ꜱɪx ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ. ɪ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇ ɢᴏᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰᴀʀ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀ ʙɪɢ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ ɴᴏᴡ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ'ꜱ?

The date December 14th did not mean anything to anyone in the Volturi. No birthdays, no major events. No, this would be a day like any other if not for the growing child on our minds and in our hearts.

A date that did matter for the Volturi would be that of December 30th, the day that would mark Helios' sixth month being in our lives. During these past five months we had been cut off, distancing ourselves from all other vampire covens. Most of the vampires that would bring news of rulebreakers understood this as a sign that we were still recovering from battle, as that would often have more of a mental toll on the guards involved. Our allies gave us space while our secrets brewed. The halls of Volterra were now littered with mysteries not yet able to be released to the public.

Today, a frantic young woman had come to us with information. This time Maeve had not told me about her. A visitor was something that the Volturi had to approach with caution. Having our secret exposed would be detrimental to our strategy.

Our throne room had been quite empty, filled with the remains of the lower guards' meal. Instead of fridays, they would eat on thursdays, as we couldn't deal with so many drained bodies at once. It made me thirsty to see all of the blood on the marble floor. How people kept the floors pristine was beyond me.

Sitting in our thrones, we had to watch as the young woman was brought in by Demetri and Felix, who looked quite unamused by her presence. Golden eyes, she was an animal eater. From the descriptions given by Carlisle, I could assume that she was from the Denali Coven in Alaska. They didn't like us much, so having one of them here to report a crime was substantial.

"This is Irina of the Denali Coven," Demetri rolls his eyes and moves back to the door. "Here to report a crime on behalf of the remains of the Olympic Coven, now led by Edward Masen and his wife, Isabella Masen."

Irina looked shocked at the use of Edward's maiden name, as if she didn't know that Carlisle had disowned him and joined back with the Volturi, his former coven. Her face, although it did reveal her initial shock, was impeccably beautiful, just as all vampires were. The perfect versions of themselves, Irina had the most gorgeous silver white hair. It matched well with her golden eyes. She had a resemblance to Rosalie, although my sister was undeniably more attractive.

"What is the crime that you must report?" I ask, standing up. Caius frowned as I left his lap, choosing to walk over to the golden-eyed vampire woman. "What crime do you believe his coven has committed? What is so grave that you come to us, Irina?"

"Edward and Bella. I know what they did. I don't know which one of them turned her, but they did it. They created an immortal child," I remained composed. She saw the child. She saw their daughter. Ah, how this is going to be a shock for you, my dear.

"A grave accusation, Irina," Marcus comments, "Do you have proof of such claims? Informed or first hand?"

"First hand," she answers quickly. "The king, he can read my thoughts and memories. Please, I have seen it, the child, with my own eyes."

I truly did feel bad for the woman. She was gravely misinformed, but I knew that she had a history with immortal children and did wish that they be killed. Her mother made an immortal child. You know that. She hates them, as they destroy so much and have taken away so much from her. As you know, soul family bonds are eternal. She does not like the Volturi, but she knows that they did what they had to do. The child had to be destroyed or it would slaughter thousands more. Village after village.

"Are you sure? I know that it can be quite invasive," my mate makes sure that she is in fact okay with him seeing everything that has ever happened to her.

"Yes," she said, allowing him to walk over to her and take her hand. I saw my mate's eyes glaze over as he saw everything. Pulling back, he nodded.

"We shall conduct a trial on this matter. The law must be upheld. If this girl is in fact immortal, we will need to destroy all parties involved in the matter, as it has been for over a thousand years," Aro concludes, looking back at his brothers as they sat on their thrones, waiting to be done with it. "As the witness, you will have to be there for the trial. Even if you are wrong about the child, we will not kill you. People can be misinformed sometimes. It happens to the best of us."

Mercy was not something the Volturi showed often, but we all knew that Irina was wrong about the child. We just couldn't tell her the truth right now. Everything would come out soon, but we would just have to wait, just as Maeve told us to do.

"Though you may not know, Carlisle has joined back with us. He will be there during the trial and afterwards if you would wish to speak with him. Most of the Olympic coven has joined us. If you ever need to find them, they will be here in Volterra," I inform the golden-eyed vampire, who just nods as she is escorted out of the throne room.

As the doors to our beloved room close, I can hear Caius let out a deep sigh.

"So are we going to freak them out and march in there with our entire guard or what?" Caius proposes. "Because let's be honest, I would pay to see that happen."

"I do believe that is the course of action we are taking," Aro confirms. "I think that it is time to prepare for this. Gather the rest of the vampires in the world. This is going to be the biggest plot twist in all of vampire history. Hell, this might be the biggest plot twist in all of history. Releasing our own hybrid child on the people. No doubt that Edward and Isabella will be finding their own witnesses, knowing their track record."

"They could be preparing their own army," Marcus points out.

"If they are making an army, that would just make them look even more idiotic when we whip out the baby," Caius retorts. "Helios will be all smiley and nice and then they look like they're going to try to kill us in front of our own child. Come on, they can't actually think we are so corrupt as to try and kill a child that is not an immortal killing machine. The hybrids show control and age. As long as they stay with a coven, their existence is not putting us in any danger."

"Remember, brother, that these are the same people who have been calling us sociopathic killers for the past century. At least Edward has. Okay, maybe just Edward," Marcus corrects himself mid-argument. "Anyways, they could be gathering their own group of gifted vampires. Any army of that magnitude could cause a problem for us. I am not willing to lose our own people over this."

