Hello! I'm so so so sorry about the long wait! I hope you can all forgive me. Thank you for sticking with me and bearing my tardiness! Real life was a problem lately, so I didn't have a lot of time to spare, but I finished this chapter as soon as I could. Believe me, every review, every Favorite/Follow was a blessing. Please continue!
Anyway, let's move on to the actual chapter!
Enjoy!
BELLA POV
As I am relaxing on the plane, on the flight back to Volterra, I think about the last few hours.
Jasper was being strange. When I showed him my new bite marks he flipped his shit: he started to growl and he licked every bite mark—which, given their position, was a bit embarrassing, but strangely pleasant. Caius had this weird face, then it looked like he had a ah-ha moment. I asked him what was wrong, but he just smirked and ushered me inside the plane.
Another scary-Jasper moment, was when he saw that Jane was trying to kill me. with only an arm I couldn't do much, so he immediately took action. He roared so loud I nearly shit myself—echoed by Caius—and then he quickly threw himself over Jane. I admit it, I was drooling a bit.
What can a girl do when faced with a sexy southern bare-chested vampire?
Caius killed all the remaining newborns and quickly handed me his cloak, holding me as I rose—I hadn't even noticed I was trembling. Jane was withering on the ground, Jasper glaring at her, before his eyes met mine.
The black in his eyes receded and a bright red took its place.
Damn, he was fine!
He must have felt my emotions, because he smirked for a second, before turning back to Jane and increasing her pain.
Caius was growling lowly beside me, I could barely hear him. He scowled at Jane, "Jane Volturi, you are hereby accused of treason of the Volturi Coven, and murder of a temporary, guest member of the Volturi Coven, Isabella Marie Swan. Your trial will be held in Volterra as soon as we return. You'll make no resistance, or we'll be forced to incapacitate you."
Many of the guard gasped at that, but Felix and Demetri quickly hauled Jane up and, when she tried to escape their clutches—evidently Jasper stopped using his gift—Alec jumped in and sedated her with his own gift. Wow.
It's not like I felt bad for her, but I surely felt bad for her brother.
After Jane sagged unconsciously in Demetri and Felix's arms, Caius looked at Alec inquisitively. He simply bowed at him, "My sister disobeyed your orders, Master. She tried to kill Bella, whom I think of as a friend. She'll be judged accordingly to her crimes and I will not interfere with her punishment or execution."
Aww, how sweet! I knew I liked Alec for a reason.
"He speaks the truth" Jasper said to Caius. He nodded back.
"Guards, let us go back to our headquarters, and then we'll return home" he said, leading me to Jasper.
Jasper hugged me and I quickly reciprocated as best as I could, considering the fact that I had to cover myself with the cloak to avoid flashing anyone.
"Let's go home, darlin'" he said, smelling my hair.
And here we are.
Luckily I'm now fully dressed and fed, so when I hear a knock on the door, I don't have to worry about showing more skin than normal. "Come in!" I say, and Jasper slips in.
"Hey, darlin'. We almost there. Half an hour tops" he says, smiling widely.
I reciprocate his smile and make space for him to sit beside me on the bed. He takes the hint and sits, but before either of us can say something, Caius' head appears in the doorway.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Aro wants to speak with you, Jasper" he says, holding up a small black phone.
Jasper looks at me and I smile, nodding my head to the phone. He grins apologetically, "I'll be back in a sec, darlin'."
Jasper slips out of the room and Caius takes his place. "So, how're you? I hope the bites aren't hurting" he asks, a concerned expression on his face.
I shake my head, "No, they don't. The tingled a bit but it stopped a few minutes after we left the newborn camp. How's Alec?" I then ask. Alec was tasked with keeping his sister contained and sedated, "It must be hard for him."
Caius growls, "Alec is fine, Jane is firmly under his control. He knows the consequences of what she did, and he knows she isn't above the law. Besides, you heard what he said when we captured her, he values you as a friend. There aren't many who he likes, and those lucky enough to be considered his friends will always have his support. That's one thing that's always been clear throughout the centuries."
