BPOV
I woke up early the next morning, still on a high from my great night. After saying goodbye to Edward I turned on my laptop and checked my emails. Sure enough, there was an email from Esme containing all of the photos she had taken. I sent copies to Renee and Volterra before calling Volterra to talk, knowing that all of the females had been waiting anxiously for a play-by-play of my night.
They answered excitedly. "Did you get my pictures?" I asked teasingly.
"We're looking at them right now." Jane informed me.
"You look beautiful, and I love the dress," Sulpicia said appraisingly.
"Wow Bella, you really know how to pick them. Your mate is gorgeous," Heidi said.
"Don't get any ideas," I warned, "He's mine."
They all laughed, before we settled down and I described yesterday for them in great detail. Renata was especially interested in the dancing, and I told her I would try to find any photos of us that the school photographer had taken that night of people on the dance floor.
When I eventually hung up I lay back in my bed happily relieving my night. I was broken from my trance a few minutes later by my phone ringing. I looked at the caller id. It was Renee. "Hey mum," I answered.
"Bella! Honey I just got your email. Why didn't you tell me your boyfriend was so handsome? You have to bring him to see me soon." She said in a rush, her voice excited.
"Um, sure mum, I'll think about it." I said, suddenly wondering whether Edward and I should pay her a visit.
She didn't give me more time to talk as she started gushing about how gorgeous I looked and how pretty my dress was. I listened attentively to all she had to say before changing the subject. "So what have you and Phil been up to mum?"
She happily began filling me in. "Oh Bella we've been having such a great time travelling around and seeing so many different things. At the moment we're in Los Angeles Bella! It's so exciting, and next week we're going to Florida. Just think of all the sunshine I'll be getting!"
I was so happy that she was enjoying herself so much. "That's great mum. You know you're gonna have to take lots of photos to send me right?"
She promised, and then she had to go- Phil was calling for her.
I headed downstairs for breakfast feeling euphoric- my life currently felt like I had the best of both the vampire and human worlds rolled into one. Charlie had left a note on the table saying he had gone out for the day, so I quickly ate my cereal and headed over to the Cullen house.
When I got there I walked in to find Edward softly playing his piano. He stopped to give me a kiss, before I urged him to play for me. He pulled me down beside him on the bench, and I watched entranced as he ran his fingers nimbly over the keys, producing a rich and beautiful melody. My jaw dropped and when he finally finished I whispered, "That's beautiful Edward."
He smiled softly at me, "That is Esme's favourite." He turned back to the piano and began playing a different song. It was a soft, beautiful lullaby with incredibly sweet notes. By the time it ended I had tears running down my face. Edward turned to me. "You inspired that one," he said softly.
I smiled at him through my tears. "I love you," I said simply. There were no other words necessary.
The tender look on Edward's face as he softly brushed away my tears swelled my heart and I smiled at him. Eventually, I got up, and moved to my harp. I settled and softly began plucking an accompaniment for Esme's favourite. Picking up on it, Edward began playing again and the sounds of the piano and harp merged into a symphony of beautiful notes. I closed my eyes, loosing myself in the music.
The song eventually came to an end, and when I opened my eyes I found that the rest of the family was now lined up in front of us, huge smiles on their faces and awe in their eyes. Esme looked like she would be crying if it were possible. "Oh that was just beautiful," she gushed, beaming her appreciation. I smiled at her before turning and staring the first few notes of Clair de Lune. Edward joined in and we moved though a variety of songs together, always in harmony with each other.
Eventually we finished playing, and everyone left to their own parts of the house. Edward led me upstairs to his room where we listened to Edward's extensive music collection while lying together on his couch. "So what did Carlisle do for the two hundred or so years before he changed you?" I asked, trying to fill in some of the gaps that I didn't know in the Cullen history.
He sighed and then pulled me up off the couch. Holding my hand he led me into Carlisle's study, turning me so that I was facing a wall of paintings. Carlisle smiled from his desk. "Hello Bella, I see Edward is showing you the paintings depicting my life."
I smiled at him, "I hope you don't me asking." I said apologetically.
He shook his head, "Not at all. In fact if I didn't have to rush to the hospital right now for an emergency consult I would have been happy to tell you myself," he assured me. He made his way out of his office.
I turned to Edward expectantly. He smiled and then pointed out one of the pictures. "London in the sixteen fifties," he informed me, "When Carlisle was born."
