~Prelude~

"Elisha, this has been decided for a long time. Now that Caius' wife is gone you shall take her place." Aro said in his cool, calm tone. Looking past Aro at my father I felt bile rise in my throat as he sat there silent and unmoving.

"Father, you can't possibly approve of this!" I said in a pleading tone. Still he made no move to come to my aid and I could feel my blood begin to boil in anger.

"May my mother curse your frozen heart," I shouted in disbelief, venom dripping from my every word, "May Edania curse you Marcus Voltare!" The force behind my words was enough that the room shook with my fury. Not even waiting to see what effect my words had had I spun on my heel and retreated from the room. They disgusted me; every last one of them. Aro with his blinding greed, Caius with his pompous manner, and then there was my father. It was hard to believe that Marcus was once kind and caring, but that time had long since passed. It had been centuries since anyone had seen him show emotion; not since my mother had died. Walking into my room I sighed and walked over to the large painting above my writing desk.

"Why did you have to leave us? If you were still here I wouldn't be trapped in this desolate place." I said as I ever so lightly brushed my fingertips over one of the figures. I barely noticed a tear slip past my eyelashes as I traced the woman's burgundy hair, tan skin, emerald green dress, and vibrant blue-green eyes. Letting my eyes drift to the plaque at the bottom of the frame I smiled as I read the names: Lady Edania Voltare, Miss Elisha Voltare, & Lord Marcus Voltare. My face fell as the last name slid through my mind. Scowling I dug my nail into the metal and scraped Marcus' name away; he had no right to be in the portrait. The only reason he was there at all was because he was my father, though he never acted like it; not anymore.

"Just because you get rid of the name on that plaque doesn't change the fact that he's your father." A familiar voice sounded behind me.

"If only he still acted like a father. Did he send you to speak with me Heidi?" I asked resting my forehead against the wall beside the portrait.

"No, I came of my own free will."

"I can't do this anymore; I can't stand it here Heidi. I feel like I'm suffocating under my fathers shadow. He doesn't even speak to me anymore." I said pushing myself back hard enough to land on my bed.

"Elisha, no matter what you can't escape the fact that Marcus is still your father. I know he still loves you and I'm sure the only reason he is so distant is because he misses your mother." Heidi said taking a seat beside me. Jumping up I propelled my fist into the wall as hard as possible and turned to glare at her.

"He does not miss my mother; the only person he misses is that filthy wench Didyme! He never truly loved my mother, so how could he ever love me?!" I shouted. Heidi knew better than to speak right now, but it was the worst possible time for the person at my door to be there.

"Aro has requested your presence in the main chamber." Demitri said before turning to escort me. Shaking with anger I forced myself to follow him, but as soon as entered the chamber I knew I wouldn't be able to control my anger much longer. All around the room there were tourists taking pictures of the portraits and architecture. Walking me all the way up to Aro, Demitri stepped aside to let us talk.

"You look worn, you should eat something." Aro said gesturing to the people around the room. Glaring at him I clenched my fits at my sides and started to shake again.

"I will never drink from a human and you know that." I said through gritted teeth.

"You will learn to accept our ways and you will do so today," He said sharply, "I am your master and you will..."

"You are not my master!" I growled as my slender, athletic form changed into the huge, well muscled form of a wolf. I heard the people around me screaming in terror and turned to give a rumbling growl; within minutes the room was empty aside from the Volturi members and myself.

"How dare you cost us our dinner!" Aro snapped hitting me hard enough to propel me a few yards away. Standing up I let my topaz eyes drift over everyone in the room and gave an internal laugh when I noticed Aro was the only one making any move toward me; most of them were actually backing up. Even Jane and Alec were sure to keep a good distance from me though they knew very well they could hurt me. I kept my eyes locked with Aro's as we circled he room waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Just as I reached a spot near the window Aro raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light and I saw this as my opportunity. In one swift move I turned and jumped out the window down into the courtyard. I would not let him rule my life; I would not bow to him. Racing out of the courtyard I changed back into my normal form and found the easiest way to get onto the roof of a nearby building. Making my way to the roof I looked back at the Volturi home to see if I was being followed; I saw nothing. Taking off at vampire speed across the rooves of the city I made my way out of Italy. I knew Aro wouldn't send anyone after me until night fall and I had to use the head start to my advantage. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I knew I couldn't stay in Europe or Asia as it would be too easy for Demitri to find me. Making my way to the coast of Spain I used the little money I had to buy a ferry ticket across the ocean. Who knew; perhaps I would find salvation in America, but only time would tell. All I knew for certain was that any place had to better than living under Aro's rein of terror.