Ch. 25: Twisted

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Thanks to ladysharkey1 and Jen328 who do everything to make this story so you can read it.

When I was seventeen, I came home to an open door and a destroyed living room. I thought that was the worst day of my life. My parents were gone, small droplets of blood littered the entry way and couch.

It was obvious what happened to them and at that moment, I vowed to steer clear of vampires. I had a security system installed and did not walk anywhere after dark by myself again.

I never realized just how ridiculous all of my precautions were until I met Edward.

That moment though, the one where I walked through the door of my childhood home, paled in comparison to being carried away from Edward. Maybe it was because I couldn't recall my emotions really well due to the change or perhaps it was because I had truly bonded with my mate; I wasn't sure, but I knew that the despair I felt as I looked into his eyes was enough to make me cry for an eternity.

I couldn't move, couldn't speak, nor could I comfort him. It pained me so much not to be able to calm him because that's what I did for him throughout our relationship.

I steadied him and forced him to stop thinking and breathe.

Instead, I was forced to stand by while he tore himself down inside his own mind.

The Guards were different than I had imagined they would be. For some reason, I thought they would be ancient vampires with paper-thin skin and milky eyes. No, these vampires appeared to be young, they were beautiful and they had no conscience.

The girl stood in front of Edward like she was royalty, and I wanted to kill her. She wasn't above us; she was a lackey.

She spoke in a bored, haughty voice, informing him of his crimes and his punishment. Somehow I knew that his punishment wasn't confined to what Aro would do to him in Volterra — it had started immediately. They were showing him just how helpless he was in protecting me; that they could take me and he could do nothing but sit by and watch.

I couldn't even get a word out as the fog lifted and I was swept into the waiting arms of their star tracker. I hated touching him, and I hated the way his arms molded around me, cradling me, in a way only Edward had ever done.

When he turned away from Edward, I was forced in a different direction and our eye contact was broken.

I was lost.

I was scared.

The further we got away the more angry I became and when I could no longer smell him in the air, I knew if I hadn't been frozen, I would have been growling.

All I could feel was rage. My mind wouldn't think of anything else, and when we entered the city limits of Chicago and Jane spoke, I knew that I would kill her - or at least try to - before this was over.

"Now, we have a schedule to keep. Play nice, target." She walked in front of us, leading us down side streets. "Edward won't be able to save you anyway, but we'd like to at least get you to Volterra. Demetri will carry you through the airport; no one will question it because of our tokens." She touched the intricate 'V' symbol on the chain around her neck. "Just be glad that you will die first. I hear the pain of losing a mate is unbearable. At least you won't have to deal with that before you go."

The airport was full of humans staring. I mentally snorted and thought, "They've always stared at me." Then I realized it wasn't me they were staring at. This was probably the first time any of them had ever seen members of the Guard who actually wore their affiliation around their necks. The Volturi were very secretive and never made a show of things; to humans, that was very scary. Many probably wondered what I had done to warrant such an entourage.

The more imaginative would think I was being saved by the Guard and that I was precious because I was being taken by such an elite team. Others would think I was a murdering vampire that had finally been caught.

The amazing thing was, as we walked through the terminal, bypassing security completely, I realized that the scent of the humans around me didn't work me into a frenzy. They smelled good, like a vanilla candle would smell to a human; something that you'd like, but you didn't want to eat it.

In the complicated place that was my mind, I made a note that I should ask Carlisle about that if Edward and I were allowed to live. I also needed to ask him about my talent. He was so smart and knowledgeable that he would know how to help.

My talent.

My talent!

In the time that my newborn mind scanned through the topics to discuss with Carlisle, I knew that I had forgotten my biggest asset, the thing I could use to get me out of here - my talent.

I immediately tried to see the bonds around me, and my mind screamed out in victory when I saw the crimson bond between two small children walking in front of us.

