We didn't really talk on the way home. Bella and Edward were in their own little bubble, and Alice knew I didn't really feel like chatting right now. Jane followed us like a shadow, and although I wouldn't have admitted it to the others, I didn't mind her company. So much had happened to us in the last few hours that I hadn't given much thought to what would happen to Dad. Bella wants to wait until after graduation, but I don't. I guess you could say I got accepted to a school in Italy. After all, it's not impossible, I wasn't a bad student and I've known Italian since I was a child. I was always a little bit jealous that my mum and dad had chosen such an Italian name for Bella, of course, apart from the pizza we sometimes had at the weekend, we had little to do with Italy. But I became so interested in it that my mother was forced to enroll me in a language school. My sister was studying ballet at the time, and while she stopped because of her stage fright, I continued to learn Italian.
No one would be surprised if I told them that I had applied to an Italian college earlier and had been accepted, but that I had to start a preparatory course earlier because of this. I wonder if Aro would let me study after my transformation? I've seen so little of the world, and now, as a human, to even think that I have an eternity ahead of me to do whatever I want, is scary. It's intoxicating. Aro... even now I don't know exactly what happened between us, but whatever it was, the vampire felt it too. There are many questions, but for now, the answers will have to wait.
"Sin, what are we going to tell dad? We just left, and go to Italy... I don't know how to explain this to him." I looked at my sister, then grinned.
"Pff, you're about three minutes older..." Bella rolled her eyes, but I ignored her and continued.
"So, I called dad and told him that Alice had invited us to Italy, and since I was interested in schools abroad anyway, I went, and a little break was good for you too. It's perfect. I mean, dad never hated Alice, he just hated Edward. Who could possibly hate Alice anyway?"
"I love you too!" I laughed as Alice leaned over to us from the seat behind us. "But seriously, your sister is always thinking ahead. It's some hidden ability of hers, even though she can't see the future."
"And... he seemed angry?" It was obvious that Bella was worried about what Charlie would say.
"Come on Bells, have a little faith in me. Well, he was upset, but not angry. Maybe he will be angry with you when the whole Cullen family just turns up out of nowhere right after we went to Italy with their daughter."
"Sienna!" I grinned at Bella, and she shook her head and sat back down next to Edward, I guess they were discussing what they were going to do.
I got up from my seat and stood next to Jane's seat. She gave me a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow in expectation, but gave no other sign that she was paying any attention to me. "Where will you stay? With us or with the Cullens? Although I suppose the Volturi usually take care of that sort of thing beforehand."
"The Master has taken care of everything, but I will pay a visit to the Cullens."
I nodded, and I was about to go back to my seat, but I stopped. "Jane? Do you ever regret joining the Volturi?"
"No. For my brother and me, the Volturi is our home. We have our own freedom, but our existence has a purpose. You will be going to learn, that immortality is a very long time without a purpose. And honestly? As a vampire, you are above humans, but as a member of the Volturi, you are also above vampires. It's not so bad to be at the top of the hierarchy."
"I think I understand." Jane had her own view and I could understand it. Maybe it doesn't matter if we're human or vampire, but we want to belong, to be part of something. After some hesitation, I just sat down next to the blonde girl and although she might have been surprised by my action, she showed no sign of it. "May I ask how old you are? I mean, not your human age."
"I don't know exactly, around 1200." She grinned, when she saw my face, then continued. "Alec and I, we were born in England around 800 A.D. We both had strong psychic abilities that were evident even in our human state. The people in our village were so afraid of us that they tried to burn us at the stake. Aro found out about us and kept an eye on us, but we were too young at the time to be turned. We were already burning when he came for us."
"I hope you killed them."
"Yes, we killed them, slowly."
"Good." As Jane looked at me, I returned the cruel little smile that appeared at the corner of her mouth. Her smile may have seemed cruel, but it was the most sincere smile I had seen on her face so far. I really didn't mind her company.
