"True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive."

Mignon McLaughlin

Bella

"What?" Jasper asked quietly in astonishment.

Carlisle nodded. "The majority of the members of our species, including Marcus, Sulpicia and Athenodora, have all voted to become a part of the Vampire Confederation." Esme nodded, beside him.

Stunned, all the rest of the adult Cullens all looked at each other; except for two of us: Edward was still in the cells and I was sitting silently.

My eyes- back to chocolate-brown met Carlisle's deep blue ones. I honestly didn't care; I felt numb. I thought that almost nothing could hurt me anymore; I prayed that I wouldn't be wrong this time.

"They've all voted for it. Some, like Alistair, Liam, Garrett and Amun hesitated, but eventually even Alistair and Liam were swayed." He took a deep breath. "We saw the Vampire Queen."

Esme nodded. "After the trials and sentencing, we have all agreed to not only sign a document and make our mark within the Book of Erebus- which as you may remember, is the vampire's Bible- and record our history, culture, biology, powers and so forth; but we have also agreed to take part in a ritual; something which will grant us some of the powers and abilities of the vampire species of the confederation: like the ability to speak in the vampire language and to read their script."

Esme spoke: "Apparently, the individual votes were cast and the decision was made before we even arrived. We may have been the last to be consulted." She sighed. "I don't know whether this was before we took a trip to Forks, but... we didn't really speak to anyone that we knew."

"Not even the Denalis?" Emmett interrupted.

Esme shook her head, Carlisle answered, "Not even." He sighed. "They all... looked at us. I could see that some like Eleazar, Carmen, Tanya and Kate, Siobhan, Maggie, Peter and Charlotte-" Jasper winced "-Benjamin and Tia-" I winced, remembering "Zafrina, Senna and Kachiri-" another wince "all wanted answers. Amun, Kebi and Alistair looked at us as if they wanted to know what sort of trouble we'd brought upon them this time." A smile twitched Carlisle's lips. "It was nothing that I hadn't expected. And Charles and Mackenna, witnesses from the Volturi's side on New Year's Eve, who spoke for us, also looked as if they wished to know the truth. But out of respect for trial proceedings they didn't speak to us- I think they may have been impressed by the fairness and lack of bias of the trial."

Rosalie scoffed and Emmett and Jasper both snorted. "Of course they were," Rosalie muttered. "This is way more than what Aro and Caius gave to us- and the Denali sisters' mother."

"Nor a lot of people, as I recall." Carlisle muttered, shaking his head. "It wasn't hard to sway them, even Alistair and Garrett, in the end."

That made them surprised. "Alistair voted to join the confederation?" Emmett's voice was laced with disbelief. So was the look in Jasper's earth-brown eyes.

Carlisle and Esme nodded, dryly. "We couldn't believe it, either." Esme remarked. "But I think this is for the best. Facebook has really taken off last year. We saw a demonstration before-" she waved a hand "-all this. The wizards admitted even with their magic it may be hard to stay hidden from them- not unless we stayed apart from non-magical humans in general. And I think they enjoy the blood provided by the Confederation's vampires via trade and business links with the wizards." Carlisle agreed. "It saves them the trouble of disposing dead bodies, the callousness of it all- our friends usually target the criminals that they could find, to make things easier for them- and drinking animal blood which they generally find distasteful."

Everyone agreed; I couldn't disagree with that. It was more convenient and moral. "Besides, I think some of the more... cultured ones don't wish to appear as animals or savages," Carlisle admitted wryly. "They jumped the opportunity." To everyone's surprise, he gave Esme the side-eye. "It's possible that Alistair is... involved with someone. I spotted him after the meeting with a female of a different species, judging by the looks of things."

Emmett snorted, loudly. Rosalie couldn't help the twitch of her lips. Even Alice smiled slightly and Jasper looked amused. I blinked. That certainly caught my attention; Alistair seemed to be more of a loner than anything. "Tanya might be interested too," Esme admitted. "The three of us saw Alistair and the girl before the two disappeared, and it looks as if she seemed... interested in meeting prospective mating partners around this coven." Jasper and Rosalie's eyebrows flew up. Alice smiled wistfully. Emmett smirked. Even I couldn't help a small smile.

I was honestly happy for her; goodness knows, she needed that. Kate now had Garrett but Tanya... she felt shame and sadness, even though Laurent had tried to kill her, for Irina who now would never have her happily ever after.

But who was I to talk?

"Of course, we couldn't ask them for more details," Esme confessed. "Not until after the trial. We were all wearing Magic Inhibitors, with the exception of Maggie."

Carlisle sighed. "For now... there can be no question over the Confederation and the High Council's right to try us, and nobody seems to want the Volturi back, even though we needed them. Not now we've all found an alternative." He shook his head. "Not even Sulpicia, Athenodora and Marcus. It seems that Death Dealer, Selene, may have been right, after all. Chelsea had kept the three of them under the spell, including Marcus to prevent him from leaving with Didyme and then investigating and avenging her death. Corin's power kept Sulpicia and Athenodora content with being prisoners." I shuddered. It was too horrible to imagine.

How long had Sulpicia and Athenodora been in that tower for? Jasper mentioned that they never even left even when the Volturi hunted the Immortal Children. That had to be centuries ago. I shivered.

