This time I wonder what it feels like
To find the one in this life
The one we all dream of
But dreams just aren't enough
So I´ll be waiting for the real thing.
I'll know it by the feeling.
The moment when we´re meeting
will play out like a scene straight off the silver screen
So I`ll be holdin' my own breath
Right up to the end
Until that moment when
I find the one that I'll spend forever with

`Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.
Someone to love with my life in their hands.
There`s gotta be somebody for me like that.

`Cause nobody wants to do it on their own
And everyone wants to know they´re not alone.
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere.
There`s gotta be somebody for me out there.

Gotta be Somebody by Nickelback


Tuesday, June 14th, 6:00am

I was at a funeral.

Do you know those dreams where you you know you're dreaming, but it feels so real?

I knew I was dreaming, that I was stuck in this abstract vision where no one else could acknowledge my presence. I was standing in the middle of a graveyard, surrounded by somber and

sorrowful black-clad men and women. At whose funeral, I had no idea. None of the vampires --the Volturi-- were present.

It was just me.

Slowly --automatically-- my feet moved without command, closer to the polished wooden coffin placed in the place it would soon be buried. The green, wet grass brushed against my high heeled pumps as I slowly walked forward, peering into the coffin. My hands were trembling, and I had sudden chills pass through me, telling me to step back. To not come closer. To not see who it was. I peered past the many mourners and stumbled back.

It was my father. My father was dead. His pale face was stiff and peaceful, his seldom smooth forehead without creases. My mouth was open in a silent scream, and all sound and senses of mine had disappeared. All I saw was his face.

In my shock of seeing his still, never-to-move-again body, I hadn't noticed whom I had fallen back on. Demetri's mouth was at my ear, whispering soothing words that I couldn't hear. I couldn't even register how he had appeared. My knees gave way, and I slid onto the green, wet grass.

Grass...

My eyes flew open and all the senses came back to me. I was breathing heavily, the noise flying in and out of my ears. Habitually, I ran a hand through my tangled black hair. What had happened? Dad couldn't be dead, I knew that for sure. He couldn't be. My eyes scrolled around the ceiling. I was still in the room Felix had put me in two --or was it three?-- days ago.

From the night that I had been in here, I had seen no one. I had stayed in this room all by myself. There was a mini-fridge in the corner that someone had put while I was sleeping; it was stuffed with sandwiches, pastries, and all sorts of healthy things. To my dismay, there was no coffee. I supposed the Volturi had wanted me to sleep. All I had done the past few days was surf the internet on my laptop and finish up some more coursework for med school. Yesterday, at around night fall, I had heard faint sounds of horrible screaming. The most horrible screaming.

Of people at their life's end.

It had given me chills. I couldn't believe it at first; I had though I was hearing things. I had shoved my earplugs into my ears and turned on my iPod all the way up, something I seldom listened to since Rehan had died. Rehan and I had loved music. I shook thoughts of him out of my head as I got out of bed, marveling how easy it was for me to now think of him. I wondered how it was. It certainly wasn't because Dad was occupying my thoughts; I had been away from Dad much longer than this when Rehan was alive. Studying abroad in Florence,

Italy.

I wiped stray tears from my eyes, trying not to think about my dream. If Dad died, I would be all alone. He was everything I had. Everything.

My cell phone was sitting on the table beside my bed; I had a text message from my father overnight. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy that he was okay. I'd still call him later; my dream was making me paranoid. Apparently the Volturi let me keep contact with the outside world, cause I still had my cell phone.

I hastily used the bathroom, hardly brushing my hair. I was hungry, even though it was six A.M. in the morning and the sun was barely pouring in through the curtains hiding the spacious balcony. I came out of the bathroom, walking over to my phone to check the time again. There was a clock on the wall, but it took too long to read it. It wasn't digital.

Someone's here...

The thought flashed through my head involuntarily. I glanced around the room quickly, before realizing it was probably just my paranoid self telling me new, strange things. But I had that tingly feeling I was being watched. No, not that I was being watched, that someone was coming. Were the Volturi coming? I walked over to the fridge, slowly pausing every step or so to glance around me quickly.

Pah...Victoria. Stop being paranoid. I opened the mini fridge and pulled out a bagel that I had already spread cream cheese on in my boredom the day before. I supposed the Volturi had no purpose for me being here, or they had just forgotten about me. Glancing behind me one more time, I went and sat down on the armchair by the fireplace. The fire was still burning, and it was kind of soothing to have it there.

