I Fear No Pain

C19: Brought In

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.

Bella's POV

It took a month for word to come back from any of the search parties that Victoria had been caught, ironically very close to Forks too, and it filled me with a strange sense of pride that Jane, Alec and Jasper had been the ones to catch her, and now that the time of her judgment was fast approaching I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, which of course did not go unnoticed by my mother who had barely left my side for the month Jane had been away.

This coupled with the daily mapping of the Castle I had been doing with Rose and Alice had left me with little time to think, which I honestly was very glad for, since it certainly took my mind off everything that Victoria had apparently planned for me, even though it would matter little now.

Alice had also never been far from my side this past month and had even went as far as to spend the night with me in one of the spare bedrooms the Castle had, where I am not afraid to admit to the fact that we very much indulged in each other's presence, since both of us were missing our mates and needed each other in this time.

Now however I was waiting in the Throne Room while Rosalie worked to consolidate the latest information we had gathered for her before she too would join us, since everyone would be returning today.

"You seem anxious sweetie. Is everything okay?" Didyme asked softly as she kept running her fingers through my hair while I sat in her lap in favor of my own seat.

I nodded against her shoulder. "I am, mostly. I'm just nervous about seeing her again, even though I know she can't hurt me anymore. She's been in so many of my nightmares before I was turned that I just don't know how I will handle seeing her again."

Didyme smiled and pressed a long kiss to the top of my head. "It'll be okay sweetie. That I promise you. As you know we haven't made a final decision on what to do with her, but barring any type of bond, she will never be allowed to be a threat to you or anyone in this family again."

"Do you think that could be a possibility Mom? That she could have a mate here in the Castle, or even share a maternal bond with aunt Cia?" I asked softly.

"I honestly doubt it sweetheart, but we'll deal with it if it happens." She said honestly.

I smiled and nuzzled my nose in her neck. "I honestly hope it doesn't, because I don't know if I could handle seeing her every day."

"Trust me when I say that the chances of her sharing a maternal bond with Sulpicia are very slim, Bella. If that bond happens between vampires, they need to be of the same blood, and from what I've heard and scented of her, I think she is not of my blood, but rather from that of Ennoia." Athenodora said softly.

I nodded at that, and while both my mother and aunt Sulpicia looked quizzically at the both of us, I knew exactly who she was talking about. "That actually makes a lot of sense now that I know a bit more of our kind's history. She fits perfectly into that profile." I said softly.

Athenodora smiled at me. "I would dare say beside myself there is no one who knows more, sweetheart. You've become a real historian over the last few months."

I smiled at that. "Since this is the first time I've ever seen Mom look so quizzically at something we talk about, I would say that we've succeeded in one part of our mission."

Athenodora nodded while my mother quirked an eyebrow at me. "Could you explain that darling?"

"Of course Mom, one of the things aunt Dora and I agreed upon when we started on the Chronicles was to teach me everything, and I do mean everything about our kind's history, and while I know that you and aunt Cia know a lot about it because you've lived through it, I wanted to know absolutely everything." I said with a soft smile.

Didyme smiled at that. "From the moment I met you I knew were special, sweetie. I am not surprised that you are so eager to learn everything your aunt has to teach you. So tell me, who is this Ennoia?"

I shared a quick look with Athenodora, who merely nodded at me. "Ennoia was one of aunt Dora's siblings, who held great sway over nature and animals, which is where the majority of the myths of us turning into bats and wolves come from. She actually had that ability. If the reports we've read on Victoria over the past month are right, she has some type of gift that lets her ensure her own survival no matter the cost to others. It is something that is most prominently known to be in the childer of Ennoia."

Mother's eyes widened as I told her about the ancient. "I never realized exactly how much you already knew by now. I'm amazed sweetie. I'm so proud of you. Dora has a penchant to ramble at times when it comes to history."

"I honestly never had an issue with that Mom. I love learning about our history and from what I have always been able to tell she doesn't mind my million and one questions either." I said with a soft smile to my aunt.

Athenodora grinned at that. "Of course I do not mind. It only shows the passion you have for our history which I can only be excited about."

I smiled at her as I pressed a kiss to my mother's cheek and then retook my seat, since I heard some commotion in the hall, which in my mind could only mean that my mate, brother and brother-in-law were close with the last remnant of my human fears.

