The Dark Princess 10

“Ahh Carlisle, Esme it’s so lovely to see you.” Aro’s voice greeted the mated couple as they entered the throne room. Carlisle was beyond concerned because not only was Edward not there but it seemed all the royals including the queens were present.He thought maybe Edward was off with Bella waiting for all of this to wrap up. It would make sense for them not to want a human involved in vampire politics and there was no way they would separate mates. So Edward was probably somewhere protecting Bella from the many human drinking vampires that lived within the castle. “It’s been too long.”

“Yes it has your majesty. I was hoping that we would be meeting with my son. No one has told us anything about his whereabouts.” Carlisle flinched back when numerous vampires in the room growled.

“Your son.” Caius scoffed. “I noticed that you haven’t mentioned Bella since you have been here. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the human who risked her life to save that pitiful excuse of a vampire.”

“Of course we are worried about Bella.” Esme moved closer to Carlisle when Queen Athenodora advanced on her. Before the queen got to her however she was restrained by Caius and Aro.

“You will not speak her name in my presence.” Athenodora growled. She didn’t like these two and after what Alice and Bella had told her about Esme seeing Bella as her own child it caused the queen’s beast to come forward. It demanded she eliminate any threat to her bond.

“My dear, you know she wouldn’t want you to react on your anger. You would regret it later.” It may have sounded like Caius was trying stop his wife from giving into her urge to destroy both the vampires before them but in reality he was trying to get her to clear her head so she didn’t rush the punishment.

Athenodora took an unnecessary breath. Her mate was right. Bella would want her to plan out her revenge. Her daughter was really made to be her and Caius’ bond child. Athenodora knew Bella would want her to get full satisfaction out any punishment she dealt. It had been proven when Bella had made sure that her mate didn’t kill Edward before Jane and the queen got a chance at him. Nodding her head she walked back to her mate’s throne and stood beside it. They would follow the laws and allow Carlisle and Esme to plead their cases. Then she would get her chance at them.

“Why don’t we all take a breath and get our emotions under control.”Aro took his seat smiling at his mate as she laid her hand on his shoulder. The entire room was on edge and they needed to get back to the situation at hand. The reaction of the room proved his previous prediction right. The new Volturi princess was going to bring new life to the castle. “Now we should discuss why you are here.”

“That would be nice. I understand that Edward had made a mistake by exposing himself to humans but I am here to plead on his behalf.” Carlisle didn’t understand why everyone was so angry but he hoped he could convince the kings to see that what Edward did was trivial. “He believed his mate had died. In such an instance it is only natural to want to die.”

Esme screamed as Carlisle fell to the floor writhing in pain. She fell to her knees to try and help him but it was no use. “Please stop. He didn’t do anything. Stop this please.”

“Jane dear please stop.” Aro looked at the irate blond vampire and sighed. He was now regretting having allowed her and the queens in the room. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to stop them from being there but he could always dream.

“Sorry my lord.” Jane hung her head in embarrassment. She usually had much better control of herself but she didn’t like that Carlisle still claimed Edward’s false mate bond after Alice had told him the truth.

“It’s alright Jane you were simply acting on the instincts of your bond.” Marcus was actually impressed that Athenodora, Caius and Jane hadn’t ripped Carlisle and Esme apart already.

“Now then. Can we please refrain from any more outburst. I know that all of us would like to get this over with and spend some time with the princess.” Aro and the other royals hadn’t gotten to see Bella since she went to the doctor so they wished to see if she was alright. The young princess was already well loved amongst the kings and their mates and each wanted to spend time with the human. He was hoping he would be able to help her learn how to use her gift better. He made a mental note to call Eleazar to come and see exactly what Bella’s gift was.

“Why don’t we get to the point of this meeting.” Caius glared at Carlisle. “Carlisle you and your coven have committed two crimes you are going to be tried for this day.”

“My family committed no crimes. What is it you claimed we did?” Carlisle was unsure what was going on. If his coven was being accused of any crimes why were he and Esme the only ones standing before the royals.

“Let’s start with the first crime. You allowed a human to learn of our secret and instead of killing or turning them you simply left them with the knowledge.” Aro didn’t want to think about his niece being killed but the Cullens broke the law. They should have turned her but now she would get the honor of being turned by either her parents or her mate.

Carlisle swallowed hard. “Your majesty we left Bella with the knowledge yes, however as she was Edward’s mate we always believed we would return to the girl for Edward to complete the bond.”

