THE PRINCESS NEVER FOUND MUCH COMFORT IN RELYING ON OTHERS TO MANAGE HER FEELINGS.
Perhaps that came with the territory. Andromeda had spent most of her formative years in excessive discomfort. There's only so many times one can tell those around them that they are hurting before they stop caring, so the princess was always careful with what she shared.
This, however, was different. Andromeda had indeed spent the past few weeks being torn between what she was taught and what she knew was unjust. Bella tried to kill her, something catastrophic in and of itself, but by knowing that she and other people she knew were vampires, Bella Swan had also damned Andromeda to the game of politics.
Andromeda didn't have a chance to escape the real world like Bella did. None of the kids at the hospital did. They were all stuck there, uncomfortable as could be, hoping that some day they'd get out.
Being a vampire was her way out, sure, but Andromeda loathed the lack of care Bella gave her human life. She'd been safe, she'd been comfortable in Forks. A father who loved her, a high school that didn't bully her (according to Charlie), and even a chance at college if she wanted. She was physically able, objectively pretty, and liked to read.
That thought stayed in her mind as she found her way into the throne room once more.
Andromeda would have envied Bella had she not been such a bitch. Free to become educated, free to make friends, free to go wherever she wanted.
The princess had her friends, had a small sense of mobility as a vampire, but she'd always hoped she'd lived long enough to be in University. In a small way, she felt like she'd failed, because that was exactly what her mama wanted for her as well.
Now that she was in the throne room, getting pleased glances from everyone that knew her since she was brought home (because this was her home, no vampire, human, or shifter could deny that fact), Andromeda wondered if some twisted destiny had brought her into this place. Her and Bella, to stand off like Cain and Abel. Andromeda hoped she wouldn't have to, mostly because she wouldn't hesitate in ripping off Bella's head if given a clear chance.
Jacob had kept the small promise he'd made the night before, when they'd snuggled up and watched a movie. The way he smiled at her, so hearty and honest, it made her wish for everything she'd never thought she wanted. To dance together, mostly, but also the gloriously expensive romantic getaways that she used to laugh at.
She'd grasp for the sweet moments in between the ruthless ones.
Her mate was right next to her, making a ploy to hold her hand as multiple guards came in. In with the guards came a man she knew was Carlisle Cullen. He didn't look well, not at all. Andromeda knew it couldn't be just his diet. The stress of Edward being a failure had to have caught up with him.
Jacob promised her he would translate after, to not stress her out, and thus, he was her ears.
"What is he doing here?" Edward whined and pointed at Jacob, who gave him a confused look. "You have no right to be here."
"My imprint is the victim of attempted murder," Jacob said with a smirk. When Edward opened his mouth once more, he added, "alleged attempted murder."
"Edward, move along," Carlisle whispered into his son's ear, grabbing the vampire's arm and dragging him to where they'd be standing. Jacob let out a short laugh and looked down at his imprint, who was still looking around to see who had arrived.
Aro was the last person to enter, looking his best and having his hair done back in an overly gothic way. Caius and Marcus came soon before, the latter looking slightly less disheveled than on any other given day. It was clear who ran the show. Aro grabbed a pen and began writing down what Jacob could only assume was the names of everyone present in the room.
"Does anyone have anything they'd like to say," Aro said with a short, high-pitched sigh.
"What?"
"Edward, please. In a trial," Aro attempted to explain, "people can say something before the evidence is brought out. It is standard procedure. Did your father not tell you this?"
He didn't get a response.
"I would like to say something, Aro," Carlisle interjected into the silent room. Aro nodded, allowing the man to continue, "Since Bella was going to be turned by us, I believe the charge of willingly sharing the secret should be dropped."
"Does the evidence say otherwise?" Marcus asked, looking over his shoulder at Caius, who groaned.
"Did you read the evidence, Marcus?" Caius questioned.
"Aro said I only had to read the evidence for the attempted murder," Marcus answered back, leaning back in his throne and sighing. "Can you answer my question, please?"
"The evidence puts into question your motives and your intentions to turn Isabella Swan, so we are going forward with that charge, Carlisle. Does anyone else have something to say before we bring out the evidence?" Aro beckons the crowd with a hand.
"I didn't try and murder anyone-" Bella tried to say before Aro put a hand up.
"Again, the evidence suggests otherwise. Since we seem to have nothing much more of import to say, I will say something." Aro sighed deeply before turning to Carlisle. "I am very disappointed in you."
"Can we please move on, brother," Caius begged.
"Yes, yes, we can." Aro beckoned Felix and Demetri. "Bring the evidence forward, guards. I apologize for the amount of paper we used. We are still trying to... how do the humans phrase it... go 'digital'."
Jacob's eyes widened as he saw the small stack of paper in the hands of both guards. They must have gotten evidence from somewhere, in a short period of time. The shifter would have been impressed if he wasn't horrified by how quick the vampires acted.
"As you can see, we have the written statements from the majority of the Shifters in La Push here on top.... then the statements from Jacob Black, Andromeda Volturi, and Windy Volturi." Aro turned to face Windy. "Next time, Windy, dear, please use less profanity. I understand you were upset, but some of the insults will have to be redacted."
"Understood, my king."
