Disclaimer: I own nothing.
I have recieved some comments saying that Rose is too formal but that will be partially explained in this chapter, along with a glimpse of the Rose we know and love. Enjoy.
Chapter 13
Rose POV
As soon as the plane took off I started to get the ghost headaches. I groaned as the pressure inside my head increased and black spots entered my vision. I saw the spots solidify into human forms and I knew that the ghosts were here. I tried to put up my blocks and make them leave.
"Go away!" I said loudly and the others looked at me in concern. Slowly the ghosts left and once my mental blocks were up tight, the headache was dulled.
"Rose what was that?" Alice asked.
"Ghosts." I said simply. Their eyes widened a little at the revelation. I curled into Dimitri and dozed off into darkness as Lissa and Dimitri tried to explain the ghosts to them. I woke up several hours later and stretched my sore muscles. Dimitri was beside me and had dozed off sometime after I did. He was still sleeping so I stood and went to the small kitchenette on board.
"Rose we have a problem." I heard and turned to Alice. "If the Moroi feed while we are in the air, we will smell the blood and it will cause a sort of frenzy. We hadn't fed before we left. What can we do?" She asked and I thought long and hard. We still had hours to go and the Moroi would have to feed before we reached Volterra.
"Just my luck as always." I muttered. "Alice, if I could cut off your senses while they fed, would that do the trick?" I asked and her eyes went blank for a moment and she smiled after her vision.
"Yes Rose. They would all have to feed at once for it to work so that the scent won't linger longer that a few minutes. We will hunt once we arrive." She said smiling.
"Okay, I'll take care of the Moroi. Get Jazz, Peter and Char together." She nodded and flitted to the front of the jet while I went to the rear to talk to my friends from court. Christian and Eddie were playing some game in the den with some of the others watching.
"Guys, the Moroi need to feed but you all need to feed at one time. I need to cut off the senses of the others so they won't smell the blood. Eddie, I need you to hand out the bags when I give Liss the go ahead. Liss, when you guys are done, dispose of the bags and send me the all clear." I said and they nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes." I went to the front of the jet where the others were ready. I concentrated on willing the power to me and focusing on the four people in front of me. I saw my power reach out to them and I cut off their senses of smell and vision for a moment and sent the signal to Liss in my mind. I started to smell the scent of blood and in a few minutes the scent was dissipating. After about a total of ten minutes or so, the scent was completely gone and I lifted my power as I heard Liss in my mind. I saw the relief in Alice's eyes that we had avoided the dangerous situation.
Several hours later we were touching down in Tuscany and we made the drive towards Volterra. Dimitri and I had gotten rental cars while the others remained safe on the plane until we returned with the cars. Since there were so many of us, we got two vehicles. Much to the dismay of Alice and the three other speed demons, I had Dimitri and Eddie drive for the sake of keeping the Moroi from having heart attacks. We finally arrived at the gates of the Volturi castle and parked close by. I talked to Liss on the drive telling the Moroi that we would be much safer there than in a hotel during our stay since the full moon was coming. We were met at the entrance by Demetri and Felix.
"Rose." Felix greeted and looked at the Moroi and Damphirs in the group and turned back to me. "The Masters are expecting you." He said. He turned with Demetri signaling for us to follow. We followed closely through the corridors and I could feel the fear rising in Lissa. I shot a look over to Jasper who nodded, receiving my silent message. I needed to have a clear head for this meeting. We walked through the corridors at slightly faster than human pace. Felix and Demetri stopped at a large set of dark wood doors and opened them gracefully as we filed into the room. The far end of the room consisted of three thrones situated on a dais. The walls were crisp white marble and the room carried the regal feel of a true throne room. Seated on the dais were the three Volturi kings, dressed sharply and carrying an air of authority. Aro stood immediately as we entered and I felt Liss behind me grabbing my hand tightly. I squeezed it back reassuringly. Dimitri had his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. We ceased our advance, reaching the center of the room.
"Ah, Rose. It is good to see you." Aro said a little too happily and I rolled my eyes. "Please introduce us to your friends. I know the Cullens and the Captain along with his mate, but the others are unfamiliar." He said and I snorted a laugh.
"Always eager to know it all aren't you Aro?" I asked sarcastically. He smiled at me as I began to introduce them. "Very well, this is Dimitri Belikov, Eddie Castile, both are guardians like I was." I motioned to them and Aro nodded. I started to introduce the Moroi. "This is Vasilisa Dragomir, Adrian Ivashkov, Christian Ozera, and Mia Rinaldi." I finished. He looked over the group and smiled.
