A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.

Just a quick clarification- The concept of mating is slightly different than canon in my story, more similar to a human relationship. A vampire chooses their mate, deciding mutually in a vampire pairing to accept one another as mates, taking the other as their forever, after which their instincts, too, would accept the other person, refusing to part with the mated vampire. But, at the same time, it is not unchangeable or the end result for the mated pair. In case of them not being happy with one another, or in case of one of the mate dying, another mate can be accepted by the vampire, if they so choose to. So for example- if Edward had shown interest in Alice, deciding to pursue the feelings she had for him, the bond between Alice and Jasper (who had already taken one another as mates before they joined the Cullens) would have broken to let Alice be with Edward, almost like a human divorce.

I hope I made sense with that….

Anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it and thank you for reading!

Chapter 22- The castle of nightmares

Bella's POV-

Ugh!

A painfully embarrassing groan left the recesses of my mouth, bringing me back to the world of reality, also bringing with it the realization that every inch of my skin was on fire, fire hell bent on making me pay for every bad deed that I had ever committed in my- not that long- life, there weren't many, I could speak with guarantee, but, sure, I had lied a few times….wished bad for a few people- cough- Lauren Mallory- cough…..and even caused a few people severe injuries, not purposefully, though. I wasn't the kind to go out and indulge in fights, never had been, but my clumsiness pretty much outdid me in that department. I winced remembering the time in Phoenix when I had accidently stumbled into the new girl in school, causing her to bang into her locker and get stitches- on her face- in the first hour of her first day itself in a new school.

Yeah, I was somewhat glad that my first day had gone better than that. Sure I had to deal with a thirsty vampire out for my blood, but it was still better than that…well, marginally.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, my entire body ached, from the top of my head to the little toe of my foot. I was in pain….misery….agony…hell on earth, call it what you want to, but I wanted to crawl myself to however small I could look, and sleep till whenever this pain decided to make a disappearance.

But, of course, it doesn't work that way. I had been a living- walking proof of that, bearing the pain of every major- minor injury of mine with a- how much ever I could manage at the moment- smile on my face. I had no choice but to. When you are a walking disaster as me- I had come to accept this fact graciously- you quickly learnt the best way to deal with it.

But this was different. I didn't remember getting hurt. I hadn't been in an accident, or any sort of accident caused by my two left feet that just couldn't walk right. I tried to remember the events of the last, clear, memory of mine, which seemed to be of the previous night.

All I could see, though, were blurred images, images difficult to make any sense of.

Where was I? Why couldn't I remember what had happened last night?

I could faintly hear two people talking around me- both male, their voices too low to figure out about what they were talking though, mere sounds reaching my ears, enough to make me realize that the people around me were unfamiliar.

That was strange.

Where was I?

Where was Charlie…. or Peter…. or even Jasper would do at the moment?

Was I not at home?

I briefly touched my surroundings, the seat that I had been seated on; ignoring the shudder that passed through my body at this small an action, my eyes still shut, though, not ready to come back to the world of living. It felt like touching leather. I was sitting on a chair…or cushion, probably, made out of the finest leather.

I was not at home, or any other place I frequently visited….there weren't many- just the high school that I was still a student of, or the Forks Diner that lay a witness to a father- daughter dinner once a week.

And, this wasn't the Forks Diner; I could guarantee that, I couldn't smell any greasy burgers or fries in the air, and needless to say, this wasn't a chair in my hardly about average public high school.

So then, where was I?

I could feel myself shiver in fright at this thought of mine.

Being in unfamiliar surroundings, surrounded by strange men, wasn't the best place to be for anybody, and I was no exception to that.

I had to remember what had happened the previous night. That was the key to this newfound mystery of mine. I forced myself to remember, putting all the pressure on my throbbing- already miserable- head, my throbbing head that started protest very soon for my liking.

A groan left my mouth at this sudden pain that passed through every minute pore of mine.

