Hey guys! I got excited and decided to update early.
I just need to clear some things up about last chapter.
First thing, Bella's POV was set in the future, when she wakes up. Afterwards, it changed back to 3rd Person Omniscient POV which was set back in the past (before Bella wakes up).
Second thing, when Rosalie was trying to persuade Caius into spending time with John, I said that John was looking up at a stain glassed ceiling. They were underneath a gazebo in the garden.
So, thank you to all my readers! I am ecstatic to read your reviews, I really am. It means the world to me of what you think. So please, don't be afraid. Like I had mentioned in the Summary, these characters are a bit OOC. And you'll see a bit of OOC in here.
*This chapter includes some family/friendship fun.
Please review, thank you!
-Chapter 21-
Bella's POV
I heard footsteps coming. They were light and I know I shouldn't have been able to hear them. But then I realized, I'm a vampire. I can't really help it.
Whoever it was, they were right outside my door now and they were being hesitant. But that's not the only thing I've noticed. Their scent was the thing that made me feel like I walked into a different atmosphere. It was overwhelming, but it was controllable. The scent was mangled and it was unidentifiable; something I have never smelt before in my human life.
Just then, the door swung open. I guess whoever it was (or whoever they were), were expecting to see me laying on the bed naked, like the way they left me, because there was some intense murmuring in the room. I could only make out like a few words, because they were the only ones spoken in the heap of Italian dialect that filled my ears. I heard my name, 'She's gone' and 'This is trouble'.
I decided to peer around the corner, so whoever was in the other room could only see my head and the heap of hair that fell beside my face.
"Hello." I murmured, hoping it was loud enough for them to hear. Well, no duh Bella, of course they can hear it.
I observed the figures distinctly.
There were three people in the room I was looking into. Two of them wore dark purple cloaks made of velvet with gold trimmings. It was gathered on their chest with a crest. The shorter one, I presumed was a female, wore a silver crest and the taller one, with more of a male build, wore a golden crest. Then there was the other short one, about the same height as the other female except she wasn't covered in a cloak.
She had short hair, it was matted down and barely touched her shoulders. It was a dark brown. She was slim and short. She wore a white blouse with a fashionable vest over top. She wore grey skinny jeans with black flats. This must have been the girl that stocked my closet...
ALICE!
"Alice!" I blurted, and slapped my hand over my mouth. The three figures whirled around, two had red eyes and Alice had gold. They were looking at me with a shocked expression. It was then when I recognized the two cloaked figures.
Jane and Caius.
Instantly I felt a pull towards Caius. Mind you that, I didn't forget the bond we shared when I was in human form. This pull was stronger though, and I felt it right in the center of my chest, like a magnet telling me to push myself further out. But I stayed where I was, sort of terrified by all of them.
Do they accept me like this? Do I look okay? What if they don't approve?
"Oh my god, Bella, is that you?" Alice inquired, her lips slightly parted and her big golden eyes were wide.
I smiled weakly and nodded from the threshold of the room.
"Yes, it's me. I woke up five minutes ago...naked." I confessed, and I was sure that if I still had blood circulating, I would have been a deep red by now.
She took a step forward and gave me an apologetic smile.
"Yeah, sorry about that." She said, and then opened her arms for me to hug her. And I didn't hesitate. I lunged, tackling her to the ground.
"Woah, calm down guys. I still didn't get to say my greetings yet!" Jane frowned, slightly pouting.
I looked up at her, my lips curling up into a smile as I tackled her to the ground. Alice giggled once she composed herself.
Once I let Jane stand up, I let them talk.
"You look stunning, Bella." Alice breathed. "And obviously your sense of fashion has totally changed."
I rolled my eyes. "I kind of had no choice. The closet didn't have any of my clothes."
"Consider that a favor." She smirked.
I looked at her incredulously before shaking my head and moving on. Clothes didn't really matter to me anyway.
"Yes, I second that. You're absolutely gorgeous! Not that you weren't before. Even for a human, you were way too pretty to be considered one." Jane interjected.
