Disclaimer: I still do not own Twilight; I own a copy of all the books and film though.
AN: I have decided to add more on to this story, since there is a six week gap before the volturi actually gets to forks.
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Metesme, the first to review this story and the first person to put any story of mine on their favourite list and story alert so thank you very much x
I had to be very careful, when travelling I had to make sure I wouldn't be caught out at in sunlight in another country. Luckily it was winter so when I arrived in London it was raining outside, all the humans were huddled in their coats and rubbing their gloves together for warmth even inside the airport. It was at times like these that I was thankful for being a vegetarian; it would be difficult for many to walk inside such crowded human places when their scents are all mixing together and you can hear hundreds of heartbeats around you.
As I waited for my connection I listened to the hearts, they beated out of rhythm some hearts beating fractions of seconds ahead or behind of others creating a constant stream of thudding in my ears. I was used to the stares I was receiving now; many men were looking me over, giving me sweet interested smiles before walking away. The girls were divided into three categories, the first would look at me in a jealous way admiring and wanting either what I wore or my looks, the next were friendly smiles of girls who I made eye contact with, third was the girls with a man, who once they caught their men staring they would glare at me and try and win back their man's attention.
I was distracting myself, away from the guilt and anger I felt. It was still there, as vampires our minds aren't one minded tracks, able to be thinking of several things at once so my mind never completely left the issue of the Volturi and my cousins. I was trying to distract the greater part of my focus, by eyeing up young single human males. I hadn't done this in months but the art of seduction was second nature to my sisters and me.
As human's we had all reserved our 'virtue' for our future husbands, husbands we had not yet acquired upon being turned into vampires. We were all young, me and Kate were in our late teens, I'm not sure how old since age wasn't really measured accurately back all those centuries ago. Tanya is physically a few years older than us, but the reason as to why she was unmarried at that age on her human life remains unclear. But as vampires we didn't want to wait around until a vampire male came along, it was Tanya who came up with the idea of being with humans, it took centuries to actually perfect our thirst and strength, after that the human males came quite easily. Me and my sisters are actually the basis for legends.
When I finally heard the voice over telling that my plane was finally ready for boarding I got up and quickly got in the que, luckily getting in at the front. I couldn't know if Alice had seen my decision, it hadn't been planned but what if she was searching for me? This decision directly affects her and her family so she proberly caught it. If I'm going to do this then I have to reach Italy as fast as possible, Alice was known for her impeccable timing, I was hoping I had acted too quickly for her to stop me. I wouldn't accept any excuse about why they had created an immortal child, there is no excuse great enough. They would only stop me by killing me.
I boarded and headed for my business class seat, a perk of this was the unsociable business men who sat there, it was quieter here than the buzz of the other classes which I could still hear but weren't as clear. The flight would last about two hours and then I wouldn't be far from Volterra. I would have to run the distance from the airport to there, it will be quicker than by car. I had tried to time my journey as carefully as possible; I had left for England in the afternoon and arrived by around 10pm, so by the time I'm in Italy it will be midnight, giving me several hours to get there before the sun rises. It wouldn't take me long to reach it, from this airport I'd be running about 50 miles and considering the speeds vampires can travel at this will take me about twenty minutes if I can run full speed without stopping.
I was planning everything out, how I should do it where I should go. I had never been to Volterra before so I didn't know the city or where the volturi actually where in it. Even though me and my sister's upheld the law and didn't tolerate it being broken we had never had to report anyone for a crime so this was all new to me. I would assume they would live in the centre of the city, being close to the outskirts wouldn't do them any favours incase of an attack. I had very little knowledge of Volterra so I would have to search until I found a vampire.
