Tears of Ice
Isabella Swan is a warrior of the Volturi. A daughter of the Volturi. Sent to avenge the death of Caius's mate, she arrives at the doorstep of the Cullens. Equipped with seemingly limitless power, she sets out to blind the Cullens with her charm and doom them to the wrath of the Volturi and namely, her. Her task was not to only kill all of them but to kill one of each pair of soul mates, an act that will bring the rest of them to Italy to seek out the Volturi and eventually surrender to their fate….whatever it is that awaits the remaining members. However, the moment she stepped into Cullen's big house, her gaze and heart was stopped by the one Edward Cullen and suddenly she was faced by everything that she's ever wanted everything that she can never have and everything that will secure her death. Betray the Volturi to save Edward, or Betray Edward and set the motion that would inevitably eliminate his family and maybe more. Isabella Swan is not faced with a choice of life or death; -for that part has already been decided for her-she is faced with a choice of her hearts one true desire or the only family she's ever known.

Hell hath no fury like a vulture scorned

And where the offense is, let the great axe fall.

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet Prince of Denmark (King at IV, v)

"Iz." A soft voice called from her doorway.

Isabella Swan looked up from the intricate designs on her white mourning dress. It was Amicus. She looked at his handsome face and saw right through it. Beneath his stone cold and slightly apprehensive gaze at her she saw his mind. She sighed inwardly. It was time. The masters had called upon her. She didn't know why she was surprised. After a tragedy this substantial, she was sure to be summoned to do something. This wasn't something they were going to take lying down. It now personally involved the masters itself, and she knew sooner or later she'd be called. She guessed the surprise came because of the haste of things.

"Alright." She said soft and somber.

Actually she knew what the surprise was from. It was from the loss itself. If the infallible Aurora Dupal could succumb to death then what else- everything that was once only myth to the most powerful of the Volturi- could happen?

Death.

The word that was usually poison to the mouth was spoken in an almost blasé tone around here. They didn't die. They couldn't.

Could they?

She looked at herself again in the mirror standing tall and beautiful. Stony and beautiful. Cold and beautiful. Her eyes never letting any real emotion show. That was the way it was supposed to be. Everything was calculated, measured, watched for. If she smiled her brilliant smile, there was a motive. If she frowned upon something, there were no words to be said on what was to be done next. If she looked in interest, one will always wonder what she had seen. And lastly, if she showed any pain….

Well she wouldn't. That was an absurd thought as any.

Her long white dress beautifully wrapped around her body, carefully showing off her painfully perfect body and making her look radiant even in such troubled times. She never had to do anything to her cascading brown curls but they shone in the light nevertheless. The eyes that looked back at her sparkled with subtle danger and a hint of frustration. She closed them. Those red rimmed eyes could betray everything. And she didn't need that today but she couldn't help doubting. Was this all that she would ever live for? Beauty and power? When-and if- ever she was struck to her death, impossible as that may sound, would she ever be content? Was Aurora content? Did she die at a cause so trivial to Isabella that it was almost laughable? Was that all she would ever achieve? She shuddered. The murder itself was a mystery to her. One that was irritating her at the back of her mind with more questions. This wasn't right. She had to be thankful that she was here and she was how she was. If the Volturi never found her, never protected her, never nurtured her to be who she was she would still be a lost ravaged human lost in the city of vampires. She carefully conformed her face to picture the impassive and sardonic vampire she was supposed to be. She looked toward Amicus.

"Shall we?" she said smiling slightly.

She couldn't help but like Amicus. He was her friend and in many ways had 'grown up' with her through her years as a vampire. He was also mouthwatering like every other male vampire in the empire but he was different. His beauty could only match Leonardo. The vampire that spun legends with his infinite beauty. The legend was actually a very much veritable one. One that Isabella had the privilege of looking upon and unlike her usual lackadaisical attitude she had –against her initial protests to herself- paused looking upon him unsure if she was able to look away. But the Volturi kept him 'underground' and had made him a researcher and a warrior to train the other batches of Volturi around the world because keeping him in the city doing Volturi work that he was born for would make the silent city of powerful vampires suddenly look like the grounds of which Halloween was born. However, keeping Leonardo inconspicuous was like trying to hide an angel in hell. So he was also trained in concealing it shape shifting the humans ignorantly say. Leonardo was an irritation to Isabella. When she was with him, she did things that she had no control over like staring and not being able to finish her sentences. Although Leonardo forgave it graciously having experiencing much worse in his lifetime, she was still irked that someone could do that to her.

