A/N:

I want to sincerely apologize for dropping this story. I could explain to you that I lost direction, motivation and became self-conscious over my writing, but none of that really matters. I have been working on another Rosella story for the past year, none of it is published yet but it is completely written. When I started this story I had just an idea of a scene in my head about Rosalie teach Bella to hunt. My poor girlfriend, now fiance, had to endure hours of talking about it. She helped me greatly with cultivating this. So, thank you for doing that Alex. I had no direction in this though, I just wrote and let it be what it was. Then I lost it. Today I surprised myself by sitting down and writing this. I hope to have the motivation to continue this, but no promises. Thank you for continuing to read this. I might not have kept this going without the email reminders that you still follow it. Enjoy.

- Aphilli

Chapter 53-

Rosalie's POV

I've been to Rome twenty times in my life. Sometimes it has been for a vacation with my family, other times for a quick dinner with Alice at our favorite place. I can tell you that the first twenty times paled in comparison to the twenty-first.

The city, once dark with a rich history of blood and torment, seemed romantic. The lights and the streets seemed to be a dream. We walked hand in hand to my favorite restaurant the night we made it in. The cobblestone streets were enhanced by small café's with cute tables outside. The light warm breeze danced along the hairs of my body and gave me a blissful feeling.

One of several mystical café's, Caffe Degli Dei, was special. Not only did it have a menu for Vamperic tastes, it served a variety of mythical creatures. Shifters could enjoy dishes that were slightly more feral and wild. Werewolves could enjoy raw dishes prepared with wolfsbane extract, which contrary to popular belief, was quite enjoyed by the children of the moon.

Not only did this delicious local favorite serve all kinds of creatures from the underworld, it served humans. Though its yelp reviews were mixed for the humans, it served them to remain obscure. When a mythological creature entered, they were to give the hostess a preference of sitting within the back room if they were of a special diet.

When we arrived to the Café, Bella gave me a curious look as the smell of densely confined humans hit her nose. I gave her a knowing smile and asked the waitress for a seat in the back. She nodded in understanding, grabbing menus from inside her podium instead of from the holder of menus to its side.

She led the way through the crowded restaurant, clearly filled with tourists from English speaking countries. Families enjoyed large bowls of spaghetti, having absolutely no culture in a city where one had many more Italian options. The place was situated near the pantheon; in the same open square in fact. This made it a busy place.

Around a tight corner we went in the almost house like café. Down spiral stairs and into the basement area we found ourselves in another world. Red, amber and almost silver eyes filled the room. It was dimly lit, but romantic in a unique secret spot sort of way.

We were guided to a table for two along the old cracked concrete wall in the far corner. The hostess pulled out each chair for us as we sat down, she handed us each a menu and a napkin. The server quickly made their way to us, setting down silverware.

"May I suggest the Barnacle Goose Cacciatore? Aged Goose is dried with a mix of spices and added to a mixture of red wine, oyster sauce, mushrooms and Raven's blood. It is then slowly cooked over a period of twelve hours."

"Ah, sounds interesting. What drink would you pair with this?" I inquired to the mousey-faced server.

"Our chef recommends the Air and Sea cocktail. It is a blend of Atlantic Sea Bass blood, lemon, parsley and a splash of fermented quail's blood."

"Sound's excellent."

She went on to suggest a soup made partially from human, Bella of course declined. A few eyes from near by tables turned when she explained her dietary choice of being a vegetarian of sorts. I felt the eyes, but turned to challenge their stares, none seemed bold enough to continue.

After we ate we took a long stroll to the Vatican, the streets were almost empty, the river was strangely peaceful. We stopped along the well-lit bridge from the city to the Vatican to stare out at the calm river beneath us. I stood behind her, my arms on the stone barrier, planted to the sides of her hands. I kissed the back of her head, the breeze helping me to take in her heavenly scent.

I didn't believe life could get any better. I was probably right. Everything I had once pined over, all of the hurt I felt for the loss of a life I wanted, all of it seemed to fade. I only wanted her. She hummed as we stood there like that for what seemed to be hours.