I listened quietly as Edward explained how Carlisle had been changed while hunting down vampires for his father- a priest. I was impressed when I heard that Carlisle had resisted humans for such a long time before one day hunger took over when a herd of deer passed him in the forest and he had drained the animal. It was from this that he realised he didn't have to survive off human blood.
I continued listening as Edward moved through the pictures, telling me of how Carlisle had swum to France before travelling around Europe. He stopped when he reached a painting of something that I recognised. My fingers unconsciously traced over the picture- a painting of a balcony in Volterra- one that I had been standing on less than a year ago. On the balcony were the recognisable figures of my uncles Aro, Marcus and Caius, along with Carlisle. Although I knew this painting was over a hundred years old, the four inhuman subjects still looked exactly the same today.
Edward noticed me tracing my fingers over it, "When Carlisle was in Italy he ran into the Volturi."
My ears pricked up with interest. I was eager to hear his opinions of my family. "The Volturi?" I asked.
"They are like the royal family of the vampire world," he explained, "They make sure that vampires obey the rules so that our existence remains a secret."
"What are the rules?" I asked, although as the princess I was well aware of exactly what the rules were.
"Well there's really only one major rule," he paused and I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to continue, "We must not let anyone know of our existence." He explained reluctantly.
"So your whole family is breaking the rules?" I asked making sure I had the appropriate amount of concern in my voice.
He sighed, "Yes," he admitted, "But we don't care Bella, you are important to us," he hurriedly tried to reassure me.
"But what will they do if they find out?" I asked, secure in the knowledge that we certainly weren't going to do anything.
"They'll kill you, and possible kill all of us too." At my horrified look he quickly added, "But they won't find out Bella, I promise."
I looked at him sceptically, before deciding that now would be a good time to see how he would react to the idea of me as a vampire. "What if you changed me?" I asked tentatively, "Then they wouldn't have any reason to hurt you."
His eyes turned dangerous. "Absolutely not," he spat out angrily.
I was miffed, "Why not?" I demanded, "Are you planning on me being human for the rest of my life, aging every day while you remain forever seventeen?" I sneered.
"That's exactly what's going to happen." He said, determination in his voice.
"What happens when I'm sixty and you still look seventeen?" I asked, shuddering at the thought, even though I knew it was never going to happen.
"I will still love you no matter how old you look Bella," he assured me.
While I was slightly warmed by that, I was still annoyed. "Well what about when I die from old age?" I asked. "You are going to have to spend the rest of eternity without me." I pointed out.
He shook his head, "Bella I would follow you soon after- I couldn't live without you." He whispered.
I slapped him hard with a shield covered hand. "You selfish bastard!" I yelled, "Did you even think about how that would affect the rest of your family? Do you think I would want you to die with me?"
His eyes turned sad, "I can't live in a world where you don't exist." He said softly.
"How were you even planning on dying anyway Edward? There is no way your family would help you." I pointed out.
He shrugged. "I thought about going to the Volturi and doing something to antagonise them." He confessed. "You don't antagonise the Volturi unless you want to die." He explained.
I glared at him, there was no way my family would ever kill him- I'd make sure of it. "You wouldn't even have to think about these contingency plans if you would just agree to change me." I pointed out.
"You don't know what you're asking for." He argued, "You only see the good parts of being a vampire. You haven't seen the unstoppable thirst we suffer from, or the animalistic urges we have to suppress. You don't see the soulless monsters we are."
I was beyond mad now. I knew exactly what being a vampire was like- I hadn't lived with them for thirteen years without knowing everything there was to know about them- in fact I probably knew more about them then Edward did. Mentally restraining myself from throwing Edward through the house in rage, I slowly said through gritted teeth, "You are NOT a monster Edward, and neither is your family." He seemed to sense from how quiet I was that I was incredibly angry. "Don't ever say that again."
"But I am," he argued, "About seventy years ago I went off on my own and killed people Bella."
I had to admit I was a little surprised, but it still didn't bother me, "Were they good people Edward?" I asked, knowing that with his talent he would have picked people that deserved to die, "Or did they deserve death?"
"I thought they did," he admitted, "But that doesn't change the fact that I murdered them," he pointed out.
I shrugged, "They deserved to die Edward, and you were just doing the world a favour. In fact, technically you probably saved lives. Every time you killed a bad guy you saved his next victim." I pointed out.
He did not look impressed with my logic, "Even if that's true- and I'm not convinced that it is, it doesn't change the fact that I'm soulless. I won't take away your soul Bella." He said.
"What makes you so sure that you don't have a soul Edward? Do you think that all vampires have no souls?" I asked. At his nod I frowned, "So you're sure that because you're a vampire- a creature made for killing humans, that you have no soul?"
