Chapter 2:The Volturi

I felt a comfortable cushion under me while I slowly drifted into consciousness.

"Ahh, she awakes."I heard a soft voice say in a happy manner. I felt a cold hand around
mine and I shuddered. "Shh, my dear. You needn't be afraid." I opened my eyes and saw a man, with
red eyes but they were different, they had a milky film. He also had shoulder length black hair.
I was still numb but I felt like groaning, just before really waking I had hopped it was all
a dream. Nope, my arm felt very broken and I felt as if I had been thrown around the place. And those
were not happy feelings.
"No, it's not a dream. All that has happened has."He said gravely. And I wondered how
he knew what I was thinking.
"If this isn't a dream, then what is reality?" I asked with a terribly croaky voice. It was
my annoying habit that I sound philosophical when it was the last thing on my mind.
"A very good question. But I have no answer.” I looked behind him and saw I was in a
room and two more men were there. There were others surrounding them but those two dominated.
One of them was looking at me with a bored expression, he had hair equally black to the
one next to me. The other one looked angry. He wasn't even looking at me. He was scowling at the one
who was holding my hand. He had a shock of gray hair that looked odd with his not-so-old face.
"Who are you?" I asked looking at the black haired one again.
"I am Aro." I shuddered at the memory of Felix saying it was Aro's decision if I stayed
human. I still didn't understand any of this. These people kept on talking as if they weren't human
themselves.
"I am not human." Aro said again as if he could read my mind."And I can hear your
thoughts. All thoughts you have ever had. As long as I have contact." He held up my hand in his. "And
you are Vera Stone" He didn't mean it as a question.
"What's happening?" I whimpered a little. Was I going crazy?
"It can seem confusing at first. But you must know that you won't hurt anymore. Soon it
will stop and things will become clear.”
“Brother, does she have it?” The gray haired one said. He didn't sound any happier than
his expression showed.
“Eleazar never makes mistakes." Aro turned and nodded to him.
"So she has got that talent. Good change her." The white haired one said dismissively.
"I agree." The black haired one said with the same bored look.
"It is decided. Alec, take her and do the necessary."Aro let go of my hand and a young
boy stepped away from the rest surrounding the other two. He looked just like Jane and I had a feeling
they were related.
He came and picked me up from my cushion-which I now realized was a couch.
"Come"He said and started pulling me away, I didn't try to fight. I still felt a little dopy
from before. A little too much actually, I almost fell over after ten steps.
“I do not like chloroform.” I mumbled and did fall over. He sighed and lifted me as if I
were weightless.
"Where are we going?" I asked after a moment. He was leading me threw this castle like
corridors. It was night time, and I wondered if that meant that it was still Wednesday. Or was it
Thursday?
"I'm going to take you and change you." He answered and I kept quiet after that. I knew
there was no point in fighting it. Something bad was going to happen and I couldn't stop it. When he
said change me I had a feeling he wasn't talking about clothes. They had kidnapped me to give me a
makeover. That sounded likely.
We stopped in front of a door and Alec opened it with a simple key that looked weird
with the whole scenery.
He carried me inside , and I noted the simple table in the middle of a simple room.
"Stay" He commanded once he had put me down on the table. I didn't run or anything. I
just sat there. If he could pick me up easily like that, then he could stop me if I tried to escape. I didn't
want to break my other arm.
"What's going to happen to me?" I asked looking at him. He was very handsome, I
couldn't deny that. But the red eyes were scarring me.
"I'm going to turn you into something stronger, faster and smarter. And in your case
much more powerful." He just looked back at me not moving, just standing.
I asked a question that had been at the back of my mind"What are you" I had been
asking the wrong question
"I am that something. The transformation takes three days." He said this with a brusk
manner.
“Will it hurt?” My arm throbbed painfully and I looked at it. It was bent at an odd angle
and I wondered if it would ever be straight again.
“It will heal. Who did it?” He gently took it and he was soft enough that I didn't feel him
hurt it in any way. Despite his terrifying eyes and the medieval castle I was starting to trust him, for
some very odd reason that I could understand.
“The big guy called her Jane. She also hurt me in another way. I don't know how.”
maybe if I could distract him, I could get away. My chances weren't great but I would try. Trust, maybe,
but that didn't mean I was going to sit like a duck, I was going to find a way to escape.
