A/N: Hello my loves! Oh my, has it been a long time. To say I've had a lot going on would be a gross understatement. Please forgive me. My daughter has been in and out of the hospital again, not to mention a whole host of other lesser chaotic things that still equal me living in crisis mode. I wish I could say things are better and you can expect regular updates or new stories from me, but I can't come close to making that promise. Things for my daughter remain murky at best which means she's still going to be in and out of the hospital until her doctors finally pull their heads from their asses. *sigh*
In the mean time, I've started another (I know, I know) story that will end up being rather short...I think. Haha. This is yet another plot bunny that's been hounding me for quite awhile. I've decided to post the first chapter and see what kind of response I get before moving on/continuing.
For anybody wondering about "Slipping Through"... I have no words. I'm at a deadlock with that one. I know, I know. You're wondering how that's possible with only two chapters. Let's just say mapping out the details on that one has me in a war with myself and I'd rather basically hiatus the story until I get my shit together. I don't like leading people down a path that I may or may not actually want later; hence my not posting any subsequent chapters. Please be patient with me. My feeble brain can only handle so much.
Anyhoo, enough with my whining. Onto this tidbit of fun. I've picked up from page 477 of New Moon. I've included Ms. Meyer's words that lead up to where I've taken over so everyone will understand. The large portion of italicized storyline is taken word for word from New Moon. I fully acknowledge that portion of the story belongs to Stephenie Meyer. If there are any questions or if there is any ambiguity regarding where Ms. Meyer's portion ends and mine begins, please PM me and I will tell you specifically. With regard to character partnering, I'm not going to say who I'm intending to have Bella partner with right now because I don't want that to be the reason for people to read or not read. I can tell you I have already decided in my mind who it will be. I'm just not sharing with the class. ;-)
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all characters from the Twilight Universe. I've merely reset the chess board.
"Join or die, is that it? I suspected as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws."
The tone of Edward's voice surprised me. He sounded irate, but there was something deliberate about his delivery – as if he'd chosen his words with great care.
"Of course not." Aro blinked, astonished. "We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you."
"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' 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. Worse yet, would he rather I die than change me? That thought was enough to take the hurt from my previous thought and turn it into anger. I felt my jaw clench and my eyes narrow. Edward's eyes widened in reaction to my change in facial expression. I glanced in Aro's direction and saw him looking at me questioningly. I looked back at Edward and saw that he and Alice were conversing in their usual way. He was always so quick to consult Alice with regard to me and any decisions I might make. He always had to find a way around what I wanted, needed even, should he think it wasn't for the best. No more.
With that one thought, Alice gasped. I looked over at her to see her glazed eyes staring vacantly in Edward's general direction, obviously in a vision. Edward's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets with what he was seeing. A vicious snarl radiated from his chest, filled the cavernous room and echoed against the stone walls surrounding us. Assuming Edward was about to attack, Felix shot over to his side more quickly than I'd have thought possible and subdued him by grabbing Edward around the throat and shoving him to his knees. It was with a choked voice that Edward finally spoke.
"No, Bella. I won't let you do this."
"You won't let me? You won't let me?" I all but yelled through gritted teeth. "Just like you won't let me be turned, no matter what you're able to get by Aro in order to get us out of here? I'm not stupid, Edward. I know you too well. I know once we would get back to Forks you would come up with a plethora of reasons as to how you can keep me hidden away from the Volturi and their guard so you wouldn't have to damn me to your existence, as you put it. "
I faced forward again and saw that Aro had returned to his throne up on the dais and had both his brothers' hands in his while watching Edward's and my interaction. Although his face was surprisingly expressionless, I knew that didn't mean much. The look on Caius' face was calculating at best. Marcus continued to look depressed, though there was something a bit different in his eyes than before my outburst. Putting that observation aside to ponder later, I stepped forward to address the three kings.
"You would not be able to trust any promises made by either Edward or Alice. My guess is they have figured out ways to get around your gift much as the rest of the Cullens have found ways around their gifts in order to hide things. If you want my knowledge of your world to no longer be an issue - ," I was cut off by a choked growl from Edward. Felix's grip on Edward's throat tightened and cut off the sound completely. A part of me felt badly that Edward was in the position he was in. Certainly there was an element of betrayal to what I had just said, but it wasn't my fault that he was willing to risk not just our lives by lying, but the lives of everyone in the family should the Volturi ever come snooping around. I couldn't do that to them no matter how betrayed I felt when they left me.
"As I was saying, if you want my knowledge of your world to no longer be an issue, you will have to either turn or kill me yourselves. I would suggest inviting Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens here to see if they're willing to do right, but given the fact Carlisle let himself be overrun by Edward so recently, I don't know that they would be any more trustworthy to carry out your order than the two here."
