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Another chapter for you all. Enjoy and review? Please =)


It's been 4 years. 4 long years, even for a vampire. My contribution so far has been manipulating two new vampires to join the Volturi. Aro believed they had desirable gifts. He was wrong, their gifts were not strong enough. They were destroyed. Monotony does not even cover what my existence has become.

"Tara." It was Jane, her angelic face appearing in my allocated room

"Jane." I nodded. She entered.

"You are required to conduct a search of Volterra with us." I frowned, this was new. I rose from the chair.

"What are we looking for?" I asked following her along the corridor.

"Aro will explain." Jane answered as she entered the main hall.

"A search." I frowned and followed Jane inside.

"Dear Tara you are paired with Demetri." Aro spoke over the general disorganisation of the hall. The Volturi never had commotion like this.

"Come Tara." Demetri beckoned me towards the nearest doorway. Aro was controlling his thoughts.

"Where are going?" I asked Demtri as we exited the Volturi residence, appearing on a main street in Volterra. It was cloudy, so we could search without raising any problems. I glanced across at Demetri, he was wearing contacts.

"Nice eyes." I had to stifle a giggle, it was different.

"It is necessary." He stated.

"Obviously, red eyes do tend to get a response from people."

"You need to hunt soon." Demetri stated, he observed my black eyes.

"I can probably last a little longer? It is nothing I can't handle."

"Nonetheless you shouldn't push yourself; you can hunt at the end of the search." That almost sounded caring.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." I frowned; maybe the Volturi members were warming to me after all. "So, what are we searching for?" I asked.

"Vampires." I took a glance along the street; I jokingly jumped on Demetri grabbing him in a headlock.

"Got one." I giggled, freezing him with some faint mind control.

"Funny Tara." Demetri broke free, partly due to lack of focus on my part and also my overwhelming thirst which Demetri had now bought my attention.

"Want to specify anything more other than a vampire."

"I was given no other specifications."

"What if there's more than one and they resist?" I asked.

"We fight. Simple."

"Oh joy!" I frowned and continued to follow him.

"Why are you doing this?" Demetri asked.

"I presume you mean temporarily joining the Volturi." He nodded. "No other choice. Besides it's not too bad. I've had worse." My mind flickered back to the faint human memories of when I believed the Cullen's had permanently left, the strange aching incomplete sensation. In comparison this was simply a paper cut, over relatively quickly and would soon heal. I had hope. "I get to go back." I added.

"True." He continued to look ahead; it made me question what kept Demetri sane, what was his reason for existance?

Several minutes of silence passed before Demetri stopped, recoiling into a crouch, I followed by instinct. His mind revealed he had sensed a vampire. He began to run, I followed, soon enough we were perched on top of a nearby house. The wind changed direction. "Gone." He growled.

"I..." I paused, could it be possible. "I recognised that scent." The scent was only faint, unlike Demetri I was not a tracker, but my senses were definitely familiar with this particular scent.

Demetri turned to me. "We return."

"Why?" I asked, Demetri was a tracker, this should be simple.

"I was given orders with this search not to leave Volterra unless it was authorised by Aro. We need to return." He explained and turned, before jumping from the building, I followed.

"You have returned empty handed." Aro bowed his head as we walked towards him.

"Yes." Demetri was evidently annoyed; Aro shook both of our hands to get an understanding of what we had experienced.

"You recognised the scent." Aro repeated.

"Faintly." I answered. "It is like something I've sensed before, not sure if it is the same."

"Let me track it Aro, I can find them and return them to you. They entered Volterra uninvited and without any clear purpose. None of us except Tara recognise them. One false move and they could reveal our presence here"

"True, except Tara only communicates with civil vampires. Therefore they are no threat, case closed." Aro clapped his hands together and turned.

"Master." Jane stepped forward.

"My word is final; none of the main guard is to leave Volterra." Aro still didn't turn to face us, his mind was occupied, he was recalling something trivial in unfamiliar language, "Tara you are free to go hunt." I nodded and fled to a nearby woods.

I was free, skipping among the trees, the scent of fresh air. "Tara." The voice whispered through the trees from the North. I ran following the new scent and noise. Taking to the treetops I swung and ran for several miles until something else attracted me. A change in scent ... human. Eventually I approached it, the body of a stray hiker. Drained. It was then when Demetri emerged from the nearby trees.

"Did you...?" I asked.

"No." He answered. "I'm simply here to ensure that you hunted safely and returned to Volterra without being hurt."

"I hadn't sensed you."

"Being a tracker I can keep a longer distance when following you. I was curious why you stopped."

"Someone whispered my name." I took a step towards Demetri, I just hoped he had heard it too.

"I heard it too." He confirmed giving me a swift smile, "We must return." He then seemed anxious, something had unsettled the Volturi. Something I was familiar with.

"ARO!" I forced myself through the locked doors. "The scent, the vampire. It was in the woods whilst I was hunting." He rose from his thrown; his response was calm, as though this news was expected.

"I guessed as much, which was why I sent Demetri." I nodded and then settled a little, my senses taking in the room. "Carlisle, Alice, Daniel and Jasper." I choked as each of their scents entered my consciousness.

"Pardon?" Aro asked.

"Carlisle, Alice, Daniel and Jasper!" I shouted their names, the last one stinging my throat as my annoyingly angelic voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Part of your coven." Marcus confirmed.

"Part of my family!" I insisted. "They were here!" I launched myself at Aro. I forced him against the nearby wall; a crack appeared running vertically downwards. The guard scattered around the room began to move forwards, Caius rose from his thrown.

"Leave her!" Aro insisted.

That was when the pain started; I recoiled, eventually falling to my knees. My mind flickered back to when Jane had done this to me previously, Jasper had been there then. Jasper, my mind focused on that so once again not a sound left my mouth.

"My family were here, whilst I was hunting?" I asked, gritting my teeth as the pain continued.

"Yes. Jane leave her!" Aro answered, he didn't need to answer his thoughts revealed his view of them.

Still the pain persisted.

"Why?" I asked, his thoughts weren't revealing that element. The pain was spreading to every limb, it was beginning to become too much.

"That is between themselves and I." Aro responded. "Jane leave her! She'll become thirsty again and it's not safe for her to leave Volterra."

The pain reseeded, for several seconds for the first time in my vampire life I felt like I genuinely ached, such a humane sensation that I had become alienated to.

"They weren't the scent I recognised though." I added, wanting to make sure that Aro knew my family were not a threat.

"I know that." Aro spoke. "If you leave via the visitors exit you will see that their scent leaves here as well as enters, they left unharmed."

"Right. Good!"

"Please you must let us restrain her." Caius insisted, beckoning Felix and Demetri forward.

"No." Aro spoke clearly. "She has a gift Caius. Those gifted ones must be preserved." That stung, since Caius had no gift.

I left the hall.

My family had been so close and yet not waited. Jasper's scent settled in my consciousness and for several days I felt calmer.