Frau des Winters *Under Editing*

Meet the Guard!

"Howdy, Folks! Hawthorne here! Now last chapter we met a whole new group of characters and Author Lady doesn't want anyone to be confused! So here is a quick break down of who you have met so far and their role in the story!" Hawthorne cheers proudly and points a thumb at his chest.

"Let's begin with a quick explanation of the Volturi. The Volturi are the rulers of the Vampire Kingdom and have been since the Kings, Aro, Marcus and Caius overthrew the Romanians. They have ruled for over three thousand years. When you see the Kings you will find them wearing mainly black to signify their status. This trend carries on with the guard as well. You can tell a guard's rank by the color they wear!" Hawthorne pulls out a white board with color swatches attached to it.

"You see, black is for royalty, so the three Kings and of course the Queen are often seen in black. Master Marcus is the oldest King in vampire years coming in at just over 5 thousand years. He has the awesome gift of seeing the bonds that connect all beings. Then there is Master Aro who was actually turned by Marcus when he saw the bond between them. His gift lets him see every thought you have ever had. Scary huh? And there is Caius, the youngest in vampire years by about a few hundred years give or take compared to Marcus and Aro. While he is ungifted he has unparalleled strength and is wicked awesome warrior."

"Then you have the Elite Guard, which is made up of six guard members. You have already met Jane and Alec, the Witch Twins. But don't call them that to their face... Jane gets all... Painy. Zaps the fun right out of you. And you met my buddy, Demetri, our famed tracker. We used to have a whole group of trackers before this guy came along. James, the crazy one, used to be part of it. And you met Felix, our muscle bound man. Famed as the strongest vampire in the world (besides of course Master Caius), followed by Santiago and Emmett Cullen. It is rumored that if Emmett Cullen switched his diet he could be equal to or stranger than Felix. But he likes the taste of bears over ... Hairy men. I can understand that to some degree. And you have met Iris, the fifth member of the Elite Guard. Iris has a long history with the Volturi and not all of it good. She has a strange connection to Carlisle Cullen. I heard tha- OW!" Hawthorne shrieks.

"Say one word about it and I will tear out your eyes." Iris snarls as she grips his ear tighter.

"Okay, okay! Just let go damn it!"

"Idiot." Iris snaps and leaves the room.

"Damn. That hurt. Anyway... That is Iris. Now she has a wicked cool gift but I won't spoil that for you. And the sixth member we haven't met yet either, so... No spoilers! But those members make up the Elite Guard, which all wear a super dark gray except for Jane and Alec, who's gray is almost black." Hawthorne pouted, "Teacher's pets."

"Don't let them hear you say that." Demetri mutters walking past the open door.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We all know it's true. Anyway, then you have the Royal Guard which is split into two sections. The King's Guard and the Queen's Guard. Now everyone knows that Renata is Aro's guard. She is a wicked cool shield type. She has a strong right hook too. Knocked my ear clean off one time. And then there is Afton, who is Heidi's mate and Caius's guard. He is also a shield. He used to be kinda weak but he teamed up with Renata and she trained him up. And the third we haven't met either and as I say... No spoilers!" Hawthorne laughs loudly.

"Those guys wear brown. I think it makes them look like walking piles of shit, but whatever. And then you have us! The Queen's Guard! We were formed years ago after Master Marcus determined that the Kings would have a shared mate one day. So they made up the Queen's Guard for when she arrived." Hawthorne grins cheekily and sound the white board to the other side where there are pictures of the guard and a few pictures covered with doodles...

"Now you haven't met all of us just yet, but the ones you have met are pretty bitchin' if I do say so myself. We wear all white. Which is dumb too. Seriously man. Why can't we be like red or something?"

"This dude is Elias, the leader of the Queen's guard and the first to be added to it. He is normally pretty calm, but once he gets mad... Oh boy oh boy. His gift seems kind of so so at first, but then..." Hawthorne shuddered in fear, "Yikes. And this is Celeste. She is kinda new by a few hundred years, but she is pretty cool. She is very protective of the Queen. Has been since she joined. We have been waiting ages for her."

Hawthorne points at the picture of himself, which isn't a normal photo like the others ... The picture shows him laying on a bear skin rug nude with only a pink feather boa covering certain areas...

"This handsome devil right there is yours truly. Hawthorne, the Mighty! I have been around a long time now. Which confuses a lot of newbies because of how fun I am! I spent years with humans and kind of adapted I guess. I am the smartest, coolest, and most powerful of the Queen's Guard."

"Keep telling yourself that." Celeste snorted looking up from her book.

"You're just jealous." Hawthorne flipped her off.

"Anyway, my gift has been seen a little bit but you don't really know what's going on yet. So... Once again... NO SPOILERS!" Hawthorne cackles and ducks as Celeste's book goes hurling at him.

"Hah! You missed!" He grins and smirks as she rolls her eyes and leaves.

"So there you have it. Did you get all that? How about a recap?"

"Just shut up already." Elias growls from the room next door.

"Can it, old man! So recap! Black clothing is the royalty, dark dark gray is the Witchy Duo, dark gray is the other Elite Guards. Brown is the King's Guard. And White is the Queen's Guard... I feel like I am missing something... Hmm..." Hawthorne taps his foot.

"The lower guard?" Felix mutters bored.

"Oh yeah! Then you have the lower guard! You haven't met any of them yet, but they wear light gray! Some of them are newbies while others have weaker gifts. Well that's everybody! Hope this helps! As we meet more characters we will update you and keep you on track! Keep a look out for the Guard Profile chapters as we go! Thanks for playing!"

"Playing what?"

"Who is he even talking to?"

"Idiot."

"Where did he even get these photos?"

"I am burning his."

"Hey... Isn't that Heidi's pink bow?"

"I think I am gonna be sick."

"Is that a mustache on my picture?"

"Oi! Why is there a penis drawn on my forehead in this?!"

"Gotta go!"

"HAWTHORNE!!!"