Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Chapter 3

Charlotte's POV

I was about to answer Bella, but then I noticed Edward and Alice, their reactions were priceless, to say the least. I bit my lip in an attempt to stifle a giggle, but it didn't work out so well. My chest shook with silent laughter, before I lost all composure the laughter burst out of my in loud, high-pitched giggles.

My laughter had never been very dignified, or something that you could ever class as "lady-like," but that didn't stop me from giggling like a small child. I felt Caius's smile at the back of my neck, as his arms wrapped even tighter around me. At least someone liked my laughter. I fought the urge to childishly stick my tongue out at Bella, she claimed that my laughter was "appalling."

Alice just stood there, dumbstruck. There was no other way to explain it, her mouth hung open slightly in shock as her amber eyes kept widening. I was silently impressed that they didn't pop out of her head. She glanced at Edward quickly and shook her head, muttering that she "didn't see this."

Was it wrong that I felt a rush of satisfaction? I had deceived a Vampire, and not just any Vampire; but one that could see the future! I told myself that the fact that I could also see the future was irrelevant; it wasn't at all like it gave me any advantages…

Then, there was Edward, or as I like to call him "Asshole." He was stood there very stiffly, he eyes looked pained and his mouth was set in a firm straight line. This, was his signature look. I almost pitied Bella for having to deal with someone that constantly looks like they have a stick up their arse. The key word is almost. I couldn't bring myself to actually feel sorry for her, not when she swooned whenever he looked at her.

I had gotten a hold of my laughter and was sitting quietly, before a member of the guard - that I knew was Demetri - imitated Edward's expression. He looked so utterly ridiculous that I couldn't stop myself from giggling.

Demetri was a tall man, that stood just under 6 foot. He was slim, but had thick, muscled shoulders that were proof of his fighting abilities. His red eyes weren't cold or unyielding, instead they were playful and lit up when I started to laugh. His hair was cut in a messy, choppy style that sent wispy strands of hair across his forehead, so when he slumped down and scrunched up his face to imitate Edward, I thought it was so funny. He honestly looked constipated; I wonder if before Edward was changed, he needed to go to the toilet. I mean imagine that, being constipated for all of eternity...

I knew that it wasn't an appropriate time to laugh, but when was I ever appropriate?

It seemed that Bella thought that my behaviour was unacceptable too. She continued to walk towards me, until she stood a few feet away.

She then proceeded to glare and me and place her hands on her hips. "Charlotte Swan, you get over here right now! Our lives are in danger and you are laughing while sitting on the lap of Caius Volturi!" Her voice rose until it was a shrill shriek.

I frowned slightly, maybe I was being insensitive and rude. I mean this was my sister and she was clearly terrified. Her breathing was heavy and frantic, her eyes were wide and she was shaking.

I slowly started to get up from my position in Caius's lap, he reluctantly let go of me; but not before he gave my forehead a quick kiss. I threw a quick smile to both Aro and Marcus, in an attempt to let them know that I had things under control. At least, I hope that I did.

I ignored the two Cullen's and walked over to Bella, as soon as I was close enough she reached out and grabbed me into a hug. I stumbled slightly, but wrapped my own arms around her waist to steady myself.

Her embrace didn't feel comforting, if anything it felt very constricting; but I passed that off and assumed it was because of her tight grip.

"You have no idea how worried I was when I'd noticed that you'd ran off. Didn't you even think about how that would affect me?" She pulled back slightly to look into my eyes desperately.

This made me feel guilty, but I didn't have any other choice. I sighed and tightened my arms around her as I whispered an apology, but that didn't seem to be good enough.

"You do realise that I'm only here because I came looking for you, if anything happens to me it's because of your stupid, thoughtless actions." Her voice was soft as she whispered the harsh, cutting words in my ear.

It hurt. A lot.

Edward didn't say a word to contradict Bella, in fact, he seemed to agree with her. He just glared at me and lifted his mouth in a pathetic sneer. I couldn't believe it. He had came to Italy, nearly broken one of the most important laws; then blamed me? It was ridiculous, they were both completely delusional.

"Actually Miss Swan, I think you'll find that you are here because I ordered it." Aro's voice rang loudly, his voice may have seemed teasing; but I could see the burning anger in his eyes.

Bella just ignored him pulled out of the hug. I sighed and started to walk towards Marcus, but Bella kept a tight hold of my hand. It wasn't a comforting grip, no, this was restraining. Her nails felt like claws that dug into my skin.

I carefully kept my face in an impassive mask, so that the Kings didn't realise that I was in pain. If they did, let's just say that Bella would be a nice bedtime snack for the guards. Despite how mad I was at her, she was still my sister.

"Stay here." She commanded me, like I was a disobedient dog. "You are not going anywhere near them."

I grit my teeth, before I took a deep breath to calm down. If Bella was trying to make me angry, she was definitely doing a great job. Then I reminded myself that she was only worried, she didn't mean to hurt me.

