A/N:I own nothing.
Chapter 4:
Teagan shook me awake.
"Bella! Bella, please wake up!!" My eyes fluttered open and saw Teagan's frightened face. I shot up and embraced her. We stayed like that for a few minutes until a cold voice broke through the silence.
"Ah, it's like a family reunion. Don't you think so, Demetri?" I remembered this voice. Felix. That was the man's name.
"Now, Felix, what have I told you about playing with your food?" Demetri stepped out of the shadows. I tensed. Felix chuckled.
"I think the little mouse is afraid of you now." Felix stepped out of the darkness. I backed up with Teagan in my arms. I hit the wall. Or what I thought was the wall. There was another one. This one looked more intimidating than the other two. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Felix and Demetri bow their heads.
"Who are you people? What do you want with us?" Teagan asked. She sounded so hurt and petty. The big one in front of us smiled warmly. I wanted to smack him.
"Now little one, we aren't going to hurt you. We simply want to see something. Eleazar, come forth." There was a fourth?! The big one sensed my alarm. His voice rang out.
"How stupid of me. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Aro." His voice sounded too sweet, like there was a hint of a scheme in his voice. He gave us a look asking for our names.
"I'm Is-Isabella." I stammered. I nudged Teagan.
"Teagan." She mumbled. Aro smiled sweetly.
"Such pretty names. And I'm guessing by your accents that you're from England, are you not?"
"I'm from Ireland, but I moved to England." I informed him. He nodded.
"Now, Eleazar. Do you see anything?" Eleazar stepped forward and concentrated on Teagan. He turned to Aro.
"Fire." His voice was deep, yet it sounded like bells. Eleazar then stepped in front of me. He stepped back amazed.
"What is it?" Aro sounded excited.
"I've never seen one in my existence. A shield."
"Wonderful!" Aro clapped his hands together.
"As well as a weapon." Eleazar finished. Aro look astounded.
"This is amazing. Take Isabella-"
"Bella. Just Bella." I cut him off.
"Very well. Take Bella and Teagan to the Hall. Marcus and Caius need to be informed. Then we will make our decision." Aro's tone gave me the chills. Felix and Demetri bowed their heads and took our arms. They led us down a damp corridor. The hall was lined with small stone pillars. Gargoyles were situated on top of them. We stopped in front of a large wooden door. Felix stepped forward and knocked firmly twice. The doors creaked open to reveal a large room with three chairs straight ahead. Sitting in these chairs were Aro and two other men who looked like the rest. What were they? They all had red eyes, very pale and hard skin, and they all had purple shadows under their eyes. Aro read over my face with a puzzled look, like he was trying to read my mind. He floated to me and touched my arm.
"My dear girl, I thought you would have guessed what we are by now." He chuckled.
"I guess our little mouse isn't as smart as we thought, Felix." Demetri chortled. Felix smirked.
"Dear silly girls, we are vampires." Aro spoke so nonchalantly it scared me. I froze where I stood. Vampires?! Teagan almost fell to the ground. The vampire to Aro's left stood and floated to us. I grabbed Teagan and peddled backward.
"Marcus, I think you are scaring the little mouse and her kitten friend." This voice came from the vampire on Aro's right.
"I just want a closer look, Caius, my brother." Marcus stated. His voice was softer than the others, but still firm. It sounded more comforting than the others. Marcus leaned in toward Teagan.
"Her scent is puzzling to me. I sense something impure about her." Marcus's brow furrowed. A single tear fell down her cheek.
"I'm sorry if it bothers you, sir. Something happened to me. I can only guess that is what you smell. Although, I don't know how you could possibly smell that." Teagan's voice was filled with hurt and shame. I hugged her.
"I see," Marcus said, "and what was it that happened to you, dear child?" Teagan started to sob into my shoulder. I gave Marcus a pleading look.
"Please, sir, she was in shock afterward. I don't want her to go through that again." I pleaded.
"Very well. You tell me." His voice was commanding yet strangely understanding.
"She was raped." I tried to get my voice as low as possible. He nodded and leaned his nose in my direction.
"You have a similar scent. It is not as prominent."
"That is because the same happened to me." I tried to stay calm and strong. I could tell that he knew I was trying not to break down. Marcus floated back to Caius and Aro. They spoke with each other for a very brief moment. Then Aro nodded to Felix who came out from the right. Aro's voice was so low and quick I didn't catch anything. Caius nodded to another vampire who came out from the left. Felix stopped and turned toward the other vampire.
"Afton! They finally called you back from war, eh?" Felix chuckled. Afton smirked and looked back toward Teagan. They resumed their walk toward us. Felix stopped in front of me. He lowered his head down to mine.
"Trust me. You'll like being one of us." His cold breath sent shivers down my spine. His nose grazed along my neck and shoulder. I shut my eyes and prayed for him to see mercy. His icy tongue ran along a spot where my neck meets my shoulder.
"Welcome to the family," he said. His sharp teeth pierced my skin. I heard a high-pitched screech and realized that it was me. I grabbed his upper arm in an attempt to make him stop. I continued to scream and then just shut my mouth. The screeching continued. Teagan had been screaming as well when Afton bit her in the same spot. When Felix finally let go, I stammered back and fell to the floor. I started to spasm. My body was on fire. I rolled around trying to put it out. I opened my eyes and saw that there weren't any flames. I turned my head and saw Teagan on the floor. She fainted from the pain. I felt my eyes start to give. I tried to fight off the fuzziness building in my head. I felt the last of my consciousness slip away when a pair of cold strong arms wrapped around me and carried me away.