“Jane's known for that.” He said stiffly. “Now, lie down.” He put my arm down again
and I looked at the table biting my lip. “You can't get away. I could stop you easily.”
“I know.” I lay down and he looked at me.
“It will be painful, but I can prevent that. I have a talent, you won't feel a thing.”
I looked at him in the eye"Don't I have other options? Can't I just leave?"
He shook his head sadly. He looked me up and down in a look I was used to, it was
really weird. “It would be easier if you took these off.” He gently tugged my sleeve and touched my
thigh to show me what he meant.
I flushed slightly and he looked at my face as if I was interesting. “You want me to
strip?” His lips curved into the barest of smiles. Was that the talent they thought I had? Were they going
to make me change my name to something like Caramel Wonder?
“Yes, it would make thing easier if you didn't have clothes on.” He said it as if it were it
were obvious.
“No.” I said stubbornly.
“Yes.” he answered
“Not going to happen.” He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“They're coming off whether you want it or not. It would be simpler for me to do it
myself but...” He didn't seem to have an end to that sentence.
“The jeans?” I gave in with a sigh. I had to find that split second where I could escape
and maybe me taking my clothes off would be enough of a distraction.
“I'll be professional.” I sat up and slowly pulled my sleeve off. I gasped a little at the
pain in my arm and Alec helped me. I sort of wished I was still high for before, panic was making my
head clearer. I pulled my jeans off quickly, like a band-aide. I left my simple T-shirt on with a
questioning look. He shook his head and I pulled it off with more ease than the hoodie.
After a moment I was lying down again in only a bra and panties, I was lucky to have
put on matching underwear. It was weird having him look at me but he kept his face clear of emotion.
“I don't know which sense will leave first. But the usual one is sight. Don't be scarred,
things could be worse.” he said.
 “How so?” He looked at me with a little sadness, I was running the idea of escaping
threw my head. I thought of it fast enough that a flimsy plan formed in my head. “How could things be
worse?” I shouted sitting up, so far so good. “I could be dead?” I hopped of the table and started
walking to him. He was definitely confused. “How is that worse? I'm in my underwear in front of a
person I've never met before and I don't even know if he's human! I'm in a castle God know where! My
arm is broken! Things have definitely been going down hill since I went to McDonald’s last night.” I
had been edging to the right and I took my opportunity, I ran to the door, I must have shocked him
because I touched the door nob when he put his hands on my hips and pulled me back.
“Wasted effort.” he whispered and I suddenly couldn't see anything. “Give it back!” I
shrieked. “Give me back my sight!” I tried clawing at his face or anything. My arm screamed in protest
but I ignored it.
“No.” He said and I felt him put his arm behind my knees and put me on the table. He
held my arms down. In his haste he was pressing on my broken arm. “My arm!” I tried to yank it back
but it just hurt more. He let go but it hurt to much for me to try and do anything with it.
“You'll feel nothing in a second.” I think I landed a kick on him but it hurt me more than
it was meant to.
“I hate you.” I said as strongly as I could. I don't know if he answered because at that
point I stopped fighting since I didn't know where my legs were, I also couldn't hear a thing. I was lost
in darkness. Again. So much for my excellent plan.

Something Alec forgot to mention, was that spending three days deprived of you senses
and having only your mind for company, was boring
I tried to figure out what was happening, but I didn't have many leads. One, everyone
had red eyes except Eleazar,-who I somehow couldn't blame for everything, I really believed the
sadness I'd seen in his eyes-he had these yellowish eyes. Two, they also were all freezing cold. Three,
Alec had told me he was this powerful thing.
The only thing could come up with was The Hulk, but I somehow doubted that was it.
People kept on talking about "talents" Aro could apparently hear my thoughts and Alec made me
senseless. But the worst one was Jane, I somehow knew that she has made me hurt like that.
I was still stupidly hopping this was all a dream, I even wished I was with Jesse.
I sort of dreamed while I was out, I imagined that I had woken up on Thusrday morning.
And I was in my boring history class, and I was reading my book under the table.
Katie was her usual grasshopper self and Jesse his usual romantic. I had forgiven him for
the fight and all was well. That was enough to show me that I was dreaming.
I also read in my mind some books I had read so much I practically knew the off by
heart, and played some of my favorite movies.
I imagined Alec standing next to me bored. I thought of Aro talking to the other two. I
imagined Jane torturing someone.
