Chapter Three

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their respective owners.  The original character and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: In the aftermath of the Newborn War, the Cullen family celebrates their triumph over Victoria.  Little do they know that their victory will be short lived.  A visitor comes calling; a visitor who has been keeping tabs on the Cullen’s and Edward’s human pet.  When Caius doesn’t like what he sees will Bella risk everything to save the vampire family she loves?

 

Chapter Three

~Bella~

My body felt like lead, heavy and cold.  The cold wasn’t an unusual feeling for me as I was constantly in the presence of vampires, but the weight of my arm was definitely new, and left a lot to be desired. 

A muffled blast and a following curse soon alerted me that something was amiss, but trying to force my aching eyes open was Hell.  It felt like I would literally have to peel them open and when I finally managed it was my turn to curse.  I shut them back tightly as I could, protecting them from what I assumed was the glaring afternoon sun. 

“Stupid sunlight,” I grumbled and rolled to my side with a groan.  My body felt like it had been put through a blender.  Once in control of myself again, I—delicately this time—pulled my eyes open…and was met by two ocher suns gleaming back at me in delight. 

With a startled scream, I lurched back only to slam into a rock hard body. 

“Ouch,” I grumped, rubbing my sore elbow.

A tinkling laugh caught my attention and I turned my eyes upwards to meet the gaze of my pixie-like sister who was tittering at me. 

“Silly Bella,” Alice chirped, like today was the most exciting day in the word, “it’s just me.”

Maybe it didn’t bother my vampire family to have someone staring at you all the time, but I was opposed to waking up with anyone two inches from my face. 

“Thanks for that, Alice,” I said growled as I sat up from the comfort of the massive bed I was so peaceful in just moments ago.  “I didn’t know.”  I was being a sarcastic grump, but wasn’t a morning person in general and I wasn’t quite ready to be disturbed from my hibernation in the heavenly divine duvet of white down just yet.

Her only reply was to giggle and murmur something about crankiness and coffee.

After a quick survey of my surrounding I realized quickly that I hadn’t a clue as to where I was.  The room was cozy, covered in an abundance of creams and earth tones, but it wasn’t until I spied the generic art-work on the walls that I realized that I must be in a hotel room somewhere.  The Cullen’s would never stoop so low as to by a print.

My eyes continued to scan the room, taking in the creative uses of wood and stone before my eyes fell on the offensive window that had blinded me a few minutes ago.  After I fought my urge to scowl at the devil in pane-glass I gasped at the view of the ocean and Mt. Rainer in the distance.  It was without words, gorgeous.

A snickering behind me told me that Rosalie was the body I had slammed into.  She was sitting to my left with a copy—of what I was sure to be the latest issue of—Vogue.  She smiled softly at me but never commented, and I couldn’t help but return it.  She had told me so many times since my trip to Italy that she had never hated me, but that didn’t mean we were going to be besties any time soon.  However, I was still beyond grateful she was here, wherever here was.

Hearing a low growl and a frustrated curse, my head swiveled at an angle and I suddenly remembered the sounds that had woken me.  Emmett was sitting in a chair closest to the window, mashing his thumbs into a controller and cursing a television set that practically swallowed the room.  He was obviously playing a video game, and not one that I even remotely recognized but I did catch the odd words or phrase and it was something military related. 

As soon as he felt my stare he looked over—never pausing his game—and smiled. 

“Hey, Belly-boo,” he waved once and went back to it, turning up the volume.

As the sounds of glass-rattling explosions and gunfire filled the room, all thoughts of sleep were lost to me.  There would be no point trying to sleep in a room full of vampires, especially if one of said vampires happened to be Emmett. 

Stupid, non-sleeping vampires, I thought sourly, stretching my arms above my head to stretch my back.  It wasn’t until I bonked my head with something heavy and hard did I notice that my left arm was in a cast, a gaudy purple cast, which looked like Alice had taken her bedazzling machine to it.

Great.

“Alice,” I said warily, still looking around the room for any indication of what was going on.  “Where are we?

