Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far :)

The Red Crayon : I'm glad you liked the description of the characters' strength and weakness. Still no Emmett though...

Lorem tenebrae : Thanks for pointing out the mistake once again. I made the adaptations so hopefully I won't make that mistake again. And well, I can't tell you yet how and when she's going to meet Emmett. Just a little more patience.

xxxRena : Woohoo, I'm so glad you love this story. This chapter means we're one step closer to meeting the Cullens :)

Lady of Sign : Another update! Hope you like this chapter and I hope this answers what you've been wondering about.

Noble Beauty : Nope, still no Emmett. Sorry. But there are some other new characters who make an appearance here. Glad you like it so far and I hope you'll like this chapter as well.

kate x wolfe : I'm glad you like my writing style. I get that Laurence can be a difficult name and seem like a boy's name, especially when it's not familiar in your culture. I'm not going to give her a nickname because she doesn't seem like someone who would appreciate being given a nickname. So, sorry I picked a hard name but it was the only one who seemed to fit with this character and once I named her that in my head, I couldn't change it anymore.

Chapter 4

I liked Caius the least of all of my 'masters'. He didn't praise me like Aro did, neither did he have conversations with me like Marcus did. Aro admired my gift but he didn't admire me and that started to bother me after a few decades with the Volturi. I preferred Marcus' company over that of the other two. He might not be very talk active and he did always seem bored and depressed but sometimes, on a good day, he made a very good conversational partner.

Now that I had all the time in the world and the largest library to ever lay my eyes on at my disposition, I liked spending my time in the Volturi Library, learning about the centuries I had not experienced for myself. The library was my sanctuary and it was also Marcus', thus the reason we sometimes ran into each other. And since he had lived during all those centuries I admired, I found myself often bothering him with questions about them but most of the time he didn't seem to mind too much.

"Master Marcus, may I ask you something?"

I had been sitting at the window when the much older vampire had glided in. Yes, glided. It was very impressive to see either of my masters move. They had such grace about them that I will never achieve myself, even if I live for twelve centuries more. He sat down and made a hand gesture that inclined I was allowed to ask him my question.

"What was the Roman empire like?"

I had been reading about it but why just read if I could hear about it from someone who had lived during it? Though lived might not be the appropriate term to use for the vampire in front of me. It sounded like an era I would have adored myself with the toga's and the gladiators. Too bad I was only born in 1869.

"It had its benefits," He said in his monotone voice.

"Like what? If I may ask," I quickly added the last part. It takes a lot to get Marcus angry but whenever I wasn't the politest I could be around Caius, he unleashed his torn on me. I thought to myself it was for the best if I made a habit out of it.

"The slaves were very utile to have around."

I don't see why he would pick that out as the first example. He still has slaves though I'm sure Valentina, the human who worked for them, wouldn't appreciate me referring to her in that way.

"What about the gladiators?" I asked eagerly.

"The games were difficult to bear. So much blood."

Oh, I hadn't thought about that. It's not that hard to control your thirst when you're as old as Marcus but that still doesn't mean you should voluntarily sit in an arena where the main purpose is to spill as much blood as possible.

Before I could ask him anything else, Aro entered the room. He smiled at me before turning to his brother-in-law.

"Demetri has found the lawbreaker, they are bringing him in now," He announced to his brother before turning to leave again with Marcus in tow. "You come as well, Laurence. You will witness us upholding the law."

I followed Aro and Marcus to the throne room where Caius already sat at his place. The only other vampires there were Renata and Jane. I stood next to Renata and watched the doors open after a while. Demetri came in with Felix behind him, dragging an unknown vampire in. He was forced on his knees in front of Aro.

"You have been found guilty of exposing our kind to a human," Aro said in the cruellest tone I had ever heard from him.

The vampire looked bewildered around him. By the looks of his bright red eyes, I'd say he hasn't been a vampire for long. He also didn't seem to understand what was about to happen to him and who Aro was.

"Do you have anything left to say?"