Alice chuckled and added, "Yeah, basically all the guys at Forks High were after her. There was this one guy, Mike Newton-"
"Ew, don't even bring him up! Please, I was hoping to forget him!" I laughed, covering my face with my hands.
"Anyway, I'm going to check up on everyone else and see how they're holding up." Alice announced, giving Jane a meaningful look.
"I'll come!" Jane said, trailing off behind Alice and out the door. "We'll see you later."
Then I was left alone in the room, with Caius.
3rd Person Omniscient POV
Alice skipped down the hallway, the entire time her and Jane were fighting the huge urge to squeal. Miraculously, they didn't but they couldn't help but let out a few giggles hear and there; which echoed through the entire hall.
"Wait, where are is Rosalie and John anyway?" Alice queried, stopping in her tracks.
"In the dungeon." Jane replied, nonchalantly, which made Alice gasp in horror.
"No, no! Not that kind of dungeon! Dungeon is actually a french word, pronounced as dahn-jown, except you do not pronounce the 'n's. It originally meant to be a word used to describe the heart of the castle where, in medieval times, the kings would hide and be held if the castle was being attacked. In this case, we use it to protect the wives when everyone else is going to war or for battles." She explained.
"Oh. It needs a new name." Alice noted, pursing her lips together.
Jane smiled at her comically. "I know."
They made their way to the dungeon, where Rosalie and John were being kept. Rosalie was sitting on the floor with the baby and John was throwing a scarf across his blanket.
"How's Bella?" Rosalie inquired.
"She's beautiful." Alice beamed, joining the two of them on the floor.
"Probably not, but is she, you know, under control?" Rosalie asked, a slight look of worry in her eyes as she looked down protectively at John.
"She seemed fine, actually. She didn't look like anything bothered her. Caius is with her, so she should be fine." Alice reassured her, fixing John's twisted shirt.
"So, what's happening?" Rosalie questioned.
Alice and Jane knew what she meant by that question, without having to ask her to specify.
"Everyone's on guard, protecting every wing and room in the castle. This room is probably the most protected." Jane informed her, fixing the silver pendant on her cloak.
"Jasper should be on his way to Bella and Caius's room any second now. We're so lucky to have him." Alice sighed a sigh of relief.
It's true. If Jasper couldn't manipulate emotions, the Volturi would have to pull all the extra guards from their wings and have them keep an eye on Isabella. Having a rogue vampire loose in the castle - the home of the most powerful vampires to ever exist - would be the worst outcome of their whole creation. Destroy the home of the vampires, you are destroying them with it.
Plus, Jasper having the ability to make them feel under control, calm and focused is amazing. It's a miracle that the Volturi and Cullen clan are allies and not in some sort of war. Or else they wouldn't be able to have Jasper.
Jasper is completely fine being 'used'. It's not like they won't need him in the future either. He's was part of the Great War and his knowledge, fighting skills and special power just makes him the ultimate fighter. You'd be a fool if you chose not to ask Jasper to help control a newborn. You'd also be a fool if you asked to wrestle him.
Emmett learned that the hard way.
"Where's Carlisle?" Rosalie asked.
Alice shrugged. "Probably accompanying the kings or something."
"And Esme?"
"She's, for sure, with the wives."
"Emmett?"
"Right here!" Emmett sung, walking into the room.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Are you going to stay here and help me watch the baby?"
Emmett pursed his lips, cocking his head to the side teasingly.
"Well, yeah. If you guys are going to keep me away from my baby sister, I guess I have nothing better to do." He rolled his eyes, mimicking Rosalie.
Jane frowned for a moment.
"Do you know who you would be great companions with?" She inquired, giving him a devious smile.
"Who?" Emmett questioned, baffled.
"Felix." Jane suggested.
Rosalie and Alice laughed in unison, both with the same idea in their minds.
"I bet you can't beat him in a fight!" Alice giggled, and Jane found the humor and started to laugh along with them.
