Chapter Two
Jane entered the room with a smile on her face.
"We have visitors. I'm not sure if they are people that you know but they know the Cullen s."
"The Denali coven? Am I correct?" I asked.
"Yes, you are correct. Come out and see them. When Aro told them that you knew the Cullen s but didn't use your name, they wanted to see you. You'll be fine seeing them won't you?" Jane asked a little worried. She was my best friend her amongst the Volturi. She didn't even try to shock me ever again.
"Yeah, let's go," I told Jane with a smile.
We went to the chamber that was for receiving visitors. Once we entered a group of vampires with gold eyes turned to watch us approach. There were five of them, four female and one male. Three of the females had blond hair. One blond was curly and to her shoulders, one was blond all the way to her waist, the last had blond hair cut straight to her chin. The last female had dark hair to her shoulders and her skin was olive toned as was the male. His dark hair also reached his shoulders.
"Jane you brought Artemis. Good. Artemis, the Denali coven. The dark haired female is Carmen, her mate is Eleazer. The blonds are Tanya, Kate, and Irina. The Denali's as you know Artemis, know the Cullen s. You won't have any trouble receiving the Denali's will you?" he asked with a smile.
"Of course not, I hold no grudge against them. It's the Cullen s that I . Especially Edward," I spit his name out with a snarl.
"Edward," Tanya gasped. "Why do you Edward? How could anyone Edward? What has he ever done to you?" she practically yelled at me.
I flashed in front of her and glared at her with my red eyes. She flinched and took a step back. "I Edward for lying to me and leaving me! He said he loved me and I believed him. I loved him with all my heart. I believed all the lies that he told me. I loved his whole family, although I didn't really like Rosalie since she d me. Jasper always kept his distance from me, but still I thought of them as family. They deserted me," I spit at her.
The Denali's just stared at us, their mouths hanging open. "Edward...said...he...loved...you?" Tanya stuttered out.
"Yes, what a liar that boy is. I can't believe I was so stupid as to think that someone like him could actually love someone like me! Hah! I won't be so stupid and gullible the next time that happens. If it ever happens again. Which I highly doubt." I said with finality.
"But Edward would never say he loved somebody that he didn't really love. I have always loved Edward but he never felt the same towards me. Wait, you must be the reason that he came to stay with us. He said that there was something haunting him and he needed to get away. I guessed it was woman problems and told him as much. I said that everything I was thinking was wrong. But he wouldn t tell me what it was. It was March, the year he was in Forks pretending to be a junior in high school," Tanya gasped out.
"Yes, you are correct. That was the first time that he saw me. We were in the same biology class. He left because I smelt really good to him and he wanted to kill me. But he didn't want to be a monster, so he left so he wouldn't kill me. Now, thinking about it, I suppose he should have. Then he need never lie," I said.
"I don't believe you. Edward and the Cullen s would never do that," Tanya shouted.
"Then why don't you have the Cullen s come here. You can ask them about me with them here. You can see their reaction to seeing me. I changed my name so they won't know who you're talking about. I suggest you don't tell them any names, any ideas. Don't think about me at all. I want them to be surprised to see me. So whichever of you go, don't think about me at all. I could shield you but it wouldn't work if I can't see you. Besides you'll be to far away and he'll want to know why he can't hear your thoughts. So, which of you are going?" I asked. Everyone gasped.
"What you makes you think you have the authority to invite vampires here without permission?" Cauis asked me in a low ly voice.
"I was going to ask. Right I after I suggested it, I told Cauis with a smile. "Aro, don't you think that's a wonderful idea? If would give you a chance to see your "dear" friends the Cullen s again," I said ly.
"Of course, you must invite the Cullen s to come. Tell them Aro wants them to come," he said excitedly. I would love to meet the other Cullen s, as I know only Carlisle. Besides it would be good to see them in a different perspective than yours." he said loudly with a huge smile.
"I will go," Tanya said.
"As will Carmen and I," Eleazer put in.
"Then Irina and I will stay here," Kate said.
"It's all settled than. Just remember, no thinking about me at all. Completely control your thoughts," I warned them with a low growl.
