Chelsea

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> Chelsea became the linchpin in Aro's organization. Her ability to both make and break emotional ties is the power that keeps the guard unified and the coven functional.
>
> Entry on Chelsea's profile, The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

**Chelsea** (original name **Charmion**) is a member of the Volturi guard. She is first mentioned in *Breaking Dawn*, and only exists in the novels. Chelsea is a central member of the Volturi because she has the gift to influence the emotional ties between individuals. She is mated with Afton, who is also in the Volturi guard.

## Biography

### Early life

Chelsea, originally named **Charmion**, was born in Greece before 1100 BC, not long after the original Volturi members. Aro discovered her in the midst of a difficult time for the Volturi, since his brother-in-law, Marcus, failed to find the killer of his wife, Didyme, and became suicidal and depressed. Aro had Chelsea use her power to tightly bind Marcus to the Volturi to ensure continuous loyalty. Since then, Chelsea became the linchpin in the Volturi as she keeps the other guards unified and the coven more functional. Because of her vital role, she often gets what she desires from Aro, who also uses Corin's gift to keep her in the Volturi.

Much of her history remains unknown throughout the series. However it is known that Aro used her gift to bind Marcus to himself and to Caius (thus making him remain loyal to the Volturi). It can therefore be assumed that Chelsea was already with them when the coven was founded, and rose later to power.

She had changed her name a few times over the millennia to keep it from attracting attention while frequently interacting with humans and vampires outside the city of Volterra. In the 1950s, she changed her name to Chelsea, and will use it until it becomes out of fashion.

Her role in the Volturi is explained in detail by Eleazar in *Breaking Dawn*: in battle she separates the allegiances between allied covens, thus preventing them from fighting as a whole, allowing the Volturi to defeat them much easier. She also distances the innocent members in a coven emotionally from the guilty, thus justice without unnecessary brutality.

### *Breaking Dawn*

 File:Volturi-whole.jpg

> Chelsea’s attempts to sway us fluttered impotently against my shield.
>
> Bella, Breaking Dawn

Chelsea makes her first appearance in *Breaking Dawn* when her coven prepares to "punish" the Cullen family for creating an immortal child. They later learn that the child they were prepared to eliminate is in fact a half-human half-vampire hybrid. When the Volturi leaders make a pretense of counseling, Chelsea attempts to break the bindings of the Cullens and their allies to no avail due to Bella's shielding power, which also keeps Jane's and Alec's powers at bay. She later attempts to bind Bella, Edward, Benjamin, Zafrina and Kate to the Volturi, but fails also.

When Alice Cullen gives Aro proof that half-vampires can be shrouded from human discovery, the entire Volturi retreats to Volterra in peace.

## Physical description

Chelsea is described as being short with an hourglass figure. Her hair is light brown, and her eyes crimson. Her height is 5'3".

## Powers and abilities: relationship manipulation

Main article: Relationship manipulation

> Her name is Chelsea. She has influence over the emotional ties between people. She can both loosen and secure these ties.
>
> Edward on Chelsea's gift., Breaking Dawn

Chelsea is gifted with the supernatural talent of influencing the emotional ties between people, either by weakening or strengthening them. Aro, one of the Volturi leaders, used her gift to keep Marcus loyal to the Volturi after Didyme's, Aro's sister and Marcus' wife, death. Due to the importance of her gift, Aro thinks of her as one of the high-ranking members of the Volturi, along with Jane and Alec (the Volturi's strongest offensively gifted members), and uses her as a secret weapon to disband their enemies and binding wanted people to the coven.

Chelsea's main occupation is to distance the innocent emotionally from the guilty by severing the bonds that are shared. Also when a vampire Aro is interested in appears, she secures the ties of that vampire to the Volturi, prompting them to serve willingly. Eleazar suspects that Aro had been using her power to make the Volturi guard co-exist easier, as well as strengthening their willingness to obey the leaders.

However, her power has few limits; as stated by Eleazar, she cannot as easily influence the emotional ties of people that are stronger than friends or acquaintances, and in a normal case, even those who think of each other as family. She could not have changed the way Bella and Edward felt about each other, for example, or the ties between a true family, i.e. one that deeply cares for and loves the members within it. When she is not around those whose bonds are tied by her power, her influence will not fade immediately; rather, it wears off over a matter of time depending on how long a person has been exposed to her power before separating from her.

Also, though she can influence these ties, she probably doesn't have to the power to see them. This is supported by Marcus's ability to read emotional bonds between people, and the fact that Aro does not surround himself with second-best gifts. If she could see them in the first place, he would not have needed to keep Marcus in the coven. Her power is also the main reason Caius had not attempted to overthrow Aro.

Her power is also mental, as proven when she unsuccessfully tries to bind Bella, Edward, Benjamin, Zafrina, and Kate to the Volturi during the conflict in *Breaking Dawn*, only to be blocked by Bella's shield that blocks mental powers. Chelsea's power is described as a fluttering pressure against Bella's shield.

## Relationships

### Afton

Chelsea's mate, Afton, is also part of the Volturi guard. His character is not described, except for showing some measure of invisibility. His affiliation with the Volturi is due exclusively to his being Chelsea's mate, showing her standing in the coven.

### Aro

 File:BD2-FinalAro.png
Aro is Chelsea's creator. After discovering the potency and advantages her gift provided, Aro started using it to collect power over the millenias. Because of her vital role in the coven, Aro often provides Chelsea with whatever she wants.

However, Aro is no fool; he has been utilizing the gift of another guard, Corin, who can make others feel content with their situation. Since, as a side effect, this power is addictive, Chelsea was unable to leave. Nevertheless, Aro shares a relationship with Chelsea unlike those he has with everyone else.

## External links

* Stephenie Meyer's official website
* The Twilight Series' official website
* The Twilight Lexicon