Hi Everyone! Help is on the way! Wooo! Come onnnnn Bella! Thinking about bingewatching the movies again soon...
This fic is really getting me in the mood!
Thanks for all the follows, reviews, and favs! You guys are great!
CHAPTER 5
The spirited voice shatters the anticipation of the room, distracting the pusher and sparing Jessica and me… for now.
"On behalf of the honorable rulers of Volterra, I must insist that you halt this feeding until further instruction." The voice bellows as its owner descends the stairwell into view. Like most vampires, this one is tall, lean, handsome, and has some sort of chip on his shoulder. Dark, gilded hair shoots across the back of his head, behind his pointed ears, like hardened fragments of light. Not a single strand out of place. Unlike most other vampires however, he doesn't wear a position-defining cloak.
"Excuse me?" The squeaky surveyor barks from the back. "And who might you be?!"
"Manners, manners, I beg of you." the unidentified vampire raises his hand to silence the protests. "I am Demetri, chief advisor to Lord Cullen. So, I would mind yourself, low-breed."
Lord Cullen's advisor?
The surveyor sits up straight and clenches his lips together while the guardsmen and pusher grow clammy at the mention of Volterra's elite general.
"That's better. Now then." The man turns in our direction. "Supply unit numbered E-two-nine-seven-three-four, please step forward."
My eyes dart around without focus. I reach my hand out to grab the bars on either side for balance, but I make no effort to heed his request. Both Angela and Jessica look at me questioningly.
As if I have any idea what's going on.
The vampire notices their glances and motions to me.
"Ah, yes, how could I possibly forget you? Come here. Hurry now." He flaps his hand at me.
Unable to do anything other than study him, I try to place a finger on where I've seen him before. I remember, vaguely. He was one of the vampires behind Cullen in the Selection Hall.
"What do you want?" I ask.
He cocks his head, sighing as if he'd just scuffed up his pretty shoes. "I'm here to escort you to Lord Cullen's supply convoy. I suppose he feels that he made an error in his previous judgment... though I haven't the slightest clue as to why."
My jaw drops.
Cullen's keeping me?
Angela gasps and she turns to look at me, her face shocked and tear-stained. Jessica tightens her grip around my waist, crying.
This is… It's is a pardon. I'm not going to die. Cullen has, for some insane reason, changed his mind.
"I... I, uh...," I just barely accomplish incoherent jabber when the noble vampire struts toward me, nudging the pusher out of the way and giving a little wink at Jessica, making her step aside. He reaches for me. "We don't have time for any more of your nonsense. You are to come with me."
Wait a minute.
Pulling my arm back, I take half a step closer to the edge. I haven't the slightest clue as to what's going on and I can't possibly fathom Cullen's reasoning, but the tables have somehow turned in my favor. Cullen apparently doesn't want me to die, and yet, here I stand so close to this pit of fallen beasts, and no doubt I aim to take full advantage of it. Right now, I have power.
"No, I won't go," I say, raising my nose in challenge.
"Ex…cuse me?"
"Not without Jessica," I declare. "I won't leave without her."
"Bella, no!" my best friend objects, but I pay no mind. Instead, I begrudgingly acknowledge Angela's puffy face, which is scrunched up, red, and as pitiful as ever. Despite our past differences, Angela and I have been thrust into the same situation. We are both on a sinking ship… and I'm not about to let her go down alone.
"...nor without Angela." I nearly roll my eyes as I say it. Slightly embarrassed, I refuse to look at her, even though I can tell she's giving me some sort of expression meant to make me feel like an angel.
Demetri steps toward me with a tired look, calling my bluff. My reaction is instantaneous as I push Jessica into him while sliding my heels over the edge of the pit. Now it's only my hold on the bars that prevents me from falling. He narrows his eyes as he stops, giving Jessica a sideways glance as she scuffles away from him. He's contemplating his next move.
"Try me," I say, edging my heels further when he goes to sidestep around Jessica.
