Nothing Ever Stays the Same

Chapter 9- One Fine Day

As I stared at Arthurs hungry face I was reminded of the first time I tasted human blood, it was an unforgettable experience as I hovered over my victim's neck listening to blood pulse through the body under the thin membrane of skin, smelling the sweet smell of it, just being near blood drove one to the point of orgasm, and reflected on Arthurs face was what I remembered mine to be like, desperate and lustful.

"Hello everyone, sorry I'm late" Heidi announced as she walked in "You can go about your business now" and she closed the door, and I turned to Arthur

"Two each, eat up" I said and I sent him a wicked grin before I launched myself into a young man, who was lean, when they were lean the blood was cleaner. I drained the boy dry and let his limp body fall to the ground as I looked for my next victim, I scanned the room, and then I found one, a middle aged woman cowering in the corner of the room weeping, I ran over to her and startled the life out of her, she just about jumped out of her skin when she saw me, I offered my hand to her and looked her in the eyes "I will make it quick for you if you want" I said to her sweetly, she merely looked up at me, her eyes now filled with fire.

"I will make no deal with you devil-child" she spat, I merely sighed

"So be it" and I begun to torture her, making her scream, pumping adrenaline into her blood, oh how adrenaline sweetened the blood and made it tastier and it wasn't until she was a twisted screaming heap on the ground that I stopped and picked her up, her legs dragging on the ground even when I had her at eye-level "Sometimes, choosing to make a deal with a devil-child will save you a lot of pain, remember that for your next life" I sneered at her, her eyes went back into her head and her body went limp...Cardiac Arrest, that's new. I bit down letting the sweet blood swish around on my palette savouring all that I could as I drained her. When I was finished I dropped her body on the cold flagstone flooring and looked around, Caius and Marcus were seated in their respective thrones, Alec was sitting on the steps leading up to the thrones, his legs crossed and a look of sheer delight etched on his face as he gazed absent-mindedly at the wall, Chelsea and Afton were still drinking, Felix and Demetri were cleaning up the corpses, Santiago was rushing off somewhere, Renata was looking at herself in a mirror cleaning herself up, the wives had gone back upstairs and Arthur was talking to Heidi by the door. I was at a loss for what to do, so I walked over to Alec, I sat down next to him one leg lying over the other and looked down at the flagstone.

"What's the matter Jane?" He asked me sincerely his red eyes focused on me.

"Oh, nothing...really" I replied to him

"You sure?" He asked again

"Absolutely not" I said matter-of-factly, and he embraced me, one hand around my shoulder pulling me in close to him, he didn't say anything but his action implied everything for him. I saw Arthur walking over to us, his hair bouncing with his step and his face alight with a sort of bewildered delight.

"I'm going to head off to meet Aro now, and I don't know when I'll be back" he said, and I almost laughed

"Why are you telling us?" I asked in amusement

"Thought it to be polite to tell the people I'm sharing a floor with where I am"

"Well thank-you for the consideration" I replied

"I'll show you down to the garage" Alec said and he just about jumped to his feet.

"Oh, thank-you, I could use a hand navigating" Arthur said

"I'll see you back at the room" Alec said and kissed me on the forehead, Arthur just waving good-bye with a smile on his face, I waved back to him smiling in return.

"Trying out a new look Jane?" asked a voice from behind me "Or is it a new emotion?" I turned to see Felix standing between Caius and Marcus, Felix's expression was one of gloating, Caius' was an expression of nonchalance but it was Marcus' expression that really caught off guard; his eyes were boring into mine as if he were trying to communicate with me, but they also held surprise, and I mean to the enth degree.

"It's a new look Felix, but you're not going to get to benefit from it" I snapped, Caius now looked confused.

"What is happening here?" he asked, and to my surprise it wasn't Felix that answered but Marcus

"Don't worry about brother, you'll find out soon enough, everyone will"

"Peachy" I said mockingly before standing up in a swift movement "enjoy you're evenings" and I left quickly trying to avoid any surprising revelations that may become me because of Marcus's surprised look. I moved quickly down the ancient stone hallways of the Volturi Castle and made my way to the Main common room so I could make my way up the stairs towards my room and retreat into myself and avoid all vampiric contact because right now all I wanted to do is feel my brain smash up against someone's Central Nervous System and I wasn't feeling picky either. As I got to the main common room I slowed myself down in order to pass through without kicking up a fuss, the room itself was quite crowded with twenty or so bodies sitting in various couches and armchairs, talking and playing all sorts of games, I was nearly at the staircase, nearly towards safety when a figure stepped in front of me.

"You're moving quite fast, doing something you shouldn't?"

