By the request of my readers:

Afterward:

Jasper

After a hundred years our guard was better than it had ever been. Barring Edward, there wasn't a weak fighter in the bunch. Without Aro here we actually had recruits coming from all over the world to join us at one time or another. Aro had built a lot of grudges over the centuries.

I was so proud of my Bella. Who would have ever thought on the day we first met that she would one day be a ruler of our world. Our bond continued to grow. We were inseparable. I knew I could never live without her. She had become part of me, the best part.

We both kept to our animal diet which made us different in the castle. Our golden eyes were looked at with curiosity and respect. Our diet didn't weaken us and I found that I enjoyed not feeling the fear and pain of my food. Plus hunting was a great time to get away from it all and be alone together.

Victoria did eventually try for Bella on one of our many hunts. Bella asked me to let her handle it and handle it she did. Within minutes the incense-like smoke filled the little clearing we had been in and Victoria's ashes were soon blowing in the evening breeze. Bella was a good fighter. As good as any on my elite guard. She still practiced with us on occasion and encouraged the other rulers to keep up their fighting practice as well, reminding them that someone had gotten past her shield once and if it ever happened again she didn't want to lose any of them.

As for me, I was happy to be in charge of the guard. It utilized skills that I had gained with Maria without having to resort to the barbaric treatment that was common in Maria's camps. Plus, the better the guards, the better the protection my Bella had.

Bella

It had been a hundred years almost to the day that Aro had met his end. Marcus still sat on the ruling council along with Felix, Caius and I. I knew that Marcus was seeing someone but I thought she might be human with the secrecy he gave the affair. He was quite a bit happier than I had ever seen him and occasionally I even saw him training with Jasper.

Neil had been appointed to head the lower level guards, being the only one to ever best Jasper in a sparring session even once. Jasper headed the elite guard and oversaw Neil. They had become close friends and comrades. They and Felix even had "Boys nights" where I would find them playing games, or generally letting their testosterone levels get the best of them. Jane and my "Girl's Nights" were much more fun. We gossiped, shopped, went to the one spa that stayed open late and even included Chelsea and other girls on occasion.

Jasper and I were closer than we had ever been. Our bond grew stronger by the day or more accurately, by the night. By day I tended to the matters of the vampire world, from those breaking our laws to real estate, financial interests, and the spy networks that gave us information on fellow vampires. Many things had changed though.

Edward was promoted after fifty years in the barracks to a level two guard but I didn't expect him to ever rise higher. We needed someone who could read minds with Aro gone. He was still a pain to deal with but Chelsea made him loyal to us and that was the best we could hope for. His main request was for a piano so we relented and set up a music room for our various guards to use when they were off duty. I admit this was my influence. We celebrated the arts and sciences here so why not let our guard appreciate the art of music. Edward still didn't get the piano he sought sometimes though because he had to share it with all the other guard, including sometimes, me.

Our elite guard numbered fifty now and lower level guards strived to gain that goal. It meant they were free to go on missions around the world. It also meant special quarters and privileges. However, if one more guard attained that goal we would have to create new quarters to house them. We were out of quarters for elite guard and I considered it a wonderful problem to have.

There had never been more than three rulers at one time and that left a housing shortage. Space was made for me to have larger accommodations as the wives in their tower were now allowed to join their husbands. Aro's wife chose to join him however and that was a sad day for everyone.

We let Felix take Aro's accommodations because, in truth, Jasper and I were fine staying with his soldiers. We probably would have stayed with them if it wasn't for Jasper's gift. In the tower, he would have more space around him not to feel others emotions. First, it had to undergo a drastic transformation. Even I couldn't feel comfortable in the opulence that surrounded us up there. The walls were repainted, the art and hangings replaced, and the lowest level set up as my office. That gave us three stories to live in.

We even had to have a new chair made for me to match the other rulers. I still shielded the rulers and our most trusted people, but I had additional duties.

Chelsea found her talent used much less in this new regime. Edward was one of the few who had to be encouraged to remain loyal. If someone didn't want to join us, with the exception of humans who found out about us, they didn't have to. Others who felt they had other ways to live their lives were allowed to leave. In fact, we encouraged it. We wanted a force that wanted to be with us, not that was forced to be with us and we were stronger for it.

We were seen out in the world as a much more fair ruling body. With a warrior, a woman, a scholar, and a nobleman among us. Caius had been second to a king in his human life and he never got to show that side of himself until now.

Jasper was asked his opinion when all four of us could not reach a verdict. He was our tiebreaker. Though he wasn't officially a ruler, he didn't sit on a throne and listen to the problems of our kind, his opinion, when voiced, was much valued. I thought if Neil continued to practice, if he ever got better than Jasper at combat, I would find my mate sitting beside me. For now, Neil had taken Felix's old position of dispensing justice while Jasper turned our guard into a cohesive fighting force. After all, someone had beat my shield once. We should all be ready for the next conflict.

For now, it was a time of peace though with no serious conflicts on the horizons.

I had finally found my place among vampires. I had a mate I adored, a world to help rule, and a castle that was surprisingly full of friends and family to us all. And to think, it all happened because once upon a time Edward left a scared young girl in the forest and Carlisle betrayed me to the Volturi. Fate has a wicked sense of humor.