— 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔 —
𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚, 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲

    Aro sighed; it truly was a shame to kill such a promising human. But even if he himself gave her the gift of immortality, it was clear that Isabella Swan would not stay with the Volturi. Not to mention, Aro was not exactly keen on training and caring for a newborn vampire at the moment.

He stared at her in a pondering manner for many minutes. Edward was behind him, struggling uselessly against Felix similar to delightful Alice who tried to get out of Demetri's grasp.

Oh, what Aro would give to have young Alice in his coven.

Unfortunately, Chelsea would be unable to recreate her ties to him as Alice's mate was not here. Chelsea could break and reknot any tie other than that of a mate bond, so even if she broke Alice's bond to the other Cullens she would still return to them as that was where Jasper was.

This entire situation had become messy incredibly quickly.

Edward arrived earlier that morning requesting to be killed—Aro had barely read his mind before he saw young Edward's gifts as well as the fact that he was Carlisle's creation. He skipped through nearly everything else in Edward's mind seeing as he was he was stuck in a depressive state from ignoring and resisting his mate for months.

Such an idiotic plan.

Aro had no use in whatever else was in his angst-filled thoughts and memories; not when he knew the important stuff.

He was a mind-reader and he was Carlisle's son by all accounts.

Of course, when Aro refused to destroy him followed by Caius calling him a 'pathetic disgrace', Edward left rather upset. Upset and with the intention to do something that forced the Volturi to destroy him.

Another ridiculous plan—Aro had Demetri and Felix follow him around so they might apprehend him if he actually decided to put such a stupid plan into action.

Caius, of course, wanted to kill him just for making such a threat, but Aro felt it was more important to give Edward the chance to live. Both for his powers and out of respect for his friend Carlisle.

But then—imagine his surprise when it was reported that just before Edward could reveal himself by stepping out into the light, the human in question stopped him. A human who, according to Edward's thoughts, was very much dead.

So even as Edward did not reveal himself in the sun, there was now another issue—a human knew about their kind.

Mate or not; it was still an infringement of the law. Considering the circumstances, it may have been able to be overlooked if Edward intended to turn her, but upon looking into his mind, it was the last thing he ever wanted to do. Edward had no intention of turning her.

He was more than content with letting her live out her human life and then killing himself when she inevitably died of old age.

It was actually rather disturbing, in Aro's opinion.

However, Isabella's talents were promising, it was extremely rare for mortals to showcase gifts before immortality. Those that did were typically immediately turned by Aro if he came across them.

The fact that he was not able to do it with Bella (because there was a very low chance she would stay and be part of the Volturi) was disappointing. But the world would move on. And at least Aro would get the most appetizing of snacks out of it.

Edward was right with one opinion: Bella had the most delectable smelling blood.

He was poised to kill, moving inhumanly fast with his teeth bared and nearing the neck of the human. Bella closed her eyes tightly, fear coiled within.

"Wait!" Alice Cullen suddenly cried. "Bella will be one of us. I've seen it. I'll change her myself."

The overlord froze, licking his lips as his red eyes slowly left the quivering human in front of him and went to the tiny vampire. Lovely Alice—Aro would be willing to hear nearly anything she told him. Her gifts were quite mesmerizing.

He also had not had the chance to delve into her mind just yet—he'd only known of her talents through the few memories he had seen from Edward.

Aro narrowed his eyes in curiosity, tilting his head at her.

He cast one last look at Bella, smiling as he moved a piece of her brown hair behind her ear. His smile only got wider as she flinched at his cold touch—her brown eyes wide and terrified as she looked at him. But there was something else in there... dread...

How interesting.

Aro could read more than just minds, and right now, despite not being able to see into Bella's mind, it was obvious enough that she was dreading whatever Alice was about to show him.

He turned to Alice, walking only slightly nearer and holding his hand out expectantly.

Caius and Marcus were sitting bored behind him, neither of them finding any interest in the situation. Not like Aro did, but he was always more fascinated by such instances than either of his brothers.

They, like the Guard, were eagerly awaiting lunch. Heidi was due to arrive sometime soon, so he would need to wrap this up soon.

Alice hesitated, but upon understanding there was no other choice, she removed her red gloves and placed her small hand in his own.

