Author's Note: Don't worry, I haven't disappeared again. I've just been gone for so long I have to reread some stories, try to get back into the zone, that kind of thing. Hopefully I'll be able to keep going like this at the very least, but no matter what happens, don't worry. I will never stop writing a story until it's finished, and nothing is abandoned. Seriously, I'll write from beyond the grave if I have to. Anyways, it was a little hard to write, but I hope you guys enjoy this update. As always, thanks for the support.
Chapter 4
It could have been only seconds, or maybe hours, that Bella stood frozen as the three women on the thrones stared at her. And those stares...it wasn't the way Heidi had looked at her, making her feel all warm and maybe even safe inside. But it wasn't a look of hatred, either. It was, however, a look that Bella had never experienced before, one that made her feel almost too hot inside, and definitely uncomfortable, while also incredibly nervous.
As Bella started to fidget under the three pairs of red eyes, the silence continued, and even Heidi felt like this might continue forever. But finally, it appeared that the Queens got a hold of themselves, at least to a certain degree.
"I am Sulpicia," the woman in the middle said. "This is Athenodora and Didyme." She gestured to the other two women, who each gave Bella a dark, intense look and a nod at Bella, who fought the urge to take a step back, away from them. Sulpicia leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "What is your name, young one? And might you come closer?"
Bella shivered, and all of the vampires noticed, the Queens frowning as if they were upset by the reaction. Heidi felt an incredible urge to place a reassuring hand on Bella's shoulders, but her hand froze halfway towards contact, noticing how the Queens scowled, eyes darkening with possessive fury.
"I don't want to," Bella said as Heidi dropped her arm and clasped her hands in front of her. The human then worked up the best glare she could, which only made her look like an adorable kitten trying to be taken seriously by the Queens. It made the three women want to cuddle the girl, stroke her, and of course, fuck her senseless. "You've brought us here against our will, and you're clearly going to do something bad to us. Why should I comply with anything you want?"
"Oh, I can think of quite a few reasons," Athenodora spoke in a low purr. There was a mix of hunger in her tone, but also threat. In all honesty, Athenodora hadn't meant for the threat to slip in; Athenodora was just so used to threatening anyone and everyone besides the other queens when she didn't get her way, to the point that she would sound threatening whenever she dropped her guard. And at that moment, she was so focused on her interest in Bella that she couldn't think about anything else.
Of course, Bella registered the threat, and stepped courageously in front of Heidi.
"Bella, no," Heidi whispered lowly as the three Queens hissed at the display, displeased that Bella was acting like the Queens were her enemy.
"Good going, Athenodora," Didyme muttered, being the first Queen to get a hold of herself. "That's not the best way to start off getting to know each other."
"None of this is a good way to start off, and it was an accident," Athenodora shot back grumpily, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what's she doing acting like she needs to protect that traitor, anyways? Heidi is the reason she's here, and if she had been anyone else to us, she'd be another meal for us to share."
Bella stiffened, and she felt a hard stone fall into her stomach. A meal? Bella was to be...a meal? And Heidi...had Heidi really planned on bringing Bella here, simply to have Bella killed? Was this woman, Athenodora, really telling the truth?
The human couldn't help but look over her shoulder at Heidi, her dual colored gaze shining with confusion and pain, afraid. Afraid that the one person who seemed to like her was simply another person who wanted her dead.
Heidi's eyes were also bright with pain. "Bella, no, it's not that simple. When we first met, you smelled so good, and I thought you'd make a great present to the Queens. But then I got to know you, and I grew to love you like a little sister. I realized I couldn't take you to them, but I realized too late to escape them. I'm so, so sorry, Bella."
The words Heidi spoke during the ride over suddenly surfaced in Bella's head, how Heidi should have never found Bella that day. It wasn't just Bella being naive, but some gut instinct that told Bella to believe Heidi. She was with Bella, after all, and being called a traitor by the Queens themselves. The Queens, who apparently wanted to eat her.
