Chapter 11: Lost Tree
I waited outside, until the early sunrise, and I could see the sun about to peak above the mountains. It pissed me off.
How I wished the Volturi burned in the sun.
Over the lowest points on the mountains, did the light creep over. I saw Aro stretch and revel in the sun. All of the Volturi must've been inside all the time. I couldn't imagine being as pale as them.
Most of the guard had gone to hunt, for what I do not know. Hopefully no one important.
At the single-minded thought, I squirmed. Had I really been reduced to belittling other human life? They had families. I yanked at my hair, and sat on the gravelly terrain. I single tear escaped my left eye, and I held my face in my hand.
"What troubles you, Autumn?" I heard a gentle voice say. It still held a bored quality to it.
"Oh, hi Marcus." I said, wiping my face quickly with my sleeve.
He looked down at me with a tinge of care in his eyes.
"You know, just living life." I finally said, after I figured my voice would be even.
"A life of a captive can be hard." He said.
"Wow, thanks." I finished wiping the tears I hadn't realized had fallen away unabashedly, figuring he already knew I was crying.
He didn't move from his position, always staring at me, not helping me up, nor sitting beside me. I didn't figure he would stoop so low to help a human, but he could at least not be as creepy as Aro.
"So, are you looking forward to watchin' the big show today?" I said, trying to keep conversation alive, even though all I wanted to do was sleep.
"I admit I am curious." His black eyes pierced my own, making me nervous.
"Yeah." I said. He didn't even make that open for more topics.
I walked away from his brooding presence, and sat beside the stream running through the clearing. I stuck my hand in, testing it.
When I decided it was really cold, I leaned over the bank and splashed it on my face. That woke me up for sure.
I stared at the reflection in the slow moving water, and sighed. I'll always wonder if my plan will work; if it'll just be Kai or me. Hopefully both. Suddenly, in the water, a figure was behind me.
"A good day, is it not?" Aro said.
I lazily turned my head to him. "And?"
He ignored my comment, and crouched beside me. "How's the guard treating you?"
I scooched away a little bit. "Alright I suppose…"
"Felix and Demitri?"
"No better than usual."
"Renata?"
"Exceptional."
Pause. "… And Chelsea?" He asked intensely.
"Fine." I took less than a second, not missing a beat. It was good I hadn't. Aro was definitely up to something. It involved Chelsea.
"Excellent."
I went to lie down next to Kai (who was a radiating heater), promising only to shut my eyes. Of course I eventually fell asleep.
None other than Chelsea shook me awake.
"Autumn, Kai's about to start." Her big beautiful eyes beamed at me.
Without me? I looked beside me, and saw the imprint of where she lay beforehand. I threw the covers off myself, and skipped past Chelsea.
Outside the tent, a fair fifty yards away, Kai was limbering up. The guard, in its entirety, encircled her, giving her enough room to move. They would have to back up further if they expected her to change.
Less than a heartbeat later, Chelsea was guiding me to where Aro stood beside Marcus. I sniffled a little bit more, and crossed my arms, making sure I wasn't touching either of them.
"Is someone going to grab something to cover her for after?" I asked loudly, to no one in particular.
"Chelsea." Aro said abruptly, never taking his eyes off of Kai.
I didn't care to look, but a minute later, Chelsea was in front of me, holding a blanket for me to grab. I did, careful of her, always.
"I'm ready." Kai called. I could tell Kai was trying to make her voice seem steady.
If all was quiet before, it was definitely silent now, because all I could hear was my breathing.
Once again, did I see Kai transform; she was running further away from us, but jumped up. Mid-air, Kai's clothes were shed to make way for the canine stature, and the fur along with it.
She stood on all fours as a wolf, probably as tall as I was. I was in awe. Her brown fur shone in the sun. There were audible gasps, so I knew that even most of the Volturi hadn't seen something like this.
Kai turned towards us, and started walking slowly. Her movements were fluid and graceful. Something that I didn't think she had in her.
As she came closer, I noticed that I had been steadily pushed behind Marcus and Aro. I was slightly annoyed. I looked at Kai, when she came to a complete stop in front of Aro.
They no longer made it inconspicuous, and Marcus full on blocked my view of Kai. I rolled my eyes, and walked around him, and stood in front of Kai.
"How's it going?" I asked her.
I don't know why I expected her to talk, but all she did was roll her eyes, and tilt her head from side to side.
I grinned. I followed her gaze, however, and saw her looking at Caius. The moment my eyes reached his expression, I almost burst out laughing.
He was a mix between furious, curious, and scared. Once he caught my amused expression though, he glared.
"What's the matter, Caius?" I said in a cooing voice.
"Be quiet." He said coldly. He straightened his robes. "Let's get on with it, shall we."
Aro cut in, his jubilant voice echoing the whole terrace. "Start with the basics, my dear. Running, jumping."
I could feel the annoyance rolling off of Kai. She does not take kindly to being ordered around. But she left my side anyways. I slinked back to beside Marcus.
If I had blinked, I would have missed it. Kai ran from us, to the opposite end of the clearing, which might I add, is very large. Kai pivoted quickly and ran back. I could see a shortening of her powerful strides as she readied to jump.
Her leap was immense, and landed just a good ten yards in front of us, making some of the guard step back. I knew I held a grin of pride on my face.
Before I could say anything, I was whipped behind Marcus. He pulled me behind himself again.
"Easy Marcus. She'd rather kill you than me." I said.
I pulled my hands together for one clap, but from the looks of annoyance of the Volturi, I halted that.
I glanced again at Aro, only to see his calculating face, almost bitter.
The rest of the time, Aro got her to do simple tricks. He even went up to her to read her thoughts, only to be disappointed that she held no true secrets. I had the trump card; I couldn't risk telling Kai everything just yet. For now all Aro could tell was her errant thoughts of escape.
I pulled Kai away from the rest of the group after about an hour, when Aro and Caius had taken their observations.
"Hi guys, can I join?" I heard Chelsea ask. I winced, slowly cocking my head to the left to face her.
"Uh, no offence, but this is kind of private. And no one in the Volturi can keep a secret."
Chelsea's face feigned hurt, but she remained her regular bubbly self, and trudged away.
I walked with Kai, still in her wolf form, to a huge tree, so we could talk behind it. I saw her shiver, and turn human. I gave her a little privacy, and handed her the blanket.
"So what do you think?" Kai asked.
"I think this won't help them one bit. I hold all the aces."
Pause.
"I'm not a bargaining chip, Autumn." Kai said after a bit, pulling the blanket close; she was uncomfortable.
"I'm not talking about you."
"Well then, what are you talking about?" She asked angrily.
"Shh!" I exclaimed. I peered around the tree, and saw the Volturi scattered, but certainly not close. "Okay, Kai, all you need to know are my instructions for when the time comes. It might be soon, like next week. Not tonight though. You're going to leave. We'll run when I say."
She nodded, but her face was still confused. I never really leave her out of anything, but here I was, doing so.
"It's not you. It's that your thoughts aren't safe."
"Oh…"
We sat down, and watched the daylight disappear through the branches of the tree. I think Kai was more into the stars, but this sheltering tree was what my eyes set on. It amazed me how a tree this old and twisted could still bloom for spring.
Sorry this was kind of late, I know I've procrastinated for you guys long enough. I'm not gonna lie though, the next chapter will probably take longer, because I actually want to do my homework.
-sincerely, Sage94