So many thoughts went threw my head that they sort of blurred together.
I had gotten over my anger at Alec, if what was happening wasn't just a really realistic
dream, I would probably be in excruciating pain if it weren't for him.
I started wondering how long I'd have to wait. But I noticed slowly that I could feel my
fingers and that slowly I was gaining control of myself. But something was... Different. I felt stronger,
and I also had a sore throat. A sort of very strong thirst.
I slowly opened my eyes and gasped at what I saw. Everything. I could see,everything.
"Amazing, isn't it" I spun around at the sound of Alec's voice. And landed in a crouch on
the table. Which wasn't very odd since I leapt around like a cat a lot. And I deduced that from my
position My arm was definitely not broken anymore, which was a relief.
Alec raised his hands in a surrendering motion." Calm. You're not in danger." I looked at
him and tilted my head to the right. It was amazing, he was beautiful. His face was perfect, no acne, no
scars, no nothing.
He smiled a bit and and it just made him more amazing."I think Aro should tell you what
you are"
"Everything's different." I said looking around with wide eyes. I could see the light
shining from the small light bulb -there were no windows- making the dust particles shimmer and
shine. I could see every crack in the wall, all the splinters in the table. I also saw my hoodie and jeans
were gone. I was in a pair of black slacks and a simple white shirt.
I could hear everything as well. People were talking somewhere distant and I could hear
a crowd. I could hear the gentle crack of the table as I shifted my weight.
I could even smell the wood I could almost taste it. All the smells surrounded me but the
most prominent was Alec. He reminded me of spices but still sweet, curry, cumin and others. He
smelled like figs in the summer. And so many more smells it could even compare them to anything.
"Everything's better." The sound of his voice fascinated me it was like a gentle breeze.
I could have sat there analyzing everything but Alec took my hand, which no longer felt
cold. And I liked it, it felt right. "Come on, Aro wants to see you."You pulled me gently and I leapt
down gracefully. Everything was so different it made me dizzy thinking about it. But I also felt like I
had extra space in my mind. He let go of my hand after I got down.
"Why does Aro want me." I gasped a little now that I listened to my voice. I was softer
and it sounded just like Alec's had. My sore throat didn't seem to affect it.
"He wants to see how powerful you are."He started leading me threw the corridors and I
saw it was still night or that it was exactly three days later. I remembered how he said I would be
something stronger, faster and smarter. I certainly felt all of those things, but I don't think I was smarter,
more sentient would be a better description. But those memories were different, sort of mushy in
comparison to all this.
While he was leading me I looked at everything, trying to absorb all that I could. We
didn't see anyone, and the talking I could hear was getting stronger. I could tell it was right behind the
doors at the end of this corridor.
"He'll test you." Alec said very quietly and my keen ears could only just catch what he
was saying "He try and force you to use your powers, probably with Jane" I hissed involuntarily, as a
reaction to the memory of the pain , I don't know why, it just came naturally. "He thinks you can
control people with your mind."He went on just as silently. " I hope for your sake that it's true." He
nodded and started walking again. I followed him hopping for my sake as well that I could.
He stopped in front of the bare wall and slid a part of it back, he walked in and I
followed not knowing what to expect
"Here she is, the newborn." Aro smiled at me from one of the three large chairs,they
were thrones, the other two were there but Aro was dominant. I didn't know what he meant by newborn
but I didn't want to show any confusion. So I kept my face clear of emotion. I looked at Aro closely
with my new eyes, he had a sort of frail look about him. His skin didn't look hard and strong like Alec's
but sort of soft and wispy. "You must have may questions."
"What am I?" I asked the most obvious question.
Aro laughed a little but I didn't think it was real. I could see a sort of eagerness in his
eyes. "You go straight to the point I see. Well, that simple question has a complicated answer. You are
an amazing creature. You have extraordinary strength, compared to a human, but right now you are
even stronger than Felix" I saw Felix chuckle a bit from the people behind the three men.
"That amazing creature is very different from humans, you cannot eat human food, but
you can drink human blood." I didn't keep my emotions hidden very well. I gasped.
"Vampire"I breathed the word but Aro heard me.
"Vampire is the basic translation but I've always found it very crude. We aren't creatures
that hide and only come out in the dark. But yes, we do need human blood to survive. The thirst never
leaves, that burning in you throat will never leave." The second he spoke about the burn I thought only
of that. But now that I knew what it meant I was disgusted. I had to kill people to live. I was a monster.