"Welcome friends. For anyone who is a friend of Rose shall be a friend of ours." He said. He approached and I could feel fear rise in Lissa.
"Aro, perhaps we could take our meeting to a slightly less intimidating venue. The others are not as comfortable around your kind as I seem to be." I said. He looked thoughtful for a moment and smiled. "The Cullens and the Whitlocks need to feed also." I mentioned and Jasper sent me a grateful look.
"Of course, although I normally don't make these types of concessions." He said thoughtfully.
"Well normal isn't really something I have ever been familiar with." I said and he laughed. Caius and Marcus stood and joined their brother who stood before us. I felt Liss flinch as they approached and I turned to her. "It's alright Liss, they won't harm you." I said and I heard a snort of laughter. I turned to see Jane was the one that broke the silence.
"Problems Jane?" I asked quirking an eyebrow. Jane growled as I smiled. I was getting to her and I knew it.
"Yes, you should not be here unless as dinner." She stated. I heard the growls from those in the center of the room but I put my hand up to silence them.
"Oh, you think that you are better than us, than me. Tell me Jane, have you ever had the privledge to be on the receiving end of your gift?" I asked darkly.
"No, you idiot. Why would I use my gift on myself, even if I could?" She said and looked at me like I was the stupid one. I smiled. I used my powers to find her gift and use it for my own. I focused on her and she dropped, screaming in pain and writhing. It lasted only seconds as I lifted the gift from her and smiled as she took sharp unnecessary breaths.
"That is what others feel when you use their gifts on them. You hide behind your power and think yourself invincible, but know this Jane, harm my friends here and what you just experienced will be like a walk in the park for you. I have killed your kind, stronger, faster and better than you are Jane. So maybe you need to open your eyes before you open your mouth." I said and turned towards the center of the room again. "Sorry you guys had to see that." I said and I saw the three brothers smile widely. "Could we get this over with so that Peter, Char, Alice and Jazz can go and feed? We are kind of testing their control here." I said and Aro clapped his hands.
"Of course, follow us to the study. They may rejoin us once they have hunted." He said and we walked out of the throne room. Peter and Char went towards one of the larger cities while Alice and Jazz went to the woods to hunt. Liss clung closely to me and I tried to tap into Jazz's power and calm her. We walked silently behind the three brothers and flanked by Demetri and Felix. We arrived at the doors of a large study and the brothers entered silently as we followed. "Felix, when the others return, lead them here to join us." Aro ordered.
"Yes master." Felix replied and he and Demetri left the room closing the doors behind them.
"Please sit my friends. Rose has told me about you all so I feel as if I already know you." Aro said and looked at Lissa. "Vasilisa Dragomir," He said reverently. "Your father would have been proud of the woman and the leader you have become." Liss widened her eyes and looked to me in question. "I knew your father, my dear. He is sorely missed." Aro finished.
"Yes, well before we stroll down memory lane again, guys these are the rulers of the Volturi; Marcus, Caius and Aro." I introduced and my friends widened their eyes.
"But aren't they the ones who wanted to kill Ness?" Mia said.
"At first, yes, but that was a misunderstanding. Like the Moroi they feared the unknown and were worried that she would be like the immortal children." I stated and they looked confused. I noticed that Marcus was staring at me intently and I raised my eyebrows at him. He chuckled a little.
"Sorry Rose, your bonds are quite interesting." Marcus said. Aro looked at him in question and took his hand. Moments later he smiled widely.
"Oh no you don't you two. You aren't keeping this to yourselves while everybody else is in the dark so spill." I said slightly annoyed. Everyone else looked at me strangely bar Caius who grinned wickedly at his brothers being scolded. I sighed in frustration. "Aro can hear and see every thought one has ever had by touch. Marcus can see bonds between people and their strength." I explained. "Care to share so I don't have to do the play-by-play?" I asked and they chuckled.
"You have bonds to everyone in this room, even us to an extent. Dimitri is your soul mate of course. It is uncommon to find your soul mate but you have, as has Vasilisa. Your bond with Vasilisa is one of a sister, but stronger than I have ever seen. The rest of your friends are also bonded to you as brothers and sisters. Most often, only our kind are able to form such bonds as you have, so it is fascinating to us." Marcus explained.
"Doesn't Caius have a power?" Eddie asked.