The flight was quiet, if an attendant approached me offering a drink or anything I politely shook my head and returned to my thoughts, I could hear the buzzing of several laptops in use in the cabin and tried to tune them out along with the occasional cough, sigh or yawn. This felt bad, I couldn't stop the guilt for what I was about to do. In all the time I've known the Cullen's they would have been the ones I'd least expect that I'd have to hand over to the law. They were good people, Esme was like a second mother even though we rarely saw her, so caring she couldn't help but make sure we were ok and well off, me and my sisters had become so independent after losing our own mother that we welcomed the care Esme tried to bring to us.
Carlisle was very dear to us, being so compassionate and kind as well as leading others to abstain from human blood to live better lives was truly amazing. We abstained from it for our own selfish purposes but Carlisle did it to help save lives. The only vampire I had ever known who cared deeply about the welfare of humans and actively tried to help them, I was unsure of the total number of charity's he was donating to, all under various names of course.
We were close to each Cullen, Jasper had struck up a friendship with Eleazar in the few times they had met, Tanya was very close with Rosalie as was Carmen with Esme. A bond was there that would be difficult to deal with when severed. Perhaps it already had been severed; to them I was a nothing more than betrayer now. A friend turned foe.
The time had gone so quickly that when I realised the plane was descending to land I was rather shocked, where had my time gone? Just because I knew I had to turn the Cullen's in doesn't mean I was happy about it, no matter how angry I was at them. I was dreading having to give them up but soon another issue came to mind.
I would be coming face to face with my mother's killers. The whole guard had come. All those years ago it was common for the whole guard or most of it to come to get Immortal children. So many had come because it was normal for the whole coven to defend the child, I wondered if we had known about the boy, would we have died to protect him? Would we have loved our secret brother?
I got through the airport with no problems, walking at human pace through the empty terminals where I would occasionally pass a couple arguing in Italian or someone asleep on several chairs. I hadn't learnt Italian, I knew several other languages but I had never taken the time to learn this one. In the airport I managed to acquire a map of surrounding city's before leaving, I walked down the empty streets until I reached the outskirts of the city and into the country. Using the map as a guide I navigated my way across the fields, running at full speed under the moonlight. I didn't stop until in the distance I saw a small city perched upon a hill, I could barely see the actual city since it was surrounded by a large wall. I discarded the map at a nearby fence and headed straight for the walls.
I followed the road leading up to the town where I reached a large gate with wooden doors, no doubt this was the original entrance to the city but they must have created a new entrance for cars and Lorries over time. These doors however were closed, there must be an open entrance somewhere but I couldn't wait so I lifted my self onto a small waist high wall then jumped up to the top of the bigger wall and stepped off the edge of it. I floated down to the ground softly on the other side, the climb, jump and fall barely taking a second to complete, no humans would have seen it, not that any would be up at this time.
I took off down the streets walking in different directions until I would find a vampire, I walked through small side streets and arched doorways but would change and correct my path if it led nowhere. Gradually the paths between the buildings grew narrower where the buildings were more closely packed together; when some of the taller houses cleared a few streets away I could see a massive clock tower and the turrets of a castle. I headed for that and within a seconds I was standing in a large empty square with a fountain under the clock, I knew this must be it, this was the heart of the city and was swimming in the scent of vampires, I recognised some of the scents of members of the guard, Jane, Alec, Felix, Demetri among them. A few of the vampires I had met before when they had come to our home to destroy us.
Several of the scents were fresh but they crossed over in the square and the city so I wouldn't be able to follow one, I sunk into some shadows in an alleyway but I could still see the clock tower, I would wait for someone. A few seconds later I heard footsteps, they were quick but too heavy to be a woman, definitely not human steps, I looked around me as they grew louder then realised there was two sets, marching in time.
"What is your business here?" I heard a deep voice ring out from the darkness before the pair stepped out from the shadows. I recognised one as Felix the one who spoke, he wore a light grey cloak the same as the man next to him who I did not recognise.
"I need to see your masters." I declared confidently, no need to let them see my nerves. I was well aware of the fact I was in the shadows with two heavy built male vampires, both more experienced fighters than me.
