A/n: At long last, it's chapter 8. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. For those of you who don't know, I'm due to have a baby any day now. It could be tomorrow, it could be two more weeks. This is why things have been taking so long.

Thank you to the fabulous ebhg for beta'ing even when she's insanely busy, and to L J Summers for encouragement to try anything to break my writers block.

You know how I've said I wasn't going to do Bella's POV… Yeah… change of plans.


Bella

We landed in Florence. I knew that one of them had to have been on the plane with me, as it was highly unlikely that the Volturi would risk my escape. I also smelled him. There was a vampire two rows behind me. I made a concerted effort not to get up and look. It was possible that he might not be Volturi; they could have been overconfident since they had both Sue and Charlie. Mark had left Sea-Tac ahead of me with yet another decoy. I sincerely hoped that these women weren't going to be harmed. Mark had lured them in with the promise of cash. It was disconcerting to look at them, all of the women looked freakishly like me. I'd left clues with those who seemed trustworthy on the first set of flights, but I was now out of hints for my family.

I wanted Edward.

While it was true that I'd dealt with plenty of adversity without him, it was harder. During the newborn attack in Forks and the aftermath I had thought that I'd never see him again. The separation was easier. I blamed myself for childish reasons. I wasn't technically his mate at the time, either. Being reunited, reconciled, and married had changed things – as did being a vampire. I craved him before, but he became a physical need. I wasn't sure how long I'd last without him.

But Aro would count on that. I could tell, even though I'd never met him that his plan ultimately included getting Edward. I was an easier target than he was. Being a newborn, and still having human ties had left me painfully vulnerable. I still couldn't work out exactly how Mark Johnson, Mr. Johnson, the same Mark who had participated in my kidnapping only a few months prior had found a way around Alice.

Granted, I had a way around her, but as far as I could tell Mark's ability dealt mainly with perception. He could find weaknesses.

Oh.

He'd read Alice. So he knew exactly where all of her blind spots were. I felt like an idiot.

In addition, my control was being tested. Sitting on so many flights in the past twenty-four hours had caused my thirst to become quite acute. My fellow passengers smelled so good. The recirculated air in the cabin made me feel like a kid sitting in the middle of a bakery full of sweets and being told not to taste any of them. I'd never had a problem before, but Carlisle had made sure that my exposure was limited.

As painful as it was, I focused on Edward. It was trading the physical burn of thirst for a deep seated emotional pain that made me feel like I'd betrayed him; however, the guilt would help keep the thirst at bay. I wished for possibly the thousandth time that I'd just told him. Running off like this, leaving clues, playing a stupid cloak and dagger game with the Volturi was stupid.

I curled up into the fetal position as much as my seat would allow and dropped my shield for a fraction of a second. Alice could see me when I did this, but since I didn't know what the specific abilities of the vampire behind me were, I kept the moment brief and didn't try to send a message this time.

Hopefully, Jasper had things in hand. If I'd played my cards right, then he would have been the one going to Seattle, and meeting with Sam, and Edward would still be in Jacksonville, possibly with Alice. I was fairly certain that he wouldn't let his only link to gaining any information about me out of his sight.

Jasper and I could do this.

I felt the plane jostle before the humans did. We were at the jetway, and the flight attendants were opening the doors. I quickly unfolded myself and collected my things. My first order of business would have to be finding a trashcan. I'd surreptitiously tucked my in-flight meal into a plastic bag. I almost felt bad for the vampire behind me, he'd failed to plan for the meal and had ended up eating it and retreating to the lavatory to vomit, because his obvious disinterest in the food had been noticed. He wasn't used to dealing with humans, which was blatantly obvious.

I deplaned, quickly. The air from outside was crisp and cool, and although it stank of the metallic tang of jet fuel, it was so much better than the air inside the plane that had burned my throat and lungs. I pulled in deep breaths, and my thirst dissipated. It was fortunate that I'd fed before starting the journey. I blinked and my contacts dissolved again. Instead of stopping where I was to deal with the issue, I pulled on a pair of large framed sunglasses that Rosalie had given me. They were way too stylish for my usual tastes but perhaps in the airport, in Florence, they would seem chic.

