Chapter 3: I can be drop dead gorgeous, but I can't seem to just drop dead.

Xoxox Night of the Ball xoxox

Xoxox Bella's POV xoxox

Every last guest has arrived and every last hotel in Volterra has been booked. The people know that there is a ball to be held at the castle, they also know that no one from town has been invited. They don't care, they still get the money from the visitors, that is all they care about.

Vlad had sent over my dress last night and it was better than I had hoped for. The dress that I had designed is what he gave me; it was the color that was a shock. I had told him of the theme, 'A Black and White Affair,' everyone was to wear black or white or a combination of the two, no other colors would be allowed. Vlad blew that all away.

I had told him that the dress was supposed to be a shock and awe deal, so he changed my idea of all white encrusted with all diamonds so that I sparkled more than the vamps. He changed it to red, not just red, but RED, as in 'poison apple,' 'shiny Ferrari,' 'fresh out of the box Crayola crayon' red.

And he sent it with a note.

My dear Isabella,

From our conversation yesterday I realized that this is the one time where sparkles were not going to be good enough, and believe me love, that is near blasphemy for me to say. Tomorrow night nothing short of shocking will be perfect enough for you. And with this in mind I remade your dress, and gave it a name. Her name is 'Eve,' because if that dress does not result in a whole new kind of 'original sin' then I did not do my job. Just don't let her wear you tomorrow, because she has that power.

Love, V.

P.S. And don't you dare wear anything else but 'Eve' tomorrow, that includes anything over, under or accompanying her other than the provided shoes. If you do, I will know.

In the box next to the dress were the most amazing pare of shoes I have ever seen, the type of shoes that gave any women the power to take over the world.

Xoxox Alice's POV xoxox

My visions have been so screwed up since we arrived in Volterra. All I can see is dancing; it is as if our entire future, anything that might ever happen, is going to be determined by what happens during a dance tomorrow night.

It is making me more excited than I have ever been before. The anticipation is killing me. It makes me want to squeal like a little schoolgirl.

Esme, Rose and I are getting ready in Esme's suite, while the boys took mine. We decided that we are wearing all white, and the boys are wearing all black. It should be a nice contrast while dancing.

And now the dresses.

Esme. A Greek goddess, if ever there was one. Her dress has an empire waist that begins right under her chest with a diamond-encrusted belt that drops into a 'v' in the back, ending about three inches above her tush. The neckline is what can only be described as a curvy 'v' that cuts down to the belt. The straps are wider and are rather traditional in the front. However, in the back they come together with two other pieces of fabric and tie, forming an 'x' on her upper back. It is stunning.

Rosalie's dress is very 'her.' If described in words it would be identical to Esme's, but in pictures it is completely different. (Picture of all dress in profile.)

Now my dress is my favorite. It is strapless and pleated everywhere. It has a deep sweetheart neckline and cutouts all around my upper torso. It flows beautifully and twirls slightly when I spin. I simply love it.

Squee! I cannot wait to see what everybody else is wearing.

Xoxox General POV xoxox

It was time.

The vampires were gathered and mingling. Everyone was waiting to find out why they had been brought together, and were all trying to find out from The Guard. But none of them were giving anything away.

At the top of the grand staircase leading into the ballroom appeared The Brothers. Silence fell.

"Welcome, everyone." Aro greeted. "I am sure that many of you are wondering why you have all been invited to a birthday party being hosted by vampires. The reason is because we have someone we would like you all to meet. She is not formally considered to be a member of The Guard, however she does currently live in Volterra. She is a very close friend to my brothers and I and we would like to introduce her to you all."

The brothers made their way down the staircase and across the ballroom to the doors that Bella was to walk out of.

"And now I am very proud to introduce to you, Isabella Marie." The room was silent and every vampire in the room was waiting for the doors to open and for their mystery guest to be reviled.

Then they heard the click of shoes coming from the other side of the room. Everyone turned as one, and Bella couldn't help but laugh a little to herself.

"Ah, and I see our guest of honor decided not to follow the rules tonight." Aro chuckled.

"Please, don't take it personally, I don't follow anybody's rules. Breaks up the monotony nicely."

Every other vampire in the room stood frozen as Aro crossed the room again and took Bella's hand, laying a kiss on her knuckles.

