The first day of school, approximately 2 months later. Bella's POV

Classes are officially finally starting. Those two months of vacation were amazing. I had a lot of fun with Zoey and Tori. Also, we had most of our classes together which was a big plus.

I entered my first class, English, alone. I sat down and the teacher called roll. Then he had us introduce ourselves. He pointed to me first.

"Ciao. I'm Isabella Marie Swan but I go by Bella. I'm 15 and my birthday is September 13th. I'm from the United States and my favorite color is black." After I sat down, the rest of the class went. Most of them shared more about themselves than I did. The last four people stood out to me. They were all extremely attractive and practically oozed confidence and power. The teacher even announced them.

"The last four students are called 'The Royal Four.' See them about any social activities, sports, classes or anything else concerning life here at Leonardo da Vinci because they are all in the student office. Get to know them." I saw one of the two guys of the Royal Four smile smugly.

The first of the two girls stood gracefully. "Well, I guess I'll start." She was gorgeous. Slender and tall, she had long curly hair that was thick and dark brown. Her skin was the color of coffee and milk and she had a glittering red nose piercing in her small, slender nose. Her clothes were simple but stylish.

"Ciao," she said. "Most of you already know me, but for those of you who don't, my name is Hannah Elena. I'm 15 and my birthday is May 8th. My favorite color is red. I am the school secretary and also the captains of the volleyball, soccer, and basketball teams. Try-outs for volleyball are next week so if you are interested, feel free to come see me after class. On behalf of all of us, I welcome all newcomers to Leonardo da Vinci Academy." She gave a small smile and sat down.

The other girl stood up next. She was short and curvy. Her long hair was jet black with gold highlights and she had a brown skin tone with red undertones. It reminded me of the skin of the Native American tribes' people near Forks. She was very pretty.

She began to speak in a lazy, slow accented voice. "Ciao, everyone. You should know me, but if you don't, my name is Chala Knechele and I'm 14. My birthday is March 4th. My favorite color is gold and I love to shop. I'm vice president so if any of ya'll have suggestions to better the school, please don't hesitate to approach me or any other members in office. I'm also the head cheerleader, head gymnast, head dancer of the dance team and captain of the girl's swim team. Try-outs are next week and you can check the bulletin board in the main hall for more info. Welcome to LDV." She smiled cheerfully as she sat down.

The guy sitting behind Chala smiled proudly in her direction and stood up. His teeth were dazzling white and his canines were surprisingly pointy. His eyes were a murky color, a combination of gold and brown. He had short black hair that was a striking pop of color against his clear pale skin tone.

"Hey," he said in an invitingly clear tenor. "I'm Alec Volturi and school president here at the wonderful LDV. I'm 16 and the day I decided to grace all of you with my birth was August 21st." Some students laughed at this while the girls of The Royal Four rolled their eyes with a groan. I couldn't help but crack a smile. "My favorite color is gold." He said, looking at Chala meaningfully. She smiled shyly. Hannah and the other guy in The Royal Four snickered and Chala shot them a death glare. This only made them snicker even harder. Chala tossed her head indignantly as Alec continued speaking. "I'm captain of the soccer team, boy's track, and quarterback of the football team. Try-outs are next week. Check out the bulletin board in the main hall for dates. Also, like our beautiful VP told you," Chala blushed at his words, "Don't hesitate to tell Hannah, Felix, Chala, or myself your opinion on anything school related. That's what we are here for. Welcome to our school."

The last Royal Four member stood as Alec sat down. He was very muscular and pale with shaggy brown hair. His eyes were a murky violet color. I briefly wondered why he and Alec had such strange eyes.

"Buongiorno. I'm Felix Volturi, your school treasurer. I'm 17 and my birthday is January 31st. My favorite color is red." He said with a sly smile cast in Hannah's direction. She blushed hotly and ducked her head. "I'm the captain of Boy's Swimming, Boy's Basketball, and baseball. Conditioning for basketball starts next week. Welcome to Volterra, Italy and LDV."

"And there you have it, The Royal 4." The teacher announced. "You have an open class period today. Five minutes before class is over you can all go to the table I have set up in the back to grab a student handbook and a LDV Athletics packet. It is also a good time to say hello to our student council members and ask them any questions you may have. You can also come to me with any concerns as well." He sat and everyone immediately began engaging in conversation with those around them. I seemed to be one of the only students with no one to talk to so I began eavesdropping on the conversation the Royal Four were having. Luckily they were only a few desks over. I pretended to doodle in my notebook as I listened.

The conversation went something like this:

Alec (A): How can you talk about me? Everything Hannah asked for, you give her.