I followed the signs toward customs. My fellow vampire from the plan had been tailing me. Just before I reached the line, his meaty hand grabbed my elbow. I looked, first at the hand and then at his face. He was huge – bigger than Emmett.

I quickly tried to assess whether or not I could defeat him in a fair fight. It'd be difficult. This one would have to be Jasper's.

"This way, newborn," he growled under his breath.

I followed the hulking vampire, with long dark hair to a side door. A man sat at a little desk, sorting through a pile of papers. He looked up when we entered, and cowered slightly. It seemed like he knew a vampire when he saw one. With a gesture, he asked for our documents, but didn't bother looking at them when they were produced. He merely stamped them, and typed something into his computer before ushering us out the other door.

"I have a car in the lot," my companion grunted and grabbed me again. This time, I shook off his hand.

"You have my father, I think that you can trust me to follow," I spat.

He looked down at me with his eyes narrowed. I sincerely hoped that Aro had requested my presence in one piece as opposed to several. My only other choice would be to reveal the physical nature of my shield and my level of proficiency with it, which I was still cleverly keeping under my hat. When the time came, if they thought I was weak, the strongest fighters would all go for Jasper, who was significantly more experienced than I was at combat. I could quickly finish off whatever weaklings they threw at me, and then pick off Jasper's opponents from behind.

After a long moment, the hulking vampire nodded, and proceeded to walk to the parking deck, careful to keep under the cover of the breezeway and out of the sunlight. I very carefully followed his example.

The car was parked on a lower level. When we arrived, he immediately donned a black cloak from the backseat and passed me a light gray one, and a pair of matching gloves. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I have to take you through the main gate, you need to cover yourself so that we're not exposed," he rather irritably explained. I nodded and complied. The gloves were completely impractical, as was the cloak; both were satin. It seemed that someone thought I would appreciate the gesture. Perhaps they intended to try to woo me a bit, even though they'd forced my compliance.

He donned his own gloves and gestured for me to climb into the passenger seat. As soon as I had closed the door, he took off, black-gloved hands gripping the steering wheel. Seatbelts, apparently, weren't necessary.

The drive was silent. I didn't bother trying to make conversation, and neither did he. I considered dropping my shield again, but I didn't want Edward to know my location, just Jasper. I was going to have to be really really good to Edward after this was all over, provided I survived.

Our arrival in Volterra was quiet. The car pulled in front of a castle and stopped. My escort got out and looked highly perturbed that I hadn't exited as quickly as he did. I had been looking up at the structure through the window with my mouth open like a foolish tourist.

"Welcome home," he grunted when I stepped out.

We were both shrouded from the sunlight in our gloves and cloaks. The doors to the castle were thrown open by an invisible force when we reached them. They closed behind us immediately. The interior was much more like that of a bank or a hotel lobby than a castle. The marble floor was polished to a high gloss, seating areas with plush chairs and sofa's dotted the room. Sunlight shone through large stained glass windows. My companion threw back his hood and allowed the sunlight to glint off of his skin, casting multicolored sparkles onto the floor. I took my cue from him and lowered my hood as well.

He led me to a bank of elevators at the back of the room, pulled out a key, and placed it into a lock next to the last elevator then pressed the up button. A few minutes later the doors chimed and opened. The elevator itself was normal, it lacked the opulence of the room outside.

Our destination was on a floor that initially resembled an ordinary office building. A human woman sat at a desk on the far wall. As we entered she picked up her phone and dialed.

"They're here, sir ….Yes, I'll send them right back." She turned to us. "Master Aro says to meet him in the study rather than the formal audience chamber."

"Thank you Gianna," he nodded.

"Anything for you, Felix," she giggled like a schoolgirl in return.

"She's human," I stated after we'd exited the room through the double doors just to the side of her desk.

"Yes, and an employee, so don't drink from her without permission from one of the Masters." He gave me a stern look.

"I don't drink from humans," I mumbled looking around the hallway, which was decorated with various historical objects.

"That's because you've never tried it," he chided.

"No, it's because I'm morally opposed and have the self-control to restrict my feeding habits," I shot back.

"We'll see," he sang as he opened a door near the end of the hall.

