Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything associated with the series.
A/N: I don't re-read what I write after I've written it. I just use spell check and then call it done. So there are probably lots of mistakes; I apologize in advance for all of them.
Waking up that morning to both Jane and Heidi standing in front of me, talking quietly to themselves, was reassuring. Just seeing them there and knowing that even though they seemed to not be paying too much attention, they were definitely keeping an eye on me. It made me feel safe, more than I had ever felt before. It wasn't just physical safety that they made me feel either, it was also emotional safety. It was something that I wasn't used to feeling; even with Charlie.
"Good morning Bella." Jane said as I started to stretch to help wake me up more.
"I hate to tell you this, but our schedule is a bit tight this morning." Heidi said and I could a small frown on her face. "The Cullen's are arriving a bit earlier than expected; something with their flight plans changed or something."
"How much earlier?" I nervously asked, afraid that they were already in the castle and everyone was just waiting for me to wake up.
"Much too early for having a psychic in their coven." Jane grumbled with her ever present sneer.
"They will be here in about two hours." Heidi answered and I frowned. I guess it was time to get ready.
"Okay." I said, not sure if I should feel happy or not. Even when they got here, they wouldn't meet with the queens right away, they would meet with Edward first and get his side of the story and then they we would all meet up in the throne room.
After getting dressed for the day, Heidi and Jane walked me to the dining room where Sulpicia had apparently decided to cook something for me to eat. The girls found it extremely amusing, though slightly concerned since the queen wasn't one to cook… in over three thousand years.
When I walked into the small dining room, the three queens as well as four guards were there waiting for me. The guards were seemingly trying to look like they weren't paying attention to the six of us and trying to look like they had just so happened to be in the same room as us, but they were failing. What use did a vampire have in a dining room?
"When we are expecting trouble, the guard tends to be on extra alert." Didyme answered my unasked question when I paused in the doorway. "They shadow us to make sure nothing happens to us."
"Even though they are completely unneeded." Athenodora said with a sneer. I swear, Jane had to have been related to her somehow with how similar those two personalities seemed to be.
"We know that dear, and I'm sure they know that." Sulpicia soothed her mate. "But it never hurts to err on the side of caution."
"Is there going to be trouble?" I worriedly asked. I didn't think the Cullen's would do anything, even though everyone else seemed to think so. The Cullen's were kind, nice people. They may have left me, but they did so because Edward thought it would protect me. They were doing what their son/brother wanted and had thought was best. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to let them get away with their actions that easy anymore. They let one boy, not even the coven leader, decide what the coven should do. Not even the Volturi left the decisions to one person; they had three queens for that.
"We hope not." Didyme answered. "But it never hurts to be prepared for anything unexpected."
"Let us worry about it for now dear, you just come here and eat." Sulpicia said with near child-like excitement. "I'm quite anxious to see how you like it."
I smiled at the thought of a vampire caring what a human thought of their cooking. Who would have ever thought of that? Not even Esme was that worried, she was confident in her cooking skills, just not sure about if I would like the food itself or not.
I ended up eating a simple breakfast, nothing too exciting. But it wasn't bad; and Sulpicia was absolutely ecstatic about that. It wasn't until after I was done eating that the queens brought up what was about to happen. They told me the Cullen's had just arrived and were already with Edward in his room and were waiting to be brought to the throne room. The queens assured me though that they could wait for as long as was needed if I had any questions I wanted to ask anyone.
But I didn't have any questions. I had thought I would want to ask them everything again, just to confirm everything they had told me. Now that I had the option to ask them though, I didn't really want to ask them anything. I just wanted to see the Cullen's and see what would happen once everyone was together. I also really wanted to see Edward.
The girls had made me practically forget that he was in the same castle this whole time. I had barely thought of him while I visited with the queens and my girls. I was so caught up in them that I had barely thought of Edward. I couldn't help but feel guilty about not visiting someone who had meant so much to me.
