The Princess of the Volturi
IV
-The Reunion-
~Bella~
A soft knocking is what caused me to wake from my sleep. I blinked through my bleary vision upon first opening my eyes, shifting under the tangled mess of sheets that swaddled me. I slowly pushed myself up to be in a upright position in bed, rubbing at my eyes to rid any traces of sleep that remained there. Once I felt it was all gone, I blinked several times before opening my eyes fully, taking in the large room that I resided in. So none of yesterday was really a dream. I thought to myself, sighing almost happily at it.
Another rap of knocking came from my right, startling me briefly.
"Isabella? I can hear you're awake in there." I heard the alluring melodious voice that was Heidi, behind the door to my room.
"I'm awake. You can come in." I said normally, knowing she could hear me easily. The door opened and she stepped inside. She looked beautiful as ever, her dark hair swept to one side and dressed in an eye catching outfit much like she had worn yesterday. She flashed me a bright smile, and I looked down to see she was carrying in a tray of breakfast foods - oatmeal and yogurt in some bowls, and on a plate was eggs and toast. A glass of orange juice and a small cup of what smelled like strong coffee also accompanied the food. My stomach proceeded to growl then to alert me of its own wakeup call.
"Here is some food for the little human. Once you're finished eating, I'll get to work on dressing you up. Aro has told me that he would like for you to meet his brothers and get to know them all. We've been informed from Demetri that the four of them had sought out the Olympic Coven and informed them of their expected appearance here at Volterra. He told us that they agreed to it and will be arriving hopefully some time today." Heidi breezed out as she set the tray down in front of me on the bed.
"That soon?" I squeaked out, gazing up at her in shock. She nodded her head, pursing her lips.
"Well but of course. The Elders don't appreciate any vampires that are being summoned to take their sweet time and prolong any sentences that are to be doled out. I cannot speak for them so I have no idea as to what the outcome may be for them, much less you. I'm led to believe that you'll play a bigger part in everything currently going on, but as for that coven I have no clue. They readily agreed to their summoning from what Demetri had informed us. Felix couldn't help but also tell us about how... oh what was that boy's name? Edward? Yes Edward - Felix had told us with such joy that Edward had apparently nearly snapped upon them mentioning that you were here as well. Something about how Edward was threatening to do something if you had been harmed. Felix sounded as if he was disappointed that he didn't get to knock any heads around; he was so sure that that Edward boy would start something." Heidi had rambled on aimlessly, sighing in remembrance to some conversation that I wasn't around for.
I balked visibly upon hearing this.
"What?"
"He... was angry at the thought of me being hurt?" I questioned out loud, almost whispering it. That couldn't be right, could it? Edward shouldn't care that I was here, much less care if I was hurt by the Volturi. He was the one that left me that day in the forest, told me that he didn't love me anymore. He severed any and all ties with me that day; he honestly should be indifferent to anything regarding me.
Heidi nodded her head then. "At least from how Felix described it, it sounded like so."
I sighed; maybe I was looking into something that wasn't too deep.
"Alright lets just focus on the here and now, little Isabella. Please do eat and soon as you're done, I'll be back to get you ready for the day." Heidi quickly said then. She flashed me another bright toothy smile before she turned and gracefully glided out of my room, shutting the door behind her. Soon after she had left, I began eating as much of the food set before me. I was starving, my appetite wanting to push full steam ahead back to where it was before Jacob had entered my life. It felt so rewarding and satisfying to have delicious food in me again.
After I had finished most of the food in front of me, Heidi quickly came in after I had just set down my cup of coffee. Santiago was behind her and gave me a brilliant smile, bowing briefly when he entered the room. I blushed at the gesture and smile, but nodded my head to him in greeting. "Santiago please, no need to be so cordial with our little Isabella."
"I apologize but I am ever such the gentleman. And I feel as if she will be staying with us for awhile, so I want to show Isabella all the hospitality that she deserves." he countered smoothly, even throwing a wink over in my direction. He's a smooth talker alright.
"Please! You fare no better than Felix with the opposite sex." Heidi retorted, snickering at his face when it was marred by a frown. I blushed more at this exchange but couldn't help but chuckle briefly to myself.
"Now, I would like for you to kindly take this away to the kitchen to have it cleaned. I am going to be busying myself getting Bella ready for the day today. Shoo, shoo." she ordered, taking the tray that still sat in front of me, and then handing it over to Santiago. He again bowed and then turned, leaving us. Heidi then gently ordered me to get up and have my human moment in the bathroom as well as bathing for the day. She said she'd be getting the new clothes that she ordered for me and bringing them up for me to put into my wardrobe. I nodded and quickly stumbled out of bed, letting Heidi catch me by the arm so I wouldn't tumble into the nearby dresser.
"Oh you silly clumsy girl. Are you alright?" she asked after she caught me, petting my hair with her cold but perfectly manicured hand. My face was beet red - constantly I was this shade considering I couldn't help but be mortified at my human nature that was always tripping over thin air - and I nodded my head. I think my foot had gotten tangled up in the sheets while I was trying to hastily leave the bed.
After she helped me readjust, I wandered off to the bathroom to have my human moments. I did my business and jumped into the shower, taking only a bit of extra time to shave my legs and arms, and made sure I scrubbed myself down thoroughly. After washing my hair once more, I got out and dried off. While toweled up, I took some time to put some lotions and body butters on my skin; I couldn't help but try and primp myself just a bit. I knew it was like slathering paints on top of a greased up pig and would never fully make myself feel beautiful. But after all the suffering I had went though, I felt like I should get some treatment done for myself for my road to recovering and healing. I winced here and there when my rubbing in the body butters caused me to put pressure on bruises that still sat on my skin. They'll eventually heal and go away. Same with all these old cuts and scars.
Sighing, I got dressed in the underwear I had nabbed before rewrapping the towel around my torso. I figured I'd leave my hair out of one considering I think Heidi would want to do something with it. Then I left the bathroom. Heidi was in the room by the vanity, whereas she was mulling over some choices between several clothes that she had on a portable rack. I could see some dresses, some blouses and skirts hanging up on the rack.
"Oh you're finished! Excellent." Heidi easily heard me reenter the bedroom and turned towards me, her ruby eyes sparkling with excitement. I shuffled towards her, feeling extremely shy that I was sitting here in my underwear while she was dressed elegantly and confidently. "Now, let's see about putting you into something exquisite today. Normally I'd dress up anyone to match the royals - and that would include this dress," she continued, pausing only to reach around and grab a dress from the rack before she held it up to me. It was made of velvet material, a deep maroon color that seemed so sexy and mysterious. It was floor length and I could make out a slit on one side of the dress, while it was an off the shoulder styled dress, the sleeves long. I wasn't sure if that would even remotely look all that pretty on me. "But, I get the feeling that for you, you choose practicality over style and high-end fashion. So I'll meet you in the middle and try to dress you up in something that fits your comfort levels while also being perfectly styled." Heidi finished, putting the dress back on the rack and then getting to work looking through the clothes once more.
Before I could even try sitting down, she turned and held up another dress for me. "This should work a bit better for you." she concluded, smiling. It was a dress that was a deep blue color, a very deep navy almost. It was at least mid-thigh length so it wasn't horribly short. It was short sleeved, and for the collar it was a peter pan collar. "I shall also pair your dress with some stockings and low high heels." Heidi added, handing me the dress before she went back to the rack, possibly looking for the stockings.
"Uh..."
"Oh you can get dressed in front of me, Isabella. I've seen it all between various states of dress or undress, and every body type that there is. You don't need to feel so shy around me - for however long you're to be staying with us, I'll be taking it as my personal job every day to dress you up and making sure you're primped perfectly." Heidi mused, as if she could read my thoughts. She knew off the bat just how uncomfortable I most likely was while staying here with only a towel on to cover my half-naked body.