“Seattle.”  She answered absently, furiously typing something into her phone.

I sighed in exasperation, because I was pretty sure I knew that already.  “What gave it away, Alice, the Pacific Ocean or Mt. Rainer?  I meant, where in Seattle?”

“The Four Seasons,” Rosalie supplied easily as she hopped up from her perch beside me and flitted into husband’s lap, which he welcomed with a smile. 

“Why?”

“Why what?”  Alice replied still not giving me her full attention.  She would if she realized just how close her expensive pink phone was to becoming rubble as it shattered on Emmett’s forehead. 

“Why are we here?”  I snapped.  “Where is everybody else?  Where’s Edward?”

My outburst must have been louder than I thought, or at least loud enough not to be ignored.  Emmett suddenly shut off his gaming system and all eyes focused on me.

“Bella,” Alice sighed as she crossed her legs Indian style and turned to face me, “How much do you remember?”

I scrunched my brow in confusion.  “I remember everything.  I remember the fight, Jake getting… Oh God, Jacob… is he…,” my mind was racing at all the possibilities.  Was he dead?  Was he badly hurt?  What had happened to my best friend; my Sun?

“Jacob is fine, Bella.  Carlisle is still with him and won’t be able to join us until tomorrow.”  Alice said calmly, but I really didn’t like the way she said join us.  I was about to question her on it, but I decided I had more pressing questions to clear up and would save that one for later.

“Go on, what else do you remember?”  She encourage, taking up a permanent pen and reclaiming her designs on my cast.

I wracked my brain, trying to remember the events of earlier in sequence.  “The Volturi came, they wanted to kill the newborn and then—

My heart stopped short as the rest of the memory replayed in rapid succession in.  Ruby eyes, white hair, a scar…Caius.  Edward.  Growling.  Pain.  Pet.

“I passed out.”  Tears sprang to my eyes as I chocked on the memory of Edward’s betrayal.  Pet, I was Edward’s pet and he was…

Well, I never got to hear that part but my imagination I’m sure couldn’t do it justice.

Alice nodded. 

“What happened after?”  I asked, swiping one rouge tear, which despite my attempts to be brave, slipped from my eyes. 

“Well,” she sighed in a very human way.  “Jasper and Alec have taken Edward and Bree north to Denali where they will be staying until after your change.  Caius has agreed to let them live because of Carlisle’s close association with Aro.  Bella you have to understand, if Edward were anyone else…” she trailed off.  She didn’t need to finish, I knew very well that if it hadn’t been for Carlisle both Edward and Bree would be dead.

“Bella, do you need a human moment before I finish explaining the rest?”

I shook my head frantically; I couldn’t possibly wait.

She nodded at me and I took a deep calming breath, though I was positive it wouldn’t help in the slightest. 

“I started having visions of you with the Volturi shortly after we arrived at the festival.  I didn’t understand them at the time or what they meant.  It wasn’t until you found Edward…  I’ve seen so many scenarios, so many different ways for him to do it, but in the end…  Bella, you always end up dead.”

My heart stuttered in my chest as I absorbed all of the new information she had given me.  In the very depths of my soul, I knew what she was trying to tell me but…denial is a girl’s best friend.

“So, you’re saying is that he wouldn’t have been able to handle his bloodlust, like a slip?”  It was a bit of a stretch and I knew it but I just had to believe that Edward really loved me, that I wasn’t…some pet; his…pet.

Alice shook her head sadly, her shoulders sinking in on tiny frame with guilt.  “I’m sorry Bella.”

My eyes filled with tears and this time I didn’t attempt to hold them back as I slumped against Alice.  It all finally made sense to me; his affections, his possessiveness, his protectiveness.  Everything finally made sense.  He was never lying to me in the woods behind my house.  He had never loved me, not in the sense that I wanted him to.  He loved my human traits, my silent mind, and the scent of my blood, but never me.  The thought of his betrayal against me was heartbreaking but it was not the heart-wrenching pain that I had suffered months prior. 

