Disclaimer. All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun.

Unbreakable Faith

A/N: This story is a collaboration with DeathsQueen26 and myself, Xo Bella Italiana oX, but the story idea came from luckystar125.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them in the chapter's reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note.

Thank you for your interest in the story and we hope you enjoy it and we would love to hear your thoughts on it. Talk to everyone soon! – Bellisma

Chapter 4
(Faith's POV)

The rest of the flight passed by without a hitch. They showed a movie, and our neighbors got headphones. Sometimes I watched the figures moving across the little screen but I couldn't even tell if the movie was supposed to be a romance or a horror film.

After an eternity, the plane began to descend to our first stop in New York City where we were going to hop on the next plane to Italy. Alice remained in her trance as Bella dithered, reaching out to touch her, only to pull her hand back again. This happened a dozen times before the plane touched down with a jarring impact.

"Alice," I finally said, helping my cousin out in getting Alice's attention. "Alice, we have to go." I touched her arm.

Her eyes came open very slowly and she shook her head from side to side for a moment.

"Anything new?" Bella asked in a low voice, conscious of the man listening from behind us.

"Not exactly," she breathed in a voice we could barely catch. "He's getting closer. He's deciding how he's going to ask."

We had to run for our connection, but that was good – better than having to wait. As soon as the plane was in the air, Alice closed her eyes and slid back into the same stupor as before. I kept Bella busy, occasionally checking the future myself. When it was dark again, I opened the window to stare out into the flat black that was no better than the window shade. I closed my eyes and began thinking over everything I knew and what I was going to do.

It felt like seconds later when Alice shook my shoulder – I hadn't realized that I'd fallen asleep and noticed that Bella had as well.

"Bella," she hissed, her voice a little too loud in the darkened cabin full of sleeping humans.

"What's wrong?" I asked and Alice's eyes gleamed in the dim light of reading lamp in the row behind us.

"It's not wrong." She smiled fiercely and Bella tilted her head in confusion. "It's right. They're deliberating, but they've decided to tell him no."

"The Volturi?" Bella muttered, groggy.

"Of course, Bella, keep up. I can see what they're going to say."

"Tell me." An attendant tiptoed down the aisle to us. "Can I get you ladies a pillow?" His hushed whisper was rebuke to our comparatively loud conversation.

"No, thank you." I beamed up at him. The attendant's expression was dazed as he turned and stumbled his way back. I turned to look at Alice and Bella completely flabbergasted by his reaction. I mean, I guess I was pretty but the reaction I have been getting lately from guys was over the top.

Alice and Bella were grinning like fools but I waved it off getting back to the point. "Go on with what you were saying, Alice."

She brought her voice down low as she spoke. "They're interested in him – they think that his talent could be useful. They're going to offer him a place with them."

"What will he say?" Bella asked with her eyes wide.

"I can't see that yet, but I'll bet it's colorful." She grinned again. "This is the first good new – the first break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him – 'wasteful,' that's the word Aro will use – and that may be enough to force him to get creative. The longer he spends on his plans, the better for us."

It wasn't enough to be hopeful about. There were still so many ways that we could be too late to save him. And if we didn't get through the walls into the Volturi city, I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I came along to do.

"Alice?" Bella asked interrupting my thoughts.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm confused. How are you seeing this so clearly? And then other times, you see things far away – things that don't happen?"

"It's clear because it's immediate and close and she's probably really concentrating." I answered for her.

"The faraway things that come on their own – those are just glimpses, faint maybes. Plus, I see my kind more easily than yours. Edward is even easier because I'm so attuned to him."

"You see me sometimes," she reminded her.

She shook his head. "Not as clearly."

Bella sighed. "I really wish you could have been right about me. In the beginning, when you first saw things about me, before we even met…"

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows creased in confusion.

"You saw me become one of you." She barely mouthed the words.

She sighed. "It was a possibility at the time."

"At the time," Bella repeated.

"I'm sorry," Alice apologized. "There are just too many variables now that aren't clear."

