The Dark Princess 6

"Come in." Alice called out as she heard a knock on the door. She had been escorted to a small sitting room that while comfortable Alice couldn't stop thinking of it as a prison cell. Not knowing what was going on was making her nervous. They had taken her cell phone away from her, making it so she couldn't contact her family. Jasper was probably freaking out and she wished she could tell him she was ok. Even if Alice wasn't sure that was the truth. She had declared her loyalty to Bella but the Cullens still broke the law. Not only that but Edward had hurt Jane's mate and Caius and Athenodora's bond child. Alice was sure there would be hell to pay but she wasn't sure who would be footing the bill. Her musings were cut short when Queen Athenodora walked into the room.

"Hello Alice." Athenodora greeted her. She hadn't wanted to leave her child but knowing how much Bella cared for Alice she felt it right to speak with her. She also wished to use the visit as a fact finding mission. Alice being her daughter's friend would have insight as to who Bella was.

Alice bowed her head. She wasn't sure why Athenodora was there and it made her very nervous."My queen."

"No need to worry Alice I'm not here to harm you. Your loyalty to my child alone is enough to secure your safety. The fact that Bella cares for you as well has guaranteed no harm will come to you or your mate unless you have blatantly broken any laws." Athenodora told her.

"Thank you your majesty." Alice breathed a sigh of relief. Although she noticed that the rest of her family was not included in that statement at least Jasper and herself were safe. She would have to thank Bella later. Once again Bella had proven to be the greatest friend Alice ever had. "How is Bella? Has she seen a doctor?"

Athenodora bit back a growl. She didn't want to scare Alice. "It seems she has not only a broken wrist but shattered bones in her arm. We are going to be discussing treatment options with a specialist tomorrow."

"Oh god!" Alice was shocked. She didn't think Edward would ever hurt Bella and him doing so much damage made her feel somewhat guilty. "I'm so sorry. I should have known. I should have seen that she wasn't Edward's mate and then I could have prevented all of this. It's my fault Bella got hurt."

"No, Alice it isn't your fault. It's Edward's. Do not shoulder the guilt for this. Your gift is not all knowing. None of us blame you for this. The blame is Edward's alone." Athenodora wasn't one to comfort someone but she also wouldn't allow Alice to blame herself for the actions of a selfish boy.

"It's just Bella has been so blurry lately. I only get glimpses of her future. I had seen her as a vampire. When Edward claimed the mate bond I assumed that meant that she was really his mate as I saw no other visions of her with anyone else. The fact that he claimed a false mate bond was never something I would have thought he would do. I just wish I could have helped Bella better. I feel like I let her down." Alice wasn't sure why she was telling all this to the queen but she needed to get it out. She had been going over it in her mind since she had gotten there and had been trying to figure out how she missed Edward and Bella not being mates.

Athenodora sighed. She really wasn't the person for this but she reminded herself that her daughter wouldn't want her friend upset. This was a part of motherhood she realized. Making sure those that her daughter cared about were taken care of. It just seemed that this time it was emotionally. "You have to remember Edward can read minds. In doing so he can use that information to manipulate a situation. He could have been monitoring if you thought something was off and corrected the behavior. From what I know of Bella she wouldn't want you blaming yourself. As a matter of fact as she sat in pain waiting for the doctor her first concern was making sure your were alright."

Alice smiled hearing that. "That's so Bella. Worried about everyone but herself."

"Can you tell me about my daughter?" Athenodora asked.

"Bella is the greatest friend I have ever had. Many people are uncomfortable around me or like to make fun of me for my weirdness. Not Bella though. She has not once said a negative word about me and on many occasion defended me against classmates and even her human friends. She has so much courage and even knowing we are vampires she doesn't shy away from us. She just treats it like the only difference between us is our diet. Even Jasper who has problems being around humans enjoys her company. He told me that her emotions were so pure that being near her relaxes him."

"What is her family like?" Athenodora almost didn't want to know the answer to that question for fear of hearing Bella had two loving parents. Although Bella did call her mate father that didn't mean that she and Caius didn't have competition.

"She has no siblings. Her parents are divorced and she lived with her mother until last year when she moved in with her father Charlie." Alice wasn't sure if she should explain more as she was sure that the queen would be upset but she wouldn't lie to her so she continued. "Bella's mother Rene was horrible to her. Bella hasn't specifically said but I suspect that she was abused. I know for a fact she was neglected. When we met Bella she was dangerously underweight and would shy away from anyone touching her."

Athenodora growled, happy that she got this information from Alice. If Bella had told her she would have had to hold back on her anger to comfort her child. She would have to discuss this with Caius and Jane when she got a chance. They both deserved to know before Bella told them. "What of her father? Why didn't he do something?"

"Charlie is the chief of police. He is good at his job."Alice knew she was stalling but Athenodora looked like she wanted to kill someone and Alice didn't want that someone to be her.

"How does he treat Bella?" Athenodora knew Alice was about to tell her something she didn't want to hear. She had to remind herself this was not Alice's fault and as she was Bella's friend she couldn't take her anger out on the small vampire.

"He is a horrible father. He doesn't physically abuse Bella but he treats her like she is a servant. She does all the house work and makes all the meals. He even makes her wash his clothes. When she doesn't do something to his standards he screams at her and the things he says aren't something I wish to repeat." Alice rushed out hoping that if she said it fast enough it would lessen the blow.

Athenodora picked up the couch and threw it at the wall hard enough that some of the stone crumbled. Two guards rushed into the room but stopped short when they saw that their queen was fine. Upon seeing the guards Athenodora tried to calm herself down, reminding herself once again that the people who deserved her anger weren't there with her. She took a deep breath. She needed a break from learning about Bella's life as she had a feeling she wasn't going to like anything else Alice was going to tell her. Feeling the overwhelming urge to see that Bella was safe she made her way to the door stopping before she left. "Thank you for the information Alice. I apologize for the mess and will have someone escort you to a different room. Bella is sleeping now as she was given medicine for the pain but when she wakes up I will have someone bring you to her so that you can spend time together."

"Thank you my queen." Alice knew she should leave it at that but her worry for Jasper had her opening her mouth again. "Is there any way for me contact my mate. I know he is worried about me and I don't want him to do anything drastic thinking that I am in danger."

"Of course. I will have one of the guards bring you your cell phone. I am trusting you to not tell them what is going on. I don't want anyone to try and ignore the summons." Athenodora told her.

Knowing this was not only a boon but a test Alice took this seriously. If she told her family exactly what was going on then the queen would take back her promise that nothing would happen to her or Jasper. She wasn't going to let that happen though. "I understand and won't let you or Bella down."

"See that you don't." Athenodora said as she left the room. She desperately wanted to see Bella. The girl may have been sleeping but after hearing all that she had went through she needed to make sure she was safe. Happily Jane hadn't objected to Bella staying in Caius and her room which made Athenodora feel much better as she knew the room was safe. The only thing she wasn't looking forward to was telling both Jane and Caius about Bella's parents. She would have to tell them individually away from Bella. Maybe she would take each of them to the sparing room. They could work out their anger on a couple of the guards.