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Chapter 7: Hold me now – Johnny Logan

"You can't just take her out of the castle whenever you like! What if something had happened?! You didn't bring Felix or at least Demitri! You didn't even tell anyone!" Alec yelled angrily at Beth. He had jumped her as soon as we stepped foot in the castle again an hour ago. I had tried going between them, but Felix had held me back and told me I shouldn't be bothered. I wasn't so sure. They were still arguing just as furiously as they did an hour ago and it didn't seem they would come to terms with each other anytime soon. I sighed silently. Here I thought they just started to get at least a tiny bit along. I guess they were back to square one again, then.

"I take her goddamn wherever I want to take her! She might be your precious Volturi's prisoner, but she is my best friend! She deserves to enjoy what little freedom she has left before you turn her into one of Aro's puppets!" Beth yelled back. By now I was just about ready to cover my ears like a little child that didn't want to hear his or hers parent argue. I looked tentatively up at Felix, silently asking him if he wasn't going to do something, but he just gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I guess the only reason we hadn't left them to it, was to make sure they didn't tear each other's throats out.

"She won't be a puppet and I know what she deserves! You're not the only one who cares about her, so get down from that high horse! But taking her out without telling us or taking a guard to look after her is too reckless! The Volturi has too many enemies for you to take her out like that! What if one of those enemies had showed up, huh?!"

"I would've had to kill them, of course" Beth crossed her arms and lifted her chin in a challenging manner. Alec let out a sound of pure frustration, pulling at his hair. Why was he getting so worked up?

"Alec, nothing happened. I'm fine, see?" I dared to speak up, though a bit tentatively. I didn't like it when those I cared about fought. He turned to give me a resigned and frustrated look.

"But there could have. It's too dangerous. Too risky. You could've gotten hurt. You could've…" he started as he came closer. He gently caressed my cheek as if to make sure I really was ok. I offered him a tiny reassuring smile, but he didn't return it. Instead, he turned towards Beth yet again.

"What would you have done it she got hurt on your watch? Maybe then you could get down to reality and realize the sun doesn't revolve around you" he snarled at her. She let her arms fall and curled her hands into fists.

"Don't you talk to me like that, witch-boy. I'm not stupid. Don't you think I made sure we were out of danger? I have looked out for her far longer than you have" she hissed right back.

"It's a miracle nothing happened yet, then" Alec said almost smugly and she hissed wordlessly at him.

"Enough, both of you, you doesn't get anywhere with this other than upsetting Noel. I'm taking her to the kitchen and you two better work things out or I'll smack your heads together until you do" Felix warned them and I started at his threat. He wouldn't! Would he?

None of them answered and they childishly refused to look at one another.

"I don't have to stay and make sure you behave, do I?" Felix lifted a questionable eyebrow. He even sounded like an adult scolding two misbehaving children. I found it wiser not to say anything. They wouldn't listen anyway. They were still both too frustrated and angry to think clearly in the moment.

"Come, Noel" Felix smiled at me and offered me his arm. I took it with a soft smile. I might as well leave them to it – I actually was quite hungry.

"It's still so weird seeing Alec get worked up. He has always been so calm and collected, but never when it comes to you. I swear, I'll never get tired of it" Felix reflected in amusement as we went.

"Do you think they will go back to hating each other again?" I asked almost timidly as we walked in my human pace towards the castle's great kitchen and the human cook. I assumed they had hired him after I got here. He seemed to live near the kitchen because he was always ready to make me anything at any point of the day – it was too much really, having my very own private cook, that is.

"Yeah, they'll come around. They both care about you very much and I think that's actually the problem" he said as if speaking to himself.

"How come?"

"They both love you – in different ways, of course – and they both want you to themselves. I don't think they like to share you" he smirked at me and I blinked in confusion.

"But… I spend time with you, Demitri and Heidi all the time too" they wasn't bickering like that with them.

"Yes, but I don't think they see us as much of a threat" he scratched the back of his head as if unsure how to put it. I still didn't quite get it.

