Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any of its characters

(AN: Just an idea that was bopping around in my head for a while. I know that some people have written the character of Corin as a male and some as female. Personally, I have a friend called Corin – who's a girl – so I've written her as a female. Just thought I'd use a character who we don't know anything about to show a different perspective of the Volturi.)

Meet me on the equinox...

It had been a slow few weeks... as was the norm now. The Volturi were feared throughout our vampire world – and for good reason. Not since the newborn wars a hundred and fifty years ago had we had anything serious to deal with. The vast majority of our kind kept to our rules by fear of being punished. Nobody threatened us, and ever since Jane and Alec joined our force nobody even tried.

Occasionally we had to deal with an individual or small group who got out of hand, or a newborn who did not know the rules. It was something that any of us could have dealt with – easily – but it was always Demetri who lead Felix, Jane or Alec to the perpetrators, rendering the rest of us somewhat useless. But each of us had our purpose; otherwise we would not be here.

I remembered the times when the now famous Volturi consisted of no more than the brothers and their wives, Chelsea, Afton and myself. We did not have the authority that we have now, but we fought for it and eventually built an army more powerful than anyone could ever have imagined. We soon became undeniable. It is now impossible to defeat us, and everyone knows it.

I looked into the window beside me but didn't register the end of the beautiful day past it. Instead my attention was on the reflection looking back at me. I knew the girl well... I had known her for two and a half millennia though she hadn't changed since then. I knew everything about her – on the outside and inside. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, framed by long flowing chestnut hair that curled very gently past her shoulders. Her top lip was thin and delicate, but her bottom was full and voluptuous. Her face was hard, and a smooth pale which contrasted sharply with her crimson eyes.

I inhaled deeply, and the girl in the reflection raised her shoulders. I pulled back my hair, twisting and plaiting it into a smart formation. The girl in the window pane looked almost older now though her youthful features of her twenties would never change.

I smoothed the creases out of my dark grey cloak as I inspected it in the reflection. The edges were frayed and it was torn at the bottom. There were rips beginning to form at my shoulders and waist where the material had eventually worn away through running. As I unbuttoned the thick material I inspected the co-ordinated shirt and long skirt beneath it. It was in an even worse condition, almost unrecognisable from the clothes I borrowed from one of our meals a few weeks ago. I would need to get a new one today, perhaps if I caught Heidi before she left – persuade her to go out of her way and find me a stylish female from Florence whose clothes I could fit into.

Fastening the cloak up again, I opened the window and jumped through it, landing on the roof top a few metres below. The sun hadn't set yet so I shouldn't really go and get a replacement now, but we were always expected to look our best. I shouldn't have even let my appearance to get to this state.

I was thirsty today and the smell emanating from the streets below was divine. Of course, I would never even think of hunting inside these walls. Such an act has been prohibited for the last two thousand years. What with our city being so small and inhabiting so many immortals it would have been rather obvious if we were all to hunt its other some-what less significant residents. Discipline – one of the most important aspects of our coven.

As I leapt from the last roof top into the shady passageway I caught a fresh whiff of many humans. The thirst hit me hard. Despite this, my face did not alter. To anyone else – immortal or not – it would not have even appeared as though the thought had crossed my mind. Discipline.

I continued on my path, registering fourteen different scents along the cobbled path, but as I crossed the opening to an adjacent alleyway I sensed something else. An immortal – there was no question about that. But it was not a scent I recognised. This was almost like honey, deep and sweet, a powerful heat but with a delicate flavour.

Automatically, my well trained body stopped in its path and turned to face this intruder. I had not been in this kind of situation for many centuries, and although I would never forget my training, I was out of practice, low on confidence and without back up. My instincts screamed at me to run, but the Volturi did not run. We were always instructed not to fear our demise for a cause that was so much more important than ourselves. However, the fear of dying had gradually diminished over the last few hundred years what with the addition of such offensive abilities. Nobody could even get close to us. But I was not lucky enough to posses such an aggressive ability which would make me feel indestructible... mine was much more subtle. The power of persuasion, two thousand years worth of battle skills and my impressive speed were the only weapons in my own personal arsenal. They would help me sufficiently, and had kept me alive for a long time.

Would he attack? Why hadn't anyone picked him up at the gate? He was almost in the centre of the city now. Thankfully the evening buzz of the humans had finished. Although they were not exactly safe in their homes, at least there were no witnesses around.

