A/N: This is not going to be a very long fic. We're coming on up to the action.

It's not mine.

I have no beta.

BPOV

The flight to Italy was ridiculously long. I availed myself of one of the bedrooms and took a short nap. When I awoke, there were still another five hours left until we made it to our destination.

Luckily, we had Emmett and Felix to entertain us. Ironically, the two of them were like two peas in a pod. They were both jokesters and loved to play pranks. They also were really good at telling entertaining stories.

My dad and Caius were bonding while discussing Caius's human life and the many battles he led and won. I was shocked to learn that my grandpa was actually Gaius Julius Caesar. He is the very same Julius Caesar that was a Roman general as well as a statesman. He changed his name after his transformation because he wanted to keep his identity hidden. History claims that he was assassinated after becoming a Roman dictator. Damn! My grandpa was badass.

Jasper was hanging on every word Caius spoke. As a former Major of the Confederate Army, Jasper has a unique viewpoint regarding the military. Personally, I think he was doing some hero worship based on the way he was watching Caius. I guess you could say that Caius is Jasper's male crush.

"Master Caius, your strategic military mind has always been one that I tremendously admire. While I was serving in the Confederate Army, I often read about your battles. You could say that I drew inspiration from them," Jasper gushed.

"Ah, yes, you were the youngest major of the Confederate Army. That was no small feet either. I have read about you as well. Are you even aware that you are mentioned in several history books?" Caius asked Jasper whose eye grew wide.

"I am? I never knew," replied Jasper. "I wonder if those accounts are accurate. History is always written by the victor."

"This is true. I must say that while your military victories as a human were something to be admired, it is your actions as the Reaper of the South that really has me interested," Caius admitted.

Jasper sighed, "That was a very difficult time for me. I was good. I knew my role and I excelled at it. However, being an empath made is extremely hard for me to handle. Feeling the emotions of my victims affected me greatly.

"Has no one ever helped train you to control your ability?" Caius asked.

"No, I had even asked Carlisle if he knew a way or if he knew anyone that could help me learn how to control it. I was told emphatically that it was a gift that couldn't be controlled. There was also some mention that my wanting to learn how to manage my gift was proof that I wasn't devoted enough to the vegetarian lifestyle. My empathic gift is what led me to become an animal drinker after all."

"Whoa, hold the damn phone. You mean to tell us that Carlisle and his sanctimonious holier-than-thou bunny munching ass deliberately used your gift to guilt trip you into not learning control?" I asked getting really pissed off by Carlisle. The urge to do him harm keeps getting stronger. Everyone around me cracked up laughing. Emmett and Felix high-fived each other and Caius just gave me an indulgent smile. "Someone better kick his ass that is if you can get around his head that is shoved up in it," I ranted crossing my arms over my chest and seething with anger. "Once I'm a vampire, he better pray to God I don't catch him. I have a strong urge to fuck up his world."

"I can promise you, little one, that Carlisle will be getting his ass kicked as you say. He will not get away this time," Caius told me confidently. He grinned with pride at my proclamation and placed a kiss on my head. We haven't even discussed my change yet, so by making that claim, I pretty much told Caius what my plans for my future were.

"You said he won't get away this time. That means he has gotten out of trouble before. How?" dad asked.

"Aro has a soft spot for Carlisle. The last time the Cullens got into trouble, Aro was lenient, too lenient. Clearly, that fool, Carlisle, hasn't learned his lesson," said Caius in disgust.

"Some of the guard think that Aro has a crush on Carlisle," Demetri said with a laugh.

"We most certainly do," Felix added with a deep chuckle.

"Actually, the entire guard thinks Aro has a crush on Carlisle. We would never say it out loud though, so you didn't hear it from us," Jane said.

"Don't worry about it, Jane. Marcus and I both think the same thing as well," Caius laughed.

"I thought Aro had a mate," Emmett said looking a little confused.

"He has a wife, not a mate. In fact, Aro has never found his mate," Caius explained.

I started to giggle. "I had a crazy thought. I know Carlisle spent time in Volterra. Do you think he left because Aro made a pass at him and it freaked him out?" I asked still laughing at the idea of a petrified Carlisle.

The guard as well as Caius became very silent all of a sudden. They all looked at each other with their eyebrows raised in question. "Master Caius, you don't think…" Felix trailed off.

"It would certainly explain why Aro never talks about that time period," Caius replied.

