Jewel in the Crown

Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use.

Chapter 44: Uncontrollable

"Sulpicia," says Aro. "Please wait until Isabella and Edward return so that you can bring her back to your rooms. She may need some help adjusting to her new life."

"Yes, husband," I say.

"You have done well, wife," he says. "With your choices of clothing for them. They both look quite splendid."

"Thank you," I say modestly. "I did my best."

I am so pleased to see Isabella looking happy as she returns to the presence chamber with Edward. Aro has decided that since Isabella is such a beautiful name that we must use it instead of Bella. He also wants her to have a clean break from the Cullens and her human life. And Edward will no longer be called Edward Cullen. He is simply Edward.

"Ah, dear ones," says Aro grandly. "Have you made your final farewells to Carlisle and Esme?"

"Yes, Master," replies Edward.

I notice that Aro inclines his head towards Chelsea. She gives him a brief nod. Of course Edward doesn't miss a trick, but he no longer cares. Chelsea has made sure of that. Edward is now loyal only to Aro and the Volturi.

"Excuse me, sir," says Isabella.

"What is it, my dear?" he asks her kindly.

"Why did you call me Isabella earlier?" she asks puzzled. "I prefer Bella."

"Here in Volterra, you shall be called Isabella," he replies patiently, knowing that Chelsea's gift can have no effect on her mind. "It is a lovely Italian name and it is a shame to waste it. Isn't that right, Edward?"

"Yes, love," says Edward turning to Isabella. "That is your name now. This is what Aro has decided."

Isabella gives him an odd look and then turns back to Aro.

"If you please," she says a little bit too innocently. "Shall I call you Master as well?"

Poor Edward looks uncomfortable. He looks as though he wishes that he could tell his wife to be quiet. There is silence in the room as everyone waits for Aro's response. Luckily, he is still in a good mood from finally putting the cloak on Edward's shoulders. It is obvious that poor Isabella is simply in need of more instruction.

"No, my dear," he says kindly. "We will wait until you are properly cloaked in the guard. Until then you may address me as sir."

"Yes sir," she says obediently.

"Now, Isabella," he states. "It is time for your husband to assume his duties. You may go with Sulpicia to her rooms. Gunnar, please attend."

"Yes, Master," he nods.

"Come, Edward," says Aro. "We must conference with my brothers."

Edward turns to Isabella and kisses her cheek.

"Behave yourself," he whispers in her ear.

But to his surprise, she grabs him around the neck and begins to kiss him full on the mouth. He has no choice but to submit. She is stronger than he is. Once again, a few chuckles can be heard around the room.

"Gunnar," says Aro patiently.

Gunnar puts his hand on her shoulder and says gently, "Come Isabella."

She reluctantly pulls herself away and says, "I will miss you every minute that you are away, Edward."

Edward looks completely confused by her actions. As soon as, she is near me, I put my arm through hers.

"Come, Isabella, let us go and leave the men to their business," I say quickly.

When we arrive at my living room, we enter with Santiago and Gunnar to watch over us. Corin walks in behind us, giving Isabella a look of pity. Athenadora stands uncertainly at the door.

"Sulpicia," she says politely. "May I enter? I would like to have a few words with Isabella."

"Yes, of course," I say, knowing that if I forbid it, there could possibly be trouble. Besides, she did ask nicely.

She walks over to Isabella, picks up her hands, and looks directly into her eyes.

"Isabella," she says firmly. "You must listen to Sulpicia and do as she says. If you don't, it could cause problems for Edward. Big problems, do you understand? I have seen how you look at one another. He needs you to be happy, but he also needs you to cooperate."

"Why are you trying to help me?" asks Isabella confused.

"Because I like you," she says. "You have spirit. But you must learn to curb it in the presence chamber or sooner or later you will make Aro angry. Think about it. What is the greatest punishment that he can give you?"

Isabella swallows hard.

"He could keep me from Edward," she says in a small voice.

"And he wouldn't hesitate to do it," she says. "Now because you are a newborn, he may forgive these transgressions in the beginning. But in the future, you must think before you speak. And unless you are in agreement with him, you must never speak your mind."

"Yes, ma'am," she says humbly.

"And save your effusive demonstrations of love for your husband for behind closed doors," she says, and then adds, "You may call me Athenadora, not ma'am."

"Yes, ma . . . Athenadora," she whispers.

Athenadora taps her softly on the cheek and turns to leave.

"Thank you, Sulpicia, for permitting me these few words," she says politely.

"Thank you for helping Isabella to understand," I say generously. "I am not sure that you have left me much to say."

