Chapter Thirteen
The Slaves
When we arrived in Italy I felt sick, I was afraid but I didn't want to show it to Caius. As we drove towards the volturi castle I felt shivers going down my spine. The castle was very large and extremely old. As we entered I realized the scope of things, it was like the home of a king. It was then I truly realized the power that Caius had, he was someone grand.
To my surprise we were greeted by a human, she was short with brown hair and she had large breast. She was your average looking girl but her body was very mature. She immediately bowed to Caius and he waved his hand for her to stand.
"Kelly this is Bella my lover and you and all the other slaves will respect and obey her, do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Caius no one has to obey me." I said modestly the girls eyes grew large; Caius quickly pulled me to the side.
"Bella never do that okay not in front of anyone else. I don't care if you have opinions and talk back to me but others will have a problem with it. In front of them just sort of obey me. Also they are your slaves if we let them treat you modestly you will never gain respect."
"I get it."
Caius then turned back to Kelly.
"Kelly, round up the rest of my slaves at once."
"Yes sir."
Kelly ran off quickly.
"Why are there slaves?"
"It's a choice; if one wants to be a vampire they must earn it and we must want you and see a use for you."
"So all the slaves here are yours?"
"No, each of us have our own slaves, you do not need to bother with the others slaves. But my slaves will work for you in any way that you say; you must do nothing for yourself. Act like a queen Bella, demand respect."
I wondered then if my first theory was right and Caius wanted to see if I had what it takes to be his wife. I started to wonder if this concubine thing was his way of testing me. Kelly came back into the room with two other women and one man. The girls all looked young, no older than twenty one. The man looked as if he was a little older maybe twenty five or six. He had shaggy brown hair and extremely good looks, he was tall and strong.
I could picture him being a vampire one day. He stared at me closely, he seemed surprised by me.
"Bella this is Stan and he is in training to be a protector, if he plays his cards right he will be a powerful vampire one day. The red head is Max and she is extremely intelligent and well traveled, we feel she will make a good tracker one day. The blond is Ramsey, as you can see she is beautiful beyond explanation; she will become someone's concubine one day. Hopefully if she plays her cards right, a wife later down the road.
"What about Kelly?" I asked this because for some reason I liked her, she was average like me.
"That is a good question, one I don't know the answer to yet. Kelly show Bella where she will stay and Ramsey prepare for the return of Queen Charlotte."
Kelly took my hand and she led me down a long flight of stairs, we just kept going down. Were they keeping me in a basement I wondered? Kelly opened the large French doors to my room, it was beautiful inside. Bright light colors, grand furniture and a large bed with an amazing bed spread. The room was the size of a large apartment and it was highly upgraded. It was loft style with a nice combination of contemporary and classic design. The pictures on the wall were creative and abstract. This was a huge step up from the red room.
"Is there anything you need master?"
"Kelly just call me Bella."
"You're nice and you don't have to be, you have a power many girls work long and hard for."
"Power my official title is concubine Kelly."
"You see it as something bad but it's not really. There are concubines who turn into wives if they proclaim their place. The only one standing in your way is Charlotte and possibly Ramsey. Of course some members of the Volturi and possibly you yourself, I see that you lack strength right now."
"Why did you say Ramsey?"
"She wants to belong to Caius badly but was beat out by Charlotte, you see Charlotte was one of us at one time; a slave. But Ramsey is so very calculating, I doubt she gave up."
"Kelly what is your goal here?"
"Well unlike the rest I did not choose this place."
"How did you get here?"
"I was living in a small town caring for my grandma when some Volturi guards invaded killing most of us. Caius showed up and spared me for no reason at all, I don't know why. You see usually girls like me and you Bella, we have no place here. You usually have to look like a model or something. You have defied that Bella; there is something he must see in you."
"Yeah but there is a reason you are here to Kelly."
"I am just grateful I was spared, life was becoming quite depressing. I loved my grandma but she craved to die, she talked of god and heaven often. Caring for her was becoming the purpose of my life and I secretly yearned for freedom. Sure I am a slave girl now but I am at peace with who I am."
"Do you have any advice for me Kelly since you know this place so well?"
"Yes, stand your ground and let no one disgrace you. We all know that you must be special to have earned this spot so shortly. Others are jealous of this fact, know that Bella. Stan is a total ass kiss and a snitch; he will do anything to advance quickly. Ramsey is a sneaky bitch, I have seen her set people up for destruction; watch your back. Max is really down to earth and cool once she trust you but she does not trust anyone easily."
"Thank you Kelly, you have made me feel better about this arrangement."
"I have another piece of advice."
"Yes."
"Aro and Marcus are somewhat different from Caius. I noticed that Caius is sort of a free spirit in many ways; he has a weird and eclectic way of thinking. You never know what he is going to do, of all of them he is the most open minded. But they are very old fashioned and they don't want you here. I'm sure they will throw challenges your way but if we can get Max on our side, us slaves can try and help you out."
"There are sides?"
"Well yeah and I like you Bella, I would rather be a slave under you then Charlotte or Ramsey. Everyone has picked a side, trust me but I can sense things well. I always could, it's like I know people and I have good perception skills as well. My senses tell me to help you and that you are trustworthy Bella."
"Kelly, you would make a good vampire with skills like those."
"Most vampires don't have gifts, that is very rare but a few do. The Volturi are hoping to find a human who will."
"Will what?"
Just then we heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." I said boldly, Ramsey walked into the room.
"The queen is just miles away, everyone must report upstairs for dinner. Dress proper because everyone will be there."
"Ramsey you must address Bella with more respect than this." Ramsey look heated as she bowed her head as if it would kill her to do so.
"Well please prepare, Bella." She spoke my name with such venom, I knew then she hated me.
"You can go now Ramsey." She quickly speeds off and I knew I had some challenges to face but I was not afraid anymore.
"Why do I feel stronger?"
"I don't know." When Kelly said this I sensed she was lying but I didn't know why but there was more to her.
The next chapter will be posted tonight when I get home, I'm not on my home computer right now.