Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Other than the names and locations all content and ideas of this story belong to me! Copying the ideas or content of this story is plagiarism. Plagiarism is theft. Do you really want to be a thief?
Aro didn't elaborate on his declaration that Bella was very talented. Instead, he began to ask her questions that he thought would lead her to discovering her own gift. Bella answered all of his questions patiently but her expression was doubtful when he suggested that she could block his gift. After all, he had seen her entire life through her thoughts when we visited Volterra.
"You always felt like an outsider didn't you Bella; like you had to keep your true self hidden away so that you fit in?" Aro asked, but his tone suggested that it was more of a declaration than a question.
Bella nodded and looked expectantly towards Aro like she wanted him to continue, but spoke before he could resume his questions.
"That's what I'm doing now isn't it? Protecting my 'true self' as you called it. I didn't want you to see my private moments with my husband, so you couldn't. I wonder how long I've been able to do that." she paused then gasped, a wide triumphant smile lit up her face.
"Very perceptive Isabella, I believe you've been able to shield your mind since you were human. Which makes me wonder why it was that I could see your mind while your Edward could not; and how my Jane was able to commit that horrid display against you." Aro's mind was in a tizzy trying to align his thoughts and theories about Bella's gift. I noticed Alice and Carlisle doing much the same thing.
"I think it was because I didn't want people to think I was a freak so I kept my thoughts locked inside so tightly that I even kept Edward out. And I may have been able to block Jane's attack too if I had known what she was doing. I'm usually very good at repressing painful things." Bella paused to think and with an encouraging nod from both Carlisle and Aro, she laughed freely and laid her head against my chest before continuing.
"And I let you see in Volterra." Bella rushed through her words becoming more excited with every syllable she uttered. "I knew you needed to see my side of things. I hoped that if you could see what I had seen and felt with Edward, you'd find a way to help us to understand our connection."
"Yes, that is exactly what I thought as well. Your talent must be immense to have manifested itself so powerfully in your human incarnation. Why, I do believe you are stronger than even my Renata." Aro said Renata's name with an air of longing. He missed her and all of his other guard members as well. He truly felt as though they were his family and he loved them very much.
"Do you think Bella would be protected from all vampire powers and forms of attack or do you feel her gift is purely a mental shield?" Carlisle asked, breaking Aro from his thoughts of home and family.
"Ah, my friend that is a question that only time will answer. I cannot foresee the future like young Alice here, but I do not believe any vampire would be foolish enough to attempt an attack on Bella; not with her being protected by not only your family but mine as well. It is my dearest hope that she never has the need to test her gift in that way." Aro and Carlisle launched themselves into a discussion of different types of gifts and the best way to deter them. I was only half following their conversation as Bella had now lowered the walls in her mind, and I could now hear her again.
What do you think about all of this Edward? Do you think I could be a powerful shield?
Of course I do my love. You've been shielding your mind all evening. I can only just now hear you.
I guess you're right, I have. I'm sorry, Edward. I just want to keep our sex life private.
No need to apologize, Bella. I'd like to keep our intimate moments between the two us as well.
She leaned over and pressed her sweet lips to mine, igniting the fire in my lower abdomen. I was hard pressed to find the strength not to pull her into my lap and ravage her in front our family and guest.
"We're going to be leaving soon." Alice announced suddenly. You two need some serious alone time, and Bella needs time to focus on her gift.
"Indeed my young friend. I do believe that it is time for me to return to Volterra. I have been away from my dear ones for much too long." Aro smiled in a fatherly manner as visions of his guard passed through his mind once more. I was amazed at the amount of love he seemed to hold for each of them.
He took a step towards Bella and me, and then placed a hand upon each of our shoulders. Alice's words of caution were too late to stop what happened next.
The moment Aro made contact with us we were all three sucked into a deluge of images and memories.
At first, there were only weak blurry images obviously seen through human eyes.
A dark haired boy was sitting on a small bed with a straw mattress reading a book to a young girl, who looked to be no more than six years old, by the light of the lone candle in the small stone chamber.
The boy, who had grown into a young man, led a group of villagers who were searching frantically through the woods for someone. The search continued for days, but only found a torn and bloodied yellow handkerchief that the girl had worn around her hair. The search ended and the young man held his mother in his arms as she wept for the loss of her only daughter and the boy's younger sister.
The same young man, who now closely resembled the man that Aro is now, was holding a primitive looking farming tool as he gazed in confusion towards the beautiful woman that entered the far end of the field that he was tending just as the sun was setting; surely his beloved sister was resting amongst the angels and not standing a mere fifty yards from him. His confusion turned into fright as his scream of pain and surprise echoed through the evening sky as the vampire descended upon him.
