Chapter 21 – Possibility
There's a possibility
All that I had was all I'm gonna get
Food had finally arrived.
Dominic could smell it coming.
But more importantly, he heard Gianna's voice. It didn't sound…right. From the day he first met her at the airport, her voice made him feel at peace. It reminded him of butter, and how it would melt so smoothly and elegantly around the edges when it came into contact with warm, toasted bread. For him, it was like that when she spoke with her flowing Italian accent, and her words would cover him like a rich liquid, sinking into every crevice.
Dominic clutched his stomach as it let out a low grumble.
Sure food was on his mind, obviously, but he was also unnerved by the high-pitched stress of Gianna's usually comforting voice. Dominic assumed her heated words were with Logan, who was ever present outside his cell, but he couldn't be sure. Don't those damn things every climb into their coffins to sleep?
"It's my duty given to me by Lord Aro!" Gianna insisted. Dominic heard scuffling sounds and a muffled thud.
Immediately, he jumped to his feet to defend her. His knee-jerk reaction made him feel like a sucker in the first degree. Why, after all she had done, did he have an all-consuming need to see her with his own eyes? Without success he tried to push back against an undeniable pull to protect her.
There was dead silence before the lock on his cell door clicked. However, instead of seeing the face he expected, and foolishly craved to see, his food was launched through the partially open door.
The food - plate and all - crashed to the floor as the door slammed shut.
"Hope you like eating off the floor, dog," came Logan's rumbling, condescending laughter.
Before Dominic could respond, his eyes zeroed in on the glorious sight of bouncing plastic bottles of water. He scrambled after them like a dying man stumbling toward a desert oasis. If Gianna had prepared the food, she had the brilliant foresight to supply precious fluids in something durable.
With three bottles in hand, Dominic stared at the mess on the floor. The food appeared to be of the breakfast variety: scrambled eggs, buttered toast, sausage links, and an apple. Not your typical Italian breakfast fare, it was obvious to Dominic that Gianna had intentionally prepared his favorite breakfast.
The heart he had tried to harden softened just a bit.
With his free hand, he snatched up the apple. After polishing it against his shirt, he shoved it in his mouth before walking over to the wall he shared with Isabella's cell. He picked up a rock and scratched one hash mark into the stone wall. "Day one," he muttered, biting into the slightly bruised apple.
Dominic presumed it was part of the role of being a captive to be degraded – however, it still sucked. He hoped by acknowledging the fact that his lousy treatment was a tactic, it would lessen the effect it had on his slowly disintegrating morale.
"I am not an animal!" he shouted, wondering if his guard got the tongue-in-cheek Elephant Man reference.
"Hello?"
Damn, he had forgotten about Isabella! Dominic froze wondering how to respond.
"I can hear you. I just heard you speaking," she stated.
Their one-sided conversation was interrupted by the unlocking of Isabella's door. Feeding time at the zoo.
Thankful for the reprieve, Dominic listened…
"I brought you breakfast."
"You're Gianna, aren't you? The human that works for the Volturi. I saw you when I was here last time. You caused the accident!" Isabella accused, her voice rising sharply at the end.
"Stay back," Logan's voice was firm, and Dominic assumed he was warning Isabella, but it was only a guess.
"Why did you do it?" Isabella questioned.
There was no response.
"Do you know what they are going to do to me? Just because you want to join them, doesn't mean I do!" Bella accused. "How could you be so selfish?"
Dominic's heart was torn. Again he felt the need to protect Gianna, whom he had thought was a fragile, yet caring woman, from Isabella's tirade. Yet, Isabella had every right to be angry – with Gianna as well as with him. He knew what Gianna was doing was wrong, even when he thought Isabella was an abused wife. By not taking a stand, he had played a part in the conspiracy that brought her here.
And Gianna was not as fragile as he had been lead to believe.
"I thought you wanted to be a vampire? Like your husband? Actually, we were both supposed to get something we wanted," Gianna finally retorted, her voice strained, but striving for calm.
"I'm a prisoner! Do you think I wanted this?"
"A prisoner? Then we have more than just our humanity in common. Enjoy your meal. I made it myself."
Dominic was startled by the loud clang that followed. He rushed to the wall and stared up at the opening above his head wishing he could see what was going on.
"Suit yourself. It may have been your last real meal," Gianna responded over the sound of broken shards of glass being stacked on top of one another.
He heard her cell door shut, and the only sounds remaining were the distancing, fast-paced clicks of Gianna's heels and Isabella's quick breathing. Dominic concluded Isabella must have thrown her tray. That would explain the crash.
