AN: Hey guys! I've been gone for a while, but I assure you that I haven't stopped working on this story in some capacity. I have roughly 40k words written, I just need to finish up some of the in-between chapters because I was an idiot and wrote this so out of order. Anyway, please have patience with me. Updates might be slow coming. I went back to the first few chapters and just updated some things to make it all make more sense, but if you notice any weird plot holes, please give me the heads up.
Shame
The doors give way slowly.
To the sides, I see the lines of dark-cloaked figures, lounging against the walls. Marble, the same white-grey stone as in Aro's washroom, stretches across the length of the giant room. Every inch of the floor swirls with grey, even the steps leading up to the kings.
Three kings. Three thrones.
To the right sits Caius. His high cheekbones and blonde hair are only complimented by the sight of the throne behind him. Regal.
To the left sits a man I have not met before. He looks older than Caius, but not by much. He is staring off into the distance, not focusing on anyone. Bored. Then our eyes meet, and I realize it's not boredom at all. This dark-haired man is troubled by something. I can see it in his disinterested gaze and the circles under his eyes. It's in the way he appears to barely hold himself together. Haunted.
My gaze turns to Aro in the end, seated in the center of the other two, carefully leaning back in his regal seat. Staring straight at me.
I continue forward, a slow march to the kings at the other end of the room. And the closer I get, the wider the grin on Aro's face grows. I can't breathe. My feet have their own ideas, however, and they continue to carry me toward him.
"Dearest, Isabella," Aro purs. He stands from his seat and prowls toward the end of the platform. "Such a pleasure to have you join us."
He closes the gap between us quickly and reaches out his hands in greeting. I do not take them - my anger still throbbing under my skin after our earlier encounter.
Aro takes the hint with a huff and something murderous sparkles behind his cheery facade. "Come, meet our coven."
He turns his lithe figure to the side and gestures his arms toward the other two kings on the platform before us.
"As you already know Caius, let me introduce you to Marcus." Aro gestures towards the brown-haired king on the left. "Marcus, this is Isabella Swan - one of our human servants."
Marcus nods at me, almost seeming interested. His eyes travel between Aro and me, appearing to study the air between us. Curious.
Just then, Aro grabs me roughly. He pulls my body hard against his and drops his lips to the base of my neck. They hover above my skin for seconds before his icy lips press against my warmth. I try to remove myself from his hold but to no avail.
"Given the present circumstances, my dear, I am forced to ask you to cease your struggles." His milk-chocolate voice tottered on the edge of the dark side. Tart. Sweet. Bitter. Delicious.
His hands hold my hips tighter then and even though his fingers feel like chains, I continue to squirm. I will wiggle for my life if it means that I do not die tonight. Cool lips descend onto the shell of my ear and a series of chills erupt in agonizing paralysis as he breathes out his next commands.
"Mia stella, I am not one to be disobeyed. There will not be a third chance for you," he purrs.
Aro's hands slip down from my hips and inch closer to my core. His grasp is still tight around me; he presses my person against him like a prisoner of war. The drag of his hands sends a fire burning underneath my skin and the closer he draws to my center, the hotter I burn. My futile escape attempts are long forgotten in his distraction and I can feel my resolve slipping. Aro finds pleasure in my obedience and lets out a throaty purr before he returns his hand to my hip.
"Good girl," he murmurs before he sucks my earlobe in between his teeth, grazes his tongue across the skin, and releases quickly before turning away. He leaves me vulnerable and panting, unsure of what I truly ache for.
In the spell of it all, I forget where I am and the presence of the company in which I reside. With an eyebrow raised towards the crowd, I struggle to blink away the lust-induced haze. I am once again met with the sight of the marvelous chamber before me - the one I was sent to scrub down moments before.
Dozens of court members and guards stand before us looking on in various judgment-filled expressions. My humiliation is put on display for all to see, and by the arousal, I feel pressed against the hollow of my back, I know Aro finds pleasure in this shameful scene. The bastard gets off on humiliating me.
The embarrassment from the episode is too much to bear and my throat begins to close in on itself. The tears will come soon, and I am desperate to flee from this man - this creature. But as his fingers crush around my hips once more, I feel for the first time as though I might not leave this glorious castle with my life in my hands.
Aro begins to speak more, this time for all to hear. The chirp of his voice bounds off the castle walls with his first timber.