I wondered if Edward had that kind of power... would he hesitate to use it? On me?

Once, I would have rejected such claims. I would've seen it as irredeemably evil and blasphemous. But even then, deep in my heart, I knew that he would have. He certainly did not hesitate to go behind my back to arrange for an abortion, nor did he and Jacob hestitate in trying to convince Carlisle to knock me out should they be granted the opportunity and Rosalie, Esme and Emmett's back were turned or they were given the slip. And he sure had no hesitation in manipulating my thoughts and emotions. It was a testament to his own manipulative abilities and my own general idiocy that he was able to do it without being able to read my mind.

"Lady Laima hinted that they may have added even more to the Volturi's list of charges, but she didn't elaborate." Carlisle confessed. "In the meantime..." he sighed. "The trial starts tomorrow. The Volturi will go first. Then comes Edward." The mood became subdued and sombre. "The sentencing for both parties will come right after."

We all nodded. "I think we should all take the sleep potion," Emmett pointed to the carafe on the coffee table. "Gabrielle left us some." There were seven chalices on the table surrounding it.

Everyone nodded.

Gabrielle had told us during the meeting that Carlisle and Esme had with everyone else of our species and Lady Laima that this was the last time we would be able to see her until after the trials, as they now required her testimony and expertise on the scientific matter of things... and if all else failed, then her diplomacy. I wondered how she came to be so highly regarded by the vampires of the Confederation and the High Council- along with the Loup-Garou werewolves at the same time. Who else did she know? The Alpha and Luna of the Vermont Pack seemed ready to come on her request and apparently, so did the one from the Appalachians.

How did she manage to get on everybody's good side?

I remembered something about Gabrielle confessing that once the wizarding world had been prejudiced against non-humans and part-humans, like her. How did she get past that? I wondered. If her sister Fleur tended to be judged for her looks alone, how did Gabrielle- the most beautiful woman I had ever seen along with the Vampire Queen- become so renowned for anything other than her appearance?

But before Gabrielle had left, she outlined for us the plan: she would be in contact and go back and forth to and from Forks and someplace else to gather as much information about the impending soul-link between Quil and Claire, whose imprint bond she intended to reverse first. She would also find out and do whatever she could, contacting, consulting and meeting with the Council of Elders, Leah, Seth, Quil and Embry, in order to find out the best way to regulate and moderate their Pull instincts. Jacob, Sam and Sam's pack along with the imprints, with the exception of Renesmee, would be kept in the dark about this until it was time to break the silence. The Loup-Garou were merely heading to Forks in order to offer them an alliance, militarily and economically speaking, and on Gabrielle's request to help Leah ease into her role as the first female Wolf, the impending first Luna-to-be of the Quileute Wolves, and the more private things she needed to know about Loup-Garou reproduction. I didn't want to ask, and I had a feeling that Sam, Jacob and the others wouldn't pry too much, either. I was just glad that Leah wouldn't be alone and that she would have a chance to prove herself in front of the others who'd scorned, mocked and derided her, treating her like an outcast. I was also glad that this might mean that someday, Leah could be happy and have a family one day. Whether it was with a human or a fellow Loup-Garou Wolf, I didn't know; Gabrielle had said that the Pull instincts and matings between different species wasn't uncommon, and it might not be a bad idea. But knowing what she now knew, Leah was scared to imprint, and so were Embry and Seth. Even Quil, though eager to reverse the imprint bond, as hard as it was to let go of Claire and the future everyone thought they may have had together, wasn't too sure he wanted to imprint again after this. I thought that maybe he needed therapy once the bond between him and Claire had been reversed.

As did I. And Jacob- and Edward, if he could do it in vampire jail.

In the meantime, Renesmee was at Charlie's house watched over by Sue. It would have been impossible to stop Jacob from seeing her without arousing his suspicion, but Sue and the other pack-members promised to keep an eye on both of them, particularly Renesmee. Renesmee also promised not to give Jacob any reason to think that anything had changed between them.

I wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, I wanted her with me at all times; I didn't trust Jacob. I no longer believed that my daughter was safe with him.

But I knew that for now, I didn't have a choice. And as much as she'd resented Edward and he'd betrayed her... I wasn't sure she was ready to witness her father on trial and probably jailed or executed. I shuddered.

I wasn't sure I wanted to witness that either; as angry and upset about him... as disillusioned that I'd become... I didn't want him dead.

I just hope that this didn't mean I would fall into his trap. I thought that with Edward not present to manipulate and steer my thoughts into the directions he liked, I had more time for self-reflection and the realisation of the damage I'd done to others; including Charlie.

Honestly, there was a lot of people I had to apologise to: Jessica, Angela, Mrs Netwon, all the teachers at school... even Phil for not warning him about Renée. But Charlie had to be the first on the list.

In over two years that I had been in Forks, he'd suffered more than enough on my account. And now that I didn't have Edward reassuring or distracting me, telling me that Charlie and any others weren't upset at my behaviour (I remembered how he tried to hide Mr Berty and the others' disdain for him and the rest of the Cullens, and their suspicions on my account, from me), or telling me that I was irrational, or silly or childish I could clear my head and start thinking about doing what was right. I just needed to find my bearings first, after years of having my mind and judgment clouded by Edward. I wondered how Marcus, Sulpicia, Athenodora were coping. I hoped they were doing alright.

