Hey there beautiful people! I'm glad your still reading and liking this story. It means a lot. So this chapter is kinda short, I know. But guess what are you gonna read? I'll give you a hint: past.

Well, Read & Review!

Enjoy!

Yoshida Hotaru! :D

It was New Year's Eve, almost a week after we returned from what turned out to be a lie.

I was still shaken by what I saw that day. Alec dying. Me dying. Marcus dying. Also by how Alec acted while using his gift. It made me wonder who he really was.

With all that I realized I was in the wrong side. Not all of them were bad but not all of them were good either. An idea was stuck in my head since we started our way back to Volterra: escape. Escape from them and became a nomad. And maybe I could convince at least Alec to come with me. I knew the wives wouldn't and I didn't have another friend besides them.

During last week, I managed to convince Alec that we should still go to the woods at night so we could keep talking and be friends. He said he would go to the woods every time he could go, otherwise we would see each other the next night, because her sister was suspecting about us.

I was hoping he would come. It was New Year's Eve and I expected to spend the last moments of the year with him.

I was at the top of a tree, as always. I watched the people staying up late and waiting the moment the clock would announce New Year.

He appeared next to me; the skin of our hands brushing slightly.

"Why are you looking at them?" his voiced was as smooth as silk but it had a glint of annoyance.

"Because I'm waiting New Year" I said simply, trying not to look at him.

"There's a clock inside, somewhere. Why not wait there?"

I finally turned to look at him. "Because I want to spend the last minutes of this year with you" the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself from saying them. They sounded like it was something obvious. "Inside, you'll be with Jane and I'll be with Sulspicia and Athenodora, like every day. We won't be together" he looked taken aback but he composed himself quickly.

"All right then. Let's wait" he rolled his eyes and a small smile played on his lips. After a while, he broke the silence. "Does the Christmas present thing still stand?"

"Yup" I nodded.

"Okay" he sighed. "Why are you exactly waiting for New Year? I mean, it's like another day"

"It's just that I miss celebrating things" I said.

"You miss other things besides your parents?" he sounded stunned.

"Yeah" I looked at him incredulously.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well, I miss the fact that my throat didn't burn when I was thirsty" I joked. He smiled. "I miss hearing my heart beating. I miss the blush on my cheeks" I faced the sky, looking right through it, deep in my thoughts. "And this will sound stupid, really stupid" I smiled. "But I miss to sleep"

"You miss being human?" he questioned.

"You could say that, yes" I looked back at him. "Do you miss anything?"

He seemed uncomfortable by my question but he still answered. "I don't think about that all the time, but sometimes I like to think I miss my parents, even if they were hopeless and mean"

I stared at him wide-eyed. "W-what do you mean by that?" I stuttered.

"Nothing" he said.

"Really? 'Cause it sounds like you have quite a past with your parents" I pointed out. "What happened?"

"Nothing" he repeated, his eyes gazing down.

"Okay, but you can tell anytime" I told him and dropped the topic at that point, knowing that I shouldn't push further.

I was curious. I really was. His comment about his parents was a code I didn't understand but made me want to decipher.

Time passed and the silence was peaceful. I was amazed he didn't go away because we didn't talk or anything. I was asking myself if I should tell him about the two of us escaping.

Midnight came; laughs and cheers echoed from the houses.

"Happy New Year" I smiled.

"Happy New Year" he repeated. "Any resolutions for this year?" he asked and three things came to my mind.

I hesitated at first but took his hand anyway. "Yes" I began, "three resolutions that I hope you will help me do them"

"Why me?" he asked curiously.

I was glad I got his attention. "Because you are involved" I smiled, but inside I was nervous. 'How will he react?' I wondered.

"Will you tell me at least the first one?" our eyes met as he asked me. His face glittered softly with the moonlight and his eyes lit curiously.

I jumped off the branch we were sitting on and landed on the snow. He landed besides me a nanosecond after. "Only if you promise you'll help me" I said, praying that he would say that he would help me.

"It will depend..." he started.

"I'll tell you until you promise you'll help me accomplish those three resolutions" I stated, interrupting him.

Silence. He stood there, thinking for a moment. I sat on the snow and rested my back on a tree.

"I will" he said suddenly. I smiled widely. "But only if you help me with my resolution" his lips curved into a tiny smile.

"Okay" I beamed and stood up.

"So, will you tell me now?" he asked. I haven't seen him so impatient before.

"Yes" I nodded. "The first resolution I want you to help me complete is that I need you to tell me something"

"How is that a resolution?" he asked.

"And that something is..." I kept talking, ignoring his comment. "I wanna know your backstory"

"No" he grumbled as fast as I finished the sentence.