Hesitantly, Bella reached towards Heidi's hand, staring into the woman's eyes. Never had Bella seen such relief in someone's expression, and it made Bella's heart feel warm and full as she took Heidi's cool hand.
Three hisses sounded behind her and Heidi tried to gently, albeit reluctantly, pull away. But Bella tightened her grip, and Heidi let Bella hang on to her hand. She was already going to die for her traitorous actions, so why shouldn't she just hang on to Bella's hand, offering and accepting comfort from the touch?
Bella turned back towards the Queens and did her best to meet the gazes of all three of them, ignoring the strange, nervous electricity that seemed to run through her own body due to the attempt. "What are you? And what are you going to do to us? I want answers."
"She sure does have some guts," Athenodora said with a smirk, clearly enjoying Bella's backbone.
"That she does. Her fire is rare, especially among humans when they face even one of our kind," Didyme added, sounding equally pleased.
Sulpicia, who had been busy frowning as she stared at Heidi and Bella's still clasped hands, managed to tear her gaze away so she could stare into Bella's eyes. "Your name, first, child." Yes, she had heard Heidi say it, but that wasn't enough. She wanted to hear her mate's name from the brunette's lips herself, and no one else. She wanted that small, important piece of information given from her mate, even if it was a little reluctantly.
"Bella," Bella managed to say, "But only my friends call me that. Everyone else calls me Isabella, and that includes you." Of course Bella was lying out of her ass. The only person she considered a friend was Heidi, and everyone who ever said her name, often with a voice filled with hate, called her Bella too. It was the name Bella gave, the one she went by. Not to mention she hated being called Isabella. But she needed some kind of control, and it figured that three women she hated would call her something she hated. Or, Bella amended, women she should hate. Even if, for some strange reason, she didn't.
"Isabella, then," Sulpicia allowed, a sour look on her face. Although she did find the name beautiful, she didn't like Bella putting any kind of wall between her and them. The fact that Heidi called her Bella and Bella didn't allow her or her fellow queens to didn't sit well with her.
"Isabella," Didyme purred, rolling the name on her tongue, which also made Bella fight down another shiver. She was doing that a lot since she came into the room, and she was already hating it. Didyme then continued and voiced Sulpicia's thoughts, adding, "It truly is a beautiful name."
"And perhaps we can get to the point where you will enjoy us calling you by your full name. Where you will even beg to hear one of us saying it," Athenodora said, a predatory grin on her face that made Bella's breath catch in her throat as she clutched at Heidi's hand a little tighter, which made Athenodora growl, filled with the desire to rip Heidi's arm right off for daring to be so casual with her mate.
"Answers," Bella managed to squeak out in a quiet, firm voice, although she couldn't bring herself to look at any of the Queens anymore. "I gave you my name, now you need to hold up your end of the bargain. Or are you liars as well as kidnappers and cannibals?"
Heidi gasped sharply, as did several of the other guard members, and they all stared at Bella in shock. Had she been anyone else-as everyone could already tell what she was to the Queens-she would have been punished as painfully as possible for how she spoke. But instead, they could do nothing but turn to the Queens, who were clearly just as stunned, to see what they would do next.
"Bella, you really don't want to speak to the Queens that way," Heidi whispered in Bella's ear, unsure of what would become of Bella for her words, mate to the Queens or not.
"What? Are you afraid they're going to want to hurt me?" Bella asked wryly, giving Heidi an unconcerned look. "They're already planning on eating me, and I've suffered any and every kind of abuse you can imagine. I can-"
Bella was cut off and all three Queens roared, jumping to their feet, which also made all of the guard, including Heidi, tense as Bella jumped in shock. Despite not blinking, Bella felt she might have, as the Queens seemed to appear in front of her in half of a second, towering over her, radiating fury. They were so close that all of their bodies brushed against Bella's, and somewhere in that second, Heidi had been ripped away from her. And, in the Queens' anger, also thrown against the wall, despite her not being the cause of their emotion.
"Someone hurt you?" Sulpicia demanded, voice flat.
"Tell us!" Athenodora growled. "All you have to do is tell us who, and we'll have them groveling before you as we crush every inch of them into dust."
