Epilogue

6 Years Later

EPOV

"You know, I really still can't believe it," Bella said. I looked down to where she was leaning her head against my shoulder and raised an eyebrow. We were on a private plane headed to Volterra, the thing so big that Carlisle and Esme, Rose and Emmett, and Jasper and Alice got their own decent sized section. Danni was with us, sitting across the aisle with an iPod in her hand. She was busy playing some sort of game with what looked to be bunnies in it, but I couldn't keep my attention on it long enough to tell. My nerves kept building as we got closer, but Bella didn't seem to mind at all.

"Can't believe what, love?" I asked when she didn't look up at me. I could feel her slipping in and out of a light doze. She smiled.

"Billy, and how he's able to walk now," she clarified. I sighed, but didn't respond. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

A few days after I was changed, Bella told me how she had seen Billy standing in the trees with the wolves. He wasn't in his wheelchair and all of the shadows of pain and misery were gone from his face. Neither of us could explain it then, but the wolves paid us a visit to discuss what happened that day and he walked through the front door of his own volition. All of us were shocked except for Bella, who immediately asked him how it happened. He had laughed good-naturedly, but getting the answer out of him had been like pulling teeth. Bella was persistent though, and managed to get him to spill with a little guilt trip concerning him using her to get his mobility back. That fact hadn't even crossed my mind until she said it, but I didn't let the others see my confusion. I figured she knew what she was doing.

He explained that, when he had the accident that landed him in his wheelchair, he had teetered between life and death for about a month. In that time, many different Reapers came to him, telling him they could end his misery quickly if he gave them permission. He never did. The last Reaper he saw before he woke up happened to be Lucas, who decided to strike a deal with the old werewolf. Put simply, it was Billy's life for his legs, and Billy agreed. With Lucas's death came the end of their bargain. Billy regained his legs, but didn't lose his life. It was the same day Charlotte, the Reaper that had been there that day, stopped by to tell Bella of her new powers and responsibilities. Bella decided to ask her about it. She said none of them thought Bella would agree to end his life because of their relationship, so they didn't even bother to ask.

"Edward?" Bella said, slight concern entering her voice. She looked up at me and I smiled down at her.

"I can't either," I said, shaking my head. "The thought that he could put you in so much danger for his own benefit is disgusting." She smiled softly.

"You know he didn't do it for himself, Edward. I felt it, and so did you. He was sincerely concerned about all of the people who could have been hurt if I didn't do anything about Lucas. The fact that he got his mobility back seemed to be a surprise to him." I nodded, grudgingly. I still couldn't get over the fact that he had been so willing to put her in harm's way, but Bella was right. He didn't do it for himself.

"So, change of topic," she said slowly. She leaned up and pushed the armrest separating us up out of the way and laid back down across my lap, her head resting on my arm. She looked at me expectantly and could feel her waiting for me to bring something up. I smiled.

"This was your idea, and yet I have to think of the new topic?" I asked lightly. I talked quietly, feeling Danni fall asleep in the seats across the aisle. Bella smiled and looked at her, stretched out across the two seats.

Her hair had grown long and straightened out. She was only ten, but she was starting to show her adolescence already. Her face was losing its childishness, but I kept finding myself seeing the little girl I had first met that day in the hospital. It was hard to believe it's been seven years already. She was our little sister now, everyone's but Carlisle and Esme. She was another child to them.

"We shouldn't have brought her," I whispered, placing my hand on Bella's hip. I could feel her understanding as she squeezed my wrist.

"I know. She was going to come whether we let her or not, though. You know that. We tried to convince her to stay with a friend, but she wouldn't have it. Besides, she's pretty much figured it out anyway. She's just waiting for us to tell her," Bella said softly.

"Aro is going to demand her be changed once he finds out," I stated. "He won't care about how much she actually knows. It's enough for him." Bella sighed.

"Yeah, but we might be able to make a deal. We bring her back once she's out of school and changed. I don't think he'd let us change her while she's still a kid."

"That's true." I choked back the rest of my train of thought. Saying it would just make the possibility of Danni's premature death more real. Bella squeezed my wrist again and used her other hand to bring my face down to hers. She brushed her lips against mine and looked right into my eyes.

"She will not die today," Bella said, truth ringing through me from her. Her pupils narrowed to red slits and the whites turned black as she tried to convince me. It had been a surprise the first few times I saw them change. It was normal now, especially when she told me mine did the same, except the colors were switched. "I will not let it. She will not die before her time." She stared at me, but I didn't respond.

"Edward, do you hear me? She will not die." I closed my eyes and nodded once, sighing.

"Yeah, I hear you, Bella. It's hard to get it out of my head, but I hear you." Her look softened, her pupils relaxing, and she smiled sadly. She pressed her lips more firmly to mine, but broke away after a few seconds.

"We should really be thinking about why he called us there to begin with. What he wants to know." I sighed again as she leaned back against my arm.

"Well, he told Carlisle that he wanted to start a record on us. What he means by that, I don't know." She nodded.

"That's why he had us write down everything we know and found out about our powers. Now that we've got control and basically understand what we can do, he wants to know." She sighed and a light breeze brushed my face.

"He wants to keep track of his threats," I said, smirking at her. She smiled back, half closing her eyes. Aro called not long after the battle and requested a log of our powers and the extent of them. He was calm over the phone, but both Bella and I had been able to pick up his minimal level of nervousness, even from across the room.