It couldn't have been easy, the betrayal, snapping out of Chelsea's spell- and Corin's. I shuddered. They couldn't even feel any emotion of their own volition.

Despite the horror and pain it brought us- which I knew was partially my own fault, anyway- I couldn't regret the results. I just prayed that no innocent person would have to suffer anymore. And that reminded me of the woman and baby girl who survived their husband and father's murder, along with their daughter and sister's.

They might not forgive me for my part in this. I flinched. But I had to try: I remembered what Carlisle said: even if it took me a thousand years, a thousand lifetimes, I still had to try in order to make things right. Even if I never could. I was a mother now... I had a daughter... I would rather tear myself to pieces and toss them into the flames myself rather than have anything happen to Renesmee.

And once... Edward. Now, I wasn't so sure about him anymore. While I certainly would rather die than have him killed... for all he had done, he was still the man I once loved, the father of my child... but us- together...

I took a deep breath, willing myself to quake. I hoped that this wasn't yet another sign of my weakness; my cowardice. I wasn't ready yet. Ready to acknowledge the fact that Edward's and my marriage was truly over. That our relationship had been a farce; that our love had been a lie.

Not yet.

But soon. Nothing could break my new resolve. Even though I hadn't told anyone; even my new family. Even my daughter.

"Love your family, spend time and be kind and serve one another. Make no room for regrets. Tomorrow is not promised and today is short."

Unknown

Back in Forks…

"Kim is a Quileute," Gabrielle agreed right after the meeting. She was sitting in a make-shift laboratory she'd hastily created using magic and the Elders' permission. "But she is not a descendant of Taha Aki." She looked sympathetically at the hurt girl. "Don't be so disappointed. That was probably one of the reasons why Jared imprinted on you. The gene pool is supposed to expand first."

"What about Rachel?" Paul asked. Rachel looked wide-eyed with wonder.

Gabrielle winced, sighing. "Rachel…" she trailed off as she watched Billy approach, wheeling himself on his chair.

She took a deep breath. Her hauntingly beautiful violet-blue eyes were sad. "There really is no other way to put this, but the magic in your Wolf gene- the one that you inherited from Taha Aki- has died."

"WHAT?!" Rachel, Paul and the others blurted. They all looked thunder-struck, including Sam and Billy who was absolutely horrified.

Gabrielle lowered her head. "I'm sorry. But… when it comes to magical genes, environmental factors often come into play. In wizards, for example, there was an orphaned boy who was sent to live with his non-magical relatives after his parents died. The non-magical relatives hated magic; the aunt had been his late mother's sister who carried the gene in dormant form. Technically, she should have passed it onto her son, but her husband- well, I'm sorry but he really hated magic of any kind. He came from an ultra-conservative family and was, admittedly, a bigot about anything that seemed out of the ordinary. So, upon contact with his DNA, the magical gene simply… died. The cousin grew up to be a better person than his father, and he now has a wife and children, but he and his children do not possess the magical gene." Gabrielle explained. "The magic died within them because of the uncle- and his blood-family, because his sister was a truly terrible bigot who was equally abusive to the wizard-boy. It somehow sensed that it just wasn't possible for it to thrive in such a hostile environment with such hostile people."

"But I don't even know anyone like that!" Rachel exclaimed.

"No," Gabrielle pointed. "And that's what confuses me the most. Because your gene is not just any ordinary Wolf gene: it's an Alpha gene. They were simply dormant, but they didn't activate. If they had… you could have been a female Alpha, Rachel. A Luna."

Sue and Billy both inhaled in shock. Everybody was silent for a long moment.

"So why didn't they?" Sam asked quietly. He was watching from a distance. "Why didn't they activate-" Gabrielle shrugged, helplessly.

So did Billy. Jacob's eyes widened. "Is it because she went away?" He blurted, incredulously.

Everybody turned back towards Gabrielle. Gabrielle looked thoughtful. "It's possible," she mused quietly. "How long were you away for?"

Rachel hesitated. "Years," she confessed, quietly.

"I see," Gabrielle said quietly. "Unfortunately, that is probably the reason why. She left her family and her tribe. I know you will always consider yourself a Quileute, Rachel, and you have strong ties of loyalty to your family but… it seems that you were passed over for the role of a female Alpha or even part of the pack." Rachel flinched as though struck. Gabrielle winced. She placed a hand gently on the older woman's own. "I'm sorry."

"But she's back now," Jacob pointed. "Will it… wake itself up?" He wondered aloud. But Gabrielle shook her head.

"No," she said quietly. "Like I said, it was dormant, but now it's dead." Everybody looked horrified; Rachel, on the other hand, looked like she'd been stabbed. "Besides, this is not any ordinary Wolf gene: this is an Alpha gene. She may have been a female Alpha, a Luna ruling in her own right, but it can't awaken in those who decide to leave their families or their tribe. Besides, if there was more than one female Alpha, especially before the pack split, there would have been potential conflict. Power-struggles between more than one Luna would have been… unwanted."

"Wait," Jared said slowly. "There's already a- a Luna?" He stumbled over the unfamiliar word. "Who-" suddenly, his eyes bugged as he whipped his head towards Leah. With the exception of Gabrielle and everyone who already knew, everybody did the same. Leah stared at the wall.

