AN: Hey guys! I'm sure that you are all aware of what time it is. I am glad to announce that I have another chapter for you all and of course can't wait to share it. :) with that being said, I'd like to hear on some of your thoughts so far, I am curious what you all must be thinking right about now, considering how soon we'll be wrapping things up. if you need me, feel free to PM me or write a review, I'm always happy to answer. So please, I encourage you all to enjoy the show!


Serenity's POV:

For almost a moment, I was able to enjoy myself and feel perfectly safe and protected when I was with Demetri, however as I walked through those ominous doors ahead with my older sister standing in front of me, there was little that Demetri could do to ease my discomfort as I squeezed his fingers tight like a small child walking alone and scared in the dark. I found the whole situation odd as it reminded me of the dark grey clouds that I'd grown up with back in Washington, where you could tell that a storm was soon on the way, and it was only a matter of time before it would break, thunder and lightning still not too far away. Demetri moved forward, pulling our looped hands together along with him and towing me closer to where Aro and the rest of them could see us.

Aro rose from his seat with a pleased-looking grin etching his lips, his wiry hands coming together in front of him in satisfaction before turning to Marcus and Caius as he began to address everyone. "It brings me great joy to see you both quite well rested! I must confess though, I can hardly recall sleep ever being that long, so I do apologize for the lack of patience on my part, little ones. As I had been discussing with my brothers, we were reminiscing on the days before our rule and have realized how very fortunate it was that we have been able to bring our species together. As dear Alec and Jane may be able to attest to, it was always not such the case nor have there been such times of peace as there are now." He uttered with great pride, his glossily filmed eyes shining brightly before continuing. "moments such as these, have always been so few and far in between that I would like to take the opportunity to welcome both you Renesmee, and your sister Serenity, to join us and our guard." However welcoming Aro's voice seemed, his icy cool words chased away any of the warmth that they were supposed to represent. I inwardly shuddered and willed myself not to cringe in front of them as I quieted the thoughts that roared away in my head. However, in the background I could tell that Caius was anything but please, his nose scrunched as he looked away from us.

Both Demetri and Alec bowed as if it were on our behalf, making me and Renesmee realize that we should be doing the same or whatever it was that the equivalent had been. I could feel Nessie's thoughts poking softly at the walls of my mind, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not hear them. "thank-you for your kindness, Aro. However, I am not sure my sister and I could accept such an honor," Nessie mumbled as she peeked up at him, meeting his still smiling gaze. Not the least bit ruffled as he heard my sister out. "my dear, please do take some time to consider it. It is not every day that we present the opportunity, as I am sure that you are both aware." He added with a nod, the implication of it all very clear as he eyed us up. Suddenly, I shook my head before speaking with him directly and curtly, "under normal circumstances, we would be able to leave if we chose to though, wouldn't we?" I challenged softly as I also sized up our situation. He laughed briskly, almost surprised that I'd go straight to the point.

From where I stood, I could see Caius narrow his eyes as he clenched the arm-rest of his seat, looking as if he'd try to snap me in half on the spot. Demetri however, glanced between me and Aro, his eyes then going back to Caius as they tried to communicate to me something important. I was tired of them shying away from what needed to be said. "Not to mean any disrespect, however I have heard old stories and read through many books in the past about ancient civilizations or kingdoms. Of foreign societies that had posed as guardians and champions that protected those kingdoms under the guise of unknown threats and the betterment of their civil affairs. I remembered that it first started with protection before soon, they were ruled against their will. Not that I should be concerned with those philosophies, however I had often wondered how much truth there was to those books and stories, especially knowing that vampires have also played a role in the development of the society that we live in today." I asked as I shrugged my shoulder, not really caring if I needed to metaphorically 'break a few eggs to make an omelet', Caius shot out of his seat.

"Such insolence!" he fumed loudly, before Aro soon held his hand out as if to calm Caius from his outburst. "Please brother, peace. She means no harm in asking but a simple question, quite easily answered. Now my dear, I am sure that there has been some involvement of vampire kind somewhere, however for the most part, we have also obscured ourselves for that same reason and for our very own protection from humans, especially when our numbers had been so low and so very few of us in-between." Aro admonished gently, Caius grumbling as he faded back into his seat. "Serenity…" me sister groaned at me in disproval, her thoughts soon bombarding my ears as I swooped my hands up to my head in useless protection from her inner voice. 'ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?! Do you have any idea to just how close Caius was to ripping your head off?! My god; are you nuts?!' I shook my head before bringing my arms back down. Demetri's arms moved protectively around me as I shook my head at him as he checked to see what was wrong. 'ugh, could you not do that? I think you may have busted an eardrum or two…' Renesmee sniffed, before turning away from me, her concern and anger quite evident.

