With One Look

Chapter 12

Isabella's P.O.V.

I've traveled a lot this last few years, meeting new vampires and their coven mates, and if I wasn't visiting covens I would just travel around to see different places and the sights they held. For the first few months of my travels I knew I was being followed, and I thought a couple of times I saw Demetri, but I couldn't be sure. It was probably Aro's way of showing me that he was watching me, but I didn't care. Aro was no threat to me so let him keep tabs on me.

It took a while, but I think I was finally getting over Caius. It still hurt when his name was mentioned, but not as badly as it did in the beginning, and of course when someone figured out who I was they immediately asked what happened, and why I left the Volturi. But there were those who knew already, especially if they heard that Caius had taken a new mate.

I've traveled extensively throughout Europe and was welcomed by a few of the covens. I met the French coven which only housed two members, Henri and Noela. They were very friendly and offered me a place in their coven, but I told them I wanted to see the world. I thanked them for their kind offer and stayed with them for a few weeks, enjoying their company, but then I decided it was time to move on.

I also met the Amazon Coven, a group of three women. Zafrina, who was gifted, has the ability to create vivid visual illusions, which I found very intriguing. There was also Senna and Kachiri, and I enjoyed being with them very much. That is where I stayed the longest in my travels. I really liked Zafrina, and I think I found a kindred spirit with her. It was shaky at first, for she really hated the Volturi. Since she knew that I was a part of that coven, or used to be, she was leery of me at first, but when she realized what had happened to me concerning Caius, she softened towards me and we spent many days conversing on the subject of men and their evil ways. I never laughed so hard being in another's presence, and I was sad when I left but promised to visit again soon.

The next coven I came across was the Egyptian coven. There were four of them. I found Amun to be a little strange. I also learned that he was the one who turned Demetri and later lost him to the Volturi with Chelsea's help. That is one of the reasons he didn't trust anyone, especially those who had anything to do with the Volturi, and pretty much kept his distance from me. But his mate Kebi was a sweetheart and we got on really well. Then there was Benjamin and his mate Tia. Benjamin had the gift of elemental control. He could manipulate and control the four elements: fire, water, air and earth … it was amazing to watch, and he was a very easy vampire to get to know as was Tia, and I enjoyed their company very much.

I stayed there for a while, not as long as with the Amazon coven, but longer than I had any of the others, at Benjamin and Tia's request. Amun didn't like it too much; he's a very skittish man to be a vampire. So I mainly spent my time with Benjamin and Tia and sometimes with Kebi. I was also sad to leave them behind, but I had a mission to fulfill: to see all of the world I could, and I was bound to do it. I said my goodbyes once again to yet another coven with the promise to see them again and was on my way.

I was off again, this time to Ireland. I think I remember my human father saying that we had family that lived there, but of course that was many, many years ago and they were probably no more than memory by now. It was already approaching the end of the eighteen hundreds and I was amazed at how fast time flew while being a vampire.

While I was in Ireland I came across yet another coven, the Irish coven who housed three members this time. Liam, the leader, and his mate Siobhan, and their coven mate Maggie. Liam did not have a gift, but Siobhan and Maggie did. Siobhan's gift was that she could visualize the outcome of an event, and Maggie's was that she could tell if someone told an untruth. They were good vampires and I enjoyed their company very much. I spent a few weeks with them and they too were a little squeamish that I been involved with the Volturi at first, but settled down when they found out that I was no longer affiliated with them and was therefore no threat to them.

I was beginning to see a pattern here. There weren't too many vampire covens that did not like the Volturi, and I'm sure it was due to Aro's constant manipulation. I had thought his ire was only toward his own coven. I guess I was wrong. He spread his ire across the world as well, I thought as I shook my head.

I left the Irish coven and continued my trek across the world. My last stop was in England, the place where I grew up. I was hunting in the woods, the same woods where Carlisle and I were attacked and turned when yet another male vampire found me.

"Who are you and why are you feeding in my territory?" he asked nastily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was anyone's territory." I hadn't smelled any markings to prove this area belonged to anyone. I knew he was lying, not because I could sense him lying due to being around Maggie and picking up her gift, but because I was hunting animals and wasn't anywhere near any humans, which I knew from his eye color were his prey of choice.

He looked at me for a few minutes with a scowl. "Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Isabella Swan, and you are?" I asked in return.

He didn't answer for a few second and then replied. "Alistair, my name is Alistair. Why does your name sound familiar to me?"

I shrugged my shoulders before answering. "I used to be with the Italian coven if that helps."

He hissed at me and dropped down into a fighting stance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not only can I defend myself, but as I said I used to be a member of the Volturi, though I am not any longer," I told him.

He slowly rose from his stance and looked at me still scowling, and then replied. "I remember who you are now. You are Caius's mate. Why are you here and not with him?" he asked.

I sighed, not wanting to get into this once again, but it was my decision to see the world. I expected I would be asked this question many times, and have been during my travels. "Caius has found his true mate, which I am not. I left so as to not look upon the two of them at every turn. I am no longer with the Volturi, as I said before," I told him.

He nodded, and looked around the area. "Why are you out here hunting these filthy beasts when I see you are a human feeder?" he asked. I went into my explanation of how I met Carlisle and my reasons for hunting both beasts and humans which he seemed to understand.

He also told me that he knew Carlisle and was friends with him, although he hadn't seen him in some time. He also told me he was a physician now, since I told him how long it had been since I last saw him.

