Chapter 2

We were led down a dark passageway, the only noise my footsteps echoing off the stone walls and the ominous flapping of the guard's cloaks. Well, this was just fantastic, I was gonna die because of Edward, I should have just let him die and this whole mess wouldn't have even happened. I mean who does he think he is, dragging me into all this, he doesn't love me, he's only obsessed. If this doesn't end, he's going to get the both of us killed, if he hasn't already. I hear a deep chuckle coming from behind me, filling the tense silence, making everybody jump.

"Jesus Bells, you really do despise him, don't you" Emmett laughs out. I hear the guards ahead of us let out snorts of laughter. My cheeks were on fire as I realised, I'd been muttering my thoughts out loud.

"Stupid, fucking vampire hearing" I murmur under my breath, causing the whole group to descend into silent giggles, well everyone except Edward. At least this relieved some of the tension as the next moment I hear a childlike voice coming from one of the guards.

"Well, well Miss Swan, it does seem you have a very strong opinion of Mr Cullen here" she chuckled, her entire face lighting up with mischief. I only respond with a cheesy grin, how are these people so feared? They continue to lead us down the passageway until we came across an old, great, wooden door. Jane, the guard member that had just spoken, pushed it open as if it weighed nothing, how useful it would be to have vampire strength. As we pass through, we are met with a large, spacious room, the only light coming from the flickering candles spaced evenly around the walls. We are greeted by a beautiful, tall, blonde, very human woman who shakily addresses us with a shaky welcome back. The guard doesn't even acknowledge her, but just sweep past her into the throne room opposite. At my confused expression, Emmett explains with a grave face,

"She's hoping to be turned someday, she thinks if she plays her cards right, they won't kill her but make her like them instead"

"Wait, she's here of her free will, she's not being forced to be here" I question, incredulously. Emmett just shakes his head, a sombre expression crossing his face. I look up to see three figures resting on thrones at the end of the room, each with striking red eyes and thin papery skin that looked like it would tear apart if they moved too much. The man in the middle, I gathered, must be Aro, the leader and, of course, had to be another mind reader. Let's just hope my weird mental block holds up. We stop several feet away from the three men as Emmett moves, putting me behind him, eliciting a laugh from the blond vampire, Caius.

"What do you think you can do" he scoffs "you are surrounded by the most elite vampires in this world, nothing you do..." He was interrupted by Aro, breaking in with a condescending tone,

"Now, now Caius no need to be so rude, they are our guests after all" his eyes began scanning the group his beady eyes fixing on mine causing me to shiver.

"Ah Isabella, I have heard so much about you, or should I say, seen so much about you" he exclaimed almost jumping with joy, "my, my, I've never seen a gift so powerful in a mere human before, I can only dream about your power once you are turned" he grins out excitedly. Just then a roar comes from Edward as he screams in protest.

"Edward shut the fuck up" I spit out "you know this is what I want, so I don't see what the big deal is" Yes I would have liked to wait till I'd finished high school but what can you do, at least I'll be a better match to other vampires than I am now, anyone in this room could snap my neck before I could even blink it's infuriating feeling so weak all the time. And to think Edward has the balls to still believe that he has any say over any part of my life just makes me despise him all the more. I look back into Aros' eyes as he stretches his hand out towards me,

"May I?" he questions. Knowing I have no other choice I move towards him, causing a deep growl to explode from Emmett's chest. I see the guards drop into a fighting stance but Aro merely waves and hand and they back off.

"Emmet calm down, what's he gonna do?" I say flippantly, knowing there is a lot he could do. I give him a small smile and continue my journey over to Aro who, surprisingly gently, grasps my hand within his and pauses, his eyes glazing over. We stand like this for a few seconds until he barks out an insane laugh, causing me to jump.

"Ahh, Isabella what an anomaly you are" he smiles, his eyes sparkling. Well, what was I supposed to say to that? I just nod my head looking back towards Emmett. He releases my hand saying, "I eagerly await your next visit, I am intrigued to see how your abilities develop into your immortal life". Wait, so does this mean I'm not being turned now? At my confused expression, Aro chuckled,

"What? Do you think of me as some type of monster? Isabella, of course, I wouldn't expect you to cut off your ties with your human life so quickly, no, my only request is that you are turned within a year, that will be all, I hope to see you soon". Taking the hint, I thank him and make my way back towards Emmett, pulling him out of the room. I don't hear the others behind us, assuming they are finishing up with the three brothers. Emmett and I make our way back out of the castle to the car, I can't believe how well that went. I have to be turned, which I wanted, and I still have time to finish school. I become lost in my own thoughts until I feel the breeze blowing lightly on my face. I look around and notice that we are in the same courtyard as earlier, only now it is empty. I am pulled into a tight hug by Emmett.

