Bella remained quiet as they headed into town. Despite knowing that the town was covered with victims, she still had some semblance of hope. Maybe she could escape from the office, perhaps there'd be a listening ear. In the meantime, she played the part of a good, quiet baby, sucking on her pacifier as the trees whizzed by.
Eventually, Edward stopped the car and came around to the side. He opened the door and undid her harness, lifting her out the back. There were a few people walking around, some pushing adults out of the large office building in strollers. Most were alone though and it gave her hope. She spit out her pacifier.
"HELP!" She screamed. "Help! I was kidnapped! My name is…"
She was cut off by her mouth being covered. Bella kicked her legs and Edward carried her around to the driver's seat.
"Oh sweetie," Edward's voice was low. "You're going to regret that."
He sat on the seat and pulled her over his lap. He flipped up her dress and pulled down her bloomers followed by her diaper so her bare bottom was on display. Bella was confused, until he smacked her right butt cheek. She yelped out in reply, but Edward carried on, spanking her bottom.
"That was a very naughty move!" He scolded, slamming his hand hard against her sit spot. "You were not kidnapped, you were saved." He accented each word with a spank.
Tears burned Bella's eyes. "Fuck you!"
"Oh, is that naughty language coming from my princess' mouth? Perhaps you need more than my hand."
Bella raised an eyebrow, a clicking sound going through her ears. Something sharp and thick hit her bottom. Bella screamed and she craned her head, catching sight of Edward's belt buckle.
"Nooo!" She cried out. "I'm sorry!" She wasn't, but she wanted it to end.
"You're going to be!"
Edward spanked her bottom and thighs with the belt. Bella cried out in pain, the hot tears pouring down her cheeks. She kicked her legs occasionally, but he'd hit various parts of that too. Eventually, she went limp, sniffling and sniveling.
"No more, please," she begged.
He ignored her and laid down five more hits. Once he was done, he flipped her over and cuddled her close, a switch flipping. Bella found herself clinging to his shirt, burying her head in his chest.
"I don't want to do that again, Isabella," Edward whispered. For once his voice is soft, genuine. "But I told you, you're a princess. And I need to make sure that you are well behaved."
"Please," Bella choked out, her ass stinging as he patted it. "I won't tell anyone, just let me go."
"I can't do that, sweetheart, and I think you know it. Best you get used to this."
He continued patting her burning bottom for a few minutes as she sobbed into his chest. This wasn't fair. The night before, she had been out with friends, having a good time. She bitched about her stupid college classes, but now she'd do anything to be there and not in this psycho's arms. Why had she taken her life for granted?
Eventually, Edward pulled up her diapers and bloomers, popping her pacifier back in her mouth. He wiped her remaining tears and kissed her sticky cheek. "Now, we're going to go see the doctor. If you're a good girl, you get a treat before naptime. Okay?"
Bella sniffled, not wanting to answer. However, his piercing eyes landed on her. "Okay, Daddy," she whispered.
"There we go." Edward reached across the seat and pulled a pink bag over his shoulder. He stood up, holding Bella like how one would a newborn baby. Out of instinct, she hid her head in his shoulder, not wanting to be seen.
The office reminded her of her pediatrician growing up. There were rows of seats for parents to sit in, along with a playpen fenced off to the side. A few of the adult babies played with fake food and plush toys. A TV pegged to the wall aired reruns of Baby Looney Tunes. Edward went to deposit Bella in the playpen, but she clung to him, shaking her head. She was too shaken up, too sad. For some reason, she didn't want to be alone.
"It's going to be okay, Angel, you play with the other babies."
"No!" Her voice came out in a whine, why was that?
"Okay, okay." He patted her back. "You stay with Daddy this one time."
He shifted her to his hip and went to the front desk. A woman with a too tight smile passed over some paperwork, which Edward began to fill out. Bella managed to catch some of it and wondered how he knew all of the information. He put down the right birthday, the last time she saw a doctor (a bit too long, she didn't have insurance) along with her social security number. Once he was done, another woman came from behind a door. She was wearing teddy bear scrubs, her blonde hair tied behind her head.
"Edward, hello! I haven't seen you since you took Jasper for his checkup."
"I have my one now, Tanya," Edward explained. "This is Isabella Marie Cullen."
Bella frowned at the last name change. She couldn't be a Swan anymore?
"Well hey there, sweetie," Tanya stroked her cheek and Bella growled. "Aww, someone's cranky."
"She's had a bit of an eventual morning."
"Well, let's get started, hm?"
Tanya lead them into the back and Edward placed Bella onto an exam table. She looked around the room. Like the lobby, it resembled a pediatrician's. There was a scale typically used to weigh babies, somewhere to track height. Cartoonish posters hung from the wall and there was even a changing station. The only difference was, everything was bigger.
"She'll need to be stripped down to a diaper," Tanya instructed.
