{Familiar Faces}
It took Bella a moment to gather her bearings and realise where she was when she woke up that morning. She blinked, rubbing her eyes and tried to shake off the sluggishness that resided in her body as proof of a long night of sleep. Rolling over, she reached out a hand to turn on the light that stood on the night table, somewhat regretting that move when the bright light hit her sensitive eyes.
With a groan Bella rubbed her eyes again, wanting to rid them of the sleepiness. Her body was still heavy and tired, and whilst part of her wanted to turn around and go back to sleep, she knew she had things to do today. So instead, she grabbed her phone and rolled onto her back, unlocking it. Her heart warmed in her chest when she scrolled through her notifications to find a whole array of messages from Alice. She opened their chat with a smile, unable to contain a happy sigh when she read the last message that had been sent less than an hour ago.
'I miss you' it said.
It should be weird. It should be weird to be missed after only having been friends for just a little while, right? Bella was unsure if it made sense, but she did know that there was a small piece of her heart that felt empty, now that she was not near Alice.
She decided to blame it on supernatural connections for now. She missed Kate, Irina, Eleazar and Carmen too, right? They were like family to her.
(She would just not acknowledge that it was definitely a different feeling. The little voice in the back of her head was not loud enough. Yet.)
Bella typed her responses to the message, looking them over before pressing 'send' and putting her phone away. It was nearly nine, and they had decided yesterday to meet for breakfast at half past. If she hurried, she could take a shower before getting dressed, and she knew she could benefit from freshening up.
The hot water that cascaded down from the shower simultaneously woke her up and soothed away any tension in her body that had crept up on her without her realising it. She was trying not to think beyond the hour or two that were ahead of her, because the realisation that so much was happening – things that had seemed so far away in the future back in the US – was overwhelming.
By the time she emerged from her bedroom, both Tanya and her dad were already sitting on the couch and chatting in the shared area of their hotel suite. Bella reached behind her head to gather her long hair, which was still slightly damp, and divided it into thirds, braiding it into a plait without much thought. She made her way over to join the others as she finished it up.
"How was your night?" Tanya asked, holding out an elastic when Bella realised hers was no longer around her wrist.
"It was alright," Bella shrugged. She wrapped the elastic around the end of the braid and hid a yawn behind her arm. "Not feeling the jetlag much at the moment, but I'm guessing it will hit me again later today."
Tanya nodded and checked her phone. "Just let one of us know if things are becoming too much, okay?" Her golden gaze was sharp and Bella quickly nodded. Tanya smiled. "Wonderful. Well, shall we go down for breakfast, then?"
The hotel's breakfast buffet looked like it came straight out of a wonderful dream, but the nerves bubbling up in Bella's stomach prevented her from eating anything other than a croissant. Her dad watched with concern, and asked several times whether she did not want to eat a bit more. Luckily, he accepted her refusal, even though he did not know the actual reason for her nerves. When he walked away to refill his plate, Tanya put her cold hand on Bella's arm, giving it a soft squeeze.
"It'll be okay."
Bella badly wanted to believe her, but it was hard. When she told Alice as much a few minutes later, as they were sitting in the lobby waiting for Heidi to text them to come, Alice responded with a series of understanding and heartful messages that put her at ease ever so slightly. Bella had not even realised how much weight she had been carrying by worrying so much, until she felt part of it sliding off her shoulders. It felt so liberating to be able to talk with someone other than the Denalis and the Volturi about everything.
"Alright," Tanya announced, shaking Bella out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Tanya sliding her phone into her pocket. "I got the okay, we're set to go."
Bella and her dad followed Tanya out of the hotel and onto the streets of the city, trusting her to guide them. Bella looked around as they made their way through the streets, vaguely recognising some of the buildings once they got closer to the centre of town. Everything was so old and beautiful, and there was a peculiar charm to it. She vowed to make some better memories in this place to replace the bad ones she had thanks to Harriet and Phil. She deserved that much.
The narrow streets opened up into a bigger square and Tanya looked up with a grin. "Bingo."
Bella noticed the moment her dad spotted the building Tanya was aiming at thanks to the badly repressed noise of surprise that escaped him. She watched him go through several emotions before he schooled his expression into something more stoic. He turned to Bella, brows raised in question. "This is where your great-uncle lives?"
Bella tried not to laugh as she nodded solemnly.
"Damn." Her dad coughed. "I knew he had money because, well, he set us up and everything, but this is definitely not what I had been expecting."
Bella's stomach did a funny turn, and her momentary amusement was swapped for a new load of nerves. Her dad was in for a lot more surprises than just this one, and she did not know how he would react to any of those.
Tanya set off across the square, and they climbed up the few steps that led up to an old wooden door. It was curved along the top and right in the middle sat a doorknocker in the shape of a wolf's head. Tanya wrapped her hand around its face and lifted it, before letting go and having it thump against the door.
A few seconds went by, and then they could hear the clear echo of heels against a stone floor approaching. Another second, and the door was opened and they came face to face with the very human secretary. Her eyes landed on the three visitors and a genuine smile spread across her face. "Bella!"