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Of course, we knew now that Edward was really trying to protect Bella so she could have a normal life, but... you don't make that kind of decision for anyone, especially not someone you love. It's just not right.
I sighed as I lay down on my bed, then closed my eyes. It was hard to decide whether my sister was naive, or she was just in love. Perhaps a little bit of both. I don't hate Edward, but I'm angry with him. He is an old soul, and yet, at the same time, he is so young. A teenage boy, with old ideals, and a lot of self-hate. He has a big heart, I know he loves my sister, and protects her with his life, but maybe that's the problem. Bells is very capable of protecting herself, and if she becomes a vampire she going to be unstoppable. Of course, she stays my little, awkward sister, but still.
A few days later we were at the Cullens' house, we all had a lot to discuss. There were three sides. Edward and Rosalie were against our transformation, and then Alice, Jasper and Emmet were on our side. Carlisle and Esme... they don't know what to do. Suddenly all the Cullens were looking in the same direction, and Bella's face went pale. My lips twitched upwards and turned into a tiny smile. Jane.
"This argument is unnecessary. The girl has until the end of the summer, after that she has to change." Jane didn't even bother to look at my sister, her eyes were on me. "As for Sienna... Master Aro will take care of her personally. After all, she's going to be a member of the Volturi."
"See? Thank you, Jane, this conversation was getting annoying."
"Are you going to accept this so easily? You will be immortal, but your freedom... our family? What about those things, Sin?"
"Bell's... in this family everyone has someone. And yes, I know that they love me too, but... I don't belong here. Not really. You know how I always wanted to learn, to explore. I just need something... more."
"You have your own darkness, and you are ready to embrace it. You will see, in time, the Volturi isn't a cage, it's an opportunity. We all have our roles within the coven, but we also have our own freedom and life."
Everyone was quiet, and maybe Jane was telling the truth, maybe not, but I wanted to believe her. What can the Cullens offer me? A family, and I have to play a teenager all the time? Going to high school over and over again, just so people don't accidentally expose us, because we don't age? Carlisle has a nice ideology and a good family, but they are mine too?
Bells have been having nightmares since the trip to Italy. She keeps hearing the screams over and over again. So many people were killed that day, and yet, all I can remember are Aro's eyes. Maybe Jane was right, and I do have some darkness in me, and my sister doesn't. I slowly glanced at Jane. Her eyes were not fully crimson, they were dark red.
Bells have been having nightmares since the trip to Italy. She keeps hearing the screams over and over again. So many people were killed that day, and yet, all I can remember are Aro's eyes. Maybe Jane was right, and I do have some darkness in me, and my sister doesn't. I slowly glanced at Jane. Her eyes were not fully crimson, they were dark red.
"Are you going to hunt?" She was surprised by my frank question, just like the others, but then she answered.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Not here." Edward's voice was cold, but Jane just ignored him, just like me.
"Maybe you can go to Seattle? We can go together. I need to take care of some loose ends and business before we go back to Italy." There was a dead silence after my words. "What? She has a better car, and she has to babysit me anyway."
"Come on then, I'm hungry."
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The trip with Jane was no different from the one a few days ago. She was not very talkative most of the time, but she answered my questions and I answered hers. "The Cullens are disappointed in you, no?" I sighed and looked at the blonde vampire.
"I think they just don't understand me and my decisions. They value their humanity, even if they are don't humans anymore. I get that." I paused for a moment before answering. "You know, my sister has nightmares, about Volterra and the tourists. I don't."
"Interesting. You two are twins, just like Alec and me. But we share the same values, and some of our personality traits. You and your sister don't, or at least not too much."
"I know. Bella was always quieter, and shyer. She lived her life through books. I like books and arts, but there is much more that life can offer." I laughed a little. "She's a little more romantic than I am."
"I noticed." She smirked at me, then we were in Seattle. We parked the car near where I had to go, and Jane was ready to go on her own business.
