In that moment I had so many questions funneling through my mind that it took a moment to collect my thoughts and choose one. "Why did you say I was Heidi's mate in the throne room? I already have a mate, Edward."
At the mention of Edward's name I felt the atmosphere in the room become tense as the possessive arm tightened around me, causing me to turn to Heidi. Looking into her eyes I noted that they were a considerably darker shade of red than mere moments ago. Almost as if she was in a stage in between control and letting her primal instincts take over. Thankfully, Aro's voice cut through the tension as he went to answer my question.
"Isabella, I am afraid there has been an injustice done to you. Edward is not your mate, Heidi is. This is not to say that you do not love Edward, anyone in that throne room can see that you do." As Aro paused to give me a moment to take in that I was now being told twice that Edward and I were not mates, I noticed that Heidi's eyes keep growing darker and darker with each mention of Edward's name, and my love for him. Before I could think too deeply on it Aro began with his explanations once more.
"You see Isabella, young Edward was so desperate to find a mate that he mistook your gift, as well as the fact that you are his singer, for meaning that you were the one for him. Once he realized that the feelings he had for you were not that of a mate he was already in love with you. He figured as long as he could keep you human, you would continue to believe you were his mate. Once you became a vampire you would have instinctually known that he was not your mate."
At the end of his explanation, I could feel three sets of eyes bearing into me. It was as if they were all trying desperately to read my mind, pleading with me to say I understood. "That can't be though. Alice has had visions of the two of us together, as vampires, and we were extremely happy she said. How is that possible if what you say is true?"
Once more it was Aro who held my answer. "Alice's visions are subjective Isabella. They are ever changing and the two of you being happy as vampires could have come from an agreement to stay together until one of you found your mates. It is not uncommon for vampires to do so, keeping themselves from a truly lonely existence."
I stared down at my hands as Aro's words sunk in. I hated to admit it, even if it was only to myself, that his explanations did make sense. But I love Edward, I traveled half way across the world and spent months in a comatose-like state because of my love for Edward. To say that he was not the one for me in that moment was unthinkable. After everything we went through for it all to be for not, for everything I feel to not be the love of a soul mate, would be completely baffling. I couldn't accept the truth in that exact moment.
After giving me some time to get my thought process together, and look up at them once more Aro addressed me yet again. "Now Isabella, I believe we are entitled to two questions before you get another one, so my wife and I will start with ours, and then Heidi will get one. Is that okay?" I nodded my head in agreement, still having trouble with the information Aro had given me.
This time it was surprisingly Sulpicia that asked the question, rather than Aro. "Isabella, what do you already know of the Volturi?" With this I could see the concern and anxiousness rolling off of all three vampires in waves. They must know their reputation isn't exactly cotton candy and rainbows then.
"I know that you have three rulers that keep the vampire laws intact, the main one being secrecy from humans. I know that you all drink human blood, but I could have figured that out by just looking at your eyes. The only other thing that I know is that Carlisle stayed with you for a period of time." I decided to leave out the part where Edward essentially said they were power hungry, soulless monsters, as that would not help our cause in wanting to leave the castle as soon as possible. At the end of my little rant the three vampires looked at me with slight suspicion, I always was a terrible liar, but moved on regardless.
Before asking her question Heidi rearranged our position so that we were facing one another completely, and waited until I was looking her in the eye to ask her question. "Isabella, can you tell me what you felt when you first looked into my eyes, please?"
While looking in her eyes I could feel the overwhelming emotions come back full force that had hit me in the throne room. Without thinking I answered "I felt whole, I felt safe, I felt loved." Embarrassed with my overly honest answer, I went to turn away from Heidi, to break the spell she had on me, when her hands caught mine, and held on. On my right hand she began to draw random patterns with the pad of her thumb, each caress sent a chill through my body. She waited patiently for me to look her in the eye once more before continuing on.
"Thank you Isabella." She looked so genuinely happy in that moment that I could not help but be happy as well. It was as if there was no one else in the world in that moment but me and her, that is until the thought of Edward popped into my head, and I immediately became overwhelmed with guilt. How could this woman be causing such an upheaval of emotions within me when we had meet mere minutes ago?
Coming out of my thoughts I realized that it was my turn to ask a question. Turning to Aro and Sulpicia I directed my next question. "The fact that Heidi thinks we are mates explains her interest in me, but why do you two seem genuinely interested in who I am as well?" During my question I could feel Heidi stiffen when I said that she only thought she was my mate, I didn't dare turn to look at her to figure out her facial expression either. Whether that fear stemmed from not wanting to look an angry vampire in the face or if it was that I did not want to see how much my words had upset Heidi, I could not tell.
Sulpicia took the lead on answering my question this time, and once more I was caught off guard that she was the one taking control. "That is because there is more than one type of bonding that can take place between vampires. As you have already seen with Edward there is the La Tua Cante bond that occurs between a singer and a vampire, and as you will see with Heidi the mating bond." At that moment I wanted to cut Sulpicia off and correct her, yet again, that Edward was my mate, not Heidi, but she continued on before I got the chance.
