Chapter Eighteen:

"So, you and Alec were imprisoned in the dungeons for...eight months? "

After Alec and Jane had blatantly refused to let anyone close to them, Carlisle included, I'd volunteered myself to go into the adjoining bedroom with him. Perhaps if I went first, they'd start to trust his intentions.

I knew nothing of this man. I didn't know where he came from or how he had come into this life, but the longer he remained near, the warmer I felt.

"Yes," I murmured, swinging my legs as I sat on the edge of a plaid-quilted single sized bed. "At least, I estimate its around that long. I remember it being around February or March when w- when I was captured. Alice told me the month when we met them in the woods. It was hard to keep track of time."

"Did Alec tell you why he was imprisoned?" He asked, turning to face me, He held a light in his hand, a kind of pen that brightened the room. Approaching, he held it up to my eyes. I flinched. We'd been unused to light for months, and even now, sunlight caused problems. The focused, shining light of his pen caused the sensors in my eyes to flare up.

"Yes," I answered, my voice crisp. That wasn't my secret to tell. Besides, something told me that Alec hadn't told me the entire story either. "It's complicated. He got it worse than I ever did."

"I see," He nodded, drawing the light away. I breathed a sigh of relief, and instinctively drew my legs up to my chest. "I don't expect either of you to be open to discussing everything that happened to you. I can only imagine... " He trailed off, and gave some kind of a sad smile. I felt my stomach churn. I didn't want pity. I just wanted to forget everything.

"I just…" I began, swallowing tightly. "I'm worried about him. I know he needs to talk with someone about it, but he won't. I don't blame him. I know that it would be hard for me to tell someone."

Carlisle regarded my words with a careful, neutral expression, leaning up against a carved dresser at the other side of the small room. "I don't think we should pressure him. There will come the day where he feels comfortable sharing his experience."

I nodded, my chin settled upon my legs. "I know what happened. I can't say it, though. It's not mine to tell… but…"

I frowned, my brow furrowed as I considered my options. If I told Carlisle what happened to him, that didn't mean it had to be brought up again, right? Carlisle could pretend that he had no idea if Alec were ever to bring it up on his own.

"Is there something else?" He asked.

"Audrey did a lot of things." I stammered, playing with the edge of my shirt. "She whipped us. Cut us with a knife. I think it had child of the moon venom on it, so it was able to cut through our skin, whereas otherwise… I don't think it would have been able to do much."

"I see…"

I shuddered. With each word that left my mouth, an image that I'd rather forget sprung up in my mind. I knew that I had to talk about it...logically, that was the best way to move on, but if I could find a way to just erase every bit of the last year from my mind, I'd take it.

"T-There was one time," I began, my voice cracking a bit. I didn't have the right to tell him, but…

I didn't' want Alec to suffer on his own. I wanted him to feel like he could talk about what he'd been through, what we'd all been through.

"Yes?" Carlisle prompted, setting his clipboard down on the bed.

"Audrey came into my room," I recalled, speaking past the massive lump that had managed to lodge itself in my throat. "She started to ask me how I was different from Sarah- oh, Sarah was my name when I was a human. I changed it."

"Many vampires do," He nodded, giving me a tiny smile that managed to quell my fears, if only by a fraction.

"She said I was still the same as I always was…" I trailed off, my eyes closing for a second. "Then, she said that I couldn't stop a rape as Sarah...and that I couldn't stop one as Saoirse. And that's when they came into his cell."

For a fraction of a second, shock spread across his face. "He was assaulted?"

I gave a short, quick nod. "There were three of them. A few weeks later, I broke down the wall between the cells. They didn't even bother to give him any more clothes. They were just...rags."

"I think it's commendable," He said, his lips pulled into a small smile, "How you were both able to survive. I expect that your physical injuries will heal in just a few more days. However, I'm sure you know that the psychological damage will take longer."

"It's not too bad for me," I admitted. Sure, if the torture was brought up unexpectedly, it did unsettle me, but for the most part, I felt like I was able to handle it fairly well. "It's there anything I can do to help him? I don't want to be pushy...or force him into talking about it."