Blushing, I gave in and decided to just follow her word. I removed the towel, setting it down on a nearby chair. I then slipped the dress on, turning around for her to button up the pearl buttons that rested along my back. She sealed them up for me and then handed me my stockings - black in color with lacy, frilled tops that would be sitting on my thighs. I wordlessly slid them on and once they were on, I sat down in the chair that sat in front of the vanity while she handed me a pair of black leather kitten heels.
"Now, let us see what we can do to style your gorgeous hair." Heidi stated merrily, grabbing a silver brush that sat on top of the vanity and began to comb out the knots at the ends of my hair.
"I wouldn't say my hair is all that gorgeous. Compared to yours, mine looks like straw. It doesn't help that it's kind of gone down hill ever since... well, ever since the situation I was in with that wolf." I mumbled, looking down at my lap while I fingered the lace that rested on my thighs.
"Nonsense, your hair is just so pretty little lamb. Even after your abuse and if you weren't able to take care of it as well as you had used to, it's still holding its strength and softness. The curls and waves are still so present, and while the shine may be dull, I can still see it. We'll get your hair back to tip top shape and then some in no time. I'll do everything in my power to be sure of it." she rambled, still gently combing through my hair. It felt so relaxing and comforting to feel the brush going through my hair; something about it sent pleasant chills and goosebumps throughout my body, and I could feel myself sinking further into the chair.
"Heidi, can I ask you something?"
"But of course! Ask away."
"Why... Why are you all really being so nice to me? I'm just a mere human... I honestly never expected so much kindness from you all." I asked quietly, biting my bottom lip. I didn't want to upset her by either making an assumption or that I was accusing them of something. It however floored me that I was being treated so well by them all, especially her. I should be terrified of them all to be frank. I've only been used to the type of vampires that was the Cullens for as long as I've been thrusted into this mythical world, which I wasn't afraid of those types of vampires. I didn't have to worry about them suddenly snapping and wanting to attack me. Well, you should scratch that notion off considering the disaster that happened on your birthday. I quickly thought to myself begrudgingly, my heart sinking to my stomach when I remembered my 18th birthday that ended so horribly and where it led me. But even before then, I never feared the Cullens for what they were because I didn't think they'd turn on me and want to kill me. Here I am now though, in the lion's den so to speak with a huge coven of nothing but human blood-drinking vampires that could very easily end my life.
Yet, I was being treated so well by them - pampered, loved and comforted. I had expected my death to occur in that meadow when I first met them. But, I couldn't help but wonder if they took pity on me considering I was being abused by Jacob; I sure got that feeling based off their reactions when they realized it and talked to me so sweetly. I felt so much comfort when Aro had hugged me, and I feel like I was being treated like a princess by them, that Heidi viewed me as a little sister while doing everything to dress me up and style my hair. It was truthfully jarring to me still, something I've been trying to grasp ever since I agreed to follow them here.
Heidi hummed to herself and I looked up at her through the mirror; she was still focused on brushing out my hair. "Well, I will be honest to you little Isabella. This is all so new to us; us guard members were shocked for one when we heard what our Master had told us that he wanted to come to that little town you called home for a reason. We didn't know what the real reason was - but of course I overheard from Master Aro the reason while we were on the plane. The others are still left in the dark to put it bluntly but will surely find out when they return to the castle later. But, as to why we're being so nice, well it may seem confusing to you. I couldn't help but feel so much pity and sadness for you when we heard what you've been put through for the past month by that filthy mongrel. May he burn in hell for his deeds but at least he is gone and will never harm you again. That pity and sadness turned into such a fierce desire to make you happy and I desired to make you feel safe and protected; it's honestly so odd to me that I feel this way for you even though I've never met you before. You're prey to my kind, and for any other human, I should feel like eating you." she paused to smile lightly when I gulped visibly at this statement.
"Rest assured though little lamb - you are indeed in the lion's den but I feel no one is going to hurt you here. Your blood is very tantalizing but I can't bring it within myself to ever go after you. My natural instincts would like to take over, but I can't even begin to think of doing such a thing to you. I look at your face and I get such a feeling of caring and adoration for you. I want to protect you, hug you, and just treat you like such a precious angel, a doll that deserves the best care. It's so weird, I'll admit." she continued to muse, setting the brush down since she finished brushing my hair out.
"To be honest, it's really weird for me. I expect to be attacked by now. No offense, please don't take that personally." I murmured and she let out a loud laugh.
"None taken. I can't quite put words to how honestly I feel about this but other than what I have said, that's honestly how I feel towards you little Isabella. Not to mention, I can see such a bond that Master Aro has with you. Why, it's as if he views you as his own flesh and blood - as if you were his own daughter. I know that he cares for you from the short amount of time he's known you - and whatever it is that he would like to do with you, he'd rather see you safe and unharmed. So I know that he'd wish for you to be safe and for the guard to do their best in protecting you - even if it's from our feedings. So whatever the Master wishes, I know us guard members will do what we can to fulfill his wishes. And if that means you're to be left alive, protected and kept content, we will do what we can to carry that out." Heidi said, taking a beautiful hair clip in her hands and took half of my hair from the top layers to pin it behind my ears. I nodded my head at this, accepting this as the reason for the time being while she reached over to the vanity once more and pulled a curling iron in her hands.
I sat there in silence for the rest of the time she took to curl the bottom layers of my hair, spraying hair spray to ensure the curls would remain in place. Then she took some time applying light makeup to my face. She did what she could to conceal and cover the bruises that remained on my face, taking extra care with my lips for they were still healing from being split as she dabbed a light lip color on top. After the makeup was done, she went over towards a jewelry box she had brought in, and dug around for some pieces to put on me. I was thankful I did have my ears pierced while she stuck simple diamond studs in my holes, and then clasped a beautiful necklace around my neck. It was a simple silver chained necklace, where the pendant was a lightly rose colored cameo pendant - the silhouette of a Victorian woman sat on the pendant, where it was nestled low on my chest. I fingered it with a smile on my face for it was really beautiful in its simplicity.
"There! I deem you to be perfect for the day to meet with the other Elders." she cheered, smiling brightly down at me. I could feel my eyes prickling with tears in the back, and smiled up at her. She noted the glassiness in my eyes and then took a cold hand of hers to rest it upon my cheek. "Why little Isabella, you look like you're about to cry! Tell me what's the matter?"
"Nothing's wrong. It's just... I haven't felt this pretty in a long time. It feels so comforting to be pampered like you did for me today; I don't feel like I deserve any of it." I murmured bashfully, ducking my head down to hide my pink cheeks and tried my best to keep the tears of joy at bay.
"Oh no need to be so emotional, silly girl. I feel you deserved it after your torturous month - you're such a pretty human, all I did was played up your features. You have such a naturally beautiful face, it was only right to give you some well deserved treatment. I can already tell you sell yourself short." she gently chided me but giggled otherwise.
"Well, when I have gorgeous vampires surrounding me, I can't help but feel plainer than I already did. I never would call myself pretty even before I knew about the mythical world." I muttered, reaching down to slip on the heels while she busied herself with tidying up. She made a noise to herself but chuckled.
"Believe me when I tell you this now, Isabella; any female human would kill for your natural beauty." she stated simply in a matter-of-fact tone. I decided to let it go since at this point it's two stubborn personalities working to agree on disagreeing. She most likely would always win the argument anyways.
