Dia Cullen
She's 15. She's half-vamp. And she's running with the Cullens.
"Wow. Italy!" I gushed and started clicking my camera.
I took pictures of Bella and Edward who were still at odds with each other. I had a feeling it was my fault. But I knew Bella was never going to blame me. Wonder how Edward will win her back this time? I took a happy picture of Alice and Jasper. Every time I wanted to take a clean shot of Rosalie and Emmett, he would just slide her in his arms and make out with her. It was plain nasty. As for Mrs. C and Dr. C, they didn't want a couple picture but a family one. With me. So I only had about 3 shots of them-minus the surprise clicks.
"Maybe we should get some gelat-" I stopped. What was I thinking? They were vampires how could I have forgotten?
Edward chuckled. "We'll get you gelato if you behave like an angel."
It was the only time when the others understood and started laughing with him.
We were inside a big family van somebody in the family managed to steal in the airport premises. Never mind. I was comfortable with the 3 seats I occupied.
"Then maybe we could get pizza, too? And spaghetti?" I asked with my head rested on the chair.
Dr. C was driving like crazy and Mrs. C was completely at ease in the passenger's seat. Rosalie and Emmett were ... sweet talking ... in the first row. Alice and Jasper were teasing each other in the second. And I was particularly paying much attention to Bella and Edward's conversation in the third-which was in front of mine.
"Bella, love, please talk to me," Edward said for the millionth time.
Bella's arms were crossed and her chin up high. It was so childish and funny.
"I'm sorry," another line said for the millionth time today.
She was as stubborn as a rock.
Finally, Edward sighed and slouched on his seat. "I should just provoke the Volturi then since you're not talking to me. My Bella doesn't love me anymore. What's the point of living?"
I couldn't help but scoff.
That caught him off-guard. First one since forever.
"Were you listening, Dia Cullen?" he inquired.
"Nope. I was staring at the clouds in the sky," I lied.
"And what picture did you see?" he played on.
"Ugh ... I couldn't make out anything. Dr. C's driving really fast and everything's a blur."
"I see a gelato," he looked outside the window, a lame excuse to touch his cheek with Bella's. "Something you're not getting if my La Tua Cantante is still not going to speak with me."
I gulped. I was in the land of gelato and I was not getting any. I felt like being deprived of a child's right.
"Don't worry, Dia. I'll get you one at the Clock Tower as soon as we get to Volterra," Bella spoke only to me.
There were just endless rows of sunflowers across the Tuscan valleys and fields we drove by. I probably had over 50 pictures of them-all alike. Dr. C turned on the radio and Italian music filled the van. I tried to make out each word but I couldn't. I wanted to take photos but there were only fields of sunflowers in sight. Nothing more but the occasion passer bys.
I would've slept if it weren't my first time in Italy. What a pretty country. And then I got so excited again when I spotted some sienna-colored ruins rolling down the mountains ahead. I took pictures like crazy.
"My eyes are burning with all the flash, Dee," Edward complained.
"But just look at it for one second. It's gorgeous!" I exclaimed.
"I know. You keep on repeating that inside your head."
"Hey Bella, maybe we can all go sightseeing after we drop off our bags, huh? Wouldn't that be exciting?" Alice suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Bella replied.
"But it's sunny outside," I observed.
Even the tinted windows couldn't fool me.
"We're geared up, Dee. Don't worry. Have fun. We can even go down to the beach, splash some sea water around ..." Rosalie grimaced.
"You in an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini. We'd roll on the sands all day ... vacation paradise ..." Emmett sighed.
"Only if the Volturi have a private beach resort," Jasper pointed out.
He was clearly disgusted with the picture Rosalie and Emmett were trying to paint but who knows? He might have another 'vacation paradise' fantasy with Alice in his mind.
"Wow. The Palazzo dei Priori!" I shrieked at the familiar clock tower and took a snap at it right away.
I took advantage of the crowded streets that slowed down Dr. C's driving-which gave me enough time to take about 25 photos of it in different angles.
And it pays off if you have awesome vampire reflexes, too.
"The Teatro Romano! Snap snap snap!"
"Parco Archaeologico!"
Porta All' Arco!"
"How do you know these things?!" Emmett asked me, unable to control his curiosity. "I've been here so many times before and I couldn't remember those names!"
Edward looked down on me suspiciously, too, and smiled smugly when he saw me with a Volterra Travel Magazine.
"Where'd you get that?" he pointed.
"In the airport. It was free and I couldn't resist so I took one out," I explained.
"No wonder why you recognized the places," he mumbled and slouched back to his seat.
"You like it here, Dia?" Dr. C asked as he maneuvered the streets of the ancient city.
"Yeah. Duh!" I teased and continued snapping pictures.
There were more buildings we passed by that were not included in the thin travel guide but I happily took pictures of them, anyway. I even took pictures of the people around. There were plenty of tourists walking down the streets, sitting in the cafes, taking pictures amongst themselves, too.
We stopped in front of a place that I mistook for our hotel. But Jasper corrected me and pointed out that the wide-spread villa was really more like a Buckingham Palace for the vampires. Really? I decided to snap a picture of it when two men in huge heavy-looking coats came into view. One even hit me with his arm accidentally.
"Sorry," he muttered apologetically.
"No problem. Wait a minute, Parla Inglese?" I asked him an Italian phrase I learnt from the mag.
"Si, si. Buon Giorno."
You stupid girl. Now he's going to start speaking Italian for the rest of your stay here and you'll have to learn Italian to save face.
But I think that was a greeting-good morning, maybe?
"Buon Giorno," I smiled confidently back.
"Oh Felix, who are you kidding? You're clearly not Italian but you're faking an accent for the girl," the other man laughed at his friend.
If vampires could blush, he would have, by now.
"Look who's talking. You're a Russian, Demetri," Felix fired back.
"But I was never an Italian poser. Changes a lot. Ciao, Sabina," the one called Demetri waved at me.
Sabina?
"No, see, my name's Dia. Not Sabina."
"Ah, Ciao Dia. Actually, it's an endearment here."
"Ah, now I see," I mused.
Dr. C, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward helped unload the boxes and baggages we brought from 'Wush' Town and they weren't so many considering that we left all the furniture back there. The couches, the television ... I'd certainly miss my bed there. And my notebooks. I think Wyatt still has my Algebra.
Felix and Demetri led us inside the 'Buckingham Palace' and a lady sat behind the wooden desk, smiling.
"Welcome, Cullens!" she greeted us.
Edward, Alice, and Bella made sure to drag me along with them as we slipped into another room. They did not give her a chance to strike up a conversation with me which was what she wanted. I could tell by the way she was looking at me with her big human eyes.
"She seemed nice," I remarked as we continued to follow Felix and Demetri in what looked like a funeral home's hallway.
"Oh but she's not," Alice whispered.
"You've met her before?"
"Past visits," Edward said coolly.
I was about to take another picture when Bella told me to shove my camera back inside my sling bag. This really must be Buckingham Palace.
The hallway ended with a peculiar-looking door. It had strange figures sculpted on its marble face and it was huge. About the size of 4 Felixes and Demetris.
When it opened, it revealed vampires. Lots of them. Gliding across the gleaming floor with their long flowy black robes. They looked like those wizards and witches in Harry Potter. The ones working in the ministry.
"Welcome guests! Welcome to Volterra!"
Author's Note : R&R! Thank youu!