La Tua Cantante
Edward is forced by Alice to travel to Volterra without any reason. What he doesn't expect is a girl that awakes his bloodlust that strong he couldn't almost stop himself lunging at her. He doesn't want to meet her again but can't avoid unfortunate circumstances. He doesn't want to kill her. But on top of that she's part of a travel group which is led by Heidi, one of Aro's vampire guards. Her duty is to lure some prey for the Volturi.
So will Bella become food for some ancient vampires?
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Twilight. Only this FF.
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Edward's PoV
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Craving
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I didn't know why Alice insisted me to fly to Volterra. She had a vision, though she didn't reveal it to me.
"It's important", she said. When I tried to read her mind, she blocked and translated something or counted in another language.
Carlisle accompanied me. Volterra was the city of the Volturi, the ruling class of the vampires, and they were on friendly terms with him. Despite the differences of thinking it would be interesting to converse with them, he guessed. After all, much time has passed since he has turned his back to go his own way.
Aro, Marcus and Caius already knew when we arrived. No vampire, who entered their town, could avoid them.
The reception committee, consisting of three tall, male vampires and one small, female one, welcomed us with open arms.
Although the little vampire looked like a young girl, it was clear she was in charge.
I refused to accompany them. I didn't feel like meeting some red-eyed, ancient vampires and to endure possible attempts of persuasion to drink human blood again.
While Carlisle went with them to welcome Aro and the others, I decided to have a look at the town.
The ravages of time had noticeably gnawed away at it. The buildings looked very old and most of them weren't restored yet. The sandy walls of the houses gave Volterra a romantic touch. It was perfect for little weddings and other familiar celebrations.
The cobbled streets, which by the way were really clean, let it seem to be from the last century.
Here and there little families and tourists bustled, especially on the Palazzo dei Priori, I was standing in front of right now. The sun was at the zenith and I had to stay in the shadow in one of the side roads, otherwise I certainly had attracted attention. The people were unused to see sparkling skin. A coil would occur and the Volturi would torn me limb from limb.
Then this was what they made their business. To keep our existence a secret. And everyone, who sinned against it, was eliminated.
On the piazza most of the vacationers were on the way. It didn't mean, they really moved. Some stood around, others sat on the verge of the huge fountain. All of them savored the warmth - the one I never would feel in me again - and it was little short of too unpleasant.
People exude the most different scents - some more, other less appetizing - and almost every time sweat was mingled in. It didn't bother me, because short time before our departure I had appeased my hunger.
Their thoughts were about the weather or the next sight worth seeing. Some were stressed out by the tourists who blocked gateways, others worried about their personal problems. Many young people were occupied to persuade the other gender to go on a date.
So far as possible I tried to blind out their thoughts, although it didn't work completely.
I witnessed how a boy spoke to two girls. One of them tall and blonde, the other small and brunet - with unusually pale skin, which really suited her.
He was obviously fond of both of them and wanted to hook them up. His thoughts almost made me sick and a strange feeling to protect the girl with the brunet hair was budding.
But the whole thing took care of itself, because she was aware of his intensions and rudely rebuffed him. Inwardly I sighed in relief and I was surprised of this reaction of mine. I had never been keen on those simple-minded humans. They were all the same and didn't deserve commiseration. I was always marveled how much empathy Carlisle could bring up for them.
The blonde girl wasn't particularly delighted, that Bella - that's what she called her - blew her potential date, though she didn't show it.
After short pouting they moved on. It seemed they were part of a tour group, because they attended a big gathering of people, who was standing in front of the huge campanile, listening to the memorized text of the leader.
I didn't pay attention to them and blinded out their thoughts again.
When I turned to visit another part of the city, something hit me from behind. It was no more than the feeling to get hit by a pebble stone and when I turned back to the piazza, I surprisingly noticed the girl with the brown hair, who I had viewed within the thoughts of the boy just a few minutes ago.
Now right in front of me, she even looked more vulnerable, more fragile and her pale skin was that thin-skinned, that I could recognize with ease the blood, what was rushing to her face and gave it a beautiful, light pink when she looked up to me.
I could hear her holding her breath for a short moment, before she began to speak and her voice was shaky.
"I'm sorry. I didn't see you."
She averted her gaze embarrassedly and blushed even more. It was an astonishing effect and I liked it more every second.
Her face mirrored her feelings with precision and I tried to read her mind to know what she was really thinking. But there was nothing. No single noise, no sigh. Sweet Fanny Addams.
