Chapter Three
"A constellation of tears on your lashes, burn everything you love, then burn the ashes…"
-"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark," Fall Out Boy
The Volturi.
Goody.
My coven holds their breath, solemn and skeptical.
"How could they be helpful in any way?" Peaches snarls.
"I'm aware that…no one is on real exceptional terms with them. But when I lived with them, there was something I think might help Crystal. When I stayed with them, they relentlessly tried to convert me to feeding from humans. At one point, Aro dropped a bleeding human right outside the library I was studying in simply to test my resistance."
We are all listening, doubtful that the three cruelest and oldest vampires in the world could help with some 15-year-old anorexic vampire, but Carlisle seems confident. Peaches shifts from her position by the tree and inched closer to Carlisle, indirectly stating her dominance in the coven and her duty to protect us—even from something impalpable like an idea.
Carlisle notes the movement and quickly adds, "I would never send you three somewhere that I didn't think was safe. I knew Aro; he was my friend, and I believe he thought the same of me. He was very concerned with my diet when we first met, but never forced me to change. All I'm suggesting is that you visit for two, three days and maybe he will be able to…convince you of some sort of…dieting." He finished clumsily, avoiding Peaches' glare. "I'll even escort you and stay with you if you'd like, to explain the situation."
As the proposal sinks in, the sugar-coating slides off like beaded water drops on a raincoat.
"You want Aro to be Crystal's personal weight watchers instructor?" Amber asks, though it comes out sounding more like a declaration.
"Crystal's situation is unique." Again, I'm right here. "I understand why she won't eat, and I respect that." He smiles at me. Yeah, hi. I exist. "But Aro has spent centuries meeting and mingling with vampires with incredible abilities. He might be able to decode whatever it is in your body that keeps you alive without the nutrients we need in blood."
Amber is itching to make another sarcastic remark, and we all feel her anger boiling inside her. I wonder if she's seeing Carlisle as a human right now. How, even when his heart was still beating, he was nothing but compassionate and sincere. Or maybe she's just envisioning a lot of head-ripping. It's hard to tell with her.
The next time he speaks, he sounds desperate. "Aro can see things I can't. He can read feelings, memories, thoughts—everything. Edward is limited to thoughts at the current moment but Aro upon touch can read…everything." He sounds amazed by this, but underneath the amazement, there's something more. Regret. I wonder what happened between him and Aro.
Amber doesn't skip a beat when it comes to declining. "No—no, no, you know what they're going to do, Carlisle? Aro's gonna take one look at her and turn her into a fucking clone amongst their guard. The werewolves hate us 'cause they think we're soulless statues—"
"Amber—"
"—but they've never seen real statues. Real statues are those monsters that sit around in their fancy Italian castle all day, waiting to kill people. They're too damn lazy to get their own food for goodness sakes! And you want them to teach her how to hunt? No."
"Amber," Peaches sighed, tired and worn-out. "Think about it." She says after a minute, but Amber launches into another highly articulate argument regarding the various ways the Volturi were going to use me for their atrocious Satanic sacrifices that would most likely involve bestiality sooner or later. Her words, not mine.
Carlisle stood there patiently, coming over to me and smiling reassuringly. Even for him, this idea was outrageous. While my coven argued, Carlisle looked at me, softly placing a pale hand on my shoulder.
"Crystal," I could tell what he was about to say was hard for him, and I couldn't help feeling bad for putting his entire coven through the trouble that I have. "When I was first turned, I experienced an immense…hatred for myself, for what I'd become. I had attempted to kill myself several times: drowning, jumping off cliffs, hanging. And starvation." I stared at the gentle man in front of me, squinching (is that a word? Well, it is now) up my face into clear disbelief. That's like…Mario trying to kill himself right after he gets star power. Carlisle chuckled at my reaction.
"I wasn't nearly as strong as you. I attacked a herd of deer after about two weeks. That's when I realized animal blood was a much more humane way of living. Who knows? Maybe that's the life you'll choose, too."
I nodded absentmindedly, still trying to wrap my mind around Carlisle trying to starve himself. How much pain he must've endured before snapping, and it makes me so…mad at having never tasted blood for thirteen years. What I've done looks easy compared to Carlisle's mere bloodless two weeks.
Amber and Peaches come back; they had wondered away to argue in Vietnamese—they do that when they're real pissed—and might've gotten physical, but I don't know for sure. They're always beating up on each other. Usually over stupid shit.
"Crystal," Peaches says, breathless, "after some debate, we realized it was your decision. You know what we've told you about the Volturi. It's your body. Your life. Your level of comfort. We're willing to go to Italy if it means it'll help."
Amber says nothing, and I know she's still fueled at the idea of me going to Volterra, but she gives a small, tense nod to show she'd be willing to go as well. Suddenly every pair of eyes are on me, but I feel no panic. I felt a sort of excitement bubbling inside that arrantly contradicted Amber's cold, gripping resentment.
"I have always wanted to see Italy."
xXx
i hate this. i hate it. hatehatehatehatehate.
but i love crystal.