I smile sadly, "That's good, but that's his twin sister, she was with him his whole life. I don't want to disrupt his existence by stealing away the last bit of family he has left."
Caius smiles benevolently at me, "The Volturi are his family, and she just betrayed us. She is no longer family."
Still, it seems wrong to do it. But before I can voice my still present insecurity, Jasper comes back in the room. He holds out the phone to me, "Aro wants ta speak ta ya, darlin'."
I quickly stand up and grab the phone, and the two vampires leave me alone in the room to talk. I put the phone to my ear, "Hello?"
"Isabella, my dear, I hear what happened! What a tragedy! I hope you are safe and well?" Aro's buoyant voice comes through, tinted with a bit of sadness and anger.
"Yeah, Aro. Thank you, I'm fine. We'll be home soon, so you'll be able to see for yourself. I still don't understand how Kai's bites didn't kill me…" I mutter, losing myself in my thoughts.
I come back just in time to hear Aro's last words, "—the hypothesis later."
"Yeah, sure. Okay" I say.
A moment of silence, then, "Are you sure you are alright, dear? Jane isn't bothering you, right? We'll have her trial as soon as you come home. Maybe after you sleep and refresh yourself, if you need it" Aro says.
"Jane is under Alec's influence, so it's all good. I didn't know you knew about what she did."
"Of course I do, my sweet child. And I promise you she'll be held responsible for all the hurt she has done to you."
ARO'S POV
I am ecstatic.
Not only Maria has been defeated once and for all, but the God of War is back and young Bella shows signs of a latent power—possibly a shield. Astounding!
Unfortunately, the bad news almost equal the good ones. Caius contacted me a few hours ago to report what happened and he also included Jane's terrible behaviour. I can't believe that someone as loyal as Jane could ever do something like this. But alas, it's true.
And as much as it pains me to do so, action must be taken.
There's a knock at the door. A guard comes in and bows respectfully. "Master, Master Caius and his team are approaching, they'll be here shortly."
"Very well. Please, inform my brother, child."
"Of course, Master" he replies, bowing and quickly leaving the room.
I put on my robe and make my way to the throne room, where I find my other brother already sitting on his throne. "Hello, brother" I greet cheerfully. I only receive a nod in response, as always.
Before I can become sad about my brother's nothingness, the doors to the throne room are thrown open. Caius is up front, an angry expression on his face, followed by Alec, Felix and Demetri, carrying an unconscious Jane. She doesn't have on her black cloak, and her hair are messy and dirty.
After them come a few of the other guards, one carrying Maria's ashes, as is customary. We keep the ashes of our enemies so that we can never forget our role to grant peace for the vampire world. Many think we do that to intimidate other vampires, and partly that's true, but there is no need to feel intimidated if you have done nothing wrong.
Lastly, the God of War and Bella enter. Marcus immediately straightens up in surprise and I discreetly brush his hand with mine. My eyes widen. A bright mating bond shines between them, strong and red as blood. Usually the colour of the bond determines the personality of the two mates. Red means they are both strong warriors.
I take back my hand and clap them together. "Welcome back, my good friends! I see your trip has been fruitful, yet unfortunate" I turn my gaze to Bella, "I'm so incredibly contrite about Jane's behaviour. We'll take action immediately to punish her."
As I finish my sentence, Caius, who has already taken his seat on his throne, gestures for Demetri and Felix to bring Jane forth. Alec is still keeping her under his influence, so I'm able to look at her memories calmly.
What I see there shocks me.
Jealousy, hatred, loneliness, cockiness, sadism, superiority. All of this matured in the last few weeks, all toward Bella.
She is jealous of her beauty, her immunity, the fact that we gave her the Winter Rooms. She hates her eyes, her heart, her blood. She feels like she has been betrayed and replaced by us, so she her plan was to eliminate Bella and take back her power.
