Chapter Thirty-Two
Manipulation
Summoned by a crumpled note, Lena stood in the castle dungeons.
It was a damp space below ground. Dark, too. The walls and floor were all stone. Tiny cells were etched out, barred with metal. It was no barrier to a creature like her, which only frightened her further. It meant whoever had been locked up in these cells prefered to remain inside than to bend the bars and face whatever harsher punishment lurked beyond. A small window high up at the end of the hall let in only a sliver of light, and a tiny rectangle of the stone floor was resultingly lighter than the rest, the only space mould did not grow.
Shoes sounded on the steps, scuffing over stone. Lena turned and faced the spiral staircase.
Chelsea appeared before her. She didn't smile. It was only the tiny flicker of recognition in her gaze which convinced Lena she remembered her at all.
"I knew you weren't stupid," she said. "Corin thought you wouldn't be able to work out the map."
Lena stared at her. She didn't like her very much. She treated her like she was an outsider, an idiot. If she had it her way, she wouldn't be here at all. She would never see or speak to Chelsea or Corin again. She would be alone, as she had been before, and she would be comfortable with it.
But what choice did she have other than to cooperate?
She was trapped. There was no favourable way out of this arrangement for any of them now.
"I heard about what you did with the human last night. Impressive." Chelsea's gaze dropped to her left hand. "Good enough show to get a finger back it seems. Only three more now."
She ignored her, hid her hand under her cloak. "Where's Corin?"
"With the Wives," she said. "It doesn't matter. Seeing her too often is dangerous. She could make us lose sight of our goal."
Like any of this was safe. Lena looked back towards the cells warily.
Chelsea scoffed. "They're empty. Aro decided decades ago that execution was much easier. He doesn't have to worry about runaways now." She shouldered past her, and looked inside each cell. "See? Not a soul in sight."
She wasn't sure if she should find comfort in that. Of course, it meant they had no witnesses, but it also meant this was not a place she could be kept. It meant Aro did not take prisoners. If they were discovered, if Lena ever ran out of body parts to spare, this was not where she would go.
"So what now, then?" Lena asked.
"We make our first move."
"Which is?"
"We kill Corin."
She frowned. She couldn't be serious. How could they kill Corin, one of their own? There were only a few of them, only so many who were against Aro.
"Don't look at me like that," Chelsea said.
"Does Corin know?"
"Does Corin- Of course not!"
Lena shook her head. This was stupid. It had been stupid of her to get involved. This was turning into something private she wanted no part in. A feud between friends. She was the pawn, wasn't she? Used by them to battle each other. When she saw Corin, would she ask her to kill Chelsea? Deliver a nasty message, and spit venom in her eyes before she died?
Chelsea sighed, and swept towards her. She grabbed her shoulders, and peered up into her face. "I hate to see a friend go. Truly. But what other choice is there?"
"You make no sense."
"With her gone, there will be an uprising. Think of how many will rebel. No longer will they be content serving the kings."
Lena said nothing.
She sighed. "Did you really think we could defeat them with only three?"
No.
She knew they could not all along. It was, in part, why it frustrated her so much that they had roped her into this. Of course, she always had plans to overthrow Aro, but she wished to do it on her terms. Chelsea and Corin had a vision, but Lena was unmatched in determination. Emotion drove her. Vile hatred the other women forgot over the centuries was still fresh in her mind.
"Listen to me, Lena." She tightened her grip on her, squeezed her biceps to draw her attention. "We cannot continue with her. She will be our demise. How long do you think we can hide our secrets from Aro? From the others? If she leaves us, we will gain a hundred more. Do you understand?"
She stared at her.
"Corin is freed from her duties in the tower every evening at seven o'clock. You must intercept her before she has time to mingle with the rest of the guard. She does not leave them until sunrise."
"You want me to kill her," Lena said.
She nodded.
"Why would I do that?"
Chelsea released her. "Do you listen when I speak? Her death-"
"No," Lena said. "I mean, what do I get out of it?"
She narrowed her eyes. "You spend too much time with Aro," she said. "What do you want?"
She wasn't sure. There was nothing she wanted she did not, or could not, already have. A single word to Aro, and said desire would shortly arrive at her door.
"You will owe me a favour," she said. "I don't know what it is yet, but when I ask you will give it to me."
"I don't make deals without clear terms."
"You didn't give me the chance to say no," she said. "Fair is fair."
A pause. Chelsea stared at her, crimson eyes flickering over her face. "Fine," she said. "A favour, but only one."
She extended her hand, and Lena took it. Shook it.
Chelsea leaned forwards, dropped her voice low. "She's only a small thing. I'm sure you'll manage, even with fingers missing."
She pulled away, and shouldered past her. Then, she disappeared upstairs.
Lena sat in her room, staring at her hands. She turned them over countless times, tested her fingers. Her newest addition worked as well as the others. It was as if it was never gone. There was no scar, no purplish line marring the site of injury. It was only the other three bumps beside it which reminded her of her loss. Three fingers, still closed up in Aro's cabinet, confiscated.
She wondered if he would take it back if he found out about Corin. Would he take her whole arm, as he threatened before? Why did it have to be Lena to condemn her anyway? Chelsea was just as able as Lena. Trusted, too. A hundred eyes did not examine her every movement, searching for a glimpse of something less than favourable, digging deeper than necessary into her words for meaning.
Chelsea thought Lena was expendable. She was manipulating her.
That, or she thought Lena was better. Strong where she was weak. Firm where she was soft. Heartless enough to kill one of her own.
She had done it before, a little voice in her head reminded her. Yes, of course. But that was different. She wasn't herself. She didn't mean-
Lena sighed.
It was too soon. She only just got her finger back. Aro would take it away in an instant if she killed one of his favourites. Corin, like Chelsea, wore the cloak of a permanent guard. The dark grey colour not only implied longevity, but proximity to the throne. They were the ones muttering in Aro's ear, making self-serving suggestions disguised as something else. Why could they not do something with the power he gave them so willingly? Why was it her who had to do the dirty work?
Her eyes drifted to the sleeves of her cloak. Light grey. Powerless. Inferior.
A flood of irritation. She rushed to her feet. Tore off her cloak, threw it across the room. The bundle of fabric hit the wall, then dropped to the floor. A sad grey pile of dense material she wanted nothing more to do with.
If only it were that easy.
Lena could not shrug off her responsibilities as she did her clothes. She couldn't walk away from the Volturi as she had the Cullens or Alistair. She thought of her three fingers, locked away, guarded. Even if she found a way to make her peace with her situation, with her dead family, she couldn't walk away now. She was in too deep.
Carlisle explained it to her once, the nature of the Volturi. There were only two ways someone left the guard.
They were replaced, or they were killed.
From Aro's reaction to her gift, she doubted there was another soul on the planet quite as talented as her.
There was no way out.
With this realisation, Lena lowered herself to the floor. She hunched over, tucked in her limbs, and made herself into a tight ball of cold flesh.
I changed my mind. I don't want to do this.
I changed my mind.
I changed my mind.
I changed my mind.
thanks for reading x