aurike : Don't worry; that arrogance is most definitely a character trait but it's circumstantial so it's all good.
II: October and April
When Bella pushed the heavy oaken gatehouse door open she wasn't sure what she'd expected to see behind it. Maybe a troupe of warriors since Alice had been asked to wear her venom-worked long sword to the throne room. Vampires all of course, else why would they bother with the Volturi? Or maybe werewolves; that would explain the sword too.
Whatever she'd been expecting to see behind that door it wasn't the two people, dressed head to toe in dark leather and arguing in slightly hushed voices.
"I'm not whinging, Dahlia." The first was a wiry built man whose scent confused her. His tousled hair was stormy purple but his eyes shone silver like the polished steel of the rapier at his waist. "I just don't get why Andy got to go and we didn't."
Dahlia was taller with long brown hair plaited neatly behind her. She wore no sword but there were twin daggers hanging from her belt. Her pale skin and smouldering ruby eyes marked her as a vampire. She folded her arms.
"Whinging about being left behind with this pretty girl." Bella blinked in surprise; she hadn't thought they'd seen her yet. "You need your head checking, Tyrell." Dahlia's voice had an Irish lilt to it and her smile was as crooked as the cracks in the stone wall behind her when she turned to face Bella.
Bella opened her mouth to introduce herself but Tyrell's wounded voice cut her off;
"Excuse me, one of us is married you know?" Dahlia rolled her dark eyes and shot Bella a commiserating glance before glaring at Tyrell.
"And one of us isn't. Now shut up and let the pretty girl speak." Tyrell returned the heated glare with cold fire in his eyes but remained silent.
"I'm Bella. Bella Swan." She smiled, holding out a pale hand which Dahlia took instantly with a soft smile of her own.
"Well, Bella, Bella Swan, I'm Dahlia of the And'aal. And this is Tyrell, also of the And'aal." The And'aal? She cast her mind back to when she had been married to Edward and many covens had converged on the Cullen house to defend their daughter. She remembered talking with Siobhan in one of the few moments of peace that they had had. Remembered where she had heard the word before.
'The And'aal are no friends, Bella. What they want they send their hounds to take and want they don't, they destroy. Make no mistake; they have honour, for their allies. Either way we should be glad that it is the Volturi who want your daughter, my friend.'"What are the And'aal doing so far from their own lands?"
"A clever girl too." Dahlia's smile never even wavered. "Our lord Torin wished to warn your lords of an army approaching." An army. The thought sent a shock of horror skittering along her spine and she could almost hear Gabriel's voice in her ear while his lips worked at the skin of her neck. She made herself stand straighter, made herself remember that Alice had killed him.
"What can you do, Bella?" Tyrell's voice, dripping curiosity, drew her attention to the stool where he had taken up residence by the wall.
"I'm a shield." She shifted her feet. "Anything that involves my mind doesn't work on me." The indigo eyes sparkled but Tyrell frowned.
"That wouldn't affect your eye colour, would it?" If Bella had still been human she knew she would have blushed under the intensity that he looked into her eyes with. But since her heart no longer beat and her blood no longer ran, she could at least give an act of indifference.
The indifference didn't stop Tyrell from gazing straight into her eyes, though. They were still the same soft gold they had been when she was among the Cullens; she just hadn't been able to bring herself to drink of a human's blood. She'd never done it before and from the moment that Edward's venom had changed her she had promised herself that she never would.
"No." She answered finally. "No, it wouldn't."
Aro had offered her a human from the castle of course, just as he had offered Alice before her. But he had only offered once and after she had declined he and Alice had both smiled at her and Aro had brought forth a young stag to slake her thirst instead. "I'm a vegetarian." Tyrell laughed aloud at that. Head thrown back and mouth open to reveal sharp incisors. The laughter rang through the small room while Dahlia stared at her, eyes narrowed as if she thought Bella was lying.
After a full minute the And'aal girl landed a gentle punch to her friend's arm.
"She's serious." She murmured and Bella began to feel uncomfortable under their scrutiny. Tyrell stopped laughed and fixed her with his silvery eyes again.
"Yes, I do believe she is. How sweet; a vegetarian vampire." Bella saw something in his eyes shift, making them seem a lighter shade of grey. He moved closer to her and she realised that he was shorter than she'd thought he was. "Pleased to meet you, Bella Swan." He held out a hand. When she took it she was surprised to find his flesh warm to the touch. Warmer than her anyway.
"Tyrell, are you a werewolf?" She asked. He wasn't quite as warm as Jacob was but he was warmer than the average human and his scent was teasing her nostrils as she tried to figure him out. He gave a sharp toothed grin.
"Not me. That'd be Andraste. Speaking of which it's been a while since the last full moon, hasn't it?" He frowned just as Bella realised that the Andraste that he was speaking of had to be a child of the moon, not one of the werewolves that she knew.
"Yes, hence the chest full of silver chains." Dahlia waved behind her and, sure enough, Bella could see a small wooden chest, padlocked shut.
She thought of Alice who was probably in the same room as this Andraste who required chains every full moon. The full moon was only four days away. Worry began to blossom in Bella's chest, shedding petals filled with thoughts of her Alice trying to fight off a child of the moon. The Child all claws, teeth and fur and Alice with only her sword to protect herself. In that moment Bella decided that she was going to find Alice a suit of armour or a shield at the very least.
"As long as she doesn't get too excited she'll be safe to be around. I promise." Bella's thoughts returned to the moment to see Dahlia smile softly at her. Bella frowned.
