Chapter Two:
They were in a brightly lit, unremarkable hallway. The walls were off-white, the floor carpeted in industrial gray. Common rectangular fluorescent lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling.
It was warmer there, for which Bella was grateful for. The hall they were in seemed very benign after the gloom of the ghoulish stone sewers.
Edward didn't seem to agree with her assessment. He glowered darkly down the long hallway, toward the slight, black shrouded figure at the end, standing by an elevator.
He pulled her along, and Alice walked on Bella's other side. The heavy door creaked shut behind them, and then there was the thud of a bolt sliding home.
Jane waited by the elevator, one hand holding the doors open for them. Her expression was apathetic.
Once inside the elevator, the four vampires that belonged to the Volturi relaxed further. They threw back their cloaks, letting the hoods fall back on their shoulders. Felix and Demetri were both of a slightly olive complexion–it looked odd combined with their chalky pallor. Felix's black hair was cropped short, but Demetri's waved to his shoulders. As for Alec, the pale boy in the pearl gray suit could have been Jane's twin. His hair was darker, and his lips were not as full, but he was just as lovely. Their irises were deep crimson around the edges, darkening until they were black around the pupil.
Under the shrouds, their clothes were modern, pale, and nondescript. Bella cowered in the corner, cringing against Edward. His hand still rubbed against her arm. He never took his eyes off Jane.
The elevator ride was short; they stepped out into what looked like a posh office reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets. The flowers' smell reminded Bella of a funeral home.
In the middle of the room was a high, polished mahogany counter. Bella looked around astonishment at the woman behind it. She was tall, with dark skin and green eyes.
She would have been very pretty in any other company–but not here. Because she was every bit as human as she was. Bella couldn't comprehend what this human woman was doing there, totally at ease, surrounded by vampires.
She smiled politely in welcome. "Good afternoon, Jane," she said. There was no surprise in her face as she glanced at Jane's company. Not Edward, his bare chest glinting dimly in the white lights, or even Bella, disheveled and comparatively hideous.
Jane nodded. "Gianna." She continued toward a set of double doors in the back of the room, and they followed.
As Felix passed the desk, he winked at Gianna, and she giggled.
They ignored the doors at the end of the hall–doors entirely sheathed in gold–stopping halfway down the hall and sliding aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door. It wasn't locked. Alec held it open for Jane.
Bella bit back a groan when Edward pulled her through to the other side of the door. It was the same ancient stone as the square, the alley, and the sewers. And it was dark and cold again.
The stone antechamber was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret… which was probably exactly what it was.
Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain. I wondered if they used it as an exit, like the hole in the street.
The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. As Bella silently watched, a pair of pale women in summer dresses paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls.
The exquisite faces all turned toward the party as they entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts–things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor. For a moment, Bella thought his long, jet-black hair was the hood of his cloak.
"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" he cried in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing.
He drifted forward, and the movement flowed with such surreal grace that Bella gawked, her mouth hung open. Even Alice, whose every motion looked like dancing, could not compare.
Bella was only more astonished as he floated closer and could see his face. It was not like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him (for he did not approach them alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the looks of curiosity)
Bella also couldn't decide if his face was beautiful or not. She suppose the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from herself. His skin was translucently white, and it looked just as delicate–it stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face. Bella felt a strange, horrifying urge to touch his cheek, to see if it was softer than Edward's or Alice's, or if it was powdery, like chalk.
His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky; she wondered if his vision was affected by the haze.
He glided to Jane, took her face in his papery hands, kissed her lightly on the forehead and then floated back a step.
"Yes, Master." Jane smiled; the expression made her look like an angelic child. "I brought him back alive, just as you wished."
"Ah, Jane." He smiled, too. "You are such a comfort to me."
He turned his misty eyes, and the smile brightened–became ecstatic.
"And Alice and Bella, too!" he rejoiced, clapping his thin hands together. "This isa happy surprise! Wonderful!"
Bella stared in shock as he called out their names informally, as if they were old friends dropping in for an unexpected visit.
He turned to Felix who had an expressionless look on his face, "Felix, be a dear and tell my brothers about our company. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this."
"Yes, Master." Felix nodded and disappeared back the way the group had had just came from.
"You see, Edward?" The strange vampire turned and smiled at Edward like a fond but scolding grandfather as he took a step forward, but when doing so he froze and took a deep breath from the air.
His red eyes snapped to Edwards, eyes narrowed, and his lips pulled back around his teeth in a small snarl, "What is this…" it came out as a his, as the whole room became tense and thick making Bella take a step back into Edward.
Edward tightened his grip on Bella, before answering in a frosty voice, "What do you mean Aro?" Bella had the feeling he was lying though, she didn't know why but she knew he wasn't telling the truth.
The vampire Bella now knew as Aro took another step forward and inhaled the air again, his body was tense and looked like he was ready to attack, "You know what I mean, boy."
Edward shifted, keeping Bella still in his arms but more out of Aro's line of vision. Aro who still had his eyes on Bella, glared at Edward when he moved to shield the young girl away from him.
Aro took a deep breath but his stance was still tense and eyes narrowed, "You have taken what isn't yours." Those words seemed to echo off the room, no one in was moving, and all the muttering and talking had ceased. Every eye in the room was firmly on Edward and Aro then went to Bella then back again two the two tense vampires.
Edward didn't say anything but moved more in front of Bella, his lips pressed together in a thin line and his usually gold eyes were pitch black. Bella's guess his eyes were black from anger, but she still didn't understand what he was so angry at. That and why everyone was saying that he took something not his.
She was so very confused.
Aro opened his mouth to say something but instead looked over his shoulders. All the other heads turned in the same direction, including Jane, Alec, and Demetri, who stood silently beside them. Bella was the slowest to turn. Felix was back, and behind him floated two more black-robed men. Both looked very much like Aro, one even had the same flowing black hair. The other had a shock of snow-white hair–the same shade as his face–that brushed against his shoulders. Their faces had identical, paper-thin skin.
The trio from Carlisle's painting was complete, unchanged by the last three hundred years since it was painted.
"Marcus, Caius….how wonderful for you to join us." Aro said, his voice was hard and sounded pissed off. Bella could only think it had to do with her and Edward, but still didn't understand the whole situation.
Aro paused and glanced at us, "It seems we have a …situation on our hands brothers….Don't you agree Marcus?" Aro looked at the man who sat down, he was the male with the dark hair and was looking at Bella in utter shock.
The man shook his head, before sighing, "Indeed we do brother….indeed we do.." His voice was soft but held anger and confusion as he looked at Bella then Edward than back to his 'brother.'
Caius glanced towards Bella and he looked at her in confusion before a small snarl left his lips. Aro glanced at him before giving him a cold smiled, "You smell it too then….it seems we have been deceived."
Caius glared at Edward, "What have you done Cullen."
Harmony Note: Chapter two! There! That is the last of the book I am going to use…sorry it had to be a lot of it..but it is important for me to use it. X3
Also, I am sorry for the long wait everyone had to have for this story. I had a lot of personal problems, as well as me move over 1200 miles to a new state.
I am back now! I hope to update once a week or so!
I hope everyone enjoyed this story! Hope to hear from you all real soon!
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