Chapter Twelve: Mother, Daughter
La Push - (Ninety-Five Years Ago)
"Bella! You should've seen us out there, we got that leech with like barely any effort. He was like a vicious zombie, he actually knocked Paul down… Bella?" Jacob started after walking into his house feeling proud of the job they had done with the vampire, but when she didn't respond he started to worry. "Bella!"
A quick search of the house told him nothing, then came the knock on the door. He practically flew towards it as he heard a thump against the door frame. He opened the door frantically only to find Colin, clutching a stump instead of a hand, which was actively bleeding. A trail of blood could be traced across the yard and out into the street.
"Colin! Where's Bella?" Jacob shouted with wild eyed panic, while trying to help his packmate from going into shock.
"Le...eech got me...eee." Colin said, shivering from a fever which had spiked higher than his normal body temperature.
"Did she get Bella?" Jacob asked again, but Colin shook his head.
"Was..n't there. Ne...ver made it." As Colin collapsed into unconsciousness, Jacob felt a cold spike of fear and fury run up his spine. He felt his control slipping, and burst into his wolf form.
"WE WERE TRICKED!" He yelled into the connection, sending images of Colin through to the others. Everyone who was still shifted, growled back in anger, and immediately began to search for any lingering scent trail. Leah found it first, a fading line disappearing north across the Salish Sea just West of Clallam Bay. The pack searched along both coasts for hours, but couldn't find anything… except for Bella's discarded sneakers. Torn and partially destroyed from water saturation.
Jacob refused to stop the search after everyone else had given up, everyone but Seth, Quil and of all people Leah. The four of them continued for a month driving further and further north into dense wilderness and empty coastlines. They kept at it day after day, until Sam forced them back to La Push.
"You will stop the search, Bella is dead Jacob." Sam demanded, and the others all bowed instantly. Leah bent the knee last, although she had her own reasons for resisting.
"No! I will find her. Even if just to bury her." Jacob argued resolutely, standing his ground and refusing to bow to his Alpha.
"There's no point Jacob. Charlie's gone, they found his cruiser abandoned by the Calawah river." Sam put a hand on Jacob's shoulder in an attempt to show support and make him understand that the search was pointless.
"I don't accept that. She can't be dead, and Charlie can't be gone." Jacob shook his head, and snarled, a wolf-like gesture despite his human form.
"You need to stop this, it's going to kill you if you keep this up." Sam said with worry, but also a bit of irritation.
"Then I die, I will not abandon them." Jacob said defiantly, dogged in his quest. He knew it was probably a fool's errand, but he had to see it to the end.
"I command you to stop!" Jacob felt Sam's will pressing against his mind to relent. But something deep inside refused.
"Don't make me do this Sam, just let me go." Jacob threatened, but Sam stood tall and then jumped back shifting into his wolf in a heartbeat. Jacob shook his head, but kept his eyes on Sam. Then he shifted, without show and in a fraction of the time. He rose to his full height and raised his hackles at his alpha.
"I am Jacob Black, grandson of Ephram Black and I will not bow down to you anymore!" He raised to his full height and set his jaw, staring down his former Alpha. Suddenly all the power Sam had over him disappeared. He felt almost relieved, but he had done something irreversible and had no idea what was going to happen next. All that mattered was that he was free, he had broken from the pack.
Sam took a step back returning to human form, and a look of disappointment crossed his face. Jacob barely noticed, as he immediately turned north. He searched for days, until he finally found a very faint trace of human blood on the rocks at Whittlestone Point. He uncovered an even fainter scent of the vaguely sweet odor of a vampire in the same area. The trail led to a log cabin that was falling apart and clearly abandoned for decades. The door was closed but unlocked, and inside he found something he wished he hadn't.
There were discarded chains and shackles tied to a single metal loop in the middle of the floor. In one corner was a full bucket of human waste, in the opposite was a simple twin mattress, threadbare and filthy, with large red stains in the center, and on each end. There were also large patches of dried blood mixed with mud and grass that were scattered about the floor. Someone had been held there for weeks, in the worst conditions imaginable. Yet the trail ran cold at that point. He couldn't find a gravesite, and after a while he realized that there was nothing more to find.
Leah and Seth showed up an hour after he had found the scene. As he stood in front of the tiny shack and tried to reconcile the truth with his need to understand what had happened.
"Jake, what's the…" Seth started, but Leah put a hand on Seth's shoulder, silencing him. Jacob glanced at the two of them, already aware of the connection. They had joined his pack, and while he had no interest in leading them, he wasn't about to reject his friends. Leah pushed past her brother and investigated the house, she took one look and retreated. Throwing up over the side of the faded and splintering porch rail.
"Don't go in there." She warned her little brother, who nodded once.
"Is Bella in there?" Seth asked, and Jacob shook his head.
"I can't tell. Maybe she was, but I can't…" Jacob said, as he felt his mind slip a foot into madness.
"Then it wasn't her." Leah offered, hoping he could find a way to lie to himself.
"It was her. It was her." Jacob felt his knees collapse underneath him, and his body give in to the stress he had been under. Uncontrolled sobs escaped him, and he expected ridicule from Leah and Seth. But instead of jeers and laughter he found two people holding him tightly. Whatever the future held, he knew he had a forever bond with his new pack. No matter how he felt like a failure.
La Push - January 29th
"I searched for you." Jacob said once they were far enough away from the clearing to be sure the rest of the pack couldn't hear him.
"I imagine you did." Isabella said softly, nodding once.
Leah was walking next to Tekali, and after a few more seconds she reached over and touched Eliza's arm slightly. Eliza glanced at her and found she was clearly agitated, her expression was open and obviously needed something only Eliza could fulfill, while retaining a fierce aura of pride.
"Please?" Leah said very quietly. Eliza hesitated for a moment, worried about how her mother would react to the line of conversation Jacob appeared to be starting down. She glanced at Isabella, and took a deep breath.
