All right, so I was reading some FanFictions and I found this really good one called Protecting Him by twiXlite. It got my muse running around in my head, and it ordered me to write something about this. So, like any other reasonable writer would do, I of course agreed and therefore am writing this story for your benefit. ^_^ Anyways, before I post the lengthened summary, I would just like to disclaim all characters, except for a few that I designed myself to help along the plot. Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I do not. This is only my plot…
Bella has been working with the Volturi for over a hundred years. As Aro's personal pet, she holds a prominent place in the family's world. She lives differently from everyone else, only feeding off of animals rather than humans. Her only companion is the young vampire Nessie, whom Bella turned only a few years before by Aro's request. Life is simply uneventful, and Bella wonders if there is any more to the life she leads.
Aro, however, has received word of a coven in the Pacific Northwest portion in America that has reached a number the vampire world has never seen. A source has also revealed that a few of the members have gifts that rival the Volturi's. Feeling threatened, Aro can only do one thing: he must destroy them before they get any ideas of revolution.
Bella is the one chosen to go and scout out this strange coven for any weaknesses, but Bella finds herself in a new situation. What will happen when she meets these Cullens? Will she be willing to sacrifice her life, and Nessie's, to save them? Rated M for later chapters and please read and review!
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Chapter 01: The Mission
Bella POV
I sat alone on my favorite rooftop that night, letting the cool autumn air swirl through my long mahogany hair. My golden eyes scanned the world below me. Most people had retreated into their homes for the evening, and many lights were already off. I could hear the heartbeats of hundreds of humans around me, and the faint scorching at the back of my throat reminded me why I had to stay away from them. I was dangerous. And I hated it.
"Bella? Are you up here?" A voice that I knew too well reached my ears, and I tilted my head in the direction my dearest companion had been calling from.
"I am," I answered. Even after a hundred years, I never got used to how perfect my voice sounded. Or how beautiful I was. During my human life, I remember being plain and boring – but now I was so beautiful that even the prettiest of men would turn their heads to look at me. "What are you doing out here, Nessie? You know Aro doesn't like us being outside."
"I came to talk to you," my friend protested as she lightly climbed over the top and came to sit down with me.
She had beautiful reddish brown hair, like a coppery color, that went down to her shoulders. Her perfect porcelain face was long, and she had full lips and eyes that had once been chocolate brown, like mine had been. Now they were honey golden – proof that, like me, she chose not to feed from humans. She fed from animals. She was the only other vampire I knew that understood my lifestyle. Nessie was, in truth, the only friend I had.
I didn't like taking away the life of humans. I had never liked blood in my human life, and now drinking what had once been my fear seemed repulsive. I still felt the bloodlust that others of my kind felt, but unlike them, I chose to ignore it. Well, resist it was a better way to word it.
So I sighed. Nessie was a daring young vampire whom I had turned only two years ago under my master, Aro's, request. Ever since she woke up into this new life I had damned her with, she never left my side for more than a few hours. In truth, she was like the daughter I would never have. She was sweet, considerate, and brave too. For instance, our master Aro hated it when we were outside, but she came out here to be with me anyway. Nessie was quite the loyal one, and was never afraid to break the rules for my sake.
"Nessie, he'll be angry with you. And he would notice something when Jane began to hurt you and you didn't feel anything because I was protecting you," I reminded her.
Nessie shrugged and settled herself next to me, looking out at the night with the same speculative expression I had been using just moments before. "It doesn't matter. Aro and Jane can get angry with me all they want. I don't care," she stated bravely.
I shook my head. Nessie was young, and she didn't understand the power that Aro and the rest of the Volturi held over her now. She was going to start training with her abilities soon to become a member of the guard, and after that, Nessie would hardly see me anymore. I was reluctant for that day to come, because I had become quite attached to her over these past two years.
"You shouldn't say such things," I chastised her gently. "They are your masters now, and you have to obey them."
"Nobody is my master except me," Nessie declared in response. "I do what I want to, and when I want to. They shouldn't tell me what to do, and they shouldn't tell you either." She looked at me with a daring look in her eye as she swung her legs back and forth like a child might.
"You shouldn't be thinking those things. They'll only get you hurt," I warned her, knowing this was true myself.
Nessie eyed me for a few more seconds after that, and let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine. You win this time," she said submissively, ducking her head. "But next time, I'm going to win. You know I don't like to lose." She sent me a toothy grin and I couldn't help but laugh a little at her spirit. She was the most promising young girl I had ever met, and she still had hope yet of escaping this hellhole.
