Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
We stood in the entrance of the home of the Volturi, terrified at what was awaiting us. We had recently been informed by the secretary of the Volturi that we were to visit, as they had found a new leader, who was by far the most powerful vampire of all. Each coven was to visit, and we were the last vampires to see his greatness, whoever he was. The swish of a cloak caught my attention, and I was filled with terror as I looked up.
Jane was making her way towards us across the stone floor, her very dark grey cloak trailing behind her. "You may come in now." She told us, her high-pitched voice causing my family and I to shudder. Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and I were standing at the front, blocking the females of our family so that Jane's gift could not harm them. But she showed no signs of wanting to hurt us, so we followed her down a maze of passageways to a room I was very familiar with. It grew darker, and then suddenly something entered my head. Hello, Edward Cullen. I have been expecting you. I am the leader of all vampires. To my surprise, it was a woman's voice in my head. "How do you know my name?" I muttered.
I know all. Silly vegetarian, undermining the powers of the Volturi.
I snarled slightly, and I could hear this strange, foreign woman's voice laughing in my head. Suddenly, a brighter light filled my eyes as Jane opened the doors to the main room in Volterra. We gasped, as it had changed since we had last been here.
The three main thrones had been moved to one side of the room, while a small section of the guard (The more talented and/or beautiful ones such as Renata, Alec, Chelsea and Heidi) stood on the other side. Jane instantly swept over to take her place next to Alec. In the middle of the room, there was a huge throne decorated with ornate, gothic designs. It was set on a pedestal, and I was unable to look at the person sitting in it before I heard another word in my head. Bow.
"No." I snarled. I did not bow to Aro, Marcus or Caius. Why should I bow to this person?
BOW! They told me, but I refused to move, as did the rest of my family. Jane?
Jane nodded, and before I could bow of my own accord I was set on fire, being torn apart at the same time and splashed in acid. I fell to my knees in agony, and then the burning stopped. Beside me, I heard Alice's faint moan as she sunk onto the ground. That's better.
I looked up, to see the person who was the new leader, and gasped.
She was one of the most beautiful, yet sinister things I had ever seen. She had her head down, but her hair was in dark, almost black, waves down to her waist. Her skin was pale, even for a vampire, and in one hand she held a glass with a red substance that I realised was human blood. Her perfect figure was covered in a long, slinky black dress covered by not a black or grey but red cloak made of what looked like silk. On top of her dark head was placed a high, and incredibly ornate, spiky coronet made from what looked like solid gold, with onyx stones and rubies woven into it. Her mouth, almost the only part of her face I could see, twitched into a faint smile.
Thank you. She told me telepathically. I gasped again; could she read my thoughts?
Then her red lips moved. "Come forth, Edward Cullen."
I shook my head. "I would rather not." I strained to listen to her thoughts and ask why, but I could not hear them. She must have had a shield, and I was starting to realise why she could have been the leader; she had many talents: mind reading, telepathic communicating, blocking… I sighed slightly as I remembered someone else who I couldn't read, someone I had been cruel to and left….
You knew her? Hah! An image was suddenly placed in my head by this woman. Bella, my Bella, at the Volturi, on her knees in front of Aro, Caius and Marcus, begging for something. Aro leaned down, took her head and bit her neck…
"NO!" I screamed. They had killed my Bella! I pulled myself up off my feet and shot towards the woman, hands balled into fists, ready to…
The woman pointed at me lazily, and suddenly I froze in mid-air, just as I was leaping towards her. I could not move anything but my eyes, and I stared at her, terrified. I tried to move my arms, but they felt cemented.
"Put him down!" Alice suddenly shrieked. "What are you doing to him? PUT HIM DOWN!"
My family sprinted up to me, snarling at the woman.
"Jane." The woman said again, and I internally flinched at the screams from my family behind me. "Now, perhaps you will listen. Your little friend, the ugly little human, isn't dead but she suffered severely. I don't think she ever got over you… until recently."
"Where is she?" Alice whispered.
"Oh she's here, but don't bother looking for her. She doesn't want you anymore. In fact, she doesn't love you anymore. Like you said you didn't love her and want her. You d-don't want me?" she mimicked Bella's broken voice so well it made my heart rip in two. "Well, now things are reversed. See what you make of the New Bella. She's dying to see you."
"Is she coming in here?" Alice asked.
"Oh, she has already come." And then the woman lifted up her head. Despite the new, vampiric beauty and the red orbs that were now her eyes, I still recognised her.
My Bella.
The others gasped, frozen in place. However, I was let down, no longer frozen.
I fell to my knees, not as a bow but in shock. Behind me, the others were frightened, their thoughts worried. Bella got out of her throne and bent down. "I'm not your Bella! I'm not even Bella any more. My name is Belissima. Belissima, Queen of the Volturi. Now that I'm longer a frail human, I can torture you the way you tortured me. I can hurt you like you hurt me." She jabbed a long nail into my shoulder, and I felt incredibly strong and painful electricity pulse through me. I moaned, then my moans turned to screams as the electricity grew so strong that it would have exploded any human she set it on for a second. Alice whimpered.
Bella increased the pressure, and my screams turned strange and strangled. I gasped and choked at the same time as screaming, venom pouring out of my mouth like a fountain and burning my skin.
"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Alice screamed. Bella indicated slightly to Jane, and then Alice's screams joined mine.
"My Queen." Aro murmured. Suddenly, our pain stopped instantly, and I fell to the floor.
"I am not just weak and feeble. As if you could outrun me." She used my words from long ago, talking perfectly in my voice. She shot to the end of the room so quickly that she became a blur to even vampire eyes. We all cowered in fear, and then she reappeared.
"As if any one of you could beat me! I am more talented, more powerful, more beautiful, than any one of you stupid Cullens!" She pointed at the floor, and a flame erupted from her finger. As soon as it hit the ground, she froze it, then kicked it so hard that it shattered all over the room. Using her hand, she summoned the pieces and cast them at us. "We had better go…" Alice whispered, looking at the door.
It slammed shut.
"You're not going anywhere. You're my prisoners!" And then Bella laughed maliciously, striking terror through our souls.