Disclaimer- All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer, whereas all new characters belong to me.
Chapter 23- Be safe
The sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky. My skin glittered like a million diamonds. I was outside, watching my friends introduce themselves to the army they were going to help. Aro had split them up exactly as I had suggested. Flora and Mike were commanding the archers, Lanina and Travis were overseeing the younger vampires with their movement, Ash and Manny were leading the sword training and Yuzria was currently looking for any witches Aro may have gotten to help us. I still hadn't talked to him again, officially we weren't broken up. I wasn't quite sure how Edward was going to take that small tidbit of information. But at the moment, I didn't care. I was ready to do some practicing with Aro in front of our troops, well in front of the first batch of troops. In all we'd have to do our little skit four times before we'd done it in front of every one of our men. Our men. . . The thought that I was a Volturi member still shocked me a little. Marcus and Caius had already congratulated me. I hadn't heard from Jane or her brother. Not that they mattered. Even Aro knew I was stronger than her. Secretly, I thought she did too. I stepped forward and withdrew my sword from its sheath. All the talking and practicing stopped and every gaze turned towards me. I spotted the Cullens in the corner, their faces were solemn. Edward must've told them my good news. Aro stepped beside me, his black cloak billowing around his feet. The only thing that glittered was his face and hands. I looked at him and he lowered his head once; he was allowing me to lead the conversation. I whirled the sword around a couple times and smiled. " You all made the right decision by being here today, by choosing to fight beside the Volturi. In the end, it'll be the decision that saves your lives." I paused, letting my first words sink in. " Me and my friends are here to teach you, to help you become stronger. Because this isn't going to be an easy war. We're going up against an enemy that knows what he's doing. This fight has been destined to happen ever since the Volturi formed centuries ago. And, as you may know, these aren't the only Volturi members." I gestured to Aro, Caius, Marcus, Jane and Alex. " There are more stationed all over the world. They will be here in one week." Aro held up a hand and grinned.
" I'm sorry to cut in Bella, but I think now is the right time to tell your good news." He turned to the vampires in front of us and pointed to me.
" Miss Isabella Swan has been appointed as the newest member of the Volturi by Caius, Marcus and myself. You will treat her with the same respect you treat us. If that isn't clear, let me know now." The men and women bowed down, showing me their respect, and let out a loud cheer. I smiled and thanked Aro.
" Now!" I shouted. " Aro and me will be showing you some brief moves. Watch carefully, what we do up here is what you're going to be learning over the next couple of weeks." The crowd silenced as Aro took out his sword. We dove right into it. He thrusted his sword at me, but I merely did a flip backwards, landing out of the way of the sword. " Movement," I began while clashing my sword with Aro's. " Is one of the most important things. If you're not fast, you're dead." Short, sweet and to the point. Soon the fight blurred, it became almost like a dance. Block, thrust, thrust, block and thrust. There was a rhythm to it, a beat. It had a mind of its own. I held out one hand and a flame sparked to life. The crowd gasped and fell back. Fire always made vampires cringe. Aro grinned and dived out of the way of the fire I shot out of my palm. He landed quickly on his feet and waved the sword around. We circled for a bit, waiting for the other to make a move. " Always look out for the next move, be prepared for anything." I added as I kicked my leg out, trying to push him to the ground. He shoved my leg away and leaped up, smacking me in the head with his foot. I whipped to the side and cracked my jaw. " Even if you hurt, keep pushing on. Pain means you're alive. You want to stay that way." I smirked and shot another line of fire a him. Energy pulsed through my veins. His sword flicked out and he managed to nick my arm. Venom oozed out, the deep red liquid swam down my arm. I pushed my sword out and jammed it in his side, creating his own venom to fall. It always amazed me how much our venom looked like blood. I guess because that's not only what we consumed, but what helped make us. He chuckled and applied pressure to his small wound.
" You managed to cut through his skin!" Edward hissed from behind me. I turned around slightly and smirked. He seemed amazed, it hadn't been that hard.
" Yeah, I know. I saw." I teased. He gripped my arm and shook his head.
" You don't understand. No one has been able to pierce his skin but another master vampire, and that hasn't been for quite some time." I shrugged my shoulders and released his grip on my arm.
" Call me wonder woman." I winked and flipped in the air, landing right on Aro's sword. He moved it right from under my feet and I fell to the ground. He went to strike me when I put a hand on his leg and he doubled over. He grabbed his leg and looked up at me.
" Did you just set me on fire?" He questioned. I wiggled my eyebrows and licked my teeth. Then I put my sword on his throat and stood up. He held up his hands in surrender and grinned. " I knew it was a good thing to make you one of us." He said more to himself than to me. I turned to the crowd, my sword still on his throat, and raised my hand. They let out a cry and raised their swords in the air. I removed my sword from Aro's adams apple and helped him up.
" Good fight." I told him and brushed some of his venom away. He patted me on the back and smiled.
" I'll get you next time." He winked and turned to the crowd. " Now, let's get to training!" They all split up into separate groups and soon everyone was doing something. I saw the Cullens had split up. Some were in archery, some were in sword fighting. I knew that was best. I ran up to Yuzria, who was in front of a crowd of young witches. He smiled and stepped aside so I could join him on his step.
" Bella, nice fight." He said and gave me a small pat on the back. I smiled and nodded my head.
" Yeah, it was one hell of a fight." I replied. He gazed at my wound and then picked up a small vial that was on a table. As soon as he poured it, my flesh began to hell. " Wow, thanks." I gave him a small kiss on the cheek and turned to the witches. Most were men, but there were a couple woman. One had deep brown hair, and the other had red hair. " Is this your class?" I asked him. He shook his head yes and grinned.