My head hurt from the pressure put on it….like massively- seriously ached, almost like a mack truck had mercilessly rammed into it, leaving me to now bear the consequences of it….or like I had had far too many drinks for my good the previous night, banging my head into a brick wall a million times for the absolute fun of it….or like I was stuck in Mrs. Goff's Spanish class as she went on and on with her own baseless explanations- in an extremely squeaky voice, I must mention, not bothering to notice that half of the students in class had already fallen asleep or were yawning like the world was about to end….or like I was….

Anyway, you get my point.

My head hurt from the thought of remembering anything, suffice to say, I really couldn't remember a damn thing.

I took a deep breath in, my stupid eyes still protesting from telling me what all they could see around, if only they would stop being this stubborn and open themselves to their surroundings, ignoring the slight sleepiness that still passed over me….

Okay, so I had been in Forks, back at home…..

No….

I had not been at home, I deduced after a brief thought. The events of last night had happened elsewhere.

Where but?

Why couldn't I remember anything?

Ugh! This was so frustrating.

I had never suffered through anything of this sort before.

My memory always staying intact despite of the injury my body was recovering from.

'Concentrate Bella' I chided myself, bringing myself to pay attention to the absolutely necessary to answer- question in my head. It was truly imperative that I remember of where I was.

Seattle….

The word struck out, the feeling of it being the truth passing through my still blurry mind.

I had been in….Seattle. Yes, I- no, we, we had been in Seattle, the four of us- Angela, Jasper, Peter and I.

Why had we been in Seattle?

Seattle was close to four hours away from Forks. Why had we travelled to so far away?

It felt absurd to travel this far away from home without there being a valid reason for it…..Did Charlie know that I had come to Seattle with the rest of them?

Birthday, my mind suddenly jerked to realization. It had been Angela's birthday, and I had decided to celebrate it with her, fulfilling her wish of celebrating it in Seattle.

That was it! My mind connected the dots, letting way for a few blurred images to pass through at this newly made association, images of sky diving, feeling the sense of freeing and achievement as it settled all over me, walking through a museum on the insistence of Jasper and Angela, walking through a crowded street….no, market. It had been a market.

I had been laughing, talking to Peter as we walked through the market, buying souvenirs for us each to keep.

I had been happy, satisfied with life.

What had happened after that?

We had walked out of the market, I briefly remembered, spending a good- long- day together, when Peter and Jasper had suddenly stopped, sniffing the air, and scarily straightening as if they felt a threat to be around…..

Threat….

I straightened in my seat with a jerk, the last- missing- clue coming to mind.

Angela and I had been at the car, about to sit inside, when a strange blackness had overcome my senses, covering me with its strange feeling of emptiness.

I had not been able to feel anything after that.

Nothing till now, that was.

I was obviously not near the car any longer or close to anyone known or having good intentions in our regards….signifying only one thing in my mind.

We had been kidnapped, taken from near the car and brought over here…..wherever we were right now, that was the most probable explanation that made somewhat sense to me.

Who had kidnapped the two of us but?

Who would kidnap the two of us?

Why would anyone kidnap us? It just felt ridiculously nonsensical. What reason could anyone have to do so, owing to the fact that no human could possess the power to make us lose consciousness in such a manner, obviously pointing towards the fact that it had to be the work of a supernatural creature, a vampire more so to say….

Wait. Were they any more supernatural creatures roaming the face of this earth?

There had to be right. If vampires could exist, how far from the truth was the notion that fairies, mermaids, witches, werewolves…all could exist. Hey, maybe the Bigfoot or even the tooth fairy existed, myths being created from somewhat reality, as it was always said to be.

Anyway, it had to be the work of a vampire...that much was clear.

Victoria….

The word struck out in my mind, glaring at me in sheer obviousness.

Of course it would be Victoria.

How dumb of me to not realize this before?

She was the only one, as far as I knew, to openly claim that she would come for me….and now, she had come for me, and the time of my impending death had finally arrived, catching on to me with a loud laugh.

