-1I do not own these characters, Stephenie Meyer, (male ego crusher extraordinaire) does.

Let us travel back in time a bit, to the day after the birth of the twins, Alec and Jane.

It was nightfall, the most simple time of "day" for his kind, so he was happy to have the opportunity to slow his run down to a walk. He had been running all day, and although he never tired, when he came upon the small village, a smile appeared upon Aro's face.

It was a very good thing that it was dark outside, and that many of the villagers were inside their homes, barring the doors shut for the night. A small chuckle erupted from the throat of the traveler when he heard the wood pieces slam into each other. As if that could stop me… If they had looked out their windows, and concentrated very hard on the moving object walking gallantly down the dirt road, they would surely hide under their beds from what they saw. It would be their own fight or flight instincts that would cause them to do this, one of the few things about a human that Aro admired was their natural instincts.

It was not as if he looked like a monster, on the contrary, everything about him would draw in the humans, one by one if he so chose, if he put in the minimal effort. The paper white skin that was not hidden under a mass of robes, reflected beautifully in the moonlight. He was tall, with ebony colored hair. Though his muscles were not as defined as the people who worked out in the fields, he was ten times stronger than any man in the area. Yes, everything about Aro was essentially perfect. Even the smell of him would entrance a passerby.

Lucky for these insignificant human, he was not here for them. He was just passing through on his way to find another addition to their family. He had heard that a young woman, named Heidi in the town next to this one. Felix, one of his guard members had mentioned her to him. Felix had said that this woman was breathtaking, and above that, she was a very skilled hunter, who seemed to have a sixth sense for finding prey. Aro took some time to think about it, weighing in the fact that Felix must have believed her to be useful because, usually, Felix takes all the good looking ones for himself. Then, earlier this very morning Aro was informed that Heidi had fallen ill, and it was not likely that she would live to see the sun rise again.

So, this was why he was traveling across Italy. He wanted to judge her character by the touch of his hand upon hers. To see if she was worthy enough to bring back home to his family.

When Aro had just made it to the edge of the town, Aro felt drawn to one house in particular. He had never before felt this way, which was strange due to his age. Keeping an eye out, he crept over to the window, and let his wandering eye find the habitants. His brow furrowed. This was nothing more than a new family. Sure, the male looked a bit older than the female, but it was popular during these days. He saw that the woman held two babies to her chest. This was why he had been pulled to the house? For a pair of insignificant infants?

Aro knew he must hurry to the next town, to see Heidi, before she passed, but he was too enrapt with why these twin babies had captured his interest.

He stood silent and still for two hours, when finally the woman put the two babies into a cradle for the evening. She and her husband then retired to their bedroom, leaving a small crack in the door behind them. Aro, took this as his chance to "break in".

These humans had left their door unbarred, and he was silently grateful for that as he stepped across their pitiful living area to the crib. Two sets of dark eyes opened the moment he leaned his head over their bed. For the first time in this life, he was startled. They both had a set of coal black eyes, more mysterious than his burgundy ones, which he could see reflected in their own. It was as if they were full of knowledge that they had not yet learned. How peculiar.

It befuddled his mind how petty babies could envelope him in their awkwardness. Then the unthinkable happened. The little female her fragile little arm upwards, and wrapped her hand around his forefinger. Aro saw nine months of this baby's life flash through his own mind, then its birth. He could already see that these two were connected more than anything he had every seen before. Even in the womb, they had held impenetrable conversations, without words. It was as if they already knew that they were twins, and that they had this bond.

Aro never wanted to part with these infants, he wanted to bring them back to Volterra, instead of this Heidi he was looking for, but they were far too young to be of any use. To bring them to his family would be dangerous and against the rules that he and his "brothers" had created. No. He would wait until they were grown before he brought them to Volterra to join his family. He took the other baby by the hand, and pressed his lips to them both.

"I shall return for you." He said it so quietly, and so quickly, no human ear could have comprehended it, but he knew that the twins did. Although they might not know him when he came back for them, he had a feeling that they would no longer hold any fear for themselves.

