The first time he met her was when she was ten years old. The window of his hotel suite was open so he could idly watch the insignificant mice run about, rushing through their fleeting lives as if there were a physical clock above their heads. Which, he supposed with a faint twitch of his lips, wasn't necessarily wrong. Humans' lives were almost disappointingly short. It led to them sprinting headlong through their short existence in a vivid and violent explosion of color and life that was second only in beauty to the taste and smell of their blood. Aro was not an immortal that chose to ignore what humans did. Information was important, after all. He never involved himself, however, because while he was curious, he was not foolish. Humanity, beautiful as it was, was dangerous.

Nonetheless, seeing the wondrous things they could create in their limited lifespan was absolutely fascinating. One such thing was held in his hand and his bright red eyes traced the smooth lines of the small silver phone as he ran a thumb across its surface. Such wondrous little inventions, he thought with a soft huff of air. He abruptly went rigid as he breathed in, nearly crushing the phone in his palm, completely ignoring the soft calls of "Master?" from behind him.

That smell…

He was no longer in a hotel room waiting for night to fall before exterminating a reckless coven in the American Southwest, but in the house of his human life, a house he was sure he'd forgotten over the millennia, in Greece. The sun was warm upon his shoulders, and a light sea breeze weaved through his dark hair. He stood to one side of his family's courtyard, one hand splayed against the wall of his home, the rough brick warm beneath his fingertips. In an array of purples, white, and yellow, flowers grew along the edges and center of the courtyard, a product of his sister's caring guidance. He breathed in their scent, smiling to himself.

Crocuses.

Aro blinked, dismissing the imagery, and leaned toward the window, pressing against it almost desperately to locate the source of that treasured smell. Below his window on the sidewalk, he saw a small girl in a white and blue sundress on her hands and knees, her tiny hands clenched into tight fists. The woman standing next to her, a rather unremarkable human with wavy brown hair and blue eyes, sighed sharply and put her hands on her hips.

"Again, Bella?"

Bella.

"Sorry, I'm fine," came the soft reply.

The woman knelt down and offered a hand to help the girl up.

"Come on, honey, we're going to be late to the movie."

"I know. I'm sorry."

The little girl pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the proffered hand, and winced slightly. Aro narrowed his eyes and swallowed down the reflexive pooling of venom as he caught sight of the blood on her knee. So it was her blood that was the source of the smell? Interesting. He continued to observe as she bravely fought to not show the pain on her face. With a slight limp, she followed behind her mother, one hand reaching to grab the woman's hand (she had too much pride to accept help, but was still enough of a child to seek comfort in spite of it, then; Aro found this both amusing and delightful) and the other tangling in her own mahogany locks, tugging slightly. Was it in nervousness or agitation? For some reason – which set off a faint, niggling curiosity in the back of his mind – he wished he knew. To Aro's surprise, as Bella turned her head this way and that, she turned her head up and made eye contact with him, causing him to stop breathing. No, wait. Perhaps she hadn't seen, as her eyes swept past. Her attention went back to her feet in deep concentration, possibly to prevent another tumble. He took an unnecessary breath, shoving down the peculiar tingle spreading through his limbs. Why was he feeling this way?

"Master? What is wrong?"

He waved a hand distractedly, following Bella with his eyes until they rounded a corner where he lost sight of them.

"Nothing at all, dear Jane. That little human simply fascinates me."

He heard more than saw her face crinkling in confusion and mild distaste.

"Would you like for one of us to fetch her, Master?"

For a split moment, Aro seriously considered the idea. He could find out why this young human smelled like home, kill her, and be done with it, letting it be categorized and filed away with no further thought on the matter. But no. Simply killing her would not do. That would spoil the fun, now wouldn't it?

"No. We will let this one live. In fact…" he allowed a pleased little grin to form, inwardly excited at the idea developing in his head. He turned to face Jane, paying no mind to her perpetually blank look. His hands folded on his lap and one leg propped itself on his knee.

"After we are done with this silly little coven that thought they could dare defy our laws, I am tasking you with an extended mission."

Jane blinked.

"A mission, Master?"

"Indeed. I want you to follow that human and provide me with monthly reports. If you must, I am authorizing you to take Demetri with you if you are at any point unable to find her."