Didyme didn't say anything, instead draping her arms around Bella's neck from behind and burying her face in Bella's neck, taking comfort in the fact that while something had happened, Bella was at least in front of them and alive, safe. And nobody would ever dare to misplace a hair on Bella's head again.
"Wha-what's it to you?" Bella stuttered after several moments of stunned silence. Realizing that one of the women was actually holding her, Bella tried to jerk away, but Didyme's grip was iron and only tightened as she let out a displeased grumble. "Let me go! The hell are you doing? And you still haven't answered my questions! You're all-"
Once again interrupted, something Bella was starting to find incredibly annoying, Sulpicia took hold of Bella's chin and forced their eyes to meet, Bella's blue and gold eyes meeting Sulpicia's now near-black. The queen knew demanding a list of all those who might have hurt Bella wasn't a good idea right now, as the girl still viewed them as potential enemies. They had plenty of time, and once Bella was theirs in every way, Bella could easily start the list for the hunt of those who once harmed her.
"We are vampires, Isabella," Sulpicia spoke, her tone dark, tight, and quiet, causing the hairs on Bella's neck to stand on end as her stomach twisted into knots. "And the most powerful vampires in the world, at that. What we're going to do to you...we're not going to eat you. But we are going to keep you here-"
"And teach you the benefits of loving us. Benefits I know you'll enjoy," Athenodora added, smirking as she purposely pressed her breast against Bella's arm.
"What?" Bella asked in disbelief, taken completely off guard.
"That's not how courting works, Athenodora," Didyme chided, even as the possessive part of her purred at the images that conjured in her head from Athenodora's words. "We can't just force it, and we certainly can't teach her to love us. It has to come naturally."
"As for Heidi..." Sulpicia added, still restraining herself from covering her mate in her scent, from stripping the girl right then and there to make sure she had not a single scratch on her, from eliminating all those deemed a threat or those who have threatened Bella at one point in time, regardless of how long ago that was. "She needs to be punished. She did betray us after all, and our laws are simple; treason means death."
In the background, Felix and Demitri each stepped up next to Heidi and put a hand on a shoulder each, ready for Sulpicia's orders. Heidi looked away, just so she wouldn't have to risk meeting the eyes of Bella or one of the Queens.
However, Bella didn't notice any of this. Not just because the three taller Queens acted as a barrier, making it impossible for Bella to see past them, but because Bella's entire being froze. She felt colder than ever before as she processed Sulpicia's words, realizing that, for some reason, the Queens wanted Bella to live with them in safety while, at the same time, they wanted to kill Heidi. The only friend Bella ever had.
"Now, as their are special circumstances regarding her betrayal-" Sulpicia started, about to explain that she would get to live, albeit still be heavily punished, she was interrupted by the human in front of her. By Bella, who hadn't even heard Sulpicia start to speak.
"No."
The single word took all three Queens aback; none of them had ever been told no before, and the force behind it, coming from their mate, no less, made it hard for the three women to process.
"Sorry?" Didyme asked as she pulled away from Bella, loosening her hold just enough to attempt to peer into Bella's face.
"I said no," Bella repeated, looking up to glare at the three Queens. She then threw down the only bargaining chip she had. And while it was a desperate attempt to try and save Heidi, Bella still meant every word of it. "If you even try to hurt Heidi, then you might as well do the same to me. And if you kill her...then, you better be prepared to kill me too. Because Heidi is the only friend I have, and she already means so much to me. Besides, if me being here is so important to you, then you should be thanking her, because without her, you never would have laid eyes on me. And from what I can tell, you want to punish her for trying to keep me safe and alive, something you seem to care about for some reason, no matter how fucked up it is. So...if you're still crazy enough to kill her...then you better be prepared, because I'm going to follow her the first chance I get."
Her little speech over with, Bella took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance in case they would try to attack, despite knowing how ineffective fighting back would be. Meeting Heidi's horrified eyes from between two of the Queens, Bella then waited for the final verdict.