Chapter Fifty Three
Jasper
Bella was tearing herself to pieces with guilt, over killing yet another human and forcing me to kill his friend who had witnessed her attack and for hurting me and I guess it was the latter that had the most effect on me, that someone should feel guilty for hurting me was something of a novelty. I talked all the following night to her trying my best to point out that she was still learning to cope with all the heightened emotions and the hunger that were usual in a newborn and that having the gift she did made all these things even more difficult to control. After all, every time she became angry or thirsty and was thwarted in her desires she lost control of her gift which quite naturally defended her. In the end, we decided that the sooner we left for Italy the better, once in Volterra it would be far easier to keep her calm and away from humans. There would be plenty of e6es on her so if I missed something or had to be away from her others would be there to step in. I hoped maybe Heidi or Athena would befriend Bella, having a strong female as a figure Bella could aspire to be couldn't hurt.
Aro was more than happy to send the jet for us and Bella made it into a holiday jaunt, probably to hide her apprehension.
"I've never flown abroad before, I often hoped to but not in such luxury. What a shame I can't appreciate the champagne and caviar."
"On a Volturi jet? More like chilled blood Bella."
She grimaced,
"It sounds so awful when you put it like that but I guess you're right. Do they keep snacks in the fridge?"
"Why don't you go take a peek but I warn you chilled blood is pretty revolting."
She shook her head,
"I think I'll pass. Is the pilot a vampire?"
"No, Aro uses humans, less complicated with licensing et I assume but don't worry they're paid extremely well to ignore the passengers."
She peered out the window at the clouds below,
"It's weird when you consider that even if this plane crashed we'd walk away."
"So long as it didn't burst into flames yes."
She shivered,
"I hadn't thought of that, is fire the only way to kill a vampire? I mean I read the books where they drive a stake through Dracula's heart or behead him or bury him under a crossroads which sounds really farfetched. Bram Stoker must have had a very vivid imagination."
"Actually he does but that's not why he wrote such things, it helps keep the humans from realizing just how difficult it is to kill a supernatural being."
"He does? Do you mean you knew Bram Stoker? That's just plain crazy."
"I haven't had the pleasure personally no, but I've heard a lot about him, he's something of a folk hero among vampires. Carlisle bumped into him during one of his visits to London in 1890, Bram Stoker was struggling with his own demons, he had been turned by one of the actors at the Lyceum theatre where he worked. Carlisle helped him and in return, Bram decided to use his writing skills to help vampires by mythologizing many of the legends. How many humans would suspect a man who had a reflection or walked during the day of being a blood-drinking fiend?"
"I guess you have a point there. Are any of the legends of vampire's based on reality?"
"I have no idea, Bella but the good thing is that if you want to discover such things for yourself you now have all the time in the world and the vast resources of the Volturi archives to aid you."
She sat back pensive for a while,
"You make it sound like an adventure and all this time I've been thinking of it as a life sentence."
"That's up to you to decide, I prefer to think of it as a voyage of discovery, there are bad parts to being a vampire and you've already experienced them but there are good things too, you just have to look at it differently."
She smiled at me and grabbed my hand,
"I can think of one advantage and this plane has a bed, show me some more."
I was too much of a gentleman to refuse the lady's request.
Bella
The flight had its highlights, private jets came with perks that kept me occupied body and mind but as we descended towards the airport I began to feel anxious. Soon I would be surrounded by the most important people in my new world, the ones who held the power of life or death over such as me. These were the same people who had kept Jasper here, allowed his one time comrades to attack him, the same people could decide to imprison me…..I felt the panic and rage begin to rise and tried to steady myself, reminding myself, no Bella, no one is going to hurt you, they couldn't, your gift is far too powerful. That calmed me somewhat knowing I could protect myself but what about Jasper? Could he protect himself if they decided to use him to get to me? I wish I knew if I could protect him while we were here. There were a lot of other gifted vampire's in Volterra, was I powerful enough to stand against them all and look after my mate too?
"Bella?"
Jaspers soothing voice broke through my reverie,
"I'm sorry, I was miles away."
"So I saw."
He glanced down and I saw I had crushed the armrest with my grip,
"Are you OK?"
I nodded,
"Sure, just nervous."
He continued to stare at me knowing it was a lie,
"OK, I was worrying that the Volturi might try to hurt you to get at me."
"Bella, they aren't the enemy, they're my friends and they want to help you, just like I do. Anyway, I'd like to see them get close enough to hurt either of us."
I glanced out the window and sighed,
"I might be fine but what about you? I know my gift is strong enough to keep me safe but….."
He stopped me with a kiss then stroked my cheek,
"Bella, you are my mate, your gift wouldn't allow anyone to harm me, besides I'm pretty good at looking out for myself, now stop worrying. Look, there's a car waiting for us."
