Chapter One: BELLA

I could see more stars in Italy than Forks, but I think my enhanced vision helped a lot. I missed being able to sleep and pass the time that way. Sometimes, if I lay down, close my eyes, and become still, I can get into a dream-like state. I can spend time day-dreaming about my past life, maybe my future, or about nothing.

Today though, I can't seem to get myself to be still. Jane has left for a mission, so I've been waiting for her to come back.

It's been four months since I arrived at the Volterra. I hadn't made any attempt to contact the Cullens, even when some of them showed up as their obligatory visit to the three kings. Aro did not bring me up, knowing that I did not wish to see them and honored it as I'm sure he doesn't want me to leave either. Since Aro did not bring it up, the Cullens did not bring it up either.

The only thing I knew is that even though I left, they still carried out the plan of my death, revealing it to Charlie. Jane was nice enough to look into it for me. She went to my funeral in my place, keeping a distance so that the Cullens would not realize she was there.

She told me in the way I knew she was being as kind as she could that Charlie had been absolutely devastated, and Renee could not stop crying at my funeral.

Apparently, Jacob and the wolves were ready to start a fight with the Cullens for "not keeping me safe" while I was away.

Thankfully, they did not reveal to him that I was still alive, just now turned into the being he genetically hates.

"Ugh," I groaned frustratedly as I wasn't able to get into my trance state. I sighed, giving up and just relaxed as best I could in my bed.

I still remembered my first day when I arrived, a depressed mess, clinging onto Jane for my own sanity.

"Ah, Jane, my dear. You've returned…and you've brought someone." Aro said gleefully, taking a look at me.

I said nothing as Jane led us forward, my finger holding her cape slightly.

"Aro, I've returned from my mission with the Cullens. As you can see, this is Isabella Swan, and she was successfully changed." Jane grabs my hand and pulls me forward to present myself. I saw into Aro's blood-red eyes and felt myself tremble slightly from being so nervous. I looked back at Jane, and she gave me a reassuring nod.

I turned back and took a deep breath.

"Hello," I said softly. "It is nice to see you again, Aro. I've come with Jane seeking to stay here for a while if you allow."

Aro squeals almost too excitedly as he claps his hands. Caius rolls his eyes, and I notice Marcus focusing intently on me and then Jane.

"Say no more; you are most welcomed to stay. If I may, I would like to test your gift once more."

I nodded, holding out my hand as Aro grasps it. He smiles eerily once more and laughs.

"As I predicted, I see nothing. Jane, dear." He holds his hand out to Jane, who offers her own without hesitation. I watched as Aro's expectant face turns into confusion, a curiosity forming over him.

"I see…nothing." Everyone in the room was surprised, even Jane herself. I was confused until I remembered Eleazar telling me about my powers when we met.

"I'm sorry, that's probably because of me," I said, watching as everyone turned their heads to me. I sheepishly grab onto Jane's cape again.

"I'm told I'm a mental shield and can shield myself and apparently others as well. I can't control it very well as a newborn. I'm most likely projecting it onto Jane as we've spent a lot of time together."

Aro's smile widens at my explanation, giddy once more.

"Ah, well, how very special of you, Bella. In that case, then why don't you both tell me what happened?"

Jane basically reports all that happens, leaving out the details about Alice and I. In turn, I explain to Aro that I'm merely looking for some space from the Cullens, not really divulging why but Aro is happy enough that I'm here that he doesn't press. I asked that he doesn't inform the Cullens where I am if they come looking to which he agrees with ease.

"Well, Isabella, I am more than happy to provide you shelter here and no worries on your privacy. My only request is that you get training from Felix to help you control your gift."

I nodded, agreeing to it. Aro pardons us, telling Jane to provide me a room. As we walk away, I look over my shoulder to see Marcus, watching me with wonderment, probably the most emotions he's ever expressed.

Returning back to reality, I hear banging outside, far down the hallway. Knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to reach my trance state today, I decided to go check it out. In the time I've been here, I've made no attempt to leave my room other than hunting. Meaning, I've made no attempt to meet Felix and get training.

I've spent four months metaphorically crying about Alice.