"My kin," he begins. Molasses drips from his words. "It seems we have a treasure in our midst."
Aro releases me in an instant and the next, my legs quiver and collapse. Resigned to my imminent injury and lacking the energy to stop it, I brace myself for the impact. But I never hit the ground. Cold hands catch me around the waist instead and before I open my eyes, a gust of air rushes through me. When I feel a cushioned seat beneath me, I muster up enough courage to face my fears.
His throne. Aro placed me on the very seat that represents his power. His actions are confusing and I am still at a loss as to how he manages to get me to the seat so quickly. Overwhelmed, I can't comprehend the actions around me any longer. My throat closes completely now, and I feel the telltale heat rush to my cheeks. If I can't leave soon, the humiliation will just continue to grow. Hopelessness washes over me when the first tear trickles down my cheek. He wins.
Aro, the king creature stands before me almost protectively.
"Tell me, brothers. How beneficial would it be to the guard to hold a powerful mental shield amidst our ranks?"
Caius speaks first.
"A mental shield would give the guard an incomparable advantage over unknown, volatile gifts." His voice is unlike Aro's in its eloquence but is laced with something more cynical. Like someone who has seen too much. The brother I see in this throne room is strikingly different than the one I spend my days in companionship with.
As his explanation comes to a close, my attention is drawn to the other brother. His eyes are intent on Aro like he too is investigating something.
"She should not be in the guard, Aro. Her gifts are not as valuable as her bonds," Marcus begins, stepping forward with his palm stretched out to his brother. Aro turns slowly and takes the dark-haired man's hand in his own. "I do not wish a broken bond on my worst enemy."
His face is shadowed from view, but I can see the tension coiling in his strong back.
"Well now. That won't make much of a difference. She must still be on the guard," he sighs, almost sounding sympathetic. The brothers separate, but Marcus remains fixated on Aro.
"Brother, I must insist. There is no reason to send her into battle. It's not wor-"
"Enough, Marcus," Aro commands, waving off his brother's worries. "I have no intention of taking a mate."
Confusion sparks in me again… This whole situation is confusing. It is suffocating and I want nothing more than to go home. Death will not come to me here. I will not obediently rage out into battle. Girls don't fight. Ladies knit and have babies, and cook meals for their husbands. They aren't sent off to war by vampires.
"Isabella," Aro drawls. He moves toward me with both the elegance of a swan and slithers of a snake. In equal parts beauty and darkness, he sweeps into the line of my sight and lifts his hands to my cheeks.
"Are you well, mia stella?"
I can only nod. It's a lie. Once again, he manages to take over all my senses, drowning me in his essence. I have no control with this man.
"Then we shall give you a choice; join us as a member of this coven and fight alongside the guard as a shield, or you may spend the remainder of your short human years scrubbing the floors of this palace."
I gape at the vampire before me, unable to process the words dripping like honey from his lips.
"Caius, dear brother," Aro addresses the blonde, his eyes still locked with mine.
"Yes, Aro."
"You've spent time with Bella, haven't you?" Aro turns to him then, and I am at a loss for his next move.
Caius is suddenly standing before his brother, his hand outstretched much like Marcus before him. "The bloody swan nested in my study," he grumbles, but beneath the complaint, I see the humor in his eyes. He is still my friend, even in this daunting throne room. And I am grateful to have him as a compatriot.
"Yes, that is where I became acquainted with Miss Swan." Aro lets out a laugh and addresses me with warmth in his crimson eyes. His mountainous moods leave me gasping for oxygen with each summit.
"Tell me, Isabella, have you come to a decision yet?"
I shake my head in the negative and speak up. "I don't know what joining you entails," I reply, my tone low and cautious. "And I like to make educated decisions as much as I can."
But my answer is not enough for him. "I will give you six months, stella."
The brute starts to speak to someone. Maybe me, maybe his brothers, maybe the crowd, but I can't hear him. I can't hear anything but my own agonizing thoughts. Because it's hitting me, now. I will never be free of this man.
The air in the room becomes even more difficult to breathe. The look in his eyes gives me a reason to believe that I really do not have a choice in the matter. He will decide for me, regardless of my wishes. Black dots flood my vision, dancing across Aro's face as our eyes bore into each other's.
And with one last grin from the king, the darkness consumes me.