Author's Note: Hello Everyone! Here is the second part in the three part series that I am working on for the Twilight Series. If you haven't already read "Creation," you may be a little lost while reading this story. This does contain spoilers for all the Twilight books and is Volturi intensive. I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight and am not making any money off this story.

Twilight: The Fall

Chapter One

He had been searching over a year and had found little trace of her. Aro clenched his jaw in thought and annoyance. He had delved deep enough into his mate's mind a hundred years back to discover an interesting memory. A dock in Naples, a ship headed for the new world, water and sky being touched with just the beginning of a dawn. And a raven haired girl, scared and terribly out of place saying a farewell to a blurred protector. Despite Sulpicia's attempt at hiding the figure, Aro didn't have too much trouble deducing who it was.

Aro had been trying to discover a way to get his hands on Demetri, riffle through the tracker's memories and see what they would reveal. But trust was a thorny thing among the guard, Demetri especially. The tracker was meticulous in his manner, quiet and detail orientated. A casual brush from Aro would be taken as a act of distrust. He may as well strike Demetri across the face to get what he wanted. There had to be another way to find her without access to Demetri's memories. The guard were on shaky ground as it were and Demetri had been nothing but faithful in his duties.

He rubbed a hand across the smooth planes of his face. A year had passed since the entire mess in Forks and things were starting to resettle in their normal routine. But Aro had ruled for enough years to know that a change was coming. Power was usurped that day in the meadow and given to the Cullens. Some of it was taken back by tracking down the errant witnesses and silencing them immediately. It soothed Caius' raw nerves somewhat but the shift in power had already started.

"Have you found him yet?"

Aro looked between his steepled fingers as Caius stalked into the library. "No word from any of our eyes out there."

Caius emitted a low growl of frustration as he sunk down in the chair across from Aro. "They may be protecting him."

"I do not believe the Cullens would make the mistake of protecting Joham."

"Not the Cullens," Caius said the name like it was an explicative. "Joham's children."

"That is a possibility." Aro kept his face smooth, unreadable. Caius' obsessive search for justice sometimes lead them into altercations that would otherwise be avoided. The meeting in Forks could have very easily turned into a bloodbath if Caius had overrode Aro's diplomacy. He had no doubt that when they found Joham, Caius would take out his frustration on the vampire and the children before they had a chance to glean information from him as well as his creations. Lucianna would be the best subject to study if he could find her.

"We should have Demetri track the sisters again," Caius suggested. "See if they are with Joham by now."

Aro waved his hand in weary agreement. "If that would soothe your nerves."

"Reestablishing our authority will soothe my nerves."

"Of course," Aro muttered. "But surely you have seen enough empires rise and fall to realize that change is always an unsettling time. By holding firm, gathering information on a new threat and acting accordingly will only strengthen our authority in the end. We must be diplomatic in our course of action."

"I am growing weary of your diplomacy."

"And I am growing weary of your constant criticism of my perceived inaction."

Caius was growing restless. "We can not afford another embarrassing mishap like we had in Forks."

"Which is why I refuse to rush blindly into dealing with Joham. I will gather my information thoroughly this time. We must have patience, brother."

Caius held his words and scowled into the darkness. Aro took it as a positive sign that Caius, though not always the most patient of the Volturi, was willing to try the trait temporarily. Aro had sent Demetri out a few times to track Nahuel and his sisters but the information had been less that exciting. So often he wanted to send the tracker looking for Lucianna but always he held his tongue. But curiosity was starting to get the better of him. He wondered where his daughter was now.

He turned his gaze out off the darkened window of his study. Night had covered Volterra with its purple-black coloring. Was it dark where Lucianna was now? Maybe a new day was starting for her. Was she happy? Was she safe? Did she understand more of what she was or did she push that side of her away? In that moment, a sharp emotion of jealousy ripped through him. Edward would have a chance to see his child grow, develop and establish a relationship with her.

Aro had to find Lucianna. Whatever the repercussions...he would find her.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

It never failed when Lucianna was certain death was near, the words that she learned from the Sisters in the Roman church became her mantra. This wasn't the first time she had uttered the words under her breath but it was the first time she spoke them with such earnest.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters."

Still waters...she passed over a stream in the Olympic forest during her hike and that was when the wolves began their pursuit. The possibility of crossing a boundary line seemed like a likely explanation for the pack of angry and very large wolves snapping at her heels. She doubled back towards the sounds of the water.