I could have dropped a pin and heard it hit the floor when I finished. If this wasn't such a serious matter, I may have laughed at the number of shocked vampire faces in the room. Apparently my complete honesty was rather astonishing to them. I couldn't figure out why. What did I have to lose? Nothing I wasn't already aware of losing. I suppose I should have felt more guilty for essentially taking the Cullens down with me and throwing Edward and Alice under the bus, but I couldn't find it in me to stress over it. None of this was my fault. All of this could have been avoided had Edward not walked away all those months ago. I love Edward, but after being back in my life for all of thirty minutes he was already suffocating me.
After conferring with his brothers for several minutes, Aro finally stood and ghosted back toward me. He stopped only a few steps away and leveled me with an intense stare. I dredged up every bit of strength in my being to be able to hold his gaze without so much as a flicker of fear. I even happened across some of Rosalie's bitch-itude I didn't know I had and raised a single, daring eyebrow while staring Aro down. It was slow to form, but the corners of Aro's mouth quirked up into a smirk before growing into a full-fledged smile. As creepy as that smile was, I didn't flinch.
I knew my ability to look Aro dead on with no visible recoil had sealed my fate. Any question as to whether death, as opposed to vampirism, would find me was answered in that one smile. Alice's gasp and Edward's sudden attempt to fight off Felix was the final nail in the coffin. I squared my shoulders, steeled myself with heavy resolve and smirked back. A flurry of movement continued around me, but I disregarded it. There was nothing I could or would change right now. I may have been giving up one form of suffocation for another to some, but I knew enough to know I had the higher hand in all of this. Whatever gift I would have after turned had seen to that and I knew just the way to be sure of that.
"I have one request of you since I've changed my mind with regard to your request to join your guard. If you would be so kind as to hear me out?" I requested politely.
Aro raised an eyebrow at me and began ghosting backward to his throne. He sat down and once again silently requested the hands of his brothers so he could hear their thoughts while we conversed. As I began to walk forward, I noticed that Felix still had Edward in a choke-hold, but also had a hand placed on the top of his head as if ready to rip it free of his neck if necessary. I felt the hole in my chest flare at the sight, but could only feel so bad for him. Next to them, Demitri held Alice in a similar fashion. Where Edward's face was fierce with anger, Alice's was hurt and her eyes pleading, pleading me to change my mind...change the future. I turned away with my head held high and stepped toward the dais where Aro, Caius, and Marcus all looked on with complete absorption. I was most surprised the latter two held any interest whatsoever, but even they looked engrossed in the drama unfolding before them.
"What is it you ask of us, child?" Marcus breathed out. His voice was raspy, seemingly from lack of use. I could tell, once more, that all present were utterly shocked. Clearly my assumption was correct.
"All I ask is that you allow Edward and Alice to live so they can return to their lives with the rest of the Cullens."
Caius immediately snarled in my direction. My heart rate increased immediately, but I forced my face to remain impassive.
"Surely even a human with your level of intelligence allows you to understand that we can't do that," he sneered at me.
"Because it would set a bad precedent, right? It would make the three of you look weak to any and all vampires that would find out you didn't punish the Cullens properly, correct?"
Aro was the one to reply.
"You must understand, dear Isabella, that there are rules in our world which must be enforced, no questions asked. Allowing a human in on our secret and then leaving said human with both a beating heart and that knowledge is one of the worst rules to break. You said yourself that Carlisle allowed Edward to sway his decision to leave you all those months ago. I even saw it in his mind when he first came to us to ask for death. In truth, we could punish the whole family for this infraction if we so wished, for they all left you human upon relocating. That seems a bit...harsh though so it was our intention to send a message to the others by punishing only the one who chose to confirm your suspicions about our kind."
"I understand your rules and that punishment for breaking those rules must be handed out," I responded immediately. "However, what you don't seem to realize, even from reading all of Edward's thoughts, is there is a better way to punish both him and the rest of the Cullens without so much as laying a finger on them."
"And that is?" Caius snarked.
"Simply what you want anyway. My death in whichever form you choose. Either way, I will no longer be what they want anymore. Edward wants me human for reasons I'd rather not dwell upon, Alice simply wants me around for whatever playtime she can come up with, and the rest of the family will be heartbroken that Edward and Alice will be hurt by your decision."
I looked over at Edward and Alice to deliver the final blow.
"And above all those things, they would have eternity to remember how horribly they hurt me when they left and that all they had to do to prevent my dying at your hand was to complete the task I've wanted since learning it was possible to be turned. Instead, I will either become someone's meal or live a half life as a member of your guard, likely to never be seen or heard from again."
I looked back to the three men who held my life in their hands and saw each with very different emotions crossing their faces. Marcus looked at me with sadness, Aro with pride, and Caius with...glee? The calculating supposed-to-be smile on his face disturbed me. I could only guess he liked the idea of torturing the people I used to think of as family for eternity. Marcus standing up drew my attention away from Caius.
