A/N: Chapter soundtrack: Kebnekajse by Karin Borg
It took Tanya several minutes to process the contents of the phone call she had received late last night before she could act. Bella Swan, the human extraordinaire who had thoroughly upended the life of her favorite vampire, was on her way to Alaska. Here. Now.
She would be perturbed if she didn't begrudgingly admire the girl's gumption. Not to mention her grasp over coven decorum - Bella had called her after all, and pleaded her case before obtaining Tanya's blessing. She had to give the girl credit where credit was due.
Glad that Rosalie happened to be miles away hunting, Tanya conferred with her sisters, who were given strict instructions not to alert the blonde (who was still very much a flight-risk) before setting out in her Mercedes Benz G-Class.
Tanya remembered the girl's unusually fragrant scent, and she caught wafts of it as she got out of her car. Bella had oh so helpfully sent her the address but she needn't have; Tanya could've been blindfolded and she would've had no trouble pinpointing her location in the city. That girl really had no idea how delectable she was.
Fairbanks was a two hour drive from their isolated home on the edge of Denali National Park. Tanya had asked Bella to meet her there for a chat, and she thankfully agreed without a fuss. And there she was...hunched over the remains of several sandwiches and looking like death warmed over. Tanya stood for a moment and regarded her through the coffee shop window. She had seen much in her thousand years. But in the two and a half years she'd been aware of Bella's existence, nothing could light a candle to the upheaval caused simply by her breathing. To put it bluntly the girl was against the rules, be they those that govern humanity or Tanya's kind. In another life, faced with such a transgression, Tanya and her sisters would know exactly what to do. But Rosalie, her Rosalie was in love with her...was by all accounts, including her husband's, mated to her. As much as going against her instincts to enforce the Volturi's unequivocal laws pained her, she would wait and see for Rosalie's sake.
The coffee did little to rouse her, despite drinking two cups. It turned out Tanya's insistence on meeting her here in Fairbanks was a good one because by the time Bella arrived, she was in no condition to travel an inch further. It took her all night to get here, flying part-way but relying more on bursts of fiery speed to make the most of her time. She burned through all her food before she'd completed half the trip. When she arrived just after dawn, all she could do was drag herself into the thankfully open coffee shop and eat as much as she could to regain some energy. The distance wasn't exactly new, but she had never done that on so little sleep before. Note to self: don't do that again. She sat, alone with her thoughts, nodding on and off by the window, for who knows how long before she looked up and discovered Tanya sitting directly in front of her.
She gave a start at the sudden appearance, her heart hammering in her chest...an appropriate reaction, she figured, to a dangerous predator sitting 2 feet in front of you. As she slowed her breathing to get some control back, she vaguely wondered why she never - even in the early days - felt such a reaction to the Cullens. The closest was Rosalie, but that was back when she hated her. The resemblance now was uncanny, and it had Bella mentally calling on all her sleep-deprived faculties in order to get through whatever this was.
"Can you guess why I wanted to meet with you here?"
Bella shook her head. She was sluggish with her movements, and Tanya wondered again at her abilities...how she managed to travel 2,000 miles like it was nothing-well no, not nothing judging by her obvious exhaustion.
"You've caused quite a bit of discord, Bella," Tanya said. "I wanted the chance to assess for myself and not through Rosalie's emotions. The situation is unfortunately bigger than just the two of you."
Bella stared back at her. Of course, she thought bitterly, because things weren't horrible enough. "What do you want to know?" She asked.
"Let's start with why," Tanya said. "What was offered to you isn't something our kind dangle in front of many mortals. Why have you refused Rosalie's gift?"
Bella looked blankly at her for a moment and then reached into a backpack by her side. From it, she pulled out a well-worn sketchbook which she pushed into Tanya's hands.
"Open it."
Tanya did as instructed and in a flash she understood what was in her hands.
"These are the people you-the people who died..."
She nodded. One of Esme's ideas...after putting her mother's face to paper more than a year ago, Esme had suggested she do the same for the others...perhaps it would help assuage her guilt and she could find some peace, much as she had when putting the finishing touches on her mother's portrait. It hadn't not helped...but she doubted Esme would be thrilled to know for what purpose her idea was being put to use now.
"I never wanted to hurt Rosalie," Bella started. "But you're right...this is bigger than just the two of us. It's already way too easy for me to kill, Tanya. I can kill everyone in this room...right now without getting out of my seat. Can you imagine what those powers would be like in a vampire's body?"
She said that last part in a whisper, and Tanya noted the shudder that rippled through her body as she closed her eyes.
"There are 510 people in that notebook. I will not...I cannot add to it."
