Walking around the palace alone was no easy feat either. It was amazing how many times I ended up getting lost in the underground levels. Above ground, I found my way easily enough, but it was where the vampires kept themselves that had crazy twists and turns. At one point, I even found a secret passage that led me straight down into a sewer with no opening at the end except a manhole that would be impossible to reach without some sort of ladder that was not supplied. It was Demetri that met me down there that day and asked what I was up to. All I could muster is that I was exploring, and it wasn't a lie. I only needed to learn the layouts of this place to find an exit when the moment arose.

It was that incident though that let me know, even if I was free to wander, Demetri was still keeping an eye on my every move. His tracking ability was proving quite nettlesome. I knew it was already going to be nearly impossible to get away with his ability in the first place, but now, I didn't even know if I stood a chance. Aro promised me freedom inside the walls of the palace within the second wing, yet he was still spying on me either way meaning he really did not trust me. Concerns aside, if he had any at all, his whole persona was about control.

One afternoon exploring led me to the one place I had no desire to ever go. Only a floor down and a few turns away was another large room and the door stood wide open. When I walked past it, I turned to look inside only to see Caius examining a slide through a brass microscope. When I stopped, his eyes moved up and met mine. A smirk crossed his face and he beckoned me inside. I seriously thought about walking away, but I also didn't know if that would be the best idea seeing how he was only the other day when we first met. He already hated me.

"Were you curious to what I was doing," he asked leering at me.

I shrugged. "Not really. I was only walking around, and the door was open."

"Yes, Aro did mention he had given you permission to do so without an escort. A silly idea if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't."

"You are lucky you are Aro's mate or I would have ripped out your tongue."

With a slight roll of my eyes, I replied, "Yeah, lucky me."

Caius was curious at this remark, and I made substantial note of it in my mind. "You do not get along?"

"It's complicated."

"Is that so?"

He made move back toward the microscope and after another scan, wrote down something on a piece of parchment paper that was lying next to him. Like Aro, he also decided to use quill and ink. He prepared another sample on a new slide before changing out the previous then once again waved his hand for me to join him. I obliged and stood next to him as he viewed through the lens again.

"Take a look," Caius told me before raising up and stepping back.

Sighing, I did as I was told and gazed through the microscope. I had no idea what I was viewing. All I saw were purple and pink squiggly lines that seemed to form some sort of pattern. When I peered back up at him, I asked, "What is it?"

"Tissue from a human lung."

"Oh. I didn't realize it was possible to order organ tissue specimens without certain qualifications."

"Why order tissue specimens when I can create my own?"

"What do you mean?"

"This sample here came from a human male of about 30 years old. His blood wasn't as savory as others I've tasted, but his organs were in almost pristine condition minus a slight tear in the tissue you were just viewing."

I stepped away from the microscope and Caius after hearing that, somewhat disgusted with the whole ordeal. "You keep the bodies?"

"Do you remember when we met, the grand hall you were in? Most are disposed of below."

"That drain in the floor?"

"It is convenient," Caius added closing the gap between us. "Then there are some humans that we decide to keep for research and study."

"So, you dissect them once you've fed?"

"This one here, I dissected alive."

Now I really felt like I was going to throw up, so I turned and walked towards the door to exit the room, but Caius appeared in front of me blocking my way. I took a deep breath to keep myself calm and waited for him to move.

"Does it disturb you?"

"As if you hadn't figured out that I was trying to leave the room until you blocked the doorway," I replied with frustration.

Caius stepped aside, and I went past him only to see Aro standing there as if he had been coming down the hall to meet us. He smiled gently at me, but instead of acknowledging it at all, I turned and began to start down the hall. It was only a moment later that I felt his hand on my arm stopping me. I shrugged out of his grip, and when I turned around, the smile that had been there was gone and replaced with an expression of hurt and what felt like betrayal. His mannerisms after were strange, and without saying a word, he left me standing there confused by his action.

Whatever had just happened, I somehow felt that it was my fault and that I should feel guilty for it. The thing was, I hadn't said a word to Aro to cause that reaction, yet it had happened. Was he upset that I had walked away from him. Was that really such a bad thing? I wanted to get away from Caius, although I wasn't too keen on being close to Aro either, but he was a much better companion than the vampire that liked to dissect people alive. Did Aro ever participate in that? I decided never to ask, but certainly, he didn't appear the type.