"A Luna-to-be, a potential female Alpha, although the circumstances of how this will come about in the future has yet to be determined," Gabrielle pointed. "She was chosen for this task," she confirmed quietly. She turned back towards Rachel. "Rachel, there is a likely chance that you may someday have children who are Loup-Garou Wolves, but they would have to inherit the gene from their father. And they wouldn't be Alphas."

Rachel was silent for a long moment. "It takes more than genes to make someone a leader, including a born-Alpha." Gabrielle said softly. "I'm sorry."

Billy sighed and closed his eyes. "It's done. Taha Aki chose Leah." He regretted it the moment he saw his daughter wince. Billy felt himself doing the same thing.

If Rachel ever had children who phase, they would have to inherit their gene from their father. Not from her. Rachel and the others understood: Taha Aki, their ancestors... anyone who was in charge... they'd passed her over because she'd abandoned her tribe... and family. They didn't think she was worthy.

Rachel was devastated. She didn't know why; it wasn't like she'd wanted to be a werewolf, a Loup-Garou, like that supernatural scientist had called them. But to know that Taha Aki had passed her over, didn't think that she was worthy or good enough to become a Wolf, a part of the pack that was starting to feel like a family, a Quileute guardian...

That the role had passed onto Leah and Jacob as opposed to her...

She was only part of the pack because Paul imprinted on her. Even though Ephraim was the Alpha and the chief, Billy was in the Council of Elders and her own baby brother had broken away to be an Alpha of his own pack... but not Rachel. Rachel would never be a part of it herself, in her own damned right.

It felt as if Taha Aki had harshly rebuked and rebuffed her as part of something he started; something special. Judging her to be not worthy enough after she abandoned them.

It was tough.

"I'm sorry," Renesmee said quietly. The three of them watched the stars in the distance from the Blacks' porch after Gabrielle had left. Leah was silent. She observed Rachel warily, worriedly, but averted her eyes when she turned towards them.

"Don't be," Rachel forced a smile. "It's not your fault."

"I wanted to be a Wolf too," Renesmee admitted softly. "I wanted... to be part of something. I didn't want to be different."

Despite her vampire father, Rachel felt sympathy for Nessie. She was just a girl; just a little girl. And some part of her felt uneasy about Jacob's whole... mess of a love-life. Based on what she'd heard from Billy about Jacob and Nessie's mother Bella and with Nessie being so young...

Rachel couldn't help but wonder if Renesmee was just a substitute or a replacement for her own mother.

It made her wonder about what she'd had with Paul; whether it was sane. At first, it had been something out of a fairy-tale or a legend. Something sweet. Now...

Now, she got no space. No freedom to go and do whatever she wanted, like she was used to doing. Sometimes, she had to make Paul promise to stay in the house until she got back and found that he'd eaten all the food and Jake had stomped off somewhere, while Billy sighed and wheeled himself over to the Clearwaters. Now, Rachel wondered if she was such a disappointment to her father- or her brother.

"It's not wrong to be different," Rachel found herself saying. Renesmee sighed. "Maybe," she conceded. "But I wanted to find out what it was like to be just another girl, for once. Like anyone else on the street." Rachel stared at her. Leah winced. "Just... going by and pretending I was heading somewhere, nothing different, instead of just staring at the walls of my room. Either at the cottage, the main house, Grandpa's..." she trailed off.

Rachel stared. "What do you mean? You haven't been anywhere?" Renesmee hesitated.

"I grow too fast," she confessed. "And I look like Ed- Dad and Mom. Anyone from their high school or someone who might've seen them around town would notice, and I'm too big to be their daughter. They might ask too many questions. And Jake won't let me go outside of town without him, and he has to be the Alpha of the pack. And he still has school; apart from the cottage, the main house, Grandpa's, here at Billy's or the other houses that the pack has... I'm not allowed to go anywhere."

Rachel was horrified.

"What?"

Renesmee nodded, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "And until they got arrested, we had the Volturi. My family were sure they'd be back, that they'd want to make us pay." Her voice darkened. Sometimes, Rachel wondered where Renesmee was in terms of her mental and emotional growth as compared to regular children. It seemed that she was somewhere in between, but she had been stunned to be told that she was born nine months ago.

"Maybe things will change," she mused. "But we'll have to wait. The Volturi are on trial. Hopefully, they won't come back and the vampires of Mom and Dad's species won't let them rule over them anymore. And maybe Dad will too." Her voice grew quiet.

Rachel felt sorry for the girl. Right; she forgot: her father was in vampire prison and likely to be jailed for hundreds of years, if not thousands. Or executed, but either way... it wasn't something a kid should ever have to face, seeing their dad in jail.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. Gentling her voice, Rachel added, "Maybe he'll get out soon; it doesn't sound that what he did was so bad compared to the Volturi."

Renesmee snorted. "Yeah, they're in big trouble." Rachel smiled.

Renesmee waited for some time, until Jake and the others came to take her home. She said her goodbyes to both Leah and Rachel, then turned and headed off.

Leah stepped forwards. "Jacob needs you," she said quietly. "He doesn't say it, but... I think he does."

