Aro had always prided himself on his ability to see talent in people. He had seen the potential for talent in me from the day Edward first conveyed all he knew about me to Aro. It was very rare for the Volturi to recruit their guard from among the human population. It was only the truly exceptional humans that ever caught their eye as anything other than a meal. I, along with Alec and Jane, was one of the rarities.
What once had been a joke about being wired different than everyone else really was true. My mind behaved irregularly and acted on a different frequency from not just all humans, but vampires as well. That still didn't explain to me what just happened with Jane, but somehow I created interference. Back in Forks Edward would always grumble any time we went under power lines in my old truck because the reception would suddenly become distorted and full of static. Maybe Edward was more accurate than he suspected when he said I operated on another frequency. If the electrical currents in my brain were different from every one, perhaps when I projected them I could cause something similar to the power line interference to happen. No, that was ridiculous, how could such a thing be possible? Interference would have just diminished the potency of the attack and not stop it altogether. Then again, Jane isn't used to any kind of resistance and may have been just as startled by the development as me.
A million thoughts at once were rushing through my head, attempting to analyze what was going on. With every new idea came a hundred reasons why it could not be possible. Surely I would have accidentally distorted Edward's power at some point in the last few months if that's what I was capable of and surely Alice would have seen what I was capable of. I was safe in my own mind, yes, but there was just no way I could make others safe in my own mind. I remembered all those episodes of Star Trek my dad would watch when I was little and visiting. This felt like something more out of that than anything. "Force-fields at maximum power Spock!" It was a ridiculous idea; force-fields were the things of science fiction and not of reality. Well, every day I was learning that the line between fantasy and reality was thinner than I thought. Just a few years back I would have scoffed at anyone that suggested there were real vampires in the world and here I am now, living...existing proof that there are such thing.
Right now though I was growing increasingly anxious to hear what Aro suspected of this. He was clearly looking smug about being right about me. I wasn't just some vacant mind that no one could toy with, I was a weapon. Perhaps weapon wasn't the best term because I didn't actually attack Jane; a shield would probably be a more apt description.
Irina was still lying on the floor but was looking at me like a deer caught in headlights. "Why?" She whispered.
Her questioned startled me. I had been expecting questions to flood from every corner of the room asking "how" but I never thought of "why."
"I don't know," I really was at a lost for why I had felt such a need to protect her. She was so helpless. I remembered how horrible it felt back in the meadow with Laurent getting ready to kill me. There was no one coming to protect me then. A person I thought was a friend ended up an enemy. I could see that in Irina now. She came to the Volturi for help and was now being attacked.
That was why I needed to protect her. I needed to protect her because she needed someone and I could. Her intentions toward me no longer mattered. Just as the Pack could have seen me as a threat and still rescued me, I had needed to rescue Irina.
Ever since he lost his mate Marcus had been the quietest of the Volturi. If he had anything to say it was said with Aro as the messenger. Most of the Volturi guard had never even heard his voice. Many in the Volterra court felt that Marcus was the weakest of the group because of his silence and detachment. Those same people were the ones that underestimated the power of being able to see the depths of relationships. Any time there was someone among the visitors that planned a coup d'état—Marcus had been the one to single them out. The only reason I had any idea of this was from listening to Carlisle's stories from the time he spent in Volterra. He had always found Marcus to be the most fascinating of the three and Marcus had always been the most open to hearing about Carlisle's lifestyle.
That was way there was a collective gasp as he said, "Bella is a heroine. If I'm not mistaken she seems to need to protect those that are weak." He hissed the last part at Irina. I couldn't decide if it was her attempted manipulation or betrayal that angered him more. His voice was lower and huskier than either Caius or Aro and I was shocked by this. He had the voice of a commander and it seemed odder than ever that Aro was the spokesman.
As I repeated his words over to myself a lump caught in my throat. He had called me a "heroine." The play on words from what felt like a past life made me want to cry out. I hadn't been away from Edward for this long in ages and it felt unnatural. I had been, and still was, his brand of heroin. Now more than ever I wished that he really was coming to rescue me. Funny though that I was the damsel in distress even as Marcus stood here telling me I had developed a hero-complex.
He seemed very pleased with this development though and even through my pain I couldn't help but smile back at him. I liked Marcus. There was much more to him than I think even Carlisle had learned. Perhaps there was more there than his family knew.
Separating himself from his guard and two brothers, Marcus floated forward to stand before me. His eyes felt like they were penetrating to my soul; taking in every aspect of my being. Just as I felt there was more to him, he seemed to be searching for more of me. We stood there staring into each others eyes and I could see the sadness within him. They were shallower than they should have been and lacked the enthusiasm of life. The sadness I used to be able to hear Edward's voice when he recalled the thought of losing me was what I saw etched all across Marcus's features. What once may have been a powerful commander was now almost an empty shell—very little remained of who he once was.
I heard the faintest sound of a shuffle from behind Marcus and then saw a pale hand slide onto his shoulder. It was Aro and he seemed to be struggling with what to say. He was seeing everything that was processing in Marcus's mind as he looked at me. Now not only was Marcus gazing into my soul but Aro was as well. Something Aro had seen left him startled. I thought back to my first meeting with them and remembered Aro saying that Marcus was surprised by the intensity in the bond Edward and I had. He also said that it took a lot to surprise Marcus. Here they both stood, unable to put on a mask to hide their astonishment.
Marcus lifted a hand as if to brush my cheek but quickly withdrew it, unsure if he was going too far. He tilted his head to the side and barely breathed out, "Diana, she reminds me of my Diana."
The longing in his voice left me with no doubt of whom this Diana was. She could only be his lover that he lost in battle long ago, the loss that had turned him into a zombie until now. Even he hadn't realized it at the time but what had shocked him so much about Edward and I was that we were a reflection of him and his lost love, hero and heroine.
AN: I am leaving this at the end so that it doesn't give anything away.
The name Marcus is originally derived from Mars, Roman god of war. So I am developing his character based on this warrior concept. Since Stephenie has never told us the name of Marcus's mate I continued with the concept of Roman gods and chose Diana, goddess of the hunt. I may write a side story I've come up with on the two of them.