26

Volterra One Week Later

The days following my return to Volterra were exceedingly difficult. As always, I took up residence in Edward and mine's tower, away from the whispers. Most people doubted how long I could remain at the castle without running off again, which annoyed me greatly. Prior to me leaving after the battle of Velinis, I had lived at the castle for eight hundred years. I did so relatively happily, without little complaint over the strict rules I had to abide to. After my transformation, which was against my will, I was thrust head first into the supernatural world. They made me a royal after I mated with the future king but I thought I had coped well considering my ill and far from welcoming beginning.

Back then, females were not equals in our society and not treated fairly either, which coincided with the humans approach to female's rights. The difference was far more extreme in the vampire world. The only time I was able to leave the castle was when I was accompanied with Edward, which was not very often considering he was needed in Volterra as his father groomed him as his heir, to one day step down and let Edward rule, it was his birth right after all. Most kings would die in battle but I sincerely doubted Carlisle would perish that way; instead, he would relinquish his title and enjoy the freedom that came with no longer being king. He and Esme could travel the world, set up a new home somewhere far from Volterra if they desired. I was envious but I was ready to accept Volterra as my home, although I had never felt so unwelcome.

The people whispering in darkened corners doubting me angered me, as they clearly did not mention or treat my eight hundred years in Volterra without leaving with any regard at all. I could not wait to prove them wrong.

The nights were the hardest. I was alone, isolated in a sense. Edward had mostly kept to himself the days after my return. He barely spoke to anyone in fact but I felt he was more so avoiding me. I tried to understand that he was just scared, expecting me to flee at the first sign of trouble so I remained resilient and patient, no matter how hard it was. Our rooms were opposite each other so I kept my door open most of the time, existing primarily for the few seconds a day that he would arrive back to his room after a day overseeing the training of the newborns or hours spent in council with ancients. I avoided those meetings as they were not mandatory, many of the ancients could advise Carlisle and Edward in war strategy far better than I could. The likes of Alastair or Amun were more experienced in strategic placement so I had no doubt they were aiding the royals well.

That night I was sitting perched at my desk, just in view of the door. To my great relief, I could sense and smell that Edward had finally fed. His body was now, on the inside and out, the powerhouse it was before. There were no traces of poison in his system, I breathed in deeply just to be sure of that. I was disappointed though that he did not choose to use my blood to replenish him but I understood that his trust of me was barely there. I thought of the amount of humans he would have had to drain to heal himself, two dozen at least. For once I didn't think of the humans and their suffering, I was just thankful Edward was no longer in pain, no longer living with the starvation and the effects of the lycan poison.

His footsteps were light against the hard wood flooring and the anticipation of seeing him was lighting my being. If my heart beat, it would have been racing; my body was almost shuddering with nervous anticipation.

I peeked up from the map I was detailing, I had made sure to document the wolves' location in Rome so our tracking of their movements was up to date. His back was to me, his hand sliding a heavy key into the lock of his bedroom door. It was mostly for show, I mean if a vampire wanted to enter a room, a normal door lock would do nothing to prevent entry. My eyes fixed upon his back as he stood upright, pausing. He inhaled softly, loud enough for me to hear, his head turned just enough so I could see his face. His eyes locked on with mine, is crimson eyes piercing into my own, I could not look away. I smiled tentatively at him to which he looked down and away, before entering his room, carefully shutting the heavy door behind him.

That was how our daily interactions proceeded for about a week. No words ever left us, I honestly did not know what to muster out to reassure him I was here to stay but he caught me waiting, gazing at him every evening as he retired into his chamber. It was frustrating but I kept myself as busy as I could, studying patterns in the way the lycans travelled both now and how they had two hundred years ago. They were travelling in almost identical routes as they had before which I would need to report to Alice who I knew was struggling with her visions. Wolves were good at exposing the holes in her visions and the visions she saw of them were mostly nonsense and blurry to begin with. Perhaps if I showed her their trail, she would notice something significant, something she could latch on to and use for our side. The wolves were either both extremely predictable and stupid for travelling along the same route or they were planning something well beyond any of us could decipher or determine.

One early morning, a whole week after I had returned to Volterra was the day I finally kept my promise to Bree and took her to the water. Lucky for us, Volterra sat near the Italian coast so I took her to sea, which was in eyesight of the castle and watched her as I had in Rome. She seemed at one with the water, diving, swimming and blending in like a wave.

"Still no word from Edward then?" she asked, standing upright in a shallow body of water.

I sat down, head in my hands.

"No, not a word," I groaned, stretching my legs out so they splayed out just enough for me to dip my toes in the water. It felt lovely; I could understand Bree's love for it.

She looked up at me with a sympathetic expression as she sat down beside me, wrapping a towel around her petite frame.

"He visited me yesterday," she breathed out, looking sideways so she could face me.