He greedily grabbed her hand, closing his eyes as her mind immediately clashed with his own.

She was focusing on a vision—her vision of Edward and Bella running through a field together, both of them as vampires. Bella had bright golden eyes of the same shade as Edward and Alice.

That was proof enough of Bella being turned seeing as Alice was throwing the high probability of that vision straight into Aro's mind. Not that he needed her to do that as he would have seen it anyway.

But it was a good tactic to try and distract him; try to keep him away from something else. A valiant attempt indeed, but Aro had been around for many years and had seen countless trickery, and innumerous endeavors to try and hide certain thoughts from his powers.

To do such a thing was near impossible, not when Aro was as thorough as he was. He easily accepted the vision before slipping past it, ignoring the random thoughts and memories that Alice was screaming and throwing at him.

He dodged such pointless things, expanding himself into her memories.

The funny part was that had it not been so obvious she was trying to hide something from him, Aro probably would have just stopped reading her mind after watching that vision.

Yes, yes—she married Major Jasper Whitlock, an ex-confederate soldier.

Aro cringed at that, but it was helpful that Jasper was immensely guilty about his old beliefs and the part he played in such a horrible part of American history. Alice's husband hated that he fought on the wrong side and it was a disappointment in himself that would never fade.

Aro enjoyed all world history, including that of the newer countries. The United States was a rather interesting tale seeing as at the time of its creation, no one thought they would stand a chance against the Brits.

Then again, Aro had seen much more improbabilities during his long existence.

Alice and Jasper married sometime in the 60s'... and they had a lot of sex... Aro skipped through that to the best of his abilities, he was not interested in watching such a thing.

He had both seen and had enough sex to last him a lifetime. Aro did not need to see it from young vampires physically stuck at the age of nineteen.

There was Carlisle... he looked much the same... perhaps happier.

Meeting the Cullens conforming to animal blood. Boring... boring... boring...

But Aro was glad that Carlisle found other vampires willing to follow in his lifestyle choices. The man had been ever so sad when he was with them, though he did enjoy learning of the Volturi's long histories.

They had many philosophical debates as well.

Yes, Aro did miss Carlisle.

Caius never particularly liked Carlisle but Aro and Marcus were good friends with him.

Using her abilities to win the lottery... moving every few years to avoid suspicion... yada yada yada...

More animal blood, resisting the temptation of human blood.

Good, no slip-ups.

Her control is impressive seeing as she'd only been training to withstand human blood for a few decades.

It took most vampires over a hundred to display true control over human blood.

Aro could appreciate her sense of fashion: she liked to shop.

Shop, shop, shop: staying up to date with the latest trends.

Aro was quite the shopper himself, although not to this level.

But even he had to admit the $20,000 sundress Alice bought herself back in '88 was fabulous.

More tedious memories. Hunting, school, occasionally working, sex, sex, sex, shopping... quality time with the Cullen coven... vision after vision of potential futures, such a useful gift!

Another wedding... more sentimentality... meeting the Denali coven...

Ah, there was Eleazor.

Friends... family...

What was this hiding in the corner of her mind? Why has she folded this array of memories away so neatly?

Private? Oh no, no, that just would not do. Not when Aro invaded a mind—nothing was a secret to him.

A trip with Rosalie Cullen in the mid-90s to New York City?

What is this?

The Phantom of the Opera... beautiful... breathtaking... the most enchanting creature he had ever seen was playing the main character of Christine Daaé.

Now who was that? Who is this?

Aro was a fan of anything to do with the arts as were his brothers. They all had their separate favorites and personal preferences; however, Aro just so happened to be more musically inclined. Although, even he had to admit that Caius was one of the greatest harp players he had heard.

Nevertheless, Aro certainly excelled in all areas of musical art forms, and he was an avid fan of the theatre. He had been for as long as he had existed.

The Phantom of the Opera was a newer production, not a traditional opera, but engaging regardless. Aro, Marcus, Caius—the wives, and the Elite Guard had seen it in '02 for the first time.

Aro had dragged them all out to London to see it. The production had been going for a little over a decade at that point and was known to be one of the greatest musicals in the modern age. It was already a crime that Aro had not gone to see it sooner.

