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7th July 2048
"Sarelle St Clair. A pleasure as always."
As the thick oak doors opened before me, I was met by a sight chilling enough to cool even a vampire's veins. Black cloaked figures stood at attention, lining the walls of the expansive chamber. Aro paraded before them with open arms and a gleeful grin, flanked by Caius and Marcus. This was his show and they were happy for him to play it out however he desired.
"I see our past meetings a little differently, Aro." I sniped as I twisted in Felix's grip. Aaron followed us quietly as he always did. Close but always just out of reach.
Aro pouted in mock sympathy, "then I fear I may disappoint you again, child, for I am sorry to say that this meeting is due to a grave act of disobedience."
As he spoke he postured for his audience. For one who had experienced so much, this was clearly his favourite form of entertainment. A living game of chess; a rigged battle of wits.
Felix pulled me towards our judge and jury, depositing me at the centre of the spectacle. I glanced to where Edward stood beside me. His shirt as crumpled, but he didn't look harmed. His arm curled around Bella's waist as Aro beamed at our unlikely trio.
"Aro, what is the meaning of this?" Edward asked pointedly. I could only wish I shared his gift and was privy to Aro's thoughts.
"All in due time, young one."
I couldn't help rolling my eyes.
"Always the theatrics. Just get on with it, Aro," I said bitterly. "You've had us locked up for days now."
His laughter filled the quiet chamber and with it the Volturi guard almost rippled with enjoyment. Crimson eyes looked on intently, hungry for more.
His scarlet eyes fixed on me as he took a calculated pause, "if you so wish, child."
His focus switched, "my dear Isabella." Her name rolled off his tongue. "Do you know this dazzling woman, Sarelle?"
"Yes, she is a family friend. She has been staying near us for the past year," she replied obediently.
I noticed how her voice fell flat on the word friend, but I commended her on her courage. She didn't drop her gaze from Aro's probing stare.
"Is that all you know of her, her recent acquaintance with your family?" He pushed, dancing around us with the vigour of a man seeing his dream come to fruition
Bella chose her words carefully, "I know she has history as a friend of the whole family."
"Would you say her bond is closer with any member in particular?" Aro asked with glee.
Edward tensed beside me. For the first time Bella cast an unsure glance at her husband.
"What does Sarelle's relationship with our family have to do with this matter?" Edward asked with frustration.
"In time, Edward. All shall be revealed," he said with a poignant pause. A smile split across his face. Wide and menacing like a pumpkin at Halloween. The thin papery skin seemed to almost crinkle with its force.
The black velvet cloaks surrounding us swished again in anticipation.
His attention turned back to Bella, "Now, Isabella. Please answer."
"Sarelle has a special place within our family." Her wariness seemed to titillate him as he bounced back to his brothers, capturing their thoughts on the matter so far with a light touch of the hand.
"Is that so? Yes, Marcus?" He paused as he read his brother's mind. "Ha ha! How scintillating!"
Edward's head dropped for a moment, his hand clenching and unclenching as he tried to hide his emotions.
"Has Edward ever shared with you his and Sarelle's meeting?" Aro asked.
"Aro the past is history. It has no place in the present." I interjected, trying desperately to deflect his attention.
"And yet it can influence it so much, can't it, my dear?" he cooed.
"Only for those that cannot face the future and prefer to dwell on things gone by," I said through gritted teeth. "I have recently found reminiscing to be pointless; nothing can be righted or gained by doing so." I didn't want Bella to find out about us like this. She didn't deserve it.
"To some. Isabella, would you agree with Sarelle?" His tone was almost philosophical. "That the past is meaningless and only the present and future bear thinking about?" he postulated.
"I don't know. I guess I believe what has happened, happened, and it isn't worth dwelling on it."
"Marvellous!" he exclaimed with a gleeful clap.
"Aro..." Edward murmured in warning but Aro let it slip by without notice.
"This act isn't necessary, we're here for a reason and discussing principles and quandaries is not it." I tried to keep my voice level but the threat of what was coming laced my words with disdain.
Caius stood from his throne in fury. His white blonde hair gleamed against the ebony of his cloak as he stood in the candlelight.
"You will not dictate how we rule, child. It will not bode well for you."
A growl bubbled in Edward's throat, only easing with Bella's touch against his arm.
"How wonderful! Such loyalty and passion...So, Isabella, do tell. Has Edward ever explained his meeting with Sarelle?"
"Yes." She replied curtly.
"Truly?" he pushed.
"I think so."
"Both times?"
"I'm sure he has met her on several occasions, Aro," she snapped sarcastically. "How else is a friendship maintained throughout the years?"
The Volturi guard bristled at the disrespect in her tone, but Aro chuckled darkly as he basked in Bella's stubborn stare.
"Always so entertaining, sweet Isabella," he said with a patronising tenor. "Would you care to illuminate your oblivious wife to the truth, Edward?"
Edward shifted, "not in this instance, but I will be happy to discuss it when our business here is over," he said quietly.
Caius smirked, "I do not think so," he hissed.
"What do you want Aro?" I asked.
"I want Isabella to be fully informed. Now, Edward, will you tell her or should I?" Aro pressed.