"Sorry, empath." She nodded her understanding, knowing the impossibility of stopping oneself from feeling everyone else's emotions. Jasper had always had trouble with that. "Tyrell's a changeling, by the way. He gets distracted easily too."
"I do not!" Crimson eyes rolled and Bella bit back a quiet laugh. "I was just thinking that Andy and Torin have been gone nearly an hour and you know how she gets around the full moon." Bella wanted to go to the throne room. She wanted to find Alice and know that this child of the moon hadn't hurt her.
"Cranky and entertaining when chained?" Dahlia smirked. "It's not much of a change from usual to be honest."
"That was not something I needed to hear, Dahlia." Bella's silent laughter flourished into a soft giggle. "Bella, where would your lords meet ours?" She sobered quickly under Tyrell's silver gaze.
"The throne room." She opened the door behind her deftly as the young man started towards it, ensuring that he could pass through without having to alter his stride. She waited for him to disappear down the corridor before speaking.
"Do you know the way?" She called, sharing a smile with Dahlia. A moment later Tyrell's head appeared around the doorframe sheepishly. "I'll take you, if you want." A bark of laughter escaped his lips.
"That would be wonderful, Lady Bella." He offered her his arm but she didn't take it, leaving the gatehouse with the other vampire on her heels and starting the short walk towards the throne room.
It didn't take them long to get there but Bella and Dahlia arrived slightly before Tyrell, which meant that the sound of metal crashing against metal reached their ears faster than it did his.
Bella's mind instantly flashed back to that moment, months ago, when Alice had been forced to fight Edward to keep them both alive. A wave of comfort rolled over her and she looked up in time to see Dahlia look away and hear Tyrell swear loudly.
He reached past her to push the doors open. Inside the throne room Bella's golden eyes instantly picked out Alice's graceful form dancing threw the strikes of another girl's blades. The two combatants were the only occupants of the room.
The unfamiliar girl, Bella assumed she was Andraste, lunged towards Alice and Bella bit back a cry. Alice's own sword flew up to block the blow but Andraste twisted and forced Alice's blade from her hands. The twist was followed by an arcing swing. Alice's tinkling laugh as she sprang through the swing and rolled to pick up her sword again. The laugh was the only thing that kept Bella from tackling Andraste away from her as the weapons touched again, singing of their meeting loudly.
"What the Hell are you playing at, Andy?" Dahlia's voice had no trouble cutting through the sword song however but neither Alice nor Andraste shifted their concentration from trying to rend to rend the other's head from her shoulders.
"Shush, Dahlia." Alice turned a lunging stab to the side and returned with an upwards slash that Andraste had to jump back to avoid. "I'm busy." The child of the moon stepped through Alice's next blow only to be met with the vampire's blade resting against her neck as her own tapped gently against her opponent's side.
"Believe me now, And'aal?" Alice smiled, straightening as she sheathed her blade. Green eyes sparkled as Andraste did the same.
"After that little display how could I think otherwise, Volturi?" Ruby eyes landed on Bella then and she saw the smile on Alice's face. Some of the anger she felt towards the Child faded, but not all of it. If what Tyrell had said was true then she could've seriously hurt Alice.
"Are you finished trying to kill the locals?" Dahlia glared disapprovingly at Andraste who simply smiled as she and Alice joined them.
"Only if you're done seducing them, honey." The counter came easily and she turned her head. "Alice, these are Dahlia and Tyrell. Poisonflower and No-Face respectively." Bella frowned turning her eyes from Alice in favour of looking at her companions.
"Titles from home." Dahlia explained, arms folded and still glaring at Andraste. "She's Andraste Wolfhound and like to get chained up earlier than usual if she doesn't keep her pulse rate down." Green eyes rolled and the Child nudged Alice gently. Bella found that she didn't quite trust the girl who'd gone from attacking her to acting like her best friend. When Andraste slipped past her for the door Bella's golden eyes followed her, determined not to show her undefended back.
"Yeah, well, save it for later; I'm going in search of food. Coming with, Ty?" The changeling had been quiet since they'd opened the door, Bella had almost forgot he was there. "You're always saying how I need someone to keep me from eating the natives." Tyrell shrugged and shared a short glance with Dahlia.
"Sure, I'll go. You can deal with Torin later though." The rest of their conversation was lost as they wandered up the corridor, back towards the gatehouse. This time Bella didn't offer directions.
"Are you ok?" Alice blinked at her, surprised.
"Yeah, Bell, I'm good. Are you?" Bella quirked an eyebrow and sighed.
"I wasn't the one in a sword fight with a child of the moon so close to a full moon." Alice gave the tinkling laugh that Bella loved so much.
"I'm fine, Cara Mia; I don't think she actually managed to hit me properly. She should have a few bruises by morning though." Good, Bella thought, then caught herself. She'd barely met the other girl; she shouldn't form an opinion just yet, not even when instinct told her she should chase her down for baring a blade against Alice. In jest or otherwise. "Relax." Alice took one of her hands, running her thumb across her knuckles. "I'm ok, I promise." She pulled her into a hug.
"You better be." Bella mumbled, burying her face in the other girl's shoulder. Alice kissed the corner of her mouth as she pulled away.
"You can check later if you don't believe me." She smiled then. "I'm Alice." Bella started; she'd forgotten about Dahlia who was stood beside them wearing a bemused expression.
"Dahlia." She took the offered hand and shook it. "I'm sorry for Andy." Alice shook her head.
"Don't be." Bella stepped forwards, finally remembering her job of liaison with the And'aal.
"You're probably going to be here a while. We'll give you a tour of the castle if you like." The crimson eyed vampire's smile was bright.
"Thank you. Could you show me your dungeons; I need somewhere to put the chains."
