AN: Okay, the action begins! Let me know what you think of the ideas that I'm introducing, and also about Demetri! Does he make a good match for Bella? I'm so worried that he was out of character, what do you think? I really love the sensitive side of him, but if you think that was too much, no worries. The deadly, powerful side of him comes back soon too! I love Demetri so much because he reminds me of Jasper...
Anyways I'm rambling again, as I am sometimes wont to do.
Whether you want to criticize me or praise me, I'm anxious for any response. REVIEW! And ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from my own ideas.
Warning
My room had always been a peaceful place to me. A place to escape from all of the distractions, from all of my siblings at any time of the day.
In the Volturi, we were always up in each others business. We had to be in sync with one another at all times; Aro kept a record of all of our thoughts, Chelsea kept tabs on our current relationships, and Demetri was aware of our locations at any given time.
But the rooms of each and every guard were a private place. No one would bother you there if you had no desire to be bothered.
A place of peace, and privacy. Or at least, it used to be.
Not now.
I looked up suddenly from my recently acquired Dickens collection.
Footsteps... I could hear... sharp, hurried footsteps coming down the hall, which I shared with Renata.
Passing Renata's door, coming to my own.
Panting... I wrinkled my nose delicately in confusion. Vampires, and certainly not the Volturi, don't pant.
My door whipped open. Alec stood behind it, his hair hanging down messily, sticking out around his angel's head.
"Bella," he gasped in desperation, "Aro needs you, in the throne room. Now,"
I hurled myself across my room in a flurry of blurred movement, and off down the hall. Alec was instantly by my side, calmer now that we were on our way.
I looked down at him... the difference between our heights was remarkable.
He began to explain the reason for such a sudden disturbance, while he combed out his hair with his fingers at the same time.
I caught perhaps a few words of it. For the meantime I was too focused on my own thoughts to really pay attention. Aro needed me...
It couldn't be anything less than an emergency.
There was a separate entrance into the throne room from a wide atrium near my rooms, and so it was to here that we ran, flying along the hallways. I loved the speed, revelling in the exhilaration, though I knew that it was not the time for such frivolity.
Alec and I burst through the French doors and came to a sudden but graceful stop before the thrones.
Alec bowed and retreated to Jane's side.
I looked up at Aro, who stood at the top of the steps leading up to the tiered stage upon which the three grand thrones rested. Marcus and Caius were looking anxious, but remained seated.
"Bella," Aro greeted me. His voice had a nervous edge to it. "Thank you for responding to my summons,"
I was immediately worried. If Aro, usually so perpetually, irritatingly calm, was nervous... I quickly flew up the steps and placed my own small hand in his, opening my mind. What's wrong?
Aro chuckled and patted my hand. "Bella, do you remember what I told you about the newborn wars in America, during the Civil War?"
I nodded, unsure of the direction that this conversation was taking.
"I told you of a woman named Maria, one of the primary leaders. She kept a relatively small army, but she invested the time in training her newborns before using them in her battle for territory..."
His words trailed off.
Marcus continued. "Her army collapsed eventually, and she drifted into anonymity. God only knows where she's been keeping herself all these years,"
"But now she's back," my voice was a dead-tone.
Aro hissed. "Yes. It would seem so."
"So the newborn wars are to begin again. I get it. But what's the big deal? You dealt easily enough with it last time,"
"Except," Aro paused, "She's not in Mexico any more,"
I gasped. No, no, no... Not possible. "Now, she's coming to..."
"Italy," Caius finished for me.
Aro hissed again, a low reptilian noise that made me shiver. "You must understand, Bella. Last time, we really only barely were able to control the wars. And now... Newborns are... well, you know what they are like, having been one so recently. We sent Afton, to scout out the situation. If any trouble arose, he was to deal with it immediately..."
"He returned this afternoon," Marcus' voice was strained, "Unsuccessfully,"
Unsuccessfully... But, such a thing was impossible!
"They sent him back with a message in Latin..."
Aro interrupted him, "Brother, is this really necessary?"
"Occulta non semper servari voluit."
I inhaled quickly.
Aro winced. "Bella, this is very serious. It means..."
"I know what it means!" I snapped. "Roughly..."
They waited.
"Secrets are not always meant to be kept,"
No. No. No. No. No...
"Jasper," Aro said absently. "We need him."
I exhaled in disbelief. "Of the Olympic Coven?"
He snapped his fingers impatiently. "Yes, yes. Who else?" Aro paused as he rapped his fingers on the arm of his throne. "The newborn wars, years ago. He was involved, he was in direct contact with Maria herself..."
