All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer except Sara.
The sun was out this morning when I woke up, and I rushed to my window to see it gleam off the small pond inside the castle walls. I'm not sure how long I stood at my window before I heard a soft knock on the door, most likely Demetri bringing me breakfast. I told him to come in, and as usual, he sat a tray of food down on the small table in front of the fireplace before seating himself in one of the leather chairs alongside. "It's going to be a nice day today."
"So it is," Demetri replied smoothly. "Come eat your breakfast. Aro has a surprise set up for you this morning that I think you'll like."
I turned toward him to see his vibrant red eyes staring at me. They must have fed sometime earlier. That was the only time they were so bright. That took a while to get used to, but soon enough, I'd grown accustomed to seeing them. It was the norm around here.
Smiling, I left the window and took a seat at the table and slowly began to eat. Summer fruits were finally in season, and they were my favorite. Gianna had probably gone out to the market to pick them up fresh this morning. The strawberries were perfectly sweet for them to have been sitting around in the kitchen for long. "What's this surprise?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you." Demetri glanced at the armoire in the room before rising. In a blink of an eye, he was next to it, doors open, and going through the articles of clothing Aro had bought for me over the years. "You should wear something nice, charming even."
Of course Demetri would be the one to add charming to the end of that. I rolled my eyes at him and continued with my breakfast as he pulled out one dress after the other. "No dresses."
He had found one Aro had bought for me only a month before. I had to admit it was lovely, and he had good taste, but it was not me at all. It was made of a fine silk dyed the color of the sky on a clear day. It was modest and made for someone of my generation which was what had surprised me most. He must have talked to Heidi about what girls wear this day in age when it came to dressing up. I'm glad he did not take into account that most of what she said probably dealt with low cut chest lines and short skirts. I would have killed him if that was remotely possible. This dress, however, hung loose on the body and flowed whilst moving. It was cut at the knee, sleeveless at that, and it may have been something someone would wear to a less formal dance or event. Demetri held it out to the side.
"I said no dresses."
The armoire was closed before I had a chance to argue with him anymore, the dress laid out on the bed and Demetri beside me. I pushed the tray away from me and stood up to look at what he had picked out. I knew I did not really have a choice, so there was no sense in challenging him. I grabbed the dress, made my way to the door on the other side of the room, and stepped in the bathroom. I could feel him smirking behind my back. He loved tormenting me, albeit, in a friendly way.
Demetri had originally brought me here on Aro's orders. It had been four years ago when Aro discovered me. I had gone to live with my uncle in Italy after the death of my parents. He was the only family I had left, but he was only family by blood, nothing else. After two years, I knew I had to get out of there before the worst could happen and left late one night, hitchhiking from town to town until I had finally reached a city known as Volterra. I remember finding an alley next to an old clock tower, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep from lack of food and exhaustion. I woke up during the night to voices coming my way. I did what I could to distance myself to not be seen, but my foot hit against something metallic and made a sound. That's when they turned to look at me, and I saw the red eyes for the first time. One set of eyes had belonged to Demetri. He was the one who took hold of the other's arm to stall him before closing the space between him and me. I had no idea what was going on as his eyes were not only frightening to me but also had a look of confusion placed across them. I made to say something to him when he put his finger over his mouth and motioned me to stay quiet. Then he and the other man, the one I would come to know as Felix, walked away.
The next night, Demetri had made his way back to me. I had moved to another alley in the city, but he had still managed to find me. This time, he was alone. He knelt down beside and stroked my unkempt hair before asking me if I was hungry. Of course I had been starving at the time and although every part of my being told me not to trust him, I went with him anyway. He took me to a hidden part of the alley I had not seen earlier and opened the passageway before taking my hand and leading me down into the darkness. I remember being nervous; but at that point, I would have done anything to make the pain go away. So I followed.
We eventually came to a place in the passage where I could finally see a glimpse of light ahead of me. I had been glad he had held my hand the whole time because the torches lining the way were still too dim for me to see. Apparently he had travelled this path many times.
When we reached the light, I realized we were in a very old structure or building. I saw the elevator ahead of us, and he guided me inside before pressing a button. The elevator jerked ever so slightly, and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. His eyes still gazed into mine uncertainly as mine did into his. The hallway was ornate, paintings and marble sculptures along the way. I gasped as there was nothing to say to describe its beauty. He chuckled under his breath, noting my fascination, and that was when I noticed the large set of doors ahead of us. Something about them screamed at me to run, but that would have been impossible. I did not know at the time that Demetri could have caught up to me faster than I could ever imagine, but his hold did tighten slightly on my hand.
The doors opened on their own as we reached them and a large circular room appeared in front of me. It was so quiet with candles adorning the edges of the room, flickering shadows along the walls. At the far end sat three thrones, and on all three, sat three men, the first so solemn that I thought perhaps he really was a statue, the second, his milky red eyes ablaze with curiosity, and the third with hair almost snow white who looked like he might snap in frustration any minute. It was the second man who spoke.