"He has every right to. The one thing he won't get away with is trying to keep us there by having us 'explain' our powers to him. You know he'll think of something to try to keep us." I nodded and gave her a half smile.

"Anything to get what he wants, and both of us know we're on the list now." I sighed and looked at Danni. "I should warn you now, I don't know how I or the others will react if he threatens her in any way, especially if he tries to use her as blackmail against us." I looked back down at Bella to see her smiling softly. She took my hand from her hip and laced our fingers together.

"I won't let anyone hurt her. And you know I'll stop you if you get too out of control," she said, mentally tugging on the link between us. I felt the pull in my mind and in my heart and smiled, unable to deny that she was telling the truth. "It's the same with the others. I can influence them the same as you, but there isn't our extra connection." She squeezed my hand and I smiled.

"I certainly hope not," I said and she laughed, kissing me on the mouth.

She started leaning back and I moved my free hand to the back of her neck, keeping her there. She smiled as I kissed her and my body froze as she grabbed our link. She leaned back and I looked at her, surprised. She smirked at me and leaned up, her lips making a path around my face. She kissed the side of my jaw and looked up at me through the corner of her eye. I looked down at her, unable to move, and she moved in front of me, her smirk still on her face.

"I kind of like this power," she said slyly. I half closed my eyes, letting her know I agreed. It made her laugh again and she kissed me again, slowly giving me back control of my body. I kissed her back as soon as I could and she smiled against me.

We kissed for a while but eventually broke apart for the time being when Danni started waking up. I looked out the window and noticed that we were over land again, meaning we were close to Volterra. I looked at Bella and she smiled innocently.

"What?" she asked, shrugging in my lap. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Very good distraction." She laughed lightly, looking satisfied with herself.

"I hoped you would think so. I couldn't think of a conversation that would last the whole trip and distract you enough to keep you calm, so that was the only plan." She shrugged again and I gave her a tight smile.

"I liked that distraction." I felt my throat tighten with anxiety and swallowed hard. "But I think I need another." Bella put her hand in the middle of my chest and made a quiet shush sound. I realized how fast I was breathing, actually forgetting to at times, and I could feel my eyes changing. I closed them as I felt her start taking control, just enough to slow my breathing, but nothing more.

"Control, Edward. Remember? Stay in control," Bella said softly, her other hand on the side of my face. I nodded stiffly, consciously trying to relax my body.

My muscles just kept tightening and tightening, my body like a rubber band. I started trembling all over and Bella leaned up, worry marring her perfect features. She put both of her hands on each side of my face and stared into my eyes, hers changing again as she concentrated her powers on me. I followed her lead, trying with all my might to focus my own strength on relaxing my body. My eyes slowly changed and I could feel them fighting to change back, fighting against me. I looked straight at Bella and gave myself one last pulse of energy.

I loosened my grip on the arm of the seat, and collapsed in a heap on Bella, my head falling onto her chest. I could feel my body fighting with me, tensing and twitching as I kept myself forcibly relaxed, but I kept in control. I could feel Bella at work when I weakened, but she was just helping. When I felt myself gain complete control again, I slowly turned my head towards Bella, but didn't lift it. My body felt exhausted from the tension, both emotional and physical, and Bella ran her fingers slowly through my hair. I sighed and closed my eyes for a few seconds, opening them to see a new face next to Bella's.

Danni's face was a mix of confusion, curiosity, and worry, all of them fighting for dominance on her young face. Her brows were furrowed together and I could see her holding back flinches as my body gave a last final effort to break free of me. I twitched and trembled for a few seconds before my body gave in, my anxiety caged at the back of my mind. I was breathing heavily as she hesitantly put her hand on my head.

"Edward…what's the matter?" she asked slowly, still processing what she saw. I couldn't answer her so Bella did for me.

"Ever since he returned to his body, he's been having issues," Bella said. "Carlisle took a look, but there's physically nothing wrong with him. I've been watching when he has flare-ups. It seems to only happen when his emotions get strong, mostly when he's frustrated, mad, or anxious, like now." Danni looked at her, her brows still furrowed.

"Were you able to find out what's wrong?" she asked. I felt Bella nod slowly.

"I have an idea that we've talked about. It seems to make sense, and Carlisle agrees." Bella sighed and brushed her hand across my cheek. I closed my eyes as I drifted in and out of a doze.

"We think, when his body and soul were reunited, something happened. Something that makes him like two separate people. We've been working on controlling it, but times like just now make his control slip a little." She paused and continued moving her hand over my face, tracing my eye and the side of my mouth.

"What…What can he do?" Danni asked quickly. She sounded more and more curious, which was understandable. Bella really wasn't telling her much quickly.

My breathing finally slowed to a normal level and I concentrated on my body. I slowly and carefully separated my soul from my body, making sure I didn't slip up and watched a small cord connect my two halves. I floated over to Danni's side, keeping myself transparent so that she wouldn't see me, and my body sighed again, now completely relaxed without my restless soul caged inside it.

