Chapter 4- It's My Life
XXX
Bella-
The first thing that I became aware of when awoke was the cold compress on my head. Then I realized that I was laying on a soft bed,...my bed.
'How did I get here?' I thought to myself.
The last that I could recall- I was in the meadow and Laurent had been intent upon killing me. But then he was interrupted by that snarling but welcome voice.
I had started to stiffly rise, holding the ice in its place on my head, when a stark, white hand shot to my shoulder and gently pushed me back down. "You need to rest, my dear." said a voice somewhere off to my right.
I slowly turned my head, sucking in a deep breath, and then my eyes landed on the origin of the voice. It was the same semi-familiar man that I had glimpsed in the meadow, he now sat not even five feet away from me at my bedside, reclined in my old rocking chair. He seemed very much out of place in my small bedroom. I could easily imagine him residing over a manor house or castle somewhere in Europe. His aquiline features spoke of wealth and nobility, the type one would often see in the paintings by the old masters of the Renaissance.
'Wait, the painting! That's where I've seen him!' I thought to myself, the revelation taking me by surprise.
The Solimena painting that had elegantly hung in Carlisle's study. The scene was of four vampires, one being Carlisle himself. The other three...what was it that Edward had told me? "The Volturi are the closest thing to royalty my world has. The three ancients-Aro, Marcus, and Caius..." He had pointed to each of them as he had spoken. So I now knew without a doubt that in my meager little room, in my unimpressive house, sat the most prominent of the trio of vampire rulers...Aro of the Volturi.
"Are you quite alright?" he asked, quietly, in a pleasant tone.
"Y-your Aro, one of the leaders of the Volturi!" I replied, unrestrained panic coating my voice, as I shot up from my position and scooted backward until I was pressed against the head of my bed.
He chuckled, "I suppose that the Cullen's, despite the law, made certain that you were very well informed." he stated, I winced yet again at the name. "That could very much lead you to your downfall, my dear."
"I guess they did." I mumbled, then, "If you're here to kill me, please do so without delay." I knew that my knowledge of the vampire world would eventually be the end of me.
"I have no intention to kill you, Isabella. Unless you give me a reason otherwise." he confessed, his scarlet eyes bemused.
Silence stretched between us, as I mulled over his confession and the fact that he somehow knew my name. Then I remembered that I had drove myself to the meadow. "My truck..." I knew that it would seem suspicious to Charlie if he found me at home without my truck in sight.
"It is outside. I took the liberty of driving you home...and might I say that that vehicle is the slowest contraption that I have encountered in the modern world."
"Hey! Don't dis the truck!" I said, momentarily forgetting whom it was that I was speaking to.
"I am sorry, 'dis'?" he asked me, confused.
I gave him a pointed expression, "Just how old are you?" I muttered under my breath, momentarily forgetting about vampire super hearing.
"I was born approximately 1300 B.C." he replied, automatically.
"That was a rhetorical question, but...okay." I mumbled, blinking owlishly at him. I was stunned for a moment, pausing in the conversation, as I tried vainly to wrap my mind around the fact that the vampire sitting before me was well over 2,000 years old. The silence was interrupted once again by another deep chuckle. I warily glanced toward Aro with a questioning look.
"I apologize, I merely think it rather...amusing that you do not seem to be very fearful of me. I am a stranger to you and yet you treat me as if I am an old acquaintance." he explained. "I am sure that, since you knew my name, you also know what I do in regard to the vampire world and what I am capable of."
I nodded, Edward had explained to me that the Volturi were the keepers of the vampire laws. The most important of which being that no human could know of the existence of vampires and be allowed to live. But for whatever reason, he had saved me from Laurent and for that I owed him at least a little doubt, though I was still wary of his presence. "You did save me in the meadow." I began slowly, piecing together my thoughts. "So, until you give me reason not to, you have a little bit of my trust at least. And, in all honesty, you're not the first human drinking vampire that I've met." I replied, raising my wrist and showing him the bite scar on my wrist.
