Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only own what I can come up with.
Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting as I walked in. Silence? Growls and snapping teeth? Maybe a few 'boos' like crowds at live sporting events? Hell, maybe I was even thinking they were going to lunge at me and try to suck me dry. Let me tell you though, I wasn't expecting the genuine excited smiles that I got. Sure, some people gave me the whole 'I'm-holier-than-thou' look, but hey. If they were supposedly better than me, why was I the princess?
Up on the dais in front of me stood my dad with his arm around mom's waist. Next to them stood uncle Aro and aunt Sulpicia, and next to them stood uncle Marcus. They were all smiling widely, encouraging me to come forward. Butterflies had reappeared in my stomach making my breathing speed up. There was no way I could do this by myself. Knowing my luck I would fall flat on my face.
A cold arm slipped around my waist, leading me forward. By the smell of his cologne, I could tell it was my own personal superhero. Demetri had come to my rescue again. I leaned into him subtly as his cool breath washed over the side of my face. He spoke soft enough that I was positive I was the only one to actually hear him. "Breathe, Firefly. Nobody is going to hurt you when we are around."
I nodded, walking through the parted crowd of people. With Demetri by my side it was a lot easier than I had thought it would have been. Not once in the short walk did I trip or stumble. My head stayed high and my shoulders stayed back, hopefully making me look dignified or regal. My parents pulled me into a hug when I reached them, then stepped aside to let me say my speech. Sadly I had no idea I was saying a speech. Guess I was just gonna have to wing it. Whoop-dee-doo.
"Good evening, everyone. As my father said, I'm Isabella Volturi. Thank you all for flying all the way out here to join us tonight. I hope to be able to talk and meet as many of you as I can tonight, but I am only human." I said happily. I got a few genuine laughs and few chuckles from people. "Please enjoy the party."
I turned around, listening carefully to the vampires behind me starting to mingle again. A sigh of relief was the first thing that crossed my lips. Everyone around me gave a chuckle at my nervousness since it didn't happen all to often. I mean, I'm not shy or anything, but speaking in front of vampires who could kill me in a second didn't exactly rub me the right way. The three kings, along with the wives, sat down in their thrones, chuckling. They waved me away, so my last second escort took my hand and led me to my little group of friends.
All of them gave me a hug before someone tapped my shoulder. I was delighted by this even though I kept a soft smile on my face. Inside, I was jumping for joy over the fact that someone had actually set out to come and sp =eak with me.
"Good evening, Princess." A tall man. He bowed to me and nodded his head to the others. Everyone repeated the gesture, but I noted that Demetri had seemed to stiffen slightly, looking a little pained, which made me a tiny bit upset. I took a tiny step closer to him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "My name is Amun, leader of the Egyptian coven. May I introduce my coven at this time?"
I smiled brightly, holding my hand out for him to shake. "Please do. I would be greatly appreciate it." My enthusiasm must be contagious, because his whole coven let out a little chuckle.
"First I would like to introduce my mate, Kebi," he said. He pulled a pale olive skinned lady nest to him, wrapping an arm around her waist. She stood next to him, silently and obediently, without a single question. A part of me wondered if she was always like that. "Then behind us is Benjamin and his mate, Tia." He gestured to an olive skinned man who looked to be a few years older than myself and a his small mate. They both sent me big smiles, showing their fangs, as they bowed in greeting.
"Thank you all so much for coming. I wish I had more time to talk to all of you, but I have princess-y obligations. After I have made rounds though, please come find me again. I really would enjoy getting to know you all."
They all gave me warm smiles as they nodded and walked off. As soon as they were an appropriate distance away, I turned to look at Demetri. He had a look in his eyes that said he was expecting me to question him, which I was about to do. Luckily for him, a new coven appeared, ready to introduce themselves. The amount of people, both nomads and covens alike, who wanted to meet me, was enough to make me beyond giddy. By the time Peter and Char came to tell me it was time to get ready for the show, I had met quite a few vampires.
"Come on, Firefly! We need to get you all dolled up," Charlotte said excitedly. I kissed Demetri's cheek as I let her pull me away. He chuckled, shaking his head. I saw Jane and Alec grinning like crazy as they left to get our instruments and the other band mates.
Before we actually made it out the door a kind voice stopped me. "Excuse me, Princess. I apologize for stopping you, but I would like to introduce my family if that is alright with you." The thing that stopped me was the word 'family.' Plenty of people had introduced themselves as nomads, mates, and covens, but this was the first family that had come up to me. "If you are in a hurry then we can wait, of course."
"No. It's not a problem." I turned around, to face them, Peter and Char talking to each other behind me. At first they all looked normal. There were six of them altogether. By the looks of it, they were all mated as well. Then I noticed their eyes. It wasn't the deep ruby color I had become accustomed to over the years. Instead, their irises were a deep gold color. Almost like butterscotch. "Your eyes!"
