Author's Note: Hey everyone, as you might have noticed, I managed to finish another update. I'm still taking it slow and easy, as I'm still recovering after being hit by a car and all. Hopefully this chapter is good, seeing as I was drugged up for most of it. As always, thanks for reading!

PS: Sorry for the mixup. As I said, I'm still on pain drugs.

Chapter 3

To say the ride in the car was stressful would be an understatement. Heidi had made sure that Bella got into the car first before quickly following, making sure that Bella was pressed against the very far seat. Then Heidi hovered over the brunette, all while keeping an eye on Jane, as if protecting her from the tiny girl with the cruel smirk that got in after her. To top it off, no one said a word as Demetri got into the front seat and put the car in gear.

The silence was suffocating, to say the least. And while Bella had previously been ready to protect Heidi using any means necessary, she was starting to think she had no chance if she were to actually try and protect her.

Bella shivered; it felt like the temperature in the car was under thirty degrees. Heidi moved, as if to pull Bella against her, maybe trying to offer her comfort. However, as she noticed Jane watching her, taking notice of every little detail, Heidi froze, then pulled back. Of course, Bella noticed this too. Was this tiny blonde girl really so scary?

It was only now, after at least a half hour, that the silence was broken.

"To think, you would actually consider betraying your queens. And all for...this." Jane gazed at the human in disdain. Sure, she hadn't served for nearly as long as Jane had, but the other woman had still served with unwavering loyalty for quite a few centuries. And now, for Heidi to risk everything, all for one human? A human with deliciously smelling blood and strange eyes, but still a human all the same.

Queens? What was Jane talking about? Bella looked to Heidi in confusion, frowning at the emotionless mask on Heidi's face.

"How did you know?" Heidi asked, not even considering the idea of trying to play innocent. All it would take was one touch from Sulpicia, and they would know everything.

Instead of Jane saying a word, Heidi suddenly bent over, screaming in agony. Bella jumped in surprise, as the screaming appeared to come out of nowhere. Panic started to thrum in her veins as she realized how much pain Heidi really appeared to be in. But why? Nothing was touching her. It's not like she was being tased or something, right?

Desperate to help, Bella reached out to touch Heidi, probably to examine her, as even she didn't know what she was going to do. However, the pleased smile on Jane's face stopped her cold. Somehow, she knew the blonde was the cause of Heidi's pain.

"Stop it," Bella said, voice cracking with emotion.

Slowly, Jane looked up from Heidi, meeting Bella's gaze with an arched brow as Heidi collapsed, the pain subsiding. "Do you want to try saying that again?"

"Jane, don't...please," Heidi groaned, trying to shield Bella with her body.

To Heidi's surprise, Jane didn't actually use her gift on Bella. Or so Heidi thought, until she caught sight of Jane's annoyed expression. That annoyance turned to frustration, then anger, and then outright fury as she realized that Bella was still sitting in her seat, watching Jane warily, but clearly not in any pain.

"Don't do it, Jane," Heidi said softly, still pleading as she tensed. It had taken her a second, but she realized what was going on; somehow, Bella was blocking Jane's gift. Something that had never been done before. She was sure that the blonde was going to launch herself at Bella and kill her simply for something that Bella couldn't control, as it was still an insult to Jane and her pride.

This didn't happen. Instead, Jane's expression smoothed out, becoming blank, and she relaxed back in her seat. "The Queens want her alive," Jane murmured. "As anything else that I could do to her would most likely kill her, or at least leave her unable to meet with the Queens with a sound mind, I will leave her be for now. You, however…"

Once again, Jane's power was unleashed on Heidi, and the vampire crumpled in on herself, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming in agony.

"No! Leave her alone!" Bella shouted, her body bowing over Heidi like she was attempting to shield the mahogany haired vampire. Her panic mounting, her gaze flitted between Heidi and Jane, becoming desperate as she tried to figure out what to do, how to help. Just as she felt a strange build up inside of her, Heidi's body suddenly went limp. Realizing Heidi wasn't hurting anymore, Bella let out a breath of relief and relaxed.

Jane scowled and looked out of the window. The girl's panic and fear for Heidi had made her heartbeat race, making her smell a hundred times better. Had Jane been any other vampire, it would have been nearly impossible to control her bloodthirst in the confines of the car. Even now, it was hard to resist the call of Bella's blood. Had the queens not wanted to see her, the human certainly would have been drained dry by now.

"Heidi, what's going on?" Bella whispered softly as the other woman got a hold of herself and straightened.