The vampire didn't respond. It wasn't that hard to tell he was frightened. Before he could have said anything, Felix ripped him to pieces. I tried not to gasp at the sight. I had never seen a vampire die before. I knew fire affected us, if you were just dismembered you could always put yourself back together. Very strange if you ask me. Felix took a torch and lit the vampire on fire. I couldn't help but wonder if he still felt the flames.

The first time I saw the Volturi execute a vampire, it had left a terribly memory. But all things fade with time and after a while I found myself no longer caring during an execution, whether it was justified or not. I did however like the power it brought with it. The Volturi had power. The Volturi were power and by living in their coven I was powerful as well, and loving it.

The rules must always be upheld, no matter what. I had taken over their philosophy and no longer sympathised with any lawbreakers. I even found joy in executing some myself thought that privilege was usually for Felix, the strongest one in the guard. Even though Aro had made sure I was trained for battle, I never actually got into a battle. Aro used my gift for other purposes. Whenever a new vampire would enter this castle and be greeted by the masters, I was there. I stood close to Aro so he could hold my hand the minute the new vampire came in and Aro would know exactly what to expect.

A lot of vampires came to see the Volturi but each and every one feared them. They came for many reasons. They needed to be executed for breaking one of the laws, they needed help with a rivalling coven or they were simply visiting, though the latter was rather rare. But the strangest reason to come to Volterra was without a doubt to ask the Volturi to end their life.

I had been sitting in the throne room, talking to Corin about the first World War. It was one of the only things in history that I had actually experienced myself. Marcus had been sitting on his throne, staring at the wall while Caius was pacing back and forth, clearly irritated that there was nothing interesting going on at the castle lately. Suddenly Aro appeared in the room and told Caius to take a seat on his throne. Someone was coming. I got up from my seat on the ground and immediately took my place next to Aro when Santiago brought a vampire in. The man had long black hair and the look on his face had some sort of similarity to Marcus'. Marcus noticed it as well and suddenly got interested in whatever was going on. The man was fast, not abnormal for a vampire but it was his strength. He also loved someone, lost someone and that grief had become his weakness. I reached out my hand to Aro who took it and used it to make a decision.

"I have come here to beg you for salvation," The vampire in front of us pleaded. "My mate is dead. I have avenged her but I no longer wish to live eternity without her."

He wanted to die? Why? Because his mate died?! So? Marcus' mate is also dead but you don't see him begging anyone to take his life. When you have eternity and power beyond humans' imagination, why would you give that up?

"We shall grant your wish," Aro told him before he let Felix decapitate him.

Why would Aro allow this? Wasn't he supposed to take care of the vampires in this world? This vampire had done nothing wrong yet Aro still took his life. Even though it was at his own request, it still seemed terribly wrong to do so. For the first time I thought it was unnatural for vampires to kill other vampires. We were of the same kind. Why would we need to fight each other, kill each other?

I had the feeling Aro would have spared his life had my gift seen a special ability as his strength. Aro was using me.

The longer I stayed with the Volturi, the more respect I lost for Aro. His weakness had said it all. He was greedy and that was about the only emotion he was capable of feeling. Despite all that my loyalty never wavered, Marcus would have seen it if it had. I still believed very much in their cause and I was still very grateful for everything Aro had given me but I no longer admired him. I think he must have seen that in my thoughts but he never said a word about it.

My loyalty might not have shifted but I desired something different than before. I had been content with this life but now I no longer was. I wanted to leave the castle and not just to pick someone up at the gate. The best part about being a vampire is that you can do as you please and I wanted to see the rest of the world but I couldn't. I was trapped in this castle and the longer I stayed, the more I started to resent it. I wanted to leave the Volturi but something told me Aro wouldn't let me go. I had figured that maybe Marcus would understand. He had after all once desired to leave the Volturi with his mate.

I had been sitting on the balcony, in the shadows, overlooking the humans in Volterra. Chelsea had amused herself with it lately. Breaking bonds of the humans and linking them to complete strangers. I thought it was cruel. I however liked to see what their weakness was. I noticed that with humans, they were almost always physical. Probably because humans are so breakable, so fragile.

"It's a strange hobby you've developed."

Marcus had been standing behind me for some time but hadn't spoken until now. I slowly turned around to face the only master I truly liked.

"They're fascinating," I shrugged and couldn't help but remember when I used the same word to describe Archie after first meeting him.

"They're weak," He stated.

"Do you have any memories of your human life?" I asked him.

I can imagine after travelling the world for so long as a vampire, you'd forget what it was like to be human. After the transformation I lost a lot of my human memories and the ones I still had were hazy, as if they were just a dream. I remember the night I died, the night I met Archie, surprisingly enough I remember Archie as a very different person. I also remember my family but only their faces. I can't remember their voices or what their touch felt like. Just a very vague memory of my human life.

"No. That was too long ago," He told me.

This would be the right moment to tell him about my desire to leave. But what if he wouldn't understand it either? The only way I could ever get out of here was if one of the masters supported my decision and that certainly wouldn't be Caius or Aro.

"Master Marcus? Have you ever desired something other than being part of the Volturi?" I asked him carefully.

He looked at me as if trying to figure out why I had asked him such a thing but I believe he had known so for a while now.

"Yes, once upon a time I longed to leave this place and all the burdens that come with it, to just live and love," His face had brightened up in a way I had never seen before, but it quickly turned back to the gloomy look. "But I was young and foolish. I thought nothing could ever change my happiness," And now he sounded so incredibly bitter, like Caius.

"Would it be terrible if I were young and foolish?" I whispered.

"You're not even a hundred years old yet. You are supposed to be foolish," He smiled slightly.

"I want to leave Volterra," I told him, cautious of his reaction.

He nodded, because he had known all along.

"You were always the one least connected to the others though I must say it surprised me that your loyalty didn't change as well," He looked at me now.

"My loyalty still lies here. I still believe in our cause and I am grateful that I've even gotten the chance to be a part of it."

"But?" He asked.

"But I want to see the world, I want to explore, I want to do the things I never would have gotten the chance for, were I still human but I can't do all those things if I'm trapped in here," I told him almost desperately.

"I will talk to Aro."

Ten years later I finally got what I had wanted; my freedom back. Though Aro had been reluctant about it, Marcus and Caius had been in favour. Caius didn't like me very much but my uneasiness lately had been the reason he didn't mind me being away from the castle. They did however ask me something in return. When the time comes that the Volturi need my help again, I should come. My loyalty should always stay with them. My promise was easy to make.

I thanked Marcus elaborately and I think he smiled a sincere smile at me the day I left. It was 1965 and for the first time in my vampire life, I was completely on my own. I was no longer stuck in that castle with too many vampires around. I also wasn't with another vampire I trusted, I was truly by myself and I liked it. During my human life I had been quite a loner as well, enjoying the moments I would be by myself.

The first years I travelled completely alone but I soon found the problem with that. Loners are easy targets and thanks to the Volturi and James I now knew there were vampires who take pleasure in taking other vampires' lives. I joined a woman named Mauri and a man named Gunther. They were both changed in 1462 by the same vampire. They were pleasant vampires to be around but all the love spewing from their bond of mates made me leave them again after a few years. It changed into a habit: find new vampires, travel with them for a while, leave after a few years, spend some time alone and then the cycle would begin again.

Over the years I had stayed with five different covens. Gunther and Mauri were the first and I stayed with them for five years. Next up was a nomad named Garrett who didn't mind me tagging along for a while. We stayed together for ten years since he and I got along so well. Next were two men and a woman, Vincent, Damon and Jenna, Vincent's mate. The mated couple wasn't as attached to the hip as Gunther and Mauri were but Damon made it very clear that their love sickened him. I thought he didn't want a mate, just like me but Vincent told me he was just very jealous because what he wanted more than anything was exactly what they had: a mate. I stayed with them for seven years.

After them I travelled together with another nomad named Laurent. It was rather confusing with the similarity of our names but he was an excellent hunter and like most people he admired my gift. I found it strange that his compliments for my ability didn't affect me like they would have years ago. I believe recognition for how special I was, didn't seem so special to me anymore. I didn't bond with Laurent the way I did with the others so I only stayed with him for three years.

