Chapter 2

After a few moments, we reached a large wrought iron gate. Heidi rapped on the wall a few times, and a little blond walked up to the gate, who Heidi addressed as Corin, and she opened it for us. We walked down another dark, dank tunnel, the only light being several torches. When we reached the end of the next tunnel, Heidi opened another door (hmm, would this be one of those halls that just didn't end?) and we stepped into what seemed to be a waiting room. The walls were white, the carpet a dull shade of gray, and several chairs were pushed up against the wall.

Sitting behind a desk was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, with dark brown hair and green eyes (finally, someone with normal eyes!) with olive-toned skin. She was beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as Heidi. She smiled tentatively at Demetri and Heidi, who nodded in response. She gave me a sympathetic glance, like this had happened to her before. I wondered whether or not she knew what was going on here. I made a mental note of asking her later, that is if I ever saw her again.

Our little group kept walking. We reached a wooden door. I gulped. Demetri tightened his grip around my waist.

"You'll be fine," he whispered in my ear. I smiled a little. At least I knew he wasn't going to let whatever was behind that door hurt me.

Heidi opened the door, and my knees buckled. There were probably about twenty people in the large room that was before me. Every single one of them turned to look at me with expressions of shock and disgust. There were three in the front, two black-haired, one white-haired, that weren't as surprised. I took them to be the leaders. Their expressions ranged from boredom, to sullen, to disinterested. The one in the middle raised his eyebrows.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he inquired. Heidi stepped forward. The man held out his hand, and Heidi took it. He lowered his head and closed his eyes in concentration. Demetri seemed relieved that it was Heidi that stepped foward and not him. I wanted to ask him why, but I wasn't sure. At that moment, the man lifted his head and nodded.

"Fascinating," he murmured. He walked towards me and Demetri. The other two followed, and I noticed another behind him, less than a foot from his back. It was a fair-haired woman dressed in a long, black cloak. She must be his bodyguard or something, I mused.

The man looked at me and cocked his head to the side slightly.

"What is your name and what brings you here, sweetling?" he asked in a warm, sugary voice that was obviously fake.

I wondered what I was going to say. I decided to just tell the truth and get this over with. I hoped they would let me go home.

"My name is Sophie. I was running away from somebody when I stepped on the manhole and fell through it. Then Demetri found me and he and Heidi took me here to you," I explained. I was surprised my voice didn't betray me and illustrate my fear of these strange people, who obviously weren't normal.

"And who were you running from, darling?" he asked in the same tone he used before.

"Um...my cousin..." The man raised an eyebrow and nodded. He turned to the other two behind him.

"Brothers, what should we do with her?"

The white-haired one shot a glare at me. I shuddered. He looked irritated for no apparent reason.

"Aro, we should just eliminate her. I know what you're thinking. You think she should replace Gianna. And I think she's not worth it. So, let's just kill her," he said. So, that's Aro, the guy Heidi was talking about. Hmm, I mused in my head.

Okay, now I made my fear known. The wooden door I'd just come through looked like a possible escape - then I realized I had a sprained ankle. I had unknowingly put weight on it and whimpered a little. Demetri looked at me in concern. I just nodded reassuringly. The three cloaked men were discussing something in low, quick whispers I couldn't hear, but they whipped around to look at me, hearing my complaint. I blushed and pointed to my ankle.

"I think I sprained it when I fell," I explained, not exactly telling the truth.

Aro raised an eyebrow and turned to his brother. He spoke loud enough for me to hear now. "I believe we should keep her."

"No!" the white-haired man shrieked - quite loudly.

Aro turned to face him. "Now, Caius. She may be an asset to us."

Caius sputtered a little, and then cussed under his breath in a language that sounded like Latin. Latin? Isn't that language extinct? Obviously he was taught well.

"I still think you should think about it more, Aro. You haven't even laid eyes on her until just a few minutes ago! You don't know what she's capable of," he said, calmer now, but still shocked.

Aro turned back to me and held out his hand.

"Take my hand," he asked of me. "You can trust me, I won't hurt you."

But I knew what he didn't say. I'll only hurt you if you make me.

Hesitantly, I reached out for his hand, and my hand was trembling in fear. He nodded in encouragement. I put my hand in his. He lowered his head, tightened his grip on my hand, and closed his eyes. I realized this was the same thing he did when he took Heidi's hand. I suddenly didn't feel so confident. I tried to jerk my hand back, but his grip was like a vice. After a few tugs, I gave up. When he finally let go of my hand, I was relieved to pull it back.

"Is she suspicious?" Caius asked, somewhat desperate. He obviously was the on the just-kill-her-and-get-it-over-with side of things. But his question confused me. Suspicious? Now that he mentioned it, I was sort of suspicious. But what did Aro know about that?

Aro answered my question for me. "Very," he replied gravely. Wait, how did he know that?! Caius just smirked, and I swear he had the most eager, let-the-fun-begin look on his face. I was fervently wishing I could just disappear in a puff of smoke, but knowing that was impossible, I just sent up a silent prayer to whoever was listening to get me out of here.

Just then, Aro turned to the other black-haired man, who looked, in a word, bored. There wasn't really any other way to describe it.

"What does she feel of us, Marcus?" he asked. The man, who I now knew as Marcus, turned to me and looked me in the eye. I looked back and seen a man who was heartbroken, depressed, uncaring. I wondered what possibly could've happened to him that made him that way. After a few seconds, he turned back and whispered something into Aro's ear. He seemed sastisfied with Marcus's answer.

"Interesting, Marcus. We shall vote. Alec, do you mind?"

Almost instantly after Aro spoke, a small boy with dirty blond hair immerged out of the crowd. Just then, I lost all of my senses. I couldn't see, feel, or hear anything. I couldn't even smell anything. I tried moving my arms and legs, and I also tried to at least say something, but I wasn't sure if I had succeeded.

After a few moments, I got my senses back. I realized I was heavily leaning on Demetri. I glanced at him and blushed. He smiled a little, and my heart could've melted. It was like looking at an angel. I blushed again and looked away. I heard him chuckle quietly.

Then, the trio turned towards me.

"We have made our decision."

Okay, there's chapter 2. As always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I need the feedback! It helps me write better.