"Manipulation for good purpose is still a manipulation. Sometimes actions triumph over intentions."

Sarvesh Jain

The Cullens sat in silence for a long moment after the witches and wizards left.

It had taken them no less than four hours, almost five, to call every vampire they had known, the ones who came to stand as witnesses against the Volturi. Needless to say, they were shocked, stunned and shaken to the core. Disbelieving. But Adsila had spoken to them and she sent some of her government- it was still almost impossible to believe that these witches not only existed, but had their own government, and that there were other vampires, of different species unlike them, who were also the same.

Carlisle was the one who broke the silence. "Edward... did you really not know?" He sounded so heartbroken in disappointed, Edward felt like he had been struck.

"How could we- any of us- not have known?" He whispered. "I should have realised this!" He sounded upset. "Why did I not think- afterwards- just because you were alright-" Edward flinched, but Carlisle took no notice. "That no one else would be?"

"Dear," Esme whispered, trying to reassure him. "You aren't the only one to blame. At that time, I also felt so relieved..."

Edward shook his head. "No- no one else could have- I was the one who-" he choked.

Bella tried to speak. "Edward-" He shook his head. "No, Bella, you heard what she said. There can be no excuse."

"You didn't know," Bella tried to defend him. "I was the one who saw- those little girls-" she flinched. "I was the one who-"

"Stop," Esme ordered. "This isn't helping anybody."

Edward looked up, his eyes filled with despair. "But Esme-"

"I know, Edward." Her eyes softened. "But it doesn't change the facts. And crying about it won't help either."

Everyone felt too sick and miserable at the implications of what had happened. "That poor mother," Esme shook her head. "What she's feeling right now..." Of course, she of all people would know, she had lost a child. "That poor little girl... and the baby won't even remember…" She whispered.

No one answered her. Pale-faced, Rosalie shook her head in dismay. Alice was shivering, burrowing her face into Jasper's shoulder. Everyone felt too sick to speak.

"I didn't mean to-" Edward choked. "I would never have harmed those little girls- or their parents-"

"We know, Edward." Esme's eyes softened. She soothed him. "We know."

Edward closed his eyes. "But they're dead. So what do we- what do I do?"

Esme sighed. "I don't know."

She looked at Carlisle. Carlisle closed his eyes.

"I've dealt with a lot of guilt from my past, Edward." He reminded him. "Remember, I used to be an inquisitor. Now I've just discovered that witches and wizards are real as well, and now I wonder whether any of those people whose deaths I've been responsible for..." He closed his eyes again. "It's too late now. But it's never too late to make up for what you've done. Even if you fail, even if it takes an entire lifetime, you have to try." Edward nodded.

"But Carlisle-" Bella protested.

"Bella," Carlisle's voice was gentle but firm. "You know it's the truth and the right thing to do."

Bella swallowed. She knew it, but it didn't make it any easier. The fact that Edward- her Edward- was responsible for something that happened, regarding kids...

No, but he wasn't the one responsible. The Volturi were.

"The Volturi aren't getting away with this, right?" Bella demanded. "Even if they try and talk their way out of it- Carlisle, Edward didn't mean to hurt those kids, but the Volturi did-"

"I'm sure they will receive their just desserts in the end," Carlisle's voice turned steely but it wasn't directed towards her. He sighed. "Somehow, judging by the looks of how thorough these witches and wizards have been in their investigation, and how efficient these… Death Dealers were, I don't doubt they'll find just about everything."

Only to late did Edward come to yet another shocking realisation: the witch- Adsila- had been good. Too good; he realised too late that she had been playing the 'good cop' all along, while the grey-eyed wizard had been the 'bad cop'. Nevertheless, he sensed that she had been sincere in her empathy for them, and Jasper seemed to believe so, judging by the looks of him. He sensed nothing dubious about her.

And that's what made her so dangerous. He might as well have been thinking about himself in those terms. But unlike him, he didn't know of her motivations. Even now, he couldn't be sure. Rosalie- and the rest of him, particularly himself- had severely underestimated her. Even to the point where he forgot that he couldn't read her mind. So distracted was he by her smooth questioning, her seeming empathy and understanding, her apparent consideration for their discomfort in having their personal lives exposed, and then the horrid truth of what he had done…

The witch- Adsila Sizemore- had beaten him in his own game.

"Edward," Carlisle began. "Could you..." Edward shook his head.

"I couldn't read her mind," he admitted. "It was like running into a wall. Kind of like..." He glanced at Bella.

"ME?" Bella blurted. "You mean they had a shield like mine?"

"It's possible," Jasper admitted, reluctantly.

"But how?" She shook her head at her stupidity. "Never mind; they're witches- of course they'd be able to, it's just..."

Bella knew she felt stupid and petty, but she had gotten used to the idea that her shield was special, unique. Now, she found out that there were other people who could do the same thing.

Edward, knowing her feelings, stroked her arm. "Love, it's not important." He insisted. "You were special to me long before I knew you had a shield."

Bella relaxed, assuaged.

Rosalie stared at them. "Really? You're thinking about that during a time like this?"

Embarrassed, Bella shook her head. Edward scowled at Rosalie, but Carlisle cut off any retort he was about to say.

"Now is not the time for such petty arguments." He gave Edward a stern look, then sighed. "Quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do in a situation like this," he confessed. He shook his head. "I never thought..."

Edward swallowed his guilt. "It's my fault, Carlisle, she was right- I should've listened-"

"Why didn't you?" Rosalie whispered. "Children, Edward! You planned this all along before Bella even had that paper-cut!"

