Summary: What if Alice hadn't been there to lie to the Volturi about the certainty that Bella would be changed? What if Aro didn't trust Edward to keep his word? An alternate ending to New Moon.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
A/N: I do not write better than Meyer so I will not attempt to ruin the story when I can use her very own perfect words. Ah, the beauty of fanfiction! This story contains many repositioned sentences taken from the ending chapters New Moon. Sorry about that.
Claimed
"Aro," Caius hissed. "The law claims them."
Edward glared at Caius. "How so?" he demanded. He must have known what Caius was thinking, but he seemed determined to make him speak it aloud.
Caius pointed a skeletal finger at me. "She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets." His voice was papery thin, just like his skin.
"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well," Edward reminded him, and I thought of the pretty receptionist below.
Caius's face twisted into a new expression. Was it supposed to be a smile?
"Yes," he agreed. "But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not," he scoffed.
"I wouldn't—," I began, still whispering. Caius silenced me with an icy look.
"Nor do you intend to make her one of us," Caius continued. "Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only her life is forfeit. You may leave if you wish."
Edward bared his teeth.
"That's what I thought," Caius said, with something akin to pleasure. Felix leaned forward, eager.
"Unless…" Aro interrupted. He looked unhappy with the way the conversation had gone. "Unless you do intend to give her immortality?"
Edward pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before he answered. "And if I do?"
Aro smiled, happy again. "Why, then you would be free to go home and give my regards to my friend Carlisle." His expression turned more hesitant. "But I'm afraid you would have to mean it."
Aro raised his hand in front of him.
Caius, who had begun to scowl furiously, relaxed.
Edward's lips tightened into a fierce line. He stared into my eyes, and I stared back.
"Mean it," I whispered. "Please."
Was it really such a loathsome idea? Would he rather die than change me? I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach.
Edward stared down at me with a tortured expression.
I stared back at him as the little waves of rejection rolled their way across my chest. Would it really matter in the end? Would it make a difference if I did become a vampire, when the idea was so repulsive to Edward? Was death, to him, a better alternative then having me around forever, an immortal annoyance? Terrified as I was, I felt myself sinking down into depression, drowning in it.
I felt my heart pounding harder with each passing second. It seemed like eternity before the silence was finally broken.
"I'll do it," he whispered.
I felt my lungs contract as I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"This is wonderful!" Aro exclaimed, his face once again lighting up."I'm glad you made your decision, Edward. You and Bella will of course be allowed to leave in three days."
Edward hissed. "I do not mean to change her here. There are humans looking for her as we speak who know of her ties with me and my family. Many measures need to be taken before this is to happen."
Caius turned to address his brother. "Bella must not leave until she is changed. As I have said before, until she becomes one of us she is a vulnerablility. She may betray us as soon as she is allowed to leave. Without access to her mind, Aro, it is foolish to take the risk. As for his family, I am sure Carlisle is well practiced at disappearing."
Aro considered this briefly and sighed. "My brother speaks the truth, Edward. I cannot allow you to leave until Bella is changed. You are of course welcome to stay as our guest for long as you like, although I wouldn't risk too long a wait if I were you."
Edward's growls were low and the guards moved forward slightly but otherwise stood their ground. Jane stood the closest, smiling.
Edward's jaw clenched tight as he glared at Aro, but finally nodded once.
Aro merely looked amused by the silent exchange. "Demetri, be a dear and take them to Gianna. Get her to arrange a room for our guests... as well as some clothes." He looked meaningfully at Edward.
Caius smirked and drifted back to where Marcus still sat, unmoving and uninterested.
Felix groaned.
"Ah, Felix." Aro smiled, amused. "Heidi will be here at any moment. Patience."
Edward stiffened at these words and pulled me swiftly along beside him as Demetri lead the way out of the room. It was then that I first heard the babble of voices—loud, rough voices—coming from the antechamber.
"Well this is unusual," a man's coarse voice boomed.
"So medieval," an unpleasantly shrill, female voice gushed back.
A large crowd was coming through the little door, filling the smaller stone chamber. Demetri motioned for us to make room. We pressed back against the cold wall to let them pass.
The couple in front, Americans from the sound of them, glanced around themselves with appraising eyes.
"Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!" I could hear Aro sing from the big turret room.
The rest of them, maybe forty or more, filed in after the couple. Some studied the setting like tourists. A few even snapped pictures or threw questioning glances at Edward who stood with me against the wall, still without a shirt. Others looked confused, as if the story that had led them to this room was not making sense anymore. I noticed one small, dark woman in particular. Around her neck was a rosary, and she gripped the cross tightly in one hand. She walked more slowly than the others, touching someone now and then and asking a question in an unfamiliar language. No one seemed to understand her, and her voice grew more panicked.
