a/n: Genny910 makes everything prettier and more correct.

This update is all plot and no perversion. Sorry.

Also, I don't own it. I'm just playing "make them kiss" with my Bella Barbie and some weird Blue Meanie doll or something.

"Power expands through the distribution of secrecy."

- John le Carré

Oddly, the first thing I noticed was that my surroundings smelled different. As a human, the Volturi castle had seemed musty. Now I could break the smell into so many composite parts that it became intriguing. I could smell books and wood, the breeze coming in the window carrying dust and hay and apples, a sweet smell that reminded me a little of the Cullens' home, and something else, spicy and dark.

I opened my eyes. It was daytime, and the room I was in was well lit. Looking around, I was distracted by motes of dust in the air. The sound of the curtains flapping gently at the open window was practically deafening. Then I was able to adjust, refocus, and take in my surroundings.

I was in a different room; this one was just as old but decorated less theatrically than the one with the bed. The curtains and bedspread were white and gray, there were bookshelves and old furniture made of iron and wood.

Not only had I been moved, my clothes had been changed. I was wearing a navy dress. It fell all the way to my feet, which had been covered with a pair of flat leather sandals. It took a minute for this fact to sink in. I had been changed.

I jumped up quickly, taking in the empty room. My clothes had been changed. I had been changed. The last thing I remembered was…Aro killing me after we…

My hand went to my chest. Nothing. No heartbeat, no breath. I had been changed. I looked down at my arms. They were long and white and perfect. I had been changed. I had sex with Aro, and he changed me. I sat back down, stunned.

The door creaked open. I thought it was him, and I froze.

A small, dark-haired woman I had never seen before came in. She moved slowly, timidly. She closed the door and held both hands open as she approached me.

"Hello, Isabella." Her voice was quiet and sounded a little nervous. "My name is Renata. Aro sent me to help you adjust to your change."

I nodded at her, not trusting my voice. In truth, I felt disappointed not to see him. And angry. He had tried to kill me.

"The first thing to remember is that you need to stay within these walls with us. It's not safe for you to be out among humans as a newborn."

I almost winced to think of how many times I had thought about this process…before. Assuming that I would be going through it with the support of the Cullens instead of this stranger.

"Do you understand?" She was only a few feet from me now and I still hadn't spoken. I had no choice. This was my life now.

"I understand. Thank you, Renata."

The first thing Renata did was teach me how to feed. She took me down several levels until we stopped at a wooden door. I noticed very few residents of the castle as we walked, and those we did see seemed to be making an effort to avoid looking at us.

"Aro said that you would be uncomfortable with our diet but that this would be a good compromise." She put her hand on the door and spoke carefully to me, watching my face for comprehension.

"There is a man in here. He's a criminal, a very bad man. He was convicted of many counts of assault against children." Renata looked at me earnestly. "He is a man that you should not feel guilty about killing."

She opened the door and showed me the room. It was empty except where a human man was shackled to the floor. He rose when he saw us and began yelling at us in Italian.

I didn't have a choice. No matter how I felt about killing humans I was too hungry, and his blood smelled too good to resist.

Within seconds I was on top of him, my teeth tearing open his neck, desperately sucking at the warm blood that spurted from his arteries. By the time I finished, I was covered in his blood, and I had let a great deal spill on the floor. I froze and looked Renata in the eye. She smiled at me warmly.

"You did well. We should go get you cleaned up, though." I laughed and went with her. I prodded myself for feelings of guilt and, while they were there, so was the feeling of disconnection I had with all of this. There was something unreal about it all still.

The room I had been moved to boasted a beautiful bathtub and vanity instead of the toilet I had no use for. I cleaned up and put on another dress Renata had selected for me.

I looked at her skirt and blouse. "Does everyone here always dress up? I've never even seen anyone wear jeans."

Renata looked down at her clothes and smoothed out her skirt. "Things are different in here than they are outside, Isabella. We still live in the past in many ways." She stood up and approached me. She reached out her hand to touch my hair, pausing to get my permission first. She pushed my hair into a loose knot. I found myself enjoying the attention. Renata was very comforting to be around, very gentle. Not at all the way I had perceived the rest of the vampires here.

But then it occurred to me that I didn't really know anything about the rest of them. The time I had been here before had been frightening and stressful. Edward and I had broken the rules, and he had impressed on me how dangerous and alien the Volturi were. But then I had come to question many of the things Edward had taught me. I hoped that my assumptions about this place and these people were wrong.

"We dress formally because that is the way many of us were taught to show respect for authority. We are among royalty here, and it is an honor to serve. But the way we dress and speak to each other serves another purpose. When you present yourself at your best, you show respect for each other. We have lived together for many centuries, and the formality with which we interact helps us to maintain the peace."

It was what Aro had told me about his civility, his exquisite manners. It made sense, in a way.

