A/N - What's that calling? Why, I do believe that it is THE VOLTERRA CHAPTER! Thank you to those who have reviewed. I love these little comments that say that I'm not wasting everyone's time. So much so that a few people have asked whether I'm going to be doing an Eclipse version of this. Well...i have started in a few chapters here and there of it, but I'm going to wait until I finished uploading My Shattered Heart before I think about fine-tuning and uploading these in story form. :) But please, tell me if you do think I should do an Eclipse Version. :D Any way, read on for the next piece of Bella's Mind as she enters Volterra.
"Death is not the greatest of evils; it is worse to want to die, and not be able to"
I'll admit, I understand his point of view here…if the love of his life was gone, he wouldn't have a reason to live
That was something I considered, when you were nearly…killed…I knew my family wouldn't help, so I thought I would seek the help of the Volturi.
'The Volturi'?
You don't anger them, unless you want to die. Or whatever it is that happens to us.
Conversations of another Bella echoed through my mind, adding kindling to the fires of my thoughts as I sat blankly in the nothingness that I knew was a seat in an airplane, waiting to take off for Florence, Italy. I stared out of the window into the waning daylight. Where my eyes should have been able to pick out stars and the moon, I saw nothing.
Nothing. I was nothing.
He was gone, left this world for the heavens he had fallen from, and in doing so had taken everything from this life. Every memory that I had of him faded into ghost, so unclear now, everything that was him had fallen with him when he had leapt to his death.
I had never anticipated that he would even stop to contemplate suicide, thinking him capable of moving on. But when have I ever been privy to Edward's unique way of thinking?
To be honest, I have no idea. Edward's voice whispered through my subconscious, perseverant to the last. The stubbornness that Edward himself had always embodied seemed to have passed through to my cheap imitation of him, striving through my mind even when I was sure without a doubt that this echo was the closest thing to Edward that remained on this now empty earth.
Agony and barrenness shouldn't align. Two opposite ends of a magnet that just shouldn't co-exist. So how was I feeling both? Pain and emptiness dragged through me, raking across my skin and pouring acid into the open wounds. I both hated and loved it. The pain was loved for it proved to me that Edward had existed and wasn't just a figment of my imagination. It was hated for the fact that he was now gone. The emptiness was loved as it allowed me to plan my escape from this world. I hated it for the same reason as the pain. It proved that Edward was gone.
Say that you forgive me. Edward's ghost pleaded in my ears as the plane shifted pressure and settled into pattern.
Forgive you for what? I found myself asking him in desperation, though I stayed motionless in my seat.
You haven't guessed yet? He countered, concealing his thoughts from me even in my own mind.
His voice faded back into the realms of oblivion in my mind and I leant my head down onto the pull-down tray that was sitting waiting for food I would never eat.
I lay there for what could have been a few hours or a few seconds. I could hear a flight attendant began handing out various snacks and drinks amongst the other passengers. I declined mine before the woman serving even asked and she walked away with a haughty look on her made-up face.
That wasn't very nice. Edward admonished me before realising I didn't care.
"Hey, Mrs? Mrs?" A small voice pulled me back out of the gentle void I had fallen back into. I lifted my head slightly and turned it away from the window, still leaning against the plastic tray. A small boy stood before me, pen scribbled along the sides of his face in the odd arrangement that only children could understand. He looked to be about four years old, which explained the lisping on the word 'Mrs'. He beamed when he saw me move. "You're not dead," He told me proudly, looking up at me with light brown eyes. "I was scared."
"I'm not dead," I told him, searching the minds of the adults nearby, looking for the frantic callings of a mother lost her son. "Where're your parents?" I asked, frowning when I found no mothering thoughts.
"Haven't got none." He told me, swinging his arms heavily by his side and looking about as though talking about the colour of the seats. "M'here with a shosial worker." His nose screwed up around the difficult to pronounce word. "What's your name?" He asked, looking up at me with a huge grin on his innocent face.
"Bella," I said and he held out a chubby hand for me to shake. Do it just like on the vellietision. his thoughts murmured to me, cheering on his actions.
"I'm Jack." He told me beaming.
"Jack? Jack?!" A voice called from further down the plane.
Jacks tiny face scowled. "Rats," he moaned and crouched down by my feet trying to hide. "Sssssssssh," He put a finger to his lips then put his hands over his blonde hair.
