Cecilia stared at Demetri in amazement. Of course, she'd noticed his beauty before, admired it even, but now, with her sight improved hundredfold, he looked even more breathtaking. She noticed the different shades of brown in his hair, the way he seemed to raise his left eyebrow almost permanently. It completely fascinated her, but also made her fear for what she was about to see in the mirror.
The second thing she noticed was the unfamiliar burning sensation in the back of her throat. Shifting her eyes from Demetri to her own form, she pushed herself up from the bed and wrapped a single hand around her neck as if that was going to do anything about the pain.
"It's uncomfortable, isn't it?"
Even the way his voice sounded was different. It was more raw and even more pleasant to her ears.
Cecilia cleared her throat. "That might be the understatement of the year."
Her voice had changed as well, something she didn't want to spend too much thought on.
She forced her legs over the edge of the bed and after she had straightened out her dress, she let her hands trail the skin of her face. The urge to slump and lean her elbows on her knees had disappeared and instead, she sat up so straight a spirit level could be perfectly balanced against it. Cecilia found it felt natural and unnatural at the same time.
Feeling another hand caress her cheek, her eyes fluttered to the vampire sitting in front of her. His hand felt no longer icy cold and she supposed her skin didn't harbour its usual heat anymore either. They were equals now.
Demetri smiled softly. "You are absolutely beautiful."
Smiling nervously, she looked down at her folded hands in her lap. She didn't want to go up to mirror, not quite yet. Afraid that she wouldn't recognize the person in front of it, she decided to put it off for a later moment. Her eyes found those of her soulmate again, the colours matching this time. "I suppose the Masters want to see mee."
Demetri nodded and held out his hand. She grabbed it gratefully, allowing him to pull her up. Though his skin didn't feel longer icy in comparison to hers, it still lit up a show of fireworks inside her body, warming her from the inside out. Holding onto Demetri's hand with an unknown strength, she tried not to get overwhelmed by the amount of detail her brain was suddenly able to take in.
"It's so weird," she whispered softly, knowing very well that Demetri would be able to catch it with ease.
He chuckled, causing a shiver to crawl down her spine. "You'll get used to it in no time."
She supposed he was right, but for now, it felt weird. Following her soulmate's movements as he threw open the doors to the throne room, she was confronted with the sight of the Masters and the Guard. She forced a polite smile on her face, not letting go of Demetri as the two of them walked to the middle of the room.
"Cara mia," Aro exclaimed as soon as his milky red eyes fell on Cecilia's figure. He smiled giddily, rushing forward. "Immortality agrees with you, dear Cecilia."
Her smile didn't falter as she nodded. "I'm still getting used to it."
"As all of us did once," Aro replied, smiling uncannily. "I will take it you are going to follow the restrictions of your family?"
Cecilia thought it was odd to call the saving of human lives "restrictions", though she supposed she could understand Aro couldn't let an opportunity to insult her family slip. "Surely I have to try."
"Of course," Aro said, the tone of his voice implying the complete opposite. He turned his back on her, walking back to his throne lazily. "Though I have always questioned why your family feels the need to suppress our natural tendencies. It's only the order of life after all. Natural selection, if you will."
"You might just come back your... preferences very soon," Caius said. He was still sneering, something that didn't surprise Cecilia, but at least he didn't look profoundly disgusted. She guessed that was an improvement of some sort as well.
"Time will tell," she replied, her voice oddly sweet.
"Just know that you're always welcome at our dinner table," Aro said as he sat down on his throne. His eyes shifted from his brothers to her and Demetri, before nodding at them in an idle way. "You're dismissed for the rest of the night. I expect the two of you to report tomorrow morning."
Cecilia courtesied, before taking the lead and almost dragging Demetri out of the throne room. Even though she had gained immortality, she still felt oddly vulnerable and humiliated whenever she stood in front of the Ancient Ones. She guessed Demetri felt the same, because the two of them didn't speak until they had left the castle in exchange for the quietness of the surrounding village.
"Did I just become part of the Guard?" Cecilia asked quietly, her eyes on the stars slowly starting to appear in the sky. "Or is there another reason the both of us need to report tomorrow morning."
"To be frank, I have no idea," Demetri replied. His thumb trailed absent-minded circles on the back of her hand, his eyes were plastered on the side of her face. "I don't want you to become part of the Guard, this I know."
Cecilia chuckled softly, the sound void of any humour, and her eyes shifted from the sky to her soulmate. "I don't think you have a choice in the matter exactly."
"We can still run away," he suggested, shrugging. "I'm the best tracker they've got."
"That might be true, but that doesn't make you the best hider."
It was quiet for a moment, the two of them lost in thought. Cecilia's mind was working overtime, suddenly flooding her with memories of playing hide and seek with Demetri and specifically him not being able to find her. She thought about her gift, or which she hopes she possessed, but pushed the thought away. It was something she had to figure out on her own first, before dragging Demetri into it.
"Cecilia," Demetri said softly, gaining her attention right away. He looked at her seriously, and if her heart would have been beating, it would have skipped a beat. "You know, before, I couldn't exactly track you, but I could still feel your mind, even if it was very vaguely. I can't sense it anymore. Not even when you're walking next to me and put my entire focus on it."
Cecilia cleared her throat, not allowing that slow burning hope to grow into a bonfire. "Interesting."
Soon, the village made way for the countryside. They were surrounded by fields of flowers and grass, looking breathtakingly beautiful under the glow of the rising moon. In the distance, there were a few lonely farms, but other than that it was as if the two of them were alone in the world. Or at least the only ones in the area.
Both of them knew they were walking on thin ice, where a wrong word or statement might lead them into something neither of them could come back from. She knew what he was about to say and she wanted it, more than anything in her whole life, but she squeezed his hand roughly, breaking the tension and the conversation with it. With amusement, she watched him cringe away.
"That actually hurt," Demetri said, pulling back his hand and observing it in the glow of one of the lanterns.
"That actually hurt," she mimicked, raising her voice in a high tone.
The look on his face made her burst out in laughter instantly and she tried to hide her smile behind her hand. Soon enough though, she was doubled over, cradling her stomach for comfort. It felt good to laugh, to get rid of the tension, even if it was at the cost of her soulmate.
"I have been so very careful touching you as a human," he said, sounding offended. His crimson eyes trailed over her body. "Yet here you are, not two full hours in and already abusing your strength."
"Testing my strength."
"I think purposefully hurting someone can be classified as abuse."
"I think you sound like a little girl."
"Unbelievable."
"Little Demetria."
"Stop it."
"Try me."
She took off running, this time not limited by her human capabilities. In fact, she left him in the trails of her dust, mostly thanks to the remains of her own blood still flowing through her veins. Her father had told the science behind it many times and more, but now that she was running at a speed that would blind the human eye without having to breathe, it simply blew her mind away.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Demetri was following her, a determined expression on his handsome face. He was fast, but as far as she could tell he wasn't faster than Edward, or her for that matter. At least for the time being.
"Cecilia, watch out," Demetri called out.
Just in time, she turned around, her eyes only then catching the car that was speeding at her. Though she knew she would do more damage to the car than the other way around, she jumped to the side and disappeared into the woods, watching the car drive by as though nothing had happened. Demetri soon found her side, throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
She smiled, leaning into his chest and curling her arms around his waist as well. She couldn't comprehend the way her life had changed in the last two months, but at this point, as she stood there in his embrace, the two of them staring at the nature surrounding them, she was glad it had happened. Even if there was still a long road ahead of them.