"You might wonder why we wanted to change you. We needed some new... power in our
coven. And you were very promising. We have a friend who can tell when a vampire has a power, but
he can also tell when humans have powers that will become stronger as a vampire. He told us how you
could control people. And if it was evident even in human form then you were ideal.
"Our coven is the law in the vampire community, there are certain rules that must be
upheld. And if those rules are broken, he eliminate the threat. The most basic rule is keep it all a secret.
We have a name, The Volturi. You are currently in the beautiful city of Volterra.-" He was about to
continue but I cut him off.
"That sounds Italian." He smiled. The white haired one looked outraged that I had
interrupted.
"Yes, you are in Italy." He didn't go on, I think he was expecting me to comment. And I
didn't disappoint him.
"But what about my family?" I asked aghast.
"I am sorry," he didn't look it."But you will have to forget about them. You must forget
about all people from your old life. You are a vampire now and you are part of the vampire world."
"But I didn't want to be a vampire! I don't want to forget my life!" I cried out.
The white haired one stood up with a furious expression"How dare you be so insolent!
We give you immortality and this is how you thank us?" Aro stood up and put a hand on the others
shoulder.
"Calm, brother. Loosing ones family is not easy." he turned to me.
"As Caius said you are immortal. We will accept you as one of our own if you can show
us your power." I stiffened.
"You are still new at this life so you don't know how to use it yet." I knew there was
more, and sure enough "But you will know how to use it in a moment of panic. Felix."
Before I knew what was happening, Felix jumped at me. I automatically ran out of his
way. And wow, I was fast!
I knew I couldn't keep dodging him. Despite his size he could move nearly as quickly as
me. But he would get me soon.
He kept running at me. And I snapped "Stop!"I shouted and he stopped mid run and just
starred at me.
"Ha ha ha!" Aro started laughing."Excellent!" He went on laughing. "Truly magnificent!
Do try something else." He waved at me as if I should go on controlling Felix.
I didn't want to be cruel, so I did something simple. "Go back to where you were
before." He went back to his place with an empty look on his face.
"This is wonderful!" Aro went on. "Could you do it without speaking?" He looked at me
eagerly.
"Too whom?"I asked with a little excitement. I had a super power. I could make people
do things. I was still panicking about me being a vampire, but my new mind could manage both
emotions.
"Too me." Aro said with a growing grin."Make me sit down. Or walk around the room
or... Just show me. But try without speaking."
I tried to command him threw my mind Sit I thought over and over again.
His grin left his face and he spoke “Jane.” That word made whatever barrier that was
blocking my thoughts break.
“No.” I growled and screamed SIT! His face slaked and he sat, but it happened just
before Jane smiled.
 This time I held my screams, the pain was the same but I was not. I made myself pretend
that it wasn't happening and this was a horrible dream, I hoped I never had dreams like this.
The pain stopped but I wished it had never started, I was on the floor but I hadn't made a
sound, something I was proud of. I doubted that many people could do so.
I stood up panting a little, physically running out of Felix's way was nothing, but this
was tiring. Aro's face went from, blank too confused too grinning."Extraordinary!" I think he had a
thing for superlatives, and I didn't resent him for turning me. I knew I should, this man had decided to
change my life, to make me a monster. But perhaps I could get used to it. Maybe I could make this my
home.
"More" he sounded like a two year old, begging,"Demetri, come." That went on for
about an hour while he made everyone in the room -except Caius and the other one- come up to me and
be controlled by me in one way or an other. There were more people than I thought, when Jane came up
her lip curled at me and I was a little nasty, I made her do the funky chicken. Alec came after her and
he gave me a small smile which I returned.
"Brothers," Aro said after I was done, I felt mentally exhausted "Do you agree with me
that she become one of the Volturi?" Aro put his hands together as if praying and looked at the others,
Caius still looked angry.
"She has talent, and she will be useful. Keep her."The bored one said.
"Thank you Marcus. And you. Caius?"Aro turned too him.
"Yes, keep her. She might make us equal." Caius said and I wondered what he meant.
"I think you know my answer." Aro looked at me with a proud look."Come,"I slowly
came up to him, he held his hand back and someone passed him something limp and dark gray. "You
are one of us now." And he fastened the cloak around my neck. I don't know why but it felt like
something very big too me "but we have things to deal with. Demetri would you be so kind as to bring
Gianna."