Renata taught me more, gently and with that shy formality. She told me that English was rarely spoken and that Aro had instructed her to teach me Italian. I had always been a good student, but I had always had to work hard. Now it came easily to me. I remembered everything and didn't struggle with unfamiliar pronunciation.

She told me that when I felt more at home and settled that Aro would likely bring someone in to develop my power, such as it was.

"Aro assumes that you are a type of shield, like me."

I was surprised. "If you are a shield, why would Aro want me?"

Renata shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Isabella. I wasn't clear. I am a physical shield only. I can protect from attacks by weapons or bodies. Aro can read my mind as well as anyone's. You are probably a mental shield."

I had trouble figuring out the use a shield like mine could present, with the exception of silence for tired mind-readers. It reminded me that my survival here, or the quality of my life here, was dependent on how useful I was, whether as a member of the guard or a plaything. I thought of how strange my life had become that these were the problems that confronted me instead of college plans or getting a job.

Renata only left me for an hour or two at a time. The second day she brought me a tiny velvet box.

"From Master Aro." She offered me the box, and I was embarrassed by how quickly I took it from her hands.

Inside was a pair of antique ruby earrings.

"He said they would match your beautiful eyes." Renata smiled. She seemed a little embarrassed to be delivering the message.

It was the third day before I asked her if Aro was planning to visit me himself.

"The masters rarely interact with newborns." She looked away as she said it.

"How often do you have newborns?" I raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head and smiled.

"Master Aro has been eager to see my thoughts after I've visited with you, if you think he's…indifferent."

My questioning seemed to make her feel uncomfortable, so I dropped it. A week went by and I still had seen only Renata and my occasional human victims. New gifts arrived every few days. A book, in Italian, about the history of Volterra. A gold necklace, obviously very expensive and old, but not really my taste. A framed Japanese woodblock print of a forest near the ocean.

I wondered if this last gift was intended to make me sad or homesick. Perhaps it should have, but it didn't.

After a week had passed Renata brought me another book. It was in French, which I had taken in school, but I doubted I could read it.

"You'll have to tell Master Aro that his faith in my high school French teacher is misguided."

Renata's face was serious when she responded. "The book isn't from Master Aro. It's from Master Marcus." She seemed as perplexed as I was.

Marcus had barely responded when Edward had almost died at Felix's hands a year ago. He certainly had taken no interest in me either time I'd been in the same room. From what Edward had said, he had become almost comatose when his mate died.

"Master Marcus is to work with you on your French," Renata said carefully. "I will take you to his study two hours a day. We should go now."

"I don't understand," I said. "Why would he want to do that? I thought he didn't…get involved."

She nodded. "I have not known him to take an interest in anything in a very long time. But Master Aro insisted that we were expected today."

I checked my appearance quickly. I had grown accustomed to going barefoot and staying somewhat unkempt as long as it was just Renata and me in my room. I put on shoes and brushed my hair, tidying it into a bun.

Renata nodded her approval and we left my room. She took me to an amazing library one floor up from my room.

Marcus was seated at a long table. There were books and papers on the table, but he was gazing into space as we entered.

He was taller than Aro, maybe Edward's height, but thin, and he had an air of sadness mixed with boredom. He wore a long black robe with rich embroidery on the front.

"Isabella." Even his voice sounded old and bored. He didn't get up, just gestured to a seat across from him at the table. I sat down, placing the book he had given me between us. He glanced at it but gave no visible response.

He immediately began speaking to me in French, just conversational phrases, the stuff a tourist would need. It took me a few minutes to get comfortable, but eventually I was able to keep up.

After about an hour of banal conversation, he commented in English. "Your accent needs work, but you can converse on a primitive level. You need to work on your vocabulary." He pushed the book toward me. "How much do you know about French history?"

I answered cautiously, embarrassed about my lack of education. "A little. The Revolution, Napoleon, that kind of thing." He nodded, again without visible response.

"We shall do the best we can to compensate for your missing out on an American university education." His mouth seemed to twist into a hint of a smile when he said this. He gestured toward the book again.

"Diane de Poitiers was the mistress of Henri II. She was incredibly influential and for many years was considered to be the most powerful woman in France. She held more influence than Henri's wife, no mean feat, considering Catherine was a Medici." Again, he smiled wryly, holding eye contact with me for the first time. I stared back, not knowing how to respond to this.

"Read," he said, bringing an end to our stand-off.

It took several days for me to feel comfortable enough with Marcus to ask him why he was teaching me.

"You need to speak something other than English. Ghastly language."

"No, I mean, why are you teaching me? From what I've heard, you haven't taken any interest in anything since…" I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Since my wife died?" He finished the sentence for me.

I nodded.

He regarded me carefully. I had waited until our lesson was over and I was on my way out to ask him. He turned in his chair to face me.

"When I saw you a year ago, Bella Swan," he drew my name out carefully, "You had such strong bonds with the Cullens. Remarkable, really, given the circumstances. I remember commenting to my brothers about it." He seemed lost in the memory for a moment.

"And now?" I asked.

