"Who is it, Alice?" I asked, alarmed as my mind ran down the list of possibilities.
"Don't worry, sweetheart," Edward cooed soothingly.
Before he could tell me who it was, there was a knock. Edward nodded to Carlisle, who opened the door to Amanda.
"Why, hello!" Carlisle greeted her. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"
"Actually, I'm here to see Fred."
"Oh… well then," Carlisle mumbled, "won't you come in?"
"Thank you," she answered politely.
Fred stood and stammered as he tried to put a sentence together. "I… why are… I thought… you said"
"I know what I said," Amanda began, still sounding angry. "And I meant most of it, but not the part about not wanting to see you again."
"I don't understand… you sounded so…"
"Furious?" she filled in the blank. "Yes, I was furious. I'm still furious!"
Fred winced. "I didn't mean to hurt you… I couldn't control it."
"You think I'm upset about that? I couldn't care less about being pinned to the ground, although it was really rather unpleasant," she said as an aside. "If you think that's why I'm mad, maybe we really don't have anything to talk about after all."
She turned to leave, but Fred interrupted her. "Wait! Please don't go."
She faced us again and crossed her arms over her chest. "Give me one good reason to stay."
"I don't know what to tell you… I just don't want you to go."
"Is that supposed to be my one good reason?" she snapped.
Fred looked befuddled. "I'm sorry?"
"Is that a question?" Amanda asked incredulously. "Don't you know if you're sorry or not?"
"I know I'm sorry… I'm just not sure why."
Emmett slapped his palm against his own forehead. Even HE knew that was a dumb thing to say.
"Well, if you manage to figure it out, you let me know," Amanda huffed.
"Wait," Jasper intervened both verbally and with a soothing wave. "I can feel that you both have strong feelings for each other. And Amanda, I know it's hard for you to believe that Fred could possibly be just that obtuse, but I can feel how confused he is. As much as explaining yourself goes against the Women's Rules, and in this case I have to agree that he probably SHOULD know why you're so upset, he really doesn't get it."
"And I can guarantee he has NO experience whatsoever in dealing with women," Rosalie added with an eye roll for good measure.
"Thanks for all the support, guys," Fred muttered under his breath.
"Be nice to them," Amanda snipped. "They're the only reason I'm still standing here."
Fred seemed so helpless. "Look, I know I screwed up today. Carlisle's been trying to teach me to keep my mouth shut until I know what's going on, but it's really hard for me. I've always been a spontaneous kind of guy."
"If you'd made Caius any angrier, you would have been a spontaneous combustion kind of guy! And asking Aro if he was threatening you? Are you insane? Of course he was threatening you! Even the rats in the walls knew he was threatening you! What did you think you were going to accomplish by calling him out on it? You're lucky he found it amusing. That's the only reason you're still in one piece!"
"So… you're mad at me because I almost got myself killed?" Fred looked genuinely puzzled.
"Of course! Did we not tell each other just this morning that we felt a strong connection? Was that my imagination?"
"No… no, that was real," Fred whispered, seeming a little shy about her declaration in front of the entire family.
"Well, then naturally I was furious! You almost threw your life away! We haven't even had an opportunity to explore the possibilities and you were ready to flush it all! And for what?" she demanded.
Fred looked down, obviously hurt by her words. She seemed to realize what she had said and reconsidered. "Fred, I know your friend, Bree, was very important to you. I'm not trying to say you don't have good reason for wanting revenge, but you're not going to get it this way. All you're going to get is a trial by fire."
She moved close enough to tenderly lay her hand on his shoulder. "And I don't want to see that happen to you. Yes, what Jane did was wrong, but getting yourself killed isn't going to make it right."
"Why did you say you didn't want to see me again?" Fred almost whimpered, still looking at his feet as they nervously shuffled.
"You kept looking at me and Jane caught it. I was trying to get you to stop, but you kept sneaking peeks in my direction. I know you don't have experience with the Volturi, but if Jane thought you and I were connected, she would undoubtedly use it against us. I've seen it before. I had to make it clear that we were not together."
