Edward was worried.
"Hey, Jake, do you think Bella's okay?"
"Yeah, I mean, the news obviously hit her hard, but she's got Alice, and she would never abandon Renesmee." Jake still sounded unsure. Neither of them had ever meant to hurt Bella.
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. Upon hearing the thoughts of their visitor, Edward paled.
"Who is it?" whispered Jacob.
"The Volturi."
* Stuff that leads them to Volterra. *
Edward and Jacob sat together in silence, each preoccupied with his own thoughts and worries. They had been left in the ever-cheerfully opulent reception area, but luckily, the human woman, Gianna, was not present. They were completely alone. Edward briefly wondered whether she'd been eaten.
Suddenly, a wave of memories washed over him, of the last time he'd sat in this room. He remembered every detail – how he'd held Bella so gently in his arms, and wiped away her tears, silencing her sobs with a tender yet passionate kiss… A pang of guilt ran through him. He would never again feel those things towards the beautiful girl he had once loved so much, his wife. No. Now that adoring devotion belonged to Jacob, and Jacob alone.
From last time, he remembered that bright, harmless music had tinkled from hidden speakers, to lighten the mood. But not today. Today, there was only the dark and the quiet to keep them company.
Suddenly, Jacob broke the silence.
"Edward, I'm scared. What are they going to do?" He was shaking.
"I don't know", Edward replied slowly. He was just as scared as Jacob was.
Just then there was a knock on the door. Edward opened it and was unsurprised to see Jane standing there, her eyes gleaming a bright red.
"Hello there Edward, Jacob," she nodded as she walked in the door, pulling off her black leather gloves. "Aro has been expecting you. Please follow me."
She smiled, but behind that smile was an air of menace, that caused the two men to jump to their feet. They were fully aware of what Jane could do, and didn't want to risk being on the receiving end of her power. Gracefully, she spun around and stepped out of the room, indicating them to follow as she strode down the corridor. The way she walked with such poise, yet still generating an atmosphere of such peril, made them shudder inwardly, before hurrying after her.
As thy entered the large, turret-like room, Jacob almost gasped in awe. The room was tall and perfectly round, with long window slits a couple of stories up, that cast patches of bright sunlight upon the elaborately tiled stone floor. In the middle of the room were three large chairs, whose occupants stared down at Edward and Jacob with looks that ranged from disgust to downright boredom.
Upon seeing them, the occupant of the middle chair, Aro, stepped down from his throne to greet his 'guests'.
"Edaward, Jacob, welcome," he said in his soft sigh of a voice.
"What do you want with us?" growled Edward, every fiber of his being trembling in hatred towards the man before him. Aro simply smiled.
"Ah, straight to the point as always, Edward. Very well, I'll tell it to you straight," he paused for dramatic effect. "Quite frankly, upon hearing of the relationship the two of you share, we were quite disgusted. I mean, a vampire and a werewolf? It's completely unheard of!"
"I thought we'd been over this, Aro," said Edward, calmly. "Jacob is not one of those beasts triggered by moonlight – he is a shapeshifter, that happens to take the form of a wolf."
"I am well aware of that," replied Aro, smoothly. "But even so, the very purpose of this boy's being is to destroy vampires, is it not, my little furry friend?"
Jacob growled at the comment, but said nothing.
"I'll take that as a yes…"
"Why does it matter what species he is?" Interrupted Edward, desperately. "We love each other! To the bottom of out hearts! Isn't how we feel about each other all that matters?"
"But you loved Bella, did you not? As I seem to recall, both of you did, 'to the bottom of your hearts'. Yet still, you both abandoned her, hurting her greatly."
Edward and Jacob bowed their heads, guiltily.
"I would have never thought they were gay," mused Felix, from the other side of the room.
"That's because they've just come out of the coffin," replied Demetri.
"The phrase is 'just come out of the closet', not 'coffin', idiot," Felix stated.
"I know. It was a joke. 'Coffin', because we're vampires, get it?"
