A/N: Thank you for reading and for all the follows and favorites! And an extra little thank you to everyone taking a few moments to let me know what you think:) Y'all make me smile. ~ M. x

A Little Bit of Rope

"Well that went quicker than I thought it would," Bella said as she sat eating her lunch, the whole family crammed around the table.

"It did, but I'm glad it played out that way," Jasper smiled. "Not only is the memory of Carlisle smashing into the wall with his face going to be one I replay often in the coming years, his emotions at the end were exactly what we were aiming for."

"He got our message?" Rosalie asked.

"He sure fuckin' did," Jasper laughed. "He still had some anger and bitterness inside him but his shame and regret were far more prominent."

Esme gave a single sharp nod. "Good. Now we can put him firmly behind us."

Jasper looked at Peter curiously. "What's up with Edward? Did you get a nudge about him?"

"I did, but I'm not entirely sure what it means yet," Peter smiled. "All I know is he's aiming to get released from Italy by pretending to be remorseful about this whole mess and we have to pretend to believe him. He's somehow gonna be the catalyst for our peaceful future," he shrugged.

"And Edward's future?" Jasper asked sharply.

"Pretty fuckin' short," Peter laughed.

"How does he figure he can get away with pretending to be remorseful when between Jasper's gift and Aro's we'll know he's full of shit?" Charlotte asked.

Emmett couldn't help laughing. "He's always thought he was smarter than everyone, we all know that. He probably just assumes if he wants it bad enough, he'll get it. And he's stupid enough that he believes it'll be easy."

Bella shook her head as she pushed her empty plate away. "How did I ever love him?"

The former members of the Cullen coven shrugged a little awkwardly. Bella and Edward may have believed for a while that theirs was the greatest love story ever told, but from the outside, it didn't look a whole lot like love. At least not in a way that's a foundation for a mature, healthy relationship.

Bella was so blinded by her infatuation with the telepath that she seemed to purposefully ignore all the things about Edward that she didn't like. And because her mind was silent to Edward, he just projected his own ideas of his perfect 'mate' on her, regardless of whether or not Bella fit that mold.

Both were also highly stubborn and not well-versed in the art of compromise. The most fundamental example of this was the issue of Bella's mortality. Edward refused to entertain the idea of Bella becoming a vampire, while the girl herself wanted to become one virtually immediately. Edward refused to acknowledge the reasons Bella had for being turned, and Bella refused to acknowledge the reasons Edward had for her not to be turned. They each had legitimate points, but they were unwilling to hear each other.

While the family members sitting at that table had genuinely cared about the girl, they didn't care quite as much for the relationship between the two. For those looking in from the outside, it was never a healthy relationship.

When Rosalie opened her mouth to answer Bella, she held her hand up to stop her. "That was a rhetorical question, Rose," she laughed. "Nearly two years down the road from when I met him, the older and a little bit wiser me sees all those warning signs I willfully ignored. The naive seventeen-year old Bella Swan is long gone."

The former Cullens all nodded and left it at that.

Charlotte looked around the table and figured changing the subject was the best move. "Okay, so we know we have to pretend to believe that arrogant little shit, but how do we get Aro and his brothers to agree?"

"Tell them the truth," Jasper shrugged as he took Bella's dishes to the sink. "All three of them know about Peter's gift. If we explain what he knows, there's a good chance they'll get on board. All we can do is give them the information and hope for the best."

Bella turned to Peter. "Speaking of your gift, what's the deal with that Kristof guy?"

"All I know is that Caius doesn't like the dude," Peter laughed. "He's in the States and will be easy enough to dispose of. He's a nomad with no coven and no mate. I'll hunt him down when we go home."

"On your own?" Jasper asked.

Peter waved his hand dismissively. "Like I said, he'll be an easy kill."

Jasper eyed his brother for a moment before shrugging. "Alright. So we ask to speak to the brothers before we reconvene for the next portion of the trial and cross our fingers they'll be willing to give Edward a little bit of rope we can hang him with."

The others all nodded, so Jasper wiped off his dish-soapy hands and picked up the phone.

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish!" Jasper laughed.

Caius glared at him and shook his head again. "No."

Jasper smiled at the recalcitrant king, then turned to Aro. "You've read me. You know that Peter's gift is never wrong, and you've seen how many times he's saved my ass because of the information he gets. I trust him wholeheartedly."

"Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" Rosalie asked. "Demetri has Edward's signature or whatever so it's not like he can run and hide. You'll always be able to find him if you need to."

"And as long as Jeremiah keeps him shielded until he's far enough away, he'll never know we're onto him," Bella added. "You know how highly he thinks of himself, this'll just reinforce his delusions of grandeur, which means he'll be even more cocky that whatever plan he's cooking up will be a success."

Jasper could feel the amusement from Aro and Marcus and knew those two would agree, but Caius was still very firmly on the fence.

Peter smiled at Caius. "What if I go take care of Kristof while y'all deal with Edward? I can be there and back before midnight tomorrow and then we can all move on."

Caius looked at him for a long moment. "I'll need proof."

"Will video suffice, your majesty?" Peter laughed as he rolled his eyes. "You're always welcome to join me if you'd like."

Caius waved his hand dismissively. "Video is acceptable," he smirked.

"So we're all agreed?" Jasper asked. "We play our parts and pretend he's fooled us?"

Aro laughed a little, finding the whole thing highly amusing. "We are agreed."

When everyone was settled, Aro looked at the boy now sitting alone on his family's bench. "Well, Edward, it's down to just you. Your sister is gone, as is your father. Your future doesn't look all too promising."

Edward gritted his teeth at the king's condescending tone but kept his expression suitably chastened. "No, sir, it doesn't. I've done a lot I'm not proud of."

When he offered no more, Aro gestured to the group sitting across from him. "The floor is yours, gentlemen, ladies."

The room was quiet for a minute and everyone smiled internally when Edward subtly squirmed a little at the piercing stares aimed his way. They'd all discussed how best to proceed, and the unanimous consensus was to ease into the questioning to lull Edward into the belief that they'd be going easy on him compared to Alice and Carlisle. But just because they had to eventually pretend they'd bought his act of repentance, they had every intention of using this time to get answers from the boy they all loathed.

"I'll start," Charlotte said. "Why don't you like me? And because my mate has to deal with another matter and can't be here, I'll ask the same for him. You've never liked either of us. Why?" she asked.

Edward looked at her in surprise. That wasn't a question he'd been expecting. He looked up at the kings, who were all watching him closely, and then Aro raised an eyebrow as if daring him to lie.

"Because I considered you beneath me," he answered, trying to look suitably ashamed while still getting the words passed his gritted teeth.

"Why?" Charlotte asked again, and Jasper had to bite back a smile. She looked pissed and was glaring at Edward, but what she was feeling was mostly amusement. Edward's answer wasn't at all surprising to any of them.

"Because of your history in the south," Edward answered, then looked at Aro when he cleared his throat. "And your diet," he added with a scowl.

Charlotte nodded. "What about our time in the south made you think we were beneath you? Because we had to literally fight for our lives? Because we weren't brought into this world by a sire who spoiled us and gave us anything we wanted without question, making us believe we were supremely important?"

"It's not my fault I'm intelligent," Edward snapped.

"You think my actions in Maria's army mean I'm not as smart as you?" she asked, head tipped to the side as if genuinely confused by that.

When Edward stayed silent, Aro smiled at Charlotte. "Yes, he does. He believes intelligence doesn't factor into war."

Jasper couldn't help the laugh that burst out of him at that. "You seriously think I just lucked into surviving nearly eight decades of war, both the last two years of my human life and the first seventy-five years of my second life?"

"It doesn't take brains to win a fight," Edward said as he rolled his eyes. Acting suitably chastened was getting harder by the minute.

"No?" Jasper smirked, then looked at the kings. "Maybe we should test that."

Caius laughed and nodded. "Excellent idea."

Edward looked at them in confusion, and only grew more confused when everyone sitting across from him stood up and moved to the edges of the room and Jasper and Charlotte moved the bench and chair against the wall. When they looked at him expectantly, he looked up at the kings. "I don't understand."

"There's that intelligence we've heard so much about," Bella laughed, making Edward scowl at her.

"If you could stand up please and move your seat to the far side of the room," Marcus said. "Charlotte and Jasper first, then Edward can choose his opponent."

Edward's eyebrows shot up. "You want me to fight one of them?" he asked in astonishment.