Through the doors was an elaborate sitting room, with period French furnishings. It looked like a highly uncomfortable place to spend any amount of time. The chairs seemed like they'd be hard and unforgiving, not to mention too small for anyone over five-foot-four. I recognized the brothers immediately. Aro, Caius, and Marcus looked exactly like the artist's rendering in Carlisle's study.

"Dearest Isabella," Aro invited me into the room with open arms and a false warmth to his voice.

"I want to see my father, now," I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

Aro's arms dropped and his expression turned cold. He turned to Caius and raised an eyebrow. The blond vampire nodded in return. The third, Marcus, approached and touched Aro's hand. Aro briefly acknowledged the touch with a sour expression. Marcus moved to Caius and whispered in his ear.

I'd done my research. Marcus had most likely filled Aro in on the fact that my bond with the Cullen family was secure. Aro shot me an appraising look and I smiled as sweetly as I could while tapping my foot. In truth, it probably looked rather condescending.

"You're stalling, Aro. I want proof that he hasn't been harmed before we conduct any business."

"But, Isabella, he hasn't seen you since the change, won't he be shocked?" Aro deflected.

"I've had enough. You must desperately need me for something considering the lengths that you've gone to in order to secure my arrival. If you can't give me some form of incontestable proof that he and Sue Clearwater are unharmed, then you've wasted your time," I spat.

Aro inclined his head slightly toward Felix. I turned to the hulking vampire, who in turn gestured for me to follow. We came to an elevator in the hallway, this one requiring no key. It was waiting for us.

I stepped in ahead of him.

"You would do well not to test Master Aro's patience," he warned.

"Master Aro would do well to learn some manners," I growled.

"Do you realize the game that you're playing?"

"Does he?"

"Listen, newborn, you have a lot to learn about this world and the way things work. Your stunt in there

didn't earn you anything, and if you're not careful I will be tearing you limb from limb," he said darkly.

"Bring it," I challenged.

The elevator gave a slight bounce before the floor indicator caught up with it and the doors slid open. We were in a nearly identical hallway to the one above. I had anticipated being shown to the dungeon. At least this was somewhat more pleasant. Halfway down the hall, a vampire stood guard in front of a nondescript door. We stopped in front of it.

"Blindfold them," Felix ordered. The guard nodded and disappeared into the room. It was done quickly, and we entered as the guard returned to his position.

The room was unexpectedly nice, and large. It took me a moment to find Charlie and Sue, I did so by locating their heartbeats. Charlie was the easiest to locate; he had a slight arrhythmia. He and Sue were seated in uncomfortable-looking arm chairs, facing each other on the opposite end of the room. I was standing near them in a flash, gray satin billowing around me.

They looked well enough. Charlie was huffing into his moustache and Sue sat like the proud Native American woman she was. She knew her situation, and had things under control to the best of her ability.

I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Don't speak; it's Bella. I'm here to do what I can."

Sue nodded.

"I'm with the hostage negotiation team," I announced, disguising my voice. "I need to know if you've been harmed in any way."

"Other than the fact that my lady friend and I have been kidnapped, brought who knows where, and held there?" Charlie snapped.

"Charlie," Sue warned. "No one has physically harmed us."

"Have you been fed?" I asked.

"Real food?" Charlie snapped again.

"Yes, we're being fed healthily," Sue answered again. "Although, Charlie would like some more meat on the menu and less pasta."

I tried not to laugh at the thought of Charlie subsisting on a diet consisting mainly of Italian food, and not the Americanized version, but real Italian food. He probably felt like he was dying.

"I'll see what I can do; your situation may last a bit longer, but with any luck I should be able to negotiate your release," I said.

Charlie huffed. I wanted to touch him, and tell him that I was there, and not to do anything stupid, but I knew that my icy fingers would bring no comfort. Likewise, telling him who I was would only raise more questions. I had to count on Sue to get him through this.

I turned and left with Felix.

"Hostage negotiations?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I had to go with something that he'd believe," I answered.

When we returned to the elevator I pressed the up button. It was time to make the devil think that I was going to play nice.


End note:

I am now on Twitter. I mostly tweet about baby stuff though, so it's just terribly exciting. As always I am wuogkat.

I have an entry in the Killing Me Softly Contest, I believe that we're still in open voting for that one. You can find the contest here:

www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2566885/Killing_Me_Softly_Song_Contest