Despite the reason why we were in Italy, I couldn't help but to be overwhelmed by the sights I was seeing for the first time. The shops, the colors, the people, I could have done away with the smells of Italian cuisine but I learned to deal.
As soon as we touched down, three black SUV's met us in the hanger. The vehicles were operated in such military precision that they stopped at the same time and the three driver side doors opened, synchronized. It was absurd enough that I had to stifle a laugh.
Three vampires, that I did not recognize got out and stared us down briefly with their red eyes. I had no idea what any of them could do, but Edward's hand stiffened in mine, and I would have given anything to know what he 'heard.'
"Separate the mates." The tall and beautiful female vampire said to her acquaintances, her eyes immediately looking Rosalie over. It was as if the two beauties were internally seeing who was the fairest of them all. "Dr. Cullen, you will ride in the front car with me. The rest of you, will be split up. I'm Heidi, the umm local cuisine procurer." Heidi looked around all of us, searching the plane frequently and swiftly narrowing her eyes. "I thought a human was to accompany you?" Heidi seemed especially bored with her task.
"Bella was recently turned. There are no humans with us." Carlisle spoke. I was shuffled into the second truck, along with Emmett, Jasper and Esme. I didn't understand what the point was to separate everyone from their mates. The Cullen's were just as close to each other as they were to their mates. Well except for the physical aspects with their mates. But there was little room to argue and I kept my mouth shut since Emmett, the only vampire I knew never to be silent, was in fact silent.
I walked away from Edward, and started walking towards the vehicle that I was being ushered to when I felt Edward's grip on my wrist. I stared into his eyes as he closed the slight distance between us. He brought his lips to mine and we kissed so fervently. Panic began to rush through my head as I wondered why this kiss felt so urgent. Did he think we'd never see each other again? There were too many things that I wanted to, no needed to tell him. But everything just boiled down to the most romantic words in the world, 'I'm in love with you.'
He broke the kiss with a smile, his sexy crooked one and said "I'm in love with you too."
I looked back at him puzzled. "What? I didn't say anything."
"Oh I guess I was just thinking it." Edward walked away undaunted by what just happened. But something about what just transpired was bothering me. I stalked to the vehicle, Jasper and Esme were the only ones that were attuned to know something was bothering me, but no one said anything. I could just feel their stares.
I could feel the silence fill me up from the inside out, and my mind was left to my own devices. I couldn't stop thinking of my new family and how badly I felt that I put them in this predicament. There was nothing I wanted more than for all of us to be in the safety of the manor, back in Forks.
Being away from Edward was making me anxious. I could tell it was starting to irritate Jasper because he sent me several calming waves. Jasper was always overprotective of Alice and I knew he shared my anxiety with me.
We drove through the countryside at speeds I would never attempt to do as a human until finally we hit a town that was majestic and possessed an authentic rustic quality about it while boasting modern advancements throughout.
"Is this Volterra?" I asked our driver, who I found out later, was named Santiago. From the backseat, I could see a small smile perk up on the silent vampire. "It is." And with that, he went back to being the strong and silent type.
I shrugged back into my seat, and garnered a sympathy smile in my direction from Esme. Though I didn't need to, resting my head against Emmett's broad shoulders was very comforting considering none of us knew what fate was going to happen upon us.
"Hey little sis." Emmett lifted his arm around me as we dove into an underground tunnel. The new darkness didn't bother me because I could still see just as clear as if there was light, and I could also see farther down the tunnel to where it broke into a wider area.
The three trucks finally rolled to a stop inside a garage of sorts that was home to several different types of cars. I got out of the car and saw Rosalie admiring just about every car there was until she saw Emmett. I hurried over to Edward and everyone else found their mates and followed our three guides down a confusing hallway that lead to seemingly nowhere.
"Welcome to Volterra." A timid voice called out as we stepped into a brightly lit room that was furnished in all marble. I could smell that the owner of the voice was human before I saw her, and I was amused at how I couldn't tell how I should feel about sniffing someone. I always hated when Jacob and Edward did that to me.
The other vampires, didn't say one word to her, barely even glanced her way. We continued through a massive set of doors that you probably had to be a vampire to even open. Inside the immense room were three thrones with figures in each of them.
