Just to clarify the third task was for Bella and Jasper to resist the call of human blood for ten minutes. The task set out in the information from Aro was to face their greatest temptation and resist it for an allotted period of time. So we were left at a bit of a key point in the last chapter and this picks up from where the last one ended. Hope you like it.
Chapter 36.
"Get the rest of them out of here," Caius called; his order being followed by Heidi immediately. The humans followed her out of the room; their confusion evident and silence fell for a few seconds; only to be broken by the whimper of the young girl on the floor; blood flowing from her arm and pooling on the marble beneath where she sat.
"Don't breathe," Jasper whispered to Bella; a futile command because she was gasping for breath in his arms; her body was tense and he knew there would be little hope of stopping this now. They were doomed.
"Felix, take this girl out of here; keep her separate from our other guests. We don't want them to worry about her. Actually get Gianna to tend to her wounds." Marcus said. Jasper wondered briefly if there was a reason it was Felix they chose; his suspicion was confirmed when Marcus spoke again; once Felix had done as he asked. "Alec, I think our audience should be removed from the room." Alec stepped forward; staring at his sister contemplatively before moving to usher the crowd away. "The Cullen's can stay." Marcus said quietly.
The blood from the girl was still on the floor and it was calling for Bella; in honesty it was calling them all and Jasper was so thirsty. Bella was struggling again in his arms; her need to taste the blood growing again and he wasn't sure he had the strength to hold her back. He pulled away from her slightly and looked into her eyes, "Is this really what you want, darlin'?" He asked her softly. "I can feel your thirst and I know how much you want this. I want it too, believe me. If you choose to do this, I won't stop you." Her eyes had darkened; pools of black that held so many emotions. He knew his eyes probably looked just the same to her and he wondered if she was scared of him; he knew he looked nothing like the person she loved now; the emotions and desires he'd absorbed from the others in the room had affected him in a way that changed him from the man she loved. Before they could talk any further their attention was drawn back to the rest of the room.
"Jane, please step forward." Aro said; his voice hard and cold. Jane walked to the spot in front of the thrones with no hesitation. Jasper reached out to her mentally and could feel no remorse coming from her. "Why did you attack that girl, Jane?" Aro asked. "That was not part of the task; we explained all that last night; the task was not about that."
Jane gazed into Aro's eyes; the red of her eyes brighter than they'd ever been. "It was taking too long." She said.
Jasper froze as she spoke and turned his head to look at her; a movement Caius noticed. "Mr Whitlock, is something on your mind?"
"She's lying," he replied softly, "That wasn't why she did this."
Aro rose from his seat and stepped to stand in front of the vampire he'd always considered a daughter. He held out his hand and Jane placed hers in his; he did see the slight hesitation from her as she did so. The room watched as they stood in silence for several seconds; Jasper was staring at Aro's face; the old vampire's emotions were spiraling out of control and that shocked Jasper more than anything had so far in the last hour. Aro was usually so in control of his emotions and to feel him like this was quite… disconcerting for Jasper. Aro's eyes shot open and a frown appeared on his face as he looked at the tiny girl before him. "You betrayed us, Jane, in a way we can never forgive." His words were hard but they also hinted at the sorrow he was feeling. "Brothers, we have no choice but to punish Jane for what she just did. It was unforgiveable of her to disobey us like that; and I have seen that it wasn't the first time she's bent things to benefit her." Aro turned and moved back to where he had been sitting; suddenly looking more like the old man he really was than he ever had done before.
"Jane, no…" Jasper whispered as he sensed the anger begin to grow in her and saw her eyes harden as she watched him leave her.
Bella pulled herself from Jasper's arms and moved towards Aro; Jasper not fighting her because of his distraction with Jane. "Aro…" she whispered and he turned to face her as she stood in front of him; turning her back to him and looking back at Jane. Her hand reached behind her and touched his arm; her grip tightening as she saw the small smile appear on Jane's face.
