My beautiful people- I have returned!

I apologize for the huge time gap between this and 'Bound to a Blackened Soul.' It's been about two years now, huh? Well, here's the third installment- late, but as promised. :)

Before you continue, however, I would like to point out something you should keep in mind. To put it bluntly, I'm not the same writer I was back when I wrote 'Stuck in Volterra.' I'm writing much darker, different things now- so the style might be a tad different :( But I'll do my best to maintain the format you guys love, and the author 'Jacquetta Jane' is going to help me write some of it. :)

That being said, I'm also planning on doing a giant grammar clean up with the first two installments. I was re-reading them the other day, and well... wow. I'll make sure to fix that for you guys.

And on top of that, I'll try to update whenever I can dodge college, jobs, an further family issues. This should be entirely in Bella's POV, but if Caius's is necessary, I'll make sure to label it clearly.

Thank you guys for sticking with me for so long- and enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

"You had one job, Felix."

The brawny shouldered guard tore his eyes from the screen to glare at his companion. "I'm telling you- that guy is a freaking ghost or something!" he argued. "I circled the area twice and there was no sign of him. He just appeared out of no where and started hammering us!"

"Well, it's too late now," Demetri threw down his X-box controller. "You were supposed to cover my back and now we're both out of lives. Thanks so much."

"Look, I swear-"

"Hey- hey!" I shouted at them, from the other side of the room. "C'mon guys. You said you were going to be peaceful and quiet if I let you in here."

Both guards turned towards me with solemn faces. "My apologies, my lady," Felix said. "It's just that Demetri always blames our deaths on me, even when he knows I am inclined to lose my temper."

Demetri shook his head. "That's because you always blow our cover, moron."

Felix whirled towards him. "I do not-"

"Look- guys, I really don't care," I retorted. "You get to play Call of Duty or Skyrim or whatever the hell that is anytime you want. Want to know what I have to do when the three kings are absent? I have to study- a lot." I huffed and flipped through the hundreds of pages in my lap. "And Sulpicia expects me to memorize the whole Italian language by Wednesday."

"Lady Sulpicia is a gentle spirit," Demetri explained. "She wouldn't tell you to do something if it weren't in your best interest, my lady."

I snorted at his words. "Yeah. Her use of Italian curses and names for me. Definitely in my best interest."

Both turned back to the screen once the dramatic, restarting soundtrack pounded through the speakers. They immediately grabbed their controllers and got in position.

"With all due respect, Lady Bella," Demetri started. "Why do you not study in Lord Caius's quarters? Surely that would keep you away from our boisterous distractions."

"Because that's just where Sulpicia expects to find me," I mumbled. "She wants to go over countries and house hold objects, even though I still haven't figured out verbs."

They were already too engrossed in their game to answer me. Shaking my head, I turned to the next page and drilled my brain into focus.

Mastering every language known to man had never been on my bucket list. Sure, it looked nice on a Volturi queen and made it easier to communicate with everyone, but it wasn't something I necessarily wanted to spend my time doing. I went to France once when I was five years old and I got a B in Spanish my sophomore year. That was about as diverse as I got, or wanted to be.

Sulpicia was only a good teacher because I was too scared to tell her I never studied. Her years made her intelligent and adept, but she seemed to forget no one else had lived more than a thousand years to thoroughly learn and understand everything like she did. Perhaps she would be a better teacher once she learned how to be more sympathetic.

Suddenly, the screen flashed and the audio filled with bullets. Felix's character fell forward in a pile of blood.

He stood up and loudly cursed at the T.V. "TZGRIX246! You mortal scum-"

"I'm out," I threw my hands in the air.

Stupid boys. I bitterly packed away my book and slammed the chamber door behind me.

I knew I shouldn't have let them in. They had every other room in the palace to play their stupid, violent games. Aro practically filled the place with TV's and game consoles after my wedding. There was even a flat screen in the throne room, where he would try and get Caius and Marcus to play Just Dance with him.

With a sigh, I decided it would be better to just head to Caius's. I would rather face Sulpicia than be tortured by fake gunfire and Italian slurs any day.

The room was quiet when I pushed open the door. Small wisps of light poked in through the curtains, along a floor of shadows and darkness. His desk stood where it always did- right before the glass, mahogany-bordered window. His chair was tucked in and a row of pencils sat at the right edge of the desk, untouched.

I shut the door behind me and made my way forward. Everything about this room seemed so much emptier without him. It felt so vacant and… colder, somehow.

I set my book on the left and let my fingers skim the smooth wood.