"Mom, you go on ahead. I'll catch up later." Eliza turned fully towards Leah and motioned in the vague direction of Forks.
Isabella looked back, hesitating just a moment herself before giving Eliza a significant look, then nodding subtly without expression. "Let me know if you need anything." She continued on with Jacob, but she couldn't help but watch her daughter disappear into the tree line with someone she never thought she would see again, who was now a potentially permanent part of her life.
Jacob didn't say anything for several seconds as the three of them walked into the cover of the forest as well. They went a fair distance until they found a small natural clearing with a downed tree that could serve as a makeshift chair. Isabella leaned against another tree, Tekali sat on the downed log and Jacob remained standing, and then began to pace back and forth. He kept at it for almost a minute before stopping and turning towards Bella with a deep sorrow in his eyes.
"Bella, now that it's just us without an audience. I… I'm sorry." Jacob said, looking uncharacteristically humble.
Isabella frowned, clearly caught off guard by Jacob's sudden apology. "For what?"
"For not being there. For letting this happen to you. You were right about what you said earlier. It was my fault that you were taken, I should never have put your protection entirely in Colin's hands. He was too young and too inexperienced. I'm so sorry." Jacob answered, his emotions getting the best of him, as tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. "I looked for weeks, and what I found… please tell me you weren't in that place."
Isabella's eyes widened slightly, and she then shut them slowly grinding her teeth in anger. "You were there. When?"
"Took about a month of searching." He said, shaking his head, he should've been faster.
"It's true, he told me the story and even showed me the site. The cabin is long gone though." Tekali confirmed, glancing between them quickly.
"That's because I tore it down with my bare hands." Isabella said through gritted teeth, even hearing about that place made her inner beast roar. She felt the shadows begin to close in, and the already dark forest grew even darker.
"She tortured you?" Jacob asked, hoping that she would reject the notion.
Instead of letting the anger overwhelm her Isabella just nodded, tilting her neck slowly to the right as she tried to reign in her anger and the shadows that were threatening to engulf the entire clearing. When she finally did manage to answer, her tone was cold and devoid of any emotion. "If you must know, she tortured me for weeks, for pleasure. Yet that wasn't the worst of it."
Jacob held back his wolf, despite feeling a rage so profound that he could barely stand the strain. Tekali took over upon realizing that Jacob was unable to ask the next question. "I assume she turned you, and you got lost to your instincts or something right?"
Isabella just shook her head. "No. Look, I can't do this right now. Maybe someday I'll be able to tell this story. But not today, was there anything else?"
"I didn't mean…" Jacob replied immediately, he hadn't intended to bring up those memories. Not like this, he just wanted to apologize for his part in everything.
"No, but you pried like you always do. Forcing yourself on my life, as if you own me." The attack cut deep, and Jacob flinched. He had always felt guilty for the way he had pressured her on several occasions way back when, but it was always her choice. He felt justified in those attempts to get her to admit her feelings for him.
"That's not fair, I always gave you a choice, unlike…" Jacob started, but Isabella gave him a look that silenced him.
"There is no point bringing him up. He is dead to me." Her voice was cold and deadly, the emotions conjured by even the implied connection to that man set her inner beast on alert again.
"He is like twenty miles away right now. Isn't he what you always wanted? Couldn't you just go back to him?" He was digging in, trying to get to her. He needed to know where she was emotionally, and the picture he was getting was not good. She sounded embittered, angry and dangerous. A potentially deadly combination, especially when much of her ire seemed to be directed at the Cullens who were a formidable presence. Facing down six experienced vampires, at least two of which had special powers was not his idea of fun, well perhaps in his youth he might've derived pleasure in killing the Cullens. He was far too old now to even consider such a brazen act of violence against a group that had repeatedly shown they were not a threat.
Her nostrils flared and an even darker scowl crossed her face. "Right, like I would ever accept him again after he tossed me away like some broken toy. Edward Cullen will never control me again, if he ever tries to talk to me, I will remove one of his limbs."
It was as he feared, she was beyond angry, she had a vendetta against the one who had abandoned her to torture and death. While he couldn't deny her the revenge, he had to try and defuse things as much as possible. "As much as I would love to see that, it probably would be better to not hurt him. Take the high road or something."
"Like you would do the same." She managed to grin slightly.
"A long time ago, sure, and I'll admit I was half tempted to take Carlisle's head when he came down here to inform us they were back in the area. Paul took the message, and we've left it essentially unanswered." Jacob's attempt at a grin was more successful, but he was all too aware emotions were sitting on the edge of a knife and he didn't fully know what kind of creature this version of Isabella had become.
"Jacob, I have a lot of anger about what happened, but I didn't mean what I said earlier today. I hadn't expected to see you. I doubt anything could have surprised me more and it really threw me off. So I just responded with anger. You see, that sort of emotion, that defensive wall I put up, has served me well for a long time. But you have nothing to apologize for." She spoke without much emotion, but it was enough to let Jacob relax for a second.
"We let that bitch through and she got to you, and I promised to stop her." Jacob shook his head a little bit and his voice dropped. "I thought. I thought she killed you, and it was entirely my fault."
"Stop. Just stop." Isabella said, holding up her hand. "It's not your fault. Victoria's vengeance wasn't rational, she wanted me because the Cullens killed her mate to protect me. Then they abandoned me without a second thought. You didn't, you tried to defend me. She was just better at playing the game, so don't blame yourself. I don't blame you, at least not anymore."
Tekali grinned and elbowed her husband. "See, I've told you that for years. She wouldn't blame you. Now you have proof."
Jacob leaned back and a tear actually fell from his cheek, surprising Isabella. "I cannot tell you what it means to me to see you alive, with a daughter to boot. I mean how is that even possible? Oh god, were you pregnant before Victoria took you?"
"That would've been something. I died a virgin." Isabella said with sarcasm so thick that Jacob immediately felt like an idiot.