After I had my heels on my feet, I stood up and let her take my hand in hers, and she led me over to the rack once more. "There is a final piece I'm going to give to you for you to wear as per Master Aro's orders." she said, and then once she went back to the rack, she pulled out something red and held it up for me. "It is one of our many cloaks that we give to our lower ranking members. The upper ranks get their own specialized black robes. Aro wanted you to have something for yourself - I'm sure he'd love to get you your own personalized black robe, but for now you'll have to settle for a red one." she explained to me while I took it from her hands. It was a bright red long cloak that was trimmed with a intricate design in golden thread. She helped me slip it on top of my outfit, fiddling and adjusting it around my frame where it was tied around at the base of my neck. When it was on, I could see that the cloak was actually longer than I expected for the bottom of it reached the top of my knees. Heidi kept the hood down for the time being, and then clapped her hands together when she saw my outfit all put together.
"Now, let us go and meet with the other Elders; I am sure Aro is dying to introduce you to his brothers." Heidi said excitedly, taking my hand in hers again. We left the bedroom, our heels clicking against the stone floor below us once we entered the opened hallways of the castle. I could see that below us once I had left my bedroom, there was an atrium right outside my bedroom. I could see the outlines of a beautiful colorful garden below us that opened up to a small courtyard; it felt like a Spanish villa what with the stone benches that sat circled around a small stone fountain. Sunlight poured into the garden below us, shining a bright light down on the beautiful flowers and the small amount of birds that were there drinking from the fountain. I guess I had missed that or couldn't see it when I arrived in the middle of the night.
Heidi guided me through the halls, talking amicably about the history of the castle once more - this time with some new facts I hadn't heard briefly about, slipping into tour guide mode. I did my best to listen while trying to take in everything around me. I enjoyed the history she talked about in regards to the fortress that protected this ancient coven, getting mesmerized by the artwork, the statues and paintings, and being intrigued about the past that was their home. We continued further and further into the castle, where we passed small groups of other members of the Volturi by the looks of it for they work similar red cloaks like I was in. Heidi kept me closed beside her to protect me from the unknown vampires of the Volturi, growling quietly at any that had sniffed my scent - more importantly, my blood - and had tried to grab me in attempts to feed off of me. Her hushed warnings were nearly too quick and quiet for me to catch but I could heard slips of what sounded like curses in Italian which she chastised them for their rude behavior. When the lower ranking vampires would be scolded by her, they would bowed deeply in apology and scuttle off to try and not cause further trouble for me.
"Apologies of course from any of our other members; they're only used to their natural primal instincts when it comes to any humans here." Heidi had said to me just as we entered a new room. It was a beautifully ornate room that had a high ceiling, with marble pillars on each side of us spaced out perfectly due to the large windows beside us. In the room sat red velvet benches with potted plants in between them. At the end of the hallway was a set of large wooden doors that remained closed. And just before the doors was a tall desk - much like something you'd see in a fancy hotel. Behind the desk that held a computer and another fancy potted plant, I was shocked to see a woman behind it. A human woman. She was a beautiful, small Italian woman with dark skin, shiny black hair pulled up into a tight intricate bun, dressed in a sleek form fitting dress. She looked up when she heard the clicking of heels. With a tiny gasp, the little woman stood up and bowed slightly, a big grin on her face.
"Miss Heidi, it's a pleasure to see you back in the castle." the human said breezily, looking between the vampire walking beside me, and at me. She seemed moderately confused as to why I was there, much less who I was. Heidi had stopped us at her desk, and gave her a slight smile.
"Yes, Gianna. I had been out with the Master, and we've brought back a friend of ours. I was showing her the castle and am now about to take her to meet the other Elders." she explained to the human, Gianna, softly. Gianna nodded her head and said she would get back to work, bowing once more to us before sitting back down while Heidi led us to the door.
"You have a human working here?" I questioned her in a whisper after she opened the doors before us, where it groaned and creaked loudly. Heidi nodded her head, chuckling slightly.
"Yes, we actually have only but a few humans working for us. We tasked them to do our 'vacation' ploy when we require our... feedings I guess you could say. It helps only a bit with the façade. At the same time, we slightly use them for our own entertainment." Heidi explained, and I couldn't help but frown a bit.
"But... do they know what you all are?"
"Yes and no. It's a bit complicated to fully explain why they are here with us, little Isabella. All in due time, we shall explain what we can to you." she said quietly, reaching over to pat my hand gently before she led me further into the room. I took a moment to look around, seeing it to be a large room with a high ceiling once more - this time it was domed unlike the previous room. There were high windows that neared the top of the room, letting in small streams of light from the outside. My heels clicked against the flooring; it was a sleek checkered, marble floor done in some stylized pattern. The walls were still stone, with white pristine marbled pillars spaced out evenly along the walls that framed several old paintings. I could see some stone benches lining the room as well. Near the other end of the room, I noted there were three large stone thrones and above I could see a balcony that had a stone railing and a red velvet curtain that led to some room behind it. When I took note of the thrones, I saw Aro sitting there talking to two other men - two other ancient looking vampires. Aro had looked up when he heard our heels against the floor, and made a noise of delight whilst gently clapping his papery thin hands together.
"Ah, dear Heidi! You've brought sweet Isabella finally, well done!" Aro cheered happily at his guard member. He stood up and glided down the steps from the platform which the thrones saw on top of to meet Heidi and I halfway. I looked up when I heard a small noise off in the corner, and saw Renata hiding to the side, watching Aro with tight guarded eyes. She still remained near her master to protect him, ever so diligent. Aro reached for Heidi first and the two exchanged a light embrace, with him air-kissing her cheeks. Then he grasped one of her hands with a happy sigh, closing his eyes while she stood patiently before him. I realized he might be looking into her mind as I briefly recalled he had told me that his power was reading minds by touch. Heidi stood there calmly, letting her master read her mind thoroughly. I stood beside them, only shifting briefly since standing in one spot for a long period of time was only hurting my feet mildly. Damn heels even if they weren't super tall ones, they still hurt my human feet.
Finally, Aro pulled away from Heidi and she smiled up at him.
"Oh she is such a delight." Aro mused quietly, glancing over at me with a smile and I blushed from the attention. I don't know exactly what all Heidi revealed to him.
"She was only showing me her recollection of this morning while she got you ready. Trust me dear Isabella, I will reveal our sentiments and feelings all in due time - but Heidi has the right of it so far." Aro explained no doubt reading confusion in my expression when I had looked at him. I nodded my head slightly and he reached out to me for my hand. I took it gingerly, still fearing that if I were to touch him he'd disintegrate before me considering he seemed to still have papery thin skin even though I knew it was granite tough. I noticed Renata shifted uncomfortably from her corner; she didn't like her master touching me.
"Renata, calm. I am safe." Aro could sense his bodyguard's discomfort easily. Renata relaxed back against the wall, or at least as relaxed as she could get.
Aro guided me up the small steps to the thrones, and gestured openly to the two other vampires. "Isabella, it is high time that I introduce you to my brothers - This is Caius, and Marcus. Gentlemen, this is the woman I have been looking for. Her name is Isabella Swan." Aro said to the two vampires, pointing to them with their names so I could recognize who was who. Marcus had been sitting to his left, looking as indifferent as ever. He seemed so full of melancholy and apathy while he looked up at me wistfully. He had long dark hair that cascaded over his broad shoulders, while he held contempt in his face. His ruby eyes appraised me carefully, nothing in his face giving way to either excitement or anger at the fact that I was here or that I was a human. It's almost as if he was just barely there in the present. He wore stylish expensive clothing in the form of a tailored pinned dark suit, hidden under a long black cloak that had a intricate golden trimmed design. And on Aro's right from his throne was the other vampire. Another male, this time with cropped sleek icy blond hair that barely reached his shoulders, and sharp features that were cast down in obvious upset. His red eyes looked me over in disapproval; he made it apparent that he wasn't happy that a mortal was in the Castle and in the "know" of the mythical world. He too wore a stylish tailored suit hidden under a similar black cloak like Marcus. Aro too had on a black cloak over his own suit, with his long black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.