Then again, they typically avoided the newer musicals and theaters, choosing to stay with the traditional operas and productions.

However, now Aro understood that he should have gone a few years sooner and to the New York production rather than the London one.

He had been alive for a long time, and in many ways he considered Sulipcia to be the most beautiful woman he knew. Not because he had never run into anyone more outwardly beautiful, but rather because she was his wife, and even as they were about to separate from matrimony—there was still a strong love and respect between them.

It was simply more platonic love rather than a passionate one as it had been in their first few hundred years of marriage.

This being said, Aro had encountered many beautiful women of all species. Witches, sirens, werewolves (although they were dreadful creatures); hell, Heidi, arguably one of the most beautiful vampire women in existence was a part of the coven.

As the head of the world-leading coven, beauty was no stranger to him or his brothers. So much so, that they had previously believed themselves to be immune to it.

They were not easily impressed.

It was what was on the inside that truly counted, not that any of them much cared for that either. They were ancient vampire leaders—their morals were grey at best and downright evil at worst.

Aro, for one, tended to look at most people based on power alone and how much they could offer him. Nothing more, nothing less.

This all being said: Aro was shocked at how beautiful this person was in Alice's vision. The woman who could be no older than her early twenties, singing in the most alluring and captivating voice he had ever had the pleasure of hearing. 

And that was saying something.

He was not even able to describe it: only able to recognize that if all things heaven and happiness stood for, it was what made up her voice.

Her beauty was unmatched—no one could hold so much as a candle to her in Aro's opinion.

It was a shocking revelation: especially seeing as his cold dead heart seemed to skip a beat and flutter.

That had never happened before, not even the first time he met Sulpicia.

As she stood on the center of the stage, the lights cast on her, Aro found himself hypnotized as he watched her through Alice's thoughts.

She was short, not much taller than Alice, and it was apparent right away that she was not human. While she looked more human than any vampire, even Aro could tell that she was not—her beauty was not possible for a mere mortal.

Her caramel skin, a lovely brown was smooth and soft-looking. Freckles dotted her face in a cutesy manner, her eyes a kaleidoscope of primarily greens with hints of blue and faint purple thrown into the mix.

Humans might think her eyes were simply rare, but Aro was not tricked so easily, not when he knew such a color was impossible for a mortal to have.

Aro could tell that she naturally had large teeming curls—bouncy strands that were sadly burnt straight in that moment but did not take away from her magnificence.

What was she?

A siren, perhaps? She definitely had the voice of one.

His question was answered as he flipped through Alice's mind like a book: his new focus on this beguiling creature.

There was no question about it, she was certainly his mate. And if she was his mate, then that meant that she was Marcus and Caius's mate as well.

He had watched through the entire performance of The Phantom of the Opera, taken with her performance.

And then he watched as Alice and Rosalie tracked her through the damp streets of New York City, only catching up to her and finding her in a local human-eating establishment. Aro believed the concept of food was pizza—something that was not around when he was a human long ago.

When he was a human, the foods for commoners such as his self consisted of only breads, meats, and soups: all of which usually tasted rather bland at the time. If Aro would ever want to be a human it was for the singular reason of wanting to try modern human foods seeing as the world evolved to have many more delicacies than in his time.

Once again, when he saw this woman close up—his metaphorical breath was knocked away.

She was staring at Alice and Rosalie in suspicion before they revealed themselves to be friendly.

And then, as they sat with her while she ate pizza, she revealed what she was.

A fae?

To Aro's knowledge, the faerie had been extinct for nearly a thousand years. Even when he had first been turned into a vampire, the secretive species had already been on the decline. The last faerie clan he had heard of was from almost a thousand years ago in England, but they dispersed and the species died off soon after.

A true shame as they had been such curious creatures: Aro himself had come across only two in his existence, both of which he came across in his first decade as a vampire.

Why... this woman... his mate had to be just about the last faerie left in the world.

How wonderful to be mated to such a rare and divine creature.

Of course, he ate his words as in the next second, she revealed what exactly had happened to her and her species.

Cassandra.

Cassandra held his heart already. Aro was not someone to feel guilt about anything, not one thing at all.