"That's right, you said she was basically adopted." Jacob winced slightly. "You're not dead, that's the whole point. You are here now."
"Am I? I mean my heart stopped almost a century ago, and the girl you knew died the same day. Bella Swan is a memory, and not really a pleasant one." Her voice was monotone and it was clear she didn't want to argue. Jacob nodded at first, but then shook his head once frowning deeply.
"I think I can understand that, but can you give me something? Maybe what your life has been like since you were turned into a vampire?" The request came from a place of deep need, and even Isabella could see her old friend was in emotional pain. She couldn't leave him with just the blackest part of her life to hold onto. Which meant she would have to get around to explaining Eliza.
Isabella nodded slowly. "That's a very, very long story, but I guess we have a bit of time. Alright, but I'm going to give you the cliff notes version. Where should I start?"
"I need to know how the red-headed leech got around us and go forward from there?" Jacob asked with a bit of anger.
Isabella raised an eyebrow when she heard the word leech then nodded, inhaling the forest scents deeply trying to find her center before she began her tale. "Victoria's trick is an old one, a tactic vampires have used for centuries. Turn some people and then set them free to create chaos. It's part of what we're dealing with in the cities right now. Usually the goal is territory or the elimination of a group. This new rising seems different. But, as for Victoria, she had a very specific goal; Me. She waited until the precise moment you were gone. Took out anyone sent to watch me, and then she came in, grabbed me, knocked me unconscious and dragged me away."
"Shit, I figured it was something like that but god she turned some poor guy just as a distraction?" Jacob looked guilty, realizing he had killed someone who was basically an innocent no matter how violent they were in the moment.
"Pretty much. What's worse is when you first become a vampire, your entire world centers around the thirst for blood. It's difficult to describe how it feels if you're not familiar with the sensation, but it's akin to walking through the desert without water for a week, only a thousand times worse. My experience was different, but when I was out in the world I had no direction. I couldn't go home, I couldn't go to you because your pack would've killed me on sight. Without many other options I went to the one place I might be accepted."
"The Volturi?" Tekali guessed.
Isabella nodded a few times before continuing. "Exactly. Shortly before they left, Edward told me about the Italian coven that were a bit like royalty. It wasn't easy, but I stowed away in one of those container ships. I ended up somewhere in Norway I think, and eventually I made my way down to Volterra, although that entire trip is still a bit fuzzy. When I showed up, I knew I looked quite the sight. In nothing more than rags, my hair matted and black with dirt, I basically looked like a savage. They were quite gracious, and in turn I was brought before the council. Audience requests were usually a petition to die, mine was a request for sanctuary…
Volterra - (85 years ago)
"Come here child." Aro held out his bone white hand, his nails as clear as glass. Isabella approached slowly, aware of his gift and reputation. Every thought she ever had, all with a single touch. It wasn't fear that caused her hesitation, it was a small worry that he would pity her like she was some broken doll. "There is no need to be afraid."
That made her pause in mid-step. Fury boiled up at mere mention of fear, as if this tiny man could do anything to cause her fear. Her mouth parted into a grimace and for a second she felt something inside trying to escape; the darkness that had seeped inside during the long void. She cracked her neck, and stepped forward, grabbing a hold of his hand tightly.
"Do you like what you see, old man?" She whispered coldly, expecting outrage at what she was implying. Yet instead of indignation or anger, she was met with confusion.
"I see..." He said with wonder, looking back at his brothers. "Perhaps, Jane, would you be so kind?" He said with a small laugh, letting go of Isabella's hand and sweeping back towards the dais.
"Yes master." A petite blond girl that Isabella had only been vaguely aware of stepped forward and stared at her intently for several seconds. Isabella looked back feeling a bit confused.
"What is this, a staring contest? If you just want to play games I'll find my own way." Isabella said darkly, with a sneer of disgust. Then immediately turned around to leave, managing two steps before Aro spoke up.
"Wait! Please wait." Aros' voice was high, almost desperate. He moved around Isabella keeping a respectful distance.
"You didn't answer my question." She said holding in her anger as much as possible.
"But I did, I saw nothing. Jane's gift did not affect you. You are a marvel." Aro almost reached out to caress her dirty face, but held back his usual propensity to touch. Instead he grinned widely and almost laughed at the incredible find standing in front of him, a perfect shield. He felt practically euphoric at the possibility of her joining the guard.
"Hardly, but can you use me?" She said with a note of desperation, letting a touch of the fear she felt about being alone get to her.
"What a question, of course we would be happy to bring you into our guard." He gave her the kindest look, although he was unable to keep the pity out of his eyes. Isabella held in the flinch, pushing it down towards the monster she felt curled up inside waiting to be unleashed.
"Does that include teaching me how to fight?" She said, letting a bit of her excitement at the prospect of learning how to defend herself come through her voice.
"As much as you would like." Aro replied with a toothy grin.
"When do I start?" She asked as though it were a job offer.
"Felix will show you around." Aro pointed towards the larger of the two guards flanking the dais. She immediately turned towards him and he motioned towards the opposite way from where she entered the room, although she could see no door. "Welcome to the Volturi, Isabella." Aro said as she began to walk away and she glanced back at him and bowed her head politely.
Felix led the way out through a side door carefully concealed into the curved wall. He took her down several hallways to a small room with a private bathroom. "This will be yours, the tailor will be in later to get your measurements. There are some simple clothes in the bureau over there and some bathing supplies. The council prefers us to be clean."
"Whatever. When do I start training?" She said with a note of determination that Felix appreciated.
"As soon as you bathe. There is a training room just down that hall, I'll wait for you there." Felix pointed and waited for her to answer. Instead Isabella turned towards the bathroom stripping without waiting for Felix to leave. He gathered up her discarded clothing and threw it into one of the incinerator shoots on his way to the training room.