"Jack! Oh, there you are you little- hello," A women with large bouncing ginger curls and too pink lipstick stuck her head around the gap between the two sets of seats and spotted Jack. Then spotted me. "Sorry about this little tyke," She said, smiling. I could see that her lipstick had smudged off onto her teeth. "It's been a long journey from England and he and the other little boy I'm taking care of are just about having enough of it. Of course, " She directed her speech to Jack who was still attempting to hide. "Edward stays where he is, doesn't he?"
The little boy grinned sheepishly which thankfully drew the social worker's attention away from me as I sat stunned in my seat.
What's wrong? My Edward asked over the sounds of Jack refusing to move.
You even have to ask? I thought wryly, engaging Edward in conversation again.
You have no idea. He whispered before leaving me alone with the small Jack and his social worker.
"I'm sorry," she was saying. "We've got the option of two families for them and they chose the one in Volterra. A Mr A. Volturi." she told me, sifting through the papers and taking Jack's unco-operating hand. "Say goodbye to the nice lady, Jack."
"Bye, Bye, Miss Bella." Jack pouted and followed the social worker with his head hanging before I could even give a warning.
Jack was following the same path as I, leading to the same destination too.
The Volturi were callous, merciless and cold-blooded from what Carlisle had told me. And after watching little Jack - knowing his fate - I couldn't help but agree.
"The Volturi are the rulers of the vampire world" Carlisle had told me, his topaz eyes lost in memories that were centuries old. "They are civilized and much of the time they are respectful of life. But not human life. Through-out my stay with them, they tried to sway me of my decision to keep to this life, and I them. But neither of us succeeded."
"Aro, Marcus and Caius," He had recited, looking to the portrait that hung on his wall. " 'Night-time patrons of the arts', 'The brothers of darkness'. They are, not fascinated, but rather reverential of ancients, ruins and antiques." He had paused and looked at me for a second before continuing. "Aro is, what you would call, the leader of the Volturi. Though Marcus and Caius are of equal standing, they are more than happy to allow him to take the lead so long as they agree. And Aro is a collector. He collects artefacts, yes, but mostly it is vampires who he treasures."
"The Volturi Guard is made up of a select picking of vampires, all sought out and initiated by Aro himself. They hold many formidable weapons, gifts that make others seem like parlour tricks. Aro also holds a great talent, much the same as yours. Yet it is more limited and also exponentially more powerful. With a touch, just one touch, upon your bared skin, Aro can read your every thought since you first had the capacity to do so. He can see you dreams, hopes and wishes. The secrets you have hidden from others, the moments you desired to keep personal. He can see everything about you. For those few seconds, he is you."
Carlisle told me about his own time with the Volturi; the immortal children, the wars of the south and the many other feats that the Volturi had managed. "One thing," He had told me gravely. "One thing that would assure your fate as a pile of ashes for all eternity, is to offend the Volturi by breaking the highest rule of their law: To expose vampires for what we are. No vampire who has ever done so has lived to see his next night-break. For Aro is ruthless. He can see what you did, why you did it and who saw you with just a touch to your skin. He is God, choosing who dies and how." Carlisle had snapped out of his memories and looked at me with such a piercing stare that I thought he could see straight through my soul. "Bella, Aro is a dangerous man who would gladly take your gift and add it to the guard. You would mean nothing to him, simply a weapon he could admire as it slaughters. I believe that your talent would be of greatest interest to him, Bella. And for that reason you must never enter Volterra."
As the plane touched down on Florence turf and the dazzling sunlight faded behind the clouds of night, my father's words rang through my ears. I was disobeying the highest rule he had ever set me.
And I didn't care.
I walked out of the airport and slipped into the darkness that lurked just outside the neon lights of civilization. I hit my stride and raced an endless stretch of darkness, barely noticing when my nothingness faded from midnight to dawn again. The last dawn my eyes would ever see.
Volterra rushed up towards me through the morning light, clouds lurking over the town. I was glad, I could pass easily through the streets of Volterra without detection. From human eyes at least.
I slowed down as I reached the city gates, half expecting them to close in front of me and bar me entrance but I walked through unhindered.
I thrust my hands into my pockets and my fingers swept across the remains of the crushed phone which I had left in Rio. I shouldn't have destroyed the phone. I should have called Alice and told her to stay behind. She had no doubt seen my decision by now and was frantically trying to defy the set future. I felt guilty for forcing her to watch my termination in the crystal detail of her visions.
