Chapter Fifteen
"I want to take him back to the house." Solemnly whispered the prince, holding the cold, grey hand of his best friend. Aro nodded, agreeing it would be for the best. Back in human form, Jacob was sat beside the bloodstained body of his first love, Bella. Even though he wasn't in love with her anymore, he still felt his heart had been torn from his chest.
Suddenly, a soft whimper floated on the breeze, catching the three males' attention. Spinning around, their eyes fell upon Alice, her slender fingers tracing a fresh mark from shackles, exactly like the ones she had obtained in the asylum. "Alice my dear, you're alive." Aro sighed, relieved, until he realised he also meant it literally. The girl had fallen unconscious after smashing her head against a tree.
Looking up, the girl pushed herself back against a tree terrified, tears streamed from her newly brown eyes. Biting her lip, the girl squeezed her eyes shut, anything to get this terrible dream from her mind. "Pl-please, leave me alone! You're my imagination, they said so! Please don't let them treat me, the pain!" The once joyful girl curled up in a ball.
Motioning for the other two to stay put, Jacob crawled towards he and placed a hand on her quivering shoulder. "Alice, you may not remember me, but I'm Jacob. I'm going to take you back to Carlisle, he'll help you."
Mary Alice Brandon's head snapped up as she started screaming and scratching at the werewolf, "NO! I don't want his help! Blood runs the walls of the big house! Oh the blood! So much blood I will surely drown. The big house full to the brim…"
Leaning in, Jacob gently rubbed the girl's back, "Full to the brim with blood?" He asked.
Before he could get an answer from Alice, she grabbed the Quileute's arm and bit the tough flesh failing to penetrate it. Letting go she attempted to flee, yet Jacob grabbed her legs to stop her doing so. "ALICE! I'm only here to help you."
Calmly, Aro stepped towards the girl, "Listen to me, Alice, my dear. Violence gets you nowhere, as I have learnt with all my years. We are honestly trying to get you better, and I do not mean your gift, for taking the gift of divination would be a crime." He his cool hands either side of her face, looking into her eyes to ensure trust. "I know your true personality, and to loose that proves these are truly terrible times. Now, I may ask you something you may not wish to answer, but, I must know… What was that vision you're so afraid of?"
Interrupting, Arthur stood, "Merlin is dead, and all you want to know is-"
"Silence boy!" Suddenly, as if struck with realisation, Aro turned to him, "Are you not tempted by the smell of that warm and luscious blood that pumps through this girl's veins?"
Furiously, the prince spat, "Of course not! I am not a monster like you! I only wish I could go back and stop myself from ordering Merlin to follow me into the forest."
Shaking his head, Aro stated, "You know he would've followed you even if you told him not to. Anyway, that would cause a paradox." He then turned back to face the girl, "Please, I know what you have seen, but I wish to hear you say it, I cannot believe it otherwise."
Whimpering, Alice glanced around. "The army are coming. Teeth ground sharp. They are poised, and on the hunt. One lone boy, fleeing through a forest, sure to die. Then blood. Nothing but blood. The floor and walls are thick with it. How many more have to die?" The girl sobbed once more.
Head dropping, Aro whispered, "So it is true." Holding the girl's hand in comfort, the vampire then ordered the other two to follow them back to the house.
Arthur refused to leave Merlin there, even for a little while, so he scooped him up and followed the other three. The cool breeze whipped around them, as if to say that all would be okay. The sky was dark, for the clouds cloaked the sky. The journey was silent, except for the whimpers and whispers of Alice, still trapped in fear.
As the four stepped into the building, Carlisle burst in from the living room, "Edward?" The vampire asked, before noticing he was not with them. Aro shook his head solemnly, which forced the blond doctor to hold himself up using the doorframe, unable to speak. He mouthed the word, 'dead' to himself several times, before glancing up at the member of the Volturi disbelievingly.
Tears ran down his now human face. "My son." Sliding down the doorframe he leant upon, he sobbed. There was nothing anyone could say to the man who had saved the lives of many a stranger, but failed to save one of those who mattered.
Solemnly, Arthur rested Merlin's cold body upon a bed upstairs, and dragged himself back down, to assist in the others in whatever way he could. When he reached the living room, Aro was preparing Carlisle, ready to bite him. Jacob placed the bodies of his friends next to each other upon a dark mahogany dining table, wiping away his tears. Beside a now sleeping Alice on the sofa, was Seth, he too with tears in his eyes that evaporated quickly.
Timid, for the first time, the prince asked, "Is there anything I can do?" Everyone shook their heads, telling him to rest for it had been a long day.
However, something was wrong, deep within, he felt something, not quite… Human…
Suddenly, as if all life had been dragged from his body, light disappeared; the world became cold and the prince fell, landing with a vicious thud.
The next thing he realised he was in a dark, dank room. A cell? And there a boy, no older than Merlin lay, tears streaked his grubby face as he slept. A strange sensation ran down the prince's right side, where Alice had appeared. Stepping forward, the girl placed a hand on the boy's cheek. "One lone boy, sure to die. Betrayed by his own." The girl then gazed up at the blond prince, knowingly, "If he stays the only blood spilled is his." Tears welled up in her chocolate eyes as she started to sob.
Just as the prince stepped forwards, the boy's eyes shot open, making Arthur drag Alice away from him. Wobbling to his feet, the boy looked at the vampire and girl. No, he looked through them. And, as if they did not exist the boy shuffled through them, for they seemed to be merely spirits. "There is no dignity in this death, someone must be out there, someone must be able to see the truth." Consoled the boy, whom spoke to himself for the lack of company.
Having seen mages and innocents alike, locked up in the dungeons of Camelot, Arthur realised something. He realised his father was unjust and that keeping anyone, even a mage, locked up like a savage hound, only for them to brutally die in front of a disturbingly mocking crowd. "I'm sorry." The golden-haired prince whispered, hoping all those his father had sentenced could somehow hear him. It was then he recognised the cell.
"Arthur? Arthur? Bloodsucker!" Suddenly, the vampire met the gaze of the Quileute, Jacob. There was something not right, and they all knew it, the wolves more than anyone else. Quietly, the alpha then stated, "I guess Renesmee's powers still have some effect." Passing the vampire a faux smile, Jacob turned away, unable to talk to anyone else.
So this is why they banned magic? How can people be so evil? Suddenly, a scream of anguish resonated from upstairs. The werewolf dashed upstairs beside Arthur, and there, upon the bed was Merlin, tears flooding his eyes. The two boys whom had ran to him were both ecstatic and terrified of the boy's resurrection. They saw no reason for his tears, until they realised it was no physical malady, but rather, an emotional one.
For the first time in all of Merlin's life, he'd never felt accepted, however in his short, eventful stay with the Cullens and Quileutes he felt at home. The warlock understood it was selfish of him to grieve those he barely knew whilst their family toiled to help others. Yet, the boy knew, that if he never tried to save Arthur and himself, this destruction would never have been inflicted on such an admirable family.
Appearing from behind the pair of teenagers, Aro glided over to the weak boy. Sitting beside him, the powerful vampire passed him a tome. "It was of great help to me when I was human. I hope you find it to your liking. There is an interesting piece of text on page seventy nine, you should take a look." Glancing up to the man, Merlin did not see a vampire, but a being who once had dreams of freedom.
Flicking through the pages, expecting nothing but herbal remedies, the boy read many potent and deadly spells. Yet, there was only one that caught his eye. It was more of a ritual, that transferred life energy from one living being to a fresh corpse. However, it stated, that the longer it was left, the less humanity they would have.
"Let's do it." Merlin spoke in a clear, emotionless tone.