A little more than a half hour of running later, Aro did find Heidi. She was surrounded by her family members, who were rather hideous compared to her. He had to make a distraction, and quickly. His eyes searched around in the moonlight. He did not want to bring awareness of himself, but he had to get them out of their home. He struck his flint stone, their home caught fire in seconds. He watched from the window as a few people began to notice the smell, and he grimaced at how dull their senses were. How he survived before, he would never know.

Nearly the entire house was in flames before the family looked upward from their prayers. Ignorant humans.

They refused to leave the body inside the home, much to Aro's dismay. So, as they tried escaping, he held their door shut. One by one, they became unconscious, due to the smoke inhalation. That was when he opened the door, and without much effort, picked Heidi up from the mess of the bodies.

He took her into the woods, because he could already hear the other towns people awaking from their slumber. All they would find when the fire went out was charred bodies. None of them would ever have to know that the near death Heidi was missing. Near death -how incredibly ironic that was.

Her breathing was labored and her heartbeat was slowing down at an alarming speed.

If I wait to get back to Volterra, she will be dead before we reach the chamber doors. If I do it here, I might not be able to keep a hold of her after the three days, and she will massacre this village. If I do it here and run with her… people will most likely hear her screams, though we will be far gone from that spot before the vibrations reach their ears.

Bite and flight it is, then.

Aro pulled Heidi into a sitting position. It took very little of his muscle to hold her entire body against his arm, while he looked for the best angle. The neck was his favorite, and so it would again be the position for another victim's wounds. He used the back of his hand to push the soft, feather like, blonde hair out of her face. If she had not been so sickly, he guessed Felix to be right, she was indeed quite beautiful.

Then his teeth worked at her neck. Unfortunately, unlike the vampire legends circulating, he did not have pointed teeth. His were as hard as diamonds, and just as sharp. His teeth pierced through her skin. He felt the venom seep into her body, as blood flowed down his throat. Another member was added to the Volturi.

He and Heidi did make it back to Volterra and the rest of his family without much notice from the humans. He shut her away from the rest of his family for the last day of her change, much to the displeasure of Felix. Demetri, the excellent tracker of the Volturi, had managed to scavenge up a few humans for Heidi, and the rest of them to feed upon, as a sort of family celebration. Another member, a stronger Volturi.

Now, you may ask, what is the Volturi? The Volturi initially consisted of Aro, Caius, and Marcus in the beginning. They were the oldest of any vampires that they knew, and were dubbed the night patrons of the arts, for their love of such. Aro, with his power to see into someone's history, and know all of their thoughts since the beginning of their time, had taken up the spot as the leader. Marcus, also had a special talent. He could see relationships. Not only romantic, but loyalties, and enmity. Caius had no special talents, but was a useful member to them in his own way. As time went by, Felix and Demetri were added to the Volturi as guards. Felix, for his brute strength, and Demetri for his tracking abilities. Now Heidi, who grew into a even more beautiful vampire than most -her skill being to hunt and find the best prey.

The Volturi were known as the royal family of the vampires. Being the oldest family, strongest, and most influential, every vampire obeyed their rules, or else was destroyed. Simple as that. The Volturi was not a group to mess with by any means. Secrecy of vampires was their biggest concern. They were always looking for others with special talents that they could recruit into their ranks to become more powerful.

Now, back to Aro.

Aro explained the situation with the twins to Caius and Marcus, and they all agreed that they should wait until the twins reach their sixteenth birthdays. Anytime before that would be too soon. Marcus, was more excited of the other two, because he wanted to see the bond of which Aro told him about. He wanted to feel the connection that the twins possessed that would keep Aro entranced.

Almost twelve years later, Aro still thought about the twins, and had learned their names were Jane and Alec. Though he never made contact with them, he would visit them, and watch them. He was perplexed as to how they were still very content in each other's presence. As he watched them, he also saved them a couple of times, though he should have known better than to intervene. The last time was when Jane and Alec were alone in the woods. A snake, poisonous, was headed their way. It slithered toward Alec, and Aro grabbed it, crushing it between his fingers, though he always wondered if Jane had noticed the flash of marble skin, because she stared into thin air in awe.

