GLADIOLUS || FELIX VOLTURI

five - vampire supreme court.

tw - mentions of lung cancer.
---
It had been two weeks since Rowan met with Paul, and since then the days had passed quietly. Rowan was more than thankful for that fact, seeing as how she was on constant high alert ever since Paul's warning to watch her surroundings. She had stayed in contact with both Emily and him, checking in and asking how they were doing often. Rowan had come to care for them as good friends. She even was able to visit them a couple of times during those uneventful two weeks, and came to form friendships with the rest of the pack.

Though, the peaceful days were bound to end, and before Rowan knew it – she was thrust back into chaos.

It was a normal evening. Rowan had just finished her short shift at the bookstore and was heading back home for the day. Charlie mentioned going on a hunting party with Harry Clearwater and a few others before she left for work, and while it pained her to do so, she simply nodded and wished him luck – even though all she wanted to do was beg him to stay home and stay out of the forest. In the end, she knew she couldn't, and just had to trust in Paul and the pack that they would protect the hunting party.

Once Rowan was home, she felt exhausted from her day working, so she immediately made a late dinner and crashed on the couch in the living room. She flicked the television on and mindlessly started watching the news for the night. Her mind had been racing the entire day while she was at work, anxiously wondering about how her uncle was doing. Now that she was home, her anxious thoughts were almost consuming.

Rowan decided it was a good idea to call the station and check-in, but as she moved to stand from the couch and head towards the kitchen, she heard a slight bang come from her destination. She stood frozen in the center of the living room; eyes locked on the kitchen. Her breathing suddenly increased in speed as she tried to rationalize what she heard.

It easily could have been nothing, but after the past month – Rowan couldn't rationally accept that thought. She slowly stepped towards the kitchen, trying to walk as quietly as possible. That was when a figure quickly appeared at the entryway to the kitchen.

"I can hear you, you know that, right?"

Rowan gasped and immediately fell back to the floor at the sudden appearance and voice of the person in front of her. As she fell onto the floor, she quickly tried crawling away, back towards the couch. Rowan knew she stood no match against any vampire, but instinctively her brain screamed at her to get away.

"Hey, I'm not trying to hurt you! I'm a friend of Bella's!" The young woman said, arms out in an attempt to quell Rowan's fears. Rowan couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Oh yeah, like I can believe that. You broke into my house! It's not crazy of me to fear for my life right now!"

"Yeah, maybe not my brightest moment," the woman said with a sheepish smile, offering her hand out to Rowan to help her up. "I'm Alice Cullen. You're safe with me Rowan. I wouldn't hurt you," she said with a genuine smile.

Rowan stared at the hand in front of her, then shifted her gaze to squint her eyes at Alice. "You know, I gotta say, everything I've heard about your family hasn't been great stuff. So don't blame me for not trusting you right away." Rowan still gripped her hand regardless of her hesitancy and was easily lifted off the ground by Alice.

Alice, nevertheless, still smiled at Rowan, though at a closer look – Rowan noticed a worried expression present upon Alice's face, "Ah, you just wait, we're going to be great friends. But that's not why I'm here." She quickly moved to the couch, sitting, and staring at Rowan in the blink of an eye. Rowan, incredibly confused at this point, simply turned and stared at Alice.

"Can I ask why you are here and breaking into my house? I thought you and your family had left," Rowan asked, her tone laced with frustration. Alice gave a stern nod, her smile turning into a slight frown, "Yes, my family and I left the area. But I came back to check on Bella. I saw something happen to her. Is she okay? You don't seem very upset, so I assume she is?"

Rowan looked at the woman in front of her with a confused expression, "What do you mean you saw something happen to her?"

A look of realization flashed over Alice's face, as she quickly understood that Rowan didn't know what happened, "I saw her jumping off a cliff. Has she not spoken to you since?"

Rowan Swan was no stranger to the feeling of dread. The way it made one's blood run cold and their chest feel hollow. That familiar feeling was quickly overtaking her at the thought of her cousin being severely injured or worse. Rowan's eyes quickly widened in shock, "She what-!"

