"That was fun Bella!" Emmett grinned as he carefully gave the girl a high five. The vampire sat down on the wooden bench next to his mate and pretended to wipe sweat of his forehead

"I know right!" Isabella said happily. "And I totally won."

"Sure thing, small stuff. You were so fast! Are you even human?" Emmett asked jokingly. Isabella looked at him with an offended expression on her face.

"No, I'm not!"

Chapter 11 - Bracelet

It was so utterly quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Several times someone opened their mouth, only to close it again when they realized they had no idea what they were supposed to say or do now. The silence stretched out for quite a few minutes, Isabella watching the others with a confused look on her face. Why was everyone suddenly so quiet?

"So you're not human..." Athenodora said slowly. The queen was normally not easily fazed, but she was as surprised and startled as the others right now. This was not something she had expected to happen at all.

"Who isn't human?" a voice suddenly said.

Everyone quickly turned around to see the new arrival. At the gateway to the garden stood a tall vampire with golden eyes and short black hair. Isabella gasped before she ran towards the man, a smile appearing on her face,

"Eleazar, you're here!" Isabella squealed as the vampire picked her up and spun her around.

"Bella, dear, it is good to see you! You have grown a lot since I last saw you," Eleazar said as he looked over the girl, chuckling as she gave him a big hug. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm good! I had a lot of fun, I got tons of presents, we played games and I met some new people," the girl answered as Eleazar put her back on the grass.

"It sounds like you had a busy day, then," the black-haired vampire said. "I'm glad you are all right, we have been trying to contact you for a while now."

"Why didn't you come earlier? I thought uncle Aro called you a few months ago?" Isabella asked as she glanced over at the three kings who were all trying to make sense of what was happening.

Aro looked quite startled and a slightly guilty expression appeared on his face. The king had in fact tried to contact Eleazar about a week after the girl had arrived at the castle; he had desperately wanted to find an answer as to what made Isabella so special and if she maybe had a gift, but he had not told anyone he had contacted his old friend. Aro hadn't wanted to seem as curious as he actually was, though he should have expected Isabella would have found out about his call one way or another. The girl somehow always knew what he had done.

"Uhm, well," Eleazar said, looking quite uncomfortable as he studied the ring on his left hand. "I was not present when Aro called; I was... away, on a city trip."

"You went on a city trip?" Emmett asked confused. "But when Carlisle called Tanya said you and Carmen were-" Before he could finish his sentence Rosalie had slapped him on the back of his head. "Emmett!" she hissed as she threw a pointed a look at Isabella, who was watching the conversation with way too much interest for her own good.

"Ouch! Sorry Rose," the big burly vampire mumbled as he rubbed his head. "I meant, of course you went on a city trip! I bet you had fun there, in all the cities, with just the two-" This time he was silenced by Esme, who was glaring at him intensely.

Eleazar quickly decided to act before the situation got out of hand. "But I'm here now, at least. I even brought you a present," he said as he reached inside of his pocket. Isabella's eyes lit up and she started to bounce excitedly. When she saw the jewellery box Eleazar had brought she gasped. "You found it?" she whispered with wide eyes.

Eleazar nodded. "It took us some time; Kate actually only found it a week ago when she went hunting with Garrett. I visited both Renée's and Charlie's houses, they both said you did not live with them anymore, so I decided to take it with me when I went travelling."

"Thank you so much," Isabella said as she let Eleazar clasp the bracelet around her wrist before she slid her jacket back down. "Please thank Kate and Garrett for me too?"

"Of course," the man said as he smiled softly at the happy child.

As usual Aro's curiosity got the best of him and he stepped forward. "How come you two know each other, if I may ask?" he asked as he tilted his head sideways to study the girl and vampire.

Isabella looked at the ground, shuffling her feet. Eleazar chuckled softly and petted the girl on her head before he answered. "A year ago, or maybe a year and a half, Carmen and I were on our way to find a place where we could hunt when we heard soft cries. We were very curious, and also slightly worried, so we followed the sound and it let us to this little one," he said as he looked at the girl next to him, who had decided the grass was very interesting.

"The poor child was wearing nothing but a summer dress and some sandals; she was freezing cold. We wanted to help her, though I was afraid she would shy away from us. But instead when she saw us coming closer she stopped crying and she reached out to us. On Carlisle's advice we took Bella to the nearest hospital where the doctors diagnosed her as almost severely hypothermic. Luckily it wasn't too late for treatment and they were able to get her temperature up again in time."