To my complete and utter surprise, his brow furrowed, "Who did that to you?" he asked, nodding toward the scar.
"His name was James. He was a tracker..." I began my explanation.
"And what kept you from transforming?" he interrupted.
"Ed-Edward..." I choked out the forbidden name. "was able to suck the venom out before it overtook my system."
"Ah." he said simply, raising a hand to his chin, as if in deep thought.
"James' mate, Victoria, is still out there somewhere, stalking me." I continued, not entirely sure why I was telling him so much, I suppose that it was my way of stalling what I thought was the inevitable. All of this would, after all, probably end in my death.
"Yes, I know. She was the informer that alerted us of your knowledge. I suspect that she very much wants you dead." he mused, smirking as he leaned back in his seat and folding his hands beneath his chin.
I hesitated, unsure whether I wanted to know the answer, then decided to ask my next question, "Are you going to fulfill her wish?"
He was silent for a moment, staring intently at me, "No." he finally voiced. "As I told you, I am not here to kill you. In all honesty, I would rather see you become one of us."
I was again stunned, he wanted to turn me. "Won't Victoria be absolutely livid?"
"Perhaps. But, if she disagrees with our decision, there are ways of dealing with those who dare cross the Volturi." he replied, in a dark tone, making me shiver in restrained fear.
"I have no choice, do I?" I realized, with sudden clarity. "Either become a vampire or die. Those are my only options."
"I am afraid that is so." he said, so quietly that I had to strain my ears to hear him.
"What if I don't want it any longer? You're just going to kill me?"
He sighed, "If you broker a refusal, my own law demands your death, Isabella. That is the way it has been for centuries and how it will continue to be. Though with your potential, it would be such a waste."
"My potential?" I asked, confused.
"Victoria was gracious enough to tell us, myself in particular, about the fact that young Edward could not read your thoughts."
An inexplicable anger suddenly raged through me, burning in my veins, in my very soul. "That's your reasoning behind giving me a choice! If I had been anyone else, you would have just killed me. But no, you believe that I'll have some great and powerful gift that could be procured and used, regardless of whether I'm miserable or not! All because Edward couldn't read my mind!" In my hasty words, I hadn't winced at the name, which somewhere in the back of my mind surprised me, though I was too appalled at my current predicament to truly grasp it.
"It is not only young Mr. Cullen that cannot read your mind." he stated, blatant irritation, probably at my raving, an undercurrent in his voice.
"What do you mean?" I asked, hesitantly.
"I have the ability of tactile telepathy. I can read every thought that a person has ever had with simply one touch of their skin. But with you..." he reached out and touched my hand. "I hear nothing but an echoing silence! It is quite frustrating, to be sure!" he said, exasperatedly, with a sudden wild and dark look gleaming in his eyes.
I remembered, in that precise moment, that I was in the room with a very, exceedinglydangerous vampire. Practically royalty amongst the vampires of the world! The dominating, predatory side of his psyche shown through his eloquent facade with simply those few words and that half crazed look in his eyes.
I shrank backward, curling myself into a ball, until my back hit the headboard of my bed. Just as swiftly as before, his mood changed to passive and calm, the emotion that had so clouded his features had vanished.
"I offer my apologies, Isabella, it was not my intention to frighten you." he said, tilting his head in a curious manner, no doubt listening to my pounding pulse.
I was silent for a moment, waiting for my nerves to calm, "You do know that you can call me 'Bella', right?" I asked, trying, for the life of me, to change the subject to a lighter topic.
He smiled, a small laugh escaping from his lips, "I am a natural predator, who has killed, maimed, and tortured thousands of vampires and humans alike and yet you treat me in an unbelievable friendly manner by asking me to refer to you as...'Bella.'" he stated, unbelievingly.
"Yes, I don't like my full name." I replied, smirking, hoping that this latest round of amusement would delay whatever fate had in store for me for a few minutes longer.
