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SKIN & BONES
ix. A DATE WITH THE VOLTURI

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A DEEP FROWN TUGGED on Lorelai Swan's porcelain face. A cheap pair of sunglasses hung loosely on her face, just barely sitting at the point of her nose. She gazed out the window longingly, watching the Italian citizens and tourists saunter throughout Volterra, Italy.

"I can't believe I'm actually in Italy and I can't even try authentic Italian pizza," grumbled the newborn vampire. Bella glanced back at her through the rearview mirror of the yellow Porsche Alice Cullen happily stole. "Just think about all the pastas!"

"It's not like you would've eaten it," Bella pointed out with a sour tone.

Lorelai lowered her sunglasses to adjust the scarf wrapped around her head. "Someone's in a pissy mood," she taunted. "At least you slept through the whole flight. I thought I was gonna lose my mind just sitting there—"

"They refused him," Alice suddenly interrupted, her hands tightly gripping the wheel. It was then when Rory realized something: Whose idea was it to let the psychic who got visions that often impaired her sight at random drive the car? "He's gonna make a scene—show himself to the humans."

Lorelai's gold eyes widened as Bella demanded, "When?" Alice took a sharp turn down the street, explaining that Edward was planning to wait until noon—when the sun was at its highest. "Oh my God... Alice, you gotta hurry up."

"Inhale, exhale, B," Lorelai coached. She reached out in front of her in the tiny car, holding Bella's warm hand with her colder one. "We're almost there." She glanced up, looking at the city that was decorated with beautiful buildings lining up the hill. She paused, noticing the people wearing their red capes. "Did we miss the memo about wearing all red?"

"San Marcos Day festival. They're commemorating the expulsion of vampires from the city," explained Alice.

Lorelai snorted and slipped her glasses back on her face. "Just imagine what they'd do if they saw us walking around."

Alice smiled gently at the lighthearted humor, continuing, "It's the perfect setting. The Volturi will never let him get far enough to reveal himself."

Lorelai flinched when she heard Bella's heart rate drastically pick up. Her dark eyes were glued to the clock. "Five minutes."

"Already?" wondered Lorelai as policemen knocked on the car window. "Hm, well, I suppose that's about right. You know, for plot purposes."

Alice rolled down her window to address the officers outside the car while Bella hopped out. "Bella, you're the only one he can't see coming," warned Alice. "If Rory or I go, he'll read our thoughts. He'll think we're lying and rush into it."

"Where do I go?" frantically asked Bella.

"He'll be under the clock tower. Go!" shouted Alice.

Bella broke out into an ungraceful sprint in an instant. Meanwhile, Lorelai pulled herself into the passenger seat, happy to receive some appreciated leg-room. She listened to Alice speak to the officers in fluent Italian.

It was quickly revealed that they would have to walk because of the festival. They moved as fast as they could while pretending to be humans. "Since when do you know Italian?" curiously queried Lorelai, pushing past the bodies.

Alice pressed her lips together, searching her brain for an appropriate response to the question that caused the psychic to tense up. "I... I learned it from an old friend," she said before growing silent once more. Lorelai was left to wonder Alice's history with this 'friend.'

On the flight Volterra, Italy, Lorelai had Alice explain everything regarding the Volturi. After listening to Sam Uley babble on and on about myths about cold ones, she wasn't sure what was the truth and what wasn't. Now, the girl was heavily educated on the Volturi. Still, despite this, she was somewhat worried about what could happen. After all, these guys were vampire royalty, weren't they?

"Aro wants to speak with you again."

The voice caused Lorelai's ears to perk up. "No rules were broken," Edward declared as the girls drew nearer to the clock tower. Lorelai sighed in relief, glad he was still alive. While Edward was annoying at times, he made Bella happy; therefore, Lorelai was happy.

"We should take this conversation to a more appropriate venue."

"Fine. Bella, why don't you stay and enjoy the festival?"

"The girl comes with us."

"You can go to hell," Edward snarled at the vampire while Alice and Lorelai finally reached the stairs of the clock tower.

The door opened easily once Alice broke the lock off. The girls pulled off their scarves and sunglasses upon stepping inside. "Come on, guys," greeted Alice, "it's a festival. We wouldn't want to make a scene."

"We wouldn't," agreed one of the two vampires. Lorelai studied him cautiously. This was Felix, a tall brunet known for being a high-ranking member of the Volturi guard. He relied on strength and combat techniques rather than having a gift.

The one next to him was another member of the guard, Demetri. According to Alice, Demetri had the gift to track people through the tenors of their minds. Since no one's been able to conceal themselves from his sensing, he's remained a huge threat.

A small, blonde strutted down the corridor. "Enough," she demanded. "Aro sent me to see what was taking so long."

