Title: Isabella Volturi

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Project Team Beta

Translators: LaMomo (Italian) myworldisblue (Portuguese)

Genre: Supernatural/Drama

Rating: NC-17

Summary: After being left by Edward, I couldn't stand the thought of him controlling me even in his absence. I admit it was an act of defiance, but it was a decision that brought me more happiness than I'd ever thought I'd experience. New Moon AU/Canon

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 25

I saw Volterra in the distance and I felt a jolt of excitement go through me. I had been away from my family for too long. Fifteen years, to be exact, as Edward and I traveled the world.

I'd been in contact with Aro, but the letters had been few and far between.

The sun was at its peak when we drove through the city gates, but I spoke to the human clerk in Italian about the underground garage, and when I provided him with the sight of my crest necklace, he granted us passage.

As we drove slowly toward the garage entrance, we saw humans walking around in light clothes, enjoying the warm weather. Their sweat enhanced their scents, but I wasn't worried about Edward anymore. Sixteen years had given him his old control back. Besides, it was strictly forbidden to feed on those that resided inside of these walls, which he knew.

I wanted to make an entrance.

Aro and his brothers had no idea I was coming home today, so it was a surprise.

I confidently entered the elevator with Edward holding my hand, but I had noticed that as my excitement grew, he got more subdued. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was because my behavior changed as soon as we closed in on my home.

I transformed back into the princess of Volturi, a side of my personality that Edward hadn't seen for over a decade, and it made him feel uncertain.

I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable here, though, because I was still hoping he might change his mind on living in the castle.

Therefore, I stood up on my toes and kissed his cheek. "Please don't be uncomfortable," I asked him softly. "You are nothing but welcomed here."

When the elevator doors opened, I immediately saw the changes that had been made in the reception area. I could smell that we'd gotten a new receptionist, which was to be expected.

The woman behind the desk was in her early twenties. She had blue-green eyes and long ash-brown hair that reached down to her waist. By human standards, she was very beautiful, and I could read from her body language that she was aware of this. I didn't know why, but I took an instant dislike to the woman.

She didn't even look up when we walked out of the elevator. She just continued writing on a touchscreen, and when I focused on it, it appeared to be a schedule.

I was about to just walk past her when she spoke. "You can't go into that area. It's strictly forbidden for outsiders."

My eyes snapped at her, but she didn't look up.

I narrowed my eyes at her but tried to stay calm. She obviously didn't know who I was since she hadn't met me before, but she was still treading a dangerous path. Even if I hadn't been a member of my coven, she should still show respect to all vampires. That was a demand we put on all of our receptionists.

"I'm not an outsider," I growled through clenched teeth.

Edward sensed my anger and placed his hands on my shoulders to calm me down or restrain me; maybe both. For once, his touch didn't help.

I detested the human, and we hadn't been in the same room for two minutes yet. She had an air of arrogance around her.

The woman finally looked up with undeserved superiority shining in her eyes. She gave me an uncomplimentary smile as if she knew something I didn't, and as if she thought I was stupid. "Do you have an appointment?"

I really had to keep myself from smashing the woman's head on her desk. What the hell was up with this her?

Venom pooled in my mouth, and my vision tinted red at the edges. I automatically brought my hand up to my throat when my thirst scorched me, and I realized that my family crest was hidden beneath my shirt.

That would explain why this inane little human didn't know who she was talking to.

"I don't need an appointment." I fished out the necklace from my shirt and watched with satisfaction as the woman's eyes widened and her pulse accelerated with fear. She knew that she had acted poorly toward the wrong person. "What is your name?"

The woman just gaped at me.

"I asked you a question!" She was really trying my patience.

"A-Adriana," she answered in a small voice, and I decided to put her even more in her place.

"Next time an unknown vampire walks through this area, you better make sure they're not your Mistress, you stupid little girl," I threatened in a low voice before turning away from the human and continuing down the hallway that led to the throne room.

Edward was right behind me, and I needed him to prevent me from turning back and kill the woman who was trying to calm down her heartbeat by taking deep breaths, so I took his hand in mine.

I could hear my family moving around, and I hurried my steps. I was so excited, and I promptly forced the annoying human to the back of my mind.

I pushed the double doors open and breathed a sigh of relief when I set my eyes on my father and uncles.

