Silver Assassin 17

“This is going to be so great.”Kate said from her spot behind a group of guards in the throne room standing with her sisters and Rosalie. When the four of them had returned to the castle Jane had met them and took their request to watch the trial to the queen for them. The queen had agreed under the condition that they be shielded from sight by Bella the entire time and that they not get involved. Kate was a little upset that they couldn’t get involved but was pleased they were getting to watch. Especially because all 6 royals were in attendance. They even brought out the queens’ thrones. That only happened for major events. Kate reasoned that with their relationship to Bella that they would all want to be a part of the trial.

“Remember you are not to say or do anything.”Tanya warned. The queen may be on their side but Tanya wasn’t stupid enough to think that they could get away with interrupting a trial as important as this one.

“I know.”Kate didn’t need to be reminded.

“How are you doing?”Irina asked Rosalie.

“I hate that I’m not near Bella.”Rosalie had accepted the terms to be in the throne room but wished that Bella would have stood next to her. That way Rosalie would be able to hold her hand and know what Bella was thinking about everything. With Jane’s warnings of Bella suppressing her emotions Rosalie wanted to be close so she could help Bella if she got upset.

“Jane’s close to her. I think she will be alright.”Tanya said.

“Here come the guards.”Kate said as a guard entered the room with a line of guards following behind him escorting the Cullens. Captivity had not been kind to the five vampires. They were filthy, had ripped clothes and it had seemed Edward’s nose had been ripped off and put back on crooked. Kate was surprised to see they held a hint of defiance in their eyes. She would have expected them to be scared not arrogant.

“Your majesties I present Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Alice and Jasper of the Cullen coven.”The guard announced.

“Bring them forward.”Aro ordered causing the guards to line the Cullens up in front the kings and take a step behind each of them.

“Are you ok?”Jane asked Bella. The vampire’s body was completely stiff and Jane could feel how close Bella was to attacking the prisoners. Bella nodded in reply.”You are to tell me if you are not.”

“Carlisle old friend so good to see you.”Aro lied. He hated Carlisle and his coven. Even before Bella came into his life he hated them. Carlisle had been trying to overthrow the kings ever since he turned Edward and if it wasn’t for the fact that they knew he wasn’t a threat the kings would have killed him a century ago.

“It good to see you to Aro. Although I must admit I’m little confused on why we were brought here. That and why we have been treated so horribly.”Carlisle was very uneasy with this whole situation. Not only did he not know why they were before the kings he hadn’t had the chance to talk to his family in the dungeon. Edward, Alice and Jasper all claimed their gifts weren’t working and they had to sensor their conversations because to say anything they had to shout and the guards could have easily heard them. There was no plan in place to escape and Carlisle was at a loss on how they were going to get out of this.

“We have brought you before us so that you and your family can be tried for your crimes.”Aro told him.

“We have committed no crimes.”Edward was very annoyed with this whole situation. Ever since they reached Alaska his gift had stopped working. He wasn’t sure why but it made it so he wouldn’t have a way to manipulate the kings based on their thoughts.

“You have the audacity to stand here before us and claim you committed no crimes?”Caius asked.

Carlisle spoke before Edward could reply. He didn’t want Edward to provoke the kings.”Your majesty may I ask what crimes we are being charged with.”

“You are being charged with two counts of facilitating a false mate bond, two counts of leaving a human with the knowledge of vampires without turning or killing them and you Carlisle are personally being charged with using the sire command to force a vampire to stay away from their mate.”Aro listed off.

“We have done no such thing.”Carlisle and his family had done those things but he wasn’t going to admit it. He did wonder how the kings found out about it though. He had used the sire command to keep Rosalie, Emmet and Becky quiet and knew the other four wouldn’t turn him in.

“Do you honestly believe that we would bring you here if we didn’t have proof?”Caius asked.

“What is this proof?”Carlisle wished that Edward’s gift was working because it would have given them time to prepare a defense.

“Let’s start with count one. Edward claimed a false mate bond with Isabella Swan. A false bond that you all supported.”Aro began but was cut off by Edward.

“Bella was my mate!!”Edward wasn’t going to stand for anyone claiming otherwise.

“She was not your mate!!”Didyme said as she rushed Edward. She was about to go for this throat but was pulled off of him by Caius and Athenodora.”Let me go!!”

“Can’t do that.”Athenodora was of the same thought as Didyme that the boy need to die but wouldn’t take the chance away from Bella.

Edward stood from the ground and dusted off his clothes. He glared at the queen.”I don’t know what you’re trying to prove but Bella was my mate and I have been mourning her since her death.”

“Let me kill him!!”Didyme struggled so hard against Caius and Athenodora that Marcus had to help them restrain her.