He didn't say anything, and I got annoyed, "What about Esme? Or Carlisle?" I demanded. "Are you trying to tell me that two such sweet, compassionate people have no soul?"
He looked stumped at that. I decided that it was time to leave it there and let him mull over it. He was going to have to get used to the idea of me becoming a vampire since, like it or not, I was becoming one in around a year.
"So tell me why the Volturi is so powerful." I demanded, changing the subject.
He sighed, "They have many gifted vampires in their group. Among the top twelve is a tracker, a person who can see every thought you've ever had just by touching you, a person who can see bonds between people, a shield, and a pair of twins who are perhaps the most scary of them all. Jane has the ability to make you believe you are in incredible pain- so much so that you die. Her twin Alec has the opposite- he cuts off any feeling you have- sort of like anesthetising you so that you can't move. The leaders are the three in the painting with Carlisle; Aro, Marcus and Caius."
I was surprised by how solemn and fearful Edward sounded of my family- I'd had no idea of just how scared of my family other vampires were. "As well as the main twelve, they have other Volturi guards situated around the world to stop any vampires who may endanger our secret. The main twelve almost never leave Volterra."
He stopped for a bit before he seemed to remember something, "Well I guess it's really thirteen now- a few years ago they appointed a Volturi princess."
"Really?" I asked, incredibly interested in what he'd heard about me.
He nodded, "Nobody has met her except the main twelve, but apparently she is incredibly powerful- it is said that if she wanted to she could take down a whole army of vampires without lifting a finger- nobody knows what her gift is though."
I smothered a secret grin at that, "Don't worry, I'm sure that if you were ever to meet her you'd dazzle her with your good looks and she'd fall in love with you." I assured him. He rolled his eyes at me in disbelief. I chuckled softly. I knew for a fact that the princess was most definitely in love with him.
"In any case," he continued, "They stop vampires who aren't careful with their feeding habits- making humans suspicious, and stop newborn wars."
I was interested in his casual reference to newborn wars, and I wondered how much he knew about them- I'd learnt about them when I was ten, and had firsthand accounts from Felix, Demetri, Santiago, Jane, Alec and Renata- who had been responsible for killing numerous newborns and stopping the newborn wars in their tracks. "Newborn wars?" I probed Edward gently.
He nodded, "In the South there are vampires who fight over feeding territory," he explained, "They found that they could create lots of newborn vampires to fight their battles for them. Newborns are very volatile- so it's easy to convince them to fight, and they are stronger than normal vampires, making them ideal for pitting against each other. Of course armies of newborn vampires have almost non-existent self-control, so it soon became necessary for the Volturi to step in and destroy them before the humans got suspicious as to the large amounts of deaths in the area." He explained. From the look on his face, he was trying to scare me with his talk of newborns- but I hadn't even been scared when I was ten, so he didn't have much of a chance now.
He continued telling me about Jasper's heavy involvement in one of the more recent newborn wars, and I gathered from his tone that Jasper had a healthy respect for my Volturi family. I just hoped that they wouldn't react badly when I finally revealed who I was.
Edward had finished and we were making our way out of Carlisle's office when we were accosted by an excited Alice, dragging Jasper. Emmett was behind them. "There's going to be a thunderstorm tonight," Alice clapped excitedly. I grinned, I knew that that meant they could play a game and mask any abnormally loud noises made by them. I wondered for a moment what they were planning on playing- my Volturi family had liked baseball, football, soccer and rugby. I had played all of them with my family many times- they always claimed that I cheated because I had an extreme advantage with my shield- but Renata used hers as well, so as long as we were on separate teams it usually worked out fairly evenly.
"Baseball!" Emmett boomed excitedly.
My smile grew larger, "Awesome," I enthused. They all turned to look at me, confusion in their eyes. "What?" I asked self-consciously, "I can't wait to play a good game of baseball."
Emmett broke the silence, "Bella, not to burst your bubble, but we're vampires- we don't play baseball the normal way."
I rolled my eyes, "I kinda figured that out Emmett, but in case you've forgotten, I have my own gift, remember? Trust me, I will have no trouble beating you."
He looked at me disbelieving, "Bella you couldn't even go two steps at your speed before we'd have the ball and you'd be out.
I simply smirked in response, "Like I said Emmett, don't worry about me."
We continued bickering as we waited for Carlisle to get back from the hospital so that we could go to their playing field- apparently it was deep in the lap of the Olympic peaks.