I was doomed.

I didn't want to die like this. I had just started to live again, in all of honesty.

She couldn't end it for me this soon.

It just wasn't fair….

I know I know that life isn't fair, but come on, couldn't I have hoped for a bit more of time?

Was it selfish of me to dream for a bit more, maybe even dream that Peter and Jasper could get rid of Victoria, ridding me of the threat had been on my head for as long as it had been?

It wasn't selfish at all; at least it didn't feel selfish in my opinion.

Where was Peter, though?

Did he even know that I had been kidnapped, and was being taken somewhere, tied to a random chair in some place?

I could feel something tying me down to my seat, like a seat belt on an airplane.

Wait. Was Victoria flying us out of state….or out of the country?

Could she even do something like that with us being out of consciousness?

Wouldn't the airport authorities have a bit of a problem with that?

Anyway, if so was the case, assuming that she had managed to get it done, what all had she planned for us…or specifically, for me?

I could not help but dread at this thought.

Was I in for more suffering than could even be imagined?

I could not stop the whimper that left my mouth at that dreaded thought.

For the sake of my sanity, I hoped that that was not the case.

"Pull it back, Alec. Let her wake up completely," said a male voice- capturing my attention- filled with too much mirth for my liking. "See how she is squirming in her place. I bet she can hear every word of what we are talking."

"Shields, I tell you. The effect withers off much faster than with normal." laughed a second voice, this, too, of a man's.

Wait. This was not Victoria's voice.

Duh! Obviously!

My kidnapper was a man, two men to be precise. Could it be someone she had hired to get me to her? It wasn't as impractical as it would have seemed a few months back. If vampires can exist and roam around in daylight, vampires paying other vampires to kidnap a human also seemed equally plausible…..after all, even Peter had started to watch over me firstly as a favor to Jasper.

So, it was someone hired to kidnap me….us, I realized suddenly. Poor Angela, she would have to pay the prize for being my friend.

I could have stopped this from happening.

I should have stopped this from happening.

If only I had kept my distance from her…..she wouldn't be stuck in this situation with me….

I wish I could take it all back, starting from the time I had met Edward. Neither would I have ever spoken to him nor would I be in this situation today.

It could all have been avoided just that easily.

But then I wouldn't have met Peter or even Jasper, and slight sadness filled me at the thought of that. They were genuine, maybe a bit too much frank in the case of Peter, but it just showed that he cared enough for me to keep his opinion in front of me.

I could appreciate that.

"Time to wake up, little bird," teased the second man, my eyes suddenly feeling light enough to open again.

Huh! What kind of sorcery was that?

Was that an effect of his possible power?

I lifted a finger of mine in air, testing this theory for myself, shocked at the realization that I felt absolutely normal for a change. No pain passed through me at the movement, unlike before, making these past few minutes feel like a mere dream, but it wasn't a dream, I was sure of that. The man whose laugh I could still hear clearly in my ears was an added proof enough of that.

I slowly opened my eyes, not keeping any expectations in mind. God only knows what I was to find!

The white light in the room felt intrusive, hurting my eyes as they tried to adjust to it. I looked around me in confusion, glad for the fact that a mundane action as such was no longer painful. I could think clearly once again.

I was in an airplane. Kudos for getting that correct, with a seat belt fastened to me. Angela was sitting right beside me, sleeping motionlessly, unaware of all that was happening around us.

Lucky her!

Two men, my eyes settled on them, were sitting facing us, their red eyes playfully observing every action of mine. One of them- the one who looked slightly older- had black cropped hair and olive skin, his eyes a deep crimson, such a crimson that could easily scare an unknowing human, the other man- more like a young boy- had dark brown shaggy hair that fell to his shoulders, pale skin, and equally frightening red eyes, or probably, it was just the darkness that lay hidden behind those eyes of theirs.

They were scary and evil, and they made no pretenses to hide it.

