Chapter 2 – A Very Delicate Situation

"Jane, Jane, dear one," came an unfamiliar voice.

I blinked. I had been zoning, and I shook my head to dispel the rest of the fog. I looked around for the voice, and for the Jane he'd been addressing, and then wondered where the hell I was. I was in a big room, one that was nearly cave-like. It was perfectly round, and had at least thirty-foot ceilings. I glanced up at the slits of windows at the top of the sienna brick walls and was reminded of a castle. On the ground, there were three chairs that were very nearly thrones. Only one was occupied, by a man with skin the texture of tissue paper; clouded, pale red eyes; and long, flowing black hair that reached the floor.

Okay, I thought to myself. Weird dream. It's okay, Sasha, just too much shopping.

Then I realized the strange man was looking directly at me. "Jane, dearest, are you quite all right?"

I paused. Was he talking to me? He seemed to be waiting for an answer, and I had to speak. The only thing I could come up with, though, was, "My name's not Jane. It's Sasha." My voice sounded different. It was higher, less husky than my own, and it rang out clear like sleigh bells.

The man chuckled. The sound was gritty, like sand, but still smooth, and slightly raspy. "Jane, you silly girl, why do you play such games with me?" he asked. "Sasha, indeed. Do you need to look at yourself in a mirror to double check?"

I knew he was teasing me—or Jane—but I took him up on his offer. "Yes, please," I asked politely. My voice was still the one I'd used before. The man threw me a bemused glance, but found an ornately framed pewter hand mirror and handed it to me. Cautiously, I glanced in it.

Involuntarily, I gasped. I had a round, pale face framed with short, light hair. My lips were a full, perfect double curve. But what really got me was the eyes. They were a frightening shade of crimson, a flaming scarlet with a bit of black in them to dilute their color. It was in the eyes that I put two and two together. In the book New Moon, Bella, Edward, and Alice met the Volturi. In the Volturi was Aro, with his paper-thin skin and flowing hair. And they met Jane, with her full lips and light brown hair.

My stomach dropped to my knees. This man was Aro. And I was Jane. How could this have happened? The Volturi weren't real. None of this was real. I was sure it was all a dream. But when I pinched myself, I could still see the tiny white hands and the uncharacteristic clothes. "Holy crap," I mumbled under my breath. The sound was so quiet I wouldn't have thought anyone could hear it. But through hours of audition prep poring over New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn taught me to know better. I was sure Aro heard it.

He turned to stare at me with a quizzical expression on his fragile features. "Jane, what is the matter?" he asked tentatively. He reached out, as if to touch me, but at the last second I remembered Aro's power. If he touched me, he could read every single thought I'd had since birth. Consequently, he would realize that he, the rest of the Volturi, and the vampire population were fictional. He couldn't know that I was a real human girl trapped in a fictional world. I wasn't sure what would happen, but I knew it would not be good.

I knew that if I were to keep up the facade, I'd have to act like Jane. In what I recalled from the books, Jane was seemingly angelic and innocent, but menacing underneath. I smiled in my best part-innocent-part-evil way. Hell, I wasn't an actress for nothing. "Where are the others?" I asked casually. I knew Jane-Jane would know, but Sasha-Jane didn't, and I was curious.

"I told you, didn't I?" Aro's question seemed rhetorical. "They're getting some food."

"Oh." I let the subject drop. Just at that moment, I heard a gaggle of voices coming from just outside the closed door. Aro smiled widely, showing no teeth.

"Lunchtime," he declared. "Come in!" he called to the others, more loudly.

The door opened. A human woman, who by her description looked to be the secretary Gianna, led a group of tourists into the room. Behind them were the rest of the Volturi: Caius, Marcus, Heidi, Alec—who was supposed to be my twin, and for good reason; Sasha-Jane looked just like him—Demetri, and Felix.

"Hello, hello!" Aro called enthusiastically to the tourists. Smiling in my new half-and-half way, I scanned the tourists with no glimmer of interest. But then I saw a familiar-looking boy, and I did a double take. This kid looked exactly like Jennifer's brother Evan. I looked around him, and gasped.

No. No, no, no, no, no.

This was the week Jennifer and her family were visiting Italy. And, of course, they were part of the Volturi's lunch plan.

What do you do when you have to suck your best friend and her family completely dry? You do what I did. I bolted.


ooooh...cliffy! thanks to my new BFF SarahtheEmpath for being my only reviewer. i don't like ghost readers...so review! i will feel special if that helps you get motivated. ;) so review por favor. and also, read "What If" by me and my oneshots!!! ("What If" isn't by me and my oneshots, it's by me. and also check out my oneshots. sorry. that was confuzzling.) also, enter my fanfic contest "Silence" and vote for my sexiest Twilight man poll. so far, Rob Pattinson and Jackson Rathbone are tied for first! review this, then go! lovelovelove, m