Disclaimer: The Twilight saga, and its respective characters, belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Bella POV
There were so many questions running through my mind. So many questions about Edward's family, about the Volturi, about Aro and his brothers, about werewolves, and shapeshifters, and mind-reading… The list went on and on, but Edward quickly diverted my attention, his once brazen and distraught face melting into something much more intense; much more distracting.
"But I wonder…" he trailed off, his head tilting to the side curiously. "…how the Volturi came to know about your existence?" Oh…how would I know that?
"You probably know better than I do," I stated with a shrug. "All I know is that one day a few months ago I was running along a mountainside somewhere in western Canada when a small vampire – Jane," I remember he had called her that, "found me. She told me that she was with the Volturi and that a vampire named Aro requested my presence in Italy and that refusal would mean death. So, naturally, I fled."
"Into the ocean," he recalled with a nod. His chin was tucked in his hand, his elbow resting against the armrest separating him from the aisle of the plane. He watched me with morbid curiosity.
"And she didn't follow after you," he remarked, his eyebrows raising with what I perceived as surprise. Perhaps this Jane was something much worse than what I had seen her as – a small, blonde-haired, child-like vampire. I shook my head.
"Is that out of character for her?" I asked.
"Definitely." He shifted, moving closer to me slightly. There was a gentle hum strumming through my body. "Jane has an ability that would not have been useful around you. She can inflict excruciating pain upon anyone she looks at, if she so chooses. I'm not sure why she was traveling alone," he frowned at this, "But I would guess that she gave up after she realized you would not succumb to her gift. Perhaps that was how they discovered you – a simple chance encounter."
He shook his head, clearly disturbed by the memory of her talent. I silently thanked god for my shield, not even wanting to imagine what would have happened if she had been able to get through it.
"Is she the most powerful, then? Jane?" Clearly such a power would mark the Volturi as extremely dangerous, but Edward shook his head.
"There are others who have abilities that strengthen them even more. Her brother, for example, can make it so that you are devoid of all senses – touch, sight, smell…" I shivered as he trailed off. Thankfully my shield would protect me from that.
"There's Corin who can make you feel a strange sense of contentment. She can put anyone to ease, which is very harrowing for the victims. Renata is unique. She has a force field that she can extend beyond her or anyone else. It acts like a buffer. If she has it up, you cannot get through."
"So I wouldn't be able to shield against that?" I asked, watching as his eyebrows rose gently.
"Probably not, no." I didn't like the idea of that.
"And then, and probably the most useful to Aro, is Chelsea. She manipulates relationships."
"Relationships?" I asked and he nodded, watching me carefully.
"She is the main reason the Volturi actually work. She can make it so everyone is powerfully and devotedly loyal to Aro and his brothers."
"Do they know?" I asked quietly, "Do they know she's manipulating them?"
He shook his head, glancing down and a lock of hair tumbled into his eyes. I wanted to reach over and twist it back into place. "They don't. Aro keeps her ability a secret. I only know because…" He glanced up at me with a small smirk and tapped his head. "It's useful, sometimes," he quipped.
Useful all the time, I thought to myself. He knew all of the Volturi's top secrets.
"So everyone in the Volturi are very powerful, then," I guessed.
He hummed, tilting his head, "Not quite. The one's with useful abilities are reserved for the Guard, but there are many who are just very fast or very strong and many more who are devoted to the cause. Chelsea's mate, for example – Afton, his ability only helps himself. He's a shield, like you, though he cannot expand it. He can make himself invisible if he chooses."
I raised my eyebrows and turned to glance out the window in thought. I had believed everyone in the Volturi had been relished with a special ability. This was news to me.
"Tell me," he requested suddenly, peering down at me with wide eyes. As though I would be able to keep anything from him… "Do you know who changed you? Or where they are?"
I wondered if this was his past-Guard character speaking, or if he was actually curious.
"I don't remember much… I only remember that I had been on a hike with my mom and I got lost in the woods. Somebody – a man, I think – found me. I only remember him apologizing before the burning started." I shrugged. It was really the only human memory I had left. At least, one that wasn't disrupted by haze.
