AN: lillielithium plus one – joint story enjoy - disclaimer: SM owns charcters, I own nothing
Aro POV
I finally have what I have coveted for almost a century. I am a collector; one must acquire some sort of interest to occupy the endless amount of time that is eternity; I like to collect. My collections are vast—from books to treasures, anything and everything, and, of course, knowledge. You see, I have a gift; with a single touch I am able to obtain an individual's every thought and action. My gift is very useful when trying to find the truth, since we of the Volturi are enforcers of the law that keep the balance and secret of our existence from the world. My gift is very useful.
My guard is a collection of the best vampires, most with very formidable gifts. My Jane and Alec were my most prized jewels. My Jane can bring down any opponent, only a single individual at a time, by sending them into an indescribable amount of pain. I asked her to try it on me once and there will be no repeat.
My Alec, sweet little Alec, was able affect large groups by cutting of their senses. With him, the Volturi were able to successfully take down any offending coven without casualties on our side.
Demetri, my tracker, was the best I have encountered in all my existence. He will be missed.
Chelsea is the most loyal of the guard; she ties our family together. Renita is my shield; she keeps me safe from any physical attacks. Many others have gifts and they serve me and my brothers well. My guard is quite the collection.
I sit on my throne, look to my right, then look to my left and sigh. I have what I have coveted the most, the seer and the mind reader; the future, past, and present. What an unstoppable force. Their eyes are wide in horror, yet are unable to scream. I extend my hand to the seer and ask to see her next move; again, the seer comes up blank. Yet she is still able to see others.
-Flash back—
The Volturi try to keep a close eye on all activities pertaining to vampires. Over the past fifty years, the population of vampires has dropped dramatically in the states yet we have been unable to confirm the cause of the phenomena. My brothers and I have come up with multiple theories: Maybe the humans have come up with a way of killing us? Maybe it is a hostile take over by a major coven? Maybe a very powerful coven is taking a claim on the states?
I have called some of the nomads and covens in the states. Some have answered some have not. Those who I have been able to reach have no news. Carlisle's coven, one of the largest, the strange golden eyed coven, had no knowledge of what has been occurring. It's been three years since I have contacted him. His coven has joined the Denali's through the union of the mind reader, Edward Cullen, and Tanya Denali, about forty-five years ago. Their coven has grown which, in itself, is rather worrisome, but that will be dealt with in time. And Carlisle…What gifted vampires he has acquired into his coven: a mind reader, a seer and her mate, the empath. What a trio. To have them in my guard would be magnificent, especially the mind reader and the seer. With those two at my side, we would be the past, present, and future. I cannot wait to have them and have them I will.
Today we have gathered to meet with a vampire named Isabella. She claims to have knowledge pertaining to the matter in the states. We meet in the throne room. My brothers and I sit, while my guard stands, awaiting our visitor's arrival, just incase she is a threat.
Isabella enters wearing casual clothing, jeans and t-shirt. Her arms are covered in scars, the mark of an experienced fighter. What makes me curios is that she seems completely at ease. Most visitors, friend or foe, tend to get a bit jumpy. I ponder on the thought. I wonder if she is gifted, and what power she may have to be as confident as she is.
She carries two large suitcases. I cannot smell the contents and that alone is curios. As I make my way to her and I notice her eyes are brilliant brown, which raises more questions. I see no contact outline; they are her eyes. I have never encountered such a case.
"Isabella, my child, may I?" I reach for her hand. I touch her offered hand and… nothing. I see nothing. I grasp her hand harder but, still, I see nothing. A few minutes have passed. My guard seems to be unnerved by the situation and Cauis is getting impatient.
"Aro, what is it? What do you see?" Cauis asks, annoyance evident in his voice.
"Brother it seems we have a shield amongst us. Our Isabella," I turn back to her. She stays quiet, an emotionless mask.
"Tell us Isabella, what news you have come to share with us?" I inquire.
"I have come to announce my claim to the States. You are to not to enter or will be destroyed. I trust you will be able to spread the news that the U. S. is off limits," she replies, seriously. My guard becomes tense and I see Jane smirk, anticipating action. The guard stands by waiting for further instruction.
I laugh. This girl comes here and has the audacity threaten us? Who does she think she is? Most in the room, except for Marcus and his indifference, are laughing. I silence them by raising my hand.
"Are you responsible for what is happing in the states or are you just a messenger?" I ask.
Her lips curl up into a smug grin, "Oh, I am responsible."
