Chapter 29
I woke up in our soft and comfy bed with the feel of Jasper lay behind me cuddling me and keeping me safe. I sighed, it was lovely being lay there with the love of my life, the soft little nudges of our baby waking up in my stomach and the feeling of complete peace from a good nights sleep. It was only slightly ruined with the thought of the Volturi's arrival and knowing that I would have to get up and ready for the day. I wasn't looking forward to our Royal Visit, even after Carlisle and Jasper had reassured me that the Volturi Kings were good men and would not harm me or the Baby.
I opened my eyes and jumped up out of bed, being hit with only the slightest bit of nausea before my stomach calmed and I went to get a shower. Jasper followed me and I have to say my showers have improved dramatically since Jasper and I became physical.
But we couldn't waste too much time in the shower as we knew we had to be at the house as soon as possible.
Once we were out of the shower and dressed I went to get something to eat before Jasper stopped me. I had barely been able to keep anything down so I was surprised that Jasper was stopping me from eating.
"We have to go round straight away, they arrived early hours of this morning, Carlisle called and asked for us to go there as soon as we are up and ready, he said Esme would make you something to eat." I nodded and followed him out the door. We took his car and he drove, I was worrying more and more the closer we got and Jasper projected as much calm as I would let him, a part of me knew there wasn't anything to really worry about, but another part told me that something could go wrong and it would be to do with my child.
We pulled up to the big white house in the middle of the woods and I could sense that something was different, there was a power emitting from the house and it frightened me a little.
Jasper sensed something was wrong with me, of course he did, and he grabbed my hand once he stopped the car outside the house.
"There's nothing to worry about Darlin', everything will be alright, I promise." I nodded, took a deep calming breath and stepped out the car. I grabbed Jasper's hand as we walked up the front steps and leaned against him as we made our way inside.
Straight away when we walked in there were people in gray cloaks standing on either side of the doorway and all around the living room. They looked at us and I saw all of theirs eyes flash to my stomach for a moment before they looked away. Inside the house the feeling of power was stronger, it drew me to the kitchen and I found myself pulling Jasper along with me. I ignored all the vampires in cloaks as I made my way into the kitchen but noticed that the cloaks got darker the closer to the kitchen I got.
We entered the room to find all of the Cullen's, minus Edward and Alice of course, as well as eight other vampires, good thing they had a big kitchen. I instantly recognised the three Volturi leaders. They stood in the middle of the circle of unknown vampires with Carlisle and Emmett, chatting. I noticed that they're cloaks were the darkest and the power I could feel was coming from their direction.
I looked away from them and towards Esme and Rosalie who were over at the stove cooking.
"Hey." I said as I let go of Jasper's hand and made my way towards them. Jasper, after kissing me softly on the head, went in the opposite direction, towards Carlisle.
"Hello dear, are you hungry?" Esme asked smiling from where she was cooking bacon and sausage. My stomach growled, because I hadn't eaten properly in days, but the food didn't smell too appetising. I smiled at them and sat down. Esme set the plate in front of me and I tucked in, it didn't taste exactly horrible, just not very appetising, and it definitely didn't have the desired effect, but I knew I would need the strength and nutrition for my baby's sake, so I ate it all.
I sat with Esme and Rosalie for a while, Rosalie was chatting on and on about a shopping trip for maternity clothes and baby clothes and everything for the nursery, I smiled at her and agreed Esme seemed more excited about the trip than either of us. I had gotten closer to both of the Cullen women in the last few days and I now knew how much this baby meant to them both, as they'd never get to have the chance of having children themselves.
Rose was currently talking about unisex colours for the nursery when I felt Jasper sit beside me and she suddenly stopped. I could feel the powerful presence of the Volturi leaders standing not too far behind me so I turned and faced them.
I looked at Caius first. His platinum blonde hair was stick straight and he wore and emotionless expression, but I could see the curiosity in his eyes as he looked at me and down to my stomach. I wasn't at all surprised by this so I turned my gaze to one of his brothers.
Marcus looked uninterested. Not necessarily like he didn't want to be here, more like he didn't want to be anywhere. I could feel the sorrow and heartache radiating off him and it made me want to hug him tight and tell him everything would be alright. Of course, I resisted the urge, that would be quite inappropriate.
Finally I addressed the last of the Volturi Kings. Aro. He was grinning at me and he couldn't keep his eyes from dancing to my stomach. I could feel the giddy excitement pouring off him in waves and he clapped and he smiled at me. I could tell he was the leader, the final decision was always made by him and it was always listened to.