"We will," Eleazer answered me with a growl of his own. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EPOV
I lay on my bed staring out the window at the drizzling rain. My life was completely empty without Bella. It almost hurt to think about her. She must be . Alice wasn't able to see anything about her. The only way for that would be for her to be . I didn't want to live anymore, but my family wouldn't let me out of their site. I tuned out their voices. I didn't want to hear them. Most of my family was thinking sympathetic thoughts towards me. With the exception of Rosalie and Emmett. She was just a human to them. Emmett loved Bella as a sister but she was only human and an eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt, according to Emmett. I heard a knock on my door.
"Edward, it's me Alice. Can I come in, please? I have something to tell you." she asked.
I got up and opened the door. She came flying in and gave me a hug.
She let go of me and said, You needed a hug. And we are going to have visitors. They should be here in a couple of hours. Tanya, Eleazer and Carmen are coming. I didn't see Kate or Irina. I'm not sure what's up there," she said with a smile.
"Why do I care if they are coming? They are not my Bella. I need my Bella, Alice," I fell into her arms sobbing tearless sobs. My body shook with the force of my sobs. Alice and I just rocked back and forth. She whispered soothingly into my ear and stroked my hair. I felt a calming presence cover me and I knew that Jasper had entered the room.
"They re here," Jasper said. "I figured you would need some calming down before going down to meet them."
"Thanks Jazz," Alice said with a smile.
We headed down the stairs to the living room. Standing in the room were Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazer.
"We just came from visiting the Volturi. Irina and Kate are still there waiting for out return. Aro told us to come and bring you to them. There someone there you are going to want to see. But we can't tell you who. We are not allowed to. Will you come?" Eleazer asked.
"What do you mean you aren't allowed to tell us?" Carlisle asked.
"Because we are not. So, will you come?" Carmen asked.
"Yes, we will come. I don't know who you are talking about. But we will come," Carlisle said.
"Well, hurry up and get packed. The sooner we can leave the better. The truth should come out soon" Tanya said.
"It's going to be sunny tomorrow. So pack sunglasses. And whatever you need to keep your skin covered." Alice said her eyes slightly unfocused.
We packed and left all in about five minutes. It took as two days to get to Italy. Tanya kept her distance from me. Her behavior confused me but I was glad that I didn't have to bother with her.
We got to where the Volturi were and saw a human sitting there smiling at us. She had black hair down to her waist, green eyes, and was pretty for a human, but she had nothing on Bella. "Follow me," she said motioning us to follow her. We followed her to a chamber. Inside at the head of the room were Aro, Cauis, and Marcus.
"The Cullen s, and the rest of the Denali coven," she said and then turned to leave but blushed and giggled as Felix blew a kiss at her.
"Carlisle, old friend, it's been a long time. I must say that I am glad your idea of being "vegetarian" is working out for you. I am glad that you listened to Eleazer, Tanya and Carmen. You will be glad that you did. Especially you Edward." Aro said with a smile and nearly bursting with joy. "Artemis," he called.
"Yes, Master," answered a voice like bells shimmering on the air that I thought I would never hear again. Although the voice wasn't human. It was pure grace; the sound was like a symphony of one instrument. But the name didn't match the voice.
My family and I watched in disbelief as my Bella walked into the room from somewhere behind Aro. She was different than I remembered. Her hair was no longer brown but a shocking fire red. It still flowed to her waist. Her eyes were deep burgundy, tinged with black. Her skin was white as snow, her face, hard, cold, and immortal, and she looked a little thin. She was thirsty that much I could tell. My heart felt like it would burst with pleasure from looking at my beloved Bella. But Aro hadn't called her Bella. He called her Artemis.
"Hello Cullen s. It's been a long time," Bella said in a cold voice.
"Bella?" we all gasped out. Except for Rosalie.
"No, not Bella. Bella Swan died five decades ago. She no longer exists. I am Artemis Voltaire. You will remember that and no longer call me Bella," she spit out with a snarl. "Now, Tanya, do you believe me?" she growled at Tanya.
