f i r e o n f i r e

003

"He'll be fine Bella. You just have to hurry." Alice reassured. "There's no time for me to drive. You have to go. Run Bella!"

Bella jumped from Alice's car and ran as quick as she could in the direction of the clock tower.

"What are these people doing Alice?" Ophelia pondered as she looking at the mass of red cloaks that surrounded the town.

"Now isn't the time to be asking questions Ophelia! They're celebrating Saint Marcus day." Alice rolled her eyes at the girl as she honked her horn to get through the crowd.

"Well there isn't a good time to ask either is there?" Ophelia quietly muttered sarcastically knowing very well that Alice's supernatural hearing picked it up.

"Finally. We're here, let's go." Alice spoke in small sentences as she had the entire trip to Italy.

Ophelia was hurt at first by the pixie-like girl's hostility but she eventually hid her sadness and covered it up with annoyance. Both Alice and Bella had been completely hostile towards the quiet girl the entire trip so she learned to ward off their comments and glares.

Alice's small took an inhumanely tight grasp of Ophelia's wrist causing her to whimper in protest. Her sounds of pain went unnoticed by the Cullen.

As the two girls approached the could see Bella and Edward within each others grasp holding on as if nothing else in the world existed. A small part of Ophelia wished to be loved by someone the way her sister was loved by so many but she saw no chance.

As Edward pushed Bella behind him abruptly Ophelia and the smaller Cullen noticed the black cloaked individuals walking their direction.

"Aro wishes to speak to you again." the taller male asked with a mischievous smirk as he glared at Edward.

Ophelia suddenly found herself squished into an elevator packed tightly with vampires and couldn't find herself feeling anything more than uncomfortable.

"You're very pretty Miss..." Ophelia tried to start small talk with the young blonde vampire next to her.

"Jane." The young girl responded cutting the conversation off there.

The ding of the elevator cut out any awkward silence that grew within the elevator.

The woman at the desk greeted them and Ophelia spared her a smile unlike any other person in the group. Jane pushed open a large set of doors to reveal a marvelous throne room.

"What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all. Isn't that wonderful?" The smile on Aro's face was contagious to Ophelia as she giggled slightly looking at the ancient king.

"And who may this be?" Aro's smile carried its way over to the smaller girl who stood by her lonesome to the side of the cullen's and her sister.

"Bella's sister." Edward sharply replied not lifting his head.

"My name is Ophelia Ruth Ann. But I prefer just Ophelia." she bowed her head slightly with a smile as she introduced herself.

Her eyes shifted to the men behind Aro and she felt her heart stop momentarily within her chest.

"Hello." her soft voice spoke as she looked at the brooding man with pale blonde hair sat in a throne.

His eyes snapped from the floor to her face as she spoke directly to him. His blood red eyes stared into her stormy blue eyes.

"...mine." he lowly growled as he silently challenged anyone to disagree with him.

"What? Edward, what just happened? Why is she looking at him like that? Why did he say mine? Why—" Bella's persistent questions were ceased by her sister.

"—Bella, do shut up. May I ask your name?" Ophelia cut her sister off without sparing a glance away from the mysterious man.

"Caius. And you are?..." Caius proved his disinterest in the conversation before as he showed he hadn't heard her introduce herself.

"My name is Ophelia Ruth Ann Swan. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Caius." She softly smiled and softly nodded her head while her stomach began to swarm with butterflies.

Caius stood from his throne and walked to stand before Ophelia. His cold hand grasped her palm as he bowed to kiss the back of her hand.

"The pleasure is mine bellissima." he straightened his body but couldn't will himself to release Ophelia's hand. Ophelia could not find the urge to remove her hand either.