Full review: Gianna (The Volturi's assistant) has a new helper called Avery, who is absolutely useless when it comes to dealing with the Volturi's needs. She is a complete klutz and can't remember ANYTHING, at all. Naturally, the fact that she messes up all the time brightens up life under the damp cobble stones of Volterra, and Aro, Caius and sort of Marcus decide to keep her as a replacement for when Gianna 'leaves.' However, a serious accident puts Avery's life on the line, and the Volturi take matters into their own hands by turning her into a Vampire, and ultimately, changing her life for the better and the worse... What happens when she falls in love, and then suffers a loss so great she tries to take her own life? And how will the friendship of Marcus help her recover? Read on...
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Gianna stared at her computer screen in shock, her pretty mouth an O shape, poised in surprise. She drummed her fingers on the surface of the dark wood desk at which she was sitting, and slowly shook her head, her dark hair rippling with the movement. The PC showed a game of solitaire, paused, with a small grey text box in the centre of the screen.
YOU HAVE NO MORE AVAILABLE MOVES. GAME OVER.
Damn it, she swore silently, moving her cursor over the options tag and clicking to start a new game.
Gianna could have been anywhere in the world, in any office, taking a break from any job. But that wasn't the case for her. Sure, she was an assistant to higher powers, who sorted out everything from legal documents to coffee arrangements for some, but Gianna didn't take orders from balding middle aged men in smart suits. No, she took her orders from Vampires. An ancient and very powerful family of Vampires to be exact. The Volturi. It was a challenging job at times, and the easiest one in the world, at others, but Gianna loved it for the feeling of satisfaction she felt every time she looked at herself in the mirror. That face, she would tell her reflection, is the face of a woman who is going to live forever. Of course it wasn't in her contract that the Volturi would turn Gianna when she was no longer useful, but what else would they do? Kill her? Gianna highly doubted it. She had been a good assistant for over five years now, and could be very persuasive when she wanted to be.
The beautiful brunette smiled to herself as she randomly dragged cards around on her screen, not paying attention to what she was doing. She barely even considered herself one of the human race nowadays. In her mind, she was superior to the ignorant fools that went about their every day lives in a hurried fashion above her head. What were they to her anyway? Future snacks? Gianna snapped out of her reverie as her computer made a low 'ding.' She focused on the screen.
YOU HAVE NO MORE AVAILABLE MOVES. GAME OVER.
She rolled her eyes before swiftly exiting the program, and turning to a large pile of papers on her right. The stack contained just about every important document that kept the Volturi relatively legal, and Gianna needed to type up every single one of them. The last assistant must have been a fool, or so Gianna assumed. What kind of idiot would not back up these papers as soon as they received them? Now she was faced with a laborious task that would surely take hours. Letting out a sigh, the assistant reached for the first paper, simultaneously opening up Microsoft Word on her computer. Within minutes, the brunette was completely absorbed in her work, to the extent that she failed to notice as the lift doors to the right of her desk slid open, and a small figure cloaked in black approached her. The person moved quickly and smoothly, with a grace that no human could match. Indeed, this person was NOT human. They were Vampire.
"Gianna." The Vampire said in greeting, her voice like bells at a wedding. Gianna jumped and looked up from her work, before smiling and smoothing down her grey blazer.
"Jane," She smiled back, before pushing away from her desk, and getting to her feet. "What can I do for you?" She stepped around the side of the table, trying hard not to appear as if she was looking down at the young Vampiress, who was half her height. Gianna knew from experience, that Jane hated it when people did such a thing to her.
Jane smiled at her assistant coldy, as if reading her mind, before turning back to the lift.
"Come. My masters wish to speak to you." She said over her shoulder, already pressing the buttons for the floor below. Gianna followed her, and stepped into the gold interior of the elevator, suppressing her surprise at being summoned. It was not often that she got to speak to the Ancient Three directly. Well, she mused in her head, Ancient Two. Marcus never speaks. Her inhuman companion remained silent as the lift dropped, and was the first to step out into a dark corridor, as the doors opened with a 'ping.' Gianna hurried after her, almost breaking into a jog to match Jane's stride. Occasionally she would trip on the uneven stones of the floor.
