Forever or Never?

“Hello, Mateja, this is Aro. We have something to talk about.” The voice of the leader of the Volturi came smoothly through the phone. I took a deep breath before speaking.
“Oh, you could probably think of something, couldn’t you? Can you wait just a second?” I asked into the phone.
“Yes. I can wait.” The voice came through clearly. I held the phone away from my ear and hit the ‘Mute’ button so nothing went from my end to his.
“It’s Aro. He’s decided he wants to talk to me. Don’t follow me. I’ll only be gone a couple minutes.” I walked out the door and ran quickly into the forest. I hit the ‘Mute’ button again before speaking. “So, Aro. What do we have to talk about?” I inquired, climbing the nearest tree.
“Your dear little friend Catie. As you well should have guessed.”
“I had. What about her?”
“I’d like to meet her.”
“Not going to happen. As you should have guessed.” I thought to myself about how stupid Aro could actually be to think I’d let Catie within arm’s length.
“I had thought you would say that. As for a trade?”
“Of what kind?” I didn’t trust Aro. I hadn’t since I left the Volturi.
“You let me meet Catie and let me know what her power will be.” He stopped for a second, just long enough for me to understand that those words were all the trade contained.
“And for my benefit?”
“Well, we simply won’t kill you.” The short sentence made me scoff.
“Aro, do you really think that my life is worth you knowing Catie’s power? If you knew Catie’s power I would be dead anyway.”
“If you let me know, I promise not to kill you or any one of your precious coven mates.”
“I don’t trust you. At all. You’re just the head because you want the power. Catie’s power is so great you would kill Caius and Marcus for it if they stood between you and her.”
“Kill my brothers? I would never consider such a monstrous deed.” Aro sounded offended, but genuinely intrigued as to what power could possibly have such an impact.
“Says the one who feeds off twenty people whenever he feels like it. No such monstrous deed as killing your brothers for power? Don’t make me laugh.” I laughed a very bitter fake laugh to prove my point. Aro was power driven and there was no denying it. He would kill his brothers if they stood between him and a truly unique power that would be stronger than his.
“I’m not trying to make you laugh. Indeed this is a very serious matter, not something to laugh about.”
“Aro, I’m done. You’re not going to meet Catie, and you will never know what power she could have if she was turned. I won’t allow it, and the entirety of the Cullen coven, the Luhmann coven, the Denali coven, the Quileute pack, and a few nomads are between you and her, there are only two people who know what her power will be. Edward doesn’t know, Alice doesn’t, Jordan doesn’t know. Only Eleazar and I know. And you will never know.” I said simply before closing my phone and leaning back against the bark of the tree.
I sighed as my phone vibrated again in my hand. I connected the call and put the phone back to my ear.
“Mats, you have to make the deal.” Alice’s voice came urgently over the phone.
“Alice? Why?” I asked, sitting up straight.
“I don’t know why, but I saw you making the treaty and Aro knowing what power she would have. And then the vision changed. Then it was Aro forcing himself close enough to you to read your thoughts. As soon as he caught it, he attacked and changed Catie himself. I don’t know how he got through the blocks, but he did. I saw just enough of it to see Aro press his lips against Catie’s throat. But it didn’t look like she was fighting. It looked like she almost wanted to go.”
“So I make the treaty. On what terms?”
“You have to agree to him meeting Catie, and you have to hint at her power. But you get to have the accompaniment of the vampire of your choice. He’ll only allow one. Jordan will best protect your mind without being recognized as a shield. Which means you will have to let him in your head so he knows where to block it and how much to block. Tell Aro you’ll meet him in Hong Kong next Saturday night. It has to be neutral territory.”
“Thanks, Alice.” I ended the call and called Aro back quickly.
“You know it’s rude to hang up on someone?” Aro asked calmly.
“I’m sorry. I’ve decided to compromise with you. I will allow you to meet Catie, and I will let you in my head.” I shuddered at the thought of Aro knowing everything I’d ever thought, but continued. “But so you don’t get everything you want, I get to bring one vampire with me besides Catie. I will bring Jordan as my guard. Catie will come. You can bring one member of your guard as well. We will meet next Saturday in Hong Kong. Neutral territory so as to not give one the advantage.”
“That sounds fair. I will consult with my brothers and get back in touch with you before the night is over.” Aro’s voice stopped and a dial tone rang through the small speaker. I jumped from the tree and ran back to my house.
“What did Aro want?” Carlisle asked quickly as I ran through the door.
“Didn’t Alice--?” My question trailed as Edward shook his head. I looked around the room and noticed Alice not sitting in the group. I shook my head and turned back to face Carlisle. “Aro wanted a treaty. And a treaty is what he got. He wants to meet Catie and know what power she could have if turned. And that’s what he got. I got my fair side. I get to take Jordan, and just Jordan, along with Catie and I to meet Aro and one of his guard. Jordan can block away most of what I know about Catie and her power, and leave just enough for Aro to know the basic idea. Hopefully that won’t be enough to make him want her. But we know Aro. If he senses power that could threaten him, he’ll grab it for himself. So if he only knows the very minimum of her power, maybe he won’t want it badly enough to come after it.” I explained.
“That sounds a fair enough trade. Where are you meeting? Not in Volterra, I’m sure.” Carlisle said slowly.
“Of course not. Hong Kong, next Saturday.” I walked over to Emmett and rested against the wall next to him.
“So we still have a little time.” Carlisle thought out loud.
“Let’s go do this! Just go now. Why can’t we just up and leave?” Emmett blurted out. “Why do we have to wait a week? We could catch them by surprise and they’d never know what hit them.”
“Emmett,” Edward sighed.
“Yeah, I agree with Emmett.” Jordan agreed, sitting straighter on the couch.
“I don’t care. This is my deal. She is my niece. And I’m the one in the middle.” I tried to reason. Emmett looked down at me and scooped me up and ran outside. “Emmett!” I half screamed, half laughed. “What the hell, Em?!” I laughed as he sat me down.
“You need to calm down,” He smiled down at me, booping my nose when he said you.
“You make my life way too complicated. You know that right?” I asked. I looked up for a brief second.
“Yep,” Emmett laughed. I rolled my eyes and sprung into the air, trying to reach the tree branch above me. I grabbed the branch and started pulling myself up, but Emmett’s hand grabbed my ankle in time to pull me back to the ground.
“Gr,” I playfully growled at him, looking up at his face from his arms where I landed. He bared his teeth at me in some form of a smile, the smile fading quickly. His face went soft as he obviously went deep into thought.
“You know you love me,” he smiled at me, teasingly.
“Yeah, well…” my sentence trailed off, not having a comeback. “Put me down, please.” Emmett flipped me over and caught me around the waist so my head was about a foot above his. He looked up at me with an evil grin on his teddy bear face. “Emmett,” I started before he let go of me and caught me with my face even with his. His lips met mine briefly before letting me fall all the way to the ground. “Emmett. Just…no. Okay? Not now. Not here.” I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket for the third time that night. “Hold that thought.” I pulled my phone out and flipped it open to connect the call. “Hello? Actually, wait a minute.” I walked away from Emmett and turned and mouthed him to stay there. I jumped into the nearest tree and jumped through the branches quickly until I knew his sensitive ears couldn’t hear me. “Ok, you can talk now.”
“Mateja, I don’t like how this worked out very much.” The voice came through quiet but sturdy. I flipped my phone shut and took off through the branches.