I concentrated even more and slipped the thoughts of the other people in, but nothing from the girl in front of me.
This had never happened to me before.
I didn't understand it and I became impatient and angry. The urge to hear her thoughts was getting stronger.
"It's okay." I smiled - while I was intensely taking heed of her thoughts - and took one step towards her to help up.
At that moment an air draft stroke me and threw her scent in my teeth like a punch.
Abruptly I was standing still and froze.
It was completely different than the others. A thousand times more delightful and sweeter. It beclouded my senses, constricted my muscles and caused the venom permeating throughout my mouth.
I wanted her. I wanted her blood. At all costs. Forgotten was the secret of her thoughts, I tried to unlock just a few seconds ago.
Although I had been hunting shortly ago, this girl was sparking off such an allurement. It was unbelievable. Just some minutes ago I wanted to protect her from that guy, but now it looked like somebody had to protect her from me.
Because I was the real monster. I was the one, whose race subsisted from the blood of humans like her, though my family swore off it.
Instinctively she drew back a little, when she noticed my changed attitude. A natural reaction, beyond all doubt. That's how the prey should react, when it was standing in front of the predator.
I forced myself to subdue the monster inside me. The urge to lunge at her and to feel her warm blood, when it run through my esophagus, and that way to end her short life.
Carlisle had built up so much and I would annihilate it at a blow, with one bite.
Furthermore I would concuss his friendship to the Volturi vastly, call attention to a plethora of humans and probably forfeit my own life.
The Volturi would kill me, out of question. It was prohibited to hunt within her city.
If I really lunged at her, it would possibly be the last time I would ever drink blood. Not even extensively.
I was sure, within some seconds other vampires would appear, tear us apart and put a quick end to the whole fracases.
Carlisle would may condone me, if I gave in, because I couldn't control myself, but it would be a shock for my family, if I'm not there anymore. If the Volturi eliminated me. I couldn't do that to him. Nor to Esme or the others.
"All right?" Bella has raised from her knees and took a step towards me.
I held my breath and immediately my thoughts cleared a bit.
What a strange behavior. Usually she should run away. Save her life. Diverge from the monster, who fixed its gaze on her through my eyes and tried to gain the mastery.
Even if she did that, it would be easy to catch up with her.
She lifted a hand, but instantly took it down, when she noticed how I flashed my eyes at her.
This little human girl was about to destroy all I had, including myself.
While she was picking up a camera, she had dropped, when she had crashed into me, I took the opportunity to run in the other direction as fast as possible.
As soon as she straightened herself, I would already be some miles away.
Some minutes later - when I was sure of shaking off her scent completely - I stopped and breathed again, something the likes of us didn't necessarily have to do. It was just a habit.
Now since my thoughts were clear again - and I didn't thought of running back, luring her to a dark alley and dart for her blood -, it was absurd, a normal girl should possess that much power over me. To think of everything, I almost destroyed at once. It was frightening.
I pushed it to the back of my mind, like the memory of the scent and run to the hotel, Carlisle had booked. Probably I would use it alone for the length of our stay.
The desk clerk was more than friendly, when she saw me and selected the electronic card of my room.
Her eyes were sparkling, when she gave it to me and her thoughts sang out, that she memorized the room number to a nicety. For emergency.
I didn't take notice of her, though it didn't bothered her at all. I could feel her gaze on my back, even when I was on the stairway to my floor.
I could have used the elevator, but right now I preferred not to be too close to humans.
The room was luxuriantly furnished, like expected. We relinquished the butler, who was usually due to us.
I went to the bedroom and slumped to the bed with a loud sigh, the eyes closed. Unfortunately vampires couldn't sleep. It would really benefit right now.
I tried to persuade myself, that there were that many people in Volterra, I wouldn't run across her again.
Although it was more than easy to recover her scent - or her face into the thoughts of other people, she met.
I convinced myself over and over again, that it was the city of the Volturi and that they would stop me, that I couldn't disappoint Carlisle and the others and that I would hate myself, like I would hate that girl.
I was a vampire for almost one century and could control myself very well, and then there came such a human, who almost ruined everything. A simple human, a girl, that hasn't even done something. Just smelled too good.
And she wouldn't know, why it happened to her. Her, who maybe hasn't done anything before, would asked herself - while my sharp teeth bored into her skin - why it was her of all things.
Then there was the thing with her thoughts. Lone the fact, I didn't want to kill her, stopped me from looking for her to find out, why I couldn't read her mind.
Why she was an enigma to me.
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