I heard her wake suddenly, as though she were being propelled from sleep. She was gasping for air, trying to breathe as she shuddered rather violently. It seemed as if she had a bad dream.
After murmuring my name she hadn't said much I could understand as being any known language. A couple of times she would say "no" or "please" but mostly it was incoherent. The fact that she said my name in her sleep surprised me on two counts. The first was that she said it at all. The warmth of her voice, the way my name sounded as it left her mouth was wonderful. Then came the second shock—the feeling of warmth the spread through me after I heard it. I pushed that feeling away; concentrating instead on the lust I was feeling to taste her. I wouldn't give in to it—not after hearing her whisper my name. But I needed to feel it completely. I needed to know what true lust was like, even for just a moment.
So I put down my book and inhaled deeply, drawing her scent into me like a thirsty man drinking water. It was intoxicating. I felt my instincts perk as though the promise of blood was near. And if I wanted it to be, it could be. I could kill her now. Could take every drop from her body, tasting the sweet ambrosia of her lifeblood in my mouth. She would be sweet and hauntingly wonderful. She wouldn't fight or scream. She might not even wake up. Even if she did, she would give in to the feeling.
But the next moment I heard her sigh again and was brought back to reality. Not only would I never forgive myself if I killed her, Aro would be very disappointed. One never knew what he would do when he was like that. The special interest he was taking in her made me think it would not bode well if I were to fail him.
And then she woke herself up. She had been sleeping for almost three hours by this time. The sun was not going to rise for another hour or so. It was still mostly dark in the room. I had left the lights off for her so her sleep would not be disturbed. She sat up, looking around the room. She rubbed her eyes, like she was trying to rid them of sleep. I knew she couldn't see me, but she kept looking around, like she was searching for something. Did she know I was there? Could she feel me watching?
"Edward?" her tiny voice filled the room. She was scared. She was in a strange place in the dark, seemingly alone. If only she knew there was so much more to fear here than just the dark. I contemplated trying to make an entrance through the door as though I had not been here, watching and waiting. But I didn't think she would fall for it. So I simply put down my book and stood.
"Yes Isabella, I'm here," I said, trying to sound as soothing as I possibly could. I heard her breathe deeply and sigh.
"Could you turn on the lights? I can't see a thing."
I had forgotten. I could see her so clearly even without the lights. The perplexed look on her face, the way she bit her lip nervously. I went and flipped the switch on the wall, basking the room in sudden light. She blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the brightness. Then she stared at me. And I mean really stared. She took her time, sweeping her gaze over all of me, finally resting on my eyes, locking her stare onto mine. I felt like I was being appraised instead of looked at.
There was a very long moment where neither of us spoke. She looked as though she wanted to, but didn't know where to begin. The questions in her eyes were numerous. I wanted to answer them, put her at ease. Before I could say a thing, someone tapped on my door. I searched the thoughts of the being on the other side of the door and found it was Demitri. I excused myself politely from Isabella's presence and went to the door, going into the hall.
"She is here then," Demitri stated. I nodded.
"You have not changed her yet?"
"No, not yet. I can't. I'm not…prepared. I would kill her. Aro said I could have more time, to do what I need to. I think if I can get over how good she smells, if I can just get some control I will be able to stop myself in time. Even still, if I needed you there, just to make sure, would you come?" I inquired. His thoughts raced. He could smell her even from out in the hall. She was tempting to him as well.
"If you think you will require my presence I would come."
"I appreciate it Demitri."
"Does she need anything?" he asked. I thought for a moment. A change of clothes might be nice, as well as some food. She needed to eat. I told Demitri all these things and he said he would have someone bring her what she required. Then he excused himself.
I went back into the room with Isabella. She was looking at my books. I didn't know what I had expected her to be doing. I thought perhaps time would stop when I left the room and she would still be sitting in bed looking disheveled but lovely when I returned. I was wrong. She peered up from the bookcase and met my eyes. The look in them was slightly less intense than before.