"How long ago?" he asked, his expression suddenly contrite.
"A year, maybe? It was two days after my seventeenth birthday, I know."
"You were very young," he commented. His eyes were liquid as he watched me and if I was human, I was sure I would be blushing.
"How old are you?" I asked, wanting to divert the attention.
"One hundred and four."
Oh! He was over a century old? But, I guess, that was not all that old compared to some of the vampires that were still around…
He smiled smugly then, tilting his head acquiescently. "We were the same age," he noted, and my eyebrows rose. He looked a lot older than seventeen.
"You don't think you lived in Canada?" he asked suddenly, his brow creasing. I could feel the familiar poke against the barrier of my mind and I smiled at him knowingly.
"I don't think so. It's where I woke up as a vampire, but nothing seemed familiar to me." Not that anything seemed familiar in general… But I seemed to remember being in Canada for a specific reason. A vacation, perhaps. A sharp pain stabbed at my chest as I thought of my human family.
"My mom must have been worried sick. I hope she isn't still looking for me."
Edward's eyes narrowed and then roamed over my face quickly. They landed on my mouth and I realized with a start that I had been biting my lip in my consternation. His eyes flickered back to mine, darkening slightly, before he looked away from me, finding a sudden interest in the seats in front of us. His face contorted in a silent anger.
"It's all right," he admonished. "Give it a few decades and everyone you know will have died."
It was an awful thing to say and I inhaled sharply, staring at the side of his face with indignation.
"As long as we haven't been killed first, you mean," I added sharply. He looked at me quickly, his face softening. There was hardly a trace of the resentment, now.
"Sorry," he murmured, his mouth barely moving with the word.
"You are very pessimistic," I observed after a few seconds. He only gazed at me.
"What's left to be optimistic about?"
"A lot of things," I insisted harshly. He looked as though he didn't believe me.
"For one, your family is out of Forks. They can stay safe now, thanks to you." His face contorted, but he didn't argue further. "Second, we are on a planeto Mexico instead of Italy. That has to count for something."
"Not if we are apprehended as soon as we land," he contended, but I ignored him.
"And your psychic sister is helping us escape by letting us know when and if the Volturi decide to come after us. We can be ready, just as you were two years ago when she saw them prepare to fight your family. So," I took a breath, slipping back on the dark sunglasses just as the pilot announced overhead that we would be coming in for a landing soon, "those are something things I am optimistic about."
He was watching me with amusement, a small smile tugging at his beautiful mouth.
"Oh!" I had almost forgotten the biggest circumstance I was thankful for… "And you, of course, are saving my life. So, yeah, there are some things left to be optimistic about."
He shook his head and looked down, though I could see the smile growing wider.
"Well, Miss Positivity," he cajoled and I couldn't help but to laugh, "I hope you are correct, because we have a three-hour stopover before we reach Mexico City." He reached across me quickly to pull the small plastic screen down over the window and I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as his sweet scent rushed around me at the close contact, my body tingling with the recent memory of being wrapped around him as we feigned sleep.
I could only hope there would be another opportunity like this one.
There was just the slightest hint of sun peering through the trees as we stood in the airport somewhere in New Mexico. There was only one flight left and then… I didn't know. I wasn't so sure Edward knew, either. I wondered whether we should call Alice, but Edward seemed preoccupied with the large board a few yards away from us, listing the times of the flights.
"We're delayed an hour," he said quietly, turning to glance at me. I frowned. Did we have an hour to spare?
Another large group of humans swarmed the area, all glancing up at the changing board. The fire in my throat that had been quelled burst into flames and I swallowed convulsively, keeping back the venom that had pooled my mouth. Edward watched me, concerned, his eyes darting over my face. We barely knew each other, and yet I felt as though the past thirty or so hours together had made it so that we could easily read each other. Him, especially.
"Would you like to hunt?" he asked, glancing towards the large, automatic glass doors a dozen yards away from us. More people were streaming in than out, it seemed. "I think it will be good for both of us," he commented and I noticed just how dark his eyes were. There were purple shadows sweeping across the thin skin beneath his eyes. He was thirsty, as well. That made me feel better.
