[BamaFan121s]

My eyes moved from Carlisle’s face to that of the man behind him as he stepped forward and entered the Cullen home.

It was Edward who stepped forward to acknowledge our guest first. "Eleazar! What a surprise. We weren’t expecting you…." he trailed off, looking from Eleazar to Carlisle and back again awaiting explanation.

"Edward, it is good to see you again. And you too Bella," he greeted us cheerfully as he stepped forward to quickly embrace us both.

"Both Eleazar and myself met with the Volturi on this visit," Carlisle explained. "He will be returning to Denali later tonight."

"Yes," Eleazar confirmed. "Only a brief visit this time, I’m afraid."

"And what are the developments on the situation in Voltera, Carlisle?" Edward asked.

"We are remaining optimistic with the progress we are making. They are very excepting of the idea of adopting new policies to maintain order amongst our kind. Aro is presently our most valuable ally whereas those issues are concerned. Why don’t we move this discussion to the dining room and invite the others to join us?"

We walked to the Cullen dining room and each took a seat around the large glass table. The dining room did not serve the same purpose as it would were it in the home of a human family. No meals were ever eaten here. Instead it served as a room where the Cullens conducted family discussions about various issues.

As we waited for the rest of the family to join us, I found myself reminiscing about some of the more consequential discussions I’d been witness to in this very room. It was in this room that we’d gathered for my dreaded eighteenth birthday which had resulted in a disaster. Incidentally, it had lead to the darkest time of my entire life. It was here that Jasper had briefly lost control over his thirst and nearly killed me. Edward’s quick reaction had thwarted his efforts, but had resulted in knocking me into the table which had shattered into thousands of tiny fragments of glass, leaving a deep gash in my arm.

The ordeal resulted in Edward’s decision to leave Forks—to leave me—in the hopes that I would be able to move on and live a normal, human life free of the dangers that a vampire boyfriend presented. Time revealed that that decision would do more harm than good—we had both suffered trying to live without the other and it had very nearly killed us both.

Ironically, it was also here in the room, months later that I’d put to vote the issue of my mortality. I’d presented my desire to willingly undergo the transformation required to become a vampire as well, making me a permanent, less breakable fixture within the Cullen family. It was a decision I’d carefully considered and very much wanted. Ultimately, the majority had agreed that it was the most sensible solution. Only Rosalie and Edward had disagreed, thus sealing both my fate and that of a brand new sixty inch plasma TV that Edward had destroyed in his frustration.

I smiled as I grasped the enormity of the decision reached that night and squeezed Edward’s hand at the thought as he joined my side at the table.

"Renesmee is with Emmett and Rosalie," he whispered in my ear as he took his seat. I merely nodded in acknowledgement. I suspected that Rosalie was eager to spend time with Renesmee without Jacob looming nearby.

Esme, Alice and Jasper joined us in the dining room, taking seats around the table. Carlisle looked around at each of us, and then to Eleazar. He took a deep breath before beginning and seemed to choose his words carefully. "As you are all aware, the events that transpired here months ago suggest a dire need for change in regards to the enforcement of the laws that govern our kind. The situation was the product of many miscommunications that could have easily been avoided altogether. It is easy to place blame on the Volturi for their actions. In turn, they have admitted to the error of their ways and have been open to the concerns that many of us have brought forward to them since that time."