Author's Notes: I just want to clarify, this will be an Edward/Bella story... eventually. I promise.
At first, Bella thought Aro meant to drain her. She felt the burning sting of his venom as soon as his teeth pierced her flesh. He took long pulls of blood from her forearm, his lips clamped tight to her skin. He didn't miss a single drop. Her broken fingers curled and tightened into a fist as she tried to pull away, making her grit her teeth. Too soon, the burning of his venom and the aching in her hand slipped away, the edges of her vision going dark. When he finally drew away from her, she was nearly unconscious from the blood loss. She slouched down, her head dropping until her chin hit her chest.
Distantly, she was aware that Aro had left her on the couch and moved away toward his desk.
"Bianca dear, please send Caius to my office."
His voice seemed so far away, and muffled like she was under water. The ancient door creaked open seconds or minutes later; Bella couldn't tell how much time had passed.
"Oh! And who is this?"
She tried in vain to lift her head, but she couldn't even manage to open her eyes. The stinging was starting to return, concentrated at the bite on her arm at first but it was spreading. She moaned pathetically, wanting to ask for help but her body wouldn't cooperate.
"Quite an interesting story, brother. Demetri brought her to me. She recognized our kind. And — noble soul that she is — she refused to tell me how she came to know of us."
"And?" The second voice sounded bored. "I'm sure you didn't have to wait long for answers."
"Her mind evades my gift."
"Oh my. That is interesting." Fingers grasped the hair at the crown of her head, yanking it up roughly. Bella groaned again. "So you've decided to make yourself a new toy?"
"That was the idea. I wonder what other talents may fail against her. Her blood was very sweet though — I may have taken more than necessary."
"You've always had a sweet tooth." Caius snickered and dropped her head abruptly.
"Bella… Bella I'm so sorry," another voice murmured.
"It's okay," Bella mumbled out loud. "This is… this is better than living without you."
"Aro, she's positively delirious! How much did you drink?"
"More than my share, I fear."
Bella tried to pay attention to the voices, but the burning was quickly growing in intensity. Her toes curled in her ratty old Converses, her legs shaking with the effort to not scream out. But she could only hold back for so long. A piercing shriek filled the room.
"It would appear you haven't failed after all. I'll leave you to it then. She's already giving me a migraine."
"Brother, we have things to discuss. I've received word about Romania."
"And how are we to talk over that?" Caius gestured to Bella as she cried out once again, her broken hand long forgotten as she dug her fingers into hair. She tugged at the glossy brown strands, alternating between whimpering and screaming.
The imaginary flames licking at her flesh were nothing compared to the sudden burst of pain in her head. Aro watched her curiously. He was no stranger to the endless torture of the transformation, but Bella seemed to be struggling more than he'd ever seen before. She pounded at her own skull, mumbling pleas and begging for it to end. He moved toward her and placed an icy hand to her forehead, smoothing back the hair that stuck to the sweat.
"Shhhh," he murmured. A delightful buzzing tickled over his skin and then he was treated to the thoughts that minutes ago he'd been denied. He closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath.
"Yes," he hissed in delight, consuming every memory in the young girl's head, completely oblivious to the way her pain seemed to double. When at last he'd consumed every inch of her mind, he drew his hand away and looked toward Caius, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Ah, we have many interesting things to discuss." His eyes gleaming, he turned his attention to the door. He knew Demetri hadn't gone far when he left the office, he could hear the tracker puttering around in the library down the corridor. Aro called for him, his voice quiet but he knew Demetri would hear him, even over Bella's cries.
"Can you sense her?" Aro asked as soon as the door opened. Demetri appeared confused at first, his eyebrows furrowing. He understood the question a moment later when he turned his gaze toward Bella. His keen tracking sense immediately recognized her, his own mind wrapped around hers in relief finally. When he'd met the girl, he was distraught to find that he had no feel for her presence. He wasn't used to his talent being denied, and his dismay had led to his iron hold on her when he dragged her to the Volturi. He knew rationally the human couldn't escape him, but now he had the reassurance he'd be able to track her anywhere.
He nodded his head, moving closer.
"Delightful!" Aro clapped his hands together. "Demetri, take her downstairs for now. Caius and I can't possibly get any work done with her like this."
With another nod, Demetri slipped his arms under Bella and lifted her easily. His cold, hard arms instantly made her think of another embrace and in her delirium she curled against his chest, trying to stifle the sounds she was making. Once he left the room, Aro turned to Caius.
"It was the Cullens."
Demetri moved quickly, choosing the ancient stairs over the modern elevators to avoid as many others as possible. Unsure of where to bring her, he took Bella to his own chambers temporarily. As he moved to set her down on his bed, her fingers clutched at his shirt.
"Please." Her voice was shaky. "The cold — it helps," she begged. He looked down at the slip of a girl in his arms and nodded. He moved instead to the high-back leather chair in the corner of the room and sat, keeping her tucked against him.
While Bella shuddered against him, he moved his eyes over her, taking notice for the first time of just how pretty the girl was. She was nearly as pale as the vampires in the ancient castle, but her cheeks were flushed, giving her complexion a creamy glow, her lips full and naturally pink to match. He shifted to push the hair away from her face where some of the glossy strands had plastered themselves to her mouth. He toyed with a piece of it, twisting the soft curls around his finger. He watched her with rapt attention for hours while he waited for word from Aro. As gorgeous as she was, he knew the transformation would only make her even more desirable.
"Bella," he murmured. "It suits you."
The remaining members of the Cullen family stood in silence, listening to Alice reveal what she'd just seen. She did her best to follow Edward's orders and not seek any visions of Bella, but sometimes they just came to her. She'd seen Bella move to Florida, seen her graduate. And most recently, she'd seen Bella taken in by the Volturi in Italy. While terrified for her friend, Alice wasn't completely surprised. Even after they'd left her behind, Alice continued to see visions of Bella as a vampire in the future.
"So we're going to Italy?" Emmett asked, breaking the silence.
"We can't go to Italy. They'll know we're the ones who exposed ourselves," Rose pointed out.
"I'm not risking Alice with them," Jasper said.
"Jazz, we can't just leave her there!" Alice argued.
"You think they're just gonna let us waltz in and take Bella home?" Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"Carlisle." It was Esme's quiet voice that shut them up. "Should I call him?"
Carlisle deliberated for several long minutes.
"No," he answered finally. "Edward wouldn't be able to stop himself."
"What do we do then?" she asked. Carlisle sighed.
"I don't know that there's anything we can do right now. As far as we know, the Volturi have no idea how Bella came to know of our existence. I'm sure I'd have already received a call if they did. And if we go to Italy, Aro will know immediately. It's suicide." He hesitated before turning his attention to Alice. "Have you seen anything else?"
She shook her head.
"I think… I think we just have to wait."