Needless to say, they were vampires, bringing my biggest nightmare to life.

I looked around me in haste. Shouldn't the other humans in the airplane notice their unusualness….also weren't the seats in this airplane a bit odd?

I had travelled several times by air, but never before had I sat in an airplane that had seats facing one another instead of the usual all seats facing ahead?

Wasn't this slightly weird?

My eyes widened in shock and my mouth dropped open when I realized- by obviously looking around me- that we were the only four passengers onboard.

Two vampires and two unfortunate humans, and it could have been funny if it wasn't so damn scary….

"This is the Volturi private jet," said the older one, amusement clear in his voice. "Did you really think of us as that cheap to travel with all those stinky, useless humans?"

I gave him a half nod in agreement, stopping mid- motion when I realized the impact of what he had just said, my eyes widening with every word that entered my rational mind.

"Volturi," I whispered in disbelief, half hoping that it had been a trick of my ears.

No….No…..

It had to be a trick.

Please let it be a trick of the mind!

"Ding Ding," said the older looking one, smiling creepily. "I love how famous we are."

I raised my eyebrow slightly at that. Rather more like infamous, but to each their own.

"So, you know about us?" asked the younger one, folding his arms together. "I am surprised to hear that the doctor decided to educate you about our kind. When he had left the castle all those centuries ago, I had come to believe that an informed semi- human instead of a dreaded vampire had left our life behind. I am honestly surprised to find out that nobody in their right mind has decapitated him till now. Don't worry though, we will not disappoint."

"Alec," chided the older one, glaring at him when I shuddered in fright, though I had reason to believe that his glare had nothing to do with my fear. He couldn't have cared less about any feeling passing through me at the moment.

They were going to kill Carlisle. I didn't really like the man any longer, but I definitely didn't want him, or any of the other Cullen's to die.

That was a bit too harsh, in my opinion.

Alec simply laughed, though, my eyes falling upon the crest that he wore in his neck. It was a delicate necklace in the shape of a 'V' with two red stones added to it, giving it the desired effect of royalty.

I guess that was what they were….vampire royalty.

Anyhow, if I had any more doubts about their identity, it could have been easily cleared by the fact that these both were wearing similar black robes, exactly similar to what those men in Carlisle's painting had worn…..and it wasn't like I could ever get that picture out of my head. I doubt that that was a possibility after observing that painting even once, the sight of the three masters, that was what Carlisle had called them, was freaky enough to never be forgotten. Their cold eyes and evil smiles especially difficult to erase from a mere human's mind.

"Like what you see?" Alec questioned me, noticing the fact that I had been observing his crest- for a few long minutes now. "You can get this one day if the masters think you worthy."

"I don't," I shook my head in a whisper, too afraid to even volunteer my opinion. Joining the Volturi was possibly the last thing in my mind. I had no intention of ever joining them. I would rather be buried six feet under…..

Alec simply laughed at my meek refusal, muttering of how it really wouldn't be in my power to decide.

I shivered at that thought. I knew that the masters were somewhat cruel, but they weren't unjust…right?

At least Peter always believed that they stood by justice….

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, forcing my voice to come out of my parched throat. I looked beside me at the innocent Angela. "Let her go. She is innocent."

It was not her fault. She should not have been stuck in this situation.

I was ready to go with them wherever they were taking me, but Angela didn't deserve this. She deserved to go to back to her normal life, a life where she was clueless of the darkness that surrounded the small town of Forks.

Alec simply laughed at me, cruelly and in a manner that could easily be interpreted as demeaning. I looked down at my lap in nervousness and embarrassment. I hated the fact that he could make me feel so dumb and inferior.

I was not inferior to him….or to anyone else.

Gone were those days when meek little Bella Swan hid her face from every passerby who had even a bit more of confidence than her.

I wasn't that girl any longer. I had grown up, deciding for myself to live with a backbone.