They turned around at the sound of my entrance and took me in with varying degrees surprised happiness.

"Isabella," Aro sighed before a smile spread.

I let go of my rules and ran up to hug him. After becoming his daughter, he had gotten used to this behavior from me, so he wasn't surprised when I threw my arms around his neck. I heard him laugh with delight, which shocked me as I'd never heard my father act so carefree. He had always felt the need to put up a front for the guard.

When I released him from my hold, I understood why he was so unrestricted. The guard wasn't present. Not even Renata and that caused me to frown. Renata was always close to my father, so what had changed? Had I interrupted a meeting? If I had, my family didn't seem to care about that.

Aro cupped my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. "My daughter. You're home."

"I am, Father," I said and placed my hands over his.

A hand on my shoulder alerted me that my uncles had stepped forward to welcome me home as well. I turned my head and saw that the hand belonged to Marcus. Aro released me as I stepped up to him, and he immediately took my hand in both of his and squeezed. "Welcome home, Isabella."

I was overjoyed to see that he looked more alive than I could ever remember seeing him. There was a light in his eyes that made him look his physical age of nineteen.

"Thank you, Marcus," I said with thick emotion coloring my voice.

"Isabella," Caius greeted behind me and I turned to him. He simply nodded at me, and I nodded back at him.

"Caius," I said back, and that was all there was to it between us.

During my exchange with my uncles, Aro had walked up to Edward and engaged in a conversation with him, his hand tightly clasped in Aro's. "I am pleased to see that you honored your promise to me," Aro said appreciatively.

"I wouldn't even dream of breaking that particular promise. Isabella means the world to me," Edward replied honestly.

"Yes, I can see that." Aro smiled and then turned to me with his hand reaching out to me.

I gave him my hand without hesitating, and Aro gingerly placed it in Edward's. "I am aware that you don't need it, but you officially have my blessing. Whenever you feel ready to tie your souls together in front of God, I would be honored to perform the ceremony."

My eyes widened in surprise. He was actually saying that when Edward and I wanted to become husband and wife, he wanted to be the mediator between us and God.

For such a devout Catholic as himself that was a great deal.

I didn't know how to respond, but fortunately, Edward did for the both of us by sincerely thanking my father.

Aro accepted graciously with a nod before taking place on his throne. "With that matter taken care of; Isabella, I want to hear everything about your travels."

We sat in the throne room for hours. Edward and I told the brothers about everything we experienced, but what interested them the most were our descriptions of the landscapes in the countries we'd visited. They wanted to know how much everything had changed around the world. Since they rarely left Volterra, they barely had any idea how the outside world looked.

Eventually, we were interrupted by Renata and Jane. Renata showed true happiness when she saw me, and Jane actually gave me a small smile when she greeted me with a curtsy.

I smiled back at her and told her gently to rise. I asked her about Alec, and she huffed out how he was somewhere around the castle with Sadie.

I wanted to visit Mother, and Jane forewarned me that she and Athenodora were eating. I thanked her before taking Edward's hand and steering us toward their tower.

I had barely opened the door at the bottom of the stairs when I heard my mother's voice. "Isabella? Is that you?"

"It is, Mother. I'm home," I responded before walking into her view.

She immediately stood up and opened her arms for me. I gratefully entered her embrace and inhaled her comforting scent. My mother had a unique scent that had always had the ability to calm me down after a particularly stressing mission or task. I barely registered Athenodora's and Corin's presence in the room.

"Oh, Isabella! I've missed you so much, mia figlia amata!"

"Anche mi sei mancata, madre." I missed you too, mother.

Mother turned to Edward. "And Edward, it's nice to see you again."

"The feeling is mutual," Edward replied from behind me. His grip on my hand had loosened when Corin's gift affected him, and he instantly relaxed.

We stayed in the tower for almost as long as we had stayed in the throne room. Edward and I told our story again, but it felt different sharing it with my mother. She had other questions, like how we felt when we saw something new. She wanted to know about my experiences more than about the places we'd visited.

I told her about Father's blessing of Edward's and my relationship and how he would want to be the one to join our souls in front of God when that time came. It made her smile.

"Well, my husband is a very good judge of character, so I trust that you will take care of my Isabella, Edward."

