Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, the New Moon dialogues, parts of the plot and character names. All other plotlines, characterizations, and details belong to the author: Bronzehyperion. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without the author's authorization. ©2009-2010 Bronzehyperion. All rights reserved worldwide.
Note: this chapter Volterra is not corresponding with the same chapter in New Moon.
Big thanks to Jen for providing so much Volterra info! Thanks to Ari for helping me with the Italiano.
Chapter 14: VOLTERRA
"Are you here on business or for pleasure?"
The clerk at the airport in Paris eyed me skeptically, as if to say he honestly didn't care about my answer. Which he didn't, judging from his inner monologue in French. It told me he was finishing up a twelve hour shift and was in no mood for deep and thoughtful chit chat.
That made two of us.
His uniform was two sizes too small and he smelled like he hadn't showered in a while. His English was poor and his face was frozen in a grimace that spoke loud enough for anyone with a slight sense of human behavior to notice he was expressing he had plenty of places to be and none of them were behind this desk.
Didn't we all have other places to be, I wondered silently.
I'd taken the first available flight from Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International airport, which had flown as far as Paris. Arriving there I had to transfer to catch a flight to Rome, because there had been no direct flights.
"I am just passing through," I told the clerk politely. He nodded as he checked my passport and arranged my ticket.
And that was all it was. Passing through. No more, no less. There was nothing significant about me being here at Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
There was only the end result, the goal I needed to reach. Eyes on the prize, so to speak. In a very wry and almost ironic way because my price was after all death.
Such a morbid reward and one I probably did not even deserve. Death would be kind, compared to the agony I had to bear now. And I knew I didn't deserve that kindness, I knew that suffering was more appropriate and deserving.
But selfishness seemed to be my second nature or maybe even my primary one. No matter what I did, I always ended up doing the wrong thing, the selfish thing.
"Just this one bag?"
I whispered a yes as the clerk pulled me out of my reverie. He eyed me with caution, wondering if I was having a mental breakdown. He was not far off. I was keeping up a human façade for as long as I had to but never before had it taken me this much effort.
My nature made it necessary to keep up pretences and even during my happiest days I had found it to be very difficult to be in large crowds, like the ones at airports. There were too many minds, too much static bothering me.
And now that everything had been swept away by the darkness that was overtaking me more and more with each second passing, the voices and minds attacked me like killer bees. I wanted it to stop, I wanted peace. I wanted everyone to basically shut up.
I wanted silence.
Death.
"You can take it with you, it is carry-on luggage," the clerk murmured after he handed me my passport back.
My luggage was irrelevant. In fact, all I needed was my credit card so I could pay for my transportation to Volterra as soon as I arrived in Rome. But since travelling without a bag would look suspicious at an airport these days, I had decided it would be best if I carried it with me for now and then dump the bag somewhere in Rome.
After check in, I made it through customs and then went straight to the departure hall. Minds, sounds and scents attacked me there and I tried my hardest to pay no attention to any of it.
I glanced at one of the large clocks hanging prominently in the middle of the large hall.
This entire journey was taking up a lot of time.
Too much time.
And time was of the essence here.
It was ironic how humans found that when they were about to lose their life, when they realized they were running out of time, it was the one thing they suddenly wanted to hold onto. They always wanted more of it.
More time. More life.
I wanted the opposite. I wanted time to stop. I wanted everything to stop.
Officially my human life had ended in 1918 and ever since then I'd been existing. Because living without a heart beat was not living.
But then I had temporarily experienced what true living meant, only to have it taken from me the moment Bella had jumped off that darn cliff.
So ultimately, my life had never been mine to live. It had never been mine to own.
Not the first time when I was human and the Spanish flu had almost claimed me. Not the second time when Bella had made me feel alive. Both times I had lost it due to secondary circumstances.
It had never been my choice to end my life. Until now.
Without a life, without a heartbeat; imaginary or real, I was nothing.
Without Bella I was nothing.
And Bella was dead.
Tick. One second.
The moment I threatened to forget, something would instantly remind me of that fact.
Bella was dead.
Tock. Another second.
Today, no matter how, I would end my life.
I would not remain if Bella was no longer somewhere in this world.
Bella was dead.
More seconds passing.
The words pulsed like a throbbing bruise. The pain was inescapable. I couldn't even execute the power of deep breathing to calm myself to relieve the pain a little. It never faded; it only grew stronger as time passed with the achingly slow pace of miniscule seconds.
Time, it was conspiring against me. And unlike humans who were running out of it, I was technically not on my deathbed so I was also not running out of it.