Demetri nodded and left "Felix, hold her." Caius commanded. Felix came up too me and
he took me too a corner behind the thrones. He grabbed my hands and held them behind my back. I
could have broken his hold but I wanted to know why I was being held.
Aro looked at us. "Alec. Help him." He turned back to the door. Alec came to us and he
held my hands tightly as well. I noticed my cloak was a shade lighter than his.
We stood like that for five minutes,and while waiting a few people left silently. I heard
and sort of thumping noise, which interested me and for some reason it made my throat burn, finally
Demetri came back in with a pretty girl beside him. But this girl was a human. And then I realized why
I needed to be held and what the thumping noise had been.
Without thinking, I tried to leap onto her. My throat was burning. I needed to have her, I
had to go and bite into her. But Alec and Felix held me. I couldn't get away though it wasn't easy to
hold me. I was about to make them let go, when I imagined myself as a monster. I quickly pushed the
idea of forcing them to let me go out of my mind. But my self control wasn't that strong, I couldn't stop
myself away from trying to run.
Her green eyes turned to me and she started hyperventilating and her heart started
beating frantically. And the sound was so mouthwatering that I started snarling.
"Gianna," Aro said with a kind smile. She turned her eyes to him but they kept on flitting
back to me. "You have served us well. But not well enough. You have failed in some areas and you
know the consequence."And here he took a sad expression. "So we have decided that we no longer
require your services. You know you cannot be allowed to leave and that leaves only one solution."
She started crying "Please Master," she whimpered "I'll work harder, please let me live."
Aro closed his eyes and turned shook his head lightly. He then opened them and turned to
us. He nodded once.
Alec and Felix let go of me and I leaped onto her. I think she screamed but I didn't pay
attention. She tasted so good in my burning throat, that I couldn't stop myself. This thirst consumed me
and I hated myself for what I was doing but my instincts told me to ignore those thoughts.
The blood was warm and made my throat stop burning, it was so good. The blood was
exactly what I wanted and I wouldn't stop myself. I finally felt the last droops leave her throat and I
dropped her.
She was finished far to quickly for my likings. I pushed her limp body away in disgust,
at myself for being such a monster and at her for making me that monster.
Still on the floor. I pushed myself away from her. I put my hand against my mouth
in shock. "What did I do!" I cried out after a long and silent second.
Someone came and put his hands on my shoulders, from the scent it was Alec. "It's all
right" He whispered in my ear.
"Hush young one. It is natural that you be thirsty. You must listen to your instincts if you
want to survive. And this is the only way." Aro said from his throne. "That will abate your thirst for at
least a day. Heidi will return tomorrow. And then you will feed.
"Until then, Alec will show you around and answer your questions. Alec, number 27"he
said to Alec and turned to Caius and I knew we were being dismissed.
"Come." Alec said and I got up. I followed him out of the room still in disgust. How
could I have done that. Kill a person, had I lost my humanity along with my human body? And the
worst part was that I didn't want to stop. I had felt disgust in myself for doing it, but not once did I
think of stopping. "I know this is difficult for you, but you need to forget how it was to be a human. To
survive you must kill. If you want to live you must kill." He said once we were out of earshot. He was
trying to sound blunt about it but I could hear a little bit of sadness.
"But why? Is there no other way?" I asked but it sounded more like begging, I wanted
there to be an other was. Maybe I didn't have to live like that.
"Not without killing." he said after a moment. I somehow felt like there was more to it
then that but he didn't go on.
"I'm a monster." I said hanging my head.
"No, we're not." Alec said looking at me. And I felt bad, I hadn't meant he was a
monster. He was too perfect to be one. "And you're not one either. You haven't even seen what you look
like. No one like you can be a monster. I'll show you." He started leading me in an other direction.
I didn't ask where we were going I just followed him. We went threw many different
corridors that looked very medieval and finally stopped in front of a vault door, with one of those big
weal thingies.
"What are we doing here." I asked looking around in case some one was watching.