"A threat?" I started and had to swallow. How was they are threat to each other when it came to me? It wasn't a competition as to who spent most time with me. Right?

"Yeah. Beth has known you the longest and Alec is jealous of that, even though he would never admit it. Moreover, I think Beth is scared of losing you to Alec. It doesn't help anything that they are both stubborn and their personalities crash like hell" he explained with a wry smile and I scrunched up my nose in distaste.

"But she knows she'll never lose me, right?"

"Sure, but, you know, she can't help it" he stated simply and held the door for me as we reached the kitchen. I let go of his arm, as we couldn't both fit through the door at the same time and…

I let out a shriek as the floor came crashing towards me, but I never hit it.

"Be careful now. Why do you always forget that step it there?" Felix smirked as he helped me to my feet. I blushed. I seemed to repeatedly trip down from that extra steep step that led into the kitchen.

"Where is Mr. Caffarelli?" the cook who the Volturi had hired just for me, Bruno Caffarelli.

"He'll be right here" Felix barely finished the sentence before Mr. Caffarelli joined us in the oversized Volturi kitchen. He was wiping his forehead and top of his bald head with his handkerchief as always, but he seemed even more fidgety than usually. I came to stand beside him, as he shakily took out a cutting board and a ladle.

"Are you ok, Mr. Caffarelli?" I asked in concern. Felix was still standing by the door with a lifted eyebrow and a look in his eyes as if the cook had gone mad.

"Oh, la mia bella, I fine. Why you ask?" he said in thick Italian accent, not looking at either of us as he was about to chop an onion with the ladle. I gently took the ladle from him and handed him a knife. He offered me a thin smile. Something was up with him. He was usually much livelier, though he always seemed nervous. His hands was shaking so much I feared he might chop his fingers off rather than the onion. I gently took the knife from him and smiled encouragingly at him – though he still wasn't meeting my eyes.

"Why don't I make dinner today and you relax. I believe you need it more than I do" I offered, but didn't wait for an answer before I got to work. He usually never let me help him. I think that was because he had been told to be of my service, but I wasn't sure. He could just be the kind of man who liked to do things on his own. But today he let me. Mr. Caffarelli wiped his forehead yet again as he muttered something in Italian.

"I see you got this under control then. I'll be back in half an hour" Felix told me, completely disregarding the cook who seemed even more uncomfortable than before – which was weird considering he usually lightened more up when there was no vampires around. Then he was gone. It wasn't unusual for whoever guard that was with me to the kitchen to leave as they worked 24/7 and even if they did spend a lot of time with me, they still had work to do.

"Are you sure you're quite alright?" I had to ask again as I finished chopping onion, carrots and champions.

"Si. Si…" and then he started muttering Italian yet again. It almost sounded as though he was praying, but I knew nothing Italian whatsoever – other than a very limited amount of words – so I couldn't be sure. Alec had said he wanted to teach me, but I had a hard time concentrating at times. When I was little mom thought I had ADHD, but the doctor proved her wrong. Then my brother just settled on calling me an airhead.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I had the chance, someone covered my mouth with their hand. The hand was cool enough for me to know it was a vampire, not to mention how silent and quick everything happened. At first, I thought it might be Felix messing with me, but then the person spoke right next to my ear.

"So you're the pet, eh?" the voice was foreign to me and gave me the creeps. Nothing ever gave me the creeps other than worms – and that was just because they were a weird mixture between snakes and caterpillar. I mean, pick a side, mister! You can't just be both and then settle for eating rotten things all day! Did you know the fear of worms was called vermiphobia? I didn't know that before Trevor googled it once for me, but… Well, I didn't really fear the little guys, they just creeped me out. Goodness, my weirdness really didn't matter in the moment!

I tried to scream, but the hand effectively muffled the sound. My assailant had an arm around my lower torso. I kicked and tried to scratch my way free, but my resistance proved futile of course. I was only human against a vampire, and I wasn't even strong by human standards. The grip around me tightened until it was hurtful and I gasped with pain into the hand. My eyes welled up at the pain and it was a wonder my ribs didn't break.

