Broken Bow

Hello! This is (kind of) my first fic, and I more than welcome all kinds of feedback. Like, honestly, say whatever you want to me. I'll take it!

Now, questions?

'Hey, I saw this exact fic a while ago under a different name! Are you a thief?!'

No! I swear! I was just finding my groove in my first profile (Moonlab-Soyuz Test Project), when there was a blowout in my house, and, because I created a new email for that account, I couldn't remember it and was essentially locked out. Careless, I know! You can message my old profile if you want, although I all-but guarantee you'll get no answer.

Now I'll post the first two chapters I wrote here, and begin working on the third with the intent to publish that as soon as I can. After that, updates will be more intermittent, though I promise I'll try damn hard to keep this going!

Onwards!

Chpt.I

'Before we vote...' Aro began.

YES!

I knew he would offer us a chance, no matter how little he expected anyone to take it. This was our opportunity! I knew it would all work out!

'Let me remind you.' Aro continued. 'Whatever our council's decision, there is no need for violence here.'

Edward snarled out a dark laugh.

Aro stared at him sadly. 'It would be a regrettable waste to our kind to lose any of you. But you especially, young Edward, and your newborn mate. The Volturi would be glad to welcome many of you into our ranks. Bella, Benjamin, Zafrina, Kate. There are many choices before you. Consider them.'

I reached over and squeezed Renesmee's shoulder. Whispered quietly, only for her ears, 'Are you still on board with this? I meant what I said. It is your decision.'

My daughter responded how I had desperately hoped she would. She showed me the image she had been building in her head since our conversation two weeks ago. Me, her, eyes red, golden 'V' pendants around our necks, returning from another successful mission to a grateful master.

Jacob looked up at me, confusion evident in his expression. I grinned cruelly at him. All the hate, all the deceit, I finally laid bare on my face. When I spoke, it was with a sense of finality.

'You'll always be my best man.'

Three things happened very fast.

Beside me, voice full of ashes, Edward screeched, 'Stop her!'

I yanked Renesmee off Jacob's shoulders and made a beeline for the 37 Vampires on the other side of the clearing.

And my shield snapped back from the rest of the Cullens and their 'witnesses' to protect only me and the child in my arms.

In my half-second sprint across the clearing, my shield was struck with the minor annoyance of an assault by Jane. She must have mistaken my dash for the Volturi lines as an attack.

I fell to my knees at the feet of Aro, Caius, and Marcus - who hadn't moved a centimeter - and spoke in a rush.

'Masters! My shield is no longer protecting the Cullens or their allies. Spare my daughter and I will devote the rest of my existence to your service!'

There was a full ten seconds of total silence (a short amount of time for a Human but a pretty large amount of time to be rendered speechless for our kind).

Finally, Aro spoke.

'I am sure some manner of… arrangement could be worked out.'

Caius's growl of disbelief brought an abrupt crash from the heights of euphoria.

'You cannot be serious! We came here to eliminate a threat to our kind! I will not stand here while you-'

Aro's hand shot up.

'Enough! I rule the Volturi, Brother. And your complaints have been noted - and dismissed. However…'

I glanced up, willing him to see the loyalty in my eyes. The desperation.

'…If I am to grant your request, Isabella, I expect it to be beneficial to the Volturi. Substantially so. Is that clear?'

I murmured my assent, still not having moved from my kneeling position.

'You may take your place with the rest of the Guard, Bella.'

Suddenly, panic shot through me. To be denied my chance at revenge on the Cullens…! I spoke rapidly, fearfully.

'Master, I want to help fight! I can be of use…!'

Aro frowned.

'I thought they were you're friends. You're family.'

I spat a mouthful of venom onto the snowy ground.

'I hate them.'

Aro's response was immediate.

'Bar proof, I am afraid I cannot believe this.'

I let out a barely audible growl of annoyance.

'Then I'll give you proof.' I stated bluntly as I grabbed his hand.

I lowered my shield completely, and allowed images to flood my mind - and his. My desperation for immortality and my willingness to descend to any level - such as allowing a group of people who could not realize they had been given the world's greatest gift to believe I could possibly ever love them. Or tolerate them. Or do anything but loathe them. My conversation with my daughter, and my relief when she reiterated my opinion. My admiration for the lawmakers of the world of shadow, and my further disgust with the Cullens for refusing to respect that authority on multiple occasions. My burning desire to accept Aro's invitation in Volterra, only to be prevented by… … … that. How every kiss, every word of affection, every thing I had ever done with Edward had been an elaborate ruse to gain immortality. How I planned to abandon the Cullens and their unnatural ways immediately after I had been granted it to find my true mate, only to be prevented from doing so by the result of Edward's last shackle to my ankle. I finished off the avalanche of hatred and hope with a terse mental, You Know The Rest.

