A/N As promised, here's the next installment. And as always, I thank you humbly for your reviews. Enjoy...
Chapter 29
BPOV
I looked around at my family, all of whom were gathered in the living room, with the exception of Jake and Seth, who were still out.
"What's the big deal? What's going on?" I asked the room at large. If they were friends of Carlisle's than why did everyone look so grave? Edward just shook his head, still glaring at Carlisle. I had never seen him be anything less than loving and respectful to our patriarch, and it made me feel uncomfortable. Alice was the first to answer me.
"Bella, remember how we talked about the Volturi?" She asked. If I was honest I'd have to say yes, but that hardly explained everything. They mentioned the name to me in passing, but always evaded my questions about them. All I really knew is that they were something like vampire royalty and they lived in Italy. OH! As the light bulb went on in my mind I had the sudden urge to smack myself in the forehead.
"So that's who's coming?" Alice nodded. "Do you not like them? I don't understand." I admitted. Alice sighed and looked around for some help.
"It's not that we don't like them…" Carlisle started only to be interrupted by a snort from Edward and Emmett. He threw them both a look and they huffed but remained silent. "Like I was saying, it's not that we don't like them, but sometimes they can be a little shortsighted when they want something."
"Are they dangerous?" I remembered Alice saying that they had a guard, but I thought she meant a few bodyguards. That didn't seem so bad to me. Royalty needed protection after all.
"Yes." Carlisle stated, surprisingly not mincing words. "However, they are reasonable and we have done nothing for which we should fear punishment. Never the less, I am concerned about how they'll take to Jacob and Seth. It may be best if they leave for a while."
"It won't do any good, Carlisle, they will still smell them." Jasper stated.
"That can be explained away."
"It could if we were still in Forks near their territory, but not when we're across the country." Edward warned still perturbed. Carlisle sighed.
"What would you have me do Edward?"
"Uninvite them."
"You know, as well as I, that it cannot be done. Besides delaying the visit would only put off the inevitable and create more suspicion in their minds about us."
Jasper squeezed Edward's shoulder affectionately and spoke softly:
"He's right. It's better to meet them head on. At least we're on our own turf this time." Edward nodded but still seemed unconvinced. I was looking at all the serious faces around me and it only heightened my unease.
"You make it sound like we're going to war!" I exclaimed, nearly brimming with anxiety. Alice wrapped an arm around my waist, but even that provided little comfort. I was picking up vibes from my family that made my vampire instincts of self-preservation kick into overdrive. I was on high alert, like we were facing an immediate threat.
Carlisle's voice was calm and soothing when he spoke, and it helped settle my nerves a little. "There's not going to be any war, Bella. This reaction…" He motioned to the others in the room, "is merely the result of some stressful past encounters, but none of those ended in conflict and I have no expectation that this one will either." My gaze moved to Edward who seemed unmoved by Carlisle's conviction. He, more than anyone else, looked like he expected a violent injury to occur to his person momentarily.
Later that night, I was lying tangled with Alice in our bed. Even after several bouts of love-making, I couldn't get Edward's anger and fear out of my mind. Carlisle had said they didn't have a conflict, but something must have happened to cause that reaction. I finally resolved to ask Alice about it.
She had her head on my chest, disheveled hair softly tickling my neck. Her eyes were closed, and if I didn't know better I might have thought she was asleep. I ran my fingers through her silky locks and she turned to face me, resting her chin right between my bare breasts and smiling up at me with half lidded eyes.
"Why is everyone so worried about the Volturi coming?" I meant to be smoother in my asking, but in typical Bella fashion the words blurted from my mouth bluntly. The smile left Alice's face, but she kept her eyes on mine. When she finally spoke, it was in a soft voice.
"We're just tired of them. They used to try and get us to change our diet, but thankfully they gave that up after a while. Then they started to become more and more interested in our powers, mine and Edward's in particular." She sighed and moved to sit up in the bed. I quickly followed, leaning against the headboard. "Here's the thing Bella, Aro, and his brothers, but mostly Aro is obsessed with creating the strongest army possible. They use it to make sure vampires don't expose the race to humans, but they have also used it as a way to ensure their rule continues."
"Huh?"
"Most vampires aren't stupid enough to try and overthrow them, but there have been some over the years strong enough to threaten their reign. Normally, they don't like groups like us to be very large, but they let ours slide because of their friendship with Carlisle and our passive lifestyles."
I nodded my understanding and she continued.
"That brings me back to why they visit us. They usually come on the pretense that they want to visit Carlisle, but it's never really about that. They want us to join their army. Even those of us without powers could be useful to them somehow and it would be an added bonus not to have to worry about our large numbers. We refuse them every time, but they don't take rejection well."
