FAGE 10: Reborn

Title: The Volterra Fail

Written for: Star Spiers/TheDarkestFallingStar

Written by: Dorchester

Rating: T

Summary/Prompt used:

"Who are you?"

"Demon to some, angel to others."

Betaed by: Loopylou992 (Huge thanks, love. You saved me.)

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Chapter 1

The ballroom of Palazzo dei Priori is full of red eyes. The assembled members of the Volturi guard are in position.

There's talking, and more talking. Aro is a sneaky blowhard who thinks himself God. Markus is disinterested. Caius is a sleazy bastard.

When Jane hurts Edward, something within Bella's insides flips. She's beyond mad at them, at them all. So much so, that when Demetri restrains Alice, and while Edward fruitlessly fights Felix, she thinks this whole thing has been nothing but extremely, tremendously stupid.

Edward is practically useless, Bella finds out.

The pity which overtakes her is all consuming. She tries to trade her life for Edward's but to no avail. She tries to understand, to digest why all this happened - the three of them here - he didn't expose himself, did he? At the end she concludes it's not her fault. Generally speaking.

Why her beloved vampires are rendered helpless, is beyond her. And it doesn't matter anymore, because now they're held captive by the most powerful vampire family in the world.

"Escort them to the Cyclopean fortress, old fort," Aro instructs in a flat voice. "Give them the largest cell in the dungeon. Don't forget to shackle them; ankles and wrists."

When Felix leads the way, a wicked smile is plastered on his lips.

~"~

The largest cell in the dungeon is not really large, in fact. No more than ten feet deep and eight feet wide, with a low ceiling. There are no beds and no window. A single blazing torch leaks grease on the stone floor.

Felix leaves and shuts the heavy door, and they hear his and another man's mumbling combined with the clank of a heavy padlock.

They're on their own.

The first thing Edward does is to try and break her shackles. He squeezes and pulls at the restraint, but to no avail. His face contorts into a sour expression.

Obviously, those are extremely strong shackles, Bella thinks, considering a vampire can't destroy them. She shivers.

Defeated, Edward clings to her. He holds her in a clumsy, icy embrace, his chains resting on her weak shoulders; she shivers even more.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he half-whispers into her ear.

The embrace does nothing to stop the shaking of her body.

"Edward, don't."

He seems confused but lets his arms fall down from her shoulders and with a last, faint gesture of a tiny touch to her forearm, he gives up on any attempt to soothe her.

"You're cross with me," he states and oh, isn't he right.

Bella is furious.

"Why didn't we run, Edward? Why did we let them take us, huh? The Porsche was just a few blocks away!"

"It's not how it works, Bella. Don't be mad, please. I'm … Don't be mad. We'll figure it out."

"You're what, Edward? Sorry? Again?" Bella's voice is reaching new heights, she notes absentmindedly. She's never shouted like this in her whole life.

"No." Edward takes a hesitant breath. "I'm just so happy you're alive."

"Don't be." Bella interjects. "It's probably only for a while more. They'll kill us."

"No!" This is Alice, who has remained a silent witness to the exchange until now. "I don't see them killing us."

"No?" Bella sniggers bitterly. "Did you see them catching us and stuffing us in this stinky shithole?"

Alice has no answer to that, so she digs the sole of her right ballerina pump in a slit of the stone floor.

"Thought so," Bella concludes and turns abruptly to the door.

She observes the opaque wooden surface, then starts banging with her tiny fists, making a respectable noise.

"I need a bed and a bucket to pee in!" She shouts. "I need to pee right now!"

She goes on with the banging until it hurts. Only a couple minutes later, an anonymous, short and stocky guard unlocks the cell and Felix steps in with a metal bucket and a camp bed in his hands.

"There." Felix looks unhappy. He places the bucket in front of his feet and passes the folded bed on. "And shut up." He turns and leaves them to themselves once again.

"Not a chatty fellow, that one," Bella notes. "Now please. Turn around and stick your fingers in your ears, both of you. I need to pee."

~"~

She understands she's turned into someone different now. This is not her. The real Bella is unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Edward, right? The real Bella thinks Alice is amazing. Her current version resents both of them, and this is really, really frustrating.

