"How long have you lived in the castle Isabella?"Rosalie asked pair had just left the queens and were walking hand and hand as Isabella was showing her parts of the castle. Rosalie had been worried about meeting the queens but over all the royals had been nice. She wasn't surprised that she was questioned about what happened with the newborn army. Rosalie wasn't even feeling any regret for telling them her family's involvement. She knew her loyalties were going to be tested in the coming days and she would need to choose a side. Whether that be with Isabella or with the Cullens. She wasn't a hundred percent sure what was going to happen but had already decided she would side with her mate. Even though she didn't know her that well she had faith that Isabella would do what she could to help Rosalie save the members of her family that deserved it.

"You can call me Bella and I was brought before the queens in 1903 and have lived here ever since."Bella told her.

"What do you mean you were brought before the queens?" Rosalie asked.

Bella sighed."I see we are going to be starting with sad stories today."

"You don't have to tell me anything if it's to much for you." Rosalie knew that she wasn't that keen on telling Bella her story.

"No it's alright." Bella said. "As I told you I was turned in 1885 and that my turning was violent."

"Yes and that you don't remember your human life." Rosalie replied.

"Well from what we have pieced together my mothers believe that I was used as feeding bait for newborns." Bella expected the shock on Rosalie's face. "When I woke up I was buried in a mass grave and had to dig myself out."

"You were buried alive?!" Rosalie couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like.

Bella nodded. "We think that while I was changing I was silent and that is why no one investigated. The grave was in an isolated area but not isolated enough that someone would come across it if they heard someone screaming."

"Jesus." Rosalie squeezed Bella's hand just wanting the reassurance that her mate was alright.

"The reason we think I was used to feed newborns was because from what I saw of the other bodies in the grave they had been torn apart. I wasn't spared either and although you can't see under my clothing I have numerous scars from where my skin and muscles knitted themselves back together." Bella told her. "I am actually missing three toes."

"Oh Bella." Rosalie stopped walking and pulled Bella into a hug. She wasn't one to show affection often but she needed to feel her mate and make sure that Bella was real and safe.

"It's alright." Bella assured her. "I don't know what I looked like before so it isn't like I had to mourn my human appearance."

Rosalie sighed and released Bella. She didn't let Bella go completely though. Rosalie wrapped her arm around Bella's shoulder and pulled her into her side happy that Bella simply wrapped her arm around her waist."Still that must have been horrible to wake up like that."

"Like I said I didn't know any different." Bella said.

"What happened after you woke up?" Rosalie asked as they continued walking cuddled together.

"Well I was of course confused. I didn't know who I was at all and didn't know anything about humans or vampires. My knowledge was that of basic facts like how to walk, talk things like that. I didn't have an understanding of the world was like I was a child in that I had all the things I needed to know to function but not the information to survive." Bella explained.

"You forgot that much?" Rosalie was surprised because Alice had remembered a lot more than Bella did.

"We actually aren't sure if it was due to my turning or something about my upbringing. For all we know when I was human I could have been completely isolated." Bella told her.

"That's true." Rosalie figured that Alice also had a kind of cheat sheet when she woke up because she had visions of what was going to happen that helped her figure out the world around her. If Bella had no one then it was believable that she wouldn't know about society. "What happened after you woke?"

"I was of course very confused but also very thirsty. I didn't know what I was thirsty for I just knew that there was a burn in my throat and it needed to be quenched. Like I told you the place where I was buried was rather isolated so there weren't any people around. So as I started exploring the area around the grave I came across some deer." Rosalie cut Bella off before she could continue.

"Your first meal as a vampire was an animal?" Rosalie was baffled when Bella nodded. "How did you go from animals to human?"

"I didn't initially. I did however decimate the wildlife around me."Bella told her. "I didn't come across humans for what I think was months but I'm unsure exactly when. It was then that I discovered that not only did they smell better than animals they tasted better as well. I'm proud to tell you that I didn't massacre everyone in the village I came upon even though I wanted to. I went to them for information. I knew I was different from them but wasn't sure how so I questioned them on their species and about the world. They were all rather nice. I suspect that to be because my eyes had changed to the same color as yours are now."

