"Jane." Alice narrowed her eyes at the petite vampire that was a part of a group that seemed to float towards us at a formidable pace. I realized that the effect was achieved because I could hardly see their feet moving underneath their dark grey robes. I looked at the girl, and I was shocked at how young she was. She reminded me of a doll and I couldn't help but wonder how old she was.
"Cullens." An innocent smile curled itself on her lips and stayed there as if to dare someone to challenge her."
"Do you mind releasing my brother? He's done nothing to deserve your torture." Alice's voice was steady and confident and I prayed that there was little need to be afraid. But of course, as I was watching Edward continue to writhe in pain, there was every reason to be afraid of this group.
Jane rolled her eyes apathetically and instantly Edward's body began to relax but he didn't want to move at all. I couldn't control my breathing and was taking big gulps of air of relief. From behind Jasper, I could see the three vampires peering back at me.
"So it's true? Your human pet is to blame for the mayhem in Seattle you know? We've dealt with the issue. However…" The tallest of the vampires trailed off and Jane finished his sentence.
"And now as such, we must deal with her. Aro wishes to assess the damage done by your recklessness. All of you, including the blood donor," she looked at me with disdain and I returned the favor, "are officially invited to Volterra this Monday." Again Jane rolled her eyes since she would much rather have killed us. With the way Rosalie suddenly growled at her, I knew my thoughts weren't too far off. I looked over to Edward and saw that he was slowly getting to his feet. It seemed he was still going through aftershocks of whatever Jane did to him. I finally started to take stock in what Jane was saying
"She's not going anywhere. Aro can see all that he needs to see from any one of my family. He will not touch her!" Edward managed to raise his voice. Alice simply shook her head at her brother, and when Edward suddenly slammed back to the ground, it was obvious she was telling him not to say anything.
"What he meant to say is that we would be honored to visit the Volturi in Italy. However, it may present a problem for our human and her family if she were to suddenly disappear.
"It's non-conditional. All of you must be in Volterra." The tall one stated too firmly.
"I'm not disputing that. We will join you in Volterra. However, in two weeks' time, we would have had graduated from high school and also better prepared a cover story for Bella to be away. That way the humans won't be suspicious of anything, or us, should anything go wrong." Alice spoke and I gasped as I realized that if something happened to go wrong, I'd be dead.
Jane seemed to take all this into consideration and let out a huge sigh. "Very well, Aro will just have to be delayed for a few weeks. You are expected to be in Volterra the day after your graduation. We will make all of the arrangements to pick you up from the airport. Anything that happens after that is up to you and your pet. Aro may enjoy killing her so I'd come up with cover story for that too." Her eyes were slits as she looked at me. I felt fear as she continued to stare at me uncomfortably. It wasn't until the shorter of the two male vampires placed his hand on her shoulder that she appeared to bring herself back to reality.
She looked at her two companions and they understood that it was time to go. The males turned and started to make their way back to the tree line but Jane remained. Her eyes again found mine but they were no longer the evil slits that they were beforehand.
"It's a shame that I didn't get to meet Carlisle, I've heard a great many things about him. Please give him the regards of Aro, Caius, and Marcus." And without another word, or even a chance for someone to respond, she turned and followed the other two vampires. And within two seconds, she was out of my sight.
"Edward!" I rushed over to him the first chance I got since this whole ordeal even started. I couldn't help smothering his face with my hands to make sure he was okay. He was getting to his feet a little faster than before, so I took it as a good sign that he was feeling better. "What did she do to you?"
Edward straightened himself up and closed his eyes as if he was listening to something faint. The only thing I thought he would be remotely interested in was whether or not the other vampires had left the area.
"I'm alright now. It's her gift. Jane has the ability to make her victims think that they are in the worst imaginable pain. But you're okay though?" Edward searched my eyes looking for something in them to betray my answer as I nodded my head.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Jane experienced some frustration at the end there, was she trying to hurt Bella?" Jasper asked in Edward's direction.