Tanya, looking for something to do with her hands after the girl stopped speaking, flipped through page after page. None of them were labelled...smart of her, she supposed, in case it fell into the wrong hands. Men, women, children...a random slice of humanity with no other commonality than an unfortunate and fatal crossing of their paths with Bella Swan.
She closed the sketchbook softly and returned it to the girl in front of her. "Do not think me unsympathetic, Bella. But you need to understand that you may not get your wish no matter how hard you fight for it. If the Volturi learn of your existence and decide you must turn, then that is what will happen."
Bella rolled her eyes at that. "I thought they would prefer me dead."
"They may," Tanya conceded. "But I sincerely hope that isn't the case because if they order your death, I will have little choice but to carry out their wishes."
The human's eyes hardened as if finally realizing the danger of sharing a table with a vampire. "I didn't take you for a follower, Tanya."
"And I didn't take you for a fool. I'll forgive your comment because I'm guessing Carlisle failed to give you the complete history lesson, so I'll correct that now."
What followed was a brief but potent accounting of Tanya's interactions with the Volturi over her long life, the most important being the execution of her mother, Sasha. Bella listened as Tanya explained Sasha's crime, the immortal child that slaughtered countless in tantrum-fueled frenzies before the Volturi stepped in. Tanya, Kate and Irina were spared their mother's fate only because Aro saw they were innocent, and indeed knew nothing of her crime.
"We learned two important lessons that day," Tanya said. "First, that the Volturi's laws are there for good reasons. Like them or not, no one can deny their effectiveness in keeping us concealed from humans. And second, harsh as they can be, they are just. They could've killed my sisters and me, but the truth of our innocence saved us. That is why, Bella, when push comes to shove, if the Volturi decide you must turn, I will not stand in their way."
"If what you say is true," Bella started, though she felt so angry she had to begin again. "If what you say is true, why bother waiting? You could call them up now and probably get a reward for turning me in."
Tanya indeed wished it was that simple. "Ah, but you are forgetting something," she said softly.
"What?"
"Rosalie, of course. I care for her a great deal, Bella, whatever you may think of me now. I don't actually want any harm to come to her mate."
"But you just said-"
"I said I will do what I must in order to protect my family, which by the way includes Rosalie. I remain hopeful that you will eventually see reason before it's too late. You would make a fine immortal, Bella. I think Aro would agree."
Bella stared, and though still seething at this conversation, she didn't miss the warning glint in Tanya's eyes. Suddenly she understood what this was all about. Tanya was building a cover...she was doing what she could to insulate her covenmates from Aro's omniscience if and when contact with the Volturi ever occurred. She forced herself to calm down and think objectively. Bella may not possess the visceral fear of the Volturi like every other vampire she had met thus far, but she has also never had to live by any rules other than her own. Would she not do the same in Tanya's position? With a history like hers, would she not do everything possible to avoid repeating it?
"Your coffee is low. Would you like another?"
Bella raised an eyebrow in surprise, but nodded if only to see what the thousand year-old vampire would do. And sure enough, Tanya swiftly left her seat with Bella's empty cup and went to refill it. Bella took a deep breath and practically ordered herself to keep her mouth shut unless asked a direct question from here on out. Tanya didn't need her to blow the somewhat convincing (very convincing actually, Bella couldn't help but worry) gambit she had just played. She plopped her head into both her hands and didn't look up again till she smelled the fresh brew in front of her face.
"Thanks," she mumbled and started sipping.
They sat like that for what felt like eternity...Tanya unnaturally still and Bella slowly emptying her cup for want of something to do, when the latter finally capitulated and asked, "how is she?"
Tanya didn't answer right away. She fiddled with her phone for a minute before replying, "Better than a month ago. This is far from the first time she's stayed with us because of...emotional upheaval. Rosalie's mentioned to you, ah..."
Bella nodded, feeling extremely awkward but determined not to blush. "I know you have a history. I'm...I'm glad she can turn to you for help."
Well, Tanya had little to say to that. Truth be told she had been prepared to deal with jealousy and passive aggression regarding her complicated relationship with Rosalie. So this tacit approval just granted was an unexpected but welcome surprise. It spoke volumes of the girl's character and of her and Rosalie's relationship.
Tanya's thoughts turned to Rosalie's first years as a vampire. She and her sisters certainly put their multiple psychology degrees to use on that one. It helped that they could draw from their own experiences. After all, just about every woman from their time had gone through something like what Rosalie went through.
"My sisters and I approve, by the way," she said. "What you're doing down there. I'm sure Carlisle and his lot have told you otherwise, but we have no qualms with it. You should not, however, be leaving witnesses."
Shocked, Bella replied, "You think I should kill them?"
"You'd be doing the world a favor," Tanya said matter-of-factly. "But more importantly, witnesses talk, as I'm sure you've learned by now."
