"Our language needs endless synonyms for beautiful;
the eyes could see what the tongue cannot possibly describe."
- Anne Rice
Chapter Four:
I felt my face color in surprise and I looked down, letting my hair fall in front of my face as I struggled to remember why I had traveled around the world to be here. Despite the destruction of everything I loved, it was hard to remember any of it with this man's warm eyes and charming tongue. Cold fingers found my chin and lifted my head with the most reverent gentleness. "Ah, such color in your cheeks. As a human, you are beautiful, I have no doubt as an immortal you would be exquisite."
His words caught me off guard because for so long I had wanted immortality but those who had it had cursed it and hated it. They had never said such things to me before. The man looked at me imploringly, "That is why you are here, no?"
The haze of charm faded intensely and I shook my head, almost startled at myself. "No – er, sir."
A buzzing sound grew suddenly and I thought maybe my ears were tricking me in this giant stone room, but no. There others here, more than just the four I had seen. Behind the marble columns around the room, there were vampires. A dozen, or maybe two, I couldn't see well enough to count but I could hear them all talking – too low for me to make out.
The man with the charming smile looked around the room with a small frown. "That is enough." At once the buzzing died down and he turned back to me. He glanced at me, his face drawn in contemplation, and tapped his fingers together in front of him. "Do you know who I am, Bella?" He rolled my name out until it felt soft as silk to my ears.
I shuddered slightly as I shook my head. "I – I know that this is the Volturi coven and that you all rule the vampires and protect the secret of immortality from humans." I stopped for a moment but the man's shock prevented him from saying anything. "But most of all I know that when a law is broken you are also the ones to punish the transgressor."
"Are you saying," the man on the throne of wolfish men with snowy hair leaned forward, his eyes gleaming in the light, "that you are here to report a crime?"
This seemed to snap the man still holding my hand out of whatever shocked stupor he had been in. As I nodded to answer the question put to me, the man in front of me said, "Peace brother, there will be time enough for that. Let us not get ahead of ourselves." He turned to me with an excited smile. "I am Aro Volturi," he announced proudly and held his right hand out to gesture behind him. "These, are my brothers – Marcus and Caius."
Devilishly handsome and polite in the warmest of ways. I smiled at him and bowed my head a little at him, never breaking eye contact. "It's nice to meet you," I told him quietly, unable to muster the nerve to sound more confident.
"I assure you," he grinned widely at me, almost too widely and I marveled at the sight, "the pleasure is all mine."
I couldn't find any words, I was too mesmerized by the way his eyes implored mine with every glance or how his expression was so clearly passionately curious. I had only ever seen Edward look at me with such utter longing that only a telepath could muster. I felt my eyes go wide and the most awful, barking laugh bellowed out of me. It was the first true laugh I could remember having and it nearly made me burst into sobs that it felt so wonderful. "You have some kind of telepathy, don't you?"
It felt so good to be truly amused, to not feel the ache in chest, or the rage in veins. I almost could forget the last year and just feel without crippling pain. But as Aro's eyes went even wider than they were I felt embarrassed to realize the buzzing sound was back.
With a flick of Aro's hand, the sound died away and he took my other hand as well. "My dear Bella, long ago, when I was human – we honored great bards who spun the most magnificent stories. My father employed such a man and I used to spend hours listening to incredible tales." He moved me closer to the thrones and removed my heavy bag from around me. "Now, tell me a tale, Bella." Aro requested with a longing in his voice. "Tell us why and how you came to be here."
Aro sat back in his throne and folded his hands, waiting for me to speak. They were all waiting for me to speak, Aro, Jane, Marcus, and Caius – not to mention all the vampires I could not make out in the shadows. It was all so different from how I imagined or hoped for and I found myself struggling to think straight. "I – I guess," I stopped and took a deep breath, looking away from Aro's searching eyes and gathering my thoughts. When I was ready I looked up. "I guess I should start where all good stories start," despite the pain of remembering I found myself smiling and wiping away a tear. "With great love."
It was strange, but recounting my memories of Edward and the mystical family I loved so much was like a balm to my aching soul. It felt so nice to express all of my anger and pain and love. And Aro was such a wonderful listener. He never asked any questions and he never tired of my story when I paused to describe something important to me or babble on about the way I had felt the fire of the venom in veins. Aro had a way of hanging on to my every word that only fueled my story on further, in more detail than I had planned on giving.