The fluency of the Italian pronunciation of her name was so far removed from the harsh contempt way her name had always been said back in Phoenix, and Bella couldn't help but shyly return the smile. "Hi Gianna."
Gianna greeting Tanya and her dad as well, before inviting them inside. She gently placed a hand on Bella's covered arm to steer them in the right direction as she babbled on about everything that had happened in the town of Volterra since Bella had last been there. The heavily accented English was soothing to Bella's brain and she found herself nodding along with Gianna's stories.
They stopped when they got to the door that Bella recognised to lead to the library. The big engraved sign next to the door proclaiming 'Biblioteca' was a big clue. Bella was very proud of herself for actually having remembered some of her Duolingo lessons.)
"Aro and Marcus have requested a private audience with your father," Gianna told them.
"Oh," Bella said in surprise. She nervously looked at Tanya. "You should stay with him." She was a little bummed out that she was not invited to the conversation.
"If you're sure?" Tanya asked. Bella nodded. "Alright then."
"Why do they want to talk with me?" Bella's dad asked, his brows knitting together.
Bella pleadingly looked at Tanya, who in turn looked at Gianna, who answered. "I believe they have some matters to explain to you, and they wish to spare Bella the stress of reliving it."
Bella's dad looked at her. "Will you be okay with that, Bella?"
Bella felt a rush of gratitude at his consideration. She thought about his question for a second and shrugged. "I guess so." She just hoped he would come out of the conversation and still feel okay.
"Alright," Gianna said, motioning for Tanya to take over. "In that case, you guys can wait in the library, they should be meeting you guys here in" – she checked the dainty silver watch on her wrist – "about fifteen minutes."
They said their goodbyes, and Bella followed Gianna back down the hallway. They were just around the corner when she caught the end of a conversation between her dad and Tanya before they disappeared into the library.
"I thought Aro was on his deathbed?" His voice was faint, this far away.
Tanya hummed. "I'm not sure about his current state, but he's the one who decided to meet us here. I guess we'll see how he is doing."
Bella wringed her hands together as the sounds of their conversation faded to nothingness with the slamming shut of the library door. She looked up at Gianna, who was carefully watching her. "Where will we be going?"
"Master Aro requested you be checked out by our resident doctor," Gianna said, leading them up a set of stairs. "However, we respect your autonomy, so if you would rather not meet with her, or if you would prefer to wait until Tanya or your father is with you, we understand. Master Aro would just like you to know it would ease his mind if we know your current state of health."
Bella perked up. "Is it the same doctor who was here when, well, when everything happened back then?" Gianna nodded in confirmation. "I guess I don't mind going there right now, then."
Gianna simply smiled and turned around another corner, Bella following close behind. She did not quite remember everything that had happened those few years ago, since several memories had been buried by the overall trauma response of the situation. However, she vividly remembered waking up after having accidentally come into contact with Heidi and seeing the face of a very young and very pretty doctor right above her.
She might have had a little crush on her.
Whilst she did not think the crush had lasted this long, she did remember the doctor's kind words and gentle help and she knew she would feel safe being checked out. The fact that Aro cared about getting her checked out first – whether it was because some of his human feelings were coming out of hiding, or whether it was a more strategic check-up to make sure she would not die before she could be useful – was the final push to agree to it.
They found themselves in front of a plain white door and Gianna knocked. The door cracked open and a familiar face appeared. "Bella! It's been a while, come on in!"
The Italian woman in a white lab coat fully opened the door and Bella stepped inside. Gianna stayed in the doorway and met Bella's gaze. "I have to go back to my duties, but I am quite sure it will not be long before someone tracks you down to keep you company. Will you be alright?"
Bella smiled and nodded. "I'll be fine."
Gianna had not even been gone for ten seconds – giving Bella exactly enough time to hop on to the examination table – when a familiar head peeked around the door. "Bella? At last! It has been a while since we last met!"
The piercing red eyes still gave her the shivers, but she pushed it down. She had no need to be afraid right now. Definitely not because of this 12-year-old looking vampire in front of her.
"Alec! How have you been?"
"All around me are familiar faces."
A/N: ...okay, so I didn't end up updating before I hit another 5 month mark, but instead I apparently decided to go for a new record and take a break of *checks notes* 11 months :D. Whoops, didn't mean to do that, but life happens, ya know XD. How have y'all been? I've been creating a bunch of non-fanfic (but still very gay) stuff this past almost-year, which has been fun. Also moved to another country, got a new job, all that fun stuff. And now I'm back! The next chapter is actually already being written, so hopefully I can be like, a teensy bit faster with the next update. I'll try, my dudes XD
If you have some time, please let me know what you thought of the chapter! Reviews genuinely help me to stay motivated (or remember this story's existence lmao). I know it's a bit of a filler, since I have to get to the more plot-heavy stuff somehow :) Either way, thanks for all the favourites/follows, and thanks for the reviews that have been left in my absence! Sending love to y'all,
- Laura
(PS: because it's been such a while since I worked on this project, it's totally possible that I might have forgotten some of the things I've written (whoops). So if you spot any (continuity) errors, or things that don't make sense, please let me know so I can fix it!)