"Amanda is right," Carlisle agreed. "I hadn't thought to say something beforehand, and then when I noticed you two making eye contact, it was too late to say anything."
"If they wanted to torture me, that's one thing," Emmett thought aloud, "but if they hurt my Rosie, I'd do whatever it took to make them stop."
Everyone in the room seemed to be contemplating that, or maybe it was just me, but I would do anything to save Edward, even though he would be devastated if I sacrificed myself for him.
Darker thoughts started nestling into my brain. If something happened to me, Edward would undoubtedly die with me. He'd already tried it once. I'd like to think he would confirm my death if there was a second time, but if I was no longer of this world, he wouldn't be either.
So, in reality, I couldn't sacrifice my life to save him because doing so would most assuredly kill him. But if I didn't sacrifice myself, and he was killed, I could never live with myself. There was only one solution: If we were going to die, we'd just have to die together.
"Bella, are you with us?" Carlisle asked.
I jumped a bit at the sound of my name and gave my head a little shake, bringing myself back to the moment.
"Wow, where were you?" Emmett asked.
"Let's just say I hope vampires can't go into shock because I was actually contemplating something you said," I snarked back at him.
"Something Emmett said? Really? I didn't know he ever said anything worth thinking about," Jasper teased.
I heard the thud before I realized that Emmett had just thrown his shoe at Jasper.
"Boys!" Esme threatened.
"Are they always like this?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, those two are terrible," Fred answered. "I can't believe how immature they are sometimes."
There was silence for about three seconds before the room erupted with laughter. Fred was trying to shut us up and Amanda looked quite confused.
"Someone want to let me in on the joke?"
"Oh, Amanda, once you get to know Fred a little better, you'll understand," Alice chortled as Fred glared at her.
"You're one of us, man," Emmett said as he threw his bulky arm over Jasper's shoulders. "The first step is admitting it. You see, Mandy… may I call you Mandy?"
"No."
"Oh, sorry," he continued. "So, as I was saying, Mandy, I'm the most fun, followed by Fred, Jasper, Carlisle, that fichus tree over there, a bag of dirt, IRS regulations, and then Edward."
I heard two thuds and realized Edward's shoes were now on the floor by Emmett's feet.
"Edward is fun!" I blurted out.
Again, the room erupted with laughter.
"Bella, you're very sweet," Rosalie cooed, "but I've known Edward about 70 years longer than you have and I can tell you he is unquestionably the least fun vampire I've ever met."
"What about Jane?" I challenged.
"Even Jane laughs once in a while," Rose answered. "Granted, it's maniacal laughter, but I'm sure in the right setting…"
"Don't pay any attention to them, Bella," Esme piped up. "I think Edward is very fun."
"Humor only a mother could love," Alice teased.
"Sure, Edward is a fun guy. He sort of grows on you!" Emmett guffawed. "Get it? Fun guy? Fungi? He grows on you? Get it?"
"This is all starting to make more sense now," Amanda said with a smile playing on her lips. "I thought the level of tomfoolery going on in the Great Hall was some sort of fluke, but apparently I was mistaken."
"Did you hear that?" Edward suddenly exclaimed to Fred. "She said 'tomfoolery'! HA!"
"Yeah, well, it's cute when she says it," Fred smirked.
"Bella, can I borrow your shoe?" Edward asked dryly.
"See? That was funny!" I exclaimed over the commotion in the room.
"Funny and fun aren't the same thing," Emmett explained.
"OK! Time out! Everyone settle down!" Carlisle shouted.
"Wow, you have a whole group of comedians here. Never a dull moment!" Amanda chuckled good-naturedly. "I don't know if I could get used to this or not!"
"I'm sure you'd get accustomed to it pretty quickly," Carlisle assured her. "Besides, it's not always like this."
"Yes, sometimes it's much worse," Esme snickered
"I can only imagine…"
"I don't know that you can," Carlisle quipped, "but we wouldn't give them up for anything."