Aro withdrew his hand from my grasp, and I allowed it. He straightened up, gently pulling me up as well until I was standing, looking at him in his milky red eyes.

'You certainly possess an enviable talent for acting Ms. Swan.'

'Well now you're just making me blush Master.'

'You may help us eradicate your tormentors, Isabella. And you will be compensated further for the pain you suffered.' He turned to face his Guard and the witnesses. 'Isabella Volturi is now the newest member of the Elite Guard. I expect you all to treat her accordi-'

Aro was interrupted by a shout of warning from Demetri. All of the Cullens, save Rosalie and Emmet, were disappearing into the treeline, while their allies were dashing forward. Jane stepped forward, and instantly ten of the advancing Vampires fell to their knees as their hands flew to their heads. However, Jane's ability had limits, and before Alec had a chance to intervene, my rage boiled over. The Cullens would not escape!

I set Renesmee down and ran forward toward the remaining 25 or so vampires and shapeshifters. I spotted Benjamin sprinting towards me on my left with murder in his eyes, but before he could reach me he was tackled to the ground by Felix, and the two began a melee. I turned around in time to see Sam leaping at me, jaws wide. Before I could react, I felt a steady hand grip my shoulder, and, to my shock, the massive wolf seemed to… bounce off some kind of invisible barrier. He skidded to a stop in the snow, before struggling to stand on two clearly broken front legs. With that threat temporarily nullified, I turned to contend with whoever was still holding my upper arm - although, to be honest, if he or she bore me ill intent, I would probably already be dead.

I saw a small female Vampire, Volturi if the V pendant around her sternum was any indication, looking at me curiously. The black cloak she was wearing obscured much of her features, but I could tell she was quite attractive, even for our kind.

'I'm Renata. I have the gift of repelling physical attacks and Aro has assigned me to protect you. Shall we?'

I gave her a nod and a smile, and turned to take stock of the situation. Felix was currently in the process of tearing Benjamin's head off, Demetri had Kate on the ropes, deftly evading her shock attacks and landing many punishing blows of his own. Santiago had a shapeshifter I didn't have time to identify in a necklock, Alec was straddling Zafrina and pummeling her head with blows deceptively powerful for his small from, and Afton was in the process of having his face stomped in by Rosalie while Emmet was preventing a horrified Chelsea from rendering any kind of aid.

I ran toward the girl who hadn't even pretended to tolerate me, who refused to recognize the gift she had been given the most out of all of them. She saw me and began running toward me, but she had never fought in her life. Even in the struggle against Victoria's newborn army, the one thing I could say I actually owed the Cullens for, she had stood back and let Emmet do the work.

We met in the middle of the already winding down battle. I only realized I had somehow lost Renata when I felt the vain self-centred little excuse for an immortal's fists collide against my left ribcage. It hurt, a lot, but I wasn't going to let that distract me; I couldn't.

In response to her attack, I grabbed her by the throat, threw her to the ground so hard I could her fissures race up her back, and thrust my boot down onto her throat. She tried to grab my ankle to force my foot off her esophagus, but I only pressed down harder while reaching behind me and grabbing her own ankles. I gave a pull, and with a beautiful rending sound, the first of the Cullen's was undone by my hands.

Suddenly someone grabbed my shoulder, and spun me around. I barley had time to recognize one of the Romanians - Stefan? - before he struck my left cheekbone with a powerful and painful blow. I managed to duck under his next attack, but he simply kicked me in the chest, hard enough to send me flying over the heads of the Volturi rulers, some thirty meters behind me.

While airborne, I got a good look at the fight, and it was clear it was almost over. Only a few of the Cullen allies were still able to resist, and even as I flipped over and descended to the ground, several of them collapsed to the ground, presumably victims of Alec or Jane.

I landed in the snow, and had a sudden, rather childish wish that I had my own my own Volturi cloak so I could look more dramatic. I ran at speed back to the cluster of Vampires, hoping against hope that Emmet might still be up, but the only ones standing in the clearing were wearing cloaks. Three or four members of the Volturi Guard were in pieces on the field, but no one had had time to burn them, so it was safe to say the Volturi hadn't lost a man. Meanwhile, the entire battalion the Cullens had assembled, the entire Quileute tribe, and two of the Cullens themselves had been eradicated.

