Chapter Eleven: She's Here
We were in my dark blue Lexus, zooming through the Italian countryside on our return to Volterra.
"How did you find that place?" Alice asked, cleaning her sunglasses.
"I'm the only non-recreational animal-hunter in Italy," I laughed, "I've got free rein."
"And you've never convinced anyone else to try?" She mused.
"I did, once, actually," I smiled at the memory. "Jane and Alec. I have no idea why – I think Felix dared them into it. Needless to say, it was a mess."
"I can imagine," Alice giggled, before becoming serious.
"What do you think of their offer?"
I thought for a moment before answering. I didn't know how I felt about Edward returning to his family. I had just discovered my own freedom to live without him – I was wary of accidentally breaking my heart over the tiniest sliver of hope.
"I don't know." I answered. "From one standpoint, it's great – your family are the perfect people to keep him along the straight and narrow."
"But you don't want to get hurt." Alice added for me. "Especially because neither you, nor the rest of us, want to lose each other again."
"Exactly," I nodded.
Noticing an exit to a small town up ahead, I decided to break the somber mood. "Do you feel like shopping?"
"Do I!" Alice bounced in her seat, "Thank goodness we brought a change of clothes."
"You mean, thank goodness Aro handed me a credit card before we left," I added. "I have boots to replace."
We laughed again, as I turned into the tiny Italian town.
OOOOOOOOO
"So, tell me about your job." Alice said as we pulled back into traffic, the backseat loaded with bags.
"Let's see," I pondered where to begin. "After Demetri's rather untimely and unfair death, Felix filled his shoes; he retired only five years later, and only a few of us know that he left over a squabble with Aro. Darren stepped in but, strong as he was, he wasn't the brightest of the bunch – he was killed by Russian werewolves."
Alice nodded in sympathy – the Russian werewolves were notoriously brutal, probably because of the cold climate.
I continued, "The first year that I was here, I worked with Andrew nonstop to get my mind-control problems in order. When I realized that I would be stuck here, I moped around for about a year – hence why Aro is always trying to cheer me up. Then they decided that enough was enough, and told me I would be joining the Guard. I wasn't happy, but I got to choose what jobs I worked on, so I acquiesced. I worked my way up the ranks over the next eight years – when they offered me the job as leader of the Guard, I knew it was useless to deny them. I tripled the size of the Guard over the first five years – which meant training a lot of 'newbies,' but change was necessary. Andrew helped me computerize our intelligence system. I know that things have worked for the last millennia or so, but times are changing, and we do want to remain inconspicuous. "
"Nice," Alice smiled. "They say that you're considered 'number four' now."
I shuddered, "I try not to think about that."
We sat in silence for a while, before Alice suddenly stiffened, and her eyes closed.
"What's happening?" I asked when she finally looked at me.
She refused to answer, watching as I entered the gates of the city and parked in an underground garage. I made a move to get out of the car, but Alice caught my arm and spoke in a low voice.
"Charlotte. She's here."
