'death'—to something much more reasonable, quite honorable even." He paused, as if drawing out the moment for an audience.

"Your sentence, Miss Cullen: your complete and absolute loyalty, as a new member of the Volturi guard."

I watched my daughter's face pale, her strong display crumbling into dust. Suddenly another set of thoughts invaded my mind and I growled towards Jane's gliding figure. They couldn't do that! There was no justice in it, there—

Aro leaned his ear away from Jane's careful parted lips, resisting any contact with the elder, an eager smile on his powdery face. Before he could say anything, I turned immediately towards my wife.

"Bella, whatever they say, don't agree to anything, don't—" I felt myself thrown down onto the floor, Felix's immaculate arm pinning me down threateningly. Bella struggled anxiously.

"Edward!"

But Aro was already within feet away from her, his smiling face unable to hide the eager suggestion Jane had so 'graciously' offered.

"Isabella Cullen, please, do not hold us such hostilities. We are gracious, after all, and I will prove it to you with a proposition, one you might find quite interesting."

Bella glared at him. "I doubt you could find any alternative that would better suit you, my daughter—"

"Oh but I have!" Aro crooned, clasping his hands together in enthusiasm. I struggled against Felix's arm, trying to speak, but only managed a sputter and weak cough.

"We know of Renesmee's interesting gift, which is why we even bothered to offer her an alternative, however, we also realize that she is a child, as your husband so aptly put it. Being so, consider this…" he paused. I could see from Bella's conflicted eyes that she was finally guessing at what she was going be asked, and I hated him more it, hated the whole damn lot, for putting our family through this—

"We will return you Renesmee, untouched and unharmed, all charges cleared, for a small but reasonable price…Edward."

Bella gasped, her eyes widening as our eyes met, an unmistakable moment of identical horror and understanding.

"Your choice, my dear," Aro was saying, "Renesmee, or Edward?"

Thank you all so much for the continued reviews and support! I know, this is somewhat of an angsty cliffhanger, sorry :( but don't worry, I'm working overtime to get this story finished, hopefully sooner than I calculated. Just a couple notes before anyone starts asking lol. Some of you may be wondering why Bella hasn't shielded either Renesmee, Oliver, or Edward, here's why: all three—in Edward's case, when he attacks Alec and is picked up by Felix—are being held ridiculously close (remember how 'close' Felix insisted on holding Nessie? The dirty slimeball…) for a reason. That reason is exactly Bella's shield, in other words, if she attempts to shield Nessie, for instance, she will have no choice but to shield Felix as well. Also, I made a big mistake in the previous chapter (just fixed it though); basically before the trial starts Aro tells Bella she can't shield Nessie (and Oliver by association). There's a very subtle hint implying she can't shield Edward either. Notice how when Nessie does get quieted, its Alec and not Jane? This also implies that the Volturi never intended to physically hurt Nessie during the trial. Edward, however, disrupts by attacking, which in the Volturis eyes deems worthy of pain. Also notice, though, that as soon as Jane disables him and he comes to, Bella is close to him...so maybe she ignored Aros command in the end and decided to shield her husband?Get it? If you still don't understand ask me and I will gladly explain better.

Um, I think I had another note to add but I forgot lol, so if you are confused about anything else just, again, let me know and I will get back to you asap. OH one more thing! I've mentioned working on a Rosalie/Jacob oneshot but am considering writing yet another pair (in addition lol). I thought it'd be fun for you all to choose the next pairing hehe, so if you'd like, go vote on my profile for the next oneshot pair! I would really appreciate it :) Ok, well, please review! I can't stress how motivating simple words (even if negative) can be for me as a writer; all in all it only helps me give you what you want hehe, so review, review! Thanks.