Daughter of Three Suns

Chapter 18

Aro was right, it did hurt. It was nothing compared to the pain of my Metanora, however. Staying with my plan to appear weak and helpless, I screamed and panted, moaned and groaned. Aro used a hollow, pointed thing called a needle to pull blood from my body. Thin pieces of my skin were cut away as well as hair from my eyebrows and part of a claw.

I tried to watch Edward as much as possible. It became increasingly agitated and distressed as Aro continued. Once Edward even told Aro to stop cutting me when it tried to pull the red circle from my chest. When I tried to reach it with my mind, I was met with resistance but no anger or rage.

At one point during the exam, Aro flipped my shift up to look at my feet and legs. I tensed, certain it would discover my knife, but Edward had tied the restraining strap low enough that my weapon remained covered. Before Aro could look further, Edward asked it a question. While they were talking, Edward discreetly pulled my shift back down to cover my legs. Aro moved to another part of my body.

I also watched James. I think it knew I was pretending to be in more pain than I actually was. From time to time, it would catch my eye and very subtly shake its head. Patience, it seemed to urge.

Aro finally announced it had enough "samples." "I think she's probably pretty close to being ready, and if she's related to Esme like she says she is, then I'm confident we can get a male from her. I'm going to give her an injection of my original formula, and then she can go to her room."

He pushed another needle under my skin. This one was filled with some kind of thick liquid that burned with a scorching heat when it entered my arm. I could feel it seeping and spreading through my body.

"All done," he said, stepping away from me. "You can take her to her room and start the mating, James."

"No." Edward spoke up. "Not James."

Aro turned in surprise. It grinned, and then laughed at Edward. "So, you've changed you mind about touching those things you call the women? Ready to put away your hate and disgust and find out what being a man really means?"

Edward's eyes narrowed as it glared at Aro. "No, I still think they're ugly and disgusting, but James has Victoria, and this one won't respond to what it thinks is another woman's mate. If you want this experiment to work, you need it ready and willing."

Aro slowly nodded its head. "Good thinking. Okay, Edward, take her to her room. And you, James," he continued, "why don't you spend some time with Victoria and try to get that bitch ready. I'm tired of waiting for something to happen with that one."

After James and Aro left, Edward released the straps that held me to the table and removed the gag from my mouth. "Get up," it commanded. I struggled to my feet, then pretended to stagger and stumble when I tried to walk. Edward grabbed my arm, squeezing it painfully. "Either you walk on your own or I'll get Felix to carry you again, and this time, I won't tell him to be careful."

I nodded and waited for it to show me where to go. Edward motioned toward an opening. "Over there," it said. Then it reached beneath the table I had been lying on and pulled out my belt, carry bag, pack, and staff. I realized it must have hidden them there.

The doorway led to another tunnel. I walked until Edward pointed to a room on the right. "In there, on the bed," it said, pushing me so hard that I stumbled and fell. Before I could stand, it grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. Its mouth was against my ear, and it whispered urgently. "We're being watched, so don't do anything foolish. I know you're strong enough to break the chains, and I know you still have that knife strapped to your thigh. James and I need you to play along so we can get everyone out of here and back to your world. Nod your head if you understand."

I dropped my eyes to the floor and nodded slightly. "Bitch," it said loudly. "I told you to get on the bed." I sat down on the edge and waited while Edward closed the door. It made a point of doing something to the handle on the door, and I understood it was locking it with what Irina had called a key. The key was placed on a nearby table along with my carry bag and staff.

"Scoot over and lie down," Edward told me.

When I moved to the center of the bed, Edward pulled my hands over my head and connected the center chain to a metal device on the wall. "Basherter?"

"Shh," it whispered as it laid down on top of me. "I'm not going to hurt you. Remember they're watching, so don't do anything suspicious. They can only hear us if we talk loudly. Speak softly into my ear when you answer me. Understood?"

"Yes," I whispered back.

"I'm going to start touching you now." Edward began running its hands up and down my arms. My skin tingled, and I moaned softly. "Feels good?" It chuckled. Edward moved its lips across my jaw and neck. That felt even better.

"Wha … What are you doing?"

"I'm supposed to be getting you ready."

"For what? I don't understand."

It stilled its lips against my skin. "For mating," it finally said.

"Is this when we'll share ecstasy and make a baby?"

Edward didn't answer but lay very still upon me. "Edward?"

It shifted its body, and I felt again how well we seemed to fit together. "Not with me. Aro wants to mate you with Felix so your baby will be like James and me."