Isabella stepped into the shower and turned the hot water on all the way up to max. While she was happy to get rid of the dirt, she felt like she was wasting time she could be spending doing something productive. Despite the anticipation to start, she made sure she was completely clean, then went out into the main space of her room to change. Several other guard members walking by glanced in and immediately began speaking to each other in vampiric whispers. She looked over to see who was gossiping, and made a mental note to teach them it was a bad habit later down the line.
She didn't bother to do more than tie her hair back into a ponytail and pull on an unmarked pair of black sweatpants and t-shirt. She started to move when an echo of her screams flashed through her memory. She shook uncontrollably for several seconds before clasping her hands into fists and forcing her body to obey. As she relaxed she took a deep breath to center herself, then without looking in a mirror or putting on shoes she headed out towards the training room.
The space was modestly sized, with an assortment of bladed weapons hanging on one wall and a thin black vinyl cushioning pad taking up most of the floor. Felix had taken off his robe, underneath was a black outfit that was simple and utilitarian. A small silver symbol on his right lapel was the only adornment. He was standing in the center of space waiting patiently and still as a stone statue.
"Attack me in any way you know how." He said after she came to a stop a few feet in front of him.
"I've thrown one punch in my life, and I almost broke my hand." He repressed a grin, because she was not smiling despite the obvious sarcasm. Or maybe she was being completely honest? Felix couldn't be sure because her expression was utterly unreadable.
"Alright, so this isn't going to be like a training montage from an eighties movie. Vampire combat is usually short and brutal, with the victor almost always gaining the upper hand through superior skill. Occasionally a gift or something else will give your opponent an upper hand, you will need to learn how to work around that kind of challenge." As he explained she tilted her head, absorbing everything he said, her movements looked almost robotic.
"From what I understand about vampires, your... our strength never really changes or improves. So we don't need to build up muscles." Her expression was still neutral and unreadable, but the question was bordering on enthusiastic for the amount of emotion she had shown so far.
"How long have you been a vampire?" He asked, catching Isabella off guard. Her mouth parted slightly then her eyebrows raised for a second and she shook her head.
"I don't know, what's the date?" Her flat voice was starting to sound oddly comforting. This vampire was different from any Felix had ever met before, and it sparked his curiosity. Still, the question was strange. How could she not know the date?
"September 14th, 2014." He rattled off the date without thinking. Isabella let loose a small blast of a laugh.
"Hmm, yesterday was my birthday. I guess that means I've been a vampire for about a decade now." She shrugged, as if the information was totally unimportant. To Felix it was a small revelation, there was no way the Volturi would be unaware of her existence for a full decade. While most vampires volunteered to meet them formally, the rest were discovered through reports, rumors and intelligence. The only covens that were relatively untracked were the Cullens and Denali, but she was clearly not a part of either of those groups. He shrugged off the question for the time being, in theory they had all the time in the world to unravel the mystery of this clearly broken woman.
He kept his reaction from showing on his face and reacted as though it was perfectly normal for a decade old vampire to have no clue about their own limitations and physicality. "I guess it isn't common knowledge, but no, our muscles never change. Exercise is pointless, and no amount of weight you lift will increase your strength. But muscle memory is still important. First off, I need to see what we're working with. Let's start with Aikido."
La Push - January 29th
"I learned quickly, it's not hard when you spend all your time training and don't need to sleep. More than one of my teachers used the word 'Obsessed', but it turned out for the best. In less than a year after I joined the guard, I was assigned as an enforcer. It meant I could leave the complex and go out on missions." She sounded somewhat proud of the accomplishment. Although she wasn't about to share the fact that in the history of the Volturi guard only three other recruits had become an enforcer in less than a decade, and one of them was her daughter.
"What kinds of missions? That sounds kind of like you were some kind of soldier or mercenary… or spy!" Tekali asked excitedly, she was a sucker for spy stories and mysteries.
"Not exactly, the Volturi's primary purpose is to enforce vampire law. Well, really there is only one law that matters; to keep the existence of vampires a secret from humankind. Everything else is an extension of that primary tenet of our society." Isabella's rattled off the explanation a bit robotically.
"That makes sense. So what does an enforcer actually do?" Tekali nodded with a touch of disappointment, but she kept her expression the same.
"We determine if a crime has been committed, and if there was an infraction we execute the offending vampire." She said it so casually, as a matter of fact, that it took a moment for both of them to process the information. Jacob in particular couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact that Bella Swan, a girl he had loved was a killer. In the abstract he had understood it was a fact of her vampiric nature, in reality it slammed into him like a tidal wave.
"No trial?" Tekali asked somewhat horrified, even the worst offense of a fellow packmate was given a trial.
"The Volturi do not give second chances." She spoke the Volturi mantra with a bit more emotion, it had defined her life for a long time.
"None? Not even a single mistake?" Jacob said, coming out of his momentary shock.
"A single mistake can be deadly for our kind. So no, not even a single mistake." The explanation felt a bit sour on her lips. Eliza's question echoing in her head, why do they never give even a single second chance?
Jacob couldn't hear the slight conflict in her voice, so he responded with more than a little disgust and disbelief. "You were okay being an executioner?"
"Like I said, I'm not the same fragile little girl you were protecting all those years ago." Isabella shot back at him defensively. Then paused and shook her head a couple of times. "Honestly, Eliza and I did our best not to kill. But we were efficient enough to gain a reputation."
"Actually, about Eliza. I'm a bit confused. Victoria changed you, turned you into a vampire. Where does Eliza fit in the story?" Tekali took over, giving her husband a look of irritation. He had no right to judge Isabella's choices. He caught her expression and frowned, he didn't know how to deal with so much, but he nodded once in understanding.