In my head, I was berating myself for not trying that earlier and no doubt, Edward had been wondering the same thing. I had been so shocked and angry that it didn't even register at first. I couldn't see Jane or Alec since they started to walk beside us, so I decided that on the plane, I would start to practice moving bonds.

I hadn't really had much success at the cabin, and when I did remove Edward's bond it hurt him; I wondered if other vampires would feel their bonds shift as well.

That thought made me pause for a moment. The Guard didn't need to know I had a talent. If they knew, they could force me to stay with them and keep Edward away. They could punish him more by keeping me.

The panic rose again, and I lost my thoughts about bond breaking to a lifetime of being away from Edward. I couldn't let that happen.

"I was told to expect you." A flight attendant spoke quietly to Jane. She stood in front of me, and I could see the attendants eyes were fixed on the floor. "Your seats are in first class. After you've been seated, we will not disturb you for the duration of the flight unless you request anything."

"Good." Jane's voice was clipped.

"Right this way."

The attendant led us into the jet way and then to our seats on the plane. Alec let me go momentarily so that I could sit normally and then replaced the fog.

From my position, I could see humans and Jane and Alec.

It was when I saw them that I remembered the bonds. I knew that if I was going to really make that work, I couldn't get sidetracked again. My newborn nature was against me, but I tried.

When we reached cruising altitude, I was busy looking over Jane and Alec's bonds. They were true siblings, they had no mates and surprisingly, Jane didn't even have a prospect of a mate. I didn't even know if that were possible, but maybe she was too evil to feel any type of emotion for someone else. Alec had the potential for mate, but he seemed a bit more likable than Jane anyway.

They had a maker and from what I could tell by the bond, it seemed like it was the same maker. I had no way of knowing, though. They also shared a dark grey bond, similar to Kate's, which I finally decided had to be their loyalty to the Volturi.

I was tempted to try and move their bonds, but then stopped short. If they could feel the change, I couldn't risk it so soon. I needed to keep that secret until later.

So, I practiced on the humans seated around me.

I tried to break the bonds of friends sitting in front of us and after an hour of trying, I accomplished it. They didn't seem to notice and after a few minutes of moving their bonds to me and back or to the flight attendant, I set them back the right way.

In those few moments, I felt hope. I could bond people to me and if I practiced, I'm sure I could do it quicker.

For the next several hours of the flight, none of the Guard members spoke, and I examined the bonds of the humans I could see.

They had mated bonds, though not as strong as vampires, they had blood bonds, and they had different levels of loyalty to friends. The most interesting aspect, I realized, was that humans only showed the bonds that factored with the people they were with, at least when it came to friends.

The thicker the bond, the closer the friend.

It was quite interesting when I used my new and improved hearing between a couple of woman whose relationship was very one-sided. One woman had a very solid bond to the other, while her companion's bond was thin and slightly see-through.

I didn't like that I could see the way people really felt towards others.

It was depressing.

Then my mind started moving in the direction of Forks, and what I would see if I looked at some of the friendships closest to me when I returned there...

Would my friends really be friends?

What if I saw that some of them didn't like me at all? What if they didn't want to be my friend now? What if they didn't like Edward?

Again, my newborn mind caused a panic that I wasn't used to and made me scared to even return to Forks. Finally, after several minutes of convincing myself otherwise, I decided that I just wouldn't look at the bonds of my friends.

That calmed me immensely. I would have rather not known at all then deal with Alice or Rose treating me as if they liked when they didn't.

I paid attention to the women in front of me again and tried to move the dark gray. It was difficult getting my mental hands around it, but after a few minutes, I had enough of a hold to break it from her less-than-friendly friend and give it to the flight attendant who was serving drinks down the aisle.

They didn't seem to notice any type of disturbance, and I moved it back before the flight attendant left my sight.

I felt accomplished and very proud as the plane descended into Rome. I had managed to move the bonds of the woman from her friend to other passengers I could see, and perhaps the most crucial exercise, I moved their bonds to me.