I assumed that the vampire that sat in the middle was Aro. A fourth vampire, a female with long black hair and hellish red eyes, walked to the staging area and stood directly behind the middle throne. I got the feeling that she was there on the off chance that Aro needed to be protected from us. Jane and the other two vampires that I recognized were standing at the ready against the wall along other more destructive looking vampires.
I watched as Aro rose from his great chair and walked down the three steps to be level with us. Only when the vampire walked, it looked more like he was gliding. The female vampire started to follow him but he held up his hand and motioned for her to stay back. He came closer to us and we met him in the middle of the room.
"Carlisle!" It's been too long dear friend." The vampire Heidi stood in between Aro and Carlisle and held out her hand which he took. I already knew what was transpiring so I wasn't worried yet. "Bella," he turned to look directly at me and I could tell that at that moment, had I been human, I would have been blushing.
"We were expecting you has a human. We made all of the necessary arrangements for you." Aro made an attempt at seeming hurt but there was a flash of something that twinkled in his eyes that I didn't trust. I prayed that my family didn't walk into a trap.
"I'm sorry for the wasted efforts. It was completely my fault, I was completely eager to truly begin a life with Edward. School was over and within a few decades, everyone I knew and loved would be dead. Except for the Cullen's. Waiting just seemed imprudent." Aro's eyes narrowed when I finished speaking. And even I was astonished by my words, but not out of shock, more at the fact that I sounded so diplomatic.
"Hmphf." A nicely trimmed eyebrow rose on Aro's face and he held out his hand to me. I tentatively placed my hand into his translucent and fragile looking one. I looked at him as he closed his eyes with a smile on his face. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as we watched his smile slowly turn into a frown.
"Most excellent." I was a bit confused because Aro was still frowning but he seemed happy. Aro looked up at the rest of the Cullen's as if realizing that they were still here. "Heidi. I thought the couples were supposed to be split up. In more ways than one." He whispered in such a low octave that I was positive that none of my family could hear. I was already having a hard time hearing his words even though I was standing so close to him.
"Chelsea was there master." Heidi simply said before shrinking back behind Aro. Aro took a sweeping look at the timid vampire and returned his attention back to me. And smiled.
"I have an invitation for you dear. How would you like to serve with the Volturi?" Aro looked at me expectantly and I heard a hiss from Jane's lips. I dared to take a look at her, and I could see the sneer on her face. I actually toyed with the idea of joining them just to antagonize the petite vampire.
"No thank you Aro. As I stated before, I'm eager to marry Edward. And also, I must add, I'm a little put off of your diet. How do you stand it? You used to be a human once." I couldn't help but ask.
"My dear, that was a long time ago, and survival is a must." Aro's eyes were turning black, and I felt a surge of relief that I was no longer human. He might have taken a liking to my blood as Edward had. "What a pity that you will not be joining us. Perhaps you should spend some time with Chelsea. She can show you around, be your guide to our lovely city." I was beginning to wonder what Aro's reasoning for wanting me with Chelsea was when Carlisle spoke up.
"Speaking of time, old friend. How long to you require that we stay? Bella has already mentioned that we do not take to your diet, and I know you have remembered our previous discussions as well. And besides, the children are expected at university in a few weeks, and I also need to return to my job."
"And you tell me these things because, why?" Aro asked.
"I'm merely pointing out that now is not the time for an extended visit, unfortunately. We were told by Jane that we needed to act immediately and this could not have come at a more critical time as we're about to start our transition from our current town." Carlisle's confidence and sincerity oozed from his words.
"I do not pretend that I understand your fascination with living amongst humans, Carlisle. We are gods, and you amuse yourselves with their frivolities. I do not require much of your time. My guards will show you to your rooms. Carlisle, won't you stay and catch up with me and my brothers a while?"
Carlisle nodded and I felt Edwards grasp around my arm, pulling me back. "Are they going to do something to him?" I mimicked Aro's low tone from earlier so that only Edward heard me as we followed Chelsea and Jane to our rooms. Edward quickly shook his head but remained silent. Everyone was silent and I wasn't sure which was disturbing me more.
A few times while walking through the exquisite hallways that were outlined with beautiful tapestries, I'd feel tiny pricks of electricity but not physically, it was more like it was on the outskirts of my brain. I was suddenly getting worried when Edward would growl and then look at me.
