First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed my story. It means a lot to me. I apologize for the long wait, things have been hectic at college. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Felix and Demetri nudged me forward and I moved to stand in the center of the throne room while the Elite Guard took their places besides the thrones. Aro, the only one I recognized, smiled at me and stood up.
"Hello Isabella and welcome to Volterra. We are very pleased to have you here." His voice had a chirpy tone to it. "My name is Aro and these are my brothers, Marcus and Caius." Marcus' face was a blatant contrast to Aro's. He sported an apathetic expression and his eyes had no shine, they looked dead, even for a vampire. Caius had a scowl on his face and looked like he would rather be anywhere else at this moment. I had heard stories about his ruthlessness from Edward and, let me tell you, he looked every bit the part.
The sight of Aro approaching me broke me out of my reverie. He smiled broadly at me. "As you already know, you are here as a witness to the miscarriage of the law conducted by the Cullens, yes?" I nodded at that and his eyes lit up like a christmas tree. "May I?" He asked, putting his hand out, asking for mine. I was confused for a moment before I remembered the singularities of his gift. He wanted to see my memories. I nodded again and placed my hand in his hold. His face went serious for a moment and his eyes snapped up to look into mine before smiling again. "How interesting." He let go of my hand and offered me his arm. "Will you please come with us Stella dear? This conversation requires a more…private setting." I said nothing while I took his offered arm and let him guide me through the unfamiliar halls of the castle. Before we left the throne room, I managed to catch Demetri's eye. His face showed no surprise or confusion like the others' did, he just looked at me, plain and simple. Marcus and Caius came along and said nothing, either to me or to Aro.
Aro stopped outside of a door and released my arm, indicating that our journey was over. He opened the door and led me inside, placing a hand firmly on my back. The room revealed itself to be a well-furnished office which looked like the perfect mix between medieval and modern. I sat on one of the plush armchairs in front of a large desk and the vampires took their places on the other side of it, facing me. Aro smiled before he spoke, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "So, Isabella, it seems that I cannot get a reading from you. It's very intriguing, as I have never met someone immune to my gift. Has this happened before?" I resisted the urge to smile and simply nodded at him. I pondered if I should let them be privy to the information that I was immune to Edward's gift as well, before realizing that it didn't matter.
Me being here would eventually result in my demise, one way or the other, but it would not be the Volturi's fault. That falls entirely on Edward. "Yes. I was immune to Edward's gift too." At that, his eyebrows moved up just a tiny bit, while Caius' blatantly shot up and Marcus maintained his emotionless face. They were surprised and I was surprised that they were surprised. Surely, they had heard about people resistant to some vampires' gifts. Carlisle always thought that I was a shield and would be an even more powerful one when turned, so I found it very strange that the vampire rulers, who were famous for collecting gifted individuals, would be surprised by the fact that I was resistant to gifts, even in my human state. Aro giggled. "That is most impressive, and I would like to get back to that later. Before we start, I have a few issues to address." I nodded at that and he continued. "Since I cannot access your memories, my brothers and I must ask you questions to which you are required to answer. This is something of the matter, as we cannot be sure of your truthfulness and – " I cut him off by raising my right hand, displaying the pale bite mark that marred my skin. "I see where you're going with this. Why would I lie? What makes you think that I would be untruthful in my answers to you? I have literally no reason to lie to you. Even if I didn't already know that vampires are real, you would kill me anyway just from what I've seen here. I am not leaving this place with my heart beating and I know it, so what possible reason do you think I could have to lie to you?" He didn't seem very happy that I interrupted him, but he didn't say a word about it. "You ask me what reason you could have to lie and it seems to me that your allegiance to the Cullens is a very good one." I snorted at that. "My allegiance to the Cullens? I hold no feelings of loyalty to them. They all betrayed me when they left me 8 years ago. I would have been killed if I didn't have very good friends, not to mention the hurt they caused me. So there goes your supposed reason, Aro. I have no allegiance to them. My allegiance is to myself." Aro looked at Marcus while Marcus accessed me. After a while, he nodded at Aro and looked at me once more. "She speaks the truth." Aro seemed satisfied with that and turned to me with a smile that actually reached his eyes. "Very well, then we shall begin. How did you first meet the Cullens?"
I leaned back in my armchair and settled in. This was going to be a very long story that I didn't exactly fancy telling and I'd rather be comfortable through it.
"And then your guard showed up at my door." I said, finally finishing my story. It had been several hours since I had sat down in this armchair and the sun outside was nearly set. The clock marked 19:01. People had come and gone with lunch and a mid-afternoon snack for me while I talked with the brothers. They had asked several questions about almost everything I told them about my life since finding out about the vampire world and I was exhausted. I just wanted a hot shower and cozy bed.
"And now here you are." Aro said, smiling broadly at me like he had done so many times throughout the day. "I think we now know everything we need to know, though we will consult with you again over the course of the next few days to clarify any questions we might have. Now this brings us to the final issue for today: what to do with you." It didn't take me very long to form a reply and speak my peace. "I would like to be turned." Aro's right eyebrow raised slightly and I continued. "8 years ago, all I wanted was to be turned into a vampire and that didn't happen. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for me to now choose to actually die instead of being turned, would it? Of course, it's up to you to decide, though I can always try to sway your decision, can't I? I've already told you what I wish in this matter and, if it helps, Carlisle always said that I would be a great shield once I was turned." Aro giggled and stood up and his brothers followed suit, as did I. "How about you go rest and we mull it over overnight? We'll send for you tomorrow when we have our decision." Aro circled around the desk and came to stand next to me, offering me his arm once again. I took his arm and let him lead me out of the room and back to the throne room.
On our way there, we passed a group of vampires wearing grey cloaks and Aro stopped in his tracks while drawing one of them closer. Placing on hand on the other vampire's arm, Aro addressed him. "Could you fetch young master Drakos to the throne room, Adamo? Thank you." He didn't wait for an affirmative reply and resumed his course.
We were soon entering the throne room and I was somewhat surprised to find Demetri standing in the middle of it, very close to where I stood before. Aro walked to him, pulling me along, and stopped about 3 feet away from him. "Demetri, thank you for coming so quickly. I am releasing Stella to your care for now and you are to escort her safely to her room. Is that understood?" Demetri bowed his head shortly. "Of course, Master Aro." Aro smiled and released my arm, while Demetri turned towards the door and let his stare rest on me, waiting.
Suddenly, an anxiousness that wasn't there before started creeping into me and I reluctantly started moving towards the door and he fell into step besides me. I didn't know what was happening or why I was feeling so strange all of a sudden and my anxiousness increased with every step we took further into the castle and farther away from the throne room.
We reached the end of a long corridor and Demetri stopped in front of a dark door, with me stopping as well a second after he did. The corridor was dimly lit and I could feel my heart hammering away in my chest as I eyed the door and then him. There was no doubt in my mind that he could hear my frantic heartbeat, as he had a small tinkle in his eyes. He leaned forward and my breath got caught in my throat as he reached behind me. After what felt like an eternity, he smoothly smirked. I heard the sound of a door knob turning and he straightened himself, leaning back and away from me. "This is your room. You'll find your possessions on the bed. If you need anything, my room is across the hall. Goodnight." And with that, he turned and entered his own room. I quickly went inside my bedroom, hiding myself away from this little world. Locking the door, I turned around and leaned against the door with a huff. The first thing I saw of my new room was my own reflection staring back at me from a mirror across the room. I looked like a deer that got caught in the headlights of a car driving south.
Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think by leaving a review.
AN: I couldn't find any reference of Demetri's last name, so I went with Drakos, 'cause well, it sounds cool.
