My Queens: Chapter 4

Summary: Bella takes a trip of a lifetime, but all is not as it seems.

Bella/Athenodora, Didyme, Sulpicia

Bella had enough awareness to stop, and as gently as she could manage, open the large ornate doors. The doors had done nothing to warrant their destruction at her hands. They were older than most countries, and she was not going to be responsible for their destruction. On the other hand, Aro was an entirely different kettle of fish.

Two sets of arms enveloped her in a hug before she stepped through the doors. Breathing was no longer a requirement, but as she hugged the twins back, she released the breath she'd been holding, or at least something close to that sensation. The tightness in her chest had suddenly eased.

"We felt you coming," Alec confessed, his voice muffled as his head was buried in her neck. At that moment, she realized they had been feeling the same discomfort as she was.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come and get you, but I needed to have some semblance of control. Grab whatever you need to stay for a while, and we can go." Bella smiled radiantly as she at the twins. "Did you grow shorter?" She teased.

"No, you can just see a little more clearly." Alec retorted. Their smiles lit up their faces, much to Bella's delight.

"Guards do not leave this castle for an extended period without my permission." Aro intoned as he abandoned his position behind the grand piano.

Bella took a deep unneeded breath; it helped calm her down a fraction, enough to stop her from breaking his fucking piano. "I was seven when I fell out of a second-story window and walked away without a scratch. It was the first time my physical shield manifested itself."

"You are a shield… of course." Aro cheered.

Bella ignored his animated display. "Yes, and more importantly, I've had nearly two decades of practice. I am telling you this because I need you to understand just how in tune I am with my gift. Just how easily I can keep Chelsea under my shield and watch all hell break loose." It was highly comical how Aro's glee slowly morphed into a horrifying realization. Were she human, she would have missed the subtly nuisances she was seeing now. The truth was, she had no idea how her shields work, but Aro didn't need to know that.

She turned to the twins. "Come on, go get your stuff." Without looking at Aro for confirmation, they ran out of the throne room.

"Immortality suits you, Bella." Marcus praised.

"That it does," Caius added.

"Thank you." Bella smiled as she looked around the room. There was so much more to see now with her new eyes. "I can see the resemblance now. You and Athenodora… I only saw the hair before, but now, I see the nose, the bone structure. These new senses are brilliant once you get used to them." Both Caius and Marcus chuckled. Aro just sulked. The twins returned then with their bags in tow.

"I am not unaware that my bond with the twins is only possible because of your intervention a thousand years ago. Without that, they would not be here today, and for that, I am grateful. But know this, they are yours as much as they are mine. I am willing to share custody… amicably. Keep pushing me with this need you have to exert authority over me, and you will be relegated to visitation a couple of times a month. That is, if you are still walking after I put my fist through your face. See you around." Bella cheered as she strolled out of the throne room.

"I have a theory on how to find the tastiest blood." Bella started as they walked down the long corridor.

"Really, how," Alec asked, giggling.

"The more deplorable they are, the better they taste," Bella uttered.

"Oh, I know that," Jane replied, her hand in Bella's. "I think it has something to do with the lack of guilt." She added.

"Uh, that's an interesting theory," Bella mumbled. With the doors to the throne room still opened, the kings could hear the ongoing conversation in amusement.

"Aro, dear brother… this is not a fight you are going to win. Let her be." Marcus warned.

"Bella isn't going to sit by and watch her mates or the twins get hurt. She will help when we need it, no need for games," Caius added. Aro, though, continued to sulk.

"I'm so happy you came for us," Jane whispered.

"Of course, I was coming for you. Just needed a minute to get the hang of my new state." Bella sighed. "I had hoped Aro would not play these games he seemed so intent on playing." No sooner had she completed her sentence when the twins growled at the sight before them. Bella, though, simply looked amused at the sight of Corin desperately trying to engage Athenodora in conversation.

"I knew Aro would see sense, but so soon. You must tell me how your conversation with him went later on." Didyme teased.

"Is he still intact?" Athenodora quipped.

"He is. I managed to curtail the impulse to rearrange his face." Bella mumbled, focusing on the large box Athenodora lifted onto the back of a truck. "What is that?" Bella asked.

"It's one of our many gifts to you." Didyme cheered.

"We have it on good authority; you will love it," Sulpicia added.

"Then I'm sure I will." It came as no surprise when her phone alerted her to a message. "Jane, could you. I have no desire to break another phone." Jane fished the iPhone out of Bella's shirt pocket.

"It's your fairy godmother." Jane laughed.