Jane looked to Bella in confusion when she nudged her. Taking Bella’s hand in her own she was surprised by Bella’s request. Raising an eyebrow in question and receiving a nod in reply she spoke.”Your majesties if I may interject.”

“Of course Jane. What is it you wish to say?”Aro asked. He was curious what Jane would add to the situation.

“Edward claims that Bella was his mate?”Jane asked Edward.

Edward nodded.”Bella was not only my mate but the love of my life.”

“If that’s true then you would know instantly if Bella was in this room correct?”Jane asked.

“No way.”Rosalie couldn’t believe Bella was going to reveal herself.

“She’s going to do it!!”Kate made sure to pay attention to Edward’s face. She wanted to see his reaction to the big reveal.

“Of course I would."Edward didn’t know where Jane was going with her questions.

“Is Bella in the room with us right now?”Jane asked.

Edward looked around at each guard member making sure to make eye contact.”Bella is dead she isn’t in this room.”

“Are you sure about this?”Jane wanted to make sure that Bella really wanted to let the Cullens know she was alive. Receiving another nod in reply she turned her attention to Aro.”You majesty the boy just proved that he was facilitating a false mate bond.”

“Are you positive?”Aro looked to Bella to make sure she was alright with what they were about to do. Receiving a nod he held back a sigh.”Well then Edward Cullen you are found guilty of facilitating a false mate bond with Isabella Swan.”

“You have no proof.”Carlisle said.

“Edward claimed that Bella wasn’t in the room with us. That is false.”Aro looked straight at Bella.”Isn’t that right Bella?”

“Oh my god.”Rosalie wasn’t the only one to voice their disbelief when Bella lowered her hood and took off her mask. Putting her hand over her mouth to stop the sobs that were trying to come Rosalie stared at her mate in shock. She had been told that Bella was scarred but could never imagine how much damage there was. Bella was missing most of her hair and the patches that were left were all different lengths. That was only mild compared to the damage to her face. Bella’s nose was completely missing with only holes where the nostrils were supposed to be.One of her ears was gone while the other had part of it left. Her right eye looked like someone had cut all the skin off around it trying remove it from her skull. If that wasn’t enough part of Bella’s bottom jaw was missing. Rosalie could see the crescent scars left behind from a vampire’s attempt at biting it off. She couldn’t imagine the pain Bella went through while receiving those wounds. It made Rosalie sick just thinking about it.

“What the fuck?!”Kate couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She like the others had been told that Bella was disfigured but didn’t expect it to be as bad as is was. Seeing the damage made Kate realize that Bella was a lot stronger than she thought. Any human who could go through that and continue to function even in Bella’s unique way deserved a lot of respect.

“Bella? My love? What happened…”Was all Edward got out before he was tackled to the floor with an enraged Bella on top of him. Before he could even think about fighting back Bella grabbed his throat with her bare hand. Suddenly his mind was filled with imagines of Bella’s experience with Victoria and her newborns. The imagines were horrific enough but the fact that he was feeling all the pain and despair Bella felt at the time was too much.”Stop, no please just stop.”

“What are you doing to him?!!”Carlisle demanded. He was just as shocked as everyone else that not only was Bella alive but she was the Silver Assassin. That didn’t mean he would let her hurt Edward.”Unhand my son!!”

“Restrain them.”Aro ordered the guards.

“Let us go!!”Carlisle struggled as hard as he could but the guard easily overpowered him.

“Bella stop please you don’t want to do this. Whatever the Volturi have done to you we can help. Then you can be with Edward again.”Alice pleaded. She figured if she used Bella’s love of Edward then Bella would side with them.

“That was stupid.”Irina said as she watched Alice dropped to the floor screaming in pain.

“Alice!!”Jasper screeched. He broke off from his guard but before he made it to his mate everything faded to black.

“Leave my children alone!!”Carlisle screeched. He didn’t understand how everything unraveled so quickly.

“Isabella Swan stop what you are doing right this instant!”Esme said in a tone that she used to discipline her children.

“You do not tell my daughter what to do!!”Didyme roared as she launched herself at Esme. She punched the matriarch in the face repeatedly until Athenodora and Caius once again interrupted her. Looking down at Esme she felt satisfied at the damage she had done. Even if Esme healed herself her face was never going to be the same.

“Bella needs you.”Athenodora told her.

Didyme turned her attention to Bella who was staring blank eyed at Edward’s limp body. It seemed whatever Bella showed him overloaded his mind and he passed out. That had happened to her before when Bella was still learning how to control that part of her gift. Walking over to Bella she knelt down slowly and tried to get Bella’s attention.”Sweetheart it’s ok. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Bella come back to us.”Jane softly whispered as she knelt on the other side of Bella. She held out her hand and put it in Bella’s line of sight and waited.