Felix (F): Yeah, but at least I'm not whipped. (Chuckle)

A: What? Alec Volturi is not whipped. Speak for yourself.

F: Dude, yes you are. I only give Hannah what she wants sometimes. You can never say no to Chala. All she has to do is flash those big hazel puppy dog eyes and out and half of the time she doesn't even have to do that. She's got you wrapped around her little finger and she knows it, you know it, Hannahknows it, I know it, man, everyone knows it. You are whipped. Stop trying to deny it.

A: (Rolls eyes) Whatever man. You give Chala what she wants just as much as I do.

F: I'm her big brother therefore I can do that. As her boyfriend, you're supposed to have some backbone. Chala is the baby of the family, so of course it's hard to say no to her. You should at least be man enough to say no sometimes and make sure she's not completely spoiled rotten. She's already pretty darn close.

Alec rolled his eyes and slumped into his seat. Felix laughed.

Two guys approached them and started talking sports so I switched over to the girl's conversation.

Chala (C): Girl, I can't wait for this year's World Competition.

Hannah(H): I know, me either. I'm really ready to show those Spartans at Forks High School whose boss.

I gasped. Forks High School? Spartans? What a freaky coincidence. I thought.

C: Yeah, I heard they've been talking a lot of junk. Last year we swept them under the rug so I don't know why they think they're going to win.

H: (laughs) I know right. Gotta give it to them, they've got spirit. But Rosalie Hale and Alice Cullen? They get on my nerves so bad. And Edward Cullen and Jasper Hale better be glad Felix and Alec didn't crush them last year after all that crap talking they did.

C: I liked that one guy on their team though… what was his name? He was the tall one with the dimples and crooked smile… Emmett I think.

H: Oh yeah, Emmett Swan.

I jumped in my seat. Chala had a crush on my brother. This was getting more and more bizarre.

Chala turned her head and looked directly at me. My eyes widened and I ducked my head. "Hannah, creo que esa chica de ahi es escuchando nuestra conversación. Deja de hablar." (Hannah, I think that girl over there is listening to our conversation. Stop talking.)

I didn't know Spanish so I didn't understand. They didn't continue talking so I went back to doodling in my notebook in earnest. The teacher clapped his hands a few minutes later and pulled me out of my boredom induced trance. The Royal Four were at the front of the classroom sitting behind several desks that had been pushed together.

Hannah said, "May I please call this meeting to order." She waited until everyone in the class was quiet. Everyone had their eyes on the Royal Four. Gosh, these kids really take their student government seriously. We didn't have anything like this back home. The Royal Four must be really important. I wonder why they're called Royalty. I mused.

"Roll call. Mr. Treasurer?"

Felix stood. "Present."

"Miss Vice President?"

Chala stood. "Present."

"Mr. President?"

"Present. You may be seated, Officers." They all sat including Hannah.

"We have called this meeting to order to inform the first period English class about try-outs. This will be done by Miss. VP." He sat down and I noticed that Hannah was taking notes. Chala opened her folder, very business-like, and stood up.

"You must sign up for try-outs. You can't just show up." She proceeded to announce the dates, times, and locations of the various fall sports try-outs. "Please do not be late. We will have an assembly/pep rally in the auditorium to announce team members. All afternoon classes will be canceled." The class cheered.

The teacher's phone buzzed and he appointed Alec to watch the class before walking out. "Any questions on the information you just received? No? Then please line up single file in front of the team captain for the sport you wish to participate in. All those who are not interested, please stay seated and quiet."

One guy with a military buzz raised his hand. I remembered he had introduced himself as Mario. "Yes?" Alec asked.

"Why did you call all of them sports? All of them are not sports." Mario grinned smugly.

"What do you mean? All the activities we have mentioned are sports." Alec said.

"Cheer-leading, Gymnastics, and Dance are not sports and everyone knows that." Mario said mockingly.

Bang!

We looked to the front of the classroom where Chala was standing up tapping her foot very fast with her arms crossed. She walked around to the front of the table. "Uh oh." Felix muttered as he began clearing a space in the middle of the classroom. He then instructed everyone to help so that there would be a large space in the middle of the classroom. Everyone obeyed with curiosity evident on their faces, including me.

Chala was looking up at the ceiling with a thoughtful and a determined look on her face. "Yeah, it's high enough." She muttered to Alec. He nodded and grinned, mischief in his eyes. "So, you say cheer-leading isnt a sport?" she demanded, looking at the guy that had said otherwise right in his eyes.

"No, it's not." He shrugged.

"Yes, it is." She replied through gritted teeth.