Everyone was listening to Eleazar's story with interest and when he was finished Carlisle nodded understandingly. "Now I finally get what you were talking about that day," he mumbled. "I could not really make sense of the story you told me at the time."

Eleazar smiled. "Well, we were confused too; it isn't every day that you find an unknown child wearing summer clothes sitting in the snow next to a tree. We still don't know how she ended up in the middle of nowhere without leaving a trace anywhere," he said as he looked at Isabella. "And Bella doesn't want to tell us."

"Now that you have arrived, would you mind helping us out?" Aro asked. "I asked you to come because, well, we haven't quite been able to figure out what exactly our dear Isabella can do."

"Of course I will help you," Eleazar answered as he turned towards Isabella.

"I have quickly 'read' Bella before, since it is kind of a habit of mine. Although it is harder to figure out a human's power-" he started before he stopped himself. "-or, well any non-vampire's actually, I am generally able to give a complete and detailed analysis if I have the time to do so. But I will only try to do such a thing if Bella agrees with it."

Aro looked at Isabella who seemed to be deep in thought. After a few minutes the girl looked up.

"Alright," she said with a determined expression on her face. "I would like to know. But can we go and have dinner after? I'm quite hungry and Antonio said he would make me a special birthday dinner today."

"I think that is an excellent idea," Sulpicia said. "Do what you do, Eleazar."

Eleazar knelt down in front of Isabella and he looked her in the eye before he carefully placed his hands on either side of her head. He closed his eyes before he actively started to analyze the girl and what exactly her potential was.

Eleazar's power was a special one; by concentrating on a person he was able to find out if someone was gifted and what exactly that gift was or he could tell if someone had a chance of becoming gifted when he or she was turned into a vampire. His gift made him a powerful man; after knowing what someone's power was it was not a very big step to figuring out the weaknesses and strengths of that person, which gave Eleazar a major advantage in fights as he could focus on the weak points of other's gifts. It also meant he could help others improve their gift and techniques if he wished to do so; this way he had already helped a big part of the Volturi guard to improve both their gifts and fighting skills. Next to helping them to strengthen their powers Eleazar had taught them how to fight without completely depending on their own gifts. Using your gift to fight could give you an advantage, but you never knew if there was maybe someone out there who could defy your power and thus it was a smart idea to learn how to fight without it as well.

While Eleazar was actively using his gift it was utterly quiet; no one dared to move in fear of breaking his concentration. Isabella stared at his face intensely for minutes before a smile broke through.

The vampire slowly opened his eyes as his concentrated expression turned into one of wonder. "You are quite a special girl indeed, dear Bella."

"What is it?" Marcus asked, glancing at Isabella who was back at staring at the grass, though the girl was now also blushing furiously because of Eleazar's comment.

"She possesses not one, but two gifts, it seems," Eleazar mused. "Although one of them could be classified as simply a characteristic or enhanced quality."

"Would you please share with us what these gifts are?" Aro asked, now even more curious than he was before.

"Bella already possesses and makes use of her very powerful sixth sense, though she does so unconsciously and not all the time," Eleazar explained.

"She has visions of the future?" Alice asked with wide eyes. The small vampire had never encountered someone with an ability like hers; she had assumed she was the only one.

"No I don't," Isabella answered for herself.

"Bella is right, her sixth sense is present like yours, but she receives information, not pictures," Eleazar explained. "The information could develop into visions if she would change into a vampire, though I can't be certain. After all, no talent ever manifests in precisely the same way, because no one ever thinks in exactly the same way."

"What about her second gift?" Sulpicia asked as she walked forward to hold her mate's hand, seeking his touch.

"Well, as I said I am not quite sure whether I should call it a second gift or simply a characteristic, since it is practically unheard of for someone to have two gifts," Eleazar said hesitatingly. "But next to her sixth sense Isabella also has the ability to easily bring joy and happiness to not only herself, but also to those around her."

It was quiet for a few seconds before Marcus let out a strangled sob and quickly disappeared from the gardens into the castle. Isabella looked after him with a sad expression on her face as she sighed.

"He just needs a moment," Sulpicia whispered, walking towards the girl and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "He has lived for a long time and he was not always as happy as he usually is now. He has been through a lot."

"It's all right, I understand," Isabella answered, smiling softly. "Can we go to the kitchen now? I'm hungry."

"Of course," Sulpicia said as she straightened out the girl's dress. "I'm sure some of your new friends will want to come and meet Antonio."

Isabella's face lit up and she turned around. "Who would like to come with me?"

