A/N: Sorry I took so long to update. I really need to set a schedule or something, because I procrastinate wayyyy too much. Anyways, I'm thinking about wrapping up six-year-old Bella within the next few chapters or so, and go straight into when she's seventeen or eighteen, about to be changed. As always, feel free to leave a review of what you think; I enjoy reading your critiques.

(Posted 1/17/17)

Chapter 6: Dangerous

Aro and my friends spent the next few days explaining to me what 'gifted' vampires were, the ones in the Volturi, and anything I wanted to know about them. I didn't mean to bother them for so long, but I was curious! I learned so many things, too! They were really fast and strong and could hear everything—Demetri had shown me by running around and breaking things and repeating what I said far away. But I wasn't scared, which confused them. They had been expecting me to be. Why would I be afraid of my friends?

However, after Aro told me that Jane could make people feel like they were on fire, it made her ten times scarier. I was glad that I had a 'mental shield', as Aro had called it, because Jane wouldn't be able to do that to me. I also made some new friends. Renata was small, short, had black hair and also had a 'shield' gift, just like me. She was very nice and promised to help me make mine stronger, once I could. Santiago was large and tall like Felix, but he was quieter, so not like Felix. He had black hair, too, but it was much longer than Felix's. Corin was a bit taller than Renata, and had golden blonde hair. She was also nice to me and smiled a lot, which I liked.

"Do you have any other questions, my dear?" Aro asked from his wooden chair. We had been talking about his gift. I thought it was much better than mine. And it fit Aro perfectly, since I found out my family and friends were in charge of keeping the secret—people couldn't know that there were real vampires. He could tell if someone broke the rules or not by just touching them. Aro had also told me the law always came first.

I shook my head. "No, thank you," I answered as I got up from the wooden chair. Aro had gotten me one just like his, but smaller. I told him that I didn't need one, but he didn't listen to me. I didn't want one because it felt like they were giving me everything.

"Now, I do believe it is time for your dinner. Why don't you ask Gianna to bring you outside tonight?" he proposed with a smile.

I brightened at this. "Really?" I said excitedly. I had been trying to convince him to let me go with Gianna whenever she would leave to eat. She would always order what I wanted and carry it back, but I was tired of being inside. I wanted to see the outside, and not through a window. I wanted to explore!

Aro laughed quietly. "Yes, my dear. My only request is you stay within our city walls, of course," he kindly reminded. I noticed something about his eyes—they were very dark, almost black, with only a small circle of red left. Curious, I glanced around. My friends that were standing in the room had dark eyes, too. Except Heidi—she wasn't here. She had been helping Aro with something yesterday and was coming back today. Would she have the same eyes, also?

"Okay," I agreed. I felt very eager. I could finally go with Gianna! When I started walking to the gold doors, Alec suddenly appeared next to me.

"May I walk with you, Princess?" he requested politely. I nodded, and we both headed for the elevators at the end of the hall. I was surprised when I heard unfamiliar voices near it—they didn't sound like my friends. It was much rougher, not as smooth. I spotted Heidi strolling in front of a large group of people. She was wearing a short, dark blue dress. It made her look prettier. The people behind her were glancing around and talking at the same time. Some of them had cameras.

"My, how quaint!" a lady with glasses exclaimed. She was inspecting the chandelier—Felix taught me the word—with awe. It was very pretty.

"It certainly has a beautiful charm, doesn't it?" another woman observed.

I greeted Heidi when she stopped in front of me and Alec. "Hi, Heidi!" She didn't have black eyes like I thought she would, which confused me. Instead, they were light purple—it reminded me of a flower. Violets?

"Hello, Princess," she answered, a wide smile on her face. "I've missed you."

I blushed, but reached out and hugged her. "I missed you too," I repeated in a whisper. I really did. Heidi was always happy and cheerful. And she made me laugh a lot. Her cold hands patted my back gently, comforting me.

She pulled away and stood up. "I'm sorry for cutting our reunion short, Princess, but Aro needs me right now." She shot me an apologetic smile.

"Bye, Heidi," I said sadly. Heidi blew me a kiss, which made me giggle, and she continued down the hallway again. I frowned to myself. What was Heidi doing with those people? I tugged on Alec's sleeves, causing his black eyes to look down at me.

"Yes?" he inquired softly.

"Why is Heidi taking people into the big room?" I asked.

He gave me a confused look. "We're vampires, Princess," he said slowly, like it was an explanation.

