Bella
After finishing dinner, I decided to explore to find the bathroom. Although I didn't have any clothes to change into I decided to sink into the deep bath that I found. It filled quickly and I sank into the hot water with relief. My muscles begin to relax and before I knew it I drifted off.
When I woke the water was cooling. I toweled off quickly and got back into my clothing. When I got out into the bedroom area I was pleased to see that my bags were on the bed.
Walking out into the living area I was pleased to see books in English on the bookshelf. I would be able to entertain myself for a long time with all of these books. In addition there was a television, dvd player and various DVDs.
I slept horribly on the plane and it had been too long since I'd had a relaxing night sleep. I'd been wound too tightly considering that I knew when I began my trip that I was going to possible death. I dug around in my bag and found my pajamas. I curled up under the covers and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
I woke early in the morning. It took a little time to shower, dress and do my hair but when I was ready I went into the living room area. I laughed while I looked at the bookshelf thinking Demetri must have a sense of humor. Both Dracula and Interview with a Vampire were there. I picked up Interview with a Vampire and began to read.
I had only begun reading when there was a knock on my door. I opened the door and I was happy to find Demetri with my breakfast.
"Good morning, Bella. I am getting ready to go to court for the day," Demetri said, "Madison will be your guard while I am gone. This afternoon I am going to go train with the elite guards. Would you like to accompany me?"
"Thank you, Master Demetri. I would very much like to accompany you."
"I'll be back this afternoon then, Bella."
Going back to her reading Bella entertained herself through the morning.
Promptly at noon there was another knock on the door. I answered it and was met with the face of a tall, blond stranger with bright red eyes.
"Hello, Bella, I'm Madison. I'm your guard, and I've brought your lunch today."
"Thank you Madison, I appreciate it. I was starting to get very hungry."
"I'll just put this on the table and get out of your way. If you need me I'll be right outside of the door."
"Thank you Madison. I really appreciate your help." I said. "Thank you for bringing my lunch."
After a tasty lunch of shrimp linguine another knock was heard at the door. I got up quickly greet Demetri.
"Master Demetri," I greeted. I realized as I stood in the door that I was excited for the outing.
"Have you had a good morning, Bella?" Demetri asked.
"I have and I'm very eager to meet the other elite guards."
Following him quickly through the winding hallways he opened a double doorway to a large space.
Demetri walked in and I followed closely behind him. There were four people inside.
"You've already met Felix," Demetri said.
"Hi Felix," I said.
"Hi little one. How are you getting settled?" Felix asked.
"Very good. Demetri has seen to me very well so far." I said.
"This is Jane," A young girl waved at me.
"Hi Jane, It's nice to meet you."
"This is Reneta," Demetri nodded at a medium height brunette.
"Hi, Reneta, What do you do here?"
"I'm a shield, Bella. I protect Aro when he sees lawbreakers," Reneta explained.
"This is Chelsea," Demetri introduced a shorter brunette.
"Hi Chelsea,"
"It's nice to meet you, Chelsea,"
"Hi, Bella, it's nice to meet you."
"Now that you've met everyone come over here and stand behind me, Bella."
"Thank you, Master Demetri," I said ask I slipped behind Demetri.
Two pairs sparred at the same time and they moved so quickly that they were mere blurs. They only came to a stop when one had the fangs at the others neck. They were each so skilled that the fights lasted minutes
I watched as they changed partners to various combinations. Eventually Demetri called a halt.
"Felix, come guard Bella and I'll take my turn."
Felix took Demetri's place and I watched as Demetri sparred with the others. It wasn't the same as when they were each sparring in pairs. The other three sparred with Demetri. He was able to hold of each and every one of them for minutes at a time, getting his teeth on one throat at a time until he was the last vampire standing. They repeated this exercise over and over again, the other vampires got closer to taking him down at times, but I could see that there was a reason Demetri was over the guard.