We took in the city of religion and dedication. Its great big buildings seemed like ruins with the lack of crowds to share in our views. We walked the border of the basilica hand in hand, Bella letting her fingertips brush against the building. She stared with a slack jaw in awe of the beauty of the city.

We found a little bar away from the tourist areas to grab a few limoncello drinks. We promptly ordered our drinks in Italian. Due to the bar tender's lack of English, I ordered. She threw them back like the American she was, having the lack of patience to simply sip and enjoy. I quirked my brow at the scene she made, intrigued by her lack of decorum.

"You want to take shots?"

"Isn't that what we are doing?" She said throwing back another.

"Have you not noticed that I still have my first?" I said taking a sip while keeping eye contact.

"They are so small?"

"They are meant to be enjoyed, you are such an American." I said in mock disgust. Her jaw dropped open in shock. A smile pulled at her lips as she regained her composure.

"You are an American too!" She exclaimed.

"I'm way more traveled though. That almost makes me less of an American and more of a European. I mean, je parle plusieurs langues europeennes…" Which translated to 'I do speak multiple European languages', in French of all things.

"You are older than me, and that means you are more American because you have been an American longer…" Bella said throwing back her shot and slamming the glass on the counter. The glass broke under her uncontrolled force. She was clearly under the influence.

"Oh God." I said in embarrassment as I put my hand up over my faced feeling exasperated.

"Sorry! Um, I mean spiacenta, no, um, spiacente…" Bella said to the bartender who grumbled as he used his towel to brush the glass into the trash behind the bar.

"Sir, two shots of Absinthe please." I said. He turned his head in confusion. I translated quickly to Italian. If she wanted a shot, I was going to give it to her.

"See, now this is what I am talking about!" She said as the gentleman sat down two small glasses of pretty light green liquid. He seemed to plop them down with a little aggression; he was obviously annoyed.

"Yes, just wait until you taste it." I said blankly. She raised her shot to mine and through her back into her mouth.

Her face went from happy and pleasant to curious. Finally her face scrunched up into what could only be disgust. She swallowed hard and stuck out her tongue after. This was one of the few moments that I found her less than sexy.

"Ugh." She said shaking her head.

"Something wrong?" I said clearing my throat after the awful licorice liquid passed down my throat. I kept my face blank, pretending that it did not just taste like the worst drink I had ever had. I would never put myself through such things normally.

The first time I had the drink was with Edward on my first trip to Paris. Edward ordered us a couple of shots, thinking it would be hilarious to see me in pain. I had always held a grudge with him over the experience, until now. He was right; it is in fact, hilarious.

"What the hell?" She said looking at the empty glass.

"What? It's supposed to be fairy juice." I said innocently.

"Its awful, but it was so pretty."

"I know; it's sort of like you." I said dryly. I was feeling playful.

"That's not how you felt last night." She jabbed me with her elbow. If I were a human I would have been red as a tomato. The bartender was busy cleaning glasses but raised an eyebrow.

"Oh so you don't speak English, huh?" I said to him with attitude. He just shrugged. I guess his snobby attitude balanced out with Bella's drunken behavior. I couldn't blame him if this is what he dealt with all the time. I slipped him a hundred when we left.

The next morning, we mostly laid around the hotel. I read, feeling fine from the night before. Bella had come onto me strongly when we arrived back at our room the night before. After I denied her advances, seeing as though she was completely inebriated. Bella had gone into a lazy dazed state. This was the closest a Vampire really got to passing out.

Normally, the amount of alcohol she had would only leave her feeling buzzed and silly for a few hours, but she had absinthe. The wormwood in the drink had a profound effect on our kind. It was, from what I gather, similar to a strong proof alcohol for humans. Our normal high tolerance for alcohol makes us like a college girl when wormwood is involved. Completely sloppy.

I read a book I purchased from a store the night before as she rested her head on my leg in bed. I played with her mahogany hair as she grumbled and groaned every so often. Maybe I should have made her purge, but something within me thought it was a lesson worth her learning.