"He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. "

The trail underfoot was slippery with moss and mud. Despite her extra abilities of speed and grace, her feet continued to slide on the terrain and allowed the wolves to gain on her. The largest one, a black and white blur of teeth and fur, was so close to her now she could feel his breath. She could see the edge of the water just a few hundred yards from her.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

She reached the edge of the water and jumped, hoping to clear the water. Just as she drew her legs underneath of her for the landing, her entire world spun and twisted. The wolf had closed his jaws around her midsection as they both landed in the icy cold water. Her skin was close to impenetrable that didn't stop the bones from being crushed. The combination of cold water and the wolf's attack sucked all the air from her lungs and disoriented her. She couldn't breath and she couldn't seem to find the surface of the water either. She felt someone grab her shoulder and she tugged against them until a second set of hands grabbed her other shoulder and hefted her out of the water.

Air tried to rush into her lungs but the damage was too great. Water and blood seeped out of her mouth until she coughed, throwing a mix of both onto the rocks along the bank. All she was capable of doing was lay gasping in the woods and wait for the inevitable to happen. Two hundred and ninety years of life...she supposed it was a good life. People were shouting over her but no one was touching her. She didn't expect them to be able to help her. She didn't know enough about her kind to tell them what to do. She tried to intake a little bit of air into her wounded lungs and did what she always did when facing death.

"I will fear no evil."

A mindless weapon.

That was what the nomad had called the Volturi Guard.

That was what Garrett had called him.

Demetri had tried to rationalize the statement for a year following that disastrous meeting with the Cullens in Washington. The sting of words that shouldn't have mattered still smarted after all this time. He had played the dutiful "weapon" and tracked down certain witnesses that had slunk away before the final decision was rendered but he had to be honest with himself...he had let a couple slip away.

"Aro is going to grow suspicious."

Demetri turned in surprise to see Sulpicia emerge from the shadows of the courtyard and tried to push away uneasiness. "Suspicious about what, My Lady?"

Her bright crimson eyes narrowed slightly. "Something is troubling you, distracting you. Felix has already come to me out of concern for your well being."

His emotions teetered on annoyance and gratefulness at Felix. They had been a set of protectors for Sulpicia and her cousin, Athenadora before they were placed into the guard. They had been standing beside each other longer than boundary lines of certain nations.

Sulpicia sat down on the edge of the fountain. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"Fourteen years." He didn't have to calculate months or years in his mind. Every day marked another piece of time that had slipped between him and the frightened child he had put on that boat in Naples not quite three hundred years ago.

Sulpicia was as still as a statue. "Where was she?"

A small smile tugged at Demetri's lips. "Palm Beach, Florida."

"Was she happy?"

The smile vanished completely. He remembered that summer evening, humidity and the scent of oranges hanging thick in the air. He had to wait until evening before he could initiate contact due to the plentiful sunshine. Then he realized why she had chosen Florida. She had finally outgrown her guardian. "She was married."

A small noise was emitted from Sulpicia's throat. "That wasn't the question."

Demetri nodded his head. "She seemed to be happy, yes."

"Where is she now?"

The tracker closed his eyes and concentrated, throwing the net of his gift as far it would go. By pulling it back in, he should be able to get a region of where she was living now. Just a few moments and he had his answer. "She's still in the United States."

"Florida?"

Demetri swallowed down the uneasiness that had settled in his throat. "Washington state but..."

"What is it?"

He frowned in concentration and worry. "The tenor is off. I don't think she's well."

Sulpicia stood up and wiped her hands on her robe, a nervous tick that immortality never stole from her. "Go. Find her before the Cullens do. That is the last thing we need right now." She looked around the courtyard shrewdly. "Our empire is already on shaky ground."

"Then perhaps now is the wrong time to leave."

"If the Cullens discover that we already had knowledge of a hybrid, there is no telling what their response will be. Find her, hide her. I will tell Aro that I sent you on a personal errand."

Duty had always been the force that drove his actions. He was used to following orders, pleasing his masters and showing himself a strong talent among the guard. He always felt seeking Lucianna out was a guilty pleasure. He travelled alone to find the shaky secret of Aro which gave him time for reflection and remembering who he was, not as a mindless weapon, but as a man. For those few days he was able to shake off the dust of Volterra and pretend he had no master but himself. Being sent with a direct order to find her expunged the guilt.

"I'll leave tonight, My Lady."

Sulpicia resettled her shoulders, taking on the look of a statue once more. "Perhaps this time, she will not be married."

Demetri certainly hoped so.