Thanks for your reviews! Finals week is coming up, so I will probably not be as productive. Also I'm out of buffer chapters, so I'm going to be writing from scratch now. Sorry in advance.
RESPONSES:
Seras196: Thanks! I tried to make the fillers somewhat meaningful despite being fillers, just to keep up interest.
LVB (Guest): Well, this will be the last you see of this Edward, so you'll just have to wait and see :3 The mon/ma cheri/e thing was something I already knew but failed at, but most of the other things were created based around my three years of French class in high school. Also your English seems fine to me. The thing about nobles using French is a bit of trivia my European History teacher told me once, and I found it interesting enough to integrate into this story, especially because it's currently set in the Middle Ages. Also (I need to stop using this word) I used all of your corrections in the story, so thanks for that!
Jane was enjoying the sunlight, for once. She didn't hate her life but knew it wasn't a very pleasant one. Despite her cold, seemingly sadistic exterior, she anguished when she saw her prey thrash in pain. She always tried to hide that emotion whenever she was around Aro, even if Isabella protected her mind.
Isabella. Her Isa. Her only sister, her only confidante in the entire world (except for Alec). The only one who would truly knew her for who she was. She was Jane, the little girl who hated insects so much she wanted to cause them bodily harm. The girl who was headstrong enough to challenge the other children, but stupid enough to do it without any backup. The one that Isabella had raised herself.
Jane loved Isabella; there was no doubt about it. Marcus had noted the bond that the three siblings shared, and Chelsea had confided to Jane that their bond couldn't be torn apart. Alec hadn't found this information very interesting—just one difference between the two twins. Jane couldn't stop thinking about this.
Of course, her meditation couldn't last for long. She felt a minute tap on her shoulder and leaped up from the ground, snarling.
Felix jumped back, a scared expression on his face. Unfortunately for him, Felix was usually asked to follow Jane around as she hunted. As a result, he saw her gifts first-person and had no intention of prodding her.
Jane smirked at his expression and pretended to gnash her teeth towards him. He snorted and ventured a step forward. "Jane, Master Aro wishes to speak to you."
Her smirk vanished. She let out her breath in a quick puff. She channels her sister more every day, Felix thought to himself wryly.
"Why does he need me now?" Jane demanded, crossing her arms. Felix gave a nonchalant shrug. "Something about training," he said with a dismissive air. Jane harrumphed again before stalking off to find the one she was forced to call Master.
Jane stood in the clearing where she had woken up for the last time. Alec was making his way over to her; he stood rigidly next to her. He gave her a nod before standing perfectly still. Jane gave a sly smile before poking her brother.
Although he should have fallen over, had he been human, Alec merely glared at her sideways. He scoffed before taking one step away from her. Jane raised an eyebrow, and she slid next to him. Alec just moved over again; Jane fell into step beside him. Pretty soon, Alec had nearly reentered the forest with Jane right beside him.
Aro was watching them from the other side of the clearing, amusement glittering in his eyes. He chuckled before calling out, "Jane, Alec, stop fooling around, please."
The two siblings stood stock-still, but Jane just kept smirking at Alec. Alec blew out an annoyed breath. "Yes, Aro?" Jane asked faux-politely.
Aro stiffened. "Please, Jane, call me Master," he said. "I am not summoning Chelsea so I don't aggravate Isabella, but your cooperation is much appreciated."
Jane opened her mouth to retort in her usual callous manner, but Alec cut in, saying, "Of course, Master." He turned to his sister, who stared at him as though he had betrayed her. He probably had betrayed her, Alec thought grimly. He tried to give Jane a meaningful look. "We don't wish our sister any harm." Jane finally understood his implications.
"Why, of course you don't," Aro said smoothly. His face slid back into a tranquil smile that Jane wanted to punch out.
"The reason why I summoned you here, my dears, is to check on your progress. It's been quite a while since you have been changed, and I need to see how you have developed."
