Chapter 4 is ready. This will take place in Volterra from this point on. The next chapter is currently in the works. Hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 4

The small plane that held very precious cargo reached its destination. There was barely any bumps as it landed and it never jerked its passenger. Alice landed in Italy seeking counsel from some of the most powerful vampires in history. The Volturi. Her true love was dead. What else could she do? The pixie retrieved her only bag from the overhead compartment and walked down the short aisle to the door.

During the flight she had changed into something a little more elegant to see the three brothers of the Volturi Council. A white blouse with a long yellow over coat with large sunglasses and a scarf to hide the shine to her skin. She donned the scarf just as she exited the plane. It was going to be a sunny day. Beautiful for a festival she thought. Alice breathed heavily and released a sigh. She wished she could share moments like this with Bella. Her Bella.

The pain in her heart was still an unbearable one but she tread on knowing that she must see Aro. He was the true leader of this coven. Which was the largest in existence. He ruled through both fear and kindness. When Alice met the man he told her as such that it was the perfect balance. The pixie was indeed offered a place within his guard but she knew that it wouldn't be right to abandon the only family she knew for the better part of a century.

Alice walked through the terminals and toward the rental car station. She smiled at the human behind the counter and with just that smile he gave her the best car in the lot.

Granted it was a town-car, much like Carlisle's own vehicle back home, but she knew she had to make due.

Alice got the keys and journeyed to it straight away not wanting to waste any time. Tears could be felt at the back of her copper eyes as she drove the long stretch of road toward the small village. She missed Bella beside her. It was almost as if she could feel her right there next to her. When she looked over at the passenger seat, a mirage showed itself of her young love. Her chocolate eyes bore into her soul, a large smile was plastered on her face.

It was almost as if she looked like they were headed to a much needed get away. Alice gripped the steering wheel harder and could feel the leather give way under her grip. She closed her eyes, willing the image to go away. The burn of the tears that could no longer be shed was ever more existent in this moment.

Bella's image faded away but the feeling of her presence stayed with her.

Alice pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal in hopes of getting there faster. She really needed to see Aro. She needed him to tell her what to do.

The pixie knew what she wanted. She wanted to be with Bella again. To see her, to feel her, to bask in her presence once more. That's where Alice felt most at peace. By Bella's side. A grim determination settled on her features.

She drove until she got to the small village where the council resided. She weaved in and out of alleyways large enough to fit the car, but when she came across a large group of people dressed in red robes, she knew it was time to ditch the vehicle.

Alice parked in a nearby dark alley, and got out of the town-car. She walked a few steps and when she realized there weren't any prying eyes, she ran as fast as she could to the entrance of the church that house the Volturi. When she first came here she chuckled at the irony that presented itself. Vampires hiding out in an old chapel. Of course it looked a lot smaller than it actually was but when dealing with the largest vampire coven in all of history, improvements must be made.

A few knocks sounded on the large wooden door, and a small patch opened to reveal a pair of heavy red eyes.

"Who calls upon the council?"

Alice cleared her throat before speaking, clearly nervous of the situation.

"Alice Cullen. I must speak with the Lord Aro."

A few more seconds passed and the patch closed itself again and then the door opened. A robed figure, not part of the festivities in town was on the other side. No words were spoken as she passed through the threshold. With quick and easy steps, Alice moved toward the secretary desk leading to the council chambers.

"Hello Heather." Alice spoke nicely to the woman seated before the door.

"Alice, so good to see you darling." She smiled brightly in return.

"I must see the Lord." The smile was gone from Alice's face and the look of grim determination replaced it once more.

Sensing the tense air in the room, Heather made no move to stop her and she paged the lords at once signifying that they had a visitor. The double wooden doors opened to Alice and she slowly walked in as to not feel like a threat to the ancient vampires.

All three brothers were sitting in their perspective thrones. Aro in the middle. An older looking vampire, known to many as Markus was on his right. Finally his younger brother, a fair looking man known as Caius on his left. Upon seeing the young Cullen, Aro was lifted from his seat and greeted her straight away.

"Alice! So good to see you darling." He said with a large smile.