Marcus was right. Knowing Edward, he would look for vampires to fight against us. The Denalis would be against us anyways, barring Irina, who just wanted the laws to be upheld. I could see other covens like the Egyptian coven going against us, as the Volturi had gone to war with them many centuries ago and their leader hated us. It was the coven that Demetri came from when he realized that Amun only wanted him to use against the Volturi.

Like the damn sassy bastard he us, Demetri escaped and joined us just to spite his sire.

You will not lose if you gather other covens to join in on the trial. Disguise it as needing to do something before announcing something important. Aro has had to do that before when making new laws, often finding himself busy with trials. If you gather other covens just like the remains of the Olympic coven, they will not stand a chance against you. Anna, you have the elite, the most powerful vampires in existence. Barring Benjamin, who you will meet later. Egyptian coven, Amun is hiding him from the Volturi.

The newfound information would do us good. Thanks, Maeve. Anytime, darling. Also, make sure that you keep Heelie with Afton. He can shield him and his scent. It will be a real surprise if you hide him away with his brother. Dramatic as well.

"Aro, send out an announcement to the other covens that we will be meeting in Forks to do a trial and then reveal something to them. Tell them that this visit will be worth it and it is in their benefit to come by our side while we deliver justice. Give them the good ol' we want to make sure that all bases are covered shit," my mates smirk, knowing what I was getting at.

"I'll send the letters out. What covens? All of them? Personal or formal?" Marcus pesters. "Actually, should you be doing this, amore? You have better relations with other covens than we do since you are new and do not have a reputation for being diabolical, angry, or depressed."

"I can send letters out to the covens that I know. The French and Alexandros' coven. The rest I have either not heard of or do not know well enough to write a good letter for. Many people in this coven do know them. Every other coven in the world has at least one friend in the Volturi. Have them send out letters to their friends, especially if they are friends with the leaders. It will be much more personal and will help us out," My mates nod.

"Aro, I can do the letter for Aiko's coven," Demetri says. "The Japanese have always been our friends."

"Of course," Aro allows. "Felix, you can do the letter for Marlene's coven. Tell Jane to do the letter for Walter and tell Alec to do the letter for Iris."

The soul brothers nod and walk out of the throne room to inform Jane and Alec of their new jobs. Even the twins had some relations on the outside. I knew that Walter had quite the gift of his own, being able to manipulate gravity. While Iris did not have a gift of her own, Alec told me how she taught him how to paint and draw.

While Isabella would likely become a much stronger shield after her transformation, we had someone who could break her wall to our powers with ease. Akila really would put a dent in her self esteem. Hell, maybe she would use her gift on Bella without her knowing, allowing Edward to hear her thoughts. It was what made her attractive to him, not being able to read her, and that would be taken away with just a thought on Akila's part. It wasn't like she would notice it at first. Nobody knew when Akila used her gift.

A silent killer.

"I shall write to Lauren," Aro says.

"To Oscar," Marcus sighs.

"To Eren," Caius laughs. Yeah, the only damn friend you were able to make in another coven, Caius. Ah, poo, I love you too much to really make fun of you for it, pretty boy.

"It is settled then?"

"Quite."

__________________________________________________

Dear Alexandros,

Although this is more of a formal address, I will send my thanks for your last letter. It did in fact work on Marcus. I still have no clue what you mean by dungeons and drawers, but I will find out after the events that I am inviting you to.

We were going to have an announcement that would change the future of everyone, but it seems a very important trial must unfold. The remains of the Olympic coven have been accused of creating an immortal child. We have a witness, but we still must get the whole truth. I will accept nothing but that.

To have you come to Forks to not only witness the case, but to hear our announcements would be greatly appreciated. I promise, this will not be something that you want to miss. Just between us, Maeve says that this is going to be big. Bitch won't tell me exactly what is going to happen, but she hints that this is some world changing thing. It may be, but we will have to see for ourselves.

Whether or not she is being dramatic does not matter much, as I must be there to lay out the law as I have been doing since my turning. It is the life of the immortal queen. It feels weird calling myself that, even if I am both of those things. The law will always be just under my ruling, that much I can assure.

As always, blood will be offered after the trial, along with time to chat. This is more of a social thing, anyways. The law would be boring otherwise.

Hope to see you there,

Annalise Volturi

__________________________________________________

To the French Coven,

I have been given the honor to formally invite you to the trial of the Olympic Coven, led by Edward Masen and company. This trial is pending judgement, but we wished to have an announcement after it. We were planning it before, but once we heard of a potential immortal child, we had to act. It is one of our most basic laws, to think it has been broken. Justice has to be served. If they are guilty, that is.

As I know that you are one of our oldest allies, it would be an honor to have you there. No, this is not a battle, simply a trial. Nothing more, nothing less. No innocent limbs will be torn off, I promise.

It has been much too long since we have seen you. Unfortunately, we have had to close our walls for some time. After this announcement, that will be able to change. People will be able to visit once more after we conclude with this trial.

No formal attire required. Casual setting. Newborns are allowed and are encouraged to come.

I hope you will be able to come,

Annalise Volturi

__________________________________________________

With one last flick of my wrists, the two letters were done and ready to send. Having these people here with us would prove to be important to our success. More witnesses. The Volturi knew more people than Edward and Bella. They wish to stand against you. They believe that you will kill the child. Idiots, we only kill immortal children. They also think that you are going to force them to join your coven via Chelsea and Corin, who could technically pull that off.

To have them think such ridiculous things about us just made me want to vomit. Why would I even think of killing a non immortal child?

Edward, Bella, Alice, you have a big storm coming.