Bella went to protest, but her pacifier was unclipped and the dress was pulled over her head. Next came her bloomers, socks and shoes. Tanya handed Edward a white gown with pink unicorns over it. He put it over Bella, making sure her pacifier stayed in. The nurse lifted her into her arms and Bella squirmed, not used to someone other than Edward handling her. She placed Bella onto the scale and wrote something down on her chart. Next, Bella was leaned against the wall and had her height taken. When she was placed back on the table, her blood pressure was taken and she was lightly pushed onto her bottom. Bella frowned in confusion against the white paper. The nurse pulled up her gown and she could feel her grabbing the edges of her diaper.
"Hey!" Bella called out. "I didn't use it!"
"Fussy baby," Tanya chided. She pulled it down completely and chuckled. "Aww, did someone get a spanking already?"
Bella's cheeks burned and Edward stroked her hair. "Someone thought it'd be funny to scream for help."
"Aw, Isabella, you don't need help, you have your daddy."
Bella turned her head to glare at the nurse. She watched Tanya produce an old fashioned thermometer and put some jelly on the end of it. That's when it dawned on Bella and she tried to squirm away but Edward put a firm hand on her back. With a pop, the thermometer was inserted into her bum. Bella whimpered, tears clouding her eyes again. The uncomfortable instrument stayed inside of her for far too long.
"There we go," Tanya removed it after a while. "No fever." She pulled Bella's diaper back on and sat her up. Bella rubbed her bottom, it would take awhile to recover from all the trauma they were putting it under. "The doctor will be in soon."
Tanya exited the room and Bella stared at Edward. He was smiling at her like one would a toddler.
"You were good for the nurse," he praised. He patted the top of her head and she growled at him. "Is my princess pretending to be a puppy?"
Before Belal could respond, the door opened again and a blonde man entered the room. What was with this town and blondes? He smiled at Edward and wrapped him into a big bear hug.
"There's my boy," he said.
"Hey Dad."
Dad? He looked the same age as Edward.
The man pulled away from Edward and knelt before Bella. "And this must be my new granddaughter." He lowered his voice to a coo. "Hi Isabella, I'm Dr. Carlisle. But you can call me Grandpa."
Bella wasn't going to do anything of the sort. Still, she was quiet, afraid of another spanking. "Sorry, she's a bit shy," Edward explained.
"To be expected. Her vitals are normal," Carlisle reported. "She is a tad underweight."
Edward frowned. "Really?"
"Again, not abnormal for a newbie. She'll definitely need three bottles a day. One at breakfast, one at lunch and one right before bedtime. I'd recommend looking into breast milk banks, it'll be more nutritious than formula."
Edward nodded while Bella's eyes bugged out of her head. No way in hell was she going to drink breast milk!
"I know Aro performed the initial shots," Carlisle prattled on. "But there are some he doesn't have access too but are also completely optional. Would you like the incontinent shot?"
Edward nodded yet again and Bella whined against her pacifier, which earned her a back rub. "Yes, please."
"We also have the one that will limit her speech."
Bella's heart rate quickened, only to slow when Edward spoke again. "No, I'd rather let that be a natural progression."
"Understandable, we opted out of that with Bree. We also kept her mobility in place, but I see you had Aro take hers."
"Just enough so she can't walk. I'd like her to be able to crawl or toddle." Bella's frown increased. She hadn't had a chance to walk since she arrived, but nothing felt off. Surely, that hadn't worked.
"Very well."
Carlisle went about his exam, which seemed like a normal checkup. He checked Bella's ears, removed a pacifier to look at her mouth. Bella was too dumbfounded to argue. He listened to her heartbeat with his stethoscope and wrote a lot down on his chart.
"She seems healthy, but I'd like to talk with you about what progress I'd like to see for next time," Carlisle said. "She can play with Bree while we do. Get her dressed."
Edward nodded and redressed Bella. She blushed, being naked around yet another person, but no one seemed to care. Once her shoes were pulled back on, she was carried through yet another set of doors to a playroom. It had just about everything a child could want from a ball pit to ride on toys, even a dollhouse bigger than the one in Bella's room. A girl who looked a little younger than Bella sat playing with some dolls. Her dark hair was tied into pig tails and she had a lavender pacifier in her mouth. She was wearing a teal blue onesie that read "Daddy's Little Girl" and a white pants sprinkled with rainbow polka dots.
"Bree, sweetheart, come to Daddy," Carlisle cooed. The girl got up and walked over to him. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "This is Edward's baby girl, Isabella. You're going to play with her while your bubba and I talk, okay?"
"Yes, Daddy," Bree replied through her pacifier.
"Be good, girls," Edward told them. He placed Bella down and walked out of the room with Carlisle, the door clicking shut behind them.
Bree took out her own pacifier and then reached over, removing Bella's. She gave her a sympathetic smile. "So, first day?"
Bella blinked. "You talk?"
She laughed. "Yeah, I do. A lot don't, but some of us still have our minds."
"What is going on? I don't understand. I saw another man, he was in a stroller!"
"The first thing you need to know, is that this is a town for vampires," Bree explained.
Bella wrinkled her nose. "Vampires aren't real."