Aro, Caius, and Marcus had been gone for six days. They took two male guards and their new recruit to help capture the second attacker from Forks. Somehow, the sneaky bastard managed to evade Demetri and Felix when they went on a two-month hunting spree for him weeks ago. In response, Aro decided to unleash Benedict, a fourteen year old vampire with unparalleled tracking senses and a master sense of direction. He even surpassed Demetri, who was supposed to be the best hunter in the world.

When we received information on some world-wide disappearances throughout the globe, the three of them suspected Terrance had been behind it. Naturally, they thought it best to seek him out themselves and properly question him before his death. Demetri and Felix had unfortunately been dismissed on the mission, leaving them with me to do nothing productive.

They left Sulpicia in charge of the Volturi until their return, and technically… me, as well. But I liked to think it was just Sulpicia.

Of course, the devil herself popped into the room as soon as I found Caius's abandoned chair. Heidi and Corin accompanied her in.

"Wait!" I said, holding the book to my chest. "Wait! Hold on, I swear I was studying! Look… um…" I flipped a page. "Mi pice formaggio!"

"Mi piace il formaggio," the vampress corrected dully. "Fortunate for you, that is not why I'm here."

My eyebrows narrowed. "It's not?"

Heidi and Corin scurried forward with wide grins. Heidi had out her phone, which was bedazzled in pink stones. "Did you forget what day it is?"

I thought about it. "Uh…"

"It's Charlie's birthday!" Heidi complained. "My lady- we would have thought you would have remembered your own father's date of birth!"

I scratched my neck. "Well, I did remember," I recalled. "I tried to call him this morning but he didn't answer. I sent him a football jersey, a new stereo, and some paddle pops."

Sulpicia used the reflection in Caius's desk to apply her lipstick. "But you did not leave him a message."

I shrugged. "He usually deletes his voicemails."

"He won't delete this one," Heidi vowed. "Come- my lady. We will all sing America's birthday melody together. Dear, old Charlie will be so thrilled!"

I highly doubted that. Charlie hadn't been thrilled since I told him I broke it off with Edward.

I dialed the number on Heidi's phone and let it go to voicemail. The women quickly crowded around me, except for Sulpicia, who took her sweet time.

"This is Charlie Swan. Leave me a message, or whatever…"

The phone beeped.

I opened my mouth, but the trio already began singing in perfect harmony.

They had beautiful voices. Every note was like a song in itself, falling high and low and ending with shuddering, beautiful vibrato. I caught up with the song and tried to sing with them, but my voice was clearly distinguishable. I sounded like a flat duck next to a group of singing angels. Quickly, I drew my lips together.

After they had finished the final note, I picked up the phone and held it close. "Hey, Dad… so… yeah, that definitely wasn't me. You know I can't sing for anything. So, uh… yeah, the girls and I just thought we'd say hi. Happy birthday, and um… call me when you get this message, okay? Bye-"

"Bella!?"

I did a double take, looking straight into the heart of the phone.

"Alice?"

"Bella!" she sounded relieved. "Oh, perfect- I was just going to call you."

"Um, great," I said, frowning. "But… why do you have my dad's phone?"

"Charlie's at our house," she explained. "We had to throw him a surprise party for the big number. It's not every day your sister's father turns sixty."

"Yep, certainly not around people like us," I agreed. "But seriously Alice. You threw him a party without telling me? The least you could have done was let me know so I could've warned you what he's like at parties."

"Oh, he's doing fine," Alice assured me. "Carlisle and him are watching a game in the living room. Jasper's been studying him all day. He says he's perfectly content."

I nodded to myself. "Well, if there's football involved, I'm sure."

"Anyway- that's not important," her chirpy tone went serious. "Did Aro and Caius get rid of Terrance yet?"

"Not yet, I don't think," I looked over at the girls for confirmation. "Why? Did you have a vision?"

Alice paused. "No. Not of him. I'm unable to see the Quileute pack as you know, but I saw a boarding pass to Volterra. Sam's name was on it."

"Sam Uley?" I frowned. "Why would he be coming here?"

"Well, I don't know," she confessed. "He never came to us about anything. But I suspect if he's planning on going to Volterra, there's something serious going on with the pack."

Sulpicia and the girls made their audible disapprovals. None of them could stand the stench of the wolves or the Children of the Moon when they went to Forks. I didn't blame them, but I had a softer heart because of my affiliation with Jacob.

"Caius isn't here," I stated. "But we'll be ready if he comes before his return." I paused for a moment, and then frowned deeply. "And wait a minute- why are you guys in America? I thought you and Jasper were in going to be in France until the fourteenth."

