Chapter 1: A New Country
Edward POV
Even after so long, I still can't let go of her. I thought from my room.
After leaving Forks my family travelled through different countries. Most of these travels occurred because of my moping around the house. Now after 100 years Alice wants to go back to a town which I promised myself all that years ago that I would never go back, but my family didn't take a 'no' as an answer.
I know that my reason to not go it's stupid because there is no possibility that anyone remembers us, because most of those persons are dead or really old, so no one would believe them. But even so that isn't my problem, no, my problem is the other, one that could be explained with only two words.
Bella Swan.
Only her name is capable to make me weak on the knees, and to accomplish that on a vampire is a great thing.
I found out that Bella had died 7 months after we left town. When I and my family knew when rushed to Forks. There we found out that not only was Bella dead, but also her father, Charlie Swan, along with her mother, Renee and her husband Phil. But that wasn't what surprised us the most, no, the new that surprised us the most was the fact, that along with her parents and step-father, her day old step-brother had died along with them. When we got to Forks they had already been buried. So in front of my Bella's gravestone I wished that I could cry. My family thoughts were synchronized with mine.
Alice's, because she lost her best friend and sister.
Esme, because she felt as she had lost another child of hers.
Carlisle, because he liked Bella has if she was one of us, a Cullen.
Emmett, because he lost his little sister that was always falling.
Jasper, because even though he hadn't dealt to much with her, because of the bloodlust, he liked her, not only because she made the family happy, but because he saw her as the little sister he never had.
But the thoughts that shocked me the most were Rosalie's. Even she was sad because of Bella's death along with her family, not only because of the rest of us but because she finally started to like her, and now it was too late to tell her that she was sorry.
With this, we all left Forks with our hearts full of sadness, mine with more than the others combined.
After this I planned going to Volterra, more directly, the Volturi, so that I could be with my dear Bella, even though she would o to Heaven and I was destined to go to Hell, but I couldn't survive with my beautiful Bella dead. But even before I could leave my room, I already had my whole family standing there with fearful eyes.
After that, with Alice and Esme trying to convince me that my plan to kill myself wasn't the right answer and that Bella wouldn't have liked that. I finally relented and promised them that I would not try to kill myself.
With that, they kept an eye on me since then, but I never thought of that again because I knew that they were right, since I remembered of mine and Bella's conversation that occurred in her birthday afternoon while we were watching "Romeo and Juliet" in her living room.
Flashback
New Moon's book (Bella POV)
The movie eventually captured my interest, thanks in large part to Edward whispering Romeo's lines in my ear – his irresistible, velvet voice made the actor's voice sound weak and coarse by comparison. And I did cry, to his amusement, when Juliet woke and found her new husband dead.
"I will admit, I do sort of envy him here," Edward said, drying the tears with a lock of my hair.
"She's very pretty."
He made a disgusted sound. "I don't envy the girl – just the ease of the suicide," he clarified in a teasing tone. "You humans have it so easy! All you have to do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts…"
"What?" I gasped.
"It's something I had to think about once, and I knew form Carlisle's experience that it wouldn't be simple. I'm not even sure how many ways Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning… after he realized what he'd become…" His voice, which had grown serious, turned light again. "And he's still in excellent health."
I twisted around so that I could read his face. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. "what do you mean, this something you had to think about once?"
"Last spring, when you were… nearly killed…" He paused to take a deep breath, snuggling to return to his teasing tone. "Of course I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind as making contingency plans. Like I said, it's not as easy for me as it is for a human."
For one second, the memory of my last trip to Phoenix washed through my head and made me feel dizzy. I could see it all so clearly – the blinding sun, the heat waves coming off the concrete as I ran with desperate haste to find the sadistic vampire who wanted to torture me to death. James, waiting in the mirrored room with my mother as his hostage – or so I'd thought. I hadn't known it was all a ruse. Just as James hadn't known that Edward was racing to save me; Edward made it in time, but it had been a close one. Unthinkingly, my fingers traced the crescent-shaped scar on my hand that was always just a few degrees cooler than the rest of my skin.
