The Hidden Princess 14

“It was nice of your mothers to allow us to use their private jet to get our stuff.”Rosalie said as she sat next to Bella on their way to Forks from Italy. Bella had been somewhat subdued and Rosalie hadn’t gotten a chance to ask her what happened. It was concerning and from the way even Heidi was acting Rosalie was starting to worry.The other guards were stoic as ever but there seemed to be a sense of sadness that was coming from each of them.

“Hmm?”Isabella asked absentmindedly.

“I said it was nice of your mothers to let us use their plane.”Rosalie told her.

“Oh, yeah they wanted to make sure that we didn’t have to deal with the hassle of traveling commercial.”Bella said.

“Are you alright?”Rosalie asked.

Bella sighed. “I guess it’s obvious isn’t it.”

“I can tell something is bothering you.”Rosalie didn’t want to push but she was worried she had upset Bella somehow.”Have I done something?”

“No of course not.”Bella knew she was distracted but she didn’t like that Rosalie felt she did something wrong.

“Then what is it?”Rosalie needed to know because her imagination was running wild with all the things she felt she did wrong.

“I spoke to my mothers before we left and mentioned that I would like for us to live outside of the castle until at least my rooms were ready and it didn’t go over well.”Bella was actually understating how bad it went but didn’t want Rosalie to feel bad.

“What happened?” Rosalie didn’t expect that to be something Bella had talked to her mothers about.

“Well I asked if we could use their vineyard to live at as I figured it was close enough to the castle that they wouldn’t object because I could still preform my duties and we could easily visit each other. My mother was alright with the idea and although my mom was hesitant she agreed to it as well.”Bella took a deep breath before sharing the rest of the story.”My momma on the other hand threw a fit and demanded that if I moved out that she was going to live with us.”

Rosalie winced at the idea.”She wouldn’t really do that would she?”

“Unfortunately she would but my other mothers promised they would talk to her.I don’t know what’s going to happen but my momma is really upset and didn’t even come to say goodbye before we left.”It had been the first time Didyme had ever not seen Bella off on whatever trip she was taking even if she was only going to be gone for an hour.

“Oh Bella.”Rosalie reached her hand out and intertwined her fingers with Bella’s.

“It will work out.My mothers say she is just upset. For some reason she feels like because I am now mated I’m going to ignore her completely.”Bella would never do that and it hurt that her momma thought she would.

“I didn’t realize that being with me would cause so many problems.”Rosalie knew Bella was close to her mothers but didn’t think they would so outright disapprove of their mate bond.

“It isn’t us being together causing the problem.My momma just needs to come to terms with I’m an adult.In her eyes I am just a child she needs to take care of when in reality I am more able to protect her than she is me.”Bella said.

“I think all mothers feel like their children will never be able to take care of themselves and will always need to be looked after.”Rosalie’s own mother wasn’t like that but Rosalie knew her mother wasn’t the greatest example of how a mother should act.

“I just wish she would trust me enough to know that I would never abandoned her.The very idea of not seeing her everyday breaks my heart.”Bella couldn’t imagine how she would feel if Didyme didn’t at least call her while she was in America.

Rosalie was now realizing that Bella had a much more intense relationship with her mothers than she originally thought.It made her wonder how they were going to be able to travel and live on their own if Bella and her mothers were so attached to each other.”I think it will work out.It will be nice to stay at the vineyard to give us some privacy.If it’s close enough to the castle that you can still visit your mothers and they can visit us then I don’t see the problem of staying until your rooms are renovated and we can move back.”

“You want to live in the castle?” Bella was surprised Rosalie was even considering it.

“I was wary of the idea to begin with but if you are offering us a chance to have some time to ourselves then I am more than willing to move into the castle once we have your rooms taken care of.”Rosalie knew she would have to compromise on a lot of things when it came to Bella and the royals and figured if she made the effort to make them happy they would be more inclined to grant her some of her requests in the future.

“First off thank you, secondly they are our rooms now.”Bella told her feeling like a weight was lifted from her chest. She wanted to call her mothers right away and tell them the good news. Bella hoped it would be the thing that made Didyme break out of her anger at the situation.

Rosalie was disturbed by the fact that not only was Bella grinning but many of the guards as well. It seemed the sadness she was feeling from them was in regards to Bella leaving the castle. That was interesting because although Bella said she was friends with most of the guard Rosalie hadn’t realized how close they were.”I would object to saying they were mine but seeing the lack of anything considered personal in them once they are decorated they will be more mine than yours.”

“I want to argue but I really can’t.”Bella said chuckling.

“So what is going to happen now?”Rosalie was curious of how things were going to play out.

“Well first we go to Forks ,get all the things you need and arrange for anything you want to be put in storage or shipped to the castle. After that my mother wanted me to check in with the wolves. She wants to use this trip as a teaching experience for me. I need to learn the consequences of what happens when a newborn army is made.That includes the collateral damage to other supernaturals.”Bella was actually looking forward to visiting the wolves because one of her panther shifter friends was staying with them helping the pack out while they healed.

“That is actually a good idea.”Rosalie was impressed that the queens wanted Bella to understand what happened when people broke the laws. It would make her a better ruler if she understood the result of someone breaking the law.

“Yeah I don’t usually get to leave the castle so I never get the opportunity to see something like this.”Bella told her.

“Have you ever fought in a battle for the Volturi before?” Rosalie asked.

Bella shook her head.”No I only get to train with the guards. My mothers don’t think it’s safe for me to be involved with things like that.”

“That’s understandable.”Rosalie felt relief wash over her at the knowledge Bella wasn’t sent off into dangerous situations. She had worried about it more than she cared to admit after realizing how dangerous her mate was.That the queens kept Bella who could easily take the place of most of the guard all at once made Rosalie respect them even more.It showed that the three queens cared for more than victory if they didn’t allow Bella to go off fighting their battles.

