SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

D I C I A N N O V E

"So what?"

"So," she said, drawing out the 'o'. "Maybe Anya is the red princess?"

Demetri stared at her incredulously. "Anya?"

"It kind of makes sense, right? She certainly held herself the way a princess would," she explained. Seeing the expression on Demetri's face suddenly made her doubt herself, like she was just blurting out something stupid.

"I thought she was a completely isolated factor," Demetri said. He brushed his hands through his hair, taking a seat on one of the chairs. It creaked under his weight. "If it wasn't for our plan of running away and needing Nikolai, we probably wouldn't even have come across her."

"That doesn't necessarily mean that she can't be the person we're looking for," Cecilia said, shrugging. In her mind, it made a lot of sense. Anya had an aura of regalness around her, with her red flowing dress and sharp eyes. She wasn't the kind of person Nikolai would be associated with, at least, Cecilia didn't think so, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time that vampire had surprised her. "Maybe it's just a big coincidence."

"Maybe," Demetri said, seemingly lost in thought. "It certainly changes the game plan for tomorrow."

The two of them had come up with a plan for tomorrow, when the moon would be full. They had googled the address, which turned out to be to be a monastery that had been abandoned for only a couple of years. Cecilia supposed it was as good as place as any and there was a certain irony to it, damned creatures on holy ground. It certainly seemed like an Anya type of thing to propose.

"I suppose that's true," she said. Her head start aching already from the mere thought of coming up with a new strategic plan, something she usually enjoyed. "Before we do that, though, I want to call home. It's been ages since I've talked to my family."

Demetri stared at her pointedly. "You talked to Rosalie right before we left, which was only about ten days ago."

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "That's still ten whole days and besides, that was only Rose." She walked to the door and grabbed a handful of change from the small writing station. Opening the door, she looked over her shoulder with an innocent smile on her face. "I'll be right back."

She heard Demetri say something along the lines of 'I doubt it', but she knew he didn't have any ill intent. Whenever he was on a mission, he didn't feel the need to call with Felix or someone else from the Guard, though Cecilia guessed he made up for that by talking for hours once they returned. For her it was different. Ever since that night when she had accepted her position as a member of the Volturi, she had seen her family a handful of times. All of the times sneakily in between missions as well.

There was a phone booth in a secluded area of the hotel and she was happy to see that no one was around. Taking a seat on the wooden chair, she threw in a couple of coins and put the phone to her ear while she punched in a couple of numbers. She heard the steady beeping of the line trying to connect and a couple of seconds later she heard the rustling of a phone being picked up.

"Cecilia?" questioned a voice.

Instantly, she recognized it as a mother's and a soft smile came to her face. "Hi, mom."

"How are you, dear?" her mother asked quickly. She probably knew they had limited time, as they always did whenever she called from a strange number. "Where are you calling from?"

"I'm doing good," Cecilia replied, twisting the phone cord around her finger. She turned to look over her shoulder, but there was nobody who could possibly overhear her. Besides, they were in the outskirts of Moscow, where not many people spoke English. Especially not the elderly couple that seemed to run the hotel. "Demetri and I are in Russia on a mission."

"Dangerous?" her mother asked, sounding worried.

Cecilia could hear the voices of her other family members in the background. Emmett's voice boomed, ordering everyone to shut up so he could listen and she chuckled. Realising how odd that would sound as an answer to her mother's question, she quickly started to talk again. "Just something regular," she said, playing it off cooly. Now that she was a vampire, lying had become a whole lot easier, especially since her heartbeat could no longer betray her. "Rumours about quarrels and unrest, the usual."

Her mother signed from the other side of the line. "Well, be careful anyway."

"Always," Cecilia promised, which was the truth. "Anyway, how are you guys doing?"

"The usual," her mother replied in the same tone, causing Cecilia to chuckle. "No, that was a joke, but we're all fine here. Renesmee and Jake are currently away on a holiday to Isle Esmee and we are looking to move to a new place."

"Forks again?" Cecilia asked curiously. The house would probably still stand there, covered in a thick layer of dust.

"It's only been a little over thirty years since we've left," her mother said quietly. "People might recognize us still. We were actually thinking about Ireland."

This surprised Cecilia. Never before had they moved to Europe, at least, not when she was there. "Ireland? That's surely a change."

"It's also closer to Italy than America is," her mother said.

Cecilia thought over her mother's words quietly, the thought of running away from the Volturi sharp in her mind. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed by a wave of homesickness, not for Italy, but for her family, she could feel her throat tighten. She couldn't cry anymore, but she could still feel sadness. "Mom, I've got to go. Demetri's waiting for me."

"Alright, sweetie," her mother replied, not noticing the change in tone. "We love you, and be careful."

"I love all of you too," she said and placed the phone back. Pressing a button, she heard the coins she hadn't used fall in a metal stock and she grabbed them swiftly. Tears wouldn't come, but still, her eyes burned as she made her way back to her room.