I brought the mist that was my soul tightly together and formed a tangible body crouching next to Danni. I put a pale, all-white hand on her shoulder, my soul's "body" the color of mist, but as real as the body still laying in Bella's lap. She gasped and turned to me before letting out half a scream. I put my hand over her mouth and chuckled lightly as her eyes darted between my soul and my body. Both of them looked at her and I moved my real body so that I was sitting up. Her eyes widened even more and she tried to let out another scream, but it died behind my hand. She finally stopped and I felt her trying to relax herself so I stayed still so she wasn't distracted. Her breathing calmed to a tense inhale and exhale and her shoulders were still tight in my grip, but she made the effort. I slowly took my hand away from her mouth and she turned to look at me. Well, spirit me, anyway.

"Ha-…How…How did you…" she sputtered. She slowly reached one hand towards my cheek. Danni's hand hesitated right before she lightly brushed a fingertip against my mist form. Her eyes widened once more as she realized I was real, that I wasn't just some projection or something. She put both of her hands on either side of my face and turned my head side to side, her mouth opening into a small "o." She let go once she was satisfied, and then surprised me by stabbing me in the chest with her finger.

"Yup," she said, shaking her hand in pain. "You're definitely real."

Both of us chuckled and I gently took Danni's hand, slowly turning it over so I could see any injuries. She didn't break anything, and I let out a silent breath of relief. I let her hand go and she rested it on her thigh. She was looking at me strangely, like she was trying to answer her own question. I raised an invisible eyebrow at her, and then realized she couldn't see it. I split my awareness between my two forms and shook my head, trying to get rid of the fogginess of exhaustion from my real body.

"So, what are you thinking?" I asked once my head cleared. My mist-looking form just squatted behind her, looking between Danni's face and my real body. She looked back and forth between us a few times before she looked at my real body.

"Can it-this you talk?" she asked, not sure how to address my other form. I smiled and switched to the other half of my consciousness. She looked at my mist face and I shook my head. She looked back to the other me, a new question blooming.

"Why?" she asked bluntly. I sighed and relaxed against the cushions, closing my eyes. Bella grabbed my arm and leaned her head against my shoulder. I could feel her probing through my body, looking for any injured muscle from the strain my fight caused. She was concentrating on my arms and legs and I sighed as she released a flow of energy from her body into mine. It automatically went to work and I slipped into a healing doze, unable to stay fully awake.

"His spirit form is tangible," Bella explained, "but it isn't a real body. There's nothing to it but form and substance." I felt Danni's gaze move to me, and then away.

"What's wrong now?" she asked, her voice betraying worry. Bella's hand caressed my face as I felt her trying to figure out how to explain without saying too much.

"His attacks," she started slowly, "tend to put a strain on his body. I'm helping him heal." I opened my eyes just enough to see Danni's face and almost started laughing. Her face was completely blank and her one eyebrow was twitching, like she was fighting not to raise it.

"Okay…That brings up more questions than it answers," she said slowly. Bella laughed and ran her hand over my face again.

I would say buckle up and prepare for landing, but I'd be wasting my time. So, just prepare for landing! I heard the pilot announce. He was a surprisingly upbeat guy for a vampire, especially one working for the Volturi. His name was Carl or something simple like that. I couldn't remember at the moment.

Bella slowly cut off the flow of energy between us and I started waking up again. I disassembled my mist form and pulled it back towards my body, Bella leaning away as I did so. I felt the small tingling sensation as it covered my body and slipped out of view, back into my body.

"Go buckle up, Danni," I said. Danni huffed, but she listened, still seeing strain in my face. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, resting my head against the back of the chair. I could feel my anxiety start building up again as the plane descended, and Bella took my hand in hers to help steady me.

I heard the others walking up to our room on the plane and opened my eyes. Bella was looking back towards the door and I tapped into her sight to see who it was. Alice and Jasper came through and Bella sensed Carlisle and Esme following not far behind them. None of us moved faster than normal so we didn't mess with the plane's flight pattern. I slipped back into my own head just in time to see Alice's pop up over the top of my seat. Jasper sat down behind Bella.

"You okay?" Alice asked me. I looked up at her and gave a tight smile.

"Yeah." She gave me an understanding smile in return before sinking down into the seat behind me.

Esme and Carlisle walked by and sat in front of Danni, their faces letting me know they heard my answer. They didn't ask again, and the state of Rose and Emmett when they sat behind Danni left me believing they didn't even realize my attack. They continued looking at each other, barely registering that we were there, which confirmed my suspicions.

The plane bounced slightly as the landing gear touched tarmac, and I squeezed Bella's hand. She put her other hand over mine and rested her head on my shoulder. Emmett and Rosalie finally broke their stare and Emmett leaned towards us.

"Hey, little brother," he said. "What's got you so tense?" I glared at him, but he didn't seem to realize. I sighed and answered him.

"Oh, just the fact that Danni's life is in more and more danger the closer we get to Volterra, how we don't know exactly what we're heading towards, how all of this could be a trap to get Bella and me…" I let the list fade and looked at him from the corner of my eye. "Need I go on?" He gave me a glazed-over look and I shook my head.

"No…I guess not…" he said slowly, his mind visibly thinking about my reasons. I could see everything finally clicking together as the brain in his head woke up and took control again. Bella squeezed my hand again, bringing my attention back to her.

"Listen to me, Edward." She stared at my face until I nodded. "You have a point with all of that, but you are forgetting a few things." She paused again before continuing.