I had been careless. If she made it into Volterra walls during my 'unveiling scene', she would be regarded as my accomplice and damned to share my fate as well. Death in a purple plume of venom-spiked smoke and ashes. How was I to convince the Volturi of her innocence when I would soon be observed as a traitor to the Vampire race myself?
I would have to speak directly to The Volturi first; Aro, Caius and Marcus. The Brothers Of Darkness.
I would have to expose my mind to Aro. My entire life would have to be on display, showing my will to die, my family's ignorance and my plans were I to be denied. Would my bonds to my father help me or hinder me? Aro respected Carlisle, though finding his choices in life to be less…fitting of a vampire like him. Would Aro accept my request as Carlisle's son or deny me out of deference for his old friend?
The still sleeping town was littered with flags of scarlet flying in the morning breeze from windows and television aerials, giving it the appearance of being spotted with crimson drops of blood. I read the Italian writing. St. Marcus' day. Not today, but tomorrow as I picked out on the heads of excited slumbering children.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
Volterra Castle loomed up before me, rising above all of the other buildings with a dark sense of foreboding though I myself felt none. The castle was now simply a means to an end. The clock in the square chimed over to Two a.m, waking a few groggy minds before they fell back into sleep, as I approached the simple wooden double doors that marked the entrance to the Volturi's stronghold. From this distance I could easily hear the assembly of vampire minds that stood through the walls, though the two I picked out easiest were the two guards that stood either side of the doors dressed in a dark grey cloaks, hoods pulled up.
Not one of the guard The more muscular of the two murmured in his mind, while the other thought the same in fluent Italian. They exchanged glances before stepping side-ways to bar my way.
"Sirs," I bowed my head.
The Italian vampire shook his head and nodded for the other to proceed.
"What is your business here?" He spoke in English though the over-bearing French accent proved his age. The other was younger and was not yet fluent in any language other than Italian. His mind whirred as he attempted to keep up.
"I wish to see Aro," I told him before bowing my head again. From what Carlisle had told me, The Volturi responded better to respect than self-confidence.
Hmm, young thing. The taller vampire mused as he watched me, unaware that I was listening in. Looks very…unsettled. What could she want with Aro? Who is she?
"Those who wish to speak to our master must give their name for identification." He voiced his thoughts.
"Isabella Cullen," I told him, curtly. "And yours is?" I asked, waiting for his reaction. No vampires troubled themselves with surnames, other than those who were newly past their one year mark.
Cullen? a memory stirred at the back of his thoughts. The animal eaters? The stories can't be true. Even though his mind was denying it, he searched my eyes.
"I am Corin." he stepped aside and motioned for his partner to do the same. "Maybe Aro would enjoy meeting a Cullen," Corin pushed against the doors and they slid open a crack large enough for him to slip through. He made me go first.
As we walked through a luxurious lobby, another door concealed within the walls opened and another vampire made his way out of the castle to take Corin's spot as guard.
He led me to the elevator that stood at the end of the long red-carpeted corridor and we rose to the second floor in silence. The lift opened to a clinical reception area where a human sat at the desk tapping irregularly on the computer that sat in front of her.
"Good morning, Corin," she called, looking up for a few seconds and cataloguing me before turning back to her work. Her mind swam with promises made by Aro and she sneaked another glance at me, knowing exactly what I was. Aro's promise entailed her changing to become one of the immortals and she watched me in envy for a few seconds before focusing fully on the screen in front of her.
Corin ignored her greeting but lowered his hood and motioned for me to sit on one of the couches scattered about the rooms. "I shall inform Aro of your arrival." he told me as I sat and disappeared through another set of swinging doors.
I followed his mind through the winding corridors and twisting staircases until he stopped outside a huge ornate door and knocked three times. From there, I quickly located the mind with whom my fate resided. Aro was discussing fervently with two members of the Volturi Guard a new bout of suspicious killings in Germany.
I instantly recognized the two guards from Carlisle's stories. Jane and Alec: The Witch Twins. Both were the elite of the Guard and wore robes closest matching those of Aro, Marcus and Caius. Jane, I had been told, held one of the most formidable talents in Volterra. Her illusions of pain had sent vampires into screaming fits of insanity, some never to revive from the torture and simply killed. Her twin, Alec, was just as terrifying. He was, in essence, Jane's antidote. He made the victim feel nothing. No touch, taste, smell, sight, sound. Just detached from the world as the Volturi slaughtered them. I guessed that either one or the other would be used in my demise. I knew I deserved Jane but somewhere inside of me hoped for Alec's numbness.
