A/N: Okay, so it's not a Calefaction update, but not to worry, I'm working on that as well. This idea came to me while I was sitting at work and it literally demanded to be written.
It's definitely A/U, so I'll give you a quick background before you start reading.
Bella has lived in Forks with Renee and Charlie her entire life. She has never met the Cullens, because they do not reside in Forks. She's lived a normal, happy life. Having just graduated High School, she decides to take a trip with her friends. And things don't turn out at all like they should.
Edward, Alice and Jasper do not live with the Cullens. Edward was turned, but not by Carlisle. (It'll be explained in the story) All three of our favorite characters are members of the Volturi guard, for their exceptional abilities. You may assume that Esme, Carlisle, Rose and Emmett are all living happily together with Tanya in Alaska.
I've taken the liberty of giving more of the Volturi quite a lot stronger powers, because frankly, I think that Bella was way too powerful in the books. It also didn't add up, fully to me, that she was immune to some stuff that I thought was mental, so I've set up my own determination. Bella's shield is still intact, however, while her mind cannot be swayed or influenced in anyway, and her thoughts do not escape the shield, so cannot be read, she cannot block others from using their minds to execute powers. You'll see what I mean.
That's pretty much all you need to know. Hopefully you enjoy it. Just FYI, it's a little darker than some of my other fics, though some of you that know my writing, know that I like to write my vampires a little more vampire-y than what Stephenie Meyer had in mind. :P
I have to give credit to my husband for help on this one. He has lots of plans for making Jane and Alec utterly evil, so we'll see how it goes. ;P
You guys will have to let me know what you think.
This will be Jasper x Bella eventually.
~Ex
Becoming
Chapter 1
Unwilling Survivor
The screaming had stopped.
I lifted my head warily from the cold stone floor, peering blindly into the consuming darkness as I pulled my hands away from either side of my head, where I'd had them clasped with desperate strength for what felt like hours. There were no more terrified cries of pain; no heart wrenching sobs. My ears echoed with nothing more than the frantic thundering of my own pulse and my panicked, gasping breaths. I wanted to be relieved. I should have been relieved. But there was no room left for anything but the all-consuming fear.
I was grateful, yes, for the sudden absence of the noises that had threatened to sink me into an abyss of insanity, but I knew that I would never forget what I had witnessed, by both sight and sound, until the very day that I drew my last breath.
Of course, that was looking suspiciously like today.
The wry observation both scared and cheered me. On the one hand, I wasn't allowing my imminent demise to dull the keen edge of my wit. On the other, I had apparently accepted my fate without even giving thought to a possible escape.
But what choice did I really have? Why allow myself foolish, futile hopes of escape, when I had seen...
I shuddered, closing my eyes and swallowing desperately against the bile that burned the back of my throat. Who knew how long I would be in here, how long I would go without food and water; it wouldn't be wise to vomit what few contents currently resided in my stomach. I threw myself onto my back, panting.
I'd been captured by monsters.
I laughed quietly to myself, shaking my head. Despite my predicament, I could easily recognize the insanity of the suggestion. In fact, I vaguely recalled watching a television program with my dad, some weeks back, and scoffing at the trembling, doe-eyed victims that recited their alien abduction stories with absolute conviction.
I certainly wasn't scoffing now.
Though I could say, with quite a bit of certainty, that my captors were not aliens, they definitely weren't human.
I'd developed theories; theories about what I'd seen, theories that I'd contemplated while locked within this dark, dank little cell, listening to what could only be the murder of nearly twenty people, but most of them were too terrifying to claim as anything other than the rather vivid productions of my far-too-fertile imagination.
They were beautiful. All of them. These human-like creatures that moved with unerring speed and grace. Their smiles just a bit too stiff to be genuine, their voices lilting with a melodic cadence…
"Miss, will you be joining us for the tour?"
I glanced up from a text message from my mother, demanding that I have the best time ever, or else, meeting a pair of dark eyes, fringed by the longest lashes I'd ever seen. They peered at me with friendly curiosity, and I smiled at the beautiful woman as I tucked my cell phone away.
