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 29 – Although someone is a master of deception the truth will slowly emerge

It was difficult for Bella to concentrate on anything. Although she dared not believe it possible; her hope of reuniting with Caius was starting to bloom. That and the fact that Marcus had left to find him and Aro's suspicious nature had returned made her world vibrant but more unnerving.

Aro had, upon leaving her company asked her to join him in the office over a few hours. In an effort to relieve some of her tension, she decided that she would spend those hours in their private library.

Isabella longed for a challenge so instead of reading the normal history books Aro advised she looked into the Latin section hoping her knowledge of the old language was sufficient. While skimming her index finger along the book spines her eyes noticed a couple of books that were not in line with the others. She pushed them back but they wouldn't budge. Carefully taking the books off of the shelf she noticed a long narrow book was placed behind them.

"Strange" she mumbled to herself as she grasped the book. It had an indigo blue cover and the title was engraved with gold.

She softly read the title * "Ut ædificaretur in ea dynastiae" while her fingers fondly caressed the jacket.

"Mmm…the building of a Dynasty?" She whispered to herself. When she opened the book she saw the familiar calligraphic handwriting of Aro; at that moment it dawned on her that this was a personal log of some sort.

Aro had always encouraged her to read more about their species but having hid this in his part of their private library, she was sure he hadn't intended her to read this. Bella therefore noted how and where it was placed so that she could replace it in the exact spot. Aro had a sixth sense for any discrepancies in his surroundings and she had no wish to further aggravate his temperamental disposition.

Opening the book she had to admit that Aro had made this a masterpiece. Not only because of the craftsmanship of his writing but also the drawings that decorated the different pages; in those she saw Caius's hand and she lovingly touched them with her fingers in a futile attempt to feel his presence.

She browsed through the parchment, careful not to leave any tell-tale smudges. Noting the dates, she quickly realized that Aro had begun writing soon after the start of the Volturi coven. It seemed to encompass the history and laws of the vampires and how they had evolved through the centuries. Thankfully most was written in Latin and she was eternally grateful that she had mastered it enough to be able to comprehend most of what was written.

Taking the book to the settee she began to read of the various revolts that had taken place. It seemed that some vampires were deliberately left ignorant of the vampire laws by their makers and when they became reckless the Volturi sentenced them and their makers to be exterminated. The last revolt had taken place in Forks under Victoria's orders; only a few vampires had survived the annihilation.

All of a sudden, while turning the pages her eyes fell upon a chart titled ** "Nostra inclitus sodales". She recognized many of the vampire names in the list including her own and saw Aro's methodical manner of documenting the necessary information. In the chart he recorded the discovery date, the coven they were part of and their gift; if any. An inverted cross was drawn beside the names of a vampire signified their death or execution the last one being Caius.

On the bottom of the list she saw the names of Riley, Messalina, Bree, Fred and someone called Dragus. Her Latin was not perfect but she could get the just of the gifts as described in their Latin terms. According to her interpretation Riley's gift was "extremely sensitive scent tracker" and behind Messalina's name "memory removal". Next to the names of Bree and Fred were question marks but beside Dragus's name was the phrase "influences and manipulates the bodily senses of his victim causing extreme pain or pleasure". Alexia's name was not there so Bella was now sure that she had as yet, escaped Aro's notice.

After that, while looking for her name, she read the names of Alice and Jasper. In a matter of seconds her eyes travelled back to Messalina's gift and all of a sudden it struck her!

The way Jasper and Alice avoided the Cullens' and the uncharacteristically indifferent manner in which they spoke of them. How often had they not said they didn't remember the night of Caius's fall and subsequently avoided any discussion pertaining to that night? Might this have something to do with Messalina's gift? Then she remembered Alec's remark when he told her of his initial meeting with Messalina "Strangely enough I don't really remember much of that day…."

Suddenly realizing how dangerous this material was she quickly replaced the book, cautiously putting everything back in place and hoping that Aro's keen eyes would not be aware of any alterations.

Flustered by this new information she quickly found that her hunger for knowledge had dimmed. Getting as far away from the library as possible, she promptly left their apartments and walked towards the gardens; she needed some time alone to work this out.

* Ut ædificaretur in ea dynastiae: The building of a Dynasty

** Nostra inclitus sodales: Our honourable members