I studied her face, trying to understand what she wasn't saying with her words.
"Carlisle said there was no conflict." I said. She shook her head and chuckled humorlessly.
"There's no conflict because we're not dumb enough to attack them and give them a reason to kill us. That doesn't mean they don't use some persuasive measures on us. Edward is unfortunately a favorite target for their little gem, Jane." Alice spat out the name like it was dirt in her mouth.
"Jane?" I asked, urging her to explain.
"She's something like Aro's pet, one of his favorites. Her power is a type of mind control. She can cause you to feel like you're in excruciating pain, worse than our change, from what I've heard." She grimaced. "She has a strange hatred for Edward, but I'm not sure what it stems from. She enjoys his torture more than anyone else's." I gasped.
"She enjoys torturing people?" I asked in disbelief. Alice scowled, distorting her beautiful features so that she looked almost feral.
"She's sick Bella, seriously twisted. I would give anything to have never met her, and I've never even fallen under her power."
Alice's response intensified my fear, and it must have shown on my face because she cuddled into me. I wrapped myself up with her, seeking a comfort that seemed out of reach.
APOV
Bella had been practically twitching with nervous energy all day, but I could hardly tell her not to be worried. She should be. Carlisle said that we should expect them to arrive late this evening or early tomorrow morning. Despite their impending arrival, he insisted that we attend school today. It wasn't just Bella either, everyone was acting strangely.
Emmett's usual jokes and laughter were replaced with a deep scowl and cracking his knuckles. Jasper was hovering protectively around Edward who seemed completely out of it. The only one with some semblance of normality was Rosalie, but even her usual frown was more pronounced and she shot anxious glances towards Emmett.
Carlisle had explained the situation to Jake and Seth when they got back last night. Seth was worried and a little fearful, but Jacob just seemed angry. It took a while for Carlisle to get him to promise not to attack them upon arrival. Rosalie had thought that if we put them on a leash and subordinated them, the Volturi was less likely to make a fuss, but both Carlisle and Esme refused. Surprisingly, Jacob and Seth had no comment. They had sat at our lunch table today, but spoke only to each other quietly.
Right now, Bella and I were heading for our therapy session with Julia in my Porsche. Everyone else was going hunting after school to make sure our strength was up in case we needed it. We've been lucky so far in escaping any real injury, but the more times we abused their egos and refused to join them, the less inclined they were to be forgiving and civil.
"What should I tell her about my meeting? I barely remember anything that happened." Bella's question broke the silence in the car and I turned to her.
"Just make something up. I doubt she has a transcript of the minutes." I had brought a sketch of Bella and I that I made during art club. I suppose I thought I needed proof, but I doubt she would require anything beyond our word that we went. Julia was trusting that way.
We arrived a moment later and walked into the building. We took the elevator to the seventh floor which opened to a large lobby. Julia was one of five therapists in this office, so there were usually other people in the waiting room. I smiled at the receptionist and she marked down our arrival.
Bella tugged my arm and led us to the two chairs furthest from a small boy and his mother who were sitting in the play area. They were here every week. The boy saw Dr. Douglas, the only child psychologist in the office. He had come out to greet them once while we were here and seemed friendly. He looked to be in his fifties with a scruffy beard and watery eyes, but he always had a smile on his face. The day he had come out of his office, he'd winked at me in a friendly gesture and Bella growled at him. Ever since then, she'd referred to him as the old perv, despite my insistence of the contrary.
Thankfully, today we wouldn't see him because Julia came out to get us only a moment later.
"Alice! Bella! How have you been?" She greeted us both happily with a warm smile and ushered us into her office.
"We've been fine. I brought you this from my art club." I said, pulling out the sketch from my bag. Bella beamed when she saw it. I handed it over to Jules, whose eyes widened as she looked it over.
"Wow! This is really great! I didn't know you were such a wonderful artist." Julia praised and I smiled modestly. It was a charcoal drawing of Bella and I smiling at each other. It was fairly simple and only showed us from the waist up, but I felt like it captured the love on our faces when we gazed at each other. Bella loved it immediately and I promised to create a larger version of it to hang in our room.
"You can keep that if you want." I offered. She smiled and placed it on her desk before returning to sit in the chair next to our couch.
"So I take it you enjoyed art club?" I nodded smiling, normally I would have been bouncing with happiness, but I felt weighed down with impending visitors. "That's good. Did you meet any new friends?"
I actually had introduced myself to the girl sitting next to me and she seemed nice enough, but we were both so focused on our work that we didn't get a chance to speak much.