Jane grimaced slightly. She didn't want to inflict more pain on humans, even if it distracted them from the pain of having their life force drained from them.
Without warning, Caius rushed into the clearing. "Aro," he called out sharply. Aro looked at him with mild loathing; there were too many distractions for him to bear.
"I'm sorry that I'm intruding," Caius sneered, "but I caught wind of an Egyptian. One that you would want to join us."
Aro immediately became excited. "Yes, well?" he asked impatiently.
"Typical," Caius muttered. "Amun has apparently created a new one recently. He was approaching adulthood when he was turned a few decades ago. They have been working on his tracking abilities."
Aro nodded to himself slightly. "Well, we'll have to give our old friend a visit, hmm?" he mused. Jane and Alec gave each other confused looks as they stood, forgotten by Aro. They each felt a hand on a shoulder and turned to see Marcus. Their sister's patron gently pulled back, directing them out of the clearing.
"What is going on, sir?" Alec asked. "No need for formalities; it's only Aro that has that odd superiority complex," Marcus corrected. "We are leaving England. Apparently a new treasure has cropped up. We don't have to change a human for this, though. He's already been turned."
Jane showed some interest in the speech. "We are leaving England for where?" she asked.
"Egypt, in Africa." The twins stared at him blankly. Marcus sighed. "Did Aro and Caius never give you geography lessons or something?" he said. "What's geography?" Alec asked curiously.
Marcus led the twins away, shaking his head. "I would have thought that those two would be somewhat competent at teaching you two something," he muttered.
Isabella glanced around. The land that her "coven," as Marcus called it, had gone to was arid and sunny, much to her dismay. England had been cloudy and somewhat humid, but it felt like home; this odd, new atmosphere was almost too much for her. Jane and Alec were just as uncomfortable, and their eyes darted everywhere as they tried to take the new land in.
Aro ushered the group into the shadows, away from the probing eyes of the humans. "Go into the dunes," he ordered. "Isabella, Chelsea, Alec, come with me. We are going to talk to our friend Amun."
The three guards quietly left their ranks. Jane stared at her siblings' backs desperately; this was the first time that she had been separated from them. Marcus felt her bond lure her towards Isabella and Alec and awkwardly laid his hand on her shoulder to prevent her from doing so. Jane looked at him helplessly, and he quietly guided her away. Isabella watched her sister walk away with a tortured expression. Alec whimpered beside her. He could feel his bond to his twin pulling him away, but the lure to his older sister was just as great.
Aro led the three guards over to a house that seemed to be made of mud. Chelsea seemed horrified; her previous life had stone or wooden homes, not this peasant filth. Alec and Isabella barely batted an eye, since they had lived in a similar home, although without the large windows that adorned the walls.
Their leader knocked on the door opening politely. Isabella could see shadows shifting unnaturally fast beyond the entrance and heard the harsh whispers too fast and too soft for human ears to detect. She knew that they were in foreign territory. "Alec, stay close," she breathed, and Alec nodded minutely. He didn't want to be caught unaware by a stranger.
A man with a darker skin tone hesitantly approached the group at the door. When his burgundy eyes locked onto Aro's, he immediately shifted into a defensive position and grimaced. "Aro," he said haltingly, still glowering at the vampire, "what brings you here?"
"Greetings, Amun," Aro said airily. "We hear that you have a new disciple. One from after you and Kebi fled from extinction along with Aahmas and Sati."
Amun's lip curled. "Yes, we did abandon our coven," he snarled, "but that does not mean you can walk all over us. Just because the others were weak does not mean that we are as well."
Aro held up his hands in a rather sarcastic gesture of surrender. "But, my dear Amun!" he cried out. "You misunderstand me greatly. All I want is to meet your student." Isabella snorted
Amun heard the noise and looked over the three others that accompanied Aro. "You have new students of your own," Amun said. "May I meet them first?"
