Chapter 12

Edward kept up a string of angry thoughts throughout the entire rest of the night. He tried to let out his frustrations on the piano, but even that did not seem to calm him down. Every time he so much as put his fingers to the keys, his mind would once again drift to one of the quick flashes he had unwillingly seen in Jane's mind, and now refused to leave his.

The tiny girl was locked in a fierce embrace with a blonde, rugged-looking man. He was about nineteen or twenty years old, obviously older than Jane's sixteen years. The pale skin and red eyes that were visible whenever he looked up from her gave away what he was.
He kissed her fiercely, not taking things slow or gently. He simply took what he wanted from her, and nothing else. He did, however, smile at her when they kissed- an intense, predatory grin that seemed to have the ability to make flesh crawl, or hearts weaker than theirs stop in fear.

Edward growled once again. The image simply would not leave his mind, and it threatened to drive him to insanity. He wanted to yell and throw things and generally act on his rage, but he knew that that was not the most constructive solution. Plus, Esme would be upset if he broke anything; she always hated when they got mad and took it out on the house. So all he could do was sit in his room, brooding over the anger boiling hotter than the venom in his veins.
He mused over the fact that this Damien had to be the stupidest man in the history of the entire world. How could he have gotten someone like Jane, then have been stupid enough to act the way he did with her? How could have kissed her, without pausing at her throat to inhale where her sweet scent was most concentrated? How could he not have pressed his lips softly across her jaw, her neck, her collarbone, finding the parts of her skin that were most reactive to his touch? Damien had been with the single most fascinating girl in the entire world, and he had been stupid enough to lose her. What an idiot.
And yet, Edward could not help the awful spark of jealousy that flared up within him at the image he had seen. After all, even though he'd been stupid enough to lose her…Damien had had Jane at one point. And that was much more than Edward could say for himself.
For days (or it could have been mere hours- time meant nothing to him), Edward did nothing but simmer in his frustration. He hated every single thought in his mind, because they all concentrated on Jane and Damien together. But now, he was done just thinking about it. This unmentionable bastard was after Jane, putting her in very real danger. And Edward had to fix it.

It was Alice that ultimately provided the solution for him. She was sitting in Carlisle's study, by herself for once instead of in the family room surrounded by everyone else, and she was clearly having a vision. Edward sat beside her, and patiently waited for her to rejoin the world of the present. When she finally recovered, she smiled at him.
"Go, Edward," she said. He looked at her quizzically. "Go to Italy and talk to the Volturi," she clarified. "You've been thinking about it- don't even try and deny it, because I see everything- and you should go. He's there." There was no need for her to say which he she meant. "I'll think of something to tell everyone," she added. "I know you don't want me telling them where you are."
Edward nodded. His family would try and join in with helping him, or try and talk him out of it. He didn't want help, or to be convinced not to go. This was something that he needed to do, and that he needed to do without them. "Thanks, Alice," he said, and ran to grab his things and leave.
With his passport tucked safely in the pocket of his jacket, and the keys to his Volvo in his hand, Edward made his way out to the garage. Fully intending to start the car and speed off to the airport, he began to press the button to unlock it. But an engine revved to his left, and when he looked over he saw Jane sitting placidly in the driver's seat of her Volkswagen. He gave her a confused glance, and stepped over to the passenger's side door. She rolled down the window, and he stuck his head inside with the same questioning expression on his face.
"I know you did not think that you were going to do this alone," she answered his silent question simply. "Now, get in."
He wanted to protest, but something in her intense tawny eyes told him not to argue with her. So he got in the car without a word, and did not speak until they had already gotten on the highway. And even when he finally did say something, it was only one word. "How…"
"Alice told me," she replied.
Of course. He should have known not to trust that sneaky little demon he called his sister. She may be small, but she was far more diabolical than anyone Edward had ever known.
The entire drive to the airport was filled with a tense, horrible silence. He kept glancing at Jane, but she faced forward, keeping her eyes locked firmly on the road the whole time. When they got there, she parked the car and got out, then pulled something out of the trunk and thrust it at him without a word. When he looked down and saw a black leather duffle bag now in his hands, he looked at her, thoroughly confused.
"Luggage," Jane said. She hoisted her own bag over her shoulder "They look at you weirdly if you go somewhere without anything, and this way it'll seem more normal. We can't afford to get stopped, either."
Edward nodded. It made complete sense- he only wondered why he had not thought of it to begin with. Bag in hand, he followed Jane wordlessly into the airport and stood beside her as she purchased their plane tickets.

Fifteen hours, a layover in New York, and two flights later, they landed in Florence. Thankfully, Jane had remembered to book a flight that got them there at eleven o'clock at night, so they would not have to hide due to sunlight. They could be on their way immediately.