"Well I did meet one girl, April." Bella's head whipped in my direction and I suddenly recalled the fact that I hadn't mentioned that to her.
"April?" Bella hissed. "That's a name for a month, not a person! Why didn't you tell me?!" Julia seemed to sense that she should remain quiet and didn't comment. So, I sighed and turned towards Bella.
"It was nothing, sweetie. We just said our hellos and names and then worked next to each other." I thought I heard her mumble something about rubbing elbows and something else but I chose to ignore it. She huffed and turned away.
"You still should have told me."
"Are you really upset about me not telling you, or are you mad because I sat next to another pretty girl for an hour?" I asked.
"YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS PRETTY!" Bella exclaimed. I could have hit myself for saying something so stupid.
"Yes Bella, she was pretty, but your gorgeous ass was on my mind the whole time. Can't you tell that by my picture?" Her shoulders relaxed, but she kept her arms crossed. I could see in her face that she was wrestling with what to do. Suddenly I was hit with a vision.
"No!" I gasped, looking at Bella reproachfully. "You can't hurt her Bella…" She scoffed, interrupting me.
"I beg to differ."
"I mean you shouldn't hurt her. She's not a threat. I only love you." I assured her quietly, glancing sideways at Julia who was watching us with rapt attention.
Bella stared at me and I held her gaze, not backing down. Finally she sighed and relaxed.
"I love you too, baby." She gave me a small smile and kissed my cheek. That was good enough for now, but we would be discussing her urge to slaughter my new acquaintance at home.
"Well good, that's settled." Julia turned to Bella then and I was happy she hadn't worsened the situation by forcing the April issue. "How was your club Bella? Did you meet anyone new?"
"Book Club was okay. I already read the book they assigned for this week though." She responded, ignoring the second question, which didn't escape anyone's notice.
"What book was it again?" I asked, even though the memory of her telling me easily played back in my mind.
"The World According to Garp."
"Oh that's a wonderful book. Did you like it?" Julia asked, her face lighting up. She was also an avid reader. Bella nodded, smiling. I guess I should read it if they both liked it so much. Maybe I will, after I finish the fourth Travelling Pants.
I smiled as I watched them exchange their opinions and favorite parts before Julia turned the conversation back to business.
"Bella, I want to come back to this bullying issue that we discussed last time. I know you don't like to talk about it, but I think it's important." Julia was giving Bella a sympathetic smile as she waited for a response. I pinched Bella in the side and she glared at me.
"Alice was the one who brought it up, why don't you ask her?" I could tell by her tone she was annoyed and upset, which never boded well for our evening activities.
"Okay, that's fair." Jules admitted. "Alice? How did you feel about being bullied?" Huh. I couldn't really answer that. Bella had been the one pushed around and that made me feel murderous, but I'd never really been on the receiving end myself. When I still hadn't spoken after a couple minutes Julia raised her eyebrows. "I suppose you don't want to talk about it either?" She asked. I shook my head and she sighed. "Alright, girls, here's the deal. I can't let you out of these meetings until we resolve the reason why you're in here. According to your teachers, that reason is twofold: being anti-social and engaging in inappropriate behavior of both a sexual and violent nature." She read the words off her clipboard as if reciting something from a book. Did the school actually say that about us?
"As far as I can tell, those two things go hand in hand. I'm trying to get you to be more open with your peers by having you join clubs, but that's only one piece of a larger puzzle and I think we all know that. So what's it going to be?" Her voice was almost pleading and I felt bad for her. Bella was staring at her hands in her lap, so I guess it was up to me to respond. Great.
"You're not wrong, Jules." I sighed. "The truth is that we don't branch out because there's no need to. My best friends, my family, and my girlfriend live with me and go to school with me. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I'm complete. Why bother adding pieces to a finished puzzle?" I said, throwing the analogy back at her. Julia seemed confused for a moment, but collected herself quickly.
"What if you don't know you're missing something until you find it?" She countered.
I decided to answer her question with a story instead. I took a deep breath and began.
"Before I met Bella, I was happy enough, but not content. I knew that I was missing something in my life. When we were friends, I was happier, but something was still off. When we became lovers…" I ignored Julia blushing at my choice of words, "I became euphoric. I'm full. There's absolutely nothing that could come into my life and make me happier than I am. To me, this means that anything that might change my life would make it worse." Julia nodded, seemingly accepting my explanation. Bella beamed at me and snuggled into my side. I played with her hair happily while Jules made notes.
"I can't say I entirely agree with you. I always think something can be improved upon, even if only minimally. However, this does explain the bubble you and your family created around yourselves. I suppose the question I have to consider is whether this lifestyle is healthy, meaning are you getting everything you need for your social development, both of you." She added, looking from me to Bella.