Deciding to head back to Aro's chambers, I made my way to the elevator and up to the next floor. When I reached the door, I opened it and saw Aro inside sitting at his desk writing again. He did not look up as I entered and closed the door behind me, so I went over to him. Going behind the desk, I stopped beside him and watched him write in a language that I now understood to be Greek. He was very quiet and very focused.

Softly, I said, "Are you angry with me?"

There was a pause as his hand stopped moving, and he stared at the paper before him. "I am not angry, no."

The mood swing happened so quickly that it threw me off guard as he turned to face me, the smile back on his face. His voice was cheerier and lighter than I had heard it in a while, and I could tell something wasn't right.

"It's just that you left so suddenly. You were there and then you were gone."

"You must forgive me, my love. I had Demetri track your location as you had not yet returned. I do still worry about you roaming the halls alone. When he told me you were with Caius, I thought to check on you there to make sure my brother was not causing you any distress. I was relieved you were safe, but you appeared angry at finding me there, so I thought to leave you before causing harm."

I knew it was only another white lie on his end. Demetri had been tracking me the entire time. Maybe Aro was worried about me being with Caius, but if he really had thought to leave me, why did he follow me and reach for me and then have the look he did? That part didn't add up. Either way, he was fine now, so I decided not to push it and nodded.

"I wasn't angry with you for being there. I wasn't so thrilled that you tried to stop me from leaving, but I didn't want to be anywhere near that monster, and yes, I think he officially qualifies for that classification."

"He does have a way with his words, but he won't hurt you."

"It's not that. You treat humans like we're animals or something. You pick one out so you can torture just for research? Or maybe you do it for fun. I don't know, but it's disgusting and it's wrong."

"Ah, Caius told you of his little hobby, didn't he? I won't say I approve, but-"

"You have no respect or value for human life," I said effectively cutting him off. "None except mine. We've had that conversation already."

"I do not wish to argue with you, Lia, but it is what it is. I do not control the actions Caius takes."

I sighed. "You're right, you don't. I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting that."

When Aro opened the drawer in the desk where my phone was located, I watched in surprise as he took it out and offered it to me. I stared at it for a second before looking at him questioning his motive.

"You were wanting to speak with your mother, weren't you? Go ahead and call. You may inform her that your travels are going well."

"But I'm not traveling."

"Yet she believes you are."

"She'll want details."

"Then I will give you a personal tour of some of the palace where you can tell her about the art you have seen. There are one or two galleries that you have yet to view."

I stepped towards him and took the phone in my hand. "It doesn't matter anyway. It's dead."

"Objects cannot die," Aro replied almost childlike in his confusion.

"I mean the power is gone. It needs charged. You locked it up before while it was still on."

"I see. Then I will send Chelsea to buy you a new one."

Shaking my head, I told him, "She doesn't need to buy me a new one. I need the charger. If I have that and an electrical outlet with a power source, I can charge it myself. The charger for it is still at the house. I could go get it then come back."

"You know that isn't an option. I will send Demetri for it."

"Do you have any idea how long it might take him to find it? I don't even know where I put it. At least let me go with him. While I'm there, I can grab some more of my clothes and things, and I could tell my mom I'm back in Volterra for a bit rather than making stuff up."

"Is there a problem with Caterina taking your clothes to be laundered? Surely, you don't need to bring any more, and it would be best if no one knew you were still in Volterra. It is easier if they believe you to be traveling."

"That's only an excuse so no one realizes that you have me locked away in here." At this statement Aro stood and moved away from me, and I knew he was irritated at hearing me say that I was locked away once again, but I continued on. "And about the clothes thing. Look, I'm a girl. Ask Chelsea or even Heidi. They'll tell you that we don't exactly like wearing the same outfits week after week."

"That is a simple fix. I will have new clothes bought for you."

"You are really missing the point here," I said growing irritated myself. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Apparently you do," Aro replied facing me again.