Edward pulled my face against his chest, but it was too late. I already understood.
As soon as the smallest break appeared, Edward pushed me quickly toward the door. I could feel the horrified expression on my face, and the tears beginning to pool in my eyes.
The ornate golden hallway was quiet, empty except for one gorgeous, statuesque woman. She stared at us curiously, me in particular.
"Welcome home, Heidi," Demetri greeted her from behind us.
Heidi smiled absently. She reminded me of Rosalie, though they looked nothing alike—it was just that her beauty, too, was exceptional, unforgettable. I couldn't seem to look away.
She was dressed to emphasize that beauty. Her amazingly long legs, darkened with tights, were exposed by the shortest of miniskirts. Her top was long-sleeved and high-necked, but extremely close-fitting, and constructed of red vinyl. Her long mahogany hair was lustrous, and her eyes were the strangest shade of violet—a colour that might result from blue-tinted contacts over red irises.
"Demetri," she responded in a silky voice, her eyes flickering between my face and Edward's bare chest.
"Nice fishing," Demetri complimented her, and I suddenly understood the attention-grabbing outfit she wore… she was not only the fisherman, but also the bait.
"Thanks." She flashed a stunning smile. "Aren't you coming?"
"In a minute. Save a few for me."
Heidi nodded and ducked through the door with one last curious look at me.
Edward set a pace that had me running to keep up. But we still couldn't get through the ornate door at the end of the hallway before the screaming started.
Demetri left us in the cheerfully opulent reception area, where the woman Gianna was still at her post behind the polished counter. Bright harmless music tinkled from hidden speakers.
Demetri repeated Aro's instructions to her and hurried away.
Gianna did not seem at all surprised by the instructions. She moved swiftly behind her polished barrier, retrieving what I assumed to be a set of keys.
"Are you all right?" Edward asked under his breath, too low for the human woman to hear. His voice was rough – if velvet can be rough – with anxiety. His brows furrowed with concern.
"If you would follow me please." Gianna stepped out from her desk and gestured towards a different pair of doors. I was a little reluctant to release my grip on the table as the room wobbled dangerously in front of me. Before I knew it, Edward scooped me up in his arms and followed her.
Edward carried me through several more lavishly furnished hallways and rooms, Gianna in the lead, finally coming to a quiet staircase in the more remote part of the castle.
It was only when Edward placed me gently on a bed in what appeared to be a fully furnished hotel suite did I realize I was shaking, my entire frame vibrating until my teeth chattered and caused my vision to wobble and blur. For a second I wondered if this was how Jacob felt just before exploding into a werewolf.
I heard a sound that didn't make sense, a strange ripping noise in the otherwise silent room. Distracted by the shaking, I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
"Shh, Bella, shh," Edward hushed as he pulled me into his lap and pulled the blankets around me to protect me from his cold skin. "It's alright, you're safe, it's alright," he chanted again and again.
Then I understood. The noise was me. The ripping sound were the sobs coming from my chest. That's what was shaking me.
I closed my eyes in an attempt to stop the trembling, but behind closed lids I could still see the panicked face of the tiny woman with the rosary.
"All those people," I sobbed.
"I know," he whispered.
"It's so horrible."
"Yes, it is. I wish you hadn't had to see that."
I rested my head against his cold chest, using a corner of the blankets to wipe my eyes. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.
"There are clothes in the wardrobes. Towels are in the bathroom. Is there anything else I can get you?" Gianna stood by the door with a look that was both concerned and yet still professional and detached at the same time.
"No," Edward answered coldly.
She nodded and smiled at me. "Someone will bring dinner at six," she announced and then disappeared.
I waited as her echoing footsteps faded away. "Does she know what's going on here?" I demanded, my voice low and hoarse. I was gaining control of myself, my breathing evening out.
"Yes. She knows everything," Edward told me.
"Does she know they're going to kill her someday?"
"She knows it's a possibility."
That surprised me.
Edward's face was hard to read. "She's hoping they'll decide to keep her."
I felt the blood leave my face. "She wants to be one of them?"
He nodded once, his sharp eyes on my face, watching my reaction.
I shuddered. "How can she want that?" I whispered, more to myself than really looking for an answer. "How can she watch those people file through into that room and want to be a part of that?"
Edward didn't answer. His expression twisted in response to something I'd said, the tortured look from earlier on haunted his features.