CPOV
"Block!" Felix commanded, swinging at me again. He wasn't using full strength at all; in fact, I'm sure he was using only a minuscule bit of his strength just to match a human's strength. We'd been practicing for an hour and everything was hurting. And sweating. He taught me punches, kicks, rolls, blocks, throws, and even flips. He supported me fully when teaching me the flips, but he said they come in handy. My abdomen was burning the most and it felt like I might throw up the catfish fillets I had before we started. Felix apologized for "forgetting to feed me" and demanded that Ray make something high in protein for me.
"Ray," Felix commanded. "I need you to cook something with protein. A lot of protein and in ten minutes."
I sat down at the island as Ray turned from the stove.
"Yes, sir," he replied. "What's up, Cheyenne?" He turned back to the stove and whipped out a skillet.
"Nothing much. Just this. What are you making?" I asked casually.
"Best catfish you'll ever have," he said, going to the fridge. I looked to Felix, who looked annoyed with Ray, but approving of his choice of food.
"I will come back when the food has been eaten. The smell is nasty," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Ten minutes, Ray." He left the kitchen then, leaving us alone.
"No worries, sir," he called to him, putting a whole catfish on the counter. It wasn't even gutted, cleaned or picked. It looked like a fresh caught fish. "So, what's he want the protein for?"
"I'm being trained," I said. He took out a big knife and cut off the head first before quickly slicing the skin off. I was impressed by his knife skills and wondered just how long he went to culinary school.
"Like, fighting?" he asked confusedly, moving the skins to the side and working on gutting it. "That seems strange."
"I don't know," I said quietly. "I have to do what they say."
"Why would they teach you fight when you're still human? Doesn't make sense to-" he looked at me then in mid-slice. "Are they turning you into one of them?"
"I don't have a say in it," I said, looking at my nails on my folded hands. "David is a vampire. So I have to be one, too."
"That's just God damn ridiculous," he almost shouted. "What the hell? I thought you were a worker like the secretary woman. Gianna." He went back to gutting the fish and cleaning it out.
"He wants me to join them. The Volturi," I said flatly. It sent chills down my spine to think about it. I couldn't think of punishing other vampires and killing them. It wasn't in me. I didn't know how far I could go with pretending to like Aro.
"I suspected that," he said strangely. "I'm hearing all this talk about a song performance from you. Aro wants everyone to be impressed with you." He scooped everything out of the fish and put it to the side.
"I know," I mumbled, thinking about it. I would be in front of a crowd like a newly created robot for everyone to see. I was Aro's toy.
"What about you?" I asked. "Are you going to be a vampire, too?"
He laughed out loud and shook his head, taking on a different demeanor.
"I don't want to," he said. "They either kill me or I kill me. But I keep myself alive because of my girlfriend Sophie. I would like to marry her someday." He sounded hopeful, like he was unsure if it would really happen.
"Why don't you?" I asked, looking at him. "You don't live here like I do."
He pressed his lips into a line, making his long mustache meet the beard that covered his face.
"It's not that easy," he said, turning to turn the stove on. He drizzled olive oil into it, turned back, grabbed the fillets and proceeded to season them. "You've been here long enough to know that once you know about vampires, you're trapped for life. I may live outside this castle, but I don't exactly have freedom either."
"You want to go back to the States," I stated. He put the catfish into a bowl of what looked like a batter and moved them into the sizzling skillet.
"I didn't know what I was getting myself into until I heard people screaming one night," he said over the crackling and sizzling. "If I hadn't passed by that room, I wouldn't be here. I wasn't going to work here forever. Italy's nice, but my parents and stuff are back home. And Sophie doesn't even know." He turned back and grabbed a bundle of asparagus. I felt sorrow for him because his story seemed like mine. If David hadn't gone on the tour, if I hadn't followed him...if we hadn't done those things, we wouldn't be here. If we had never set foot in Volterra, we would all be together.
"My brother doesn't know," I said quietly. "He thinks I'm dead."
He stopped cutting and I looked at him. His brown eyes shone with sadness and I knew we weren't just two people who stumbled here on accident.
We were slaves.
"Now throw," he said. I grabbed his arm and turned forward, using the throwing motion he taught me, and he rolled by himself. He looked at me amusedly.
"Good," he said. "You're a quick learner. Do you have experience or what?" He stood up in vampire speed, fixing imaginary wrinkles in his suit. I attempted to catch my breath and sank to my knees.