"Number one, none of us are going to let anything happen to Danni, and with the two of us, he can't touch her unless we allow it. Number two, we knew this was risky, but we're doing it anyway. If we didn't come to them, they would have come after us. And number three, they can't trap what they can't control. With our powers, they are at our mercy, not the other way around," Bella said seriously, staring me right in the eyes.

Bella's pupils changed to blood red again, and black flooded the whites of her eyes. I felt mine change in reaction to her and nodded once. She took her hands and put them on either side of my face, staring intently into my eyes. I stared back and put my hands over hers. Bella's eyes began glowing black and I felt the same power rising up in her flooding my own body. The light started quickly pulsing like a heartbeat. It kept increasing until it looked like a shimmering force field and before slowly fading away. Bella and I closed our eyes at the same moment and bowed our heads until our foreheads were touching. The light was completely gone and all of my tension with it by the time we sat back and opened our eyes.

"That still freaks me out," Emmett commented bluntly, but sounding awed. I looked at Danni, who had moved next to us, to see her smiling down at us. She wrapped her arms around both of us and we hugged her back.

"Don't worry, Eddie," she said, lightening the mood with her childhood nickname for me. "I know all of you will take care of me. And I know you can handle these guys. Let's just get this done and get back home, okay?" She leaned back and looked between the two of us, waiting for a response. Bella smiled and I did the same, even though mine was slightly smaller. I wrapped my arms around Danni and she relaxed against my chest. I picked her small form up and placed her on my lap, pressing my lips to the top of her head.

"Yeah, let's."

We got off the plane and headed into the bustling airport, me taking Danni's hand as tightly as I could without hurting her. She returned the squeeze at first, and didn't complain. Bella's hand was in my other and she was sending me soothing thoughts as we walked.

Carlisle had called ahead for rental cars and two large black SUVs were waiting outside for us. Jasper, Alice, Bella, Danni, and I got into one, and Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, and Rose got in the other. Everyone agreed that Jasper should be close to me to help control my emotions. Bella was usually all I needed, but Carlisle wanted to be sure since this would be a "very stressful situation" for me. I didn't argue.

The ride was a blur of scenery that I paid absolutely no attention to, instead focusing on the grips of the hands holding mine. Danni would gasp every now and then, amazed at something we passed and asking me if I saw it. My answer constantly varied from "yeah, it was nice" to "no, I missed it" just to try to convince her I was listening. We finally pulled up to the gates of Volterra and my undead heart decided to hide in my throat. I swallowed a few times, feeling Bella check in on me for a second before leaving, and closed my eyes.

It's going to be fine, Edward, Bella thought to me, sending even more reassuring thoughts behind it. I squeezed her hand in response, not trusting my voice to tell her that I knew. I knew it was going to be fine. My irrational fear and protectiveness caused me to be like this. I knew exactly what caused it, and yet I couldn't stop it. It was frustrating, but Bella and Danni helped me deal with it. Danni seemed to feel that something was going on and leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Not much longer, Eddie," she said, reassuring me instead of the other way around. "We'll be home before you know it." I gave her a tight smile and nodded once.

The cars pulled in and stopped in front of the main entrance. All of us exited, Bella following Danni and me out the same door when I wouldn't let go of her hand. We stood at the bottom of the steps, rejoicing at the fact that it was a seriously cloudy day in a normally bright, sunny city. The tourists milling around would have been slightly freaked at a bunch of shimmery people stepping out of a couple of cars. Danni raised my hand up towards the sky, looking disappointed when the little, almost indistinguishable sparkles didn't show up.

"Not enough sunlight," Bella explained with a smile on her face. Danni frowned and put my hand back down. She had a fascination with our skin ever since she realized that hers didn't do the same. It was just another thing that led to the "what are you" question that all of us repeatedly avoided as much as possible without lying. And speaking of…

"Are you guys ever going to-" she started, cutting herself off when my grip tightened on her hand. "Edward?" she said warily.

"Soon enough," I said before my voice failed me again.

My visions of everything and anything that could happen to Danni while we were here flashed through my mind again, and Bella released a floodgate of calm into me to calm me down again. My eyes flashed red and black for just a moment as it flowed through my body and I sighed, giving Bella a tight smile. She returned it with an understanding one.

I turned towards the castle's main doors and sighed deeply. I looked back at everyone else to see Esme talking to a vendor close by, passing a few bills to the young woman and receiving a small paper bag in return. I could feel anger beginning to boil inside me, watching my mother act like a tourist with what was about it happen. She returned to the group looking inside the bag and pulling out two strings, small charms hanging from them. My anger quickly turned to confusion when I realized there was not one charm on both strings, but two. She walked over to Bella and me, handing one to each of us.

"Here," she said as she extended her hands towards us. "Carlisle and I had them made as soon as we heard we were making a trip over here."

I heard Bella gasp as she took hers from Esme, but I couldn't make a sound as I saw the charm dangling. It was one charm, but it had two parts. One side was half of the Cullen family crest. It was shaped to fit together perfectly with the other part. It was half a Ying-Yang symbol. The majority of my section was red with a small black dot at one end. It took me a few seconds, but I finally realized the significance of the colors. They were the colors Bella's eyes turned. I looked over at Bella's to see the other half of our crest with the exact opposite of my half of the Ying-Yang, black with a red dot. The colors of my eyes. The crest was on the left side of my charm, and on the right on Bella's. I grabbed one half of my charm, the red with the black dot, and held it out to Bella. She glanced at it and then up at me, before doing the same with her own. The halves matched perfectly and Bella looked like she wanted to cry as she looked up at me again.