I shook my head – as if I could shake away the bad memories – and tried to grasp what Edward meant. My stomach plunged uncomfortable. "Contingency plans?" I repeated.
"Well, I wasn't going to live without you." He rolled his eyes as if that fact were childishly obvious. "But I wasn't sure how to do it – I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help… so I was thinking maybe I would go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi."
I didn't want to believe he was serious, but his golden eyes were brooding, focused on something far away in the distance as he contemplated ways to end his own life. Abruptly, I was furious.
"What is a Volturi?" I demanded.
"The Volturi are a family," he explained, his eyes still remote. "A very old, very powerful family of our kind. They are the closest thing our world has to a royal family, I suppose. Carlisle lived with them briefly in his early years, in Italy, before he settled in America – do you remember the story?"
"Of course I remember."
I would never forget the first time I'd gone to his home, the huge white mansion buried deep in the forest beside the river, or the room where Carlisle – Edward's father in so many real ways – kept a wall of paintings that illustrated his personal history. The most vivid, most wildly colorful canvas there, the largest, was from Carlisle's time in Italy. Of course I remembered the calm quartet of men, each with the exquisite face of a seraph, painted into the highest balcony overlooking the swirling mayhem of color. Though the painting was centuries old, Carlisle – the blond angel – remained unchanged. And I remembered the three others, Carlisle's early acquaintances. Edward had never used the name Volturi for the beautiful trio, two black-haired, one snow white. He'd called them Aro, Caius, and Marcus, nighttime patrons of the arts…
"Anyway, you don't irritate the Volturi," Edward went on, interrupting ray reverie. "Not unless you want two die – or whatever is we do." His voice was so calm, it made him sound almost bored by the prospect.
My anger turned to horror. I took his marble face between my hands and held it very tightly.
"You must never, never, never think of anything like that again!" I said. "No matter what might ever happen to me, you are not allowed to hurt yourself!"
"I'll never put you in danger again, so it's a moot point."
"Put me in danger! I thought we'd established that all the bad luck is my fault?" I was getting angrier. "How dare you even think like that?" The idea of Edward ceasing to exist, even if I were dead, was impossible painful.
"What would you do, if the situation were reversed?" he asked.
"That's not the same thing."
He didn't seem to understand the difference. He chuckled."What if something did happen to you?" I blanched at the thought. "Would you want me to go off myself?"
A trace of pain touched his perfect features.
"I guess I see your point… a little" he admitted. "But what would I do without you?"
"Whatever you were doing before I came along and complicated your existence."
He sighed. "You make it sound so easy."
"It should be. I'm not really that interesting."
End of Flashback
Because of that, I have lived these years moping around, but not only me, but the whole family has well.
Carlisle isn't the same medic as he was before, now he makes sure that there is a big emotional distance between him and his patients.
Esme doesn't like to remodel houses like she did, and she keeps an eye on us more than she did before, afraid of losing one of us, like she lost Bella.
Alice lost her craziness, being calmer and not so hyper anymore.
Jasper is always quiet, not that he wasn't before, but he is more now.
Emmett doesn't play and make jokes of everything anymore, he is much more serious.
And Rosalie isn't so self-centered, concerned with her own beauty, living now with remorse, even though it's too late to apologize.
Now, my whole family is packing. We are moving to Forks, but I hope that something happens so that the trip may be cancelled.
"Edward, don't even say that again. Much less think about it anymore, do you hear me?" asked Alice from the living room.
"What is Eddie thinking Alice?" asked Emmett with is loud voice.
"He is thinking of a way to get out of this trip." Answered Alice with a frown in her pixie face.
Before I could answer to the two of them I heard the ending of Carlisle conversation in the phone that made me think.
"Yes, I think it's a great thing too, since Edward doesn't want to go to Forks, and this is different from everything we ever did. I will talk to them, but I think I can tell you with certain that we are going, goodbye Aro." Carlisle said, ending his call.