"But why?" I whined. "I already told you mine. Why can't I know yours?"

"No..." he repeated dryly "I don't think it's a good idea" he whispered "Besides, I have to go now" his burgundy eyes shined with something I haven't seen before in them.

"I'll insist until you tell me" I stated. "You promised"

He left. But still he promised.

Three days after I told him my "resolution" and he didn't come to the forest, neither to the library. He was avoiding me even at the meal time.

I lay down on the snow, wondering what was so bad that he had to hide it from everyone. The starry sky made me company. Then a thought slapped me. The wives must know, they have to!

They have been telling me so many stories, they must know his. And time was in my favor; the sun was arising. I dashed straight to their room.

They were surprised by my arrival, even Corin. "What are you doing here, sweetie?" Sulspicia asked warmly.

"It's just that I couldn't wait to hear how the story about Aro finished" I lied. I couldn't say my idea with Corin right there.

"Oh! All right, darling. Sit" Athenodora gestured me to sit down.

I did as she told me and they started to comb my hair and started to tell me one of Aro's stories. Corin sighed with boredom. "I am going to leave" was the only thing she said before disappearing completely, not even worrying that the guards were there. That was my opportunity.

When Sulspicia paused for a nanosecond I blurted out. "Tell me about Alec… and Jane"

They grinned happily. "We knew you would ask soon or later, sweetie" Sulspicia commented.

They started to braid my hair again and Athenodora started. "Alec and Jane were born decades ago, centuries actually, in a little village in England"

"Aro was made aware of Alec and Jane through the thoughts of a visiting nomad" Sulspicia added.

"Aro showed interest in them since they were toddlers, but decided to wait until they were old enough to be turn. So he let them in their parents' care"

"Years passed by and they were accused to be witches and were condemned to be burned at the stake"

"Aro was apprised of the situation by a nomad who knew his interest in the twins"

"He hurried to the village with some of us, arriving just in time to interrupt the execution…" Sulspicia stopped and we heard someone was coming.

"I think it would be better if you ask him personally" Athenodora commented.

"Attract his attention and he will answer you" Sulspicia muttered in my ear just in time.

Corin appeared at the door. "I hope you have finished telling her that story" both blondes nodded. "Good. Now you can tell her mine" Corin said pleased, like if hers was the most important.

I walked to one of the libraries with a braided hair.

"They like to do that a lot, do not they?" Alec said at my side, touching one of the braids slightly.

Apparently I attracted his attention without even trying.

"Now you're talking to me?" I didn't try to sound upset, but I really was. He ignored me for three days.

He sighed. "You are still with that thing on your mind?"

"I'll keep insisting" I told him. "And you promised"

"I will but not here" he whispered.

"Then let's go outside" I said.

"Now, will you tell me?" I insisted. He didn't say anything; he sat near a tree. I sat beside him and took his hand. "Someone told me part of the story. That you were accused to be…"

"Don't say that word. Please" he didn't met my eyes but he squeezed a little my hand.

We stood there, in silence. It was peaceful. It wasn't night yet; we sparkled as the sunlight touched us; the birds chirped happily.

"Thinking about that day hurts me and remember what they did to us makes me angry…" he said after a while. He looked up at the sky and his face glittered beautifully. "We were just toddlers when our gifts started to show up. If people were bad and unkind with our family, we made them suffer unconsciously; otherwise, we liked them. But that's how rumors started. They said our gifts were sorcery, witchcraft. Our parents defended us firmly but then they hesitated when the rumors became stronger" he paused. I squeezed his hand, gesturing he should go on. "On our thirteenth birthday, they told us they had a surprise for us. We didn't knew they would betray us like they did. It hurt us" he turned to look at me; his eyes were full of sadness. "That was the day of our execution. They tied us and lit us on fire. It burnt us slowly and painfully. It was as awful as when the poison of a vampire runs through your entire body" he looked away again. "As we suffered, our gifts became stronger. Jane focused in the pain, giving her gift more strength to torture people's minds. Me, well, I was like you; I wanted to not feel any pain, to avoid it, to escape from it, to not feel anything; which made my gift what it is now. As we melted bit by bit, the villagers scream agonizingly. There he was, Aro, and the others, killing and sucking the blood of everyone. We were dying and he came from nowhere we knew to save us and accept us like no one did. He bit us. The pain started again and our gift reached their highest potential. We came here and they train us…" he stopped and turned to look at me, his face expressionless. Our faces were just a few inches apart; his beautiful burgundy eyes were lock with mine. "And I think…" I cut him off with a hug, "that's all" he finished, his breath crashing against my ear.

Happy Valentine's Day! :3