Chapter 8: Emmet

Chapter 8: Emmet

That day, my past came back to bite me (no pun intended).

Marcus and I were spending the day together, which was unusual. In the month since becoming his companion, I had told Marcus just about everything, and he had revealed a lot to me. I felt like he really understood me, which was nice; I hadn’t expected to find anyone like that here.

Out of nowhere, we heard a disturbance downstairs; a very noisy disturbance, with lots of banging and shouting. A minute later, Chelsea appeared, informing us that an intruder had been apprehended trying to get into the city, and that Aro had requested our presence immediately.

We went down in a hurry, not wanting to upset Aro. It seemed everyone else was already in the big room, because the corridors were empty as we almost ran down them.

“Are you ready?” Marcus asked when we reached the door, holding his arm out to me.

I took a deep breath and slipped my hand into his elbow, then nodded, trying to smile. I had never seen the Volturi deliver justice in their own home before, and I didn’t know what would happen if Aro decided to end whichever unfortunate soul had crossed him. I didn’t know if I could face an execution. But I had to try.

Marcus pushed the big doors open and we walked inside.

“There you are brother!” Aro cried, tension thick in his voice. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Sorry Aro,” Marcus said, sounding utterly bored - as usual. He was only ever animated when he talked to me. “Is there a reason you needed us so urgently? You can usually deal with intruders by yourself.”

Aro huffed. “This is a little different.”

That was when I heard the snarling and snapping in the little antechamber. The sound was oddly familiar; like a dream of a dream.

Caius was getting impatient. “Get him out here. Let’s get this over with so we can eat.”

He clapped his hands and the door opened. A little crowd of grey shrouded figures came through, dragging something between them. Whatever it was, they weren’t having an easy time of it. The intruder, I assumed, was struggling like anything, and obviously stronger than those who held him. They gave up eventually, throwing him to the floor at Aro’s feet.

The shock hit me like a lightning bolt. I took in a sharp breath and gripped Marcus’s arm tighter.

The intruder... was Emmet.

His familiar curly brown hair was tousled and tangled. His clothes were dirty and rumpled, like they hadn’t been changed in a while. His eyes were dark ochre, so he was in need of a hunt too. They were wild, those eyes, desperately searching for something. When they found mine, he sprang up, obviously meaning to come towards me... only to be thrown to the floor again by Jane. It was too much.

“Master, please!” I cried, taking a shaky step forward. Before he could say anything, my shield ballooned out to cover Emmet, leaving him sprawled on the tiles.

“Alright, Jane, enough.” I heard Aro murmur, but I wasn’t listening. Marcus let me move away from him, and I ran straight to Emmet, kneeling next to him and gently manoeuvring his head into my lap.

“Why don’t we give them some privacy?” Marcus suggested, and I looked up at Aro, pleading with my eyes. He considered for a second, and then nodded. He motioned with his hand, and the guard members filed out hurriedly. Apparently none of them wanted to be around when Emmet got his strength back. Caius looked furious, but didn’t argue.

Marcus was the last to leave. “Take as long as you need Isabella. We’ll let you make the judgement on this one,” he said as he closed the door.

For a moment there was total silence. I couldn’t look at Emmet, though I felt his eyes on me. I just stared at the closed door, memorizing the wood grains.

His hand touched my cheek. I didn’t turn.

“Bells,” he pleaded, “look at me, please.”

“Don’t you listen?” I asked, angry now. I got up off the floor and turned my back on him.

“Bella? I don’t understand, what’s wrong?”

“Didn’t you hear Marcus?” I all but shouted. “Didn’t Alice tell you? I’m not Bella any more.”

There was silence for a moment. I didn’t want to break it, but I knew Emmet’s brain would still be digesting my outburst. The boy was smart, but he could still be pretty slow.

I sighed and turned back to face him. “What are you doing here Emmet?”

He blinked once, then frowned. “I came to get you of course. Why else would I come here?”

“Well, I’m sorry. You came all this way for nothing.”

“What?!” Emmet’s jaw dropped.

“You heard me; I’m. Not. Leaving.”

All of a sudden, he was right there. He grabbed the tops of my arms and shook me violently.

“Are you crazy Bella?” he shouted. “You actually want to stay here with these murderers, and leave behind everything you wanted? Everything we stand for? Why, Bella, why?”

The rage bubbled up before I could contain it.