Isabella shook her head and let out a gentle sigh. "I'm getting to that. One of the missions they gave us turned into something unexpected, and very significant with far reaching ramifications. It was less than three years after I arrived there. We were tasked to go to Brazil due to reports of mysterious disappearances and deaths tracing back for several years. They had been scattered, random for a long time, but suddenly they began to ramp up and finally the Volturi had to take steps. It took us five days to track them to what I can only describe as worse than any horror movie…
Brazil - (82 Years Ago)
The structure was old, even by the standards of the city and was once an abandoned hospital. The walls were cracked and the plaster was crumbling off in several places. The ancient faded paint was peeling and half worn off the walls that were still intact. The floors were strewn with browned crumpled garbage, old newspapers, bits of clothing and food all covered in grime and animal feces. A checkerboard tile was hard to make out beneath the filth, and most of the tiles were split or chipped at the corners.
Isabella and Felix had made their way deep into the structure searching every room until all that was left was a single door marked 'Caldeira'. It was the only one they had encountered that had a functioning lock. Felix knelt down and pulled out his lock picks, Isabella rolled her eyes and broke the lock with a sigh of impatience.
"No time to fiddle around Felix." Isabella whispered at a volume only Felix could hear.
"That was loud enough to alert them." Felix said with a grunt of frustration.
"You stumbling around the entire hospital alerted them." Isabella snapped back as Felix took point heading down the stairs. There was a second door with a similar lock, which Felix broke quietly instead of letting Isabella charge through. That door opened up to an empty room with two large swinging doors and an ancient elevator. They advanced slowly through the doors, listening for any sign of movement. A small hallway led into a large bay-like room with dozens of medical beds, six were occupied with very pregnant women strapped down with intravenous lines of various colored liquids running into their arms.
"Ah yes, you must be the Volturi." A voice said from all around them, Isabella spotting a loudspeaker in the far upper right corner of the room.
"Expecting us?" Felix said, keeping his head on a swivel.
"No, not exactly. I don't suppose you would be willing to just leave?" The voice was clearly upset, but still somewhat playful.
"Unlikely, what the hell are you doing to them?" Isabella said through gritted teeth, as one of the women opened their eyes and found Isabella's gaze.
"Kill me." The woman mouthed with a shuddering breath.
"Unfortunate. Since I cannot have you following me either." The voice on the other end said as the connection clicked off loudly. Then there was a soft hiss, as an invisible gas began to fill the room. The women all began to convulse and die one by one, as the doors in the back of the room opened up. Several large deformed wolf-like beasts emerged, growling.
"Go, catch him, I'll take care of these… things." Felix said, cracking his neck and smiling. Then he pulled out a sword he always kept with him for just such an occasion. Isabella made a mental note about the weapon, she had always thought it was pointless since mortal weapons were useless on vampires.
Isabella propelled herself forward, weaving between the beasts easily. She made it through the back of the room and into a smaller space by half with several large cages. The doorway opened into the largest cage, effectively trapping her in. She grabbed a hold of the cage door, which she tore open with a grunt. She knew one of the monsters was on her heels, so she quickly pivoted and slammed the remains of the door into the wolf-like thing with all her strength. It made a sickening yelp and flew into a nearby wall with enough force to crumple the plaster in about a foot. It then fell to the ground apparently unconscious.
She pushed forward in the next second, down a short hallway to another much smaller surgery. There were three beds, one occupied. The vampire was leaning over the occupant, attempting to unhook several lines and leads. He turned on Isabella, standing in front of the girl on the bed almost protectively.
"Damn you." He said through a sneer, the playfulness in his voice completely gone.
"You just killed six women in cold blood. Somehow I don't think god has anything to do with this." He didn't say anything in response, instead he launched himself forward. That's when she noticed his skin, thin and almost papery. She immediately shifted into a defensive stance; fighting most vampires required aggression, but fighting an ancient required finesse.
She managed to dodge several well placed attacks, but couldn't find an opening. Punch, counter, kick, block, jab… they danced for several seconds until she realized the only way to hurt him was to give him an opening that would cause her pain but ultimately give her the upper hand. She let her arm out just a bit too far after an attack and he took the bait, closing in and tearing out a chunk of flesh from the left side of her ribcage, it was excruciating, but she ignored the pain and brought down a hand at just the right point to sever his left arm at the elbow.
He screamed and reared back, clutching at the stump where his arm used to be. Then she launched the arm at his chest while he was distracted. He noticed it at the last second and grabbed it out of the air before gritting his teeth and running out an exit she hadn't seen. She put one foot forward to give chase but stumbled and fell to her knees. She looked down and realized that her ribs were showing. She looked around for anything, and found the only thing that could help was the girl on the bed.
"Sorry kid." She said as she dragged herself over and leaned in and bit into the soft flesh of the girl's right wrist. In the same instant the girl's eyes flew open and she latched onto the back of Isabella's neck with her own teeth. Suddenly the fires of transformation flooded into Isabella's system, paralyzing her while still drinking in the blood of the girl injecting her own venom into the girl's system.
Then the world turned inside out, and faded from Isabella's perception. Images began to flood into her mind; darkness and peace, then a bright artificial light as the ancient tore into her mother, then pulled her out of the womb lifting her up to examine her before laying her down on a cold metal table. Months of laying in a crib without padding or pillows, being fed blood. When she was old enough to walk, she was thrown into a cage next to a group of similarly caged children and dogs. Watching over time as the innocent creatures changed into vicious monsters, snarling at all hours of the day and the other children disappearing one by one.
Isabella couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing, as the moments of this horrific life played out. Until it dawned on her what was happening, she was seeing the memories of the girl.
Then a name came through in a voice that Isabella didn't recognize. "Joham."
The name echoed in her mind, repeating again and again. It was the name of the ancient, the monster who tied the girl to a bed and experimented on her when she was old enough. Injecting her with venom altered by chemicals, then using her blood to augment hybrid pregnancies. He liked using her, she seemed to be stronger. Able to adapt to his experiments. She watched as dozens of women and babies came and went, her siblings because they were all his children.