"Dude, all you cheerleaders do is wave your silly pom-poms and yell out silly cheers with a fake smile on your face."

Alec laughed and said, "You've done it now, man."

"If cheer-leading and gymnastics is a sport, prove it." Mario said, smiling smugly.

Chala grinned deviously. "That is exactly what I plan to do. Come on boys. Places."

Alec stood behind her and put his hands on her waist. Felix stood beside Alec. She started to bounce and then performed a flip in the air, landing on Alec's hand and lifting her leg in a heel stretch. The whole class was watching with rapt attention. Mario still looked dubious. Alec put her down and she backed away, putting about 4 yards between herself and Alec. She jogged up, proceeding to do a round-off followed by a handspring and a cartwheel. She landed in a handstand before Alec grabbed her waist and threw her high in the air. The class took a collective gasp, including Mario. She landed on his hand and finished with a simple Liberty. We all applauded. Wow. Chala sure knows how to put on a show. I thought to myself.

But she wasn't done yet.

She jogged forward a little and then did a round off, back flip, cartwheel, front walkover and a back handspring, all in sequence. She landed right in front of Mario. She cocked an eyebrow in superiority.

"Now, what is that you said about Cheer-leading and Gymnastics not being a sport? We can break bones just like you jocks. Don't ever doubt cheerleaders." Everyone but Alec, Felix, and Hannah were still awestruck. We were still speechless when Felix instructed us to put everything back in place before the teacher returned. Again I was surprised that people actually listened without question to a fellow student. There had been cliques and popular kids back in my old school but they had nowhere near as much power as the Royal Four seemed to have.

The teacher walked back in as we were still straightening up and we all looked at Chala who was trying to look innocent. But the teacher just laughed and said, "It seems like you're still up to no good, Miss Fletcher." Chala smiled back sweetly and sat down. Finally, it was time for try-out sign ups. I signed up for Competition and Varsity Squad and also Volleyball. I felt so happy inside knowing that I was going to be a part of something cool. Maybe I would even be popular here. Forks High School and my days of being bullied and unaccepted seemed very far away at that moment.

The bell rang to signal class change and I went to my next period where both Zoey and Tori were already seated. I told them in hushed tones about what Chala Fletcher did in first period and they were shocked. They wanted to actually see her perform themselves and decided to try-out for the same sports I did. Zoey also decided to try-out for basketball.

When the final bell rang I realized it was a Friday and the weekend was here again. My first day of school had been interesting, to say the least.

Chala's POV

I was up early on Saturday morning. I woke up thinking about what a great first day I had yesterday. It feels good to be on top. I thought to myself with a smile. I hopped out of bed and saw that my roommate and adopted cousin Hannah had already laid out an outfit for me. She knows my style so well. I thought fondly. She had picked out a yellow top, blue jean shorts, yellow converses, white shades, and showy yellow jewelry. I got dressed thinking about how great it was to be part of the Royal 4. The Royal 4 consists of Hannah, Alec, Felix, and me. Felix is Hannah's boyfriend and Alec is mine. Technically we're all adoptive cousins and that may sound a bit weird but I'll explain that in greater detail later. We are all in student council and we're also all team captains of basically every sport our school offers. Haters assume that we get those positions every year because we're popular and have powerful family but the simple truth is that while that may be an influence, we are all very academically gifted and athletically superior as well. Hannah is my best friend and Felix and Alec are brothers so we all get along great.

I was snapped out of my reflections when Hannah walked in, already fully dressed and ready for the day. She's hot. It's great to have such attractive family. I smiled internally. Hannah is slender and tall. She is mixed with African-American, White and Native American. A lot right? Her skin is a very light brown, more like golden beige and she has long curly hair that reaches her waist. She has her nose pierced and her earlobes pierced once as well. Her eyes are a startling gray that appears blue in some lights and slate gray in others. Today she is wearing an outfit very similar to mine except in red instead of yellow.

I am thicker and curvier than Hannah. I'm African-American, Native American, and Hispanic. I have a reddish-brown skin tone and hazel eyes. My hair is long and dark with artificial gold streaks while Hannah has red.

I sent the boys a quick text to let them know what we're wearing because we like to coordinate. They agreed and let me know they'd be at our dorm soon. We were putting the finishing touches on our makeup and hair when the boys knocked at the door. Hannah got the door and a moment later, Alec came into the bathroom and tried to kiss me on the lips. "Stop it! You'll mess up my makeup, you idiot!" I fussed making him chuckle. I heard Felix's deep and rumbling laugh and Hannah's returning giggle.