"I forgive you, Didyme." were the only coherent words that passed through the lips of the young man as the pain of the transformation engulfed him.
I felt Bella jerk beside me as we felt the shear agony that Aro experienced during his change. I wanted to stop this, to break free from Aro's mind to comfort my love, but it was no use. The three of us were frozen to the spot as the fire tore its way through Aro's body while his sister looked on.
Then came the crystal clear vampire memories.
The moment that Aro became aware of his surroundings, he leapt to his feet and embraced his sister, not noticing the shockingly vivid crimson of her eyes, focusing instead on the strange images that flashed through his mind when their skin made contact.
Didyme explained what he had become and that he was gifted, and that she too had a gift. She could make anyone she met fall in love with her, instantly. Aro was more than intrigued by the idea of being able to see the minds and lives of other people and decided to use his existence to collect as many histories as possible.
I shuddered violently as they set off into the night for Aro's first hunt.
For many years, they traveled together throughout most of what is now Europe and Asia before meeting Marcus. Didyme and Marcus formed a relationship fairly quickly and were married three months after they met.
A path of death and blood followed the trio everywhere they traveled. After two centuries, they were joined by Caius and his sister Sulpicia. They had been turned by the same vampire that had sired Didyme, and they were searching for him.
They had heard rumors that the Romanians were holding Lucian, their maker, captive and were trying to force him to use his gift of mind control to aid them in taking over the world.
Aro and Sulpicia bonded as they made their way towards Romania and were married in a small meadow at sunset by a vampire priestess named, Athenodora, who later became Caius' wife.
The six of them called themselves the Volturi and recruited other vampires to help them take on the Romanians. They assured the vampires that if they were the victors, they would keep the vampire world a secret and form laws that all vampires must adhere to. The vampires liked the idea of structure and readily agreed to help the Volturi overthrow the Romanian coven.
It was chilling to watch not only Lucian but Didyme fall in the battle that allowed the Volturi to assume ultimate power over the vampire world. Marcus became sullen over the death of his mate, but swore that he would stay by her brother's side. Didyme wouldn't have wanted him to desert the family.
The brothers and the remaining wives took up residence in Volterra, Italy and dubbed it their base of operation. Their empire grew as new members joined their family.
More than two millennia passed and the Volturi held fast to their beliefs and remained true to the laws that they had vowed to uphold. They eagerly punished the lawbreakers in flamboyant and violent displays and celebrated with the massacre of hundreds of innocent humans afterward. Bella's disgust and pity colored these memories, making me wonder at the combination of emotions.
I was heartbroken to see that Carlisle's compassion was all but lost on the ancient vampires. They valued him and were grateful to call him a friend, but thought that he was insane for his choice of diet.
It wasn't until Hugo and Louisa came to them and brought the knowledge that only Constantine had once known that they changed their ways. When the Volturi guard cornered him, Constantine warned them that his death would be avenged by his masters Vladimir and Stephen.
The Romanians had not proven him correct as of yet.
The Volturi had all been happy and were sure that they were on the path to heaven when Heidi and Santiago began searching out the foulest kinds of humans imaginable for the Volturi to feed on.
It was still hard to watch them feed through Aro's eyes, but I could understand the appeal of ridding the world of vermin disguised as human beings.
It wasn't until we had come full circle and we were watching Aro's hand approach our shoulders that I realized that we had only seen Aro's memories and none of the memories that he had collected from others.
"Those aren't his to share, Edward. He can only show us his memories," Bella choked out as soon as the stream of images from Aro's mind ended. I wondered how she had come to this conclusion, but decided to wait to ask her once we were alone.
"Are you alright, Aro?" Carlisle asked as the ancient vampire stumbled back a few steps. Carlisle placed his hands on Aro's shoulders and led him to the bench that ran along the deck closest to the cabin.
"What have you done to me?" Aro gasped.
Alice reached over to pat his hand soothingly but drew her hand back quickly as Aro inhaled sharply and flinched at the contact.
"I'm not sure," Bella mumbled at the same time as I said, "I think we reversed your gift."
"No, not that. I understand that much, but why can't I see anything? When I touch Carlisle and even young Alice, I see nothing!" he exclaimed as he ran his hand down his face in frustration.
"What do you mean, old friend?" Carlisle asked in his most gentle tone. He was concerned for his friend and what this might mean for Bella and me.
"My gift is gone. When I touched you, I saw nothing that I couldn't see with my own eyes. Not even a flash of memory." Aro all but yelled in a panic.
It was Alice who put it together in her mind. She had seen it in a vision just before Aro touched us, but thought that we had only borrowed Aro's power. It was clear that she was perfectly correct in her observation that we had done more, a lot more.
"Bella and Edward took your gift. I saw it coming, but I thought they were merely borrowing not taking it. I'm so sorry that I didn't warn you in time." Alice was chagrined.