Aro shook his dark head in disbelief. "You are quite something,...Isabella." he said, after a brief pause. I rolled my eyes, annoyed at his insistence of calling me by my full name.
A stifling silence engulfed us once again and, after a number of minutes, I was finally unable to take the anticipation, "What is going to happen to me?" I whispered, warily.
Aro continued to observe me, as if I hadn't spoken at all. I waited impatiently for him to speak and was very disturbed when he finally answered, "You will return to Italy with myself and my retinue. Once there you will be changed into a vampire."
My jaw fell slack in anger, "So, you want me to just drop everything, forget my life, disappear to Italy, and become a vampire?"
"As we have discussed, it is one of the only two options, my dear. That is, of course, unless you desire the other. To die."
I turned away from him, tears springing to my eyes at the thought of leaving everything I knew behind. Yes, my life had been depressing and dark for the past several months, but I still loved my family-Charlie, my mom, and even Phil. I couldn't disappear without a trace, it would kill them all. At least with the Cullen's, they would have known, in a sense, where I was and who I was with, if Edward had ever agreed to change me. But now, after everything...I just couldn't do it.
"No." I choked, in answer. "I don't want to die. But I can't do that to my family." I whispered.
"Was that not your intention before, with the Cullen family?" he asked.
I thought carefully about my response, "I would have followed them anywhere, yes, but I would have kept in contact with my family. If Edward had ever changed his mind about changing me, then I would have kept that a secret from them. But I was never going to leave them behind without so much as a fare thee well."
"Edward did not wish to change you?"
"No, he flat out refused to."
"Interesting." he paused for a minute, "I apologize for the inconvenience but there is no other way."
"Couldn't I have some time, a few months?" I asked, trying to negotiate.
His gaze was thoughtful as he once again openly stared at me, "How much time, Isabella?"
I thought for a moment, "August." he started to interrupt, not doubt with a denial, but I kept speaking. "I am due to graduate high school in May and then I'm supposed to be leaving for college in the fall, in August. I could, perhaps, tell my family that I would be studying abroad. It would make it easier on them and give me enough time to tie up any loose ends. And also it wouldn't be very suspicious or put your secret in danger...because if I just disappeared, Charlie-my father- wouldn't stop until he figured out what had happened to me."
Aro sat stock still, contemplating my words, "Very well, Isabella. I will grant you this small reprieve. You have until August, to arrange and finish whatever you must. If you have not to reported to Italy by the end of that month, I will have no choice but to track you down and end your life." he stated, an abrupt pain coating his voice that I didn't quite understand at the time. "You must give me your word that you will keep your silence and will come to Volterra at the end of the allotted time."
I breathed a relieved sigh, "You have my word, it may not seem like much, but I never break a promise." I told him.
"Very well." he said, rising from his seat. "Remember not a word of this arrangement or our secret leaves your tongue or you will unfortunately have to be punished." he reminded me once more, as if he was trying to brand the information into my mind.
"I know. I promise." I said.
He nodded, "Until we meet again, my dearest Isabella." he gently picked up my hand and placed a chaise, gentlemanly kiss upon my knuckles. The feel of his cold lips on my skin sent what felt like an electric shock down my arm.
Then, as if he were never there to begin with, he was gone.
XXX
Aro-
I was not entirely certain as to why I had agreed to such a deal with the little human. 'Could I truly trust her?' I found myself asking. 'She has kept our secret thus far.' I reminded myself.
I knew, however, that my brothers, Caius in particular, would oppose my decision. But for whatever reason, I simply could not bring myself to end her. I had certainly, in careless disposition, torn apart many families in the past without so much as a second thought.
But there was something so...despondent about Isabella. A great sadness, unlike any I had ever noticed before, shone in her expressive eyes. Life had wronged her and she had not quite recovered from the ordeal. So, because I could not bring myself to cause her further suffering, I had agreed. The most painful thought was that I would have to kill her, if she failed to keep her promise.