This one was Jane, another high-ranking guard. She was the twin to Alec, making them two of the Volturi's most powerful offensive weapons. With the gift of inducing a crippling, although illusory, pain in other people's minds, Jane was easily the most powerful vampire in the room.

Jane glanced between her colleagues, her red eyes bloody with hatred. The sight of her made Lorelai nervous. She needed to be cautious and stay out of trouble. She just needed to protect Bella and get home safely. Easy.

Alice lowered her voice into a whisper, even if the vampires could still hear her. "Just do as she says," she instructed to the Swan siblings.

Jane led the group through a long corridor and down a flight of stairs before heading into an elevator. Bella stuck herself between Edward and her sister, tense as she and the six vampires huddled in the small space. Had the situation been different, Lorelai was sure she would have made a comment about the elevator music.

The door soon slid open, allowing Jane to stroll out with the others trailing behind her. The receptionist greeted them in Italian with a bright smile. Lorelai arched her eyebrow. She was human. Weird.

Large double doors stood at the end of a dark hallway. Jane pushed them open without breaking her stride, revealing an extravagant, white marble room. In the center of the open area were three vampires sitting in thrones: Aro, Marcus, and Caius. Additionally, there were about three more guards standing by.

One of the vampires walked forward. "Sister," he greeted Jane. This must've been Alec—the other half of the so-called demon twins, "we sent you out to get one and you bring back three... and a half. Such a clever girl."

Aro rose from his spot in the center with a wicked smile on his face. "What a happy surprise! Bella is alive, after all!" he cheered. "Isn't that wonderful? I love a happy ending." He approached the group and took Edward's hand from Bella, holding it in his own. "They are so rare. La tua cantante." He glanced back at Bella. "Her blood appeals to you so much... it makes me thirsty. How can you stand to be so close to her?"

"It is not without difficulty," Edward curtly replied.

"Yes," Aro acknowledged. "I can see that." He smiled at Bella before turning his focus back to Edward.

"Aro can read every thought I ever had with one touch," Edward explained to Bella. His gaze remained trained on Aro. "And now you know everything. So, get on with it."

"You are quite a soul reader yourself, Edward. Though you can't read Bella's thoughts." He looked at the sisters. "Fascinating! I would love to see if... you are an exception to my gifts, as well. Would you do me the honor?" Bella extended her hand out, almost unwillingly. With the seconds that passed, Aro eventually declared, "Interesting. I see nothing."

Probably because her head's empty, Lorelai smugly thought to herself. It doesn't take superpowers to figure that out.

Aro moved onto Lorelai. "May I?" His hand was outstretched for her. Lorelai stared at his hand for a moment as it lingered in the air before reaching forward. Almost immediately upon contact, Aro winced.

An entire two minutes passed until Aro released her hand. "My, what a fascinating newborn," he commented. "Your human memories are most certainly dark, but entrancing. I must compliment your self-control for a newborn, though I suppose that comes with your... eating disorder, yes? Hm..." He hummed. "You have an edge, Miss Swan, especially with your manipulative gift."

Lorelai stared at him with knitted eyebrows. "The only gift I have is my charming personality," she deadpanned.

Aro appeared to be colored with surprise upon hearing this. He laughed manically as he exclaimed, "Oh, you don't know! So naïve, aren't you?" He smiled widely at the girl. "In our world, there are numerous vampires with gifts, some of them being manipulative abilities. This may include manipulating the weather, emotions, the elements, and so on. However, your gift is unique because you are the rarest of your kind. You, my prize, are a Manipulator, meaning that you can manipulate anything at will. This explains how you saved your sister from drowning by forcing the water out of her system, for example. This gift was derived from your strongest human trait of being manipulative in your human life. You manipulated those around you into thinking you were fine for years, that you weren't starving until manipulating became what you were best at."

He paused. "You are, at best, a treasure, one we would be grateful to have on our guard. Though I can tell by your thoughts, you have already declined..." He turned on his heel, swaggering back to his throne before facing his guests again. "I wonder... Let's see if Miss Bella is immune to all of our powers." He glanced at Jane. "Shall we, Jane?"

Edward was immediately opposed. "No!" He started to move toward Jane, who simply smiled.

"Pain."

In an instant, Edward's body froze up. The pain he experienced was seen in his face as he fell onto the ground. Bella gasped, pulling away from Lorelai. "Stop!" she shouted. Bella tried to join Edward's side, only for Alec to try and grab her. Luckily, Lorelai stopped him by standing between them.

"Back off," Lorelai protectively spat.

"Stop!" Bella screamed from behind Lorelai. "Just stop hurting him! Please!"

Aro turned to the blonde, who seemed to be having a bit too much fun. "Jane."

Jane pulled her attention away from Edward to face Aro. "Master."