Caius sat to the side of their discussion in his large golden throne, analysing the words that the three were saying with great detail. I couldn't extract any information about his gift though it was not as though he could be in the Volturi Coven without some great and fearsome talent.
Marcus…Marcus surprised me when I intruded on his mind. It was blank. No emotions made their presence known and no thoughts floated to the surface of his mind. What fascinated me, however, was the odd colours his vision was seen through. A brilliant blue covered Aro's entire frame with a central of deepest maroon. Around the outside of his form, flecks of shocking white ebbed and flowed around him. Caius was the same, though his centre was that of brightest orange.
Jane and Alec were different. Their entire bodies were enveloped with the same white that joined into their three masters while centres of matching regal purple showed their relationship as twins.
Carlisle had told me that Marcus' gift dealt with seeing relationships. Bonds of lovers, friends, family, masters, servants, twins and enemies. Marcus' talent would be crucial when the Volturi went to battle as he could tell who was devoted to the cause, who would die for others and who it would be ideal to pick off to end the resistance.
Aro's conversation came to an abrupt halt when Corin's knocks sounded and Aro called for him to enter.
Corin? Caius' eyes immediately darted to the vampire and his thoughts laced with concern. What brings him here off his duty?
My concentration moved to the ancient at his side. Aro nodded Corin over and Jane and Alec moved silently to stand to either side of Aro's opulent throne.
"Master," the vampire knelt before him. "There is a young vampire within Volturi walls. She says that her name is Isabella Cullen,"
Cullen? A member of dear Carlisle's Coven? Oh, intriguing! Curiosity spiked in the mind of the Volturi's spokes-vampire as he leant back in his throne and rested his chin on his hands.
"She wishes for audience with you, Master, though she would say none to her intentions." Corin informed Aro.
The dark-haired ancient beckoned Corin to step forward and the younger vampire pushed back the grey material of his hood and placed his hand palm facing up for Aro to touch. As they touched, Aro's head filled with images and voices from Corin's past. I moved away from Aro's mind as he did so, not wanting to see Corin's weekly kills as he indulged in them time and time again.
Eventually Aro was finished and his mind, now filled with only his own thoughts, showed my face looking at him. My eyes burning with thirst and desperation.
"Isabella Cullen," He sang my name. "Something new! Send her in, Corin, send her in!" Aro was delighted as Corin made his way from the room at a hasty pace.
I withdrew from Aro's fascinated mind as the doors swung open and Corin stood before me. "Aro will see you now." He said solemnly before turning his back on me. I followed wordlessly behind him.
Corin's thoughts betrayed his stony exterior. Inside the confines of his mind, he assumed my reasons for approaching Aro were that of begging. Hoping for a spot amongst the Volturi Guard. He spent his time fantasizing about abilities for me as we made our way through the corridors and up the winding stairs to one of the turrets.
We stopped out side the doors I had followed him to in his mind and he pushed it open with a dramatic swing. I had enough of Bella within me to roll my eyes at the display before I trailed through into the room on the other side.
Aro's gaze fell on me as soon as I entered and inquisitiveness blazed insatiably in his eyes which, now that I was seeing them in person, were covered with a curious misty haze.
"Good Morning, Isabella," He inclined his head to me as Corin and I approached his central throne and Corin withdrew to the edges of the room.
I nodded in response as I waited for the questions which were filling Aro's head to be asked.
"You know Carlisle, I take it?" another nod. "How is my old friend?" he asked, his mind as full of excitement as a child on Christmas eve.
"When last I spoke with him, he was well,"
Last time? "Carlisle created you, then?" I acquiesced. "Isabella, " he leant forward. "Does Carlisle still abstain from human blood?" or has his persistence waned?
"Not a drop of human blood has passed my father's lips." I told him, ignoring the shocked thoughts at the word 'father' "And I endeavour to follow his lead."
A low tremor of chatter rumbled through the room until Aro raised a papery hand and silence fell again.
"What then, Isabella, brings you to our home?" he asked, resting a thin white finger against his lips.
"I…" I stopped then started again. "It would be far easier if I were to show you," I offered my hand to Aro. Aro hid his shock well at my discovery of his gift and reached out to clasp my hand.