He looked at his own spilt meal. Now he and Isabella had something else in common besides their imprisonment...
Prisoners. Gianna's words struck a chord in his mind - she had hinted she was a prisoner, not an "employee" as Aro had said. He had noticed Gianna was permitted to take Isabella her tray, but it sounded as though she had met resistance when delivering his meal. Were the Reeking Ones keeping her from him? Or maybe they thought Dominic posed a threat and only allowed the bleach-white Hulk to deal with him?
He reluctantly ran his hands under the metal collar. It was heavy and becoming increasingly painful as it was causing pressure points in his skin.
Emotionally and mentally exhausted, not to mention hungry, Dominic dropped to the hard floor, resting his back against the rough wall. He opened one of the bottles of water and guzzled it down in seconds. Returning the apple to his mouth, he tried to piece together the conversations he had taken in since his "visit" started. He had to make some sense of his surreal situation, if at all possible...
Gianna's "employers" were vampires. He was back in Volterra - Dominic wondered if this city was more like a modern-day Transylvania since it was evidently chock full of not-so-fictional creatures. He shuttered to think who else might be here – Frankenstein's monster, maybe?
Stay focused…
The vampires wanted Isabella to be a vampire too, presumably because she had the "gift" of being a "shield" which could block other vampire powers. What "powers" vampires possessed other than the ones he had already become familiar with, he didn't know, though he did hear Aro speak of immortality.
Dominic also now understood why he often heard moaning - the head creepy vamp made it clear they kept humans captive for their dining pleasure. Maybe that was to be his fate…
Dominic instantly lost his appetite. Refusing to be the fattened cow, he tossed the half-eaten apple across the room, and resumed his analysis.
Isabella was married to Edward, who was a vampire,yet Aro had said some real nasty shit about him. Dominic surmised that not all vampires were necessarily on the same team. Okay, so now this whole wacked out reality sounds like a lost episode of the black and white supernatural soap opera, "Dark Shadows".
Dominic's thoughts were interrupted by Isabella's muffled sniffles. He felt he owed her something – guilt overriding his cowardice.
"Don't cry, Isabella. They seem to like you well enough. I mean, at least you got your food on your tray."
It was quiet on her side of the wall. Honestly, he expected as much.
"Do you have anything to drink?" he asked.
"Are you human?" she asked back timidly.
Strange question. Well, maybe not in "New Transylvania."
He opened his mouth to answer, and then realized he didn't entirely know how to respond. He thought he was human, in fact, he had been sure of it up until a few weeks ago. "I feel more like an animal being kept in a cage… I'm sorry about what has happened to you," he offered instead.
"Me too. What do they want with you?"
Of course, she thought him as innocent as herself. Confession time. He needed to man-up… or wolf-up… whatever…
"I don't know yet. But…I know what they did need me for. I was tricked into helping with your abduction. I was led to believe I was actually helping you…"
"Helping me? I'd like to hear how you thought that." Her tone was hard, accusing, yet inquisitive.
Dominic rose and peered out the opening in his cell door. He couldn't see Logan, and unwittingly believed he might have a moment of privacy to talk candidly with Isabella.
"I was…involved…with Gianna. She told me you were her sister, and you were being abused by your husband. I offered to join her on her trip to New Hampshire to try and 'reason' with you, hopefully bringing you back here to 'safety.' I had no idea she was lying to me and hiding her association with…vampires."
That word felt strange leaving his lips. This was still all too bizarre to even comprehend, let alone speak.
Isabella was silent. It made Dominic uncomfortable.
"I won't ask you to forgive me, Isabella, but now that I have realized what I've done to you, I will do anything to make it right. Not that I know how to do that… I'm just really, really sorry."
He heard her sigh.
"I don't think either of us will be leaving. In the eyes of the Volturi, we know too much to be released."
Dominic swallowed the lump in his throat. "Who are these Volturi?"
"They are the ruling body of all vampire kind, led by Aro, Marcus and Caius. They act as law enforcers, prosecutors, judge, jury and executors. We are in violation of their main edict - humans are to be unaware of their existence. I was supposed to become like them, so I could avoid…death, I guess." She huffed. Avoid death by dying. Interesting concept. "But Edward, my husband, refused to change me. I thought it was because he loved me and believed what he would be doing to my soul was wrong. But, now I don't know…I don't know what to think now."
She became quiet, and small sniffling sounds let Dominic know she was crying, but trying to stifle her sobs. He ran his fingers nervously through his gritty hair and began to pace.
