EPOV
Dusk was upon us. The castle was illuminated by flickering candlelight, creating a warm and fiery atmosphere throughout the halls. My sister and I approached the throne room slowly, unsure of why the Volturi had summoned us. Our family led a quiet and uneventful life, for the most part. As we accustomed ourselves to our peculiar lifestyle and habits, we found trust and devotion in our small clan of vampires. Vegetarians, they call us. It is appropriate, I suppose, since generally vampires feed off of human blood. We were the freaks, the outcasts of the society, limiting our hunting to animals only.
Alice spoke to me silently through her thoughts as I reached for the throne room door, warning me to expect a long stay here in Volterra. I shook my head, not believing that they could need anything from either of us that would take more than a sennight. Our particular set of skills were more of an immediate gratification sort of deal, since mind reading and seeing visions of the future happen with no prior notice. I raised an eyebrow at her, to show my confusion on her opinion on the length of our stay here in Italy. I wanted to be home, with my family, the only family I had known in my lifetime as a vampire.
I inhaled deeply, wondering what could possibly be so urgent, and swept the door open, holding it for my sister as she entered the lion’s den, so to speak.
The throne room, usually abuzz with vampire activity was surprisingly empty, aside from the three Volturi Elders: Caius, Marcus and Aro. Alice hesitated, lost for a moment in a vision of some sorts, one that caused the hint of a smile to brighten her face. Aro stood, opening his arms in welcome.
“Edward, Alice, how wonderful to see you!” he exclaimed, as if our appearance was a pleasant surprise. “Please,” he implored us, motioning to the couches to the left of the dais where they usually reclined, “join us. We are hoping you can help us with a small dilemma we are facing.” Caius scowled at that, while Marcus remained silent, no emotion visible on his aristocratic features. Aro descended the stairs to seat himself on the sofa opposite ours. “My brothers are being much too formal, considering the circumstances.” He drawled as he settled into his seat, brushing imaginary lint off of his jacket. He called the other two brothers, even though none of them had ever truly been related by blood, much like my family and I.
He gazed at my sister, his red eyes devoid of any artifice. “Alice, my dear. Have you envisioned the sudden urge for your presence here in Volterra?” he asked, as he ran one hand under his chin thoughtfully. At her nod, he continued, “Have you updated Edward on what you have envisioned, perchance?” She shook her head, a small frown crossing her pixie-like face briefly. His hand stopped its movement; his face pensive at the admittance. “I see. Well Edward, since your sister has chosen not to forewarn you, I suppose I must explain myself. Has your father ever mentioned the half-blood children to you?”
Half-blood children? What the devil was he driving at? “No sir. I do not believe Carlisle has ever mentioned them.” I admitted. “Do you wish them disposed of?” I questioned, thinking that one of their own would be much more appropriate for that type of task. Their combined look implied shock at my inquiry, their minds abuzz with displeasure over the idea of me harming these “half-bloods.”
Smooth move, jackass. Why don’t you just get us killed today?
“No, no.” Aro assured me, “No harm is to come of them. Honestly, it should not surprise me that he had not talked to you about them. Carlisle was always very respectful of our privacy.” He adjusted himself in the seat, glancing back at the others for a second, thinking how they should be here with him, instead of holding themselves aloof in their raised seats. This affected each of them, not only one. “Well then, I shall explain. When my brothers and I arrived in Volterra, we were tasked with removing the vampire “filth” from the streets of Italy. I am sure you knew this. Quite an ironic task, yes? We thought so as well. Of course they knew nothing of our background; that we were in fact the threat they were looking to vanquish. We succeeded in our endeavor to the public eye, and have lived peacefully within our castle walls for centuries now, watching over our “children” as we consider all of you, with fatherly eyes. Sometimes it is necessary to cut a few connections, to avoid exposure. It is not always simple, being as easy to spot as our kind is: the red eyes, the sparkling skin. I am sure you deal with some of the same types of dilemmas in Forks, yes?”
“Yes, we try to keep to ourselves and refrain from going out during the sunlight.” I agreed. “It can be difficult being as different as we are from humanity.”
“Exactly. Well after eons of isolation, my brother Marcus stumbled upon a fascinating possibility. During one of our many “feasts” he encountered a woman, of Russian decent. Lovely and endearing, that described his beautiful Talia. Having never found a vampire mate, he was drawn to the beauty and grace of this one petite human. Coupled with that was the fact she had no fear of us, watching our feasting with a morbid fascination, just waiting to be bitten and sent to her demise. He swept away with her to his chambers, saving her from her fate as a celebratory feast. He wanted to turn her, keep her with him always. But she loved her human existence, and begged to be left as such, vowing her love and devotion to him for the length of her life. His mind went wild with the possibilities the opportunity created. What if it were possible to breed with her? Create a vampire that more easily melds into society? Give his lover an eternal piece of himself?”
Marcus stiffened; his face a mask void of emotion. “Aro, must you open old wounds?” he hissed, his eyes haunted. “I still suffer over her loss, old friend. Have compassion.”
Aro glanced at him, shaking his head. “I am sorry, my brother. I will be less descriptive.” He glanced up at us, to ensure we were paying attention. “I suppose you both can tell that it ended badly. Talia conceived, but the child within her was too strong for a human’s body to carry effectively. Not to delve too far into my brothers old wounds, she didn’t survive the delivery, refusing to allow herself to be turned, even when the odds were not in her favor. She wanted to give him the child he seeked, feared the vampire blood would kill him if she turned before he breathed his first breath; loved the child she carried as much as her vampire mate, naming him with her final breath.”