"Now you have almost no connections. You like Renata and appreciate her company. You are intrigued by my brother. But those powerful bonds that caused you to offer your life in your love's place? Gone. It's interesting." He drew out the last word.

"Do you—"

"Go now, Isabella. Renata awaits, and you'll make her nervous interrogating me like this." Marcus gave me his almost-smile at this, so I nodded and left.

My lessons continued, Renata teaching me Italian and everything else I needed to know to live here, Marcus teaching me French and quite a bit of history.

"Why do I have to learn Italian and French?" I asked Renata one day.

"Always questioning, Isabella." She shook her head at me and made a clucking noise. "You're lucky you have such good friends."

"Do I?" I asked, exasperated. "I only ever see you and Marcus."

"We speak mostly Italian in the Guard. The masters speak French to each other, mostly." She left me to consider why I would need to speak French, but I had no doubt it had something to do with why Marcus was teaching me about mistresses of important men. Although, if Aro thought I had the skill or intelligence to be that influential, I couldn't imagine why. I hadn't even been in Forks long enough to graduate from high school. He wasn't even attached enough to me to visit me after my change. I chafed at the bit. I needed to know what was expected of me here, and Renata wouldn't give me any answers.

What she did give me after almost a month was an iPod.

"Really?" I asked her, turning it over in my hands. It was the first piece of post-1945 technology I had seen in a month.

"It is a gift from Master Caius," she said. This time she couldn't hide her amusement. "He would like you to help him with a technological issue." The word came out of her mouth awkwardly.

"Let's go," I said, pulling on my shoes.

Caius was wearing the same type of robe Marcus wore. He was leaning over a computer. When he saw me he waved me over to where he was.

"Isabella," he pointed to the chair next to him. "I want you to show me how this works." He produced an iPad and set it down in front of me. "No one in this place can so much as turn on a television."

I pressed the "on" button and the iPad powered up. But when I tried to slide my finger across the touch screen, nothing happened. I tried again, then I realized what was happening.

"I don't think we can use a touch screen," I said to Caius. "You probably need to get a stylus."

"Where do I get one? Show me." I asked if I could use his computer, and I looked up what he needed on the Apple website.

"Order one of these, and I'll show you how to use it." He nodded and then gestured to the computer.

"You're pretty good with one of these?" His voice was terse, but he wasn't being threatening or disdainful.

"I know my way around a computer. I'm not a hacker or anything."

He nodded at me, thoughtfully. "I think that your knowledge will be helpful. My brothers think I'm paranoid, but I think if we don't understand the technologies in the modern world we run the risk of being exposed by them."

"I…agree with you. I could see vampires being detected in ways that haven't been a danger to you. Cameras, infra-red." I nodded at him.

"You can go, Isabella." Caius made a waving gesture at me. I followed his direction, but then as I got to the door he spoke to me again.

"You will make a good addition here, Isabella."

I didn't know how to respond, so I mumbled "Thank you," and went out the door to an anxiously waiting Renata.

Later that day, bolstered by my success with Caius, I tried Marcus again.

"Why does Aro stay away from me?" I asked him. I had just read and translated for him an especially difficult passage from Diane de Poitiers' history, and he looked momentarily pleased with me.

"My brother is proving something to himself," Marcus responded. I looked at him skeptically. Marcus gave me his twisted mouth look.

"Unlike your previous young swain, Aro doesn't have a self-destructive bone in his body. So he is trying to prove that he isn't drawn to the most dangerous thing in the world for him."

"Someone whose mind he can't read." I finished his thought.

He nodded at me.

"But he is," I clarified.

"Unquestionably," Marcus answered. "May we proceed with the lesson?"

I finished the lesson and went back to my room. I changed into a nicer dress and put on the ruby earrings, pulling my hair back to expose them.

I turned to Renata. "Where is Aro right now?" I asked her.

"He will be in his study preparing for dinner," she answered me. "But you can't…"

"Renata, I will make sure he knows that it was my idea," I assured her. "Don't make me lock you up in the closet." She smiled at me nervously.

"Are you sure—"

I waved a hand at her as I left the room. I knew exactly where his study was, because I had been paying attention. I ran there, Renata trailing me.

I pushed my way into his study without knocking. He stood talking to a male vampire, gesturing to something on the desk in front of him. Both of them looked up at me.

"Isabella." I experienced what felt like a shiver at the sound of his voice saying my name. No one could say it the way he did.

Aro leaned back on his heels slightly and took me in, shaking his head in admiration.

Then he gestured the male vampire away.

"Isabella," he breathed. "The reality of you is so much better than I imagined." He held his hands clasped together at his chest and then extended a hand toward me, as if tempted to touch me.

"Aro," I pulled myself up to my full height and addressed him sternly. "You've been terribly rude."

a/n: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. My beta pointed out to me that there was no way I was looking at 4 chapters for this. Unless I really lose control I think it'll be a total of 6 chapters.

Thanks!

Xoxo

JuJu