But there was something else about the vampire standing those few feet away from me. He was... compelling, as though my eyes couldn't help but look at him. I wondered for a moment if he was talented – perhaps in a similar way to Heidi... a magnetism or pull, an appeal of some sort. He was lean, youthful and... glum and resting his back against one of the alley walls. He was leaning? It made him look almost human. Why was he not standing normally? It made him look familiar somehow, even though I had never seen him before. There was something off about his mannerisms. His hands were fidgeting and his shoulders were shaking as if he was about to erupt with rage. This was a bad idea, I should not be here by myself. My mind evaluated my position in the city and where the nearest watch post was... definitely within hearing distance anyway. Perhaps he had not even seen me here... to a distracted eye it wouldn't have even appeared as though I had stopped yet.

"I'm not going to attack you. I am no threat to you, your coven or masters." He spoke no louder than a whisper as though his voice was hoarse, but it sang beautifully with a melody that would be at home in a room full of grand pianos. His accent was American. He had obviously travelled far to come here. Probably having heard of us and wishing to join us. I laughed internally – my face still as stern, emotionless and professional as before. This was not uncommon, but such immortals failed to realise that if you are in fact special, then we find you.

The boy had not yet turned to face me, giving me the offensive advantage though his body language suggested that his words were true. I took the opportunity to approach him, placing my hands strongly behind my back – always the professional. As I grew closer he removed himself from the wall and finally rotated his body. The movement made me wary, though his head was still tilted towards the ground. Just to be safe I stopped a few yards away from him, giving me more than enough time to turn and run if his behaviour suddenly changed.

"What is it that you want here young immortal?" I said coldly, not letting him hear an ounce of the fear I had facing him alone.

His eyes flickered to mine momentarily. They were so dark. They almost made his flawless, pale, beautiful face appear unattractive. He was thirsty, that was for sure, making him even more dangerous in our city. However, this meant that once again, I had the advantage. Even though I had not fed in a while, my eyes still burned a deep red, only darkening towards their centres. The darkness in his and the bruise-like marks under them meant he had been without blood for many weeks, if not months, and that would render him weak.

"I wish to speak with Aro." He mumbled once again, completely emotionless. His dark eyes were staring at nothing in particular, as though they were searching for something else.

I felt the left side of my mouth lift into a one-sided smile. "And do you have an appointment?" I smirked.

Oops. It did me no good to break my composure. "Emotions are a weakness in our kind. Do not show them. Do not even feel them!" Caius always told us. As soon as it had appeared, it fell back into the poised composition that had been drilled into each of us.

"Aro sees no one apart from his guard." I added calmly about to leave. I had been correct and he wished to join us and did not appear threatening. He was probably a young vampire not fully understanding our functions – wanting the power and the protection, not to aid us in our mission to defend our kind.

I had hoped that he would heed the message and leave our city. But suddenly his body rocked forwards. This was it, his attack was about to begin. Before I had time to tense my body, his hand was on my arm. "Corin..." He breathed. The emotion I first believed he lacked was pouring out of his charcoal eyes that were somehow a bizarre lighter shade than I know mine would have been in his current state of thirst – something I could only see up close. This was not an attack, he was pleading. Begging. Pathetic. He was weak in mind as well as body.

I shook his hand away from me and looked at him aggressively. I was not surprised by the fact he used my name. Did he really believe that name-dropping would give him a free pass in? "I have been a member of this guard for two and a half thousand years... I know my name has travelled throughout our kind. So do not pretend that you know me." I said coldly.

He had gone too far by touching me. It would be a good idea to leave. I went to jump towards the roof top above our heads. It would be the safest escape route as it would mean that I would not have to turn my back to him. But before my feet even left the ground his hands were over me, pulling me down.

My instincts kicked in then and a vicious growl erupted from my chest. It was too loud. I pushed the fool away from me while grabbing his throat in one of my hands at the same time. I lifted him above me and smashed him into the wall beside us cracking some of the bricks.

His eyes flashed far above my head as though he had heard something that I had not. I could have sworn that the faintest hint of a smile appeared on his face. Did he have back up of his own? Confused, I turned my head – keeping a firm grip on his throat – and followed his line of sight.

I could hear them then, almost five seconds after he apparently did. Two sets of footsteps heading our way. One was heavy, coming into contact with the rooftops hard and another much lighter, a few steps ahead of the other. I relaxed immediately. It was the unmistakeable sound of Demetri and Felix. They had obviously heard the tussle between myself and the boy in my hands and were coming to deliver their own form of punishment. Rule number one if you want to keep your head in the vicinity of your shoulders: Do not provoke the Volturi.