I would not believe her even for an instance. For wasting our precious time, she will pay. But she is a shield, maybe…
"I should have you killed for threatening us child, but maybe you can join our guard. A shield as powerful as yours can be very useful," I suggest.
She shakes her head 'no' with a grin still plastered on her face.
"Very well."
I wave my hand giving my guard the signal to attack. I turn away to sit down and watch.
I turn, hearing no movement. I see a light mist covering the room. She seems to be the one causing it, but no one is moving. Everyone seems to be frozen except myself and Isabella. She has let go of the suitcases and her eyes have closed.
As I approach her, she opens her eyes and I freeze. I am unable to move. She looks around. The mist is disappearing yet we are still frozen. As it fades, it seems as if something has been taken from me, but I am not sure what. Her eyes land on Alec, and then she continues her scan landing on Demetri. All are still frozen. What is she?
"I heard you like to collect," she states giving a pointed glance at my guard.
I say nothing because I am still frozen with whatever power she possesses and I am honestly afraid right now. She could easily kill us all, if she wished.
"I brought you a gift Aro. I hope you like them," she says with a smile that only seems to fuel my growing fear. She drops down to unzip the suitcases throwing down the faces of the suitcases simultaneously.
Two torsos fall out, both have their heads. They are frozen on the floor. Horror strikes me. Both torsos are missing their arms and legs but the wounds do not ooze venom. Instead they seem to be burnt closed.
"A little birdie told me you wished to acquire the seer and the mind reader; well here you are," she continues, "I thought it was an even exchange, fair two for two."
With that she turns to the guard. "You and you are too dangerous: you have too much power and you, tracker, just need to be destroyed." She points at Alec and Demetri and they are both crushed by some invisible force, pulverizing them. Their bits and pieces are set on fire—where it came from, I don't know. All I could do is watch, nothing else.
She turns to me with a smirk. "Stay out of the states and spread the word. All vampires will be destroyed if they enter my territory." She stops to take out what seems to be a flask. It does not smell of alcohol; it smells like blood but different, "All that action really made me thirsty, yummy plasma." She takes a drink after giving me a spine chilling wink.
"I only let you live because you seem to keep our kind in check. Keep doing what you're doing and we'll be cool," she says smiling. Her expression turns serious. "Do not cross me," she warns.
She pulls the suitcases and drags them towards my chair. She then pulls the limbless duo by the hair and puts them on each side of my seat. They look like statues, still unmoving. My brothers are still on their seats, both wide eyed and horror struck. She unfreezes the torsos and heads. Their eyes widen, mouths agape but no sound escapes them.
Isabella smiles widely at them. "Edward, Alice it was nice seeing you again, goodbye," she says politely. They continue open close their mouth but they are still voiceless. She turns to me, "Aro, come sit."
My body responds to her command. I sit down and she reaches for my hands placing them on each head. I am bombarded with what seems like endless information. I am almost overwhelmed with the cries of those in the room. Thanks to Edward I am able to hear everyone in the room. Everybody is completely horrified. Jane is screaming about her brother loud enough to make me flinch. I see little information on Isabella. All memories of her seemed to be almost edited. All things pertaining to her are blurry.
"Aro, I take my leave. Oh, before I forget: the side of each suitcase has their tongues. They were pretty loud so I had to take them off," she added. "Goodbye, remember U.S. of limits. Don't test me. Don't worry about your reputation, I won't tell anyone that I can take you. Embarrassing, don't you think?"
She leaves releasing us from our frozen state. Jane falls to her knees next to her brother's ashes and silently sobs. The rest seem to be completely shaken. I am frozen from the shock of the events that occurred. My hands are still placed on each head. I hear everyone's thoughts. I am able to see that all futures pertaining to her are blank. All the seer sees is us doing nothing, so for now we wait and heed her warning.
"Everyone return to your stations. Heidi go gather up some dinner," I order and point to the ashes on the ground, "and someone clean up this mess."
"Yes, Master."
They retreat. I turn to my brothers. For once, Marcus face is not a mask of indifference, but is equally as disturbed as everyone else.
"Brothers, the seer sees us doing nothing. We continue on, but if we pursue her, visions go blank. Blank means death."
Cauis and Marcus are still horror stricken to what we have witnessed.
"So it's agreed that we do nothing?" They nod in agreement.
"What are you going to do with them?" Cauis asks pointing at the seer and mind reader, their eyes pleading for death.
"I'm going to keep them. It's rude not to accept a gift," I turn to Simon, "You will be in charge of them. Feed them and fuse their tongues back on. That's just cruel."