Chapter 1:

Bella

Sun streams in through the sliver between the burgundy curtains draping my window. I roll over in bed, so that my eyes can adjust to the lightness breaking into the dark. A sigh escapes me when I remember what day it is. It's my coronation day and my twenty-second birthday. In the court's eyes, today I become an adult anointed with the responsibilities of a noble lady and officially on the market to be courted by suitors. Considering I'm a Swan and we're in Seala, the notion that I'm both a noble lady and a suitable match for anyone in another court is laughable. No suitor would cross the sealed borders to woo the daughter of a family the Volturi has publicly dismissed. The harsh truth of it doesn't matter to everyone bustling around the grounds today. They'll throw a party, drink too much wine, and place a flower crown on my head anyway. I should let myself get lost in it. Let it be a distraction to my desolate reality. Or maybe I'll just continue to lie here and stare at the wall. Count all the tiny flowers in the faded wallpaper that adorns my room. A knock comes from outside my door to let me know that disassociating the day away won't be an option.

I fumble out of bed and tiptoe across the marble floor. I'm not trying to be quiet, I'm just trying to avoid the icy chill from the cold floor. I grab a fur shawl from the hook by the door and swirl it around me. I'm not modest, but right now neither are my nipples that are threatening to cut through my silk nightgown.

I throw the door back and catch one of the court messengers mid-knock. His mouth falls agape, and he scrambles to pull himself together and wipe the surprise from his expression. "Miss Swan," he sputters out, smoothing his hands against the fabric of his trousers.

"If they've sent you to fetch me, let my father know I will be there on time, but I wish to get ready undisturbed." My voice is laced with exasperation. The sun is barely above the horizon and I'm already being rushed for a ceremony that won't take place until after sunset.

"Apologies, Miss Swan, but I am not here to rush you on behalf of Lord Charles." The messenger is still fidgeting nervously, his eyes darting around everywhere to avoid meeting mine. "I'm here to tell you that there's been a change to the ceremony."

My stomach plummets down to my feet. Whatever is making this man before me this nervous gives me good cause to do the same. I begin to sway a little and put my hand out to brace myself against the door frame. "What change?"

"The Volturi will be in attendance, my lady," the messenger says as the color drains from his face. "They've unsealed the border and sent out riders to make sure every other province is in attendance as well. Another court messenger will deliver the dress you are to wear tonight."

My head is spinning. The Volturi haven't visited Seala since well before my birth. If you had told me before today that they even knew of my existence, I would have howled with laughter. Their presence at my coronation, directing the other province clans to attend, and gifting me a dress does not feel like gestures of goodwill. It feels like I'm barreling straight down a chute to slaughter like one of our cattle. Queasiness stirs in my stomach, but I manage to whisper, "Thank you. You're excused."

Once the door is closed, my knees buckle and I slide down into a puddle on the floor. The coolness of the marble is suddenly a relief on my hot skin as panic sets in. I was not prepared for this. A suitor from every court was to be in attendance tonight, including the clan that had banished my family. The only things I know about the Volturi are passed down from fables and history books. They aren't the only fae clan that wields blood magic, but they're the most feared and vicious. They've used that fear for the last five-hundred years to rule over Welisarne without contest. And now they would be guests at our home, along with three other clans that haven't set foot within our borders in a hundred years.

A quiet knock comes at my door again and I'm not sure how much time has passed since the last knock that broke apart my hope of a coronation without event. "Miss Bella," Jessica, one of my handmaids, whispers through the gap of the door. "Miss Bella, I'm here to get you ready. We need to draw you a bath and I have your coronation dress."

Her words are meant to be soothing. She knows how easily I spiral at the slightest inconvenience, and there was nothing slight about the news from earlier.

"Come in, Jess," I say, trying to not let my voice crack. Crying now will do nothing but make my face puffy and prompt people to give me sympathy and attention I don't want.

She opens the door just far enough to sneak through with a garment bag that looks larger than her, then quickly shuts the door again. Her wide blue eyes and slight smirk tell me she's loving the drama of the day, but is waiting for me to set the tone.

"Go ahead," I sigh, waving my hand in a motion for her to continue. "Tell me everything."

Jess squeals with excitement and launches the garment bag onto my bed, as she grabs my hand to pull me to the bathroom. Her golden brown hair swaying behind her. "Bella, you should hear the things everyone has been saying."

"I don't have to hear them because I'm sure you will tell me all of them in excruciating detail," I say curtly, with an over dramatized eye roll.