"Oh, burn! Aro got rejected by Carlisle. That has got to be insulting," Emmett laughed.

"Truth! I bet you ten bucks that Carlisle's religious past is why he turned Aro down. Carlisle always seems like a prude," I said almost certain that I was right.

"That has to be is. You do know that Carlisle lugs his father's cross to every house we've moved to," Jasper pointed out.

"He still has that hunk of wood," Felix asked and Jasper nodded.

"As one of the two humans here, I can tell you that he is most definitely a prude. I was called to an accident a few months after the Cullens first moved to Forks," he explained leaning back and getting comfortable. "I needed to get a statement from the victim who had been transported to the er by ambulance. I went to the hospital to try to get it. The victim was in a private room in the er, so I went in to see him. Carlisle was there treating him. The moment the victim mentioned his boyfriend, Carlisle sneered. He tried to hide it by turning his back, but nothing escapes my notice. I never said anything at the time, but it's something that I have always kept in the back of my mind. That perfect front he puts on all the time has a very large chink in it."

"He did that?" Emmett asked to which my dad just nodded his head.

"He always portrays himself as this kind loving individual that has a desire to help others. When you hear something like that, it makes you wonder how much of his act is real and how much is fake. I mean, does he really care about others, or is that a cover-up for something far more sinister?" I wondered. It was incredibly odd that Carlisle would ever behave in a way that didn't make him look like he was such a benevolent benefactor. His past actions regarding Edward and how he treated Jasper have me questioning his sincerity.

"It's a valid question. In my experience, if it looks too good to be true it probably is. No one is that perfect. It's possible that he's using that persona to cover something up," my dad explained.

"You know, I really enjoy having you two humans around. You bring an entirely new perspective to everything," Demetri admitted.

'I agree. Both of you are insightful and seem to notice things others wouldn't see," Alec added.

Everyone seemed to agree with Alec and Demetri. My dad and I just shrugged. We've always been that way, so it wasn't surprising that others noticed.

The next couple of hours were spent talking, speculating, and playing card games. I was playing a game of Texas Hold Em with Jasper, Emmett, Alec, and Demetri. I've never said anything to the Cullens, but I could read cards. It's not something I want to publicize, but my dad is aware since he caught me beating the entire pack in a game that won me three hundred dollars.

These vampires were trying to take pity on me or at least they kept claiming they were. "Are you guys going to shut up and play already?" They were all getting on my nerves.

"Geeze, these humans, no patience," Emmett joked with a stupid grin. Jasper, Alec, and Demetri chuckled which made me sneer at them.

"Quit stalling, you overgrown child. I'd like to get back to kicking your sorry asses," I said getting even more annoyed.

It wasn't even ten minutes later when I won. I laughed at their faces. Bouncing in my seat and clapping my hands excitedly, I began to sing, "Give me your aces. Give me you kings. Give me your jacks, and give me your queens. Now put your money right in the pot. I'll take it home and thanks a lot."

"Well done, Bella. I am a proud dad," my dad said which made me smile.

The losers just sat there shaking their heads in disbelief. "We lost to a human," Emmett said.

"I actually lost. I've never lost before," Jasper said. "I usually can feel my opponents when they get excited or nervous. I base my decisions on what I'm feeling from them. This time, I didn't feel anything," he said quietly. Suddenly, he whipped his head over to me and asked, "How the hell did you block your emotions?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything other than kicking your sorry asses," I joked rubbing their loss in more. This was fun.

"Bella, if I had my eyes closed, I wouldn't have even known you were on the plane. I felt nothing from you. That has never happened before," Jasper explained.

"Jas, man, that sounds like the way Eddie described not being able to read Bella's mind. He said it was like she wasn't even there," Emmett reminded him.

"What are you talking about? The mind reader can't hear Bella's thoughts?" Caius questioned looking very interested.

"He never could. It use to drive him up the wall. Come to think of it, he said Charlie was often hard to read as well. He described it like Charlie's thoughts were all staticky," Jasper answered him.

"That sounds like she's gifted, "Jane piped in looking away from her magazine for a moment. "It sounds like they are both gifted."

"It certainly does. So Edward cannot read her mind and Bella somehow managed to block her emotions from you. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that Bella is a shield," Caius suggested while staring at me.

"A shield? But that's nothing like what Renata can do," Felix said.