Carlisle had started to collect the fear medical supplies that he deemed useful with another vampire, and turned at my question. "I've had a few sexual assault victims...though no other vampires. What he needs, though, is patience. He needs to know that you're there to support him regardless of how long he needs. Everyone deals with trauma in different ways."

"Don't tell him what I told you, okay?" I half-pleaded. If he found out…

"I won't. I promise. I'll let him come to me about it in his own time."

I nodded, shortly, pushing myself of of the bed at his dismissal.

So, that was that. He determined that my physical injuries would finish healing within the next few days, as long as I fed on a regular basis.

When I arrived back in the living room, Jane had curled up with her head on Alec's lap, his fingers moving through her hair in a fashion that I could only imagine to be the epitome of comforting.

Meanwhile, his eyes darted about the room. Another girl had arrived at some point. Her dark hair and sweet expression made me think of a disney princess, grown up and remade for the for the real world.

"You must be Saoirse," The woman greeted, and like Carlisle, she had a kind of warmth to her voice. "I'm Esme, Carlisle's wife."

She took one of my hands between both of hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you for coming," I smiled. Alec caught my gaze. I didn't expect for him to be grateful, at least not yet. I couldn't blame him. "It's really kind of you and Carlisle."

"I'm not a fan of violence, my dear," She confessed, motioning for me to sit with her on the edge of the couch. Jasper and Alice had left, either hunting or looking for people to call, "But it seems as though Aro isn't going to give us any other options."

"Aro isn't going to be the problem," Alec spoke up, his gaze fixed on Jane's face. "It's going to be getting to him. The higher guard is decreasing, that's true, but there are at least a hundred in the lower guard. They'll come when he calls."

Brow furrowed, Esme released my hands to turn to him, "If they're in the lower guard, shouldn't we assume that their powers are mediocre at best?"

"I don't know," He answered, leaning against the back of the couch, "I haven't met all of them. There's a chance that most of them won't have powers out of the ordinary, but we can't go head first into battle without the knowledge of who we're up against."

"Is there a way to find out…?" I asked, looking back between the both of them.

"Eleazar used to work in the guard," Esme paused for a moment, smoothing out her plum-colored skirt. "Though, I'm not sure how our family in Denali would react…" She broke off, casting Alec a kind of apologetic smile. "They haven't quite recovered from the loss of Irina."

"That was on Caius's order. Jane and I had no part in that," He hissed, jaw set tight. "Wouldn't they want to avenge her death by taking out the vampire who was actually responsible?"

"Caius's orders, but Felix and Demetri assisted. What are we expected to do if they decide to leave Aro, just as you and Jane have?" Esme murmured, tucking a lock of her Snow White, dark hair behind her ears. Alec merely scowled. I could understand his frustration; it was horrible to feel the blame for something that you had absolutely no part in.

"Aro's going to continue to have the upperhand if we continue to hold grudges amongst ourselves," Alice began, drawing all eyes to her. "When the Volturi confronted us about Renesmee, we were all one wrong move from a battle breaking out." Pausing, her eyes shifted around the room, glancing over everyone- apart from myself. "We all would have died, but we need to put that behind us and figure out a way to work together. Otherwise, we'll just end up blaming one another. If Demetri and Felix decide to leave Aro, then we'll accept their help. If they don't, they'll remain enemies. Simple as that. We aren't in any position to pick and choose who our allies are."

Carlisle rested a hand on her shoulder. "What about Edward and Bella?"

"If Edward and Bella are too selfish and wrapped up in their own grudges to help throw over the Volturi," Jane hissed, her tone stronger than it had been in a while, "Then perhaps we're better off without them."

"They'll come around." He insisted, holding a hand out to placate her. "We all just need time to get accustomed to the idea of working with one another."

Jane snorted. "Fine, but I'm not going to be made into a scapegoat."

"I'll contact them," Alice decided. "Bella knows that I'll be direct with her."

With that, she rose to her feet, leaned down to kiss Jasper on the cheek, and promptly headed into another room.