"We should head back in. They'll be missing us before long," I suggested, and I lithely got up to my feet and pulled Nessie to her feet as well. She was shorter than I was by an inch or two, and she took my hand and led me back down into the alleyway from which we had come. A small sewer hole lay in the dark corner of the alley, and we both plunged into it without a second thought. In a way, this was the front door to our home – we were as comfortable throwing ourselves into complete darkness, as a fox would be entering its hole.
Of course, there was no such thing as darkness for eyes like ours.
As soon as I got inside, I rubbed my back and shoulders against the dank-smelling walls. Nessie watched me curiously.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a tiny voice that was hardly more than a breath, but of course I heard it. I answered back in the same voice,
"Rubbing the scent of the outdoors off of me. Do the same, so they don't know."
Nessie nodded and copied my actions without a second thought. Once again, I was caught off guard by how much she trusted me. It would be hard when I convinced her to run away from here, or the Volturi tore her away for training. She didn't deserve this life, this prisoner's life that so many of us led.
When we were done erasing the scent of the fresh night air, Nessie and I ventured down the route we both had memorized. It was a few turns to the left, then a turn to the right… and of course it was then that we arrived at the place that I grudgingly called my home.
The human receptionist, Gianna, as sitting at her desk as usual in the reception room, glasses low over her exotic green eyes. She looked up as we entered, and gave us a warm smile. It sickened me that any human would want to be a part of this, so naturally Gianna and I didn't get along so well. But, since she wanted to be kept someday, she had to make a good impression on Aro by being nice to me.
"Good evening Bella, Nessie. You've returned a little late," she asked, though I heard the nosy tone behind her statement.
"Yes. I was showing Nessie some more of the underground tunnels," I lied smoothly. Had I been human, lies would have been hard to tell because the red on my cheeks would give me away. Now I could lie easily.
Gianna nodded cordially, though I could see that she wished she didn't believe me. But I was such a convincing liar now that she truly did believe me. She thought I was too stupid to lie.
"Have any meetings been called by our masters?" I questioned.
"No. Aro, Caius, and Marcus are discussing an execution with Jane and Alec at the moment. You may do whatever you wish," Gianna answered, and began to read the book she had been reading again.
Looking back at Nessie, I nodded. Together we strolled back to where our personal rooms were, not that we used them ever. As vampires, we never slept and therefore had no need for beds and chairs. All we had were dressers that belonged to us, and trinkets that Aro bestowed upon us as a reward whenever we did a mission successfully. There was hardly any privacy in the Volturi, with the powers of the members, but I was the exception to this rule.
It was strange, really. Many vampires had special abilities – besides the super speed and strength that came with being a vampire. My ability was to shield my mind and other's minds from mental attack. Aro, a powerful mind reader, could not read my thoughts. Alec, a sedative vampire who could blind all senses, had no effect on me. Jane, his spiteful twin sister who could cause mental pain with her angelic smile, could not hurt me. It was very useful, and Aro liked to keep me close by as his personal pet.
"Bella?" Nessie asked. She knew we were now in the hearing range of all Volturi vampires, so she decided to keep the conversation light. "When do you think we should go for our next hunt?"
"Er…" I wasn't expecting that question exactly, but it would do. "In about a week or two. You know I don't like to stretch my limits."
Nessie and I both heard the collective snorts that went off around us. None of the Volturi really approved of our lifestyle, but they had to accept us since Aro had a partial attitude to us both. Nessie also had an interesting power that kept her near Aro. She could show her emotions and memories through touch, and at the moment Aro was trying to experiment with her to see if it developed into anything else.
"Alright," Nessie answered. I knew she didn't like to be around everyone where our voices could be heard wherever we went. She hated having no privacy around others. I had grown used to it. We entered into my room, which was only a few rooms down from Aro and his wife's, and shut the door behind us.
Unlike most of the vampires here, there was a bed in my room and a chair or two. The bed was mainly for keepsake purposes – I liked having reminders that I was once human, and that I hadn't always been a monster who worked for even worse monsters. I also liked it because it was soft, and it was comfortable to sit on or lay down on whenever I got bored and needed a place to think. Nessie was a frequent visitor to this room, and she had grown used to my strange attractions to human things.
We sat in there for a while, thinking and making light conversation. For the most part, though, it was just us sitting in silence, thinking our own thoughts. I didn't know how long we were in there.
So I was surprised when a knock on the door interrupted our conversation.
"Come in," I called.
