Such Sweet Sorrow

Chapter Three

Aro lead me through a different set of halls than the ones I had walked previously. Though made of the same stone and decoration, they were decidedly less confusing to traverse, and it made sense to me that these must be more private areas of the vampire den. Perhaps even the king's own? I realised quickly that I wasn't walking any faster than my normal walking speed. Even when walking with Edward he struggled to slow his pace to match mine, but Aro seemed to have no qualms with my slow gait.

We came to a large, old looking door, which Aro pushed open swiftly, to usher me inside. It was a large ornate study, with plush red furnishings and gilding on the edges of each dark wood cabinet. The back wall was filled, floor to ceiling, with bookshelves, and opposite us was a jewel toned loveseat. The volturi clearly spared no expense when decorating, and they had fine taste.

"Come, sit." Aro politely commanded, shaking me from my reverie. I sat down gingerly on the edge of the loveseat, with the vampire king at the other end. He seemed to lounge like a cat would in the sun. Completely fluid and at ease with his surroundings. We could not be more opposite, as I could barely operate my shaky limbs, not with the fear that was practically tangible running through them.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, staring at a spot on the rug. It was a nice rug too, with all sorts of strange designs. I could picture it hanging up in an old Middle Eastern market. Or perhaps woven by the finest rug makers in all of India. An expense like that wouldn't be out of place for these men. Aro chuckled at me, in a sort of patronising manner, like I had said something particularly stupid. I couldn't help but feel offended.

"Kill you? Dio Mio, no Isabella, I'm not going to kill you." 

"oh," I mumbled, though mostly to myself. I couldn't help but trust his word in that moment. He didn't see the type to try and placate my nerves if he was truly going to kill me today. what my future looked like, however, was still uncertain. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but why? I thought I had broken your laws..." A cold finger snapped my chin up so I was staring directly into the deep red eyes of Aro Volturi.

"Mio Caro you haven't broken any laws. Your existence, true, is unlawful, but the blame lies solely with your dearest Edward. My brother, Caius, did ask for your death, and in any other circumstance I would have granted it- and yet..."

"And yet?" I whispered. His fingers still gripped at my jaw, softly, yet firmly. I couldn't look away.

"And yet I could not bring myself to. You are fascinating." Good. That was... good. Being fascinating was exactly what I set out to do, after all. Fascinating was safe. Fascinating was survival.

"What do you mean by that? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Aro smiled, and let go of my jaw. He snapped back into his previous position, draped over the furniture like a dutch master's painting.

"Dearest Alice showed me a very interesting vision of the future. You make a magnifico vampire, Isabella. Immortality is very becoming of you." Immortality. Now that was something I hadn't considered since Edward left. How could you willingly live eternity if you're doing it alone?

"Immortality. I'm going to be turned?" Aro hummed lightly, his eyes skimming over my form with a small smile playing on his lips. He looked almost boyish like this, as if we were playing a game. "Will I get a chance to say goodbye to my dad? I didn't even leave a note when I left, Alice wouldn't let me."

"You've got it all wrong, Bella." He said plainly, but not unkindly. "You are a beautiful young woman but you are far too young for me, as it is right now anyway. I am willing to wait before I turn you. And I will be turning you myself." Beautiful. He thought I was beautiful? Despite myself a blush rose in my cheeks, being compliment was odd- especially when it wasn't crude or awkward like idiot boys at school or creepy men on the street.

"Young for... you?"

"Si. Alice had a vision while I was reading her mind. I do not think she would have wanted me to see it if she had a choice in the matter- but she didn't. Have you ever heard of the term 'mates'?" I frowned, unsure what he meant by the term.

"Like friends? Or soulmates?"

"Soulmates!" Aro clapped his hands in delight "How romantic, Isabella. And not too wrong either. See, mates, to a vampire, anyway, are the most compatible person in every way, to the other. Two halves of the whole. Do you understand?" I did- sort of. The realisation settled slowly, and it suddenly dawned on me that this conversation was specific. I was the mate of someone important. I must be. Whatever Alice had seen was vital in this. Who was this person?

"I'm sorry," Alice had said. I finally understood why. She was sorry she had lead me to my mate. What had she gotten me into? 

"Who?" I asked, gripping the denim of my jeans in an effort to ground myself. The feral grin on his face was the only explanation I needed. 

It was him. Aro.

My mate.

Perhaps the shock hadn't quite set in yet. I was sure that later that night- if I was safe then, I would wake up screaming, crying- the whole nine yards- but at that moment I just took a shuddering breath and nodded. Aro, thankfully, was incredibly patient with me, something I didn't expect from a centuries old vampire lord who always got his way, but it was welcomed all the same.

"What does this mean for me? Am I allowed to go home?" Aro frowned at this, grabbing my hand in his own.

"Do you want to leave here?" There was something in his gaze that I couldn't quite place.

"Well- yes! It's nothing to do with what you've told me about you... and I." I said quickly, not wanting to upset him.  "I only came to Volterra to stop Edward doing something monumentally idiotic." 

"Ah, you have a life- friends, in America no?" I nodded, feeling rather guilty though I wasn't sure why. 

"Are you upset?"

"It is to be expected," He sighed, still holding my hand. It was nice, I think, as much as hand holding with a stranger could be nice.

"Really?"

"Well I could hardly expect you to be happy locked up in a tower, could I? If I am to seduce you," he winked at that, "you'd have to be a willing participant."

"I didn't expect you to be so... generous?" I barely stopped myself from stuttering, completely flustered. Aro had this way of making anything sound positively sinful, and his voice was a rich baritone that quickened my pulse whether I liked it or not.

"Ah, the scary Volturi, snatching children and massacring thousands!" he said, and then laughed. "Not for you Isabella- mio caro. You will always be different. But I could not bare to leave you, even for a day." He turned my hand over in his own, and pressed a light kiss to the inside of my wrist. Such an action could have been innocent if done by anyone else, but with his smouldering gaze and the electrifying feeling spreading out from where his lips met my skin- how could it be?

"I will have to accompany you."