Bella
Wearily I shoved open one of the heavy wooden doors. It took almost all of my weight to move the shrieking hinge. This room was brighter than the library. The room was perfectly round with three mismatched throne-like chairs at the far side, and a drain in the centre of the floor. The far left side had a table on which many antique books were splayed open; halfway read and waiting to be returned to. Facing the table were two black haired statues; the other masters. Caius' brothers. The shorter, straight-haired statue whooshed in front of me. He had the same red eyes as Caius, although his were a less vibrant colour. A slight film covered the red, almost like a cataract. I wondered silently if it affected the vampire's vision. He had a slight, almost unnoticeable furrow in his brow. Much like Alec, he was probably wondering what some human was doing in his castle.
"What a pleasant surprise," He said slowly. His voice sounded like someone trying to pour honey; slow but with a strangely silky quality, "Brother, it appears we have a visitor."
"Oh," The other vampire said, seeming entirely uninterested.
"Won't you come and greet this Miss..." He waited for me to finish the sentence.
"Bella...Isabelle Swan"
"Miss Swan."
"I know enough of Miss Swan Aro," The other vampire responded.
"And how is that," the first vampire, Aro, replied.
"Our brother's woman."
"Our brother no longer has a woman."
"Alas she seems to still have him."
"Hah! A human. Such cruel irony."
"Indeed it would be humorous if not so tragic."
"My dear Marcus, 'tis not so tragic. She is yet alive as you would plainly see if you looked."
Marcus turned around to look at me. He looked exactly as bored as he sounded.
"Indeed, she does appear to breathe. "
"How very odd..." Aro pondered.
The pair were silent for many minutes following the very confusing conversation, but I was hesitant to break the silence of the room.
"Well!," Aro said, breaking the silence suddenly, "Let us see what I can see shall we?"
He reached a hand out toward me. I stayed still, unsure what exactly I was supposed to do. Aro stood waiting patiently for me to do...something, but I just stared at him confused.
"Miss Swan, if you would?"
"Um...sorry... If I would, what?"
He smirked, seeming a little bit amused, "Evidence?"
"Oh...right. Here," I exclaimed, placing the hand drawn portrait into the vampire's outstretched hand. Now it was his turn to look confused as he opened the folded paper to look at it. And then he did something unexpected; he started laughing.
It sounded almost like a cackle the way the sharp notes bounced off of the walls of the scantily furnished room. Marcus, who had been strangely quiet, finally placed is book back onto the table, and turned around to face us. He leaned against the table, his arms crossed in front of him. He looked much older than both Caius or Aro did. I wondered if it was simply because he had been changed later in life, or if there was some other unseen factor causing it, but I didn't dare to ask. He seemed pleasantly surprised to see me, a slight smile on his lips.
"Isabelle," He said, "I was so curious to see if you would arrive."
"Ah, this is the Isabelle!" Aro said to Marcus, "I see. That explains this," he continued turning back towards me, the piece of paper lifted in front of him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...need explaining. If either of you could, maybe, tell me where Caius is? Or I could just leave and come back at a better time?"
I had spend a lot of time around vampires, but the two sets of red unblinking eyes on me were beginning to make me seriously uneasy.
Aro passed the drawing back to me, and I tucked it into my back pocket, "Fascinating to see how your human eyes see. It is, very different from ours, is it not brother?"
"'Tis," Marcus replied.
"I suppose to you, our kind must all look like marble."
"...Yeah, something like that."
"Something like that," he repeated.
"My brother," Marcus began, "Was attempting to read your mind, not your paper. With one touch, he might read any thought your mind has made. It is..."
"...very useful for discerning the truth," Aro finished, "Would you do me the honour?"
"I don't know if that'll work on me, but you can definitely try."
"And why would you be impervious to my gift?"
"Well, the last time someone tried to read my mind, it didn't really work."
"Yes, Edward. I do wonder about him."
I held my hand out toward Aro, silently praying that it would still be attached to me when he was finished. Without wasting a second, Aro stepped forward, clasping my hand in both of his. His eyes closed in concentration. The furrow between his brows deepened and then he opened his eyes in confusion.
"Hmmm, I see nothing. Fascinating! So, what do we do with you now?"
"You already know what you're going to do Aro..."
"Normally indeed, but not on this day however."
"And there the question becomes..."
"...to let her remain or create what she will soon come to be..."
"...or to let our brother decide..."
"...on what she shall become..."
"...and when she shall become."
And then the conversation switched into another language. Italian? Latin? I didn't even know...
Even in English I felt like I was missing something, but now? I was entirely lost. The pair continued to stare at me and they began speaking so quickly I couldn't differentiate one word from another, not that it would have helped me anyway, before suddenly stopping. Aro jutted his chin upward, breaking eye contact, and sniffed the air before snapping his head towards Marcus.
"Le Balze again do you think?" Aro asked, switching back to English for the moment.
"Perhaps..."
"He smells of stone..."
"..and forest."
"And of course the last trial has been ignored."
"He's always hated the trials."
"Never did have the patience for them."
Marcus turned back to his book. He ghosted over the stone floor; with his long cloak, it almost seemed like he was floating aimlessly across the room...
A vampire Roomba.
At that thought, I was suddenly very glad that Aro was unable to read my mind.
"Brother, it appears you have a guest," Aro said as the heavy door opened behind me.