An Unresolved Past

This story starts off five years after its prelude: 'Life is never what you expect it to be'. Bella is now Caius's mate and they are both very happily bonded. WARNING: This is an adult version of twilight and will have sexual submission and violence (after all; the story revolves around vampires). This is not for the faint of heart; it is very dark and has sexual content. 18+

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the creator of these intriguing characters but has nothing to do with this story.

Chapter 46 – Time's glory is to command contending kings, To unmask falsehood and bring truth to light *

The throne room doors opened once more and this time Caius walked followed by Edward and his family and a small amount of coven members. At this Aro stood up shouting "arrest the Olympia coven; they are traitors." As soon as the demand had left Aro's lips the guards sprang in action and they began to encircle the Cullens. At that moment both Marcus and Caius bellowed "none of you will listen to that command".

Then Marcus stepped forward saying "both Caius and I accuse you of treason!"

Trying to remove any possible credibility in the Marcus's statement Aro began to laugh increasing the confusion among all the coven members present. Now that the bewilderment was complete Marcus continued "We accuse you of the murder of Didyme and the attempted murder of Caius"

Laughing at both brothers he said "what kind of joke is this; no-one can believe such foolishness".

Ignoring Aro's words Caius picked up the conversation "You can lie all you want but my friend here can read your mind. After I released him he began to tell me what he had seen during his short stay. It seems you are the root of the evil but because we could not read your mind we were never aware of it".

"Long ago, shortly after Isabella became my mate it was brought to my attention that Sulpicia was burdened by something" Caius explained.

"Lies, all lies, I am sure that Athenodora has put you up to this!" Aro retorted

Again ignoring Aro's outburst Caius continued "Alexia and Athenodora visited Sulpicia and with her gift Alexia was able to relive a horrific experience that had taken place in the Sulpicia's past. You see, Sulpicia suspected you of murdering Didyme; I too found it preposterous considering it was your mortal sister. But after hearing the reports that both Edward and Alexia gave me I couldn't ignore it. It seemed that by murdering your sister she began to fear you and that caused you to lose control over her. Once you took her tormented soul away from Corin she slowly went mad. But that was not enough, was it? After a while you tormented her yourself; causing her to attack and giving you reason to have her executed."

"What preposterous; I dearly loved my mate"

"You may have once but that was long ago, I was witness to that time but for the past many centuries I have not seen either one of you as close as you once were" Caius continued "Actually, when you think about it; the death of Sulpicia solved two problems. One, the threat of exposure and two, losing her allowed you to take a new mate. After years of watching her from a distance; your eyes had fallen on my Isabella and Edward read your mind and saw that you craved to possesses her".

After a moment of hesitation he went on "Oh yes, there was still one problem; Isabella had a mate. One that she was bonded to, now if that bond had been with someone other than me you would have just taken her away but as you know; I keep what is mine! When I refused to allow her to go through further training, all reason vanished from your mind and was replaced by envy and anger. From there, it was only a small step to conjure a murderer".

Aro shouted "No, Isabella became mine willingly" He lifted his hand to silence Marcus as he said "You will not say another word; this traitor Edward Cullen has been spinning tales and all of you have been lied to. Aro calmly said after that he began to look at the surrounding coven members and saw that his power of conviction was dwindling.

At that moment Isabella walked into the throne room, curiosity marking her face as she looked at Aro; until her eyes fell on the back of a figure that was facing Aro. She instantly recognized those blond locks that cascaded down his back and the arrogant stance that belonged to her former mate.

At that moment Aro stood up saying "Isabella you should have stayed in our apartments!"

Caius then turned and he saw her eyes fixed on him. Her gaze quickly betrayed the torment and chaos that captured her mind. In desperation she fled the room; an intricate mass of skirts.

Caius was about to follow when Edward grasped his arm saying "she needs to work this out; her mind is in total confusion".

Marcus repeated "You will arrest Aro and bring him to the left wing dungeons; you will not leave him unattended at any time. He will be brought forth for treason and with him Dragus and the woman".

"I refuse to listen to these lies; the boy spins a fantastic tale but it is all suggestion. Aro then endeavoured to storm from the room but his exit was quickly blocked by Demetri".

Aro looked at him with pure vengeance as he hissed "How dare you block my passage".

Caius shouted "No, the lies have been yours. I remember everything and even before my fall Dragus told me of your infatuation for Isabella".

Then turning to Demetri he said "Take him away; I am sick of listening to the serpent"

Demetri accompanied Aro, soon followed by a hesitant Santiago. One on each side and extra guards were sent with them to ensure he could not instigate more trouble or attempt an escape. After that the room slowly filled with vampires, many came to investigate the truth behind the rapidly spreading rumours of Caius's return and strange shouting in the throne room. At that moment Edward became silent as he heard the thought of one of the guards.

