Hello! How is everyone? I hope you're all fine, and safe from Coronavirus. I live in Italy, and right now here everything is on lockdown and the situation is pretty critical. I haven't left my house since February 24th (and won't be doing so until April 5th, at least). Please be safe! Remember, it's not just a simple flu, it's so much more dangerous. Stay safe.
Enjoy this chapter, then make sure to review and then read a bit about this Covid-19. It could save your life.
FELIX POV
Bella is a badass. Seriously. It's been five days since she started training with Major Whitlock and she's already a great fighter. At first she was quite clumsy and often fell on her ass, but after a couple of days she started to get the hang of it, and now she's a fucking killing machine. She's not able to kill a vampire—she's human after all—but she's damn straight going to be able to evade them and keep up with the rest of us, and maybe even cause some damage if necessary.
The Major wanted this training to be a private one, so he asked me to stand guard in the room and keep the other guards away, and help him if it was needed. Bella insisted on training every day, so the Kings gave me permission to stay with them during the entirety of the day, relieving me of my other tasks.
Today they are honing her reflexes and strength control.
He's throwing eggs at her, and she needs to grab them—without breaking them—and throw them back to him as soon as possible. They've been doing this for the past three hours. At first, they started with three eggs, and Bella broke two of them. Then they were five, then six, then ten, then twelve. She managed to break only two eggs. Now they are playing around with fifteen eggs, all intact, flying fast between the two of them.
Bella's hands seem to be moving on their own accord, as if it was second nature, as smooth as water. The slickness of the eggs she broke before doesn't affect her.
Suddenly the Major stops throwing her eggs and puts back the ones she throws back at him. "Good job, darlin'. That was good" he says. Bella is panting, but beaming. Her hair is back in a low ponytail and she's wearing a white wife-beater and red sweats.
"Drink a bit, then we'll do something different" he tells her. She nods and comes toward me. I hold out her bottle of water. I took to keeping it in my hands so that it was fresh every time she needed to drink.
Felix, Volturi guard and water-cooler.
"You did good, Bella" I tell her, and she rewards me with a smile. This past few days we became closer, from acquaintances to friends. "Thanks, Felix" she says, after she gulps down a big swig of water.
"Break is over" the Major says, and Bella jogs back to him. Damn, that man is strict as fuck. His breaks don't last more than 81 seconds—I counted. Bella never complains, though.
"So, now, sugar, we're goin' to try somethin' I used to do with my newborn unit. Ya up ta that?" he asks, even though he already know the answer. Bella is up to anything.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Newborns rely heavily on their senses, but usually they're in so much overload that they don't understand shit. I did this exercise to help 'em hone their senses and attune ta 'em. Come here" he orders her, and she walks up to him. He holds up a black strip of cloth. I see.
"Now, I'm goin' to blind you, and ask you to follow me throughout the castle. Try not to trip and die, please" he says, and she looks at him indignantly. "Hey! I nearly tripped only seven times in five days. That's a record for me" she sticks out her tongue.
"Whatever. Now turn."
She turns and he puts the blindfold on her eyes, "Can ya see anythin'?" he asks.
"Nope. All black" she answers.
"Good, now follow my voice. I'll tell ya if we come across some obstacle. Ready?" he says. She nods.
He starts walking. She doesn't move. "Well? Aren't you going to move or make a sound?" she asks, facing the wall. She obviously hasn't heard him walk away. He turns back, "I'm already moving, darlin'. Don't expect me to make some sound. Vampires are sneaky bastards, so ya need to be able to hear everythin', as I know ya can do it."
She jumps when she realizes how far he is, and she sprigs into action. She tentatively starts walking in his direction, and I follow her, as quietly as I can. I don't want to disturb her concentration.
Jasper opens the southern doors to the training room and walks through them, Bella following close behind. "Felix is behind me, right?" she asks. "Yes, darlin'. He'll catch ya if ya trip, but don't get distracted. Follow me. I'm yer target" the Major says.
He resumes walking, his steps so light that I doubt a human can perceive them. But, obviously, Bella proves me wrong. She removes her training shoes and socks, standing barefoot on the cold stone of the castle, and then—after a moment of complete silence when she stops breathing—she starts walking after the Major, breathing again. There are 17 feet between them, but she can keep up with him.