His head bowed over our intertwined hands as he concentrated hard and my past flew before both our eyes. The murky remnants of my human life were thrown past me in a blink, only to be replaced by the immortal clarity of my family as they repeated, throwing themselves at me in memory after memory. The first hundred years flashed by.
Then Edward appeared, shining like a diamond through the recollections that Aro pulled up. The first day in biology, the first kiss in the forest, the cries as James poisoned him, dancing in his arms, his distress in the forest as I left.
The last months seemed to slow down, taking several seconds rather than mere moments. I saw Jasper and I, Victoria, going home, leaving, hearing Rosalie's call, calling Charlie's house.
He's at the funeral The voice snarled callously.
The last few hours slugged by, Aro taking interest in my interaction with the small boy on the plane, Jack. From the few disjointed thoughts that I caught, Jack and Edward weren't meals…
Then blackness suffocated me. The memories were over and Aro removed his hand from mine. His curiosity was replaced with wonder now as my skills were apparent.
"My, my, Isabella," He mused, sitting back and allowing me to replace my hand by my side. "You are interesting, aren't you?" he turned away, envy colouring his thoughts. As Carlisle had suspected, he desired my talents. "To have such a gift," and from a distance as well? he added soundlessly, testing my abilities.
"From any distance, Sir," I told him and glee shone in his burgundy eyes.
"Fascinating," And my dearest Jane? What is in her mind right now.
I nodded, knowing that obliging to his games would make him all the more complimentary of me. I focused my mind on Jane while keeping my eyes locked on Aro's probing ones.
I found Jane's petulant tones in a second and relayed them for Aro. "Master is intrigued by this girl. But what can she have? What gift is powerful enough for my master to be captivated so?" I spoke in a high, cruel, impression of Jane's child-like voice, hoping to taunt her into action. She turned to glare at me before Aro clapped in delight and she turned her deathly gaze away.
"Oh, marvellous!" Aro chuckled.
"What is this?" Caius barked in annoyance.
"It's appears that Isabella has a truly outstanding gift. She can hear thoughts but at a distance, without any contact." Aro told his brother.
"But why is she here?" He asked impatiently.
Aro inclined his head to me, allowing me to say my piece.
"I wish to die." I said simply.
Caius' eyes focused more sharply on me. "Why?"
Aro saved me answering by firing yet another question at me. "But he is your singer?" he asked, ignoring Caius' irritation and acting as though he had never spoken. "You resisted!" murmurs broke out along the walls of the room, many of the vampire's recalling their own singers and relishing in the memories. "Not only that, but you loved him, kissed him, drank from him. And still he walked alive?"
"He did." I said shortly, determined not to let it show how the words cut me like knives embedded with venom.
The thoughts around the room were wrought with disbelief but I focused only on Aro's. His were the ones that mattered
"Amazing. Yet such a waste. Oh well," Aro gave a dramatic sigh and found a new line off questioning he wished to pursue.
"But what of Alice? Her vision's have foreseen his change to an immortal. Surely, were he dead, they could not be true?"
"Alice's visions are subjective," I told him, trying to reveal as little as I could about Alice's gift but knowing that it was fruitless. "They revolve around the choices people make. One tiny choice could change the course of the future" like when Edward chose to jump…
His memory taunted me with recollections of my own past. Alice's visions swirled before his eyes. Edward awaking to his new life, eyes gleaming scarlet. Edward and I in front of a vicar, my family posing for a photograph, Edward hugging me from behind.
I gritted my teeth and pulled myself out of his head, away from the reality I craved to have truly happened.
"Alice? Who is Alice?" Caius demanded, looking from me to Aro in a blur.
"Alice is Isabella's sister," Aro told him. "She is capable of viewing the future." as he spoke, greed tinged the edges of his thoughts. While he was talking to Caius about Alice's abilities, I let myself into his head fully. At the far corners of his conscious mind a ghastly picture awaited my eyes; Aro standing proud at the head of the Volturi Guard in a cloak of blackest silk, Alice and I at either side of him, our cloaks matching his in their tone. The past, The present and The future. A voice of want whispered within him and I withdrew from his thoughts in haste. Our hoods had fallen down, revealing cold, unforgiving eyes of ghastly crimson.
Aro finished speaking with Caius and turned back to me. "You are certain of Edward's death?"
"Yes." he's at the funeral. How much more proof did I need?
