A/N: First off, thank you very much for the reviews. It's very nice of you to have commented. :)
Secondly, this chapter was done yesterday, but due to maintenance, I had to wait until today to publish it. But I know that you folks are nice enough to overlook the delay. This chapter is more of an experiment more than anything else and the real fun starts soon. That's what I can tell you. Hopefully, you'll like what you read and you'll come back for more. :)
With that said, I shall no longer keep you waiting. Here you go, enjoy this chapter. :)
The last of her young students had been picked up not five minutes ago. Gabriela looked at the cloak on the wall. If she hurried, she could make it to the coffee shop and but herself some pastries before it closed. Perhaps she would take something with chocolate. Her eyes fell back on the papers she'd been arranging.
A soft whooshing sound caught her attention. Inhaling deeply, Gabriela could merely shake her head in irritation at what she scented. She raised her head from the papers and called out to the presence, "Come on out. The least you can do is offer me a proper greeting."
From within the shadowed hall of the school, in stepped one of the Volturi guards. Afton, if Gabriela was not mistaken. Red eyes measured her slowly, as if gauging certain particularities about her. "Good evening," she said in a conciliatory manner. His eyes narrowed at that.
"Good evening," he replied, though the look he gave her rather said he wished she'd fall and break her neck. Gabriela shrugged.
"Have you been following me the whole day?" Of course, she should have expected something like it. Not because she couldn't be trusted, but because she was currently among the category of persons which fascinated. Thus, it was only natural to have someone ensure her safety, and the fact that she would remain with the Volturi.
Gabriela did not hold his gaze for fear that the warrior would interpret it as a challenge. Afton, however, seemed less inclined to caustic comments when her eyes no longer lingered on him. He was gracious enough to offer her a civil response. "Yes. Those were my orders."
With a nod of her head, Gabriela indicated her understanding. For a short moment she wondered if she should invite him to have a seat, but then shook the thought off. He was a vampire, he did not need a seat. Finally finishing arranging the documents, Gabriela placed everything in her bag and slung it over one shoulder. Her hand came up to hold on to the strap. With her other hand she picked up her cardigan. Her companion observed her silently. One thing was clear about the whole issue, Gabriela decided, not without a hint of humour, and it was that she would switch from working with blind people to working with mutes. "Well, I'm all set. Let's get out of here."
Afton walked beside her, not close enough to indicate any level of intimacy, but not far enough to give the impression that they were not together. As per usual, the vampire gene did its job tremendously. While most people were subtle, some of the passers by did stare rather without shame at the couple walking down the street. Gabriela ignored the more insistent stares. It would not do to give any false hope.
"I'm going in here for a moment," she said, stopping in front of the coffee shop. They still had half and hour before closing and she decided that she did want to buy herself some pastries after all. Her companion did not reply with words, but his presence tailed her inside the charmingly decorated place. The aroma of food reached Gabriela's nostrils and she basked happily in it. The woman at the counter smiled at her.
"Back again, miss?" she asked in a friendly manner, only momentarily gazing at Afton. Gabriela had to give her points for professionalism.
"Back again," Gabriela agreed with a smile of her own. She looked at the selection they had to offer and chose a few of them. She held out the appropriate amount of bills for the other to take and left without much of a fuss.
If there was one advantage of being a half-vampire, then it had to be the food. Gabriela munched happily on one of her treats. She bit, chewed and swallowed rather rapidly when she remembered that she still had a bus to catch. "Afton, how exactly did you get here?" Thankfully, she did remember she was not alone before dashing towards the bus stop.
"I drove." Gabriela turned towards him at those worlds. She felt rather silly. Of course he would have driven, if he'd been following her.
"And your car is parked where exactly?" she questioned, adjusting the strap of her bag. Afton nodded in the general direction of a black car with dark tinted windows. With a nod of her own, Gabriela walked towards it, knowing fully well Afton would follow.
She climbed into the backseat, for the sole purpose of putting a comfortable distance between herself and the vampire. The Volturi guard was famous, but that did not mean Gabriela had made a point of actually finding out who did what. She would, however, feel much better if there was even a minimum of distance between herself and one of them. Much as she'd expected the trip was taken in silence. It was not the sort of silence which made one tense with apprehension. Rather it was the undisturbed quietness of two strangers who had nothing to say to one another.
Gabriela watched the buildings they passed by, her mind concentrating on some matter which without doubt did not carry the importance she gave it. Sometimes, she wondered if she ought to have allowed herself to be sent to the realm of eternal rest. Life could become rather tedious. And yet, she continued to hold on to it, despite knowing fully well its emptiness. What strange creatures they all were.
Afton parked the car with care and allowed Gabriela to get out on her own. She knew, instinctively, that it meant he no longer had to watch her. "Thank you, Afton, for driving me. I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll drive you tomorrow morning," was the only reply he gave her. He did not wait to see if she had anything to say to that and Gabriela did, indeed, not have anything to say to it. Cars were preferable to buses as far as she was concerned.