"Caius is ungifted unfortunately." Aro mused while Caius glared.
"Caius makes up for his lacking in ruthlessness." Marcus added.
"Then maybe we are all safer since he is ungifted." I muttered while Marcus and Aro laughed. Caius scowled but it was slightly upturned in the corners. The brothers told all about how they knew of some of the royal Moroi and some of the history of the two species. They were amazed that for so long our kind had existed with theirs, but hidden from the main view of the Moroi. The others started to get tired and I could see that they were slowly drifting.
"Aro, I believe that the rest of this discussion could wait. It had been a long day for them and a long flight here. Some rest is in order for them." I said cutting Aro off. He looked a little peeved that I had cut him off but smiled widely.
"Of course, Heidi, Felix." He called and they were there immediately. "Please see our guests to their rooms and have Gianna send for some food for them. Bring it to their rooms once it arrives."
"Yes Master." They replied.
"Rose, might we speak with you privately?" Aro asked.
"Of course." I said and I felt Dimitri tighten his hold on my waist. "Go ahead Dimitri, I'll be just fine and I will be there in a minute." I said and he nodded reluctantly. They left down the hall and I turned to the brothers.
"Your friends are certainly a joy Rose. I gather from them that you were not as formal as you are now. What caused that change in you?" Aro asked and I frowned. I had noticed that I wasn't as carefree as I had been before but I didn't know the actual cause.
"Not sure exactly." I shrugged. "I guess there had been a lot more responsibility placed on my shoulders and I am trying to live up to the expectations." I said. "I can't go off fighting immortals with the same attitude as before. I mean it's still there, but a lot has happened that has made me more aware of it." I said honestly. I started to say more when I heard a deafening, frightening howl reverberated from somewhere inside Volterra. My head snapped up and I raced to the balcony of the study and scanned the area. Caius stood beside me in a second and I looked down on Volterra. I listened closely for any sounds out of the ordinary. I heard crashing sounds and a shrill scream to the south of the castle and I looked towards Caius who nodded, signaling he had also caught it too.
"I have to go. I have a job to do." I said and headed for the door before Caius stopped me momentarily.
"Felix, Alec, Jane." Caius called and the three appeared almost out of thin air. "You three are coming with me and Rose. There are children of the moon in Volterra."
"I need to go to the room and get my things." I said and we raced down the corridors. I was glad that my speed had improved with the changes in me. I made it to my room and burst through the door and headed for the case of weapons. Dimitri stopped me momentarily.
"Roza, don't go." He pleaded and it broke my heart to hear it, but this was what I had to do.
"I have to do this Dimitri. Go to Liss and guard them. I will return soon." I said and kissed him hard. He sighed and nodded reluctantly and I ran from the room towards the entrance where the others were waiting. I opened the case of weapons and strapped the gun to my thigh with the holster that dad had provided. I hung the blade on my hip and nodded to the others who smiled widely. I put the extra rounds of ammo in my pocket with two extra loaded clips and ran with them towards the area where we heard the trouble. I heard frightening howls getting closer and Caius nodded in confirmation of what I heard. I was getting pretty good at silent messages apparently I thought.
We reached the area and the sight was horrifying. There were five tall hairy looking creatures, ransacking a residence of volterra. There were several humans screaming and there were already about a dozen dead. They were dress as if they had been attending a party at the home and I cringed silently for the dead. We jumped into action and I pulled the gun with the silver bullets and drew on the nearest creature. I whistled and he turned as I fired the shot into his chest. I had estimated the heart's position correctly as he fell to the ground with a shrill whimper. The other creatures turned to the noise and snarled wildly seeing our intrusion. I shot another and drew my blade to decapitate the two fallen werewolves. Three to go.
As I started to turn, I was hit hard in the shoulder and was sent flying across the yard of the home. I rolled to a stop and managed to maintain a grip on the gun. The wolf snarled menacingly and lunged as I drew up on his heart. The wolf fell short as the silver hit its mark and I sighed in relief. I stood and noticed that my left shoulder was dislocated so I wouldn't be able to phase in this condition. I cursed and looked for the others. Caius was fighting the largest one and it had managed to get the upper hand for a second and Cauis was on the ground. The beast pawed at him, catching the top of his shoulder and recoiled for another strike when I fired, hitting the heart. Felix and the others had dispatched the final beast and I limped over to Caius. I holstered the gun and offered my hand to him. He was already starting to heal from the gash in his shoulder. The others managed unharmed thankfully.
