Chapter 10 – Acceptable Options
I heard the car door open, and I recognized the sound of Aro's footsteps. I began moving forward without thought. I opened the front door of the Cullen house to see him down the driveway. He stopped when he saw me standing there on the front porch. I was surprised to see that he was alone. He rarely left Volterra to begin with. I was shocked to see that he had gone around the world on his own. That was the least of my concerns though.
"Isabella." His voice was a whisper, carried forth on the wind just as it switched direction, making it sound twisted and mystical. My feet moved forward a couple meters without my permission. I stopped my steps, fearful of the strength of the draw that his voice seemed to possess. He spoke again, and his voice was no louder and no more forceful than before. Like before though, just my name on his lips seemed to pull me to him as if by the sound of that sweet tone alone. "Isabella."
"Aro." His name tumbled off my tongue, different from mine on his lips, and it was not spoken in a whisper. I said his name at a normal volume, in a conversational tone. I was shocked by the coldness and distance that I had attached to his name. His eyes darkened slightly, and his lips pursed. Without further ado, he came forward. His stride was sure, and his head was held high. He did not slow, and he did not come to a stop until he stood directly in front of me.
He stared down at me for an immeasurable amount of time without saying a word. I was unsure of what I should do, or if I should do anything. His next move was so quick that I did not even see him move. One moment I stood still, struggling to keep my gaze from falling from him, and in the next his left arm was wrapped securely around my waist as his right hand cradled the back of my head and his lips were pressed to my own. I gasped, lost in shock and pleasure at his unexpected touch. He did not ask for entrance, but he instead took my gasp as opportunity to claim my mouth completely. I was swimming in an endless ocean of emotion. I could not distinguish confusion from joy, anger from surprise, or sadness from lust. In that moment, my shield fell from me completely, and I began to shake in my attempt to cry. Using all my strength, I lifted my arms and tangled my fingers in Aro's obsidian hair. As I wept tearlessly, I kissed him back with everything I had in me.
I knew when Aro had seen my every thought and memory from the last two weeks because he began to dry sob with me. I could not find the strength within me with which to do anything about his grief. I hardly had the rightness of mind to recognize it as such.
I do not know how long the two of us stood there clinging to each other, kissing wordlessly, but I did know that I would not be able to bear being parted from him for a while. For once, I did not worry about what came next. I did not worry about when I would have to face the fact that the Romanians were preparing to wage war, I did not worry about the coming separation from the rest of the Whitlock Coven, and I especially did not worry about facing Sulpica when I eventually returned to Volterra. I just let myself bask in the comfort that my mate was offering me. The kind of fire that Aro created within me was far from the ones I had helped set in the South. I allowed his kiss to momentarily erase the images from my head.
.:!*!:.
"I am headed back to Italy." I had announced to everyone once I had let them know that it was okay for them to come down again. Emmett, Rose, Esme, and Alice had approached me first. Alice had hugged me silently, and I knew that she had forgiven me for taking her mate back to the South. She even smiled at me once before walking back upstairs. Emmett had given me a fist-bump and promised to visit me soon. Rosalie was kind, but formal. It was distant but comfortable. She confirmed that she would come with Emmett to visit in the foreseeable future. Esme embraced me and told me that it was good to see me, and she promised to come to Italy some time as well.
My goodbye to Carlisle was strange. He walked up and gave me a very fatherly hug before speaking. "Do not just call Jasper when the war with the Romanians begins, alright? I should like to fight for you when the time comes."
"Very well." I agreed, surprised that he would volunteer himself for such violence. Regardless, I would be glad to have him at my back. "I will make sure you are contacted."
It was hard saying goodbye to the Whitlocks, so I didn't. The four of us stood there, looking back and forth at one another, saying nothing. We didn't really need to, I suppose. It was known that I would go to Volterra, Jasper would stay with the Cullens, and Peter and Charlotte would go wandering off as nomads. It was also known that when the need to fight arose, that we would all be there. Without a word, I nodded to Peter and Char before letting Jasper get a good strong wave of my emotional climate. They all nodded in return, and that was the end of it.
Now, I was sitting on the private jet headed back to Italy trying to stay still and appear calm. Perhaps it was Aro's silence since our reunion that had made me so apprehensive. I knew the inquisition was coming. I was leaning on his shoulder with my eyes closed when he finally spoke.
"I know that you saw my memories from the war where my brothers and I took control of the vampire world. Our uprising came as a surprise to many vampires. They were too busy watching Caesar cross the Rubicon. They hadn't been paying enough attention to their own politics. No one really even saw us coming. We were at the figurative gates before even Vlad or Stefan knew we were there."Aro commented, obviously lost in his own contemplative whisper. I turned my head just enough to watch his expression as he spoke. "We had thought it would be an easy win since we had not been attacked or had scouts sent for us. We thought we had the element of surprise. We were wrong. The fighting was intense, and watching so many of my friends die, seeing the colored smoke lift up towards the sky, and knowing that even if we somehow won this battle that life would never be the same was terrifying. I might have wanted secrecy for our kind, and I may have always longed for power, but it was not until that moment that I realized I did not want to be king. It wasn't until my lungs were full of the ashes of over half of my coven that I knew the monster, and it was then that I saw what I could and would do for something I thought I wanted. In some strange way, that was the true birth of the Volturi. Even after all I had already done in the name of my own crest, I feel as if it did not even exist until that moment… until the black hole inside of me accepted the crest as his own as well."
