The doors opened, revealing a beautiful bedroom. A fine oak dresser sat on one side, a four poster bed to the left. To the right, towards the back of the room, a door lead to what I assumed was the bathroom. In the middle of the room laying on the floor was a beautiful oriental rug. On top of the rug stood none other than the Cullens.

Well, the majority of the Cullens. Jasper was missing. I wonder where Jasper was…

"Hello, my love. I see your change went well." Edward had the balls to speak first. How unlucky of him.

"Went well? Love? Did you really just call me your love? Don't speak to me. Don't even look at me." I was fuming. All those years of pent up anger were finally going to be released. Thank god.

"But, Isabella I…"

"Don't you fucking dare say love you."

"But…I do. What I did, I did for you, to protect you! Can't you see? I would never put you in danger, even if it meant I had to leave. I still love you, Isabella, my mate." His voice was raised a few octaves, he seemed like he really believed it.

"Well, sorry, buddy. You're love is unreturned, I'm not your mate. I've moved on, and so should you. All of you should. How dare you show up now that 'Bella the human' is gone, and 'Isabella the vampire' took her place? How dare you think you all can just waltz into my life, thinking that if you choose to reappear, your presence would be welcomed."

Rose snorted. "Fine. I didn't want you back in the family, anyway. It's no skin off my nose if you decide to hole up in this castle for the rest of eternity. Have fun." With that, she brushed past me and walked out of the room. Damn. Too bad she didn't stick around, it would have been fun to fight with her.

Edward was standing silent, his head in his hands. "What happened to Jasper, just out of curiosity?" I asked as Alice stepped forward.

"I left him. He was making…poor choices. I wasn't meant to be with him any longer."

"I'm…sorry to hear that." I couldn't imagine what Jasper could be doing that would make Alice leave him, even if he was feeding from humans. How odd…

Carlisle stepped forward. "Isabella, I extend my apologies to you for leaving you in Forks. We only did what we thought was best for you, and we see now that we were gravely mistaken. It is our fault you're in the mess you are in now, and we are very sorry. I know it will take time for you to even consider forgiving us, but I hope one day I am able to call you my daughter again. We have all missed you dearly."

Emmett nodded. "I miss my little sister. I miss kicking her ass at Call of Duty. Please, think about forgiving us. It's not like we had much choice. Eddie wouldn't listen to us, he pretty much packed all of us up, and carried us out. He wouldn't let us get in contact with you either, for the past four years. I'm sorry, little sis." He looked like he would be crying if he could.

It was Esme's turn to talk. "Isabella, dear, please, try to forgive us. We love you like you're our own…and…and…" She started sobbing, and ran forward to hug me. I couldn't deny her at least that. I wrapped my arms around her, her sobbing into my shoulder.

"Shhh…I'll try, Esme. I can't promise how soon, but I'll try." Her sobs let up then, her eyes shining with tears that would never fall.

"Well, as touching as this little family reunion has been, I do believe Isabella needs to begin her training." Aro said, interrupting the moment.

"Training…?" I was suddenly wary. I was horrible at anything athletic as a human, and I didn't really want to be humiliated in front of the entire guard, or even part of the guard, for that matter.

"Yes. Training. Surely you didn't think my guard is the best by chance, hmm? Since you no longer grow tired, the whole process should take around a week. After all of that, then you will be formally initiated and given your cloak, your rank to be determined by your performance during training. If you do poorly, you will start out at the bottom. It's proportional from there. So don't think that if you slack off during training, that you can get out of this, Isabella. We can always use someone, even if it is just as a body."

Damn. There went that idea. I nodded. "Alright. Where do I go?" Aro smiled then. "Just follow me, Isabella." He turned and walked away, and I turned to say goodbye to the Cullens for an unknown amount of time. "Goodbye, Isabella. We will visit again when you are finished with your training." Carlisle said as he waved goodbye. I nodded my head slightly, and turned to follow Aro.