Jane's POV

A month away from my Bella had been far too long, and it had been noticeable in my mood too, even with the presence of Jasper there, and I may have taken that out on our prisoner once or twice on the way here. On the other hand it had also been the most fun I had in almost a century, so that at least that was one positive to come out of this cat and mouse game.

Nothing could replace the feeling of coming home though, especially now that I finally had someone to come back to after a millennia of coming back from missions and finding myself alone afterwards. Therefor I was more than just a little excited to be back, even though I could smell there was something different about the Castle.

The redhead had been especially aggressive over the last few hours since regaining consciousness in the car, but fortunately Alec had managed to put her under his gift as we entered the Castle thus robbing her off all her senses and made it somewhat easier to bring her in.

As we walked into the Throne Room, I wasn't surprised that everyone was back from their own searches already, since they weren't the ones that actually had to transport another vampire without attracting human attention. "Ah Jane, it's good to see that you are all back and unharmed, and with our guest as well." Sulpicia said with a grin.

I bowed as Emmett and Felix took her off Jasper's shoulder and put her in the center of the Throne Room, both of them holding her in place as Alec put on his gloves again.

As she regained her senses she hissed at us, but quickly took in her surroundings. "It is good to finally meet the woman who has proven to be such a bother to catch. I trust you know where you are and who we are?"

"Yes, I'm in Volterra, and you are the Volturi Queens. What I do not understand is why I am here." She hissed at Sulpicia.

Sulpicia took a side glance at Bella, who stood and walked forward, and I truly had to resist the urge to not jump into her arms. "You're here because of me, Victoria. You've hunted me for months under the assumption that I somehow was responsible for the death of your mate by someone who claimed to be mine. You are here so you can know the truth. Edward wasn't my mate, nor was I responsible for James' death."

She glared at Bella, which made me want to put her under my gift, but it was Bella's smile at me that held me back. "The boy told us that you were his mate, why would I believe you now?"

"I know you're not stupid Victoria. I am clearly a vampire and yet there is no sign of Edward, nor is there any trace of his scent in the air. That is because he was executed for numerous crimes, including but not limited to lying about being my mate, and now knowing what I do, I don't believe James was yours either." Bella said softly.

Again she glared at her, all the while her eyes kept darting around the room. "Maybe he wasn't, but he was still the only one that gave a damn about me for near four hundred years."

"And you want revenge, I get that, but we both know that it would only end one way." Bella said softly.

Sulpicia then walked up to them and put a hand on Bella's shoulder. "Truer words were never spoken. Let us see what is what shall we?" She said as she took one of the redhead's hands and closed her eyes.

I took this moment to share a quick smile with my mate, who just gave me a wink before refocusing on Sulpicia. "This is very interesting. It seems there is more at play here than we originally thought. It is something we will need to discuss amongst ourselves before we can pass judgment. Emmett, Felix, please escort our guest to the dungeons until further notice."

The two nodded and took her to the dungeons as Sulpicia returned to her seat and then addressed us. "What I have seen in her mind makes a few things perfectly clear. First that she was lied to not only by Edward, but also by her supposed mate, the tracker."

"And what do you propose we do, Cia? She has made it clear that she wants revenge against our niece. We can't let this go unpunished." Athenodora said with a stern tone.

Sulpicia smiled at her. "From what I have seen in her mind, she does not desire revenge now knowing that Bella has been turned, but that she also has a deep seeded fear of abandonment, and we all know that we have seen that before."

My eyes immediately sought those of Bella, who only smiled and nodded at me. "What do you propose then Cia? Our laws are very clear."

"You would agree that there are exonerating circumstances in this case Dora. Not only was she lied to like our dear niece was, but she also did not expose us to humans, and it could even be argued that she did everything in her power to rectify the mistake her supposed mate made, undeservedly as it may have been. I have seen in her memories that it was never about Bella or revenge, but just about gaining a companion in Bella." Sulpicia said with a soft smile to her mate.

Athenodora sighed softly. "Fair, I can agree with that, but I think that Bella should have the final say in what happens to her."

Bella smiled at that as she walked over to me and gave my hand a quick squeeze. "To be honest I would rather not have her killed because of this. I know what it feels like to feel that type of abandonment and I would not wish it on anyone. I've felt that for most of my life after all. If she is willing to show that she can work within our rules, I have no problem with her staying here and becoming a part of our family."

Didyme smiled at her while Sulpicia and Athenodora nodded at her. "We understand that sweetheart, and we'll judge her accordingly, which we will do in a couple of days, I think everyone has deserved some time to wind down." Sulpicia said with a soft smile.