Then swiftly walking towards the person in question he said "You and the guards that placed her in the tower room will do well to let her free as soon as possible".

Marcus seeing the determined expression on Edwards face, came to join them asking "What is wrong Edward?"

"They have sealed Alexia up in Athenodora's old room".

The guards stood in confusion wondering what to do with Edward's request when Marcus turned towards them saying "You will stay here". Looking at Edward he sent a message that only he could hear "We have to wait; we have the element of surprise and must keep it. If our plan is to succeed we must capture Dragus before he understands what is going on; otherwise he may escape our clutches. We must be careful; there are many hidden escape routes throughout the castle which lead to the tower. They must be sealed off or guarded before we attempt to capture him".

The unvoiced message clearly being that any attempt to help Alexia was momentarily unjustifiable. Realizing fear was the only enemy Alexia had to contend with Edward nodded his head in acceptance.

Caius, looked from one to the other, confusion marring his face so Marcus quickly filled him in on the situation. He too, was impatient to search the corridors for his Isabella but understood the wisdom of Marcus's words so sighing he answered "You, are right with Demetri accompanying Aro and Felix assisting Alec we have slowly become short of reliable allies".

Looking around the room and hearing the discussions of the guards around him Caius realized that although Aro's powers of persuasion had become week; they had not been totally eliminated. This power struggle had to be over soon otherwise the coven would be divided by sheer skepticism.

Marcus mentally called to Edward "Listen in to see if there are traitors or accomplices of Aro in the room" as they graciously strode towards their thrones. Marcus and Caius then took their rightful places with Jasper, Alice and Edward nearby. Jasper used his gift to relieve some of the discord that burdened numerous vampires in the room allowing Marcus to take the floor.

Raising his hands he said "I need your attention; I wish to talk to all those present of the current situation. The Olympia coven has spent years looking for my brother and I, like many others, was skeptical of his return. After many years however, when he finally immersed from the icy depths in which he was imprisoned, the Cullens called me for help".

"Aro is momentarily unattainable and the underlying facts will be fully disclosed as soon as possible. In the meanwhile we have a traitor in our midst; an old adversary of the Romanian coven. When the coven was destroyed he disappeared and we assumed that he had been burned along with his coven members. However it was this person who attempted to murder our king and my brother Caius. We have found out that he is holding a female hostage in Sulpicia's former room".

Looking at the small crowd around them he mentally asked Edward "Are their traitors in our midst?" then looking at the mind reader he saw a frown cloud his expression as his mind reached out. A moment later he looked back at Marcus and shook his head implying that he sensed none.

Knowing this Marcus turned his face back towards the crowd saying "Long ago we fought different covens for our right of supremacy. Now there is a conflict within our coven and if allowed it may be the cause of our downfall. So, just as in the past we must stand as one and show the outside world the strength of our unity. Our strike must be fast and effective and I am asking for all of you to work together to rid this coven of the serpent Dragus".

Hearing the name Dragus for the first time, many of the old ones echoed it in a whispered tone. The surprise was obvious in the murmurs as they still remembered the fierce battle against the Romanian coven in which they fought this reputed and violent foe.

"How did he get in?" Someone asked. This question caused a number of mumbled reactions from the crowd.

"As I said we will share this information with the coven as soon as we have all the facts but in order to get them we must capture this villain alive".

The murmur of the crowd grew in response to his words causing Marcus to raise his arms once more in an effort to silence them as he continued his dialog "I agree; It would be much easier to destroy him but we do not have that luxury for only he can tell us the truth. We must however take action before he escapes our justice".

The same vampire turned towards Marcus and scoffed "You come here and tell us Aro is momentarily unattainable then bring the Olympia coven within our midst; a coven that Aro himself has called traitors".

Caius was infuriated by the words but only smiled as he rose from his throne. Edward who was now closer to the kings had seen Caius's thoughts of revenge quickly reasoned "Caius your actions might be satisfying but it would only feed rebellion and that is in no one's favour".

Marcus then put his hand on Caius's shoulder saying "Edward is right; this is not the way". Then looking at the crowd he said "Caius and I are two of three kings and we wish for justice. The Cullens have proved their worth to us by helping us uncover certain problems that have plagued the coven. As I said we will discuss this with all but for now, all we can ask is that you trust our judgment".

Then fixing his eyes on the vampire that spoke he asked "Do you think that you can extend your patience?"

The man asked "And what of Aro?"

"Aro is safe and in the protection of Santiago and Demetri. I promise he will come to no harm"

The man nodded his acceptance of the situation and as they left the room Caius said "If he causes any problems I will have my revenge."

* William Shakespeare