Knowing better than to tell Bella anything important, especially with the situation they were in, Heidi could only stare at Bella, eyes brimming with regret. "I should have never found you yesterday. I'm so sorry, Bella."

At first, Bella's heart started to break. She immediately assumed that this was all somehow her own fault, and that Heidi believed that if they had never met, Heidi wouldn't be suffering like she was now. Then the apology registered, and Bella realized with a bit of awe that Heidi was actually upset because Bella had been dragged into this mess...whatever it was. That someone actually wished to have spared Bella pain.

Bella's hand sought and found Heidi's, and the human gave it a squeeze. "Don't be," Bella murmured, and she meant it. Sure, she was in one of the most terrifying and dangerous situations in her life, but so what? Heidi had done something that no one else, even Bella's own parents, had been able to do. She had looked at Bella without disgust, had appeared to even like her. And she had given Bella hope. Hope that she could actually have a friend, have a person in her life that wanted her to live when Bella always wondered if it would have been better if she had just died.

Sure, Bella and Heidi might be killed any second, but Bella faced death almost every day. At least now, she had something to fight for.

At Bella's words, Heidi stared at the girl with disbelief. How could she say that with her own life on the line? But as she got a good, long look into Bella's eyes, she took in the haunted shadows in their depths. That was all it took to remind Heidi what Bella had gone through, and maybe in the human's eyes, this didn't seem to be too bad.

If only she knew what was really going on. What I had planned to do to her, Heidi thought, eyes welling up with tears as she squeezed Bella's hand in return.

"How much longer, Demitri?" Jane demanded, feeling nothing but disgust for Bella and Heidi's little moment.

The man let out a little chuckle. "Patience, Jane. We will be there soon."

Jane narrowed her eyes, knowing the only reason he had found a backbone was because he was driving, and Jane wasn't stupid enough to use her power on him when in the car. "I want a specific time."

Hearing the venom in Jane's words, Demitri checked the car's clock. "I'd say in another half hour or so, we will be entering Volterra."

Knowing that these two kidnappers-for that was what they were in Bella's head-had a goal destination only made things all the more real for Bella. She tried to subtly open the car door, a movement all three vampires caught.

"Don't bother, sweetie. The child lock is on," Demetri said with a small smirk shot at Bella from over his shoulder.

"But feel free to try again. I'd be delighted to have a reason to break all of your fingers," Jane added cruelly.

After a brief mental debate over putting up a fight or complying, and a small shake of the head from Heidi, Bella put her hands in her lap and looked down at her feet. What really made Bella feel cold inside was the fact that Jane actually looked disappointed that Bella hadn't tried again. Of course, this was clearly someone who enjoyed inflicting pain on others and Bella had already noticed this, but every confirmation and indication of what made Jane happy, not because of a hatred everyone seemed to harbor for Bella but because of who Jane was as a person, was like a punch to the gut.

I might not be able to get out of this, Bella realized with disbelief, as there was something that was almost not quite human about Jane and Demitri. If inhuman people did actually exist, that is.

Despite this realization, Bella's resolve didn't waver. She was going to stand by Heidi and do whatever it took to protect her, even if that meant Bella's own death. While the world definitely wouldn't miss Bella were she to die, she couldn't imagine a world without Heidi in it. Someone as bright and sweet and beautiful as her deserved to live.

After what seemed like an eternity had passed, with Heidi watching Bella worriedly and Bella staring at the ground, Jane let out a huff and muttered, "Finally."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Bella looked out of the window and checked her surroundings.

The city they were entering was absolutely beautiful, even in darkness. It had an olden feel to it, lights twinkling from high up windows, the streets paved with cobblestones. Only a few people roamed about due to the late hour, but all seemed to be in a happy mood, like they didn't have a trouble in the world. Had Bella not been in such a situation, she would have marveled at the city, taking in its beauty. Instead, she was trying to memorize everything she saw so that if they had a chance to escape, they wouldn't find themselves lost. Of course, Heidi probably knew this place like the back of her hand, as Bella was sure she had mentioned Volterra before, but it didn't hurt to be extra careful.

Eventually, they turned into a dark alleyway as Demitri turned off his headlights, the alley appearing to be a dead end. Only briefly did Bella wonder if the two had taken them all this way only to murder them here, but then a wall seemed to disappear.