"Just yesterday you said you would trade Emmett for Felix," Edward joked. "What happened to that deal?"
"OK, Eddie. That was below the belt," Emmett growled. "Take it back."
"Just being 'fun,' Emmy," Edward made quote marks in the air.
"That was only two-thirds of fun," Emmett hissed. "F. U."
"Alright, boys, that's quite enough," Esme stepped between them. "Emmett, you don't need to get so upset over nothing. Of course we're not trading you in. I may need to wash your mouth out with soap, however."
"Or milk!" Alice added gleefully.
"And Edward, I expect better manners from you. Why do you have to pester your brother? Just because you can read his mind doesn't give you the right to use it to your advantage."
Esme was such a mom.
"What's the point of reading minds if you can't use the information for evil?" Edward laughed.
"You, mister, can be traded," Esme shook her finger at him. "We could take Heidi home with us just as easily."
"Bella might not even notice the difference," Emmett murmured.
"Now THAT was below the belt," Edward fumed.
"So what? You're not using anything down there anyway," Emmett shot back.
"Applying that logic, I should hit you in the head."
"Welcome to the Cullen family, Amanda," Alice giggled, pulling the chair next to her that she had been using as a footrest and patting it. That was why she had an extra chair. I KNEW she was a leg-tucker-inner!
Inviting Amanda into the circle seemed to bring everyone's attention back on topic, although I did see Emmett and Edward shooting glares at each other. The whole "if looks could kill" thing was sort of wasted on vampires, however.
"Would you believe me if I said we were practicing for a play?" Fred asked her.
Rosalie interrupted. "Oh, Fred, you watch too many sitcoms."
Shockingly, Amanda was smiling more than she had since she'd arrived.
Fred gaped at her expression. "What?"
"This really is a family. Some of the others were mocking the use of that term, but you are no more a coven than the Mousekateers!"
"I don't know… Annette had awfully fair skin for someone with such dark hair," Alice said conspiratorially.
"You are aware that show was in black and white…" Rose snarked.
Alice just rolled her eyes.
"OK, could we just TRY to concentrate for a few minutes?" Carlisle asked with obvious frustration. "I'm glad you're all having fun, but we still have Fred's fate to think about here."
"Fred's fate?" Amanda asked almost like she was shocked. "You all heard what Aro had to say. Obviously Fred will join the guard and stay here. What other choice does he have?"
"I was hoping to leave here with my family," Fred answered softly, "and I was hoping you would come with us."
"Fred, this is my home now," Amanda said, taking his hand in hers. "I'm a member of the guard. I finally feel protected and like I belong to something bigger than myself. I know you understand that part, at least." She looked around the circle, acknowledging each of us in turn.
Fred cocked his head at her. "You want to stay here?"
She laughed. "You say that like it's the worst place on the planet!"
"Well, several of my family members have used the term 'hell hole…'"
"I guess I understand that, considering their experiences," Amanda nodded, "but it hasn't been like that for me. This place is my refuge. Nobody here tries to hurt me, and we've found a way to use my gift to benefit the entire community. This is where I belong."
"So, if I go back home with my family, you wouldn't come with me?"
She pursed her lips, clearly giving the question its due consideration. "I don't know what I would do. I didn't know until just now that I might have to make that decision."
"If I may," Carlisle interrupted, "how are the Volturi utilizing your gift in such a way that you need to stay here?
"Aro wanted to tell you himself. He's rather proud of it actually, and if I'm not mistaken, I think he's doing it partly to impress you, Carlisle."
"I doubt that," Carlisle said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"You might be very surprised. It's obvious to all of us that he holds you in high esteem. He may not understand you, and he may occasionally get paranoid delusions that you're as power-hungry as he is, but he most definitely respects you."
Carlisle pondered this information before Amanda spoke again.
"Let's see… where do I start? Before I came here, humans were brought in for 'tours' and were never seen again. That worked until global communications became so easy and instant. In recent years, a lot more people have been snooping around, looking for missing loved ones whose last tweet or Facebook post was something like 'Taking tour of creepy old castle with hot tour guide in Volterra.' When these stories started piling up, it left less and less room for plausible deniability."