"What are you saying?" I asked in a whisper, although I already had an inkling. Could it be true? Could Aro really know what it was that I had gone through, the inner battle that I would fight forever now?
"Like you, I do not understand the monster. How could I? However, I do know him. I have felt him many times in the last couple thousand years. There is no end to the struggle against the demons, and every piece of violence that I have seen since the monster within me came to be has only added to his power." Aro admitted. He tilted his head to look down on me with a slight smile. "It matters not though, my beautiful Queen. All the darkness in the world could not take me, and you are even stronger than I. Do not doubt yourself, Isabella. You shall be fine. We both shall be."
"Master Aro, we are preparing to land." I heard Corin say over the speakers. We were silent as we landed and got in the car that had been sent for us. I used the time heading back to the castle to take in what Aro had just told me and to prepare myself for what was to come. Sadly, the ride wasn't half as long as I'd have liked it to be, but at the same time, I was relieved to be home.
Aro and I entered the castle side by side. When we were about to reach the throne room, I automatically fell back to flank him. He pushed the doors open, and Caius stood, looking angry. I felt my eyes harden, and I appraised him. He was not in a fighting stance though, so I was able to relax minutely.
"Where in hell were you?!" Caius shouted.
"I went to pick up Isabella, brother." Aro answered easily.
"Alone. You went to get her alone. Did you momentarily lose your mind? Anyone could have found you out alone and taken advantage of that. You might be an ancient, but none of us are invincible. We have enemies, and anyone could have just-"
"I am sorry." Aro whispered, interrupting him. I sat watching their interaction in question. "Her voice was pained when she called me. I forgot myself, Caius. I won't let it happen again. I am sorry."
I watched as the fire went out of Caius's eyes, and his muscles relaxed. After a moment, he nodded and sat back down. I wasn't given the opportunity to think on the interaction between the two before Marcus spoke.
"I told Caius of your bond to Isabella the second you were discovered to have left, Aro. Welcome back, Isabella. It is good to have you here again." Marcus said sincerely, and I nodded in return.
"It is good to be back." I answered truthfully. "I do have some bad news though."
"Go ahead." Marcus replied.
"The Romanians were indeed involved with the escalation of activity in the South. They had teamed up with two of the older Warlords. The Warlords are dead, but Vladimir and Stefan were gone days before we arrived where they had stationed themselves. They evacuated when they heard of our coming. It is unknown whether or not they know the Volturi were involved or whether they believe the story that we used. If they simply believe that Jasper was reclaiming his Empire, we have some time to plan an attack. If they know that the Volturi was behind it, we have an even bigger problem."
"If they know we were behind it, they would attack sooner rather than later to try and catch us while we regroup. We do not even know of their strength."Caius put in. Marcus nodded in agreement.
"The fact that we will have very little time to send out any scouts, if we even have time at all, is most likely our largest problem. We cannot win a fight we know nothing about." Marcus added.
"You handle our intelligence dealings, Aro. What would be the best point of action?" Caius asked, turning his attention to where we stood. Aro grabbed my hand and pulled me up on the platform with him. When he sat on his throne, he moved me to sit on the arm of it next to him.
"We may have an even bigger problem. The Saava Clan was our contact in that area, and now that we have wiped them out for treason, the Romanians will think we are onto them. Now not only have we killed the Saavas, but the South is gone. Even if they do not know of our involvement, they are sure to suspect it. I know that at least Vladimir is not ignorant when it comes to warfare." Aro replied, sighing. I frowned. None of this was sounding good. We were in a tight spot. I suddenly got an idea.
"Aro, what if we use Afton?" I suggested, knowing from Aro's thoughts that he was a double agent. I hoped Aro wouldn't be upset for making it obvious that I knew so much in front of his brothers. "We can feed them false information to hold them off just long enough. Afton is good at what he does. He might even be able to convince them that he will feed us false information as well to 'give them time to prepare'. It might be enough."
"Yes. Why don't you go talk to him privately and find out how much of it he feels he will be able to pull off." Aro said, thankfully not angry with me. He took my hand to let me have some of his gift. "Read his mind and find out how he plans to do it before you return."
I nodded and stood up. Nodding to Marcus and Caius, I left the room and headed in the direction of Afton and Chelsea's room.
When I arrived, I knocked once. Chelsea answered, looking surprised to see me.
