A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.
Chapter 13-
Bella's POV-
"Er…Marcus," I hesitantly called out, beyond embarrassed to be returning with my metaphorical tail between my legs, my face red as I searched for a way out from this unthought of and undesired situation. "Can you…um…come in?" I requested, hoping that he would still be out in the corridors, or I would be forced into another one of those situations wherein I would have to search him through the castle; my last such attempt at bravery not going so very well!
"Marcus…are you there?"
Please be there!
Pretty please be there!
"Bella?"
I let out a sigh of relief, shutting my eyes tight, never having been gladder for his presence. "Can you come in?"
"Okay," he slowly drawled the word out, pushing open the door to my bedroom, as he came to stand in front of me, his hands in his pant pocket as he waited for me to continue, nervousness and discomfort dripping from him in buckets.
"I…"
Why was this so hard?
I simply needed his help; this shouldn't be that hard to admit!
"Um, actually," I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, "I need your help."
There I said it!
"Anything." He stated, offering me a brief nod.
I smiled, acknowledging his gesture. "I am aware that I said that I don't need anyone's help in getting ready, but here's the thing, I have no clothes on me. Or make-up. Or fancy heels. Or even a basic comb. I left everything back at the hotel."
I needed my things. I wasn't prepared to let go of everything I owned!
"Oh." Marcus mumbled. "Yes, I understand how that would be a problem."
"Yeah." I agreed with him, "So, can I…um…go to the hotel and get my stuff?"
I would need to check-out, too.
Also, maybe, I could place a call to Martha? Stating to her that I was quitting my job?
It wouldn't help; I couldn't disclose the actual truth to her. I was stuck in this mess now. For how long, I don't know! But at least I could get in a decent sign off. I wasn't willing to just murder myself of, or pretend to be missing from the face of the Earth; refusing to be that innocent tourist who never returned home.
Yeah, that really wasn't happening!
Either, I could keep all contact with the few friends I had back home- through social media or in some way that protected my privacy yet gave me the freedom to not cut ties, or I was given full choice in how I cut contact with them. I would need to talk to Marcus about this; I could accept that their kind had rules for such stuff, but the final decision would remain mine.
"Oh." Marcus gulped, looking away from me. "Actually…"
"Oh, come on!" I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "You just promised that you wouldn't lock me up in a tower!"
"And I won't!" he hastily admitted. "I promise I will never steal your freewill from you in that manner."
"Then?" I folded my arms over my chest in defiance, waiting to hear his defense.
"Bella," he sighed. "My kind has rules…"
"Yes, I am fully aware of that."
He frowned, nodding his head softly. "I am extremely sorry- and I wish it wasn't so, but you cannot keep contact with anyone back in your previous world. We cannot afford it. The repercussions would be too much to bear."
"You can't be serious!" I spat the words out, glaring at him. "I just want to go to get my bags from the hotel. That is not too much to ask, last I checked."
"Yes." He admitted. "But we can't leave any traces behind. You have gone missing, and like it happens for all the other victims, Felix and Alec will make your records disappear too. You will never have traveled to Volterra, there will be nothing to prove otherwise. Your belongings…they will simply disappear. And…that is for the best…"
"Look," I glared at him, enraged to be at the receiving end of this unbelievable conversation. "I am not one of the 'other victims'. Unfortunately!"
"Bella!"
I waved him off. "Marcus, I need my things. This is simply undebatable."
"We can buy new things. Whatever you want. Just name it. I will ask Heidi to get it for you."
"You know what…just fuck off." I blurted out, storming out of the room, too livid to even see his face at the moment.
How dare he?
How could he even suggest something of this sort?
I wasn't his prisoner, and I would rather die than become one.
I was still surprisingly willing to give this mating business a try, but my freewill was not something I was ever willing to compromise on.
I refused to become a mere puppet at his hands. I was braver than the other wives.
If he wanted me in his life, he would have to come midway for me. I wouldn't be the only one on the giving end of this spectrum.
And while we are at the topic, I wasn't going to live in this dungeon for the rest of my eternity.
Yeah, not happening.
Aro may have been Didyme's brother, and this may have been her family.
But it wasn't mine.
And I would rather make this fact very clear early on itself.
Marcus was…. Argh…I was so, so furious at his audacity at the moment!
How could he?
I don't know for how long I walked, my feet leading me to some place unknown, fueled by fury and disbelief, but when I finally decided to stop, a beautiful tulip garden met my eyes, the flowers pink, red, yellow and white, shining bright as they smiled in delight.
"Wow." I muttered, mesmerized by the sight that my eyes witnessed.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
I abruptly turned, a frown on my face, as I rose an eyebrow awaiting the female vampire in front of me to continue speaking.
"Whenever I am conflicted, I prefer to surround myself in the serenity of these tulips."
Okay.
