Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters, else I wouldn't be writing fanfiction of it.
Story: After Edward leaves Bella, she's lost. Hanging only by a thread of hope in the form of the Volturi, she heads to Volterra, Italy with her death (and maybe her rebirth) in mind. There, three brothers will start to compete for her heart.
Set AU of New Moon.
Spoilers: For Twilight and some of New Moon, for sure.
Warnings: Smut in the future, language, violence, slightly suicidal thoughts, etc…
Pairings: Aro/Bella, Marcus/Bella, Caius/Bella, Demetri/Athenodora, Felix/Heidi, Charlie/Sulpicia

Stairway to Heaven
Chapter Seven: I'll Lead Them to Your Door

Bella was feeling irritable. Although Alice's visit to her had helped a lot, it had also kind of (in a way) made things worse. There was an agitation rising up beneath her skin, and a constant throng of thoughts that refused to leave her alone. She was constantly thinking about the meeting, about the Cullens, and even about Edward.

The last couldn't be helped, because he was the one that had damaged her foremost.

She knew she was supposed to move passed him, and she knew that was what the others wanted and were trying to help her to do. And she was trying to –she wanted to desperately. But there was this bitter ache in her –not one that wanted him back or was longing for him; not then, not anymore. It was more of an ache that was screaming at her to go to Edward, not to beg for him back, but to scream at him, throw things at his stupid, handsome face, to-to-to ask why.

She wanted nothing more than to see him again.

Because Bella couldn't do it anymore. She had to heal from this somehow, and she had to eventually confront Edward and force herself to move on. Otherwise, she was terrified that she would be stuck in this…purgatory, where she was trapped in a place where she couldn't find her feet and see passed the haze of pain that didn't seem to ever go away.

But she could do this. Athenodora and Demetri have told her over and over that she could. Heidi, Felix, and the twins have never thought she would buckle down or break apart again, after what she'd gone through and fought back from.

"Isabella," Caius called out to her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She blinked dazedly and looked to him, giving a wan smile. "Caius."

He held out a pale hand, and she curiously drifted over to him and grabbed it.

"Come, Isabella," he said mysteriously, and she followed him to where he eventually led her to the study of the Kings.

It was empty and she wondered where Marcus and Aro were. However, Caius invaded her thoughts again when he tugged at her hand and he headed to the couch, where he uncharacteristically plopped down and another tug on her hand almost had her tumbling on top of him. Stopping just short, he gestured for her to sit at the far end of the couch and then before she knew it, her head was on his lap and she was lying down on the rest of the couch.

"There. I might actually feel like working and looking at these idiotic papers," Caius said grumpily, and she lifted her head enough to finally notice the stack of paperwork on the side table next to him.

Her head was gently pushed back down, and she was surprised to find that Caius had started to thread his long fingers through her hair. If he found this somehow relaxing enough to get him through work, good for him –she was definitely finding herself relaxed and her eyes drooping.

She sighed peacefully, but she couldn't let go of her former thoughts.

"…Caius…" she murmured sleepily. "I want to see him. I want to see Edward." The hand in her hair stilled. "I don't want to hold onto him forever. I want to see him and make him leave me alone."

"Do you want to go to Forks?"

Sleep left her for awareness and she opened her eyes, unaware she'd closed them at all, to see Caius staring down at her seriously. Bella swallowed heavily and looked back up wearily.

"I want to go to Forks," she said firmly.

He nodded and began brushing his hand through her hair again. "Fine. Sleep then, for now, Isabella. When you awake next, the Volturi will begin to heed your command, my dear."

And Bella knew that she had made her decision, and that not only was she going to go through with it, but she wouldn't be alone in it.

Bella didn't know how she felt about going to Forks, not when they were all finally on a plane. Felix and Demetri were piloting it, with Jane and Alec playing speed chess off to a corner. Heidi, Athenodora, and the rest of the guard had been left behind to secure the castle, while Sulpicia was going to personally accompany Charlie when he went to go finish up his business in the town and settle whatever loose ends were left.

The Kings were obviously accompanying her, and she was currently ensconced between Marcus and Aro and trying not to recognize her anxiety.

Her breathing kept hitching and she was second guessing herself, and wondering if she really was ready for this. Alice had been one thing, but she had been the only one and Alice was Alice. She was going now, to confront them all at once…and Edward himself would be there.

Her hand was grasped and she looked to see Marcus smiling gently at her. She gave a shaky smile back, and decided that no matter what, she had to go through with it. Ready or not, she wanted to do this. She had to do this.