"But of course," Aro purred. He shooed Chelsea to the back of the group and practically dragged Isabella and Alec to the front. "These are my newest treasures, Isabella and Alec. They are siblings, and they have one other sister, Jane. They have such wondrous powers, Amun, I'm sure you understand me," he practically gushed. Isabella cleared her throat in disgust and Alec gave a distasteful look towards Aro. Amun noticed these things with amusement.
"Another one, as well?" Amun asked. "Why is she not here?"
"Yes, Aro, why not?" Isabella cut in, raising an eyebrow. Amun approved of her rebellious nature, but Aro obviously didn't. Alec glanced back and forth uncertainly before suddenly whipping around and smiling. "We don't need to worry, Isabella," he responded in Aro's place, "for there she is."
Jane was walking with purpose through the shadows towards them. She bowed slightly to Aro despite not really wanting to. "Master Marcus asked me to come, sir," she said.
Aro grumbled. Marcus shouldn't have involved himself, but there was nothing he could really do about it now. "That's fine, dear." Aro turned back to Amun. "Well? Can we meet your student now?"
Amun nodded brusquely before waving all five of them inside. Once they were within the shadows, Isabella threw off the black cloak that was wrapped around her shoulders. "I hate that thing," she grumbled. Amun chuckled.
"Demetri," he called out, "come meet our guests."
A young man, possibly around eighteen when he was turned, came out of the hallway. He wore the traditional white tunic of a Greek, but had gold bangles characteristic of the Egyptian culture. His curious, bright red eyes perused the guests his maker had announced. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said in a clipped tone.
Jane's eyes widened from beside Isabella. Alec noticed his twin's sudden change in mood and immediately knew what it meant. "Isa," he hissed urgently.
"I know, shush," she whispered back. Jane and Alec were already protected by her shield; this new feeling wasn't the newcomer's doing, but Jane's actual emotion.
Aro licked his lips. "Demetri, was it?" he stretched out a hand. Alarmed, Jane flashed a frantic look towards Isabella. The older girl quickly sent out a shield to protect Demetri a second before Aro grabbed his hand.
Amun watched Aro's expression turn from hungry and lustful to confused to annoyed. He dropped Demetri's hand quickly, much to the latter's confusion, and glared at Isabella. "It's not fair, master," she said (Amun noted the disrespect and boredom in her tone when she uttered the foul title) before sitting down. "He should be able to talk for himself, no?"
Aro nodded in a jerky manner. Demetri looked towards the siblings much more closely. Amun noticed as he stared at the younger girl with wide eyes; Amun knew that look.
Amun sighed in defeat. "Demetri, go with them." Aro raised an eyebrow. He had fully intended to persuade Demetri over, with Chelsea's help, but Amun was just conceding him?
The younger man swallowed as he glanced at his maker. "Are you sure, Amun?" he asked, a bit more hoarsely. Amun nodded. A woman walked out of the shadows; Isabella realized that she had been standing there the whole time. The woman had some sort of turquoise-golden jewelry that she carefully laid around Demetri's neck. The new necklace slid beneath Demetri's off-white clothing, and he nodded to the female vampire in thanks.
Isabella glanced towards Aro. At his insistence, she slowly tore her shield away from Demetri. She watched as Chelsea ensnared him and bound him to Aro, not as a servant, but as a guard. She watched as her sister's mate came to join their trio. She smiled in response to his nervous grin. Jane seemed to immediately welcome him into their small "family," and Alec nodded in approval.
The five vampires all wished Amun a farewell and left in the shadows from whence they came.
A/N: I tried adding some Alec and Jane perspective to mix things up a bit. Demetri has joined the, ah, family and has become an integral part of the story. I'm not as solid on my Egyptian history as I am my European, so if you notice small discrepancies (or egregious ones) please let me know through a review or a PM, if you feel shy.
Reviews are a way for you to tell me if I need to improve anything or if I need to keep writing a certain way. Please use them to your heart's desire. (AKA If you review I will be happy.)
Thanks for reading! ~Shriayle