Aro, then, encouraged, "Go ahead, my dear."

Her devious smirk stuck to her doll-like face as Jane turned to Bella. Lorelai frowned, unsure of how she could protect Bella. Aro said she was a Manipulator, right? That meant Lorelai wasn't totally incapable, right?

"This may hurt just a little."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at the woman. Then, her mind went to the two guards standing behind her by the door. Without another second passing, one of the vampires leaped forward at Jane, tackling her. Lorelai's gold eyes widened as Jane and the vampire fought each other. It was like he was a mindless puppet, doing whatever his master manipulated him into doing. Lorelai jumped, releasing her control on the guard as Jane shouted furiously, ripping off the guard's head instantly.

Jane rose to her feet, dusting herself off. Alec immediately went to her side. "What on Earth!" shouted Alec in shock.

Meanwhile, Aro rose to his feet. He clapped his hands ecstatically as Lorelai huffed, suddenly weakened from performing this act. This was the first time she had really used her ability willingly, and it already took out half of her energy.

"Remarkable!" Aro bellowed. "You manipulated one of our own to protect your sister! My, you truly are a treasure!"

Lorelai shrugged, her sarcastic side poking through as she bowed. "I would do anything to protect my sister."

"Acknowledged," Aro stated. He looked to Bella, who had remained unaffected from Jane's gift regardless. "What do we do with you, now?"

"You already know what you are going to do, Aro," Marcus said from his seat.

"She knows too much. She is a liability," Caius added. "Not to mention, her sister just killed one of our own!"

Aro looked over at Caius. "Technically, Jane killed one of our own. Though, I do agree. Bella is a liability." He paused. "Felix."

Had Lorelai still had a functionally working heart, she was sure it would be racing so fast that it would create a self-induced heart attack. She didn't have as much energy as before, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to fight the giant that was Felix as he raced toward Bella.

Without hesitation, Edward and Lorelai dashed toward Felix, who was also moving toward them. Reaching him first, Lorelai raised a hand to hit him, but Felix just grabbed her, lifting her upward. Lorelai grunted, imagining him flying into the ceiling. As this happened in reality, thanks to her manipulation, Edward pounced on him. He grabbed Felix by the neck and smashed his head in the ground repeatedly.

Felix snarled ferociously as he threw Edward off of him, sending him crashing into a pillar. It didn't fall, but instead, split in half at the impact. He grabbed Lorelai once more to throw her. At the last second, Lorelai manipulated the pillar to hit Felix like a baseball. The man was sent flying. Though fatigued, Lorelai went to finish him off before she was interrupted:

"Enough! Stop this instant!" charged Aro. "I will not allow you to be responsible for killing two of the Volturi guard!"

Lorelai stopped in her steps, happy to oblige. She was about to crumble to the ground regardless. "Sure thing, gramps," Lorelai snapped, trudging back over to Bella's side. Edward was already next to her in an instant.

Aro was silent, gawking at Lorelai. "If you were to join us, we would allow you to reach your full potential," he offered a second time. "You would be more powerful than even our own."

"I think I already am," Lorelai arrogantly told him. "Now, would you please do me a favor and let me and my family go?"

"I cannot do that," Aro denied, shaking his head. "This is a sadness. If only it be your intention to give her immortality." Lorelai scoffed.

"Maybe over your dead body, fossil."

"How dare—!?"

"Wait!" Alice interrupted as Demetri kept his hand clamped around her neck. "Bella will be one of us! I've seen it." Demetri released her as she held out her hand. "I'll change her myself."

Aro grabbed Alice's hand. "Mesmerizing!" he commented after a few seconds. "To see what you have seen before it has happened." He turned to Bella. "Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal, Isabella." He paused. "Go now. Make your preparations."

"We will make sure she follows through," Caius added. "I would not delay. We do not offer second chances."

"Neither do I," Lorelai hissed, staring at Felix, who had cracks outlining the side of his head.

She sighed, exiting beside Edward.

"I just killed someone and I still don't get Italian pizza. Life sucks."

Edward just rolled his eyes. Though, he had to admit...

He was really happy she was still alive, even if he couldn't stand her presence half the time.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
hey kiddos. first of all wtf we went from 5k reads to 9k in less than a week. i'm SHOOK???? like thank you??? that's so many reads???

lorelai's gift is pretty neat in my opinion. i considered not giving her a gift, but i really like the concept of it. like how her past will always seem to follow her and all yk?

a lot of her gift is based off of imagining and visualizing, which seems easy from how easy she fought felix, but it can be very difficult to get a handle on as we see her gift develop!

but yeah i just wanted to say again thank you guys so much for enjoying this story! don't forget to let me know what you guys are thinking in the comments <3

Revised: January 6th, 2020