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REUNITED

EPOV

As I followed Jane down the underground corridor with my arm around my Bella, I watched in Alice's memory the things she couldn't say out loud in our present company.

She reviewed in her head the vision she had of Bella jumping off the cliff, her flight to Forks to offer her help to Charlie, her shock and surprise upon finding Bella alive if not entirely well, Bella's fear when she thought Alice was leaving her and Alice's dismay in discovering that she couldn't see the werewolves.

I listened to her conversation with Charlie the morning after her arrival and cringed internally at the words catatonic. What had I done to my Bella, my beloved, my reason for existence?

In trying to save her, I've almost destroyed her. Now to top things off, I might very well have succeeded in ending all three of us, if I couldn't figure out a way to get us out of the mess my impetuous trip to Volterra has caused.

I was beyond exaltation to see, feel and smell my Bella again when I thought that she was beyond me forever in this world, but I couldn't ignore the differences in her either.

She was thinner, much thinner than she had been 6 months ago. Her scent was off too. I don't have Carlisle's years of medical experience, but I'm willing to bet that she is anemic from lack of proper diet. Lastly, the dark circles under her eyes tell me that she isn't sleeping well and hasn't been for quite some time. I couldn't keep my hands from touching her: her face, her lips, her cheeks (pale and without her usual blush), her hair and the pulse at her neck (rapid and irregular).

She is trembling beneath my arm and it suddenly occurs to me that she is cold. Her clothes are wet and this corridor is deep underground and probably very cold for the human girl walking beside me. I move away from her to try and preserve her body heat.

"NO!" cries Bella, pulling me close to her again.

My still heart warms. Could she possibly still love me after all I've put her through? If I can get us out of here alive, might she be able to forgive me and allow me back into her life? I can only pray and persevere.

'Why don't we just pick up the girl and carry her to Aro? This slow, human pace is annoying. Better yet, why don't we just drain the girl here, she smells wonderful!" I growled low in my throat as Felix's thoughts interrupted my musings. No one will touch her while I'm still in one piece!

We take the elevator up and we're in the 'human' portion of Volterra. The halls are white, the temperature is warmer and the décor is more inviting. I can feel Bella relax under my arm, not realizing yet what this might mean.

The human woman, Gianna, greets our escort as we enter and I hear Bella's quick inhalation.

"Is she…?" she asked me, astonished.

"Yes" I replied.

"Does she know?"

"Yes"

"Why would she…she wants to be?"

"Yes" I answered again.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to that one…she smells heavenly, it has been so difficult to resist. I think your Bella smells even better, Edward, but I am looking forward to finally getting to taste Gianna!" Felix thought at me. I curled my lips back in a sneer but otherwise kept silent, unwilling to fall for his baiting this time.

Jane leads us down the hall and into the room with Alec. "They send you out for one and you come back with two….and a half," he noted, looking at Bella. "Nice work." Jane laughed with delight. "Welcome back Edward, you seem in a better mood."

"Marginally," I told him, my face hard and my eyes blank.

"And this is the cause of all the trouble? Yes, she smells wonderful, but other than that I don't understand all the fuss!" he asked skeptical.

"Dibs," Felix called out and I turned, snarling at him.

Alice touched my arm, "Patience," she cautioned me.

She showed me her vision, of me, attacking Felix now, and Bella lying dead at my feet, caught in the crossfire. I took a deep breath and straightened up with a slight nod to my sister. I would not take that chance with Bella's life.

"Aro will be pleased to see you again," said Alec.

"Let's not keep him waiting," agreed Jane.

They led us through another cold, stone antechamber and I felt Bella shiver at my side. The door opened into a brightly lit, round turret room full of other vampires. Aro turned to us at once, "Jane, dear one, you've returned." "And with Edward, Alice and Bella too..splendid…I did so want to meet this human of Edward's. It's a shame we'll have to kill her in the end. The boy is so insistent that she not be turned after all." Aro's thoughts lamented.

I stiffened, but gave no other outward sign of my anger at his thoughts. I am determined to find a way out of this situation and leave here with my love and my sister by my side. It would not do to antagonize the Volturi unduly before we even begin talking.