"Are you ready then dear?" Didyme asked with a tilt of her head.
"To go straight to the throne room?" I asked, trying my best to keep my nerves from showing in my voice; but I was sure every vampire in the room heard it anyways.
"Yes and then shortly after, the Cullen's will be escorted into the room." Athenodora said.
"Alright, I'm ready." I said as I stood up, Heidi immediately looping one arm around my own and Jane wrapping her arm around my waist on the other side.
"You will be able to sit in my seat." Sulpicia said in a near conspiracy tone of voice. "We decided last night that it would be amusing to show the Cullen's just how important you are to us. We do not have a throne for our princess, but sitting on the middle throne of the queens will surely show them what you mean to us."
"It will hopefully help to curve any problematic outbursts that may or may not happen." Didyme explained their line of thinking.
"It will also help that you will be in between practically in the middle of us with your mates on either side of you, will make it difficult for Edward to do anything if he decides to try and 'rescue' you." I had never thought I would ever see Athenodora use air quotes, but she did. And of course she sneered while she used them.
"You all really think Edward will do something, don't you?"
They had said as much yesterday, and everyday this past week. But I hadn't wanted to believe them. How could I believe that Edward would do anything to really hurt me? It was like they were expecting him to attack me and I just couldn't believe them. But this past week of listening and watching how Heidi and Jane, my supposed mates according to everyone else, behaved around me; and the same with the queens, I came to some very real concerns about how they acted around their mates compared to how Edward acted around me. Edward and I had acted the complete opposite than the queens and Jane and Heidi.
This past week had made me doubt so much about Edward when I really didn't want to. So, I wasn't really worried about how Edward would act during the meeting; I was worried about how I would. I was worried my emotions would take over, especially after being reeled in all week since finding Edward, I was bound to explode and I was sure I was getting close to that point.
"We do." Athenodora answered and I had thought anyone but her would have answered. She was preparing for a fight and if she felt she was best to answer this question, I was concerned. "He is a young vampire that believes his mate is in trouble and being kept from him. Until he realizes that you really are not his mate, he is a threat. Vampires that believe their mate is in danger are always a threat."
"But you have nothing to worry about dear, we won't let Edward do anything too stupid." Didyme assured as we approached the throne doors much sooner than I had thought we would.
"I um, I don't think he will do anything too stupid." I weakly said, still wanting to stubbornly defend Edward if only out of habit, but I didn't really believe what I was saying. Not anymore.
I only received a non-comital hum from Sulpicia and quick growl of distaste from the two women on my arms. I knew they didn't believe what I said and unfortunately, I was starting to not believe me either.
We walked into the throne room not too much later and Athenodora and Didyme immediately went to their thrones, Jane and Heidi escorted me to Sulpicia's and as I sat on her throne, which they had thankfully added several cushions so that it was comfortable to sit on and to lean against. Jane and Heidi then continued to stand on either side of the throne with one hand on the arm rest. Sulpicia opted to stand in front of me as we waited for the Cullen's to come.
"They are almost here." Heidi whispered to me just when I was about to ask.
I could practically feel myself grow anxious about meeting the Cullen's again. I couldn't decide if I was nervous about seeing people that the Volturi were so sure that they were going to cause trouble for everyone. Or if I was excited to see them after I hadn't see them all for so long. Even though I had seen Alice a week ago, I hadn't spent much time with her. I didn't know if I wanted to stay where I was and use Sulpicia as a pseudo shield since she was standing only a few feet in front of me, or if I wanted to see if I could give Esme or Emmett a giant hug. I had no idea what I wanted to do.
"Welcome Cullen's." Sulpicia greeted as two guards opened the door and walked into the room with the Cullen's close behind them. "It's been far too long since we've last visited." I could just hear from her tone that she had a wide smile on her face.
The Cullen's were barely into the room before all their eyes zeroed in on me. They all, except Alice and Edward, looked very shocked to see me; Carlisle even looked a little concerned.