"She was, but Bella blocked it somehow. We'll deal with that later. We need to get back to the house to see Carlisle." There was a silent moment between Edward and Alice before Edward nodded his head. From the corner of my eye, I watched as Rosalie and Emmett ran for the house. "Bella, I'm going to run ahead. Alice and Jasper will run with you."
I was furious with Edward when he didn't even give me a chance to argue with him. He took off running to catch up to Emmett and Rose, leaving me alone with Jasper and Alice.
"I guess whenever bad vampires come to town looking for me, it'll always be you two that are on guard duty." I shook my head and they started walking closer to me. "I promise I won't run off to the nearest ballet studio." I chuckled sadly at my little joke. I knew now that it was stupid of me to run off and meet James alone last year from Alice and Jasper, but I thought my mom was in danger.
"Bella," Jasper started and held out his hands to help me on his back. "A vampire that was so hell bent on your destruction, that she created an army, was killed. You've just discovered that you are impervious to some vampire gifts. Don't be so down. Regardless of what happens, it will be my pleasure to protect you."
"But that's just it Jasper. You are always protecting me. But when I needed Edward, he left me. He didn't protect me at all."
"Isabella Marie Swan, and hopefully one day Cullen!" Alice's eyes were completely drained of color as she stared me down and stalked over to me. "You forgave Edward of his stupidity, so I don't ever want to hear you bring it up again in that context. Edward thought he was protecting you when he left. He was stupid; we get it, now you need to get over it. Don't hold his stupidity over him. Edward would die if it meant that you were safe. Again not the brightest idea, but it's his. Now listen to me, I told him that he needed to leave you with me because I needed to talk to you. I blocked him so he has no idea why. But you have to listen to me or else we're all dead."
Alice's cold hands gripped my shoulders and I gasped at the intensity of her words.
"You have to convince Edward to change you before we leave for Italy. It's the only way. I've been seeing the outcomes, and it's a little iffy if we bring you to Italy as a human. Aro's decisions are clouded because he hasn't actually met you and Jane hasn't apprised him of your gift yet. No doubt she's waiting for him to touch her and he'll make his own assessment then."
"Wait, touch her?"
"Aro has the gift to hear every single thought a person has had with one touch." Alice explained. "It's similar to Edward's, but he can only hear what everyone is thinking at the moment he's listening. Aro will know every single thought you've ever had just by touching you."
I shuddered at the thought of someone knowing everything I thought since I was born. It seemed like even more of an invasion of privacy than when I thought Edward could hear what I was thinking.
"But Edward can't hear my thoughts, and Jane couldn't hurt me either. Does that mean Aro won't be able to hear me either?" I looked in between Alice and Jasper waiting for someone to answer me. Alice scooped me up and put me on her back. I knew she was a vampire, and would have no trouble holding me, but it still seemed weird.
We started running and I closed my eyes in anticipation for the run. Of course when I opened them, we were standing in front of the manor.
"I don't know. Aro is much older than Jane and Edward combined, but a vampire's age has never factored in whether or not it'll work against someone. I am concerned about the physicality of it all." I looked at Jasper, suggesting that he continue.
"The physicality?"
"Well, it's a theory that I just started formulating when Edward confirmed that Jane couldn't hurt you. Edward can't hear your thoughts, and I'm sure there are other gifts, mental gifts that can't affect you. And yet Alice and I can still use ours against you. To me, there is only one explanation."
"No, that's where you're wrong. Alice can still see my future. If I decided to go see the wolves right this second, she'd see my future disappeared. That's a decision that I made mentally." I started to argue.
"No, Alice sees the outcome of a thought process. She knew you were coming to Forks because she saw you in Forks. Not because you thought of going to Forks. I think you can block anything that comes at you mentally."
"That's an interesting thought Jasper." I was so engrossed in what Jasper was saying that I didn't even notice that Alice carried me into the house. I slid down Alice's back quite embarrassed with myself, though I didn't know why. Everyone knew that I probably would have tripped through the threshold if I walked by myself. In fact, I wouldn't have put it past her if she saw that was going to happen, and saved me the trouble.