Before Rowan could fully panic at the shocking news, the door to the Swan residence abruptly opened. Rowan's head snapped towards the doorway to see Bella, though she looked different than normal. Bella's complexion was more pale than usual, her eyes showing just how tired the girl truly was. Her hair was still slightly damp and very messy from the situation she just returned from. All in all, Bella looked completely exhausted and downright terrible.

As Rowan stared at Bella, taking in her disheveled look, the other girl stared in shock at Alice's presence in the living room of her home. After a moment of shock, Bella quickly took a step forward towards the vampire, going to hug the woman. "Alice!" Bella said, her voice full of emotion as she hugged the vampire with all her might.

Rowan stood to the side of the two figures, letting Bella have her moment with Alice. Her breathing became very heavy as she kept her emotions in check, mainly keeping her bubbling anger from fully taking over.

Alice stared at Bella, her own frustration taking over as she took a step away from the hug, "You're....alive," she said, almost like she had to convince herself of the fact.

A look of confusion washed over Bella's face as she took in Alice's words. She then glanced at her cousin, taking in Rowan's own hardened expression. Once Rowan made eye contact with her cousin, she couldn't hold in her frustration any long. She quickly walked towards Bella, standing beside her and Alice, and gripped Bella's shoulder to get her full attention.

"What the hell were you thinking? Cliff jumping? Alone? When you can barely swim? And with how cold it is out? I have no clue how you even survived!" Rowan's volume slowly rose with every harsh question she spit out. She never got to the point of yelling, but everything in her wanted to. After losing her father, she couldn't bear the idea of losing another family member, especially not her cousin – not the only other person who understand the new stressful world she was now involved with.

Bella's eyes widened as Rowan spoke to her, the severity of her actions finally hitting her like a brick to the face. She felt the subtle burn of embarrassment course through her veins at the recklessness of her past choices. She looked away from both Rowan and Alice, her gaze locking onto the floor. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Alice simply shook her head, her frustration subsiding for relief that the girl she thought of as a sister was okay. "I have never met anyone more prone to life-threatening idiocy. And what is that hideous wet dog smell?" Her face curled in disgust as the stench from Bella hit her suddenly.

Bella looked up at Alice, "Oh. That's probably me. Uh, I've been hanging out with Jacob. He's, uh, Jacob is a werewolf."

Alice grimaced upon hearing her friend was surrounding herself with the Cullen's natural rivals. "Bella, werewolves are not good company to keep!"

Rowan cleared her throat, getting the attention of both Alice and Bella, "Uh, Paul explained them more as shapeshifters than werewolves. Just saying,"

Bella raised a confused eyebrow at her cousin and Alice simply stared in slight annoyance.

"What? Just wanted to respect their culture," Rowan said with a shrug. Before she could say anything more, Jacob walked into the room from the back of the house. Rowan only rolled her eyes at this point, assuming he broke into the house through the back door.

"Why don't you speak for yourself," Jacob said, directing his words towards Alice. "Oh Jesus Christ," Rowan muttered in exasperation, deciding to leave whatever argument was brewing. She made her way into the kitchen to get space from the group, the last thing she heard was a discussion of Victoria before she blocked the conversation out entirely.

Rowan leaned her back against the counter, her hands gripping the edge of the hard countertops. She squeezed her eyes shut and took slow, deep breaths as an attempt to quell her frustrations. There was so much happening around her that she didn't understand, and while she understood why Bella wouldn't tell her everything, it certainly felt like her cousin was hiding things from her. Especially after Alice Cullen broke into their home mentioning Bella almost dying.

Rowan let out a long deep breath, slowly opening her eyes. Her mind wandered – thinking of how different her life would be currently if her father hadn't died. If she hadn't come to Forks. She originally only planned on staying with her Uncle and cousin for a single year, a gap year, and then going to whatever college she decided. That was before she realized how dangerous of a world her cousin was wrapped up in. Part of her wanted to stay – to protect her family. The other part of her knew she had already sacrificed so much, lost so much. Would she really give up her future to protect the future of her cousin?