I nodded dimly, along with the others who had been selected for the trip. I didn't even peek.
There was still hope. Jasper might agree to be recruited. But I doubted it. And in such a close knit coven as the Olympic, when one must fight, all follow in great steed.
Who was it that I valued the most? My old family, or my new?
I could not bear to hurt them... to hurt any of them.
Alice, my sister and best friend.
Emmett, the lovable big brother I never had.
Jasper, always there to stand behind me, just as ready for danger as he always was.
There was Rosalie, who I respected in her desire to have a child, despite her understandable aversion to me when I first came to them.
Carlisle and Esme, my second set of parents, who loved me as their own daughter.
And then there was... Edward. My own Greek god, who I loved more than life itself. I had no doubt that I loved him every bit as much as the first day I met him, but... his feelings had changed...
I was back in my rooms, out on my balcony, gazing out over the city. It was every bit as beautiful as the first time I saw it. The sandy towers rose majestically, the walls of Volterra curling down around the hill like the tail of a dragon. And I was in the dragon's lair. I was the dragon.
People meandered in the streets below, tourists mingling among the locals. I could see a marketplace, full of humans selling their wares and products... All oblivious...
I felt for the humans in some ways... I respected their life, the fiery spirit that dwelled within each and every one. I remembered my humanity.
I envied them... I envied their inner flame, a flame that they took for granted. There was no flame within me... I was cold and hard as ice.
I scorned them. I scorned them and their happiness and their choices. I had no choices. There was only me and the path that stretched on before me. And my family to stand beside me.
I turned away from the city and back to face the French doors that led into my bedroom.
Struck by a sudden impulse, I leaped, landing nimbly on the roof. My burgundy stilettos slid on the shingles, and I ripped them off and tossed them onto the balcony below. And then I ran, keeping my body low to the roof, lest any human glance up and see me there.
I jumped from roof to roof, digging my nails into the sandy stone and letting my body meld with the air until I was almost invisible. I made one far leap from a flat roof to the curved wall of a tower, and I exclaimed in surprised glee.
It felt wonderful, just to free myself from all my worry and just feel like... a predator, for once.
Finally, I settled myself onto one of the steeply sloped roofs and wrapped my arms around my legs. The breeze ruffled my hair and my dress, and I smoothed both down.
A flash of grey caught my eye. I whipped around and started in surprise. Demetri sat beside me, just as I was with his legs drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around his knees. His cloak whipped in the wind, as did his hair.
"H-hello," I stuttered.
He smiled blindingly. "Hello,"
His skin glinted in the sunlight, the thousands of sparkling facets reflecting the sunlight.
I grinned back at him, "Like diamonds,"
Demetri held up my hand against his own. We matched, perfectly. White on white.
"You're wearing your cloak,"
"We're leaving soon,"
I turned away. "Too soon,"
He smiled in understanding. Demetri reminded me of Jasper in so many ways; they were both flawless fighters, yet both so gentleman-like at times. Polite almost to the extreme, but he never seemed fake. I never had to speak aloud with him; he always understood.
Felix was my brother; that was indisputable. I harboured no romantic feelings for him whatsoever. But Demetri... he was a man of few words, a military man just like Jasper. I wasn't sure of my feelings for him, or of his feelings for me. Since I had come to Volterra, no, since Edward left me, I'd been trying to avoid thinking of things even remotely relating to that topic.
I liked to think that I was over Edward by now. But I was not. I had loved him so much; he was truly my soul-mate. When we were together, I had felt so entirely whole. Without him it was like half of my soul had been cruelly torn away. I always assumed that it was the same for him, but I was so, so wrong.
I felt nothing like that when I was with Demetri. But he made me happy. Not whole; there was still an empty crevasse deep inside my heart. But happy. At peace. He understood me as no one really had since Edward, and then, as I sat on the rooftop with Demetri by my side, I reflected that perhaps Edward had really not understood me at all.
But as I looked over at my companion, I felt not even the slightest of romantic urges. All I felt was... belonging... and comfort. Demetri didn't expect anything from me, nothing at all.
I hadn't realized how tightly I'd been gripping the roof until a handful of shingles crunched into dust in my hand. I was just so confused!
"Demetri," The word was soft and pleading, and I winced yet again at the ringing bell-tone of my voice.
He hummed in acknowledgement.
"Demetri, I'm scared,"
He looked down at me in silent surprise, his mouth forming a small "O". We never revealed our feelings to others of our class, unless it was unavoidable. Jane and I were the exception, sisters as we were. Felix and Renata were also close enough to me that I often spoke to them about important matters, but still...
