I know I haven't posted on here in over a year, but with the release of Breaking Dawn Part 2, I decided to write this out.
So, let's get to the basics, shall we? I don't own Twilight or Daughters of the Moon, and this story is not for profit, blah blah. Enjoy! (:
Also, I have never been to Italy. My portrayal of the country comes totally from my imagination.
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If there's one thing Christy hates about her life, it's that she's been sheltered for most of it. Yes, as the adopted daughter of Marcus, one of the most powerful vampires in the world, she's had several privileges — like being schooled by the best tutor the Volturi could hire, having a personal cook, and getting almost whatever she wanted. She only had to obey only one rule. But that rule was the bane of her existence: she was not allowed to leave the castle in Volterra. Her future, of course, was already decided for her: when she became of age, she would be transformed into a vampire, trained, and made a member of the guard.
At first, Christy obeyed that rule out of sheer terror. Marcus or possibly Aro may not hurt her for breaking it, but Caius definitely would, as he had been against taking her in from the beginning. But one night soon after her twelfth birthday, Christy snuck out for the first time.
It had been an accident, really. She was out in the gardens, admiring the way the roses looked under the light of the full moon, and she suddenly realized that there was someone with her. When she looked, of course, she didn't see anyone, but she knew that the presence she felt was real.
"Please, please, go away," Christy muttered, closing her eyes and scrambling to hide under the concrete bench.
The presence seemed to move closer rather than retreat, and Christy tried not to make a sound. Her chest felt hot, and when she looked, she saw that it was her necklace. Marcus had explained that she'd had it since she was adopted as a baby. A crescent moon hung on a silver chain around her neck, and attached to the moon was a smooth, colorless stone.
Or, rather, the stone was usually colorless. That night, it glowed bright white and threw off rainbow sparks.
Christy gasped in shock and pressed her hand over her charm, hoping that the presence couldn't see the light.
After a few minutes, though, she knew that whatever was in the gardens with her was not going to leave her alone. So she did the next thing that came to her mind, which was flee. She ran all the way to the edge of the Volturi's property and scrambled up the fence. It was ten feet up, but her fear made her strong enough to make it. She slid down the other side of the fence and landed smack on her bottom.
For a few minutes, she sat there, her arms wrapped around her chest, shaking like a leaf. She didn't think that the presence had followed her, but now she was at a loss as to how get back up and over the fence.
That's when it hit her: she was outside the castle. For the very first time in her life, she was outside the Volturi's home. She had snuck out — and it had been completely unintentional.
Christy stood up, laughing as she did. Intentional or not, she was outside, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. Granted, she didn't have any money, but did you really need money to sight-see? She quickly dusted her pants off just in case there was dirt on them, and began jogging towards the city.
In her so far short life, Christy had imagined freedom many times. But it turned out to be so much better than anything she had come up with. Volterra was illuminated with lights galore, and the music of street musicians filled the air. Vendors stood outside the door of many restaurants, offering free samples of their food, which Christy gladly accepted. After an hour, though, she reluctantly headed back to her home.
"I'll be back," she promised herself in a whisper. "Soon."
And she was. At first, it was only two or three times a month, but soon it became two or three times a week, and then every night. There were long periods of time—sometimes days, sometimes weeks—when she'd stay away to avoid getting caught, but she tried not to worry. She made the promise to herself to always come back. And as years went by, Christy got smarter. She learned to always cover her tracks, and to never attempt to steal money. She learned to always leave when her family was busy, and to never do it when they were thirsty (just in case they decided that blood loss was the proper punishment). But most importantly, she learned to climb the tree instead of the fence, and to never act like she was doing anything wrong.
For twenty months, she got away with her expeditions into the outside world. But when she was thirteen, she was forced to share her secret.
She had been coming back, preparing to climb down the tree on the inside of the property, when a smooth voice whispered, "Well, well, what do we have here?"
Christy looked down and glared at her companion. "What do you want, Alec?"
"Don't tell me you were sneaking out, poco ragazza*," Alec said, clearly enjoying himself. Moonbeams bounced off his pale skin, making him appear ghostlike.
