I can't change just for you Part 1

Aro x Reader first person POV

Someone told me when they were going to read one of my one-shots, "You left this world without me", they thought they were going to read about Aro losing his human mate. Actually, it was about Aro's human mate losing him. My mind went back to that reader's idea. Therefore...this is a story about Aro and his human mate from her POV, and how Aro lost her, not to an accident or any attack by an enemy, but to her too frail humanity.

*I split this story as someone told me it was too long for a one-shot, so even though it says one-shot, its in two parts now.

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I was wandering the streets after dark, probably a foolish thing to do in a strange country. There was a sudden pain on the back of my shoulders, and I dropped to the ground. I looked up in time to see two young men speaking Italian. One had my tote bag, while the other tugged on his friend's arm, trying to get him to leave now that they had their prize. That bag had everything I needed for this trip, and I had to get it back. I tried to rise up off the ground, but darkness descended over me.

I didn't know how long I'd been out, but when I opened my eyes, his face was the first I saw. He was kneeling beside me, his very cold hand holding mine. Although his visage was pale and as beautiful as an angel's, his eyes terrified me. In the glow of the street light, they seemed red, not the whites like that of a drunk man, just the irises. They looked hungry as he peered down at me, almost as if he wanted to kill me. I tried to struggle, but the throbbing pain in my neck and shoulders was enough to disable me.

I looked at the man I had hoped would be my savior, but now I wasn't sure. "Please, help me." I tried to use my free hand to reach for his jacket. I seemed to have grabbed a chain necklace he was wearing instead. The man looked down at my hand clutching the chain. He hesitated, then released the hand he had been holding. His arms slipped under me, easily lifting me up off the hard concrete.

I felt a breeze surround me, hard enough that I had to close my eyes. When the breeze died, I opened them to find myself indoors, stone walls on either side of me as the man carried me into some sort of building. I turned my head to look up at my rescuer, seeing an enigmatic smile on his face. Then I lost consciousness.

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I woke to find myself in a bed, a warm comforter draped over me. I looked beneath the comforter to see I was now dressed in a cotton nightgown. Who had changed my clothes while I was out. I hoped it was not my rescuer who had gotten a peek of my naked body. I would never be able to look him in the eyes.

On the small table to my right sat a glass carafe filled with water, topped with a small glass that acted like a lid. I reached over and grabbed the carafe, pouring myself a glass, swallowing the water slowly. Since I was thirsty, it actually tasted good, so I drank another glass full. I replaced the carafe on the table and lay back against the pillows. I looked around the simply furnished, yet somehow ornate room, wondering where I was. And where was my rescuer?

The pain in my shoulders had dulled somewhat. I must have been hit from behind. I was fortunate my attackers hadn't used a heavier object or a knife. I was still alive, and the pain would go away eventually.

The man with the angelic face who had rescued me finally came to visit that afternoon. He told me his name was Aro. He seemed pleasant enough, but I felt an undercurrent of danger emanating from him. When he looked at me, even while he was smiling, I felt like a deer in the sights of a hunter.

"I'm Lydia Palmer, from Los Angeles in America. I'm twenty-seven years old and have never been married. I have no close family. Just an aunt, my father's sister, but we're not on good terms."

Aro didn't seem to find my biography interesting, and I wondered why. At the time, I had no idea he already knew everything about me with that one touch of his hand.

He sat at the foot of the bed, seemingly aware of my anxiety. "You have nothing to fear while here, my dear," he intoned. "No one will harm you."

"That's a strange promise to make to someone you've just met, Aro." I decided to respond to him familiarly, hoping to take an equal position in this hopefully short-term relationship. But just looking at him, this man who was almost too beautiful to be real, drew from me a smile that embarrassed me, and I tried to hide it. It didn't work. He smiled back at me and goosebumps covered my arms, not from fear, but from desire.

We spoke for awhile about my being here in Italy, until he seemed to sense I was fatigued. But Aro did not leave, waiting for a few minutes until there was a knock on the door. Aro said "come" so low,I could barely hear him. A tall burly man entered with a tray. I watched as he set the tray on the bed next to me, removed the lid over my meal, and asked if there was anything else I needed.

"No, this looks wonderful...uh...?" And it did. Slices of baked beef, boiled baby potatoes, mixed vegetables, a roll, and a glass of red wine. Simple fare, but filling.

"Felix," he replied to me. He turned to Aro. "Master Aro, is there anything you require at this time?"

"No, Felix, you may go." He rose and came to my end of the bed, looking down at me, his eyes a warm chocolate brown. "We will discuss more later. Enjoy your meal, and if you require anything, just call out and someone will be right here."

"Uh, Master Aro, before you go...who undressed me and put me into this nightgown?" I had no idea what Aro was master of, but when in Rome...

Aro chuckled low. "Just Aro, please. Chelsea took care of that for you. You will meet her later. If you were worried it was I, I assure you I would not take such liberties, unasked." He exited through the door, leaving me to my meal. I thought I heard him say "I'm a patient man" before the door was shut. If I had him heard correctly, to what was he referring?