After all, this was voluntary. And humans didn't often die voluntarily. I wondered of Bella had died out of her own free will.
Sure, she had jumped so that made it seem like she had agreed with her own choice, but in my time I had seen plenty of humans who had wanted to die but feared the moment of death itself.
They'd seemingly stand behind the choice they had made, only to find that in those final seconds, those few moments they'd have before their bodies would give it, they had second thoughts on the whole concept of dying willingly.
Had Bella been afraid? If she had jumped willingly and it truly seemed that she had, how did she manage to escape the fear of dying?
I mean, I wasn't afraid of it. I wanted to die so for me it was almost something to look forward to. But Bella was – had been - human. I could not imagine she had dived to her death without fear.
The idea was not nearly as painful as the knowledge of her actual demise, but it tormented me nonetheless to think Bella spend her final moments in fear.
Then again, Bella had proven to be fearless when it came to brushing with death. The fact she had remained close to me whilst knowing what I was and hadn't preserved any sense of self had illustrated that. Not to mention the fact she had willingly met James at the ballet studio, knowing the chances he'd kill her would be probable.
Maybe Bella had welcomed death after all. She certainly hadn't feared it in the past.
It seemed impossible. The idea of it momentarily pushed back the pain and allowed what little anger I could muster up to break through.
Bella had promised me she would not do anything reckless. What would be more reckless than this? Why would she jump off a cliff, knowing it would devastate Charlie and Renée?
It would devastate my family.
Me.
I had no reason to be selfish about this. I'd been very clear with Bella. I had told her I didn't want her anymore and while it had been the biggest of lies, she had believed me, so I was certainly not a prominent reason for her not to take her own life.
But still. My mind could not wrap itself around the fact she had actually killed herself willingly. Bella wasn't one to ever give up. Not unless she saw no other way out.
The only question lingering was; had she seen no other way out? What could have pushed her to do this?
I'd never get an answer.
It was 5.00 PM and the flight to Rome had been quiet, because most passengers had been asleep.
A small relief because the attack of their voices – inner and outer – had been less penetrating that way.
I was now waiting at a small car rental desk in a far corner of the airport, near one of the exits. I had dumped my luggage in one of the garbage disposals at the airport. The only thing I carried on me was my credit card and the photo of Bella I had taken with me when I had left Forks.
The goal was simple; get to Volterra as fast as I could.
I tried to get the attention of the Italian middle aged man behind the counter.
He turned when I offered him a quiet greeting. I managed to produce a small and hopefully reassuring smile as he looked me over.
His name tag read Luigi and he eyed me speculatively. He was tanned compared to my ghost like complexion. His mind, rattling off in Italian wondered if I was in fact a ghost.
Close, but not yet.
"Come posso aiutarla?" He asked me how he could help me.
I gave him a polite nod and answered him, asking for a car. Preferable a fast one.
"Vorrei noleggiare un'auto. La più veloce che ha"
The sooner I'd get to Volterra, the better. Now was not a time to be wasted and I had already wasted a plenty. A fast car would at least help me make up for lost time a little.
"Tutto quello che ho a disposizione e' una Maserati del 1993"
The rental service only had a 1993 Maserati available. Great. That was anything but a fast car because the model was quite old. I contemplated to find another rent-a-car service but decided against it. That would take even more time.
And I really wanted to get this over with.
"La prendo"
I told him I'd take it. What other choice did I have? It seemed I was running out of options all together. Busy lines at the airport, no fast car. It wasn't like I had time to spare here.
Prolonging the inevitable was only making the pain worse.
The Maserati proved to be as slow as I expected it to be and while a tourist might have enjoyed going a measly 80 miles an hour to enjoy the scenery, I'd been hoping for something a little faster.
No such luck. Travelling from Fiumicino Airport to Volterra was about 200 miles. With the speed I was going it would take me more than three hours. I pressed the gas pedal down with urgency but it only caused the Maserati to squeak at the amount of pressure.
It reminded me of Bella's truck. That thing had never been able to take anything over 50 miles.
Bella's truck. It would forever be older than Bella herself.
Because Bella was dead.
The fact of her demise snuck into my head once more, closing up my throat and choking me. The place where my heart lay silent was aching with the worst of torture.
The world was meaningless now. Absolutely, completely meaningless. I could not enjoy the landscapes I passed.
And time didn't help me. It didn't speed up, it only went slower.
That only gave me more time to think of Bella. Of all she had meant to me. Everything she still meant to me. She was everything. I hated the idea that she had died with the belief I didn't want her. I'd never be able to correct that.