"All right, all right, fine, no more today," he said, crossing the room. "But you still gotta sing karaoke with us." He whooshed back over to me, towel in hand. I took it and wiped the sweat off of my face. I felt demolished and I knew I wouldn't be able to move the next day. He made me put all my strength into the punches and kicks and throws. All my muscles were just screaming in protest and crying for a break.
"I will sing karaoke with you," I drew out. "But I have to practice the song Aro gave me first." Felix hauled me up like I was a feather and was gone in a second, then right in front of me again, the sheet music in hand. He slung his huge arm around me while we retreated out of the room.
"Right," he said seriously. "Aro will be checking on you, believe it or not. He'll be down in an hour, if my calculations are correct. You must hurry if you don't want to get in trouble."
He swooped me up and almost literally disappeared to take me back to my room.
Xxx
When I stepped into the soundproof room that was just a door down from the training room, I noticed the big sleek piano first on the smooth linoleum floor. It looked brand new as if it was never touched. The long stool that was placed in front of it looked new as well with its smooth, untouched fake leather on four legs. The room was huge for it being just for one person. A crystal chandelier hung from the extremely high ceiling and lit up the room with a glittering radiance.
"I'll be back soon," Felix said in all seriousness. "And...sorry I made you throw up." He shut the door then, leaving me alone. It wasn't until I had gotten back to my room that I threw up my lunch. I went over to the bench and sat myself on it and put the sheet music on the gold bar that served as a stand on the piano above the keys. It had been a while since I played, but I felt the buzzing and the urging to play to get all of my emotions out. One of the things I needed most was right in front of me and I wanted nothing more than to belt out every lyric that syncopated my feelings. There was one song though, that I always played when I needed it most. My dad's song. His dedication. It always provided a comfort and a strength that I long needed. I took the opportunity and played the beginning notes, determined to get out any anger and sadness I had long bottled away and replaced with a false rock solid shell. As I played the beginning, I thought about my dad and how much I needed him. How much I missed him. How much I missed my brother. How heartbreaking it was to me that he thought I was dead when I was clearly alive. How I was forever trapped in this castle with immortals and would never be released. How I would someday have to face the fact that my brother and mother would die and I would still be alive. How I would never reunite with my dad someday wherever you go. How I would have to be with Alec forever while he tolerated me. How I would live with the fact that the only person I would have is David. How I even got here. I played my dad's song and basked myself in the music that was my rock.
Desperado
Why don't you come to your senses?
You've been out riding fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
But I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasing you
Will hurt you somehow
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get
Desperado
Oh, you ain't getting no younger
Your pain and your hunger
They're driving you home
And freedom, oh freedom
Well, that's just some people talking
Your prison is walking through this world all alone
I heard another voice, then. A voice that harmonized with mine. A voice that I recognized so clearly, that I thought I would never hear it again. I turned my head to the voice and my eyes found him for the first time in what felt like forever. There stood my best friend in his all his vampire glory. But he didn't look the same.
David looked more defined than he did as a human. His tan was replaced with ivory skin and his face was decorated with strong lines. His lips were still thin, but definitely fuller than before, and they were no longer pink, but pale pink. the light brown eyes I grew up knowing were replaced with crimson. His hair was no longer light brown, but a dark gold and it was straighter than usual and shone like everyone else's. The light reflected hints of brown and gold in his hair. His body was built with more muscle and he was clearly taller.
As my old emotions left, new ones replaced them. Relief. Happiness. Horror. Sadness. His lips continued to copy the same lyrics as mine as he came closer. His voice was more melodic and smoother than before. He sounded beautiful compared to me. Our voices together sounded more balanced than ever. I turned my head back to the piano and continued to finish the song with him, the emotions crashing around me.
Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're losing all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?
Desperado
Why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fence and
Open the gate
It may be raining
But there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you
You better let somebody love you
Before it's too late
I played the last notes and the chill that came with David matched the one from everyone else. I looked up at him and my resolve broke. I was crushed in one of his hugs, but it was even stronger. I couldn't breathe very well, but it was the least of my worries. His whole body was no longer warm; it was replaced with a cursed chill and rock hard exterior. I couldn't feel a heart beat from his chest through his shirt; I felt nothing at all. It was then that I let myself cry about everything on his stony shoulder. He was no longer human and he never would be. He was forever frozen at twenty one while I would stay nineteen. He also smelled different from everyone else. While Felix smelled like pine trees, Alec smelled like a clean boy, David smelled like honey. Melting honey, almost, and I couldn't help but think it fit him. His smell was the warmest thing about him now. It was sweet, but not sickly. It was the smell of a friend.