I saw the shiny black car with the darkly tinted windows waiting on the tarmac and smiled,
"I feel like a film star, all this privileged treatment."
He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it,
"Nothing is too good for you Bella but I happen to know Aro is eager to meet you, I think his curiosity has been building up ever since he found out you'd been turned."
"Then I guess we shouldn't keep him waiting any longer than necessary,"
I gripped his hand for reassurance as we disembarked and walked over to the car where a man in uniform and wearing dark shades waited holding open the rear door.
Jasper
Bella was very quiet during the drive to Volterra starting out the window at the countryside which was so different from anything she had seen before. I could feel the tension mounting inside her and used my gift to keep her calm and able to function without exploding. Her gift was going to make learning control much harder for her but that made no difference to me, I had her here at my side and that was all that mattered to me. I'd been alone too long, especially with the knowledge that my mate was out there just out of reach.
I wasn't sure how she would react to meeting the brothers, she had no reason to trust them other than my word and I was pretty sure if she had heard anything from Peter or Darius it would have been negative. Waiting on the steps of the clock tower to welcome us was Aro and his wife, an honor indeed and one that Bella seemed to appreciate once I explained who they were. Aro was at his most charming bowing over her hand,
"It is a pleasure to have you here Bella, at The Major's side at last. I hope you enjoyed the drive, I told Afton to take his time so you could take in the scenery."
"Thank you, I'd forgotten how beautiful Volterra is."
"Yes, it's a beautiful town, especially if you like architecture. Sulpicia here will take you to your suite, The majors previous accommodation was far too small and simple for a couple and then perhaps you would join us in the tower, I'd like to introduce you to my brother and Athena, poor Caius widow, they are excited to meet the newest member of our society. I would just like a private word with your…..what should I call him? Your?"
"Mate."
I couldn't help smiling at the firmness in Bella's voice, she was feeling more secure already.
"Of course, Major, would you come to my study for a moment?"
I glanced at Bella and she nodded then went off with Sulpicia talking softly together.
"I think Bella is going to find life here to her liking Major. You were concerned I know but she seems calm enough."
"For now."
I explained to him what had happened and he listened intently nodding now and again as we walked slowly to his study.
Once inside he told me of my reassignment and that I could take as long as I needed to help Bella.
"The resources of the Volturi are at your disposal Major, Bella is fascinating and much more powerful than even I imagined but I can see you might have a problem. The trouble with powerful gifts is that they can corrupt if not brought under control. If you find it is a problem that you cannot solve alone please do not hesitate to ask for help."
"Thank you but I'm hoping once Bella settles in she will feel more secure and therefore less stressed."
"Of course. Well, I'm sure she will be waiting for you. We will see you in say an hour? That should give Bella time enough to freshen up."
When I got to our new suite I found Bella wandering around delighted with its size and the sunlight that flooded in through the French doors which led out onto a private patio with its own fountain and trees, lemon and olive.
"This is heavenly and it's all ours?"
"All of it, Aro wants you to feel at home."
"Yes, Sulpicia explained that I can change any of the furnishings, there's a huge choice down in the archives and I'm to help myself."
I liked the gleam of excitement in her eyes, it made her look young and carefree once more.
"And…"
She had a sparkle there too,
"The bed is huge, come see,"
"Bella we only have an hour."
"Then let's see just what you can manage in half an hour soldier, I need time to change and shower too."
I grinned swept her off her feet and took her through to the bedroom with its enormous bed quite prepared to take her up on her challenge.
As it was Bella had only just gotten dressed when there was a tap at the door and I opened it to find Heidi standing there,
'It's good to see you again Major, some of the guards thought you might take the opportunity to slip away for a while but I knew better"
I smiled,
"So, how much did you win?"
"A few thousand for which I thank you. Aro sent me to see if you are ready and to let you know dinner is over and its safe for Bella to walk through the citadel."
"Thank you, Heidi, I know my way."
She grinned, turned and swayed provocatively down the corridor but I knew it was unconscious, just a part of Heidi's gift, unfortunately, Bella who had joined me wasn't aware of this and I felt jealousy ignite inside her.
"It's OK Bella, Heidi is just a friend, she's spoken for and the only reason she didn't stay to speak to you is that she knows the effect she has on other women, it's her gift, or curse, depending on her mood."
Bella stared after her but then slowly nodded,
"We've already met when I was here before and I saw her with you the first time I came to Volterra although you never saw me. I understood why she's very beautiful."
"I never notice, she's just a friend as I told you and to me, you are the most beautiful woman in the world, now are you ready for our audience?"
"Yes, although I already know everyone from my first visit."
"I think you'll find it easier this time around, now you're one of us."
"And dangerous, don't forget that."
I just kissed her and took her hand, she would be fine once she understood that no one here was going to be intimidated by her, then we made our way to the wives apartments in the tower.