"We need a car," Edward pointed out.
Jane looked at him for a moment as if he was an idiot. "I called when we were in New York," she replied. "There should be a car waiting for us at the rental place down the street. Now come on, the shuttle leaves in five minutes."
Oh. Now he felt like he really was an idiot. What had he been doing during their layover in New York when Jane was on the phone? Edward tried to think. Oh, right. That was when he had spent a good twenty minutes staring out the window at the rain, once again trying to block the unwanted images from his mind. He had hardly even noticed what she was doing at the time, being too wrapped up in his own thoughts. Honestly, sometimes Edward really was a jerk.
They took the shuttle to the rental facility, and Edward stood by as Jane filled out the necessary forms. As they walked out to the garage, Jane tossed him the keys so that he could drive. He grabbed them and pressed the button, which unlocked a shiny black Ferrari in the corner. He raised an eyebrow at her.
Jane just shrugged. "When in Rome- or rather, Florence…" she said simply, the first hint of a smile that he had seen from her in days creeping upon her face. But it was gone after a moment, and she slid into the passenger's seat of the car without another word.
Edward followed suit, and after tossing both of their bags into the trunk, he got in and started the engine. It roared to life, and he pressed down on the gas pedal and sped out onto the road.
It was a good two-hour drive to Volterra, the city where the Volturi resided, even with Edward averaging a hundred miles per hour the entire way there. He snuck glances at Jane every so often throughout the drive. She was looking out the window at the landscape, taking in the sights of the Tuscan countryside as they passed by. She had been dozens of places in Europe: Germany, Austria, Ireland, the entire UK, all the Scandinavian countries…but never Italy. Edward figured it was because it was too sunny, which made sense. She would have wanted to remain as surreptitious as possible.
But he sighed inwardly at the thought that her first trip to Italy had to be like this. She should experience it the right way. Some day, I am going to bring her back here and show her what it is really like, he vowed. Then he remembered why they were there in the first place, and how because of that they might never get the chance. But he pushed that thought aside almost immediately. Edward was not going to let that happen.
"Welcome to Volterra," he said finally, and nodded his head in the direction of the mountain ahead. He could see the city in front of them, though it was still a few miles away. Volterra was at the top of the mountain, mostly hidden behind a thick stone wall that had been built hundreds of years before. It was an imposing place, but one of the safest cities around. Even Edward could not deny that the Volturi did their job well.
At the entrance to the city on top of the cragged mountain, a guard ushered them in through the front gate after Edward spoke to him in a low, smooth voice. The guard had been reluctant to let them in- after all, it was rather strange for people to randomly decide on visiting in the middle of the night- but with some heavy persuasion in both verbal and monetary form, he let the two vampires past the gate and into the city.
"This way," Edward instructed after parking the car on a small side street. He led Jane to the largest and most intimidating of the buildings, which housed the entire Volturi within its walls. He was suddenly glad for his inability to have human reactions, because he was sure that if it were possible, his heart would be racing. He did not enjoy dealing with the Volturi.
Once inside, he first saw the empty desk at the front of the foyer that usually had a human sitting behind it.
Jane looked up at him quizzically. "They have a receptionist?"
Edward nodded. "They have tours of the building," he replied, but did not elaborate on that particular subject anymore. "And they have a human- usually a woman- who deals with that."
She raised her eyebrows. "But isn't that dangerous, or something, having a human around like that?"
Edward sighed. He had hoped she would not ask a question like that. "Well, not really. They know what they are doing. They keep the woman around as long as they need her, and then they…release her."
She frowned, but then her eyes widened as realization hit. He shook his head sadly. He had wanted to protect her, but now she knew just what sort of creatures she would be dealing with.
They could not dwell on this any longer, however, because soon they were approached by a large figure in a long black coat.
"Edward," he greeted, a smile on his face. "How good to see you. We have been expecting you, of course. Though I did not know you would come here accompanied. And I must say, I do not recall ever having been fortunate enough to meet your friend." He turned to the girl in question.
"Felix," Edward replied. "This is Jane Blackwell. She is a member of my family." His words were said as a simple statement of fact. He wanted Felix to know that it was not a guess, or a question. Jane was a part of the family- as much so as any of the rest of the Cullens.
The taller man smiled. "Well Jane, it is nice to meet you. Come, both of you. They are waiting for you."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jane look at him in confusion.
"The Volturi coven," he whispered in her ear as they walked through the darkened halls. "Felix is one of the guards. Now we are going to meet the actual members- the elders, more or less."