Rowan was ripped from her spiraling thoughts to Bella briskly walking into the kitchen, "And she can stay as long as she likes," she muttered to Jacob, who was trailing behind her. Rowan's weary eyes gave away the pure emotional exhaustion she felt, and Bella noticed this, giving her a look of concern. The past few months had been a lot on both of them. Before Bella could ask how her cousin was holding up, Jacob cut her off, "Well, are the rest coming back?"

As Jacob neared Bella, Rowan frowned. While she currently wasn't a fan of Edward Cullen after everything she had heard, she couldn't say she was a fan of Jacob's current behavior towards her cousin either. Bella, who stood shoulder to shoulder with Rowan, turned to face Jacob. "No," she answered, a familiar sadness lingering upon her face, "Not that I know of. Anything else?"

Rowan shifted in place uncomfortably at the conversation at hand. She stood, not moving, as a way to show support for her cousin, but she certainly felt uncomfortable bearing witness to Jacob and Bella's passive-aggressive back-and-forth conversation.

"That's it," Jacob answered, staring down at Bella. She nodded, her gaze darting around the room, searching for anything but the person in front of her. "Well, if that's all, then you better go run back to Sam." Silence filled the room as Jacob only stared, causing Bella to simply shake her head, then turning her back to Jacob.

"I, uh, think I will give you guys some space? If you need it to talk in private?" Rowan said, growing increasingly more uncomfortable being in the same room as both Bella and Jacob at that moment.

Bella's head snapped to her cousin, one of the few people she felt fully comfortable around in her life at her current state, "No, please, stay. You came into this room first. If we need to have a private conversation, we can leave." Jacob quickly nodded in agreement, mainly out of respect for Rowan.

Rowan shook her head in frustration at the display she had been witnessing the past few minutes. "Honestly, you both are best friends, do you really want this shit to tear you apart?"

Before either of them could reply, the loud shrill of the phone ringing filled the room. Rowan quickly went to move towards the phone, wanting any excuse to leave the current conversation, but Jacob, who was closer, beat her to it. She frowned, confused why he would even answer the house phone over her.

"Swan Residence," Jacob answered, shifting his body to make eye contact with Bella as he answered. As the call continued, Rowan could tell Jacob was growing more agitated with whoever was on the other side of the call. His features hardened, jaw locking as he listened to the caller.

"He's not here right now," Jacob sternly spoke, "He's arranging a funeral." Jacob moved to quickly hang the phone up, slamming it harder than necessary.

"Who was that?" Bella asked, a confused look upon her face as well, closely mimicking Rowan's confused expression. "Always in the way," Jacob muttered to himself, his frustration evidently rising each second after the phone call.

Bella stared in confusion, until – like a light bulb moment – a look of realization crossed her face. Her brows furrowed as she slowly stepped towards Jacob, "Who was that?"

With each step Bella took, Jacob took one back. "Bella, step back," Jacob spoke through gritted teeth. As his breathing became harsh, Rowan quickly stepped forward to pull Bella back, away from Jacob.

"Jake, who was that?" Bella demanded, attempting to shake her cousin's grip from her arm.

Rowan was about to intervene, to calm both teenagers down, but that was when Alice quickly stepped into the small kitchen, a look of panic upon her face. "Bella! Bella, it's Edward!" Alice quickly made her way in front of Bella to speak directly to her, "He thinks you're dead. Rosalie told him why I came here."

Rowan took a deep breath, knowing that whatever was happening next couldn't be good.

"Why didn't you let me speak to him!" Bella yelled, tears forming in her eyes as the severity of the situation finally hit her. "He didn't ask for you!" Jacob yelled in response. Rowan quickly stepped between the two, only holding Bella back, not wanting to cross a boundary by pushing Jacob back as well. She gently moved her cousin back a couple of steps, hoping to defuse the tense situation. Rowan's eyes immediately locked onto Alice, silently asking for help in the moment.

