Sigh. This was kinda hard to right because I wasn't sure how to right it. So many ways I could go…but I decided to make it just a bit more…*at a loss for the word*…I suppose it's putting a bit more of a decision on Thana…To be, or not to be…

Ch. 9 – Not one of us (Kudos to anyone who knows what that song is from.)

I see travel in your future. I see a grave decision that will cause many lives to end long aftertheirtime. I see love in your future, but short lived and painful it will be if you make it that way. I see a long life but guilt will loom over it if the right decision is not made. I see confusion, lies, and betrayal. I see much hatred in your future…That is what I see. Go in peace,you don't have much left.

Would you believe me if I told you that that was what every fortune teller told me? Not one word different. My mom would say I misheard and smack me for wasting money on it in the first place. But I remember it exactly. It's imprinted into my brain. Such a sad fortune…but now I see they may have all been right. Now as for what the right decision is…I have no clue. If you asked me four days ago, Aro would have been my choice. Now? I'm not so sure.

I could sort what were the lies from what was the truth. It all jumbled up in my head like two puzzles that had been jumbled up together and the pictures were alike but not the same. And I had to solve it all by myself.

I had asked about all the vampire stuff I could think of. The information I got wasn't all sparkles and sunshine…though oddly enough, some of it was…quite literally too.

Vampires drink blood, duh. They sparkle in the sunlight, not burn. They are hard, breakable only by other vampires, and cold. Vladimir was my great (not sure how many greats though) grandfather. He had his only son just before he was changed into a vampire. He left his family because it was too dangerous to be near them. Then, when his son was twenty-five, he came back and explained. At first his son had sworn he had sold his soul to the devil but after convincing he came to accept his father. Vladimir's son went on to have kids of his own and those children had many children of theirown. Every generation or so, Vladimir would choose one child to become a vampire at the age of eighteen. That ended when the Volturi rose up. According to GC, the Volturi had wanted to take order of the vampires. Vladimir wanted freedom for vampires to do as they choose. He and his family fought, only Vladimir and Stefan, his grandson, survived. They had forever since been plotting the revenge and they had devised a plan…they had found me.

I had elemental control almost perfected. It wasn't something I cared much to talk about but apparently Vladimir had seen me do it. GC said that I could avenge my family and I would be a great vampire that everyone would know…I didn't want to voice my opinion but, in truth, I didn't care. So what if they lost a war? Vampires weren't truly alive anyway. I would have said as much but I was honestly frightened of what GC would do in response.

Now, four days after I had been first told about vampires and all their sparkles…I was faced with a choice. It had taken me a while to realize, but becoming a vampire and fighting the Volturi would mean killing, or assisting in the killing, of Aro. I had already decided that I hated him because he lied to me and had made me feel better than I ever had while doing so. I couldn't tell whether he truly loved me or whether I had truly loved him. It was too much. Too sudden. I just wanted it all to go away.

I had told GC I was going out for a walk to clear my head. She had smiled, kissed my forehead and told me to be safe, and to be home by 6:00PM because Vladimir was coming over. I hadn't seen Vladimir since the night he had told me about vampires. I didn't like Vladimir at all though. He made me want to hit something. He had ruined me and Aro's night when I had just decided to tell Aro I loved him, and I was hoping that whatever Aro would have told me would have been just as important. But I never got the chance to hear it.

Walking through a forest about a mile away from the castle I found myself questioning my judgment of the situation. If this were a movie I'd be the girl sitting in the front yelling, "You idiot, can't you see this is what Vladimir wants you to think? He's playing mind tricks on you so you'll hate Aro and join his group. Who knows what he'll do once he's overrun the Volturi. For all you know he had gone around killing villages of people just for fun."

But real life wasn't like that…was it? Did people truly do that in the real world? I wasn't sure. GC seemed rather unbiased when she told me the story…but that was her job, in a way. She convinced the family that Vladimir was good and the Volturi was bad. I honestly wasn't sure what to believe.

"Thana…" I heard faintly. I looked around. No one was there that I could see, but I felt rather watched. It was like a twinge in my head telling me someone was there.

"Hello?" I called.

"Please listen," said the voice. It was so soft I wasn't sure I heard it right. I listened harder and then began to feel enclosed in sort of invisible box. I opened my eyes and looked around but my vision was starting to fade. I tried to yell but I couldn't find my voice. Then I completely blacked out, hearing only one more thing before consciousness left me…

"Thana…"

I bolted upright, finding that I wasn't where I had passed out earlier. It was dark outside and I couldn't see much but I could make out the dim outline of the castle.

I began walking towards it when someone came out. It was Vladimir, but he was wearing older clothes. He had a boy held up by the collar of his shirt and was glaring at him frighteningly.

"You listen here boy, and you listen well," I heard Vladimir say, slamming the boy into a wall. "You are my son and you will obey me as you should. You will do as I say or I will force you to. You will marry, you will have children, and I will train them as I see fit. You have no say in the matter!"

The boy shook while nodding. Vladimir smiled softly. "Was that so hard?" has asked and embraced the boy. "You are a fine son, and you will have strong descendants. Just wait and see." And with that, Vladimir disappeared.

Then everything proceeded to go black, again.

"But mother I love him!" I heard a frail voice scream. I sat up, my head aching, to see a girl that looked exactly like me…like I was cloned.

"I don't give a rat's ass who you love," said a woman who looked a lot like a younger version of GC.

"Now, Clarice," said a man who was unmistakably Vladimir. "No need for such language. He went over to my clone and pulled her to him. "You and your sister are both very disobedient. I have been very nice to you, Kara, haven't I?"

Kara. That was my mother's name.

"Nice? You call this nice?" My mom screamed.

Vladimir's grip on her face tightened. "You will do as told," He said, then lean down to her ear and spoke quietly. "Or I will break your boney little neck."

"But why can't I be with Jack?" she begged.

"Because he is not one of us," Vladimir murmured. Then he dropped my mom to the ground.

And then blackness came again.

This time I woke up, and Aro was there. It was sunny and I could see the trees around me. He was staring at me with pain filled eyes.

"Thana," he said weakly when he realized I had woken up. "I was walking by; I wasn't following you I swear. You were lying on the ground, and I was worried you'd been hurt. I was just about to take you to a hospital."

I had remembered what GC had told me about who I could mate with. She had said that it had to be one of us. A recognized member of our coven. Now I truly wasn't sure who to believe.

"Tell me," I murmured. He looked at me, confused. "Tell me your side of the story. Tell me why you and the Romanians hate each other. Tell me what you can do and explain why I should believe that you truly love me and that my love for you wasn't just a lie. Tell me the truth."

He nodded solemnly. "It's a rather long explanation…but you deserve it." He held my hand as he continued…

Cliffhanger! Why? Cause I didn't wanna give you everything in one chapter. So await my next update when we learn Aro's side of the story.