Edward winced. "I know!" He shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "I wasn't thinking." He turned away from them, and sighed. His shoulders slumped. "I just... didn't want to live in a world without her." He sank even lower. "It was selfish, it was uncaring, but I know it's what I felt. For the first time in my life."

Rosalie's eyes softened momentarily in sympathy and remorse. But then they hardened again.

"And Esme, Edward?" Rosalie demanded. "And Carlisle? Or Jasper, Emmett, Alice and I? Did you ever consider how any of us might feel if you'd upped and gone killed yourself? At the hands of the Volturi, no less?" Anger coloured her voice. "How about if they had punished us for letting you break the law- and even helping you, in some cases." She glared at Alice. "You knew they wanted us. They would've found us useful."

Edward flinched.

"Clearly," Rosalie spat. "You didn't care enough about us to even consider. Frankly, my dear, you didn't give a damn." She shook her head in disgust and stomped a distance away.

For a while, everyone was silent. Bella desperately wanted to say something. "Edward..." She began. "I saw those children. I'm the one- I should've realised- I didn't think-"

Edward shook his head. "No, Bella, you did nothing." He insisted, whirling towards her. "You hear that? Nothing." He shook his head angrily. But his anger wasn't directed towards her. "Don't make me feel worse."

Cowed, Bella fell silent.

"What do we do?" Emmett wondered aloud.

Esme sighed. "There's nothing we can do," she admitted reluctantly. "You heard what she said- this is still an ongoing investigation before they can be brought to trial." Then her voice turned steely. "And let us all take comfort in the fact that I doubt that the Volturi would get away with it."

"Do you really think they're going to prosecute the Volturi?" Emmett sounded incredulous, but also awed. Jasper looked like he felt the same way, as did Rosalie, a distance away.

"You heard what she said," it was Edward who spoke. "The fact that they killed an innocent child who was little more than a baby-" he sucked in a breath, hissing. "And threatened an infant, but allowed me, the transgressor to go free, even when I broke so many rules, all because they wanted me... this nullifies their authority."

"So that means," Jasper began slowly. "If these witches and wizards- and the Vampire Confederation respect other beings' independence enough not to arrest or hurt you..."

"They would normally respect the laws of the Volturi," Rosalie realised, her eyes widening. "But now they don't."

"Does this mean that they can do whatever they want with them?" Bella questioned. Carlisle heaved a sigh.

"I don't know," he admitted. Carlisle hesitated.

"But if this does nullify the Volturi's authority," he began slowly. "Then who will govern us once they are gone?"

Silence reigned. Bella shivered as she thought about all the potential consequences of a power vacuum in the vampire world- well, species, as she now knew them to be.

"That's why they made you call all our acquaintances," Jasper remembered. "They're inviting them to- to this Old-World Coven to gather, come to some sort of understanding with the wizards and the rest of vampire-kind, and agree on a new government." His shoulders slumped, but in relief.

"They're going to try and stop covens of our species from recruiting armies and taking control." He sighed, relieved. "That's actually better than any other scenario where the Volturi are gone and there is a power vacuum, and they leave us alone to deal with. Because at least, members of our kind will be wary of the Vampire Confederation and their High Council, as well as these wizards. Even the dumbest and the most belligerent, like Caius, won't want to take the risk against something they don't know and have no idea what to expect."

Carlisle nodded. "That's one good thing that can come out of this."

"That's not the only problem though," Rosalie suddenly blurted as she reappeared.

Edward stiffened. He cast a warning glance towards first Rosalie, then Bella. "Rose-"

"Edward, if they don't recognise the Volturi and take down our leaders for what they did," Rosalie warned, not heeding Edward's warning look. "And if they pay for what they've done-" Bella gasped.

Then so too could Edward. Those words were unspoken, but heard by all.

Bella paled. "What- what're they going to do to you?" She whispered.

Edward closed his eyes. "Nothing," he said. "They can and promised that they wouldn't do anything, remember? Adsila already said that our government's authority was no longer recognised, but she didn't arrest me."

"There, you've said it," Rosalie said harshly. "The wizards couldn't arrest you. But these… these Death Dealers might."

Everyone froze at the implications. "The only reason they helped these Death Dealers take down the Volturi is because four of their kind were endangered, two of them killed. But they did agree on stepping back and letting vampires handle what- to them- vampire law. It just so happens that the reason they're here is to make sure that all the vampires willingly stick to the treaty's terms and work to solve this problem, and find out all our motivations for breaking the law or aiding and abetting it, as well as to confirm whether or not Edward had broken any laws."

Everyone winced.

Emmett shook his head.

"Worrying about this won't make things any better," he insisted. "Question is, what are we gonna do?"

"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous."

Chanakya

"I'm not certain if I am the best person to tell you this," Adsila sighed.

Again, she had to bring news- bad news. Why was she always the one breaking these kinds of news? She felt irritable. She didn't know. Just her luck, she supposed. Oh well, she could bring this case to a close, see justice done, and do some good overall to the country, the wizarding world and the rest of the supernatural world. That was what she wanted and that was her job.

But after the war, Adsila had learned never to question her luck. She was lucky compared to the people who died. Not everyone died because they were less brave, rasher and more impulsive, weaker, or less skilled in combat than those that survived. In war, you were likely to survive through chance and luck alone, rather than anything. If your odds were stacked against you or just right, it didn't always matter.

She shouldn't question or curse her luck, no more than she should depend on it. Fate was a tricky thing.

Adsila glanced around at the faces of the Quileute tribal Elders- and members of their Wolf Pack. There was one face missing: Jacob Black.

"But there's something else you must know." She warned.