I could hardly believe I was in Italy. Me, Bella Swan, of the smallest, rainiest town in the U.S., in Italy! It'd always been a dream of mine to escape the humid, green confines of Forks, Washington, and see what the real world was like. To find a place where the sun was reliable. Where the inhabitants had accents I could barely understand. Where I didn't have to worry that my parents would hear of my exploits through the wildfire that was small-town gossip. If I had any exploits anyway. I just wanted to see what was out there, beyond the tiny Washington town where I'd lived all my life.
And here I was. As a graduation present, Charlie and Renee, my parents, had purchased this amazing trip for me. I'd come with a few friends, Jessica, Angela and Lauren, my best friends since grade school. We were pretty much inseparable. The four musketeers, as we so nerdily called ourselves. The thought of being away from one another, even for a few weeks, was too much. So we'd convinced our folks that it was much safer for us to travel together.
We'd had an amazing time so far. Visiting the tourist attractions, gorging ourselves on the local fare, and making fools of ourselves in nightclubs, because hell, there really wasn't much of a chance of us seeing any of these people again, right?
Today had been our first falling out. Of sorts. It wasn't anything I expected to last. It never really did. One of us would call the other a bitch. We'd split up into our little two vs. two sides, and a few days later, it'd be all over. It's just how things were with us.
I wanted to go and see the Piazza dei Priori, they were only offering the guided tour today, while Jessica had her heart set on going to see the excavated Roman Theatre. Of course, we couldn't just split up and go our separate ways, like adults, though that's what we eventually ended up doing… After a knock-down, drag-out fight, where I actually pushed Jessica into a historic fountain, oh yes, you heard correctly, Angela and I had retreated to the Piazza to await our tour guide.
Ten minutes later my phone had begun buzzing. It was the text from my mom. My crazy, flighty mother, who probably would've loved to join me on this trip, if she wouldn't have missed my dad so much. I'd assured her that we were having the best time someone could in a beautiful, welcoming, amazing foreign country.
"Yes, my friend and I are attending, thank you so much," I smilingly answered to the super-model of a tour guide who'd addressed me.
Now, I'd never had any tendencies to play for the other team, or anything like that, but as we were led amongst the beautiful, old buildings, I found myself nearly mesmerized by our tour guide's voice. Every word that passed her lips may as well have been the melodic lyrics to the most beautiful song ever sung. Yet, if you asked me to recite the information that she passed along to us, I don't think I could have recalled a single fact.
We neared the looming Palazzo, and the woman, Heidi, turned to us with a stunning smile, I swear, I was nearly blinded by the sudden flash of white as she invited us all on a special part of the tour, reserved for only the most important of groups. Angela and I looked at one another skeptically, before grinning and shrugging. Why not?
Children's laughter echoed on the old, cool stone as we were led into the depths of the castle. It was truly beautiful. I always wondered how these buildings managed to withstand the test of time, without modern technology and renovations. It wasn't like anyone was still living here after all.
As we approached two massive, wooden doors, Heidi turned to us with a conspiratorial smile.
"Now, we normally don't do this, allow tourists into the main hall, but I think you guys deserve it."
There were several peels of laughter at Heidi's confidence in us, and as she pulled the doors open, we were ushered in quickly, the doors slamming shut with an eerie finality behind us.
I shifted nervously as I realized the chamber was already occupied. Three …interesting looking men sat on what could only be described as thrones sat before us, one looking gleeful, one apathetic, and the other pleased. I glanced at Angela as she murmured,
"Bella, what's going on? Did you know about this?"
I shook my head mutely as I realized there were several more people standing just beyond the dais where the three men sat. An attractive lot, all of them, but something… was off…
The gleeful man stood, shaking his long, jet black hair around his shoulder as he held his arms out in welcome.
"Esteemed guests of honor, we are so pleased that you could join us today."
By now there were several nervous mutterings behind us, and a tiny voice exclaimed curiously, "Mommy, who are those guys?"
The child was shushed… And then they were upon us.
I cried out softly, confusion and fear making my heart race wildly as there was nothing but chaos for several seconds. Pale blurs of movement swept through the room, knocking several of the tour group down, propelling several more of them toward the walls.
My hand fluttered uselessly toward my throat and I wrapped my fingers around the small swan figurine, carved from stone, that hung from my neck. Jacob had made it for me. Sweet, sweet Jacob, who always assured me that we'd be together one day, despite my protestations that he was just far too young.