"Oh don't worry, be assured that I am behaving myself, but you on the other hand are doing something wrong"

"No I'm not" he said indignantly "It's my business to know such things"

"That may be so, but is it also you're business to question the comings and goings of your superiors?"

"I...uh.." he stammered "Your much too small to be my superior"

"Now that's where you wrong, see I'm a highly volatile three hundred year old vampire, who if in a bad temper, like I am, is not afraid to cause severe harm and distress, so ask me that stupid question again so I have a excuse to hurt you"

"Try me" he taunted "You're too small to cause any significant"

"Tell me" I said as I looked up and saw the same guard from earlier in the day "Do you know what it's like to be burned alive, because I do and I think it's time someone else knew what it was like" and with that I was picturing the pain I felt that night and translated it into the illusion that was my power and had the vampire on the ground yelling, screaming, writhing etcetera, etcetera. It wasn't until I heard a throat clear behind that I stopped and turned around and saw Alec and Arthur standing there amongst a crowd of vampires that had congregated around the scene.

"If you're quite finished" said Arthur and I cut him off before he could say anymore

"I don't want to hear you break-down the situation and bring it back to how I have repressed aggression that I find myself relinquishing in small doses" I yelled

"Well" he said quite taken aback "I was just going to ask if you had seen where I put that map" and after a bit of silence Arthur came out and said "but if you're interested in my theory I will happily say them"

"Your room" I said to Arthur

"What?" he asked

"Your room, you left the map in your room" I snapped

"Oh, thank-you, thank-you" and he dashed up the stairs as fast as his newborn legs could carry him

"And here I thought you weren't capable of having fun without me" Alec said and he giving me a huge smile "Thank-you" he said and he kissed me on the forehead "I'm happy that I was wrong"

"Oh, be quiet" I said as I saw a figure dashing from the stairs "Bye Arthur" I said and he turned on his heels to face me

"Bye, see you soon" and he darted off again

"He has to be one of the nicest, funniest and scariest vampire I have ever met" Alec said and I laughed.

"He sure is something" Then I realised people were still staring, so I put my mean face back on "Somebody take this fool to his room, he'll be out for a while" and then without warning I continued to make my way back to my room with Alec hot on my heels, when we got to the common room of our floor I burst the door open leaving t to swing wildly on its hinges nearly slamming shut on Alec

"What was that back there" he asked me

"A guard got a bit insubordinate, so I put him in his place" I answered

"No not that" He said frustrated

"Then what?" demanded

"You, you calmed down, just like that, I have never been able to do that, but Arthur did it and I want to know how"

"I don't know" I said "I don't even know that I am calm"

"Trust me, if I did what Arthur did you would have just resumed torturing when I was finished, but just now you stopped completely and told them to take the guy to his room"

"I just felt like it, I suppose, you know shaking things up" Alec just gaped at me when I finished talking and then fell back into the armchair behind him, and then began to laugh uncontrollably heaving his body up and down, and I knew what he was thinking

"Alec don't say it" I pleaded

"I have to, it's just been such a fine day" and I growled at him. Then to make matters Heidi burst into the room "What?" I snapped at her, still drilling holes into Alec's skull

"I heard laughing" she said in her accented voice "so I assumed something was wrong"

"It's not that Heidi" Alec said between bursts of laughing "It's just that it's such a fine day" Then Heidi's face looked shocked

"Get out" she exclaimed "Jane" She said sweetly as if I had given her a bouquet of flowers. I couldn't help myself I just ripped out a terrifying snarl and then stormed to my room. There just seems to be no hiding from this at all. I was in my room lying on my bed facing the ceiling hands clenched by my side and all the while a thousand thoughts of anger and hatred rushed in my head, until his face appeared in my head and I melted into a dozen sweet thoughts before I got angry at the sweet thoughts, it was a vicious cycle that after a few hours I didn't want to put up with anymore so I got up off my decorative bed and walked to my door as I opened the door I got a scent of just about all of the senior guard in the common room. I walked down the hall taking cautious steps, as I emerged from my corridor into the common room the entire senior guard broke out into song, singing the chorus from Puccini's opera ballad One Fine Day.

"One fine day, he'll find me a thread of smoke arising" My day just wasn't getting any better. I stormed out of the common room and down the stairs through the main common room where everyone in my path gave me a wide berth through the door and down the hallway, I was halfway to the front door when I decided I wanted to go for a drive to clear my head, so I turned around a ran towards the garage, I was at the door when I charged through and ran into a unsuspecting Arthur who was pushed backwards by the force of my impact and myself flying due to tripping over Arthur he managed to catch me before I could damage my clothes.

