Bella

The room spins around me as I twirl locked in Aro's grasp. His high-pitched laughter ringing in my ears and it sounds so completely ridiculous that I crack a smile and laugh myself. I can still feel tendrils of fear roiling around inside me, but it's masked by a pleasantness that descended upon me like a cloud.

I've lost count to how many songs the fae in front of me has swept me away for, but a break in the music finally comes and he releases me with a final spin.

"Isabella," Aro croons and bends to kiss my hand gently. His ice cold lips meeting the flushed warmth of my hand.

I awkwardly try to curtsey, but I'm sure I look more like a baby deer on fresh legs than an elegant lady of court. If Aro notices, he doesn't make it known. Instead, his eyes sparkle with a mischievousness that tightens my chest.

"I'll be seeing you later," he says lowly and turns away, heading to the table laid out with elaborate punch bowls filled with blood and golden goblets.

I'm still stunned by the previous interaction when I feel a warm hand caress my lower back. My instinct is to jump away from the unwarranted touch, but I turn instead to see who this mysteriously warm hand belongs to.

Jacob Black is at the other end of the arm in question, staring down at me intensely with his dark eyes. Obsidian orbs swirling with an intensity that I can't name. Desire maybe. Or something more primal. Hungry.

My head is spinning with all of these social interactions I've been thrust into at every turn, barely being able to come up for air in between.

But Jacob peeks my interest. He's different than the other suitors and people floating mindlessly around this party. His presence demands my attention, like Edward does.

"My lady," he says in a dark, husky voice. "I see you've already danced with quite a few blood suckers tonight. May I offer you something different?"

My eyebrows fly to my hairline. His words are pompous and audacious, but the boldness of them intrigues me further.

"Only if you promise to sneak me out to the patio afterward, so I can finally get some air." I grin coyly at him, accepting the challenge he's offered and spin out onto the ballroom floor once more.

Everything about him is a stark contrast to my previous dance partners. His warmth. His dark eyes, full of mischief, but with something animalistic to them. His smell, earthy and masculine. A future of laughter, safety, and a cabin full of family flashes through my mind briefly and I find my mouth forming a grin at the thought.

Jacob's grip tightens on my waist slightly as our steps slow. "Let's go get you that air."

He guides me out the large, double doors that lead out onto a balcony that overlooks the forest on the edge of our estate. The cool breeze is refreshing compared to the warm, stuffy air of the ballroom. I take a deep breath, for what feels like the first time tonight. Even the compression from my corset seems to have eased.

"Isabella," Jacob whispers, gathering my hands in his.

"Just Bella," I smile and whisper back at him. Something in his eyes shift and they look at me pleadingly.

"Bella. You must know the danger you're in." His voice is still soft, but filled with concern. "These…these bloodsuckers. They're all the same. I've seen the atrocities in their provinces. Humans are pets. Food. Something to play with and use, then throw to the side in place of a shiny, new one."

My eyes widen. Of course I've heard the old tales of the war and the Last Battle. But that's supposed to be history and with the rules the Volturi maintain there's supposed to be structure and peace between the provinces. How would I know that for certain though since Seala has been isolated for a century? But the history also states that the shifter fae have a long and violent history with their blood fae neighbors.

"My lord, I apologize, but how are the shapeshifters any different? Taking blood fae lives instead of humans? Is one life valued above another?"

"Just Jacob," he mimics back to me, before looking away and staring towards the trees. "The world out there is not a fairytale from your history books."

"And I suppose you've come to warn me and whisk me away to safety?" I snort. I nervously drum my fingers along the balcony banister, holding my gaze on him. "Jacob."

His mouth parts like he's about to speak, but the appearance of Edward interrupts us.

"Bella, don't listen to anything this feral creature says." Edwards voice is sharp. Short. Angry. "Does your pack even know you're here, pup?"

Anger rolls off Jacob in waves, crashing into me. My chest tightens with the tension between the two of these men in front of me.

It's suffocating. Taking up all of the oxygen, even though we're surrounded by fresh air.

My history books didn't cover this. My eyes flick back and forth between the two men before me. Overwhelm consumes me.

Edward. Jacob. James. Aro.

The blood fae. And the shifters.

I'm somehow expected to make a decision between them after being secluded my entire life. My entire family kept away for generations. I expected all my suitors to be repulsed by the Swan name.

My breathing stutters as panic wells up in my chest once again tonight. Edward is quickly at my side. Holding me up with his arms gently around my waist.

"Thank you," I whisper breathlessly, placing my hands on his and looking up at him admiringly.

Jacob huffs and I swear I see his eyes roll as he turns abruptly and heads back inside.

"It's an impossible choice, you must know that." I sigh, sinking my weight into him. My back leaning into his chest. "I don't truly know any of you. Yet I'm expected to decide who I will spend the rest of my life with."

"Bella, I know this is all terribly overwhelming," Edward sighs, wrapping his arms tigher around me. He leans in, so I can feel his cold breath against my ear as he whispers. "I can see through almost everyone's intentions here, but I can't tell what it is you truly want."

"To be free," the words leave my mouth before I can think about them. It's all I ever wanted, since I learned what being secluded in the world meant. Caged in this castle like a wrongfully convicted prisoner. Paying for the misdeeds from one hundred years before my birth.

