Chapter Twenty-Eight

Everything seemed going fine, until a month before I was to go up to Seattle University. The warmth of the air around me wasn't too present was it was still there. I was wearing wool leggings and a long baggy t-shirt that fell almost to my knees. It was a random shirt that Emmett had given me, he had gone shopping and found the shirt. It was a Seattle University sweater; he had made sure to get the biggest size for me as a going away present for me when it came to college. I was comfy and warm, exactly what I needed on days I was staying in.

Opening the mail box, I grabbed the random brochures and bills, pausing as I came across an extremely expensive envelope with golden lettering across the top of the envelope. I frowned, it glistened from the sunlight that barely came through the clouds and wondered about the words: The Volturi. I turned it around and almost dropped it when I touched the wax seal, only the hue that was upon the wax was not a normal red wax. There was something else to the shade, and I almost dropped the envelope when I realized they had mixed wax and blood together.

Taking a deep breath, I calmly went back into the house and put the rest of the mail on the decorative side table of the living room. Going over to my phone I dialed Carlisle's phone this time. When he answered I simply commented, "The Volturi have sent me an envelope with a wax seal that I think has blood in it."

Silence for a moment, and then Carlisle spoke, "Alice is going to come by and pick you up." He hung up on the other end, letting me know that there was nothing more he was going to say until I would be at the house. I grabbed my purse and wallet before I waited for Alice to arrive.

I didn't have to wait that long for her to pull up. I rushed forward and got into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind me and putting my seatbelt on. She glanced down, noting that I held the envelope in my hand. I wasn't going to read it without them around me. Whatever the Volturi had to say to me I knew they had something to say about the Cullens and Hales.

I hadn't known who the Volturi were, I had heard it mentioned once. Someone had brought it up and then they were shushed. It was a taboo subject in their household, they would not speak about the Volturi because speaking about them was acknowledging them completely.

Trees blurred around us; everything was muddled together. Nothing could be detailed to my human eyes, but I knew Alice was seeing everything perfectly, there was no fuzziness around her. She could see every leaf and its veins; she could see the clouds moving across the sky. She could see everything as though they were underneath a magnifying glass.

Everyone was waiting in the living room when I came into the house, Rosalie had her hand up and covering her mouth, her eyes not there to begin with. She didn't acknowledge me because she didn't want to acknowledge anything that was happening. This was her nightmare; this was what she feared.

Edward came over and wrapped his arms around Alice, holding her almost too tight for a human, as though he was waiting for the Volturi to come into the house and kill them for allowing a human to know the vampire world.

Carlisle appeared through the front door, his eyes scanning over everyone in the living room. Esme was waiting near the fireplace where both stood. Rosalie was near the windows and Emmett was next to her. Alice and Edward were sitting on the couch and Jasper was waiting for me.

I took a deep breath and went forward to where Carlisle was, "I received this in the mail. I think you should see it." I handed over the envelope to him, his eyes widening when he saw the crest on the envelope.

"No, no." Carlisle held the envelope as though it was about to from a mouth and swallow him whole. He peered at the envelope as though what it said meant that we were all going to die painful, slow deaths.

"Carlisle? What's wrong, sweetie?"

Esme came forward and looked at what he was holding, her eyes widening when she turned and looked at me. She went over to where Carlisle was and held him in her arms, telling him that everything was going to be fine. He had his family around him, they would protect each other.

"Everyone, we have something we need to say," Esme spoke up, turning so that she was facing everyone. She sat Carlisle down on one of the stylish chairs, making sure that he was sitting. She turned to us all, "Bella, the vampire community is run by three vampires, we call them the big three, Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They look over the vampire community, make sure that nothing bad happens. Makes sure that everything is fine. If they are concerned, then sending their calling card you have to go to see them or they will come back and get you."

"How could they have found out?" Rosalie demanded, her eyes flashing dark and deadly, as she looked directly at me, "I told you that she shouldn't be here! I told you we would be better without a human! She's going to get us killed!"

"They are not going to kill us," Carlisle softly spoke, his voice barely not there for me to hear but clear as crystal to them. Rosalie stopped, only because this was her father figure I believed. She turned towards him, waiting for him to continue.