Every thought belonged to her, her memory and my desire to die.
Eventually, the time reached 8.30 PM. As the Italian sun set, I reached my final destination.
Volterra.
I had to admit, it was a very scenic and beautiful place and I would have enjoyed being there to take it all in, had I been there for different reasons.
The town lay on a hill; up high and overlooking the country side. It still had its medieval walls; most of them build in the old days. The walls had several gates surrounding it which served as entrances into the town centre.
As I reached town limits, if that's what one could call them, I maneuvered the car through the outskirts to reach the centre.
This proved to be challenging, because Volterra had narrow stone-paved streets. The buildings were generally made of stone as well. Several of these narrow streets had archways over top while others were just narrow walkways or stairways.
Definitely not very car friendly.
It took me a while, since there were crush barriers put on some streets but I managed to get close to where the Palazzo dei Priori was.
I left the old Maserati somewhere in the shadows of one of the nooks of a building on an abandoned parking lot. I was lucky the sun had set, so it could not contribute to any possible exposing by making my skin look like a shimmering disco ball. There were enough spots of shadow to keep somewhat stealthy as I moved swiftly down the streets, looking for a way to get close to the Palazzo.
The Palazzo was centered on the Piazza dei Priori, a town square which was surrounded by several medieval buildings: The Palazzo dei Priori with the Palazzo Pretorio. Other buildings around the Piazza included the Palazzo Vescovile, Palazzo del Podesta, Palazzo Incontri, Palazzo Demaniale and the back of the Duomo; the church.
The Duomo Santa Maria Assunta didn't look especially scenic on the outside but the interior had a great renaissance ceiling thanks to the Medici's. It was a very appealing tourist spot and one of the focal points of Volterra.
The Volturi hated religion but they welcomed the popularity of the church because it drew in many tourists and tourists meant…
Dinner.
The Volturi. The ones I came to see. The only ones who could grant me the absolution I longed for. Death.
They were an ancient and powerful coven of vampires, I had told Bella about them right before the birthday party disaster. They were what royalty meant to humans. They acted as guardians, keeping the secret society of vampires hidden from the human world. They would destroy anyone who attempted to overthrow them or resist their authority. The Palazzo was their home, so to speak. They resided there, unbeknownst to the humans who lived in the small populated areas around the centre and the outskirts.
As I got closer to the Piazza I noticed the streets were rather crowded with humans, even at this time of night. Some of them were actually dressed in red cloaks, while others wearing typical tourist outfits; shorts, t-shirts and cameras around their necks.
I realized the tourists would be here because of the St. Marcus Day festival that was being celebrated tomorrow. That explained the crush barriers I'd seen earlier as well because they marked the route the many processions would follow.
St. Marcus Day festival was a festival that celebrated the saint and martyr Marcus, who'd lived in Volterra thousands of years ago. The story was that he had chased all vampires out of Volterra and then was martyred in Rome where he'd been trying to chase away the vampires as well.
In reality the humans were actually celebrating Marcus of the Volturi. Instead of chasing away vampires, he had made humans believe the myths of garlic and crosses, making them think they were safe, when in reality; no one ever was safe from the Volturi.
The festival was tomorrow.
How appropriate.
How convenient.
Appropriate for obvious reasons. I too was a martyr. A martyr of my own convictions. I had no options left but death and welcomed the idea and actual moment with gladness. But my actions were less than selfless. Then again, so had been Marcus' actions.
He too was no real martyr.
The convenience lay in the fact that the Volturi would already have extra security roaming around because of tomorrow's celebrations. This meant I would stick out like a sore thumb.
This could prove to be helpful, because the sooner one of their guards spotted me, the sooner I'd be able to come face to face with them.
I tried to stay in the shadows as much as I could, because exposing myself in any way would mean game over. That was the one rule we had to abide to: never expose ourselves to the humans. Of course, I had broken that rule.
If all else failed and the Volturi would deny me my request, I could always reveal that to make sure they'd follow through in some other way. After all, no deed would go unpunished. Surely they'd never let me get away with it.
It didn't matter how I would reach my goal. Either way would be painful. If I requested to be killed, it would look more dignified though perhaps quite the opposite as well, all depending on one's perception. If I demanded them to kill me because I had broken their rules, I'd be a rebel or martyr. If I told them the real reason why I wanted to die, they'd probably find me a pathetic excuse for a vampire.
I moved through the crowds as they were closing in on me.
