Chapter One

Athenadora

This was a very special day and we were all waiting expectantly as she came in with the young child walking a little nervously at her side. It must be overwhelming for the little girl to be in such a huge chamber with so many strangers all wearing dark colors, the guard in their black or gray cloaks and standing to attention. I couldn't remember the last time this had happened, hybrid children so very rarely lived until birth or their mothers for that matter but when such a coupling led to a healthy child then it was a case for rejoicing, so long as the child were a true hybrid with a gift. Such children grew up and continued in the human world watching out for our safety. They provided a link between the human world and that of the vampires. Some lived a human life span and then passed away while others became completely vampire as they reached adolescence, hopefully old enough not be regarded as Immortal Children and then there were the special few, an elite group of hybrids that maintained a foot in each world, not aging but not fully vampire either and these were treasured above all others.

We had great hopes for this child, she had a human mother of course but her father was a hybrid, the son of Caius my husband and one of our elite. If this little girl proved to be gifted then she would be brought up here in Volterra in secret before being settled into the human world once she understood her role. Of course it depended on her gift, if any. Unfortunately Caius had no gift, nor did his son Avon but the mother had been chosen by Eleazer who could spot a gifted human instantly. She shielded her mind from any outside interference unaware of Jane's attacks upon her, oblivious to Alec's and protecting her very thoughts from Aro's touch. If the child had her mothers gift, which in itself was not a certainty, then she would prove powerful indeed.

Her mother Matilda walked slowly up to the dais her eyes locked on her husband Avon. She had been unaware of his nature until she became pregnant with his child and then he told her of his true parentage and brought her here where she could be tended to for the length of her pregnancy. This child she had carried and given birth to was to all intents and purposes my grand daughter, a tiny little bundle but very quiet. At first Matilda thought her baby was dead but when I placed the child in her arms she saw her daughter looking up at her placidly. The child was named for her other grandmother Isabella although it was soon shortened to Bella. The child remained quiet although she smiled a lot, her brown eyes twinkling. She grew quickly and went from crawling to toddling in a matter of a few months. Her brain was quick and she was eager to learn taking in everything anyone said to her like a sponge.

Now it was time for her to meet Eleazer, who would tell us if Bella were truly gifted like her mother. He walked forward to greet Matilda and Bella looked up at him inquiringly,

"Hello little one, my name is Eleazer."

He held out a hand to her and she took it very gravely shaking it,

"Hello Eleazer, I'm Isabella but people call me Bella. I prefer that."

He smiled at her and knelt down to look into her face studying her eyes for a few seconds then stood back up and nodded,

"You are a very special child Bella, learn all you can while you live here. There are many opportunities for you."

Bella nodded solemnly then tugged on her mothers sleeve,

"May I go outside now and play with my kitten?"

Matilda glanced at Avon who nodded with a grin, his daughter would be brought up here in Volterra, a singular honour only bestowed on the gifted children.

We watched the little girl skip out of the room followed by two of the guard, she would be under Volturi protection now until she was a grown woman ready to enter the world and her gift would remain a secret unless needed by us for keeping our world safe. I knew Chelsea and Corin were already favourites of hers but Bella surprised us all as she grew. She came to adore the austere Marcus which we all found very amusing as he usually frightened grown men but the tiny girl followed him around, her favorite place was in the archives seated on his lap looking at the books and parchments. He taught her to read before she was three and often she would read her own bedtime story or make up her own to tell us. Her other favorite as she grew was Felix and although Sulpicia and my husband found that even more amazing I knew she had seen through the tough frightening exterior to the sensitive man who lay buried below. He taught her about the natural world, first presenting her with the kitten, then a rabbit, and a songbird that she taught to ride on her shoulder as she ran about the citadel.

As she grew her shield was tested at regular intervals to see if it became stronger as she developed. At first she could do the same as her mother, shield her thoughts from Aro's touch and stop Jane or Alec from affecting her. A shield was useful but only if it could be used like Renata's to protect others unless of course Bella had another way of using it but that seemed unlikely. We found out quite by accident that her shield had strengthened when her cat Lexi attacked her tame bird Flora. Before Sulpicia or I could go to its aid Bella turned, she didn't say anything, just looked and the cat came to a halt an inch from Flora. She patted the air close to the bird with a paw but couldn't touch it and Flora flew up into the air to land on Bella's shoulder. After that she practised with Jane and volunteers, shielding them from the pain of her gift. Before long we understood that she was far more powerful than Matilda, Bella could shield others, protect them from harm but like Renata she must be very close or touching her target. If she took her hand away or moved slightly then Jane's gift would hit its mark. Only when Bella knew the person well could she start to move away, it worked best with Felix, Marcus, or myself as we had the most to do with her, apart of course from Matilda but Bella would never allow her mother to be used in these experiments.

Our guests were few in number and those who were called here never saw the child or heard of her. The guard knew better than to discuss her with any outsiders and Eleazer was sworn to secrecy, he knew what would happen to himself and his mate if he told anyone about Bella. As she grew her intelligence kept pace and we knew she was going to be extremely clever. She graduated school, all done remotely, at eight and earned her first degree when she was eleven. She had decided that psychology interested her, why people did the things they did, what motivated the humans and vampires around her. Following in her mother's footsteps she chose to become a psychologist although she enjoyed anything to do with the mind and behavior. It was a refreshing change to have her here in Volterra as a child and a young woman and I think we were all sad when the time came for her to join the world at large. Her parents were gifted a large house just outside Boston and while Avon still came back and forth to Volterra regularly Bella stayed in the United States with her mother working with the sick in mind and having great success but then she was a most unusual girl. We enjoyed her annual visit and it was a relief to see that she would be as immortal as we, meaning she had to move from time to time before it became too apparent to those around her that she was not ageing. Life was good for Bella and she enjoyed it to the full but she had spoken to me on several occasions about a feeling she had that one day her gift would be put to work in a good cause. Although I asked her what she meant she could only shrug,

"I have no idea Athena, its no more than a feeling but Marcus says I should listen to my inner voice because they never lie."

"Then that is what you must do my dear."