Aro sent out for his brothers, Caius and Marcus, to come meet Bella and Alice. As they walked in I saw Marcus turn to look at us and I heard the shock in his mind when he noted the bright bands of blue light that surrounded the three of us.

Marcus could see relationships and he had never seen a bond so strong as the love between myself and Bella and the familial love between all three of us. To not only have proof that I was in deeply in love and attached to a human and her to me but to realize that Alice and Bella also loved each other as family and that the bond between Alice and myself was one of family and not the usual coven bond was something Marcus had never experienced before. He lost no time in taking Aro's hand and sharing his vision with him.

"Amazing. Absolutely amazing," breathed Aro, looking at the three of us. "I had no idea such a thing was even possible. I could see in Edward's thoughts that he believed himself to be in love with the human girl, but I didn't really believe that his emotions were so involved. And then to see that this human's own instincts have been so swallowed up by her own genuine affection for the two immortals beside her…well, I just never thought that I'd ever get to witness that."

Alice looked over at me exasperated. "What is he going on about Edward?"

"Marcus sees relationships and he is surprised by the strength of ours." I explained to her.

"How convenient,' Aro exclaimed. "Oh what I could do with him by my side."

Aro went on to wonder how I could stand to be so close to my singer, la tua cantante, he called it. He thought it was a waste of the most precious gift a vampire could find, I thought it was an adequate price to pay for falling in love with someone who should be beyond me.

The pain reminded me how fortunate I was that someone like my Bella could love me too. Aro took my hand again, reviewing everything Alice had just told me on the way up here. Then he looked at Bella and wondered if she would be immune to his power the same way she was immune to mine.

"May I?" he asked me.

"Ask her." I told him; angered that he was treating Bella as someone less worthy of courtesy.

"Of course. How rude of me." He apologized. Turning to Bella, he spoke to her directly.

"My dear, I wonder if you are immune to my powers the same as Edward's as they are not completely the same. May I take your hand?"

Bella looked at me, frightened either of touching him or the thought that he might hear her thoughts I wasn't certain, but it would not do to anger him right now.

I was still casting my mind out, listening to the thoughts of those around us and I thought I'd figured out a way to keep Bella hidden from the Volturi if I could get us out of here. It would be helpful to know if she could block Aro as well not to mention if she couldn't. I would finally get to hear them for myself through him. I nodded to her. She took a deep breath and held out her shaking hand to him. He grasped is greedily.

"YESSSS," his mind hissed. "I want to see…wait…I've never been blocked. How is she doing this? Why can I not hear her? How can a mere human be so powerful as to block my attempts? I wonder….?"

I know I looked smug. As much as I would have liked to hear her thoughts, I was proud of her for stumping him! Until…

"Jane" Aro called.

"Yes Master?" Jane answered him obediently.

"I wonder if dear Bella is immune to all our powers…" he suggested to her.

"NO" I yelled at them, stepping in front of Bella. I could not allow Jane, sick, sadistic, Jane to harm Bella. Alice reached out to stop me, shouting at me in her mind, but I was too frantic to pay heed to her words.

I found myself writhing on the floor. Oh God, the pain was immense. It was like reliving the burning of the change only 3x hotter. I clenched my jaw; I would not give Jane the satisfaction of hearing me scream.

Suddenly, I was free from the pain…I lay, panting on the floor, trying to release the memory of the torment. I heard Aro speak Jane's name once again softly and Jane's warning to Bella that it might hurt a bit. Before I could move, I heard the attack on Bella in Jane's mind. She wanted to see her writhing and screaming and begging for death.

I looked at Bella and she just stared at me. Her eyes were tormented, but not because of her own pain, but for the pain I had just gone through. Ha! Jane's power was useless against her too! What a woman I had found in my beloved! She was so strong, so brave. And I knew how I could hide her once we got away from here.

The Volturi tracker, Demetri, relied on the ability to get the 'flavor' of a person's mind and once he had, he could find them anywhere. I didn't believe he would able to find Bella, so I would be able to hide her and keep her safe.

I had to make sure not to touch Aro again while we were here. I couldn't allow him to know that I'd thought of a way to thwart them. Now I just had to find a way out for all of us.

"If you had listened to me, you wouldn't have had to go through that! I 'saw' that Bella would be ok." Alice chastised me.

