Dark Paradise

chapter three

'franklin is rolling in his grave'

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Mercy Bennett strutted down the hallway of the Volturi Castle with her head held high, the chunky heels of her black boots making a soft 'thud' sound when they met the stone flooring. The brothers had summoned her to the throne room after two days of conferencing together and she knew that she would either be granted protection or be killed. Either way, she would do with pride and grace, just like she'd been taught.

She was clad in the same outfit she had arrived in, only the clothes had been laundered and she no longer looked as if she had been dragged through a gutter. Her tanned skin had a hint of a glow to it, and her thick black hair fell in its natural waves, it reached about mid back and framed her oval-shaped face perfectly, somehow making her seem more enchantingly pretty. At least that's what Alec thought. Her curvy figure was shown off perfectly in the skin-tight high-waisted jeans and black tanktop she wore.

"What are you staring at, Romeo?" The girl asks, quirking an eyebrow at the boy beside her. Although she wasn't looking, she knew those crimson eyes were on her. They always were, he had been constantly staring over the past two days and although she enjoyed the attention, she found it to be weird. When most males stared at her, it was only for one thing, but when Alec did it, it was totally different. It was something she was unaccustomed to, but figured she would have to grow used to it if her protection were granted.

"You." Alec says, his tone clearly says 'duh." He didn't bother telling her not to call him that, it didn't work the first two hundred times, it certainly wouldn't work now. "You humans are strange, how could you just walk in there with so much pride and confidence knowing that your death might be waiting for you?" He didn't know exactly what was going on but hew knew it must be serious for Aro to let her stay in the castle alive.

"Like this." She states, pushing open the doors to the throne room and stepping in, not even bothering to wait for Alec to enter first and announce her presence. Not that he needed to, every vampire in the area could smell her. All eyes turned to her as she walked in, pushing right through Felix and Demetri without a second glance, the two men take a step back as she literally pushed them. They share a look before watching as she walks deeper into the room, Alec trailing after her until he veers off to stand next to his sister. Jane simply raised an eyebrow at the girl's confidence. Despite her bored look, she found it amusing.

"Aro." The young woman bowed her head in respect, stopping at the foot of the dais their high-backed chairs sat upon. "Caius, Marcus." Few people besides the lower guard ever greeted the other two as it was prominent that Aro was the man in charge, his chair was in front of the others after all. She figured it would be a good idea to show respect to all of them if she wanted to live.

Marcus simply looked at the girl, already picking up on the slowly growing bond she shared with Alec. Caius studied her, finding himself admiring the way she held herself in the presence of the people that could end her life. It was endearing. Aro nods at the girl before looking at the men next to him. They had spent two whole days planning out what was to be done about the situation. Aro kept true to his word and pushed for the girls' protection. They would need her after all.

"Miss Bennett." The man says, trying to think of how to approach this in a way that would cause her to behead him. "Given the valuable information you've given us and its nature," He starts, not noticing the curious look he gets from the entire Guard. Alec was standing next to his sister, watching the exchange with rapt attention. "We are prepared to offer you what you seek." A noticeable sigh and look of relief washes over Mercy and she was momentarily elated. "For something in return."

Mercy should have known, nothing with these people came with out a price. Her elation is gone and her expression turns grim. "And that would be?"

Aro shares a look with Caius and Marcus. All three were surprised she didn't turn them down instantly. They didn't realize how desperate her need for protection was, how badly the Organization wanted her head on a pike. "You help us. While under protection, you'll be trained up a bit, and eventually you'll have a spot among our Elite Guard, helping with missions and..what not. If you'll accept, I guarantee you'll live a long life."

Mercy sucks in a breath. That was a lot to ask for, but in all fairness, she was asking a lot out of them. This went against everything she'd been brought up to believe. She would be breaking every law the Organization had, putting an even bigger price on her head. She thought about everything happening in Central America with the missing persons count rising by the day, the vampire blood baths. It was organized and that made her think that maybe they were trying to fight against the Volturi..over rule their reign..an uprising.

And then she thought about everything that wasn't happening in Central America.

According to her sources, the Organization wasn't doing their job. They had yet to make an appearance. But when she thought about it, the strategic way the blood baths played out and were handled were almost..no..it couldn't be? Surely Helena wouldn't be so power drunk that she would conspire with a Vampire army. Well, those attacks were planned by both sides, as most usually were..but they were done in a very Helena-like fashion.

The entire room was watching the girl.

Alec stood anxiously, something bad was definitely happening if the brothers were offering this. The Elite Guard all shared a look. They had never had another supernatural creature among their ranks, let alone a human.

Alev watched her, he could see the inner turmoil , the struggle to choose her life over death. He didn't know that she was struggling to let go of everything that had ever been drilled into her head about vampires and their bad blood with the Organization.

'Franklin is probably rolling in his grave.' The girl thought, knowing that if the man were alive and present he would be furious with her for even asking what she asked of them ..for even considering what they asked of her. But at the same time, he would understand why she was doing this, it was for more than just her own protection. She would be saving many lives by joining the Volturi. The Volturi couldn't be unseated. It would mean exposure and exposure meant more deaths.

If she took it, she'd be doing more good than harm, Mercy realized.

Mercy stands straight, shoulders back and held high. She was proud of the decision she had come to. But first, she needed to do something. "May I, Aro?" She held out a delicate hand towards Aro, letting herself be open to his gifts. Aro looked surprised, genuinely. He didn't hesitate to take her palm into his own.

He saw instantly her worry about the Organization and what it may mean, along with her worry of the Volturi being unseated. He even saw thoughts that she didn't know she had, thoughts that had been hidden from her, locked away until the proper age. He saw everything and knew instantly that he had made the right choice by choosing to add her to their most Elite Guard.

