Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I just like to play with the characters.
Additionally, I would like to thank my wonderful beta, EdwardsMate4Ever, and jaspersdoll, for suggesting the title and other creative input.
This is a Jasper-Bella fiction. It takes place in current time. Vampires are in hiding, but have a more structured society. They take human "pets" for food, and some humans are held in captivity to be bled for vampires. They bottle this blood much like humans bottle beer, and it is sold in the underground vampire clubs and bars. There are a number of "designer" blood labels, some of which are very popular. Bella's blood has been featured in a blend called "LaGuerra" and is the most popular designer bottled blood on the vampire black market.
Humans who have been claimed by vampires have a small tattoo on their wrists to mark them as vampire property. The marks are usually a series of dots forming a small triangle or rectangle. The colors and pattern identify both the Vampire Territory and individual owner claiming the human.
Chapter 20 – The Trial
Isaiah drove us the short trip back to the Cullen house. It looked different in the daylight, like a big, white clapboard house that should hold an equally large family. It had a wide, wrap-around porch, white roses in the front, and windows that invited you to enter the house. It hardly looked like the headquarters for a vampire hub.
He slipped around the front of the car before I even processed that he had left the car, and we started towards the steps. Isaiah lifted me and carried me up onto the front porch.
"Thank you," I said as he sat me down by the front door. I was glad I hadn't needed to try to maneuver the front stairs, as I was almost shaking with fear for whatever lay ahead of us inside.
He nodded in reply.
When we got to the front door, Emmett opened it. He picked me up and started to carry me up the stairs. I reached for Crazy, but she shook her head.
Now I remembered the caged cells that Jasper and Charlotte had mentioned to me. I wondered if any of the rooms whose inviting windows I saw from the driveway contained cages for humans. I tried not to shudder, but it came involuntarily.
Emmett looked down at me, and said quietly, "Easy, there. You're OK."
I saw his head snap as if in response to a voice I couldn't hear, and he bit his lip, not speaking again.
He opened the door of a large room on the third floor. It looked very formal and stern, like a courtroom.
The bronze-haired vampire, Edward, who had had such an extreme reaction to my scent the night before, was sitting at a small table next to a desk on a raised podium, laying out some papers. As we entered, he nodded to Emmett, before leaving through a side door. In front of the podium there were two heavy, mahogany tables with matching leather upholstered chairs and leather seat cushions dyed to match, facing the podium. There were several rows of matching chairs behind the two desks, all facing the main podium. It all looked very expensive and intimidating. I noticed there was nothing on the walls. No pictures, portraits, or framed documents. The large windows had heavy curtains, dyed the same color as the leather on the chairs. The light was very low.
Emmett carried me to a wooden, box-style structure on the far left side of the room. He placed a chair inside of it before depositing me inside, and then stood behind me, arms folded. He gave a quick wink to me, before saying something in a low voice, words I wouldn't quite make out.
The door opened, and as Isaiah and Crazy entered, I saw them both look to Emmett for direction. He pointed them to one of the empty tables.
Jasper came in next, and he sat at the other table with Peter.
After everyone was seated, Emmett said something in a language I didn't understand. The vampires rose. I started to rise, but Emmett stopped me by putting his hands on my shoulders gently. "We don't need you falling again," he whispered, bending down close to my ear. He then gave me a reassuring pat on the back.
The door at the back of the room opened, and Dr. Cullen entered, wearing a full black robe with a sash across the front, followed by Edward, who carried an enormous black book.
Edward sat at the desk below the podium, opened the book, and the proceedings began. From this new position, I took a closer look at the vampire who had such a strong reaction to me the night before. He looked to be about my age, seventeen. He had copper hair, a handsome, spiritual-looking face, and long elegant fingers. He also didn't appear to be breathing.
Dr. Cullen asked each side to state their names and the charges that the court had been convened to hear.
Wenda rose and went first, as the accuser. She seemed uncomfortable with the courtroom procedure, and I noticed Isaiah was prompting her a bit.
"Your Lordship, my name is Wenda Crabshaw. I appear before you today seeking justice. Jasper Whitlock took my property, a human, one Isabella Swan, who is present in the courtroom today. I want her returned to me."
Edward made a note in his large book, and when he was done, nodded at Carlisle.
Then Dr. Cullen motioned Jasper to stand.
