Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only own what I can come up with.

The last note from the violin hung in the air. A smile graced my face as I looked at everyone else. There was a grin of conspiracy on everyone's faces as the song finished. We had been working on it for weeks, coming up with the perfect melody and even fixing a few of the lyrics, just so it could be done in time for tonight's party.

Tonight's ball, I corrected myself immediately. Parties were something that were fun and light and altogether inconsequential for me to attend. A ball, on the other hand? That was a party on steroids times a million. Plus, even if I wanted to sit in my room instead of going, that was out of the question. It was, after all, the most important event of the decade at least. It was my formal introduction as princess. And if that didn't make me nervous, I was the princess of the Volturi, which means that the people I was being introduced to was the bulk of the vampire community. Talk about pressure.

"Great job, Bells! He's gonna love that song!" Jane said, coming up to high five me. We giggled for a little bit before I really studied her. She was beautiful- of course- but also strangely angelic looking. Blonde hair framed her face delicately, bringing out the youthful features. The only thing off putting were her normally bright red eyes. I frowned, looking from her pitch black eyes to equally dark eyes of the other vampires in the room. They were all trying to avoid my searching eyes, but I saw.

"Heidi isn't back yet?"

"She's supposed to be arriving soon, Bella. Don't worry about it." Alec was the one who spoke up. His dark hair was opposite of his sister. Even though they were twins, frozen at the same age, Alec was a good head taller than Jane.

"I have to be killing your throats though. Why didn't anyone tell me?" I asked, crossing my arms. Damn it. They all knew how much I hated being the cause of their raging bloodlust. Everyone in the room just sent me a grin and chuckled. "Seriously, you guys!"

"Relax, princess. You're father just called me and said he and your uncles want to see you before tonight."

I automatically smiled at that. My 'daddy' as I often called him, was Caius, one of the three kings. My uncles, Aro and Marcus, were the other two kings. They could be harsh and beyond difficult at times, but they were my family. Actually, everyone in this castle was my family. From the kings, to the guard, right down to the very human workers that lived her with us as well. It had taken a good two years or so to finally get them all to relax around each other, but now we were just one big giant silly group. The only time any of them were ever formal was when there were important matters at hand or we had guests.

I flipped my waist length brown hair over my shoulder before heading out of the room. There were chuckles behind me, and I looked over my shoulder again. "Well? Are you coming or what?"

That was all it took for me to be thrown over Alec's shoulder. We were in the middle of the throne room not even five seconds later. Running with vampires is exhilarating, I'll tell you that much. I don't recommend getting caught off guard unless you've had a good six years or so to get used to it. When my feet touched the ground I immediately smacked my friend's chest.

"You jerk. A little warning would have been appreciated." My voice was more laughter than anything else. I was about to sit on the ground when my father and uncles walked in. "Hello, daddy! Uncle Aro, Uncle Marcus."

"Hello, Bella," they all said at the same time. We all watched them move gracefully to their thrones and sit down. I noted that their eyes were also getting fairly dark. That made me frown again. Where the hell was Heidi? She knew how important today was.

"Do not worry about Heidi, daughter. She will be arriving soon. We just wanted to tell you that someone else has just gotten back as well."

I looked around confused. Who had just arrived? Nobody was due to get here until six. Anyone we had sent out was due back tomorrow morning. My puzzled face must have been pretty hilarious because someone started to chuckle a rather familiar chuckle. A grin spread across my face as I finally found the surprise returnee.

"Demetri!" I launched myself at him, hugging the over-sized man. He caught me in his arms, lifting me off the ground to spin me around. I laughed, giddiness taking over everything. He set me on his shoulders and started running around. I yelled in surprise, causing my family to laugh. I giggled as we ran in circles. My eyes studied everyone carefully.

Everyone was so much more relaxed than they were when I arrived five years ago. They were much less hostile and much more relaxed around the few humans that weren't actually their food. You see, before I came along, these guys were ruthless. They're the Volturi after all. And if you don't know who that is, let me put in perspective for you. These guys are like the mafia of all vampires. They hunt humans, are cut-throat and downright vicious.

Now imagine a small little twelve year old girl entering a place that houses these killers. As you can probably guess, it was quite a cultural shock to both of us. I had to be much more careful and always around a very select few members of the guard, and they all had to learn to control themselves around me. It had a taken a good year and a half before I finally got fed up and started to change things. Now, here we all were, the kings in their thrones, the guard members sitting or standing against the walls, and me and my 'big brother' of sorts running around with laughter bouncing off the walls.

Our fun came to a rather abrupt halt as the large mahogany doors opened. Gianna, our very human secretary, poked her head in the room shyly. Demetri set me back on the ground, fixing my hair in the process. I leaned back into him, letting him wrap his arms around me. "Is everything alright, Gianna?"

"Oh, yes, Princess. It's just that Mistress Heidi has arrived. Also, some of the covens have confirmed that they will be here around four."

"Very well. Thank you, Gianna. Please have someone ready my car. I still need to pick up a few things for my dinner."

She bowed her head, sending me another shy smile. "Of course. It will be ready when you choose to leave."

"Thank you," I sang happily, turning around to face my family. They all had varying degrees of disappointment. I my brows drew together a little. Having them disappointed just wouldn't do. It was a very happy day after all. I was finally going to be announced to people. How exciting, right? "Stop pouting. Heidi is back, you are all going to have a wonderful meal while ridding the world of shmuck-like people, and tonight we are gonna party- well you are going to party, all night!"

A few chuckles followed after my statement. I skipped forward, kissing my father and uncles on the cheek. Then I moved back to Demetri. He grinned and accepted my kiss willingly. On my way out, I passed Heidi. We gave each other a quick hug before she led a group of people toward the Throne Room. I didn't feel much pity for them considering they were all scum.

When I arrived in the garages, my car was waiting for me just like I had asked. It was a beauty, making me smile as I stroked the hood lovingly. With the small show of affection to the automobile, I climbed in and pulled out of the garage. The sun shined down, feeling like a very wonderful late spring day.

With my radio blaring, windows down, and the sun shining, my day was looking perfect. Since I knew my worries and nerves would hit me full force the closer I got to the actually party, I took this little moment of free time to actually enjoy myself. I refused to worry about anything.

By the time Jane called me, telling me it was okay to head home now, I was perfectly relaxed an carefree. Too bad I knew that my worry-free mindset would disappear as soon as I got home.

Oh well, I thought speeding down the streets. That's the life of a princess. And I wouldn't change it for anything.

A/N: So, this is the first chapter of Because of A Bet! Thank you so much to SkylarBlack for the title suggestion! Please remember that this is the re-write of Firefly. While it won't be exactly the same, it will be very similar. I hope you all like. :)