"You know not what you're asking, child."
"Pardon me if I come across as rude or insolent, but I know fully well what I'm asking. You may see this as revenge on my part, but it truly isn't."
I turned back toward Edward and Alice who were now both looking at me pleadingly.
"Edward, you can't behave the way you have, say what you've said and not expect me to get fed up with it. I can't handle you trying to rule my life anymore. You think you always know what's best for me simply because you've lived so much longer than I have, but what you don't realize is that no amount of living means you necessarily know what's best. Your selfishness in wanting to keep me human means putting not just you or me at risk for death, but the rest of your family as well. Coming here to seek death because you thought I had died was immature and selfish. It brought undue attention to the rest of your family and now punishments must be rendered. If you had just done what you should have from the beginning, which was turn me, none of us would be in this predicament. Had you let me make some decisions for myself, I would have made the decisions that were best for the family as a whole. But you made sure that couldn't happen. You took away any possibility of me having a voice amongst the rest of you simply because, as a human, I can't possibly understand, right?"
Edward began struggling against Felix's hold again and I could tell he wanted to speak. I looked to Aro and raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner and tilted my head in Edward's direction. Aro looked to Felix and nodded in assent to loosen his grip around Edward's throat.
"Bella," he rasped. "I left to keep you safe. I was a danger to you. My family was a danger to you. You weren't willing to see that."
"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. You convinced your family to just up and leave because you believe that your nature is dangerous to me. Now that all is said and done and we're where we are at this moment, it's my humanity that is dangerous to you, your family, hell even me!"
"No. If vampires did not exist like we're supposed to, none of this would have happened at all. There never would have been any danger to you to begin with, love."
"There's no amount of intelligent arguing that will convince you otherwise, I see. I'm sorry, Edward, but you've left me no choice. You're unwilling to allow me the space I need to breathe, to make my own decisions. I mean, you've been gone for months and I've managed to live alright without you around to watch my every step."
He had the gall to smirk at me from his still-compromising position.
"Yes, because jumping off a cliff is the epitome of good decision making skills, love."
I heard Aro, Caius, and some of the other guard members chuckling at his statement. I felt myself blush in embarrassment and anger. My head snapped in the direction of the two amused kings and glared. Aro looked properly sheepish, but Caius simply widened his sneering smile at my discomfort. I narrowed my eyes at him more only to see him quirk an eyebrow. It didn't seem menacing, but with Caius, one never knows. Turning back to Edward, I forced my glare on him.
"Last time I checked, cliff diving was considered recreational. And if you're so worried about my decision making skills, then I guess you shouldn't have left me in the first place. You're doing nothing but taking cheap shots at me right now in an attempt to make yourself look superior when all you're doing is looking like the fool you clearly are. The fact of the matter is, Edward, I need to move on and that means us going separate ways. There's nothing else to really say."
The conversation had taken a rapid turn of events. I knew I wanted Edward and Alice to be able to go home to their family and I knew I wanted to be turned rather than drained, but this whole situation turned into me breaking up with Edward. After pining for him, not living, barely breathing I finally got him back only to send him away of my own volition. I waited for the hole in my chest to constrict, but it didn't happen this time. A shocked noise from Aro drew my attention back to him. He was grasping Marcus' hand tightly while Marcus looked rapidly back and forth between Edward and myself. I knew in that moment exactly what had happened. The bond Marcus had seen between us when we first entered this room was severed. Edward's cry of anguish confirmed my thought.
"I'd like to reiterate my request to let Edward and Alice return to their family physically unharmed. The knowledge that I will be dead in some capacity soon enough should be punishment enough for them and the rest of the Cullens," I said stoically to the three Volturi leaders. Aro's response was immediate.
"We will honor your request, Isabella."
A roar of fury erupted from Edward as he began fighting Felix in earnest. Both parties got a couple of good shots in before Aro asked Jane to intercede. Before he finished uttering her one syllable name, Jane, once again, dropped Edward to the floor in agony. I closed my eyes and looked away. I may have forced our separation, but that didn't mean I didn't care. I still loved Edward and part of me probably always would, but I needed to be able to make as many of my own decisions as I could in the position I'd been put in. I needed room to breathe.
After several moments of having Jane's pain inflicted on Edward, Aro finally called her off. Felix quickly snatched Edward from the floor and put him in the choke-hold from earlier. Alice merely sat still through all of it, seemingly complacent with the turn of events. I didn't know if I should feel hurt by that or not. Granted, it had all been my decision, but at least Edward seemed to be upset by all of it. Alice not so much. Perhaps she was just resigned to it all. I forced myself to not dwell on it and looked back to the men who would decide the details of my fate.
Please, please, please with a cherry, whipped cream, sprinkles, & a naked Carlisle on top review and let me know what you think! :-D