"Ugh," he sighs, rubs his temples, and retreats. He puts a hand to his ear and half-whispers, "Caius, she's trying to bargain herself... Two other rejected supply units that I assume to be her friends... I know, but if we do that then… No, they both appear to be-," he looks Jessica up and down. "-Lord James's... Okay," he sighs again. "Okay. Yes. Understood."
He lifts his gaze to the three of us before turning to address the other vampires. "I am taking these supply units back to the Selection Hall. You have no right to an explanation on this matter, so I suggest you keep your curiosities to yourselves. Breathe a word of this instance, any of you, and I will be a cheerful attendee to your execution." Theatrically, he points to every vampire in the room. The lesser vampires stand complacent, looking between each other, though none have the audacity to speak out their qualms. Demetri turns to me.
"Well? Come on then," he says sourly, turning to head back up the stairs.
The solid ground might as well be jelly, everything else a blur. I focus on Jessica who is already shaking and crying again. In mere seconds she has me in a tight hug, sobbing, while Angela slowly moves in to do the same. I'm too shocked to feel awkward, but I actively move away from the affections.
"Bella...," Jessica mutters. "T-thank you. Thank you so much. I can't believe it. I-"
"You would have done the same, Jess, it's fine." I cut her off, still so shaken that I can't think straight. She answers by crying more.
"Really? You're still down there? Hurry up you bloody snails." Demetri throws a fit from the top of the staircase, and the three of us start our ascent from the fallenreserves.
As I make the upstairs trek, hand in hand with Jessica, there's absolutely nothing present in my mind except stark disbelief. Not one supply unit—no matter how rare or delectable—would have been spared if they acted the way I did at Distribution. And the fact that I'm on my way to Cullen's supply seraglio after impulsively insulting him is more than a little disconcerting. It's downright terrifying. There's no doubt that I will have to face him again, and most likely with consequence. Knots form in the pit of my stomach the more I think about it.
Amidst drowning myself in thought, we catch up to Demetri who taps his foot while waiting—dramatically.
"From here we will take a scarcely used route to the nearest exit," he informs. "This isn't something that happens often, so stay quiet and follow close." He eyes me with suspicion. "Especially you."
Feeling pretty indebted, I take the high road and keep my loaded sarcasm withdrawn as we file through the doorways. In no time at all, the four of us are heading through hidden paths in the halls, down secret passageways, and along shadowy corridors leading me to trip ugly over Demetri.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
He smirks as he continues forward, replying, "Ah, so you do have the ability to be civil? What an honest relief."
I scoff. Behind me, Jessica consoles a traumatized Angela with whispers of reassurance. They were good friends at Nightingale as well. I wonder for a moment if Jessica is closer to Angela than she is to me. It wouldn't be surprising since-
I quickly push the insecurities out of my mind. I need to stop thinking. About everything.
"I suppose Cullen isn't too angry?" I start a conversation with Demetri to distract myself.
"LordCullen. And of course he's angry. Furious, actually." He chuckles, damning my heart to my stomach. "Lord Cullen is a creature of pride, darling. I would be scared out of my mind that he reevaluated his judgment after that…episode."
I look down, a spark of fear causing a wildfire up and down my body. His answer shouldn't be that surprising. However, throughout all my indirect experiences with him, Cullen's been somewhat merciful in one way or another to me. Is it because of how we met?
"Then why has he been keeping me alive? Even at Nightingale he would turn down requests to punish me." I point out.
"Well I wouldn't know anything about that," he says, "but I would suppose that he's just in the mood to do the taming, himself, for a change. Nightingale's methods are obviously not working."
"What?" I hiss, not sure I heard correctly.
"What finer specimen to test his patience than an insultingly impertinent mortal?" he cackles.
I whip my head away. Even this vampire is toying with me.
"Yeah, right."
Laughter still present in his voice, he changes the subject. "Now, what should I call you? Numbers are far too bothersome."
"…Bella," I reluctantly answer as I still tread carefully along the blackened halls.
"No, no, I wasn't asking you. It was rhetorical. Now let's see. How about… Moron, or Cretin. Or, oh, I know! Dimwit. That's a good one. How about I call you Dimwit from now on?" He jabs at me. And while I am surprised by his humor, I'm less than amused.