And yet, as the information came from Alice's mind to his own—he could not help but feel ashamed and immensely guilty.

But the rage—oh, how he felt rage beyond anything imaginable.

Lithiovai, a name he had not heard for quite some time... the scoundrel!

How could Aro be so naive, how could any of them? How had Lithiovai slipped under their noses for 1,500 years!

Not only that, but unlike Vladimir and Stefan, Lithiovai had been planning dastardly things—actions that would not only impact the vampire world, not only overthrow the Volturi, but things that may just destroy this entire planet. Society as they know it might very well crumple.

How was it possible? Demetri would have alerted him to being able to track such a threat as Lithiovai—even Marcus should be able to see the dark relationship of hatred that linked them to Lithiovai.

It should not be possible, how had Lithiovai avoided them so seamlessly?

To the point that their own mate (not that any of them ever knew it, at the time) had been affected. He wiped out an entire species, all in an effort to destroy them.

Aro had thought that the fae were already gone at that point, if he had known they were still around and that Lithiovai planned to do something so devasting—the Volturi would have stopped him. Even morally-bling beings as themselves would never allow one of their own kind to finish off such a peaceful species that had already been on the brink of existinction.

Despite their sercretiveness if Aro and his brothers knew anything about the fae, they knew that they were not fighters. It was not in the nature of a fae to be violent—they were similar to peaceful monks who live their lives in harmony.

While they would powerful creatures in their own right, there was no reason to harm one. Their blood rarely appealed to vampires and they never did anything to the cold-ones to warrant animosity.

Unlike the Children of the Moon who saw fit to attack vampires and any other living thing.

Even then, the Volturi did not hunt them to complete extinction. One could not simply wipe an entire species of something out.

Lithiovai had committed a deplorable and downright wicked act—to kill off an entire species all for the purpose of gaining the princess of the last clan and raising her in hatred. Her as well as seven other children of varying supernatural creatures.

Aro may have been willing to do many things for power, but to murder the parents of innocent infants and raise them abusively all to kill his enemies... foul... just foul. If Lithiovai is truly so vengeful against the Volturi, there were many others way for him to strike back.

Yet, Aro supposed that the old vampire was creative, if anything... and his plan was strong. Had five out of his eight not turned against him and escaped. One of them being his very mate.

Cassandra blamed the Volturi and she was terrified of them—terrified that they would kill her and her siblings. Terrified that they would treat her the same as Lithiovai had. And she was angry at them: angry that they had not done their job and put a stop to Lithiovai before he destroyed her kind.

Aro had never felt worse, never felt more guilt about something... it had been over three-hundred years, and none of them realized until now what Lithiovai had been doing.

How much had their mate suffered because of their inaction? How much heartbreak, devastation, and abuse had she suffered? Even when she finally managed to escape Lithiovai—she was sold like a mare countless times in the human world. Suffered more injustices and atrocities than most could handle.

And despite all of that, she still loved mortals like they were her own children. She still walked around with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step: she was still so... happy... so grateful.

Cassandra was a gentle free-spirit, she was incredibly kind-hearted and soft. Kind, compassionate, considerate, patient, and all around a very good individual.

The complete opposite of her mates, but perhaps that is why fate strung them together. True balance: yin and yang. Aro, Caius, and Marcus easily symbolized Yin while Cassandra symbolized Yang. The light to their dark—the love to their hate.

The presence they felt for the past two decades or so had been her spirit dreamwalking to them the entire time. She was too terrified to ever approach them apart from that, watching from the shadows and suffering.

How much had she seen of them? Their feeding sessions, their trials, their intimate moments? All of it had been seen, and she thought they were all monsters. Monsters who she was running from just like she was Lithiovai.

Hiding in plain sight.

The human—Bella Swan—was her best friend. Under her protection... and Aro had been ready to take a bite out of her neck and squeeze her until she died painfully. Drain her of every last drop of her delicious ambrosia and bask in the cries of Alice and Edward Cullen.

Such an act, the very act he would have done if Alice had not stopped him just in time, would have only proven to Cassandra how much of a monster they all were. She would never have forgiven them, and even the slightest chance he had at earning his mate's affection would be shattered.