"But they are." Bella's mind swirled. She heard about the myth surrounding vampires, but figured it was like Santa Claus, just a myth. "Carlisle and Edward aren't really father and son. Carlisle and Esme met, then they ended up turning three adults over the years. They traveled, they had fun…but they knew they could never have real babies. Then they heard about this community."
"And that is…"
"It's a secret town that is for vampires like them. Ones who can't have kids. And since it'd be irresponsible in their minds to kidnap babies to raise…they take teenagers and adults, turning them into their babies."
"But that's insane!"
"It's what they do."
"How long have you been with them?"
"About a year, but they've made me a 2 year old so it's a little easier to keep my original mind. People like Rosalie's victim, Emmett, started off at 6 months. He tried to fight it, but she's brainwashed him now."
Bella curled her knees to her chest. "I can't…I can't be here."
"There's no real escape. They're vampires, which means they're strong and can take on anything."
"But we're mortal, we'll age and not be so young and cute one day."
"They've thought of that. Those vaccines they talk about? One is developed to freeze us in time. It can be reversed, but only Aro and Carlisle have access to it. Some vampires have chosen to use it when they grow tired of parenting a baby, but the Cullens would never."
Tears clouded Bella's eyes. It was bad enough that she was kidnapped by this psychopath, but she had hope that she could leave. Before, she didn't think this could last forever.
Now even death couldn't save her. She was stuck as an 18 year old girl, being dressed and treated like an infant.
"It's best if you play along," Bree continued. "The more you fight, the worse it'll get."
"I can't just be this psycho's baby!" Bella argued.
"It's hard, I know, but you don't want to end up like Jane."
"Who's Jane?"
"Aro's victim. She was like you. Feisty, not taking any crap. She swore that one day she'd get her revenge."
"And what happened?"
"When this starts, almost every vampire chooses to let their victim adjust on their own. Even if they don't fully, they'll accept us just playing along. But there's a "vaccine" that will simply make your mind into that of a child. It's painful and permanent. Emmett might snap out of it one day, with therapy and the shot that'll unfreeze his age…but Jane never will. She's got the mind of a 10 month old and is completely dependent on Aro." Bree took Bella's hand. "Don't do that to yourself, Isabella."
Bella mumbled out of instinct. "It's Bella."
"Either way."
Bella sighed, rubbing her eyes. She didn't want this, any of it. But Bree was right, she needed to go into survival mode. She'd find a way to escape, but she needed to be careful. Too many explosions like that morning and she'd end up like this Jane person.
"How old are you?" Bella asked. "I mean, like, really?"
"16."
"You look…"
"Younger, I know. I think it's partially why Carlisle and Esme picked me. The other part being that I was a runaway from the system. They do tend to not choose minors for various reasons, but I guess I was unlucky."
"They don't…" She looked down at her diaper, worried about Edward hurting her.
"No, no. They never touch you. Outside Rosalie, Alice and Edward, most have partners they "adopt" with, like Carlisle and Esme. They just take away your ability to have periods or come because they want you to be a baby."
"That makes sense, I guess."
"It's not the best deal, and I won't romanticize it…but honestly, the quicker you accept it, the better."
"Has anyone escaped?"
"One did, I heard about this from Jasper. He's been with Alice for over 10 years."
"10 years?"
"And he's still only at age 3. Anyway, there was a vampire named James. He had kidnapped Victoria. She was like you and Jane. Very feisty, swore she'd find a way out and one day she did. Normally, the vampires look out for each other and if they see a victim on their own, they bring them back. Happened to me…"
"Really?"
"Story for another day. Anyway, this is why vampires tend to not bring their victims outside of town. But James thought he could. He brought Victoria to an island he owned for a little vacation. Well, she had earned his trust so while he was sleeping, she got on the boat and left."
Bella's eyes lit up with an excitement. "Really?"
"Don't get so happy. She was doing fine, trying to acclimate to the real world. But vampires are known trackers. James and some others found her."
"And did they drag her back?"
"No, they knew that she was smart enough to escape. But she had "betrayed" James, so they killed her."
Bella's face fell. "That's horrible," she whispered.
"They made an example of her. Her body was hung in the center of town, dressed as the baby girl James dreamed for her to be. Eventually she was buried but for weeks, Jasper said it haunted everyone."
"Jesus."
"James has a new victim now, Laurent. But he's not allowed to leave the house. We gotta count our blessings."
Bella slowly nodded. Footsteps thundered down the hall and Bree quickly shoved Bella's pacifier into her mouth and tossed her a doll, putting her own pacifier back in. The door opened and the two men entered.
"Aw, look at our girls playing with each other," Edward cooed. He plucked Bella back into his arms and covered her face with kisses. "Did you have fun with Bree?" Bella didn't respond and that didn't seem to bother him. "Say bye bye to Grandpa and Bree. We're going now." He held her wrist and made her wave.
Bella laid her head on Edward's shoulder as she was carried out, his hand moving up and down her back. In the distance, Carlisle lifted Bree into her arms and the girl giggled as he tickled her, babbling about TV and dinosaur chicken nuggets.
Can I ever pull off pretending like her? Or can I escape successfully unlike Victoria?