Aro passed along the papers to Caius and Marcus, who were still both sitting on their large gold thrones. "These are for you."
"Do we get to see the evidence?" Bella asked.
"We are trying to conserve paper here, Ms. Swan. It is only recently that copies have been made possible." Aro went back to his place, holding onto a single piece of paper. "This is the account of one Billy Black on the relationship between Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan. His account goes into detail about the things many teenagers have said about it. I would think it unreliable if not for the three main dates matching up, as well as certain details being near identical."
"The humans knew you were together, and they knew Edward was different," Caius said, sitting smugly. "It was only a few more months before they figured it out, in my opinion. Humans gossip nearly as much as vampires do."
"And clearly just as much as Shifters do. There were," Aro paused for a second before continuing, "many theories, as to what was going on."
"None of which were normal, may I add," said Caius.
"How did you do this in one day?" Edward questioned. "That is impossible to do in a single day."
"The slowest vampire can run across the world in two hours and you are asking how we got all of this?" Caius laughed. "We are vampires, Edward, we can do things humans can't."
"That being said," Aro glanced across the room before continuing, "It is clear that you are guilty on this account. If there are objections from my brothers, we can bring in the Queens. If not, we are moving forward to the next charge."
Bella's face paled. Her fate had been decided so quickly. It didn't seem like they cared. This was just another day, another trial. Edward and she didn't matter even a bit to the Volturi Kings.
"So, she tried to kill my niece," Marcus deadpanned.
"Who is also my daughter," Caius seethed.
Aro looked at his brothers and let out a troubled laugh. "I see we are going to need some more nuanced opinions here. Alec, please fetch your mother. Jane, fetch your aunt."
They were out in a flesh, slamming the doors behind them. Caius rolled his eyes. "How many times have we told them not to slam the doors."
"Leave it alone, Caius, they are eleven years old for the rest of eternity." Aro checked the watch on his wrist.
"I did not try and kill Andromeda," Bella said in defense, "I was trying to burn her picture after she ruined my life."
"What did my niece even do to ruin your life? She was there for less than a week," Marcus questioned her. "It's taken me at least four to ruin someone's life. Though, Aro can do it in two."
"She stole my best friend, got my father to kick me out of the house, made my mom angry with me, and she set me up to be put on trial for something that wasn't even my fault!" Bella was nearly shouting in her anger, stopped only by Edward's hand on her shoulder. "If being homeless isn't having your life ruined, I don't know what is."
"In the statement it states you tried to kill her with fire before Charlie kicked you out of the house," Marcus stated. "Do we have our timelines correct, Caius?"
"Be quiet, Marcus."
"I care about this."
"He was going to kick me out when he realized that his long-lost daughter was so much easier to handle than the one that was ruined by being left alone," Bella alleged. "She was scheming against me from the start."
"I feel like a lot of this doesn't match the witness statements, Aro," Marcus said in defense of his niece. "I see no motive for any of this. Andromeda was always good at sharing. We never had any issues with her and her cousins getting along."
"Where are they?" Caius asked. "Fastest ones and they're not down here yet."
"Edward doesn't deserve to be in here right now. He would've turned me. It would have been fine. I would have left Forks, left my-" she stopped for a second before resuming, "-my dad. I would have done it for him. He would have turned me."
Jacob didn't believe that for a second. Bella was always complaining about how she wasn't sure Edward even wanted to turn her. Alice had always been the one to comfort her on that front before. Edward was and would always be a flake.
The shifter didn't like how Bella was phrasing all of this either. Her dad, her mom, her town. Everything was hers. Nothing was any of theirs. It wasn't like Jacob's family hadn't been on the land for thousands of years, or like Bella and Andromeda didn't share the same birth parents.
"That makes the way we fix that easier," Aro admitted. "You would have to be turned."
Before anyone could object, the doors opened, revealing a fuming Sulpicia and a secretly seething Athenodora.
"If that girl isn't dead I swear on the grave of my mother-"
"Sully, please calm down," Aro attempted to placate his wife, "We will find a proper punishment."
"Is she not supposed to be the nuanced opinion, Aro?" Carlisle questioned his almost certainly former best friend. "You cannot kill people just because you don't like them."
"Attempted murder has the same punishment as murder for a reason," Sulpicia scowled as she pointed a finger at Carlisle. "Vampires are dangerous things. If someone is willing to kill another without cause, what else will they do? She is human and is trying to kill her own twin sister. She is wicked, Carlisle, and she must be destroyed."
"How are you going to explain that to her father? Her mother?" Carlisle brought up the point.
"Humans go missing all the time. Then they make up stories for why they do," Sulpicia rebutted.
Jacob wanted to look away. This was worse than a car crash. The only thing he could do was look at Bella, who had something in her hands.
"You aren't going to kill me," Bella said.
"I will mutilate your corpse, little lamb," Sulpicia threatened. "If you think my mate can stop me, you're wrong. You messed with the wrong woman's family."
"No, you won't kill me." Bella laughed and pulled out whatever it was that she had in her hands. "Because if you do, you'll also have to kill my dad."
"What do you mean by that, Bella?" Carlisle asked. "He's out exploring the city."
"He knows. He knows and if you have to kill me for knowing, you'll have to kill him too."