Adsila had been questioning them to verify everything the Cullens had claimed was true or not. Some of them were news to the Quileutes, the one about Volterra in particular was as shocking to them as the news that witches and wizards existed, and there was a secret well, world? International society? Civilisation? Whatever it was, it was just hidden from them for centuries.

But once Adsila had gotten the explanation out of the way, the mood quickly had sobered. She'd promised that she and her kind, including their government weren't there to hurt or harm anyone. But they needed answers, and the Wolves were witnesses.

Adsila took a deep breath. She explained to them that what she had to tell them had to be conducted in the utmost privacy. "There are some things that we've found out during our interview in the Cullen house, which caused us concern." She said quietly. "I need to be sure that this won't- in any way- make its way to any of the Cullens. Especially Edward. Not yet at least. And he's a Legilimens, I already know this."

"A what?" One of the pack members- a girl named Leah, furrowed her brow. Almost scowling.

"Legilimency is the term we use for telepathic ability," Adsila explained. "Usually, it's something that needs to be taught, but other times, it's an inherited trait. Edward Cullen, I've learned, isn't the most powerful Legilimens out there, but it's still tricky to keep your thoughts from him. However, it's necessary, this time. I'll explain once I'm assured that this won't make it back to any of them in any way possible."

They exchanged grim glances. Some nervous. The three Elders were Billy Black, Sue Clearwater and Quil Ateara.

Billy Black, she had been told, was the close childhood friend of Bella's father, Charlie. He had a wrinkled face with russet skin, black eyes and black hair shot through with grey. He was bound to a wheelchair. His son Jacob was the Wolf who answered the phone when Edward called. Next to him, the other elder, Sue Clearwater, was mother to two members of the pack, although, like Billy, she wasn't one herself. She was also in a relationship with Charlie Swan. She had stern features and hair that had grown out of what might have been a short, severe style, but was now going to her shoulders.

Her daughter Leah stood next to her. She was beautiful in a way which many girls would hiss in envy. Leah had perfect copper skin, glistening black hair and eyelashes which framed her dark eyes and reminded Adsila of feather dusters. Overall, she was tall, strong and fit, in other words, she fit the pattern of female Wolf-shifters- sometimes called werewolves, although they were- more or less- different from Lycanthropes.

The other person in the room was a male Alpha named Sam. He was a tall, imposing guy who stood at six-six, with long, rounded muscles, copper skin, cropped black hair and a deep voice. He looked older than the majority of his peers, Adsila noticed. He had a natural presence and there was no mistaking the Alpha when she saw him.

The woman next to him... Didn't appear to be a Wolf. If Adsila didn't know any better, she would suspect that Emily, Sam's fiancée. She was a very beautiful woman who looked like she had been attacked by something. Or someone. While she had beautiful satiny copper skin, straight and glossy crow-black hair with dark almond eyes, if she had been a Wolf, Adsila was sure that her wounds would have healed a long time ago without even scarring. There were few things that could permanently scar a Wolf, and unless it was Dark Magic, so it seemed unlikely that she was a Wolf. Not to mention, Emily appeared somewhat slight, less tall and more delicate in appearance than Leah.

But they had their own independent laws and territory, and were allowed to let anyone in the dark as they wished. Gone were the days when witches and wizards claimed immediate ultimate authority over their fellow magical beings, simply because their kind lived in the same country. Who they wanted to let in on their secret was their choice- unless they were careless, like Cullen, because that would put every single being and beast in this world in grave danger.

Adsila sighed. "You need to be careful around Edward Cullen." She gave them a look.

"I know I've already told you about his and Bella's conversation before the breakup and he believed that she had committed suicide- and went to follow suit," she began. "What he planned. What I didn't tell you was that none of the other Cullens actually wanted to leave town before he convinced them to go.

"Think about it. There was opposition- limited opposition, but still there- within the family itself to bring Bella into their world, regardless of whether or not they transformed her." She saw all of them stir. Apparently, this was news to some of them. "Rosalie knew that her brother was- unintentionally- taunting Bella and luring her with the temptation and promises of immortality, eternal youth, grace, beauty, strength- and tempting Edward himself. Edward didn't listen. He grew angry with her when she protested to him about throwing Bella a birthday party for her eighteenth. Yet he was infuriated and pressured the entire family to move out of this state after disaster struck during said-party." Adsila paused. "Carlisle Cullen, as you might know, is well-regarded doctor whose medical skills are in demand in Forks. He has a busy work schedule and life in this town. The rest of the coven had their own lives too. None of them wanted to move, not Rosalie, Emmett or Alice. Jasper, I believe, felt guilty for his role during the incident, and Edward managed to persuade him and push the entire family to move house." She paused.

"His feelings towards the incident were understandable. But even so, for their son- adoptive or otherwise- to push the parents, the leaders of the family, and siblings to move out of this state- he even forced Alice not to say goodbye, even though it was for the sake of manners, despite his own siblings arguing to him about it."

Sue's eyes sharpened as she absorbed this, and she sucked in a breath. She exchanged nervous glances with Billy. Leah frowned, her brow furrowing, Emily looked worried. Sam stood grim and silent.

"Now, Bella had literally no idea that they were moving- not until the very minute Edward Cullen told her about it." She paused. "His reasons were understandable: he felt Bella was safer without him and his world, and he did not wish her to give up her human life for his sake. But that's not what concerns me. What concerns me was that he forcibly put off telling her until the last minute, what concerns me more is that Edward Cullen told her that it would be like he and his family- and remember Alice was also her friend- had never existed in the first place. Like it was all a dream. He even hid the presents- or removed them so she wouldn't have any evidence or trace of him that remained." Adsila paused.