All in all, a good day.

I saw Renata conversing with Aro, and zipped up to them.

'Master? Have I done well?'

Aro smiled at me and inclined his head.

'You have proven your worth to us, Isabella. As I'm sure you know, most of the Cullens remain at large, and I am putting together a mission to hunt them down. Right now it consists of Demetri, Felix, Alec, and Jane. But I thought it only proper to offer you the opportunity to lead it.'

Hmmm… I thought. My 'defection' is proving more beneficial by the second.

'Master I… believe that would be the greatest gift you could possibly offer me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.'

Aro clapped his hands.

'Wonderful! Meanwhile, I believe Renata has something to say to you.'

Renata stepped forward, and, to my confusion and mild shock, knelt before me.

'Isabella, I… I'm sorry. Aro assigned me to protect you, and I completely failed in that task. You could have been injured or killed.'

I simply held out my hand to her, when she grasped it, I pulled her into an embrace, taking her aback.

'Well, I wasn't, and you saved my life once. That's enough for me. Now that you're family Renata, I suppose I can only tell you that you were one of my main inspirations for joining the Volturi. With two shields serving our Masters, we will accomplish great things. I'm sure of it.'

Renata nodded and gave my hand a squeeze before stepping away to take care of some other task. For a moment I felt a brief twinge of some unidentified emotion. I couldn't name it, I knew only that it was good.

Vaguely, I registered a brief exchange between Aro and Marcus. They spoke too quietly for to hear them.

Aro spoke up.

'Bella, grab a quick bite to eat - a real bite to eat - and be in Volterra within a week. We need to find you some more appropriate attire.'

Chpt.II

THREE DAYS LATER, FLORENCE

I ignored the death struggles of the woman below me as I drained her, with absolutely no regard for the life I was ripping away. I had looked forward to this almost as much as vengeance on the Cullens; the chance to live like any one of my kind should. To embrace who I was and what I was, to recognize myself as superior, rather than playing Human and denying my true nature.

I hoped Alice would see this. I hoped she would tell Carlisle. My one regret with the battle in the clearing was that I hadn't had time to see the Cullens reactions to my 'betrayal.' Hardly my fault though, I thought. They cut and run. They left their 'allies' to be slaughtered while they fled. Won't do them any good, if Edward wasn't lying about Demetri's tracking abilities.

I dropped the husk of the random Italian I had chosen to the flagstones. I quickly upended her purse, pocketing her phone, wallet, and wristwatch while kicking the rest of her possessions haphazardly across the alley. With any luck, Florence's PD would assume this to be a mugging gone wrong. I glanced down, proud of my work. This wasn't my first kill - with no more Quileute tribe to stop me, I had 'overindulged' a bit in Forks after Aro's affirmation - but somehow it felt special.

Ducking out of the alleyway, I exited the city and ran at speed to my ultimate destination - Volterra. As I approached the Palazzo dei Priori, I was able to take in the whole city in a new light. No longer shackled by the Cullens or mortality, everything seemed right with the world.

Not knowing how else to go about it, I simply decided to retrace the steps I had taken on my previous visit here. Quickly locating the alleyway where I had been forced to save Edward, I jumped down the sewer grate and hit the ground running. A short elevator ride later, I was standing in front of the obligatory Human secretary - who, I noticed, looked nothing like Gianna. She glanced up at me expectantly.

'Bella Swan to see the Volturi.'

She picked up the phone, spoke a few words in Italian, received a response in the same language, and smiled at me.

'You can go right in. I believe they're just finishing lunch. If you hurry there might be someone left for you.'

'That's all right, thanks. I just ate and I'm full.' As I walked past her I winked at her in a manner very reminiscent of Felix on my last trip to Italy. And just like Gianna, she giggled and blushed.

Shaking my head at her naivety, I continued down the hall, pushed open the large doors to the throne room, and was greeted by the most wonderful sight a vengeful newborn could see.

Alice and Jasper, being restrained by Alec and Felix, staring at me in horror.

I let out a joyful squeal and bounced happily up to the three thrones. Bowing before the rulers, I prayed to whatever gods there were that Aro would be good on his word. The dark-haired ancient spoke up.

'Consider this the first gift of many I am able to offer you, Bella. Me and my brothers will take our leave now. Demetri will instruct you on the particulars.'