He shrugged "I needed a mirror and there's one that's ideal right here" he punched in the
code and out of politeness I turned my head so that I couldn't see it, but that didn't stop me from
hearing it. 24681357, it wasn't very complicated. He opened the door that looked very heavy without
difficulty. But then again all vampire's seemed to be extremely strong. It was funny how I didn't
consider myself as one. Once we entered I gasped a little. Gold and diamonds seemed to be
everywhere, it was amazing. The whole place glittered. It looked like a very big living room with
carpet and small tables all over the place. But we could barely see that tables with things
overflowing."This way," he stated leading me threw the labyrinth of sparkle and once we reached one
of the corners I just stood staring at the giant mirror in front of me. I was looking at the frame to much
to look at the reflection. This mirror was taller than me and it had a silver frame which had pictures
carved into it. "Louis XIV had a thing for mirrors."
I turned to him wide eyed. "The Sun King?" I may not have liked history but that chapter
had always interested me. Despite the boring teacher. "This comes from the Hall of Mirrors?" I looked
at it again and I now understood why Mr. Johnson said they were amazing. I'd thought he was
overdoing it.
 "Just look at yourself. You can admire the mirror and the rest later." he wasn't really
annoyed but I turned to see what he was going on about.
"Holy crap." I swore once I saw my reflection. He chuckled a bit at my language but I
ignored him. It was me in the mirror but it wasn't really. I could see myself, the same golden-blonde
hair but it looked tidy and it wasn't even straightened like usual. It was my natural wavy hair, I could
see my straight nose and my broad curvy lips, but I was pale, very pale. As if my skin were made of
marble like Alec's. But what scarred me was the vivid red eyes. They practically glowed, but it oddly fit
in with the rest of my features. Even after Aro had said I was a vampire I hadn't thought of myself with
red eyes. It was as if all the right features had been strengthened and I now looked beautiful. I had been
pretty before, but this was different.
I also had a leaner and more elegant looking body. As if I could lift a truck but still look
sweet and feminine. To be honest, I liked it. I liked it very much. I was what every woman dreamed of
being. And I did not look like a monster. The eyes were a little creepy but I could ignore those.
The cloak also looked good, it fit in nicely with my paleness and made my eyes a little
less sinister. I also looked nice in the clothes.
"Vera?"Alec interrupted my thoughts, this was the first time he said my name and I liked
how it sounded when he said it. I turned and looked at him. I wanted to look at myself a bit more but I
didn't mind him interrupting me.
"Yes?" he smiled a bit.
"Do you still think you're a monster?" He asked softly. I shook my head with a smile
slowly growing. His smile grew too and we just stood like that for a moment before he shook his head
a little."Well if you smashed threw a wall you might look a little like a monster." I frowned at him.
"How strong am I?" Aro had said I was stronger than Felix, and Felix was no pussy cat.
"You could smash threw a wall. But... One moment" he went of into the room and
rummaged threw a small pile of shiny stuff and came back with a small diamond ring in his hand. That
made my frown deepen. "Crush it." He handed it to me with a cunning smile.
"It's a diamond ring!" I took it from him and examined it. I was very simple, a simple
gold hoop with a solitary diamond, it wasn't flashy but it looked very expensive.
"No one will notice. Out of all this," he waved his hand indicating the whole room"do
you think one small diamond missing will cause a panic?" he raised his perfect eyebrows at me.
"I guess not." I put it between my index and thumb wondering if I could really break it.
"Go on." he urged.
I shrugged and squeezed. The gold bent itself like clay and the diamond turned to
powder with a hint of effort. It was fun."Wow." I thought of the giant vault door. "If I can powder a
diamond then why have a big metal door?"
"It's really decoration. Sneaking in here is easy, sneaking into the castle is not." He said
the last word with a serious look.
"I see." I nodded to add confirmation.
"Do you want to admire the mirror more? Or can I show you around?" he teased.
"No thank you. You can show me around." I turned my back on the mirror a little
reluctantly. Both because of the frame and the reflection.
"Ladies first." he swept into a fake bow, and I giggled a bit.
"Wait" I said after looking around “Where did the door go?" It was pathetic but this
place really was big and complicated. I looked around and saw Alec behind me fighting a smile and
failing miserably.
"Use your senses to get out." He said and I started sniffing. Aha! I found his scent and
followed it
“Was this some sort of test?” I asked once we were out of the vault. I was fighting a
smile as well but was doing a better job.
 “If you took too long I would have told you." I turned and found him closer than I
expected. He was looking at me with a sort of scrutiny that was disconcerting.
“Well, um, do you have other things to show me?” He looked at me for another second
and then he straightened up.