"Feisty one, ain't ya? No wonder the Volturi bastards broke their own rules to keep you, little girl" my assailant whispered with a sick sort of amusement and an accent I couldn't quite place as he spoke so quietly. He could be French… or maybe Spanish. I wasn't sure.

Mr. Caffarelli came into view, but he was shaking violently as he leaned heavily against the kitchen counter, wiping his head and refusing to look in my direction. I desperately tried to make eye contact, but to no avail. Why wouldn't he look at me? Why wouldn't he help me? What was happening?!

"Can't wait to see what they'll do when they realize their precious little pet is missing" someone chuckled, but I couldn't see who – though it wasn't my assailant who spoke. That made at least two people. My heart pounded and I tried even harder to get free. Whoever was holding me started to pull me backwards with a quiet laughter as if the situation amused him immensely. The other one, the one who had spoken last, came into view – or at least, I assumed that was the other one. It was without a doubt a vampire. I had never seen him before and even if he was handsome as every immortal was, there was nothing truly special about him. He seemed so… everyday normal. I don't know how to explain it. There was just nothing villain-y about him, but the next thing he did certainly wasn't everyday normal.

He grabbed Mr. Caffarelli with almost ridiculously ease even though the cook struggled furiously to get free. My eyes widened in horror as the stranger bit down on Mr. Caffarelli's neck. I tried to scream, but the hand cut off the sound. The person holding me stiffened slightly. I remembered how Felix once told me about vampires' blood thirst and how even the tiniest smell of it could send a vampire into a crazed frenzy. He had assured me every Volturi member had a very good control over their thirst and it helped that they fed on a regular basis. However, he had also warned me about how even the most controlled vampire could lose their self-control if they detected freshly spilled blood. He had told me all that because of my clumsiness and the therefore ever evident risk of me hurting myself enough to bleed – like that time when I fell down those flight of stairs in the south-wing and hit my head or the other time when Heidi made me wear high heels for the first time. Well, the last one wasn't really my clumsiness' fault more my stubbornness and when I fell done those stairs, I only fell a few steps before Demitri came rushing to help me – and I swear, they never let me go anywhere alone anymore, not that I minded the company.

I hoped my assailant had good control over his blood-thirst. I instantly felt guilty for thinking that. Here I was, looking at Mr. Caffarelli who didn't have a fighting chance and was now getting more and more pale as life was drained from him. I could feel myself leaning forward towards him as if I could somehow help him, but I was restrained from moving much. My hands was locked around my assailants wrist, but I didn't try to get free. I wanted to look away. God, I wanted nothing more than to just look away, but I couldn't. Tears spilled over and made my assailant's hand get wet, but I didn't care. Him and his stupid friend could just go a certain place and do a certain thing to themselves which Trevor had once told a boy in middle school when said boy showed me.

"Come on, Greg, we don't have much time" my assailant hissed, getting impatient. He was already backing towards where I knew the kitchen's backdoor was placed.

No! No, they couldn't take me! They couldn't just kill Mr. Caffarelli! He had made me pancakes with blueberries and vanilla-crème every Sunday morning! They couldn't do this!

I kept struggling as I was pulled out of the kitchen – I couldn't see Mr. Caffarelli nor his… murderer anymore, but I faintly heard the thud of his body hitting the floor. No!

"Keep struggling, girl, and I'll hit you unconscious" my assailant whispered warningly in my ear and I kept still. He chuckled nastily.

"Good girl"

As soon as the other one, Greg, came, I was lifted up and they ran through the castle. Everything around us was a blur, but I could still feel the changes around us as they ran outside. I knew the castle would be far behind us in no time and I couldn't help but wonder why no one stopped them. Why they haven't been caught. I considered the Volturi castle for the highest secured place in the world. There were – vampire! -guards everywhere and half of them had gifts in some way or the other.