"She's a human. And she knows who we are, completely cognoscente of her surroundings. You didn't go into details about who she exactly is, Aro." Caius muttered with an edge to his tone, still not taking his eyes off of me. I blushed under his scrutiny but Aro let out a light laugh at this statement. "I don't know why you're taking this so lightly, Aro. Our secret has been revealed to her by someone." Caius added with irritation evident in his voice.
"Oh brother, please let me explain." Aro chided him gently while he guided me over to his throne.
"I don't mind standing really, I wouldn't want to put you out from your seat." I muttered to him, still blushing madly. Aro clucked his tongue at me.
"Nonsense dear Isabella. Please do sit, those heels must not be so comfortable for you to stand around in." he dismissed me and made sure I stayed in his throne before he stood back to look at all three of us. Heidi remained off to the side, watching the exchange.
"Please, explain this Aro. Before I lose my temper." Caius demanded of his brother, glaring minutely at me as I shifted to get comfortable in the stone throne.
"No need to be angry at Isabella, Caius. Please, I hope that you and Marcus can understand my reasoning in bringing Isabella here." Aro began. "Now, you know that I had received a prophecy from Trinity not too long ago - and the details of which is in it, after I had looked into it led me to where Isabella resided. I was there to handle another matter, and had recalled that I would visit our dear old friend, Carlisle, since it had been so long since we last saw him." Aro paused when Marcus made a slight noise under his breath, as if it was a noise of recognition of their old friend. "Yes, Marcus. That Carlisle. However, on my way to find him, our lovely little guard and myself had stumbled upon Isabella in a meadow when we had smelled her scent. You must realize there is something about her scent that is so potent and enticing; sweet lavender and freesia, with a hint of strawberries. It intrigued us when we decided to follow it - and lo' and behold we found it to be her, an innocent mortal. Believe me when I say were completely thrown off by the sight of a shape-shifting wolf who was standing before her, ready to attack her." he paused again when Caius made a low growling noise to himself upon hearing this.
"So he wasn't a fully fledged werewolf? What's the difference between a shape-shifter and full blown werewolf?" I briefly interrupted him; hearing this was news to me. I could feel Caius' continuous scowl briefly flicker to me but I tried to remain focused on Aro. Aro smiled at me, not minding the interruption.
"Well, we've dealt with the Children of the Moon before, Isabella - also known as yes, werewolves. They were a previous issue for us years and years ago. True werewolves and vampires are sworn enemies by nature. We had a rather nasty encounter with one before, one which nearly murdered Caius." he gestured to the vampire to my right. "They are much like the werewolves you mortals believe in your legends; shape-shifters however are just that, where they can easily switch to their desired form unlike Children of the Moon who are restricted to changing only at a certain given time. I guess the "wolves" of your state, decided that the form of a wolf was appropriate for their people to protect their land." he briefly explained to me. I nodded my head at his answer and sat quietly for him to continue with his explanation to his brothers.
"Now, continuing on with our tale - I had seen that mongrel standing before our little Isabella here looking ready to kill her. After I had spotted her in the position that she was in, and due to the fact I was still on my own personal mission, I wanted her to remain alive so I could get a more thorough look at her and decide for myself if she was the one I had been looking for in the prophecy. So I had ordered Demetri and Felix to take care of the mutt while I questioned Isabella. There I had found out just who she was. Isabella had been living in that dreary little town after she had moved there previously and encountered the Olympic Coven - the one that Carlisle was leading. Isabella detailed that she found out about our realm due to the fact she fell in love with one of them - the singular, lone vampire by the name of Edward Cullen - and she found out about our world due to the fact he rescued her when she was about to be crushed by a careening van at their school. Edward had rushed to her side and stopped the van easily due to his vampire strength, but thus exposing his true nature to her." Aro paused once more when he was interrupted once again; this time it was due to a displeased hiss from Caius.
"The fool! How dare he act so carelessly?" Caius had thundered, bursting from his seat and clenching his fists tightly from his rage. I shrank in on myself from feeling fear, wondering if he would turn his anger on me since I was the one who was exposed to their world.
"Caius..." Marcus drawled, finally speaking up for the first time ever since I've entered the room. I looked over to see him looking at Caius with mild annoyance at his outburst.
"Brother, I know that you're upset hearing about a vampire's foolishness in exposing himself to a mortal. But please, let me explain." Aro tried to calm down his brother. Caius took a minute to really weigh in Aro's words, before he finally gave in and sat back down, his icy red glare unrelenting on my form.
"Yes, it was silly that he acted like he had but it was with reason; you see, Edward and Isabella had fallen in love with one another. Edward's been drawn to her ever since her arrival to that town. He was so recluse for years and years from what she's told me, and when she finally came around, she said that he was drawn to her very existence as she was a mystery; her blood sang to the boy as it was so potent to him that he nearly lost all his years of self control with her just from their first encounter. And not to mention, she is an enigma for her mind is closed off to the boy - as well as she's completely unaffected by my power, and Jane's. She's told me that he's talented with the ability to read minds so openly and freely - all but hers. She's also informed me of his 'siblings', a Seer and an Empath that are amongst Carlisle's coven. The boy had tried to stay away from her with all his might but couldn't stay away from her forever. They developed their own little love story - star crossed lovers. Isabella nearly became one of us though as that Coven and her encountered raving nomads one evening. One separated her from the bunch and had attacked her. Just look at the scar on her wrist," he continued and then gestured to me to show off the ever present scar that I had received from James. I did so, holding it up for Caius' and Marcus' inspection. They eyed it with skepticism at first, but nodded slightly when they could see the raised mark in the form of a half crescent.
"They had taken care of that nomad that nearly brought her to our realm so easily, to which Isabella and the Olympic Coven had settled into their own peaceful little world up until her disaster of a birthday that was more than a month ago by this point. She had almost been attacked by one of their own due to them not having hunted very recently - and this set that Edward boy off to try and break things off with her. They left her in a vulnerable state - for then a mongrel to step in and force himself upon her. She was very close to killing herself before we had found her in time and took care of that filthy dog for her." Aro explained, looking down at me with a sad smile on his face. I smiled shyly up at him, still feeling forever grateful that his guard members had ended Jacob's life after all that I suffered by his hands.
"In part, I feel as if Isabella is the one from the prophecy and thus why I kept her alive. I feel she has expressed interest in trying to help with it however she can - but that also leaves the state of the Olympic Coven. I had ordered the guard to seek them out to come here and face judgement. I can wholeheartedly say I am disappointed in Carlisle for the fact they exposed Isabella to our world, breaking our most sacred rule. I don't wish to kill however, Edward and the other two siblings since they sound like fine specimens I would considering adding to our collection. I do feel though they should be punished - as for the how, I do not know. I'd hate to see an old friend be killed but I wouldn't want anyone thinking I've gone 'soft' and lenient in our rules... They agreed to come, so we shall see how everything falls into place." Aro added wistfully, heaving a sigh at the mention of Carlisle.
"I'm not in agreement with the fact Isabella is alive." Caius muttered and I shifted uncomfortably in my spot; I was still here. It's honestly scary to hear an ancient vampire talk so angrily while you're sitting next to him.
"Brother..." Marcus drawled once more. He really wasn't one for words.
"As much as you are displeased, she is to remain alive as I require her help. She will be our exception brother - who knows, perhaps she may become immortal to act as a compromise considering the situation we are in?" Aro mused, smirking as Caius looked at him with great upset once more while I looked at him bewildered.