I whirled toward the doors, reaching for the handles and yanking with desperate strength. They didn't budge. My arms strained painfully as I pulled harder. I had to get out. Me and Angela, we needed to get away.
Angela…
"Angela?!" I shrieked, panic sliding up my spine like an icy finger. "Angela!!"
I turned back toward the room, and it swam sickeningly as I took in the scene before me. Several people were laying in a pile near one of the walls, a tangled mass of bloody limbs. My stomach lurched, threatening to spill my lunch. I swallowed hard. Now was not the time to give in to the hysteria. I needed to get Angie, get the fuck out of here, and we could freak out together. Later.
"Angela!?" I pleaded, forcing my voice to rise above the din. Someone ran past me, pursued by another of the pale blurs and my legs began to shake, refused to hold me upright any longer as an elderly woman who'd offered me a butterscotch candy was taken to the ground with a feral snarl from her pursuer.
This…This wasn't happening. This was like a bad horror movie! Who were these people? Where was Angela? I clutched the stone animal at the base of my throat until it bit into my palm, drawing dark beads of blood that ran down my wrist.
I was hit with a hard, cold body within seconds.
Taken to the ground, I could only close my eyes and pray as strong fingers closed over my wrist, dragging my hand upward. I shuddered with disgust as someone lapped at the blood that dripped down my arm, moaning quietly in what I could only assume was appreciation. I struggled in vain as my head was jerked to one side by a cruel hand in my hair. Please let it be quick, I silently begged as a pair of cool lips touched my neck, just above where my pulse beat a wild, faltering rhythm.
"Wait!" A melodic soprano voice forced the foraging beast above me to halt, but I didn't dare open my eyes, lest I draw unwanted attention to myself.
"What is it, Alice?" came a growled response, that even for its animal-like quality, was beautiful in it's own right.
"Aro will want that one," she murmured, and my eyes flew open as I tried to decipher the meaning of the words. All I could see was the twisted visage of the man above me. He looked more beast than man.
"Are you sure?" he snarled from above me.
"Oh yes, I am quite sure," she replied, and suddenly the weight that pinned me to the floor was gone.
"Dammit, now all the good ones are gone!" came the complaint of my attacker as I rolled onto my stomach before pushing to my feet. I made for the door, tripping over my own unsteady feet before I was even close. I fell to my knees, gasping as my hand crushed down painfully on what felt like shattered bits of plastic.
What? I lifted my fingers slowly…
Angela's glasses. Oh god, Angela, where…
I grabbed the broken accessory and looked around desperately.
And then, she was there.
Her sightless gaze peered at me accusingly and blood trickled from between her lips. She was…
"Oh my god, oh my god, no, no, please!" I whispered. Suddenly, the sound of screaming filled my ears, a terrible, wrenching sound. It took me several seconds to realize that it was coming from me. I crawled over to Angela, the wounded animal sounds still erupting from my throat as I dragged her limp body toward me.
"Please, please Angie, no. No…" I whispered, before a pair of strong, pale hands pulled her away from me.
"No! Please, what have you done?!" I screamed angrily, climbing shakily to my feet, adrenaline causing spots to flash before my gaze.
"Will someone please shut her up?" A cool, bored voice commented.
"This ought to do it," came another.
Something landed with a hard thud at my feet, and I instinctively looked down.
The child. The child that had asked about the men…
Throat torn out…
Oh my god…
Darkness came at me swiftly, and as my legs buckled, I was thankful for it.
The sound of a key being inserted into the lock of my prison jerked me from the horrors of my own head, and I pushed myself into a sitting position, sliding back and pressing myself against the wall as hard as I could. I swallowed, the sound audible in the hush of the room, and waited, heart pounding painfully in my chest.
"She's in here. Aro said we should take a look, make sure Alice is right."
The door began to ease open, and light flooded the small room. I looked around desperately for some type of weapon, but the room was empty of anything useful.
"Ha. When has Alice ever been wrong?" came the reply.
There was more than one. I blinked against the harsh light, as one of them stepped into the room.
"Rise and shine, little mortal," came the caustic greeting, and I looked at my hands, clenched tightly in my lap. I feared that my nails would leave permanent marks in my palms.