Leaving the room, I find that the hallway is mostly empty. I bump into a few people who give me side looks but make no effort into talking with me. I notice for the first time that the architecture here is very old and roman renaissance looking. It's like a large colosseum church.

As I make my way through, the banging and grunts become louder. Suddenly, the door a couple of feet away from me breaks open, wood flying everywhere, and I have to dodge to the left to avoid colliding with the vampire who broke through it.

Once everything settles, I look curiously over and find a boy, who looks no older than 20, groaning from the floor. Footsteps come out from the room the vampire flew out of out, and I find myself staring at a man who clearly was well-kept, just younger than Carlisle in terms of looks.

"Lucus, as you can see, even a millisecond of being distracted can be disastrous for you. Keep your focus on your opponent, no matter what is happening around you."

The young vampire gets up, nodding before heading back into the room. The man is also about to leave, but he notices him standing to the side.

He turns, facing me fully.

"You must be Isabella," he greets, clearing scoping my worth. I don't move or reply, which leads him to smirk.

"I am Felix. Come," he starts. "You should join us while you're out here anyway."

Remembering how Aro's condition for me staying here was to train under Felix, I reluctantly follow him.

Inside the room was an actual Colosseum, the open roof, and everything. I find myself staring at four other vampires in the room.

"These are all new trainees, newborns like you. Let's see what you've got, Isabella. Try a mock fight with Aria over there." He nods his heads over to a tall blonde who looks majorly unimpressed with me. I can't help but feel irked, which is new to me because, as a human, I did not find myself confrontational with others.

Aria comes stands in front of me, holding her hand out immediately as soon as Felix yells 'START!'

I'm sure whatever she was doing was meant for me to be immobilized by her gift, but clearly, she did not get the memo that I was a shield and so, nothing happened. When Aria realized that her gift wasn't going to work, she quickly switched to physically fighting me and went straight into trying to punch me in the face.

As a vampire and a newborn at it, my reflexes were incredibly quick, and I was able to dodge Aria's attacks. Even though I would try to throw my own punches and kicks, Aria was also a newborn, so her reflexes were about just as good as mine.

Aria eventually gained the upper hand as I have no combat experiences, and she ultimately outmaneuvered and out-strategized me. The kick hurt the same as it would've when I was a human and another human kicked me, but I was taken back from the lack of blood or bruising. Aria doesn't bother helping me up, but the guy next to her offers his hand to me. I take it, giving him a small smile, he returns. Felix seems to be assessing me; he looks neither impressed or unimpressed.

He stands in front of me, walking around me in a full circle. "Your reflexes are good; I suspect they'll stay just as good after the newborn phase fades away. You will train with me for the rest of the time; you will learn to strategize as we go."

I nodded. Everyone seems to partner off and start their mock battles while I face Felix. Without a doubt, he kicks my ass every single time. The first twenty battles were just straight-up embarrassing as he was able to take me down three seconds flat. After that, I was able to increase how long I could stand up against him slowly.

By the fiftieth battle, I could only last less than seven seconds. I actually felt tired—exhausted, really, and fed up.

"Felix," I say exasperated and frustratedly.

"Why do we keep doing this? It's clear that I won't be able to last against you any more than seven seconds today. I thought I was supposed to be learning how to use my gift."

Felix stands up straight and raises his brow at me. He doesn't answer but calls over the same guy who had helped me up earlier today after Aria beating the other vampire who I saw bust through the room initially and me.

"Isabella, this is Lucus and William. William has the gift to numb your entire body as if you're sinking in quicksand. William will use his gift; your task is to make sure to shield yourself, me, and Lucus." Felix gives me this task, but I have no fucking idea how I'm supposed to do that.

Felix gives me another smile.

"Focus, Isabella. During the beginning, it may be easier for you to imagine physically manifesting this shield and extending it."