The only thing she doesn't realise, is that she has no power here.
She is under our rule, like any other, and she has just stepped out of line.
Another thought catches my attention. Of her trying to manipulate some lesser guards into ganging up and raping Bella, and Heidi was her accomplice.
I see red, "Bring me Heidi!" I bellow. Two guards scramble to obey me, and a few seconds later Heidi—dressed in a skin-tight blue leather dress, horrible really—is dragged into the room.
"Master! What is going on!" she screeches, trying to fight off the guards holding her.
I scowl at her, and immediately begin my accusations, "Do you deny aiding Jane in the attempted rape and murder of Isabella Swan?"
At this, a gasp runs through the room, followed by many growls and roars of rage. The God of War looks positively murderous—as do Caius and Felix.
Bella's eyes are wide and dark, and she huddles closer to Jasper, who puts an arm around her. I'm not sure if the two already discussed their mating bond, but it's obvious that at least Jasper knows about it.
Heidi doesn't even try to deny it. "Jane convinced me to do it! She was stealing all the attention, you gave her the Winter Room, she is a child!" she screeches.
Caius roars angrily, "She is more mature than you two skanks combined could ever be! You'll pay for your treason with death!"
Surprisingly, it's Marcus that speaks next. "Felix, Demetri, Alec. Bring the traitors in the cells, we'll decide when to condemn them later on. No blood, no contact with anybody."
"Yes, Master" they bow in unison. A screeching Heidi and an unconscious Jane are dragged out of the room, while the others from the Mexican expedition quickly bow and take their leave. Only Bella and Jasper remain.
I sigh tiredly, "My dear, I'm so sorry for what happened. I never though Jane and Heidi could do something like that. My apologies."
She shakes her head, "There's nothing to forgive Aro. It's their fault, not yours."
I smile at her kindness. "Thank you, young one. Now, I hope your newest wound aren't causing you pain?" I say, letting my eyes wander over the three visible bites on her arms. The others are all covered by a red t-shirt.
Her hands lightly brush against the moon-shaped white marks. "They are fine. They don't hurt. But I still don't know how that's possible. I should have died, or at least turned into a vampire."
I clasp my hands together, and go sit on my throne, "I've thought about it, and there are two possibilities. The first, is that your blood is somehow immune to our venom, something unlikely but not unheard of. The second one consists in you having a mental and physical shield."
Her mouth hangs wide open, and even Jasper looks surprised. I continue my explanation, "Given the fact that when you were first bitten by James, this didn't happen, I believe the second option is the most likely."
Bella frowns, "But if that's true, why didn't it happen with James, also?"
"I think it's because of the venom left in your bloodstream. Despite what Edward said, it's actually impossible to completely remove the venom from the body. By the time he sucked it out of you, some cells would have already started the transformation and this transformation is slowly spreading to the other cells of your body. The venom, despite its small amount, must have triggered your gift. Your mental shield has always been active, but your physical one has been unlocked by the venom."
Bella blinks a couple of times, "Wow, that's crazy" she deadpans.
Caius chuckles. "It is. It's also unheard of, but I think it's best if you start training you gift. It might come in handy once you're turned."
"Will do" Bella says, stifling a yawn, "But now I think I need to sleep. Can I go?" she asks and we all nod. Jasper, who has been silent the whole time, nods at us and disappears with her.
A few seconds pass.
"They are mated, aren't they" Caius asks, a minuscule smile on his face.
"Indeed they are. A magnificent red bond. One of the strongest I've seen, I might add" Marcus says.
Caius smiles, pleased.
I can't resist. "Well, dear brother, what did I tell you about liking Bella? Turns out I am right, as always" I gloat.
"Oh, shut it, brother."
So, how was it? Let me know in the reviews! Also, what would you deem a proper punishment for Jane and Heidi? Tell me your ideas! Gaia xx