"Good hunt." She looked back at me, and a little smirk appeared on her face.
"I may be going to like you, Swan, but just almost."
"You like me, just admit." She doesn't answered, just disappeared into the early night. The most feared member of the Volturi guard, or that's what they say about Jane, because of her powers and attitude, and yet, she likes me. Life is unpredictable sometimes.
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The weeks passed quickly, but everyone seemed a little tense. Well, expect from Charlie. He was excited about my new school, and I felt guilty every time he asked something. Bells were more supportive, than the Cullens, and I can understand why, or at least I tried. They feared the Volturi, and worried for me. But there was little they could do now. I learned a lot from Jane about Italy and even about the Volturi. Nothing serious, just about the members, and old little tales when Jane and her twin, Alec were younger vampires.
I sighed, then smiled while looking around in my room. It was almost empty. I never owned too many things, it was mostly books and clothes, my art supplies for drawing, and some half-finished canvas with my paintings. Tomorrow I going to be in Italy. It seemed so surreal. Aro... I tried not to think too much about him, but he was in the corner of my mind, and I can't help it. I was so ridiculous, I don't even know him, and yet... I longed for his presence. I always thought of myself as a rational person. So why? Why did I feel this way? Aro felt it too? This longing for a stranger? I don't mentioned this to anyone, tomorrow I can finally see Aro again, and then we can speak. It was something we needed to discuss just the two of us.
"Hey sis." I turned back at the sound of Bella's voice, and smiled as she flopped down on my bed. "Are you nervous? About tomorrow."
"A little bit. But if I managed to win over Jane, I think I can handle just fine the rest of the Volturi too." I sat down next to Bella. "I don't going to lie, it's scary, but... I wanted this just as much as you do. Become a vampire. My journey is just a little different, than yours. But hey! Your sister going to be part of the vampire royalty, at least their guard. Jane told me, with my powers and with Aro's interest in me, I can become one of Aro's personal guards. That's a very high position. Well... if Aro really wants me to be his guard."
"I know, it's just... they feed on human blood. How are you going to cope with that?"
"Are you remember I went hunting every summer? With dad too since we here."
"But that's different, you just kill animals. Like the Cullens. But with the Volturi, you need to kill humans. I just can't imagine you like that, killing people. I know, I know... Edward and the others have their history, they all killed humans in the past, except Carlisle. But we, we can do differently. We can start with a clean slate."
"I know. Maybe my soul is a little darker than yours. I talked to Jane about this. She gave me her point of view. Humans are above animals in the food chain and vampires are above humans. If you look at it that way, she may be right, even if it sounds cruel at first. She said it's pointless to dwell on it too much while we're human, because our thinking will change as vampires anyway. Time passes differently for them."
Bella was silent for a while, perhaps also thinking about what we were talking about, and then she smiled slightly.
"You really like Jane, don't you? It's just so weird. But I guess it's a good thing, at least you already have a friend who can speak with you about all this vampire stuff, If you need it. I can talk to Edward about it, but he... you know him. He's got a perspective about his soul as a vampire, and there's always some self-loathing about what he is."
"He does not want to accept that you want this. He fears for your soul. That's not necessarily bad, but you don't share his views, and he needs to learn to understand and accept that."
"He's trying." Bella sighed. "We're both trying to understand each other better."
"Do you think I'll find someone in time? A partner? I was always a little jealous of the Cullens and you. You all have someone to face immortality with."
"You'll have plenty of time for that, and with Volturi you're sure to meet more vampires than me."
"That's true." I laughed up a little, then smirked. I going to regret saying this out loud, I'm sure. "Well, Aro definitely looks good."
"Sienna!" Bells looked at me with wide eyes, then burst out laughing.
"What? When he called me mia bella, it was sexy."
"You're hopeless, Sin."
"I know. So, you wanna order some chinese food?"
"Fine, but It's on me, after all, it's your last night at home." Bella grinned and I returned with a warm smile.
"You're the best."