Alice quickly understood what Rowan was asking and grabbed Bella's shoulders to get her full attention. "Bella, listen to me," Alice said, her voice filled with fear, "He's going to the Volturi. He wants to die too." The two shared a look of fear, before they both quickly started pacing to the door.

Rowan didn't need a verbal answer to know where they both were going. She quickly followed her cousin out the front door, Jacob right behind her.

"Bella! Bella, he didn't want you anymore! Remember?"

"Yeah, well I'm not going to let him kill himself out of guilt," Bella said as she rounded the car to the front passenger side.

As Rowan approached the driver's side window to speak with Alice, Jacob quickly turned to speak to her. "What, you're just going to let her go? You approve of this?"

Rowan scoffed, rolling her eyes at the accusation, "Of course not. But if there is one thing I've learned about Bella, she doesn't listen to anyone once she has her mind set on something. There isn't anything I can do Jacob."

As Jacob went to speak with Bella, Rowan made her way to Alice in the car. The window was already rolled down, almost as if Alice was waiting for her to approach.

"Where is the Volturi? East coast?" Rowan asked, trying to understand how far they would be driving. Alice stared for a moment in silence, before grimacing slightly, knowing Rowan wouldn't be fond of the answer.

"No, it's in Italy."

Alice was correct. Rowan did not like the answer.

"Italy!? Fucking hell, you guys are going to Italy!?" Rowan hissed quietly to Alice, shock evident on her face. Alice only nodded. Rowan took a deep breath, attempting to quell the anxious feeling quickly building in her chest.

"You should come with," Alice said, a smile gracing her features as she spoke. Rowan shook her head at the mere idea, "Why? What good would I be talking with the 'Vampire Supreme Court'?" Alice couldn't help but snort at the nickname. Rowan didn't fully understand the Volturi, only with what little Bella had mentioned once. Thus, earning them the nickname.

"Trust me. You won't regret it," Alice answered cryptically. "For Bella's sake. She needs you," Alice quickly added.

Rowan stared at Alice, face showing no hint of emotion as she weighed her options. With a sigh, she quickly moved to sit in the backseat of the car. Bella glanced back at her, confused, but simply stayed quiet, as she wasn't finished speaking with Jacob.

Eventually, the car started to move, and the finality of Rowan's decision to join hit her hard. "Shit, I gotta call Charlie. Say we are road tripping or something, I don't know," she muttered, quickly going to grab her phone from the pocket of her oversized hoodie. As Rowan dialed the number to the station, Bella turned her head to face her cousin, "Are you really going to say we are road tripping?" Her expression displayed how bad of an idea she believed the excuse to be.

"Well? Got a better idea? We don't have many friends Bella! Can't say we are spending the night anywhere!" Rowan spoke, pure exasperation evident in her tone and expression. Bella only grimaced, "I guess you're right."

As Rowan dialed the station, she spoke to an operator who connected her to her Uncle. Her stomach flipped once he answered.

"Rowan? Is everything alright?" Charlie asked, concern apparent in his tone. Rowan took a deep breath. She hated lying to him. She had always been honest with him since she was little. While her dad was sick, Charlie was the one who would visit often. He would help take care of her father when he started getting worse. Lung cancer was hell to watch as it took over her father, but her Uncle made it more bearable – as she wasn't alone in the situation. Charlie wasn't her father, no, but he sure as hell was the closest thing she had left to one.

"Hey Uncle Charlie. Uh, yes! Everything is okay," Rowan nodded to herself, assuring herself that she could lie as long as it was to help someone. Even if that someone was the man that broke her cousin's heart.

"Oh, alright. Well, did you call for something?"

"Yes. Um, Bella and I are road tripping. To Shelton. I wanted to show her the house. She hadn't seen it since she was little so I thought I could show her. Maybe visit Dad's grave." That last part hurt. Deeply. She had to make it believable though.