She nodded and followed along without a word. Her face was expressionless, not revealing any emotions she might have. Edward had to admire her bravery. He knew how frightening it must be for her, not knowing what to expect. Heck, he was still uneasy around the members of the Volturi, and he had met them many times before. But he preferred not to think about his previous meetings with them. They had, after discovering his skill, always tried to get Edward to join them. The Volturi admired power, wherever they could get it. Edward would be an asset to them; but he would not join- he was adamant on that decision. This frustrated Aro, Caius, and Marcus- the coven. But Edward stuck to his convictions.
Their journey through the damp, barely-lit corridors ended in a cavern-like room. It was not very much brighter than the halls had been, but it did have the plus of having furniture, and walls that were not covered in dew. Three men, stark white in color and with skin no thicker than paper, sat in large, throne-like chairs against the far wall, surrounded by more members of the guard that did not leave their sides, but remained hidden in the shadows. The Volturi elders.
"Edward," the black-haired one in the middle greeted with a smile, just as Felix had done. "It is nice to see you here. I assume you have been keeping well over the years, though it really has been too long. How is Carlisle?"
"He is very well, thank you Aro," Edward replied. "I am sure that he sends his regards. I know he wishes to visit you when he can."
"Tell him that he is welcome here anytime," said the old vampire. "As you all are, of course. It truly is good to see you. Though, I suppose the reason for your visit does not have something to do with you changing your mind in joining us?" He looked over at Jane as he talked.
"No, it does not," he said. "As I am sure you could have guessed, this is Jane Blackwell. I know, of course, that you are aware of our situation."
Aro nodded. "We are. And I assume that you have figured out by now who is responsible for disclosing to us the…situation." As he spoke, one of the figures that flanked the elders moved into the light. He wore a familiar grin on his face that Edward recognized immediately, though he had not actually met the man before. At his side, Jane let out a tiny gasp. Damien.
Edward began to growl under his breath, but silenced it when Jane put her hand in his to calm him down. Seeing this, Damien's smile turned into a heated glare aimed entirely at Edward. But he simply composed himself and held Jane's hand tighter, less agitated now that he knew he had the upper hand in the situation.
"Gentlemen, please," Aro interrupted calmly. "If we could get back to the issue at hand…which reminds me- Miss Blackwell, I do not believe that I have ever had the pleasure of making your acquaintance." He smiled softly, his full attention- as well as all the others in the room- now fully directed on her.
Edward tried to hold back a grimace. He knew how much Jane hated attention. And as he could see from her mind, she was nervous. She was trying to fight her every instinct to hide herself, and remain brave through whatever happened. He could not help but marvel at her once again.
"It is very nice to meet you," she replied in a soft yet steady voice.
Aro's smile widened. "Come here, dear girl," he said pleasantly, stretching out his hand towards her.
Edward looked at her, his eyes willing her not to go, but Jane just looked at him defiantly and stepped forward. She let go of Edward's hand, and reached out to shake Aro's own withered one. Immediately, of course, Edward saw what was happening. The Volturi elder had a gift much like Edward's own. He could read minds as well, but his had the limitation of needing physical contact to do so. But it was also much more powerful in that while Edward could only read current thoughts, Aro could see everything that had ever gone through the person's mind. Now, of course, he was using this skill with Jane.
"Interesting," he said after Jane had removed her hand from his. "Tell me, Jane, about this skill of yours."
She looked, wide-eyed- up at Edward.
"Oh, please do not be frightened," Aro added. "I simply have a gift much like Edward, yet I need physical contact in order to use it. I hope you are not angry with me for doing so."
She stood completely still for a moment, but then shook her head. "I have a gift of invisibility," she said, answering his question. Edward saw the other members of the Volturi raise their eyebrows in obvious newfound interest. "It has come in handy mostly during hunting, but also works when I just want to remain unseen. And when I am invisible, people can't get to me. Edward, for instance, cannot read my mind."
"Very interesting," Aro repeated, obviously intrigued. He turned behind him. "Damien, you did not tell us this useful bit of information."
The vampire in question seemed taken aback. "I did not think that it would be useful! The important thing here is that they broke the rules. They told a human about our existence. That is strictly forbidden."
Aro nodded. "Yes, that is true," he replied. "But be that as it may, I think that punishing them as we usually do would be such a terrible waste."
Damien stared incredulously at the raven-haired elder. Edward caught a string of his thoughts, most of them centered around Jane, as Damien remembered the past. Images flashed through his mind- he was seemingly unaware of the fact that Edward could 'hear' him, or perhaps he was just unable to block off his thoughts. Either way, Edward could now see things that Jane had not shown or told him: flashes of them together, just as he had seen in Jane's mind, but also bits of them hunting, some of them fighting, and one particularly gruesome image of a blonde human child that Edward immediately tried to shake away. He gaped internally. Why had Jane not told him all of this?
