If I think of something to say, I will add it at the bottom. Thank you to all of my supporters though!
Omniscient POV
Three vampires stormed into the room, snarling in anger and hissing with such ferocity that the guards stepped back, trying to escape before they met their doom. The beautiful girl in the arena cowered under the spray of wooden splinters, almost near unconsciousness as she clutched the wall behind her. She, who was once so strong, was weakened to a state of such pathetic defenselessness.
The crowd in the stands murmured in excitement and in fascination, they had been gathered for a show and thought this was all rehearsed. They believed it was the reason they had been called from nearly every corner in the world. They swirled martini glasses filled to the brim with blood and watched, not bothering to question the actions of the tyrant Aro Volturi who, without the vampire socialites realizing it, signaled for the guards to evacuate. Leave now, he warned, leave before she attacks.
They fled with the speed of flashing lightning, tripping over their brethren to slither like the snakes they were to the secrecy of the castle walls where they hid their craven faces. Aro wanted to run after them, but the obstacles barring him was too much to simply sprint through; so he stayed, fearing for his life.
The newcomers slowly scanned the room with the keen eye of a hunter on the prowl, letting loose snarls that vibrated deep in the chests of those watching. Each one in the crowd stared wide-eyed as the three, more stunning than the average immortal, made their way farther through the portal leading into the room. The blond male then spoke out, his hypnotic accented voice lashing out and capturing the attention of every vampire in the vicinity.
"What is this? You fools watch as if this is some game? Can you not see that this poor girl is on the brink of death?" the trio converged on the girl, taking her into their arms and weeping tearlessly over her limp, unresponding body. Her open eyes stared up at the ceiling, rolling without seeing, her awareness long gone after the sheer exhaustion of Alec's power pressing down took her under like the wave of a tsunami.
Whispers bubbled up like boiling water among the assembly, distress finally showing in their faces as they became aware of the state of affairs. The embarrassed and angry roar of Aro Volturi silenced the mutterings and all heads and eyes turned to the fuming oppressor. The female of the group drew Bella's body close to her chest, cradling her head against her and glared brutally at the irate man before her and escaped from the room with the girl's body clutched tightly in her arms.
The two males crouched down defensively in front of the door where the females left from behind them, flexing their bands of muscles ominously and letting loose warning snarls. Finally, Aro attacked, feinting left then right, heading straight for his objective only to be stopped with a shoulder to the chest that sent him soaring backwards to crash into the marble wall that crumbled like sand with the force.
The crowd screamed in terror and the room collapsed into pandemonium as the vampires scrambled to escape, having figured out that the vampires in front of them were out for death. They clambered over each other as the rage continued, knocking over their comrades in the madness. In moments, the previously crowded room was wholly devoid of the former onlookers. Cowards, the two men thought.
Aro leaped to his feet almost instantly, appearing to be unfazed and darted forward again, aiming for the throat of the blond one only managing to land his elbow in his stomach. The blonde-haired male snorted in pain and returned a blow of his own in the form of throwing his fist upward in a swift hook to Aro's jaw, making him stagger backwards.
The other male caught him in the back with his foot as he stumbled, catapulting him forward onto his hands and knees, sending spider-web like cracks through the floor with the force of his landing. Although he had not gotten any well-placed blows of his own in Aro would not relent his assault against his opponents. He snapped his teeth at their necks, missing by millimeters, and being battered by the other two because of his many failed endeavors.
Just as it seemed victory was near for the two protagonists the window, high up on the wall, shattered into a myriad of miniscule pieces of glass that rained down like beads that slashed. Through the jagged hole, there came another vampire that landed lithely on his feet and stood tall and brooding by his brother's side. He had hair darker than the night sky with a terrifying snarl on his face that shocked the two in front of him.
Slimy Aro smirked in triumph; his brother Marcus was a far better warrior than he was, Aro barely knew the basics of parrying while Marcus had spent centuries devoted to hand-to-hand combat as well as swordplay. Almost instaneously, with his red eyes shining with fresh drunken blood, the white-haired man sprang forward and landed on the darker-haired male, punching, scratching, and biting him all along the neck, arms, and chest.
Pieces of flesh tore and the beaten man bellowed in anguish, his blond companion thrashing at the back of his attacker in vain; he took no notice of the blows and only continued in destroying the vampire beneath him. "Wait, leave him alive!" Aro beseeched his brother right as he raised his hand that would be the final strike to end his foe's life.
