1. Inquisitive
The stone was cool beneath her sandals. She wandered along the hallway. She wondered what this place was, what it had been. It seemed so old but also felt used, giving an almost lived in quality which was so different to the abandoned castles she had visited before. Yet the stonework was the same; not fake in anyway.
There was a door at the end of the hallway. It was a simple wooden door which she could tell was a modern fixture, like the lamp fixtures attached at intervals along the walls. She felt slightly nervous. She knew she shouldn't be here: all the tour guides had told her that this was private property; that it belonged to an old family who'd lived here for generations. Yet something had drawn her to this place despite all that.
Her innate curiosity wouldn't let her leave it alone. She was a student of History, a lover of stories and the castle tower in the town of Volterra seemed to be made of untold stories, of untold secrets. Yet even the look of the door at the end of the hallway spoke of privacy. It had been easy enough to sneak in through the first door into this long stone hallway. She had been shocked that it was unlocked but had quickly got over her shock in order to sneak in.
Breaking and entering, she thought to herself, that's what you're doing. But somehow even that – the fear of breaking the law – couldn't seem to hold her back. Deep down she knew there was something here, something old and powerful, terrible and dark. There was nothing that would stop her, not even fear for her own safety.
That was a strange feeling, out of place. Logically the worst that could happen to her was that she would get caught, the police called and a night in an Italian prison cell. Yet the part of her which was driving her on – the side that sensed the dark secrets of this place, the terrible stories – also feared for her life.
But, for her, curiosity would always win out over fear. She reached for the door handle and turned it. Her heart was thudding in her mouth. She pushed gently against it and the wooden door swung slowly open.
It was a let-down. The room the door opened onto was a reception, nothing more and nothing less. There was a dark haired woman sitting behind a desk. There was nothing dark or sinister about her, bar perhaps the ridiculous amount of make-up that she wore.
"Who are you?" the woman asked when she looked up to see her, a hint of irritation in her voice, "What are you doing here? This is private property."
"I..." she trailed off, "I'm sorry – I was curious. This is such an old building... I..."
"What's your name," the woman asked, her voice suddenly softer, more kindly.
"Lizzie," she answered, "Elizabeth, that is."
"Well, Lizzie," the woman said coming around the desk and walking over to her, "I think perhaps you should leave."
"Of course," Elizabeth said, "It's just there's something about this place... Do you feel it?"
"It is an old building," the woman said, reopening the door Elizabeth had come through, "But its better perhaps not to indulge in such superstitions. Come on..."
Elizabeth was about to walk back to the door when someone else entered the room. Two people, actually. They both looked like angels. They were pale faced and wore black robes with gold embroidery. There was no doubt in Elizabeth's mind that these two were twins. One was male and one was female and both were breathtakingly beautiful, angelic. But both of them had crimson red eyes.
"Who is this Valentina?" The girl said. Even when she spoke Elizabeth felt strangely drawn to her. Yet there was something about her. Something inside Elizabeth told her that despite her outward appearance this girl was much older than any of the elderly Italians she had seen sitting in the cafe's. There was also something dark behind her sweet voice.
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said which drew the attention of both the angels to her instead of to Valentina, "I was being nosey I'm afraid. This place is so old and I'm a huge History buff."
"Of course," the girl said, "Curiosity isn't a crime."
"Oh thank you," Elizabeth said, "For being so understanding. But do you ever get the feeling that there's some sort of dark secret lurking here?"
"What."
"I just get these feelings sometimes," Elizabeth said, "I can't explain it. Old places like this I feel a strange pull to and sometimes I feel like I know what happened in them. Crazy I know but..." She trailed off. The girl was advancing towards her, an expression of pure loathing on her face.
"Jane," it was the boy. He took her arm gently, still looking at Elizabeth, "Aro will be interested."
"Why," Jane said, "There's nothing special about her."
"And if that's the case, I'm sure he'll let you have her."
"Why not now?"
"Jane," he said, his grip firmer on her arm, "You know why."
She was still staring at Elizabeth with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine. Valentina had closed and locked the door and had now quietly moved back to her desk. Jane removed her brother's grip from her arm and then nodded.
"We'll take her to Aro then."
"Come with us," the boy said to Elizabeth. There was no question in his voice and after their exchange Elizabeth felt certain there was no other option. She was cursing her own stupid curiosity. Clearly there was something dark and terrible here, and she wished she hadn't dragged herself into it.
She followed the angelic twins through a set of doors on the opposite side of the room and into another stone hallway. They walked along this till they reached a second set of double doors. For some reason Elizabeth felt a strong sense of relief. Somehow she seemed to know that she was going to find out what secrets this old place held. Even if it would be the last thing she discovered, which she felt was highly likely.