"When did you start drinking human blood?" Rosalie was curious how Bella went from living off of animals to being able to be around a village full of humans she didn't massacre to drinking human blood.

"There was a rumor going around the village of a demon that lived in the mountains that would kill anyone who trespassed on their land. I didn't know what they were talking about at first but as they described the same attributes that I myself had I knew it had to be someone like after I got as much information on the vampire as I could I went to the mountains to find them. When I did I found it wasn't just one vampire but an entire coven of them. Twelve in total." Bella explained.

"You just randomly came upon a coven of twelve vampires and they didn't kill you?" Rosalie couldn't believe that they didn't just kill Bella outright.

Bella shook her head. "They tried to but my shield activated and I was able to fend off all of them. At the time I didn't even know I had a gift. It was after it was obvious that I wasn't going to be harmed that the coven leader a woman named Margret called them all off and asked me why I was there. It was when I explained to her what happened to me and that I was unsure of what I was that she offered to take me in."

"Why do I have a feeling she wasn't making that offer out of the goodness in her heart." Rosalie could tell this wasn't a story with a happy ending.

"Because you are extremely perceptive."Bella said."Margret used the fact that I knew nothing of the world to shape me to fit her own see she was actually trying to build her own army to take out a rival who she had lost a fight with over a territory she wanted."

"She must have been very pleased to have you basically fall into her lap." If Rosalie was in Margret's place and a vampire as powerful as Bella seemed to be landed in her lap she would be pushing her plans up to attack immediately.

"Oh she was. I became her personal bodyguard. In return she trained me to use my gift. I won't get into the methods she used but I will tell you that despite her pleasant demeanor Margret was sadistic when she wanted something."Bella told her. "So while I was learning to use my gift Margret was building her army bringing in newborns and training them to fight. As I look back now it was obvious that she was just creating them to distract her rival so that I could get Margret close enough to her so she could personally kill her."

"Did you actually fight against the other vampire or did the Volturi interfere?" Rosalie asked.

"We did actually fight. It was a massacre. Margret's side wiped out the other army and just like what Margret wanted I was able to get her close enough to her rival to kill was after the fight was over and Margret threw a party to celebrate her victory that the Volturi showed up." Bella could still remember how stupid she had been when they did."Unfortunately for me I didn't understand who exactly they were. Margret had never explained vampire laws or anything like that so I had no clue."

"Did you try and fight the guards?" When Bella nodded Rosalie stared at her in shock. "How are you still alive?"

"Margret ordered me to protect her as I usually did and ordered the rest of her people to attack the six guards that had shown up. It was after the guards had decimated Margret's people that they moved to attack both of us as we were the only two left. Being uneducated I stood up to them and when I was able to land a punch to Jane's face they stopped trying to kill me." Bella explained.

Rosalie wasn't sure she believed what Bella just said. "You punched Jane in the face?"

"She did finally forgive me for that but it took a couple years." Bella chuckled remembering Jane's expression after her fist had connected with her face."It was because of the fact I could deflect not only Jane's gift but that my shield prevented them from touching me that they stopped attacking. It was while I was fighting that Felix was able to capture Margret. I tried to get her back but she ordered me to stop when the guards threatened if she called me off her death would be quick and painless but if she didn't she would be given to Jane to be tortured. That had her telling me to not only stop fighting but to do everything the guards told me to do."

"What happened to Margret? Did they kill her right then?" Rosalie asked.

"No, I think they didn't kill her so that they had a way to control me because it was obvious they wouldn't be able to subdue me. After everything was settled they took us back to Italy where we were presented to the queens. At first I was defiant because I still didn't know who they were. I knew they probably wanted me for my gift because in all the time I lived with Margret she warned me that others would try to posses me and I needed to be careful of people lying to me to get me to do their bidding." Bella told her.

"When you met the queens did you feel the familiar bond right away?" Rosalie wondered how the bond effected the outcome of the situation.

"Kind of. I felt drawn to each of them but I didn't know anything about bonds. I didn't even know about mate bonds. Margret had kept me sheltered and I only interacted with people she personally selected and that was always when she was present. I was her bodyguard so she had me always by her side. When we needed to feed she would have humans brought to us so I never had to hunt." Bella explained.

