AN: I added in an extra paragraph to clarify Alec's commentary on Bella.
Edward had always told me that human memories fade quickly for most vampires and that was part of the struggle for newborns. They lost their identity and had to reform it during this first year. He had promised to do everything he could to help me keep hold of myself. Strangely enough, there was very little need for a reminder of whom I was and whom I would be. I was Bella, simply Bella.
As we entered through a panel of wood back into another section of dark, cold ancient stone pathways I had to repress a groan. The memory of clinging onto Edward even though I was freezing and knowing we were surrounded by enemies surged to the front of my mind. I shivered a little even though I could no longer actually feel the cold.
Alec chuckled from beside me.
I let out a snarl. Clearly he was feeling himself justified at calling be as average as a human.
"Such a weak mind. Edward was foolish to waste his chance at la tua cantante, there is nothing more extraordinary to her now than there was when she was human" Alec chuckled to Irina. He seemed so please to rub in my every insecurity. I had no great power like Edward. Now I wasn't wired different from every human, I was wired different from every vampire.
Suddenly Alec grew serious and stepped ahead of me to enter the cavernous stone antechamber in front of us first. As we entered I realized I must have been mistaken about the time of night when we first left the airport. Sunlight from a new dawn was beginning to trickle in through the high thin window slips above us.
The sunlight danced along the skin on my exposed hands. Edward was still the more glorious one to me in the sunlight. His skin had so much more depth than mine and it made the rainbows bouncing off of him that much more intense. He kept telling me that I was the more angelic looking but I still preferred to watch him glisten more than myself.
There were far fewer people in the room this time. A group of women huddled together talking in rushed whispers. Clearly they were talking about the latest gossip. Irina eyed them carefully before turning her back on me and joining in. I still didn't know much about the Denali clan but from what I had heard from Alice, they had a soft spot for men of all kinds and so it wasn't hard to guess what the exact topic of conversation was that interested Irina so much.
I finally peeled my eyes away from her and saw Alec on the opposite side of the room talking to a tall figure in a black cloak. It wasn't until I saw a glimpse of hair fall out of the front that I realized which of the Volturi it was. Aro and Marcus had both found be intriguing the last time I stepped foot in this room but Caius had wanted me dead.
His shoulder length white hair was the give away. He moved forward, almost floating and it was not until he stood just a few feet away from me that he lowered his hood to look down at me. Actually, glare down at me felt like the more accurate word.
"My brothers will be here shortly but I would like a few words with you first." Even with my enhanced hearing I had to strain to hear his soft voice. He clearly didn't want to draw attention to the fact that he wanted a private conversation with me. I guessed his brothers didn't know of his intentions and taking me off to another room would have been a give away the second they entered the antechamber.
I pulled my lips tightly together and tried to keep my expression as blank as possible. Even now I had a hard time keeping my face from giving me away. Refusing to meet his eyes I stared off across the room and happened to catch eyes with Jane. She looked extremely annoyed. Something told me she was trying to check if our last encounter was a fluke. I couldn't help it, I sighed in relief knowing she couldn't hurt me. As long as she wasn't near my family I didn't care what she could do. She was no threat to me.
Caius followed my gaze and frowned, "How do you do that?" Although he wasn't looking at me the question was clearly directed for my self.
I shrugged a little bit but refused to open my mouth. Edward always told me how brave I was but I knew that my voice would betray my fear right now. In any case I didn't want to give Caius the satisfaction of receiving a proper response. Carlisle and Edward both had theories about why I was not affected the same as the others but I was not about to share that information with Caius. I operated on a different frequency of sorts and I was not about to give Caius a chance to find someone else on the same frequency as me.
"We can get this done with quicker Isabella if you just answer my questions," he said in a purr. The tone of his voice caught me off guard. He had always seemed so threatening to me that I had no clue how to handle this new gentleness. I do to him the same thing I do to Edward any time he tries to dazzle me into getting his own way.
As best I could I set my face into a disgusted look with the side of my upper lip curled up. I was not going to play his game the way he wanted.
Then without thinking I plopped unceremoniously on the crowd with my legs crossed and hands folded across my lap. I was just as stubborn as always and wanted to make it clear that I didn't mind waiting. Clearly he didn't intend to kill me or else it would have already been done. I had an eternity to be with Edward and was willing to wait as long as I needed for Caius to give up and let me return to Edward.
Alec was now standing off with his sister Jane and Irina was no longer anywhere to be seen. I started to wonder if she was getting uncomfortable with her arrangement with the Volturi. She must have thought I would be done away with quickly and must not like Caius's intense interest in me. Very odd indeed, I thought.
Caius was eyeing me intensely, waiting to see if he could find any chink in my armor. Several times he motioned at specific onlookers to stand next to him. They would stare at me for several minutes, become dejected and walked away. I was now becoming very curious and caught Caius frowning when I cocked my head in surprise as one of the vampires walked away cursing. What was this chain of vampires seeing in me that upset them so much? I started to notice that the room was filling up as more people entered through the main doors, each to take their turn to stare at me.
Suddenly it clicked. The look on Jane's face and the look on every other that face were the same, defeated. They weren't just staring at me; each was trying their power on me in turn. A chill crept down my spine as I remembered Alice's words, "Gifts that make what I can do look like a parlor trick." I shuddered again.
For the first time since he approached me Caius and I locked eyes and all I could see in them was fear. He suddenly looked fragile and weak and in no way intimidating any longer. It was then that I realized that no one was actually scared of him, but what he could order his guards to do. Almost all of his guards had an upper hand in a fight due to their mental abilities.
As the full implications of this hit me I gasped. Caius was frightened because his guard could only harm me in a physical fight and that suddenly put them at a disadvantage. They could only kill me, and death was of no use to the Volturi. It was preferable to be able to manipulate people into doing their will.
I closed my eyes in meditation. Edward could see people's intentions, Alice could see danger coming and I could stop anything that was dangerous against the mind. It should have comforted me some to think of this but it didn't.
Yes, I was safe, for the first time since I moved to Forks and had my fateful encounter with Edward. I didn't matter though, it was my family I wanted safe. Surely Caius realized that I cared more about my family than I did myself. Where was the threat in me then? He could still hurt me the most by harming them.
Suddenly I wasn't the tool to be used to hurt Edward; Edward was the tool that could be used to harm me. I would do anything to protect Edward and I couldn't help but wish he had gone into hiding. I didn't want him coming after me, I wanted him to run away and keep safe.
The only sign that someone else had entered the room was the sudden rush of air from two bodies flashing past my sides. I opened my eyes to find Aro and Marcus standing by their thrones, both looking annoyed with Caius. Marcus mainly kept his eyes on me but occasionally I heard a few words when Aro let his temper rise too high.
"How dare you! Without us! ...never want to join...hurt our chances! ...the possibilities...wasted...foolish of you…"
Suddenly the entire room went quiet as all three turned to face me with expressions changing rapidly from disgust to fear to anger to simple curiosity. This was either my end or my beginning and I no longer cared which as long as my family was still safe.