Amicus however was a brother, a friend. She could sometimes smile at him with one of her rarest genuine smiles of gratitude or rarer still a smile of true happiness. He's only seen it a couple of times replacing the stoic marble of a face. He was one of them who could talk to her normally without the ranks and greed of power involved. He could tell her his honest feelings and it would possibly be listened not brushed off. In her silently difficult world, he was her best friend. He could very possibly love her if she had let him but this was Isabella Swan. If love were spoken in her language, it would translate to seriously deranged.

"Yes let's not keep the masters waiting." He said breaking into a smile as she took his white clad arm.

"This will be interesting." She said as both of them walked slowly arm in arm.

"Oh it most definitely will be." He said warily.

"You know that I can sense you are nervous. Afraid I'll be the next to not return?" she asked humorlessly.

"Iz that is not even something to joke about during such distressing times. Not even for you. You know what this means don't you. And you know Caius will not go finish the job on his own." He said tensely but evenly looking straight ahead.

"I know," she spoke softly almost intangibly. "Oh do have a sense of humor Ami. Think of all the fun I'll get to have!" she said in a chiding tone injecting the humor where necessary although in her heart meaning nothing of it.

"They'll send you away." Amicus almost growled in aversion which caused Isabella's eyebrow to rise.

"Of course. What else do you expect? But Amicus I am not a child. You know plenty well that I can take care of myself." She said almost defensively.

"Of course you can," he sighed as he brought her to a stop at the double doors that would set her fate in motion.

He brought her around to face him.

"Don't bother saying goodbye. If you do you might forget to come back." He said looking almost forlorn.

Isabella took him in. His white mourning suit should have made his already excessively pale skin look bleak. Instead made it glow even more. His shining beacon of blonde hair look almost surreal. The silvery white tie sometimes reflected his black red eyes making him look like the vampire he was made to be. She didn't smile but she gave him one of her appreciative looks. A look that anyone would have jumped with excitement for, but he just smiled his ridiculously Leonardo-like smile. She traced the outline of his tie amusing herself of the contrast of her blood red nails to his impossibly white being. It lasted about 10 seconds before she turned to put her pale, pallid hand on the gold wrought handle, she paused, saying nothing. But as if she forgot something before she yanked the handle down, she turned to Amicus and caught his hand as he turned to walk away. She put her cold fingers to his cheeks and touched his hair lightly as if she forgot what she wanted to say.

"Lei è bello." She whispered thoughtfully in Italian then gracefully turned around to enter the regal room.

"Isabella! You've come at last. Leading the poor boy on like that is hardly fair love." Aro boomed in greeting in his ever cheerful tone despite his brother losing part of his soul.

"Eavesdroppers." she chided playfully.

"Ah, we were getting old waiting for you. Old men need something to do with their time, no?" said Marcus in even repartee.

Isabella chuckled good-naturedly. "But aren't you old already?" she smiled slyly.

She bowed to the both of them slightly inclining her body just to show her accredited respect but nothing more. Then she realized what was missing. The third brother.

Caius.

She smirked but said nothing.

Come out come out wherever you are. She taunted silently as a private joke to herself knowing no one could hear her. But as if he could a pale white figure slithered into the room at the corner of her eye. He said nothing but she could sense his impending wrath.

"Come here Isabella. I have a very important task for you. Of the utmost importance and urgency. Come young one. Listen to our tale." Aro said while holding Caius's hand in one palm and Marcus's in the other. His eyes were closed and the brilliant white identical mourning robes billowed around them almost in perfect choreography in the strangely airless room. His face suddenly stern, losing its jovial manner. Isabella did nothing but wait. She would know of the task before they spoke of it, granted. But she allowed them their formalities as they liked it.

Isabella was prepared. She was ready. But never did she thought that what she was assigned to do was so extremely dangerous and exciting at the same time that it made her breathless at the thought of what her actions would incur. This was what she was waiting for wasn't it? Her own glory amongst the Vultures of the Volturi.

"Yes of course it will be done…..Father." she said before exiting cringing inwardly at the word she was 'encouraged' to call the elders especially Aro. Since she might as well is the daughter of the Volturi. The royal daughter of the vampires. The one they found and were immensely proud of. The one they thought and trained and groomed to perfection. The one Isabella Swan.