Chapter 10

"Daddy!"

Isabella still wasn't sleeping well - it was still too hot in Italy (where she had learnt she was and still hadn't gotten used to), she missed her family and she kept having nightmares. Nobody cared. Nobody cared if she couldn't sleep, nobody cared if she grew or shrank, nobody cared that all she wanted was her family, her parents and her brother. She didn't want these red-eyed people. She didn't want them but they didn't care.

She had suffered from nightmares since she was brought there and sometimes Sulpicia would come in and try to calm her - she never had any success, she couldn't reach Isabella in the realms of nightmares, so she rarely, if ever, came. She was too old for nightmares anyway, according to Felix.

Tossing and turning in her bed, midnight struck and her birthday was there. 19 years of age and not even looking 10. There was no point getting excited for her birthday as she had when she was little, there would be nothing different about that day than any other. Perhaps she would get a present or two but it wasn't the same as home when her dad would take all day off work and they'd all go out somewhere if Edward wasn't at school - sometimes they even dragged Edward out. She could barely believe that she hadn't seen them in almost 9 years - if it wasn't for her vampire memory she would barely remember them but she did and she could never decide it that was better or worse.

She could remember her mother's drawing and cooking talents, she could remember using Edward as a climbing frame, she could remember her father's laugh and curling in his arms as he read to her.

The door creeped open as she began to mutter happy birthday to herself and she quickly stopped, gazing into the doorway to make out Alec. If she was honest, she would admit that she was still rather terrified of him even though he wasn't as horrible as he had been when he kidnapped her but he kidnapped her, took her from her beloved family to this strange, cold place where no one seemed to love anyone else.

"Happy birthday, Isabella," his accented voice muttered lowly without emotion. "Master Aro wishes to see you."

"I do not wish to see him," she replied quickly, "it's too early, I wish to sleep more!"

Alec sighed, "It'll be better for you if you go now and then you can come back and sleep – I'll make sure no one comes near the room…"

Isabella looked over at him from where she had buried herself in the covers with only her brown eyes showing, making her look a few years younger. It was a thing she couldn't keep up with about Alec, his mood swings, one minute he was the guy he was when he took her and then suddenly his eyes would soften and he'd compromise with her, smile at her even. Those times she found it hard, as she did now, not to smile back at him. His hand reached towards her and, sighing heavily, she took it and allowed him to pull her out of bed and toward the doorway all the while ignoring the squirming in her stomach.

As always Aro wanted to have her measured her, to check how she was developing both physically and mentally (including her shielding gift), and her least favourite: to see whether she could keep their existence a secret. This last one often included feeding habit but to Aro's fascination she couldn't stomach drinking humans after being raised on human food since she was a baby.

She tried her best not to speak to any of the three kings as much as possible. Caius still, after all these years, absolutely terrified her. He had done ever since he yelled at her when she was first there. Sometimes she dreamed of throwing something at him and watching that papery skin flutter apart, like when you blow a pile of confetti. Aro too scared her partly because he seemed to be the one who was actually in charge rather than the equal power view they wanted to put out. But also partly because she had seen how his easy going, childish, excitable demeanour could change within a second and she could rarely predict when it was going to happen. Marcus, she often found hard to think much off whether fear or friendliness. He was safe though in a way: he had no interest in her. No Aro was the one who wanted to study her, to collect her and Caius was the one who wanted to use her, to use her as a shield in battle so no gift could penetrate her shield.

They let her go after over 2 hours and, instead of going straight to bed like she had planned, she sprinted to the kitchen. It was one thing she had to thank Marcus for – his apathetic nature allowed her to eat what she wished and, since that was human food, they got her her own personal cook. She could cook for herself now but the chef was still there.

"Isabella, Isabella!" she chimed as Isabella skidded to a stop in the kitchen. "Mia cara, buon compleanno!"

Isabella smiled. The cook was the one person in the whole castle she was sure had no hidden motive, not to mention she reminded Isabella so much of her own mother. "Is that for me?"

She pointed across the room to a beautiful iced-white Italian cream cake with her name written in calligraphy on top it. It was small but perfectly made.

"Of course it is! Who else's birthday would it be for?"

With a beam and hug, Isabella thanked her only parent figure enthusiastically. Taking the class of water and cake she was offered she sat down at the island just as Alec walked in. They both stiffened before Isabella turned and studied Alec's eyes (the only way she could ever tell what he was thinking). They were bright burning crimson but soft.

"Going to wish for anything?" he asked as he crossed the room towards her.

Isabella sighed – every time she was given a cake, saw a shooting star or lost an eyelash she always wished for the same thing: to be back with her parents and brother; to be out of this place.