People barely noticed me as I moved down the side of the Piazza, trying to remain in the shadows as much as I could. Even though the sun had set and a cool breeze was siwrling around, it didn't prevent people from staying in the Piazza and enjoy the Italian evening. And I really didn't want to stand out.
As I moved, keeping a close eye on my surroundings, I sensed I was being followed.
Not by a human. The Volturi already knew I was here.
They were quick that was certain.
When I finally reached the Palazzo, I noticed a small break in the stone walls, almost like a nook but it lead into an alley. It was small and barely visible and right under the clocktower.
I decided to take my chances and moved towards the alley. The stone walls were a little less narrow as I walked, though the street didn't have any light coming in from above.
I was straight under the clock tower now.
I embraced the shadows of the old building. I also didn't have time to make out where precisely I was heading because I was already welcomed.
Well, welcomed…
A large vampire was smirking at me. I could tell he pitied me for some reason. He reminded me of Emmett with his physique, though his hair was cropped short and black.
This had to be Felix. One of the Volturi guards.
He was not alone. Next to him was a vampire who also had an olive complexion with a chalky pallor. He had dark hair that reached his shoulders. He was just as tall as Felix, but more lean instead of bulked up.
Demetri.
Demetri was a tracker with a grander ability than James whereas Felix was a simple fighter. He had no special powers but he was probably kept in the Volturi guard due to his strength.
Demetri wasn't smirking, though he was intrigued as to why I was here. Gathering from his mind it had been a while since a vampire had willingly entered the Palazzo in order to meet the Volturi.
"You're not supposed to be here vampire," Felix hissed menacingly.
I wanted to roll my eyes at his snarling tone. That would not scare me.
"I am here to see your master," I growled.
Felix rolled his eyes. "I have more than one."
"The Volturi, I need to see them," I demanded coolly.
"And why is that, vampire?" Demetri intercepted. His thoughts were more neutral. It appeared as if he was willing to give me a chance to explain myself while Felix just wanted to fight and kill me.
Well means to an end. If talking would not get me inside, I could always allow Felix some fun.
It was not like I had any dignity left, so picking a willing fight could prove as effective as asking the Volturi to kill me.
Whatever got me what I needed would do.
"Because I need a favor from your masters," I muttered.
I was getting impatient. I wasn't here to waste time on conversation.
"I have a request to make," I spat. "So take me to them because I can assure you the request is not for you."
Felix grinned, Demetri frowned. Felix was eager to fight me and was hoping he'd get the chance. Demetri was trying to figure me out. He was slightly astonished to find I had the guts to stand here, on their territory no less and demand to see his leaders.
"Nice try, vampire, but that's not how it works," Felix grinned. "But keep going; give me a reason to stop you."
"Felix," Demetri growled. "Don't."
"What? Clearly this thing in front of us thinks he is somewhat superior. You know how they feel about this. A pathetic vampire demanding to see our leaders. Not going to happen. Not without a fight."
Felix turned back to me, flexing his arm in emphasis. "You want to see them, you go through me."
"I think Aro would not mind seeing the vampire."
"Yeah, well I think you're wrong. We're guards, Demetri. We protect our masters; we're not here to pass judgment. We are here to keep the threats away. Or have you forgotten that?" Felix hissed as he popped his knuckles in anticipation.
It was almost comical to see them go at it. I was hoping maybe they'd fight each other so that I could slip past.
But they were stopped before any of us could act on impulse.
"Stop that," a voice sounded from the alley.
"Jane," Demetri acknowledged with a sigh.
A small cloaked figure appeared.
Jane was tiny with lank, pale brown hair trimmed semi short. Her face would seem both angelic and fiercely childlike to humans, and even lovely when animated and smiling. Her pale skin stood out even more in combination with her hair and eyes; which were wide and sometimes filled with childlike innocence, especially when she had to lure in humans. She had a rather slim and androgynous figure. She looked and sounded like a child, but it was just pretence to make humans feel more comfortable around her. I mean, obviously the girl had been changed very young, so she would forever look that way, but behind the farcical physical innocence lay a viciousness no human could ever bear.
I had heard about her abilities. Jane could inflict the most horrid of mental pains. She would get into your head and make you believe you were being tortured.
I did not fear that, however. The pain I currently carried with me was the most torturous kind already, so there was no way Jane's power could ever truly hurt me.
Jane eyed me with interest, a small smirk playing on her lips as she looked me over. She did not speak however and after a few seconds she turned around to something behind her.
It turned out to be another cloaked figure. Boy-like.
