Previously: Afton was executed for treason, Isabella calls Jasper for support (and he asks her if she will have to choose between herself and her mate), Aro and Isabella have it out, and she decides to head to Romania to try to stop the oncoming war.
Chapter 13: Into the Void
"Aro, you know that this is the next course of action." Caius's voice said from within Aro's study.
"She defied and attacked me, Caius." Aro replied tensely.
"I would say all the better. She should be able to stand against us as an equal would." Caius rebuked.
"I would agree with Caius. Plus, she is endlessly tied to us due to her relationship with you, Aro." Marcus cut in quietly, and the eavesdropper had to strain her already advanced senses to hear his words.
"True Mate or not, I do not know whether I can trust her to lead at my side." Aro said, nearly causing the woman listening in to give away her position with a gasp.
"Oh come off it, Aro. Isabella is meant to be a royal of Volterra, and you know it." Caius answered in exasperation. The woman listening in did not stay any longer. She had heard all that she needed to. It was time to go have a talk with Leading General Isabella.
.:!*!:.
There was a knock on my door, and I had to hurry and hide that fact that I was packing for Romania, as well as the note I was leaving for Aro, before opening the door to my rooms.
"Sulpica, what a surprise this is. Would you like to come in?" I invited. She just shook her head.
"Caius and Marcus are trying to convince Aro to give you a throne." Sulpica informed, her face not showing any expression. I suddenly felt like something was very wrong.
"Is that so?" I asked, trying my best to look surprised.
"Don't act all shocked, Isabella." Sulpica snapped, taking a step toward me. I did not back up, even though my instincts were telling me to. "Aro does not trust you after that stunt you pulled."
"Oh?" I whispered, watching her carefully. Her eyes cut over to where I noticed that I had not completely covered up my luggage.
"I see that you plan on going somewhere on the eve of battle. You wouldn't be headed East by any chance, would you? Shall I tell your True Mate that he should come and say goodbye?" Sulpica accused. I let my act drop, and I stood up straighter. I knew what I had to do. It would make my betrayal more believable, after all.
"Perhaps you should come in so that we can talk about this privately."
"Did you think that you could keep it a secret from me?!" She hissed in response. I knew that the next step would be yelling, so I used Alec's gift on her to render her senseless and dragged her into my rooms.
"I am so sorry, Sulpica." I whispered, leaning down and ripping her to pieces as quietly as possible. I hid her in my closet after making sure she wouldn't be able to put herself back together and walked out to meet the kings. Caius had surely convinced Aro by now.
I entered the throne room and was not disappointed. "Isabella, we have an announcement!" Caius declared as I walked in.
"What is it?" I asked, approaching them on the platform.
"We have decided to crown you as the fourth ruler of Volterra. How would you feel about being Queen of the Volturi?" Marcus said, smiling largely.
"I would be honored." I whispered, making sure that I looked as emotional about it as possible.
"You shall be crowned formally once the war is over, but you begin your duties right away." Aro said, not making eye contact.
"First things first, Isabella. The Whitlocks arrived five minutes ago and are awaiting you in the training arena." Caius said, giving me a knowing look.
"I shall excuse myself to go and greet them then. I shall see you all in the morning." I lied, nodding and taking my leave. I headed to the training arena, and even before I could enter the room, Jasper was outside the door to intercept me.
"I could feel your emotions from the throne room. What is going on?" He asked, watching my face carefully, and I could feel him reaching out and testing my emotions.
"We need to go now. I will tell you on the way." I replied, brushing passed him slightly to open the door just enough to usher Peter and Charlotte to join us in the hallway. When they were there too, I led the way to my rooms. Once we were in, Jasper had closed the door behind us, and he saw the bags that I had packed, he looked at me with a look of horror on his face.
"What are you doing, Isabella?" He asked, his face completely shocked and disgusted.
"Stop it, Major. This is the only way. Do not judge me until we leave and head east. I can tell you on the way." I replied.
"Woah! East, as in Romania, east? Isabella, come on. You know the Whitlocks will not help them. We-"
"Peter! Shhh, would you?! I know. I am asking you to help me, not them. I will explain on the way. Stop it now before someone hears you." I snapped in reply, throwing a bag to each of them.
