"Hey! Wait a second!" Xan cried out, hoping to delay what this stupid maniac was planning to do, whatever it was. "How about a trade?"
"There's nothing you have that I want," James replied confidently, but it didn't take a 3000-year-old to realize he was willing to negotiate--at a high price.
"I think we do, though," Xan said softly, and the other three turned to her with confusion.
"How about...me?" Xan asked weakly.
James laughed outright. "The hell? Why would I want you?"
"I was in the Volturi," Xan explained, "so I can be of use to you. I...I know a lot of things. You're a great tracker, but not nearly as good as me. I could help you. And...being Volturi, I know of people...and places with the best scents and tastes around."
"Yeah?" James chuckled. "Like where? Who?"
"Well," Xan thought, "The people from Wales in the UN smell like oak trees. And the people in Oakland, New Zealand, smell like sea mammals, maybe even whales. Quite exotic, as you might imagine."
James was puzzled by her statement, but didn't show it. "So you know what every nationality of people smell like?"
"Pretty much," Xan said with satisfaction.
"Pretty much?" James questioned. "Not all?"
"No, no, all of them. I said 'pretty much' in a way that meant all of them. You know, a statement."
"But if you want me to believe you, why would you say 'pretty much'?"
"Because saying 'yeah' is boring," Xan said angrily.
"But 'yeah' would have made me want to trade with you more than I want to now! I do want to trade with you, but I would feel more like trading if you'd said 'yeah'. So, I'm still willing to trade, but not as much as I would have been! On a scale of one to ten, ten being, 'Hellz yeah I want that Volturi girl,' and one being, 'You know, I should just eat this Goddamn human and get it over with,' I'm right now at seven: 'I think it's a pretty sweet deal,' instead of eight or nine, which is basically: 'Hellz yeah I want that Volturi girl!'"
"But you said that, 'Hellz yeah I want that Volturi girl,' was ten!"
"I couldn't think of anything else to say!"
"It's easy! How about, 'Damn, I think I'll go with that deal,' or, 'That's a sick trade, I want that!' It's that simple!"
"I couldn't think of it," James boomed. "I had ADD as a human! I can't pay attention enough to figure it out!"
Edward, Alice and Jasper just looked on in disbelief, wondering how the hell such an insignificant phrase had turned into such a chaotic war.
Xan roared in seething rage. "Whatever! Yeah, I know what they all taste like! Every single fucking human on this fucking planet! Happy?"
James pursed his lips. "Hmm. Promise?"
Bella gave a pitiful whimper, causing Edward to tense.
"Yes. I promise," Xan said through clenched teeth.
Alice looked over at Xan and away from Bella. "You...really want to trade yourself?"
"Well, it's not like I'd die," Xan said. "Unlike Bella."
"How do I know once I fork this dismal creature over, you won't just run?" James questioned.
"Um," Xan thought. "I don't know. I could make a pledge or something. Seriously, I don't plan on it."
"Sure you don't," James said grudgingly. "And how do I know if there are better smelling prizes than this cute little blossom?"
Bella hung limply from his arms, looking nothing like a cute little blossom.
"Um," Xan said quickly, "You have my word?"
"Not enough!" James's eyes glinted. He'd gotten an idea.
Xan swallowed.
"That thing around your neck," he asked. "May I see it?"
Xan blinked, looking down. Around her neck hung a simple golden chain, and at the end of it a beautifully crafted golden medal-coin thingy. It was what all Volturi members wore; even Carlisle had one of those babies somewhere. Xan didn't feel any sentimental value for it, but decided if he thought she did, all the better.
"No," Xan said, acting as if she cared. "I can't do that!"
James bought it almost immediately. Poor, idiotic fool. "Hand it over, wench!" He held out his hand.
Xan clenched her teeth in mock contempt, pulled off the chain and chucked it into James's waiting hand, since he was standing across the room.
Carelessly, he threw Bella to the side, but before she could hit the floor Edward was catching her, dragging her away as tenderly as possible.
Xan, unhappily, trudged over to the waiting James, who was smiling victoriously.
Xan wasn't planning on tricking him. She'd proven she could be of use to Carlisle. She'd redeemed herself after her incident with those boys. Edward now could tolerate her. She'd saved a human that meant something to Edward, which was oddly comforting. And now, with James, she could make the Quileutes happy.
She felt like...she had done something good. Which wasn't something she could say she felt very often. She was almost ok with the idea of having to spend time with this revolting creature that was James.
Edward stood. He didn't feel the same.
"Come on, Xan," Edward pleaded, letting Jasper and Alice pull Bella away. "Come back. Your necklace doesn't matter; we'll get you another. Please, don't go with that scum!"
James giggled sardonically. "She already pledged herself to me! Nothing can be done!" he gripped Xan by the shoulders, which was immensely loathesome to her.
"It's ok, Edward," Xan smiled as best she could. "I'm ok. I'll live."
"There must be something I can do to stop this," he begged.
Xan shook her head sadly. Her face became slightly distorted as the closed windows that sat near the ceiling of the large ballet studio glinted with the refraction of the headlights of passing cars, ignorant of her, her kind, and her situation. Completely oblivious and uncaring, and this realization made Xan shudder in despair.
Edward became captivated by how old she looked as this occured. In the light, one could see her young looks and happy personality. Now, in the darkness, all he could really see was her eyes and the parts of her that were half illuminated. Her eyes seemed haunted of years of bloodshed, and he knew she'd seen things only nightmares could accomplish.
This reminded him of something he could say that might bring her back. Something Carlisle had mentioned, way back when...
His expression changed from begging to mocking in an instant. "Well," he said arrogantly, "What can you expect from such a little girl?"
Xan became instantly alert, now on edge. "What did you say?"
"You're just too young to understand," Edward said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe when you're older--"
Xan shook her head. "I could come back if I wanted to, but--"
"No you couldn't," James laughed.
"I could," Xan repeated.
"No," James objected. "I have your medallion!"
"You honestly think I care about that thing?" Xan asked, amazed.
He seemed confused. "I thought all children liked--"
He was abruptly, rudely, cut off by the cracking of his skull connecting with Xan's hardened fist.
He flew backwards, right into the back cement wall. Xan took a deep breath and shouted, higher than any human could comprehend or any animal could copy: "I AM NOT A CHILD!!!!"
Edward happily joined her in the mashing, smashing, and crashing of the lump of stone that was James. After a moment or two, Jasper and Alice helped, and they managed to set up a fire to burn him to death.
Xan wished they could just sit around the fire, watching the thing that had once contained a horrible soul go up in flames, but they had Bella to attend to. She had a broken leg, and a few other injuries.
Everything was finally as it should be. Well, besides Bella, since she needed to get to a hospital pronto. But otherwise, things were nice.
And that was exactly what Alexandrine Ockley had longed for this entire time.