Taking that as our dismissal Bella immediately scooped me into her arms and carried me to our room, clearly as eager to spend time alone as I was.

Bella's POV

Finally having Jane in my arms again after a month of separation was nothing short of heaven, no matter how fun the last month with Alice and Rose had been, and with the way she was clinging to me told me that she had missed my just as much as I had missed her.

"Usually it would infuriate me to smell another woman on you so strongly, but knowing that it is your sisters actually soothes me a little. I'm glad to be in your arms again though. I have really missed this over the last month." She said softly.

I smiled and kissed her. "I have missed you too baby, more than I thought possible. I had severely underestimated how much the separation would affect us."

"So have I if I am being very honest. I was very glad that Jasper and Alec were with me because I don't think I would've stayed sane if they hadn't been there to calm me down. Did I miss anything important while we were away?" She asked softly as she nuzzled her nose in my neck.

I moaned softly and kissed her cheek. "Actually, you missed quite a bit. The Queens asked Rose, Ali and I to see if it was possible to get a more stable internet connection in the Castle, which then expanded to getting the entire electrical framework of the Castle up to date, and since that meant making entirely new plans of the Castle, we spent a lot of time measuring and planning out everything that needs to be done, which all in all is quite a lot, so that is something we're going to be busy with for a while."

She smiled at that. "I thought I smelled something different when we walked into the Castle. Did you already start working on that?"

"Not yet love. The Queens asked us to wait with that until everyone has settled themselves again. What you smelled was probably the new wires that we took the liberty of putting in. There were a lot of frayed wires apparently." I said with a soft smile.

She smiled at me as she crawled on top of me. "I never knew you were so knowledgeable about anything electrical, love."

I smiled and kissed her as I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm not, but Rosalie really enjoyed educating both myself and Alice while she was bossing us around the Castle. She is the one with the degrees, so she took the rare opportunity to educate us."

Jane grinned at that as she kissed me. "I'm sure your sister took a special pleasure in that, given how you usually do the educating these days."

"I'm sure she did, but let's not talk about her now that I finally have you back in my arms, because as much as I love my sister, I don't think she'll be thinking of me tonight either." I said softly.

Jane smiled at that. "I know love, I'm just curious about what you've done in the last month."

"Honestly, other then spending all that time with my sisters and my mother I haven't done much else. We wanted to have anything potentially invasive done before everyone returned. We mapped all bedrooms and all recreation rooms too." I said softly.

"I can imagine that took a lot of time, given how much your mother and aunts love their entertainment these days." Jane said with a soft smile.

I smiled at her. "It's not just them though love. Don't think that I haven't noticed how much you loved our latest movie night, or was there another reason you voluntarily polished off an entire bottle of wine by yourself."

She smirked at that. "You know exactly why that was Isabella. You wanted to find out what I was like when I let go a little and I would say you found out that night, and don't act like you remained entirely that night either."

"I never said I wasn't love, I just thought it was cute how you were cuddled up to me while my mother and sisters were there. It was very unlike you." I said softly.

Jane smiled and kissed me softly. "Only for you love, and I've learned in the last couple of months that it isn't necessarily a bad thing to show my true self to others that I know I can trust, and once again that can be laid at your feet."

"Thank you love, but you give me far too much credit. At most I showed you that it is not always a bad thing to open up to people." I said honestly.

"You did far more than that my love. You showed me so many new things that I can scarcely name them all, plus you've introduced me to the concept of having a family that loves you, because over the last few months I have come to see your sister as my sister as well." Jane said lovingly.

I smiled and kissed her. "I have a feeling that I'm going to hear that from a few other people here if I were to ask them, and honestly I feel honored to be viewed as such a positive influence on the Volturi, it is certainly not something I expected to happen when I first came here to the Castle."

"I'm sure of that too, my love, but what would you say about a shower together. I just want to wash off the grime of that trip and take some time with you to relax a little. It's been a while since I was on a mission where I actually had to put in effort to catch my prey." She said softly.

I only nodded and kissed her as I once again scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the bathroom, not wanting to let go of her now that we were finally reunited after being apart for a month.

When we stepped under the spray she instantly pushed herself against me, and I just couldn't help but wrap my arms around her in a loving embrace while I made sure to lovingly wash every single inch of her gorgeous body.