Leah opened and closed her mouth. "Is that why you think Taha Aki didn't choose me to be part of the pack."

"You are part of the pack," Leah answered, eyes wide and astonished. "Your grandfather was Ephraim, an Alpha. Your father is part of the Council of Elders. Your brother is an Alpha!"

"Then why am I not worthy?" Rachel asked. Leah sighed. "Look, if I could ask Taha Aki or whoever's in charge why he's messing with us, I'll be the first to step up," she said, strongly, turning to face Rachel fully. "But that's just not possible. You have to believe..." she remembered what her mother said, after her dad's funeral. "You have to believe that there's a reason." She found herself repeating her words.

"Why Paul imprinted on me? Why I'm his 'soulmate'? Why Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, even though she was a newborn baby and the daughter of the girl who broke his heart?" Rachel asked, point- blank.

Leah winced. She couldn't tell Rachel- not yet. Not until they could go through with their plan. She didn't know Rachel very well; but she could very well tell Paul, and by extension, Sam. And Sam could also tell Jacob.

But it sounded like Rachel was having second thoughts or doubts about imprinting.

"Perhaps," she shrugged, helplessly. "Who knows what they've got planned."

Rachel fell silent for a while as they watched the stars. "I never got to thank you," she suddenly said. Leah looked toward her in surprise.

"For being there for Jake," Rachel clarified. "He ran off and... Charlie's daughter broke his heart... when I came back... I guess he wasn't interested in talking or even telling me all about it. I had to find out from Paul." She shook her head. "And then he ran off into the wild for months and stared at me like... like I was some kind of alien from Mars." She said bitterly. "He brushed me off every time I tried to talk to him. And he's still doing it. He just stares at me like I've grown another head whenever I indicate I want to talk. Just... talk, you know... with my little brother." Leah fell silent.

Rachel bit her lip. "I guess I know why," she confessed. "I thought... I thought he was ready to do it. Rebecca and I just took off... After Mom died, we just couldn't stay. It didn't feel the same way. Home didn't feel like home. But Jake... Jake was so young. I thought he could do it, that he'd grown enough... now I'm starting to hate myself for not seeing that he was still just a boy and he's had his first heartbreak... and I wasn't there for him, the way Mom would've been: for him, me and Rebecca." She stared at the ground. "She wouldn't have been happy about that; me and Rebecca not taking care of our little brother- or our dad. Even now I stayed because Paul imprinted and I'm his soulmate." She shook her head. "Some big sister I am, huh?"

Leah looked down. Was this... was this why Jake had so many issues? First, his mother died and left him, his dad and his sisters... and then both his sisters took off, leaving him with Billy and the house to take care of all the while doing schoolwork and later having pack duties. Then Bella... Leah grimaced inwardly. At least she understood Bella now and her motivations. And now she accepted that what Jacob did was inexcusable and truly an asshole thing to do that could've had him tossed in jail if Charlie hadn't been so blinded by his hatred of Edward. But Bella had still played with him, despite the fact that she had issues, it exacerbated his. And now Jacob feared, more than anything with Renesmee, that she would do the same; take off without a moment's notice or even looking back while he nursed his broken heart.

But she was a little girl. Not some vixen or a seductress.

Leah sighed. "Just... be calm. Make sure that he knows, Paul or no Paul, Wolf or no Wolf, that you're there for him." She placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "It's not easy for him. It hasn't been for many years, though Jake can put up a mask. He hides it well." She gave her a look. "And he's proud; he's a boy but he thinks he's a man." She remembered what Gabrielle had said about Bella's mental and emotional development being derailed by her mother and her father's distance, as well as the potential consequences that this could have on Renesmee and Claire's developments- if there weren't already any. She winced inwardly. What was she supposed to do?

Challenge Jacob? She knew that was what Gabrielle meant if push came to shove, and she doubted that Sam could or would ever do it. Least of all when he had his own imprint... her stomach tied itself into knots. She could barely stomach the sight of him back there, especially knowing that they were... related. She shuddered inwardly, hoping it didn't show and that Rachel never saw. Leah hoped that they could all keep the secret and all suspicions away from them until Gabrielle had returned, the imprint bond between Quil and Claire was reversed and the other packs had arrived and they could safely explain everything with sufficient proof. But what if the other Wolves- not just the Alphas, but Jared and Paul- or anyone else who supported imprinting the way they did, refused to listen?

Fear struck her. They had to. For everybody's sakes.

Luckily, Renesmee had been able to keep pretenses. Though Jake wanted to be there for her, Sue convinced him that Renesmee also needed her space, some time to reflect at her grandpa's house. Billy agreed. "Give her time," she remembered him saying to Jake, putting an arm on his shoulder. "This isn't easy for her. I know you want to be there for her, but she needs to accept what's happening, all the changes in her life, on her own terms. Remember, no one's ever imagined this would happen before." He gave Jake a warning look.

Quil had avoided Jake as much as possible. He insisted on taking Nessie with him, the excuse was that she would spend time with Claire, and hopefully distract herself. Jake had resented that, saying that Nessie was much older than Claire in her mind. Quil had taken offence, but calmed down, not wanting to arouse suspicion. He said nothing.