"Oh." I realized what he meant. They were vampires… and vampires drank blood. Heidi was bringing the group inside so they could drink their blood. I had forgotten about that part. Felix, Demetri, Aro—all of them never really seemed like vampires to me. I saw them as my friends and family.

"Shall we?" Alec suggested.

I nodded, but I felt so… conflicted? Divided. I knew the Volturi were vampires, and they needed blood. But Daddy told me it was bad people that killed others. Good people like him stopped the bad. So the Volturi were bad? I frowned. But I couldn't think about my friends that way. They never hurt me. And I loved them all. Especially Felix and Jane and Heidi and Aro. In fact, Aro told me that it was them, the Volturi, that stopped other vampires from revealing the secret. From breaking the rules, just like Daddy. Did that mean they were good, then? I decided that they were. Even though they drank blood, they were vampires after all. And Aro had still offered a home and family and friends to me when he could have said no.

A soft, high voice startled me. "Princess?" I looked up and saw Gianna gazing with a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

I nodded again. "I'm fine," I mumbled. I hadn't realized that Alec brought me to Gianna already. Me and Gianna were in the antique store where she worked. I tried to find Alec, but he wasn't here. "Where is Alec?"

"I believe he went back downstairs," she replied with a friendly smile. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, please." Gianna reached out her hand, and I took it. It felt strange that it was warm. I was so used to holding onto something colder. We stepped outside into the plaza and began looking for someplace to eat. There was a pretty orange sunset that was hidden behind the tall walls. After we searched around for awhile, Gianna found the small pizza shop she liked. We entered, and she sat down at one of the smaller tables in the back of the room. There were less people around. It was more… private.

"Wait here," she instructed and went up to the counter and began talking. I didn't understand her—she was speaking in a different… language. It reminded me of when Mommy once tried to learn Spanish. I don't think she was very good at it.

"Is that Spanish?" I asked when she came back. It sounded close to what Mommy spoke.

Gianna smiled. "Italian," she corrected.

"That's cool," I enthused with a smile.

She laughed gently. "I guess so," she agreed.

A young man walked up to our table holding a tan plate with two pieces of pizza. It didn't look like the pizza Mommy would sometimes order. There were large chunks of white cheese with the red tomato sauce surrounding it, instead of the cheese covering the tomatoes. There were also green leaves on it, too, and the crust was thinner.

"Grazie," I heard Gianna say as she took the plate and set it on the table. We both took a bite. It tasted really good. It was hot and the cheese was melted. While we ate, I realized that I didn't know anything about Gianna, and I felt bad. She brought me food everyday. Maybe I could make a new friend?

I put down my slice on the plate. "How do you know the Volturi? Is Aro your relative, too?"

She chuckled lightly. "I wish. Then, I'd be a vampire already," she sighed in a low voice.

"You want to be a vampire?" I repeated quietly. I didn't know Gianna wanted to be one. "Why?"

She hesitated for a second. "There's a lot of… power in being one of them. The kind of power you can't imagine yet." Gianna smiled again. "And to answer your first question, I found out when there was a job listing for a secretarial position. I came in, met Demetri, and immediately knew they were vampires."

I was confused. "How?" How did she know so quickly?

Gianna took a deep breath and her body shook a little. "Let's just say Jane demonstrated her… feeding in front of me, and promised the same if I told anyone else about them living under the city. Technically, the Volturi aren't allowed to flat out say they're vampires, but they can imply heavily."

"Oh." I felt bad for Gianna. She was clearly scared of Jane like I was. Maybe even more than me.

Gianna smiled a small smile and looked at my plate. "Are you done?" she asked.

I nodded. "Thank you," I said politely.

"You're very welcome, Princess," Gianna whispered, making me giggle. She made it sound like it was a super top secret that I was a princess. Like it was a very, very, big deal. Gianna stood up and took my hand, walking us to the front door. It was very dark outside—I couldn't see anything. The light from the restaurant made it a little bit better.

"Shoot." Gianna muttered quietly as she looked around. She glanced at me. "I'm sorry, I forgot my purse. Do you mind waiting here for one second?" she apologized.

I shook my head. "I'll be right back," she promised, her voice already becoming harder to hear. Suddenly, a large hand covered my mouth and pulled me backward at the same time. I went into the space between the restaurant and a shop next to it. What scared me the most was that it was warm, and not cold—a stranger's.

\Oh noes! What will happen to Bella next? I have an inkling that she will be fine, however.