I nodded, letting the unnecessary, blood-infused air move out of my lungs and holding them immobile in their constricted state. I wouldn't be able to speak this way, but at least it halted the ominous flow of venom into my mouth.
"Come," he ordered and held his hand out to me. I took it gingerly, ignoring the sparks of electricity that delved from his palm into mine, glancing around at the multitude of families around us. No, it would not be good to remain so thirsty for any length of time.
He held the duffel bag in his other hand as he ushered us out and across the level of the vast parking garage, further towards the edge. He glanced down into the woods and I followed suit. It was quite a drop. He looked up, checking the cemented ceiling at different points before letting go of my hand.
"Jump," he instructed. I did as he said, leaping easily over the four-foot cement wall, landing with a soft thump a good fifty feet below. He was behind me in an instant, his steps silent as a ghost.
"Human or animal?" he asked, stopping to turn to look at me before taking off into the woods. I glanced away from him shyly.
"Animal."
He smiled and then took my hand again as we ran through the forest of New Mexico. It wasn't as dense as the Canadian woods I was used to inhabiting. We would have to go fairly deep into the woods to catch any wildlife, I realized, being so close to the airport.
I was strangely excited; giddy, even, to begin my new diet. The idea of walking from the woods in two hours with bright gold eyes was a dream – it would be a delight to look in a mirror and see gold instead of deep red. I smiled as we ran, but another fear quickly settled within me. I had always been a messy hunter. Blood would cake my hair and clothing for days until I could find a lake or stream to wash myself off in. There would be no such reprieve or time before the flight.
My feet held their ground quickly, my arm flying forward as our hands disconnected suddenly. Edward ran for another few feet before slowing and turning back to me, an uncertain look on his angelic features.
"What is it?"
I bit my lip nervously. "I'm…not clean when I hunt. I tend to get blood everywhere…"
He seemed to understand the dilemma, glancing back towards the airport quickly and then at the duffel over his toned shoulder.
"We have extra clothes," he reminded me, but I shook my head.
"No, I mean messy, Edward. It gets in my hair and under my nails and under my clothes –"
He was before me in an instant, his hands gripping my shoulders and shaking me slightly to cut off my babbling. I stared up at him, horror struck in my own memories and dazed by the proximity of his absurdly handsome face. He leaned closer to me so that we were eye level – quite a feat for him.
"I'll help you as much as I can," he insisted. "And, worse comes to worse, we'll find some sort of water to clean you up before we have to head back up."
I closed my eyes and took a breath. I could trust Edward. I nodded, and when I opened my eyes, his were softer and he was smiling a crooked smile that left me delirious.
"I can hear a herd of deer just a mile south. They are the easiest to catch and put up the least fight. We shouldn't have much trouble."
Edward was right, of course. The deer were rather easy to catch – or more so, they were easy to chase. They didn't resort to attacking as a defense mechanism; they simply ran. But we were faster. Edward had let me hunt first, staying a fair distance away by some trees as he watched and the sense that he was watching was disconcerting and comforting at the same time, as well as a bit sensual. My body kept wanting to move towards him, to seek him out among the trees, but I focused on the scent of the large deer as they lapped at a nearly dry puddle.
There were a lot of them – maybe twenty in total. I had never seen a herd so large, but then again, I had never actively hunted out animals. I took down three easily, and then moved for a fourth just for safety measures. Being overfilled with blood could only help and, secretly, I hoped it would add to the devastatingly golden color of my eyes.
I finished, quickly moving towards Edward, a larger than life smile plastered across my face.
"Better?" he asked, his eyes darting from my eyes, to my hair, to my mouth. I nodded, glancing down at my body. I was definitely covered in blood. I blanched.
"I'm sorry…these were your mother's clothes…" I trailed off, attempting to rub some of the more offending spots of blood off of the dark sweater, but Edward stopped me with a shake of his head.
