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Chapter 7: Redesign Me

I gulped and drew the covers down around my waist as I sat up.

Aro shut the door behind his brothers. Swiftly, I wondered if they were actually brothers, or have lived so long together it didn't matter. He looked up at me, with the same insane eyes; perhaps they seemed a darker red.

Aro came casually to sit next to me on the bed. His smile was deceiving. His hand slow made it's way over to touch my face. I jerked back out of reach.

"Before I take a look myself, what did you see?" His malicious voice contrasted eerily with his blissfully beautiful face. His hand gripped the high collar of my nightgown.

"I-I…" I sputtered out. Of course my vocals failed me now, when he wanted answers.

Aro rolled his eyes, and took my face in his hands. He saw everything I saw whilst in his head.

He retracted, and smiled at me.

"You will keep this to yourself. You will not pry, and you certainly will not squeal." He ordered.

"Why?"

"Or face severe consequences." He threatened, getting up, and starting towards the door.

"Like what?" I tested.

Aro looked me in the eye and sped up so he was in my face. "Or I'll make sure you and Kai never see the light of day again." He pushed me back into the bed violently.

I hit my head against the headboard and cried out. His expression turned gentle, and he swept my bangs out of my face. I shivered at his cold hand.

I almost forgot myself; they were all-powerful vampires capable of grinding my bones between their fingertips.

Aro left seconds after, leaving me to wallow in pain and torment. I cried myself to sleep that night. It weirded me out that I finally broke down.

None of this is my fault. Yet I'm the target, it seems.

Hours later, I fell asleep.


I woke up later, early in the morning. My head was still spinning. My back felt better, though my body didn't want to get up, but I forced myself. Left foot, right foot…

I wiped the sleep from my eyes, and looked around the room. My stuff was placed neatly in the corner, so I thought I'd get out of this lame nightie. I changed into a plain white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. I put a dark blue sweater over it though, because my bruises were visible. I found my last outfit and in the jeans, I picked out the map in the pocket.

I looked at my appearance in the mirror. There were hints of bags under my eyes. My face looked a little sad, so I smiled, forcing myself to appear strong and happy. I can't let them know they're getting to me.

I hoped that there weren't any vampires nearby, cause I wanted to do some more sneaking around.

I couldn't find my shoes though, so I had to walk around barefoot.

My hand turned the doorknob of the door, and I exited the room.

I decided that until I could get to Kai, I would go to the library and find something out about this Didyme. Was she important? Or was the whole Volturi against her? Marcus looked like he cared about her, so I could potentially ask him.

Not three minutes of walking, I heard someone call my name.

"Autumn. You forgot your shoes."

I turned around and saw Renata holding a pair of red sneakers.

"Uh, thanks?" I said. She tossed them perfectly to my side and threw a pair of socks along with them. I put them on as quickly as I could. "So what brings you back to me?"

She pursed her dainty lips, "Aro told me to keep an eye on you."

"Of course. Was there anything else he told you to do?"

She swiveled her eyes lightning speed, probably to check for other people. "He wants you to stay away from Marcus and Caius."

"First Kai, now them? He's laying it down thick." I said. He must be keeping this secret from them. We didn't speak for a bit, she just followed me to wherever I was going. "So, why did Aro send you?"

"I suppose I am a great asset." It still sounded modest.

"But you ran away last time." I mentioned.

"Small hitch, I got over it." She said quickly, barely moving her lips.

I nodded, not wanting to get her mad. "Is there any reason why?"

Renata took a deep breath. "I just—Aro's never asked me to kill anyone before." She said quietly. I didn't know what to say, because I can't relate to a killer.

"Well that's shitty."

"I suppose. Aro said the guilt would pass."

"Oh, well you shouldn't live by his standard. I know you're apart of the Volturi, but this is so wrong." I said. I sounded so cheesy, but I hoped she got my message.

She nodded as well, taking it in. "You know, I lied. I never wanted this life. I would've chosen to die that day, in the lab. It's not something I would wish on my greatest enemy."

"Hey, um, Aro mentioned something about how they would have me after the werewolf ordeal. Do you know what he means?" I asked.

"We're not supposed to talk about it. But like I said, I'd never wish my state on anyone." She snuck her meaning in. I 'ooh'-ed in understanding.

"Well, I'm not that special, am I? I mean, everyone has a special power, right?"

"What do you know of?" She asked.

"I know Jane's got a power to match her bitchiness. And Aro is a mind reader…" I realized that was the extent of my knowledge.

"There's plenty more. Myself, Alec, Demitri, Marcus, Chelsea, etcetera."

"What exactly is your power?" I asked.

"I have a physical shield around me. For instance…" I blanked. Why was I here? I turned around, hoping to find some purpose as to why I was in this stone hallway. "I can disorient people… No, wait, Autumn, come back!"

Whose voice was that? I turned back around and Renata was there. Oh, right, her power thingie.

" That was pretty good. Anyways, who's Alec?"

"He is Jane's twin. He has the ability to numb the senses."

"And Demitri?" He hasn't shown any outstanding abilities.

"He is a very skilled tracker."

"Tracker?"

"He could hunt you down to the ends of the earth, if requested by Aro."

"I'll remember that…" I said nervously, adding a short laugh. "And Marcus?"

"He can sense relationships, and bonds between people."

"Chelsea?"

"Chelsea can manipulate relationships."

"Well why isn't Chelsea top shit? Surely the Volturi aren't sexist, cause her power sounds better." I pretended to sound offended.

"We are not the Volturi coven. We are the guard. Aro hand picked us to protect them."

"How many are in the coven?"

"Five. Aro, Sulpicia, Caius, Athenodora and Marcus." The order of the pairings suggested Marcus was alone. Had Didyme been his wife? This was all too connect-the-dot-ey; I wanted easy answers.

Aro told me to shut up about Didyme, so I didn't want to ask anything lest he find out via mind reading.

"So where are you going anyways?" Renata asked.

"Hmm, maybe the library?" I asked.

"Oh, we passed it two minutes ago." She turned around, me a little bit slower, and we came up to the same door I was at a couple days ago. It seemed more menacing than before, because what I was looking for inside went against what Aro told me not to do.


Renata opted to wait outside, preferring not to know what a little human like myself wanted to do with her spare time. Since I wasn't causing trouble with Kai, they really couldn't find any faults. I wasn't on the Internet, or on the phone… yada, yada.

Since all the labels on the aisles were in Italian, I decided to just pick the most important looking shelf. It came down to having to climb up several staircases to get to the top, where there were plenty of heavy books. I found a shelf with writing on it, but it did not have Italian on it. It had a bold Insignia I had not previously seen. There was a 'D', followed by the word 'Volturi'. Underneath the header, the word 'deceased' in cursive was written in the wood.

I opened the first book I saw on the shelf, and realized it was a journal. It was written in very old English, almost illegible. On the first page, a name was written…

Didyme Volturi

I heard the door creak open, several levels below me. I quickly shut the book, and put it back on the shelf. Before I heard the book thud to a stop, someone was at my side, the breeze of their fast ascent moving my hair. I looked to my left and saw Marcus.

"What are you doing here, little one?" He asked blandly. I'm sure if he had any emotion at all, it would sound like he cared.

"Just browsing for a good read." I said with a cheeky grin.

"You are in the wrong section. Children's lore is on the main floor." Again it was bland, but I think it was meant to be an insult.

"Yeah, but I want to read this book." I hoped he had some sort of connection to this mystery woman.

"You will not encroach any further." If I listened closer, I would've heard the distress in his voice more clearly; but I caught it anyways.

"And why is that?" I said, trying to sound playful and childish. I wasn't technically breaking Aro's rules of outright asking someone about her.

Marcus stuttered a bit, "B-because this is a private library." He looked around for support, "Renata," He said; again back to his normal boring voice.

"Yes, master?" She said, immediately appearing in front of us.

"Take this one here for something to eat. She's causing entirely too much trouble."

"Hey Marcus, what about Kai? She needs to eat too!" I said.

"Your friend is being brought food to her chamber like the dog she is." I again have to assume it was an insult.

"It would be more effective if you put some meaning behind your words." I chimed.

Before Renata feared I would anger Marcus further, she drew me away from him, leading me quickly (for a human) down the staircase and out of the library. I laughed the whole way down.

I wish Marcus had feelings, so that I could see how he reacted truly. I think Didyme meant a lot to him. I think she was his, and he to her. And most of all, I think I struck a nerve. Woot.

Renata and I stood outside the library.

"I don't think we have any food for you, but we can go to town and eat there."

"Does this mean you have to do your power thingie?" I asked.

"Urm, well yes."

"How am I supposed to order?"

"Well, I suppose you could order in." Renata said smartly.

I gave her a look. I don't think she was convinced, but no one wants a pouty toddler on his or her hands. If they treat me like a kid, I'm gonna act like one.

"You better like Italian," She said grumbling along.

"My favourite," I piped in, following behind her.


I ended up stopping at Athenodora's room along the way to pick up my laptop and phone, telling Renata that I was only grabbing another sweater. I hid it in a bag, with the sweater draping out. Very suave of me.

We were sitting at a small quiet restaurant out of the way, but boy did they have killer spaghetti sauce. The Nona of the establishment came by.

"How is your food?" She asked me in a thick accent. She had a kind wrinkly face that reminded me of my grandma.

"Very good!" I said after slurping up a noodle. I had mouthful of food. Renata would look over every so often and roll her eyes at my table manners, and cross and uncross her legs impatiently. Her cloak hung loosely around her, but shielded her from the light. I wondered if she burned on contact, however the sky was overcast.

"You want more spaghettini?" The Nona asked pushily. Who was I to deny? I was still hungry, and most likely a never-ending bill courtesy of the Volturi; Renata hadn't given me a limit.

"More fromaggio." I told her. She nodded and went away.

"I'm going to get a snack. Don't move." Renata warned. I knew she trusted me enough to leave me alone (all apart of my master plan), and it was a mistake. She can go drink her blood.

When she left for a good minute, I licked my teeth and pulled out my laptop. I found that I had a couple of bars of stolen wireless. I logged onto Facebook, messaging a friend I never thought I would ever speak to.

Hey, Kai's dad. I know what you're gonna say: my name is Gerry.

Listen up; I need to know some stuff about Kai's mom. I know its personal, but this is important. If you could send me a number to contact her, along with a copy or link of your family tree. Your help is most appreciated!

-Autumn

It took me a while to write, rewriting what to put in. I decided to make it vague, hoping Gerry would find me trustworthy enough to message me her number. I opened another tab and went to the search engine homepage. I typed in "werewolves".

"Well, well, breaking the rules already?" said an arrogant voice. Demitri sounded very pleased with himself.

I quickly shut my laptop, and slid it back into its case.

"Shut up Demitri." I mumbled, blushing at being caught.

Woo, finally.

-Sage94