Chapter 10
She used to be strong
She used to be brave
Until the most important lives
Were the ones she couldn't save
"Dad, you don't have to hold my hand; I'm not seven!" I laughed, "And you can honestly say you're not like mum?" Dad looked down at me, rolling his eyes like Jess does when I'm "being silly".
Like father, like son, huh?
"Nessa, I know you're aware of the rules." He said sternly, humour glittering in his eyes. He seemed to want an answer.
"I know, I know…women escorted by a higher coven member, veil at all times in public, blah, blah…" I smirked, "So, why can't Jess escort me?" I knew that answer, so Dad didn't even bother. He could be kind of persnickety when it came to answers, but he had come to realize that half-assed responses were my way of rebelling on a level. He didn't argue, only worried for the day I would get my lip pierced.
The halls of Nightshade Villa were black and white marble tiles and columns. If there wasn't enough conflict in our own being, we seemed to want to show it off in furnishings.
Right and wrong;
Good and evil;
Yin and yang;
Damned or just the opposite?
However, the little touches and splotches of red, from pillows, tapestries, the blood of recent victims; added a whole new dimension to those conflicts:
Bloodthirsty hell-spawn or the dignified immortal?
Two Guard members, Santiago and Corin, opened the doors to the Council of Elites. The thoughts that the meetings could stretch on for hours, sometimes days or even weeks, behind lock and key pulsed in the back of my mind. When the doors swung open, the entire room fell silent, and stood. The looks we received were those of reverence and disgust.
I was the youngest woman allowed into the Council on a regular basis; it was a given.
Nightshade was one of those places that will scare you out of your wits, but teach you to hold your own and leave you feeling a new sense of confidence and accomplishment. In the top seats were Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Caius' stony face broke a little when he saw my father, but only in pure malice. We were Aro's favorites, and Caius didn't play that game.
The meeting commenced when we found our seats. The hall was deafly quiet, the clunk of the deadbolt sliding into place reverberated across the space. I couldn't stop the pang of reality from shooting up my spine, saying "Yes, we are locked in here for who knows how long". The room was dead silent for a long time, dust motes stagnant in the air. All heads shifted when Aro rose.
"Welcome brethren!" He grinned, happily surveying the room. "I would like to open this meeting by saying: withhold nothing. This is a meeting of great importance. From here on, we shall choose our stance and hold it fast. Speak now, brothers and sisters, because forever holding your peace is not an option." Aro's face had dimmed substantially, almost weary looking in the grey light. Caius took over.
"Here we shall decide the fate of the remnants of the Romanian coven, and all those who choose defiance over order." For a split second, I found his soulless eye glowering at me. "now, Aro has asked a few to say pieces demonstrating the views of the individual, the public and the deniers opinions. He with the unspeakable name has warped our society and granted our people ideals and unreasonable wants, for which they realize they cannot have. Proffer up any and all thoughts on how to quell these radicals." With a last chilling look in my direction, Caius proceeded to his "throne".
The ideas, feelings, and ideas were encouraged and forth did they come. Dad stood up and gave a semi-speech about the trials of parents with children in a "war-zone", mentioning the Weasleys, Grenbans, and Andersons. The tactics for dealing with the Romanians ranged from mild-mannered business negotiations to barbaric torture sessions. Only one person dared to even imply the method, known as "stretching"; most can only shudder its' thought.
Jess eventually stood up to say his piece about the Order of the Phoenix, a sickeningly dull topic on a good day. When Jess spoke to the masses, even those who gave us dirty looks and plotted things that never came about, all began listening. Even I became drawn in. He had a presence, my brother: calm, intelligent, with a slight air of regality that only comes with experience and confidence. People believed he was beyond his years, but I knew that it was only normal.
Inhaling deeply, I rose to speak instantly after Jess had sat down. My hands shook lightly as I rattled off what I'd memorized, not daring to look up; another privilege of mine. The statements rolled off my tongue in a manner far greater than how I'd imagined it in the mirror. Despite my dress doing a pretty crappy job of hiding my shaking legs, only dad and Jess noticed; dad choosing to invade my mind with measures of Mozart and Vivaldi. The statements flowed until the end. Seeing that Aro looked pleased, I turned to sit down, when somebody shouted at me.
"So, the princess has feelings for the humans, does she?" Losing my head, I spun back around. Liam was standing at his place, staring at me, wild-eyed, from across the room. My hands, holding tight to the wooden railing, were white; the wood splintering against my palm was the only evidence that I had lost my cool.
"Liam," I heard my father's voice, "My daughter is not a princess, and saying so could be considered offensive. You know better than to over-step your place." Dad placed a hand on my shoulder, lowering my temper a bit further.
"My place? My place?" Liam barked, "Your one to talk, aren't you Cullen? You all prance around here like you damn-well own the place, and no one seems to remember the fact that your daughter almost caused the extermination of seven covens!"
"Have you no shame, Liam?" My voice rang out through the space. Suddenly, the petty argument was very interesting. The Irishman looked smug.