I don't know how long I was out, but I finally felt the fire start to leave my fingers and toes. My fingers twitched at the sensation. I felt good to move them without the fire. A few hours later, I think, my arms were free. I slipped into darkness again. I woke up again with the fire only around my chest and shoulders. I heard voices around me.
"It shouldn't be long now. She will be marvelous when she wakes." Aro was here?
"Yes. She will be an excellent addition to our family." Marcus's voice was actually comforting. My lips curved into a smile, and the fire shot like a stretched rubber band to my heart. It hurt so much. My back arched off the table. I screamed so loud I swore all of Europe heard me. The fire finally left my body and I shot up. I looked around. This room was strange to me, but that's not what confused me. My vision was so clear. I could see little dust particles on the windowpane. I wouldn't have been able to see that as a human. My eyes flicked at movement in the corner of my eye. I jumped from the table in a flash. Marcus had his hands out in a helpful gesture.
"Bella. You look marvelous. How are you?" Aro's voice was sickeningly sweet. I just went to hell and back twice, and he's acting all innocent?!
"How do you think am?! I just went through hell! My body was engulfed in invisible flames that I couldn't put out! How could you stand there and act like that?!" He waited calmly for my anger levels to come down.
"Bella, dear, we've all been through it. I know how you feel right now." How could he possibly know how I feel?
"Were you torn away from your family?! Were you raped by a Nazi guard?! Were you forced to be a slave in a house run by self-centered Nazi sympathizers?! Were you ripped away from friends who you'll never see again?!" I felt like crying, but no tears escaped my eyes. I looked to Marcus for an answer. His face told me nothing.
"Come, Marcus. We'll leave her to her thoughts." Aro swept from the room. Marcus lingered back. His lips moved inhumanly fast, and his voice was impossibly low, yet I heard every single word crystal clear.
"I'll come by in 10 minutes with Teagan and explain everything." Marcus was actually growing on me. Even though he was somewhat timid and quiet, he was, to me, the most understanding of them all. I noticed for the first time the room I was in. It was enormous. There was a huge bed in the middle of a sky blue carpet. The walls were the same color. No. Just a shade darker. I wouldn't have noticed that before. I walked around this room. There was a balcony overlooking a garden. I explored the room top to bottom. There was another door that I was curious about. As I was about to open it, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and standing there was Marcus and another girl with red hair. I immediately questioned Marcus.
"Where's Teagan? What have you done with her? I swear if she's hurt, you will pay." I was seething. For the first time, Marcus looked frightened by my anger, but then cracked an amused smile. The redhead beside him started giggling.
"Don't recognize me do you, Cara*?" She chuckled. It was Teagan. She knew I hated that childhood nickname. Only Teagan would know that it irritated me. I tackled her immediately.
"Teagan!"
"Bella!" We hugged then stepped back to look at each other. She still had her freckles and fiery red hair, but her face was more defined and angular. She looked good. Her eyes were a deep red, almost black. She said mine were the same.
"Your hair is still the gorgeous brown that I love. Your face is more angular, but soft in a way. You look gorgeous." She sounded so excited. Marcus ushered inside. We sat on the bed. Marcus stood before us like a marble statue.
"Well, I'll start with the basics. Your skin is like marble. If a human punches you or kicks you or anything like that, you won't feel it. Your eyes will stay red when you've fed and will get darker the longer you go without feeding. We feed on blood. You will go out with Felix, Jane, and Demetri tonight. Also, if you go out during the day, stay in the shadows. Sunlight makes our skin glisten, like diamonds. You will stand out. Stick to the shadows and rainy days. Bella, this is your room. Teagan, you've seen yours. Bella, Teagan's room is right through that door." He pointed to the door I was about to open. I nodded. "The beds are merely for show and for you to sit or relax. We never sleep. I'll leave you to explore your rooms. You're free to explore the castle and get to know everyone. In an hour, meet Felix, Jane, and Demetri in the entrance hall." Teagan gave him a puzzled look. "That's the hall next to the one where..." He trailed off.
"Oh," I said. My voice cracked. Marcus stopped in the doorway.
"By the way, do you remember the vampire who stood in front of you and said something about fire and a shield?" We nodded. "Well, some vampires are special and have powers. The Volturi-" he stopped at our puzzled faces- "that's who we are. We sort of, collect these vampires. The man, Eleazar, can sense what power a human might have if they become a vampire. Teagan, you have the power to create and manipulate fire. Just concentrate on fire and it will appear. Manipulating fire is a little more difficult. You need to be very careful. Control could be lost at any time. Bella, you have a mental shield that renders all powers used against you useless. It is all the same as a physical shield, only in your mind. This power is very rare. I don't even know of another shield. We don't know much about shields. Aro and Caius want to see how your power will develop. We will be monitoring your progress and trying different things." Teagan's face bore an expression of amazement. I was a shield?! I was amazed and in awe. Marcus said one more thing before floating into the hallway.
"Welcome to the family."