Author's note- Longer than typical. Enjoy.

Disclaimer.

The air seemed thicker here, weighed down with endless amounts of anxiety and panic. I hadn't known what to bring, so I didn't bring anything at all.

But then again as I regarded the statuesque man beside me, I'd actually brought my entire life.

The city was weird at night, the crystalline light of the stars illuminating the numerous allies and deep drains. It made me shudder to know what crept in those drains and all that they led to. I tightened my grasp around Edward's waist, rubbing my face into the side of his shoulder. He drew his hand softly over my arm, staying silent.

Our skin shone in the moonlight, not sparkling as with sunlight, but a dull sort of radiance. A young man passed us on his way home, his eyes passing greedily over me. I saw Edward give the Italian an intimidating glare and only pulled myself closer to him.

"It's going to be fine, right?" I asked. Edward's onyx eyes met mine, an unmistakable passion adorning the ripples in his irises.

"Yes."

"Are you lying?"

He sighed in a long manner, his stare cemented to the looming fortress at the heart of the city.

"I don't know."

I only nodded, squeezing my eyes shut and pressing my nose against his skin. I wanted to memorize his natural perfume, the way his strong arm wrapped around my torso, and the exact tone of his voice.

"I love you, Isabella," Edward said as he slowed his pace, bringing my hands into his own. He stepped in front of me and grabbed my cheeks. He pushed his lips to mine tensely, hurriedly. I wound my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer to him. My lips burned as he continued moving his against them. Two different flocks of butterflies wrestled in my stomach, one was very heave and dank, the other jittery and nervous. Both made me feel very sick.

"I love you, Edward," I said as we parted lips, gasping for the unnecessary oxygen. "Promise me, whatever happens, happens to the both of us," I begged, my eyes meeting his with a sense of urgency.

His mouth twisted uncomfortably as he considered the possible meaning of the promise, his eyes ached visibly, making my heart sting. He nodded stiffly, pressing his lips to mine again briefly.

There was an eerie sense of nostalgia as we passed through the square in front of the clock tower. I remembered the desperation that had propelled me through the immovable crowd that awful day, its ghost knocked subtly in my veins a cruel reminder of what I was about to face, yet again. The Volterra memories had stayed with me through the change, most of my experiences with Edward had. But these were definitely some of the clearest.

The allie's mouth was filled with sulking shadows regardless of the bright light of the full moon. I didn't want to go through it; I didn't even want to go near it. But I didn't have any choice. This was for them, for my family. For some reason I felt if I actually stepped across the cobblestone threshold that the trip back would be exponentially harder to achieve, if possible at all.

We paused in front of the break between buildings, gauging the movements within through our keen eyes. I was sure that Edward was listening for anyone nearby.

"Anyone?" I whispered, my hand trembling as it clasped around his clenched fist.

"Not here, they're waiting for us at the end of the tunnel," he murmured, his voice cold. I looked up at his eyes and saw the reflection of the night sky within the dark circles. The lights above us burned in his stare, giving the orbs an otherworldly look.

"Together," I swore.

"The course of true love never did run smooth," he quoted from a Midsummer Night's Dream with a small crooked smile on his lips. I squeezed his hand and prayed as we slipped into the leaky corridor, sinking down into the filth and sin that lay underneath the city.

The tunnel didn't seem long enough, I almost wished that it would never end, that way we could avoid this forever. I couldn't bear the thought of putting Edward in danger but the realization that Alice and Jasper wereindeed in danger pushed me through the stifling air, towards the demonic cherub at the end of the stone hall. Jane's smile was peculiar in the shifty light from the torches, her eyes dancing excitedly between Edward and me.

"How lovely to see you both," she purred, her crimson irises screaming at me.

"I wish I could mirror the delight," Edward voiced stoically. This only made her laugh a beautiful, radiant sound that seemed to mock the bloody color of her stare.

"Bella, dear, you are just exquisite," Aro noted as he ushered down from above, settling next to the child. Edward squeezed my hand tightly, signaling me of something weird, what exactly I couldn't quite figure. "I cannot wait to investigate the surely impressive power you must harbor," he cooed, his eyes tight on my own. Edward squeezed my hand a bit harder. "Would it be rude to ask for a demonstration?" He asked, his eyes venturing to my husband's. I looked up to the same pair and saw an angry defiance in them, but he only nodded to me.

"Can I be first?" Jane begged, glancing up to the white haired ruler.

"Sure, darling," he said, patting her head paternally. She squealed gleefully and stepped towards us. She first pointed her gaze to me, leaning forward in her stance. I could see the fury in her eyes as nothing resembling pain or torture flashed across my face. Aro grabbed her shoulder and comforted her minimally.

"No, no, Jane. We know it does not work on the girl, try it on our dear boy here," he grinned wickedly, his stare focused on me. My body shook with nerves, my dead heart seething in protest.

I concentrated on Jane, on quieting the agony I knew she could cause. Once her energy turned fully to Edward my attention peaked, I forced her strength down, imagining it cowering into the back of her head until it had dissipated completely. Edward didn't flinch at all as she scrutinized him. After a few seconds she screeched in rage, her eyes igniting with despise.

Aro chuckled softly, his eyes full of merriment. He clapped slowly as Jane sulked, glaring at me momentarily.