A professional Legilimens in the employ of MACUSA had looked into Edward Cullen's memories from afar, without him knowing. Normally, they would have never done such a thing, but the entire supernatural world was potentially in dire straits because of this one vampire. Then again, not only was Edward Cullen a Legilimens himself (that wasn't his fault), due to the concerning behaviour which she spoke to her colleagues, they insisted on taking a quick peek to see if he had done anything of any concern. Anything nefarious or dubious.

And he had. Multiple times, apparently. It seemed that Edward Cullen had a pathological desire to control and manipulate those around him, with little regards for their opinions and wishes. Well, it wasn't any different than what she was doing, but at least Adsila never tried to take away somebody else's free will, even out of love. She never tried to keep somebody in one place without their consent; without at least first asking or discussing things with them, and certainly not if she lost that debate. Adsila would never take out somebody's car battery just because she was jealous, nor did she kiss her significant other to cut off their protests, nor use the excuse that it was for their own safety because they weren't yet sure of whether this other person was dangerous or not- regardless of the fact that said-person had been around Bella Swan for months.

Edward may have had the best intentions, Adsila mused, but he certainly wasn't the brightest in how he went about everything, particularly in regard to the safety of the girl he claimed to love. She inwardly shook her head as she remembered when his newly-turned wife had asked him to teach her combat ahead of the Volturi's arrival, only for him to lose his nerve because he couldn't handle all the ways he would have to imagine someone else trying to take her down. What a pansy. Adsila would've scoffed. Kohana had no such reservations, and neither did Darius Smackhammer with Ava Swan, if she remembered correctly, during the war. Not forgetting the fact that he had no inkling of Alice Cullen's plan yet, much less that she had been looking for literal blind spots in her vision in her quest to search for the Dhampir Nahuel.

Someone certainly has a high opinion of his own intelligence. She thought. Unfortunately, that opinion didn't seem to correlate with the facts and the evidence. And being inside his head only seemed to confirm her opinion that Edward Cullen was not as smart as he- and Bella- thought he was. They would have died multiple times because of him. And they should have.

Adsila took a deep breath. "Edward Cullen broke into the Swans' house on multiple occasions." Sue hissed in a breath. "For a number of times, Bella was unaware of this. Later however, when he admitted this to her, she enjoyed and even encouraged it- but only after she found out he had been doing it. But she was firstly unaware, and underage at that point, as I understand it. In the magical world, we come of age at seventeen, but I'm led to believe that eighteen is the official age of adulthood in the non-magical world."

Sue nodded stiffly. "Yes, it is." Her lips pressed into a firm line. It was clear that she wasn't very happy about all of this.

"And Bella's father Charlie was also unaware." Adsila said slowly. Sam shook his head. "And how do you know all of this?"

"Some of my colleagues insisted that for security reasons we check Edward's memories- not his thoughts, just skim over some of his memories in 2005 to 2006." She explained. "To see if he did anything that could be considered illegal anywhere or which caused concern; warning signs of his controlling, manipulative behaviour." She sighed.

"They found plenty, as they told me. Normally we wouldn't look into someone's head like that, not without their permission, and only in the most extreme of emergencies. But considering that the supernatural world is at the brink of war, we felt it was an emergency. Edward has a serious issue. One that's not really associated with vampires in general, rather a psychological problem as you can call it."

Everyone stared. "Psychological?" Sam managed to say.

"Yes. Controlling, manipulative behaviour. A lot of vampires have powers. Not everyone of them abuses it. I don't know too much about their particular species, but some of the vampires I have met abide by codes of conduct." Sue, Leah, Emily and Sam blinked in surprise. "And judging by what people around this town have said about Carlisle and Esme Cullen and the rest of their kids, their manners and conduct are generally impeccable. It's Edward that some have voiced concerns over, though they say they didn't really see it- the warning signs- until long after he and Bella were married. Sometimes, they even claim that they might be imagining it, but based on the evidence of Edward's doings that we've found..." Adsila shook her head.

"Those alarm bell signals weren't unfounded." She sighed. Then Adsila steeled herself and looked them all straight in the eye.

"Edward Cullen is controlling and manipulative. While the ordinary No-Majs- non-magical people- around town might sense something about him that's not quite right, judging from this investigation, what we've found he's been doing shows us that those suspicions are not unfounded. I said he forced his entire family- including his parents- to move out of the blue without so much as saying goodbye to anyone, and in short notice. He not only ended their relationship, he seems to have tried to foolishly mentally and emotionally manipulate and even trick Bella into some form of psychological breakdown by attempting to-" Adsila tried to find the right words. "Vanish. Literally, I mean. Erasing any evidence of him or his family of ever entering her life, and in her distressed and heartbroken state, it... caused her great alarm."

Leah's eyes widened with shock as she heard about this, and she gaped at her mother. Sam's eyes darkened.

"I found Bella in the woods." He said. "Around the time the Cullens left town. I heard later that they broke up."

Adsila nodded. "I know. One of my aides heard that from one of you, that you were the one who found her. Now, no matter the reason, what sort of person takes his girlfriend- while being the one who has the only form of transport- into the middle of the woods to break up? It was close to nightfall. She had no map, no warm clothing or blanket. No food or water. She could have been seriously ill, or worse." Sue and Leah's eyes widened in horror. Seth and Billy looked aghast.

"She was curled up on the forest floor when I found her," Sam remembered.

"He was willing to go to such lengths to force Bella into a life without him." Adsila agreed. "Now, I'm all for free will, okay? If one person doesn't want to stay in a relationship, whatever their reasons, you have to respect that. But taking them into a forest and abandoning them there with no way to get back and nothing to use to survive- and then messing with- for lack of a better word- their minds, and forcing family members to move all of a sudden without saying goodbye, just drop their whole lives and go..." She trailed off.

