Chapter 14: Massacre

Edward wasn't coming. It had been a year and he hadn't come. I was beginning to feel like maybe he wasn't ever going to come. Maybe he just didn't love me anymore because of how stupid I had acted before we left Volterra the last time. I could tell what my worries were doing to me. I was unable to think clearly, unable to do anything without drooping my shoulders and dragging my feet. I was becoming depressed.

I did still keep practicing on the humans, however. By now, I didn't long for their blood at all. I knew that because I was disheartened, I wouldn't be able to do manipulate them. But I surprised myself. It worked just as well as if I were in high spirits!

I was becoming proud of myself. I was now able to manipulate, even when I was over emotional, and I had been able to keep my diet secret from the Volturi for a whole year. They still hadn't figured out my secrets.

I told myself, that in no time, I would be able to get past the Volturi. I would be able to go back to Edward. In my state of happiness, I decided that he didn't come because he didn't love me, but he was trying to find the right time.

But then, a sickening thought crossed my mind. What if he wasn't coming because he was hurt? Or…gulp dead?

I put my cloak on, carefully putting it over my eyes so that nobody could see their color, and made my face gloomy; which wasn't hard. I was going to find out from Aro what happened to Edward, if anything. I was going to try to be as subtle as possible.

I wandered through the corridors, excitement and fear flooding through me. Aro would know wouldn't he? Demetri could track their…scents, couldn't he? Of course they would know if Edward were…but no, I refused to think the word.

It wasn't long before I found Aro. He could always be found in the spacious main room. This time, however his back was toward me. He usually knew when I was coming, and would greet me warmly, despite my hostility towards him. This time he was focusing on something else. I cleared my throat but he did not turn around.

I followed his gaze to an open door. A beautiful vampire was coming through it, followed by a huge crowd of people. She had purple eyes, which I suspected was the result of blue contacts over red irises. I looked more closely, and noticed the crowd piling in through the wide door consisted completely of humans.

They were all gaping at the high ceiling and the medieval atmosphere. At first, I didn't understand what they were doing here. Weren't they the ones who chose to keep their identities secret? Well they do break their own rules, I thought. They're the ones who used force to make me join them. But why so many people?

Then it hit me, making me gasp in horror. They were going to hunt all of them.

Aro must have heard my gasp, for he turned around, and smiled at me. "So, you've decided to show your face, have you? I'm glad you get to see this! It truly is exciting how we get our food."

I shivered and met his gaze. His eyes were hungry.

"But…but." I stammered. I couldn't form my thoughts into coherent words.

"Well, we could never get you out here to experience it, so we were forced to give you two humans and hoped it was enough. But I think you'll find this way more enjoyable. This way, you can choose, and you can have as many as you want."

I gulped when I thought about what was going to happen. Aro turned back around with a satisfied smile, and lifted his hands.

"Welcome, Americans! Welcome to Volterra! This should be the most amazing last experience you could ever hope for." I noticed some confused heads turning from side to side uncomfortably. They had no idea what was in store for them, but from his words, they probably realized it wasn't good.

I closed my eyes hard and tried to shut everything out. But even I knew it wasn't going to help anyone. I opened them again, and my gaze landed on someone familiar. "Phil?" I said aloud, but no one heard me. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. MOM! I screamed in my head. Her head shot up and I knew I must have screamed it in her head too. Our eyes met, and I saw her gasp and tug on Phil's sleeve. He looked up too, and surprise took over his face.

Mom, I'll explain later. Please stay calm. I'm going to get you and Phil out of here.

Just after I said that, all the members of the Volturi, including Aro, and their bodyguards, became ravenous and cornered their prey. I rummaged my brain for an idea, and the most obvious one came to mind.

STOP! I screamed frantically. EVERYBODY STOP, NOW!!

And what was a blur was now still. They all looked at me quizzically. Stay where you are, I ordered them. They seemed frozen where they stood.

I've decided that I don't want to take orders from you anymore. You will let me leave, and you will let ALL of these humans free. In fact, you all will now take orders from me. I will give you a choice. Surrender, or kill yourselves. Either way is fine by me. But don't ask me to help with the job. I'm not interested in murder.

They all looked completely stunned as I took dictatorship. All of the Volturi bowed their heads in surrender. I smiled victoriously to myself, and went on.

You must be surprised by my sudden power, but it was you who underestimated me. You should have known better than to let someone of more power be held under your rule.

I saw Aro smile. I nodded at him and let him speak. He clapped his hands together and began, "Well this is very interesting! Very interesting indeed! I always did have faith in you! This won't be so bad, being under your rule…"

I gave him an encouraging smile, and the rest of his family seemed to be relieved. If Aro could relax in this situation, why couldn't they?

"I really do think this lifestyle will agree with you, Bella. All bow down to your new leader. I wouldn't dare defy her."

I put up a hand. "No, that is not what I want. All I need is respect. You must understand that I will do whatever I can to be fair to all vampires, and not be greedy, such as yourselves. You decided to make me join you, but you didn't consider the consequences. I'm like your Queen Bee now," I smiled at my comparison. "Don't worry though. All of you are free to live normal lives. After you set the humans free."

Jane spoke up, anger seeping out of her voice. She was going to be more difficult. "If you're our queen bee, is Edward your drone?"

If I weren't a vampire, my face would have shot up in a bright red. "That is not an appropriate question." Aro began laughing.

"Well, I'm glad we can joke about this."

"You all can stay here, for this can remain your home. However you now have no authority over anyone, except any vampires in Volterra. I will allow you to rule over that much, at least. Maybe that will make you happy. If it gets out of hand, I will have to take over."

Aro nodded in agreement. "Very well done, Bella. I'm so glad someone has been able to best us! What excitement! I can't wait to see how it unfolds."

I nodded back at him, and looked back at the astonished humans. I would need to erase their memories later.

I felt it was then safe for me to explain to my mother. I took a step forward when I heard someone call my name.

"Edward!" I cried. I forgot everything and ran towards the direction of his voice, jumping up at him when I was close enough. I hugged him as if for dear life, and kissed him, barely conscious of the eyes boring into my back. "I missed you so much!"

"What happened?"

"I control the Volturi now," I said happily. "I'm the 'queen' of vampires! You sure did miss a lot!"

"You have some explaining to do…"

"YES! BELLA MARIE SWAN, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"Oh crap," I murmured under my breath, and turned to see her fuming face. I was having thoughts about erasing her memories right there, but I decided against it. She deserved an explanation.

A/N: Hey sorry it took me so long to write. I was in Shasta if you didn't know. To answer some questions, the reason the Volturi allowed Bella to have her own room, was so she could be as comfortable and "happy" as possible. They wanted to use her and she was useless if she was depressed, or so they thought. This story is almost over, so I'm going to put a poll up of what story I should do next. Please vote! It would mean a lot to me! New Hope will be my priority, first though. Also, I just became a betareader, so if you are interested in me betareading your stories, please let me know. I have some more news on my profile, so check it out. ;)

Elizabeth