"You forget. No two gifts are exactly alike. Renata's shield repels. It seems that Bella's shield can camouflage her. I would like to get Eleazar to come. Jane put a call into Eleazar and tell him I want him to come to Volterra. Tell him his services are required," Caius ordered. He turned to me, saying, "There's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried. It's all good. I'm just happy Eddie couldn't read my mind. Besides, most of my thoughts back then, especially around the end, all centered around me burning his pasty white ass," I said with a shrug.

"Bella, you are going to make one kick-ass vampire. You're already so bloodthirsty," Emmett laughed.

"Correction, It's more like venom thirsty," I corrected him. I reached over and grabbed all of the cash in the pot and walked over toward Caius and plopped down beside him.

We finally made it to Italy an hour later, and I was so excited. Caius explained to me that once we land, we will be moving from a private hangar into a limousine that will drive us to Volterra. The drive would take about an hour to get from Pisa to Volterra.

"Hey, wait a second. I forgot to ask. Where are the Cullens?" I hadn't seen them at all on the plane.

"We shoved them down into the cargo hold," Demetri said nonchalantly.

I cracked up laughing. That had to be the funniest thing I have heard yet. I can imagine what it was like to shove them inside.

"It's no less than they deserve," Jasper said with a grin.

"True that!" Emmett replied boisterously. I shook my head. Emmett was such a loudmouth without even putting in any effort.

Even my dad was laughing. "I wish I could have seen it. They're so hoity-toity. I can imagine the fit they would throw if Alec released his gift and they saw where they were."

"Don't even speculate on it. Alice's screeching would be heard on another continent," Jasper shuddered in revulsion.

"Alice? Have you forgotten about the ice bitch?" Emmett reminded him.

"You know, the only one I have any pity for is Esme. I'm hoping she wasn't in on any of the crap the other three were pulling," I said.

"We will know soon enough, little one," Caius said as he helped me climb into the limo. The limo was so large that it fit all of us comfortably.

"Before you ask, the Cullens were all shoved in the back of that moving van that was in the hangar," Demetri told me with a twinkle in his eye.

I laughed. "Man, vampires are so fun." Every vampire in the limo just stared at me for a few moments.

"I'm going to reiterate what I said when we first met you. You are one odd human," Jane said with a shake of her head.

The ride to Volterra was pleasant, and I lapsed into silence while the others spoke quietly around me. I watched the scenery as we drove by and couldn't help but fall in love with the area. Italy was so beautiful.

The castle was very old and situated on top of a hill. It was made of a sienna stone and was surrounded by a very high wall. We drove around and down into an underground parking garage that I hadn't even noticed was there.

The garage was full of exotic cars. Jasper and Emmett were practically drooling over them. Both of them were excitedly talking Car and Driver to Felix and Demetri. I thought the cars were great and wouldn't mind getting a chance to drive one, but I wasn't crushing on them like those two were.

We were led over to an elevator and took it up to the ground floor. I was staring at the beautiful architecture surrounding me as well as all the artwork. This place was stunning.

We finally came to a large ornately carved oak door which Caius just threw up. The doors were so heavy that they made a loud thud when they crashed against the wall. I peeked around Caius as he made his way into the room.

The room was circular with windows high up the dome close to the ceiling. The floors and pillars were made up of gleaming marble. At the far end of the room, there was a raised platform where three thrones were situated. Situated on two of the thrones were two male vampires that could only be Aro and Marcus.

"Welcome home, brother, we have missed you," the shorter of the two males said as he stood to greet Caius.

"I wasn't gone that long," Caius said with a shake of his head. "Aro, Marcus, I would like to introduce you to my last remaining descendants Isabella and Charlie Swan," he gestured to us to step forward. After the introductions were made, Caius informed them that the trial would take place first thing tomorrow morning. "I want them taken care of as soon as possible."

"I'm sure it was just a mix-up and it will be cleared up rather quickly," Aro said.

"It was no mix-up. They knew what they were doing. They knew they were breaking the law, and they chose to do so. I demand justice for what Edward did and for what Carlisle was complicit in," I said looking at Aro dead in the eyes.

"Ms. Swan is definitely your descendant. She has that same bloodthirsty look in her eye that you get," Marcus said with a grin.

I kept my eyes on Aro waiting for him to agree. I refuse to be robbed. I want retribution and I was going to make sure I got it. Aro will just have to deal with punishing his crush.