"Major. I trust Isabella. We need to do this. No one from the aura should be left to fight his or her wars alone. Isn't that what you always told me in the beginning?" Charlotte spoke up.
"Okay. Let's go then." The Major said after a beat, nodding for me to lead the way. Without further ado, I opened the window and lead the way out. I knew all the ways through the Guard since I had set up their patrols, and I had made sure that their patterns would allow us to escape. Once we had crossed the sea and arrived in Montenegro, Jasper spoke again. "Tell me now. What is this?"
"Aro is compromised. He is blood-thirsty and mindless in his decision-making. I could stand for it no longer. You called it, Major. You already know."
"You had to pick. I am left to assume that you picked yourself." Jasper spat out, unable to hide his disgust. Without thinking about it, I whirled on him and pinned him against a tree. He did not flinch or fight back. He simply stared at me, emotionless, waiting for my next move.
"No. I picked the vampire world." I snarled at him, venom flying from my mouth. "If this war is allowed to start again, it will never end. I have a chance to negotiate, and you can bet that I will… for all our sakes."
"Are you sure that this isn't for you?" Jasper asked calmly, causing me to tighten my grip slightly, but I also paused to think. I didn't get much time before my thoughts were interrupted.
"Major." Peter put in, causing Jasper's gaze to move to him as much as it could with how tightly I held him. "We ought to continue moving east. If we stay here any longer we will have company."
Neither of us asked him how he knew. I stepped back, and Jasper straightened his shirt with a nod in my direction before waving me forward. With a sigh of relief, I began to head east once again with the Whitlocks in tow.
.:!*!:.
"King Aro, sir. We just found your wife." Jane said, her voice shaking as she burst into the throne room.
"What do you mean, found her?" Aro asked, flashing to his feet.
"Sulpica, Master. She was incapacitated." Jane whispered, sounding like the child she had been changed as.
"By whom? Where was she found?" Aro demanded.
"Alec and I discovered her in the Leading General's closet, and sir?" Jane interrupted as Aro had begun to leave the room. "Isabella is gone. All her clothes, her money, her personals, they are gone with her. Her trail heads to the east, and she left this note on her bed. It is addressed to you."
"No…" Aro whispered after reading the note before turning on his brothers. "I told you! She has betrayed me! She has betrayed us all!" His fury was great. He seemed to transform under the weight of it, becoming the monster that the world believed him to be. In his anger, he reached out to the low-leveled guard that had opened the door for Jane and began to rip him into tiny shreds. He ignored the screams and left the vampire's head alone to prolong the pain. Jane jumped back in terror, and the other two kings watched from the throne platform in shock. Aro's scream joined the tortured's then, causing the walls of the fortress to rumble. "She has betrayed me!"
Jane fled from the room, trying to hold back the tears that would never fall. Once she had reached her rooms, she shut the door behind herself and slid down the closed door.
"God help us." She prayed in a whisper, letting her head fall onto her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "God help us all."
.:!*!:.
"Carlisle Cullen speaking." The vampire doctor answered, trying to carry all his papers from work with one hand and open the door to his house at the same time. Esme must have heard his struggle and was suddenly there, opening the door for him. "Thank you, dear." He whispered, placing a kiss on her cheek as he passed to head up to his study.
"Carlisle, old friend. Listen to me carefully." The familiar voice came over the line, causing the patriarch to pause on the stairs.
"Aro. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Carlisle asked, shocked by the sudden phone call. They were due to leave today to head to Italy, and Carlisle could not think of a reason the king would be calling.
"Has Isabella contacted you since we last spoke?"
"I have not had the pleasure of speaking with her since she invited me to join you all in Italy. What is going on, Aro?" He asked, worry beginning to flow though his veins at the desperation that soaked the king's voice.
"What of Jasper? Has the God of War made contact since he left?"
"No. He was supposed to make it there this morning your time. Aro, tell me what is going on. Please." He practically begged. Esme was standing next to him now, listening with a frown on her face. Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Edward were all gathering in the living room, watching with hesitant interest.