That caught me off guard; I whipped my head to the side in disbelief. Although I knew Edward was in no way interested in Bree, she was practically his sister through Emmett and me, I found myself somewhat jealous that she conversed with him.

"What did he say?" I enquired coolly, trying not to seem too desperate for information about Edward.

Bree started squeezing water out of her hair, little shallow pools accumulated on the damp sand beneath us. She shrugged off my interest.

"Well he apologised for my life basically. He told me he regretted about how everything played out…how he wished he could have saved mother and how he wished he, Emmett and Rosalie had not kept me from you. He said I was good for you," she replied nonchalantly, seeming more interested in drying her waist length hair, which was already beginning to curl under the heat of summer sun.

I appreciated the sentiment. Edward had definitely ventured out of his comfort zone and royal traditionalist attitude by speaking to Bree. He rarely sought out vampires, preferring them to approach him if they needed council from the prince.

"He also said I did not have to remain in the army any longer. He spoke of how dangerous it was and he didn't want to risk my life since I was family," she added on, surprising me.

Although I was against her being in the army, something she was forced into as soon as she awoke into this life, I would have never have told her to leave it in case she reacted adversely to my suggestion. I was glad Edward had been the one to suggest it, he was an authoritative figure, and his words were often a finality.

"That is sensible, perhaps now you can help me with some royal duties now, most things are boring, a little tedious but it is better than the army," I mused aloud, feeling a great deal of relief.

Worrying about Bree in battle was no longer a liability for myself if she was not going to serve in the army. It meant I could fight without having another person to worry about since battle separated us all.

Bree frowned at me, stopping her drying process.

"Isabella, I am not leaving the army. I thanked Edward for his offer but I declined it. I enjoy being a soldier. I am not a royal…not like you anyway and I want to fight. I have spent my whole life preparing to do so."

My breathing hitched. Most soldiers would grab the opportunity he graciously offered and run into the sunset, no longer bound to work in the royal army, which was rarely a choice among the newborns. Most vampires in the army were not there by volunteering. So many of them were either turned or forced into the army and seen as just another body to bulk up the army; very rarely did someone join on their own accord. Luckily, such practices were no longer used, permission to turn a human was a very lengthy process, one of which you had to persuade a royal or ancient council member but it served to protect the knowledge of our existence or save vampires from essential being slaves in the army.

"Bree…you should take this opportunity to be free, you are no longer bound to the army," I whispered, scanning her features. She was not grateful, she was not happy.

Instead she stood, dragging her towel with her.

"Isabella, I enjoy what I do. I thought you of all people would respect my choice. I like protecting my kind, I like training with Emmett…," she explained, her voice going sympathetically quiet on the last word.

The very mention of Emmett caused a great deal of inner turmoil within me. I was both furious at him for not telling me that he had turned our family…but I was also grieving over the loss of him. I was missing my older brother terribly but his lies made me sick. I wondered if I could spend the rest of my existence avoiding him and not having a relationship with him. Honestly, I did not know. He had caused a great deal of damage in my relationship with Edward…damage I hoped we could repair in time.

I was about to start pleading with her to not throw away the option, to consider all the alternatives when I noticed a familiar vampire, a few hundred metres to the side of us.

"Bree, get behind me!" I yelled standing and yanking her with me.

She was confused, obviously, but stood behind me, her back to the castle.

"Irina!," Bree spoke carefully, barely raising my voice. I clutched onto her hand, confused at her addressal.

I breathed in deeply, smelling the air for any traces of her mate, Jacob Black. As far as I could tell, he was not in the proximity but Irina reeked of him and many other wolves. The stench was sickening.

She smiled and began closing the distance between us, which surprised me.

As she advanced, I pushed Bree further back.

"Go back to the castle, gather the family in the common room, I will be along shortly," I said hastily, turning her towards the castle.

She resisted.

"Isabella, I won't leave you here alone. Plus Irina has been a good friend to me over the years" she protested, her voice firm and fiery, reminding me of myself. She had inherited the family stubbornness.

I had to make myself clear; I would not risk her safety. I was also stunned that she knew Irina, let alone regarded her as a friend. Even Irina had known my sister longer than I had. It hurt.

"I would never harm Bree; we have known each other many years, she is a close friend of mine. Isabella, I would not harm you. Whether you see yourself in this way or not, you are still my family," Irina reasoned but I was distracted, focusing solely on making Bree leave this environment.

"Do what I said," I growled backwards at Bree, leaving no room for argument.

I watched her as she reluctantly back stepped then ran like the wind towards the castle. When I was sure she was safe, I turned to face Irina who was standing a few mere feet from me.

"Isabella, I am glad to see you have returned," she greeted with her sickly sweet voice.

My jaw grew taut as I attempted to read her, hoping to find something to make her motive of being here clear but there was nothing.

