Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
A/N: This is not Beta'd and I only use spell check on Microsoft, so there are errors… I'm just too lazy to go fix any of them. Sorry about any missing and/or using the wrong word.
After spending some time in the garden, just staring at everything, Athenodora led me back to my room. We had ended up staying out much later than I thought we had but I couldn't find myself wanting to break away from her embrace. I know I shouldn't feel that way since I'm still technically with Edward, but I can't help it. Having her arms around me just made me feel so safe. If it wasn't for her saying that I should probably get some sleep, I probably would have stayed out there longer and not realize how tired I had actually gotten.
Athenodora dropped me off at my room, just by the door and lingered there as we had said goodbye. Thinking back about it, I should have realized what she had wanted to do. She seemed nervous at first, like she was afraid of what my reaction would be. She was able to quickly get over that. Before I could turn around to actually go into my room, Athenodora cupped my face and kissed me on my cheek. Her lips lingered there for a few seconds before she slowly pulled away. I was completely frozen in my spot. She winked at me, stroked my cheek as she removed her hand and then left. I'm honestly not sure if I preferred her there with me or watching her leave. I never realized how much a woman's hips could be so seductive until I watched her leave.
It took nearly an hour for my mind to calm down and allow me to fall asleep. I was almost tempted to go to the library and try reading something to get my mind to calm down and let me sleep; but I thought better of it. I was sure that if I had gone to the library Didyme would probably be there and I didn't want to run into any of the leaders with my mind still on over drive from being with Athenodora.
The following morning I woke up with the sun in my face. It was partially blocked by a thin curtain so it didn't hurt my eyes but it definitely got me to wake up. I stretched my body, as most do when they wake up from a really nice sleep and as I looked at the clock they had in here for me, I saw a red rose with a note attached to it. I knew what the red rose meant, what girl didn't? I was a little cautious of the note though, I'm not sure what to expect. I already knew without looking at that it was from the three leaders and so far they seemed intent on surprising me.
Deciding to read the note later, I instead got ready for the day, not that I knew what I was getting ready for mind you. Once I couldn't procrastinate anymore I finally sat at the edge of my now made bed and picked up the rose and note. Once I detached the note from the rose, I couldn't help but smell the rose. A smile instantly lit up my face as I realized that the rose still held most of its scent. I was half expecting to not be able to smell anything. I bet Athenodora picked the rose out of from her garden someplace. I placed the rose down carefully, mentally making a note to find a vase for it later and slowly opened the note.
Dear Beloved;
As you count down the days until you leave,
We count the days until you're ours.
Not a day will go by that we won't show our love.
We have waited centuries for you to simply be born,
Not that you're here, we'll do our best to keep you.
We've had centuries to plan and perfect
The many ways to court our future beloved mates.
Not once had we thought we would all share you.
But we promise to show you, in time, all our plans.
If you would be so kind as to go to the kitchen,
We shall start there.
Forever yours
Sulpicia, Athenodora, Didyme
It wasn't poetry and it wasn't them telling me that they were going to make me stay here no matter what. It was them warning me. They're letting me know that they have plenty of plans to get me to willingly stay with them. They're warning me that they've spent all their lives as vampires to come up with plans to win me over.
I felt my face heat up with a blush as I thought of different things they could do. Edward never really 'courted' me. All he did was ask very invasive questions about my life. I was the one that kept pulling him close; all he wanted was to know what I was thinking because he couldn't hear me. A part of me was actually excited to see what they had planned; another part felt guilty. I hated to admit it but I was more excited about seeing what they had planned than feeling guilty about it.
I hesitantly left my room, expecting one of the leaders to be there. Instead there was a tall brunette leaning casually against the wall across from my door. This woman reminded me a little of Rosalie. They didn't look that much alike and this woman seemed easier going than Rosalie, but her looks reminded me of the blonde. This woman was clearly much more beautiful than the typical vampire and the clothes she wore only highlighted that fact.
Once I opened the door enough for me to actually walk out instead of just peeking my head out, the woman stood up from the wall and extended a hand out towards me.
"Hi, my name is Heidi and I'll be protecting you today." Heidi said with a smile, clearly amused by what she had just said.