"We thought they represented the two of you perfectly," Esme said softly. Neither one of us looked her way, but she understood. We raised the other parts and they fit together, as well. "Both of you are a part of this family, but you're also a part of each other. We're going to get Bella her own full charm of the crest, but this seemed like a good idea until we do."

I felt my eyes tear up and Bella took my necklace from me, giving me hers. I could feel what she wanted, and I raised my hands so that I could slip it over her head. She did the same to me, her smile never leaving her face. The charms fell to our chests, finally resting with a soft thump against our shirts. I slowly raised my hand and held my charm in my palm. The crest felt cold against my skin, the Ying-Yang warm, the exact feel of Bella's hand as she took my free one. She grabbed her own, and I felt mild surprise flit through her mind as she realized what I felt. She smiled at me serenely and turned slowly to Esme.

"Thank you, both of you," she said softly. "You do not know how much this means to me- to us," she corrected, glancing up at me. I smiled down at her and we both reached out to Esme and Carlisle at the same time. The four of us embraced for a few moments before breaking apart.

"You're very welcome, dear," Esme said simply, holding both of us at arm's length. "It's the least we could do after you gave us our son back." Bella smiled and looked like she wanted to blush. Esme dropped her arms from our shoulders and Bella turned into my chest, still smiling. I wrapped my arms around her and smiled, kissing the top of her head. Danni smiled and wrapped her arms around both of us, causing Esme to gasp. We looked at her in confusion and she rummaged around in the duffel at her feet.

"Here it is!" she announced proudly, bringing a small square box out and handing it to Danni.

"What-" she stammered, slowly taking the box.

"Just open it, dear," Esme scolded gently. Bella and I stood on either side of her as she did so, and a small smile broke out on my face when I saw what it was.

Danni held a small silver charm bracelet in her palm, the dim sunlight just barely catching and reflecting off it. I looked at the charms attached and noticed each part of our family crest attached to the chain. There was a slight difference, though. There were two lions, instead of just one, and a lamb, the extra lion and the lamb on the very ends. I looked up at Esme and Carlisle, confusion all over my face. They smiled at me, apparently thinking it was funny.

"It's you and Bella, Edward. Our lamb and her shadow, the lion," Esme explained. I looked at Bella, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind, and she looked up at me. We both shrugged at the same time and said, "Sounds good to us." Everyone laughed at our blatant display of their point. Bella helped Danni put it on, not removing herself from my grasp. Danni flung herself at Esme and Carlisle and hugged them around their waists.

"Thank you," she whispered to them. They smiled down at her just as the front doors opened and two vampires dressed all in black came out to greet us.

"Welcome, Cullen clan, to Volterra," the smaller of the two said. He was not a buff as his counterpart, but I could see the muscles in his arms. He was not someone to overlook.

"My name is Demetri, and this is Felix," he continued, waving a hand at the overly built vampire standing next to him. Demetri tensed for a second before smiling darkly.

"Ah, so the rumor is true. You did bring a young human with you," he said, his eyes tunneling into Danni. Bella and I moved in front of her and she clung to my shirt, her fear rolling off her.

"Edward, what does he mean, a young human?" she asked quietly, knowing all of us could hear her no matter how low she whispered.

"It has to do with what we are, but now is not the time," I answered, not turning away from these two new vampires.

"Do not fret over the girl's safety, Edward Cullen. We have been told of her possible accompaniment and have taken precautions," Felix said, his voice not as gruff as I expected. I made no response. Demetri turned and gestured inside.

"Shall we? Aro would like to greet you himself before allowing you free reign of the castle for the day." Carlisle nodded politely and we followed them inside. I slung Danni on my back and she wrapped her arms and legs around me, holding on and hiding her face behind my shoulder. I could feel her looking around as we walked, and her body was tense with nerves. I was relieved that she knew enough to be scared, but guilty that we brought her along and she had to feel it. She rested her head against mine, helping me keep in control as I felt her body reacting to her emotions.

"I don't like it here, Edward," she whispered in my ear. I smiled sadly and turned my head enough to see at least part of her.

"I know, Danni. I don't either. I promise we won't stay longer than we need to," I whispered back. Bella fell in step next to me, hearing our conversation from my head or just hearing it I wasn't sure, and rubbed Danni's back comfortingly. She didn't say anything, but she didn't need to.

We entered the main hall and Danni actually let out a tiny shriek when she saw the members of the Volturi sitting on their thrones. I couldn't blame her. Everyone thought the members of my family were pale, but these vampires had skin that looked almost transparent. Their eyes were crimson red and seemed to burn through each one of us, lingering longer on Bella, Danni, and me. I visibly saw Bella change as soon as we walked in, her head rising and her eyes turning cold and unfeeling. The emotional little vampire outside the castle had been replaced by the Goddess of the Dead, and she was not going to hide who she was in front of vampires she could kill on a whim.

"Ah, Carlisle! My old friend, how have you been these past few years?" Aro said, standing from his throne. He extended his arms, but neither moved to embrace the other. Carlisle inclined his head, and Esme did the same.

