"Who was it that told you to come here?" Aro asked. A thoughtful look appeared on Isabella's face as she contemplated on what to say. He had told her not to tell them his name just yet, but she did not want to lie to her new friends either.
"He has blond hair," was the answer she decided on. Athenodora opened her mouth to ask Isabella the name of the person she met, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door. The door opened and Gianna came walking in, holding a phone in her hand.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but I have a caller on the phone who wishes to speak to Isabella."
Chapter 4 - Millennia
All eyes were on Isabella when Gianna handed over the phone. The girl eagerly accepted it and held it to her ear as a smile appeared on her face. "Renée? I wondered when you would call."
"Bella? Oh, finally! I was so worried about you!" a voice on the other end of the line said. Isabella looked down guiltily as she shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry, but I really had to go."
"I know you had your reasons, sweetie, though maybe you can try and warn me first the next time you disappear. I waited for hours for you to return from school! I almost called Charlie to come and help search for you."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worried Renée!" Isabella said sheepishly while she started to play with her hair. She truly loved Renée; the woman had helped her greatly the past few years and Isabella didn't like it that she had distressed her.
"I know you didn't mean for me to worry, but I can't help it, Bella. For all I knew you had stranded in the middle of the forest again, or in Alaska! It isn't fun when the little girl you care for ends up in the hospital with severe hypothermia."
At that comment the vampires were staring at Isabella with wide eyes.
"It's good that you found me now, at least? I'm happy you got my note," Isabella said softly, not noticing the looks she was given.
"Yes, luckily I did, I'm so glad to finally be in touch with you. Are you safe? Have you eaten yet? Did you sleep well? Where are you, anyway?"
"I couldn't be safer," Isabella answered. "I'm in Italy."
It was silent for a minute before Renée spoke up again. "Italy? Oh well, I shouldn't have expected any different," she said amusedly. "How long are you staying there? Should I come to take you back? I'm sure I can make some arrangements at work so I can get on the first plane to Italy. Are you with someone at the moment?"
"I think I'll be staying in Italy for a while," Isabella told her. "I will have to make some plans, but it will work out."
"You'll be staying? I know I can trust you to make the right decision, you always do so, but Italy is pretty far away, sweetheart. Are you sure you can't come home with me?"
Athenodora looked up; she did not quite understand why Renée trusted her four year old daughter to make such a big decision by herself. The girl was probably not even in preschool yet, parents still helped their child to dress themselves at this age. But this girl was apparently allowed to choose for herself whether she wanted to stay in Italy and it all confused Athenodora profoundly.
"I'm sorry Renée, but I really can't," Isabella said in a sorrowful voice.
"I understand, Bella. Don't feel guilty about all of this; I know you can't help it, but please call me if you need help with anything. Is there someone to take care of you there? I know that you are an independent girl, but you can't do everything alone, you know."
"I made some new friends! They are very nice to me and I just had some pancakes that were really good."
"The thought that you're not alone makes me feel slightly better at least and remember that you can always call me or Charlie if you need something. We both love you very much, please let us know if you are doing well."
"I will! Thank you Renée, love you!" Isabella said as she ended the phone call. She lowered the phone from her ear and looked up.
The vampires were staring at her with stunned looks on their faces. This little girl just had almost an entire conversation talking and discussing as if she was an adult instead of a four year old. Marcus was the first one to speak up.
"Was that your mother?" he asked Isabella, who was back at playing with the hem of her dress.
The girl frowned at him like that was a stupid question as she answered. "No, that was Renée."
Aro furrowed his brows. "But who is-"
"Will you be staying with us, here in the castle?" Sulpicia interrupted. She truly hoped Isabella would stay; she seemed like a very sweet and intelligent girl. It would be nice to have a new face in the castle, things tend to get boring when you live for thousands of years. Not forgetting to mention that Marcus seemed alive again in the presence of the child.
"Could I?" Isabella slowly said as she looked at the vampires with pleading eyes. She knew she would be safe here, safer than any other place she could go. And the people were really nice to her; she was certain she would make tons of friends who she could have fun with.
If the vampires had been planning to say no, they would have probably changed their answer when they saw Isabella's face. There was no way that they would be able to deny the girl anything if she was looking at them like that.
"Of course you can stay," Marcus told her with a smile on his face. "In fact, we should tell some of the guards to prepare a room for you."
Isabella's face lit up and she jumped of the couch, taking Marcus' hand and pulling him along. She was back in a happy mood again after the serious conversation she had just had. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! And can we play when we're done?"
Marcus smiled and nodded. "I would love to, dear Isabella. We will go and find Heidi; she can help us to make some arrangements."
The little girl and the king left the room, happily chatting. The other vampires watched them with a mix of emotions on their faces.
"She truly is something different," Athenodora sighed as she cuddled up next to her mate. "I wish we knew more about her, though. She still is as much of a mystery to me now as she was an hour ago."
"Are we sure that this is a wise move? Just as you said, Athenodora, we know almost nothing about the girl. How do we know she does not pose a danger to us?" Caius asked thoughtfully. Although he did not admit it, he had come to like the girl too. It concerned him that she was able to form such strong bonds in the small amount of time that she had been with them.
Caius's comment had the others thinking for a moment before Aro responded. "I do not believe that Isabella poses a danger to us. If she does pose a danger it would still be the best idea to have her here, close to us, where we can keep an eye on her. But like I said, I do not believe that she is dangerous."
"I must agree with Aro on this topic," Sulpicia said. "But what will we explain to the guard about the situation?"
"I think we should let Isabella choose for herself what she wants them to know, she will also be able to explain best why she is here," Aro said as he picked up a book from the side table. "For now I think we should let her and Marcus do what they want to do without interfering. Isabella is incredibly intriguing, she is like a miracle; I have not seen Marcus this content and attentive in millennia."
The others nodded in agreement; they too had noticed how much Marcus' mood had improved today. He had been sad and depressed for the past three thousand years, they had gotten used to it long ago. Now that Isabella was here it was like he was alive again, they could see the person he was before the death of his mate: the caring brother, the powerful ruler, the warrior.
Deep in thought Caius picked up some papers he was working on to continue his job, Athenodora reading an article at his side. Both Aro and Sulpicia seated themselves on the couch with a book, cuddling into each other.
They sat like that for hours; reading, relaxing, thinking. For the first time in years they were able to truly be content and happy.
A/N: Hi! Thank you for reading my story and a special thanks to all that reviewed, it makes me happy :) Please tell me what you think of this new chapter!
- Laura