I hesitantly shook hands with her. I had only hesitated because no one else had actually offered to shake my hand when they met me. Although Heidi reminds me of Emmett a little, so I'm hoping that she's just as easy going. No offense to Jane, but it would be nice to be able to talk to someone as they basically stalked me all day.
"Nice to meet you." I said with an amused smile. "Could you show me where the kitchen is, I still haven't memorized where it is yet." I asked as politely as I could. I don't want to seem like I'm ordering her around because that's not what I do, but at the same time, she's the only one out of the two us that knows where anything is in this maze like castle.
"Of course, it's right this way." Heidi said as she turned around and started off down the hallway… the opposite way that I thought the kitchen was.
"I don't remember the whole way there, but I thought it was the other way." I pointed out as I followed her. Just because I thought the kitchen was the other doesn't mean I'm going to not follow her and go where I thought I should. I'm still the lamb in the lions' den and she's keeping other vampires away. I'll follow her since the leaders told me she was the other guard member that was assigned to well… guard me.
"Funny thing about giant castles, there's so many different ways to get to once place." Heidi said excitedly. "I thought that maybe you want to see more of the castle and take a more scenic route to the kitchen." Heidi said as she turned around to walk backwards and face me at the same time. "Plus, I was told that I'm to delay you coming to the kitchen and this is the best way I can think of to do that. Unless, do you have a better idea to delay you getting to the kitchen?" Heidi asked me with a thoughtful look on her face, almost as if she was actually thinking of other options.
"Um, no, I think this is the best way. But, why did they ask you to do that?" I curiously asked. Obviously they had something planned and I wanted to know what it was. I was hoping Heidi would at least give some clues about what they have planned and I could then figure it out on my own. That way, Heidi wouldn't have to actually say what was planned since I bet she wasn't allowed and would therefore not get in trouble. At least, that's what I had hoped for.
"I do, but they told me not to say anything. I probably said too much when I said they asked me to delay you, but oh well. I can tell you though, that there are a lot of vampires around here that are very jealous of you and would do anything to be in your position right now." Heidi said with a smile.
I'm sure she meant that to be some sort of compliment. She probably wanted that to sound like I should be lucky for being me and be happy about it. To me though, it sounded actually a little scary. Vampires that are jealous about something normally aren't a good thing. If either Heidi or Jane, or actually even the leaders, made a mistake and left me alone for even just a few seconds, that could be a death sentence for me. I don't want to have to deal with jealous vampires; especially since they're jealous of something that I don't really want.
"Well, that's nice." I said a little awkwardly. I didn't want to sound ungrateful for what they've done. I know that the leaders are making me stay here against my will, but they've all been really nice about it at least. They've shown me a lot of hospitality and they're making it easy to forget that I don't want to be here. They're slowly tearing down my resolve of not wanting to be here and right now I'm not really sure if I'm okay with that or not.
"Don't be worried though." Heidi said, apparently picking up on what I was thinking. "No one can get past either my powers or Jane's. Well, there is one off the top of my head, Jane's brother, but he's way too loyal to both the leaders and his sister to do something like that. The leaders themselves are so old that no one would stand a chance against them in a fight. Even with mine or Jane's power, they're so strong that if we did go against them, we would be too caught up in restraining them with our power to be able to do anything to you. Not that Jane, Alec or I would actually do anything to you, but I'm just saying, you're basically the safest person in the world right now." Heidi rambled off, clearly trying to cheer me up.
I couldn't help but smile at her attempt. She's definitely going to someone that I could get attached to, at least more so than Jane. She seems so easy going and carefree that it will be nice to be around her.
She had stated, not specifically but she did allude to it, that because of how old the leaders are, they are stronger than the rest. So I would assume that that means the older you are, the stronger you are. From what she said, it also seems that way with powers as well. Meaning, I think at least, that the older you the more resistant you are to some powers from younger vampires and the older you the stronger your power is. I'm not really sure about that, but I bet if I were to ask any of the three leaders they would be more than happy to tell.
"I'm not worried, I'm sure you guys can keep me safe." I said, making Heidi relax. I bet she would have gotten in trouble if I had been allowed to be afraid to be here and think I'm not safe.
"Good because we can. Now, we are here. I'll wait outside incase I'm needed." Heidi said; the last part I bet directed towards what I'm guessing is at least one Volturi leader in the kitchen.
