Chapter 29 ~ Love Hurts

All I could do was stare, speechless, in absolute shock. Alice broke the silence, her tone confident and as smooth as silk, “Do you like this room Bella, it’s one of my favorites?” 

I closed my mouth, I tried calming myself. I could feel every fiber of my being begin to fume. I looked to Moriana briefly before looking at Alice. She had her gaze on her challis, her fists clenched. I knew I was not prepared, but something told me there was nothing I could do about it. No matter what happened here somehow, someway my powers were useless.  Moriana’s simple nod of her head told me I was right.

“No Alice, you don’t get to act all hey lets be best buds!” I folded my arms and slammed my back against the chair turning my attention to Aro. “And you, do you have any idea the horror you put me through?” He cleared his throat about to speak, but I wasn’t finished. “I doubt you even care, you are sick and sadistic as ever, I knew it, always, you never cared about me, all you are is patient, you sat there on your better than thou pedestal pretending to be half of a good person. But you are shit!”

He walked toward me and sat beside me, lovingly he took my hand in his, “My sweet Isabella, if there was anyone in this world who I trusted more it would be you, no one has ever loved me like you have, and I doubt anyone ever will.”

I looked into his eyes; a curious amount of satisfaction was there. “Then please explain it to me, Edward felt you die, I felt you die.”

“I never died, Moriana made Edward believe I was dead, and she did a very remarkable job of it, honestly I wasn’t sure she would be able to pull it off with you around, but alas she did.”

I looked over to Moriana, but she sat there as still as a statue, I could feel her wrath burning inside, but it was trapped. “If you love me so much why would you put me through all of this?”

He reached out and gingerly rubbed my cheek, “Isabella, my daughter, you were not listening to me, I said you loved me, I said I trusted you, these are two different things.” He smiled, it wasn’t a warm smile it was the Cheshire cat kind of smile. “You had to think I loved you, or you would never in turn trust me.”

My heart felt like it was imploding, the pain was immense, I wanted to scream at him, hit and punch him, but I was defeated. I looked at Alice and glared at her.

“Oh please Bella, you hated me, don’t act all surprised by this.”

“But, what about Jasper, he loved you.”

She just rolled her eyes, “Yeah like a puppy.”

Every part of me felt like it was being sucked away through this emotional vortex. “I locked you in the cellar, with Edward and Mara…” My eyes became wide, “What did you do to them?”

She smirked, “They were still there when I was taken from there.” 

“How?”

She took a sip of the blood in her challis, “mmm that’s good, well the gypsies were able to concoct a sort of potion out of Moriana’s blood, and well with it I was able to transport here.”

“I can’t understand Alice, Edward was able to see you were good.”

She interrupted, “No he saw what I thought, I see the future I knew what my thoughts did to him, the future shows the greatest future is with Aro, I will be powerful, I will be more than you ever could be.”

She was comically crazy, a slight giggle crossed my lips, Moriana looked up finally at my reaction. Alice was fuming mad. “ It’s so funny how you think the Tri Lords would spare you, or give you any of the glory, have you not been paying attention, they don’t trust, they don’t give, and they don’t love, you my dear are a foot soldier. “

She smiled, “You are stupid, I would see it all.”

“ No you are stupid, you will see what they damn well want you to see, Moriana is the most powerful being in this world, and she is rendered useless with in these walls, you think you, the magic eight ball can’t be altered to?”

I could see she was rattled, doubt crossed over her face, she got up and stormed out of the room. “Well My dear daughter, that was cruel.”

I turned to him, “I guess I am more like you then I hoped.”

He chuckled, “Oh sweet Isabella, I shall miss your wit.”

The doors swung open in a furry, “My Lords, there is company, hundreds of them.”

Aro and Caius rose, looked at each other, “Raise the gates.” They said in unison.

Caius turned to another guard,” summon the gypsies to the arena, we will speak there.”

Moriana got up and came toward me, offering her my hand, “It is best we get you to your room.”

Aro grabbed her arm, “Isabella will go to the chamber and await her extraction.”

“Aro, you know that Edward will find her there, I will take her to my room, it is hidden, he will not get to her there.”

I could see he was thinking, finally he nodded and shook his hand at us, “very well be gone.”

We quickly ran down the corridors, every guard, and servant was running in the opposite direction, “Mother please let me go.”

She stopped running, she looked at me in the eyes, “never, you will stay with me, this war happens with or without you, keeping you safe is the only way to insure victory.”

I pulled from her grasp, crimson tears flowing from my eyes, “Victory for who, for him, for you?”

She grabbed my arm, she pulled me into a monstrous embrace, I think it was a hug of some sort, “For you Isabella, I want victory for you.”

My mother, who did an amazing job of convincing the world she was the devil, was nothing more than a prisoner, a puppet of the Tri Lords. They made the executive decisions, not her. It was all a lie; I felt her tears in my hair as she hugged me. “We need to get away from these castle walls, we need to help Edward.”

She pushed from me gently, “He is a good man, He loves you, and he does not play games with your heart.”

“I know, he is my world, he is my air, my life.”

She gave an almost proud smile. “Then go to him.”

“Come with me, I need your power, I need your help, Hell I need you.” 

She kissed the top of my head, “I can’t I have to hold them off here, they will come for you momentarily.”

“They will kill you.”

“God willing I hope you’re right.”

“Mother please, no more, I can’t lose anyone else, you made me hate you because you loved me so much, now I finally get it, we can win this war together I know we can.”

“ Go down this corridor to the black oak doors, down the stairs, you will reach a damp dungeon, at the end of that is a stone door, take it to the garden, under the Spider Lily’s is secret door, lift them up and you will see it, it will lead to the landing strip.” She blew me a kiss and ran the opposite way.

I wanted to run after her, but I couldn’t I had to get to Edward. I told myself I would come back for her, but who knew what the morning light would bring. I did as she said and reached the landing strip.

It was empty, not a soul in site. My powers were still useless. I ran to a helicopter and got inside. I took just a moment to catch my breath. The glass crashed and five large guards were standing before me with sharp spears. “GET OUT”

I slinked out angrily. “Turn around”

I turned against the chopper, I felt one of them pull my arm down and put on a handcuff, I waited what felt like a minute for them to grab the other hand but it never happened. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I got whipped around and before me stood Edward.

Without even a second of thought a rushed into his arms, “Oh Edward I am so sorry I left you I love you I love you so much.”

He returned my embrace, “I know and I love you so much Bella.”

“Aro is alive; Alice is with him, my mother was right all the while.” I began sobbing uncontrollably.

“I know that to.”

I looked at him, “How did you know?”

“Well one thing about gypsies is, they like to wander mostly in fields, it was only a matter of time until a few left the castle walls, we grabbed them, they were so unaware of what was happening reading their thoughts was easy.”

I reached up and kissed his lips, “I will never leave you again.”

He smiled, “Damn right you won’t, now let’s get out of here, the others are waiting.”

“Others”

He smiled once more, “You’ll see.”