Disclaimer:
I own no part of the 'Twilight Universe, only the idea to this story. This is strictly for fun.
Author's note:
I know that for some of you the story might develop too slow but I have been thinking about this plot for quite some time now, a year or so, and the idea never left me. So, please bear with me.
Bella POV:
So far so good, I thought. Finally, after almost 18 hours stuck on a plane, I had made it to Italy. The first step of my last journey was completed.
Originally I had planned to take a cab and have it drive me straight to Volterra, no matter the cost.
But recent events had finally caught up with me, and I had to admit defeat. The lack of sleep didn't really count, considering I hadn't had a peaceful night since THEY left. But to make things worse, my joints were hurting from sitting still so long on the plane, and the scarred wounds on my torso were killing me; even taking a tiny breath hurt.
So, in an attempt to get on at least a little with my plan, I decided to take a cab to a smaller town en route to Volterra, and get a room at a hotel there.
In the end, I made it to Sette Bagni, just outside of the city. The cab driver was quite nice; an elderly man with graying hair and wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He barely spoke English, so there was no way to converse with him, much to his dismay as it would seem: you could literally see the curiosity burning in his deep-brown eyes. I did not mind the lack of a conversational partner. Instead, I stared amazed at the beauty of the countryside flying by. It was twilight; the hills and fields, now bare of any crops, as well as the occasional cypress tree standing close to an old, rundown farmstead, were tinted in shades of orange and red and throwing long shadows. It was all very picturesque.
By the time we got to Sette Bagni it was around 8 pm and I was dead on my feet. After making sure the same taxi driver would pick me up the next day to take me to Volterra – it took me about ten minutes to make myself understood – , I checked in the little hotel, got a room, had something to eat and went straight to bed.
When I woke up in the morning, I was surprised to find that not counting the interruptions caused by my usual nightmares, I had managed to get almost six hours of sleep. Well, that was a novelty; for my standards, I felt quite well rested.
I took a quick shower, ignoring the person staring back at me from the mirror, and went down to breakfast. I ate very little; my stomach tended to get upset if I ate more than a few bites these days.
The driver was right on time and greeted me cheerfully, with a bright smile and a rather loud "Buongiorno, Signorina!". He kept on talking, but I had no clue what he was saying. He put my backpack in the trunk, and five minutes past 9 am we set off toward Volterra.
During the entire trip, the driver was listening to a radio station that only played Italian songs, occasionally humming along with the singer. I was staring out the window, not sure how I would proceed once I got to Volterra. We reached our destination in a little under three hours. The city was a sight to behold: so historic and regal. The Fortress, with its high, massive stone walls, towered over the town. The houses snuggled up to the hill as if they were cowering in fear.
The driver wound his way through the narrow, winding streets, and took me to a hotel. "Albergo Nationale," he announced and added something else, but the only thing I recognized was "buono", meaning "good". I had no idea what he thought was good, and didn't care. I wasn't here to enjoy myself. I went up to the room they'd assigned to me, and put away the few things I had brought with me.
Well, Bella, now how do you go about finding those ruling vampires? Coming to Italy and finding my way to this town was easy, but the task at hand was more difficult. Not only did I have to find them, I had to make them help me fulfill my plan, preferably without them realizing. I could hardly waltz in the town square and start screaming: There are vampires in this town! There are vampires in this town and you don't even know about it! They're called the Volturi! Ha ha! Sure, it would probably get me killed in the end, but not without endangering others, and definitely not without questions being asked. They would surely torture me to make me tell them how I knew, who had told me, who had betrayed their most treasured secret.
This thought sent a shiver down my spine. But even after everything I had suffered because of THEIR actions, I didn't want to betray THEM. I wouldn't break the promise I had made: never to tell anyone about THEIR secret. I would take that one to the grave with me.
Promises... He broke both – the one HE made in the hospital in Phoenix, and the one HE gave me in the woods: that it would be as if HE had never existed. As if I could ever forget HIM. Impossible! HIS voice, HIS touch, HIS Scent, HIS face – they were all engraved in my head, and would haunt me to the end of my days.
As if HE would ever be able to keep that promise: it was broken the moment the words had left his mouth. And yet I could not but yearn for HIS presence, for HIM to be here with me. I felt so empty, sad and alone, rejected and betrayed by the very people I had loved like family, trusted utterly and completely, and would have given my live for.
I collapsed on the floor, sobbing and crying, hardly able to breathe, clutching my sides in attempt to keep myself from falling apart completely. It didn't work.
It took a considerable amount of time – I had no idea how long it actually was – for me to get a grip on my emotions and actions. It was something I'd gotten pretty good at: keeping my emotions in check so that my inner turmoil wouldn't show. I always looked perfectly controlled and composed. It was like erecting a wall around me, keeping my emotions, thoughts and fears inside and the rest outside, so that it couldn't affect me. Only in my sleep would I lose control and break.
When I finally managed to get off the ground it was late afternoon. I had missed lunch. Never mind, I wasn't hungry anyway.
This evening I would go and explore the town. Perhaps I would find them. If I could find them at all, I thought, it would definitely be easier in the evening, when it was dark already.
I took a little time to clean up a bit: a short shower, some ibuprofen against the pain, and a new set of clothes. And out I went to brave the city of the Volturi.
End note:
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