"Will both of you shut up," hissed Jane, fixing her scarlet eyes on them. "It's bad manners to make fun of those who are about to die."
"About to die?" whispered Jacob, fearful.
"Ah, yes," smiled Aro, gleefully. "I forgot to mention that. We as a council have decided that unless the two of you end your relationship, and swear you will no longer see each other, we will have no choice but to kill you. So, what's it going to be?"
Jacob looked into Edward's beautiful golden eyes, and smiled slightly.
"I don't want to live without you," he whispered bravely. Edward simply nodded in agreement. If he could, he would be crying.
"Very well then," Aro sighed. "If that is your final decision…" He turned to the rest of the room. "You may dispose of them."
The two men, the moon and the sun, made so perfectly for each other, looked up to find themselves surrounded by a circle of crimson-eyed vampires, all too willing to rip them apart. Edward's hand found Jacob's, who squeezed it tightly. They were completely outnumbered, with no chance of escape. They were going to die…
Suddenly, there came a loud explosion accompanied by a sinister voice.
"Bombarda!"
A large explosion echoed throughout the room, as a large section of the wall caved in. As the dust cleared, a single figure stepped out from the debris. He was tall, and clad entirely in long black robes, but as he removed his hood, his bald head and chalky skin, whiter than even that of a vampire, could be seen enhancing his terrifying scarlet eyes. He looked inhuman, with a nose that was as flat as a snake's, with slits for nostrils, and had a sinister air about him that seemed to make even Aro squirm.
Felix broke the silence. "Dude, the door's right there," he said, pointing to a spot a few feet to the strange man's left. And he was right. The man had indeed blown up a section of wall right next to the open door.
"I know that," spoke the bald, snake-like man for the first time. His voice was high and cold, and, like the rest of him, greatly resembled that of a snake. "I just thought blowing something up would have more dramatic effect."
"Fair point," agreed Felix.
"Umm… excuse me, but who are you? What do you want?" asked a rather shaken Aro.
"I am Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard in history, but you may call me 'the Dark Lord' or whatever. I am here to recruit you – I heard there were vampires here, and was wondering if you wanted to join my Death Eaters."
"And what would becoming a Death Eater entail?" enquired Jane.
"Dressing in black cloaks and killing people, basically," replied Voldemort.
"Meh, that's what we do anyway," said Demetri.
Suddenly, Voldemort noticed Edward and Jacob, still standing in the centre of the circle.
"Hey, don't I know you?" he asked Edward.
"Um, I don't think so."
"Ah! I know! Cedric Digory! I never forget a face."
"My name's Edward, not Cedric."
"Wait," said Voldemort, ignoring him. "Aren't you dead?"
"Duh, I'm a vampire."
"No, I killed you! Well, I got one of my subordinates to kill you. But still, it was with the Avada Kedavra curse! You should be dead!"
"I. Am. A. Vampire!" said Edward clearly. "Of course I'm dead!"
"Um, sorry to interrupt, Mr Voldemort…"
"It's Lord Voldemort."
"Sorry, Lord Voldemort, about joining you as 'Death Eaters'…"
"Yes?"
"The idea is completely preposterous. We have our duties here, for the vampire race."
"I see. Then I suppose I will just have to kill you all."
"Kill us? Impossible!"
"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Voldemort, pointing his wand directly at Aro's chest. A green light flashed from the end of his wand, sending Aro flying backwards. Unfortunately, the blow did not kill him.
"You'll have to do better than that," he said, sitting up. Voldemort sighed.
"Very well," said the wizard. "Perhaps I'll have to use more… creative means to kill you."
Once again, Voldemort held up his wand…
A couple of hours later, Voldemort was sat in his lavish Italian hotel room, far away from Volterra. He turned on the TV, and was pleased to see a certain story on the news:
'Reports are coming in of an explosion in the quiet town of Volterra, so large that the entire town has been completely destroyed, with no survivors.'Voldemort grinned. Vampires were fun. Perhaps he would have to find some more…