“It was fun to fight though.The fact that my mother was by my side made everything even better.”Bella would always cherish the memory of fighting on the same side as Athenodora.

Rosalie decided not to share her opinion of Bella thinking fighting was fun because it seemed it wouldn’t happen in the future and she didn’t want to upset her mate.”Well, I’m glad you got the opportunity.”

“Fighting isn’t for everyone.” Bella could easily pick up on Rosalie’s discomfort with the idea of her fighting. “It’s all I’ve know since I was turned.It was also a way my mother had of breaking through the walls I built up to form a relationship with me.”

“That’s true with your history it would seem silly to think you would put fighting behind you.”Rosalie could imagine that Bella probably tried to fight every member of the guard.Or they would have tried to fight her. Especially if they heard about Bella landing a punch on Jane.Rosalie smiled at the thought of what Jane’s face would have looked like when Bella hit her.

“I really only had two paths when I came to the castle.Either become a monk and never lift a hand against anyone else again or become the greatest fighter the Volturi ever knew.”Bella said.

“Well I don’t want to stroke your ego but I’m pretty sure you have become the greatest fighter they ever knew.”Rosalie had seen Bella in action and knew that she hadn’t used her shield.”That isn’t even with your gift.”

“I try not to use my shield unless I’m in the throne room.I worry that if something happens and it is rendered useless that I won’t be able to defend myself.”Bella was actually more worried that she wouldn’t be able to defend her mothers than herself.

“So your shield is both physical and mental then?” Rosalie had assumed but wanted to make sure.

Bella ignored the looks of interest from Rosalie’s siblings. Her gift wasn’t a secret and she didn’t mind talking about it.”Yes it is both. I didn’t know it was mental until the incident with Jane.”

“Can you turn it off or is it always active?”Rosalie asked.

“I can turn either off.I have to concentrate to do so but it is possible.Mostly its passive and reacts to threats before I sometimes detect them.”Bella explained.

“That’s amazing.”Emmett mumbled.

Rosalie ignored her brother and the rest of her siblings. Having a private conversation on a plane full of vampires was impossible but Rosalie appreciated the fact that everyone was giving them the illusion of privacy. “Does it protect others passively as well?”

“Yes it does. Well those I have a bond with.Although it has protected Heidi on a few occasions.Eleazar isn’t quite certain how it works because it blocks his own gift even when I try to deactivate it.”Bella told her.

“Wait you know Eleazar?”Rosalie had thought Bella didn’t because he had never brought her up to them when the Cullens visited him.

“Of course, who do you think told us about the army?”Bella was confused why Rosalie wouldn’t think she knew the Alaskan coven.With her gift it would be obvious that Eleazar would have been contacted.

“That’s how you found out?”Rosalie had wondered how the Volturi had caught wind of Victoria but would have never thought it was the Denali that told them.

“Yeah they saw the news and put the pieces together quite easily.”Bella said.

“I would have thought they would have come to us first.”Rosalie was now rethinking how close her family was to the Denali.If they gave them up to the Volturi so easily it meant they didn’t care about them that much.

“From what I’ve gathered they really don’t like Carlisle and Edward that much.They have talked highly of you and your siblings though.”Bella felt bad at being the reason Rosalie had felt betrayed by the other coven.She wouldn’t lie to her mate though even if it would prevent hurt feelings.

“That’s not surprising.Not many do.”Rosalie knew the pair were the reason the Cullens were so isolated. Most other vampires didn’t respect them and it wasn’t because of their diet like Carlisle liked to claim.The Denali had close relationships with other covens and it seemed the queens and they fed from animals as well.

“They are due for a visit soon so I hope you aren’t to upset with them.”Bella didn’t want Rosalie to be mad at what she considered her aunts and uncle. It would make their life uncomfortable when the vampires visited.

“No I’m not upset with them. I understand why they did it.Even before knowing you I wanted to tell the Volturi.As proven it was Carlisle who wanted to hide everything. I don’t blame them for having more loyalty to your mothers than us.”Rosalie said.

“And now Carlisle is paying the price for his pride.”Bella knew that her mothers were going to take care of the trio of vampires in the dungeon soon and she wanted to be a part of it. She hoped they would let her because it was well known their hatred of the man and his first turned so Bella wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to deal with it themselves.

“Yes he is.”Rosalie had mixed feelings about Carlisle and the other two’s fate.While she didn’t care about what happened to him or Edward she was saddened about Esme’s sentence. Even if she could be saved it wouldn’t be worth it because her mate would have died and Esme would be overcome with grief for the rest of her life. It would be less cruel to kill her.

“We will be coming in for a landing soon so everyone be ready to leave once we are stopped.”Chelsea’s voice came over the intercom.

“It looks like we are almost there.”Bella said.

“I can’t wait to show you my room.It will be a good preview for how our wing is going to look.”Rosalie smiled when Bella laughed.It may be a sad reason for having to return to Forks but Rosalie was excited to close this chapter of her life. Now she was no longer under Carlisle’s thumb and even though she was now the mate of the Volturi princess Rosalie felt life was going to be a lot better.She would have to worry about the queens being involved in her life but it seemed that at least Athenodora could be counted on to stand up for her and Bella.The fact that Bella actually stood up to her mothers for her and Rosalie was heart warming because it showed her mate cared about her enough to go against her parental bonds. It nice to know Bella cared. Not that Rosalie doubted it of course. Ever since they had met Bella had protected her and made sure she was comfortable.It made Rosalie feel happy that she finally had someone on her side because her family often wasn’t.