"Very well, Aro. And you?" Carlisle asked. I sometimes thought he was too polite for his own good.

"Oh, anticipating the arrival of the two celebrities of our world. And I see they brought the young human child like I requested," he said, looking at Bella and me, and then towards Danni's half-hidden face. Bella moved in front of me, effectively blocking Aro's view of Danni. He raised his eyebrows at her, but she did nothing, not even glare. She stayed perfectly neutral.

"You are right to protect one so fragile, my dear. She could be easily taken from you in a second as she is now." A small smile appeared on his face, and I felt Bella's emotions shift.

"Are you threatening my family, Aro?" she asked quietly. I felt tension trying to take over her, but she was fighting it off with little effort. She had the control I could only dream of, and I loved her for it.

"I mean no harm, my dear," Aro responded, shaking his head and lifting his hands in a defensive manner. "I am just stating fact."

"I thought so, but I wanted to make sure," Bella said slowly taking steps towards Aro, Marcus, and Caius. The guards around the room tensed, but stayed where they were, if barely. "If you had been threatening any of us harm, I would have had to take action against you," she finished, sounding like it would have been a minor inconvenience. In truth, that's all it would have been for her.

"I understand, my dear," Aro said, inclining his head toward Bella, stopping just before the level of mocking her. I glared at him, but I felt the smile break on Bella's face.

"You really should read through what Edward and I have written about our powers, Aro," Bella almost sang. "I think then you would fully understand why you should watch what you say around my family and me."

Aro had the audacity to laugh. He literally threw his head back and laughed, having to wrap his arms around himself as he kept laughing. Anger flooded my body, but Danni's arms tightening around my neck kept me from charging at him. I couldn't put her in any more danger. I lessened my hold on my soul, which was fighting against me to get to Aro, and let the edges billow out from around my body. It was barely visible, but it was there, just enough to relieve some of the pull.

Aro finally stopped laughing and wiped an imaginary tear from his face. He gestured to someone behind us and I sensed Felix and Demetri approaching from behind. Aro pointed from them to me, not saying anything at first. When he did, my control completely slipped.

"Take the girl to the dungeons for now. We will decide what to do with her later."

A growl ripped itself from my chest and I whipped around to face them, falling into a defensive crouch with Bella at my back. I could see the other guards coming towards us, but my newly freed spirit stopped them in their tracks. It growled separately from me has it faded in and out of sight, misting around Bella and me to keep them back. I bared my fangs and snarled, sounding like a demon straight from Hell's fiery depths. Danni's arms tightened around me and she buried her face in my shoulder. All of a sudden, the rest of the family was surrounding us. Bella grabbed my hand, trying to get me to calm down. It was only then that I felt exactly what, or who, Danni's fear was towards, and I immediately stopped growling.

It was me.

I froze and grabbed Danni, bringing her around me until I was holding her in my arms. She had tears falling down her face and terror looked at me from her eyes. I stared at her, unable to believe I had let myself get that way in front of her. I hugged her to my chest and she curled up as much as she could, putting her arms between us. I put a hand on the back of her head and just held her, seeing my spirit stop and look back towards me, waiting for a command. I left it there, just in case they decided to pull something, but concentrated on Danni.

"I'm sorry, I sorry, Danni, I'm sorry," I repeated over and over again. She didn't say anything, and I felt her tears continue to fall down her face. I turned towards Aro and glared at him, Bella moving in front of me. Aro was paying no attention to us, though. He was staring at my soul's misty form.

"What…is…this?" he said, slowly moving towards it.

Bella started moving towards him, my gaze following her every move while keeping Danni in the safety of our circle. Esme appeared in front of me, stretching her arms towards Danni, and I hesitated before handing her over. As soon as I knew Esme had her, I ran to Bella's side, just behind her. Her shadow wherever she moved.

"I told you not to threaten my family, Aro," Bella said slowly, sounding more sinister and anger than I have ever heard her. "You should have listened." He smiled.

"What is this going to do?" he asked, gesturing to my spirit. "Choke me? I do not need to breathe. Just admit it, my dear. It does nothing." My spirit misted in the blink of an eye, appearing behind Aro faster than even a vampire could see. I felt my eyes shift and smirked. He hadn't even noticed, but Marcus and Caius did.

"Aro, behind you!" Marcus exclaimed, trying to attack the other me. He slashed at it, but it misted away just before he reached it. He searched around and it was directly behind him, grinning like a demon. Just like I was.

This…other me, this darker me, always came out during times like this. Anytime my emotions run high, or I'm losing control, my ability to care about what is happening seems to disappear. Bella told me it was because I died. I had experienced death, and a small part of it had stayed with me. She said she could see it in me, just a small fringe of black around my core, where my soul was when it was in my body.

And right now, with the looks on Caius, Marcus, and Aro's faces, I was way past caring what was happening.

"Edward is contemplating how long he can play with your lives before I tell him to stop," Bella said calmly. All three of their faces shot to hers in disbelief, outrage, and then half-hidden fear. None spoke.

"How long should I give him?" she asked, looking from them to me and back again.

Their eyes widened and I took a step around her, heading for the raised platform they were standing on. They flinched back, but immediately stepped forward again when they realized the other me was standing behind them. I continued to take steps towards them and their eyes got impossibly wider.