He lead me out into and empty courtyard, stopping just on the outskirts of it. "Go on, Isabella. Who ever is in charge of your training will be here shortly. Just wait in the courtyard." With that, he turned to leave. I walked forward, not really paying attention to anything. My mind was on Jasper…

As soon as I reached the middle of the warm, circular courtyard, I was ambushed. Three vampires came out of nowhere, attacking me. I tried the best I could to defend myself, my left arm and two fingers of my right hand being ripped off in the process. I took down one of the three guards, before someone was at my neck.

"Stop! Kill." The deep bass voice above me yelled. Immediately, the attack ceased, all of them waiting for further instruction. The man stood, helping me to my feet. I didn't need it, but it was a nice gesture.

"First lesson, never let your guard down. One part of your brain should be constantly on the look out for danger. I could have easily killed you. I will not stand for that. I don't lose my men…err…women, I refuse. You will learn. Or die trying." His voice was commanding, loud.

Wow. This man was intense. He had dark brown, curly hair, it nearly covering his deep crimson eyes. He was a normal build, but you could tell he was dangerous, one not to be messed with. He gave off that sort of aura. He could be considered attractive, if he wasn't trying to kill you.

He stuck out his hand. "My name is Zayden, and I'm the one in charge of your training. If you fuck up, it's on me. Shit rolls downhill, so try not to fuck up, or you're going to go through hell to pay for it." I shook his hand after my arm and hand were done repairing.

"I'm Isabella, but you already know that." He nodded.

"Enough pleasantries. I'll get to know you after you can kick my ass. We will begin training with close combat. There are four parts of your hand that can be used as weapons. The fist, the edge of your hand, palm, and your fingers. Use your fist to attack softer tissue areas like the throat. Use the edge of your hand to block, or also strike soft to hard tissue areas. The palm can also be used to block, or to strike. The fingers can be used to rip, gouge, and tear skin." He was pacing as he said this.

"On to forearms. They can be used to deflect or block attacks. Forearms can also be used to strike to damage or break an opponents joints and limbs, which can then be torn off. Elbows are also excellent for striking."

He went on to detail what parts of the body were best suited to which attack, then went into detailing specific attacks. He taught me how to use an opponents momentum against them, and how to throw them off balance.

"Think you're ready to try it, Isabella?" He said an hour later.

I nodded. "I'll try, sir!" He smiled, then.

"There is no try, only do and do not!" He took a fighting stance then, waiting for me to attack.

I took a moment to analyze which attack would best fit, and went to kick him in the ribs. He then grabbed my leg, almost ripping it off before I jumped, kicking his neck with my left leg, managing to land in a crouch on the ground. He smiled as a few pieces of his neck shattered off.

"Excellent, Isabella!" He said as he too dropped into a crouch. He then rushed to attack me, his hands out to grab my throat. I grabbed his forearm with one hand, his wrist with the other, and used his arm to grapple and throw him behind me; him landing hard on the ground with a thud. He picked himself up, still smiling.

He then stood, and I copied his movements. He stalked forward, getting into close range. "Now, I want to just focus on punches and kicks. And blocking, of course." With that, he took a fighting stance again, his fists in front of him.

I feinted a kick to his knees, his focus going to that attack, while I punched him in the gut, knocking the unneeded breath out of him. He recovered quicker than I expected, and threw a punch to my ribs, and I doubled over in pain. He then grabbed my neck, signifying a kill.

"Damn…it…" I muttered through the pain. It was beginning to ease up.

"Never let the pain get to you! Learn to think around the pain." With that, he promptly ripped my right arm off.

"What the hell? Why the fuck did you do that?" I reared back to punch him. He caught my punch, and ripped the hand off. Then, he knocked me off balance, ripping my leg off at the kneecap. I promptly fell to the ground, moaning in pain. There, he ripped off the rest of my limbs.

"You will learn pain tolerance. I will not stand for any of my cadets to be killed because they got punched in the ribcage. The pain will get worse the longer your limbs are unattached. Take this time to get acquainted with pain. Learn to love it. I'll be back tomorrow." With that, he and the other guards walked out, leaving me by myself.

Fuck, he took my limbs with him. I tried to curl into a ball on the ground; trying to hold myself together. The pain was steadily increasing, how did he expect me to think around this pain? Was it even possible? I didn't think it was.