This tiny human is more capable than I ever gave her credit for.
BELLA POV
This shit is hard!
I can barely hear his steps, and I can barely feel the vibrations on the floor's stone. But I think I'm doing good. I think.
I'm tired from all the training we've done this past few days, but I will not stop. I need to prepare for the Hell we'll be going through when we'll arrive in the South.
Drops of sweat slide down my temples and I'm all sticky. Can't wait to jump in the shower.
"Concentrate. Stairs ahead" the Major says. Oh fuck. How in hell I can walk down the stairs blindfolded?
I focus my entire human brain on the task. I hear the Major's steps ahead, they are fast and light—he's going down the stairs. By the distance, I'd say I have four steps before the stairs come. I cautiously take the steps that divide me from the stairs and then I proceed to walk down them, miraculously not tripping. I know that Felix is behind me, ready to catch me at the first sign of falling, but one can never be too sure.
Since I started training my coordination and physical abilities have improved greatly. I'd have never thought I'd be so good at fighting. I'm not deluding myself into believing I can take on a vampire, but now I'm much more confident.
I keep following the Major across the castle, my feet freezing cold, but helping me sense his movements. I try to remember all the tricks my father taught me when I was young and put them to good use, but said tricks aren't as effective when you are dealing with vampires. After what seems like days walking, we stop. As we walked down the halls and corridors of the castle I heard many vampires passing near us, but now I hear nothing.
Either the Major has stopped, or I completely lost him.
The first hypothesis is proven right when I feel his deft hands removing the blind fold. I prepare myself for the onslaught of light, but instead I see that it's night. Did we spend so much time training?
I also realize with a start that we are in the throne room.
"Good job, Bella. You did excellent" the Major says, clapping me on the back. I smile and nod, but suddenly I'm feeling tired. I just had a meagre sandwich for lunch, and nothing else, so I'm also hungry. I'm sweaty, tired, and hungry. How lovely.
"Why are we here?" I ask him, seeing as the Kings aren't in the room yet. There are some guards—including Alec and Chelsea—but not the Kings. Alec smiles at me and I smile back. They're all much less intimidating than the last time I was here, with Eddie. I can see myself becoming friends with some of them.
"Ah, Major and young Bella! Thank you for coming here as asked. Please forgive us for our slight tardiness" Aro says buoyantly as he and the other two waltz in the room, taking a seat in their thrones.
"It ain't a problem, Aro" the Major says, coming to stand beside me, hands behind his back in a military stance.
"What do you need?" I ask, trying desperately to contain the hungry grumbles of my stomach. The Major eyes me and nods minutely, he probably felt hunger in my emotions.
"Ah, yes. You certainly don't beat around the bush, young one. You are quite refreshing. Anyhow, we got a report from our contingent in the South. It says that Maria has attacked a small village and burned it. Most inhabitants were slaughtered, but some were bitten and turned. Her numbers are now around one hundred newborns" he says gravely. My eyes almost pop out. What the fuck? One hundred?!
"One hundred? Are ya positive?" the Major says, a low growl laced into his words.
Caius nods, "All the reports state she has about one hundred newborns. Not more, but she's almost there. The locals are scared, and the police has no leads. At least, she's covering her traces well" he growls.
The Major nods, "She never leaves any trace behind. Never has and never will. Prolly the numbers will decrease—newborns tend to fight each other, so there will be some casualties—but we need ta act fast ta avoid any more humans bein' turned."
"Would you agree to departing tomorrow in the afternoon? Or is it too soon?" Aro asks, and briefly glances at me.
The Major turns and looks at me. I just shrug. What can I do? "If we need to go, I'm on board. Whenever is fine" I say. The kings nod.
"Very well. Thank you, dear children. We'll leave you to your activities" Aro says, clapping his hands. Before they can dismiss us, though, the Major speaks up. "Aro, can ya have some supper brought in Bella's room? She hasn't eaten much today, and I fear she's gonna collapse if she doesn't eat somethin' soon" he says.
I furrow my brows, "I'm not starving, I can survive a few more minutes without food" I glare at him. He raises a single golden eyebrow, "That why I'm feelin' ya fight hunger and exhaustion, all the while bein' cranky as fuck?" he retorts, a smirk on his perfect face.