"You need to drink something. I have a bottle of water. I can try to toss it between the bars. Heads up."
Dominic took one of the bottles and threw it at the barred opening twelve feet above his head that was no bigger than a kitchen sink. It took four attempts before he succeeded. The bottle's landing on the other side made a soft thud. Dominic concluded Isabella's cell was not like his at all.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, Isabella," he said with some relief.
"Bella."
"You're welcome, Bella. I'm Dominic."
"Thank you, Dominic."
Dominic sat down and mulled over what Bella had told him. "So…vampires, huh. If I wasn't living it, I never would have believed it."
"Me neither."
"Tell me more about these 'powers' they have," Dominic pressed.
"They are incredibly fast," Bella began.
"Check. Saw that in action. As well as insanely strong."
"They are immortal, almost indestructible. Their senses far outweigh ours, and their minds are capable of much more than the human mind."
"But they were once human?"
"Yes."
"Almost indestructible?"
"Only being burned can destroy them. And to burn them, it usually takes disabling them first."
"Couldn't be as simple as a stake through the heart, huh?"
"Nope. Myth."
"Holy water and garlic? Sunlight?"
"More myths."
"Sleeping in coffins?"
Bella snorted. "They don't sleep at all."
"Wow, that sure gives them lots of extra time to plot and scheme… So, they are interested in you because you are…special?"
"You heard that?" Bella asked.
"Seems there are standard issue vampires and those with special features?"
Bella couldn't help but smile at Dominic's quips, and she wondered if he was doing it on purpose to make her feel better. "Yeah. Aro can read every thought you have ever had by touching you. Marcus can sense relationships between individuals. Others can do other things like track you no matter where you go, inflict pain with their thoughts…"
"And others can block certain vampire powers?"
"I guess that's my gig. No one was more surprised to learn about that than me."
Dominic could hear the hurt in her voice, along with a hint of anger.
"Do you really think Edward knew?" Dominic dug deeper as it was now obvious he had overheard the whole conversation between her and Aro.
"Do you still care about Gianna?" Bella countered.
On the other side of the wall, Dominic flinched. He wasn't prepared to explain his conflicted feelings toward Gianna. And after the heated banter between Gianna and Bella, he was quite certain how she regarded Gianna…
"Touché." Dominic backed off of his interrogation of Bella, opting instead to learn more about their captors. "Marcus? Isn't that who the church is named after - St. Marcus? The Pied Piper of Vampires?"
"Yes," Bella answered, remembering the story Alice had told her when she was last in Volterra on the festival day of St. Marcus.
"Well, obviously history got that whole story wrong. And to think, I was going to glorify that guy in my artwork. Good thing what I did accomplish got destroyed."
"I don't understand," Bella said.
"I am an artist. I work in stained glass. I was brought here under the pretense I was to create new works of art for the windows of St. Marcus Church." Dominic hung his head in disgrace. "I knew getting offered the chance to work here was too good to be true."
Dominic thought of his artwork, and how he would most likely never again enjoy the artistic pleasure that comes from creating something unique and beautiful. "And Gianna…well, she was just the ice cream ala mode on my pie in the sky." He could feel his anger rising again, "I'm such a chump!"
Bella heard the genuine regret in Dominic's voice. Although she planned to keep her guard up, just in case, she felt sad for the man in the next cell. He'd unknowingly been pulled into a power play because of her…and because of Edward's reluctance.
However, she heard something different in his voice when he spoke of Gianna. It was clear he had strong feelings for her, so Bella rephrased her earlier question, "Her betrayal really hurt you, didn't it?"
Dominic laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "What's it matter? She's on that side of the bars, and I'm on this one. She wanted something, and I was just the means to an end."
"Immortality," Bella stated knowingly. "I have learned it's a prize as well as a burden."
Dominic could tell in her voice she spoke from a place of knowledge.
"Is it true you wanted it for yourself?"
Dominic found it was easy to talk frankly when he felt he had nothing to lose. Besides, the more he could learn about all the players in this game, the better.
"I did. When it meant being part of a family I wanted to spend eternity with. When I thought it would come from my husband. Not this way, never like this." Dominic heard Bella opened the bottle of water he had given her and take a long drink. "Now, I don't know if I should give up hope and wish for death or…"
"Live to fight another day," Dominic finished her sentence. He knew exactly the mindset she was speaking from. But, unlike Bella, he was sure he had no guaranteed future here. In all his contemplating, he had come to the conclusion they feared him somehow, or they wouldn't have locked him up in a dungeon and restrained him with this freaky collar, and he must still have some purpose or they would have disposed of him.