Although Aro appeared to be aware of our unique mode of communication, he seemed to disregard the oddness of our inner conversations. No, it was more like… like he knew that for us it was a natural occurrence, almost as if it was on the same level as us breathing air. 'look, someone needs to say it, besides, I hate being treated like a child that can't be told the truth. Why even pretend?' I added to her as I nodded to Aro's answer, knowing for sure that he wasn't giving me the whole truth.

Demetri then cleared is throat as he addressed their leaders. "my lord, if I may request it given such brilliance of Serenity's spirit, I would like to be able to give her some training and even introduce her to some of the other guard members." I looked back over to Demetri and saw that he had moved a clenched fist over his heart as he then gave him a slight half-bow. "Absolutely not! To teach this child anything, would be madness…" Caius spouted from his place, although I was beginning to see a frown make its way to Aro's lips as he constantly tried to calm his so-called sibling; for the trouble that Marcus lacked, Caius made up for it in tenfold from what it appeared. "I do apologize Demetri; however, I believe that it would be best if you could see me after regarding that matter. It would appear that some of us are a bit besides themselves as we wait for dinner. As for introductions, I believe that would be a splendid idea, wouldn't you agree Marcus?" Aro replied as he turned to face him. Marcus nodded absently as he'd let out a long-drawn sigh, his eyes looking a bit more tired than his other comrades.

"wonderful. Now I would advise that you all get a head start, as I am sure that Heidi will be arriving at any moment." He advised while Demetri and Alec nodded as they then shepherd us both out of a different hall, all the tension left behind us as we made our way back to our rooms. Our shopping trip nearly forgotten, I was too mad to even crack a smile. I grumbled my discontent over on the way back, too low for Demetri or Alec to make out any coherent words as I trailed behind them, while Nessie followed ahead of me as she avoided any eye-contact. I really wasn't feeling up to meeting anyone else tonight, in fact, all I wanted was to hide away and do a bit of exploring. Thinking a bit on it, maybe it was best for me to socialize with our temporary new neighbors… hopefully it would take my mind off of the dreadful man and his outbursts of 'insolence'… ugh, I rolled my eyes just thinking about it.


Demetri's POV:

As we headed over to one of the rec rooms within the castle, I noticed Serenity was extremely quiet as she grumbled under her breath, a few sprinkled choices of words mixing themselves in between as we came to a halt at our destination. Not that it had me too concerned, I knew that she was bound to comment to me later once we were alone and free to talk, however for now, I could tell that she was trying to stay preoccupied. Slipping into the room, we were greeted by old friends whom seemed to be gathered around a chess table, some of them sipping away at a glass of wine as they watched a young sun-kissed ginger move her Knight across the board. Looks like someone decided to challenge Minna, I thought with a shake of my head, pitying the poor fellow on the other end of the table. However, as I continued to watch, her opponent had moved their Bishop across the board as it captured her Knight, wiping the smile off of Minna's face, her dark brows creasing as she thought out her next move.

There weren't that many pieces left, and the odds were not looking good for Minna as she quietly decided to move her King away towards her left side, leaving it flanked by her Rooke and Pawn. From the looks of it though, within a couple of moves, the game was over as her opponent twirled in their fingers her queen on the board. Looking to see who'd beat our resident chess champion, I almost choked from surprise to see that it was none other than the kid from earlier, his dark hair sticking out in a tumbled mess as he turned his head to bring the random strands away from his eyes. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in our group, his fingers lightly placing the piece in his hand down on the table as he made his way for the door. I looked over to Serenity to see if she'd noticed him and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that she could hardly tell from her line of sight, her height and the people in front of her preventing her from being able to see too well.

As for Renesmee and Alec, they had little clue of who I'd been watching for as I made my way over with Serenity by my side, ready to start introducing her to some of the girls I thought she'd be able to get along with. "Caia, I hope you don't mind if I steal you away for a moment, but I'd like you to meet Renesmee and Serenity." I called over to the short brunette with loose curls and warm smile, her eyes glowing with mischief as she moved away from Lachlan. Lord have mercy to know what I'd possibly saved him from as she skipped toward us, her easy smile staying in place as she introduced herself. "Nice to finally meet you, I'm glad someone has the decency to actually share…" she chimed softly, her voice teasing as she eyed Alec and I with an accusing look. Serenity seemed to laugh at that, her mood lifting as Caia's voice did its work. Luckily for me, they had hit it off pretty well despite the 200-year difference, it almost surprised me as they began to walk away as they got more into the conversation. I thought that it was a good opportunity to let her adjust to everyone there… almost everyone, my mind corrected suddenly as I remembered a certain someone that left.