"Hmm…Interesting." A low voice that reminded me of velvet slid past the door-opener and into the room.
"What's that?" the first asked.
"I can't hear her," replied the second.
"You can't? No wonder Alice said to hold off."
What did they mean they couldn't hear me? I wasn't talking! And who was Alice? Who were these people? What was going on?!
I felt the breath begin to rush in and out of my tightening throat and before long I was gasping, blackness swimming at the edges of my vision as panic set in.
"C'mon Jas, we can't experiment with her potential if you don't keep her calm," velvet-voice complained.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I'm not used to bothering with the humans. Their fear is fun."
A low wave of tranquility washed over me, soothing the tattered ends of my nerves, and I could suddenly breath again.
I glanced up sharply.
"What did you just do?" I demanded hoarsely, my throat raw from all the screaming I'd done.
"It talks," one of them uttered sardonically to the other.
I frowned mutinously and decided to keep my mouth shut.
"Well, let's get on with this then, I've got a trial to attend this afternoon."
Door-opener stepped into the cell, and grasped my arm, dragging me out into the light, despite my refusal to cooperate. He pushed me roughly into an uncomfortable chair, and I peered at the floor.
"What's your name?" Velvet asked.
I pressed my lips together, refusing to answer. Did they really thing that I was going to volunteer information?
I remained stoic for all of five seconds, when a strong, male hand roughly slapped my cheek, rocking my head back on my shoulders as the coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. Stars exploded behind my eyelids and I blinked slowly as I rolled my head back forward.
"Don't waste our time, mortal. This isn't some a game. There's no one to rescue you. It'd be better for you if you cooperated."
Velvet sighed at Door-opener's tactics, rolling his eyes.
"Aro won't be pleased if you damage the goods, Jasper."
Jasper. I glared at the handsome blonde man briefly, committing the face and name to memory.
"Now, girl. Please tell us your name," Velvet requested, walking into my line of sight, and making me catch my breath. He was like a fallen angel. A soft shock of tousled auburn hair, perfectly aligned features, lips that looked like they were made for kissing. It took me a second to remind myself that these were the bad guys. Still, as Velvet met my gaze, his a shocking blood-red, and commanded quietly once more, "Tell me your name", I felt my lips forming the answer without my permission.
"Isabella Swan."
He nodded, smiling charmingly at me.
"Very good, Isabella. Now, what are you doing in Italy?"
"Bella," I responded, shaking my head slowly. I felt as though a very warm, very comfortable haze had settled around me, slowing my speech and movements.
"Pardon me?"
"Bella, not Isabella."
His quiet laughter was indulgent. "Alright then Bella. You are quite obviously not from around these parts. Where are you from and what is your business in Italy?"
I blinked slowly, trying to remember. "Forks. I'm from Forks Washington, and I'm here with my friends… I… I just graduated high school."
Jasper chuckled. "She's young."
"I was younger than she when I was changed," argued Velvet.
"What's your name?" I found myself asking, interrupting their conversation.
"I'm Edward, and this is Jasper," the fallen angel declared, gesturing to the disgruntled looking man that had hit me.
"I don't like him," I declared petulantly, feeling as though the filter to my brain had been injudiciously turned off; perhaps it'd malfunctioned beneath the weight of Edward's gaze.
"I can't say that I blame you dear," Edward agreed, grinning as Jasper uttered beneath his breath about coddling mortals.
"Why am I here?" I questioned, this inquisition feeling incredibly surreal.
"At first glance, it would appear that you are not like your little human friends. We'd like to find out a bit more about that," Edward murmured, still holding me captive with his gaze.
I nodded helplessly. "Alright."
He smiled, looking away, and I was released from the grips of his thrall. The anger and fear flowed back through me, like poison raging through my bloodstream, as the pleasantly numb feeling Edward had invoked dissipated.
"What do you want with me?! You won't get away with this!" I cried, surprised to feel the warmth of tears streaking down my face.
"Ugh, why didn't you leave her in the trance?" Jasper complained disdainfully.
"Because, I can't very well examine her potential limits if I'm wasting my energies on a trance, can I? Can't you calm her or something?"
Another wave of calm washed over me, lulling my heart rate back to normal, easing the tightness in my chest.