Those six women were the culmination of an experiment. Their loss was going to set the ancient back, but an even worse blow to his plans was losing the girl. She was the key to his progress. Number S17. Then Isabella came, the girl's savior, who turned and began to feed from her as soon as he was run off. S17 tried to warn her, biting the woman's neck was the only way to stop her. Except it didn't… something else happened. Something totally unexpected.
La Push - January 29th
"That's how Felix found us, latched onto each other. He tried to pull us apart, even using some of his impressive strength, but he couldn't untangle us. Eventually he gave up and carried us both out to the cars. Settling on burning the place to the ground, starting with that underground lab. The safehouse hadn't been used in years, because most of the time when we finish a mission we leave for home. All I remember from that time is feeling her memories, absorbing them. I saw everything she'd been through. She knew nothing of life beyond the experiments performed upon her. No love, no compassion, just constant pain and unending cruelty." Isabella shook her head and took a deep steadying breath before continuing.
"Felix wasn't sure what to do but it didn't really matter, when we finally let go of each other a few hours later I must have resorted to some kind of instinctual guard duty. This girl had become a part of me, and I wasn't going to let anything harm her again. He tried to get to her, but he said I snarled and lashed out at him any time he tried to get close to her. I don't remember any of that. I remember waking up, next to her, with Felix sitting in a chair across the room staring at the two of us. What he didn't share right away is that he watched as we both began to change." Isabella's voice was different, talking about Eliza stirred positive emotions. Even finding her in that place was the brightest light of her existence and it showed on her face as she spoke.
Jacob furrowed his brow in curiosity, but couldn't quite hide his frown. "What kind of changes?"
Isabella frowned back at him, "With me they were subtle. My body filled out a bit, I became slightly more toned and my eyes shifted from the usual dark red to a bright ruby red. It was almost as if whatever happened finished my stunted growth into an adult and optimized my physical potential. There were a lot of other changes we didn't notice until much later. Waking up was probably the most surreal experience I've ever had. I was confused and disoriented because vampires never fall into unconsciousness. Then there was the expression on Felix's face. He motioned with his eyes, directing me to look over to my side, and there she was, laying barely a foot from me. At first I had no idea who she was, and for a second I thought I was looking down on myself, like an out of body experience. It took me a full minute to realize it was the girl from the lab. Her body had completely changed. You can see how we look directly related, almost like identical twins?" Jacob and Tekali were listening intently and her question brought them out of it, but they both nodded in agreement to encourage her to continue.
"Before this transformation she appeared typically Brazilian, darker skin, dark hair, and her facial features were significantly different. Somehow, and to this day we still do not have an explanation, her entire body transformed. It was as if my venom overwrote her, maybe grafting my appearance onto her." Isabella was almost smiling, the memory of that first moment seeing her daughter had been a revelation. She could feel the girl's mind, feel her fear and her pain. But also through their connection, Isabella could feel the girl's absolute trust in her. In that instant in time she understood motherhood. Without words she knew this girl was her family, a child to look after who had never had a positive experience in her life.
"Somehow I knew who she was to me, despite having no idea how to be a mother I loved her completely." Isabella's mouth curled into a smile involuntarily, surprising both Jacob and Tekali. It sent a wave of relief through Jacob, to hear a word like love come from Isabella gave him a bit of hope.
"When she came out of it an hour later she was completely freaked out and would only let me near her. Felix tried to get me to end the girl, but I wouldn't hear it, and refused to let him near her. Eventually he gave up and we returned to Volterra. I expected to be executed, because Caius hates the mere concept of change. He thinks anything not purely vampire, even the way the Cullens feed off of animals is a perversion. He immediately lobbied to have us both killed arbitrarily…
Volterra - (82 Years Ago)
"I will not have such a perversion taint our coven!" Caius practically shouted, but Aro shook his head and held out a hand to calm him.
"Easy brother. Isabella is a daughter of Marcus, would you condemn her without hearing her reasons for such an action?" Aro's voice was steady and calming, but there was a hint of agreement when he asked if Caius would condemn her. Still, it seemed to force Cauis to back down a little.
"Fine, speak." Caius snapped at Isabella who was standing in front of the girl who was terrified but standing up with a confidence she didn't actually feel.
Isabella leveled a dark look at Caius. "I had just been injured in combat, I turned to feed off of this girl and something happened. She was a hybrid, born of an ancient vampire and a human woman."
"Impossible." Caius said with a sneer.
"I assure you, we saw these woman first hand. This Joham had been impregnating humans for years, using his offspring as material for biological experiments." Isabella was detached, almost clinical in her description.
"It's true, I saw his work first hand. He turned a bunch of dogs into monsters." Felix spoke up, defending Isabella's claims. She glanced over but he wasn't looking at her, instead he had fixed his gaze on the floor near his feet. A sign that he expected to die as well.
"A true Doctor Moreau, how fascinating." Aro said with a twittering voice, clapping his hands together in joy. Isabella wasn't sure expounding on that information was a wise choice, nor was she inclined to detail the way her mind seemed to be connected to her new charge or daughter if she listened to her instinctual reaction to the girl.
"Anyway I fed on the girl, perhaps something in her physiology adapted to my venom as she transitioned. I don't have another answer as to why she looks like me. But make no mistake, she is mine. I will not have you harm her." While still detached to a degree, everyone present could feel the implied threat in her tone.
"A pet?" Caius said with a wide mocking smile.
"No… something more." Isabella said, with a note of strained emotion breaking through. This caused Marcus to sit forward slightly.
"Let me see this girl." Marcus's dull voice broke the tension. Isabella nodded and offered a hand to her, which the girl immediately took and intertwined her fingers with Isabella's. Slowly she stepped forward, keeping close to Isabella.
"Do you have a name?" Aro asked, staring at the girl's radiantly purple eyes. She shook her head, clutching Isabella even closer. Isabella immediately thought of options, getting to name her felt like a gift. But was it her place? Aro turned towards his brother, ready to say something when she realized there was only one choice. The name she would've given her own daughter if she had ever had children.