The door opened to reveal two Volturi vampires, Jane and Felix. Jane was a spiteful vampire who was half my size and twice as vicious. She didn't like me much, since Aro was beginning to show that he favored me more than he favored her. Felix was a bigger vampire who liked to wink at me often or make a physical move for me every now and then. He was quite flirtatious, and flirted with all the female vampires around – except Jane of course.
"Master wishes to see you," Jane snarled, narrowing her darkening red eyes at me. There would be another feeding soon, I could tell. "He has a mission for you."
"Something important, I hear," Felix said with an impish grin. "Congrats, Bell. You get your first big job." He winked, and I forced myself not to shudder at his use of the nickname he had invented.
"I'll go to him immediately," I assured them both, and I stood from the bed on which I had been sitting. "Come on, Nessie."
"The girl stays," Jane now snapped. "She is not allowed to be informed of this. You are to go to Master alone."
I sighed, and Nessie opened her mouth to protest. Before she could say anything to upset Jane and get herself into trouble, I gently touched her shoulder and gave her a reassuring glance. She looked at me for a moment before silently consenting and left the room. Jane and Felix both gave her a wide berth. Jane gestured that I go immediately, and I grudgingly obliged.
Aro's private meeting room was off the main hall, and when I went in, I was surprised to find that Aro was not alone. His two brothers, Caius and Marcus, were inside as well. It must have been important, and so I shut the door the second I walked in.
Sunlight filtered in through the window, and I figured that Nessie and I had spent at least a few hours alone in my room. The sunlight that came through threw rainbows across my skin as I glittered like a diamond. I sat down, and looked at my three masters with obedient eyes.
"My dearest Bella," Aro greeted me in a cordial manner. I was beginning to become his favorite, so his greetings were becoming more and more intimate. But now that his brothers were around, and he seemed to be in the makings of an important mission, he had no time to get up to kiss my cheeks or give me a small hug. To others, the touch would be alarming because Aro's amazing ability with minds, but not with me. "I imagine you've heard that we have a very important mission for you."
"Extremely important," Caius agreed, his maroon eyes bright with an emotion I didn't particularly like to see – malice.
Marcus simply watched me with the same maroon eyes and a dead expression. Nothing ever really showed on his face, and I had grown used to his stare.
"I've heard, sir," I answered, agreeing. "What is the mission? I'll do my best to do it successfully."
"You won't try. You'll do," Caius barked. He was always the more aggressive of the three, and he never liked the word try. He definitely was one who liked to see the job finished.
"Yes, Master," I mumbled.
"Now, now, dearest Bella," Aro began. As the leader of the three, he took a step forward to smile at me and began pacing back and forth. "I suppose you have heard the name Cullen mentioned before."
I nodded. Aro talked about his colleague Carlisle Cullen often – but he had never revealed much. All I knew was that Carlisle was a faint friend of the Volturi's. He had stayed with the three brothers when the family had been much smaller many, many years ago and had left. Aro never told me why he left, or where he lived. I had never thought anything of it.
"Bella, darling, this mission we are to send you on is one we haven't done in quite a while. The Volturi have had no need to dirty our hands like this in many years, and I do believe that you are perfect for this mission. You see we need a new face that the Cullens have never seen before; and one that they cannot decipher. I have heard that they have a mind reader amongst their ranks. Since you are able to evade my abilities, I have no doubt you can evade this one's as well. We need you to investigate this coven before we can charge them with any crimes," Aro explained.
"What crime do you wish to charge them with, Master?" I asked, my curiosity peaked. The Cullens were not a frequent topic of conversation – just least enough to make me interested in them.
"I believe they are conspiring against us. Their numbers have grown significantly in the past hundred years, from one vampire to seven. It has also become aware to us that many of the members have special abilities; and if they don't, there is some kind of physical quality about them that makes them dangerous," Aro now said. He gestured towards a great painting on the wall. "This is the patriarch – Carlisle Cullen, my once ally. Now I believe he wishes to revolt against me."
"Why would he wish to revolt against you, sire?" I questioned. As one of Aro's favorites, I had seen the painting many times. The beautiful blond vampire standing in between Aro and Marcus didn't seem to be threatening at all.
Caius snorted, which caused all eyes to revert to him. "Surely you are not so dull that you can't figure it out?" he questioned angrily. I shrank from his angry voice. "We have all the power in the vampire world. The Cullens could start a revolution, and come against us. I, as in we, want this threat eliminated so that it won't develop into anything worse than that."
"Why don't you just execute them all?" I questioned. That was normally the way my masters liked to do it – they liked to act quickly so nobody could react. "As soon as you can?"