Then the room began to buzz. Everyone was whispering, wondering who this goddess was and why they had never met her before. The first one brave enough to approach was Alice, the other Cullen women trailing behind her.

Xoxox Bella's POV xoxox

Aro had given me a look that I knew would scare the pants off of anyone else, it just made me want to laugh at him for trying.

I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me, to be hones I was thinking about how I wanted to and visit the states to pick up my SSC Ultimate Aero. As soon as I heard that it had beat the Beugatti Veyron I called them up, flew over and ordered one. They had called yesterday and said that it would be ready in three days. I already had my crew getting my jet ready. I am so excited. I also ordered another Koenisegg CCXin black this time, because my white one was just too hard to keep clean.

But of all my cars I am married to my bright red Ford pick-up. Because no matter where you are in the world, whenever something that big and that loud comes around the corner, you expect to see a big, bulky guy come out. And when I step out, decked out in my Aviators, wind blowing through my hair, jaws drop, and not because of some stupid curse, but because the first thing that goes through their minds is 'Oh, Shit!' And there is no better feeling in the world then—

"Hi! I'm Alice Cullen." Is she talking to me? I looked around to see that no one else was paying attention. Maybe not the best time to be dreaming about cars again. Oops.

"Hey." She looks like a little pixie. I have the strangest urge to tie a pair of wings on her and push her off of a tall building, just to see if she can fly. That actually isn't that bad of an idea. And if she can't it's not like the fall will kill her. Oh, this could be fun.

"As fun as testing my flight patterns may be I was actually my interested in taking you shopping with Rosalie and I tomorrow. What do you think?"

"Mind reader?" I asked.

"Physic." Ah, that makes sense.

"So have you tried it, because I have a pair of fairy wings in my room upstairs we can try if you want." She tilted her head.

"It doesn't work." She answered, shaking her head. Well, gee, I really didn't think it would, however that is so not the point. It's just like the other day, just because I know that putting a small explosive in side of a watermelon and gluing it back together is going to be vary messy and is likely to make a lot of people not want to shop at that particular Kroger for a while doesn't mean that I don't still want to watch it explode and see everyone become scared of watermelon for no reason.

She is talking. I think she has been talking this entire time but I can't be sure. What is she saying? She is just talking way too fast. This is ridiculous. "I hate shopping."

That shut her up fast. She was now looking like she was about to cry. It was heart breaking. Do something Bella; make the puppy dog eyes stop. "But if you really want to go shopping with me you can come with me to Sweden tomorrow to pick out the final details on my Koenisegg CCX. It shouldn't take too long. And then I have 36 hours before it will be ready to ship to Eden. So we can take my jet over to Pairs and go shopping there if you don't mind the detour. You can even fly the jet yourself if you want, just please woman, stop with the lip."

Her lip immediately stopped trembling and turned into a huge smile. She giggled. "Oh I am so excited now we can—"

"Back up there. The final details on your what?" Stepping forward was the hottest vampire in the room. She was tall and blond and gorgeous.

"It's a type of car." I told her.

"Oh. I am well aware of that, my question is how did you get on the list for one. I have been trying for months and they have yet to return my calls. I am about ready to go over there and give them a piece of my mind. It is so rude." She crossed her arms over her chest. She looked pissed, not at me but at them. She really wanted one.

"You know what a Koenisegg CCX is?" Please let her be a grease monkey. Please let her be a grease monkey.

"Are you kidding me? Last Christmas I was working on my 3M as a present for myself and I couldn't find any way to make it faster, short of putting in a whole new engine. And as much as I love my man's Jeep, I need something to drive when I don't want to let everyone know how much of boy I can be. So I have been looking for something to get myself."

Sweet lord, thank you for sending me an angle.

"I hate it when that happens. I was working on my Mercedes SL600 and I could get the horses to go up, but no matter what I tried it still wouldn't go over 210. I was so mad at it. I gave up and just decided to finally let Felix drive it. He crashed in seven minutes. I keep the seats, there in my library. It is a rather amusing collection. You should come see it some time."

She smiled. "When can we leave?" She sounded more excited then ever.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"9:45."

"I've been here fifteen minutes. That seems good enough. Lets go." I was half way up the stairs with my new friends behind me when Aro popped up out of nowhere.