Carlisle looked as if we had interrupted a meeting with Jasper's conclusion. In fact, the three vampires from before were still sitting on the couch and Edward was in midsentence.
"Edward says that Jane tried to harm Bella, but it didn't work. Fascinating…" Carlisle was already deep in thought, and I was beginning to worry about it when Edward cleared his throat to bring everyone back to the conversation.
"None of the Volturi hinted that they knew about you three so you're free to go. Of course we wouldn't expect you to accompany us in Italy." Edward started up again, seemingly annoyed at our intrusion.
"Except for one problem," I spoke up without even realizing it. Everyone turned to me, and of course Rose had a scowl on her face which made me doubt the little bit of progress I thought we made. "Umm, well if Aro touches one of you he's going to know about them. What if he sends the mod squad after them? Their deaths would be on our hands. You know, so to speak." I looked down and shuffled my feet.
"And what do you propose Bella?" I was shocked that Emmett was the one that asked me, although when I looked up, Edward was standing defensively with his arms crossed over his chest. I felt horrible for what I was about to do to him, so much that I wouldn't even look at him in the eye.
"Esme, Jasper, could you escort Edward away from the manor so that he can't hear anything?"
"No! I'm not going anywhere. What are you doing Bella?"
"Edward, just go, you need to hunt. And I can't think with you glaring at me and objecting to what I'm going to suggest."
"That's because you're going to suggest something crazy." Esme and Jasper were holding him back from trying to grasp me. I knew there was no reason to be afraid of Edward, he'd never physically hurt me, and I knew that they weren't afraid of it either. Everyone just seemed to know that if he touched me, I'd lose my resolve. All the arguments on how best to handle this would cease.
"Edward, Alice already scolded me for not letting the past go, but I have to bring it up once more." I looked pointedly at Alice, who looked annoyed and was tapping her feet. "You made a crazy stupid decision a few months ago, and left. And now that I'm telling you to go, we'll be even." I paused, "So go."
"Come on Edward. We'll find a mountain lion for you to eat. Let's go." Esme rested her hand on Edward's face and pulled him to look at her. "Edward." He finally allowed his body to move with them, and they ran out of the house. I looked to Alice's cue that they were out of range until she pointed at me.
"In the meadow, Alice said something about coming up with a cover story for me to go to Italy. And it's more than necessary for this plan that I have. I'm not sure about these three yet but as far as I'm concerned, I have to die."
"Die? What do you mean?" Carlisle asked with a hint of worry on his face. I never took my eyes off of Alice, hoping I'd catch a glimmer of her liking what I was about to suggest.
"You and Esme are going to go over to my father's house within the next three days or so, and convince Charlie to let me go on a cruise or something so extravagant that it's worth bragging about and being super excited for. However, about four days before graduation, I disappear, I run away. But I'm really in the process of becoming one of you. That way when we get to Italy, we can say that it was always your intention to turn me. Which would have happened anyway, we're just moving up the timetable."
"But that couldn't possibly work? Wouldn't we be suspects in your sudden disappearance?" Rosalie glared at me.
"No. They might come and ask questions, but you'll be here grieving, just like everyone else. Meanwhile I'll be somewhere close by that humans can't hear me screaming in agony but won't take you guys long to run and check on me. Hardly anyone ever sees Esme, and everyone thinks Rose and Emmett are in college, so they can check on me the most. Everyone else will go through the motion of playing their roles without me at school."
"Edward would never agree to this." Rosalie murmured barely loud enough for me to hear.
"I know. He had his heart set to trying to convince me to wait a few more years. But I honestly don't see a choice here. Alice said before, that by keeping me human, she couldn't get a clear reading on what was going to happen in Italy. And besides, didn't you say newborns were extremely fast and strong? If it came to a fight, I could help." Carlisle looked at Alice scolding her with his eyes.
"You'd hardly be controllable as a newborn. Let alone able to fight. Bella, you don't have a fighting bone in you." Rosalie spoke harshly to me, but she was right. I'd never been in a fight, ever.