When my assailant finally removed his hand from my mouth I knew it was far too late to scream – and I didn't even dare anymore. I was scared out of my mind. Everything I could think about was Mr. Caffarelli. And how Felix only went away for a brief moment. Oh, Felix. He would blame himself for this. Had they discovered that I was missing yet? Had Alec…

Alec!

..:-:..

I hadn't the faintest idea where I was when we finally stopped, but I didn't think we were in Italy anymore. The house in front of us looked abandoned and like something from a horror-movie. I didn't want to go in there. It wasn't that I found it scary, because it was a rather interesting place I wouldn't have minded exploring with my Nikon if circumstances had been different, but… there was something about the place. I was certain a lion's den had the same aura about it, the same feel of a luring threat. Yes, this place certainly was a lion's den.

And I was being taken straight into it.

There were more vampires inside and they all gave me looks varying between hunger, disgust or interest. I didn't like it. This sort of attention was even worse than the sort the Volturi guard gave me. I felt in serious danger at this place.

My assailant all but pushed me forward and I, of course, tripped over my own two feet and landed on the dirty floor with a wham.

"Oh goodness" I muttered as I had scrapped my knee on the rough wooden floor. My tears had dried, but I could still feel the trace of them on my cheeks. I tried not thinking about poor Mr. Caffarelli and focus on what happened around me, but it was difficult. I just hoped he had been found by now. It would be cruel to leave him lying on the kitchen floor like a discarded rack. He had been so sweet to me even though he had always been so afraid of the Volturi for some reason. Would they give him a proper burial? I hoped so. It wasn't his fault that he had died.

"You didn't have to push her that hard" came a female voice in front of me, but there was no concern or regret to be traced – only slightly hidden amusement and... something I couldn't quite put a finger on. I looked up at the person who had spoken with a blush. A woman in her mid-twenties was lying casually on an antique chaise longue in faded red. It looked rather old and worn-down, but she didn't seem to notice – or mind. She, herself, was wearing an elegant and beautiful golden dress that clung to her body in all the right ways. It was the kind of dress I could never pull off, but would look stunning on Beth or Heidi. The whole thing looked like something taken right out of a fashion magazine. If fashion magazines oozed of danger and hate – all directed at me for some reason. Oh boy.

"It wasn't that hard" argued my assailant with a chuckle as if it was just a simple joke being played out. I didn't get it, but the others seemed to as they all chuckled or smiled at the comment. There was about ten or fifteen vampires in the – what I assumed – once so grand living room.

As I unsteadily stood up, I tentatively looked around. There wasn't many furniture in the room, but everything was just as antique and unkempt as the chaise longue. I especially took notice of the chandelier that seemed to host more spiders and their webs than the cave in which Shelob lived in Lord of the rings – I used to have LOTR-marathons with Trevor before he moved away from home and we came to live in Italy. It was our thing.

I wondered if they had simply let the interior stay the way it was when this place was built – what I assumed was centuries ago – and just not bothered taking care of the place. At least, it looked that way with the dust, webs, pierced wallpaper with almost completely faded pattern and all.

"Did you take care of the cook?" she asked my assailant and Greg. My heart clenched at the reminder of Mr. Caffarelli. Had his death been planned? Why?

"Just like you asked, my lady" Greg smirked smugly as he stepped back to one of the walls with a bow. I had to admit. The woman really did make you feel as though you were in the presence of royalty – if royalty was scary and intimidating, which I guess some of them were as some kings in history had been ruthless. I couldn't think of a name in the moment, but I figured it didn't really matter. What mattered was how I had gotten myself into this mess.

"Good. We want the Volturi to be aware of the severity of the situation. They need to know we're not messing around. That we are serious" the woman smiled with satisfaction, before turning her attention towards me.

"Human, do you know why you're here?" asked the woman with slightly raised voice as if speaking to a child or a hearing-impaired. My mouth felt completely dry and my legs quite wobbly from not being used for who knows how long.

