26. VERDICT
Aro stood in the morning sunlight, his face contemplative and serious. Caius sat beside him, his face ever turned his brother's way, attempting to read his mood.
Suddenly, a cloaked servant entered, bowing low. "You asked to be notified when he entered the city, Master. He is here."
"Very well," Aro said, sweeping his hand away, dismissing him.
"You had better be correct in your theorem, Brother," Caius said sternly. "A single misstep could cause a war. If you have overestimated yet again..."
"I have not," Aro replied, his eyes never leaving the city. "Everything is evolving...as it should be."
"Everything?" Caius questioned. "You have been wrong on this score before. You believed her to be the one, and now you admit yourself mistaken."
"Patience, Brother," Aro said, smiling at him for the first time. "Today, you will see."
Bella, of course, did not sleep that night, and not only because she was physically incapable of doing so. She sat alone in her room, reproaching herself for behaving so stupidly with Demetri, feeling guilty for not being able to explain her absence to Jacob, and absorbed in self-pity for being trapped in a place that she just didn't belong in. Right or wrong, this was not her world, and regardless of what Aro's decision would be, it didn't change the fact that this was not her home.
She watched the sunrise that morning, dazzled as the sky turned from midnight blue to copper gold to powder blue over the terra cotta rooftops before her very eyes. She knew this was her last night and morning in Volterra for a long time to come. Somehow, deep within her, she sensed that this fantastical morning dawned change.
A knock at the door sounded, and with a slight sniff over her shoulder, she knew it was Demetri. His scent was becoming more powerful around her. She would miss it. "Come in," she called, and he obeyed.
Striding in, looking somewhat abashed, he cleared his throat and said, "Can you forgive me for last night, Bella? I'm sorry I..."
"Of course I do," she said quickly, turning around. "Look, Demetri. You were right when I said there was something I hadn't told you. I'm...just not sure where to begin..."
"Bella, I want to hear it. Honestly, I do, but my apology wasn't my only reason for coming to you this morning. Aro wants to see you."
"Oh!" Bella said, brightening. "Alright."
"And me also. In point of fact, everyone is to be there," he added. He saw Bella's brow furrow, and answered her thought before she could even express it. "I have no idea what it's about, but I don't think we have any cause for concern."
"But...isn't this a little irregular? I mean, in the eight months I've been here, there's never been a meeting like this."
Demetri merely shook his head. He had been honest when he had said that he didn't know the cause for the gathering. What he failed to mention was that the last time he was called to such a meeting, it had a most disturbing outcome. Most reluctant to shock his gentle friend, he chose to keep that information to himself, and simply pray that he was very much mistaken.
They strode together through the lengthy maze of corridors to a room Bella had never been in before. They stood, staring at the massive closed door, and Demetri shed some light. "This room is called La Colosseo. It is only used for special occasions." Bella nodded, though feeling thoroughly apprehensive. As Demetri pulled open the door, she knew at once why it was called The Colosseum. It looked like an ancient, mini replica of it, with a circular stage in the centre, and marble seats rising for three rows above. To the west, on the top row, stood five throne-like chairs. Bella knew without a shadow of a doubt, that this was a place in which sentences were carried out. This was a judicial court of the ancient world.
Dozens of vampires, cloaked in black, grey and crimson had already claimed their seats in the stands. Bella turned, and noticed a very odd sight. Jane, dressed in all black yet minus her cloak, stood still as a statue in the centre of the room, where a great mosaic decorated the floor. It was of the stages of the sun, turning to night, and again, turning to day. In its very centre, under Jane's tiny feet, was a medallion of red marble. The centre of all things vampire: blood.
"What do we do?" Bella whispered to Demetri.
"Sit down," he said, shrugging. They sat on the far right side of the room, closest to the door, as the last of the vampires came in taking their seats, Felix being amongst them. He sat directly behind Demetri and Bella, and leaned down to them. "You guys know what's going on?" he asked, a cocky, know-it-all grin upon his face.
"No, and I don't supposed you'll tell us?" Bella asked, doubtful that Felix would be so obliging.
"And spoil the surprise? Not for all the blood in China." He winked, and sat back, anxious for the show to begin.
A hush fell upon the crowd, and when all was silent, the door again opened. In glided four of their five masters, Caius and Marcus, as well as the two domina of the household, Livia and Agrippina. Without word, they ascended the steps, and took their seats directly opposite Jane. Her head was still bent humbly downcast, immobile.
The door opened again, and Bella's breath caught in her throat. Aro floated neath the archway, Jacob by his side. Demetri heard her sharp intake of breath, and turned to her. "Do you know him?"
As her desperate eyes met with Jacob's she nodded to Demetri's question, yes.
What Bella had been blind to, was that Demetri knew him as well. Or, of him, at least. If the dog had supposed he could meander into their city undetected, he was a fool. He remained alive because his masters' wished it, and no reason more.
He could smell the creature from where he sat, and wondered how Bella could possibly stand it...
Aro silently drifted toward Jane, and whispered something to her. She bowed reverently, and then moved off to the left. Aro stood in the centre of the mini amphitheater, and raised his ghostly-white hands. "Vampiri! We gather here this day to sentence a crime. Not a crime of a weak and ignorant outsider, a mere blood-drinker, but one of us and our own! It is a dark day when as guardians of our race, we forsake our ancient rules, gloat on our misdeeds, and endanger our survival. One amongst us has committed this crime, and she has been sentenced severely for it! You see Jane who stands before you, once proud and noble, now like the diseased rats of the sewers, she is no better than the creatures who suckle them. What is her offense? You may well wonder! What villainy did she commit, and confess to? She stands before you a murderer, my friends! That she did knowingly, and with intent, take her a woman with child, and kill her!"
A low murmur sounded in the crowd, as those present whispered amongst one another. "That's against the law?!" Bella asked Demetri, astounded.
"Pregnant women are untouchable, Bella. Without them, our food supply would die. It is the natural order of things that must be maintained."
The chatter died, and Aro continued, his red eyes wrathful. "Jane's action has caused great concern. Her victim's face upon the television and newspaper, outcries and demands for her being found! During these times, we must fear talk and persecution. The secrecy of our true existence is paramount to maintaining our way of life. This is as it has been for centuries. Jane has endangered that existence, and for that she is sentenced to die."
Bella sat perfectly still, listening ardently to every word. She couldn't care less if Jane were sentenced to be drawn and quartered, but she felt the overwhelming sensation that there was more to this than Aro was yet telling. He had still made no mention of Jacob, who stood casually to the side, as though he were at a garden party and not an execution. He looked at her and winked, but she couldn't feel the comfort that he so obviously felt. He was human, and in a room filled with more than 30 vampires.
"However," Aro continued after a moment's pause, "it has come to our attention that the basis for her outrage was that of jealousy." He turned to look at Bella, casting her a gentle smile. "And perhaps there is justification to it. Therefore, due to her loyal service, and decades of devotion, it has been decided that the sentence of death shall be hereby stayed to that of a combat to the death."
The assembly erupted onto their feet with a thunderous roar, eager for the fight to begin, and the blood to be shed. Bella turned to Jacob, panicked, and for the first time, he saw the pure terror upon her face. Shrugging his shoulders, just as bewildered as she, he shook his head, mouthing the words to her, 'Not me'. It did little to calm the bursting fear within her. Something's wrong! This isn't right! What's going on here?!
"Last one standing is forgiven," Aro said, pleased with the glorious acclamation. "And her adversary..." Aro said, pointing to the door. It opened, and a stone-faced vampire entered the arena.
It was Edward.