"Of course, it is." Bella looked over at the screen, refusing to take the phone from Jane.

'Do something about Corin.'

They looked over at Corin, who had actually managed to engage Athenodora in conversation. However, the queen seemed more focused on packing several boxes onto the truck's bed.

"I will," Bella muttered. "Dora, I was hoping to join the guard training," Bella said with a nonchalance her mate did not buy.

"I can train you." She retorted. She knew Bella had a reason for asking, and the minute Corin opened her mouth, it became clear.

"Let's be honest, considering who she is to you…" No one missed the fact that Corin avoided using the word mate. "You would be unlikely to give it your all. Training with the guards will be the best training a vampire can get." Bella managed to keep from rolling her eyes. Corin had clearly not met the Whitlocks. Now, that was the best training anyone could get.

"Why not? It will give Isabella a chance to work off some of that frustration." Didyme added.

"I am fine with how she is working it off right now." Athenodora purred as she leered at her mate. "Just fine indeed." She sauntered towards Bella, a predatory look in her eyes. The kiss was about indecent as a kiss could get. It was all tongues, wet and sloppy; Bella only pulled back when Athenodora's hand started to wander under her shirt.

"Behave." Bella tried looking stern but failed miserably when Athenodora wiggled her eyebrows. Bella looked over at Corin, her look said it all, she would make sure she was in that training room with Bella.

"Again, Dora, I am sorry about what took place in your bedroom. I let… my emotions get the better of me." Corin purred her eyes firmly on Bella before sauntering out of the garage. Athenodora looked ready to go after the guard with dire consequences.

"I'm guessing I'm supposed to angrily ask you what took place in your bedroom." Bella shook her head, amused. Athenodora did not get the chance to answer, as Demetri, Felix and Heidi entered.

"Bella, congratulations." Demetris' rather heartfelt expression put a smile on Bella's face.

"Thanks, although I am not ready for handshakes." She laughed.

"Oh yes, newborn strength," Demetri murmured.

"I'm good." Felix stepped forward, and to Bella's surprise, hugged her.

"Of course, you maintained your newborn strength." He reminded her so much of Emmett.

"Every ounce of it." The vampire said proudly.

"We'll have to test that someday," Bella murmured.

"Bring it on," Felix said, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh no, not me," Bella said cryptically.

"We aren't the first vampires you've met, are we?" Demetri questioned, not that he expected Bella to confirm his suspicion.

"Heidi, how are you this lovely day." The greeting surprised the vampire.

"I am well, thank you." She looked as though she had more to say but thought better of it.

"Heidi, whatever you have to say, say it." Bella offered.

"I chose to live, and it wasn't as though I had…"

"Victoria died eight years ago," Bella told her. "I have no issues with you, and I know for a fact we will get along swimmingly well if you do not get in the middle of Corin's bullshit," Bella warned.

"Excellent advice," Jane grumbled.

"Yes, it is," Heidi murmured. "Welcome to the family, Bella." Bella nodded in response.

"I'm sure you can keep teaching if you change schools," Alec murmured, even though his focus was mainly on the game he was playing.

"I'm done with teaching for now. Who knows, I might pick it back up in a few decades. If the Cullens complaints are anything to go by. Nothing changes in regards to education. Five years was good enough." Bella had happily gone back to teaching her sixth year as a vampire. As a vampire, she did not find it as challenging as she did as a human. That, unfortunately, took some of the joy out of it she found.

"Maybe, I should join law enforcement." Jane rolled her eyes at the comment. The girl had picked up too many of Bella's bad habits, according to Didyme.

"What difference would it have made. The authorities have no idea who he is, and we have been keeping an eye on the investigation." Alec added.

"That's true, and now we have his scent. Hopefully, that will give us an edge." Bella had broken into the Commissariato San Giovanni a month ago and gotten the shirt of the latest victim. Despite having all the information the police had, Bella was no closer to finding the rapist.

Four hours roaming the rooftops of Florence and nothing to show for it again. She was about to give up when the scent hit. "Finally," Bella whispered. They felt confident; the asshole was tailing his next victim. They had found him as he was following his latest victim. Bella watched as the young lady in question ignorantly ranted on her phone without a thought regarding her surroundings. The news was full of nothing but warnings to young ladies to stay alert and vigilant. "You lucky girl." She murmured as the girl turned down an alley. It was a shortcut but an unnecessary one.

The rapist, in turn, pulled out a switchblade and quickened his steps. His yelp was cut off before a sound left his throat. The would-be victim hadn't even known anything had happened.