"should we inform the volturi of our visit beforehand?" crystal asked, packing a small bag of clothes and books.
peaches waved her off, distracted. "nah, they ought to be honored to have three sexy girls popping up outta nowhere."
i can't help it, i smile.
peaches is trying to remain open-minded and peaceful, but i know she's just as irritated about this as i am. her and i—we do not have the best history with the power-thirsty vampire rulers. leaning in crystal's doorframe, i prepare her for everything the volturi and the guard has to offer.
"you know…that aro will be able to see everything. whether you want him to or not, he'll see it once he touches you."
crystal freezes. "i know. i'm trying to tell myself it's for the best. the cullens knowing was one thing," i look down, humiliated i was the one to tell them, but crystal seems unfazed, "but the volturi—strangers—are another."
"it'll only be aro. no one else." peaches quickly jumps in. crystal nods again, lost in thought. thoughts that will soon no longer belong to her, but to a monster. i breathe deeply, closing my eyes and praying to God—if there is one—that the volturi don't take what happened between me and them out on crystal. it was long ago; not long after peaches changed me but before we met crystal. what was it…twenty-five years ago?
"so!" peaches claps, startling us all. she jumps on crystal's bed like a five-year-old, swinging her legs back and forth. "demetri's hot. just coming out and saying that right now."
we all start laughing, thankful for the mood change.
"but you can't get attached. to any of them. not that i think that'll be a problem. they're all like…rawr, rawr, i be volturi. rawr, look at my fancy clothes. rawr, and my fancy castle."
peaches' voice is all squeaky like she inhaled helium and crystal is laughing and all i can think is when aro reads her thoughts he's going to see this moment and we're all going to die.
"rawr, i be smexy demetri. play hide and seek with me. rawr, i be felix. i be fairy."
"peaches…" i warn, even though i'm trying hard not to grin.
"rawr."
crystal's laughter has subsided, but she's still smirking like a lovesick schoolgirl. "are they really that bad?" she asks.
peaches and i look at each other, shrug, and sugar-coat:
"one is unhinged."
"another is hardly noticed."
"there's one who's indifferent."
"demetri is hot."
"cough he's not cough. one is strong."
"cough he is cough. someone is merciless."
"there's a sadist."
"and a slut."
"and a drunk."
"ultimately, the volturi are the vampire version of south park."
"i've never watched that show." crystal admits.
"lucky you." i smile.
"so am i supposed to guess which one's which?" she asks.
"that's the point of the game." peaches responds, and lightly whacks her as she leaves for the bathroom to grab her sheet.
i turn to peaches. "was that really necessary? we're going to die now."
"i know." her expression has turned serious and dark. all traces of joking are gone. her thoughts are where mine were moments ago. "i'm just worried about how they'll remember us. might as well show them how we remember their coven. i'd like to go into this with the attitude henry rollins did: i hit him to get his attention. i shot him to calm him down. i killed him to reason with him."
xXx
Volterra is a beautiful city. Buildings and buildings, all with walls preserving history and art, surround me as I travel through the village bustling with people. Clear skies, a vibrant atmosphere, and sights that have nothing on Minnesota fill my vision. Cliffs where even one misplaced foot will send you falling to your death litter the landscape.
A sudden shudder runs through me at the thought that Carlisle once tried to throw himself off a cliff in hopes of ending this eternal life.
There are some areas that are deserted with nothing but the natural countryside to keep one company. I think those are the most beautiful parts of the city, where one can be alone and sheltered from other people. But then I see the village with all the little shops and restaurants, and I think that to be lost in a crowd, just another face passing through, would be better than being isolated with your own thoughts. That can get dangerous awfully fast.
Too bad I'll be experiencing none of it 'cause I gotta stay locked in a castle with my diet teacher.
"We're here." Amber says, giving me a tight smile. I breathe in and take in the enormity of the fortress. Jitter bugs crawl in and out of my unbreathing lungs and my dead heart, and I'm sure all those vampires inside can feel them, too.
Through the huge wooden doors, where a human (she's so close so close soclose I can smell her) greeted us, down a long corridor, through another set of doors, and finally, into the throne room. It is vast and cathartic; something about the elegiac paintings and gaudy decorations soothe half my nerves.
They instantly return when I see those occupying the room.
Three vampires, dressed in lavish attire, sit upon three thrones in the middle of the room. They radiate control and superiority.
Four other vampires, two on each side of the thrones, stand unmoving in cautious postures. There's one that reminds me of Emmett with his build, one with a careless expression that Peaches automatically glides towards (I'll assume this was Demetri), another boy with mischievous eyes, and beside him, only one girl, innocent yet lethal.
"Ahhh, sweet Amber and lovely Peaches!" The vampire in the middle, Aro, sighs dreamily, coming forth, smiling enthusiastically. He greets my coven cheerfully, hugging and holding their hands…for a prolonged period of time…his eyes glaze over…the smile never leaves…he has to be the one that's unhinged. Then he looks at me, and I know within minutes he knows the whole story.
"And Crystal." He titters. "Exquisite, charming, green-eyed…starving Crystal."