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For the next week, I was treated like royalty, or how I assumed royalty was treated. I literally wanted for nothing. I was fed regularly, and brought books to read. Felix even played chess with me on a board he brought in for that reason. I finally met Chelsea, who helped me with getting new clothing and accessories. I had lost my hotel key in the robbery, and had no money to pay the bill anyway. When I asked Aro about it, he refused to listen to anything referring to my leaving at this time. I was sure he'd be able to pay the bill that would allow me into my room, but I was cut off when I made the suggestion. 'We will take care of you' he had told me emphatically.

Felix continued to bring me my meals, talking with me until he had to leave. He told me I was inside the Palazzo dei Priori. I wasn't that familiar with Volterra, but as he explained it was a very old complex of wings, both above ground and below. Construction of the later wings of the building his family had acquired began in the late 1200s, with it finished sometime during the 1400s. He seemed to enjoy giving me information that, as he clarified, would make it easier for me to get along with Aro.

"Felix, why did you call him Master Aro?"

"Master Aro...leads our family," he replied.

"Really. He seems too young to be the head of a family such as this."

"Such as this?" Felix asked, not without some suspicion.

"Well, wealthy, powerful, or so I assume by what I've seen and heard."

He raised a brow at me.

"All right. I haven't seen or heard that much. But look at this room." I waved my hand at some of the furnishings. "Those are antiques, or damned good replicas. And that tapestry on the wall. French Rococco?"

Felix raised both brows now, so I responded, "I'm an interior designer specializing in everything from 1600s Europe to turn of the century America." I gave Felix a wink. "I know my stuff."

"You may speak with Master Aro about that. He is a great historian on all levels."

"Thank you, Felix. We'll already have something in common then."

He gave me a broad smile, picked up my luncheon tray, and left me alone.

It wasn't long before I felt well enough to walk a little. The first day Aro came for me, he led me outside to a garden hidden on the palace grounds behind a high wall. We sat on a wide marble bench so we could enjoy the warmth of the sun. I felt like I was turning into a mole, locked up in my room for so long. I stretched out my legs and leaned back on my hands, tilting my face up into the light and closed my eyes. Now this was heaven. And then the devil spoke.

"Felix tells me you have a love for history, as do I." Aro seemed excited to know about my interest.

"Actually I'm only an interior designer, so I'm more into the things people surrounded themselves with in their daily lives."

"Then you must let me show you the antiques I have collected over the...years. My brothers Marcus and Caius also collect. Art, literature, old weaponry."

I looked up to see clouds moving across the sky, blocking the sun light off and on. Maybe rain was on the way. "I haven't met them yet."

"Perhaps this evening, if you feel up to it. They are eager to meet the young woman I rescued." Aro took my hand in his, his cool fingers intertwining with mine.

Oh palms, please don't sweat. "I'd like that, Aro." Why was I feeling so drawn to this man? Ok, so he saved my life. You don't fall for someone for that reason, do you? Police officers and firemen would have women throwing themselves at them all the time. Honestly, he was gorgeous, smelled delicious in a way I could not identify, and spoke so eloquently. I'd always been attracted to intelligent men, but looking at Aro right now, something caught my eye. It was faint, but it seemed Aro's skin was sparkling or shimmering. Then it went away before I could get a good look at the odd phenomenon. I had to blink several times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

Later that evening, Aro and I were sitting in the outer room of his chambers, as he called them. It wasn't long before a young-looking blonde man and an older man with long brown hair entered through the heavy carved doors.

"Ah, Marcus, Caius, welcome. Please sit and meet our young guest. This is Lydia Palmer of America. My dear, this is Marcus, my brother-in-law. The scowling fellow over there is Caius."

"It s a pleasure to meet you, child," the taller man said. He didn't smile much, but I felt sincerity coming off him in waves. It was a very strange feeling.

Caius said nothing, only giving me a curt nod.

Aro spoke to fill in the subsequent awkward silence. He sat next to me, so close his arm was touching mine. Perhaps he was trying to reassure me or he was just being affectionate, but I didn't mind in any case. I tried to fill in here and there, making comments about the city and the few people I had met here so far. Blessedly, the conversation soon ended, and Marcus and Caius left Aro and me alone.

"Well, that was interesting," I said, peering over at Aro.

"They are not used to visitors. None of us are," he said without explanation.

The next few days, Aro showed me through the vast Volturi library. He told me his ancestors had been adding to the library for centuries. They had even managed to save some original manuscripts from the great Library of Alexandria during the fire of 48 BC. It amazed me when Aro would talk about history in such a familiar way, as if he'd been there himself. I knew that was impossible, so I simply admired his extensive knowledge while I listened to his stories.

As the days passed, I began to wonder if I was ever going to be allowed to return home. I came to know more of this odd family. Felix and Chelsea I already knew, but I met Demetri, a close friend of Felix's by what I saw of them when they were together.

There were The Twins, as others called them, Jane and Alec. Jane had been born a few minutes before Alec, and it showed. He deferred to his sister always, backing her decisions and complimenting her as a younger sibling would.