I gave myself a half nod, determination clear in my eyes, and looked up, directly, into the eyes of my kidnappers.

Sure I had no control over what was happening around me, neither could I escape from here, but I would not be a coward.

I would neither cry nor shy away from anyone's glaring eyes.

I was stronger than that.

"Impressive," said the older one, smirking at me. "Caius is rather fond of those with a half backbone and a never giving up spirit. Keep that up and you are sure to get his vote."

"His vote," I questioned, with confusion evident in my tone.

His vote for what….

I was almost sure that we weren't discussing the upcoming elections….

Alec smirked at me. "The vote of whether you will end up as food, joining your friend, or will be one of us someday. Aro is the deciding vote, mind you."

My eyes widened at his words, the implication of 'one of them' clear in my mind.

I didn't want to join the Volturi, of course neither did I want to die, but the question was now on which was a less favorable path to walk on…..

Damn it!

Why did I ever meet the Cullens?

Why did Edward ever decide to talk to me?

I wish I could teleport to the past and rewrite the scene, making it so that none of this ever occurred.

Maybe I could have convinced Charlie to move to Phoenix for me?

He loved me…..he would have accepted such a drastic change for the sake of my happiness, of course it would have been rather selfish on my part to demand something like this from him…but I wouldn't have been here in that scenario.

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

"Don't you want to be stronger, faster and higher up in the food chain?" asked the older one.

Damn! I was tired of referring to him as 'the older one'. If only someone would tell me his actual name…..

I gave him a half nod at his question. Yes, I had agreed to be changed, I did remember that. I was okay with turning into an immortal that had to rely on animal or human blood to survive, killing being a common aspect of that life…..

Sounds kind of creepy when put in that perspective, but anyway….

I was okay with it. I had agreed to it, willing to pay the price for a crime I had unwillingly committed, for that was what it was- being a human in the knowing, but never had I thought about living a part of that eternity locked up in a castle of creepy, evil murderers, who achieved satisfaction from being sadistic.

I did not want that. I never wanted that.

Alec rolled his eyes at me, smirking in the same evil manner. "Why don't you take some time to think about it? We are going to be landing soon, and wouldn't you want to join your friend for the last leg of this journey?"

My eyes widened for a second, recognizing the hidden words of that sentence….before a darkness started to appear in front of my eyes, my body went rigid once again….and everything succumbed to blackness….

I guess I was going back to that feeling of nothingness, no question of whether I wanted that or not.

X-X-X

I was waking up. I could feel what was undoubtedly Alec's power lessening over me. Surprisingly, I remembered everything this time around, clearly remembering the conversation that had occurred in the airplane.

Angela and I had been kidnapped….by the Volturi…. by who I assumed were the guards.

We had not been targeted by Victoria, who knows where she was….at least I was somewhat glad that it was not her as our captor. That woman was a different level of lunatic….

Anyway, we had been taken from Seattle and were now being taken to another place in another state or country, possibly?

Wait.

Italy, of course, The Volturi was based in a small town in Italy, Volterra, was what Carlisle had mentioned while speaking about them.

Had we been brought to Volterra?

It seemed the most plausible option to be, considering that was where the 'masters' would be.

I had always wished to tour Italy- No doubt it is a beautiful country to visit, but I would have rather preferred if it wasn't under these circumstances.

But I guess you do with what you get….

If only I would get to see the outside world as a human for one last time….

For now though, I had too many questions and no answers to go with them.

I felt a strange lightness over my eyes, the kind of lightness that informed me that I was waking up, getting back to the world of living. I quickly checked myself for any type of discomfort or pain- raising a finger of mine in the air, but was glad to find nothing of that sort.

It was all clear. Alec had taken back the effect of his power that had rested upon me.

He had a pretty unusual power; that was for sure.

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times to get myself adjusted in these new surroundings.

I had a strong reason to believe that we had reached our destination, which if I wasn't wrong, was the castle of the vampire royalty.