"They want to meet Bella since she is a part of my coven now. She may not be a vampire yet, but they wish to see her. They are not going to kill her. They are merely seeing her and what it is that has enticed us to her," Carlisle added, making everyone nod their heads as they heard him say this.

I couldn't help but frown though, "who is the Volturi? I remember you only talking about them once and you stopped when you saw me watching."

Everyone turned to Carlisle and he sighed before he turned towards me, "The Volturi are the leaders of vampires, along with their wives. They have been in power for thousands of years. I met them for some time before the eighteen hundreds and stayed with them for a few decades. They were trying to change me into eating humans while I was trying to make them eat animals but eventually, we decided to part our ways from each other.

"I'm sure that they are curious about you and want to meet you…" Carlisle finished as he saw me sitting there, taking in all he was telling me. I nodded my head before I sighed and slumped backwards.

"So, when are we going?" I asked, knowing the sooner the better since I would have college in a month. I let my eyes wander towards them all and Carlisle sighed before he got up and went into where his study was.

"This week," Alice supplied to me, pausing as her mind focused before she told us what plane model it was, which row I would be sitting in and that Jasper and Carlisle were both going to come with me. I frowned, knowing that bringing Jasper was given but I didn't want to bring Carlisle, he had managed to stay away from them for over a century. He didn't need to come back.

Carlisle came back into the living room, before we came and sat down on the long couch, Esme came and sat down next to him. Alice and Edward sat smug in one of the armchairs, Alice curled up in his arms. Rosalie was standing outside with Emmett leaning up against the window next to the door. The Volturi deciding to have us come to them must have shut her down completely.

I didn't know how long I stayed at their house but when I was about to leave Edward cleared his throat, gaining my attention. He reached his hand up and rubbed the nape of his neck before he spoke, "I and the others are going to taking shifts around your house to make sure that you and Charlie will be okay. We will keep doing shifts around your house when you're in Italy too."

I smiled at Edward before I went up to him and kissed him on the cheek, "thank you, Edward. I'll see you later." I went back to where Alice was and together, we walked out of the house, down the stairs, and to her glamorous car.

Charlie was down at the Reservation, visiting Harry Clearwater. He had finished his friendship with Billy when he learnt how Jacob had broken my arm. So, he made sure to stay away from the Blacks. I both felt relief but sadness, relief because I wouldn't have to worry about them being around Charlie and shifting into their wolf forms, and sadness because Charlie had lost one of his oldest best friends.

Entering my house, I yawned and stretched before I put my coat up over on the hanging rack. Alice had already drove away, I slipped the slip-on shoes from my feet and picked them up before I went upstairs to my bedroom. Throwing my shoes into my closet I stretched out my feet. I arced my arms up over my head for one last long stretch before I went over to my bed and plopped down.

I bit the corner of my finger against the nail of my pinkie finger, trying to figure out how I was going to tell Charlie why I was leaving later in the week, not because I wanted to get situated in Seattle but because I was going to Volterra (which apparently happened to be in Italy) so that I could introduce myself to the leaders of the vampires. I didn't think that would go that well.

When Charlie came home, I was sitting in the living room with my laptop on my lap, my eyes flashing away from the screen in front of me where I had put a movie in so that I could have something to watch to take my mind off of what had happened.

"Dad, I have something I need to tell you," I started, knowing that I needed to get it out of the way so he wouldn't have to find out about it later. He studied me for a moment before he pulled his uniform jacket off and sat it on the decorative table along with his gun belt before he came to me.

"Please don't tell me that boy got you pregnant—"

"No!"

I didn't expect the anger to come from my mouth, I could never imagine Jasper ever doing that. Charlie didn't know about my gynophobia. I also didn't expect for it to go away as soon as I would turn into a vampire. I liked to think that Jasper and I could become one through our bodies one day.