Are you serious? They actually had a secret passageway? Bella was feeling even less hopeful about their chances of escape as the car moved forward, the wall closing behind them, encasing the car in complete darkness. For some reason, Demitri seemed to have no trouble as he continued driving onwards, his headlights still off.

Eventually, the car parked among a few others, at least from what Bella could tell, as her eyes were still adjusting. Then in a flash, Demitri was out of the car, opening Jane's side in a way a butler would open the door for his master, then he was on Bella's side. The door was opened, and all Bella could make out was his looming figure, as her eyes were still struggling to adjust, before one of his large hands wrapped around her bicep and jerked her right out of the car. Bella was wrenched away from Heidi, who appeared to have been pulled out of the car by Jane, but they were quickly reunited. A second later, Bella to sense three other people joining them, surrounding Bella and Heidi in a circle. Demitri still holding onto Bella and Jane still holding onto Heidi, they were then marched out of the garage, through a pair of double doors, and down a hall.

As they continued to walk, Bella kept on memorizing her surroundings in between worried glances at Heidi, who could no longer even look at her. It was like the gorgeous woman already knew their fate was sealed, and had given up hope. Bella wasn't feeling much hope either; the hallway appeared to be one giant maze.

Eventually, the hallway came to an end, and they were led through another door, only for Bella to nearly be blinded as one light happened to shine directly into Bella's eyes.

Light. This room actually had light. Looking around, Bella quickly categorized everything, including the people who were surrounding her. Besides Jane and Demitri, there was a boy who looked just as young as Jane, not to mention appearing to have some facial similarities. There was also a big, burly guy who grinned when they made eye contact, so big he even made Demitri look small, along with another man and woman. The woman was gazing at Heidi, a disapproving look on her face, and Bella wondered just how well the woman knew Heidi.

Bella did another scanning of the room, this time not taking inventory of all the possible exits and objects that could be used weapons, but of the room itself. And she realized that it looked like a waiting room. This idea of Bella's was only strengthened as the group of captors led her to a woman behind a desk.

"Gianna," Demitri greeted the woman with a wry smirk.

The woman barely glanced at Bella and Heidi before her eyes lingered on Bella, traces of the familiar hatred Bella had come to know flashing in her eyes. The hatred that, strangely enough, none of her guards-save for Jane, and even then she had appeared to have only gotten truly furious at Bella once- had displayed so much as once. "Demitri. The Queens wish to see Heidi and the guest immediately."

The guest? She's acting like I'm a fucking guest after I've been kidnapped and am obviously being held against my will? Bella thought with disbelief, unaware of the curiosity and attention that she had garnered when all of the vampires noticed Gianna's reaction to the dual eyed brunette.

"Good. I can't wait to see what the punishments are going to be," Jane said, and then the group led Bella and Heidi away once more.

Bella found herself in front of the fanciest double doors that she had ever seen in her life, and Bella was really starting to believe that this was all big one parade to show just how rich and powerful these people-or maybe just these Queens, whoever they are-were. They could just be trying to intimidate Bella into compliance.

Scarily enough, it appeared to be working.

After a much too long pause that was most likely to build Bella and Heidi's anticipation, the doors slowly opened. Bella and Heidi were led into what appeared to be a throne room, unable to see much as the people surrounding her suddenly took a step closer. Then they stopped so suddenly that Bella almost ran into Demitri's back, which was only prevented by Heidi's quick reflexes as her hand darted out to grab and study the brunette.

"My Queens. I present to you Heidi the traitor, and the problematic human, Bella," Jane said with glee. Then the vampires in front of Bella stepped aside, revealing three women in fancy dresses appearing to be in their mid twenties sitting on fancy thrones at the front of the room. Two were blonde, the other with hair as black as night itself, all impossibly gorgeous, pale, and refined. They also had eyes just as red as Heidi's, ones that made Bella nervous, but for some strange reason, Bella wasn't scared at all. If anything, she felt strangely safe and happy, like she had finally come home.

Shaking off the strange feelings looking at the women had brought on, as she and Heidi were clearly not anywhere close to safe, Bella straightened, refusing to show these women any fear. Bella then made sure to meet the womans' gazes steadily, ready to face anything and everything that they might throw at her, only to be surprised when the three women gasped in shock and awe.

"Oh my," the woman on the right murmured, the one on the left appearing just as stunned.

"Yes," the woman in the middle agreed. All three now stared at Bella with a strange hunger and intensity Bella had never seen, let alone been subject of, before. "This certainly changes everything."

Feeling strangely helpless and bare, Bella could only wait for what would happen next.