The small vampire was silent for a moment as she processed the request, not allowing any emotion to show on her face, before replying.

"Of course, Master. What shall the reports consist of?"

She didn't ask about why he wanted to keep tabs on the girl. Good. It was not really her place, or any of the Guard's, to ask for reasons behind his decisions. He raised a hand in a casual gesture, tilting his head to emphasize the effect.

"Whatever information you feel would be pertinent. I shall trust your judgment in this matter."

Another moment passed before she nodded minutely, bowing slightly at the waist.

"It shall be done."

The last vampire squirmed in Aro's grip, a look of terror plastered on his face. The pieces of his coven mates lay in a pile, burning quickly. To onlookers, Aro appeared benevolent, holding the kneeling vampire's face in a way that seemed deceptively gentle. His expression was almost sad, like a disappointed parent. Tears of venom were pooled in his captive's eyes, never to spill.

"M'lord, Master Aro, please, we didn't mean to, I didn't mean to, I won't do it anymore I swear, please, just let me go, please, I promise, I promise I won't, please–"

"Shh, shh. You should have known better, Mister Ames. You know I simply cannot allow any of our kind to go unchecked. It is a danger to our world. Your actions almost exposed us to the humans, and we do not want that, do we?"

Ames shook his head as much as he was able, seemingly dry sobbing in his fear.

"There, there, it will be alright now. There will be no more accidents, no more suffering. Allow me to set you free."

With that, Aro seemed to barely flick his wrists and the vampire's head was detached with a metallic screech, cutting off whatever pleas may have come after. Jane and Demetri pulled the rest of the body apart and added it to the pile of burning corpses. Aro sighed lightly to himself, brushing his hands off on the edge of his suit jacket.

"Distasteful," he intoned softly, but then he rounded on his guard and clapped his hands together, a genial smile on his face.

"Now then, with this matter completed, you should begin on your new mission posthaste! I trust the first report will be in my grasp within the next week. Thereafter, your reports will be expected on the first of each new month. Please do not tarry, my dear."

It looked like Jane wanted to say something, but instead clenched her jaw and made a short, stiff bow. Aro waved after her as she walked off, smiling.

"Do be safe!"

There was no reply, and the elder vampire chuckled to himself. Even if she didn't like it, she would do as he said. She had no choice in the matter. And that was precisely how he liked it.

Report 1:

Full name: Isabella Marie Swan

Blood Type: O-

Birth Date: September 13, 1994

Age: 10

Progenitors: Renee Higginbotham Swan / Charlie Swan (Status: Divorced)

Current Residence: Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Disposition: Unusually serious compared to other young humans in the same age group.

So her full name was Isabella. Aro said it to himself a couple of times, allowing the letters to roll off his tongue. It was a pleasing name. He moved to his desk, tutting softly and pulling out a spare piece of parchment.

Dearest Jane,

I thank you for being so prompt, but may I suggest that you add a little more zest to your narrative?

-A.V.

Jane stared at the letter, trying to fight off a scowl. This was already enough of a pain; now he wanted her to tell him a story? What was this human even worth? She sighed through her nose in an uncharacteristic sign of agitation and closed her eyes.

Fine.

He would get his stories.

Report 1.5

Isabella seems to be exceptionally clumsy and actively avoids contact with her peers. It is not obvious as to why yet. She is prideful and takes exception to others thinking that she is helpless.

Well he could have told her that, Aro thought to himself with a derisive and ungentlemanly snort. He'd seen that trait in her already, as obvious as the sky was blue.

She has been observed to care for her home's flowers and plants, as well as most other menial tasks. Her mother does not seem to do much, in comparison. It almost seems as if the child is the parent instead of the adult.

Self-sufficient at such a tender age. Fascinating. It was rather uncommon to see such maturity in humans her age in this century. As he considered the information already gathered, he wondered if perhaps such self-sufficiency was not as pleasing a concept as it could have been. Young should be taken care of by their parents, not reverse.

It would take more information, more learning.

And he intended to learn everything about her, at least until he'd satisfied his curiosity and properly categorized her in the vast expanses of his mind.

All he needed was time, and he had a lot of time.

All the time in the world.