"Damnare!" Aro cursed, and Carlisle could hear as he moved the mobile away from his ear and smashed his hand into some wooden surface. Carlisle jumped at the hatred in the Italian's outburst. "It is Delfino Gilligan all over again, only it is much worse this time. This time, it is a vampire far more powerful, and she has Death eating out of the palm of her hand. If either of them contacts you, I am to be the first to know. Do you understand what is required of you, friend?"
Carlisle was completely stunned. Knowing that he had no other choice, he replied in the affirmative. "I understand. For the Crest, I shall do what is necessary. They are forsaken."
At the doctor's words, Aro sighed in relief, and Alice burst into tears. Rosalie and Emmett did their best to comfort her, and Esme covered her mouth with her hands to conceal her gasp. Edward simply watched his father figure carefully, obviously monitoring his thoughts. Carlisle didn't know what to think. All he knew was that he had doubted Isabella once, and he would not do so without proof again.
Once the Volturi king had bid him farewell, Carlisle dialed a number that he had just recently memorized. Isabella would be able to explain. He was sure. She had to…
.:!*!:.
We had just entered Romania when my Blackberry began to ring. I answered after seeing that it was Carlisle.
"They can track this number. Aro will know you have called me. I did not contact you for a reason. I didn't want them to make the mistake of thinking you had committed treason as well." I said without greeting, not slowing my pace.
"I had to call." Carlisle replied. There was a slight pause. "It is true, then? You have betrayed all you hold dear? Taken the Whitlocks into the dark with you? I do not believe it."
"You don't have to believe it. You don't have to believe anything that happens this week, Carlisle. You need only pretend that you do. Is that clear?" I asked in a whisper. There was another pause before he replied.
"Yes. We leave for Italy today."
"Good. Hopefully I will see you soon." I answered before hanging up.
"Does he understand?" Charlotte asked softly, seeing the conflict in my stony expression.
"I am not sure. I can only hope." I replied before we reached the limits of Romanian territory. I stopped, listening and feeling out with my shield for any vampires nearby.
"I sense nothing." Jasper spoke up, his voice barely audible. I nodded, and closed my eyes. I concentrated on slowing my breaths and calming myself.
"We will all have to be honest. I saw in Afton's memories that Stefan can somehow use his ability to tell lies from truth." I admitted to the others.
"Are you insane?" Peter sulked. "If you expect us to be able to get into their court on nothing but the truth, you must be."
"You must have some sort of other plan, right?" Charlotte insisted hopefully.
"No." I replied, eyes still shut. "This situation does not have an easy fix."
"Oh, well, that is just great. No plan. That is just fantastic." Peter muttered sarcastically.
"I see where she is going with this, Captain." Jasper said, finally speaking up. "It'll be fine."
I opened my eyes, and looked down through the forest in the direction of the Romanian's castle. "No time to waste then. Let us begin."
.:!*!:.
In Romania…
"Vladimir. Stefan." Fyodor called, coming into the ballroom where we were conversing about troop movements.
"What is it?" I asked, and I could practically feel Vladimir's trepidation from where he stood next to me.
"It is Isabella Volturi. She is here with the Whitlock Clan." He announced, looking shocked and shaken.
"She is here… now?" Vladimir asked, seemingly unable to comprehend what he was hearing. The spectral world moved then, shook at its very core. I was speaking before I had even chosen to do so.
"Tell her that the Celt Slayer would be pleased to make her acquaintance." I ordered. Vladimir and Fyodor both started at me for a moment in disbelief before Fyodor snapped out of it and went to relay the message.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Vlad asked me, resting a hand on my shoulder. "She is incredibly powerful, and we do not know her intentions."
"Not yet." I answered, not taking my eyes off the door that connected to the entrance hall. The spectral world was still open to me, and I knew that I would use the curse that had been put upon me to serve my brother, our people, and our cause.
The doors opened, and in breezed Isabella Volturi, donning her Elite Guard cape, followed by Captain Peter Whitlock and his mate Charlotte. The God of War was taking up the rear of the company. Fyodor began introductions.