He led me to a pond where we sat and talked for some time. He told me he was a loner and didn't like the company of anyone else. He liked his peace and quiet, and in the time we spent together he never once apologized for the way we met. I could sense he was a hard man and trusted very little. I told him I grew up here or in the town not far off. That surprised him, for as he said I had no English accent. I then explained my time in the America's and what led my human family and myself to come here to live. He said he remembered the witch hunts that started here before drifting across the pond, that he had heard stories of what occurred in America. I told him I was headed there next, that I had come here to visit my human mother's grave before leaving.

I also learned that he too had a gift. He was gifted with the unique ability that allowed him to track animate beings at a greater distance than most vampires could. I was always told that Demetri's gift was the best there is, but if what Alistair said was true, then it sounded as if his gift was just as good as Demetri's, if not equal to his. And it was for sure he too hated the Volturi like many of the others I've come in contact with. That made me pause for a second and wonder just what Aro had been up to these last hundreds of years.

Before I left him, he told me if I came across Carlisle to give him his best. I said I would. He said he hoped to meet me again some day, which caused me to smile. He returned my smile, and I assumed that he didn't do that often. He ran off as I made my way to where I had buried my mother and laid on her grave a few wild flowers I picked along the way. Seeing this place again brought back the guilt I had back then. I apologized to my mother and ran to find passage that would take me back to my homeland that I haven't seen in many, many years.

Once back in America, which took longer than I thought possible, we landed in the city known as New York. I didn't really find too many vampires here. I don't know if that was because they were hidden well, or they just didn't exist in this city, but it was a large city which might explain most of it. I did notice that America had changed somewhat, There were more people milling around the streets, but as I said before it was a big city. I also noticed it had more technology than I remembered, such as a telephone that I learned of when I rented a room for the night after hunting a meal. I was starved from being on the ship for such a long period of time, and it took everything I had not to feed off of one of the passengers on board.

The hostess at the boarding house made it known that the telephone that sat on a wall in the hallway across from all of the rooms was for her residents who rented rooms for a longer stay, but I was more than welcome to phone anyone I wished to. She showed me how to use it and told me once connected to tell the operator what number I requested and she would put me through. Of course I didn't have anyone's number because I didn't know anyone here any longer, but I didn't tell her that.

They also had running water, which surprised me, and after experimenting with the knobs I figured out how to use it. It felt amazing sitting in a tub and soaking in the steaming hot water. It almost made me feel human again.

Once I finished my bath I dried off and dressed in the clothing I purchased in a shop before renting the room and relaxed for the night. In the morning I left this city and headed for the wooded area, at human speed while in the city, but upon entering the woods I took off at vampire speed.

After a while I stopped to feed in a place called Virginia. After finding a criminal who was torturing a young girl, I set her free. Once she had disappeared I fed from the barbaric creature, disposed of his body, and sped off again, not stopping until I was halted by a nomadic coven who were traveling across the country as well. I could feel they weren't the friendly type and kept my guard up.

"Well, who do we have here?" the male with the dirty blonde hair that was tied in the back asked excitedly, as he walked around me giving me the once over. He stopped in front of me, still ogling me from head to toe, as the other two stood back behind him. The woman had the reddest hair I have ever seen. She stood picking at her fingernails as the other male stood back and grinned at who I assumed was their leader.

"My name is Isabella Swan, and who might you be?" I asked, showing him I was not amused by his actions.

"He laughed and turned to look at his coven mates before his eyes landed on the other male vampire who was dark skinned and whose hair looked like it hadn't been combed in ages. "What do you say Laurent, want to have some fun with me?" he asked.

It was then I knew what he meant to do. I sighed, not wanting to fight with this coven, but it looked as though I might not have any choice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I told him as he looked back at me and smiled.

"Oh yeah, and why is that? he asked, amused.

"Because you would die before you drew your next unneeded breath," I told him. He smiled and ran his hand up my arm.

The female vampire called out. "James, leave the girl alone," she said and I could sense that she had a feeling that I could cause them harm. It was then that James grabbed both of my arms, trying to push me to the ground. I flung out my shield and threw him across the field where he crashed into one of the trees and I held him there. The other male vampire backed off when he realized that I had a gift, as did the female.

"Look, we don't want any trouble, so please carry on with your travels, we won't try anything again," the other male vampire begged.

"Didn't look that way to me, and you're damn right you won't cause me any more trouble, because I could kill you all with only a flick of my wrist," I told him.

He gulped before continuing to beg for their lives. "We meant you no harm, really, Victoria and I would have stopped him before he did anything stupid," he said. That caused me to chuckle.

"And what if you cross another person or vampire, huh? Will you have a little fun with them as well? Maybe I should just end you all right here and now to make sure that doesn't happen," I told him honestly.

"Please, we won't harm anyone else, we're just simple nomads who are traveling around the country," he begged.

I harrumph and nodded my head. "See that you don't, for I will know and will come back and finish what I started," I said. He nodded, and saying that I took off once again.

The next city I came to was New Orleans. There were many people walking up and down the street. I also found that this city had a lot of supernatural beings living here. I didn't get to meet any of them, but I did get the chance to watch them collaborating among themselves. A few noticed me but pretty much kept to themselves. I watched them from a room with a balcony that I had rented for the night needing to clean up from my bout with that menacing coven.

Some of them were wolves, or so I thought, but I couldn't be sure, for I had never seen one in their human form. I think that some of them were witches, but again I couldn't be sure. It was interesting to watch, and by morning the streets were cleared except for a few stragglers. It was time for me to carry on with my journey.

A/N: Okay there's another update done. Coming up next Bella comes in contact with Maria's coven and meets the god of war and his captain and lieutenant. See how she fares here. I think you'll enjoy it...Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, bigg huggs.