"Ah, Demetri. I see you have brought the girl as requested." He stood up from his seat and seemingly glided over to us. Demetri held out his hand, and Aro took it for a brief moment before releasing him. At this moment, his head turned to me and he smiled a gentle sort of smile, welcoming yet what I would come to know as also fatal. "She truly is a mystery. Is it the same for you, brothers?" He went to face them yet neither spoke. The white haired man only glared at me with what I could only describe as daggers shooting from his eyes. "Now, Caius, there's no reason to frighten the child so." Then he turned back to me, "Your hand, my dear."
I knew something was wrong at this point, more wrong than I had first thought. It was Demetri who squeezed my shoulder lightly, perhaps as a way to calm me and let me know it was alright. I held out my hand slowly, and he pulled me toward him. He held it for quite some time, caressing my fingers with his own. I had no idea what he was doing, but each second that he held me there, I grew a stronger urge to push away and hide. He finally let go, and I stepped back to Demetri who gently placed his hands on my shoulders, whether to hold me there or for comfort, I did not know.
The man I now knew as Caius finally spoke, a staccato tone of voice with urgency and demand, "What did you see, Aro?"
"I believe you wish to know what she is. She is quite human and very unique. I wonder…" Aro, as he was presumably called, made his way back to the middle throne and sat so perfectly down on it. "Demetri, take our young guest downstairs for now. We must discuss what should be done."
"Yes, Master." Demetri's hand went back to mine, and he led me out of the room as I continued to glance behind me at these three men that were the embodiment of living gods. At the time, I had no idea how much truth that thought really held.
"Sara?"
I did not know how long I had stood in the bathroom looking at myself in the mirror. I had changed so much since coming here. I almost looked pretty. I quickly grabbed my brush from the counter and pulled it through my messy, fawn colored hair. Demetri knocked on the door before pushing it open a crack. "It's okay, you can come in."
He stood in the doorway never taking his eyes off of me. It used to bother me when he did that, but I had learned from Heidi that it was only because he felt a need to look after me. I had not understood why at first, but she told me that he was empathetic toward my childhood. I never asked him about it, just grew to accept that it was what it was and to leave it at that. I was more upset with the fact that Heidi and he knew more about me than they should. The frequent nightmares when I first arrived privileged them to that information.
"I'll never understand why it takes women so long to get ready." With a sigh, he made his way over and put his hand over mine, taking the brush away. "You look fine. He's waiting." He set down the brush and began to pull me from the bathroom into the bedroom. When he finally let go, I made to stop in the middle of the room, but he came behind me and nudged me forward. "Come on, you'll like this surprise, I promise."
I saw a pair of white flats placed by the door, so I went over to them and slipped them on. He reached out and pulled the door open and poked me until I was finally standing outside. "I hate dresses."
"Stop complaining. Let's go." His arm entwined mine and we made our way down the hall while I wondered what was in store.
Demetri had always been the one to escort me, that had never changed. I did not mind. I liked his company. Of course that had not always been the case. That night when he took me "downstairs" as Aro had called it had been the worst. Castles always seemed to have some form of a dungeon no matter what kind of castle it was, and that is where he placed me. It was a small room, no bed, only a cold concrete floor, completely dark with no light whatsoever. The door creaked as it opened and he ushered me in before turning to me, taking his dark gray cloak off of his shoulders and placing it around mine. My fingers were purple from the chill, and the ground water seeping through the cracks of the walls was not going to help with that. I could not tell if I was shivering from the temperature or from fear.
He knelt down to my level and placed his hands of ice on my cheeks. I was struck completely numb at this moment. I think my mind must have shut down because none of what was happening was making sense. He looked me in my eyes for a good ten seconds before standing back up and reaching in his pocket. He pulled out something delicately wrapped in plastic and handed it to me before walking out of the room and locking the door.
Putting my arm out in front of me, I moved slowly until I could feel the coldness of the wall then sat down with my back against it. I slowly unwrapped what Demetri had given me. It felt very smooth and when I smelled it, it was distinct. Chocolate. He had given me a small bar of chocolate. I took a careful bite to make sure it was what I thought before gradually enjoying the rest. I wanted to make it last as long as possible because I did not know what would become of me next.
I was not sure when I had fallen asleep, but when I awoke, a pool of light shone into the room and Demetri was leaning over me too close to comfort. I panicked and backed away as quickly as I could. He stayed where he was, unmoving yet quizzically watching me. He stood dreadfully slow and left the room once more. It felt like days before he returned.
A cold was setting in, and I could tell because I was I felt too warm for the temperature down there. I would sneeze off and on and then at random moments, a chill would set over me and I would wrap Demetri's cloak around me as tightly as I could while curled into the corner closest to the inner wall. I was blind to my surroundings and on the verge of what could be described as insanity with the lack of food and proper rest. When the heavy door finally opened once more, my eyes tightly shut as the burning sensation invaded my weakened state.
I could only hear the sounds of soft footsteps coming closer and closer to me and finally a ruffling of cloth next to my shaking form. The person had knelt down beside me, and I could hear them take a deep breath before gently pulling my hair away from my neck. They leaned in, and that's when I could feel their breathing so soft it was unnecessary. A cold finger pressed against my throat, and I was frozen, unable to move. Then it was over. They were gone. The door was closed slightly enough that my eyes were free to blink open, and I saw Demetri bow his head to someone before turning back to me. There was the smile again, the smile so soothing it drew me into this place to begin with. "Come with me. They have decided."