A/N: Hello everyone! (I really need to work on another greeting). This definitely took longer than I anticipated, but I hope it was worth it! Anyways, feel free to voice your opinions in a review and be on the lookout for any mistakes I made.

(Updated 12/31/16)

Chapter 3: Volterra

Flying from Phoenix to Italy wasn't as scary as I'd thought. I was surprised when I woke up in a small private jet and not one of the big jumbo planes I'd always see. I thought we would have taken the trip in one of those, but I guess Aro didn't want me on a plane with strangers.

Although I was afraid of flying, I slept with Felix holding me, which made it a lot better. Demetri would sometimes wake me up and serve food. I also saw them making faces at it whenever I ate. Did they not like pasta?

After we landed at the airport, Demetri and Felix quickly led me outside—it was nighttime. However, the bright lights from the airport made it less scary. When we left through the main doors, I realized that Demetri was gone. I looked up at Felix and tugged the sleeves of his cloak. "Where did Demetri go?" I asked quietly. I felt sad that he would leave without saying goodbye first.

"Don't fret, Bella. Demetri left to go pick up a car," Felix explained with a smile. I noticed his eyes—they were a lot darker red than I'd remembered. Why did it change color? Did he switch his contacts? I didn't remember him doing anything like that on the plane though.

Soon after, a black car—like the one from Phoenix—stopped by the road in front of us. Felix reached down, taking my hand with his, and walked to the car. He opened the door and lifted me into the backseat. I crawled onto his lap once he got in and immediately leaned against him. His cool temperature felt nice, but I wondered why he was never warm. I also spotted Demetri sitting in the driver's seat—his eye color was darker, too.

"Demetri? Where are we?" I inquired curiously.

"We're in Florence, Bella. We still have approximately twenty minutes left to travel before we reach Volterra," he answered politely. My stomach felt like it was full of butterflies. I was so nervous. Twenty more minutes until I would meet Aro, my distant relative. I wondered what he would be like. I hoped he would be nice, like Felix and Demetri.

I think Felix noticed my nervousness because he hugged me tightly. "It's going to be fine," he murmured into my ear. "Sleep now. I'll wake you when we arrive." I nodded, closing my eyes and relaxed as he cradled me in his arms. I smelled his pleasant smell, which made me sleepy. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when a gentle but firm shaking woke me. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes with my fists. I still felt tired. I wanted to sleep more.

"Bella, we're here," Demetri called out from the front seat.

"Okay," I responded hesitantly, quickly feeling nervous again. We were here. I was finally going to meet Aro. Suddenly, the door next to me flew open and I jumped, startled. Demetri gave me an apologetic smile while Felix carefully got out of the car with me still in his arms. I frowned to myself. I swore Demetri was still sitting in the front seat. How did he get to my door so fast?

Demetri and Felix began walking away from the parked car, leaving it in a neat and clean garage. Several other cars were there too, many with bright colors. We took an elevator ride and I quickly realized that the garage was actually under the ground. We went through a small shop, like where Daddy would take his car to get fixed, and entered the street.

Taking a look around, I saw a long and tall stone wall that covered the houses behind it. Was this Volterra? Demetri noticed my gaze and smiled. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. I nodded. The large metal gates, funny arches, and the dusty-looking walls gave it an 'old' feeling. I liked it.

Felix and Demetri quickly made their way down the street, taking the dark and scary alleyways. They seemed really relaxed, however. Were they not afraid of the dark? After walking for a long time, we reached the stone wall that I saw before and continued walking next to it until Demetri stopped at a wooden door. There were some bushes and plants that covered it up, making it difficult to see.

Without warning, the door blew open from the inside. It was a brown blur—very fast. I let out a small shriek of surprise and quickly buried my face into Felix. I breathed in his nice smell, calming me down and making me feel safe again.

"Jane, look at what you've done. You scared her!" I heard Felix chastise someone.

"Well, it's not my fault humans can't withstand a little speed," I heard a high-pitched voice retort. Curious to see who was talking, I glanced around and saw a short, black cloaked girl standing in front of Felix and Demetri.

Jane was pretty like my friends, but her face was a bit more rounded. It wasn't straight and… sharp like Felix's. Maybe she was younger? She certainly looked young. Jane was barely half of Demetri's height. She also had long, pale brown hair that reminded me of butterscotch candy. Her eyes were the usual strawberry red. They weren't dark like Felix's or Demetri's. She didn't seem all that friendly, but Mommy always told me never judge a person 'by their cover'.