"Bella, all I ask is for one dance before you leave and the world never sees you in a dress again. And as the host, I believe it is only fitting that you dance with me." Cocky bastard.

"Fine one dance. Then I am packing and leaving. Italy is getting dull and I miss Eden." Aro place his cold hand right between my shoulder blades and his other one took mine. The music began.

"But I was under the impression that you were planning on staying here with us now." He sounded hurt, but I knew that it was only a front. He knew that if I stayed in Volterra he could control who saw me and who didn't. And if no one that he didn't choose could see me that I could never find him. And Aro was still hoping that he would turn out to be him. But even if he wasn't then he was going to go with the idea that if he couldn't have me than no one else could either. It is amazing how many men have started wars with that exact thought in mind and how none of them ever got their happy ending with me. Pity.

"Don't flatter yourself Aro. You knew that the only place that will ever have any hold on me is Eden and you also know that I will never take you there. There is a reason why I only allow a select few to come and visit my paradise, and that is because I can tell who will appreciate it and who will want it for their own." His smile fell slightly. "I believe we both know what you will fall under."

"Are you sure that I can't get you to stay?" He's begging. That's sad.

"Aro, we need to get something strait. The only reason that I put up with you and your brothers is because you are the only three who know the truth about me. That doesn't really make us friends. I humor you so that you don't go blabbing to everyone. And lets face it, if you haven't saved me from my curse yet, another few thousands years won't make any difference. So you need to get off of your high horse and see that although you may have power over everyone else in this room, I am the one who has power over you. Never forget that."

Silence. The room was completely still. Shit. I think everyone just heard my declaration. And Aro looks pissed.

"Well then I suggest that if you ever plan on living under this roof again, you realize that I am the one who holds all of the power here. You are just going to have to learn to deal with that." I have never heard Aro yell in his life, this is the closest he had ever gotten. It is rather amusing, I must say.

"Well then I must thank you for this wonderful party, but I really must be off. Living with power hungry morons gets old real fast. Sorry." I turned and walked up the stairs.

Half way up I turned. "Rosalie, you still coming?"

Xoxox

The flight to Sweden was awkward. Everyone wanted to know what the argument between Aro and I was about but no one had the balls to ask. Rosalie and I had a great time in Sweden. Shopping in Paris was just as fun, but don't tell Alice, she might think that she won.

After Paris we flew back to Sweden and I sent my new baby to be flown over to Eden. Now I just need to pick up my SSC UA.

"So, where are you guys headed?"

"Back to Forks. Carlisle has to get back to work, and we should probably go back to school." I finally found a topic that didn't make Alice excited. Point for me.

"Where is that exactly?" My guess somewhere near Spoons.

"Northern Washington State." Edward told me.

"It speaks!" Those were the first words that he has said to me. Ever.

"Yes. It does." And he was gone again.

"Don't worry about him, he just has an abnormally pointy stick up his butt." Emmett laughed.

"Well how about I give you guys a ride over there? I have one more car to pick up and it is being held in their Olympia showroom. I can drop you off on the way." I have to admit I am not excited to see my new friends leave.

"That is very thoughtful of you. Thank you." We all headed back to the jet, all of us ready to go home.

Xoxox

"Ok I have an idea. How about you guys skip the high school part and come and stay with me for a few weeks."

"My dear, we couldn't impose." Oh, Carlisle ever the polite one.

"You wouldn't be imposing at all. To be honest you are the first group of vampires that I have ever really wanted to stay around. And I think that some company would be nice." It was the truth. The Cullens have quickly become my first real friends. And none of them seem to be affected by my cures. The only one who seems to be even close to that is Esme, but form what I have seen that is just the way that she is. Loving, really loving, a true mother.

"I think it is a great idea." Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice all answered at the same time.

"Well then who am I to refuse? I just need to call the school and let them know that you all transferred to a private school. I am sorry that I won't be able to join you though, they need me at he hospital." Carlisle exited the room to call the school.

We all looked at Esme. "Oh, dears. You all know that I too will be staying. Someone needs to make sure that your father comes home from work." She chuckled lightly. Then gave all of her children quick hugs before joining Carlisle.

"And you Edward?" Alice asked.

"Anything to get away from Lauren."