Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight
Chapter Thirty-Four
*Abby's POV*
"We'll begin training today," Felix declared as he, Lizzy, Lucas, and I walked into the Volturi's massive training room.
"Oh goody," Lizzy mumbled under her breath. I gently grasped my cousin's hand and held it tightly.
Today was our first day with training under the Volturi. Lucas explained to me they planned to train us in fighting, school us in possibly the best education in the world, and then finish it all off with a group feed. I was nervous about whatever that meant.
Felix and Demetri, being the best fighters in the Volturi, were in charge of teaching Lizzy, Wesley, Stefano and I how to fight. It was like being with the creepy twins with the boys. Same hair cuts, outfits...It was like some scary wonder twin shit but if the wonder twins were deranged. I still can't believe one of them was my brother.
"We'll start with the basics," Demetri added.
Lizzy was less than happy to be here while thing one and two just seemed to care less. I, on the other hand, was ready for whatever they'd throw at us. Lucas was standing in the doorway watching us with amused looks.
"I know the basics," I proclaimed smugly.
"Really?" Demetri said, raised eyebrows.
"Squeaks," Lucas chastised.
"No. I got this," I insisted, standing my ground.
"If you say so, kid," Demetri declared as the two of us stood in the circle of their training space.
"Abby," Lizzy warned like some scolding mother.
"No. No. I want to see what he's got," I said, placing my hands on my hips.
"I'll go easy on you," Demetri replied, a smirk forming on his face.
"Alright," I said, taking my stance.
Demetri charged at me while I stood still. I waited for the last possible second to dodge him, kicking his legs in the process. I smirked as he ran past me, but he didn't seem easily convinced. I then ran for him and in the process, we began to throw punched at each other. Then, Demetri got me. With one swift move he grabbed me by the mid section. My weak point.
"Got ya," Demetri said, gripping to me.
"I almost had you," I growled.
"You did," Demetri agreed, placing me down. "You just need to work on that one tactic and you'll be in top shape."
"We'll see about that," I muttered, walking away.
"Alright, now Lizzy," Demetri declared.
My cousin looked fairly unamused as she was then brought to the stand with Demetri. I watched as Lizzy hesitantly approached him. My cousin carefully and swiftly dodged his attempts, but failed in the process.
"You need to work a lot," Demetri muttered, picking Lizzy up from the ground. "Felix, she's all yours."
"Now you're my trainer," Lizzy muttered with raised eyebrows at the tall vampire.
Felix and Demetri both chuckled like two school mates. "Why, got a problem?"
"A bit, but I guess I'll have to deal," Lizzy sung, rolling her eyes.
"In the meantime, Wesley. Stefano. You'll be working in the other room with Renata on your powers," Demetri said, motioning to the boys.
"Powers?" Lizzy questioned, turning to me using her powers. The one thing we had advantage over the Volturi. Lizzy's abilities.
"I wonder what they are," I told her.
"We'll find out soon enough," Lizzy mentioned to me. "In the meantime, lay low. I'm going to see if maybe I can get anything out of Felix since we'll be spending so much time together."
"Come on, Squeaks," Lucas said, nudging me. "Let's practice fighting."
"Are you serious?" I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Let's go," Lucas announced, smirking at me. "I wanna see if we can teach each other something."
"Alright," I said, chuckling. "Let's do this."
That's how Lucas and I ended up practicing fighting with each other. Ironically, I had fun. It felt wrong though. Here I was, laughing with Lucas Rider in Volturea. But it still felt extremely wrong. Lizzy sent me a warning look at these thoughts, but she can't deny that any of them were wrong. Why was I having fun right now? Grace was dead and I was away from my family...
"Not bad today, Squeaks," Lucas complimented me as we walked back towards our bedrooms. Lizzy seemed to be ahead. I hope she wasn't pissed with me...I can't help it.
"Yeah," I mumbled lamely.
"Look, what's the matter?" He asked like nothing wrong was happening.