Tears continued to stream down my face and I let them.  I let it all out; every agonizing wail I had held in for my past love and the humiliation he caused me.

Alice just held me, whispering words of encouragement as she rocked us.  She was a balm to my soul in my desperate need for a connection of any kind. 

Sometime during my cry I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke it was dark and I was alone.  I could hear raised voice from the adjoining room but I had no idea what they could be arguing about now.  Is Emmett fighting with Rose again over the X-Box? 

Curiosity got the better of me and I went to investigate, though I should have known better than to try and get the drop on advanced vampire hearing.  As soon as my feet hit the floor the voices stopped and not a second later Alice floated into the room with a set of folded clothes and a whisker-basket full of toiletries.

“Morning sleepyhead.”  She sing-songed.  “Are you feeling better?”

Actually, I was.  I couldn’t believe it.  I waited for the despair and pain to clutch at my heart now that I knew Edward and I were done forever, but it never came.  I conclude that during my last breakdown and recovery that, perhaps I didn’t need Edward as much as I thought I did.

I beamed at Alice.  “Yeah, I really think I am.”

She squealed and clapped her hands, her shining smile bright enough to illuminate the dimly lit room as she plopped down on the bed beside me.

“What time is it?”  I questioned, not really knowing if it was morning or night.

“4:00am,” I gaped at her; I just couldn’t believe I slept so long.  But I guess seeing as I slept in a tent the night before with my werewolf best-friend and my vampire ex-boyfriend in sub-below temperatures, I guess I was kind of tired.

“There’s still a lot we need to talk about but I thought you might like a shower and something to eat before we get started.”

My stomach growled as if on cue and I nodded my head enthusiastically.  A hot shower and food really did sound amazing right now.

It was a pain in the ass—to say the least—trying to shower without the use of one of your arms, especially when said arm just happens to hurt like hell.  I didn’t last five minutes before I gave up and called for Alice.  I needed help and promised myself that I wasn’t getting out of this shower until my hair was washed and my body was free from the debris of the wilderness and vampire ash of yesterday’s activities.   

Alice was only too happy to oblige to my request as it gave her an excuse to try out an assortment of new hair care products at her disposal.  I didn’t care what she used when I stepped out of that shower later I was glowing like a queen.  I forwent my shaving regiment for the time being; it wasn’t like I could properly shave with one arm and the thought  of nicking myself in a hotel room full of vampires was not at all appealing to me.  Alice giggled when I told her this and waved off my concern; apparently I already had a reservation at the hotel’s spa tomorrow and according to her I wouldn’t have to worry about shaving again for a very long time.

Cryptic little pixie, I thought to myself.  I could only guess that she meant that I might be changed sooner rather than later, because from what I understood, vampires didn’t exactly get stubble.

However enticing the conversation about body hair removal might have been, I was anxious to find out what was going on and what our next move would be.  So with the help of my own scheming fairy-like friend, I dried off and set about getting dressed.  If I didn’t think Jasper would kill me, I would have kissed Alice when I unfolded my the clothing she had brought me and found a pair of stylish yoga pants and a sweatshirt; vampire royalty or not, I had had a hard day and how fashionable I looked didn’t even blip on my radar of concern.  And hey, at least with Alice buying them, they were guaranteed to be designer. 

The doorbell rang just as I opened the door to what I thought was an adjacent hotel room, which quickly dispelled the notion and left me in awe as I realized we were not staying in a hotel room but a suite, and a large one at that. 

I really should have known better.

Alice zipped past me, giggling at my grumblings.  I dutifully ignored her and made my way into the living area only to stop in my tracks to take in my surroundings.  I had never been in a hotel suite like this one before and I still didn’t know how to act.

Even having lived around the supernatural for the past year, I still didn’t understand their need for luxury.  They had no need for a fancy dining area; they didn’t eat.  They didn’t need a large living room with plush furniture; they could sit on a rock and be just as comfortable.  They didn’t need beds; they didn’t… well, never mind, I could only guess as to the uses they had for a bed.  Not everyone is denied, Bella.