"Good show, Bella. Incredible you most certainly are."

I didn't respond. I only scowled, waiting for the moment that I had dreaded since I'd seen the raven. But instead I felt Edward go rigid beside me and glance down with an anguished expression. He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced as the shuffling of robes got closer, and suddenly I heard some very familiar voices.

"Let GO of me you sick pervert!"

"I swear to god if you put your hands anywhere else on her, I'll—"

"Behave."

That last statement sent chills up my spine, Rose and Emmett quieted at Carlisle's demand, the four coming to a rest in front of us.

Esme, Carlisle, and Rose were each being restrained by a large guard, Emmett by two. My burly brother was still wrestling within their grasps, nearly breaking their holds.

"But why…I said I would…how come you…" it was like my words were drunk, struggling to walk in a straight line.

"We didn't choose to come, Bella," Esme whispered.

"That's correct," Aro beamed, opening his arms to the portion of my family, "they were sought." He laughed, hissing through his teeth. My limbs suddenly felt like cement, weighing one thousand pounds each and ready to crash into the ground.

"You see I have been pondering our situation for a lengthy amount of time, my friends," Aro spoke firmly as he swept between the lot of us, his eyes meeting an angry pair wherever he looked, "I wanted to make this trip worth your while." He explained, as if this made his assault less offensive. Emmett scoffed, throwing his head back.

"You see, Carlisle," he regarded the blonde doctor, gliding over to his stance at the side of the semicircle, "your coven has grown so wonderfully strong and loyal these past couple of decades that my brothers and I are beginning to wonder what exactly you 'vegetarians' have in mind for the future of our kind."

Carlisle balked, staring at the ruler with wide eyes.

"Aro, we never have any intent in threatening your position, if that is what you are suggesting," the politeness and British accent in his voice rang off of the tunnel walls, reverberating into the distance.

The pieces then began to fall into place in my head. The Volturi were threatened by our size and dedication to one another. They were threatened by our ideals and lack of visible weakness.

"I just wonder, comrade, whether your coven really is as strong as you like to claim," he smiled, his razor teeth gleaming even in the low light. He made eye contact with a guard at the edge of the tunnel and spoke softly in his direction, "Paolo, if you would be so kind."

My eyes snapped to the guard's flowing cape as it billowed around a corner, and then my pulse, dead heart or not, began to climb. The monster in my head did not fight, it merely opened it eyes, awakened to the scent. That sweet metallic heat that could send adrenaline through the veins of the living dead.

The guard returned, throwing a large burlap sack onto the floor. He untied it slowly and then spilled the contents onto the floor.

I thought becoming a vampire would have rid me of my gag reflex, but oh how wrong I was. I wretched, leaning over myself as the naked teenage boy's body hit the floor, numerous oozing lacerations on his legs and back. He moaned lowly, his arms shaking against the stone under foot.

I glanced to the rest of my family, Esme and Emmett looked to be struggling greatest, their heads turned away from the body. My brother was even shaking slightly, his jaw tense. Edward just wrapped his arm tighter around me, covering my eyes as the sobs began to rock my chest.

"Remarkable, Cullens. The newborn didn't even lunge," Aro complimented, giving me a mock-astonished look. He motioned to the guard once again, having him remove the conscious human.

"Where are Alice and Jasper, Aro?" Carlisle asked in a professional tone.

"Oh, somewhere around here I'm sure," the ruler mused, placing an arrogant smirk on his lips.

"Let me rephrase my question, why have you insisted that my entire family be brought here?"

"I thought I was clear on that, Carlisle. Your coven is simply too powerful, my brothers wished simply to destroy you completely," he laughed musically, as if he had just repeated a jolly joke, "but lucky for you, I thought it would have been better to allow you to earn your safety."

"And how exactly do we do that?" I asked, lifting my face to meet Aro's. Chills spun down the bridge of my spine as his crimson orbs delved into mine.

"How wonderful that you ask, Isabella," he purred through my name in his Latin accent, "for although the task may involve every one of your family members, the bulk of it rests upon your own shoulders."

Edward growled underneath his breath, pulling me tighter to his frame.

"It's a sort of game, you see," Aro placed his hands together, tapping his fingers elatedly, "there's a maze of tunnels with numerous rooms, make your way through safely and…" he paused, smiling to himself, "well…you win, your family goes free."

"So I go through by myself?" I asked, my voice shaking. He nodded.

"I don't see the logic in that, if we're fighting to preserve our family, shouldn't the test be completed by all of us?" Carlisle challenged, I could feel Edward glaring at Aro next to me, his stare flinging daggers.

"Would it not be exquisite if everything in the world worked as it logically should, we would be much more powerful than humans then wouldn't we? And we'd be able to prey on them as we'd please? They'd be nothing more than sheep," Aro walked slowly towards his old friend, his tone oddly condescending, "but you see Carlisle, Bella technically belongs to us—"

"She belongs to no one!" Edward snarled from beside me.

"Hold your temper, Edward, it isn't polite to shout," Aro corrected, not bothering to make eye contact, "so I see it only fair that Bella not only earn her family's freedom, but her own as well."

Author's note- Thank you for taking the time to read :). Leave a review if you would, please.