"What is going on here?" the boy who had moved next to her wondered.
"Possible trouble, Alec." Jane murmured as she turned to stare at me again.
Alec resembled Jane very much. He had the same pale skin and blood-red eyes though his lips weren't as full as Jane's, and his hair was a darker brown. He was however just as short as his sister is in height.
Where Jane could cause pain, Alec had the power to cut you off your senses. He would not cause you actual pain, but he could also take away your smell, your sight; all of your instincts.
Both of them were more powerful than Felix and Demetri and while they had been children at the time of their change, it was obvious that the Volturi had desired for them to be a part of the guard, despite their young age.
"It's not often we have a vampire underground. They usually don't make it that far." Alec commented, clearly sneering at Felix and Demetri.
"It's alright," Felix coaxed, "Demetri and I were about to take care of it. Isn't that so?" he asked Demetri.
"Don't bother," Jane spoke. "Aro wants to see him."
Demetri flashed Felix a mocking triumphant smile as he nodded, acknowledging Jane's request.
Jane motioned all of us to follow her. As Alec and Jane let the way, Demetri and Felix followed behind me. I was trapped in a convoy of powerful vampires.
Welcome to Volterra.
There was a loose curve to the alley as it narrowed; it was slanting downward with a squared-off dead end reaching a flat, windowless, brick face.
There was an open hole we all had to slide through. It was like a drain, ending on the lowest point of the pavement.
We moved along swiftly down a tunnel which ended with a heavy iron grate and a door.
Through the door was a hall way which ended with an elevator.
We all got in, Felix watching me with narrowed eyes, while the others seem oblivious to my presence, except for Demetri, who occasionally looked me over as his thoughts were trying to decide how big a threat I posed.
The elevator halted before twenty seconds had passed.
We stepped into a brightly lit reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets. The flowers' smell attacked my nostrils and it made me want to sneeze. I noticed a slight grimace on Alec's face and it seemed as if he was bothered by the scent as well.
In the middle of the room was a high, polished mahogany counter with a woman sitting behind it.
A human.
She was tall, with dark skin and green eyes. Beautiful for a human, I supposed. Nothing compared to my Bella though.
A vision of a dark haired, ivory skinned beauty flashed before my eyes and the images felt like a punch in the gut. I grimaced at the memory which did not go unnoticed by Demetri.
The vampire looks like he is in pain. How odd.
The human woman smiled politely in welcome. "Good evening Jane," she said as she eyed me. Her mind instantly took in my appearance and she approved of what she saw.
Felix for some reason seemed to notice this as well – which was surprising, he really didn't look like the perceptive type to me – and he growled a little at the way the woman was ogling me.
I paid her no extra attention as I was dealing with the aftermath of the fresh round of torment. I was not surprised she was sitting there so calmly despite the fact she had to know that the Volturi could kill her whenever they felt like it.
Her name was Gianna, I gathered from the small silver name plate on her desk.
Her motivations to be here had everything to do with vanity. The ones she was currently working for were beautiful in her eyes and she wanted to be like them.
So she was hoping she would become a vampire as long as she did her job and never spoke a word to anyone about it.
Next to the obvious threat- which I was certain Gianna was aware of because it was the reason she kept her mouth shut, there was also the shameless flirting with Felix, who was not oblivious to her affections, because he gave her a big smile as he passed her.
We left the reception area and moved to the end of the hall where Alec and Jane ignored the golden sheathed doors and stopped halfway down to slide aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door.
We all entered the space behind the door as Alec held it open. It was a stone antechamber and it was not large. It opened into a brighter, perfectly round castle turret.
Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. No artificial lights were needed. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden thrones, which looked incredibly kitsch.
The thrones were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle was another drain.
The thrones were not empty as they were occupied by the three vampires I had come to see. They were all staring at me with different expressions.
As Jane and Alec halted in front of them, Demetri and Felix both moved to each side of the stone walls.
"Master, I did what you requested," Jane addressed one of them; the one in the middle who I knew had to be Aro. I recognized him from the painting in Carlisle's study.
"I brought you the vampire."
He nodded once and then dismissed her with his hand. His milky-red eyes never left mine.
"Well, well, well."
"This is certainly a pleasant surprise."
A/N: First off, thanks for all the support, it's very much appreciated!
We're getting close to the reunion. Next chapter, Edward will put in his request. We already know the answer he is going to get. We also know what he'll do next…
If you want to know when I update or enjoy ridiculous ramble, you can follow me on Twitter: twitter(dot)com(slash)bronzehyperion
Happy weekend!