As soon as she entered the throne room, she felt her stomach drop in her shoes. She resisted the urge to let out a loud gasp, instead, doing her best to keep her face straight and expressionless.
In the middle of the room sat a beautiful woman surrounded by a shimmering mist that appeared to come from Alec's hands. The last time Cecilia had seen her, her brown curls had been cascading down her back like a waterfall. Now her hair was tousled and messed up. The smile that had lit up the atelier had made place for a worried grimace.
"Stop it, I beg you," the woman cried. Even her voice wasn't as smooth as it had been the other day. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Cecilia swallowed the lump in her throat, looking up at the three masters in their thrones with obvious question in the look of her eyes. Her heart hammered against her chest and she clasped her hands together behind her back to stop them from fidgeting. Jane had joined her brother on the right side of the masters and her eyes fell on Demetri, who was standing with Felix on the other side. His face didn't give anything away.
"Ah, dear Cecilia, the Italian sun agrees with you," Aro said in his uncomfortable childish voice. Within a split second, he was up from his chair and right in front of her, holding out his hands. It seemed kind enough of a gesture, but she knew better. Not allowing herself to hesitate, she put her hand in his, ignoring the shiver that instantly crawled down her back. "Very interesting to see it from your perspective."
Another split second later he had moved away from her and taken a seat on his throne again. His milky red eyes moved from Cecilia's figure, to that of Aurelia's in the middle of the throne room.
"Aurelia Lockehart here is on trial today," Aro announced, ignoring the pathetic sobbing of the said woman. "And you will be the judge."
"I will be the judge?" she repeated in question, her voice slightly stuttering.
Caius let out a loud sigh, his angry eyes making Cecilia's skin crawl in fear. "Surely you are familiar with the term 'judge', child?"
Cecilia straightened her spine, giving the man a stern nod. "I am."
"Well then, let the trial begin."
➻
It didn't take long for Cecilia to find out what a trial by the Volturi actually meant and though she wasn't exactly surprised, she was horrified that she'd gotten mixed up in it. Aurelia had finally calmed down, at least verbally, but her haunted eyes which stared around the throne room without actually seeing anything were enough to keep Cecilia's skin crawling with fear.
Jane was asked to give a testimony first, followed by Aurelia, who was interrupted with Jane's gift every time she lied or nuanced something. When all that was over, seven pairs of eyes fell on Cecilia's figure.
She could feel the blood drain from her face, her throat was dry and resembling sandpaper.
"Well, Cecilia dear, what are your thoughts on the matter?" Aro asked gently, though she noticed he was starting to sound impatient already. He clasped his hands together, raised his eyebrows and looked at her questionably. "Will Aurelia live to see another day? Will it be the dungeons? Or an execution?"
Cecilia squeezed her fingers together behind her back. "I don't think an execution will be quite necessary, surely it is not every day that a trial is held over a vampire attacking a mere human," she said calmly. Slowly, she was coming to an assumption as to why Aro had declared her the judge over this trial. She guessed that if he got her involved with the Volturi, digging his claws in her head, it would be harder for her to leave with her family, or for her family to recognize her. Even if her suspicions were true, there was no way she could speak them out loud, because before she knew it, a trial would be held for her.
She cleared her throat softly before continuing. "I suppose a banishment from Volterra will suffice."
Aurelia broke down in sobs and tears again, though this time they seemed a little more grateful. With her glazy eyes turned to Cecilia, she showed a watery smile. "Thank you," she sobbed. "Thank you for your mercy."
"Your soft and sweet, Cecilia. You've been given a gentle heart," Aro said, nodding to himself. His cloudy eyes moved from Aurelia to Cecilia, showing a great deal of empathy. A little too much, to Cecilia's opinion. "But you have much to learn. For starters, you are not a mere human. You're a soulmate, to a member of the Guard. An assault on you is an assault on the Volturi itself and we simply cannot let that pass. Not if we are to maintain our position against all the other covens, all waiting for a sign of mercy and meekness."
She sincerely doubted whether the Volturi really regarded her as high as Aro claimed, but she had to admit that he had a way of twisting words so that they seemed both sincere and of importance. Then again, he's had centuries of mastering this art. She nodded, because it was the only thing she could do. "I fully agree with your wisdom."
"Besides, sweet child," Marcus joined in on the conversation. He was still sitting in the very same position as he had been when Cecilia had walked into the throne room, still radiating boredom and ancientness. "You mustn't forget what has happened here today. Aurelia has been embarrassed, stripped of her senses and delivered to your mercy. When you let her go, as you kindly suggested, it won't be long before that embarrassment turns into hate. It's like a smoldering fire, give it enough time and air and it will turn into the greatest flame you have ever seen, burning your hands on it."
"No, it's not true," Aurelia cried, despair clear in her voice. "I will not even go to retrieve my things. I will leave and never come back. I promise... I promise."
She broke down in full tears again and Cecilia had to resist the urge to look down on her with a compassionate expression. Instead, she focused her eyes on Marcus, biting down on her teeth harshly. Once more she found herself unable to disagree with the wise master and so she nodded. "That is true as well."
"Well then, cut out the infection before it can start to spread and be done with it," Caius sneered. He made a rude gesture with his hand and rolled his eyes irritably. "This trial has gone on for long enough already."
Cecilia bit on the inside of her lip, hating the feeling of frustration that was slowly taking over. Her fingers were no longer fidgeting because of nerves, but because of annoyance. Annoyance for being driven in a corner in which she was forced to sentence a woman to die. Yes, the woman had attacked her, but no grave harm had been done and yet here she was standing. Alone, in an old throne room in Italy, separated from her family and about to pass judgement on a matter her hand was forced in.
Her eyes found Demetri's and some of her annoyance disappeared like snow before the sun. She wondered how long it had taken Aro and Chelsea to get inside his head and how on earth she was going to get him completely out. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd expected to find by looking at his face and though his facial expression didn't betray anything, the little nod he gave her provided her more support than anything else in the throne room.
Her eyes snapped toward Aro again, who was looking at her expectantly. The muscles in her face hardened and she pushed her shoulders backward, hoping that at the very least she wasn't looking as weak as she was feeling. "Very well," she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I hereby sentence Aurelia Lockeheart to death."
"Excellent," Aro said cheerfully, clapping his hands together at the same time Aurelia started screaming.
Cecilia let a breath escape she wasn't even aware she'd been holding and allowed her shoulders to slump ever so slightly. She blinked and where Aurelia had been kneeling on the ground before she closed her eyes, she now was standing in front of her when she opened them again. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth twisted in a grimace, her neck and head in a death grip by none other than Demetri.
She let out something in between a scoff and a huff, staring at her soulmate gratefully. Alec might have blinded her senses, but apparently, she still had enough of a vampire instinct to locate the only mortal in the room. Cecilia smiled uncertainly, watching Demetri whisper something in the other woman's ear, too soft for her imperfect ears to catch. Then his grip tightened, Aurelia's skin cracked until her head came loose from the rest of her body and Cecilia's smile disappeared.
She knew he didn't have a choice, just like she hadn't had a choice, but she decided there and then that she would do everything in her power to make the two of them escape the claws of the Volturi for good.