Jasper stood up and stated quite confidently, "Your Honor, I took custody of this escapee, Isabella Swan, when I found her in Mexico, the captive of a human kidnapping ring. She was not in the custody of any vampire at the time, and would have, in fact, been most likely sold to a brothel if I had not intervened."
Wenda hissed at Jasper, and Dr. Cullen raised his hand for order. Isaiah gave a quick smile, and then laid a calming hand on Wenda's shoulder. Wenda stopped her hissing at his touch, but muttered as she leaned back into her chair, clearly disgruntled with the situation.
Dr. Cullen stated that, in his opinion, the question before the court was to resolve the ownership issue, and he would rule according to who could provide the proper ownership title to the human, Isabella Swan. I felt sick to my stomach, listening to his statement regarding ownership title for me, a human being. Especially since I knew that Wenda had, for all intents and purposes, swiped me from the Montana group. Would I be sent back there? I shuddered, and Jasper's head turned slightly in my direction. I quickly felt a slight wave of relaxation, and accepted it gratefully. I noticed afterward that Jasper seemed to relax in his chair, and looked more confident.
Wenda stepped forward, pulled out a pouch from her purse and produced a small slip of paper with a great flourish. She handed it to Edward, as directed by Emmett.
Looking down at the sides of the wooden structure I was sitting in, I saw there were rings for shackles. I shivered, glad that they hadn't been used on me. I felt Emmett's hand patting my back unobtrusively. It helped calm me, but I was fighting tears.
Edward held up the exhibit with an air of total disbelief. "Are you kid-" was all he got out before Dr. Cullen cut him off, with a curt order to log in the evidence.
After a pouting Edward finished logging it in, seeming to take his sweet time I noticed, he handed it to Dr. Cullen, who studied it briefly before holding it up to show everyone. What he had was a slip of paper. It was a pink, lined form with some writing on it.
"According to this exhibit, the vampire Matthew Blake sold 15-year-old human, one Isabella Swan, to Wenda Crabshaw for the amount of $15,000 on July 15, 2010."
I was watching Jasper at this point.
Jasper indicated he would like to speak.
"Your Honor, I interviewed the owner of the facility, Matthew Blake during a routine inspection of facilities. It was in my November 2010 report. According to Matthew, this human girl was stolen from his facility."
"Then why did he write this receipt?" yelled Wenda, leaping out of her chair. Isaiah put his arms around her waist to keep her from jumping at Jasper, but he couldn't stop her tirade. "He pocketed the money and didn't want his partner to know, I'll bet!" she concluded, getting more shrill and struggling to get at Jasper.
Edward snorted.
Dr. Cullen held up his hands for silence again.
"Ms. Crabshaw, I need to ask for you to wait until your turn. These are formal proceedings, with a young girl's future at stake, as you know…"
"And you should give her back to me, if you give a rat's a** about her future…" Wenda yelled. Keeping an impassive look on his face, Dr. Cullen motioned for Isaiah to remove her.
As they rose, I started to shake. Once Wenda left, who would stand up for me? Jasper's head whipped in my direction, and I attempted to calm myself. As I looked at the door, I noticed that Esme Cullen had quietly entered and was leaning against the back wall.
"We'll take a short recess in order to allow Ms. Crabshaw to calm herself," stated Dr. Cullen evenly, as he rose from his seat. He left through the door at the back of the room, followed by Edward, who carried the book with him.
I started to try to get up and go to Wenda, who was pausing at the door. I noticed her quickly glancing at Emmett behind me, as if for permission. He shook his head, and she shook hers at me. She blew me a kiss, and let Isaiah lead her out of the courtroom, casting a last look at me over her shoulder as the door closed behind them.
Jasper and Peter quickly followed them out, Jasper casting a thoughtful glance at me before inclining his head toward Peter, with whom he exchanged a few low words. He flashed me a confident smile, but I ducked my head. I didn't think I could face thinking about Jasper right now.
Esme and Emmett were now the only vampires left in the room with me. Esme came over to me with a water bottle, and asked, "Do you need to use the facilities, dear?"
It took me a second to guess that she meant the bathroom. I decided that was a good idea. Emmett carried me to a bathroom outside the courtroom and closed the door once I was inside.
After I was done, I leaned against the vanity, my forehead on the cool mirror. I couldn't stop the shaking. What was the worst that could happen? They could send me back to Jasper, where I would live without hope from now on. But they could also hurt Wenda, now that they knew who she was. That's what scared me the most.
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