A large set of wooden double-doors swung open into another corridor, which always reminded Gianna of a cheap hotel, complete with dingy florescent lights swinging on the ceiling. A final pair of doors marked the entrance into the tower in which the Volturi family lingered, and Gianna paused for a second, before following the diminutive Vampire through them. The light intensified, and the human had to blind rapidly to adjust, before squinting slightly at the figures in the room. Three males cloaked in the blackest of black sat grandly in giant throne-like chairs in the centre, and other grey-dressed Vampires stood protectively around them. Aro, Caius and Marcus. The middle Vampire pushed himself out of his chair and glided towards Jane and Gianna, clapping his hands as he did so.
"Ah, Jane and Gianna have arrived. How lovely!" The other two leaders drifted up behind him, Caius looking annoyed, as usual, and Marcus looking, well, Marcus like. Empty. Devoid of life. Jane stood on her tip-toes and kissed Aro, before shooting Gianna a mocking glance and joining the rest of the guard. Gianna felt her stomach flip with nerves. What was THAT? She bit her lip. For the first time it occurred to her that maybe she had been summoned to discuss her fate? Was she being fired? She straightened like a true professional and turned her attention back to her employers, who were watching her in amusement. Well, all except for Marcus. Aro cleared his throat and began;
"Dear Gianna. I assume you are confused? It is not often we call for your presence." He raised a dark eyebrow, and his powdery skin seemed to crumple with the effort. Gianna tried her hardest not to stare.
"Yes, master. I am slightly." She smiled thinly and kept her hands clasped in front of her, hoping her suit wasn't crumpled in any way. Aro chuckled and took a step closer to his assistant, now standing within normal human distance when having a conversation.
"I trust everything is running smoothly? You have all of our legal matters under control?"
"Yes, sir. I was just in the process of backing up all of your documents onto the hard drive." Aro smiled almost fondly and patted Gianna on the shoulder, obviously reading her thoughts as he did so.
"What a help you are to us, Gianna. To an extent you wouldn't believe." The leader's forehead crumpled again, this time because he was frowning. "The last secretary we had employed was somewhat... unprofessional... compared to you." He smile turned slightly sinister. "We had her disposed of."
Gianna swallowed a lump in her throat, the nervous feeling returning. Aro seemed to notice her expression, and was quick to comfort her.
"No no, Gianna. We have not brought you here to dispose of you, I promise you that. Me and my brothers were merely worried about how much there is for you to do each day. It must be terribly tiring?" Gianna shook her head and smiled.
"No, sir. I have everything under control."
"I understand that but still..." Aro glanced quickly at Caius, who scowled in return. He looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else, and It was clearly Aro who had called this impromptu meeting. "Me and my brothers were considering hiring a younger assistant to you, Gianna. Someone you could teach?" The human brunette blinked in surprise. An assistant to her? Would that make them an Assistant Assistant?
"Well..." She began, stammering slightly. "You know best master. Do you have anyone in mind?"
"That is what I was going to ask you. I feel as if a family member to you would be easiest. Can you think of anyone?" Aro's tone implied that he was not suggesting, but ordering Gianna to think of one of her family to nominate, and she felt panic rise within her. No! Was her immediate reaction. She did not want to sacrifice one of her own flesh and blood to the Vampires, as a second assistant would surely not be kept around after they were useless. Her mind flashed to her sister and nieces and nephews, all of their smiling faces. She couldn't choose one of them, she just couldn't. But I can't say no to Aro either... Suddenly, Gianna had the answer. Her American cousin's foolish sixteen year old daughter! She had just moved back to Volterra after running away from her home in the USA, and meant almost nothing to Gianna. In fact, she could not even recall the girl's name. Amy? Andrea? She smiled to herself and turned back to her masters, who were waiting expectantly.
"Master, I know just the person..."
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Twenty minutes later, Gianna was back at her desk, a wireless phone held to her ear. Someone at the other end picked up, cutting of the ringing tone. The assistant sat up straighter.
"Hello? Cousin Helen! It's me, Gianna! Hi, yes I'm fine, how is everyone in Rosewood? Avery? Oh no I haven't seen her, has she run away again? Back in Volterra!? Really?" Gianna was a good actress when she needed to be. "I know, teens these days. In that case, I have a proposition to Avery. How does this sound..."