"We should...We should be trying to figure out how to get out of here!" I hissed to him. "Why...Why are you acting like this isn't a big deal?"
"Because I said so," Lucas answered, pulling me aside. He sighed, "Look, I want to. Trust me. God, I want to be home...But right now, we need to adapt. We're not ready to take on the Volturi let alone you're not ready to fight."
"Yes I can!" I growled.
"I said you can, but you're not ready for whatever they have in stored for you," Lucas told me gently. "Listen to me, Abby. These are some of the best warriors in the world. What they did with you today, that was mild. That's nothing compared to what I've seen them do. I know you're going to be a fighter, squeaks...But until then, you have to learn. You're still learning a lot."
"I have the mentality of a fourteen year old," I said. "The rate I'm going, I look maybe fifteen or sixteen-"
"You're still a kid," Lucas shot back. "Listen to me. I want to stay with you and Lizzy. I need to be here. I promised your family I'd protect you guys. Just...I'm gonna stay, okay? I know the Volturi. You don't. Aro Volturi's blood runs through your veins but you don't know everything he's capable of."
"I know enough," I angrily shot back.
"You're not dumb, but you don't know everything when it comes to the Volturi," Lucas responded cooly. "There's a lot worse he could've done. So until then, be on your toes. Don't fall for anything...Just try to find the light. I know it seems dark right now, but there is always some sort of light. Always."
I sighed, "I'll try."
"Good. That's the squeaks I know," Lucas said, smirking.
I rolled my eyes as I then walked into my bedroom to get ready for the next phase of this whole thing. The learning. For the next few hours we'd spend time with some of the Volturi's highest scholar.
"Where do you think our first class is?" Lizzy murmured as we were escorted down the halls of the Volturi.
"I don't know," I said, shrugging. "Hopefully somewhere...Nice?"
Lizzy rolled her eyes as we were led towards to massive doors. That's when they swung open to reveal the world's biggest library. Possibly every book imagined was there. I looked to Lizzy who just gaped in awe.
"Oh my god," Lizzy breathed, her eyes widening. "This library...It's...It's...Amazing."
"Almost every single piece of literature from the last few centuries are here," a new voice explained to us.
I looked to see a blonde woman, no more than twenty standing before us. The boys were seated already at the tables. She had her hair pinned up in a bun with gray eyes. Something about her seemed...Familiar.
"Who are you?" I questioned.
"I'm your new teacher," The woman spoke, leaning against a nearby shelf. "Iris."
"You've seen Dru," Lizzy suddenly exclaimed, her eyes widening. "How is she?"
"She's fine," the woman answered stiffly. "In the meantime, we should begin with your studies."
"Who exactly are you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I just told you, so please sit," Iris stated sharply.
"I know and I refuse to listen," Lizzy announced, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The mind reader. Should've known, you look like your father," Iris murmured.
"Well you're going to listen," Felix declared, stepping in. "As part of our masters orders-"
"I'm not going to listen to the spawn of satan!" Lizzy hissed, narrowing her eyes at the blonde girl.
"Liz," I scolded at my cousin. "Just do what they say."
"Come on, little red," Lucas pleaded. "Just listen."
Lizzy sighed before walking towards a chair and taking a seat, "Fine."
"You read minds?" asked a timid voice. Lizzy and I both look to see a shocked face of Wesley. The little boy stared in awe at my cousin.
"Um yeah," Lizzy answered nervously.
"What am I thinking right now," Wesley insisted with a smirk.
"You're thinking about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," Lizzy said, a small smile appearing on her face. "You like to read?"
"Very much," Wesley answered softly. "It's one of my favorite pastimes."
"Your mother used to love to read," Lucas mentioned quietly. This got a few looks shot at him.
"My mother?" The little boy blinked curiously at the other man.
"Anthenodora," Felix explained quickly.