“Yes.” He didn't elaborate and started walking.
He took me down an other corridor."This is the way too our bedrooms. But we don't use
them for what you think."
"What do you mean?" I looked at him and I suddenly wanted to hold his hand. I wanted
to reach out and link our fingers. As if he were having the same thought's his hand twitched.
He didn't seem to be listening to me, actually he seemed to be deep in thought. "Alec?" I
noticed how this was the first time I said his name and that it was just like when he said mine.
His head snapped to me "Sorry," He smiled a little, it was this little cryptic smile that
was adorable."yes, I was telling you, we don't use the rooms for sleep. Because we can't."
That slapped all other thoughts out of my head."You can't sleep?"
He stopped walking and so did I "No, Vera. We can't sleep. I know this is hard, but it will
be easier if you accept that you're one of us."He took my hand and his eyes seemed to be glowing
harder "If you doubt what is happening, remember how my hand feels in yours. It feels normal, and
that is because you are a vampire. Don't forget that. You can't think about your old life. It will only hurt
you." I saw the fire slowly fade from his eyes. He dropped our hands but kept mine in his firmly.
Something which made my stomach a little queasy.
"Everything's different, but it's bad in some ways and good in others. I didn't want to
lose my old life, but my old life lacked in important things, like interest. It was boring, I've said
goodbye to it. But it's natural for me to miss it. I won't get over everything in one day. I don't even
know everything about being a vampire. Are you telling me you never think of your old life?"
"I do, on occasions. But that life was a long time ago." I think I could see some pain in
his eyes. "Come , I’ll show you your room." He started leading me to the rooms but didn't let go of my
hand.
He was silent for a moment but then seemed to find his humor. "You're lucky that
Eleazar was right about your power. Jane can be a bit sadistic. And she does not like you."
"I've noticed. But why?" I remembered her curling her lip.
"Well, my sister's a bit self centered" So they were related. I didn't really like thinking
that Alec and Jane were the same."And usually if They want information from someone the have her
torture it out of them. Aro doesn't like getting personally involved. Now you come along and you can
just command them to spill." I thought back to my mushy human memories and remembered her
torturing me which was unfortunately very clear.
"She didn't like me when I was human." He frowned slightly.
"I think she tries to compensate, whenever she see a human she's allowed to torture she
does." It was my turn to frown
"Compensate for what."
"I shouldn't have said that." He bit his lip.
"Said what?" He was thoughtful before he gave in.
"The reason They,"-I knew he meant Aro, Marcus and Caius when he said They-"
wanted new power,was, that about a year ago They decided they wanted to eliminate an other coven,
one that was getting to powerful for their liking. And we all went to get rid of them. Aro also likes
power, so he wanted to acquire. But we were out powered. They have a shield and she is very powerful
shield." I realized with a start that he meant an other vampire."She's the only exception to Jane. We
were basically powerless against them. They don't like to admit it but They were scarred. Caius did not
like it at all. So he wants to attack again but he wants a much bigger force. You are just the beginning.
We will be getting a lot more people.
 They also had another thing that scarred them. Have you ever heard of werewolves?"
"As in full moon? Men who turn into wolves?" Could they be real as well? But then
again if vampires existed then why not werewolves?
"Well they're not really werewolves, Aro likes to call them shape shifters since they can
morph whenever they like. But they were wolves about the size of horses.
Apparently I wasn't the scariest thing out there. "And this shield, she could protect
everyone?"
"Yes, even I was useless. The only strength we had was physical and they had friends to
help them too, there was no way we could win. Aro tried to use politics, but they were stronger there
too. Basically there was no way we could win."
"You don't sound like you think that's a bad thing." He was telling the story very well,
but he kept on saying how they couldn't have won.
"Sometimes I wonder if we're doing the right thing, getting rid of people and then asking
questions. Let me explain. This family is very interesting. One of them fell in love with a human."He
said with that small smile again.
"Really?"I didn't even know if I could spent thirty seconds around a human without
trying to rip it's throat out. Maybe control came with time.
"Yes, and they got married. But she got pregnant. And they had this baby half human
half vampire. He had to change her or she would have died. She's the shield. There are these things
called the immortal children." he explained what he meant and I was getting more and more disgusted
that someone could do this to a small defenseless baby.