The last coven I travelled with was made up out of two women named Tyria and Penelope. I had met them during one of my hunts, years after I had last seen Laurent.

I had gone to Romania. The Volturi had told me about the Romanian coven and though I didn't desire to run into them, I felt the need to explore the country that once had held another powerful coven. It was a beautiful country and everywhere I went I could smell a vampire. Romania is the birth land of vampires for a reason. The woods with occasionally a village were perfect scenery for our lifestyle. I had smelled a lot of vampires but I still hadn't run into one. Not until I was deep in a forest, close to a village. I went out hunting but the people here do believe in vampires so they don't come out of their houses at night. What they don't know is that we can still feed of them during the day.

I was hungry, it had been a while since my last feed but no human was around. I didn't like the idea of going into someone's home and take a bite of a human in his sleep. It seemed too sneaky to me. So I wandered around the woods when I picked up several scents; two vampires and a lot of humans, bleeding humans. I ran as fast as I could in their direction, they were still a few miles away. I just hoped the two vampires wouldn't mind sharing.

I entered an open spot filled with at least six humans. The two vampires were hissing at me, guarding their feed. I didn't mean them any harm but if they attacked me, I would certainly defend myself. The vampires were both female and both blond. One of them, which I assumed was the leader and the oldest one looked to be changed around the age of 25. The second one was shorter and seemed younger than me in both ways, she looked like a 15-year old. She had a certain graveyard vibe around her that made me dislike her the moment I laid eyes on her. She couldn't have been changed that long ago. She wasn't a newborn anymore but there was still something undeveloped in the way she moved. She couldn't have been older than five years. Neither had a gift and that made me more comfortable. Gifted vampires were always more threatening because they almost had like a sixth sense.

The younger vampire was sloppy, she never cleaned up the mess she made and even a lousy tracker could find her in a heartbeat, well not theirs of course. But she was rather fast for a vampire, not to the point of unusual but it was what made her such a great companion for the other vampire.

The older one had experience, that was her strength. She must have been over six hundred years old but her weakness was the fact that she was never satisfied. Whenever she desired something and got it, it lost its appeal to her. She always wanted more. In a way she reminded me a bit of myself and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe that was my weakness as well.

They were both glaring and hissing at me. That was not necessary, I had just wanted to see if maybe they were prepared to give me one of their humans. I was rather hungry and with my ability I would have been able to fight them for a meal but I was still a vampire with honour, though we are a rare breed.

Suddenly the younger one leaped towards me, ignoring her companion's hissed warnings and tried to take a swing at me. It wasn't that hard to realise she had never been in an actual fight before. Her fighting skills were sloppy as well. She was fighting like a human. It was fairly easy for me to avoid getting hit by her and take her arm in a firm lock. She was growling out in anger but she was probably also afraid I'd rip her arm off. There was no need for that.

"I don't mean you harm, I just wanted to see if you were prepared to share your catch with me since there are hardly any humans around," I addressed the older vampire who had been watching us, not trying to intervene in the slightest while her companion was still hissing at me.

She nodded and pointed towards an older man they had not fed off yet. I quickly released the vampire and made my way over to the human to sink my teeth in his neck. I almost moaned when I tasted blood after being deprived off it for a while. I'm used to feeding every few days but now I had gone longer than two weeks without a meal. I could tell the two vampires were watching me cautiously but neither made another move to get close to me. After my feeding I finally looked at the other humans. Besides the man I had just drained, there was one older woman as well, the rest of them were children. One of them barely seven years old. That was wrong.

"Who are you?" The older vampire addressed me.

"My name's Laurence, you?"

She introduced herself to me as Tyria and told me the other one was named Penelope. The younger one was glaring, clearly not pleased with my presence. They told me where they came from in exchange for my story. They were fascinated by my gift as well, especially Tyria. Penelope didn't seem to be very impressed by it and seemed almost angry Tyria took the time to talk to me. They, just Tyria actually, offered me to travel with them, a preposition I gladly took. I hadn't travelled with another vampire in a long time.