From the disparity in treatment, he knew she was their prize. He was secondary, and as such could easily be collateral damage once his usefulness –whatever it was—ended. Which gave him only two choices: die sooner than later and cause the Volturi some level of inconvenience - a thought which Dominic found deeply satisfying, as macabre as it was, or bide his time and search for an opportunity to not only escape, but to rescue Bella…before it was too late.
"What do you suggest we do?" he asked just to hear what her response would be, after all, she was more familiar with the motives of the immortal dead.
"What can we do?"
"Take their victory away," Dominic hinted at rebellion.
"I don't believe I have that choice," Bella admitted to herself and Dominic. "They are powerful and clever. They get what they want. Don't underestimate them, Dominic."
"Then they have already won."
Bella closed her eyes. Dominic's words stung and she realized she had already made her decision. She couldn't fight the Volturi's plan for her as a human. Their will would be done. But, as Dominic said, she would "live" to fight another day.
"I will try to negotiate with them for your safety," Bella offered as bitter reality left the acrid taste of defeat on her tongue. She clutched her left hand to her heart, pressing her wedding ring into the skin of her chest. Her resolve became clear. She would sacrifice herself for the family who had left her to this fate in order to assure their continued safety. She would surrender for Dominic, who unwillingly and unknowingly became a victim himself because of her. She would do this for her parents, leaving Aro with no reason to pursue them. Since he now possessed everything that Edward and Alice had known about her, Aro would be well aware she would sacrifice anything to protect those she loved.
But she wasn't giving in. Far from it. The Volturi would eventually regret the power they would unleash in her. Bella resolutely wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks. They would be the last she shed. With them she steeled herself against the destiny that was now inevitable.
In the flickering shadows outside their cells, Aro listened to Dominic and Isabella's friendly conversation.
"Perfect." Aro grinned. His plan was moving along excellently.
Bella startled and then quickly braced herself as her cell door opened again.
"Greetings! I came as soon as I heard you had rejected your meal. Was it not to your satisfaction, Bella?" Aro inquired.
"Isabella. And I don't like being kept against my will."
"Oh, so that was an act of protest? Please understand, my dear, this arrangement is for your protection. Should you walk freely about with your sweet-smelling blood, you would be in mortal danger every moment. Become like us and you will have more liberties."
Aro paused taking in Bella's distant expression. "Can I assume you have made a decision...about your life here with us?"
"I want Edward to change me."
"My dear, that is not an option at this point. We offered a second chance to the Cullens – we gave them time to affect your change. Our verdict was clear. Do you think the Cullens should be above the law? Given special treatment?"
"I wanted to be changed!" Bella blurted out in frustration. "I begged to be changed. Why am I the one being punished?"
Bella swallowed hard, immediately regretting her outburst. It occurred to her that if she was not punished, someone she loved would likely have to bear that burden, as Volturi law demanded it. She remembered how she had pleaded with Aro to kill her instead of Edward when she was here last time. Ultimately, Aro was finally giving her all she had asked for…
Aro opened his mouth to speak, but Bella interrupted, "If I agree, will the Cullens – all of them – be left alone? Unharmed?"
"You are so gracious, Isabella! I stand amazed. You still protect the coven that has abandoned you. Of course, we will not seek them out. And you will remain with us in a role of great importance." Aro clasped his hands in front of his broad smile.
"And Dominic…you will not kill him."
"You have my word. I will not kill him," Aro gladly agreed to her demand which left so very many avenues open to interpretation…
Bella nodded weakly attempting to gather courage for her next and final request. "Then I'll ask for just one more thing."
"I'm sure we can reach a compromise." Aro cocked his head with genuine interest.
"I want Marcus to change me."
Aro's ancient brow creased in puzzlement. "Marcus?"
"Yes."
Aro inhaled deeply and exhaled his indecision. "Oh, I so much wanted to taste your blood." In a very human motion, which Bella would have thought had been long lost, Aro scratched his head. "Marcus, you say?"
He took several steps away from Bella. From her perspective, he appeared to be contemplating her request. But Aro was actually considering the outcome of her request. Yes, Marcus could handle the deed, that wasn't what gave Aro pause. What he had to consider was the delicate nature of her transition. If Isabella was willing to give herself to the Volturi, it boded well for her gift to ripening perfectly for his purpose. Considering the prestigious role he had planned for her, he had so wanted to sire her himself. It would serve to strengthen their bond, and there was something quite pleasing in the notion that this triumph would truly be his…though he really didn't want to risk her clinging to any resentment toward him. Pity.