I smiled at the three kings and then turned to smile at Jasper to find him wrapped in the red blanket of my shield. That would explain me feeling the emotions of the Kings. I took a deep breath and dropped my shield from around Jasper, knowing everyone in the room would be able to see it. Jasper smiled at me and I leaned into him as Aro began laughing, it started as a giggle and quickly erupted into a high pitch howl of laughter. I looked at him, starting to question his sanity and I'm sure my expression showed exactly what I was thinking because when he looked at me a small burst of laughter fell from his lips before he composed himself and held out his hand for me.
I put my palm in his and his eyes closed in concentration. After a moment his eyes opened and he grinned once again.
"Are you questioning my sanity right now child?" He asked, dropping my hand.
"Little bit." I answered honestly and his smile widened.
"I like your honesty."
"Well, it would be kind of hard to tell a lie in a house full of vampires don't you think?" He nodded and I swear I saw Caius smile a little.
"Yes, indeed." He smiled one last time at me then looked from Jasper to Carlisle. "You have an amazing human on yours hands." Jasper grinned and pulled me closer to him.
"Well, you should use the term 'human' loosely when it comes to Bella." Spoke Carlisle.
"Ah, yes, venom has changed her DNA hasn't it." Caius spoke, the curiosity in his eyes only getting stronger. "All the benefits of being a vampire and none of the limitations." His eyes flashed to my stomach once again and I definitely saw a smile this time.
"Well, we're not entirely sure about immortality right now." Carlisle said but Aro waved him off.
"Please, Carlisle, look at her, we all saw the tape, you've done the tests, her blood may not respond to venom but we've all seen her regeneration." I looked sharply at Jasper at the mention of a tape and he looked guiltily back at me.
"You kept the tape?" I asked, ignoring the conversation going on around me.
"I'm sorry Darlin', but I had to show Carlisle and then the Kings wanted to see it, it is proof of your extraordinary abilities." I nodded but looked away from him, I hadn't known what he did with the tape, I had completely forgotten about it, but I never wanted my family to see it and to know that Carlisle, and possibly Esme, Emmett and Rose had seen that, it hurt. Jasper hugged me closer and I swear if we'd gotten any closer we'd be fused together.
"I am sorry Isabella, but it was necessary for us to see it." I looked up into the red eyes of Marcus and smiled, there was less sorrow in his eyes when he addressed me and it made me want to smile even brighter.
"It's okay, I just didn't want anyone to see it." He nodded and Aro turned back to us.
"Isabella, I would like to get to know you more personally, see first hand how extraordinary you are, would you mind terribly if we stayed a few days to assess your abilities?" I sighed and looked to Jasper.
"Does this mean more running and fighting and stuff?" He nodded.
"Yes, but we won't push you too hard, we wouldn't want to hurt the Baby." Right then I felt a big nudge from the Baby and I could tell that the Kings had seen it, all three of their eyes opened wide and they stared at my stomach for a moment before composing themselves.
Aro reached out his hand and smiled up at me. "May I?" He asked reaching for my stomach. I nodded and he put his hand over where the Baby always kicks. I felt a nudge and Aro grinned.
"You're carrying a miracle, you know that." I smiled as he took his hand off my stomach.
"I know." Right then I felt my stomach lurch and my breakfast start to come back up. I ran to the bathroom fast and puked up my entire breakfast. Jasper brushed my hair back as I heaved a few last times and then helped me up. I flushed the toilet, brushed my teeth and washed my face before we made our way back into the kitchen and I sat on the same stool as before.
"Still can't keep anything down?" Carlisle asked as I sat down. I shook my head and leaned against Jasper closing my eyes, puking really takes away my energy.
"Have you tried blood?" Caius asked making my eyes pop open as I stared at him.
"Blood?" I asked, noticing that even my voice now sounded weak.
"Yes your child will be more vampire than human, it wouldn't be a surprise if it's craving blood not your human food." A look of wonder crossed over Carlisle's face before he ran out of the room without explanation. He was back seconds later with a bag of blood in his hands.
"I got some just in case you might need it." He started pouring it into a plastic opaque cup, when the bag was empty he put a lid on the cup and up in a straw. He passed it to me and smiled. "Go on try it." I looked down at the cup and grimaced, they really wanted me to drink some donated blood? The idea was kinda gross, but I would do anything for my baby and the lack of food in my system was really starting to wear me out. I looked to Jasper who nodded and smiled.
I would try anything for my baby, I reminded myself as I raised the straw to my lips and took a drink. The taste exploded in my mouth and I had to stop myself from moaning. It was like chocolate strawberries and caramel and I kept drinking until the cup was empty.
Thanks for reading. Leave your thoughts.
KV =D