Not letting my time go to waste, I took the long way through the corridors back to our room to clean up a bit from our outing earlier, so that by the time Serenity wanted to come back, she wouldn't have to worry about anything except sleep. It was going to be a while before Caia would let me see her again, but I guess for now I think it was a good thing that Serenity and her bonded. As I placed the last garment in our wardrobe, I realized that I was going to have to do something so that we would both have enough room for our clothes. I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head with a smile as I thought back to the surprised look she gave me when I told her she could get anything she wanted. The only thing I held back on were the accessories, I knew that she wouldn't let me get any of those for her while she was with me, so I figured I'd grab her some a bit later. For now, though, she seemed like she was acclimating to her surroundings.

Popping the wardrobe close with a satisfying click, I placed my cloak over the chair and made my way over back to the main room with great certainty that Aro, Caius, and Marcus were done with their evening meal. Before entering however, the fragrant aromas assaulted my nose and sent a sharp pang through my stomach as a blend of scents wafted from under the door, each one distinct, unique, and sickly sweet in their texture. My body gave an internal groan in protest as I thought about holding my breath, knowing for sure that the kind of conversation that I'll be having, would be a mental one. All my usual thoughts about Caius and Serenity on display for Aro to see. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have bugged me as much as my stomach would have been full and sated from hunger, however after being with Serenity for so long, I'd grown accustomed to hunting down small red packages of blood, the scent securely contained within the plastic. Willing my body to relaxed, I knocked softly against the old wooden door and waited until I heard myself being invited in.

Entering the great chamber, I saw that all three of them were gently wiping away with a soft red cloth, the last traces of their meal. I bowed before them both in honor and respect, before I cleared my throat, speaking briefly with short breaths, "My lord, as for our conversation earlier…?", my eyes looking up as I searched for answers. Aro nodded as Caius unusually glared at me, Marcus remaining the only one impartial to the visit. "Yes, forgive the long wait, I see that it pains you to be here at the moment my son. Am I correct with that assumption?" he asked as he turned his head slightly, assessing me as I stood again. I hesitated before nodding briefly, Aro moving out of his seat as he motioned me to follow him through the other chamber behind them, the hallway leading to another quiet room as Marcus and Caius stayed behind. "you may relax Demetri. It is not often that you appear so tense." I did as I was asked before I resumed breathing, the air tasting clean and normal compared to the cloying scents from earlier.

"I see that Serenity is not currently attached to your sides at the moment," he added with a chuckle as I winced lightly. "no sir, she isn't." I acknowledged before adding the reason behind my visit. "I would still like to request that she is given training, my lord. I hope that it won't be an issue, but just before we arrived, I saw that she had run into a bit of trouble. She was able to deal with it; however, I believe it left her a bit shaken. Given her lack of self-defense, I believe that it would be quite unfair for a prospective member of the guard to not know the basics to defend themselves with." He nodded as he thought over what I was asking, but like before, he didn't jump to any immediate answers. "I did see that. In fact, I thought it a bit odd that she would have such little training. It would seem that her family has hardly exposed her to the outside world," he mused critically. "however, she does seem to think quite well on her feet for someone so inexperienced. It's possible that she may have more potential than we could hope to realize." He deliberated as he explained with a fascinated look crossing his features, his eyes gleaming almost in triumph.

Aro cleared his throat as he came to a conclusion, my eyes widening as I waited for the verdict. "I think that you may prove a point Demetri, and that she may need a great deal of training, however with you being one of our best trackers that the guard has to offer, I would highly recommend that you have a second person to share the responsibility of training her and I know just the vampire perfect for that. I don't believe that you've met, but I think that you will find him to be quite well adapt learning just as well." He dismissed as I nodded, not quite sure if I was pleased with the development. "if I may ask sir, how soon would you like us to start?" I queried, wondering if it would be something that'd have to wait for a more opportune time. "I would put it in effect as of tomorrow. And Demetri, before you sprint off in search of her, I would ask that you pay close attention to her loyalties. Although you have brought them here, they must still prove themselves among the guard. As of right now, they are here under a probationary status," he warned me, my thoughts drifting back to an earlier conversation between Caius and Serenity, my mind clouding a bit with worry as I thought of how to keep Serenity away from Caius. "thank you Aro," I bowed once more and left.