Bella watched the rapist, a young good-looking man, who looked terrified considering he was dangling in the air. Bella dropped him from a height; he hit the rooftop of the abandoned warehouse and went right through to the floor below. He realized his ankle was broken when he tried to stand. He watched as a woman floated from the rooftop and landed with ease. He crawled backward as she stalked toward him slowly. "Please, no." The accent gave Bella pause.

"You are an American," Bella muttered, surprised.

"Yes, please… let me go. I will turn myself in. I didn't use protection… my DNA will convict me. I didn't kill anybody." He pleaded. He saw death when he looked at the pale beauty before him.

"Well, good to know. I was going to have you record a confession before I killed you, but DNA is much better. I will just leave a note for them to check your DNA." Bella snarled.

"Please, I don't want to die." He begged, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm afraid death is exactly what I intend for you." Bella kneeled before him. "You will suffer before you die. That I can guarantee." She added.

"Please." The whispered word had Bella gritting her teeth. How many of his victims begged while he held a knife to their throat and raped them.

"Before we begin. Where are you staying?" Bella asked, almost too nicely, which brought on loud cries and shouts for help. "Please shut up before I break your jaw," Bella warned impatiently.

"Joy Hotel, room 107." He answered through his tears.

"Now, that wasn't too hard, was it." She smiled as she gripped his already broken ankle and squeezed, resulting in his screams.

"See what you can find." She instructed the twins.

"Somebody help me." He screamed.

"Nobody can hear you," Bella smirked as she twisted his leg-breaking the fibula and tibia. He could scream all he wanted. Her physical shield dampened sound considerably.

"Wish I had hurt him some more," Bella muttered angrily. From his possessions, they learned he had been traveling through Europe for the last two years. In each city, at the time he was there, three to five women had been victims of rape, all fitting his modus operandi. He wore three different perfumes simultaneously, leaving a reminder of himself behind. The very signature became his undoing.

"All these women will know that the monster is dead, and a painful one at that," Sulpicia assured her mate.

"What do you think about me joining the police?" She asked absentmindedly, her finger trailing up and down Sulpicia's spine.

"I don't know about Pichia and Dora, but this will be the last time I have sex with you if you do anything of the sort." Didyme threatened.

"Why?" She could hear the whine in her voice, not that she cared.

"Because I don't have sex with idiots." Athenodora and Sulpicia burst into laughter while Bella pouted.

"Really, Isabella, you would have to work within the confines of the law. Imagine this case, how would you have explained finding that monster? The lies you would have to tell would be too much for even you to keep track of." Sulpicia added.

"And you can't kill them." Athenodora reminded her.

"Yeah, that does end my food source," Bella mumbled.

"I do have an idea you would love." Didyme piped up after a minute of blissful silence. "How about we invite Charlie and the Cullens up for a visit.

"That's a good idea." Bella cheered. She often visited Charlie, but it would be nice to have him in her home for a change. As for the Cullens, she hadn't seen them since her newborn year ended, and that was over a decade ago.

"You had no right." Edward bellowed.

"No, you are right about that." Alice intoned, her focus on the fashion magazine she was reading on her tablet. She missed the printed magazine. "Bella made her choice, and we weren't going to stand in her way." She added, finally looking up at her brother.

"She had no idea what becoming a vampire takes from you. How many eighteen year old…"

"Bella was nearly twenty-seven when she made her decision. She finished high school, went to Dartmouth, got her masters in English, spent two years teaching in one of the best schools in England before she became a vampire. She made her choice knowing everything she needed to know and more." Carlisle's tone conveyed some anger despite his attempts to remain impassive. "You have no idea, none whatsoever about the life Bella lived. You may dispute it, but the fact that she has been living happily for nearly fifty years with the queens tells me differently. Would I have loved for you to be her mate, yes. But the day you advocated for us to leave without so much as a goodbye made it clear you were never her mate. Isabella Swan is not your mate and never was." Carlisle added, his calm having deserted him. Esme took her husband's hand in hers, a show of support and solidarity.

"Dude, the girl never once asked or mentioned you the minute you left her in that forest," Emmett added.

"I will let Bella tell me herself." Edward snarled as he walked out.

"Should we warn her?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know what difference it would make. Even if Bella warned him not to come, we all know he would not listen." Alice mumbled. "Of all the people to let the information slip, it had to be the Irish coven." She added annoyed.

"Darling, we were never going to keep it from him forever. I'm surprised it took this long for him to find out" Jasper placated.

"I know." Alice groused.

"I better call Aro; we can't just show up," Carlisle said with a resigned sigh.