I look over at Lucus, who gives me a nod. Closing my eyes and doing as Felix instructed, I tried to imagine a giant bubble, casting over Felix, Lucas, and myself. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything, but there was something different about the air around us. Felix seemed to realize that I had activated my gift and turned to William with a nod. The man, in turn, starts eyeing all of us, and I catch on that he's trying to use his gift on all of us. My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I was impressed he could do it on all three of us, or try to. I become conscious of the fact that he's been training a lot longer than me, but despite that, I was holding on my own quite well. There was a subtle push I felt against me, but nothing beyond that. I looked over at Felix and Lucus, who were also unaffected, and I felt proud, almost cocky at the fact.

The first three minutes in, I held up well, but William wasn't breaking a sweat either. Four minutes in, I began to feel tired, even though I had not moved. The shield I was keeping up began to waver, and William seemed to realize it immediately and aggressively pushed forward with his gift. Within seconds, my shield completely fell, and all of us began sinking to the ground. William stopped using his gift.

Felix was the first to get up, looking over to me with his eyebrow raised. "As you can see, Isabelle, not even five minutes in, and you were forced to drop your shield. Vampires do not feel tired in a sense. We don't need to sleep, but your body still requires training to build stamina. Building your physical strength increases your stamina and, in turn, enables you to use your gift effectively."

I nodded, dusting my shirt off, trying not to let my bruised ego hurt too much. Felix quirked his lips at me.

"That enough for today, come see me again tomorrow, Isabella."

I nodded once more, catching eyes with everyone in the room briefly before exiting. I couldn't believe how tired I was, and it didn't help my ass got beat so many times.

As I sauntered down the corridors, I noticed that it was already nighttime. It felt really peaceful. I only wished Jane was back from her mission to enjoy the walk with me. I briefly thought about how grateful I was to Jane for keeping me grounded through everything. I definitely would've gone crazy if Jane didn't give me her companionship. Crazy wouldn't even be able to describe me, and I was batshit insane when I first came here. Even people calling me Bella would give me PTSD.

I hated the name Isabella, but I suppose it wasn't awful when Jane said it. She had a slight accent and purr when she called my name, and it felt oddly good. It occurred to me thinking about Jane that I actually haven't met her brother. Maybe I should ask when she comes back since I've left my room and done the first day of training.

I continued to walk until I spotted someone further down the hallway, but I couldn't see who it was as the shadow of the pillar hid them. The person on the other end stopped for a quick second before striding out of the shadow. It was someone I remember briefly seeing when I had first arrived.

Chelsea, I believe her name was. I tried to recall more details. I remembered the Cullens telling me as she made her way right towards me.

"Good evening…Isabella, right?" She greeted softly, but there was a sharp look in her eyes that felt off with me. I gave her a slight nod to respond to her.

She came closer, giving me a smirk. "How do you like your stay so far? It's the first I have seen you." She was edging around the fact that I've been here a while but haven't left my room.

"It's great," I offered curtly. My eyes darted slowly to the side, thinking if now was an appropriate time to excuse myself and leave, but Chelsea started speaking again.

"That's good…we hope you stay for a long time." She dragged it out, looking intensely at me. I wasn't really sure what she was doing, and the longer the time passed, the more awkward I felt. She scrunched her eyebrows together, and I was just about to excuse myself when there was a voice behind me.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I turned my head around and saw Jane standing there. She was finally back from her mission.

And she looked pissed. She was looking at Chelsea as she walked closer and I looked at Chelsea, who appeared annoyed. I guess they're not close.

"Oh, Jane, you're back. Lovely. I'm just getting to know Isabella here. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Chelsea drawled as she gave a Cheshire grin.

If it bothered Jane, she didn't show it. Instead, she raised her eyebrow at the other woman. "Don't do anything unnecessary without orders, Chelsea. The last time Aro had me punish you was annoying."

Instantly, Chelsea clenched her jaw and looked as if she wanted to retort but changed her mind last second. Looking over at me one more time, she pushed past us and stalked off. When she was gone entirely, Jane turned towards me.

"You have left your room."

I nodded with a small smile.

"Did you have a good day?"

I contemplated it before deciding that it wasn't awful and nodded again. Jane seemed to accept my answer as satisfactory and nodded herself. She looked at me once more.

"Don't let yourself get caught alone with Chelsea."

I quickly nodded once more, agreeing with Jane wholeheartedly. There was just something off about that woman, so I had no problem staying away from her.