Then, I noticed Marcus. He obviously wasn't pleased by my sister's actions either. His teeth were clenched and his nostrils were flared. "I would appreciate it greatly, if you were to let my mate go. Or I could always make you..." His voice trailed off, as he glared down as Bella like she was a dirty insect.

Bella whirled around to me in anger, her 'sweet' mask was gone and she was left glaring at me hatefully. Ah, yes, here is my sister.

"You are mated to him?" She demanded, as she pointed towards Marcus.

I cleared my throat nervously before saying. "I'm actually mated to all of the Kings."

She went white, before her face flushed red in anger. "You are mated to all of the Kings?" She shrieked, as she walked towards me.

"Yes, I did just say that…" I couldn't help but be sarcastic, she was just acting so ridiculously. I shook my head when I say Edward glare at me, for upsetting his 'sweet, innocent, little lamb.'

"I always knew that you were jealous of me." Bella began as she stood in front of me. Me, jealous of her? Never. "I mean, I have Edward and Jake, and who do you have? Oh, yes. Nobody. You were jealous that I was accepted into the Vampire World, I mean you heard them all, I was born to be a Vampire."

Okay, now Bella was sounding a bit loopy. She looked at me with a spark in her eyes as she grinned manically. Oh God, she actually believed what she was saying.

"While you, you were always just following me like a little lost sheep. You couldn't get out of my shadow, could you? Even with the Cullen's you were just 'Bella's little sister.' They never wanted to spend time with you, did they? Just like Jake, he was never interested, was he?" Her voice was harsh, as I fought the urge not to cry.

Despite how I tried not to let it affect me, her words hurt. They felt like tiny daggers all stabbing at my heart, to add to the pain of her betrayal. Bella was my sister, she was supposed to protect me. Not be the one to hurt me.

"That's it, you're dead Human." With a gasp, I looked up. Caius was stood just in front of his Throne, his eyes were glaring daggers down at Bella. His lips curled over his teeth, in a vicious growl.

I started to walk towards him, "No, wait! She's my sister…" My voice trailed off as I watched Aro and Marcus stand up too. My mates all began to walk towards where Bella and I stood.

Bella grabbed my hand and looked at me desperately. "You won't let them hurt me, right?" Her voice sounded so fragile, as she looked to be on the verge of tears.

Damn you, Bella.

How could she do this to me? First she says those hateful words to me, and now she wants me to help me? I wanted to say no so badly, but I couldn't do it. This girl was my sister. Sure, she could be a bit of a psycho sometimes, but I couldn't let her die.

I took a deep breath and stood in front of Bella.

"Beloved, we can't let her go unpunished." Aro began to say as he slowly walked towards me, his hands were held up in front of him, in an attempt to calm me down. "If we let a Human defy us, it would set a bad example. Imagine the consequences, Charlotte."

This made of pause, he was right. If the Kings were to let Bella go without punishment, it would cause other Vampires to think that they were weak. Which could very easily cause a group of rebels to attempt to overthrow them as leaders. I couldn't let that happen.

I may love Bella, but the lives of the Volturi mattered more. As the saying goes; 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' This time, my sister couldn't get away without having faced the consequences.

"Okay, I understand." I ignored the cries that came from Bella and Edward. "She needs to be punished, but please, don't kill her." I looked up at my mates helplessly, I didn't want to be the reason that my sister was killed.

"We will treat this like a normal trail," Marcus's voice rang out, I was so relieved that he was trying to respect my wishes. "However, Miss Swan, if you are found guilty...you will die."

This I could handle. All Bella had to do was prove to my mates that she had no intention of hurting me again and wanted to become a Vampire. I was sure that she'd be fine.

Bella rolled her eyes at Marcus' warning, it was clear that she thought that her 'precious' Edward would protect her. This time however, there wasn't anything that he could do. It was up to Bella to prove her innocence.

"Firstly, I will need to gain evidence from witnesses. This is observe your behaviour, to decide whether or not you deserve to live and become one of us." Aro spoke lazily, as if he had repeated this statement a thousand times.

Aro then walked towards me, stopped, then bowed his head. "I apologise that this couldn't be done under better circumstances, my dear."

His eyes were regretful, as he held out his hand; with his palm faced up, as he waited for me to accept his hand. My eyes widened at this, no this couldn't happen, not now! Desperately, I mouthed to him; "Not now, he'll see."

Realisation flashed through Aro's eyes as he lowered his hand, thank God!

"On second thoughts, Alice would be the better witness." He smiled as he approached the smallest Cullen. "After all, you would be the one to know whether or not Bella will be turned."

I saw Alice take a deep breath before she held out her hand for Aro to take. I watched as my mate closed his eyes and he viewed her memories, as they flashed through his mind in quick succession. Surprisingly, he made no move to ask her to join them; but I suppose that now wouldn't be the time.