A moment of silence passed. "Rowan...is everything okay? You don't sound okay," Charlie spoke softly, concern apparent in his voice once again.

"Yes. I just need you to trust me. Okay? We'll be back before you know it. I know that's asking a lot from you, but please, I'll take care of her. Like you did me these past couple years. I promise."

Rowan's voice dropped to a near whisper, emotion pouring into her words. Bella glanced back at her cousin, confusion towards their conversation written all over her features. Rowan didn't look back, she knew she couldn't without getting more emotional.

Charlie sighed into the phone, "Fine. There isn't much I can do now, since you both already left. Just drive safe. Shelton isn't far, but still. I know it's been hard, so I respect needing Bella with you when you go back to visit."

It almost broke her to use her dad as a lie. But she didn't think anything else would be believable. If only she were going to visit her father. If only.

"Thanks," Rowan said quickly, not saying much more, knowing she may break if she does.

"Call me when you get there, please."

"Will do."

"Okay. Drive safe. Love you both."

"I love you too," Rowan said, voice shaking as she spoke. She then quickly hung up, knowing she couldn't handle the conversation any longer.

Silence filled the car once she hung up, then Bella finally spoke up. "Rowan...?" Before Bella could ask anything else, Rowan only shook her head. "Don't. Just please...don't," she whispered, going to stare out the window.

It was going to be a long trip.
---
It wasn't a long ride to the airport. As the three of them waited, Rowan's phone buzzed, alerting her of a call. It was late, nearly midnight at this point, so she couldn't imagine who was calling. She pulled her phone out, heart dropping at the number that was calling.

Rowan considered letting it ring, but decided against that thought. She knew Paul deserved better than that. She hit the green answer button, quickly placing the phone against her ear.

"Hello?"

Before she could even collect her thoughts on what to say, Paul's loud voice filled her thoughts.

"What the hell were you thinking! Are you seriously going to the vampire secret head base?"

Rowan sat in silence, both Alice and Bella glancing at her before glancing back at the screen displaying flights. "You know, I would argue they are more of a 'Vampire Supreme Court'. But that's just me," Rowan said, hoping to lighten the mood.

Paul couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, yeah. Well, whatever you would call it. Are you seriously going there? You could die! Or worse, become like them," the desperation in his voice hurting her heart. Paul had become a close friend of hers. Same with Emily. She couldn't bear to hurt either of them.

"I'm sorry. I can't leave her to go alone," Rowan whispered, hoping her cousin wouldn't hear. She heard Paul sigh, before scoffing at the situation. "This is bullshit! You keep risking your life for her. At what point is enough going to be enough? Just because she's fine with risking her life doesn't mean you should be!"

Rowan frowned, her brows furrowing, "Paul, it's not that simple-"

"It is that simple! You throw yourself in front of her every chance you get. This is her decision. Let her make it. Come home. Please, don't do this. Emily is already a wreck after Jake told us where you guys are going."

Of course Jacob did, Rowan thought in annoyance. "I'm sorry. I'll be okay. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be back and still human. And tell Emily that too, please. So don't worry. I promise," Rowan spoke softly into the phone.

"Man, you're just as stubborn as me. I don't know why I try sometimes," he said humorously. Rowan couldn't help but smile.

"Eh, that's why you love me," Rowan said, a shit-eating grin on her face as she spoke. Though it quickly dropped into a look of dread once she heard Paul's next words.

"Yeah, well. Good luck. Because you get to be the one to tell Emily all this when you get back. Talk to you later. And remember, don't be stupid. No running in front of bloodsuckers for your cousin. You've done enough of that for one lifetime." The phone call ended after he spoke, not giving Rowan time to respond. She quickly put her phone away and continued to wait for their flight.

"You're still saying that 'Vampire Supreme Court' thing?" Bella asked, looking at her in confusion.

Rowan only shrugged, "I cope with humor. Sue me."