"We thought that this baby was one of them, to be honest everything indicated that she
was. But also They were looking for an excuse to attack. Aro wants to add her and her mother to the
guard. The child can project her thoughts and anyone would want the mother. A shield that strong
would make us practically invisible."
"Does she work against everyone's powers?' I interrupted.
"Only psychic, physically it does nothing. Here we are." We were in a long corridor of
doors and we were standing in front of a door with a gold 27 written on it. I now understood what Aro
had been talking about.
"This is my room?" For some reason I was scared to open the door. As if opening it was
accepting the reality of things. It would be like writing Chapter 2 :The Volturi in the story of my life.
And I wasn't sure I was ready for that.
"It's all right." Alec squeezed my hand and made the move I couldn't. He reached out
and twisted the doorknob.
The door didn't open with a scary creek, it didn't show me a dark room, it just swung
open silently and I looked inside a little hesitantly.
It was actually quite nice. There was a simple loveseat a small desk and a small closet
which I assumed had clothes in it. The whole place had this old look but still had a hint of modern.
"Worthy of a monster, don't you think?" Alec teased me.
"It's actually not that bad." It was simple and I liked it. I could probably add some
personal touches.
But what I noticed was my bag on the loveseat.
"Sorry." I -sadly- pulled my hand out of his and went to my bag. There was a small note
next to it.
Your mom called, F.
I pulled my cellphone out and gasped at the missed calls. Fifty seven missed calls. Thirty
or so were from my mom. The rest were from Katie, Jesse and a number I didn't know.
I also had thirty two messages.
Vera. Were are you? Katie wrote, this was at midnight on the day I'd gone missing
Your parents are worried sick. Please text me back.
To rip my heart out a bit more I went to the next one
Wer r u babe? Im worid. Jesse was the next two messages as well. He had mastered
the technique of sounding stupid in text messages.
Pls come bak honey. U now I love u. Ah yes, the “I love you” technique.
Vera! Wer the hell r u? He was getting angry apparently.
Katie wrote again. Vera, I need you to text me back. Please, answer.
"Leave it." Alec took the phone gently from my hands."It will only hurt."He closed it
and but it back next to my bag. "There's another room you might like."He took my hand again and
slowly pulled me out of the room and closed the door behind him. "Actually I think you'll adore this
room. It's just round the corner." I think he was trying do distract me from the messages and I was
going to let him.
He led me through another few corridors and then stopped in front of two big doors. It
smelled almost familiar, I remembered something smelling ,like it from when I was human. It smelled
like paper and dust but with something else, leather. He pushed one of them open and led me in.
I gasped. It was a library. A huge library. It was a wonder a place this big could fit in. It
looked like it had big leather volumes and normal books. That's why I knew the smell. I read some of
the tittles of the books at the other end of the room. I randomly found myself reading the B's. And
Wuthering Heights was one of them.
"Knew you'd like it." Alec said with a small smile.
"How?"I looked around wide eyed.
"You're that type of person." He shrugged and led to me to a corner were there were a
couple of couches and arm chairs.
"No one's ever figured that out about me." I said looking him in the eye. If you ignored
the red they actually were nice. Like they held a lot of secrets but were also compassionate and they
were warm
"I feel like a know you." He said very seriously.
"Will I get to know you?" I asked quietly.
"You will. Because we'll be spending a lot of time together."
“That sounds, educational.” He had this puzzled look on his face and slowly leaned
down he wasn't much taller than me but I liked it. And I was sure we were about to kiss. When I heard
someone approaching. He quickly straightened and we both looked at where the sound was coming
from.
"Brother," Jane nodded to Alec once she had come around from behind a bookshelf and
turned to me, she opened her mouth to say something when her eyes turned to our entwined fingers.
She looked at me with so much hatred I was shocked she didn't start torturing me on the spot. "Aro
wants you. Conference room." She spat and turned away.
Alec shook his head and we started walking.
"Wait, I have an idea." He turned to me with a cunning smile. "Follow me." And he
started running down the corridor. I automatically started running too. It was amazing, I loved it. It
made me feel free and alive. But then again all my enhanced senses made me feel more alive. We
passed Jane who did not look happy.
Following him was not difficult, I could easily see him as well as every crack in the
wall. Unfortunately the run was over very quickly.
"That was fun" I commented. Alec laughed softly.
"That's and understatement."He opened the door and we both entered. I didn't know
what to expect but I still had that bad feeling.