"Don't cry, dudette," he begged with restrain. He sounded like he wanted to cry, but it wasn't happening. His voice was almost as beautiful as Alec's. Almost. It was new to me, but it didn't make my heart skip like Alec's did. My heart was only racing with relief. Even though he was no longer human, or warm, he was still the same old David to me. "God, I missed you."
"Where have you been?" I said through my tears, although I knew clearly where he had been. I couldn't control the spew of questions in my head. "I was worried to death."
"I had to control myself. They wouldn't let me leave," he said sadly. "It wasn't safe for you. Jane's one tough bitch, though. Thank God her gift or whatever doesn't work on you." I noticed then that he was tensed and he wasn't trying hardly at all to hug me. I let go of him and my feet touched the ground; I hadn't even noticed that he lifted me. I did notice, however, that he could now smell me in a different way. He could hear my heart beat. He could smell my blood. And he could also kill me, but I knew he wouldn't. If he came down here, he must have enough control to be around me. His cold thumbs wiped away my tears and the chill still startled me.
"Did they hurt you? What did they do while I was gone? Who took care of you? Do they feed you? Oh, God, you don't wanna know how freaking disgusting food smells to me now-" he rambled, and it made me glad to see that he was still the same old David.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm fine. They feed me, don't worry. Alec did."
He scanned me for proof and when his eyes froze on my arm, his face turned harder than stone and he looked like he was trying to contain himself. He brushed his hand over it. The bruises Alec left were starting to yellow, but they were still clearly there.
"What the fuck did he do to you?" he demanded. "That doesn't look like he took care of you!"
"It doesn't matter," I said over him. "He doesn't do it anymore."
I heard a growl come from his throat like Alec's did, and it sounded strange coming from him.
"You're gonna get in trouble for being in here. This room is soundproof, how did you get in here?" I asked, releasing him. It was starting to make me cold. He couldn't have heard me singing. His crimson eyes searched my face and he was still tense.
"I smelled you," he said. "I just followed it like an instinct. But once I could hear you...It's so weird being a vampire, dudette. I mean, turning into one..." He paused, shuddering, his eyes closing. I could see his dark gold lashes almost touch the hollows of his eyes. "God, it was the worst pain I ever felt. It was like being on fucking fire while being stapled and ripped apart and cut open and hit by a million trucks all at once. I couldn't even move and it wouldn't stop, it just kept getting worse. But then when you wake up...you smell everything and you hear everything and it's just so weird, but it's badass! You can even taste things in the air. I could really almost taste you. It tasted like mint, but...flowery too." He swallowed then and stepped back from me. I sat back on the bench and lowered my head. The relief was starting to wash away and dread settled in. My best friend was a vampire now. I soon would be, too. I was the last one on the list. He wasn't the same, but he was. He wasn't warm, but he was. He wasn't David, but he was. And the pain he described didn't make the process any better.
"I can hear your heart, too," he said. "It's fast and I can hear the blood moving through your veins. I hate this, but I like it, too. I never thought blood would taste so good, but it-"
"I'm sorry," I said quietly, picking up the habit of blinking away tears. "It's my fault you're like this. If I hadn't-"
"Don't you dare start," he said with a hard voice. "It is not your fault. I was a dumbass and fell for Heidi's gift trance thing. If I hadn't done that, we wouldn't be here. I'm sorry, Cheyenne. I'm sorry we got trapped in this hell hole. I completely fucked up and now we're just..." He paused, and I could tell he was trying to stop himself from doing something. He only used my name when he got really serious, and David wasn't one to be so serious all the time.
"Damned," I finished for him, looking at his perfect face. My nose tingled as my eyes filled with tears. "We're damned and Travis thinks we're dead." I tried to keep my face from crumpling, but the sorrow of it was too strong and I lowered my head as I cried for the second time.
"What?" he barely whispered, and I almost missed it. I was pulled into another hug, expecting to be crushed, but I wasn't. "What the hell happened, dudette? Tell me, because I can't cry anymore. Who in the hell told him we're dead?" He demanded.
"There was this guy," I said, trying to speak normally. "He asked for my autograph and I gave it to him. Then...Aro saw it from Alec and he decided to fake our deaths."
"God damn it," he said, following with a string of profanities. "I'm gonna kill-"
I pulled myself together and wiped away my tears. David couldn't try to kill anyone, for he'd surely be killed himself. I wanted to keep him safe, even if he was immortal and I wasn't. Aro couldn't keep us apart forever, and I would see to it.
"How come you can't cry anymore?" I asked, changing the subject and pulling away from him. He shook his head and a different kind of anger got to him.
