Moving Forward - J. Black

vii.

EDITED

Alice and Eliza eventually made it to the Volturi castle just in time to see Edward and Bella get pulled behind the castle doors. The doors were immediately locked, but that didn't stop Eliza from kicking the door to open it. "Sorry, guys. It's a festival, wouldn't want to make a scene." Eliza grinned when she poked her head in to see two guard members glaring at her. "We wouldn't." the one responded to the blonde bitterly. 

"Enough." Another guard, Jane, sauntered down the hallway. "Jane." Edward greeted the immortal. "Aro sent me to see what was taking so long." Jane gave a small scolding to the guards before gesturing for the coven members to join her. "Just do what she says." Alice warned Bella as Jane began the walk to the throne room.

"Don't be scared." Edward tried to be encouraging as he placed his hand on Bella's lower back. "Are you?" Bella looked to Edward for some sort of comfort. "No." Eliza spoke for the vampire, giving Edward a pointed look. Jane looked back at the blonde annoyed, scoffing at her comment.

The seven got into an elevator with awful music before passing a rather chipper female receptionist. "Is she human?" Bella looked back at the nicely dressed brunette as they kept moving forward. "Yes." Edward refused to let Bella fall behind. "Does she know?" Bella continued to pry with curiosity. "Yes." Edward's response was low as he still stared at the guards surrounding them. 

"Then why would-she wants to be-" Bella's mind once again worked faster than her words. "And she will be." one of the guards grinned maniacally at the human. "Or dessert." Jane hummed, trying to off-put the human.

"Sister, they send you out to get one, and you bring back three and a half, such a clever girl." Jane's brother, Alec, grinned as the group neared the throne room entrance. "What a happy surprise!" Aro beamed at the group when they entered his throne room. "Bella is alive after all, and brought to you by your gorgeous ex-lover. Isn't that wonderful?" Aro took a step down from his chair, his eyes sparkling as he looked over Eliza. "I love a happy ending." Aro stepped before the couple, motioning for Edward to share his hand. "They are so rare." Aro gave Eliza another glance.

"Her blood appeals to you so much, it makes me thirsty. How can you stand to be so close to her?" Aro looked over Bella as if he was enchanted. "It's not without difficulty." Edward confessed while trying to withhold any emotion. "Yes, I can see that." Aro laughed at the memories that Edward gave him access to. "Aro can read every thought I've ever had with one touch." Edward kept Aro's gaze as he explained Aro's words to Bella. "And now you know everything, so get on with it." Edward glared at the older vampire.

"You're quite a soul reader yourself, Edward. Though, you can't read Bella's thoughts, fascinating." Aro mused as he fully explored Edward's mind. "I would love to see if you are an exception to my gifts as well. Would you do me the honor?" Aro reached out his hand out to Bella, who wearily set her hand in his. Aro grinned at her compliance and bowed his head in concentration.

"Interesting, I see nothing." Aro's eyes sparkled as he stepped away from the human. "I wonder." Aro's tone held glee as he almost laughed out his words. "Let us see if she's immune to all our powers, shall we Jane?" Aro looked over toward the gifted blonde. "No." Edward immediately denied, taking a step forward in protest. 

"Pain." Jane smirked as her powers brought Edward to his knees. "Stop! Stop, please, stop!" Bella's eyes widened and she tried to run toward the vampire only to be held back by Alec. "Stop! Just stop hurting him, please!" Bella struggled in Alec's arm and Eliza took her own step forward as Edward's body fell to the ground paralyzed.

"Jane." Aro instructed the vampire to withdrawal her gifts. "Master?" Jane looked at Aro with confusion. "Go ahead, dear." Aro motioned to Bella, giving the vampire approval to inflict pain on the human. Bella's struggling ceased as she took in Aro's directions. "This may hurt just a little." Jane's eyes sparkled as she turned to the human. The smug look on Jane's face fell when Bella flinched but was unaffected by her powers. "Remarkable, she confounds us all." Aro went into a fit of laughter before sobering up. "So what do we do with you now?" Aro looked over at the human girl with wonder.

"You already know what you're going to do, Aro." Marcus stood from his own chair, not liking Aro's insinuations. "She knows too much, she's a liability." Caius agreed with Marcus, urging the death of Bella Swan. "That's true." Aro frowned at the idea of killing the human that intrigued him so much. "Felix." Aro motioned for the guard to end Bella's life. "No." Edward lunged at the guard, catching him off gaurd.

Alice ran for Bella next but another guard pushed her further from the human. Bella took the guard's distraction to run over to Eliza, who was frozen in place. Eliza reacted quickly when Bella made it to her side, shoving the human behind her. Edward was slammed to the marble ground, his face cracking with the flooring. 

With Edward defeated, Felix grinned at Eliza as he looked at the human behind her. Edward fought the guard's hold with all he had to prevent Felix from attacking Bella and Eliza. Edward fought Felix with all his strength, the two vampires slamming each other around the room until Edward eventually lost.

Fed up with the fighting, Felix moved Edward into a chokehold and went to rip his head from his body. Eliza's body stiffened as she looked at Aro to interruption but the leader showed no sign of intervening. "Please, no, no, please!" Bella screamed out as she used Eliza's shock to rip her arm out of the vampire's hold. "Kill me, kill me, not him!" Bella pushed in front of Eliza, begging to be sacrificed instead. Aro looked shocked, but intrigued by Bella's offer of sacrifice. Eliza looked at Alice for guidance when she realized the situation was beyond her comprehension.

"How extraordinary! You would give up your life for someone like us, a vampire, a soulless monster." Aro advanced back toward Bella, glancing over at Edward. "Just get away from her." Edward begged as Felix still held him by his neck. "You don't know a thing about his soul." Bella at Aro as the royal spoke in his native tongue. "This is a sadness, if only it were your intention to give her immortality." Aro looked toward Edward before gravitating toward her. "Wait!" Alice interjected as she feared Bella's death. "Bella will be one of us, I've seen it. I'll change her myself." Alice confessed to a vision of the couple, preventing Bella's death. Aro stepped away from Bella to take Alice's hand.

"Mesmerizing to see what you have seen before it has happened." Aro released Alice after she had shared her vision. "Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal, Isabelle." Aro moved back to Bella, his hand caressing her cheek. "Go now, make your preparations." Aro decided as he glanced at Felix to release Edward. "We must be done with this, Heidi will arrive any moment." Marcus stood to slowly from his throne. "Thank you for your visit." the vampire remained emotionless. 

"We will return the favor. I advise that you follow through with your promise, we do not offer second chances." Caius warned glared at the young coven. "Goodbye, my young friends." Aro dismissed the group as they were led out. Edward kept a firm grip on Bella as the four passed a group of tourists, heading straight for the throne room. Eliza cringed and Bella stiffened at the doors of the throne room were slammed and screams echoed.