“Be patient sister. You will get your justice.” Alec whispered in Jane’s ear causing her to stop growling. He too was outraged that the man was still claiming the false mate bond after everything Edward had done but knew they had to keep clear heads.

“So your defense is that you left her with the intention to return and what? Was she to be turned?” Aro asked. He didn’t believe for a second the mind reader would have turned Bella.

“As she is Edward’s mate it would have been his decision as to whether she would have been turned or not.” Carlisle was now feeling more confidant that the kings were seeing his side of things. Yes the law had been broken but the royals respected the mate bond. It was up to the mates to decide their own futures.

“So you planned to ignore one of our most important laws because you follow the will of a selfish boy.” Caius sneered.

“My son is not selfish.” Carlisle said defensively. “Even though he was overwhelmed with the smell of Bella’s blood he never gave into the temptation. His control and dedication to Bella is unrivaled by any. If he were selfish he would have drained Bella but instead he has suffered being around his mate.”

Growls filled the throne room from not just the royals and Jane but from the rest of the guard as well. It just proved to Aro how loved their new princess was already.He predicted she was going to the most loved member of the royals. “How about we skip the rest of your pitiful excuses of why you left a human with our knowledge and get to the main reason you are before us. Why have you been supporting a false mate bond?”

“I have done no such thing.” Carlisle truly believed Bella was Edward’s mate. He didn’t know why the royals were claiming otherwise but it was beyond obvious with all that Edward had sacrificed to be with Bella. “Bella is Edward’s mate.”

“So you believe we are lying? For what reason would we do that?” Marcus asked. He was curious what Carlisle’s excuse for them to lie about something as sacred as a mate bond.

“I…well…” Carlisle wasn’t exactly sure what to say to that. He knew he needed to pick his next words wisely though. “I don’t have an exact reason but with the way you have wanted Edward for the guard…..”

Aro laughed. “You think we want that weakling for the guard. The boy has lost his mind and can barely hold a conversation with someone. He is nothing but a liability. The only reason he isn’t dead yet is because we haven’t decided the appropriate punishment for what he has done.”

“What has my son done other than try and keep his mate safe?” Carlisle couldn’t understand why the kings wanted Edward punished so badly for trying to protect his mate.

“Bella is not Edward’s mate.” Jane growled. She held back from using her gift on Carlisle because she knew it would just delay her getting to properly avenge her mate.

“If he actually was Bella’s mate then he wouldn’t have been able to hurt her.” Marcus told him. He had a feeling he knew where Edward got his personality from. Both he and his sire lived in their own reality.

“Edward would never hurt Bella.” Esme said. She was beyond convinced her son would never do anything to Bella. His love for Bella was too great to ever endanger her.

“My daughter’s wrist is broken and the bones in her arm are shattered because of him. You have been told this by one of your coven members and yet you still deny the truth.” Caius had thought maybe Carlisle’s mate had been more reasonable than Carlisle but it seemed Esme was no better.

“Your daughter?” Carlisle wasn’t sure what was going on. How could Bella be Caius’ daughter.

“Yes. Bella shares a child bond with both myself and my mate.” Athenodora said proudly. She took extreme pleasure at the look of anger that crossed Esme’s face.

“Bella can’t be your daughter.” Esme exclaimed angrily. Bella was her daughter. Her beautiful human daughter that shouldn’t have been in a castle full of human drinking vampires. Esme didn’t know what the royals were playing at but it seemed they were trying to break up her coven.

“Not only is Bella our bond child but she has accepted the bonds. Why she even calls us by the title of mother and father.” Caius enjoyed lording the fact over the two vampires. He had heard of the way they seemed to think Bella was one of their children especially Esme. The fact that Bella felt nothing for the woman brought comfort to his mate and knowing that Carlisle only made Bella uncomfortable overpowered any jealousy he personally felt.

“You lie!!” Esme wasn’t going to let them take her daughter away. She had already lost one human child she wasn’t going to lose another.

“Watch your tone.” Aro warned. “You are speaking to royalty. We will not allow you to disrespect us just because you don’t like the truth we speak.”

“Of course my lord.” Carlisle put an arm around Esme and held her tight against him. He was half restraining her and half comforting her. He knew of his wife’s love for Bella so hearing she was bonded to another had to be devastating. It was just another thing he was sure the royals were lying about. “Where are the rest of my children?”

“Your children.” Caius scoffed. “The other members of you coven except for Edward are spending time with the new princess. As our daughter is more merciful than any of us she has requested that the four of them be spared. We saw no reason to deny her this as they knew nothing of the false mate bond.”