"These are the Romanian Kings: Lord Vladimir of the Carpathian Mountains and Count Stefan the Celt Slayer. Kings, this is Leading General Isabella Volturi, the God of War, and the rest of the Whitlock Clan."
No one spoke at first. I could tell that we were all trying to get a read on one another. I reached out to the spectral plain for guidance, and three of the four Whitlocks were meeting my gaze in the next moment.
"You can sense my power." I stated, calling them out on their suddenly rapt attention. "What do you think of it?"
"It is no power that I would want, Count." The Leading General answered, and the Captain shifted on his feet as if in agreement.
"And why is that? I know many things because of it. I can see the future, sense lies, and even kill." I bragged with false pride.
"Your emotions betray you, but what you can do is not why we have come." The Major spoke up, nodding to the Leading General to have her speak.
"We are here to implore you to end this war."
"What?" Vladimir asked, watching her in disbelief. "I doubt that your kings would agree with this diplomatic ploy."
"Caius is on my side in this, and Marcus trusts my judgment. It would not be hard to convince him as well. That is a majority, and that is all I need." She replied.
"You of all people should know the way that the Volturi hierarchy truly works. Aro is at the head of the triumvirate. His word is law." Vladimir argued, waving his hand dismissively. Fyodor came forward to lead them out when he suddenly stopped and curled in on himself in fear.
"That is where you are wrong, Lord Vladimir." Isabella Volturi said, stepping forward to stand not three feet from me and my brother. "My word is Volturi law now."
"That was the Major's doing. Do not think that I would not recognize the work of his destructive hands anywhere." Vlad replied tightly, watching him with cautious eyes.
"That was indeed his work. Shall I show you mine?" Isabella Volturi asked casually, and a moment later, I felt my mind crowded with visions, thoughts, pains, and all manner of things at once. Next that I was aware of, I was kneeling on the ground before the Leading General, and my brother could only stare at her in shock. I stood shakily, watching her carefully, shocked at what I had learned.
Afton had told us that she was a powerful shield, but Vlad and I could never have known what he'd meant by that. Isabella Volturi was a fully trained and developed Sponge Shield.
"Stefan, darling, must we play politics? I would much rather just be rid of them." Sultana Sweyn declared hotly, crossing her legs where she sat on the bench in front of the organ. The ballroom was empty besides the two of us, and she felt free to speak her mind.
"I am sure that you would, Sultana, but ruling the vampire world takes a bit more than strong soldiers." I replied, flipping to a different page of a letter I had just received that morning from the secondary base in Siberia.
"You are right. We must be smart as well as strong. All this diplomacy will do nothing for us. Aro of Velathri is as stubborn as Vladimir." She shot back. "Let me burn them, and we can be done with this uprising."
"They have many smart and powerful vampires in their ranks. It would not do well for us to go in without considering all the possibilities." Vladimir put in as he entered the ballroom. He was carrying a scrap of parchment in one hand, and walking in my direction quite purposefully. "You must see this, brother."
He handed me the parchment and waited there for me to read it. I read it aloud.
"Aro of Velathri has wiped out all in the Siberian base, and he has claimed Italy the new capital of the vampire world. He calls himself Volturi. Send reinforcements or I will not be able to hold the Americas." I read, feeling fear twist in my gut uncomfortably. "It is signed by Benito himself."
"We are losing this war." Vladimir whispered to me just as a new recruit came into the Ballroom.
"Kings, a large infantry has just entered our territory. They bear a sigil that I have not seen before."
"Tell me, Fyodor, does this sigil bear a 'V' in its center?" I asked the recruit. He simply nodded in answer.
"Can I kill them now?" Sultana asked dryly, knowing what my reply would be.
"Show no mercy." I ordered, and Vladimir nodded to Fyodor for him to pass along the news.
Sultana Sweyn never returned.
"A Sponge Shield, and fully trained at that. The last one that I met was only defeated when attacked by a very powerful vampire with a strong physical ability. She really was always one to fight with her mind." I muttered, still thinking back on better days. "Why are you really here, Leading General?"