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he struggled with his words. It was rare I saw Edward lost for words, but the gravity of this situation had rendered him all but speechless.
"Bella...As you know, Sarelle and I had been... friends for many years."
I waited anxiously as the words tripped off his tongue.
"Both when we were both human and when I was not. The circumstances and dates are rather too complex to explain."
I snorted sarcastically "that's an understatement."
In spite of our current situation Edward smirked, "anyway, after many years of odd meetings, both circumstantial and sequential, we were… together… for a period of approximately nine months."
I grimaced as I saw Bella's heart fracture before our eyes. The first sliver of doubt etched itself onto her face.
"Together?" she asked in a small voice. Her eyes watched Edward avidly, as if looking for any hint that this was a lie. Something just to satiate Aro's lust for drama.
"Romantically," Edward whispered reluctantly.
"Oh." Bella shifted ever so slightly away from her husband. It would have been infinitesimal to the human eye, but we all saw it.
"It was before you two met. Before you were even born. I left and..." I started but there was no point in continuing the sentence when my feelings hadn't changed. When we had lied to her, cheated her, entangled ourselves in each other all over again.
Edward shrank below the glare his wife cast upon him. Her eyes had darkened to a shade I had never seen grace her face. And in those eyes I saw just how small Edward and I had become.
I glanced at Aro and the smile on his face was one of victory and delight. Bella and Edward had stood united and unbreakable all those years ago and that unity had thwarted him when he thought he could never lose. Now he had exacted his revenge, and from the look on his face it had never tasted so sweet.
"Isn't it better to have that out in the open." Aro mused. "Now to business. An injustice has been performed and punishment must be dealt."
A flash of a memory filled my mind…
"A price must be paid," Aro said firmly and I saw it all, every point to his plan all laid out in front of me.
No matter what I said, or did, he wasn't going to let Edward and Isabella go free, not without retaining something worth more to him than reputation.
I swallowed as my fate aligned before my very eyes.
"Take me," I whispered, looking up to see Aro's eyes glint with success.
"I beg your pardon, Sarelle?"
"If you let them go, Bella and Edward, unharmed. Then I'll...I will join..You, the Volturi. Voluntarily." I locked my gaze with Aro's and watched, with a sickening feeling in my stomach, as his mouth curled into a wide smile.
"I have one condition," I stated briskly.
"Of course, what would this condition be, Miss St Clair?"
"Edward mustn't know, and there must be no repercussions for him or Bella."
Aro was contemplative for a moment before extending his hands to his brothers for conference.
His eyes blazed with victory as he took a steady step towards me.
"My child," he cooed as he rested his cold hands on my clothed shoulders. "We have a deal."
"What injustice?" Edward snarled, pulling me back to the present. He voice was cold and brittle as he reeled from the pain he had inflicted on his wife.
"You swore to me, Aro." I growled under by breath as I saw what turn he had taken. "You can't go back on that."
"Ah, but Miss St Clair. You didn't keep your side of the bargain. Therefore, I believe I am wholly allowed to enforce justice."
Edward's eyes snapped to my own and suddenly the walls felt like they were closing in.
"What bargain, Sarelle?" his eyes searched mine. I cowered under them.
"Don't, Edward."
"Has your lover been keeping secrets, Edward?" Aro teased.
Bella's rage exploded, like lava spewing from a once dormant volcano.
"Lover?!" she exclaimed. Her ire had been sparked and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I could see her limbs ready to spring. Her vitriolic eyes fixed on my neck.
"Ex." I stressed in return, trying desperately to salvage some modicum of control in this downward spiral. It did little to stem her anger, but she rallied whatever self control she had left and retreated.
"Tell me, Sarelle. What bargain?" Edward pleaded. "If it's the reason we're here. I want to know." His eyes searched mine, begging for me to call Aro a liar. To tell him this whole charade was nothing more than a power play.
But I couldn't because on some level I knew Aro was just calling me out on the promise I broke. I'd foolishly thought I could get away with it. That I could roam through forever without ever crossing their path.
As much as I wanted to explain to Edward, I couldn't face the truth that it was my fault we were in this mess.
I bit my lip, unable to look him in the eye any longer as Aro started to speak.
"She gave herself to us, to save you and your sweetheart." Aro savoured every word as he spoke. "Unfortunately her change didn't go as we hoped and she vanished. We thought she was dead, but evidently she isn't." The hunger was back in his eyes as they roved over my skin. He was like a child on Christmas, eager to play with his new toy.
"Is this true?"
I closed my eyes against the bleak tone of Edward's voice. It hurt to hear such disappointment and betrayal.
"It's the past. It doesn't matter," I whispered, knowing all too well it was a lie.
"It doesn't matter?! Of course it matters." Edward's voice rose with every word. "You told me a stranger changed you. That you were attacked and changed by some unknown person." His hands wound into his hair as he paced around me. "I trusted that you told the truth. Then we come here and I learn Aro was your maker. And not only that, but that you had a deal. One in which you sacrificed your own life! Why didn't you ever tell me?!"
"Because I knew you'd blame yourself. Just like you're doing now." The excuse seemed ridiculous now as I said it aloud.