"There is third type of bond that is extraordinarily rare, and that is the bond of parent to child. We, as in Aro and I, have found that bond with you Isabella. From the moment we laid eyes on you, we felt as though we were receiving the child we never got to have, delivered right to us. Essentially, what the bond does, is instill a natural instinct in us to protect you as though a mother and father would protect their child. It also allows us to open up quicker to you, and form everlasting bonds with you. There will never be another child for us either, nor another set of vampire parents for you, it is much like the mating bond in that it only happens once. For you the bond will cause you to look to us for guidance, and make you a tad submissive, but only in the respects of that of a child to a parent. Another key aspect of the bond is that we will be more in tuned with one another's emotions. This is not to say it works the same as your empathy Jasper, but it does help considerably in reducing misunderstandings and helping to comfort you in times of need. At this moment we can only feel your emotions when they come through strongly. Over time, and when you change, it will become easier and easier, and you will feel ours as well. It is a great bond for creating eternal covens and combats the loneliness of a vampire's existence."
Well, that was not an answer I had expected whatsoever. It explained all of my feelings perfectly though. I had a weird feeling of wanting to make the two vampires in front of me proud, and held a deep respect for them without knowing them at all. I would even go as far as to say, within the safety of my mind, that I almost loved them already. Still the answer did catch me off guard. What would they expect of me now? Instead of keeping that question in my head I asked it aloud, and made eye contact with each of the vampires, as I wanted to know what each and every one of them expected of me.
Aro answered first. "We expect nothing of you but to be yourself Isabella. The bond on our end is a lot stronger than yours because humans cannot handle the strength of a vampires emotions. Above all else we want you to be happy, and in the long run that means staying here. With that said we cannot allow you to return home."
I wanted to scream. To tell them that they were all wrong and that I felt nothing towards them. I wanted to go home and see Jake and tell him I was sorry. I wanted to see Charlie and give him a hug. I did not want to stay, but before I could vocalize these thoughts Heidi spoke up.
"Isabella, I know you don't firmly believe what we are telling you yet. We have just turned your entire world upside down and in a very short time span. What I want from you is just a chance. A chance to get to know you, and you I, and to see how good we can be together. I will not keep secrets from you and I will do everything in my power to win you over. We are mates Isabella and I want the opportunity to show you why."
Heidi's speech was so impassioned that I had no choice but to believe her. That still didn't change how scared I was at the prospect of staying here or how much I wanted to go home. It simply made me feel guilty for wanting these things. From the sympathy I could feel radiating off of my "vampire parents" I could tell they knew how I was feeling. Using their turn to ask a question Sulpicia asked "What is it you want Isabella?"
The question threw me off balance. I realized in that moment it was because no one ever really asked me what I wanted. Renee was always too involved in herself and her relationships to really ask. Charlie was more the silent type, and didn't get too deep with emotional things of that nature. Edward and Jacob both always assumed that they knew what was best for me. The only one who had ever come even close to asking what I wanted was Esme. "In all truthfulness, I want to go home." I waited a moment, and felt a pang of sadness come off of each vampire in the room. Continuing on I said "I want to take Edward and go back to Forks, to the rest of the Cullens, and La Push, but I know that's not what is going to happen. What is going to happen to Edward and me?" I was fighting to keep the tears at bay as I asked my question.
It was Aro who had my answer. "Unfortunately, Isabella, you cannot go home. You know the secret and as such cannot be allowed to leave as a human. As for Edward, he broke our laws, and normally the punishment for that would be death." A pained cry of no left my lips as Heidi pulled me into her lap and cuddled me into her. She began soothing me by whispering that it would all be okay over and over again, until I settled down. Oddly enough my entire body melted into her embrace and I began to calm down after a mere minute or two. Looking back up I could see the concern written all over Aro and Sulpicia's faces as Aro continued on.
"But these are not normal circumstances and as such Isabella I am willing to make a deal with you. Only our most trusted guards know of what occurred today so we could potentially let Edward go home. The catch is you would have to stay here and willingly get to know us and Heidi." I knew that this was the best deal that Edward and I were going to get. In fact, I knew that we were very fortunate that he would be allowed to go home at all, but that didn't mean I couldn't attempt to barter at least a little.
"What if centuries go by and I still believe Edward is my mate? Is there ever a time I will be allowed to leave?" As I asked my question I could feel Heidi's arms tighten around me, but not uncomfortably so.
Sulpicia chuckled a little and then addressed me this time. "Alright Isabella we can make a deal. How about you have to give us six months to prove our bonds to you. If at the end of six months you doubt that we are your vampire parents you may return home. The same holds true of the mating issue. If in six months you still feel as though Edward is your mate we will bring him here. Now do not think we will not remember that you owe us two answers, but it has been a long day for you and you need your rest. For tonight you will stay in here and tomorrow we will find something more permanent for you."
Internally, I felt a lot of relief. I could do six months. There was no way that in a mere six months I would change my mind about Edward being my mate. He had been gone almost eight months and I never doubted it for a moment. With that in mind I allowed Heidi to carry me to the bed and snuggled in for a good night's rest. While lost in my thoughts I didn't realize that I was falling asleep in Heidi's arms. I also didn't recognize the feelings of comfort and love that I was already feeling towards the blonde hair goddess currently spooning me on the bed. Had I, I would have seen the knowing smirks from Aro and Sulpicia in the bedroom doorway.