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 17-

Bella's POV-

I knew I was doomed the exact second two scary looking goons, er guard members, knocked on my room door, a message clear in their eyes. They did not wait an extra second then, my meagre belongings were picked and I was asked to play nice and follow, a threat evident in their tone. They did not need to speak it out loud; one wrong move and I would be pulled by the hair to my destination.

And so, having no other choice in the matter, I followed; feeling like that hardened criminal being taken to prison. And in a way, I was being subjected to my very own jail. I couldn't leave. I couldn't use the freewill that nature had granted me with. I had to adhere to the rules of someone else, my life no longer being mine. What other than prison could this even be?

Though, one good thing out of all this bad- see, there is one rather bleak silver lining even in this shitty mess- was that Marcus could no longer be trusted. And I now knew that. He did not deserve my trust, or my attraction to him.

He was simply a spineless man who did not have the guts to oppose his family even when they were wrong. Probably, he knew of them being wrong, yet could do nothing about it. And in my eyes, that made him a coward.

There had been potential for us to be something, I can't deny. But after this shit that he had pulled, all chances were now out of the window. There could never be an us, not unless he mended his ways and became a man.

And at the moment, that seemed rather unlikely.

But coming back to the point, I couldn't escape from here. It was not even a possibility. I was surrounded by vampires; they would know as soon as I even took one step out, and with Marcus protecting me as he had for these past few days, all eyes would needless to mention be on me.

So, that was out.

I did not even know any other vampires who could come to my rescue…oh. OH.

No!

I could not contact Charlie. Not that I even had any way to contact him.

But irrespective, he was out. I really did not wish for his or that snake of a wife of his's to come to my rescue.

But would that be so bad?

I mean, they were a mighty big clan. The Cullen's were themselves seven, add to that Tanya, Charlie and Tanya's family, and they could successfully manage to get me out of here.

But the point here was, would they even help? And even if they agreed to, did I want their help?

The answer to that was a big NO.

I did have some self-respect remaining in me- they had abandoned me, but as it seemed, I did not have much choice in the matter.

I needed the help.

I was just a human. I could not fight against vampires, and manage to win in that fight!

And escaping this castle on my own capabilities seemed too far-fetched to even imagine.

So, that left me with only one thing to do...find a way to reach Charlie. And once I found him, convince him to put his life at risk and rescue me from this dark dungeon of sheer hell.

Now, I am aware that the latter would be even more difficult in practical than in theory, but I had to try. I had no other option but to. I could not doom myself to such an existence. I wasn't living in a doorless prison for the rest of my life; sacrificing my self-esteem the likelier choice.

But how would I even find him?

He had left me with no phone number or email ID to do so, deciding to take a clean break from everything human. In all these years, I had not been haunted by this fact, but it now seemed that there was a first for everything.

Maybe I could try contacting the Forks police station in hope of finding him?

Nah.

If Charlie had cut ties with me- of all, it was heavily unlikely that he would have left such a huge trace behind. Anything that could locate him was out of question.

And contacting the police station and proclaiming that he was missing, would do me far bad than good. Who knew? Maybe I would end up pissing that clan off to the point of no return! Now, while I would have taken humor out of that scenario earlier, things had changed now. I needed their help. And hence, I would have to behave.

So, now what?

"Walk straight." The goon ordered, a scowl emitting his lips, as he glared at me in disapproval and apparent show of masculinity.

"You do know that I am not a criminal, right?" I enquired, the widening of his scowl being my only response.

Whatever!

"I want to talk to Aro." I declared to the other goon, needing to convince the man that I was innocent.

I had no plans to steal his…legacy…position…whatever the fuck he was so concerned about. For all I cared, I wanted to keep as much distance between him and I as could be, refusing to ever be in that creepy creepster's presence if given a choice.

Why couldn't he understand this then?

I was not Didyme. I had no interest in being Didyme. Or acting like this was my house, and he was my brother!

Nope. No can do!

I was rather glad to be a tourist in this castle and town.

I did not want the power. Or the money. Or the position that came with being a leader of a kind.

I just…wanted my freedom.

Was that too much to ask for?

Goon A cruelly chuckled, "Master Aro has better work to do than to entertain strays. I could get you an appointment with Master Caius, if you prefer." He finished with a wink, aware that no sane person in their complete senses would give their approval to this ridiculously illogical suggestion of his.

"Yeah, no thanks." I waved him off, a sigh leaving my lips.

What now?

I had no interest in talking to Marcus; he had betrayed me. And he was spineless! Talking to him solving no purpose of mine!

Aro refused to talk to me, or so his goons preached.

And Caius, it was laugh worthy to even imagine convincing him that I was innocent; I would rather hope for aliens to pop up and start dancing in the middle of Central Park; that still more likely than believing to have his support.

So, yeah…

"Corin will escort you from here."

Goon B pushed me in through a narrow door in a poorly lit underground tunnel, nothing but darkness surrounding me as I fell into the cold arms of something…or rather someone, jerking back in fear.

"Sorry, there is no light installed in the tower. The masters don't believe it to be necessary." A firm voice stated, grabbing my arms harshly.

Excuse me now?

"Candles?" I hesitantly suggested.

"No. Not needed." The dark figure repeated. "We are vampires. We can see in the dark."

But I was not a vampire!

I could not see in the dark!

How was I supposed to navigate my way through the tower then?

"I can't see anything." I whispered, pleading to the seemingly invisible stranger. In my defense, I could only hear voices around me, incapable of seeing anyone's face.

It was pitch dark in here!

"I will talk to the Masters' about your concern." The same female voice, Corin- I assume, repeated in mastered nonchalance.

Yeah, you do so.

"Gentlemen," she spoke to the goons, "Thank you for your help; I will take her from here."

"Master Marcus will visit her every third day." Goon A declared. "All arrangements will need to be made."

What the hell?

Had I lost my freewill already?

Marcus wasn't visiting me!

I wasn't letting him enter my room!

"And they will be. As they always are." Corin seemed offended by his insinuation. "Now, if you could proceed. I need to lock the doors behind you. You know the rules. No one but I have the keys to any door in this tower."

"Yes, we are aware. You don't need to keep repeating it every time we visit." Goon B scowled. "We are leaving."

"Good." Corin stated, loud footsteps resounding through the underground tunnel, as my goons left me alone to face whatever now came in front of me, two cold hands coming to enclose my warm one in theirs, the owner of those hands not needing to introduce themselves.

"Sulpicia? Athenadora?" I enquired in a whisper; my hands being squeezed in reassurance.

"We are here." One of them, I could not recognize which one, answered. "We are here for you." she repeated. "From now on, it is us three against the world."

"Yes," The other one too joined in, "we will not leave a sister alone in this time of need. Whatever you need, we are here for you."

"In that case," I hesitantly began, testing my luck, "I do need some help. I need to find someone. Someone who can rescue me…and probably…us…"