Charlie must have had the same thoughts because he stared at me with surprise lit upon his features. I sighed and brought my hand up and ran my fingers through my hair. I shook my head and groaned. I contemplated leaving this to tomorrow, but I knew putting it off would only do so much. So, I took another breath and brought my head up and spoke "I'm going to Italy for a few days. I'm leaving on Wednesday. Jasper's great aunt on his mom's side just died and he wanted to go and see her."

"What about Rosalie, is she going to be there?"

I couldn't imagine Rosalie entering Volterra so that she could enter the supposed castle the vampire lords lived in, letting them judge if she should allow me to become a vampire. She would be there trying to tell them I shouldn't be changed; she would ask that I would stay human. Or she would ask them to deter me from joining them in immortality. No matter the case I knew Rosalie wouldn't be there to support me, but for her brother.

"Rosalie and her aunt never got along. Their great-aunt has always been sick, and Rosalie never visited her before she got adopted by Carlisle and Esme. Every now and then Jasper goes to see her, but he hasn't been able to since he went to Oxford. I'll be back by mid next week," I declared, Charlie nodded his head a moment later. He had been over at the house, seen how caring and loving the family was in their own home. He could see how much I meant to their family.

"Fine, you can go. You have to call me at least twice a day," Charlie announced, making me sigh and nod my head. "Of course."

The next few days went by fast, I liked to imagine it would have gone slow. But on the day, I was to leave for Volterra I wanted to roll up in my blankets and close my eyes. My heart raced in my chest and I took a deep breath, whimpering as the panic within me began to rise once more. It was about to strike me—its fangs sinking into my body and sending venom coursing through my veins.

I hadn't expected for arms to wrap around me, both relaxing and making me scream at the same time. I turned my head, finding that Jasper was lying on the bed and was holding me. I glared at him and went to pull away from him, "you know you shouldn't do that, Jasper."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to comfort you," Jasper whispered before he pulled off me.

I sat upright and hugged him before I went to my closet. I had my rolling luggage that was already filled with clothes I was taking with me. I grabbed the travel clothes I was going to wear on the plane and changed into them once Jasper left the room, put my hair up in a messy bun and making sure there was no makeup on my face.

Making sure I had gotten what I wanted, I went out of the bedroom and down the hallway, my wheels of my luggage leaving behind noise. I went downstairs, where Carlisle was standing by the mantle, his eyes wandering over the different photographs that were lined on it. He turned his head, before he saw me standing in front of him as though I was dressed more for a sleep over than traveling on a plane.

"Are you ready?" Carlisle softly asked me, and I nodded my head. Jasper took my luggage and put it in the trunk of Carlisle's car. The others were waiting at the airport to say goodbye to us, one of them were going to drive Carlisle's car back—most likely Esme would.

The heat was on when I got into the backseats of the car. Carlisle got into the driver's seat and Jasper got into the passenger's. A station was playing, and when I listened closer, I smiled as I noted it was classical music that was playing.

Arriving at the parking lot, Carlisle parked his car and grabbed the two duffle bags he and Jasper had brought for themselves. I grabbed my rolling luggage and began to head towards the sliding doors of the airport of Port Angeles, with Jasper moving with me.

The both of us couldn't look more opposite than at that moment. I was the meek, half scarred girl with a blind eye while he was the beautiful boy with stunning eyes and stellar features. We were complete opposites, but we were meant for each other and that meant a lot to me.

I had already decided when I would come back from Volterra I would go back to Forks and stay with Charlie for a week before I would go ahead and head up to Seattle University so that I could get settled in. Jasper wouldn't be there, but Alice had made sure she had gotten into Seattle University too. Edward was going to Washington State instead but neither of the mates seemed as though they were concerned with the distance, they would have each other.

"I brought my dress I had bought for the spring dance," I spoke aloud, breaking the silence between me and the vampire men next to me. "I just thought that it would be good to wear it when I meet them. I mean they are basically royalty and I don't want to wear something that could insult them."

Jasper let his eyes flicker towards his father, waiting for what he would say. Carlisle seemed to be remembering something, probably back to when he was still with them. He turned his attention towards me, "it will appeal to them. Caius will be extremely pleased; he is the most ill one of them all. Aro will just be happy to meet you. Marcus doesn't care either way."