"To ask you to end this war. I thought I made that clear." Isabella Volturi replied, watching me carefully. "Aro of Velathri has only ever known war. He knows no different, but I have seen that when, given peace for the first time, vampires are able to live peaceably."
"I am living proof of it, sirs." The Major spoke up.
"And yet, at the first signs of conflict, you find yourself back in the thick of it." Vladimir rebuked.
"No offence, Lord, but I am involved in war again because I know what land looks like when coated and soaking in blood and venom. I know what vampire wars do to the immortal soul. I have seen the fight for power and territory, same as you, even if the South was never the place for a game of thrones." The God of War stated. "I may not understand Romanian or Volturi ideologies, but I do understand war. This is a different world now. If you do not end this war, and it is allowed to spread, it will spread to all corners of the earth."
"They are right, sirs." Fyodor spoke up, causing me to stare at him in surprise. "I do not wish to see any more of my friends die. I watched it enough in the beginnings of my life."
"You are to join with the Whitlocks in their hopeless quest, then?" Even as I spat the words, I knew them to be false, and my face softened.
"You know that I will not leave the Romanian order. I belong here. I simply could not sit by and say nothing when the fate of my coven is at stake as well." Fyodor replied kindly, patient as ever. He was completely understanding to my sudden anger and cooling. He might not know everything about my curse (only Vladimir was privy to that information, as he had been present that fateful day), but he knew enough about how I struggled to live with it. "Perhaps you can truly negotiate with the Leading General. She seems sincere."
"She is." I replied, returning my attention to her. I stood still for a moment, debating.
There was one way to see how serious she was about wanting peace. I knew her gift even better than I knew my own now, and I could use that to see exactly how desperate she was to end this war, and whether or not she would even be able to accomplish it. If she were able to handle taking in part of my curse with her shield, then she would be able to handle the challenges that were sure to come if we attempted peace.
"Brother?" Vlad spoke up, drawing my attention. I met his eyes. The trust in his gaze was obvious. Knowing that he trusted me to make any decision I felt was right, I reached into the spectral world, pulling it around me tightly enough where no other gifts would be able to influence me. Vladimir's eyes widen, but he nodded.
We were in agreement, then.
"It is time to test your true strength, Leading General Isabella Volturi of the Whitlock Coven." I declared, turning to meet her questioning stare. "Take part in my curse. If you survive it with your sanity, I should consider you my better, and we shall discuss ending this timeless war."
The void became thick as it greedily soaked in her unease and hesitation, and I heard every spectral being open their mouths in twisted glee. The collective laughter echoed in the dark space where my dead mind lived on, despite the emptiness of my veins. Were my soul to still be mine, I know that it would have rebelled against the evil dwelling inside my shell.
Isabella thinks she saw Hell in the South. She is wrong. I thought as she began to reach toward the think, black aura that had engulfed me in order to take a bit of it into her own life force. She may not have seen it then, but that would change soon enough. If she made it through this, she would know Hell almost as intimately as I do.
The instant her shield made contact with my aura, her soul was swallowed up into the void.
A/N: Woo! That took me forever! I am so, so sorry about that. I have so much news, you guys!
Thank you for all the reviews and support! This story has been getting more attention than I would have ever expected, and I have only you guys to thank for that.
*****Speaking of attention...*****
This fanfic was nominated for an award! Nighttimerainawards is doing a ton of different polls. While the one that this story was nominated for isn't until the 19th of May, ending on the 21st (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for A Place I Belong! It would make me infinitely happy...), there are a ton of other great stories that can be voted for. They have a link to their site, where you can vote, on their profile. u/5683992/
Also, would anyone be interested in a playlist for this fic? I did one for Our Scars Define Us, but I was wondering if anyone would be curious to hear the one that I have used for this story. Just let me know.
I am done making promises that I cannot keep, even if those are the best kind (Amazing Spider-Man reference... sorry). I will update as soon as my hectic life allows. I'm still never going to give up on my stories, no matter what the rare updates may say to the contrary. They lie. ;P