"Bella!" Edward yelled at me as his eyes widened in happiness at seeing me. "Why haven't you seen me? They wouldn't let you see me, would they?" He angrily asked as he started to walk towards me.
"I don't think so Edward. You can stay here with your coven." Sulpicia said as she got in the way of Edward getting any closer to me. "You are here to answer for the charges brought against you. If you do not wish to try to defend yourself, then we can just sentence you and we can get on with our day." Even though I wasn't facing her, I was sure she was smiling; but there was an edge to her voice that warned that even though she was being nice about things, she was on edge and shouldn't be tested.
Edward looked at Sulpicia, as if he was reading something she was thinking and then looked back to me.
"Don't worry Bella, I'll get you out of here." Edward swore to me, causing the two girls next to me to growl and to just slightly tighten their grip on me, like they were afraid that I was going to get up and go to him. That idea had briefly crossed my mind, since I thought it would be nice to have his arms wrapped around me again; but I didn't feel that motivated to move again.
"Watch what you say boy." Athenodora said with a sneer.
"Can you at least let her tell us if she is okay or not?" Esme asked with worry clear in her tone and on her face. She kept glancing between me and Sulpicia, it was like she was afraid to just ask me herself but still wanted the answer.
"Does she look ill or damaged in anyway?" Sulpicia said, not bothering to keep the annoyance from her tone. She actually looked like she was fighting to not sneer at Esme.
"Bella?" Esme asked me, seemingly given more confidence from Sulpicia not telling her not to talk to me.
"Esme." I said in a near gasp, so happy to see the woman who had acted more like my mother than the woman who had actually given birth to me. I thought it was really telling that I had barely thought of not seeing her again and hadn't even asked the Volturi to tell something to Renee; I had only thought about Charlie.
Without thinking how anyone would react or if I shouldn't do it, I shook off Heidi's and Jane's hands and moved quickly towards Esme. I wanted to hug her, I wanted to feel that maternal comfort that I had always felt from her in waves.
Vaguely, from the corner of my eyes, I saw Athenodora and Didyme stand up when I moved past Sulpicia to hug Esme; who welcomed me with open arms. It had been so long since I had seen her. Even though I was both upset and sad that she had left and I didn't necessarily want to welcome her back with open arms, it was hard not to do that when I finally saw her. It was incredibly hard to stay mad at a woman like Esme.
As much as I wanted to stay near Esme, and even try to catch up with her and get her side of the story of what happened and of why she didn't say goodbye, a hand on my shoulder pulled me away. Sulpicia pulled me from Esme and wrapped a possessive arm around my shoulders.
"Why don't you go back to your other two mothers dear, and that way they can tell you of anything important that happens in vampire culture during this meeting that you may not know?" Sulpicia asked me, though I knew she wasn't asking. She was letting the Cullen's know who the queens believed they were to me, though from only hearing a few gasps, I was sure Alice had already given them a heads up. "We wouldn't want you to feel left out again, do we?" She asked me again, looking only the Cullen's this time and I knew she was doing her best to insult them.
"Or she can stand with her family and we will tell her." Edward said and I nearly rolled me eyes at his stupidity. As much as I really wouldn't have minded that, I would prefer to do what the vampire queen said. Before going to Voltera, I would have thought it was very romantic that he wanted to protect me and keep me close to his side. At that moment though, I thought it was stupid that he would practically outright want to go against what a very powerful queen wanted.
"It's alright Edward." I said before Sulpicia, or anyone else for that matter, could say anything. "I don't mind being around Didyme or Athenodora and I don't want to make things more tense than they need to be." I was sure that if I fought to stay standing with the Cullen's, the queens would let me. They had no problem letting me make my own decisions. They just wouldn't be very happy about it and would -probably that much harsher towards the Cullen's. I really didn't want that, so I just walked back to my seat.