"Oh I think she would absolutely gorgeous as one of us! I'm honestly already so attached to her, Masters." Heidi piped up then. She had remained silent throughout the explanation up until that point. Caius looked over at her now with shock apparent in his face, while I blushed. Aro's smirk just grew into a full, bright toothed grin.
"She's a mortal!"
"You know as we say Caius - should a mortal ever find out about our world, they are either turned to one of us or slaughtered." Aro reminded him and chuckled when Caius audibly groaned at the mention.
"Someone has to pay for the consequences at hand." the blond haired ancient reminded everyone in the room haughtily, shifting in his seat to hold his head with one hand while he glowered at the opposite wall.
"I must admit - the guard is already seemingly attached to this little mortal before us. Heidi adores her and I can already tell from our specimen that is Jane, she wishes to protect the girl. Alec will follow whatever his twin feels and Felix is amused by her nature. Demetri is the only one still holding reserved feelings for her." Aro explained, where I feel myself become redder in the cheeks at the admission. It was still so odd to hear that vampires that weren't the ones I had become used to, had seemingly taken a liking to me so quickly.
Cauis made a tusking noise under his breath but didn't exactly still approve of what was going on. Marcus made a noise that sounded like a sigh and I glanced over at him to see him slightly smiling.
"I sense a connection already that seems so familial, Aro... I would like for us to get used to this little human..." Marcus breathed, more than what his one-worded responses have been so far, and glanced at me beside him. Aro clapped his hands and I gave him a slight smile while nodding briefly to him to acknowledge his statement. Caius let out a slight groan under his breath. It was obvious this ancient vampire wouldn't be easily won over.
Suddenly, the double doors (of which had closed after Heidi and I had entered the room), suddenly burst open. I jumped from the noise and all of us had turned towards it. It was Santiago waltzing quickly into the room.
"Santiago!" Aro cried merrily, gliding down to greet the man with a simple grazing of the hand. Santiago stopped and half bowed to Aro, letting his hand be clasped by the old vampire. After a few minutes of silence, Aro pulled away and nodded his head. "Very well, I thank you for informing me of this. Please do stay nearby as I am sure we are about to experience quite the show." Aro said soon after letting go of the vampire's hand. Santiago nodded and stepped off to the side, taking Heidi's spot since she had walked over to me. I looked up at Aro, puzzled by what's going on until he spoke again, looking down at me with a meaningful look. "It appears that the Olympic Coven have arrived and will be here in this room very shortly. My four guard members are leading them here as we speak."
Upon hearing this, I could feel my breath catch in my throat and I began to panic. I thought they would be hear later in the day but it turns out they had arrived quicker than I thought. I don't know if I was even remotely ready mentally and physically to see them again. I didn't have any time for myself to honestly prepare myself for this reunion - if you could even call it that. We were brought here to face judgement for what's happened and what will eventually happen with the Coven. Did I want them to face the severe punishment that Caius desired so much? I don't know if I could honestly handle seeing them face it - I knew it was death, but did I want them to suffer? A vengeful, petty side of myself felt like they should face some sort of pain after what I had been put through of them leaving. But I knew still, the rational side of myself couldn't really feel like that was right. For one, most if not all of my upset lied in the fact it was his fault for breaking my heart and leaving me in a broken state in that forest that day. I don't know if his whole family felt the same way as he did or if they had been forced to leave due to him pushing for it. I wanted to blame them in the fact that subsequently after they left, it left the door open for Jacob to force himself on me and the grueling month I had to deal with left me in a horrible state of mind where I had no one to protect me from him, no help whatsoever. But did they know it would have happened? Did they ever hear his thoughts or see his decisions for what he was doing to me? Did they even care?
I was interrupted from my mental breakdown when Heidi reached down to grasp my shoulder lightly; I had realized that I started to hyperventilate harshly. I glanced up at her to see that she held an expression of deep concern for me - or at least one that read so. I quietly said a thank you to her, where she smiled then and reached for my cloak. She raised the hood over me and fanned my hair around my face, trying to cover me and provide perhaps some mild protection to hide my emotions; I also went and made sure to pull the cloak tight as I can possibly do so, around my torso. I wanted to hide my arms since I know I still had old bruises, cuts and scars that were working to heal themselves. I nodded weakly to her, again thankful for her attentive care and shifted to where I was facing towards the door. Aro was down the step but standing slightly in front of me in his seat.
Then, I heard more footsteps outside the door. It opened once more and there they entered. Jane was leading the charge in a confident stride, her twin close beside her. The Cullen family was behind them, filed off into a small cluster. I could see over their heads Demetri and Felix were in the rear, cutting off any possible chances of an escape. I took in the Cullen family's expressions and appearances as best as I could with my human eyes. It felt like it had been years since I had last seen them, yet they were all still so graceful and beautiful like I had remembered. Each held a serious face while they marched into the room. Their eyes were all black; it appeared they haven't hunted in quite a while based off the heavy dark circles that almost could look like bruising under their eyes. They still wore such fashionable, high end outfits. I tried to keep myself blank with my emotions, knowing that a certain Empath of the family would be able to easily give it away as to what I was feeling, and let him know just what I was going through.
I couldn't help but linger a little longer on his face. He truly looked devastatingly handsome as ever, his lips downturned in a frown while he scanned the faces of the other vampires in the room. His dark eyes flashed to me, noticing that I had taken Aro's spot. I don't know if it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw a flicker of something in them before it went back to being deadpanned. Don't ever get your hopes up for him to look at you any differently. Remember, he said he didn't love you anymore. The pessimistic side of my brain reminded me woefully. Eventually, the Cullen family stopped. Jane and Alec continued forward to meet with Aro, while Demetri and Felix had went to join them.
"My dear guard members. I see your journey to retrieve the Olympic Coven has proven successful and done so quickly." Aro said with joy in his voice, finally breaking the tense silence that settled into the room once they had entered. He reached for Jane's hand first and went about reading her mind. While Aro was gaining intel from his guard members, I was toying once again with the frills on my stocking covered thighs, trying to avoid the burning stares that I was receiving from the family of vampires below. I didn't want to stare at them anymore since it felt truthfully painful to look at them for long. Heidi noticed my fiddling, and reached over to rub my upper back. She was trying to soothe my nerves. I appreciated her attentiveness once more, feeling just a bit more calm as long as I had her near me.
After Aro had finished with Demetri's thoughts, Jane settled with standing near Aro as Alec went towards Caius' side of the room. Demetri went to the other side of them, keeping a trained eye on the vampires he had brought in to face the Elders, while Felix hovered on Aro's right side.
"I wish this reunion of ours could've been under more amicable circumstances, Carlisle." Aro began once more, looking at his old friend. The blond vampire of the group shifted awkwardly on his feet after being spoken too.
"I agree, Aro. It's... rather messy that it's come to this." Carlisle finally spoke, sighing heavily.
"You can only imagine my disappointment upon hearing everything. Isabella did indeed inform me her side of the story that we're facing." Aro continued, and I briefly jumped when he spoke my name. Marcus suddenly reached over from my left, and proceeded to rest a hand on my arm. I looked over at him quickly to see him looking down at me as if sympathetically; it was a change from his apathetic state that I had only just witnessed. The Cullens watched the small exchange, and when I glanced back at them, I saw they held confusion in their eyes.
Aro noticed their line of sight and saw his brother's interaction with me; he too seem surprised.
"Marcus?"