"I wondered how they got by with it for as long as they did," Jasper mused.
"When they used to pluck a few people from here and there, all around the world, nobody connected them," Carlisle answered, "but now you can't do that without somebody knowing."
"We kept doing the tours, but with a twist: We were showing a documentary as part of the tour… stuff about the old vampire myths. People would sit in a theater, the movie would start, Alec would put them into a hazy fog, everyone would lose a few pints, I would touch them, then we would say there was a gas leak that was causing them to hallucinate, and we evacuated them."
"That sounds like a pretty sweet plan," Emmett said with appreciation. "Why'd you give that up?"
"Well, some of the people I touched had serious illnesses, so it didn't take long before I was completely wiped out. We lost a couple of people to blood loss the first couple of times because I couldn't heal them. We tried smaller groups, and then having them fill out forms with their medical information… all kinds of variables, but people often don't know they even have anything, or they just lie."
"Why would someone lie about something like that to go on a tour?" Emmett asked.
"See, some of the people in those first groups knew they were sick and they came out of the tour completely healed. If you think THAT news didn't spread like wildfire… Then they heard we were turning away people who were sick, so…"
"The sick must have converged on this place," Carlisle nodded. "Desperate people will try just about anything, even if it's only a rumor."
"Yes, that's exactly what happened. We actually had to stop giving tours. Aro wasn't very happy that the 'perfect plan' backfired so thoroughly."
"I'm sure that's the understatement of the decade," Esme added. "How did the Volturi get… ummm… food after that?"
"Every day, Aro sent groups of two or three out, all over the world. They had a day to eat and find an offering to bring back to the royal family."
My stomach lurched.
"Sorry, Bella. I know this is all pretty gruesome and we're talking about it in such a clinical way," Amanda said.
"I've learned to deal with some of it. It was just the word 'offering' that got to me."
Amanda sighed. "Yes, I think 'victim' is a better word, but I don't make the rules around here. At least I didn't have to go, since I can't eat humans anyway. But, the trips didn't work out, mostly because Cauis didn't like certain members of the guard to be gone, even for a day. He felt it left them too vulnerable, especially if someone figured out the schedule and knew when to strike."
"So, if you don't do tours and you aren't going out to eat…?" Edward trailed off.
"Can't you read it in my mind?" Amanda teased.
"Now that you're thinking about it, I can," he replied a little too grimly.
"OK, then for the rest of you, Volterra has always housed a few humans who want to become one of us. Most of them don't make it. Now they have another choice besides death…"
"The people who live here are also your food source?" I exclaimed. My mind immediately went to Felka. Was she basically nothing more than a drinking fountain?
"It's not perfect, but everyone is here of their own free will… except…"
"…except the ones who accidentally learn about the existence of vampires…" Alice continued Amanda's sentence.
"Yes, like I said, it's not perfect. Those people would have been killed immediately under the old system. Now they're offered a choice."
"Be a food source or die. Wow. Great choice," I scoffed.
"It's not as bad as it sounds," Amanda replied gently. "We are very careful to be humane about it. There is no pain and no fear involved. On a prearranged schedule, they're given a sedative at night, one vampire takes a couple pints of their blood, I touch them and repeat the process until the drinker is full. The human wakes up the next morning like nothing happened."
"But they're prisoners here," I shot back.
"Yes, in a way, but even that isn't like it used to be. Most of the tribs don't even live in the castle. They can live in the city, get married, have children, work or go to school, and they can even travel with prior approval. And they can never get sick as long as I'm there to heal them. They still have the option of dying, if they want to, but so far, nobody has taken that option."
"OK, first, what does 'trib' mean?" Emmett asked. I'm sure that question actually WAS on everyone's mind.
"It's short for 'tribute,' because their blood is like a payment. Of course, that was Caius' idea. He absolutely hates being beholden to a bunch of humans. I prefer to think of it as 'contributor.' Some of the older vampires who don't like this change call them 'tributaries,' like rivers."