Bella looked away, down to her sketchbook and silently shook her head. No, it wasn't that simple for her. Bella wasn't a vigilante out to right a wrong. She delighted in the pain she caused and wanted more. It was all she could do to not let the fires burn hotter...to not snuff out one monster after another. Permission to do just that was the last thing she needed.
"I don't want to kill them," she whispered.
Tanya cocked her head at that. "You're lying."
"I don't want to kill anyone else, haven't you been listening?" She said, loud enough to look around furtively to confirm she wasn't heard by someone other than this vexing vampire.
Tanya held up her hands in a placating motion. "Fine," she said. "I only mean to warn you that loose ends have a habit of coming back to bite you. Remember that."
Bella spent the next few minutes finishing up her sandwich to keep her mouth occupied, the coven leader watching intently as all her vampires tended to do when she partook in the necessary human activity. When she finished, she looked up at her expectantly, hoping the interrogation was finished.
Tanya sighed and held up a finger. "I have one last question for you, Bella. What do you intend to do if Rosalie chooses not to return with you?"
"I don't know," Bella answered in what she hoped was a convincing tone.
"You're lying again," Tanya said.
"Are you a lie detector or something?" Bella grumbled. That would be a highly inconvenient development.
Tanya smiled. "Or something," she said. "Eleazar believes it's a weak gift that's gotten better over time. But he gives me too much credit. When you've lived as long as I have, you too would learn to discern truth from lies."
"Well...I'd rather keep some things between Rosalie and me, at least at first, ok?"
Tanya nodded. She could respect that. "Very well. Let's go."
They left the coffee shop after Bella made a trip to the bathroom. Bella silently thanked Tanya again for the pit stop she had unknowingly provided her, as now she would have the opportunity to sleep in the car for a couple of hours at least. She was on the verge of collapsing.
After they had both buckled themselves in and the car had yet to budge an inch however, Tanya turned to her yet again. Groaning inwardly, Bella waited for her to speak.
"I need you to understand something before you see her again," the ancient vampire said softly. "Time does not heal all wounds for us. It doesn't bless us with an emotional anesthetic like it does for mortals. My mother died more than a thousand years ago, and yet I feel that pain like it happened yesterday. You need to understand that should you die, your death will inflict a pain on Rosalie that will never diminish. She will never truly heal."
From exhaustion, dread, or both, Bella felt a heavy weight settle in her chest. As a tear slid down her face she whispered, "Should I leave her be? I can disappear..."
Tanya observed her carefully and after a time, shook her head. "No, it's too late for that. If you can get through today, then she at least has a measure of happiness while you live. If the last two months are a preview of her life without you in it, I dare say we're all better off not forcing it to happen any faster. And there's always the hope you'll turn...for her and for all our sakes, I needn't remind you..."
With that dark cloud hanging over their heads, they finally pulled out of the parking lot. Less than a minute after merging onto the highway, Bella was snoozing deeply in the seat next to her. Tanya found herself glancing at the girl constantly during the hours-long drive. Aside from the obvious novelty of a human comfortable enough to sleep a foot away from a vampire in an enclosed space, she couldn't help but admire and indeed, feel sympathy for her. Her situation was not an enviable one, and though Tanya's loyalties would always remain with Rosalie, she could reluctantly understand Bella's side in all this. Unfortunately for her, the Volturi would not give her preoccupation with murdering innocents any courtesy.
Bella would indeed make a fine vampire. And a formidable one. A year since she saw her last, the change in Bella was impossible to name but also impossible to miss. This was not the same person who risked Rosalie's ire and came to Denali to bring Edward home, though even then no one could say she lacked guts. Somehow, this Bella was both more and less at ease with herself than the Bella from her memories. What did that mean?
Tanya shook herself out of her thoughts as they neared the house. With a nudge, she woke the girl beside her, who was so startled out of her slumber Tanya almost regretted not idling for a while longer to give her more time to rest.
"The others will stay out of range till they hear from me," she explained as they exited the vehicle. "I won't risk the entire coven, but I will stay in case an intervention is necessary. Think you can both keep it civil?"
She paused and watched Rosalie rush out of the house, staring in disbelief at the girl beside her. Bella in turn was frozen in place, her bright eyes trained on Rosalie like she would disappear if she blinked.
"Do try not to kill each other," Tanya mumbled for both to hear. "And if you so much as scratch Kate's Hummer, she'll take a bite out of you herself."
A/N: Would love to hear your reactions to this one. Tanya will have a larger role to play in the next phase of the story, a role I had not anticipated when I first started writing this.
The next chapter will be the most difficult one of all to write. Excuse me while I go bang my head on a wall...