"Isabella, when we get there, do you plan on going straight to the Cullens?" Aro asked her quietly.

She frowned, but shook her head to the Kings' surprise. "I would like to visit the Quileute reservation and speak to a friend there. He really tried his best to help me out when I was at my worse, here at Forks. I just wanted to say thank you to him, and tell him how much I appreciated it and him."

"Very well, if that is your wish," Aro inclined his head.

"That sounds like an idea," Charlie scratched the back of his head. "I think I should talk to Billy, maybe reconcile some things…We kind of left it off…badly."

Bella blinked at her dad. "What? What do you mean?"

Charlie gave an embarrassed cough. "Well…he basically called me when I was searching for you, said something strange and that you were probably dead, and I basically hung up on him and turned off my phone…and I kinda forgot about my phone until now. And remembering it, I think he was actually trying to warn me about these guys, oddly enough," he gestured at the vampires around them.

Caius scowled. "Does he know about us?"

Charlie looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. He didn't exactly say it outright, but he was pretty damn sure that Bella had gone to Volterra and that she was dead, and that if I went I would die too."

Aro looked thoughtful before he stood up and headed towards Charlie. He held out his hand. "May I?"

Charlie grabbed his hand and thought about the time, thinking it might help. Aro went through Charlie's memories, though he specifically zeroed in on that one.

"Hm, yes. It definitely sounds more than certain that he has knowledge of us somehow. Do you think I might accompany you to this place?" Aro smiled, but both Bella and Charlie were a little worried now.

"If you promise not to hurt them," Bella stubbornly said, moving to talk first.

They glanced at her in surprise, but she stared back defiantly. A delighted smile spread across Aro's face.

"But of course, my little spitfire. If that is what you wish."

Bella nodded, though a tinge of red spread across her cheeks.

But for the others, it was more than a pleasant change to see her act more lively and certain of herself.

Charlie was starting on his errands in the town, making the final arrangements to take care of things in Forks so he could move to Italy with his daughter and the rest of their new Italian immortal family. Which was really strange to think about…but even stranger to find that it was actually true.

Oddly enough, he and Bella had found a new family with these vampires.

"This is a quaint town," Sulpicia murmured, her accented voice sounding smooth and cultured. It was an odd fit with a town like Forks, and she seemed out of place and in contrast with the "quaint town."

"Yeah," Charlie muttered fondly. "It was home for a long time…I didn't think I'd ever leave this place. It all seems so strange."

"Do you regret it? Would you rather stay here?" she asked him curiously and non-judgingly.

He shrugged. "I don't think so. Too much has changed. And Bella's, though she hasn't said anything, happier and more at home with you all and in Volterra. I go where she goes. Truthfully, I like you all too, and grown happy and used to all of you as well. And of course," he cleared his throat nervously, and gave a rather sweet (in her opinion) shy glance at her. "I really like certain people in particular."

A genuine smile spread across her face and she thread an arm around his, hooking it and their arms looped together.

"Come, let us finish your business. Felix and Demetri are getting the things in the storage facility boxed and ready into the plane, with the bigger things to be shipped off separately. We should conclude your business at your former place of work, and let them know that you –and Bella –are quite fine and shouldn't be thought of as missing any longer."

Charlie chuckled and started to lead her to the all too familiar way to the police station.

"I dare say, I think I would have liked to have lived here for a life. Well, had I been human, given my vampiric qualities would be hard to hide. But this place is very quiet and peaceful."

Charlie smiled widely.

At the station, Charlie was in the midst of finishing up last minute things he'd forgotten in his rush to go after his daughter and leave behind Forks. He also let them know he was fine, as was Bella, and that they were moving to Volterra, Italy. All the while, he was uncomfortably aware of the stares drawn his way, particularly to the woman on his arm and was clearly attached to him. Sulpicia was looking around curiously, playing at being ignorant at the attention.

Charlie wasn't as good an actor.

"Charlie, I'm going to step out a moment, and check on the status of the others, alright? I shall be right outside, on the phone," she gently extricated herself from him and sent him a warm smile, before she went off towards the entrance of the police station.

"Woah, Sir," Malcolm, one of the officers he used to work with, gave him a wide-eyed stare. "I guess that trip to Italy did your daughter and you good."

