FLYING

The plane was over-crowded and since I had only just bought a ticket using the biggest bribe possible (Edward had forgotten to take back his credit card) and the plane was almost totally full, I was sitting in what was possibly the worst seat ever despite the fact I - well Edward - had paid much more than them. And I'd complained about the food on previous journeys.

Trying to get comfortable in the tiny seat covered with a thin layer of cushion, we were flying straight to Volterra by using - or rather abusing - a stretch of ground which used to be a block of flats before it was abandoned (the owners couldn't be bothered to pay for necessary repairs and so the whole place was closed) and knocked down. It had been a large piece of land, and so it was being used well and converted to a tiny airport, but for now it was just a stretch of ground used by the planes. Confused yet? Yeah, I know.

No-one else seemed as desperate to get to Volterra as I. Maybe that would explain why I was the only one sitting in this little section with about twelve seats. Explanation: they would rather wait. Why was I so dumb? Oh yeah, Alice.

So there I was, sitting in a lumpy, uncomfortable seat for hours waiting to get to Volterra. Embarrassing…

I think my lust for revenge is going to my head.

As I was in desperate need to clear my head - for real this time - I closed my eyes and gently drifted off to sleep, dreaming of (for some unfathomable reason) eating chocolate pancakes while standing on a green hedge that was floating in the air - what?

I was falling off the hedge, my plate of pancakes coming with me, when I heard a voice. "Please buckle your seat belts, we are about to begin our descent into Volterra now, did I do it right?" a young female voice encouraged. Mine was still done, so I just sat up and waited. I smiled when I felt the plane tilt forwards towards the ground and land. From in front of me, through a thin wall, came the noise of cheering and clapping. "We are in Volterra now… that's wrong isn't it, err… Welcome to Volterra. The temperature outside is… 49°C… and there's a bunch of minibuses outside waiting for you. Urgh! What do I say?" I heard the voice complain.

"I'm very sorry about all that, I'm your pilot and this is our new flight attendant who is doing this for the first time today. She actually did better than some others have before, so please can we give her a round of applause?" a friendly male asked from the cockpit. I heard more applause and smiled, joining in. In my head I could imagine a beautiful blonde - not glamorous-dark-vampire-beautiful but happy-cheery-human-beautiful. Soon, if my wish is granted, I will be the former. She was standing beside a chair which held a happy, fat man whose hands were gripping a joystick. Laughing, I unbuckled my seat belt as the pilot had instructed seconds ago and stood up. I hadn't any luggage so I was fine on that, the only necessary thing I lacked was a passport, and they didn't even asked for it as I worried they would. As soon as I got off the plane I darted off for the nearest alley. Luckily, no-one spotted me.

I ran as fast as I could, stumbling every two steps - as per usual. To where, I had no idea. Maybe I hoped I would just stumble into the strong arms of a vampire (even more handsome than Edward) who was a member of the Volturi and we would fall madly in love instantly, so much so that he would change me because he couldn't bear to loose me. Even when I was in the centre of a hugely populated square, I still ran. Everyone was staring - of course, people always stare at me (unfortunately) - as I raced forwards, never stopping. Finally I deducted that in a city full of vampires it was pretty likely and so kept running. As I ran, I found myself running faster and faster, easier and easier. They do say practice makes perfect.

After about three hours of just running I found myself outside a huge castle and breathless. I sat down on a stone step and gasped. As I gasped, I laughed. Wow. I had actually run for hours without stopping or tripping over. Then I ran out of breath again and cursed under the little I had that Edward had: a) left me and b) not changed me. I laughed and looked up. There, towering over me was a red-eyed vampire. She was probably thinking about what was for tea. I can answer that by rhyming: me.

"Hello, miss! I'm Heidi and I'm conducting tours around the castle behind you. Would you be at all interested?" she asked, smiling. Stifling a laugh, I replied:
"No thanks, I probably don't taste very good anyway." Heidi frowned.
"How do you know that?" she asked, worry and confusion peppering her tone.
"I figured my ex-boyfriend out, but he left me so I came here to be changed so I can torture him for all eternity," I said lightly, repeating my plan to her.
"Ah, Aro will like you. Maybe he will change you… or not," she announced, gesturing to the castle. "You first, please." I nodded and walked inside.

