Chapter Fifty Nine

Bella

I was aroused by another knock on the door but this time it wasn't a friendly visit. This time my presence was required in the audience chamber by Aro and his brothers. I washed my face hurriedly and cleaned my teeth then followed Chelsea to the audience chamber which was a huge space and very daunting. Seated on a raised dais were the three brothers, Aro and Caius who I had met and a third who must be Marcus. There was a chair placed in front of them and below and I was now becoming genuinely scared, it seemed the niceties were now over and as I was commanded to sit by Chelsea I saw Aro and Caius exchange a look while Marcus just stared at me with seeming interest.

"Bella, we feel the time has come for you to decide where your loyalties lie. As a human with knowledge of our world we are within our rights and our law to have you executed. However as you are aware we would be only too happy were you to decide to join our guard as a vampire with a gift. You know that your father has been changed, by the man who professes to be your mate I hasten to add so surely you would prefer to stay alive and with him."

"With who? My mate or my father? You promised Jasper I would be safe here until his return. You also promised not to harm or change me. Have you changed your minds? Do you intend to force me to decide?"

"Circumstances change Bella, that is just the way things are. As a result of your fathers transformation by The Major we feel you no longer have a choice in the matter. You have no one else. only your father and your "mate" so we are just helping matters along. By the time they return to Volterra you could already be transforming and they won't have to experience the pain of your change. It seems the best way forward."

"I only have your word for the fact my father is becoming a vampire."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I don't know, you promised that I would remain unharmed and human until Jasper returned. Were you lying then?"

Marcus snorted in laughter while even Caius couldn't help a grin of amusement but Aro was not at all amused by my reply.

"You don't seem to understand just how precarious your position here is. I could have you executed right now."

I thought about my shield and decided I could either believe in it or give up now.

"You have two choices, join us, join the guard and allow us the use of your gift or die."

I steeled myself and stood up chin high,

"I will never join you or your guard so do your worst."

That took them unaware, Caius and Aro exchanged another look while Marcus continued to watch me speculatively. Would they dare to try executing me or was it just a trick to get me to allow them to change me? I would soon find out.

"Felix."

The huge guard who reminded me of Santiago stepped forward but he didn't look happy.

"Yes Aro?"

"I will give Bella one more chance to join us, if she refuses, kill her."

"What about The Major Aro?"

Aro looked scowling at Marcus,

"What will he do? He can hardly storm Volterra brother, you should stop seeing him as the big bad bogey man."

Then he turned back to me,

"Well?"

I took a deep breath and visualised my shield,

"No."

There was a long silence then Aro looked at Felix,

"Carry out the sentence."

He moved towards me slowly and unhappily but he'd been given an order and he couldn't disobey but as he got close he hesitated,

"Get on with it."

He raised a hand and I knew if it connected it would probably decapitate me but as it whizzed through the air I tensed and closed my eyes frantically visualising my shield before me. There was a hiss of surprise and I opened them to see Felix huge fist inches from my face.

"What's going on?"

"I can't touch her Aro, I can't get any closer."

Aro stood up and stepped off the dais to confront me,

"So, your shield is stronger than I thought, you use it to defend yourself. I wonder what you will think when you stand there safe as I kill your precious mate and father."

My mouth went dry, could I protect them too? Maybe, if they were close enough, at least I could keep Felix or whoever Aro sent against them from getting too close, the same way I pushed the chair across the room. Of course in order to do that I needed to be close enough to see them but it was a chance I had to take. I felt that if I agreed to work for Aro and his brothers I might well be gone by the time Jasper got back with my dad. He wasn't to be trusted. I really wished that Darius were close by now, to give me some advice but it was all down to me.

"Well Bella? What will you do? Remember you are a weak and feeble human here in a citadel full of vampires. Do you really think you can keep up your shield for long? How much time will pass before you become so hungry or tired that you can no longer keep the shield in place? What do you think will happen then? Do you think we will be so generous next time?"

I knew he was right but I also knew Jasper and my dad were on their way, if I could just hold out long enough for him to arrive maybe then I could agree to be changed by my mate. I wanted to become a vampire, I needed to in order to stay with Jasper but I would not be bullied or frightened into allowing one of these disgusting creatures to do the deed.

"I think I'll wait it out."

Aro shook his head sadly,

"A bad choice Bella but yours never the less. In that case I am forced to move you from our guest quarters to less comfortable quarters."

"And just how do you intend to get her there Aro? If Felix can't touch her I doubt anyone else can and I don't see Bella walking freely into a cell now do you?"

Aro's eyes narrowed and I saw the cruelty in his eyes, I was glad at least for now I was safe from his wrath.

"Very well, stay here Bella. I'm sure the others who use this chamber will be only too happy to wait you weaken and eventually become a victim of ours."

He was right, the chamber seemed half full and I could imagine the others swarming in to watch for the moment I became susceptible to his other gifts but this is the place Jasper might look for me whereas a cell may not be so I sat back down, closed my eyes and settled in for the wait. The only thing I had on my side was that my shield remained in place as I slept so Aro was wrong there, hunger and thirst were my only weaknesses or at least that's what I thought for the first few hours before I sensed my bladder was full. Would they allow me to leave the chamber and if they did could I get back in again? I decided to wait as long as I could praying that Jasper would arrive soon to help me although what he could do I had no idea, except of course change me himself, but even that would be a relief.