"He has shown concerning behaviour." She finished. "And it doesn't matter that he's a vampire or not. He's seventeen years old, physically. Contrary to what you may think, vampires aren't soulless. The transformation itself isn't what affects human souls." No, it was what came after. "Edward is physically seventeen, so he, I believe, is frozen in the same state as he was when he was last a human. But be honest with me, if your seventeen-year-old son, or your neighbour's seventeen-year-old boy acts like this, wouldn't you be concerned?"

Everyone hesitated, then, slowly, they nodded. "What would you do?" Adsila asked.

"I'd want people to tell me." Sue replied. "I'd get him help."

"Thing is, Mom, you can't just go to a shrink and tell them why you broke up with your girlfriend if being a vampire or a Wolf has something to do with it," Leah pointed.

"No. And it's a shame we didn't know about each other's kinds before, otherwise we could have offered him the services of a mind healer. Perhaps we will," Adsila decided. She shifted. "But now I doubt Edward or Bella will listen. The other Cullens will defend him. None of them seem to be aware that Edward is controlling them by emotionally or psychologically manipulating them the way he did when he got them to move. Not even Rosalie who protested the loudest."

They exchanged grim glances. "Now, let me be clear: I don't think Edward Cullen means to do anything wrong," she warned them. "I don't believe he's pure evil. He does have a heart. Otherwise, we would've pushed to take him down, ancient treaty and diplomacy be damned. The reason he broke up with Bella is because he loves her and wants her to be safe and not make an eternal, unchanging decision that she might regret in a number of decades. He wants to spare her of the pain that's not obvious from first glance. And he obviously regrets what happened to that family in Volterra.

"But he has issues- psychological issues which see him emotionally and mentally manipulate people he comes across. Especially those closest to him." She paused, allowing them to take it in. "So far, it's had devastating consequences, as evidenced by the chain of events which led him to Volterra. And that's what you need to watch out for. Even his own family doesn't know when he's messing with and controlling them- they don't even realise what he's doing and being a telepath sure helps a lot. Edward has abused his powers. In high school, one of the things he did was to keep track of Bella, to follow her by looking into the other students' minds." Leah and Emily's eyes widened. "Once when Bella wanted to go to La Push to see Jacob, after her father reminded her not to neglect her other friends, she climbed into her truck and saw Edward there. He said that Alice had seen her future disappear, and panicked. He deduced that she had gone to La Push. He also took out her car battery to prevent her from seeing Jacob." Leah's mouth fell open in outrage.

"No-Majs call that sort of thing abusive. Emotionally and psychologically abusive. Obviously, he's not physically abusive, otherwise she'd be dead. But it's still causing harm and bringing unnecessary danger to just about everyone.

"Now Edward may claim that Wolves were dangerous and such, and at that point, he didn't know why his sister, the seer, couldn't even see them, and feared they wouldn't even know what would happen to Bella, but frankly, it's been a long while since Bella started spending time with Jacob, she feels safe around him. And she is safer with Wolves that aren't compelled by instinct to feed on her, as opposed with him. Edward's reasoning- his motivation- is pure jealousy. Pure and simple. Nothing more. And he took out her car battery to stop her from going anywhere."

Sue's lips thinned once again. "He's got issues. The problem is, he's abused his powers. But even without his powers, I would say he has issues," Adsila said darkly.

"I need to ask you to keep an eye out for other situations like these and to be wary of Edward whenever you are around him. And of course, just as importantly, be wary about the people who are in his inner circle. They don't know that if they're being manipulated." Billy, Sam, Seth and Leah started in alarm. "Let me be clear: he doesn't know what he's doing is harmful." She stated firmly. "I can't emphasise that enough. But he is causing harm to those around him. At some point, Edward Cullen's luck is going to run out, if it already hasn't, and because of his bad decisions and the pathetic reasoning behind them- well, if other people have been hurt, even killed by them, including the Della Rosa children, you don't think his own family can't end up the same way?"

The others stood in stunned silence.

Sam closed his eyes. "There's Renesmee."

"Their daughter?" Adsila questioned. "We were concerned, but the fact is that Renesmee's conception was completely consensual- well, on her part this time." Adsila's lips twisted. "It seemed that Edward and Bella gave each other a series of conditions: Edward agreed to transform Bella, even though he didn't want to, if she would marry him first- even though she was eighteen, and she didn't feel like she was ready to get married. Therefore Bella agreed to marry him only if they consummated their relationship. Edward resisted, but eventually gave in."

This was a surprise to all of them, as she saw the Quileute Elders, Wolves and their spouses, exchange glances.

"It's messed up," Adsila agreed. "But not illegal by anyone's laws. Although Edward's consent was rather dubious in that regard. Still, I could say that Bella's consent for marriage was also dubious in the first place: she wasn't ready, and he knew that she felt pressured to do that because he wasn't getting any olde. Marrying him was the only reason he would agree to transform her, especially before she got- in her eyes- too old. She was already freaking out about being one year older than his physical age of seventeen." Adsila grimaced.

Leah blanched and Sue and Billy looked both disturbed and upset. "That's... messed up," Leah said hoarsely. "That- that's totally-"

Adsila sighed. "It's done. But I do need you to consider that neither Edward- nor Bella- are in their right states of mind.

"But what is this about their daughter?"

"We're concerned about Renesmee." Sue stated. Adsila's eyebrows raised but she didn't comment.

"Has Edward shown any concerning behaviour regarding his daughter?" Leah winced.