"So, your mate is dead and you wish not to live without him?" Caius supplied, throwing an almost imperceptible glance at Marcus.
"Yes."
"We must discuss this," Caius mused.
Aro nodded and beckoned to another muscle-bound vampire. "Demetri, Take Isabella to the city limits. Wait until we send Felix to fetch you." he instructed. The vampire named Demetri nodded and walked out of the room, expecting me to follow.
"Get a good hold of her tenor, Demetri," Aro muttered and Demetri gave a curt nod before closing the door behind us.
"What a peculiar specimen,"
"Yes, Aro, but what decision do you propose we make on her request?"
"I am…unsure. Carlisle was a good friend, and to disrespect him so would be-"
"Disrespect? You mean he has no knowledge of his creations endeavours?"
"He knows. Dearest Alice must have told him by now. But he does not wish for his daughter" Aro's voice tested the word, trying it out on his tongue. "To be harmed. He has created an interesting coven, our old friend has."
"Yes, yes," Caius snapped, tired of Aro's tangent. "But what of the girl's request?"
As I strained my ears to hear Aro's reply, the voices faded from my mind to be replaced with the silence of the sleeping city. I cursed under my breath and Demetri turned back at me with a smirk, knowing entirely what I had been attempting to do.
The sky which had been lightening as we had first stepped out of Volterra castle's shadow was beginning to darken again when I first heard the flickering of a vampire mind approaching.
Demetri had been occupying himself through the many daylight hours we had stood in silence for by mentally reconstructing every kill he had ever had, watching my face as I saw entrails ripped away, heard screams of death and mercy, smelt the echo of children's blood as it trickled away into cracks of the Volturi's feeding room floor. I recognized, with a start, that the feeding room was the very same that I had been standing in before when I pled my case to the three brothers. I had stood over stones where innocent humans had begged for their lives only to be treated with torturous vampires until the release of death held them.
Through my own memories I knew that I had recognized no scent of blood while I'd stood in the room, though Demetri's sadistic thoughts told me specifically that they had eaten only yesterday. Then, again with Demetri's help, I identified a man-hole cover in the centre of the room. Following the thought, I discovered that the raging furnace that heated the castle stood beneath the feeding room, waiting to be fed once the vampires had drained the … kindling.
I drew myself away from the morbid thoughts that plagued Demetri's mind and turned to watch for the approaching vampire. True to my estimations, Corin rounded the corner at a fixed pace that made the growing demon within my snarl in irritation.
"Aro wishes for you to return," He told me straightforwardly, barley rounding the corner to approach us before turning on his heel and walking back the way he had came. Demetri moved quickly ahead to join his colleague, unintentionally allowing me to my thoughts.
Edward had remained silent all day and I'd wondered whether my imagination was now truly accepting that he was gone from the world. But, stubborn as ever, he arrived to prove my point wrong just before I entered the feeding chamber.
You will be careful, won't you? I ignored him and entered the stone room behind Corin and Demetri.
Aro's thoughts were swirling, focusing through many memories the most of which weren't his own and translating themselves into various languages that I had no knowledge of, keeping my probing at bay should I intend to search for their answer.
"Isabella, welcome back." he opened his arms in greeting, his expression almost that of a doting grandfather, were it not for the crimson eyes that were fading to grey as we spoke. "I trust that Demetri was a welcoming host?" he asked, inclining his head slightly toward Demetri as the vampire stood against the walls in rank.
"He was an…interesting companion, yes," I spoke shortly, waiting for the verdict on my request. The waiting vampire's along the walls were watching me with hungry eyes, wishing to see me be torn apart and set ablaze. They had been sent away while the brothers had conferred in private and were as eager as me for Aro's answer.
"But of course you wish to know our decision?" Aro asked, leaning back in his throne and steepling his fingers. "I'm afraid that we shall have to ask you to wait before we inform you, as my brothers and I have a proposition for you,"
His mind's obstacles slipped and again I saw myself at Aro's side, eyes cold and coloured with the blood of humans. My hand interlinked with his as he read the thoughts of every mind alongside me.
The image was gone as quickly as it had arrived, disappearing into the depths of Aro's mind as he continued.
"Your talent is strong, Isabella, " He smiled at me and I nodded my head more out of politeness than actual appreciation the compliment. "And also, incredibly useful. You would be a great asset, my dear. If you were to accept our offer, you would be made a Volturi Captain."