(?)'s Point Of View:

I sighed out of boredom as I looked about my room, wondering just how I ended up here as spied a loose strand on the small sofa fraying from the seat of my makeshift bed. Not that I was really able to sleep anymore anyway. I plucked it between my finger, being oddly reminded of some troublesome girl from earlier as she stormed into the room, interrupting my concentration as I was in the middle of a few thousand crunches. It had been twice that I'd seen her in this last week, and already she annoyed the hell out of me. I think what surprised me more was the fact that she was still alive and breathing considering that the last time I saw her, Jared had her pinned by the throat. You would think he'd know how to finish off a feeble human especially given his age, however since that night I had not seen nor heard from him. He made a terrible companion; every day he would pester me to not do the things I wanted and to instead follow his example and feed off the poor innocent people that strayed too far from the city. Good riddance… I'd say it was one less idiot prowling the night. But because of him, I also had a small semblance of a purpose for where I worked now.

I probably should give him a bit more credit, but because of him I also blame him for what I am now. I could no longer turn to my friends for help, they were completely cut from my life; my parents and sibling would've been torn to shreds had I visited them. And the first person that offered me any help when I opened my eyes, didn't last a second as I pulled them close and drank from their neck, the heated smell of their blood flowing deliciously down my throat as I tossed their lifeless body aside. Their shock forever frozen on their face as I picked myself up and dusted myself off, my stomach still craving another sweet drink as my mind screamed dejectedly for me to stop. I snapped the strand off the seat as I thought back to the present, tired of reliving the same memory before a quiet knock echoed against my door. Cole walked in with a toothy grin on his face as I scowled up at him, quite annoyed that I couldn't have a moment of peace.

"what," I responded curtly as I prompted him for an answer. "Man! Aren't you one lucky son of a gun… I mean, we both started out at the same time thanks to Jared but, look at how much you're stepping through the ranks dude!" He exclaimed happily. I rolled my eyes wondering what he could possibly be getting at. "I overheard Jane as I was walking to the rec room, thought I'd be able to see your game with Minna when hello! She mentioned your name on her sweet lips as she was stepping out of the main chambers. Thought I'd give you a heads-" just as Cole was about to finish, a certain devil he was speaking of had appeared as my door suddenly swung open, Jane making her way into my room, her golden hair flowing confidently behind her. Cole backed away sheepishly as he moved out of the room, an exhaled "later dude." Flowing from his lips as he slipped away from the door, Jane glaring softly after him as we heard a sharp yelp of surprise from out the hall before there was total silence.

"I honestly hate bad gossip. It really kills a party when people don't have their fact straight," she mentioned matter-of-factly as she shifted her gaze back to me. "duly noted. May I ask why someone as highly ranked as you would need to come in here aside from running an errand?" she snapped her gaze to meet mine, her eyes flaring with anger as she clenched a fist. "Do not think for a moment that I will forget about your behavior. Just because Aro was far more forgiving about your misconduct, doesn't mean I will be. You still came back short from your mission, and no word on the whereabouts of your creator." I shrugged my shoulders at her, not really scared of her threats or the pain that she was known for inflicting. The type of pain she ever caused was temporary anyhow… "him being my creator, does not make me his watch-dog. Even then, I still have doubts of him creating me in the first place," I breathed confidently as I waited for her glare.

But it didn't happen. Instead, she hmphed quietly before commenting dryly, "whatever… continue acting like a kid, I suppose for you it might actually allow you to get far. For the moment though, I do believe that Aro has requested that you see him. It was important that you do so immediately, although… I'm not apposed to you being late." I stared calmly at her, my mind thinking of the dark hall as I walked over to my closet and pulled out the dull cream-colored robe that I was required to wear, before I decided to make my way to her, hanging the coat behind me and over my shoulders. "I'll be there in plenty of time, although its sweet that you worry so much. I actually never pegged you to be that sentimental," I replied as I walked out the door, a sharp pain causing me to pause in my tracks as I let out a shaky breath. Yeah, maybe that was just a little too far, but the pain was a bit refreshing after all that's happened lately.


Serenity's POV:

I couldn't sleep that night… all the sleeping from earlier had me thinking that I would never wake up again or that I would slip into an eternal comma, and that last dream had me especially frightened. It felt so real, that my heart had still been racing even after I'd woken up. They'd never been so vivid before, it wasn't till a few months ago that I'd really started to have dreams like that, so it scared me whenever I started to fall asleep. However, for a brief moment in the time that Demetri was gone from the room, I'd closed my eyes and drifted away into that darkness, my mind wandering aimlessly as I waited for morning. I could hear a gentle strumming of sound before I opened my eyes again, realizing that it was already daylight as Demetri sat quietly with a guitar in hand, his eyes gazing in a far-off look as his fingers moved across the strings. Yet I recognized its easy-going melody as the song began to loop, my mouth humming softly to the low notes of "Blackbird". For a moment it took me back to when I was little, and I would hear our dad play it in the car from time to time.