"Thank you Heidi." I said as I walked through the door that she held opened for me.
I had expected to see all of them waiting for me inside, but instead all I saw was Gianna sitting down at the small table waiting for me. There were already two plates sitting on the table, one for her and one for me.
"Good morning Gianna." I greeted as I took the seat across from her that was clearly meant for me since that was where the other plate of food was.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" Gianna asked as we both started to eat since we were both seated.
I blushed slightly at her question. I had told her in one of our conversations that I was afraid of not being able to get any sleep because I'm not used to this place. I had really meant that I didn't think I would get good sleep because I'm uncomfortable here and this isn't where I wanted to be, but she understood that without me having to say it. I did sleep very well last night, that's definitely not what caused me to blush. I believed the reason I had slept so well was because of Athenodora. The whole I was getting ready to go to bed and even a little after I had laid down, I could still smell her. I knew that sounded weird, even in my own head, but it was the truth. Athenodora's scent, more so than Edward's ever had, had me so relaxed last night that I don't think it would have been possible to not have a good sleep last night.
"I did thank you. Do you, by any chance, know why I was specifically asked to come here specifically?" I asked Gianna, not able to contain my curiosity any more.
Gianna gave me a knowing smile as she took a sip from her cup. She obviously knew something, now I just have to figure out how much she knew and if she would actually tell me anything.
"Not the specifics no but I do know that Sulpicia was on her way here just before you got here. She should be here any second now." Gianna said as she put her cup back down.
"So, you don't know what she has planned?" I asked, probably a little too eagerly which caused Gianna to chuckle at me.
"You are such a curious one aren't you young one?" A sultry voice asked into my ear.
The sudden voice in my ear caused me to jump slightly, almost knocking my plate off the table. I knew who it was, it was Sulpicia, but I didn't hear her come in, so naturally I didn't expect her to whisper in my ear. I could hear her chuckling behind me and could see Gianna politely trying to cover up her laughter.
"I'm sorry dear." Sulpicia said in a tone that clearly stated that she wasn't sorry she was just being polite in saying she was. "Did you have anything you wanted to do today my dear?" Sulpicia asked as she stood right next to me and placed a hand on my back.
Just like Athenodora last night, Sulpicia didn't seem to understand personal space. Also like last night, I couldn't make myself be bothered by it. I knew I should have been annoyed since I knew what their plans are, but I couldn't. I liked the feeling of Athenodora against me last night and I liked the feeling of Sulpicia's hand and general close proximity right now.
Did I want to do anything today? There's several things that come to mind right now that all involve being able to go home and see Edward again. I had hoped that he would have figured out a way that we could at least communicate but it didn't seem like that was going to happen any time soon. I really just wanted to hear his voice so that I could regain my ability to ignore what these women are doing.
Edward aside though, I really wanted to speak with Charlie. It's been a few days, nearly a week, since I had last spoken with him. The last he knew was that I was going off with Alice to go get Edward. I could only hope that the Cullen family came up with a good lie to tell Charlie about why I didn't go home with Alice and Edward. I wanted to call him and let him know that I'm okay, that I'm alive. I wouldn't of course tell him any real details about why I'm here, but I didn't want him to worry more than necessary.
"I want to talk with my dad." I finally answered as I lowered my fork, done with my meal.
Sulpicia's hand crept up my back and landed on my shoulder, gently squeezing it as if in silent support.
"We can do that. We will have to make sure it's timed properly though, we're about nine hours ahead of him." Sulpicia answered.
I was almost surprised at her answer but quickly remembered her power and figured out she probably knew where I was from, from reading Edwards mind. I didn't think it was that big of a request, so I hoped they would be able to let me call home. I needed to make sure Charlie knew I was still okay. After everything I had put him through when the Cullen's left, I needed to make sure he knew that I was as okay as I was going to get while over here.
"It's already evening there then, why don't you go and call your father Bella and I'll clean up here?" Gianna offered as she started to gather out dishes. Before I could object and at least offer to do something to help clean up, Sulpicia took action.
She grabbed my hand and gently pulled me up as she wrapped her arm around my waist and started to lead me out of the kitchen.