"If you cannot control yourself Edward, we will make sure to keep you under control." Athenodora warned from her new spot of standing next Sulpicia's throne. Both her and Didyme had taken over one side of the throne, while Heidi and Jane had the other side.
I was sure that Athenodora was going to hug me when I finally got to my adopted seat, but only Didyme did. She seemed to hold me for longer than what I thought was necessary, but I also didn't think the hug was necessary either. When she finally let me go, I sent a small smile towards Athenodora, that actually seemed to make her relax, by just a fraction because there was no way she would want most of the people in the room to see her as anything but on guard, and then sat down when Jane placed a possessive arm around my shoulders.
"Now, let's get on to business shall we? I have things I want to be able to do today." Sulpicia said, no longer using the jovial tone she seemed to normally like to use.
"I'm sure that we can clear up any misgivings in a timely manner." Carlisle said with an easy smile, his eyes showing just a hint of concern.
Edward had kept his gaze on me and it was actually starting to make me uncomfortable. The way he was staring at me was in a way that I had never seen him stare at me before. It made me uncomfortable and I was very tempted to ask Athenodora or even Jane to do something to get him to stop. I truly felt like prey at that moment and I didn't like it. The last time I had felt that way was just before Laurent had attacked me. I didn't like what was happening with Edward.
"I'm sure." Athenodora said, her sneer firmly in place.
"Come." Sulpicia ordered Carlisle as she held out her hand towards him and I knew that she wanted to read through his thoughts what had happened and exactly the role he had played in everything. She wasn't going to give him a chance to hide or leave anything out of the story.
"She's going to read all of their thoughts to make sure nothing is left out and that no one is unjustly punished." Didyme whispered into my ear as Carlisle gave his hand to Sulpicia. All the vampires were nice enough to act like they hadn't heard Didyme whisper to me, even though I knew they could.
"That's smart of her." I replied, earning an eye roll from Rosalie and a frown from Edward. Sulpicia's gift made it impossible for someone to lie to her and for the queens to punish someone for something they haven't done.
One by one, Sulpicia held everyone's hand. She didn't say anything to anyone and kept a very stoic face. She wasn't giving anything away about what she was thinking; at least until she got to the last person. She had saved Edward for last.
"I had opted to not read you in respect to my history with Carlisle." Sulpicia said when she finally received Edwards' attention, which seemed to let Heidi and Jane to marginally relax. "It would seem that was a mistake. Now you will show me everything and we will get to the bottom of what has happened." Sulpicia said with a wicked grin just before she grabbed Edward's neck in such a tight grip that even I could start to see cracks forming. I was impressed that the only thing Edward did in retaliation was to grip Sulpicia's arm; but I couldn't tell if he was trying to move her arm or not. I chose to believe that he was just letting her do what she wanted so as to not upset her more.
"Now I believe you will find that we meant no harm." Carlisle said once Sulpicia released Edward and turned around so fast that I was sure if she wasn't a vampire, she would have had jetlag. She had her eyes closed when she faced us but from just looking at her and from the way her mates tensed, she clearly didn't like something she saw.
"Alec, you are to keep Edward contained downstairs. Felix, you are to escort the Cullen's back to their assigned room and you are to remain inside to ensure Alice does not share anything about what we decide." Sulpicia ordered just before she opened her eyes to reveal they were all black.
In seconds, the room was cleared out with the exception of the queens and Jane and Heidi. The Cullen's hadn't even put up a fight; or if they had, I hadn't seen it. They had actually moved at vampire speed to leave the room. I didn't even hear Edward say or do anything and I had thought he would have done something.
"Can I go see them?" I asked when no one did or said anything. I wanted to at least visit with Esme, maybe even Emmett since he seemed happy to see me. I just hadn't had a chance to say anything to him before Sulpicia pulled me back.
"I think it best if you stay with us." Didyme said; there was a tenseness in her voice that I had never heard before. It was unusual to hear Didyme as anything but calm and collected.