Bella sighed before she looked at me. "What about you? Do your visions work the same way as hers?"

I shook my head. "No, mine don't have so many stipulations. They are more positive and I can see more than just the future."

"Oh, ok. " Bella nodded and yawned.

"Why don't you guys go back to sleep." Alice suggested. "I'll wake you up when there's something new."

"Ok," I nodded as I stretched. Alice pulled her legs up on the seat, wrapping her arms around them and leaning her forehead against her knees. She rocked back and forth as she concentrated.

I rested my head against the seat, watching her, and the net thing I knew, she was snapping the shade closed against the faint brightening in the eastern sky.

"What's happening?" I mumbled.

"They've told him no," she said quietly. I noticed at once that her enthusiasm was gone.

Bella's voice choked in her throat with panic. "What's he going to do?"

"It was chaotic at first. I was only getting flickers, he was changing plans so quickly."

"What kinds of plans?" Bella pressed.

I took a quick peak into my visions as Alice began to answer. "There was a bad hour," she whispered. "He'd decided to go hunting."

Bella looked at her, seeing the comprehension in her face.

"In the city," I explained. "It got very close. He changed his mind at the last minute."

"He wouldn't want to disappoint Carlisle." Bella mumbled.

"Probably," Alice agreed.

"Will there be enough time?" As Bella spoke, there was a shift in the cabin pressure. I could feel the plane angling downward.

"I'm hoping so – if he sticks to his latest decision, maybe." Alice shrugged.

Bella tilted her head to the side. "What is that?" She asked looking at either one of us.

"He's going to keep it simple." I clarified. "He's just going to walk out into the sun."

It would be enough. The image of a vampire – glowing, shimmering like his skin was made of a million diamond facets – would burn into anyone's memory. No human who saw that would ever forget.

The Volturi couldn't possibly allow it. Not if they wanted to keep their city inconspicuous. I learned a lot from Didyme and her memories.

I looked at the slight gray glow that shone through the open windows as I thought this over.

"We'll be too late," Bella whispered, her throat seemed to be closing in panic.

Alice shook her head and I took a quick glimpse to see what she saw and agreed. "Right now, he's being melodramatic. He wants the biggest audience possible, so he'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. The walls are high there. He'll wait till the sun is exactly overhead."

"So we have till noon?"

I nodded. "If we're lucky; if he sticks with the decision."

The pilot came on the over the intercom, announcing, first in French and then in English, our imminent landing. The seat belt lights dinged and flashed.

Quickly, Alice led us out of the airport cutting and weaving in between the masses of people. She told us to wait there before she disappeared into the parking lot, leaving us standing at the front of the building.

"How far is it from Florence to Volterra?" Bella asked.

"That depends on how fast you drive…" I got a glimpse of a canary yellow Porsche flying down the roads towards the city and smirked.

"Bella?" I asked still grinning.

"Yes?"

I eyed her speculatively. "How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"

The same Porsche from my vision screamed to a stop a few feet in front of where we stood, the word TURBO scrawled in silver cursive across its back. Everyone beside us on the crowded airport sidewalk stared.

"Hurry!" Alice shouted impatiently through the open passenger window.

I grabbed Bella's wrist and ran to the door, throwing myself inside. I found myself stuck in between Alice and Bella. With Alice's driving we would pull up to the city gates in no time.

"Sheesh, Alice," Bella complained. "Could you pick a more conspicuous car to steal?"

The interior was black leather and the windows were tinted dark. It felt safer inside, like nighttime. Alice was already weaving, too fast, through the thick airport traffic – sliding through the tiny spaces between the cars as I saw Bella cringe and fumble for her seat belt.

"The important question," she corrected, "is whether I could have stolen a faster car, and I don't think so. I got lucky."

"I'm sure that will be very comforting at the road block."

She trilled a laugh. "Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a road block, it will be behind us." She hit the gas then, as if to prove her point.

I probably should have watched out the window as first the city of Florence and then the Tuscan landscape flashed past with blurring speed.