Emmett looked completely offended. "I can so! I can probably whoop his-"
"Language!" Rosalie warned. "We have a child here!"
"I can probably beat him." Emmett said, confidently.
The girls rolled their eyes, clearly not persuaded by Emmett's triumphant air. Jane raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip.
"You're overconfident. Challenging a member of the guard is pretty risky, and I'm certain the kings would die for some good entertainment." Jane smirked, teasing the poor Emmett Cullen.
Emmett looked determined now and started to scowl at Jane, which only made her laugh even harder. Even John started to join in the fun and started to giggle! Emmett cracked his knuckles and shook them out.
"I am offended." Emmett stated, his tone flat and sincere. Emmett never backed down from a challenge, especially one where people were sure he was going to lose. It didn't matter, he was determined to prove them all wrong. And since it was against a Volturi guard (one of a high status - Elite Guard) he actually wanted to go up against him. Despite the risks.
"You're not seriously telling me that you're thinking about challenging Felix, are you, Emmy?" Rosalie questioned, worried about her husband.
"Don't worry, Rose, I got this." He smiled, a glint of intensity visible in his features.
Jane shrugged, a small laugh escaping her. "Well, as long as if you 'got this'. I'll go alert Felix that you wish to battle him. But we will have to wait until Isabella is out hunting with Caius, only then is it safe to battle."
Emmett's posture slumped. "Are you kidding me?"
Jane raised an eyebrow, her posture stiffening and she put an mask of disbelief on her face.
"Is that a forfeit I hear?" She inquired, a smug smile plastered on her lips.
Emmett's eyes widened. "No!"
Jane's quickly smiled. "Well then, wait here. I'll be back."
Jane left the room, leaving Rosalie, Alice, John and Emmett there.
Emmett scratched to back of his head nonchalantly, shaking his head at the same time. He gave Alice a glare.
"You turned her into an Alice!" He pointed at Alice.
Alice mockingly dropped her jaw and put a loose hand to her chest.
"I am wounded that you would accuse me of such a thing. I must inform you that I found her just. Like. That." Alice grinned.
"And I thought the Volturi were serious vampires." Emmett mumbled to himself, much to his dismay, he didn't realize who came into the room at that exact moment.
The voice startled everyone in the room, but mostly Emmett.
"We are serious. We only let Jane act like this because she can torture us." Felix muttered, his red eyes piercing into that of Emmett's.
Jane peeked from behind Felix, who stood perfectly still. She shot Emmett a scary, terrifying grin, one that said, 'You should be afraid.'
"By the way," Felix informed them all, before exiting. He then averted his eyes to Emmett.
"You should have forfeit." He winked, then left.
Bella's POV
"I've missed you, cara mia." Caius confessed, in a low voice.
I couldn't help but smile. "Did you really?" I asked.
"Of course, it's been too long since I last saw you...since I last touched you..." He whispered, coming towards me and taking me into his arms. I curled my tiny arms around his waist and the magnetic pull in my chest ceased as I touched him. It felt nice, to be in his embrace and breathe in his scent. It was intoxicating to me. Everything about him was.
"You didn't find a new toy in my absence?" I queried, pouting up at him. He frowned at me, with an incredulous expression in his eyes. Clearly he was taken aback.
"Of course not!" He blurted, looking quite frightened. I decided to tease him, have my little fun while it lasts.
I pulled away from him, and he looked hurt and surprised. He frowned as I crossed my arms and looked at him disapprovingly.
"I think you're lying." I replied, nonchalantly. I tried my best to look as pissed off as I could at that moment. But it was seriously hard to do, especially because I wanted to burst out laughing really hard at his expression. Hey, I guess it really is easy to fool a king!
"Isabella, I-I...I would never..." He trailed off, completely baffled and fearful as I continued my facade. But I couldn't take it anymore I cracked in a smile as I lunged towards him and kissed him feverishly. He was taken aback, and shuffled backwards before I caught his balance and continued to kiss him.