"No, ma'am, sorry" I had no idea why I added the last part. This was the person who had ordered the murder of Mr. Caffarelli, for Pete's sake! I blushed deeply as she raised a delicate eyebrow at me. She slowly rose from the chaise longue and moved towards me with a grace I would never be able to show. Gosh, this must be how a zebra feels when the lion moves towards it on the savanna. I had never felt this instinctively fear before, not even when I thought Aro was going to kill me – before I knew he was Aro and there was such a thing as vampires and the Volturi. Before my life changed.

"So polite you are. What's your name, human?" she asked as she slowly moved around me. I felt the need to spin around with her, but I stood my ground. For some reason, I felt that was the wisest thing to do.

"Noel Donovan" well, my whole name was Noel Lily Donovan and the cause of my middle name was mom's obsession with Harry Potter – Trevor's middle name was James. She used to read the books to Trevor and me when we were little. She wasn't one of those moms who screamed every time something HP related was mentioned, but she did break into a smile and become all dorky – as Trevor called it.

Holy moly, I had to stop doing that! Back to reality, Noel! Gosh!

"Well, Noel, you see, you're here, because the Volturi slaughtered my mate, Nathaniel, a few decades ago" the woman told me, but that still didn't explain anything. I knew she was an authority of some kind and I had gathered these vampires weren't exactly big fans of the Volturi, but I still had no idea what that had to do with me – not even if the Volturi had did what she accused them of which I couldn't quite comprehend. I wasn't even officially part of the Volturi yet. It was a wonder they even knew of me. Besides, the Volturi only punished bad people then that must mean this mate of hers had done something bad or illegal. Yes, killing him was wrong no matter what he had done, but they must've known what they were doing, right?

"I'm sorry about your loss and with all due respect, but I don't see what…" I began.

"What it has to do with you?" she cut me off with an amused smile. I gulped and knew it was futile to hide my fear. They already knew – and it amused them. Just like my words seemed to cause them great entertainment for some reason. Personally, I didn't see the fun in any of this. I just wanted to get back to the Volturi, to Alec. I didn't care why I was there if only I could get back.

"Everything, dearie, everything" she was instantly in front of me, grabbing my chin as she tilted my head upwards. The scent of some very expensive perfume or other attacked my nostrils. My heartbeat sped up treacherously in instant shock and fear. This woman was truly terrifying.

"You see, I have long waited for an opportunity such as this. The Volturi has finally made a mistake by keeping you human in their care, leaving you vulnerable and easy to get to. I have had my people spy long enough on them to know they care for you for some reason. Have they ever told you how they uphold their so-called laws?" she smiled wickedly, violently letting go of my chin. She slowly walked back to the chaise longue before elegantly settling herself back on it and looking at me.

"I know you don't understand this to the fullest and I won't bother explaining my reasons to a mere human even if this human is the Volturi's pet. However, I will tell you, that the most important reason as to why you are here is because you are a weak spot to not only the Volturi as a whole, but to that ratchet witch-twin to Alec who helped kill my Nathaniel. From what I have learned, you two have grown quite close and that, little Noel, is what we have been waiting for in a long time"

She tilted her head to the side as a sign to a man with a little ponytail on her right side, who had been standing in the shadows behind her. The man moved silently forward.

"My lady?"

"Take her away, Walter. The cellar should do and keep an eye on her" she said in a non-caring note with a wave that was nothing more than a little flick of her wrist. The man, Walter, nodded and walked towards me before roughly grabbing my left arm. He all but yanked me after him and I had to walk backwards in order not to fall – I doubted he would let me pick myself up if I did, as he most likely would just pull me across the floor.

"But… wait" I heard myself mutter. There was something missing. Something didn't seem right. I looked up at the woman, though she barely seemed to register me now that she was done talking to me, but I knew she had heard me.

"Demitri… he can… he will track me. He will find me" I said with a mixture of hope and dread. He would bring the cavalry. These people would know that, then why…

"That's exactly what we were hoping" the smile she gave me made me feel as though something slimy just crawled down my spine. The others seemed to find amusement in her words and that only made my unease and fear grow.

Oh dear. Oh boy. What had I gotten myself into? Alec would be so mad!