His perfect face I'd really like to punch right now.
I open my mouth to retort, planting my hands on my hips, but Marcus—of all vampires—stops me. "I'll make sure Isabella gets her supper. Now go back to your rooms and relax. Tomorrow is going to be a taxing day" he says, smiling very faintly.
I throw one last glare at the Major, but then I nod—as does he. "Have a good night" I say, before walking outside, flanked by the Major. As we go back to our suites a comfortable silence stretches between us. It's really nice to be able to enjoy one's presence even without the need to talk. It's almost like he understands me even if I'm not speaking.
He turns his head and glances at me, "What has ya so deep in thought, darlin'?"
"I was just thinking about how comfortable I am with you. How you always understand me."
"Well, sweet cheeks, I'm tryna do my best. We friends, right?"
"Yeah, we are" I say, smiling at him.
And we lapse back into silence. You see, this small conversations really make my day. They are simple, genuine and heart-warming. I never needed a big declaration of friendship or something like that. I just need someone that is with me from the beginning to the end, in the shadows or in the light, to help, support and comfort me if necessary. That person is Jasper Whitlock. And I couldn't have asked for a better friend.
"Here we are" I sigh tiredly, opening the beautiful door to my even more beautiful rooms. My eyes immediately fall on the massive banquet spread out on the dining table. My mouth waters and I think I'm actually drooling on myself right now. My stomach decides to make itself known and rumbles loudly. It's so loud it's actually quite embarrassing to hear.
I don't waste time and sprint for the table, parking my tired ass on one of the plush chairs and grabbing whatever food is nearest.
Gnocchi, pasta, different types of cheese, grilled vegetables, meats, pinzimonio, fried pizza [A/N: a Neapolitan delicacy!], piadina, and so much more!
I'm in Heaven right now.
I hear the Major chuckle, "Careful there, sugar, or ya might choke yourself."
"I can't help it! Everything is so good!" I say around a bite of carbonara, then something strikes me, "What will I eat when we go in the South?"
The Major sighs, "I have no idea, darlin'. I think they'll arrange for some food to be brought, but I think ya'll have ta cook yerself yer meals there."
I shrug, "Fair enough."
A moment of silence and then, "Ya pretty laid back 'bout this whole thang, ya sure ya wanna come with us in the South? It ain't gonna be pretty" he says.
I stop with my fork mid-air. I slowly turn to face him, eyes burning with rage. "How dare you" I growl.
He looks taken aback. I don't give him time to recover, though. "How dare you try to stop me from going. I helped you all with your strategy, I trained day and night to be able to keep up with you, I memorized the territory and everything you said I could need. And now," I breathe out, fists trembling, "Now you dare say these things. I'm not 'pretty laid back'. I'm scared shitless. I'm scared because I have no idea what's going to happen. I just know it'll be like Hell, and that's all I know. But I will come with you. I will help in any way and shape I can, because I promised to do this. I will come with you because I have no intention of sitting in the background and do nothing. I'm strong—not as much as you but for fuck's sake, I already survived a vampire attack. I know it's not going to be pretty, but I also know you'll be there and you'll help me, just as I will help you. Because that's what friends do. They help each other in the good and bad situations. This is borderline apocalyptic, but we can handle this. So don't you ever try and throw around bullshit like that, Whitlock."
At the end of my rant, I'm standing right in his face and panting heavily. I can't believe he just tried to exclude me. Suddenly, tears flood my vision. When will I ever be enough to be considered? When?!
"Bella, no. Darlin', don't cry, please. I'm sorry" the Major says, and I find myself enveloped in his strong arms. A sob breaks free. "Hush, sugar. Don't cry. Everythin' will be fine. I didn't want to exclude you… it was my shitty way of tryin' ta protect ya. I don't wanna ya gettin' hurt. Please, believe me. Ya my friend, I can't stand the tought of seein' ya in danger. You are worth it."
When he says those last two words I finally break. All the tension and preoccupations and fear flow freely, and he is there to absorb them all. He rocks me in his arms, murmuring comforting words into my ear and assuring me everything will be fine and I'll be safe.
And I believe him.
I believe him with all my heart.
The last thing I remember before falling asleep is his melodic voice singing me a beautiful lullaby about Sandman. Then all is black.
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