"I will protect her with my life."

Mother nodded. "That's good enough for me. You have my blessing, as well."

I smiled widely at Edward, and he dropped my hand to wound his arm around my shoulders instead. He squeezed me to his side and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

Corin's gift had nothing to do with my contentment in that moment.

*~IV~*

I hesitantly entered the combat chamber where I'd been told Demetri and Felix were supposed to be.

They were entirely focused on each other as they circled around the room, but I knew that they'd heard me.

I was alone for once. Edward had stayed in my room after I told him that I needed to talk to Felix and Demetri by myself.

He had protested but understood that it was something I needed to do alone once I'd explained it to him.

I quietly sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, just watching the two men as they went at each other. I didn't interrupt as I wanted this conversation to start out right. I wanted them to see me as Isabella, their friend, and sister; not Isabella, their mistress.

The men finished up their match and finally turned their attention to me. "Mistress," they mumbled simultaneously with their gazes directed toward the floor.

I shook my head. "Not right now. I want to talk to you, but not as your mistress."

They exchanged a hesitant look.

"Please?"

Demetri sighed and his shoulders slumped, but he sat down opposite of me on the floor anyway. Felix was more hesitant, but he did the same after a few seconds.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

They nodded simultaneously. It had never been more apparent how long they had actually been friends and worked together. They were so in synch it was almost comedic.

I organized my thoughts for a second before saying anything. "I want to make it clear that while we have this conversation, we're only Felix, Demetri, and Isabella, okay?"

Once again, they nodded.

"I was hoping to talk about what happened between us after Aro adopted me." I swallowed thickly.

"What is there to talk about?" Felix asked with a frown.

"I don't like it," I said honestly. "I hated it as soon as I noticed that you treated me differently from how you used to."

"You treated us differently as well," Demetri pointed out but kept his eyes on the floor.

"Only when necessary. It's expected of me to act as your mistress in certain situations. You must understand that. I just—" My voice dropped to a whisper. "I miss my brothers." My eyes filled with venom. It had been a long time since I made myself so vulnerable in front of other vampires.

I turned to Felix and focused on him. "I miss how easy our relationship used to be. When I first came here, you immediately took me under your wing. You taught me everything there was to know about vampires. You made me feel at home. Without you, I would have been lost."

My throat constricted with the emotion I felt, and I turned to Demetri.

"And Demetri, you were always my protector." He finally looked at me. "Whenever I did something inappropriate or wrong while I was learning, you never hesitated to step forward and defend me. I'm sure you saved my life quite a few times that first year. Without you, I would've been turned into a pile of ashes a long time ago."

I reached into my pocket and when I opened my fist, two silver rings rested in my palm. They were adorned with a large dark-red ruby in the center and intricate patterns on the shoulders.

"While Edward and I were in Ireland, I had those custom made for you. The patterns on the shoulders are Celtic trinity knots, and they're supposed to represent us. The ruby is the same as the stones on our crests and our names are engraved on the band."

I gave them a ring each and then held up my right hand where a more delicate version of the same ring sat on my index finger. "They're my way of apologizing and asking you to take me back as your friend and sister." I didn't dare to look at their faces, for fear of what I would see there.

What I didn't expect was to be enveloped by huge arms.

My head snapped up in shock that I was being hugged by Demetri. I couldn't remember a single time where he had hugged me before, but it didn't take long for me to respond and hug him back.

When he released me, Felix pulled me to his chest and spun me around in a circle. "I've missed you too, adhelfi," he mumbled into my hair.

When he called me 'sister' in Greek, I knew that we would be fine.

"We owe you an apology as well, Isabella," Demetri said from behind me. I was still pressed against Felix's chest, though, so I couldn't see him. "We should have talked to you instead of allowing our uncertainty dictate our feelings. We didn't know how to respond to your new authority, and so the easiest way seemed to distance ourselves," he explained. "We never realized how much our behavior was affecting you. We promise to never act so poorly toward you again."

Felix finally released me. "And if we do, promise to kick our asses to the moon."

I laughed with relief. "Only if you promise me the same."

Demetri and Felix held out their hands and waited for me to place mine over theirs.

"It's a deal," Felix said and smiled.

The three of us left the combat chamber together and headed to the throne room.