"What's got you in a hurry?" he asked me with an exasperated tone

"Uh, nothing, just my temper" He raised his eyebrows

"Should've known"

"I'm going for I drive so would you mind letting me go" and in a split second I felt his grip on my arms relinquish, but then my arms felt odd like they wanted more. But I told myself I was imagining it and I got up and offered him a hand he took and he stood up and then let go of my hand very quickly and then said

"I shan't keep you from the road then" and he walked through the door and then ran the rest of the way back to the dorms. I was left standing in the lonely garage with nothing but my thoughts, with the person that caused so much of my recent turmoil disappearing up the stairs; it felt wrong to say the least. I jumped into my Porsche and turned on the ignition and put it into reverse I backed out of my bay and moved towards the exit, being careful with my car in such a closed in space as I was driving out of the exit Aro was pulling in, he rolled down his window and I did the same.

"I want to see you in my study tomorrow morning" He said lightly but formally

"That won't be a problem sir" I replied and I rolled up my window and sped up flying out of the driveway and through the gates to the city speeding my way through the Tuscan landscape though I didn't notice much I could tell that the villa's and such perched on the various ridges and hills were alive and pumping with fresh blood. I must have been about half-way to Pisa when I caught the distinct smell of Vampire lingering thick in the air, I pulled my car over to the side of the road and I got out taking in a large sniff of air trying to gauge the direction and distance of the vampires, turns out they were in front of me by about fifty metres.

"Show yourselves" I demanded of the dark, I heard they're movement as they moved closer and eventually two figures stepped from the shadows and I recognized them as Vladimir and Stefan. "Vladimir and Stefan" I said cheerfully "This is most certainly a surprise, what brings you two so far south"

"Well" said the one I recognized to be Stefan "We were hoping on killing a few of the Volturi guard, but seeing you, well...we decided against it"

"Wise decision, but may I ask, what have you decided to do instead?"

"We have decided" declared Vladimir "To give Aro a message for us" I merely raised an eyebrow and inclined for them to continue "Tell him, that after his display in America that we will be watching him"

"Intently" said Stefan

"I will be sure to pass that on, and on a side note, I will be coming back here tomorrow and if I find you still here, I won't be as gracious and as forthcoming as I have been tonight"

"Don't fret Jane, you won't find us"

"I'll still be coming here, your word or not" And with that they disappeared back into the night, and I fearing that my night was ruined got back in my car did a u-turn and drove all the way back to Volterra.

It was about one o'clock when I arrived back at the garage beneath Volterra Castle I pulled back into my spot and got out; when I got out I found waiting for me by the door was Arthur when he heard me he looked up.

"So, when I got into the common room Alec was sitting there looking very smug and when he saw me he asked me how my meeting was all the while humming One Fine Day, deciding that I wouldn't want to be there, the song really making the decision for me I decided to come back down here and wait for you, because I felt our last meeting was rather discomfited" I smiled a little

"So you thought that by waiting for me, the unpredictable and hot-headed teen Vamp, you would save yourself a bit of unease"

"Not at all, I just thought it would be more worth my time and efforts to get on a friendly basis with said unpredictable and hot-headed teen Vamp" I walked towards him and he opened the door for me, after I walked through he followed me and shut the door and then offered out his arm "Shall we?"

"You're off to a running start" I told him

"Not a sprinting one?" he asked me jokingly with a huge grin on his face, I laughed and nudged him in the ribs.

"So tell me, what was your meeting about?" I asked him

"Well I drove half an hour to a unknown place dug out of the side of a cliff to get lectured to by Aro about Vampire society and culture, you know etiquette and the like, he told me the laws and then tested me on my ability"

"Really I asked, and how did that turn out?" I asked genuinely interested

"Well I managed to levitate a pencil before poking myself in the eye with it, and then I accidentally got an apple stuck in Aro's mouth and I couldn't get around to pulling it out and my power was shielding it so Aro couldn't bite through it"

"So what did you do about it?"

"I had to physically remove it"

"Sounds fun" I said sarcastically

"Oh it was, how was your drive, I noticed you're considerably more relaxed having come back from it"

"Well, I got a chance to excise some of my famed pent-up aggression"

"Do I get to know how?"

"Not until the morning"

"Thank-fully I have eternity to wait" And without warning we were outside the door to the main common room and once again, like a gentleman, Arthur was holding the door open for me again.


So I was considering giving you guys a cliff-hanger, but...it would have cut the chapter too short so I left you with a open ending that will leave you thinking whatever you think...but bear in my mind, things have to get worse before they can get better!

REVIEW!!! In a desperate attempt to fill my inbox!