The three rulers glided out of the room. I made sure to remain in a respectful position and keep my eyes downcast until they had left.

As soon as they had, though, I practically ran up to Demetri, who chuckled and shook his head.

'Someone's a bit eager. Here, take this.' He said as he pressed an engraved metal cylinder into my hand. I briefly recognized it as something similar to the design of device Cauis had used to execute Irina.

After briefly instructing me on which switch to flip, Demetri smiled at me and whispered, 'Knock 'em dead Bella.'

I laughed, told him not to worry, and turned to face Alice and Jasper. Without much hesitation, I strode up to Alice and gripped the sides of her head in my hands.

She looked up at me, spat a mouthful of venom in my eye, and hissed, 'Traitor!'

I laughed, and started to pull. As I heard fissures start to circle her neckline, I murmured, 'I think you need to re-educate yourself on the definition of that word, Alice. To be a traitor, I would have had to have been loyal to you in the first place.'

With that, I twisted my hands to the right, and with an exquisite screeching sound, the second of the Cullens was undone by my hands.

I raised my hand, preparing to jet flame into the remains of the pixie, but a shout of warning from Felix distracted me. I turned around to see Jasper kick his own severed lower arm out of his way and begin to charge toward me.

Time seemed to slow down. I was no match for Jasper in a hand-to-hand fight; he would dispatch me immediately if I did not take action. I did the one thing I could think of, and raised the carved cylinder. I depressed a latch, and Jasper was engulfed in a sheet of flame.

His hair instantly alit, and his hands flew to his scalp, trying to beat out the blaze. But I wasn't going to give him the opportunity. I stepped toward him as he fell to his knees, a cruel smile on my face, and continued to pour elemental agony into his rapidly blackening form. When there was nothing left but ashes, I turned, without ceasing the flow of fire from my hand, and torched the remains of Alice Cullen.

When I was finally satisfied, I opened a small jewelry case I had been carrying on my person for the last few days, and pulled out the Cullen Crest Carlisle had given me. With a snarl of rage, I threw it to the ground and crushed it under the heel of my boot, then kicked the splintered wood over to the scorch mark on the floor where the latest two Cullens had experienced the end of their pathetic lives. I turned to Felix.

'Are you alright?'

'Yes, I'm Sor-'

'You may be, but I'm not. I didn't know we even could burn before we had been de-limbed, and you've given me a wonderful idea on how to take care of Edward.'

Felix grinned and nodded, while Demetri clapped me on the shoulder and chuckled, 'You sure are a piece of work, Bella, and I think you'll fit right in. Now you should head upstairs; I believe the Masters have some rather exiting news for you.'

I thanked him, thanked them both, and zipped up to the upper levels of the Castle. Coming to a large wooden door engraved with the Volturi crest, I rapped twice on it and was greeted with a cheerful, 'Come in!'

I pushed open the doors, head bowed. Aro, Cauis, and Marcus were sitting in three ornate wooden chairs behind a massive dreadnought of a desk, and they all rose to greet me before gesturing me to a chair.

I sat as they did, and Aro spoke.

'Bella, you may be under the delusion that you do not deserve what you will now receive, but trust me, you do. Because of you, the Volturi no longer has any significant rivals left to challenge us, and without your reversal of loyalties, I have determined upon reflection that the we would have suffered greater losses in our inevitable showdown with the disillusioned of our world.'

I simply nodded, not sure where he was going but beginning to feel anticipation build inside me.

'Mele, come in.' Aro said.

In walked a small, nondescript Vampire with light brown hair and a golden V pendant. Clearly a member of the Elite Guard, but one I did not recognize. Aro spoke up again.

'This is Mele, our most heavily guarded secret. She has the ability of Power Transferal. In other words, she can absorb another Vampire's gift and, although she can't use that requestioned gift, she can give it to someone else who she comes into physical contact with. She has all of the Volturi Guard's abilities 'catalogued' if you will, and, on extremely rare occasions, we will reward extreme loyalty with the addition of a gift. Bella, what ability would you like to add to your shield?'

My response was immediate. 'Jane's.'

Aro nodded his head. I could tell his expectations had been fulfilled. 'Mele, if you would.'

Mele glided over to me and took my hand in both of hers. I felt a feeling not unlike a static shock, and could feel my mind swell with new power. New possibilities.

As Mele withdrew her hands, Aro chimed in.

'Now, Bella, we have some rather exciting news to share with you about Renata!'