"And I am conflicted today, too. Someone very close to me, who I consider an almost sister, has found the one person who could replace my place in her life. And while, I am happy for her; the death of that someone had destroyed her completely, I can't help but be a little jealous. I have no friends in this castle. No one apart from her. Not even my husband bothers to see my face. Not unless he desperately craves to get intimate. And even then, he would rather acquire a release from Jane than spend ten minutes in my company." She nonchalantly finished speaking, expressionless from the start to end.
"Um…Athenadora?" I raised an eyebrow in question, hesitantly putting forward my guesswork based on her familiar monotone, Marcus having referred to her in passing.
But wasn't she locked up in the tower; what was she doing here then?
"Yes." She shyly admitted, proving my suspicions correct, her powdery skin and mid-back length fair hair shining under the light of the sun, as she gazed at me unwaveringly. "And you are Bella."
"Yes." I answered, even though it wasn't a question.
She already knew who I was. Someone- cough- Sulpicia- cough- had already told her about me.
Jeez.
And this is exactly why I had not wanted anyone to know about me.
Damn you, Marcus!
"Sulpicia is ecstatic." She continued, "Me not so much."
"Excuse me?"
While I could appreciate frankness, this was borderline rude.
She smiled, waving me off. "I am no threat. To you or to anyone, for that matter. Living with Caius for as long as I have, has drained me off completely. I no longer have the energy or the will in me to fight. And probably, Aro and Caius are well aware of this. We, the wives, are helpless. Our husbands have made sure of that. We need Corin to help us survive. Without her, I can't even imagine existing. We are that dependent on her, and on our husbands. Help us, Bella." She softly pleaded. "Get us out of here. You are the only one who can. Marcus isn't like our husbands; he is gentle and caring. He will support you. He will be on your…on our side. Please help us. Didyme would have."
"But." I frowned; my eyes wide as I contemplated her words. Was she asking me to…rebel? "Look, I really don't want to get involved in any of this." Why should I? "And even if I do want to help you out, there is no possible way for me to do so. I am just human…"
"Not for long now." She muttered. "Bella, Didyme had made us a promise. She was killed before she could do us justice. I have my suspicions on who killed her…"
"What do you mean? The Romanians killed her."
She waved me off, smiling in that all-knowing way. "Yes, that is what the world is told to believe."
"But…"
"I have no proof." She interrupted me, regret visible in her eyes. "And hence I am forced to accept this bunch of lies. Irrespective, you have to fulfill her last promise. You owe this to her. You owe this to us."
"Excuse me?" I stared at her. "I don't owe anything to anyone."
I did not even know the woman; she was long dead before my lineage began!
I wasn't going to waste my time working on some promise that she had made. She was dead. And with her the promise died too!
Athenadora simply smiled, her black eyes relentless as they met mine. "Come searching for me when you are finally willing to accept your destiny. I will be waiting for you."
"This isn't my destiny!" I shouted at her retreating form. "And you will be waiting for the rest of eternity for me to come at your doorstep!"
No.
Just no.
I wasn't Didyme. And I wasn't going to play house like she had.
That was just not me.
"Bella?"
"What now?" I turned, a wide frown on my face, Marcus being the recipient of my fury.
Not that he didn't deserve it!
"I am sorry." He gulped, coming to stand beside me. "I should have been more sympathetic."
"Look." I waved him off. "I am not in the mood for bullshit. Either you let me go back to the hotel to get my stuff, or just get out of my sight. I don't want to hear your stupid excuses. I am already having a massive headache! Just don't add to it."
"Okay." He added after a tired pause, staring at me like that cute little dog who craves the touch.
"And don't look at me like that!"
I wasn't willing to melt this soon.
"Okay." He repeated. "I am sorry."
"Just." I waved him off, nursing my headache- the one left behind by Athenadora's baseless words. "Just tell me your pick."
"Yes." He admitted, not an inch of hesitance in his tone. "Yes, you can go back to your hotel to gather your belongings."
What?
"Are you…sure?"
"Yes." He let out a sigh. "I apologize for being selfish earlier. I was thinking only from the perspective of a leader, and not from one of a mate. Please forgive me. We will go and get your things from the hotel. You don't need to pretend to be missing. We will find another way out. One that you are comfortable with."
"Oh." I gulped, nodding my head in disbelief. "I…thank you."
"No need to thank me." He waved me off. "I should have been more understanding."
"It's okay," I smiled. "And I should have been more tolerating and willing to listen. But we will learn together?"
He reciprocated my smile, nodding his head in agreement. "I will make the arrangements for us to leave the castle. Would you be comfortable with Demetri and Felix accompanying us? I cannot leave the castle unguarded, and once the news of you being my mate spreads, neither can you."
"That wouldn't be a problem." I offered to come midway, knowing that this wasn't an easy decision for Marcus to make. Yet, he was doing this for me. The least I could do in return was to be a little more co-operative.
"Okay." He offered his hand for me to take, leading me back towards my room, the two of us unknown of the figure standing in the shadows, having heard our entire conversation, and not the least bit pleased by it.