Lately, on his visits he had caught word of the village believing Alec and Jane to be witches. Which he knew was absurd -there was no such thing as witches. He knew that in two days time, the villagers were going to walk to their doorstep, and take their mother and them away, for a witch trial. The Volturi would be happen to be in town that day -the entire Volturi.

He sat in his office, as aggravated as Caius was when he hadn't had a chance to feed in awhile. How dare those humans ruin his plans for Alec and Jane? Aro knew that if the village thought they were witches now, there was no way they were going to be set free. They would die in three days if he didn't save them. In rage, he slammed his fists down onto his desk, which splintered beneath his strength. Damn those humans. He wouldn't be able to save Jane and Alec from the entire village without killing all of the people, which is why all of them would be there. Then he would have to turn Jane and Alec, three years earlier than he had planned.

"Aro?" A seductive voice purred from his doorway. "Everything alright?"

He turned to find Heidi standing against his doorway, her wine red eyes watching him through curtains of her blonde hair.

"Yes, Heidi, just thinking…" Aro replied, rubbing his temples with his fingers. He noticed as she made her way to him, a rare smile curving her red lips upward.

"About those twins again?" Her hand ran the length of his hair. She hated Aro thinking of anyone but her, but she felt for the children -after all, how important could they be to Aro? She knew they weren't really together, or even mates, but they did have their fun, and with children around, perhaps it would change things between them.

"Yes, I'm hoping everything goes well." He enjoyed the way her velvety hand felt, but with every one of her strokes, he could see the thoughts going through her mind as if he were thinking them himself. Of course, that was how it all had started between the two of them. She flashed her thoughts in his mind, and though he was a vampire, he was still a man.

"Don't worry…" She was purring again, and her words were whispers in Aro's ear. Her other hand slid down his chest. Aro's mind was ambushed by the steamy thoughts in Heidi's mind. He lifted his head, knowing their lips would meet.

"Aro? When are we going?" Marcus stood at the door, a smirk etching itself on his face. He knew exactly what was going on between the two of them.

Aro sighed heavily, leaning as far away from Heidi as he could. He heard a growl rumbled in Heidi's throat as she left the room, running Marcus into the wall. It was like rock hitting rock. The roar of an avalanche.

"Soon."

As a matter of fact, they left exactly thirty four minutes after that word was said, and made it into the village just as the villagers were banging on his twin's door. Caius held his arm as they dragged the twins out of their beds in just their nightclothes. It was freezing out!

The Volturi stood and watched as the town's people disgraced Alec, Jane and their mother. Aro was pleased with the strength his family was showing, they had not killed a single human yet, which was good since they had fed the day before. The biggest surprise for them all was the way Jane and Alec acted. It was hard to believe that humans so young and fragile could have the psychological strength to put up with so much, without giving up. By the end of the day, the entire Volturi was ready to avenge their soon to be family members for the humiliation they had been put through.

As a family, they watched as Jane and Alec's mother died. The Volturi watched them struggle to save her, with no hope. At least, now, we will not have to kill their mother to take them. When the two finally fell asleep, Aro looked around, Demetri and Felix were gone, he groaned impatiently, believing that they had gone to kill. When they returned with a small square of cloth, he was confused.

"It's cold Aro, humans get cold," Felix whispered.

"They're not vampires," Demetri said, with a wild grin. Then, Demetri, with the sly, deviousness, of a tracker, seemed to glide across the town square, unseen, and laid the blanket over the twins, returning quickly. Aro noticed he was not breathing.

"I am a vampire." Demetri said, noticing Aro's suspicions.

They all stood watch that night. Each one snapping their head towards the twins if they even twitched in their sleep. When the sun came up the next morning, it was Aro who saw the stage being set up.

"They're already planning the burning," Caius said with narrowed eyes.

So the rest unfolded, each one holding the other back, as they in turn were held by someone else when two big men drug Jane and Alec by their ropes down the cold, dirt road. They watched with interest as the children began claiming ailments. Felix chuckled, rolling his eyes. Then, the fire was set. Aro nodded, and the family went to hunt.