"Decisions, decisions," Aro chanted in dulcet tones as he considered. "I am willing to accede to your terms, dearest Isabella. Nevertheless, since you have chosen the 'who', the compromise will be that I shall choose the 'when'. Sunrise tomorrow."
Bella felt the air being sucked from her lungs. "Tomorrow?"
"Agreed?" Aro asked.
Bella tried to maintain her brave front, but with the prospect of her transition coming so soon, her focus became very narrow. In that moment, only one thing mattered to her mind and her heart. "Will I ever see Edward again?"
Aro took her hand in his. "Would you like that, Isabella? Do you wish to be reunited with him?"
His tone was soft and sweet. Bella's eyes widened and her heart leapt at the thought of being with Edward again – even if it was because of his shortsightedness that she was in this predicament in the first place. Ultimately, she loved him. Nothing would change that.
Before her, Aro's eyes glistened in the lamplight. He softly asked her again, his sweet breath flowing over her face. "Do you desire a reunion with Edward, sweet girl?"
The bottom dropped out from under her stomach as Bella suddenly saw through Aro's conciliatory mask. He gazed at her like a juicy fly caught in his sticky spider web. "That's what you want, isn't it? You want him, too!" She tried to tug her hand from his tightening grip.
"We could both have what we want. It's a win-win situation, my dear."
Bella shook her head. "No. No, you have me. Leave Edward alone. Please." The thought of Edward being held prisoner here because of her was sickening. It would destroy him; it would destroy the whole Cullen family! She would not be the cause of so much devastation.
Bella began to hyperventilate. "Our agreement was for me, and only me. You will leave everyone else alone!"
Aro pulled Bella closer and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "You are so willing to sacrifice for others. Don't you think it's about time someone made a sacrifice for you? Is it really so much to ask? Think about it, Isabella."
Bella's heart raced, thumping hard against the unyielding bones of her ribs. Although the adrenaline pumped wildly through her body and made her tremble, she cherished every single beat, for too soon it would be still, silent, and cold.
Aro looked at her with feigned sympathetic eyes. He raised the back of Bella's hand to his lips and kissed it wistfully. "Sleep tonight, Isabella. Enjoy the possibility of dreams, for tomorrow you will have to withstand the reality of nightmares until you reemerge gloriously from the limiting confines of humanity. You will be the mighty phoenix arising from the ashes. So much possibility awaits you – all that you have wished for! Only, with us, you will not be asked to deny yourself anything."
His ends achieved, Aro smiled as he released Bella's hand, bowed, and vanished in a flourish of his elegantly embroidered cape.
Stoically, Bella began to mourn the end of her human life. She wrapped her arms around her body and grieved the loss of her familiar, warm flesh and blood. Her mind then raced to the loss of her relationships with friends and family. But mostly, it was the termination of her connection with Edward she mourned. The Volturi would change her into something he could never love again. She wondered how he had grieved her loss…
She had heard that at the moment of death, a person's life flashed before his or her eyes. It was true. Everything she loved was being ripped from her, and only she was witness to it. Bella had limited time to go through the various stages of loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance – only until sunrise. She felt she had matured a decade in the process…
Aro walked the halls of the castle pondering his timing. He had skillfully planted the seeds and carefully cultivated them, as best he could, to bring about the full bloom of her tremendously valuable gift. It was all a delicate dance, but it appeared he had succeeded in his endeavor. She was giving her life to the Volturi, accepting the offer put before her. Over the next several hours, she would cut all remaining ties to the world outside Volterra's walls and surrender to the life she had chosen.
She had renounced Edward, agreed to stay, and in turn, he promised to not seek out the Cullens. Aro laughed smugly – he wouldn't have to seek them out – they'd come to him.
A decidedly pleased expression etched across Aro's face as he set his mind to work planning the next critical phase - Bella's domestication and the delicate honing of her talent.
Little did she suspect Aro's most fervent desire at the time was that Isabella would seek comfort from the only being who could keep her safely hidden from the outside until she was ready…someone convenient located in the next cell.
So tell me when you hear my heart stop
You're the only one that knows
Tell me when you hear my silence
There's a possibility I wouldn't know
A/N: Thank you so much for reading!
For those of you not old enough to remember the cult classic "Dark Shadows", Tim Burton has revived it in movie form due out this May. The all-star cast includes Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green.
And I can't say it enough, thank you Ashling92, RowanMoon, and RosaBella75 for your dedication to this story and to supporting me. Love you.