"The lady doth speaks," he mused, "And your father thinks it his right to lecture me on hierarchical matters; even while his own daughter, the princess, out-steps herself."
"This is not the forum of which to bring that incident." I answered my tone a serpentine hiss. "Beside the matter, if my memory serves correctly, didn't those covens, including your own, come electively? I fail to understand how this is my fault, Liam?"
"We came by choice, yes; but the one mistake on the Volturi's part could have brought about many casualties in your name. Yet, you receive a near-royal status," Liam paused, turning towards Aro. "Perplexing, no?"
At the moment, I could feel all eyes on me, glaring. The Volturi still followed the style of hierarchy used in the Dark Ages; women were almost last. We didn't talk unless spoken directly to, we had fit a certain dressing style in public venues, and sometimes we were even barred from these venues. That's why my strangely elite status brought a lot of skirmishes. The fact that I was speaking in the Council Chambers, with my face and hair fully shown, these dusty old men viewed me as only one thing: the enemy. Only Caius seemed amused by it all.
Aro exhaled: "Why is her status perplexing, Liam? The Cullens are a well-off coven, whose leader was once, and still is considered, a member of the elite inner circle." Leaning on a hand, Aro looked down his nose at Liam, "Why have you chosen to question it?
Liam seemed to take on the air of a child caught hitting the dog. He sputtered in vain, tripping over his words while trying to fashion a reasonable response. Marcus gave him a look that said "anything? Anything at all?" when Liam blurted out:
"What has she done for the war effort?" Every member was taken back, whispers swirled like potion vapors in the dungeons. Liam looked haughty, like he had single-handedly solved the whole problem.
"That's right, my friends!" Liam's voice was breathy with a victorious air, "What has the little princess done to further any plan of action? What has she done?" He glared at me, pointing dead at my chest; the mad-man state of his eyes scared me.
"I should ask the same of you, Liam," I said in a hushed tone, though defiant all the same. Liam laughed sardonically.
"Me? I've done a helluva lot more than you, princess!" Then a thoughtful look flashed over his face. "My friends, I've just had a brilliant idea! Why don't we send the princess Renesme off to deal with the Romanians herself?"
My jaw dropped. "You're mad!" Jess and I shouted in unison. We shared a bitter glance that said "jinks" before turning back to Liam. Many others mumbled in agreement.
"Actually, Liam; that's not a bad idea." A velvet smooth voice carried, silencing the hall immediately. Caius was standing in front of the Volturi, a smug smile, watching me. Liam looked like he had been electrocuted; Aro's and dad's eyes had gone wide. Jess only mouthed "no" to himself. The room had gone stone cold.
"Caius, what are you – "Aro hesitated, but Caius eyes were nearly as crazy as Liam's, but more malicious. "Can't you see? Renesme is the perfect Queen in our grand chess game! She can deal with the Romanians and charm them back to our cause. They adore her, don't they, Edward?" My father appeared crazed.
"Aro, please; you can't possibly consider this?" Aro gave my father a pleading look, apologetic on some level.
"Edward, I am out of choices. We are out of options." The Volturi leader looked at me, "Renesme, I want you to go speak with the Romanians. If you could, ask the Order to send a letter ahead of you. Remember how the Romanians despise unannounced guests?" It was a sad attempt at humor, but I appreciated the gesture. Dad and Jess couldn't take it.
"You're sending a lamb to the wolves, Aro!" dad protested.
"This is a complete suicide mission, and you choose my sister?" Jess yelled. I felt tears well-up in my eyes.
"Dad, Jess," I said in a small voice, and they backed off, "Aro, I'll go, I promise." Liam and Caius looked jubilant, maybe at the thought of me dead. Aro was solemn, but sure. He was a leader, difficult decisions came with the badge.
"I believe that we have indeed finished." Aro whispered. "Council adjourned." Everyone filed out, some confused that it had only lasted a few hours. On Nightshade's marble front steps, Nico caught my eye. He gave ,e a look of disappointment and pity, like he had heard my fate.
Then it dawned on me that he had.
Author's Note:
Hey y'all! I'm finally back into writing! Being on the school newspaper and having my own computer gives me a lot of time to type. When writing this, I couldn't help but remember all the conversations I had last year with my best guy-friend, Ian. He switched schools and has been a lot of help with Renesme's sarcasm and Jess' witty come-backs. Our conversations in math class became many of Jess and Renesme's original conversations (in the story's first edit) and he became Jess to me; the fictional older brother I wish I had.
SO, Ian: I really will miss your narcissism and "psychic-monkey powers" this year. We'll invite you to our next tea party, I promise, but you got to come through with invites to your school plays and such!
Anyway, sorry for getting all heart-felt on you all; I hope you are enjoying the story so far. The last chapter is in its' last edits, so expect a barrage of chapter postings in the next few weeks! Maybe even the first installment of the next book, hmm? Anyway, thank you all so much! You give me something to do after school and on the weekends, so I really appreciate all your love!
Carie Lea