"You don't need to tell me," Demetri interrupted me. He looked anxious.
"No, it's fine. I don't mind,"
I smiled grimly. "I love him,"
He immediately understood. I hadn't told anyone but Aro, Marcus and Caius of my connection to the Cullens. To be honest, I was surprised at how quickly he grasped the meaning of my statement.
I looked at him quickly. He was looking away from me now, trying to hide his face, but it was so bathed in the now-darkening light pouring from the sky that his attempt was futile. It looked as though he was lit up from the inside.
He looked resigned, I suppose. I was not, of course, the most experienced at deciphering facial expressions, but I detected a faint tract of pain. I saw it in the set of his brow, the way it was wrinkled in stress, seemingly carved for eternity into his perfect face.
He looked back at me, and I saw that his eyes were full of turmoil.
"It was Edward, wasn't it?"
I only nodded. "Is,"
He breathed in once sharply, a great rasping breath that shook with emotion.
"Part of me already knew this. But to hear you speak it aloud..." Demetri shook his head. "I apologize."
"There is no need to apologize."
The next moment happened so quickly, my vampire mind was not even capable of processing it. Demetri leaned towards me. He waited for the slightest split-second to see if I would resist, but I was to shocked to move a centimeter.
And then his lips brushed mine. For a moment we stayed like that, just barely connected.
This was not the type of kiss that happens to fairy-tale princes and princesses. This was not the type of kiss that I used to share with Edward. It was nothing like that. There was nothing magical about it, nothing like fireworks going off in my head, or violins playing, or the sound of a gondolier serenading a newly married couple as they float down the canal in Venice.
It was just... nice. Not warm, of course, but perfectly smooth. Not wet or sloppy, but gentle and soft.
Our kiss deepened.
I wasn't thinking of any of this at the time, obviously. I wasn't thinking of anything.
Demetri wrapped his hand around the back of my head to pull me closer. His fingers tangled in my hair. I pressed myself into him.
I liked the way he held me; gently, but not over-protectively like Edward used to.
A single thought ran through my head, then. Edward. My love. My true love.
This was not right.
I wrenched myself free of his grasp and tore down the roof. When I reached the end of a particular section, I paused before I leaped. I stood there for a moment, a fraction of a second, clenching and unclenching my fists. Then I turned.
Demetri had gotten to his feet, but had not moved from the spot. Now he raced to my side and lifted my hand.
I blinked; I hadn't noticed how fast he was before now. As fast as Edward, maybe faster.
His eyes were the epitome of pain. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I didn't think,"
He was burning inside, though his skin was as cold and pale as ever. I looked him squarely in the face.
Defined cheekbones, straight nose, strong chin, and... burgundy eyes. Lovely, dark crimson eyes with long lashes that matched his raven hair. I hadn't realized it, but after feeding on human blood, my eyes probably matched his.
He was beautiful.
I turned away and skipped down across the shingles to the drop-down to my balcony. Before I jumped, I smiled. "No worries," I knew that he could hear the smile in my voice.
And then I dropped down onto my balcony. I dressed; quickly pulling on a wide, low necked burgundy shirt that matched my eyes, over a pair of black leggings. Comfort was the key; besides, nobody would see what I was wearing under my cloak, which I promptly flipped over my shoulders and fastened with a Volturi broach.
I surveyed myself in the mirror. I was flawless, as usual.
I didn't run; I didn't rush. I made my way slowly, almost reluctantly, to the throne room; where the Guard gathered to bid those departing on missions farewell. I joined my family, but for the ancients, on the sidelines of the wide, dramatic room.
Jane smiled cheerfully at me; I forced a smile back at her. It was so difficult to not react to her infectious moods.
I was reluctant, but I knew that this was the only option if we wanted to maintain our territory against the newborns and Maria. There was no alternative.
Felix patted my shoulder in his brotherly way. He winked at me wordlessly.
Demetri smiled at me from the corner of my peripheral vision. I smiled back tentatively. I still did not understand what had happened, what had passed between us only twenty minutes ago, but there was no need to think of it now.
Renata and Heidi joined me and chatted with me about mundane things.
And then silence fell as Aro entered. He came to us, soon to depart; Jane, Alec, Felix, Demetri, Santiago, Heidi, and myself. Aro came to each of us individually to say a few words of encouragement and farewell; the rest of us pretended not to hear these "private" conversations. Finally he came to me and enfolded my hands in his own in his usual way. I opened my mind, and he sighed softly.
"Bella," That one word carried so much meaning...
I nodded. It was time to go.