For the moment I connected their friendship to me, I had their allegiance.

As Demetri carried me through the terminal, then ran through the countryside to Volterra, I comforted myself with one plan and reworked it in my mind, over and over, until I knew it would be our only shot.

My thoughts were cut off shortly after that finalization, and I took in the walled city of the rulers of our world.

I had seen pictures of Volterra, but never in my life had I ever dreamed of seeing it up close. In fact, the only humans that still lived here were descendents of those who lived in the city when the vampires took over. I always figured it was because they were threatened or maybe they were convinced that the Volturi wouldn't hurt their own citizens.

I really didn't want to find out.

As we made our way through the grand castle halls and narrow staircases, I wondered how many people had died here.

Then I wondered if Edward had been down this particular passage. Just the thought that he had made me feel safer. He would come for me and either I would save us or we would die together.

"Gianna." Alec said, smirking as he walked ahead of Demetri.

I saw the woman standing up behind a desk and then I heard her heartbeat.

I couldn't believe that a human would willingly work in this castle, for these vampires, but Gianna, as Alec called her, seemed to be happy about it. She smiled and spoke flowing Italian to them, but neither Jane nor Demetri acknowledged that she'd spoken.

I wondered briefly what would happen to her if she got a paper cut in a castle full of vampires, but then Alec pushed open the arched wooden doors at the end of the hall.

"Welcome! Welcome, Isabella." The voice was light and kind. "Release her Alec. Demetri, help her stand."

For the first time in half a day, I could actually move. I rotated my wrists and neck, sighing at the feeling of my muscles responding when I wanted them to.

"Now, Isabella." I turned to the voice and knew immediately who he was. He was Aro, the man who had condemned me and Edward to death. "You must be so unsure of what's happening to you. The newborn period for vampires is so harsh and messy. Has Edward taken care of you?"

"Yes," I answered shakily. My newborn nature made me easily distracted and confused, but it also told me that he was dangerous, even if I hadn't already known who he was. "Why am I here?" Playing dumb couldn't hurt my chances at survival.

He turned his head slightly and dark hair spilled over his shoulder, and I got lost in the different browns that made up the color. Then I noticed his eyes were a deep brown, almost black, carrying the same shades of brown as his hair.

Behind him were two other vampires. I looked at them using my talent and knew that one, the light haired vampire, was Aro's real brother while the darker haired one was just deeply loyal to them.

"Isabella?" Aro called my name and smiled indulgently. "That is Caius," the actual brother, "and that is Marcus," not real brother, "and they are my brothers and fellow rulers."

I nodded.

"Why am I here?" I asked again.

Aro laughed loudly and the others in the room, including several Guard members, laughed as well.

"I answered that already, but you were in another world."

I looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry." I got lost in a memory of Edward knowing that I was off somewhere in my mind and how he brought me back, speaking to me with love and calming me. "Edward always knew and would wait for me to come back before he answered."

Aro smirked. "Dear Bella, Edward is not here. I will not spend all day waiting for you or waste time repeating answers after this one. You are here because your mate has broken the rules of our world and kept a human for a mate for an extended period of time. He did not marry the mate we chose for him, that is simply not acceptable."

I swallowed and closed my eyes tightly before I looked back up at Aro and really took in the room around me.

Marble flooring and columns were interspaced along the sides. The ceilings were high and had what looked like frescoes from hundreds of years ago painted on them, but they were never maintained. Every vampire in this room was a member of the Guard. They all had thick, dark grey bonds and surprisingly they all ended up with Aro. Not one of them were loyal to Caius or Marcus, which made me believe that they were just around for appearances and served no real purpose.

Judging by all the bonds connecting to Aro, he was the man in charge and it wasn't the brothers that had been humiliated. It was just Aro.

"Tell me, Isabella. What is so special about you that he would give up a beautiful vampire like Tanya and bring the wrath of the Volturi upon him?"