"I am sure that you will have you repeat everything that I've said," she says drily, looking over at the very worried Isabella. "Multiple times."

After she leaves Isabella turns to me.

"Was I really so bad?" she asks anxiously.

"You were neither as good as you could have been nor bad as you might have been, isn't that right, Corin?" I say.

"Yes, Mistress," she replies.

Isabella's face falls.

"I don't know what got into me," she admits. "I just automatically tell people to call me Bella when they say Isabella. Did I disgrace Edward?"

"No, I wouldn't quite say that, would you, Corin?" I ask.

"No, Mistress," she says. "I believe that Athenadora was right when she said that Aro would cut her some slack in the beginning, as long as she learns."

"Another thing, Isabella," I say. "You must eat something. Is it really true that you have no thirst?"

"I really don't," she frets. "But I don't know what to do about it. When I was human, I often wasn't hungry and wouldn't eat. I guess that I am the same way as a vampire."

"If you say so," I reply. "But if you start to grow weak, then you must eat. Isn't that right, Corin?"

"Yes, it is, Mistress," says the faithful Corin.

"Sometimes," she says. "If I was nervous or depressed then I would lose my appetite."

"Are you nervous, Isabella?" I ask gently.

She nods.

Corin looks intently at Isabella. I can see that she is trying to make her feel happy and content. Perhaps part of the problem was that while Isabella was with her husband during their honeymoon time she was too far away from Corin. And since she had been here she had spent almost every moment in his presence. It is natural that she would then be anxious when separated from him. I will be sure to mention this to Aro when I see him again.

Then I notice that Isabella is looking at herself in the mirror.

"Is that really me?" she asks in wonder.

"Of, course," I reply as I put my arm around her. "See? Now we are both in the mirror."

"I don't recognize myself," she says. "I have always been pale and my hair has always been dark, but I have never had such red eyes. And I have never looked so . . . beautiful before."

"Those are newborn eyes," I explain. "However your eyes are the brightest red that anyone has ever seen. And of course you are beautiful you are a vampire. But you were also very pretty when you were still human."

"Do you think that the red eyes have anything to do with my lack of thirst?" she asks.

"I believe that Aro and Carlisle debated that very point," I reply. "And their discussion was inconclusive. However, other than your tongue, your behavior is very controlled. And that is most unusual for a newborn. Wouldn't you agree, Corin?"

"Yes, Mistress," she says.

"I have never been beautiful," says Isabella. "I have never felt worthy to stand beside Edward. He is just so absolutely gorgeous. But now that I feel that I am."

"You make a very handsome couple," I say. "And Aro does appreciate beauty in those around him. Your Edward is a most exquisite man."

"He does look splendid in his cloak," she says, her mood visibly lifting. "Who selected his clothing? I notice that most of the other guards wear suits."

"Actually," I say. "Aro permitted me to select your clothing. Since you are young people from a different time period than the others, I thought that you would be most comfortable wearing familiar clothes. And I noticed that you were both dressed in jeans when you came in. The only things that he specified were black for Edward and the sapphire blue for you. He said that Edward likes to see you in that color."

"He does," she says. "It was the color of the blouse that I was wearing the first time that we went out on a date. And then it was the color that his sister Alice picked for my Prom dress."

"Isabella," I say seriously. "You must never speak of Edward having brothers, sisters, or parents again. This is very important. Do you understand? He no longer belongs to the Cullen coven. He belongs to the Volturi."

"Then to whom do I belong?" she asks curiously.

"You belong to Edward," I say seriously. "He is your mate. But if it makes you feel any better, he belongs to you also. There will never be another one for either one of you. When a vampire finds his or her mate, it is forever. Look at how Marcus still grieves for his mate."

"He is very sad," she agrees and is silent.

"Excuse me, Mistress," says Corin. "May I ask Isabella a question?"

"Of course, Corin," I reply.

"Isabella, what exactly is a date?"

"A date is when a boy asks a girl to go out for dinner, or to the movies, or some other kind of entertainment," she explains. "It's a way that they get to know each other when they are first attracted to one another. Sometimes the girl asks the boy. But I never asked any guy out on a date."

"That's very interesting," I say. "Did Edward ask you out on this date shortly after he met you in school?"

"He didn't exactly ask me out," she says. "He saved me when I was in danger and then took me out to dinner. When my friend Jessica was going to ask if that was a date he told me to say yes. He said that it was the easiest answer for her to understand."

"This sounds like an interesting story," I say. "Please tell me. How did he save you?"