With a small shrug, she secured the strap of her backpack and followed Afton's footsteps. In the hallway, Chelsea was greeting her mate with a lingering kiss. Gabriela walked past them and took a smaller corridor to the stairs which she needed to reach. In her existence she had seen many forms of love, so the sort of affection exhibited in the hallway failed to make a strong impression upon her.
To her utmost shock, at the top of the stairs, a tall figure stood, as if in waiting. Red eyes zeroed in on her and the mournful face of Marcus Volturi appeared quite suddenly before her. Instinctively, Gabriela drew back. Having anticipated her move, Marcus grabbed her arm, fingers wrapping around it above the elbow. The grip was no less than bruising. It wasn't nearly enough to splinter the bone though. It did hurt, somewhat, especially considering that she'd been in the middle of backing away. A hiss of pain left her lips, but she ceased her struggling.
"I did not mean to frighten you, child," he said, in a slightly lilting voice, a customary thing for him, Gabriela reckoned. His expressionless face had not changed one bit, but behind the deep red of his eyes, she rather thought she could make out something like a plea. "I merely wish to speak with you."
Shaking his hold off of her arm, Gabriela gave a slight nod of her head. "Very well, Master Marcus." She thought it better to adapt her speech to that of her other coven mates. "What do you wish of me?"
"A favour," he answered somewhat cryptically. What a strange thing to ask of her.
Gabriela blinked a few times. Favour was a loose term. It could mean a thousand things and nothing at all. "What would this favour involve?" Despite better notions, Gabriela decided that she could at least hear what the man wanted.
There was something so desolate about the third member of the royal triangle of power that she could not help the pang settling low in her stomach. Her heart wrenched and faltered at what she read in his gaze. Indeed, the very least she could d was hear his request. After all, she hadn't promised to help.
"Do you still have Aro's power inside of you?" The question was posed with all the innocence of a child who thought Gabriela deposited her powers in a small box inside of herself.
Suppressing an amused smile, she nodded her head. "Somewhat." Aro had only touched her for a few moments. His power had fleetingly taken root inside of her, but the tree was starting to die. "Is there a point to this, Master?"
"Can you copy powers shown to you through a memory?" And so the truth became clear before her eyes. Frankly, she should have thought about it the moment he asked her in Aro's talent had kept within her. Gabriela bit her lip in indecision.
What Marcus wished of her was an impossibility; surely. "Even if I could somehow find this person among your memories, what good could it possibly do?" Such gifts as the one he wanted her to duplicate were much like narcotics, they created dependence, they snared what was nobler and better in the mind of man and contorted it, twisted it until only burning need remained.
"Still, try, if only to please an old fool." The words tumbled past his lips and Gabriela found herself leaning forward, her hand searching for his. She hadn't been compelled by anything but her own curiosity in truth. If she could reproduce what was seen in a vision, she might well be able to do other extraordinary things.
Dainty fingers searched for the wider, rougher hand of her present companion. Hot met cold and Gabriela breathed in deeply as their minds melded together. In that moment, she felt herself disperse, scatter in a thousand pieces, be all over and nowhere. Memories came to her from all sides, but the ones which stood out where those of a pretty young woman, a vampire in whose company an overwhelming feeling of happiness flooded Marcus. The memory of that joy had been somewhat dulled by the passing of time.
Gabriela fought to latch onto the gift, to incorporate it within her own veins. A smile flashed upon the apparition's face. Gabriela herself was suddenly quite taken with the woman. The aura of extreme happiness that she projected onto other was positively seductive. She could understand the love that blossomed between the two vampires and she could better see the reason for which Marcus had sunken so deep in depression after her death.
With one great wrench, Gabriela pulled away from his mind, separating them. She let go of his hand and suppressed her own aura, shielding her gift from his senses. "That was rather strong a memory," she commented. Her throat was dry, her breath shallow. She had been in the presence of that gift for barely a few moments, yet it still managed to make its departure known. The ability itself was not what she would call a useful thing. Aro had thought the same, from the glimpses she'd seen in his mind.
"Well?" the ancient vampire prompted. He stood tall before her, a statue of marble. Her decision could break him down or lift him up. The weight of it settled on her shoulders and Gabriela forced her eyes to meet his unflinchingly.
She shook her head a few times. "I saw it, but I could not replicate it. It seems that only direct contact may achieve that after all. I am sorry, Master."
By way of reply, Marcus gave a shallow nod. "I see. Thank you all the same, child."
His interest in her seemed to fade with that. Gabriela was left standing at the foot of the stairs, completely bereft of any sort of company. It was rather tragic, she thought. And yet, she could not convince herself to do anything other than what she had done. She would not destroy a man completely.
