Disclaimer: I Fiction 101 do not own the stories Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn. They are all works of art and I appreciate them, but sadly I have no ownership rights to them.
I'd like to take some time to thank Lucas McDrake for being supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Oh, and a huge thank you to those who read the first chapter... and a bigger thank you to those who reviewed!
Chapter Two: Finally Woken
How may I help you? It was such a simple question; however, the same could not be said for the answer. Could he help me? More importantly would he want to help me? I really hadn't put much thought into this. Then again, I never really put much thought into anything I did; I let my instincts be my guide. My approach to life usually worked for me but this situation was different. It was not like I was dealing with someone who worked for the Volturi—Carlisle did have a choice in the matter, he could reject me.
Rejection was such a foreign concept to me; I had never experienced it as a vampire and I vaguely remember going through it as a human. If I wanted to avoid it—which I did—I had to do this right. Choose my words very carefully. After all, this was not as simple as asking him to take in a stray puppy. Oh God! That's exactly what I was: a stray.
I quickly brushed past them, entering their home without being invited; I figured the porch was not the best place to have this conversation. "May I come in?" By the time I asked I was already standing in the living room. Oops. "Uh…never mind," I muttered more to myself then to them, but I was positive they still heard me.
My eyes swept across the room, not really focusing on anything in particular. There were five of them: two other blonds along with Carlisle, and two brunets. Initially, I'd been quite surprised when I had read how many belonged to this coven, seven—a rare sight. Covens outside of the Volturi scarcely grew to that size. Most vampires were too selfish in nature to live with anyone besides their mate. They were all staring at me; waiting for my next move. The tension in the room was practically tangible.
Where to start, where to start? I wasn't sure how to go about this, coming from such a powerful clan I had never had to ask others for favours; it seemed beneath me. I had thought of at least one thousand ways to do this on the flight from Italy, but not one of them seemed quite right. Everything I had come up with made me seem like a bloody idiot.
"Damn, I wish Ed was here," the burly one—Emmett, I quickly corrected myself (I had learned all of their names through the various files I had read)—murmured through barely moving lips. "Then we'd know what the hell is going on."
"Hush!" Esme chided before turning her attention back to me, smiling politely. "Please have a seat Miss…"
"Ashby." I told her, taking a seat on the sofa.
"Ashby!" one of the younger blonds—Jasper—hissed causing me to jump back to my feet, readying myself for attack. "As in Logan Ashby of the Volturi Guard."
So, they had heard of me. "Yes," I said slowly, gauging their reactions in the process, "that's correct. I am Logan Judith Ashby of the Volturi guard." Esme's smile fell as her eyes narrowed, Emmett crossed his arms over his broad chest, Jasper bared his teeth, and Rosalie hissed. The only one who seemed remotely clam was Carlisle. Save for the good doctor, they were acting as if I had just said every curse word known to man and flipped them the bird for good measure.
"What are your intentions here?" Carlisle questioned, his voice sounded cold. Clearly a member of the Volturi guard dropping by unannounced was not something they'd been looking forward to.
I placed a smile on my face acting as if I hadn't noticed. "Carlisle, I have a favour to ask of you," since he didn't verbally object I continued, "You see, I recently found out about your coven's…life style and I came here with the hopes that you would help me achieve a similar one."
He seemed sceptical, "Caius, or Aro didn't send you?" He had left my other master out for obvious reasons; Marcus didn't really say much so the thought of him ordering someone around was absurd.
"No, I came on my own."
"Bull!" Rosalie scoffed, "like the Volturi would let their little prodigy-puppet leave without a command."
I could tell that the Barbie and I would not be becoming best friends anytime soon. "Volterra, isn't some sort of prison, you know, the guard are free to go and come as they please. It's not as if we're held captive," I snapped. I wasn't lying, there weren't any chains or bondages, and most doors were not locked. We were physically able to go and come as we pleased…however, emotionally was another story. "Your maker is proof of that," I added before she could say anything. Technically, Carlisle was never a member of the guard, but I got my point across.
"Logan—" Carlisle began, picking up the conversation where he and I had left off.
"Please, call me Jude." To them it probably seemed as if I was making a friendly gesture by dropping the formalities and allowing them to address me by my nickname, but in reality I was trying to stop anyone from growing too accustomed to calling me by my hated first name.
"Jude," he amended, "making the switch to our diet isn't an easy one; it is something that many of us—some more than others—struggle with each day. Our life style takes patience, practice, and dedication; three things that can't be taken lightly. Are you sure you're ready to commit?"
I didn't hesitate to respond, "Yes." Jasper seemed surprised by the eagerness and confidence in my tone. I knew that giving up human blood would be hard; it had sustained me for so long and the pleasure that draining the last ounce of thick, warm, pulsating blood out of a human's bloodstream was the best thing in the world. Better than being intoxicated. Better than a first kiss. Hell, even better than sex—or so I've been told, I hadn't indulged in any human pleasures since, well since as far back as I can remember.
