Disclaimer: Obviously, Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight while I don't. I merely own my original characters.


Chapter 8 — Broken

I read her letter again and again that night, clinging to the impossible hope that there was some message hidden between the lines that I had not noticed yet.

Hours passed like seconds as I lay on one of the hard beds of Hotel Piazza, memorizing every detail of the folded piece of paper.I had even sniffed it one or two times out of desperation for information; it smelled faintly of lilacs and orchids, sweet but not too insistent.

Go back into oblivion, Ruby, remember that ignorance is bliss.

I chuckled sarcastically. As if that would be possible. Nobody would be able to see what I had seen inside that cursed castle and simply forget it as if it were some birthday or the shoe size of a relative.

In fact, I knew that very moment that this incident would haunt me for the rest of my now miserable-again life, robbing me of sleep. And the very worst thing about it was: I would not be able to tell a soul without having to fear them coming for me. They said life held an infite amount of possibilities for me, but with only fourteen years of age I had managed to decrease that number drastically.

At this point, I had only two choices left. I could either live on with the weight of unwanted knowledge bestowed on my petite shoulders, or...not.

Was it an easy choice? For life? Before all of this happened, so would it have been for me. But now...? Maybe they would grant me to see my sister one last time before they drained or decapitated or strangled me for repeatedly entering their lair. Theoretically, wasn't that all I ever wanted? To see Amber again? And I was so close, so close...

If you are reading this you have left the castle alive; do not attempt to do the impossible twice.

But then again, what reasons did I have for staying alive? To go home to my non-understanding, oblivious family and live a long, anxious life. To spend four more years alongside Marlena, Alexis and Louïs and somehow manage not to scream the horrid reality into their flawless faces.

To never marry a man because I would either keep a terrible secret from him or, by telling him, doom him.

To live.

I looked up at the digital clock on the wall, the only source of light in the now dark hotel room. It was already nearing three in the morning. Maybe it was too late in order for me to be in the state of mind to make such a decision, but a decision had to be made, quick.

If I were to choose life, tomorrow morning would be the time to leave this city forever. The time to experience my parents' anger. Otherwise, just as Amber had predicted, I would experience her mystery husband's anger — an experience that would very likely be even more cruel than I could imagine.

Never in my life had I been so confused about what I truly wanted.

.oOXOo.

I opened my eyes, recognizing the outlines of a small, colorful yet somehow familiar room. The floor was a polished mahogany wood, littered with all sorts of thrown aside toys and books. The soft pink walls formed a perfect square, the furniture a glossy shade of white and very girly.

It was the room of a spoiled little girl.

Posters of princesses in glittery dresses hung everywhere, matching perfectly with the barbie dolls and pink sparkly shoes I was wearing.

It was then that it hit me — it was my room, or at least, what it used to be. Over the years, the walls had been painted a turquoise greyish color, and the childish furniture removed, but I still remembered every single detail of what it had looked like on... that day.

And exactly that was the reason why goosebumps were forming on every inch of my six year-old dream body: it was precisely the same.

The way the dresser door was throwing shadows on my bed, the way the doll my sister had sent me from Italy lay beneath my covers as if it were sleeping, the way I was wearing the pink sparkly shoes I would never wear again after the incident that would change my life for the worse. It all made sense.

It was... that day. The day. The day an unknown man's voice would tell me that Amber, my beloved sister, was as good as dead, eventhough I would never, not for one second, believe him.

I froze as a ringing noise disturbed my thoughts. The phone was ringing in the hallway. Amber was calling home. I had lived through this moment so many times before that every single detail had burned itself into my mind. As I walked out of my room and towards the sound, it all felt strangely familiar.

I couldn't help it, no matter how hard I tried to resist, my legs kept moving me further and further away from the safety of my room. Using every ounce of willpower I had left in my body, I fought a battle I knew I could only lose as my hands reached out for the phone, which was now within reach.

As usual, I lost. I picked it up, slowly pulling the blue Nokia towards my ear.

I knew I would be the first to say something, and, knowing it was practically impossible to say anything else than the exact same thing I had said the very first time, opened my mouth to do exactly that, in the silent hope that this unwanted dream would pass quicker than the others. But, for the first in hundreds of dreams, Amber unexpectedly spoke up first.

"Ruby" she said quietly and urgently, "We are both dead girls."

I furrowed my brows, confused at her sudden statement.

"What do you mean?" I asked in my high, child-like voice.

She sighed heavily. "There is something I must tell you..." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door in the background, and I realized then that sadly, she would not come any further.

"Just a minute" she called out, only for the sound of the door being kicked open behind her to be heard not more than mere seconds later.

"F-ck" she cursed, and I flinched. "Ruby, I love you."

I closed my eyes, mentally preparing myself for what was to come. And sure enough, my sister's horrified scream followed instantaneously, prompting me screaming in desperation. As always, I was helpless.