They pushed open the double doors and entered a completely different room. It was round and had a high vaulted ceiling. There was a huge amount of white marble and pillars. What drew the attention though, were the three thrones opposite the door, and the three men who sat in them. They were pale skinned with red eyes like the twins and as Elizabeth was led further into the room she noticed several other people of the same sort standing around the room.
She stopped a few feet from the steps up to the thrones. Jane walked up the steps to the man sitting in the central throne, and her brother moved to stand at the side, leaving Elizabeth alone in the room.
She swallowed. Her heart was pounding very quickly now. What had she gotten herself into? She watched as Jane allowed the man to take her hand. There was a moment of stillness and silence. Then he let go of her hand and she moved to stand by her brother. Elizabeth looked more closely at the men sitting on the thrones.
The one of the left looked to be the oldest but despite this Elizabeth knew their looks to be deceiving. He also looked incredible lifeless, bored almost. He had dark hair and a long face. The man in the centre had black hair and was looking at Elizabeth in an almost hungry way. She didn't like it at all. She looked at the third man. He looked the youngest and had white blonde hair and wore a brown patterned scarf, the only colour aside from black that any of them seemed to be wearing.
She turned her attention back to the man on the left. There seemed to be a deep sadness about him. Instantly Elizabeth seemed to realise that he had lost someone so important that he was now all but a shell without them.
"Elizabeth." She turned at her name to see the man in the centre coming down the steps towards her.
"Who are you?"
"I am Aro," he replied, "And these are my brothers Marcus and Caius." Without taking his eyes from hers he took her hand in his own.
Elizabeth almost gasped, she felt as if he was flicking through her thoughts, as each rose to the surface of her mind in quick succession. She watched his expression. The hunger in his eyes increased. Suddenly he let go of her hand.
"So you have noticed Marcus's sadness then."
"I..." Elizabeth trailed off, "He's lost someone who made him very happy." She looked at the older man sitting on the left throne. He gave her the merest of glances as an indication that he was listening.
"Aro," Caius said. There was an anger in his voice, "Is this how we deal with trespassers who enter our own home?"
"Calm yourself brother," Aro said, "For she may wish to join us."
"What is this," Elizabeth said, completely confused, "A cult or something else?"
"We are a family," Aro answered, "The Volturi." Elizabeth looked from him to Caius and Marcus and then over to Jane standing with her brother. All of them were older than they looked – that much she could feel. They were immortal then. And all of them were deathly pale and had those terrible red eyes.
"Impossible," she breathed, looking from one to another, "How can that be?"
"What?" Aro asked, watching her intently, "What have you found out?" She turned to look back at him, horror in her eyes.
"You're vampires."
At her words there was a movement throughout the room. As if everyone in there had felt uncomfortable at her working it out so quickly, so easily. But Aro's face burst into a wide smile.
"Well realised," he said, "What gifts could you have I wonder... Won't you join us?"
"No," Elizabeth said, automatically backing away, "I'd rather not. Vampires, immortality, drinking blood. Is this really happening?"
"Yes," said Aro, the smile gone from his face, replaced by a grim look, "Yes it is." He moved towards her quickly but then stopped as if thinking something through. He forced a smile.
"What?" Elizabeth asked.
"You will stay with us," he said, "You are a fan of history – we have lived through a lot of it. We are people of learning; the Sciences, the Arts, History. You will stay with us."
"Do I have much of a choice," Elizabeth asked, glancing around her. She was surrounded by vampires.
"No," Aro said firmly, "But you will like it here. You are a scholar, like us."
"But you kill people, don't you?"
"It is our nature," Aro said, "We cannot survive without human blood to sustain us."
She nodded. Perhaps she could attempt some understanding on that front: they couldn't help it after all.
"Is this wise brother," asked Caius, "What if she escapes, tells our secret?"
"She won't," Aro said, still staring at Elizabeth, "How could she with us being what we are?"
Elizabeth swallowed, not breaking eye contact with him. How had this happened? How did she let herself end up here? Her stupid curiosity had led her to this. Her stupid curiosity had put her in danger. Her stupid curiosity had made her a prisoner of vampires.
A vampire's prisoner.
Aro smiled at her, that hungry look still in his eyes.
A/N: The Volturi are just so fascinating: their dynamic, their complexity and that darkness about them. It's so... attractive ;)
Anyway, this is an attempt by me to understand Caius and maybe make him a 'goodie', by... well you'll see. I hope it works! :D I'm going by their ages and looks from the movies rather than the books just because they're what stick in my mind: its what I see when I visualise them.
I hope you enjoyed it and please give me your opinions via the reviews...? Xx :D