Felix and David entered the grand room arguing to whether David truly slept through Christmas.
"It is impossible, I would never slee-" David stopped mid sentence when he ran into another vampire. He looked around the room to see it full of them. Most of which he had a vague recollection of, others drew a blank in his mind. His eyes brushed across what was considered the 'rare' members of the the wives made David reconsider the importance of this journey. The wives are never granted to leave the castle. David shifted his eyes awkwardly from them when one caught his eyes.
"Hey Felix," David murmured to him while he continued to look around. "Why are we going to Washington?"
Felix ended his conversation with Alex short, turning to David. Alex began to laugh at the question, which quickly ended as Felix threw his elbow into Felix's ribs. David gave the two a bewildered look. Felix turned away from David, giving him the view of his back.
"I'll tell you later," his voice barely hit David's ears.
David awkwardly walked away from Felix, shrugging off his yearning for the truth behind the trip. He couldn't blame Alex for laughing at him; David apparently marked this trip on his calendar He couldn't help but shudder when he tried to think back to the previous days when they came up blank. He hated that he couldn't remember; it made him feel weak and vulnerable. He contemplated tracking down Aro in the mass crowd and simply asking him the reasoning behind this trip; yet he was hesitant.
David could not see the elder vampire yet his voice suddenly filled the halls.
"All of us appears to be here; let us be off," Aro announced hastily, turning on his heels and descended down the hall leading the stood there, mouth open as everyone around him dispersed from the room. David stared at the door for a long moment as he listened to the fading footsteps. When silence finally entered the room again, he slowly began to make his way to the door. An unexpected shove from behind caused him to stumble forward and land on his face.
"The slowest of us all should not be leaving last," Demetri laughed as he lifted David by his shoulders and placed him back on his feet. David brushed the dust off his knees and followed after Demetri.
"What is that suppose to mean!?" He called to him.
"It means you are human," Felix clasped his hand on David's back as they walked out the door together.
The streets of Volterra was quiet. The pale, full moon cast an eerie glow on the stone buildings. A soft wind blew down the single street, and a broken shudder tapped lightly on its house. In the distance a long howl drowned out all other noises. A bright light flashed in the center of the street. A few rats that had been scavenging through the trash, raced across the street with frightened squeaks.
The herd of vampires moved through the streets of Volterra. He speculated the journey to Washington would involve running and swimming. Why exactly they did not fly to Washington was unknown to David. It seemed like it would be easier, though an airport full of human probably wouldn't go down well with the large group of vampires.
David kept a steady pace next to Felix. Felix seemed to ignore his presence, leaving David to his own thoughts.
"There is a coven there," Felix finally spoke slowly, mulling over his words, "they broke the law and created an immortal child. We must go and destroy the child before it kills more innocent lives." Felix partially lied yet David accepted it as the whole truth.
"All of these witnesses for one child?" David couldn't believe they needed this many vampires to destroy a child.
"Well that is not all," Felix continued, "this particular coven has a past with us. You could say Aro has a special place in his heart for a certain members."
David decided to end the conversation there. He slowed his pace and watched as Felix moved on ahead. David ran in solitude for hours until a figure jogged up beside him. David glanced sideways to see a male vampire unknown to him.
"Hello David, it is nice to see you again!" The vampire flashed him a perfect smile revealing his white, straight teeth. The vampire spoke as if they were friends.
David only gave the vampire a faint smile.
The vampire stopped in his tracks and took a half bow, "Benjamin." A look of annoyance flashed on his face as he pushed his blond, curly hair from his eyes once again.
The name seemed vaguely familiar, though David's thoughts were interrupted with Benjamin's peppy voice.
David nodded his head and continued on with his run, in hopes of Benjamin leaving him alone. Unfortunately Benjamin kept beside David with a wide smile plastered on his face, after a few minutes of silence, David decided to speak up.
"Tell me Benjamin-"
"Call me Ben!"
"Yes well Ben, how exactly do you know who I am. I must apologize I do not believe we were ever acquainted."
"Interesting story actually, though I doubt you would remember it," Ben seemed lost in his own thoughts, smiling at the memories his mind held.
"Anyway, you could say we have been friends for quite some time. I met you when you were younger and shorter. Then again when you were older," Ben brought his hand to his chin in thought. "You could say Aro appreciates my gift, my gift after all is how we met" Ben had a smug look on his face.
"And what exactly is this special gift you hold?"
At this question Ben's facial expression shifted. He no longer looked smug or happy. He stared at David for an uncomfortably long time before answering. David did not notice the group of vampires stopping in front of him until he ran into one. Ben's face seemed to go even more pale, as he starred off past David into the crowd.
"It is best that you do not know David," he finally answered, his voice lost any trace of his previously held happiness. David watched as Ben made his way through the crowd to Aro. After a few moments the group began to move again, and David was left alone.
He continued to push on as the day turned into night then back to day. He calculated their arrival date to be the 31st of the month.
As the days passed on David felt exhausted. He did not physically feel exhausted but mentally. It wasn't until 3 days later that they arrived at the dens
A vast field covered in a blanket of snow.
"Stop," Aro did not face the group. David peered past the shoulders of vampires in attempts to see the Cullen coven.
Aro made the coven wait on the outside in the border of trees. David saw the group of vampires adjusting and smoothing out their crimson cloaks. David tried to mimic their movements by fixing his hood. 10 minutes passed before Aro lifted his hand commanding them to move forward. The group of vampires left the guarded trees and entered the field where the Cullens should be there waiting for them.
David took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm his heart. When he opened them he was alone in the trees, he stood and watched the Volturi coven walk across the field to the center.
The world held its breath. Nothing moved between the trees of the snow-covered forest, or the modest-sized meadow located at its center. Tall, thorny weeds sprouted from the snow patches that spotted its floor. Flowers hunched over on their stems as the cold air sucked the moisture from their petals and leaves. Only a few green blades remained among the crunchy, snow.
David hesitated at the edge of the meadow, but cautiously walked foreword to join the rest.