I put my plate on my lap and slowly chewed my bagel, staring at the twisting shapes in the fireplace. Precariously, I leaned over and picked up the battered copy of MansfieldPark I had found on the bookcase set into the while by the fireplace. Jane Austen never was one of my authors, regardless for my proclivity for old literature. She seemed a bit...dull. The only victorian romance novel I honestly took a liking to was WutheringHeights. After finishing my bagel I put the book aside and got up to put my paper plate away, throwing it in the trash can (a rather fancy trash can). I looked behind me and started, my heart skipping a beat.

"Demetri?" I blurted without thinking. Demetri was sitting on the chair I had just been on, smiling smugly as if he had been there all along. Seeing him sit there on that high backed chair, I realized he really was very tall. Well, compared to my 5' 4". Oddly enough, his presence seemed almost comforting. "So you've been here all along?"

"What makes you think I haven't been sitting here the whole time?" He asked, his eyes teasing. I felt my face turn warm.

"Because I was just sitting there, and I had a feeling someone else was coming," I said, looking around the room to wonder where he could have been.

"You couldn't have heard me come?" Demetri said as I sat down on the arm chair across from him, wrapping my arms around my folded legs.

"Um...no, but I had this odd feeling...that I do get sometimes..." I said, trailing off. I wasn't making any sense. He wouldn't be interested in what I was saying. Nevertheless he stared at me intently.

"I hope you're comfortable here," he said politely. About everything he did or said was very polite. His deep, brownish-red eyes bore into mine.

"Oh, of course," I said, looking away and trying not to lose myself. I was making a fool out of myself in front of him, I knew. Hurriedly --and for some unknown reason-- I quickly searched for something to say.

"You're very polite," I blurted out without thinking. I mentally slapped myself. What an idiotic thing to say. However, Demetri just smiled.

"I was raised that way," Demetri said, looking away. "It helps when working with the Volturi, too."

"How?" I asked, curiously. Demetri laughed; a deep, beautiful sound.

"Hmmmm," Demetri said, the corner of his mouth up in a smile as he looked at me. "Some members of the Volturi are not...quite nice at some moments. But don't repeat that," he said, laughing again. I smiled, but more for the reason that he was telling me something that he didn't want anyone else to know. I loosened my grip over my legs and let them relax, hanging down from the chair. Speaking of the Volturi, had they decided anything.

"Demetri?" I asked. His head perked up as he bore his eyes into mine again, causing me to skip a few breaths. "Have Aro, Marcus, and Caius decided anything yet?" Demetri paused for a moment, before answering.

"No," he said. His tone sounded uncertain. "They're still trying to find the best solution." I shifted my feet, knowing that he was keeping something from me.

"What have they considered?" I asked. Demetri hesitated before speaking again.

"Well...it's of no importance," Demetri said, "I haven't heard much."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" I asked, realizing his reluctance to say anything.

"No," he said, his sculpted lips turning up in a corner, "I can't." I didn't question any further. I still thought it odd that he was so devoted to his masters. Aro seemed so fickle, the best actor of them all. His happiness seemed a cover for his true intentions. I had met many like him. Humans, though. Demetri glanced at me again, turning his head with vampire speed, making me jump. "Would you like to see the castle?"

"Yeah," I said, my eyes brightening. I didn't realize I was free to roam around? Why was he telling me now? I stood up, "Could I?" Demetri laughed, making my heart flutter for a few seconds.

"Of course you could. I'm offering," he said lightly, his handsome face lit up with a rare smile. Demetri seemed to be in the best of moods today. I wanted to ask him about the screaming I

heard last night, but I didn't want anything remotely negative to ruin his happiness. His expression turned serious, "But don't ever go around when I'm not there."

"Alright," I said, happily agreeing. I didn't want to roam around a castle filled with vampires, anyway. Demetri smiled back at me, getting up. Something fell from his lap, and he quickly

grabbed it. I flinched at his extreme speed.

"Sorry," he said apologetically for his fast movements. "I forget you're not used to our fast movements." He handed me what he was holding. It was something stiff and satin-ish to the touch. Fabric? "It's cold in the castle." I unfolded the silky, yet stiff, fabric. It was a violet colored jacket. Custom-made, it seemed, too. I loved violet.

"Oh!" I said, surprised. It was a nice jacket. Versace. It felt odd for me to have something like that. Most of my clothes were from Urban Outfitters and Forever XXI. Money was something

I never really had. I usually spent it on Dad's medical bills... "Oh, thank you!" I said, quickly putting it on (as not to seem rude by looking over it too much). "You didn't have to." Demetri smiled again.

"Of course I had to," Demetri said. "I wouldn't have you freeze to death."

"I may be human, but I'm not that frail," I said, smiling as I followed him out of the room. My room was located at the end of a dim corridor, and I followed him out of the dark hallway to an open, airy sitting room of some sort located off another hallway. We didn't stop to sit down however.