Charlie coughed up to hide his embarrassment. "Er, yeah. Bella had a really bad health scare there for awhile, but the people who took her in did a good job taking care of her. They're all…nice people." Well…most times the Volturi were, he supposed. Just…not all the time…to everyone…

"Is she…um, you know?" a cadet named Peters, one he remembered just got hired a little after the Cullen's had left, tentatively asked, gesturing to outside. "With you? Like with you?"

Ah geez, they never used to pry into his personal life like this before.

Even more embarrassed, Charlie started to shift uncomfortably. He cleared his throat.

"Uh…I-I suppose," he hesitantly answered. He hurriedly finished signing the last few papers he needed to and handed them over. "Alright, I guess goodbye's are in order?"

There were a round of goodbye's and good luck's from everyone, before he was finally able to get away from them all and meet up with Sulpicia outside.

Malcolm stared out the entrance.

"Damn, I think I need to take a trip to Italy."

A chorus of "Me too's" echoed his statement.

Outside, Sulpicia listened with a great deal of amusement, an amused smile tracing her lips. Her eyes moved to the side, watching Charlie shuffling awkwardly.

"So, um, ready?"

She elegantly hooked an arm around his again. "Ready."

"Um…I might have…implied somethin' back there. Just that…maybe…we were together?" he mumbled the last part, but her hearing allowed her to hear him perfectly.

"I should hope you did. I would be most displeased if you hadn't," she told him with a smile clear in her tone.

"…Alright then," he was turning a bright red. Really, the Swans were absolutely adorable blushing. She and the others would definitely miss it when the two turned, though at least they would still be easy to rile up and get flustered.

Sulpicia laughed lightly. She would also admit that she might have left him alone on purpose, to see him in some similar situation of the sort.

She was definitely more than pleased with the result however.

Bella finally made it to La Push, heading over to where Jacob lived. She was surprised to see Sulpicia waiting outside, and the dim voices of shouting that could be heard outside of Jacob's house. She could guess that she, as well as the Kings behind her, could hear what was being shouted inside clearly.

"Hello, Sulpicia," she greeted the other with a small smile, though she glanced at the home warily. "Should I ask?"

The older female frowned softly. "Your father and a Billy Black are having a disagreement. This…Billy is unhappy with your father's choices, and firmly believes he should take you and himself as far away from our kind as possible. Your father had some choice words to say back to him."

Looking around, Bella could see all the vampires around her frowning unhappily.

"I see," she murmured.

Sulpicia gave her a reassuring smile though. "Do not worry though, Bella. Things will be fine. Now tell me, why did it take you so long to get here?"

Bella smiled widely at that. "I went around meeting my old friends and telling them I'm alright. We've made plans to meet over the summer, since they're now thinking of visiting Italy. If that's alright?" she turned anxious.

Sulpicia chuckled. "I'm sure Aro and the other two have assured you over and over that it is. We can more than accommodate them without exposing our secret. Your section of the castle is far away and sectioned off, so they can stay with you and be safe, and you can show them around all of Italy if you'd like."

They all heard the door open and saw Jacob Black uneasily approaching them. He gave a tight smile to Bella, while looking at the others agitatedly.

"Hey, Bella," he greeted, and she was honestly glad to see him. "How're you doing? Vampires, huh?" he looked at the others again.

"Much better," she gave him a small quirk of her lips, though her eyes told him how much happier, even if tired, she was. "And yeah –vampires. I started collecting with the Cullens," she lightly joked.

It helped ease him up.

"Cool. I just…I'm glad, you know? That you're better. Even if it's with…vampires," Jacob mumbled and twitched. "Dad ain't pleased though."

"I can tell," she said sarcastically, but a wider smile was on her face and it made Jacob's spirits lift up.

"I really am happy for you," he said sincerely. "I really wanted to be the one that helped you and got you out of that state he put you in, but I guess I wasn't enough," he became a little downed.

"But you helped as much as you could and at least you tried. And you did help a little, I'm sure," Sulpicia cut in, and Jacob looked at her first in surprise and then wariness, before giving a small, awkward smile.

"She's right. What you did for me before really means a lot to me, Jacob. And I'm really thankful for you," Bella came forward and gave him a hug. She then stepped back and looked at him in worry. "Jacob, you're really burning up! Are you okay?"

Jacob laughed nervously. "Uh yeah…Trust me, it's normal."

She peered at him closely then. "And you really grew since the last time I saw you…and I'm pretty sure you didn't have all those muscles last time either."

Jacob winced. "Well…those changes are part of how I know about vampires now…"

Aro's eyes glinted and he smiled coolly. "Ah, interesting. May I see?"