A vision of Volterra with all of the townspeople dressed in bright red cloaks passed through my eyes as they seemed to be celebrating some kind of holiday.

"Do you see anything more?" Bella asked when she noticed me coming back to the present.

"There's something going on," I muttered. "Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags."

"What's the date today?" Alice asked.

I wasn't entirely sure. "The nineteenth, maybe?"

"Well, that's ironic. It's Saint Marcus Day."

Bella quirked an eyebrow. "Which means?"

She chuckled darkly with an undercurrent of sarcasm. "The city holds a celebration every year. As the legend goes, a Christian missionary, a Father Marcus – Marcus of the Volturi, in fact – drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourge. Of course that's nonsense – he's never left the city. But that's where some of the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. Father Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterra, so they must work." Her smile was sardonic. "It's become more of a celebration of the city and recognition for the police force – after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get credit."

'Is that true?'I thought to Didyme.

'Yes,'she agreed. 'I actually remember how my Marcus came up with it all. We were coming close to being discovered and had to come up with a plan to prevent it. We learned that we needed to make the people feel safe again, so that was when we came up with the rumors you hear about now regarding vampires and decided that there will be no more hunting within the city walls from that day on.'

'Hmmm…'I nodded to myself. 'That's actually cleaver.'

'Yes, we all thought so.'Didyme agreed proudly.

"They're not going to be very happy if Edward messes things up for them on St. Marcus Day." I mentioned out loud to the both of them.

Alice shook her head, her expression grim. "No, they'll act very quickly."

Bella looked away, fighting against her teeth as they tried to break through the skin on her lower lip. I placed my hand on her arm to calm her and to let her know that everything will be okay. Bleeding was not the best idea right now.

The sun was terrifyingly high in the pale blue sky.

"He's still planning on noon?" Bella checked as she looked out the window up towards the sky.

"Yes," I nodded. "He's decided to wait. And they're waiting for him." I could see the members of the Volturi guard hiding in the shadows as they waited for Edward to make his move. He seemed to be hiding in the town square - which held the most people – under a clock tower in an alleyway that seemed to be next to city hall. I knew from Didyme's memories that through secret passageways near city hall were one of the ways to get into the Volturi castle.

"Tell me what I have to do." Bella said in a monotone.

Alice kept her eyes on the winding road – the needle on the speedometer was touching the far right on the dial – as I looked over at my cousin.

"You don't have to do anything." Alice said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "He just has to see you before he moves into the light. And he has to see you before he sees Alice."

"How are we going to work that?"

A small red car seemed to be racing backward as Alice zoomed around it. "I'm going to get you both as close as possible, and then you're going to run. Faith will know where to go."

Bella nodded.

"Try not to trip," she added. "We don't have time for a concussion today." She joked causing me to smile as I thought of Bella's clumsiness and Bella groaned. It would be so like her to do something like that, ruining everything; destroy the world, in a moment of klutziness. Lucky for her though, I will be there to catch her and keep her going if she falls.

The sun continued to climb in the sky while Alice raced us against it. It was too bright and I could see Bella panicking from the corner of my eye.

"There," Alice said abruptly, pointing to the castle city atop the closest hill.

We stared at it, feeling the very first hint of a new kind of fear. Every minute since yesterday morning – it seemed like a week ago – when Alice had spoken her brother's name at the foot of the stairs sending everything in motion that I knew needed to happen, there had been many different kinds of fear. And yet, now, as I stared at the ancient sienna walls and towers crowning the peak of the steep hill that I had only seen in my visions and Didyme's memories,, I felt another, more selfish kind of exciting fear thrill through me.

In my personal opinion, the city was very beautiful. It absolutely terrified me that I wouldn't get the chance to state my business here before they killed me or even if they killed Edward, therefore destroying my cousin and halting my mission. I knew that she still loved him and always would. It was plain as day for anyone to see and I would never want to see her in that sort of pain. The same goes for my Aunt Alice and her brother that she was the closest with out of all of the Cullens.