If Edward is suprised at my admission, he gives no sign of it. After a few moments, he spins me to face him. Still holding me close. A faint electric spark seems to crackle and tingle each place our bodies touch. I've never felt anything like it. Nothing similar happened with anyone else I've danced with tonight. But something he said struck me as odd.

"How do you know the other's intentions?" I ask, memorizing the golden rings of his eyes and the way his pupils expand into them when he looks at me. Whisps of his bronze hair fall in front of his eyes and the urge to move them with my fingers is hard to resist.

"I can read minds, Bella." His voice is calm and even, like he hasn't dropped a significant piece of information on me.

I feel the blood drain from my face. My stomach lurches up. He can read minds. Is he reading mine now? What about earlier on the stairs? Dread spins into panic trying to franticly remember every thought I've had in his presence.

"But I can't seem to break through yours," he laughs. "I see the worry all over that beautiful face of yours. You're a mystery to me, my darling."

"What?" I manage to choke out. "So you can read everyone's mind except for mine? Isn't that odd?"

"It's fascinating really. Do you know any of the lesser magics? I've heard of humans who have been able to briefly put a shield around themselves. And I certainly wouldn't blame you for wanting one tonight."

"No, my tutors have always been purely academic. I've never been given the option to study magic." I hope the bitterness isn't too apparent in my tone. My mother had been adamant that I wouldn't be learning anything about magic and my father reluctantly agreed to save himself the arguement.

"Remarkable. Perhaps you are a natural shield," Edward mused, staring at me with a mixture of curiousity and wonderment.

Edward's expression drops to one that's more serious and the air drops in temperature around us.

"Bella, we have to get you out of here before the toast. When I went to ask for your hand…" He pauses. "When I went to ask for your hand, someone had beat me to it. And Lord Charlie had already agreed."

"What do you mean," I ask. The blood is quickly returning to my face as I fill with anger. "No one else has made such a claim to me besides you and my father has mentioned nothing."

He wouldn't have had the chance to. I've been twirling around the dance floor for hours and he hasn't come to look for me out here. Who could have possibly beat Edward to a marriage proposal?

"Your father wasn't given much of a say in it. The Volturi are very powerful and denying them would have been a death sentence for him and for you."

"The Volturi," I try to whisper but it comes out as a screech instead. "The Volturi is who my father has given me away too?"

My head is spinning and my knees threaten to collapse beneath me. This can't be true. But didn't I know this was a possibility from the second they announced their attendance? The annoucement. The invitation to the other provinces. The dress. This had all been planned to some extent without any consideration to how I'd feel.

"Edward, I can't leave everyone here to be slaughtered when they realize I've ran." The sudden realization replaces my shock with dispair.

The Volturi would surely retaliate if I ran from them. They'd kill everyone I love in the castle and then track me down before ending my life as well. Every history I've read confirms that assumption to be true.

The sound of clapping comes from the doors separating us from the ballroom. I jump at the noise, but Edward doesn't seem suprised. I wonder if he heard the thoughts of another approach before the clapping started.

Aro stood in the doorway. His red eyes glittering murderously with delight. "My dear Isabella, already planning to leave your husband? I haven't even presented your wedding gift yet."

My jaw clenches to keep from screaming. Tears sting at the corners of my eyes, so I clench harder to keep them back. "What could you possibly want from me, Aro? I'm just a human girl from a banished province."

"Oh Isabella," Aro coos, walking towards us so gracefully he appears to be gliding, "You're a natural mental shield. I knew from the moment I touched you and nothing appeared. Just darkness. No thoughts. No memories. It made me squeal with delight."

How have I gone twenty-two years without this knowledge? Now in short span, two blood fae have told me the same thing. I don't even know what being a mental shield means or why it would be considered so valuable to the Volturi.

"There were rumors, or course. My messengers over the years reported being unable to use their magical abilities on you." Aro laughs again. "And the way your father is able to block out your incedibly vexing mother. His memories have always come across as hazy, but he's only a partial shield."

"I'm sorry. I still don't understand." I say and press myself harder against Edward. Getting closer to him with each step Aro makes towards us.

"It means, my bride, that you will make a spectacular member of my collection. After I turn you, of course."

At his words, my knees buckle and everything around me fades. I can tell Edward is shouting something, but I can't make it out over the ringing in my ears. When everything comes back into focus, I'm laying in Edward's lap as he's crouched on the balcony floor. Aro is no longer outside with us.

I blink my eyes several times, trying to banish the last hazy specks of light clouding my vision.

"I'm sorry," I tell Edward because I'm not sure what else to say after fainting and being caught by him.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Bella. I'm sorry I didn't rip out his throat before he decided to take you." His tone is low and dangerous. He's not looking at me. Instead, his eyes are narrowed and focused on whatever is happening inside the ballroom.

It's too late to run. He must know that. But there has to be another way out of this death sentence. I never even considered the fact that Aro would want to turn me. All of the new information from the last half hour is churning around inside of me.

"I'll find a way out of this for us, Bella. I just need you to be strong and put on a good face through dinner. Don't do anything rash to call attention to your displeasure." He says softly, with kindness coming back into his voice. His cool fingers gently stroke my cheek.

He's so beautiful it hurts. And I can't deny the magnetism between us. Like fate is bringing us together just to rip us apart.

My father steps out onto the balcony, suprise washes over his face seeing me on the floor with my head resting on Edward. But he quickly smooths it away, leaving his typical, neutral expression.

"It's time, Bella."