"You messed with the wrong family, Aro. The only question now is, should you pay for it?" Bella whispered, staying as calm as ever. Aro's eyes darted back and forth, his mouth fumbling for words he couldn't find.

"Isabella, this is not necessary. No harm was meant by-" I cut him off, my hand wrapping around his neck and the other plunging through his body, straight to his withered soul. Snarls ripped themselves free of my chest before I even noticed, and I was baring my fangs only inches from his face. My own soul grabbed onto Caius and Marcus', stopping them in their tracks to help Aro. Bella walked slowly up behind me, placing her hand softly on my shoulder. My growls and snarls automatically stopped, but I didn't move. I felt Bella's powers flow as she focused them around the three vampires in front of us.

"What do you see, Aro? What is your worst nightmare?" Bella asked him as she wrapped her powers around his mind, creating hallucinations right before his eyes. "Maybe…the death of your wife? Your own death? It can't be the loss of your reign, because that's already happening as we speak." She paused, watching as his eyes darted back and forth as he watched the scenes playing before his eyes. She let the scenes fade and he gasped, blinking rapidly.

"So, I've decided what I'm going to do, Aro. I think I'm going to have to deprive Edward of the pleasure he would get from killing you and your friends, although I know he won't be happy with me. But you will have your lives. You will leave our family alone. You will do ask we ask, when we ask it. You will not try to keep us here against our will, or sacrifice your own lives in the process. You will not send anyone after us and you will not demand Danni's change. She will only be changed if she wishes it, and we will tell her what we are without fear of any members or employees of the Volturi coming after her." She turned to me, but I kept my glare on Aro's face.

"Have I missed anything, my love?" she asked me. I tilted my head to the side.

"I can think of nothing else, love," I said, smiling gently as I turned to face her. I turned back to Aro and restarted my glare.

"So, these are the terms by which you keep your lives. If anything is done against these terms, Aro, we will be back. You, your two friends here, and your wives will die, and my family will continue living like we have been. Is all of this understood? I would hate for you to misunderstand and die because of it," Bella said, sounding innocent and falsely concerned. The three of them nodded in sync and Bella smiled.

"Good. I think you can let them go now, Edward," she said, lightly squeezing my shoulder. I growled one last time before letting go of Aro's neck. I slowly drew my hand from his chest, smiling to myself every time a flinch flashed across his face. I finally drew my hand from him and he took two steps back, collapsing through my soul and onto his chair. He stared straight ahead as my soul misted back together. I nodded and it ripped its hands out of the other two. They gasped and grabbed at their chests, falling to their knees where they stood.

"Let's go, Edward," Bella said, looping her arm around mine. We turned and walked back towards the others, freezing when Aro laughed.

"A goddess and her shadow. I guess all of those rumors floating around about the two of you were not far off, were they?" he said.

I turned and raised my hand up, smirking as Aro followed it. He floated in the air, thrashing about as he tried to figure out what was going on. I looked to my soul and nodded, sending the impulse of what I wanted it to do. It smiled back and put a hand out in front of itself, palm up. A small flame burst to life and quickly grew, reaching up towards Aro's feet. It was soon licking at the bottoms of his shoes and he thrashed even more.

"Do not doubt me, Aro. We will be back if you do not follow our wishes. We will bring the bodies of anyone you send against us, as well, so that they may join their masters in death. In, Hell, to be more specific. My demons are dying to get their claws into the three of you," Bella said softly. I suppressed a shudder at the mention of the hell beasts. Anyone sent to Hell became a demon under the control of Death, or in this case, Bella. They are the incarnation of every one of the cardinal sins, torture and killing being their favorite. Only twisted versions of who they really were remain by the time they reach the bowels of Hell, and they are not beings anyone would want to meet. Especially if this person is not leaving any time soon.

"Am I understood, Aro?" Bella asked again. He nodded and she smiled grimly. "You can lower him, Edward. I think he gets my point."

I did as she asked, my soul's fire shrinking to stay just below his shoes until it folded in on itself in my soul's palm. It closed its hand into a fist and looked to me for orders. I set Aro into his chair, not being all that careful with him, and looked back at it. I sent an impulse and it walked quickly towards me, enveloping my body in its mist as it rejoined my body. I felt my eyes change as I looked at Aro, his own widening slightly at the sight. I quickly let go of my power and they changed back before we turned and continued out, not another sound out of the three leaders still sitting stunned on their thrones.

I looked at Danni, but she had her face buried in Esme's shirt. She was shaking slightly, like she was trying to hold everything in. I felt a rush of anger and sadness flood through me, anger at myself for letting my control down and sadness that I had scared her so badly. She was never going to forgive me for that. I looked away and we continued out of the castle and into the still cloudy courtyard. Carlisle and Jasper went to find a hotel for us to stay at until we could catch our flight the next day.

Bella and I went to an almost deserted café. I could tell she wanted to talk, but I wasn't sure if I was ready yet. I was still in shock over my lack of control. We sat down, but no waiters came out to us. I could see them talking to each other in the back room, but it didn't seem like they knew we were even there.

"That's because they don't know," Bella said quietly, taking my hand from across the table. She squeezed it gently and I squeezed back, not knowing what to say, or whether to say anything at all. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Bella broke it.