Cassandra was correct in her statement to Alice—eternity was a long time to spend with a mate who hates you.

Aro watched the conversation and actions that happened just before the Cullens arrived. Back in Forks where they had last known Cassandra to be.

Cassandra was standing in Bella's small living room, her arms crossed and fire in her eyes. She was almost adorable in her loose clothing and braided curly hair, full lips drawn in a pout. Lips that Aro would love nothing more than to devour in a passionate kiss.

But this version of her was nothing more than a mere memory, and even if she wasn't, there was no way the fae would let him get near enough to even try it.

Sandy argued, her voice light. "That's what happens when you get a mate, they get used against you if you're not careful! This is what they get! So let it be known now, Aro, whenever you inevitably see this memory whether it be through me, Alice, or even Jacob fucking Black; if you touch so much as even a hair on their heads, none of you will ever even hear as much as a whisper from me!"

Aro hated to admit that the threat aimed at this exact moment put him on edge. He did not fear her, but rather how skilled she was at hiding from them. There was a reason she had gone undetected for as long as she had, after all.

For a fleeting moment, Aro hoped to send someone—if not himself—to Forks to gather her. But it was revealed moments later that she was gone, she had left directly after Alice and Bella. And to make it worse: she had performed a blockade spell on herself and intended to go no-contact with the Cullens for an undetermined amount of time.

She left no loose ends.

Alice could no longer get visions about her: all leads were gone. Even Demetri would stand no chance at tracking her with the blockade spell in place.

She understood that such a spell and weakened, but she didn't care. That was perhaps what hurt the most: she was so terrified of him that she was willing to put herself at risk just to avoid them.

With that, Aro caught up to Alice's thoughts until there was nothing left to catch up on—he had made it to the present moment.

He released her hand with an audible gasp, red eyes wide and teeming with a thousand emotions. But the most notable one was annoyance as he stared down at the tiny talented vampire, his lip curling up ever-so-slightly.

Everyone was staring at him curiously other than the Cullens and Bella who watched with dread. Edward had been reading his mind since he touched Alice's hand, and while he was relieved that Aro could no longer kill them, he felt immensely bad for Sandy.

"What is it, brother?" Caius practically hissed from his thrown.

"We have moments before Heidi is scheduled to arrive, Aro, we should be done with this now..." Marcus rasped his reminder, bored gaze staring anywhere in the room but at the scene in front of him.

Aro looked back to his brothers almost condescendingly—he could not wait to garner their reactions to everything he had just learned. But he had to be careful, he had to be calculating.

Lithiovai may very well have spies among them seeing as it had been a few centuries since Aro had checked the minds of every single one of their guards. While he doubted that Lithiovai actually managed to get a spy in: it was still a possibility that he did not want to risk.

Not to mention, only their wives and the Elite Guard knew about the existence of their mate. Aro did not want to share the identity of who she was out loud, especially considering she was in a delicate situation.

Aro did not even want to imagine what would happen if the wrong person were to learn of all this.

No, this was a matter to be discussed in immense privacy. Because it was more than just Cassandra being their mate—the Volturi had a potential war on their hands. And once again, it was to be against the Romanians.

He remained silent for a moment longer considering his next words carefully. He kept his face pleasant, only a soft smile on his lips as to give nothing away.

A mask he had crafted perfectly for all his life, not even his co-leaders could read him.

"To see what will happen, a mesmerizing gift indeed—although surely you understand the information you chose to withhold for nearly a decade would have you all killed in any other circumstance..." Aro sighed, the ghost of a smile on his lips though he looked anything but friendly with the warning that came out. "But, of course, we now cannot even ponder on doing such a thing..."

Caius's brows furrowed—they never held back when it came to capital punishment.

"What do you speak of, Aro? Do not speak in riddles, what else have they done?"

Aro looked to Caius who appeared to be more than angry. "All will be revealed soon, brother," He said soothingly though it just managed to upset Caius further.

Marcus was only the slightest bit more interested, now watching Aro address the Cullens.

Aro himself turned to Isabella, gripping her soft and breakable chin between his fingers within a second. She gasped at his sudden show of speed and strength, staring into his terrifying red eyes that seemed to hold cold madness.