Mercy Bennett would prove to be very useful in a few months time.

He pulled his hand away and bowed his head, letting her know that they would speak about it later.

Mercy backs away a few steps, looking at all three brothers before resting her gaze solely on Aro. "If I choose to accept ... you do know that I'll be breaking every law in the Organization, every code of conduct that lies between its members." Mercy says. Aro nods. "I'll be throwing away everything I've been taught and raised to believe." Caius and Marcus shared a look, wondering who the hell this girl really was. Aro had been very vague in his explanations of her, just that she worked for him from time to time on personal matters. Which wasn't really a lie, she had worked for him quite a few times. "Once I commit to this I'll be both feet in, I won't half ass this. But I need to know and trust that all three of you are going to be both feet in on your end. I need more than just words." All three brothers nod, intrigued. Caius had been against the girl originally , only agreeing with Aro and Marcus because Aro thought she'd be useful in war. He wasn't stupid, he knew that now wasn't a time to turn away powerful people willing to fight on their side. He didn't like her, but he was willing to accept her. Although now, something about her he found.. intriguing at most. There was something not quite human about this girl, he just couldn't put his finger on it. "I want a binding."

Caius and Marcus both gasped, sitting up straighter. Aro only shifts uncomfortably in his seat, a binding was not something that he liked to mess with. Alec and Demetri shared a look, they were both under a binding with each other and knew how serious a thing it was to ask for one.

"Very well." Aro agreed after a moment.

"Good." Mercy mutters. "I have one more request- I'd like to retrieve my belongings from a hideout I have not far from here." She speaks, she certainly didn't want to spend her entire time here wearing Alec's clothes. Although they did smell good, and were quite comfortable, it just wasn't practical. "I also know of a white witch nearby who I trust to do the binding."

Aro thought it was a simple enough request and gave his consent, letting her take Alec with. He watched them as they walked out, making sure they were away from the room before turning to Caius on his right. "Caius," He starts. "Do some reading on Nephilim, we'll be needing everything you learn in a few months time .. I do believe that Miss Mercy Bennett will prove quite useful."

Mercy's hideout was exactly twenty-five miles from the outskirts of Volterra, they made slow work of it. Alec was behind the wheel of a black mustang GT and the speedometer never went above thirty-five.

"Oh my god, Alec!" Mercy groaned, hitting her head against the window. Alec's gloved hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel and she feared it would break in half. "You do know the speed limit is fifty through here, right?"

"I am very aware of the speed limits, Bennett." Alex says, gritting his teeth as he tries to shake off the weird pleasure that he got from her groaning his name like that and his nervousness. Alec had always been a nervous driver. For what reason? Who the hell knows? It's not as if he could actually die in a crash. "If you could please be quiet, I'm driving."

"Yeah, because this is driving." Mercy scoffs, crossing her arms. The night was a bit chilly, signaling that fall was moving in. She was clad in the same outfit from earlier, but had borrowed a coat from the receptionist lady, Vivian, her name was. "Why take one of the fastest cars if you're not going to actually drive it?" She only had her learners permit herself but was less nervous in cars than the boy next to her was.

"Seriously, Mercy!" Alec says, his voice rising. The girl only rolls her eyes, huffing. It took them nearly an hour to get to her hide out and Alec was ready to wring the girl's neck by the time he pulled up to the small villa.

"I'm driving back." Mercy stated, stepping out of the small car. She knew very well that this was an ambush. The group of 'Agents' from the Organization that tried to follow her into the city had seen where she left and would more than likely be occupying her villa. Their shoes crunch over the gravel as they walk up to the front door. She pushes the key in the lock and turns it, feeling the tumbler click. "Hey Romeo?" She turns the knob as he looks towards her. He'd been looking around their surroundings. "Duck and roll."

Alec looks at her funny until he notices that she actually did it too. He somersaulted after her just in time as he heard the click of a trigger being pulled back before it actually fired. He followed after Mercy's scent before quickly realizing that her scent was everywhere. Bullets sprayed, lighting up the room in short pops as vases and glass plates broke over his head and holes appeared in the wall. A bullet grazed his cheek, and he could feel his porcelain skin c***k. He growled in annoyance and ducked from around the corner, using his Vampire speed and ability to see in the dark to run up to the person shooting. He snaps his neck without thinking and quickly moves onto the person behind him as the body drops. His gloved hands gripping the head tightly-

"Woah! Romeo!" His hands dropped instantly and he looked down, noticing the girl. "You got all the bad guys, no worries." She says, walking over to a light switch and flipping it on. The entire area was bathed in light.

"Sorry." Alec felt the strange need to apologize incase he had hurt her. He looked away from her as she just rolled her eyes and at the area around him, there were bodies lying on the floor, three men and two women. He'd only taken out one, so how had the other four ended up there? "Mercy?" He looks at the girl, giving her an odd and curious look as he gestured towards the freshly dead bodies. He noticed that she had two bags around her shoulders that looked heavy and would've offered to carry them for her if it weren't for his confusion.

What the hell had happened so fast that he hadn't even caught it?

"While you were cowering, I did my job." She shrugs.

"They were all standing when I got to the shooter." Mercy only gave him a shrug and a dazzling smile, batting her eyelashes at him in the way she used to do to Franklin before he died. "Whatever, let's just go. Aro will be wondering what took so long."

He motions her out the door and shuts the lights off as he follows, making it so that nobody will find anything until they get a whiff of the smell of rotting bodies. The two walk silently off the small porch and onto the gravel driveway, their shoes crunching again. He found that he rather liked the sound of it for some reason.

"Hey Romeo?" He glances up at her and she reaches out her hand. "Keys."

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