"OK, that's kinda gross, but next question," Emmett continued. "If they get married and have kids, aren't they damming their families to the same fate?"
"People are allowed to tell their spouses if they want, but then the spouse becomes a trib, too. Telling children is expressly forbidden. In fact, telling anyone other than a spouse or fiancé is forbidden, punishable by death."
"So, hypothetical situation," I started. "I'm a trib, I'm engaged, and I decide to tell my future husband about this whole arrangement. He wants nothing to do with it, so he breaks the engagement. Now he's stuck here?"
Amanda sighed. "Yes, that is one potential drawback. Not just with fiancés, but with married couples, too. Once you know, you can't leave."
"I bet that cuts down on the divorce rate," Jasper mumbled.
"Well, we haven't been doing this long enough to know all the possibilities, but tribs can divorce, so if you don't want to see your ex for the rest of your life, you may not want to say anything."
"Has anyone told their spouse?" Carlisle asked.
"Most aren't married, but no, so far nobody has told a spouse. It's a huge secret to keep, but the consequences of telling it are even bigger."
"If you take blood in the middle of the night, aren't you worried someone is going to see you?" Rosalie asked.
"No, because the tribs come here for their 'treatment' at the 'clinic.' They all supposedly suffer from a rare form of porphyria and the only place it can be treated successfully is in Volterra."
Everyone snickered except Fred and me. Carlisle said, "Let me guess. That was Aro's idea."
"You are correct, sir," Amanda chuckled.
"Anyone want to share? What's so funny?" Fred asked as I nodded along. I hated not knowing what was going on.
Edward took my hand. "Sorry, love. Porphyria is also known as the 'vampire disease' because it makes the skin light-sensitive and some people report that drinking blood helps with the symptoms, although there's no real science behind that claim."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course Aro would think that was hilarious."
"So, you have a pretend clinic treating a disease that doesn't exist. Doesn't anyone question any of this?" Jasper asked.
"Actually, we're a legitimate clinic. We have porphyria specialists and everything. Or I should say we have the proper credentials… enough to satisfy the outside world. We've done studies and even had our research published in medical journals!"
"I read those. Are you telling me Dr. Vinello isn't real?" Carlisle asked.
Amanda laughed again. "Another of Aro's jokes. Vinello is short for indovinello…"
"Aha…" he nodded knowingly before looking around at a lot of confused faces. "Riddle. It means riddle. I've got to hand it to Aro. He certainly can be clever."
"Seems you've thought of everything, Amanda," Alice piped up. "Except what happens when someone decides to go to the media?"
"Do you see that happening?" Amanda asked with alarm.
"I see it as one of many possibilities. Until someone actually decides, I can't really know."
"We do the best we can with that one, but it is a risk. Aro holds weekly audience with all the tribs, where he shakes their hands. If they've been thinking about breaking their silence, he would know. I'm not sure how he differentiates between random thoughts and actual plans, but so far, we haven't had those problems," Amanda explained.
"So, what's in it for you?" Jasper asked Amanda point-blank. She looked a little taken aback, and Fred actually growled a bit.
"I mean, I see how it benefits the Volturi, but you don't drink from these people," Jasper continued, undaunted. "What do you get from your role in this whole charade?"
She gave his question some thought.
"You don't have to answer that, you know," Fred huffed. He was talking to Amanda, but his eyes were narrowed at Jasper.
"No, I want to. What do I get? I get peace of mind. I don't have to trick anyone into anything anymore. I'm not hurting anyone, and people who would have died before now get to live out reasonably normal lives. And I know everyone I touch is healthy. They just need their blood restored, which doesn't take much out of me.
"I used to have visions of eradicating some disease, or healing all the sick children in the world, but that's just not possible. I'm not the world's savior. What I can do is keep the tribs and their families healthy, and I can sit here and look you in the eye and tell you that not one person has died or even suffered to feed this community since we started the Tribute Program. That's what's in it for me."