"The rooms are soundproof, even to vampires. As you can imagine with so many vampires and so much time on our hands, we heard a lot of things. Use your imaginations." Jane said as she showed us which room each couple was assigned to. I wondered how she got this detail since she seemed to be the ruthless one of the guard.
The room that they gave me and Edward was humungous. It looked as though it was big enough to fit Charlie's house in it. There was a winding staircase that led to a stone walled bathroom with a roman bathtub. I was never much of a shopper, but the walk-in closet made me envious. I set my bag by the bed and I couldn't even help but to look at it wistfully.
"Bella, are you okay?" I furrowed my eyebrows together as I turned to look at Edward.
"Yeah, why?" I sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at him as he walked closer to me.
"You still didn't feel Jane's attacks on you?"
"Is that what that was? It felt like pins and needles on my brain, only it didn't hurt. It was more like, I don't know a sign or an alert or something. Like I needed to pay attention to something, but nothing ever seemed to happen. Everyone was just so quiet." I kept talking, and I noticed that Edward didn't seem to be listening to me. "Edward, are the rooms really soundproof?" I tried listening out but I didn't hear anything.
"We need to have a meeting." Edward said without answering my question. He went to the door and opened it up for the Cullen's, led by Alice.
"Alice, you're gift comes in handy sometimes." He bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she ushered everyone in.
"I know silly." Alice danced into the room and plopped onto the bed next to me. I scooted a little that I fell into her embrace and waited for this meeting to begin.
"And yes Bella, the rooms are soundproof. Jane wasn't lying about that."
"Nice." Emmett said wiggling his eyebrows at Rosalie. I stifled a chuckle as Rosalie shook her head at her husband.
"The Volturi never had a need to have surveillance equipment either. So we don't have to worry about cameras or microphones in the rooms. However, the hallways are monitored so be careful of what happens there." Edward mentioned while taking a look around the room.
"Anyways, I wanted to see all of you to make sure you were all okay. Jane tried her gift on everyone but none of you seemed to feel anything." Edward explained. Which explained his growling now that I thought about it. She wasn't attacking me, she was attacking everyone.
"But why didn't we feel anything?" Alice asked before looking at me. Everyone's eyes followed hers and rested on me.
"Me? You think I had something to do with it?"
"Bella, what were you thinking of when we got here. To Italy, not just the castle." Edward asked, and it was almost like he was forcing me into the spotlight.
"I don't know. I kind of started to hope that we were all protected for whatever the Volturi had in mind. Maybe it was even a prayer, I don't know. It was like the longer we were all separated, the more anxious I got and the more I hoped we were all okay."
"Esme, do you think she's like Siobhan?" Alice asked
"Could be, but I doubt it. If she could just pick the outcome of what she wanted it runs inconsistent with her life as a human. I mean think about it, you never would have left her if that was her ability." Esme added.
Edward pinched his nose at the jab that Carlisle unintentionally delivered. "Maybe it just wasn't a strong gift that manifested after she changed."
"No. I think it's more of what has always been present in Bella. She's always protected herself from you Edward. And as we saw with Jane's visit, and our other friends, she was immune to their mental abilities. Now Jasper from a military point of view, what does that remind you of?" Esme looked to Jasper who suddenly seemed so proud at being mentioned as being an expertise with his military background.
"Yes, Esme, I think I know where you're going with this. A shield."
"A shield?" Both Edward and I asked at the same time.
"Yes, a shield. It's perfect. A mental shield. Aro couldn't read her, that's why he's so eager to get to Bella. But as for the rest of us, it's quite possible that she extended her shield around all of us." Jasper started talking and going on and on, but I focused on Edward. He was mulling over Esme and Jasper's theory and I could see he was starting to go along with it.
"I don't mean to interrupt you Jazz, but that does explain why Chelsea wasn't able to break us."
"Yeah what is the deal with that chick?" Emmett asked in all seriousness.
"Chelsea's gift is the ability to manipulate the bonds of people or vampires. Which is why they wanted us to be separate from our mates. They though the separation might make it easier for Chelsea to get in between our bonds. Basically, if Bella wasn't who she was as a shield, by all rights to Chelsea, Bella would be at a fitting for her Volturi robe right now." Edward explained.