Whatever the link was between vampires and pretty things, I can’t say that I was too put out by the grandeur of the room.  The large living room was light, airy and decorated with a Northwestern inspired flare.  The plush cream colored sectional seemed warm and inviting and the ashen wood floor and Asian inspired art really made it feel like a new exotic space.  It may have been a hotel suite but it was really like living in a luxury apartment.  They even had stone fireplaces and dining area for six; not that it would see any use in the near future unless one of the couples…

Stop it, Bella!

Five pairs of eyes met mine as I entered the room, three of them shinning red garnets and two golden balls of sunshine.  As Alice was still at the door—presumably taking care of room service—I found myself not knowing what to do.  So I stood there hoping from one foot to the next in my nervousness until Rosalie—bless her undead soul—noticed my predicament and came to my rescue by patting her hand lightly on the couch cushion between her and Emmett.

Jane and Demetri looked comical sitting in the single club chairs; Jane staring me down with a glare and Demetri looking off into space, boredom clearly etched on his marble face.  Felix was nowhere to be seen and there was still no sign of Carlisle and Esme.  My guess was that they were still in Forks working on putting the pieces of my childhood friend back together.  Alec and Jasper were clearly still in Alaska and it made me feel guilty that I was keeping Alice away from her mate.

Standing just beyond Jane was Caius, looking amazing as ever in a tailored black suit and crimson red shirt.  My mind wandered as I stared and I briefly wondered if it was difficult getting someone that looked like Caius into a hotel like the Four Seasons without raising suspicions. 

Out of all of the vampires I had ever met or seen Caius was what came to mind when the word vampire first registered in my brain.  He really didn’t look like the rest of his species, and if I were honest with myself I would admit that he was all the more beautiful for it.  Yes, he had the classic pale skin and ruby eyes like his brethren, but that’s where the similarities ended. 

His hair was a strange.  When I had first met Caius in Volterra, I had passed off his fair hair as platinum blond, but I was wrong.  Seeing him in the natural light of day and now in a well lit room, I realized his hair was literally the color of snow; almost cast silver under to the moonlight seeping in through the window panes.

His biggest mystery was his scar.  I had seen vampire scars before; Jasper was covered in them.  Literally thousand s of crescent shaped marks mapped his body, but Caius’ scar was different. 

Alice cleared her throat, alerting me that I had been busted, yet again, and ogling vampire royalty.  The man was going to think I was a mental case, I scolded myself as I sat up abruptly and tucked into my food; hoping no one would notice how embarrassed I was. 

It didn’t work.

I quickly started working on the burger Alice ordered me in earnest, moaning out my pleasure with that first bite.  A fleeting thought of buying Alice another Porsche—should I ever have the means to do so—had my Tinkerbelle-like friend giddy and telling me she wanted one in red this time. 

“Take these,” Alice commanded, handing me two white tablets after I had finished off the last of my sweet-potato fries.  “Carlisle said it would help with the pain.  He’s bringing you something stronger when he arrives tonight.”  I took them gratefully, swallowing them down with a glass of cool water, hoping for even a brief respite from the pain I was in. 

“Alright,” she said a minute later, determination seeping into her tone.  “Bella this may be hard for you to understand but I wanted you to know beforehand that you will always be a part of this family.”

She may have meant to be reassuring me with her words of encouragement but in all honesty, she was making me nervous.  What the hell did she mean I would always be her family?  I thought I already was, unless…

“Bella, we will be leaving tomorrow night for Volterra.”

“What?”  I screeched, jumping to my feet.

She winced at the high pitch of my voice but I didn’t care.  I had done everything I could to ensure that my family would be safe from harm and now they were turning me over to the Volturi, just like that?

“Bella,” called a sultry voice from the corner of the room I had been trying to ignore.  I knew who it was of course, but like I said, I had been trying to ignore him.  “Do you remember who I am?”

I glared in his direction, anger bubbling up from within at his implication that I was only human and therefore dumb.  “Yes, I remember you.  I’m human, not stupid!  Now, what the hell is going on?  No more games.”