Embry had kept them distracted with movies and everything else. Leah and Seth helped as much as they could, as did Billy, her mom and Old Quil; all of them worked in tandem to keep Jacob busy and distracted, not by his Alpha and pack duties (to make things easier for him not to find out through their mind link), but just... helping around. Luckily, the entire pack had congregated to help Nessie through this tough time, and she was willing. Anything to throw Jake off the scent. This involved spending time with her in human form in Billy's house or Sue's, or Emily's and they were almost never alone.

How long would they be able to keep up? Luckily, Gabrielle was there: Sam, Jake and the Council had agreed to let her examine pretty much everyone's DNA. The story around the rez was that the school or the council was doing some kind of science project, examining their DNA and tracing their genealogy to Taha Aki. Surprisingly, they'd had volunteers, both guys and girls. While they were interested in the guys and watching Gabrielle determine which ones were the most likely to phase, they also watched the girls.

Amber Littlesea was the younger sister of Collin, one of the newer members of Sam's pack. And according to Gabrielle, she carried the Wolf gene. She'd been the first to be spotted. While her gene was dormant, it showed signs of what Gabrielle claimed was magic stirring it. Only time could tell if it would fully stir itself awake. But if any of the Quileute girls were likely to phase, it was Amber. So Collin kept an eye out for her, even though she was now eleven years old.

They were still searching; but based on what they'd just found out about Rachel, Leah doubted that Rebecca, her twin and Rachel's other sister, would be able to pass on the Wolf gene, much less phase. Her husband was a Hawaiian surfer and somehow, Leah doubted that there could be anything magical about him, from any kind. Their kids, if and when they had them, would not be Wolves, Gabrielle theorised once they pondered the suggestion that Rebecca or any of her descendants might phase. She'd immediately shot it down. Whatever the reason Paul imprinted on Rachel, Leah thought dryly, it wasn't because of genetics. Maybe she could still pass down his Wolf genes to their kids, but they would never be Alphas. They wouldn't be able to get any of Ephraim's or Jacob's traits from her. Anything wolf-like would have to come from Paul. Poor kids.

Leah had always seen her Wolf status as a curse. Now... now she wasn't so sure. Ever since Gabrielle had dropped the bomb on them and revealed Leah to be a female Alpha-in-waiting and Sam to be her cousin... Leah grimaced, suppressing a shudder. No, she was not going to get over that any time soon.

Now Rachel felt like she'd been rejected and that she'd disappointed her ancestors or whoever was up there making all the decisions, by leaving and being passed over the role for the first female Wolf and Luna. Now, Leah wondered... if it could be an honour after all... an honour to be chosen, to be noticed and singled out, selected by Taha Aki.

She just hoped that things wouldn't come to blows between her and Jacob, or any of the others. But if it did... Leah didn't want to do what Bella did, what she now regretted doing: putting things off just because she was afraid to make anyone hurt or upset, or even angry- only to make things worse.

She had to put her foot down. If necessary, she had to make a stand.

For all their sakes. She prayed that Jake would be able to see reason, but she knew otherwise.

You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper, and unless you have all the facts, you cannot make proper judgements about what is going on.

Harry S. Truman

June fifteenth 2007, first day of the trials:

Old-World Coven...

One by one, the prisoners were herded out. Marcus, Sulpicia and Athenodora were not among them, but they would testify- and observe for themselves. The Vampire High Council would observe, some even on magical television, a recent innovation invented by a wizard named Sergei Devanov, which would enable them to see what was happening, even from the other side of the world.

Jane's eyes were wide, frantic. The heavy silver collar around her throat prevented her from using her powers. Alec was the same. Their eyes were both shades of blue. Prisoners they might have been, but they were afforded better nourishment than they could have imagined.

Caius' eyes- newly-returned to their pale blue shade, which they bore millennia prior- blazed in pure rage and humiliation, however, and Aro's visage bore a poorly-concealed panic alongside frail attempts at composure as they were herded out, bound in those collars like... dogs and their hands and feet as well, with some form of magic that they were unfamiliar with.

A Death Dealer smirked at him, pointed fangs peeking from beneath his bared lips. His eyes burned a sudden blue, taunting him. Caius' eyes showed fear, hesitation even. What the part-human witch had said was true: these were indeed vampires, but of a different sort to them.

Selene watched the proceedings with a cool and calm gaze. An extremely handsome young man with sandy-brown hair and brown eyes also observed calmly. He was tall, he held himself straight. This was the High Elder Amelia's son, David.

Beside David stood a young woman. Her hair was a deep, luminous black, gently waving and framing her face. Her finely-chiselled features, delicate nose and lips, elegant cheekbones, luminously porcelain skin and mysterious dark blue gaze gave the impression of great beauty even by vampire standards. She looked like some kind of goddess and even the Volturi guard could not help but stare and that included Demetri. David stiffened and his eye briefly flared blue, baring his fangs until Demetri turned away.

"Your mother is here." The female spoke softly. "Will she delay the Awakening?"

David shook his head. "She knows her duty," he said shortly, wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her closer.

"But she's not interfering with the trials or the sentencing. The Great Mother has requested it of her; to show our new member species our goodwill and the truth in our word in treating them as equals." He kissed the top of her head.

"Hm," she murmured. "She really is wise. But we all already know that." She rolled her eyes. "But why didn't she see them sooner?"