Marcus shrugged. "You seem to be of the opinion that anyone at all could have survived the lives they led, even though you're well aware from the memories you've plucked from Jasper's mind that that's patently untrue. So, show us how easily you would have survived eighty years."

"Mock-fighting only," Caius added. "No biting, no limb removal, teeth to the neck to win."

Edward scowled again and moved to stand against the wall to watch the two heathens. He was sure he could beat them just by watching their style of fighting. He purposefully ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that tried to remind him that he'd never managed to beat Jasper before when he'd given in to Emmett's demands to wrestle them.

When Charlotte and Jasper were facing each other in the center of the room, she tipped her head slightly towards Edward and sent him her curiosity, asking what he was feeling. Jasper smiled and sent back overconfidence and then his own amusement.

Charlotte smirked and shook her head. "You ready?"

"Always," Jasper laughed.

As Edward watched the two fight, he grew even more confident he could take either of them down. They were fast and brutal but they were nowhere near as smart as he was. And Jasper clearly wasn't the warrior everyone made him out to be based on the number of hits Charlotte got in. She'd only been in Maria's army for a little over a year. What Edward didn't know was that both Peter and Jasper had trained her hard after they'd put that life behind them. Neither were willing to let Charlotte ever be at a disadvantage. They wanted her to be able to defend herself just as well as they could defend her.

Charlotte and Jasper were both having to work at hiding their smiles. Sparring was something they did often and they always had fun with it. When Charlotte tried to do a last-minute flip to dodge her brother's sweeping arm, Jasper jumped up and plucked her out the air and pulled her down so her back was to his chest, then leaned down to press his teeth to the side of her neck. Charlotte laughed at the suddenness of the move and Jasper smacked a loud kiss on the spot where his teeth had been with a laugh of his own. When he set her on her feet, she reached up to tousle his messy curls.

"Well done," Aro smiled at the pair, then turned to Edward. "Which do you choose?"

Both Jasper and Charlotte looked at Edward, and he had to fight a smirk at how easy this would be. Nothing he'd seen looked all that difficult and, even without his telepathy, he was confident he could win. Charlotte would be easy to beat but he didn't want anyone to accuse him of opting for the easier fight. He was just opening his mouth to choose Jasper when Caius spoke instead.

"Charlotte."

"What? I thought I got to choose?" Edward asked incredulously.

Caius shrugged. "I've changed my mind. You seem to find Charlotte so beneath you, show us why you believe that to be true."

Edward scowled at the king and then walked into the center of the room to face the woman who was smaller than Bella. "Fine," he snapped. "But when I win, none of you can claim I went for the easier opponent."

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you," Charlotte smirked.

"Don't," Edward growled. "I'm winning by my own skill. At least fight at your full potential so it's not quite as embarrassing for you."

Jasper shook his head as he went to stand beside his mate. For a boy who thought himself so intelligent, Edward sure was awfully fuckin' stupid. At a nod from Caius, Edward charged. He was the fastest vampire he knew so Charlotte had no chance of escaping him. He wanted this fight over quickly so they could get on with this sham of a trial.

The fight was, in fact, over quickly.

As Edward ran for her, Charlotte stood still until the very last second. Then she took one step to the side and grabbed the arm the telepath had been trying to get around her, then ducked under it and spun around, which forced Edward to the ground. His shock at finding himself flat on his back so suddenly was so great that he just stared up at her. Charlotte gave him a second but he didn't attempt another move, so she rolled her eyes and bent down to touch her teeth to his throat.

"Well. What do you know? I didn't even need to fight at my full potential and it still wasn't embarrassing for me," she laughed.

Jasper was immediately on alert as Edward's humiliation fueled his rage. When Charlotte made the mistake of turning her back on the telepath to join her family against the wall, Jasper saw his muscles tense as he prepared to spring at her. Just as Edward shot to his feet, Jasper had him back on the ground with his hand around his throat.

"You cowardly piece of shit," Jasper growled. "You were gonna attack her from behind because you couldn't beat her head-on? Over my dead fuckin' body are you gonna take your rage out on her. She won, motherfucker. Maybe try to learn the lesson the kings were tryin' to teach you. If that's beyond you, I'm more than happy to put you out of your misery now, you sanctimonious dick."