"Volterra," Alice announced in a flat, icy tone. I just nodded my head silently as Bella leaned forward as she looked through the windshield at the magnificent view in wonder and dread.

We began the steep climb and the road grew congested. As we wound higher, the cars became too close together for Alice to weave insanely between them anymore. We slowed to a crawl behind a little tan Peugeot.

"Alice," Bella moaned, looking at the clock on the dash.

"It's the only way in," I tried to soothe her, knowing that Alice was doing her best, but I knew my voice was too strained to comfort her. We were going to cut it close and if I were in Bella's place with someone that I loved as she did, then I would have been doing the same thing or worse.

The cars continued to edge forward, one car length at a time. The sun beamed down brilliantly, seeming already overhead.

The cars crept one by one toward the city. As we got closer, I could see cars parked by the side of the road with people getting out to walk the rest of the way. At first I thought it was just impatience – something that we could easily understand. But then we came around a switchback, and I could see the filled parking lot outside the city walls, the crowds of people walking through the gates. No one was being allowed to drive through.

"Hey Alice?" I motioned toward where I was looking to alert her of the conundrum.

"I know," she nodded. Her face was chiseled from ice.

Now that I was looking more closely and we were crawling slowly enough to see, I could tell that it was very windy. The people crowding toward the gate gripped their hats and tugged their hair out of their faces. Their clothes billowed around them. I also noticed that the color red was everywhere, just as it was in my vision. Red shirts, red hats, red cloaks on everyone along with red flags dripping like long ribbons beside the gate, whipping in the wind – as I watched the brilliant crimson scarf one woman had tied around her hair was caught in a sudden gust. It twisted up into the air above her, writhing like it was alive. She reached for it, jumping in the air, but it continued to flutter higher, a patch of bloody color against the dull, ancient walls.

"Bella." Alice spoke quickly in a fierce, low tone. "I can't see what the guard here will decide now – if this doesn't work, you and Fay are going to have to go in alone. You're going to have to run. Just follow Faith or if you have to, ask for the Palazzo dei Priori, and running in the direction that they tell you. Don't get lost and don't get separated."

I nodded as Bella began repeating the name 'Palazzo dei Priori' over and over quietly.

"Or 'the clock tower' if they speak English." I added for Bella's benefit, though I was fairly certain that I knew where I was going. I had seen us running in my vision, so it was just a matter of getting there, really.

"I'll go around and try to find a secluded spot somewhere behind the city where I can go over the wall." Alice told us and I nodded.

"Palazzo dei Priori." Bella repeated again as she nodded as well, still trying to memorize the name.

"I don't see this happening, but in case we do somehow get separated for whatever reason, Edward will be under the clock tower to the north of the square. There's a narrow alleyway on the right and he'll be in the shadow there. You have to get his attention before he can move into the sun. I will meet you there if that is the case, so wait for me." I stressed and Bella nodded furiously.

Alice was near the front of the line now. A man in a navy blue uniform was directing the flow of traffic, turning cars away from the full lot. They U-turned and headed back to find a place beside the road. Then it was Alice's turn.

The uniformed man motioned lazily, not paying attention. Alice accelerated, edging around him and heading for the gate. He shouted something at us, but held his ground, waving frantically to keep the next car from following our bad example.

The man at the gate wore a matching uniform. As we approached him, the throngs of tourists passed, crowding the sidewalks, staring curiously at the pushy, flashy Porsche.

The guard stepped into the middle of the street. Alice angled the car carefully before she came to a full stop.

The sun beat against the passenger window while the driver's side was in the shadow to keep Alice from sparkling in front of the guard. She swiftly reached behind the seat and grabbed something from her bag.

The guard came around the car with an irritated expression and tapped on her window angrily.

She rolled the window down halfway, and I watched him do a double take when he saw our faces behind the dark glass as he looked between Alice and me.

Again, this stumped me. Why was I giving him a reaction like that? I wasn't an inhumanly beautiful immortal and yet I've been getting looks from everyone as if I was. What was happening to me?