-oOo-

"Then Emmett and I played tag," Isabella told Antonio while she motioned animatedly with her hands before she took another bite of her delicious homemade pizza. "I won."

"It sound like you had a nice afternoon, principessa," the chef said, chuckling at the child's antics as he moved through the kitchen.

"It was amazing! I want a party like this next year too," Isabella said dreamily. "And I want to eat pizza every day! You're the best cook ever, Antonio!"

"Thank you, piccola, I'm glad you enjoy my cooking," Antonio said as he turned around again to put away the remaining ingredients. The old man was very fond of the happy little girl; she had won over his heart long ago. He was glad he could take care of her in a way, as he had noticed Isabella did not have any parents next to Charlie and Renée who had taken care of her before she arrived at the castle. Antonio was a very kind man with a big heart and he truly enjoyed spending time with the girl; he always looked forward to his next encounter with her.

At the dining table in front of the window Emmett, Rosalie, Edward and Esme were seated. Both Alice and Jasper had decided to stay in the gardens for some time while Carlisle had wanted the chance to finally catch up with his old friends. When the vampires had entered the kitchen Antonio had looked at them curiously for a moment before he had greeted them politely and continued cooking Isabella's dinner.

The girl was seated at the kitchen island, on the opposite side of the sink where Antonio was busy cleaning the pans. Slowly Isabella turned around, looking at her new friends, who were all watching her with amused expressions on their faces, waiting for what was coming next.

"Want to try some?" Isabella asked Emmett sweetly with a challenging look in her eyes as she held up a slice of pizza. The burly vampire narrowed his eyes and was about to accept the challenge when Esme interjected.

"Don't you remember the last time you thought it was a good idea to eat human food?" she said, her eyebrows raised.

Emmett's expression quickly changed to one of disgust as he thought back to the bet he had made with Edward a few decades ago. When Emmett had been whining about missing human food Edward had gotten fed up and the mind reader had dared the burly vampire to eat some. Not one to say no to a challenge Emmett had accepted the dare. As could have been expected it did not turn out very well; he had not been able to get the disgusting taste out of his mouth for a solid week and in addition to that Rosalie had refused to kiss him. The memory of that dare was now forever ingrained into his brain.

"Nah, thanks for the offer though," he answered, looking quite traumatized. Isabella shrugged and turned back around, taking another bite of her pizza as she started to hum a happy tune. When she had finished her dinner Antonio took away the plate and put it in the sink. Isabella was about to hop of the stool to join the others at the dining table when the chef motioned for her to stay seated. The girl looked at him curiously as he disappeared into the huge pantry. Not much later Antonio entered the kitchen again, now carefully holding a beautiful small chocolate ice-cream cake with five pink candles on top.

"I know you already had cake this afternoon, but I thought it could not hurt to have some more," the chef said as he placed the cake in front of the little girl who was bouncing on her stool. "Make a wish!"

"Thank you so much, Antonio," Isabella said excitedly as she gave the man a thankful smile before she turned towards the cake. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and made a wish before she carefully blew out the candles all at once.

After Isabella had eaten a piece of the cake Antonio put away the rest, promising she could have some more tomorrow. "If you eat more now you won't be able to sleep because of all the sugar, principessa," the chef said when the girl pouted as he closed the freezer. "You should rest well tonight so you will have enough energy to play with you friends tomorrow."

"Exactly," a voice sounded from the doorway. Isabella turned around and smiled when she saw Marcus stepping into the kitchen.

"Come with me, little one, we should get you ready to go to bed," the king said as he held out his hand.

Isabella climbed of the stool as said goodbye to Antonio and her new vampire friends before she walked over to Marcus. When the girl reached out her arm to place her hand in his, the sleeve of her jacket rose up slightly, exposing her wrist.

Marcus gasped loudly as he stared with wide eyes at the bracelet Isabella was wearing.

"Didyme..." he whispered.

A/N: And then the cat was out of the bag... Eleazar finally made an appearance! To be honest I had an idea for him to enter the story but then Jane happened, and well, I kinda forgot about poor Eleazar. But, as an apology I sent him on a six month long err... 'city trip' and now he has arrived. Hopefully he can clear up some confusion :)

Our lovely Jane will come back soon; but she is currently helping to train a newborn, though she will most certainly want time off training duty soon... I will adress the non-human thing in the next chapter, so don't worry about that ;)

Thank you for your lovely reviews, follows and favourites; they make me happy! Please tell me what you think of this chapter :) Lots of love!

- Laura