"Well, you see, dear Bella, that we think there is a chance that some of the Cullens would be willing to join us. But of course we don't know the full extent of their powers, and some of them might be exceedingly useful," Aro informed me. "I have heard rumors that there is a clairvoyant one amongst them."
"We want you to see how powerful they are, and if any will join us," Caius added on. "That is the basis of your mission."
I sighed. There was no point in trying to argue my way out of this one, considering as the last time I had tried I literally almost had my head ripped off. Besides, if my masters wanted something this badly, there would be no stopping them from getting it. I knew that first hand. So I had the first mission I had had in decades – to explore a coven and search for traitors before they were all executed. It was going to be a dirty job, but I would handle it. I had to, if I wanted to stay alive.
"When do you wish for Nessie and I to leave?" I questioned. Nessie would be going with me, of course. There was no way we would be apart.
"Nessie? The foolish young one?" Caius sneered. "Bella, surely you know that she can't come with you. She is too young, and she will be a risk if she accompanies you. She will stay here."
"But-"
"There are no buts about it," Caius snapped before I could finish my response. "Your beloved Nessie will stay here under watch. She is too young to be trusted with something like this, and frankly I don't trust her much at all. She could turn traitor and have you turned in to the Cullens. They would have you murdered in seconds once they knew what you were plotting."
"Nessie would never do that," I grumbled before anyone else could interrupt me.
"Nevertheless, this will be a mission you will be doing alone I'm afraid," Aro said in regret. He paused in his pacing to offer me a ghostly smile. "You know I hate to risk your pretty head, Bella, but you are the only one I know of that the Cullens have not yet heard of or seen and that can literally hide your thoughts."
"Yes, Master," I said, sighing. How could I leave Nessie behind? She was my only companion, and the only person who truly understood me. This mission would be, quite literally, hell without her. And it would be hard on her too. She needed me, in a sense, and she relied on me to protect her from the nastier members of the Volturi who didn't particularly like her. I was more worried for her sake than mine, obviously. She could get hurt. She probably would get hurt. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if she did. She was my responsibility after all.
"Bella." Aro lightly touched my shoulder, causing me to look up at his papery face, his dark red eyes gleaming. "I know leaving your dear charge behind will be hard. But you must do this for the good of the vampire world. We can't afford revolution."
I sighed again, but nodded. "I understand, Master," I murmured.
"You will leave tonight on the first plane out of Italy. We will allow Nessie to accompany you to the airport – Felix will drive you both. But she will not be permitted to follow you onto the plane. Understood?" Caius said, leaning forward as he looked at me intently.
How could I not say yes? "Yes, Master," was my automatic response. "Where do these Cullens live?"
"They live in Forks, Washington. In the United States," Marcus suddenly reported, his voice blank. It was the first time he had spoken. He wasn't looking at me, though – he was staring into space. "There are three couples in the family and one lone male. The clairvoyant one will probably see Bella coming."
"Yes, yes, we've thought of that," Caius answered impatiently, waving a hand idly at the other Volturi brother.
"What am I to tell them?" I asked.
"I'm sure your wonderful, private little mind can think something up," Aro assured me. "You are a wonderful liar, Bella. I know you will do well, my pet."
"I will do my best, Master," I replied, and I turned to leave. "Is that all?"
"You are dismissed," Caius confirmed.
I exited their small office-like room with gratefulness. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I hadn't felt since I was a human. I felt like regurgitating the deer blood I had drunk last night, and I leaned against the wall for support for a moment so I could regain my composure. I knew what I was worried about, and I knew what my masters expected of me.
How could I tear a family apart? Marcus had said that the coven was made up of mainly couples. That must have meant they loved each other. How could I, a measly guard, ever have experienced such things before? Second, how could I leave Nessie behind? She was my charge, and she was too spirited for her own good. It would get her into trouble while I was gone, and I couldn't help but have the feeling that something was going to happen whether I liked it or not. That was probably what the feeling in the pit of my stomach was.
I was panicked. I was anxious. I had no idea what to do about the Cullens.
EOC: Ha! I finished the first chapter in three days. Not bad for a freshman, huh? Anyway, how did you all like it? I'm actually sort of proud of this, despite my crappy portrayal of Bella. Everyone's portrayal will be crappy probably. XP This is the first FanFic I've written that involved the Volturi AND all vampires. But once again, I'd like to thank the story Protecting Him by twiXlite because it's so amazing and it inspired me to write what will soon become this very angst-filled story. Y'all should go check it out. Please read and review, because reviews make my world go 'round! Thanks, and I'll try to update soon! - Dark and Wild