I shuddered at that thought. I was surrounded by vampires in a castle from which escaping was next to impossible.

I wish Peter had been here.

He would know exactly what to say to calm me down, giving me a logical conclusion to go by, maybe slightly frank and even the last words you want to hear at the moment, but exceptionally honest….because that was what Peter was, if had to be described in a word or two.

The ceiling over my head was white, giving me the impression that I was lying over something soft, a bed probably. I looked around me instantly, trying to confirm this sudden doubt that had crossed my mind. Yup, I had been lying down on a soft bed. I quickly got up, sitting on the bed instead, and looked around me.

I was in a normal looking room with white walls and a white ceiling, giving this room a pretty dull feeling. There was no other furniture in here, apart from a dresser, an armchair and a flat screen Television mounted to the opposite wall….and of course, the king's size bed I had been lying down on.

I had the sudden urge to relieve myself from the pain in my bladder that had made it known; in short words- I needed to pee, badly, and I quickly got up from the bed, walking towards one of the doors in the room.

It was locked, just my luck.

I almost jogged towards the other door, smiling briefly when it opened, revealing it to be the bathroom. After finishing my business in the similarly nothing exceptional about bathroom, I walked out of the bathroom to figure out of where I was, and more importantly if there was any way out of here.

I had already figured out that the main door- that was leading to the outside- was locked. I tried once again, but attaining the same result. Great! I had been locked in here, at the mercy of the vampire royalty that called this castle their home. I took a quick glance around the room, searching for a window….which could not be found.

The room had not even one window, a balcony being a far away thought, to it.

It was almost suffocating to be in here.

A groan was what pulled my attention back to the bed, more specifically, to Angela who lay upon that bed.

How had I not noticed her presence in the room before?

I stared at her, wide eyed, as she opened her eyes, groaning painfully, and stared at me back.

"My throat hurts," she managed to cry out, rubbing her throat with her right hand.

I nodded my head in haste, looking around me for a glass or bottle of water, smiling briefly when I found two bottles of packaged water on top of the dresser nearby.

It was a relief, at least they had thought of keeping drinking water in the room.

Thank god for small mercies!

I quickly gave one of the bottles to Angela, taking the other one for relieving my slightly parched throat. I had not even realized how thirsty I had been before Angela had spoken about her dry throat.

We sipped the water in silence for a few brief minutes before Angela put down her water bottle and stared at me with definite shock in her eyes.

"Where the hell are we? Why don't I remember anything clearly?"

I sighed, shaking my head. So, I guess partial memory loss was a side effect of Alec's power, at least for the first time around.

"We are in Italy." I decided to rip the band-aid off in one go. There was nothing I could say that would make this any better. Angela needed to be told the truth. There was no other way out of this. Sadly, she had no other choice but to join me and Charlie in the list of humans who knew the truth of the vampire world.

"What?" she screamed at me in absolute shock and disbelief, an expected reaction, I would say.

I gave her a brief nod, sitting down beside her on the bed. "Do you remember us travelling to Seattle for your birthday?"

Start with the easy stuff, was my way of handling the difficult syllabus placed in my hand.

"Um…yeah," she said after a few minutes of silence. "Jasper and Peter had been with us."

"Right," I nodded my head. "What else do you remember?"

She rubbed her head with the back of her hand, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

"We had just left Pike Place Market, walking towards the car after eating our dinner….."

"Go on," I spoke when she seemed to take a pause.

"Um…we, the two of us, were standing by the car….and, everything goes blank after that. I can't remember anything after that point. The next thing I know I wake up over here."

I nodded my head, sighing.

Here goes nothing….

"Angela," I whispered to her. "Please keep an open mind. I am going to tell you something which will be difficult to grasp and accept, but I am telling you the truth. Please trust me on that."

Her eyes widened for a second before she schooled her features back to normal, nodding her head apprehensively.

"Did you ever notice anything weird or different about the Cullens?" I asked.