Selene's brow furrowed. "We can always figure this out later. For now, we'll have to deal with them first." Her voice turned steely.

Selene's chestnut-brown eyes followed the mass of prisoners. But nearby, the witnesses were heading for the trials.

The Cullens were all being ushered through the great hall. Ponderous and heavy granite pillars supported the high vaulted ceiling, while arched doorways led off to murky passageways lit by racks of flaming torches mounted on iron sconces. The stone floor was bare, except for a strip of carpet. Iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling, holding rows of beeswax candles. Rusty chains and manacles dangled from the pillars, as a reminder that all who prospered within the keep did so only by the sufferance of the Elders. The stone walls seemed sombre and grave, especially so today.

The other witnesses filed rank. It was the first time Bella and the rest of the Cullens, with the exceptions of Carlisle and Esme, had seen their friends who had testified for them months before. She caught Tanya, Kate and Garrett's gazes, burning with curiosity and unanswered questions, same as Carmen and Eleazar. But she also detected a hint of concern. The Denalis noted the absence of Renesmee and wondered about it. Bella could see Tanya, Kate and Carmen asking about her with her eyes but she shook her head. Not yet, she mouthed. She didn't want to attract any unwanted scrutiny. Esme sighed. Siobhan and Maggie also looked askance, but Amun looked murderous. His dark eyes blazed with outrage as he looked upon the Cullens. Kebi stood beside him, eyes judging and filled with reproach. Bella swallowed. This was becoming harder than she thought. She fought the urge to hurry forwards. Beside them stood Benjamin and Tia. They all looked at her, seeking answers, but Bella avoided their gazes. Her shoulders slumped. She looked down. She could feel Zafrina and Senna's gazes too, along with their sister Kachiri, whom she'd only met for a brief period of time.

No one spoke. The witnesses were all under agreement not to speak to each other until after the Volturi's and Edward's trials had concluded and their testimonies given. But the Cullens all could feel their gazes upon them, especially Bella. She felt Esme squeeze her hand, comfortingly. Alice looked dead-eyed ahead, and Rosalie was expressionless.

Alistair, not too far away, seemed unaffected. His gaze, now light blue, seemed curious, pondering, wistful even as he looked around the room. It seemed familiar to him. Bella didn't know when he was born but their surroundings seemed to bring back far-distant memories for Alistair. He definitely looked wistful. In fact, he barely seemed to notice the presence of the Cullens. When he did, he froze and blinked. Then, seemingly disturbed, he turned away.

Bella didn't notice Siobhan and Liam, along with Maggie. She assumed that Maggie, being the official 'Truthsayer' was already in court and Siobhan and Liam were with her. But to her surprise, both Nahuel and his aunt Huilen were there, along with three girls. One was a girl with light blonde hair that looked like flax spun into silk. She had light blue eyes, fair skin and the light blush on her face indicated she was a hybrid; a Dhampir. Her eyes were filled with fear, awe, apprehension and probably excitement, wariness and unease. The next girl was African, or half-African, Bella reflected. She had dark skin, like burnished bronze and eyes like shining obsidian. She stared everything wide-eyed and open-mouthed, breathing in quick gasps. Bella heard her faint heartbeats, fast like a hummingbird. The third girl had auburn hair and blue-green eyes. She seemed younger than the others, in her wide-eyed stares and innocence. It tugged at her heart. She reminded her of Renesmee.

These must be Nahuel's sisters, Bella reflected. She didn't know their names, but she knew he had three; unless Joham had anymore. She peered around. Where was he? She saw Huilen, but she didn't see anyone who could have been their father. The girls' mothers had been abandoned to die as well by Joham, like Pire.

She felt pity towards all of them and a strong surge of anger towards Joham. No wonder Nahuel seemed to hate him. But she also wondered why he wasn't here with his daughters.

Maybe the Volturi found and dealt with him, Bella reflected. She was amazed that they left Nahuel and his sisters alive. Or maybe... her gaze wandered to the Death Dealers lining the hall, clad in black leathers.

Maybe it wasn't the Volturi that took matters into their own hands.

Either way, Bella didn't stop to think. Joham wasn't important. Not anymore. And if he was dead, he had gotten exactly what he deserved for doing what he did to those poor women and all his children.

She wondered, would Pire and any of those other women, the mothers of his children, have stood up to him had they had the chance? For their children's sakes? She knew that Pire would, but what about the others?

Joham probably had hundreds, if not thousands, and the majority of them would have died, Bella reflected grimly. She truly was an idiot. Edward was, at least, being careful not to get carried away, but it could have turned out badly. And if she had died, she wondered, how would Edward have responded to Renesmee? And Jacob?

She tried not to shudder. She really was too naïve and trusting. It could have ended badly, not only for her, but for Renesmee. If Jacob had been planning to kill her... she swallowed. She had no doubt that Edward had been as well, once she'd emerged. If anything had happened to Bella, he most certainly would have.

She wondered why Nahuel's aunt Huilen didn't. She must have really loved her sister, Bella remembered.

They were being ushered through some stairs on the side. Slowly, almost soundlessly, the vampires walked upwards. Up the narrow, spiralling stone staircases until they reached a circular level with seats, overlooking an enormous auditorium. Bella peered down.