Alice's POV

A couple of days later Bella and I were making our way to the entrance hall, since that was one of the last spots we still needed to map in order to have a complete plan of the Castle, and was something we had purposely kept until last since it was one of the biggest areas alongside one of more populated areas, since all tourists came through here.

Our secretary Gianna had been given a day off so we could work in peace and also so that I could talk to Bella because I had noticed that she had been somewhat withdrawn ever since Victoria was brought in, and through our bond I felt that something was bothering her more than she was letting on.

It broke my heart to see her like this and I was determined to help her get through this. "Before we start, we need to talk." I said softly.

She smiled at me. "You almost make it sound like you're breaking up with me." She said teasingly.

I smiled and hugged her. "You will never get rid of me Bella. That I promise you, but I am worried about you. I can feel you're conflicted about Victoria. You know you can talk to me right?"

"I know Ali, and you're right. I can't stop thinking about Victoria's presence here. I honestly don't know how to feel at the moment. I don't want her to die of course, because I do feel a form of kinship with her, no one should have to feel alone, but I also still don't know how I will feel about her staying here, but on the other side of that medal is the distinct possibility that she might go to extreme lengths to combat her loneliness." She said softly.

"While that is a possibility, I don't think she will go that far. I've seen several outcomes of her trial, and only one will result in her actually staying here. Heidi is an old Coven mate of hers and has vouched for her. I think if you would allow yourself, you two could become great friends." I said honestly.

She smiled and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I know, but I just fear that she still wants revenge for what happened to James."

Knowing that no amount of assurance would sway her, I went for a different route. "She may, but I have feeling she'll be unable to. If she will be allowed to stay, Chelsea's gift will make it impossible for her to take revenge on you. You're a Volturi Princess and thus she would be loyal to your mother and be extension to you as well."

"Forced loyalty can never be true loyalty Ali, you know that. The only thing I can do to ensure she won't take revenge in one way or another, I will just need to find a pair and sit down to talk to her, preferably in private. If we can talk through the things that are bothering us it'll be better for everyone involved." Bella said softly.

I smiled at that. "And still you sometimes doubt if you make a good princess, I think that is the most I've heard you sound like your mother in months."

Bella smiled at me. "I'll admit I sound a lot like aunt Dora most of the time, but at the end of the day I will always be Didyme's daughter and I find myself resembling her more and more with every passing day."

"I think we've all noticed that Bella, and I am so proud of you for how you've embraced your role as Princess, one I have no problem admitting I am proud to call a sister." I said softly.

She pulled me into her arms and pressed a long kiss to my forehead. "I should be the one that should be honored to have you as my sister Ali, which I am, each and every day."

"Bella, if I didn't know it was impossible, I would say you are going to make me cry in a minute. You're everything I could ever have wished for in a sister and so much more too. I never thought it was possible for a vampire to love anyone as much as their mate, but you have proven me wrong on a lot of occasions in the last months." I said honestly.

Bella smiled at me. "How about we get this done and then take the afternoon to talk in our room, otherwise Rose will be pissed that we got sidetracked again."

I smiled and nodded as we did exactly that, noting everything in the tablet we had bought for this specific purpose while Bella took all of the measurements.

After double checking our work, since Rosalie really wanted everything to be right so that we would only have to do things once, we made our way to our deprivation room, both of us feeling a bit emotional after everything Bella shared.

As we stepped in, we quickly took off our tops and cuddled up together, me securely wrapped in Bella's arms as she nuzzled my neck almost possessively. "This is truly a first Bella. I've never seen you so possessive over me before."

"I can't help it. The more I think about Victoria, the more I think back to James and what he did to you, and those thoughts make me feel incredibly protective of you." She said softly.

I smiled and cuddled into her. "You're too sweet sometimes Bella. There is a reason I was so adamant on making sure he was dead when we caught him. I felt the exact same thing then, because no one hurts my sister."

"Do you think subconsciously we knew back then what we really meant to each other?" She asked softly.

I nodded at that. "I think our souls recognized each other as sisters from the moment we met, despite Edward's insistence that we don't have souls, and while I still can't fully explain it, I know that what I feel for you is real and will never change."

"I don't know what I would do without you Ali. There is no one besides Jane that I trust more, or love more than you." She said softly as she placed a soft kiss against my neck.

I smiled and relaxed against her as I quickly put all of the measurements we had taken into the shared folder so that Rose would have access, with a quick added message to the blonde that we wouldn't be available for the rest of the day.