His song was soon interrupted as there was a knocking on the door, Demetri pausing as he got up and opened the door, Jane peering through the crack that Demetri created. "normally I wouldn't question your visits, however lately, I might need to," he replied to her as she rolled her eyes at him. "just so you know, Aro has requested that you and Serenity, meet down in the training area. Apparently, he has had the rest of us vacate the area until further notice. From my guess, it seems like until you guys are finished." She complained, her lips flashing a tight smile as her eyes then glared daggers at me. My ears perked up at the word 'training', my nerves coiling tightly in excitement as Demetri backed away from the door with a sigh. "it would have been nice to have kept that a surprise," he muttered as he walked up to me as I sat up on the mattress. I shook my head slowly as I then processed what else she'd said. "I didn't think you had enough power to clear them all out from there. Isn't it a bit much though?" I replied with slight concern as my brows drew together. "I really don't. In all honest truth, I probably would have asked for only half of the room, considering what we'd need to go over." Demetri shook his head and ushered me soon out the door, guiding me to its location.

But as soon as we entered, I felt a slight prickle across my skin as my eyes took in the shape of the 'Zac Efron' look-alike that the Volturi had managed to snag, my ears ringing with Demetri's apt description of the boy that towered over me a few days before. I gasped softly as Demetri's arm tightened around my waist, drawing me closer to him in a protective grasp as he then addressed our intruder. "I do believe that there were orders for this area to be cleared of any other members," Demetri said flatly, his voice full of authority as he eyed the boy across from us, up. "there was. However, Aro had mentioned that there was someone that would be helping me with training someone so new…" he replied with a shrug of his shoulders, brushing off Demetri's cool words as he then turned his attention back to me. He sighed before muttering, "I should've known it would have been you though." His bright eyes dispassionate and void of any emotion. I reached for Demetri's arm and tried to get him to let me go, but the more I struggled, the more he tightened his grip around me. "I can handle myself, you know." I breathed up to him as I looked back over to the boy. Ugh, he really should introduce himself, if not I might have to resort to just calling him 'Troy'. I thought, a grin somewhat forming in my mind as I tried to keep focus.

"look buddy, whatever it is that you've got against me, it's really getting old! And honestly, if you think that you're trying to be cute, it's not working," I bit out at him as I tried to move against Demetri's side. "whatever. I have orders from Aro, so are we going to do this thing or not?" he prompted briskly as Demetri finally got the idea and loosened his grasp, his gaze unwavering as he made up his mind. "just so we are clear, you are going to treat Serenity with respect. She is not a snack and is nowhere near below you. We will do things my way without any question, and there will be participation from both of you. As of now, I do ask that you tell us your name. And will try on my end, not to think of you as someone else," Demetri answered, a bit of a bark at the end as he coughed out the last part. I rolled my eyes, knowing for sure that he had the same idea that I did as he addressed the other boy. Too bad he didn't inherit the actor's manners as well. If only…

"If you must know, it's Daniel. As for her, she's way to scrawny to even be considered a snack, so no worries there. She still sheds way too much so I guess I'll be sure to bring a lint-roller with me next time, however for right now I guess we should get down to the basics. Oh, your…majesty," Daniel added with a bow and a mocking flourish, his eyes cool as he rose again, a sarcastic grin forming in place. My temper was beginning to flare as I heard him speak. NO! my mind screamed. HE DID NOT! UGH! There was no way under any circumstance was I going to let this go! "I… am… not… SCRAWNY! You overgrown egotistical lunatic!" I erupted with a shout as I began to glare at him, my eyes burning with anger as I stared him down, wondering which part of him needed to stay intact for him to teach, my leg itching to kick him in a few choice areas as Demetri struggled to calm me in his grasp. He didn't know me from Eve to insult me like that, nor did he have the right to. "Enough! Serenity, you need to calm down. There is only so much you can stress out over, him not being one of them." Demetri barked as he shook me in place. My eyes stared up at him in shock as I blinked back a few tears, my mind wondering who'd replaced him in the last few seconds. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he then exhaled, his eyes closed as he shook his head, "it's going to be a long day," I heard him mutter as he then let me go completely.


AN: Well? I guess that's a wrap for now, hehe... see you guys next time!