"She'll forgive you, you know." I looked at her, confused, but didn't say anything.

"Danni. She knew something was different about us. Now she knows just how different, and that we can tell her what she's always wanted to know. Just give her some time to go through what happened. She may be young, but her mind is not, Edward. You know that just as much as I do." I nodded once and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose with my free hand and sighing.

"I feel like she's completely lost her childhood because of us, because of me," I said, not opening my eyes. "It's like I flip a switch and I'm a completely different person than who she knows and I scare her, Bella. I scare her so bad, she wouldn't even look at me." Bella moved her chair closer to mine and wrapped her free arm around my waist. She rested her chin on my shoulder and moved her thumb over the back of my hand.

"She's happy with us and she loves you. She just needs time to get over what happened. And she's where she wants to be, with the people she wants to be with, and gets anything she wants because we spoil her rotten. What else could she ask for?" Bella said, shrugging against me.

"I want to know what you are," a small voice asked from behind us. We turned to see Danni standing behind us by herself, her small arms hugging her small frame as she stared. "Please." I smiled gently to her and beckoned her closer. She took only a few steps, staying just out of arm's reach. I felt a pang of guilt and sadness go through me, but kept the small smile on my face. I looked at Bella and she looked at me. We both turned back to her at the same time and answered at the same time.

"We are vampires."

She stared at us for the longest time, the only movement she made was quick shallow breaths. I tapped into her soul just a little so she wouldn't be able to notice and felt her shrinking fear and confusion, and growing understanding and acceptance. Her eyes softened as she continued to gaze at us, blinking for the first time in a few minutes as she took a step closer.

"You're…vampires?" she asked hesitantly. Both of us nodded at the same time and she took another step forward. Neither of us reached for her, wanting her to come to us.

"What…what kind of…what can you do?" she asked quickly, her eyes filling with curiosity. I gave her a small smile, elated that she wanted to know more.

"We are a little different from other vampires, but every one of us is very fast and very strong. Bella and I are a different kind of vampire. We can control souls, like how I can separate mine from my body." Danni's mouth formed a small "o" and her eyes widened as I told her. She was right in front of me now, and put her hands on my knees.

"What about the fire? And the floating thingy? Did you do that?" she asked excitedly. I nodded.

"Yup. We can control fire, water, air, the ground, and plants. Bella and I…we control death. Do you remember the day in front of the house when that guy showed up and hurt us?" I asked, really not wanting to bring up that day, but needing to make sure she understood. She nodded her eyes tearing up.

"That was the day you…died," she whispered. I nodded once, sadly.

"That guy was like Bella and me. He changed Bella into what she is now, and Bella changed me. We are what are called Reapers."

I told her the whole story that Renee told me when my soul separated from my body and she climbed up into my lap a few moments after I started. She sat there and looked up at me the whole time, listening to every word I said. When I got to the part about how Bella was the Grim Reaper, or as we had been calling her, the Goddess of Death, she gasped and looked at Bella, disbelief and awe flooding her face. I finished faster than I thought I would and she just sat there staring at me. I raised an eyebrow at her and she blinked a few times.

"So…you said…I could…be like you? If I wanted?" she asked, unsure of herself. I gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Only if you want to. The choice is up to you, but we won't change you until you're older and finish school." She turned her head to the side, her brows furrowing.

"Why?" I smiled and gave a half laugh.

"You don't want to be stuck as a ten year old for the rest of eternity, do you?" Her eyes widened and she shook her head wildly, causing Bella and I to laugh. "I didn't think so." I sighed.

"You know, Danni, I'm really surprised you're not more scared after what just happened. I know I scared you pretty badly," I admitted, turning my face slightly away from her in shame. She reached up and took my face in her warm hands, turning me back to her. She was smiling at me which confused me more.

"You did what you did to protect me, Eddie. How could I be scared of you for that?" she said, shaking her head at me. I smiled at the used of the nickname, but said nothing as she continued.

"You're my best friend, Edward. You and Bella have been parents to me and I couldn't ask for anything else. Plus, I always knew there was something weird about you," she said slyly, squinting at me. I laughed and hugged her to my chest, sighing as her arms wrapped around my neck.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Danni. I love you, baby girl," I whispered into her hair. She smiled and nodded against me.

"It's okay. And I love you, too, Eddie."

Bella joined our embrace, kissing the side of both of our heads. I smiled to myself, knowing I had everything I could ever want for the rest of eternity…

A/N: Well, it only took….3 or 4 months…but I finally finished the epilogue! I hope this clears everything up and leaves you guys satisfied, but if not, feel free to leave a review or PM with any questions or confusion.

So…I have nothing to say, but the fact that college is going to make writing and updating my stories on FanFic much more difficult. But it is not going to stop me from writing! I know I was much more consistent with updating before, but I'm giving you fare warning for any and all future stories.

Also, check out my new poll! It has to do with what story I write next, so go vote for the one you're most interested in! The story summaries are in my profile. I'll try to get the first chapter of whichever wins as a little Christmas present to you guys (sorry if you don't celebrate it, but take it as whatever gift-giving holiday you celebrate!). I'm going to close the poll on December 16, which happens to be the last day of te semester, so I won't have any work to keep me away. :)

Please review for this last time, and thanks to all of you for your support for this…rather different story!

~*~Angels of Twilight~*~