She hesitated. "I don't think Edward would harm his daughter." That was only half a lie. Technically speaking, Leah remembered that there was a time when Edward did want to harm his daughter. But while technically, part of her felt like she should report this as another piece of evidence showcasing Edward's potential danger, another part of her felt loyalty to Jacob. Renesmee was Jacob's soulmate.

And somehow, she sensed that these people- witches and wizards as they might be- would not be welcoming to the idea of a young girl being soulmates to her mom's almost-ex-boyfriend. She winced inwardly. She remembered how Bella attacked Jacob when she found out he imprinted on Nessie. And as much as she hated to admit it, Bella had a point. She'd go nuts if this was her daughter. Anyone would.

But that was why she had to speak up. Because she was Jacob's soulmate and Leah knew something was wrong.

"Renesmee's got some problems," Leah shifted her position, and folded her arms. She sighed.

"She's been... real distant for some time now. She can socialise, she can have fun. But she seems to like large groups, like when she's hanging out with the rest of us together. She never wants to be alone with anyone. Not with Jacob, not with her mother... and not her father. Come to think about it, Jacob was thinking the other day that Nessie almost seems to want to keep some kind of distance between her and almost everyone else. He's getting concerned, though he tries to brush it off. We can see that there's something wrong. She's okay with Rosalie being close to her. But she's avoiding everyone else, especially her dad, he thought. She seems to put a bigger distance between them- I mean physical distance." Leah explained. "Like she doesn't want to get near. And last night-" she paused, wondering whether she should say this.

"Go on," Billy was the one who urged her, albeit gently. "I saw her climb a tree. A really high tree, a distance away from the main house and her parents' cottage," Leah continued. "She stayed there for some time, Jacob said. He said she likes to do that, and that she's been doing that a lot more often now. It's making him concerned. But she gets really defensive and snappish when anyone tries to talk to her about it, or get to close while she's still up there. In fact, she was really upset."

Unusual, Adsila thought. That they don't bear any mistrust, and most likely have even feeling of friendship or kinship towards the daughter. Even with the 'imprint'. They don't seem to resent it.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about that. Unless this Renesmee was a witch, then it truly was out of their hands. But perhaps someone could.

"So you believe that there may be problems at home?" Adsila said quietly. "If he is emotionally manipulative and controlling, it only makes sense that his daughter would chafe."

Leah bit her lip. She wondered if she said too much.

Adsila sighed. "I'm afraid there is little we can do for the girl. She's not a part of our nation, as she is not a witch, or even a squib.

"But," she moved forwards. "Judging from what has now happened, and what we have been told by certain, experienced personnel within the Vampire Confederation, we have reason to believe that Edward Cullen will not be darkening your town, or even his own home, for much longer. He will be arrested and charged for his crimes." The Wolves jerked back. "Every single one of them. And this includes all the trespassing he has done, even if Bella refuses to press charges. If his crimes don't warrant the death penalty, well, it certainly merits a prison sentence."

She let them absorb the shock of that statement- Edward Cullen in jail- for a few minutes.

Sam spoke. "For how long?"

Adsila shrugged. "I'm not well-versed enough in vampire law and culture to know, but vampires are immortal. A few decades to them might seem like a few weeks in comparison, whereas a few years would mean a few minutes, like sending a child to time-out. No," she sighed. "I think it's likely that Edward's impending sentence will be measured in centuries, not decades, at the very least. I don't think he'll be around to see her grow into adulthood. And he might not be there for a large portion of her life."

"A controlling person only succeeds in pushing others away."

Unknown

Renesmee

Renesmee felt sorry for her father. She truly did.

It looked like something had snowballed out of their control- out of the control of both her parents.

She felt sorry too for the poor children and their parents.

Jacob wasn't there. He was out with Embry and Quil today. So she stayed upstairs, silent, every time visitors came.

They can't see you just yet, Mom warned. They'll see someone with Edward's face and my eyes but whose the same age as us- who's too beautiful to not be noticed. She insisted.

This is a small town. Everyone knows everybody around here, Bella had argued when Jake tried to take her out for dinner. What if Jessica bumps into her? Or Angela? Or Mike Newton? She shook her head. Or Lauren or any of the other dozen kids we went to high school with every single day?

Renesmee couldn't go to school not yet, Mom insisted. Not until she had stopped growing. And even then, they would have to move away, she claimed. If they wanted Nessie to have a normal life without having to hide, they needed to move away, far away, and still they had to wait until she stopped growing. Her father agreed. And even then, he claimed, they would always be on the lookout for the Volturi.

Of course, Jacob had protested at that, but even he had to admit it was the truth. So he begrudgingly agreed not to take Nessie out unless it was at the beach in La Push or his house and only when people who knew about the secret were the only ones there. He still didn't want her to leave though, and was working on how to convince her parents not to take her away, he told her.

The problem was, Nessie did want to go away. She never got to go anywhere- she was stuck at home most of the time- she hadn't even been anywhere aside from the cottage, the house and the Wolves' houses in La Push. Even at La Push she had to be careful with all the tourists.

And if they didn't move, then she would never be able to go anywhere; she would always have to stay hidden from everyone who ever knew her parents.

It was starting to get harder and harder, for Nessie, most especially.

They didn't keep her existence a secret from them as the family had hoped, but they didn't tell them about the imprint.

Renesmee still wasn't sure how she felt about it. It had been two weeks since Jacob had kissed her for the first time.

She frowned. She remembered him as her mother's friend, as family even. A big brother. She never imagined she'd have to kiss him. He'd taught her how to swim, rocked her to sleep when she was too small to walk. But he'd kissed her the way Dad kissed Mom. And she felt... Alarmed? Strange? Shocked? All of these seemed to fit but weren't right and not enough to show how she really felt.