Screams of surprise awaited them. All the humans could see were flying white blurs, then the sudden pain in their bodies. High pitched cries of pain echoed through the town. Men women and children alike. Aro quickly made his way to the stage, and grabbed the men who had been so ill mannered with Jane and Alec first, and drained them of their blood. He looked around, Marcus was working on the men he knew would protect the families, while Caius took down the cowards that tried to head for the woods. Felix took care of the women of course, while Demetri tracked down anyone who was hiding, and Heidi, she took care of the children.

The children were the most interesting to watch. They had heard stories of witches all of their lives, but had never even imagined hellions such as these. They watched , engrossed with the sight of others being murdered, before Heidi's eye turned on them. They were too frightened to move, so there they stood anchored in the spot where they would meet their doom. The small girl who had started the shouts of agony supposed to be coming from Jane, dropped to her knees to pray. Heidi grinned, pulling the child up by her hair, "You have yet to feel true pain."

The child stared at the wild eyes of the woman-demon in front of her, with eyes redder than summer roses. Then she saw her own blood flowing from her body, where the monster bit her over and over. Pain clouded her mind, then she was no more.

Aro walked through the fire quickly, and saw his twins standing, awaiting the flames. He went to Jane first. Her long dark hair was in the way of her neck, his favorite spot. He leaned close, and quickly spoke the words, "I have returned…" She would not have heard them, but she must have felt his breath, because Jane perked right up. He slid her hair from her neck, and bit. He couldn't help but notice the sweet, sugary taste of her blood and had the urge to drain her completely, until he remembered that it was his Jane. He used all of his strength to pull himself away from her and let his venom do its job. She had been the first one who hadn't screamed when he bit her. Instead, as his venom worked through her blood system, she squeezed her brother's hand.

As though he knew what to expect, Alec opened his eyes. Aro felt as if Alec could see into his soul with those dark eyes. Those eyes that would soon burn as brightly as his own. He bit Alec quickly, as well. He would not allow himself the time to enjoy Alec's blood, in fear that he would not be able to put the boy down if he did. Then, Aro stepped back to admire his work.

The twins screamed each other's names. Then all was silent. He checked over his back, the village was as quiet as a graveyard, except for the roaring flames that were coming closer.

He ripped the roped that bound Jane and Alec to the stage, and pulled them to his chest as he jumped high above the fire, and landed as softly as possible on the ground. Jane and Alec were holding him onto him tightly, silent tears running down their quickly dimming rosy cheeks. He tore his eyes away from them and saw the other members of the Volturi walking towards him, all of their eyes as red as the blood that coursed through their systems. They were all looking at him intently.

"Is it done?" Heidi asked, already knowing the answer. Aro nodded. His thoughts were being focused right now on the pain the twins felt. He could feel it all.

"Let us get them into one of these houses. If ay humans show up, Caius can take care of them," Marcus said pointing to the empty village before them, bodies scattered upon the street.

"Felix, you, Demetri, and Heidi will hunt for Jane and Alec. Bring plenty of humans. We will all be hungry and these two…" his voice drifted as he looked at them, "They will drink plenty."

When the three who were hunting disappeared into the trees around the village, Caius left to wander the village, interested in seeing what they had left behind. Marcus ushered Aro, still holding the twins tightly to his body, into another home. As he placed them into a bed, he had to pry their arms away from them -it was difficult, they were already getting stronger. Alec and Jane endured the pain without screaming, though Aro knew they were on the inside, he had seen it.

Marcus stood in the door way, leaning against it nonchalantly, until he caught Aro's attention.

"These children, they have a relationship I have never seen before. Already they are in love with each other Aro, nothing romantic of course. It is so strong, even I am puzzled by its greatness. Deeper than love, more heedless than loyalty, stronger than a whole army of newborns. I wonder if one could even live without the other…"

The two elder vampires looked back at the twins, Jane and Alec, both wondering the same thing. How unyielding was their connection, and what would happen to one if something happened to the other?

Alec and Jane were holding each other, arms wrapped tightly around the others body, shivering, and staring at their two elders silently.

Aro, winced. Hopefully they would never have to know the wrath and pain if one lost the other. It would be a dark endless day for the world.