Marcus stood, descending the stairs slowly. “She told me to guard our son with my life, demanded I keep him from harm.” He whispered; the pain of the memories evident in each word. “She handed him to me gently, her last words being our son’s name… Mikhail.” I saw the infant in his arms, visualized by the overwhelming memories his mind was engulfed in. It seemed impossible such a small human would snuff out the life of anyone, he looked barely 6 pounds. Marcus’ mind focused on the infant’s face, and I saw with shock that his eyes were not the brown of his mother’s nor the red of Marcus’s, but bright green. “Must you revisit painful memories Aro?” he hissed, causing Caius to stand as well, taking a defensive stance behind Marcus. “Or is it your perverted wish to discuss my most intimate moments with everyone? They do not need to know so much detail for their task”
I was shocked. Marcus was always composed, calm. To see him in such an emotionally charged state was unusual. “I assume that the half-bloods are half vampires then? How many of them exist?” I inquired, unsure what this had to do with Alice or myself. Our clan was barely tolerated, due to our peculiar choice in diet. To bring us here and expose their heirs to us could cause a conflict of interest. Caius approached Marcus, placing one hand on his shoulder, a comforting gesture from one as hard and callous as Caius.
Marcus glanced at Caius and Aro then replied, “Yes, Edward the half-bloods are our children, there are five of them between the three of us. Mikhail is the oldest, followed by Aro’s daughter, Joy, whose mother met the same fate as my Talia.”
I glanced at Aro, searching his face for any hint of emotion, finding none. He returned my gaze and laughed, a dry humorless sound. “No, my boy. You will find no regret in me over Joy. The woman who gave birth to her was a means to an end, no more. I found myself envious of Marcus’s son, and took it upon myself to find an appropriate woman to carry my own child for me. It would have been much better for me if she had been a boy instead, but no matter.”
Marcus rolled his eyes, continuing where he left off prior to Aro’s interruption. “Maxwell is my second son. You have met his mother, Loralee, correct?” at my nod he continued, “She was not as stubborn about being changed, preferred to watch our child grow into a man, and perhaps even remain forever with us.” I had seen Loralee several times throughout my life as a vampire, always close to Marcus’ side. I never realized that she was a consolation prize to the elder; that his heart had already been taken by a human of all things.
“So the ones in my vision are Caius’s?” Alice interrupted, causing all three of the Volturi royals to stare at her. She looked up startled, realizing she should have waited instead of blurting out her question in the middle of their response. She bit her lip anxiously, adding “I only say that since the vision I have includes a human woman, and from what you have said, the other mothers are either no longer alive or a vampire. Sorry to have interrupted, your grace.” She finished, bowing her head respectfully.
Caius raised one eyebrow at Alice’s outburst, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, Alice. I am surprised you assume that I, of us all, would have tender feelings towards a human. But nevertheless, to answer your blunt question, yes. Lizabeth, my wife who does not venture out here in the castle during feasts, is human. The two teenagers you see with her are our twin children, Spencer and Ivy.”
“If I may ask,” she added, now more confident about speaking up, “how did she survive the birth of not one, but two of them together?” One did not have to read minds to see how curious and excited she was about these new “friends” she was about to have. Her golden eyes twinkled merrily, her face alight with joy like a child at Christmas. She was absorbed in their words, which made me wonder what the vision she had regarding these “twins” entailed.
“We are not exactly sure. At first we thought that since there were two of them, their strength was split in half, making the bearing of them easy enough for her to survive.” Caius glanced at his brothers before admitting, “However, now knowing Ivy’s gift, I tend to believe she saved her mother’s life.” He announced cryptically.
“This is all very interesting,” I voiced suddenly, “but what does any of this have to do with me and Alice?”
Aro grinned at my forthrightness, causing his features to make him look youthful, “Well, you see Edward. We have a problem. A few of the kids are developing mild vampiristic traits; a few of them can regenerate and heal themselves like we can, etc. We need a couple of people of their age to “hang with them”, if you would. The children have grown much like regular human children would, the oldest just having reached his 17th year. They need companions, ones that will not be shocked by any unusual vampire-like behaviors that might emerge at any time.” He stared at us pointedly, gauging our reaction to his request.
“Marcus thought of you both specifically due to your youthful demeanors and unusual eating habits. This is just until we can ensure that they are not going to cause undue harm to the people of our fair city and that we do not find the need to destroy any of them. It would pain us to do so, however, if it became necessary… well, you know what I mean.” He confided, proving to me that none were exceptions to Volturi Laws, not even members of their own royal “family”. “So, what do you think?” he asked finally, “Would you be willing to assist us for a few months; help get a sturdy footing in regards to the kid’s potential in polite society?”
You know we have to agree, Edward. We can’t say no to a request from the Volturi. Alice reminded me silently. She nodded to Aro; smile still firmly in place, then stared at me for our final “family” decision. Edward?
I knew she was right. A request from any of them was like a royal order, and the fact that all three combined stood behind the request was the seal to the deal. I was still curious as to why they wanted us to guard the half-bloods. I would assume who better than to protect them than Jane and Alex, their prized “soldiers”. Obviously, there was something they were not telling us, something we would have to uncover on our own.
I nodded to Alice before replying, “Of course, Aro. I am sure I speak for both of us when I say it will be an honor to get to know your heirs and assist you in any way.” I bowed formally before them, hoping that I wasn’t overplaying my “role”.
“Wonderful.” He replied quickly, standing in a fluid movement and motioning towards one of the inner chambers’ doors behind the Elders’ thrones on the dais upstairs, doors that led to the royal family’s chambers, ones which most vampires were never permitted access to. “They are in the Library. Come, let’s introduce you all to each other!”