.oOXOo.

I woke up from the dream then, surprised that I had been spared the most haunting part — the one containing the husky voiced man. But just as I opened my eyes and turned towards the wall clock to see how long I was locked inside my own terrifying memories, I let out a high-pitched, desperate scream.

Sitting across from me was a man with short, pitch-black hair and unnaturally high cheek bones. No, allow me to rephrase that. He had been a man once, but now his crimson irises stared back at me with a sadistic smirk.

He was pale and gifted with an incredible beauty, just like Heidi and the other monsters. Vampire, I thought, and froze in fear. He wasn't wearing one of the cloaks the vampires in the castle had on, though, and, deciding that he would not know of the fact that I had been spared, took it as a tell-tale sign of my own demise.

Truth be told, I had had more luck than reason lately, but now...no way on Earth could a person be this lucky twice.

I had undoubtedly been dealt my final deck of bad cards.

"W-who are you...?" I stuttered, and an amused smile formed on the hunter's thin lips.

"Since when does the prey feel the need to get acquainted to its predator?" He replied sarcastically, and my heart temporarily stopped beating.

I would recognize that voice anytime. The deep husky voice... it was him. The vampire that had made my sister scream.

Oh, dear god. Please, let that Caius guy have his fun with me... just make him go away...

"Ah, there we go" he smiled. "Your heartbeat is quickening, finally a natural reaction. Tell me, young one, why, oh why is your blood so incredibly taunting...?"

"Go away" I managed to croak out. Tears started pooling in my eyes, blurring my vision.

"Feisty" he commented, that evil smile still not having vanished his lips. "I like it. A little adrenaline always makes the taste a little more exciting."

Immediately, he was next to me, holding my frail neck in between his icy cold palms. I shivered. "Unfortunately, I'm too thirsty to play with my food."

"N-no!" I cried out desperately. "P-please! Not m-me! I already b-barely escaped with m-my life yesterday..."

He turned away his head in disgust. "Spare me your pathetic stories. I do not wish to hear them."

Suddenly, I was violently thrown off my bed and towards the nearest wall, one of my back bones cracking at the impact. I wailed out in pain; it was too much to handle for me.

Damn my low pain threshold.

"P-please..." I begged, thick tears rolling down my face, staining my clothes and the carpet.

He shot me a wanting look from his place behind the bed, and shortly later I felt his freezing breath on my neck. Finally giving up, I closed my eyes and waited for life to leave me.

This was it, then; a short, miserable life ended by a slow, painful death. What had I done to deserve this? I had never lied, never stolen, murdered. Never had I commited any crime at all.

The only regrettable decision in my life was this very journey. But was I really to blame for wanting to find my sister?

Maybe there was no God. Maybe all there was was injustice and pain, with short, fulfilling moments, which I had never experienced. Hopefully, I thought, death would be peaceful.

That second, the top of his teeth met my skin, and I could not help but picture a piece of silk cut with a sharp knife as he gradually increased the pressure on the barrier between his mouth and my blood. At this point, I could only pray that he would do what he had to do quickly and painlessly. It was all I was asking for.

If there was a God, he obviously didn't give a damn.

The vampire closed his eyes in obvious pleasure, smiling as he took a deep breath of my scent. "I have never smelled anything as good as this, girl... it is almost as if your blood were ambrosia to me." He sighed sadly, grasping my arms with his, ensuring I would not escape.

"I love you, Amber" I whispered, my voice almost impossible to understand through the heavy sobs that were burying me alive. I closed my eyes one last time, waiting patiently for him to take my life.

Black.

Nothing but empty blackness, wrapping its slender arms around me.

But it did not come.

Confused, I opened my eyes again. Why was I still alive? Why had he not drained me?

The man was sitting next to me, offering me an almost... kind smile. His eyes were pitch black.

"Why am I not dead?" I asked, hoping for an explanation. No answer came. He merely stared at me in silence. I looked away, studying the wall clock and counting the seconds.

"Of course" he said after a while. "That is why you looked so familiar."

"What do you mean? Why am I not dead?" I repeated my question.

"Is Amber your sister?" He demanded impatiently.

I nodded quietly. "Do you know her?"

"Were you, by any chance... inside the castle?" he replied, completely ignoring my question.

"I was," I answered truthfully, not even bothering to lie.

"I lost the tour group, and when they found me I was brought to this throne room. Aro allowed me to leave if I were to never speak of what happened in the castle again." Sighing, I added: "But what does it matter now. Either you are going to kill me, or Aro will, for breaking our deal by telling you."

Giving me possibly the most evil smirk I had ever seen, he replied: "Let us see how long we can postpone his anger then, shall we?"

And blackness came.


Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

~ Emily Dickinson


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