Chapter 3: Decisions, decisions

"I see" the ancient vampire Aro said to me. He looked at me wistfully for a few short seconds then turned to walk towards the throne he had been seated in just moments ago.

"This is ridiculous" one of the others spoke up, he was just as ancient looking as the other two, but had hair so light is was almost the same color as his pale skin. He rose his hand and with a flick of his wrist and spoke to the guards "take this out of my sight."

"No! Wait… "I started to speak while instantly having the two guards from the gate grab me, getting ready to usher me out the door. "Please..." I tried to finish.

"Now brother" Aro spoke, effectively stopping the guards in their tracks "let us hear the girl out, after all she did come all this way." he spun back around to face me again, smiling and raising his hand towards the guards this time. They released me, but didn't move away.

"Her reasons hardly matter Aro, the fact is, is that she knows, the law claims her." The blond vampire continued.

"Bella" he indicated to me, not responding to the other vampire.

"I, …I came here in the hopes that you would change me" I stuttered out "but if you won't, then I have another request." I paused to take a deep breath before I could continue. I of course knew that if they were not going to change me, the fact that I had let them in on the secret that I knew of their existence, they would never let me leave alive after that. I knew this, sure, but stating it as a request was another thing all together.

"If you won't change me, then please, when you kill me, all I ask is that you do it quickly."

They all stared at me in shock, even the one guard next to me, he turned his head towards me so quickly that it made me jump in surprise.

Aro's booming laughter a moment later was another surprise to me. "Ha, ha, ha! You're very brave!" he said to me.

"So, you knew by coming here today that you would not leave alive? Is that what you would have us believe?" The blond vampire spoke to me directly this time.

"I knew it was a possibility, yes." I answered him.

"And yet here you stand" Aro indicated towards me with both his hands. "Fascinating." he said to me with a strange, unsure look on his face. "So, what do we do with you now?"

"She knows too much."

"Yes." Aro agreed with his brother, then slowly began to walk to me.

Had I honestly expected anything different? I questioned myself now as death approached -pale and cloaked in black like the reaper. Instinctively I recoiled from him, taking a stumbling step back.

"Don't be disturbed," he reassured me. "I mean you no harm." He eyed me with bright interest, lifting one hand out. "May I?" he asked.

Despite Aro's over politeness, I didn't believe I really had a choice. I was horrified at the thought of allowing him to touch me, and yet also perversely intrigued by the chance to feel his skin, freezing flesh that had once been such a comfort to me. I raised my hand out to him as a strange wave of excitement eagerly pushed me forward.

He reached out and took my hand, it was hard, but felt brittle -shale rather than the granite I had been anticipating- and even colder than I expected. He firmly held on to my hand, while wrapping the other over top of mine as his filmy eyes smiled down at me, it was impossible to look away.

Aro's face altered as I watched. He'd been confident upon his approach and in taking my hand, but then it wavered and became first doubt, then incredulity before he calmed it into a friendly mask. "Interesting," He said aloud while still holding onto my hand, "So very interesting." he spoke again as he released my hand and drifted back.

"Aro?" the other vampire asked. Aro didn't speak, instead raised his hands out if front of him; the others relaxed.

Aro continued to drift with a thoughtful expression around the room, his eyes flickering from me to some of the others. Then, abruptly, he shook his head.

"A first," he said to himself. "I wonder…. Jane, dear?" he turned.

At first, I thought the tiny vampire was a boy, but the face was too pretty. The wide-eyed, full-lipped face smiled as she drifted to Aro's side "Yes master" she asked him, her childish voice tinkling around the room.

"I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella here is immune to you."

Jane turned toward me with a beatific smile; the guard next to me stiffened, and the room fell very quiet.

I meet her gaze, not sure what was happening. Jane was smiling at me now, and it all clicked together. They were testing out their gifts on me, first Aro and now Jane. I shrank back, waiting for whatever was going to happen. I was sure it would be painful.

She glared at me; her jaw clenched with the intensity of her focus.

Nothing happened.

Jane hissed in frustration as Aro began to laugh once again. "Ha, ha, ha! This is wonderful!" he clapped his hands together.

Jane's upper lip curled back over her teeth as she leaned forward like she was preparing to spring. "Don't be put out, dear one," Aro said in a comforting tone, placing a hand on her shoulder. "She confounds us all."

Whatever was meant to happened, didn't, and although Aro seemed pleased by this, Jane continued to murderously glare at me.

"Well Bella, it seems you have given us much to consider!" he beamed as he spun back around the room to stand in front of his brothers. He held out his hands toward them, the two that were still seated in their thrones now stood, each one taking a hand. They stood like that for a few moments before the silence was broken.

"What?" the white-haired one hissed.

"Caius, surely you see the potential," Aro chided him affectionately. "I haven't seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec! Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?"

Caius, who had been scowling furiously, relaxed.

The room fell silent again as another agonizing moment passed.

Why was this taking so long? I couldn't figure it out and I didn't expect it to be such a trial. I grew more and more stressed as the seconds ticked by, wondering how much time would pass before it was too much time, before I was out of time. I took a deep breath; filling my lungs, would it be my last? Would this room be the last of the world I would ever see? Will these people, with the unnerving crimson eyes, be the last I look into?

Does it matter? I asked myself after speculating. I've made my peace, I knew there were only two ways out of this for me, both of which I was ok with. I didn't have a death wish, no, of course I truly wanted to live, but not like this, not anymore.

I wanted to forget, I wanted to be rid of my pain. Pain that I couldn't -no matter how hard I tried, get rid of. Faces that I wanted to stop seeing, or rather, one face that I wanted to stop seeing.

Human memories faded, and could be forgotten all together once you were changed into a vampire, or so I had been told. And since I did in fact want to live, it seemed the only way to get both, be turned and forget. Or die trying. These were my options; this was why I was here. And that I was ok with.

Today I would finally get what I wanted, what I've been waiting for. Peace.

I had been so lost in thought that I didn't realize that they had finished their discussion; their silent gathering about my fate, and were all looking at me, waiting.

I looked up at Aro, who was quite obviously the leader here, as I expectantly waited with them for him to speak.

Aro smiled, happy again, his eyes bright with excitement. "Do you have any final thoughts or a last request?" he asked me cheerfully.

I felt heavy; weighted as I answered him.

"No." I simply stated, lowering my eyes, slightly cowering my head as the room settled in around me.

"Don't fret my dear," he spoke right next to me now. "It will all be over soon."

And it was. Everything went black. And then I began to burn.

(11/19/10)