All of our gazes swung to Tanya. She looked at us and looked back at Bell... no Artemis.
"Yes, I believe you Artemis. I never should have doubted you. I just didn't think that Edward would do that. I guess I didn't know him as well as I thought I did," she said sadly,
"Good," Bell... Artemis snarled. "Aro, could I please go out and hunt? I need to feed," she asked turning to Aro.
"Of course, darling Artemis. You aren't going to leave us are you?" he asked a bit hesitantly.
"No, I just need to feed. Anybody wants to come with me?" she asked the room at large.
"I would," said a small dark woman. "Thanks Jane," she said.
"I would like to," I said.
BPOV
"What," I asked shocked. I looked at the Cullen s and the Denali's. Their faces mirrored my shock. "Why do you want to go hunting with me? And then again, I'm not sure that I was asking you anyway," I asked him.
"Well, I want to go anyway." he replied stubbornly. "I finally see you after five decades and I'm not going to just let you walk away from me."
"I don't hunt animals you know. My hunting habits would probably disgust you, being "vegetarian" and all," I said smugly.
"You don't hunt animals?" Alice and Edward asked together.
"No, why would I? I don't want to be like any of you. I don't break promises and I don't turn my back and family. And don't say I have turned my back on you, because you turned your backs on me first. You left without saying goodbye Alice, as did your whole family. And Edward told me that he had been lying to me the whole time that I knew you guys. I don't take kindly to liars. I can't trust anybody but me and the Volturi, you, the Cullen s, have taught me that. I learn my lessons well," I said to the still shocked Cullen s.
"Still, I'm going hunting with you. You can't stop me," Edward told me with a determined look on his face.
I stared at him for a long minute. "Fine, you can go, but no more. Three is enough to attract attention." I said looking at Tanya in particular who opened her mouth. There was no doubt in my mind that she was going to say she was coming too. "Let's go," I said to Jane and Edward. I turned to leave Jane following me immediately. Edward paused at Carlisle who had grabbed his shoulder. I assumed that they were having a conversation in their heads. I decided it was time to use my gift to use Edward's gift. I opened up my mind and looked at Edward. I concentrated on only Carlisle and Edward's conversation. I didn't want to hear everyone's thoughts.
"Be careful my son, you don't know what she's capable of. Neither do you know if she is looking for revenge. Also you must not give into temptation to drink any human ," Carlisle's mental voice said. I saw Edward nod his head. I won't. I will try to change my Bella; I love her and want her to forgive me. I will remain strong and not disappoint Carlisle or any of my family," Edward's mental voice said.
"My name is not Bella," I snarled at him. "It's Artemis!"
"What did you just read my mind?" he asked shocked. Again the Cullen s stared at me completely shocked.
"Yes, I did. I don't care where you call my name, but you are never to call me Bella again. I told you Bella died five decades ago. She no longer exists. My name is Artemis, don't forget it!" I snapped.
I ran out at vampire speed, Jane at my side. "Would you like me to shock him?" she asked.
"No, if he misbehaves again and I'll show him just how strong that I am," I told her smugly.
He was at our sides in a second. We got outside, Jane and I searching for a really good human smell. I found mine, only a couple minutes after being outside. I leaned forward into my hunting crouch, running close to the ground. I could sense rather than see Edward beside me; I didn't bother to turn to look for I was too involved with my hunt. I saw a human man standing in the alleyway of a dark street. As I straightened out of my crouch, I sauntered slowly towards him. At first, he looked shocked, than a slow smile split across his face, as he took in the sight of me. I smiled coyly at him and stopped right in front of him.
"You're a real pretty thing," he leered at me.