I was on the last chapter of the book when drunken beauty truly awoke. She stretched her legs, flexing her toes as she yawned. She twisted her back and craned her neck with one eye open, squinting the other. I peered down to meet her eyes, or eye.

"Well, hello there count drunkula." I said to her sweetly. She laughed and snuggled into my leg for a few minutes.

"I hate you." She said into my leg.

"No you don't." I simply said, turning the page of my book.

"You're right. Why did you let me drink that?" She asked with a laugh.

"I thought you might like to try it, since we can't get it like that in America."

"You just wanted to see if you could get me drunk."

"No, I'm pretty sure you were doing a pretty good job of that yourself." I said turning another page.

"Whatever." She said grumpily.

A few moments went by before she became restless. She repositioned several times before craning her next to look back up at me. I was on the last two pages of my book; an action filled crime novel. It did not seem to be ending with a resolution. I hoped to finish my book but her stirring was distracting.

"Can I help you?" I said as I I folded the book over my finger, keeping my place.

"I need to eat, I feel sick."

"Ok, let me just finish this…" I stopped when I heard a light grumble. I guessed it would have to wait. "You know what, let's go out for breakfast."

They quickly dressed and left the hotel, taking a taxi to the outskirts of the city. Rosalie knew of a less populated and more natural area that hikers frequented. When she had been in the past with her family, the guys liked to hunt some of the time. The girls loved the civilized restaurants that the city had to offer, however, the boys felt cooped up without the hunt.

Lago Della Duchessa near Rome was a wilderness full of trees and mountain like hills. Once the taxi dropped them off, they were able to run the rest of the way to their hunting spot. Once there, they both promptly found breakfast.

The next day was still cloudy, enough for them to explore the city. I had intended on going to an opera that night as a surprise but needed to find a way to get the tickets. I decided that I would set Bella up with a day at the only underground spa in the world. It just so happened to be in Rome. Alice and Esme had drug me there each time they visited the city. Edward came half of the time just to get a massage.

I set her up with a half-day package, which included a massage, a south Asian dragon facial, and a soak in the spa warm baths. Bella was left in the care of the one of our family's favorite Spa employees, I gave her a handsome tip just to make sure her care was up to par. Bella gave me a kiss on the cheek and followed the employee in.

Across town I found myself standing in line like a normal human to buy our tickets. My pocket vibrated when I was at the head of the line, it was just Alice calling. I put my phone back in her pocket and purchased two balcony seats. My phone vibrated violently again as I walked away with two tickets in hand.

"What?" I answered harshly, feeling annoyed that my sister was impatient.

"You need to get to Bella!" She exclaimed with fear.

I wasn't sure that I hung up the call, I wasn't sure that I even still had my phone in my possession. From the moment I heard her tone I started running. I hardly took care to run at a human speed. I swooped into an old building and climbed the stairs to the roof top entrance. From the rooftops I ran and jumped at my normal pace. I wasn't sure of what danger presented itself to my Girlfriend, but I was sure that I would be its end.

It took me a mere three minutes to reach the spa instead of twenty, had I followed a human pace on the streets. I burst into the spa waiting room and zoomed past the receptionist.

"Uh, ma'am!" The girl jumped up from her desk and shouted in a thick accent.

Before the girl could stop me, I was in the pushing my way into the first door in a long hallway of closed rooms. It was locked; I kicked it open, busting it off its hinges. Two sets of red eyes looked at me. A man was getting a massage, no Bella.

"What is the meaning of this?" The owner of whom I knew grabbed my shoulder.

I turned with fierce black eyes and grabbed her hand. A crack appeared on her wrist where I twisted slightly before realizing she was a friend. She eyes me and removed her hand.

"Bella…" I said with anger dripping from my mouth. She knew that my anxiety could not be lessened with words, so she decided to show me. She nodded and rushed me to the last room.

"She is fine my dear." She said as she knocked on the door, waiting for it to open in response. None came.

After a second knock I pushed her back and kicked the door open. A vampire I just barely could recognize lay in pieces around the room. My worst fears had come true as we peered into the room and found no Bella.