"I am having someone bring food and clothing for you," I said as I stood across the room from her. She nodded. This was so awkward. I wasn't sure where to begin, if I should ever bother explaining anything to her now. If she asked me a question I would answer her, but she looked too afraid to ask. But I needed her to talk to me. I needed to remember that she was not just a meal, she was a girl with a life, a family perhaps, ideas and interests all her own. She was not just an enigma, a puzzle to be pondered, a body to be changed. She was a person, soon to be a vampire. She was perplexing but wonderful, frighteningly intense but mesmerizing.
"What brought you to Italy?" I inquired as she turned and sat on the chair I had been in not long before. I went and sat in the chair across from her. I wanted to know her, to learn about her life. I wanted to remember when the time came she was a person too.
"The trip was a graduation present from my parents. They both chipped in to pay my way through. I heard about this place…I thought it would be a nice vacation spot…just to see…and now…"
Her words trickled to a stop. She looked at me again, the same pain and fear as the day before. I wanted to make it stop. I wanted to promise that I would never let anything hurt her ever again. But that would be a lie. Because soon enough, I would be hurting her. I was the one among many that seemed safe to her. She was so wrong.
I cringed as I thought of the pain she would be in. Nothing would ever hurt her like the change did. Thinking of her writhing in anguish as I could only watch and wait for it to be over gave me shivers. I didn't want to think about it.
"I don't even know where I am," she confessed quietly. I looked back up into her face, looking at her confused expression.
"Volterra," I answered plainly. I didn't know what else to say. But her brow furrowed.
"I know that! But where? Why am I here? I don't even remember what happened to me. I know I was walking in the square and then someone called to me, asked to come to him…I couldn't resist."
She looked past me as she remembered the last thing she had experienced before she was taken. I wondered who had gotten to her, and why they had not just killed her. Perhaps they had noticed her immunity to our abilities and taken her to Aro. It didn't really matter now. What mattered was that she was here in my charge.
"Isabella," I began. I was going to try and fill in some of the blanks. Not all of them of course—it would do no good to scare her to death—but I wanted to try and comfort her, calm her. But then one of the underlings arrived with her things.
I brought her food first—a continental breakfast complete with fruit, a bagel, orange juice and bacon. It smelled slightly disgusting, but she ate it enthusiastically. I wondered how long it had been since she last ate. When she was done eating I gave her the clothing that was delivered. Six bags full of designer things were given to me for her. She was going to need clothes after she was changed as well, so I figured they had just gone out and gotten her things now. She wanted to take a shower so I showed her the door that connected to the bathroom of my suite. She nodded gratefully and took all the bags of clothing into the bathroom with her.
She was incredibly calm and collected for having been kidnapped and held somewhere against her will. She was simply going about her business as usual, as though this was nothing out of the ordinary. Was it because she already knew she was never going to leave? Or was she trying to disguise herself and make a run for it?
She would need luck to escape Volterra. Besides the fact that I would be with her every moment of every day and if I weren't someone else would be, if she were to be caught, she would most likely be killed. Disobedient vampires were killed for less, and she was merely an interesting human.
Suddenly there was a very loud crash and I ran to the bathroom door.
"Are you alright?" I asked, worry filling my voice. If she didn't answer me immediately I would have to snap the lock and go in to check on her.
"I'm fine…I just…tripped. I'm not hurt or anything," she called in response. I breathed a sigh of relief. I went back to the chair I had been sitting in and a few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and she came out.
She was toweling her hair dry as she came out, the steam rising out the door, billowing out behind her. Her scent was stronger and more concentrated than ever before and I gritted my teeth against the need that I felt inside of me. Her eyes avoided mine as she stood there. She had changed into a simple blue summer dress. I took advantage of the fact that she wasn't looking at me to assess her once again. Looking at her created another need in me, one I was wholly unfamiliar with. It was like a tug in my stomach.