"I just want some fresh air, to get out of this place if even for a few minutes. And no, I don't mean the tower. That's still in the confines of this building. I've been walking around in here for two weeks now. I'm bored, and I'm suffocating."

As before, the room went silent as Aro gave thought to what I had said. Before I realized what was happening, Aro was beside me and he had my hand in his. I looked up at him questioningly. "What?"

He released my hand, and as he did so, brought his hand up to touch my hair. He twirled a small section through his fingers, his eyes focused and his mouth thin. When he dropped it, he said, "I will send Demetri out with you tonight to go by the house to gather what you need for the phone. You may pick up anything else you would like to bring back with you while you are there. Maybe the fresh air will help settle your mind."

"Thank you."

That night, Demetri and I departed the city hall together through a back exit. The streets were very quiet, so I asked him what time it was. He told me it was after midnight so most people were asleep. Aro's way of making sure that there was less of a chance of me being recognized.

It did not take long to get to the house, and when we did, Demetri unlocked the door and we went inside. Everything was exactly as I had left it the morning I made the discovery that vampires were real. I guess Aro hadn't started on "dealing" with what I was left just yet.

Demetri followed me into the back bedroom that I had been staying in so I could find my charger. As I told Aro, it would have taken a while for Demetri to find it since it had fallen between the bed and the wall when I unplugged it before. I reached back to get it, but the space was too small.

"Can you move the bed," I asked him. "The charger fell behind it."

With effortless ease, Demetri moved the bed away from the wall, and I grabbed the charger from where it was now lying on the floor. "Got it."

He moved the bed back into place with a nod. "Do you want to take anything else while you're here?"

I sat down on the bed and sighed. "I don't know. It feels strange being back in this house. In a few days, it'll be an entire month that's passed. That sounds so unreal."

"A month is a very short period of time."

"To a vampire maybe. It can be much longer for a human."

"The period of time a month covers does not change based on whether one is a vampire or a human. It still consists roughly of 720 hours."

"You're making it feel longer than it already did. I know time doesn't speed up or slow down based on being a vampire or human. It's the sense of time that can change. Humans don't live for millennia or even centuries for that matter. Our average lifespan is around 80 years give or take depending on where you live in the world, so while a month may feel short to someone who has lived over 1000 years, it could feel like it's dragging on to someone who may not even reach 100."

"Then it is a good thing that you will."

"Not helping," I said while giving him a look.

"I am only stating a fact."

Demetri stood there motionless as a statue much like the others often did. I began to accept it purely as a vampire thing after a while, but it didn't make it any less eerie. I stood from the bed and went to look out the window. The streets were still empty and the only light came from the post off the walk.

"Demetri, what is it like?"

He turned and walked towards me stopping on the other side of the sill. "What is what like?"

"The change. I asked Marcus, but he wouldn't tell me. He told me to ask Aro, but I don't want to excite him too much about it. Still though, I'm curious. Is it instantaneous or does it take time? Does it hurt at all? What exactly happens?"

"It is a long process, a period of time that feels like weeks but only lasts a few days. None of us are really sure what happens. There was a vampire who had a theory. I believe Aro spoke of him to you, a medical practitioner that goes by Carlisle."

"Yeah, Aro said he lived in Volterra for a while. What was his theory?"

"He hypothesized that the cells of the body go through a regenerative process of constantly dying and renewing themselves as they fight the venom that goes through the bloodstream. The venom being much more powerful will eventually win out and when it does, it coats all the tissues of the body with a hardened substance that is generated when the cells give birth a final time.

"Because the vessels and arteries become so stiff, the blood is unable to reach the heart and eventually it begins to die. One may experience what you refer to as a heart attack that then leads to sudden cardiac arrest and the organ stops beating altogether. When this happens, the rest of the body's organs shut down and the human dies.

"With the venom still in the system, it reaches the brain and jumpstarts it back to life, in the process, causing one to potentially lose memories from their human life. The venom acts as a life force to keep the brain functioning though the rest of our vital organs have failed. This of course is only a biological standpoint on what occurs. It does not explain our immortality which is of a supernatural component. After all, one may remove our head from our bodies but we cannot die until our bodies are consumed in fire."