We remained silent for a moment, stuck at an impasse that neither of us was quite sure how to maneuver out of. Surprisingly, Bella was first to break the silence.
"How many times is it normal for people to have sex in a day?" Bella asked, shocking both Julia and I. What is with this girl and bringing up sex in our therapy sessions?! She was smirking at our reactions, but remained waiting for an answer. I couldn't help but giggle at how flustered Julia was. She adjusted the papers in her lap nervously and stuttered for a while before she was able to get herself together enough to look back up at us. I knew Bella had thrown it out simply as a change in the topic, but I wasn't certain that this was a direction she had thought through all the way.
"I, uh, you, umm, right, sex." Julia cleared her throat. "I'm not sure there's a normal amount, Bella. Some people may only make love once a week, while others manage to find time for two or three sessions a day." I turned my face away to hide my giggles and Bella grinned wider. "May I ask why you brought that up?" Bella shrugged.
"Just curious? So three would be the cutoff?" She asked. I poked her in the side, but she didn't even flinch.
"Like I said, Bella, it depends on the individual couple and how much time they have to spend alone." She paused for a moment, seemingly steeling herself to say something. "Do Carlisle and Esme know you're sexually active?" She asked blushing furiously. I saw Bella gulp, but the smile didn't leave her face.
"I never said we were."
"Bella, please don't insult my intelligence." Julia scolded, playfully.
"Fine. I don't know if they do. We haven't exactly asked them." Bella admitted. That would be an interesting conversation. It was easy to hear everyone in our house when they were 'occupied,' but we never talked about it really, except for the occasional crude joke from Emmett.
"Well you don't have to worry about me telling them. That stays between us, just like everything else. I will ask you though, since you brought it up, if you feel like your sexual feelings are impacting your daily life. The display in the cafeteria seemed reckless. I can't imagine trying to make love to my husband in front of so many people, it's a private matter."
"Unless you're an exhibitionist." I pointed out.
"Are you?" She asked, slightly gaping at me. I giggled.
"No, of course not. I don't like to share Bella's goods with anyone else." I informed her seriously, smiling seductively at Bella.
"That didn't seem to concern you then." Touché.
"We got caught up in the moment. Aren't we allowed to make mistakes? Besides, I never would have gone all the way." I lied. Both Bella and I knew that it easily could have progressed too far, too fast, but that wasn't a concern at the time.
"So this was a onetime thing?" She clarified. I nodded and Bella just continued grinning, her eyes glazed like she was watching a memory. Suddenly the little timer on the desk went off and Julia stood. "Alright, that's all our time for this week. Bella, I want to hear more about book club and the people in it next Wednesday." With that we were sent on our way and as soon as we exited the office, reality hit us again. I looked down at the text from Carlisle and tilted it for Bella to read.
Arriving Tonight. 11:00.
EPOV
Emmett and Rosalie joined us in our hunt after their club meeting and we all gorged ourselves on deer and other wildlife. I had every expectation that Jane would use her power on me at least once and I needed all the strength I could get for that. They called Carlisle when they boarded the plane, so we expected them to arrive at the house around eleven. Esme was frantically cleaning every surface in our home while Carlisle read through the journals in his office. He kept records of all our interactions and his with the Volturi.
Jasper had been attached to my side even more so than usual today, which of course I didn't mind, but I worried he would do something rash. Emmett had only just managed to hold him back last time Jane tortured me. I hoped he'd be able to again. I could withstand any amount of pain from that little Cretan dressed like a girl, but if Jasper got himself killed, I'd die. This time I had to worry about Bella as well and she wasn't known for keeping her temper under control.
"Edward, Jasper, Emmett, come here please." Carlisle called from his office. Jasper and I met Emmett outside the door and walked in together. He didn't bother with pleasantries, but launched right into what he wanted. "We need to be careful with Jacob and Seth. They may be wolves, but they're still human. I want at least one of you with them when they aren't in our house. They are especially vulnerable when they're asleep." We all agreed.
As far as I knew, this would be their first time meeting 'real' vampires. Unlike the watered down version we portray most of the time, the Volturi wouldn't hesitate to end them, for even the smallest infraction or none at all. They are both fiercely loyal to us and Jacob has a temper to match Bella's at times. Two more reasons I was dreading the arrival of Carlisle's old friends.
A/N Alright, so mostly an informative chapter, but I promise that next chapter will be the arrival of the Volturi! You may or may not also find out what's up with Edward and Jane, I haven't decided when to actually announce that.