Marcus groaned in vexation and leapt up off the comatose man and turned to face the frightened blond-haired man, trying desperately to keep from the same fate as his dear friend. He darted to the right, trying futilely to elude the death dealing hands of Marcus, which caught him around the throat and lifted him several inches off the floor. He had not realized that the ancient was so colossal compared to him.
Marcus bashed his head into the floor repeatedly while the blond-haired man scrabbled at the hand that squeezed his larynx, attempting to pry it away. Slabs of the floor flew through the air, crashing through walls and crushing the seats that surrounded the room. Aro repeated his wish to Marcus who complied only after he was sure the blond-haired man would not be waking up any time soon.
It was discovered, by his two brothers, that a vampire could in fact lose consciousness if a certain part of their brain was damaged. They ran many test on prisoners to find this out, the convicted being those that had revealed the vampires existence to humans. The breakthrough took many years however: most of the lawbreakers died before any findings were accomplished. Marcus however never witnessed their affairs, only knew from reports of the experiments.
"Come," Marcus called out to the guards, "bring these schiuma(scum) to my office," they filed in, two-by-two, and dragged the knocked-out men by their elbows behind them, their feet trailing and heads slumped on their chests. Aro and Marcus led the way, up the stairs and down a few corridors to the latter man's study, where century's worth of books lined the massive shelves.
"Put them there." he pointed to a corner and then went to sit on the only chair in the room behind his desk and beckoned Aro to stand before him after dismissing the guards. He regarded his brother with hard eyes, chewing his lower lip in the habitual way he had ever since he was human; seems as though some habits are hard to break.
He laced his fingers together before addressing Aro, thoroughly annoyed, "Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with Isabella?" Aro did not speak, only hung his head bashfully, "I thought so. Tell me, brother" he spat the word, "when will you realize that it is complete and utter blasphemy to kidnap the single most powerful creature in existence? She is not a toy, Aro, to be bought and played with at your whim." Aro rolled his eyes childishly at the floor.
"If you would only see it my way Marcus!" Aro pleaded, finally looking up from the carpet, "We could use her power to-"
"Enough!" Aro was cut-off by Marcus, who stood and flung a book off his desk, throwing it to the wall where it fell to the floor, open to the middle of the story. "I won't try to understand! Those two-" he pointed to the crumpled bodies in the corner, "have been almost destroyed thanks to you! I almost killed them Aro, I thought you had gone and got yourself into trouble again." he moved to their bodies and straightened them.
"I would have finished had you not stopped me. Moreover, I recognize them as well, I had not realized this before but they are familiar with Isabella. I have seen them before and if I had fulfilled my intention, I would have been killed by Isabella when she found out. No amount of love she has for me could compete with what she has for those two, and I can accept that without thought."
"Why can you not leave her and her loved ones alone? Why do you always have to fuck things up?" Marcus shoved Aro out of the room and shut the door in his angry face. He weaved his fingers through his hair and tugged, curling in on himself and crying his frustration, screaming out curses and unintelligible grunts of rage.
He stormed through the room, howling and throwing papers, his lamp, books; anything he touched he hurled across the room. Some things crashed through the window, letting in the breeze of the summer evening, but that did nothing to quell Marcus's rampage. Guards came into the room to investigate the thunderous sounds but he sent them out by throwing even more books at them, threatening them with death.
Within an hour, the room was completely unrecognizable and Marcus was considerably calmer, sitting on a relatively clear patch of floor as he waited for the two vampires to heal enough to wake up. The damage done to their skulls and brains would take longer to heal than the average wound. His remorse for his actions almost sent him back into his fit of fury but the need to be calm when they woke up kept him sane.
He watched them in the meantime, scrutinizing their every detail, memorizing the planes of their faces, the contours of their bodies. He etched their every aspect into his mind so that, if it all came down to a fight between the Volterra coven and Isabella's clan, he would know who his ally was, and who was not. He only hoped that once they woke he could reason with them and convince them he was not an enemy, only a pawn in Aro's game.
Trapped in his internal dilemma, Marcus almost missed the first stirrings of the two men but they made enough noise that his attention was captured and held. They stirred, the dark-haired man first since he was the earliest to be attacked, followed by the blond-haired man, since obviously he was the second. Marcus was easily spotted and they struggled to back away so Marcus had to act quickly to calm and convince them.
"Please don't be frightened I mean no harm!" they still strained to heave their weary bodies off the floor but Marcus was persistent. "Please, I am not an enemy! I never meant to hurt a friend of Isabella! It was just a mistake!" at the mention of Bella they froze and inspected the prehistoric looking man with his pleading eyes and imploring demeanor.
