If I thought he was frightening when we came in the house, I was wrong. The look on Aro's face was poisonous, making me feel physically ill.
He didn't break his glare, staring directly as Carlisle as he walked toward us and put out his hand palm up. Carlisle stood up straight and started to lift his own but Aro cut him off "Not yours." He hissed and turned his gaze to me. I could feel my heart skip.
"Me?" I asked, staring at his hand.
"Yes, my dear. I'm afraid there has been a lot of confusion today and if you would allow me to just hold your hand for a moment it would be of great help." His words were pleasant, but the aura of humor he had the day prior was gone. This was not a suggestion and a pit in my stomach reminded me I was out of my depth here and so I listened, putting my hand in his.
Instantly he lay his other hand on top of mine, sandwiching my warm hand between his icy ones. With a deep breath he looked at me, his face calming a bit but disappointment in his eyes.
"Damn it, Carlisle." He whispered barely loud enough for me to hear. "Your ridiculous lifestyle has once again put me in a situation in which I cannot win." He looked at him and I went back to being an accessory in the conversation, my hand still trapped between his. "This girl is intelligent, Carlisle. She has rather correct theories as to what happened to her today regarding Isabella. I'm afraid she knows too much."
Those words shook me, and I felt my eyes widen, trying to pull away my hand. It was no hope. Aro's hands may have looked like they were gentle, no pressure between them, but my hand was as firmly trapped as if it were stuck between two boulders.
I took the moment to add things together. I had been correct? I hadn't really thought long enough to come up with anything solid but my mind had been made up that none of them were human and that based on how Bella had looked at me, they must have been some sort of human eating...things. I looked up at Aro and the serious look in his eyes told me I was right.
"Carlisle, I cannot handle this alone." Aro said flatly to which Carlisle furrowed his brow.
"You are more than able." The golden man half pleaded but Aro shook his head.
"This is very serious, Carlisle, and I will not make such decisions without my brothers. Once Isabella and Edward return, your family must come with me to Italy."
"The girl?" Carlisle asked, looking at me.
"She will be coming with us." Aro answered
At that I stiffened. I was to go to Italy? Today? With a group of I don't know what's who were more likely to kill me then help me? And for what? What decisions needed to be made? My head was swimming but my jaw was clenched shut keeping me from speaking as if I stayed quiet they would forget all about me.
"Aro that is not-" Carlisle began but Aro's piercing look silenced him. Esme moved for the first time since they entered, calmly walking to the open door.
"I'll grab you some things for the trip, Annabelle." She said kindly and disappeared and I couldn't help but be overwhelmingly grateful. The silence was deafening, all of us still as if avoiding time. That was until my hand was released, the warm hair returning feeling to it.
"Caius will want your head, Carlisle." Aro said, half threatening the other half sad. "We leave the moment your family returns." And with that. Aro left just as quickly as he entered.
"Carlisle, what's going on? I can't go to Italy." I explained rapidly, not sure what I thought he was going to do about it. He clearly wasn't the one in charge here.
"Annabelle, I am very sorry." Carlisle said calmly, like a parent would a child who was just traumatized "We do not have a choice. Neither of us. Aro is very important and powerful and so we must listen to him." I blinked a few times, processing the information "Isn't he your friend? Why does he need us to go to Italy?" I asked, completely lost.
Carlisle sighed and looked at me, wisdom that didn't make sense to me in his eyes.
"As he confirmed your thoughts already, we are not human Annabelle. In fact, we are far from it." He pulled over a small stool and sat in front of me, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. "But even we have rules and the people who make sure we follow them are very powerful." He explained.
I nodded putting some pieces together "And your friend is one of them?" I asked, receiving a nod from Carlisle.
"Aro and his brothers, Caius and Marcus are kind of like the government that keeps us all in line. The number one rule: not letting humans know about us."
I looked over his shoulder to a large painting. A regal looking portrait of four men standing on a balcony overlooking a crowd. The crowd was busy, all talking and moving about, a stark contrast to the regal men who looked upon them. I focused on the one I knew, Aro.
He was slightly ahead of the others, his hands resting gracefully on the balcony railing. Even in a painting he was strikingly regal. He was clearly important, the focal point of the painting.
Another face caught my eye, a stern one, far too stern to belong to the beautiful young man on the left (Aro's right). He was gorgeous and somehow surprisingly young, like a young prince with shining blonde hair framing his face. His eyes though, they were on fire. It shook me to the core and I could only imagine those eyes in person.
On the other side of Aro there was another man, this one looking older yet still somehow beyond any human I had ever seen. His hair was brown and went past his shoulders and eyes haunting as if he were seeing beyond the crowd he somehow looked older than the other two but no more sickly, no expression I could read on his face.
The final face was in the shadows, tucked behind the stern blonde prince slightly, golden hair calling attention to his equally golden eyes. Carlisle. He looked to be the same age as he was now, but dressed far more...royally. He was like the three others, wearing cream ruffled shirts and coats bordered with gold. He, however, seemed to be observant of the three men rather than one of them.
"Carlisle, are those the men?" I asked nodding toward the painting. Not even needing to look, Carlisle nodded.
"Yes, Aro you already know. The taller one with brown hair is Marcus and the other is Caius."
"The one who is mad?" I asked putting together what Aro had said.
"Oh they are all mad." Carlisle half chuckled "he is just the most angry."
"Are you...?" I trailed off, looking at Carlisle's face in the portrait. He seemed to know what I was thinking as he shook his head.
"No. I lived with them for some time but I am not one of them. I am not nearly so powerful."
I looked Carlisle over and something told me that he was downplaying his status but I kept it to myself, instead I looked at the painting. It was old...
"From the Renaissance." I thought out loud receiving an interested look from the man in front of me.
"You know your history." He allowed and then frowned a little "You're too observant for your own good. Don't say so much in front of them. They don't like...well-"
"Smart humans." I cut him off and he nodded. I put that away for later. If I had already made them angry, I wouldn't want to do it any further.
