Esme came back in, worry on her gentle face, a duffle bag in her hand. "Aro has told me he plans on leaving this evening and if Edward and Bella aren't back by then, he will assume they've run."

"Edward and Bella should be back soon. They know better than to take off after something like that. I'll meet them outside and talk to them and we'll get ourselves ready to go." Carlisle planned out loud. "Esme, could you please get tickets for late this evening? Maybe 8:00 or later? Annabelle and I need to discuss her upcoming absence."

My gaze followed Esme, who was calm and admirably in charge. She set down the bag she was holding at my feet and departed once again. While she was in fact following direction from Carlisle, she was handling everything with an amount of grace that I couldn't help but be amazed at.

"Annabelle, do you live with your parents?" Carlisle asked calmly, I shook my head.

"No, I live in a house with some roommates." I answered to which he nodded.

"We will need to come up with a reason for your sudden travels both for your roommates and your parents so nobody will worry." He explained.

"And my normal death will be easy to stage if I end up dying over all of this." I added to which Carlisle gave a blinding smile and exhaled through his nose, amused.

"And of course, that."

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"Annabelle, you are going to be alright." Carlisle assured me as we boarded our plane, I nodded, taking a breath.

We had convinced my mother to be comfortable with the trip, telling her that Bella's family was visiting Carlisle's brother and that Esme had to stay for work leaving them with a ticket that Bella offered me.

She was of course still slightly uncomfortable but I reminded her I was with a friend and her family. That mixed with the fact that I'd been overseas a few times before, her opinion was easily swayed.

As for my roommates, they were easy to explain to. They were used to me making various choices and filling them in later. I was an independent thinker and out of all of us, the most likely to decide to randomly do something like this. They also knew Bella and I were spending more time together on campus so they weren't entirely shocked that I was going with her.

I looked an aisle over where Edward and Bella sat, she had avoided looking at me since they returned earlier that evening and Edward had been dutifully glued to her side since. I could tell she felt terrible about the entire situation, though I assured her I was okay, but given the results, I understood her being so upset.

I selfishly didn't want her to be bothered in such a way that we stopped being friends. It was a small issue compared to the one we were about to face, but I still fixated on it. Edward gave me a small nod of reassurance as if to tell me Bella and I would be okay.

Behind me was Aro. I was surprised. I was certain he'd be flying first class but instead he was in the seat directly behind Carlisle, his demeanor businesslike and his red eyed glued on me.

If he could set me on fire with just his looks, I would be ablaze. Every time I risked a glance back at him, his eyes were locked onto me and he seemed to be thinking a million things at once. Probably the best way to hide my death, though being a vampire, he probably had a system for that.

"Where are we going?" I asked Carlisle realizing that we really hadn't brought much, just carry ons, and that the only inkling I had as to where Aro could live was in the painting in Carlisle's office which seemed far from blending in, which according to Carlisle was their main goal.

"A place called Volterra. It's in Tuscany." He answered in a low whisper though I could tell everyone in our party could hear him. They must be able to hear really well. Another thing to keep in mind.

"Aro and his brothers are seen as royalty...symbolic but still. They live in a palace and a complex within it they've constructed. They still follow some very old social constructs and it suits them to live in their own self made society." He explained. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Aro smirk.

"How will we get there?" I asked, trying to keep my focus on the mission ahead and not on the strikingly dangerous and beautiful man behind us.

"Once we land, I have no doubt that Aro will have several escorts waiting there." He said, amused. Edward scoffed.

According to Carlisle, Edward was not a fan of his oldest friends and in fact had a not so secret disgust toward them. On the way to the airport, Edward took advantage of the separate cars we took from Aro and explained the entire situation, while Bella sat silently.

I looked over and Bella looked stiff, but more lively than she had. I wondered if it was nerves more than it was recovery. I was even feeling more awake while I was certain I should have been beyond exhausted.

"And from there, we will take a car." Aro murmured.

I turned slightly to look at him. He sat with his left foot resting on his right knee, a Time magazine in his hand looking as if he were too busy reading it to have made the comment. But he was smiling, finding his own joke humorous and to my surprise, making me smile in amusement as well.

That's when he looked up at me and winked.

It was unexpected and quick, before I knew it he was back to reading his magazine. I turned around quickly, trying to both convince myself that was I saw was real and at the same time it wasn't.

It's not like he was suggesting anything. More than likely he was just enjoying rattling me up before we answered to he and his brothers. From the way Carlisle talked about him, he was important and rather down to business. But yet, that little quip made me curious. Why make a joke at all? Why not just ignore us until we reached Italy?

I played with these thoughts and sat back, my mind trying to process everything that had happened, cold air from the panel above me hitting my face. I took deep breaths and closed my eyes but that didn't stop me from seeing the man behind us, this time in my own imagination, that humored smile on his face, his eyes piercing red.

And as if my body was only waiting for me to let it, it shut down, allowing me to sleep.