"As you may have heard back there, my name is Demetri, though it is mandatory that you address me by 'master' from here on out."
"Please," I snort. His company is proving to be a bit more bearable than other vampires that I've encountered. "If anything, it will be 'Master Bloodsucking-Scumbag.'"
He chuckles. "Dimwit's got jokes." And after a moment he says, "Well, Bella, I wish you and your little friends luck. You will need it."
He stops and opens a door to reveal a bright, full-moon lit night. Beneath the cascade of stars and milky atmosphere lies a gleaming metal ramp leading up to a huge, prestigious-looking, chariot.
"Depending on how all that turns out for you, we may or may not meet again." He leaves me with these parting words.
My eyes remain fixed on him as he motions me up the creaking slope. Then he turns to do the same for both Jessica and Angela.
Once the three of us are inside the chariot, everything goes dark as the doors are closed and locked. There are two resounding taps on the outside of the convoy. All three of us nearly fall over from the initial force of the chariot's take-off, though we somehow manage to remain upright by shamelessly clinging to one another like lifelines.
The chariot space is rather narrow, but obnoxiously long. Red-dyed velvet walls reflect golden yellow about every twelve feet from intricate lanterns. Other supply units—very few altogether, and all wearing ruby red—sit on black and cushioned benches along the walls, telling me that we are on our way to Cullen's castle. They stare at us with scrutinizing eyes, but I can't blame them. I'm pretty sure the other girls placed bets that I would end up a rejected supply unit even before my escape attempt, so for me to be here despite my history must be quite a slap in the face to all the goodie-goodies. On top of that, Jessica's and Angela's amethyst dresses are like a beacon.
Angela is the first to walk toward three consecutive empty spots on a bench while Jessica and I reluctantly follow. I sit for a moment, looking at nothing else but my dry hands. I analyze every crease and joint consciously, as if they are the most enthralling distractions from the molestation of eyes lift to meet Glera's. She quickly looks away, and I do too... but the questioning tension lingers.
Glera has always intrigued me. Unlike the other supply girls, she mainly kept to herself at Nightingale. I always assumed she had friends, but it seemed more often than not she would be at an empty table studying or staring outside of a nearby window, too busy thinking her own thoughts to care about the opinions of others. I often would wonder if she, too, saw past our cage into the open world. On a different note, Glera is exceptionally beautiful—dark complexion, both a curvaceous and warrior-like figure, almond eyes, and a head full of curly, untamable hair. I've thought about approaching her a couple of times, but she's as good at deflecting social interaction as I am.
Jessica leans into me, resting her head on my shoulder and pulling me from my thoughts. She has a way of doing that at the right times. I tilt my head to rest on hers.
"I don't know where I would be without you," she admits.
"In that pit back there," I joke, and she giggles half-heartedly.
"What do you think will happen once we get to his castle?" she asks, fear raking over her voice. "They have let Angela and I come along for the time being, but what could Lord Cullen possibly do with two rejected supply units? We don't even belong to him."
"I won't let him kill us," I quickly reply, unsure of how I could fulfill that promise if Cullen set his mind to it. "You, especially. Of all people, you don't deserve it. Me, on the other hand—."
"Stop. You can't talk about yourself like that after what you just did for us. I don't know if I could have done that so easily."
"It wasn't easy. And your opinion of me is biased," I say, flicking my thumbs over one another. Under my breath, I add, "I may have told all those vampires to go screw themselves during my judgment."
Jessica snaps her head up and scalds me with her reprimanding stare. She would be a good mother, if she weren't trapped in Volterra.
She squeals between gritted teeth. "Bella, what the hell?"
I laugh, which causes her to laugh. And even Angela, who has been obviously eavesdropping solemnly until this point, chuckles. She finally speaks.
"Well... I'd like to hear about it, if you want to share?"
If she's willing to wave her white flag so easily, I guess there's no reason to hold onto the broken eggshells of the past. I give her a slight smile and begin to explain—with fervor—how I made a complete and total fool of Cullen in front of the entire panel of aristocratic vampires.
I wonder if Bella is ever going to warm up to Mr. Cullen? ;)