"What can I do for you, Leading General?" She asked, stepping aside and sweeping her arm inward to invite me in. I nodded and entered, waiting for the door to close before answering.
"I need to speak to your mate. Is Afton here?" I questioned. She nodded, flitting into the bedchambers. She did not reemerge, but Afton entered the room a second after his mate had disappeared to get him.
"How can I assist you?" Afton asked formally, coming to a stop two feet from me.
"There is no way to put this lightly, and we don't exactly have time for that anyway. Plainly said, war with the Romanians is imminent. If you think you can do it, Aro would ask you to go to Siberia and feed them false information. If you believe you can convince them that you will misinform us as well, that would be ideal. We need more time to prepare for battle, and we need information: numbers, talents, mated pairs, etc. They are sure to already suspect that we are onto their increased movements, and it is very possible that they could know even more. Are you up for this?" I said, laying out the entire situation for him in as little words as possible. Afton simply raised his brow.
"You are quite blunt with me." He commented before seeming to think on it for a moment. He suddenly nodded and extended his hand to me. "I will do this."
"Wonderful." I replied, taking his hand and using Aro's gift on him to see his plans. He was going to pretend to escape from the Volturi and take Chelsea with him to convince them. Seeing his thoughts, I couldn't help but feel confident in his idea. I decided to give Afton my one thought on his plan. "Make sure you tell Chelsea exactly what your plans are. She will be frightened enough going behind enemy lines. She doesn't need to think you are a traitor on top of that."
"Aro told me to never tell her, to not tell anyone."Afton replied, eyes wide, and his thoughts betrayed him. He was even surprised that Aro had told me that he was a double agent.
"He told you to never tell anyone for good reason, but your mate deserves to know that she is being used. We both know that she will do what you ask of her." I assured, and then I turned to walk out the door. "I will take the fall from Aro for her knowledge if it comes to that. Good luck, Afton."
Without another word, I headed back to the throne room. The three kings were still there, so I went directly to Aro and offered him my hand. He took it, and I moved my shield aside to let him see everything that had transpired.
"It was a good call, having him tell Chelsea. We don't need her ruining the operation. Afton will do a fine job." Aro commented, turning to Caius. "What's the next point of action?"
"We are in desperate need of allies willing to fight. Our defenses are also lacking. We have let our guard down over the centuries." Caius replied, being the strategies expert of the three. "Marcus, do you any idea who would be willing to fight with us?"
Marcus closed his eyes and leaned back. He was quiet for a considerably long time. After a good hour, he opened his eyes and nodded."The Whitlocks and Carlisle will come at Isabella's call. The rest of the Cullen's will follow their coven leader. Eleazar's tie to Aro is still strong, so he will come when requested. The rest of Tanya's coven will come as well. The Amazon and Ævarsson covens will come at my request, and the Kyoto, Finnish, and Orlando covens will come at Caius's call. The Egyptian coven will come for Athenodora. Carlisle also has many ties to obscure covens and nomads. It seems that allies will not be hard to find."
"That is a blessing." Aro sighed, turning to Caius."Should we begin contacting our allies now, or would it be best to wait until we receive news from Afton?"
"There is no time to wait, but we must do this quietly. If the Romanians catch wind of a bunch of covens coming to Volterra suddenly, they are sure to move before we can group."
"What if we don't try to hide it?" I said, suddenly coming up with an idea.
"What are you getting at, Isabella?" Caius asked, watching me closely.
"Say we throw an exclusive ball where only the closest friends of the Volturi are invited. Then, they would all have an excuse for coming here and we wouldn't have to worry about the Romanians finding out." I explained, waiting for their reactions.
"That is actually a really good idea." Caius admitted, nodding to me shortly before continuing. "Yes. Let's use the pretense of a ball to keep the Romanians from knowing out true plans. It might even help towards convincing them that we are not onto their own plans. They will probably find it hard to believe we know about the upcoming war if we are still throwing parties."
"The Whitlocks will still have to sneak here if we want to keep the 'Whitlock Empire' story alive." Marcus said. I nodded.
"That won't be a problem. I will let them know to stay under the radar when I contact them." I assured.
"Let's get to it then. Isabella, the guard will need to be briefed before you contact Carlisle and Jasper." Aro said, giving me an lingering look as he got to his feet. I nodded, and we headed to our separate parts of the castle. Even with a plan in place, I couldn't help but feel worried. There was just so much to lose, too much hanging in the balance. The very future of the world was riding on this war. It meant everything. We had to win. There were no other acceptable options.
A/N: I know! I am taking FOREVER. I am so sorry for that. I never leave stories unfinished. I will get it done. I must warn you guys though. Come April 22nd, my life is going to get even more hectic. While I am going to try to get out another chapter faster than I have been doing, I am not going to promise anything because the odds are against me. Thank you guys all SO much for your continued support. Every review, story/author favorite, and story/author alert is very cherished. =D
Next chapter: The Romanians tell their side of the story.