But this strange immortal was not showing signs of hostility towards me. His arms were still slack by his side. Relaxed even. If he wished to escape his impending doom then he would have at least made an attempt to free himself from my arms. Perhaps I had misunderstood. He did not fight back even though I was sure he could if he wanted to. As I looked into his saddened black eyes I suddenly felt no aggression. I felt... pity. He had done nothing wrong. This desperate boy did not deserve to die today. But he would in about twenty seconds. I looked behind my shoulder again just in time to finally see Demetri and Felix leaping over the roof tops.

I knew what I had to do and that I would get in trouble for it. As soon as Aro would read my thoughts, he would understand that I had been the reason this boy got away. But no rule was broken. Perhaps Aro would not mind. After all, it was not unknown that many of the guard had done worse.

I dropped my hand from his throat and his body fell softly to the ground. "If you value your life, I suggest you leave... now." I said, hoping the poor boy would understand the danger he was in.

But his reaction was not what I expected. He... laughed. Well, not quite. It was more of a scoff. An ironic scoff.

I was confused and my face once again betrayed my training as I looked at him perplexed. I used my ability to try to persuade him to leave.

Very abruptly, his whole body language changed. His face suddenly came alive… he was panicking in a way that resembled someone who was expecting everything, but this. He closed his eyes together tightly and squirmed away from me as though he knew what I was doing. "Corin..." He said again, but this time more desperate. "Do not make me leave. I need to speak with Aro." It was almost as if he didn't want my help... as if he wanted to stay here and face his death.

I could hear my fellow guard members approaching closer. They would be here in no more than ten seconds now. I tried to persuade him more and more, but I could tell he was fighting it. If he knew my name then perhaps he knew of my ability and knew what I was doing to him… though people usually had no idea that I was doing anything.

His attempt to fight off my ability was nearly over as I felt his body begin to move away from the sound of the approaching footsteps. He groaned loudly as his fingers scraped deeply into the wall beside him, he was fighting to keep himself in place. "My name is Edward Cullen." He said quickly as though he was out of breath.

I stopped what I was doing and his body finally relaxed. My mouth hung open in complete surprise. Cullen? Cullen? It had been a few hundred years since I had heard that name, or even thought of it. The yellow eyed Carlisle. He had stayed with us for a few decades, but for some reason I could not remember when or why he left us… perhaps I was away? But I did remember that he was a good man... a little peculiar in his hunting techniques... but a moral man – and civilised, which was a rarity in our kind. I had spoken to him on many occasions and for days on end. He was so... compelling... a quality which I had also identified within this being in front of me. Did Carlisle create this man, or was his name nothing but a coincidence?

"Yes, Carlisle is my..." He paused for an infinitesimal moment, a moment which a human would not have heard, as though he was re-evaluating his words. "... creator."

Demetri and Felix landed at the same time on the cobbled path behind me. Edward Cullen's time was up.

I took advantage of this new information. It would not only save his skin, but mine as well. Aro would thank me for saving the life of this boy... an immortal who was created by a dear friend of his. The friend of a friend so to speak. Perhaps something was wrong with Carlisle and this boy was the messenger. It would explain why he looked so distraught and vulnerable.

Felix and Demetri were now by my side. I swiftly turned my face back to its usual regimented structure and held out my right hand to stop them from proceeding.

"Stop." I ordered. I tilted my head towards Demetri, who did not look confused by my actions even if he was feeling it inside. "He's a Cullen..." I emphasised his last name, knowing that they both recognised it. They too had been present when Carlisle stayed with us, though they weren't quite as fond of him.

I heard Felix inhale next to me. I turned my head around to face him. His eyes were scorching, as though he was about to burn a hole in Edward Cullen's head. "Are you sure about this Corin?" He asked. He wanted his fun... it had been a slow couple of weeks.

It appeared as though he still needed a bit of persuasion... "Need I have to remind you of Aro's fondness of this immortal's creator? Don't you think he would enjoy a visit from this... Edward?" I cooed him.

The length of a human heart beat later, they both took one step back - enough to show that they would not attack, but also that they were not far away if things went wrong. They both stood tall, flanking me on either side.

"Do not worry gentlemen. You will have your fun shortly." Edward said rather darkly before turning to me. "It seems as though 'name-dropping' will get me a free pass after all." He sighed, almost quoting what I had been thinking earlier when he first mentioned my name. It sounded like a comment Aro would make after reading our thoughts.

I couldn't help but smile. "It would appear so. Follow me." I looked at the sun that was still peaking over some of the buildings, minutes away from setting. "Stay out of the sun. And don't fall too far behind..." I said, leaping to the rooftop above us.

I ran out first, holding back slightly in case this Edward was not a runner. Running was the one thing I enjoyed more than anything else. I was easily the fastest member of the guard. It was always frustrating running with Demetri, he is the only one who knows where we are to go, so I always have to stay at his pace. I had never met anyone who could rival my speed.