"Honestly, Bella, you could at least find some enjoyment out of the first exciting thing to happen here in a long time," Jess says, already annoyed with my apathy. "The Volturi coming to Seala is a big deal." She pops the 'b' to emphasize just how big of a deal she thinks this is.

"They haven't been in this province since they denounced the…" She suddenly stops short, realizing what she's about to say and who she's about to say it to.

"The Swans," I finish for her. Mocking her with a devious tone to each word. "Yes, the Volturi haven't been here since they very publicly decided my family was less than garbage. And no other province would stand up against their declaration."

"Sorry," Jess whispers, staring down at her feet. "I didn't mean to offend. I've just been hearing everyone chatter all morning, and I got ahead of myself with excitement."

"Please continue," I sigh. Part of me truly wants to know what the people inside of the castle think of this itinerary change.

"Okay," Jess continues cautiously, turning on the hot water tap above the large porcelain tub. "So the cooks have had to drain at least an entire head of cattle to accommodate for the arrival of the Cullen clan and the Volturi. But the rumor is that the Volturi have a much different taste when it comes to their refreshments."

Jess waggles her eyebrows, which causes me to raise mine. Is she talking about blood or sex? Or both? She must see my confusion and the greenish tint that probably paints my face, because she quickly supplies more information. "They drink human blood, Bella. Well human or shifter, I suppose. But from what I've heard from the ladies of the Cullen court, shifters taste like wet dog."

"So the Cullen clan has arrived then?" I ask, genuinely curious. I've never met a blood fae or a shifter, since both live outside our borders. Some Seala residents can use lesser magics, but nothing as impressive as the elementals.

"Yes, my lady." She nods enthusiastically and I reply with a groan. "I mean Bella, sorry. It is habit and all. Yes, the Cullen clan has arrived. As well as the Blacks and the Nomads."

Now this is a piece of news I can get excited about. Even on my twenty-second birthday, I'm filled with girlish wonder and delight. I run my hand through the rising steam from the tub dreamily, as Jess pours in a concoction of different oils and salts. A heavenly scent fills the room that's a mixture of floral and sweet notes. With the border open, my heart swells with the hope that each clan will have brought a suitor. I've seen paintings of each during my history studies and I'm desperate to see them in person. I'm not normally such a hopeless romantic, but I never had reason to be before.

Another more unpleasant thought nags the back of my mind. What if they're all being brought here to laugh at me, or worse, to witness my execution? I'm not sure why the Volturi would see a young human girl as a threat, but my anxiety isn't concerned with logic.

I shrug off the straps of my night gown allowing it to fall softly to the floor, and step into the steaming hot water. My bathroom is almost entirely mirrors with the tub in the center and I feel vulnerable until I sink down into the protection of the tub walls. Jess comes to stand behind me and lets my hair down from the bun I slept in. She brushes out tangle after tangle as she continues to tell me her gossip from around the castle.

"So as you know Edward Cullen and James of the Nomads are both blood fae, but they actually have fangs," she giggles and gasps in mocked surprise. "I really expected that to be just a fairytale."

Handmaids aren't offered private tutors like children in the court are, so it's no surprise that all of this seems novel to her. I knew quite well that all the blood fae had fangs and skin of stone. They were supernaturally strong and had a shimmer to their skin in the sunlight. I had always found it amusing that a perfect creature of destruction was also so beautiful.

"And Jacob!" she continues, tugging a little too voraciously on my hair in excitement. "I wish you had told me that shifters are built like castle walls."

"I didn't expect us to ever meet one," I laugh, letting myself enjoy the girl talk. "What good would it have done to fill your head with such images?"

"For my dreams, Bella," Jess says matter-of-factly. "I need something good in them and a hunky shifter is exactly what's been missing."

Jess is right. Jacob is incredibly handsome and built to move mountains, but so are Edward and James in their own ways. I hope they will look even half as good as the paintings. But that nagging voice is returning, whispering to me that no fae creature would even take a human bride. I let out a long sigh and submerge myself completely under the water. When Jess finishes washing my hair, she helps me out and throws a plush towel around me before the draft in the air can make me shiver.

A serious expression suddenly comes over her face and she grabs me by the shoulders to look me in the eye. "Bella," she whispers. "Just remember, if the borders have been opened to allow people to come in, then it will allow people to go out."

Then, like the mood of the room didn't suddenly change at all, she is back to talking about what everyone will wear tonight.