The horrible stench of her two-day old pee and shit stings her eyes. Good thing there's at least food for her, three times a day, but the excrements are not something to look forward to.

Bad thing, Alice and Edward haven't fed for quite a long time. Their eyes are very dark and this is not good at all. They avoid looking directly at her and she understands. It's somewhat disconcerting to know that she's locked in the same room with hungry vampires who think she smells delicious - vegetarians or not. No one talks about it. All in all, the talking is brought to a minimum, considering that Edward can read Alice's mind and he's never been fond of long sentences.

Her food comes regularly, twice at short intervals and the next one after much longer. By the intervals, she can tell day and night.

On day three, after the noon meal, Felix comes again accompanied by the stocky guard. He checks their shackles without uttering a single word, then nods to the guard and retreats to the corner of the cell. The guard lets in a peacock-looking Aro and two female vampires who step in regally, dressed in black and grey capes, eyes red and shiny.

"Hello, my lovely friends," Aro speaks. "Isn't it great that we can see each other again."

His voice is gentle, telling just the opposite of what the thin line of his pursed lips and the eager clenching and unclenching of his fists say. Edward looks at him, squinting, and cocks his head.

"I want you to meet Chelsea and Corin, my invaluable assistants." Aro takes a step back and gestures toward the two women in turns while he announces their names. "Corin, my darling. Take a good look at the three of them. Do your thing."

The woman named Corin approaches Edward and sniffs the air. Her eyebrows move up and down, up and down. Edward stands still, looking her straight in the eye.

Next thing Bella sees is a smiling Edward - a genuinely smiling Edward - who nods at Corin and then elegantly bows to Aro.

"Aro, I'm happy to see you," says Edward and he sounds so sincere it hits Bella in the chest. She gapes and, unintentionally, mimics a dying fish; but says nothing - this is all too much for her.

Corin appears to be delighted with her work. It's clear that she's done something, wordlessly; a mental trick to influence Edward's attitude toward the Volturi leader.

Alice comes next. After just a few moments of Corin looking at her, Alice is smiling too, a glimmer in her eyes. Then she curtseys. "Aro," a thrilling word falls off her mouth.

Bella is the last in line, and Corin stands in front of her for much longer compared to the others. Seconds and seconds pass and Corin frowns. She turns her head to face Aro and shrugs.

The line of Aro's lips becomes even thinner. "We're done here," he says. On their way out of the cell he stops in his tracks and ceremoniously turns around.

"Young Bella," he says gravely, "again, you astonish me," but there's no trace of astonishment in his voice.

When the door is locked behind their visitors' backs, Bella falls to her knees, exhausted and dizzy for no reason.

~"~

For the remainder of the day, Alice and Edward chatter happily. To Bella's utter disbelief, they both elaborate on memories of the past and dreams of the future, utterly ignoring their current state of imprisonment.

Edward attempts a conversation with her. She rejects with a rude "no, I don't want to talk," and regrets it immediately. He's her love, for God's sake. Why is she behaving so uncharacteristically? But then, why is he behaving so uncharacteristically, as a matter of fact? Has he forgotten that they're locked in here together; that he's thirsty?

Edward and Alice's eyes are darker than ever. Blacker than black. When Bella falls asleep that night, she dreams of blood and torn limbs. Piles of torn limbs.

The next day begins with another visit by Aro and the two female vampires. This time, it's Chelsea's turn to do, in Aro's words, her thing.

Chelsea begins with Bella, probably instructed beforehand to try first where Corin failed.

Bella feels nothing, absolutely nothing although Chelsea's look scrutinises her and makes her shift from foot to foot.

"Nothing," Aro says. "Hmmm. Excellent."

Chelsea lifts an eyebrow in question; Aro nods toward Edward.

A few minutes later, Alice and Edward resemble hound dogs licking the palm of their master. It's something in their posture, inclined toward Aro's body, following his every intake of breath as if waiting for a command. It's no wonder that when he says, "Let's go for a hunt," they look exactly like they want to wagger their virtual tails.

Bella is left alone in the cell.

The feeling that creeps into her soul starts eating, eating at her last traces of hope. She wonders if Edward and Alice will ever want to leave this place. They seem to be so happy here.

When they return with blood-red eyes, she doesn't wonder any more. Somehow, the two of them are happy.