I didn't have time to think on it as the guard finally found his voice. "I'm sorry, only tour buses allowed in the city today, miss," he said in English with a heavy accent. He was apologetic now as if he wished he had better news for us as his eyes kept connecting with mine.

"It's a private tour," Alice said, flashing an alluring smile and bringing the attention back towards her. She reached her hand out of the window, into the sunlight. I felt Bella freeze, but immediately relaxed when she saw that she was wearing an elbow-length, tan glove. She took his hand, still raised from tapping on her window and pulled it into the car. She put something into his palm, and folded his fingers around it.

His face was dazed as he retrieved his hand and stared at the thick roll of money that he now held. The outside bill was a thousand dollar bill.

"Is this a joke?" he mumbled.

Alice smiled brightly. "Only if you think it's funny." He looked up at her, his eyes staring wide. Bella glanced nervously at the clock on the dash and I grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze to let her know that it would be alright.

"I'm in a wee bit of a hurry," Alice hinted, still smiling.

I saw that this wasn't going to get anywhere quick enough and unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned across Alice as she rolled the window further down for me. Propping my elbows on the window sill and poked my head out the window and gave him a seductive smirk as I ran my finger tip down his cheek.

"I'm sure that it would be alright if you let us through, just this once." I purred into his ear, letting my lips lightly graze his ear before pulling back and giving him a pout.

The guard blinked twice and then shoved the money in his vest. He took a step away from the window as he nodded frantically and waved us on. I quickly pulled myself back into the car, not bothering with my seat belt and knew that none of the passing people seemed to notice our quiet exchange.

Alice drove into the city and we all sighed in relief. The street was very narrow, cobbled with the same color stones as the faded cinnamon brown buildings that darkened the street with their shade. It had the feel of an alleyway. Red flags decorated the walls, spaced only a few yards apart, flapping in the wind that whistled through the narrow lane.

It was crowded and the foot traffic slowed progress.

"Just a little farther," Alice said in encouragement more to Bella than me. She was gripping the door handle, ready to throw herself into the street as soon as we gave the signal.

She drove in quick spurts and sudden stops and the people in the crowd shook their fists at us and said angry words that I was glad Bella couldn't understand. She would be mortified as it was if it wasn't for the fact that she was currently a nervous wreck.

Alice turned onto a little path that couldn't have been meant for cars; shocked people had to squeeze into doorways as we scraped by. We found another street at the end. The buildings were taller here; they leaned together overhead so that no sunlight touched the pavement – the thrashing red flags on either side nearly met. The crowd was thicker here than anywhere else.

Alice stopped the car and Bella threw her door open before we were at a standstill. I followed her out quickly, shutting the door behind me and pointed to where the street widened into a patch of bright openness. "There – we're at the southern end of the square. We need to run straight across to the right of the clock tower."

Alice had the window rolled down as she yelled, "I'll find another way around, but -" Her breath caught suddenly and when she spoke again, her voice was a hiss. "They're everywhere?"

Bella froze in place, but I quickly shook her out of it. "Forget about them. We have two minutes. Come on, Bella!" I shouted pushing her ahead of me.

A/N: Cliff Hanger! I hope you liked my chapter! I am responsible for most of this one, though there were occasional parts of the plot that belonged to Luckystar125! DeathsQueen26 will be joining in after around chapter eleven. But I would love to hear your thoughts and what you think will happen when they catch up to Edward!

If you have any questions or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note at the bottom of the chapter! :-)

To see more, go to either mine or DeathsQueen's FF page: Xo Bella Italiana oX or DeathsQueen26

If you enjoyed this story so far, check out some of my other stories on my FanFiction page! Also, I am still accepting Twilight stories that involve Jasper/any female leads or Bella/selected male leads if anyone is looking for a Beta Reader. I will make exceptions on the characters depending on the plot. I am also accepting other story topics as well! PM me for details!
- Bellisma -
Xo Bella Italiana oX