"I was in a city close to our hometown with two girlfriends," she says. "They were going to a dance and needed to buy dresses. I went along to help, but I also wanted to find a bookstore because I had run out of things to read."

"You and your reading!" I say. "We will make sure that you have plenty of books to read here, right Corin?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I interrupted your story."

"Well, I separated from my friends to look for the bookstore," she continues. "But I got lost. I was in a very sketchy part of the city. I had never been there before and took a wrong turn."

"Excuse me," I interrupt again. "But what does sketchy mean?"

"It means that it is the bad part of town, very dangerous," she says. "Since I was all alone, I was an easy target for a criminal or something. I thought that I had found my way back to the good part of town, but I wasn't close enough. Then four men started following me. They circled around me so that I couldn't escape. And they were drunk. They intended to . . . harm me."

"Do you mean rape you?" I ask feeling horrified. "Or perhaps even kill you?"

"Yes, that was what Edward told me," she explains. "You see he was guarding me. He said that he felt protective of me. But since he couldn't go outside while the sun was out, he had to keep a distance.

"He thought that I was with my friends and realized too late that we were separated. He was looking for me when he heard what the men were thinking. He rushed in and got me away from them before they could injure me."

"Were you terrified?" I ask.

"Yes," she says. "But as soon as I saw Edward, I felt safe. He took me to the restaurant to meet my friends but they were already finished eating. Then he bought me dinner and drove me home. After that we began to spend all of our time with each other."

"I like that story," I say. "It has a happy ending. You were very lucky that Edward was protecting you."

"Yes, I was," she says smiling. "And now Edward is my life. Do you think that Aro will keep him for a long time today? I miss him already."

"I don't know," I say.

There is a knock at the door and Chelsea walks in.

"Isabella," she says. "Aro is concerned that you have not eaten. He feels that if you smell human blood it might stimulate your thirst. Would you please come with me?"

Okay," she says agreeably.

"Corin and Gunnar," she says. "Aro would like you to come too. I will be right back to keep you company, Mistress."

"Yes, thank you, Chelsea," I reply, as the other three follow her out.

When she returns, she heaves a sigh.

"Poor child," she says. "I believe that she is quite confused. Corin is with her to help with her mood. If necessary, Gunnar can kill the humans for her. It is a tricky situation. No one has ever seen a newborn such as her before."

"Chelsea," I say. "She is worried that Aro is very vexed with her."

"At the moment he is not," she replies. "It is a difficult situation for all of us. I don't think that she means to be impertinent, but she is a modern girl. Edward feels terrible. He understands these things much better than she does because he is ninety years older than her.

"He also lived all those years with Carlisle, who has told stories of his own life here. He understands Volterra, the important role that we play in our world and the honor of his appointment to the guard. But Isabella knows none of this. He wants everyone here to like her. But he is afraid that if she keeps this up they will not."

"Athenadora likes her," I offer. "And she doesn't like anyone. But little Isabella is so vulnerable. I can't see how anyone could not like her."

"Jane loathes her," she says. "Isabella is very lucky that she can't hurt her."

"Why should Jane care in the least about her?" I ask puzzled. "Isabella has nothing to do with her."

"Aro likes her and therefore Jane is jealous," she says. "And she is very put out that her powers don't affect her. It means that she can't hurt her."

"But she can hurt the one she loves," I say. "We must keep Jane away from her. Isn't there a coven or vampire somewhere that needs disciplining?"

"We are presently watching a situation in Chicago in the US," she says. "There has been a spate of killings that may or may not be vampire related. Caius may take a party out to look into it. If he leaves he will take Jane and Alec with him."

"But not Demetri," I say. "I saw him leave the hall after Carlisle and Esme."

"Yes," she says. "He is off on some mission in the United States. But I don't know what it is."

Suddenly, Corin returns to the room, looking utterly baffled.

"Chelsea," she says. "Gunnar has sent me to ask for your advice regarding the situation with Isabella and the humans."

"Has she eaten?" I ask.

Corin gets the most interesting look on her face.

"No, Mistress," she replies slowly. "She is conversing with them, as if they were friends. Gunnar is afraid to kill them because he doesn't want to upset her."

"Tell Gunnar to get her out of there now!" says Chelsea quickly. "And bring her here to Sulpicia. I must tell Aro at once. He is never going to believe this."

Neither do I. They both rush out of the room and within seconds, Isabella is back with me looking very confused. I am beginning to think that perhaps my poor friend is mad. Whoever thought of having a conversation with your food?

Author's note: Some of the details that I have included about the Volturi and other vampires mentioned come from The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide.