"And what is your name, young one?" Aro asked pleasantly, his voice coming from behind me now. I turned, and gasped.
Fourteen. Fourteen vampires, more than twice the amount of the Cullens. I recognized a few from Renesmee's shared thoughts, there was Aro, of course, and then child-like Jane, and Alec, and, like Alice had predicted, Eleazar.
Eleazar calmly walked up to Aro and whispered to him very quietly. I only had a vague idea of what he could be saying- oh, wait. Right.
Listen, I told myself, and felt that spark of pain in my hands as they morphed into ears.
"...invaluable to us..."
Aro nodded. Damnit.
Go away, I said to the holes in my hands, and backed up. I didn't need to hear any more of their conversation; it was fairly obvious that Eleazar identified my ability and told Aro. And Aro...well, he looked at me with this disgusting grin.
A disgusting, possessive, grin.
"My dear, do not be afraid. Tell me, what is your name?" he asked, and held out his hand to shake. His bare hand. Renesmee had showed me his talent, how he could read all the thoughts you've ever had in one moment of contact.
"My name is Sophie," I said, but made no move to touch his outstretched limb.
"Ah, Sophie," he said approvingly. "Pretty name."
"Thank you." You are so full of shit.
Aro sighed, and pulled his hand back. "Sophie, how long have you been with us?"
"Only a minute, I'd say, but it feels a whole lot longer." Oh yeah. Feel the burn.
"I meant how long have you been a vampire?" Aro rephrased, grinning, acting like he appreciated the humor.
"Not too long," I said carefully, checking my wording. The less Aro knew, the better.
He tilted his head to the side. "Now Sophie, we don't have to make this difficult."
Oh yes we do. "Of course not, I'll talk slower if you want me too."
He smiled and called softly, "Jane?"
There was no time to react, to prepare, even though I knew what Jane's ability was. She was waiting for his signal, I was sure of it, and the second he had started to say her name she was already shooting pure, unadulterated pain at me.
Blistering fires, tearing limbs, ripping the very cells in my body apart. I gasped, and fell to the floor, writhing and screaming in agony. The pain was all I could think about, all I could feel, all that mattered.
When I was human, I had trained myself to stop pain the second it appeared. After I stubbed my toe, I felt a split second of agony before I commanded my nerves to stop relaying pain from that area. Over time, it became automatic.
I was immensely relieved to feel those instincts take over as the pain vanished. I knew that my human strength could only stop those feelings for a short while, so I took over with my gift.
No pain.
Jane stared at me, unbelieving. Aro's smile made it seem like nothing could've pleased him more, and the rest of the guard looked astonished.
Aro sighed again, this time in happiness, and said, "Sophie, you are extraordinary. We would love to have you among our ranks. Will you consider joining us?"
I snarled. It was a deep, earthy sound, one that even surprised myself.
Then there was a tugging. It wasn't physical, it was emotional. I felt ties, between my friends, my family, and the Cullens, ties that were so obviously there, now dissolving. Bella and Edward, gone. I didn't care about them anymore. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Rosalie, completely erased. Renesmee-
"Stop," I said, thrusting my hand forward. Alec froze.
There was a silence, and though it lasted only half a second, it was the longest moment of my life. So many things could've happened then. I could've killed Alec; I felt that I had the power. I could've ended his life.
The Volturi guard could've attacked, and killed me in mere seconds.
The whole lot of them could've run away, hiding in terror.
But instead, Aro clapped slowly, breaking the icy silence.
"Brilliant," he whispered, and touched Alec's hand. I could imagine the thoughts running through his head in a tenth of a second, then the one he was currently thinking.
And mighty Aro froze right next to Alec.
This was all too familiar, and it wasn't Renesmee's memory I was relating to. It was mine.
I had lived in Aro's position, curiously glancing into another's mind, and finding themselves lost, without emotion, without anything. That same intense guilt gripped me from the inside, and I toppled over, gasping my apologies. He was feeling nothing now, had lost all control of himself, because of me, all because of me...