"Aro... Please come here for I must tell you a revelation." he murmured to him; Aro nodded his head and glided up to Marcus. Felix remained in his spot while Jane had skipped up to where I sat, and stood on my right side placing herself between Caius and I. She looked up at me with her childlike features set into a playful grin. I was still shocked by this seemingly terrifying childlike vampire would look at me with almost an endearing look on her face. I couldn't forget her frightening power, my mind going back to the meadow where she tortured Jacob just before his death. I gave her a slight nod and tiny smile to her in greeting. I looked back when I saw that Aro had taken Marcus' hand and stood there silently for a few minutes - he was reading his mind.
I glanced back at the Cullens who were watching this exchange curiously. The only one who didn't hold a curious expression was him. Being that he could easily read any vampire's mind, I had no doubt within my own mind that he was listening in on what Marcus was telling Aro. He remained blank however in the face, not giving anything away for me to try and decipher.
Finally, Aro pulled away and made a small noise to himself, smiling at Marcus. Then Aro looked to me briefly, the smile remaining in place - and then he looked over at the vampire in question that refused to really acknowledge fully anything that was going on. Aro nodded to himself before he walked back over towards Felix below, and stood before the Cullen family once more.
"Well, this is still quite the predicament. That certainly changes things slightly, my dear brother Marcus, but I would like to see where the chips may fall in regards to this. I thank you for the information." Aro said out loud, not turning to look at his brother who was nodding slightly beside me and then Marcus had settled back into his throne with ease. Caius had watched their exchange, as if knowing something without having a power or true knowledge of the weight behind that quiet talk, but he remained beside me still scowling down at the coven before me.
"I can't help but ask out loud just what has occurred, Aro. If you don't mind me prying and asking for some information." Carlisle spoke up once more, as if feeling awkward when asking it.
Aro waved his hand dismissively to Carlisle, saying, "Oh it's just Marcus has such a unique ability - he can sense relationships between any being before him. And he just wanted to relay to me some enlightening bit of news."
Carlisle nodded his head then, not fully understanding what it meant. I too didn't know honestly, but I couldn't help but guess that it might have something to do with... Edward, and I. Considering Marcus had looked at me specifically, before Aro had looked pointedly at him, I was lost still as to what was said between them but it had to involve us just based off the stares.
"But, we can get to that shortly here. I say let us get on with the reason as to why I summoned you all here. To get back to the task at hand, you all were informed by my lovely guard that one of you has exposed the vampire world to a little mortal." Aro changed subjects, and looked between the family members, stopping on Edward's form where he was only staring down at the ground refusing to make eye contact. "And in part due to this exposure rather than handling how it should've been dealt with, you all in turn chose to further entertain the fact that a human knows about us and our realm. By extension you all are at fault, though the main exposer should be up for trial and face the more severe consequences." Aro added, staring directly at Edward when he said this.
"Aro, please, I can only beg of you to spare my son for his misdeeds-"
"Carlisle, don't." Edward finally spoke up, interrupting Carlisle. I could feel my heart stutter when I heard his voice. It had been at least a month or slightly more since I heard his voice, and it still did things to my body and heart when I heard it after so long. He sounded upset, angry almost, but at the same time, determined? When he interrupted Carlisle, he turned his gaze upwards to stare at Aro fully. "Please, I am the one at fault here. Don't punish my family for my mistake; they were sadly dragged down because I couldn't stay away from her... I should've ceased all interactions with her before it had gone too far but in the end result when I stuck around, my family only abided by my wishes to try and be hospitable to her. But, she had such a pull on our curiousity - and our dead hearts. I know my family - at least most of them, couldn't help but fall in love with her like I had. I don't want them to suffer the consequences when I should've done more to separate myself from her and protect her from ever finding out about us." he continued, a steely gaze directed at the ancient vampire.
"Edward-"
"No Alice. Don't interfere." Edward had growled at his sister when she tried speaking up.
I made a quiet noise to myself when I heard him speak, and could feel them all suddenly gaze up at me once more when they heard me. I didn't look back at them as I had made this noise, instead still focusing on the frills to my stockings as I toyed with it. I didn't believe his words - how could I when he admitted to me in the forest he didn't love me anymore? He broke my heart to leave me alone and shattered, he fled Forks with his family in order to rid himself of me and act as if I was nothing. I felt like everything I had went through with them, their feelings for me were nothing but lies.
Aro had heard me behind him, and then called me. "Isabella, could you please join me down here?"
I bit my lip but nodded to him. Heidi helped me up from the throne, which I appreciated; I could feel that as soon as I was standing, my heart was beating heavily in my chest with wrought nerves and I felt so shaky when standing since I wobbled visibly before the vampires in the room. Jane at me right stuck to my side while Heidi helped me down the steps. I stopped beside Aro, where he took my hand in his. I could hear quiet gasps from the family in front of me, and realized just what they had seen finally for the first time since they entered the room. My forearm that has come out from under my cloak, was now exposed to their impeccable vampire eyesight. No doubt they could see the bruising and scars. I looked up at Aro, and saw he gave me a sad smile.
"They would eventually see these at some point, little lamb. There is time for that explanation, but let us get to the bigger details at hand." Aro mused to me quietly, reaching over with his other hand to pat mine lightly. I nodded my head to him quietly.
Upon Aro calling me little lamb, I heard a deep growl from Edward. My heart jumped when I heard it, while I noticed that the guard members in the room all shifted visibly at the sound. The Cullens too looked back over at him in worry. Aro looked over at him, smirking.
"Is something the matter, Edward? Why are you in such a testy mood over there? Did you not appreciate me calling Isabella that pet name?" Aro teased him, letting loose a laugh while I stood next to him, feeling my face heat up. I glanced up through my hair under the hood, to see Edward looking at Aro with a tense expression, and then he flashed his eyes briefly over to me, before quickly looking down at the floor.
"No..." he lied. I knew he'd lie about it; lamb was just a joking pet name that he had come up for me when we were falling in love (or at least what I thought we had been doing) a few months ago. So the lion fell in love with the lamb. What a stupid lamb indeed...
"Come, let us see if you're being honest." Aro demanded then, holding out his left hand in his direction. An invitation for the two of them to read each other's minds. But not just an invitation - it was a command. Aro's voice held its own sense of edginess when he asked the bronze haired vampire before us to step forward. I watched him still, noting that he hesitated. The other Cullens also had shifted uncomfortably in their cluster, looking at Edward with worry.
"It would be unwise if you refuse to listen, Edward." Jane's childlike coo was heard below me; she too was watching him carefully, as if silently testing him to defy the orders of her master so she could truly play. I gulped audibly; I don't know if I could handle seeing her power on him... even though a small part of me cried that I shouldn't care as to how he would be tortured by her painful ability, I don't think I could stomach it truthfully even as the smallest part of me had whispered that there was still something there that I felt for him. Love, care, worry - I wasn't sure which.
Edward finally heaved a sigh to himself before he eased his way around his family members and walked carefully to stand before Aro. I wanted to curl inward on myself when he stopped in front of Aro and I. He was so close to us, I could smell his old familiar scent that I had grown accustomed to before he had left me. The muskiness, deep rich smells of cinnamon and earthiness hit my human nostrils, which I breathed in briefly. I heard him also take in a deep breath, his eyes piercing me even though I had quickly looked away from him. My hair shield my face more when I looked down at my feet, but the swishing of my hair no doubt wafted my scent up to him. I heard a very deep rumble from him - a growl perhaps. What also occurred as soon as he was in front of us, is the fact I felt that old familiar electric current that was ever so present with us when we had been together. It charged the air surrounding our tight bubble, passing between the two of us and dancing in the space around us. That urge to reach out and touch him reared its ugly head much like it had before when we were in love with one another, but I resisted the internal need my body wanted to respond to and clasped my free hand together into a tight fist. My knuckles strained from the pain I had caused myself.