The man in front, the leader I guessed, nodded. The rest of them all had smiles on there faces and chuckled. My face heated up as I blushed furiously. I opened my mouth to apologize, but the man in front stopped me. "No need to say sorry, Princess. It is a very common reaction, as you may guess. My name is Carlisle Cullen. It is a pleasure to meet you."
My interest peaked at his name. "Carlisle, you say? Uncle Aro has mentioned you before. You're family drinks animals, correct?"
"Yes, that is true." He smiled again, reaching a hand out. I took it, shaking it happily. Daddy and my uncles spoke fondly of the Cullen family, even if they had an odd diet. Carlisle seemed like an easy man to get along with, and very relaxed. "Let me introduce everyone. This is my mate, Esme." He motioned towards the woman by his side. "Next is my oldest son,Edward and his mate Alice." A bronze haired teenager gave me a crooked smile and the little pixie next to him waved at me. "Then comes my daughter Rosalie and her mate, Emmett." Since the only people left was a beautiful blonde who could be Heidi's rival and a very large mountain of a man, I assumed that was them. Emmett winked at me, giving me a little salute in greeting. "I'm afraid I'm not sure where my third son has gone at this moment."
"Don't worry about it, Dr. C. We'll make sure Jazz-man meets Firefly here." Peter spoke up directly to Carlisle.
"Hello, Peter. It's wonderful to see you and Charlotte again. You two must come visit us more often." Carlisle said with genuine sincerity. The people behind him nodded eagerly. My brother and sister just laughed.
"We will, we will. I have a feeling you'll be seeing us around a lot." I rolled my eyes at his 'feeling.' "Right now though, we need to get this lady up to her room before Jane throws a fit."
"Please come find me afterwards! I would love to talk to you more." I said quickly as Peter scooped me up and dashed out of the room. Behind me I could hear the laughter of people behind me. We arrived in my room less than two seconds later. I grumbled as he set me down on the floor, closed the door, then hopped on my bed.
"I am perfectly capable of walking, Peter. Your assistance was unnecessary."
He rolled his eyes, and let Char drag me into my closet. She threw clothes at me, and I nodded in approval at the destroyed skinny jeans, corset type top, and heels. I turned around when I got the top on to let her tie it. I only had to remind her once that I was still human, thank God. "Oh, yeah. Who's Jazz and how do you know the Cullens?"
"Later, sugar. We're gonna be late if you don't hurry your ass up." I huffed at his blunt way of putting things. That's what I loved about him though and I wouldn't change it for the world. When the last touches were complete, we left. Charlotte, who was the one to carry me this time, stopped just before the doorway. She set me down behind her, as both her and Peter stood stiffly in front of me.
"Jasper! There you are! Carlisle has been looking for you," Charlotte scolded someone.
There was a huff of annoyance before a panty-dropping voice spoke up. "Good too see ya as well, Char. I'm well aware of Carlisle. He found me and said I had to come meet our new 'Princess'," The word princess dripped off his lips with disdain and sarcasm. My eyes widened a little as my blood started to simmer. Peter flinched a little and Char just shook her head. "It's a joke, really. She's a human after all."
"Excuse me? What the hell is wrong with being human? Weren't you one before?" I growled angrily, pushing my way through the couple in front of me to glare at this 'Jasper' person. "If you have a problem with me, man up and say it to my face."
A part of me was hoping that despite the sexy voice, I was going to be facing the worlds first ugly vampire. Unfortunately for me, he was far from ugly. This vampire in front of me was so gorgeous that I couldn't believe he was a vampire. He had to be a god. The god of sex if anything. He was a full cowboy. Just like Peter, he towered over me and was had a head full of shaggy curls. The only difference between their hair was that Pete's hair was a platinum blond color and Jasper's was a beautiful honey blond. His eyes were what really got me though. They were neither red like my family or gold like his family. Instead they were a very pretty shade of amber. Almost like maple syrup.
Jasper gave me a cocky smirk as he caught me staring. The look in his eyes told me that he liked what he saw. I wasn't sure if he liked my blood or if he liked my body, but my cheeks flamed either way. "Well aren't you a little spit fire, darling?" He didn't give me time to answer as he grabbed one of my hands and brought it to his lips like an actual southern gentleman would. I almost gasped, but not because of the gesture. Quite a lot of people had kissed my hand tonight. The thing that was surprising was that his hands weren't smooth and cold like everyone else's. His hand was rough and just a few degrees warmer, kind of like Peter and Charlotte's hands. "Allow me to introduce myself, Princess Isabella. I'm Jasper Whitlock-Hale."
My eyes widened a bit. Whitlock. The same last name as Peter and Charlotte. Which meant that this sex god in front of me was a god, just not the one I thought he was. In front of me, kissing my hand, was the one and only Major Jasper Whitlock, the God of War.
A/N: Sorry for such a long wait! I'm working on all my other stories right now as well. I know I said that I was going to have songs in this chapter but I didn't put in any. I'm going about the same pace as Firefly, so next chapter I swear will have Bella singing in it. Thanks for reading everyone! Please review! :)