"They are a bit put out that you willingly hugged Esme, a woman who has filled a space in your heart that they want, and yet you haven't hugged them." Heidi told me before I could ask Didyme why myself. "It's a vampire territorial feeling thing. It's something that Jane and I are struggling with, with Edward being here. Although, it seems the queens are having a bit of a harder time handling their emotions." Heidi said with a tense smirk, showing that she had only said that in a way to try and ease the tension that was slowly building in the room.
"We are not having a difficult time." Athenodora hissed. "That woman has no right to touch you or to even ask about you." There was no question that Athenodora was mad and I had to admit, a mad Athenodora was a scary sight. If it wasn't for Jane and Heidi right next to me, I was sure I would be trying to get away. In fact, all three queens looked really pissed and on the verge of losing control; which I had previously thought to be impossible. "She left you, abandoned you. She deserves to know nothing about you any longer."
I couldn't help but frown at what she said. I knew that Esme had left but I wanted to see past that. There was just something about Esme, Alice and even Emmett that made me want to see past them leaving me. I at least wanted to talk with them and try to understand why they did what they did. I just wanted my life back to the way it was; even though as even day passed by, the possibility of that happening was lower and lower.
"But I still want to talk with her." I said, quickly becoming on the defensive. "We were really close." I added, hoping that would help my case. But the dark looks all three queens wore said that it didn't.
"I see no reason for you to be anywhere near that woman." Sulpicia said. "For a woman that treated you like her daughter, to only leave you on your own with a vengeful vampire after you, she's not worth much to me. That proves she should have nothing to do with you."
"She did have a strong maternal bond towards you, and she still does." Didyme said, sounding like she wasn't happy with what she was revealing. "But on your end, the bond is growing weaker. It was severed and it seems to be trying to reconnect, but it never will. She hurt the bond so much that it will never be as strong as it once was; no matter how much you both may want it to be."
It seemed like they were trying to do everything they could to talk me out of talking with Esme, with wanting to see her. After everything they had explained, I suppose I still hadn't believed it. They were threatened by Esme. I didn't think they should be. But at the same time, I also thought that they had no chance in replacing Esme's spot in my heart, someone whom I still wanted to see as a mother figure. But perhaps, to them, that was the problem.
"We have a lot to discuss though." Sulpicia said, her eyes slowly starting to fade from black to her normal red. "I've learned a lot from reading them." She said with something that could have been a frown or a sneer.
I wasn't even going to ask if I could go see Esme then. I knew that the queens wouldn't want me to. Something told me that they would let me go if I really wanted to and pushed to go. They just wouldn't be happy about it. Even though I wanted to go and actually visit with them, something kept me from asking to leave and just staying where I was. I didn't want to leave. Not only would I figure out what they were going to do with the Cullen's faster, but I wanted to be included in what they would decide and I knew that they would include me.
"I believe we should have this conversation in a more comfortable setting." Didyme said as she looked towards me.
The throne wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but even with the cushions they had put on it, sitting on the hard, cushioned surface wasn't the best seat to sit on for an extended period of time. I was starting to fidget from being on the uncomfortable seat.
"There is a lot to discuss and I want to make sure we do not make any mistakes." Sulpicia added.
"Or any rash decisions." I mumbled before I could sensor my words.
"We do not make rash decisions." Athenodora argued right away, reminding me of their super hearing. "We simply make quick decisions with no regrets."
"That doesn't sound much better dear." Sulpicia said, seemingly completely calmed down not that Esme wasn't around and I wasn't talking about going to see the Cullen's. "Now come, let's go discuss what I've learned and what we will do. The sooner we can be rid of the Cullen's, the better." She finished with narrowed eyes that made me slightly worried about what exactly she wanted to do with the Cullen's before they left. I suppose the calm exterior was only a façade, but at least she didn't want to do something drastic right away.
Hopefully I could influence them, in some way, to not hurt the Cullen's too much. I knew they needed to be punished somehow but I didn't want them to be punished too harshly; they had been my family at one point.