I didn't possess too many human memories, not many of my kind did. My years with the Volturi were pretty much the only life I'd known.
Carlisle nodded; he seemed to approve of my attitude. "I'm always happy to teach others mine and my family's way of life."
"Carlisle," Emse was eyeing me cautiously, "do you really think this is a good idea?"
It wasn't like I was a new born, I did have some restraint.
"She wants to change," Carlisle told her.
"Yes, I understand that… but can we," she lowered her voice, "can we trust her?"
Ah—so, it all came down to trust. It didn't bother her that I fed off humans it was the fact that I was a part of the guard, which in turn translated to me being untrustworthy.
"It's just," she went on to say, "with the situation with Bella, I'm not sure now is the best time—it's too risky."
Bella and Edward had been the talk amongst the guard for several days—in fact they probably still were. Human-vampire relationships were very taboo and scarcely heard of, they also never usually end well—for the human. The fact that Bella knew of our existence was breaking the most sacred law and enough reason to have her killed. By rights she should have been dead—killed on sight, but Aro had seen potential. Thus she was spared.
Her freedom—I had later learned—came with a condition: she'd have to be turned before their next meeting. The Volturi had scheduled it for about twenty years from now, give or take a few. Vampires view time differently than humans; twenty years to us was the equivalent to two months passing to a human.
I decided that relaying the information to them may be what I needed to put me in Esme's good graces.
"Mrs. Cullen," I began, choosing the formal route, "if by 'the situation with Bella' you are referring to my Masters and the Guard coming to check on her…status then I can assure you thatthat is not why I am here. In fact that will not be happening for quite sometime. Twenty years to be exact."
"Really?" Carlisle asked.
"I haven't seen anything to prove otherwise." I heard her before I saw her—Alice, the petite vampire who had accompanied Edward and the human in Italy—the psychic. She entered the room carrying a school bag over her shoulder. "She's telling the truth."
Again the room stilled and nothing was said.
"Alice, are you sure?" Jasper asked breaking the silence.
She closed her eyes briefly before speaking—looking into the future I assumed, "yup, they aren't planning a visit anytime soon. Bella's safe for another twenty years—from the Volturi at least."
From the Volturi at least—what the hell did that mean?
"So," Emmett started to say, inclining his head in my direction, "she's not here as a representative for the Volturi?" Didn't I just tell them that?
"From what I've seen, no, she isn't." It was Alice who answered. "She's not a threat."
A threat to them, no—I was on my best behaviour—but back in Volterra I was somewhat of a legend. I was right up there with Jane and Alec. Very few members of the guard possessed the near black robes we sported and even fewer had the ability to leave at will like we did—the Volturi knew we'd always return. Where else could we get that kind of power? That kind of respect? It was addictive.
At Alice's words everyone seemed to relax a little. Key word, little.
Esme stood beside her husband, clasping and unclasping her hands with an anxious look, Jasper shifted his weight from foot to foot while Rosalie openly glared at me. The others were doing a better job of hiding their feelings, but not by much. Discomfort was definitely in the air. And so was Edward. I recognized his scent—clean and sharp with a trace of human—from our brief encounter in Italy. My foreign scent was probably just as potent to him.
He burst through the door and was in front of me before it could slam shut. Edward was tall and even in my Jimmy Choos I had to crane my neck up to meet his gaze. Under different circumstances—say, he wasn't looking at me with intense anger, nostrils flared and breathing raggedly—I'd consider him to be extremely attractive. Messy bronze hair, topaz eyes, lean body; all became irrelevant the moment his eyes met mine in a violent stare.
"You didn't see this!" His eyes briefly flicked in Alice's direction before returning to mine. "I thought you were watching them—watching to see when they'd send someone!"
"I am watching. I'm watching the Volturi's decisions, not their guards." Alice snapped.
It took him a few seconds to process what she had just said. "She wasn't sent?"
"No. She wasn't."
Edward bent down so he was eye level with me. "Then what the hell are you doing here?" he snarled. Before I could answer him his gaze went to Carlisle. "No! Absolutely not!"
"She wants to change, Edward."
"What about Bella's safety? Her being here could jeopardize that, she's one of them! Have you forgotten what the Volturi has planned for—"
"Your human isn't my main concern; she has nothing to do with my being here. And as for the Volturi, they have no intentions of checking in for another twenty years," I interrupted. "If you don't believe me your coven member has confirmed it." My tone was surprisingly calm, especially for having someone an inch away from my face.
His topaz eyes swept over to Alice looking for confirmation. "She's telling the truth but, I'll keep checking for changes."
Edward gave a curt nod and once again he was looking at me but not speaking to me. "Nothing to worry about, Carlisle?" he was reading Carlisle's mind. "You can't be serious!"