The first three hours weren't so bad. The pain hurt, of course, but it was bearable. There was venom dripping out of my wounds, but there was nothing I could do about it. As the fourth hour rolled around, the pain grew exceedingly worse, and I couldn't think around it. It was at the forefront of my mind, I couldn't even keep track of the time. I kept hearing screaming, realizing later that it was me who broke out in screams. My sanity was waning, I couldn't move my torso at all without my limbs. I sobbed, feeling abandoned, feeling like no one was going to come back and save me from this hell.

I didn't know how much later, but at one point I realized I had stopped feeling. It was gone, I couldn't feel anything. I was numb, the pain ceased. I knew, subconsciously, that it was still there; my limbs were still ripped off. My brain just ceased to recognize it. I closed my eyes, and started to think. I realized I was thirsty. I needed to hunt. I hope they will let me hunt after this.

I thought about random, idle things until I heard the approach of footsteps. I opened my eyes, realizing I was face-down. I growled loudly, menacingly, trying to ward off anyone who meant danger, since I was unable to protect myself.

"Calm down, Isabella. It's me, Zayden. I have your arms and legs." I ceased growling, I didn't want to piss him off and him decide I could wait another day.

"I see you've learnt. Good. I would have hated to leave you here another day. But I would have gotten over it." He said as he fused my arms and legs back to my torso. I had a newfound respect for Zayden, he was tough. He was perfect for his job.

"Now, you should be able to move. Can you?" I wiggled my fingers and toes, and flexed my arms.

"Yes, sir. I'm able to move. I have a request, if I may ask, sir." I said as I stood.

"Go on, cadet." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I need to hunt, sir. The removal of my limbs has left me thirsty."

"Request denied. You must learn how to go without. Meals will not always be accessible, nor will there always be time to feed. You must learn to fight hungry, cadet."

I nodded, I would not question him. There was no use in it.

He smiled. "You've improved. I'm glad to see it, Isabella."

I smiled, and nodded. I wanted to do well; wanted to be promoted because I did well. I wanted to make Zayden proud of me. I had done a complete 360 since my first day here. I guess writhing in pain for twenty four hours can do that to you. Maybe serving in the guard wouldn't be so bad, after all.

"The next part of your training will not be held here. We need more room. Follow me." He turned and walked back inside the castle, leading me through the maze of corridors. We went outside, to what I assumed was behind the castle. Zayden started running then, into the forest that resided there. I followed without question, trusting him.

We came to a large clearing, where what looked like dummies were set up.

"Here, you will be trained in the weaponry our engineers have created. There are only a few, and they are only used in dire circumstances, when there is a doubt of our success." He then pulled a few gadgets out of the backpack I didn't notice he was carrying.

"You can never tell anyone outside of the guard about these. They are a Volturi secret, if the general population got a hold of these, it would be all out warfare. It is imperative this information never leave Volterra, and they are only to be used on missions approved by Aro. Anyone who sees us use them must be killed. Do you understand, Isabella?" His tone made it obvious he was not joking around.

"Yes, sir, I understand. I won't speak of them." He nodded, and began to explain the little weapons.

"This knife is the only thing is able to cut through our skin. It is made out of polished vampire teeth, pressed into a blade." To demonstrate, he sliced his finger, venom immediately starting to drip out. Then, he turned, hurling the knife towards the dummies, the blade sticking in it's stomach fully.

"See? Pierces right through." He walked up and pulled the knife out. I swore I saw the dummy twitch.

"Uhm…Zayden…Those are dummies, right…?" Surely if they could manufacture a knife to cut through our skin, they could create dummies with our qualities…right?

He laughed. "No, of course not. They're prisoners sentenced to death. One of the guards has the power to knock vampires out, and that's why they're mostly immobile."

I'm sure I got paler. "Is that…ethical? Aren't they in pain?"

