DISCLAIMER:I DONT OWN TWILIGHT OR ITS CHARECTERS. THEY BELONG TO SM.

AN:This is my first story I'm writing. If you want to review and tell me if it's any good I'd really appreciate it:)

The cold bit at her cheeks as she walked through the trees, making them glow red. A blanket of white has replaced the lush green forest in Forks, creating a picture perfect background that belonged on a Christmas card.

It's been months since the girl had graced the town of Forks with her presence, choosing instead to stay in her new home.

She found the small rundown cottage by accident, almost missing it as she wrecked havoc on the main house. Out of places to go, the Cullen's home seemed fitting. They were the ones, after all, who introduced her to this world, their world, to the chaos that made her wish she never came to Forks.

It's in this tiny cottage across the creek on the Cullen's property that she isolates herself, she decided that she didn't care about what walked the woods at night, she wasn't scared anymore. She was ready for whatever that red-headed demon had planned for her.

The girls body froze. The crunching noise of snow under her feet silenced as her breath hitched. She could feel she wasn't alone. She raised her head from her soggy shoes, the only pair she had, and peered into a pair of ruby tinted eyes. But not the bloodthirsty crimson she was expecting.

He was handsome, she concluded. Standing at around six-foot, he had an average build, but she could see his muscles move under the black robe that draped around his form. His dark hair was almost black in contrast to the surrounding white forest, falling in waves to his shoulders and framing his angular face, which was almost as white as the snow surrounding them and glimmered like a diamond in the sunshine that filtered through the bare tree branches. His dark pink lips were full and tilted up at the corners as he watched her study him from head to toe.

"Is she ready to kill me now?" her voice disturbed the calm silence, rough from months of disuse.

The man in front of her tilted his head slightly, the ends of his hair brushed the V-shaped pendant hanging from his neck, a ruby planted in the top and bottom of the letter. There were designs in the middle of the V, but she couldn't make out what they were.

"Who are you referring to?" His voice dragged the girls eyes up, brown meeting ruby.

He sounded willowy, like his thoughts were miles away, a strange contrast to the Cullen's bell-like voices.

"Victoria. Why else would you be here if not for her?" she unconsciously pulled the flannel coat tighter around her frame as she spoke.

As fearless as she was of her fate, she couldn't help the shivers that ran through her body at the woman's name. Memories came rushing back to her. Screaming. So much blood. Even though she wasn't there, she could imagine the smell of kerosene. Pupils dilated, the girl's heart sped up as a horror sideshow played through her mind. A cold hand pressed firmly against her chest broke her out of her bad memories. She blinked and her breath caught when she peered up into ruby eyes less than a foot from her.

"You are right Mia Bella, I am here for Victoria, to see to her punishment for her crimes. My brothers are collecting her and disposing of the newborn army she created as we speak." His breath blew across her face, its scent was sweet but with a spicy undertone, almost like cinnamon.

The girl took another look at the man in front of her. A distant memory tugged at her brain, her hand coming up to rub her forehead as an ache formed.

Mesmerizing butterscotch orbs gazed at her as she studied the painting they stood in front of. 'The Volturi are a very old, very powerful family, I guess they're the closest thing to royalty my world has.'

"Volturi" she whispered as her eyes drifted down to the pendant falling from his neck. It made sense, V for Volturi.

"You know of us?" he asked, his voice intrigued with her knowledge.

"I've heard of you." she agreed "I saw you in a painting, you and a few others."

"Your scent still lingers at the Cullen's house. I take it you're the one who redecorated it for them?" his eyes were full of amusement as he thought of the many rooms torn apart at the main house.

The girls cheeks flamed as she stared at him before her resolve strengthened and she stood straight.

"They deserved it!" her voice was angry "They left me here. And they left her alive too. They should have known she would want revenge. He can read minds, he should have known!"

The girl's voice took on a hysterical edge, her eyes turned wildly from side to side as if looking for an eavesdropper.

The man saw the toll that his world had taken on her. His eyes traced the scars he could see poking out from the neckline of her coat. Her scent was off, freesia and a mix of his kind. She looked malnourished, her cheeks sunken in. Dark circles under her brown eyes made her skin look even paler. Her dark hair was dull, falling in stringy curls around her waist. She looked like a strong wind could blow her down.

