Laying on her side, Cecilia leafed through the pages of the false file once more. Though she knew it was a complete fraud, she still hoped to find some valuable information. After all, the best lies were based on a certain truth. Considering that Demetri had seen right through it, however, left Cecilia wondering how good the lie was after all. Still, she had to admit that it was some impressive work, even if it was fake.
Demetri had left to go hunting, leaving her alone in the hotel. She never liked it much when she was on her own. It was like she was missing a pair of eyes and hands to protect her. She had learned to fight her own battles through the years. In fact, she was quite an alright warrior, matching Jane in most skills, but it was the feeling of her soulmate, or rather the lack thereof, that caused a hollow ache in her heart.
It made her chuckle. She had always thought of her family members as cheesy and sometimes even a little too sticky, but here she was, the exact girl she despised in all the novels she'd read. She supposed it helped that she and Demetri were actual soulmates, and that the girls in novels only claimed it.
Letting out an entirely human sigh, simply for the purpose of creating a little sound in the silent room, she rolled off the bed. Gracefully, she landed on the ground, her eyes landing on one of her dresses littered on the floor. As she bend down to grab the piece of fabric, she noticed a white piece of paper laying underneath the bed. Forgetting all about the dress, she let herself fall to her knees and snatched the piece of paper away.
Sitting down on her knees, she turned the paper around. It was a photograph, one that had probably fallen underneath the bed when Demetri had sent the file and the papers with it through the room, but that wasn't what surprised her. It showed the same design as the one on the ring Anya had been wearing. Now, she recognized that it wasn't a tulband, but a crown, made of hundreds of shimmering jewels.
Frowning her eyebrows, Cecilia pushed herself off the ground, laying the picture in the middle of the bed carefully while she put the dress away. A jolt of shock moved through her body as she suddenly heard the door being opened and quickly, she stepped away from the dresser to see who had entered. As soon as her golden eyes landed on Demetri, a wave of relief crashed over her. She placed her hand over heart, which would have been beating erratically if it could.
She forced a smile on her mouth. "You scared me."
"Why?" he asked. His eyes were a fiery kind of red, a sign that he had just fed and he glanced at her with a worried expression. "Did something happen?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. She chuckled, some of the tension ebbing away. "It's just that this whole business has got me on my toes."
The expression on his face changed into a sympathetic one. "I know."
"But look what I found," she continued, determined not to let her nerves destroy the mood. She walked over to the bed and grabbed the picture, handing it over to Demetri. He stared at it, obviously not knowing what exactly he was staring at.
"This is the crown the late tzars and emperors of Russia wore," he said finally. He side-stepped her, his eyes landing on the file that was strewn all over the bed. Cecilia knew what he must be thinking, that she was wasting her time and that she should stop it, the look in his eyes said as much, but he kept quiet. "What of it?"
"It must have fallen under the bed," she said. "But I recognized it from somewhere else. The ring Anya wore to the dinner, it had the exact same design."
"You looked at the rings on her fingers?"
"Well, it caught my eye," Cecilia defended herself. "The rhinestones reflected the light."
"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.