After six tries, Demetri called a halt again and came back in front of me while each of them take turns practicing dealing with multiple opponents. It worked out that Felix was second best at taking on everyone and not being brought down. Reneta was the worst at handling multiple attackers, She was always caught out by one of the others.
After everyone had two turns Demetri called it for the day and I realized that hours had passed and seemed like they had flown by.
"I intend to go take a shower and go down to the archive for a few hours." Demetri said. "If you would like to join me you're welcome to. It is where all the vampire related titles are kept besides the popular fiction section in the library."
"Thank you Master Demetri, I would love to join you."
"Then I'll show you back to your room while I shower and change and we can go."
"I really appreciate you not keeping me in my room all the time, it is nice to see the castle while I'm still human."
"I do intend to change you soon. I'm going back to work after we're finished and going to put in some extra hours over the next few days and plan on changing you day after tomorrow."
As I watched Demetri I realized how handsome he was. He was tall and you could tell beneath his shirt that he was built well. His red eyes seemed to pierce me and I wondered what he thought when he saw me. We were at our rooms by the time I realized I was staring. I trained my gaze on my door and went in my room as Demetri went into his. I wasn't sure if this was his normal room or if he was beside me because he was acting as a guard. I figured there would be plenty of time to learn what the status quo was.
Demetri
I smiled as I entered my quarters. Bella had been studying me closely as we walked back to our rooms. From the smell of her arousal she liked what she saw. I was glad that there was a mutual attraction and thought that perhaps we could be companions for a while, if she was agreeable. It had been more than a thousand years since I had a companion and I missed the feeling.
I took a shower and got dressed in my normal black pants and lighter colored top. I approached Bella's door and knocked lightly.
It was less than a minute before Bella was at the door and she smiled at me with freshly braided hair.
She walked beside me as we journeyed into the basement levels. "So how do you like the castle so far."
"It's huge. I'm so surprised that it is so modern. I didn't expect to see television here. It's beautiful though." She nodded to a painting and sculpture display as she passed. "I can't believe all the art work we pass by. When I'm a vampire and don't need to bother a guard to bring me I can't wait to examine it all."
I slowed our pace so she could see the artwork more as we passed it. "Perhaps I can take you on a tour of the castle in the next two days."
"I'd like that," Bella admitted.
We walked down they last set of stairs. "The archives are set under one third the city of Volterra. They contain every document we've been able to find on the subject of vampires. They are all cataloged and organized by subject matter so we can easily find any piece of information. There are obscure texts and recognized writers. We even try to keep up with popular vampire fiction although those texts are located in the library." We came to the doors and Bella looked ready to dive through them. I smirked at her a little "Are you ready?"
She nodded and I opened the doors.
We walked in and though she increased her pace she didn't try to run. It looked like it took effort. "Welcome to the archives Bella."
"Thank you Master Demetri."
"The computer to the left will let you search through the inventory of the archives by subject matter and language. Would you like to read on any specific subject?"
"I think I should probably read about the change. It was never Edwards favorite subject and I'm afraid that besides having felt the beginning of the burn and knowing that it startes by a bite and lasts around three days I know next to nothing and what I think I know I don't know if it's the truth."
"Do you think you were lied to?" I asked cautiously.
"I think that at the very least I was given the least amount of information that would shut me up and get me to change subjects. I'd like to be better informed."
"Then lets find you the needed information and if you have any questions you can feel free to ask me."
I walked at a human pace over to the computer and instructed Bella on how to navigate the computer. "Type in your topic and then sort by language."
I watched as she entered the change and organized the information by language scrolling down to the english documents.
"They're all located in this one section," She noted. "It really is just like a normal library."
"It is run on exactly the same principles as a normal library. Lets go check out this section and see what you can find."
"How do you find this section?"
"It's right over here."
We walked over to the section and then she sorted through the various books, choosing two thin volumes.