"You're right," the man's voice was gentle "the Cullen's told you of our secret. You were their responsibility and they were accountable for your safety. They are blameworthy for what you have suffered. As your informers, they were to change or kill you, as is our rules." his gaze was intense.

"So the leaders sent you to kill me while they capture Victoria?" she took a step back from him as she asked.

The gravity of the situation was catching up with her. The girl was going to die today, only not by Victoria's hand.

"All this damage and Victoria didn't even kill me! Her main goal and she messed it up. She killed everyone else! You can't take her away yet!" her brown eyes looked crazed as she whipped her head back and forth, her hands on either side of it "We have to finish it. She has to finish this!" her eyes stared into space as she spoke.

The man stepped forward as the girl mumbled on, closing the space between them. He gently grabbed the girls hands, one in each of his, and pulled them from her head.

"I am Marcus" He said as he placed his lips upon her hand, leaving behind a soft kiss. "No one sent me. I am one of the leaders of Volturi."

As their entwined hands fell between them, brown eyes stared into ruby as the girl's head tilted.

"The plan was to kill you, to tie up loose ends. But I cannot hurt you Mia Bella, the possibilities for us are too great." Marcus could feel his heart jump as he gazed at the girl before him, but it'd been decades since his heart had beat.

"I'm Bella" the girl said as she gazed at Marcus with wonder.

Marcus smiled and Bella's heart skipped as her eyes widened at how his whole face lit up.

"I know Mia Bella" Marcus said, feeling elated at this chance.

Marcus released one of her hands and began to pull the girl through the woods towards her cottage. He should have been on his way back by now and knew his brothers would wonder about his wellbeing. Marcus didn't leave their home often in Volterra, he barely left his chambers. Chelsea's gift to recreate and break bonds or as he calls it, to manipulate bonds, was the only thing keeping him on this earth. And as much as Corin offered to make him happy with trying to give him false feelings of happiness, Marcus denied the chance. For what felt like millions of years he has been an empty shell of himself. In the last few moments, Marcus has felt his whole being shift. The weight on his shoulder has slid off and his limbs felt light as he moved, all the chains binding him falling away. This was his second chance at life.

Bella stepped through the door to the cottage she had made hers. The interior of the small guesthouse was bare. The living room has a fireplace she uses to stay warm. Nearby is a small bed made of blankets. One of the only doors besides the front one led to a bathroom, but there was no water. There was a small kitchen but without electricity she couldn't use it. Instead she used the cabinets to store cans and boxes of food that didn't need any cooking. On the counter sat two cases of water, one half empty from her thirst. The few clothes she had sat folded up in a cardboard box, her dirty ones she washed in the creek and hung on a line outside to dry.

"Are these your only belongings?" Marcus questioned as he looked at the small shelter.

Bella nodded and hummed slightly as she grabbed a bottle of water and opened it, taking a drink.

"Everything burned." she murmured, putting her arms out and shrugging, her water spilling slightly on the old wooden floor "Everything's ashes now."

Marcus stepped to Bella, raising one hand to her face. His fingers touched her clammy skin, turning her face up to his.

"I need you to pack everything you wish to keep Bella." Marcus told her as he gazed into her eyes.

"Why?" Bella questioned as she turned to look around her makeshift home, her face brushing Marcus's hand as she did so.

"Because Forks is no place for you Mia Bella. We're going someplace better." Marcus explained to her calmly.

Bella shook her head wildly as her eyes went wide.

"No! No, no, no." Brown eyes met ruby, pleading and full of fear "I can't leave Forks! I'm not allowed. She'll kill everyone here!" Bella's voice trembled on the edge of hysteria "Not allowed, she'll kill, bloodbath" Bella continued to ramble on until cool air spanned across her face.

Glancing up, her brown eyes travelled over the pale angular face leaned towards her. Dark waves fell over them, if it were longer it could make a curtain around the two of them. That willowy voice saying her name broke her out of her inspection. She looked into his ruby eyes.