"Edward, you need to calm down." Carlisle crossed the room and placed a hand on Edward's shoulder, "Jasper."
Immediately the atmosphere of the room changed, Edward's breathing still remained laboured of course, but his glare softened—became peaceful even. He went back to standing at his full height and took a step back, putting some distance between us. "Her presence here may draw unwanted attention. What if someone comes looking for her and runs into Bella?" his voice still had an edge to it yet, it was no where near as surly.
Demetri.
"Demetri," he agreed, echoing my thoughts.
Demetri: a skilled tracker—the best the Volturi had—and one of my mentors…until I surpassed him in combat skills, yet I still saw him as the definition of badass. You could run and you could hide but one way or another Demetri'd find you. However, I wasn't running nor was I hiding, there was no motive for Demetri to come here.
"Demetri would never track me," I informed. "He has no reason to."
"Doesn't he? You left. Isn't that reason enough?" I could tell Edward was no longer talking about Demetri; the he that he was now referring to was Aro. "You're very special to him."
Edward was speaking the truth; I was special to Aro he had made it know many times. My mind flashed back to my fist week with the Volturi.
"Perhaps she is not as wondrous as we thought Aro" Marcus said, his monotone voice reflected the boredom that I too was feeling.
"Yes Aro, your prodigy—and I use this term loosely—has yet to find her gift and she has been here for a week." Caius agreed while he gestured towards the chair I was seated in, his face a stone emotionless structure as he appraised me. "I do not believe she is gifted at all, no better than half of the lot that roam this place."
"How can you doubt her? How can you doubt me? Brothers, has she not proven herself time and time again? Her transformation was the shortest that any one of us has ever witnessed, she is surprisingly strong, even for a new born and she picks up on fighting tactics like that." Aro snapped his thin, long fingers to emphasize the speed. I had always been a fast learner; I could even remember skipping a few grades in school. Learning had always been my forte.
"Logan," Aro continued, walking forward and taking my small, smooth hand into his papery one, "are there any changes today?"
I opened my mouth to say no but when his grip on my hand tightened images flooded into my mind. Every thought Aro had ever had was open for me to see. I felt extremely uncomfortable when I got to the thoughts of me; apparently Aro was infatuated by me. I quickly pulled my hand free, clutching it to my chest. What had just happened? Wasn't what I had just done Aro's power?
I looked up to see Aro staring at me inquisitively. "Logan?" he asked.
A brazen smiled played on my lips as the pieces quickly fell into place. "Masters, I think I just found my special talent. I believe I can absorb other vampire's abilities," My smile grew when Caius's face contorted from his emotionless disposition to one of pure shock. "I just saw every thought that you have ever had." I said addressing only Aro.
"That is…" Aro paused searching for the right words. I mentally supplied all sorts of substitutes: amazing, astonishing, groovy, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Coming up short Aro continued, "No language has created a word to describe you, and if what you say is true then you are a much larger asset to us then I could have hoped. The sheer power our coven could possess with you in the guard is mind-boggling. We will be unstoppable!" Aro beamed making the papery skin on his face wrinkle.
I shook my head bringing myself back to the present. Yes, I was special to Aro but I was not bound to him. I'd always been free to go and come as I liked. My masters never disrespected that. I didn't have to be here; I didn't have to be there; I didn't have to be anywhere. That was the beauty of free will. What gave Edward the right to act like he knew everything about the Volturi, the guard, and me? What gave him the right to be so judgemental towards us? It was pissing me off.
And for the first time since I arrived in Forks I let my temper get the best of me in true badass fashion. I snapped. "I know that I'm special to my Masters, you don't need to tell me that! I'm an absorber, remember." I growled. "You on the other hand haven't seen, or heard, or experienced half the shit that I have. Yeah, sure you've been in their heads for a few minutes, and she's seen a few things," I swept my hand in Alice's direction, "but, what the hell do you really know about the Volturi? I'll tell you; nothing. Abso-freaking-lutely nothing!" By the time I'd finished my rate I was now the one breathing heavily. I spun on my heels preparing to exit the way I'd come but was stopped by Emmett.
"You're right, we don't know anything." Somewhere to my right I heard a groan, "well it's true. We don't know anything but she does. Maybe…maybe you're looking at this the wrong way Ed."
Surprisingly, Edward didn't go off on another tangent about safety, or Bella; he didn't do anything. He seemed to be in thought—or reading someone else's. "I suppose you staying here could be beneficial or at the very least educational," he admitted begrudgingly. Apparently the idea of gaining something from my stay had never occurred to him. They needed me here and for some reason—that instinctual feeling that had brought me here—I wanted to stay.
This chapter was named after the song "Finally Woken" performed by Jem, I don't own it so don't sue.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Fiction101