"What are you staring at?" she asked me suddenly. I hadn't noticed that she was looking at me again. I didn't know what to say. My silence was enough answer for her—she blushed crimson, the color of her sweet tempting blood coloring her cheeks. My needs—both of them—swelled inside me. I couldn't tell which of them was more forceful at that moment. If I could have blushed, I would have.
"I apologize Isabella, that was inappropriate," I managed to say. She looked at me, the towel in her hand, her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders.
"Please call me Bella, I prefer that," she said, not acknowledging my apology, or my actions of the moment before. Bella it was.
"What exactly did you do to yourself in there?" I asked, remembering the loud noise from the bathroom. Bella blushed again, more so than before. She put down the towel on the back of the chair she was standing behind and looked down to her feet.
"I, um, got tangled in the shower curtain," she mumbled. I stared at her for a long moment and then began to laugh. I didn't mean to, but the image of her getting stuck in the shower curtain was an amusing one. She glowered at me.
"Its not funny!" she shouted, but I saw the smile on her lips. She was trying to be angry with me, but she couldn't.
"Again, I apologize. Its just…that is quite amusing," I told her. She bit her lip to keep from smiling herself.
"Are the clothes to your liking?" I asked, changing subjects.
"A little expensive, but they are nice," she said, bringing the towel back to her hair. She finished her post shower routine and then returned the bathroom, hanging the towel and picking up the bags of clothes. She looked around the room for somewhere unobtrusive to put them and settled on the corner by the bed. She then took to making the bed, straightening the sheets and putting the pillows back where they belonged.
"What are you doing Is-Bella?" I inquired, correcting myself on her name.
She looked at me, perplexed. Her expression conveyed something like isn't it obvious? I'm making the bed, what else do you need to know?
"There is no need to do that. You are the only one who will be sleeping there and if you wish the bed to be made there are other va-people to take care of that." I had almost slipped. I had almost told her what we were. That would have frightened her for sure. But she just shrugged and finished what she was doing. What a puzzling human.
"Where did you go while I slept?" she asked when she was done. She sat on the edge of the bed. The blue of her dress blended with the shade of the bed sheets.
"I had to attend to some things, but then I came back here. These are my chambers," I explained. Some things needed to be left out, but others were necessary to clarify.
"Oh. I'm sorry that I stole your bed. Did you sleep in that chair?" she asked. I smiled and shook my head.
"I don't sleep Bella," I told her. She laughed like I was joking but I remained stoic. I cast a look over through the window. The sky was light. It was now morning. The sun would shine today as well. Normally I did not have to worry about leaving the drapes open, or anyone seeing my skin. Here, everyone sparkled. But now with Bella I wasn't sure if I should shut them. Would she be alarmed to see my skin sparkle like a jewel in the sunlight? Would she demand to know what I was, demand an explanation? Would I tell her the truth? That as soon as I could control myself I was supposed to make her into what I was?
I didn't want to hurt her. But there were reasons why I had to change her. I had to change her because Aro, Caius, and Marcus said I had to. They didn't handle disappointment well, but they didn't tolerate insolence at all. If I were to deliberately disobey them it would be asking for death. They liked me, and loved Carlisle, they would be reluctant to kill me, but they would do it if I gave them a reason. I didn't want to do that, because I didn't want to die, and because it would destroy Carlisle and Esme.
I looked back into her eyes as I felt the sun getting higher. This was it, the moment of truth. In the next minute the sunlight would reach the windows. She would see me—really see me. Could I let her? Would I be able to be that exposed? For once, I was frightened. The thought of her face when she saw me was terrifying.
But the look in her eyes was resigned and open. She was waiting for my cue, some idea of what I wanted her to do. So I stood and went to the window. I waited for the light to hit me. I waited for the sound of her reaction, the disgust, the fear, the anger of my deception.
As the sun rose, it threw rays of light through the open windows and onto my skin. I reveled in its warmth. I heard the tiniest gasp from behind me.
"Oh my…Edward."
AN: So I have a question. I love, love Edward's POV, but I am wondering if I should post CH 3 as Bella…so let me know what you think. I can do either.