Edward, I think you hear my conversation. If you did you must know that it's an exit that will make us all happy, even you, son. Though Carlisle, saying then with his voice instead of thinking, "Please, can everyone be in the living room, I have something to tell all of you that you may be interested."
With that all of my family was in the living room, seated in couples. Carlisle and Esme. Jasper and Alice. Emmett and Rose. Only I was alone, but that is my fault. It's my fault that I lost my Bella, no one else.
Edward do you mind stopping moping around for a bit. At least while I can feel it, because you are making me have an headache, which I thought to be impossible to happen to vampires. Jasper thought, receiving a nod from me.
"Well you must be wondering what I have to tell you so I'm going straight to the point." Started Carlisle seeing all of us listening what he had to tell. "Well, it's time for us to move and most of you want to go to Forks once again, with the exception of Edward, isn't that right?" He asked receiving nods as answer. "So, I received a phone call, that changed everything, and I decide to talk to you guys, even thought I think the proposition is interesting and it will bring something new since this never happen in all of our history."
"What are you talking about Carlisle?" Asked Esme confused, just like the rest of us.
"Aro, from the Volturi called me just a few seconds ago," said Carlisle seeing our shocked faces, but even so he continued. "He made me a proposition."
"Which is?" asked Emmett impatient like always.
"Could you have a little calm Emmett." Said Carlisle while looking at him, since he was jumping in his place in the couch.
"I'm just curious." He answered.
"Like the rest of us, I assure you Emmett." Concluded Jasper.
"Please Carlisle, could you say what you have to say once for all." I said a little impatient, because if there was a way to not go to Forks, I didn't care where we could go, just not to that place.
As if sensing my impatient, Carlisle started talking.
"Aro called me with the proposition to where to spend this year that is to come."
"Where is it Carlisle?" asked Rosalie with calm.
"Italy." Said Carlisle with calm.
"Italy!!" exploded Alice, jumping from her place at the couch and starting to pace around the living room. "You want us to go live with the Volturi, is that it?"
"No." answered Carlisle maintaining the same soothing voice, "Aro said that the Volturi opened a school last year."
"A school?" asked Esme confused.
"Yes, a school which their only students are vampires and what they learn it's our history and everything related to what we are." Answered Carlisle.
"A school full of vampires where we don't have to hide ourselves." Asked Emmett excited. "I'm in!"
"Yes a school where we don't have to hide ourselves." Agreed Carlisle. "What do you think?" he asked to the others, including me.
"If that makes us not go to Forks, I'm in too." I agreed, not seeing the problem, and a little excited with the thought of not hiding who I am, along with the fact that if the Volturi opened a school, that means that for the first time in centuries, I will have some competition and I will have to work to excel school instead of learning the same things all over again in the humans school.
"Well, I have to say that the prospect is interesting." Agreed Esme, already thinking in how to decorate the new house.
Rosalie and Jasper hurried to agree to, making everyone look at Alice since she was the only one who still haven't said anything.
Seeing everyone looking at her, she sighed and with a nod, she agreed.
"Great, so I already have everything prepared, including the tickets and the house. Now we just have to go to the airport to embark to Italy." After finishing talking Carlisle stood up along with the rest of us and prepared to leave the room, when a exclamation of surprise made us look behind us to see Alice with her eyes blank, which told us that she was having a vision. Without wasting time I listened to her thoughts and saw the vision that she was having, too.
Alice vision
A great castle could be seen, we walked through the big double doors and we came to an open patio where we could see very vampires, almost everyone with red eyes. There we could listen to a conversation between two other vampires, one that I understood that it was his first year, which had blond hair, and the other his second year, which had dark hair, since the school opened last year.
"Hey, you want to know who are the most popular vampires in the school, right?" asked the one with black hair.
"Yeah." Answered the blond haired vampire.