There was Heidi, the beauty of the group. She reminded me of old 1940s movie stars, elegantly dressed, perfectly coiffed and made up, and possessing that something only some stars like Marilyn Monroe had. She wasn't around much, and I never asked why.

There were others, of course. Afton, Santiago, and Corin to name a few. Felix and Chelsea were with me more often, so I quickly came to regard them as friends.

Aro would spend time with me, telling me about himself, but in a way that led me to feel he was holding something back. I never questioned him about my feeling. I merely listened.

One day, we were sitting in the garden, the air warm even with the cloud cover. Aro was sitting close to me when he reached up to caress my cheek, his cool fingertips brushing over my skin. I leaned into his touch, then looked at him. He moved closer towards me, his lips barely pressing against mine. It was pure torture, this gentleness, and I slipped my fingers into his silken black hair, pulling him to me. Once he knew I was not averse to something more, Aro kissed me with more passion, willing to show his need for me. We took from and gave back to one another, so desperate were we to share that need. When he finally pulled away, I was breathless while he seemed fine.

We looked at one another in silence.

It was Aro who broke the silence. "There is something I must tell you, my dear. I hope you accept what I am about to reveal to you as a secret I am entrusting you with."

I waited to hear more. For the past few days, it seemed Aro wanted me to stay here in Volterra, but he never just came out and asked it of me. I had an apartment in Los Angeles that was empty and a job to get back to. Maybe I was deluding myself. I watched as he reached up to his eyes, appearing to be pulling out contacts. He turned to face me, his eyes now a deep crimson, like that night he had saved me beneath the glowing street lights. I pulled my hand from his and leaned away from him on the bench.

"I am a vampire," he simply said, as if it were something one said every day.

And just like that, I knew I had been saved by a mythical creature of the night, one who was nothing like a nosferatu or Count Dracula. He was like Nick Knight, or perhaps more like the sometimes pompous Lucien LaCroix, from the TV show Forever Knight. "May I ask you some questions?"

Aro smiled at me, satisfied I hadn't attempted to jump over the garden wall. "Of course, Lydia. Anything."

I'd make it short and sweet. "Coffins and sleeping by day, repulsed by garlic, afraid of crosses. The sun doesn't seem to bother you since you haven't exploded into flames yet." I looked Aro up and down. "You don't turn into a bat, do you?" I asked, a slight look of disgust on my face.

He lowered his head as he laughed. "Hardly, to all of that," he said.

"Your skin is pale, cold, and harder than my flesh. And I saw you shimmer in the sunlight."

"A quality that can expose us to humans. We are nearly immortal, few things being a threat to us. We have preternatural strength, senses, speed, memories. Once we are changed, we stop aging."

"So...how old are you?" I asked.

"Three thousand years, more or less. I was born a human in Greece long ago.'

My hand rose off my lap to touch Aro's face, but I quickly grabbed it with my other hand to bring it back to my lap.

He seemed to be watching me for my reactions. I wasn't afraid of him, but I should be afraid of him. The others had been so kind and helpful to me. How many vampires were there, or so I assumed all here were vampires. Did that make me the lone human in the castle?

"In case you dare not ask, we do survive on human blood. That much is true."

Aro was right. It was THE question I could not ask. He seemed to want to reassure me. "As I said when you arrived, no one here will harm you."

"I believe that. No one has even appeared threatening. But Aro, am I the only human here?"

"The chef, the secretary, and the other servants are human. The guards you've met are used to being around humans, so are able to control their thirst. Other newer guards have not been so trained, and this is why I wish to keep a close watch on you. You will go nowhere without me or a guard I can trust."

"Of course." I would do what Aro thought best for my safety.

Now that they had been informed that I knew about them, the guards were free to move around the castle without contacts. Everywhere I went, I saw red eyes. I wasn't afraid of them. I was more curious. Had any of them wanted to hurt me, I would be dead already. I still kept Aro's warning in my mind.

One day while Aro and I were slowly walking the corridors, he said something that surprised me. "My dear Lydia, I'd like you to stay here in Volterra with us, with me." I wasn't really surprised at the question, only that he had finally asked me. My home, my job, my friends were all on the chopping block if I agreed to remain in Volterra. Did I want to stay? There would be only one reason I could stay, and that was if I found myself in love with Aro.

Until now, he had been unable to articulate his desire to keep me here, yet I seemed to know somehow. Now I had this very important question to respond to.

Aro continued walking with me at his side, waiting for my response. I suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking him. I slipped my arms around him, pressing myself flush against him. I felt his arms encircle me. "I will stay on one condition. You don't ask me to be changed into...one of your kind. Also, you have to send someone back home to quit me from my job and pay off my landlord for the remainder of my lease. As for my friends..." I knew they would be lost to me. I leaned into Aro, letting him comfort me. He nuzzled my neck, then kissed me.

"It will be as you wish, my love. We'll take care of everything for you." He hugged me tightly, whispering in my ear, "You've made me a very happy man. And I intend to do everything to make you happy. And as for your transformation, we will discuss that later."

I knew he wasn't going to let that go.

A/N : I split this story into two parts for those who like shorter reads.  Part 2 follows. Thanks for your support!