Nessie was aware of how stupid that sounded. She should have known. Just as she was aware of just how stupid it would sound if she said anything to her parents.

And they sure made her feel it; or at least, Dad did. He made her feel bad like she was wrong and stupid whenever she said something about not liking anything, or not being sure. Dad would placate her- and tell her what to do.

And she would do it. So, she learned to keep her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself if she didn't want them to tell her what to do, and if she didn't want to feel bad enough to let them and do what they asked. Besides, Mom would take Dad's side and insist on what he said, and even if she didn't like something he said, Dad's voice would go sweet and soft, and she would calm down and forget about being annoyed and just do what he said. Nessie would only feel worse when she backed him up.

Jacob didn't think anything was wrong. Everything always seemed great to him until it wasn't.

She didn't think Jacob could understand, either, if she felt like something was wrong. She couldn't bear to tell him, and wipe that happy grin off his face. She just took that kiss. She tried to keep herself busy from seeing him afterwards though.

Nessie felt alone, sad and trapped. But she could only imagine how much worse that poor lady felt when she lost her husband and children, all alone. She tried to imagine being without anyone, not family not the pack.

So while she did feel sorry for her dad being so shocked and sad, and her mom too, she was shocked at something else: that they could do anything like unknowingly cause the deaths of children- of many humans in fact. Even by mistake. She was even more shocked by that than when the visitors turned out to be witches and wizards (though not bad ones, Renesmee understood). And it occurred to her something:

Dad's not always right. It was something Mom had always insisted upon. But Dad had made a mistake- a terrible mistake. He didn't mean to, Renesmee was certain he didn't mean to, but he did do it and it costed lives and those lives weren't coming back. Those kids were dead. If that baby wasn't even one-year-old then then, she wouldn't have been much older than Nessie was now. Renesmee shivered.

Renesmee bit her lip. It was Dad, but they couldn't deny he made a mistake; a terrible mistake. Dad had always made good decisions- he made a lot of decisions for her and Mom. And he could make Carlisle make the decisions he wanted to as well.

But he didn't make a good decision. It didn't sound like a good decision when he told Mom he would go to Volterra and get them to kill him- before they even broke up. Renesmee had heard everything from upstairs and so had Jacob. And one look on Jacob's face chillingly told her it was all true.

Renesmee could have easily told him it was a bad decision from the start. She was young, but even she would know how bad it would be if humans ever found out vampires existed. Or werewolves. Or witches. Very bad indeed.

It was the reason the Volturi went after her. They were bad, yes, but they didn't want to kill in the end. They let Mom, Dad and Alice go after all (although if they had broken the rules- Renesmee chillingly suspected they wouldn't have spent that much time talking and deciding on what to do like they did when they met her).

Renesmee didn't see the human world much, but from time to time, Uncle Emmett and Jacob and the pack would show her movies and TV shows about the human world. Action films, mostly, some with zombies, others with magic, some with superheroes and mutants, like the X-Men series which were Embry's favourites. And even if they protected humans- No-Majs as the visiting witch called them- the humans weren't always happy. In fact, they were more afraid and angry than anything, and it sounded ungrateful to Renesmee as well as rude.

Vampires were strong, she knew. But they weren't as many as humans. And they weren't the ones inventing technology like weapons produced in labs, viruses and explosives. What if they invented some to kill vampires? She didn't know. Where would they have to run? She wasn't allowed to go in the street- humans could see her and the resemblance between her and both her parents would be noticeable and the Volturi, her parents said, were still embarrassed and angry about not being able to fight (at least Caius was. She didn't know about Aro, but Mom said that Aro didn't like looking like he and his guard looked like they were retreating or running away from a foe, like they thought they might not be able to beat them. She supposed that made sense). But she saw movies, even the ones with fast cars and guns there, and there were always security cameras. Movies set in space always had satellites to look down and zoom in, even if it wasn't the Star Wars that she and Jake liked watching.

She knew some of it was made up. But vampires were real. Witches were real. Werewolves were real. So maybe humans could do these things. Besides, it wasn't like the vampires were the ones who invented rockets anyway. Or nuclear weapons. She'd asked Embry, but Quil nudged him and told him to shut up before Jake came in the room.

They must have been real though. The question was, could they kill vampires? Or half-vampires like her? Or Wolves or anyone else?

And if they could- a chilling thought occurred to Renesmee- could it have happened if Aunt Alice and Mom hadn't stopped Dad?

Why did Dad threaten to expose everyone and hurt himself anyway? Didn't he care about Carlisle? And Esme? Aunt Rosalie and Aunt Alice, Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper, Tanya, Kate, Eleazar and Carmen? Garrett? Zafrina? Any of them? Surely this would have hurt them, the way it hurt those poor humans in Volterra, and the poor magic family who saw them.

Mom hadn't even gotten hurt yet. So why did Dad tell her that he would do that? It didn't sound like something Mom would like, so why did she let him say that?

It didn't make sense... And yet- another thought that chilled her- it did.

Dad made mistakes; he made a wrong decision. He wasn't stupid and he should have known it was a bad decision. But he did it anyway.

But why?

Dad answered: "I don't know why." His voice was hoarse for a vampire.

Renesmee felt irritated. Of course, Dad could hear her thoughts but she couldn't stop them from wandering. She didn't have Mom's shield. But it would be nice to finish thinking without anyone else saying something first. She could always show them her thoughts later. Or talk. It would be nice to think something without Dad saying anything and revealing it to everyone else... Or thinking things himself that he didn't always share with her anyway, not that she wanted to know that badly. And making her feel bad or anything and then telling her what to do. And worse? Knowing what to tell her to do, and how to make her feel bad. And then she would think something else. It was nice to have her own thoughts, to think what she wanted and feel what she wanted to feel, even if they weren't always nice thoughts and feelings.