"Well, there are two covens that 'rule' the school, the Goods and the Bad." Said the dark haired vampire. "The Bad ones are a group that everyone thinks that they have connections to the Romanians. But since no one can prove anything, they can attend the school, even though no one likes them, so they tend to stay by themselves, except when they see a Good one." Explained the dark haired vampire.
"And the Goods one, who are they?" asked the blond vampire with curiosity.
"The Good ones are the Dark Coven, but they don't talk to anyone except their own family or to protect the other students." Said the dark haired quickly.
"The Dark Coven?" Asked the blond haired confused.
"Yes, the Coven which all of its members were a part of the Volturi Guard once." Explained the other. "Their 'parents', Leo and Melanie are teachers in the school."
"Really, but then isn't there any preference for the members of their coven?" asked the blond.
"No, in fact they are much stricter with them that they are with us." Said the dark haired.
"How many are they?"
"With their parents, there are 8 members." Answered the dark haired. "The 6 are students, the best, in which two of them are the Devil Twins of the Volturi Guard, the best two Volturi Guards that ever existed."
"Really?" asked the blond surprised.
"Yes." Answered the dark haired.
"Can you tell me about them? At least their names?" begged the blond.
"Okay, all of them have already mated, except the Twins. The couples are Alan and Kat, Peter and Lillian, and for the last, the Devil Twins, Chase and the Volturi muse, B…"
Before we could hear the last name, the vision ended and the others looked at us expectantly while me and Alice only looked at each other surprised and a bit confused about that Coven.
Without wasting time, Alice turned to Carlisle and asked:
"Who is the Dark Coven?"
Carlisle surprised with the question let the newspaper he had in his hands drop, while his eyes got bigger. With a sigh he mentions to us to sit again, and with a deep breath e started talking.
"There is no certain. But from what I heard is that the Dark Coven is a coven in which all of its members were once a part of the Volturi Guard, and all of them have a power of their own. The creator, like I create this coven, is Leo Black. It's said that he was changed by the Volturi 500 years ago. The reason why he was changed is because of his power. It's said that his power is to know when a person is lying, and if they are he can tell, and he is also capable of knowing the truth if he asks a question which the person he asked was lying."
"So in other words he can tell if a person is lying and the truth behind the lie." I concluded having received a nod from Carlisle who continued his story.
"100 years ago, it's said that Marcus, of the Volturi found out that the Romanians, more specifically, Stefan, was after a human, that had a great power, and if he got her, the Romanians would win and take away the Volturi. So with this, Marcus, Aro and Leo went to place where that human, a girl, was supposed to be. When they got there they said that her whole family was dead, suck dry, they said that the view was horrifying, and that view had to be really bad for Aro to say it. So Stefan had backed away for a few seconds to do something they didn't wasted time, Leo took her from the ground and into the car, and they were off. Because of this, she changed and became a Volturi Guard. But she wasn't a typical Volturi Guard, no, Stefan was right, she had, in fact, has a powerful power."
"Which is?" asked Emmett in suspense.
"Easy Emmett, I'm getting there." He said with a little smile, before he continued telling his story. "She is able to use, block, redirect, and change every single power that she saw being used once, in her life as human and in her life as a vampire, and mental attacks don't work on her, like Jane's and Alec's. Shocking and powerful isn't it?" He asked with a chuckle seeing all of our surprised faces. "Yes, that is a powerful power, added to the fact that she is immune to human blood as well." He continued starting to crack up because of stunned faces we were showing. "And she is also the Volturi Muse."
"Volturi Muse?" asked Esme still surprised with the fact that there was a vampire which is immune to human blood.
"Yes, the Volturi Muse is a title given to her for the fact that Aro said that she is the most beautiful woman that he ever saw in his life time, and all of the Volturi Guard agree with him, not by fear, but with honesty, so she must be a real beauty to be able to maintain the title for so long, and no one was able until now to take away the title and by Aro words no one ever will." He explained.
"So, what does she have to do with the Dark Coven?" asked Rose, and I could see in her face along with everyone else, but I could also see in her mind that she already didn't like that woman, for the fact that she must be really pretty to take that title, which means, that she is more beautiful that her.