When Rosalie casually took one of the torches from the wall and walked it over to Jasper, his growl cut off into a laugh.

Rosalie shrugged and smiled. "Just thought I'd make it easier on you if that's the route he chose."

Edward clenched his jaw and swallowed down his rage. Convincing the Volturi he'd seen the error of his ways was the only way he'd have a shot at destroying their lives. They'd all pay for humiliating him like this.

"Fine," Edward snapped, not quite calm enough yet to speak any more politely than that. "Let me up."

Jasper stared him down for a minute before hopping to his feet and turning his back on him to rejoin his mate. The insult wasn't lost on Edward that Jasper wasn't concerned that he posed even the slightest threat to him, he was perfectly confident to give him his back. Edward felt his rage climb higher again but forcefully shoved it down. There would be plenty of time for anger later.

After all the seating was returned to its original positions, the questioning resumed.

"Why did you go through the whole charade of a relationship with me?" Bella asked Edward. "Even though I obviously didn't know the truth, that Jasper and Alice were married, I did know he was in a committed relationship. Going after someone else's partner isn't really my style, so I can't imagine Alice would have seen me as a genuine threat. By getting involved with me, you made the chances of Jasper and I figuring out our connection even greater. If you hadn't pulled me into your family, none of this would have happened. Your family never had anything to do with the other humans, so I would've thought Jasper was hot and left it at that. There was virtually no possibility of the two of us realizing we were mates. So why take such a big risk?"

"Is it so wrong to want a mate of my own?" Edward answered petulantly.

Everyone gave him a weird look at that. "Uh, if she's someone else's mate and you're aware of that? Then yes, Edward. That is wrong," Emmett nodded.

"She should have been my mate," Edward snapped. "With her silent mind, she was perfect for me."

"That's not the first time you've made a comment like that. Why is my mind being silent a reason for me to be rightfully yours?" Bella asked curiously.

"Do you have any idea what goes on in the average woman's head? I don't want to listen to that for the next thousand years," Edward scoffed.

"Are you not even trying to keep yourself from being put to death with answers like that?" Esme asked incredulously.

"You haven't been sentenced for your crimes yet, Edward," Caius sneered. "Perhaps death is too merciful a choice. Maybe we should see to it that you're forced to live the rest of your existence surrounded only by vapid women."

Edward rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut at the reminder that the death penalty was still a very real possibility for him.

"What was your plan if you and Bella had stayed together?" Rosalie asked. "As soon as she was changed, she and Jasper would've known what they are to each other. There's no keeping vampire mates apart. Even if she loved you with her whole heart right up to the moment she was changed, your relationship was doomed the second she opened her eyes. Same with Alice and Jasper's marriage."

Edward shook his head. "I never intended for Bella to become one of us."

"Bella and I already figured all this out," Jasper said. "It's why you sucked the venom out when James bit her. But didn't you and Alice understand at all what a huge risk you were taking? Any number of things could've gone wrong along the way. Just with the James situation alone, if we'd gotten to the ballet studio even a minute later, it would've been too late to stop her change. Bella would have become one of us and all of your lies and deceit would've come out. Why risk it?"

When Edward refused to answer, the group looked to Aro. "It was as much a game to them as it was when they manipulated Carlisle. They believed themselves smarter than everyone else, we already know that. They found it amusing that you and Bella were essentially standing right in front of each other but would never realize what you were missing."

Jasper had to really work at not losing his shit. That arrogant dick and his psychopath of an ex-wife were playing the rest of them like they were pawns on a game board. And all because Alice wanted to keep him and Edward wanted a blank-slate for a partner. Feeling Bella's soft hand take his, he looked at her with a sad smile. He knew she understood how he was feeling to an extent, but mates weren't really comparable to any human relationships. Humans threw around the words love and soulmate as if they had very little meaning, but the concept of mates was as fundamental a part of being a vampire as consuming blood was. Bella still being human meant neither of them were feeling their bond as strongly as they would once Bella became a vamp. It's the only reason Alice and Edward's plan worked as long as it had.

Bella let Jasper feel her love and reassurance. They were together now and nothing could split them apart. Jasper gave her a little bit wider smile and nodded, then leaned in to plant a quick kiss on the soft lips he loved so much.

They just needed to give Edward a little bit of rope and then Jasper had every intention of choking the motherfucker with it.