Looking out the windows, Jane sighed softly. "It's quite nice outside. Since you have resolved to leave your room, it would be a shame to end it so early. Would you like to go somewhere with me?"

I looked at her curiously before nodding. Jane quirked her lips, "Alright, meet me outside the corridors, and I will find you. I must report to Aro briefly."

It was a beautiful night out, and I thought before Jane had shown up next to me. Reporting to Aro still took longer as I was unable to control my gift; thus, Jane would have to relay in great detail about her missions.

"Follow me," Jane said before taking off. I followed quickly after her. The thing that still amazed me sometimes as a vampire was that I could run so fast. To go to places that would usually take hours would be shorted by me, running.

I could tell Jane was trying to egg me on to racing her. As a newborn, she was very helpful in helping me cope with my newfound powers. Even though I was stronger and faster than her at the moment, she really knew how to ground me when I was on the verge of a tantrum.

God, I would've been so lost without Jane. I couldn't even imagine how I would've coped.

Eventually, we slowed down, and Jane had led me to a gorgeous lake. It was quite late at night, so no one else was out, and it was dark.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Lake Garda, about 4 hours from Tuscany...by drive."

I chuckled, still following Jane. She motioned me to stay here before she zipped off and then came back with a canoe boat. Tossing the boat into the raft, we both got in, and Jane pushed us off.

I sighed in relaxation of floating aimlessly, gazing at the stars with Jane.

"Aro tells me you've trained with Felix today. How did you find it?" Jane says, breaking the silence. I looked over to see her sitting on the floor but leaning against the seat ledge. She was beginning to take her hair out of its bun, and I felt my stomach coil tightly.

"Um, well, I got my ass kicked. Repeatedly." I said, staring at the tresses flowing out.

Jane smirked.

"But I guess it gave me something to do. I will most likely continue to see him until I can get everything under control. I'm sure it's tedious to report every detail to Aro."

Jane snorted, agreeing with me.

"I'm glad you are leaving your room. Perhaps soon I can introduce my brother to you."

"Alec?" I asked, recalling what Jane said his name was. She nodded, trying to lean back a little more like I was, but she was very stiff.

"Yes, he will be back from his mission soon. He will be pleased as he's been wanting to meet you since you've arrived."

I had the audacity to at least look a little sheepish.

"You should prepare," Jane said, giving up on trying to slump like me and sat up straight.

"For?" I asked with a raise of my brow.

Jane then moved to sit on the canoe seat while I made a move to in on the floor in front of her.

"I believe Aro told me that the Cullens will be visiting again. They're quite adamant that we know where you are, which they are not wrong," Jane said with a smirk.

The news made me bite my tongue. I was already on the verge of wanting to throw a tantrum and say no, the Cullens cannot visit, and I will hide away when they do.

But Jane came closer, lifting one of her hands to grab a lock of hair between her fingers gently.

"Relax, Isabella."

I took a deep unneeded breath, suppressing the overwhelming emotion. I put my head into Jane's lap and closed my eyes. I felt her stroke the side of my head, and I sighed in contentment. I liked being alone with Jane when there was no one else around us. She would let me do as I please, and she would be gentle.

"I just...I know I need to be brave," I said against her thigh. "I just...don't want to feel like they're going to make me leave with them."

Jane brushed some of the hair away from my face. "As I've said, Isabella. I will not allow anyone to make you do anything you do not want."

Another breath of contentment left me. In times like this, I wished I could fall asleep. I did let my guard down, knowing that as always, I could bask in Jane's protection.

A/N: Ah, the awaited sequel has finally arrived. I have some news! This will most likely be anywhere between 10-20 chapters, depending on how things progress. Sporadic updates as well.

**With that, this is going to be my final Twilight Fanfiction. For now, I will not be writing any more Twilight fics after this in the upcoming future. I may come back to it, but I don't really foresee see that currently. I am so honored and blessed to have written a story that many have enjoyed. For everyone who's been along with me every step of the way, I love you!

Next Time on ATC: Bella takes control of her training, spends some time with Marcus, who enlightens her, and confrontation with the Cullens.