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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗
|| volterra ||

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GRADUATING WAS SIMPLE, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER GRADUATION SHE'S HAD FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS. The only difference was that she was going to Italy the same day, or possibly die according to Emmett and Rosalie.

The couple believed it was dangerous for their sister to go visit the Volturi on her own, but Alice told them it was fine as she'd seen how it goes, reassuring them. They partly still suspected it was minacious.

"Are you sure you want to do this on your own?" Carlisle asked, his arm resting on Esme's shoulders. The whole family - plus Bella - were stood outside of their home, watching as Arlina filled her car up with a couple of days worth of luggage.

"I have to do this on my own, they won't hurt me but they might hurt you. I can't risk that." Arlina closed the boot of the car and moved to stand beside the driver's door. They all nodded in response, and took their turns hugging her.

"Stay safe, Arlina." Edward told her as he took his turn to embrace the redhead, she nodded into his shoulder with a small hum.

"I'll see you guys in a couple of days." Arlina hopped into the vehicle, and smiled once more at them before moving out of the driveway and into the road towards the middle of town.

She was worried to say the least, visiting the Volturi unannounced was almost like asking for death. But, Alec wouldn't allow them to hurt her, she hoped.

The car ride to the airport was peaceful, the sound of rain tapping on the windows and quiet music playing through the radio. It helped clear her mind from all of the sudden dark thoughts she was receiving.

It only took 12 hours to get from Seattle to Tuscany, and Arlina rented a car to get her luggage to Volterra. When she arrived in front of the Volterra Headquarters, she made her way inside and was escorted to the leaders by a sweet receptionist.

Being there felt nostalgic, she felt as if she was there again with Edward, Bella and Alice. Arlina didn't let the nerves get the best of her though as she walked into the room where Aro, Marcus and Caius were sat in their usual thrones.

They must've heard her coming, Jane was stood by the side alongside Demetri, Felix and Alec. The youngest from the Guard smiled immediately as he caught sight of the red-haired beauty.

"Oh! How wonderful, the red-haired Cullen is back!" Aro stood from his throne with a massive smile and he walked towards Arlina, "Arlina, is it?"

"Yes." She nodded, she glanced behind the man and noticed the glares she was receiving from Caius and Jane. Demetri and Felix looked almost delighted to see her back again, and Marcus simply didn't care for unnecessary drama as long as no rules are broken and he is well fed.

"You are beautiful, isn't she? Alec?" Aro raised an eyebrow towards his youngest member of the Guard, who smiled and nodded faintly.

"Very." The boy responded and Arlina smiled awkwardly.

"Aro, let them speak in peace, they must have lots to talk about." Marcus waved his hand around tiredly and Alec took that as his chance to take her out of the room and to another one.

They found themselves in a smaller room, which was quite like the throne room but with less formality. It was lit up by windows and lights, and there was a double bed in the centre. She guessed it was a guest bedroom.

"Hello again, Arlina." Alec bowed slightly and she did the same, laughing at him under her breath.

"Hi." She responded, she put her hands together in front of her stomach and smiled with a tilt of her head.

"Why are you here?" He questioned, he couldn't help the smile that was stuck on his face like being stuck cement, he couldn't get rid of it, as much as he tried to.

"I took some time to think about this." Arlina moved her finger towards him and to herself, gesturing to both of them.

"What did you conclude to?" Alec asked, one hand fiddling with his coven crest necklace and the other in his blazer pocket.

"I'm willing to be open about it, and try? I may disagree with your lifestyle, but that isn't stopping me from thinking about you every second of every day so it mustn't be a problem." She shrugged, she was saddened by his way of living, no doubt about it, but she couldn't help but wonder if it hadn't been Emmett that found her, and rather Aro, would she still be the same person?

"I can relate, I can't get you out of my mind." Alec responded with a smile, and she grinned in return. Both had never felt this way towards anyone before, Alec was never interested in romance much like his sister, but when he met Arlina that all changed. With Arlina, she was up for love but she never found it.

There was stumbling outside the door of the room and both vampires snapped their head to the sound, "Is there somebody out there?" Arlina pointed to the door with scrunched brows and he shook his head.

"There shouldn't be." He replied, he walked to the door, opening it swiftly and there stood Demetri and Felix play-fighting, "What are you both doing?"

The two stood up straight, they were too distracted to hear Arlina ask who was out there otherwise they would've ran off.

"Sorry, we were just walking by." Demetri then ran off, Felix smiled guiltily before following after him and Alec scoffed.

"Children." He shook his head and closed the door, moving to sit on the bed. She laughed lightly, she knew she liked those two already, they reminded her of Jasper and Emmett, childish and reckless.

Arlina cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you think they were eavesdropping?"

"Of course they were eavesdropping, I wouldn't put it past them." Alec joked and he pat a spot beside him on the bed, gesturing for her to come sit and she obeyed.

The two talked for a long while, about each other, their families, their gifts. Alec was hesitant to talk about his gift because he wasn't proud of it, in fact, he hated it. He made that clear in his tone when he spoke about it and the amount of insults he sent it, and Arlina just sat and listened, allowing him to vent.

Eventually, Arlina could see he was really distraught, especially talking about his human life which he somehow remembered well, and she took his hand in hers, catching him by surprise.

"You're unusually warm for a vampire..." Alec spoke, scrunching his brows together, staring into her golden eyes and she only smiled at him softly.

"That's because of my gift. There's heat running all throughout my body, I feel like a heated blanket at times." She chuckled lightly and he smiled, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand. He made her feel safe, much like when she's with her family, protected from danger.

The rest of the day was spent like that, hand in hand, talking about their lives. Arlina mentioned her close friendship with Emmett and Edward, about how she met them all. She talked about how she felt Carlisle and Esme were really her parents, and about how they made her feel comfortable right away when they first met her. She spoke about her sisters, and even about Bella.

He spoke about Demetri and Felix, about Jane. About how he was turned and treated in his human life. He explained how Aro had wanted to turn him and his sister since they were only toddlers, but couldn't because of the immortal child law. He then spoke about how he really actually didn't enjoy killing humans for fun, and he put on an act in front of his coven, even Jane.

Arlina felt bad for him, his life wasn't all flowers and rainbows, it was more similar to hell and it was wrong. After getting to know him for the entire day, she knew he didn't deserve that and she set herself a goal to turn his life around.