"I can't say I am joyous to see you here Irina. I thought you would have run from this place and feel grateful that you escaped before your trial," I kept my voice low but even, making sure not to show any sign of weakness by letting my emotions override my senses.

Irina did not seem phased, in fact her whole outwardly appearance and body language was exuding confidence. I hated to admit it but she seemed genuinely joyous, livelier and perfectly content with her existence since her departure from the somewhat stifling walls of Volterra.

Her eyes were lively, shining a brilliant shade of vermillion red, the colour of fresh blood, her skin no longer a peaky pasty shade of greyish white. The biggest changes were her attire and hair though. No longer did she pull her hair into a tight orderly bun, it spiralled downwards over her shoulders in waves of champagne blonde adding a somewhat wild look to her overall appearance. Her clothes were much more casual, almost primal with her being dressed mostly head to toe in leather. The time with the wolves had most certainly influenced and changed her former stiff looking self.

"I am not proud of how my mating was revealed but the bond can't be fought…I would have thought anyone with a mate would realise that," she stopped short as we locked gazes.

I sighed knowing she was right but her actions still had to be accounted for, Aro still perished because of her actions whether they had been accidental and indirect or not.

"I take it you didn't come here on the off chance you might see my sister…alone as well," I confirmed, scouring the distance behind her.

She smiled and laughed half heartedly, leaning on a nearby rock.

"It was nice to have seen Bree. I met her a few centuries back whilst helping train the army. I see a lot of you in that girl; I am surprised I did not figure it out the relation sooner. You already seem so protective of her…as if she would gladly risk your life for her since she is your sister. Saying that, you must understand that most of the animosity between us arose because of the troubles between you and Tanya. I sided with my sister; I would die for her…and Kate even though she wishes death upon me. You know you would do the same if the situation was reversed with Bree," she pointed out.

I found myself nodding at her words but it did not excuse the centuries of tension between us and it certainly did not change my thoughts about how she caused her father's death.

"I can see from your perspective now but you must realise it is too late for any reconciliation between us…and your family too. One day they will hunt you so you can eventually stand trial and I stand by Edward's decision to prosecute you. Aro was a great influence in his life…mine too," I explained carefully.

Aro had been the father I longed for in this life. Carlisle of course filled some of the role but Aro was the one who took me under his wing, persuaded me to keep my mind busy after I transitioned, when I wanted nothing more than death. He had trained me into the soldier I was. In some way, he treated me better than he had Irina and Tanya who were never particularly fond of their father. I wondered if that had been a point of jealously from the sisters.

She seemed to agree no longer breaching the subject. A line had be drawn with her and the entire family; the entire species probably despised her for her indirect involvement in her father's death and the shame of mating with our natural born enemy.

"When you first arrived at Volterra after my father's murder, you saw his head was returned to the family," Irina stated, avoiding eye contact now that we were engaged in a sensitive topic.

It made me sick remembering the sight. The wolves had cut Aro's coal coloured locks as a sign of disrespect and had stuffed the remnants in his mouth, cutting and covering his face in blood too as further desecration to his corpse. His eyeballs had found their way into his mouth too. Carlisle had ordered that it would be cleaned and stored in the family crypt where the ashes or body parts of the past royal generations and monarchies lay.

"Of course…it is something I wish not to remember though," I whispered, glancing sideways at the castle.

Surely, Bree had arrived home by now, I wondered if Edward would worry about me when she explained the news of Irina's presence.

"You are right; I didn't come back here just for a glimpse of my family or friends. The wolves do not even know I am here. I came here to earn my freedom. I do not want any vampires pursuing me now or in the near future, after this war, if I survive, I want to live a life with my mate without having to run and live in hiding," she declared, pushing off the rock, standing straight, hands bunched in her pockets.

I looked on incredulously, wondering if I had heard her right. Perhaps I was wrong about her being better off with the wolves with a superior and sound state of mind. Carlisle had lost his only remaining brother, one of his closest and dear companions in life and regardless of Irina being his niece; he could not forgive such a travesty. Firstly, he could not on a personal level but if he did, he would look like a joke of a king to the vampires of the world, which would affect his image of an all-powerful ruler. Vampires could start pushing his boundaries and breaking laws if they thought Carlisle was losing his touch for punishment.

"Irina…it would be a waste of time. Go back to your mate whilst you still can. We both know the war is not far from us," I suggested, turning my back on her.

I began walking, shaking my head at her suggestion, the very thought was obscene, even irrational for an intelligent woman like Irina.

"They still have his body! The wolves still have my father's body. If I return it to Volterra, he can be put back together and reanimated, the venom will bring him back. He can live again," she called out desperately.

The words stopped me in my tracks.

50+ reviews on the last chapter blew me away. Thank you all for the motivation to keep writing. I will not abandon this, as I said before, every sentence beats the dreaded writing wall/writer's block.