"That's a wonderful idea Gianna, thank you so much for offering. Come Bella; let's get you to a phone shall we?" Sulpicia said as she led us out of the kitchen, not giving me enough time to say thank you to Gianna. "I think my office will be perfect for you to make this call; would you mind?"
There was a loud voice in my head yelling at me that this is part of her plan. If I were to go with her to her office, something will happen. Something that I probably don't want to happen will happen. There was an even louder voice was shouting at me to follow her and find out what she had planned. I was still excited about getting all this attention. The excitement was starting to over-power my concerns about Edward. I still didn't know what to think about it.
"That would be fine." I answered. I wasn't sure if I actually had a choice in the first place though. I'm still not sure how far I can push them, I didn't want to push them and find out that they have no tolerance for that kind of thing.
"Lovely." Sulpicia said as she continued to walk us down the hall. "I hate to have to go over this with you, but it is my job. What do you intend to tell your father?" Sulpicia asked. The look she gave me was one that told me she really didn't want to ask me that. She was the Volturi leader though, she didn't have a choice. She had to protect her kind and do her job. I couldn't blame her for asking me that, if I was in her shoes, I would have done the same thing.
"I don't know." I said. I was planning on just agreeing with whatever Charlie said, assuming that he would mention something about the Cullen's telling him something. I'm sure Alice would have set something up to protect our secret. She had to of.
"I'm sure Alice gave him a good enough story for you to agree with. I'm also sure that being a concerned parent, he'll ask you relatively quickly if what he was told was true. If you choose your words carefully, I'm sure he'll tell everything you need to know, everything Alice told him." Sulpicia advised.
I had figured as much. Alice, with her gift, would be able to choose her words carefully and make sure that she basically set up Charlie for the phone call that I would inevitably make. I just really hoped that Charlie would pull through and do what Sulpicia guessed he would.
Sulpicia lead me to a door that I had passed several times whenever I leave my room. I was about to comment on how close her office is to my room until she opened the door. Right inside was not an office but a bedroom. The bedroom looked medieval with it's' decorations but wasn't as dark as I would think it would have been.
"I knew I would get you in my room soon; now I just have to work on getting you in my bed." Sulpicia whispered in my ear as she continued to lead me. My face went bright red at her words.
"I would never." I managed to say as we walked towards a door on one of the side walls.
"For now dear you wouldn't and I would never over step those boundaries you have placed; but trust me, I will do all I can to wear them down." Sulpicia said as she opened the door that this time actually led into the office. "Here we are; feel free to make yourself at home while you make that call dear. Would you mind if I stayed though, in case you need help with coming up with something to say?" Sulpicia said as she guided me to sit down in what was obviously her chair behind the desk.
Half of me wanted privacy for this conversation because I'm not sure how emotional it will get. I'm sure it won't be that horrible, at least I had hoped it wouldn't be. Charlie wasn't really one with emotions, either was I for that matter. But with what I have done in the last year or so, basically ever since meeting Edward and his family, we have both started to show more emotions. He started to show more protectiveness and I started to show well… I'm not really sure. Love, I guess?
Half of me also wanted to have her here for incase our emotions got the better the better of us. Not only was I afraid of being able to come with a good enough story that matched what he was already told, but I was also scared of how he would react. I don't think Charlie would cut me off for leaving again without any sort of advanced notice, but then again, this is the second time I've left him. If I was in his position I wouldn't know what I would do or say.
"That would be awesome, in case I need help, or something." I said as I sat down. Hopefully if something did go wrong, Sulpicia would be able to fix it.
Instead of grabbing a chair that was in front of the desk to be able to sit on, Sulpicia decided to just sit right on the desk, her leg nearly pressed against me. The dress she just so happened to be wearing today just so happened to have a slit on it. The way she sat made the dress slip open so that instead of the cloth of her dress almost against me, her skin on her thigh was almost against my arm. I could actually feel the cold seeping from her skin.
"I would be more than happy to help you if it's needed. I will always help whenever you need it; remember that dear." Sulpicia said as she handed me an old fashioned looking phone.
The look she gave me was one of pure sincerity, she truly meant what she said; but so did Edward and I could see where that had led me. For some reason, I seemed to have more faith in Sulpicia keeping her word.
With a deep breath I dialed the number that would connect me to Charlie and I mentally crossed my fingers that this conversation wouldn't go that bad.