*** Bella's POV ***
I didn't know what was happening. One moment, I was enjoying the cool water around the island, and the next I was flying, heading straight for the beach. My speed was incredible; who-ever made me airborn, he was strong.
When I hit the sand, I rolled for another ten feet because of my speed. Then, I came to a halt, lying flat on my stomach.
Still surprised about what just happened, I stayed still for a moment, seeing if everything was still attached. (Of course it was, I was practically unharmable, except for vampirebites and werewolfattacks, as far as I knew). Even though I was in one piece, that was about all one could say about my condition. I was a mess. I felt sand sticking to my arms and legs, my long hair stuck wet to the sides of my head and my dress had torn on several places.
Great, Alice'll kill me for sure.
I moaned a little at that idea, and started to push myself up with my hands. Then I froze. Just a few meters away from me, I saw a dark robe touching the ground. Behind that, more dark cloaked figures. Still lying almost flat on the sandy beach, I slowly looked up at the person standing before me, afraid of what I already knew was standing there.
And there he was. His pale, parchment white skin, his crimson eyes deep in their sockets, the long, black cloak covering his tall but starved body.
It was Aro.
In a flash, I was on my legs. I was still dripping with seawater, but I didn't care. Not now. Not with him showing up.
At that moment, Edward had caught up with me. With a huge growl, he flung himself in front of me, crouched in half defensive, half offensive mode, his teeth flickering in the still bright sunshine.
Aro didn't say anything, instead, he showed a little smug smile. Edward hissed and with his eye still on Aro and his company, he whispered between his teeth:
'You ok, Bella?'
My eyes still locked on Aro, I nodded very slowly and barely noticeable, afraid to make any noise, but then I realized he wouldn't be able to see that and so I answered: 'Yeah.' The shaking of my voice surprised me.
How could Aro show up here? How did he even know we were here? And why? There hadn't been any sign of the Volturi in 5 years! The thought of Aro coming up with another mischievous plan made my skin crawl, and I reached for Edwards hand, who was still crouched in front of me.
He firmly closed his fingers around mine, a silent promise he would keep us both as safe as he could. Please watch out, Edward. I thought, opening my mind up to him, visions in my head of the vampires lunging at us as soon as we made a wrong move. We were outnumbered by far. Aro had brought several Volturi guards, all guarding other vampires considered elites, some of which I already knew.
I recognized Jane, for starters. She was smiling at me, but in a sarcastic way: I could see the hatred in her eyes. Ever since I had shielded off her powers from my family, I was her number-one enemy. Quickly, I expanded my shield to Edward, afraid she might want to try again.
Before I could examine the faces of the other vampires, Aro spoke. His voice was still as ragged as ever, an ancient voice.
'Excuse us for intruding, dear Cullens,' And Edward growled instantly, probably thinking about how they had forced me to make a flying entrance. Aro didn't react though, and kept up with his polite talk. 'It has been so long already. Please, tell me how you are both doing.'
Edward stiffened. I wondered what he heard Aro think, it made me awfully curious. If only I had my new power under more control.
Then, Edward responded to Aro's question. He didn't move an inch, but instead grabbed my hand even more firmly. Good thing my whole body was as hard as marble nowadays, or he would've crushed my fingers.
'We were doing fine', he snarled, 'until you decided to pay us a visit. What exactly are your intentions, Aro? I can tell you're not here for a friendly talk over tea.'
Aro seemed delighted by Edwards rudeness, but his companions were not. Every one of them now had a focused look in their eyes, ready for a fight.
Cautious, I stepped a little forward, so that I was now standing half behind Edward, and half next to him. I wanted to let them know I could fight too, if I had to. Aro slightly turned his head when he saw me move, and raised one of his eyebrows as he looked me up and down with an amused grin.
'Oh, but Bella, I can see that you've become quite beautiful in the past couple of years.' A few guards surrounding him snickered.
I froze. Suddenly I was aware of the fact I was standing there half naked, in a shredded dress and with sand sticking to my pale skin. I put my free arm around my chest, and Edward growled at Aro, releasing his hand from mine, and took off his buttoned shirt. He carefully put it around my shoulders, never letting his eyes off the Volturi. After I had closed it in front a bit, I again closed my hand in Edwards'.
Aro had followed our actions, which hadn't taken more than a few seconds, with a stoic face. He reacted though, when Edward spoke again, who was clearly losing his temper.
'Enough with the stalling, Aro, let's begin with how you were able to deflect Alices visions.' Edward seemed a bit curious. He probably couldn't find the answer in Aro's mind.
Aro shrugged. 'Hmm yes', he said, 'I should tell you now, that I've found a way to create.. immunity for my clan against the powers of your charming psychic sister, you'll have to thank Anthony for that.' At which he pointed at a group of Volturi guards to his left.
At this gesture, the guards spread, revealing a cage-like construction, and through the thick metal bars, a figure was visible. I gasped.
Inside the small cage, there was a boy. He had yellow eyes, and fangs were visible through his half opened lips. At the sight of me and Edward, he started to growl; a low, rumbling sound ripping through his chest. He had long, messy hair, clearly not washed or combed through in ages, and his whole, naked body was covered in dirt and marks of torturing. He looked like a wild animal.
Edward looked shocked too. Probably because he knew what the boy was. 'You caged a werewolf?!' he shouted, at which some of the guards lowered their bodies into defensive mode, their hands half stretched out towards us, ready to rip us to pieces. Aro made a small gesture with his hands, and the guards relaxed the tiniest bit.
Horrified, I let out a small gust of air. Now, I saw too. The boy could have been anyone of our werewolf friends, but he looked a lot younger, and nothing like the big bears all the werewolves quickly became after they turned. Now I saw why that was: they had starved him. His ribs were showing in his hollow chest, and the fingers with which he grabbed the bars of his enclosure were just skin and bones.
At the sight of our horrified faces, Aro chuckled lightly, clearly amused by his own cleverness, as he answered Edwards outraged exclamation.
'Well, yes, of course. An uncaged werewolf would only cause trouble in the midst of a clan of vampires, don't you think? And after I had found out that werewolves were immune to Alices powers, I just had to have one. Pretty clever, if I say so myself.'
Aro was so full of himself, it wouldn't have surprised me if he had patted himself on the shoulder. But even though it was a horrible act to do, I did realize Aro had made a very smart move. This explained why Alice hadn't seen any of the Volturi's actions the past years, and why their visit to the island was so unexpected. They had carried the boy all the way here with them, just to surprise us with their visit. Which could only mean, they really weren't up to any good.
While I was still staring horrified at the little boy, I suddenly recognized one of the cloaked figures standing at the back of the group. I was so shocked, that I had to grip Edwards arms with two hands just to keep myself from falling to the ground, as my knees started to shake uncontrollably. Alarmed, Edward turned his face toward me, searching my eyes for clues for what got me so frightened.
Aro laughed out loud now, and gestured for the cloaked man to come to him.
'Well, leave it to Bella to find out the reason we're all here!' He laughed, 'And my apologies for not introducing the newest addition to my collection earlier.'
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