"It's not your fault," We all told her in unison. It always amazed me that Alice felt the need to take the blame for everything that she missed in her visions.
Let me tell you a story about a pot and a kettle there, Mr. Cullen. Feelings of wrongly placed self-blame must run in the family. Bella raised an eyebrow as if to challenge me to deny it.
I gazed at my wife and smiled widely at the notion that she thought Alice and I shared familiar traits.
Touché my love. I conceded with a small nod and she smiled smugly at me before turning her attention to Carlisle.
"Okay then. We know that Bella and Edward inadvertently took Aro's gift, but what we need to determine now is if there is any way for them to give it back. Then we will concentrate on how it happened in the first place." Carlisle took command of the situation.
"Do you see any way for us to give Aro back his power, Alice?" Bella asked eagerly. I never want to see another vampire's life like that. All that death and pain, it was too much Edward. And to think that they actually liked that.
Bella shuddered visibly at the memory of Aro's feeding habits. I squeezed her hand gently to offer a small measure of comfort.
"No. Sorry, but I can only see what would happen if you decide what to try. If you decide to touch him again, I would see the outcome." Alice explained to Bella. It felt odd to me that Bella didn't already know how Alice's visions worked, but I knew that it was the one thing about Alice's gift that she abhorred; the fact that a tiny decision could change a person's entire future. I could see why she wouldn't share what she thought was a limitation.
"Fine, I'm going to touch Aro." Bella declared and Alice focused on the outcome; nothing.
"Nothing happens. It's your turn Edward. Decide to touch Aro." I did as Alice asked and saw the vision play out with the same results as when Bella decided it.
"Together," Carlisle suggested and I decided to touch Aro with Bella and smiled when I saw through Alice that we would be able to return his gift if we touched him together.
We each placed one of our hands upon Aro's and he laughed giddily as our memories flowed into his mind. He was able to break the contact, but only because he had already seen Bella and my lives before.
"Splendid. Just splendid. Not only can you read the minds of those around while protecting your minds from attack, but you can take away the gifts from the threatening vampire as well. I am so happy that we are on the same side, my young friends," Aro mused aloud, but wondered to just what powers Bella and I possessed as a couple. He was sure we had the potential to do many more extraordinary things.
"It is truly quite amazing, isn't it?" Carlisle agreed.
"The connection between the two of you, allowing Bella to hear the thoughts of those around us and to also allow you to shield your mind and afford you the silence that you had been lacking in the presence of people for almost a century, is nothing short of miraculous, but this new development, the power to take away and return a vampire's power, is absolutely intriguing." Carlisle wanted to observe and learn all he could about us. He was not being callous, he was just a scientist and always eager to learn new information.
"There will be plenty of time for us to learn all about what Bella and Edward can do, but we need to leave them be for now. We have been here long enough; it is their honeymoon after all." Alice said with a wink to Bella. My sister knew how uncomfortable Bella was being the center of attention even to such a small group.
"You are right, Alice. Please forgive my intrusion Edward, Bella. I should be leaving anyway. I miss my dear ones and need to check on Jane." Aro touched the tops of both of our heads in farewell individually. He would never touch the both of us at the same time again.
We all stood in silence and watched as Aro climbed into the small speedboat. We didn't move until he was out of my hearing range.
"That was so awful. I couldn't imagine ever killing a person the way they did. I'm so thankful that I have you all as my family to help guide me the right way," Bella was still reeling from watching the Volturi feed.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that, my love." I pressed my lips to her hair. Her scent that had remained the heavenly combination of lavender, freesia and Bella filled my senses and the longing to take my wife flooded my being, forcing me to bite back a groan.
"Okay, Carlisle. We have about two minutes before the lovebirds reach their limit." Alice hugged first Bella then me, careful not to touch us together and then hopped into the boat that would take her and my father back to their mates.
"Yes, well. Goodbye then. Call us if you need anything," Carlisle kissed both our foreheads before joining Alice in the small ketch.
They had barely gotten out of our physical hearing range when the temptation overtook the two of us and our passion exploded and we christened every flat surface of the deck and cabin and a few of the vertical ones too. At sunrise on the third day after we had been left on our own, Bella decided that she needed to hunt, breaking us from our passion filled stupor.
"I'm sorry, my love. Your throat must be parched. Come, let's get you fed. You're going to need your strength later," I growled playfully and winked at her.
Neither of us bothered to get dressed before we jumped off the boat at a full run. There was no need for such frivolousness since the clothing would just be torn away in mere minutes anyway.
My life was blissful, and I couldn't imagine it could get any better that it was right now.
Thank you all so much for the encouragement and support as I delve back into this 'verse!
I love you guys so very much! Poet