Aro's hand was still outstretched to Edward as he stood before us. Once he had stopped and was staring at me, he turned his body to try and incline it more towards the ancient vampire standing beside me before he raised his right hand and let Aro grasp it. Aro made a noise that almost sounded like a blissful sigh and stood there silently, reading every single thought that Edward had. I could feel Edward's gaze down at me once again; I didn't need to look up since I could just feel it. The guard members in the room stood their ground while watching the exchange silently. I could see the Cullen members shifting on their feet still, their eyes trained on Edward's back. I don't know if they were all silently asking him questions in their minds, or just had resigned themselves to try and be prepared for any sort of reaction that could happen.
What felt like forever, but was most likely just a few minutes, Aro finally dropped Edward's hand and turned towards me. I looked up at him, trying to still hide my face from the Cullens and looked at the ancient vampire whose milky red eyes seemingly sparkled with mirth.
"My, my. Seeing it from another angle, your romance with Isabella was exactly as I had expected. Star-crossed and yet such a fairytale." Aro mused, smiling brightly at me when I could feel my face heat up once more. I don't know honestly how much Aro had seen through his mind, but I don't think Edward was able to hide a single detail of his mind from him. Edward shifted on his feet, showing visible discomfort. I guess I was right to assume as much then that Edward couldn't hide anything from him.
"That's at least how I saw it, Aro. I'm sure you saw differently from... her perspective." Edward hesitated, not even saying my name. I bit my bottom lip once more when I heard him speak.
"Quite the contrary, Edward. Much like you, Isabella here is a baffling mystery to myself and to the rest of my coven." Aro began, chuckling when he looked over at Edward's confused expression. "I had tried to read her mind upon first meeting her, and yet all I had received in return was a blank mind. It's as if her mind is closed off to me. She is completely locked away much she is to your ability." Aro explained, smirking then as Edward's gaze briefly flickered to me once more. "I've learned everything about her, as well as your relationship with one another, and your past, just from word of mouth. But it's truly fascinating that I got to see your perspective throughout it all; seeing it through the eyes of the boy she loves, it's remarkable. I already can still sense your feelings for her ringing through your memories." Aro continued; at this point, I clearly balked when he said this. Edward did as well.
"Aro?" I quietly murmured to him in confusion, trying to ignore Edward's reaction in which he whipped his head to look over at me once I spoke up finally. I had been mostly silent through this exchange. Aro looked over at me and once again his eyes seemingly twinkled.
"I know what you must be asking in that sweet head of yours Isabella, but I suppose it's high time I play Marcus' card. You believed this boy before me had broken your heart and said that he no longer loves you - that it was all a filthy lie. But the truth is, there's still love within that body. Every memory he had of your relationship that replayed in his head, the feeling of fierce protectiveness, devotion, adoration and love, as well as lust and joy - every one of those emotions swirled and coated each thought he had when it came to you. No one can hide their memories, their thoughts from me, especially not the feelings behind every single one." Aro explained to me gently. I then heard Marcus behind us make a small noise that had everyone looking over at him briefly; the ancient quiet vampire shifted in his seat when he was mentioned, and made the slightest of nods to acknowledge this bit of information.
I shifted on my feet then, startled by this bit of news. He really loved me - he still loves me? Everything he said on that day was a lie. But why? Why lie to me?
Edward looked away then as Aro revealed this bit of news to the group.
"The bond that which Marcus sees between you two is so blinding and strong - its like a thread that which he sees the connection. For instance, little Isabella," Aro began once more, looking at me as he spoke. "Marcus can see the bonds of which I have with my guard members; he sees loyalty and a promise of protection of my life, as well as my brothers' lives. It's a strong, thick gold band that is unyielding to break." he continued, gesturing as if lovingly to the guard members that were standing around in the room with us who were watching the ordeal with careful expressions. I looked around briefly to see each of them had bowed their heads to Aro, as if showing me physically the respect and loyalty they held for him. "And as for the Cullens, Marcus can see the webbing of such a warm colored thread - he can see each connection and relationship between every member. Why, he sees such strong threads leading to their Coven leader, but between some of them he can see threads fraying and loose as if the relationship between each other is on the verge of breaking." Aro added, waving a hand to the Cullen Coven in front of us. I glanced at them from my peripheral vision to see that they each took a moment to look at one another.
"Finally, as for you and dear Edward," Aro's voice spoke up once more and I looked back to him. He was staring meaningfully at Edward however, smirking almost when he explained our relationship. "Even though he lied to you in that forest on that day in which he broke your heart, Marcus sees such a blinding bright thread still between you two. Deep down I know within your human soul with your nerves and broken human emotions - you wish nothing more than to see hatred, upset and loneliness when it comes to this vampire before you. You want to believe you don't love him anymore after he put you through that traumatic experience; after all, the boy said with such conviction that he didn't love you anymore," he paused as Edward growled lowly to himself; it was almost so quiet that I could've missed it, but when I saw the guard members once again shift on their feet towards him, he was no doubt silently protesting Aro's words to some degree. I also whimpered at the reminder of what happened between us back in Forks, biting my bottom lip once more to try and hold back my cries. "And yet, it was all a ruse - a lie to separate himself from you. This thread that Marcus sees, it's there; thick, and blindingly bright in such a platinum glow. It's as if it's indestructible and refuses to break. Marcus has said he's never quite seen something like this before in his lifetime. You two are truly, an enigma." Aro concluded softly, looking down at me then with a gentle gaze.
"I don't know if I can believe that he still loves me... how could he love a disgusting, weak human like me?" I whispered mostly to myself but I knew every vampire in the room heard me. Heidi glided down gracefully to stand behind me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I heard beside me Jane make a small cooing noise and she put her hand on my lower back as if to try and comfort me.
"Aro, please. I feel as if you've had your fun with these games." Caius suddenly barked, not allowing my own personal thinking to go any further; I jumped from the suddenness when he spoke, while Aro sighed heavily.
"Oh come now brother, these aren't games."
"It is absolutely as such. You know what needs to be done to not only this coven but to this human girl before us. I can't believe you're toying with them, toying with the notion of letting them live - and even more so letting the girl live." I could feel my heart stutter at his harsh words. I knew Caius did not approve of what was going on one bit and knew he would not easily be persuaded to even remotely like me. I had gotten lucky with the few guard members, Aro and maybe even Marcus to sympathize me, perhaps even like me. But this ancient vampire I could tell hated mortals and saw that as nothing to gain, only a waste of his time.
Edward's growling increased in volume while he glowered at the blond hair vampire. The guard tensed more and more at his reaction.
"Silence you insolent fool. This is your own fault and one of which you are to face judgement. If you had any brain cells in that head of yours, you should've done the right thing in either fleeing and avoiding this mortal to not expose her to our realm - or better yet, slaughter her so she wasn't a waste of space!" Caius had growled right back at him for his reaction. I blanched at his words.
"Caius!" Aro warned, glaring at him, the smirks and grins gone entirely now.
"Edward, please stop!" I heard Jasper his from the family; when I whipped my gaze back at him, I saw his black eyes staring worriedly over at him. He was no doubt feeling every angry emotion rolling off of Caius and Edward, getting the full brunt of it while he stood there amidst the family. The rest of the Cullens looked to be on edge as well while they watched the exchange, eyes flitting back and forth between the two enraged vampires.
"I'd never harm her. She's my singer yes, but I couldn't bare to think of hurting a single hair on her head. I know my mistakes, I should've left her when I had the chance. I should've never returned, or even entertained the notion of trying to keep a relationship with her. I was going to leave after I had made my apologies when I met her on her first day, but I couldn't stand being away from her. Everywhere she went, she attracted danger like she was a magnet for it. I couldn't stand idly by and watch her get hurt - either from being crushed by a van, raped by some stupid drunks, or slaughtered by a nomad after I put her in harm's way; I especially wasn't about to let her be damned to this cursed life after she had been bit. I didn't expect us to all snap when she cut herself at the party, and I left with every intention in my head that she would eventually move on from me and find peace in her human life with someone else!" Edward growled out as an explanation, his steely gaze unrelenting at Caius. Singer? Well honestly I haven't heard of that term yet; I tried racking my brain to see if it was ever mentioned to me, but honestly I was drawing a blank so I moved past it for now.