I finally made it back to his eyes and I could tell he thought I hadn't been paying any attention again.

I smirked slightly and bit my bottom lip before saying, "I'm his mate. What you offered wasn't comparable to what he had already found. From what he has told me, Tanya is so old she doesn't even have a last name, and she's been with so many vampires and humans she can't remember all their names." I broke into a full grin as Aro's mouth dropped open. "That's an impressive feat, considering she has vampire memory and all."

I barely had time to react when I was tackled the ground by a mass of strawberry blonde hair. "How dare you speak of me this way! You're nothing but a vampire groupie who conned one into changing you!" Her voice was scratchy and high.

Her hands were around my neck; I looked into her icy blue eyes and shivered. "You're evil." I spoke before thinking, another side effect of my newborn nature. "You're like really evil."

Apparently my vocabulary was still lacking.

I used my legs to kick her off of me and she flew back several feet while I scrambled up.

"Edward never gave me a chance to show him just how good we could be." Tanya's voice was harsh.

For some reason, my sense of humor returned because I looked at her and said, "I think he could have found out all about how good you are from anyone in this room." She growled, but I kept speaking, "Trust me, Edward has never gone without, and he's always been completely satisfied. In fact, we tend to break stuff." I got sucked into a memory of our recent activities in the cabin and the destroyed banister and stairs. It was a valuable two seconds that allowed Tanya to grab me again and throw me against a column along the side of the room.

"Enough," Aro finally spoke up. "Tanya, run along. We can't have you damaging the goods before Edward arrives."

"Aro, she baited me into a fight. This is her fault." Tanya looked like she was about to stomp her foot.

"Tanya. Go." Aro flicked his hand in the direction of the door and walked over to where I was standing. "Isabella, we expect Edward to arrive in a matter of hours, please play nice until then or I will have Alec put you under. Do you want that?"

"No," I answered softly.

"Good." Aro turned away and walked to his chair, which was really more like a throne, and sighed. "Bring in our dinner."

I turned to the door as I heard footsteps approaching - a lot of them. The steps got closer and the heartbeats sped up. I looked in horror at Aro, and he smiled at me before saying, "Please enjoy, Isabella. I know the deer that Edward has been feeding you can't be satisfying that newborn thirst."

My breathing picked up and the doors flew open, followed by vampires herding in a room full of humans; at least thirty - one for every vampire in the room.

I backed against the column and closed my eyes, trying desperately to block out the sounds and smells, wishing that Alec would put me under again.

The screams were deafening to my improved hearing, and the scared humans made the room feel so much warmer from their body temperatures. I didn't breathe at all.

After what seemed like hours, the screaming slowly stopped and all that was left was a single heartbeat and whimpering.

I opened my eyes, still not breathing, and stared at the young woman in the center of the room. Bodies scattered around her and she visible shook with fear as Aro spoke, "Isabella? You are a guest here. You must eat."

I made eye contact with the woman and shook my head. "No." When speaking, I took a breath and caught the intense scent of blood.

It smelled delicious, but again, I didn't want it. I just liked the smell, it was warm and spicy and enjoyable. It didn't smell anything like the deer I had run after with such desire.

"I don't want her," I answered, looking at Aro. "She holds no appeal for me. I prefer animals."

Aro laughed loudly.

"It seems that Edward has made you as defective as he is."

Rage coursed through me, and I ran and lunged for Aro. Right before I hit him, I was crippled by a pain like I had never known. It spread throughout my body and made me want to crumple in on myself, but kept my arms and legs pulled tight with agony.

"That will be all, Jane." Aro sighed. "Alec."

I felt someone stand me up, and then the fog covered me again.

If I had been able to, I would have smiled. I could see everyone in the room. I could see all their bonds. I had never been more prepared to do what I was going to do.

"Chelsea, please take the human away, give her to Tanya." Aro dismissed her.

My mind was reeling, taking it all the bonds around me, wondering if I would ever be able to save us from this room.

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