Daybreak

Volturi

V O L T U R I

After running for half an hour or so we were at the border of a city named Volterra. It was really. . . magnificent. I don't have any other word for it.

But unfortunately. . .

"Alec?" I asked hesitantly.

"What now?"

"I don't have a cloak like you do."

"Why do you need a cloak?"

"You want me to look like a light bulb?"

"Light bulb?"

This was irritating me now.

"Look at the sun, dimwit."

He seriously looked at it and then said "Ah!"

We stopped there. I didn't want to but, like I said, I didn't have any choice. I didn't want to look like a freak who glows in sun.

Now that I had time, I noticed that he really looked gorgeous. I started feeling uncomfortable in my normal black coloured Prada dress. The silence was kind of awkward so I decided to start a conversation.

"What is Volturi, exactly?"

"Oh! We are the ones who ensure laws in the vampire world." Was just me or did he look smug?

"Hey, you said that you knew Aro, how is that?" He was the one initiating an conversation now.

I was quiet for a moment then, "I'll tell you some other time"

The sun was already setting. So we sat in silence once more. But this wasn't an awkward one, it was comfortable. I knew Alec wanted nothing to do with me, but when I really looked at him, he seemed like a nice person. Calm, competitive and the kind of person that would not go down in battle, but nice. I guess he was really young fifteen or sixteen year old. Then again, who was I to talk, I mean I was turned when I was just fourteen years old.

Finally the sun had set. We got up and started walking. After a while we blended into the crowd. I didn't know my way around so I just followed him.

We arrived at a castle. It was beautiful. Alec just kept walking, so I had no choice but to follow him. The interior was even more elegant. Maybe the Volturi really was a royalty like I thought.

"And who may you be, little girl?" A strangely deep but still melodious voice said. I turned around and saw someone standing behind me. He was big and kind of reminded me of a bear. Maybe he was supposed to look intimidating but honestly I wasn't feeling even a little bit scared.

Before Alec could say anything I said," This little girl has a name."

I didn't turn around to see Alec's expression but in my peripheral vision there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. Other-wise his face was expressionless as always. Wait. . . why do I care about what he thinks???

That person looked at me seriously and said," you and me will get along."

I chuckled. It has been so long since I even smiled and now here I am laughing. Maybe this place is not that bad.

"Okay Felix, where is master?" Alec asked.

"Yes, Alec he was asking for you and your twin. Take this little girl with you, too." He said.

I couldn't help it so I growled. Felix just smirked and walked away. Alec started walking again so I followed him. The corridors were filled with famous paintings, jewels, ornaments and what not. All of the doors were sheathed with gold. But while leading down the hall, Alec ignored all of them. Then he finally stopped in front of a plain wooden door and held it open for me.

"Thank you." I whispered.

Inside the door was a big cavernous corridor made of stone. But before we could pass through, a person who was looking as young as me came. I don't know why but she seemed insanely powerful.

She nodded towards me, as if acknowledging me presence and took Alec's hand.

"You're back, brother." She said in a baby-like, sweet voice. I could only assume that this was Alec's twin, the one Felix was talking about.

"Yes, Jane." He laughed and kissed her cheek. So this was how it feels to have a family, well a sibling anyway. I would never know because my family was already dead, since when I was a child. And even if they weren't they would have been dead by now, seeing that a century has passed since then.

"And who is this, dear brother?" Jane. . . I assumed, asked.

"This is Annalisa. She is very powerful, that's why I brought her here." Alec said.

She turned towards me and something suddenly happened. It felt as if somebody was burning me alive. Very much like the changing. But I didn't fall down and kept standing. But as soon as the pain had come it went away. Then I saw Jane smirking to a horrified looking Alec.

"You said she was powerf-" Before she could finish, I forced her to relive the memory from seconds ago, with my powers. After two or three seconds, her eyelids fluttered and I knew that the memory was over.

"So did you like a taste of your own medicine?" I asked smiling innocently.

Her face broke into a dazzling smile and she offered me a hand to shake.

"I'm Jane. You really are powerful."

"Annalisa. And thank you." I said shaking her hand. I don't know why me being powerful pleased her.

Alec and Jane took each other's hand and started walking towards the door on the other side of this unlit, stone-corridor. I followed quietly. I had this feeling that something bad was going to happen but couldn't quite place what.

The stone antechamber was not large. It opened into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a castle turret. . . which was probably what it was. Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright light onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights.

The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were placed unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls.

The room was not empty. It was filled with a handful of people surrounding a person. . . no, a vampire, who was kneeling in front.

There were three people sitting on the thrones wearing night coloured robes, two black haired ones and one with snowy-white hair. And two people were standing behind them wearing cloaks, just like Jane and Alec, but their cloaks were a little lighter in colour. They were looking like body guards. So I knew the people on the thrones were important. Suddenly the person sitting in the middle looked up, towards us.

And he was the same person from that night. Aro.

"Annalisa, my dear you have finally come. I knew you'd do well in the guard but I didn't know where you were." Aro said in his melodious singsong voice.

He moved towards me gracefully and took my hand. I had realised long back that he reads other people's thoughts like that.

"You are quite powerful. Why don't you join the guard?" He said after a while. I nodded. I didn't have any where else to go, did I?

"Your timing was absolutely wonderful. You can prove yourself now, too", he said while pointing at the kneeling vampire. "Command him to die."

"What?" I asked shocked.

"Xander here, broke a law which threatened to expose us. So he has to be executed." He said smiling sweetly.

Then suddenly the Xander  looked at me with hatred in his eyes. So he thought that I was like them. Maybe I was.

I started back at him with steady eyes and ordered,

"Kill yourself."

He walked up towards a fireplace and stepped into the fire.

Killing. Maybe that's what I will be doing during my days in the Volturi.