"I'm sorry, I forgot, I'm so sorry, it's horrible, I know, please, please forgive me-"
Aro was at my side in half a second, and he knelt down next to me, hushing my sobbed pleas for forgiveness. "It's alright, Sophie. I'm fine. Alec is fine. It's okay. We forgive you."
I quickly shut down the guilt, embarrassed and infuriated at myself for giving in so easily. Aro tilted his head again, looking at every detail on my face.
"You aren't very old at all, are you?" he said, and began circling me. "Incredible self control, but that seems to be your power, control. Over yourself and others. I wonder..." he said and stood directly in front of me. "How far do your powers go, my Sophie?"
And before I could react, push him back, freeze him, he touched my forehead.
I didn't feel or see anything, but when Aro pulled back, his hazy eyes were bright. "Wow," he whispered. ""That is quite a gift." He looked at me again, speculating. "Sophie," he started, "what do you think we, the Volturi, do? What have you heard about us?"
That you kill the innocent and take whatever or whomever you want. "That you kill the innocent and take whatever or whomever you want." No point in hiding my thoughts anymore.
Aro shook his head. "You've met the Cullens, then?" Like you don't know.
"Yes. They were very hospitable."
"Well, the Cullens tend to have a very negative attitude to the Volturi-"
"Their 'negative attitude' is justified," I interrupted. "You tried to kill Renesmee."
Aro pulled up a very sorrowful face. I would have felt pity for him, but I knew he was faking it.
"What happened between us and Renesmee was a very sad thing," he said, head down. "But you must understand, Sophie, that the purpose of the Volturi is to protect vampires, not destroy them. Renesmee looked very dangerous from our point of view, we had no idea what she was going to become. Yes, we were set on killing her, but after we had proof that she would be safe, we left, did we not?" He didn't wait for my response. "Sophie, it is very hard to keep our people from being discovered. There have been very close calls you know, and I'm afraid those close calls have made us very paranoid. The Cullens never told you about the good things we've done for the vampire community, did they?"
It wasn't really a question. He had seen my thoughts, he knew they hadn't. I didn't answer him.
"Well, there have been wars. Terrible, frightening wars. Thousands upon thousands of people were getting killed, and we had no way to control," he emphasized the word, "them. We had to resort to ending lives. But you Sophie, you could give us the control we need." Aro smiled.
"...I don't follow..." What was he asking of me? To enslave their enemies? Make the stubbornness of vampires join their clan?
"Sophie, you can make it so we don't have to kill anymore," Aro said, excitedly. "You just have to tell them to be careful, to not create anymore vampires, to stop mass-murdering humans, and they will. Don't you see? If you join us, we don't have to kill."
I froze.
Life is Thought, and I value Thought above all else. Life is the reason I can think, the reason I can create and control and learn, the reason others can teach and give and share. Without Life, there isn't anything, no neurons or brains or growth.
A human body can have air forced into it, can have food put into it, can have its heart pumped, but Life is something that just can't be forced or controlled. Life isn't in the blood of a body, or the skin, or the stomach. It's in the brain. Like a candle, it burns, gives us consciousness and mobility and Thought. But candles burn out.
Or they can be blown out.
And the Volturi was wind, and it had blown out many candles. But if I joined, I could change the candles, make them thicker and wiser, and I could make the Volturi a simple breath, rather than a gust of air.
But if I didn't join, was I extinguishing candles myself? Wetting their wicks, making the Volturi a hurricane?
I loved Thought, and therefore Life, and I had just been given an amazing opportunity to protect and save. There was only one option, really.
Aro seemed to have seen the change in my face, the acceptance, rather than the disgust, and his grin widened in an obvious expression of glee.
"I'll do it." I said, looking him in the eye. "I'll join the Volturi."
A/N: Sorry about the wait guys, I had this chapter ready to publish, but lo and behold, the internet crashed. Sigh. Then I went to an overnight camp for a week, then there was catching up with sleep when I got home, and then there was a bat mitzvah, and now I am posting the chapter. Thank you all, again, for your support, this story will definitely be finished, it's actually nearing a close. I estimate about three more chapters and an epilogue. There will not be a sequel, and I'm looking for ideas for other stories to write. If you have an idea, I'd love to get a review or PM. Thank you!