" They're great." He told me. " They catch on very fast. Especially Tori." He pointed to the red head and grinned. I nodded my head and pursed my lips. She was smiling at him in a warm way. I looked back and forth between them and then cleared my throat.
" Yuzria, can you meet me inside for a moment?" I asked. He put the vial down and stepped inside the house with me. His eyes looked worried as I shut the door. " So, when did you first meet Tori?" I questioned. His eyes flashed with something and he smirked.
" Wow, you are good." He muttered. He sat down on the kitchen counter and sighed. " Four years ago. We had a. . . Thing. But I ended up leaving. Then, well then I met Tristine and then-"
" You met me." I finished for him with a smirk. " You loved her didn't you?" He looked at me and nodded his head slowly.
" Yeah, I think so. But, that doesn't matter now." He took my hands in his and smiled. I chuckled and leaned into him, brushing a piece of his hair out of his eyes.
" Oh, Yuzria. . . " I whispered and inhaled deeply. I felt a shiver run down his spine as I kissed the scar on his neck I'd given him. " We wouldn't work." He closed his eyes and groaned. I put a finger on his lips and let out a small hush sound. " You know it and I do." He grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips.
" There's no talking you out of this is there?" I shook my head with a weak smile. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. " I'll always care about you Isabella. Don't forget that." I nodded and cleared my throat slightly.
" And I you. . . Friends?" I held out my pinky and looped it through his. He grinned and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
" I'll always be here for you." He said softly in my ear.
" Thank you." I said back. He nodded his head and walked back outside. I knew they'd be happy. They'd have children, I'd be the cool aunt of course. Smirking, I walked outside. Practice made perfect, and my army had a long way until it'd be perfect. " This is going to be a long day." I mumbled. And for a second, I could've swore I felt my frozen heart beat just once when I saw Edward's face. I put a hand on my heart and nodded my head. " I made the right decision." I whispered. We were forever, and nothing would rip that apart. And that's when it hit me; I had a tiny epiphany. Mitchell tried to tear us apart because we were stronger together. We worked better together than separated. I grinned and stepped into the sun. I couldn't wait to see his face when he saw Edward and I fighting side by side in the battle. Maybe I'd even take a picture of his face before I cut his head off. . . I chuckled and took out my sword. " Who wants to challenge me?" I exclaimed and whipped the sword around.
" Come on, I dare you." Laurent stepped forward and twirled his sword around, a playfully glint in his eyes. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. " I want a challenge Laurent." I joked. He put hand to his chest and lowered his mouth slightly.
" Why, I think you bruised me with that comment." He replied teasingly. I laughed and whipped my sword at him. He blocked it and blew me a kiss, a grin on his face. " Still think I'm not a challenge." I tilted my head and kicked my foot out. He fell to the ground with a thud. I put my sword to his throat and smirked.
" Yes."
The fire shot out of my hand and into the fireplace. Edward chuckled and put his head on my shoulder, his lips on my neck. " Now, you are just showing off." He whispered. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pressed my lips to his. Then I pulled away and sat in the chair Aro had been sitting in the night before. The shades were drawn back so the moon could pour into the library. Edward sat beside me and took my hand, placing it gently to his lips.
" You really are laying on the charm aren't you?" I joked. He smiled and nodded his head.
" You are worth every charming line I have in me and more." He answered. I chuckled softly and raised my glass to my lips, taking a small sip of the blood inside. I needed every drop I could get. My energy level was low from the all day training. I'd worked so hard my body almost hurt. Almost being the key word.
" I won't argue with that." I replied after swallowing. " Have you thought about if you're going to stay here or not?" He sighed and lowered his gaze to the carpet.
" I hate to leave my family," He began quietly. Then he lifted his topaz eyes back up to me. " But I'm not leaving you. If this is where you'll be, so will I." I squeezed his hand and let out a breath I'd been holding in.
" Are you sure?" I questioned. " I don't want you-" He stood up and then knelt in front of me. His eyes locked on mine, his face was serious. I watched the fire glow in his eyes.
" I've never been more sure of anything in my life." He said, his voice gaining strength. I smiled and put his head on my lap. Then I started running my hands through his hair. He closed his eyes and let out a content sigh. " They aren't that bad. . . Once you get to know them. Well, with the exception of Jane." He mumbled.
" Yeah. I'm thinking I might accidentally push her in front of a sword during battle."
" Can you do that?"
" I'm a Volturi member and a guardian. I can do anything." I muttered. " But I won't, unfortunately Aro likes her. Why, I'll never understand. Her brother is kind of useless too. Eh well. . ." I leaned my head against the chair and listened to the fire crackle. Suddenly, a hunger hit me. A hunger I hadn't quenched in a while. I groaned and sat up.
" What's wrong?" Edward immediately lifted his head, his face serious.
" I miss hunting. . . Not the blood, the chase." My eyes opened with amusement and I stood up. " Maybe I can gather some friends to go hunting the streets with me. I need to kill a couple bad guys." Edward laughed and kissed me deeply.
" I can't get over how much you've changed." He said quietly. He put his hands on my waist and drew me too him. His eyes darkened, but not with hunger. I smirked and kissed him again.
" Hold on there cowboy. We just got back together." I pushed myself away from him slightly and smiled. " What kinda girl do you think I am?" He laughed and pulled me into a tight embrace.
" Mine." He whispered in my ear. I grinned and kissed him.
" Always." I whispered back. " I'll be back later." He nodded his head and kissed me once more.
" I'll be waiting." Right before I walked out of the library I heard him yell, " Be safe." I pushed the memories that flashed from that sentence away and kept walking. The past was the past. . . I couldn't dwell on it. I wouldn't.