"Elizabeth." Isabella said quickly, looking over to meet the girl's eyes who began to smile.
"Naming her, are you sure she isn't a pet?" Caius said through a malicious chuckle.
"Screw you Caius, she is not a pet! She is MY daughter!" The violence of her declaration took the entire room aback, except for Marcus whose mouth twitched very briefly into a small hopeful smile.
"How dare you…" Caius stood ready to tear her limb from limb, but Aro wasn't in the mood so he threw his hand up towards his brother grabbing his throat.
"It isn't your place to threaten her. Not without his consent." He said, glancing at Marcus. "Isabella has spoken out of turn, and will be reprimanded, but I will not see her progeny harmed. Is that understood?"
Caius gritted his teeth and began to nod slowly, his eyes wide with anger. "Yes, brother." His voice was hoarse and deep and full of hatred.
"Well then, Isabella, if she is to remain here I must examine her." Aro said, sweeping forward and holding out a hand. Isabella looked at the hand for a moment, briefly considering ripping it off at the stem. Then slowly brought her new daughter's hand towards Aro. The girl shook her head and tried to pull away, so Isabella turned to her and tentatively reached out to sweep a bit of hair from her face.
"Elizabeth, you need to let him see your mind. It is the only way." She spoke so gently that Aro's eyes flashed wide. In all the time Isabella had been in Volterra she had never shown even a hint of positive emotion, save for mild excitement during training. The girl looked into Isabella's eyes for several seconds before letting go of her hand and reaching towards Aro. The instant their skin touched his face fell.
"I see nothing again. You must've inherited your mother's gifts." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, then looked over at Isabella.
"He cannot see your mind, like he cannot see mine." Isabella explained, and Elizabeth immediately pulled her hand from Aro's and grabbed on to Isabella again, who didn't even flinch at the contact. She found the girl's presence almost soothing.
"Well, take the western rooms, you'll need some more space. Welcome to the Volturi dear Elizabeth. I hope you like it here." Aro didn't sound excited, but he was intrigued, which was nearly as important.
"Come to see me this afternoon." Marcus demanded, and Isabella turned to nod at him before moving away from the great room. She took the hidden door again, but turned away from her old room to a set of rooms in the west wing of the complex. It wasn't the largest suite in Volterra, but it was more than she had been using. Not that it mattered to Isabella, but she wondered if Elizabeth would enjoy the space.
"Esta é a casa?" The girl asked, then blinked. "Home?"
"Yes, home." Isabella managed a sad smile. Elizabeth surged forward and hugged her with everything she had, tears welling up in her eyes. Isabella gasped, she hadn't been able to cry in so long… as tears began to form in her own eyes. Elizabeth pulled away, her eyes full of pain and hope. She opened her mouth a few times, before finally speaking.
"Mama." She buried her face into Isabella's chest, as they both collapsed onto their knees, holding each other until the sun finally set below the Italian horizon.
La Push - January 29
"A few days later she decided she liked Eliza more as our relationship solidified. We've been mother, daughter ever since. She's the reason I give a shit about anything anymore. After a while she was also elevated into the Coven as another Volturi Princess. We were the only members ever sponsored by Marcus. Anyway, she joined me as my partner after a few years and she developed her personality all by herself. It's strange how she came from so much pain, and she is one the brightest souls I've ever met."
"How did it work between you? I mean as adoptive family?" Tekali asked with a warm smile, happy to see any emotion out of Isabella.
Isabella shrugged. "Honestly, she has never really said much about it, but our bond has never been in question. I'm the only mother she has ever known. She was very much a child those first couple of years, and in a very real way I raised her, and I loved her as if she were my own flesh and blood. I guess it's possible since my venom created her in a way, that she has some of my blood within her. She saved me from a pretty dark place. If she hadn't come into my life when she did, I might've fallen into the kind of violence you can never come back from."
Jacob shook his head in relief. "I'm very glad to hear it, children change you in ways you can never imagine. So you mentioned there were other changes. What do you mean?"
Isabella frowned, before sighing slightly. "Well shortly after we got back, besides the ability to cry. I noticed our bodies were oddly softer, but our muscles and skin were stronger and tougher."
"I don't follow you." Tekali said feeling a bit of confusion.
"So, a vampire is not really much more than an animated stone statue. The venom in our systems lubricates certain parts to move, and every organ is utilized in the transformation of blood into that weird silvery fluid. Eliza and I are closer to traditional vampires, we have the same silver blood but our bodies are not solid stone. It takes incredible force to pierce our skin, but our muscles can grow and change. We haven't fully tested the differences, mostly because it would mean a death sentence. Suffice it to say, we're both measurably and significantly faster than an elder and stronger and more dexterous than a newborn. Our senses are heightened, though I don't think our sense of smell is quite at your level. Our bodies are more efficient, we need less blood and it lasts longer for us. Then there's our connection, a link that is part telepathic and part physical. It is a bit like your pack mind, but it's constant. It isn't constrained by distance, and we can also share our gifts." Isabella shrugged casually as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Like that invisibility thing." Jacob guessed.
"That's right." Isabella nodded easily.
"And you're okay with your daughter working as an enforcer for the Volturi?" Jacob asked, failing miserably to seem impartial. He didn't know if it was the right tactic to take, but he had to wonder why Isabella allowed her child to kill.
Isabella nodded. "I couldn't stop her if I tried, and we're a good team. We don't need to talk or see to come up with a plan, and when we fight, we know where and how the other is moving without actively thinking or watching with our eyes. People are starting to say the Volturi have two sets of witch twins. To some we have been dubbed the Volturi Assassin and Executioner, although I'd be hard pressed to say which one of us is which. Eliza is a lot like me sometimes, which is not surprising given her history is as dark as my own, but she also has an amazing sense of humor. You should have seen everyone's expression the first time she called Caius "Uncle", I thought he was going to have an apoplectic fit." Isabella smiled slightly at the memory, taking both of them by surprise.