"You! You're that man from the-the prom!" the darker-haired one gasped, memory hitting him. Marcus nodded, thankful that he had used rational thought instead of acting on his impulse to run away. "Why?" he asked, torment so painfully engraved on his face, evident with such clarity to Marcus. So he told them how Aro used Marcus to detain them in order to do… something, he had not been bothered enough to ask Aro what he wanted of the two.
"Your female companion was able to escape with Isabella. I only pray that they reached safety." he grasped the rosary around his neck and whispered to the Holy Father to keep the two women safe. "If Aro manages to get a hold of her." he quivered at the thought, "I don't know what he wants her for however; she is too weak to do anything and if she heals she will blast his sorry ass to kingdom come." Marcus seemed enthralled by that idea, picturing his brother dying at the mercy of Isabella.
The men revered Marcus with apprehensive eyes, not to quick to forget the manic spark in his ruby eyes as he broke them with each hit. "That's all very well sir but we want to help Bella and we need animal blood in order to heal, are you planning on helping us out there?" Marcus fluttered, embarrassed, his manners that had been drilled into him sending him to his feet and to the intercom on the wall.
He pressed a silver button and spoke quietly and rapidly into the speaker above it, "I need that grizzly that was brought in this morning, it should be fresh, it was drained only a few hours ago." there was no reply, the way it should have been. Marcus did not worry that he was unheard; someone was always in hearing range of the speaker downstairs. Even he could hear it from his office, hollow and crackly through the loudspeaker.
He pressed the button again, realizing the two men also needed another thing, "Also bring up men's trousers and shirts, large." he didn't thank the listener or wait for a reply before returning to the corner, informing his company of the items that were to be coming up momentarily. They thanked him and he stared, confused, his face fixed into one of disbelief. Marcus would quickly admit to not being the recipient of many thanks.
He was always the quiet one, never speaking up in council meetings or expressing his opinions, never saying anything that really received a 'thank you'. Therefore, he settled with nodding curtly, sitting stoically through the ten or so minutes it took his request to be carried out. The knock on the door startled the wounded but Marcus leapt from his seat, agitated, and opened the door to two vampires.
The first carried a silver platter on which two tall bottles, both filled with a thick, sloshing crimson that exuded a scent as sweet as sugar. With a hint of vinegar. Marcus curled his lip at the offending stink but took the bottles mutely and tore the cork from the neck of one of the bottles, releasing more of the odor. He was disgusted and could not fathom why any self-respecting vampire would choose the vegetarian lifestyle over humans at least they were appetizing.
He took the bottles to the jittery vampires on the floor and gave the open bottle to the blond-haired man and then the second, unopened, to the other. The cork was pulled out and the bottle downed in seconds, the sounds of gulping reassuring to Marcus, it helped him believe they would heal and help him in the fight against "evil".
The second vampire that was at the door, the castle's resident tailor, held two bundles with trousers and loose white shirts. Marcus took the bundles from her and she disappeared without a word, there one second and gone the next. She never spoke a word to anyone and some would say she was mute, although Marcus doubted a vampire could be mute since the transformation cure all physical ailments.
Marcus handed the rejuvenated vampires their new garments and turned his back respectfully until they signaled that they were done. Once so Marcus leapt on his opportunity to ask the men his question he only thought of himself moments before, "Will you men fight?" they laughed at his question and the blond-haired one asked what he meant.
"If this ordeal ends in battle will you be able to fight? As in hand-to-hand combat?" they nodded, frustrated with the concept of reengaging in the death dance even if it was with far less skilled warriors than they were. They took pride in being able to hold their own against others, even though Marcus had defeated them. Marcus was an exception however; he had many years of training behind him as stated before, many times.
"I will teach you what I can in the time we have, for I fear you will need it soon. Aro is not the person to take defeat and humiliation lightly. He will convince the guard I have turned traitor and all my allies must die with me." he took the door handle in his hand and twisted it, opening the door and peered into the corridor beyond.
"Come." he whispered and slunk into the hall, gliding to the end with the two silently following him, looking over their shoulders periodically. They reached a door and soon were on the other side, sprinting down a flight of stone stairs, worn from centuries of use. They arrived at the last step where yet another door awaited them, Marcus threw it open and they plowed through.
The motion sensing lights sprang to life and the room was awash with too-bright white light that reached every corner of the enormous underground cavern-like room. There were closed cabinets all along the walls along with targets stacked below them. Marcus was quick to reveal what their purpose down there was by handing them each steel chest plates and leather gloves. He had his own armor on already and instructed them to adorn theirs.