So many secret, private phone calls. I wished they didn't always have to go out of their way to keep things confidential. How would we be able to deal with one another if there wasn't enough trust between everyone to make basic phone calls?

"You've contacted other people, right?" I inquired, recalling the list Jasper had shown me yesterday. "Have they responded?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Jasper replied, reclining on the couch. "They've agreed to come out, assess our situation. We can't promise anything past that, but… it's a start, at least."

Carlisle gave a short, curt nod. "We're not enemies in this situation. If that changes after the ordeal with the Volturi, then so be it. For now, I think its in everyone's best interest to try and get along."

"The Volturi were meant to be nothing more than enforcers of the law." Jane began. It was odd to hear her speak so directly, but a nice surprise, nonetheless. "Aro decided to go offscript and lose his mind. If he merely wanted us to keep everyone in check, it would be different...but with all of the power that's gone to his head."

"A few years ago you would have been right by his side." Jasper pointed out. His tone wasn't hostile, but there certainly wasn't much lingering friendliness to it. "What changed?"

"Maybe the bond you had is broken?" I suggested. Someone had mentioned something about a Chelsea...right? "I think…. I think Chelsea, or whatever her name is, was hurt. Maybe her power over everyone broke?"

"Not unlikely," Carlisle crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall. "Of course, if Chelsea has been injured to the point that she can no longer create and maintain bonds, then that's good news for all of us."

Alec snorted. I watched as he fiddled and pulled at a bit of string on the edge of the couch, his eyes plastered towards the ground. "Aro has thousands of subordinates who don't need a mental bond to serve him. The worst of us never had to be bonded. Audrey, Kiersten… Tamsin, Eric, Felipe. All of them came and threw themselves at him before Chelsea could so much as breathe. They'll be the challenge for us."

"What are their gifts?" Jasper asked, "We can strategize. Determine which of us would be the best to challenge them."

"Tamsin can change her appearance." I supplied. "Kiersten makes you attack the first person you see."

"She tends to make sure that it's someone who care about." Alec added.

"Audrey repels your gift back at you." I murmured. If not for her annoying little power, Alec and I would have been out three days into our imprisonment.

"Erik doesn't have a particular gift," Alec began, "But he's known for doing experiments on everyone from children of the moon to infant humans. He collects information and presents it to Aro. Felipe puts you into a kind of nightmarish trance."

"Why have we not heard of them?" Alice asked, her voice soft with thought.

Jane grinned. The action caused the sides of her mouth to twitch upwards far past a normal level. I shivered. Pretty as she was, the expression gave her a demented appearance. "Because what you saw of the Volturi was nothing more than a shadow. The tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Now the curtains are falling and Aro's being revealed for what he truly is. Quite frankly, it delights me."

"When I lived with the Volturi, it didn't seem nearly as bad." Carlisle mused.

Alec answered, "It wasn't. Aro was controlling and demanding, but he was confident in his power. Without the Romanians, he had no one to challenge him, so he was able to maintain a level head and think rationally."

I gave a low, dry chuckle. "Funny, isn't it? How his fear of losing power is exactly what's going to cause him to lose it in the end."

"And with his power, goes his sanity." Alec sighed. "I'm more worried about this being tedious, than I am of it being dangerous. It could be years before the Volturi falls."

"And what do we do if some other coven rises to power?" Jane suggested. "Someone worse."

I licked the corner of my mouth. If we managed to find someone worse than Aro in terms of insanity, then we and that individual were to be commended. My eyes moved back and forth, watching the twins. They moved in impossible synchronicity. Alec would shift on the couch, playing with some bit of fabric or his sleeves, and she would move in a similar fashion. Their actions never matched one another's exactly. Rather, it appeared as though they were subconsciously responding.

"We'll just have to do what we can to prevent that." Carlisle said. His voice warm and kind, it made all worries flee from my mind- at least for a moment. "We do need a government. Without one, the vampire world will fall to anarchy."

"Well," Jasper began, his lips twisted up into a smirk. "History has favored the underdog when it comes to rebellions."