"They are busy, what is your reason to see them?" Felix asked me, his tone was cold towards me, no doubt acquired from the centuries of service he's provided the Volturi.
"I need to report a broken law." I told them, shuddering as I thought of the awful task I was about to do. They ignored my shudder.
"We have many laws, which one has been violated?" He questioned me; his tone had changed now I had mentioned a crime.
"The law concerning the creation of Immortal children." I replied, both hissed when I mentioned the immortal children, their hisses were long and low and I tensed in response.
"Follow." Felix demanded before both he and the other vampire turned and walked away quickly their cloaks swirling in the wind as they moved; I fell into step directly behind them and followed without speaking another word. We walked through a few ally ways before Felix dropped out of sight, I looked at the open grate he fell through, the other vampire stopped and motioned for me for go first so I stepped forward and dropped. The underground tunnel was dark, humans wouldn't have been able to see but to me I could see every detail of the rough brick walls as well as I could in daylight. The vampire dropped behind me and remained behind; we walked in single file down the dark tunnel, our footsteps echoing quietly off the walls. The tunnels were damp; the moisture was warm in the air and was mixed with the stench of small rotting animals and vegetation.
We passed through several gates before reaching a thick wooden door which Felix pulled back easily. We entered through a long hallway, and straight for the elevator, the hallway was quite unremarkable and reminded me of poorly decorated industrial shops. In the elevator both of them pulled back their hoods, Felix hadn't changed in appearance in the last eight centuries but I didn't know the man with him who I would assume to be a native of this country or it's neighbours due to his olive completion. His hair was a very dark brown and was tied in a long ponytail; I had never met a male vampire with such long hair.
Once we got off the elevator we were in a large reception area, decorated with fresh flowers and paintings, I could smell the velvet and old oil paint in the room. I knew I was now in the main castle where the Volturi coven lives and roam, everything here was very expensive, green leather couches arranged in small groups, but to our world the volturi are practically royalty and it seemed they like their material possessions. In the room was a large mahogany counter, behind it was a woman standing and reading through some papers and despite the late hour she did not look tired. She was beautiful for a human, tall with very pale skin with long straight red hair. She smelt of lilies and cinnamon, she gave off quite a strong aroma. No doubt she will be fought over when she becomes useless. She looked up at me and smiled kindly before looking at Felix who to my surprise dipped his head low to her. "Rebecca." He acknowledged her before continuing.
We walked down a large hallway with an arched ceiling, the thick green carpet laid in the reception continued down into this hallway as well as the wood panelled walls but the paintings became more intricate, the tables with flowers grew more frequent as we came to a large set of doors. These doors were unlike anything I had seen, both doors towered high above and were completely gold. Its golden surface gleamed under the florescent lights. Felix stepped forward and opened the door, ushering me inside first.
I couldn't believe the scene before me, the room I was in was a ballroom; the floors made from polished wood, the walls were painted white with designs all over them in gold leaf. One side of the room was lined with large windows with velvet curtains drawn across them on the other there were several doors with gilded handles; some had chairs next to them. The room was breathtaking, the ceiling was also patterned with gold leaf and a large crystal chandelier hung down with hundreds of candles lining the top of it. The ceiling was also curved around and held intricate oil paintings of angels and saints. Tables had been placed around the edges of the room holding beautiful flowers in crystal vases. In one corner of the room there was a grand piano where a young male vampire was playing softly, next to him was other vampires playing on harps and other string instruments.
After taking in the room I focused on the faces of the vampires, there were many vampires present all of whom were beautiful, they floated through the room. Some were dancing, graceful dances that looked like they were walking on air but too quick for human eyes to ever catch the swift soft steps they made. Everyone was dressed in formal clothes, gowns and ankle length dresses made from silks and decorated with small beads and embroidery. The men wore suits, obviously expensive ones, some however wore clothes from several centuries ago with their linen shirts tucked under silk waistcoats then covered with their jackets. It was an amazing sight; I would have never expected the volturi to hold real ballroom dances. Felix stepped into the sea of vampires and carefully started dodging dancing couples; it was easier for me to manoeuvre neatly through the small talking groups or dancers due to my size. The other vampire was right behind me.