"When did you start trusting the queens?" Rosalie asked.

"It took a long time. They of course felt the bond and knew what it was right away. My momma Didyme ran to me and pulled me into her arms right away before I was even introduced." Bella shook her head at the memory. "I was confused by the whole situation because my shield didn't protect me. I did growl at her though."

"You growled at the queen?" Rosalie couldn't believe Bella was allowed to live even if the queen was her mother.

Bella laughed. "Oh yes I did. Looking back it was very funny but at the time it didn't go over that well. Sulpicia was furious and the entire room was tense. It was when Athenodora began laughing that everyone calmed down. My mother then approached my momma and gently pulled her off of me and whispered something in her ear. To this day I don't know what she said but I do know that my momma was crestfallen when she walked back to her throne."

"Did they kill Margret?" Rosalie wondered what happened to the woman.

"Initially they decided to spare her because they knew of my loyalty to the woman. My mothers didn't want to upset me but they did put her in the dungeon. It was after I was able to accept that she had been lying to me and that the woman never wanted me for more than my gift that I allowed them to kill her." Bella still had mixed feelings about Margret but that's what happens when you are brainwashed she had come to learn.

"How long did it take for you to come to accept the queens as your mothers?" Rosalie asked.

"I am ashamed to admit it took a few years before I was comfortable around them and a few years after that that I began referring to them as my mothers." Bella still felt bad for the way she had treated her mothers when she first got to the castle. Even though the queens had assured her that it was natural the way she acted and they never were upset with her Bella still felt they had lost so much time to her stubbornness.

"It seems you have a good relationship with them now." Rosalie could easily see how much the queens loved Bella. Every time Athenodora looked at Bella you could see her pride in her daughter and when they met with the other two queens they looked happier to see Bella than they did their own mate. It made Rosalie wonder what her future role would be in their relationship.

"I love my mothers more than I have thought possible."Bella wasn't ashamed to admit it either. "They have always been patient with me and have only ever wanted me to be happy and be the best person I can be.

"I hope that I can meet their expectations." Rosalie was worried that she wouldn't be able to live up to the expectation of being the mate of the Volturi princess.

"Don't worry you already have their approval." Seeing that Rosalie didn't believe her Bella continued. "If they didn't approve of you they wouldn't have let you go off with me by ourselves. They would have either sent you to your coven or had guards following us around so they could report back to my mothers about what we did and what we talked about."

Rosalie wasn't sure if that made her feel better knowing the queens would assign people to spy on them. "Your mothers would send guards to watch us."

"I know it seems extreme but my mothers are very many people even know I exist. Whenever I am introduced to someone new I am not allowed to be alone with them until my mothers have decided they can be trusted around me.I hate to tell you this but it will probably be the same with you now. They won't want anything to happen to you so you will most likely have a full assignment of guards for you personally." Bella told her.

"I want to say that's not necessary but I think I will just have to get used to having them around won't I?" Rosalie was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her mate was a royal but that didn't mean she didn't understand that she was going to need protection. She was a weakness that could be exploited and would need to be protected.

"Don't worry I'll make sure you get the coolest guards. I'm friends with most of them so I'll find ones that will fit well with you." Bella was already going through a list of the guards in her head trying to decide which one's personality would mesh well with Rosalie.

"I'm sure you will pick out someone perfect." Rosalie said.

"I will. Now let me show you where the arcade is. It's were my mother and I spend a lot of time when we aren't in the training rooms." Bella tugged Rosalie's hand and led her down the hallway. They would have many more deep discussions ahead of them but now Bella wanted to show Rosalie where she lived. She hoped Rosalie liked the castle because Bella knew her mothers wouldn't want her to move out. Bella of course would if it made Rosalie more comfortable but she didn't want to bring up the option until she showed Rosalie all of the perks of living in the castle. Bella was just grateful that she never really put to much effort into decorating her personal wing. Maybe letting Rosalie take over the rooms and making them her own would give her better incentive to stay. Bella hoped it would because she really didn't want to be away from her mothers.