Soon enough, I pulled away, to look at his face.
"Isabella-"
"You are way too gullible." I cooed at him, planting a soft kiss on his lips. His arms coiled around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
"You really are beautiful." He commented, ignoring my insult.
A long silence filled the room.
"I feel like I was blind my entire life." I stated, my voice in complete awe.
He chuckled. "How is your thirst?"
And I froze, my whole body going rigid as the sudden achy, dry fire startled to crackle it's way up to my throat. It felt like it was going to crack for dehydration, shrivel up and crumble to ash. Immediately, I knew that I might go into a frenzy so I took a step back and swallowed harshly. It didn't help.
"Horrifyingly painful." I admitted, my right hand touching the hallow at the base of my throat.
He nodded. "Okay, we'll get Heidi to help with that."
I licked my lips. "I'm going...I'm going have to take part in your ways, right?"
It took a moment for him to realize what I meant by that, but even then, he narrowed his eyes at me in uncertainty.
"You don't want to?" He asked, slightly concerned.
I shook my head. "Either way, I'm still going to be killing."
"You don't know how true that statement is." He remarked, leading me out of the room.
I followed him, my hand in his. As I took a step out of the bedroom, I was hit with deranged, distinct scents from every direction. It was then when I realized the honey-like scent to be right outside the room, and I was right.
Standing right outside of our bedroom, was Jasper Cullen.
"Jasper!" I gasped, taking his appearance in for the first time.
His battle scars were even more interesting with my new eyes. They were actually all over his body; half-crescent, silver-like bite marks were all over his neck, the visible parts of his arms and even his face. His scars told me enough about his past, and I didn't dare to question.
"How're you feelin', Bella?" He greeted me, welcoming me with a hug. I hugged him back.
"Just fine. I'm guessing you're supposed to, uh, help me with my control, right?" I guessed. It was the only logical explanation. Everyone else was nowhere in my sight.
"Yes, ma'am." He winked.
"Okay then." I nodded, and kept following Caius all the way back to, what I recognized to be, the throne room.
There in the throne room, were plentiful of guards that guarded all entrances and exits to the room. Two of the three kings filled the thrones and their eyes snapped to mine as soon as I had stepped into the room.
"Ah, Isabella! You've awakened." Aro declared with delight. "Immortality becomes you."
I didn't mean for my thanks to sound rude, but I was never too good with compliments.
"Thanks." Yeup, that totally sounded sarcastic.
Marcus and Aro just examined me for a while, and I felt slightly uncomfortable. They had this...this expectancy in their eyes. It was like they were waiting for me to do something but I didn't know what.
"She has remarkable control." Caius remarked, squeezing my hand.
"I second that." Jasper said, his tone utterly serious and sincere.
"She needs to be fed." Caius told them.
"Heidi will be back soon, be patient, is all." Aro replied, and I nodded, pursing my lips and trying to ignore the burning fury that you call my throat.
I looked around the room, seeing details that I haven't really seen before. Everything was just so visible that it made me want to pity all the humans that will never be able to appreciate the true, fine beauty of everything else in the world.
"Where's my baby?" I inquired, and then when I didn't get an answer, I genuinely grew concerned. "Where is he?"
"Don't worry, he's somewhere safe." Caius reassured her.
"Can I go see him?" I queried. I wondered what my baby looked like right now and how was he doing.
"He's part human, Isabella, it wouldn't be safe for you to be near him unfed." Caius reasoned, frowning upwards slightly.
I nodded once. It did make sense. I didn't want to cause my baby any involuntary harm because I didn't take care of myself properly.
"But after, can I?" I asked.
He nodded. "Of course. They can't keep him from us forever."
Us. He considered my child to be his too. This...this just keeps getting better. I just want to melt in a puddle of happiness and enjoy every second of everything.
Everything's perfect. Right now, even before I had the chance to feed, see my child and greet the others, I just know that the rest of forever...
...will be perfect.
Please review, I didn't get much feedback last chapter and I hope you guys are enjoying this...