Jacob chuckled. "I honestly cannot wait to get to know her more. Leah will fill me in, she is my Beta after all."
Isabella nodded in almost joyful acceptance at the mention of Leah. "That's wonderful. I always hoped she would find her place in the pack."
"Technically it isn't the same pack. I left shortly after you disappeared, Seth and Leah immediately followed me. Eventually Sam retired to live out his days with Emily, and the packs combined. Paul became my third and Leah stayed my second." As Jacob explained a bit of the backstory he couldn't quite bring himself to say why the packs split.
"Well, it is good that the pack is in fighting shape because these attacks that have started cropping up are coordinated and clearly dangerous." Isabella's point felt a bit too pointed, and Jacob knew that the discussion would have to turn towards how they planned to deal with this the threat of a homicidal pack of shifters.
Jacob nodded slowly, "Thank you for sharing Bella. It's good to have you back." Without warning he moved over and wrapped his overly muscular arms around her in a bear hug. Isabella stiffened up completely, surprised. She did not like to be touched at all, much less a hug like this. For several seconds she resisted the urge to push him away or do something far worse. After a few agonizing seconds she did manage to relax and return the hug, albeit tentatively.
Jacob realized almost immediately what Isabella meant when she was describing her physicality being different. He had killed enough vampires over the years to know how they felt when he wrapped his jaws around them. It was as if they were made of a stone so hard that even with a sledgehammer it would take years to break through it. Isabella didn't feel human, although her skin was initially soft to the touch, but pressing into her he found she also harder than steel and he wasn't sure even his fangs would cause her any damage at all.
"Do you remember the question you asked me earlier today? " He asked, not loosening his grip on the hug yet. His question elicited a frown from Isabella. She was puzzled and it showed when he released the hug and stepped back to look at her. "We are still friends. Always."
Isabella gave him a genuine, albeit brief smile then replied "And now you won't always have to be worried about protecting me. We can both take care of ourselves these days."
Tekali spoke up quietly, catching Isabella's attention. "I do have a question. Are you really okay with the whole imprint thing? I mean I know it came as much a shock to us as it did to you, but still…"
Isabella frowned, glanced back at the forest as if she could see her daughter, then she sighed. "I don't know. But not for the obvious reasons."
Tekali frowned thoughtfully, "So the fact she's a female werewolf doesn't bother you?"
Isabella shook her head slowly. "No, her being female or a shape shifter has nothing to do with my concerns. More like… an imprint is really intense. I remember that, and while in some ways Eliza is nearly as old as I am, in a very real way she is just a young woman with no real romantic experience. I'm worried she'll be overwhelmed. But I did mean what I said. I won't try and dissuade her from a relationship, nor will I compel her to be in one. She'll make her own choices and I'll be her worried, protective mother."
Jacob nodded, looking satisfied. "Leah's changed from the angry sullen woman she was when you knew her. Now she's a great leader, a wonderful friend and mentor. She's also a good person, but she's also been alone for a very long time. Now after all this time, to suddenly imprint. I just… I hope it works out."
Tekali shrugged a bit and nodded, "I hope so too, and I've yet to see an imprint that hasn't worked out. But… that doesn't mean we can't worry. I think it's pretty obvious this is a unique case."
Jacob coughed slightly, shaking his head and changing the subject, looking at Isabella. "What time do you want to leave for Seattle tomorrow?" He asked
Isabella blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic "Leave for Seattle?" She asked, caught off guard.
Jacob nodded, "I thought we could gather a good chunk of the pack, and go down with you where you met these wolves. Nose around a little bit, see what we could come up with and I assumed you'd want to come with us."
Isabella made a face, "That was a horrible pun. But sure, let's say 7:00 am?"
Jacob grinned in a lopsided goofy way when she got the pun then nodded "That works, we'll have to drive down there. We can't exactly show up as giant wolves, or walk around without shirts and shoes and not attract attention. We'll take our bikes; do you want us to give you a lift?"
Isabella shook her head and grinned, "No, I've got my own ride. I'll meet you on the highway to Seattle at 7:00 am sharp."
Jacob nodded, turning to head back towards the meeting circle with Tekali "As long as you're not driving a truck older than my father this time."
Isabella chuckled and waved as they separated, and then started to wander in the direction of home. She walked slowly, idly wondering how Eliza was doing, but resisting the urge to check up on her through the mental link. She knew that she had to contact Aro and inform him of the alliance. A call she was more nervous about than she'd tried to let on.
Author's Notes:
The locations mentioned are real places, remote and up along the coast into Canada. Following the mantra of show don't tell, we get to see some stuff here that wasn't in the original version, but was mentioned more than once. This and the next chapter were originally much shorter and didn't feature any flashbacks. Additionally the timing of the trip to Seattle is different for specific reasons.
Edit - Samraven brought up a very important topic. Eliza's transformation from a POC into a character coded white. Without argument this is a problematic plot point. While emotionally positive for the character, because Eliza never had a history or ethnicity to call her own as a child, it is erasing that racial history entirely. We are not making a statement with this plot point. What happens to Eliza is deeply unfair and violent. The way she freed from her cruel father is just as violent as his abusive and monstrous behavior towards her. Isabella isn't a liberator, she isn't a white savior. She is a monster who took something from another (in this case Subject 17's blood). The fact that she ended up with Eliza as a daughter was an unexpected consequence, a positive in a sea of overwhelming negatives. This isn't an elaborately planned commentary on the history of white coded stories adopting and erasing POC culture. I am a progressive white trans-woman writing Twilight fan-fiction, in this case I overlooked something obvious. I could alter the text, and remove the offending material. But I am not going to do that. It was a mistake, and I acknowledge that mistake. Please accept my apology.
Next Chapter: All I Ever Wanted