Jasper slowly smiled. "OK, then. Fred, for what it's worth, I approve."
Fred may or may not have heard him. He was too busy beaming at Amanda.
"Can I ask a question?" I said meekly.
"Anything," Amanda responded.
"What about Felka? She doesn't seem very happy…"
"She's not, which is one of the reasons she's living in the castle. I should probably let her tell her own story, but basically vampires killed her family while she was at college. Of course, she didn't know who had done it until her brother showed up about a year later and told her who they were and what he now was.
"She started researching a little too specifically, which triggered alerts on our network, so she was brought here. She doesn't want to be a vampire, she doesn't want to die, but she doesn't want to be a trib, either. Right now, those are the only three choices."
"But she said she was trying to impress Aro…" I recalled.
"Yes, because she wants something unprecedented. She wants to go back to Poland. She has a fiancé, but she doesn't want to bring him here. She's willing to come back as often as necessary for Aro to assess that she hasn't told anyone, and even pay her tribute at that time, but so far, Aro is unconvinced and Caius is vehemently opposed."
"So, that's why she's jealous of my freedom…" I said, the puzzle pieces falling together. "I'm a human who knows, but I'm allowed to live outside Volterra."
"Yes, and she sees your case as precedent-setting. Did I mention she was in law school?"
"Law school? That shy little girl is a lawyer?" Edward asked skeptically.
"Don't let her demeanor fool you. She is timid here because she doesn't want to cross anyone. And probably because she's unhappy, but when she's speaking in her own defense, watch out!"
"I'd be unhappy, too, if I was ripped out of my life and forced to be a blood donor," I bristled.
"Oh, she's not a blood donor, or at least not yet," Amanda clarified. "We don't force anyone to give their blood until they've had a chance to acclimate and decide how they want to proceed."
"Excuse me for being skeptical about this, but I can't imagine Aro and especially Caius allowing humans to make all these decisions for themselves. It's not like them at all," Carlisle said.
"Oh, Aro hates it. Caius would almost rather starve, but that is what it comes down to. Gathering food and staying anonymous at the same time has become virtually impossible. Caius wanted to have what would essentially be blood slaves living in barracks who exist only to serve us. Many of the others agreed, but I refused to participate. I swear sometimes I'm the only one here with an ounce of humanity left in them. Anyway, Aro gives me a lot of latitude with the program because it's working and so far, we haven't had any negative side effects."
"I'll admit, when you first brought this up, I was a bit outraged," I confessed, "but given the choice between death and getting to live a normal, albeit modified life is definitely an improvement. But back to Felka… what if Aro refuses to let her leave and she still doesn't want to be a donor?"
Amanda sighed. "At some point, she'll have to make a decision – donate or die. If it comes down to that, I'll just have to handle it the best I can."
"Can I talk to her about it?" I asked.
"Now that you know, certainly you can talk to her. I'll let her know that I've told you everything and that she is free to discuss it with you," Amanda proffered.
"I'd like that. Thank you," I replied.
"Well, I'm sure you I've given you a lot to think about. Fred, I hope you see that I need to stay here. Not only that, but I want to stay here. It's my home. I know you don't feel the same, so I understand if you decide to leave…" Amanda said softly.
Fred, who had been silent for a long time, finally found his voice. "I don't even know if Aro will let me leave, so it may not even be an option."
"True," Amanda answered, "but if you are going to stay here, with me, it has to be because you want to, not because you're being forced into it."
Fred took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I want nothing more. I just wish I didn't have to stay here to be with you."
"I know, but that's how it is. I guess you have a lot to think about…"
With that, Amanda stood and took her leave.
**-…-**
A/N: It's been a while since I last updated. Let's see… I had the plague for two weeks, then went to Vegas for four days (fun!), and had American Idol reviews three days this week. Somewhere in there my nonprofit published a 12-page newsletter that I had to contribute to and edit. So, all my writing is done, but my house is a disaster area!
Please review. I do love to hear what you have to say.