"Felix, Jane, Alec, clean this up and make sure there was no exposure." Caius ordered and turned to me while I smiled.
"Loosing your touch Caius?" I quirked an eyebrow and he scowled but there was a smile reaching the surface. I was about to joke farther when I heard another howl and rustling coming through the woods. "Caius I need to put this shoulder back in place. I can't phase like this." I said and he nodded. He pushed it in place quickly and I screamed in pain and frustration. "Shit that hurts! They're coming, sounds like…" I listened closely, making out how many were there. "There are at least six maybe more." I said and he growled. We stood at the ready for them and I pulled my gun and checked the clip. Felix and the others stood beside us ready for the fight to come. We stilled as they cleared the woods.
There were six of them and they growled menacingly as they stepped forward. The stood there, saliva shining off their teeth and seemed to be waiting for any sudden movement. I tapped into my powers, and picked up a steel bar with my mind. I hurled it at them from their left as a distraction. It impaled one and he howled in pain but it would take much more to kill it. Then the fight got started and the others lunged at an opponent working in pairs. I fired, killing the first quickly and dodged a hit from two more. I had enough of this and phased midair. I called up the fire in my mind and burned the two that were attacking me. I lunged at the wounded one that had somehow managed to remove the steel bar from its body. I pawed at it catching the flesh on its shoulder and I heard the flesh sizzle like it was burned by silver. After several minutes of fighting this one, I managed to bite down, ripping off its head. My four companions staring in awe, I walked slowly to them. I took Felix's cloak corner in my mouth and tugged slightly.
"Felix, give her your cloak." Caius ordered and he complied. Felix wrapped the cloak around me and I crouched beneath it. I turned away and phased back. I tied the cloak around my neck and walked over to where my weapons had fallen.
"So you're naked under that cloak?" Felix asked smirking.
"Can it Felix." I said with an eye roll. "Let's wrap this up guys because while you don't need sleep, I do." They nodded and we started cleaning up again. Unfortunately there were none who survived but it would help with exposure. They were unsure where to stash the bodies of the beasts but I had an idea.
"Pile them there and I'll burn them." I said and they complied. I turned up the heat on my fire power so it burned hot and white, incinerating them in seconds and I smiled as I turned to see their awed faces. We finished the cleanup quickly and ran back to the castle. It had taken several hours to handle the wolves and we met Aro and Marcus back in the throne room. Heidi was about my size I think and I smiled at her. "Heidi, would you please get me something more appropriate to wear than my birthday suit. If I go in my room at the moment, I might not come out for a very long time and I am certain Felix would like his cloak back." I said to her and her eyes widened slightly before she nodded and left quickly.
"Phase in a hurry?" Aro asked amusedly.
"Yeah the wolves didn't allow a time-out for me to undress before phasing you know." I said seriously and they laughed. Most of the guard looked confused except for those that have seen it firsthand. Heidi returned quickly and I took the simple dress she handed me. I hated dresses but naked people can't be too picky. I put up a shield around me and made it black out around me so I was concealed as I changed into the dress. It was a little tight in the breast area but at least I was covered. It was a tube like dress with no straps so I definitely had enough to hold it up. I lowered the shield after I dressed and handed Felix back his cloak. I turned to Aro and smiled. "Could we wrap this up quickly because I would like to sleep sometime soon?" I asked and they nodded. Aro turned to Caius who looked a little dejected. He was about to say something when the doors opened and Jasper, Alice, Peter and Charlotte came in. Thankfully the Moroi and Damphirs were still in their rooms. Alice was beside me in a flash and hugged me tightly.
"Rose I was so worried about you." Alice said close to sobbing.
"Chill Alice, I am perfectly fine." I said.
"Told you Alice." Peter said in a singsong voice and I rolled my eyes.
"Okay children, the adults would like to talk now." I said seriously and I heard snickers through the room. "I believe that Caius might be losing his touch with the werewolves." I said with a snickering laugh and he growled lowly but I just smiled. Aro looked at him in confusion. I stepped forward to Aro and showed him the whole thing from my viewpoint. "Now if you don't need anything else from me, I would like to sleep since I will be guarding Lissa tomorrow during her meeting with the Moroi." I said and they nodded.
"Yes Rose. Go and get some rest. The others will fill us in if needed." Aro said smiling. I left the throne room and went to mine and Dimitri's room.