Lilith Swan

Whatever moment we were having was sharply interrupted by a seemingly innocent-looking child with pristine blonde hair and crimson eyes, although based on the reaction of everyone else in the room there must be more to her than how she appears. Both Edward and Alice looked to the floor in submission of her presence. Any fight that Edward might have held towards the other two guards soon died out at her entrance.

"Enough" her voice was strong and authoritative "Aro sent me to see what's taking so long" and before anyone could breathe another word she turned back expecting us to follow.

"Just do as she says" whispered Alice, though I doubt it did much good in a room full of vampires. Edward, Bella and Alice took off first but I hung around for just a second to distance myself from the reunited lovers and his sister. I was followed in quick succession by the two male vampires, whose names I quickly learnt were Felix and Demetri thanks to my gift as we were lead down the old yet beautiful halls and taken down to the lower levels of the castle. If I was to be honest with myself I felt a lot safer with Felix than I did with any of the Cullens. Edward was handed a fitting blood-red robe as we descended down the stairs.

"Don't be scared" Edward whispered to Bella.

"Are you?" She replied, and despite how she acted in front of the boy I could tell she was nervous.

"No" He sounded confident and I can't tell if that confidence came from genuine belief or sheer stupidity. Either way, I do not think he has quite grasped the severity of our situation. From what I have been told by both Bella and my intuition was that one of the most important rules that governed their kind was that humans must not know of their existence, and here we are. Humans. Waltzing straight into their court.

Jane scoffed at the two lovers and I had to hold back a small chuckle at her reaction. She was openly repulsed by the bronze haired mind reader and I honestly can't blame her, but whether that disgust came from his dietary choices or just his 'Edwardness' in general, was left open to the imagination. The magic of walking through the time preserved castle was slightly broken at the sight of a very modern-looking lift, playing some Italian opera, but I suppose it was better than walking down a giant flight of stairs. As we stepped in I ended up squashed quite close to Felix with Demetri stood to my right as everybody else filled in the front. The tension was thick and highly uncomfortable, with an unspoken understanding that whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be ending happily. My heart was pounding. If Alice didn't want me to come then she was more than capable of making me stay in Forks. I know she brought me here as a scapegoat, maybe as a bargaining chip and I would be a fool to think that I could walk out of this castle scott free. Maybe if I was pushing my luck than my gift could save my life, but I doubt the Volturi would have use for someone like me.

The nerves burning through my body were slightly cooled by Felix's comforting hand on my wrist, thumb stroking between my lower palm and forearm. If the situation wasn't so serious I might have been more embarrassed that my heartbeat could have put a hummingbird to shame but now wasn't the time.

We quickly came to a stop and exited into what I assumed to be the final stretch of our destination. As we walked through the foyer we were greeted by a friendly-looking Italian woman whom I could only assume was some type of secretary. But it seemed slightly odd that in Dracula's castle she appeared to be the only human thus far.

"Is she human?" Bella asked.

"Yes." Edward was rather blunt in his response.

"Does she know?" Bella continued.

"Yes." This time he seemed almost reluctant to reply.

"Than why would...she wants to be" Bella finally put the puzzle together.

"And so she will be" came Demetri's smooth interruption.

"Or dessert" Jane seemed rather...amused at the thought. Our conversation quickly came to a close as jane pulled open a set of rather large glossy looking oak doors into a large white open stone room. From the looks of it, it was all marble. In the centre of the rather grand looking room sat three thrones atop a small set of marble stairs.

On the far left sat a rather melancholy looking man with long brown hair, and much like everyone else present, his skin was ghostly pale with sad crimson eyes. The way that he was slumped in his throne suggested that he would rather be anywhere but here, and if the look in his eyes gave anything away, he would rather be dead.

Marcus Volturi

On the right side was an angry-looking platinum blonde with a scowl like thunder and his piercing eyes never seemed to stop glaring at Edward or Alice. Unlike Marcus, he was sat upright with an almost perfectly straight spine. He also looked like he wanted to be elsewhere but it was apparent that this was due to his hatred of the Cullens.

Caius Volturi

Lastly in the middle was a man with long silky black hair. Though unlike the other vampires around the room his eyes held a certain quality that made them differ from the rest, like they were almost milky in some way. Unlike his counterparts, he seemed rather relaxed and more carefree. However, judging by the aura of authority he gave out he was still to be respected.

Aro Volturi

"Sister, they sent you out to get one and you bring back two...and two halves. What a clever girl" Jane seemed to glow under the praise of the black-haired boy who after looking at their shared features must be her brother. They both shared incredibly similar childlike faces, they can't have been turned any older than 13 to 14 at most.

Alec Volturi

As we entered the room both Felix and Demetri went to stand at the side leaving me feeling incredibly exposed under the stares of the three men ahead of us. It was clear that some were judging us more so than others.

"What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all. Isn't that wonderful, I love a happy ending they are so rare" came Aro's joyous celebration as he took Edward's hand.

"La tua cantante"

Thank you for reading~