"Proper stance. Agility." he called out once they were covered. "We will work fast and since your memory skills are nothing short of photographic you will not forget it. Now first, never leave your back unguarded, vampires are known for attacking from behind. It is best to collaborate and watch each other's backs, that way you will have twice the coverage. Let us begin." Marcus held his hands up and waved them forward.
The two males were confused but took it as a cue to try to attack him, not harm him mind you, and just practice, like learning karate. No sooner than they took off, they were on their backs, dents in their armor, and groaning in slight pain. Marcus stood above them, chuckling, and offered both of them a hand to help them back on their feet.
"I see we have much work to do." he continued chuckling with his hands clasped behind his back as the two assumed the stance he showed them to use before springing. Once again they ended up on their backs, not even succeeding in throwing a punch or kick of their own. Marcus only threw his fists outward and caught them right above the breastbone, knocking them down.
"Again!" he called.
Let us check in with Bella and her companion, as you will remember the one who was able to escape with her from the arena and the malevolent Aro. Bella was unconscious, lost in her own mind and oblivious to everything that was happening in the world around her. The female with her was able to hide within the crowds of people in Volterra, carrying the girl in her arms and receiving astonished looks.
She knew she had to get as far away from the castle as she could without actually leaving the city; she had to go back for her other companions. She also had an incredibly hard time resisting the blood of the clamoring humans around her. She was beyond thirsty and almost couldn't resist dropping Bella and attacking the entire city, massacring everyone that crossed her path. However, she had to resist, not knowing what the consequences of that might be.
She was able to find refuge in an abandoned building, a few miles outside of Volterra and outside of the tempting circle of human blood that surrounded the metropolis. Bella was as immobile as ever as she placed her on a clear spot on the floor and that worried the female, she didn't know how to treat her since there were no visible wounds on her. She decided it had to be a defense mechanism against what had happened to her before she and her two male companions arrived.
She was angry with the man who was supposed to be the leader, this Aro Volturi. Who did he think he was to go and kidnap the girl she came to love like family and had brought so much happiness to anyone she met? What about her father, Charlie? Not that she knew how he even became vampire but he would be devastated if Bella had been killed.
"Wait." she thought. "What if Bella is dead?" she sobbed aloud at the contemplation and dropped to her knees next to Bella's head where she had been laid. "Please wake up Bella," she cried, shaking her shoulder, "I can't bear to think what will happen if you don't live." the female was beside herself with her cries, tearless, and left Bella's side to pace.
Her thirst got the better of her so she pushed herself to go outside and try to find any sort of wildlife, but she wasn't sure what Italy had to offer. She distantly remembered that there was a deer problem and decided that would suffice, perhaps she could also bring one back for Bella and see if she could drink. Maybe that was the problem she tried to convince herself.
After standing with her nose in the air, sniffing the wind, she was able to locate a rather large herd just north of where she was. It wasn't as sweet as the scent of the humans but she knew that it would satiate her for the time being and would hopefully revive Bella. She took off at a nearly imperceptible speed that would appear as a trick of the light to a human and ran towards the herd, not making a sound.
Without alerting the dominant male, she slew four does that had already weaned their most recent fawns, killing them quickly and painlessly, well at least she hoped it was painlessly. After draining two of them for herself, she disposed of the carcasses and hefted the remaining onto her shoulders and returned to her hideout with the wind at her back.
When she ran through the empty doorway, Bella was still motionless on the dirt floor, her arms still folded peacefully across her chest and her head drooping to one side. The female dropped to her side with a deer and held Bella's mouth to a fresh hole in its neck, praying for her to latch her mouth onto it and drink. After a few moments of waiting, Bella seemed to wake up like a sleeping dragon and sank her teeth into the neck of the doe, taking loud deep gulps.
She groaned when the deer's veins ran dry so the female quickly grabbed the other doe and let Bella sink her teeth into its neck and repeated the same deep pulls she took from the other animal. When that one was drained she pushed the deer away from her mouth and gasped for the air she didn't need, her eyes still closed but darting wildly behind her lids.
"Bella? Open your eyes." Bella sucked in a gasp at the sound of the female's voice but otherwise stayed calm since the quiet, tinkling voice was familiar to her. Comforting too. She opened her eyes and all she saw was the dark ceiling of the room and the wall that connected to it. Bella blinked and turned her head to where she remembered the voice had come from.
She caught sight of the girl that had brought her to safety and spoke to her in a terrified whisper, "Alice? What happened?"
Did ya know it was Alice? Cuz I sure did! Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my selfish cry for reviews. If I can get to 300 reviews at the least I will be super grateful! I won't ask for more cuz that'll be pushing it and more than I deserve.