Carlisle was a long standing friend of Aro's and was once a part of the council himself until he found an alternate source of blood for food. The blonde left when the rest of his comrades wouldn't take to the liking of animal blood versus human. They still remained in contact with one another however, their friendship still strong to this day.

Alice's eyes were still filled with tears as she bowed to the lord. When she rose, Aro knew immediately that something was wrong.

"What is wrong my dear?" He said with great concern.

The pixie released a shaky breath and explained the situation.

"My mate is dead sire."

Those word rung heavily in the chamber and yet Aro looked at her confusedly.

"But Alice, Jasper is your mate is he not? He and the rest of your family are very much alive. I had just spoken with Carlisle recently in fact."

Alice shook her head grimly, holding out her hand for the man to take. Aro had a very unique gift for a vampire. Once he made skin on skin contact with another being, mostly their hand or arm, he could read their mind. Images of the persons' thoughts and past actions would flash past his minds' eye.

The lord looked at her warily but understood her need for him to see.

Slowly he took hold of her open palm and gasped as he read her past and present. It all went by so quickly. Alice had visions of Bella soon after she was just turned into a vampire. The girl with a heart shaped face showed herself in many visions. Then came the meeting. So many feelings filtered through his body as he saw Alice and Bella embrace for the first time.

There was pain in this vision too. Seeing Bella go off with her brother, thinking that he was her mate. Tears would well up in the pixies eyes and all she could do was watch and want. Then there was hope as he watched the two girls get closer with each passing day. Alice showed him the night they almost kissed in Bella's bathroom and the night of the human's birthday. So many things went wrong in such little time. Rage plagued her when the family left to 'protect' the girl.

Sadness overcame the elder as he watched the vision Alice had of Bella's death.

Tears burned in his eyes as he watched the redheaded nomad picked the small girl up by the neck and drink from her. He gasped as he watched Bella fall into the water. That's when the vision ended and he let go of her hand with a heavy, sad sigh.

It took a moment for Aro to regain his composure.

"She's gone." He said with finality.

Alice only nodded her head in confirmation. She looked into the lord's eyes and watched as the tears began to glisten in his red eyes. "I know. I came here to tell you that I want to die too. You're the only one who can grant a lawful death to any vampire who so wishes it."

Aro, Markus and Caius looked at the tiny vampire with wide eyes. She had such a long life ahead of her. Why would she want to waste it? They did not see the vision that their brother had however and couldn't understand the pain wracking her entire being. The lord who stood, walked back to his wooden throne and clutched the back of it with a pale hand. Silence echoed throughout the hall. No one spoke for a long moment until Aro turned to look at Alice once more.

The pixie felt numb under his gaze for she knew what his answer would be. She knew that he and Carlisle were good friends to this day and killing a member of his coven, even lawfully would cause the whole family great pain. It would probably even be considered murder considering the fact that she had not seen them since she left for Forks.

The pixie honestly didn't know if she could go back. Didn't know if she could face them knowing the fact that Bella was indeed dead. Every memory for the past two years had Bella in every single one of them. Alice would be so close to her without even touching her. She could feel Bella's gaze upon her almost every moment the human was with them.

No, she couldn't go back. But she couldn't move forward either. Not without Bella by her side. Bella woke up her soul from the deepest sleep it had ever known. She set her entire world in a fire that could only be called desire. Her eyes widened as a tear began to fall down her alabaster cheek. It was one tear that held all of her hopes and dreams of a future with the only girl she had ever loved. It held any feeling left inside of her body. What could she do? There was nothing left for her.

There was only one thing she could do as she heard the crowd of people gathering outside. She bowed her head respectfully to Aro and his brothers and turned to leave the room. The tear fell from her face and on to the floor. The sound it made was so quiet but it could be heard as if it was screaming at her.

There was no pause in her step as she walked to the big wooden double doors she had entered ten minutes prior. There was no bandana covering her head, no sunglasses to hide the color of her eyes. She reached up and took the long trench coat off of her and opened the door.

XXX

Back in the white room, Aro sat with his elbow on the armrest of his chair, his knuckles planted firmly under his chin. Alice's memories for the human girl haunted him. It was much like the memories he had as a young man when he thought his love would perish. He and his wife Sulpicia were young lovers before he went to war with the Romanians. She never knew his secret, Aro was turned into a vampire years before he met her. Before he rode off to join his troops, Sulpicia met him on his horse. She told him to come back to her soon. It was years before they met again. The war had taken so long to win, Aro's thoughts were always of the young maiden.