"Jane said vampires don't have any fluids in them except venom," he said ruefully. "We can't cry, we can't sweat, we can't bleed, but by all means, we can ejaculate. It doesn't make any damn sense." He scoffed at the end, and I didn't want to know how he knew that last one.
"You look different," I said, coming across a hiccup.
"I know, I'm hot," he grinned, changing demeanors immediately. "You don't have to rub it in."
I smacked his shoulder, but it didn't have any effect on him; he stayed right in place as if I never did it. It hurt my hand; it felt like trying to hit a rock and I rubbed my hand.
"And you can't beat me up anymore," he grinned before his eyes found the sheet music. "What's that for?" he asked suspiciously. "Why are you singing Bonnie Raitt? I know she's good, dudette, but she's not your style."
"He's making me sing it for the ball," I sniffed, flexing my fingers. "He wants to put a human in front of a crowd of vampires...and sing it."
And that's when I got an idea. Aro gave me the song to sing, but he wouldn't know at all that I would perform it the night of. This room was soundproof. He couldn't hear me singing unless he opened the door. Aro wanted me to perform in front of a crowd, but would they know what I was going to do? He wanted to show me off like a trophy. I had my best friend in front of me, and I had a piano. And two great minds. The perfect replacement to this romantic ballad popped into my head then. David looked baffled and angry, but I stopped him when I spoke.
"David," I said slowly. "How rebellious are you feeling right now?"
His anger melted away and it turned into a happy grin. His teeth were straighter and whiter than ever; it was almost blinding.
"Aw, fuck yeah," he said. "Watcha got?"
"We can practice this song," I said. "But we won't do it."
"So you want us to just blow it off?" he asked excitedly.
"Not blow it off," I said. "Aro wants to...show me off, so to speak. He wants everyone to see my gift, but Felix said Aro will be checking up on me. Not watching me. So if Aro wants to show me off and you want to kill him, so to speak...then we should kill with kindness."
"Where is this going?" he asked, and I could tell he was excited. I took a deep breath and thought about how this would play out. I knew Aro would be angry, but at the moment, I was fueled by vengeance and happiness from being reunited with my best friend.
"If I'm going to sing something for the ball," I said. "It should be a reflection of us. How we feel about this. We can't fight Aro...but we can fight him like this. With our gifts."
His smile grew bigger and we high fived, his cold marble hand meeting my warm one.
"Then let's rock this bitch, dudette," he said, cheesily quoting Mean Girls. I laughed for the first time in a week and all the sadness and crushing grief I held melted away for that moment.
"Can you watch the door while I practice it?" I asked. "When you hear someone coming, you can give me a signal and I'll sing the song Aro gave me to make it seem like I'm practicing the right one. But you should stand outside the door. You don't want to...hear my gift."
"Good idea," he said, standing up straight. "By the way, I don't know how I ate Doritos my whole life. I smelled them and tried to eat them one day...worst fucking thing ever. Vampires can't even digest things! Jane called me an idiot all the time for doing it."
I got sad for a moment before I answered him. His love for Doritos was part of what made him David, but everything else about him was the same and I was thankful, though I didn't like how Jane was hurting him with her gift.
"You're still David," I said truthfully. "To me. We're still best friends. You're still my brother's best friend. You're still the bass player of our group. You're still the person who pushed Matt Gragg off the monkey bars when I was in third grade and got in trouble for it. You're still the person who stayed with his mom when your dad left. And if you're still all of those things, then you're still the same David who loves Doritos."
His eyes were glossed over, but no tears came out, and I knew that if he could cry, then he would be right now. Demetri may have made him immortal and Aro may have separated us both from my brother, but he couldn't break us. He didn't know that he put two weapons together for mass destruction.
"You kick ass and I'll watch the door," he said, his smile hinting on a grin, but I knew the dad statement got to him. He turned and was at the door in a flash. I turned to the piano and began playing the indirect attack on Aro that we planned.
And there you have it, folks! Your reunion and your mystery song! It was so beautiful! *cries* who missed David? I DID! What do you think of the song? What do you think of the new David? And what the heck is that song they're gonna sing? It shall be revealed later! By the way, if you didn't know the song, it was Desperado by none other than The Eagles. If you want to see the version she sang (and my favorite version), then you can copy this into your browser: video/xret4_eagles-desperado_music (the video is from Daily Motion. Just search, "Eagles Desperado" on Google and you'll see it pop up on Daily Motion. They don't have it on YouTube, sadly)
I hope you liked this chapter, and a review would be lovely! If you do, David will sing for you and maybe give you free Doritos lol.