"You think you're going to be able to stop me, little girl? You're nothing, Bella Cullen and you never will be." She took a step towards her and Jasper growled at her. Jane turned her head and looked at him in disgust, "You Cullen's think you're so much better than us but you aren't. You're the lowest on the scale of the vampire world and you, Bella, strive to be a part of their family? I've watched you in the last few months and you act like you're above us somehow. James is welcome to you, Bella; he will make you a real vampire; someone worthy of being part of the Volturi guard. You're no one until you are, Bella and you should remember that." At the mention of James Bella had stepped back; her body hitting that of Aro as he stood behind her; his arm touching her waist to stop her tripping. Jasper took a step forward, closer to Jane and Bella. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Jasper. I'd hate to have to turn my talent on you," she said; the smile growing on her face as she looked at him and his body buckled beneath him; bringing him crashing to his knees.
"Jasper!" Bella said.
Jane laughed harshly and stopped her attack on Jasper; her focus shifting once more to Bella. "I still don't understand that, you know, Bella. I saw you and Edward together and you seemed so in love with him; you idolized him and yet here you are, in love with his brother of all people; the weakest member of the family; the runt if you will." Her smile had turned into a smirk now.
"How dare you say something like that about Jasper; he's stronger than any of us; he's most definitely stronger than you. How I feel about him has nothing to do with you; he loves me and I love him; we both know that and that's what's important. We don't care what you think. Nobody does."
"James will be so disappointed in you when he arrives." Jane said; a murmur going through the rest of the room as they took in what she'd said. "Oh he's coming here; he wants you back; although I can't for the life of me work out why." She turned away from Bella and the rest of the room froze. "James and I go way back; he was someone I met years ago; before he was with Laurent and Victoria; we were… friends." She paused and a smile crossed her face; a genuine smile that made Jasper pause. "I knew Aro was worried about the size of your family, Jasper, so I decided to help him; I did all this for Aro and his brothers. They are my family and I wanted to help them."
"How did you help them?" he whispered. His doubt about the Volturi's motives returned for the first time since making the trip from Alaska. Could this all have been a plan of theirs? To make their family smaller; to minimize the perceived threat against them? The call of the blood that lay on the floor had lessened since Jane had started talking; the seriousness of what she was saying distracting everyone from it's temptation.
"I pointed James in the right direction and the rest of it followed its natural course."
"What did you think would happen?"
"What I told him to do. James is attracted to people just like Bella, so I knew he would want her the moment he saw her; although I can't say I understand what the attraction is. She was just a human girl but she seemed to have you all enthralled and I saw it as an opportunity to do some good."
"What sort of good, Jane?" Caius asked; his eyes fixed on Aro's face; knowing he already knew the answer.
"I knew that if James got the right help he would be able to lessen the threat the Cullen's posed."
"I gave him the information he needed to kill Edward and Alice… I was hoping for a bigger impact than just the two of them; it could've been so much more but I guess Alice saw the threat and they were able to minimize their loss." She tilted her head to one side and looked at Felix as he stood near the door he'd walked through as she first started revealing the details of what she'd done. "It's unfortunate and if they'd all been there I would've helped James to bring the odds back in their favor; as it was that wasn't necessary; I just had to watch it all unfold before me. They were already outnumbered and Bella's blood wasn't helping them at all; if anything it made Edward weaker; easier for James to deal with." She turned and looked at Jasper again, "Alice was more… troublesome. She put up more of a fight but there was an air of sadness about her; she knew what was going to happen before it even started so it was over relatively easily." She smiled at him, "I did enjoy watching the three of them tear Edward and Alice apart; I hadn't realized I was going to enjoy it so much but I did and I was glad I got to see them get their comeuppance." Jasper roared in anger and dropped to his knees again as the emotions from his family added to those he was feeling; it was as bad as when she'd targeted her gift on him earlier and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Enough!" Aro shouted. He looked to Demetri and nodded slightly. Demetri stepped forward, moving towards Jane; a frown on his face. She heard his approach and looked at him; her eyes focusing on him and he fell to the floor.
Bella moved from where she was standing and knelt beside Demetri. She looked into his eyes and then reached for his hand; squeezing it gently as she concentrated on his face. The effect was slow but it worked; finally Jane's attack was stopped. Demetri stared at Bella; lifting his head and looking Bella as he gradually was able to move. "Thank you." He said softly. He looked past Bella and smiled at Jasper, "Your mate is a truly unbelievable person." He said.
