Chapter Thirty

Aro

It had been very easy for Demetri to find Bella's mother and 'persuade' her to visit us in Volterra, after all once she'd seen Alec there was nothing she could do about it and when she woke up she was already here safe and secure in a guest suite guarded by Felix. Not that I thought she was a danger to us, merely that some of our newer recruits might be tempted by the scent of her blood. I had seen her when she first arrived and was surprised Bella wasn't more like her. This woman was more beautiful in a raw way, I could see character in her face, it had seen a lot, and experienced even more. In short she intrigued me more than even her Daughter. It would be interesting to read her thoughts once she came back to us. I had food prepared and left for her when she woke and told Felix I wanted to know the moment she opened her eyes. It was awkward having her here without the knowledge of my Brothers. Inevitably they would smell her or be told by their own spies that I had a human woman here and then it would be time to explain my reasoning. It was simple really, I wanted Bella and I intended having her. Once she agreed to work for me I would have Chelsea bind her and The Major to me. It would be a rather good coup and I would be invincible. All I need do now was wait for the fly to enter my parlour once more, it wouldn't be long.

Renee

When I woke up I looked around, this was a strange room and the air smelled different, the way it did when you first landed in a strange country and before you got used to its scents. I wasn't in America any more I was sure but I couldn't remember how I'd got here. The last thing I remembered was a voice speaking to me in the Store and a pair of red eyes staring at me. Red eyes? What did that mean? An albino perhaps, the face had been very pale and beautiful, that of a young man, a boy. I suddenly thought of Phil, he would be frantic with worry, first Bella goes missing, now me. I wondered if we had been taken by the same man or men. Getting up from the bed I walked to the door trying the handle but it was locked, so no surprises there. I went to the window and pulled the shutters open. It looked out over open countryside with rolling hills and Olive Groves, so Italy, Greece, Spain? Somewhere like that. Turning I looked at the table which was laid for a meal with spotless white covers over the plates. Pulling them off I saw a tomato salad, goats cheese, flat breads, and olives. There was a carafe of wine too so it seems I was to be treated well as a prisoner. I shrugged and sat to enjoy my meal curious as to when I would meet my gaoler and if Bella were here.

Aro

Felix informed me that Renee was awake and eating so I decided to let her finish her meal before introducing myself, unfortunately Caius and Marcus were also informed about my guest and came storming into my room after Felix left,

"Brothers"

"Who is she Aro?"

"I'm sorry Caius?"

"Who is the human you have here?"

"Oh you mean Renee, she is Bella's Mother."

"And what is Bella's Mother doing in Volterra?"

"I thought she might be able to persuade her Daughter to our way of thinking"

"Your way you mean. You kidnapped Bella's Mother to force her to work for you?"

"For us Brother. Bella's gift would be a great asset to the Volturi, trust me"

"That's the problem Aro, we trusted you too often and each time you seem to have a private agenda. Do you really think kidnapping Bella's Mother will persuade her to work for you?"

"Us, and I hope so. I'm sure she wouldn't like to see anything happen to the Mother she loves."

"I'm surprised you didn't kidnap her Father too"

"Marcus please, besides he's a Police Chief, his disappearance would have caused more ripples. Renee should prove incentive enough for Bella. I expect to hear from her very soon."

"She knows her mother is here then?"

"I would imagine so. I sent her an invitation to join us via Carlisle."

"Oh so Carlisle knows you've snatched her too? Why don't you broadcast it to the whole world Aro? You shouldn't have done this without at least consulting us. This affects all of us, especially if Bella and The Major take exception to your actions."

Marcus spoke then,

"And I expect they will. You should choose your battles more carefully Aro. I for one do not want The Major looking for me, especially if allied with Bella Swans shield. Do you really think you can outwit or outfight them?"

"Marcus please. You are getting yourself upset over nothing."

"Nothing? You call The Major spoiling for a fight nothing? Bella's shield which we have already seen in action nothing? I sometimes think you live in a parallel universe. He is dangerous on his own but with Bella's protection he becomes unbeatably lethal. There is also The Captain and his mate. Do you think they will stand idly by as spectators?"

"You think Bella can protect all these at once?"

"I think the worst, that way I am seldom disappointed. What exactly did you have mapped out for Bella's Mother?"

"Mapped out? Once her usefulness is at an end she will be disposed of in the usual way. What else?"

"And Bella will just stand and smile as her Mother becomes someone's lunch? I doubt that very much"

"Once Chelsea works her magic..."

"Works her magic? I don't believe I'm hearing this...Bella is a shield, Chelsea's gift will bounce off her like Alec's did or did you miss that little demonstration of her power?"

"Marcus, I think we are arguing over the wrong things. Our concern should be what to do now we have Bella's Mother here as a guest."

"Bella now knows, care of Carlisle and will undoubtedly be banging on our doors very shortly demanding her release. Do we hand her over with an apology and a box of chocolates?"

"Hand her over Caius?"

"Yes Aro. There is no way we can keep her here. I think you might find the Whitlocks tearing the place apart a stone at a time to find her, all protected by Bella's shield. Then what do we do?"

"I think you overestimate this protection Bella has. It is quite expected that she should protect her mate as we all do, but shield others too? I don't think so."

"There you go again thinking! Don't you "think" it might have been a wise move to know before bringing her wrath down on us? I can hardly believe you sometimes, you act before thinking and then bring Alec or Demetri or whoever to sort out the problems you have created. We decided after the last fiasco when you took a fancy to Benjamin and tried to have him snatched that we would make such decisions together in future. It took a lot of work to repair the damage done to our stronghold, not to mention our relationship with Amun."

"I still say that Benjamin should be under our control"

"Yes, we know what you think Aro, everyone knows what you think about him. You made it only too clear but back to out present dilemma and what we are going to do about it"