"Well, she can't be a very good shield if I can manipulate her so easily."
Edward shot him a look. "That all depends on what type of shield she is. Physical, mental or emotional. Obviously, she's not the latter."
I glanced between the two of them, wide-eyed. They were obviously nuts. Of course, they'd just killed twenty people in cold blood, so that really wasn't in question.
"Nor the first, considering I didn't feel a thing when I hit her," Jasper mused.
Edward nodded distractedly. "Mmm. Mental then. A useful supplement to Renata."
"If she's strong enough."
Who? What were they talking about? Shields? Mental? Hitting? My head was beginning to ache from trying to keep up with the ludicrous conversation.
"One way to find out. Get Jane."
"You sure?"
Edward nodded thoughtfully, watching me, his arms crossed over his chest.
The one called Jasper left the room, and I was left alone with Edward. I briefly envisioned finding a weapon of sorts, knocking him out cold, and making a stealthy escape, but that wasn't happening and we both knew it. They hadn't even bothered to tie me up after all.
Several seconds later Jasper reappeared, a girl, younger than me, certainly, in tow. Her sandy brown hair was cut short, and her impish face held the same crimson eyes as the other two. She smiled slowly, the expression not at all pleasant, as she came to stand next to them.
"This is Aro's latest acquisition?" she murmured contemptuously.
Edward smiled at the girl.
"We were hoping you could tell us."
"What is she?" the girl, Jane, Edward had called her, demanded.
"Alice says a shield. A powerful one. I can't read her."
"And Jasper?" Her small head turned toward the blonde and she watched him curiously.
"My influence is working just fine," he declared.
"And judging by the bruise swiftly blooming on the girl's face, I suspect she couldn't befuddle you into not hitting her," Jane murmured with amusement.
"Nope."
Edward cleared his throat. "We need to know if she should be changed. As an addition to Renata's gift."
"Hmm," the girl murmured. "It seems unlikely that something so frail could possess any true power, but I suppose we were all human once."
She came to stand before me, her false smile falling far short of her gaze. "Alright girl, let's see what you've got."
She blinked once, slowly, before peering at me intently, her crimson gaze boring into my own. Something compelled me not to blink, though my brain was screaming at me to do just that.
Minutes passed and nothing happened.
Jasper began to laugh, and the girl jerked upright, a disgruntled look on her face.
"Well, I'll be. Looks like Ali was right."
Edward was smiling as well. "What luck."
Jane, however, looked anything but pleased and her gaze suddenly jerked toward me, her grin malicious.
"Not physical, you said?" she demanded quietly, intensely.
"Jane, don't," Edward warned.
"Don't what?" I asked quietly, before the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt swept through me, like fire scorching through my veins. My back arched, and my nails dug into the arms of the chair. I couldn't even utter a sound, my throat as tense as every other muscle in my body. I would have given anything, anything to make it stop.
"Jane!" Jasper admonished, and through my half-lidded gaze, I saw him grasp her slender shoulders and force her to look away. "Aro would be sorely disappointed if he knew what you were up to. She's still human, you could do irreparable damage."
I fell back against the chair, gasping, my limbs tingling with phantom remnants of the pain.
"You alright?" Edward asked.
I nodded, though it was probably the furthest thing from the truth.
"What was that?" I demanded between breaths, the muscles in my arms spasming lightly.
"Jane has the ability to inflict pain," Edward explained quietly as Jasper led the demon-girl from the room. "She can either make you believe that you are in incredible pain, which doesn't work on you, or she can inflict true, bodily harm with her mind alone, everything from severing nerve endings to causing a complete shutdown of every muscle group in your body. Your mind cannot be influenced, but you're not immune to physical damage."
Mental, physical and emotional…shields… I shook my head slowly. This was not happening.
"She's scary."
Edward laughed, nodding. "Yes, yes she is."
We lapsed into silence for several minutes, before I couldn't take it anymore.
"What are you going to do with me?" I asked quietly, terrified of the answer, but needing it.
Edward beamed down at me, his teeth unnaturally white, incredibly sharp looking, and grasped my elbow, guiding me to my feet.
"Looks like Aro has a new shield."
A/N: Let me know what you think. :) Thanks for reading!