"But I have to try. You're all in this because of me. Again. I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines as a human while you clean up the mess that my very existence tends to create." I realized that I was now pleading. A direction that I didn't think this meeting was going to turn to. I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyes.
"Okay, say we do this silly plan, what about the wolves? Turning you will void the treaty." Emmett spoke. And until he mentioned the wolves, I'd all but forgotten about them. My friendship with Jacob and presumably the wolf pack had ceased to exist when Jacob realized that I was letting the Cullen's back into my life. I hadn't talked to nor seen him in the months since they've been back. Thinking about how fragile that relationship was to begin with broke my heart.
"If we went through with this plan, I'd have to drive off somewhere and meet someone to take and dump the car in another state. Then go to wherever the transformation will take place. They'd undoubtedly help Charlie with a search, just like when I was in the woods after my birthday. We'd have to mask the scent somehow so that they would know that you aren't implicated in violating the treaty. As far as returning to Forks, we'd just have to wait until they die off before coming back." I swallowed hard as I thought of how calloused and casual I sounded when it came to their deaths, Jacob's death.
"She's kind of thought of everything." Emmett sat down on the arm of the couch and then looked over at our guests. "Well, almost everything."
"If you need someone to mask scents and whatnot, maybe I can help with that." Everyone paused to look at Fred. "It's sort of my gift. I can mask my scent, and anyone with me, so that anyone coming after us wouldn't even know we were ever there. Or if there's already a confrontation, I can emit a scent that acts as a repellant of sorts. It came in handy while running from the Volturi." Fred shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"Yes, well unfortunately, by coming here, you've also put yourselves on the radar with the Volturi as soon as Aro touches one of us." Carlisle was thinking out loud.
"Not everyone." I spoke up again. "From your conversations of Aro, however vague they may be, I understand that Aro likes power. He'll be distracted from digging any further when he realizes that he can't read my mind."
"No, he'll want to keep you. And he'll find ways of making that happen." Alice spoke for the first time since I called this meeting.
"Then we go with you." Bree offered up which surprised me. We were trying to keep them out of this mess. Especially me considering that they didn't have to warn us of anything.
"No you won't. You don't belong there."
"And you're human, you don't belong there either," Bree shot back and Diego's arm held her from jumping out of her seat.
"I'd rather the circle of people that are potentially hurt by this, remain small." I couldn't bring myself to say anything as far as death was to happen.
"Diego, Bree, and Fred, you are more than welcome to stay here and help out, but I think Bella is right. We shouldn't involve you any further than you already are. If the Volturi should find that they are interested in you, it will be through our thoughts, not because you volunteer to put yourselves in a fight. I would be grateful if you did stay to help with the cover story as proposed earlier." Carlisle as ever, was the diplomatic one, and I couldn't appreciate him any more than I did at that moment. Bree visibly calmed down and nodded in agreement.
"Umm guys? Edward is on his way back, what are we telling him?" Alice warned.
"We tell him nothing. Aro knows that he's my mate. Of all the vampires there, it would be logical to want to look into Edward's thoughts. If we go through with this, Edward can't know. We'll have to be extra closed off with our thoughts and actions with this."
The three vampires looked confused for a second until Carlisle explained that Edward could read minds. Alice gave them a crash course on how to conceal their thoughts with annoying songs and random thoughts. It seemed to me, that of everyone in the manor, she was an expert in hiding her thoughts from him.
"Just one more thing, before Edward gets into hearing distance," Carlisle looked at Alice to confirm that he was still out of range. "Who do you want to change you? We know Edward won't." I looked long and hard at the vampires in the room that were staring back at me.
The grin that spread on my face grew wider and wider when I saw the small vampire jumping up and sown quite impatiently. Everyone saw her enthusiastic gesture and immediately understood.
"Alice."
A/N: This will probably be my last post until after Christmas (chillax it's only three days away!), so I hope everyone enjoys the holiday! Don't forget to review and let StarChild23 know how much you appreciate not having to read my typos anymore!