"Oh- we just decided to head home early," she said. "Did you get my package?"

"The one with the silver dress? Yeah, I got it. It's beautiful."

"Did you get my second package?"

I drew my lips in a hard line at the memory. "Yes, I did."

"Did Caius like it?"

I let out an angry breath, hating where this was going. All the women began to crowd around me; perched up in curiosity. "I don't know, Alice," I sighed. "I didn't try it on."

"I know the garter belts are a little tricky, but once you figure it out-"

"Ah- okay, Alice? Yeah. We're not going there, alright?"

She seemed confused. "Oh, well… sorry, Bella. I was under the impression you… I mean. It's been almost a year since the wedding-"

"Alice," I repeated.

"Well, I promise they'll do the job if you try them on!" she sounded giddy. "The black ones are a bit trickier, but even you can manage the red one. When I wore it with Jasper-"

"Yes- yes- I'm sure!" I managed, even with the crowd of vampresses giggling around me. If I were human, I would definitely be on fire. "Time for you to go now-"

"Did you go to that little shop in Bordeaux?" Sulpicia inquired. "Bellisima?"

"I did in fact!"

"Quaint little shop," she said with a proud glint in her eye. "I used to shop there all the time, back when I was a bit more vigorous-"

"This is not happening," I chanted, shaking my head. "This is not happening…"

"Has Bella been behaving, girls?" Alice asked, clearly amused.

"Hard to say," Sulpicia gave me a devilish look. "Caius's room is still intact, so I'd have to say she has been behaving a bit too well."

Corin stepped forward. "I am personally curious, your ladyship. Caius has always been a mystery with these sort of things," she recalled with Heidi. "Athenodora never told us anything because, well… she had nothing to tell, unfortunately-"

"Gah!" I shuddered. "Okay, you guys-?"

"Caius is a pet," Sulpicia cooed, brushing her lashes with thick mascara. "The poor boy has always been too intractable. I am only thankful now he has a young girl to show him the ways-"

I could not stop shaking my head.

"Demetri is a live wire," Heidi chipped in. "I don't even have to seduce him."

Corin nodded. "I know. Back when I was with him-"

I grabbed the phone from them. "Alice, I got to let you go, it's past our bedtime- bye!"

"Bella-!"

Click.

I let out an overwhelmed breath. Sulpicia, Heidi and Corin stood before me, smirking ever so brilliantly. If I heard another word of their ridiculous antics, I would literally explode from embarrassment.

"Done," I declared, pointing at each and every one of them. "We are done here."

Sulpicia, of course, couldn't resist. "You don't have to worry about being safe," she told me. "Although you might get more attention if you considered a fake pregnancy."

"I'm exiting the room," I made a beeline for the door.

Unfortunately, Demetri got to it before I could, opening it from the outside. He drew back once he realized my proximity. "My lady-" he started.

"Leave," Sulpicia said, bluntly.

The guard paused. "I'm afraid, my queen, my request is a bit more urgent."

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"A disturbance in the throne room," he explained. "Come with me."

He flashed Heidi a small wink before he headed out, and the four of us all rushed out the door.

Valentina was the only one in the throne room when we arrived. There seemed to be nothing abnormal about her appearance, other than a large, black bag at her feet.

Valentina had been desperate to prove herself ever since she was hired as our new secretary. I admired her dedication, but I hated always fearing for her life. As word got around, Aro had a long history of disposing his human secretaries. I remembered Gianna being the last human worker they had about fifteen years ago, and I never heard of her again.

None of them had executed anyone since I moved in. The fact that I knew they had before, however, made me uncomfortable. I respected Aro and their positions to the vampire world, but I didn't think it was right for them to take lives. I still remembered Caius executing that poor man in front of me all those years ago, after he confessed to doing the crime only to support his family.

It would be a rocky ride, I decided. As long as they continued to have respect for human life, we would be on good terms.

"State your business, girl," Sulpicia demanded, clearly annoyed with the situation.

Valentina gestured towards the bag. "A woman left this at the door, Signora," she explained. "She seemed to be in some sort of rush. She said to make sure I got it to the three masters."

Immediately after, she knelt down and opened the bag, revealing a great stash of coins and currency. "I- I didn't know what to do, my lady," she went on, trying to somehow justify her actions. "She was crying, and-"

"Wait," I told her, edging forward.

She blinked. "My lady?"

The throne room filled with silence. I waited for the other vampires to hear it before I continued.

"There's a heartbeat in that bag."

As usual guys, your feedback always makes me update faster :)