Edward chuckled. "Sorry."

The others looked at him. "Who are you talking to?" Bella questioned.

"Nessie." He looked to the ceiling- and then to the stairs. Renesmee emerged from the landing and came down looking sulky.

"You know I can't help it, Ness." He said.

"I know." She said shortly, then she felt bad when she saw him.

And hated it. She felt annoyed again. She didn't know whether he meant to make her feel bad this time, but it always ended with her doing something Dad wanted her to do and regretting it, regardless of whether he was right or wrong, he just kept doing that. She would like to make her own decisions.

She glared at him as she thought this. If Dad could hear her thoughts, he should at least know that.

Edward sighed. "You didn't have to hide me from them, they weren't going to arrest me, and I'm not the one in trouble." Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms.

"We didn't know who was at the door," he explained. "Nor their motivations before they came in."

Nessie interjected: "It wasn't the Volturi." You would have smelled or heard them otherwise.

"No. But in this world, anything could happen." That was Mom speaking. She sounded bitter.

Renesmee bit her lip. A twisted squirming in her gut told her she felt bad for Mom when she saw her sink into the sofa, her head down. But even though she had a good reason to feel it, she didn't like it either because she knew Dad was going to make her think, feel, say or do something because she felt bad. Mom was like him.

"Renesmee," her father's voice was stern. She scowled, rolling her eyes. "I haven't done or said anything, yet. And you know we always have a good reason."

Renesmee's scowl deepened. This time, it wouldn't be as good as the last. "Like when you had a good reason when you told Mom- before you left and before she jumped off the cliff- when you told her that you would use the Volturi to kill yourself- even if it means costing so many people's lives?" Edward looked pained.

"Renesmee!" Mom sounded shocked.

Renesmee crossed her arms again. "Don't tell me it's wrong. I did feel bad when I came down and before I did- but I bet it's not as bad as the way that poor lady felt." Edward looked pained. Bella flinched like she had been struck. She stared at Renesmee in disbelief as if she had been the one to go to Volterra to break the law on purpose and costed those lives. Typical Mom. Even though now they can't deny that what Dad did was wrong and hurt a lot of people. As if she had been the villain now. "And I bet Carlisle, Esme and everyone else felt bad afterwards, but you were happy that they felt bad because at least you could tell them to go and they would do it."

"Renesmee," Edward's voice was harsh and stern. Renesmee glared at him. "No, Dad. You made a bad decision. You did the wrong thing. You were wrong." Bella looked appalled. "I heard Aunt Rosalie- she didn't want to leave. Everyone else didn't want to leave but because they loved you and they felt bad so when you told them, they left home. You thought you did the right thing, and that you'd made the right choice, and maybe I can understand that. But it wasn't the right choice when you decided before you even left, before Mom cut herself that you would go to the Volturi and get them to hurt you- or expose yourself and hurt other people so you could get hurt and get what you wanted. Didn't you think about what anyone else would feel?" She gestured towards the rest of the family.

"Don't speak to your father that way," Bella said weakly. But no one could deny that was the truth.

Renesmee stared at her father. "Don't tell me what to feel. To think or do." She said flatly. "I'm sick of being told what to think! Or feel, without me wanting to!"

Bella gaped, aghast. Her eyes were wide with shock, as if Nessie had just murdered some children and meant to do it.

Edward said nothing. He just sighed and looked weary.

"Go home, Renesmee." He said suddenly, standing up and turning away. "Go home."

"But-"

"You heard what your father said," Bella said sternly. "Go to the cottage. And stay there. We'll be back before nightfall. Stay in your room. Don't go anywhere."

Renesmee glowered at her parents. She was too infuriated. Any guilt, any pity she felt for either of them disappeared into thin air- the way those witches and wizards did outside. The others couldn't even meet her eyes or wouldn't. Even when she said it, even when they knew she was right- and she wasn't mistaken this time- they always did what Dad asked and told them to. Everything. Even Carlisle. Even Esme. Even when they knew he was wrong. Even when they knew he did something bad or dangerous. And it was his fault. This time no one could deny that.

This time, Dad had made a terrible mistake when he made everyone do what he wanted them to do- and when it was easier because Uncle Jasper must have been feeling terrible about it already. He used their guilt to make them do what he wanted them to do.

Edward's face looked pained. The look on her father's face made her feel bad, though. Just a tiny bit.

But not enough. Not this time. She refused; this time Dad was wrong! He was the one who did something wrong, not her! She turned and left out the back door. This time, Renesmee had realised something with a little bit of shock: Dad could be wrong. He wasn't always right. And he was capable of doing really bad things. So, if he made her think and feel something, if he told her what to do- a thought occurred to her that made her skin tingle- could he be wrong then as well? Could Mom?

What if he made a mistake and she ended up being punished, like those kids in Volterra? Even if she didn't do anything wrong?

If he told her what to do- and Mom- how can she be sure it was the right thing to do? Or if her feeling bad when he thought she was wrong, was always right? Especially if he wanted her to feel that way?

If Renesmee's language sounds a bit mixed, like she's a child and at the same time, older and more sophisticated, remember that's the way she is. She's younger than she looks, yet forced to mature way too early, and she's not entirely comfortable with that. Bella at this stage is still confused, because she can't reconcile any of Edward's actions, no matter his intentions and reasoning, with what she sees him as.

Disclaimer: Roses are red. Violets are blue. I don't own this, but neither do you.