"Okay..." Lucas responded slowly raising his eyebrows. "Not what I meant, but I'll just leave it there…"
"Oh you mean my birth momma," the boy said, now understanding somehow. "She died to give birth to me."
"That she did," Lucas stated sadly.
I looked at the Lux Lamia to see his face glower in sadness. I knew he was friends with Sylvia. Dru mentions her sometimes. She thought about Wesley often.
"So, you like to read," I said, smiling at my little cousin. I then turned to my brother. "What about you, Stefano?"
The other boy didn't say anything as he fiddled with his hands.
"Anything?" I asked again.
"I'm not much of a reader, but...But I like to build things," he explained. "Father lets me sometimes lets me play with blocks when I'm good."
"Lizzy likes to build. Back home our cousin Aidan and her would build these massive structures out of legos," I told the little boy.
"Legos?" Stefano questioned slowly.
"They're like blocks," Lizzy explained to him. "They're easy to build things with and really cool. Lots of colors, oh, you'd love them. Aidan and I…"
I could see my cousin trailing off, her eyes becoming glassy from tears. Lizzy blinked furiously, making sure nothing fell onto her cheeks. Her green eyes met mine for a brief moment before paying attention to the boys in front of us.
"How about we get on with the lesson?" Iris proposed.
"Let's," I agreed as Iris cleared her throat and began to speak. It lasted for about four hours. We covered the basics of literature, language, and science. Being Cullen's we were quite advanced, so much of this we had already learned but it was interesting to say the least. At one point we were allowed to pick up any book in the library and read it at the end for alone time. It lasted about an hour.
I slowly picked up Gone With the Wind. I didn't even think that the Volturi would have it amongst their scholarly novels. It was my parents favorite. My mother loved it because of the romance and my dad because it took place during his era. Not my favorite in particular, but I couldn't help but cradle the damn thing and feel a warm sense of home take over me. The only thing I had of my parents. My gut twisted. Not even a picture...I just came here with the clothes on my back. I didn't even get to say goodbye...
"Come on, time for dinner," Felix announced to us.
"You're not going to feed us humans are you?" Lizzy asked harshly. "Because I'm not a savage! If we're staying here, I want animal blood or substitute or something. I'm not breaking my families values, understood?"
"Well you're in Volterra now. This is not the Cullen Coven," Felix growled.
"I refuse!" Lizzy snarled, standing her ground.
"Lizzy," Lucas warned. The two younger boys watched us with shocked eyes. I don't think they've ever heard of our lifestyle before.
"No," I said, standing by my cousin. "We will not break our ties. You took us, doesn't mean we have to agree with everything you do."
"Well too bad," Demetri said dryly. "It's what Aro wants-"
"You can tell Aro to go suck it!" Lizzy spat, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Listen here girl," Felix warned, inching forward. They were only a mere centimeters apart. My tiny five foot cousin was about to take on a 6'7 foot vampire. "It's an order."
"Hey! Guys!" Lucas chimed, stepping between my cousin and Felix. "How about this, just give them the damn animal blood. They're here, why must they comply to everything? Can't you make a damn deal with your leader."
"You know how Aro is, Rider," Demetri said.
"I do," Lucas answered. "But also you took these girls from their homes. You basically kidnapped them and they've been good all day, now just give them this one liberty."
"Aro will not-"
"I'll see," Felix announced, his voice tight. "Just understand what you're about to do."
"I do," Lizzy hissed, narrowing her eyes at the vampire.
Felix just grumbled words under his breath as he flipped his cloak dramatically and stormed in the direction of the throne room.
"Rider, take the girls. I'm going to bring these too to get feed," Demetri grumbled, pushing Wesley and Stefano.
Meanwhile, Lucas ushered Lizzy and I towards our corridors.
"You guys aren't even here for more than forty-eight hours and you're already starting shit," Lucas muttered under his breath.
"Well if I'm going to be held captive here might as well make the best of it," Lizzy mumbled under her breath.