"If you don't mind, come with me to pick out my book. I don't think you would really need a guard down here but I'd rather not be unpleasantly surprised." I said.
"Of course." she agreed as she followed closely behind me.
I picked up my current book on combat techniques and she smirked as she read the title. I wondered what that smirk was about. Walking back to the couches and tables I settled down on a couch and began to read.
I noticed Bella making the comfort finding shifts of weight from one side to the other and wondered briefly if my stationary position was making her uncomfortable.
"So the change lasts three days?" Bella asked me.
"Sometimes longer sometimes shorter but the average time is three days." a thoughtful look crossed Bella's face.
"What can make it shorter than three days?"
"You'll find that the more venom that enters in the more places in the body the shorter the change. The quickest way in my experience is to bite the neck, wrists, inner thighs, and ankles. I did know someone that took more than a week. He was only nipped on the tip of one finger. It was a horrible experience for him."
She looked at me absolutely appalled. "What would cause someone to try to make it hurt for longer than it had to? That's a horrible thing to do to someone."
"Yes, it was. His sire also abandoned him before his change finished. I only found out how long it took when I tracked down the sire."
"What an awful thing to do. I can't imagine waking up without any help."
"You won't have to imagine it. We'll be with you the whole way. Me, the elite guards and even the kings will be there to help you.
She looked me in the eyes until something in her mind settled and then nodded and going back to her reading.
We read in companionable silence for an hour before Bella spoke again.
"What happens after the change. After you wake up?"
I closed my book with only a finger to hold the place. "After the change comes the newborn year. It is a wild time where you're too strong and constantly hungry. It is hard to control your emotions and impulses." I said.
She just looked at me with wide eyes.
"We all went through it and know what to expect from you. Having a newborn in the castle isn't that uncommon and we all know how to handle one. There are little tips and techniques that help a newborn stay calmer."
"Like what?" she asked quietly.
"It is fairly common for a newborn to be easy to startle so we know not to approach one quickly. It's all fairly common tips and tricks that work like that to keep a newborn comfortable. Another example is feeding. Mature vampires can feed in groups. Young vampires need more room. It is best to feed them alone with only one other vampire near by, preferably out of direct sight so they don't feel the need to defend their meal."
"I can't imagine being so out of control," she whispered.
"It only lasts for about a year and then most vampires are firmly in control of both their strength and their emotions. There are some exceptions. If a vampire has an odd gift, if a vampire is newly mated, and if a vampire is mistreated by their sire, not raised properly, it can take up to to to three years for them to become more settled."
She continued to stare at me. "For now try not to worry about it. You'll have Jane, Chelsea, and Reneta to help you to take care of showering and dressing. Felix and I will be there to help you with everything else along with the girls. All in all you'll have a companion almost the entire time when you are a new vampire. You'll break things and rip things until you can control your strength, but don't worry about that, it's to be expected."
"I wonder why the Cullens didn't educate me better." She wondered aloud.
"I'm sure they would have when it got closer to the time of your change."
Bella didn't open up her book again, so I asked, "Are you ready to go back to your room for now?"
"Yes, I think so, if you don't mind. Between my book and our conversation I have a lot to think about."
I took her books and mine and put them back on the shelves at vampire speed and returned to her.
"It's been so long since I've been around vampire speed I forget how fast you can move." She laughed lightly as I led her back to her rooms.
I remembered to move slowly to give her time to appreciate the art and led us back to our rooms. "Did you have any more questions about the change?"
"You'll make my change as short as possible?"
"Yes, Bella. I expect your change will be under three days. Changes aren't pleasant to watch or experience so I have motivation to make yours as short as possible. I will be with you through the entire change, I won't leave you alone or with any of the other elite guard during that time so you will know who is with you."
"That is very kind of you." She said with relief plain in her eyes.
Shortly thereafter we were back at our rooms. "Goodnight, Bella," I said.
"Goodnight Master Demetri."