"What would you like to see?" Demetri asked, glancing over his shoulder to look back at me. Damn, he was so polite. Blake had never acted like him. I shrugged, loving the silky feel of my jacket.

"I don't know..." I said, "What's your favorite place here?" I asked, running up to meet Demetri's fast pace. He slowed down a bit, noticing me.

"The library," he said. "But that's very everyone else is right now. I'll take you outside. Humans need fresh air, don't they?" Demetri said, stopping in front some narrow stairs and waiting for me to step up first.

"I suppose," I said, reaching the landing, waiting for Demetri to come up. He jumped up the last five steps. I stuffed my hands in the jacket's pockets, smiling uncontrollably. Demetri's face, too, was lit up in a smile. "You're happy today," I noticed.

"Hmmmm...," Demetri said, not exactly answering me. His lips were pursed. He walked me up through a different hallway. I wondered if I had said something wrong. He glanced at me again,

"Do you want to take the scenic way to the courtyard?"

"Sure," I said. I hadn't been paying much attention to the art of the Palazzo (A/N: I did some poking around on the internet. Palazzo dei Priori is the name of the castle in Volterra). I had been paying more attention to Demetri. But now, I glanced around the stone walls. Old stone family crests, numerous small frescos, and all sorts of old metal crosses adorned the castle walls. There was an aura of creepiness in the castle. It seemed like an old stone cage, with many tints of warm and cozy browns that alleviated the creepy feeling. It was a place fit for vampires, no doubt. Demetri led me through a huge hall, and my eyes zeroed in to a fresco over a set of doors. A colorful painting of four saints, sitting on ostentatious thrones, adorned the wall.

"Jacopo di Cione and Nicolò di Pietro Gerini," Demetri said, noticing me looking at the fresco. "1383."

"Were you there when the painted it?" I asked. "You were part of the Volturi then, weren't you?" I asked.

"Yes," Demetri said. "I was. I watched them paint it slowly, every day. They did it as a favor for Caius. Caius had ordered the killing of their enemies."

"Did they know what you were?" I asked. Demetri nodded his beautiful head.

"Yes," he said. "It was the 1300s. People believed in vampires. Back then, sparse few communicated with vampires. The few who did were mainly artists and intellectuals who used

vampires' knowledge and sharp thinking to benefit them," he said. "Leonardo da Vinci once walked these halls too, once."

"You met da Vinci?" I asked, my mouth open in surprise. Demetri laughed.

"I helped teach him when he was a child," he said. "Some parents, back then, sent their children to vampires to study. In return, we got their family treasures. It's how most of the families back then lost their money. We have trained numerous princes and kings of Europe. As long as they kept our existence a secret."

"Do you still teach them then?" I asked Demetri. Surely not, of course. More questions popped into my head. Did the Mafia know about the Volturi? What about the U.S. government? I knew the C.I.A. didn't know; I had interned with them for a summer.

"No..." Demetri said slowly. "There was...an incident. Then on...we stopped involvment with humans. There are no more humans that know about vampires."

"How so?" I asked. I could only guess the worst about the incident he mentioned, and didn't pry on that. "How did the humans start to believe in vampire as a myth?" Demetri looked away.

"The few at that time who had met vampires were all killed," he said, almost somberly. "Some adamant humans --who had not seen vampires, but believed they existed--- used to lead hunts out to kill the vampires. That's when one of our members --Corin-- became useful then. His talent is to draw away people, mentally."

I wondered if Demetri was sent to hunt down all the humans who knew of the Volturi's existence.

"Shall we move on?" Demetri asked. I nodded, and followed him through the doors under the fresco. We headed silently through some less ostentatious hallways, and I kept my eyes on the expensive rugs that carpeted the floor. I was glad I had my jacket, cause it was really cold. Soon, we reached a small inlet by the hallway. Demetri opened the ornate ebony gate and

I squinted to see the courtyard behind it. As I stepped out I shrugged off my jacket, it was warm outside. The courtyard was green, and well landscaped. Hibiscus flowers grew at the edges of the green field, and I went in sat down on one of the gray stone benches, my mouth open.

"Like it?" Demetri asked, standing by the gate.

"It's pretty," I said sincerely, settling down on the cold stone. The sun felt harmonious on my pale skin, and I smiled and shut my eyes. Demetri still stood under the shadows by the gate. Did vampires get burned in the sun? I had never seen Demetri in direct sunlight before. I opened my eyes and looked at Demetri, who looked as if he was battling something inside him. "Do you get burned by the sun?"

Demetri's head snapped up and he looked at me and smiled, making me lose possession of my worldly feelings for a second.

"Myth," he said, before stepping into the direct sunlight.