“Bring Carlisle back to the dungeon.”Marcus ordered the guards. Bella would need Rosalie to help and they couldn’t expose her until Carlisle was out of sight. That way he wouldn’t be able to influence her with the sire command.

“What?! You can’t do this!! We have committed no crimes.”Carlisle screamed as he was dragged out of the room.

“Rosalie come here.”Marcus called out.

“Take the rest of them back to the dungeon as well.”Aro wanted Bella to have some privacy to get through this. After the guards had collected the Cullens he addressed the rest of the guards.”You are all dismissed.”

“What can I do?”Rosalie asked as she walked up to the group. As soon as the Cullens left Bella dropped her shield from around her and the sisters. Rosalie wasn’t quite sure what was wrong with Bella and felt somewhat helpless on how to fix it.

“Kneel down next to Jane and speak to her.”Marcus had taken his spot next to Didyme.

Rosalie slowly kneeled down next to Jane.”Bella you are safe. No one will let them near you again.”

“Bella I know you are upset and we would like to help you. To do that you need to talk to us.Please.”Didyme pleaded. She knew that being faced with the Cullens would cause problems for Bella but didn’t expect Bella to freeze. This reaction hadn’t happened in decades and Didyme knew that whatever Bella made Edward experience it was something that Bella wouldn’t have wanted to relive. If Didyme guessed it was probably what happened with Victoria.

“Bella just take my hand and I will help you work through this.”Jane said.

“Is there anything we can do to help?”Tanya asked in concern. She had never seen a vampire or human in this state before and it was very disturbing.

“No we just have to wait until she snaps out of it.”Athenodora was very worried about her niece. Jane had mentioned that Bella hadn’t reacted to what happened since Bella found out about the Cullens and she had naively hoped that Bella had gotten over it. Seeing the young vampire now Athenodora knew that Bella was far from over it.

“Bella whatever is going on inside your head we can help you sort it out.”Didyme breath caught in her throat when Bella’s eyes turned from red to black.”Bella take a deep breath. It’s going to be ok.”

“Please just talk.”Was all Rosalie got out before Jane grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from Bella. Rosalie was about to yell at Jane for manhandling her when all of sudden Bella shot to her feet and let out an animalistic roar. Rosalie let herself be pushed behind Didyme and Marcus’ back for protection as she watched Aro, Caius, Sulpicia and Athenodora rush towards them just in time to avoid Bella. Them running away seemed piss Bella off more. Not having a person to take her rage out on Bella grabbed Aro’s throne and ripped it out of the ground where it was secured and threw it at Rosalie and the others.

“Shit!!”Kate exclaimed as she rushed to the other side of the room. Bella wasn’t deterred in her mission as she kicked a pillar causing it to fall to the ground. She grabbed it off the floor and flung it like an arrow towards the spot everyone had moved to. Kate immediately followed the others to a different point in the room.

“Should we get out of here?”Irina asked. She didn’t think they should stay in the room with the enraged vampire.

“No she will hunt all of us down individually if we leave the room.Staying here will lesson the damage to not only the castle but to us as well.”Marcus told her.

Tanya flinched when Bella ripped another throne from the ground.This time she threw at the wall instead of them.”How do we get her to stop?”

“We just have to wait until she either comes back to herself or wears herself out.”Jane said.

“She stopped focusing on us so she should be almost done.”Didyme hated when Bella got like this because there was nothing anyone could do to help.

Rosalie wasn’t sure what to make of everything that was going on. Jane had warned her but as she watched Bella punch a hole through the wall Rosalie finally believed that Bella was capable of hurting them. Bella seemed to be lost inside her own reality and didn’t really seem to know what she was doing. Her black eyes were vacant and she radiated fury.”There is nothing we can do for her?”

“No.”Jane sighed in relief when Bella stopped punching the wall. Waiting a few moments to make sure Bella wasn’t going to do anything else she slowly approached her mate.”Bella are you ready to talk?”

“Rosalie come with us and approach slowly.”Didyme walked as slowly as she could up to Bella with her hands raised.”Do you feel better now?”

Seeing Bella look around at all the damage she caused Marcus saw the regret and guilt in her eyes.”It’s alright. No one got hurt.”

“You did good this time. Only property damage.”Jane told her. Bella covered her face with her hands in reply.

“Bella you didn’t do anything wrong.”Rosalie felt her heart break seeing Bella’s shoulders shaking. It was obvious that Bella was crying and Rosalie hated that she couldn’t do anything to comfort her. Reaching out to lay her hand on Bella’s shoulder she suddenly found her arms held to to her sides by Marcus.