She gave me a confused glance, but answered nonetheless. "Yea, they were all exceptionally beautiful compared to the rest of us. Um…they kept to themselves more often, never talking to anyone- excluding you- out of their family."

I nodded my head, taking a deep breath in. "What about their eyes? Did you notice that they all had the same shade of golden?"

She gave me a confused glance, "No, I guess it slipped my mind. Did they?"

I sighed. I guess Peter had been correct when he had told me that humans often looked over what was right in front of them.

"Okay," I tried again. "Do you remember of how they went camping on every rare sunny day that Forks saw?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically at that. "Of course, Jess was so jealous of that. She always used to crib about her family not believing in skipping school so often."

Her face dropped at the mention of Jessica, a sudden sadness taking over her features. Right….they had fought before our trip to Seattle, but I ignored it at the moment. I had more important matters to deal with.

"Angela, the thing is that….the Cullens had a valid reason for not being seen in public whenever it was sunny outside, just like they all shared the same golden eyes, and kept away from people in general?"

"What?" she raised an eyebrow at me, "I don't get it, what reason could there be for any of this? Are they really introverted or something?"

I sighed. "Okay, have you noticed how Jasper is different from the rest of the boys of our age, say- Mike or Eric?"

She liked Jasper. She would have paid slightly more attention to him….right?

She blushed at my words, looking at her lap in sudden shyness. "Yeah, Jasper is a gentleman, through and through. They have stopped making such men, you know…."

I nodded my head at that, agreeing with her completely. "Yeah, they pretty much stopped making men with qualities like Jasper almost a century back."

They, obviously being the one who created all of us, and it were a fact. The southern gentleman could no longer be found in this modern world. Even Edward- who was only a few decades younger- could not compare to either Jasper or Peter.

"Wait," she stared at me in shock. "Did you just say century, because I clearly heard it wrong?"

I nodded my head in agreement. "I did. Angela, the thing is that the Cullens, well, even Peter, they are all vampires."

Her mouth dropped open in shock, a laugh almost rising in her throat. She did not believe me, well obviously. Who would believe such a crazy story without a decent proof to go with it?

"Hear me out," I sighed. "Don't be quick to reach a conclusion."

She nodded her head, silently telling me to go ahead with my crazy story.

I shook my head, starting to tell her everything from my first interaction with Edward to finding out about their truth, courtesy Jacob. I told her about my meeting with the rest of his family, the baseball game and my escape to Phoenix while James had been hunting me. I showed her the bite on my wrist- the only proof I had, telling her of my disastrous eighteenth birthday and of how Edward had dumped me after the events of that night. I told her of how Peter had come back to Forks to protect me from Victoria…and how now we were stuck in the castle of the vampire royalty, owing to me knowing the truth of their kind….

She was silent for a few minutes before she gasped.

"Oh fuck! I will be doomed."

I nodded my head in agreement, exactly my thoughts.

"So, vampires exist?"

I nodded my head.

"And we are in their lair?"

I nodded my head again.

She took her head in her hands, looking so disheartened, not having a ray of hope in her heart.

"I am sorry, Angela." I apologized. "It is my fault. If I would have never become your friend none of this would have happened…."

She shook her head at me, meeting my eyes. "It is not your fault. You did not intend for this to happen. I cannot blame you anymore than blaming myself for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and if you have forgotten, I was the one to initiate our friendship, so you really can't take the blame for that."

I gave her a small smile in return. She truly was a kind person, a person who rarely- if ever- kept grudges.

She opened her mouth to speak something more….when the door was suddenly opened, from the outside, and a female vampire with blonde flowing hair and deep crimson eyes walked straight into the room, putting the two of us on edge.

"The masters wish to see the two of you. They have asked for your presence in the throne room."

My eyes widened in question.

It wasn't a choice. Her statement was more like a compulsion.

Throne room…..

It sounded serious….and equally dangerous….

Why did it feel like a life changing decision was now about to be made?