"Don't worry about it. You did good. Barely any blood on your skin or hair." He grinned and I reached up to finger some of the tangles out of my long locks. There were a few specks of blood along the ends of my hair, but I knelt down, wiping it away in a small collection of water hidden in a deer track. The ground was slightly soggy with it.
"Here." Edward handed me the duffle bag before stepping away from me.
"Get dressed. I'm going to hunt quickly." His eyes lingered on me for a fraction of a second before he turned and, in a flash, had gone off to chase the remaining herd. I watched, stunned. He was very fast – faster than me, even, and I was fairly quick. I had been able to outrun Jane that one time, but I was certain Edward could do that and then some. I was glad he was out of sight as he hunted; I don't think I would have been able to concentrate on changing with the distraction of his lithe, lean body crouching and lunging forward like a spring. Just the thought of witnessing such movements had me trembling slightly with anticipation.
I ripped open the bag, shuffling around to find another pair of jeans and another shirt. This one was short-sleeved with a slight ruffle where it ended just at the shoulder and a light pink color. It was really pretty and suddenly I felt guilty for wearing – and ruining – so many of Esme's clothes. The Cullen family had left in a hurry and most likely hadn't even had time to pack their most valuable possessions. What if this was a favorite of hers? What if the dark grey sweater had been?!
But it was a new world, I realized as I pulled the fabric over my head, fluffing out my hair from beneath the shirt until it tumbled around my waist as usual. They had left in a hurry to save their own lives, and that was exactly what Edward and I were attempting to do. I'm sure she would realize that the usage of her clothing was a dire need. Besides, I had nothing.
Edward's figure appeared from between a few trees and I realized with a feeling of irrational jealousy that he was just as immaculate as he had been before hunting. It barely even looked as though he had run through the woods at all, not to mention attacking and feeding from a group of deer.
I crossed my arms as he slowed to a jog, a smirk on his face as he neared.
"It takes practice. In a few years, you'll be able to control yourself more."
The question was, would I be around in a few years to learn such control?
We made it back to the airport with half an hour to spare, but before we made our way across the road and into the giant airport, Edward handed the sunglasses back to me. I stared at them, impassive.
"Are my eyes not gold enough?"
He cocked his head to the side. "They're still red. That'll take a few more hunting trips."
A few?! I took the sunglasses harshly, stabbing them behind my ears roughly while Edward watched with amusement.
"That will take so long," I moaned. His mouth twitched.
"I thought you were an optimist?"
I ignored his sarcastically innocent statement and started across the street. Edward followed and then easily caught up, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth the entire time.
It wasn't long before they were boarding our second, and final, flight, but the phone in Edward's pocket began to ring and he answered it quickly.
"Alice," he greeted. I listened quietly to the conversation.
"It's not good news, Edward."
He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose again. It was the same reaction he had while listening to the message on the phone at his house.
"How close are they?"
"They haven't left Italy, but they are thinking of sending a search party for the two of you. Apparently, Demetri was supposed to check in by now?" I heard Edward swear softly under his breath before turning to glance out the long windows beside us. I watched as well as one of the further planes was being loaded, an intense panic settling deep within me. How long would it take for the search party to find Edward – and then to realize that I was with him?
"Is Mexico still a good plan for now?"
"It seems safe… I'll call again once you land to let you know if anything has changed. And don't worry about us, Edward. We can fend for ourselves. Take care of yourself and Bella." I froze at the implication behind her words.
"Oh, and tell Bella not to worry – her eyes will be bright and gold by her third hunt! Now go and board."
With that, the phone disconnected. Edward held it haphazardly before him, before letting it close shut with a small clasping sound. I turned to stare at him, horrified.
"Now what?" I breathed. I could feel how wide my eyes were from beneath the glasses. He took a breath, ran a hand through his bronze hair, and stared at me with his butterscotch eyes.
"We fly to Mexico."
It's been a while! A lot longer than I had hoped for, but finally I have completed another chapter :) I have the next halfway finished and with any luck, I'll have it up by Sunday night! Thank you all for reading and reviewing!