Heidi came in and closed the door behind her, then began to lead me down a long procession of stone corridors. "Aro," she said simply as she opened a pair of tall wooden doors.
"Ah, Heidi! Have you brought lunch?" he asked, his red eyes glistening hungrily.
"No, afraid not. I have brought a girl who wishes to join us. Apparently she wants to torture a vampire for all eternity, I - personally - like her attitude," Heidi smirked.
"Let me see her," Aro demanded. I hesitated, but Heidi nodded and followed me as I walked down a large room towards Aro. "Give me your hand, please." I complied, and watched as he gasped in shock.
"Are you alright?" I asked instinctively, before clapping my hands over my mouth. Rude! Now you're done for.
"Yes, just… surprised," he replied. I nodded. He murmured something to a huge vampire beside him. Not good. My eyes widened with fear.

"Relax, that's just Felix," Heidi said, resting her hand on my shoulder. Just Felix, right that'll make me feel much better.
"Heidi, please accompany Miss…"
"Isabella Marie Swan," I introduced myself.
"Accompany Miss Swan here to an empty quarters. Isabella, you will - as you wish - be joining us. I feel you may have something of use to us, something that will help us greatly. In return, we will help you exact your revenge on whomever it is you wish to exact revenge upon," Aro explained. I smiled.
"Thank you, Aro." He nodded,
"And from now on, you will be called Isabella Marie Volturi," he added. I nodded, he nodded and Heidi nodded. Lots of nodding… nod, nod, nod. Getting off track there, I'm afraid. When I finally returned to reality, Heidi had already begun to leave. I quickly turned and followed her to what would be my room. Wow, I was really joining these people. I'm going to a be a vampire!

"Thank you for not eating me, Heidi. For letting me speak to Aro," I said to Heidi as we walked along the corridors.
"Of course. A human who knows of vampires - I have to take you to Aro, don't I?" she replied. I smiled.
"Still." We walked in silence for a while until we reached a wooden door, this one of a more reasonable proportion , with a blank gold plate on the front. "Felix is going to take it to be engraved with your name tomorrow," Heidi said when she saw I had noticed it.
"Thank you," I said as she pulled a key from her pocket and passed it to me.

"There is only one copy of this key, so this room will be your private space. Not even Aro has a copy. So take care of it." I resisted the urge to laugh. Ceremoniously, I fitted the key into the lock and turned it. Unfortunately, the effect was ruined when I found myself too weak to turn it. "Oh, sorry. The lock is designed for vampires!" Heidi exclaimed, turning the key easily.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"What's with you and thank yous?" Heidi laughed. I found myself laughing alongside her, not being able to help liking her. She was very friendly when you got around the fact she was a vampire who wanted to suck me dry. Nice.

I opened the door to a beautiful room, with a roaring fire burning in the grate (how cliché a description) and a bed covered in a red/cream/pink/orange patchwork quilt. A couple of chairs were dotted around the room, one a low armchair, one a rocking chair upon which sat a couple of cushions made using the same material as my quilt, and another just a tall wooden chair that stood beside the drawer. Next to the plain chair was a wooden chest of drawers which was topped with a few red squares of fabric with frayed edges, laid out at an angle so they were more of a squat diamond if you looked at them from the front of the chest and overlapped at the corners. Half of each of the end ones hung over the edge and decorated the drawers well. Above the fire was a mantel (obviously) with a delicate pattern of leaves carved into it, and above the bed, supported by pillars, was a wooden rail from which hung a patchwork curtain that matched the pattern on the bed.

It felt so warm, cosy and - if it's even a word - homey.

"Seriously… this is my room?" I asked, amazed. Heidi laughed.
"Obviously," she replied. I let a huge grin spread across my face.
"I love it!" I announced, turning back towards my vampire friend - at least I suppose you could call her that - and resisting another urge. This one was the urge to jump up and down like a little kid on Christmas day. Heidi then did something totally unexpected - jumped forwards and hugged me! "When you're a vampire we have to be best friends!" she exclaimed.

"Totally!" I agreed. This was going to be so much easier than expected.

(A/N: Sorry it's shorter than Alice sat down, it works out at about three pages in Word Processor!

Also, I'm getting to the halfway point for chapter 3 - when I've finished it I'll edit so I don't make the mistakes made during this one.

I would also like to thank the people who reviewed/favourited/alerted this story. It was way more than I expected!

Thanks again,
..invisible)