"HaHaHa, this is wonderful!" Aro clapped excitedly. Jane hissed, furiously. "Don't be put out, dear one, she confounds us all." He said, placating Jane. "What do we do with you now?" Aro asked.

Alice and I stiffened. This was what we'd been waiting for. Aro had been keeping his thoughts hidden from me for the last several minutes, so I didn't know what decision had been made.

"I suppose you haven't changed your mind about joining us Edward? You would be a valuable addition to our family." Aro asked me.

"I'd….rather….not." I replied as politely as possible.

"Alice?" Aro turned to her.

"No thank you." She told him brightly.

"Bella?" he asked, turning towards her next.

"WHAT?" I heard almost every mind in the room shout. I hissed. I couldn't believe what he was asking. Did he seriously just ask Bella to join the Volturi? As a human?

"What?" Caius exclaimed!

"Caius, surely you see the potential," Aro chided him gently. "Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us? She would make an intriguing immortal!" he stated baldly.

"No thank you." Bella stated quietly, but calmly.

"That's unfortunate. Such a waste." Aro sighed, sadly.

"Join you or die. Is that it Aro? I thought as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws." I accused him carefully.

"No Edward, we were already convened here awaiting Heidi's return." Aro assured me.

"You know what you are going to do." Marcus stated.

"She knows too much." Caius said flatly.

"You have a few humans in on our secret here too Caius." I reminded him.

"And when their time is done, they will serve to sustain us. I do not believe that that is your intention is it? Nor do you intend to turn her. So, you leave us with no other option." Caius smirked at me.

"What if that is my intention?" I asked desperately looking for a loophole.

"You would have to mean it." Aro told me, holding out his hand to me. I froze. I couldn't allow him to touch me or he'd see all my other plans for alluding the Volturi.

Bella looked up at me. "Mean it, please." She pleaded with me. I looked at her, anguished. She was going to believe that my hesitation meant I didn't want her. That I would rather see all of us die than keep her with me forever. I didn't know how to reassure her without giving myself away.

Alice stepped forward. "Bella will become one of us. I've seen it." She offered her hand to Aro. I wished wholeheartedly that someone else had come instead of Alice. I knew how much Aro coveted her. She would be one of his greatest prizes. I also wished there were a way to prove her statement to Aro without him seeing all the other visions, conversations and thoughts she'd had. I wasn't sure how much of our advantage we might be giving away by allowing him the insight. However, I also knew how subjective Alice's visions were. She could make up her mind today to change Bella and change it again as soon as we were safely away.

"Interesting. To see what you have seen, even before it has happened!" Aro breathed.

"But it will happen." Alice assured him.

"Yes, yes of course. Certainly, there is no problem." Aro said happily.

"Aro!" Cauis complained.

"Peace brother. Do not fret. Imagine the possibilities. They do not join us today, but we can hope for the future. Besides, I can not wait to see how young Bella turns out." Aro reassured him.

"Then we are free to go?" I asked him cautiously.

"Yes, yes. But please come back and visit again. It has been absolutely enthralling." Aro said pleasantly.

"We will come to visit you as well. To make sure you have followed through on your promise. We do not offer second chances so do not take too long." Caius warned me. I nodded.

Felix groaned behind me.

"Patience Felix. Heidi will be here any moment." "With her latest catch of wonderful, tasty tourists. I hope she managed to get a few children and young women for they are the sweetest." Aro cautioned him. My head snapped up at his thoughts. I had to get Bella out of here, now! She didn't need to see what was about to happen and I couldn't take the chance of someone attacking her and claiming an accident after.

"In that case, maybe we should leave now?" I asked him urgently.

"Of course. Yes, accidents do happen. Please wait below until after dark, if you don't mind." He agreed.

"Let's go," I said urgently to Bella and Alice. I could hear the voices of the humans being led this way. We needed to leave.

I gestured to the girls to follow Demetri out as I followed behind them. We hurried past Heidi and the 'tour' group she led. Not fast enough. I saw the moment Bella realized what was going on. I watched her eyes latch onto to an older woman worrying a rosary and begging people to please let her leave. Bella gasped and her eyes turned to me in horror. I cringed, knowing that there was nothing we could do to save these people.