"Like a purification ritual," I whispered more to myself than him.

"We are creatures of darkness after all. Even Hell has its flames."

"Then vampires are damned?"

Demetri shrugged. "Carlisle believed so."

"That doesn't seem right. Maybe you're simply in what they call a state of limbo, in between the two dimensions since you're trapped eternally here on Earth. Maybe your soul is only trying to find its way home, the struggle of keeping your humanity while also being bound to a thirst for blood. Aro once asked me if I could hate him for what he was. I suppose I can only hate the choices he makes. Maybe that's what determines it."

"What does?"

"Vampires survive on blood. There's no alternative way around that, but humans kill animals for food all the time. Most don't even think about it. I imagine your mind works the same way. You said that the change can cause loss of human memories, right?"

"For many, yes."

"What if that loss is also what comes into play with the brain chemistry. What if that's the thing that causes you to only see humans as a food source or as a form of entertainment in Caius's case. You don't think about it, just like most humans didn't think about vegetarianism until very recent years. While it was probably around even when you were human, it was still rare. Maybe it's something that you don't have control over, so you have to find other ways to keep your humanity intact. You have to make the conscious choice to do so. That's what determines where your soul goes if such a thing ever existed in the first place."

"Now you're thinking like a philosopher. If I remember correctly, someone once told me they had no interest in the field," Demetri said with a slight grin.

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't say I had no interest. I said I didn't have much interest. There's a difference."

"We should be heading back. Aro will be expecting you soon."

"Right," I said looking around the room once more. "Actually, there is one thing I want to bring with me."

"What is that?"

"My laptop. It has games on it, and while Aro loves handwritten notes, I much prefer typing because unlike vampires, humans still get hand cramps."

"Very well. Where is it?"

I made my way to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer where my laptop sat in its case with the power cord wrapped around it. "Right here." I stood up and placed it on the bed before going to the closet. "I guess it also wouldn't hurt to grab a few more changes of clothes. You really didn't bring much for an extended stay."

Pulling out a few more shirts pairs of pants and clean undergarments, I threw them on the bed before reaching under it and grabbing my suitcase. I piled them in along with my laptop and phone charger before zipping it up. The last thing I did was go back to my dresser and grab a particular box of personal items to which Demetri gave me a confused look on.

As I was putting them into the front pocket of my suitcase, Demetri asked, "What are those?"

"You see, human women go through this thing every month called a menstrual cycle-"

"You don't need to explain any further."

I laughed. Even vampire males had strange feelings towards it. Although, it did bring up a bit of curiosity on my end. I knew I would be due to start very soon since my cycle was generally longer than most at 32 days on average, but I hadn't thought about it until now. It would definitely be easier to talk to Demetri than Aro about this stuff, so I dared ask. "By the way, is that weird for you or do you know? I know with blood, I was told there could be accidents, but it's different isn't it?"

Demetri made a bit of a face before answering. I could tell he was just as uncomfortable with the topic as I was. "Unlike the others, Chelsea, Heidi and I work closely among humans. That blood is mixed with other tissues and therefore has no appeal to us. The smell is not appetizing, but it is there."

"Good thing tampons collect it inside the body instead of out or otherwise that would be extremely awkward."

"It is a normal human function, nothing to be, as you say, awkward about."

"Males have always been aversive to the topic though."

"Then you should know back where I was born, in Greece, they used the blood as a kind of fertilizer for the soil during ancient times."

"I think I would have been fine not knowing that information."

Demetri gave a playful smirk. "You were the one who brought it up."

"Yes, but only because you were the one who asked what was in the box," I countered.

"So I did. Do you have everything now?"

"I guess so."

Demetri grabbed my suitcase for me, and we left the room and headed back through the house. I took a good look around before we left knowing that the chances of me seeing that place again were very slim. We stepped outside and Demetri closed the front door behind us.

A/N: I apologize that it's been a while again. This film is taking up all my time. I periodically update my profile with what's going on in case you're curious as to why it's been some time since you've seen an update. This is the longest chapter yet simply because I tortured you all with the wait. I hope you enjoy it. Please review, and share your thoughts.