"No!" I pulled on my restraints and struggled to sit up. "That is an abomination. I will not …"

Edward grabbed my hands, pushing them roughly onto the bed above my head, then clamped its other hand over my mouth. "Shut up, bitch," it shouted. "You'll do what I tell you to do." It stared into my eyes, and then I heard its voice in my head. "Blink if you can hear me."

I blinked.

"I won't let that happen to you, but you have to trust me. I just wanted you to know what Aro is planning. I'll take my hands away if you promise not to fight."

I blinked twice and nodded slightly. Edward smiled and moved its hands to my sides. While they rubbed up and down, it leaned over and brought its lips to my ear.

"Esme was my mother. Aro mated her to one of the drudges, and she gave birth to James and me. He doesn't want any girls to be born, just boys."

"What are boys?"

Its chuckle against my skin caused more tingles.

"A boy is a young male, just like a girl is a young female. Girls grow up to be women, and boys become men."

"We don't have boys on my world but we have men. Emmett told me it was a man."

Edward sat up quickly. "Emmett? You've seen Emmett and spoken to him?"

"Yes, it is my sister Rosalie's basherter. They are mated and live together. When I left they had two daughters, but I think they must have made a third baby at the Anamnesis just before I left because they were sharing ecstasy, and it was in its man form."

Edward was silent for some time. I wondered what it was thinking but found I could not read its thoughts. Finally, it smiled faintly. "Emmett's a father. Wow. Is he happy, Bella?" It glanced toward me. Edward had never used my name before. A warm glow spread through me when I heard it.

"Yes, it seems to be."

"He. Emmett is a he, not an it. It refers to things. To call people an it is demeaning and cruel."

"You called me an it, Edward."

"Yes," he nodded. "How did that make you feel?"

"I didn't like it," I finally admitted. "Some of your words were hurtful. I thought my basherter would love me as much as I would love it. But I've never heard he or him, or Father before. Are these all words for men and males?"

"Yes."

"And it makes you feel bad when I use it instead of he?" When Edward nodded again, I continued. "Then I will use those words when I speak of basherti, and men, and you."

There was a noise outside the door, and Edward quickly laid down beside me. My arms where still stretched above my head and he unfastened them and pulled me against him so that we were facing each other. "They can't come in yet because I locked the door," he explained. His hand moved down my side, over my hip, and along my leg. When he pulled my shift up and his skin touched mine, I couldn't stop the short gasp that escaped me.

He chuckled softly and spoke again. "I hated your kind for a long time. I was young when my mother left, and I missed her very much. Aro said she didn't love us because we were boys. He told us many things about your world: how hot and ugly it was, how we weren't allowed to change our shape except on one special occasion when the big sun went away. He said we were called an it because we weren't considered to be people.

"Emmett was my friend. He told me he had found his mate, and then he disappeared, too. That made me even angrier."

"Aro lied to you. Esme didn't return to my world."

"I know," Edward whispered. "I found out she tried to escape with James and me. Felix and the others were sent after her, but they were too rough when they caught her. They killed Carlisle, her mate, and injured her. She never recovered."

"I'm sorry, Edward. It is a great sorrow when we lose our family."

He nodded. "Thank you. It was a long time ago, and I've forgotten what she looked like. I just remember missing her."

Edward pulled me closer to him. I nestled my head between his shoulder and neck. It felt good to be near my basherter. Even though my body still burned from Aro's liquid, even though I knew danger waited outside our room, even though I knew I had a destiny to fulfill, still there was this feeling of finally being whole, of being at peace. I thought of my mother's words. She had said our souls would recognize each other, that it would be like finding a long-lost piece of myself. It was true. Edward was what I had been missing all my life. I snuggled closer to him and sighed deeply. Yet even as I did, I remembered Alice's words. "Beware them all," she had said. I wondered if that included my basherter.

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Thanks again for reading. Your reviews have been wonderful to read. Hopefully this chapter will make everyone feel a little more accepting of Edward *grin* Thanks to Sally for correcting my mistakes.

Th results for the 2020 TwiFic Fandom Awards were announced this week, and I was more than a little surprised that my one-shot, The Bookstore, was voted first place for Favorite Ficlett. Thank you to whomever nominated the story and to everyone who voted for it. I'm actually quite proud of that story and I'm so happy other people liked it, too. If you haven't read it yet, you can find it on my account by clicking on hikingurl at the top of this page.

Many thanks!

Janet