I wiped my eyes as I trudged through the muck of Edward's departure and clawed my way through my bag to hand over the folder of police reports and missing person's reports. He flipped through them only for the briefest of seconds before handing the file over to Caius and immediately taking my hands again. "When I searched for Edward's meadow on my own and found Laurent there at Victoria's request, I knew I was going to die. I tried to lie but I've never been able to and he saw through it." Aro's eyes were alight with curiosity as I thumbed the scar on my wrist absently. "He promised he'd be gentle, that it would be like falling asleep and I didn't fight. I decided in the hospital recovering from James' attack that I'd had enough violence."
For a second I paused, thinking back to that afternoon and how I hadn't been terrified until the wolves appeared. How I had been in so much pain that death in Laurent's arms had seemed an acceptable escape. "But Laurent paused and I watched him back away. I wish I could say it was because I could lift trees with my mind or zap him lightning, but I'm not so cool." I leaned forward to Aro and grinned at him as he grinned back in anticipation. I could practically hear him wondering what would make a vampire flee. "Wolves!" I threw my arms up and laughed in delight at the memory as I pictured them springing forth from the trees. "Great big wolves the size of horses right there in broad daylight and before I could scream or even process my terror, they leaped into the air and jumped over me and began chasing Laurent into the woods."
Caius nearly gaped at me in an almost horror-stricken face and I felt my confidence boost even further. I had made an immortal scared! I laughed and turned to Aro and he followed my tale with the patience of a man who thoroughly enjoyed learning every detail and savored the mystery. I tried desperately to describe the wolves of La Push and how beautiful and kind they were. I told them of how desperately they tried to protect me, how Jared and Quil Jr. had given their lives protecting me. I tried very hard to show just how much they had given and how desperate the situation had become. "This last week was the last straw," I explained as I looked down at my wringing hands.
"Collin and Brady are only children, eleven and twelve, and they are trying to fill the ranks to fight an army that Victoria could march at any time." My eyes squeezed shut at the painful thought and I tried desperately to detach myself and focus on trying to convince them to help.
"None of this has broken any law that I know of, not that I know many," I added quickly. "Seattle is abuzz with gang wars and serial killers right now, but how many exsanguinated bodies does it take before people start asking questions they shouldn't? And then when Forks or La Push is wiped off the map, how many will notice an entire town disappearing?"
I was done now. Aro seemed to sense this and he tapped his fingers against each other as he thought. "My dear," he said finally and hopped out of his throne and came to me again. "I thank you for the most interesting story I have heard in a very long time." He kissed my forehead with the same gentleness that he had kissed my hand with and stroked the back of my hair.
"Before we convene," Caius stood as well and moved to me. Aro moved away to let his brother in front of me. "May I?" He asked, gesturing to my wrist. I nodded and placed my hand in his. Caius' touch was surprisingly gentle as he examined my scar for his own eyes. "Incredible." He whispered.
"You have come here, knowing our laws, to protect those you love." Caius inquired seriously, but almost rhetorically. Still, I nodded silently at him. "You knew that coming here and finding us, reporting all of this to us would ultimately mean death for you."
I was taken aback, not by his words, but his surprise. "Wouldn't anybody else in my place?"
Aro chuckled at me and my cheeks flamed. "No, my dear, they would not. You could have walked away in Florence and never looked back, most would."
I shook my head at him and retracted my hand from Caius'. "I couldn't, I wouldn't. I will not have children die for me."
My ferocity seemed to please Caius greatly. "No, of course not." He turned to Aro with a meaningful look and held out his hand to him. "Are we in agreement?"
Aro took Caius' hand for a brief moment and then turned to Marcus, who was still sitting on his throne. He had listened, I had caught him watching me as I talked, but he had never moved. He had only sat there and watched, with only the mildest of interest. Of the three, Marcus scared me the most. I recognized those empty eyes. I had recognized them the moment I saw them. Pain, loss, suffering. I couldn't bear to look at him for more than a glance. When Aro touched Marcus' hand he smiled and nodded.
"Bella, my dear," Aro came back to my side as Caius stepped back. "Before we continue on I feel that there are certain points of which your knowledge is lacking. I believe that, before we move on to topics such as this vampire army and of Carlisle's recklessness, there are some things you should be aware of."
I tried to swallow but my mouth was so dry that my tongue felt like sandpaper. "O-Okay."