“And Edward, where is he?” Carlisle asked knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

“The pitiful excuse of a vampire you sired is enjoying the comfort of our dungeons.” Caius told him.

“What?! You can’t keep him there!! He has done nothing wrong!!” Carlisle was outraged that they would do that to his son.

“Nothing wrong!! Nothing wrong!!” Athenodora yelled. “Not only was the boy claiming a false mate bond but then he hurt the Volturi princess when she attempted to go to her true mate.”

“Edward is her true mate!!” Carlisle stopped caring that he was in the throne room. He wasn’t going to let anyone break up his family.

“I am her true mate.” Jane roared. She bypassed using her gift and rushed towards Carlisle. Grabbing him by the throat she slammed him to the ground not only leaving cracks in the stone beneath him but cracks along his neck. When Esme tried to get involved Alec moved to restrain her.

“Jane be still.” Athenodora said as she laid a hand on Jane’s shoulder. She needed to remind Jane of what Caius had to remind her. “Bella wouldn’t want it to be over so soon. Think of the regret you will feel if you simply end him right now.”

Jane squeezed Carlisle’s throat one more time before standing. Athenodora was right. It would be unfair and selfish for her to kill Carlisle right now. Jane felt blessed that her human mate seemed to understand vampires so well. Bella knew that their beast wouldn’t be satisfied unless they had their complete revenge as she had proven when making sure Caius didn’t kill Edward before Jane and Athenodora got a chance to dole out their punishments. “You are right. It wouldn’t be fair to the others.”

“I think nothing more can come of this. What should we do with them brother?” Marcus asked Caius. He wanted everyone to cool down before actually beginning the punishments. The fact that the mated couple refused to see the truth even when presented with the facts just proved there was no changing their minds. All that would happen if they stayed in the throne room was more damage would happen to the room itself and Carlisle and Esme would lose their heads.

“They want to see their son so desperately why don’t we throw them in the dungeon so they can spend time together.” Caius smiled at the despair he saw on Esme and Carlisle’s faces. It seemed they finally realized the trouble they found themselves in.

“No wait you can’t do this. We have done nothing wrong.” Carlisle didn’t understand how everything had unraveled so quickly. He tried to fight off the guards as they grabbed both him and Esme but he was no match for them.

“I think you should take the time in the dungeon to think over exactly what you have done.” Aro watched as the two vampires were dragged out of the room and sighed. “I had had such high hopes for the Cullens.”

“I want to blame it on their animal blood diet but the Denali don’t act as they do.” Marcus said.

“No it seems that this is an ingrained stupidity that the mind reader inherited as well. Do you think the others are like this?” Aro was worried that they had made a mistake keeping Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett alive.

“No Bella has vouched for them and from what Alice has said they have all been unhappy with Carlisle and Edward. I wouldn’t be surprised if they stayed at the castle for a while.” Athenodora told them. She would have to see how her daughter felt about them before offering the invitation. Athenodora had read that humans needed to have positivity around them while they healed so maybe if she kept Bella’s friends around it would help her child feel better.

“I guess we will see. Now that that’s settled I want to go see how our niece is doing. We didn’t get a chance to see her after the initial meeting and I’m dying to get to know her better.” Sulpicia was excited to spend time with the human. Seeing how much happiness she had brought to her brother and sister made her realize how special Bella was and she selfishly wanted to experience some of that happiness herself.

“Yes let’s go and speak with Bella. I want to talk to her about meeting Eleazar.” Aro was already planning different ways they could help Bella with her shield. He himself didn’t have a gift when he was human but Bella’s gift worked the opposite that his did and he was hoping that would give him and Bella something to bond over.

“I think that is an excellent idea.” Athenodora wanted to spend time alone with her daughter but knew that it would only be right to let others around Bella. The queen just felt like she hadn’t had enough time to solidify the bond. She knew it wouldn’t fall completely in place until Bella was turned. That was another thing the royals needed to discuss. Bella wouldn’t be able to become a vampire until her bones healed properly. That meant she would need more protection than they did. Athenodora wanted the most elite members to watch over Bella but didn’t want anyone else to be in danger. As she followed the others to the royal wing of the castle she tried to figure out how to exactly work out proper protection for her daughter. It would be tough but they would figure it out. They had to because as she was beginning to understand Bella was not only important to her but all the other vampires the human came in contact with.