One day, after the war had been won, he felt in his dead heart feelings of loneliness and heartbreak. He didn't understand what was going on because they weren't his emotions. His eyes widened at the thought that maybe they weren't his but they belonged to someone that he cared deeply for. Aro clutched at his heart. Knowing that these could possibly be his mate's feelings feeding into his heart concerned him immensely. He raced out his tent on foot and ran towards Sulpicia's hometown.

Nothing could stop him at this point, not even his brothers could catch up to him in time to stop his advance. Aro felt so much coming from the young girl. Love, despair, heartbreak, devotion. A few days of running later, brought Aro to his destination. The myriad of emotions he was feeling suddenly stopped. He felt nothing. Felt numb. He screamed out and tears welled up in the man's eyes. Never to fall.

He searched everywhere for the girl, even at their special spot. A cliff that held a single tree. He would often hold Sulpicia in his arms under that tree. He looked down at the bottom of the cliff and saw her lying there, just before the tide. Sharp jagged rocks awaited her at the bottom and a few had cut into her skin. He could smell the blood as he jumped to reach her. Aro reached her and looked at her, she was still breathing and could hear her heartbeat in her chest but it was faint. There was only one thing he could do.

The young lord leaned down and bit into his lover's neck, hoping this would be enough to keep her alive. She had indeed lost a lot of blood as it soaked the surface of the rocks as well as his clothing. Just before he could release his venom into her bloodstream her heart stopped beating. His eyes widened not wanting to believe that she was indeed dead. Aro bit into the junction of her arm and at her wrist hoping that it would be enough to keep the bloodstream alive.

A few moments passed without any change. There was no scream of pain from the venom in her blood. No sound of an erratic heartbeat. No sound reached his ears. Aro screamed at the sky and held Sulpicia close to him. He took in her scent over and over and stroked her hair. Her long smooth dark hair. He gasped as he felt a tear escape his eye. It was just one tear. That one tear held everything for him.

He felt something against his skin just after the tear fell from his chin. Aro looked down and his eyes widened as he took in the sight of his lover with her eyes opened and a small weak smile upon her lips. He noticed that the color of her eyes were not the bright blue he had always knew, but a deep red much like his own. The smile that made itself known went from ear to ear.

The lord's memory of this day passed before him on seconds. He gasped as he realized what Alice might do. She had lost her mate. Her true love to death. Aro knew that if he was too late to save Sulpicia he would throw himself into the ocean. It would've been the closest thing to death for another vampire. He got up off the throne and ran to the entrance.

XXX

Alice had already removed her coat and was beginning to unbutton her blouse as she walked toward the sun and the crowd. "Alice." He whispered as he reached for her. Not wanting this to be her fate. The pixie looked back behind her and told him it was the only way. The tips of his fingers barely grazed her shirt as she continued to unbutton it.

A few diamonds began to sparkle on her skin as she stepped into the sunlight. But a gust of wind blew right passed them and knocked Alice back into the hall. When both vampires regained their bearings, they saw that it wasn't a gust of wind at all but a red hooded figure holding Alice in place against the far wall of the hallway.

"LET GO OF ME!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs.

Aro ran to close the doors leading to the outside world keeping all that was present away from them. His guard began to move to his aid but was stopped with a small gesture.

The pixie kept thrashing to and fro, trying to rid herself of the strange hold on her. It felt so familiar but she knew for certain at the moment she didn't care how it felt. Lips crashed against her own to stop the screaming in the small walkway. Alice's eyes widened as she felt the plump lips against her own and wanted to punch whoever had the gall to kiss. This stranger had no idea who they were dealing with.

But as she broke one arm free of the hold, she almost screamed at what she saw. A sharp intake of breath was all that could be heard for a good two minutes. And then Alice spoke once more, a name uttered from her lips.

"B-Bella?!"

Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger much? I like making Aro a nice person in my stories so his part was pretty much the norm for me. The next chapter is Bella and what she was actually up to, until arriving in volterra.