"The first," Aro said with his arms clasped behind his back, "is that above all, our purpose is to maintain immortal anonymity. So please do be assured that a team will be dispatched before the sun rises. No matter any decisions going forward, this issue will be addressed and rectified." A great weight of relief lifted off of my shoulders and I nearly sagged in relief. Even if the next thing to come out of Aro's mouth was my death, I would die knowing I had saved Jacob and Charlie, and my home.
"The second is that you were correct." He seemed almost proud as he said this and even though I didn't quite know what he was talking about, I still felt the praise in his words. "I have tactile telepathy, so when I first kissed your hand I should have been able to not only read your current thoughts as Edward is able to do from a distance, but I can read every thought you have ever had."
I felt my stomach drop as I tried and failed to wrap my mind around such an ability. "Wow," I whispered in awe, "that's – powerful."
"Indeed," Aro hummed, "though I do envy Edward's freedom to peruse so many minds at once, I do enjoy the story of a person's life. The greater the story, the greater my love. I have loved many great men."
"Have you ever met anyone like me?" I asked, and then flushed at how it sounded. "I mean, someone you can't read?"
Aro shook his head and Caius scoffed loudly and almost teasingly. "Aro has always held out hope of finding one such as you, but the closest he has come is Renata."
"Who is she?"
"My personal guard, a mental shield that can make others who try to attack the person she's guarding forget where they are going or find themselves going in the wrong direction." Aro smiled fondly as a black haired young woman stepped forward, her curls tossed over her head in an exaggerated side part.
Aro turned back to me with his infectious excitement. "But no one has ever been immune to my gift and it makes me so very curious. Would you permit me to test your immunity, my dear?"
Aro's excitement fed my hope for survival, kindled the flame of life in my chest and I found myself stunned silent but nodding my acceptance. "Jane? Alec?"
Jane stepped forward and in a black blur a young boy with inky black hair was beside her, a gold chain much like Jane's around his throat. I wondered what it meant before Aro spoke again. "If you would please Jane?"
"Of course, Master." Jane all but purred at Aro and turned a ferocious glare on me. I couldn't help but stare at the happy smile contrasting on her lips, wondering what on earth her power could be when her smile died. A scowl twisted her lips angrily and I shuddered as she hissed at me. "Peace child," Aro laid a hand on Jane's shoulder and almost at one, Jane looked cherubic again.
"Alec? If you would?" Aro's excitement had grown and he was watching me eagerly as I realized this boy with his black hair and black eyes terrified me. There was something about his blank expression that chilled me to the bone. Slowly, silver mist began to rise from the floor around me and I could feel my body break out in chills. Whatever this mist was, it was dangerous and I wanted nothing more than to step out of it.
"She's magnificent," Aro said to Caius with the most radiant smile. "My dear Bella to show such talent as a human, why it's extraordinary!"
Jane's poisonous glare only grew more deadly and I tried not to look at her. "I always thought my brain just ran on a different wavelength than everyone else'," I confessed to Aro while my cheeks flamed. He laughed a little and shook his head. "I think not my dear, I believe you to be a shield. A marvelous, powerful shield."
"I – I'm not sure what to say," I confessed, trying to comprehend my power.
"Don't say anything, my dear girl," Aro replied, his smile never faltering. "We cannot let you remain human, but my dear Bella, I would like to extend to you the offer to join us." My breath caught in my throat at his offer and he rushed forward to grasp my hands softly. "I would like to turn you, Bella – my beautiful girl, I would like to bring you into immortality. I want to teach you and watch you blossom into immortality, for I think you will be a stunning immortal."
My eyes watered at his sweet words and I found myself squeezing them shut and trying not sob in front who knew how many vampires. How long had I yearned to hear those words? Yet my mind could scarcely believe my ears. "You want to turn me?"
Aro nodded, "Your death would be a travesty and I do believe that while we are very different from Carlisle's coven, you could learn to be happy here with us – as my child, as a part of the guard."
"Stay here?" I asked in disbelief. "Live in this castle as a vampire?"
If Aro was amused by my fumbling, he didn't show it. He simply gazed at me with hopeful crimson eyes and I tried to imagine the life he was offering me. Before, when I had pictured living forever with Edward, I had imagined painful abstinence and human school as sacrifices I was willing to make for him. That life had seemed so right, with brothers and sisters and Carlisle and Esme to guide me. Now, I was trying and failing to imagine castles and fighting and murder. Immortality with Aro there to guide me and teach me, look out for me. He controls the most powerful vampires in the world, I thought in disbelief, and he wants me.
I couldn't fathom the path stretching out before me but I found my head moving, nodding. "I'd like that."