Seeing Rosalie’s confusion Marcus explained.”You can’t touch her when she’s like this. Not without permission.”

“I forgot.”Rosalie was kicking herself for not remembering. She could have just made the situation worse.

“No harm was done.”Marcus assured her.

“Bella how about I take you to your room.”Jane suggested. When Bella pointed at her face Jane began looking around the throne room.”Has anyone seen her mask?”

“She threw it when she rushed Edward.”Tanya said. She along with the others began picking up random debris looking for it.

“Here it is.”Athenodora held the mask out in front of her standing completely still when Bella came to get it from her. The queen waited until Bella had stepped away before moving again.

Bella held the mask out for Jane to see. Noticing it was scratched and tarnished Jane smiled reassuringly.”We will get it repaired. You will just have to use one of your others while it’s getting done.”

“Do you want us to get you one now or do you want to use that one to get to your room.”Didyme asked. Bella put the mask on and pulled up her hood.”Who do you want to walk with you?”

Rosalie was surprised when Bella pointed to her and Jane.”I’m more than happy to go with you.”

“Once you get there Jane will take your mask and we will send it out to get repaired.”Didyme told her earning nod from Bella in reply.

“We will come back once she’s settled.”Jane said.

“Please do we have many things to discuss.”Marcus wanted to talk about how to deal with the Cullens. They would need Jane’s input on how Bella would react to future meetings as Jane was the one understood Bella the best. Bella talked to her the most and they spent most of their time together. Jane had become Bella’s unofficial mouthpiece and could hold entire conversations on Bella’s behalf predicting everything that Bella wanted to say.

“Come Rosalie.”Jane held the door open for Bella and the other blond.

“I’ll see you guys later.”Rosalie told the Denali before following Bella out of the room.

When the door closed Didyme sighed.”That turned out better than I thought it would.”

“She came out of it a lot quicker than normal.”Sulpicia had seen Bella go on day long rampages before. Considering this had to do with the Cullens Sulpicia expected Bella to tear down the castle and kill most of the occupants.

“It’s usually worse than this?”Tanya asked in disbelief.

Athenodora nodded.”Before we let her train with the guards she would destroy entire wings of the castle and kill anyone who tried to stop her.”

“Jesus.”Irina said.

“Do you ever think it wasn’t the right idea to change her?”Kate asked.

“Kate.”Tanya hissed.”That was inappropriate.”

“No it’s a legitimate question. One we ask ourselves often. The answer being it probably was wrong to change her. When Jane found Bella she realized she was her mate right away. She initially brought Bella to castle to see if there was anything we could do to heal her. The plan wasn’t to turn her right away. With the amount of torture she went through we knew Bella would need to heal before she was turned. We had our best doctors check her out and they explained that Bella wasn’t going to live long. We had two choices. To either let her die or change her. The three of us selfishly chose to change her. It wasn’t for Bella’s benefit it was for our own and every time something like this happens the guilt of that choice multiples tenfold.”Didyme would never forgive herself for choosing to turn Bella.

“I don’t know anybody that would choose to let her die. I know I wouldn’t.”Tanya would have changed Bella the moment she laid eyes on her if she was Tanya’s mate.

Didyme smiled sadly.“That’s kind of you to say.”

“Why don’t we have some of the guards come and clean up this mess.”Marcus suggested. He wanted to move on from hard topics. The day had been emotional enough.

“I’m kind of glad Bella did this. I always thought those thrones were gaudy. It will be nice to have new ones.”Caius was going to design his own. Maybe a new one for mate as well.

“I do love a chance to remodel.”Sulpicia said.

“At least something good came out of this.”Aro wouldn’t mind a new throne room. Theirs hadn’t been changed since the castle was originally built.

“Hopefully this will be the extent of the damage Bella does until she gets the Cullens in the arena.”Didyme said the others voicing their agreements. Looking around Didyme shook her head. They had been lucky this time that Bella only damaged the castle. That fact that all 10 of the vampires in the room with Bella when she went off didn’t get hurt was nothing short of a miracle. It made Didyme think back to Kate’s question. She knew in her heart that changing Bella wasn’t the right thing to do. She just couldn’t let her daughter go. She also believed at the time that she would be able to help Bella work through her trauma once she was turned. Didyme couldn’t have been more wrong. If anything she and Bella’s other two bond mates made it worse. The fact that it took 6 years before they figured out how Bella communicated didn’t help either. Bella had refused to write things down something they now understood had to do with her gift. She didn’t think in words she thought in images and emotions. Didyme fully believed that even if Bella could talk she would refuse to and would just rely on her gift. It didn’t matter though. Didyme and the others had made their choice. It was just to bad that Bella had to live with the repercussions of their selfishness.