"Yes, she has everything to do with the Coven. Because of the fact that she is immune to human blood, she hunted animals like us, and also showed an interest in going to school. So 10 years after being changed she met her la tua cantante, a boy, whose mother was a politic woman, very important, but even so they become friends. That man is now known as Chase Black."
"Yes, Chase Black, we heard them talking about him, and they said that he was a part of the Devil Twins, whatever that means." Asked Alice with curiosity.
"Yes, the Devil Twins, I'm getting there. So after a year, he was 18 years old and he loved to race, having money to change his cars he raced a lot, and the last day of school there was a big race in which he participated. She didn't went and advised him not to go to, but he went the same way. She and he during the year became best friends, so her request wasn't strange since she did that all the time. She went hunting, and while she was doing it, she came across his body, he had an accident and was left there to die." Finished Carlisle making everyone thrive with the suspense.
"She was able to snap out of her hunting mode and she changed him. He became a part of the Volturi Guard along with her, and his power was to be able to track down everything, by seeing the in the mind what it is that he needs to track down. He along with her teamed up and became known as the Devil Twins since they were close and look alike. Not even a month later, Leo brought Melanie, now his mate after changing her, she is able to block every single power, being the only power the one o can overpower her own the Volturi Muse. So with that she was also a part of the Volturi Guard. Then came Kat, nickname to Katherine, that can create illusions, and Alan, that can create magnetic camps, both mated, being changed by Leo and the Volturi Muse, respectively 60 years ago. Then for last there are Pete, nickname to Peter, that can play with fire, and Lil or Lils, nickname to Lillian, who can stop time, both mated, and changed by the same persons in the same order, 51 years ago. All of them were a part of the Volturi Guard until 50 years ago, when they left the Guard and with Leo and Melanie as 'parents' they became a Coven that responds to the Volturi but isn't connected to the political talking and they don't like to talk about themselves very much, that's why everything that I'm talking about came from rumors, there is nothing directly from them, that's why there is so much mystery around them. To finish they are all vegetarians, and this I'm sure." Ended Carlisle.
"So they are a family in which everyone has a power. They left the Volturi which means that they are strong, and both of their 'parents' are going to be teachers in the school made by the Volturi, and their 'children' are going to be students there, in which they protect the students from the other group, group that everyone is thinking to have connections to the Romanians, but even so they don't talk to anyone except their family." Concluded Alice saying in the same time what she saw in her vision.
"So that was your vision?" asked Jasper with his arms around her tiny waist.
"Yes. And for me to have that vision, that means that we will be going to Italy and to that school." Answered Alice while she leaned back into Jasper chest while tightened the arms that were around her waist. "And I think that we will cross paths with the Dark Coven and something is going to get out of that encounter, now if that something is good or bad, we will have to see."
After that, everyone went back to packing, while myself sat in the couch looking through the window, where it was possible to see the sun go down. I knew that I didn't need to pack, since Alice was already doing that for me, so I closed my eyes and relaxed for the first time in a while, but no matter how hard I tried, Bella's picture always came into my mind along with the guilt of leaving her behind.
"Edward stop embed yourself in guilt and get your ass over here for us to go to the airport." Alice screamed from the door.
"Ok, I'm coming." I answered and with a last glance around the house that had been mine for the last 3 years, I closed the door to start a new adventure in Italy.
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After we got to the airport, we entered our private jet and flew to Italy. The place where we would live the next few years.
After getting out in an airport that it's was made just for vampires, since it was in an open field, and the sun was high in the sky, we got out and with the help of the vampires who worked there, we got our bags, and went slowly to the front, where there was a road and in the road berm we could see one limo.
From that limo, three vampires got out, two from the front seat and one from behind. From the front, Felix and Demetri and from behind, little Jane. All of them looked at us with smirks in the face.
It's going to be a different year. All of my family though, while looking at the three Volturi Guard.
'Yeah different year indeed', I though while entering the car.