The cavernous stone chamber was foreboding and yet magnificent. Granite buttresses, like ribs, supported the high domed ceiling. Flickering fire torches danced in iron sconces. Behind the audience, including the witnesses, there were green stained-glass windows. There seemed to be levelled tiers of seats for witnesses, and countless people came.

Most of them were vampires, but there were some humans, wizards, Bella presumed, and these were what caught her attention. She spotted Gabrielle who gave her a reassuring but sad smile, and the three from the British magical government: Harry, Ron and Hermione. They took prime seats. Adsila Sizemore was there as well, sitting beside a well-built russet-skinned man in black with gleaming black-hair and obsidian eyes and noticeable powerful charisma. The two appeared to be whispering to one another. There was a film crew as well, Bella as fascinated to see.

A slender girl with long, brown hair, around Bella's age, fiddled with something held up by some assistants. Cameras, Bella noted, seeing the lenses. She then turned. Bella's breath hitched. The camera floated, hovering in mid-air before moving upwards and over the edge of the balcony railing.

Bella could hear some vampires- of their own species- gasp. Tanya and Kate stared alongside Carmen and Eleazar. Garrett appeared more fascinated than anything. Then the camera shimmered and Bella had to withold her own gasp: it disappeared. Vanished.

It must've turned invisible, she thought, fascinated. After all, there was no sense in bringing a camera to a court room only to make it disappear and go someplace else. Apart from their species, none of the others seemed to think that there was nothing out of the ordinary, except for a few curious gazes. She saw another camera float itself upwards, without wires, and then disappear.

Bella turned her gaze to down below. There was a stand, she noticed. A very high triple podium that doubled as desks, clear enough for any human to see up where they were. There were three seats. One of them, the seat on the far right, was already occupied by a very handsome and elegant man, lean yet muscular. He had an air of poise and regal calm, cool and collected. His hair was dark and with Bella's vision she noted that his eyes were hazel-brown and he had angular features: high cheekbones, a strong jawline and a straight nose.

The seat on the left was occuped by another vampire. He had flaming red hair, flowing to his shoulders and cool grey eyes, like ice. His face was triangular, somewhere between beautiful in a feminine way and handsome in a more masculine manner. He was broad-shouldered and well-built, with finely-chiselled features: a straight and finely-pointed nose, chiselled cheekbones and fine jawline, and a generous mouth. A smile played on his lips. Bella didn't like the look of it. He seemed more... feline than the first judge. Inhumanly tall, Bella suspected that when he stood up, he would tower at around seven feet, even taller than the Wolves. When he shifted, she caught note of the fine points on the tips of his ears. Bella's eyes widened.

Bella could only assume that the first judge she saw was Elijah, the one had Gabrielle told them about. One of the first of his species. He appeared calm, measured and composed. The other judge must have come from another species.

The middle seat was empty. Bella noticed it stood higher than the other judges so she assumed this must be for Lady Laima. But there was another seat, on another podium. Bella spotted the flaming red hair and diminutive figure, similar in stature to Alice: Maggie she instantly knew. Unlike the others, the tell-tale silver gleam of a Magical Inhibitor was noticeably absent from around her throat.

Maggie seemed... pensive, thoughtful. Her eyes scanned the ranks of witnesses and audience members, freezing when she caught sight of Bella. Bella could feel her gaze, boring into her, questioning her to find out the truth about all this. But like all of them, she knew to wait.

Soon, the doors behind the podium opened. The Death Dealers stood at attention and everyone rose. Mesmerised, hypnotised even, like all the others, Bella rose to her feet, entranced by the Vampire Queen's mere presence, charisma, regality and beauty. Despite the sombre and grave atmosphere, Bella was keenly aware of the awe that spread throughout the vast auditorium. Awe she felt herself.

Lady Laima's beauty shone, seemingly luminous enough to glow amidst the ranks of immortals. Her white skin glowed like a pearl. Her silver-and-white robes flared at the hem, like mist or an approaching fog. Her hair was black, black like the night. Her dark blue eyes were solemn. She radiated an aura of awe and power. Pure, unspeakably ancient strength; secrets and power which no one could ever imagine. She held her head high and her bearing was more regal than anyone else Bella had ever seen, even Aro's. She truly was a queen. Even if she didn't call herself that officially, even if she didn't hold any real power in her own name. Bella could feel she was more of a monarch than anyone she had ever seen, including the Volturi.

Yet despite all this, Bella couldn't help but note that Lady Laima looked younger than the other vampires, if only physically. The ancient aura of unspeakable power, mystery and ages past betrayed the extent of her true age, but Bella suspected that she must have been in her late teens or early twenties when Markus, the First Progenitor transformed her.

Bella remembered that teenagers were considered grown women that needed to be pushed into marriage back in the day. At least her story ended happily. Even if she could only see her husband every two centuries.

Bella wondered where her children were. Gabrielle had said that she was a mother; that the first vampires had at least three children. So where were they?

Her eyes roamed over the congregation. Were they here? Watching?

Bella didn't know. She didn't know which was a born-vampire- a pure-born- and which was turned, in their species. Gabrielle had never told her of any difference.

The Death Dealers parted ranks. Lady Laima took her seat.

The trial began.