I could hear Edward close on my heels followed by Demetri and Felix no more than a second behind him. He was fast, and I relished the challenge that I was sure he had no intention of providing. "Try to keep up Edward Cullen!" I called over my shoulder and pushed my speed to its limit.

I heard his footsteps hasten in synchronisation with mine, but he still couldn't catch me. I laughed inside. I don't know what it was about this immortal that brought out this excited and almost childlike quality in me. I had probably never been this care free and tolerant in my entire existence than I had been over the last minute.

We were coming up to the alley behind the clock tower. The manhole cover behind it was the nearest entry to the vast network of our underground and ground-level empire.

I stopped and looked at our new visitor who was eyeing up the entry. "Hope you weren't holding back... I'm not used to having any competition!" My eyes fluttered behind him. "... Speaking of which..." Felix and Demetri stopped by his side. Edward did not look intimidated by their close proximity – if anything he looked calmer now than he had before. "Nice of you to join us!"

Demetri rolled his eyes while Felix glared at me as they jumped immediately down the small hole, on their way to the main hall where Aro, Marcus and Caius would be, while Edward and I walked – I wanted some time to talk to this interesting being. I assumed neither Felix nor Demetri were impressed with my light-hearted attitude to this vampire.

Edward smirked again, following me down into the darkened hall way. "You're right about that."

I stopped where I was and turned to face Edward, for some reason no longer afraid of an attack. It all made sense now... I felt ashamed that I had not come to this conclusion earlier. I reviewed the whole conversation three times in my mind. He was picking the words out of my head and even commenting on them. I had even compared him to Aro and still not made the connection.

You're a mind reader, I thought towards him.

"You're rather intuitive." He replied. "It took Carlisle and me quite a while to work it out."

I shrugged and continued down the hallway. "Well, you're not the first one I've met." I joked. After all, I have lived with one for the last two and a half thousand years.

We walked the rest of the way in was a mind reader. To what extent, I did not know. But one thing was for sure – he didn't need contact to hear my thoughts. I wondered if the reason he was so silent was if he was absorbing the thoughts of the vast amount of immortals in this general area.

We soon reached the elevator that lead to the lobby before the main hall. As I removed my hood, I inhaled deeply. I could not smell any humans in the floor above us meaning that Gianna had probably returned to her home. Her weak human needs meaning she was most likely sleeping. It was lucky for her. I wondered if Edward Cullen would be able to resist human blood when he was so thirsty.

He scoffed once again from beside me.

"What?" I asked, intrigued by his silent evaluation of my thoughts.

"I'm beginning to think I was wrong when I called you intuitive…" He smiled.

I cocked one eyebrow. Explain…

"I do not hunt humans. I share the same opinions on feeding as Carlisle." He replied, quietly.

"Oh." That would explain the lighter shade of black in his hungry eyes which I had identified earlier. "So does that mean that Carlisle still practices feeding from animals?" I had thought it would not last for long.

"Carlisle has never tasted human blood except when he changed myself, his mate, my sister and brother." He cringed as he mentioned his siblings. Carlisle had changed his family?

"No." Edward interrupted. "They became my family when he changed them."

He spoke of family... not a coven. He was so similar to Carlisle. "So there are five of you then?" I questioned casually.

"Seven actually." He cringed again, as though it was hurting him to talk about it. "Two others joined us fifty years ago."

Seven? "Impressive. I'm surprised there are that many of you." It was well known that when vampires travelled in groups of more than two then situations usually became volatile. "Well, Carlisle was always so calm and civilised."

"We believe that refraining from human blood is what makes it easier to live together." He beamed. I could tell that he was just as proud as Carlisle was when he spoke of their unique hunting values.

"Perhaps." I replied. It was no secret that Chelsea was the reason that we were able to work together. She kept us all linked and amicable which meant that we all wanted to work together. And of course the discipline that was a fundamental part of each of us. If you acted unrefined then you were unemployed… and nobody wanted that.

The elevator doors opened into the lobby.

I went to gesture towards the benches that were not necessary, but completed the act. But before I could lift my hand, Edward was already seated. I laughed to myself. "You can wait in here. I'll speak to Aro and announce your arrival. I'll come back to get you shortly."

I waited for a thank you, expecting one. It was true that I had only met Edward a few minutes ago, but I felt as though I had formed some form of connection with him. I had so much respect for Carlisle and enjoyed his company and I saw so much of him in Edward.

But Edward just buried his face in his hands as though my thoughts had upset him. I turned and walked down the hallway and placed both of my hands on the wooden frames of the large door which opened into the main hall.