He laughed again. "Ethical? Who cares? All that matters is your training. You're going to have to get used to killing vampires, anyway." With that, he moved on to the next weapon. "This, is similar to what the humans call a flamethrower. This just doesn't require a tank full of gas. Don't ask me how it works, I don't know. All I know is this can wipe out armies of vampires at once." With that, he pulled the trigger of the gun like object, and flame came shooting out about three meters in front of him. "See? Now you try it." With that, he handed it to me. I looked at the 'dummies' warily. "Isabella, kill him. Now." I couldn't. I'm not a killer. "Isabella, do you want to spend another day limbless? Only, this time you'll be contemplating your disobedience. Now, I believe I issued the order of his death, now move, cadet." His voice got that commanding tone again, and I switched my brain off, not thinking about the lives I was ending. I walked forward, stopping three meters in front of the nearest 'dummy'. I pulled the trigger, the body going up in flames at once. I turned, and handed the gun back to Zayden.

"Very good, Isabel. Now, practice with the knives." He gestured to several more of the knives that were laying on the ground. "Practice slicing, chopping, stabbing, and throwing."

I got the hang of it quickly, getting to the point to where I was able to hit the same spot over and over again. After a while of this, I moved on to slicing, the knife feeling natural in my hand. I got to the point to where there was no where left to slice, the victims body covered in cuts. Zayden nodded his approval, and I moved on to the next victim, practicing my chopping. I was able to chop off all of the limbs quickly, Zayden looking impressed. I then practiced stabbing, getting the hang of that quickly also.

Zayden clapped. "Very well done, Isabel. I've never seen anyone get it so quickly. I'm proud. Most vampires find using weaponry awkward." I smiled, happy he was proud of me.

"At this rate, you'll probably finish up with training sooner than expected." He said as he packed up the weapons.

"Really? And what happens after training, after I become 'official'?" I asked as we started walking towards the castle.

"Well, you'll probably go on your first mission, with a couple of experienced guard members, depending on the rank you end up receiving. It wouldn't surprise me if you got promoted pretty high. You're doing really well, Isabel, especially for how young you are. You seemed to have skipped right over the newborn stage. Which is really convenient for the Volturi; I don't know what they were going to do if you were like a normal newborn, all blood crazy and shit."

"Yeah, I don't know why I did. It's not like I was really prepared or anything."

"Well, it does no good questioning it, just be glad it happened." He held the door open for me as we were walking back into the castle.

"So, what next?"

"More sparring, I think is be in order. But uneven. Maybe two or three against one. You need to get used to those types of situations."

I nodded. "I'm up for anything, sir. Then again, it wouldn't matter if I wasn't." I laughed slightly.

He laughed also, although much more than I did. We reached the courtyard where the previous training took place, two guards waiting for us there. I became wary, I didn't like the idea of this.

"You can handle this, Isabel. I wouldn't put you in a situation you couldn't handle. Believe in yourself." I nodded and took a fighting stance.

Zayden and another guard began to circle me, trying to find weak spots. I circled, too, keeping them both within my sight at all times. The other guard attacked first, rushing towards me, his fists still up. I grabbed one of his arms, throwing him into Zayden, who was about to rush me, too. The both of them rolled backward, tumbling over each other. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, I leaped, landing on the other guards back, gripping the back of his neck to signify a kill. I picked him up, and threw him to the other side of the courtyard, getting him out of the way for the fight between Zayden and I.

Zayden picked himself up and started punching me, a few of them landing, knocking little shards of skin off. I didn't even wince at the pain, and tried to fight back. Then, he jumped, and landed behind me, and bit down on my shoulder, his teeth sinking into my skin. I pulled away, the chunk of skin ripping off. I shook myself mentally, and turned, facing Zayden. I feinted left, really going right, and bit down on the right side of his torso, taking a hunk out of him.

He inhaled through his teeth. "You don't know what you're messing with, little girl." With that, he rushed at me, and I stepped quickly to the right, then pounced on his back, my teeth bared at his neck.

"I think you underestimate me, Zayden." I playfully nipped at his neck, and hopped off.

The two guards clapped, then, impressed. Zayden stood up and mumbled, dusting himself off. "Three on one, then."

That fight ended the same as the previous, the two guards being defeated quickly, and Zayden and I sparring until I finally got the kill.

"No recruit has ever beaten me that quickly. I'm astounded, Isabel. Especially in that type of match." I smiled.