"She is." Jasper agreed.
Demetri stood and moved forward again; his hand still being held by Bella as they both walked towards Jane. She was scowling now and still trying to hit them both with her gift. Demetri looked at Aro and his brothers and got the confirmation from them all. "You made a mistake taking on the Cullen's, Jane. They've never posed any threat to the Volturi; Carlisle is a friend of the Volturi and has been for many years. Carlisle would never try and take the Volturi on; he respects them too much and he knows he wouldn't win; even if he wanted to." He stepped further forward. "Aro has never shown any hostility towards Carlisle or his family; if anything they interested him. He was interested in getting some of his children to be a part of our family. Edward, Alice and Jasper," Demetri smiled, "Especially Jasper… but then you knew that, didn't you, Jane. It was never Aro that was threatened by the Cullen's; it was you, Jane. You like being the person Aro turned to; you doubted you'd be in that position if any of them came here so you did what you did before you got surpassed. You forget, Jane, I know you. I know the real you; not the one you let the brother's see but the one you keep hidden from everyone except the guard. We all see it, Jane and most of them can ignore it; most of them do because they're scared of you but I'm not frightened of you; I never have been and I never will be." They were standing in front of her now and Demetri reached forward and yanked the chain from around her neck; her face losing some of its composure as he tore away the pendant that meant everything to her. "Chelsea…" Demetri said softly.
Chelsea stepped to his side and stared at Jane; Jane's face fell as she felt the effect of Chelsea's gift take hold; slowly the bond between her and Volturi was severed; she was no longer part of their family. "It's time," Aro said quietly.
Demetri stepped forward and his free hand moved to grip Jane's neck. "I'm truly sorry, Jane. This is not what any of us wanted to happen to you but you've brought this on yourself." He squeezed Bella's hand slightly and she let go of his hand; moving hers so it gripped his shoulder; thereby still protecting him from any attack from Jane. His now free hand moved to join his other and he quickly twisted her head; pulling it from her neck with a final screech. There was a growl behind where he stood and it was obvious who it came from, "Felix, is there something you want to say? I'd think very carefully about how you answer that question; unless you want to join your little girlfriend here." He said, gesturing towards Jane's body. Felix shook his head and stepped back against the wall.
Marcus stepped forward and waved to two of the guard, "Dispose of… this." He said, his hand indicating the remains on the floor. "Burn it." He said; the disgust he was feeling evident in his voice. "Bella, Jasper, we're so sorry you had to go through this; that all your family had to be a victim of what she did. However, I can confirm you passed this task and as a result the bond of brotherhood ceremony can be entered into by you both."
"I would suggest we perform the ceremony as soon as we can; we still have the possibility of James arriving and we need to ensure the bond is there before he does; or all of this will have been for nothing." Aro said quietly. "But now is a time for you to spend with your family; a time to grieve again for the loss of those so important to you all."
The three brothers swept from the room; their guard following them, leaving Demetri and the Cullen's standing there, "I'm sorry for what Jane has done to you all." He said formally, "I wish there was something I could've done that would've stopped her. None of you deserved this to happen and I'm sorry."
Jasper stepped forward and held his hand out to him, "Demetri, thank you, for everything. I mean it, you kept me sane when we were looking for Bella and I will always be grateful for that." He looked at Bella and kissed her gently.
"Sane? Really?" Demetri said with a smile. "Could've fooled me."
"Thanks." Jasper said sarcastically as Bella giggled. "Really, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call me."
"I'll bear that in mind, God of War. Enjoy your time with your family and let me know when you and your mate have decided when you want the ceremony to be; I'll speak to the brother's once you have and set everything in place." He bowed his head and then walked out of the room.
TBC
A/N: So have I shocked you? Did you see that coming? Let me know what you think and send me a review. At least Jane got her just desserts finally and I kind of ended up feeling sorry for Aro. That was the last chapter of the day and there will probably only be one tomorrow because I'm out for most of the day. By the way Demetri is the coolest... :-)