A/N: in my fanfiction shapeshifters do not exist!

BELLA'S POV

After Felix told us where to go we waited for them to vanish before stepping out the limo. We were entirely covered in black clothing, so that the light didn't make my sisters' skin sparkle—even though I wasn't sure why I was also covered since my skin didn't sparkle, but anyway.

We stepped out the limo and I tasted the air of Volterra. It was clear and warm, it smelled like wheat and sunshine. The buildings surrounding us were old and beautiful. They gave the city an air of antiquity that fit the place.

"Felix said you knew where to meet the secretary. Where is it?" Alice asked, and I noticed she had put on a black shawl and leather gloves to cover herself.

"Palazzo dei Priori" I replied, "It's this way" I added, after having recognized one restaurant I passed while running to save Edward—he who was not my mate, I thought grimly. I still hadn't figured out if I was relieved or sad about this revelation: relieved, because I realised he was becoming a little bit too controlling and overbearing and that was unacceptable; sad, because he was my first love and I had believed him to be the right one.

Another hint that he wasn't actually my mate was the fact that I had took the revelation fairly nicely. Yes, I had been astonished and I didn't immediately recognized the truth in the statement, but I wasn't certainly depressed like the time when he left me. I was feeling good, actually.

I led the way and, all the while admiring the beautiful city, we reached the Piazza dei Priori. It was just as I remembered it, only without all the red-cloaked people.

We reached the looming building where the secretary was supposed to meet us. After waiting a couple more minutes—and attracting the gaping stares of any passer-by—we decided to go inside.

"I'm tired of waiting! Let's simply go inside!" Rosalie exclaimed, fuming, before marching inside the building.

We quickly followed her, and soon enough we found her standing in front of a human woman. She looked to be in her thirties and had long blonde hair and green eyes. She must be the secretary.

The fact that she didn't flinch at the death-glare Rose shot her made me wonder what type of company we would endure during our stay.

"Greetings. My name is Gianna and I'm the secretary" she bowed her head. She spoke with thick Italian accent.

"We were told that you will accompany us to your masters" Alice said, and her voice was surprisingly icy.

The woman nodded, scanning us from head to toe. Before she could utter a word Rosalie growled. "Done staring?" she hissed at the woman, who blanched under her tan complexion.

"I apologize. Yes, we may go to the Masters now, if you agree?" she asked, not looking at any of us.

"Yes. Shall we?" I said, using the same tone as my friends. They both smirked lightly at that.

Gianna nodded and started walking. She led us to a corridor that had no doors, or so I thought. She looked around for a second before using her hands to press two bricks simultaneously. At that point, the wall where she had pressed her hands slid back a couple of inched, before sliding to the right, inside the other wall.

"This is the passage we use in case of emergencies. Otherwise there are other ways to commute. The guards will tell you about those" Gianna explained while she walked.

Here the temperature was a grade or two cooler, but not enough to be unpleasant. We reached an elevator and we walked inside. Gianna punched a code in and we started out descend. Two floors later the elevator stopped and opened on a pretty waiting room.

Surprisingly there was light flittering through windows—I thought we would be underground but apparently it wasn't so. The light illuminated the area. The walls were panelled in light wood, the floor was carpeted in deep red. The piece of furniture that caught my interest was a painting of the Tuscan countryside. In the middle of the room there was a mahogany counter.

"Please, follow me" Gianna urged us toward a set of double doors in the back of the room. We did as told, not speaking or nodding whatsoever.

We stopped a feet behind her as she knocked on the wood. A joyous voice urged her to let us enter. Immediately she opened the doors and stepped aside to let us walk ahead of her.

We were met by gaping faces. Like, they were literally drooling at the sight of us—or rather, Alice and Rose, because there was no way they would be drooling over me, also. Several men, and even some women, were staring, mouth agape.

My eyes scanned briefly the massive circular room and landed on the three figures before me. They looked the same as they did in the painting in Carlisle's study. The one on the left was smiling faintly and had long brown hair that reached his shoulders. The one on the right was slightly frowning, but his stare wasn't too hostile; he had white blond hair slightly shorter than his brown haired companion. The one in the middle had long black hair and looked like the leader of the trio. All of them had red eyes and pale skin.

The one in the middle giggled. I repeat, giggled.

I forced my face to remain neutral. As Alice had asked us to do earlier, we had put back on the sunglasses when we were in the elevator. She had asked me and Rose to remove them only in the throne room. I had no idea about the reason, but I agreed nonetheless.

I reached up to remove my sunglasses at the same time they did. Rose hung them on her neckline, Alice held them in her hands, I put them over my hat.

"Ah! Hello, my dear ones! It's a pleasure to have you here!" the black haired one exclaimed, smiling jovially. "My name is Aro, and my brothers are Marcus" he pointed to the one on the left, "and Caius" he pointed to the blonde one. "I'm so happy you accepted my offer, young one" he said, smiling at me.

Not that I had much choice…

"Greetings, Aro. It's nice to meet you and your brothers. I was surprised but happy at your invitation. I could not pass on this occasion" I replied politely, slightly bowing my head.

He laughed. "It's nice to meet you, too, young Isabella. Or Bella, as I heard you prefer being called."

At that I furrowed my brows. How could he know?

Sensing my discomfort, as well as my sisters', he quickly explained. "I have the gift of tactile telepathy. By touching someone I can see every one of their thoughts since the birth."