After a small group moved out of the way I saw three large golden thrones, all decorated in gold like the rest of the room, many vampires were converged around them, some in the gowns and suits while some wore the robes and cloaks in varying shades of grey. In the throne there were three men, the first was occupied by Marcus who looked completely bored and was staring at the ground infront of him, he wore that same expression centuries ago, perhaps it has become permanently etched on his face. He wasn't wearing a suit but wore simple, plain clothes. They were designer of course but paled in comparison to every other male and his hair hung like normal.
On the other side, the last throne, sat Caius. He was conversing with some of the guard nearest to him, but he was scowling as usual, his snow white hair had been combed back and was wearing a dark grey suit with a black cloak that had been swept back. His milky red eyes stood out more than usual against his pale skin which was almost the exact shade of his hair. I noticed how each member of the guard was placed in specific positions around him and Marcus, eyes forward watching the dancing crowd before them; I could see that each was wearing suits or formal clothes under the thick cloaks. Some however started watching us when we came into sight of the thrones.
On the middle throne sat Aro, his jet black hair was also combed and looking unnatural against his skin which was easily the palest of them all. He wore a black suit, more formal than Marcus and Caius were wearing, his arms were resting on the throne's arms but his left hand was open, palm up where he was holding the hand of a female at his side. He was watching the people around him but I could see his lips move quickly and quietly, he was whispering to the female beside him since she was reacting slightly to his words. She was obviously talking back through her thoughts. The woman next to him was beautiful; I suspected this was Sulpicia his wife. She was beautiful, no wonder she was married to the most powerful man in the whole word, she had long blonde hair. Unlike my silvery blonde hair, hers was golden and slightly wavy. She wore a gown that was cream in colour and had small intricate designs on it in embroidery and golden thread run over it in designs. The gown itself was old, not a modern dress, it was styled for almost a century ago, in the early 1900's I'd guess. I had never seen one of the wives before; they rarely leave the safety of their castle. On the other side of Aro I noticed another female, a guard who was so close to Aro it looked like she was glued to him, her fingers just millimetres away from his shoulder, she seemed to be watching me intently as I approached.
Felix stepped up and caught Aro's attention, Aro whispered something to Sulpicia who nodded and stepped back while Aro stood up, a smile stretching over his face as he noticed me, it was a friendly smile, as if he was glad to see me.
"Irina, how nice to see you, it's been too long since our last meeting." He greeted me enthusiastically; the smile making it look like his skin would crease from it. Felix however inched forward and Aro's gaze swept over him, he raised his hand and Felix immediately touched his palm for a second before lowering it. Aro's smile faded slightly as he was being told of an immortal child. Aro looked back to me; his guard, wife and the rest of his close company were watching our exchange.
"Well, that changes things." He stated simply while he raised an eyebrow, he glanced at his guard, who immediately tensed and moved forward, noticing the subtle change in his tone and his glance.
"Come Irina, tell me more." He commanded, reaching his hand out towards me. Everyone closest to us had stopped dancing, I was an unknown vampire to them, entering with members of the guard, dressed in normal clothes and heading straight for Aro. They proberly knew I was here on business. Taking a deep unnecessary breath I stepped forward, feeling guilty for doing this to my family I gently pressed my fingers into Aro's cool grasp.
AN: I thought I'd take the volturi out of that stone room we see in NM and into those gilded doors Bella sees. Edward does mention that the volturi are the nighttime patrons of the arts, that might not mean fancy balls with harps and dancing but they are considered royalty right? A picture of the ballroom and Sulpicia's gown will be available on my profile. Oh and you'll find out why Felix acted that way towards the receptionist soon. Please review, it makes me happy and I'm more likely to update faster, thanks for reading x