"My brothers are taking Victoria away, for her trial in Volterra. Remember Bella?" Marcus went on "She won't hurt you anymore Mia Bella. Her days are numbered. Under normal circumstances we would execute her here and be done with it, but I'm afraid this situation is a bit more complicated Bella." Marcus watched Bella's face as his words of reassurance sunk in "Come with me Bella, to your new home, to your new life" Marcus pleaded with her.

Bella thought over the offer from the beautiful man standing before her. Leave Forks? Leave everything she now knows here? She has no one here, true, but what would she do all day if she wasn't here to walk the forest awaiting her death. As her eyes caught the water bottle in her hand, she realizes she's spilled most of it in her fits. She squeezed the bottle, listening to the crunch as the plastic bent in the middle. What would her delivery puppy do when he realized she was gone? She refused to eat the food he left at first, the wounds from his families betrayal to fresh, but her hunger won in the end. Her need for warmth did too, when he began leaving firewood. They never spoke, their system didn't allow that. She made sure she was gone when he came to deliver her supplies, and he made sure he was gone when she got back. But he has a whole family in La Push, Bella knows this with certainty. He would be fine, she decided. She glanced into the ruby eyes, before her. Marcus was calmly awaiting her answer, letting her decide herself what she wanted to do. As she stared at him, she knew her answer.

"Ok" Bella answered as she dropped her crushed water bottle on the floor in the puddle she had made "I'll leave with you."

Marcus beamed and as her heart stuttered over how handsome he looked when he truly smiled, Bella smiled back, her first one in a very long time.

"You will like Italy Bella, it's a beautiful place, though it's beauty couldn't possibly rival your own Mia Bella." Marcus complimented and his lips turned up as she blushed from her cheeks down to her chest.

Marcus couldn't seem to stop smiling. Bella's cheeks felt so warm in the cold cottage, the fireplace having burnt out with no wood being fed to the flames.

Bella busied herself cramming her few clothes into the box she had. She had a thought and addressed it with Marcus.

"How are we getting to Italy? Won't Victoria kill people on a plane?" Bella questioned.

Marcus looked up from his spot by the front door. He'd been thinking about his wife, his Didyme. It was so long ago she'd been taken from him. He never thought he would find that feeling again that he got with her. His gift told him different though, it showed his bond to this girl very clearly. Marcus couldn't belive it at first, but after being in her presence and hearing her voice, he knew there was nothing wrong with his gift. Realizing Bella still awaited his answer, he quickly informed her of their travel methods.

"We will be using a private plane owned by the Volturi Mia Bella. Victoria is too unpredictable to allow on commercial flight. Our guard will be with us as well, we don't go anywhere alone." Marcus sighed as he answered.

Bella got the impression Marcus didn't like being watched by so many guards and wondered why they had them to begin with.

"Guard's?" she questioned.

"Yes." Marcus answered "They're gifted and can easily take down their target. They'll be destroying the newborns Victoria created."

Marcus glanced around the cottage.

"Are you all packed?" he looked at Bella.

She looked around the cottage. She had all her clothes but had left the blankets that were her makeshift bed. She looked at the floor where she dropped her water bottle earlier.

"Marcus" Bella got his attention "should I bring food with me for the plane ride?"

Marcus answered quickly "That is a great idea. I'm afraid the plane is not equipped with any if you were to get hungry"

Bella quickly threw some food in her box, some saltine crackers and cookies, because she'd been saving those sweet morsels as they were a new item added to her delivery. She added a few bottles of water before walking from the kitchen. Marcus promptly took the box from her arms, despite her protests. Bella did a quick scan of her cottage, taking one last look around her small safe haven.

"Are you ready Mia Bella?" Marcus voice carried to her from the doorway.

Bella looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his ruby eyes. She smiled at him as her body turned, gravitating to where he stood. She took his hand this time, the smooth skin of his palm cooling her clammy hand as she nodded. Marcus lips tilted up as he led her from the small cottage and into her new life.

A wolf's howl rang out into the silence, echoing in the now vacant cottage as a black car left Forks, carrying the duo to their fresh start.