"Damien, you are free to leave," Aro said, bringing Edward back to the present. "But we do thank you for bringing this to our attention, especially now that it has provided us with such an interesting opportunity."
The blonde vampire that Edward so despised glared at all of them, and tried to protest, but was led out by Demetri, another of the Volturi guard.
"Now," Aro said pleasantly after Damien had gone. "Where were we?" He smiled at Edward and Jane. "Ah, yes. Seeing as our other friend has gone, I think we should discuss what we are to do about this unfortunate circumstance. Normally, we do not tolerate rule breaking like this at all. And we never make exceptions. But Miss Blackwell, I think that it would be such a pity to lose a girl like you. I think that in this case, a sort of…compromise, of sorts, can be reached."
Edward immediately saw everything in Aro's head. "No," he said forcefully, grabbing onto Jane's hand. "That is not going to happen."
"What?" Jane whispered frantically to him. "What isn't going to happen?"
"They want you to join them," Edward replied quietly to her. Turning back to Aro and the rest of the coven he added, "And that is not an option."
The immortal's smile faltered the tiniest bit. "Well, I do not see how else we could rectify the problem without destroying both you and the human girl that knows about us," he said smoothly.
Edward knew that at least part of it was a lie. He could see, through the old vampire's mind, that they did not plan on killing Bella. They would spare her, if only because it would amuse them to see how the situation played out. Each one of the Volturi, knowing that Bella was Edward's 'singer' (the one whose blood affected him more than anyone else's), assumed that Edward himself would kill her, sooner or later. The human girl mattered little to them. But they also knew that Jane cared for her friend, and that they could use this information to get what they wanted: Jane for their own.
"You will not take her," Edward said to them again.
"This is not a request, Edward," Aro said firmly. "We want the girl- she would make a valuable asset to our guard. But of course, you do not have a final say in the matter." He turned towards the girl at Edward's side. "Jane, what do you have to say about this?"
Edward turned to look at her. She seemed stunned into silence, too afraid to say a word from what he could see in her mind. Edward fervently wished- for the first and probably only time in his eternal existence- that she would enact her skill and run. But she seemed too frightened to even think about that. Plus, he thought to himself, the Volturi were not stupid. They would know what to do, and Jane would be caught before she reached the door. It would be useless to try and flee.
Silently, she shook her head the tiniest bit. It was the only thing she could manage to give Aro his answer.
The elder sighed. "I am sad you feel that way," he replied. "Because it is like I said- this is not a request. We do, of course, have ways of…persuading you to do what we wish." He gave a small nod, and a tiny, angelic-looking girl made her way out of the shadows.
Edward recognized the pouting lips and apathetic expression of the face behind the cloak that the girl wore. With a sinking feeling, he realized how trapped they truly were. He would know that girl anywhere…and her presence was not something that he enjoyed seeing.
"My dear," Aro said, putting a hand on the cloaked girl's shoulder as he looked at the two nearest the door, "This is our own Jane. She has been known to have a very persuasive attitude."
With a small nod, the small vampire turned towards the frightened one at Edward's side. She looked at her pointedly. Edward heard a gasp coming from his Jane, and a strangled cry that was obviously meant to be muted.
"Stop!" he cried, throwing himself in front of Jane in a protective stance. Aro lifted a hand, and the Jane of the Volturi immediately looked away, her indifferent expression slipping back into place. Immediately, Edward wrapped both arms around the dark-haired girl, glaring at the men sitting in front of them. "Do not do that to her again," he said through clenched teeth. "Ever."
Aro just put up both hands in a defending gesture. "I simply do what I believe is best for my family," he replied. "Now, I suggest you rethink my offer. After all, my Jane has no problem with using her skill if I tell her to."
Edward could not hold back the growl that escaped his throat. That Jane's 'skill' was one that he had experienced before, and never wanted to go through again. Using only her mind, the cherub-like little girl could inflict indescribably pain on whomever she wished. Edward cringed at the thought that now his Jane had experienced it. He would have rather gone through the torture a hundred times himself than have that happen to her.
The sinking feeling once again welled up in his chest. It seemed that there was no way out: either Jane joined the Volturi, or would be killed by them. Neither option worked for Edward. He could not let them take her away from him, especially when there was so much he needed to say to her. He had not gotten the chance to say that he was not mad at her about Damien, like she thought. It was simply that he was mad at Damien- and himself, as well. He had not gotten to tell her that for every day of the seventy years they spent apart, he had not gone one of them without thinking of her- without missing her. And most importantly, he had not gotten to tell her the most significant thing of all: that he was completely, utterly, madly in love with her. And now, it seemed he would never get the chance.