"You two are pains," Lucas chided as we headed down the halls. The two of us went to our separate rooms after that. Gently I took out my copy of Gone with the Wind. I caressed the pages and held it close to my chest. Slowly, I walked towards the window.
"Momma...Daddy...I'm gonna pretend you can hear me but just know I'm fine," I said softly. "Just know."
An hour later Lucas came into the room. His expression stiff.
"So?" I asked.
"You can just...Just know Aro wants to talk to you," Lucas said softly.
I gulped, "About what?"
"I don't know," Lucas replied, "but I'll be right behind you. Okay?"
"Okay," I muttered as I then followed him into the room towards a different section of the castle. It was definitely the "master" chambers. There were guard after guard and everywhere I looked was embroidered with gold. Not to mention the various valuables and portraits hanging around the halls of the eery coven. My eyes caught wind of Alec and Jane's, both starring at me with such intensity.
"Make sure she doesn't cause any trouble, Rider," Jane spoke harshly.
"She's doing fine, Jane," Lucas shot back maliciously. "Now why don't you go along and torture someone. Alright?"
Jane looked like she wanted to attack Lucas, but Alec held her back with a touch of her arm. The two twins gave us one last glaring look before walking away. I looked towards Lucas who sighed, "Stay close. There's a lot of freaks around here."
"Tell me about it," I said, burying my face into his arm. We kept walking until we stopped at a large wooden door at the end of the hallway.
"Here it is," He told me, gesturing to the entrance. "Have fun."
"Kay," I said, swallowing hard. Lucas surprisingly gave my hand a squeeze before I then walked into the room.
Inside, the air was still. Large bookshelves were lined up on the wall. In the corner, seated at his desk was Aro. My heart was beating a mile a minute while my breath hitched. The two of us haven't been in a room alone together yet.
"Abrianna, there is nothing to be nervous about," Aro quipped, turning to look at me. Those red eyes. They made me want to curl into myself.
"I'm not nervous," I declared. "Or scared."
"You're being modest," Aro said, standing up. "Remember, I'm a vampire. You may be only seventy-five percent, but there is witch in you. You still have the same physiological principles of a human. You breathe, you sleep, you eat, your heart beats...The list goes on."
"It does," I confirmed.
"I assume you haven't discovered your witch connections yet?" Aro asked curiously.
I bit my lip, "No...It's such a small part of witch within me...I don't even think I have an ability." That was a lie. I know I had an ability. Eleazar could sense it and even Robert because he could the power within me. He could take it away if he pleased.
"Oh...Well, we'll be trying to discover what that is over the next few weeks," Aro explained to me. "In the meantime, what's this I hear about animal blood?"
"Lizzy and I refuse," I told him curtly. "Look, if you want us you have to obligee by our rules as well."
"I see," Aro muttered, pacing around. "I will let this diet of yours slide, but that is it. After this, you do everything I say. This is not the Cullen's. You're in Volterra. We do things differently here and you must do as we say."
"And if I don't?" I pressured.
"Then there will be consequences," Aro snapped, starring me down. He inched closer to me and my breath hitched. "You have your mother's fire, but no doubt you look so much like..."
"Like who?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Never mind," Aro said, drawling back. "Just go back to your chambers...In the meantime, I'm watching you closely my dear."
I narrowed my eyes at him before I stomped out of the room. Lucas tried to catch up, but I just slammed the door in his face.
Every fiber in my being was on fire. I wanted to scream. I hated him. I hated him so much, but damn it. I just clutched my fist, but then...
Then it happened. A spark. I felt my stomach drop as I looked towards the side were a dark mark was present on the floor. I looked at it with wide eyes.
"What did you just do?" I turn around to see Lucas looking at me with wide eyes.
I bit my lip, "To be honest, I don't know."
A/N: So, Abby and Lizzy are having an odd time in Italy right about now. Anyway, thanks for reading, reviewing, and keep on the lookout for the next update ;)