I looked at him, the man I had loved for centuries. His eyes were wild. His hair was a mess of bronze from where his hands had pulled it at the base. And just like that I knew the excuse wasn't ridiculous at all because he had been worth it, and he always would be.
For a moment we watched each other, and I saw the power of the moment unfold in his eyes. His memory of my human self and the life we had together. Then the despair that took hold as he imagined how my change had happened and how close we had been in that moment. The what ifs passed like shadows across his face. Thoughts of how he could have saved me if he had only known I was there.
"I deserve the blame," he said. His voice deepened with regret.
"That's an interesting thought, Edward." Aro's joviality was the perfect juxtaposition to the sombre tone. "Because I was just wondering who should pay the price for this breach of contract."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"Sarelle broke the bargain but Isabella was the one who was spared when she should have died. Just as you should have, Edward, for your constant ignorance of the rules. So, who should it be?" His voice was light and breezy like a game how host prompting a contestant.
"I will take anything you wish to dish out," Edward said in earnest.
"Ah that is a tempting offer. But I fear it may not be as easy as your selfless act of martyrdom."
"What do you want, Aro. Violence, power? Is that what it takes to satisfy you? Because let me tell you those are the desires of a weak man," I said wearily.
The guard let out a communal hiss at my insolence.
"Due to your family's value, I am willing to be lenient. There is no need for all to die."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Edward lurched forward. I rushed to hold him back.
"Never!" he snarled as he struggled in my hold.
"Surely this has ran through your mind, given your... history and feelings."
"Edward?" Bella questioned him from her silent reverie. I wondered how much she had been paying attention to or whether her own internal turmoil had distracted her.
"For those of you who are not privy to our internal conversation, Edward has a choice. Who shall pay the price, Sarelle or Bella?"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. From the moment Aro had raised the issue of my escape I knew he'd bring forth an ultimatum.
Bella, however, hadn't seen it coming. She gasped with wide eyes, "Renesmee."
She was shamelessly pleading with him to save her, for the benefit of their daughter. The child who was the cause for us being here. I could have rippled with anger if it wasn't for her being right. No matter how selfish her real reason for begging was. Because even though it was her own daughter who condemned us, she was still flesh and blood. They were still a family.
"You can't expect me to go free and condemn someone else. I can't do that," Edward pleaded.
"You can't choose?" Aro pushed, toying with us all.
I didn't know if it was possible for Bella's heart to break any more than it already had, but Edward's refusal seemed to confirm something she'd been denying for a long time.
"Where do you go late at night, Edward?" she asked.
"Bella please."
"Tell me!" she growled, her eyes more black than gold.
"We... talk."
"I see," she sneered.
"It means nothing, Bella," I interjected.
"Really, if it means nothing. Then why didn't you tell me, choosing instead to sneak around as if it's some sordid secret!"
"I love you Bella. I always have." Edward gushed, reaching for his wife. "But she's... important."
"I'm not stupid, Edward. You have history that proves she's more than just important. Wasn't it you who told me that vampires don't change? That when they fall in love it's forever not just some fleeting fling." Venom glistened in her eyes and despite the animosity we harboured for each other I felt a profound sadness for her. None of this was her fault, yet she was the one to pay the biggest price.
"He's your husband, Bella. He loves you. You get to share your life with him and your beautiful daughter. The perfect happily ever after. So what else matters? Because if I was in your position, I know nothing else would. No accusation or revelation could change how I saw him, because I would love him. And that's all that counts."
The bitter look on Bella's face showed my words had no effect but I wondered if one day in the future she'd realise just how true they were. It's easy to love someone when life is easy but sometimes the best love is the one that's tested. It's the one where you've seen a person at their worst and you've still decided to love them.
Someone once told me that there are moments in life when you have to choose whether to win or lose. That you can't have everything. I faced that choice now, and as awful as it was it was also the easiest decision I'd ever make.
"Take me, Aro"
"No!" Edward shouted as he stood between Aro and I. Imploring me to take it back.
"Excuse me?" Aro asked, his lips curling in anticipation.
"I made the bargain, so I will pay the price. Either you kill me, or I will serve you as once promised. I won't run. I won't disobey you. If you choose to kill me, I won't fight back."
"Sarelle, don't do this." Edward's hands wrapped around mine, holding them against his chest. I placed his hand against the locket on my chest, hoping he'd understand. This was plan C and if it was ever going to work him and Bella couldn't be here.
He stepped away with slow awkward steps, retreating to Bella's side. Whether she wanted him there or not.
"Such a business-like suicide case." Aro said, his head tilting as he evaluated my offer.
"We all know you were the cause of my creation so it is apt for you to be my end."
"Logic would suggest such a thing." Aro chuckled incredulously. "Wouldn't you agree, Edward?"
Edward tore his hands through his hair. "Sarelle, please," he pleaded.
"Take the deal, Edward." I set my eyes forward for fear one glance at him would melt my resolve.
In my periphery I saw him nod stiffly.
"Oh no. I want to hear you condemn her, your first love."
"Yes!" he replied through gritted teeth. "I choose Bella."
And just like that plan C started to fall into place.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