"I just smiled even wider and walked towards him. I heard his breathing stop. I wouldn't be able to do this if Edward wasn't here. I concentrated on Edward for a minute to use my gift again. I opened up my mind and heard inside the man's head. I ignored Edward's thoughts as they were not important to me at the moment. "Man, this chick's hot!" I smiled at the images that filled his mind. He thought about kissing me and things he would say to me. I stopped right in front of him and leaned towards him. I touched his lips for the barest second, I felt his lips part and I slid my mouth down his chin and neck. I parted my lips over my bright, white, and sharp, venom encases teeth. My teeth slid into his neck like a hot knife into butter. He tried to scream but couldn't as my hand was over his mouth. I drank and drank, till his body had no more left in it. I dropped him and licked around my mouth as his had dripped a little. I could feel a little stream trickle down the side of my mouth. I wiped it away with back of my hand and then licked my hand. For a second I felt like a cat. I then knelt down by the ground and dug my fingers into the hard road of the alley. When the hole was big enough, I dumped the man's body in it and started to fill the hole in with dirt. The whole process took me about three seconds. I looked up to see Jane walking towards me; I could smell the sweet smell of pure human on the air and knew that she had found her prey as well.
Edward was staring at me, his eyes were wide with shock and I would guess anger. As to why he was angry I couldn't fathom. I also could see the self-control in his eyes. I guess watching me feed was just a hard little test for his self-control.
"Jane, I think that I have had enough, what about you?" I just needed a little snack. I'm all better now," I asked her sweetly.
"Good for now, I know that tomorrow there will be a lot of tourists here. Everyone else is going to want to feed tomorrow anyway. And I think it's your turn to go fishing. Heidi went last time, although she may go with you tomorrow. You know how she loves to be the fisherman and the bait. The center of attention," Jane said with a smile. We were all quite fond of Heidi. I know that Heidi had been with the Volturi longer than I, but I was Aro, Caius, and Marcus' favorite, right after Jane and Alec, of course and Demetri.
I turned to see Edward staring at me. I was dying to know what he was thinking. So I once again opened up my mind. "Bell... Artemis, I know that you can read my mind. If you are will you please just nod your head," his thoughts asked.
I looked at him for a couple of seconds before nodding. He smiled briefly, his thoughts showing me how glad he was that I was going along with him. "Artemis, why are you drinking from humans? Do you want to be a monster? I thought that you didn't want to hunt humans. And the Volturi? Why would you want to live with them?"
He couldn't hear my thoughts as I never let my block down unless I wanted to. And now was not a time that I wanted that. I didn't want him in my head. He was already making me want him bad enough. If he was able to get into my head...I shuddered at that thought. I couldn't allow that. " I drink from humans for a couple of reasons. One: I don't want to be like your family at all. Your whole family betrayed and lied to me. I don't forgive that easily. I went through so much pain after your family left. Two: it tastes so good. I don't really feel like using any self-control. I was never able to have what I want and now I can. And I want human . and revenge, I added in my head. As to why I am living with the Volturi, they don't lie to me. They are love me and are my family now. They made me strong and immortal when you wouldn't. They are stronger and worthier of my respect than you," I said to him harshly.
When he flinched, I was barely able to keep my face fierce and cold. I couldn't show him how much I wanted him. I would stop wanting him, he wasn't good for me. He was staring at me intently and I was surprised when I started to hear his thoughts again. "God, she is so beautiful, even with her hair and eyes red and no longer the brown I so loved. Why can't she see that the life she is choosing to live is wrong? I will make her take me back..." I quickly skipped out of his head before I fell apart.
"We need to get back, Jane, Edward," I told them as airily as I could manage. I started running to distract myself. I loved to run. It was almost as good as an old adrenaline rush. The beautiful scenery of Italy never failed to submerge me in its beauty. I had always loved old things. Although, Bella wouldn't of liked the castle. She would have though of it as too big, old, and drafty. I loved the gray bricks of the walls and streets. The lampposts always lighted small squares of lights, leaving many shadows in which things like me could hide. The shadows and the dark were a bit mesmerizing to me. Artemis loved the hunt, moon, and darkness. I must be like the Artemis, after all, was she not my role and new name? Artemis had vowed to never fall in love, so she wouldn't get hurt by any man. I had made that mistake and he had hurt me. I mustn't fall back under his charm to allow him any power over me. Also, was not Artemis a glorious and beautiful ? Now, a vampire, I am a too, immortal as the old stories of the ancient gods and es.