When Marcus finished telling the others what had happened in the afternoon they were all deep in thought.

"Sometimes when I talk to her I feel like she must have an old soul; she displays wisdom and knowledge for a person far beyond her age." Marcus mused as he got up to search for something he could read until Isabella woke up.

Aro put away his book and a pensive expression struck his face. "I understand what you are talking about, that is exactly what I gathered from your thou-"

Suddenly an ear-piercing scream cut through the air.

"Isabella?" Athenodora whispered as her eyes widened in shock.

Chapter 6 - Fire

Right as the name left Athenodora's lips Marcus and Sulpicia were on their way, running towards Isabella's room as fast as they could.

The bedroom door stood wide open; inside they could see a frantic Heidi trying with all her might to wake up the screaming girl. "Isabella! Isabella!" she called as she shook the girl's shoulders.

Isabella was lashing out at her, still asleep; the vampires could smell the fear she was emitting. "No! Ti prego, smettila!" she screamed as she trashed around. The screaming slowly faltered as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"No!" Isabella called out before she broke down in sobs. When Marcus saw there was no physical danger in the room he quickly took the girl in his arms and held her close as she slowly woke up.

"Mamma, mamma," Isabella cried while she held onto Marcus and hid her head in his chest.

The sound of the little girl crying was absolutely heart-breaking. As Sulpicia looked at her brother and Isabella her eyes filled with venom tears. Aro, who entered the room with Caius and Athenodora, quickly walked over to his mate to embrace her. Marcus was making shushing sounds now; calming the girl who obviously was very upset.

After a few minutes Isabella gradually stopped crying and she slowly opened her eyes. "Did you have a nightmare, little one?" Marcus softly asked as he wiped away her tears. She nodded and buried her head in the crook of his neck, shuddering as she remembered what she had dreamt about. When Marcus noticed the girl was shivering he looked up at Heidi, who was standing next to Sulpicia. "Would you be so kind to light a fire in-"

"No!" Isabella shouted abruptly as she looked up at the vampires with wide eyes. "No! No fire!"

Startled Heidi looked at the child as she put away the chunk of wood she had grabbed. Marcus frowned. "What is wrong with fire, Isabella?" he asked her concernedly. It was quiet for a minute before she responded.

"Death," she whispered in a grave voice.

It was not something Isabella liked to think about; it made her sad, but some days she could just not escape it. And while all she wanted to do now was eat breakfast and play with her new toys in her new room with her new friends, she knew her vampires would want to know what was wrong.

"Why do you associate fire with death, little one?" Aro asked as he studied the child curiously. "I saw it happen," Isabella said, not paying attention; she looked like she was off somewhere else in her head.

Sulpicia was watching and decided it had been enough for now; the girl was obviously still very upset and death was not a topic someone this young should have to think about. "Would it be all right if I took Isabella to the kitchen for some breakfast? That way you can finish all the tasks that still have to be done and we can spend the rest of our time together," she told the others.

Isabella nodded and held out her little hands indicating she wanted Sulpicia to pick her up. Within seconds she was comfortably in the queen's arms and she waved Marcus goodbye. As Sulpicia walked out the door the girl started to play with the necklace the queen was wearing; the sign she was a part of the Volturi family.

"It's so pretty," Isabella sighed dreamily as she touched the gemstones that indicated Sulpicia's status as queen.

Sulpicia smiled at the child's antics as she entered the kitchen before she carefully put her down on a chair at the dining table. Gianna, who had been informed by Heidi that the girl had awoken and would want breakfast soon, was already preparing the food. Isabella's face lit up as soon as she saw the waffles with strawberries and she started to bounce excitedly in her chair in anticipation. Gianna chuckled as she placed a plate in front of the girl who had already earned a special place in her heart.

When Isabella had finally finished breakfast - she had gotten distracted by everything and everyone who passed by - Sulpicia took her back to her room, where the girl happily took out her colouring supplies and convinced the queen to join her at the table in the corner. Sulpicia looked around the room in wonder as she took in all the new furniture and bright coloured knick-knacks that were scattered all over. The room was quite pretty, although it was obvious a child had chosen the decorations. She had not quite expected this design when she heard Marcus talk about the girl's love for bright colours. It seemed that Heidi had been able to negotiate enough with the child to make sure no one would get a headache from a visual overload, or so to speak.

The walls had been painted a soft lilac colour, creating a peaceful but warm atmosphere. In front of the huge windows, which looked out onto the castle's courtyard, hung bright pink curtains with a joyous flower pattern; there was no doubt it was Isabella's pick. The bed had a simple white frame and it matched with the comfy white armchairs that were positioned in the corner of the room. It was the one part of the room which looked like it was planned by a designer, though Sulpicia did have some qualms about the fact that there was a white armchair in a room for a child. She was not sure if that was the wisest choice, but it did give the bedroom a sleek look.

In front of one wall there were huge white cupboards; there was enough room for Isabella to store her toys and crafting supplies as well as display her artwork on the open shelves. The door leading towards the walk-in closet, which was no doubt already filled with clothes, was covered in chalkboard paint for the girl to make drawings on. Most bright colours could be found in the decorations, which were scattered all around the room. It looked like they had all been chosen by Isabella herself; they seemed to have been picked at random but with a lot of thought about the girl's interests. Somehow they did, quite miraculously, match with each other.

While Sulpicia finished looking around the room Isabella lay out her supplies and chose a picture of a castle which she started to colour. When the girl noticed her friend was just watching her she looked up. "You have to colour too! Here, you can pick one of my pictures," Isabella said with an endearing smile.

Although Sulpicia felt slightly absurd, picking a drawing of a unicorn, she was not able to refuse the happy girl's request. Now they were colouring in silence, only interrupted by the occasional random observation from the child.

Suddenly Isabella's voice broke through the silence again. "Mamma died in the fire."

At that comment Sulpicia stopped for a moment to look at the girl, who was still concentrating on the picture in front of her. "I'm so sorry," she said empathically in a soft voice. "You must miss her a lot."

"I do miss her," Isabella sighed as she picked a new crayon. "But she is always with me, I know that."

The queen smiled softly as she put her hand on the girl's arm. "That must be true."

-oOo-

A few hours later Isabella was sitting on Sulpicia's lap in the white armchair as she listened to a story that the queen was reading to her. Isabella had already eaten lunch; they were currently waiting for the others to finish their tasks and join them in the girl's bedroom.

When Sulpicia was in the middle of her story Isabella suddenly looked up, alarmed as her eyes widened. "We have to go to the front desk!" she said panicky before she abruptly stood up. The queen confusedly looked at the girl before she realized Isabella wanted her to take her there. Within seconds she had the child scooped into her arms and they were on their way.

A corner away from their destination Isabella started to wiggle in Sulpicia's arms, indicating she wanted to be put down. When her feet touched the ground she ran around the corner as fast as she could. She had to be on time; she knew things would go extremely wrong if she wasn't.

"STOP!" Isabella shouted from the top of her lungs.

A/N: Well, I don't speak Italian which means it is all google translate :P If you know Italian and I wrote something which is not right, please tell me so I can correct it. The next chapter will contain some Bella/Jane interactions as requested ;) Thank you for reading my story, and as always your reviews are highly appreciated!

- Laura

Translations:

Ti prego, smettila! - Please stop!

mamma - mommy