I swallowed a leak of venom that sprung into my mouth at the thought of being a Volturi Captain. Aro's eyes showed me nothing but sincerity, his thoughts more so. But Carlisle's words rang clear in my ears.
'Aro is a dangerous man who would gladly take your gift and add it to the guard. You would mean nothing to him, simply a weapon he could admire as it slaughters'
"I thank The Volturi for their offer," I whispered into the anxious silence. "But I must decline."
Jane stood behind her master and hissed at me, her ruby eyes glaring at me as I saw fire burst into appearance within her pupils. My eyes widened and I braced myself for when her deadly gaze hit me. But, as before, Aro waved a comforting hand and she desisted, returning to her brothers side. Alec wrapped an arm around shoulder and she continued to glower, though the flames within her eyes had died.
She dares to refuse my Masters offer? A huge honour and she turns it away?! Ungrateful, stuck-up, arrogant, human lover…
Her thoughts trailed into furious muttering and I turned my attention back to the three brothers. Caius watched me in confusion as Aro began to speak again, his mind whirling with disappointment.
"You are sure?" He asked, frustration colouring his ancient voice.
"Yes, sir," I muttered. "What is your decision on my request?" I looked at Aro, Marcus and Caius in turn before settling my sights again on Aro.
Aro's friendly demeanour cooled. "To end your life…it would be wasteful. And it would do a great misdeed to my good friend Carlisle. You are free to leave."
My eyes narrowed as Aro regarded me. "That's it?" I snarled, dropping all pretence at graciousness as anger overtook me. "I'm just dismissed like a petulant child-"
"A child which, in our eyes, you very much are," Caius snapped, glaring at me as Jane stepped forward again, thinking me done for.
I laughed harshly. "This isn't the end." I told them simply, a cruel smile playing on my lips. I turned and stalked away, growls tumbling through my chest and out of my clenched teeth as the door opened again, allowing me to exit.
"Isabella?!" Aro's voice called, halting me as I made to step out of the turret. I placed a hand on the side of the stone archway but made no move to turn back. "I know what you are planning. Are you to expose us, you shall meet the fate you covet, yet you must sacrifice your family's philosophy to do so." I tensed and I heard the triumphant ringing through his mind like church-bells. "My offer will be open again once you realise that you are unable to go through with it."
"I'll find a way!" I sneered, turning back to throw a contemptuous look at the surrounding guards all of whom were shifting in their places, eager to grab at and tear into me.
"We shall see," Aro whispered into the silence as I circled and ran from the room, leaving only the sound of my passage in my absence.
The thoughts of the Volturi faded into the background as I left the main doors, storming out into Volterra's nightlife. Night time; the true hours of the vampire. In the night, we perform the darkened deeds of hell that our demonic nature constantly dictates. In the night, we slake out thirst.
I slipped away from the sparse crowds and ran toward the now empty 'Palazzo Dei Priori'. No life lingered alongside the fountain, all of the humans tucked back into their beds, images of the festival tomorrow spinning excitedly in their dreams. It was exactly the same as when I had first entered the city of death. I had come full circle, my plans now the same as when I had first arrived. Yet I had wasted a day, fallen victim to another session of my own self-imposed Hell.
A Hell I had no greater desire than to depart.
I fell back into the darkness of an abandoned alleyway. There were many feats that I could perform to alert the Italians to the presence of the many vampires hiding within their city. All of the many weapons in my arsenal would draw enough attention for the Volturi to launch into action and act quickly. But Aro was right. The quickest way my end would draw upon me would be to hunt the people of Volterra. The guard would have no choice then - I would be ashes in seconds.
Would it hurt? I wasn't sure. I deserved the pain of an eternity as cinders but the selfishness within me shied away from the very thought of it. I sneered in disgust at myself as I realised that I was scared.
We're not all perfect. Edward's quiet voice whispered as I sank against the grimy alley wall and buried my head in my hands.
"you think I don't know that?" I moaned, closing my eyes. His face stared at me, unaffected by the absence of his real self within the world.
What's with this, then? He was confused and his face morphed into another scene from my past, back in Forks High School cafeteria.
"I need to do this," My head banged back against the alley and I watched the moon on the sky, opening my eyes to escape memories.
His voice changed, I don't want to loose you.
"I'm joining you. Not leaving,"
I'm here. With you. He insisted and I fought the temptation to close my eyes and see his face again.