Caius scoffed then, a noise of disgust escaping him. "That is the problem with you non-vampires in sustaining off of animal blood - you've become so weak to care about the mortals surrounding you. Trying to hold onto a shred of humanity, it's pathetic. A mortal is nothing to us, they are our natural prey - our food. The right answer to this situation that you brought upon yourself should've been of disposing her and moving on. A human's life is not worth a grain of salt in my eyes. You're reasoning is disgusting and irrelevant when you should've done the right thing and abide by our laws you imbecile!" Caius had thundered at him; Edward's growling only became more feral. I began to back away slightly, with Heidi tensing behind me at Caius' words. Yet, her arm around my shoulders tightened in the slightest, as if she was preparing to throw me behind her in a means of protection. Jane slipped in front of me, staring down at Edward hard.
"Brother, I am ordering you to be silent. This meeting was to go about peacefully and your instigating is doing nothing but to deter that from happening." Aro warned his brother from beside me, glowering up at him with his eyes turning a harsh black. The ever present signal of a vampire's anger escalating.
"I shall not remain silent to this. I tire of this and am not going to sit idly by while you play your games with this insolent coven. Friendship be damned, you know they broke our laws and yet are entertaining the idea of letting them get away with it scot-free!"
"They would've faced punishment for their crime but I have a bigger agenda on my plate to handle that involves Isabella remaining alive - and your insinuations that she should die is telling me you don't care for what I am trying to handle!" Aro roared back him.
"You stand your ground right there, Cullen." Felix's booming voice spoke up as he warned Edward standing before me who was still snarling under his breath, his glares unrelenting on the blond haired vampire that seated himself on the throne.
"Be as that may, brother, I will not sit here and let them go unpunished. Jane!" Caius suddenly barked an order, staring down at the child vampire before me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest when I whipped my gaze between her face - she was slipping into a terrifying smile while staring at Edward - and then I quickly looked at Edward who balked and stared at me suddenly; fear was evident in his eyes.
"No!" Aro had yelled, but it was too late. Jane was following orders.
"Pain." Jane stated simply and quietly, her ruby eyes trained on Edward.
When her face had fully slipped into that smile I had all but recognized in the meadow, Edward let out a shuttering gasp and then his body seized up. His head fell back, his arms suddenly tensed and jerked out. His legs contorted and were taught while no doubt his body wracked with internal pains.
I however, only saw this briefly before I let out a scream. Suddenly my insides were on fire; my organs felt as if they were being licked by iron hot flames and molten led, while my nerves felt like they were being electrocuted with the highest jolt of electricity surging through me. I could feel myself begin to convulse and shutter, while high pitched wails escaped my mouth. My head jerked back and forth where my mind tried to wrap itself around this pain but wanted so very much to escape it and was trying to find a way to flee from it. My body jerked this way and that while I could faintly feel my hands claw at my skin, scratching as if I could rip it away from my body and try to alleviate myself from this torture. Heidi behind me had let out a shriek of surprise at my reaction and I could feel her jump back in shock. I heard hisses of worry and upset, growls and cries of devastation surrounding me. A harsh grunting was before me but I couldn't place a body or a person to whom was making that noise. I continue to writhe and screech on the spot, feeling myself fall heavily to the floor due to the pain.
"Please! Make it STOP!" I could hear a harsh wail escape someone's mouth - I don't know if it was mine, or if it was another vampire who uttered the words. I couldn't tell entirely. My ears were ringing from hearing high pitched screams still, the sound echoing and reverberating back to my brain. I didn't know where the pain began or where it ended. I couldn't tell honestly how long I suffered from it, only that it was unrelenting and felt like I was being killed from the inside out.
"STOP! Please stop! I beg of you!" A strangled voice sounded then, as if the person struggled greatly to utter the words from their mouth. I heard hisses and growls ripping through the air; it tried to pierce through the screams that I kept hearing, to which I couldn't hear anything other than that in only the slightest.
"Jane, enough!" someone's snarl ripped through the air. Then I heard a deep thud! of something falling onto the floor in front of me. The pain finally ceased running through my body. I could feel it slowly ebb away while I lied on something (perhaps the marble floors) cool and hard. I tried to regain focus, let my eyes adjust to my surroundings. My vision had become blurry through tears that were running down my face, while at the same time I could feel I was phasing in and out of consciousness. My human body wanted to give into the fire that I felt, wanted to let it consume me so it could let go and I could die in hopes to end my suffering. A part of my frail humanity still grasped at the straws that was my life to push through the pain and see to it that I wouldn't die due to the horrific, agonizing torture that I had just went through. I blinked and tried my best to catch my breath. But it was coming in shattering gasps while I could feel my strength in staying awake slipping further away from me. I struggled to look past the tears that blurred my vision, and noted that my hair had fallen into a disarray across my face.
Through the tears while I lied in a heap on the marble floors, I could see a body lying before me in a similar broken state like I was in. I did what I could to assess who it was, and noted their features. A strong, lithe and lanky body dressed in a fashionable state of apparel, it was a male and one of the vampires in the room. He was heaving unnecessary breaths to try and calm down from his own affliction that Jane had put on him. My eyes strained to see further details and that's when the male turned his head in the slightest - black pained eyes met mine. His face was heartbreakingly beautiful with strong prominent features. His bronze hair was in a further state of unkept messiness. Those eyes of his searched my face, for what I don't know. Was he searching to see if I was alright?
I realized now, through the black splotches that were starting to cloud my vision, that it was Edward lying before me. He was the one who was attacked by Jane.
And in turn, somehow I also felt the same pain that he did. How, I don't know when she wasn't even remotely looking at me.
I didn't have time to think this through; the darkness was drawing closer and stronger by the second. I could feel myself giving up and allowing it to engulf me.
"Edward..." I mouthed to him, my breath sounding broken when I tried to let out a heavy breath of air.
"Bella...!" his voice sounded agonized while he stared at me, unable to move to come to my side or react to anything around him. His own voice was barely audible to my human ears, but I could hear it just only barely above the other shouts, shrieks and growls surrounding us. I saw bodies suddenly crouch over him, and someone stood in front of me, blocking my vision of him.
"Save... him..." I whispered under my breath.
It was the last thing I uttered before I couldn't help back the blanket of blackness that began to overtake my mind and my body. I could feel myself begin to drift and slip away from reality, the noises around me sounding further and further away the more I let in to take over my mind.
Finally, I succumbed completely to it - and blacked out.
A/N: Phew, that was an explosive end to the chapter. So I had initially planned to possibly have the chapter 'end' with the Cullens' arrival but couldn't hold back anymore as I wanted to start jumping right into the reunion and some new developments of conflict to the plot as what can be seen at the end here. In part as well, I may explain it a bit better in the next chapter - spoiler alert, it will be in Edward's POV once again.
I shall be trying to update HSNE AR very soon as well, considering that story is long overdue for a chapter. But I'll see just how soon I can pump out an update for that story; I am itching to get some of the bigger plot points in that story as well, but I had more of a burning desire to set things in motion for this story first and foremost.
As usual, apologies if I missed any mistakes within the writing, but I'm doing my best with editing and re-reading to check for any errors.
Until then, any feedback is greatly appreciated!
~Lady Eleanora~