"Em" I squeeze out, "can't breathe" This causes him to loosen his grip, but he doesn't let go.

"Fuck Bells, I thought they were going to kill you, I felt so powerless, there was nothing I could do" he chocked out. Wow, he just summed up exactly how I feel around all vampires all the time. He finally releases me, scanning my face. I give him a small smile under his scrutinisation which causes him to give me a wide, toothy grin.

"I can't believe you're gonna be like me," he says in a whisper causing my face to fall. Of course, he wouldn't be excited about my change, now he's going to be stuck with me forever. I thought he'd finally started seeing me as more than just a friend, but I was obviously wrong. He must have seen my face fall cause he quickly explains,

"Come on Bells it's not the end of the world, you'll love it," he says with a grin. Always one to find the silver lining. I need to let him off the hook before he feels like he owes me or has to take care of me after my change. I don't want him to be my babysitter.

"Look, Emmett, I get this is an unnecessary hassle for you and I'm sorry this has all happened. Once I'm turned, I'll be out of your hair, I won't be a mess for you to deal with anymore and you can get on with your life once I'm gone" I rush out not meeting his piercing stare. I rapidly blink to stop the moisture collecting in my eyes. I will not cry in front of him. He doesn't say a word, the silence is suffocating.

"Bella look at me" came his gentle voice. I shook my head not trusting my voice. I hear him take a step towards me and feel his fingers under my chin, pushing my head up to meet his gaze. "Don't you ever think that you'd be a burden, you are the only thing that has made my life worth living. Before you came along my life was on repeat, carrying out the same mundane tasks every day. I forgot that life could be beautiful and interesting. I forgot what it felt like to live, and you gave me that back. I owe you my life and I plan on repaying that debt every day until you command me to stop. You are nota burden." By the end of his speech, there are tears flooding down my face, I look into his eyes and see pure honesty. I take a step forward and crash my lips with his, pouring all the want and desire I feel for him into the kiss. He returns it with equal passion, sucking on my lower lip, causing me to moan. He grins, I can almost feel the satisfaction rolling off of him until he is forcefully dragged away and thrown across the courtyard. Suddenly there are cold hands checking over my body, I try to back away, but one hand tightens around my wrist causing me to groan in pain. I look into the striking green eyes that I once found mesmerising but now only make me feel disgusted.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me" I spit out, trying in vain to remove my arm from his grasp. He just smirks at me causing my blood to boil.

"Bella I wasn't the one trying to drink from you now was I" he states slowly in his usual condescending tone. Why does he insist on talking to me like I'm a child, he is so arrogant he genuinely thinks he's above me just because he's a fucking vampire?

"Remove your hand from her now before I remove it from your body" comes a chilling voice from behind Edward. I look over his shoulder to see Emmett practically shaking with rage as he makes his way over to Edward who looks like he may actually shit himself. I stifle my laugh at the look on Edwards' face as he slowly loosens his grip on me. I pull away and run over to Emmett who quickly places me behind him. I can't wait till I'm less destructible and I can stop being treated like I'm going to break if someone so much as touches me. All of a sudden, Jaspar, Alice and Rose are standing in the middle of the courtyard looking between Emmett and Edward, judging whether they needed to get involved. You could almost see the wheels turning in Jasper's head as his military training started to kick in.

"Edward just back the fuck off" came Rosalie's cold voice, "she's not even worth it". I felt Emmett tense up at her words, but I just squeezed his hand and lead him back over to the car. This was not the time for an all-out fight. I could feel my exhaustion finally catching up to me as I fought to keep my eyes open.

"Can we please just leave, I am too tired to deal with this just now and am really looking forward to being back home so if you all wouldn't mind" I finish as I jump in the car, Emmett following just behind me. As he slides into the seat beside me, I rest my head on his muscular shoulder, it being far more comfortable than it looks, and fall asleep within seconds. When I next open my eyes I am being gently shaken awake by Emmett who explains that we're outside the airport. Great, another 10-hour flight. I groggily make my way out of the car, stretching once I'm out. I feel Emmett snake his hand into mine and I look up to see a massive smile on his face. I give him a toothy grin in return as we head into the airport. I can't believe this is happening, me and Emmett, are we together now or am I just a quick fling for a bored vampire. I guess there's only one way to find out.