"Wait, you expect us to go into the castle with him?" Rosalie asked. "I don't think so. We will wait at the villa for him. If he comes back that is." She added.

"Rosalie, he will probably get himself killed if he goes alone. Bella is more likely to advocate for him if we are present. She will do it for us." No one could argue with Carlisle's logic. If Edward did something stupid, their being there would possibly be the only thing that will save him.

Alice wasn't going to pretend the Volturi were the epitome of good, but they weren't the monsters Edward believed either. Yes, Aro in the past had the tendency to forgive gifted vampires even if they were the culprit in whatever crime a coven had committed. There were rumors he also used Chelsea to steal gifted coven members. Demetri was a perfect example of it. Anum hid Benjamin for fear of losing him to the Volturi. Not so much anymore, since Benjamin's friendship with Bella and the twins, Anum felt he could rest easy. In fact, the Irish coven was of the same notion. Bella and the twins loved visiting them. Initially, the coven had been terrified of the twins when they met on a chance encounter. After a few days with them, the coven grew quite fond of them, especially Maggie.

Alice could see it all. Edward's unwavering steadfastness in his plans. His determination to not take no for an answer until he had spoken to Bella. His plan was to get her away from the Italian monsters no matter what it took. She couldn't help but think, Edward's view of Bella was that of the girl he last saw nearly sixty years ago. As far as Edward was concerned, Bella was somehow manipulated into joining the Volturi. She'd made the decision to become a vampire without knowing the reality of the choice she was making. All he had to do was pay attention to their thoughts, and he would see the truth. No, Edward would instead stay ignorant of the truth because it was easier that way. It was easier to believe Bella had been manipulated. It was easier to believe she did not know better. It was easier to believe she was still the eighteen-year-old girl he'd abandoned so cruelly in the forest.

So yes, she struggled to contain her laughter when Aro had simply turned to the twins after Edward's long-winded speech.

"What time is Bella picking you up?" Aro asked them with a condescending smirk.

Jane glared at Edward sorely tempted to drop him, then answered. "She should be here any minute." Jane had barely finished her sentence when they heard her.

"And shall you be my new romance?

On the clear understanding that this kind of thing can happen,

Shall we dance?

Shall we dance?

Shall we dance?

Shall we dance?

One, two, three and?

On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?

One, two, three and?

Shall we dance?

One, two, three and?

Shall we then say "Goodnight and mean "Goodbye"

One, two, three and?

Or perchance," Bella hums the rest of the lyrics.

"After all this time, she still doesn't know the words," Rosalie murmured, shaking her head.

"I'm more impressed with her trying to sing both parts despite that." Esme giggled.

"Shall we dance? Dum dum dum.

Shall we dance? Dum dum dum.

Shall we Dance? Dum dum dum." The doors to the throne room opened to the sight of Bella still mumbling her way through the song. "One, two, three… Alice..." She saw a figure running toward her, and her shield flared out. He bounced off her shield and was thrown against the wall. "You can't do that; my shield is somewhat sentient and will go on the defense," Bella said, moving towards the figure still kneeling.

"He should have known better, shield or no shield." Emmett chuckled.

"He is right, unless you are a newborn, that was foolish." Bella admonished as the vampire stood up.

"Bella," Edward whispered. Strangely, he was still struggling to comprehend seeing her as a vampire. Edward had known what to expect; after all, she was a vampire; she'd look like one. He could see the truth for himself. She had matured as a human before becoming a vampire.

"Yes, that is my name." She mumbled, turning her attention to the Cullens. "I can't believe you are here." She hugged Alice and Jasper, then frowned when the realization hit her. "Why are you here, instead of the villa." She turned to glare at Aro.

"I assure you this has nothing to do with me." Aro quickly defended his position.

"Then why are you here? Are you in need of help?" Bella asked, concern etched on her features.

"No, Bells, we actually came for your birthday." Emmett's smile had her smiling as he hugged her, lifting her off the floor.

"It's not my birthday for another four months, and I don't celebrate my human birthday." Rose, as usual, looked her over before hugging her. Bella never knew what she looking for.

"No, he means your vampire one. You are turning fifty in a few weeks." Jasper clarified.

"I don't celebrate that one either," Bella muttered. "Still, it doesn't explain why you are here in the castle." She questioned.

"Edward found out about you being a vampire, and em..." Alice's voice trailed off as she stared at her brother, who appeared still struck dumb by the sight of Bella.

"Who is Edward, and what has my being a vampire got to do with him," Bella asked, looking thoroughly perplexed.