"Barely," I murmured. "An echo,"
How has she gotten that into her head? He mumbled. Then a weary It's complicated followed after.
"It…doesn't even matter. it's happening. One way or another."
Holy water?…Burned by garlic?…Stake in the heart? He teased and despite myself, I chuckled darkly.
"Not quite,"
I breathed in deeply, drawing in the scents of the sleeping Italians around me. I would been ending one of their lives soon. Letting my teeth sink into their flesh with ease and their veins releasing the forbidden liquid.
I tried to steel myself against the thoughts swimming through my mind. Killing wasn't difficult - I'd murdered many in my locked away past. But I'd only slaughtered the ones of evil. The humans with sin within their souls. This would be innocents. I would have no time to search their thoughts. I would have to kill publicly, aggressively and ruthlessly.
You are not a monster, Bella! Edward's and Carlisle's voices rang in simultaneous chorus.
I bent forward and gripped the floor, my fingers crushing the faded stone to dust, defeated. They were right. Both of them. I couldn't indulge the devil on my shoulder. I wasn't the monster anymore. The ideas of killing sprees thankfully fled my mind. What else could I do?
Something to show that I wasn't human. I could perform any number of feats. Hoist a car above my head, throw a pillar through a window. but none of those were inhuman enough.
I could run, but no-one would see me. That left…
Is it sunny tomorrow? Edward whispered to me, spurring my thoughts.
The dawn broke, filling my secluded alley with daybreak's gentle glow. My skin glimmered slightly in the clouded light and I looked up to the rosy sky.
"Yes."
Then you have no excuse. I closed my eyes momentarily and he grinned impishly at me
A few minutes thinking through the plans reinforced my vigour for this plan; I would step into the sunlight…at noon when the sun was highest…and the Volturi would descend.
My resolve firming, I stood and raced through the streets of Volterra, searching for the closest clothes store. My jeans and sweater would do little to accentuate my difference from the oblivious humans.
The bell hanging over the shop door gave a gentle ring as I entered, alerting the aging shop-keeper to my presence. He smiled blearily at me before taking a sip of his coffee and waving me through towards the clothes. He glanced confused at the clock before his thoughts waved me off as a night-worker, like himself.
I immediately dragged a pair of denim shorts and a tiny summer top off the rails and placed them onto the counter, pulling out my last credit-card. He smiled at me and ran them through the scanner, asking me a smiling 'How are you' in Italian. I answered curtly, paid and took the clothes back out into the street, slipping into the shadows again.
Back in my small alley again, I took my time changing into the summer clothes, my lily-pale legs glowing eerily in the strange balance between the darkness of the morning and the subtle glow that ebbed through the clouds. I had no reason to hurry. Noon was seven hours away yet.
Alice's face glared at me momentarily as I carelessly threw my old clothes into a dumpster. I had no idea how close she was to arriving to stop me, as I knew she would be desperately attempting to do. I wondered idly who'd she'd bring with her. Jasper? Carlisle? Emmett? Not Esme. Alice knew that, when she was unsuccessful, Esme would be the last person who should be subjected to watching her first daughter burn to embers.
How would my mother react when she heard the news? She had already lost a child before. Could I allow Esme to go through that again? Surely she couldn't miss me that much… Deep within me, I knew that that was wrong.
Carlisle would be distraught. Again, I was his first daughter, his sister, his companion and his friend. But he had Alice, Rosalie, Esme and both Jazz and Em.
All of my family would change, grieve and, hopefully, move on. They had all of eternity to do so. That was surely enough time to forget some-one that you had spent only ninety years with, I expected.
Time passed, in agonizing ebbs and lightening-fast flows. The humans in Volterra crowded gradually through the paved streets and into the square which my alleyway looked out to. Slowly I could hear the inner voices of Volturi Guards as they gathered about the rooftops, searching for me. The clock tower that stood to the side of my alleyway moved closer toward twelve and I stepped near the edge of the passage.
"O, here will I set up my everlasting rest and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh," I cited, looking out into the sea of humans dressed in cloaks of every crimson shade possible.
"Please?" I whispered, selfishness winning out. "Edward, stay with me. Until the end."
I'm not running anywhere. He smiled gently at me, his emerald eyes beckoning me towards his final resting place. I love you, Bella. He added.
"As I love you," I repeated.
I took a final deep breath and stepped out into the light.
His voice whispered in my ear. Dazzling.
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