"I protected all of you? But how? I don't know what I did."
"To be honest Bella, I think you can do more than that." Now it was my turn to pinch my nose at what Edward was saying to me.
"When we were being separated, I could have sworn I heard you say, 'I'm in love with you.'"
The gasp escaped my lips before I could even stop it. "You responded by saying 'you were in love with me too.' You heard me? You can hear me now?" I couldn't tell if that made me happy or sad. I was sad because I enjoyed that little bit of privacy between us. But I was also happy because now I didn't feel like something was wrong with me.
"No I can't hear you now, but Bella. But I heard you then. I've been thinking about it ever since. I think you can expand and retract your shield." Edward looked to Esme briefly before speaking again. "I can't wait to talk to Carlisle about this.
"Oh my gosh, I forgot about Carlisle. If what you're saying is true, then Carlisle is unprotected." I started to work myself into a panic, but Esme calmed me down, but I also felt a surge of Jasper's power as well.
"Carlisle can take care of himself. The Volturi won't do anything rash against him because he hasn't done anything wrong. None of us have. We were always planning on turning you, there was never any danger." Esme held me to her to reassure me, and I looked at Edward who seemed a bit pained.
"Now, I'm going to return back to my room and wait for Carlisle. I suggest that maybe everyone should take advantage of this down time." There was a sneaky twinkle in Esme's eyes as she got up and walked towards the door.
I could see realization setting in on Emmett as he started to wiggle his eyebrows at Rosalie. They ran out of the room together and soon after, Jasper and Alice left too. This was the first time that Edward and I were truly alone since my transformation, and there was only one thing that I wanted to do.
"Bella, what are you doing?" We had been kissing until I had pushed him onto the bed and straddled him.
"I'm kissing you." I leaned back into him but when he held his lips away from me, I leaned back up, smacked by rejection.
"You were taking my shirt off." I looked away from him, but I could still hear the crooked smile in his voice. "Bella, I'm sorry, but please look at me."
It was a strange feeling to know that I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I did as he wanted and looked him into his darkening eyes.
"Bella, I know what you want. Don't think that I don't want to either; cause I most certainly do. It's just, well, ok, you think we have souls, and I don't."
"Oh my God. You're still on that? I'm not a human anymore Edward. There should be no concern for my safety. Let's just do this and we'll talk about marriage later." I leaned back into his arms and started kissing him until he broke free again.
"Bella. It's not just your safety I'm concerned about. Let's just say, I am wrong, and we each have souls. How devastated do you think I'd be if the only thing that kept us out of heaven, kept you out, was the fact that we didn't wait for marriage. If there is a slight chance that we didn't miss out on heaven, I can't risk it. Not with you.
"So then, let's do it." I said, the words blurting out before I could stop them.
"Do what? Get married?" There was a slight chuckle behind his words. But I could see that he was regarding me, making sure I was serious.
"Yes. We'll get married. You don't seem as excited as I thought you'd be when I finally said those words."
"Bella, I am ecstatic. Trust me, it's just I have no guarantees that you're doing this to really be with me. Or just to get into my pants."
"Well, you're right. I only want you for your body." I did my best to imitate Mater from the Disney movie, Cars and I couldn't help but laugh. "Edward, I have no plans on leaving you. We have all of time to be together. If you want us to be married, then we're going to be married."
"!" I scrambled from on top of Edward as Alice came bursting through the bedroom door. It took me a moment to decipher that she spoke a string of words and not just one long word.
"Alice we're not going to get married here. Bella's family won't be here." I thought of Charlie not being able to walk me down the aisle and grew a bit sad at the thought.
"Oh posff. That only means we get to have two weddings. Carlisle can walk you down the aisle here, and when we get back Charlie can have you. No one in Forks has to know that you two were already married. It's perfect!" Alice was jumping up and down around the room and I was about to ask her something when she abruptly dashed out of the room saying she needed to ask Aro.
"Sorry about that, we were in the middle of, you know, when she got a vision." Without another word, Jasper turned back through the door.
Edward quickly got up and locked the door behind Jasper. "That should have been the first thing we did. Are you sure about this Bella? Knowing Alice, once she gets permission from Aro, she'll probably have something planned for tomorrow."
"Edward, the only thing I'm sure about is you."