"Hello," I greeted her, timidly waving my hand. Jane gave me a small, forced but polite smile and gestured for us to go through the door. I sighed very quietly. She didn't like me. But I saw her smile a little, as if she'd heard me sigh, when we passed her so maybe she could still be my friend. I giggled when Demetri and Felix both had to duck their heads. It was funny to see them trying to get past without hitting the wall. Felix turned to look down at me with an amused expression and I hid my face again, embarrassed. But I couldn't stop giggling.

After we went through the door, Jane looked like she was dancing as she walked in front of us. Was she a dancer? I got the feeling that she was the one in charge, even though she was much younger than Felix or Demetri. I noticed her cloak was almost black—not full black like I had thought before. Was she in charge because of her darker cloak? I also saw that each step the three of them made were together, like they were robots.

Jane led us through the confusing and maze-like streets, taking the alleyways like Felix and Demetri. I was worried that we were lost. Mommy and I had done that once, and it took Daddy an hour to find us in the mall. However, we entered a very large area—a plaza?—and made our way to the many stores that were all lined up nearby.

Jane stopped in front of a small shop. It looked like they sold old things. Mommy had went into one before—an antique store? I was confused. What were we doing here? Were we shopping for a gift? It didn't fit the place I had in mind—I'd been expecting a house. But, we stepped inside, so maybe it was the right place. The room was cold—it was air conditioned. A light gray carpet covered the floor, the walls were painted with a nice cream color, and some long light bulbs above. There were important-looking items locked behind the glass counters.

I spotted a young woman as we made our way deeper inside into the store. She was sitting behind a desk with papers all around on top. She was pretty too, but not as pretty as Felix or Demetri or Jane. She was tall, had dark skin, long dark brown hair and green eyes. It reminded me of the girls on the cover of Daddy's magazines. Mommy didn't like them. To my surprise, she greeted my friends by name.

"Welcome back Jane, Felix, Demetri."

"Gianna," Jane responded as she, Felix and Demetri all pulled the tops of their cloak—the hood?—back from their faces. I blushed slightly when Gianna's gaze turned from Jane to Felix to me. I could tell she was surprised to see me being cradled in his arms. I knew I could walk on my own and I felt bad for Felix having to carry me around, but his embrace always made me feel safe and secure. And I think he didn't mind it.

"Aro is waiting for you in the main chamber," Gianna informed Jane. She kept staring at me while she talked, which made me feel embarrassed and I blushed. Why did she keep looking at me?

I was startled by a low but loud growl. I quickly found the source—it came from Jane. She sounded exactly like the angry lion I'd heard when I went to the Phoenix zoo with my parents. She looked just as scary, too. Jane was glaring at Gianna, who had finally turned away from me. Gianna seemed to lower herself even more into the chair, and she looked afraid. I saw Jane's eyes—they were no longer red, but now black. How did it change color so fast?

I reached out for Jane and Felix brought me next to her. I gently patted the top of her butterscotch candy hair. It felt very smooth, like one of Mommy's dresses. Jane twirled around in surprise. "It's okay," I whispered. I didn't want her to be mad at Gianna. She was just curious.

Jane stared at me now—her black eyes were strange but pretty, too. I felt embarrassed and bad about touching her hair without asking first. I blushed and mumbled out an apology. It felt like I could never be friends with her. But I still hoped that we could. I liked Jane. After a minute, she turned around and walked toward some elevators in the back. For someone so small, Jane could be extremely scary.

"Wow, she didn't rip your throat out," Felix muttered to himself. I frowned. Rip my throat out? What did that mean? Could she actually do that? I peeked up at Felix, who seemed to know why I was confused. He just shook his head. "You'll understand later."

Jane was waiting for us in the elevator and held door open. She shot me a sly smile, like she had heard what Felix said. She hit a button once we got in. Again, I wondered where we were going. Was this place where Aro lived? The elevator went up, and I saw more cloaked people when the doors opened. They were very pretty and pale, too. I wanted to be brave, but I still was scared—they were strangers. Some of them looked at me curiously as we walked, which made me blush.

We stopped in front of two very large, tall, and golden doors. It had lots of details on it, like loops and circles. It was very beautiful. Felix slowly lowered me to the floor, and caught me when I wobbled a little. I said 'thank you' to him quietly and waited. Jane gently pushed on the doors, and to my surprise, it opened. I frowned to myself. How did she do that? It looked heavy, and it didn't look like she would to be able to open it—Jane was small. However, I didn't get to ask because we quickly stepped into a big and round room.

So what did you think? Personally, I felt that it was a bit "choppy" in some parts, like I failed to transition between events clearly or smoothly. Oh, and the next chapter will definitely be Bella meeting Aro for the first time!