"Well, what next?"

"Uhm…obedience training. That's it. After that, you're done."

"Alright then…"

He shook his head, trying to get back into the zone.

"So…what do we do?"

He slapped me, hard. "You do not speak to your commanding officer out of turn. Nor do you question him. Do you understand?" He got serious, quickly.

"Yes, sir." I mumbled.

"What was that, cadet? I didn't hear you. Speak up, you will speak audibly when spoken to."

"Yes, sir." I said louder.

"Good. When you see one of the kings, you will drop to your knees, and bow your head. They are your sole masters. You do not look them in the eye. You obey their every wish. If they say to walk into a pyre, you will walk, no questions asked. Disobedience will lead to the punishment you received earlier, or torture. Do you understand, cadet?"

"Yes."

"Yes, what? You will address me as sir when you speak to me!" He slapped me again, splinters of my cheek flying.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

He nodded. "You will accept any mission the kings give you, again with no questions asked. You will complete it in a timely manner, to the specifics given. Anything done wrong, and punishment will be given. Do you understand everything I have said, cadet?" He crossed his arms.

"Yes, sir, I understand everything."

He nodded. "Good. Your training is complete then. Congratulations." He shook my hand.

"Wait here while I go find Aro." His tone was different than before, indicating I didn't have to call him 'sir' anymore.

"Alright then."

As he wandered off, I finally noticed the two guards from before had left. Good. I didn't necessarily want them to see that.

Zayden came back a few minutes later. "They want to see you in the throne room, Isabel. This is it." He seemed excited for me. I wish I could be excited about this.

We stopped out in front of the doors. "Ready?" Zayden asked, as I took a deep breath. I nodded.

He opened the doors, then, walking in front of me. I followed closely behind, keeping my head bowed. Zayden veered off to the left, leaving me directly in front of Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I dropped to my knees immediately, my head still bent.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this an improvement. And in only three days, too. Yes, you're going to be quite the vampire, Isabella. Quite a force to be reckoned with." I kept quiet as he touched he back of my neck, trying to read my memories.

"Hmm. Interesting. I still can't get a reading. I think you need to look more into that, Isabella. Can't have you keeping thoughts from me, now can we?"

I shook my head. "Absolutely not, sir. I'm not doing it intentionally, sir."

"Master. You will address me, and my other two brothers as your master, as we are such. Did Zayden not go over this with you?"

Before I could answer, Zayden spoke up. "I believe I forgot to tell her what to address you as, master. I'm sincerely sorry. I was still slightly shaken that she was able to best me and two other guard members at the same time."

Aro raised his eyebrows. "Wow, that's quite a feat. Zayden here is one of my best. I'm impressed, Isabella."

"Thank you, master."

"Well, on to your initiation." He picked up a dark grey cloak from a table, the Volturi crest prominent on the shoulder. "From this moment on, you, Isabella Marie Swan, will now be a high member of the Volturi guard. You will serve the Volturi until you are released by me. You will obey all of my, and your senior officers commands, without question. You will be the bringer of justice when we are unable to be there. You now belong to me." With that, he bit the spot where my throat meets my collarbone. I felt the pain, but didn't react.

"Stand, Isabella, so I may put the cloak on you."

I stood, and he flung the cloak over my shoulders, clasping it in the front. He pulled the hood up, concealing my face.

I bowed to Aro. "You are dismissed, everything you need is in your room, clothing, shampoo, everything. You will be called when we need you. I suggest training with that mental shield of yours." With that, Zayden, and the three kings walked out of the room, into a side door.

I walked back to my room in a daze. Once inside, I took off and tossed my cloak onto my bed, and went into the bathroom.

It wasn't until I was done showering that it finally sunk in.

I'm a High member of the Volturi guard.

A/N: Yeah, I know, its really long. But I wanted to get Bellas training over with. So, what do you guys think? Jasper will be along before long, I promise! By the way, the majority of the close combat stuff was taken out of the Marine close combat manual, so, its not mine. Nor are any of the characters, except Zayden. I realize her training was exceptionally short, but I couldn't really come up with anything else to train her in…so, sorry about that. ^^;

-Blaize