Gathering her wits about her, Gabriela started climbing the stairs, occasionally taking two at a time. Once she reached the top, she gave one look over her shoulder, just to make sure there was nothing in the lower hallway. Thankfully, there was no other vampire in the vicinity that wished to put her skills to test. Such soothing observations put her heart and conscience at rest. Sparing a thought of thanks to whatever deity had given her the good luck, Gabriela made her way to her own given room.
She entered the semi-familiar space with a small shiver. Her reaction had more to do with the fact that so many cold bodies gathered in one place tended to steal her warmth away than with any sort of fear. Though she could not say it made for a comfortable night's sleep knowing herself surrounded by beings that overpowered her and could easily put her candle out.
The door closed behind her at a gentle push of her foot. Her backpack flew on the bed, landing in the middle with a barely audible sound. Gabriela then proceeded to change out of her professional suit, as she liked to call it. She searched through her articles of clothing for some appropriate house-wear. Once that task had been accomplished, she decided she would go to the kitchens and find herself something to eat. Pastries were all good and well, but she could not survive on those.
Slipping on a pair of flats, she left the comfort of her room to venture into the chilled hall and down the stairs. Following what she remembered to be the quickest route to the kitchens, Gabriela was pleased to see that the time she had spent exploring the castle had somewhat contributed to the mental; map she'd made of the place.
Very few humans had ties to the Volturi. That was a fact which could not be disputed. And those who had were not long to be seen around the premises. Or so the rumour went. The oldest connection they had had been working for the coven for nearly three years. It was a paltry number. Hatice was her name and she was a decent sort of person as far as Gabriela could see. She was also the one person still at work when Gabriela entered the kitchen. Though why Hatice would choose to do her work there, she could not tell.
"You are back," the woman noted, her lightly accented voice bounced off the walls. "I was expecting you to stay longer."
Hatice was not what she would call a friend. But she could provide a fairly decent conversation, which was a point in her favour as far as Gabriela was concerned. "Friday is the day on which I get off early," she reminded the woman, although she was certain the information had been given before.
Heading towards the fridge, Gabriela pulled out something that looked like Chinese food. She took the box out and put it in the microwave. It was useless to ask who had ordered it. Instead, she set out to enjoy her meal once it had been heated.
But of course, when she was enjoying one of the simple pleasures of life, something just had to happen and cause a disturbance. That something came in the shape of a rather familiar vampire slinking into the room. It was not his scent that tipped her off. Or even the almost noiseless footsteps coming towards her. It was a shiver travelling down her spine that made her turn her head and see him there.
While she could understand that her gift was fascinating and that, certainly, the added bonus of her blood being tasty made it an easy thing for a vampire to desire her near him, she had to put her foot down when it came to eyes filled with hunger. She knew, for a fact, that innocent people had been slaughtered within these walls not too long ago. Gabriela chewed on her food to gain some more time as Caius ordered Hatice away. She swallowed noisily a few moments later.
She did not, however, have much time to express her surprise, consternation or anxiety at his presence before she found herself pushed into the counter, her personal space invaded and a hissed question ringing in her ears. "What did Marcus ask of you? Tell me." The demand for an answer was followed by a sniffing sound. Whatever he scented on her, it offered him little comfort.
"He wanted to know if I could duplicate his departed mate's gift." The grip that held her motionless slackened. "Why would that be a problem?"
A low growl escaped him. Gabriela shifted, uncomfortable and rather disturbed by the whole issue. When an answer failed to come, she gathered her strength and courage and asked again, "Why would that be a problem?"
She was suddenly released. Gabriela threw the man a strange look. He did not want to answer her, that much was clear. He was further irritated by the fact that he wished to drink her blood but couldn't. And then one had to consider the inappropriate manner in which he understood to obtain information. It was not at all conductive.
"Stay away from Marcus." Blood red eyes pinned her as the words slammed against her. It was a command, true, but she should have been able to ignore it. Yet as they gazed at one another, Gabriela became more and more aware of the fact that her own mind had started bending to the stronger will of the vampire.
She fought to shake her head, to deny him. But all she managed to do was raised her chin a little. Caius continued to exert his will upon her. The defences were breaking down. "Keep away from him, woman. That's your only warning. Do you understand?" His hand pressed down upon one of her shoulders. The grip was as much an anchor for him as for herself. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," she admitted, though begrudgingly. Well, at least she knew what powers he boasted.
Her assent given, she was released, the heavy weight lifting itself off of her chest.
A/N: And here ends this chapter. I've tried not to bore you too much. Again, we are not yet where the fun starts. But it will happen soon. After all, this is the Volturi and there's always trouble to be faced, isn't there? I'm pretty sure you're all agreeing with me.
This having been said, I remind you to drop a line - as I love reviews - and wait patiently for the next chapter I'll put up. I promise to try to make it happen soon.
Have a nice day. :)