Jacob blinked at the offered hand, and looked wholly confused at the gesture. He looked at Bella in question. Bella inwardly rolled her eyes.

"Aro has a power that allows him to see anyone's memories just through a single touch," she explained patiently. "So he can see what you're talking about without you needing to explain."

Jacob shrugged and took the vampire's hand, and waited unsurely.

"Hm…how astonishing!" Aro looked at Jacob in intense curiosity. "So you all can transform into wolves?"

Caius' eyes flashed and he snarled dangerously. Before he could start forward, Marcus had already grasped onto the snow-white haired vampire and held on tight.

"Patience, Caius," Aro said calmly, still examining a now ill at ease Jacob. "Do not be alarmed, young man. Caius just has long-standing issues with werewolves. Of which you and your kind are actually not, as you assumed. No, no…Curious –you and your brethren are what are called shapeshifters."

Jacob blinked again. "Uh…Huh."

"May we see your form?" Aro asked eagerly. "I would like to see it personally, not just through your memory."

Bella perked up and was interested as well, so she looked to Jacob. He looked at her and she smiled at him encouragingly.

"Well, I guess. We have to go to the woods though. Not even the whole rez knows about this, and I don't want to cause a panic."

He led them to a ways away, where he told them he'd have to take his clothes off elsewhere, since they'd rip apart and get destroyed if he still had them on while he transformed. They waited, and soon enough a large, russet-colored wolf entered the clearing they were in.

"Jacob?" Bella asked in fascination.

The russet wolf bobbed its head, and Jacob walked forward. Nudging his head against Bella's side, she giggled and rubbed his head.

"This is a very interesting development!" Aro clapped his hands. "Who would have known?"

Caius watched Jacob warily, but didn't act hostile. "Hn, definitely not a blasted werewolf. Those damn creatures can only transform during full moons and have no control. Complete beasts, they are…"

Afterwards, when Jacob got dressed and everything, they headed back to his house just in time to see Charlie storm out of the place and slam the door behind him.

"Ah, I guess that's your cue," Jacob stated dejectedly. He gave her a halfhearted grin. "Like I said before, even with these vamps, at least you're happy. And to me, I'd take them over you going back to Edward or whatever."

She gave him another smile and stepped forward to give him another hug, this time it lasting much longer.

"Take care!" Jacob yelled as they all started to walk away, when Charlie caught up to them.

"I will!"

Bella was really glad she'd decided to go to see Jacob.

But now it was time to go see the Cullens.

Alice really missed Bella. After just one meeting, she found she couldn't help herself at looking in at the other every once and awhile, and thinking about her sister in all but blood and venom. It was hard. She couldn't even talk to Jasper about this! It made her feel lonely and even sadder about this situation than before.

Unfortunately, she couldn't control her mind and it drifted to the meeting she had with Bella, and she sighed unhappily.

"ALICE!"

Alice growled and narrowed her eyes at her door as it burst open to admit Edward. Damn it, she shouldn't have lapsed.

"You saw Bella," Edward stated, not asked. He let out a snarl. "She was in Volterra. Why didn't you tell any of us?!"

Jasper appeared finally, pulling Edward back from the entrance to his shared room with Alice.

"What is going on here?" her husband's southern drawl came out strongly as he pushed Edward back, and protectively stood between her and Edward just at the doorway. "What's this about Bella?"

The others had finally converged there as well, and it was getting to be cramped in the hallway. They had all heard the initial shouting, but they had all been out of the house and not really paying attention to each other, as had become the usual.

"Why are you talking about Bella?" Emmett asked quietly, not his usual self anymore these days.

"Ask Alice!" Edward spat out. "She's been keeping secrets."

They all looked to Alice and she glared back at Edward.

"She asked me to not tell anyone," Alice sneered at him.

Edward roared. "She's in Volterra, Alice!" which caused the others to tense up. "The Volturi are holding her captive! We have to go back there! I have to go back there! I have to confront those bastards!"

Alice opened her mouth to scream back at him, when she blanked out and began to have a vision. Afterwards, she shivered and Edward cringed back. The others looked to them anxiously.

"They're already on their way here," she whispered.

Started 5/5/14 – Completed 5/6/14

A/n: Thanks to everyone for their support! I've really enjoyed reading everyone's feedback to the last chapter, and hope everyone enjoyed this! I wanted to get this one out sooner, but I've been really busy in real life, so sorry about that. But at least the end of the first arc of this story is almost here! Next chapter, the Cullens confrontation. Please remember to review!