We had reached where we were to have our luggage checked when we saw the others waiting for us. Esme was waiting with her hands twinning together but when she saw us, she let out a sigh of relief. Emmett was trying not to show any emotion, but I knew he was worried about what would happen. Alice and Edward were nervous even though Alice was gifted and knew what would happen it wouldn't be revealed to her until it was happening right in front of her. So, she had every right to be worried, she would have felt guilty of something happened and she couldn't have seen it before it happened. Rosalie was staring past me, as though she wasn't going to note me standing in front of me. She was here for her father and brother, not for me.

"Oh, my babies!" Esme reached forward and wrapped her arms around me and Jasper, holding us against her as though she was shielding us away from the Volturi. She pulled away and wiped away the venom that was appearing in her eyes before she straightened up and smoothed down Jasper's shirt.

"Don't look them in the eye, make sure that you call them lords in their presence. Speak only when spoken to. Do not sass them," Esme instructed, I furled my eyebrows at her as though wondering how she knew this. She admitted, "I had to go and see them when I first married Carlisle, they wanted to make sure that I would be worthy for their old friend. I had to bring Edward with me, it was quite unsettling to say but we were safe. I know you will too."

Maybe this was why I was going to see them. It was their old alliance and friendship between Carlisle and them that made them not come and kill me for knowing about their world. They were making sure that I was worthy for their world, to be a Cullen. They would slaughter me in cold blood if they decided I did not deserve to be with Jasper and his family.

"I promise we'll be respectful," I promised, Jasper nodded his head. Carlisle reached forward and kissed his wife softly before he pulled away. Alice came over, "You didn't forget to pack your crest, did you? It will help."

"Yes, I made sure to pack it. I'll wear it when I meet them," I responded, which loosened her shoulders. She hugged me against her, she might have been shorter than me, but she almost seemed as though she was taller than me in that moment. She was showing her true age.

"We need to get going, don't want to be late," Carlisle announced, I was hugged once more by the family members except for Rosalie.

She turned and looked at me, studying me, before she let her lips fall into a bare frown. She was struggling but finally she straightened up and came forward. She put her hand on my shoulder, "be safe." It was all I was going to get but I took it without having any arguments or disappointment.

We had our bags checked before we went to the terminal. I went over to where the large windows were. I peered out at the planes that were scattered across the landing strips. The towers in the distance still were lit, directing planes when coming and going. There were some of the employees that were putting luggage into planes, making sure that they were putting the right luggage into the right plane.

It started raining when we got into the plane. I sat against the window seat. The rain fell and cascaded onto the window. Jasper sat to my right and I couldn't see him, but I held his hand in mine, while next to him sat Carlisle. Carlisle was reading one of his favorite novels, but I didn't know what it was. Apparently, it was from the eighteenth century.

I yawned.

All I wanted was to fall asleep and wake up in my bed. I didn't want to think about the Volturi asking me to come to Volterra. The way that they had written on the parchment was more than unsettling, it was creepy. They were writing in a manner where they were still writing in their own style from when they were first ruling the vampire world. So proper and cold, it was reminding us all the power they held over the world—both in the vampire world but also the human world.

"You can fall asleep if you want, love," Jasper assured me, but I protested, not wanting to fall asleep. My eyes fluttered and almost closed. Jasper chuckled as he pulled me closer and let me rest my head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, making sure that I was safe and secure in his arms.

A stewardess must have come because I was near asleep when a blanket was wrapped around me, making sure that I was warm and content. It did help when it came to being in the arms of a cold vampire. If only she knew she was stuck on a plane with a vampire, one who had the worst bloodlust out of any his coven—but now was able to control his bloodlust enough that he could be in enclosed spaces without having to hold his breath or leave.

I woke to us having to get on the plane in Seattle, but once we were settled again, I fell asleep more comfortably, knowing that I didn't have to be woken up for a good while. I knew I was about to enter the true den of vampires. I didn't know if I would be welcomed with open arms or if they were going to shun me away, making sure to let me know they did not accept me.


Twilight doesn't belong to me