“My name is ISABELLA!” I screeched, throwing him across the room into the wall. There was a shower of dust, but no visible damage, to him or the wall. That was good at least.

Emmet got up off the floor, but didn’t approach me. He stood staring at me. I watched as his eyes took me in; my hair piled on my head in ringlets, exposing the Volturi crest around my neck; my bright red eyes; the black cloak.

“You’re not just in the guard any more are you?” he said, and I could hear accusation in his tone.

“No.” I said, managing to keep my voice even with a little effort. “Aro has made me Marcus’s companion.”

“Companion?”

“I’m sure Aro means for it to be something similar to a mate, but really we just talk. His heart is broken too, Em.” I knew I was letting myself slip; abandoning the mask, letting Bella show through the cracks. I didn’t care. This was Emmet. My big brother. He would understand. And I had to tell him so the others wouldn’t be worried.

“You haven’t...” he trailed off suggestively. Typical Emmet.

“No, we haven’t.” I smiled, then became serious. “He’s still mourning his wife. And I could never betray...”

I couldn’t say the name. I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I mean, we are still married after all.”

We stood there, the uncomfortable silence stretching longer and longer as we both tried to think of something to say next. He broke it this time.

“Are you happy?” he asked, looking straight into my eyes and coming closer.

I shook my head. “I don’t have to be. There’s no alternative to this; nothing I can do to get out of it. Things are better than they were though; Marcus understands.”

“And you think we wouldn’t?” he retorted, sounding hurt.

I frowned. “No. But you don’t need to. You just have to accept it.”

I was cracking. Every second I spent looking at Emmet was bringing me closer to the pain I had been desperate to escape.

He could see that.

Emmet’s big arms wrapped around me, hugging me close to him. The sense of comfort was overwhelming, and I hugged him back without thinking. My eyes prickled, and I started to sob.

I could hear him trying to comfort me, felt his hand rubbing my back. I knew in that moment that it didn’t matter. My family didn’t care what I had become. They would take me back willingly, if I would go; and I wanted to go. It was unmistakably a complication that I was bound to stay here. If the situation had been different, I would gladly have walked out of here with Emmet right now. But I couldn’t.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t do him a favour.

I pulled away from his embrace, taking his hand and dragging him behind me towards the little side door.

“Where are we going?” he asked, confused.

“Shh,” I hissed. “We’re getting you out of here.”

I pulled Emmet through the antechamber, stopping to check the corridor before I stepped out. Giana was on her lunch break, which made getting to the elevators easier. We didn’t see anyone as we made our way along the dark corridors; reversing the route I had taken on my last trip to Volterra. As a high ranking member of the guard, I knew every entry and exit, every back door and every hidden tunnel. The drain where we had come through the street last time had a small metal ladder embedded in the wall, so it could function as an exit as well as an entrance. When we reached it I stopped and turned to face him. The darkness didn’t stop us from seeing each other.

“Emmet, this is probably the last time we’ll ever see each other. So you have to understand that I’m not doing this because I want to. I’m doing it because I have to. I’m here so the Volturi will leave Charlie alone. I’m here so that our family will survive. And I am here because I love each and every one of you, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Now listen to me very carefully.” I gripped his face in my hands, making him look me in the eye.

“You are going to climb up that ladder, open the grate, get out, and close it again. I will stay here until you’re done. Then you are going to take anyone who has come with you and go home. No stopping, no turning around. You get out of Italy as fast as your legs can carry you. You are going to tell everyone everything that I have told you, no editing, got it?”

He nodded.

“Good.” I pulled him into one last hug. “Love you big brother.”

“Love you little sis,” he whispered into my hair. “You want me to be a messenger?”

I could hear the grin in his voice, and couldn’t help smiling in response.

“Just tell everyone I love them. Give Nessie a kiss from me.”

“Got it. Love you Bells.”

Emmet stepped back and started to climb the ladder. When he got to the top, I heard the grate slide back. There was no light streaming down; it was the middle of the night, and the streets would be empty anyway.

“Emmet?” I called.

“Yeah Bella?”

“Thank you. For trying.”

“No problem.” The smile was still there in his tone, along with a love and adoration I had only heard bested by my bronze haired husband. “Thanks for letting me out.”

“Bye Em.”

“Bye Bells.”

Then the grate clanged shut, and he was gone.