Aro lifted his head, removed his hand and walked away from Alice without saying a word. I was unsure whether or not his silence was a good, or bad sign. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to feel nervous; not when Marcus and Caius gave me comforting smiles.

"It's your turn, Miss Swan." Aro said in a child-like voice, as he grinned manically at Bella. I was in awe of his facade, he did an excellent job of unnerving people, which was a very useful skill to have.

Bella stood perfectly still as Aro approached her, her rapid breathing was the only thing that gave away her fear. Aro was was just about to touch her hand, when Edward roared, "No, Bella, don't."

Baffled, I turned to face Edward. He was breathing heavily, as his copper hair fell messily in front of his face. He was being restrained by Demetri, how didn't I notice that? Well, it would certainly explain why he had been so quiet.

Aro tilted his head to the side, as he silently regarded Edward. "Why shouldn't Miss Swan touch me, Young Edward?" His question was innocent enough, but his eyes burned with impatience. "Until, she has something to hide?" With that, he turned to my sister and raised an eyebrow.

"I-I have nothing to hide." Bella stuttered out nervously, it was clear that Aro's glare had frightened her. Perhaps now she was realising how dangerous the Vampire World was.

Edward then growled at Demetri, as he tried to break free. "I don't want you to touch him." This time it was Bella that he snarled at, honestly he was acting very obsessive. "You are innocent, he will only taint you with his filth. He is a monster." With that he collapsed into Demetri's hold, as if the fight had left him.

Anger didn't come close to what I was feeling at this moment. It felt like hot lava was travelling through my body, leaving a burning hot hatred in its path. How dare he call my mate a monster! If I was a Vampire, I would teach Edward what filth was...

I was just about to lunge towards Edward, but Jane interrupted me. "My Master isn't filth, you pathetic piece of shit!"

With that Jane muttered the word 'pain,' softly as she glared at Edward. With that, he fell to the floor, out of Demetri's hold. That was when the screaming began.

It was a loud keening sound that gradually increased pitch, unless he was screaming wordlessly on the floor. He writhed and arched his back, as if he was trying to get away from the tortue. The screeches, grew louder unless my ears were ringing and my head was pounding. I almost pitied him.

"What's happening?" Bella screamed at me, as she grabbed hold of my shoulders in desperation.

"Jane is using her gift. She has the ability to induce crippling pain onto her victims, it's all an illusion; but that obviously doesn't make it any less painful." My voice was a flat monotone as I spoke, I felt oddly numb. Watching Edward get tortured didn't effect me at all, it was quite unnerving.

"Well, make her stop!" Bella began to shake my shoulders, "You're their Queen, aren't you?" I just stood still and refused to speak, until I felt her nails dig gouges into my arms.

"I'm not stopping her, Edward insulted the King. This is his punishment."

I said nothing about the fact that I didn't want to stop her. Edward had insulted my mate, this was revenge, even if I wasn't the one that was causing the pain. Just watching him suffer cooled the hot fury that burned within me.

"I guess that I'll have to make her stop." Bella mumbled under her breath, as she fumbled around in her jeans pocket. She had a small object in her hand, but she hid it from my view.

Then Bella spun me around as that her arm was around my waist, and I was stood in front of her. In this position I was basically a human shield. I tried to pull away, but her grip was too strong.

It was then that I saw the object, it was a small swiss army knife. I recognised it is the one that my dad had gifted her for her birthday last year. It was a precaution against 'boys that didn't take no for an answer.'

I felt numb as my sister held the blade up to my throat, I strangely didn't feel afraid. It was almost as if it hadn't sunk in. I could feel Bella's panicked breaths in my ear as she cleared her throat.

Instantly, everyone's attention was drawn to us. I saw the horror reflected on the face of every Vampire, they knew that this was serious.

My gaze went to my mates. They were crouched down in a position ready to attack, their eyes were black as threatening snarls erupted from their throats. I saw the fury and panic in their eyes as they stared at the knife at my neck. I knew that this must be killing them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Bella spoke to the Kings, as she eyed their position, her voice was oddly smug. Okay, that hurt. My sister didn't feel any remorse at the thought of killing me, I wish that I had told my mates to end her when I had the chance.

"If you hurt her, I swear that I will torture you for the rest of eternity." I could barely recognise Caius's voice as he spat out the threat, between the vicious growls and snarls.

"You are in no position to be making threats," The pressure was increased on my neck as the blade started to press uncomfortably against my skin. It hurt to swallow as I breathed in raspy breaths, to try to lean away from the knife.

"Now, listen to what I say, or your precious little Queen will die." Bella's voice cooed gently, as she lifted up a hand to mockingly stroke my hair. Oh God, had she lost her mind?

Oooh, what do you think will happen next? Let me know what you thought of this chapter! :)

Completed: 30/07/16.

Edited by Beta: 01/08/16.