I had just finished curling my hair when Felix came in and said, "Why do you spend so much time on your hair when you're just going to end up messing it up as soon as you sit down?"

I rolled my eyes and said nothing. He was right. My hair was very long so when I sat down, I sat right on the ends. Hannah had tried to get me to get a trim but she should know black girls don't part with length easily. "It took me forever to grow my hair this length Idiot." Hannah and I muttered in unison.

"I heard that." Alec snapped.

"Damned vampire hearing." I muttered.

"We heard that." Felix and Alec said as one.

Alec and Felix are vampires. They are members of the biggest vampire coven in the world, the Volturi. There are three leaders, basically the royalty of the vampire world. Their names are Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They all agreed that they would find a human female to raise as a daughter. It was part of a plot to divert suspicion from humans but they came to love Hannah and I. Caius adopted me and Marcus adopted Hannah. Aro had yet to find his daughter.

Caius found me walking the streets of Volterra, Italy. His eyes were a startling gold color and when he approached me I was nervous and scared. He is very pale and beautifully and had the aura of a predator. I said, "Who are you?" and he proceeded to explain that he was a vampire in the most powerful coven in the world but I didn't need to be afraid of him because him and his family only drank the blood of animals. He asked me if I wanted to come live with him and his family as his daughter and one day become a vampire and of course I said no.

But that wasn't the right answer.

He basically threatened me and told me that now that I knew his secret he could not allow me to live unless I complied with his request. This scared the hell out of me and saddened me deeply but he told me that I did not have to become a vampire until I was ready but I did have to come live with him as his royal daughter and swear to keep his secret. I finally relented and he took me to a magnificent and ancient castle where I met my new family. His brothers, my new uncles, were very kind. Marcus had already adopted a daughter and that's how I met Hannah. She was technically my adoptive cousin but quickly became like a sister to me. She was 15 and I was 14. She told me that Marcus had also told her she didn't have to make the change until she was ready. She told me that she liked the vampire life and had decided to make the change after completing high school. She had run away from home and my mom had kicked me out so the Volturi were our only family now. They were very kind and welcoming from the start.

I immediately fell for Alec. He was Marcus's son and Hannah's adoptive brother. He was very cute and funny. Caius forbid us to begin a relationship. He was very protective of me early on and said it was unnatural since we were technically family now. But since Hannah and Felix were together and Marcus approved, Caius eventually had to relent.

I had always been rebellious and that didn't change but now that I was the baby of the family I was under constant scrutiny for my actions and always being punished. Felix was like my partner in crime from the start and took me to get my tongue and belly pierced much to Caius's disapproval. I got a tattoo on my leg that said "La Princesa" which translated to "The Princess" in Italian. I also got a tattoo of my name with a tiara over it and music notes around it and this was on my right shoulder. I got in trouble for that, too. It symbolizes my love of music. I love singing, dancing, writing songs, and playing instruments. I could play drums, guitar, and piano.

I do get in trouble a lot. I've wrecked cars and pulled a few pranks. Hannah doesn't get into nearly as much trouble as me but she did when our adoptive big brother Demetri took her to get her nose pierced. Oh boy, that was funny. Uncle Marcus was worse than Daddy and almost ripped Demetri's arm off. (Literally)

Hannah's POV

I was feeling good today. It was a Saturday and the sun was shining, plus I was sitting in a car driven by the best vampire boyfriend ever, Felix Volturi. My adoptive brother Alec was in the back with my adoptive cousin, Chala. As they all chattered I reflected on the day before. The first day of school had been great. Chala had showed off in class to my amusement. Chala was quite a character. I'm more quiet and intellectual than her so her personality is very entertaining to me but I love her. We were on our way to the mall and I couldn't wait to see how many bags she would fill and make Alec carry. I laughed softly to myself.

I love my life here in Italy with the most powerful vampire coven in the world. At first I was skeptical and afraid when Marcus had approached me and made me an offer I couldn't refuse (literally) but now that I had settled in, life was sweet. It was much better than the life I had ran away from in South Carolina, U.S.A. I would explain but I don't like to talk about it.

After graduation I'll be a vampire. I thought, shuddering a bit. Sometimes I resented Marcus and his family for taking my chance at a human life away, but they loved me and treated me like a princess. I literally was a princess now and of course that had its perks.

I couldn't wait to see what life at Leonardo da Vinci Academy had in store for me and the rest of the Royal Four this year.

We went outside where the boy's Range Rover was waiting. Felix hopped in the driver's seat and Hannah the passenger, so Alec and I got the back. "So, what do you guys think about school this year?" Hannah asked.

"There are a lot of new students" Alec said mischievously...