"Wow, seems intense" I said, before realising whom I was speaking to. Holy hell, I was speaking with one of the Kings of Vampires, not with my dad! I blushed and attempted to apologize but before I could breathe a word his laughter resonated in the room.

"Yes, it can be. But it's also quite useful" he told me, his expression now a fatherly one.

He quickly descended the steps that separated the three thrones from the rest of the room and walked in front of us. "What a beautiful blush!" he sing-sang, looking at me. I blushed even redder.

Alice laughed. "You'll see a lot of that from her, I assure you" she told him. Rose nodded, smiling benevolently at me.

"Ah! How rude of me, I didn't greet you, my dears! I apologize!" Aro said, with a contrite expression.

Rose reassured him, "There is no need for an apology, Aro."

"I thank you for your kindness then, my dear. If my memory serves me, you must be Rosalie Hale" he said, holding out his hand. In greeting or for reading her thoughts I didn't know, probably both. She took it and he lightly kissed her hand.

He looked sad, "The way you came into our world is repulsive, but I am happy nonetheless that I got the chance to know you, dear."

Rose was suddenly grave and nodded mutely. I was sad and angry, too. Rose had already told me about her transformation and what happened during her human days. I could only imagine what she had felt.

"And you, my dear Alice, are equally welcome" Aro then moved to my right, to speak to her.

She offered her hand with a smile and he did the same thing. He kissed her skin with an elegance that was far superior to anything I had ever seen.

Then he moved to stand before me again. "My dear, I cannot tell you how much I'm intrigued by your mind. Particularly because I noticed, in Edward's thoughts, that he seems unable to hear you; moreover Demetri, our tracker, can't get a feel of your mind, either. May I try to read you?" he asked, holding out his hand to me.

My eyes widened when I heard that Demetri was a tracker. Like James.

Aro noticed my reaction and put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "I also know about that savage, James," he spat the name like an insult, "No one here will hurt you, much less bite you."

Everyone in the room gasped. "What?!" Caius gasped, disbelieving.

Alice stepped forward. "What he says it's true" she said, and then proceeded to tell everyone of my dealings with James and his coven. "He indeed bit her" she concluded, and to prove her words I rolled back the black cotton covering my arm and showed everyone my bite. Light from the window shone on my arm, and the bitemark sparkled much like vampire skin.

"Amazing" Marcus muttered so low I wasn't even sure he spoke.

"You can try to read me, Aro" I then said. I offered my hand and he immediately took it. He felt colder to the touch than any other vampire I knew.

After a few seconds he released me with a laugh. "Seems you are indeed powerful" he said, eyeing me with interest and curiosity, "You blocked me as well. You are talented as much as you are beautiful."

At that I could only blush and mutter "Thank you."

"It is but the mere truth. Now, I'm sure that you and your sisters are eager to settle. I have arranged for a suite for you. I hope you will find yourselves at home."

"Aro," I spoke before he could turn to call a guard, "What about our diets?" I asked. Of course, Alice and Rose wouldn't drink human blood, and I required human food.

He lightened up, "Oh, yes! I forgot. Thank you, dear Bella" he smiled, "Of course, you can continue drinking animal blood. Your suite has windows that face an area of the city usually not crowded, so you can slip out anytime you desire" he said to Rose and Alice, "For you, lovely Bella, I have asked our human secretary to choose a kitchen for you to install in your suite and to make sure food is always available. The kitchen was installed two days ago and the food was delivered yesterday evening. I hope it appeals to you more than it does to us" he joked, and I smiled.

"Thank you. And yes, it does." I replied.

"Perfect" he said, clapping his hands and gesturing a female guard to come closer. "This is Heidi, she will show you your quarters. Have a good time here" he waved with his hand while he returned to his throne.

A beautiful vampire smiled at us. She had long wavy mahogany hair and a curvy figure. She could give Rosalie a run for her money in the beauty department. "Please follow me." She had a melodious voice.

We trailed behind her as she walked out the throne room and into another corridor. Every wall was made of stone and there were statues, paintings and various antique objects adorning the space. Heidi walked at human pace, so we reached the suite assigned to us in about twenty minutes. She opened the door for us and stepped aside, gesturing for us to enter. She closed the door after we entered with a simple "Have a nice day."

The rooms were nice. As soon as you opened the door you found yourself in a spacious living room, with two light baroque couches and a rocking chair. There were also a lit fireplace and several shelves full of books, old and new. The floor was carpeted in deep green. Two walls were made of stone, one of shelves and another of windows.

There were three doors, each one of them led to a different bedroom. Rosalie claimed the one in the hues of blue, Alice the light purple one and I got the red one. Each bedroom had a private marble bathroom, and mine had also a fully stocked kitchen, as Aro promised.

I returned to the living room and sat on the rocking chair. "They seem friendly" I said, knowing well my sisters could hear me. In a second they were seated on the couch across from the fireplace.

"They do because they are" Rose smiled.

"That's a good start" I said, rocking slowly.

Alice grinned and stretched, even though she didn't need it. "It is, indeed."

A few minutes passed while we remained in a comfortable silence. Then Rosalie spoke, "Now what do we do, Alice?" she turned to her.

My pixie sister grinned and said, "Now we wait for the invitation to the first ball."

I thought sarcastically, I can't wait…