Prologue
Cassi's POV
I watched helplessly as the torch fell onto the pile of wood. "NO!" I screamed, attempting to shove my way through the crowd of angry villagers. I knew what I was doing was suicide. I knew they would just accuse me too. I knew my effort was worthless but I couldn't stop trying. Alec, my Alec was tied to that stake with fire burning all around him. My Alec was the one about to be burned, my Alec.
I saw his face then. Calm, serene, eyes closed and his hand holding tight to Jane's, his twin sister. Jane, on the other hand, seemed furious. She glared at the villagers, her luscious hair flowing all around her. I knew Jane hated me but if I was going to save (or attempt to save) Alec I would do the same for her. I didn't care what she did to me afterward, I couldn't let them die.
Alec had never known me personally but I knew him, I loved him. And, in a way, I loved Jane too. They represented everything I wanted to be, minus being strapped to a stake and burnt alive. They were brave and courageous. They stood up for themselves and each other. No matter what the villagers threw at them, they could take it. Even now, they could take it. And they were always there for the other, always, no matter what. I wish I knew that love, I wish I knew them.
You see, I was the poor orphan girl. My mother died at birth, nothing uncommon for the century, and my father committed suicide shortly after. I never knew a family, never witnessed love, at least not the kind the twins had for one another or their mother had for them. I had begun following the twins shortly after I could walk (around age three). I was younger than them by two years but I cared for them. Some how, they kept me from leaving this world and going beyond.
I use to be very determined to better know Alec and his twin but Jane despised the idea. Every time I tried to talk to them, she'd push me away. Alec trusted his sister and so I was left alone. I never hated them for that. I never hated them at all because I knew, deep inside, they felt the same way I did. Hated, lonely, forgotten, that's how we lived, how we felt. I connected to that and worshiped them for being so strong, for doing what I couldn't. They stood up, they fought back. And me? I cowered in the shadows and followed them wherever they went.
Alec and Jane were rich. They had a mother and father, private tutors, and a house big enough to put the lord of the manor to shame. Their mother was highly religious and loved them with everything she had. Still, they became feared and hated. They were outcasts to humanity. Not even their father would protect them. I imagine betrayal is a lot harder than being alone. I imagine that they probably were hurt more by their father throwing the torch than by the fire itself. Me? I'd be begging for death, sadly, I'd never be granted that wish and neither would they.
Try as I might to reach them before the fire, I had no chance. Even with all the years I spent thieving and hiding, I couldn't manage through this size of a crowd fast enough. There were so many people and I knew every single one of them. I knew the priests and their families. I knew Alec's uncle and his wife. I could name every one of them, but no one could name me because I was an outcast. Just as worthy of the stake as the twins and there was no way I could help them.
Then, the screams started. I froze in place because it wasn't coming from Alec and Jane but the villagers themselves. I couldn't see anything. What was going on? Attempting to use the confusion to my advantage I made a wild dash to the fire, but I never made it. Just then a rock hard figure slammed into me and knocked me to the ground. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I looked up at my attacker's face. What I saw would be engraved in my mind for the rest of my life. Bright eyes the color of blood, perfectly white, dagger sharp teeth and a face so pale and beautiful I could only gape at it. The vampire didn't waste anytime on introductions but sunk his teeth right into my vulnerable neck.
That's when a loud call so perfectly melodious called back. The vampire grunted softly, stood up, and walked away. I tried to follow but a burning sensation stopped me. I felt dizzy and limp, almost as if I had been bashed in the head with a rock and wasn't realizing the pain yet. Almost immediately, the fire started up again. I screamed miserably from the pain. It was excruciating, as if someone had put fire in my veins. The last thing I ever saw as a human was the deathly glow of stars on a black background.
I remember the first two centuries clear as day. I had got up and automatically recognized what I was. I had gone to go find the stake but the entire village had been burnt to the ground and everyone in it. I don't know why but I honestly believed that Jane and Alec had been subject to the same fate as me and lived. I don't know why I held on to that belief as long as I did but I do know that if I hadn't I wouldn't be who I am today.
The remainder of those first two centuries was spent as a battle against my craving for human blood. In the end, I had successfully converted myself to a wholly animal blood diet. And as far as I'm concerned, I was the first to do it. Also making me the first to quit.
I spent the next couple of centuries living as a nomad, never being seen. I carefully avoided all traces of humanity and vampirism. I fed on animals and burnt their remains afterward. I was safe but not happy. I wanted, no, needed to find Alec. I had to make sure he and Jane were okay. It was a compulsion I couldn't resist. It was during my search for them that I came across Garret.
Garret saw me for what I was; weak, stupid, ignorant, yet determined and kind. He forced me back onto my normal diet and we spent many centuries as teacher and pupil, but that's another story. Long story short, the Volturi found Garret, accused him of harboring an immortal child (me), and killed him. Thing was, I was no where to be found. Though as much as I wanted to come out and greet that lovely voice, to tell Alec how much I loved him, something told me to stay hidden, to not let Garret die in vain. So I lost my chance.
It wasn't until years later that I ever caught a word about Alec, and by years, I mean half a millennium. I had overheard two nomads talking about how they had lost their chance to kill the Witch Twins and how they were smart not to have attacked Volterra. My curiosity was raging so I continued to eavesdrop on their conversation. They were really old men venting on a lost battle but they handed me valuable information without even knowing I was there. When I collected all I needed, I set out to find my precious Alec. The entire reason why I had chosen to live.
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