His grip was so tight she thought it might actually break her chin, but he held back just enough to only cause light bruising.

Edward growled but was still unable to move from Felix's steel grip.

"Isabella, your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal..." He whispered, cool breath fanning against her face before he suddenly released her and stepped back. "Go now, all of you make your preparations... and I expect that if you are to hear from her you will report it immediately..." Aro commanded lightly, though it was obvious that it was anything but light.

He turned to Felix and Demetri, nodding his head.

Almost unsurely, the two vampires released Edward and Alice. Both of who quickly flitted to Bella's side and stood by her protectively. Bella was suddenly flush against Edward's side.

The rest of the Volturi were now immensely confused. What had Aro seen that just changed his mind within a second—who was her?

Caius, despite his anger, could see that Aro was truly letting these imbeciles go scot-free. But rather than start an argument in front of them (that could happen behind closed doors) he chose to assert a threat over them.

Even Marcus was shocked: this was very unlike their brother.

"We will return the visit, so I advise that you follow through on your promise soon—we do not offer second chances!" He boomed, staring at them in such a way that Bella shrank while the Cullens looked back at him icily.

Bella was still shocked that these overlords were actually Sandy's mates. Now she truly understood why the fae had been so keen in steering clear of them. After witnessing just who the Volturi were with her own eyes—Bella prayed that Sandy never got trapped in this place.

Edward was already leading Bella toward the doors, Alice following so closely behind that she was touching Bella. They said nothing back to Caius's statement.

"Goodbye, my young friends—I am sure we will all be seeing much of each other in the eternity to come..." Aro's voice was light as he bid them goodbye.

Again, none of them said anything. But Aro's real words were reflected in his statement: their paths were now bound to cross many times seeing as Cassandra was intertwined closely to both the Cullen and Volturi covens.

Caius, Marcus, and even Jane looked to the main leader in confusion. Why would their paths be more intertwined in the future?

Caius and Jane certainly did not wish for such a thing, both of them found the Cullen coven more than annoying.

Demetri led them out easily enough, the giant doors slamming closed behind them. It was only minutes into the silent walk through the cold corridors, light reflecting through the windows that they passed by a large group of tourists being led in by Heidi.

Bella's heart sank as she realized all these innocent people would be dead in the next few minutes. To see the small children bouncing excitedly among them is especially disturbing.

Back in the throne room, Aro cringed as he heard the sound of the tourists coming. This was one of the many things that Cassandra hated about them. Obviously, a vampire could not change their nature or their diet, but even Aro knew that the Volturi could certainly drink blood in more 'humane' ways.

Perhaps it was time to start looking into getting their source of blood through underground blood banks. It was already something that they were going to need to switch to in the next decade, as with humanity's recent evolution in technology; killing such a large groups of people on a weekly basis was beginning to get incredibly suspicious.

It was hard to cover up, there had already been a few incidents where more than one cop had to be killed because investigators got far too close to discovering the truth. Too many times that they had to pull strings to cover their own trail. And it was only going to get more difficult as the times moved forward.

Along with blood banks being less suspicious, it would make the Volturi's kill count against humans go down significantly. However, many of them (including Aro himself) were surely bound to miss the actual killing aspect of it, as horrible as it sounded.

But it was in a vampire's nature to hunt and kill humans. There was no changing that.

Nonetheless, Aro could do nothing about the most recent tour group about to enter. Rather, he would enjoy this as well as the next few groups to come; he had a feeling the tour-group hunting was soon to come to a close.

"Aro, what was that? What did you see?" Caius questioned.

"All will be answered after our meal, brother," He easily answered back just as the door opened and Heidi led nearly fifty humans inside. "As for now, I would enjoy these next few meals as much you can... this method of food may soon become... obsolete."

Caius actually gaped along with a few of the guard who had overheard while Marcus raised a simple brow of curiosity.

"What in all the God's names are you talking about—?!" Caius's angry words were cut off by Aro smiling and addressing the many humans who had just entered.

"Welcome, welcome to Volterra! We thank you for your sacrifice!" Aro called and just as the humans looked at each other in confusion, the screams started and their blood splattered.