Christy knew she was caught, but she still chose to lie. "I wasn't. Can't I climb a tree without being accused of doing something wrong?"
Alec shook his head and walked closer to the tree. "I've been standing here for over an hour."
"It's not my fault you don't have a life." She gripped the trunk tighter and hoped she wouldn't fall.
"Come on down, Christy. Let's talk."
Christy shook her head. "I don't want to talk."
"Listen to me. Either you get down here and talk to me, or I'll turn you in. In fact, I'm half tempted to do it now."
"Don't even bother threatening me with that. I know you'll turn me in anyway."
She didn't have to explain how. Once Aro read Alec's mind, he would know that the Volturi's human resident had broke the only rule she had to follow. And she knew that her punishment was going to be bad.
Alec shook his head. "Aro only reads me when he wants something specific, so that's usually the thing he looks for. He won't look for this."
"That doesn't mean he won't see it," she said, frowning.
"I have found that if you don't dwell on certain events, Aro is more likely to not notice them," Alec said carefully. "Plus, you'll have my back, won't you, Christy?"
Christy shook her head, disgusted. "No. Why would I have your back? What have you ever done for me?"
"I didn't tell the masters about your tendency to sneak out every night for almost a year now," he said.
In that instant, all the blood drained from Christy's face. How was she this stupid—stupid enough to assume that she could sneak out of the Volturi castle for almost a year and not get caught by someone? Even though Aro couldn't get the information directly from Christy, he could get it from someone else in the guard.
Someone like Alec, one of his favorite little pets.
"Big deal," she said, and rolled her eyes. "That's not much."
Alec raised an eyebrow. "Not much? Daddy Dearest might not have punished you very harshly, but Aro would probably have been much stricter. And we both know that Caius would have gladly let my sister deal with you."
"Oh, shut up," Christy muttered.
Alec narrowed his eyes. "Get down here, Christy. If I have to desensitize you in order to make you come down, then I will."
Christy took a deep breath and considered her options. Obviously, she couldn't stay in the tree. She couldn't run into the city. Even though she hated to do it, it looked like her only option was to go talk to one of Aro's favorite pets. Reluctantly, Christy climbed down the tree and walked over to the vampire.
Once she was standing in front of him, she repeated her question. "What do you want?"
"Gosh, Christy, why are you acting so mean?" Alec put a hand over his still, silent heart, feigning shock. "I don't deserve such harsh treatment."
"You're such a deficiente."
"Insulting me will get you nowhere."
Christy huffed. "Seriously. What do you want?"
Alec's answer was the last thing Christy had anticipated: "I want to go with you next time."
For a minute or two, she just stood there, staring at him with a gaze that held curiosity, suspicion, and a question of his sanity. Her blue eyes met his red ones, and in them she could see that he was totally serious. If the eyes were the windows to the soul, Alec had a very complicated one. Yes, most of the time, he did not visually emote, and he only seemed to like killing and torturing, but Christy sensed that there was something good deep inside him. Something he had denied for a very long time, but something that needed to be brought to the surface.
Wait...where had all that come from?
Christy sighed and ran her hand through her thick black hair. "Sei serio. You're not kidding me, are you?"
"No, I am not."
His face and voice were sincere enough, but could she really trust him?
"You don't think your sister will want to tag along?" she asked.
Alec shook his head. "No. She isn't really interested in the outside world."
Christy raised an eyebrow at him. "And you are?"
"Yes." He paused. "I find that my missions are not enough time away from here."
Christy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What a load of stronzate, she thought, blinking twice. But instead of voicing her doubts, she said, "All right. Fine. You can come with me. But if I suspect that you're working both sides, these nighttime excursions are over. Mai faremo li nuovamente. Understand?"
Alec nodded, grinning somewhat maniacally. "I understand, poco ragazza. I understand very well."
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Yes, there will be some words and phrases in Italian mixed in throughout this story. They are in Italy, after all. I translated these words using a very specific website, but I'm sure you can find a different one that will work just as well; if not, let me know.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback, and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