I had so lost myself in my musings, that I realized with great suddenness that I was part way to the city of Seattle. I pulled my cellular from out my pocket and managed to call Jane. (I had, after all, never been one for modern technology.)
"Hello, Master." she said, in her usual monotone.
"Jane, my dearest, make the proper preparations to the jet...we are going home." I ordered.
"Is the problem taken care of, Master?"
"For the most part, dear one. I will explain more thoroughly when I arrive."
"Very well, Master." she agreed, complacently.
After several more minutes of running, I arrived at the private airport where our jetliner was housed. My four young guards stood at attention by the entrance of the hanger, awaiting my arrival.
"Master." they acknowledged in unison, bowing their heads in supplication.
"Shall we?" I said, gesturing toward the doorway of the aeroplane. I walked up the stairway and stepped inside, the quartet of vampires following closely behind me. Demetri, who was our accomplished pilot, turned and headed toward the cockpit where he could prepare for our departure. The rest of us sat down in our usual seating arrangement.
"Master," Jane began, quietly. "You told me that you would explain?" she prompted.
"Yes." I replied, pausing to collect my thoughts. "I have spoken to the human in question. She is knowledgeable of our existence, she was even aware of the Volturi. But as she has yet to reveal our secret, I made a deal with her. Within the coming months, she is to get her affairs in order and then report to Volterra to be transformed. If she has not done so by the end of August, then I fear that we will have to track her and destroy her."
"Forgive me, Master, but why give her such a choice?" asked Alec.
I hesitated once again, entirely unsure of what to say. 'Why had I given her a such choice?' I could not in all of my intellect find an answer. So I responded with what I thought at the time was a suitable response, one that I had been forcing myself to believe, "She may have a very potent power once she is changed, dear one." I explained, never breathing a word of my personal intrigue with the woman herself.
Several hours passed, as I sat in resolute silence, listening as the others chattered animately about one subject or another. All the while, my mind was preoccupied with the image of Isabella, the sweet blush that flushed her cheeks in her anger and the restrained despair I had glimpsed in her eyes.
The jetliner finally began its descent onto the Tuscan landscape and we were soon driving through the gates of Volterra. I watched as the centuries old, buildings passed by in a succession of sun baked clay and dried brick. Soon we drove into the hidden entrance of our crowded garage, parked the limousine, and headed toward the lifts.
As I had predicted, I stepped through the door of the main hall and Caius rushed toward me, assaulting me with questions.
"Is the problem of the human taken care of?" he demanded.
"It will be, brother..." I allowed my answer to trail, hoping that he would not read into it.
"Well, what does that mean? Is she here? Or did you kill her?"
"Neither." I replied, as I took up my position upon my throne.
"What?!" he demanded, irritation clearly weaved into his tone.
"I brokered an agreement with her, Caius. She will report to us no later than August and we shall complete her transformation upon her arrival."
Caius was shocked into silence, before an emotion that can only be described as pure, unadulterated anger, darkened his visage, "You made a deal with a human?" he spat out, with obvious derision. "Aro, you know such dealings will not and can not be tolerated! What were you thinking? Trusting a human!"
"Are you quite finished with your little rant, brother?" I demanded, venomously, suddenly ablaze with anger and annoyance. "With all due respect, Caius, you are not entirely in charge." I reminded him, seething. "I am as aware of the law as any other and, if she does not follow through with her word, I have no qualms about ending her."
I subconsciously knew that I was lying. Though I did not, could not, admit it, I would have never been able to harm a hair on her beautiful head. I merely hoped, with all of my being, that she would keep her promise and not bring death down upon her head.
XXX
Re-edited 1/26/13
Chapter 4! Did you like it? Please, leave a review if you did...anyway, onto the thank yous-
THANK YOU-Isarma, Roses-Phoebe, I-love-reading-the-cullens, Kassandra203, the dark euphie, reddog25770, melanieintn, heather, and EmilyWoods, for your reviews of Chapter 3! Your feedback means the world to me!
Chapter 5 coming soon...
